Public Safety Sub Committee Meeting 01/24/2013
PUBLIC SAFETY SUBCOMMITTEE - ADOPTED MINUTES
SPECIAL MEETING - JANUARY 24, 2013
CALL TO ORDER
Lisa Heavner, called a special meeting of the Public Safety Subcommittee to order on Thursday, January 24, at 7:02 a.m., in the Main Meeting Room at the Town Offices. The following members were also present: Chief Ingvertsen; Simsbury Police Department, Kevin Kowalski; Emergency Management Director, Chief James Baldis; Simsbury Volunteer Fire Department, Mickey Lecours-Beck; Social Services, Tom Cooke; Director of Administrative Services Lucille G. Bowman; Simsbury Volunteer Ambulance Association, Michael Delehanty; Simsbury Volunteer Ambulance Association, and Sean Askham; Board of Selectmen. CT State Senator Kevin Witkos was also in attendance.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Everyone stood for the Pledge of Allegiance.
PUBLIC AUDIENCE
There was none.
1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - NOVEMBER 15, 2012 (REGULAR MEETING)
The subcommittee decided to postpone the vote on the November 15th minutes until the next meeting, as a majority of the members had trouble receiving the document and were unable to examine the minutes.
2. REPORTS
Kevin Kowalski, Civil Preparedness - Mr. Kowalski said they are monitoring the weather and watching for any power outages. Mr. Kowalski said they have also distributed the warming center information, which Micky will speak about during her update.
Chief James Baldis, Simsbury Volunteer Fire Department - Chief Baldis said their focus is cold weather operations, as the weather creates operational challenges for them. He also spoke about the issue of fire hydrant availability, as some are still covered with snow. Chief Baldis asked Mr. Cooke to send out another press release about this issue.
Chief Baldis said an ice water rescue drill was conducted at Town Forest and they also do a survey of areas where there may be access to water/ice for recreational use. At Stratton Brook, they discovered, a pile of snow near the entrance has developed from the plows which is blocking the entrance access. Chief Baldis said they have contacted the crew responsible in order to allow for access in case of emergency.
Farmington Valley Health District - No one representing FVHD was present. Mr. Kowalski and Mr. Cooke both said they would follow up with Ms. Kertanis, Director of Health, regarding the meetings, as she is new.
Chief Ingvertsen, Police Department - Chief Ingvertsen said he has had regular meetings with Mr. Matt Curtis, Superintendent of Schools, since the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary and the Police Department has provided extra patrol of the schools in order to monitor safety. Chief Ingvertsen said the feedback has been good from the schools regarding the increased police presence.
Chief Ingvertsen said a consultant has been hired to look at the overall safety measures within all of the schools. Ms. Heavner spoke about the need to update the locks and mentioned that the Board of Finance announced their support of the financing for that initiative. Mr. Kowalski said they need to pay particular attention to the fire codes and the ability to exit the building safely. Chief Ingvertsen then said Emergency Services have met regarding the response for potential instances and said they will continue to meet.
Mickey Lecours-Beck, Social Services - Ms. Lecours-Beck said they activated two warming centers (located at the Senior Center & Library) in Town and that will go through Friday evening. Ms. Lecours-Beck also said they convinced FoodShare to bring their van to First Church in Simsbury every other Monday. She said people from other towns are also welcome to come and get fruits and vegetables.
Michael Delehanty, Simsbury Volunteer Ambulance Association - Mr. Delehanty said due to the increased load from the flu illnesses, Department of Public Health is reporting the outpatient numbers are almost twice that of the previous two seasons, which increases their call load. Also, Mr. Delehanty continued, sick staff poses an issue, so they are reinforcing their procedures of decontamination and safety. Next, Mr. Delehanty spoke about the effect of the New England Urgent Care Center on emergency services. In the month since the facility opened, SVAA’s transports have gone up significantly. Mr. Delehanty said that facility alone could potentially increase their transport by 10-20% alone. Chief Ingvertsen noted the increased time of response rate when they have to call out another ambulance from outside of town, which happens where there is increased call volume. Mr. Delehanty said they need to see how this issue plays out, but if the facility becomes a nexus of urgent care for the valley, SVAA will have to look at what resources Simsbury has in order to handle increased call volume. Mr. Kowalski asked if SVAA would need add another ambulance, and Mr. Delehanty said yes, he thinks they will have to add another at some point, but not right at this moment. Chief Ingvertsen noted the police also have respond to each call as well, so it is increased burden on the Police Department as well. Response times and call volumes were discussed further by the subcommittee members. Mr. Delehanty said, ultimately, this is going to be an issue that will evolve over the next couple of years which will need to be continually monitored.
Ms. Lecours-Beck noted Social Services gets the reports on any medical calls regarding anyone over the age of 60 and they follow up with every patient to find out if they are back from the hospital and see if they are in need of help/services.
When Chief Baldis asked Mr. Delehanty about the staffing needs of SVAA, he said it is hardest during the week which is also when there can be higher call volume, so that is an issue. Mr. Delehanty continued by saying the numbers are not so strong right now, but it is a trend they are watching and evaluating.
3. NEW BUSINESS
a) CL&P plans for multi-use buildings in arrears
Mr. Kowalski said he received a notice saying that CL&P is identifying owners of multi-tenanted buildings that have not paid the electric bills for the structure's common areas. Mr. Kowalski said CL&P will not shut down electricity for the tenants that are paying, but they will shut power down to the owner's meter. If this results in the disconnection of a fire alarm system, Mr. Kowalski continued, they would have to vacate the building pursuant to State statutes. He said it is well within CL&P's right, but it creates an issue that needs to be addressed. Mr. Kowalski asked Sen. Witkos if Simsbury will get noticed of properties that are being shut off. Sen. Witkos described the process CL&P takes when implementing this new policy and spoke about the notification process to owners and tenants. Sen. Witkos said the tenant is allowed to take up the cost, to avoid the shutdown, and then can deduct that paid amount from their rent. Sen. Witkos said, as of now, there is no notification to towns but there has been push from his department to notify towns. Ms. Heavner said she this is a safety issue and notification is important. Mr. Kowalski said he is not against what CL&P is doing, but he needs to take appropriate action in response and then spoke about the safety issues that come along with the common area power being disconnected. Sen. Witkos said he will follow up at the next meeting with another update.
Ms. Heavner announced the Public Safety Subcommittee consensus that there is concern regarding the lack of notification to municipalities, and as it is a public safety issue, they feel the town needs to be notified in a reasonable amount of time in order to to respond appropriately.
Ms. Heavner announced the following items for follow up: 1) Mr. Cooke’s press release regarding snow covered fire hydrants, 2) Mr. Cooke and Mr. Kowalski to follow up with FVHA in order to invite Ms. Kertanis to the Public Safety meetings and 3) Sen. Witkos to follow up on the issue of Town notification from CL&P regarding power shut-offs.
Sen. Witkos said he wanted to remind everyone that Congresswoman Esty is going to be in Simsbury on January 29th (8:30 - 9:30AM).
He continued by saying the Legislature has created a bipartisan task-force made up of three (3) working groups; 1) gun violence, 2) mental health and 3) school safety. He announced the upcoming meeting times.
More information can be found at the task-force website:
http://www.cga.ct.gov/asaferconnecticut/
Sen. Witkos then announced that CL&P is hosting the Special Olympics on March 2 & 3 and they are looking for volunteers.
Sen. Witkos brought up the issue of bike safety and the interpretation of the current statute regarding this issue. He he has proposed the use of the language from NY’s law, which clearly addresses the issues. This topic was discussed further by the subcommittee members.
Mr. Kowalski told Sen. Witkos it is the position of the Fire Marshall that he is against the expansion of fireworks in the state of CT, as there is a proposal to allow expanded types of fireworks.
ADJOURNMENT
Ms. Lecours-Beck made a motion to adjourn the January 24th special meeting of the Public Safety Subcommittee at 7:53AM. The motion was seconded by Chief Baldis and passed unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
____________________________________ ______________________________
Ms. Lisa Heavner Leslie U. Faraci, Clerk