HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/05/2011 04B4a City Properties Community Service Possibilities Report BUSINESS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
YAKIMA, WASHINGTON
AGENDA STATEMENT
410 Item No. .1-P3 " L a
For Meeting of: April 5, 2011
ITEM TITLE: Public Safety Committee's Report to the full City Council on Possibilities for
Additional Community Service for City Properties
SUBMITTED BY: Chris Waarvick, Director of Public Works
Cynthia Martinez, Assistant City Attorney
CONTACT PERSON/TELEPHONE: Chris Waarvick, Director of Public Works, 575 -6411
Cynthia Martinez, Senior Assistant City Attorney
Ken Wilkinson, Parks & Recreation Manager
Archie Matthews, ONDS Manager
SUMMARY EXPLANATION:
The City Council's Public Safety Committee (Kathy Coffey, Chair; Bill Lover, Maureen Adkison,
and Rick Ensey - Altemate) requested staff to research the possibilities of bringing additional
maintenance and clean -up man -hours to public places. The attached memorandum from Cynthia
Martinez, Senior. Assistant City Attomey, describes staffs current understanding of what those
possibilities are. Simply, "volunteers" are the most expedient group of individuals to use for
activities such as park cleanup. Individuals ordered by the Court to provide community service
enjoy the same benefits as volunteers, with respect to insurable coverage, but can have a spotty
reliability history. Substituting community service in lieu of paying fines is not favored by the
® Courts at this time, and has similar challenges as community service in lieu of jail time — that being
proper supervision and documentation.
ONDS is prepared to continue to lead community service crews which may include clean -up
activities in parks. Ken Wilkinson, Parks and Recreation Manager, has organized volunteer groups
to come in for specific dates and places for clean -up activities throughout the coming year. These
volunteer groups are typically church and service club groups.
Resolution _ Ordinance Other X (Specify) Legal Memorandum dated 2/18/11
Contract _Mail to (name and address):
Funding Source:
APPROVED FOR SUBMITTAL: � —� City Manager
STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that the City continue to: (1) engage
community groups for park clean -up and improvement efforts; (2) use ONDS to lead Community
Service Work Programs ordered by the Court, notwithstanding certain reliability challenges; and
(3) continue to engage the City and County justice system on the issues of community service in
lieu of fines and jail time.
BOARD /COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION: Public Safety Committee discussed this matter on
March 16, 2011, and recommends forwarding the issue to the full City Council for further
deliberation and action. .
COUNCIL ACTION:
CITY OF YAKIMA
LEGAL •
DEPARTMENT
200 South Third Sheet, Yakima, Washington 98901 (509)575 -6030 Fax (509)575 -6160
• MEMORANDUM
February 18, 2011
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TO: Kathy Coffey, Chair Public Safety Committee •
Maureen Adkison, Public Safety Committee Member
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Bill Lover, Public Safety Committee Member
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FRO M: Chris Waarvick, Director of Public Works
Cynthia Martinez, Assistant City Attorney
SUBJECT: Expansion of ONDS Work Crew Program
• On January 28, 2011, Chris Waarvick, Ken Wilkinson, and Cynthia Martinez
met with Archie Matthews, Operations Supervisor for the Office of Neighborhood
Development Services (ONDS) to discuss the possibility of expanding the ONDS Work
Crew Program. During this meeting, Archie explained that the ONDS work crew utilizes
three categories of manpower:
1. Volunteers - This category includes Church Groups or other civic groups
looking for a community service project. He typically tries to organize a
large project on a week end day to accommodate these groups. Turn out
for this group is unpredictable.
2. People for People program participants — These individuals are paid to
work 20 hours per week by the People for People Program with,the goal of
learning work skills. .These program participants. are typically reliable and
stay for a three month period. However, the number of participants in this
. program is limited.
3. Juveniles /Adults ordered by the Court to perform Community
Service /Restitution hours - These individuals are the most difficult to
supervise and turnout is very unpredictable.
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Volunteers for the ONDS program perform a variety of jobs from picking up
litter to painting out graffiti. The program can handle 15 people on a daily basis.
Archie Matthews indicated that the work crew program could handle a limited expansion
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Memorandum
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February 18, 2011
Page 2
of the program, including some park clean up event for volunteers and individuals
whom the Court allows to work for credit on jail and /or fines.
During the meeting, the Parks and Recreation Division in partnership with the
ONDS Work Crew planned a 'Park Clean Up Day'. It is tentatively scheduled for
Saturday, March 5, 2011. ONDS stated that the Park Clean Up Event could also utilize
individuals that need to perform Community Service /Restitution hours as allowed by the
Court. Parks Maintenance can provide the park locations, job lists, and some direction
for the workers for these' specific clean up days. ONDS may be able to provide the
direct supervision of the work crew. The two future dates for park clean ups have not
been established but they are hoping to plan another in the summer and the fall. Mr.
Mathews indicated that these events take planning, organizing and coordinating, and
success largely depends on the weather and the enthusiasm of the group. Council
could choose to authorize limited programs utilizing volunteers (category 1, above),
such as this one, without further deliberations.
These are the issues still outstanding for a program that would allow Defendant's to •
work for credit against jail or fines:
Costs:
Insurance: Most Work Crew programs utilizing individuals who are receiving credit for
fines or jail time maintain an insurance policy to cover medical expenses in the event a
work crew participant is injured while working. RCW 35.21.209 authorizes cities to
purchase liability insurance to cover this situation and also authorizes cities to treat
offenders as employees and /or workers under Title 51 RCW (Labor and Industries
Insurance). The City is self insured for Labor and Industries purposes.
If Council chooses to treat these individuals as employees and /or workers for
Labor and Industries purposes, an injured Work crew participant would not only recover
for medical expenses, but could also claim lost wages. The City would also have to pay
an hourly assessment.
On the other hand, the cost to purchase a separate insurance policy to cover
medical expenses is considerable. Joel Pierson of Wells Fargo Insurance Services
states that such a policy would cost in the neighborhood of $1,050. a month (cost
depends on number of work hours).
ONDS volunteers are covered by L and 1, however, those working for credit on
fines or jail time, would not be considered volunteers, because they are receiving value
for the work they perform. The L and I coverage for volunteers limits recovery to
medical costs. Fortunately, and to the credit of those supervising this program, there
have been no incidents that have led an individual to seek reimbursement for medical
expenses from the City.
Memorandum
February 18, 2011
Page 3
Operating Costs: It costs money to dispose of garbage. Refuse typically pays these
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fees. Some clean up operations have costs more than $1,000. in dump fees. Adding
more clean up days may translate t� more dump fees.
Court Participation: The program would rely on the elected Judges agreeing to allow
this sentencing alternative. Presiding Judge Kelley Olwell was receptive to the program
as an alternative to jail time, _ but not for fines. We already have electronic home
monitoring and day detention as jail alternatives. The Judge also stated that due to
staffing shortages in the Court Office, staff can not take on any additional duties. If
Council chooses to move forward with an expanded ONDS program, Council members
may want to meet with the Judges discuss program and explore participation. As of
January, Judge Susan Woodard became the presiding judge.
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