MINUTES
BOARD OF PUBLIC SAFETY
JULY 21, 2004
The REGULAR MEETING of the Board of Public Safety scheduled for Wednesday, July 14, 2004, was adjourned and held on Wednesday, July 21, 2004, in the Council Chambers.
Those in attendance included Mayor Owen J. Quinn, Jr., members of the Board of Public Safety, Richard L. Zaharek, Douglas J. Benedetto, Christopher H. Cook, Carolann Kennedy-Pucino, and Michael Colangelo, Corporation Counsel Al Vasko, Acting Police Chief Robert Milano, Traffic Officer Robert Shopey, Fire Chief John Field, and Deputy Fire Chief Jaye Giampaolo. Absent were Commissioner Thomas T. Telman, Jr., 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 7:30 P.M.
MINUTES #020
On a motion by Commissioner Cook, seconded by Commissioner Colangelo, the Board voted unanimously to accept the minutes of the regular meeting held June 9, 2004.
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC #030
On a motion by Commissioner Cook, seconded by Commissioner Benedetto, the Board voted unanimously to open the meeting to the public.
Glen Royals, Calhoun Street, handed Mayor Quinn a petition signed by 841 Torrington residents who felt it was a waste of time for city officials to perform a job search when Deputy Police Chief Robert Milano was the best candidate for the Police Chief’s position.
Mayor Quinn explained the process to Mr. Royals. The expiration date on the advertisement has passed and applications have been received. He will meet with the Board of Public Safety to interview applicants and determine the extent of testing they wish to do. For the record, Mayor Quinn said “We do understand that there is a Charter that governs the way we do things, and one of those that you’d be interested in is, it does say in that charge, that preference should be given, it doesn’t explain exactly what preference is, but I’m cognizant of what it says in the Charter and I think that what we’re going to do is put forth an open and fair process and that’s where we’re going to end it. I don’t know when it will end, but sooner rather than later.
And, not expecting delays, but making a deliberative choice in the quickest time possible.” He thanked all those who participated in the petition process.
Mr. Royals said he thought the city made a wise choice in moving the Deputy Tax Assessor to the Tax Assessor’s position and hoped the same would occur for the Police Chief’s position.
DETECTIVE BAROWN
On a motion by Commissioner Cook, seconded by Commissioner Zaharek, the Board voted unanimously to accept Acting Chief Milano’s recommendation that Detective Barown become a permanent Detective with the Torrington Police Department.
POLICE OFFICER FARFAN
On a motion by Commissioner Zaharek, seconded by Commissioner Benedetto, the Board voted unanimously to accept Acting Chief Milano’s recommendation that Officer Farfan become a permanent member of the Torrington Police Department.
Mayor Quinn commended Officer Farfan for her participation on the Mayor’s Committee on Hispanic Affairs.
LAW ENFORCEMENT CHALLENGE #450
Acting Chief Milano informed Mayor Quinn and the Board that the Traffic Unit of the Torrington Police Department had received Honorable Mention from the International Association of Chiefs of Police, 2003 Law Enforcement Challenge, for submitting their model of traffic engineering and enforcement in written form. This has enabled the city to get additional funds, which Officer Shopey will explain. (See #1680).
No action was required.
PATROL / SUPPORT REPORTS #520
On a motion by Commissioner Colangelo, seconded by Commissioner Zaharek, the Board voted unanimously to accept the Patrol Division and Support Services reports for June 2004.
INVESTIGATIVE SERVICES REPORT #530
On a motion by Commissioner Cook, seconded by Commissioner Benedetto, the Board voted unanimously to accept the Investigative Services Report for June 2004.
ABANDONED VEHICLES REPORT #535
On a motion by Commissioner Cook, seconded by Commissioner Colangelo, the Board voted unanimously to accept the Abandoned Vehicles Report for June 2004.
TRAFFIC UNIT REPORT #560
On a motion by Commissioner Cook, seconded by Commissioner Benedetto, the Board voted unanimously to accept the Traffic Unit Report for June 2004.
TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT SQUAD REPORT #565
On a motion by Commissioner Zaharek, seconded by Commissioner Colangelo, the Board voted unanimously to accept the Traffic Enforcement Squad Report for June 2004.
BLOCK PARTY #580
On a motion by Commissioner Cook, seconded by Commissioner Benedetto, the Board voted unanimously to accept Officer Shopey’s recommendation to approve a block party for residents of Santa Maria Drive scheduled for Saturday, July 24, 2004 from 12:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. with a rain date of July 25, 2004.
TORRINGFORD EAST ST. #600
On a motion by Commissioner Cook, seconded by Commissioner Benedetto, the Board voted unanimously to cooperate with the towns of Harwinton and New Hartford to restrict truck traffic on Torringford East Street.
MEMO OF UNDERSTANDING #640
On a motion by Commissioner Colangelo, seconded by Commissioner Zaharek, the Board voted unanimously to accept the Memorandum of Understanding between the Torrington Police Department and the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles, Bureau of Safety and Enforcement, and Commercial Vehicle Safety Division concerning Commercial Vehicle Safety.
Acting Chief Milano said they had received word that Homeland Security was moving in the area of truck cargo safety. As the largest municipality in northwest Connecticut, the state is very interested in bringing Torrington up to speed on this issue and will provide us with assistance as well as a substantial amount of funds.
Mayor Quinn said “It’s important to note, the key in this whole thing, even with the Waterbury Republican talking about the distribution of towns, I think one of the things that came out and was reported in USA Today is that the greater Torrington area is what their new term of micropolitan area, which indicates that we’re not a metropolitan area because this center city or the anchor city is less than 50,000 population, but nonetheless, if you take the total population, then we do compare to larger areas and I think that message needs to be said on a more regular basis, because we do have a responsibility vis a vis the other smaller communities and yet, we’re not always compensated in just ways to mirror the responsibility that this state often thinks, our police, our fire, our services warrant when
it comes to looking at the Torringtons of the world and funding them vis a vis, the Hartfords, New Havens, Bridgeports.....It shows exactly what we’ve been saying for a long time, ‘We have big city issues and we’re not treated as a big city, usually by state or federal funding sources’.”
BLOCK PARTY: DEER PATH #760
On a motion by Commissioner Benedetto, seconded by Commissioner Cook, the board voted unanimously to accept Officer Shopey’s recommendation to approve the 5th Annual Block Party for residents of Deer Path scheduled for Saturday, August 14 from 5:30 p.m. until 11:00 p.m.
ARTWELL STREET FAIR #790
On a motion by Commissioner Pucino, seconded by Commissioner Colangelo, the board voted unanimously to accept Officer Shopey’s recommendation to seek a permit from the State Traffic Commission to close Main Street between Water and Mason on Sunday, August 15, 2004 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. with a rain date of Sunday, August 29, 2004 for the Artwell Street Fair.
CHIEF FIELD’S REPORT #840
On a motion by Commissioner Colangelo, seconded by Commissioner Benedetto, the board voted unanimously to accept Chief Field’s Report for June 2004.
DEPUTY CHIEF’S REPORT #850
On a motion by Commissioner Cook, seconded by Commissioner Zaharek, the board voted unanimously to accept Deputy Chief Giampaolo’s Report for June 2004.
FIRE MARSHAL & TRAINING OFFICER’S REPORTS #860
On a motion by Commissioner Cook, seconded by Commissioner Colangelo, the board voted unanimously to accept the reports from the Fire Marshal and the Training Officer for June 2004.
INCIDENT REPORT #870
On a motion by Commissioner Zaharek, seconded by Commissioner Benedetto, the board voted unanimously to accept the Incident Report for June 2004.
BUS: DEPT. HEADS #880
On a motion by Commissioner Colangelo, seconded by Commissioner Cook, the board voted unanimously to consider business presented by Department Heads.
Acting Police Chief Milano stated that the Personnel Committee recently interviewed applicants and two conditional offers of employment were made. He felt the pool of applicants needed to be refreshed and asked for permission to hold another round of testing.
The board gave him permission to proceed.
Acting Chief Milano also reported that Officer Kevin Tieman completed the requirements for his MBA and asked that a note be sent to him on behalf of the Mayor and the Board. Field training will begin shortly for Probationary Officers Dustin Baldis and Paul Abeling due to complete the academy on July 27th and Officer Paul Kalisz due to complete the academy on July 23rd. Officers Gregory Wityak and Kevin Sultaire will be on their own starting next week when they complete their field training.
For the record, Deputy Fire Chief Giampaolo said he was in support of Acting Chief Milano becoming Chief of Police. He pointed out that he and Chief Field are prime examples of promoting from within and he thought it was good for both departments to know they can aspire to acquire a top spot in their own organization. It creates a tremendous amount of motivation and morale in the department to know that the city they work in and live in cares enough about them to promote them to the top spot. There is no question in his mind that Deputy Chief Milano has served his time and deserves that position. It was his opinion that going outside of town to fill that spot would be a big mistake. As a taxpayer, he preferred not spending a tremendous amount of money and face the possibility of
selecting a candidate half as qualified as Deputy Chief Milano is to run the department. He urged the board to give Deputy Chief Milano the opportunity to move forward and everyone below him to move up as well.
BUS: MAYOR AND BOARD #1040
On a motion by Commissioner Cook, seconded by Commissioner
Benedetto, the Board voted unanimously to consider business
presented by Mayor Quinn and members of the Board of Public Safety.
Commissioner Pucino requested a yellow line painted down the middle of Hospital Hill.
Officer Shopey said he was hopeful to have a number of streets done by the end of the season.
She thanked Torringford and Drakeville Volunteer Fire Departments for inviting the board to their annual meeting and commended Torringford for their Car Show. She asked that those interested in participating in National Night Out contact Marianne Barbieri. She commended everyone involved in the 4th of July Fireworks display.
Commissioner Cook also commended the Police & Fire Department for their participation in the fireworks display.
He asked Acting Chief Milano to check on what type of work was being done by someone putting in 38+ hours above and beyond his normal shift during May and June.
Commissioner Zaharek inquired about the status of Bike Week.
Mayor Quinn stated that the city had accommodated Mr. Buley and the Motorcycle Rally for a number of years and Chief Janelle’s position was to bill them for costs associated with the closing of Main Street. To date, a balance of $15,000.00 remains. After consulting with the Police Department, Park & Recreation, and Economic Development, he felt there was a responsibility to pay the bill. Mr. Buley was invited to the Police Department and did not keep his appointment. Part of the problem was that Mr. Buley organizes Bike Week, holds the event, and then he disappears, leaving no telephone number or address, and walks back in his office the next spring and hands him the dates for the next event.
Mayor Quinn didn’t feel the need to oblige Mr. Buley in any way unless he paid the $15,000.00, except to offer him alternatives such as the Burrville Drive-in, the Kelley Property, or the municipal parking lot. Anything Mr. Buley does, however, will have to be coordinated.
Commissioner Zaharek said he hoped Bike Week wouldn’t interfere with the large number of busses expected at the Warner on Sunday, August 1, 2004.
Mayor Quinn said he met with Warner officials and discussed the matter with Acting Chief Milano. The chief had assured him that adequate forces will be in place to make certain that citizens, as well as bikers, are safe.
Mayor Quinn commended everyone involved in the spectacular fireworks display.
Mayor Quinn commended Officer Shopey for going above and beyond his duty when his superior training resulted in catching someone for illegal dumping.
ADD TO AGENDA #1610
On a motion by Commissioner Pucino, seconded by Commissioner Zaharek, the board voted unanimously to add two items to the Agenda by 2/3rds vote. (Heritage Day Fair and Purchase of Trailer for AIT.)
HERITAGE DAY #1630
On a motion by Commissioner Colangelo, seconded by Commissioner Benedetto, the board voted unanimously to accept Officer Shopey’s recommendation for permission to seek a permit from the State Traffic Commission to close Litchfield Street between Prospect and South Main on Saturday, August 14, 2004 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., with a rain date of Sunday, August 15, 2004.
Officer Shopey pointed out that the rain date could conflict with the Artwell Project.
PURCHASE: AIT TRAILER #1680
On a motion by Commissioner Pucino, seconded by Commissioner Zaharek, the board voted unanimously to approve the purchase of an enclosed cargo trailer for the use, storage and transportation of equipment used by the Accident Investigation Team. The cost of the trailer is $3,078.00. A gift of $2,500.00 awarded by the Department of Transportation, Office of Highway Safety for participating in the 2003 Law Enforcement Challenge (See #450) will be used to purchase the equipment. The remainder will be paid from the Accident Investigation Team line item. (Officer Shopey has since received a new quote for $2,600.00, from which $2,500.00 will come from the award and $100.00 from the Accident Investigation Team line item 0010-0023-5387-03.)
Under discussion, Mayor Quinn said he had no objection to this motion going forward, however, he clarified that he had issued an edict stating that any additions, deletions or alterations to the Vehicle Replacement Account as it exists requires prior approval from the Mayor’s Office. Another edict has also been sent stating that all departments must live within their line items and any expenditure above a line item, even though it’s under the cap of the total budget, needs approval by the Mayor and must be discussed with either the Board of Public Safety, City Council and/or the Board of Finance.
EXECUTIVE SESSION #1900
On a motion by Commissioner Colangelo, seconded by Commissioner Cook, the board voted unanimously to go into Executive Session at 8:25 p.m. under Personnel, Police Department and Acting Chief Milano was invited to attend.
ATTEST: JOLINE LeBLANC
ASST. CITY CLERK
On a motion by Commissioner Cook, seconded by Commissioner Colangelo, the Board voted unanimously to reconvene into Open Session.
No motions were made.
On a motion by Commissioner Cook, seconded by Commissioner Colangelo, the Board voted unanimously to adjourn at 8:45 p.m.
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