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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPSAB Minutes 03/16/2022 PUBLIC SAFETY ADVISORY BOARD Virtual Meeting Port Angeles, Washington March 16th, 2022 6:00 pm CALL TO ORDER: Chair Andrew Schwab called the regular meeting of the Public Safety Advisory Board to order at 6:11 p.m. ROLL CALL: Members Present: Gayle Brauner, Evan Brown, Jesse Charles, Kathleen Graf, John Hauk, Kelsey Lane, Michael McGuire, Mary Margolis, Andrew Schwab Absent: Octavia Smith Staff Present: Ken Dubuc, Fire Chief; Brian Smith, Police Chief; Catherine Dewey, Secretary REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES: Gayle Brauner requested that in the Reports from Board Members section when she referenced the radar trailers that the solar powered speed signs also be included in that request in the minutes. Kelsey noted an error in Jesse Charles' name being used. Michael McGuire made a motion to accept the February minutes as amended, Kelsey Lane provided a second and the motion passed unanimously. COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE PUBLIC: a. Public Comment: N/A PUBLIC HEARINGS/OTHER BUSINESS: a. Vacant Seat update from City Council - Chair Schwab introduced the newly elected Board members John Hauk and Mary Margolis. The Board then took the time to introduce themselves to John and Mary. b. Chair and Vice Chair Appointments- Andrew Schwab made a motion to appoint Andrew Schwab for Chair and Kelsey Lane as Vice Chair of the Public Safety Advisory Board for the 2022-2023 term, Evan Brown provided a second to the motion and a roll call vote followed: 1. Gayle Brauner- Yay 2. Evan Brown - Yay 3. Jesse Charles - Yay 4. Kathleen Graf—Yay 5. John Hauk- Yay 6. Kelsey Lane —Yay 7. Mary Margolis - Yay 8. Michael McGuire - Yay 9. Andrew Schwab - Yay STAFF UPDATES: 1. Police Department Report— PD Report, has quite a bit of mandatory training and today they had an informational session with Peninsula Behavioral Health and some of their new staff. PD also had a Bola Wrap training on the device that has been purchased that is much like a lasso, that wraps around and individual to allow officers to easily restrain and take individuals into custody. Firearms training was also held today. Chief is hoping to have a legislative update next meeting. 2021 Annual Report-Chief emphasized workload and encouraged the Board to read through the report to get an understanding of the Departments current focuses. 2. Fire Department Report—Chief Dubuc welcomed the new members. Chief Dubuc announced that 6 new firefighters will be starting on April 4t". Training is a priority in the Department currently. Promotions have also recently taken place and we have promoted 2 new Captains and 3 new Lieutenants. Dan Montana has moved from the Community Paramedic Office into a Lieutenant's position, so there is a current opening in the Community Paramedic Office to be filled. Chief Dubuc also announced his retirement in June of this year. REPORTS FROM BOARD MEMBERS: a. Michael McGuire—Conversation regarding a visit to Walla Walla, with regards to city camping, litter, derelict vehicles etc. in contrast with Port Angeles (Report Notes enclosed). Michael and his family visited Walla Walla in November over the Thanksgiving holiday and one of the first things they noticed was the essence of the downtown area/parks/stores. They walked through the downtown area at night and noticed the lack of graffiti and the lack of evidence of the homeless community, Michael reached out to their Deputy Mayor and was able to have an informative conversation on ways that they are handling the same issues that Port Angeles is facing. The City of Walla Walla wanted to find ways to take care of and support the homeless and drug addicted populations as swell as protect and support the downtown area and local businesses. A volunteer organization locally did their research and proposed a tent like structure a Conestoga to be used and a camp of sorts set up to house these populations. Michael described in detail the approach Walla Walla is taking to address the homeless and drug addicted communities and conversation ensued. b. Gayle Brauner—(Clarification needed before presenting Memo to Council) Propose that the PSAB recommend to the City Manager that the city purchase 1-2 more radar trailers. Discussion ensued and it was decided that the motion can stand and will be presented with the revised minute language to support Gayle's desire to have both Solar Powered speed signs as well as the speed radar trailers. Chair Schwab asked that the following reports be added to the April Agenda • The process of ending a Committee- • How to make recommendations to Council — • Senior Committee Updates • Open Public Meetings Act Gayle— Resource of the day "Nomadland" by Jessica Bruder. Speaks to houseless and homeless, Gayle highly recommends to those interested in this topic. Gayle also congratulated Chief Dubuc on his retirement. Kathleen —Thanked Chief Smith for his report this evening and wishes Chief Dubuc a happy retirement. Vice Chair Lane- Congratulated Chief Dubuc on his retirement and suggested inviting someone from the REdisCOVERY program to speak at an upcoming meeting. She also thanked the FD for assisting Queen of Angeles with their broken flagpole. Chair Schwab— Reminded Board members to be prepared for meetings by reviewing Agenda packet and to forward any topic requests to him and staff in advance. Chair Schwab also asked the Board members to consider the topics that they would like the Board to focus on during this next term and to provide a list to staff prior to the next scheduled PSAB meeting. ADJOURNMENT: Michael McGuire made a motion to adjourn and Evan Brown provided a second to the motion and the motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 8:07 p.m. The next Scheduled PSAB Meeting will be April 20, 2022 Michael McGuire Report Notes- Zoom meeting with Deputy City Manager,Elizabeth Chamberlain City of Walla Walla dealing with how to mitigate the 9t1i Circuit Court of Appeals decision in Martin v. Boise. Settlement Reached in Groundbreaking Martin v.Boise Case February 8,2021 ll�V,i[a,.//vvvvvw a:iVv .ldvc r,ati.. r /��ativvs,/rug.. rn/;. lvrau..rv/,a,V�latiru� �4:.11..a afl r..p gr.. .. r�::g;.u u°�r�.....................................................�,. Harvard Law Review ha, , //ll��r„v�rdfllp�vvra vra vv::c r�/���:.:�..`7/n�/ru�,p�r�r�� �v::ci: v o� :.b ois"/. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals: Summary for Publication M,l, a, a�c tali/c ............................................................... Ninth Circuit Districts 1. Alaska 2. Arizona 3. Central District of California 4. Eastern District of California 5. Northern District of California 6. Southern District of California 7. Guam 8. Hawaii 9. Idaho 10. Montana 11. Nevada 12. Northern Mariana Islands 13. Oregon 14. Eastern District of Washington 15.Western District of Washington The city council and city businesses wanted to be proactive,not get the reputation of neighboring cities for being too lenient on the drug/homelessness problem,as well as protect the local economy. Around 2016, Cordoned off a section of city property:became"Camp Chaos."Too many issues d/t drugs and violence and no rules. Partnered with Walla Walla Alliance for Homeless(WWAfH)which is powered by volunteer hours and grants and church meals. WWAfH purchased Conestoga"hard sided tents."(called this to avoid it being deemed a permanent shelter and therefore violating city building codes). "Sleep Center"on city property. • Could then allow the PD to mitigate public camping,loitering,w/o violating Martin v. Boise • No water or electric • Porta potties • City paid for security • Nighttime only >issues during the day Covid hit> Sleep Center needed to be more permanent(since April 2020)>City paid$350k to move the Sleep Center onto another plot of city property. • Could stay day and night>curt down on daily and nightly issues • Allowed PD to continue with Martin v. Boise mitigation and enforcement of anti-camping ordinance. • Those that choose not to stay in Sleep Center d/t not wanting to abide by riles can then be jailed. • Better to access to services for residents • About 38 people housed>average of 1-2 turned away • About$165k/year for the city to nun: security,water, electric, etc. • About$14/day/person,very cost effective Resident satisfaction survey has improved t„i;atiafla,ll�atilte, cat /vw 1ll'a vv,alha wati,l,a olli'l 01e, �:c��„:a,�c p�,dfll' reti l.ce, Code Enforcement: Officer Timothy Bennett: Code Enforcement for Walla Walla 2 full time positions:filled For derelict vehicles:uses company that is a"licensed crusher"that received special state monies for performing this service. Timeline:vehicle is identified,warning placed, after 72 hours then can be tagged with a 24 hour towing tag,then towed. Sometimes the vehicle is labeled as a junk vehicle,a"junk vehicle affidavit" must be filed which takes 2 weeks... then the vehicle can be towed. So can take up to 4 weeks. Walla Walla City Port Angeles City WW County Clallam Count Population 34,000 20,000 62,584 77,155 Median Value $203,500 $217,100 $224,800 $253,800 Housing Median Income $50,550 $47,256 $57,858 $52,192 %in poverty %15.5 %17.4 %12.7 %11.2 Population/sq. mile 2,478.1 1,779.8 46.3 41.1 Land area/sq. miles 12.8 10.7 1,270.13 1,738.33