City of Edwardsville Public Safety Committee met Oct. 30.
Here is the minutes provided by the Committee:
Members Present: Alderman Will Krause
Alderman Chris Farrar
Members Absent: Alderman SJ Morrison
Other Present: Rick Welle, Fire Chief
Jay Keeven, Director of Police; Tim Harr, City Administrator; Jeff Berkbigler, City Attorney; Anna Roseman, Fire Department; Cody King, Edwardsville Intelligencer
The regular meeting of the Edwardsville Public Safety Committee was called to order by Chairman Krause at 5:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers with quorum present: Chairman Will Krause and Alderman Chris Farrar. The Chair excused Alderman SJ Morrison.
Approval of Minutes-Motion by Alderman Farrar, second by Chairman Krause to approve minutes from the Public Safety Committee meeting held Monday, October 09, 2017. Motion carried.
Police Department: Informational items:
The Metropolitan Enforcement Group of Southwestern Illinois (MEGSI) Reimbursement The Edwardsville Police Department (EPD) participates in a multijurisdictional drug task force. Basically MEGS is a force multiplier where an officer is assigned to a unit and they are part of the drug case that needs to be worked. This is funded under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG). When the grant began they funded about seventy-five percent of an officer's salary. Over the years this has continued but covering only about forty percent in the last three or four years. It looks like they will be dropping this down even less because the federal funds keep diminishing. EPD drug unit federal funds have been cut in half which means the reimbursement will be cut in half. EPD will be reimbursed approximately $20,000 a year per officer's salary, roughly about twenty percent.
Probationary Patrol Officer Lateral Hires Last week the Board of Fire & Police Commissioners interviewed eleven police candidates for lateral transfer. It allows the officer to skip the process of taking the written exam for someone who is already a police officer that wouldn't need to go to the academy. EPD had one retirement and two retirements pending so there are up to three positions. On the list, there were three of the eleven candidates who interviewed that scored well enough to make the hiring list. Chief Keeven anticipates the hiring of one to three of those candidates pending the Mayor's direction.
Fire Department: Action terms:
Closed session pursuant to the Illinois Public Meetings Act 5 LCS 120/2 Section 2 (c) (1) (Personnel) Closed session will be held at the end of the meeting.
fnformational ltems:
The purchase of seven (7) wood beds and six (6) wood nightstands for the new Public Safety Building from Illinois Correctional Industries for the amount of Five Thousand Five Hundred Forty Dollars ($5,540) This was moved from Action items to Information items on the agenda because there are three written quotes. These are virtually the same pieces of furniture that were purchased for the Campus Station from Illinois Correctional Industries. The quality of these items was very, very good. The Edwardsville Fire Department (EFD) is looking at seven platform beds and six nightstands because of the configuration, one less nightstand is needed. It was difficult to find a direct comparison because these are custom built and the beds are the extended length. Chief Welle stated that he looked at several different sites to make a determination using the same type of materials and styles,
Andrew Rieger/Fire Academy Andrew Rieger is EFD's recent hire and he only had three days with the department before he left for Fire Academy. He has passed his basic firefighter academy which is a six weeks program. He had two more weeks of classes; Vehicle and Machinery Operations (WMO) and HazMat 1st Responders Operations. He is already a Region 4 Anderson Hospital Medic so he is familiar with the protocols. Once EFD has him familiarized with the department and operations, he should transition easily onto shift sometime around the first of the year. This will put EFD staffing at thirty-two uniforms officers; ten people on each of the three shifts, a day Captain and Chief Welle.
SUV delivery delayed In a previous meeting it was mention that the SUV Ford Explorer that was approved for purchase was ready to be picked up. The dealership called and said they had it prepped for EFD and had it sitting in the showroom over the weekend and noticed a puddle of transmission fluid underneath it. They said that they will not allow EFD to pick it up until they figure out if it is the seal or a crack in the transmission housing. Either way they are going to fix it. There will be a Couple of weeks of delay to get this delivered. Fire on Timber Meadows Place (Esic area) 10.13.17 There was a fire on Timber Meadows Place on October 13". Chief Welle reported that there was significant damage to the building. The fire investigators were able to narrow it down to a general origin which was electrical. When the investigators get to this point they generally turn it over to a private insurance company. They can do further testing to establish subrogation of fault if there is any. EFD is satisfied that it was electrical and accidental in nature. EFD will be monitoring to make sure they stay on top of this in terms of repairs.
Old Business:
None
New Business:
Action items:
Ordinance Amending Chapter 22, Article Wil (Tobacco Products) and Chapter 74, Division 2 (Possession of Tobacco Products and Accessories) of the Codified Ordinances of Edwardsville, Illinois This ordinance amendment is an initiative from the School Resource Officers (SRO) and EPD to close a loophole in the tobacco licensing. City Attorney Jeff Berkbigler stated there is a prevalence of e-cigarettes and vaping coming into the community, especially with our youths that seem to be targeted for flavored juices, as they call them. There has been an uptick in the high schools of possession of these. Under state law it is illegal for anyone under the age of eighteen (18) to purchase and possess e-cigarettes. People under eighteen (18) can be ticketed for possessing them but it is cumbersome to do so. Currently, the city's ordinance does not directly address these electronic smoking devices but with this new amendment to the ordinance will Cover any loophole that may allow for youths to obtain the devices.
Edwardsville has a retail tobacco license for at of our tobacco places, but currently you can sell e-cigarettes without a license. This amendment would correct that so Edwardsville can regulate those entities. It would be similar to our tobacco licenses. They would have to go through a background check, pay a fee, say they're not in debt to the city and pay a $50.00 annual licensing fee. It was suggested that the few businesses that solely sell wapes be informed of the change to this tobacco ordinance.
Alderman Farrar motion for the approval of an Ordinance Amending Chapter 22, Article Will (Tobacco Products) and Chapter 74, Division 2 (Possession of Tobacco Products and Accessories) of the Codified Ordinances of Edwardsville, Illinois, second by Chairman Krause. All were in favor to move forward to Administrative and Community Services Committee as an action item. Motion carried.
Alderman Farrar motion for the meeting to move into a closed session, second by Chairman Krause. All were in favor.
Closed session moved back into open session. The next meeting of the Public Safety Committee will be Monday, November 13, 2017 at 5:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall.
With no further business at hand, the meeting was adjourned at 5:36 p.m.
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