Public Safety Minutes 2004 02-26-04 Page 1 of 7
UNITED CITY OF YORKVILLE APPROVED
PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING WITH REVISIONS
THURSDAY,FEBRUARY 26,2004 7/22/04
6:30 P.M.
In Attendance:
Alderman Larry Kot
Alderwoman Valerie Burd
Alderwoman Wanda Ohare
Alderwoman Rose Spears
Police Chief Harold Martin
Guests:
Officer Dan Pleckham
Approval Correction of Minutes: December 17,2003
These minutes were approved with corrections.
Update on Parking Concerns
Chief Martin stated that there was a bus parked at Heartland Subdivision that was
causing some concern. He said that with the City's current Parking Ordinance,that the
bus is parked legally. There have been a few complaints from residents about the bus. He
said that he did receive a memo from Attorney Kelly Kramer about the situation. They
looked over Parking Ordinances from Batavia, Geneva, and Naperville. In Batavia and
Geneva's ordinances they specifically restrict commercial vehicles. Geneva's ordinance
says that any vehicle that exceeds 8,000 lbs. can park for a period of only 2 hrs. Batavia
prohibits any commercial trucks/vehicles over 4,000 lbs,and they also can park no longer
than 2 hrs. They also prohibit the trucks from parking on narrow streets. That would be
any street that is 24 feet wide or less. He said that if the Public Safety Committee wants
to do something about these types of vehicles parking on the City streets then they will
have to make an amendment to the City of Yorkville's current Parking Ordinance. He
suggested if they do then it should be similar to Geneva or Batavia's and residents
should be made aware of the new amendment because it could cause a burden to those
who bring a bus home at night.
Alderman Kot said that since there are different situations then they should consider
categorizing them. This would prevent penalizing anyone that isn't causing a parking
problem with their truck.
Chief Martin brought up the parking situation on Somonauk Street of vehicles parking on
both sides of the street. This problem has been brought up in the past and they have tried
to come up with a solution. This may result in no parking on one side of the street.
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Alderman Kot thought the greater issue with the parking on Somonauk is the problems it
causes around Route 47. He expressed his concern for those who park their cars further
away from Route 47,in that they should not be penalized for it.
Chief Martin said that they do need to think about what kind of effect that growth will
have. He felt that as the town gets larger there may be more commercial vehicles because
for some people that is their work vehicle. Though it would be nice to do it for specific
areas, it could end up that there are several areas that would eventually subject to the new
policy for parking. He also would not like to see every one who parks in the streets
penalized for this but felt there are no easy answers here.
Alderman Kot asked if there are other ways to solve this problem He asked if it causes
any public safety issues or noise issues.
Chief Martin said that there isn't anything in the books about the noise issue. He said that
as the City grows parking will become more of an issue. He said that because of what a
hindrance these commercial vehicles have caused in the past that he would like to see no
parking in the streets at all. He said that in order to get an ordinance for this they would
need to receive complaints from residents. This would also cause complaints from the
vehicle owners. Either way someone is not going to be happy.
Alderman Kot suggested for the Police Department to put together what they think would
solve this problem based upon the ordinances of other towns. He felt that that would give
them a starting point for discussion at the next Public Safety meeting.
This item will come back to the next Public Safety meeting on March 25, 2004.
Update on Rt.#126 Traffic Control lights
Chief Martin stated that he spoke to Sergeant Ron Diederich about the traffic issues on
Route 126. Sgt. Deidrich said that he spoke with Claita Law from IDOT and that the
intersection is under consideration for a stop light now. He said he asked her when would
they be looking at installing the lights and she stated that once she receives word on that
intersection she would get back to him with any information.
Alderman Kot said that if they haven't heard back within 6 months, then they should
consider doing another traffic count and contact IDOT again on the problem
No action taken on this item at this time.
Update on DARE
Alderman Kot mentioned that the State is no longer funding the DARE Program and
asked Chief Martin if the Police Department intends to continue the program in Yorkville
schools.
Chief Martin said that as of now the Yorkville Police Department does more DARE
Programs than the average police department. They do programs for 3'd, 5*, and 7*
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graders. He said that it is a very positive program and that the interaction with the police
department alone is a plus. Officer Barry Groesch is the demonstrator of most of the
DARE classes and has been involved with it for 12 years. Chief Martin said that they
have received only positive responses from the classes. He said that he would like to keep
the program going though it may cost the City more money down the road to do any
more training for future officers. He said that as of now they would need to go to Indiana
for training since the Illinois State Police does not fund it any more. He said that they
have also changed the curriculum in that they have cut back on classes and focus the
training more on what is happening today. The program now has gone from 17 weeks to
10 weeks of training. To do this program now with the funding being cut it will cost the
City around$3,500 a year. Plus with the town growing and more students entering the
schools it will cost more to pay for the extra books and certificates. He would like to see
the program continue if possible.
Alderman Kot asked if the program had been factored into the new budget. Chief Martin
said that they are waiting to hear back to see if it could be but he also put a little more
money in the budget to cover the program for this next year after that they will probably
have to have a separate account for it.
Alderwoman Spears said that she felt it was worth the money if it meant that they would
be able to save at least one kid.
Alderman Kot agreed and suggested that the Police Department should issue a press
release indicating to the public the Police Department's desire to continue with the
DARE Program.
Alderwoman Spears asked if there had been a survey done with the kids who had
participated with the program.
Chief Martin said that Officer Groesch did do a survey and that he would get that from
him.
Alderwoman Spears thought that would also be a good thing to have documented and
released to the public.
Chief Martin will bring an update to the next Public Safety Meeting on March 25, 2004.
Update on Van Emmon St. &Heustis St.Stop Sims
Alderman Kot stated that Public Works Director Eric Dhuse would like to paint a red
stop notice on the road leading up to the stop sign located at Van Emmon St. &Heustis
St. He said that because of the location of the stop sign and the width of the street some
people are confused where to actually stop.Alderman Kot asked Chief Martin if that
would help with the problem
Chief Martin said that it is possible that it would help. He also mentioned that Mr. Dhuse
has painted red lines on the poles and that seems to also help.
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Alderman Kot felt that it was worth trying. He said that if this does not appear to be
effective then they could put a light out there.
There will be an update on this item at a later date when the project is completed and
observed.
Update on Ponds and Pools
Chief Martin said that the memo regarding this item will be put into the next few
newsletters and they will wait to see what kind of response they receive.
Revised Sampling Ordinance
Alderwoman Ohare felt that the number of days in one year should be specified on page 3
in the Special Event, section l;b. She felt that it wasn't descriptive enough.
Chief Martin pointed out that any language that pertains to a special event still has to be
approved by Mayor Prochaska.
Alderman Kot felt that a change needed to be made to Section 3-3-4(B; f). He thought
that they should take out the word ounce and keep only the words one-half ounce or less,
as they had previously agreed upon. The committee agreed. He thought that the Liquor
Commissioner should also review these changes.
This item will to COW March 16, 2004.
KenCom DisoatchinQ Services
Alderman Kot reported that at the last KenCom executive board meeting that he was
approached by Nancy Martin who also talked to Mayor Prochaska. They are asking all
the communities that are being serviced by KenCom to consider beginning chipping in on
some of the expenses. He thought that the figure was between$15,000 and$20,000 a
year. He told Ms. Martin that he would bring it before this council. He did have a concern
that if it's going to happen that everyone is going to need to contribute. It can't just be the
City of Yorkville contributing. The representative of Plano went on record and said that
they do not have the money to do it. Alderman Kot felt he couldn't see how to justify
asking the taxpayers of Yorkville to pay for something another town is getting the same
service for and not paying for it. He said that they have a meeting in April and that he
would talk to Ms. Martin about his concerns.
Alderwoman Ohare thought that it might be fair to ask for a certain percentage per
community as some are much larger than others. Alderman Kot did not agree and felt that
the contributions should all be equal because every community would have its own
dispatcher and it is a great expense.
Chief Martin said that they usually go by the percentage of calls received but as far as
Yorkville is concerned KenCom might be looking at a stipend type of payment per year
and not based on the number of calls.
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Alderman Kot said that they would need to speak with the County's Operation Budget to
get numbers. After that they can bring the numbers forward. He said he would like to be
fair with everybody. To set up our own dispatcher would cost a whole lot more money.
No action taken on this item at this time.
Kendall County Major Crime Task Farce
Chief Martin stated that he and Dwight Baird went to Sheriff Randall and Plano Chief
Eaves to present them with the idea of having a County-wide Major Crime Task Force.
The main premise behind it is so that when they have a major crime it would be helpful to
call in a group of qualified and certified individuals from different areas of the county to
come and assist the Police Departments with these types of crimes. He said that some of
the surrounding towns already have these task forces. They are used very sparingly but it
is helpful when something goes bad lice a murder or bank robbery,where there is not
enough man power to deal with the situation. It is especially crucial to have these types of
task forces when time is of the essence to get the crime resolved. It also makes so the
other officers are able to carry on with their day to day jobs with out taking time and
attention away from that.He would like to see the qualified people get certified for these
types of task forces so that they can be properly trained and ready for the situations when
they come up. When these situations would come up then the qualified task force
members from the surrounding communities could assist us and there would be an
agreement for the service to be reciprocated when the other communities need assistance
from us also. He said that as the town grows there would be more of a need for these task
forces. He said that they are still working out all of the details but that within a month
they should have a working agreement. At that time he would request that the committee
go forth with the plans then take it to the City Council for approval.
This item will come back to the next Public Safety meeting on March 25, 2004.
Request for Second K-9 for Department
Chief Marin stated that they officially got the request from Officer Andy Jeleniewski for
a second K-9. The dog was given to Officer Jelenkwski from South Holland but had
originally come from a Cook County Corrections office. He would like to bring the dog
to Yorkville. The dog is almost 6 years old and could work until he is any where from 9
to 10 years old After that time the dogs are usually retired. There would be no charge to
change the squad car to accommodate the dog's safety harness and cage unit. Officer
Jeleniewski and Officer Dan Pleckham are working on a fund raiser for donations for the
expenses for the dog.They have already worked out possible deals with area
veterinarians. The officers are also working on donations for dog food. He said that they
really wouldn't need much in the way of donations because of deals worked out with the
veterinarians but there would be some things that they would charge for. The only other
thing would be a stipend that would go to Officer Jeleniewski for taking care of the dog.
By law the City is required to give the officer a stipend to cover the costs of maintaining
the dog. Currently Officer Pleckham gets$3,000 a year for maintaining care for Jumbo.
Chief Martin felt it would not only be beneficial to have another dog in the Police
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Department but also for the City of Yorkville. Jumbo has been a great dog to have and is
great with kids. Sammy the new dog is of the same in that respect. He works well with
people. He has participated in a number of block parties and school demonstrations. It is
great for the community and police department. The dog would be available on off shifts
with the officer working different shifts. This would be for the cost of a squad car and the
stipend of$3,000 a year. The dog,a German Shepherd, is used for Friendly Tracking.
The committee gave approval to move ahead with this item.
This item will go to COW on March 2, 2004.
Program idea for officers to meet with Business Owners and Citizens
Officer Pleckham of the Yorkville Police Department explained to the committee that this
summer he would like to see some officers meet with the public and business owners so
that they can become more familiarized with the public and vice versa. He said that the
department would choose an officer and advertise in the news paper a profile on the
officer/new officer,his specialties and hobbies and which business the officer would be
visiting. This would allow the public the opportunity to get to meet officers and ask
questions and get to know the business owners as well. He said that he has already
spoken with Bill Walsh of Pro Golf in Yorkville and a Union Bank representative and
they are enthusiastically willing to have an officer there.
Alderwoman Wanda Ohare asked if the officers are okay with the idea.
Officer Pleckham said that he has already spoken with the other officers and 3 have said
they would be willing to participate. He said that it wouldn't cost any over time because
everyone is working on their regular shift. The meetings at the businesses would only be
for 45 minutes as long as there are enough officers out on the streets.
Alderman Kot had some concerns with emergencies that might come up that could hinder
the officer from showing up at the business.
Officer Pleckham said that he was looking at having the visits on a monthly basis and the
visits to be on a Saturday morning between 9:00 am. and 10:00 a.m. Times could be
alternated if needed to suit the officers schedules. He said that there is usually not as
much traffic or activity going on at that time on a Saturday morning. He felt that if the
officers did have to leave the meeting in the case of an emergency people would
generally understand.
Alderman Kot suggested for Officer Pleckham to set up a tentative schedule of the visits,
themes and officers and bring back to the Public Safety Committee for review. He felt
that they would need to be careful how they publicize the officers; for instance no
personal information should be given out.He would also like to make sure that the
meetings would not interfere with the Mayor's schedule. He thought it was a good idea
and a way for interaction between the public and officers to meet one another.
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Officer Pleckham said he would get the schedule together and bring it back to the next
meeting.
This item will come back to the next Public Safety meeting on March 25, 2004.
Police Reports—January 2004
Chief Martin stated that the number of seatbelt citations went up in December because of
the new click-it or ticket program. He said that winter is usually the slowest time of the
year for giving out citations and warnings. He said that the officers are working hard at
their job. Officer Jon Helland is directing a couple of different programs at the high
school dealing with seatbelt issues. Officer Barry Groesch is also involved with it. There
are also officers involved with the car seat program for installing child restraint seats.
They get these important safety issues out to the public by means of news letters and
neighborhood watch meetings. He said they have worked with Wal-Mart to help with
donations for the child restraint seats. This allows for a new car seat to be donated to
those citizens who cannot afford to purchase one for their child.
This item will go on the Consent Agenda at the next COW on March 2, 2004.
ADDITIONAL BUSINESS:
Chief Martin mentioned that Officer Helland will be attending the School Resource
Officers School(SRO)classes in April in Phoenix, Arizona. He said that they do have
money already budgeted for expenses. He said that the school only contributes to
registration fees. Chief Martin will send a memo to committee members when he receives
information of the total expenses.
There was no extra additional business.
Meeting adjourned: 8:20 P.M.
Minutes by Theresa Brady