Public Safety Sub-Committee Regular Meeting July 17, 2014-Approved
PUBLIC SAFETY SUB COMMITTEE
REGULAR MEETING - 7:00 AM
JULY 17, 2014
CALL TO ORDER
Lisa Heavner, Chair, Board of Selectmen, called the Regular Meeting of the Public Safety Subcommittee to order at 7:00 A.M. on Thursday, July 17, 2014 in the Main Meeting Room of the Simsbury Town Offices located at 933 Hopmeadow Street, Simsbury, CT. The following members were also present: Chief James Baldis, Simsbury Volunteer Fire Department, Nicholas Boulter, Captain, Simsbury Police Department, Lucille Bowman, Simsbury Volunteer Ambulance, Thomas Cooke, Director of Administrative Services, Michael Delehanty, Simsbury Volunteer Ambulance, Geoffrey Giddings, Civil Defense, Chief Peter Ingvertsen, Town of Simsbury, Police Department, Kevin Kowalski, Simsbury Volunteer Fire Department, Ed LaMontagne, Executive Director, Simsbury Housing Authority, Mickey Lecours-Beck, Director, Town of Simsbury Social Services, Mark Massaro, Connecticut Light Power, Sarah Nielson, Executive Director, Simsbury Main Street Partnership, Tony Piazza, Public Works, Jeffrey Shea, Town Engineer, Kevin Witkos, CL&P and State Senator, Tony Uanino, Chamber of Commerce, Gary Wilcox, Simsbury Fire District.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Everyone stood for the Pledge of Allegiance
PUBLIC AUDIENCE
There was no one to speak at Public Audience.
1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Ms. Lecours-Beck made a motion to approve the minutes from the Public Safety Subcommittee Regular Meeting on May 15, 2014. The motion was seconded by Chief Baldis and was unanimously passed.
2. INTRODUCTION OF TOWN ENGINEER
Ms. Heavner introduced Jeff Shea, Town Engineer of Simsbury. Mr. Shea discussed his background to the committee.
Mr. Shea discussed the emergency generator project, which was funded through several sources including a FEMA Grant acquired for the Tariffville emergency generator, with a total budget of approximately $300,000. He stated that, over the last three months, they hired a consultant who has been investigating various options for providing power to multiple facilities. Mr. Shea stated that the primary facilities would be the Simsbury High School and Tariffville School, which are both Emergency Shelters. Mr. Shea stated that Town Hall is also a primary facility, due to the problems with its generator, and the Town is thinking of purchasing a backup generator that would function at Town Hall as well as other facilities. He noted the other facilities would be Simsbury Library and Eno Memorial Hall.
Mr. Shea reported that the requirements were investigated for the various facilities. He stated that Simsbury High School’s 250KW generator did not provide all the necessary power for all the spaces that would be utilized during an Emergency Shelter operation. Some of this was due to how the circuiting was configured as part of the new addition project. Mr. Shea noted that, after looking at various alternatives, it was determined that the best course of action would be to provide a second generator of 250KW to supplement what was already there.
Mr. Shea noted that, before the generator is put into place, some of the loads will have to be removed from the circuit. He stated that this has been discussed with the Board of Education and they feel comfortable with this.
Mr. Shea stated that the generator in Tariffville will either serve the entire building or provide a reduced size generator to serve the new addition for the Emergency Shelter. He noted that bids are currently out for both the High School and Tariffville and this will give the Town the opportunity to make some decisions in terms on what can be ordered based on a budget and bids. Overall, he stated that the financial requirements, based on estimates, were short in terms of budget, which the estimates currently state it would cost approximately $550,000, with only $300,000 available.
Ms. Heavner asked Mr. Shea to bring the estimates back to the committee for review as well as keeping everyone updated on the progress. Mr. Kowalski voiced his displeasure on how long this project has taken to get completed. He thought that this had been funded six months ago with a completion date of October, 2014. Mr. Kowalski stated that he believes Tariffville should be a priority to get a generator in order to assistant those residents on the other side of the river. He also stated that he believes the Simsbury High School should be the second priority for a generator. He asked Mr. Shea if the two projects could be funded with the $300,000 and if it will be completed by October, 2014. Mr. Shea stated that, at the current cost, they are $50,000 short with the current funds available and does not believe it could be completed by November. He noted that it takes three to four months to receive a generator. He also noted that there is a $50,000 Grant that is for the Tariffville generator.
Mr. Piazza informed the committee that all electrical work should be completed for Tariffville and Simsbury High School prior to school opening in the fall. This will enable them to connect the generator when it arrives.
Mr. Shea notified the group that bids were received yesterday for the portable generator and two bids for resurfacing work, one at Town Hall and Eno Memorial Hall and one at Simsbury High School and Town Hall are due on August 5th.
Mr. Cooke stated that he is making this project a priority and Ms. Heavner noted she will speak to the First Selectman, Mary Glassman on the importance of this.
3. UPDATES AND REPORTS
• Ambulance – Mr. Delehanty informed the committee that they are holding an EMT class the first week of October and information will be on the website with final dates. He stated that they are doing a study of their call coverage and noted that their 1st call coverage remains at 100% and the total call coverage remains at 85%. Mr. Delehanty noted that, in the last 10 years, the call volume has gone from 1,000 calls to 1,800. He stated that there is currently studying a pilot program to put a second ambulance in service with paid staff during the peak weekday hours.
• Mr. Delehanty also noted that they are looking at purchasing a new ambulance this year. He stated that they are looking at alternatives to provide additional revenue and savings to fund the new vehicle.
• Board of Education – Ms. Heavner gave an update for the Board of Education. She discussed a memo from William Shea, Deputy Commissioner, State of Connecticut Department of Emergency Service and Public Protection on School Security & Safety Plan and Training Fact Sheet.
• Civil Preparedness – Mr. Kowalski noted that the FM radio transmitter has been ordered and the studio is being designed. The radio antenna is in and they will be installing it in the next couple of weeks at the Firetown facility. He noted that there will be some radio testing for the ability to get from Town Hall to the Firetown facility on a wireless network. Mr. Kowalski stated they are looking at a September 1st deadline. There is also an active search for a call sign and noted that all of the call signs they have chosen have already been assigned.
Mr. Kowalski referenced a handout he gave to committee members which is a mandate the State came out with regarding what the Board of Education has to have for a security and safety plan. He noted that he has been working with Sue Lemke and Matt Curtis on these plans. Mr. Kowalski informed the committee that the schools went through a consultant and they did have a Simsbury Public School Crisis Management plan response. He referenced the new plan document that the state requires and that it will need to be signed by key individuals in Town. He noted that these documents, when completed, must be submitted to the State of Connecticut.
Mr. Witkos stated that the plan is the result of what happened in Newtown. He stated that an analysis was done by Federal agencies of towns in the country that had the best emergency response plans and Wilton, CT was one of them. It was decided to adopt Wilton’s plan and each town can customize it to their specific community but to standardize it to a certain degree.
• Fire – Chief Baldis noted that things have been pretty quiet. They are currently out doing their annual hydrant maintenance. Chief Baldis informed the committee that they did assist in a fire in Avon at an apartment building as well as a house fire in Suffield with Tanker support.
Chief Baldis was asked how much space was needed around hydrants and he stated it was five feet to enable hoses to be connected and for safety reasons. He asked that if anyone sees any unauthorized use of a hydrant to please contact the police or fire department.
• Farmington Valley Health District – No one from the FVHD attended the meeting.
• Police – Chief Ingvertsen discussed the $50,000 shortage for the generator for the Tariffville and Simsbury High School and reminded the committee that the Board of Selectmen only meet once a month and that this should be put on their next agenda. Ms. Heavner stated that it can go on the next agenda and she will discuss with the First Selectman to see if it has to be expedited sooner.
Chief Ingvertsen noted that they have begun training on the Naloxone last week with the help of the ambulance service. He stated that there are some restrictions as to the temperature it has to be stored at and how they are going to maintain it in the police cruisers. Chief Ingvertsen will need to find out where it is going to be stored in Town Hall and how it will be administered as well as the cost of the drug.
Chief Ingvertsen has received the victim advocate material for municipalities and stated that it is available on their website. He also had booklets from Social Services to anyone who was interested.
Chief Ingvertsen stated that he has not heard back regarding the No Parking signs that were out on July 3rd on Route 10.
Chief Ingvertsen noted that he is working with Mr. Cooke on the general government side in putting together documents for ICS training and where the certificates are.
Officer Boulter discussed the Project Lifesaver which is the transmitter/receiver equipment that the Town received a Grant for. It is for people with Alzheimer, dementia and autism. Individuals would wear a bracelet that has receiving devices to track them if they are missing. The Police department received training the end of May and they are in the process of training the personnel on its use. They are also working on funding and a development policy on how it will be used. Officer Boulter stated that they currently have $1,200 that has been donated to this project and are looking to raise $8,000 so they do not have to ask for payment from users. He believes this may be rolled out this Fall.
• Social Services – Mickey Lecours-Beck noted that they have only opened their cooling centers twice this summer. She reminded committee members of the special needs individuals that are inappropriate for the Emergency Shelters and the problems that occurred in the past. Ms. Lecours-Beck was happy to announce that this has been resolved. She stated that the VNA has stepped up and has received an agreement with Meadowbrook in Granby and Apple Rehab in Avon to take Simsbury’s special needs individuals.
Ms. Lecours-Beck asked for any ideas to purchase a number of AM/FM radios for seniors.
• Public Works – Mr. Piazza noted that Public Works is making sure everyone has at least the minimal amount of training required.
• CL&P – Mr. Witkos discussed the issue of a car hitting a pole and when the pole was replaced it was too close to the road. He was asked if he could assist in getting the pole moved. Mr. Witkos noted that the wires have been moved and the pole has been cut but he is waiting to see when the pole will be completely removed.
Mr. Witkos was happy to announce that Simsbury faired very well during the storm on July 3rd and 4th and did not have any loss of power.
4. NEW BUSINESS
Ms. Heavner asked Mr. Cooke to update the committee regarding a Grant opportunity for town staff. Mr. Cooke noted that the Grant was very detailed and did not meet the Town’s immediate needs. It did bring up a conversation as to what should be done for the actual training in the Town of Simsbury. Mr. Kowalski stated that the process for the Grant was very time consuming and was not worth the time to complete. He also noted that there were numerous requirements and many limitations. He discussed some of the training available.
Mr. Cooke stated he would like to see the Town work with Ensign Bickford to come up with a situation and run a scenario that would involve most of the Town’s staff.
Mr. LaMontagne noted that several seniors from 1 West Street have approached him with regards to the crosswalk on Route 10 and wanted to add a sign to say "No Turn On Red". Chief Ingvertsen stated that the State has refused to do this as it will back up traffic on West Street. He agreed that it is not a good location for a crosswalk and he will check back with the State again.
5. EMERGENCY RESPONSE EXERCISE –
Mr. Kowlaski stated that they are actively pursuing their next exercise which will take place in the next year and a half for Town wide response. He noted that he would like to partner with Diamond Nobel/Ensign Bickford for a chemical exercise.
ADJOURNMENT
Mr. Witkos made a motion to adjourn the July 17, 2014 Regular Meeting of the Public Safety Subcommittee at 8:07 a.m. The motion was seconded by Ms. Lecours-Beck and was passed unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
____________________________________ ______________________________
Lisa Heavner, Chairman Leslie Brigham, Commissions Clerk