MINUTES
BOARD OF PUBLIC SAFETY
FEBRUARY 8, 2006
A REGULAR MEETING of the Board of Public Safety was held on Wednesday, February 8, 2006, in the Council Chambers.
Those in attendance included Mayor Ryan J. Bingham, members of the Board of Public Safety Christopher H. Cook, Richard L. Zaharek, Douglas J. Benedetto, James E. Potter, Michael Colangelo, and Robert C. Zordan, Corporation Counsel Al Vasko, Police Chief Robert Milano, Deputy Police Chief Michael Maniago, Traffic Officer Robert Shopey, Fire Chief John Field, Deputy Fire Chief Jaye Giampaolo, and Fred Rosa from Campion Ambulance. Absent included Torringford Volunteer Fire Chief Lawrence Dauphanais, Drakeville Volunteer Fire Chief Aaron Picz and Burrville Volunteer Fire Chief Roger Rougeot.
Mayor Bingham called the meeting to order at 7:30 P.M.
MINUTES #075
On a motion by Commissioner Colangelo, seconded by Commissioner Benedetto, the board voted unanimously to approve the minutes of the regular meeting held January 11, 2006.
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC #090
On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Zordan, the board voted unanimously to open the meeting to the public.
Lucille Paige, 25 Auburn Way, asked if it was part of the city employee’s contract for an employee to get paid for working at home during an injury, if it was necessary to receive authorization by the employee’s supervisor prior to doing any work, and if any such work was monitored.
Mayor Bingham said an exception was recently granted in regard to an employee who was paid for working at home while he recuperated from an injury. Although there is nothing in the Management Resolution to this effect, it will be addressed for similar circumstances in the future.
Ms. Paige inquired why the recent decision to pay an individual to work at home was not brought before the Board of Public Safety.
Mayor Bingham stated that it was a management decision which fell under the jurisdiction of the City Council.
FIRE PREVENTION POSTER CONTEST
In the absence of Fire Marshal Taurau, Chief Field presented awards to the following winners of the Fire Prevention Poster contest:
Samantha Brighenti, 5th Grade Vogel Wetmore School
Thea Miller, 5th Grade Southwest School
Alyssa Wellersdick, 4th Grade Vogel Wetmore School
Hailey Ross, 4th Grade Vogel Wetmore School
CHIEF MILANO’S REPORT #310
On a motion by Commissioner Zaharek, seconded by Commissioner Benedetto, the board voted unanimously to accept Chief Milano’s Report for January 2006.
MAYFEST STREET FAIR #350
On a motion by Commissioner Benedetto, seconded by Commissioner Zaharek, the board voted unanimously to accept Officer Shopey’s recommendation to seek a permit from the State Traffic Commission to close Main Street between City Hall Avenue and Water Street on Saturday, May 6, 2006 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. to hold the Northwest Connecticut Chamber of Commerce Mayfest Street Fair.
BRIGHTWOOD AVENUE #370
On a motion by Commissioner Zordan, seconded by Commissioner Benedetto, the board voted unanimously to accept Officer Shopey’s recommendation that the signs saying “No Parking Between 7:00 A.M. and 5:00 P.M.” on Brightwood Avenue between Jones Street and Winthrop Street be removed permanently, and that unrestricted parking be allowed on the street.
TORRINGFORD VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPT. CAR SHOW #385
On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Zordan, the board voted unanimously to accept Officer Shopey’s recommendation to seek a permit from the State Traffic Commission to close Main Street from Pearl Street to Water Street on Friday, July 14, 2006 from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. for the annual Torringford Volunteer Fire Department Car Show.
ANNUAL JEEP & 4 x 4 SHOW #400
On a motion by Commissioner Benedetto, seconded by Commissioner Zordan, the board voted unanimously to accept Officer Shopey’s recommendation to close the south central municipal parking lot so the NW Connecticut Aids Project can use it for their 2nd Annual Jeep and 4 X 4 Show.
The date was kept open until the group received approval from the Board of Safety.
Officer Shopey indicated that the event will be held on a Saturday morning, and the downtown merchants had no problem with the request. Once the date is set, he could inform the board.
BUS: SECTION B #470
On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Zaharek, the board voted unanimously to consider business in Section B.
CLOSE SIDEWALK IN FRONT OF 117 WATER ST. #490
On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Zordan, the board voted unanimously to discuss Officer Shopey’s recommendation that the sidewalk in front of 117 Water Street be closed immediately, contingent upon conformance with the Federal Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices listed on Officer Shopey’s memo dated 2/8/06, and that the closure continues for a period no later than June 1, 2006, and if an extension is required, Mr. Laliberte is required to appear before the Board of Public Safety with said request.
J. R. Laliberte, owner of the Old Firehouse located at 117 Water Street, brought the board up-to-date on the major restorations to the facade of the building over the past year and a half. He said he ran into some difficulty with a transformer on the telephone pole in front of the firehouse that fed electricity for all of downtown Torrington. CL&P was able to move the transformer and much of the heavy electrical lines that fed the pole, but weren’t able to totally remove the lines that go across the front of the building from one pole to the next.
That caused a problem to find a company that would erect scaffolding to meet OSHA requirements. The space between the lines and the front of the building was less than six feet at the top of the building where the rest of the restoration needs to be done. Most kinds of scaffolding would have the lines running right through the center of them. Mr. Laliberte located a special type of scaffolding that could be erected as narrow as four feet, but by the time he located this scaffolding company, the mason was not able to do the work due to the coming of winter.
He further informed the board that a four by eight-piece of styrofoam flew off the top of the building and onto the street a couple of weeks ago. Luckily, it didn’t cause an accident. He immediately drove to the site to secure the remaining pieces of styrofoam. The Building Inspector then requested that a covered roof sidewalk be placed across the building. A covered roof would not have helped this piece of styrofoam that blew into the street and a covered roof walkway will not permit the scaffolding company that has now been contracted to be erected in four weeks. The scaffolding is expected to be up for four to six weeks for the mason to complete the front facade of the building. Mr. Laliberte was requesting closing the sidewalk for possibly eight weeks.
Should the board vote to approve Mr. Laliberte’s request, Officer Shopey said his recommendation was contingent upon Mr. Laliberte following the MUTCD requirements for sidewalk closures, for a period not to extend later than June 1, 2006, and if an extension is required, Mr. Laliberte is required to appear before the Board of Pubic Safety with said request.
Mr. Laliberte didn’t think closing the sidewalk would hinder the nearby businesses since most of the foot traffic was more from the other side where the Chinese restaurant is located.
Officer Shopey would monitor the situation.
VOTE #980
On a motion by Commissioner Cook, seconded by Commissioner Potter, the board voted unanimously to accept Officer Shopey’s recommendation as stated above.
CROSSWALK LIGHTS #990
On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Benedetto, the board held a discussion in regard to crosswalk lights on Main Street at the bottom of Maiden Lane.
Officer Shopey indicated that crosswalk signals had been visited a number of times during the past ten years. He noted that crosswalk signals and traffic lights are concurrent, which means when the traffic light is green, pedestrians have a walk light for the same direction of traffic.
Since the change was made, incidents of pedestrian related accidents have dropped significantly at signalized intersections. The Police Department has had no complaints about the signalization in the past year or two.
Since traffic signals are on a timed system throughout the Main Street, East Main Street corridor, interrupting an intersection with a dedicated signal would stop traffic progression and a back up of vehicles would begin. Changing over to a dedicated system would require the entire system to be re-timed by an engineer, a traffic count study would need to be done, and approval by the D.O.T. would be necessary.
Officer Shopey couldn’t see any reason to change the signalization system. It was designed to operate exactly as it is. Almost all cities in Connecticut are changing over to concurrent signalization
Chief Milano agreed. The system was designed to keep traffic moving and to eliminate exhaust.
Officer Shopey indicated that he would have a sign installed saying “Pedestrians Have the Right-of-Way in Crosswalks” at the Main Street and Maiden Lane intersection to see if that would make a difference.
Commissioner Cook pointed out that a “No Turn on Red” sign was also requested for the bottom of Maiden Lane.
Officer Shopey said he could submit the request for a “No Turn on Red” sign to the State Traffic Commission. However, the only time such a request is approved is when there is a severe sight restriction or if the oncoming traffic does excessive speed where it would cause a safety issue.
REPORT: TELECOMMUNICATIONS CONSULTANT #1380
On a motion by Commissioner Cook, seconded by Commissioner Benedetto, the board voted to hear from Chief Milano concerning the search for a telecommunications consultant. (Tabled on 1/11/06)
Chief Milano said he made some headway with the help of CCM and Purchasing Agent Charlene Antonelli, however they need to set the perimeters of what they want to accomplish in order to get a comprehensive proposal from a consultant.
Chief Milano requested permission from the board to allow him, Chief Field and the Deputies to explore this issue from a perimeter’s standpoint as to how extensive it’s going to be and what they want to explore. He also requested the participation from a commissioner.
Mayor Bingham said if anyone was interested in participating, he could talk to him after the meeting or e-mail him, and a subcommittee would be established.
CHIEF FIELD’S REPORT #1450
On a motion by Commissioner Colangelo, seconded by Commissioner Benedetto, the board voted unanimously to accept Chief Field’s Report for January 2006.
DEPUTY CHIEF’S REPORT #1465
On a motion by Commissioner Zordan, seconded by Commissioner Benedetto, the board voted unanimously to accept Deputy Chief Giampaolo’s Report for January 2006.
Deputy Chief Giampaolo indicated that the investigation concerning the damage to Ladder II was ongoing.
TRAINING OFFICER’S REPORT #1500
On a motion by Commissioner Benedetto, seconded by Commissioner Zaharek, the board voted unanimously to accept the Training Officer’s Report for January 2006.
FIRE MARSHAL’S REPORT #1510
On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Colangelo, the board voted unanimously to accept the Fire Marshal’s Report for January 2006.
INCIDENT REPORT #1530
On a motion by Commissioner Zordan, seconded by Commissioner Zaharek, the board voted unanimously to accept the Incident Report for January 2006.
MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING #1540
Lt. Brunoli made a brief presentation concerning the Memorandum of Understanding for Participants of the State’s Urban Search and Rescue Team. He stated that the federal government started the program in 1989 through the federal system and currently has 28 federal teams. The teams become active only on word to do so by the President of the United States due to a federal incident.
Connecticut started selecting members in 2003 and currently had 150 members consisting of EMT’s, firefighters, police officers, paramedics, doctors, private industry people, and structural engineers. They are broken down into different components, including a command staff, search crews, rescue crews, planning, medical, logistics, law enforcement and hazmat.
Connecticut has the only team in the United States that includes law enforcement.
They provide municipalities with resources that they don’t have or need help with. Deployment has taken place twice in the State of Connecticut. Training includes 20 hours a month, which consists of one weekend and one Wednesday. They are trained to help in confined space, rope, trench, structure collapse, technical and canine search, and are looking at several more components.
Lt. Brunoli invited anyone interested to attend a presentation scheduled at Charlotte Hungerford on February 27th at 7:00 p.m.
Commissioner Potter inquired how Lt. Brunoli was being compensated for his time.
Lt. Brunoli stated that the training will conflict with three days of his work schedule during the next year. He uses school leave, swaps time, or uses vacation or compensation time.
Commissioner Potter said it was a small contribution from the city and it wasn’t right for Lt. Brunoli to be using his vacation time to be part of this program.
Chief Field indicated that he supports Lt. Brunoli in his endeavors and that labor issues have been discussed in terms of his compensation. Lt. Brunoli has been very beneficial with the training that he brings back to the department, especially in special operations. The city has been reimbursed somewhat in terms of backfilling his position. He agreed with Commissioner Potter that it was a small price for the city to pay to have Lt. Brunoli represent the city as one of the team leaders.
VOTE #1910
On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Colangelo, the board voted unanimously to authorize Mayor Bingham to sign the Memorandum of Understanding for Participants of the State’s Urban Search and Rescue Team.
BUS: DEPT. HEADS #1930
On a motion by Commissioner Colangelo, seconded by Commissioner Benedetto, the board voted unanimously to consider business presented by Department Heads.
Deputy Chief Giampaolo informed the board that a pasta supper would be held on Thursday, February 23rd at St. Maron’s Church to benefit the Torrington High School Band in the quest to purchase new sousaphones for the Cherry Blossom Parade in Washington, D.C., which they have been proudly selected to participate in.
Deputy Chief Giampaolo clarified his request for full pay while working at home after he was injured and unable to report to work. He noted that he filed a “request” for compensation, as opposed to filing a grievance or a complaint. His request was directed to the Personnel Director, which in turn went to the Personnel Sub Committee of the City Council and the final decision rested with the full Council. His office computer was installed in his home after Chief Field gave him permission to work from there. He spent a lot of time working on behalf of his department. He appreciated Mayor Bingham’s decision to allow the City Council to deal with the issue, and the City Council finding in his favor. In any case, he appreciated all the benefits the city provided him.
Chief Field informed the board that Brian Cornell resigned as Chief of the Torringford Volunteer Fire Department. He thanked Mr. Cornell for his commitment and dedication to the city and stated that he deserved a round of applause. He announced that Larry Dauphanias has taken over the position.
Fred Rosa, Director of Operations from Campion Ambulance made his first appearance before this board as representative from Campion and will be present to report on their activity from now on. (His report will be included in the packets).
He explained the dispatch procedure. All 911 calls go through the Police Department. If the call is transferred to Campion, Campion stays on the line with the caller. Dispatching instructions are in the computer system as well as on card sets in case the computers go down. Three dispatchers are on duty in their office at all times. Each dispatcher gets as much information as he can about the condition of the person. The time to get out the door is usually between 30 seconds and three minutes, and the average response time in Torrington is five minutes.
Commissioner Benedetto asked Chief Milano if civilian dispatchers would be trained to take EMS calls.
Chief Milano said the Police Department avoids that responsibility because it would mean that every dispatcher would have to be trained as a medical dispatcher as well as a being trained and certified as a dispatcher. The Campion Dispatch Center in Waterbury technically does the EMS dispatching. The Police Department is currently called a transfer station.
Commissioner Zordan inquired whether Campion could be incorporated into a centralized dispatching system within the city.
Mr. Rosa indicated that a separate channel or radio system would have to be set up for Campion.
This type of question would require discussion by all parties involved as they move along with a centralized dispatching system.
BUS: MAYOR & MEMBERS #2730
On a motion by Commissioner Benedetto, seconded by Commissioner Potter, the board voted unanimously to consider business presented by Mayor Bingham and members of the Board of Public Safety.
Commissioner Benedetto inquired whether the Fire Department will be hiring two firefighters in the near future, because this issue has been ongoing for almost a year.
Chief Field indicated that he proposed a new hiring process and was waiting for comments from Personnel and Corp. Counsel Vasko concerning the legalities of it.
Corp. Counsel Vasko indicated that he should have something for the commissioners during their next meeting.
Commissioner Cook indicated that people continued to turn left at the bottom of Winthrop Street.
Officer Shopey said they could monitor the area.
Commissioner Potter said he was made aware that most of the information concerning Vehicle Replacement has been gathered and forwarded to Mayor Bingham, and volunteered to be a part of the discussion group to get it back on track.
Commissioner Cook also expressed a desire to be included in the discussions.
Commissioner Potter asked the other board members if they would be interested in holding their meetings earlier. The board agreed to meet at 7:00 p.m.
Commissioner Potter asked Officer Shopey for an update on the possible realignment of Dibble and East Main Street.
Officer Shopey gave a brief explanation of what was being proposed for that intersection and stated that the island would be eliminated sometime within the next year.
Commissioner Potter stated that the right turn on red was out of control and needed to be monitored more closely.
Commissioner Zordan inquired about the woman who came before them concerning an impounded vehicle.
Chief Milano stated that their policy will allow for the structure of charges to be in line with what the commissioner of motor vehicles allows, and the appeal process will be similar to that on towing vehicles. The appeals’ officer will be the City Clerk. A person would be afforded the opportunity to appeal; however, in this instance, he still had no indication that the woman had legal transfer of the vehicle. She would have the opportunity to prove it at the appeals hearing.
Mayor Bingham thanked Fred Rosa for his presence.
Mayor Bingham thanked Thomas Vannini for stepping into the position of Emergency Management Coordinator, and thanked Chief Field for jumping into 32 degree water with him on behalf of Special Olympics.
He congratulated the winners of the Fire Prevention Poster contest.
He also informed the board that he would be re-instituting the Apparatus Advisory Committee. The Committee would include Chief Field, Deputy Chief Giampaolo, Mike Michaud, Commissioner Cook, and Commissioner Potter will be the chairman.
ADJOURNMENT #3370
On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Cook, the board voted unanimously to adjourn at 8:48 p.m.
ATTEST: JOLINE LeBLANC
ASST. CITY CLERK
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