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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Public Safety Commission 01/11/06vi p3 CITY OF PALM DESERT PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION APPROVED MINUTES Wednesday, January 11, 2006 - 3:30 p.m. Administrative Conference Room 1. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 3:30 p.m. by Chairman Larsh. Il. ROLL CALL Present: Commissioner James Butzbach Commissioner Gloria Kirkwood Vice Chairman Rick Lebel Commissioner Martin Nethery Chairman Jim Larsh Also Present: Mayor Pro Tern Richard S. Kelly (arrived at 3:55 p.m.) Mayor Jim Ferguson Sheila R. Gilligan, ACM for Community Services Steve Thetford, Asst. Chief, Palm Desert Police Department Travis Witten, Battalion Chief, Palm Desert/Riverside County Fire Dept Frankie Riddle, Acting Director of Special Programs Pat Scully, Senior Management Analyst John Fanning, Citizens on Patrol Mary P. Gates, Recording Secretary III. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None IV. CONSENT CALENDAR A. Approval of Minutes of the October 12, 2005, Public Safety Commission Meeting Rec: Approve as presented. APPROVED MINUTES PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION JANUARY 11, 2006 B. City Manager Approval of Request from Palm Desert Police Department to Surplus Used Police Patrol Bicycles to Desert Sands Unified School District Security Rec: Receive and file. C. Informational Items First Amendment to Agreement for Law Enforcement Services Between County of Riverside and City of Palm Desert Commissioner Nethery moved to approve the Consent Calendar as presented. Motion was seconded by Commissioner Kirkwood and carried by a 5-0 vote. V. CONSENT ITEMS HELD OVER None VI. NEW BUSINESS A. Selection of New Commission Chair and Vice Chair Commissioner Butzbach moved to, by Minute Motion, appoint current Vice Chairman Rick Lebel as the Commission's new Chair. Motion was seconded by Commissioner Nethery and carried by a 5-0 vote. Commissioner Butzbach moved to, by Minute Motion, appoint Commissioner Kirkwood as the Commission's new Vice Chair. Motion was seconded by Commissioner Nethery and carried by a 5-0 vote. Chairman Lebel requested that Member Larsh continue to act as Chair for the remainder of this meeting. B. Palm Desert Fire Services Monthly Report - September, October, and November, 2005 Upon question by Vice Chairman Kirkwood, Chief Witten stated that the difference in response times for the various stations was due to a combination of factors, including demographics, covering for other stations as needed, and its location in the business district (delays due to traffic, etc.). Upon question by Commissioner Nethery as to efforts to reduce response times for Stations 67 and 71, Chief Witten responded that PIA APPROVED MINUTES PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION JANUARY 11, 2006 consideration was being given to both relocating Station 71 and adding another station within the City. Commissioner Butzbach moved to, by Minute Motion, receive and file the Palm Desert Fire Services Monthly Report for the months of September, October, and November, 2005. Motion was seconded by Vice Chairman Kirkwood and carried by a 5-0 vote. C. Palm Desert Target Team Monthly Statistics - September, October, and November, 2005 At the request of Commissioner Nethery, Lt. Thetford updated the Commission on the recent bank robberies, noting that a local merchant provided the tip to law enforcement that resulted in the capture and arrest of several individuals immediately after they committed a robbery at Pack Western Bank in Indian Wells. Commissioner Nethery suggested honoring the merchant this year at the Public Safety Appreciation Awards ceremony. Lt. Thetford noted that this was considered for the 2005 Awards; however, the case was still pending, the subjects were still in jail, and one concern was possible witness intimidation and retaliation. He said it was his understanding the City would informally thank the merchant at a later date. Commissioner Nethery suggested that once the case is over, it might be good to include a story in the City's newsletter encouraging people to report suspicious activity, as this might assist law enforcement in their efforts to capture these criminals. Chairman Lebel moved to, by Minute Motion, receive and file the Palm Desert Target Team Monthly Statistics reports for the months of September, October, and November, 2005. Motion was seconded by Commissioner Nethery and carried by a 5-0 vote. D. Palm Desert Station - Traffic Collision Statistics for July, September, October, and November, 2005, and Annual Traffic Collision Statistics Recap for Period from November 1, 2004, through October 31, 2005 Chairman Lebel moved to, by Minute Motion, receive and file the subject reports. Motion was seconded by Vice Chairman Kirkwood and carried by a 5-0 vote. At the request of Mrs. Gilligan, Lt. Thetford updated the Commission on the condition of the motorcycle officers who were recently injured. He said the two officers were part of the holiday enforcement efforts at the extreme west end of Fred Waring Drive at Painters Path. They were taking a short break and were sitting side by side watching traffic when the driver of a BMW, who was driving under the influence, ran 3 APPROVED MINUTES PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION JANUARY 11, 2006 the stop sign. While the officers saw him coming and were able to get off of their bikes, they were both injured, and there was damage to both motorcycles. He noted that the motorcycles were being repaired, and both officers had returned to duty. E. Consideration of Convenience Store Video Surveillance Ordinance Lt. Thetford reviewed his report dated January 26, 2006, noting that videotapes would greatly assist law enforcement in identifying suspects. He asked for the Commission's input relative to the feasibility of asking City staff to look into this type of ordinance for the City of Palm Desert. Chairman Lebel said he felt this should apply to all retail and commercial rather than just convenience stores. He also felt it should not be limited to old technology and suggested the latest technology, including digital. Lt. Thetford stated that there is better resolution and detail with black and white digital versus color. He said it was not as expensive as older video systems. In addition, because it is digital, it can be fed off -site. This is extremely valuable, as some of the more sophisticated criminals go back and take the VCR after robbing the convenience store. Chairman Lebel suggested that perhaps the City could provide subsidies to businesses to facilitate the installation of security equipment, or perhaps some law enforcement grants may be available. Commissioner Butzbach noted that businesses might also receive discounts from their insurance carriers because of this security equipment. With regard to cost, Chief Witten noted that a friend of his recently installed a complete security system for his 2,500 square foot business for approximately $1,500, and this system allowed him to monitor it from home. Mayor Pro Tom Kelly asked whether there was any kind of program to provide education to businesses relative to the dangers of keeping large quantities of cash on hand. Lt. Thetford responded that this was a crime prevention issue. He noted that every police officer is a representative of the Sheriffs 4 APPROVED MINUTES PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION JANUARY 11, 2006 Department and the City, is considered a crime prevention officer, and should be trying to educate people in the community. In addition, crime prevention tips are included in the City's newsletter periodically. The Sheriffs Department also has monthly meetings with the local banks to discuss trends and crime prevention tips. Commissioner Nethery suggested that information be obtained from other cities or the League, as there may need to be exemptions for certain small businesses that cannot afford the cost. Another thing that occurred to him when he read this report was that the ordinance included indicated it applied to "existing and proposed businesses." He said it would be interesting to ask the City Attorney if existing businesses (those not expanding or doing significant remodels) can be forced to install video surveillance equipment. Lt. Thetford said he felt having a program with incentives might help in that regard. Mrs. Gilligan said that staff would look into this issue, including considering the Commission's questions and concerns with regard to cost, exemptions, existing businesses, incentive program, etc. She added that this would need to be reviewed by both the City Attorney and Executive Management. She said this could be brought back to the Commission at its next meeting. Chairman Lebel suggested that perhaps Redevelopment funding could be used for existing businesses in a program similar to the facade enhancement program. Commissioner Butzbach moved to direct staff to continue to investigate logistics and prepare a cost analysis of a convenience store video surveillance ordinance. Motion was seconded by Commissioner Nethery and carried by a 5-0 vote. VII. CONTINUED BUSINESS None 5 APPROVED MINUTES PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION VIII. OLD BUSINESS JANUARY 11, 2006 A. Update Regarding the Public Safety Commission's Recommendation of September 14, 2005, to the Palm Desert City Council Relative to Adoption of an Ordinance Prohibiting the Establishment of Medical Marijuana Dispensaries in the City of Palm Desert Mayor Ferguson updated the Commission on the status of the ordinance relative to medical marijuana dispensaries in the City of Palm Desert as follows: Public Safety Commission's recommendation went to the City Council. The meeting was attended by a lot of patients planning to use marijuana as a medicine and waving in front of the Council a statute that was passed approximately a year ago having to do with medical marijuana and medical marijuana dispensaries. These patients brought to the Council's attention language in the proposed ordinance that not only banned dispensaries but also banned marijuana. He received a memorandum from Larry Smith, who was Sheriff at the time the initiative passed, recognizing that the law does allow patients and primary care givers to cultivate and use marijuana. Council voted unanimously that it was not the intent to ban personal use of marijuana, that it had never even looked at a dispensary before and had no regulation for it, and that it would study the issue of dispensaries. Staffs interpretation of that action was that it was okay to issue a business license to an individual for a dispensary on El Paseo. That business owner has indicated he will work with the City to comply with whatever regulations are enacted, offering to do video surveillance, inventory control, strict credential checking, phoning the doctors, etc., basically all the things that Lary Smith's memo said should be done by police officers when the initiative was first passed. The City Attorney was directed to pick capable legal counsel to look at both the statute passed a year ago and the one from eight years ago as well as the initiative and provide an independent opinion as to whether or not dispensaries are legal. If they are legal, the Council will have to determine how to regulate them; if not legal, Council will need to deal with the issue of the business license that should not have been issued in the first place. Pending that review, another individual announced to the media the Wednesday prior to Christmas that he was going to open a dispensary on Christmas and would give free marijuana away all day long. An emergency meeting of the City Council was called on Christmas Eve, and a 45-day moratorium was passed on dispensaries of any kind. Subsequent to that decision, a meeting was held with representatives of the Police Department (Steve Thetford, Neil Lingle, Craig Kilday), City staff (Phil Drell), City C APPROVED MINUTES PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION JANUARY 11, 2006 Council (Mayor Ferguson), people claiming harassment by the Police Department, and approximately half a dozen advocates (including independent advocate Lenny Swardlow and the licensed dispensary owner on El Paseo). The discussion got very heated at times. Advocates were yelling at the Police, and the Police Department rightfully dug in and told them their mission was to follow the law, not to interpret the law or say whether they liked it or not. The County is now issuing medical marijuana cards as purportedly allowed by this legislation from a year ago. The Police Department said if individuals go through the process of obtaining a medical marijuana card and are caught with marijuana that fits within the State law now, they will not be prosecuted if they have that card in their possession. That seemed to calm down a lot of the people except for those who did not want to get a card. They were advised that if they did not obtain a valid medical marijuana card from the County, they were taking a chance that they would be arrested if found in possession of marijuana. The City of Indian Wells has also passed a similar moratorium. Representatives of the Planning Departments for the City of Palm Desert, City of Indian Wells, and the County of Riverside met to discuss what type of ordinance local government could enact that would tightly regulate use and sale of marijuana. The Attorney General, the State Senate and Assembly, and the Governor have all signed off on the medical marijuana issue, yet there is a conflict, with the Federal Government saying marijuana is a Class 1 drug and the DEA is going to enforce existing law. Lt. Thetford noted that in discussions with the DEA a few months ago, they indicated they had not planned any enforcement effort, although they did have the authority to go in, investigate, serve a search warrant, and shut down the dispensary. He said right now, there is a California law that is contradictory to Federal law; although the Police Department can enforce Federal law, it cannot prosecute Federal law violations, and the matter would have to be handed over to the US Attorney's office for prosecution. The issue has been portrayed as the Police Department versus the dispensary, but that is not the case. Section 11357(b) of the Health and Safety Code still makes it a violation of law to possess marijuana. The problem is determining whether an individual is in violation of this section of the Health and Safety Code or if they are claiming the shelter of Section 11362.5, medical marijuana. If the individual does not have a card or letter from a physician, there is no way for law enforcement to verify that this is medical marijuana, so the marijuana is taken away, and a citation is issued. Law enforcement is also coming across individuals with form letters from doctors containing the doctor's name, business address, phone number, and doctor's license number. The only way F APPROVED MINUTES PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION JANUARY 11, 2006 to verify the letter is to go on the internet to the California Medical Board and look up the doctor's license number to determine whether the doctor has a valid license, is in good standing, and what the address is. Of the five letters he had reviewed, three of the five had addresses that were totally different, none had phone numbers, and one doctor was on medical probation as far as the medical license. Lt. Thetford said he was not passing moral judgment on the business, and truly believed the dispensary owner (Stacy Hochanadel) felt he was doing the right thing in providing medical marijuana to those in need. Mr. Hochanadel actually has a doctors' index, which he uses to look up the doctor's phone number, and he then calls the number and verges that it is a valid letter. He then checks the client's California identification to make sure it is the same name, and he puts a file together for a one-year period. That individual is now a valid client and can come in and just show ID for that one year. It would be very difficult for law enforcement to use a similar verification process because it would have to be done through dispatch, requiring the dispatcher to go off-line, check the internet, verify the doctor's phone number, call the doctor to receive confirmation, and get back to the officer. Use of the California medical card would simplify the whole process, as the officer could call in the number to dispatch, and dispatch could very quickly tell through an internet search whether or not the card was valid. Undersheriff Neil Lingle's position was that the Police Department would abide by the law as it exists right now in California; however, if the DEA were to ask, he would provide them with every single report and any other information he had. Lt. Thetford added that law enforcement's biggest nightmare had already occurred, with surveillance showing an individual trying to sell marijuana to a teenager. Mr. Hochanadel was contacted and verified that the individual was a valid client of his, went through the verification process, and obtained marijuana from his business, which he then tried to sell to the teenager. Mr. Hochanadel subsequently removed this individual from his list of valid clients and will no longer sell to him. Upon question by Mayor Pro Tem Kelly, Lt. Thetford responded that the law sets how much marijuana can be sold to an individual, and Mr. Hochanadel keeps records showing how much he is actually giving to each person. Chairman Lebel said it was his understanding that he is allowed to sell six grams. As far as determining how much to charge for the marijuana, Mr. Hochanadel indicated he looks at the marijuana through a microscope to determine its potency and establishes the fair market value based on that. Lt. Thetford noted that Mr. Hochanadel was basically setting his own prices. APPROVED MINUTES PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION JANUARY 11, 2006 Lt. Thetford said one way to encourage people to obtain the medical marijuana cards was as follows: Say the Police Department stops someone for marijuana who has documentation that cannot be verged, cites that person, it goes to court, and the judge decides to impose a fine of $100 because the individual did not have a medical marijuana card, that fine could then be waived if the person gets a medical marijuana card, which will cost $100. He noted that the conflict between State and Federal law will have to be resolved in court. If it is determined that medical dispensaries are legal, discussions have already been held with the City relative to placing a conditional use on those businesses to regulate where they will be located and how they will distribute and to require that they only have patients with valid California medical cards. Mayor Ferguson said he knew of people who were bonafide cancer patients in acute pain, and marijuana did help them. In addition, the dispensary owner lost two-thirds of his intestine in a water skiing accident and uses marijuana to increase his appetite so he can eat enough to stay healthy. He said he believed the initiative many years ago was passed to help people who need help. That proposition said marijuana was to be treated like any other medicine a doctor can prescribe; however, with it being a Class 1 drug, a doctor prescribing it could lose his license through either the FDA or the DEA. The City Council was feeling its way along and trying to follow the law. He said the Attorney General had issued several opinions indicating that though there is a conflict between Federal and State law, the State law prevails. Mayor Pro Tem Kelly said he felt the Council did not have enough knowledge or information to pass an ordinance. Upon question by Commissioner Nethery, Mayor Ferguson noted that the City did not currently have any ordinance on the books. Mrs. Gilligan added that the proposed ordinance to ban medical marijuana dispensaries was brought to the Public Safety Commission several months ago and was then forwarded to the City Council. The moratorium was passed by the City Council on Christmas Eve. Lt. Thetford said he felt a moratorium at this point was appropriate. However, there was still a conflict with the Police Department, and the reality was that there were officers out in the field who did not know how to deal with the issue of medical marijuana, which was not a comfortable situation. He said law enforcement was concerned about people trying to circumvent the system and people who were not legitimate medical marijuana users trying to use the system to their APPROVED MINUTES PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION JANUARY 11, 2006 advantage. He was also concerned about the possibility of somebody kicking in the door of the dispensary and stealing the marijuana. Since the dispensary owner is concerned about the amount of money he is taking in, he is thinking about hiring a Brinks truck driver to help him with his cash drops. Lt. Thetford stated that San Diego County had filed a lawsuit against the State of California regarding the legality of the law. In addition, a CHP commander out of northern California had been ordered by judge to return medical marijuana to someone; he was refusing to do so because it is a Federal violation, and once he returns it, he would be in violation of Federal law for distributing marijuana. This officer was now standing on the brink of being held in contempt of court. He noted that he had filed five cases with the District Attorney's Office and had yet to hear back as to whether that office was going to file the cases. He added that they could not get anyone, including the County Attorney, to provide a ruling. Commissioner Butzbach asked whether the Police Department could then contact the US Attorney and advise of those five cases. Lt. Thetford responded that the US Attomey's Office was aware of local law enforcement's concerns and arrests that have been made and had copies of every report taken. They were not interested per se in personal possession; instead, they were looking at larger cases of illegal distribution. Upon question by Commissioner Nethery, Mayor Ferguson noted that the City Manager had been directed to hire an attorney who specializes in this field, perhaps representing San Diego County or someone who has been through this fight before to provide an opinion as to whether or not dispensaries are covered in the legislation from a year ago. If they are covered, then Council will have to proceed with the moratorium and wait for resolution. If the opinion says they are not covered, then the dispensary goes away. He said whatever information is received will be funneled through the Public Safety Commission. Upon question by Mayor Pro Tern Kelly, Lt. Thetford responded that the Police Department has not discussed this with the legislators who represent Palm Desert. Mayor Pro Tern Kelly said he felt the City should be discussing this with the legislators, since this is a State problem. Mrs. Gilligan said she and Ms. Scully would schedule meetings with the State legislators, and Ms. Scully added that she had already sent letter tothem requesting meetings. Upon question by Commissioner Butzbach, Ms. Scully responded that while she was not aware of the League of California Cities addressing this issue, it 10 APPROVED MINUTES PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION JANUARY 11, 2006 is one with which many smaller and contract cities are struggling. Commissioner Nethery asked if next month's Agenda could include an appropriate packet of information from staff, including the legislation passed a year ago. Lt. Thetford noted that he had put together a book that shows what both the City and the County have done so far, and he would provide that information to staff to prepare copies for the Commission. Commissioner Nethery moved to continue this matter to the next meeting and ask staff to present the requested information. Motion was seconded by Vice Chairman Kirkwood and carried by a 5-0 vote. B. Update Relative to Status of Ambulance Donation Chief Witten reviewed the email from Fire Chief Otero relative to the donation of two surplus ambulances. He noted that one of the ambulances was already going to Palm Deserts sister city of Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo. The Public Safety Commission had suggested that the second ambulance be donated to the gulf states to help replace those destroyed by Hurricane Katrina; however, many of the fire departments in that area would not accept donated ambulances or fire trucks because doing so would forfeit their claims for new equipment from FEMA. He suggested that if by the end of the month no one accepts that ambulance, perhaps it can be donated to Ixtapa- Zihuatanejo along with the first ambulance. Chairman Lebel moved to, by Minute Motion, concur with Fire Chief Ignacio Otero's recommendation to donate the second ambulance to Palm Desert's Sister City of Ixtapa- Zihuatanejo if the offer of the ambulance is not accepted by the Gulf Coast cities. Motion was seconded by Vice Chairman Kirkwood and carried by a 5-0 vote. IX. REPORT ON CITY COUNCIL ACTION (S) None 11 APPROVED MINUTES PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION JANUARY 11, 2006 X. REPORTS AND REMARKS A. Update on the Citizens on Patrol Program Captain John Fanning noted several more applications had been received from individuals interested in this program. Four people were currently going through training, with two others pending. He felt this was a direct result of aggressive marketing with the stories in the BrightSide, KESQ-TV,and VJ's corner on KWXY. He said this would bring the force to almost 20 people. He said the Animal Campus was the next big event that was coming up on February 9, followed by Public Safety Day on March 25h. Vice Chairman Kirkwood stated that Captain Fanning had requested an opportunity to meet with the gated communities. She said she had spoken with CAI (Community Association Institute) and was working on a date and time when he could make a presentation to the members. B. Update on ALARM Program Lt. Thetford noted that this was a three-part program: 1) File for Life; 2) YANA (You Are Not Alone) - Alzheimer's registration and reclamation program; 3) Vacation Property Check. He stated that the Department's one Community Services Officer, Morii Taylor, went to the Joslyn Senior Center and handed out 25 different packets for File for Life, and ten were handed out at the substation. Approximately 13 people were registered in the YANA (You Are Not Alone) program, and there were no registered vacant property checks for the month of December because most people were home for the holidays. He said Officer Taylor was doing a good job handling this program by herself, and he had requested that she put together a detailed report for the next meeting. C. Participation in Public Safety Day on Saturday, March 25, 2006 (Oral report by Jim Larsh) Commissioner Larsh stated that he had volunteered the Public Safety Commission to help with this event, more specifically cooking pancakes for the Pancake Breakfast. He said there would also be a table under a canopy close to the Citizens on Patrol program, and he said he would like for people coming through to know about the City's Public Safety Commission. 12 APPROVED MINUTES PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION JANUARY 11, 2006 Ms. Scully noted that Chief Witten was able to secure donation of all of the pancake -making equipment. Carl's Jr. was donating most of the supplies, including utensils, and she was working on obtaining the pancake batter. She added that the event was being sponsored by the Council -appointed Youth Committee. D. Chairman Lebel asked that the Police and Fire Departments begin working on annual reports that could be presented to the Commission by the end of March. He said after reviewing the Fire Marshal's annual report last year, the Commission was able to make a recommendation to the City Council relative to retention of fire safety services. Without that information, it would be difficult for the Commission to make recommendations; having those annual reports prior to budget time helped the Commission in making recommendations to the City Council on public safety services. He asked if the City could also prepare an annual Public Safety Commission report which would recap the actions taken by the Commission during the year, and that would assist him, as the Chair, in letting people know what the Commission is doing. It would also let Council know what has been accomplished by the Commission the prior year. E. Commissioner Nethery noted there used to be a "no right turn on red" sign at eastbound El Paseo at Highway 74, and he asked what had happened to that sign. Commissioner Butzbach said the sign that was put in about three weeks ago prohibited right turn on red from eastbound El Paseo to southbound Highway 74; however, it was then realized that unless another vehicle was traveling east to west, there was no trip because there was no loop in the ground. The sign was temporarily removed. Commissioner Nethery stated that it was dangerous to travel up Highway 74, and some kind of signage needed to be there to help cut down on the many close calls. With regard to the transfer of Highways 74 and 111 to the control of the City of Palm Desert, Mrs. Gilligan responded that staff was waiting to hear back from CalTrans. She said the City had taken the necessary steps for the transfer, and it now needed to go through the State Legislature. Ms. Scully added that this matter was now in the hands of CalTrans to start the transfer documents, but it would probably be the fall before that was completed. 13 APPROVED MINUTES PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION XI. ADJOURNMENT JANUARY 11, 2006 Commissioner Butzbach moved to adjourn the meeting at 5:10 p.m. Motion was seconded by Vice Chairman Kirkwood and carried by a 5-0 vote. Respectfully submitted, 99C9'-� MARY P. G S RECORDIN CRETARY 14