Public Safety Committee

Regular Meeting of the Public Safety Committee Held in the Conference Room at City Hall March 19, 2019 @ 4:30 p.m. Notice of this meeting was given to the public in compliance with Sections 10-15-1 through 10-15-4 NMSA 1978 and Resolution 1 8 - 5 5 . ROLL CALL The meeting convened at 4:30 p.m. with Chair Best presiding, Councilor Moore, Councilor Foster and Councilor Henderson being present. Staff present: Mike Mathews, Deputy City Manager, Karen Sanders, Chaves County Emergency Manager, Devin Graham, Fire Chief, Phil Smith, Police Chief, Fil Gonzales, Police Captain, Juan Fuentes, City Auditor APPROVAL AGENDA Councilor Moore motioned to approve the agenda and the minutes of the February 19, 2019, Public Safety Committee meeting. Councilor Foster was the second, with a voice vote unanimous, and the motion passed 4-0. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES 1. Councilor Moore motioned to approve the agenda and the minutes of the February 19, 2019, Public Safety Committee meeting. Councilor Foster was the second, with a voice vote unanimous, and the motion passed 4-0. REGULAR ITEMS 2. None. NON-ACTION ITEMS 3. Ambulance Update Chief Devin Graham gave the Committee the current update. He advised the Committee that there is continuation of pursuit through PRC for the licensing and alteration of the certificate of necessity. Aaron Holloman, City Attorney has agreed to assist with the dual use process with PRC, but not due to any litigation. Councilor Henderson asked about the licensing amendment, Chief Graham responded that currently the license is leased to Superior Ambulance. Councilor Foster informed the Committee that being leased, does not allow the City to utilize and allow transport or billing. If the license were split, it would allow the City to utilize it for those purposes. No further update was given. NON-ACTION ITEMS 4. Animal Control Update Mike Mathews and Fil Gonzales gave the update to the Committee. Megan Tellez, and Joseph Pacheco of Animal Control, along with Mr. Gonzales have been working on updating ordinances for their department. There will be updates, revisions and removals of ordinances that will be provided to the Committee in a month or so. They are currently working on implementing a new adoption process as well as the microchipping. The department is working on a new resolution to allow changes to be made to ordinances and codes annually. More discussion will be held prior to presenting it to the Committee. Mr. Gonzales advised the Committee that many of the ordinances have not been changed or amended since 1996 thru 1998. All reclaims or adoption animals through the facility will be microchipped with the exception being the smaller breed of animals. For these smaller breeds, it would require a release signed stating they will have their veterinarian implant the chip. The option of getting the tags or only chipping will still be available. They are also exploring the idea of, on day eight allowing the citizens or rescues to adopt for $1.00. The only forms of payment accepted are cash or check currently at Animal Control. The department is working on also being able to accept debit cards. This may aid in the adoption process due to the forms of payment currently accepted. They are also attempting to keep all Facebook advertising and comments current for the public. NON-ACTION ITEMS 5. Combined Dispatch Update Mr. Mathews gave the staffing and dispatch update to the Committee. Currently there are five candidates in the background process. If all of the applicants pass the background check, they will begin the training process. There is a new vendor in Roswell that works in communication and will be evaluating the complete dispatch system along with the tower sites. This will benefit the eastern side of the county. Additional information should be available next month. Through legislative appropriations last year, a grant was awarded for $220,000 with $190,000 of that still being available. Tracy Laney of Consolidated Dispatch has applied for a grant for software updates of $100,000. Since the system was not truncated, dispatch was awarded $80,000 not the full $100,000 which will be applied to the system updates. During the recent power outage, one terminal battery backup did not operate, but four  others remained operational. NON-ACTION ITEMS 6. RPD Staffing Update Chief Phil Smith and Captain Gonzales gave the current update to the Committee. There are currently ten vacant positions, with eight in the hiring process. The next testing date scheduled will be Thursday, March 21, 2019. Pending personnel matters include two terminations, and two pending terminations, with two retirements within the next forty-five days. Captain Gonzales stated that there are currently twelve to eighteen attending the July 2019, academy. INFORMATION Chief Graham addressed the Committee regarding Fire Fighter Recruitment. It was held on March 16, 2019. There are currently nine vacant positions within the department. Forty-eight applications were received, and only twelve appeared. Of the twelve, eleven have passed the physical and are currently in the interviewing process. Next meeting April 16, 2019 at 4:30 p.m., City Hall Conference Room. CHAIR ANNOUNCEMENTS/REPORTS None ADJOURN The meeting adjourned at 5:00 p.m.