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Police Advisory Commission Minutes 10-21-2009MINUTES MONTICELLO POLICE ADVISORY COMMISSION Members Present: Members Absent: Ex- Officio Representatives Others Present: 1. Call to Order Wednesday, October 21, 2009 7 p.m. South Bridge Room Monticello Community Center Brad Fyle, Dick Slais, Jim Roberts, Jason Roubinek and Tom Perrault None Lt. Dan Anselment and Sgt. Dave Anderson — Wright County Sheriff s Department Bruce Westby — City Engineer Tom Moores — City Street Superintendent Deputy Mark Olson — Wright County Sheriff s Department Commissioner Fyle called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m. It was noted that a quorum was present. Commissioner Roberts arrived at 7:02 pm (following approval of meeting minutes). 2. Approval of minutes of: a. May 20, 2009 special Police Advisory Commission meeting. COMMISSIONER PERRAULT MOTIONED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE MAY 20, 2009 SPECIAL POLICE ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING AS WRITTEN. COMMISSIONER FYLE SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY (3 -0) WITH COMMISSIONERS SLAIS AND ROUBINEK ABSTAINING. b. July 15, 2009 Police Advisory Commission meeting. COMMISSIONER PERRAULT MOTIONED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE APRIL 15, 2009 POLICE ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING AS WRITTEN. COMMISSIONER ROBERTS SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY (4 -0) WITH COMMISSIONER ROUBINEK ABSTAINING. c. July 30, 2009 special Police Advisory Commission meeting. COMMISSIONER PERRAULT MOTIONED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE APRIL 15, 2009 POLICE ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING UPON REVISING THE WORD "LAY" TO "LAW" UNDER ITEM 2, Q3. COMMISSIONER ROBERTS SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY (4 -0) WITH COMMISSIONER ROUBINEK ABSTAINING. Police Advisory Commission Meeting Minutes October 21, 2009 Page 2 d. August 3, 2009 special Police Advisory Commission meeting. COMMISSIONER PERRAULT MOTIONED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE APRIL 15, 2009 POLICE ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING UPON REVISING THE WORD "LAY" TO "LAW" UNDER ITEM 2, Q3. COMMISSIONER FYLE SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY (4 -0) WITH COMMISSIONER ROUBINEK ABSTAINING. Consideration of adding items to the agenda. No items were added. 4. Wright County Sheriff's Department updates / O &A session. The Wright County Sheriff's Department representatives updated the Commission on several items including: • Sergeant Anderson introduced Deputy Mark Olson who works the 2 — 10 PM shift in Monticello. This is the second year Deputy Olson has been working in Monticello. • Sergeant Anderson addressed Tom Perrault's question regarding the recent spike in the number of residential complaints. This is in large part due to the Sheriffs Departments recent door -to -door campaigning in several neighborhoods which led to an increase in the number of complaints lodged with Deputies. If they weren't asking for feedback they wouldn't have received so many complaints. • Sergeant Anderson also addressed Tom Perrault's question regarding time spent on service calls and patrolling. Sergeant Anderson noted that the deputies have been using the results from our speed trailer to determine which streets should be patrolled and monitored when. Lieutenant Anselment said the Sheriffs Deputies also share this data with residents who complain about vehicle speeds on their streets and that this usually quiets their complaints. • Traffic concerns are the number 1 complaint received and Broadway is the worst street. • The Sheriffs Department has no problems handling the volume of calls received. Things are actually the quietest they've been in years. • There has been a rise in the number of mental health calls received recently, likely due to the state of the economy. • Commercial and residential theft calls have been down lately, while theft of copper, steel and aluminum utility wires and conduits are on the rise again. • Commissioner Perrault asked what the Wright County Sheriffs Office procedure is when responding to burglary calls. Lieutenant Anselment responded that they typically secure the site first then focus on gathering physical evidence and following up on leads. • Commissioner Slais asked if the Pawn Shop is continuing to comply with their reporting duties. Lieutenant Anselment responded that they are. NO FORMAL ACTION REQUIRED /TAKEN. Police Advisory Commission Meeting Minutes October 21, 2009 Page 3 5. Discussion on winter parlcine ordinance enforcement. Mr. Westby explained that Mr. Moores had asked to attend tonight's meeting to discuss the City's winter parking ordinance requirements with the Sheriff's Department so everyone is on the same page heading into the snow season. Mr. Moores asked that the Sheriff's Department pay particular attention to City ordinance 9 -1 -2 regarding the parking of trailers on City streets as this has been any area of concern lately. Mr. Moores also commented on City ordinance 9 -1 -8 regarding winter parking requirements. Sergeant Anderson noted that cards with winter parking ban dates will be placed on vehicle windshields staring in November to provide a 2 -week notice to the drivers of vehicles that will need to use different parking spots. Sergeant Anderson said he would like to meet with Mr. Moores off -line within the next week or two to discuss these items in more detail. NO FORMAL ACTION REQUIRED /TAKEN. 6. Discussion on snowmobile ordinance enforcement. Mr. Westby explained that Mr. Moores had asked to attend tonight's meeting to discuss the City's snowmobile ordinance requirements with the Sheriff's Department so everyone is on the same page heading into the snow season. Mr. Moores distributed copies of and reviewed the City's snowmobile route map with the Police Advisory Commission and the Sheriff's Department representatives. He noted that the Wright County Snowmobile Association is in charge of marking the trails. Lieutenant Anselment stated that the Sheriff's Department has 2 snowmobiles that are available for enforcement purposes, and that last year they had received several tips from snowmobilers regarding other snowinobilers who were violating our ordinance. NO FORMAL ACTION REQUIRED /TAKEN. 7. Consideration of reappointments for 2009 Police Advisory Commission term expirations. Mr. Westby informed the Police Advisory Commission that the terms of 2 members were set to expire on December 31s`, those terns being for Commissioner Slais and Commission Roubinek. Commissioner Roubinek indicated he would like to be reappointed for another 3 -year term, while Commissioner Slais announced that he would be resigning his seat effective at the end of his current term. Commissioner Slais wanted to thank the Police Advisory Commission for all their hard work over the years, and he thanked the Wright County Sheriff's Department for their due diligence and hard work, especially Lieutenant Anselment and Sergeant Anderson. It was then discussed whether the Commission wanted to make a recommendation to the City Council on who should fill the vacant seat. Commissioner Perrault stated he would like to nm another advertisement for the vacant seat. Commissioner Fyle said he didn't think it would be necessary for anyone who recently interviewed for the previous vacancy filled by Commissioner Roubinek to interview again. Police Advisory Commission Meeting Minutes October 21, 2009 Page 4 The Commission conferred and thought December 10`x' would be an acceptable date to hold a special meeting. The Commission also decided to meet immediately after the December special meeting to commemorate the accomplishments of Commissioner Slais. COMMISSIONER PERRAULT MADE A MOTION TO CITY COUNCIL RECOMMENDING THE REAPPOINTMENT OF JASON ROUBINEK TO THE MONTICELLO POLICE ADVISORY COMMISSION WITH HIS APPOINTMENT TO EXPIRE ON DECEMBER 31, 2012, AND ACCEPTING THE RESIGNATION OF COMMISSIONER SLAIS EFFECTIVE DECEMBER 31, 2009. COMMISSIONER SLAIS' VACANT SEAT WILL BE ADVERTISED UNTIL DECEMBER 2, 2009, AND A SPECIAL POLICE ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING IS CALLED FOR 6 PM ON DECEMBER 10, 2009 TO REVIEW ALL THE APPLICATIONS RECEIVED AND RECOMMEND A NEW MEMBER TO THE CITY COUNCIL. COMMISSIONER SLAIS SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION WAS UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED. 8. Evaluation of Wright County Sheriff's Department law enforcement services. Mr. Westby informed everyone that the City Administrator requested that the Police Advisory Commission evaluate the services of the Wright County Sheriff's Department for the last year. Mr. Westby noted that the Commission performed the same evaluation last year. Commissioner Slais said he is pleased with the willingness and speed with which the Sheriff's Department addresses concerns and questions raised by the Police Advisory Commission. Commission Fyle said he is glad the City uses the Sheriff's Department and has not started its own Police Department which is usually a lot more expensive. Commissioner Roberts noted that the City could look at using a tool such as survey monkey to seek input from others in evaluating the Sheriff s Department as they do this in Golden Valley. NO FORMAL ACTION REQUIRED /TAKEN. 9. Update on approved contract for 2010 -2011 Wright County Sheriff's Department services. Mr. Westby informed the Commission that the City Council recently approved a new 2 -year contract with the Wright County Sheriff's Department for law enforcement services for the years 2010 — 2011. This contract included the same number of hours as in 2009 (18,980 hours), but the hourly rate was increased by $1.50 per hour for each of the next 2 years ($57.50/hr in 2010 and $59.00 /hr in 2011). In addition, the contract language was revised in one sentence to reflect an increase in services being provided to the Sheriffs Department by the City. This included provisions for a secure office with space for 2 chairs and desks, an internet connection, and limited public visibility. NO FORMAL ACTION REQUIRED /TAKEN. Police Advisory Commission Meeting Minutes October 21, 2009 Page 5 10. Update on efforts to develop Sheriff's Office space within Monticello Community Center. Mr. Westby informed the Police Advisory Commission that staff is still working to determine where the Sheriffs Deputies work space will be located, and that this is taking a while because it is intertwined with the larger issue of the office space needs of all City staff. This is because the contract states that any work space provided for the Sheriff's Deputies must be located within a city -owned building. Mr. Westby noted that FiberNet staff are in the process of relocating their offices from City Hall to the Prairie Center office building in the southeast quadrant of Walnut and 6s' Streets and that once this move is complete staff will again explore where people can be reassigned within City Hall. As such a decision will not likely be made for several months still. Lieutenant Anselment stated that their deputies are currently working out of the Fire Hall and that there are some data privacy issues due to the amount of foot traffic near their work area and the fact that they do not have a locked office to keep their paperwork secure. Lieutenant Anselment said that they will make things work there as long as they can, but that they would appreciate it if the City could accelerate our efforts to find them working space in a more secure environment. Right now they are forced to leave evidence unsecured for short periods of time, which is not desirable. Lieutenant Anselment stressed that they would prefer not being located in the Community Center break room since this would result in deputies parking their squad cars in front of the highly visible and trafficked Community Center thereby feeding the negative public perception that sheriff's deputies just sit around and don't patrol often enough. He also said that it would be beneficial to be located somewhere where residents could easily access them, where they could have some type of window signage, and where they could park close to their office space. For this reason he thinks the Prairie Center office building would be ideal. NO FORMAL ACTION REQUIRED /TAKEN. 11. Update on River Street / TH 25 access modifications. Mr. Westby informed the Commission that the City Council authorized staff to reactivate the signal system at the intersection of TH 25 and River Street, and to more permanently close the left -turn lane on southbound TH 25 at East River Street. This will allow all the orange barrels to be removed from the intersection allowing vehicles traveling east on West River Street to turn left onto northbound TH 25. The only exception to this will be from 4 - 7 PM Monday through Friday when the signals will be green the entire time for traffic on TH 25 and red for West River Street traffic, meaning they can only turn right onto southbound TH 25. The signal should therefore be operational again within the next few weeks, after the City installs additional signs and Mn/DOT reprograms the signal system. NO FORMAL ACTION REQUIRED /TAKEN. 12. Discussion of added items. No items were added. Police Advisory Commission Meeting Minutes October 21, 2009 Page 6 13. Schedule next meeting. The next regular Police Advisory Commission meeting will be scheduled during the upcoming special meeting scheduled for 6 PM on December 10, 2009 per item #7 above. 14. Adjourn. MOTION WAS MADE TO ADJOURN BY COMMISSIONER PERRAULT AND WAS SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER ROBERTS. MOTION WAS APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY AT 8:42 P.M. Bruce Westby, City Engineer Recording Secretary