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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Public Safety Commission 01/12/2005PALM DESERT PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION APPROVED MINUTES WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 12, 2005 Administrative Conference Room I. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 3:31 p.m. by Commission Chair Martin Nethery. II. ROLL CALL Present; James Butzbach James Larsh Rick Lebel Martin Nethery, Chair Also Present: Councilman Richard Kelly Assistant City Manager/PIO Sheila Gilligan Director of Special Programs Robert Kohn Assistant to the City Manager Stephen Aryan Senior Management Analyst Pat Scully Palm Desert Police Department Lt. Steve Thetford Fire Chief Ignacio Otero Battalion Chief Travis Witten Guests: Gloria Kirkwood APPROVED MINUTES PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION JANUARY 12, 2005 III. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None IV. CONSENT CALENDAR A. Approval of Minutes from the November 10, 2004, Public Safety Commission Meeting Upon a motion by Commissioner Jim Larsh and second by Commissioner Rick Lebel, by unanimous vote the minutes of the November 10, 2004, meeting were approved as presented. V. CONSENT CALENDAR ITEMS HELD OVER None VI. NEW BUSINESS A. Election of Commission Chair and Co-chair Upon a motion by Commissioner Lebel and second by Commissioner Jim Butzbach, by unanimous vote the Commission added the election of a new Commission chair and vice chair to the agenda. Assistant City Manager/PIO Sheila Gilligan declared the office of chair of the Palm Desert Public Safety Commission vacant and invited nominations to fill that office. Upon a motion by Commissioner Butzbach and second by Commissioner Nethery, by unanimous vote the Commission elected Commissioner Larsh as chair of the Palm Desert Public Safety Commission for the year 2005. ACM/PIO Gilligan declared the office of vice chair of the Palm Desert Public Safety Commission vacant and invited nominations to fill that office. Upon a motion by Commissioner Butzbach and second by Chairman Larsh, by unanimous vote the Commission elected Commissioner Lebel as vice chair of the Palm Desert Public Safety Commission for the year 2005. APPROVED MINUTES PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION JANUARY 12, 2005 B. Palm Desert Fire Services Monthly Report for the months of October and November, 2004 Upon inquiry by Chairman Larsh, Fire Chief Ignacio Otero responded that the investigation into the November fire at Bananaz nightclub is ongoing. Upon inquiry by Commissioner Lebel, Chief Otero responded that the loss is estimated at $2.5 million and that loss figures are obtained from estimates provided by the property owner, the Fire Marshal, City officials and the business insurer. Chief Otero corrected the October statistics on page three under "Response/Report" to reflect that the year to date on medical aid should read 3,394. Upon inquiry by Commissioner Nethery, Chief Otero responded that the Willow Street fire occurred in a fourplex unit on the west side of Highway 74. Chief Otero reported that staff has been occupied with water and wind related issues. Chief Otero introduced Battalion Chief Travis Witten, who will be stationed in Rancho Mirage. Upon a motion by Commissioner Nethery and second by Vice Chair Lebel, by unanimous vote the Commission received and filed the report as submitted. C. Califomia Performance Review Report for Public Safety Services Lt. Steve Thetford reported that via this report the Governor has recommended some reorganization and consolidations that will allow agencies to communicate better and implement some new protocols that will allow law enforcement to get equipment more expeditiously and work more efficiently. Chief Otero added that it is proposed that fire services be transferred to the new Department of Homeland Security/Public Safety Services which might include a name change. Upon a motion by Commissioner Nethery and second by Commissioner Butzbach, by unanimous vote the Commission received and filed the report. 3 APPROVED MINUTES PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION JANUARY 12, 2005 D. Palm Desert Target Team Monthly Statistics for the months of October and November, 2004 Upon inquiry by Commissioner Nethery, Lt. Thetford responded the pedestrian checks are used to identify "the wrong people in the wrong place at the wrong time" which is used to gather information which may be of use at a future time in identifying crime trends and/or potential suspects. Upon inquiry by Chairman Larsh, Lt. Thetford responded that the Target Team bicycle hours increased during November due to the holiday season theft suppression program. Upon inquiry by Commissioner Nethery, Lt. Thetford responded that there are no identifiable residual effects from the surveillance at Westfield Shoppingtown. Upon a motion by Commissioner Butzbach and second by Commissioner Nethery, by unanimous vote the Commission received and fled the report. E. Palm Desert Station Traffic Collision Statistics for the months of October and November, 2004 Upon a motion by Vice Chair Lobel and second by Commissioner Nethery, by unanimous vote the Commission received and fled the report. F. Loan of Used Sokkia Total Station Lt. Thetford reported the equipment being suggested for loan to San Jacinto will be upgraded by that agency and will still be available for use in Palm Desert as needed. Upon inquiry by Commissioner Nethery, he responded that San Jacinto currently contracts with the Riverside County Sheriff's Department for law enforcement services. Upon a motion by Vice Chair Lebel and second by CommissionerNethery, by unanimous vote the Commission voted to recommend to the City Council that the Palm Desert Police Department be allowed to provide the San Jacinto Police Department with use of its Sokkia Total Station. VII. CONTINUED BUSINESS None 4 APPROVED MINUTES PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION JANUARY 12, 2005 VIII. OLD BUSINESS None IX. REPORT ON CITY COUNCIL ACTIONS Upon inquiry by Chairman Larsh, ACM/PIG Gilligan responded that it is anticipated that an appointment to fill the expired term of Kenneth Carr is anticipated within the next two months. Upon inquiry by Commissioner Nethery, Mrs. Gilligan responded that his term has been extended until he is reappointed by the City Council. X. REPORTS AND REMARKS A. Update on Westfield Shoppingtown Palm Desert Substation Lt. Thetford reported that minor construction occurred to make this facility functional and that deputies are using the back portion for report writing. This facility is currently staffed by one community services officer. No suspect interviews or detentions occur at this location. Upon inquiry by Chairman Larsh, Lt. Thetford replied that he is unaware of the exact number of security officers that Westfield employs. In addition, he is unaware of exactly what evening hours mall security staffs the property. B. Update on Fire Department public service programs for the holiday season Chief Otero reported that the Christmas Tree Burning Awareness program was very successful and for the fourth straight year no Christmas tree burn reports took place in the City. He added that the Fire Department's Toy Drive, "Spark Of Love" collected over 3,000 toys in the Cove Communities for distribution throughout the Coachella Valley. Chief Otero continued by commenting that the "Shop With A Firefighter Program" was also very successful. Over $10,000 donated by individuals was spent by needy children at local Wal-Marts. C. Update on the status of the new Police Department facility Lt. Thetford stated that at the last Cove Commission TAC meeting a proposal was brought forth with several options beginning with the needs assessment. Discussion focused several aspects on Phase I of a multi phase project including facility rates, was held. Preliminary numbers 5 APPROVED MINUTES PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION JANUARY 12, 2005 revealed that more staff input on the subjects covered is needed prior to moving forward. It is hoped that it will be presented to the Cove Commission at its February meeting. D. Update on the Palm Desert Citizens On Patrol program Director of Special Programs Robert Kohn reported that the program currently has 14 active members who are patrolling the City twice a week. He stated that the goal of the program is to enlist 30 members and would like to assist with the shut in program that the Police Department is sponsoring. He added that the program has a link to the NACOP website. Upon inquiry by Commissioner Nethery, Mr. Kohn responded that patrols around the City consist of observing and reporting any suspicious activities. As more members are trained, more specific areas will be targeted based on the needs of the City. At the present time, three individuals are needed to man a patrol; a driver, an observer, and a dispatcher. Upon inquiry by Commissioner Lebel, Mr. Kohn responded that he and Dep. Robert Bishop, who is the law enforcement representative to the program, are attempting to develop a vacation check program. This will be implemented as trained membership increases. Lt. Thetford added that the program is still developing and he will bring this and other programs, such as the "Vial of Life" to the Commission as they are implemented. E. Fire Department Patches Chief Otero commented that fire trucks and ambulances operating in Palm Desert now have decals identifying their direct affiliation. F. Comments by Commission Members 1. Chairman Larsh thanked Commissioner Nethery for his service as Commission Chair in 2004. 2. Upon inquiry by Commissioner Butzbach, Lt. Thetford advised that the position of Chief of the Palm Desert Police Department, which was recently vacated by the promotion and transfer of Pat McManus, will be filled by Craig Kilday. Lt. Thetford will invite him to attend the February meeting of the Commission. He further advised that the new Chief for the eastern part of Riverside County is Frank Robles, who has most recently been assigned to the Coroner's office. Neil Lingle was also recently promoted to Undersheriff. 6 APPROVED MINUTES PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION JANUARY 12, 2005 3. Upon inquiry by Commissioner Nethery, ACM/PIO Gilligan responded that while the Commission is scheduled to meet monthly, it might be more productive for staff to organize its TAC meetings so that if the only action items that are scheduled for the agenda are "receive and file", the Commission meeting could be deferred to the following month to allow the Commission to make more effective use of the time spent conducting its business. 4. Commissioner Nethery requested that appropriate staff attend the next Commission meeting to discuss traffic signalization issues at various locations throughout the City. 5. Vice Chair Lebel requested that Chief Otero present statistics regarding the effectiveness of various staffing levels at the Fire Department at the next Commission meeting, since this will likely be a subject that will require discussion at budget time. He requested statistics be presented from some type of an annual report on what has been done, what the current needs are, as well as if there has been a significant impact on employee lost time prior to or since the staffing change was put into effect several years ago. He also requested statistics on what the cost has been to the City, workers compensation costs, etc. since that time. G. Comments by Staff 1. Lt. Thetford reported that a potential scam with regard to possible auto theft was recently uncovered at the valet service stand at the Gardens On El Paseo. This crime is one of several involving vehicles that has taken place of the past several months in various locations throughout the Coachella Valley 2. ACM/PIO Gilligan reported that each member city of the Cove Commission is currently negotiating its awn contract for fire services. The status quo will continue until the new budget cycle. Chief Otero reported that the new Fire Chief, Craig Anthony, will be invited to attend the February Commission meeting. 3. ACM/PIO Gilligan reported that beginning with next month's agenda, Pat Scully, the City's Legislative Analyst, will present public safety legislation being proposed for the Commission's review and possible action. Bills on which the Commission acts will be forwarded to the City's Legislative Review Committee for their consideration and then forwarded to the City Council for action. 7 APPROVED MINUTES PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION JANUARY 12, 2005 4. ACM/PIO Gilligan reported that Congresswoman Mary Bono's Washington, DC, staff recently met with City staff to discuss issues of mutual concern. One of the topics was a request for a federal grant for the local UCR campus for funding of a computer lab. XL ADJOURNMENT There being no further business before the Commission, upon a motion by Commissioner Nethery and second by Commissioner Butzbach, the meeting was adjourned at 4:35 p.m. Respectfully submitted, PATRICIA SCULLY, CFEE SENIOR MANAGEMENT ANALYST 8