HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/01/2018 05C Minutes 02-22-2018 Council Public Safety Committee2
Council Public Safety Committee
February 22, 2018
MINUTES
Members present: Staff:
Councilmember Dulce Gutierrez (chair) City Manager Cliff Moore
Councilmember Kathy Coffey Asst. City Mgr. Ana Cortez
Chief Dominic Rizzi, Police
Chief Bob Stewart, Fire
Scott Schafer, Public Works
Prosecutor Cynthia Martinez, Legal
Brooke Goosman, Legal
Sgt. Jim Moore, Police
Terri Croft, Police
The meeting was called to order at 3:03 p.m.
1. Approval of minutes of January 30, 2018
It was MOVED by Coffey and SECONDED by Guterriez to approve the minutes as
presented. Motion PASSED unanimously.
2. New Business
2.a. Parking Legislation
Goosman introduction proposed legislation to regulate parking in front of mailboxes.
The proposed legislation would prohibit parking within 15 feet of a mailbox Monday -
Saturday 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. The penalty would be a $20 infraction. The legislation is
based on the ordinances of other municipalities. This proposal is based on complaints
received and has the support of the postal service.
Coffey inquired if it is common knowledge not to park in front of a mail box and if there
was a need to post this information. Rizzi suggested a PSA or social media campaign
could be done to get the word out prior to enforcement. Sgt. Moore also suggested pre-
printed warning notices for distribution prior to enforcement.
It was recommended by Coffey to move this item to the full council on the March 20
agenda. Gutierrez seconded the recommendation.
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2.b. Traffic calming procedures
Shafer reported that the Streets Division gets approximately one request per week and
5 petitions annually for traffic calming measures. The challenge that the division faces
is the budget not only for installing traffic calming measures, but for staffing to conduct
studies as to the necessity of the measures. This takes away from the repair and
replacement fund. The division generally waits until the end of the year to determine if
funding is available, but often have to deal with inclement weather and snow removal,
which also impacts the budget. In 2018, $30,000 was earmarked for traffic calming
requests. Staff is also reviewing the request process to include public meetings with
affected residents, changing the percentage of signatures required from 51% to 75%,
and following up to ensure residents still want the calming measures prior to installation.
Coffey noted that speed bumps are increasingly popular, but not necessarily effective.
Shafer advised that other traffic calming measures can be implemented with speed
humps as a last resort. Shafter noted the need for follow up studies after the installation
of any traffic calming measures to verify they are creating the desired outcome.
Cortez added that staff would like to partner with YVC engineering students to assist in
conducting the traffic studies. She introduced the proposed revisions to the committee.
Gutierrez noted that there are many requests, but in neighborhoods with a higher
concentration of houses, many people aren't comfortable with conducting the door to
door petitioning. Coffey felt that the proposed revisions were still problematic.
Gutierrez requested the item be kept on the agenda for the next meeting to continue
discussion.
City Manager Moore asked if YVCOG had any capacity to conduct the necessary traffic
studies. Shafer advised that they had previously conducted studies for the city but the
results were poor and the data was unreliable. Moore advised he would follow up with
YVCOG. Coffey requested that the topic be added to the Council round table agenda.
2.c. Gang Prevention/Intervention Conference
Gutierrez advised of the upcoming gang prevention and intervention conference May 7-
8. Participation would be approximately $800/per attendee for travel and registration.
She asked if there was funding available in the training budget to attend. Moore advise
there was, especially since the AWC conference will be held in Yakima, which will
reduce costs for us to attend, so those funds could be redirected to the gang
conference.
Coffey felt this would be a good opportunity to obtain information to bring back. She
recommended sending Gutierrez to the conference and forwarding the item under
Council Reports on the next council agenda.
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3. Old Business
3.a. Speaking points for YSD/Yakima City Council joint meeting
Gutierrez advised that this will be the 3rd meeting joint meeting between the Yakima
School District and Yakima City Council, and requested C. Moore address the
comments from Councilmembers Funk and Cousens regarding the topic. Moore
advised there was an e-mail exchange that indicated the council members thought one
council member had been selected or identified as a liaison to the school district., which
is not correct. Moore advised he had suggested Gutierrez lead the conversation among
the council members since she had been interacting with the school district with the
mentorship program. It was determined this was a point of confusion and there was no
liaison selected.
Coffey had heard that there was some discussion regarding the school district at the
community forum the night before. Martinez had been present at the forum and
reported that due to the recent violence in Florida, the focus of this forum seemed to be
school safety and gun violence. Parents were inquiring about measures the school
district had taken for safety, training, etc. There were questions regarding notifications
for lockdowns. Cortez advised Councilmembers Mendez and Funk were present at the
forum and advised they would relay the concerns to the school district. Cortez also
advised that the jurisdictional issues between the school district's authority and the city's
authority was explained. Coffey felt this issue should be on the agenda for the joint
meeting. C. Moore advised the school district representative didn't have the information
prepared regarding responses and was caught off -guard. Moore has reached out the
principals of the next three host schools so that they are prepared for this type of
questioning. There was discussion regarding the lockdown notification protocols.
C. Moore listed some recommended agenda items for the joint meeting:
- 2016 legislation requiring truancy boards to be functioning in 2017-2018
- after school programs
- community schools — willingness to keep schools open after hours
- mentoring program
- literacy
- does council want to assign a liaison to the school district
Gutierrez noted we need to be efficient and considerate of submissions they may have.
She advised Councilmember White would like to see the emphasis on younger
students. Gutierrez added four additional proposed topics that fall under the umbrella of
Implementation of Promising Practices
- Active Shooter drills
- After school/summer programs
- Out of school suspensions/truancy
- Safe routes of school capacity
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Coffey felt all the topics should be consolidated and sent to the full council to review and
narrow down at the March 1 briefing.
3.b. Comprehensive Community Safety Plan
Cortez reported that representatives from Yakima County Probation, United Way,
Yakima Housing Authority, Rod's House, Aspen, La Casa Hogar, YWCA, Safe Yakima,
and Comprehensive Health Care met to provide input into the plan. The group
recommended to start with the vision of the outcome rather than the specifics to get to
the outcome. This will be used to redraft the vision statement. Group members liked
the linkage of topics but felt that substance abuse also needed to be included as part of
the safety plan. The group determined to come at the topic from an asset point of view
rather than a deficit, that is, to look at what we have rather than what we don't have.
These ideas will be incorporated into the plan as soon as possible. The group also felt
the statement "not for them without them" was important, that people who would be
impacted by the plan should be at the table in the planning stages. They also agreed
that the role of the City was to make connections and not be the "funder" of the plans.
The next draft will be prepared by March 6.
Coffey requested a list of people that attended the meeting in addition to the list of
agencies/partners they represented.
3.c. Forum planning
7th forum is set for this evening, February 22 at 6:00 p.m. at Lewis & Clark Middle
School. Councilmember Mendez will be facilitating. Forums are also set for February
24 at Franklin Middle School, February 27 at Washington Middle School, and March 7
at Wesley United Methodist Church.
Cortez noted that the last forum was different from past forums due to the events in
Florida and provided an opportunity for parents to express their concerns. There was
also discussion of awareness of the forums within the community and their appreciation
for the outlet. Moore commented that the change to making notes on a flip chart were
helpful for demonstration to the participants. Gutierrez noted that each forum has been
unique.
3.d. Domestic Violence
Coffey stated she would like to have Martinez write up her suggestions and Detective
Oja's input for legislative action. She also asked that the Partnership Committee stay
on top of the legislative action.
3.e. Fire 101 Academy
Stewart provided an update on the upcoming Fire 101 academy.
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4. Other Business
4.a. Community Academy
Rizzi reported that registrations are going well for the upcoming Community Academy
and that the department is planning for a Spanish language academy.
5. Information items
The committee recognized Fire Chief Bob Stewart's last Public Safety Committee
meeting.
6. Recap of Future Agenda Items
Cortez will provide the list of entities invited to the Community Safety Plan
meeting and a list of the people attending
Martinez will meet with Oja to draft the domestic violence legislation
7. Audience Participation
There was no audience participation
8. Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 4:00 p.m,;
Approved: