MINUTES
BOARD OF PUBLIC SAFETY
OCTOBER 13, 2004
A REGULAR MEETING of the Board of Public Safety was held on Wednesday, October 13, 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., Police Chief Robert Milano, Traffic Officer Robert Shopey, Fire Chief John Field, Deputy Fire Chief Jaye Giampaolo, and Personnel Director Thomas Gritt. Absent were Corporation Counsel Al Vasko, 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 #040
On a motion by Commissioner Colangelo, seconded by Commissioner Benedetto, the Board voted unanimously to accept the minutes of the regular meeting held September 8, 2004.
ADD TO AGENDA #050
On a motion by Commissioner Cook, seconded by Commissioner Zaharek, the Board voted unanimously to add an Executive Session under Personnel: Police Department to the Agenda by 2/3rds vote.
EXECUTIVE SESSION #070
On a motion by Commissioner Cook, seconded by Commissioner Zaharek, the Board voted unanimously to go into executive session at 7:31 p.m. The Board invited Personnel Director Thomas Gritt to attend.
OPEN SESSION #090
On a motion by Commissioner Cook, seconded by Commissioner Colangelo, the Board voted unanimously to reconvene into open session at 7:43 p.m.
ADD TO AGENDA #100
On a motion by Commissioner Cook, seconded by Commissioner Zaharek, the Board voted unanimously to add the promotion of Police Chief to the Agenda by 2/3rds vote.
Commissioner Cook made a motion to appoint Acting Chief Robert Milano to the position of Chief of Police, effective immediately. Commissioner Zaharek seconded the motion. Unanimous.
Mayor Quinn explained the extensive search process used by the City of Torrington to select the Chief. It included a tremendous amount of advertising, consultation and testing of applicants. Nine applications were received, five of which had the minimum requirements and qualifications and selected for testing. Each applicant faced a panel of police professionals who performed technical testing through an interview process. They were rated on the quality and thoroughness of their answers. The applicants were rated in six categories: judgement, technical knowledge, communication, supervision, administration, and professional readiness. The top candidate, with a score in the A category, was none other than Chief Robert Milano.
Mayor Quinn announced that a befitting swearing-in ceremony would take place in the near future in Chief Milano’s honor.
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC #370
On a motion by Commissioner Colangelo, seconded by Commissioner Benedetto, the Board voted unanimously to open the meeting to the public.
ANN FRAUENHOFER, 52 Workman Avenue, expressed a safety concern over excessive speed on Workman Avenue by non-residential, cross through traffic.
She stated that her concerns were reported to the Police Department’s Traffic Division with unsatisfactory results. She also stated that she drafted a petition and collected signatures from Workman Avenue residents in the summer of 2002 and presented it to the Police Department. Several solutions were offered, including making Workman Avenue a one-way street, making it a non-through street, or having radar present on the street. Previously, a machine that records the speed of oncoming vehicles was placed in the area and a 25 MPH speed limit sign was installed, but neither tactic alleviated the problem. In fact, the sign was removed by an unknown person.
She stated that a drunken driver speeding on the street recently caused a serious accident in front of her house.
She suggested that perhaps two stop signs could be installed on Workman Avenue at the intersection of Guilford Street, making the intersection a three-way stop, as well as the installation of Slow, Children at Play signs.
Ms. Frauenhofer also stated that sidewalks, driveways, and curbs were severely damaged during the city’s process of milling and resurfacing Workman Avenue. She stated that one of her two driveways was damaged, and it appeared as though chunks of asphalt would most likely loosen if driven over several times. Because she was responsible for the maintenance of the sidewalk, she expressed concern that it also was damaged during the resurfacing. She noted that she received no response after speaking with Engineering, the Street Department and the Mayor’s Office on the matter.
In another matter, Ms. Frauenhofer stated that she owned property in Burrville (161 Old Burrville Road) that also sustained damage from paving over a year ago and was creating severe erosion problems.
Mayor Quinn said he would ask Chief Milano to meet with Traffic Officer Robert Shopey in regard to the Workman Avenue issues. He will also have his assistant look into the damage done by the Street Department on Workman Avenue and Old Burrville Road and that someone would get back to her.
GLEN ROYALS thanked Mayor Quinn and the Board of Public Safety for selecting Robert Milano as Chief of Police. It was nice to know that other Police Officers could also move ahead in the department.
Mayor Quinn said the selection of Chief Milano was due to the “process” used by the city. He stated that every promotion would move in a professional manner, by being posted, tested, and evaluated. However, he couldn’t guarantee that it would always turn out the way we would like it to.
An unnamed man stated that he and his neighbors were being terrorized by kids in their neighborhood.
Mayor Quinn said he would have someone look into the matter. However, he advised the man to call 911 when he felt threatened.
PATROL & SUPPORT REPORTS #1030
On a motion by Commissioner Cook, seconded by Commissioner Benedetto, the Board voted unanimously to accept the Patrol Division and Support Services Reports for September 2004.
INVESTIGATIVE SERVICES REPORT #1040
On a motion by Commissioner Zaharek, seconded by Commissioner Cook, the Board voted unanimously to accept the Investigative Services Report for September 2004.
ABANDONED VEHICLE REPORT #1050
On a motion by Commissioner Colangelo, seconded by Commissioner Cook, the Board voted unanimously to accept the Abandoned Vehicles Report for September 2004.
TRAFFIC UNIT REPORT #1060
On a motion by Commissioner Benedetto, seconded by Commissioner Cook, the Board voted unanimously to accept the Traffic Unit Report for September 2004.
TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT SQUAD REPORT #1070
On a motion by Commissioner Zaharek, seconded by Commissioner Colangelo, the Board voted unanimously to accept the Traffic Enforcement Squad Report for September 2004.
CHIEF FIELD’S REPORT #1080
On a motion by Commissioner Cook, seconded by Commissioner Zaharek, the Board voted unanimously to accept Chief Field’s Report for September 2004.
DEPUTY CHIEF’S REPORT #1090
On a motion by Commissioner Zaharek, seconded by Commissioner Benedetto, the Board voted unanimously to accept Deputy Chief Giampaolo’s Report for September 2004.
FIRE MARSHAL & TRAINING OFFICER’S REPORT #1100
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 September 2004.
INCIDENT REPORT #1110
On a motion by Commissioner Zaharek, seconded by Commissioner Benedetto, the Board voted unanimously to accept the Incident Report for September 2004.
BUS: DEPT. HEADS #1120
On a motion by Commissioner Cook, seconded by Commissioner Zaharek, the Board voted unanimously to consider business presented by Department Heads.
Chief Milano presented a citation to the board which the Traffic Unit received from the National Association of the Chiefs of Police for their work in DUI enforcement and traffic safety in a regional traffic enforcement program with Winsted and Thomaston.
On a motion by Commissioner Cook, seconded by Commissioner Colangelo, the Board voted unanimously to return the plaque to Chief Milano so it could be appropriately displayed in the Police Department.
Chief Milano expressed his sincere gratification for the tremendous support he received from everyone in his promotion to Chief. He stated that he was determined to work in the best interest of the public as well as this board and would always be open to consultations and suggestions from anyone.
Chief Field wished the Torringford Volunteer Fire Department luck with their new apparatus and looked forward to using it in fire service for the City of Torrington. He thanked Torringford for inviting him to their ceremony when they presented it to the public.
Chief Field informed the board that the fire department had a new secretary, effective today.
BUS: MAYOR & MEMBERS #1240
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 Zaharek commended Glen Royals for attending the past few meetings and for speaking out.
Commissioner Colangelo pointed out that the packet included a letter from Mr. Jacquemin and, seeing that he was present, asked that he be allowed to speak. The board had no objection.
Randall Jacquemin, owner of Illustra Salon, stated that he had been trying for years to have guard rails installed in front of his business at 475 East Main Street to protect his employees and customers from any vehicle that may not be able to stop at the bottom of East Main. He had spoken with several people at the DOT to no avail.
Officer Shopey indicated, that upon receiving Mr. Jacquemin’s letter, he met with a representative from the DOT, and they have taken the matter under advisement and transferred it to their headquarters in Newington. They will be sending an investigator to the site to determine if it’s feasible to install a guard rail.
Commissioner Pucino commended the Police Department for their team effort with the Investigative Services and Patrol Division in obtaining the arrests of 21 suspects in connection with the burglary and larceny matter.
She thanked Torringford for the invitation to their celebration of the arrival and commissioning of their new Engine 17.
Commissioner Cook inquired about the status of new signs to be installed at the intersection of Winthrop Street and Walgreens Pharmacy.
Officer Shopey stated that he was still waiting for the signs.
Mayor Quinn stated that he was able to observe Chief Milano first hand in the Migeon Avenue situation and the vandalism at the high school and commended him for his professionalism in the matters. He said “I have a vision of where Torrington needs to be in the years going forward. I can fairly say that the Chief understands the vision that I am placing forward. I intend not to micro manage any department, however, there are standards that I feel are appropriate and he understands those standards. I think it’s a good day for the Police Department and the City of Torrington, and I wish you well”.
The entire board wished Chief Milano well in his new position.
ADJOURNMENT #1540
On a motion by Commissioner Colangelo, seconded by Commissioner Zaharek, the board voted unanimously to adjourn at 8:25 p.m
ATTEST: JOLINE LeBLANC
ASST. CITY CLERK
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