Public Safety Committee

Village of Wellington 12300 Forest Hill Blvd Wellington, FL 33414 Action Summary Wednesday, September 27, 2017 7:00 PM Village Hall - Council Chambers Public Safety Committee Ron Herman, Chair Mohammad Junaid Akther, Vice Chair Jacqueline Hutman Matt Kurit Ernie Zimmerman Cherie McBrayer Michael Weil Public Safety Committee Action Summary September 27, 2017 I Call to Order Mr. Herman called the meeting to order @ 7pm II Pledge of Allegiance III Roll Call Mr. Herman asked for a roll call. Mr. Herman, Mr. Kurit, Mr. Zimmerman, Mr. Akther and Ms. McBrayer were present. Ms. Hutman was absent. Mr. Rosenblum had tendered his resignation. IV Selection of New Chair A. PSC-079 SELECTION OF NEW CHAIR Mr. Herman stated that he would be happy to serve as Chair subsequent Mr. Rosenblum's resignation if the Committee so chose. Mr. Herman asked for other nominations. Mr. Akther nominated Mr. Herman, seconded by Mr. Kurit. Hearing no other nominations, motion passed unanimously 5-0. Ms. Hutman was absent. Mr. Herman asked for nominations for Vice Chair. Mr. Herman nominated Mr. Akther, seconded by Ms. McBrayer. Hearing no other nominations, he called for a vote. Mr. Kurit made the motion, seconded by Ms. McBrayer. Motion passed unanimously 5-0. Ms. Hutman was absent. Mr. Akther thanked the Committee. V Opening Comments Mr. Herman thanked the Committee for being selected as the new Chair. Village of Wellington Page 1 Public Safety Committee Action Summary September 27, 2017 Mr. Zimmerman asked the new member to introduce herself. Ms. McBrayer introduced herself and provided a brief biography. Mr. Akther also provided some background on himself. VI Approval of Agenda A. PSC-080 APPROVAL OF AGENDA Mr. Kurit made the motion to approve the agenda as presented, seconded by Mr. Zimmerman. Motion passed unanimously 5-0. Ms. Hutmam was absent. VII Approval of Minutes A. PSC-081 APPROVAL OF MINUTES Mr. Zimmerman made a motion to approve the minutes of the June 28, 2017 meeting as presented, seconded by Mr. Kurit. Motion passed unanimously 5-0. Ms. Hutman was absent. VIII Staff Report A. PSC-083 STAFF REPORT Ms. Edwards provided information on the Village wide neighborhood watch meeting scheduled to take place on Wednesday, October 18th at 6:00 p.m. at the Wellington Community Center. Ms. Edwards stated that she felt it would be a good opportunity for the Committee to attend and network with the neighborhood watch groups and watch captains. Captain Silva would also be in attendance. Lt. Shaivitz responded to a question regarding sober homes in Wellington, stating that the majority of homes located in Wellington did not receive complaints. Similar to Section 8 residences, most did not present an issue. The total number of sober homes located in Wellington was unknown as many were operating without a license. There was not a large number of arrests associated with individuals residing in Wellington sober homes. Village of Wellington Page 2 Public Safety Committee Action Summary September 27, 2017 B. PSC-084 PALM BEACH COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT DISTRICT 8 WELLINGTON REPORT Lt. Shaivitz spoke briefly about the 27 year old Wellington homicide case that had been recently solved. He also reported on vehicle burglaries, noting that last year Wellington had 294 as compared to 354 in 2015. Partnership with other districts had been successful in dealing with vehicle burglaries. The overwhelming majority of vehicle burglaries were to unlocked vehicles where perpetrators could also gain access to the residence by way of spare keys left in the vehicle or a garage door remote. Deputies had also been placed in various school locations to address traffic issues. Wellington's Council had also considered a resolution at the September 26th meeting regarding making texting and driving a primary offense. PBSO had a new Don't Text and Drive display vehicle that would be taken to schools as well as events such as the National Night Out Against Crime and area sports events. Mr. Akther suggested the placement of Don't Text and Drive signs around the Village. The main safety concern during hurricane season was motorists being on the roadways immedialy following a storm when signals might still be down and roads affected by debris. Wellington had placed stop signs in many locations as an additional cautionary measure. Mr. Herman wanted to explore ways to garner more participation from residents at their meetings. C. PSC-085 PALM BEACH COUNTY FIRE RESCUE REPORT Chief Rowley stated that he had replaced Chief Arena after his retirement. He had reviewed previous meeting videos and noted some discussion on storm shelters. Palm Beach Central and Seminole Ridge were now shelters. Royal Palm High was not a County shelter. Most County shelters reached capacity during the storm. Special needs Village of Wellington Page 3 Public Safety Committee Action Summary September 27, 2017 shelters required prior registration. They had taken some special needs patients at Palm Beach Central due to other shelters being at capacity. Response Times for August reported 411 calls with an average response time of 6.34. There were 8 fires and 293 medical calls during the month of August. The Chief cautioned residents regarding leaving shutters up on their homes after a storm as this could cause a life safety issue in the event emergency responders needed to gain access. He also spoke about generator safety. IX Old Business X New Business A. PSC-086 WEBSITE DISCUSSION Mr. Herman spoke about ways that the Committee might work to engage residents such as adding other public safety related information to the Village's website on the Committee's page similar to the City of Miami Lakes website. He also asked about adding Committee meeting information to the Village's Facebook page. Information could be added ahead of a scheduled meeting for Committee members to share to their own pages. Mr. Akther asked whether they could schedule a joint meeting with some of the Village's other Committee's. Mr. Kurit suggested doing something with regard to school and park safety. Mr. Herman asked that they have a crime update at every meeting and asked whether they could do a lunch meeting similar to the Chamber in order to garner a larger audience. Ms. Edwards suggested they look at inviting a particular group to an upcoming meeting. Attending the Village wide neighborhood watch meeting was a good way to network with watch captains and COP's as well as an opportunity to meet and engage with residents. She would send information regarding upcoming watch meetings and locations. Mr. Kurit suggesting inviting the Education Committee to a joint meeting along with local school leaders to discuss school safety issues and Village of Wellington Page 4 Public Safety Committee Action Summary September 27, 2017 bullying. Mr. Akther inquired about the possibility of meeting with the Village's Communications staff in order to learn what the Department does and discuss Facebook, tweeting and other social media platforms as well as ways to market the Committee. XI Public Comments XII Open Discussion and Closing Comments Mr. Zimmerman asked about meeting monthly. Ms. Edwards responded that their previous requests had been forwarded to Village Administration. Mr. Herman stated that the first step would be to get more residents to attend their quarterly meeting and get more engaged before looking at meeting more frequently. He stated that at this time it would not be fruitful to meet more freqently. Mr. Akther agreed that their focus should be on gaining attendance and participation. . XIV Adjournment Mr. Kurit made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Mr. Zimmerman. Meeting adjourned at 8:55 p.m. Village of Wellington Page 5