Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/06/2008 04B-1 Minutes 04-02-2008 Council Public Safety Committee B 0 r pwiidh a c cziwe I Subdaai it 6gw64t i . Counci(Pu6Cu Safety Committee CouncilCFiam6ers City Mal April 2, 2008 MINUTES Council Members Present: Bill Lover, David Edler, Chairman Norm Johnson Staff Present: City Manager Dick Zais, Police Chief Sam Granato, Police Lieutenant Gary Belles, Assistant City Attorney Cynthia Martinez, Fire Chief Charlie Hines, Finance Director Rita Anson, Financial Services Manager Cindy Epperson, Acting Code Administration Manager Joe Caruso, Police Administrative Assistant Terri Greer The meeting was called to order by Chairman Johnson at 2:00 p.m. I. EMS Levy Chief Hines presented background information on the EMS levy process. He advised that the current levy is a county levy at .25/$1000, and the portion the City of Yakima receives funds 8 positions within the fire department. An EMS levy requires 60% approval by the voters and the current levy expires in 2012. Chief Hines recommends presenting a city levy to the voters at .50/$1000. A city levy would have to expire at the same time as the county levy, but would prevent the county from taking additional funds from the city. A city levy would be used to staff every fire engine with a firefighter /paramedic to enhance service so every medical call would have two paramedics. Currently, all ambulance crews have one paramedic on board. Mayor Edler advised he would like to have discussions with the County and other jurisdictions to get a feel for how this would impact them. He would also like to look into other funding sources available to the fire and police departments aside from the EMS levy. II. Gang Bill Cynthia Martinez explained her memorandum suggesting changing to the City's gang ordinance with the passage of the State Gang Bill into law. Councilman Lover asked if there was any legal means to hold the parents of gang members responsible for the actions of their children. Cynthia advised there is limited • ability to recover and that it's handled under civil law. Mayor Edler asked if there was still a need for a city ordinance now that there is a state law. Cynthia advised that it is necessary to have mandatory minimums and definitions that are included in the city ordinance. Chief Granato spoke to the removal of the civil injunction piece of the bill, stating that it could be beneficial as the city would not need to pay the legal fees for the gang member. Mayor Edler asked that Legal staff continue to work on the draft revisions of the ordinance to present to the committee. III. Front Yard Parking Joe Caruso presented a report on an audience participation issue from March complaining about parking on side yards on corner Tots. Since August there have been 206 complaints but no written citations for parking on front yards. The previous Public Safety Committee did not want to address the issue of side yards when the ordinance originated. He asked if the current committee wished to regulate this issue. It was moved by Mayor Edler and seconded by Councilman Lover to leave the ordinance as is and enforce the current ordinance. The motion passed unanimously. IV. Condemnation of Blighted Property Y Cynthia Martinez presented the option to use Condemnation of Blighted Property legislation to address drug and gang houses that are known to police officers. The newly formed Pro - Active Unit of the police department has volunteered to take on this project and collect the needed documentation. The drawback of this . option is that it would be costly to pursue a lawsuit and if the City prevails, we must pay fair market value to the property owner. This could be done in conjunction with the Crime Free Rental Housing to encourage landlords to evict problem tenants prior to getting to the condemnation phase. V. North 1 Street Emphasis Patrols Lt. Gary Belles provided an update on the planning for the North 1 Street emphasis, stating that surveys have been sent to every business located on N. 1 Street to begin the planning of the operation. It is expected that the issues will be different from our neighborhood emphasis patrols as the concerns of businesses are different. It is also expected that the operational plan may need to be revised once the emphasis begins. VI. Graffiti Abatement 0 The Pro - Active Unit contacted businesses to ensure compliance with the graffiti ordinance and the display and storage of graffiti implements. Councilman Lover expressed a desire to see a quarterly meeting of interested parties regarding graffiti abatement efforts. The committee felt this would be most effectively addressed through the ONDS committee. VII. Crime Free Rental Housing Chief Granato advised that the program is moving forward and the database is being built. There is emphasis from the patrol sergeants to have their officers turn in the Crime Free Rental Housing slips when they respond to a rental property. VIII. Public Safety Information Group Rita DeBord advised that a Public Safety Information Summit had been held last year for agencies to discuss technical issues and share information regarding public safety information. This summit was a huge success and it was requested that it be held again this year. The City of Yakima has been asked to facilitate the organization of this summit, which involves collecting fees from the vendors and participants, and making payments for the summit. There would be no cost to the City to do this as all expenses would be covered by the fees collected, however, an appropriation needs to be made in order to authorize the expenditures. It was moved by Mayor Edler and seconded by Councilman Lover to recommend the appropriation to the full council. Motion passed unanimously. Ms. DeBord also updated the committee on the status of the Regional Public Safety Consortium. The RFP has gone out for a consolidated records management system and the group is now waiting for responses. IX. VIP Security Councilman Johnson advised that Senator Curtis King and Representative Charles Ross were at a public forum at West Valley Junior High school and there was a near- incident with a citizen at the forum. Councilman Johnson requested police presence at such events in the future. Chief Granato advised he would put together a proposal and report back to the committee. X. GREAT grant/Federal Earmarks City Manager Zais advised the committee that there was a technical glitch with the submission of the 2009 GREAT grant and that a necessary document was • not forwarded to the BJA by the 3rd party website BJA requires agencies to use. Consequently, the grant application was rejected and the City is in the process of 410 appealing the decision. He advised that if the appeal is denied, some of the $350,000 earmarked for technology and emphasis patrols may need to be shifted to fund the GREAT program for 2009 and the City would re -apply for the GREAT grant for 2010. XI. Safe Communities Action Plan Mayor Edler advised that he would be willing to work outside of the committee in order to address funding issues for the Safe Communities Action Plan. XII. Meeting Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 3:40. The next meeting will be Wednesday, May 7, 2008 ' ° the C •�• "ciI '- • bers. Nor John • Public Saf -' Committee Chair Minutes prepared by Terri Greer O