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HomeMy WebLinkAbout122018 PSC minutesCouncil Public Safety Committee 2nd Floor Conference Room City Hall December 20, 2018 3:00 p.m. Members: Staff: Others: Councilmember Gutierrez Cliff Moore, City Manager Luz Bazan Gutierrez Councilmember White (alt) Gary Jones, Interim Police Chief Tony Coursey Aaron Markham, Fire Chief Brett Sheffield, Chief Engineer Cynthia Martinez, City Prosecutor Terri Croft, Police Executive Minutes Gutierrez called the meeting to order at 3:05 p.m. The meeting started with agenda item 2c — Yakima Domestic Violence response survey 1. November 15, 2018 minutes It was MOVED by White and SECONDED by Gutierrez to accept the minutes as presented. The minutes were approved unanimously. 2. Department reports a. Fire Department i. October/November fire activity report Markham provided a monthly report of calls for service and fire inspections. Markham advised they had filled 2 fire investigator positions. These employees have basic fire investigation training and will receive additional training in 2019. Gutierrez asked how these firefighters are backfilled when they are conducting an investigation. Markham advised the company will stay with the investigator during the initial investigation. If the initial investigation is prolonged and there are other calls that require service, they will be backfilled. Markham added that four cases were closed in October and November and determined to not be arson. ii. Arson Markham noted that structure fires have been down. They have been seeing lots of accidental fires. Investigation continues on the previous arson fires. b. Police Department i. Community Policing Report Jones briefly discussed community policing and how it is a very broad topic. He will be making a presentation to council in January to discuss the various aspects of community policing. He discussed the selection process for the beat officer assignments and the expectations for them. Jones reviewed the various community outreach activities for the months of November and December. He also discussed a Project Safe Neighborhood partnership and will bring additional information to the full council in January. There was additional discussion about the placement of the beat officers and a focus in 2019 on police redistricting. White requested the police department have a presence at the Henry Beauchamp Community Center Christmas event next year. Gutierrez asked if there should be a study session after the police presentation to Council, or if questions will be posed to Council as part of the presentation. She would like to see the discussion continued on how Council can assist in the community policing process. Moore advised a study session could be requested after the presentation. White would like to see the Community Integration Committee become part of the community policing efforts. c. Legal i. DV Response survey Gutierrez explained that the committee had requested staff conduct a survey of what resources the City of Yakima has to respond to domestic violence to begin forming a community crisis response team. Gutierrez asked what administrative changes can be made without council policy changes to align Yakima's response with the model response, and what would the costs be. Martinez advised the formation of the CCRT would be something that could be accomplished with little to no cost. Gutierrez also asked how staff anticipated the new domestic violence advocate fitting into the domestic violence response system. Martinez advised that she could respond on behalf of the prosecutor's office, but that the position would cross over many departments and agencies, each of which would have a different role for the advocate to fill. It was MOVED by Gutierrez and SECONDED by White to recommend initiations of a CCRT to the full council in January. Motion PASSED unanimously. Item will be on the January 15 council reports. d. Public Works i. Safe Routes to Schools Sheffield advised the bid for the Safe Routes to Schools project around Garfield Elementary had been opened. Merino Construction was the low bidder. They have also done the construction project around Adams Elementary and other projects. They will start in mid- June. White asked about crosswalks or traffic calming in the area of Adams elementary. There is a large span between markers on Fair Avenue between Kiwanis Park and Race and a large population on the east side of Fair trying to cross. Sheffield advised they could look into options. Gutierrez also asked that Sheffield verify that the project around the Yakima Hops area on 3rd Avenue was privately funded and not paid from city funds. Sheffield reviewed the process for prioritizing street improvement projects. He advised that they try to conduct a pavement condition index every two years. Roads that have the highest daily traffic and are in the worst condition are prioritized higher. Gutierrez reminded that at a previous meeting Councilmember White had requested a matrix of the danger levels of different areas. She also requested that a written report be provided each month as part of the meeting packet. White also requested information on the prioritization of tree removal and if hazards associated with the trees are taken into account. Moore advised that trees are dealt with when issues arise and an arborist has evaluated the health of the tree to determine if removal is necessary. Moore asked Sheffield to provide the pavement condition index and traffic count index for the January packet. Gutierrez requested a TBD project schedule. Moore advised that a good deal of that information will be presented to Council at the January 12 strategic plan review meeting. Gutierrez clarified that she would like to see a schedule of traffic calming and Safe Routes to Schools. Sheffield advised that his department would be doing a capital improvement project update at the February 5th Council meeting. 3. New Business None 4. Other business a. Public Safety Forum review discussion Gutierrez briefly reviewed the notes of the latest public forum. 5. Recap of future agenda items Recommendation for CCRT to full council Pavement condition index and traffic count spreadsheet 6. Audience participation Luz Bazan-Gutierrez discussed the need for additional lighting at the transit center. She recommended community forums related to community policing and regular community briefings to have a better exchange of information between the community and the police. Tony Coursey spoke to his support of the Safe Routes to Schools and asked for a definition of stakeholders. 7. Adjournment Meeting was adjourned at 4:15 p.m.