HomeMy WebLinkAboutPSC agenda packet 8-24-17
Council Public Safety Committee
2nd Floor Conference Room
City Hall
August 24, 2017
3:00 p.m.
Members: Staff: Others:
Councilmember Mendez (chair) City Manager Cliff Moore
Councilmember Coffey Police Chief Dominic Rizzi
Councilmember D. Gutierrez Fire Chief Bob Stewart
Councilmember Lover (alternate) City Prosecutor Cynthia Martinez
Brad Coughenour
Scott Schafer
Agenda
1. Approval of July 27, 2017 minutes
2. New Business
3. Old Business
a. Central Washington Catholic Foundation community forum
b. Domestic Violence - Martinez
c. Washington State Partnership Council on Juvenile Justice update – Moore
d. Governor Inslee October/November visit planning
e. Public forum planning
4. Other Business
5. Information items
6. Recap of future agenda items
7. Audience Participation
8. Adjournment
Council Public Safety Committee
July 27, 2017
MINUTES
Members present: Staff:
Councilmember Carmen Mendez (chair) City Manager Cliff Moore
Councilmember Kathy Coffey Chief Dominic Rizzi, Police
Councilmember Dulce Gutierrez Deputy Chief Mark Soptich, Fire
Prosecutor Cynthia Martinez, Legal
Scott Schafer, Public Works
Stacey Garcia, SunComm
Terri Croft, Police
Others present:
Kathleen Wilmes – Central Washington Catholic Foundation
Dustin Sandlin
YWCA representatives
The meeting was called to order at 3:04 p.m.
1. Approval of minutes of June 14, 2017
It was MOVED by Gutierrez and SECONDED by Coffey to approve the minutes as presented.
Motion PASSED unanimously.
2. New Business
2.a. Central Washington Catholic Foundation community forum
Kathleen Wilmes of the Central Washington Catholic Foundation advised that they are hosting
Father Greg Boyle to be the keynote speaker at an event they are holding October 7. Father
Boyle offered to host a civic and faith leader forum from 2:30-4:00 on that date. She requested
assistance with outreach and contacting the appropriate civil leaders/organizations to invite to the
event. The committee members made recommendations of various groups that might be able to
assist with the project and advised they would assist as well.
2.b. Cannabis education program
Dustin Sandlin represented the Good Karma Coalition, a coalition of cannabis
businesses who are interested in giving back to the community. He approached the
committee to get feedback on how they might make a contribution, suggesting a
cannabis education program that encouraged responsible and lawful use of their
product. The committee felt this was an important and encouraging step for the
business owners and advised they would see how they might be able to help.
2.c. YWCA report
Daniela Aguilar of the YWCA reported on a domestic violence prevention program they
are currently using that is directed toward youth. They currently conduct the program at
Juvenile Detention and in an after-school setting with middle school students at the
Henry Beauchamp Community Center. Aguilar requested a portion of the city’s funding
set aside for youth programs to expand this program. The program is an evidence-
based curriculum, and Yakima is the first place in the state to implement it. Mendez
noted that domestic violence has been a subject of focus within the committee and
suggested it could be implemented at the Washington Fruit Community Center as a
requirement to participate in other youth activities. The cost for a 12 session program is
$3000, which is approximately what remains in the youth activities earmark. The
program could also be reduced to several abbreviated sessions.
Coffey stated that the request should be presented to the full council, as the program is
a diversion from the intent of the earmarked funds. Gutierrez concurred. Mendez
disagreed, as the intent was to provide programs for interaction with youth to dissuade
gang violence. Moore stated that the direction from the Council was for the funding to
be appropriated to Parks and Rec for programming. Gutierrez stated she still supported
the program being funded, but did not believe it fit the original intent would like the other
council members to be aware of the request. Moore advised the issue could be brought
up under other business at the August 1 council meeting, since no vote was needed.
Mendez would present the issue and the other two committee members could indicate
their support.
2.d. Prosecution report
Martinez presented the mid-year report of the prosecution division. Gutierrez expressed
her appreciation of the report and commended the diversion program. She asked if the
expenses had remained static for the program. Martinez advised they had and the
costs were not expected to change next year.
3. Old Business
3.a. Body Camera Policy Issue
Rizzi presented the draft policy issue request for a body camera program, which
consolidated all of the information gathered to date into a comprehensive cost analysis.
Although many factors could not be precisely determined, the estimate of $1.76 million
over 5 years is a good baseline.
The committee members thanked Rizzi and staff for the analysis and commented that
body cameras were something that would need to be seriously considered in the future.
Coffey believed the program was much more feasible after seeing the analysis.
Gutierrez expressed interest in the position of the police union and would like to
continue the discussion at a later time. Rizzi advised that the addition of body cameras
is not a drastic change in working conditions for the officers, since they currently have
the in-car cameras and microphones on their person for that system. He additionally
stated that officers know the benefit of body worn camera systems. The major
drawback that Rizzi identified is that the program is labor intensive.
3.b. Domestic Violence
Martinez reported that she had been unable to meet with County prosecution staff due
to their trial case load, but she would continue to try to facilitate that meeting. She
further reported that the department did not have the funding available to send anyone
to the domestic violence symposium, as the cost of the travel was prohibitive. Mendez
stated that domestic violence continued to be a priority of the committee. Gutierrez
asked why funding for the symposium could not come from the staff travel budget.
Moore advised that there were other CLE and certification needs that impacted the
training/travel budget. Gutierrez expressed her disappointment in this development, as
the symposium had been discussed for several months and identified as the best
training available in the region. She wants to ensure that funding is identified in 2018
for this training opportunity. Coffey stated that could be addressed in the budget
process, but advised that council could not and should not become involved in the
management decision regarding training priorities.
3.c. Juvenile Justice Partnership
Moore gave a brief history of how the Washington State Partnership Council on Juvenile
Justice strategic task force position came to the City’s attention. He obtained additional
information regarding the position, which would meet 8 times over the next 18 months,
with partners meeting to develop best practices. The task force’s final report will be
delivered in September 2019. There is a position open for a local elected official on
their executive board. It was MOVED by Coffey and SECONDED by Mendez to submit
Councilmember Gutierrez for consideration. Moore advised the recommendation
should go through the full council. It was decided that Gutierrez would bring up the
issue under other business at the August 1 council meeting and request it be put on the
regular agenda for the August 15 meeting. The application process could begin after
the August 1 meeting.
3.d. Faith Based Community
Moore reported that Sarah Augustine had met with Sgt. David Cortez regarding a
shuttle diplomacy program and they are working through the protocols for that.
3.e. Forum planning
After the community forum in her district, Gutierrez asked the full council if future forums
should be led by individual council members or if the Public Safety Committee should
take the lead in organizing the forums. It was decided to run the forums through the
Public Safety Committee.
Gutierrez would like to have set number of forums determined. She recommended 10
forums be scheduled in areas where they are being requested, which would keep the
forums efficient and create neighborhood ownership in the process. Mendez suggested
7 forums, one in each district, as the target. Additional forums could be scheduled from
there. Coffey commended Gutierrez on her forum and requested a template or
prototype be developed to assist the councilmember in other districts. Mendez stated
that the Public Safety Committee could do the coordination of the forum and invite the
district council representative to the event. Coffey stressed the importance of buy-in
from the district council representative.
Gutierrez noted that some of the feedback from her forum was critical of city processes
and she expected that to continue. She discouraged listing out problems, and
suggested letting community members know we are trying to determine long-term
solutions. Many of the issues brought up can’t be address, as many are out of the city’s
control. The committee discussed tweaking the 10 questions/discussion topics posed to
the attendees.
Moore summarized that the agenda template should include who was connected with
organizing the forum, how to promote, and how to encourage neighbors to participate.
The committee will bring up the topic under other business on the August 1 council
agenda and have a report and template ready for the August 15 meeting.
4. Other Business
There was no other business
5. Information items
No informational items presented
6. Future Agenda Recap
Mendez will work with Croft to develop the next agenda.
7. Audience Participation
There was no audience participation
8. Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 4:25 p.m.
Approved: