Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout20210819 - PSAC Minutes City of Hastings Public Safety Advisory Commission (PSAC) Meeting Minutes August 19,2021 Volunteer Room—City Hall Present: Commissioners Dolores Pemble, Bryon Ascheman, Melissa Blackstad and Gary Stevens. City Staff: Police Chief Bryan Schafer and Fire Chief John Townsend. 1. Chief Schafer provided a police department update. -National Overdose Awareness Day is August 31. A Light Up Purple for Overdose and Fentanyl Poisoning Awareness event will take place at The Confluence in Hastings on the evening of August 30, 2021. -Chief Schafer provided an update on various upcoming events involving Special Olympics including Coffee for Champions at Dunkin Donuts scheduled for August 20 and a golf tournament at Hidden Green on August 19. In September, department officers will participate in the torch run through Hastings. -The hiring process for new officers is underway. There are two retirements expected this year. -Chief Schafer reported that the department has been very busy the last several months with two on-going high-profile investigations and River Town Days. -Chief Schafer and Chief Townsend discussed the large-scale training session that took place at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church. The chiefs explained that this was a joint HPD/HFD training to assess and strengthen how the departments coordinate their activities in large scale multiagency scenario. 2. Fire Chief John Townsend provided a fire department update. -Chief Townsend discussed the recent fire in a detached garage on Frane Ave. He explained that this call came in just as joint training session was finishing up. This meant that may of the fire resources able to close by and were able to arrive at the scene very quickly. In addition, Chief Townsend discussed how the automatic aid calls to nearby departments are a"game changer" in fighting fires. In a rural fire, the biggest concerns are getting firefighters on scene and water. In this case,the automatic aid resulted in tenders from nearby communities arriving at the fire scene very quickly and providing water to battle the fire. As a result,the home received some smoke damage but was otherwise undamaged. -The Booya is scheduled for September 11. -The Department is in process of hiring paid on call firefighters. Seven individuals applied and three candidates were offered positions. -Chief Townsend updated the Commission on the plans for a fire study. RFQs for the fire study have been posted and two proposals have come. -Finally, the Commission was updated on the new fire truck that has been ordered. It will be delivered next year. Chief Townsend discussed an upgrade to include an idle reduction system that will pay for itself in 4-5 years. He also discussed the air filtration system. 4. Old Business -National Night Out event at Lions Park was discussed. The consensus was that it went very well. 500 hot dogs were served. The Commission discussed the possibility of changing the location of the event to a different park next year. One possibility discussed was Wilson Park. In the upcoming months, the Commission will further discuss this and consider issues such as the amount of expected foot traffic at various parks, the services available (i.e. electricity/water) and space for activities (i.e. helicopter, etc.) -Mission Planning. The Commission discussed working in a mission statement and Commission booklet/binder. Commissioner Ascheman indicated that he had worked in such a book several years ago and will bring that to the next meeting. -The current mission statement and city ordinance relating to the commission were circulated to the commission members by email. Member are encouraged to review these and give some thought to the Commissions mission for next meeting. -There are several commission vacancies. A brief discussion of commission member tenures was discussed and that that several current commission members' terms may be coming up. Chief Schafer will review these and circulate a summary of terms before next meeting. 5. New Business 5. Next meeting is August 16, 2021 5. A motion to adjourn the meeting was made and seconded. The meeting was adjourned at 7:50 p.m.