Safety & Public Works Committee

SAFETY AND PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE MINUTES THURSDAY MARCH 7, 2024 8:00 AM VIA ZOOM MEETING Members Present: Anne Williams, Council Chair Nancy Moore, Council Member James Sammon, Citizen Member Ifeolu Claytor, Council Member Tres Roeder, Council Member Others Present: Jeri Chaikin, CAO Patrick Sweeney, Chief of Fire Wayne D. Hudson, Chief of Police John J. Potts, Director of Finance Patricia Speese, Director of Public Works Timothy Grafton, Lieutenant John Cole, Commander Annette Amistadi, Mental Health Clinician Christian Maier, Asst. Director of Infrastructure Annette Tucker Sutherland, League of Woman Voters The meeting was called to order by Council Chair Anne Williams at 8:00 am. APPROVAL OF FEBUARY 1, 2024 MEETING MINUTES The meeting minutes from February 1, 2024 were not approved due to not having a quorum, they will be presented at the next Safety and Public Works meeting on April 4, 2024. Request to purchase 2 Chevy Bolt EUV ’s for the MHRT without formal competitive bidding Timothy Grafton, Lieutenant The Shaker Heights Police Department is requesting authorization from the city to purchase two electric vehicles for use in the expanded mental health response program. These vehicles are funded by a grant and must not exceed $34,755 each. The preferred vehicle is the Chevy Bolt EUV, which meets operational needs and budget constraints. These vehicles will be utilized by Ms. Amistad and her team in collaboration with the police and fire department. The procurement process for the Chevy Bolt EUV involved formal competitive bidding, initiated on February 8th. Despite advertising the request, no bids were received by the February 23rd deadline. Dealers cited reasons such as limited supply and high demand for not submitting bids. As a result, the department is seeking approval to purchase two Chevy Bolt EUVs directly from a dealer, bypassing competitive bidding, to ensure acquisition under the grant for the program. Council Chair Williams opened the floor for questions and or comments. Council Chair Williams asked if there is a backlog for these vehicles or if they have them in stock ready for purchase. Lieutenant Grafton responded, in a situation like this, he would do a search of a 250 mile radius from Shaker Heights, which would provide all the vehicles that are available. A few days ago, there were about 100-120 vehicles in that 250 mile radius that were available. Citizen Member James Sammon asked if it is a requirement by the grant that these vehicles be electric. Lieutenant Grafton stated yes, that is correct. Councilwoman Moore commented that the city in every reasonable, economical way, replace its gas power fleet with electric vehicles when appropriate and feasible. This this is a very important step towards that goal. Applauding the city’s efforts. Councilman Roeder agreed with Councilwoman Moore’s comments and others made as well. It states in the document that the vehicles are not on state contract. Does the state have another sort of EV’s on contract or is that not an option. Lieutenant Grafton explained there are other vehicles under state contract, however the cost of those vehicles exceeds the amount allowed in the grant. A motion was made by Councilwoman Moore and it was seconded by Citizen Member Sammon. All members who were present supported the motion although the Committee did not have a quorum. Authority to enter into a Personal Service Agreement with Lexipol John M. Cole, Commander The Shaker Heights Police Department seeks to enter a five-year agreement with Lexipol, a risk management tool that streamlines directive review and training processes. It ensures compliance with national and state best practices, reducing the workload of the tripartite review process. This agreement aims to update policies and practices for officers, enhancing management's ability to optimize officer positions. The total cost of the package is $173,116.44. Lexipol is a sole source vendor, no alternative sources available. In the past, SHPD applied for grants but politely got denied. Last year, council was able to allocate SHPD some funds with the help of Finance which will give the department money to enter into this agreement. Council Chair Williams opened the floor for questions and or comments. Citizen Member Sammon asked if Commander Cole could explain exactly what Lexipol will do for the people in the field. Commander Cole explained through handheld devices, once the proposed system is implemented, officers will have immediate access to unfamiliar procedures, reducing the need for supervisor verification and ensuring swift and accurate action. This technology will enhance operational efficiency by providing instant guidance at the point of need. Citizen Member Sammon asked if this syncs with our ordinances and is there something in there that officers will be able to reference. Commander Cole states it will have all of the directives readily available for the officers to look at. Councilwoman Moore added when council and different committees were discussing how to allocate federal and state trust fund monies to assist police in updating technology as well as other things, issues of drones arose. Council requested additional policy verbiage that would specify privacy concerns related to drones. Councilwoman Moore asked if Lexipol will assist in developing a policy or reviewing options for those policy changes. Commander Cole explained that this team has the benefit of several other agencies to look at what has been implemented in other places. They have the wealth of knowledge of all the best practices to give us, however, we would still have the final say to make sure we are doing what’s best for our community. Councilwoman Moore followed up with asking if the allocation of funds would be coming from the state or federal trust fund. Commander Cole responded yes it would. Chief Hudson added this is part of the allocation that the Safety & Public Works Committee, Finance and City Council Committee approved during the last budget process so this will come out of the Federal Law Enforcement Trust Fund. Council Chair Williams states the policy aspect is understandable but can you elaborate on the training aspect, what does the training entail. Commander Cole explained not only will they get a directive but also a rollout training that will put the officers in different situations and apply to see how that directive would work with their duties, so everyone will have that common basis of understanding. Chief Wayne added that there is a policy and a subsequent test to make sure they understand the policy and they can apply it. Council Chair Williams asked if this will be an online training module and then a test following that. Commander Cole responded, virtual, yes. Chief Sweeney, Chief of Fire commented the Shaker Heights Fire Department did a complete revision of the departments SOP’s and Policies using Lexipol for 3 years. It has been incredible and is best platform for police and fire. We took old policies and rule books that were dated back into the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s and did a complete overhaul. Lexipol has attorneys on staff to help guide us through developing policies that are enforceable. Councilman Claytor asked if there has been any critiques of this program or potential downsides leading officers to negatively use discretion. Both Chief Hudson and Commander Cole responded with no, not that I heard of. A motion to approve was made by Citizen Member Sammon and seconded by Council Woman Moore. All members who were present supported the motion although the Committee did not have a quorum. Van Aken Pedestrian Improvements- Recommendation of Construction Management Services Christian Maier, Director of Infrastructure The city of Shaker Heights has secured funding from ODOT and the Federal Highway Administration for a pedestrian improvement project near Tuttle, west of the RTA station. The project encompasses landscaping, lighting, bike racks, sidewalk enhancements, and other improvements. ODOT has committed up to $1.5 million for construction and administration, with the bidding process completed within budget. The city's contribution includes both eligible and non-eligible costs, such as water and sewer connections. Through a competitive process, evaluating five firms based on criteria such as project manager qualifications, staff, workload, past performance, and project approach, GPI emerged as the preferred contractor for construction management and inspection. Negotiations led to a slight reduction in fees. ODOT will now also contribute to construction administration and inspection costs. Funding for both construction and administration has been secured for 2023 and 2024 respectively. With GPI's expertise and understanding of the project, the city seeks approval to contract them for construction administration and inspection at a cost of $38,923.32. A motion to approve was made by Councilman Claytor and it was seconded by Councilwoman Moore. All members who were present supported the motion although the Committee did not have a quorum. Street Lighting Assessment Increase & Renewal- Resolution of Necessity John J. Potts, Director of Finance Street Lighting Assessment Increase & Renewal – Resolution of Necessity John Potts, Director of Finance The Finance Department is requesting that the Safety and Public Works Committee support a three year Street Lighting Assessment which will include the Resolution of Necessity and a new rate per front footage. Shaker Heights residents and property owners pay of portion of the expenses to provide street lighting on the city streets and public roads. The current rate of assessment is 88 cents per front footage, and has not changed since 2004. Our ordinances require that in order to levy these special assessments, we need a Resolution of Necessity. Due to an increase in electrical rates, for the past 10 years the city has had to supplement the fund ranging from $140,000 to $265,000 annually from the general fund. The finance department proposes increasing it to $1.10 per front footage to break even for the next three years, generating an additional $140,000 per year. Failure to increase the assessment would lead to further subsidies from the general fund. Council Chair Williams opened the floor for questions. Citizen Member Sammon asked if residents will be asked to pay more for their frontage again when this three year assessment has concluded. Director Potts stated that council emphasized the need for more regular reviews of such fees, similar to when we increased the fee for trees. This fee increase is simply to cover electricity bills with First Energy assuming ongoing inflation related increases. We commit to reviewing the fees every three years, coinciding with assessments, and projecting future needs. The $1.10 increase or 25% raise aims to create a modest reserve cushion. While it may not sustain beyond three years, we don’t want to increase it to a point of creating a large reserve but want to ensure we are covering cost with a small reserve. Citizen Member Sammon followed up with confirming this increase is specific to street lighting and not necessarily trees. Director Potts stated yes, we didn't consider street lighting when managing trees 3 years ago, we relied on a larger reserve, avoiding the need for funding from the general fund. However, this reserve has since depleted, prompting the need for the general fund to contribute unless the assessment is increased. Citizen Member Sammon responded, what’s the assessment comparing lighting and trees. Director Potts stated we are asking for an increase to $1.10. 3 years ago we increased our tree maintenance to $1.66 but there are a lot more expenses on trees than lighting. Councilwoman Moore stated there is an alternative to increasing the street lighting assessment. In a more sustainable fashion, we could retrofit our street lighting poles for LED’s which is available through First Energy. This would address the current issues of incandescent lights failing and the city being responsible for outage reports without receiving the full benefit of the electricity paid for. However, the city has been hesitant to pursue this sustainable option, opting instead to periodically increase the street lighting assessment as First Energy raises costs. Council Chair Williams added from being on the Sustainability Committee and working with Michael Peters in the past, this has been looked at and I assume progress has not be made. Councilwoman Moore stated we have made progress and do have numbers. CAO Chaikin added the upfront costs is around 4 million dollars. Councilwoman Moore explained the city would pay a certain amount but an LED light needs to be replaced once every 10 years. An incandescent light needs replaced on average once every 2 years. Retrofitting street lighting poles with LED provides longer and brighter lights but First Energy discourages this by charging a fee and mandating that the handle the retrofitting process. Citizen Member Sammon asked if there is any sustainability in going solar on the lights. Director Potts stated he is unaware. Councilman Claytor expresses interest in exploring the opportunity to switch to a more sustainable model for street lighting and suggests that council should dive deeper into this option. Additionally inquiring about the possibility of removing First Energy from the equation considering the inability to communicate effectively on which lights have been services and which lights are still out. Director Potts stated he is not aware of the alternative to First Energy and as far as sustainability we can certainly pass along the comments to Mr. Peters. Councilwoman Moore added to pass the comments along to the Mayor, it’s a discussion that should occur administratively and then go to council. CAO Chaikin stated she can have Michael Peters draft a detailed proposal based on prior discussions at the sustainability committee. This will be a significant undertaking of transitioning to a more sustainable lighting model, estimating a need for 4 million dollars. Additionally stating that passing a stress lighting assessment doesn’t guarantee its continuation in the future, as council can decide to change or discontinue it. A motion to approve was made by Councilwoman Moore and it was seconded by Citizen Member Sammon. All members who were present supported the motion although the Committee did not have a quorum. Acceptance & Appropriation of Grant Funding for the CALL Program Annette Amistadi, Mental Health Clinician The Shaker Heights Police and Fire Departments are seeking authorization for acceptance and appropriation of funding from the Alcohol, Drug Addiction, and Mental Health Services (ADAMHS) Board of Cuyahoga County for $523,131 for the Crisis Assistance and Local Linkage (CALL) Program for the period of March 1, 2024 - May 31, 2026. The grant aims to expand the Mental Health Response Program (MHRP) operational in Shaker since 2022. The expansion will involve placing clinicians in dispatch centers across multiple cities. The ADAMHS grant will cover personnel costs for the program's expansion. Other funding sources include grants from the COPS Office and the state's Office of Criminal Justice Services, as well as contributions from cities and ongoing discussions with the county executive and foundations. The ADAMHS board approached the City of Shaker Heights as they see the CALL program to be an important addition to the crisis continuum to provide specific and safe care to individuals experiencing behavioral health crises and assist clients and families in achieving improved behavioral health outcomes. Council Chair Williams opened the floor for questions and or comments. Citizen Member Sammon thanked Mental Health Clinician Amistadi for the thorough report and for finding these awesome grants for the city. A motion to approve was made by Council Member Claytor and it was seconded by Councilwoman Moore. All members who were present supported the motion although the Committee did not have a quorum. FEMA Assistance to Firefighters Grant Application Patrick Sweeney, Chief of Fire The Shaker Heights Fire Department seeks approval to apply for a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG). This annual grant offers federal funding for various equipment and operational needs in fire departments nationwide. The department has previously received funding for crucial projects, such as a diesel exhaust system, emergency breathing air compressor, radio communications equipment replacement, and fitness equipment. This year, the focus is on prioritizing training initiatives, aligning with the department's goal of providing high-level training and professional development. The grant application requests $227,145.00 to fund members' participation in fire service professional development programs, covering costs like tuition, books, lodging, travel, and overtime. A 10% city match, approximately $22,714.00, is required, and the department aims to cover it from its existing training budget or through reimbursement from the Cuyahoga County Office of Emergency Management, which has historically supported local fire departments in this regard. Council Chair Williams opened the floor for any comments and or questions, there were none. A motion was made by Citizen Member James Sammon, It was seconded by Council Member Claytor. All members who were present supported the motion although the Committee did not have a quorum. The meeting adjourned at 8:48am. Respectfully, ________________________________________ Anne Williams, Council Chairperson Safety & Public Works Committee