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Police & Fire Commission
September 9, 2008, 4:32 p.m.
Roll Call: Commissioners Nuck, Rice, Schleihs and Taylor
Commissioner Meyer, excused
Also Present: Fire Chief Zinda, Police Chief Jeff Morris, Mayor Andrew Halverson, Deputy Police Chief Dowling, Captain Ruder, Deputy Chief Kujawa, Deputy Chief Bob Finn, Scott Rifleman, Stephen Koback, John Schlice, Louis Molepske, Dan Kontos, Meredith Thorn, Fire Department: Jodi Baganz, Tom Wastart, Brian Spence, Larry Pingel, Tate Roselius, David Briggs, Tim Sinkler, Duston Holton, Kevin Lemke, Dennis Flanigan, Glynn Novak, Benjamin Schultz, Jeff Davis, Mark Schoeberle, Charles Skibba
Index of these minutes:
2. People to be heard and announcements
3. Adjourn into Closed Session (approximately 4:30 p.m.) pursuant to Wis. Stats. Sec. 19.85
(1) (c) for the following:
(a) Probationary Firefighter/Paramedic interview (b) Probationary Deputy Chief Interview
4. Reconvene into open session (approximately 4:45 p.m.) for possible action on items 3
(a) and 3 (b).
5. Approval of Minutes
6. Confirmation of Bills
7. Discussion, with possible action, creation of ordinance dealing with frequency
of inspections
8. Discussion, with possible action, on
the development of a new administrative
oversight of the police and fire departments
9. Fire Chief's Report
10. Police Chief's Report
11. Adjournment
2. People to be heard and announcements
Commissioner Nuck moved, seconded by Commissioner
Rice, to adjourn the meeting for the purpose of moving to Conference Room B at the Police Department due to room
size availability.
Ayes, all; nays, none. Motion carried.
Meeting reconvened at 4:35 p.m. in Conference Room B of the Police Department
The following people asked to address the commission on agenda item #8: Jodi Baganz, Scott Rifleman, and Stephen
Koback.
3. Adjourn into closed session
(approximately 4:30 p.m.) pursuant to Wis. Stats. Sec. 19.85 (1) (c) for the following:
a. Probationary Firefighter/Paramedic interview
b. Probationary Deputy Chief Interview
Commissioner Taylor moved, seconded by Commissioner
Nuck, to adjourn into closed session.
Ayes: Nuck, Rice, Schleihs and Taylor
Nays: None. Motion carried.
4. Reconvene into open session
(approximately 5:00 p.m.) for possible action on items 3 (a) and 3(b).
Commissioner Nuck moved, seconded by Commissioner
Taylor, to reconvene into open session.
Ayes: Nuck, Rice, Schleihs and Taylor
Nays: None. Motion carried.
Commissioner Nuck moved, seconded by Commissioner Rice, to approve Firefighter/Paramedic Thomas Wastart to regular
status upon the successful completion of his probationary period.
Ayes: Nuck, Rice, Schleihs and Taylor
Nays: None. Motion carried.
Commissioner Rice moved, seconded by Commissioner Taylor, to approve Deputy Chief Robert Finn to regular status
upon the successful completion of his probationary period.
Ayes: Nuck, Rice, Schliehs and Taylor
Nays: None. Motion carried.
5. Approval of Minutes
Commissioner Taylor moved, seconded by Commissioner
Nuck, to approve
the minutes of the August 12, 2008 meeting.
Ayes, all; nays, none. Motion carried.
6. Confirmation of Bills
Commissioner Nuck moved, seconded by Commissioner
Rice, to accept the confirmation of the August 2008 Police Department bills.
Ayes, all; nays, none. Motion carried.
Commissioner Nuck moved, seconded by Commissioner Rice, to accept the confirmation of the August 2008 Fire Department
bills.
Ayes, all; nays, none. Motion carried.
7. Discussion, with possible
action, creation of ordinance dealing with frequency of inspections
Commissioner Rice moved, seconded by Commissioner Nuck, to approve the ordinance proposed by Chief Zinda to amend
Chapter 6 of the revised municipal code of the City of Stevens Point entitled "Fire Department and Regulations."
The ordinance authorizes the Fire Department to reduce the frequency of fire inspections required under Wisconsin
Administrative Code 14.01(11)(b)(5) to at least once per calendar year, provided the interval between those inspections
does not exceed 15 months.
Ayes, all; nays, none. Motion carried.
8. Discussion, with possible
action, on the development of a new administrative oversight of the police and fire departments.
Firefighter/Paramedic Jodi Baganz addressed the Commission on behalf of Local 484 stating that the union wants
to be involved with some of the decisions that are being made that will affect the Fire Department's future if
the city moves forward with the proposed public safety department.
The Commission agreed it is important that fire department personnel take part in discussions regarding the public
safety department concept.
Chief Morris distributed handouts dealing with cost comparison and budget savings documents. He discussed three
possible versions of the structure of a public safety/emergency services department administration. A lengthy question
and discussion session followed.
Commissioner Rice moved, seconded by Commissioner Taylor, that the Commission adopt the concept of having a Public
Safety Department, with a Public Safety Director, who will report to this body as well as the chiefs, and that
the Public Safety Director shall assist in the implementation of directions of this body; and that the City of
Stevens Point adopt an ordinance to create the position of Public Safety Director and fund said position; and
Further the commission shall continue its study of all the various aspects of the integration of such a department
with a Public Safety Director, and to implement such plan for the betterment of said departments and the betterment
of the City of Stevens Point.
Ayes, all; nays, none. Motion carried.
President Schleihs asked Mayor Halverson when it was likely that an ordinance creating the Public Safety Director
position could be written and presented to the city council. The Mayor indicated it might be possible to do that
for the September 15, 2008 city council meeting.
The commission also discussed moving the regular October commission meeting up to October 7th so the 2009 police
and fire budgets could be reviewed before Comptroller/Treasurer Schlice's budget deadline. Also, the October commission
agenda should include action to appoint a public safety director if the city council approves the ordinance change.
9. Fire Chief's report:
Fire Chief Zinda reported:
- The Chief reported on the Status of Station #2.
- The final agreement of the Aerial Aid Agreement with the Village of Plover was drafted by Attorney Molepske and approved by the Common Council. Chief Zinda is awaiting the Village of Plover's approval on September 17, 2008.
- The final ordinance regarding the change to outdoor solid fuel burning furnaces was approved.
- The final performance specification documents are being completed for a 100' aerial platform, 100' Quint and a 75' Quint. The Department will be obtaining quotes in the next few weeks.
- Recruitment is complete and candidates that qualify for interviews are being selected. Interviews for the final eligibility list will follow.
- The Fire Department Long Term Planning Committee continues to work on a new mission statement and strategic direction, with long-term objectives and goals.
- The Department is in the process of contracting with Indianhead Technical College (WITC) for one hour of ambulance and one hour of fire apparatus simulation training per member utilizing the WITC mobile driver training simulator.
- The Department is in the process of developing a training schedule for early 2009, administered by MSTC, which will train and certify most SPFD employees to the Company Officer I and possibly Company Officer II level. This has been difficult to schedule due to instructor availability.
Commissioner Nuck moved, seconded by Commissioner
Rice, to accept the Fire Chief's report for August 2008.
Ayes, all; nays, none. Motion carried.
10. Police Chief's report:
Deputy Police Chief Dowling reported:
- School opened last week and our patrol force was stationed in school zones throughout the city. A significant number of vehicles were stopped for exceeding school speed zone limits.
- The parking restrictions placed in the Jefferson School area over the summer have been unclear to a number of people and warnings were issued for the first week of school. The Department is taking the final parking adjustments for this area to council next Monday. This effort provides a good example of the city, school district and neighbors working together.
- The return of UWSP students has greatly affected the amount of activity in the UWSP area, downtown and in between areas. Although there have been the usual complaints that accompany the arrival of students, there has been nothing unusual. The Department has implemented its early fall patrol strategy and the shift supervisors have done a very good job of coordinating their activities to ensure uniform expectations.
- The Department's sensitive crimes investigator has been busy. This is an area which is often too active but results in a low ratio of arrest to complaints due to the nature of the events and often the age of the persons involved. In the past month there have been a number of arrests and in the last week three arrests were made for sexual assaults, two which involved juvenile victims.
- We have completed our in-house CPR/AED and EVOC training this past month. It is a requirement that these subjects be trained every other year.
- This month Chief Morris, Captain Ruder and I will be attending the final National Incident Management Systems (NIMS) training session. After completion of this training session the Department will be completely NIMS compliant. This is critical in that those agencies which are not compliant are ineligible for federal funding.
- Sensitive Crimes Investigator Robert Kussow will attend the 2008 Project Safe Childhood National Conference on September 23 - 26, 2008 in Columbus, Ohio. This conference will be funded totally by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Commissioner Rice moved, seconded by Commissioner
Taylor, to accept the Police Chief's report for August 2008.
Ayes, all; nays, none. Motion carried.
11. Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 7:52 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.