Public Safety (Subcommittee of the City Council)

PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MINUTES Wednesday November 13, 2019 Laurel Hill Volunteer Fire Department 509 Laurel Hill Road, 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 City Manager John Salomone, City of Norwich. Volunteer/Central Fire Departments and Others: Taftville Chief Timothy Jencks and Assistant Chief William Hadam; Norwich Battalion Chief Keith Wucik and Jason Balletto; East Great Plain Chief Keith Milton; Laurel Hill Chief Aaron Westervelt and Michael Carlos; and Occum Chief Carroll Spaulding Citizens Present: Raymond Henry. 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 October 9, 2019. Alderman Nash motioned, seconded by Alderman DeLucia, to approve the Wednesday October 9, 2019 meeting minutes. The motion passed unanimously. Correspondence: None. Citizen Comment: Raymond Henry of 18 Rogers Road stated that during after school activity pick up time buses have been parking on Crescent Street in a no parking zone and asked if the buses can be instructed to park in NFA’s Tirrell lot as they create a visibility hazard when trying to turn onto Crescent. Captain Jim Veiga responded that he would look into the matter. Old Business: Apparatus/ Equipment Financing: City Manager John Salomone reported that most the department have completed inspections of their equipment with some making modifications where needed. City Manager Salomone stated Taftville’s truck should arrive within the month and the others soon after although the radios still need to be fitted. Chief Timothy Jencks stated Taftville’s rescue truck is in construction with no delivery date yet given however there is an April 1st deadline. Chief Aaron Westervelt reported Laurel Hill’s chassis was delivered November 3rd and is currently in production so they are hoping for delivery before Christmas. Chief Keith Milton stated he was informed EGP’s cabin chassis is beginning production within the month and he is speculating completion for end of February. New Business: Norwich Public Utilities Update: Eric McDermott stated there were no major updates but thanked the Police and fire departments for their assistance with the gas issue Monday night. Emergency Management: Ballation Chief Keith Wucik introduced new training safety officer Jason Balletto. Chief Wucik stated he and Jason have attended numerous trainings in the past month including cyber security, millstone practices and more. American Ambulance: Nothing. Norwich Police Department: Captain Jim Veiga reported an average month with 3957 calls, 177 arrests and 149 accidents. Captain Veiga stated there is one member in the academy now and another starting Friday which leaves NPD with three vacancies. Captain Veiga reported they are attempting to get five new cruisers but have a six month wait time due to the manufacturers. Firehouse Status Updates: Taftville: Chief Timothy Jencks reports 70 calls for the past month and annual training was held along with their Halloween Party which went Chief Jencks stated their tower is going out for DOT inspection so they are planning to borrow Truck 2 from Chief Wucik to keep two trucks running in the City and their dive truck would be going out for maintenance as well. Alderman DeLucia asked the state of the firehouse boiler to which Chief Jencks stated it is still maintaining but would need to be addressed in the future. East Great Plain: Deputy Chief Milton reported a busy month with 111 emergency calls along with usual monthly trainings and routine maintenance. Chief Milton stated their tanker and engine both went down to the City garage for a few days with plans for the engine to be out of service for about a month in the future but unsure of when. Chief Milton stated the City found snapped frame mounts that requires the water tank to be removed from the truck in order to weld and repair. Chief Milton stated the EGP ladder truck is still out of service. Occum: Chief Carroll Spaulding stated Occum is currently up to 36 members including four probationary members and two new cadets; four of which are in EMT school and two looking to enter instructor classes. Chief Spaulding reported 152 calls so far for the year and reminded that their Chicken BBQ is coming up on December 7th from 5—6:30PM. Chief Spaulding stated his training budget is strained and may be out before February/March. Chief Spaulding reported other needs include replacing Engine 41 and fire house repairs for which they will be receiving an $80,000 grant towards, that Cathy Osten helped acquire, but they cannot use the funds until July 1, 2020. Chief Spaulding also reported that ET42 completed DOT inspection and maintenance with Squad 4 receiving maintenance as well on a fault steering shaft. John Raymond asked Chief Spaulding to relay to the other departments to have all squads examined in case of a similar issue. Yantic: Nothing. Laurel Hill: Chief Aaron Westervelt stated they’ve held a couple meetings regarding their truck with another meeting planned for the next week and are looking to inspect the truck the first week of December. Chief Westervelt reported the new pavement outside the firehouse is complete and the exhaust system and humidifier should be complete within the next week. Norwich: Battalion Chief Keith Wucik stated one recruit currently in the academy will be graduating December 6th which will put them back at full staff. Chief Wucik reported 254 incidents in the past month including the major fatal fire on Bentley during which he was the incident commander and noticed a need for a city-wide identification accountability system for on-scene firefighters so the commander can keep track of who is there in order to prevent safety and potential cancer  bill issues. Chief Wucik stated NFD received a grant to purchase 24 fire fighter personal escape systems and their critical needs still include a replacement Fire Marshall vehicle and Squad A. Discussion ensued on future tagging and ID solutions. Other: Updated Fire Report Deadline: City Manager John Salomone stated they’ve begun the review process but haven’t progressed too far. City Manager Salomone stated the plan at the next Chief’s meeting is to go over assignments and a breakdown. IMC Bridge: Nothing. Radios for Fire Trucks: -- City Manager John Salomone stated the request for the Yantic and Taftville radios exceeds the $2,500 allocation per vehicle but after meeting he believe they should be able to move money around to balance the discrepancies out. Future Agenda Items: Updated Fire Report Deadline IMC Bridge Radios for Fire Trucks Firefighter Identification System Adjournment: Upon a motion by Alderman Nash, seconded by Alderman DeLucia, the meeting was unanimously adjourned at 7:33 pm Respectfully Submitted, Katherine Rose