Public Safety Committee (Meets 3rd Thursday of each month at 6:00 p.m.)

Proceedings of the Public Safety Committee February 24, 2022 4:30 p.m. Government Center, Room 204 Members Present: Councilor Elm, Councilor Ledin, Councilor Pierce, Councilor Bender Others Present: Chief Alexander, Chief Gordon, Lt. Trone, Tina Anrig, Shelley Nelson, Citizen John Mahan Some participants joined the meeting via Google Meet. Approval of minutes: December 9, 2021, December 15, 2021 Motion by Councilor Elm, seconded by Councilor Ledin and carried to approve the Public Safety meeting minutes from December 9, 2021 and December 15, 2021. New Business 1. Police Department and Fire Department updates Chief Alexander told the committee that with Council approval and ARPA funding, thirteen new hybrid squads have been ordered. It may be a few months before they start arriving. Last month the department hosted ABLE (Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement) training. This is a program that is designed to reduce mistakes, and help officers to intervene when they see a coworker doing something wrong. The training gives officers strategies to make those interventions in a professional and meaningful way. Lastly, Chief Alexander spoke of the recent squad car involved accident with a pedestrian. This is a very unfortunate and tragic incident. In the spirit of keeping transparency and keeping public trust, an outside agency is investigating the matter. The individual is still currently in the hospital and in critical condition. Chief Gordon talked about the department being very busy and calls are up this year compared to last year. He noted that last year there were seven total fires, and there have already been eight fires this year. The call back system is working well. It is a voluntary system and so far there have been no issues. The system was used for a recent request for mutual aid for a Duluth fire. Chief Gordon also talked about incidents that firefighters are sometimes dispatched to, often to a private business for various reasons. These incidents may need to be looked at, and/or a policy developed to handle these calls. The state of Wisconsin is proposing a ‘rescue card’ program. The card is a type of ‘insurance’ to help people in case of an emergency type situation. The cards would be available for purchase through the state when purchasing hunting or fishing licenses. The funds collected in the program would help offset costs to the City for mutual aid, search and rescue calls, etc. that we may not otherwise be able to collect. No action 2. Discussion on changing meeting day and time Motion by Councilor Ledin, seconded by Councilor Elm and carried to move the Public Safety meeting to the third Thursday of each month @ 6:00 p.m. 3. Grand Avenue calendar parking Motion by Councilor Elm, seconded by Councilor Ledin and carried to table this item to the next Public Safety meeting. 4. SFD-Combining our ATV and UTV in 2022 Motion by Councilor Ledin, seconded by Councilor Elm and carried to receive and file combining SFD’s ATV and UTV. 5. Surplus fire trucks No action 6. Pre-emption system for Superior (PW working on estimate) No action Meeting adjourned at 5:40 p.m.