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

Proceedings of the Public Safety Committee May 19, 2022 6:00 p.m. Government Center, Room 204 Members Present: Councilor Elm, Councilor Ledin Others Present: Chief Gordon, Chief Alexander, Capt. Winterscheidt, Maria Lockwood, Linda Cadotte, Todd Janigo Some participants joined the meeting via Google Meet. Approval of minutes: April 21, 2022 Motion by Councilor Elm, seconded by Councilor Ledin and carried to approve the Public Safety meeting minutes from April 21, 2022. New Business 1. Police Department and Fire Department updates Chief Alexander talked about the Palace Bar and the high frequency of calls that the department has responded to this year, including liquor law violations, violence, fights, and also a shooting inside the establishment this spring. The Chief said we are currently working through the due process with the owners. This has been done with other establishments, most recently Lady Vi’s. Linda Cadotte asked about recent break in’s to vehicles at WI Point. Chief Alexander said it is common once the weather warms that people are out more and property crimes tend to increase. The Chief said we will try to get additional patrols in that area. The Chief talked about what we have done to combat this issue in past years, and thinks that this would be a good location for a camera to be placed with some proper signage to deter such crime. Chief Gordon thanked Donna Swanson for taking the minutes for our meetings for many years. This is her last Public Safety meeting as she will retire soon. Chief Gordon talked about updates on Fire Department facilities. ESD has been to the main fire hall to assess the sod situation. At Station #2, a concrete project is ongoing and the soil is being analyzed. Once that’s done, a new slab will be put in. The goal after that project is to work on Station #2 and Station #3 on getting an extra shower and a workout room completed. Chief Gordon said next week department members will be doing physical assessments. These are mandated by the State of WI every two years. The department is the state hazmat team, and along with the successful assessments, money is allocated from the state each year for the team. The physical assessments are outsourced to a private company, and they come to the stations to do the tests on site. The sleep study that is being monitored by UWS is in the second stage. The end goal is to have quantifiable evidence that a change needs to be made with dispatching, so that all members are not informed of all calls, often interrupting their sleep. Selective dispatching is a system that would accomplish this. A controlled burn was done yesterday on Barkers Island, and all went well. 2. Pre-emption system for Superior Todd Janigo gave some updates on this project, and provided the committee with estimates of cost. Motion by Councilor Elm, seconded by Councilor Ledin and carried to send this item to the Finance Committee. 3. Flock safety camera trial Capt. Winterscheidt shared a department draft policy that was recently created. There was discussion on the camera system and questions fielded to Capt. Winterscheidt and Chief Alexander. Chief Alexander asked that additional questions be forwarded to him prior to the next meeting. Motion by Councilor Elm, seconded by Councilor Ledin and carried to hold this item in committee. Meeting adjourned at 6:55 p.m.