HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Committees - Public Safety (Committee) - 07/08/2003 PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MINUTES
JULY 8, 2003
COMMITTEE MEMBERS: Connie Epperly, Julie Peterson,Rico Yingling
The meeting was called to order by Chair Connie Epperly at 5:OOPM. "Application for U.S.
Department of Education Grant"was added to the agenda as Item number 7 by Chief Crawford.
Mike Martin also stated he wanted to address the Committee on an item from the Mayor.
Approval of Minutes of June 10,2003
Committee Member Julie Peterson moved to approve the minutes of the June 10, 2003 meeting.
The motion was seconded by Connie Epperly and passed 2-0.
Amendment to Interlocal Agreement Establishine the Washington City and County
Pipeline Safety Consortium
Fire Chief Jim Schneider explained the purpose of the consortium to the Committee. He
indicated that there would be no budget impact and that there would be no change in the terms of
the agreement since it the consortium was originally formed. Mike Martin stated that this is an
agreement for the cities and county to work together. Rico Yingling asked that a copy of the
original agreement be provided prior to the upcoming City Council meeting on July 15`n
Rico Yingling moved to recommend that this item be placed on the Consent Calendar for
the July 151h,2003 Council Meeting authorizing the Mayor to sign Amendment 2 to
Interlocal Agreement Establishing the Washington City and County Pipeline Safety
Consortium. The motion was seconded by Julie Peterson and passed 3-0.
Purchase of one(1) replacement fire engine
Fire Chief Jim Schneider presented the request for one replacement fire engine from Pierce
Manufacturing, Inc. with an approximate cost of$490,000.
Julie Peterson moved to recommend that this item be placed on the Consent Calendar of the
July 15, 2003 Council Meeting recommending that the Mayor be authorized to sign the
contract between the City of Kent and Pierce Manufacturing,Inc. for the purchase of one
(1) fire engine. The motion was seconded by Rico Yingling and passed 3-0.
Update on Fourth of July activities
Fire Chief Jim Schneider stated that they had received 50 calls for service and responded to two
major second alarm fires. He state that this was nearly twice the number of calls from the
previous year and a much higher property dollar loss with the Springwood fire expected to be
around 1.3 million in damages. That fire is under investigation as suspected arson and involved
fireworks. He also stated that many illegal fireworks have been confiscated and will be
destroyed.
Mike Martin informed the Committee that the Mayor had received many phone calls, emails and
in-person complaints about the fireworks this year. Mike stated that the Mayor has directed him
to draft an ordinance over the next 90 days to ban fireworks in the City of Kent. Mike stated that
the ordinance would go into effect for July, 2005 at the earliest. Chief Schneider stated that there
would be a lot of public education prior to the enforcement of the ordinance to ban fireworks.
"Click it or Ticket" Campaien
Julie Peterson stated that she had asked Police Chief Ed Crawford to give the Committee an
overview of the legality of the campaign due to recent publicity in other jurisdictions. Chief
Crawford explained the Seat Belt Law and that although a Skagit County District Court judge had
dismissed cases in her court, that the law is valid and will continue to be enforced across the
country. He feels that an appeal is expected.
National Nieht Out,Aueust 51'
Police Chief Ed Crawford described the annual event as a community block party in which the
Police,Mayor and City Council Members try to visit as many events as possible in one evening.
U.S.Department of Education,Life Skills for State and Local Prisoners Program Grant
Police Chief Ed Crawford explained how the grant funds would be used. The Corrections
Division of the Kent Police Department will work with New Connections, a non-profit
organization, and Renton Technical Institute to provide employment training for newly released
prisoners. He stated that no additional staff or matching funds from the City were required.
Rico Yingling move to recommend that this item be placed on the Consent Calendar of the
July 15,2003 Council Meeting recommending that Council authorize the Kent Police
Department's application for the U.S. Department of Education,Life Skills for State and
Local Prisoners Program Grant. The motion was seconded by Julie Peterson and passed
3-0.
The meeting adjourned at 5:35 PM.
Jo Thompson
Public Safety Committee Minutes 2
July 8,2003