MINUTES
BOARD OF PUBLIC SAFETY
JANUARY 8, 2003
A REGULAR MEETING of the Board of Public Safety was held on Wednesday, January 8, 2003, in the Council Chambers.
Attending was Mayor Owen J. Quinn, Jr., along with members of the Board of Public Safety, Richard L. Zaharek, Robert C. Zordan, Thomas T. Telman, Jr. James E. Potter, Carolann Kennedy-Pucino, and Christopher H. Cook (arrived at 7:43 p.m.), Corporation Counsel Al Vasko, Police Chief Roger Janelle, Deputy Police Chief Robert Milano, Traffic Officer Robert Shopey, and Fire Chief John Field. Absent were Deputy Fire Chief Jaye Giampaolo, Torringford Volunteer Fire Chief Brian Cornell, Drakeville Volunteer Fire Chief Aaron Picz, and Burrville Volunteer Fire Chief Jason Noad.
Mayor Quinn called the meeting to order at 7:36 P.M.
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC #030
On a motion by Commissioner Pucino, seconded by Commissioner Zordan, the board voted unanimously to open the meeting to the public.
There wasn’t any public participation.
PATROL DIVISION REPORT #040
On a motion by Commissioner Zordan, seconded by Commissioner Telman, the board voted unanimously to accept the Patrol Division Report for December 2002.
INVESTIGATIVE SERVICES REPORT # 050
On a motion by Commissioner Pucino, seconded by Commissioner Potter, the board voted unanimously to accept the Investigative Services Report for December 2002.
TRAFFIC UNIT REPORT #060
On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Zordan, the board voted unanimously to accept the Traffic Unit Reports for November and December 2002.
CASSON AVENUE #070
On a motion by Commissioner Telman, seconded by Commissioner Pucino, a discussion took place in regard to the Traffic Officer’s recommendation to post as “No Parking” the west curb of Wall Street from its intersection with Casson Avenue to the bridge over the Naugatuck River.
Officer Shopey reported a problem with O & G trucks trying to exit the road. Even a small delivery truck could not adequately make the turn when cars are parked in the area, and snow was compounding the problem. The only remedy was to post “No Parking” from Casson, through Plain St. to the bridge.
Commissioner Potter expressed his concern over the elimination of parking for several businesses in the area, Officer Shopey suggested that they could limit the no parking from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
On a motion by Commissioner Telman, seconded by Commissioner Zaharek, the board voted unanimously to accept Traffic Officer Shopey’s recommendation to post as “No Parking from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday” the west curb of Wall Street from its intersection with Casson Avenue to the bridge over the Naugatuck River.
CHIEF FIELD’S REPORT #260
On a motion by Commissioner Zordan, seconded by Commissioner Pucino, the board voted unanimously to accept Chief Field’s report for December 2002.
DEPUTY CHIEF GIAMPAOLO’S REPORT #420
On behalf of the board, Mayor Quinn expressed his condolences to the family of Deputy Chief Giampaolo on the passing of his father.
On a motion by Commissioner Zordan, seconded by Commissioner Pucino, the board voted unanimously to accept Deputy Chief Giampaolo’s report for December 2002.
The air-conditioning compressor on ladder two was inoperable and would be repaired in the spring.
Firefighters had been fitted for their new turn out gear and were awaiting their arrival.
Chief Field reported that they were still working on the glitches in the radio system.
He didn’t believe these glitches had anything to do with the problems related to the Drakeville siren. The radio service person for the career department agreed to meet with Drakeville’s radio service person during the next Fire Service Coordination Committee meeting to discuss the matter.
FIRE MARSHAL & TRAINING OFFICER’S REPORT # 530
On a motion by Commissioner Pucino, seconded by Commissioner Telman, the board voted unanimously to accept the Fire Marshal and Training Officer’s report for December 2002.
INCIDENT REPORT #540
On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Zordan, the board voted unanimously to accept the Incident Report for December 2002.
FIRST RESPONDER SUPPLEMENTAL APPLICATION #560
On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Telman, the board voted unanimously to discuss the First Responder Supplemental application. (Tabled 8/14/02, 10/9/02, 11/13/02, & 12/18/02.)
Chief Field stated that he had furnished the board with a copy of the agreement for their review and was hoping to discuss any comments or questions they might have. It was his understanding that the Union was ready to take action. He reviewed the agreement with the Personnel Director, who suggested several minor changes, including the Title, and words like “is,” and “will.”
Commissioner Zordan said he was satisfied with it. He was looking to make certain the firefighters wouldn’t ask for additional compensation for going over and above their present duties.
Chief Field noted that the bargaining unit wanted to make certain their response wasn’t going to change from their present policy. If there was a change, it would be considered a change in working conditions. The main focus of the agreement was to address any possible or questionable liability to the city, the Fire Department or the individuals themselves when the Fire Department render’s medical assistance, and Chief Field stated that there was no change at this time to the response.
Corp. Counsel Vasko stated that he and Chief Field had reviewed the agreement and that it had addressed his concerns.
Chief Field reported that the agreement had not been signed off. He wanted to give the board the opportunity to ask questions. He would have a final draft prepared for next month’s meeting.
DISCRIMINATION & HARASSMENT POLICY #680
This item was deleted from the agenda. Chief Field requested it be kept off the agenda until further notice.
RESCHEDULE MEETING #700
Due to the holiday on February 12, the Board of Public Safety’s next meeting will be held in March.
BUSINESS BY DEPARTMENT HEADS #840
On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Cook, the board voted unanimously to consider business presented by Department Heads.
Chief Janelle reported that Officer Linas Venclauskas has returned from military duty. He reported that the amount of overtime spent to replace Officer Venclauskas while he was gone, was slightly more than $5,000.00. Officer Deland was also back on the force and the cost to replace him was almost $900.00.
The board commended Chief Janelle for keeping those costs down to a minimum.
It was reported that Firefighter Sterling was also back from military duty.
Mayor Quinn pointed out that Deputy Police Chief Milano’s daughter, a sophomore in college, was interning in the Economic Development Coordinator’s Office and doing some great volunteer work for the City of Torrington.
Officer Shopey pointed out that former Commissioner McLeod was finding it difficult to meet his commitment as Chairman of the Parking Ticket Appeals Committee, and that his back up, City Clerk Joseph L. Quartiero, was also unavailable at that time due to monthly department head meetings.
The board decided to start hearing the appeals at 9:30 a.m. instead of 10:00 a.m. Mr. Quartiero could hear them prior to going to the department head meeting.
BUSINESS: MAYOR AND MEMBERS #1100
On a motion by Commissioner Telman, seconded by Commissioner Zordan, the board voted unanimously to consider business presented by Mayor Quinn and members of the Board of Public Safety.
Commissioner Zordan expressed his concern over Chief Field’s hesitation in providing the board with a report on the new vehicle replacement policy, and Chief Field’s response that such a report would have to come from the Mayor’s Office. According to the Charter, it stated that the Board of Public Safety should be able to obtain any information from either one of the departments without having to go through the Mayor’s Office.
Mayor Quinn pointed out that he had requested Chief Field to furnish him with such a report, and, since the request came from the Mayor, Chief Field was correct in directing any board member wishing to have a copy to go through the Mayor’s office to get one.
Commissioner Telman indicated that this matter should be reviewed and resolved prior to working on budgets.
Commissioner Zordan inquired how the fire trucks were managing to get around on streets that were much narrower due to snow piles on each side.
Mayor Quinn stated that the Public Works Department would be directed to remove the snow off any street that is deemed a safety hazzard.
Commissioner Telman inquired about the Fire Department’s comp. time.
Commissioner Telman also inquired whether the board will repeat last year’s budget process to split three board members for each department.
Mayor Quinn suggested the board members could decide amongst themselves how they wanted to be divided.
Commissioner Potter stated that Chief Field’s report on vehicle replacement ended up being more of a recommendation by the Chief with regard to his needs for vehicles, and where the volunteers could fit into the program. He noted that the board’s only concern was to get a newer and safer vehicle for the road, and that they were still waiting to get the results of the grant. It was also his belief that the board wanted to protect the funds they had been setting aside for years toward this vehicle.
Mayor Quinn said they needed to start from scratch and come up with a policy to find out what’s in the inventory and what needs to be done.
Commissioner Potter asked Mayor Quinn for an update on discussions held by the City Council in regard to the Board of Safety’s recent approval on the “Phone Bid” and “Trench Coat Bid” and how department heads were expected to handle future expenditures.
Mayor Quinn stated that the Council voted to table the Police Department’s request for the purchase of a hostage phone, and the Fire Department’s request for trench coats, because they were reluctant to expend future dollars even though the items had been budgeted and approved, due to the budget crisis on the state level, and not knowing what the cuts from the state were going to be to finish the year.
The Council further suggested that no new expenditures be brought forward until they had more information on where the budget stands, not doing any new hiring even though it was budgeted, and reduce all city budgets across the board by 15%.
Mayor Quinn accepted the Council’s recommendations as guidelines and stated that he would discuss them with department heads, however, he didn’t feel they had enough information at this time to warrant such action. It was his belief that every issue deserved to be evaluated on a case by case basis rather than across the board.
Chief Janelle inquired why an item already approved by the Board of Safety and the City Council at budget time, had to go back before the City Council for approval again.
ADJOURNMENT #2930
On a motion by Commissioner Telman, seconded by Commissioner Zordan, the board voted unanimously to adjourn at 8:58 p.m.
ATTEST: JOSEPH L. QUARTIERO, CCTC, CMC
CITY CLERK
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