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Home My WebLink AboutPSC minutes 9-29-16 approvedCouncil Public Safety committee September 29, 2016 MINUTES Members: Councilmember Carmen Mendez (chair) Councilmember Kathy Coffey Councilmember Dulce Gutierrez The meeting was called to order at 3:00 p.m. Staff: City Manager Cliff Moore Chief Dominic Rizzi, Police Chief Bob Stewart, Fire Scott Schafer, Public Works Cynthia Martinez, Prosecutor Sara Watkins, Legal Joe Rosenlund, Public Works Brett Sheffield, Engineering Ken Wilkinson, Parks & Recreation Terri Croft, Police Coffey announced that Mendez would be taking over as chairperson of the Public Safety Committee. • Approval of minutes It was MOVED by Gutierrez and SECONDED by Coffey to approve the minutes of September 29, 2016 as presented. Motion PASSED unanimously. • Fire Season Update Stewart provided a report on fire department responses for 2015 and 2016. He noted that structure fires were about the same in to date in 2016 relative to the same time period in 2015. Additionally, grass fires are down by approximately 50%. Mendez asked if the Fire Department did any prevention work. Stewart advised that they conducted fire inspections and also public education, which is primarily focused on prevention. Stewart discussed intentionally set fires. Moore inquired about the cycle of fires and why we may be seeing fewer grass fires. Stewart advised that the cooler weather is a contributor to the reduction in grass fires. • Body Worn Camera update Rizzi advised the Police Department had undertaken a body worn camera pilot program a few months ago in order to comply with legislative timelines that will govern any future program implementation. The Police Department conducted field testing of camera systems from two major companies. Four officers voluntarily participated in the program, each officer testing both camera systems. The testing phase will be wrapping up in the next two weeks, at which time the officers will complete a questionnaire that will be used to complete the final report, which will be presented to Council. After the pilot program is complete, the project will be suspended until such time a mandate is issued requiring body worn cameras. There was discussion regarding how Council would prepare for such a mandate and the limitations on blanket requests in the current legislation. Coffey stated that public disclosure was lowered on the Council legislative priorities and she would like to discuss making it a higher priority with the full Council. • Gang Unit update Rizzi reported that two of the Police Department's gang unit detectives have received N redentials from federal agencies, allowing the Department to take many cases through the Federal court system. The US Attorney is reluctant to issue press releases on cases, however the Police Department is working with them to try to have the information released. He reported that gang activity is significantly lowers and the focus has been on intelligence gathering. Rizzi advised he would provide the committee members with additional confidential details after the meeting. Coffey inquired about an article in the Yakima Herald saying crime was up. Rizzi advised that 2015 was an anomaly in the FBI crime statistics and he would have Crime Analyst Joe Brown create a report covering several years to present at the next meeting. • Community Court Martinez provided an update on the community court program, which was implemented on August a Referrals to the program have been slow, with only 3 people being referred. Two of those were admitted into the program. Of those two, one had been removed and the other was just starting. Referrals can come from police, the prosecutor, or the defense attorney. The prerequisites for the program are being a repeat offender, having challenges that contribute to the criminal behavior, and a willingness to work on the issues. Some of the challenges in obtaining referrals are due to unfamiliarity with the program, the number of past offenses, and the geographic restriction. The initial geographic restrictions was the North 1St Street and downtown areas, however that restriction has been lifted and anyone city-wide can be considered for the program. Coffey asked if offenders were hesitant to participate in the program, which Martinez replied that some were. Mendez asked there had been educational meetings with the defense attorneys. Martinez advised she had done outreach to two law firms that provide indigent defense and also to several individual attorneys. Moore asked what the benefit the participants received. Martinez advised that upon completion of the program, charges were dismissed, which Moore noted was not included in the informational brochure. Moore also inquired if there would be a graduation ceremony once a participant completed the program, which Martinez advised there would be. • Intersection Collision report update At the September meeting, Sheffield reported on the accident rate at 40tH Avenue/Chestnut Avenue. The committee requested additional information on other intersections in the City that had similar accident rates. Sheffield provided an updated report with 11 additional intersections. The three intersections with the highest accident rates were 16th Avenue/Chestnut Avenue, Lincoln Avenue/Custer Avenue, and 40th Avenue/Chestnut Avenue. Gutierrez requested the committee consider how to prioritize and budget for intersection improvement. Sheffield provides some options for improvements to the intersections, and the committee requested he prepare a report for the October meeting detailing recommendations for the top three accident intersections. • Ride Share driver requirements Watkins provided draft legislation for ride share drivers, which generally match the taxi driver requirements for public safety. Mendez asked if ride share drivers currently have business licenses. They currently do not, which was part of the reason for initiating this legislation. Coffey asked how these requirements would be enforced. Martinez responded that Code Enforcement would be responsible for enforcement. Operators could be cited for operating without a business license. Coffey recommended the issue be moved to the full council for discussion without recommendation from the committee. All committee members agreed to move to the full council for discussion. • Homeless in Parks Wilkinson provided information about issues Parks and Recreation is having with homeless subjects in parks, particularly Miller Park. Although staff was hopeful the homeless encampment would alleviate some of the issues in the parks, that has not been the case. Park maintenance staff is not trained to deal with the problematic behaviors such as drug use, alcohol use, and mental health issues. Other jurisdictions have tried implementing ordinances to address similar issues, but many have been ineffective or found to be unconstitutional. We can continue to enforce current ordinances, understanding that the police can't be everywhere at all times. Wilkinson advised Parks and Rec is doing what they can to address issues by improving lighting in the parks, taking down derelict buildings, and "limbing up" trees to improve visibility. There was discussion of getting the community involved to "take back" the parks. Coffey and Mendez felt the Public Safety Committee needed to gather ideas and create a prototype to present to the full council. Gutierrez felt there might be other ways to address the issues, such as YPAL involvement, and felt it should be a full council discussion. Mendez advised she would like to get additional information from staff on options that had worked to present to the full council. There is a Parks Commission discussion scheduled for October 12. It was recommended the item be placed on the October 18, 2016 Council business agenda. Coffey noted that there were two separate issues to be addressed; safety and homelessness in parks, and Miller Park issues. She felt that the safety and homelessness issues should be vetted in the Public Safety Committee, but the Miller Park issues and options should be discussed by the full Council. It was MOVED by Coffey and SECONDED by Gutierrez to adjourn to the October 27, 2016 meeting. Motion PASSED unanimously. Approved: