3.19.2025 Fall River City Council - Public Safety

My marble coming.

Hey Hey, hey hey hey hey.

City Council Committee on Public Safety will convene March 19, 2026. Madam Cler, call the RO.

Councelor Canuel here.

Councelor Reposa here.

Chair Puck here. Pursuant to the open meeting law, any person may make an audio or video recording of this public meeting or may transmit the meeting through any medium.

Attendees are therefore advised as such recordings or transmissions are being made whether perceived or unpersceived by those present and are deemed acknowledged and permissible.

Item number one on the agenda, citizens input. Madam clerk, anybody?

Nobody for citizens input. Item number two, minutes for September 9th of 2025.

Motion to approve made by council repos seconded by council annual. All those in favor I no nays.

Item number three a communication letter from city resident regarding enforcement of city ordinance regarding commercial vehicle parking. This was referred on 1014 of 25.

I believe we have um the person that wrote the letter as well.

Miss Credor, if you'd like to come down,

how are you?

Good. How are you?

Good. You just state your names and your address if you don't mind for the record.

Monica Core, 1325 Logan Street.

Thank you, Chief. Just Oh, Kelly Fittado, chief of police.

Thank you.

Stephanie MacArthur, director of traffic and parking.

Thank you. I know there was an issue. Um I had read your letter regarding commercial vehicle parking and uh we had gone by a few times. I guess you'd call the police department to you know report the vehicle. Um and due to city ordinance I know when we send the police officer there to look at the vehicle. Um the ordinance states between 5:00 p.m.

and 7 a.m. that the vehicle um can't stand for any longer than an hour I believe. And um it has to be loading or unloading. So when the officer goes by to look at the vehicle to, you know, verify that it's there, he's got to come back within an hour to again to see. So it becomes a a process. Um I did have a conversation with the chief today about addressing the ordinance itself and

coming up with a you know a more feasible solution to address this. Uh I know that commercial vehicle parking in the city as a whole is an issue. Um, I had mentioned to Chief Fitado uh today that Kennedy Park, Bradford Avenue, that area, every night there's quite a few U-Hauls, Enterprise trucks that are left there overnight taking up residential parking. So, it is something that we are looking into.

Okay. Yeah, it was just it was dangerous and ended up being a pretty bad accident and I was disappointed that I had called about it to prevent, you know, that happening the accident happening and it, you know, nobody did anything so it could have been bad. Like they were like very close to my fence and me and my family were like decorating for Halloween. Like if that trailer truck

would have hit us close enough, we would have got hurt.

Yeah.

So is it a tractor trailer that's popular?

It was like Yeah. A tractor trailer. He had It was like double wheeled like it was a Was it just that one time or is it continually?

No, it's not continuously. It was like the first time. So I was like, "What is you know what's the trailer truck doing?"

Yeah, it's weird.

Yeah, it was weird.

Down or something?

I don't know. It was kind of sketchy to be honest. the guy like lived three houses down and when the police came he like didn't know he had to call the guy that owned the truck. I don't know. It was a little It was a little sketchy after the police.

He had no choice. It was it was like smoking and everything. They had to get it out of there.

Okay.

Yeah.

Yeah. It sounds like it broke down.

Um Well, it was a U-Haul was coming up the street and it slammed into the trailer truck.

Oh.

So the trailer truck Oh, there was Okay.

flipped onto the sidewalk. Like So here's my house. say the trailer truck and it it went onto the side. It was a big accident. I I actually sent pictures of it so you guys could see it.

Yeah.

Yep.

Yeah. It was scary. And my husband was walking on that sidewalk just maybe 3 minutes earlier. So like good thing he was already in the yard, but that trailer truck could have hit him, right?

So I was like, "Oh my god." It it was scary.

Yeah. So we're going to we're going to try to um have the audience addressed, I guess. But council proposal. Go ahead.

Yeah. Yeah, I was just going to say, can we can we have the traffic board look at this first and then make some recommendations to the committee on ordinance to see if there's any any appetite to look at the ordinance? I mean, I know this is probably not the first and not won't be the last conversation we have about um commercial vehicles or larger vehicles like this parking on city streets, especially at

random hours of the day, right? And for us, um one of the issues is that you can park for one hour, [clears throat] right? So if a cruiser does come by, note the time, then he's going to come back. But how about if he gets four or five other calls, right?

You know, and then you never get the same officer going back. So uh we talked uh with councelor Pekkham today about about that in particular. So some of the things we're doing at the police department is like reviewing some policies that have been in place. So that's something we talked about about doing the same thing with some of the city ordinances in in the fines like it's 25 bucks. So if you have a tractor

trailer, they're going to pay the 25 bucks. I'd rather get a I'd rather get a ticket for 25 bucks than pay 65 bucks for for parking. So there's no real deterrent with that. So like we did with the working on the um illegal dumping, the same thing like we we have to stop looking at the fines and correct. So I would just ask um so we can do it two ways. Um, and I'll make a

motion in a minute, but the traffic board look into this particular situation. And then chief, if you want to communicate with myself as the chairman of ordinance to look at any possible ordinance changes that we want to consider um in reference to what you're referring to, I think that'd be the double way to deal with that.

I'll put something together.

That'd be great. So, I'll make a motion um that this committee send a letter to the traffic board um to address this particular issue. Um and if the traffic board can provide recommendations back to us for action, I get a motion for letter to the traffic board. Second, second on that. All in favor? I Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you.

Motion to lift item four from the table.

Motion to lift item four has been made and seconded. All those in favor? I item number four, resolution to discuss traffic and safety concerns in the area of Diamond Regional Vacational Technical High School tabled on 429 of 24.

Hello, Mr. Wley.

How are you, sir?

It's always good to see you, sir.

I'm seeing my glasses.

This is driving.

Good afternoon. Hi, Brian Bentley, superintendent director of Diamond Regional Vocational Technical High School. And with me is Leslie Wacaser, assistant superintendent and principal.

Thank you for coming tonight.

So, the resolution was filed to address traffic concerns in the area of the school. I know [clears throat] this was filed quite a while ago, um, and then it hasn't been heard since April of 24. Um, how would you say the the traffic has been there recently within the past year or two?

It's been uh very good. So, in April of 24 uh April of 2024 when I was here, the questions were concerning traffic, foot traffic, student coming into the building, leaving the building, being on the street. And at that time, our construction had just really begun.

Since this time, that's happened almost two years later. Now what we have is a building that's about 78% complete with a cra the construction traffic has its own entrance and exit. They arrive uh before the students are there in the morning. So their arrival time is about 5:36 in the morning and they exit well after the students students are dismissed for the day. Uh in the meantime, the traffic pattern to enter

the school for parents, student drivers has also changed where it is all one way going into the building. It circles around it and then it exits out on the uh towards the north side onto Locust Street uh facing Dunbar and uh Fenmore Street as we progress. And that's the first phase when the school opens in August of this year. Four months from now when it opens up, uh there will be another

traffic pattern will be established where the traffic coming in will cut around the new building. Uh and it's going to totally open up once again uh for students to enter the building safely, enter the parking area safely.

Uh they have their own dedicated entrance and exit. Parents will be diverted into a certain traffic pattern so it will be less congested. Um, as far as walking uh on the street because dismissal time and at the start of the school day, those are the two busy times. Uh, we did time out how long it takes to clear the building. When the bell rings at 2:28, within 7 minutes, almost all the traffic is gone. Um, the

students are adhering to the sidewalks that are there. It was good to see that the water department has a sidewalk that does go all the way through. Of course, there are no sidewalks on the Bedford Street uh on either side except for a small portion on the northerly side of one section of Bedford Street. Um there's a very small sidewalk there, but the students in general uh are safe.

There are some crosswalks that are there. It is patrolled by our SRO who was there. Uh Bobby Duza does a great job. Our security is out there. And uh it took a while to fall into a good rhythm in 24. We're now two full years into it and there's a very good pattern that's going on.

Good. Um, you had actually touched upon a question that I had. The northeast corner of Stonehaven in Bedford, I know that that was a problem a few years back where the shrubbery was overgrown over the sidewalk and we were receiving complaints to rectify that. So, that's been rectified. That sidewalks the house on the on the corner, right?

uh which is uh that is not our property as you know uh but that it has been cut back. We did have someone go there and they have cut it back uh to trim it back because there is a stop sign that's there on the corner of Stone Haven Road and Locust Street. Um and that is fully exposed. Uh it did get overgrown but it's been all cut back. So it is in my

opinion of looking at it and listening to and I rely on the neighbors. The neighbors are very good at letting me know what works and doesn't work for them as as as they should. I'm with you.

Um and we have a very good person on the corner there that watches this and uh have not heard from that individual in about six months which tells me that you're doing a good job. Things are good. What's that?

Good. You must be doing a good job.

Well, I want to say that the way that the security works, the police department works, the way that the traffic patent through our architect and construction crew has restructured things, it's a good flow.

Okay.

So, that same gentleman had made a complaint to the police department about accidents there. So, the traffic uh unit did a study there and um the complaint was just made November of 2025 saying that there's excessive accidents there, but there was only four accidents and those were all in 2021. Two were actually at the beginning of um one was in May, one was in September of 2021 and

those were actually inside the lot of of Diamond. Uh and those were just minor kids with new licenses trying to get in and out of parking spots sideswiping each other which happens right. was actually my first accident was at Diamond Park and lot my freshman year of high school went through the gate. My friend actually was the driver.

Anyway, I got sidetracked.

But um so four altogether they were they were all in 2021 and we have not had an accident uh thankfully since December 8th of 2021.

That was and that was a single ve vehicle crash. the operator uh struck the curb in blue sky.

Okay.

No, that's that since then we haven't had any accidents on Stone Haven Road or any of those intersections, which is which is good.

It was when when the construction started, it did throw the neighborhood into disarray. It's something new, major construction vehicles coming in multiple times of the day. Uh and then it fell into the patent of how it got worked out. The construction company and the architects uh have worked very well with the school in make sureing that safety is number one. They work around any of

the hours that we have of early um dismissal uh so that they're not interfering uh with anything that the school is operating on. So sports dismissals, students staying after school, u anything that would be out of the ordinary of a workday for the construction people, they adhere to what the school is doing. They're very in tune with us.

Good. Miss Mc MA Arthur, sorry. Anything on your end?

No, I mean I can say personally I drop my son off every morning and it does the traffic flow. It It's phenomenal.

Parents adhere to everything. Students are great. I mean, no issues with the students. It just it flows. It only takes you're out of it within 7 to 10 minutes.

Yeah.

Okay. Council Kendall, so this resolution specifically had concerns with the amount of foot traffic. Do you guys have a sense of what percent of the population at Diamond is actually walking outside the school rather than taking transportation or getting picked up?

If I could counsel, I'd like to put it into the a different way. We have about 80% of the student population is transported either by bus or by car.

there's a very minimal amount of we're talking uh 1 1465 students on a daily basis uh not including the ones that are out working on co-op. So if 20% might be too high I don't think there's 280 students walking to school but it's very very minimal. The majority of the students are either transported by bus or they have their own parental uh drop offs or they have uh private vehicles

their own vehicles. So there's not a lot of walkers. After school, there are those students who walk the neighborhood and it's very evident. You'll see them walk to Stone Haven Road, turn on turn a left on Stone Haven, go down Bedford Street uh as they're walking towards I think it's it's either the 7-Eleven or the store that's on the corner, maybe for a refreshment. Really don't know.

But, um that's the area that probably is mostly walked because they're going in a certain direction, but other than that, it's uh it's not much council. So, it's not much at all.

Okay. And since this resolution was filed back in 2021, uh I believe it was indicated that the water department has added a sidewalk.

Correct. The water uh the water department and its facility uh had a sidewalk installed that would be on its east side of the facility and it runs the stretch right at the diamond gates as we call it there and it continues on right to the main driveway of the facility. That has helped a lot because the students go on that. other side of the street is all grass.

Yeah.

But the students do stay on the sidewalk.

Okay. So, we have made improvements to access sidewalks. The only other question I would have would be around crosswalks in the area. Are they up to date with the painting? I haven't been up there.

They could use a refresh, but the the sidewalk is I mean the crosswalks are visible there.

I yield. Thank you.

All right. Um, is it possible to take a look at the crosswalks up there and report back to us just to let us know what condition they're in?

Yeah, of course. And and that that season's just starting up and we'll do that in the summer. We hit the schools is mainly in the summer once there's no traffic out there when we do the schools.

Okay.

There's a lot of construction vehicles going. So, a lot of the wear of the um crosswalks that were put in, you know, it tears it up a lot quicker than just regular traffic, those heavy uh equipment for the building.

We do expect that when the project is totally done as this summer we open up for the students, but there's still another year plus on the project because the fields, the athletic fields, the track, the soccer will all start coming to life after that. Our main goal was getting the building open with students, teachers, uh, and getting that flow going. That's happening in August of 26.

Um, but as we go along, we know that there will have to be certain improvements made for crosswalks and for safety purposes. We know that.

Okay. I don't know if it's the appetite of the the uh committee, maybe leave to draw and then if there's any other issues in the future, uh, we can definitely address them then. But as of right now, it seems like it's uh it's pretty kosher over there traffic-wise.

So motion sane motion leave to the draw made. Is there a second?

Do we need to make a motion? We can just hold the discussion.

Oh, you could just hold. Yeah.

Yeah, we don't we don't need to do anything.

We tell the discussion if if we want to continue it, file a resolution to address it later on.

All right. Yeah, sounds good to me.

I withdraw my motion.

Thank you very much.

Thank you very much.

Good seeing you, too.

If you're in the neighborhood, stop in for lunch. I'm serious.

Only open until May this year.

Yes.

Item number five, communication mayor and letter to Robert Bey, executive director of Atlanta's Charter School regarding public safety concerns in the area of Jefferson and Dickinson Street in the limited use of Dickinson Street entrance referred December 13th of 22.

Mr. Bey, how are you? Can you just your name and uh where you're from for the record please?

Sure. Uh Robert Batty, executive director, Atlantis Charter School.

Thank you. Um I reviewed the uh the the past filing and I guess the issue was the access to Atlanta Chart School being from the northerly direction of the southerntherly direction being Dickinson and Jefferson Street. Um and since this resolution was filed um there has been some limited access to the use of the Dickinson Street access which is uh entrance which has seems to have alleviated the problem

somewhat from what I from what I understand it has. Yeah. You know as I was mentioning earlier we we try to be as responsive to the neighborhood as possible. The situation we're in now where um the Dickinson access is used for emergency purposes and then a limited arrival and dismissal. So, it's open for a couple hours in the morning, couple hours in the afternoon. We keep it to the some of the early grades, K to

2, I believe. Um, and that seems to have alleviated a lot of the congestion that we were seeing on Jefferson. Um, and it's it's it's been a compromise that has worked relatively well since since that letter.

Okay. Anything from you, Chief, in regards to this? I'd read the letter and I know the police department was CC on it. I'm not sure if you had gotten a chance. It is it is not recent.

Um, Mrs. Maca just sent this to me because I know that Sergeant Ferris was dealing with this uh from the traffic unit but um it's in Florida so I get to speak on the traffic. So um back in my Saja SRO days I was a huge proponent of opening uh that Dickson Street because it just made sense with the traffic flow and the backup that it caused on Jefferson Street was just

outrageous. So, I felt that that was an even more of a safety issue to have that Dickinson Street shut. You know, um over the past couple years, there was a compromise for the elementary school.

And uh I'm looking at the data here.

They're saying that people are complaining they're uh flying. There's no high risk during the times they're complaining about. Um there's 3,026 total number of vehicles and um most of them are in compliance or low risk. So it's 25 miles per hour on that street. Uh so 1,031 of the people are compliant and 1,800 are low risk. There's no high risk.

All right. Um, and like I said, we had spoken before this and uh it seems with that Dickinson Street entrance being available that whatever issues we were having uh a null and void at this time, council Daniel. Yeah, I think the one observation I have because I do uh go that route every day um is that one observation I've seen is that there are students who walk from Dickinson Street to the school

or particularly if it gets backed up in that road between Dickinson Street and the school, parents will drop them off and they will walk down and there are no sidewalks for the children to walk on.

So, uh I don't I think that's uh Atlantis's property. I think it would be in the interest of the school potentially to install sidewalks just to give them a safe space to walk on.

You're talking about the access road from Dickinson to sort of the school proper, not on Dickinson itself.

That's correct. Yeah, I I've seen that particularly at the beginning of the school year or return from a vacation break that there's uh sometimes it'll back up on Dickinson, just a few cars uh right next to the cemetery. And when that happens, I see parents let their kids out and they'll walk down and they're walking in the road side right on the side of cars, which was just a concern. I know that um they stop the

traffic going south, so you can go in, but you can't exit that way. Um so that does provide a lane, but I just feel like a sidewalk would probably be a better long-term investment.

Thank you, We'll absolutely look at that. We also have the prohibited parking on both sides of Dickinson Street. So the children who do walk, I know there is no sidewalks on there, but at least they do have where we do monitor. Parking control does visit during dismissal and arrival. So all right. Well, with that being said, I don't have any other questions in regards to this. Um maybe for the

remainder of the school year, we just keep an eye on it and uh I can be in touch with you and uh make sure that it runs smooth for the remainder.

Yep.

That's all I got. Good.

I appreciate you, Mr. Be. Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Item number six, a resolution convene with the director of traffic and a representative of the Forova Police Department to address traffic concerns regarding the Stafford Road exit of South Coast Marketplace. This was adopted on 1217 to 24.

Any discussion on it?

So, I know this uh this entrance the issues that I have have had with it in the past and I've actually reached out to you council repos in the past um in between my ten on the council was the greenery that the shrubbery that grows on the um the north west corner. So, as soon as you come out, it's right to the left. And I had to call you to have it

cut back because you cannot see. Um, and I can see where the school children, they'd have to walk around the the greenery into the street to uh to go wherever they're going. Um, so I know we can address that and just keep an eye on that part of it.

Um, and contact ECM as needed or whoever. Um, but as far as traffic, have we been over there to look at that in that area?

Yep. This this request was actually brought to the traffic board. and we did the traffic unit to do a traffic study um in January of 2025.

So the Go ahead. Oh, they have it's 91% compliance uh for speeding. Again, that's 25 miles per hour. It's posted there. 91% uh compliant. No, um real speeders. mostly uh everybody else is just a little over that like 30 35 and once they hit the speed we put the um solar speed um what do you call those things my mind just went blank you know what I'm talking about the speed uh radar things

the vehicles because it'll it'll monitor that they slow down the effectiveness of it and so it is showing that uh the speeders do as soon as they hit the um speed limit sign they immediately slow down. So, but I come out of Makab Baska all the time and I can see it. It is difficult when you come come out of there to look left because it it's not only is it a an incline. It there's also

it's not a a soft curve. It like comes up and then shot. So, you you have to really inch out of there to see to the left, you know? Uh because every time I go through there, I'm like, "How can we change this right here?" You know, and there really isn't anything you're going to do there, right? Because then the overpass is right there. You're not going to take down the whole overpass and redo the

whole, you know, street so you can have a nice line of sight, but um the the shrubbery was a huge problem. So that being pulled back it is uh is huge, you know, and um I think putting the traffic uh signs up, the flashing lights with the radar there, I think that that has proven to work because it slows cars down.

And it should be noted it was over 80,000 vehicles that traveled during that 80,766 vehicles.

And what was the uh 90% 91% compliant?

I think a big part of our problem there is is like you had just said when you look to the left coming out it is that sharp corner and then the vegetation or greenery and then to the right it's kind of like a crest to that overpass. So even with a small um if you're in access by a small amount it could probably make a big difference because the line of sight isn't

right. Yep. doesn't really have to be.

Um, do you know if there was ever uh any discussion as to whether or not to put lights there at that back entrance?

Yeah.

No, I don't think it would warrant signal lights um right off right off the get-go. I I was just thinking that maybe if we, you know, put uh slow um blind driveway, you know, like how they have those signs, maybe some signage up first.

Um there's only been one accident there in two years, uh right coming out. So, I think that most people know that that's a tough intersection. So, they do slow down because most of the people there are familiar with that area. So, the fact that we've only had one accident and it was very minor um there I don't think it would warrant the amount of money it would cost to put in a whole lighting system.

Okay. Council K, uh you answered my question. I was going to ask what the data point was. How many accidents in uh and you know say one in two years. Um because I did have a resident approach me kind of requesting it. Um oh, it it it is sketchy coming out of that but you know it is. So you're you're overly caut like I'm overly cautious coming out of there, you know.

So um I feel like they should have put it in when they installed it, but you know, yeah, it's more dangerous in the parking lot though than coming out.

Now represent you.

What can we do to maybe go by there and look because it I know the school children are affected by this and that's my biggest concern here. um to go by and look at maybe come up with some ideas.

Maybe yellow flashing um coming out or caution signage um kids crossing some type of signage there that so um because that was an ongoing problem. We do have a uh SRO assigned there permanently at the end of the school day to do specifically traffic.

Yeah, that's right at Progress in Stafford Road.

Excellent. So that has uh I feel like that has uh significantly cut down on the problem there.

Yeah. Because we do have a lot of parents uh for lateral school that park in the South Coast Marketplace Plaza and walk to pick up their children.

So it was becoming it was becoming an issue.

Okay. Anything further?

I think with that being said, I'd like to obviously monitor this monitor this for the remainder of the school year and uh just make sure there's no issues that that arise. Um motion to table this resolution.

Motion so made.

Second. Motion to table the resolutions were made and seconded. All those in favor?

No maze.

Item number seven, resolution convening the director of traffic and a representative of the for police department to discuss speeding and crosswalks on Stafford Road. Adopted 325 of 25.

Um I guess this goes hand in hand with what we were just talking about. Um and that is the same traffic study, Chief.

It is same area, correct?

I I believe it's in the in the same area, but Stafford Road is is is unique, right? Because it's it's such a main thorough fair. Um, but I do notice because I do travel down Stafford Road uh quite frequently that uh a big part of the problem is that it has a lot of traffic. It also has a lot of foot traffic, right? And um it's narrow.

It's not a wide street, you know, especially if you're going um north of Braen Avenue in that area that gets really really thin, you know. Um, I'm not even sure how you would even correct that, you know. Um, the amount of accidents don't warrant like a major overhaul of the street, you know. Um, around the park, we don't even really have that many complaints about the park with the kids.

Albert Street. We have a ton of complaints, you know, from people speeding down Al uh Albert and and what concerns me about that is the way the park is designed. So, like I've seen this a million time like the kids come running right down the hill into the road. You know, there's no buffer zone.

You know, there's a lot of blind spots there. So, we spoke um with the mayor uh at at great length about this and he he is in agreement with um the speed humps, right, to slow down uh people. So, we're going to start some pilot programs with that. Uh the traffic department bought some and we're going to start deploying that probably this summer.

Correct.

Um just to see how that works. And if it does work well, um I think they're probably looking uh for us to we'll come up with some sort of criteria, right?

Because you can't just put them all over the place, but what's the criteria?

We'll have a traffic study. You know, maybe if the compliance is less than 50%, you put a permanent structure because they're very the very very expensive.

Yeah, the temporary ones are very expensive. We are going to we have three of them right now. Um so we are going to start that pilot program and place them in areas of concern. Um but I think the administration is looking more towards the permanent option.

Okay. Was there two orders for the speed tables or just one?

Two.

Two. Right.

Two orders. Y.

All right. Um, is there a way while you guys are coming up with locations for these speed tables to keep the public safety committee in the loop?

Um, reason for that being is obviously we address a lot of these speeding issues. So maybe if we can collaborate with you um and try to rectify some of our issues at the same time. I think Elbat Street is a big candidate because I'm over there all the time and I played baseball Maplewood. I grew up in that park.

Um that street's always been um been tough, right? Yep.

So, I think a speed table there near Maplewood Park would be would [clears throat] be ideal.

Yeah, those areas we're looking at, school areas, um park areas, heavy residential areas where there's a lot of foot traffic. So, that's right. So I think it was the summer uh the end of the summer the fall we started uh compiling uh data of the location locations like our biggest complaints you know what the police department these complaints [clears throat] uh the traffic department what people

calling in there um we did some accident stuff and uh I think we came up with the um one of the bigger problems which was my request is up at airport road with with all those street takeovers and the um the speeding that's go the racing that's going up is is such a significant problem.

Um so we're going to deploy them first up there right now that the nice weather's coming in. We we want to just like nip that in the bud right away, you know, and then um I know Albert Street was one of them and then Bay Street.

Bay Street and then Meridian, right? because that was our our other biggest uh what was the location on Bay at Gold Mills next to the school.

That's what I Yeah, near the school.

Okay, council Khos. I'm sorry.

The only comment I had was in regards to the resolution talking about ADA compliant crosswalks. I know that there are some of the ADA signals on the other side of the marketplace, but on the Safford road side, are there any audible signals for crosswalks?

I don't believe so. I'll have to double check with Chris Haway on that one.

Okay. Can you if you don't mind? Thank you. I yield.

Council Canuel.

Just with regard to the temporary speed tables, how does that work when it comes to this time of year where we plow? Do we remove them?

They Yeah, they have to be removed.

That's why when we we received them in early December, but we couldn't place them because they're technically a seasonal speed table. So, we have to place them for the nice weather and then remove them before we do any plowing operations.

But the permanent ones um If you go by the uh Swansea has them right in front of the library, the Swansea library in front of Case Junior High and they've worked uh very very well and they're not affected by the uh plows because it's a nice slow grade up in a little table and then come back down, you know. So, it's not like that boom, you know, that's annoying, you know. So, but it it's

worked there. they they have like really good success with that.

And along with those speed tables, we'll also be adding additional signage and striping to the road to warn drivers of the upcoming speed table.

All right. Thank you. Are you excellent? Anything further?

I think we'll do the same thing, right?

Uh motion to table.

Yeah, we'll table it. Uh second motion to table has been made and seconded. All those in favor? No.

Motion to lift item eight from the table.

Motion to lift item has been made and seconded. All those in favor? Okay.

Item number eight, resolution, committee on public safety, convene quarterly with the police chief, fire chief, and chief of EMS for updates tabled on 99 of 25.

How we doing, chief?

Good. Jeffrey Bacon, fire chief.

[clears throat] CMS chief.

All right. So, um I know you've had one meeting under this resolution, correct?

Correct.

September.

Okay. Um I know the purpose of this resolution is just to bring the public safety chiefs. Um I know EMA Chief Aguar was extended an invitation as well and he couldn't make it due to another training. Um, and the purpose of this is, to my understanding, um, to just tell us pretty much what's going on within your department and keep communication active between the, uh, the public safety agencies and the

public safety committee. Um, I guess that helps us out in the future and it keeps us in the loop to, uh, you know, situations, we get a heads up to them before they arise and, uh, it's easier to deal with them that way.

So, anything for the Chiefs before Nothing. Chief, what do you got going on?

Well, I just want to say first that um I really appreciated and the men and women of the police department appreciated the interest that the city council took in our uh critical incident that we had back in February. Um it's important, you know, that they feel supported, right?

And it's part of healing. Um and um this incident we were able to put into uh play our uh new wellness program and uh which consisted of our immediate debriefing um support, our peer support and um including family involved with that too.

Like so we had um peer support with the officers. We had debriefing at the station, not only with uh officers who were working that night, but also with the dispatchers, which is um they're so overlooked all the time. Um we also um this was the first time we actually included uh uh family. We had a peer support group with family and um because our officers are not going to heal if

their families are anxious, right? So they need to know what the process is too, right? So that worked out ve very very well to the point where um we started a process of we we never really had a process, right?

We kind of just wung it all these years just because we didn't know, right? But now there's so much emphasis on wellness, right? uh with first responders. So um it was important for us to document our steps that we took so that we can have a policy and a process and a and a guide. And um part of that is after after an incident certain amount of days um they go for a fitness

for duty with a psychologist right which is in uh Waltham who we uh who we have Dr. Kelly and um we started that process and he sent me um a letter saying that it was the first time that he's ever interviewed people uh officers that were officer involved uh shootings or any type of critical incident where they spoke so highly about the support they got from the department. um not only for themselves

but for the family and that he was amazed he was amazed by that and he felt that we should be sharing that with all the other departments and that they should take on what we're doing. So that that was u some validation to you know a new program right because you never really know if it's you're doing the right thing and but and we did want to do the right thing. So for for somebody

who's been around a long time to take the time to send a letter to our department to say that is uh you know was was important. So um with that I'll move on. So um just so you know we've hired over 40 we we hired 50 people in the last year. We only have 43. We started out wi with 50. uh three left for medical. Um they get injured in

the academy, you know, all the time and then that's it. They're done. And uh four quit during the academy or uh during the FTO program, you know. Um unfortunately, a lot of people come on and they're like, "This ain't what I thought it was," you know. So, um but we got six rehires back. Six people that left in 2023 and 20 early 2024 came back. Six of them came back last year.

Um so that gives us a total in patrol of 171.

I'd like to be somewhere up around 200.

If if I could be at 200, there'd be like no crime in Fall River, you know? It would it would be like really good. So, uh, we just had the 11 graduate from the, um, which you were at their graduation. This Friday, tomorrow, we have six more graduating in the Falmouth Academy, which is, I think, um, six weeks from now is another four. That was six, but two kids um, left for uh,

medical. They had medical stuff. Se we had 17 people retire between 20 in 25 and 26 and those uh ranged from 33 years to 38 years. So most of them had around 35 you know so it's like yeah it's time um we have 15 people on terminal time so uh this is the I think this is the last of the remnants of the 80s and 90s and early 2000s when the city really didn't have any money

and we were paid with comp time all the time like any program or any any problem you had, you'd be like, "Oh, we'll throw you some comp time." You you you know, you were there, right? So, uh everything was paid by comp time. So, I used my comp time all the time, but there are some people that, you know, hoarded it a little bit.

So, till the end of the So, they have like a year, two years, three years, but this is the last batch of that.

How many?

17. Um 15.

And they're writing they're writing their time.

They're writing their time out. Some of them just some of them like uh I think three of them only have like uh uh like two months of it, but there are some that have like two years of it that but this is already like the ending of it.

So by I think by the spring of 27 they'll all be off the books, you know.

So we're working um really hard with the unions because they're on board because we want to make it better, right? And the unions want to make it better, too.

So, um they realize how the comp and turning overtime into comp and and hoarding that and keeping that is detrimental to the uh to the agency, to the community and and and to the officers themselves. So, um what happened is a lot of them had rank, right? They rank up as they they uh go through the years and now it holds up promotions and stuff. So they're like, "Okay, I can we they can rationalize

what the problem is now, right? Because now it affects everybody."

So, um, we're working on that and I think that that'll that'll uh work out in the next by by the end of 27. I think we'll be all squared away with that. Um, we have two guys, two two people that are on um sick leave, extended sick leave, but they're uh putting them their um on the job injury disability. So, it's just when you go the disability route, it's it just takes a little

longer um than dispatch. We have 32. We need to be at 38. But the problem is we don't have the um trainers to do that.

And with the app um the app code that you have to be certified, we need a paramedic to do that. So the scheduling so we only can h it's not like hiring police where we can hire 10 at a time.

We only can hire a couple of dispatches at a time so that they can dispatch go through training beco trained and then be call takers. Right? So that's a little bit of a hiccup with that.

But we have um some good ideas going on in there. Um working that out with uh we're still in negotiations with ask me with the dispatchers. Um they're going to have a uh um something going on with their contract. So that should all work out.

Um, the other thing we're working on is the we're um looking into switching from our firearms from the 40s back to the nines. Uh, when we bought the 40s, other departments were already switching back to the nines because uh it's a big gun, you know, and it's the ammunition is astronomically expensive. So going back to the nines, um it's better handling for a wide range of people like you know

uh like for me that 40 is ginormous you know the even with the small grips and stuff. So um the nines are more practical and the ammunition is so much cheaper.

So um that'll be coming before you. So hopefully that works out. Um canines. We got two new kines, which is um uh Cade, who is an explosive gun detection dog, right? So, he's ginormous and he's like super cute, right? And um we just got a new drug dog, Ma. Uh she's a uh I think it's an English pointer, and she's like super hyper. So, um Kate is out of major major case detective boy

Asian who's fabulous. He uh has her has her uh him and um Cass has the drug dog obviously because that's you know they're they're doing that. We are finishing up our uh forensic lab which does the um analyzing the phones and tablets and computers and stuff. We probably have one of the best uh forensic labs around.

Uh it's really good. Uh the major crimes detectives are fabulous with that. Um we've crossrained everybody where we used to just have one person. Now we have 10 people who can do it and uh we're inundated with phones like especially from the schools like the I'm sure you deal with phones, right? Phones are a major problems in schools. So, um, uh, in crime, right, those phones, they're they're constantly doing search

warrants on them and downloaded them.

So, I can see that, um, like we're we're going through a transition. So, there are things that we used to not do in uh, or or we used to do in policing that's kind of phasing out, but now, you know, it's going more towards the technology. So, we're like shifting our personnel different places like yeah, you don't that's not really that important anymore, but this is the area where we're going to need to start

looking into because I can see at some point we are going to need like a full-time unit in that um in that technology area. Um it's becoming it's becoming that that burdensome for the detectives that we have and to do their cases too, you know. So, um, we're training everybody in that. So, the next thing we've been doing is we got this training tracker and, um, we used to just like if you put in for

training, you could go, but there was never any like so if you were a person that just always put in for training, you could go, right? And some people weren't as aggressive of going to training. But now we have this training tracker and what I uh envision we're still building it is that there's milestones. So for a officer in their first three years they should be going to report writing training. They should

be being um uh getting uh certified in sexual assault uh interviewing. So there's certain things. So we're building that out so that everybody gets it. it's fair and equitable and everybody's trained in the in in the same things, right? So, um, and we're doing a lot of crossraining. So, so like I said before, not everything is just one person has it all, right? We want cross trainining in in everything. Um, so

we did that. It's been a lot. It's been a lot. Um, we've been working uh having regular meetings with the DA's office and uh building reestablish all our relationships with the DA's office, the DEA, the ATF, the FBI, and uh why that's important is that like when we have like we just had this gun case and the ATF calls up, hey, you need anything, we'll come down. They they trace the guns. they have access to a

lot u more stuff than we do you know so um and with that comes funds right so we just got a check in December for $32,000 so that helps us buy a vice car or you know um things like that so it's lucrative to have good relationships so um the DA did give us a little plug said that we are uh the most proactive police department in Bristol county even we we surpass the state police and

proactivity which is which is what you want right um since September we've taken 121 illegal firearms off the street the cast major crimes in the major crimes division um they're just like hitting it hard so um yeah we're uh we're busy we're busy excellent council thank you Uh so just from uh there were a lot of numbers there from a time frame perspective I just want to know is this since the last

meeting uh when this was tabled September 9th or those numbers more of a the last quarter?

No. Uh so the um the guns are just from September 121 and the hiring and stuff that's all all last year like that's from 25 into I don't think we talked about those last year.

Okay. Uh there were a lot of numbers around the staffing. Um I think you said there's 171 on patrol. You'd like to get to 200. What's the budget number that you have available to you? So, we are at a our budgeted number right now, 171, but we're um we had to get to we had to budget only 170 because once we get to 171, it kicked in a grant that we have the um

the policing grant, the staffing grant.

So um with that every hire hiring after 170 is the grant kicks in pays half the salary.

Okay. When we think broadly about patrol coverage, how much of that is filled by overtime?

It depends on what time of year, right?

So if it's vacation time. So, one of the other things that we did was um we took the amount of vacation slots and looked into the So, it used to be five vacation slots per um per watch and we've reduced that to three.

So, that should cut down on the overtime significantly for for this year. Um, a lot of the overtime is uh covered by grants, you know, like the uh we we have the Shannon grant and uh uh some other grants that we have.

Okay. Um there are a lot of numbers around the personnel. Have you had any uh staff leave the department? I know you said mentioned you had some re rehires. Have you had any voluntary resations folks move to other departments?

Oh yeah. Yeah, we have that. Some of the younger kids, I think that what happens is that they use not just our department, they use the first department that will put them into a police academy until where they're looking to go. So if you have somebody that lives in Swansea or wants to go to Swansea and then they they are like, "Well, Fall River is hiring. I'll go to Fall River." And then they go over

to Swansea. like we have a lot of the younger kids like under two years um going to other departments. Um the other thing is that most of those departments have full Quinn bill. We don't have full Quinn bill. So they go to other departments chasing the money.

You know, we don't they get pretty good.

We have a pretty good pay, but the small towns are a lot better and a lot less work. Do you have a specific number of how many have left since uh like you mentioned there was six rehires over this period. Do we do you have an actual number of how many have left?

I'm trying to think because I did just know this. Um I think all together uh for trans for transfers I think that there was um I think that there was four And then when we think about response times since the last update, are they improving? Are they declining? Are they kind of status quo? Do you know what is that?

Response times.

Response times to calls.

Yes.

Um, no. Our response times are for emergencies are under a minute.

uh unless there's a massive snowstorm and then it's a little longer, you know, but our response time if you if it's a priority call, our our response times on point, you know, if it's something that's not a priority, you you might wait, you know, but we I don't think the community understands that like we respond to everything where other communities do not, you know, Um, like we put our stats out and our

accidents are like through the roof, but that's because we take every accident where towns and other cities do not take they won't even come out. Um, unless there's a bad unless there's an uh serious injury, they won't even take a report. Um, we take a report even for minor uh minor damage, we take a report.

So, um I think it's important to take reports because accidents are the one of those things that are a major annoyance with your insurance company. You know, if you've ever been in an accident, you know, um so it's important to provide that service. It is because you have a policeman writing it down on a report and it saves a lot of hassle to the community. So, that's more of a a

community thing that we do. Um if we stop doing that then our numbers would probably be significantly less in response you know.

Okay thank you. I yield. Anything further chief?

I appreciate that chief. Thank you Chief Fonts.

Good evening.

Good evening. Um so with EMS this year um at the end of the year we concluded with about between 10 and 12% we did about 29,000 emergency we did about 29,000 uh responses this year.

Um we had uh we've tried to develop our community partners relationship with our community partners. We've um developed a continued relationship with you know Southwest Hospitals Group. We have a really good relationship with um Brown University Health. Um they were really appreciative and supportive of our support for their storm. They sent a really nice letter. The artificial kidney center um sent a really nice um

letter to the EMS providers um for transporting their dialysis patients and preventing them from getting critically ill and and fire. Also, I just haven't um sent it out, but everybody recognized the efforts and they did a great job. It was um a lot. Um we uh have uh developed a relationship with South Coast Health to continue our community medicine, our MIH home visit program, which has been

very well received by the population through both social media and through phone calls and physicians groups that are keeping elderly people, especially this time of year that have the flu out of the hospitals and the emergency rooms, which um is not always good for um them. we actually have some of the same um issues that the police department is experiencing is that sometimes they these younger kids come

to our department, they come and work and they get their experience and then they go to smaller departments that are hiring or they want to be dual role and they'll go to other departments and they'll um make more money and do less calls, right? We do a lot of calls. It's a very high call volume. Um, Rescue 4, which runs through the center of the city, did 5,000 responses last year,

which is probably that's a high response volume even compared to across the country. I think that's pretty high.

Um, we actually looking at putting together an after action, it's not complete yet for the snowstorm and how we want to see how we can use the information we had. Hopefully, it never happens again, but we would like to have the information and that it's at your fingertips on how any kind of response as as we've talked about that um how to get the EOC, how to get the resources

you need, how to get everybody to the table. So, that's been some internal discussion that we've been having um and trying to get some input from other other administrators that we work together so that way everybody's kind of on the same page and so that you everybody thinks of things differently and sometimes people think of things that you don't think of.

Um, but uh, our strategic goals are to try to take the the contracts that we currently have and the relationship that we currently have and just kind of seal everything together. We're not looking at trying to expand any of that. Right now, if we did anything, you know, if the waterfront develops, you know, into something that could be where our population increases and the call volume

increases, we may be able to um, putting up another 911 ambulance at some point.

Um, that's something we'd really like to keep an eye on because burnout is a thing. And we would, the program I see um increasing would be our home visit program. We have our pediatric vaccine program which is very popular which we're doing in Fall River and Bedford now because there's a lot of barrier to health care for children.

We're doing um in home vaccines for the elderly. Um [snorts] the other thing that we've been talking about uh Chief Aken and Chief Ata, we talked about um getting together on a quarterly basis. The three of us getting together behind and trying to collaborate with each other to see what we can do to either better support each other and if there's a if there's a hiccup, discuss that hiccup and come out

united. So, I think that's a great idea.

Um but uh our community paramedic program, our IF program is really um picked up. I think it's the nature of the beast this time of year. And um but everybody's doing a great job. I other than having people that we have a couple of IODs, we had a couple of babies, we um had someone fall on ice and break a wrist. So, we're struggling with some staffing issues, but we're we're making our way through it.

Council Daniel Kel, um you mentioned 29,000 calls. Do you have a sense of how many of those are repeat addresses? I feel like, you know, just in the the time I've spent shadowing EMS in the same day, we went to the same house and that was related to, you know, the hospital sending them probably prematurely back home. And so I just kind of want to get a sense, you know, with that volume, how much is repeat?

Interesting question. So we do about 15% of our 29,000 calls are refusal for service. So they call um for an ambulance, whether it's a traffic accident or um someone falls and they need a lift assist or something or their family member calls and then you get there and the mom doesn't want to go. So we do have about 15% of our call volume results in refusal.

The home visit program is supposed to be targeting the people that we have.

They're not targeting, that's the wrong word, but it's supposed to be incentivizing the people that are repeat customers to try to get a home visit so that it it decreases on reciticism for the emergency department and them seeing the same patients over and over again.

That's not a perfect storm. Um, but a lot of our I would probably say 20 or 30% of our call volume is repeat customers.

I know that about 20 to 24% of our call lie in this motor vehicle accidents in some sort of external injury where it's either a fight or you know somebody falls and hurts themselves.

Okay.

20 or 30% is a big number in terms of repeating. I mean that's uh the um the way the state statewide treatment protocols work and the way the state looks at it is if you activate 91 there will response and um we will take you to the hospital if that's the way you know that's the way you want to go.

Health care is is uh experiencing as we all know in the country some um high cost and so that's why they're looking at potentially alternative methods to making people want to stay home and feeling comfortable with with being home and feeling safe. I think a lot of it sometimes is sometimes they just don't feel safe if they live by themselves.

Okay. And you have uh recently, I think, secured the contract with South Coast, right, to transport people when they're finished at the ER. Um, has there been I guess when I think about the repeat customers, I I'm curious if you know we have less people repeating if they've been discharged from South Coast versus the ones out of St. Ans. I don't know if there's any way we could get to that,

but I'm just wondering if because we have a relationship with South Coast, maybe there's an improved metric there that we could look at with We actually have a contract with both hospitals. Okay. We're actually the primary contractor provider with um with Brown Health also.

Um but the call volume out of Brown Health is significantly different than the call volume out of South Post. And I think that maybe they have more nursing home contracts. So a lot of those patients in the cath lab and that kind of thing.

So um I don't think that you can equate it to um to either facility. I think you could equate it to socioeconomic barriers that we have in Fall River.

Okay.

Right. The lack of familial support, the lack of them feeling safe, the highrises that we have. We have like the second highest nursing second or third highest nursing home population in the state. So, I think that a lot of that has to do with some of the recitism, too.

Makes sense. All right. I yield. Thank you.

One thing that I I have and I'll address because I I have the three of you here and we had a conversation about this today um is the radio traffic between fire and EMS and we've had this discussion before too. Um, so I just wanted to bring it up while you're here to add to the record that I believe the radio traffic on the fire EMS re it's becoming um too cluttered and I think

that plays a role into the 29,000 EMS calls and fire being on the same channel. Um, I'm going to probably ask some questions in the near future as to whether or not there's a backup channel and maybe separating EMS and fire. Um, my concerns there are if we have a firefighter in a house and he's calling for help and EMS is using the same channel and comes over because they're

going out at CH, I don't want to miss his call, god forbid, you know.

Yeah. So, to add a channel, you always have to you'd have to have a third channel, too. So, we do have channel [clears throat] two that's programmed on all of our radios. When we have an active fire scene, we put all other traffic outside of the fire scene, not the channel 2. So all the EMS traffic, anyone who's not on that scene, fire, everybody who's not on that scene. So and that is very

important for that reason, right? So um anytime we have firefighters in a burning building or in a dangerous situation, then we need to have them dedicated on their own channel. Um the reason that there's been push back is because just like uh Chief Atado said, it's it it's difficult hiring uh dispatchers and retaining them. Um, and right now if you had a dedicated um, medical channel, then it would be the

same. You're pulling from the same group of dispatches. You know, you know better than anybody, right? So, so my the way I look at this is it needs to be addressed where it has to start with dispatch because that second seat, we're too busy of a city to put all of those calls on one dispatcher. And I I've done the job and I just happened within the past few

months I sat in there for a few hours and watched and even if we had a channel you only have one dispatcher listening to both. Correct. Right now you have one dispatcher listening to two departments on one radio while putting out box alarms while picking picking up the phone. It's just too busy. And that's a it's contentious to me because I don't want to see something happen where it

comes down to a dispatch error because they're overwhelmed. And I think that is where we're at now with them is they're overwhelmed. It just is what it is.

I I agree. So after we uh spoke about that, um I did a little digging into Yeah. So the cost for a dedicated EMS channel to start uh you would have to add uh repeaters, upgrade repeaters just to upgrade the repeaters in the network build would be over 500,000 just to start. Then you have to um get FCC FCC licensing construction of additional communication consoles which that room's

already tight. So that means building out a new room somewhere. Uh so that's construction and then of course additional staffing and manpower. So that would be an additional um um I would guess an additional three dispatchers we'd have to hire per shift, right? Um one per shift obviously.

All right. Yes. So it something has to be done because like I said, God forbid we get something, it's dispatcher error because they're overwhelmed and and something bad happens. Um when it comes to that, the public safety, the money really isn't an issue to me. It's just the plan or the strategy to to come up and rectify this.

There has been conversation obviously recently with the EOC, the emergency operations center and having a backup facility for dispatch within that. So there are a lot of ideas going around. I just filed a resolution pertaining to it. So maybe we can address all of these issues including the radio issues when we address the EOC um in general. Um, but I just wanted to bring that up and put it on the record that it is

something that has to be entertained.

I agree that they're um I agree that they're busy. Yeah.

Yeah. But that's all I have. Uh, anything further?

A motion? Actually, Chief Bacon, if you're interested.

Yeah.

Oh, you just uh we can end it right now.

Go ahead.

We'll start with the blizzard. I just want to thank everybody for their support, especially the members on this panel and the entire city council and the city for their support. Um I believe that the public safety departments worked very well together in the EOC and in the field to um to make sure that the the citizens were protected. Um having said that, I I spooled up to 50 as my

manpower from 38 from the time the first snowflake started to the Saturday after.

Um, and we submitted $80,000 in overtime um through to FEMA. Hopefully we get some of that some of that back. But just to give you a perspective on on on what that uh storm course cost us just in overtime. Um, since then we've we've put 11 members.

Um, I knew you were there the other day when we swore them in uh into the company and we have nine uh that are taking the PAT next week at uh in Stow and will be starting with us hopefully nine if they all pass on April 6th.

They'll start the academy on April 20th and then they'll be in the company at the beginning of July. Uh so that's going to alleviate some of the overtime uh burden that we have. um it's gonna um slow things down a little bit for the uh for the firefighters that have been out there working under staffed, very understaffed since uh August. Um just a few training things that are coming up.

Um we're hosting an oil spill mock drill with EPA in April um over by the battleship and we plan on using lessons.

We've been working very closely with the Coast Guard and EPA uh with the tugboat incident near the Breman Street Bridge and we'll be using lessons that we learned from that to uh reinforce them during that training. Um we also have the three uh public safety departments will be represented at an um active shooter and hostile event training at BCC in June. Uh I think that's very

important for for um for all of us to to work together for an event of that type.

Um, so since we last met, the only other thing I want to talk to you about is the apparatus. We acquired a 2017 E1 pump from the Easton Mass Fire Department.

It's going to be used as a ready reserve. Um, it's registered and uh crews are training on it. We're hoping to have that all the crews trained up on it within a couple weeks to get it into service. Um, we have members going to Michigan in two weeks to inspect the chassis of the new engine 9. We're expecting delivery of that in June or July. And the new ladder 4 has an

anticipated delivery date of November or December. Now, um, apparatus committees are also working hard on specs for new engine two and engine 4. Engine two will go out to bid by the end of April and will be purchased before the end of the fiscal year and engine 4 will be purchased the next fiscal year.

Okay.

You guys are busy.

Very busy. Um, yeah, I don't really have anything for you. I I know we have questions for the uh the final Yep.

um item on the agenda tonight would be directed to you, but that's all I have um for now. If there's a motion to table and then we'll entertain this again um in another few months.

Motion made. I second that motion. All in favor? I no. Thank you for your time, Chiefs. I appreciate you.

Thank you.

Item number nine is a resolution committee on public safety convened with the fire chief, the director of financial services, and the president of the international association of firefighters local 1314 to discuss the need for a fire station in or near the Route 79, the Ball Street corridor project neighborhood as well as related costs and expenses for apparatus, staffing, and maintenance adopted on

January 13th to 26.

State your name for the record.

Michael Organ 13145 is Thank you.

Emily RP, director of financial services.

Thank you. Um, I had filed this resolution and uh with the waterfront development and uh us being down at Engine Company on Bedford Street and that's been like that since 2009. I I had some questions as to response once the waterfront is built up. um other avenues as to how can we can entertain maybe a new fire station as for you know a developer comes in. We had this conversation with the mayor where maybe

if we bring in a developer that would include some type of firehouse on the waterfront as part of his project um even to house um Marine 1 um and get that boat out of the water. That boat's too expensive to be sitting in there year round. even if we can get a developer to come down and put a dock, a dry dock for Marine One or whatever the case may be. Um, but this opens a

conversation as to a fire coverage in that neighborhood and b how can we capitalize on the economic development and try to bring in something to help us? So, Miss any ideas?

Um, I I know I know we had the conversation about um potentially using um one of the developers and maybe creating an incentive around something like that.

It's definitely a possibility that we could explore. I [snorts] think the biggest hold up on our end to really work towards any sort of plan um in any direction right now is really knowing what the timeline looks like for the land to be transferred and when development could actually begin. um because whether we funded that internally or not, it we really just need a better sense of what we're

looking at for the properties to be transferred and and what's really going to be going into them and and we don't have that quite yet still is my understanding. So it I think we're we are, you know, looking at it and thinking about it and hopefully with the new five-year capital plans being a little bit more active, we'll be able to stay ahead of it as needed.

Okay. I just uh I even to add a a police substation, you [clears throat] know, along with a fire station in the development um would be fantastic because it's all about cutting down response time. Um Mr. Orian, if any opinions on this?

No. Yes, sir. um adding that amount of people to that small area right there, we're already uh stressed and taxed beyond uh our ability to to perform two simultaneous incidents at the same time. And uh in the history of this department since I've been here, that has been one of the things that we can do and and and as examples of we've had simultaneous fires. Uh we had the one at furniture

city at the same time we had a structure fire on another side of the city adding that many more and high hazards and I sent you the information that we had a high hazard occupancy which all of those would be because of the uh the the amount of residents we can't deal with it. We're at uh single digits or zero percentage uh as far as on the GIS study

with what we can do in a high uh high hazard occupancy and it's just going to get worse. Uh the the cut the cuts that we took in the apparatus years ago that were never restored.

It it seems unsustainable to us. I mean, and I said this to you earlier about, you know, the increase in the population of the city. Anybody who thinks that the city is not increasing is near really needs to have their head checked. There are more houses. Every mill is is converted into an apartment building.

Those are all high hazard. Um and our call volume just continually increases yet our staffing and our pieces don't.

So adding that amount of not only occupancy but traffic, people uh propensity for incidences to happen, waterfront, uh we do need um a station down there. I mean without a doubt the problem [clears throat] is is that given the the opportunity the city of forever they'll close a station to move a station down there which which will open up a gap again once again in uh in the city where that coverage map shows

where exactly uh we're we're lacking and deficient north end of the city the south end of the city there's a lot of places where we're I mean we're not making it in any sense of like adequate timing and being that that that particular area, how they're developing that, we're going to have a hell of a time trying to get down there for anything just because of the traffic. Um so the putting a station

down here with with additional apparatus and additional manpower is not only wise, it is probably prudent.

Yeah, I um and I agree. And to minimize it, I said to bring in a building that was big enough to house, let's say, rescue one and marine one because it's just you the staff of rescue one operate that piece. I it would probably make more sense if we would ever entertain this would to be just I wouldn't even touch the location of the center fire station obviously due to response times and uh the paperwork

that you had given me. I'd have both.

I'd prefer both. And that way we, you know, when we don't need to use engine two or maybe in the future engine 3, whatever the case may be, they can, you know, stay in quarters if we have an emergency on the waterfront and we can just use that one station as a response as a squad. I don't know if that makes sense. But, um, it's definitely worth entertaining. And as to where we're

going to ask that it's a part of the process and won't cost us anything, might be even better, you know.

Yeah. I mean, I I definitely I there's no secret if if we can do it without it costing us anything, I will I will take that. But it's also about making sure that it's the right thing, it's the right fit, and that we have what we need. So, you know, if that requires us to pay for it, I think just having the conversations early and planning for it, we we can definitely handle it. Um I I

don't disagree. You know, if there's a need for, you know, additional manpower to go with it. None of that stuff is something I could tell you or disagree with on what the need is. It's not my area. So, I'm here to fund it. As long as there's data, you know, and and studies that can help us support the arguments, we'll we'll make sure we need we do what needs to be done.

Okay. Chief Bacon, thoughts on it?

Yeah. So, I I just presented with you the the closest one that I could find just opened in um Somerville, Mass. It's a three bay, 10,000 foot station. Uh it's in the uh I believe I forget the name of the um says it in here somewhere, but Assembly Row I guess in Somerville was a new um new development similar to what we're doing down here on on the water. And uh so that worked out

for them. They got in with the developers early uh in the planning stages about it took about 10 years for them to get from the planning stages to the station actually opening. Um but I think it's it's an interesting idea. Um I I look at it though that there we need two stations, right? So Stanley Street needs either a full remodel and addition or we need a new station to serve that

neighborhood and a station on the waterfront. Right. So I think the prudent thing to do because we're up against the clock is to um have a study done with where the best location would be. If we're going to add a station and replace Stanley Street, we get a lot of gaps between Stanley Street and the North End station, right?

Um, if you move Stanley Street north, it creates gaps between Stanley Street in the center. So, I think it's actually a great spot. We have an opportunity now to put a station to put two stations strategically located where we can eliminate the gaps that uh, President Orian was talking about.

They're significant gaps. They really are.

And I I think that uh now's the time to to do that study. um whether you go with um whoever the union utilized or whoever the city utilized, uh they both have the capacity to say um to look at plots of city of land that the city currently owns uh or controls or the state or the feds, anything that might be available to us. I look at potentially even uh the

north end of the MBTA yard, the lay down yard right on North Main Street right there. you can jump on 79, you can get.

So there's there's a bunch of different places that we could look at and we could have that all those spots plotted to see what would work best and what would provide us with the best coverage.

I think now is the time to really um be forward thinking and get that part of it done so then we can make an actual decision based on data.

Yeah. Our our concern is is that we you know we're going to build stations but we we're going to have trucks in it that are just spares. Uh and and that seems to have been like the trend over the last decade is we fill them up and the general public goes by and sees, oh my god, the fire trucks are there, but they're all spare trucks. There's just nobody there. The Flint used to have two

pumps in a ladder. It's down to one pump in a ladder. And sometimes that ladder doesn't even work. Uh the center used to have two pumps, uh a scope, now one pump and the scope is gone. Uh then you incorporated two ladder companies into one and that goes up on Stanley Street which the platform which is a behemoth truck which serves almost no purpose in the city of for because we can't make it

down 60 70% of the roads in the city.

Believe me, I drive and I know we need that extra ladder company. And that was the ladder of company that was at Stanley Street Lad 5. And we need that a supplemental engine company which was down either the center or the Flint into into a station. Even if there's a delay in in say 5 10 years in in uh building a station, we still need that online. Um we got problems with we're trying to get

the rest of the staffing up to minimum standards. And and the reason we talk about minimum standards and and and I think the public should be insensed is that the general public is not even worth minimum. And and what we're asking is minimum four. If you see that study that we gave you, that study says that in the in these high hazard areas, we should have six guys on a truck, six

firefighters, and we're barely making three and sometimes four. And the hiring and and all the other problems that come with it. I mean, this is not rocket science, right? If if you if you value public safety, you you make it a priority, not, you know, crazy projects and everything else. You prioritize this because these are people's lives. We don't hit a reset button if something

happens and conversations and worried about money. I mean, instead of being funded last, we we should be funded first. We've been taking uh the crap end of the stick for so long now. I think we've had enough and we we can't do another Gabriel House or worse, but it's coming. And and I said this before you came in on your term. I came to this council and I said that.

And a month later, we had that. And I'm here to tell you again, something else is going to happen because that's what happens. And we need to do something about it. Because I think the people in this city deserve better than minimum.

Yeah. I know. Agreed. Council Canuel, thank you and thank you for coming down um discussing with us. Um the mayor had indicated that I think he was taking the uh staffing the minimum standards from 32 to 36. Uh not quite the 40 that is the minimum. Um but your report that you provided us dated January 5th notes that we are still only at 32. Is that reading this correctly? We we our our optimum

number is 44. Uh that includes uh the the what they call the DCAs as well as four across the four four five four firefighters across the board. So right now we have our six pumps with four uh when everything is is good. We still have the three ladder companies that have three and the heavy rescue which is an extremely important piece with three.

Uh the DCAs are even more important. Um, given the the Fiery Gabriel House where I was basically assigned as a DCA because we didn't have enough guys, we didn't catch everybody. We didn't catch all the windows. And that was that's how important it is to have a DCA is he's the eyes and the ears of the DC.

And if he doesn't have somebody to help him, then he doesn't see everything. And if he doesn't see everything, people things happen and guys get killed, civilians get killed. DCA is one of those things that in 1710 that's it's intraable. You got to have them. That saves people's lives and it saves firefighters lives. And so as working towards 1710, we would like to bring those numbers up to where we used to be.

And and we're still short from where we were when I came on it. We had 250 guys and now we're down to about 180 190 194 people coming in.

Yeah. With Yep. So, we're still short that much. And even back then, we still didn't do uh 1710 standards. And I mean, they're standards for a reason. They didn't just come up with this stuff because the unions wanted to hire more firefighters. They came up with this stuff because this is where the experts come in and say, "This is what saves lives."

All right. You yield to council.

Uh, one more question for Emily. Um, what is the estim Have we looked at? Uh this resolution talks about the related costs that would be incurred by the city. Um you know in a perfect scenario we would have a developer fund it for us, right? But outside of that, what is the cost to put one up?

Um I don't I don't know. I don't have that in front of me off top of my head.

I can tell you though that again not having a timeline of when we could actually even start developing anything it it makes that number a complete guess because every year you go out the cost is just going to increase. So without that timeline it can't give you a a decent you know estimate on that. I don't know if the chief has any numbers on what it costs to build a station, but

right now it, you know, we could get a number on what one was built for today and we can give you a a rate to inflate it by for each year that passes, but otherwise it's it's a shot in the dark.

Just as a point of information, I've looked since this conversation has uh come up and seems to be anywhere from 15 million on a low end to 30 million on a high end seems to be the uh price.

Is 30 million just for a station or is that for like the whole public safety centers? Cuz those ones I know are Yeah, the one that was on the $30 million side was more of a public safety complex where 15 million was your bay with your three apparatus just very standard. Um, but that seems to be roughly what the cost would be now, right?

I know Ton is building new stations. I think they're building two.

Um, and there are comparable. I think they're going to be multiple apparatus, ladders and and and uh and pumps, but I can do some checking and and call around and ask and see what the the final cost on a lot of that stuff is, and I'll get back to you on that.

Okay. Well, you got counsel. That's good. I think uh do you guys have anything else pertaining to the topic that you'd like to add?

N what we'll do with this is is I would recommend I make a motion a table and then uh you second that council.

Yeah.

Yeah. Um uh I thought the I should make it. Yeah.

I'll second it.

Um and we'll entertain this once information is a little more clear as to whether or not the city is going to own the property. a joint venture um and then start to entertain it there. I just like to lay the groundwork for this now so there's a you know a proactive discussion into it and when that time comes we've you know we're hit the ground running. So in the meantime I'll uh reach out to JB

Consulting who did our study and get a price from him on how much it would cost to Oh, excellent.

to do that next phase.

Perfect.

And we'll see if uh if there's an appetite for it.

All right. And uh that's all I got on that topic. And uh motion to adjurnn.

Yeah. So a motion was made to uh table item number nine. Uh and I second that.

All in favor?

I I nos. A motion to adjurnn.

Motion to adjurnn.

Motion to adjurnn. So made. I second it.

All in favor?

I I

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