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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-12-15 Government Operations Committee Minutes Government Operations Committee December 15, 2009 Minutes Councilor Attendance: Wheeler, Gratwick, Hawes Staff Attendance: Tracy Willette, Paul Nicklas, Barrett, Farrar, Shawn Yardley Committee Chair Wheeler opened the meeting at 5:00 p.m. 1. Review of Trail Use Survey Results Willette spoke about the Trail Use Policy and the need to update, create a new policy or leave as is. To this point the trails are treated the same as any of the other parks in Bangor. As part of the process, the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board determined that there should be an opportunity for the general public to weigh in on the trails, especially since the use of those trails have seen an increase in use over time. After several drafts, the Board came up with a survey that was made available in October. It was publicized through the local media and resulted in over 550 responses. A public meeting was scheduled in November, which was attended by 15 or 16 folks. The Advisory Board then took the results from both the survey and the public meeting to form a consensus to bring to the Government Operations Committee. The consensus is that the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board needs to move forward with a larger discussion about perhaps changing and creating some type of leash policy within the City. They are also seeking the Committee’s sense are providing the Committee with some options that the Advisory Board has found through their research. As part of the review process, Willette noted that the Board looked at other communities in Maine and found that most have some sort of leash ordinance when it comes to their trails. The data that was collected found that the Rolland Perry City Forest generated the most discussion. It has been suggested that the City Forest should have designated trails or specified times as leash and off-leash. Willette said that designating a trail network that is entirely off-leash while having other trails for on-leash for dogs might be a solution. Some communities have what is called a leash in hand policy or ordinance whereby an owner should have voice control and a leash in hand if needed. The Board is more than willing to pursue further information and create more detailed options for this Committee but asked for feedback in order to move forward. The other larger point that resulted from this research was the need for what is called “the rules of the road”. The Board heard from different levels of bikers and the conflict it can create. Hawes recognized the Board for all its hard work and feels that some “rules of the road” are needed and published. She feels that the Board needs to continue to work on that. Responding to Hawes, Barrett said that Bangor operates under State Laws that requires that the animal be under the control of the owner and that can be by voice. There is no State Law or local Ordinance that requires the animal to be on a leash at any location. He stated that it is possible to require a stricter set of requirements. Hawes said it is worth looking into Gratwick commended Willette for his work and wondered if this should go to the full Council or a Council Workshop. He also wondered if the Committee decided to go through this incrementally, it would seem that this group would be able to obtain some options and then proceed accordingly. Specifically, Gratwick thinks that areas of the City Forest should allow dogs only on leash with appropriate signage in place on certain days. He suggested this be done on a trial basis, and later looking, at the success or lack of before making decisions would be the best way to move forward. He also referred to the survey and stated that ¼ or 1/3 of the people are not happy with the way it is in regards to the dogs off-leash and he thinks this needs attention. Willette stated that what the Committee is looking for is this type of guidance and stated that a lot of the other communities designate different parks as on-leash and off-leash parks. Responding to Willette, Gratwick responded by saying that he would like to see all parks and trails have specific designation. Willette responded to Wheeler saying that he is getting a sense from this Committee that the Board should move forward in order to put together more suggestions for the Committee and a willingness to pursue a more detailed policy and/or Ordinance option for consideration. Barrett responded to Wheeler saying that it would require an Ordinance. Such an Ordinance could be set up in a way that it allows the City to try different approaches in different parks or even different areas of the same park. He indicated it would be difficult to enforce regulations on public property and feels that it would be difficult to enforce even the Ordinance. This issue has come up in the past, about 10 years ago, and the Council has approach and requested an Ordinance for a leash law in City Parks. That discussion turned out to be very controversial and the Council was unwilling to take any steps to regulate dogs on public property. Barrett thinks that Willette is interested in knowing if the Council is willing to take a look at this subject again Barrett agreed that trying these suggestions such as designating Essex Street Park as an off-leach and Prentiss Street Park as on on-leash where they are close to each other would give people options. He believes that all of this will be controversial and people will complain. Although having strong opinions on this subject, Gratwick feels that Councilors should put their feelings aside in order to find a solution. He feels it needs to be taken with slow and with incremental steps. He also acknowledges that mistakes will be made and it will be important to listen and receive feedback. Barrett said that enforcement will be a challenge, particularly in places like the City Forest where there is a large geographical area. City Ordinances can be enforced by constables and do not have to be enforced by Police Officers. In the past the City has not made Tracy Willette, a constable but he would be a good candidate. Willette said that regardless of what the City puts out for Ordinances or policies, the enforcement will be a problem. There is a waste issue that the parks struggle with and he agrees that education will be required in the beginning for both the staff and the public. Wheeler thought that one possibility would be the folks from the Health and Community Services that are on General Assistance be a part of the City Forest patrol. Based upon feedback this evening, Willette will continue to work with the Advisory Board, and return to the Committee with specific recommendations for consideration. 2. Consideration of Dissolving the Community Advisory Group Hawes stated the Council is not necessarily looking to dissolve this Committee and that it does not sunset until January 2011. When this group was formed, its mission was to discuss issues relating to the City’s methadone clinics. There was a very large number of participants on the Committee and has served this community and the clinics very well. It is a place where updates are given at the state level about how things are going in each clinic. Because the Committee has done a really good job, things are running smoothly at these clinics right now and meetings are only being held quarterly. There were only two meetings last year and the Committee has gotten much smaller. The group has decided to look at possibly meeting quarterly as part of the Government Operations Committee to give an update, or only when issues arise. The Community Advisory Group members were in agreement and would like to be kept on a list to remain informed. Responding to Wheeler, Hawes said that there was also discussion about these same members being involved with the issue of medical marijuana dispensaries. She said that the Advisory Group has a wealth of experience and dedicated people that deserve a great round of applause for what they put in. She would like the door to remain open for them in the future. Tim Woodcock said that he has been on the Committee for about four or five years. In the beginning there were a lot of pressing issues but feels that that the Group has served a very salutary purpose. This Group would ask these providers to meet with them in order to provide updates with what was being done, what their numbers were, and what their challenges were. There was almost always a representative from the Police Department present at these meetings and there were times that they shared information that was very helpful to each other. The City does have an experience of going back several years ago where this was a very fractious issue and he felt that it was attributable to people and not listening to each other. He said that within the last year or year and a half this Group has met a good deal less frequently and the discussions have been less substantive. At the Group’s last meeting, a very candid discussion took place regarding the valuable purpose in having the providers meet regularly with citizens and Councilors. Woodcock would like to supplant this Group with quarterly meetings with a Council Committee similar to how the Water District meets from time to time with updates or issues. He also reminded the Committee that back when the City was first presented with the methadone question, the whole federal construct for these methadone clinics was very different. The jurisdiction federally over these methadone clinics was in the Food and Drug Administration and it moved about 2 years ago to the Department of the Health and Community Services. The whole orientation of it changed a great deal and one of the results of that was that regulations were re-written to give the State a good deal more latitude. The City is now in a position that if an issue arises, they can press the providers for changes. Because of the personal relationship between the City and the providers and how the laws have changed, the providers are more likely to make necessary changes. Yardley reminded the Committee that the Public Advisory Board was created a few years ago by Ordinance. The mission of the Board “will provide advice and guidance to the City of Bangor and to other public and private health care organizations and public policy makers to improve the health status of the regional health population.“ Under that Advisory Board is a Substance Abuse Task Force. On that task force are area providers and Yardley wonders if the existing structure could serve the Community Advisory Group as well. The Board periodically updates the Government Operations Committee and those meeting are posted in the City’s schedule and open to the public. Hawes asked for clarification from Yardley’s suggestion and asked if he wants to take the Community Advisory Group as it is and start working under the Public Health Advisory Board to meet quarterly. The Public Health Board would come back to this Committee for update. Yardley suggested that there might be an opportunity for the two groups, the Substance Abuse Task Force and the existing Community Advisory Group to come together and work something out respecting the need for a link back to the City Council in a formal way with periodic updates. She asked Yardley if he saw any problem with that body becoming incorporated with the Public Health Advisory Board. Yardley said that change can be an issue for everyone. He thinks one of the advantages is to put this issue into a broader public health context, which he believes has been lacking. The Advisory Board and in particular the Task Force has been working on a lot of issues related to substance abuse and recovery, and he thinks this would be a natural fit. He thinks that there should be some discussions to ensure that everyone’s interest can continue to be represented and that it is not too soon into a different agenda. Hawes says she thinks it is worth trying and she would like to see a joint meeting as to what the goals might be going forward and then if this group is the group that happens to oversee, then a report would be brought back. The full Council would need to be involved as well. Doug Grant, store manager of Classic Tuxedo – Strictly Formal, brought up some issues that he does not feel is being addressed. Grant suggested that since Shaw’s is no longer behind the plaza and the parking is available in that location, there could perhaps be some type of ramp installed for the medical methadone clinic patients to park in that lot and walk to the clinic. Hawes responded to Grant admitting that this information is new to most of the Committee and she said that members that were a part of this Committee from the beginning are no longer here and did not necessarily pass the torch on to the newer members. At this point, Grant’s suggestion would need to be looked into and with the land not owned by the City it would need to go through many different channels before that was explored. Nicklas stated that the Shaw’s property is privately owned, but that the parking issue can and will certainly be looked at. Hawes said that she was under the assumption that the business owners from that plaza were still having meetings on a somewhat regular basis with the clinic management. She assumes these meeting are not happening any longer and Grant confirmed her suspicions. Hawes asked Nicklas to contact the clinic and set up a meeting with the strip mall business and the Advisory Group members. Gratwick feels that having someone to take this Committee and its mission to heart makes a great deal of since as opposed to having it as an occasional add-on to the Government Operation Committee. Barrett’s suggestion would be to ask Yardley to work with Nicklas and Hawes to put together a more specific proposal that would tie these things together and to have details to look at. He also suggested putting it into a larger context. It is known that substance abuse is a major problem in this community in terms of a variety of issues. For example there are health related issues and police related issues. The Police Chief has been asked on a number of occasions to come in and talk about that. It would makes since to periodically once or twice a year have a report back from police and H&CS talking about the abuse problem in Bangor and in the region. Wheeler recommended that this discussion be continued pending the outcome of a meeting between the Advisory Group and the Strip Mall merchants. Once the Government Operations Committee has been updated he feels it should go to full Council for a workshop discussion. The motion was moved that the Advisory Group and the business owners of the Hogan Road strip mall as well as the clinic to get together and discuss the issues brought up tonight. Hawes also moved that she, Nicklas, and Yardley meet to layout a proposal of going forward and how this Advisory Group can be incorporated into the Public Health Advisory Board. Once those are done the discussion will come back to the Government Operations Committee and then move it on to the full Council in a workshop. 3. Council Ordinance 10-030, Amending Chapter 134, General Assistance of the Code of the City of Bangor to Provide for Staff Approval of Statutory Increases in General Assistance Amounts Yardley said that each fall he brings before the Committee a request to change the overall maximum levels offered through General Assistance based on information that is sent from the State. This always happens with very little lead time that is not at all consistent with the process the Council needs to go through to approve. The City of Portland adopted an ordinance a number of years ago allowing them to make those adjustments that are required automatically without bringing the numbers before the Council in the manner that has been done historically. The Assistant City Solicitor has drafted language to allow the City to accomplish that. Nicklas added that he also made some minor changes in the Ordinance in order to clarify, to some extent, and put things into a slightly more intuitive order. He also stated that the Ordinance is somewhat shorter due to the removal of the charts. These charts will now be on file at the H&CS. Responding to Gratwick, Barrett said that only vouchers are given and no money is given to individuals. They get a voucher for rent and a voucher for food. If they go to the supermarket to buy food, the City gets a report back from the supermarket as to what they have purchased and how much it costs. Yardley added that the people receiving the voucher cannot go back and return items to get cash for their purchases. He said that General Assistance is better able to do that because of the relationship with the vendors than perhaps what use to be called “food stamps”. A motion was made and seconded to recommend approval of Ordinance 10-030 to Council. Adjourned at 6:25 p.m.