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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-08-23 Government Operations Committee Minutes Government Operations Committee August 23, 2011 Minutes Councilors: Blanchette, Palmer, Longo Staff: Conlow, Farrar, Gastia, Cammack, Yardley, Gould, Pereira Others: State Representative Damon 1. Discussion/Review of Recently Passed Consumer Fireworks Legislation Cammack spoke of recently passed State legislation allowing for the sale and use of consumer fireworks. The legislation also provides that municipalities may adopt an ordinance restricting or banning the sale and use of fireworks. The new law becomes effective January 1, 2012, and staff would like to discuss the implications of it with the Committee. Cammack indicated that staff is looking for guidance and direction from Council as to how they wish to handle it. Representative Damon is the author of the legislation, and he provided a brief history of the legislation indicating that he wanted safety, revenue and jobs all related to the sale of fireworks in Maine. He spoke of the additional revenue which could be used to assist the State’s school lunch program. Longo spoke about the positive impact of fireworks sales in Rhode Island. Palmer spoke about safety issues and didn’t agree with linking fireworks to the school lunch program. Blanchette asked the type of fireworks to be covered by the legislation. Damon said that ground snakes, cherry bombs, bottle rocks were eliminated. Aerials are included but only up to 250 feet. The accident rates tend to diminish immensely because of the training and safety involved. Blanchette noted that the fireworks which were eliminated are available in New Hampshire. She asked Gastia how officers will be trained and how will enforcement be enacted. Gastia felt the Council needs to keep in mind that people do possess illegal fireworks. Officers are trained to some extent but are not experts in fireworks or explosive devices. It will be difficult to know what is legal and what is illegal. He pointed out that the Police Department currently responds th to calls, especially around the 4 of July, for gun shots which are actually the sounds of fireworks. The Bangor Police Department will now respond year-round to such calls. The legislation dictates that fireworks can be used only between the hours of 9 am and 10 pm except on specified dates. Gastia noted that the legislation dictates that fireworks can be only on an individual owner’s property or with permission from a landlord. He spoke about the issue of neighboring properties. Gastia spoke about the retail establishments set up to sell the fireworks and security of the establishments and mentioned the possibility of adding other restrictions on these types of establishments. Cammack spoke about building requirements and restrictions for the retail sales of fireworks. Responding to Blanchette, Cammack said he is comfortable with the ‘storage and handling’ portion of the legislation. He noted Gastia’s concern with the security issues but Cammack said it could be taken one step further to institute a policy from Council; i.e. recording on premises, inside and out, in the event of an issue with the properties. Responding to Palmer, Cammack said it will require more time for the Fire Department much like issues with unattended candle use. He spoke of using the Firearms Discharge perimeter as a place by which the City could possibly look at for use of fireworks. Other communities plan to move forward with the fireworks sale with a permitting process through the Fire and/or Police Department. A name with contact information would be on file through the permit process. Cammack spoke of obtaining information from New Hampshire and other states that have fireworks sales in place. Some of the revenue from fireworks sales in Maine is earmarked for the process of education. Responding to Palmer, Damon said that one must be 21 years of age to sell and to purchase fireworks. A provision in the legislation indicates that individuals 18 or older could handle fireworks as long as they are under the direct supervision of someone 21 or older. The vetting process for selling fireworks is very strict. Part of the education piece of the legislation requires that the suppliers must provide professionally created pamphlets and must brief purchasers on fireworks and their safety. Damon said he will provide security information for the Council and the Chiefs. In states where fireworks are not legalized, Damon said the accident rate is generally 3.45 per thousand pounds of fireworks. That number drops after a couple of years of legalized fireworks sales. For Longo, Damon clarified that the school lunch program is not funded by this revenue. Damon felt that the sale of fireworks is a revenue generator. Responding to Conlow, Damon said that if a municipality does not adopt an ordinance regarding fireworks sales it will automatically put in place as possession would still be legal. But, the fireworks could not be detonated in a community not choosing to participate. Blanchette said the municipality has the right to impose stricter regulations than what the state law allows. The State Statutes are a guideline. Conlow asked if the legislation allows a municipality to set aside certain areas as non-fireworks discharge areas. Gastia said the lower level of government can be more restrictive but cannot be less restrictive. Blanchette felt that this item needs to go to a full Council Workshop to make a decision as to whether the City wants to sell fireworks within the city limits and does Bangor want to have the same or similar restrictions for security as with the sale of medical marijuana. Gastia spoke about the need for buffer zones around schools, hospitals, nursing home, daycares, and elderly housing facilities. Conlow was requested to ask the Council Chair to set up a Council Workshop to discuss this issue. Damon agreed with Longo that the legislation should not be so restrictive as to deter new business. He noted that municipalities should have common rules in place. Palmer agreed with the suggested Workshop but not the legislation. Longo was okay with a Council Workshop but felt that public comment could be heard at any meeting. Blanchette clarified that the legislation has been passed by the State Legislature and fireworks within Maine are legal. Bangor has yet to pass their law and that’s the role of the Council. The pros and cons need to be aired. 2. Authorization to Apply for a Johnson Foundation/Pew Charitable Trust Grant in the Amount of $125,000 in Conjunction with Eastern Maine Development Corporation Yardley noted that Eastern Maine Development Corporation has been chosen to submit a full proposal to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Pew Charitable Trusts and has asked the City of Bangor to partner with them on the proposal. The grant of up to $125,000 would support the regionalized use of Health Impact Assessments to evaluate much needed economic development projects with an eye towards mitigating and improving health outcomes. This will promote communication and collaboration between public health and economic works resulting in livable and sustainable communities that become a desired destination for new businesses and residents. Through this approach, the City proposes to work collaboratively with Mobilize Maine to identify projects early in the planning phase to directly connect economic development and public health. Yardley asked for the Committee’s authority to continue working with EMDC. Longo noted that the City had paid EMDC to seek funding for the arena project. Responding, Blanchette said that the City has enjoyed a good working relationship with EMDC on health and transportation issue related grants, and the fundraising for the arena is completely separate. She noted that EMDC is still working on the arena fundraising project. Yardley spoke about the benefit of Mobilize Maine. Responding to Blanchette, Yardley said that when he first came to the City 85% of his salary was paid through the General Fund. At this time, it is close to 40%. At one point it was 26% but grants come and go. Blanchette said that the public needs to hear that the City is compensated for administration fees through these grants. A motion was made and seconded to approve staff recommendation. The vote was unanimous. 3. Authorization to Apply for and Accept a Maine Office of Substance Abuse Grant of $8,000 Yardley noted that this is a new grant offered to the Penquis Public Health District by the Maine Office of Substance Abuse to prevent diversion and abuse of controlled substances through increased use of the Prescription Monitoring Program by healthcare providers. Funding will be used to help prescribers of controlled substances recognize the magnitude of the prescription drug diversion problem, understand the role they play in reducing diversion, and view the Prescription Monitoring Program as a valuable resource in reducing diversion. A motion was made and seconded to approve staff recommendation to apply for and accept the $8,000 grant. The vote was unanimous. 4. Update on Health and Community Service Department Programs:  Women, Infants and Children (WIC)  General Assistance (G.A.) Department Director Shawn Yardley provided the Committee with an overview and update regarding the status of the WIC and the G.A. program. WIC is a state grant with federal dollars, and there is no cost to the taxpayers of Bangor. It is an important program and has been targeted for significant cuts at the federal level. One of the decisions that Yardley is wrestling with concerns staffing. For a number of years, the City has employed a model where there has been clinic assistant and supporting nutritionists to get the most out of the staff as possible. Many other WIC programs in Maine have been forced to change their staffing, and unfortunately, Bangor finds itself in that same place. A decision needed to be made on a clinic assistant position. The individual in that position was a 21 year veteran employee. The funding will not be available in the federal fiscal year in October 1, 2011. Yardley hopes that will be the extent of staffing cuts, but it will impact services because of reduced dollars. Last winter, G.A. was swamped with a backlog. There were some salary savings due to personnel changes. The Council approved hiring an individual who had previously worked for the Department through the end of the fiscal year June 30, 2011. A part- time grant manager position was eliminated, employees were reassigned, and Yardley moved some things with grant dollars to legitimately pick up more of Yardley’s Administrative Assistant’s time. This allowed Yardley to bring back the part-time employee for two days per week. The backlog for G.A. is now 3½ weeks out. Yardley asked if within the existing budget he can go back to using those resources to hire a part-time, two day per week, additional G.A. employee. Responding to Blanchette, Conlow said that she knows that Yardley has looked at this before making the request, but she would like to have a discussion with Yardley and Cyr. If it works, Conlow is comfortable with the request. A motion was made and seconded to approve staff recommendation in conjunction with the City Manager’s approval. The vote was unanimous. Responding to Longo, Conlow said that during last year’s problematic time in this area, staff talked about it, rearranged some things, and found a way to fund temporary assistance through June 30, 2011. Yardley has another plan to look at doing something similar to address the backlog. Conlow noted that there are not a lot of funds available for extra programs. Blanchette said that the Congressional Delegation need to be brought to a Council meeting to explain what is happening. She asked Conlow to arrange a meeting. Adjourned at 6:25 pm.