MINUTES
BOARD OF PUBLIC SAFETY
SEPTEMBER 8, 2004
A REGULAR MEETING of the Board of Public Safety was held on Wednesday, September 8, 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, Michael Colangelo, and Thomas T. Telman, Jr., Corporation Counsel Al Vasko, Acting Police Chief Robert Milano, Traffic Officer Robert Shopey, Fire Chief John Field, Deputy Fire Chief Jaye Giampaolo, and Torringford Volunteer Fire Chief Brian Cornell. Absent was Drakeville Volunteer Fire Chief Aaron Picz and Burrville Volunteer Fire Chief Jason Noad.
Mayor Quinn called the meeting to order at 7:35 P.M.
MINUTES #010
On a motion by Commissioner Cook, seconded by Commissioner Colangelo, the board voted, with the exception of Commissioner Telman who abstained, to accept the minutes of the regular meeting held August 11, 2004.
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC #020
On a motion by Commissioner Colangelo, seconded by Commissioner Cook, the board voted unanimously to open the meeting to the public.
Glen Royals requested an update on the search for a new Police Chief.
Mayor Quinn indicated that the search was going very well, however, there was no report available at this time.
Mr. Royals then turned his questions to Commissioner Cook, member of the Search Committee.
Commissioner Cook said the Committee would meet in the near future to review all applications received.
PROBATIONARY OFFICERS: SABIS & LAPERRIERE #090
On a motion by Commissioner Cook, seconded by Commissioner Zaharek, the board voted unanimously to accept Acting Chief Milano’s recommendation that Brian Sabis and Robert Laperriere be appointed to probationary status at the convenience of the Torrington Police Department and the Academy schedule. Their swearing in will take place closer to when the Academy seats open. Their official work date will be determined by the Academy.
RESIGNATION: JOSEF D’UVA #170
On a motion by Commissioner Cook, seconded by Commissioner Benedetto, the board voted unanimously to accept the letter of resignation from Officer Josef D’Uva, effective September 24, 2004.
PATROL & SUPPORT REPORTS #180
On a motion by Commissioner Cook, seconded by Commissioner Benedetto, the board voted unanimously to accept the Patrol Division and Support Services Reports for August 2004.
INVESTIGATIVE REPORT #190
On a motion by Commissioner Benedetto, seconded by Commissioner Colangelo, the board voted unanimously to accept the Investigative Services Report for August 2004.
ABANDONED VEHICLES REPORT #200
On a motion by Commissioner Cook, seconded by Commissioner Zaharek, the board voted unanimously to accept the Abandoned Vehicles Report for August 2004.
TRAFFIC UNIT REPORT #210
On a motion by Commissioner Colangelo, seconded by Commissioner Benedetto, the board voted unanimously to accept the Traffic Unit Report for August 2004.
TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT SQUAD REPORT #220
On a motion by Commissioner Cook, seconded by Commissioner Colangelo, the board voted unanimously to accept the Traffic Enforcement Squad Report for August 2004.
INCREASE PARKING TICKET PENALTIES #220
On a motion by Commissioner Cook, seconded by Commissioner Colangelo, the board voted unanimously to accept Officer Shopey’s recommendation to double all parking ticket fines, except for the handicap fine which will remain the same, and referred the matter to the Ordinance Committee.
During a brief discussion, Officer Shopey pointed out that when Commissioners and City Council members asked about the possibility of increasing fines in the past, it would have been too costly to make the change because he had just ordered a large quantity of tickets. Since it was time for him to reorder tickets, he felt it was appropriate to make the change. The supply of printed tickets normally last a couple of years, and fines have not been raised in Torrington since 1990. Surrounding towns are approximately $10.00 to $15.00 higher than Torrington.
PURCHASE AERIAL DEVICE & FORD F-350 #290
On a motion by Commissioner Cook, seconded by Commissioner Colangelo, the board voted unanimously to accept the recommendations from the Purchasing Agent and the Superintendent of Equipment Maintenance to purchase an Altec Model AT30-G aerial device mounted on a Ford F-350 cab and chassis for $49,555.00 to be used by the Traffic Division and referred the matter to the City Council. Funds are available in the Traffic Department’s Vehicle Replacement Acct.
REPLACEMENT OF GLOCK FIREARMS #330
On a motion by Commissioner Cook, seconded by Commissioner Benedetto, the board voted unanimously to approve the replacement of Glock firearms.
Acting Chief Milano stated that the department’s 9 mm Glock firearms were nearly eight years old and beginning to have maintenance issues. Through the efforts of Officer Peters, the department came upon a vendor who was willing to re-supply them with new Glocks for $114.00 per unit, plus trade-in of their old pistols. Acting Chief Milano informed the board that he could make priority changes in his training and equipment budgets to account for this cost factor, (eighty-five guns for a total expenditure of $9,600.00) and strongly urged the board to approve this matter.
Officer Peters and Lt. Balzano displayed a model of the proposed Glock firearm to the board and explained its components.
CHIEF FIELD’S REPORT #500
On a motion by Commissioner Colangelo, seconded by Commissioner Benedetto, the board voted unanimously to accept Chief Field’s Report for August 2004.
DEPUTY CHIEF’S REPORT #510
On a motion by Commissioner Cook, seconded by Commissioner Colangelo, the board voted unanimously to accept Deputy Chief Giampaolo’s Report for August 2004.
FIRE MARSHAL & TRAINING OFFICER’S REPORT #520
On a motion by Commissioner Benedetto, seconded by Commissioner Cook, the board voted unanimously to accept the reports from the Fire Marshal and the Training Officer for August 2004.
INCIDENT REPORT #530
On a motion by Commissioner Cook, seconded by Commissioner Colangelo, the board voted unanimously to accept the Incident Report for August 2004.
BOILER BID: FIRE DEPARTMENT #540
On a motion by Commissioner Cook, seconded by Commissioner Colangelo, the board voted unanimously to accept the Purchasing Agent’s recommendation to award the “Furnish & Install Boiler at Fire Department” Bid to the low bidder, All State Boiler & Construction, Inc., for $24,713.00 and referred the matter to the City Council.
BUS: DEPT. HEADS #570
On a motion by Commissioner Colangelo, seconded by Commissioner Benedetto, the board voted unanimously to consider business presented by Department Heads.
Acting Police Chief Milano informed the board that multiple vehicles are necessary to transport prisoners to court. Because of that, they have explored the possibility of obtaining a used prisoner transport vehicle. They spoke with the state agency in charge of getting rid of traditional State Marshals’ vehicles and found these vehicles were in bad shape with high mileage. Litchfield Ford contacted Mike Michaud about a prisoner transport vehicle which they had. Mike Michaud and Acting Chief Milano inspected the vehicle, a 2003 model in very good condition with only 6,000 miles. It has a fifteen-year life, perhaps longer, meets the department’s needs, and the purchase price is $20,000.00. It will transport 12 to 14 prisoners and has room for four officers in the
front cab. Mr. Michaud’s recommendation was to purchase the vehicle. In return for the purchase of the transport vehicle, three vehicles would be deleted from the current inventory.
Mayor Quinn said “And the other thing is that we won’t be using the regular patrol cars to be doing the pinch running that we’re doing, which is ineffective and a waste of manpower. So, between the three vehicles going out, besides the cost savings on the other, making this vehicle added in the inventory as a new purchase, is going through the paperwork that’s been prescribed by the Mayor’s Office on adding or deleting inventory items. So, it fits with the policy and makes good sense, it’s cost savings to the taxpayer and, as Rit points out, it’s a great price for what we had. We were looking at state inventory, this is a win/win and kind of a miracle to be getting the telephone call at the same time we were looking to make a move in that direction. That
basically will, the document is being prepared tomorrow from Mike Michaud for the new vehicle purchase, come to me for a signature. I assume by the nods that the Board of Public Safety thinks this is a good thing. In leaving that, I will sign off on it and it will then go to the required stops of the City Council and the Board of Finance for their approval.”
Mayor Quinn continued: “All it really needs is the Mayor’s signature on it. I’m looking at an endorsement by the Board of Public Safety on the recommendation of the Chief. The only two signatures after that are on the other one, unless I’m mistaken. So, I think we’re good to go, procedurally, but you know what, just to make sure, we’ll add the item to get approval for the Mayor to sign by 2/3rds. I’ll entertain a motion to that.”
MOTION TO ADD TO THE AGENDA #800
On a motion by Commissioner Cook, seconded by Commissioner Colangelo, the board voted unanimously to add an item to the Agenda by 2/3rds vote in regard to Acting Chief Milano’s recommendation to purchase the prisoner transport vehicle.
MOTION TO PURCHASE PRISONER TRANSPORT VEHICLE #830
On a motion by Commissioner Cook, seconded by Commissioner Colangelo, the board voted unanimously to accept Acting Chief Milano’s recommendation to purchase a prisoner transport vehicle and authorize Mayor Quinn to sign off on it.
Torringford Volunteer Fire Chief Brian Cornell listed his department’s upcoming fund raisers; a Food Drive for FISH, September 25; their Annual Tag Sale, September 18, and their Annual Ball, November 13, 2004.
Chief Cornell indicated that a really good discussion on “dispatching” took place during their last Fire Service Coordination Committee meeting. He noted how important it was for the Police Department, the Fire Department and the Volunteers to be able to get out on a timely basis. From Chief Cornell’s perspective, he felt there was a need somewhere down the line to do something about equipment that would make the flow of dispatching more efficiently. It was his belief that the Board of Public Safety would have to deal with this matter sometime in the future, and, since he thought it would be a big dollar ticket item, his department would support any funding for equipment upgrade that the Commissioners could come up with.
BUS: MAYOR & MEMBERS #1010
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. There was none.
ADJOURNMENT #1020
On a motion by Commissioner Cook, seconded by Commissioner Benedetto, the board voted unanimously to adjourn at 8:06 p.m.
ATTEST: JOLINE LeBLANC
ASST. CITY CLERK
| 
