Public Safety Minutes 2012 02-02-12
APPROVED 5/3/12
UNITED CITY OF YORKVILLE
PUBLIC SAFETY MEETING
Thursday, February 2, 2012 6:30pm
City Hall Conference Room
In Attendance:
Chairman Carlo Colosimo
Alderman Rose Spears
Alderman Chris Funkhouser
Alderman Larry Kot
Other City Officials in Attendance:
Mayor Gary Golinski
City Administrator Bart Olson
Deputy Chief Larry Hilt
Deputy Chief Don Schwartzkopf
Molly Schwartzkopf, Police Department
Others in Attendance:
Tony Scott, Kendall County Record Mark Sinadinos, County Resident
Steve Lord, The Beacon News Jim LaPorta/Heartland Circle
Darcy Brede, Illinois Railway Thomas Rosch, Illinois Railway/OmniTrax
Bob Ellman, Illinois Railway Matt Prochaska
Bonnie Reding, Rivers Edge Darrell King, Rivers Edge
The meeting was called to order at 6:30pm by Chairman Colosimo and a quorum was
established.
Citizen Comments:
None
Minutes for Correction/Approval:
January 5, 2012
Mayor Golinski noted that he was in attendance at the January 5, 2012 meeting. This
addition will be made to the minutes. The minutes were then approved viva voce.
New Business:
1. PS 2012-04 Police Reports for December 2011 – January 2012
No comment--these reports will proceed to the Council consent agenda.
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2. PS 2012-05 Request to Purchase Two Vehicles
Deputy Chief Hilt said the Police Department wishes to purchase 2 Impalas from Green
Chevrolet who was awarded the State bid this year. Green’s has some vehicles on their
lot that are semi-equipped and there is also a GM surcharge of $800. In order to reduce
the costs, the vehicles would be ordered with only needed basic equipment. Miner
Electronics in Munster, Indiana, would install some of the equipment from the old
squads. Ms. Schwartzkopf noted that they service many local departments and are in the
area 1-2 times a week.
Alderman Kot noted that Green Chevrolet is in Jacksonville and officers’ time would be
spent picking up the vehicles. There is currently a 45-60 day delivery window. Since
there is no urgency to replace the squads at this time, he suggested a local dealership
might be willing to match the bid. The other Aldermen agreed and this matter will move
to Old Business for the next Public Safety meeting for an update.
3. PS 2012-06 Request to Purchase Virtual Server Solution for City/Police Dept.
Ms. Schwartzkopf said this purchase would further improve the computer and network
environment. She said the current video requires large amounts of space on the server
while virtualization will allow for combining 5 servers into one. This equipment would
serve all squad and document storage needs. If the equipment is not purchased, 3 servers
would need to be replaced and they are currently not compliant with new technology.
The purchase of a tape library that would back up evidence, will be postponed until May.
Chairman Colosimo asked how the virtualization would work with the necessary chain of
evidence issues. The tape library is a physical tape backup of the data that would be
stored in a virtual environment, according to Molly. She said there would still be a
physical backup stored off-site.
The requested purchase amount is $45,582, however, this does not include software or
installation time. This proposed equipment should serve the department for 5-6 years at a
minimal cost, said Ms. Schwartzkopf. This item will move to the consent agenda of the
next Council meeting.
4. PS 2012-07 Illinois Railway Train Derailment
Administrator Bart Olson said the City Council’s first notification of the recent train
derailment was through an email.
In an overview statement, Mr. Tom Rosch from OmniTrax said the tracks are inspected 2
times a week. An inspection is also scheduled next week for the affected tracks and the
investigation is ongoing. Thus far, no incorrect operation or faulty rails have been found.
Alderman Kot asked what caused the previous derailment. A rail spokesman said it was
caused by a “soft spot” that cannot be seen without having weight on the tracks.
County resident Mark Sinadinos, said this is the third derailment in the last 2 years, near
his property.
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Chairman Colosimo said his biggest concern was the lack of a courtesy notification to the
City. He said residents began to call the City before any notice was given. Mr. Rosch
agreed the railway should have done a better job of notifying the City. Alderman
Funkhouser asked what the standard policy is for this type of situation. Mr. Brede replied
that the policy states that if there is no imminent threat, no calls are made. He said a
blocked crossing is such a threat and that the railway should have notified the City when
they began clearing the crossing at Poplar St. since there was no path in/out of the
subdivision.
Alderman Spears asked about the required frequency of inspections. Mr. Darcy Brede of
Illinois Railway from Denver, said “head and web” inspections are done twice a year.
Mr. Brede said that “geometry” cars are run every 2 years to detect soft spots in the
tracks. Other inspections are required once a week, however, they are actually done
twice a week. He said they conduct Sperry testing which monitors the integrity of the
tracks. Ms. Spears asked if they would consider doing the tests 3 times a week.
Resident Darrell King asked how weekly inspections are done. Mr. Rosch explained how
railway employees are trained and certified and Mr. Brede explained how the inspections
are actually done. He said in this case, it is not yet known if the derailment was caused
by the train cars, train-handling or the tracks.
Alderman Kot said he was losing confidence as a result of the recent derailments and
worries about possible derailments in the downtown. Mr. Brede replied that these tracks
are considered “branch lines” and the speed limit is 25 mph. The cars were loaded with
sand at the time of the derailment.
It was noted that these tracks handle 100 cars daily, 6 days a week. Resident Bonnie
Reding commented that the speed of the trains vary, however, Mr. Brede said there are
black boxes on the engines that measure the speed. He said the curves in the tracks are
elevated for speed and a crash could occur if the speed is reduced.
Resident Jim LaPorta said there is only one way in/out of this subdivision. He asked
about plans for an emergency such as a heart attack. He asked the City to please consider
this in planning future developments. This scenario was discussed in a previous Plan
Commission meeting according to Bart Olson. He said there were 2 streets stubbed off to
the east of the subdivision, but not finished because of the development slowdown.
Mayor Golinski asked how long it would take to remove an overturned rail car from an
intersection. Mr. Brede said it would take about 8 hours to bring in the necessary
equipment, however, if a major artery were blocked, local contractors would be called.
The Mayor stressed communication is necessary in the future and the railroad officials
promised this would happen.
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Alderman Kot addressed the clean-up efforts and said a problem was caused when gravel
was dumped. He said a school bus was not able to get through and a car also got stuck in
the gravel. Mr. Brede said the railroad should have managed that situation in a different
manner. The clean-up will require some train cars to be cut up and others salvaged with
the total efforts taking about 2 weeks. Landscaping repair will occur later this spring.
All the damage occurred on the railway property.
In a related matter, Alderman Kot noted that the old railroad signs from the downtown
were left lying. He said the Public Works Director had contacted the railroad with no
results. Mr. Brede promised to have them removed.
This matter will come back to Old Business in the March meeting for follow-up.
Old Business
: None
Additional Business:
There was no further business and the meeting adjourned at 7:16pm on a motion by
Alderman Kot and second by Alderman Funkhouser.
Minutes transcribed by
Marlys Young, Minute Taker
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