Public Safety Minutes 2005 09-08-05 Page 1 of 3
APPROVED 11110105
PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE
YORKVILLE CITY HALL CONFERENCE ROOM
Thursday, September 8,2005
Committee Chairman Wanda Ohare called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m.
Present
Alderwoman Wanda Ohare,Alderman Dean Wolfer and Police Chief Harold Martin.
1. Minutes for Approval/Correction--Minutes from the July 14 and August 11, 2005
meetings were approved.
2. Police Reports for August 2005—Ohare said she was pleased to see the number of
thanks you notes the department received. Wolfer thanked Police Chief Harold Martin for
all of the help the department gave to the River's Edge block party. The committee
agreed to forward the report to the Oct. 4 Committee of the Whole meeting.
3. Trick-or-Treat Hours—Trick or treat hours are set for 4 to 7 p.m. on Halloween.
4. Engineering's Used Plotter—Chief Martin said the police department would like the
city engineer's used plotter to help with accident reconstructions. Also,the plotter could
be used in crime scene investigations, he said. He's not sure what the cost would be.
Martin said he's hoping the engineering department could donate it to the police
department. Ohare suggested the chief follow through on trying to obtain the used plotter
and said she encourages the donation of the plotter since the city already paid for it.
5. Grand Reserve Weather Warning Siren—Chief Martin said the developers agreed
to put in the warning siren and now that residents have moved into the development, he
said it should be installed. He said he would inform the committee when the siren is
operating.
6. Budget Request to Assist with Funding for Probation Officer's Salary—Chief
Martin said he had budgeted $5,000 in the 2004/2005 budget for Functional Family
Therapy, which was a federally funded program. The grant helped kids once they got to
the probationary system, he said. However, the grant dissolved. Chief Martin said he
intends to put $1,824 in the 2006/2007 budget. The money would go to the county's
juvenile probation department to help hire an additional officer so a similar program
could be offered.
Since the city's juvenile referrals continue to increase, Martin said it would be money
well spent.
7. NIMS Compliance—Chief Martin said he'd like everyone on the list provided in the
committee's packets to take the online test to be NIMS compliant. There's no cost to the
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city and the test takes about 1 to 1.5 hours. Ohare said the request could go forward to the
COW.
8. Business Registration—Chief Martin said the police department would like to
implement a business registration program. The program would include a one-time
registration fee of$25; businesses would need to keep their information updated; and
businesses would have 15 days to inform police of an address change or a fine would be
imposed.
Ohare said she likes the idea of such a program. She wondered if a provision could be
added to fine businesses that don't register. She also asked how the city could encourage
people to register. Reviewing the proposed registration form, Ohare said it should ask for
more identification regarding the type of business and there should be a way for
businesses to update the form annually. She suggested those and a few other changes be
made and brought back to the committee for review at the Oct. 13 meeting.
9. Liquor License Application—Ohare suggested the city require applicants to provide a
driver's license or state identification card at the time they apply. Chief Martin said the
city already requires a photo ID of applicants, which is usually either a driver's license or
ID card. Ohare said she'd like the driver's license added as a requirement.
Looking over the application, Ohare said that with the city growing so fast, she just wants
to make sure that the application is right so that the city is doing the best it can.
She asked the chief to make any necessary changes and to have city attorney John Wyeth
review it before bringing it back to the committee in October.
10. False Alarm Ordinance Update—Chief Martin said he hasn't heard any negative
feedback about the ordinance. He said the department is keeping track of all of the false
alarms. When officers respond to the alarms, they give the person a copy of the city's
ordinance and a warning. When a fine does have to be issued, Chief Martin said the city
attorney would write a letter informing the person that a fine would be issued.
Ohare suggested the city attorney create a form letter to have in place so that fines could
be imposed immediately when necessary.
Chief Martin said once the letter is drafted, he would bring it to the committee for review.
11. Parking Ordinance Update—Chief Martin said some of the initial issues have been
addressed. He and the city's code official Bill Dettmer have since started talks about
commercial vehicle parking on residential streets. The main issue is determining how to
classify commercial vehicles. He proposes that any vehicle with a B license plate should
be classified as a commercial vehicle. Dettmer said any vehicle with lettering should be
classified as commercial
Ohare said the city isn't trying to inconvenience anyone by restricting parking. The city is
trying to make streets safer.
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Chief Martin said he'd get a definite definition on a commercial vehicle and have a draft
ordinance for the committee at the October meeting.
12.Additional Business—Ohare said the city is working on covering the air
conditioning units and generator units at city hall and would like a follow up when the
work is completed.
She also asked if the railroad crossing signs that were in disrepair were replaced. Chief
Martin said the person at the railroad company is working on it.
The meeting adjourned at 7:30 p.m.
The next meeting was scheduled for October 13, 2005.
Minutes respectfully submitted by Dina Gipe