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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Public Safety Commission 05-14-2008 .� � � CITY OF PA�M DESERT �-��---� � � REGULAR PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION MEETING . APPROVED MINUTES Wednesday, May 14, 2008 -3:30 p.m. Administrative Conference Room I. CALL TO ORDER � •�-� � Chair Kirkwood called the meeting to order at 3:30 p.m. - o � It. ROLL CALL ;� �� a� Present: '� U � Commissioner James Butzbach w � � Commissioner James Larsh z x; U Commissioner Rick Lebel Q � L . Vice Chairman Martin Nethery � . -� Chair Gloria Kirkwood o � � � � �' Also Present: � � r.� Councilmember Jim Ferguson � � Q �. � o C a r l o s L. O rt e g a, C i t y M a n a g e r � Q Q � , . Q ,-� Sheila R. Gilligan, ACM/Community Services Division � � � z H H � � Frankie Riddle, Director of Special Programs � a� ,� �; � � � � :� Lt. Frank Taylor, Palm Desert Police Department �� �� z � � � � Chief Dennis Dawson, Riverside County Fire Departme� Chief John Rios, Riverside County Fire Department Mary P. Gates, Recording Secretary III. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None APPROVED MINUTES REGULAR PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION MEETING MAY 14, 2008 IV. CONSENT CALENDAR A. Minutes of the Public Safety Commission Meeting of April 9, 2008 Rec: Approve as presented. Vice Chairman Nethery asked that this item be removed for separate consideration under Section V, Consent Items Held Over. V. CONSENT ITEMS HELD OVER A. Minutes of the Public Safety Commission Meeting of April 9, 2008 Vice Chairman Nethery noted an error in the summary of the Public Safety Commission actions with regard to the proposed 2008 Police Department Budget, page 22. He said the summary should be changed to read as follows: « Vice Chairman Nethery moved to, by Minute Motion, approve the Minutes of the Public Safety Commission meeting of April 9, 2008, as modfied above. Motion was seconded by Commissioner Butzbach and carried by a 5-0 vote. 2 APPROVED MINUTES REGULAR PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION MEETING MAY 14, 2008 VI. NEW BUSINESS A. Palm Desert Fire Services Monthly Report for March 2008 Commissioner Larsh moved to, by Minute Motion, receive and file the Palm Desert Fire Services monthty report for March 2008. Motion was seconded by Commissioner Lebel and carried by a 5-0 vote. Chief Dawson updated the Commission on recent Fire Department activities: • Station 71 in North Palm Desert went on four full arrest calls last Friday within the spaoe of approximately two hours; three of the calls were in Palm Desert, and the fourth was an assist in Rancho Mirage on the 11�' floor of the new casino. • The soon-to-be-demolished Palm Desert Lodge at Deep Canyon and Highway 111 has been offered to the Fire Departrnent for training purposes starting with the first session on Thursday, May 15, and continuing with three other sessions on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. There will be different scenarios for the firefighters to deal with. While there will be smoke, it will be generated by a smoke machine, and there will be no actual fire. Chief Rios noted that a meeting was held last week at the Mesa View Fire Station for CERT training. Commissioner Butzbach attended, as did Gary Rosenblum from the City. The Fire DepartmenYs OES person provided the hands-on training. It was determined that additional training was needed, especiaily with regard to the country club facilities within the City. A schedule for that training would be put together in the near future. Commissioner Butzbach added that in talking to Mr. Rosenblum and the OES person, Ms Henderson, there was a market for CERT training, particularly in the gated communities. He noted that Mr. Rosenblum was working on a disaster preparedness program or coordination effort with the private communities within the City limits. 3 APPROVED MINUTES REGULAR PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION MEETING MAY 14, 2008 B. Palm Desert Special Enforcement Teams Monthly Statistics for April 2008 Vice Chairman Nethery moved to, by Minute Motion, receive and file the Palm Desert Special Enforcement Teams monthly statistics for April 2008. Motion was seconded by Commissioner Larsh and carried by a 5-0 vote. C. Traffic Team Report for March 2008 — Includes Traffic Collision Statistics for March 2008 and Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Statistics for April 2008 Commissioner Lebel moved to, by Minute Motion, receive and file the Traffic Team Report for March 2008. Motion was seconded by Commissioner Larsh and carried by a 5-0 vote. D. Business District Team Report—April 2008 Lt. Taylor noted that at the request of the Commission, this report now included statistics regarding Segway hours. Commissioner Lebel asked whether the jewelry stores had a system similar to the banks where they get together time to time and discuss activities that are going on; i.e., robberies, etc. Lt. Taylor responded that the EI Paseo Merchants' Association meets monthly, and the jewelry stores are represented at those meetings. He added that in many instances, those stores have information disseminated amongst themselves before the Police units even arrive on scene. He said the Association was similar to a neighborhood watch program and was, in fact, o�e of the best as far as passing information back and forth. He added that the Police Department had a very good relationship with the Association and sent officers to the monthly meetings. Commissioner Larsh asked whethe�the Police Department had the same rapport with the art galleries on EI Paseo. Lt. Taylor responded that the Department had a good rapport with all of the businesses on that street. Commissioner Buizbach moved to, by Minute Motion, receive and file the Business District Team Report for April 2008. Motion was seconded by Commissioner Larsh and carried by a 5-0 vote. 4 APPROVED MINUTES REGULAR PUBLiC SAFETY COMMISSION MEETING MAY 14, 2008 E. Canine Report—April 2008 Lt. Taylor reviewed the report, noting that Officer Van Snapp had recently visited Palm Dese�t City Hall and would be at Palm Desert High School on Friday from 10:30 to 11:00 a.m. for their Career Day. He would then be visiting Sacred Neart Church for their Career Day. Questions were raised with regard to the statistics in the report, specifically the 211 Alarms, 459 Alarms, and A.O.D. Lt. Taylor said 211 was robbery, 459 was burglary, and A.O.L. was Assist Other Department. He said he would have the report changed from numbers to what the crimes really are. Commissioner Lebel moved to, by Minute Motion, receive and file the Canine Report for Aprit 2008. Motion was seconded by Vice Chairman Nethery and carried by a 5-0 vote. F. Request for Authorization to Purchase Nine (9) Electronic Citation Systems, Ancillary Equipment, Software, Warranties, and Licensing Lt. Taylor reviewed his report, noting that these units will interact very well with all of the databases. He said when people are in traffic collisions, the officers can swipe their driver's licenses and retrieve all of their data so the individuals involved can more quickly exchange the neoessary information. Upon question by Commissioner Butzbach, Lt. Taylor responded that the equipment would be assigned to the Department's traffic officers. Vice Chairman Nethery noted that the report �ecommended the purchase of Motorola equipment. He said he owned stock in Motorola and asked if he should abstain from voting on this matter. Chairman Kiricwood said she felt his disclosure would be sufficient. Mrs. Gilligan added that Vice Chainnan Nethery might want to be safe and not vote for the reasons spec�ed. Commissioner Butrbach moved to, by Minute Motion, recommend that the Patm Desert City Council authorize the purchase of nine (9) electronic citation systems, ancillary equipment, software, warranties, and licensing from Crossroads Software in the amount of $68,584.16; funds are available within the Police General Fund, Account #110-4210-422-4045, and no additional appropriation is required. Motion was seconded by Commissioner Larsh and carried by a 4-0-1 vote, with Vice Chairman Nethery ABSTAINING for the reasons noted. 5 APPROVED MINUTES REGULAR PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION MEETING MAY 14, 2008 G. Request for Authorization to Expend Cal COPS Grant Funds (Supplemental Law Enforcement Services Fund — SLESF) 2007- 2008 to Purchase LIDAR Prolaser III Hand-Held Radar Unit Lt. Taylor reviewed his report and recommendation, noting that this new equipment would go to the dedicated Traffic Accident Investigations/DUI Enforcement units, while the older existing equipment would go to the patrol division. Upon question by Commissioner Larsh, he responded that the Department currently had nine units. Upon question by Chair Kirkwood, Lt. Taylor responded that approximately $75,000 to $80,000 of the $100,000 Cal COPS Grant Fund for 2007-2008 had been expended to date. Chair Kirkwood asked for a report at the next meeting. Commissioner Lebel moved to, by Minute Motion, recommend that the Palm Desert City Council: 1) Authorize the expenditure of Cal COPS Grant Funds (Supplemental Law Enforcement Services Fund — SLESF) 2007-2008 to purchase a new LIDAR Prolaser III hand-held radar unit and a set of replacement batteries for the existing units at a total cost of $4,751.36; 2) authorize Kustom Signals as a sole source vendor for these products. Funds would be expended from the Cal COPS Account #229-4210�22-3914. Motion was seconded by Commissioner Larsh and carried by a 5-0 vote. Vf{. CONTINUED BUSINESS None VIII. OLD BUSINESS None IX. REPORT ON CITY COUNCIL ACTION (S) Councilman Ferguson noted that the City Councii had unanimously endorsed the "Rat Light-Red Light Runner Program" for traffic lights throughout the City. A similar red light runner program had been discussed approximately ten years ago, but the Council at that time did not like the idea of drivers being cited when the Police Offioers did not personalty observe the red light violation. However, the Council felt the Rat Light-Red Light Runner Program was a good thing. 6 APPROVED MINUTES REGULAR PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION MEETING MAY 14, 2008 Lt. Taylor explained that this was not a camera system. Instead, a small light was hard-wired and attached to the rear of a tra�c signal and would be activated when the signal tums from amber to red. Historically, an officer would have to sit on the side of the street in the same direction as traffic flow so that he/she could see the light tum red and then look at the limit line to see if a driver crossed that line after the light tumed red, which would be a violation. The officer would then have to negotiate through the cross traffic in order to pull over the vehicle and issue the citation. With this new system, an officer can sit on the opposite side of the street from the signal and can tell when the light tumed red by watching the small light on the reverse side of the signat. When the driver runs the red light, the o�cer is already right there at that comer and can more safely pull over violators without having to negotiate the cross traffic. In court, the officer could testify that he/she personally saw the driver run the red light. X. REPORTS AND REMARKS A. Comments by Public Safety Commissioners 1. Vice Chairman Nethery asked about the status of the Entertainment Ordinance. Mrs. Gilligan responded that this matter would be on the Agenda for the next Public Safety Commission meeting for the Commission's review, and a staff report would be provided in advance of that meeting. She also noted that the City Council would be meeting on Thursday, May 15, 2008, to consider the appeal of a Planning Commission decision with regard to the elimination of nightly musical entertainment in the outdoor patio area of Augusta's Restaurant on El Paseo. Commissioner �ebel noted that with respect to the meetings he had been attending with City staff and members of the business community regarding this ordinance, after one of the meetings, one of the business owners relayed to him that he was actually doing the promoting of some public assembly types of venues in the City's industrial park, and the were using an industrial building to do conoerts on the weekends. He said from his background, he knew this was a zoning violation, code violation, Fire Department violation, etc. He noted he had mentioned it to Chief Rios and stopped by the fire prevention office as well. He said while the concerts were not creating noise in the residential areas, they were in violation. 7 APPROVED MINUTES REGULAR PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION MEETING MAY 14, 2008 Commissioner Lebel noted another issue that caught his eye was a story in the newspaper relative to the sound suppression system being used by Augusta. He said he was reminded that generally when people use mattresses for sound suppression, paint them, and put them up on the walls in what was now considered a public assembly, those mattresses had to be fire- retardant treated. He said he did not know whether or not the mattresses at Augusta had been so treated and wanted to make that mention to the Fire Department for follow-up. 2. Commissioner Lebel said one question that came to mind when he reviewed the issue of the election c'itation system for the Police Department was whether or not the fire prevention inspectors in the City were also using electronic notebooks to do their reports and surveys. He felt this was something that would save them time in their records and reports process. Chief Dawson responded that when the original notebooks came out, the Fire Department purchased several of them, but there were some problems with them. That was being tooked at, and the Fire Department was working with the City's IT Department. B. Report Relative to Citizens on Patrol Program Ms. Riddle reviewd her monthly report and offered to answer any questions. She said they would be putting together a public relations campagn and would be working on it during the summer. Mrs. Gilligan noted that Ms. Riddle and Lt. Taylor took this program when it was down, reworked it, and made it what it is today. She added that COPS Captain Saul Roisentul had received the Volunteer of the Year award from the City Council this year. C. Legislative Update Mrs. Gilligan noted that Ms. Scully was currently in Washington, DC, and had met with representatives in Congresswoman Mary Bono's office about the I-10 Interchange. The City had been included in the earmarking of funds and Congresswoman Bono had done a good job of moving that forward. StafF was hopeful that somewhere down the line the City would receive some funds for the interchange at I-10 and Portola Avenue. 8 APPROVED MINUTES REGULAR PUBL{C SAFETY COMMISSiON MEETING MAY 14, 2008 D. Comments by Police and Fire Departments 1. Report Relative to Installation of Red-Light Enforcement Indicators Discussed unde� Section IX — Report on City Council Action(s) above. E. Comments by Staff None XI. ADJOURNMENT Commissioner Lebel moved to adjourn the meeting at 4:40 p.m. Motion was seconded by Vice Chai�man Nethery and carried by a 5-0 vote. \ ; _.'\� Mary P. G es, ecording Secretary 9