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Police Advisory Commission Minutes 10-17-2012MINUTES MONTICELLO POLICE ADVISORY COMMISSION Wednesday, October 17, 2012 - 7 p.m., Academy Room Members Present: Brad Fyle, Chuck Fradella, Brian Stumpf Members Absent: Jason Roubinek Ex- Officio Representatives: Sgt. Dave Anderson, Wright County Sheriff's Office Lt. Todd Sandin, Wright County Sheriff's Office Bruce Westby, City Engineer Others Present: None 1) Call to Order Brad Fyle called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. 2) Approval of minutes of July 18, 2012 Police Advisory Commission meeting Minutes not available at this time. 3) Consideration of adding items to the agenda Brad Fyle indicated that he has a recognition award for discussion. 4) Wright County Sheriffs Office updates /O &A session The 2' d Quarter Summary Report for law enforcement activity and crimes and Monticello was issued to the commission. The summary indicates the majority of incidents in Monticello include traffic violations. At the previous meeting there were questions about the number of calls in Kjellberg's Parks and Sergeant Anderson said that years ago those calls made up the majority of Monticello's calls for service. Today the calls are all over with a scattering of thefts from vehicles but nothing centered in one location. Lieutenant Sandin said there have been no major issues and the numbers are very similar to last year. Brian Stumpf said that he continually hears about speed and that continues to be the typical complaint in residential areas. Brian said a study was completed to review the need for 4 -way stop signs at several locations in Monticello and that study came back with the stop signs being unwarranted so while the council received requests from residents for the stop signs, the request for the 4 -way stops was declined. Sergeant Anderson discussed various programs the sheriff's department uses including deputies in street clothes and deputies in unmarked vehicles. Deputies in street clothes were not utilized as much this year as previously. Putting uniformed deputies into civilian looking unmarked cars to sit and watch in specific trouble areas seemed to work Police Advisory Commission Minutes: 10/17/12 best. Lt. Sandin said that this program is not just limited to the summer and the cars are available at any given time. When the sheriff's office notices an area that's regularly getting hit they will put an unmarked vehicle in that area and this has been a useful tool. The downside is that the sheriff's office doesn't have a wide variety of cars available to them and they don't want to over -use this function as it's necessary to remain inconspicuous for this program to remain effective. Sergeant Anderson said that he and Lt. Sandin have been discussing changing the hours for one of the cars in town to shift the coverage from the 2 -10pm shift to an additional car on the 6pm -2am shift. This would give extra coverage, especially in the summer months, when bars may get out of control and more people are out and about at later hours of the night. Lt. Sandin said that the sheriff's office allows the deputies to bid once /year by seniority for the hours that they work. Most of the senior deputies take the early shifts and the night shift is typically bid by the younger recruits. Many of the younger deputies are working outside of Monticello in "sleepier" towns and they like to bid the night shift (6pm -2am) in order to get into Monticello as they are aggressive and want to work hard. Sergeant Anderson reported on the stop sign violation issue and he said that the deputies are told to work the stop signs as much as they can in Monticello. Unfortunately, they don't have the manpower to post on every corner but they are keeping it a priority. The biggest problem is that drivers tend to be in a hurry to get where they are going and they think their needs are more important than any other driver so they typically don't have the common courtesy and respect to follow the protocol at stops such as left turners yielding to drivers going straight, etc. Sergeant Anderson gave an update on gas pump drive -offs. The city of Ramsey had previously issued mandated pay at the pump but this appears to be having a negative effect on sales. Lt. Sandin said that in Monticello, drive -offs are predominately a fairly quick call which take up approximately 15 -30 minutes /call from start to finish. However, they are a low priority call for officers as the drive -off call is after the fact so they can't catch the criminal in the act. The process is to get the plate number from the store, and if the plate matches then they will send them a letter, try to contact them, or go to the residence if they're in the county. The deputies dislike these calls because the store thinks every time the patron stole gas intentionally and then you find out that the patron swiped their card at the pump, at the same time the clerk activated the pump so the patron leaves the station thinking the fuel was paid for at the pump, when in fact the pump is beeping inside the station for non - payment. Calls with no plates are more difficult to follow up on. Sergeant Anderson said this is a repetitive and frustrating issue and it's difficult in dealing with the stations such as Holiday where they have a high turnover rate in managers to try and train clerks to ask every patron if they have fuel and so forth. While it's frustrating, Sergeant Anderson said it is not a drain on law enforcement resources as it's a relatively minor call compared to a domestic case which can take over 2 hours to process from start to finish. Sergeant Anderson said that for the time being he will continue to stay updated on the process in Ramsey and how that is working for them. 2 Police Advisory Commission Minutes: 10 /17/12 5) Update on 2013 Law Enforcement Budge Bruce Westby informed the commission that the recommendation to maintain Monticello's contract hours at 18,980 hours /year with the Wright County Sheriffs Office was approved by the city council. G) Consideration of recommending appointment of Jim Roberts to the Police Advisory Commission Brian Stumpf said he served on the Police Advisory Commission (PAC) with Mr. Roberts in the past and would be happy to serve with him again. Chuck Fradella said that he does not know Mr. Roberts and he would like to set up an interview to learn more about him in person. Bruce Westby said that Mr. Roberts was previously a member of the PAC but then went overseas to serve in the military and has since returned and would like to return to the PAC. The PAC members agreed to schedule an interview prior to the next meeting so that a recommendation can be brought to the council for ratification at the December Council meeting. Bruce said he will try to contact Mr. Roberts to set up an interview time for Wednesday, November 14'h. Bruce said that he will post a notice for the special meeting once he verifies the time. 7) Consideration of Police Advisory Commission member term expirations Bruce Westby said that Jason Roubinek's term is up in December. With Jason being absent Bruce will contact him directly to confirm his interest in serving another term. The commission members were all in agreement that they would like to see Jason serve another term on the Police Advisory Commission. BRIAN STUMPF MOVED TO APPROVE A RECOMMENDATION TO THE CITY COUNCIL FOR JASON ROUBINEK TO SERVE ANOTHER TERM ON THE POLICE ADVISORY COMMISSION WITH TERM ENDING ON DECEMBER 31, 2015. MOTION SECONDED BY CHUCK FRADELLA. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 8) Discussion of added items Brad Fyle read a letter that the fire department received from a Monticello resident regarding the bravery and insight their daughter had during a recent fire in their home. A fire had started in the home after an oven mitt was left on a stovetop burner. This young girl brought the attention of the fire to her parents and was able to get out of the house and the fire was put out without incident due to her quick thinking. The parent stated that he believed the training that his daughter received at Little Mountain Elementary from the Monticello Fire Department helped their daughter to recognize this dangerous event and her quick actions in alerting her parents to the situation helped to save their home and family. The father thanked the fire department for educating school children in recognizing danger and how to respond correctly in emergency situations. 3 Police Advisory Commission Minutes: 10/17/12 The commission indicated that they are in favor of offering a recognition award to this child for her quick thinking and bravery in this situation. Brad said that he will follow up with the fire chief and will let Bruce Westby know what they would like to do. All agreed that the actions of the young girl meet the intent of the Outstanding Citizen Recognition Award. Bruce said past awards were presented at a city council meeting. 9) Schedule next meetin (January 16 2013 proposed) The next regular Police Advisory Commission meeting was scheduled for Wednesday, January 16, 2013 at 7 p.m. 8) Adjournment CHUCK FRADELLA MOVED TO ADJOURN THE MEETING AT 7:36 PM. MOTION SECONDED BY BRIAN STUMPF. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY_ Recorder: Beth Green Administrative Assistant Approved: Aril 17 2013 Attest: Wayne Oberg, Finance Director 4