04/28/2012 MinutesCITY OF GRAND ISLAND, NEBRASKA
MINUTES OF CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION
April 28, 2012
Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, a Study Session of the City Council of the City of Grand
Island, Nebraska was conducted in the Council Chambers of City Hall, 100 East First Street, on
April 28, 2012. Notice of the meeting was given in the GYand Island Independent on April 20,
2012.
Mayor Jay Vavricek called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. The following Councilmembers
were present: Bob Niemann, Peg Gilbert, Mitch Nickerson, Linna Dee Donaldson, and John
Gericke. Councilmembers Chuck Haase, Larry Carney, Kirk Ramsey, Scott Dugan, and Vaughn
Minton were absent. The following City Officials were present: City Administrator Mary Lou
Brown, City Clerk RaNae Edwards, City Attorney Bob Sivick, Public Works Director John
Collins and Finance Director Jaye Monter.
INVOCATION was given by Councilmember ponaldson followed by the PLEDGE OF
ALLEGIANCE.
SPECIAL ITEMS •
Presentation of Public Safety Stud - Fire City Administrator Mary Lou Brown reported that
this presentation would be the result of the Public Safety Study.
Introduced was Thomas Wieczorek, ICMA Director of the Center for Public Safety Management
who gave an overview of the Fire Safety Study. Implementing Community Risk
Reduction/Integrated Risk Management Planning was the move for many departments which
focused on people and not property.
Reviewed were the Emergency Medical Service (EMS) and Fire workload. Grand Island was
driven by EMS with 10% of the calls outside the City limits. Total calls were approximately
4,515 a year or 12 calls a day. Peek times for calls in Grand Island were 2:00 p.m. Response time
was very good. Recommended was not sending two units to every call.
Explained was the process of gathering data for this report. Dispatch time could be improved, but
would take additional equipment. Stations #1 and #2 were the busiest. Discussion was held
regarding the location of the four Fire Stations. Mr. Wieczorek stated the stations were located in
the right areas in Grand Island and the response times during the peek hours were excellent
compared to National averages.
Mentioned was focusing on where fires occur. Most fires occur in residential homes, but most
inspections occur at commercial properties. Prevention was the focus for a successful operation.
Comments were made regarding possible upcoming grants. Mr. Wieczorek stated Grand Island
was in a good position if and when the grants became available.
Page 2, City Council Study Session, April 28, 2012
Discussion was held regarding the recommendation of the administrative structure being more
vertical versus the current horizontal structure. Recommended was a total of three Division
Chiefs - Operations, EMS and Prevention and four Captains — one at each station. Administrative
Associate position was discussed.
Equipment was mentioned as it related to the type of calls. ICMA recommended not taking a fire
truck on every call, but using a SUV response vehicle. This would save cost and the wear and
tear on equipment.
Discussion was held regarding billing and reimbursements. Mr. Wieczorek stated a lot of cities
were outsourcing this process because of liability.
Council took a break at 11:00 a.m. and reconvened at 11:12 a.m.
Presentation of Public Safet�Study - Police City Administrator Mary Lou Brown introduced
Leonard Matarese who commented on a Fire and/or Police Chief selection.
ICMA Police Operational Analysis James McCabe gave the Public Safety Study for the Police.
Methodology used was: data analysis, interviews, focus groups, document review, and
operational/administrative observations. Recommendations followed three areas: strategic
management & planning, operations, and administration.
Crime rates within the nine largest cities in Nebraska were presented. Grand Island had the
highest rate of property rate crime. Mentioned was the Police Department was highly
professional and a well-managed police agency. There were no serious deficits in the
department.
Police strategies mentioned were: traditional 911 responses to CFS and criminal investigations,
community policing, zero-tolerance, COMPSTAT, intelligence-led policing, problem-solving,
and D.D.A.C.T.S.
Mr. McCabe stated the Grand Island Police Department should be focused on the following:
crime reduction, holding offenders accountable, fear of crime, public centered crime defense,
traffic safety, and providing emergency services.
The following recommendations were presented:
• Empanel a Committee to Examine CFS Demand
• Create a third shift of officers — 10 additional officers
• Special Operations Sergeant — designate one sergeant on each shift to be the Special
Operations Sgt. to coordinate crime strategies on that shift
• Community Services Officers — staff each shift with CSO to enforce code violation
linked to crime strategies
• Crime Prevention — create the capacity to vigorously engage in crime prevention
activities
• Case Management — more rigorous case management system, track caseloads
Page 3, City Council Study Session, April 28, 2012
—�' • Crime Clearances — track individual and overall clearance rates of both assigned
investigations and recorded crimes
• Staffing — administrative support and crime analyst
• Realign Divisions
• Report Writing
• Leadership Development
• Staffing — training, crime intelligence, and community relations
Police Chief Steve Lamken commented on the CSO's duties. Currently all CSO positions were
part-time. ICMA recommended 6 full-time CSO. Comments were made concerning the
elimination of the motorcycle unit and what affect it had on traffic control. Ms. Brown
commented that traffic issues were being looked at with several departments within the City.
School Resource Officers where mentioned as an important asset.
Councilmember Niemann was absent at 12:30 p.m.
Chief Lamken commented that this was a huge project and the department needed to implement
a plan and bring it to counciL
Mayor Vavricek stated the complete study would be available at the Public Library.
-- - ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 12:35 p.m.
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RaNae Edwards
City Clerk