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Home My WebLink AboutPSC minutes 02-23-17Council Public Safety Committee February 23, 2017 MINUTES Members: Councilmember Carmen Mendez (chair) Councilmember Kathy Coffey Councilmember Dulce Gutierrez The meeting was called to order at 3:01 p.m. • Approval of minutes of January 26, 2017 Staff: City Manager Cliff Moore Chief Dominic Rizzi, Police Chief Bob Stewart, Fire Cynthia Martinez, Prosecutor Terri Croft, Police It was MOVED by Gutierrez to approve the minutes of the January 26, 2017 meeting as presented. Motion was SECONDED by Coffey. Motion PASSED unanimously. New Business There was no new business Old Business 1. Domestic Violence Public Service Announcements Beehler provided a report on when the domestic violence public service announcements were aired and which PSAs were used. He advised that extra spots were able to be procured due to partnerships that were utilized. Coffey requested a copy of the campaigns used. She also asked that Beehler coordinate with the Washington State Broadcasting Association on their PSA program regarding domestic violence. She stated that she would like to see the PSAs start before Thanksgiving and run through the holidays, and stressed the importance of airing the PSAs during critical months and time. Mendez provided a brief history of the topic for the audience 2. Domestic Violence Work Group This item was tabled. 3. Welcoming City Resolution Mendez provided a brief history of this topic and how it came to be discussed in the Public Safety Committee. Rizzi provided information regarding the policies of the Yakima Police Department in regards to immigration status. The Yakima Police Department officers are commissioned Washington State to enforce city and state laws. There is no agreement in place with the Enforcement and Removal division Immigration and Customs Enforcement. There are only 16 jurisdictions in the country that have such an agreement. Coffey thanked Chief Rizzi for his comments, and also thanked City Manager Moore for his statement released on February 21. She clarified a statement she had made at an earlier council meeting that she felt may have been misconstrued. She said her earlier statement encouraging the audience to read Moore's statement and to discontinue coming to meetings to discuss further was intended to redirect the community's energy toward immigration reform and helping immigrants in the Yakima Valley and City of Yakima. She understands that the process for legal immigration is long, complicated, and expensive, and that there are only three immigration attorneys in Yakima. She encouraged people to research the process and stated that she would be focusing her efforts and energy on helping to improve this process. Stewart advised that the Fire Department had no instances where they would have to aSK for immigration status. Mendez then opened the meeting up to audience participation and limited comments to two minutes per speaker. The following community members spoke against becoming a Welcoming City: Larry Apigian, City resident; Alyssa Chamberlain, City resident; Faith Torres, non-resident; Charles Hutchinson, City resident; Gary Wirt, City resident; Dave Ettl, City resident; Bill Duerr, City resident; John Larson, City resident; Rick Weiss, City resident; Luis Lopez, City resident; Beverly Breitenfeldt, City resident; Mark Jones, City resident; Doug Miller, non-resident; Les Heimgartner, City resident; Dennis Saltmarsh, City resident; Bob Bieren, City resident; Daniel Scott, City resident. The following community members spoke in support of becoming a Welcoming City: David Alcontara, City resident; Diana Lopez -Bautista, City resident; Linda Brown, City resident; David Morales, City resident; Sister Mary Ellen Robinson, non-resident; Joyce Hernandez, City resident; Robert Strader, City resident; Norma Martinez, City resident; Ed Pacheco, City resident; Molly Storrs, City resident; Connie Chronister, City resident; Zulma S., non-resident; Merivet Lombera, City resident; Rogelio Montes, City resident. Jennifer James, City resident, asked questions regarding sanctuary city status. Kay Funk, City resident, spoke in favor of Hispanic residents but against the Welcoming City resolution. Phil Dindia, City resident, requested a citizen's committee be formed to develop a resolution. Joey Anderson, City resident, spoke of protection for all citizens and against the Welcoming City resolution. Gutierrez reinforced that the City's policies are to not inquire about immigration status. She stated that only true sanctuary cities do not share information and databases, and there is no discussion of Yakima becoming a sanctuary city. She defined the purpose of the forum was to allow the community to discuss how this impacts our community safety. Coffey stated she appreciated the opinions of all who spoke, and feels privileged that the Yakima community is so diverse and caring. She again urged the community to support immigration reform and getting undocumented people citizenship. She will be asking and encouraging the Council to take a legislative stance on the Bridge Act and other immigration legislation. She feels this is a community discussion that needs to go out into the community and it should be led by others than the Council. It was MOVED by Coffey to send a recommendation to the full council to add immigration reform to the Federal and State legislative priorities. Motion was SECONDED by Gutierrez. Motion PASSED unanimously. Mendez reiterated the need for a community discussion and advised the Dispute Resolution Center was present to discuss now they could assist in facilitating that discussion. She pointed out that the Council had approved the recreational production and sale of marijuana, in violation of federal law. Gutierrez asked Rizzi if the Police Department participated in the 287g Federal program. Rizzi advised the 2878 program allows law enforcement to access immigration databases. There are stringent training, background, recertification, and ICE supervision requirements. There are 37 agencies nationwide who participate in the program and they are all jail operations. There are only 3 police department in the program and they run the program through their department's jail operations. There are no Washington jurisdictions currently participating in the program. She asked how frequently the jail population registration is shared, and Rizzi advised it is shared daily. Gutierrez asked if Rizzi asserts that immigration enforcement is a Federal responsibility. Rizzi advised it is, although there are municipalities that are more pro -active and participate in the 2878 program. Those municipalities are primarily in border states and have significantly different circumstances. Rizzi also discussed the police department's policy and the RCW against racial profiling. Gutierrez asked if the Police Department impartially enforces the laws. Rizzi replied that the Yakima Police Department treats all community members will respect and highest regard for the sanctity of life. Coffey asked if Rizzi was aware of the issues with the Spokane Valley policy regarding Welcoming City. Rizzi was not aware of the specific issues, but understood that they had come out as officially not a welcoming city. Rizzi discussed the city of Miami, who declared they were not a sanctuary city but the Obama administration classified them as a sanctuary city based on their actions despite their proclamation. Coffey stated that a petition was distributed in Spokane Valley against the sanctuary city status and went to ballot. The public voted to not be a sanctuary city. Coffey provided this story to illustrate how at times it is best to leave things alone. 4. Dispute Resolution Center Matt Fairbanks spoke about how the DRC could assist in fostering the community conversation and a proposal had been drafted and submitted. Coffey stated she would like to study the proposal and thought it looked interesting and positive. There was discussion as to whether the proposal should go to the NCBC for review. Coffey advised she would like the PSC members to meeting and discuss, then send to the full council. Adjournment Meeting was adjourned at 5:00 p.m. Approved: