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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/20/2010 04B Minutes 03-24-2010 Council Public Safety Committee • Council Public Safety Committee CED Conference Room City Hall March 24, 2010 MINUTES Council Committee Members Present: Maureen Adkison, Kathy Coffey and Bill Lover Staff present: Dick Zais, Dave Zab Rita DeBord, Kelly Rosenow, Greg Copeland, Dave Willson, Chris Waarvick, Judge Kelly Olwell, Linda Hagert, Cesar Abreu, Terri . Croft, Bronson Faul. Others: Yakima County Commissioner Kevin Bouchey, Mrs. Richard Ausink Coffey called the meeting to order at 3:00. I. Gang Initiative Yakima County Commissioner Kevin Bouchey presented a brief overview of the 0 County's proposed Gang Commission. He has been meeting with representatives from various agencies within the county to coordinate the commission and expects an ordinance to be delivered to the County Commissioners in April or May for consideration with a July implementation timeframe. The Commission has been proposed as a non - regulatory body that will act more as an information clearinghouse, networking hub, and technical support body. Randy Town of ESD 105 is anticipated to be the commission coordinator. The County's program is not designed to be a "one size fits all" program, and the City of Yakima's Gang Free Initiative has been set up to compliment the County's program. Commissioner Bouchey gave an overview of the Building Bridges intervention program. Lt. Mike Merryman is the City's liaison to the County program. City staff presented a draft plan. Lt. Merryman will be asked to review the draft to see where the City and County plans tie in and compliment each other. Staff needs direction from Council as to the goals of the Initiative. The plan will need to have active community partners. The draft plan was patterned after the Weed and Seed grant program. It was suggested that Harold Delia from the County be invited to discuss more details of the Initiative. Meetings have been held with Senator Murray to discuss funding. II. Closure of Pedestrian Stairway between N 23 Ave/W Lincoln Ave Mr. Rich Ausink has requested the City close the pedestrian stairway that links N. 23 Ave. and W. Lincoln Ave. due to graffiti and other vandalisms that have been occurring in the area. Crime Analyst Cesar Abreu provided crime statistics and maps for the area. • The types of crime that were analyzed were Part 1 or violent crimes. The Committee did not feel that Part 1 crime was the issue, but rather. Part 2 or nuisance crimes were the problem. The Committee requested an updated report with Part 2 crimes detailed, and • also to change the area of review to reflect the neighborhoods south of Lincoln. Avenue rather than to the north. III. Red Light Cameras A report was provided that showed the accident rates from 2007 to the present. The worst intersection is at 1 Street and Nob Hill Boulevard. Coffey asked if a study session should be conducted with vendor demonstrations to further the issue of Red Light Cameras. Judge Olwell expressed some concerns of the Court, such as how many cameras would be installed. She advised the City of Moses Lake issues approximately 1500 red light violations, and Yakima is approximately twice the size of Moses Lake, so she would anticipate approximate twice the number of violations to be issued. Each violator is entitled to a hearing before the court. She advised that the City of Tacoma has hired one additional court support staff member for every 2 -3 cameras installed. The court has already had to cut positions and is currently only open to the public to receive payments for 4 hours /day. These hours would have to be expanded if there are an additional 3000 violations issued each year, which would require additional staffing. It was recommended that Captain Copeland and Judge Olwell meet with the vendors prior to the Council Study Session to answer some of these questions. The issue was tabled to the next meeting pending additional research from the Court and Police Department. IV. County Wide Records Management System Project Update DeBord advised the committee that the County Consortium is close to having a final draft agreement for all participating agencies. The current hold up in continuing with the project is funding for implementation. Additionally, maintenance costs have not yet been addressed. V. Police Services Rosenow advised the committee that due to reductions in force at the Police Department, Police Administration is looking into not continuing some of the services provided in the past, such as fingerprinting and concealed pistol permit fees. Discontinuation of these services would allow the staff to focus on more pressing tasks. There are other alternatives to obtain these services, namely the Yakima County Sheriff's Office. Staff is currently researching if there is any statutory requirement to provide these services. VI. GPS Electronic Home Monitoring The City has recently negotiated a contract with a company to provide GPS Electronic Home Monitoring services. The current EHM program requires that the participant have a home telephone (landline), which precludes many people from eligibility. Police will have 5 units ordered and available, and will continue to utilize the County's landline EHM units as well. VII. Other Items • • Rosenow advised the committee of an issue that may be brought to them by Yakima Avenue business owners. The Show and Shine event organizers requested to close Yakima Avenue in order to display the vehicles participating in the event. Although he felt it would be better to move the event to A Street, the application was approved to close Yakima Avenue for the event over the 4 of July weekend. The committee requested a review of what the notice requirements were for street closures. VIII. Future Committee Agenda Items Committee members reviewed their list of assignments and identified the following to be placed on the next agenda: • Updated on EMS levy authority (not available) • Fire Apparatus needs and funding (not available) • Clean up program using inmate labor (not available) • Jail Cost Reductions • Gang Initiative Coffey requested that the list of continuing committee assignments be placed at the bottom of each agenda, and requested that the minutes of the previous meeting also be attached with the agenda. 411 The meeting was adjourned at 4:40 p.m. Ka by Coff- 1 Public Safety Committe- Minutes prepared by Terri Croft •