HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-11-25 Government Operations Committee Minutes � GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS COMMITTEE
MINUTES
November 25, 2003
Councilors Present: Richard Greene, Anne Allen, Peter D'Errico
Staff Present: Bob Farrar, Chief Winslow, Chief Cammack, Asst. Chief Cheverie
Others Present: None
The meeting convened at 5:00 p.m.
1. Council Ordinance 04-20, Amending Article II, Section 9-19 of the Code
of the City of Bangor, Regular Meetings, to Change the time of Regular
Council Meetings from 7:00 pm to 7:30 pm.
Farrar noted that this item was discussed at the recently held Council Retreat.
. The general consensus was to move the Council meeting to 7:30 p.m. to allow
additional time for workshops and executive sessions prior to the Council
meeting.
The Committee approved referring this ordinance to the full Council for passage.
2. Memorandum of Agreement between the City of Bangor Police
Department and Maine Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) for
Explosive Mitigation Equipment
Chief Winslow indicated that the City had been awarded and has accepted
$470,000 to purchase explosive mitigation equipment including a bomb robot,
self-contained bomb trailer and protective suits. In order to accept the
equipment, the City must enter into an agreement with MEMA covering a variety
of areas including training, maintenance, liability and indicating that we will
respond to other jurisdictions if requested by MEMA. He noted that the
distributed agreement sets forth these conditions.
Greene wanted to know who has the liability for repairs of equipment if MEMA
retains ownership of the property. Winslow said that they were responsible if
they damage the equipment. Cammack said that they have discussed
• establishing a contingency fund for equipment updates.
_ _ _ __ _ __ _-- -- ,, _- - —
The Committee voted to authorize the Police Department to execute the �
agreement.
3. Strategic National Stockpile of Pharmaceuticals— Process for
distribution in the event of a major health emergency (Police
Department) �
Winslow said that the Center for Disease Control along with other federal
agencies has been working on a plan that in the event of a large-scale public
health emergency in Maine, pharmaceuticals would be shipped to the state and
distributed to the affected areas. According to the preliminary plan, Bangor
could play a significant role in this process. Bangor has been identified as the
potential drop site for the pharmaceuticals, because of the serviceability of the
airport. The impact for the City will be security and we will be working with the
Maine State Police at the storage site. As this was for informational purposes, no
action was required.
4. Insurance Services Office, Inc. (ISO) Rating for Fire Suppression - City
of Bangor
Fire Chief Cammack briefed the Committee on the status of the City's ISO rating
for fire suppression. He said that the rating system goes from one to ten, one •
being the best and ten being the worst. The City has received an ISO rating of
two since 1990. This relates to the fire insurance classification for the City. A
recent review has been undertaken by ISO and the City is close to receiving a
rating of two. One item of contention is dispatch and the fact that the County
says that the City should have three and ISO says that we should have five.
Another area of concern is that we are down to one aerial with fewer staff.
Cammack said that we have sent a proposal to ISO regarding these areas and
are waiting to hear if this would be enough to get us 80 points to receive a class
two rating.
Cammack discussed the proposed accreditation process through the
International Fire Chief's Association by which insurance companies may
determine insurance rates. The Department continues to explore this option.
5. Hazardous Materials Emergency Response Plan
Chief Cammack noted that the Bangor Fire Department has prepared a
Hazardous Materials Emergency Response Plan for the City of Bangor. This plan
supplements the City's Basic Emergency Response Plan. The HazMat plan
contains information and instructions necessary when responding to a hazardous
materials incident. He noted that the plan needs to be updated yearly. .
•
D'Errico wanted to know where were the most hazardous areas of the City.
Cheverie noted the map in the packet, which depicts the hazard levels. He noted
that Bangor High School has volunteered to place this information into maps that
will be much more presentable.
Cheverie discussed the various aspects of the plan and hazards located
throughout the City.
The Committee approved referring this item to full Council for passage.
6. City Council Committee Structure
Allen said that she had requested this item to discuss the relationship and
responsiveness of the Committees to the community, council and city
departments. Farrar provided a copy of the current City code that outlines the
Council Committees and their areas of responsibility.
Allen indicated that the Council had previously discussed the possibility of
reorganizing the Committee responsibilities with transportation being one area
and public safety another. She wanted to know which direction the City might
� like to go.
Farrar noted that he had feedback from the Council Retreat and outlined it for
the Committee. One item was to move the Council meeting from 7:00 p.m. to
7:30 p.m. to accommodate additional preliminary workshops and executive
sessions on Monday night. This might eliminate the need for the Strategic
Issues Committee on the first and third Monday nights, to allow for Council to
meet with other area groups or area legislators. He noted that there was also
considerable discussion about incorporating the transportation concept with
Infrastructure and Development Support or as a stand-alone committee, with
transportation including BIA, BAT-Community Connector and Harbor. Farrar said
that there was also talk of starting another Committee to discuss appointments
and to hear personnel grievances involving non-union employees.
Greene said that there seemed to be interest in forming a separate Committee
for transportation, which could potentially include rail and the parking garage.
Chief Winslow and Chief Cammack stated that the Government Operations
Committee has served them well, and they do not have enough safety issues to
warrant a separate committee.
Farrar noted that Health and Welfare and Parks and Recreation are also
• departments of that functionally report to Government Operations. He indicated
i
that the Airport reports to Business and Economic Development and that Harbor •
reports to Infrastructure and Development Support. Farrar said that at the
retreat, the consensus was that it would be beneficial to bring all transportation-
related functions under one governing committee. Allen said that some items
that come into this committee are referred to other committees. Farrar said that
there are times when more than one committee hears the same item, however,
the intent is to keep items to one committee. Farrar said that the City Manager
is compiling the list of recommendations from the retreat and will be discussing
with the Council Chair how to proceed. Greene said that it would be beneficial to
review this report first and discuss this item at a later date. No specific action
was taken on the item.
7. Acquisition of New Council Chairs
Councilor Allen said that she requested that the chairs currently in use at the
Council desks and dais be replaced. Farrar said that we have 12 chairs, and the
price range is $200-500 for a good quality chair. D'Errico asked if there was a
fund available to replace the chairs with ergonomic/safety funds. Farrar said
that he would review this with the Finance Director. He noted that the total
would be $3,600-4,200 to replace the chairs. He said that this was not a
budgeted item, however if the Council were interested in pursuing this, we would
find the funds for it. Allen wanted to know why we couldn't use the
undesignated fund balance for this item, unless we could come up with a grant. �
Farrar said that there are times when funds are remaining from capital projects
that we may have access to. Allen said that she would not want the funds to
come from the operating budget. Greene said that certainly no one would
dispute the lack of ergonomic quality of the chairs. The Committee suggested
staff find funds for new chairs and that the color and design complement the
current Council Chamber.
Greene wanted to know if the renovation of the Council chambers was moving
forward. Farrar said that this was an item in the budget for last year, however it
was not funded. Allen wanted to know if there was a design to review. Farrar
said that he would follow up with the City Manager. He said that there have
• been complaints about councilors not being able to see other councilors or the
mayor. Allen wanted to know if we could review the plans for Hampden's
recently renovated chambers. Farrar said he would check with their Town
Manager.
The meeting adjourned at 6:05 p.m.
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