Police & Fire Commission
November 13, 2007, 4:33 p.m.

Roll Call: Commissioners Meyer, Nuck, Rice and Schleihs

Commissioner Taylor, excused

Also Present: Police Chief Morris, Fire Chief Barnes, Mayor Halverson, Alderperson Hanson, Alderperson Trzebiatowski, Deputy Chief Bob Finn

Index of these minutes:

2. Adjourn into executive session (approximately 4:30 p.m.) pursuant to Wis. Stats. ss. 19.85 (1) (c) for the following: a. Entry level Firefighter/Paramedic interview
3. Reconvene into open session (approximately 4:45 p.m.) for possible action on item number 2(a).
4. People to be heard and announcements
5. Approval of Minutes: October 9, 2007
6. Confirmation of Bills
7. Discussion, with possible action, 2008 budget presentation by Mayor Halverson
8. Fire Chief's Report
9. Discussion, with possible action, proposal for the Stevens Point Fire Department to operate Portage County's Rapid Response Unit in 2008
10. Police Chief's Report
11. Presentation of Stevens Point Police Department strategic plan
12. Discussion, with possible action, on new management pay plan
13. Adjournment

2. Adjourn into executive session (approximately 4:30 p.m.) Pursuant to Wis. Stats. Section 19.85 (1) (c) for the following:

a. Entry Level Firefighter/Paramedic Interview

Commissioner Nuck moved, seconded by Commissioner Rice, to adjourn into closed session.

Roll call: Ayes: Commissioners Nuck, Rice and Schleihs
Nays: None. Motion carried.

3. Reconvene into open session (approximately 4:45 p.m.) For possible action on item number 2 (a).

Commissioner Rice moved, seconded by Commissioner Nuck, to reconvene into open session.

Roll call: Ayes: Commissioners Meyer, Nuck, Rice and Schleihs
Nays: None. Motion carried.

Commissioner Nuck moved, seconded by Commissioner Rice, to approve the hiring of Michael Lubbert as Probationary Firefighter/Paramedic contingent upon the successful completion of all remaining hiring protocols and testing.

Roll call: Ayes: Commissioners Meyer, Nuck, Rice and Schleihs
Nays: None. Motion carried.

4. People to be heard and announcements

Alderperson Trzebiatowski commended Chief Morris for his timely response to a request for accidents involving police squads for the years 2005, 2006 and 2007.

5. Approval of Minutes - October 9, 2007

Commissioner Meyer moved, seconded by Commissioner Rice, to approve the minutes of the October 9, 2007 meeting.

Ayes, all; nays, none. Motion carried.

6. Confirmation of Bills

Commissioner Nuck moved, seconded by Commissioner Meyer, to accept the confirmation of the October 2007 Fire Department bills.

Ayes, all; nays, none. Motion carried.

Commissioner Meyer moved, seconded by Commissioner Nuck, to accept the confirmation of the October 2007 Police Department bills.

Ayes, all; nays, none. Motion carried.

7. Discussion, with possible action, 2008 budget presentation by Mayor Halverson

Mayor Halverson presented an overview of the 2008 budget.

8. Fire Chief's Report

Chief Barnes reported:

• The Chief briefed the Commission on the status of Station #2.
• The Stevens Point Fire Department has been identified as one of nine communities in Wisconsin to be offered a cache of Mass Causality Incident (MCI) EMS supplies. This would entail receipt of approximately $15,000 in medical supplies for use in Central Wisconsin. The Department is working on a number of issues to include deployment of the plan, storage and cost recovery.
• The proposed Management Pay Plan document is scheduled to be released on Monday, November 12th, 2007.
• The Management Compensation Consultant is proposing a reorganization of top leadership in the Fire Department. This includes the abolishment of the training and safety officer position in favor of an Assistant Fire Chief position.
• Collapse Rescue. Over the next few months the Department will be receiving about $18,000 in equipment funding to fill in some identified gaps. There will be a substantial second grant going to MSTC that is designed to provide additional training to our regional team. These are 100% grants with no local match required.
• The Chief has been advised the Portage County Pubic Safety Committee has supported the recommendation that the Rapid Response Unit be moved to the Fire Department.
• The Chief will be appearing on Wisconsin Public Radio with local author Mrs. Hilary Bilbrey on November 15th at 5:00 p.m. The topic is her most recent book entitled "Brecker Bunny Learns to be Careful." More information is available via her website at: http://www.inspiredbyfamily.com.

Commissioner Nuck moved, seconded by Commissioner Meyer, to accept the Fire Chief's Report for October 2007.

Ayes, all; nays, none. Motion carried

9. Discussion, with possible action, proposal for the Stevens Point Fire Department to operate Portage County's Rapid Response Unit in 2008

Commissioner Meyer moved, seconded by Commissioner Nuck, to approve the proposal that the Stevens Point Fire Department operate Portage County's Rapid Response Unit for the year 2008.

Ayes, all; nays, none. Motion carried.

10. Police Chief's Report

Chief Morris reported:

• The 2007 crime stats for the year to date show total calls for service have slowed to fewer than 600 calls for service as compared to the same time period in 2006. Of note this month was the death of a 14 year old Portage County youth from an overdose of prescription pain medication. A 14 year old has been charged with first degree reckless homicide for providing the drugs.
• The wellness program kicked off on Friday, October 26th with a four hour review of the participants' medical health and eating and exercise habits. The UW group will follow up with the participants to help them develop new healthier lifestyles. A special thanks to Lt. Carlson for initiating this program.
• Progress is continuing on the CAD project. The dispatchers have been testing the product over the past week and the results have been promising. The system will allow the Department to track all activity of the Department so in turn the Department can better manage manpower, productivity and accomplishment Department goals. Work on bringing Badger Tracks on line also continues.
• The East Avenue street closure adjacent to Jefferson School began October 1st and to date the closure seems to be meeting the goals of improving student safety, reducing traffic congestion and not disrupting neighborhood vehicular traffic flow. The city survey public comment portion of this project is underway and copies of the survey can be found on both the school district website and city website.
• The 5th annual project to cull nuisance deer from within the city limits using archery and live trapping tactics is continuing. The Deer Management Committee members are supervising the vendor Absolute Wildlife Control as they use both live trapping and archery to control areas within the city where problems exist. The funds for this project are provided by a $3,000 grant from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
• The Chief discussed an important issue facing the community which is placement and temporary control of individuals who are found in public to be under the influence of alcohol, drugs or suffering from significant mental health episodes. There currently is no place for these individuals to go and the individuals are often left without supervision. These individuals often are in need of a routine medical clearance to ensure they do not go into a medical crisis. There was a meeting on November 6th with Capt. Ruder, representatives of the Sheriff's Department, Salvation Army, St. Michael's Hospital and Health and Human Services to begin discussing this issue and to hopefully seek answers to how the community can better respond to this service issue.
• The plan to move dispatch into the Records area has been shelved pending a decision on the Justice Center and the City's future fiscal condition after cost estimates from the architect projected a cost of $100,00.00. The Mayor and Comptroller approved shifting some of the money appropriated in the 2007 budget for this project to complete the purchase of new handguns for the Department. The handgun project was originally scheduled to be completed with funds from the 2008 budget.
• The Council approved the wage reclassification plan for the dispatchers.

Commissioner Rice moved, seconded by Commissioner Meyer, to approve the Police Chief's report for October 2007.

Ayes, all; nays, none. Motion carried

11. Presentation of Stevens Point Police Department strategic plan

This item was tabled and will be heard at a special meeting in January, 2008.

12. Discussion, with possible action, on new management pay plan

Commissioner Meyer moved, seconded by Commission Nuck, to endorse the non-represented management pay plan matrix which includes implementing the plan as presented by Carlson Dettman Consulting. This leaves open for discussion the issue of overtime and the right to an appeal process.

Ayes, all; nays, none. Motion carried.

13. Adjournment

The meeting adjourned at 7:14 p.m.

The meeting minutes reproduced on this website are derived from the computer files used to produce the official minutes for the City of Stevens Point, but are unofficial. The minutes on this web site cannot be certified under s. 889.08, Wis. Stats., and cannot be considered prima facie evidence under s. 889.04, Wis. Stats. Certain tables, maps, and other documents that are a part of the official minutes are not included in the files reproduced on this website. Please consult the printed minutes, available in the City Clerk's Office, for the official text. The decisions made by City of Stevens Point boards, committees, and commissions (other than the Police & Fire Commission) are advisory only and are not binding on the city until affirmed at a meeting of the Common Council. Some of the minutes on this web site might not be approved by the Common Council as of today.