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Public Safety Minutes 2003 10-23-03 Page 1 of 5 APPROVED 7/22/04 UNITED CITY OF YORKVILLE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING POLICE DEPARTMENT CONFERENCE ROOM THURSDAY,OCTOBER 23.2003 6:30 P.M. IN ATTENDANCE: Mayor Art Prochaska Alderwoman Rose Spears Alderman Larry Kot Police Chief Harold Martin Alderman Paul James Alderman Rich Sticka Alderwoman Wanda Ohare(left at 7:00 p.m) City Attorney Kelly Kramer GUESTS: Officer Stacey Friddle Yorkville Resident, Terri Brady This meeting was called to order at 6:40 p.m. APPROVAL/CORRECTION OF MINUTES OF AUGUST 28.2003 The Committee accepted the minutes of August 28, 2003 with corrections as discussed in this meeting. FISH PONDS/REFLECTION POOLS Terri Brady, a resident/parent in Yorkville was present at this meeting to express her concern with a neighbor who has a reflection pool with size and depth that exceeds the requirements. She is also concerned that the electrical components that have been installed at the floor of the pond may present both a drowning and an electrical hazard to small children in her neighborhood(including her own child). She is concerned that this neighbor may not have received an electrical permit to ensure its proper function. Mr. Dettmer confirmed that no permit was sought. He believes that residents may not even be aware of this requirement. Ms. Brady is also concerned that there are no building codes in existence requiring fencing around ponds. Alderman Kot asked Bill Dettmer of the Department of Building Safety and Inspections to give his input on this issue that has come up several times in past Safety Meetings. Mr. Dettmer stated that as part of his research,he called other municipalities inquiring s Page 2 of 5 about their allowable depth of fish ponds and reflection pools for both public and private properties. It is the intention of the City to draw up an ordinance to ensure enforcement of future ponds that are installed. It is Mr. Dettmer recommendation that this ordinance be written as a stand-alone ordinance,and not an amendment to an existing building code. He stated that existing ponds would not be affected since enforcement of any law cannot be retroactive. The current Building Code deals exclusively with swimming pool structures-not man-made ponds or reflection pools. Currently the only requirement is that electrical permits be taken out for those wishing to install electrical components for fountains and waterfalls used in their ponds. This is the only way the City can monitor the required size of the pond which is not to exceed 250 square feet in size and 24 inches in depth. Currently,there is no way of knowing if the City's ordinance is being enforced. After much discussion at a recent International Code Meeting,Mr. Dettmer found that current building codes that the City adopted are not designed to deal with reflective ponds or pools; it only covers the safety of the structures of swimming pools. In spite of lack of enforcement,fortunately, no tragedies have been reported The Mayor indicated that policies must be explicitly written to define every aspect of what is allowed with respect to ponds and reflection pools. It was Alderman Kot's recommendation that a Newsletter be sent out to the community educating them of the dangers and the safety requirements involved when electrical components are added to retention ponds and reflection pools. He also recommended that an article be placed in the paper alerting property owners of the same. This,he believes,will allow feedback from the community. Mr. Dettmer agreed to write this article and present it for review at the next Public Safety meeting scheduled for November 20, 2003. POLICE REPORTS FOR SEPTEMBER 2003 September 2003's Police Reports were reviewed by the committee members. Officer Stacey Friddle stated that she regularly gives safety presentations to the community to cover issues such as identity theft, credit card fraud and mail theft. The Police Chief commended Officer Friddle on her informative presentations. PART-TIME OMCERS STATUS Police Chief Harold Martin indicated that part-time Officer Holman is moving to Florida at the end of October. It was recommended to the Committee to offer a full time position to part-time Officer Jim Presnack who is currently number one on the list of thirty-six eligible officers. Four positions have been filled with a fifth position still needing to be filled, according to the Police Chief It was unanimously agreed at this committee to fill this vacant position. With respect to the decision to appoint a new Sergeant,this will be decided upon by Chief Martin at a November 3rd meeting. The list of eligible officers will be reviewed at that time. Upon Alderwoman Spears' inquiry of salary reviews,the Police Chief upgrades salaries of part time officers by a pre-determined percentage on an annual basis. Page 3 of 5 NEW WORLD SYSTEM_POLICE SO This records management software for law enforcement agencies, called New World System, was discussed briefly at the Technology Meeting of October 22,2003. Kendall County is utilizing this system, as well as the town of Oswego. This is a mobile technological system that requires computers in each police car to enable officers to search records of possible offenders at each traffic stop. According to the Chief the current"PIPS" system is not user-friendly,and several issues with the programming of this system have arisen. The cost for the new software and hardware for this type of network runs in the$115,0004120,000 range. This system would allow hook up to,and a sharing of vital records with the Kendall County system already in place. The stand- alone system which runs around$60,000-$70,000 is a read-only database,and was researched by City Administrator Anton Graff before he left his position as police chief. The Police Chief stated that he is only introducing this topic at this time so it does not present itself as a surprise when he formally addresses this Committee again to request the funding for improved software in 1-1-1/2 years. The Chief estimates the cost to be $90,000-$100,000 with hook up to the County's system. Currently, he is reviewing feedback from the County to see how their new system is working. Various fwmding options were discussed, such as the possibility of Homeland Security funds or other grants. The possibility of donations was also discussed. The Chief intends to look into this. Further,the Chief stated that the City would incur an annual maintenance fee of $10,000411,000 for the proposed system. Alderman Kot recommended that this issue be brought back again to next month's Public Safety Meeting to allow committee members to review the literature handed out on the New World System Record Management Software. SERVER& ROUTER LOCATED AT HIGH SCHOOL As per Memo from Police Chief Martin,he is requesting releasing the server,router and work station to Yorkville High School. This was purchased as part of a federal grant for joint usage with the school district. The Mayor stated that only the policy needs to be reviewed to determine its value in order to dispose of this,according to the guidelines of the grant,which has run four years and is closed out. It was unanimously agreed to place on the next Committee of the Whole meeting for review. UNLOCKING VEWCAES POLICY This issue was reviewed due to the City's potential risk of being liable for damages when police officers assist in unlocking vehicles. Attorney Kelly Kramer cites one such incident that occurred recently,where a vehicle was allegedly damaged. She recommended drafting a standard"hold harmless"waiver(in a letter format)which will require signature by vehicle owner before vehicle can be unlocked Alderman Kot will be faxing to Attorney Kramer a standard draft currently in use. She agreed to bring this back to the next Public Safety Committee for review. REPLACEMENT OF OARE CAR Page 4 of 5 Police Chief Harold Martin stated that one of the squad cards(a 1998 Crown Victoria) has been decommissioned and placed with Officer Barry Groesch and Sgt. Ron Diederich to turn it into the City's new DARE car. He expects it to take approximately a year for them to complete this project. Currently, estimates are being obtained for installation of a new police radio,a hydraulic system and paint. These are the only expenses he foresees. Many other items such as wheels will be donated,and if possible,certain items from the old car can be transferred to the new one. The Chief knows that available fiords exist in the drug account. Alderman Kot raised the question of soundness and mileage of the car that was selected. Chief Martin assured him that this car was carefully selected based upon its mechanical soundness, in spite of its high mileage. Alderman Kot inquired if vehicles seized in drug seizures could be used. Stacey Friddle's response was that now that drug dealers are aware that seizure of their car is a consequence to a drug bust,they're more likely to use older,junk cars. Both Police Chief and Mayor Prochaska stated the importance of maintaining this program for its educational purposes and for the valuable interaction that occurs between school age children and the police department. REPAIR AND INSTALL OLD DOWNTOWN SIREN Mayor Prochaska indicated that when the proposed new budget was discussed with Tracy Pleckham and Anton Graf,he believes that dollars will be available to repair and install the old downtown siren. It was the Mayor's suggestion that a meeting be set up to invite department heads to be part of the decision process involving this issue. ARD.MQNAL BUSINESS Mayor Prochaska brought up a letter he received from a Yorkville resident who had been previously reported as being in a crisis situation. The officer who responded to the call, believed her to be a potential danger to herself An ambulance was called; she was taken to the hospital. Due to her financial circumstances, she is asking to be relieved of her ambulance and hospital bills. Health and Human Services was contacted by Police Chief Martin to see if they could assist her with this. As the Mayor stated,this indigent person who was already depressed over her financial situation now has the compounded problems of trying to pay these additional bills. As a result of this situation,the Mayor would like a policy put together to develop a closer relationship between the various social services and the county health department so that officers are never placed in a position of having to make the determination of a person's mental state. Mayor would like to see the Police Department have available to all its officers' crisis hotline numbers and/or local counselors who are on-call for this purpose. It was recommended by the Chief that this issue be reviewed by his department and intends to bring it up again in a month or two at a future Public Safety Committee meeting. The Mayor stated that pedestrian walkways have been looked at for safe routes. They found that sidewalks on Mill Street were considered safe for walking. He would like this to be reviewed before the next budget year. He is asking the Committee to give their recommendations for other safe sidewalks. Alderman Kot indicated that previously, • Page 5 of 5 discussions of making Fox Street a safe walkway was brought up. The Mayor stated that the sidewalk and the handrails along the retention wall along Route 47 are in desperate need of repair. Another area in need of repair was the near the old Safari store along the Countryside Parkway to Jewel. Officer Friddle presented to the Committee various price quotes and maintenance cost comparisons of various cargo-type vans that will be used for the City's evidence tech van. The various options available were also brought up, including rear heat for the purpose of working on evidence in the back of the van. The Mayor stated that funding for this would be available as part of an inter-county agreement. This meeting adjourned at 8:10 p.m. Respectfully submitted by Gail-Marie Denton