Public Safety Sub Committee Meeting 03/21/2013
PUBLIC SAFETY SUBCOMMITTEE - ADOPTED MINUTES
SPECIAL MEETING - MARCH 21, 2013
CALL TO ORDER
Sean Askham called the regular meeting of the Public Safety Subcommittee to order on Thursday, March 21, at 7:10 a.m., in the Main Meeting Room at the Town Offices. The following members were also present: Nicholas Boulter; Simsbury Police Department, Kevin Kowalski; Emergency Management Director, Chief James Baldis; Simsbury Volunteer Fire Department, Mickey Lecours-Beck; Social Services and Tom Roy; Public Works. Lisa Heavner; Board of Selectmen, CT State Senator Kevin Witkos, and Jeff Cochran; CL&P were also in attendance.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Everyone stood for the Pledge of Allegiance.
PUBLIC AUDIENCE
There was none.
1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Mr. Askham said these will be acted on at the next meeting.
2. REPORTS
Simsbury Volunteer Ambulance Association - Although there was not a SVVA representative at the meeting, Mr. Askham announced that the HEARTsafe program was recently approved by the Board of Selectmen.
Kevin Kowalski, Civil Preparedness- Mr. Kowalski thanked everyone for their support during winter storms. He then said flooding season is now upon us so they will be monitoring the river levels over the next month as need be.
Chief James Baldis, Simsbury Volunteer Fire Department - Chief Baldis said things have been relatively quiet, except for weather incidents. He did note a concern that arose during the snow storms. It was noticed that access to the schools was difficult, as the driveways were not plowed for a day or two, restricting access altogether. Chief Baldis said the Board of Education is now aware of this and he hopes now there will always be at least a single path plowed in order to get an engine in if necessary. He noted this is also a message to the business community regarding emergency vehicle access during a snow storm. He noted just a single path can make all of the difference in terms of response time. Mr. Roy said they need to get the word out to some of the private developers on this same issue in order to be prepared. This topic was discussed further as it related to costs and budgeting.
Farmington Valley Health District - Mr. Kowalski said he spoke with Ms. Kertanis, Director of Health, and asked Mr. Askham to get her onto the Public Safety Subcommittee email distribution list so she can be aware of all meetings.
Captain Nick Boulter, Police Department -- Captain Boulter announced the Police Department is working closely with the Board of Education on obtaining a second School Resource Officer (SRO) and are continually working on security issues and measures. Captain Boulter said they are looking to implement the SRO in the fall of this year and he/she will rotate between Henry James and the elementary schools. Captain Boulter said they are also working closely with the Board of Education on the Security Audit. Mr. Askham said the Board of Selectmen had approved the funding needed for the second SRO and then budget adjustments were discussed. The approval regarding funding a generator at Tariffville was discussed and the details of exactly what was approved. The budget was discussed further.
Mickey Lecours-Beck, Social Services - Mickey said now that the State Energy Assistance and Operation Fuel are over, she anticipates getting a lot of calls. She announced that Mobile Food is coming to Simsbury now. Lastly, Ms. Lecours-Beck said they are working on a “Don't Text & Drive” campaign and will be having a event at the High School as their first event. She spoke briefly about other aspects to the campaign to raise awareness. Chief Baldis said there are additional electronic signs available which they could utilize in order to get the word out on this.
3. NEW BUSINESS
Senator Witkos announced he is coming to town April 8th to present the Budget Address to the Board of Selectmen in order to provide information regarding legislative priorities. He also announced he is holding a Gun Hearing on March 25th from 5-11PM at Canton High School. He mentioned a new mandate regarding school safety drills,which was discussed.
Kevin Witkos then spoke as a CL&P representative and said the Special Olympics was a greatly successful event and thanked everyone who participated. Mr. Witkos then spoke about the changes regarding a recently Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) approved plan specifically regarding the definition of a “critical facility”. He said this creates an opportunity to pick one area in town as critical facility that will become top priority in terms of power restoration. He spoke about how this stacks up with regards to other high priorities. Mr. Witkos said he spoke about this area selection with Ms. Glassman and her staff. He said Ms. Glassman asked this subcommittee to choose the commercial development area to be listed as the critical facility. Mr. Kowalski said since the backbone center of town is already taken care of in terms of highest priority, he thinks a spot in south end of town (Bushy Hill Stop & Shop) would be a good spot because has contains all of the critical amenities (food, gas, etc.). But, he cautioned, the question is which is the exact address to use, which was discussed. Other areas to be considered was discussed amongst the subcommittee members. Mr. Kowalski requested of Mr. Witkos and Mr. Cochran to get the gas station (on corner of Hopmeadow & Seminary Road) feed back into the backbone and off of Seminary line in order to get that back into top priority. Mr. Witkos said he can look at the circuit maps of that southern area of town in order for Mr. Kowalski to pick the best address for their critical facility.
Ms. Lecours-Beck made a motion to have the Public Safety Subcommittee empower Kevin Kowalski to review the power map and choose the highest priority in south-end of town to be listed as the “critical facility” with CL&P in order to be a first priority in terms of power restoration. The motion was seconded by Chief Baldis and passed unanimously.
4. ADJOURNMENT
Chief Baldis made a motion to adjourn the March 21st regular meeting of the Public Safety Subcommittee at 7:45AM. The motion was seconded by Ms. Lecours-Beck and passed unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
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Mr. Sean Askham Leslie U. Faraci, Clerk