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Public Safety Committee Minutes 2008 10-16-08 APPROVED W/ CORRECTIONS 12/18/08 UNITED CITY OF YORKVILLE 800 Game Farm Road Yorkville, IL 60560 PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING City Hall, Conference Room Thursday, October 16, 2008 — 6:00 P.M. PRESENT: Chairperson Spears, Committeemen Plocher, Sutcliff, Werderich ABSENT: None ALSO PRESENT: Chief Harold Martin, Lieutenant Don Schwartzkopf, Lieutenant Rich Hart, Molly Batterson, Attorney Orr, Travis Miller, and Lisa Welz of The Record Chairperson Spears called the meeting to order at 6:03 p.m. in the Conference Room of City Hall. PRESENTATION: None MINUTES: Minutes for the September 18, 2008 Public Safety Committee Meetings were approved without changes. NEW BUSINESS: 1. PS 2008-44 Police Reports for September, 2008 Committeeman Werderich noted that battery offenses are higher than last year. Chief Martin stated that the figure includes Domestic Battery offenses and the rise could also be contributed to harder economic times. Chairperson Spears asked Chief Martin to explain why Ron Diederich was authorized to take a city vehicle home. Chief Martin stated that Mr. Diederich does not charge the City for overtime when he is called out, therefore, he is saving the City money on the callouts which is why he is allowed to take the vehicle home as he handles many items during off duty hours such as: heat, electric and water issues; alarms; speed trailers (he tows the trailer with his City vehicle, drops it off at the destination, checks on it during the 3-4 day period that its out and picks it up); speed survey strips; and minor squad car repairs such as tires and batteries. 1 Chief Martin stated that Mr. Diederich lives in the general vicinity and feels that it would cost the City far more to have other employees handle these responsibilities and therefore, the Police Department is helping with budget constraints by having Mr. Diederich handle these items. Chairperson Spears asked Chief Martin to send an outline to Alderman Munns explaining Mr. Diederich's responsibilities and why he takes the vehicle home. Chairperson Spears asked about the vandalism that occurred at the Beecher Center. Specifically, she asked if the Parks Department was called out for the pop machine that was knocked over. Chief Martin stated that he is not aware that anyone was called out for this particular instance, however, the standard practice is to have a report taken, then have the a member of the dayshift staff make notification about damage, etc. Additionally, he stated in this case, the notification would have been made to the owner of the pop machine, not the Parks Department. Chairperson Spears asked if it is typical to call out the Parks Department Supervisor for instances of vandalism, to which Chief Martin stated that the only time that notification would be made during off- duty hours is when the matter presents a safety issue. Vandalism, he stated, would not present a safety issue. Chairperson Spears stated that this matter would need to return to the Administration Committee for further discussion. With no further discussion, this item was moved to the Consent Agenda. 2. 2008-45—Payment of Administrative Adjudication Hearing Officers Attorney Orr stated that staff is very excited about the Adjudication Hearing Process. She gave a brief summary of the status: • The rate for the hearing officer is $150.00/hour. • If the hearing is cancelled the day of a scheduled hearing, the officer will be paid 1 hour. • The Police Department staff has been great in handling this matter. • The Police Department collected $1200.00 in fines. • The Police Department is using cadets to issue tickets. • Numerous ordinances are on the agenda to bring more things into the scope of the process. • Most citizens are grateful that they can come to City Hall, pay a fine and not have to attend court or have an offense on their record. • The Building Department needs to get onboard. • For the hearing scheduled October 22, 2008, there are 4 tickets that remain unpaid. • The idea of this process is not to create revenue, but to create a good life at no cost to good citizens. • With regards to parking tickets, if the violator does not appear after 10 tickets, their vehicle will be booted. • With regards to seatbelt violations, they are issued as a parking ticket but if they go unpaid, a lien can be placed on their license in Springfield. 2 • This process is used for issuing tickets for vehicles blocking a sidewalk. Prior to the process, the violator would receive a $75.00 ticket. The City receives many complaints regarding this matter. • Barking dog complaints were not dealt with before because they would be dropped in court. This process allows the City an avenue with which to pursue those complaints. Committeeman Werderich asked what the violation entitled `Improper Display of Plate' is for. Ms. Batterson advised that is for vehicles parked on a street without a registration sticker, or vehicles without a plate light or vehicles without a front license plate. Chief Martin stated that the Police Department could be stringent on issues such as parking in a fire hydrant zone and parking across a sidewalk. Committeeman Sutcliff asked if the violations were published in the newspaper. Ms. Batterson responded that some of them, the City has always been able to issue citations for. However, there is a list available online and in the newsletter. Ms. Batterson stated that the process lifts a burden from the courts and allows the courts to focus on more important violations. Attorney Orr stated that she spoke with a representative from the courts and they are very encouraged about this process moving forward. 3. PS 2008-46—Code Amendment Ordinances Attorney Orr stated that the next step is to make code amendments to allow other violations to be handled through the adjudication process. There will be more in the future and as the City grows and new problems arise, those too may be brought into this process. The following discussion took place regarding the proposed ordinances. • 5-3-2-5 —no issues— moved to Consent Agenda. • 5-3-8 — change to "...it shall be unlawful for any person to possess with intent to deface a spray paint container..." — moved to Consent Agenda. • 5-3-9 — Committeeman Werderich stated that the term `cultivate' would mean to farm and therefore, this did not make sense. Lt. Hart stated that in this instance, the term means to damage crops. Committeeman Werderich stated that it meets with State Statute 720ILCS521-3 and that it does not show intent. He feels that a violator loses their constitutional rights under this procedure. Attorney Orr stated that she would withdraw this proposed ordinance as it is a personal violation, not a public violation. It will be re-written and returned for review at the next meeting. 3 • 5-3-10 — Committeeman Plocher asked if this ordinance includes cap guns to which Chief Martin stated that it did not. No other issues were discussed. —moved to Consent Agenda. • 5-3-11 — Attorney Orr advised that this ordinance is intended for 1st time offenders only. Committeeman Werderich stated that this ordinance takes the state stature but changes the violator's rights when charged under a local ordinance rather than state statute. Attorney Orr stated that every town she has worked with allows for this as it gives the Police Department an opportunity to work with kids rather than put a violation on their record immediately. Chief Martin stated that it allows the officers to make a difference in someone's life. He stated that this allows them to issue a fine the first time and work with the kids. He feels that there a many instances when an officer could get through to the kids just by trying. It allows them to work with the community and not be adversarial which gives the Police Department a better outlook. Attorney Orr stated that instead of an officer having an "all or nothing" option regarding charging a violator, this gives them another option. After discussion, it was determined that this ordinance would be changed as follows. Item B would state "...persons knowingly possessing 2.5 grams or less of any substances containing cannabis." — moved to City Council Agenda for discussion. • 5-3-12 — Attorney Orr stated that this ordinance is recommended because it is the only way to get rid of graffiti. The committee agreed that most people want to get rid of the graffiti, but Committeeman Werderich does not want the victim of graffiti to be punished. — moved to Consent Agenda. • 5-3-13 — Committeeman Werderich would like state statute 720ILCS516A-3,4,5,6 mirrored. Additionally, items F, G & H of the statute were left out. However, he stated that the statute allows a minor to be 19 years old and he has no objection to the proposed ordinance listing a minor as 18 years old. — Attorney Orr will rewrite this ordinance and then it will be moved to the City Council Agenda for discussion. • 5-3-14 - Committeeman Werderich stated that the language in item A is the only language that matches the state statute. Additionally, he stated he does not agree with the language in items I & J. Attorney Orr agreed as it does not allow for peaceful picketing. — Items I & J will be removed, and then this item will be moved to Consent Agenda. • 5-3-15 —It was determined this proposed ordinance would be removed from consideration. 4. PS 2008-47—Parental Responsibility Ordinance Committeeman Werderich is concerned that someone would be charged with another person's wrongdoing. Chairperson Spears stated that if parents were more responsible for their children, there might not be so many children 4 violating the law. Discussion took place regarding the cut off age at which a parent should be notified. It was determined that it would stay at age 18. The following changes will be made: • 5-7-1, A "...allowing or permitting such minor to commit any violation of a city ordinance ef stae st + 4e concerning battery, curfew, disorderly conduct, fireworks, indecent exposure, intimidation, possession of spray paint or permanent marker with intent to deface, obscene conduct, vandalism, trespass, truancy, loitering, use or possession of tobacco products, possession of alcoholic beverages, cannabis, a een+felled substanee, or air rifle. • 5-7-1, B-2 is to be removed. • All references to state statute will be removed. • Add "intent to deface" after permanent markers in 5-7-1, B-2 (top of page 2). • 5-7-4 —change "court" to "adjudication hearing". After the revisions are made, this item will move to the Consent Agenda. 5. PS 2008-48 — Off Street Parking Regulations — Zoning Ordinance Text Amendment Recommendation Mr. Miller stated that this item came from the EDC Meeting of October 7, 2008 as staff identified a loop hole in the zoning ordinance and has drafted text. The problem is that commercial property is not addressed and there is a problem at the truck stop at Route 71 and Route 47. Chief Martin stated that the Police Department has received complaints about truck drivers running their trucks while sleeping for the past 10-15 years. Mr. Miller stated that this amendment gives the truckers a 24 hour period before their vehicle must be moved. Chief Martin stated that there could a problem if the nature of the business is truck repair and a vehicle is parked for longer than 24 hours. It was suggested that language should be added that speaks to the nature of the business. This item will be moved to the Plan Commission for Public Hearing, then return to EDC, then to City Council possibly in December. 6. PS 2008-49—Proposed Public Safety Committee 2009 Meeting Schedule With no discussion, this item was moved to the Consent Agenda. OLD BUSINESS: 1. PS 2008-42 — Ordinance Amending the Code of Ordinances Prohibiting Parking in a Designated Handicapped Parking Space Chairperson Spears stated that it is proposed to increase the fine for this violation to $350.00. She noted that there is a problem with the handicapped parking signs are Marketplace. Lt. Hart will look into this matter. With no further discussion, this item was moved to the Consent Agenda. 5 2. PS 2008-43 — Ordinance Amending the Code of Ordinances Regarding Restrictions to Animals Lt. Hart stated that the ordinance matches State Statute. With no further discussion, this item was moved to the Consent Agenda. ADDITIONAL BUSINESS: None ADJOURNMENT OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING: With no further business to discuss, the meeting adjourned at 8:08 p.m. Minutes respectfully submitted by Margaret M. Hartigan. 6