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Minutes for the Public Safety Committee meeting on August 16, 2004.
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PUBLIC SAFETY
COMMITTEE MINUTES
August 16, 2004
The Jonesboro Public Safety Committee met August 16, 2004 at 5:15 p.m. at 900 West Monroe, Jonesboro, Arkansas. A full quorum was in attendance. Present were: Chris Moore, Judy Furr, Tim McCall, Jim Hargis, John Street and Harold Perrin. Others in attendance: Dr. Jack Jones, Aubrey Scott, Mayor’s Assistant, Police Chief, Floyd Johnson, Fire Chief Butch Herring, Bob Andrews, 911 Director, City Clerk Donna Jackson, Keith Inman, Jonesboro Sun. Chairman Moore called the meeting to order at 5:15 p.m.
MINUTES
Councilman Perrin moved, seconded by Councilman Street to accept the minutes as provided for June 21, 2004 and a special called meeting on July 6, 2004. All voted aye. Copies were made available to all in attendance.
AVL & CAD
Mr. Bob Andrews reported delivery of hardware for the AVL system was expected this week and would be installed at a rate of 5 to 10 cars per day. Discussion was held regarding the expansion of AVL to the Fire Department, Code Enforcement and Inspections Departments. Mr. Andrews explained the additional cost to expand the AVL would be $1500 per unit with an additional $33.00 per month cost. The current contract allows for 100 units with 65 units being utilized at the present time. It was determined that the additional units would provide safety for code enforcement personnel, help with ISO ratings, and be a good management tool for Administration. Police Chief Johnson explained he had received a complaint about a police unit being parked on private property, only to discover it was a police unit from another municipality. He explained the AVL would have provided information to respond to this complaint. Committee members were told the current hardware and software would possibly be installed under the estimated deadline date.
FIRE DEPARTMENT
Discussion was held regarding what to do with the salvage of the wrecked Fire Truck. Chief Herring reported the salvage value was $12,500.00, and recommended paying the amount to retain the vehicle in order to reuse the box. He explained a quick reply was needed, and Mayor Brodell had expressed concern over the amount being $12,500 with out clearance by the committee. Mr. Aubrey Scott, the Mayor’s Assistant was asked to have Mayor Brodell contact Chairman Chris Moore with his recommendation regarding the salvaged vehicle in order for the committee to be able to act on his recommendation.
Councilman Perrin questioned the completion date of a fire truck being constructed for Craighead County using grant funds. Chief Herring reported they have not begun to build the box for it yet, but would contact him with a final draft of the box. Chief Herring reported he had a proposed brochure pertaining to the burn ordinance, and had received no complaints regarding the ordinance. Chief Herring reported he would have his long range budgeting plan available by next week.
ANIMAL CONTROL
Councilman Hargis reported there had been an incident where a neighbor’s dog had attacked a woman and her pet, not once but on two separate occasions. He explained Animal Control was able to retrieve records about the original attack from four years earlier and commended Animal Control for their work. Councilman Hargis stated the woman had presented her case well, but was now faced with another vicious animal case. Other pictures were shown of a child who had been bitten in the face. Questions were asked about the status of the vicious dog ordinance, and it was determined that as yet Mayor Brodell had not provided a copy of the proposed ordinance to the Public Safety Committee. Councilman Hargis explained he had tried to get a copy of the county’s vicious dog ordinance, but was unable to obtain one. Councilman Hargis contended that while he was willing to consider the adoption of a vicious dog ordinance he did not believe it would alleviate the problem. Discussion followed regarding weights being tied around necks of dogs for the purpose of strengthening them for fighting. Ms. Glenn Gossett of Animal Control explained their hands are tied when they do discover this type of activity and urged the adoption of an ordinance that would provide them with the ability to act on these cases. Mr. Aubrey Scott, the Mayor’s Assistant was asked to check with Mayor Brodell about getting a copy of the proposed vicious dog ordinance as quickly as possible, for consideration by the Public Safety Committee. Councilman Perrin requested documentation from the Animal Control Department recommending the type of enforcement they deem necessary to control the situation.
Councilman Hargis introduced Veterinarian Jack Jones who has volunteered his services to the City of Jonesboro for the last four years.
Mosquito Report Councilman Hargis read from a report provided by Vector Mosquito Control, saying they had predicted the first hatching of mosquitoes which coincided with the 4th of July weekend and had sprayed six nights a week during this time. He reported special work had been done for National Night Out, and Vector had responded to 169 requests for special events during the month of July. It was predicted that the mosquito population would decrease during the months of August and September.
POLICE
Discussion was held regarding the possibility of old police cars being used for security purposes by area schools. Councilman Street explained the schools that have Security Resource Officers would like to have the cars and would be willing to maintain the vehicles. Questions were raised regarding liability. Councilman Street and Police Chief Johnson were asked to check with the Purchasing Agent and City Attorney about liability issues and report back to the committee.
GRANTS
Councilwoman Furr reported while looking for Public Safety Grants (Fire, Police, 911) she was surprised to discover that in 2003 the following grants had been awarded to other Arkansas entities : Fayetteville $1,410,998; Pine Bluff $1,579,564; and Fort Smith $1,303,995. She explained Jonesboro had received only $24,000 in grant funds, and clarified this amount did not include the Juvenile Justice Grant nor a Step Grant that Jonesboro receives annually. She further explained these types of grants were not included in the grant totals for the other Arkansas entities either. She questioned why these grants were not being applied for and suggested the possibility of forming a consortium between Craighead County, DPS at Arkansas State, and ASU Criminology Department. She explained these were prevention type grants that would be a tremendous savings to the City of Jonesboro, but nothing has been applied for in 2005. Councilman McCall recommended a quarterly report be provided to the full council, showing the grants applied for, appropriation of the grant, and the amount received. Councilman Perrin explained each department should be providing information regarding available grants for their department. Councilman Moore questioned the process to enact Mr. McKinnon, Grant Coordinator to apply for grants for all departments. Councilman Hargis reminded committee members that Mr. McKinnon was not staffed to handle this type of work load. It was recommended that the matter be referred to the Finance and Administration Committee for further research.
INSPECTION & CODE ENFORCEMENT
Councilman Street provided a report on the number and type of inspections being done within Jonesboro and reported 80 plus applications had been received for the position of code enforcement officer.
ADJOURNMENT
With no further business Councilman McCall moved, seconded by Councilman Street for adjournment. All voted aye.