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Home My WebLink About05/17/2011 04B-1 Minutes 04-20-2011 Council Public Safety Committee 0 Council Pu6Cu Safety Committee April 20, 2011 MINUTES Council Members Present: Kathy Coffey, Bill Lover and Rick Ensey Staff Present: City Manager Dick Zais, Acting Assistant City Manager Michael Morales, Interim Police Chief Greg Copeland, Acting Fire Chief Dave Willson, Prosecuting Attorney Cynthia Martinez, Acting Codes Manager Joe Caruso, Public Works Director Chris Waarvick, Stree and Traffic Operations Manager Joe Rosenlund, and Police Administrative Assistant Terri Croft. Others Present: Bill McLoughlin and Rob Tee of the Yakima Valley Landlords Association The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Coffey at 3 p.m. Agenda item #7, Gang Free Initiative update was moved to. item #2. I. Crime Free Rental Housing ® McLoughlin reported that representatives of the Yakima Valley Landlords Association had attended Legislative Day in Olympia to promote the program. The program has been well received and is one of the largest in the state. YVLA is currently doing a membership drive to get more landlords to join and participate in CFRH. McLoughlin also spoke highly of the work being done by Officer Fowler with nuisance houses, and thanked the Council and City for supporting CFRH. YVLA will be hosting a CFRH seminar on May 21, 2011. II. GFI Update Copeland gave a brief history of the Gang Free Initiative for the members of the YVLA attending the meeting. The GFI follows a "roadmap" outlined by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) for programs and best practices to combat youth /gang violence. One of the major goals of the GFI Committee has been to secure funding for programs to impact gang problems. Committee members met on March 19 as a "check in" for confirming the GFI is continuing on the intended. path. A meeting of the full steering committee was held on April 7. The GFI is working toward two grants. The first one is a Comprehensive Anti Gang Strategy and all necessary applications have been completed. The second is the Community Based Violence Demonstration Program for $2.2 million to support anti -gang programs. III. WSLCB /Codes/YPD Task Force update • Caruso advised of the partnership between Codes, YPD, Liquor Enforcement and Gaming Commission that has been in place since 2005. The task force does site inspections of liquor establishments to assure compliance. Having all the agencies represented means all issues can be addressed at the same time. The task force has been working with establishments to quickly resolve and /or to prevent issues from arising. For example, Good Neighbor agreements are now mandatory for night clubs. Where there has been an excessive use of YPD between 1:00 -2:00 a.m., it is mandatory for establishments to hire off duty police officers. Letters are being sent to liquor establishments to announce the purpose of the task force. Codes is also addressing the "roving teen dance parties" that have been popping up. IV. Municipal Court Dismissals Coffey had requested this report be included in the Public Safety Committee packet. The report shows that the City of Yakima's dismissals are in line with the state average. There were no further questions regarding the report. V. Civil Injunctions Zais spoke of the defeat in the legislature of the gang bill that had provisions for civil injunctions. There are no provisions in the current law; however there is some ambiguity in the law that may allow the City to file a civil injunction if the right case came along. Martinez advised her report is not comprehensive. Several states have adopted omnibus legislature that allows for civil injunctions. Some legislators in our state feel there is not a need for state legislation of this sort. Gang injunctions are based on nuisance laws, and the City does have the ability to define what constitutes a nuisance. The Legal Department will have summer interns available that will be able to research this subject more in- depth. Ensey spoke about the Milton - Freewater daytime curfew /truancy enforcement. Lover asked if there are any plans by the attorney general or Congressman Ross to reintroduce the gang legislation. Zais advised there will be strategic planning with both after the end of the current legislative session. VI. Weapons Ordinance Martinez spoke for Bronson Faul on this item. The legal department has been updating city ordinances to strengthen and consolidate laws when practical. This item includes new weapons and updates in definitions, and incorporation of RCW's into the municipal code. It was recommended to present to the full Council with the committee's recommendation to approve. VII. Street Light Enhancements Rosenlund gave a progress report on the street lighting in high crime areas. The project has been divided into three parts: lights that can be replaced with a better fixture, areas where a power pole already exists and an agreement needs to be made with Pacific Power to install lights on those poles, and areas where both pole and power need to be installed. The 57 lights in group one have been replaced — 21 with 150 watt induction lights and 26 with 85 watt induction lights. 28 require vandal shields however the budget only covered 15. Morales advised that there were additional CDBG funds available for this project, that the $20,000 budget was done based on the presentation to Council of the need for 15 vandal shields. Rosenlund expects phase one to be completed by mid -June. Coffey asked what time frame was covered by the high crime statistics that are being utilized to determine locations for additional lighting. It is based on 2009 -2010 statistics There have been delays proceeding on phases two and three in dealing with Pacific Power approvals and inspections for rebates. Coffey asked when the new lighting locations will installed. Rosenlund advised he expected starting in May. Rosenlund has been told by Pacific Power there are issues with inconsistent installations, so they are requiring either they do in the installation or train the City workers to complete the installations according to Pacific Power's specifications. Coffey expressed her dissatisfaction with the length of time this project has taken. She requested a comparison of options and costs of having the City complete the training and installations versus Pacific Power doing the installations. Lover requested that the next tier of management of Pacific Power be contacted to facilitate moving the project along. VIII. Regional Fire Authority Willson advised Phase 1 of the 4 part study has been completed (history of jurisdictions, reasoning for RFA). Phase 2 will address standards of coverage and will take approximately two months. Phase 3 will be a financial analysis and will take approximately 3 months. Coffey requested a report to the Council at the completion of each phase of the study. IX. Monthly Police Report/Volunteers in Policing The Volunteers in Policing (VIP) program has been in place for approximately 3 years. They not only patrol handicapped parking, but also follow up on property crime cases for detectives, filing of reports, and helping at the Police Athletic League center. X. Ladder Truck Warranty • Willson provided an update on the ladder truck repairs and the work of Deputy Chief Stewart in obtaining a full 2 year bumper to bumper warranty. XI. Other Business Zais requested the ongoing assignments be updated to reflect "Jail Costs" rather than "Jail Cost Reduction" due to increases in incarceration costs. He also advised that the COPS funding program is at risk of be de- funded by October 2011. The grant currently pays for 5 police officers. The potential loss of funds is being covered by general fund vacancies. There were commitments from the Yakima School District and Yakima Housing Authority to pick up the full cost of the officers assigned to them upon the termination of federal funding. De- funding in October would shift the funding to YSD and YHA a year earlier than expected. Meeting Adjournment dwi neT a llawas adjourned at 3:55 p.m. Aoi L. MOIL. Kathy offey V 1 Public afety .mmittee Chair Minutes prepared by Terri Croft