MINUTES
BOARD OF PUBLIC SAFETY
MAY 21, 2008
A REGULAR MEETING of the Board of Public Safety, adjourned from May 14, 2008, was held on Wednesday, May 21, 2008, in the Council Chambers.
Those in attendance included Mayor Ryan J. Bingham, members of the Board of Public Safety Gerald A. Zordan, Richard L. Zaharek, Douglas J. Benedetto, James E. Potter, Christopher H. Cook, and Robert C. Zordan, Corporation Counsel Ernestine Yuille Weaver, Police Chief Robert Milano, Traffic Officer Robert Shopey, Fire Chief John Field, Deputy Fire Chief Jaye Giampaolo and Torringford Volunteer Fire Chief Lawrence Dauphanais. Those who were absent included Deputy Police Chief Michael Maniago, Drakeville Volunteer Fire Chief Michael Maccalous, Burrville Volunteer Fire Chief Roger Rougeot, Deputy Emergency Management Coordinator Thomas Vannini, and Director of Operations at Campion Ambulance Fred Rosa.
Mayor Bingham called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. immediately following a meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Police & Firemens’ Pension Fund.
MINUTES #090
On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Cook, the board voted unanimously to accept the amended minutes of the special meeting held March 5, 2008.
On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Cook, the board, with the exception of Commissioner Robert Zordan who abstained, voted to accept the minutes of the special meeting held March 26, 2008 on budgets.
On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Gerald Zordan, the board, with the exception of Commissioner Benedetto who abstained, voted to accept the minutes of the special joint meeting with the City Council held April 2, 2008 on budgets.
On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Benedetto, the board voted unanimously to accept the minutes of the regular meeting held April 9, 2008.
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC #125
On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Benedetto, the board voted unanimously to open the meeting to the public. There was no public participation.
EXECUTIVE SESSION: PERSONNEL POLICE DEPT. #130
On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Cook, the board voted unanimously to go into an Executive Session at 7:08 p.m. under Personnel: Police Department. Chief Milano was invited to attend.
OPEN SESSION #145
On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Cook, the board voted unanimously to reconvene into open session at 7:18 p.m.
HIRE DANIEL CARVALHO & ANGEL RIOS #155
On a motion by Commissioner Cook, seconded by Commissioner Robert Zordan, the board voted unanimously to hire Daniel Carvalho and Angel Rios as Probationary Patrol Officers effective at the pleasure of the city and any requirements with current employers.
CHIEF FIELD’S REPORT #205
On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Cook, the board voted unanimously to accept Chief Field’s Report for April 2008.
DEPUTY CHIEF GIAMPAOLO’S REPORT #210
On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Cook, the board voted unanimously to accept Deputy Chief Giampaolo’s Report for April 2008.
FIRE MARSHAL’S REPORT #215
On a motion by Commissioner Zaharek, seconded by Commissioner Benedetto, the board voted unanimously to accept the Fire Marshal’s Report for April 2008.
TRAINING OFFICER’S REPORT #220
On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Gerald Zordan, the board voted unanimously to accept the Training Officer’s Report for April 2008.
INCIDENT REPORT #230
On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Cook, the board voted unanimously to accept the Incident Report for April 2008.
CHIEF MILANO’S REPORT #235
On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Robert Zordan, the board voted unanimously to accept Chief Milano’s Report for April 2008.
COMMUNICATION REPORT #240
On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Cook, the board voted unanimously to accept Officer Shopey’s Monthly Communication Report for April 2008.
Officer Shopey informed the board that his office successfully transferred their parking tickets to the Motor Vehicle Department, and they are in the process of re-transferring the tickets back to the collection agency, since the agreement was acceptable with the city. Two hundred notices were sent out during the month which resulted in just shy of $3,000.00 in revenue.
FRANKLIN PRODUCTS USE OF MUNICIPAL PARKING AREA #270
On a motion by Commissioner Benedetto, seconded by Commissioner Zaharek, the board voted unanimously to accept Officer Shopey’s recommendation to reduce the parking fee for Franklin Products’ use of the South Central municipal parking area to $10.00 per month until January 2009.
Officer Shopey indicated that the area Franklin Products parking lot used infrequently, but since they’ve been parking there, it has been getting more use.
Commissioner Gerald Zordan asked why Officer Shopey was requesting a decrease from $12.00 to $10.00 per month.
Officer Shopey stated that Franklin Products asked to get a better price because they consistently purchase sixty one parking permits and agreed to purchase them until January.
PURCHASE VEHICLES: POLICE DEPT. #325
On a motion by Commissioner Cook, seconded by Commissioner Potter, the board voted unanimously to accept the recommendation from the Purchasing Agent and the Fleet Manager to waive the bid process and purchase seven (7) Police Crown Victorias and two (2) Ford Expeditions from M-H-Q. (Council voted to approve the request on 5/19/2008, contingent upon the Board of Safety’s approval).
Commissioner Benedetto inquired whether the Purchasing Agent had looked into purchasing more economical vehicles.
Mayor Bingham indicated that a similar sentiment was voiced by a Councilor, and that same discussion came up during a meeting of the Vehicle Advisory Board. Mayor Bingham explained that this purchase is to replace vehicles we already have and two additional Ford Explorers. The committee thought it was necessary to move forward with this purchase to make certain the officers could get around during our harsh winters.
Chief Milano said they’re still adding equipment to the passenger side of the Crown Vics and it’s getting cramped, plus they’re on the verge of finalizing the plans to go to in-car reporting where they will need a large enough compartment to maneuver the computer. In addition to that, Crown Vics will be out of production by the model year 2010, so they’ll have to do a study and consult with other departments on alternate vehicles before then.
The Expeditions are being purchased because of the amount of equipment they want them to carry instead of going back and forth. The four-wheel drive is an asset during snow storms. These will be supervisor vehicles only, except when we have a storm.
Commissioner Potter, member of the Vehicle Advisory Committee, stated that the Crown Vics are larger and more comfortable, and better to get their equipment and prisoners into, and the mileage between an Expedition and an Explorer isn’t that much different.
TESTING FOR POSITION OF POLICE SERGEANT #500
On a motion by Commissioner Benedetto, seconded by Commissioner Gerald Zordan, the board voted unanimously to move forward with the testing for the position of Police Sergeant.
EMS PROVIDER ACTIVITY REPORT #510
On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Cook, the board voted unanimously to accept the EMS Provider Activity Report from Campion for January, February, March, & April 2008.
EMERGENCY MGMT COORD’S REPORT #525
On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Robert Zordan, the board voted unanimously to accept the Emergency Management Coordinator’s Report for February 2008.
BUS: DEPT HEADS #535
On a motion by Commissioner Benedetto, seconded by Commissioner Potter, the board voted unanimously to consider business by Department Heads.
Deputy Chief Giampaolo publicly thanked Chief Milano and his staff for their help retrieving his three Labrador Retrievers who had broken out of their yard enclosure.
BUS: VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPTS. #600
On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Cook, the board voted unanimously to consider business by Volunteer Fire Departments.
Volunteer Fire Chief Lawrence Dauphanais had nothing to report at this time. Drakeville and Burrville Volunteer Chiefs were absent.
BUS: MAYOR & MEMBERS #610
On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Benedetto, the board voted unanimously to consider business by Mayor Bingham and members of the Board of Public Safety.
Commissioner Benedetto noted that the sign at the entrance of Price Chopper has been down.
Officer Shopey stated he called them a week ago and left a message with the secretary and he will call them again. He noted that there has been a proposal to close that entrance with the construction of the new bank.
Mayor Bingham added that they will also construct an inter-connect, which should cut down on traffic between the two buildings.
Commissioner Benedetto asked Chief Field if they were utilizing TAC 9 and whether it could be used for traffic accidents.
Chief Field said the only time TAC 9 responds to an alarm or car accident is if the incident called for that type of resource. TAC 9 is used as a utility vehicle more than anything else and it would be used if the ladder truck is down.
Deputy Chief Giampaolo said the plan is to run TAC 9 to car accidents when they have the combined dispatch and an extra person instead of running two pumpers. In regard to fuel consumption, it makes sense to keep the guys all on one piece rather than run a vehicle just because it’s there. It hauls their trailers and carries their specialized equipment. Hopefully, when they get their new Rescue, that vehicle will haul their trailers and carry their specialized equipment. When the combined dispatch operation goes into effect, they’ll be running TAC 9 for a Rescue rather than the other engine, which will stay in reserve, and they’ll be able to staff three men on a piece and will run more frequently in order to keep the ladder off the road because it uses a lot of fuel.
Chief Field indicated that TAC 9 is used when it’s needed.
Commissioner Benedetto indicated that they were pricing out a new Rescue vehicle and asked why they couldn’t use TAC 9 instead.
Chief Field indicated that TAC 9 was given to the city by a state grant program for us maintaining the decontamination trailer. He informed the board that the state wants them to sign another Memorandum of Agreement for the decontamination trailers because they’ve been having problems across the state in regard to keeping them up and running and able to respond. The City of Torrington hasn’t had any problems because we’ve been maintaining it as we are supposed to. The new MOA states that we have to keep it in storage under cover in a heated building and Chief Field told them, if that was the case, he couldn’t do it and they could take it back. He believes they will make some modifications to the agreement, but if the trailer goes back, TAC 9 is going back with it.
He informed the board that that vehicle has to be available if the state calls for it, so it’s hard to commit it to any specifics because of the fact that, if it gets called upon, we lose it. That’s one of the reasons it gets bounced back and forth in regard to its utilization.
Commissioner Potter asked if the MOA had anything in it about replacing the vehicle when the time comes.
Chief Field indicated that there has been no discussion in regard to the replacement of the prime mover when it reaches the end of its life expectancy. The state has inspected all the trailers and found that, out of 34, only 4 or 5 were usable and ours was one of them. They are all being penalized because the other ones weren’t being taken care of the way they were supposed to. The state is currently doing maintenance on the trailers and trying to keep up with them.
The trailer has cost the city approximately $600.00 to $700.00 for maintenance during the four years we’ve had it. Chief Field said he would do his best to find out whether or not they plan to replace them when the time comes, but he thinks it all depends on the individual community and how much they are being utilized, so it will be difficult to pinpoint the actual year that it should be replaced.
Commissioner Cook asked Chief Field what he would do should the vehicle have to go back.
Chief Field indicated that they would be faced a problem, especially if they take the Prime Mover, because that carries all their special operations equipment at the moment.
Commissioner Potter asked about the other truck with the utility body that they use to move trailers.
Chief Field said they received that truck under a different grant program and it is used specifically for hazardous material responses.
Commissioner Benedetto inquired where they were as far as pricing out the new Rescue truck.
Chief Field indicated that they would be meeting with the Vehicle Replacement people in two weeks, and Deputy Chief Giampaolo has been meeting with the Fleet Manager right along.
Commissioner Zaharek inquired how Deputy Police Chief Maniago was doing.
Chief Milano indicated that he had four weeks left and expects to be back soon.
Commissioner Cook asked for an update on dispatching.
Chief Field said they were meeting on Tuesday with Donald Nelson to get things started and both chiefs will be meeting to work on protocol procedures.
Chief Milano indicated that he had more dispatcher interviews coming up for a part time position on week-ends, and they may be able to use one of those candidates for a potential fire dispatcher as well.
Mayor Bingham explained that the city was looking to cut $500,000.00 from the city budget and asked both chiefs to see if they could offer anything from their budgets to put towards this cut.
Mayor Bingham hoped the Board would be able to march in the Memorial Day Parade.
Commissioner Benedetto indicated that the Torch Run will be held on June 5th and invited the board to participate.
ADJOURNMENT #1100
On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Cook, the board voted unanimously to adjourn at 7:48 p.m.
ATTEST: JOLINE LeBLANC
ASST. CITY CLERK
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