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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_Miscellaneous_04/06/1989_Public Safety Committee Tf �r Lf VILLAGE OF TEQUESTA Post Office Box 3273 • 357 Tequesta Drive Tequesta, Florida 33469 -0273 • (407) 575 -6200 4� FAX: (407) 575 -6203 " c V'ILL,AGE 4Z) IF TEQUESTA PUB L= C S AF E TY C C3 MM.= T T E E M E ET 2 NG M Z NUT E S A P R= L 6, 1 9 8 9 I. The Public Safety Committee of the Tequesta Village Council held a meeting on Thursday, April 6, 1989, in the Village Hall Council Chambers, 357 Tequesta Drive, Tequesta, Florida, to discuss an action -plan relative to the Tequesta Association of Voters and Taxpayers' (TAVT) Fire - Rescue Report. The meeting was called to order at 9:40 A.M. by Committee Chairman Joseph N. Capretta. Co- Chairman William E. Burckart was also present. Village Officials present were: Thomas G. Bradford, Village Manager; Carl R. Roderick, Chief of Police; Stephen Allison, Lieutenant Police Department; and Joann M. Manganiello, Administrative Secretary. Mr. Joseph Yoder, President of the TAVT was also in attendance. 2I. Committee Chairman Joseph N. Capretta stated that the purpose of the meeting was to "follow -up" on TAVT's Fire - Rescue Study; discuss an action -plan relative to the same; and make recommendations to Council so that they, in turn, may instruct Village Manager Bradford as to the appropriate actions to be taken in the future. Mr. Capretta emphasized the point in question; "Is a Public Safety Department appropriate for Tequesta ?" He admitted that the TAVT Report had merit, but felt that it could not be accepted at "face value" without further investigation. He stressed the importance of verifying facts, costs, and financial impact. In this regard, Mr. Capretta noted that Palm Beach County Fire Chief Brice: 1) told the Village that it was "getting a bargain" ($600,000 value for $376,000) 2) still had to build Station 12 3) had deliberately kept Tequesta's costs at a minimum In light of these circumstances, Mr. Capretta anticipates a substantial cost increase (perhaps 50% or more) for Tequesta for 1990. Village Manager Bradford noted that Chief Brice had given the Village preliminary figures. The County could either borrow money or spread the cost over 2 -3 fiscal Public Safety Committee Meeting Minutes April 6, 1989 Page 2 --------------------------------------- years, an option as the County goes into budget this summer. Chairman Capretta also pointed out that the County has a pay -as- you -go policy. It could amortize costs over the first year, but can Tequesta be assured of a one -time increase or "assume" an increase each year? A cost projection is needed; when the figures are "in ", a comparison of cost effectiveness can be made. Mr. Capretta suggested hiring a consultant to "look into" the following basic issues: 1) verification of facts - especially critical statistics, such as, response time 2) costs - operation of a Public Safety Department - comparison of maintaining Palm Beach County Fire - Rescue Service - projected costs 3) viability - can police "adapt" to this Public Safety concept? - "first- responders" with capabilities /implementation in areas of Basic Life Support (BLS) and Fire Suppression? 4) Public Safety Department - how would it operate? - police as "first- responders" with BLS and Fire Suppression? - North County Ambulance back -up? - a combination of police, fire, and paramedic? 5) What does it take to provide Tequesta with fire protection? Chairman Capretta's recommendation was to first, arrive at an implementation plan approved by Council, and then, to present the plan to the public for review and response, perhaps in a referendum. Co- Chairman Burckart suggested that the issue of Public Safety be approached a little more simply. He noted that the people he had spoken to did not have any problems with creating a Public Safety Department. In general, older citizens who agreed with the concept were not concerned with costs; younger citizens, however, were. Public Safety Committee Meeting Minutes April 6, 1989 Page 3 --------------------------------------- Mr. Burckart questioned the need for a Public Safety Department himself, and voiced concern that the basic issues, as outlined by Mr. Capretta, be properly addressed. He questioned: 1) Whether or not the police can "adapt" to this Public Safety Concept? (and recommended Police Chief Roderick "look into" the same) 2) Can police cars accommodate the necessary equipment? 3) Are new, modified cars needed to make equipment accessible? 4) What effect will it have on the Village's insurance rates? 5) Does the Village have a huge liability at stake if, for example, an inaccurate diagnosis /treatment is administered by police at the scene? 6) Do we involve the Water Company? 7) Do we use volunteers? (Mr. Bradford - good in principle, not in actuality) Essentially, Mr. Burckart agreed on hiring a consultant to study the TAVT Report, assimilate it, and determine a plan of action. He felt that this "plan of action" must be coordinated with Chief Roderick and was concerned with the possibility of his losing policemen due to the extra responsibilities imposed on them. Chairman Capretta noted that at the last Public Safety Committee Meeting, Mr. Yoder brought up some very important points regarding response time. He asked: 1) Could police be given additional training? 2) Do we change policemen's protocol; what actions to take when first to arrive at the scene? Mr. Capretta made the following recommendations as regards these points: 1) Strive for 1.5 minute response time Public Safety Committee Meeting Minutes April 6, 1989 Page 4 --------------------------------------- 2) Give police additional training - BLS, Fire - Rescue 3) Provide necessary equipment for police 4) Establish proper protocol - "first- responder" \; 5) Enable police to "save a life" until paramedics arrive (possibility of continued use of Palm Beach County Ambulance and Fire Rescue) Ideally, the above referenced "plan of action" could be used as a "First Phase." In actuality, according to Chief Roderick's "First Aid /CPR Policy Report (see attachment), Tequesta Police are practically doing this now. Mr. c Capretta emphasized that improvement of "first- responder" service to the public by the police be top priority, regardless as to whether or not Tequesta goes with the Public Safety Concept. He noted that it would certainly help to improve the image of the police as "life- savers." Mr. Capretta. did agree, however, with Mr. Burckart on the problem of liability and advised a short -term investigation of the risk factor be undertaken. Mr. Burckart reiterated the need for additional Basic Life Support training and emphasized that police must feel confident to go into a situation and take action. Chief Roderick noted that police action depends on the particular situation. Tequesta Police are certified to administer CPR and stop bleeding (First �\ Aid.) The next "step -up" for the policemen is EMT ______- (Emergency Medical Technician), at which point it would be necessary_to_provide_ defibrillators in police cars —A Village Manager Bradford noted that at police training school, police receive BLS training. He asked if they received fire - extinguisher training? Chief Roderick said, "No," although extinguishers are carried in standard police cars. Manager Bradford also noted that Greenacres City's police (in standard police cars) have BLS and ALS (Advanced Life Support) training. It also has an officer in a modified pick -up truck which holds 300 gallons of heavy water with a pumper to extinguish small fires. Additionally, Greenacres City has large fire apparatus at a particular location, as well as ambulance /rescue service to transport people to the hospital. Mr. Capretta stated that Greenacres City may be an appropriate "comparison town" to Tequesta; "we fit the picture like a glove." He wanted to "see" a Public Safety Department in operation first -hand. Public Safety Committee Meeting Minutes April 6, 1989 Page 5 --------------------------------------- Mr. Burckart suggested North Palm Beach as a good place to observe because it was smaller than Greenacres City. Mr. Yoder observed that Public Safety is a unique thing, one that "looks at" a particular village and uses police, fire protection, and paramedics as building blocks. He suggested that the Public Safety Concept be "tailor- made" to meet the needs of Tequesta citizens and recommended that we: 1) look at our particular environment /needs 2) hire a consultant to investigate proper police protocol 3) decide feasibility of defibrillators in police cars as part of the Fire - Rescue Unit He pointed out that as long as the police are doing "something" (even administering oxygen), it gives the person "peace of mind" which is very important psychologically. Mr. Yoder liked Mr. Capretta's idea of a "First Phase" and expressed the hope that it would materialize very quickly. Its advantage being that citizens will be happy to know they can depend on Tequesta Police as "first- responders." He also noted that even though we're not paying police to put out fires, they do have extinguishers in their cars and should have the knowledge of how and when to use them effectively. Mr. Yoder placed "data gathering" as another important factor. He noted that the TAVT Fire - Rescue Study did not get into "analysis" of response time, but only gathered information as to response time from surrounding areas. He presented a Palm Beach County Fire - Rescue Daily Data Sheet (see attachment) which logged all 911 emergency calls. He pointed out that the information supplied was incomplete /insufficient for data gathering and analysis - an antiquated system. Mr. Capretta noted that Fire Chief Brice realized the inadequacies in Palm Beach County's services, data system, and response time and intends to improve it, but when? According to Mr. Yoder, data in the TAVT Report is broken down into government entities. He would like to know what our response time is for our Village and the unincorporated areas? (a possible "plus" for reasons of annexation.) If we can gather this basic data, and know what we're involved in, we can: Public Safety Committee Meeting Minutes April 6, 1989 Page 6 --------------------------------------- 1) determine actual response time 2) gauge what manpower is needed 3) anticipate what our demands will be In effect, we need data to use to manage our operation. He pointed out that a consultant is not needed to gather this data; dispatchers at police departments keep logs /reports. According to Chief Roderick, response time of 1.5 minutes is accurate pursuant to accident reports. He confirmed that reports are kept on every call that is dispatched and that fire rescues come under "fire assists." Village Manager Bradford asked Chief Roderick to explain dispatch procedure. Chief Roderick explained, for example, in the case of a heart attack 911, call is transferred to EMS and they, in turn, dispatch Fire- Rescue (a 3 -way conversation.) Next, the dispatcher enters the 911 call and time in the phone log (arrival time) and also in the dispatch log (clearing -scene time.) Data - type of call, date and time - is typed into a computer which calculates response time. Relative to this, Mr. Capretta called attention to the fact that the dispatcher needs proper training to handle the information coming in (911 emergency) over the phone so that he /she can decide what vehicle to dispatch to the scene. Mr. Bradford asked Chief Roderick whether he could tell how many Fire - Rescue calls were received from January 1, 1989? Lieutenant Allison responded that they not only had that information, but also knew the log time between Tequesta Police arrival on the scene and the arrival of the Palm Beach County Fire - Rescue Unit, as of January 1, 1989. Assuming that Tequesta Police respond to every call, Mr. Burckart noted that we could easily compare our response time to that of Palm Beach County. Village Manager Bradford emphasized two important issues: 1) short -term issue - Should Tequesta get into Basic Life Support or not? 2) long -term issue - Should the Village hire a consultant? As regards the short -term issue, Police Chief Roderick was requested to prepare a report within 30 days, addressed to Public Safety Committee Meeting Minutes April 6, 1989 Page 7 --------------------------------------- the Village Manager, regarding the implementation of procedures by Tequesta Police as "first- responders" in the areas of Basic Life Support and Fire Suppression. Village Manager Bradford would then disseminate said report to Public Safety Committee Members /Village Council for review. In summary, Chairman Capretta broke -down the Public Safety Concept for Tequesta into 3 Phases, as follows: PHASE I 1) First - Response a) What are the capabilities of Tequesta Police? (BSL /Fire Suppression) b) What does it take to implement it? c) If viable, do it. * Under the direction of Police Chief Roderick. 2) Consultant - Hire one to: a) verify facts in TAVT Report b) estimate costs - insurance liability, equipment, costs of operating a Public Safety Department, maintaining Palm Beach County Fire - Rescue/ North County Ambulance, projected costs, etc. c) determine viability of Tequesta Police adapting to the Public Safety Concept d) determine feasibility of Public Safety Department - future involvement with Palm Beach County? - buy support from North County Ambulance? - link up with them? - (At this time, Fire Chief Brice wants Tequesta to remain part of the Palm Beach County Fire - Rescue Service.) If, after investigation, the consultant concludes that the Public Safety Concept is feasible, viable, and cost effective for Tequesta, then Council would decide whether to 1) make the decision on the issue themselves, or 2) put it to a referendum vote (a definite need for commitment from Tequesta citizens.) * See attached sheet for listing of consultant questions. Public Safety Committee Meeting Minutes April 6, 1989 Page 8 PHASE II Feasibility a) Is data presented by the consultant adequate for Council to base their decision on? PHASE III Consultant /Implementation of Plan As the Public Safety Concept discussion neared conclusion, Mr. Capretta advised that before hiring a consultant, Council should ensure that they are asking the "right" questions so that the consultant can provide Council with the "right" information. He asked that the minutes of this meeting be edited and sent to him and Co- Chairman Burckart for first review. He also indicated the possibility of a long process between Phase II and Phase III. Chairman Capretta stated that he wanted the job done and done right. He would prefer to see Public Safety as a whole, complete system for Tequesta, excluding Palm Beach County Fire - Rescue and North County Ambulance. Mr. Bradford agreed, stating that he was tired of Tequesta's budget being dictated by Palm Beach County. Village Manager Bradford cautioned that Council make sure they have the consultant's input before going to referendum. He was also concerned with the timing involved. He assumed that the consultant would want at least 6 months for investigation of data. Mr. Bradford noted that if Tequesta wants out of the Palm Beach County Fire- Rescue System, we must tell them so by April 1, 1990. Consequently, a consultant must be hired as soon as possible. Council cannot wait for October 1, 1989, the new fiscal year, to budget for a consultant. Village Manager Bradford also suggested that the Village could hold a referendum on the first Tuesday in March, 1990. Time -wise, Council would have a time lag between then and April 1, to notify Palm Beach County, "We want out." Chairman Capretta and Co- Chairman Burckart advised Village Manager Bradford to investigate hiring a consultant right away; contact firms, get a time -span for development of an implementation plan. Public Safety Committee Meeting Minutes April 6, 1989 Page 9 --------------------------------------- There being no other matters before the Committee for consideration, the meeting was adjourned at 10:48 A.M. A copy of Police Chief Roderick's First Aid /CPR Report and Fire Report and Palm Beach County Fire- Rescue Data Sheet are attached and made a part of these minutes for informational purposes. Respectfully submitted, Joann M. Manganiello Administrative Secretary /JMM