SAFETY COMMITTEE OF COUNCIL
REGULAR
MEETING
7:00
P.M.
1. ROLL CALL. Mr. Sabatino called the meeting to order at 7:00 P.M., with roll call as follows: Mrs. Sanders and Mr. Sabatino were present. Mr. Sauer arrived at 7:20 P.M. No members were absent. Others present were Tim Hansley, Lynda Yartin, Chief Mike Taylor, Ed Drobina, Steve Carr, Paul Lane, Brenda VanCleave, Joe Henderson, and others.
Mr. Sabatino stated he would like to call a recess as Mr. Sauer was running late and he would like him present for discussion regarding safety concerns. Mr. Sabatino moved to recess; Mrs. Sanders seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Sabatino and Mrs. Sanders voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 2-0.
Safety Committee recessed at 7:01 P.M., and reconvened in open session at 7:15 P.M.
Mr. Sabatino stated Mr. Sauer had not arrived as yet, but he would continue with the agenda.
2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF March 18, 2009, Regular Meeting. Mrs. Sanders moved to approve; Mr. Sabatino seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Sabatino and Mrs. Sanders voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 2-0.
3. COMMUNITY COMMENTS: There were no community comments.
4. COMMUNITY SAFETY CONCERNS: Mr. Sabatino stated he had distributed an e-mail he received from a concerned resident regarding speeding and the speed limit on Stemen Road. Mr. Sabatino stated he felt the approach to take would be to have staff look at this issue and come back to Safety Committee with some recommendations. Mr. Hansley stated he would look into this issue.
Mr. Sabatino stated he would like to address the concerns he has regarding the support of our police department and the discussions regarding not accepting the grant we have applied for. He stated he felt we had an opportunity to provide support to our police department and if we plan to succeed then we shouldn’t be concerned about reserving the right to lay off police officers. He stated he felt we needed to be concerned with creating the economic climate where that would not even be a consideration. Mrs. Sanders clarified this would be a grant for two police officers for three years, and then the City would be responsible for those officers for the following year. Mr. Sabatino stated he felt if Council would go in the direction some of them have been discussing it would send the wrong message to the taxpayers. He stated if we are looking for them to help support the economic needs of the City, if we would choose to turn down a rather sizeable grant like this, then come back and ask for their support that would be saying we didn’t need to take money from a grant and we would rather take it from our citizens. He stated this is not the message he wanted to send. Mrs. Sanders stated she felt we were understaffed in police officers and if we can get two officers, we should go for it.
Mr. Sabatino stated Mr. Sauer had just arrived and summarized the discussion on the grant application for two police officers. Mr. Sauer stated he has heard discussion on the grant with regard to costs that may come up down the road, and having seen any type of information that would put those costs in black and white; he has not changed his position. He stated what he would like to see is if there is anything that would occur before the four years end that would impact costs, and if that is nominal, it seemed the grant would far outweigh the expense. Mr. Sauer stated currently he did not foresee changing his opinion on this grant.
5. DEPARTMENT REPORTS:
A. Parks and Recreation:
(1) Director’s Report. Mr. Carr stated he had provided a written report to the Committee and he would be happy to answer any questions. Mr. Sabatino clarified the Parks Department is not registering anyone for the community garden plots as yet, but information will be available on May 1st and will be included in the summer tab and on the web site.
B. Code Enforcement:
(1) Code Enforcement Officer’s Report. Mr. Sabatino stated the Committee had received a written report from the Code Enforcement Officer and ascertained there were no questions regarding this report.
C. Building Regulations Department:
(1) Building Department Report (Mr. Lane) Mr. Lane stated he had provided a written report and he would be happy to answer any questions.
(2) Chief Building Official’s Report (Mr. Phillips) Mr. Lane stated Mr. Phillips had provided a written report and he would be happy to answer any questions.
a. Review and discussion regarding proposed permit fees. Mr. Sabatino stated it is his understanding that we have been doing these inspections for commercial activity already, so we will be dealing only with the residential fees. Mr. Sabatino stated what is being proposed is a fee of $25 for residential inspections of hot water tanks, furnace, air conditioner, siding, windows, doors, and roofs and also staff has made some recommendations for how we deal with the registration process for contractors who will be doing this work. Mrs. Sanders stated in the information included in her packet it listed a $25 fee for hot water heaters, and $65 for the other items. Mr. Sabatino clarified that was a typographical error and the correct fee being proposed is $25 for all of the residential inspections. Mrs. Sanders stated we need to make sure this is publicized so our residents know of the requirement to get a permit and Mr. Hansley stated we plan to put this on the water bills and to make the surrounding merchants and plumbers aware of it, as well as putting in on the City’s web site. Mr. Hansley stated we know we will not get 100 percent compliance, but a lot of residents want to have this inspection, especially if they are doing the work themselves. Mr. Sauer clarified that if a homeowner has damage from a storm or whatever, they have to pay the $25 fee only once for the roof, siding, and window inspection. Mr. Lane stated, however, if there were plumbing issues as well, then there would be a separate fee for that inspection. Mr. Hansley stated if this Committee is in agreement with the proposed registration process, he would request a motion to accept the concept and he would have a modified ordinance for the next meeting. Mr. Sabatino stated he felt everyone was in agreement with the concept and Mr. Hansley stated he would then have a draft ordinance for the next meeting. Mr. Sabatino moved to begin inspecting hot water tanks, furnaces, air conditioners, siding, windows, doors, and things that are done on a like-for-like basis with a fee of $25; Mr. Sauer seconded the motion. Mr. Hansley stated this did not have to move forward to Council since it had the Committee approval. Roll call was taken with Mr. Sauer, Mrs. Sanders, and Mr. Sabatino voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 3-0.
D. Service Department:
(1) Review and discussion regarding restricting right turns on red at S.R. 256 and S.R. 204. Ms VanCleave stated she had not received information from ODOT as yet.
Ms VanCleave stated with regard to the issue discussed at last month’s meeting regarding speeding in Fox Glen, the speed limits should be painted on the streets shortly. Mr. Sabatino stated in the past there has been some discussion about different types of speed trailers. He stated the one we have now does not record anything, it just warns people of their speed, and he questioned if Chief Taylor knew of the speed trailers that records data. Chief Taylor stated they do have those, but they are extremely expensive, probably between $13,000 to $18,000. Mr. Hansley stated we are sometimes approached by a business or a service club that may want to do something for the City and this might be something they would be interested in helping with. Mr. Sabatino stated that is where he was going because if we could collect data that would help the Chief assign patrol cars to certain areas. Mr. Sabatino asked if Chief Taylor could find out more information about these types of speed trailers and provide it to this Committee. Chief Taylor stated he would take care of that.
6. POLICE:
A. Chief’s Report. Chief Taylor stated he had provided his report to the Committee and he would be happy to answer any questions. Chief Taylor stated with regard to the businesses that were broken into, that suspect has been caught and is in custody.
7. CHAIRMAN: Mr. Sabatino stated he had nothing further.
8. OTHER BUSINESS. No other business was brought forward.
9. ADJOURNMENT. There being nothing further, Mr. Sauer moved to adjourn; Mrs. Sanders seconded the motion. Mr. Sabatino, Mrs. Sanders, and Mr. Sauer voted "Aye." Motion carried, 3-0. The Safety Committee adjourned at 7:48 P.M., April 22, 2009.
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:
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