Village of Windham
Minutes of Safety Meeting
December 6th 2005, 5:05pm – 6:10pm

Those Present:

Rob Donham	Committee Chairman
Scott Garrett	Council Member
Jodi Minotti	Council Member
Jim Moore	Mayor
Jack DeSalvo	Police Chief
Claire Simpson	Fire Chief
Mark Manlove	Solicitor
Kevin Knight	Village Administrator
Stacy Strausbagh	Resident

Rob opened the meeting and moved to approve the minutes from October, the minutes were approved and the floor was opened for discussion.

Jack gave a report on the presence of sex offenders in the community and there status as of the meeting. Jack stated there are presently 6 registered in the Village and 3 are moving.

Jack also gave the committee a report on the vehicle maintenance logs, and stated that he has been authorizing the bare minimum to keep them going; approximately $1500 in electrical work still needs to be performed on the cruisers.

Jack informed the committee that the Police Department received approximately $4500 in new computer equipment from The Office of Criminal Justice Service for excellent contribution toward the Ohio Incident-Based Reporting System (OIBRS).

Jack gave a general account of the state of crime in the Village and the overall outlook was bleak. There does not seem to be enough officers to serve the Village’s full crime prevention needs.

Rob asked Jack what would be his want, as far as personnel in the department is concerned. Jack stated that he would like 5-7 full-time officers which would include a Detective, and to get the 3-4 part-time officers trained and working.

Jack asked if the street lights were going to be shut off to try to save money.

Jim stated that no decision has been made on that yet.

Jack asked about shift shortages should the income tax not pass and the fact that he has to come out if a shift is not covered. Jack wanted to know if the council wants him to lock the doors, or stay on call.

Jim stated that he and Jack should talk more in-depth about that and make a recommendation to council. Jack stated that he would recommend shutting down a shift if necessary.

Jim asked Claire about the reason for the 2 No Response and 2 squad member stood by.

Claire stated he did not know the exact reason for these specific calls.

Rob asked Claire to explain to the committee exactly what the process is for a No Response or Squad Member Stood By.

Claire explained some circumstances where a No Response or Squad Member Stood By would come into play.

Jim asked if an EMT is on-call but has to work over time at there full time job, does the person call and report that they will not be able to report.

Claire stated that they did, a page goes out for a cover. This is usually worked out inside of the Department Claire stated.

Jim asked Claire to investigate the No Responses and report back to the committee on these instances.

Claire stated that he would.

Mark read the committee the laws pertaining to the Newton Falls water meter tampering laws. Mark stated that these are covered under O.R.C. 4933.18 but we could adopt a local ordinance and enforce the tampering by administering fines ourselves, but would recommend sending these violations to the county prosecutor.

Kevin stated that the Stop light at Center St. and Green Meadow will cost $3800 to fix. Rob stated that he would like to see the light stay a caution light on Center St. due to the signal not being justified by neither high traffic volumes nor excessive vehicular accidents. Rob stated he has had a large number of people compliment to change to a caution and would like to see it stay. Kevin and Jack stated that the light slows people down and think that it should be put back to a stop light.

Stacy asked for permission to hunt in the Village with a bow, or for clarification on the ordinance against it.

Rob stated the city ordinance did not allow any hunting in the Village. Several concerns were brought up with regard to hunting in the Village and how it could be regulated. The committee decided to recommend the issue to full council for further discussion.

Meeting was adjourned at 6:10 pm

Committee Chair,
Robert W Donham II