A REGULAR MEETING of the Board of Public Safety was held on Wednesday, April 7, 2010, in the Main Room of the Senior Center. Those in attendance included Mayor Ryan J. Bingham, Corporation Counsel Ernestine Yuille
Weaver, members of the Board of Public Safety Gerald Zordan, Richard Zaharek, Douglas Benedetto, James Potter, Christopher Cook, and Darlene Battle, Police Chief Michael Maniago, Deputy Police Chief Christopher Smedick, Traffic Officer Robert Shopey, Deputy Fire Chief Gary Brunoli, Director of Operations at Campion Ambulance Fred Rosa, Torringford Volunteer Fire Chief Lawrence Dauphanais, Drakeville Volunteer Fire Chief Michael Maccalous, and Burrville Volunteer Fire Chief Ken Marques. Fire Chief John Field was absent.
Mayor Bingham called the meeting to order at 6:34 p.m.
MINUTES #33 On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Cook, the Board voted unanimously to accept the minutes of the Regular Meeting held March 3, 2010. Commissioner Benedetto abstained.
MINUTES #41 On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Cook, the Board voted unanimously to accept the minutes of the Special Meeting held March 15, 2010.
MINUTES #61 On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Cook, the Board voted unanimously to accept the minutes of the Special Meeting held March 24, 2010. Commissioners Zordan and Zaharek abstained.
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC #56 On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Cook, the Board voted unanimously to open the meeting to the public. There was no one who wished to speak.
POLICE K-9 PRESENTATION #68 Chief Maniago presented K-9, Brodie, and his handler Officer Justin Deloy. Six year old Brodie was used 151 times in the last three years performing missing persons tracking, building searches, evidence recovery, and narcotics finds. Public Relations are a huge part of his work.
Chief Maniago said he'd like to initiate fundraising to purchase a second dog to have two work shifts covered, as it would be a great benefit to the Department and the City.
FIRE CHIEF'S REPORT #413 On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Cook, the Board voted unanimously to accept Chief Field's Report, Deputy Chief Brunoli's Report, Fire Marshal's Report, and Training Officer's Report for the time periods indicated on their reports.
Deputy Chief Brunoli reported that Firefighter Randall Patterson is an exceptional employee who shows amazing initiative, that they lost a grant for the East End Fire House construction, and received a grant for the headquarters' exhaust system. He described the wireless hub purchased through an Emergency Management grant that is available for any City personnel to use. Deputy Chief Brunoli said Chief Field is the Acting Emergency Management Coordinator, while looking for someone to fill that position. He said the pumper vendor offered a $20,457 discount off the approved price of $449,993 bringing the new purchase price to $429,536.
POLICE CHIEF'S REPORT #636 On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Cook, the Board voted unanimously to accept Chief Maniago's Report for February 2010 and Officer Shopey's Monthly Communication Report for February 2010.
Commissioner Potter asked for an update on the roof leak. Chief Maniago said a contractor made temporary repairs, which have been holding nicely.
Commissioner Benedetto commended Officer Shopey for the monies collected through DMV reporting, for the unpaid fines going down and the boot letters improvement.
Commissioner Benedetto asked about speed enforcement plans. Chief Maniago said it depends on complaints received, where officers state they feel it will be the most productive and best utilized, and where traffic accidents occur.
Commissioner Benedetto asked about truck inspections. Chief Maniago said Officer Shopey must do 31 inspections per year to maintain his certification.
RESERVED PARKING SPACES #771 On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Cook, the Board voted 5/1, with Commissioner Benedetto opposed, to reserve 5 parking spaces in the City Hall Municipal Parking Area for Tax Collector Employees per Officer Shopey's letter of March 31, 2010. Mayor Bingham explained that during the reconfiguration of the City Hall parking lot, they realized they didn't have enough spots for 5 employees. Officer Shopey said part of the problem is now they are not sharing the church parking lot, and some spaces were lost. Commissioner Potter said this shouldn't be a problem until downtown renovation is started. Commissioner Benedetto said it's tough to find a spot to park downtown. Mayor Bingham said this could be on a trial basis.
ADD TO AGENDA #996 On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Benedetto, the Board voted unanimously to add to the agenda.
NO PARKING ON HARRIS DRIVE #997 Officer Shopey explained the problem is not with the Harris Drive residents but with Hocon facility when their delivery trucks are unable to get in or out, past the cars parked by those using the Susan Grossman Still River Greenway. He said even if parking were allowed on one side, the road passage would be narrowed down because the lack of shoulder causes people to park even farther in to the street . He said there are limited areas with guard rails, really no protection there. When police are called, the car owners walking on the three-mile Greenway can't be found. Commissioner Zaharek asked if there are any other options. Commissioner Potter asked
if the City could expand the existing parking lot. Officer Shopey said Winsted Road is not restricted from parking. Commissioner Benedetto suggested parking restrictions on some days only, as deliveries may not be made on weekends. Officer Shopey pointed out fire apparatus could also have a problem getting through. Mayor Bingham recommended signage encouraging parking on Winsted Road.
Commissioner Benedetto said if parking is eliminated on Harris Drive, there will be no parking on the Torrington side of the Greenway, and recommended tabling this until more information is available.
On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Cook, the Board voted 5/1, with Commissioner Benedetto opposed, to post "No Parking" on both sides of Harris Drive from the intersection of Winsted Road to the driveway ingress of the Hocon Propane Gas facility.
EMS PROVIDER REPORTS #1424 On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Cook, the Board voted unanimously to accept the EMS Provider Activity Report from Campion for February 2010.
BUS: DEPT HEADS #1437 On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Cook, the Board voted unanimously to consider business by Department Heads. Chief Maniago said he'd like to move forward on the second K-9 purchase.
ADD TO AGENDA #1468 On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Zaharek, the Board voted 5 to 1 to add to the agenda. Commissioner Benedetto was opposed.
PURCHASE SECOND K-9 #1478 On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Battle, the Board voted 5 to 1 to allow Chief Maniago to move forward with his K-9 proposal to seek donations to purchase a second dog and include additional maintenance funding for it in the Police budget. Commissioner Benedetto was opposed.
BUS: DEPT HEADS CONT'D #1498 Deputy Chief Brunoli updated the Board on the Fire Grants he's applying for including one for a Class A Burn regional fire training simulator to benefit everybody in the region, a grant for a small aerial device under 75 ft or a first line pumper 25 yrs or older, and an SUV grant to take care of the Burrville and Torrington Fire Departments. Campion Director of Operations Rosa presented Burrville FD with a bill of sale for an ambulance to be used by their Fire Police. He
said the Heart Safe Community requirements were met and the designation will continue for another three years. He said over 200 were trained in CPR, and more defibrillators are being installed.
BUS: VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPTS. #1670 On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Benedetto, the Board voted unanimously to consider business by Volunteer Fire Departments. Burrville Volunteer Fire Chief Ken Marques reported that they have one firefighter in the process of Firefighter One training, and they received a van from Campion Ambulance and are in the process of outfitting it to suit their needs. Drakeville Volunteer Fire Chief Michael Maccalous reported that their building addition is coming along and they hope to start building on April 19th. They have Air Packs on order through the FEMA grant, thanks to Deputy Chief Brunoli. Torringford Volunteer Fire Chief Lawrence Dauphanais reported they also have Air Packs on order through the FEMA grant, thanks to Deputy Chief Brunoli, and that things are quiet except for traffic concerns. Mayor Bingham asked Chief Dauphanais if he received the Mayor's response to Opticon and Chief Dauphanais said yes, he'd like to keep moving forward on that. Officer Shopey said the purchase order has been submitted, approved and parts have been ordered.
BUS: MAYOR & MEMBERS #1764 On a motion by Commissioner Potter, seconded by Commissioner Benedetto, the Board voted unanimously to consider business by the Mayor and members of the Board of Public Safety.
Mayor Bingham said he met regarding Calhoun St. It was a productive meeting, he said, because everyone got to see that there's no easy solution to the problem. To get a feel for what the situation looks like during the day, he will follow up on site at the end of this month to speak to the business owners who rent the facilities in question for loading and unloading. He updated the Board on the ongoing conceptual discussions with Litchfield County Dispatch. They decided to break off into subcommittees to discuss the building, where it will be housed, space needs and how to make the grant monies work. The second subcommittee created, he said is a technology subcommittee that will
discuss equipment needs, wiring, antennas, radios, etc. Mayor Bingham said he will continue to meet with the Chiefs, Corporation Counsel, the Personnel Director and the Comptroller. He said hopefully we can regionalize before we're made to by the State.
|
