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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-CES-2007-11-14 Communications & Emergency Services Committee Regular Meeting November 14, 2007 7:00 p.m. PRESENT: Chair J. R. Clairborne Alderpersons (4) Michelle Berry, David Gelinas, Jennifer Dotson, Robin Korherr OTHERS PRESENT: Mayor Carolyn K. Peterson City Clerk — Julie Conley Holcomb Fire Chief— Brian Wilbur Acting Police Chief— Edward Vallely Assistant City Attorney— Patricia Dunn ADDITIONS TO OR DELETIONS FROM THE AGENDA: Chair Clairborne requested that Item 9A, Resource Recovery Legislation, be moved forward on the agenda to after Item 6, Updates. He further requested that Item 6B, Strategic Funding for Firefighters Sub-committee Recommendations, be removed from the agenda. No committee members objected. PUBLIC COMMENT: Joel Harlan, Town of Newfield, voiced his concerns about the increase in violence locally. He urged the Mayor to take immediate action to reduce the crime rates. RESPONSE TO PUBLIC BY COMMITTEE MEMBERS: Chair Clairborne announced that November 17, 2007, is the 11th anniversary of the death of Ithaca Police Department Investigator Michael Padula. The police department is organizing several memorial events. He noted that during this time of the year it is important to keep police work and Officer Padula in our minds and hearts. 6. UPDATES: a. Time Warner Cable and the Access Oversight Committee: Assistant City Attorney Dunn reported that city officials and representatives from Time Warner Cable met on October 17, 2007, to discuss the following issues: I-Net— construction costs are coming due. This project included phasing out coaxial cable and transitioning to fiber. The expected cost is between $8,000 - $10,000. Previous Franchise Fees —fees were collected during the prior franchise agreement to fund public access related projects. The amount in this fund is $133,267.06. This money was not placed in an interest bearing account. Time Warner and the city will decide how this money will be used. November 14, 2007 Access Oversight Committee Issues —there was good discussion on the following items but no resolution was reached: • New carpeting for the studio —who is responsible for this item • Hours of operation for the Pegasys Studio • User fees • Wireless microphone system for the City • Satellite programming Assistant City Attorney Dunn noted that another meeting is being scheduled for December 2007. Discussion followed on the floor regarding the lack of disclosure of accounting measures by Time Warner. Alderperson Dotson noted that she attended the last Access Oversight Committee (AOC) meeting and learned that prior to the reduction in hours at the studio there was a 76% usage rate and that was used as a justification for the reduction. Now there is a 100% usage of hours which means that there is no room for additional programming. She further noted that better communication is needed between Time Warner and the AOC regarding equipment purchases and the use of capital funds. Alderperson Gelinas questioned whether there was any competition in the area from other cable companies. Assistant City Attorney Dunn responded that Request for Proposals (RFP) was sent out prior to negotiating the current franchise agreement but Time Warner Cable was the only respondent. Wayles Brown, Secretary of the Access Oversight Committee, noted that the AOC is not involved with the old franchise funds; they only work under the current franchise agreement. He further noted that Haefele Cable Company also operates within the region. He explained that the request by the Ithaca City School District for a wireless microphone system was made formally through the AOC budget process. City Clerk Holcomb commented that the City made a formal inquiry to Time Warner Cable by letter to General Manager Thomas Doheny regarding the criteria for accessing and using of the old franchise funds for a wireless microphone system. Mr. Doheny responded by letter that the request would have to go through the capital budgeting process and that the equipment would officially remain the property of Time Warner. Alderperson Berry asked how the city should proceed in bringing resolution to these issues. Assistant City Attorney Dunn noted that communication is very important and must be reestablished as other projects have taken priority. Alderperson Berry questioned how the city is communicating with producers who want to use the studio. Mr. Brown responded that the AOC is listening to their concerns regarding the reduction in hours. 2 November 14, 2007 Alderperson Korherr inquired as to whether the city could propose projects that would meet the current requirements. Assistant City Attorney Dunn responded that Time Warner has suggested that the City compile all of the projects they are interested in and purchase them all at once using the remainder of the previous franchise funds. Chair Clairborne questioned who should pull all of the projects together. Assistant City Attorney Dunn responded that she would work with IT Director Twardokus, City Clerk Holcomb, Fire Chief Wilbur, and the AOC to start compiling a list. b. Strategic Funding for Firefighters Subcommittee Recommendations: This item was removed from the agenda. c. Ithaca Police Department Staffing: Acting Police Chief Vallely reported on the current staffing levels: • 68 Sworn Officers • 2 Vacancies / 2 Lateral Transfers to fill those vacancies • 3 Officers are transferring to the Office of Court Administration in 2008 (1 Sergeant and 2 Officers) • 1 Sergeant vacancy to be filled by promotion • 2 new Officers to be hired • 3 Officers have graduated from the Academy and are in the field training Remembrance Ceremonies: Acting Chief Vallely announced that remembrance ceremonies for slain Officer Padula will be conducted on November 16, 2007. There will be a graveside ceremony at Calvary Cemetery at 10:00 am and a Mass at Immaculate Conception Church at 11:00 am. Ithaca Police Department Response to Ithaca City School District Crisis: Acting Chief Vallely further reported on the Ithaca Police Department's response to incidents at the Ithaca High School. He stated that a School Officer was assigned to the campus during the heightened concern time period and that both he and Deputy Police Chief Barber were involved in meetings with the Superintendent of Schools and the High School Principal. He reported that a physical site inspection was conducted and the following recommendations were made: • Buildings should be labeled inside and out for easy identification • Surveillance cameras should be upgraded • Lighting should be enhanced • ID's should be required for school district personnel and visitors • Sign-in / Sign-out procedures should be improved • Doors should be locked during classroom sessions 3 November 14, 2007 Fall Creek Area Halloween Assaults: Acting Chief Vallely reported that this case has been a priority for the department and the Investigators are making good progress. IPD is hopeful that a resolution will be reached soon. Fatal Vehicle/Bicycle Accident: The investigation was conducted by the Traffic Unit through an accident reconstruction. Vehicle speed and direction were analyzed and 1 ticket was issued for failure to yield at an intersection. This matter has been referred to City Court. Chair Clairborne voiced concern regarding city tax dollars being used for school district purposes (double taxation for city residents). Acting Chief Vallely reported that overtime details are required to submit an After Action Report and resources are adjusted based on those results. For example, less officers were dedicated to the Apple Harvest Festival, which resulted in a $1,200 savings. Alderperson Korherr questioned whether the IPD roster was increased at the time the court security requirements were adopted. Acting Chief Vallely responded yes and that New York State reimbursed the officers' salary. Acting Chief Vallely further reported that 14 people in the Police Department are eligible to retire in 2008. The Police Officer exam is being offered this Saturday and 240 people are registered to take the exam. The Recruitment Team had good results with their outreach efforts. Alderperson Korherr thanked the police department on behalf of the parents of the high school students and stated that it was a relief to parents to have the police involved. She further asked if IPD is involved in the Safe School emergency planning. Acting Chief Vallely responded yes. Alderperson Korherr stated that the Halloween incident was very disturbing to the Fall Creek neighborhood as they pride themselves in being a Halloween safe neighborhood. She questioned how residents can be notified of these types of incidents in a timely manner and when these types of notifications get sent to neighborhood listservs. Acting Chief Vallely responded that the Ithaca Police Department engaged the Explorers Unit to go door-to-door leaving door hangers with safety tips. They visited 500 homes in the Fall Creek area. In addition, IPD has been working with the Information Technology Department to create a daily activity log that will be posted on the department's website. This will allow the public to see what type of incidents have occurred on their street. This project should be completed within 2-4 weeks. They are also working on a web- based safety sheet. SWAT Bus: Acting Chief Vallely noted that the SWAT Bus replacement has become a pet project of the department. He noted that a recent trip to Auburn required 24 quarts of oil and several gallons of anti-freeze. Over the last 7 years the bus has been used on 130 4 November 14, 2007 high-risk call outs. Every incident was resolved without injuries to anyone. A new bus would cost approximately $440,000 and $160,000 has been raised from community organizations. He requested that the balloon payment ($200,000) that is due for the 911 Memorandum of Understanding be redirected to the SWAT Bus replacement as the bus would be able to support Tompkins County communications if the 911 Center was taken off-line. Mayor Peterson noted that a meeting is scheduled for tomorrow to discuss this topic with potential funders. Alderperson Berry thanked Acting Chief Vallely and Deputy Chief Barber for their pro- active responses to the citizen inquiries during the fatal vehicle-bicycle accident on Court &Washington Streets. She stated that she appreciated their leadership at the accident scene and suggested that information on critical stress debriefing be posted on the IPD website. Alderperson Korherr questioned what the average number of calls was requiring the use of the SWAT bus over the past 2 years. Acting Chief Vallely responded that his figures were not calculated that way but he knows that calls have not decreased during the past few years. He is not sure if they have increased. 9, NEW BUSINESS: a. Resource Recovery Legislation — New Ordinance Proposal: Fire Chief Wilbur introduced the concept of a resource recovery ordinance. He stated that the Fire Department would like the ability to assess fees to people that have violated laws and as a consequence required rescue and recovery operations. He explained that gorge and water rescues and trench evacuations are time consuming and costly operations that generally involve multiple response agencies (fire, police, ambulance, etc.) These operations put staff at risk and ties up equipment and staff resources. He stated that having legislation in place that provides for restitution of expended resources may result in being a deterrent to these behaviors. He further stated that he would bring forth a range of documents in the future including a resolution of support from the Board of Fire Commissioners and proposed policies and procedures. Alderperson Korherr thanked Chief Wilbur for bringing this issue forward. She noted that previous Council's have considered this issue however with the reduction in the number of volunteer fire fighters a single incident could cost in excess of$10,000. She questioned how multi-jurisdictional events would work, for example incidents that happen on Cornell University property. She further questioned how the costs would be collected, IFD costs only or other agencies as well. Chair Clairborne questioned which agency would have the authority to determine what was an accident and what was a violation of law. He further asked if other communities have similar legislation. Chief Wilbur responded that other communities charge for the 5 November 14, 2007 cost recovery of extractions from traffic accidents and wilderness rescue operations. Chief Wilbur stated that he would bring a proposal for next month's meeting. 7. DISCUSSION: a. Ithaca Police Department and Response to Ithaca City School District Crisis This item was covered under the report above. b. Tompkins County Dispatch Memorandum of Understanding: Chief Wilbur explained that the Tompkins County Dispatch MOU has been in place since 2004. The city pays the county for dispatch services and is the only municipality in the County that does so. The city is also the 911 Center's largest customer. The city annually reviews the performance of the dispatch service and the dispatch center can address their needs and issues with the fire and police departments. The 2007 review has not been conducted yet but will be completed before the city pays the $200,000+ payment in December, 2008. Alderperson Korherr asked whether standard operating procedures had been put in place for use by dispatch for the Ithaca Fire and Police Departments. Chief Wilbur responded yes but they should be more detailed and comprehensive. In addition, they need to be expanded with the transition to the 800 MHZ communication system. Alderperson Korherr asked whether the Chief was comfortable with the dispute resolution process in place. Chief Wilbur responded that the process is being used however it is not 100% effective. There are still differences of opinion in the levels of performance standards. There are expectations that immediate contact will be made to an agency when something has gone wrong to discuss a way to correct a situation. The process that exists currently is that after an incident has happened a call review is completed and then corrective action is put into place. The Emergency Communication Response Operation Committee is working very hard to create an appeal mechanism to use when issues are not resolved through this process. c. Fire Contract between City and Town of Ithaca: Fire Chief Wilbur reported that the fire contract between the Town of Ithaca and the city needs to be signed by the end of the year. A meeting was conducted yesterday to discuss issues and an aggressive schedule was developed to meet the contract deadline. Good communication between the parties will be critical to successful negotiations. The Town of Ithaca pays approximately 32% of the fire department budget ($8 million). Alderperson Gelinas and Mayor Peterson left the meeting at 8:55 p.m. 8. PRESENTATIONS: a. City Traffic Engineer and West End Traffic: Traffic Engineer Logue presented a video on technology that could pre-empt traffic signals for emergency response vehicles. He suggested that this may be a solution to 6 November 14, 2007 the challenges emergency vehicles face when trying to navigate through the traffic congestion in the West End. This new technology would work with our existing infrastructure. Costs include $10,000 for each traffic signal to be modified and $5,000 for each vehicle. Traffic Engineer Logue estimated that it would cost approximately $250,000 - $300,000 to include the entire West End area. He questioned whether funding may be available through Department of Transportation (DoT) funding or Homeland Security grant funds. Alderperson Berry left the meeting at 9:10 p.m. Discussion followed on the floor regarding how the system would work on congested streets. Alderperson Dotson thanked Traffic Engineer Logue for his request to the DoT for traffic signal synchronization in the area as it should be very helpful. She further questioned whether travel time data would be developed. Traffic Engineer Logue responded that he received a letter from the DoT stating that they would follow-up on this issue but he has not heard from them since. Alderperson Korherr stated that she was trying to associate the traffic counts at the intersections to areas that the Board of Fire Commissioners is concerned about. She stated that the data confirms the assumption of the Board of Fire Commissioners regarding the average annual growth in the area and questioned how a lane of traffic could be removed based on the data. Traffic Engineer Logue responded that a meeting is being scheduled with representatives from IFD, IPD, TCAT, Bangs Ambulance and others to provide a comprehensive overview of the issue. Alderperson Dotson stated that once Route 89 separates from the Buffalo Street bridge area, Route 96 is seeing much less growth than other areas. Traffic Engineer Loge stated that both the State DoT and the Federal Highway Administration have reviewed the data and have determined that it was not a high enough growth rate to demand another traffic study. He explained that the lane that is proposed to be removed is not a through street. The trail proposal includes two 12-foot travel lanes and two 4-foot shoulders (=32 feet), which is still wider than Cliff Street. Alderperson Korherr stated that she would share this data with the Board of Fire Commissioners and asked the Fire and Police Chiefs to share the information with the public safety community and transportation providers. Alderperson Clairborne requested that a follow-up report be given to the committee after the meeting with emergency response agencies is conducted. 7 November 14, 2007 Communication Issues: Alderperson Clairborne stated that he would like to discuss communication issues that have been affecting Common Council members at the next meeting. Topics would include how Council conducts business, how members relate to each other, should a retreat be planned where an informal dialog could take place, and how some of these issues could be incorporated into the upcoming Council Orientation program. Alderperson Korherr stated that she attended a retreat when she was newly elected and found discussions on how to engage with departments, make requests for information, and individual communications styles to be very helpful. ADJOURNMENT: On a motion the meeting adjourned at 9:40 p.m. Julie Conley Holcomb, lairborne City Clerk Chair 8 South Side Community Center Hazardous Materials Incident Post Incident Analysis 09 MAR 07 0900 Welcome and Introductions 0905 Process Overview Hazardous Materials Operations PIA already held Involved Agency PIA—09 MAR 07 Report Out with Findings and Recommendations Purpose of Post Incident Analysis • Assess compliance with local policies &procedures already in place. • Evaluate need for policy &procedure modification. • Assess compliance with NIMS ICS. • Identify successful actions &procedures. • Identify action&procedures meriting review&modification. • Identify Training Shortfalls • Identify Training Opportunities to Meet Shortfalls Identified • Identify costs associated with meeting Training shortfalls • Identify Training Opportunities That Helped Prepare Us for the Incident 0910 Incident Review, Presentation 0930 Stakeholder Discussion 1000 Corrective Actions and Improvement Planning 1200 Adjourn Agency Issue Who Will Do Action Impl'tn Date ti 1 0 City of Ithaca Southside Community Center Response to Unknown Chemical Irritant Post Incident Analysis 2 O WELCOME •Facilitator: Brian H.Wilbur,EFO — Fire Chief — Emergency Manager 3 O WELCOME •Introductions — Please make sure you have completed sign-in sheet for report out purposes •Process — HazMat Operations PIA conducted — Involved Agency PIA 09 MAR 07 — Report Out After PIA's completed » Findings and recommendations 4 U Ground Rules •One Person Speaks at a Time •Avoid"Side Bars" •Turn Pagers/Cell Phones to"Stun" •Assess Policies,Procedures,and Systems • •Criticize Ideas,not People •Share the Air •(despite what you see in this presentation)Avoid Acronyms and/or please ask if you don't recognize the meaning of acronyms in use 5 O Post Incident Analysis Purpose •Assess compliance with local policies&procedures already in place. •Evaluate need for policy&procedure modification. •Assess compliance with NIMS ICS. •Identify successful actions&procedures. •Identify action&procedures meriting review&modification. 1 6 O Purpose, cont'd •Identify Training Shortfalls •Identify Training Opportunities to Meet Shortfalls Identified •Identify costs associated with meeting Training shortfalls •Identify Training Opportunities That Helped Prepare Us for the Incident 7 0 Initial Dispatch & Priorities ■Initial Notification to TC 911 Center 1022h ■Bangs&IFD dispatched ■IPD dispatched 8 O Southside Community Center Incident, 12/07/2006 10:22:13h • Dispatch Information: • Odor of Gas or Smoke • Arrival "size up" • All personnel out of building • 5 TST Community School students complaining of respiratory issues,PE Teacher in charge 9 O Initial Dispatch & Priorities •Public Protection Priorities —Establish Perimeter — Evacuate Southside —Bangs provides EMS in mini school bus —IFD samples interior space from exterior —Haz Mat Site Safety Officer requested 10 O Situation Recap ■Initial response — Fire-7 (2 in,2 out,RIT,IC) —EMS-5(2 x 2-person ALS, 1 supervisor) — LE-3(2 marked units, 1 supervisor DPW-1 (Building systems supervisor) Southside Community Center- 1 (Director) 11 O Exacerbating Issues •Similar incident at Ithaca High School(1020 hrs) •Personnel resources limited at Southside 2 1 •HazMat Call,Fairgrounds Mem Pkwy(1716 hrs) •Post-Event:City of Ithaca owns building — If non-city owned property,then disengage after life safety assured. — Turn responsibility for investigation/clean up over to building owner or other legal responsible party 12 O Sequence and Decisions Made •Transition to Unified Command — Fire/Haz Mat,IFD-Van Benschoten — LE,IPD-Sinnegan — EMS,Bangs- Wall — PW-DPW-Ferrel •3 Functional branches established — EMS — Fire/Haz Mat — LE 131 Sequence & Decisions, cont'd ■Gross field decon chosen not appropriate —EMS,Wall,contacts CMC ER,advises sitstat,&that arrivals WILL NOT be de-conned ■EMS providers state they have same symptoms,now become casualties ■Command,w/safety officer,brainstorm possible causes,request LE interview students,Pepper spray? They deny. 14 O Sequence & Decisions, cont'd •CMC gets word no decon needed ■ER quarantined ■Cascade effect: 2 NYS Troopers in quarantine ■Unified Command tries to sort out misinformation trail ■CMC sends Agency Rep to ICP 15 O Sequence & Decisions, cont'd ■Request for Cortland County HMRT Advance Team;they respond, crew of 2 MT-Cat request for bus for Operations,bus provided ■NYSOFP&C HM Bureau contacted for Technical Assistance,they respond 16 O Sequence & Decisions, cont'd ■After two entries into building and on bus,no point source cause for event is found ■Building is closed and secured 3 ■DPW has arranged for Technical Assistance from private contractor ■Operation shuts down approx 1900h. 17 0 Sequence & Decisions, cont'd •Cornell University EH&S provide technical assistance •Building checked,no issues found,deemed safe to re-open. •IFD re-interviews students,symptoms reported in follow up completely different from day of event •IPD follow up investigation points to Pepper Spray type irritant discharge by unknown person 18 0 Stakeholder Discussion •Please identify individual name&agency represented,then present comments or concerns — Scribe to document issues raised ■Best practice is to identify agency or agencies involved, identify issue,charge a responsible person in agency with responsibility for causing change and set a realistic date for implementation. 19 O Corrective Actions & Improvement Planning •What actions will improve our ability to respond to future events? 20 0 Closing Thought All events start and end with the local responders. It is up to us to take care of us. Thanks for attending and participating. 4