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Police Advisory Commission 04-18-2012AGENDA MONTICELLO POLICE ADVISORY COMMISSION Wednesday, April 18, 2012 7 p.m. Academy Room Monticello Community Center Call to Order. 2. Approval of minutes of January 18, 2011 Police Advisory Commission meeting. Consideration of adding items to the agenda. 4. Wright County Sheriff's Office updates / Q &A session. 5. Completion of contact information consent forms. 6. Consideration of increasing enforcement related to STOP sign violations. Discussion of added items. 8. Schedule next meeting (July 18, 2012 proposed). 9. Adjourn. MINUTES MONTICELLO POLICE ADVISORY COMMISSION Wednesday, January 18, 2012 - 7 p.m., Academy Room Members Present: Brad Fyle, Jason Roubinek, Leila McCarty, Chuck Fradella Members Absent: Brian Stumpf Ex- Officio Representatives: Sergeant Dave Anderson, Wright County Sheriff's Office Lieutenant Mike Even, Wright County Sheriff's Office Bruce Westby, City Engineer Others: Sergeant Butch Darsow, Wright County Sheriff's Office (7:08- 7:17 pm) 1) Call to Order Brad Fyle called the meeting to order at 7 p.m. 2) Consideration of approving minutes of October 19, 2011 regular Police Advisory Commission meeting Chuck Fradella clarified an item in the minutes related to "issuing charges ". He also noted that the City had followed up on his request to have notice of the Police Advisory Committee meetings in the City of Monticello newsletter. CHUCK FRADELLA MOVED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE OCTOBER 19, 2011 REGULAR POLICE ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING AS WRITTEN. MOTION WAS SECONDED BY JASON ROUBINEK. MOTION CARRIED 4 -0. 3) Consideration of adding items to the agenda a) West Bridge Park — Leila McCarty Bruce Westby mentioned that Lieutenant Mike Even will soon be retiring after 33 years of service with the Sheriff's Office and expressed thanks for a job well done. 4) Wright County Sheriffs Office updates/ O &A session Sergeant Dave Anderson pointed out that there have been no business burglaries since the Sheriff's Office took a certain person into custody. He said that crime in Monticello has quieted down overall. There has been only one theft from a vehicle in the past few weeks. He noted that Target stores are very effective and efficient at handling security and pointed to a recent call during which squads were waiting for the career criminals outside the store. He also mentioned that Walmart continues to report shoplifting but indicated that these calls usually involve juveniles or folks straggling to make ends meet. School Resource Officers have been sorting out car egging incidents. Police Advisory Commission Minutes: 01/18/12 Sergeant Anderson provided a recap of a recent water rescue at Pelican Lake. He reported that the stranded ice fisherman had used his cell phone to call for help when the ice gave way. Sergeant Butch Darsow stayed in contact by phone at the edge of the lake and provided calm directions as to the submerged ice house about 700 -900 feet into the lake. Fire Department staff have been training for water rescues but were challenged by thin ice, open water and darkness. Leila McCarty noted that the rescue got good media coverage. Chuck Fradella shared his concern that he sees many cars running the stop signs at the intersections of School Boulevard and Cedar Street, and Cedar Street and Dundas Road. Sergeant Dave Anderson noted that once the weather is Warmer the Sheriff's Office usually conducts saturations at TH 25 and Broadway or TH 25 and 7th Street. Sergeant Anderson indicated that he would send Sergeant Butch Darsow, who handles most of the traffic violation issues, an email noting Chuck's concerns. Leila McCarty pointed out that she had recently attempted to visit the law enforcement annex on 6th and Walnut Streets and found that there was no signage on the second floor directing citizens to the Sheriff's Office. Sergeant Anderson indicated that the door is not handicapped accessible or secure enough for the Sheriff's Office and needs to be replaced. Signage will be added to,the door at some time. Sergeant Anderson stated that citizens don't usually come into the building. Leila McCarty suggested noting in the City newsletter that citizens are free tb stop in if there is a patrol car in the lot. 5) Update on 2012 Council ; appointments to Police Advisory Commission Staff noted that City Council had approved the recommended appointments to the Police Advisory Commission. Chuck, Fradella had been reappointed for a three year tern, ending in December N14. Brian Stumpf was; approved as the City Council liaison and Olen Posusta was approved as the alternate. Chuck Fradella pointed out that neither the Council liaison or the Council alternate were in attendance tonight and asked if that wasn't the purpose of having 'a Council alternate, to make sure one of them could be in attendance at every meeting. 6) Consideration of surveillance equipment use in West Bridge Park. Recently the City Council considered authorizing the purchase and installation of portable surveillance for use at various parks and other locations around the City as needed. This included the installation of temporary camera mounts in West Bridge Park. The item was tabled pending collection of Wright County Sheriff's Department calls for service information. The hurry to install the cameras stemmed from previous direction for staff to look at options for development of portable cameras primarily as a result of continued vandalism occurring at the park. The additional time created by Council tabling action afforded the Police Commission the opportunity to snake a recommendation on this topic to the City Council. Police Advisory Commission Minutes: 01/18/12 The Police Advisory Commission had a broad discussion about the need for cameras, the types of cameras most useful for City purposes, and the full cost of utilizing cameras and wireless equipment. They briefly reviewed information and quotes submitted by the City's IT consultant Doug Lyseng. Costs were estimated to run just less than $5,000. The Commission also asked for Jason Roubinek's input on this topic as he has expertise in telecommunications due to his profession. The commission agreed to recommend obtaining a few more quotes for comparable equipment to ensure best pricing. Sergeant Anderson clarified that dispatchers would not monitor cameras just as they do not monitor alarms. (Park Superintendent Tom Pawelk;screens alarm calls for the Sheriffs Office. Bruce Westby said that he would let City Administrator Jeff O'Neill know that alarms are screened by City staff) The Sheriff's Office would, however, find the ability to portably record and review recordings useful in the event of an incident or a rash of criminal activity. There was some discussion of utilizing phony cameras as a deterrent to inappropriate activity in the parks, but it was noted that this has been tried in the past and the law now requires that such cameras be signed. Chuck Fradella suggested checking with the City of Big; Lake as they have also dealt with vandalism in parks and are considering installing cameras. Bruce Westby stated the City of Buffalo utilizes several permanent cameras and one portable camera in various locations and feel that it has been. of benefit. Leila McCarty suggested finding out if Buffalo's Police Department monitors its cameras, and likes Chuck's recommendation to talk to Big Lake about what they plan to do. _ The Police Advisory Commission came to a, general consensus of support as to the use of surveillance equipment in the parks. They discussed purchasing two cameras, and recommended that one be portable. They suggested utilizing cameras that record in lieu of those that provide live feed for continual monitoring. Bruce Westby agreed to contact the cities of Big: Lake and Buffalo to find out how each is handling this issue and to see what the City of Monticello might be able to learn from them. CHUCK FRADELLA MOVED TO RECOMMEND FURTHER RESEARCH BE COMPLETED RELATED TO THE USE OF SURVEILLANCE EQUIPMENT AND THAT QUOTES BE OBTAINED PRIOR TO PURCHASING ANY SURVEILLANCE EQUIPMENT FOR WEST BRIDGE PARK. MOTION WAS SECONDED BY JASON ROUBINEK. MOTION CARRIED 4 -0. 7) Discussion of added items. a) West Bridge Park - Leila McCarty asked if it is okay for her neighbors to form a neighborhood watch group to monitor activities in West Bridge Park. She noted that there have been issues in West Bridge Park recently that have her neighbors concerned. Sergeant Dave Anderson suggested that she contact Sergeant Brian Johnson to discuss getting involved in the Neighborhood Watch program. Police Advisoiy Commission Minutes: 01/18/12 Leila stressed the importance of having an ongoing relationship with the local media, including the Monticello Times, and agreed to contact the local paper with some community information. Chuck Fradella requested that the City website be corrected throughout to replace the phrase Wright County Sheriff's Department with Wright County Sheriff's Office. Bruce Westby agreed to email all City staff asking that any such references be updated. 8) Schedule next meetine The next regular Police Advisory Commission meeting was scheduled for Wednesday, April 18, 2012 at 7 PM. 9) Adjournment CHUCK FRADELLA MOVED TO ADJOURN AT 8:06 PM. MOTION WAS SECONDED BY LEILA MCCARTY. MOTION CARRIED 4 -0. Recorder: Kerry T. Burri Approved: April 18, 2012 J Attest: Bruce Westby, City Engineer z Police Advisory Commission Agenda: 4/18/12 Wright County Sheriff's Office updates / O &A session. A. REFERENCE AND BACKGROUND: Representatives from the Wright County Sheriff s Office will update the Police Advisory Commission on recent crime statistics, trends and other law enforcement issues affecting the City of Monticello, and will respond to questions and/or concerns from the Police Advisory Commission and others in attendance. B. SUPPORTING DATA: None Police Advisory Commission Agenda: 4/18/12 5. Completion of contact information consent forms. A. REFERENCE AND BACKGROUND: Each member of the Police Advisory Committee is being asked to complete the attached contact information pennission consent form, which will allow the City to provide your contact information on our web site for viewing by the general public. This request is being made of all members of City Boards, Commissions and Committees. Please complete the top half of the attached form, including your signature, and turn it in to Bruce Westby at the meeting. B. SUPPORTING DATA: Contact Information Permission Consent Form Police Advisory Commission Agenda: 4/18/12 6. Consideration of increasingj enforcement related to STOP sign violations. (CF) A. REFERENCE AND BACKGROUND: According to the 4t" Quarter crime statistics presented to us by the Wright County Sheriff during the January 18, 2012 Police Advisory Commission meeting, a total of six stop sign citations were issued during the entire quarter. I feel that there should be several more, based on my own observations while driving around town. I frequently see that many in a single day. Without making this sound like a "quota" I would like to see stop sign violations enforced more aggressively. This would not require the deputies to curtail their regular activities, but only for the deputies to be more vigilant while patrolling the city. A lot can be said regarding what good is done by a driver simply observing another driver being stopped by a squad car with the red/blue lights flashing. A picture can be worth a thousand words. B. SUPPORTING DATA: None