MINUTES
BOARD OF PUBLIC SAFETY
JULY 16, 2008
A REGULAR MEETING of the Board of Public Safety, adjourned from Wednesday, July 9, 2008, was held on Wednesday, July 16, 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, Deputy Police Chief Michael Maniago, Traffic Officer Robert Shopey, Fire Chief John Field, Deputy Fire Chief Jaye Giampaolo, Torringford Volunteer Fire Chief Lawrence Dauphanais, 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 7:15 p.m., immediately
following a meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Police & Firemens’
Pension Fund.
MINUTES #465
On a motion by Commissioner Benedetto, seconded by Commissioner Gerald Zordan, the board voted unanimously to accept the minutes of the regular meeting held 05/21/2008.
On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Benedetto, the board voted unanimously to accept the minutes of the regular meeting held 06/11/08.
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC #485
On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Cook, the board voted unanimously to open the meeting to the public. There was no public participation.
MOVE ITEM ON AGENDA #500
At 7:19 p.m., Mayor Bingham requested and the board agreed to move the executive session item to the present time.
EXECUTIVE SESSION: PERSONNEL POLICE DEPT. #505
On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Benedetto, the board voted unanimously to go into executive session under Personnel: Police Department and invited Chief Milano and Deputy Chief Maniago to attend.
OPEN SESSION #590
At 8:12 p.m. board voted unanimously to reconvene into Open Session
on a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Gerald Zordan.
CHIEF FIELD’S REPORT #590
On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Cook, the board voted unanimously to accept Chief Field’s Report for June 2008.
DEPUTY CHIEF GIAMPAOLO’S REPORT #600
On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Cook, the board voted unanimously to accept Deputy Chief Giampaolo’s Report for June 2008.
FIRE MARSHAL’S REPORT #605
On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Cook, the board voted unanimously to accept the Fire Marshal’s Report for June 2008.
TRAINING OFFICER’S REPORT #610
On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Cook, the board voted unanimously to accept the Training Officer’s Report for June 2008.
INCIDENT REPORT #615
On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Cook, the board voted unanimously to accept the Incident Report for June 2008.
FIREFIGHTER TURNOUT GEAR #625
On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Cook, a discussion took place in regard to the Purchasing Agent’s recommendation to award the bid entitled “Five Year Lease & Maintenance of 35 Sets of Firefighter Turnout Gear” to Firematic Supply Company, Inc. for $21,703.04 per year or $108,515.20 over the five year lease period and refer it to the City Council. (Tabled by City Council on 07/07/08.)
MOTION TO TABLE #630
On a request by Deputy Chief Giampaolo’s, Commissioner Potter made a motion to table the bid entitled “Five Year Lease & Maintenance of 35 Sets of Firefighter Turnout Gear” until next month’s meeting. Commissioner Cook seconded the motion. Unanimous.
CHIEF MILANO’S REPORT #640
On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Robert Zordan, the board voted unanimously to accept Chief Milano’s Report for June 2008.
Commissioner Benedetto inquired about the status of the combined dispatch for Fire and Police.
Deputy Chief Maniago indicated that a meeting with Winsted has been scheduled to talk about the regionalization of the combined dispatch and they’re hoping that’s the direction they will be going in. They will also asked the consultants from Virginia to come back to speak again about the entire process.
Chief Field added that they had to wait until after July 1 for new funding in order to move forward with the new console and the temporary placement of fire dispatch in the current police dispatch center. That process has begun. In regard to combined dispatching, it will take time because of logistical items that have to be worked out in terms of policy and procedure. However, he doesn’t think it will be too much longer before they see some movement.
Commissioner Robert Zordan asked Chief Field if the board or the subcommittee will have the opportunity to meet with the consultants.
Chief Field said he could arrange for the whole group could meet.
Commissioner Benedetto asked if the reimbursement received from West Hartford for Officer Figueiral totaled the amount of our training costs.
Deputy Chief Maniago stated that the reimbursement was pro-rated over three years for the amount of time he was on the job and the amount of time he had left on the contract.
COMMUNICATION REPORT #765
On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Robert Zordan, the Board voted unanimously to accept Officer Shopey’s Monthly Communication Report for June 2008.
Commissioner Benedetto inquired about the status of parking tickets and the use of the boot.
Officer Shopey indicated that they’ve been busy with people trying to register their cars and have not been able to do anything with the boot for the last couple of months. In seven weeks, they’ve taking in just over $11,000.00 on motor vehicles, which does not include parking tickets and money from the meters. He also noted that they have been unable to enter the tickets and/or do the deposits, so the exact dollar amount is unknown at this time.
Commissioner Benedetto stated that the city was losing a valuable resource by keeping the Traffic Officer behind a desk doing traffic tickets.
Deputy Chief Maniago stated he and Chief Milano agree that Officer Shopey needs to be out doing more traffic enforcement and accident investigation, and they are working on it.
Commissioner Benedetto asked Deputy Chief Maniago to give him a follow-up report at the next meeting.
Commissioner Benedetto noted that the sign at the Price Chopper intersection is always laying on the ground.
Officer Shopey stated that he sent a letter to the State Traffic Commission and talked to the Engineering Department of the DOT in regard to this matter. They informed him they would review it once they received the application from the developer for the proposed bank.
Commissioner Potter suggested that Deputy Chief Maniago should perhaps investigate the last parking ticket appealed before the Parking Ticket Appeals Committee in July to find out exactly what they were referring to.
Mayor Bingham noted that the city was looking for another person to hear the Parking Ticket Appeals, and asked the board if they knew of anyone who would like this position.
EMS PROVIDER ACTIVITY REPORT #900
On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Cook, the board voted unanimously to accept the EMS Provider Activity Report from Campion for June 2008.
EMERGENCY MGMT COORD’S REPORT #915
On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Cook, the board voted unanimously to accept the Emergency Management Coordinator’s Report.
BUS: DEPT HEADS #920
On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Cook, the board voted unanimously to consider business by Department Heads.
Deputy Chief Maniago thanked Mayor Bingham and the board for the opportunity to attend the FBI Academy at Quantico.
He reported that he and Chief Milano discussed installing video cameras in patrol cars and will use asset forfeiture funds to do so. The cameras will have audio and video in both front and rear seats that will help with evidence as well as officer safety. They hope to have the first set of cameras installed in the new Crown Victorias scheduled to arrive in August. In addition to the cameras, officers will begin in-car reporting, where they will be able to do a majority of their reports from their patrol cars. Asset forfeiture funds will also cover these costs. Sgt. Recchini is presently discussing the matter with the computer company and it will be a three month process to complete.
Deputy Fire Chief Giampaolo thanked Purchasing Agent Pennie Zucco and Corporation Counsel Ernestine Yuille Weaver for their hard work on the couple of issues they’ve dealt with recently.
BUS: VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPTS #1025
On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Benedetto, the board voted unanimously to consider business by the Volunteer Fire Departments.
Torringford Volunteer Fire Chief Lawrence Dauphanais thanked the board for their support for their car show. He reported that it was a success.
There was no business from either Drakeville Volunteer Fire Chief Michael Maccalous or Burrville Volunteer Fire Chief Roger Rougeot.
BUS: MAYOR & MEMBERS #1040
On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Cook, the board voted unanimously to consider business by Mayor Bingham and members of the Board of Public Safety.
Commissioner Benedetto asked Chief Field if he had a plan for east side fire coverage, and asked Deputy Chief Giampaolo about the status of the north end station.
Chief Field indicated that he has been meeting with Torringford and will continue to do so in regard to the east side fire coverage.
Deputy Chief Giampaolo noted that once the board decides if they want a wall installed in front of the northend station, he will move forward with it.
Commissioner Potter thanked Torringford and Drakeville for being invited to their annual dinners.
Commissioner Potter asked if the street department could send a back hoe to dig out the culvert in front of a jersey barrier at English Pond where the dry hydrant that Drakeville uses is located. He thought all dry hydrants should be maintained to prevent possible liability issues.
Chief Field indicated that he has spoken to the street department about the matter and they will address it as soon as time permits.
Mayor Bingham stated that he’ll get together with Chief Field and the Volunteer Chiefs to work out the details.
HEARTSAFE COMMUNITIES - FRED ROSA #1325
Director of Operations at Campion Ambulance Fred Rosa noted that Cable 5 is running a 90 second public service announcement on Heartsafe Communities.
He reported that three AED’s are finally in place at the Torrington High School and they trained their own staff to operate them. One is mobile and two are fixed. If they get more grant funding, they’ll install more at the Middle School.
Mr. Rosa pointed out that CPR classes are not as well attended as they should be and often those who sign up, don’t show up. He noted that many who take advantage of the courses are doing so more for their workplace than the city, which is fine if they live in the city, but they’ve been getting a number of people from other towns. In all reality, it’s not police, fire, or EMS response time, it’s citizen response time.
Commissioner Zaharek suggested issuing a reimbursable fee for those who sign up and show up.
Mr. Rosa indicated that that would require someone to do the clerical work.
EXECUTIVE SESSION: PERSONNEL - FIRE DEPARTMENT #1595
On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Cook, the board voted unanimously to go into executive session under Personnel: Fire Department. Chief Field and Deputy Chief Giampaolo were invited to attend.
OPEN SESSION
On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Benedetto, the board voted unanimously to reconvene into Open Session.
ADJOURNMENT
On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Benedetto, the board voted unanimously to adjourn.
ATTEST: CAROL ANDERSON
ASST. TOWN CLERK
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