Public Safety (Subcommittee of the City Council)

PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MINUTES Tuesday, August 13, 2019 City Hall Room 319 100 Broadway, Norwich 7:00 P.M. Committee members present: Alderman Nash, Alderman DeLucia Committee members absent: Alderwoman Philbrick Administration and staff present: City Manager Salomone, Chief of Police Daley, Deputy Chief Poore, Captain Vega Volunteer/Central Fire Departments and Others: Norwich Battalion Chief Despathy Citizens present: None Call to Order and Quorum Alderman Nash called the meeting to order at 7:01 P.M. There was a Quorum present. Approval of Minutes: Minutes of Wednesday, May 8, 2019 Motion made by Alderman DeLucia seconded by Alderman Nash. Motion passed unanimously. Citizen Comment: none Old Business Apparatus/Equipment: City Manager Salomone reported that delivery varies by what details are needed for the trucks. He thought that Yantic and Taftville may be delivered by October or November with East Great Plains (EGP) being delivered sometime in January or February. Alderman Nash asked about the status of the report on present equipment. City Manager Salomone said he is waiting on information from each department which he hopes to get back at the end of the week and he will combine the 2 reports to form the Matrix of replacement and I should have it for the September meeting, as long as he gets back what he needs from the various departments. New Business NPU update Reservoirs are at 95% full; Hydrant flushing is about 1/3 complete anticipating a September completion date; friendly reminder to report any unmetered hydrant use to Water Chief Tom Cutler so we can report it to CT DPH and if you know of some training that is going to use a hydrant NPU would appreciate a call to the control room so if any discolored water or pressure calls come in during or after that training they will have some idea of what happened to cause the problem. Alderman DeLucia asked if the renovation and moving of the control room is finished, Barry reported it is finished. It was requested that Barry get the information out to the council and that a tour be arranged. Emergency Management update NSEF (Nuclear Safety Emergency Fund) allocation that was requested in the post-event review following the Host Community Reception Exercise last November in the amount of $48,496.86 was approved for radio upgrades and computer system components (charging stations, monitors, etc.). The radio components will address communication gaps in the coverage of Kelly Middle School. The computer components will expand WEBEOC assets, and Chromebook resources. American Ambulance update No one attended Police Department update: Captain Veiga gave a brief rundown for July 3100 service calls, 170 arrest and 157 accidents reported and investigated. We are finishing up the last vehicle that we got last year for upfited with Whelan equipment. We are in contact with Leuen Engineering they have 3 units now for the prototype kits that are in our cars they are being tested to get rid of the bugs. We have one at the academy and it is a new academy. It is a little different than we are use to so we are anxious to see how that turns out. We have one officer on FTO right now for at least another 6 weeks. We are actively trying to hire now as we are down 5 positions. Alderman DeLucia asked about the difference in the academy. It was explained that the summer academy is set up so you go home at night. The regular academy is 24 hours a day stay. The class for October has been canceled. We are looking at satellite academies (New Britain, Hartford, Milford) for the next class we have going in. Chief Daley introduced Deputy Chief Poore who has an excellent relationship with the new Commissioner Jim Rovella who visited yesterday with a Colonel from the State Police. There was discussion on holding our own academy here. They would help us get approval and help us manage. The Police academy only puts through about 100 officers a year and it is competitive to get them in. We are having trouble getting people to pass the background checks. We’re getting veterans with drinking problems, people with drugs in their system. Some drugs are legal in MA and not here. It was suggested that Norwich get in touch with the Technical Schools to foster a relationship for prospective police officers in the future. Fire Department updates Norwich: Submitted by Chief Montoya Staffing: 1 new hire is scheduled to start FD orientation next Monday, the 19th. He will start the Recruit Program at the CFA on August 26th The 2 firefighters from the May minutes are in the CFA and doing well. Responses: The department responded to 397 total incidents. 112 were fire and 285 were EMS with 97 (24.43 %) overlapping where there were multiple incidents responded to at the same time. Mutual aid was given at 7 incidents, no incidents of mutual aid received. The average apparatus response time on all calls, dispatch to arrival, was 3:11 which includes an average turnout time for fully staffed apparatus, dispatch to enroute, of 1:45 (info from Emergency Reporting Doc. # 1645) Truck 1 still providing coverage for Ladder 5 though we’re not sure it’s being utilized when expected (Water flow at Walmart) Equipment: Upcoming annual pump and aerial testing is scheduled for later this month. Training will continue on operations and systems with Marine 1. Recently we had joint training with EGP on boat systems and operations familiarity. While the new Battalion 1 vehicle is in service we have not been able to remove the old one from the fleet as we have had significant issues with the Fire Marshal Vehicles. We have been running a vehicle short in the office for several months and one of the others has had significant time out of service due to battery and A/C issues – it is a 12 year old hybrid, with a recommended 8 year service life, so basically we’re living on borrowed time with this. 8 Years 80K warranty, now @ 12 years & 100K miles Critical Needs: FM vehicle as previously mentioned, possible two FM vehicles in the near future. Upcoming Needs: EMD building efficiency and electrical upgrades are currently on hold. Alderman Nash asked if the police department had a vehicle that could be used. Chief Daley said that that had been cut from the budget. Discussion on maintenance and repairs. Laurel Hill wants a vehicle to travel to training. They have one that could be donated. Alderman Nash stated that his worry is that the vehicle will be costly in the future. He also suggested that one vehicle be bought for all of the fire departments share. Alderman DeLucia asked about the EM vehicle that is parked at Laurel Fire House. CM Salomone explained that that vehicle is for EM only. Other IMC Bridge Update-City Manager stated nothing new. Police Dept. MRAP-Chief Daley spoke with the CM Salomone today to get a strategy together for next months September meeting we will have a plan going forward. Chief Daley wants to keep it on the agenda. Chief Daley spoke with Superintendent Stringfellow who supports the SRO Program and we will visit the schools early. Alderman Nash also met with Dr. Stringfellow and suggested the lunches with officers program that happened before when he was an officer. CM Salomone said that the Chief and he had a meeting about City Hall security. Future Agenda Items-Community Survey results, review fire department report Adjournment-7:47 P.M. Respectfully Submitted Bonnie Cuprak