[Board of Aldermen Retreat on February 11, 2022.]
[00:00:02]
UH, SO NOW I'M TRYING TO GET OUT OF HERE THREE O'CLOCK, THREE 30 MORE AT THREE.
SO IF YOU WOULDN'T TAKE IT OFF, SO SHE JUMPED, RIGHT.
GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR AND ALDERMAN LET'S KICK OFF OUR BUDGET SEASON.
SO WE'LL BE WORKING THROUGH SEVERAL MONTHS WORKING ON THIS BUDGET.
I WANT TO THANK ALL OF OUR CITY EMPLOYEES, OUR DEPARTMENT HEAD FOR ALL THE GREAT WORK THEY DO TO MAKE THE CITY RUN.
AND THEY HAVE WORKED TIRELESSLY OVER THE LAST YEAR AND DURING THE PANDEMIC, IT HAD BEEN A CHALLENGE, BUT THEY CONTINUE TO SHOW UP, DO A GREAT JOB FOR US.
ONE OF THE THINGS IN THIS BUDGET THAT WE ARE GOING TO BE LOOKING AT IS THE SALARY STUDY WE HAVE, UM, UH, THAT IS IN PROCESS NOW.
UH, JOHN HAS BEEN WORKING THROUGH THAT.
SO WE WILL BE BRINGING THAT UP DURING THE BUDGET PROCESS.
WE HAVE SEEN AN ISSUE WITH, UH, COMPETITIVENESS IN THE WORKPLACE, NOT JUST FROM A NEIGHBORING MUNICIPALITIES, BUT FROM RETAIL ESTABLISHMENT AND THINGS LIKE THAT, WHERE THEIR, THEIR STARTING SALARIES ARE CONSIDERABLY HIGHER THAN WHAT WE HAVE.
IT'S A, AS PART OF THAT SALARY STUDY, WE'RE GOING TO BE LOOKING AT THAT AND ADDRESSING THIS AS WELL.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE COMING UP HERE IN THIS BUDGET SEASON AS ARP FUNDS, WE HAD A WORKSHOP ON THAT SEVERAL WEEKS AGO.
WE'RE ALSO MINDFUL THAT THIS BOARD HAS AN ELECTION ON MAY 17TH.
A NEW BOARD WILL BE SEATED AT SOME POINT, EITHER JUNE OR JULY.
WHATEVER'S DETERMINED ON THAT BASED ON ANY TYPE OF RUNOFFS THAT OCCUR.
AND SO THE BUDGET WE WILL PRESENT IS GOING TO BE BASIC BUDGET.
UM, THERE ARE SOME REQUESTS FOR ADDITIONAL EMPLOYEES AND SOME CAPITAL THINGS, BUT WE DO WANT TO ALLOW THE OPPORTUNITY FOR THE INCOMING BOARD TO, TO COME UP WITH THEIR GOALS AND OBJECTIVES AS WE MOVE FORWARD OVER THE NEXT FOUR YEARS AS WELL.
SO JUST TO TALK ABOUT SCHEDULE FOR THE BUDGET.
WELL, WE HAVE RIGHT IN THE AFFIDAVIT, I FREED BUDGET RETREAT ON FEBRUARY 21ST FINAL BUDGET REQUESTS ARE DUE TO FINANCE DURING THE FIRST TWO WEEKS OF MARCH THAT, UH, STAFF WILL BE MEETING WITH EACH OF THE DEPARTMENT HEADS.
THEY WILL PRESENT THEIR BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS.
THEN WE'LL SPEND THE NEXT MONTH WORKING ON THAT BUDGET.
AND THE GOAL IS TO PRESENT THE BUDGET TO THE BOARD.
UM, IN LATE APRIL, WE WILL HAVE A PUBLIC HEARING ON APRIL 26TH AND THE GOAL IS TO ADOPT THE BUDGET ON THE MAY 10TH MEETING.
SO THAT GIVES YOU A GENERAL TIMEFRAME OF WHAT WE'RE WORKING ON FISHER.
UH, HE WAS FULLY GOING FOR A LIST OUT OF A FOUR TABLE HERE.
OH, THE WOMAN HARRIS PRESENT AUGER MAN, PASTOR OUTLAW, ALDERMAN, BEST AUTOMATE KINSEY SO THEN YOUR CONSISTENT GOALS, WE ALWAYS SEE WHAT HE SAID.
HE IS QUALITY OF LIFE ISSUES, STREET, SIDEWALKS, WATER, SEWER, ELECTRICAL, AND PUBLIC SAFETY, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE AS WELL.
AND SO, UH, SHORTLY AS WE INVITE ALL OF OUR DEPARTMENT HEADS UP, THEY'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT THE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES AND SOME CAPITALIZED THAT THEY ARE GOING TO BE RECOMMENDING.
AS WE MOVED TO THIS BUDGET, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO ASK ANY QUESTIONS YOU'D LIKE, AND ALSO SHARE A GOAL THAT YOU WOULD LIKE FOR THE DEPARTMENT HEADS, WHAT AT, AS WE MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS.
UM, SO WITH THAT BEING SAID, WE'RE GOING TO GO AHEAD AND START WITH GENERAL ADMINISTRATION.
SO ON THE GOVERNING BOARD, YOU KNOW, THE ADMINISTRATION, THERE ARE NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES.
SO A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT WE OUGHT TO BE LOOKING AT, WE'VE GOT OUR ELEVATOR PROJECT THAT WILL BE AFFECTING THE NEXT YEAR BUDGET.
UM, THE BIDS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE OPENED IN, UM, I THINK WEDNESDAY OF NEXT WEEK.
SO GETTING THAT, AND WE'LL BE TALKING TO THE BOARD IN THE FIRST MEETING IN MARCH TO DISCUSS THAT WE'VE GOT SOME OTHER INFRASTRUCTURE ISSUES WITH CITY HALL AND THE CITY HALL STAIRS THAT WE'RE GOING TO ALSO LOOK AT IN
[00:05:01]
THIS UPCOMING BUDGET.AND LOOKING AT THAT VIDEO SECURITY SYSTEMS FOR CITY HALL TO COVER, UM, THE HALLWAYS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
LEGAL, THE CITY ATTORNEY HAS, HAS MADE A REQUEST FOR, UM, TO INCREASE THE FEES.
THIS IS NORMALLY DONE, UH, APPROXIMATELY EVERY TWO YEARS.
AND THAT THE INCREASE IS ONLY BASED ON THE CPI FOR CALENDAR YEAR.
AND SO THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE SEEING ON THE PROPOSED.
WE HAVE LOOKED AT OUR NEIGHBORING CITIES TO SEE WHAT THE AVERAGE COST OF DENVER ATTORNEY SERVICES AND THE CITY ATTORNEY'S PROPOSAL IS SIGNIFICANTLY LESS THAN WHAT WE SEE WITH OUR NATURE AND FEES.
ELECTIONS ARE ALREADY IN THE LANE.
WE DO NOT, UM, OCCUR OR CONCLUDE BY JUNE 30TH, $40,000 WILL BE BUSTED TO COVER ASSOCIATED COSTS.
IF A RUNOFF DOES IT OCCUR, THEN WE WILL NEED TO COME BACK TO THE BOARD TO ADDRESS THAT.
AND CURRENTLY THIS, THIS IS ACTUALLY SCHEDULED FOR MAY 17.
MA'AM HAVE YOU BEEN IN TOUCH WITH MELANIE, RIGHT.
TO DETERMINE IF WE ARE A STANDALONE OR IF WE ARE WITH THE COUNTY, BECAUSE RIGHT NOW, I GUESS THE COUNTY AND THE CITY MAPS ARE GOOD, SO THEY CAN MOVE FORWARD.
THE OTHER, YOU KNOW, CONGRESS AND OF THOSE OTHER SEATS ARE NOT SAFE.
DO WE HAVE THE FULL AMOUNT, BECAUSE IF WE'RE STANDALONE, WE WOULD NEED 75,000 OF CARE.
IF WE'RE PART OF SOMETHING, IT COULD BE $5,000.
SO DID WE HAVE ENOUGH IN OUR BUDGET TO COVER THAT IN OUR CURRENT BUDGET WHEELCHAIR? AND CURRENTLY THERE IS 40,000.
SO IF THAT CHANGES SO THAT WE COULD HAVE TO SPEND A WHOLE LOT MORE, IF WE'RE A STANDALONE, I'M NOT SURE.
UM, YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN CURIOUS ABOUT THAT AND I THINK THE FREE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR THE CATHOLIC WEST, WE HAVE SOME, SOME ITEMS THAT ARE COMING TO THEIR END OF LIFE, THE NAME OF THE BACKUP SYSTEM FOR SWITCH WIRELESS NETWORK.
AND WE'RE LOOKING AT ABOUT $160,000.
IT WILL HAVE TO REPLACE FOR OPERATIONS.
WE ANTICIPATE $59,000 INCREASE MAINLY DUE TO THE INCREASED COST OF MAINTENANCE CONTRACTS ON THE BIG CHANNEL WE'RE LOOKING AT IS MORE IN THE CITY PODCAST, AS ANOTHER MEANS OF GETTING INFORMATION TO OUR CITIZENS AND LOOKING AT A MASS NOTIFICATION SYSTEM TO WHERE WE CAN SEND OUT VOICEMAILS, TEXTS, AND EMAILS, AND ALSO WHERE TO GO TO OUR WEBSITE AND CHECK ON SPECIFIC TOPICS, WHETHER IT BE TO BE ALERTED OF A BOARD OF ALDERMAN MEETING OR ANY OF OUR BOARD COMMISSION MEETINGS, UPDATE ON PARKS AND RECREATION AND PUBLIC WORKS OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
SO IT COULD BE A THING WHERE ANYTHING THE CITY WANTS TO PUT OUT, CHECK ON THAT.
OR IF YOU'RE JUST INTERESTED IN SPECIFIC THINGS, YOU CAN REQUEST THAT AS WELL.
UM, REGARDING TO THE PART THAT WE WOULD BE IN TROUBLE, THAT WOULD BE A CITY PODCAST, TALK ABOUT CITY, CITY ITEMS. SO IT'S NOT ANYTHING THAT WE WOULD INVITE OUTSIDE GROUPS TO COME IN AND JUST BE TO, TO TALK ABOUT CITY ACTIVITIES.
GREAT EXAMPLE, THERE'S THE EXTENDED SUCCESS THAT CITY OF FAYETTEVILLE HAS DONE, AND WE LIKED HOW THEY'VE OPERATED THEIR, THEIR, UM, THEIR PODCAST.
AND IT'S JUST ANOTHER WAY TO GET THE WORD OUT TO THE CITIZENS.
UM, AND JUST PRELIMINARY LOOKING AT IF WE FUND THIS AND THEY'RE IN, AND COLLEEN IS DOING SOME RESEARCH ON IT NOW, NOT A LOT OF COST ASSOCIATED WITH IT.
UM, BUT WE'RE LOOKING AT A COUPLE OF PODCASTS A MONTH.
AND THEN IF WE HAVE ANY, ANY CITRIX SITUATION, SUBSTANCE FREE FLOAT OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT POPS UP WITH ME AS WELL, IT'S JUST ANOTHER WAY TO GET THE WORD OUT.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT IS, IS THE, UM, THE PIG CHANNEL.
CURRENTLY, YOU CAN LOOK AT THAT ON YOUTUBE.
YOU CAN ALSO LOOK AT IT ON THE SOUTHERN RAIN.
WE HAD AN ISSUE THAT OCCURRED JUST BEFORE OUR LAST MEETING.
I'VE HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH PIO OFFICER AND WE ARE PUTTING SOME STEPS IN PLACE TO WHERE THAT DOESN'T OCCUR AGAIN.
SO SOME COMPONENTS DIDN'T BREAK DOWN ON THAT.
MOVING FORWARD, WE ALREADY, IF SOMETHING HAPPENS, WE'LL AT LEAST BE ABLE TO GO LIVE ON FACEBOOK WITH AN ALTERNATIVE, UM, UH, MAINS, BUT ALSO WITH, WITH SUDDEN LAKE.
AND THE WAY CAPABLY IS, UH, WE REALIZED THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE NOT, UM, SUBSCRIBING TO PAY TELEVISION LIKE THEY WORK.
AND SO WE'RE LOOKING AT ROKU PLATFORMS, APPLE PLATFORMS, WHERE YOU CAN ACTUALLY DOWNLOAD THE CITY'S PEG CHILDS, WHERE YOU CAN WATCH IT ON A VARIETY OF THINGS, STILL CONTINUE TO DO THE YOUTUBE AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO I COULDN'T, I COULDN'T WATCH THAT CITY ACCESS CHANNEL UNLESS I WAS LOOKING ON THE WEBSITE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
SO JUST GIVING AN OPPORTUNITY FOR CITIZENS TO LOOK AT THINGS FROM A VARIETY OF PLATFORMS.
[00:10:01]
I THINK THAT'S A GOOD THING TO DO.AND IT'S JUST THE FUTURE OF, OF WHAT WE'RE SEEING WITH THAT TYPE OF COMMUNICATION.
SO ALSO IN PAIRED DOWN CURRENTLY, WE ARE NOT TRANSMITTING IN HIGH DEFINITION.
UM, IT IS CONSIDERABLE NOW TO, TO UPGRADE.
WE HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THIS FOR SEVERAL YEARS.
UH, THE ESTIMATED COST FOR THAT IS $8,000.
WE ALSO DO NOT HAVE CLOSED CAPTIONING, AND THAT'S AN ADA ITEM THAT WE LOOK AT THAT'S OKAY.
SO WILL, FOR THAT, WE'LL CONTINUE TO LOOK AT THIS, OUR OPERATING EXPENSES FOR SWAG IT FOR THE, UM, FACEBOOK AND LAST STREAMING IS APPROXIMATELY 26,500 SOME CONTRACTED PROGRAMS THAT WE DO AT $6,000.
AND OF COURSE IS IF THE CLOSE CATCHING IS APPROVED AND SOME OF OUR LINE ITEM EXPENSES WILL, WILL INCREASE.
SO THAT BEING SAID, DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR ANYTHING ON GENERAL ADMINISTRATION? I GOT A QUESTION.
WE HAVE CONTRACTS FOR US TO GLIDE AND SHOOTS, SHOOTING SOME THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
WE HAVE APPROXIMATELY HALF A DOZEN LOCAL SUBCONTRACTORS THAT WE WORK WITH.
UH, FOR VIDEO, WE HAVE THREE THAT I CAN THINK OF OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD FOR STILL PHOTOS.
IF WE NEED THOSE EVENTS, I THINK THEY'RE QUITE REASONABLE.
UM, I WOULD LIKE IF WE HAD MORE OF THEM TO CHOOSE FROM, UH, QUITE OFTEN THEY'RE BUSY WITH OTHER PROJECTS AND A LOT OF OTHER BUSINESSES AND ORGANIZATIONS IN THIS MARKET THAT THEY ALSO CONTRACT WITH.
ARE WE ABLE TO GET A PROPERTY THAT THOSE PROJECTS ARE WHO WE ARE CONTRACTED OUT WITH THEM? YEAH.
I'D BE HAPPY TO SHARE THE COMPANIES.
MA'AM LIKE THE LAST FEW DID WE HAVE NATIONAL NIGHT OUT, A LOT OF PEOPLE DIDN'T KNOW THAT IT WAS GOING ON.
SOME AREAS WOULDN'T BE COVERED.
AND I WAS JUST CURIOUS, WAS GOING TO TAKE YOUR PLACE AND HOW IT HAPPEN LIKE THAT.
UM, I WANT TO MAKE SURE I UNDERSTOOD YOU CORRECTLY.
SO YOU'RE SAYING BASICALLY THAT YOUR DON'T EVEN HAVE, UM, CAPABILITIES ARE SUDDENLY TO GET THE, THEY CAN GET SUDDENLY CAN, BUT YOU, IF YOU HAVE OTHER PLATFORMS LIKE IT, IF YOU'RE JUST GETTING INTERNET SERVICE AND DON'T HAVE THE TV SUBSCRIPTION TO IT, UNLESS YOU DOWNLOAD SOMETHING ON LIKE APPLE OR ROKU, YOU'RE NOT GOING TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK AT YOUR DIFFERENT TAG CHANNELS.
SO THIS IS THAT WITH THE CURRENT CHANGES IS COMING ABOUT IS CURRENTLY RIGHT NOW.
IT'S NOT BECAUSE MY CONCERN IS WITH OUR ELDERLY PEOPLE.
A LOT OF THEM ARE TIM IN TB THREE BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT, THEY DON'T HAVE, SOME OF THEM DON'T HAVE THE CAPABILITY OF HAVING A LAPTOP OR WHATEVER TYPE OF ELECTRONICS THEY NEED TO GET TO ME IN.
SO, AND THAT WOULD NOT CHANGE AT ALL.
WE WOULDN'T CONTINUE TO OFFER THAT.
THIS IS JUST A WAY TO FOLKS THAT ARE NO LONGER SUBSCRIBING TO THOSE SERVICES, TO ALLOW THEM THE OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK AT THAT AS NOT WHATEVER WE'RE CURRENTLY DOING.
WE DO NOT WANT TO STOP ON ANY OTHER QUESTIONS.
ALL RIGHT, THIS TIME WE'RE GOING TO ASK THEM AND THEM TALK ABOUT THE SERVICE.
GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR HALDEMAN.
UM, SO TODAY WE'LL BE SPEAKING ABOUT DEVELOPMENT SERVICES.
UM, MANY OF YOU ARE FAMILIAR, BUT FOR THE PUBLIC, I JUST WANT TO SHARE THAT REALLY THE KEY PURPOSE OF THE DEPARTMENT IS TO MAINTAIN A HIGH QUALITY OF LIFE FOR THE CITIZENS OF NEW BERN, AS WELL AS FACILITATE QUARTERLY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT THROUGHOUT THE CITY IN THE FUTURE, AS WELL AS ADMINISTER THE STATE BUILDING CODES FOR ANY NEW OR EXISTING, UH, DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS, UH, ALL AT THE SAME TIME WHILE TRYING TO MAINTAIN THE COMMUNITIES, UM, HISTORY AND, AND CHARM CERTAINLY HAVE SEVERAL DIVISIONS WITHIN, UH,
[00:15:01]
DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, INCLUDING FROM UNITY, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PLANNING DIVISION, AND AS WELL AS BUILDING INSPECTIONS AND THE METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION OR THE NEWBURN AREA, NPO IN REGARDS TO STAFFING, THERE ARE 21 FULL-TIME POSITIONS THAT ARE CURRENTLY FUNDED, UH, TO, UM, THE 18 ARE FUNDED THROUGH GRANT FUNDING FOR THE MPO.SO THE NPO IS A SELF-SUPPORTING, UH, DIVISION OF DEVELOPMENT SERVICES.
WE CURRENTLY HAVE THREE VACANCIES IN THE DEPARTMENT AND GIS TECHNICIAN POSITION, WHICH IS ONE THAT, UM, WAS CREATED LAST YEAR.
UH, WE ALSO HAVE THE NEWLY CREATED, UH, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE REDEVELOPMENT COMMISSION.
AND THEN OF COURSE THE DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT SERVICES POSITION IS CURRENTLY VACANT.
WE HAVE ADDED ONE ADDITIONAL STAFFING REQUEST, WHICH WOULD BE ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT FOR THE COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIVISION THAT WAS PREVIOUSLY REQUESTED DURING LAST YEAR'S BUDGET PROCESS MEAN IT WAS UNFUNDED WHAT'S.
WHAT WAS THE SALARY REQUEST ON THAT? UM, THAT ONE, UM, IT IS THE SALARY RANGE, THE ADDITIONAL SUPPORT.
WHAT WOULD THEY BE WORKING WITH THE REDEVELOPMENT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OR OVERALL DEVELOPERS? UM, IT WOULD BE UNDER THE COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIVISION.
UM, SO IT WOULD, UH, BASICALLY BE UNDER MY PER VIEW.
SO IT WOULD BE ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT, JUST AN ADMIN.
SO I THINK IT WAS AN ADMIN, LIKE FIRST LEVEL POSITION AS WHAT HAD BEEN REQUESTED.
SO AT THE END, I CAN LOOK AT THAT IF THERE ARE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, UM, IN REGARDS TO DEPARTMENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS OVER, UH, THIS CURRENT FISCAL YEAR, WE HAVE COMPLETED THE RESILIENCY AND HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN.
UH, WE ARE CURRENTLY PACKAGING THAT FOR FINAL, UH, PUBLIC COMMENT BRING TO THE BOARD FOR OFFICIAL ADOPTION.
WE'VE ALSO RECENTLY RECEIVED, UM, INFORMATION ON FROM NORTH CAROLINA EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND FEMA.
WE HAD BEEN PREVIOUSLY NOTIFIED OF A GRANT AWARD THROUGH FEMA TO BASICALLY ROLL THAT PLAN INTO AN AMENDMENT TO THE REGIONALLY ADOPTED PLAN.
SO I JUST SPOKE WITH THE STATE ACTUALLY TODAY AND THEY DO EXPECT THAT WE WILL BE RECEIVING THAT, UM, GRANT APPLICATION.
AND THAT WILL HELP US TAKE NEXT STEPS TO, UM, ROLL THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS SPECIFICALLY FOR NEWBORNS JURISDICTION AND THE REGIONALLY ADOPTED PLAN, WHICH COVERS NINE COUNTIES, UM, RELATED TO RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE FLOOD HAZARD SPECIFICALLY.
SO THAT IS SOMETHING WE HAVE BEEN WORKING CONCURRENTLY THROUGH THIS PROCESS TO FOLLOW BASICALLY FEMA'S, UM, RECOMMENDATIONS.
UM, SO I VERY MUCH LOOK FORWARD TO, UM, BEING ABLE TO HAVE US PUBLISH THAT FOR THE COMMUNITY TO VIEW THE PLAN IN ITS ENTIRETY.
IT HAS BEEN A WORKING DOCUMENT WE'VE BEEN USING IT FOR APPLYING FOR VARIOUS DIFFERENT GRANT APPLICATIONS, INCLUDING BRICK MOST RECENTLY.
UM, BUT WE WILL HAVE A PRIORITIZATION OF PROJECTS WHICH WILL ALSO HELP ASSIST US AS WE IDENTIFY WHICH PROJECTS WE MAY GO FOR OTHER FUNDING REQUESTS FOR FEDERAL FUNDS, RP, YOU KNOW, ET CETERA.
AND, UH, MR. JEFFERS AREA, YOU AND YOUR STAFF Y'ALL ARE WORKING REALLY HARD ON THIS RESILIENCY AND HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN.
I KNOW YOU HAD A LOT OF WORK INVOLVED AND WE ARE VERY APPRECIATIVE TO THE PUBLIC AS WELL.
IT HAS BEEN A LOT OF ROBUST PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT, A LOT OF ENGAGEMENT WITH STAKEHOLDERS AT THE LOCAL REGIONAL AND FEDERAL LEVEL OR ACADEMIC PARTNER.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE GOTTEN REALLY POSITIVE RESPONSE FROM ALL OF OUR STAKEHOLDERS AND HOW WE CAN ALIGN OUR VOCAL GOALS WITH THE REGIONAL GOALS.
AND OF COURSE, RESILIENCY IS ONE OF THE KIND OF, YOU KNOW, THE FOCUS AREAS, UH, THAT THE STATE AND REALLY NATION IS LOOKING AT RIGHT NOW.
SO WE ARE AHEAD OF THE CURVE, UM, AND ABLE TO SHARE OUR BEST PRACTICES BACK WITH OTHER LOCAL COMMUNITIES AS WELL.
SO THAT HAS BEEN A GREAT SUCCESS FOR THE CITY AND OUR DEPARTMENT SPECIFICALLY, IN ADDITION, THE NEWBURN AREA MPO COMPLETED THE METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION PLAN, WHICH IS BASICALLY THE LONG RANGE TRANSPORTATION PLAN.
YOU'LL REMEMBER THAT WAS ADOPTED IN MARCH OF 2021.
IN ADDITION, THE, UM, UPDATE TO THE COMPREHENSIVE LAND USE PLAN IS UNDERWAY CURRENTLY.
UM, THERE IS AN UPDATE TO NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL STATUTES, ONE 60 D.
UM, AND THIS WILL SATISFY THAT REQUIREMENT AS WELL.
AND THE MPO IS ALSO IN THE PROCESS OF UPDATING THE CITIES, UH, BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN PLANS.
SO I KNOW THE BOARD HAS HAD A LOT OF DISCUSSIONS SURROUNDING THAT TOPIC AS WELL.
[00:20:01]
UH, THAT WE CAN LOOK AT IMPLEMENTING INTO THE FUTURE AS WELL.I DO SHARE ON JUST SOME FACTS.
THIS IS MORE ON THE ANNUAL BASIS.
SO WE'RE LOOKING AT THE CALENDAR YEAR, 2021.
UM, BUT ALEX WILSON, OUR GIS MANAGER HAS COMPLETED, UM, THE ANNUAL, UH, BUILDING REPORT, UM, FOR DEVELOPMENT.
AND I WILL ALSO SHARE THAT THIS IS AVAILABLE PUBLICLY ON OUR WEBSITE.
SO I'LL GO OVER SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS, BUT YOU CAN CERTAINLY GO ONLINE.
THERE'S A FULL PDF THAT YOU CAN, UM, YOU KNOW, PRINT THAT HAS SOME REALLY GREAT DATA AND STATS AND WOULD ENCOURAGE THE PUBLIC TO DO THE SAME, UM, OUT OF ORDER, I'M SORRY FOR WHAT I HAD HAD.
UM, SO AS YOU ALL ARE AWARE OF PERMITS ISSUED DURING HURRICANE FLORENCE, UM, REALLY IN, UH, 2018 AND 2019 REALLY KIND OF SKEWED SOME OF OUR NUMBERS, BUT DID START TO DECLINE IN 2020.
UM, THE TOTAL ESTIMATED VALUE OF CONSTRUCTION IN 2021 WAS 102, UM, MILLION COMPARED TO 115 AND 2020 THAT'S DUE TO, UM, SOME OF THE IMPACTS OF IT SLOWING DOWN, FOLLOWING REPAIRS OF HURRICANE FLORENCE.
AND THEN ALSO GENERALLY, UH, SOME OF THE AVAILABILITY OF MATERIALS AND, YOU KNOW, WHAT HAPPENED DUE TO COVID RELATED SHORTAGES.
UM, SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE SEEING THERE, BUT YOU CAN SEE ON THIS CHART, THAT RESIDENTIAL GROWTH, UM, HAS JUST, UM, FAR EXCEEDED WHAT WE'VE HAD SEEN IN PREVIOUS YEARS, UM, WITH RESIDENTIAL GROWTH, HAVING AN ESTIMATED CONSTRUCTION VALUE OF $75.5 MILLION IN THAT 35% INCREASE OVER CALENDAR YEAR 2020, A SINGLE FAMILY HOME PERMITS MAKE UP NEARLY 75% OF THE TOTAL ESTIMATED, UH, CONSTRUCTION VALUE.
UM, AND WE, UM, YEAH, SO, YOU KNOW, BASICALLY THAT THE ESTIMATED CONSTRUCTION MOUNT VALUE HAS REMAINED PRETTY STEADY, UM, FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS.
AND WE DO EXPECT PROBABLY A SLIGHT DECREASE IN OUR PERMIT REVENUES THIS YEAR, JUST KIND OF BASED ON SOME OF THE SHORTAGES, UM, IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY AND SOME OF THE CHALLENGES RELATED TO COST INCREASES.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, JUST WANT TO MAKE YOU AWARE OF THAT, BECAUSE THAT IS IN ANOTHER PORTION OF MY PRESENTATION.
AGAIN, UH, WE ISSUED 10 PERMITS AND IN 2021 FOR, UH, COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENTS, UH, THIS INCLUDED, UM, YOU KNOW, THINGS SUCH AS MEDICAL OFFICES, UM, SHOPS, UH, EVEN A NEW, NEW BREW ROOM.
SO PRETTY DIVERSE IN THE TYPES OF BUSINESSES THAT WE ISSUE PERMITS FOR.
UH, ADDITIONALLY IN THE LAST SIX MONTHS, WE'VE HAD NEW SITE PLAN APPROVALS FOR TWO MEDICAL OFFICES, WHICH TOTAL SIX BUILDINGS, UM, OVER BOTH OF THOSE, UM, ONE IS IN CAROLINA COLORS AND THE OTHER IS WITH CCBHC IN ADDITION, UM, MULTI-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL CONTINUES TO GROW.
YOU CAN SEE HERE, WE HAVE 360, 80 UNITS THAT WILL GO.
AND CAROLINA COLORS THAT HAVE BEEN APPROVED.
HIGHLAND VILLAGE HAS 60 NEW UNITS.
AND THEN WEST NEWBURN OF COURSE HAS SEVERAL PLANS FOR THEIR MULTI-PHASED, UH, UM, SINGLE FAMILY, OR I'M SORRY, MULTIFAMILY DEVELOPMENTS.
THERE'S A MEDICAL UNIT GOING UP IN WEST NEWBURN.
IS THAT NOT IN THESE TALENTS? SO ZAHN, THIS IS BIG PROJECT.
I KIND OF EAT THAT ONE IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION AND, YOU KNOW, MIRRORING COMPLETION.
SO I DIDN'T INCLUDE THAT KIND OF AS A FORECAST.
IT'S NOT UNDER, IF YOU LOOK AT THAT PREVIOUS LIST, THERE'S NO NON-RESIDENTIAL PERMITS.
IT LOOKS IF YOU'LL GO BACK, SEE THERE'S NO RED UNDER 2021.
AND IT COULD BE AN I, I THAT'S WHERE, RIGHT.
I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE, BUT THAT'S A PRETTY BIG BILL.
AND THAT'S A GREAT INSTANCE OF WHY I'D SAY GO TO THIS CHART AND IT ACTUALLY LISTS BY DIFFERENT TYPE, THE AMOUNT OF PERMITS THAT WERE POLLED AND EXECUTED.
AND IT COULD BE THAT IT WAS PERMITTED IN THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR, JUST MAY NOT HAVE BEEN DURING CALENDAR YEAR 2021.
I THINK THAT ACTUALLY CAME THROUGH DURING 2020.
UM, SO YOU KNOW, THIS AGAIN, JUST BASED ON THE DATA WE TRACK IS ON A CALENDAR YEAR, NOT NECESSARILY FISCAL YEAR, BUT MOVING FORWARD.
UM, THE, UM, SITE PLAN, REVIEW STAFF, WE LOOKED AT KIND OF WHAT'S COME THROUGH OUR OFFICE IN THE LAST SIX MONTHS.
SO THESE ARE THINGS THAT ARE COMING TO FRUITION SHORTLY WE'LL.
UM, IF THEY HAVEN'T ALREADY STARTED CONSTRUCTION,
[00:25:01]
WE'LL BE STARTING CONSTRUCTION AND KIND OF THINKING ABOUT WHAT THE FUTURE LOOKS LIKE FOR THE FISCAL YEAR.SO MULTIFAMILY RESIDENTIAL IS A GROWTH AREA THAT WE JUST HAVEN'T EXPERIENCED IN THIS WAY.
UM, UM, FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS, UH, SINGLE FAMILY, RESIDENTIAL, UM, WEST NEWBURN, IN ADDITION TO THE PHASE ONE, UM, THAT THEY ARE UNDERWAY HAS BEEN APPROVED FOR PHASE TWO.
SO THAT WOULD BE AN ADDITIONAL 140 LOTS.
UH, BLUE ROTTER VARIETY HAS AN ADDITIONAL APPROXIMATE, 150 LOTS.
AND THEN, UM, IN REGARDS TO OTHER INDUSTRIAL TYPE OF PROJECTS, UM, WE ARE, WE'LL BE WORKING WITH RIB OR MARINE GROUP, UM, DIVISION OF BASS PRO FOR THEIR PLANT MODERNIZATION.
AS YOU ALL ARE AWARE, WE HAVE THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF, UM, THEIR MANUFACTURING OPERATIONS AND THE PURCHASE OF HATTERAS YACHTS.
SO THAT WILL BE SOMETHING THAT WE WILL BE SEEING OVER THE NEXT NUMBER OF YEARS AS THEY, UM, BRING MORE JOBS AND MORE INVESTMENT TO UPGRADE THEIR PLANT.
IN REGARDS TO, UH, FISCAL YEAR 22, 23 GOALS, WE WILL IMPLEMENT THE UPDATED LAND USE PLAN.
WE WILL CONTINUE TO IMPLEMENT THE REDEVELOPMENT PLAN AND CONTINUE TO CONTINUE TO PROVIDE SUPPORT FOR EIGHT BOARDS AND COMMITTEES.
UM, I WON'T LIST ALL OF THOSE OFF, BUT IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT ANY OF THOSE BOARDS, PLEASE LET ME KNOW.
AND THEN ON THE BUDGET OUTLOOK, UM, WE, AS I'VE MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY, WE ANTICIPATE A SMALL DECREASE IN PERMITTING REVENUES.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I, I WILL SAY MAYBE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT, OUR BUDGET WILL DECREASE A LITTLE BIT BECAUSE WE WON'T BE HAVING THE EXPENSE OF THE LAND USE PLAN UPDATE.
UM, BUT WE WILL HAVE A SLIGHT INCREASE.
UM, THERE'S SOME, UM, HARDWARE FOR GIS THAT IS NEEDED SOME EQUIPMENT, AND THEN THE GIS SERVER RECONFIGURATION, WHICH WILL EITHER BE A DEDICATED SERVER FOR GIS INFORMATION OR MOVING INTO THE CLOUD.
UH, SO WE'VE BEEN RESEARCHING THOSE COSTS AND IT COULD BE UP TO $15,000 AND I WILL BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU DO.
I MEAN, TO DO, UM, IS IT NUISANCE ABATEMENT? YES.
UM, WE HAVE ONE THAT WORKS WITHIN THE WHOLE CITY, AND THEN WE HAVE ONE INDIVIDUAL THAT IS TARGETED IN THE GREATER FIVE POINTS, GREATER ADOPT.
DO YOU FEEL COMMUNITY, UM, AREA BECAUSE ONCE WE USED TO JUST HAVE INDIVIDUAL DOING THAT, CORRECT, THAT WAS A NEW POSITION DURING LAST FISCAL YEAR'S BUDGET AND HAS HAD A LOT OF SUCCESS, UM, AND BEING ABLE TO HELP, UM, WORK WITH THE COMMUNITY AND HAVE A LOT OF THINGS THAT SORT OF JUST WEREN'T WEREN'T MOVING OR BEING REPPED AT OR IMPROVE THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, REALLY, YOU KNOW, SINCE, UH, MR. HOLMES STARTED, RIGHT, HE'S DONE A TREMENDOUS JOB IN BUILDING THAT RELATIONSHIP IN THE COMMUNITY AND BEEN ABLE TO HAVE A, UH, AN APPROACH WHERE COMMUNITY MEMBERS ARE UNDERSTANDING AND, AND CORRECTING ISSUES.
AND THAT INCLUDES EVERYTHING, YOU KNOW, INCLUDING JUST REMOVING JUNK CARS, WHICH IS AN ISSUE THAT, YOU KNOW, STAFF HAD BEEN WORKING ON FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS AND HE WAS ABLE TO MOVE A GREAT NUMBER OF THOSE CARS, UM, OUT OF THE COMMUNITY.
SO THAT'S BEEN A SUCCESS WOULD BE FOR, FOR THERE ONE, ARE WE GOING TO BE POSTING THAT POSITION FOR THE DIRECTOR THAT SHOULD BE POSTED AT A CERTAIN POINT NEXT WEEK, I'M WORKING WITH THE HR DIRECTOR NOW WE'RE UPDATING THE CURRENT STAFFING WISE SERVICES IS PRETTY MUCH ON POINT.
WE RECEIVED TWO POSITIONS FUNDED LAST YEAR, UH, GIS SUPPORT, UM, FOR, UH, OUR GIS MANAGER, ALICE WILSON, AND THEN ALSO THE ADDITIONAL NUISANCE ABATEMENT POSITION.
WE DID HAVE THE ONE UNFUNDED REQUEST, WHICH WAS ADDITIONAL ADMIN SUPPORT FOR THE COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIVISION.
SO THERE IS ONE NEW STAFF MEMBER REQUESTED THIS YEAR.
UM, THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT, WE HAVE 10
[00:30:01]
FULL-TIME POSITIONS FOR THE ACCOUNTING DIVISION.UM, RIGHT NOW WE HAVE AN ACCOUNTING MANAGER POSITION, OPEN, UM, ACCOUNTING TECHNICIAN POSITION OPEN, WHICH THAT PERSON STARTS AT THE END OF FEBRUARY.
AND THEN THE ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT POSITION, UM, IS A TEMP POSITION RIGHT NOW.
THAT'LL BE POSTED, UM, HOPEFULLY GET FILLED LATE.
AND THE NEXT COMPANY, A COUPLE OF MONTHS, THE PURCHASING AND WAREHOUSE DIVISION WITH FOUR FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES AND THEY ARE 100% FULLY.
UM, SO WE HAVE BEEN BUSY THIS YEAR.
UM, THE FISCAL YEAR 2021 AUDIT IS COMPLETE AND PRESENTED TO THE COURT LAST MONTH WAS SUBMITTED ACCEPTED TO THE FEDERAL AUDIT CLEARING HOUSE AND THE LGC IMPLEMENTATION OF CLOCKWISE.
ELECTRONIC SEEKING INCLUDES ALMOST FULLY IMPLEMENTED AS A TRUE TEMPER.
THE FIXED ASSET MODULE CONVERSION WAS COMPLETED WITH THE 2021 AUDIT.
OUR AR MODULE WAS COMPLETED THIS PAST FALL.
THE ACCOUNTING DIVISION IS NOW HAILING PARKING SPACE RENTALS AND PRIVILEGE LICENSES.
THE, THIS IS THE FIRST YEAR THAT WE'VE SUBMITTED OUR KIND OF LIKE A FINANCE DEPARTMENT'S MONTHLY REPORT, WHICH HAS SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED.
UM, WE WENT FROM CONVERSION WITH THE ONLINE BANKING SYSTEM.
WE'VE IMPLEMENTED THAT BOOK, UM, WHICH HAS BEEN THE NOTES AND LOAN SECTION HAS BEEN COMPLETED AND IS IN THE PRESS.
WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF IMPLEMENTING THE TRACKING AND REPORTING OF LEASES TO COMPLY WITH GIFTS EIGHT, SEVEN.
OH, UM, WHEN YOU SAY PROOF OF LICENSE, YOU'RE JUST SPEAKING OF JUST BEER WINE.
I HAD THAT SAME QUESTION CAUSE I THOUGHT, I THOUGHT THEY WENT AWAY.
UM, SO WITH THE PURCHASING AND WAREHOUSE DIVISION, UM, THEY HAVE BEEN JUST AS BUSY AS WELL.
WE'VE IMPLEMENTED THE CONTRACT MODULE AND WE WERE CONTINUING TO WORK OUT SOME ISSUES, BUT WE CLAIM TO HAVE THAT HOPEFULLY UP AND RUNNING BEFORE THIS SEMESTER, FISCAL YEAR WE'VE COMPLETED THE PHYSICAL INVENTORY REPORT, UM, OR AUDIT.
AND THEN, UH, IN UNITS, WE NOW HAVE INDICATED MINIMUM AND MAXIMUM FOR ALL INVENTORY ITEMS AND HAVE IDENTIFIED THE POLITICAL SPHERE INVENTORY TO, UH, FORECAST INVENTORY NEEDS FOR DISASTER EVENTS.
AND WE'RE CONTINUING TO MAKE EFFORTS TO WORK TOWARDS THE SUPPLY CHAIN ISSUES WITH THE DEPARTMENT HEADS AND SUPPLIERS.
SO THE ACCOUNTING DIVISION OVERSEES $133.5 MILLION.
AND THESE ARE, THIS IS JUST A SNAPSHOT OF WHERE THOSE FUNDS LIVE WITH.
OF COURSE, ELECTRIC FUND GENERAL FUND BEING THE LARGEST, THE WOMEN THAT I DO WANT TO SAY WITHIN THE ANNUAL FUNDS, WE INCLUDE THE OPERATING CAPITAL RESERVE IN THE SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS AS WELL.
WE HAVE, UM, WE MANAGED 50 GRANTS RIGHT NOW AND WE HAVE ABOUT 9.7 MILLION IN FEDERAL 2.2 MILLION IN STATE AND 117,000 IN LOCALS WE'VE OUTLINED, UM, OR JUST KIND OF PROVIDE ALL TOP THREE FOR EACH OF THOSE SECTIONS.
CAMERA'S THE REASON THAT THE FEMA REIMBURSEMENT IS NOT LISTED BECAUSE IT'S A REIMBURSEMENT AND NOT A GRANT.
IS THAT, UM, NO, NOT NECESSARILY.
IT'S WE PULLED THAT ONE OUT BECAUSE, UM, THEY ARE REALLY THE PROJECT FUNDS.
SO THIS IS JUST THE, THE THREE AWARDS THAT WE'VE RECEIVED OTHER THAN FEMALES.
SO THE GOALS AND INITIATIVES FOR THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT, UM, IS WE'RE DEFINITELY WORKING ON INCREASING COMMUNICATION, FULLY STAFFED.
THE DEPARTMENT WOULD BE OUR FIRST AND FOREMOST, UM, CROSS TRAINING OF ALL POSITIONS, WHICH WE'VE GOTTEN AND WE'VE MADE GREAT PROGRESS IN THAT AND WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO DO SO.
WE WANT TO CONTINUE TO FOSTER, UM, COLLABORATIVE COLLABORATION AND TEAMWORK AND MONTHLY AND YEAR PROCESSES AUDIT, COMPLETE THE AUDIT SCHEDULE, ANALYZE AND UPDATE OUR COST ALLOCATION PLAN AND CONTINUE TO WORK THROUGHOUT THE CLOSE-OUT PERIOD TO DO A PROJECT.
LET ME ASK YOU THE QUESTION, HOW MANY, UM, CLOSE OUTS DO WE HAVE READY TO SUBMIT NOW? DO YOU KNOW, I JUST SIGNED ONE YESTERDAY.
THE OTHER ONES SHOULD BE READY.
UM, T WELL, PROBABLY MONDAY NOW, AND THEN I'M THINKING THERE'S WE HAVE THE INSURANCE REIMBURSEMENTS THAT WE'RE WORKING ON TO GET ALIGNED WITH, UM, SOME, SEVERAL OTHERS SO THAT WE CAN CLOSE UP THOSE OTHER SMALL PROJECTS.
[00:35:01]
BUT I CAN FIND OUT WELL, WE'RE, WE'RE MOVING FORWARD TO CLOSING OUT OF ME.WE'RE HOPING TO HAVE AS MANY AS WE POSSIBLY CAN CLOSE OUT FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR.
BUT I ALSO SAID THIS LAST YEAR IS TIME AND WE NEED TO SLOW DOWN AS MANY AS WE CAN TO GET THE MONEY BACK IN THE BANK BECAUSE HURRICANE SEASON IS GOING TO BE APPROACHING AGAIN SOON.
AND IT WOULD BE NICE TO HAVE THAT MONEY BACK IN TO OUR GENERAL FUND.
WELL, KIM, I'M REALLY GLAD TO SEE FORMING YOUR GOALS IS CROSS-TRAINING PHYSICIANS.
WE'VE ACTUALLY MADE GREAT PROGRESS ON IT JUST THIS YEAR AS WELL.
ADDITIONALLY, WE'RE WORKING ON OUR POLICIES AND PROCEDURES IN ORDER TO MEET THE COMPLIANCE STANDARDS AND PROCESSES MUST BE DOCUMENTED.
SO THERE'S SOME THAT WE, ESPECIALLY WITH OUR BUDGET, IT'S PUSHING US, UM, PURSUING A FEW TO THE TOP OF THE LIST.
AND, UM, WE JUST REALLY WANT TO FOCUS ON UPDATING AND DEVELOPING THOSE POLICIES AND STREAMLINING THE PROCESSES.
WE WANT TO INCREASE OUR EFFICIENCY, STRENGTHEN OUR INTERNAL CONTROLS ALL AROUND AND ENSURE COMPLIANCE WITH FEDERAL STATE AND LOCAL REGULATIONS.
AND OF COURSE THE AND PROGRAM GUIDANCE, SOME OTHER ONES TO MENTION, LIKE YOU MENTIONED, ARE HERE, WE'VE GOT THE FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AND INTERNAL CONTROLS, CASH MANAGEMENT, YOUR INVESTMENTS, PROCUREMENT P-CARD AND CONTRACT MANAGEMENT.
AND SOME OF THESE, WE MAY HAVE POLICIES, BUT WE JUST NEED TO UPDATE THEM, UM, OR LOOK AT THE, THE PROCEDURES, UH, ASSET MANAGEMENT, HEY, POLICY.
WE'VE DEFINITELY MADE SOME HEADWAY ON THAT.
UM, AND BEFORE THEIR GRANT MANAGEMENT, AND OF COURSE THE COST PRINCIPLES AND LEVEL CLASS THAT'S RELATED TO THE ARTICLE PLANS, MOSTLY WE GOT TO GET THAT UP AND GOING, AND THAT SHOULD BE TO YOU PROBABLY THE 1ST OF MARCH AND THE FIRST MEETING OF MARCH, AND THEN THE WORD SUB-RECIPIENT AS WELL.
AND, UH, FISCAL YEAR 23, WE HAD NO MAJOR CHANGES, UM, PLANNED, UH, BUDGETARY WISE.
AND WE ARE WORKING ON THE RFP FOR THE AUDIT PROCESS OR THE AUDIT BECAUSE OF THIS YEAR COST INVOLVED IN THAT, THAT YOU WOULD HAVE TO PUT INTO THE BUDGET AND GO, OR NO, THE WAY EVERYTHING'S GONE UP IN PRICE, YOU KNOW, THAT THEY POTENTIALLY, WHAT WE'VE PAID IN THE PAST COULD BE MORE AMENABLE FOR YOU COVER A RANGE OF THAT IN YOUR BOOK.
WE'LL COVER A RANGE OF THAT FIRST.
HOPEFULLY WE'LL HAVE THE NUMBERS, YOU KNOW, AN ESTIMATE PACK BEFORE, YOU KNOW, THE FINAL BUDGET PROCESSES, KIM, THERE'S OUR CONTRACT WITH THE AUDITOR ON THAT WE HAD, UM, PRESENT TO US.
SO W WHAT ARE WE DOING ABOUT THAT? THE RFP WE'RE PUTTING AN RFP OUT THERE.
SO WHEN WE DO THAT, UM, WE'LL BE ABLE TO EVALUATE, OKAY, WELL, WE'LL PUT THE RFP OUT ON THE, ON THE WEB.
WE'LL ALSO PROBABLY LIST IT, UM, OR ON THEIR WEBSITE AND THEN LIST IT WITH THE, UM, A COUPLE OF ELIXIRS.
I HAVEN'T SEEN THEM WELL, THE SAME ARMY.
HOW MANY, WHERE ARE WE? WHERE ARE WE PUTTING IT? IS THAT YOUR QUESTION? OKAY.
DO YOU KNOW WHAT I'M SAYING? THEY PUT IT IN ONE PLACE, BUT IT GOES TO MANY OF THE PEOPLE CONTACT YOU DIRECTLY.
UM, CAN YOU SEND IT TO THEM OR DO THEY HAVE TO GO THROUGH THESE? IF THEY WERE TO PANCAKE, COME UP, FIRST OF ALL, THANK MAYOR AND THE BOARD, AND ALLOW US TO PROVIDE YOU VISION AND GOALS FOR FIRE DEPARTMENT, CURRENT ANALYSIS OF WHERE WE ARE AND SOME DATA TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE YOU, AND HOPEFULLY THE DEPARTMENT NEEDS.
AND I HOPE I SAY IT IS WITH A HUMBLE HEART AND THAT EVERYONE UNDERSTANDS HOW BLESSED WE ARE TO HAVE SUCH A GREAT FIRE DEPARTMENT.
UH, I KNOW I'M VERY PROUD OF THE STAFF AND THE PEOPLE DIDN'T WORK THERE.
AND I PROMISE YOU, THERE'S NINE THINGS, MOLLY, BOYS, THAT I LIKED WHAT LEGGETT SAID AT THE HOSPITAL, BUT THAT'S PRETTY MUCH SPOT ON FOR OUR LEADERSHIP IS DO YOU GET RIGHT PEOPLE IN THE RIGHT PLACES AND GET OUT OF THE WAY
[00:40:01]
AND THEN DO THAT JOB.AND I'M VERY BLESSED TO HAVE A FIRE PUMPING THAT DOES THAT.
SO WITH THAT BEING SAID ABOUT THE SHERIFFS AND THE VISIONS AND GOALS, WHEN YOU PLACE A HIGH PRIORITY ON FIRE PREVENTION IS NUMBER ONE.
I ALWAYS TELL PEOPLE THAT THAT'S THEIR NUMBER ONE JOB.
WHEN THEY COME INTO THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, RESCUE EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICE AND FIRE SUPPRESSION, WE WANT TO BUILD STRENGTH AND IMPROVE AND ADVANCE THE FIRE RESCUE DELIVERY SYSTEM LIVER.
WE ALSO WANT TO UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF RESPONSE TIMES FOR SAVING LAWS AND PROFITS AS PART OF OUR 2022 AND 2027 STRATEGIC INITIATIVES THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO IMPLEMENT.
NUMBER ONE IS EMPLOYEE WELLNESS.
WE'RE FINDING OUT THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT HAPPENED FIREFIGHTER.
SO WE WANT THAT COMPARED TO A SAFE ENVIRONMENT FOR YOU AND FOR THE NEW REQUIREMENTS.
WE ALSO WANT TO WORK ON STRUCTURES THAT PROVIDE A BODY CERTIFIED, ESTABLISHING, PUT STAFFING AND TRAIN PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT, ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, AND THE FIRE DEPARTMENT STRUCTURE.
AND AS ALWAYS, WE WANT TO ALIGN OUR RECRUITMENT PRACTICES THAT ARE MATCHED THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF OUR COMMUNITY, OUR COMMUNITY OUTREACH.
WE WANT TO CONTINUE TO ENHANCE COMMUNITY PROGRAMS TO MEET OR EXCEED THE COMMUNITY'S EXPECTATIONS.
AND WE WANT TO, AS PART OF OUR ACCREDITATION, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT ADRIAN TOLD US, WHAT THEY WANTED TO UP ON OUR EMS PROGRAMS DOES WANT TO FORMALIZE OUR PHARMACY, YOUR MS PROGRAM.
AND WE WANT TO EVALUATE YOU MS. PROGRAM FOR SERVICE DELIVERY AND WHAT THE CUSTOMER IS.
COMMUNICATION IS ALWAYS NUMBER ONE THING THAT WE NEED TO WORK, MAKE SURE WE'RE DOING SO.
WE WANT TO CREATE A CULTURE OF INCLUSION FOR INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL STAKEHOLDER TO BENEFIT THE COMMUNITY.
IN THE CURRENT DATA, THE 1,693 INSPECTIONS, WE DID INVESTIGATE 4,108 PERMITS.
WE EDUCATED 4,712 ADULTS AND FILTER INSTALLED 249 LOOK ALARMS. WE HAD OVER 23,000, THE TRAINING HOURS IN 2021, WE DID A MAINTENANCE.
THE FLOWS ARE THE 14 HIRES AND ARE NOT FLOPPED PERFORMANCE UPDATE, UPDATED KEY.
AND WE'RE ACTUALLY IN THE PROCESS OF CHANGING THOSE OVER TO ELECTRONIC.
HE LAY, WHICH WILL BE EVEN MORE SECURE SYSTEM.
YOU MIGHT WANT TO EXPLAIN THIS.
SOME PEOPLE IN HERE MIGHT NOT KNOW EXACTLY HOW THAT, WHAT I'M NOT FINE IS BASICALLY THE KNOX BOX IS A DEVICE THAT SITS ON THE SIDE OF THE BUILDING.
IT HAS THE KEYS OF ALL THE BUILDINGS, ALL THE ROOMS AND STUFF LIKE THAT.
AND INSIDE OF OUR FIRE FOR US, WE HAVE A BOX THAT WOULD BE LOVELY CHRONICALLY, AND IT RECORDS EVERY TIME IT GETS OPENED, IT GIVES US A KEY AND ACCESS TO BASICALLY SAY LIKE WE WERE HAVING ALARM ACTIVATION, TWEETS UP SOME, BREAKING A DOOR TO BE ABLE TO GET INSIDE INVESTIGATE.
SO IT DOES SAVING PEOPLE MONEY.
IT TOOK US A LONG TIME GETTING PROGRAM IN PLACE, BUT PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT COSTS MONEY PUT ON IT, BUT IN THE LONG RUN, IT ENDS UP SAVING AND MONEY.
THAT'S IT YOU'RE SAYING I HAVE A BUSINESS THAT NOT BOXING PUTTING IN PLACE SO THAT YOU COULD ENTER MY BILL, MY BUILDING WITHOUT HAVING A BREAK UNTIL VERY SECURE.
I MEAN, THEY AT LEAST USED TO BE, YOU HAD TO ASK DISPATCH TO OPEN IT AND IT'S RECORDED WHEN THAT HAPPENED.
AND IT'S EVEN MORE SO NOW WITH THE NEW ELECTRONICS QA THAT WE GOT PLACED.
EXACTLY WHO DID IT WHEN IT HAPPENED AND WHEN IT GOT PUT BACK.
SO THIS ALL RECORDED INCIDENTS OUT OF THE DATABASE INCIDENT DATA 981 FEDERAL RESPONSE OR VIA CORNERS AREAS.
NUMBER ONE WAS MEDICAL FOLLOWED BY ALARM ACTIVATION.
AND THE THIRD TOP OF THE TOP THREE WAS HAD MADISON VEHICLE CRASH 3% DOWN THE ROAD HAD 158 TOTAL RESPONSES.
TOP AGAIN WAS MEDICAL AT 44.3% ALARM ACTIVATIONS FOLLOWED UP AT 17.7% AND THEN HAZMAT, WHICH INCLUDES VEHICLE CRASH IS A LIST THAT THEY HAVE.
YOU HAD A TOTAL OF 885 CALLS OUR TOP AGAIN WITH MEDICAL AT 29.1%.
I HAVE MET VEHICLES AT 25.3% ALARM ACTIVATIONS AT 24.4.
I DO WANT TO DO IS BRING YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS A LITTLE BIT, BUT RIGHT NOW LIVE IS ONLY 96 CALLS BEHIND HEADQUARTERS IN THE PAST COURT HAS ALWAYS BEEN SIGNIFICANTLY ABOVE ALL THE OTHER FIRE STATIONS.
SO THAT SHOWS ME THE FIRE CHIEF.
AND WE'RE LOOKING AT THIS IS THE AREA IS GROWING BECAUSE THE NUMBER OF CALLS, YOU KNOW, IN ALL THREE CASES, IT LOOKS LIKE YOU'RE MAKING MEDICAL CALLS.
YOU'RE NOT MAKING FIRE CALLS IN ESSENCE, YOU KNOW, SHOULD WE BE MORE FOCUSED TOWARDS EMS THAN WE ARE? I MEAN, FIRE IS IMPORTANT, BUT YOUR FIRE NUMBERS ARE GOING DOWN YEAR OVER YEAR, WHICH MEANS, YOU KNOW WHAT I'M SAYING? WE'RE DOING A GOOD JOB IN EDUCATING PEOPLE OR USING THE RIGHT BUILDING MATERIALS AND SMOKE ALARMS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
[00:45:01]
AT CHANGING OUR FOCUS AND HOW WE LOOK TO THE FUTURE AND BUILDING AND, AND THINGS THAT ARE WE BUILDING MORE TOWARDS MEDICAL SERVICES? CAUSE IT LOOKS LIKE THOSE ARE THE CALLS THAT YOU'RE CONTINUALLY GETTING ANGRY.WELL, THERE'S TWO FACTORS, UH, ON THE BANGLE THAT YOU GOT TO WORK AT, NUMBER ONE IS WHAT DOES THE COMMUNITY EXPECT? AND WHEN YOU DO YOUR SURVEYS, ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE TOP THINGS THAT IF YOU LOOK AT OUR PACKAGE IS COMING UP FOR YOU, OUR NEW STRATEGIC PLAN, ONE OF THE LARGEST THINGS I EXPECT OUT OF THE FIRE DEPARTMENT AS A WHOLE IS PROVIDE MEDICAL CARE.
AND THEN YOU TALKING ABOUT THE GOLDEN HOUR OF THAT FIRST TIME, YOU KNOW, NO DESIRE TO GO IN TRANSPORT, NO DESIRE IN ANY OF THAT SIDE OF THINGS.
IT'S ALL ABOUT IF WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE, YOU KNOW, FIRST, LITTLE BIT OF TIME, IF SOMEBODY'S HAVING A HEART ATTACK.
AND IF YOU LOOK AT OUR STATISTICS, WE'RE STILL WAY BELOW WHAT NATIONAL STATISTICS ARE.
NATIONAL STICKS, 65 TO 70% KNUCKLE CALLS COMPARED TO EVERYTHING ELSE.
AND HOW THAT HAPPENS IS THE GOOD COLLABORATION THAT WE HAVE WITH THE EMS OUT OF THE HOSPITAL.
WE LOOK AT WHAT TYPES OF CALLS WE'RE GOING TO RESPOND TO THE TYPES OF CALLS.
IF WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE ON WHAT CAN WE DO NOT GO TO ANYTHING ELSE.
SO WE ONLY GO AUTOMATICALLY TO ECHO CALLS.
THAT MEANS SOMEBODY IS HAVING RESPIRATORY ISSUES OR WE'RE IN A TIMEFRAME OF SOMEBODY GETTING TO THEM AND GETTING CPR STARTED CRUCIAL.
ARE YOU TAKING A FIRETRUCK TO THOSE CALLS OR DO SO, SHOULD WE BE LOOKING AT, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT BUYING NEW FIRE TRUCKS, WE'D BE BUYING EMS CARS OR SHOULD WE NOT? IT WOULD BE A SMALLER AND THE MAYOR, THE MAYOR HAS BROUGHT THAT UP ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS AND WE ACTUALLY PRACTICED THE SQUAD TYPE SITUATION.
WHEN WE HAVE THE STORM, WE PUT PEOPLE ON PATH OF SMALLER VEHICLES WITH TWO PEOPLE ON THERE, BUT THE PROBLEM IS IS YOU CAN DO THAT AND THAT'D BE GREAT.
AND THAT WOULD TAKE, WEAR AND TEAR OFF STAFF OR AT US, BUT YOU'RE GOING TO NEED ADDITIONAL PEOPLE.
IT'S NOT GOOD PRACTICE TO PULL PEOPLE OFF OF AN APPARATUS.
SAY YOU GOT FOUR PEOPLE ON APPARATUS THAT YOU'RE REQUIRED TO HAVE BY DUI.
YOU'RE FOUR, FOUR PEOPLE OR TWO PEOPLE OFF OF THAT.
AND NOW YOU HAVE TO RESPOND WITH TWO VEHICLES IF YOU WERE TO HAVE A VEHICLE FIRE.
SO THE WAY AROUND THAT IN THE FUTURE, IF THIS IS WHAT YOU'D LIKE FOR US TO GO, IS IT PUTS SQUADS IN PLACE, WHICH I'M SUPPORTIVE OF.
IT WOULD BE ADDITIONAL PEOPLE TO THE OUTFIT.
THIS TIPPER TRUCKS ACTUALLY SUPPORT THAT.
I MEAN, LOOKING AT THE MEDICAL MAKE SENSE, HAVE YOU SEEN THE TREND THAT I'M LOOKING AT THE HAVE THE, YOU KNOW, BRING INTO, YOU KNOW, IT'S TOO BIG, YOU KNOW, TWO PEOPLE THAT WE NEED TO BRING IN A VEHICLE BECAUSE YOU'RE SAVING THE LIFE, THE LIFETIME, YOU KNOW, THE APPRECIATION ON THE, ON THE APPARATUS WITHIN THESE THREE.
I MEAN LIKE, LIKE SHE SAID, MEDICAL.
SO, I MEAN, I WOULD DEFINITELY SAY NUMBER ONE IN FIRE SERVICE, MEN HAS CHANGED A LOT OVER THE YEARS.
I MEAN, WHEN I FIRST GOT HIRED, WE DIDN'T, WE DIDN'T EVEN THINK ABOUT DOING ENOUGH.
SO THE SAME CALL, DO YOU HAVE IT WHERE YOU GET TWO CALLS AT THE SAME TIME AND YOU HAVE TO SEND BASICALLY EIGHT PEOPLE OUT ON IT.
BUT, BUT UNDERSTANDING WE'RE JUST IN A PRELIMINARY, AS SOON AS EMS GETS THERE, WE'RE FINISHED.
SO IT'S NOT LIKE WE'RE THERE THE ENTIRE TIME.
AND ONCE THE EMS WORK, WE'RE JUST A SUPPORT RESOURCE FOR THEM.
THIS PLACE IS MAKING A DIFFERENCE AND IT'S ONLY ECHO TYPE CALLS.
IT'S ONES THAT WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENT SONG.
WE HAVE THIS TRAINING IN THAT JUST ABOUT ALL WE REQUIRE NOW OF EVERYBODY TO BE EMPTY.
EVERYBODY IS REQUIRED TO BE MTV.
AS YOU KNOW, BACK IN 2016, WE ADOPTED THE .
SO WE TRACK THAT IN YOUR FACE, 17, 10 BECOMES OUR BENCHMARK.
AND WHAT I PUT IN FRONT OF YOU HERE IS KIND OF WHERE A BASELINE BENCHMARKS ARE.
THOSE NUMBERS AT THE BOTTOM OR OUR BASELINES, WHILE WE'RE AT OBTAINING TRYING TO ATTAIN THE BENCHMARK OF 70.
THEN I HAVE HIGHLIGHTED A FEW THAT HAVE A FEW CONCERNS, BUT WITH THE POSITIVE SIDE OF THINGS, UH, CALL HAMMOND TIME HAS GONE UP 15% AND THOSE CATEGORIES, UH, THANKS TO THE HARD WORK OF THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, FEEDING, WORKING TOGETHER WITH THE COMMUNICATOR, TRYING TO PROVE THAT, BUT ALSO WANT TO BRING ATTENTION TO SECOND THING TIME IN SUMMER ROUTES, WE HAD THREE STRUCTURE FIRES IN THUNDER ROAD, AREA RESPONSE DISTRICTS IN 2021.
AND WE MADE THIS EIGHT MINUTES, ZERO TIMES, AND THEN LIVE WITH THEM.
YOU ARE DOWN AT 62% OF THE EIGHT MINUTE OR STOP TIME.
THAT JUST TELLS A DISTANCE AND TRAFFIC RESPONSE TIMES OF GETTING THERE.
AND I'VE TOLD YOU THIS BEFORE THIS THERE'S THINGS THAT WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THEIR THINKING CAN NOT MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN IF FAITH AND WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN IS CALL HANDLING TIME AND OUTDOOR TIME.
I, LIKE I SAID, WE WEREN'T DILIGENT.
WE COULD TELL THE COMMUNICATORS.
I'M TRYING TO PROVE THAT WHAT YOU SEE THERE WAS, HASN'T BEEN AN IMPROVEMENT SINCE LAST YEAR.
I WILL SAY THIS, AND I'M NOT TRYING TO PUSH THE POLICE AND BUDGET FOR ONE.
BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE KNEW THAT IS NEEDED IS AN ADDITIONAL TELECOMMUNICATOR BECAUSE NOT ONLY IS OUR CALL VOLUME GOING IS GOING UP, PLEASE CALL VINE.
YOU WENT UP, YOU KNOW, MISSED CALL VOLUME IS GOING
[00:50:01]
UP AND THEN HAVING ENOUGH TELECOMMUNICATORS IN PLACE TO BE ABLE TO HANDLE THE CALLS AND FOCUS ON THOSE CALLS IS GETTING HARDER AND HARDER.BUT WE ARE MAKING THE EFFORTS THAT THE SECOND THING WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE OUTDOOR TIME, THAT'S COMPLETELY ON US.
WE DO POP THRILL CHEER, OBVIOUSLY THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.
AND THE PERSONNEL DETERMINED THAT THEY'RE GETTING OUT OF THE STATION IN 80 SECONDS.
WE CAN DO, WE HAVE DONE SOME THINGS TO TRY TO REDUCE THE GAPS.
AND I'LL TALK ABOUT THEM A LITTLE BIT LATER, BUT IT'S ALL ABOUT DISTANCE AND TRAFFIC.
AND THEN THAT'S WHAT DICTATES THAT.
SO WITH, AND THAT'S YOUR COURT, THAT'S HOW FAST? 80 SECONDS FOR OUT THE DOOR.
SO WHAT THE GENTLEMAN, THE FARMERS WHO PUT THE GEAR ON THE INSIDE OF THE FIRE CHOICE? WELL, TH THEY, WELL, THEY HAVE, YEAH, THEY, THEY, THEY THINK THAT 82ND SYSTEM FROM THE TIME WE GET TO DISPATCH, WE WILL GO OUT THE DOOR.
SO THEY HAVE 80 SECONDS TO DO THAT PART.
I MEAN, AS YOU SAW, WE'RE IN THE 70% RANGE, I MEAN, OUR GOAL WAS 90%, BUT KNOW WE'RE, WE'RE DOING, WE DO PRETTY GOOD WITH IT.
AND, AND, AND SOME OF THAT IS BECAUSE IT'S NIGHTTIME AND THEY'RE UPSTAIRS, OR IT COULD BE THEY'RE OUT IN THE BACKYARD DOING HOSE TESTING.
AND SO THERE ARE OTHER FACTORS, BUT AS A WHOLE, WE MEET PRETTY WELL, CHIEF PLUS WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE? THE CALL HANDLING TIME IS ALL HANDLED BY THE CALL CENTER, RIGHT? THAT'S CORRECT.
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE IN THE PERCENTAGES, DEPENDING ON THE STATION THAT THE CALL GOES TO, WHY WOULD THIS, I SEPARATED THEM.
SO I JUST BASICALLY PULLED THOSE OUT.
IN REALITY, YOUR MIND THINKS THEY ALL SHOULD BE SAYING CONSULT GOT AWAY WITH THAT.
BUT WHEN I, WHEN I PULLED THE DATA, I PULLED IT FOR THAT INDIVIDUAL STATION.
SO I COULD TRACK WHAT'S HAPPENED TO THAT STATION.
SO HE COMES OUT TO I'M REALLY WHAT I'M TRACKING IS OUTDOOR TIME.
THAT'S WHAT I'M PAYING ATTENTION.
AND I'M TRACKING TRAVEL TIME AND THE FIRST NEW TIME, BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT SIGNIFICANT, BUT IT ALL COMES OUT.
SO I INCLUDED IT THE SAME, THE 90, JUST TO UNDERSTAND THE 90 SECONDS.
SO FOR THE HEADQUARTERS, 35% OF THE CALL HANDLES ARE WITHIN 90 SECONDS.
WHAT TAKES SO LONG TO HANDLE A CALL? I THINK A LOT OF IT IS WE'VE, WE'VE GOT A LOT OF QUESTIONS WE'VE GOT TO ASK AND NOT HAVING ENOUGH CHIEF, MAYBE IT WAS PLAYING FATHER, BUT FROM WHAT MY OBSERVATION HAS BEEN EITHER DATED, OR HAVEN'T TAKEN ALL THIS DATA TO GET TO DETERMINE WHAT TYPE OF CALL IT IS AND TO KNOW WHAT TO DISPATCH.
IF THERE WAS ENOUGH PEOPLE IN THERE, YOU COULD ACTUALLY PASS IT OFF AND SAY, DISPATCH, FIRE.
AND YOU CAN HANDLE THAT WHILE YOU'RE STILL CONTINUING TO ASK THE QUESTIONS, BUT WHAT'S HAPPENING IS NOW YOU'RE KIND OF HAVING PLAYED TWO SIDES OF THAT.
AND, AND PERSONNEL IS REALLY THE ONLY WAY TO GET THE PERFECT, BUT WE HAVE FOUND PLACE.
AND I'LL ADMIT IT'S BEEN A GREAT COLLABORATION BETWEEN US AND SAY, 15% A YEAR.
IF WE CAN CONTINUE TO GET 50%, MAYBE WE CAN GET THERE.
BUT I THINK ULTIMATELY IT'S NUMBER OF THINGS.
I THINK DON'T, THEY HAVE TO CORRECT ME IF I'M MISTAKEN, HAVE TO SITTING IN THERE AND ALL THE TIMES, AND WHEN ONE HAS TAKEN IT, THE OTHER ONE IS DISPATCHING AT THE SAME TIME.
SO THEY'RE NOT HOLDING THAT CALL TO GET THAT INFORMATION THAT YOU REQUIRE.
IT'S NOT, NOT NECESSARILY HOLDING IT, BUT IF YOU'VE GOT, YOU'VE GOT A PD CALL AND THE EMS CALLS ON THE SAME TIME, IT'S HARD TO PASS IT OFF.
SO YOU KIND OF GOTTA GET TO A POINT OPEN IT.
GIVEN THERE IS TIMES WHERE IT MIGHT BE A PD OFFICER JUST HAPPENED TO CALL HAPPENING.
IT MIGHT BE AN EMS CALL HAS HAPPENED, MIGHT BE A FIRE FIREHOUSE THAT PACE, THE CALL TAKER HAS ALSO BEEN THE DISPATCHER.
CAN WE GET AN OVERLAP REPORT OF TWO THINGS? I'D LIKE TO SEE AN OVERLAP REPORT ON HOW MANY TIMES MULTIPLE CALLS ARE BEING HANDLED INSIDE THE CALL CENTER.
AND I'D LIKE TO SEE AN OVERLAP REPORT ON HOW MANY TIMES A STATION HAS A COMPANY OUT ON A CALL AND YOU GET A SECOND CALL.
UM, THE NUMBER OF OUR CALLS, WHAT'S THE MAJORITY OF THEM FOR EMS, FOUR OF THEM DISPATCH, EMS, NOT FIRE DEPARTMENT EMS, BUT GOT A HOSPITAL.
I MEAN, THAT'LL PULL CALLS THAT WE RECEIVE IN, OR WHAT'S THE PERCENTAGE OF THE MEDICAL CALLS THAT WE RECEIVE, WHERE HIM, WHERE OUR TOP CALL-TAKERS HAVE TO DISPATCH EMS IS THAT WE HAVE THAT WHEN INSIDE THE CITY, THEY'RE GOING TO TAKE THEM OFF.
I UNDERSTAND, BUT, AND THAT'S A PRETTY BUSY AGENCY, RIGHT? THAT'S CORRECT.
THERE ARE ABOUT SIX TO 7,000 CALLS.
I RECKON MY QUESTION IS, IS, IS IT'S PRETTY OBVIOUS.
I MEAN, WE REDUCED THE NUMBER OF TELECOMMUNICATORS OVER THE YEARS.
UH, WE USED TO HAVE, AT ONE TIME WE HAD, I THINK, THREE AND A SUPERVISOR, WHICH WAS THE FOURTH ONE DUTY AT MOST OF THE TIME.
IS THAT CORRECT? I CAN ANSWER THAT ON MOST OCCASIONS.
THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT IS IN THE RADIO ROOM.
AT THIS TIME, YOU'LL SEE THREE TELECOMMUNICATORS AND A SUPERVISOR.
[00:55:01]
ON, UH, JANUARY TO CIRCUMSTANCES LEAVE OR SICK LEAVE OR THAT TYPE OF THING WHERE WE HAVE TO TELL COMMUNICATED TO THE SUPERVISOR, BUT GENERALLY IT'S THREE AND A SUPERVISED.DOES EMS PARTICIPATE IN THE COST OF OUR COMMUNITY, THIS VACCINE? DID THEY SHARE ANY PORTION OF THE, THE COST CENTER? THE DISPATCHERS I'LL HAVE TO GET, GET YOU AN ANSWER ON THAT ONE.
I'M NOT SURE WE SAID EMS EMS AT THE HOSPITAL.
SO NO, THE HOSPITAL DOESN'T READ OR ASSESS DO THEY ALL RIGHT.
MIND, IF YOU WOULD JUST SEND ME A QUICK TEXT OR AN EMAIL EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANT.
NO, I'M NOT, FROM MY KNOWLEDGE.
I DON'T THINK THE HOSPITAL PHASE, MY QUESTION WOULD BE IS WHAT HAPPENS IN OTHER CITIES AND 9 1, 1 COMMUNICATION CENTERS DO TYPICALLY EMS REIMBURSED THE CALL CENTER.
I THINK GENERALLY ALL THE AGENCIES SHARE THE COST AND THERE'S ONE TELECOMMUNICATION CENTER.
AND TYPICALLY I WOULD THINK THAT WOULD BE THE CASE.
AT LEAST THAT'S WHAT IT USED TO BE, BUT I WANT TO MAKE SURE WE UNDERSTAND THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN IN COLLABORATION AND IN THE HOUSE AND I'M SEEING IMPROVEMENT, BUT, YOU KNOW, ULTIMATELY IT BOILS DOWN TO THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE BEING ABLE TO TAKE THE CALLS, COLD CALL BY USE IS INCREASING.
AND, AND THEN LIKE EVERY PLACE OUT THERE THROUGH ATTRITION TOO.
I MEAN, THAT'S JUST, IT'S A VERY, ONE OF THE THINGS WE ASK OUR PERSONNEL TO DO IS GO THERE AND SIT THERE AND BE A PART OF IT.
CAUSE THIS IS A VERY STRESSFUL JOB.
UH, WHEN WE WENT THROUGH SOME OF THE TRAINING AND I DID JUST, I CAN ONLY IMAGINE HOW HARD IT WAS BEING LISTED ON THE PHONE AND TRYING TO CIPHER THROUGH EVERYTHING.
UH, YOU SAW AMANDA TALKED ABOUT, WE DO HAVE COMMERCIAL GROWTH AND RESIDENTIAL GROWTH IN ALL OF OUR DISTRICTS AND THE HOUSE WAS KIND ENOUGH TO KIND OF BREAK IT DOWN.
AND FOR US TO SEE, WE HAD ABOUT 13 NEW AND THE HEADQUARTERS, RESIDENTIAL 199 AT THURMAN, 188 AND WISDOM.
AND THEN WE HAD FIVE MARSHALL AND HEADQUARTERS.
SOME OF THOSE ARE REWORKS, NOT NECESSARILY NEW COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES.
I REMEMBER WE HAD THREE, WHICH A COUPLE OF THEM WERE VERY LARGE AND THEN LIZ WILL SIT FOR A MINUTE.
SO AGAIN, THANK YOU TO, UH, ALICE AGAIN, PROVIDING US, PROVIDING US WITH AN UPDATE OF CENSUS POPULATION.
I THINK IT'S AT THE CLOSE WHEN I'VE DONE THESE EVERY TWO YEARS PLUS ONE THAT I'VE EVER BEEN ABLE TO DO.
WE WERE ONLY ABOUT 415 ABOVE THE AVERAGE, THE POPULATION WITH THIS IS REALLY RIGHT THERE.
AND WE WILL NEED TO BE WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT WE'RE STILL ABOUT EIGHT SQUARE MILES ABOVE AVERAGE, YOU ONLY WANT TO CLOSE WITH THEM ON ROAD.
WE WERE UNDER ONE BY NUMBER OF FIRE STATIONS.
UM, WE'RE ALMOST DOUBLED THAT IN SQUARE MILES COVER FOR A FIRE STATION.
AND WE WERE ABOUT 700 FULL-TIME FIRST PERSONNEL AND ALMOST HALF UNDER THE NUMBER OF MANAGEMENT TODAY'S STAFF COMPARED TO LIKE CITIES.
THE QUESTION, HOW CAN, HOW CAN OTHER CITIES HAVE MORE FIRE STATIONS WITH LESS PEOPLE NOW THAT THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THEY PUT ON THAT DRESS? ISN'T THAT US ISN'T THAT STATE LAW THOUGH.
I THOUGHT IT WAS A REQUIREMENT.
I SAID THE LAW IS YOU'D HAVE TO HAVE FOUR PEOPLE IN ONE APPARATUS AS FIRST DO THAT'S THAT'S THE LAW AND SEE IF THE DIFFERENCE IS, IS WHAT NOT.
YOU SEE IN TWO, THREE APPARATUS FIT SAINT.
I'M NOT SURE I UNDERSTOOD THAT TOO.
SO IF THE QUESTION IS BY LAW, WE HAVE TO HAVE IT.
SO WHEN YOU SEND THE SECOND APP, THE SECOND , IT HAD TO HAVE TO BE THERE IN FOUR MINUTES WHERE THEY FOUND HER WITH A PUMPER AND FOUR PEOPLE IS THAT PUMPER IS THE TRUCK.
SO BASICALLY IF YOU COULD, YEAH, YOU COULD REDUCE THE NUMBER OF PERSONNEL ON THAT APPARATUS, BUT YOU'D HAVE TO SEE TWO APPARATUS TO THAT SAME CALL, BUT, BUT ON A SHIFT PER SHIFT.
SO YOU HAVE EIGHT PEOPLE PER SHIFT.
NOW WE ACTUALLY HAD 22 PER SHIFT.
SO YOU COULD POTENTIALLY SAY, BUT YOU GOT TO REMEMBER MENTAL STAFFING.
PEOPLE HAVE TO HAVE TWO DAYS OFF AND WE HAVE A MINIMAL STAFF INNOVATE TEAM.
SO ANY GIVEN DAY WE HAVE 18 PEOPLE FIRST SHIFT PER SHIFT.
LOU LONG TO THE CAPITAL BUDGET REQUEST.
[01:00:01]
UH, FIRST THING IS OUR SCBA, UH, NO LONGER HAD AN FBA CO COMPLIANT.AND WE, WHEN WE WENT TO TRY TO GET THEM REPLACES, WE WERE TRYING TO DO SO MANY A YEAR.
WE FOUND OUT THE MANUFACTURER NO LONGER MAKES THE STBA.
WE HAVE APPLIED FOR A FEMA GRANT AND HOPEFULLY WE'LL KNOW SOMETHING THAT IN YOUR FUTURE, IF THAT DOESN'T OCCUR, THEN WE WILL BE NEEDED TO PUT INTO OUR CAPITAL EQUIPMENT.
OUR SCBA REQUESTS, THAT'S COMPRESSOR IS A PART OF A ASHA TO PROVIDE QUALITY BREATHING FOR ICA.
AND THE UNIT IS A 2003 AND IT'S COSTING US SOMEWHERE AROUND $4,000 ANNUALLY AND DIDN'T HAVE TO BE REPAIRED AND GIVE HIM COMING TO THE END OF LIFE.
AND IT'S VERY CRUCIAL, CRUCIAL TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THAT, TO DO OUR SCBA BOTTLES, DIESEL EXALT FOR MOODLE SYSTEM CANCER HAS BECOME THE LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH.
AMONG FIREFIGHTERS FIREFIGHTERS HAVE A 9% RATE, A RISK OF BEING DIAGNOSED WITH CANCER AND A 14% HIGHER RISK OF DYING OF CANCER.
WE WERE TRYING TO BE PROACTIVE TO REDUCE CANCER RISK BY A SELLING SYSTEM THAT CAPTURES THE HARMFUL PARTICULARS AND GASES THAT SHOULDN'T BE EXPOSED TO COORDINATE IN A PA 1500 THEY'RE REQUIRED TO PREVENT EXPOSURE TO FIREFIGHTER, TO EXHAUST OUR ENGINE REFURBISHMENT.
THAT IS ALL TIED INTO A NEW FIRE STATION, JUST A REFURBISHING OF ONE OF OUR RESERVE APPARATUS, UH, WHERE WE COULD DO THAT AND GET ANOTHER 10 YEARS OF LIFE AS A, IS A FIRST DO AT HALF THE COST OF A NEW STORAGE BUILDING.
IF ANYBODY HAD BEEN INSIDE OF OUR FIRE STATIONS IS FIELD UP TO THE GILLS AND OUR PARKING LOTS FOR STAT.
UH, WE'RE ENTIRELY OF A STORAGE BUILDING, UH, TO BE ABLE TO PUT SOME OF OUR STUFF INTO WHILE THE FIREFIGHTERS GOOD.
THE REASON FOR THAT IS BECAUSE THERE ARE SEVERAL RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES THAT ARE BEING BUILT WITHIN THE WILD LAND AREAS.
AND AS PART OF OUR WILD LAND INTERFACE AREAS, WE WOULD LIKE TO HAVE PURCHASES.
CAUSE RIGHT NOW WE REQUIRE, WE DEPEND ON, I SHOULD SAY, ON THE NORTH CAROLINA FOREST TO PROVIDE HIS UNIT, TO BE ABLE TO GET BACK INTO THE WOODED AREA.
AND THEN SOMETIMES IT CAN BE UP TO AN HOUR.
AND BASICALLY ALL IT IS JUST A UNIT WITH A PUMP, A WATER TANK IT'S JUST ON THE BACK OF A TRUCK WITH A LONG HOSE THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY GET IN BETWEEN WHERE THE PLACES THAT THE FIRE CAN GET PROPER EQUIPMENT REPLACEMENT.
UH, THIS PARTICULAR ONE IS A 2007 MODEL THAT WAS FLOODED DURING HURRICANE FLORENCE, THAT SHE HAD SERVED THREE MONTHS GETTING REPAIRED AND INSURANCE PAID DEBT, BUT WE'VE HAD SEVERAL PROBLEMS WITH IT SINCE APPARATUS IS 15 YEARS OLD OR OVER A HUNDRED THOUSAND MILES AND 12,000 PLUS HOURS.
AND IT'S BEEN A REAL CONCERN ABOUT RELIABILITY DURING EMERGENCY.
IT'S AN INSURANCE COVERED THAT THERE'S NO WAY FOR US TO CLAIM THAT WITH FEMA.
NOW WE COULD, I LIFT, UH, WE TRIED, WE'VE BEEN DOWN THAT ROUTE AND WE TRIED THE, GETTING IT TOWED ROUTE AND JUST THE, YEAH.
AS LONG AS IT'S FULLY INSURED, FEMA WOULD PAY THE DEDUCTIBLE.
THAT'S ABOUT THE EXTENT OF IT.
I'M NOT EVEN SURE IF THOSE ARE DEDUCTIBLE ON THAT.
BUT YEAH, IT ENDED UP BEING SEVERAL HUNDRED ABOUT A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS, BUT IT DIDN'T MEET THE CRITERIA OF BEING TOLD.
WHAT KIND OF PROBLEMS ARE YOU HAVING WITH IT? IT'S MOSTLY THE WIRING TYPE ISSUES THAT WE ACTUALLY HAD A LOT OF REWIRE, BUT WE'RE STILL HAVING ISSUES WITH, UM, CERTAIN FUNCTIONS OF THE TRUCK, NOT WORKING BASICALLY IN THE LADDER CONTROLS AND THINGS SUCH AS THAT, BUT IT JUST HIT ME AS IT'S JUST, BUT ON TOP OF THAT, I MEAN, IT'S, IT IS 15 YEARS OLD, HAS GOT OVER A HUNDRED THOUSAND MILES AND WE'VE GOT 12,000 HOURS.
AND THAT'S KIND OF REASON THAT WE'RE TRYING TO LOOK AT THE PROPERTY REPLACEMENT G OR, OR, UM, YOU, UM, IS THIS SOMETHING THAT CAN BE HANDLED UNDER THE ARP FUNDED FOR GRANTS, STATE GRANTS? BECAUSE I KNOW THEY HAD A LOT OF GRANTS OUT THERE FOR FIRE.
WE WON'T QUALIFY FOR ANY FIVE GRANTS FOR APPARATUS THAT HAD INSURANCE.
THE PROBLEM IS JUST EAT, PAINT, FIX SALT, WATER INSIDE WIRING, AND TO APPLY TO THE GRANT FUNDS LIKE, UM, WHAT THE HECK IS IT CALLED NOW? ALRIGHT, GRANT GRANT, WE HAVE, WE HAVE WAY TOO MUCH MONEY IN RESERVE FOR THEM TO EVEN CONSIDER GIVING US A GRANT FOR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
THE NEXT DAY, 2006, THEY HAVE TO BE REPLACED AND OUR EXTRICATION EQUIPMENT RIGHT NOW, WE'VE GOT HYDRAULIC EQUIPMENT.
THAT'S ABOUT 15 YEARS OLD AND NOW TO GET A NEW BATTERY OPERATED THAT WE CAN CARRY THEM ANYWHERE WE WANT TO.
BEFORE WE HAD TO LAY OUT THE EXTRA FATE, I MEAN THE HYDRAULIC PUMP AND EVERYTHING ELSE.
NOW WE JUST GO RIGHT TO THE SCENE WITH THE TOOL AND POP THE DOOR OR CUT WHATEVER THE REAL FALLS BLURBING.
[01:05:01]
LAST IS A COUPLE OF PROJECTS THAT HAS BEEN MOST OF YOU SEEN BEFORE.AGAIN, WE'VE GOT NIA TEMPORARY FIRE STATION IN VERONICA LACONAS AREAS PROPOSED INTERSTATE 42 DESTRUCTION COURSE COMING UP.
BUT EVEN WITH THAT, YOU SAW A RESPONSE TIMES.
THE SECOND DUDE, HE HAS ZERO TIME, A MEETING EIGHT MINUTES, BUT ALSO DOI RESPONSE CRITERIA OF TWO AND A HALF MILES FROM THE CLOSEST SITE LATTICE SERVICE, WHICH IS NOW IN A VEHICLE OR IN TIME YOU HAVE FIVE AND MORE GREATER STRUCTURES THAT ARE 35 FEET OR TALLER, OR EVEN 3,500 GALLONS PER MINUTE.
YOU REQUIRED TO HAVE A LADDER TRUCK COMPANY IN THAT AREA.
AND CURRENTLY WE HAVE 13 STRUCTURES STRUCTURES MEETING THAT CRITERIA.
AS YOU SAW IN THE PREVIOUS SLIDE, YOU'VE SEEN THAT THE GROWTH IN PROPERTY AREA, BUT ALSO JUST LIKE ANYTHING ELSE.
IF YOU THOUGHT WE TALKED ABOUT TELEPHONE HERE, BUT WE CONTINUE TO TRY TO FILL THOSE GAPS AND OPPORTUNITIES.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS, IF YOU RECALL, WE NOW HAVE A MUTUAL AUTOMATIC AID, THE VOLUNTEER DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE AROUND US THAT ARE ON AUTOMATIC DISPATCH.
AND ANYTIME WE HAVE A STRUCTURE FIRE IN THAT WAY, AND THAT WAS DURING THE LAST YEAR, SINCE WE IMPLEMENTED THAT WE HAVE RESPONDED TO DM 13 DOWN.
THEY HAVE RESPONDED TO US 11 TIMES AND WE ALSO BUILT AROUND CARDS AND RESPONSE MAPS.
SO WE DON'T ASK FOR EVERY DEPARTMENT IN THE COUNTY TO COME, WE HAVE SPECIFIC DEPARTMENTS THAT WORK ON SPECIFIC AREAS OF THINGS.
AND PART OF THAT, WHAT WE LIKED AND WE WERE ACTUALLY RECOMMENDING IS TO REALLY CLIMATE CONTROL MODEL OF BUILDING THE HOUSE FIRE THROAT AND THE MOVE, OUR CURRENT MODULE UNIT.
IF WE HAD A TEMPORARY MODULE, WE HAVE ATTORNEY ROUNDS OUT THERE TO HOUSE FIRE EMPLOYEES TO GIVE THEM A SUBSTATION IN AREA TWO.
AND IN ADDITION TO SIX FIREFIGHTERS, ALL THREE OF THE SIX APPROVED IN 2018, 19 BUDGET.
AND THEN WE HAD THE FIRE STATION SLASH POLICE STATION IN THE WEST OF 43 CORAL.
AGAIN, WE'VE GOT, AS MOST OF YOU SAID, YOU HEARD AMANDA SAY WE'VE GOT A FOURTH FLOOR COMPLEX DMV.
NOW, MANY HOME SITES THAT ARE BEING BUILT.
UH, DON'T SAY FOR READY YET TO BUILD A FIRE STATION.
I THINK WE'LL STILL WAIT ON THE QUOTE 43 CORRIDOR.
BUT WHAT WE WOULD LIKE TO DO THOUGH, IS TO START NAILING DOWN SINCE THINGS WORD, GET WAREHOUSER TO COMMIT, TO START DOING SOME PLANS AND START PUTTING SOME INFRASTRUCTURE IN PLACE THOUGH.
WHEN THE 4, 3, 4 DOES OCCUR, WE DID THAT FALL THREATEN THE ED.
SO, AND THAT KIND OF INCLUDES QUESTIONS.
ME, HOW FAR OUT DO YOU KNOW KI IS THAT 43 QUARTER FOUR TO BEING IMPLEMENTED 20, 28 NOW I THINK IT'S GOING TO HAPPEN QUICKER THERE EVERYBODY, UH, APPRAISALS.
SO THEY HAD STOPPED THAT AND NOW THEY'RE, THEY'RE DOING APPRAISERS AGAIN.
SO THEY HAVE THE FUNDING FOR THE CONSTRUCTION THAT COMES OUT OF ONE OF ONE POT OF MONEY.
THE OTHER POT OF MONEY FOR ACQUISITION COMES OUT OF LIKE THEIR GENERAL FUND.
AND WE ALL KNOW VOT WAS BROKEN A COUPLE YEARS AGO.
UM, THEY'VE GOT MONEY NOW THEY'VE GOT A BILLION DOLLARS OR SO, AND THAT'S FUN.
SO I THINK THAT'S, I WAS GOING TO GET, I'M KIND OF EXCITED BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF NEW DEVELOPMENT COMING OUT THERE.
I MEAN, YOU KNOW, YOU LOOKING AT A LOT OF WHEN THEY COME INTO THAT AREA, I GUESS THE THIRD ATTORNEY FORM OVER ON THAT SIDE OF THE ROOM AND OUT HERE ON THIS SIDE.
WELL, EVEN CONSIDERATION THOUGH, OF LINK TYLER, SHE WILL MAKE POWER EVERY TIME I GO ABOUT THERE.
I'M JUST AMAZED AT HOW MANY HOUSES THEY'RE BUILDING.
WHEN YOU THINK OF THAT, THAT 43 CONNECTED WITH SERVE.
AND THEN, YOU KNOW, JUST THERE, YOU KNOW, IMAGINE WHAT YOUR RESPONSE TIME IS TRYING TO GET AFTER THAT.
AND THAT'S WHY YOU'RE SEEING OUR SECOND DO'S SO FAR DOWN BECAUSE IT HAD TO GO ALL THE WAY FROM THE HEADQUARTERS ALL THE WAY OUT TO 43, 55 AND ALL THE WAY DOWN TO 17 KRAMER AND FOREST.
BUT THE FUTURE WE COULD HAVE THAT STATION LOCATED THERE.
YOU MEAN YOU WOULD HAVE A 55 PLUS MONITOR BOTH WAYS NOW, A 70 MILE AN HOUR COMING INTO TOWN, UH, ACCESS INTO TOWN.
SO RESPONSE TIMES, I THINK IT'D BE DOWN WHERE THEY SHOULD BE AT THAT POINT IN TIME.
SO CAN YOU TELL ME HOW MANY, UM, TELECOMMUNICATORS THAT YOU THINK YOU NEED, WHICH WOULD ALSO SERVE THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AND YOU AS WELL? CORRECT? I THINK THAT'D BE A POLICE CHIEF QUESTION, BUT I DON'T LIKE IT GOES BY MY OBSERVATIONS AND KNOWING THAT IS CRUCIAL TIMES, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES THE BIGGEST THING IS, IS BECAUSE OF THAT CRITERIA, THE THINGS THEY'VE GOT TO ASK FOR, AND THEN BEING ABLE TO HAVE SOMEBODY TO HAND THAT OFF TO AND SAY, HEY, WE'RE AT A FULL DESK BECAUSE ONE OF THE THINGS I'VE ALWAYS SAID TO THEM, I'VE REALLY SEEN THE CALVARY AND NOT WORRY ABOUT TIME.
WE KNOW IT TURN TRUCKS AROUND.
AND SO WE'VE, WE'VE DONE SOME THINGS AND THAT'S HELPED A LITTLE BIT.
SO NOW THEY'RE JUST GOING IN AND DOING A DISPATCH AND THEY'RE GOING THING.
THERE'S LOTS OF A THING THAT HE WOULD HAVE OR SUSTAIN.
IT'S CALLED AUTOMATIC VOICE DISPATCH, WHERE YOU CAN, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN PUT THAT INTO THE SYSTEM WHERE ALL YOU GOT TO DO IS HIT A BUTTON AND IT'S JUST, IT'S LIKE A ROBOT TYPE, UH, VOICE
[01:10:01]
THAT COMES OVER TO, YOU KNOW, IT'S GOOD TO HEAR YOU WHEN YOU SPEAK.AND WHEN YOU MAKE STATEMENTS THAT YOU HAVE OUR CITIZENS AT HEART AND THAT'S, WHAT'S MOST IMPORTANT, OUR CITIZENS, FOREST, FIRE, AND POLICE.
SO HOW MANY CHIEF DO YOU THINK THAT WE TELECOMMUNICATORS THAT YOU NEED ON STAFF TO, SO THAT WE HAVE ENOUGH STAFF CAN HANDLE THESE CALLS SO THAT WE CAN GET THE POLICE OR FIRE OUT WHEN NEEDED? I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE, UM, AT LEAST FOUR TELECOMMUNICATORS AND A SUPERVISOR IN THAT TELECOMMUNICATING ROOM AT ANY GIVEN TIME.
THAT'S NOT AN ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION.
I WILL GET YOU AN ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION SO THAT, UH, MY STATEMENT MATCHES WITH AN ACTUAL NUMBER.
AND WE, CAN WE LOOK AT THE CALL VOLUME, I THINK WILL GIVE US A BETTER PICTURE OF TIMES OF DAY.
CAUSE YOU MAY HAVE SITUATIONS WHERE IT MAY BE OFF SITUATION.
WE MAY HAVE THREE OR FOUR CALLS COMING IN AT ONCE, BUT IF YOU START STACKING PERSONNEL IN THERE AND 90% OF THE TIME, THEY'RE NOT GETTING THAT VOLUME OF CALLS, THEN YOU HAVE A WASTED PERSON.
IT WAS BEST TO BE SAFE AND SORRY, LIKE THE CHIEF SAID, I'D RATHER HAVE THE CAVALRY STAFF TO HANDLE THESE CALLS WHEN THEY DO COME IN THE BED.
THE BEST THING TO DO IS COMBINE THE NINE 11 COMMUNICATION CENTERS.
THAT WAY YOU DON'T HAVE HALF A BLOCK SITTING THERE WITH THREE OR FOUR NEW ROOM WITH THREE OR FOUR, IT SHOULD BE COMBINED.
AND I THINK THE ISSUE IN THE PAST, IF MY MEMORY SERVES ME CORRECTLY, EVERYBODY GOES INTO THAT DISCUSSION AND CONVERSATION THINKING YOU'RE GOING TO SAVE MONEY.
THAT SHOULDN'T BE THE REASON YOU HAVE THE DISCUSSION.
THE DISCUSSION SHOULD BE TO IMPROVE OUR SERVICE LEVEL, KNOWING THAT WE MIGHT NOT SAVE MONEY.
BUT IF YOU HAVE ALL THESE PEOPLE SITTING IN DIFFERENT PLACES, WHEN YOU BRING THEM TOGETHER MORE EFFICIENT.
SO, UM, THE LAST, UM, RATING THAT WE HAD, WHAT, WHAT GRADE DID WE GET FOR TELECOMMUNICATORS? ACTUALLY, THEY GET PRETTY GOOD.
THE ONLY THING THEY REALLY GET HAMMERED ON, IF ANYTHING WAS THE NUMBER OF PERSONNEL, BUT THEY ACTUALLY IMPROVED AS MOTHERS.
IT KIND OF WAS A WASH AS A WHOLE FROM THE PREVIOUS TIME.
AND I'LL JUST GIVE THE BOARD A HEADS UP ON THIS.
THIS STPA THAT IF I WERE UPON THE SEASON NO LONGER, MAN, SELF-CONTAINED BREATHING APPARATUS IS THE HAIRCUT THEY WEAR.
WHEN THEY GO IN AND FIGHT FIVE, IT'S THEIR LIFELINE.
AND, UM, THEY'RE, THEY'RE NO LONGER REPAIRABLE, GOOD PARKS ARE NO LONGER AVAILABLE.
THEY, THEY QUIT MANUFACTURING THEM.
AND IF HE DOESN'T RECEIVE, OR IF THE CITY DOESN'T RECEIVE GRANT FUNDS TO PURCHASE SOME OF THESE STBA, THEN THE CITY REALLY JUST NEEDED TO BE PREPARED TO BITE THE BULLET, THIS YEAR'S BUDGET AND BILE, OR THEY GOT TO THEM.
HOW MANY OF YOU HAVE YOU HAVE ANY IDEA? WHAT'S THAT CPAS? HOW MANY DO WE NEED? HOW MANY DO YOU HAVE? LIKE YOU HAVE ABOUT 39.
DO YOU NEED, WHAT IS THE PROBLEM? THE PROBLEM IS THAT THERE ARE NO LONGER SERVICEABLE AND THIS IS A PIECE OF EQUIPMENT.
THIS IS WHERE, HOW HE BREEDS WHEN HE GOES INTO FIVE, FIVE.
SO IT'S NOT LIKE IT'S, UH, YOU, YEAH, THEY'RE ON THAT SIDE OF THE HOUSE, RIGHT? TAKING THIS PEOPLE BREATHING.
I ASKED, WHAT WE'VE DONE IS WE'VE DONE LIKE EIGHT OR SO AS A YEAR.
BUT THEN WHEN WE FOUND OUT THE MANUFACTURER WAS NO LONGER MAKING THEM A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, WE KIND OF GOT THE FINE.
WHAT WE DID IS WE APPLY FOR GRANT LAST YEAR, AS THEY COME THROUGH, APPLY AGAIN FOR THIS YEAR, WE ACTUALLY HIRED AT RENT THAT HAS A REAL GOOD PERCENTAGE OF GETTING THE IMMIGRANTS THAT WERE FEELING REALLY COMFORTABLE AND GOOD ABOUT THIS ONE.
WE'LL JUST HAVE TO THAT KIND OF STORY.
UM, SO WHAT DOES SOMETHING LIKE THAT COST 71 UNIT, BUT IT MAY, IF THEY'RE LOCKED BLOOD, YOU WANT TO DO THE HOUSE AND EVERYTHING WITH THE CASHERS AND STUFF LIKE THAT.
THEY'RE HAVING RUN OUT OF AIR PER SE.
I MEAN, I PROBABLY DO HAVE TO SIT OUT HERE RIGHT NOW.
SO HOW ARE THEY GOING OUT WITH THESE NOW? THEY'RE STILL, THEY'RE STILL, IT'S JUST, IT'S LIKE, IT'S ONE DOWN.
LIKE I RESERVE APPARATUS KEEPING THEM SO THAT WAY WE HAVE TO CALL ON ADDITIONAL PEOPLE.
THE PROBLEM IS, IS GETTING TO THAT POINT.
IF WE DON'T GO AHEAD AND MAKE A DECISION, THEN WE'RE GOING TO HAVE WHAT YOU'RE ASKING.
SO IF IT'S A CENSUS OF NECESSITY, IT'S $273,000.
IT WAS 300 RAN WAS FOR 300, SOME THOUSAND DOLLARS.
THEY COME, THEY DO NOT ALLOW IT TO PUT IT ON OUR SECOND TO OUR RESERVE APPARATUS.
[01:15:02]
THE $380,000, WHAT WE NEED.SO $8,000 TO REPLACE THEM TOMORROW.
HOW SOON CAN THEY BE THE PLACE? AND I FOUND THAT OUT WITH EVERYTHING THAT'S HAPPENED BEFORE.
I MEAN, WE DON'T HAVE MONEY IN THE FUND BALANCE TO BE ABLE TO ALLOCATE $380,000 SO THAT OUR FIREFIGHTERS AREN'T GETTING, UM, MY RECOMMENDATION IS I THINK WE SHOULD SEE WHAT THE GRANT DOES.
AND THEN WHEN I HAD THE BACKUP UPON THE DAY, IF THEY DON'T, THEN THAT'S ONLY PARTIALLY FUNDED INSTEAD OF 300, THEY GIVE YOU A HUNDRED.
UM, AND WHEN, WHEN SHOULD, YOU KNOW, IT WAS ORIGINALLY SUBMITTED MARCH, BUT THEY EXTENDED IT THE DEADLINE FROM DECEMBER TO JANUARY.
SO IT COULD BE APRIL, MAY, AND IT'S ALL ABOUT ROUNDS AND ROUNDS.
AND HOPEFULLY I FEEL REALLY GOOD ABOUT THIS ONE.
WE WROTE A PERFORMANCE DOWN THE LEARNING CURVE AND IT TELLS YOU THINGS WE NEED TO CORRECT.
AND WE, WE GOT A NEW GRANT WRITER, A REALLY GOOD SETUP.
SO YOU HAD TO FIND A GRANT WRITER FOR YOUR DEPARTMENT OR YOU, YEAH.
WE FOUND A GRANDMOTHER FOR THIS PARTICULAR THAT THERE WAS A, UM, I I'M ALL FOR WHATEVER YOU NEED, ESPECIALLY FOR OUR FIREFIGHTERS.
UM, WE, AS A BOARD SHOULD FIND SOME WAY TO FIND SOME MONEY FOR YOU.
IF YOU'RE BLANK, DON'T COME FOR GOOD AFTERNOON BOARD VERY LONG.
UM, SO AS FAR AS THE HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT IS CONCERNED, YOU KNOW, WE'RE A VERY SMALL DEPARTMENT, WE HAVE FIVE BUDGETED POSITIONS.
AND SO WON'T BE REQUESTING OF COURSE IN THE CAPITAL FOR ANY NEW POSITIONS FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR.
AND I WILL BE, UM, REQUESTING ADDITIONAL MONIES AS THEY RELATE TO OUR OTHER PROBLEMS IN TRAINING LINE AND OUR TEMPORARY HEALTH SERVICES LAND.
AND I'LL BE EXPLAINING THAT TO YOU A LITTLE BIT MORE AS WE GO FORWARD THROUGH MY PRESENTATION.
SO YOU THINK I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT FOR YOU TODAY.
ONE, I WANT TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR WELLNESS PROGRAM ENHANCEMENTS, UM, EMPLOYEE TRAINING, TEMPORARY HELP SERVICES AND INTERNSHIPS, STUFF LIKE THAT.
SO IN JANUARY OF 2022, AS YOU KNOW, WE TRANSITIONED TO A NEW HEALTH INSURANCE, THIRD PARTY ADMINISTRATOR, WHICH HAS MADE COST A NEW FLEXIBLE SPENDING PLAN ADMINISTRATION ADMINISTRATOR, WHICH HAS MADE A COST, A NEW PRESCRIPTION BENEFIT MANAGEMENT COMPANY, WHICH IS UP TOMORROW X AND ALSO A NEW DENTAL CARRIER, WHICH IS DELTA DENTAL.
AND SO WHAT WE'RE HOPING IS THAT THIS TRANSITION OVERALL REALLY WILL BE BENEFICIAL TO THE CITY FROM A MONETARY PERSPECTIVE AND ALSO TO OUR PLAN PARTICIPANTS AS WELL.
SO WITH THIS TRANSITION OVER TO MEG, I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO ENHANCE SOME THINGS RELATED TO OUR WELLNESS PROGRAM.
AND WHEN WE'RE THINKING OF WELLNESS PROGRAMS, WE'RE THINKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS? WHAT DO WE WANT TO GAIN GAIN FROM THAT? AS FAR AS OUR WORKFORCE IS CONCERNED, AND THERE ARE SEVERAL THINGS THAT WE WOULD HOPE TO SEE FROM A BONAFIDE WELLNESS PROGRAM, ONE IS GOING TO BE A CHANGE IN THAT EMPLOYEE HEALTH BEHAVIOR.
IT'S GOING TO INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY.
IT'S GOING TO IMPROVE EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT, REDUCED STRESS LEVELS, AND ULTIMATELY HOPEFULLY REDUCE HEALTHCARE COSTS.
SO AGAIN, A BIG PART OF MY EXCITEMENT COMES FROM OUR APARTMENT SHIP WITH MED COSTING SIDE OF THINGS AND THE RESOURCES THAT THEY DO HAVE TO OFFER.
THEY DO OFFER WHAT THEY CALL A HEALTHY AND WHOLE PROGRAM, AND THAT WILL GIVE OUR EMPLOYEES ACCESS TO QUITE A BIT OF INFORMATION, RESOURCES, UM, THINGS THROUGH, THROUGH THEIR ONLINE COURSE.
AND I'LL JUST HAVE LIKE JUST A FEW OF THOSE THINGS REAL QUICK, IF I MIGHT.
SO ONE IS THE ACTIVE AND FIT THE REC FITNESS MEMBERSHIP.
AND WHAT THAT WILL DO IS IT WILL GIVE THE PLAN PARTICIPANTS ACCESS TO OVER 9,000, UH, PARTICIPATING FITNESS CENTERS NATIONWIDE.
NOW THAT WOULD IT BE, BE AT MINIMAL COST TO THE PLAN FOR KIDS SPENT, BUT IF THEY ARE IN TRAVELING, THEN THEY CAN JUST GO WHEREVER ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND ACCESS THESE FITNESS CENTERS.
THEY ALSO OFFER FINANCIAL EDUCATION RESOURCES, SO ON BUDGETING AND SAVING AND BUYING A HOME AND JUST PROTECTING YOUR FINANCES AND MORE, THERE'S QUITE A BIT OF INFORMATION
[01:20:01]
OUT THERE.MY CARE PATH IS ANOTHER ONE THAT THEY OFFER.
AND THAT IS A TOOL THAT THE PLANT PARTICIPANTS CAN USE.
UM, IF THEY'RE HAVING SOME ISSUES, IT HELPS TO EVALUATE SEPTUMS RESEARCH MEDICATIONS, TRACK ACTIVITIES, CALCULATE FITNESS LEVELS, AND LOOK AT THE RISK THAT THEY MAY HAVE ASSOCIATED FOR HEART ATTACKS AND STROKES.
SO GOOD INFORMATION FOR THEM COMPLEX CASE MANAGEMENT IS ANOTHER ONE WHERE THERE ARE NURSE CASE MANAGERS OUT THERE STANDING READY TO HELP COORDINATE CARE FOR THE PLAN PARTICIPANTS PROVIDING SUPPORT WHEN NEEDED THIS ONE, I REALLY WAS PLEASED TO SEE MY STRENGTH, MENTAL WELLNESS, AND THAT IS A CUSTOMIZED TOOL THAT WILL HELP THE PLAN PARTICIPANTS WITH MANAGING STRESS AND ANXIETY AND INSOMNIA, CHRONIC PAIN, THOSE TYPES OF THINGS.
SO THEY WILL OFFER SOME PERSONALIZED AND CONFIDENTIAL ASSISTANCE AND RESOURCES TO HELP THOSE KIDS.
ONE OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT WE'RE GLAD TO SEE IS THAT THEY ALSO MEANING MED CALLS ALL PER SE, WELLNESS, CALENDAR AND COMMUNICATION MATERIALS AS WELL.
SO WE CAN UTILIZE WHATEVER THEY HAVE IN CONJUNCTION WITH WHAT OUR WELLNESS COMMITTEE HAS CREATED OR SOME OF THE IDEAS THAT THEY BRING FORWARD.
SO FOR FEBRUARY, WE DID, UM, WE'VE DONE SOME MESSAGING ABOUT LESS GET HEARTFELT.
SO ON THE 4TH OF FEBRUARY, WE ENCOURAGED THEM BOYS TO WEAR RED AND TO RAISE, UH, SUPPORT AND AWARENESS REGARDING, UH, ELIMINATION OF CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE.
WE ALSO, FOR THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY, HAVE A FITNESS BINGO WHERE WE'VE SET UP BINGO CARDS FOR ALL THE EMPLOYEES.
AND WE'RE SAYING, OKAY, WELL, LISTEN, IF YOU RIDE A BIKE, YOU KNOW, FOR 30 MINUTES, IF YOU DON'T DRINK A SUGARY BEVERAGE FOR THE DAY, OR IF YOU HAD NO FAST FOOD FOR THE DAY, EXCEPT BINGO CARD OUT.
AND ONCE YOU GET BINGO DIAGONALLY ACROSS JUST WHATEVER YOU TURN THAT CARD IN, AND THEN YOUR NAME WILL GO INTO A DRAWING FOR $25 GIFT CARD.
SO WE GOT SOME EXCITEMENT THAT REGARDED FOR THAT.
AND ON FEBRUARY 23RD, I'M PROUD TO SAY THAT WE ARE PARTNERING, PARTNERING WITH CRAIG COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT.
WE ACTUALLY HAD A NUTRITIONIST WHO IS GOING TO DO A VIRTUAL LUNCH AND LEARN FOR OUR EMPLOYEES, WHOEVER WANTS TO PARTICIPATE ON HEALTHY MEAL PREPARATION.
SO WE'VE GOT SOME THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING IN FEBRUARY, AND WE GOT SOME THINGS THAT ARE, WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO.
AS A MATTER OF FACT, THE WELLNESS COMMITTEE MET YESTERDAY.
THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT IDEAS FOR MARCH, APRIL, MAY.
AND SO BEFORE I FAILED THOSE WE TO TALK TO THE CITY MANAGER, JUST TO LET THEM KNOW WHAT IT IS THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO DO.
SO I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THOSE THINGS THAT THE WELLNESS COMMITTEE IS DOING.
BUT IN ADDITION, THEY'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO DO THE THINGS THAT THE EMPLOYEES FIND EXCITING, THOSE TEEN WEIGHT LOSS CHALLENGES, THE HOLIDAY MAINTAIN AND CHALLENGE THE PROJECT SIX 40, UM, CHALLENGE THAT WE DO DURING THE MONTH OF JULY TO ENCOURAGE HYDRATION.
SO THOSE THINGS WILL CONTINUE, BUT WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THE OTHER THINGS THAT WE'LL HAVE.
THERE'LL BE EMPLOYEES, HEALTHY WORKFORCE, BETTER PRODUCTIVITY, REDUCE HEALTHCARE COSTS.
SO AGAIN, WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT.
ALL RIGHT, THE NEXT THING WE'LL WANT TO HIGHLIGHT FOR YOU IS TRAINING.
SO WE WORK WITH NORTH CAROLINA STATEWIDE SAFETY CONFERENCE AND, UH, OUR SAFETY OFFICER IDENTIFIES BY WORKING WITH THE DEPARTMENTS, OSHA MANDATED TRAINING THAT THE EMPLOYER REALLY NEEDS FROM A SAFETY PERSPECTIVE.
SO WE WORKED WITH THE STATEWIDE SAFETY CONFERENCE AND THEY COME IN AND THEY FACILITATE MONTHLY TRAINING FOR OUR EMPLOYEES WHO NEED IT.
SO FOR INSTANCE, TOPICS MIGHT RANGE FROM JUST GENERAL SAFETY TO CONFINED SPACE AWARENESS THAT HEAT, STRESS, LADDER SAFETY, AND THE LIST GOES ON AND ON AND ON.
SO WHAT WE'VE DONE IN THE PAST, AND WE'VE BEEN DOING THIS FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS, AND IT'S GOTTEN TO BE A LITTLE CUMBERSOME WHEN THEY TRY TO IDENTIFY WHICH DEPARTMENTS ARE GOING TO PARTICIPATE IN THE TRAINING, HOW MANY EMPLOYERS ARE GOING TO PARTICIPATE FROM EACH DEPARTMENT? HOW DO WE DIVIDE THAT UP AND WHO PAYS WHAT? SO, WHAT I REALLY WOULD LIKE TO DO IS JUST TO INCORPORATE THAT COST IN THE HR BUDGET.
SO THEN WE DON'T HAVE TO DO THAT, BUT WE CAN JUST MAKE SURE THAT THE EMPLOYERS ARE GETTING THE TRAINING.
SO I'M EXPECTING THAT THAT INCREASE IN THE OTHER TRAVEL TO TRAINING WILL EQUATE TO ABOUT $7,500.
BUT AGAIN, IT IS OSHA MANDATED TRAINING, OTHER SAFETY RELATED TRAINING.
AGAIN, OUR SAFETY OFFICER WORKS WITH THE DEPARTMENTS TO COORDINATE WHATEVER'S NECESSARY.
IT MAY BE AS BEST AS AWARENESS, CHAINSAWS, SAFETY, BLOODBORNE, PATHOGEN, THOSE TYPES OF TRAININGS.
SO HE WILL FACILITATE THE TRAINING AS HE CAN, OR HE WILL COORDINATE IT.
IF, IF IT'S SOMETHING OUTSIDE OF THE SCOPE OF MAYBE WHAT HE FEELS COMFORTABLE DOING, VIDEO ON DEMAND LIBRARIES, UM, WE DO HAVE ACCESS TO CORE 360, WHICH IS AT NO COST TO THE CITY.
AND WE ALSO NOW HAVE ACCESS TO SAFETY SOURCE LINE.COM,
[01:25:02]
WHICH IS A FREE RESOURCE AS WELL THROUGH OUR WORKER'S COMP ACCESS INSURANCE CARRIER.AND THAT IS MIDWEST INSURANCE.
SO THEY'D HAVE A LARGE LIBRARY.
OUR DEPARTMENTS ARE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THAT.
UH, SOME OF THE MEETINGS, SOMETIMES THEY WILL HAVE SHOW THESE VIDEOS AT THEIR SAFETY MEETINGS OR THEIR TAILGATE MEETINGS.
FRAN, FOR INSTANCE, THEY'VE DONE, UM, VIDEOS ON TREE FAILINGS, SAFETY, TRAFFIC CONTROL, WORKPLACE STRESS, LADDER SAFETY, COLD STRESS HYPOTHERMIA.
SO AGAIN, THAT'S AT NO COST THAT WE'RE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THOSE ON DEMAND, RESOURCES, OTHER TRAINING.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DEFINITELY WILL BE DOING, WE'VE IDENTIFIED THAT AREA THAT IS GOING TO BE BENEFICIAL AS FAR AS TRAINING IS CONCERNED, OUR WORKFORCE DIVERSITY EQUITY AND INCLUSION TRAINING.
SO THE TRAINING WILL BRING AWARENESS TO SUCH TOPICS AS CULTURAL COMPETENCE, COMPETENCY, INCLUSIVITY, UNCONSCIOUS BIAS, ANTI-DISCRIMINATION THAT COMMUNICATION AND A PLETHORA OF OTHER THINGS.
SO I'LL BE WORKING WITH THE CITY MANAGER AND THE ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER AND IDENTIFYING A COMPANY THAT CAN ACTUALLY COME IN TO DO THIS TRAINING FOR US.
UM, AND SO I DON'T HAVE A FIGURE FOR YOU TODAY, BUT I WILL TELL YOU THAT BASED ON WHATEVER THAT FIGURE IS, THAT'S GOING TO BE AN ADDITIONAL INCREASE IN THAT TRAVEL TRAINING, OTHER TRAVEL EMAILS, AND FROM HIM TO LET YOU KNOW THE SERVICES ACTUALLY, THE CITY'S GREAT.
IT'S CALLED THE RAIL PROGRAM, ALL OF THIS.
SO THAT'S THE FRAMING TEMPORARY HELP SERVICES.
UM, OOH, I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY ABOUT COVID.
WE HAVE, I JUST WOULD SAY WE HAVE BEEN HELD HOSTAGE IN THE HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT BY THIS COVID PANDEMIC SINCE THE VERY BEGINNING, UH, YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY FROM DEVELOPING POLICIES TO DEALING WITH, UH, CRAVEN COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT TO WEBINARS, WE TRACK EVERY SINGLE EMPLOYEE WITHOUT SICK.
UM, WE IDENTIFY WHAT THE ISSUES ARE.
IF IT'S COVID RELATED, WE DO CONTACT TRACING.
SO THAT HAS REALLY, IT IS A JOB THAT WE REALLY DID NOT WANT.
IT WAS THRUST TO PUT US AND WE HAD TO TAKE IT AND ROLL WITH IT.
SO I DO WANT TO SAY I'M SO THANKFUL THAT MY DEPARTMENT HAS JUST WE'VE WE'VE, WE'VE TEAMED UP.
TEAMWORK HAS BEEN, YOU KNOW, PROMINENT IN WHAT WE'RE DOING.
WE TRY TO KEEP THINGS GOING OPERATIONALLY.
SOMETIMES IT'S BEEN ALL HANDS ON DECK WHEN IT COMES TO CONTACT, RIGHT.
UM, SO I ACTUALLY HAD TO MAKE A CALL AND DECIDED THAT I NEEDED TO BRING IN SOME TEMPORARY HELP.
THEY HELP US WITH SOME ADMINISTRATIVE TASKS IN THE OFFICE WHILE WE WERE TASKED WITH DEALING WITH THESE COVID TYPES OF ISSUES WITH, UM, UM, WITHIN OUR WORKFORCE.
SO BACK IN SEPTEMBER, I THINK THAT IT WAS, I DIDN'T BRING IN A TEMP.
SO I AM GOING TO OVERSPEND THAT LINE.
UM, PROBABLY THAT ESTIMATED WAS 10 TO $12,000.
TYPICALLY I ONLY ASKED FOR FIVE, BUT WE NEEDED SOME RELIEF.
SO DUE TO THE UNCERTAINTY OF WHAT THE PANDEMIC MIGHT BRING FOR THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR, I WILL BE ASKING FOR $10,000 IN THAT TEMPORARY HEALTH SERVICE PLAN, JUST IN CASE I DO NEED A TEMP TO COME IN AND ASSIST US AGAIN, TO TAKE SOME ADMINISTRATIVE TASKS OFF OF OUR PLATE.
UM, AND I WON'T USE IT UNLESS I ABSOLUTELY NEEDED OF COURSE, BUT I DO WANT TO ASK FOR IT SO THAT IT WON'T BE THERE.
SO AS YOU CAN SEE THAT INTEREST REQUESTS STEMS FROM COVID ISSUES, AND I WANTED TO LOOK BACK AND SEE WHAT, HOW MUCH TIME HAVE WE REALLY DEALING WITH COVID RELATED ISSUES IN 2020, MY STAFF SPENT OVER A THOUSAND HOURS DEALING WITH COVID RELATED ISSUES.
NOW THAT DOES NOT INCLUDE TIME THAT MY SISTER DIRECTOR AND I SPENT ON THE WEEKENDS AND DURING HOLIDAYS RECEIVING CALLS AND CONTACT TRACING.
AND IT'S IMPORTANT BECAUSE WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR EMPLOYEES ARE SAFE AND KNOW SOMEBODY HAS BEEN EXPOSED.
I'M GOING TO CALL YOU ON A SATURDAY NIGHT AND I'M GOING TO CALL YOU ON A SUNDAY AFTERNOON IF I GET CALLED.
SO, AND THEN IN 2021 AS WELL, PROBABLY OVER A THOUSAND HOURS, JUST MY STAFF ALONE A WEEK, YOU COULD SAY A WEEK, WE'VE BEEN, YEAH, COVID HAS HELD US HOSTAGE.
YOU CAN SEE BASED ON THOSE NUMBER OF HOURS.
AND AGAIN, THAT'S, THAT'S ON THE LOW END.
SO, UM, I DON'T KNOW IF WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO LEVERAGE SOME FUNDS FOR SOME TEMPORARY SERVICES THROUGH ARP FUNDING.
NOT REALLY SURE IF WE MAY BE ABLE TO DO THAT, BUT WE'LL BE REQUESTING SOME ADDITIONAL, UM, IN REGARDS TO THE WELLNESS PROGRAM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO INCLUDE MENTAL HEALTH.
ARE THERE, I DON'T, CAUSE I DON'T GET INTO PERSONNEL, BUT IF I'M WORKING A FULL SHIFT, DO I JUST GET LUNCH OR DO I GET LIKE
[01:30:01]
ANY TYPE OF BREAK IN BETWEEN TO STEP AWAY FROM MY WORK AND TAKE A BREATHER AND THEY CAN HAVE THAT WITH A STANDARD? YEAH.EMPLOYEES CAN TAKE, TAKE BREAKS.
I MEAN, OF COURSE WE WOULDN'T WANT TO TAKE A MULTIPLE BREAKS, BUT THERE'S A BREAK IN THE MORNING BREAK IN THE AFTERNOON.
CAUSE SOMETIMES YOU DO HAVE TO GET AWAY.
SOMETIMES I'LL HAVE TO JUST GO TO MY CAR.
MIGHT NOT TAKE A FULL LOOK, BUT SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO GET AWAY.
SO WITHIN THESE WELLNESS PROGRAMS, IS THERE ANYTHING HERE TOWARDS MENTAL HEALTH, ESPECIALLY WITH COPE WITH, UM, JUST THE STRESSES OF EMPLOYEES DEALING, LIKE YOU SAID, WITH THAT BEING ABLE TO SEPARATE WAY OUTSIDE OF HERE.
SO THOSE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE ARE WANTING TO DO AS FAR AS TRAINING.
UM, AND AGAIN, WITH THE, WITH THE VIDEO ON DEMAND, THERE ARE SOME WORKPLACE STRESS VIDEOS OUT THERE FOR THE EMPLOYEES TO WATCH.
BUT AGAIN, THAT IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I DO WANT TO WORK WITH MED COSTS TO DETERMINE WHAT CAN YOU PROVIDE US IN THE WAY OF, UM, STRESS STRESS-RELATED TRAINING, ANXIETY TYPE TRAINING.
SO THOSE ARE THINGS THAT I'VE GOT ON THE FOREFRONT.
THERE ARE NO OTHER QUESTIONS THEN.
IT WASN'T A SLAP, BUT THE LAST THING I WANTED TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THIS INTERNSHIPS, THAT IS ANOTHER AREA THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE FOCUSING ON THIS KIND OF FISCAL YEAR.
SO ALTHOUGH WE'VE EMPLOYED INTERNS FOR A FEW YEARS NOW, WE'VE HAD A NUMBER OF INTERNS.
I REALLY WANT TO SEE US DEVELOP A MORE ROBUST PROGRAM AS IT RELATES TO INTERNSHIPS AND OPPORTUNITIES TO INCORPORATE STUDENTS FROM OUR LOCAL HIGH SCHOOLS AND ALSO FROM COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES AS WELL.
SO I'M REALLY PROUD TO SAY THAT WE ACTUALLY HAD AN INTERN WORKING AT OUR WATER PLANT OUT AT OUR LAB, JUST STARTED THIS WEEK AS A MATTER OF FACT FROM NEWBURN HIGH SCHOOL.
SO I'M WORKING CLOSELY WITH THE CTE COORDINATOR, ONE OF THEM FROM GREGORY COUNTY SCHOOLS TO KIND OF LOOKING AT EXPANDING THAT JUST TO MAYBE GET SOME STUDENTS TO COME INTO JOB SHADOW AND DO THOSE INTERNSHIPS, UM, WITH THE CITY OF NEWBURGH AND WHAT I'M HOPING, UM, ALSO IS TO, WELL, I'VE ACTUALLY SPOKEN TO A COUPLE OF COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES AND I'VE GOT SOME CALLS OUT THERE JUST TO WORK CLOSELY WITH THEM AS WELL, AND TRY TO DEVELOP A PROGRAM AND A TIMELINE SO THAT WE CAN GET MORE COLLEGE INTERNS, UM, INTERESTED IN DOING INTERNSHIPS WITH THE CITY OF DIFFERENT.
SO WORKING WITH THE MANAGER AND THE ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, KIND OF TRY TO ENHANCE THAT PROGRAM TO MAKE SURE THAT WE GET THOSE INTERNSHIPS ADVERTISED APPROPRIATELY AND THAT WE'RE REACHING AS FAR AS WE POSSIBLY CAN AND MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE A DIVERSE POPULATION OF INTERNS.
SO WE ARE WE'RE, WE'RE GOING TO BE WORKING DEFINITELY ON ENHANCING OUR PROGRAMS. AND THAT'S WHAT THE, UM, YOU'RE WORKING WITH THE HIGH SCHOOL.
YOU SAID STUPID FROM THE HIGH SCHOOL, OUR INTERN.
WELL, ACTUALLY THIS YOUNG LADY I THINK IS A JUNIOR.
SO D DO YOU, OR HAVE YOU HAD YOUR CONVERSATION WITH ANYBODY ON THE SCHOOL BOARD? NO.
I'VE ONLY WORKED WITH THE CTE COORDINATOR FROM THE HIGH SCHOOL WHO CALLED ME TO SAY, HEY, WE'VE GOT THIS STUDENT, SO I'VE NOT HAD ANY GOTTEN GUMMED AS FAR AS HAVING A CONVERSATION WITH THIS.
I THINK, YOU KNOW, ACTUALLY GETTING IN THERE WITH YOUR INTERNSHIP AND EXPLAINING THE OPPORTUNITY.
I THINK YOU'LL PROBABLY DEFINITELY GET A LOT OF STUDENTS THAT WOULD BE INTERESTED IN AN INTERNSHIP.
THANK YOU FOR THAT WORK TO EXPAND THAT.
AND I WILL SAY ALSO, NOT JUST AT THE HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL, BUT I'M VERY EXCITED BECAUSE I'VE ALSO WORKED WITH THE CTE COORDINATOR.
WE WE'VE BEEN GOING TO NEWBURN HIGH SCHOOL FOR THE PAST FEW YEARS, PARTICIPATING IN, UM, THE CAREER DAYS THAT THEY HAVE TAKE LIKE EIGHT, NINE DEPARTMENTS AND WE JUST KIND OF LEAD THE PLACE SO THEY CAN SEE WHAT DO WE DO? YOU KNOW, WHAT HAPPENS WITH THE CITY? WHAT ARE THE OPPORTUNITIES? SO I'M VERY PLEASED TO SAY THAT WE ARE WELL REPRESENTED AT THOSE CAREER FAIRS, BUT I'VE SPOKEN TO HER AND I THOUGHT, GOSH, WE REALLY WANT TO GET IN THE MIDDLE SCHOOLS AND THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS AS WELL.
SO IN MARCH, THE ELEMENTARY STUDENTS WILL BE HAVING A CAP, WHICH IS CAREERS OF WHEELS.
SO WE'RE GOING TO BE TAKING A STREET SWEEPER, A DUMP TRUCK BY THE TRUCK OR POLICE VEHICLE.
UM, AND I THINK JORDAN, WE'RE GOING TO TAKE THE BACK TRUCK WITH A ROBOTIC CAMERA TO SHOW THESE LITTLE ELEMENTARY STUDENTS WHAT WE DO.
SO IT IS MY HOPE THAT THEY WILL REMEMBER THAT WHEN THEY GET TO MIDDLE SCHOOL, WE'LL BE COORDINATING TO DO SOME THINGS IN THE MIDDLE SCHOOL AS WELL.
THEN WHEN THEY GET TO THE HIGH SCHOOL THAT MAY INTEREST THEM IN SOME INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES, WHEN THEY GO TO COLLEGE, THEY'LL REMEMBER, NUBER WANT TO GO BACK AND DO AN INTERNSHIP AND HOPEFULLY ULTIMATELY EMPLOYMENT WITH THE CITY.
SO I'VE GOT SOME THINGS NOT, I THINK, A GRAND CAUSE I'M OUT OF THAT, WE'RE ABLE TO SPEND MONEY THAT WAY, WHERE THEY'VE GONE THROUGH SOMEWHAT LIKE, SO LIKE AT THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PARK, IF YOU, IF YOU'VE BEEN THERE FROM KINDERGARTEN TO FIFTH GRADE AND YOU HAVE GOOD GRADES, YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY WHEN YOU'RE
[01:35:01]
GRADUATING OUT OF FIFTH GRADE TO BE IN A, THE ABILITY TO GET A GRANT OF $500 OR NOT GRANT, THEY WIN SOMETHING.BUT I THINK THAT INITIATIVE IS AMAZING.
I'M AMAZED AND THAT REALLY NEEDS TO BE BUILT ON WELL, I'M EXCITED ABOUT IT.
I JUST DON'T THINK, I THINK THAT BY THE TIME THEY GET TO HIGH SCHOOL, I KNOW I CAN SAY FOR MY SON, THEY JUST WON'T LEAVE STAY.
SO I'M JUST THINKING THIS, WE GOTTA START AT THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL LEVEL SO THAT THE AT LEAST, YOU KNOW, IF THEY NEVER COME TO WORK FOR THE CITY OF NEWBURN, IT IS MY HOPE THAT WHEN THEY FLIP THE LIGHT SWITCH, THEY WILL, THEY WILL KNOW IT'S NOT MAGIC.
THERE'S SOMETHING THAT GOES ON BEHIND THE SCENES TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN.
SO JUST TO GET THEM IN A POSTURE OF UNDERSTANDING WHAT WE DO.
IT'S VERY EFFECTIVE BECAUSE WHEN THE POLICE, I MEAN, WHEN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT WENT TO PARK, MY DAUGHTER LITERALLY CAME HOME AND SHE WANTS TO BE A FIREFIGHTER AND SHE SAYS IT ALL THE TIME.
SO I'M LIKE, OKAY, WELL LET'S DO IT.
IT'D BE SURPRISED THAT THE INTERACTION THAT THE CITY HAD WITH HER FOUR OR FIVE, SIX YEAR OLDS.
CAUSE I REMEMBER, UM, I CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT YEAR IT WAS ALL HE HAD A DISPLAY OUT AT, UH, WEST NEWBURGH AND HE HAD THE LITTLE BOARD UP THERE TO SHOW BY ELECTRICITY AND ALL THAT.
AND I HAD SOME, SOME KIDS AT SCHOOL, I MEAN, NOT AT SCHOOL, BUT AT CHURCH SITE, DID YOU SEE THAT THERE WAS EXCITED ABOUT IT? SO THEY REMEMBER STUFF LIKE THAT.
SO Y'ALL DON'T KNOW IF YOU FINISHED OR NOT, BUT YOU HAD A QUESTION POINT, MAN.
AND I TAUGHT WITH FOSTER, UH, HARRISON, MYSELF TAUGHT WITH FOSTER.
UM, IT WAS DURING SUMMER SOMETIMES I WANT TO SEE IF WE CAN IMPLEMENT AND BRING BACK TO CITY EMPLOYEE PICNIC.
I DON'T KNOW HOW THE REST OF THE WORLD FEELS ABOUT THAT, BUT I THINK THAT WOULD BE, THAT WOULD BE REALLY HELPFUL TO OUR EMPLOYEES WHERE THEY COULD GET TO MINGLE WITH ONE ANOTHER, GET TO KNOW ONE ANOTHER, BECAUSE THERE'S SOME EMPLOYEES THAT DON'T EVEN KNOW AND THEY APPROACHED ME ON THE STREET AND SAY CERTAIN THINGS.
I DON'T EVEN KNOW HIM AND THEY'RE OUR EMPLOYEES.
AND I JUST THINK IT WOULD, IT WOULD BOOST THE MORALE WITHIN THE CITY AS WELL.
SO I STARTED A WELLNESS PROGRAM.
AND I JUST HOPE THAT OTHER ALDERMAN FEEL THE SAME WAY ABOUT PLANS AND BRING IT BACK FOR FISCAL YEAR FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR COMING UP.
WE CAN CERTAINLY, CAUSE I DO REMEMBER A DOLLAR ON WHAT IT WOULD CALL.
I DEFINITELY THINK WE CAN AFFORD TO PROBABLY, ESPECIALLY WITH COVID REALLY COULDN'T DO ANYTHING, BUT THE AMAZING JOB THAT YOU GUYS ARE DOING WITHIN THE CITY TO SLOWLY SPREAD THE WORD IF IT'S NEEDED, YOU KNOW, SO I DEFINITELY AGREE.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR MY YEAR.
UM, FROM LAST YEAR, UM, OVERALL KIND OF THE SYNOPSIS IS TO PROVIDE ENHANCED QUALITY OF LIFE FOR ALL CITIZENS AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF SUSTAINABLE FACILITIES, PARKS, PROGRAMS, AND SERVICES, AND OUR VISION IS TO PROVIDE RECREATION.
SO MY DEPARTMENT IS NATIONALLY ACCREDITED BY CATHERINE.
THAT WAS, UM, UM, RECENTLY RE ACCREDITATION.
UM, WE ARE, WE'LL GET THERE OUR NEXT REOCCURRED ACCREDITATION IN 2025, UM, NATIONALLY THE UNITED STATES, THERE ARE 92 AGENCIES THAT ARE ACCREDITED AND IN NORTH CAROLINA, WE ARE ONE OF OUR EMPLOYEE BREAKDOWN.
WE HAVE A TOTAL OF 30 FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES.
UM, FOR MAJORITY OF 2021, WE WENT OFF FULLY OFF AND THIS HAS COME INTO 2020.
UM, AND OF COURSE WE'VE EXPERIENCED THAT SHORTAGE.
[01:40:03]
CURRENTLY HAVE ABOUT FIVE VACANCIES THAT WE'RE WORKING ON FEELING? UM, THAT WOULD INCLUDE THE DIRECTOR SPECIAL PROJECTS COORDINATOR, TWO SENIOR MAINTENANCE WORKERS, A ONE PARKS MAINTENANCE SPACE, UM, GOING ON TWO MAJOR PROJECTS THAT WE HAVE COMPLETED IN FISCAL YEAR 21.OF COURSE, THE MARTIN MARIETTA RECENTLY COMPLETED PHASE ONE.
THESE ARE ITEMS THAT WERE COMPLETED IN BITE FORM.
UM, AND WE ARE WORKING ON THE PROCESS OF PLANNING, ADDITIONAL MAJOR PROJECTS THAT WE ARE WORKING ON.
UM, WE'RE LOOKING TO, UM, INSTALL A NEW SHELTER OVER AT FORT TOTTEN PARK.
UM, A BIGGER SIZE SHELTER THAN THE ONE THAT'S ALREADY THERE.
UM, GLEN BURNIE PARK, WE HAVE, UM, COMPLETED DARK REPAIRS ON THE DOG THAT WAS DAMAGED DUE TO HURRICANE FLORENCE.
AND WE ALSO ARE REALLY WORKING ON ROAD AND PARKING LOT UPGRADES.
UM, HOPEFULLY BY MARCH, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A BASKETBALL COURT DEVELOP AT HENDERSON.
UM, WE ARE CURRENTLY WORKING ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF COMMUNITY CENTER OUT AT PLEASANT HILL.
UM, JUST THIS WEEK WE DMI THE SHELTER THAT WAS THERE.
SACK WAS GETTING THAT CLEANED UP AND CREDIT AREA FOR, UM, HORN OF A PIPE FOR THE STRUCTURE THAT SCHOOL.
UM, AND THEN THAT SOUTHWEST PAIR HEART, WE RENOVATED THAT A BASKETBALL PRODUCT PROJECTS OF COURSE, WHERE YOU ARE STARTING ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF SAYING WE WANT RECREATION SCENE.
UM, WE HAD OUR KICKOFF MEETING WITH CPU.
UM, WE ARE HOPING TO START WORKING ON INFRASTRUCTURE UPGRADES AT UNION POINT PARK AND WE INSTALLED A NEW SCHOOL BOARD IN THE WEST NIGGER RECREATION CENTER AND A NEW STORAGE FUEL FOR STORAGE OUTSIDE OF THE WORST NAME FOR RECREATION CENTER WAS THE INFRASTRUCTURE UPGRADES THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT THAT WOULD BE THINGS LIKE, UM, MENTALITIES, MORE ELECTRICAL OUTLETS FOR VENDORS, UM, THE WATER SEWER ISSUES THAT WE HAVE OUT THERE, BUT THE FLOODING WHENEVER THE TIDE RISES, UM, INCREASING THE ACCESSIBILITY WITH SIDEWALKS.
SO THE ON SIDEWALKS ARE NOT ACCESS.
WHAT'S THE TIMELINE ON THIS DAILY WIPE WITH THE WHOLE PROCESS? WHERE ARE WE WITH THAT? SO THE, UH, THE ARCHITECT ENGINEER THEIR INFORMATION.
NOW ONCE THEY HAVE, UM, A PROGRAM IN PLACE, THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE SOME ESTIMATED COSTS.
THAT'S WHEN I'LL BE REACHED OUT TO EACH OF THE ROOM AND WE'LL GO OVER THAT, UH, DELAYS, YOU KNOW HOW THAT GOES, THEN THEY'RE GOING TO BE MAKING A PRESENTATION TO THE BOARD TO PRESENT, UH, WHAT THAT COST IS GOING TO BE, AND THEN CONTINUE ON THEIR PROCESS WITH, WITH CONTINUING TO PAY THE PLANNING AND DESIGN AND ENGINEERING FOR THE BUILDING.
UH, THE GOAL IS FOR THAT TO BE BID OUT AT SOME POINT, PROBABLY MID, MID TO LATE SUMMER AND THE COST OF WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO COME FOR.
HIS NAME COMES OUT OF THE MONEY THAT'S ALREADY OUT THERE.
AND THEN I WILL SAY ON THE INFRASTRUCTURE UNION POINT BAR, THE BIGGEST ISSUE WE'VE HAD AT THAT PARK IS, UH, WE HAVE A LOT OF SPECIAL EVENTS THAT GO ON THERE.
A LOT OF, UH, UH, FOOD TRUCKS PARTICIPATE THERE AND THE MAJORITY OF THOSE FOOD DRUGS HAVE TO HAVE GENERATORS ON THE VEHICLE.
SO IF YOU'RE DOING A CONCERT OR MOVIE IN THE BAR OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, HEARING THE GENERATOR RUNNING, IT KIND OF TAKES AWAY FROM WHATEVER THE EVENT IS.
SO WE'RE WORKING WITH UTILITIES, THEY'RE GOING TO BE COMING IN AND INSTALLING SEVERAL DIFFERENT AREAS AROUND THERE TO WHERE WE CAN HAVE 12 TO 15 FOOD TRUCKS CAN JUST PLUG IN TO A POWER PERCEPTIBLE, WHICH WILL GREATLY HELP OUT THAT FAR.
UM, SO OUR TONIC GOALS FOR FISCAL YEAR 20 OF COURSE, CONSTRUCTION OF SALARY.
MY RADIATION SEEN HER, UM, HE ANDERSON PARKER INNOVATIONS TO OCCUR, UM, EXPENSE AND THE EXTENSION AND THE LOSS AND CREATE MARSH WALK BY JACK I'M WORKING TOWARDS
[01:45:01]
PHASE TWO OF MARTIN MARIETTA PARK.UM, THERE WAS AN ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP THROUGH URBAN FORESTRY CARE AND MAINTENANCE, UM, ARBOR DAY AND EARTH DAY PROMOTION, OUTDOOR AND ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION AND THE INSTALLATION OF POLLINATOR HABITATS.
UM, WE WOULD ALSO LIKE TO CONTINUE WITH PARKS SYSTEM UPGRADES TO INCLUDE THINGS LIKE SHELTERS, PARK AMENITIES, OVERALL ACCESSIBILITY.
AND OF COURSE THE INFRASTRUCTURE.
UM, ALSO WE WOULD LIKE TO WORK ON EXPANDING PARTNERSHIP PROFITS AND OTHER AGENCIES.
UM, CURRENTLY, UM, WE'VE ALREADY PARTNERED WITH THE ARTS COUNCIL.
WE PARTNER WITH THE COUNTY ON SOME POINTS LIKE EXPANDING THOSE WITH THE IDEAL, UM, WOULD LIKE TO INCREASE OUR VOLUNTEER BASE IS TO ACTUALLY FOR BIG, SPECIAL DANCE THAT WE DO AND LARGE PARK CLEANUPS.
AND THEN LASTLY, STAFF TRYING TO INCREASE NUMBER EMPLOYEES WOULD SAY DEALS AND ADDITIONAL STAFF TO BECOME A CERTIFIED ARBORIST.
OH, ACTUALLY I WANT TO ASK YOU A QUESTION.
SO LIKE WHEN WE HAVE SPECIAL EVENTS AND STUFF LIKE THAT, I KNOW THE EMPLOYEES ARE WORKING THOSE EVENTS AND LIKE YOU SAY, A PARTNERSHIP WOULD HAVE BEEN BRINGING IN MORE PEOPLE.
UM, SO JUST SAY FOR INSTANCE, UH, WITH THE MOMS THAT I KNOW THOSE EMPLOYEES GET PAID OVERTIME, RIGHT? THAT'S CORRECT.
SO YOU, IF YOU VOLUNTEER WHERE IF YOU WERE ASKING FOR AN INCREASE IN THE VOLUNTEERS, WOULD THAT PUT, ALSO MAKE IT CAUSE I KNOW SOME EMPLOYEES WAS TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HAVING TO WORK ALL OF THESE EVENTS ON SATURDAYS AND STUFF LIKE THAT.
SO THOSE VOLUNTEERS WITH THAT KIND OF EASE THE TIMEFRAME THAT EMPLOYEES WOULDN'T HAVE TO COME OUT THERE AND WORK THOSE EVENTS.
SO VOLUNTEERS WILL GREATLY HELP OUT WITH LIKE THE ADMINISTRATIVE OVER THE VAN.
SO IF WE HAD INFLATABLES AND THINGS LIKE THAT OUT THERE, THEY CAN HELP ME ON THAT.
THE PROBLEM IS SETTING THOSE INFLATABLES UP, SETTING UP AND TEAR DOWN FOR THE ADVANTAGE.
THAT'S WHERE WE'VE GOT TO HAVE LITERALLY STAFF TO DO THAT.
UM, IT IS TAXING, UH, PUBLIC WORKS, UH, PARKS AND RECREATION THAT BOTH ARE HERE ON A REGULAR BASIS, WHETHER IT'S A STREET CLOSING OR A BIG SPECIAL EVENT.
AND, UM, ONE THING THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE LOOKING AT IS TRYING TO GET SOME MORE PART-TIME EMPLOYEES TO HELP DO THIS.
WE TRIED TO GO THE ROUTE OF THE TEMPORARY EMPLOYEE ROUTE AND WE'VE HAD MORE ISSUES THAN ANYTHING WITH THAT WITH RELYING ON TEMPS, TO BE ABLE TO DO CERTAIN THINGS THAT WE NEED TO HAVE DONE, WHETHER IT BE PUTTING UP AN INFLATABLE MOVIE SCREEN OR MAKING SURE TRASH IS PICKED UP AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, AND WE ARE DOING SPECIAL EVENTS JUST ABOUT EVERY WEEKEND, REALLY FROM REALLY RIGHT NOW, ALL THE WAY UP THROUGH, THROUGH CHRISTMAS.
IT'S TOUGH ON THE PARKS AND RECREATION STAFF, BECAUSE JUST LIKE YOU SAW IN THAT LIST, LET'S JUST TALK ABOUT PARKS AND GROUND STAFF THERE.
THEY'RE BASICALLY 15 EMPLOYEES IN THERE.
SO EVERY DAY A PARKS AND RECREATION EMPLOYEE IS GOING AROUND PICKING UP TRASH AND ALL OF THOSE PARKS ON A WEEKEND, THEY'RE, THEY'RE PICKING UP THE TRASH AND THEN THE MAIN PART OF DOWNTOWN IN THE FOOT CUP.
IF THERE'S A STREET CLOSURE, THEY'VE GOT TO COME BACK OUT IN THE EVENING, THEY GET BACK IN THROUGH THE PARKS, EVERY UNION AS WELL.
AND SO IS THERE A NEED FOR THAT? SURE.
DO WE LIKE HAVING THOSE EMPLOYEES WORK EVERY EVENT? AND I CAN SAY THIS AS THE CITY MANAGER, BECAUSE I STILL GO OUT THERE FOR EVERY, EVERY BIG SPECIAL EVENT AND I'M WORKING AS WELL AFTER I'VE ALREADY DONE MY STUFF.
SO AS PARKS AND RECREATION DIRECTOR AND THE OTHER KEY STAFF, SO WE RECOGNIZE THERE'S AN ISSUE AND WE HAVE, WHERE ARE YOU USING? ARE YOU USING PUPPET WORKS TO HELP ASSIST Y'ALL WITH SOME OF THIS OTHER THAN JUST PUTTING UP OTHER THAN JUST PUTTING OUT SIGNS AND PUTTING THE BARRICADES AND ALL OF THAT.
THE BAD THING IS THE GREAT THING IS THAT WE'RE DOING SO MANY GOOD EVENTS.
CITIZENS ARE COMING OUT, BUT IT IS TAXING ON THEM ON STAFF.
WE REALIZED THAT IN REGARDS TO THAT, IF I WORK IN EVENT ON SATURDAY, AM I GETTING RELIEF DURING THE WEEK? SO MOST CASES, YES, IT DEPENDS ON WHAT TIME OF YEAR IT IS.
IT'S A BUSY TIME DURING THE YEAR.
THEY'RE BASICALLY GETTING AN UNDERSTANDING THAT THEY WANT TO TAKE OUT THEIR REQUEST, THAT THE SUPERVISORS WORK THAT OUT.
AND THEN IN REGARDS TO, UM, IS THAT A LINE ITEM THAT'S GOING TO BE IMPLEMENTED IN REGARDS TO ACTUAL MONETARY MONEY TO GO AND GET THEIR CDL LIKE IN THERE, YOU KNOW, LIKE SOME PLACES, CORPORATIONS, YOU HAVEN'T BEFORE YOU GO AND PICK YOUR ASSOCIATES DEGREE AND THEY HELP YOU, YOU KNOW, GIVE TUITION REIMBURSEMENT.
SO IF I'M GOING TO GET MY CDL, ANY COSTS
[01:50:01]
THAT ARE ASSOCIATED IN MY GETTING THAT REIMBURSED IS THE CITY PAIN OR DRIVE TO STAY HERE FOR THREE YEARS TO ALLEVIATE THAT COST.WOULD IT BE SO CDL PROGRAMS CHANGED THE CITY NOW DOES OUR OWN CDL PROGRAM.
SO WE'VE GOT STAFF AND UTILITIES, WATER RESOURCES, PUBLIC WORKS, AND PARKS AND RECREATION.
THEY'LL ACTUALLY BE TEACHING THAT ONCE THEY'VE GONE THROUGH THE CITY CLASS, THEN THEY'RE ELIGIBLE TO GO, UH, TO GET THEIR, TAKE THEIR TEST AND GET NOURISHED.
IF THEY GET THAT CDL, THEY WILL SEE AN INCREASE IN THEIR, UH, ANY CDL DRIVER HAVE TO BE TESTED ON A REGULAR BASIS AND THEY HAVE MORE EXPECTATIONS.
SO THEY WILL BE COMPENSATED FOR THAT.
AND THEN, UM, WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THE PARKS AND REC DIRECTOR FOR THAT POSITION IS BEING READY TO BE ADVERTISED NEXT MONTH, STARTING IN MARCH COVERED SHELTERS AT THE CEMETERY.
YOU MAY REMEMBER BACK DURING THE BUDGET PROCESS LAST YEAR, UM, THAT WAS PRESENTED AND, AND SO NOTHING, NO ACTION WAS TAKEN DURING THIS BUDGET.
AND SO I TALKED WITH THE INTERIM DIRECTOR AND THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS WE WANT TO LOOK AT AS WELL.
ANY, UM, ANY THOUGHTS ON ANY TYPE OF IMPROVEMENTS ON THAT STAGE ABOUT FOOT SHIPPER, LAND, WHERE BRAVES YOU SHOULD BE OR FEED YOUR DOG? YES.
WE HAD LOOKED AT THAT AND I CAN ALSO SHARE WITH THE BOARD, UM, I'LL SEND ONE OUT A PROPOSED LAYOUT OF SOME ADDITIONAL PARKING LOT, A POTENTIAL FOR A FISHING PIER AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
BRIGHT SIDE, THE SUDAN WE'VE GOT APPROXIMATELY A 75 FOOT STRIP OF LAND RIGHT THERE.
I FOSTER BY ABOUT THE COLUMBARIUMS, YOU KNOW, WE HAD TALKED ABOUT THAT AS WELL BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE IT.
I DON'T THINK HERE, HE'S GOT TO THAT.
IN REGARDS TO THE ENGLISH PART.
UM, WHEN ARE THE UPGRADES GONNA HAPPEN? SO, CAUSE, YOU KNOW, I KNOW SOME PEOPLE DON'T KNOW JANUARY TO JUNE 30TH IS THE BUDGET YEAR, BUT WE'RE ACTUALLY LIKE THIS YEAR 20, 22 ARE GOING TO DO SOMETHING THAT'S GREAT.
SO WHAT WE'RE WAITING ON RIGHT NOW IS A DECISION ON CHANGING SCOPE OF WORK, OF STANDING FOR THE HENDERSON PARK PROJECT.
AND SO IF THAT IS ACCEPTED, WHAT WE WOULD SAY IS, UM, UH, INCREASED SIZE OF THE PLAYGROUND WITH MORE MEN AT THE, THE, THE CURRENT, UM, FITNESS BOARD SITS OVER THERE, THAT'S LIVED HIS LIFE.
SO REPLACING THAT, HAVING SOME MORE BLACKTOP GANGS BESIDE THE BASKETBALL COURT, WHERE THAT'S GOING TO BE ON THE FOUNDATION OF THE OLD STANDING WHITE RECREATION, HOPSCOTCH AND TWIST, OR IN FOURSQUARE AND THINGS LIKE THAT, CARRYING DOWN THE OLD RESTROOMS, WE WILL BE BUILDING THE NEW RESTROOMS OVER THERE.
AND THIS BUDGET YEAR, IT ALSO INCLUDES ADDING A SHELTER, UM, ADJACENT TO WHERE THE OLD FOUNDATION WAS, WHICH WOULD DOUBLE AS A PICNIC SHELTER.
IT COULD ALSO DOUBLE AS A FARMER'S MARKET OVER THERE AND THEN JUST A GATHERING AREA FOR SPECIAL EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES FOR, FOR CITIZENS OR WELL WOULD BE SHELTER WOULD BE BASKETBALL.
SO IF IT'S THAT, THAT WILL NOT BE SHELTERED.
UH, YOU KNOW, THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS WE LOOKED AT IS AS PART OF THE, UM, THE PROCESS OF CHANGING SCOPE OF WORK AND THE COST TO PUT A SHELTER OVER THAT WAS QUITE EXTENSIVE.
AND IT'S GOOD CAUSE IT WAS GOING TO COST APPROXIMATELY 350 TO $400,000.
AND WE LOOKED AT PUTTING A WHICH STRUCTURE LIKE WE HAVE WITH OUR CURRENT SHELTERS OR DOING OF STRUCTURE.
AND THEY WERE BOTH SIGNIFICANT COSTS.
SO OF COURSE WE CAN ALWAYS LOOK AT THAT AS WE MOVE FORWARD IN THE BUDGET FOR GRANTS.
AND THEN IN REGARDS TO WHERE THE, UM, THE PARK IS NOW THAT YOU SAID THAT MY LIFE, WE KNOW THAT WE HAVE THAT, UM, 80 UNIT FACILITY THERE.
UM, AND USUALLY EVERY SINGLE TIME THAT IT IS RAINING OR HEAVY WATERS, THAT'S REAL SWAMPY.
ARE WE DOING IN REGARDS TO THAT, THAT DITCH AND THAT WATERWAY LAYING THERE? SO I THINK THAT'S GOING TO BE TIDY ON WITH SOME OF THE PLANS THAT THE WEATHER GRABBING NOW HAS BEEN WORKING ON.
UH, PUBLIC WORKS HAS BEEN WORKING ON SOME THINGS AS WELL.
SO THE CAT IS ON, UH, I DON'T THINK WE'VE GOTTEN FUNDING TO ACTUALLY DO ANYTHING YET, BUT THEY HAD DONE SOME, SOME PLANS.
AND CAN YOU EMAIL THIS TO ME? SO I HAVE, IN MY RECORDS, ONE COMMENT ABOUT THE EXPAND PARTNERSHIPS.
I HAPPEN TO BE WATCHING A COUNTY COMMISSIONERS MEETING A COUPLE MONTHS AGO AND THEY PARTNERED WITH HUBLOT AND GAVE THEM SOME MONEY.
UM, THEY COULD ALWAYS SAY NO, BUT IF YOU DON'T ASK, WE WON'T KNOW.
SO I WILL TELL YOU THAT THE COUNTY MANAGER, AND I'VE HAD SOME DISCUSSIONS ABOUT SOME THINGS AND, AND WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO POSSIBLY DOING SOMETHING IN THIS COMING BUDGET YEAR, BECAUSE THERE'S ONE THING TO BE SURE AFTER THIS WEEK, THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE OUTSIDE OF THE CITY
[01:55:01]
THAT USE UNION POINT PARK AS AN EXAMPLE, BECAUSE I THINK WE'VE GOT ENOUGH EMAILS ABOUT THAT FROM PEOPLE THAT DON'T LIVE IN THE CITY THAT HAVE, THAT OBVIOUSLY ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT IT.SO, UM, CAPITAL ITEMS REQUESTED THIS YEAR ARE ONLY GOING TO BE FOR THE PARKS AND GROUNDS DIVISION.
UM, FIRST ONE, THE EQUIPMENT NEEDS, UM, THAT WILL BE VIBRATORY, ROLLER AND BOX CRATER WITH AN ADDITIONAL 10 K FOR CONSTRUCTION TRAILER.
UM, THE PAST FOUR YEARS WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON REPLACING OUR VEHICLE FLEET.
AND WE ALMOST TO COMPLETION ON THAT WITH THE EXCEPTION OF A COUPLE OF THE, UM, GENERAL PARK UPGRADES, WHICH I'VE DISCUSSED WHILE AGO OR THINGS LIKE SHELTERS, UM, PARKING MANATEES, INCREASING ACCESSIBILITY, UM, NEW BALL, FIELD SCOREBOARDS AND THINGS SUCH AS THAT.
UM, AND THEN THE CEMETERIES, THERE ARE QUITE A FEW ITEMS WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE ADDED.
UM, THE ADDITION OF COLUMBARIUMS, UM, THAT CAME A VARIETY FROM 24 TO 300 NICHES AND COST ON THAT, UM, CAN BE ANYWHERE FROM 4,000, 40,000 FOR ONE OF THOSE SINGLE, UM, PIECES.
UM, AND DAN, ANOTHER ADDITION OR THE CHAPEL TENTS WERE GRAVESIDE SERVICES.
UM, AND THEN COMPLETION OF THE CANCELING AGREEMENT, ALL, ALL THAT YOU TALKING ABOUT THAT BLACK IRON.
SO REALLY PART DISHES SUCH AS, UH, ADA KAYAK ONTO HUMAN POINT PARK.
UM, I'VE HAD A COUPLE OF PEOPLE COME BY THE OFFICE AND EMAIL ME WANTING TO KNOW, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? THEY WANTED TO SEE A KAYAK VOLUNTEER AT UNION ONE PARK AND SOMETHING DOWNTOWN ON THAT SIDE OF THE BORDER.
UM, AND THEN WE'D ALSO WANT TO RECEIVE SUPPORT TO MOVE FORWARD WITH A SKATE PARK AND WORKING WITH PARTNERS TO BRING TO FRUITION, UM, SCHEDULED TO BE AT WESTERN.
IT WAS APPROXIMATELY A YEAR AGO.
UM, AND THAT ENDED UP BEING, UH, MORE CENTRALLY LOCATED IN THE TOWN.
YOU HAD MARTIN MARIETTA PARKS OF GREAT LOCATION, BUT WE SOLVED THAT THERE WERE SEVERAL BIG ROADS THAT KIDS WOULD HAVE TO GET THROUGH TO GET OVER THERE.
AND A LOT OF TIMES WHEN YOU SEE THE SKATEBOARDS, THEY'RE JUST ON THEIR BOARDS.
AND SO IT WORKS OUT WITH THAT AREA WHERE IT WOULD ASK THE RIGHT SIDE, HE'S BOUGHT BUILD, THERE'S A WOODED AREA BETWEEN, UH, BETWEEN HE AND THE GRAVEL PARKING LOT.
SO WE WERE CLEAR THE TREES OUT RIGHT THERE.
SO IT ALREADY A GOOD THING ABOUT THAT IS IF WE HAD ALREADY, WE COULD DO SOME UPGRADES TO THE RESTROOM INFRASTRUCTURE.
SO THAT WOULD ALREADY BE THERE IF THERE WAS ANY ISSUES, PARKS AND RECREATION, STAFF RECREATION.
AND TO, UM, BECAUSE I KNOW THAT, UM, THAT PARK IS USED BY PEOPLE THAT NECESSARILY DON'T LIVE HERE.
LIKE WHEN THEY DO BASEBALL, ARE WE NOT ASKING OR TRYING TO PARTNER WITH THEM TO UPGRADE THAT AREA? BECAUSE YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY DO OVER AT CREEKSIDE, BUT ONCE YOU AGE OUT IN YOUR END, THE OLDER, YOU KNOW, UM, BABE RUTH, THEY'RE UTILIZING THAT PARK.
UM, SO HAVE WE REACHED OUT, WE'RE TRYING TO PARTNER AND THEN WITH THE SECURITY CAMERA, DO WE NOT ALREADY HAVE CAMERAS? WE DO NOT HAVE ALL THE PARKS.
I WILL TELL YOU THAT, UM, WE'RE STILL GOT SEVERAL PARKS TO GO AND WE PUT THEM IN.
UM, WE PUT THEM IN QUIET FIJI.
ONCE WE GET MORE OF AN ELECTRICAL INFRASTRUCTURE BACK IN PLACE OVER THERE, BUT WE'D HAVE DONE OF THE PARKS.
AND SO IT'S GOING TO BE A MULTI-YEAR PROCESS WITH THAT, BUT WE ARE GETTING THERE AND ALSO, UH, ALL OF THE PARKS THAT ARE CURRENTLY ONLINE AT LEAST HAVE ACCESS TO REVIEW THAT, UH, EFFECTIVE TO ANYTHING THAT'S GOING ON.
YOU KNOW, THE GOOD THING IS WE HAVEN'T HAD ANY ISSUES IN THE PARK ONCE WE PUT THE CAMERAS IN PLACE.
AND, UM, THERE IS ONE, YOU KNOW, THAT'S BEEN NOTORIOUS AND I'VE NOT SO MANY COMPLAINTS AND THAT'S BEEN AN ISSUE THAT DRUG DEAL.
AND THAT WAS PUT IN APPROXIMATELY A YEAR AGO.
AND WE HAVE HAD NO CALLS FOR ANYTHING ON THAT.
THE POLICE WOULD HAD THE ABILITY TO GO BACK AND PULL THE VIDEO.
I WANT TO KNOW WHY DON'T WE HAVE SECURITY CAMERAS ON AT CITY HALL.
WE'RE PUTTING THAT IN THE BUDGET TO YOU.
WE ACTUALLY JUST GOT A PRICE FOR
[02:00:01]
THAT.AND IT'S GOING TO BE APPROXIMATELY 30 TO $40,000 TO DO THAT.
I JUST HOPE THE SECURITY CAMERAS INCLUDE A FIRE ALARM SYSTEM.
I MEAN, IF YOU DON'T, IF YOU DON'T GET A FIRE ALARM SYSTEM IN THAT BUILDING, IF SOMETHING WAS EVER HAPPENING, IT'S EVERYWHERE.
AND THAT THAT BUILDING IS TOO VALUABLE FOR NOT TO HAVE A FOLLOWUP SYSTEM.
DO WE ALSO HAVE SIGNED ME AROUND SAYING THAT THE CLOCKS ARE BEING WATCHED PROSECUTOR BE SO DEDICATED DETOURS? NO, MA'AM.
I BELIEVE THERE ARE CURRENTLY ANY SIZE.
WE CAN DEFINITELY LOOK AT GLEN BURNIE PARK.
GOT A FEW AT LAWSON CREEK, CORRECT.
LAWSON CREEK OR COME TO ADDRESS CERTAIN PLAN WHERE WE'RE REALLY LOOKING AT THE AREAS THAT WE WERE GETTING COMPLAINTS ON FOR, FOR, UM, ACTIVITY THAT WE DON'T WANT TO HAPPEN FOR THE PARKS.
SO, UM, KIM WILL FOSTER, CAN YOU GIVE ME A LITTLE BIT MORE INFORMATION? ALL OF YOUR CEMETERIES, YOU GOT YOUR $225,000 YEAR.
HEY, I'M EMPHASIZED ON THE SHELTERS.
IS WHAT ARE YOU PLANNING ON DOING WITH THE SHELTERS? WHAT ARE YOU REPLACING? WHAT, WHAT SO CURRENTLY AT, UM, NUCLEAR MEMORIAL CENTER AND, UM, EVERGREEN CEMETERY, THERE ARE BASICALLY A LITTLE CARPORT STRUCTURES THAT ARE OUT THERE FOR, FOR CEMETERY SERVICES.
AND THE BOARD ACTUALLY BROUGHT THIS UP.
I THINK IT WAS LAST YEAR IN THE BUDGET PROCESS CONSIDERATION FOR THAT.
UM, AND SO WE DO SEE NEED TO INCREASE THE SIZE NEWBURN MEMORIAL CEMETERY.
THAT IS DEFINITELY THE FUTURE OF, OF, OF, UM, OF OUR BURIALS.
THEY HAD MORE SPACES THERE THAN ANYTHING, AND WE SEE QUITE A LOT OF, UH, SIM, UH, UH, UH, BURIALS IN THAT, UH, CEMETERY.
SO THERE'S PROBABLY S THERE'S PROBABLY FIVE TO 10 SERVICES A WEEK THERE ON AVERAGE.
AND SO A LOT OF THOSE FOLKS LIKE TO GO THERE FOR THAT, BUT YOU CAN ONLY REALLY PUT SIX OR EIGHT UNDERNEATH THAT SHELTER IF IT'S RAINING OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, IT MAKES IT MORE DIFFICULT OUT IN SOME WAY.
THE, UM, FUNERAL HOME HAS TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL, UH, UH, SHELTER SPACE.
SO HAVING A LITTLE BIT BIGGER THAN THAT, IT LOOKS BETTER, UH, AND MORE SUITABLE FOR CEMETERY ENVIRONMENT.
UM, ALSO THE THING WITH, WITH GREENWOOD CEMETERY, EVERGREEN CEMETERY, AND, UH, CEDAR GROVE CEMETERY, THERE ARE NO MORE SPACES AVAILABLE IN THOSE.
UM, AND SO ADDING THE, UH, THE NICHES FOR CREMAINS WOULD DEFINITELY HELP OUT, UH, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF PEOPLE WOULD LIKE TO BE BURIED IN THOSE CEMETERIES.
AND SO WE HAVE LOCATED SEVERAL AREAS IN EACH OF THOSE CEMETERIES THAT WOULD BE SUITABLE TO BE ABLE TO INSTALL THE I'M SURPRISED.
I DIDN'T SEE ANYTHING BY AMPHITHEATER.
WELL, I THINK CARRIE'S GOING TO SAY SOMETHING DON'T WORRY THAT WAS INCLUDED IN THE PHASE TWO OF MARTIN MARIETTA PLAN HERE ABOUT IT.
WE NEED SOME MONEY FOR, UM, SO, SO AS YOU KNOW, WE'VE JUST COMPLETED ONE PROCESS WITH, UH, TWO GRANTS, THE CREATION TRUST FUND, AND THE CANADA GRANT, AND ALL THOSE RACES HAVE TAKEN PLACE AS WELL.
WE'RE INVOLVED IN GRANT PROCEEDS.
THINK WE'VE HAD APPROXIMATELY $32,000, UH, GENERAL FUND ALLOCATIONS TO GO TO THE CAMERA GRANT.
SO WITH THE MARTIN MARIETTA, WE NOW HAVE, AND I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO THE, TO THE GRAND OPENING, BECAUSE IF YOU HAVEN'T BEEN OUT THERE IN AWHILE, IT'S CHANGED A LOT FROM THE INTEREST WITH THE, WITH THE BLACK IRON GATES AND THE NEW SIGNAGE, UH, YOU'LL BE ABLE TO DRIVE AROUND A GRAVEL LOOP.
WE'VE GOT TWO RESTROOMS THERE, VERY NICE PLAYGROUND, SEVEN MILES OF TRAILS THAT YOU CAN WALK ON.
OBSERVATION PLATFORMS, FISHING PLATFORMS, TWO AREAS FOR CANOE, KAYAK, ACCESS LAUNCHES, THEY'RE ADA ACCESSIBLE, SEVERAL OTHER, UH, LAUNCHES IN THE MAIN BODY OF WATER.
UM, SO IT'S GOING TO BE A VERY, VERY NICE.
AND SO WE'RE, WE'VE GOT THE PROCESS COMING BACK UP, UH, VERY SOON WITH ANOTHER, UH, PARKS AND RECREATION, TRESPASSING GRANT.
WE WERE SUCCESSFUL WITH THIS ONE.
WE'D LIKE TO APPLY, TO GET SOME MORE FUNDS.
AND OF COURSE, LOOKING FOR SOME SPONSORSHIPS AND NAMING RIGHTS TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE NEXT BIG ITEMS FOR THAT PARK.
ANY OTHER QUESTION? IT WAS PLEASED DOES ANYBODY NEED THE BATHROOM NOW?
[02:05:04]
SO I WOULD LIKE TO CIRCLE BACK VERY QUICKLY BEFORE I BEGIN TO ANSWER A QUESTION ASKED EARLIER REGARDING THE FUNDING OF EMS. UM, I HAVE, UH, AN ANSWER TO THAT.UM, WE, UM, IN THE COMM CENTER HANDLES EVERY INCOMING EMS CALLS AND WE DISPATCH TO EVERY EMS CALL INSIDE THE CITY.
HOWEVER, EMS DOES NOT FUND ANY OF OUR OPERATING COSTS.
THE ONLY THING THAT THEY DO COVER IS THEIR OWN RADIOS.
AND THE MAINTENANCE OF THEIR OWN RADIOS.
UM, SO THANK YOU FOR GIVING ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO REPRESENT, UH, WHAT I THINK IS THE FINEST POLICE DEPARTMENT IN NORTH CAROLINA.
I AM ALMOST ONE YEAR INTO MY TENURE AS THE CHIEF OF POLICE, AND I'M EXTREMELY PROUD TO REPRESENT, UM, THE INCREDIBLY PROFESSIONAL MEN AND WOMEN THAT SERVE OUR COMMUNITY.
BUT WHAT I'M MOST PROUD OF IS, UH, BEING AN AMBASSADOR AND A CHEERLEADER FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, I'VE TAKEN EVERY OPPORTUNITY THAT I CAN TO GET OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY AND SPEAK TO GROUPS SMALL AND LARGE, UM, TO SPEAK A LOT ABOUT WHAT I'M GOING TO TALK ABOUT HERE TODAY.
SO OUR MISSION IS COMMUNITY CENTRIC.
UM, WE ARE A COMMUNITY POLICING BASED, UH, ORGANIZATION, AND WE MEASURE OUR SUCCESS BY THE ABSENCE OF CRIME AND THE PRESENCE OF JUSTICE AND OUR STRATEGIES MOVING FORWARD IN TERMS OF, UH, MEETING THAT, UM, IS TO FOCUS OUR ENFORCEMENT STRATEGIES ON, UH, VIOLENT CRIME, ESPECIALLY, UH, UM, GUN VIOLENCE, UM, DRUG DISTRIBUTION, AND GANG INVOLVEMENT.
IF WE CAN HAVE A DEFINITE IMPACT ON THIS AREA OF CRIMINALITY IN OUR COMMUNITY, UH, I BELIEVE WE WILL HAVE A GREATER SUCCESS IN REDUCING CRIME AND ESPECIALLY THE FEAR OF CRIME.
UM, WE ALSO WISH TO IMPACT AND AFFECT THE DRIVING BEHAVIORS OF MANY OF OUR CITIZENS.
UM, AND SO PART OF THAT FOCUS IS IN ENFORCEMENT AND EDUCATION STRATEGY, BUT ALSO TO IMPLEMENT, UH, SOME TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT COUNTER MEASURES TO ASSIST IN TRYING TO ENCOURAGE DRIVERS IN EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA, TO SLOW DOWN, UM, ESPECIALLY, UH, IN NEWBURGH.
UM, AND, AND I WILL SAY IN EVERY OPPORTUNITY I HAD TO SPEAK TO A GROUP, WHETHER IT'S THE QUANTIS CLUB OR THE ROTARY OR CIVIC LEAGUES, UH, THEY ALL TELL ME THE SAME THING, UM, WITH RESPECT TO, UH, DRIVERS SPEEDING.
AND SO WE DO THE BEST THAT WE CAN WITH THAT.
UM, WHEN I SPEAK ABOUT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND COMMUNITY POLICING, THAT'S A THREE PRONGED APPROACH.
IT'S PARTNERSHIPS, IT'S RELATIONSHIPS AND IT'S REBRANDING.
UM, AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO PUSH ON THAT OAK TREE.
UM, IT'S OFTEN SAID, UH, IF YOU PUSH ON THAT OAK TREE LONG ENOUGH, YOU CAN BEND IT.
AND THAT IS WHAT WE ARE DOING IN TERMS OF REBRANDING, THE PROFESSION OF AMERICAN POLICING SPECIFIC TO NEW BERN.
WE WANT TO LEVERAGE OF THE TECHNOLOGY THAT IS ADVANCING WITHIN FIELDS OF LAW ENFORCEMENT.
UH, THE CRIMINAL ELEMENT, UM, CERTAINLY TAKES ADVANTAGE OF, UH, TECHNOLOGY.
SO WE NEED TO, UH, LIKEWISE, UM, ADDRESS THAT AS WELL.
AND THE OTHER PART, AND I'LL SPEAK A LOT MORE ON, UM, HOW WE WANT TO PRIORITIZE OUR TRAINING DOLLARS AND SPECIFICALLY, UH, WHERE THAT GOES IN TERMS OF LEADERSHIP TRAINING FOR, UM, OUR INTERNAL LEADERSHIP, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, UM, THE CORE COMPETENCIES OF THE MEN AND WOMEN THAT ACTUALLY DO THE JOB THAT WE'RE ASKING THEM TO DO.
SO OUR A BUDGETARY GOALS IS, UH, FOCUSING OUR OPERATIONAL EXPENSES ON, UM, MAINTAINING STAFF THAT IS WELL TRAINED AND PROPERLY ACQUIT.
UM, AND ALSO YOU'LL SEE, WHEN I TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR CIP, UH, STRATEGIES IS TRYING TO ADVANCE THOSE TECHNOLOGIES AND EQUIPMENT AND TRAINING, UM, TO MAKE US MORE SUCCESSFUL.
SO, UM, EVEN THOUGH I ASKED FOSTER FOR A BLANK CHECK, I KNOW I DON'T GET A BLANK CHECK.
THERE'S A FINITE AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT, UM, MYSELF AND EVERY OTHER DIRECTOR HERE HAS.
AND SO WHEN I TALKED ABOUT PRIORITIES IN TERMS OF TRAINING, UM, ONE OF THE, UH, THE CUTS, IF YOU WILL, ONE OF THE STRATEGIES THAT I USE AS THE DIRECTOR WAS TO SEE WHERE BEST, WHERE CAN I BEST USE THOSE DOLLARS.
AND ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS THAT I TOLD MY STAFF WAS WE WERE GOING TO
[02:10:01]
CUT ALL OF OUR CONFERENCE ATTENDANCE.THERE WERE TWO EXCEPTIONS TO THAT, BUT, UH, AS THE VOCAL LEADER OF THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, THE FIRST THING I SAID WAS AS THE POLICE CHIEF, I WOULD NOT GO TO A CONFERENCE THIS YEAR.
USUALLY THE POLICE CHIEF GOES TO TWO OR THREE A YEAR.
AND I SAID FOR PURPOSES OF TRYING TO SET A, AN EXAMPLE FOR STAFF, I WAS CUTTING ALL THE REFERENCES IN TERMS OF TRYING TO MEET A CERTAIN, UH, UM, A DOLLAR AMOUNT IN TERMS OF MATCHING WHERE WE WERE LAST YEAR, IN TERMS OF TRAINING.
I'VE TALKED A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT IN JUST A SECOND.
UM, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT A WELL-TRAINED AND EQUIPPED, UH, POLICE STAFF, UM, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SUPERVISORY TRAINING AND ALSO, UH, SPECIALIZED, UM, ASSIGNMENTS, UM, IN THE POLICE FIELD.
AND, AND I, I THINK I CAN SPEAK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, BUT NOT EVERY POLICE OFFICER CAN DO EVERY JOB.
THEY'RE NOT A JACK OF ALL TRADES PER SE, A YOUNG PATROL OFFICER THAT HITS THE STREETS AFTER B L E T IS NOT REALLY CAPABLE OF HANDLING A HOMICIDE INVESTIGATION OR A CRIME ANALYSIS, UH, JOB, OR A TACTICAL POSITION.
THESE ARE VERY SPECIALIZED TRAINING.
SO THERE'S WANT TO, UM, UH, MAXIMIZE OUR YOUNG WORKFORCE IN TERMS OF PROVIDING THEM WITH THE TRAINING THAT THEY NEED.
I'M GOING TO TALK ABOUT OUR, UM, UH, FLEET REPLACEMENT.
AND, AND I KNOW THAT THE PREVIOUS CHIEF PROBABLY BEAT THIS DRUM, UM, UH, QUITE OFTEN.
AND SO, BUT I WANT TO SHOW YOU SOME METRICS TO KIND OF HIGHLIGHT WHERE WE ARE AS AN AGENCY IN TERMS OF, UH, OF OUR FLEET.
AND, UM, UH, TALK ABOUT THE TECHNOLOGY AGAIN IN JUST A SECOND.
SO IF YOU, IF YOU LOOK AT THIS SLIDE AND THIS IS REALLY TALKING ABOUT, UH, SOME OF THE TECHNOLOGY THAT'S OUT THERE THAT WOULD CERTAINLY HELP US IN TERMS OF TRYING TO MEET OUR MISSION AND OF THE 11 CIP ITEMS THAT WE HAVE PRESENTED, UH, I WILL TALK, UH, ABOUT FLEET, WHICH IS, UH, CIP NUMBER ONE.
I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT, UM, UH, NUMBER FOUR, UH, CIP ITEM.
AND THAT IS TO, UH, BRING US TO FULL VIPER, UH, COMPLIANCE.
AND THESE ARE OUR POLICE RADIOS.
SO WE HAVE ABOUT THREE YEARS, UM, BEFORE WE ARE MANDATED TO, TO BRING US INTO FULL COMPLIANCE, WE HAVE UTILIZED, UM, OPTIONS TO, UH, USE GRANT FUNDING.
AND THERE ARE SOME OTHER, UM, MONIES OUT THERE THAT POTENTIALLY WE COULD USE, UH, THE ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER.
AND I HAVE BEEN STRATEGIZING HOW BEST TO USE THOSE DOLLARS TO MEET THAT, UH, MANDATE, UM, THE TACTICAL ROBOT, WHICH IS ROUGHLY A $16,000 PIECE OF EQUIPMENT.
AND WHAT CREATED IN MY MIND AN ABSOLUTE NEED FOR THIS PIECE OF EQUIPMENT WAS THE INCIDENT THAT OCCURRED, UH, LAST YEAR WITH RESPECT TO THE CRAIG COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE, WHERE ONE OF THEIR DEPUTIES WERE SHOT.
AND WE HAD A BARRICADED SUBJECT, UH, SITUATION, AND WE HAD NO ABILITY TO HAVE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS INSIDE, UM, UH, THAT STRUCTURE AND HAD WE HAD THE ABILITY TO BRING IN OUR SCENT IN A ROBOT.
UM, WE WOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO, UM, ALLOW OUR STAFF TO BE MORE, UH, OR TO CREATE A SITUATION WHICH OUR STAFF WOULD NOT PLACE IN UNDO A UNSAFE SITUATION.
CHIEF, YES, WE GO BACK TO NUMBER FOUR.
DIDN'T WE JUST BUY A NEW RADIO SYSTEM, A COMPLETE NEW SYSTEM.
IT WAS LIKE THE LAST MINUTE SORT OF THING THAT WE WERE, YES, THAT WAS IN, THAT WAS IN COMMUNICATIONS.
THAT'S THE OVERALL MOTHER, A PRODUCT OF THESE ARE THE RADIOS THAT THE OFFICERS WERE, UM, THE PORTABLE RADIOS.
SO THEY'RE ALL COMPLIANT THOUGH, RIGHT? THEY ALL WILL WORK.
THE VIPER IS A, UM, STATEWIDE SYSTEM THAT, UH, CAN TALK TO ANY OTHER VIPER SYSTEMS SO THAT IF WE ARE, UH, CALLED THROUGH AN MOU TO GO TO KEN'S DINNER, GO TO JACKSONVILLE, OR IF THEY CAN'T CAME HERE, WE WOULD KNOW THAT WE COULD USE THE VIPER SYSTEM AND WE COULD ALL TALK TO EACH OTHER.
UM, GRAPEY, SHOTSPOTTER AND NIVEN ARE HIGH END ITEMS, AND I'M HAPPY TO DISCUSS THOSE IF NECESSARY, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO MOVE FORWARD.
OUR CURRENT STAFFING, WE HAVE 118 AND A HALF OF THE POSITION OF THOSE.
WE CURRENTLY HAVE, UH, EIGHT VACANCIES, UM, ON THE SWORN SIDE AND THREE ON THE CIVILIAN SIDE, TWO OF THOSE VACANCIES ARE TELECOMMUNICATORS.
WE DO HAVE A YOUNG DEPARTMENT.
UM, AND ALTHOUGH I WISH OUR, UM, RETENTION RATE WAS, UH, NOT, I WISH WE COULD RETAIN
[02:15:01]
ALL OF OUR SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS, BUT, UH, IN THE FIELD OF LAW ENFORCEMENT, IT IS DIFFICULT.NUMBER ONE TO, UH, RECRUIT CHALLENGE, BUT IT'S ALSO EVEN MORE DIFFICULT TO RETAIN TALENT.
INDUSTRY-WIDE, WE'RE SEEING IT HERE IN NEWBURGH THAT, UH, OUR STAFF IS LEAVING THE PROFESSION OF LAW ENFORCEMENT.
ANDY'S GOING INTO THE PRIVATE SECTOR, THEREFORE, WHEN WE NEED TO REPLACE, UM, UH, SPECIALIZED ASSIGNMENT PERSONNEL, UM, WE HAVE TO TRAIN THEM AND ENSURE THAT THEY ARE CAPABLE OF PERFORMING THE TASKS THAT WE'RE ASKING THEM TO DO.
AND THAT LAST BULLET I TALKED ABOUT, UH, EVERY CHIEF AND THIS PROBABLY RELATES TO EVERY OTHER DIRECTOR THAT RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION ARE CRITICAL COMPONENTS OF AN EFFECTIVE ORGANIZATION, IMPROVING MORALE AND ADVANCING OPPORTUNITIES AND COMMUNICATIONS, AND, UH, PROVIDING EMPLOYEES WITH AN OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE SAY IN THE INPUT OF OUR ORGANIZATION IS A KEY FOCUS OF HOW I DO BUSINESS AS A LEADER.
AND I HAVE IMPLEMENTED SEVERAL STRATEGIES TO HELP MOVE THAT FORWARD.
UH, I PULLED TOGETHER A I'M SORRY.
UM, AND YOU'RE, YOU HAVE SEVERAL DIVISIONS WITHIN THERE AND YOU HAVE A DRUG DEALER, CORRECT.
YOU HAVE A DRUG AND IN AN INVESTIGATION UNIT, ARE THEY ALL PART, I KNOW THEY'RE IN THE SAME INVESTIGATOR DIVISION, BUT THEY'RE DIFFERENT.
DO YOU, ARE THOSE UNDERSTAFFED BECAUSE OF YOUR VACANCIES OR ALL YOUR VACANCIES IN ENTRY LEVEL? UH, SEVERAL OF OUR, MOST OF THEM ARE IN OUR, UM, UH, ENTRY LEVEL PATROL DIVISIONS.
WE DO HAVE A FEW IN OUR INVESTIGATIVE DIVISION, NAMELY THE, UH, UH, VIOLENT CRIME DETECTIVES WE'RE TRYING TO, UH, ENCOURAGE AND RECRUIT FROM THE BODY OF OUR, UH, OPERATION STAFF TO, UM, TO STEP UP AND MOVE INTO THESE SPECIALTY HERE.
CAN YOU SEE THAT AS PROBABLY THE BIGGEST WEAKNESS THAT WE HAVE IN THAT AREA? MAYBE WE HAVE MORE UNSOLVED CRIMES OR MURDERS THAN OTHER THAN USUAL, IS IT BECAUSE WE, NO, NO, I WOULD NOT.
IN FACT, UM, OUR CLEARANCE RATES, UM, I'M VERY PROUD OF THOSE CLEARANCE RATES.
THERE WAS SOME CONVERSATION ABOUT HOW MANY UNSOLVED HOMICIDE CASES AND IN REALITY, OVER HALF OF THEM WERE NUMBER ONE.
THEY WERE EITHER DETERMINED THAT THEY WERE ALL HOMICIDE, BUT NOT ALL HOMICIDES ARE, ARE CRIMINAL ACTS SOME, SO MURDER IS ILLEGAL.
AND IN TWO OF THE CASES THAT WE HAD, THE PROSECUTOR HAD DETERMINED THAT THOSE WERE JUSTIFIABLE HOMICIDE.
SO THERE'S NO PROSECUTION, WE KNOW WHO COMMITTED THE ACT.
UM, AND, UH, ALTHOUGH THERE'S NO PROSECUTION.
UM, SO I, I'M VERY COMFORTABLE IN THE STAFF THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE.
UM, THEY'RE VERY PROFESSIONAL.
AND, UH, UM, I WOULD NOT SAY THAT THAT'S A WEAK POINT IN OUR OPERATIONS, BUT I WILL SAY AS WE LOSE THESE TALENTED, UH, STAFF THROUGH, UM, UH, THROUGH ATTRITION, WE NEED TO REPLACE THEM.
AND THAT'S WHEN I'LL TALK ABOUT, UH, THE TRAINING, UH, STRATEGIES MOVING FORWARD ON THAT.
UH, SO LET'S TALK ABOUT, UH, OUR VEHICLES.
NOW, THIS IS THE SAME, UH, DRUM THAT I'M GOING TO BEAT.
THE TWO SONGS TIMERS, UH, PROBABLY BE EVERY YEAR.
UM, SO WE HAVE 104, UH, VEHICLES IN OUR FLEET.
UM, AND EVERY ONE OF THOSE VEHICLES ARE EVALUATED, NOT BY THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, BUT IT'S VALUATED BY THE CITY GARAGE.
AND THEY CREATED THE OBJECTIVE METRICS IN WHICH EVERY VEHICLE IS SCORED OF THE, OF THE HUNDRED AND FOUR VEHICLES THAT WE HAVE IN OUR, IN OUR FLEET.
43% OF THOSE ARE RECOMMENDED FOR REPLACEMENT.
27 OF THOSE ARE WHAT IS CONSIDERED RED LINE VEHICLES.
THEY COULD GO OUT AT ANY TIME.
UM, AND 18 OF THOSE, OBVIOUSLY, UH, UM, AS THIS INDICATES ARE READY FOR REPLACEMENT, WE ARE ONLY ASKING TO REPLACE 13% OF THOSE.
AND WE'RE ASKING FOR 12 PATROL VEHICLES AND TWO VEHICLES TO ASSIST IN, OR TO AUGMENT OUR INVESTIGATIVE SIDE OF THE HOUSE.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S, UH, 14 VEHICLES AND WE ARE MAKING DO WITH WHAT WE HAVE, BUT I AM CONCERNED WITH THE CONDITION OF THE FLEET.
AND IF WE'RE ONLY GOING TO REPLACE EIGHT AT A TIME OR 10 AT A TIME, THESE NUMBERS ARE JUST GOING TO EXASPERATE THEMSELVES.
[02:20:01]
HOW MANY GUYS HAVE THEM FIRST? SO, UM, WE DO HAVE SOME OF THE PLATE THAT IS ASSIGNED TO STAFF BASED ON WHAT THEIR ROLE IN THE ORGANIZATION IS.UM, ONE OF THE STRATEGIES THAT WE ARE, THAT WE ARE INTERNALLY WORKING ON IN THIS IS WE HAVE YET TO PRESENT THIS TO MY LEADERSHIP.
UH, THE CITY MANAGER, THAT ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER IS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE CAN ASSIGN ONE VEHICLE PER EMPLOYEE, WHICH WE BELIEVE WILL BE A MUCH BETTER STRATEGY FOR THE USE OF OUR VEHICLES, SO THAT THEY'RE NOT BEING DRIVEN.
HOTSY DID ALL THE TIME, YOU'RE WORKING 12 HOUR SHIFT, AND THEN THE NEXT EMPLOYEE COMES IN AND WORKS THAT BIG FOR 12 HOUR SHIFTS.
SO TH TH WE ARE LOOKING AT STRATEGIES TO TRY TO MITIGATE THE, THE WEAR AND TEAR OF THE EQUIPMENT BY SIGNING ONE VEHICLE PER I DO NOT HAVE THAT NUMBER WITH YOU RIGHT NOW.
I WILL SAY, WELL, I CAN'T SAY THIS NOW, BECAUSE PART OF OUR DUE DILIGENCE IN WHAT I JUST TOLD YOU TO GET THOSE NUMBERS, IF WE PURCHASED 27 ADDITIONAL VEHICLES, I COULD OUTFIT EVERY EMPLOYEE WITH A CAR 27 ADDITIONAL COSTS.
THAT'S AFTER DEADLINE UP YOU WITH THESE, WE SEE THROUGHOUT TOWN AND VARIOUS PLACES, PARK POLICE CARS.
THERE ARE THESE CARS THAT ARE IN THAT IMMEDIATE REPLACEMENT NEED, AND YOU PARK THEM BECAUSE IF THAT'S THE CASE, YOU CAN REDUCE THAT NUMBER.
AND JUST, THEY'RE NOT BEING USED BECAUSE THEY'RE BEING HARMED.
YOU KNOW, I JUST FEEL LIKE MAYBE WE NEED TO LOOK AT THOSE AND THEN IT MIGHT REDUCE THAT NUMBER AND, OR LEAVE THEM THERE.
IF YOU WENT UP, THAT'S WHAT THE VISION YOU WANT.
YOU WANT THOSE PULL UP PARTS FOR YOUR CAR, BUT I DO SEE THEM THROUGHOUT TIME.
VERY RARELY DO WE SCARE CROW, OUR VEHICLES, AND WHAT'S HERE FOR A MEANS IS YOU JUST PLACE THEM OUT.
THEN SOMEBODY THINKS, OH, THERE'S A POLICE OFFICER NEARBY.
WE DO THIS OCCASIONALLY, ESPECIALLY DURING THE HOLIDAY SEASON IN WHICH WE WILL PARK THEM IN CERTAIN STRATEGIC LOCATIONS FOR THAT PURPOSE.
BUT WHAT I BELIEVE YOU'RE SEEING ARE SATELLITE PARKING.
SO WE HAVE AN EMPLOYEE THAT LIVES IN JACKSONVILLE OR LIVES IN HAVELOCK.
UM, AND THEY ARE NOT ASSIGNED TO A SPECIALTY UNIT.
THEY'RE NOT A TACTICAL OFFICER, DETECTIVE, UH, ELIGIBLE FOR CALL OUT.
THEY HAVE TO PARK THEIR CAR SOMEPLACE IN THE CITY AND THEY WILL.
SO WHEN THEY COME TO WORK, THEY PARKED THEIR POV IN THAT PARTICULAR SPOT.
THERE'S A FEW AND CAROLINA COLORS.
THERE'S A FEW IN OTHER PLACES.
UM, AND SO THEY WILL SWITCH IT OUT.
SO WHAT YOU'RE SEEING IS A CAR THAT IS AWAITING THAT EMPLOYEE TO COME BACK, AND THAT WOULD, UH, THAT WOULD BE AN ASSIGNED VEHICLE.
UM, SO, UH, I HAVE, UM, SO OVER THE SUMMER I HAD FOUND IT NECESSARY, UH, TO PARK THAT LITTLE VEHICLE.
UM, AND I TOLD MY STAFF, I DID NOT WANT THEM TO USE THAT OVER THE SUMMERTIME BECAUSE OF THE OPPRESSIVE HEAT, THAT VEHICLE RIGHT THERE, WHICH WAS WHEN WINTER WAS ORIGINALLY PURCHASED.
I THINK IT WAS PURCHASED WITH ALL THE GOOD INTENTIONS IN THE WORLD.
UM, HOWEVER IT IS, UM, THEY WANT TO TURN OUT TO BE A LEMON.
AND SO IT, IT TOOK SOME TIME TO GET A REPLACEMENT, BUT IT HAS NO AIR CONDITIONING.
AND I, I COULD NOT IN GOOD CONSCIENCE, HAVE AN EMPLOYEE.
AND, AND BY THE WAY, THE WAY I JUDGE EMPLOYEES IS I DON'T CARE IF YOU CARRY A GUN AND HAVE A BADGE.
IF YOU WORK IN FOR THE NEW BERN POLICE DEPARTMENT, YOU HAVE, UH, YOU, I TREAT YOU EQUALLY THE SAME AND I WOULD NEVER PUT A POLICE OFFICER IN A VEHICLE THAT DIDN'T HAVE AIR CONDITIONING IN EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA.
AND I CERTAINLY, WASN'T GONNA FLIP ONE OF MY, UH, TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT EMPLOYEES THAT ARE ONE OF THE BEST AMBASSADORS FOR THE CITY, BY THE WAY, I'M THE CHIEF OF POLICE HERE.
I MET ONE OF THESE PEOPLE AND, UH, I WAS SO IMPRESSED BY WHAT, UH, ABOUT HOW I WAS TREATED.
UH, I ACTUALLY APPLIED FOR THE JOB HERE.
THAT'S ANOTHER LONG STORY, BUT THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS THIS VEHICLE IS OUT THERE NOW, BECAUSE JANUARY, FEBRUARY, MARCH, IT'S NOT A BIG DEAL.
MAYBE NOVEMBER IN DECEMBER, MAYBE NOT A GOOD, NOT A BAD OPTION TO HAVE, BUT DURING THE REST OF THE, UH, UH, UH, EARLY SUMMER, AND CERTAINLY DURING THE SUMMER, THIS VEHICLE IS, IS UNSAFE, UH, FOR, FOR THAT STAFF.
SO WHAT WE ARE, WHAT I HAVE PROPOSED IS, UH, AN OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE AN ARGUMENT THAT WE CAN TRADE THIS VEHICLE.
AND I HAVE MONIES IN MY CURRENT BUDGET RIGHT NOW TO BUY A SMALL TRADITIONAL GAS POWERED VEHICLE TO PERFORM THE SAME FUNCTION.
AND THAT WOULD BE A 12 MONTH, UH, VEHICLE FOR THE PURPOSES OF, UM, THE ATTRACTION.
AND SO, UM, THAT, THAT, UH, RECOMMENDATION HAS REPORTED TO THE CITY MANAGER.
I PRESENT THAT TO YOU HERE IN THE EVENT THAT YOU HAVE
[02:25:01]
ANY ISSUES.UM, BUT I THINK FOR PURPOSES OF PROVIDING, UM, UH, SAFETY AND WELFARE FOR ALL OF MY STAFF, UH, I THINK WE CAN ALL AGREE THAT IN AUGUST, ANYTIME THAT IT'S HOT OUTSIDE, THE AMBIENT TEMPERATURE, UM, IS AS HOT AS HOT AS IT IS.
I THINK IT'S TIME TO GET RID OF THAT VEHICLE.
YOU THINK ABOUT AN ELECTRIC CAR SINCE WE HAVE THE CHARGING STATIONS DOWNTOWN, NOW THEY GET CHARGED RIGHT THERE.
AND MAYBE SINCE THEY'RE ONLY GOING THAT VERY SHORT DISTANCE, THEY PROBABLY GET MORE BANG FOR YOUR BUCK.
I KNOW IT'D BE MORE EXPENSIVE OR ITSELF, BUT, UM, ESPECIALLY SINCE WE HAVE THE CHARGING STATIONS, THE PRODUCT HOME, IF WE HAD THIS, I JUST REMEMBER WE BOUGHT IT ORIGINALLY.
THIS MIGHT BE THE SECOND ONE, BUT MSD PAID FOR IT.
UM, AND IT WAS 5 28, 28, RIGHT AFTER I GOT HERE THAT, WHY IS THAT? BUT WE'VE HAD PARKING IN PLACE ONE BEFORE THERE WAS A CAR BEFORE THAT WE BOUGHT THE ORIGINAL CAR THAT MUST'VE BEEN THE LEMON.
SO WHO BOUGHT THIS ONE? I DON'T REMEMBER SEEING THIS IN ANY OF OUR BUDGETS, AND I DON'T KNOW WHERE THEY CAME, BUT THE FIRST ONE WAS PAID FOR BY MSD.
AND I DON'T KNOW IF THEY GOT A TRADE IN OR THEY BASICALLY GAVE US ANOTHER VEHICLE.
THEY TOOK THE OLD WAY BACK WITHOUT AIR CONDITIONING.
SO THE FIRST ONE HAD AIR CONDITIONING.
NO, MA'AM CAN YOU UP FOR AIR CONDITIONING? YOU CANNOT.
SO THIS NEW CAR WILL BE COMING OUT OF JESSE PHONE.
I MEAN, WE PAID FOR THE FIRST CALMER AND THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE USED IN, SHOULD HAVE BEEN STILL IN GOOD SHAPE.
WE HAVE FOUND A DEALER WOULD TAKE THIS THING AND ON THE TRAY.
BECAUSE THE VEHICLE WAS PICKED UP BY THE CHIEF.
SO THAT'S WHO PICK THE VEHICLE OUT AND, UH, YOU KNOW, TOLD US WHAT WE NEEDED TO BUY AND HOW MUCH MONEY IT WAS GOING TO COST.
UH, HE WOULDN'T GET, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT PROVIDING THE TRADE.
SO WHAT PRICE DO YOU HAVE A FIGURE THAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT FOR THE OVERALL? UH, I DO HAVE, I HAVE SEEN THAT BIGGER TRUCK FOR $20,000 OR GET 12,000 ON THIS AND I HAVE AN ADDITIONAL A, UH, BUT I'LL GET YOU THAT APP.
WE PAID 33, I THINK FOR THE FIRST ONE, ARE YOU PROPOSING TO TRADE IT IN AND THESE POLICE DEPARTMENT FUNDS TO PURCHASE THE NEW ONE? YES.
AND YOU WOULD LIKE TO DO THAT IMMEDIATELY? YES.
WHAT KIND OF ACTIONS THEY NEED FOR THAT? YEAH, THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING.
WHAT KIND OF ACTION DOES HE NEED FOR THAT? JUST THE THOUGHT OF THAT GIVES US DIRECTION.
WE CAN PROCEED, UH, IF YOU'VE GOT THE MONEY MAN BUDGET, I SAY, GO FOR IT.
I MEAN, IT'S NOT DOING US ANY GOOD.
AND IN JULY AND AUGUST, WE GET TO THE END OF THE, UH, I DO WANT TO, I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THE, UH, THE TRAINING NEEDS.
SO THAT TOTALED $68,725 WAS THE FIGURE WE WANTED TO SHOOT FOR IT, BUT IT'S NOT THE FIGURE THAT WE WANTED IT, BUT WE STARTED WITH, UH, EVERYTHING ON THE TABLE AT $105,000 IN OUR DRAINING.
AND THAT SIMPLY JUST WAS TOO HIGH FIGURE.
SO WE, THAT'S WHERE WE BEGAN THE PRIORITY PRIORITIZATION OF, UM, GETTING US DOWN TO A MORE MANAGEABLE FIGURE OF 68,000 PLUS DOLLARS.
AND WHAT YOU SEE IS HOW WE ARE PRIORITIZING THOSE MONIES.
AND THE BIGGEST CHUNK OF THAT GOES INTO OUR INVESTIGATIVE DIVISION TO TRAIN NEW INVESTIGATORS, UM, UH, FOLLOWED BY OUR TRAFFIC DIVISION.
UM, AND THEN, UM, SRT, WHICH IS OUR SWAT TEAM, AND THEN FOLLOWED BY OUR LEADERSHIP TRAINING.
SO TO BREAK IT ALL OUT, THAT IS WHERE WE ARE LOOKING TO SPEND OUR, UH, TRAINING BUDGET.
UM, ALL THE CONFERENCES REMOVED TO GET US, TO HELP US TO GET US THERE.
I'D RATHER HAVE A, AN INVESTIGATOR WHO IS WELL-SKILLED AND TRAINED ON FOURTH AND FIFTH AMENDMENT.
THEN I WOULD PREFER TO GO TO, UM, LAS VEGAS TO THE ISEP TOPICS.
SO THAT'S WHERE WE REACH THAT BIGGER TRAINING SIMULATORS.
UM, IS THAT, UM, THAT WAS MONEY WELL SPENT, UM, UH, TO PROVIDE OUR OFFICERS WITH REAL LIFE.
UM, SCENARIO STYLE TRAINING IS INVALUABLE.
UM, THERE'S ONE THING, UH, TO BE PROFICIENT IN ONES, UH, MARSHALING SHIFTS AND IN ROUNDS DOWN RANGE AT, UH, UH, AT THE RANGE IS GREAT, BUT THAT DOES NOT, UH, UM, THAT THERE'S NO SUBSTITUTE FOR REAL LIFE.
[02:30:01]
UH, TRAINING, UH, IS CONSTANTLY IN USE.SO OTHER DEPARTMENTS KNOW IT'S THERE AND THEY'RE UTILIZE IT AS WELL.
SO I LIKE TO END MY PRESENTATION WITH, UH, SOME FUTURE NEEDS.
UM, WHEN I TALKED ABOUT SHOTSPOTTER AND NIVEN AND SOME OF THESE OTHER, UH, HIGH-END ITEMS, WE WOULD LIKE TO IMPLEMENT REAL TIME CRIME CENTER.
AND, UH, I'M HAPPY TO BRIEF ON THAT LATER IF NEEDED.
UH, I KNOW THAT THERE IS COMPENSATION AND TALK ABOUT CON CONSOLIDATING THE COMP CENTER, BUT BEFORE WE EVER GET TO THAT POINT, I BELIEVE IT IS NECESSARY FOR, UH, OUR CURRENT OPERATIONS TO HAVE AS A BILLION COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, UH, TO, UH, FACILITATE THE NEEDS OF OUR, OUR, OUR TCS AND OUR OPERATION.
UH, TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, TO ANSWER AN EARLIER QUESTION, UM, CURRENTLY FULLY STAFFED, WE HAVE THREE T C'S AND ONE SUPERVISOR IN TERMS OF TRYING TO HAVE THAT FOUR TO ONE RATIO, WE WOULD HAVE TO HIRE FOUR ADDITIONAL FTES, UH, TO GET US TO THAT.
SO I WANTED TO MAKE SURE I FOLLOWED THROUGH WITH THAT.
UM, AS THE CHIEF OF POLICE TRAINING IS IMPORTANT IN TWO THINGS THAT I WOULD LOVE TO SEE IS FOR US TO HAVE A DRIVING TRACK.
AND I KNOW THE FIRE DEPARTMENT AND THE BLET PROGRAM OVER AT CREATIVE COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE WOULD ALSO LIKE TO SEE THAT, BUT WE NEED A NEW SHOOTING RANGE OF WHAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE AVAILABLE TO US.
WE ARE MAKING DO, BUT I CAN TELL YOU THAT IT IS NOT STATE-OF-THE-ART AND IT, IT DOES MEET OUR BASIC NEEDS.
UH, BUT I WOULD LOVE TO SEE A FACILITY IN WHICH, UM, UH, WE, WE HAVE A, MORE OF A STATE-OF-THE-ART FIRING RANGE AND, UM, AN EMERGENCY SERVICE COMPLEX IS SOMETHING THAT THE FIRE CHIEF AND I HAVE SPOKEN ABOUT.
UH, I THINK BOTH OF US, UM, AGREED THAT TO HAVE THAT, UH, DUAL EMERGENCY COMPLEX WOULD BE A GREAT OPPORTUNITY, AND THAT WOULD ALSO BE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO HOUSE AND POC IF IT BECAME NECESSARY FOR ANOTHER STORM.
UM, AND, UH, ONE LAST THING IS I DO KNOW THAT, UM, AND I DON'T WANT TO SPEAK FOR THE FIRE CHIEF, BUT WHEN HE, HE WAS GOING THROUGH HIS ACCREDITATION, ONE OF THE, UH, DEMERITS FOR LACK OF A BETTER WAY TO DESCRIBE THIS WAS THE FACT THAT HE DID NOT HAVE A CIVILIAN, UH, COMMS DIRECTOR WAS NOTED BY THEIR ACCREDITATION STANDARDS.
AND THE NEWBURGH POLICE DEPARTMENT IS A FLAGSHIP AGENCY IN TERMS OF ACCREDITATION.
VERY FEW POLICE DEPARTMENTS ARE CREATED.
AND WHAT A FLAGSHIP AGENCY IS, IS WE MAINTAIN THAT ACCREDITATION FOR OVER FIVE CONSECUTIVE CYCLES.
AND WE'RE UP FOR REACCREDITATION, UM, IN THE FALL OF NEXT YEAR IN RELATION TO THE SHOOTING RANGE, UM, OUTDOOR ANGLE, OR A COMBINATION OF IT WOULD BE LIKELY, WOULD BE AN OUTDOOR RANGE.
AND INDOOR RANGE HAS A LOT OF EA EAP, UH, CONSIDERATIONS THEY'RE EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE.
UM, SO IT'D PROBABLY BE AN OUTDOOR RANGE, BUT WITH A OUTDOOR RANGE, YOU HAVE TO GO SOMEWHERE OUTSIDE THE CITY LIMITS AND WITH QUITE A BIT OF LAND, CORRECT? YES, SIR.
WE GOT A SPOT CITY-OWNED PROPERTY ON WEST CREDIT, MIDDLE SCHOOL, RATHER IF WE COULD GET ACCESS TO IT.
AND I THINK THAT'S GREAT, BUT I MEAN, THEY'VE GOT, YOU ALSO HAD THE PREGNANT COUNTY RANGE, CORRECT.
IS THERE ANY OPPORTUNITY TO PARTNER WITH THIS, BUT I MEAN, FOR A REAL TIME CRIME CENTER, EMERGENCY SERVICES COMPLEX, WOULD THAT BE CAUSE TO BENEFIT TO PARTNER AND REDUCE BOTH OF OUR COSTS, BUT REALLY ASSIST THROUGHOUT? BECAUSE I BELIEVE THE PARTNERSHIP, WELL, I KNOW THE PARTNERSHIP IS A HUNDRED TIMES BETTER NOW, AND YOU'RE ALL REALLY WORKING TOGETHER.
WE'RE SEEING THE RESULTS OF A LOT OF DRUG CRIMES BEING, UM, YOU KNOW, GONE AFTER AND SOLVED.
AND I THINK THAT'S A GOOD THING, BUT I I'VE SEE THIS CONTINUED PARTNERSHIP.
THERE MAY BE SHARED RESOURCES AND THINGS IT'S BETTER FOR OUR CITIZENS WILL BANG FOR THE BUCK BECAUSE WE HAVE A LOT OF COUNTY PEOPLE THAT COME INTO NEWBURN AND, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE DON'T KNOW WHERE THE LINES ARE DRAWN, SO THEY HAVE NO CLUE, BUT I THINK IF WE COULD WORK TOGETHER, RIGHT, I AGREE.
LET ME FINISH MY QUESTION THOUGH, ABOUT THE RANGE.
UM, MY THOUGHTS AND, UM, I HAVE NO EXPERIENCE IN THE POLICE SERVICE WHATSOEVER, BUT IF WE WENT SOMEWHERE LIKE WHERE THE FIRE DEPARTMENT TRAINING GROUND IS NOW, OR ANOTHER PIECE OF PROPERTY, SOMEWHERE INSIDE THE CITY, THAT, AND YOU PUT AN INDOOR PISTOL RANGE OR QUALIFICATIONS, UH, AND THEN YOU USE THE COUNTY FRAMES OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, FOUR BALLS, A GUN FOR LONG BEEN TRAINING.
[02:35:01]
I MEAN, I'M THINKING THAT THAT RANGE IS SO FAR OUTSIDE THE CITY LIMITS.HE PROBABLY HAD TO SPEND TIME TO SEND TO PEOPLE OUT THERE ON THEIR TIME OFF IS QUALIFIED.
WELL, WE'RE CURRENTLY GOING OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF CRAIG COUNTY NOW TO USE THEIR RESTAURANT.
THAT'S A LONG WAYS OUT THE PROBLEM WITH INDOOR RANGE THAT MOST ENTHUSIASTS THAT WANT TO JUST GO AND SHOOT, UM, THEY'LL GO, AND WE NEED THAT A MINIMUM OF 25 YARD LINE.
SO, AND THEN WE NEED TO ADVANCE FORWARD TO GO TO AS CLOSE AS THE SEVEN YARD LINE.
SO, AND A STATIC, UM, INDOOR FIRING RANGE, THE SHOOTER, DOES IT MOVE IN THE TARGET, MOVES TOWARDS THEM.
AND I DON'T KNOW IF THE STATE CERTIFICATION WOULD ALLOW FOR THAT TYPE OF PRACTICE.
AND, UM, SO AGAIN, AN INDOOR RANGE IS VERY EXPENSIVE.
I CAN ALSO PART OF THAT, I KNOW FROM PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE, WE DID CONTRACT WITH A INDOOR RANGE AND IT WAS CERTIFIED DANNY, NICELY, UM, DOWN A NEWPORT NEWPORT.
AND THEN I'LL TELL YOU IT'S SAVED ON A LOT OF TIME BECAUSE YOU CAN DO DAY NIGHT AND HALF A DAY AS OPPOSED TO WAITING.
AND W WHERE DID YOU DO YOUR LONG GUN TRAINING? UH, THERE'S UH, OUTDOOR RANGE OF NEW REPORT.
I'M JUST SAYING THAT FROM EXPERIENCE WITH BACK IN MY DAYS, WHEN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT YOU HAVE, IF YOU GO SEND SOMEBODY OUT OF TOWN TO TRAIN, YOU HAVE TO DO IT ON THEIR TIME OFF.
IF YOU COULD, IF THEY HAD A RANGE CLOSE BY THAT THEY COULD GO TO WHY MAYBE EVEN WHILE ON DUTY OR AT LEAST CLOSE BY IN TOWN OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, THAT MIGHT BE, UM, EASIER FOR THE OFFICERS AND, YOU KNOW, A LITTLE MIGHT BE A LITTLE BETTER ON YOUR POCKETBOOK.
UH, THAT'S REALLY WHY WE FOUGHT SO HARD TO GET A TRAINING CENTER FOR FIRE DEPARTMENT IN TOWN BECAUSE THE GUYS COULD TRAIN ON DUTY AND STILL BE IN SERVICE.
I THINK THE CURRENT STRATEGY IS THAT WE WOULD NOT LEAVE THE COUNTY OF, UH, WE WOULD NOT LEAVE PRAGER COUNTY IN TERMS OF, UH, TRYING TO MEET THIS, UH, UH, DUAL FACILITY.
UM, I MEAN, I'M FINE WITH WHATEVER YOU WANT TO DO, BUT I JUST THINK AN INDOOR RANGE FOR PISTOL CERTIFICATIONS IS WAY GOOD QUESTION.
THERE'S LITERALLY ACRES OF LAND THAT HAS BEEN DEVELOPED.
THAT'S DIRECTLY BEHIND THE ELIZABETH FIRE STATION.
I'M NOT SURE IF THAT'S AN IDEA.
AND THEN ALSO, IF YOU DID HAVE AN INDOOR RANGE, IS THERE A WAY FOR THERE TO BE OUTSIDE INDIVIDUALS TO BE ABLE TO GO WHEN YOU USE IT AT A PRICE WHERE IT'S KIND OF PAIN OR MAINTENANCE AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE WHEN IT'S NOT BEING USED BY THE POLICE DEPARTMENT? I DON'T KNOW IF WE'RE ABLE TO DO THAT, BUT INSTEAD I THINK EVERYTHING'S ON ME.
I THINK EVERYTHING'S ON THE TABLE ABOUT THAT.
SO THANK YOU, CHIEF, IF YOU GET MR. .
WE NOT HAVE ANY WAY THAT WE BELIEVE ON BEHALF OF THE STAFF.
THEY HELPED ME TO PUT TOGETHER ACTUALLY THEIR BUDGET.
GEORGE CHILDS CAME EVEN COX, DAN CASSERLY, GRAND PRICE, APRIL SMITH, WHO IS HERE IN A TIMELY WALK OUT.
AND THEN OF COURSE, LAST BUT NOT LEAST, I'M TELLING YOU THAT WE BELIEVE IT IS BILL ROSE, WHO HAS OUR INSURANCE AND SHERRY BALDRIGE,
[02:40:02]
JUST SO YOU KNOW, THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT IS SHERRY AND PAT THERE'S NOBODY ELSE THEY RUN IT.AND THAT, THAT CONCLUDES OUR PRESENTATION.
I DO WANT TO SAY KUDOS TO MY COLLEAGUES, THAT I FEEL THAT I HAVE BEEN TOSSED A BATON HERE.
UM, DO YOU CARRY ON WHAT THEY HAVE ALREADY ESTABLISHED? AS FAR AS CREDIBLE ORGANIZATION? WE HAVE THE SAFETY HERE IN PUBLIC WORKS.
IT'S A BIT INTIMIDATING FOLLOWING POLICE, BUT REST ASSURED, WE ARE JUST AS MUCH ON DISPLAY EVERY DAY.
IT'S CALLED WORKS BY CLEAN AND RIGHTFUL STREETS, THE CLEAN AND FLOWING DITCHES AND SAFE AND OF FACILITY THAT WE TAKE.
SO WITH THAT, UM, JUST WANTED TO GIVE YOU A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THIS, UH, BUDGET, UH, WHAT WILL BE ABSENT, AND I'LL BE VERY CANDID WITH YOU, THE CHARTS AND FIGURES, UH, THAT PROTECTED, BUT REST ASSURED THERE'LL BE IN THE BUDGET.
LET'S SHOW THEM WE HAVE AN OPERATING TENURE.
UH, THERE ARE SEVEN DIVISIONS, UM, WHICH, UH, ADMINISTRATION, UH, INSURANCE FLEET EQUIPMENT, YOU ALL CALL THE HERE FACILITY, WHICH Y'ALL CALL.
SO THE BUILDING, THE STREET ITSELF AND STORMWATER 10 FUNDING ACCOUNTS THAT MAKE UP THOSE SEVEN DIVISIONS.
UM, BUT I WOULD CONCENTRATE ON THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS THAT WE'VE DONE AND THESE ACCOMPLISHMENTS MAY SEEM REALLY BECAUSE THEY'RE PULLED FORWARD FROM LAST YEAR'S PRESENTATION.
WHAT WE'RE COMPLETING IS PROJECTED FOR MY SHEER COMPLETION OF THE OLD AIRPORT ROAD PROJECT, UM, IMPLEMENTED A TRANS ROAD, WIDENING PROJECT.
WELL, REAL QUICK, WHAT IS IT? I KNOW YOU WON'T KNOW, BUT IT WAS, IT IMPLEMENTED TRIP ROAD, WIDENING PROJECT.
I THOUGHT WE GOT A QUOTED LIKE $170,000 FOR THE DRAWING FOR THAT, BUT WE NEVER DID ANYTHING WITH IT.
WE SAID DON'T DO IT BECAUSE IT WAS TOO MUCH.
I DON'T THINK WE, I DON'T THINK WE GOT THE DESIGN EITHER.
I THINK THE ESTIMATE FOR THE DESIGN WAS 170 AND WE SAID, HOLD OFF ON IT.
SO I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE I WASN'T MISSING ANYTHING PTSA, UH, IN INITIATING THE ANNUAL CITY WHITESIDE WALK IMPROVEMENT PROJECT, AND WE COMMENCED THE CITY HALL ELEVATOR DESIGN.
UM, THERE WAS A DECREASE IN THE BROWN GOODS, TONAGE, UH, SONG WASTE TERM CARDBOARD CORNCOBS QUITE NEEDLES, AND ANYTHING IS BIODEGRADABLE.
UH, HURRICANE FLORENCE, UH, CATEGORY 18 PROJECTS WERE DONE.
UH, CITYWIDE, A STORM WATER AUDIT, UH, WAS COMPLETED TO CONDUCTED, BUT ALSO IMPLICATED IN QUESTIONS BACK HERE TO ADDRESS THOSE.
WE PERFORMED A SYSTEM, UPGRADE TO THE HVAC UNITS AND GENERATES A CITY WIDE.
WE CONSTRUCTED THE FISCAL YEAR, 20 21, 22 STREETS RESURFACING PROJECT.
AND, UH, LASTLY WE HAVE THE PHASE ONE MIDDLE STREET ON EXPANSION PROJECT WAS CONSTRUCTED AND DESIGNED, WHICH IS PHASE TWO HAS BEEN INITIATED.
AND LASTLY, WE HAVE COMMENCED THE FEDERAL ALLEY, WHICH WAS AN MSB RAMP, UH, STAFFING REQUESTS, AGAIN, NOTHING NEW.
UH, WHAT I FULL FORWARD ARE REQUESTS THAT WERE TURNED DOWN.
WE ASKED FOR THEM LAST YEAR, APPARENTLY, AND WE HAVE TURNED THEM.
UM, I DO HAVE TO KNOW THAT THERE'S A TYPO, UH, FIRST REQUEST.
UH, I'LL COME BACK TO YOU MOMENTARILY.
THE SECOND BULLET IS A SECOND REQUEST OF TWO STREET DIVISION EQUIPMENT OPERATORS THAT SHOULD READ ONE.
AND THE SECOND REQUEST OF ONE STORM WATER DIVISION EQUIPMENT OPERATORS SHOULD ACHIEVE.
SO THEY'RE ACTUALLY SWAPPED, UH, ASKING FOR TWO OF THE EQUIPMENT OPERATORS DID NOT RECEIVE LAST YEAR AND ONE OF THE STREET DIVISION, WHICH WE DID NOT RECEIVE THE FIRST BULLET, WHICH IS THE FIRST REQUEST IN SUPPORTING THE INTERN PROGRAM THAT, UH, HR HAD TALKED ABOUT PREVIOUSLY.
UH, I'VE HAD SUCCESS IN MANY OF THE PUBLIC WORKS AND ORGANIZATIONS THAT MANAGED TO, UH, UM, HAVE INTERNS.
I PROPOSED IN THE BUDGET 5% INCREASE ON THE ADMIN BUDGET, WHICH IS ABOUT 20,000 TO GET PAID INTERNS.
I'M NOT SURE WHAT THE NUMBER WILL SHOW OUT HERE.
I I'M ENCOURAGED THAT WE ALREADY HAD SOME COMPONENTS HERE THAT INTERN WORKING ON SPECIAL PROJECTS AS BEING COMING AT US HERE IN PUBLIC WORKS AGAIN.
I'VE HAD SUCCESS IN MANAGING, I THINK YOU DO THAT HERE.
I'LL ASK YOU OUR CAPITAL OUTLAY.
WE DO THAT EIGHT ITEMS. AN EXCAVATOR,
[02:45:01]
THE TRIMMER AND THE CHIP TRAILER GOES ALONG WITH THAT.IS THAT A SECOND TRIP OR RELIGIOUS BALTIMORE? A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO.
LASTLY, I THOUGHT BRINGING IT UP FORWARD, UM, BEING, DIDN'T OBVIOUSLY TODAY'S THREE WEEKS ON THE JOB, UM, THAT, UH, I CAN SAFELY SPEAK TO THE CHALLENGE THAT WE HAVE.
NO, NOT ANY DIFFERENT THAN PUBLIC WORKS AND ORGANIZATIONS THAT I'VE COME ACROSS.
UM, THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT WE SHARE THE SAME CONCERN AND THAT IS THAT, UH, WE HAVE TO CONTINUE TO KEEP OUR, UH, RESPONSIVENESS AT A HIGH LEVEL, BY THE SAME TOKEN, CONTINUING TO MAINTAIN OUR DAILY OUTPUT.
AND THAT CONTINUES TO BE A STRAIN EVEN HERE, UM, AS WELL.
UM, I'M NOT SURE HOW SUSTAIN, HOW MUCH WE CAN SUSTAIN THAT FROM YEAR TO YEAR WITHOUT HAVING THE GENE THREE STAFF OR RESOURCES, WHICH MAY DO MY SECOND AREA OF COVID THE OPERATIONAL CONSTRAINTS THAT YOU WILL HEAR.
I THINK THE PERIOD FROM MY COLLEAGUES AFTER ME IN UTILITIES, THAT THAT CONTINUES TO IMPACT BOTH MANPOWER AND MATERIAL, UH, RESOURCE DEPLETION.
AND WE ALL SHARE THAT WELL, UM, TO END ON A POSITIVE NOTE, WE HAVE OPPORTUNITIES HERE REALLY DO I SEE THIS NEXT WAVE OF PUBLIC WORKS PROFESSIONALS? WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SEE THE FUTURE, UM, TO HELP SHAPE THE FUTURE RING ON THE FUTURE.
I BELIEVE THOSE WILL BE SITTING IN THIS SEAT HERE IN YEARS TO COME, UM, AND DOING THAT IN LIFE.
UH, THE CITY THAT WE POSITIONED TO BE AN ACCREDITED PUBLIC WORKS ASSOCIATE AGENCY AND ABD APWA ACCREDITATION IS A HIGH BAR, BUT I BELIEVE WE CAN ACHIEVE THAT.
AND OUR STAFF IS EXCITED ABOUT THAT OPPORTUNITY.
UM, IN DOING THAT, THE PET, THE COUNCIL WE'LL SEE, UH, COMING UP, UH, IN MAY 3RD WEEK IN MAY, WE CELEBRATE NATIONAL PUBLIC WORKS, SLEEP, WHICH YOU'LL SEE A PROCLAMATION.
UH, LASTLY, THE BENEFITS OF WHAT WILL BE PRIESTS, COMMUNITY AWARENESS, PUBLIC WORKS WITH OUR PIO.
AND WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT SOME OF THE EDUCATION AND OUTREACH OPPORTUNITIES FOR THAT.
UM, THAT THAT COMPLETES OUR PRESENTATION, WHAT MYSELF AND AVERY SMITH.
I HAD A QUESTION ON YOUR, ON YOUR FIRST SLIDE HERE, WHERE YOU TALKED ABOUT THE HURRICANE FARMS, K THEME OF PROJECT.
HOW, HOW CAN THAT PROJECT BE DONE WHEN WE HAD DITCHES THAT HADN'T BEEN TOUCHED? I, AND I'VE COMPLAINED SEVERAL TIMES ABOUT THIS IT'S THIS IT'S NOTHING NEW.
I POINTED OUT A DITCH THAT HAS TREES ACROSS IT FROM THE HURRICANE AND ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT WHEN IS THIS DITCH GOING TO GET SURVEYED AND WENT? AND I WAS TOLD ACTUALLY IT ENDED UP IN BEEN SURVEY.
YEAH, BUT WE'VE GOT PLACES YOU RIDE THROUGH.
YOU RIDE THROUGH CAROLINA COLORS AND THE OUTFLOWS OF SOME OF THOSE DRAIN PIPES WHERE THE SEDIMENTS THIS MUCH HIGHER THAN THE DRAIN TIE.
AND WE HAD, AND LISTEN, I TAKE THIS PERSONALLY BECAUSE I FOUGHT HARD TO GET THIS 33 TO $36 MILLION DITCH PROJECT FROM FEMA.
SO I REALLY DO TAKE THIS PERSONALLY.
I MEAN, YOU GOT THIS KIND OF MONEY FOR A PROJECT AND EVERY DITCH IN NEWBURN, SHOULD'VE HAD SEDIMENT REMOVED FROM IT AND OUR LEAST SURVEY FOR SEDIMENT REMOVAL.
UM, UM, I, IT'S GOING TO BE HARD FOR ME TO SAY, WE NEED NEW EMPLOYEES TO CLAIM DITCHES OUT NEXT YEAR WHEN WE HAVEN'T TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF THE $36 MILLION FROM THIS YEAR AND CAT A, I DON'T CARE WHAT SAY CAT A, IN MY OPINION IS NOWHERE NEAR AND I'M NOT FUCKING YOU.
CAUSE I KNOW YOU BEEN HERE THREE WEEKS.
I MEAN, THERE'S, THERE'S DITCHES, THAT'S BEEN REPORTED SEVERAL TIMES.
AND TO THIS DAY THEY HAVEN'T BEEN TOUCHED.
AND THAT WAS A CAT EIGHT PROJECT.
I AGREE WITH YOU BECAUSE THERE'S SOME BITCHES IN MY AREA AND THAT DOESN'T FEEL CANAL IS ONE OF THE BIG THINGS.
I MEAN, I'VE SEEN, I'VE SEEN CITY CREWS GO INTO A DITCH INTO BURN RIGHT BESIDE THE DOG PARK WHERE THEY COMPLAINED THAT THERE WAS DRAINAGE WAS SLOUGHED.
AND THIS HAS BEEN A YEAR AGO AND IN FRONT OF THE ROCKWOOD, THE DITCH, AND I DON'T KNOW THE TERMINOLOGY, BUT WHAT THE DITCH FALLS INTO THE WETLANDS, THERE'S A PILE THIS BIG
[02:50:01]
AROUND A SEVEN.THAT IS, I MEAN, THAT QUALIFIES FOR FEMA TO BE CLEANED OUT.
BUT NO, WE SENT CITY CREWS IN THERE AND CLEANED IT OUT.
I MEAN, IT'S JUST HARD FOR ME.
IT'S HARD FOR ME TO SAY, IT'S HARD FOR ME TO UNDERSTAND THE REASON WHY WHEN WE'VE GOT ALL THIS MONEY, HOW MUCH MONEY HAVE WE SPENT ON CAT A, UM, HOW MUCH HAVE WE GOT OUT AND STAY IN THE CAT ANYWHERE? SO THAT'S THE DEBRIS.
THAT'S THE DEBRIS REMOVAL I'LL HAVE TO, IT'S NOT ON THIS PARTICULAR ONE.
CAUSE THE LAST I HEARD IT SOMEWHERE AROUND NEIGHBORHOOD FIVE, $6 MILLION WHEN IT PROBABLY SHOULD BE SOMEWHERE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF $20 MILLION, WOULD THAT SAME REGARD.
I REMEMBER LAST YEAR WE ALSO ASKED FOR IT TO BE IN A LOT OF MEETINGS, MAPPING OF THE DITCHES AND WHAT WAS BEING DONE AND WHAT PART WAS BEING TOUCHED.
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THAT, ESPECIALLY FOR VISIBILITY FOR COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT ARE CALLING AN ATHLETE AND COMPLAINING THAT THEIR DIGITS HAVEN'T BEEN TOUCHED CRANBROOK, DOESN'T FEEL, UM, HE'S CURRENTLY, UM, OUT AND UNAVAILABLE RIGHT NOW, BUT WE'LL GET TO THAT DAY.
AND I KNOW THAT, UM, MR. WAIVES HAS BEEN WORKING, HAD BEEN WORKING WITH, UM, GEORGE.
I UNDERSTAND, I UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW THAT YOU'RE ONLY BEEN HERE FOR THREE WEEKS.
I UNDERSTAND WHAT THE INFORMATION DOES AVERY HAD TO PRESENT TODAY ON A DISH CLEAN.
DOES HE HAVE, I CAN GOOD AFTERNOON TO THE MEMBERS OF THE BOARD AND THE MAYOR, FIRST OF ALL.
AND THEN LET ME SAY THAT A LOT.
WHEN WE HAD DRAPER, ADEN EVALUATES THE DIGITS THROUGHOUT ALL OF THE DRINK, ALL OF THE WATERSHEDS THEY PICKED, THEY HAD STAN STRINGENT QUALIFICATIONS FOR WHAT THEY COULD ACTUALLY CALL HURRICANE FLORENCE DEBRIS FOR PORTLAND SEDIMENT.
THEY IDENTIFIED A LOT OF THESE DITCHES DID Y'ALL SPEAK UP, BUT THEY ALSO REALIZED THAT IF THEY TRIED TO ASK HIM BEFORE MONEY, FOR CERTAIN THINGS THAT THEY REALIZED THAT MAY NOT HAVE, IT COULD HAVE PUT US IN A SITUATION.
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? THE $32 MILLION FIGURE GO FROM, DID THEY COME IN HERE AND WALL, LIKE ALL THESE MODELS, THEY QUALIFIED 360,000 CUBIC YARDS OF DEBRIS ROOM.
AND THEN, AND THEY DON'T MAKE, THEY, THERE IS NO LIST AS TO WHAT BITCHES THEY COME OUT OF.
I CAN DRINK OUT OF MASTER LIST, BUT FEMA NEVER DOESN'T HAVE A MASTER LIST.
WHAT DID SHE COME OUT OF? THEY CARE WHETHER OR NOT YOU GET 360,000 CUBIC YARDS.
SO THEN THE PEOPLE WOULD BE THE ONE THAT HAVE THAT INFORMATION.
NO, WE ACTUALLY, THEY MADE A MASTER MAP.
ALL THE CONTRACTORS WHEN THEY DID THE WORK, THE CONTRACT HAS HAD A NUMBER, LOW NUMBER TO MEET A CONTRACT.
AND LET ME, AVERY, YOU DO A WONDERFUL JOB.
I MEAN, I CAN TELL IF I'VE GOT A PROBLEM MAYBE RIGHT THERE, JUST LIKE THAT, BUT LET ME ASK YOU IT.
HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT THAT DITCH THAT I KNOW OF AND I'M GOING TO BE RIGHT UP FRONT AND TELL EVERYBODY ABOUT IT.
HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU GUYS THAT SOMEBODY NEEDS TO COME LOOK AT THIS DITCH BECAUSE IT'S FULL OF DEBRIS AND I'M NOT GOING TO CLEAN IT OUT, I GUESS, FULL OF DEBRIS.
HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU HEARD THAT? SEVERAL.
THEY, SOMEBODY DIDN'T SEEM TO GO IN THERE AND IN A WAY THAT IS, AND THAT IS A GOOD QUESTION.
AND WE CAN, UM, I GUESS IT'S ONLY THE CAT EIGHT IS STILL OPEN BECAUSE, AND UNDERSTAND.
AND THEY WILL ALSO, WHAT ABOUT THE ONE BEHIND MELLON? HOW MANY TIMES? HOW MANY TIMES UM, HOW MANY TIMES, HOW MANY TIMES HAVE WE HAD CONVERSATION ABOUT THAT BITCH AND, OH, WE'RE GOING TO GET, WE'RE GOING TO GET DRAPER IN THERE TO SURVEY.
I BELIEVE THAT THAT, AND ON THOSE DITCHES, THOSE ARE THE ONES THAT THEY ACTUALLY NOTICED.
A LOT OF THOSE T DIGITS, THEY LOOKED AT HIM AND HE SAID, WELL, WE CAN'T REALLY CLASSIFY THIS AS HURRICANE DEBRIS.
AND THAT'S, AND WHEN I HEARD THAT, THAT'S THE REASON WHY I PICKED THAT TELEPHONE CALL.
I CONSULTED AND SAID THEY DON'T, THEY DON'T HAVE, THEY DON'T WANT TO SAY IT'S HURRICANE FOR BREE.
ALTHOUGH WE ALL KNOW IT IS BECAUSE THERE'S TREES AND TREE LIMBS AND SEDIMENT, EVERYTHING BACKED UP IN THERE.
AND THIS CONSULTANT SAID, JUST ADD IT TO THE LIST ON THE END, THEY HAD HAD IT CLEANED
[02:55:01]
OUT.FEMA DOES KNOW, UH, HAD OUR HALF A LIST OF OUR DITCHES.
FEMA WANTS YOU TO REMOVE 360,000 CUBIC YARDS OF SEDIMENT.
SO IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WE CAN DO? WE STILL CAN DO IT CAUSE WE DON'T HAVE ANY, WE HAVE NOT CLOSED.
WE HAVE THAT CAT, A PROJECT BEING DONE IS FISCAL YEAR.
SO WE STILL IN THIS FISCAL YEAR.
SO, BUT YOU GOT TO A MARCH 13TH, BIG NOT, THEN YOU GOT TO ASK FOR A, AN EXTENSION AND YOU MAY NOT GET AN EXTENSION ANYMORE.
IT'S BEEN TWO YEARS THE FUNDING OR THE APPROVAL OF THE 32 MILLION.
WE ONLY UTILIZE THAT'S THE ONLY GET D WORK TO DO TOO.
SO, WHICH IS PERMANENT WORK, WHICH IS LIKE BUILDING, PUTTING, UM, HEADWALLS IN AND, AND STUFF LIKE THAT.
SO HOW MUCH SEDIMENT THEY COME OUT? OKAY.
I CAN GET BACK WITH YOU TO EXACTLY.
WE HAD TO, WE HAVE A, WE HAVE IN OUR CONTRACTS, THEY EITHER MEET IT OR EXCEEDED THE NUMBERS IN ALL THE CONTRACTS AT THIS POINT.
WE DIDN'T HIT THAT AMOUNT AND HE HAD READY, AVAILABLE, UM, PEOPLE THAT CAN GO OUT THERE AND DO IT OUTSIDE OF OUR, I HAD TO ASK THAT QUESTION.
I BELIEVE I COULD GET THE RECORD TO GO BACK OUT AND I CREATE ANOTHER PROJECT YOU'VE NECESSARILY NEED DRIVER.
SO WITH THAT SAID, SO NOW WE KNOW THAT THE DITCHES ARE NOT COUNTED, SO WE CAN ACTUALLY START TO WORK TOWARDS THE ONE THAT REALLY NEEDS TO HELP.
RIGHT? THE FIRST THING YOU GOT TO DO IS GET AN EXTENSION AND, AND IT'S VERY DOUBTFUL.
EVEN FEMA CALLED US AND TOLD US YOU NEED TO DO SOMETHING BECAUSE IT'S VERY DOUBTFUL.
YOU'LL GET AN EXTENSION ON CADDY WORK.
SO, SO WE NEED TO START THAT THIS AFTERNOONS OR ONE CAN START THE PHONE CALL THIS AFTERNOON.
ONCE WE CLEAN ALL OF US, GET THAT DONE.
SO THAT HOW MANY MEN DO WE ACTUALLY HAVE IN PLACE TO MAINTAIN? WE'VE GOT FIVE EMPLOYEES, THE STONEWATER AND I'LL NEVER VOTE.
I'LL NEVER VOTE THE HIRE ANYMORE FOR CLEANING OUT DITCHES UNTIL WE UTILIZE THE CONTRACT LABOR THAT WE'VE GOT SET UP ALREADY.
IT'S A LOT EASIER FOR CONTRACTORS.
GO IN THERE AND DO ALL THIS WORK.
THIS NASTY, DIRTY, TERRIBLE WORK.
YEAH, IT'S EASY, BUT, BUT WE GOT $32 MILLION TO DO IT WITH AND YOU WANT TO PUT CITY CREWS AND CLEAN ONE OUT THAT DAG-GONE CONTRACTOR SENT IT ALREADY HAD CLEAN.
NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO MAINTAINING PART IN THERE THAT COMES AVAILABLE THAT EASY.
IF THEY WERE CLEANED OUT PROPERLY, WE STILL, I MEAN, IT ONLY TAKES, HE SEES FOR IT IS 80 MILES, BUT IF THEY'RE PERFECTLY CLEAN, ONLY GOT DUDES BULK THEM ONCE A YEAR OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
AND YOU KNOW, FIVE MINUTES YOU COULD DO.
I'M JUST, DON'T WANT TO, CAN WE GET BACK WITH YOU NEXT WEEKEND? CAUSE I'LL GET THEM AND LOOK INTO IT AND WE'LL DO ALL THE SCANS.
TRY TO GET THIS EXTENSION, BUT IF NOT SEE WHAT WE CAN DO UP UNTIL THAT POINT TO TRY AND GET SOME OF THOSE AND THEN WE'LL GET A, A LISTING OF, AND REPORT BACK TO YOU ALL.
AFTER HURRICANE, AFTER EARTHQUAKES AND FIRES IN CALIFORNIA AND PLACES THAT YOU HAVE TO DO YOUR COUNTY.
BUT RECONCILING IS THE KEY WE CAN GET RID OF.
HEY, JUST DON'T BRING IN THINGS WITH YOU NOW.
UM, WELL, IF THERE ISN'T, THERE AREN'T ANY MORE QUESTIONS, INCLUDING MY PRESENTATION.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR INFORMATION, ADRIAN.
WHERE DID YOU LAST, LAST YEAR, LAST YEAR THEY SAVED THE BEST FOR LAST .
SO I WILL GO THROUGH THIS AS QUICK AS THEY CAN TO GET YOU TO HAVE A PHONE, YOUR, YOUR THREE 30 BILL REAL
[03:00:01]
QUICK.THERE'S NO REAL CHANGES TO OUR WATER RESOURCE OPERATIONS FOR THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR.
AS YOU KNOW WHERE OUR WATER RESOURCE OPERATIONS DRIVE, THE FIVE DIVISIONS TO TAKE CARE OF ALL OF OUR DOMESTIC WATER AND WASTEWATER NEEDS FOR THE CITIZENS OF NUMEROUS LITTLE SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES CURRENTLY SERVING A RUN AT 20,000 CUSTOMERS, JUST A HAIR TO THAT.
AND WE SHOULD, UH, AS WE ROLLED THE REST OF THIS FISCAL YEAR, WE'D PROBABLY WANT DO 20,000 CUSTOMER MARK TAKES ABOUT 24, 4 TO $5 MILLION TO TAKE CARE OF WHAT WE DO ANNUALLY.
UM, AND RIGHT NOW WE HAVE A STAFF OF ETHAN, ONE DEDICATED TO, UH, ALL OF OUR WATER WASTEWATER NEEDS THROUGHOUT THE DAY.
OUR GOALS FOR NEXT FISCAL YEAR ARE, ARE VERY SIMILAR TO WHAT THEY HAVE BEEN THIS PAST YEAR.
WE'RE OVER A MILLION DOLLARS IN OUR ANNUAL REHAB REPLACEMENT PROGRAMS FOR OLDER VETERANS, SEWER MAINS, AS WELL AS OUR CURRENT STATIONS, UH, CONTINUE TO OUR LARGE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROCESS PROJECTS FOR CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT.
WE HAVE TWO OF THESE WE'VE TALKED ABOUT FOR QUITE A WHILE, ONE DAY IN THE WEST CLEVELAND PORTER PRUDENCE PROJECT, BECAUSE WE COULD GO INTO THIS FALL AS WELL AS THE TOWNSHIP SEVEN SEWER IMPROVEMENTS PROJECT, WHICH IS IN GERMANY NOW AND GET THE PERMITS BACK.
WE SHOULDN'T MOVE THEN INTO THE BUSY CONSTRUCTION PHASE THIS SPRING.
SO BEFORE THE END OF THE CALENDAR YEAR, YOU HAVE TO HAVE SOMEBODY HERE WORKING ON BOTH OF THESE PROJECTS THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON FOR QUITE A WHILE.
UM, THERE ARE SEVERAL OTHER, UM, CAPITAL PROJECTS AND WORK THERE IN DIFFERENT PHASES OF THE DESIGN IMPLEMENTATION OF THAT.
YOU WILL REGULARLY SEE UPDATES IN THE MONTHLY REPORT.
WE'LL CONTINUE TO MOVE WITH THOSE AS WELL THROUGHOUT THE REST OF THIS FISCAL YEAR AND MOVING INTO FYI 23, UH, AS MOVING TO 23, WE CONTINUE OUR EFFORTS INTO INR MITIGATION THAT YOU WERE LOOKING TO GET STARTED ON PHASE TWO OF OUR NORTHWEST INTERCEPTED REHABILITATION PROJECT.
THIS IS THE LINE OF A VERY LARGE SEWER OUTFALL THAT RUNS THROUGH, UH, SOME FLOOD PLAIN FROM OAKS ROAD BACK TO GLEN BURNIE, KIND OF RAMPED BEHIND THE DOD, VERY WET, VERY SWAMPY AREA.
UH, GOT ABOUT HALF OF IT DONE SEVERAL YEARS AGO.
WHEN WE GO TO GET THE REST OF IT DONE BEFORE WE HAD A MAJOR ISSUE IN THAT SWAMPY AREA.
AND THEN AS WHERE YOU REALLY HAVE A LONG RANGE PLANNING EFFORT WHERE YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT A GOOD ROADMAP FOR SEVEN OR EIGHT YEARS, AS WE CLOSE OUT THIS DECADE, WE WERE AFRAID THAT SOME DEBT FOR THEY'LL ALLOW US TO DO SOME VERY LARGE SCALE SOONER IMPROVEMENTS FOR FOUR OR FIVE YEARS, THAT WILL LIKELY TO CULMINATE IN THE EXPANSION OF OUR WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT AS WE ROUND OUT THE DECADES.
SO A LOT OF BIG THINGS COMING FOR OUR FOOD SYSTEM OVER THE NEXT SEVEN RATE AND CHALLENGES OF MOVING THE NEXT STEP WAS, UM, LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE, WE'RE HAVING TO CONTINUE TO ADJUST THE OPERATIONS TO ACCOMMODATE OUR IMPACTS.
UH, COVID-19 WE'VE DONE A FAIRLY GOOD JOB AT SUPPORTING THE BOARD AND THE MANAGEMENT STAFF DID NOT REALLY HAVE ANY HICCUPS IN THE OPERATION AND PROVIDE ALL THE SERVICES WE NORMALLY WOULD WITH ALL THE CHALLENGES THAT COME ALONG WITH COVID-19 MITIGATION, UM, MTV, OT, WHATEVER WE LOCATIONS IN JAMES CITY AND OUR METRO, THAT PROJECTS ARE SOMETHING WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT FOR AWHILE.
WE'VE SEEN THOSE REALLY GET INTO KIND OF, UH, THE CONSTRUCTION PHASE IN THE LAST PROBABLY TWO OR FIVE MONTHS.
AND WE CONTINUE TO SEE THOSE RAMP UP AS WE GET THROUGH THESE NAMES OF .
SO BY THE END OF THE CALENDAR YEAR, AS WE GET INTO DECEMBER, NOVEMBER, DECEMBER MIXTURE, I WOULD ANTICIPATE BOTH OF THOSE PROJECTS TO BE REALLY IN WHAT THEY WOULD SAY THEIR FULL CONSTRUCTION MODE METRONET SHOULD BE FULLY ESTABLISHED WITH THEIR CONTRACT CREW BASE HERE, AS WELL AS THE, UH, THE DCT CONTRACTOR RELOCATING THE WATER TO MILAN.
SO, UH, THAT WILL CONTINUE TO BE A, A, A STRAIN ON OUR ENGINEERING AND OPERATIONS STAFF.
WE'VE DONE A GREAT JOB OF WORKING WITH THE MANAGER, MAKING SOME STAFFING CHANGES, MAKING SOME RESTRUCTURING ORGANIZATION TO BE ABLE TO ACCOMMODATE THIS ADDITIONAL LOAD COMING.
AND SO FAR EVERYTHING SEEMS TO BE GOING WELL THAT THE PROGRAMS PUT IN PLACE ARE WORKING.
AND RIGHT NOW WE ARE KEEPING PACE AND IT LOOKS LIKE, AND SHOULDN'T HAVE MUCH OF AN ISSUE IS LARGE PROJECTS CONTINUING THE AREA, UM, NEW DEVELOPMENT AS AMANDA MENTIONED.
AND I THINK IT'S PRETTY APPARENT IF YOU DRIVE AROUND NEWBURGH, NEW DEVELOPMENT HAS REALLY RAMPED UP IN THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, REALLY THE LAST 12 MONTHS, WE'VE SEEN A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY.
IT'S A GREAT THING FOR NEWBURN, BUT THE ONLY REAL DOWNSIDE OF THIS FROM THE UTILITY PERSPECTIVE IS IT DOES PUT A STRAIN ON OUR MATERIAL.
WE BASICALLY HAVE THE SAME NEED, WHETHER IT'S A PRIVATE DEVELOPER DOING A JOB OF SORT OF REHAB JOB MATERIALS OF CONTRACT LABOR OF DESIGN PROFESSIONALS.
SO WE'RE STARTING TO SEE A STRAIN ON THAT RESOURCE SO THAT THE MORE CONSTRUCTION DEMAND YOU HAVE, THE AREA YOU HAVE, THE LIMITED RESOURCES BE THAT CONSTRUCTION MAN DONE, UH, AND WE CAN TEACH.
I THINK YOU'LL CONTINUE TO SEE THAT GETTING STRAINED MORE AND MORE AS A MOVE THROUGH
[03:05:01]
THE REST OF THIS CALENDAR YEAR.UM, THE WHAT BIG, I GUESS IT WOULD BE QUESTIONED OUT THERE IS WE HAVE YET TO REALLY SEE ANY OF THE ARP MONEY HIT THE GROUND.
WE'VE ALL TALKED ABOUT THE RP MONEY.
EVERY CITY HAS GOT EVERY COUNTY GOT EVERY STATE'S GOT IT.
EVERYBODY'S I THINK IN THE SAME BOAT, WE ARE A MAJORITY OF MUNICIPALITIES AND COUNTIES THAT THEY'RE, UH, THEY'RE, THEY'RE REALLY FIGURING OUT EXACTLY WHAT THEY WANT TO DO WITH THE MONEY.
SOME OF THEM ARE GETTING ALLOCATED.
SOME PROJECTS ARE GETTING DESIGNED.
THERE'S VERY LITTLE THAT IT'S ACTUALLY TRICKLE DOWN TO PEOPLE DOING WORK CONTRACTORS, DOING WORK BY THE END OF THIS CALENDAR YEAR.
I THINK YOU'LL SEE A LOT OF THAT MOVIE THAT YOU MOVE TO THAT PHASE.
SO YOU'LL HAVE ON TOP OF THE ALREADY, UH, THE ALREADY INCREASING DEMAND AND PROFITABILITY, I THINK YOU'LL SEE A VERY LARGE INCREASE IN MISSABLE COUNTY PROJECTS, INFRASTRUCTURE BY PROJECTS THAT WILL FURTHER STRAIN THOSE RESOURCES, WHETHER THEY'RE SUPPLIES, WHETHER THEY'RE CONTRACT LABOR, PROFESSIONAL SERVICES.
I THINK THEY'RE ALL GOING TO GET VERY STRAINED AT THE END OF 22, AND THEN WE'LL KEEP AN EYE ON THAT AND WE'LL SEE WHAT COMES IT.
UM, SO THE COST OF SUPPLIES AND MATERIALS, UM, THAT, THAT IS GOING TO BE AN ISSUE FOR US, ASIDE FROM THE CONSTRUCTION OUR DAY TO DAY, UH, TREATMENT CHEMICALS, BUYING GAS, THINGS THAT IT TAKES TO KEEP THE WATER WASTEWATER PLANTS RUNNING AND TO KEEP THE OPERATIONS FOR THE DAY TO DAY OUT.
WE SEE THOSE THINGS CONTINUE TO INCREASE IN COST AND REALLY AVAILABILITIES FOR THE FIRST TIME IS ACTUALLY BECOMING A PROBLEM.
UM, WE CAN DEAL WITH THE COSTS GOING UP.
WE CAN LEARN THAT WE CAN PREPARE FOR THAT.
WE CAN PLAN FOR THAT AVAILABILITY IS SOMETHING THAT WE ARE REALLY STARTING TO SEE BE A PROBLEM.
UM, IF YOU'VE GOT THE MONEY, YOU CAN'T GET IT.
UM, SO THAT'S A NEW CHALLENGE FOR US.
A COUPLE OF QUICK CHARTS HERE, JUST TO KIND OF SHOW YOU HOW IT GROWING.
UH, BOTH THE WATER AND WASTEWATER, UH, WHAT WE'RE TAKING ALONG VERY NICELY IN CUSTOMER GROWTH.
YOU CAN SEE YOU DID ABOUT ONE AND A HALF PERCENT, UM, GROWTH ON TOTAL BASE IN 2020 IN DALLAS, ALMOST 3% 21 SUICIDE ON THE WATERSIDE, A LITTLE LOWER.
WE DO HAVE MORE SEWER CUSTOMERS JUST BECAUSE WE SERVE A LARGE AREA IN JAMES CITY THAT SEWER ONLY, AND THERE'S REALLY GOOD NEWS THAT GOES ALONG WITH THAT.
AND OUR REVENUES HAVE, ARE CONTINUING TO GROW WITH THAT CUSTOMER BASE.
SO WE'RE ADDING CUSTOMERS AT A RATE OF, YOU KNOW, TWO, 3% YEAR FOR REVENUE WE'RE GROWING THE SAME.
UM, WE'RE HEADING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
UM, SO WE'RE GROWING THE CUSTOMER BASE.
WE'RE GROWING THE REVENUES AT THAT TWO AND A HALF TO 3% A YEAR.
WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT HERE IS THE COST OF FINAL GOODS AND VITAL SERVICES.
SO ESSENTIALLY THE BLUE LINE TO FOUND THE DEMAND GOODS, THINK OF THIS BEING A TWO BY FOUR.
YOU WANT IT TO GET A LOWE'S ABOUT TWO BY FOUR.
SO THE COST OF BUYING THE TWO BY FOUR, THE PURPLE LINE OR THE RED LINE IS YOUR FINAL DEMAND SERVICE.
THIS IS THE MAN THAT'S GOING TO NAIL THE TWO BY FOUR UP FOR YOU.
SO BOTH OF THOSE COMPONENTS ARE INCREASING MUCH FASTER THAN THEY HISTORICALLY HAVE.
AND THESE ARE NATIONAL NUMBERS HERE.
UM, YOU CAN SEE AT THE VERY LEFT-HAND OF THE CHART IS MORE OF A TYPICAL TREND SOMEWHERE BETWEEN ZERO AND 3% OF WHAT THOSE NUMBERS NORMALLY LIVE AT YOUR YEAR.
AND RIGHT NOW WE'RE, WE'RE UP IN THE 12 PLUS PERCENT.
SO THE GOOD NEWS, THE CUSTOMER BASE IS GROWING AT 3%, OUR REVENUES ARE GROWING AT 3%.
THE COST OF GETTING STUFF DONE IS RAISING IT 12 TO 15%.
YOU GOING TO HAVE TO LOOK AT ADJUSTING THE PRICE WE CHARGE.
IT'S SUCH A, IT'S SUCH A QUICK UPSHOOT RIGHT NOW THAT YOU CAN SEE THE VERY GRAPH AT THE VERY BOTTOM LINE.
LET OUR BINGO IT'S SUCH A QUICK OPTION.
I DON'T, I DON'T, I DON'T HAVE TO SAY THAT WHEN IT COMES BACK DOWN AT SIX MONTHS, UM, WE'LL SEE.
FORTUNATELY, WE'VE BEEN WELL MANAGED ON THE OPERATION SIDE ON FINANCIAL SIDE.
SO THE LAST DECADE WE'VE GOT SOME RAINY DAY MONEY.
WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE GOING TO PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE MARKET.
WHAT'S GOING ON LOCALLY, NATIONALLY.
WE'RE GONNA GET THROUGH THIS YEAR.
I THINK WE'LL KNOW A LOT MORE ABOUT THE END OF THIS CALENDAR YEAR, WHICH WOULD BE HALFWAY THROUGH THE FISCAL YEAR.
UM, WE'RE GOING TO BUDGET CONSERVATIVELY AND WE'LL COME BACK TO YOU AND, YOU KNOW, HALFWAY THROUGH THE CALENDAR YEAR AND SEE WE'RE HALFWAY THROUGH THE FISCAL YEAR IN THE COUNTY YEAR IN METHOD PROVIDE YOU AN UPDATE.
THINGS MAY BE CONSIDERABLY DIFFERENT PROJECTIONS AND EVERYTHING THAT YOU'VE SEEN.
SOME REPORTS EVEN OUT TODAY THAT WE'RE GOING TO START SEEING WITH NEXT YEAR.
A LOT OF, A LOT OF UNKNOWNS, AND WE'VE SEEN IT HAPPEN BEFORE WE SEE IT.
WE SAW IT, UH, OH 6 0 7, WHERE THINGS WERE LOOKING AT THE SAME AND THEN OVERNIGHT THE BOTTOM FALLS OUT OF IT.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT CAN HAPPEN.
UH, AND WE'RE NOT GOING TO HIT A PANIC BUTTON.
WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO MONITOR WHAT'S GOING ON.
DO WE HAVE TO DO TO MAINTAIN ALL OF OUR SERVICES ARE OUR HIGH LEVEL SERVICES.
WE HAVE A UBER, UM, AND WE'LL, WE'LL KEEP YOU ABREAST OF WHAT'S GOING ON AND LET YOU KNOW WHEN WE NEED TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS RIGHT NOW.
FOR RIGHT NOW, WE ARE NOT ANTICIPATING ANY RATE INCREASES AS PART OF THE PROPOSED BUDGET JORDAN.
[03:10:01]
IS CONSTRUCTION COSTS, OBVIOUSLY OPERATIONAL COSTS.I'M ASSUMING IS GOING UP A LITTLE BIT AS WELL, BUT PROBABLY NOT THIS STEEP.
SO IF THERE WERE ADJUSTMENTS MADE, WOULD IT NOT MAKE MORE SENSE TO MAKE THEM INTO LIKE YOUR TAP FEES AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE VERSUS OUR RATE WHERE PEOPLE WHO HAVE HAD THE SERVICE FOR YEARS, WHY WOULD THEY PAY MORE FOR CONSTRUCTION COSTS GOING UP? OKAY, GOOD, GOOD POINT.
SO THE PROBLEM IS WE HAVE NEW CONSTRUCTION COSTS GOING UP.
SO NEW PIPE MANHOLES, THINGS OF THAT GO UP FOR A NEW DEVELOPMENT.
THE CITY HAS REALLY NO INVESTMENT IN THAT INITIAL INSTRUCTION.
SO IF A DEVELOPER COMES IN IS GOING TO TAKE 50 ACRES AND TURN INTO A SUBDIVISION, UH, THE WAY WE OPERATE, THEY PUT IN ALL THAT UPFRONT INFRASTRUCTURE.
WE REALLY HAVE NO COST IN THAT UP FRONT INFRASTRUCTURE WHERE THIS IMPACTS THIS IS NOW, IF I CAN FIX UP A 60 YEAR OLD SEWER MAIN REPAIR IS NOT CORRECT.
UNFORTUNATELY, THERE'S A SPIKE IN NEW CONSTRUCTION THAT COSTS WILL CARRY OVER THERE.
THEY'RE NOT GOING TO, THEY'RE NOT GOING TO DISCOUNT MY SIXTH YEAR OF WATER, MAN.
HE'S GONNA CHARGE THEM THE SAME THING.
UM, AND JUST TO HIGHLIGHT WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, THEY'RE ALL MOVING, EVERYTHING YOU SEE IN RED.
THIS IS A BREAKDOWN OF OUR WATER AND SEWER FUND ALLOCATION, KIND OF THE PERCENTAGE THAT WE SPEND ON EVERYTHING THROUGHOUT THE FUNDS.
UM, EVERYTHING IN THE BLUE IS SOMEWHAT OF A FIXED COST.
YOU'VE GOT DEBT, YOU'VE GOT SHARED SERVICES.
THESE ARE THINGS THAT WON'T BE IMPACTED VERY MUCH BY THOSE, THOSE INCREASES IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY OR INCREASES IN SUPPORT MATERIALS.
EVERYTHING IN RED IS KIND OF OPERATIONAL.
AND IN THOSE, UH, TRY TO BREAK THOSE OUT.
HOW MUCH IS PERSONAL SERVICE, HOW MUCH IS ACTUAL SUPPLIES AND MATERIALS.
SO YOU SEE, YOU'VE GOT BASICALLY ON BOTH OF THOSE 30 AT THE VERY BOTTOM NUMBER, 30 AND 34%, UM, OF BOTH OF THOSE, BOTH OF THOSE NUMBERS ARE STRICTLY OPERATE THEIR SUPPLIES AND MATERIALS AND SERVICES.
SO WE SEE A 10 TO 15% INCREASE IN THAT, AND THAT'S 30 AND 34% OF 10 AND $12 MILLION.
UH, SO WHEN WE START TALKING 10 TO 15% INCREASES, THOSE, THOSE COULD BE SUBSTANTIAL IMPACTS.
WE'LL BE CLOSELY LOOKING AT THOSE TO DROP THE REST OF THIS FISCAL YEAR AND THE REST OF THE CALENDAR YEAR.
AND WITH THAT, I'LL BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
VERY SIMILAR UPDATE TO A HERE'S A PROPOSITION THAT WITH ALL GOOD NEWS, I'M NOT FORECASTING ANY RATE INCREASES.
UM, BUT A VERY, VERY SIMILAR FORECAST, TRY TO LEAD THROUGH THAT, UH, QUICKLY AS I CAN, A SUMMARY, UH, FORECASTING, A $55 MILLION OPERATING BUDGET THIS YEAR ELECTRIC DEPARTMENT OPERATES WITH SIX DIVISIONS, ADMINISTRATION, DISTRIBUTION, POWER SUPPLY INDICATIONS WITH CONTROL, AND THEN NEW TO THE ELECTRIC DEPARTMENT IS UTILITY BUSINESS OPERATIONS BECAUSE NEW REIGN AND BILLING, THEY CAME OVER FROM FINANCE AND THEN CUSTOMER SERVICE.
AND THE PAYMENTS DEPARTMENT CAME OVER FROM FINANCE AND THOSE OPERATIONS ARE WORKING WELL.
UH, FUNCTIONALLY, WE PURCHASED AND WE DELIVER ELECTRICITY METER IT, WE BILL IT, WE COLLECT REVENUES OFF OF THOSE SALES AND I PERFORM CUSTOMER SERVICE ACTIVITIES, AND WE DO SYSTEM IMPROVEMENTS.
AND ODDLY ENOUGH, WE MAINTAIN OUR CITY FIBER NETWORK.
UH, WE DO THAT WITH A STAFF FUNDED STAFF OF ABOUT 88 PEOPLE.
UH, CUSTOMERS, AS WE, AS MR. HUGHES MENTIONED, WE'RE TRENDING UPWARD WITH THE NUMBER OF CUSTOMERS.
WE'RE GROWING ABOUT TWO TO 300 METERS PER YEAR ELECTRIC SALES, ALONG WITH A STEADY INCREASE IN METERS.
WE'RE SEEING A STEADY GROWTH IN SALES REVENUES, UM, THAT STEEP INCLINE THAT YOU SEE BETWEEN 20 AND 22, I THINK THAT'S A RESULT OF A REALIGNMENT OF BILLING AND METERING AND, UH, CUSTOMER SERVICE AND DOING A BETTER JOB WITH OUR METERING AND BILLING OPERATIONS.
AS SALES INCREASE, WE NEED TO PURCHASE MORE ENERGY.
SO WE SEE THE SAME TYPE OF INCREASE, UM, IN THIS CURVE WITH THE AMOUNT OF ENERGY WE NEED TO BUY.
AND THAT ALSO CARRIES FORWARD TO THE AMOUNT OF ENERGY THAT WE NEED TO PURCHASE.
UM, OBVIOUSLY AS WE SELL MORE ENERGY SHOULD PAY FOR THAT ENERGY.
SO THOSE DOLLARS ARE INCREASING AS WELL,
[03:15:01]
MORE GOOD NEWS.UM, OUR POWER SUPPLY RATES, UM, FORECASTING, OUR RATES SHOULD BE FLAT THROUGH 2024.
SO THESE ARE LARGE WHOLESALE CONTRACTS THAT WE HAVE WITH THE COMPANY, UM, AND FORECASTING.
THOSE WILL REMAIN FLAT IN 2024, POSSIBLY AN INCREASE IN 2025 AT THE SAME TIME IN 2025.
UM, YOU COULD HAVE SOME DEPTH SERVICE ROLLING OUT THAT CONTRACT ABOUT $3.3 MILLION, ALMOST $3.4 MILLION.
AND, UM, I'D HAVE TO SAY THAT THAT WHOLESALE CONTRACT THAT WE HAVE IS IT'S OUTPERFORMING THE ORIGINAL FORECAST.
AND, UM, IT'S STILL ABOUT PERFORMING WHAT WE FIND IN THE MARKETPLACE AS OTHER ALTERNATIVES, OPERATING CAPITAL, BE FOCUSED ON A SYSTEM, MAINTENANCE AND IMPROVEMENTS, A TYPICAL SESSION EXPANSION, REGIONAL GROWTH THAT WE'RE EXPERIENCING SYSTEM MODELING SO THAT, UH, WE ENSURE THAT A VERY RELIABLE AND STABLE SYSTEM.
AND, UH, WE NEED TO ENHANCE OUR METER SYSTEM, UH, WITH BETTER TOOLS FOR METER MANAGEMENT AND METER DATA MANAGEMENT.
AND OBVIOUSLY IT'S ALWAYS ONGOING THAT WE HAVE TO MANAGE AND DEAL WITH AGING EQUIPMENT STAFFING.
I FORECASTED FOR STAFFING LEVELS, FLAT EXPECTED REQUESTS THAT OCCASION IN SOME REALIGNMENTS OF SOME KEY POSITIONS, BUT OVERALL FUNDING LEVEL.
UM, I'D LIKE TO DO CERTAIN WORK ON OUR FEES AND SCHEDULE, UM, TYPICAL ANNUAL UPDATES TO THOSE FEES AND SCHEDULES.
I LIKE TO DO SOME WORK ON OUR STREET LIGHTING RATES AND BETTER ALIGN OUR LED LIGHTS THAT WE'RE BUYING WITH A, UM, A SUITABLE RATE THAT REPRESENTS THE COST OF THE LIGHTS.
AND I'M ALSO LOOKING AT THE INTRODUCING A FLAT RATE.
TYPICALLY THOSE MIGHT BE USED FOR VERY LOW POWER CONSUMPTION, LIKE I'D WATCH, UM, NECTAR OR A SMALL CELL, UH, TRANSMITTER WHERE IT JUST DOESN'T MAKE SENSE FINANCIALLY TO PUT IN A LARGE METER AND MEASURE IT.
AND BILL IT THAT WAY, WHERE I MIGHT BE ABLE TO COME UP WITH A FLAT RATE THAT IS COST BENEFICIAL.
SO I'D LIKE TO TAKE A LOOK AT THAT THROUGHOUT THE YEAR CHALLENGES I'M SEEING THE COST OF ALL THE GOODS AND SERVICES RISING.
UM, OUR INVENTORIES ARE LOW, UM, MATERIALS, FORECASTED AND MATERIAL DELAYS.
UM, IN ADDITION TO THAT, UM, THE LABOR MARKET REMAINS HIGHLY, HIGHLY COMPETITIVE, AND IT'S LARGELY DRIVEN BY WAGES.
I'M SEEING DAY-TO-DAY STAFFING LEVELS DECREASED DUE TO COVID AND THAT RESULTS IN SLOWER OPERATION SOME DAYS, AND ULTIMATELY SOME STAFF BURNOUT, ELECTRIC SYSTEM CAPACITY PROJECT.
WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THAT AND WORKING ON THAT, UH, YOU'LL SEE ME BRINGING FORWARD, UH, LAND ACQUISITION, UM, ENGINEERING AWARDS, AND FINANCING.
WE'RE WORKING ON ALL THOSE THINGS RIGHT NOW.
UM, ADDITIONALLY, WE CONTINUE TO DISPATCH A LOAD MANAGEMENT.
UH, WE DISPATCH ABOUT 17 MEGAWATTS, UM, MONTHLY ABOUT A $4.8 MILLION COST AVOIDANCE.
AND I'M STILL GOT MY EYEBALL ON BATTERY ENERGY STORAGE.
UM, THAT'S ABOUT ANOTHER FOUR POINT ACTUALLY ABOUT $1.4 MILLION COST AVOIDANCE.
IF WE CAN DO THAT, UH, DUKE IS OPPOSING US, UM, ON THIS MATTER WE ARE WINNING.
UM, I AM TRYING TO BE AS PATIENT AS I POSSIBLY CAN.
I WANT TO PROCEED DURING THE TEMPO.
UM, WE'RE WORKING ON A SETTLEMENT WITH DUKE RIGHT NOW.
SO WHEN YOU SAY WE, IS IT CITY OF NEWBURN OR ELECTRICITY? NO, I MET SUDDENLY.
I REMEMBER IT HAS A CONTRACT WITH THE COMPANY.
I KEPT THOSE, THE ONE THAT'S IN SETTLEMENT WOULD DO.
UM, NC DLT METRONET, UM, HE'S MENTIONED THOSE, UH, THOSE CHALLENGES ARE LARGELY DRIVEN BY THE PACE AND THE VOLUME, UM, THAT THEY'RE GOING ON.
AND, UH, WE HAVE TO STAY FOCUSED AND GET REIMBURSED FOR THOSE.
HOW ARE THEY DOING SPLENDIDLY? WELL, KNOCK ON WOOD.
I BRING THEM IN FOR AN UPDATE.
ACTUALLY I HAVE A MONTHLY MEETING WAS IN WHEN WE ACTUALLY MET ON WEDNESDAY AND, UM, LAST MONTH THEY, THEY, THEY PUT IN A NEW BERN CITY LIMITS ALONE OVER 12,000 LINEAR FEET
[03:20:01]
OF, OF, UH, OF THEIR INFRASTRUCTURE.SO THERE'S, THEY'RE MOVING ALONG PRETTY GOOD AND WE'RE HAPPY TO BRING THEM IN.
UH, WE DID ADD SOME ADDITIONAL STAFFING AND RESOURCES LAST AUGUST TO PREPARATION FOR THIS.
UM, THE PACE THAT THEY'VE BEEN ROLLING THIS OUT AT, UM, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO KEEP UP WITH IT'S, WE'RE LEARNING ON BOTH, BOTH PARTIES, HOW WE WOULD MANAGE THIS WORK AND HOW IT FLOWS.
AND SO FAR IT'S GONE REALLY WELL.
THE COMMUNITY'S READY TO GET THEIR SURFACE, UM, RIGHT.
THEY COULD SELL IT EVERY CUSTOMER AND BLUE, EVERY BLUE MOON RISE RIGHT NOW, I GUARANTEE YOU, THEY WOULD GET OVER THERE.
I BELIEVE, UM, THE CITY OF NEWBURGH, A FIBER NETWORK, AT SOME POINT, WE'RE GOING TO NEED TO DO SOME STRATEGIC PLANNING ON THAT SYSTEM AND MAKE SURE WE'RE FORECASTING ANY GROWTH THAT WE'RE EXPECTING.
WE'LL ALSO HAVE TO TURN UP AND KIND OF SHARE THAT WE HAVE WITH THE CITY COUNTY AND THEN, UM, THE NEED TO, UH, KEEP AN EYE ON THE PERFORMANCE OF OUR RETAIL RATES.
UM, SO THAT THEY'RE ALIGNED WITH OUR POWER SUPPLY CONTRACT AND THEY LET US DO A HEALTHY FUND BALANCE.
CHARLIE, I KNOW IT'S ALWAYS HARD TO TELL WHAT'S REAL, THERE'S SO MANY DIFFERENT RATES WITH US VERSUS DUDE, BUT IN THE PAST WE WOULD GET KIND OF LIKE AN AVERAGE OR RANGE.
IS THERE A WAY THAT YOU COULD GET US AN UPDATED LIST THAT SHOWS US VERSUS DO, BECAUSE NOW I THINK I KNOW YOUR OWN LOAD MANAGEMENT WITH US AND NOT WITH THEM IN CERTAIN RATES WERE ACTUALLY LOWER.
IS THERE, IS THERE SOMETHING UPDATED THAT YOU COULD SHOW UP? AND I THINK DUDE JUST, DID THEY HAVE FUN INCREASE OR GETTING READY TO MAKE THEY HAD A 5% INCREASE ON THE RETAIL RATES STRUCTURE? I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO KNOW THAT BECAUSE 2025 WILL BE HERE BEFORE WE KNOW IT.
WE WON'T HAVE A THREE AND A HALF MILLION DOLLAR ANNUAL DEBT SERVICE COMING OFF.
WE'VE GOT THE INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS THAT WE NEED TO BE FACTORING IN ON, ON HOW MUCH RELIEF WE WANT TO GIVE IT TO ANY, TO OUR CUSTOMERS.
I THINK IT WOULD BE IMPORTANT PLANNING.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, UM, PART OF LOOKING AT OUR RATES THIS YEAR, WE'RE DOING IT ON ELECTRIC WATER AND WASTEWATER.
WE'RE GOING TO BE LOOKING AT OUR COST OF SERVICE AND REVIEWING, UM, HOW OUR RATES ARE PERFORMING THERE AND THEN IN A MORE DETAILED MANNER.
WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO HAVE SOME INFORMATION ON THE SUBSTATION FOR US? UM, I HOPE TO HAVE, UM, LAND CONTRACT AGREEMENTS, PURCHASING AGREEMENTS IN FRONT OF YOU WITHIN THE MONTH AS FAST AS SELLERS CAN.
AND I HOPE TO HAVE AN ENGINE AGREEMENTS IN FRONT OF YOU WITHIN THE NEXT MONTH AND, UM, FINANCING OR WORKING WITH, UM, ON FINANCING REAL TO HAVE FINANCING, MAYBE ALIGNMENT AS EARLY AS JUNE, JUNE.
SO GREG, I HEAR YOU LOUD AND CLEAR AND I'M NOT DRAGGING MY FEET ON .
UH, LAST I LOOKED AT, UM, PROBABLY ABOUT 90 CUSTOMERS, EXTREMELY UNDERPERFORMING WISH WE COULD USE IT AS A, UM, A TOOL TO INCENTIVIZE OTHER THINGS I'VE CONSIDERED USING IT IN LIEU OF, UH, PAYMENT PLANS OR LOANS REQUIRING CUSTOMERS TO GO ON THAT INSTEAD OF PUTTING THEM ON A PAYMENT PLAN, THERE'S COMPLICATIONS THAT GO ALONG WITH THAT.
AND THEN I JUST HAVEN'T BEEN COMFORTABLE WITH IT READY TO RECOMMEND UNDERPERFORMED.
WE DID A CAMPAIGN OF SOME SORT ON THAT.
I MEAN, I DON'T THINK PEOPLE EVEN KNOW ABOUT WE'VE MARKETED IT AT EVERY LEVEL POSSIBLE.
AND THAT WAS PART OF THE CORRECT.
THIS IS ACTUALLY COME UP ON AN ANNUAL BASIS AND WE'RE STILL OPERATING UNDER ANOTHER CONTRACT THAT WAS SIGNED AS A PILOT PROJECT.
SO IF IT CONTINUES TO RUN THE SURVEY, TAKE IT AWAY.
OH, I WOULD LIKE SOME DIRECTION THROUGH THE BOARD.
IF IT COSTS US A LOT OF MONEY, I DON'T HAVE THAT NUMBER IN FRONT OF US.
I DON'T SEE WHERE IT BRINGS US ANY VALUE.
I HAVE DIFFICULTY SUPPORTING THEM COLLEEN AND DO A NICE PRESS RELEASE AND RELEASE IT ON FACEBOOK.
AND THEN WE CAN PICK IT ALL UP AND SHARE IT TO OUR COMMUNITIES AND STUFF.
[03:25:01]
UP SOME, UH, I THOUGHT WITH ALL THE OUTRAGE ABOUT THE POSITIVE STUFF YEARS AGO, THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO TAKE CARE OF THAT.I WASN'T HERE WHEN, WHEN WE SELECTED IT, I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT WAS SUPPOSED TO ACCOMPLISH.
SO THE THOUGHT PROCESS WAS THE, WE HAD THE DEPOSIT BECAUSE YOU HAD TO GET AHEAD OF IT BECAUSE YOU WERE PAYING FOR A POST CONSUMPTION.
SO THE THOUGHT WAS, IF YOU PAY AS YOU GO, YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO REQUIRE THAT DEPOSIT BECAUSE IF THEY HIT AND PAY THEIR BILL, THEY COULD IMMEDIATELY BE CUT OFF VERSUS US GETTING AN REARS FOR 30, 60 DAYS OR WHATEVER, SO THAT WE NOT HAVE THAT ABILITY.
AND THEN THE, ALSO THE OTHER ABILITY TOO, IS IF THEY ALREADY HAVE A BIG BALANCE, IT WOULD TURN OVER INTO BASICALLY BEING A BALANCE.
AND YOU CAN PAY A LITTLE BIT AT A TIME AND STILL BE PAYING TOWARDS YOUR CURRENT USAGE.
THE OTHER THING IS, I MEAN, IS IT, IS THIS SOMETHING WHEN NEW CUSTOMERS COME IN, THIS IS THE FIRST THING THAT WE SUGGEST TO THEM BECAUSE LITERALLY YOU CAN HAVE AN APP AND IT WILL TELL YOU, YOU OWE $5 AND 96 CENTS OR PAY SOME MONEY ON IT BEFORE YOUR ELECTRICITY SHUTS OFF.
AND THEN IF YOU LET IT SHUT OFF BECAUSE I'VE TESTED IT, YOU LITERALLY PAY $10 IN ITS OWN WITHIN FIVE MINUTES.
I DON'T KNOW WHY WE'RE, YOU KNOW, WHY PEOPLE ARE NOT GETTING THE OTHER PART OF THIS IS, AND I DON'T HAVE THE ANALYTICS IN FRONT OF ME AND I CAN CERTAINLY DIVE INTO IT.
BUT THE LAST I LOOKED, I BELIEVE WITH THE MAJORITY OF OUR CUSTOMERS ARE DOING ELECTRONIC PAYMENTS ALREADY.
SO LET'S SAY, LET'S SAY 60% OF OUR CUSTOMERS ARE MAKING ELECTRONIC PAYMENTS.
NOW WE'RE DOWN TO ABOUT 10,000 CUSTOMERS AND OF THOSE 10,000 CUSTOMERS, UM, SOME OF THEM ARE DOING AUTOMATIC BANK DRAFTS AND SOME OF THEM INSIST ON COMING IN AND PAYING THE BILL BECAUSE IT'S A SOCIAL EXPERIENCE THAT THEY LIKE TO HAVE.
SO, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NARROWING THAT DOWN TO WHERE, WHAT REALLY IS OUR MARKET PENETRATION ON THIS? AND I DON'T HAVE THAT ANSWER FOR YOU TODAY, BUT WHICH STRUGGLING.
SO MY QUESTION IS, IS THE RELIEF ON THE DEPOSITS THAT WAS MADE A FEW YEARS AGO, NOT PUSHING PEOPLE TOWARD THE PAY AS YOU GO NOW, BECAUSE THEY SAY, WELL, I DON'T HAVE TO PAY THIS ARDUOUS DEPOSIT.
I CAN JUST PAY THE SMALL DEPOSIT MINIMUM DEPOSIT, AND THEN WE'LL TAKE THE RISK IF IT'S NOT ENOUGH TO INCENTIVIZE IT.
I MEAN, IT'S, I MEAN, PEOPLE THAT PAY ELECTRONICALLY, YOU LITERALLY COULD BE ON THE PHONE.
AND BECAUSE IT'S BASICALLY SETTLES EVERY DAY, EVERY DAY.
AND THEN WHEN THERE'S A DIFFERENCE AT THE END OF THE MONTH, IT'S SETTLED AND YOU LITERALLY CAN SEE WHAT YOU USE EVERY SINGLE DAY, YOU KNOW, $13 WORTH OF UTILITIES.
IT'S UNBELIEVABLE TO ME, WE'VE ALSO TRIED TO ADVERTISE IT AS A CUSTOMER PRESENT TOOL.
SO EVEN IF YOU'RE NOT INTERESTED IN PAIN EVERY DAY, OR YOU'RE NOT CONCERNED ABOUT YOUR DAILY BALANCE BALANCE HERE, IT GIVES YOU THE TOOLS TO LOOK AT YOUR CONSUMPTION ON A MORE GRANULAR BASIS.
AND, UM, AND YOU CAN PAY BASED ON YOUR PANCREAS.
YOU CAN PUT A HUNDRED DOLLARS OR $50 ON THIS WEEK, AND THEN THE FARMER, INSTEAD OF HAVING A BIG BALANCE THAT YOU OWE ON THAT SPECIFIC DAY, I MEAN, ANY TYPE OF CAMPAIGN, YOU KNOW, OVER EXAGGERATING IT, YOU KNOW, I WOULD APPRECIATE THAT.
AND LIKE, YOU KNOW, ASK SAID, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, I DON'T WANT THE BOARD TO DECIDE TO GET RID OF IT.
I DON'T WANT TO GO BACK TO THAT BECAUSE TO THE PAPER BILL AND THEN, YOU KNOW, DOING AN AVERAGE OF WHAT I'M USING IS LITERALLY TELLING ME WHAT I'M USING EVERY SINGLE DAY.
THERE ARE, THERE ARE OTHER, THERE ARE OTHER NAMES, UH, FOR CUSTOMER PRESENTMENT OF THAT INFORMATION WITHOUT, UM, A PAY AS YOU GO TYPE OF ARRANGEMENT WHERE WE CAN JUST PUT THEM AT THEIR FINGERTIPS WITHOUT THE COST OF THE PREPAY SERVICE.
THE OTHER THING YOU SHOULD PROBABLY BE AWARE OF WITH THE PREPAID SERVICE IS IT'S QUITE STAFF INTENSIVE.
WHAT HAPPENS IS THESE BALANCES HAVE TO BE TUNED UP EVERY MONTH AND THAT'S MANUALLY DONE BY STAFF ON EVERY SINGLE ACCOUNT.
UM, SO AS IF WE WERE TO GROW THIS, UM, IT DOES PUT A BURDEN ON STAFF.
AND RIGHT NOW IT'S JUST A, IT'S NOT OVERLY OVERWHELMING.
WE CAN DO IT BECAUSE THERE'S ABOUT 90 ACCOUNTS, BUT IMPRESSION THAT THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE IN CORRELATION TO UNITS, THEY DID SOME WAY THAT IT WAS GONNA WORK TO ME.
WAS THAT SOFTWARE COMING OUT, MAYBE IT'S 20, 22.
THERE'S NO WAY TO REALLY AUTOMATE SQUARING UP THE BOUNCEX AT THE END OF THE MONTH WHERE IT'S NOT A MANUAL PROCESS.
ONCE WE GET MUNIS IMPLEMENTED, WE MAY SEE SOME EFFICIENCIES THERE, BUT I'M NOT FORECASTING THEM RIGHT, RIGHT NOW.
AND WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THIS.
[03:30:01]
ON THE BOARD AND MADE SUGGESTION THAT WE MOVE FORWARD WITH THAT AND WE'RE GOING INTO FOUR AND A HALF YEARS.UM, WELL I PERSONALLY, MY STAFF HAS BEEN WORKING ON A UTILITY BILLING IMPLEMENTATION.
THAT'S PROBABLY THE ONLY PART OF ME THAT I CAN REALLY SPEAK TO.
AND WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF INTEGRATING WITH OUR BILLING SYSTEMS AND OUR OTHER LEGACY SYSTEMS INTEGRATE WITH OUR OUTAGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.
THERE'S A LOT OF BACKEND, UM, DESIGN WORK THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE ONCE THAT'S DONE, THEN YOU WOULD WANT IT PARALLEL BILL.
I WANT TO SEE EVERY CUSTOMER PILL AT LEAST TWICE, TWO MONTHS THAT WE GET THE SAME BILL AND THE UNITS THAT WE'RE GETTING IN OUR EXISTING SYSTEM BEFORE WE ABANDONED THAT, UM, THERE HAVE BEEN LONG DELAYS BY THE SERVICE PROVIDER.
UM, A NUMBER OF THINGS, UH, COVID RELATED.
THEY ALSO HAD, UM, CYBERSECURITY ATTACKS.
THEY'VE HAD MULTIPLE CHANGES IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT.
UH, IT'S BEEN VERY, VERY SLOW, VERY, VERY FRUSTRATING.
THE LAST UPDATE I GOT, UM, A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO WAS WE MIGHT BE READY TO GO IN JUNE.
UM, WE DON'T PULL IT OFF BY JUNE.
WE'RE PROBABLY LOOKING AT NOVEMBER.
SEND SOMETHING OUT MAYBE AS RECENTLY AS THE PAST SIX WEEKS, I BELIEVE AS WELL.
SO THEY'VE BEEN, THEY'VE BEEN CONSTANTLY SENDING THINGS OUT AND WE'LL, WE'LL DEFINITELY THEY'LL WORK WITH THEO AND TRY TO PUSH.
UM, SO THAT IS ALL WE HAVE FOR THIS BUDGET WORKSHOP.
GIVE ME ANY COMMENTS OR CONCERNS THEY HAVE SAID ABOUT BACKING OUT DATA.
AGAIN, I JUST THINK THAT IT'S IMPORTANT FOR THE CITY TO UTILIZE SOME OF THIS ARP MONEY TO PAY FOR THE BACKFILL OF EMPLOYEES THAT HAVE BEEN OUT WILLIAM BOY WITH COVID.
I KNOW IF, IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT, I WAS TALKING TO THE OTHER DAY, YOU HAVE 8 24 HOUR EMPLOYEES THAT YOU HAVE BACKFILL.
THAT'S A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF MONEY.
I THINK AOP MONEY TO A GOOD LADY TO MAKE SURE, BUT DON'T GET OUT OF WHACK.
AND THEN BRENDA, IF YOU DON'T MIND, PLEASE SEND OUT AN UPDATED CELL PHONE LIST.
THANK YOU FOR WHOEVER I DON'T CARE IF IT'S SEE EVERYBODY OR NOT, BUT AT LEAST THE DEPARTMENT HEADS AND MAYBE THE FRONTLINE SUPERVISORS OR SOMETHING, OR YOU SAY THE WHOLE THING YESTERDAY, .