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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: