Minutes of the regular meeting of the Board of Police Commissioners held on Tuesday, July 5, 2005 in the Lower Conference Room, 3 Main Street, Newtown, CT. Vice-Chairman Finnegan called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m.
PRESENT: G. Finnegan, R. Connor, and R. Simon D. Giannini. ABSENT: C. Mattegat. ALSO PRESENT: Chief Kehoe, Captain Rios, three members of public, one member of press.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION. Bob Geckle, 35 Queen Street, presented an update of the plans for pedestrian safety implementation on Queen Street north. He is waiting to see if the owner of Eton Center will allow access to the paint store from his access; if not, the plan will be implemented anyway. There is $25,000 in the HVCEO budget for the study which will cost $45,000. First Selectman Rosenthal will try to fund the remaining $20,000 from Town funds. Mr. Geckle asked that the Police Commission follow up with Mr. Rosenthal. Mr. Geckle will ask Mr. Rosenthal if the project can begin with the $25,000. The Director of Public Works, Mr. Hurley, plans to stripe Queen Street. Mr. Geckle asked the Police Commission also to follow up with Mr. Hurley. Mr. Geckle requested an additional “No Through Trucks” sign at the corner of Queen Street and Glover Avenue south. Chief Kehoe said the sign should be placed at Route 302 and Glover to advise motorists before they get to Queen Street. He will
inquire if the State approved a sign at this location. Mr. Geckle said there are about 40 school buses per day using Queen Street; he said that some are empty. He asked that the Police Commission follow up with the Board of Education and ask them to reduce the number of buses. Chief Kehoe will request another meeting with the Board of Ed. Lisa Flores, 17 Queen Street, lives on the corner of Queen and Elizabeth Streets. She is concerned about the number of buses on the street. She said that about ten cars per day turn around in her driveway or her neighbor’s because the signage is poor. She asked for better signage or improvement to the curve in the road. Chief Kehoe said that perhaps larger signs are needed but he would like to wait until the pedestrian safety study is completed because the intersection at Church Hill, Queen Street and Glover Avenue may be changed Jill Bontificus Beaudry, 36 Queen Street, said that the island is a bus stop for high
school students. She said this is very dangerous and would like the Board of Education to move the stop to Grant Place. She said that the two lights at Queen-Church Hill and Queen-Big Y are not coordinated. Chief Kehoe said that the State will improve the lights in two years rather than in one year as planned because of lack of funding. Pedestrian stanchions for the four intersections will be included in the State project. Mrs. Beaudry said that the button on the pedestrian stanchion at Big Y does not work and that traffic does not stop when people are in the cross walk. Captain Rios noted that when the cross walk is at a traffic signal, traffic has the right of way with a green light and that pedestrians have the right of way at a cross walk where there is no traffic signal.
MINUTES. The minutes and addendum of the regular meeting of June 7, 2005 were unanimously accepted as presented. At that meeting no action was taken on matters of interest to the public.
CHIEF’S ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT (June, 2005).
Overtime was a little high because officers took time off that was mandated by contract. Budget balances for salaries will change because of salaries in the last half of June. GL balances are not remarkable. Fleet. one car was ordered from 2003-04 funds and two from 2004-05 funds and all will be delivered in the summer. Personnel – candidates will be interviewed tonight. We have one seat in the August class. Training is noted as distributed to the Commission. There were several letters of appreciation including one from Captain Rios for his being selected for the FBI training which he just completed. Parking deck concrete has been poured. We are waiting for the steel. The project should be completed by September. Click it
or Ticket campaign is one of the ongoing grants. Crime statistics for 2003 were received from the State as well as “Comprehensive Traffic Safety Data.”.
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CAPTAIN’S OPERATIONAL REPORT (June, 2005) included monthly calls for service, motor vehicle activity, DUI activity and detective division analysis reports were included. The Expanded DUI Grant will continue for the summer. DUI checkpoint resulted in 700 vehicles going through with two DUI arrests. Commissioner Simon reported that the officers were very professional. Captain Rios said that the Click it or Ticket program May 22 through June 23 resulted in 160 summons. There were extra patrols on the holiday weekend. Captain Rios said that his ten weeks of training at the F.B.I. national academy included physical fitness, academics and networking and included officers from around the country as well as around the world. He felt this was a life altering experience and he was honored to go. He thanks
the Chief and the Police Commission for selecting him for this training and he thanks the Chief and the Department for taking over his responsibilities while he was gone. There is ongoing training on installing child car seats properly. Four officers are trained technicians.
OLD BUSINESS
Request for secondary employment for Officer Jeff Silver. Officer Silver was granted secondary employment three years ago and requests an extension. Commissioner Simon moved to approve Officer Jeff Silver’s extension for secondary employment, second by Commissioner Giannini and unanimously carried.
Reduction of speed limit on Church Hill Road for the Sandy Hook Streetscape Project. Chief Kehoe reported that the State Traffic Commission (STC) is looking to lower the speed limit on Church Hill Road near Dayton Street because a cross walk will be installed there. Commissioner Simon moved to recommend that the speed limit on Church Hill Road at Dayton Street be reduced to the speed as recommended by the STC for the Sandy Hook Streetscape Project, second by Commissioner Giannini and unanimously carried.
Toll Brothers, Oakview Road. Chief Kehoe noted that the original plans presented to the Police Commission several months ago were changed in that the exit is now perpendicular rather than at an angle that would make a right turn difficult. He thought this may have been changed so that emergency vehicles could use this entrance and exit rather than using the swing gate. The Commission feels that allowing traffic to exit to the right would cause safety concerns with the additional traffic that would go to Wasserman Way rather than to Route 34 as in the original plans. Commissioner Simon moved that the exit go back to the left turn only and that emergency vehicles have access through the swing gate. Second by Commissioner Giannini for discussion. Commission Giannini said that perhaps there are other things that
the Commission is not aware of such as planned improvements to Oakview Road that warranted this change in the plans. Motion unanimously carried.
NEW BUSINESS
Monaco Properties, South Main Street. Chief Kehoe reviewed the sight lines. He said there is a 500 foot sight line to the right but that the left turn sight line is an issue. He said that the STC must review and approve the sight lines. He feels that the STC must have approved the curb cut in the past because the site did have approval in the past but the project was never completed. This item will be tabled. The applicant will be asked to attend the August 2 meeting. Comments will then be sent to Planning and Zoning who will open their public hearing on August 4.
SNTF Participation. Chief Kehoe reported that the stipend will be reduced from $2,000 to $1,200. He recommends that we continue our participation because we participate for the experience, for networking and for the good will, not for the money. Commissioner Simon moved that we accept the stipend and continue to participate in the Statewide Narcotics Task Force program, second by Commissioner Giannini and unanimously carried.
Discussion on the Chief’s evaluation for 2004-05. Chief Kehoe said that the First Selectman will evaluate him next month. He asked if the Commission would like him to include any goals or objectives in his self-evaluation. Commissioner Simon does not feel that any goals need to be added. Commissioner Finnegan is very satisfied with Chief Kehoe’s handling of such matters as the dog issue and personnel matters. Chief Kehoe will prepare a draft of his evaluation and provide it to the Commissioners before the August 2 meeting.
COMMISSIONERS’ PARTICIPATION (NEXT AGENDA). None noted.
EXECUTIVE SESSION. Commissioner Simon moved to enter executive session at 8:39 p.m. to discuss police union contract negotiations and to interview Probationary Police Officer candidates and to invite Chief Kehoe and Captain Rios to attend, second by Commissioner Giannini and unanimously carried.
At this time the clerk left the meeting.
Ann M. Mazur, Clerk
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