Public Safety (Subcommittee of the City Council)

PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MINUTES Wednesday October 9, 2019 Central Fire Department 10 North Thames Street, Norwich 7:00 PM Committee Members Present: Alderman William Nash, Alderman Joseph A. DeLucia. Committee Members Absent: None. Administration and Staff Present: Captain Jim Veiga, Norwich Police Department; Eric McDermott, Norwich Public Utilities; and Leon Barnowski, City of Norwich. Volunteer/Central Fire Departments and Others: Taftville Chief Timothy Jencks, Assistant Chief William Hadam, and Deputy Chief Tom Jencks; Norwich Battalion Chief Scott Merchant and Kyle Seitz; East Great Plain Deputy Chief Rich Huntley; Occum Chief Carroll Spaulding; and Yantic Assistant Chief Paul O’Connell. Citizens Present: None. Call to Order and Quorum: Alderman Nash called the meeting to order at 7:01 PM. There was a quorum present. Approval of Minutes: Minutes of Wednesday September 11, 2019. Alderman Nash motioned, seconded by Alderman DeLucia, to approve the Wednesday September 11, 2019 meeting minutes. The motion passed unanimously. Correspondence: None. Citizen Comment: None. Old Business: Apparatus/ Equipment Financing: City Manager John Salomone was not present to report. Chief Timothy Jencks reported Taftville’s truck engine is going out for a final inspection on the 22nd and if it returns with no issues the truck should be in service by Thanksgiving also depending on equipment mounting and radios. Chief Jencks stated the cabin chasse arrived for the Rescue Truck mid- September they are just waiting on a date but he is hoping for within the next six months. New Business: Norwich Public Utilities Update: Eric McDermott reported that NPU submitted the emergency generator grant package for Norwich Police Department last week. Eric McDermott stated they also met with the radio tower’s new project manager for power requirements. Eric McDermott also stated the Department of Emergency Services has requested inventory of all AFFF in the area to which the fire departments should have already been notified but asked if the departments could keep NPU in the loop. Emergency Management: Nothing. American Ambulance: Nothing. Norwich Police Department: Captain Jim Veiga stated to follow up from last month’s meeting he brought along paperwork explaining how to access the online community survey as they are hoping to increase participation. Captain Veiga reported that Officer Goldberg has completed training and they have one member in the academy but are still down four officers and are actively working to fill those positions. Captain Veiga stated NPD is currently being wired for the cruisers and body camera equipment which they are hoping to have running by the beginning of November. Captain Veiga stated they are in the process of finalizing the specifications for the new cruisers which will go out to bid in a few weeks. Firehouse Status Updates: Taftville: Chief Timothy Jencks reports a total of 63 runs in the past month with 12 percent overlapping and five mutual aid calls. Chief Jencks stated membership is stead with two people in Fire 1 and one in Fire 2. Chief Jencks reported Engine 22 would be going out of service the following day for DOT and other issues and the firehouse is in the process of finishing up Phase 2 of the addition. Chief Jencks stated they began solicitations for the Fire Marshall Abatement for the upcoming budget season. Chief Jencks stated current issues include parking especially during the time that the United Way Food Truck is at Wequonnoc School. Discussion ensued on possible avenues to take. Chief Jencks stated Taftville is hosting its annual Halloween event on Halloween night. East Great Plain: Deputy Chief Rich Huntley reported 56 calls for the last month along with regular training and that Engine 52 was out of services for three days as the motor mounts needed to be replaced as well as a pump replacement. Deputy Chief Huntley stated Engine 52 would be  going out of service for a month in the near future to have body work done on the rear underside as there as broken body mounts and bracings Deputy Chief Huntley stated the City garage told them things had been broken for a while and the tank needs to be removed for the repair. Deputy Chief Huntley reported Ladder 5 is still out of service being repaired and the rest of the apparatuses had routine maintenance. Deputy Chief Huntley stated their yearly pump test is completed but some trucks did need repairs. Deputy Chief Huntley stated the cabin chasse for the new truck should be in the process of being built however they were not provided a delivery date. Occum: Nothing. Yantic: Nothing. Laurel Hill: Nothing. Norwich: Battalion Chief Scott Merchant stated NFD has a new training officer starting the 15th and they have two members still at the fire academy in recruit school. Battalion Chief Merchant report 221 incidents for the last month and their biggest issue for equipment is the Fire Marshall vehicle as once they acquire a new one they can get rid of an old service truck and the Tahoe. Battalion Chief Merchant stated Squad A is still in service but is also on the list for replacement. Other: a. Speeding Issues on Roath Street: Captain Jim Veiga stated when he took over as captain at NPD he started receiving complaints regarding speeding on Roath Street but all of the complaints actually derived from one homeowner and he was not initially aware Captain Ferace and Captain Daly had both dealt with the same issue in the past. Captain Veiga reported NPD conducted two different traffic surveys that provided low enforcement ratings and that Roath Street is one of the top 5 streets in the City that NPD stations motor vehicle officers. Captain Veiga stated while the complaining subject may have a valid point NPD is not catching as many speeders as they are claiming to be there. Captain Veiga stated again they are making significant efforts and out of 600 streets in the City it is in the top two as far as what they have given attention to. Captain Veiga stated NPD is actively working on it but there also needs to be realistic expectations of what they can accomplish. b. Wintertime Fire Hydrant Issue: Alderman William Nash stated he was approached by an individual asking how the City handles snow removal around fire hydrants and that he has personally witnessed various volunteers in the departments as well as city workers clearing the  snow. Alderman Nash stated he invited the citizen to attend tonight’s meeting but would like to put on record what the procedure is. Battalion Chief Scott Merchant stated as soon as the snow stops falling members go out and shovel however if the hydrant isn’t impeded by six inches or less they do not touch it. Chief Timothy Jencks stated Taftville usually clears their area hydrants within 24 hours of plowing as the snow is pushed against the hydrants. c. Updated Fire Report Deadline City Manager John Salomone was not in attendance to report. d. IMC Bridge: Leon Barnowski from the City of Norwich IT Department said currently the Police side of the IMC Bridge is exporting out to the computer however on the other side going to Emergency Reporting has run into many issues and the IT Department has contacted them several times. Leon Barnowski stated a few months ago Emergency Reporting stated their system was offline so they needed to rewrite code but they have not responded since regardless of the continued follow-ups. Leon Barnowski stated staff has been down in his department so they are prioritizing issues but they would like to touch base with the new NFD training officer regarding the Bridge. Leon Barnowski stated Jake Manke had been the administrator for the system electronically so he had all of the vendor contact information, etc. but the main holdup is in regards to getting updates back from Emergency Reporting. Leon Barnowski stated his department was not sure if they should keep moving forward on the NPD side of the bridge without being on the same page with NFD. Battalion Chief Scott Merchant stated he would touch base with Jake Manke to see where he left off as NFD does want to move forward. Future Agenda Items: IMC Bridge Adjournment: Upon a motion by Alderman DeLucia, seconded by Alderman Nash, the meeting was unanimously adjourned at 7:26 pm Respectfully Submitted, Katherine Rose