HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/19/2010 04B Minutes 09-15-2010 Council Public Safety Committee T -
• Council Public Safety Committee
CED Conference Room
City Hall
September 15, 2010
MINUTES
Council Committee Members Present: Maureen Adkison and Kathy Coffey
Staff present: Dick Zais, Dave Zabel!, Sam Granato, Tom Foley, Dave Willson, Cynthia
Martinez, Jon Seitz, Cesar Abreu, Joe Caruso, Terri Croft.
Coffey called the meeting to order at 3 00
I Gang Free Initiative Update
Coffey advised the Prevention Committee had met with approximately 12 students to fill
the youth positions on the Steering Committee The students' experience ranged from
no involvement in gangs to prior gang membership All of the students were
exceptional and provided feedback regarding what new strategies are working One
student specifically mentioned that the additional street lighting in known gang areas
was having a noticeable impact, that gang members are no longer congregating there
• and he and his family feel much safer Three youths were recommended to join the
Steering Committee and the Committee would like to meet with them on at least a
quarterly basis
The Gang Coordinator position is in the final phases of vetting and a decision should be
made by the week of September 20
II Proposed Gang Stakeholders Event
Zais advised he had been in discussions with the Attorney General's office, who is
working with a coalition through AWC on requested gang legislation They advised they
would like to have stakeholder sessions around the state to discuss anti -gang strategies
The City of Yakima has offered to host the event on November 15
ill Crime Statistic Report for Parking Benefit Improvement Area
Abreu presented his report on crime in the PBIA. The five year analysis shows a
decrease in crime in the area
IV Fire Department Partnerships
Willson advised that the Mutual Aid agreements /pacts with Union Gap Fire Department
are working well Due to the success of the current agreements, Willson requested (on
behalf of Chief Hines) permission to pursue further discussions with Union Gap for further
0 business agreements The next logical progression would be to combine Yakima and
Union Gap Fire Departments into one department.
It was MOVED by Coffey and SECONDED by Adkison to recommend further discussions
regarding fire service consolidation to the full Council
There will be an update on discussions with West Valley Fire at the next Public Safety
Committee meeting -
V Vendors Outside of Fairgrounds
Caruso advised that when the ordinance prohibiting parking on front lawns was passed,
an exemption was made for residents along Fair Avenue that they could provide parking
in their yards during the Central Washington State Fair However, there have been some
vendors that have set up modular concession stands in front yards that are not covered
under the exemption Code Enforcement Officers now have citation authority over this
violation and is in the process of notifying affected residents and past vendors /violators
that they will be citing anyone in violation The penalty is $500 /day that the vendor is
operating
Additionally, the committee requested a report at the next meeting regarding the cost to
provide police security at the Central Washington State Fair
VI Gilbert Park Animal Control Violations
There have been multiple incidents of dog owners allowing their dogs off leash at Gilbert
Park A neighborhood child was nearly bitten in the face by one of the loose dogs
Animal control recently visited the park and found 8 -10 dogs that were off leash The
owners quickly leashed their dogs and were warned that there would be zero tolerance
for off -leash dogs in the future, and fines would be assessed in the amount of $250
The committee requested that a reminder notice of the leash laws and fines be sent out
in City utility bills
VII Proposed Legislation
Martinez and Seitz provided housekeeping revisions to two city ordinances regarding
stalking crimes and parking technology The committee voted to forward the revisions to
the full council with their recommendation to approve
VIII FBI Safe Streets Task Force
Notification for the new SSTF positions were sent out to all commissioned police officers
8 officers applied for the 2 task force officer positions, and 2 sergeants applied for the 1
sergeant position It is expected that the FBI agreement will be final around Jan 1, 2011
After the ratification of the agreement, task force funding for up to $17,000 per task force
officer will be available for reimbursement. The task force assignments will begin Oct. 1,
2010 Overtime will be tracked between October and December in case it might be
reimbursable Zabell commended the department on their work setting up for the task
force and Abreu's work on the databases that would be used
IX Police Monthly Report
The June report was presented to the committee The statistics for the July and August
preliminary reports are also looking promising The Department has been getting positive
responses from citizens regarding the emphasis patrols
The meeting w. djourned at 3 50 p m
Kathy Co -y 11`
Public Safety Com ittee
Minutes prepared by Terri Croft
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