8-22-19 Public Safety Committee

City of Tybee Island Public Safety Committee Notes for 8-22-19 Meeting In attendance: Shawn Gillen, Barry Brown, John Branigin, Monty Parks, Chief Bryson, Chief Patterson, Major Moseley, Marshal Hattrich, Marshal Griesbach, George Shaw, Alice Jonsson Wanda Doyle called the meeting to order at 10:00 AM. John Branigin made a motion to approve the minutes from June 27th, 2019. Wanda Doyle seconded the motion. Motion approved. Golf Cart Regulations: Shawn Gillen went over a proposed changes to City’s golf cart ordinance that would allow for annual checks on insurance. Proposed changes were created by Parking Services, TIPD, and City Manager, in collaboration. T-Number scheme would start over. Checks would occur off-season when it’s less busy. All T-Number holders would be alerted via mail of changes, if Council approves of changes. Renewal fee would stay the same - $15.00. John Branigin and Wanda Doyle would like the proposal run by Bubba Hughes. Dispatch would have access to more information under the proposal. We have current staff to implement proposed changes. Inspections would be on specific Saturdays or by appointment to help TIPD manage the process. Group discussed golf carts accessing East of Butler and how it can be done safely and legally – what is and isn’t working – with the small number of carts who need to access homes on the beachside of Butler. John Branigin is in favor of allowing officers discretion in terms of handling carts on Butler, doesn’t like zero-tolerance approach. Wanda Doyle wants rental companies to communicate the rules very clearly to seasonal golf cart renters. Wanda Doyle would like to revisit the issue. John Branigin is concerned about people bringing uninspected carts onto the island and thinks we need to make sure they don’t have loopholes. Wanda Doyle would like to look at the issue in the second Council meeting of October. One-way on Meddin: Shawn Gillen shared a map that Pete Gulbronson created that illustrates proposed Meddin Dr. changes. A public meeting will be held to allow folks who are directly impacted to share their views, within the next sixty days. City Hall would like for any changes to occur prior to next tourist season. John Branigin expressed concern over safety of pedestrians on the narrow roads in North End of island. Pete Gulbronson agrees a change makes sense to promote safety, especially given the variety of folks using the space from pedestrians all the way to large buses. Group discussed myriad aspects of proposal: painted lane for pedestrians, other streets impacted, drop-offs for buses, truck traffic, North Beach parking lot traffic flow, larger and smaller buses, signage, speed-humps/bumps. Wanda Doyle supports Townhall meeting. Shawn Gillen agreed to meeting before the end of Sept. with the public. TIPD Salaries: John Branigin brought up ‘larger issue’ of pay ranges for starting salaries and beyond. Feels we need to re-examine pay ranges because we have too many employees stuck in the bottom quarter of the range. John Branigin thinks it’s a complex issue that perhaps warrants a class and comp. study. Barry Brown doesn’t like signing bonus unless the person has passed 90 day limit and thinks that police aren’t paid enough. John Branigin asked how fast the Chiefs would like the City to act. Chief Bryson said there’s an 8-10 thousand dollar starting pay gap when compared with neighboring agencies like Port Wentworth, who also offer better benefits. Chief Bryson shared that our police can’t afford to live in the community they are policing and would like help getting over the $40,000.00 line to catch interest of young applicants. Chief Patterson shared Chief Bryson’s concerns. Chief Patterson doesn’t just want to bump starting-pay because it can create inequity with older employees. Chief Patterson also shared people are having a negative response to the insurance offerings. Group discussed different types of class and comp. studies and pros and cons. Group decided to bring some of these issues to the Finance Committee who can then bring back a response to Council. Miller Ave: Wanda Doyle shared that resident is concerned about speeding on Miller near Highway 80. Wanda Doyle would like the speed sign on Miller to show people their driving speed. The resident wants a stop sign. Wanda Doyle and Shawn Gillen discussed speed hump options. Group decided within a week the speed sign could be there. Enforcement of Disorderly House Ordinance: Wanda Doyle asked the Marshals to share some data on how enforcement is going, especially with regards to noisy pool areas. The Marshals shared information with the group. Warnings have been issued or calls have been deemed unfounded. Wanda Doyle shared new renters create calls and owners need to be called, too, to break the cycle. Shawn Gillen explained the ordinance and that it takes a long time for it to escalate, from the City’s perspective, because of the way the ordinance is written. The Marshals explained that management companies have been consistently contacted. If the owner manages the property, they speak with the owner. The Marshals don’t know if the management companies are contacting owners. The group discussed tweaking the ordinance to make it easier for citations to be written. The group discussed the City’s noise ordinance. The Marshals explained how they respond to calls. Wanda asked for a full report on who is being contacted under the Disorderly House Ordinance – all reports to the Marshals on STVRs and Disorderly House – for Sept. Public Safety Committee meeting. The Marshals feel that they can at least provide the STVR data by Sept. meeting. Rental Agreement with AJ’s: Chief Patterson brought lease to committee for their blessing. They gave their blessing. Camera on North Beach Discussion: Chief Patterson shared that having a camera on North End of island would be very helpful. Chief Patterson wants to know if we could use the new Marine Science Center building for the camera and will be bringing back more info. to the Sept. meeting. Tow Truck Discussion: John Branigin and Chief Bryson spoke about how long it takes to get a tow truck out to the island and how having our own truck accessibility could benefit the citizens. Chief Bryson talked about how towing DUIs alone could help pay for our own truck. Wanda Doyle would like for Chief Bryson and the City Manager to sit and have a discussion and then bring a proposal back to the committee. City Manager Comments: City will be working on signage on the North End. Chief Patterson gave update on new hires. Chief explained the City’s willingness to hire uncertified people was helpful. John Branigin made a motion to adjourn. Wanda Doyle seconded the motion. Meeting adjourned at 11:15.