it's 8:15 and we call the meeting to order of the public safety committee Friday March 28th Clerk could please call the role Council Pomeir present Council present And councils present First item on the agenda is reading prior meetings for December 6 2024 and
December 16th 2024 Entertain a motion I make a motion to approve the minutes as presented Second Have a motion by councelor Harden second by councelor Brooks to wave the reading of the minutes and accept them as printed All those in favor i I opposed Motion
carries Uh next item on the agenda is departmental head updates The public health department had a subpoena this morning and had to present So he has presented his notes in written form for us Um so we move on from there Start
with the police Morning Thank you Um staffing uh is probably the biggest thing we're working on right now Um we were at full staff on paper yet
unfortunately We did have one resignation Um and we are anticipating three retirements uh at the end of this year early next year Um we this has been on the on the radar for quite a while these officers are reaching out and um
so we we've started the process to fill those positions as well because it does take quite a quite a bit of time to vet these um these people and get them into training as well So we're in the process of that We have one current one police officer current one student officer excuse me currently in the academy He's
about halfway through He graduates mid June Um we have three more candidates identified that we're going through various processes and we have uh the deputy chief has been conducting um initial interviews with to fill the last
position on paper Um it's been been busy There's medicals there's physical stuff and things like that going on are shooting for um two officers or two training two student officers in the June Academy in Lynfield and then one additional one
will be looks like we'll be going to um Holio July 14th So on paper that would put us where we are but it's a fivemon the academy is 5 months so we won't see them probably till the end of the year So that's kind of where we're we're at with that
Um training has been limited with the spending freeze We've been trying to find free trainings and try to keep things up up as best we can Um our process on the critical incident training the CIT training uh mental health training is still progressing We got about twothirds of the department uh
complete and fully trained It's a 40-hour program so it's a significant undertaking Um I'm hoping to have most done by the end of the year Um let's see Um Rocky is still doing well Um he is uh
probably our most popular member of the department as usual Um he is a phenomenal asset to the department and the city Keeps finding drugs keeps finding um people when they need to be found and uh a great asset to the to the
department So budget uh my OT has been in the red since January Um I'm still on pace for maybe a little bit more than last year Um I do have two officers out currently for extended sick leave So um those shifts
do need to be filled Um I don't really have any I'm filling the bare minimums for shifts Um so um grants we were just approved for the Shannon grant again which is a huge um benefit to us and the city It's about
$47,000 It now allows us to do the the junior policemies Um a lot of the uh the the activities focused around our our school age children things like that Keep them out of gang related activities and find other positive things to put them into
It helps offset all overtime for drug investigations as well We are part of the Tri City Shannon initiative which is um I'm sure as council Brooks knows it's Fitchburg Lister and Gardener We have a great um relationship with the other two communities and uh it's been going on
for about 12 or 13 years now and I I hope that it keeps going for a long time because it's a it's a great financial benefit for this city Um we also have the municipal road safety grant There's six deployments authorized on that That's the click or ticket the uh drive
sober get pulled over things like that The each deployment is about $1,500 to $2,000 depending um we're authorized to spend depending on it could be more Uh they they'll tell you beforehand if they if people aren't utilizing the grant they may give us more money to to to
conduct traffic enforcement Um we are still planning our body one camera program Uh we are done with everything We're just we were we applied for a grant the last time but but did not get it We're not successful Uh we are waiting for the grant to come out this time and we are going to re we are
going to reapply for it Um we've done a pilot program We have a policy a sample policy in place ready to go We work with the union on this to to get it So and um the city negotiated with the union So it's already been so as soon as we're approved for it as soon as we get it they're going to be implemented Uh the
pilot program went very very well The officers were actually sad to see the connect cameras go Um it's a great tool and it's very helpful for us Um building the building is actually in
in my my custodian is is at the absolute best Um does a lot with a little and and the building's doing okay There's going to be there are some things that are that are going to need to be fixed in the in the near future and they're not small ticket items um that that Stuckco
needs to be redone They told us it's fiveyear maintenance plan It's been 10 Um but I I the building commissioner and I were talking about it yesterday and it's going to be a very expensive undertaking I think Um so just to put that on your radar uh we were just
approved that EOCC kitchen the urgency operations kitchen has been on our capital improvement plan for several years now Um the the initial plan called for a commercialbased kitchen in that EOC center in the EOC Um we've actually
realized that we're probably not the funds aren't going to come through for that So we've looked at a few other alternative So I actually spoke with Monty Techch their cabinet making program Um we've already been approved So they'll have to come out and measure things and give us an idea of what what they can and can't do It'll be a project
for the kids next year So I already spoke with mayor We'll work and find the funds for that but uh that'll be a significant cost savings as opposed to putting a commercial kitchen in that that building Um animal control was just
notified my senior animal control is retiring Um animal control officer Slack just gave me her intention to retire at the end of uh next month So we filed that out uh the other day and we immediately were posted for hiring So uh
we're going to be doing interviews for that So police officers dispatchers and they acco as well Uh facil the animal control facility is running well We do have another area where we have a lot of turnover there is the shelter attendants Uh they're basically asked to work every weekend to take care of the animals It's
fairly low paying so it it tends to be a kind of a transient job Um we just had another resignation We're hiring for that as well um dispatch we are three three positions short We're almost in a constant hiring
process for that Um because again it's a it's it's a difficult job and and it's uh not one for everybody So a lot of people will start the job and then go through the training and realize that probably not for them and reassess their um their goals Um the grants I mean the
grants to offset the overtime that comes in from the state for the 911 funding is truly essential to our operations It pays for a lot of our contracts It pays um our maintenance contracts computers stuff like that So those are usually north of of $150 to $200,000 we get to
offset the operations in there So um I don't have the exact numbers for the grants yet because they're still pending Um as soon as I have those I will present them to to the committee afterwards Um those are the highlights questions or concerns or thoughts
No no questions Thank you for what you do The 911 grant is that a federal or state grant i believe that comes through the state Uh that's the E911 grant the P for the having a PA station Yeah But I'm sure there's some type of federal funding that trickles into the state
That's why I'm asking because if it's if it's federal then at this point any any federal money right has to be watched Absolutely counselor We have one current pending uh grant the violence against women um grant we that funds our
part-time domestic violence uh advocate Uh trust me we're watching that very closely That is someone that that we can't really afford to lose Um she is a fantastic asset um the what she's done with the program is is truly phenomenal
Um I've been here for 25 years and I've seen other the way things have operated and I I can't tell you how impressed I am with our domestic violence advocate I that's somebody that we just do not want to lose and it's truly important to the city Agree And my last question with
with new hires in the the police department are we overlapping the the hiring we are council So So Okay Which is fine because it takes a long time for a new hire to get in Sure So we're we're being proactive and participating in
things Exactly Right Councelor um I had approached the mayor and human resources and we we had had a big a discussion about this In the past we kind of waited till the officer was off the books and I understand fiscally how that makes sense
However when the person when the officer comes off the books we have to do the initial interviews and all that to get identify the candidates and then we have to do medical testing drug testing psychological testing and then they go to an academy for five and a half months and then they go to field training for
another two and a half months after that So this being proactive about it where it will cost money up front the long term the long range is it'll offset some of the overtime because the officers will be in place So we are and you got to remember too that the three officers
coming off the books are at the obviously the highest contractual steps because they're the most some of the most senior officers we have We're bringing officers in at step one basically I think that's good that that if the officers are giving some notice as to what their plans are then the city
can prepare for their retirement These officers have been very you've been vocal about um you know one of the officers is actually aging out Um Massachusetts law requires police officers and firefighters to retire Um you can only stay till the end of the
month you turn 65 you have to leave So um that's the law So we have one officer that will be aging out So it's that's inevitable The other two are a little bit younger but they have the years of service So Okay Thank you
Great Thank you Chief move on to the build department Morning Cons Um I don't have uh a lot for this morning It's uh not my usual self Um but it's uh pretty brief Um one of the things we're working on in the building department is something we've
been working on for the last year or so is uh periodic inspections within the city of Gardner Uh it's something that the city has been extremely deficient on for many years Um as are most municipalities Uh simply there's just not enough staffing in general to get
all the properties that require inspections done Um over the last several months we focused primarily on high hazard areas So areas where large numbers of people congregate So think schools churches daycarees um any large
assembly areas Uh we've brought all those properties into compliance They all have you know valid certificates of inspection Now uh we're starting to shift our focus on to large apartment complexes like the Hayward Wakefields and the Lofts at 30 Pine Uh again we have uh large numbers of people that
reside there In some cases we have uh mixed use occupancies We have um assisted living occupancies that have some other variables in there Um we've been working closely with the fire department as well uh bringing them along on inspections Uh we've we've had a great deal of success so far um doing
that Um there's still a lot of work to be done to try to bring the the city into full compliance Um one of the things we're focusing on as we look at um multif family dwellings is neighborhoods and not individual structures Um in years past notices have
been sent out to um in alphabetical order So what that means is a single property may get a violation letter but none of the other properties in the neighborhood do So um you know at first glance it looks like an individual may be singled out and that's not the perception that we want to have within
the city So we're looking at our our most delinquent or deficient or substandard neighborhoods that have that we know to have many sorts of building fire code violations and we're focusing on neighborhoods in general Um we're also focusing on when permits come in and if a property is already deficient
in that Uh we don't issue the permit uh because there's a current violation of the property Um and our approach is kind of twofold So prior to enforcement we are looking at education Um so we're trying to get uh get individuals into the office Uh if there are on-site property managers we go into the
buildings uh speak to the management team and we uh we try to educate first Um so that's always been the goal is educate first and then you know move forward with the inspections after that Um to accomplish it fully to its um you know to the best of our abilities uh an
additional inspector would be required Uh it's a it's an ongoing process that doesn't end So at at a maximum of 5 years is when these certificates expire properties that are deficient could get a year inspection So it's it's a constant ro rotation of of inspections
Um it's something that we're looking at long term is to possibly bring on another inspector I believe that we can um fill the current need with the admins that we have Um but possibly another inspector would would be helpful Um we have due to some hour hours
restrictions the number of hours that uh individuals could work one of our inspectors has dropped down to 30 hours a week Um what that's done is that has allowed me to come next fiscal year It's one of my proposals is to transfer the plumbing inspector position from
part-time to full-time Um doing so will actually uh lower my budget by about $1,000 Um the plumbing inspector is phenomenal He's a teacher does continuing education been in the industry for a number of years Uh unfortunately to do the position to its
fullest to document it properly uh it just simply can't be done in 20 hours Um so that's one of my proposals is to uh transition that to a full-time position and then have the plumbing inspector um transition to an alternate inspector Um so we'll still be able to utilize his expertise and his knowledge Um save the
city a small amount of money but we'll be able to to more effectively serve the community in that regard um code enforcement vehicles We've talked about this in the past Um the need to have a a rotation of of the vehicles Um one of our one of our
vehicles has recently failed its most recent most recent inspection So that's something that we're going to have to look at uh replacing that vehicle in the near future Um cost for that can vary widely Um but we're we're looking at trying to appropriate funds um possibly in the
form of maybe a a department stabilization fund Um one of the things that we're looking at is uh inspector training So all of the fines that we bring in as as a department and and again fines are not you know our our
first choice We always try to educate uh first but fines are are to be earmarked for inspector training Um one of the things that we'd like to do is is potentially increase the inspector training budget but also maybe if possible use some of those those funds to create a stabilization fund within the department that we can use for code
enforcement vehicles Um so the money will already be there Um the money that we bring in for the citations uh will go directly to uh inspector training much needed inspector training So um there's training out there for building
officials for conflict resolution Um the and and the list goes on and on Um that training can also be used to uh provide training for the fire officials as well So that that money can be used for for both departments Uh so it's something that we're looking to to provide
additional uh training just so the inspectors are are more wellversed in in the codes and laws that they have to enforce as well as dealing with with the public in general That that's an important part of the job Um this time around that's about all I have for you guys Um I'm open to any questions you
may have What's up [Music] chairman Um uh so I'll start off with the uh the personnel update Um as of today right now um we have three vacant positions Um
but we have um selected three candidates um to fill those positions They've uh completed um the hiring process and they're they're all scheduled to start uh Monday April 7th Um so a week from this coming Monday they will be on board
working Um we have a 4-week in-house training basic training program that we put on for them Um after that there will be several weeks of field training Uh and once they complete field training um
they will have a start date at the Mass Fire Academy uh recruit training program which is a 10-week program Um we're expecting them to to start that late July early August Um and after graduation of that they become full
members of the of the force and will be assigned to regular shifts Um and once that happens all positions will be filled will be filled will be fully staffed Um however we do have uh several members who are out right now
We have um one member that is uh currently deployed um to Europe um in his with his military unit Uh he's not expected to return until October And I have three firefighters that are
currently on modified duty or light duty uh due to u we have one on due to an on the job injury The other two are due to off the job uh injuries or illnesses One of those is expected to return to
full duty sometime in April The other two are still don't have um anticipated return dates at this time Um so we're still um working on that Um and we do right now have one additional recruit
firefighter that was hired last year and then shortly afterwards was deployed with his military unit Um and he is now back and at the MassFire Academy recruit training program Now um he's in week
three and scheduled for graduation on May 23rd and at that time he'll be back in and part of the of the force Also um with with all those uh positions not being fully staffed at this time uh the
fire department is kind of in the same position as the police department is with uh overtime expenditures being high Um right now we're well over the original budgeted amount of
$200,000 Uh as of this week's payroll um the overtime expenditures are at 57 just under 577,000 for the year Um on the fire side on the ambulance side we we have a a budgeted amount of 70,000 and
we are at 84,000 just over 84,000 Um the the vast majority over 90% of the overtime expenditures is for um contractual staffing requirements to maintain staffing um to keep all the
trucks manned Um the the amount is not a a lot different than than recent years So it's it's kind of staying in the same same neighborhood that it was over the last few years
Um and again um there will be significant funds um in the normal salary line items that have not been spent due to vacancies um that will be able to transferred into the overtime line items to
cover a lot of that over overage over the uh budgeted amount Um but we are I've been working with you know John Richard to kind of try to project where we're going to be at Um he's aware of the situation Um and um I would
anticipate before the end of the fiscal year that there's going to be a free cash um request coming before the council um to cover that deficit Um on the on the grants right
now um fire department was awarded $15,355.19 cents through the fiscal year 2025 Massachusetts firefighter safety equipment grant Um we are in the processes process of purchasing um new
um new fire hose new attack fire hose um a new multi- gas detection meter a new thermal imaging camera and um two new electric vehicle emergency plugs which is a new piece of equipment that we don't have um that is designed to um
with the increasing number of electric vehicles on the streets This is a device that actually plugs into the charging port and disables the vehicle Um so there won't be unexpected movement or it also eliminates some of the power hazards associated with electric
vehicles Um we did have our first electric vehicle fire a couple months ago Um it was uh luckily we were able to connect with the u the manufacturers's tech support and they gave us advice on
how to handle it and it was handled quickly without any major complications So that was it's definitely a new new area a new challenge for the fire service today dealing with um electric vehicles So that's uh something much
needed All the equipment that's uh being purchased through this grant is much needed Um and it's all designed towards um safety of firefighters and the public So it's uh it's it's great Um the state
also re recently released a second round of funding for that FY25 um state uh firefighter safety equipment grant So we did submit a se second application for that Um and we have applied for
um protective um equipment uh firefighter protective equip equipment including um some new structural helmets structural firefighting helmets to replace ones that are beyond the uh life expectancy And we've also put in for a
number of uh ballistic helmets um which are now recommended to be carried by firefighter EMTs and the ambulance crews um for entering active shooter situations to care for wounded people which is you know something definitely
new and a different um different area that we don't have much experience with but the equipment is on its way Um so also the uh on the federal grant side um the fiscal year
2024 FEMA assistance to firefighters grant program commonly known as the AFG Um the application period has closed Um and we did submit another application for new fire service portable radios to
replace our existing radios which are now 16 years old um and they don't meet the current standards Um they are these radios are really you know beyond their life expectancy Um we've attempted I think
this is the fourth year we've attempted um to get federal funding to replace them The application is somewhere in the $360,000 range for 40 new radios Um and um hopefully um that will be
approved today uh this year Um we'll see we'll see where it goes Uh on the as far as the fleet goes um the new Suffin Engine 2 um which was purchased with ARPA funds a couple years
ago is um was put in frontline service in the city back in January um and has been running since then Um it was a much needed truck to give the older trucks a a little breather um and get some uh maintenance that's been deferred on them
done So um that's going well Um the new Suffin heavy rescue truck um was completed in December at the factory and um was brought to the local dealer in Connecticut Uh and the dealer has been
doing final equipment install and um final checklist of their last inspection they do prior to delivery So we're hoping to have that truck here any time now Um it's been delayed due to things
beyond everybody's control Um but we're hoping to have it in the city soon the the new um towel ladder that has been ordered from Emergency One Fire Trucks is scheduled to go into
production before the end of 2025 Um and delivery is expected before the end of 2026 if the timeline holds Um and uh the the roof replacement project at Fire Headquarters is
approaching the end Um they the staging on the back side of the building should be coming down today Um and the the construction company the contractor is finishing up small details Um they they
they're not from the area They're from like mass Rhode Island border And every day this winter those poor guys they were talking about they've never seen a winter like this They've never worked in a winter like this and I said "Welcome to North Wister County." Um so they had
they had over 6 weeks of weather related delays um over the winter Um and they they worked on a lot of very harsh days out there to try to keep the keep the project moving Um so the end is in sight Um hopefully within a within a few weeks
here it'll be completed completely wrapped up and and they will be it will be uh gone Um there is there is going to be additional work that needs to be done inside the building that's not part of the insurance um settlement um damage
from previous leaks Uh insulation that was removed uh drywall that was damaged and removed that uh we're going to have to look at um at getting those repairs done inside the building Um and uh so far in 2025
uh the fire department has answered just under 1,600 calls for emergency assistance um which equates to over 18 responses per day on average And the fire department ambulance so far this year
has transported 367 patients to area hospitals And that's all I have Yeah I do The latter term is that the one that was a million4 Um so the it the budgeted amount is was
2.2 million Okay Um and that was to include the truck and the equipment associated with it And right now um the truck itself is just about $2.1 million So there's still
$100,000 that's expected to be used for equipment or any changes And is And is that 2.2 million is that sitting somewhere or is that a loan or we're going to have to uh So the the council approved a bond for that amount
Um there is however I believe in the neighborhood of $600,000 in ve vehicle stabilization that had been transferred from free cash over the last three two or three years There's been several free cash transfers
into that that was earmarked for that truck Um so the bond amount is going to be dependent on how much of that stabilization is Yeah Yeah Thank you Thank you All right Thank
you J Okay You're welcome I am going to take the next two items out of order just so we can get updates from the people that are here on them So this is item 11478 an application for motor vehicle dealers license class 2 MM
Auto 207 East Broadway This is a new application So uh the police department has no issues or concerns at this time with this application Uh uh building department has no concerns Uh they submitted a plan last
year Um no changes have been made to that plan Um so we have no concern about that Okay They're all set for taxes as well Okay So there are no issues outstanding with any input Uh council any questions on
this application take a motion to approve I recommend approval or rejection I make a motion to send this to council as presented Approve Second Motion by councelor Harden second by councelor Brooks to
recommend approval for the full council All in favor i I opposed carries Thank you All right And lastly item 11466 a request from councelor Karen Harden to have an informal meeting with Monus Regional Transit Authority to
discuss rider and pedestrian safety and routes utilization and ridership Mr Harden Mr Yes Um we've seen recently two serious accidents involving mar buses and pedestrians one in Gardner resulting in serious injuries Obviously this is a
concern but as I'm also concerned about the performance of the MAR system in Gardner in general I have witnessed unsafe driving and have attempted to report this to March First as a private citizen and then as a counselor Any I did I felt not taken seriously
Furthermore it has been a growing irritation for me for years The number of times I see mark buses in this city that are completely empty or maybe with one or two people I don't think I've ever seen a bus even half full This is a concern because people in this city
especially those I represent and vote for could benefit from better service and access to public transportation I hear these concerns from my constituents all the time It is also important to consider that right now because of increased fun um funding from the state
that the MAT buses are free free to ride At least by my observation this hasn't seem to improve wrership ridership at all They literally cannot give their services away in a community that needs public transportation I hope this is looked into and we can have a productive
conversation with Martin about ways to improve service in the city and be more responsive So with that I would like to make a motion to refer this item to the council as a whole with the recommendation that an informal meeting be scheduled to have a discussion with
the M company to ask questions and have our questions answered Might councelor Harden recommend to uh council of the whole for an informal meeting to meet with Marte and safety Any second second
Second by councelor uh Brooks Any question or comments on this debate okay All in favor i I opposed Motion carries Any new business no
Councelor Brooks Second by councelor Harden to adjurnn All in favor i I opposed Motion carries Thank you very much