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HomeMy WebLinkAbout9A - Community Safety Task Force Report and Implementation MEETING DATE: AGENDA #: PREPARED BY: AGENDA ITEM: DISCUSSION: July 7,2008 9A Bill O'Rourke, Police Chief Frank Boyles, City Manager CONSIDER APPROVAL OF COMMUNITY SAFETY TASK FORCE REPORT AND DIRECTING IMPLEMENTATION THEREOF Introduction The purpose of this agenda item is to request that the City Council officially receive the Community Safety Task Force report and provide direction to the staff to initiate implementation of the recommendations contained therein. Historv In February 2007, the 2030 Vision and Strategic Plan was last updated. One of the most significant changes was the addition of a tenth Vision element: Safe and Healthy Communities. The Long Range Planning Committee recognized two things about this Vision Element. First, that Prior Lake cannot become what it wants to be unless our residents feel safe to go about their lives every day without fear of danger. Second, the Committee recognized that no one or a few entities can deliver safety and health. In fact, health and safety are each of our responsibilities individually and collectively. Then, in August 2007 the community received notice that a Level III Sexual Offender intended to move his residence into the community. A community meeting was conducted and Nancy Sabin of the Jacob Wetterling Foundation became involved. Chief O'Rourke and I spent some time talking to Ms. Sabin about the formation of a community safety task force including its composition and its mission. We asked Ms. Sabin to act as the chair. She declined, but Police Chief O'Rourke accepted. Notices were published in the paper and electronically. We also contacted individuals in six membership categories proposed by Ms. Sabin to assure the Task Force would be representative of our multi-faceted community. In the end, 43 persons in six categories volunteered to serve on the Task Force. The first meeting was conducted in December 2007 with four subsequent meetings. Ultimately, the Task Force decided to break itself down into five subgroups. Each of the subgroups was assigned to the five most important issues facing the community as identified by the Task Force. The five areas include: 1. Substance Use and Abuse 2. Predatory Offenders 3. Inactive Neighborhoods 4. Bullying and Harassment 5. Traffic, Driving, Accidents www.cityofpriorlake.com Phone 952.447.9800 / Fax 952.447.4245 The subcommittees, composed of five or six Task Force members met between three and five times each. The subcommittees prepared draft reports in their areas of expertise to share with the full Task Force. The reports were presented to the Task Force and modifications were made. Chief O'Rourke put each report into the same PowerPoint format. On June 16, 2008, the City Council received the draft Task Force report together with the PowerPoint presentations. The City Council directed that the staff place the Community Safety Task Force report on an upcoming City Council agenda including a proposal for implementation and funding of the top three priorities and a process for making the Community Safety Task Force permanent. Current Circumstances The City Council has received a PowerPoint presentation on this subject at a workshop and earlier tonight as a presentation. Even though the Task Force addressed only the top five issues, the City would not have the time or resources to implement all aspects of the report. Accordingly, the City Council directed the staff to include in this report the implementation of the top three recommendations in each of the five areas studied. Staff recommendations of the top three priorities in each category, together with funding for each, is shown below: Substance Use and Abuse 1. Adopt social host ordinance and encourage SCALE to recommend the same County-wide. Some attorney and staff time will be needed to accomplish this recommendation. 2. Contract with Climb Theatre for all children in sixth, eighth and ninth grade in the coming school year to present a program on gateway drugs (alcohol, tobacco and prescription drugs). The cost for the next school year is $6,300 which has been requested from the Prior Lake Rotary. 3. Purchase the Intoxiclock to facilitate better blood-alcohol awareness training at Lakefront Days, Community Fest and other community- wide events. The cost is $1,275 which has been requested from Prior Lake Rotary. Predatory Offender 1. Host a "Train the Trainer" session in protecting our kids from predatory behavior for up to forty police officers. It is offered free by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Our obligation is to supply the site for this all-day program. Each agency will be responsible for the wages for those who attend. The training would be offered to any metropolitan agency. 2. Provide "Netsmartz" training for kids and parents who enroll. Officer O'Hehir has received training in this program which is designed to teach parents and children about safe Internet usage. (This program is a priority for bullying and harassment training as well since the Internet has become a site where such actions take place.) A modest fee is charged to cover materials. City costs are primarily Officer O'Hehir's time. 3. Establish a standardized background check protocol, share it with volunteer organizations and investigate the possibility of the City acting as the centralized background check facility. Some costs will be incurred investigating the data available and in researching the extent to which and under what conditions this information can be shared. Inactive Neighborhoods 1. Encourage neighborhood organizations meeting certain criteria to be on the City's opening Web page. Allow them to provide information for entry by the City to keep the page up-to-date. The City could also use the page to get targeted information to these neighborhoods. Over time there will be technical costs to add pages to the Website. There will be additional personnel costs to enter data. 2. Associations that have conducted Neighborhood Night Out or have organized Neighborhood Watch would be encouraged to offer both programs to their membership. To those that do, City staff or City Council members would be available to attend their annual or quarterly association meetings to provide information or learn more about neighborhood concerns. Initial costs are already provided for in the budget. As these prevention-minded programs become more numerous among associations, there is a significant likelihood that a full-time position will need to be devoted to them in the future. 3. Through the Chamber or other community-wide organization, encourage associations who have done National Night Out or Neighborhood Watch in the last year to enter teams to complete in sporting events with traveling trophies which would culminate with a "Community Olympics" as part of Lakefront Days. Bullying and Harassment 1. Provide "Netsmartz" training to kids and parents who enroll. This program includes advice regarding "cyberbullying" to gain common knowledge, awareness and means for addressing such behavior on the Internet. 2. Invite School Liaison Officers to meet with coaches, organizations such as PLAY, Prior Lake Soccer, Prior Lake-Savage Hockey Association, and others to promote consistent messages with the school district regarding bullying and harassment. Initially, costs are expected to be minimal. 3. Attend annual homeowner association and civic club meetings to provide adult/parent education on bullying and harassment. Initial costs are expected to be minimal. Traffic, Driving, Accidents Subcommittee 1. Ask the School District to issue parking permits only to students who are willing to take a pledge to use seatbelts, avoid distractions while driving and commit to not driving with substance use. If violated, the student would lose the parking permit. Costs would be modest to print the pledges if the School District is unable to do so. 2. Use the City Website, electronic signs and printed publications to promote a "Slow Down - Save Money - Save Lives" campaign. Funds for this program would be incorporated in the 2009 budget. 3. Encourage ISD 719 to partner with the Scott County Safe Communities Coalition to implement youth safety initiatives to improve driving behavior. ISSUES: The recommendations set forth above are consistent with the subcommittee reports. There are 15 initiatives proposed. We have selected those that we believe will have impact and can be accomplished in a year from both a financial and personnel resources perspective. The final recommendation addresses how this effort can be made ongoing rather than temporary. We propose that a Community Safety Advisory Committee be formed. This five member committee would be composed initially of one volunteer from each of the five Community Task Force subcommittees. Like our other advisory committees, members would have a three-year term. The first appointees would be two for two years and three for three years in order to have staggered terms. This committee would work with staff periodically to discuss and clarify the implementation of the fifteen items identified above. In 18 months, the committee would be responsible for reassembling a larger group (35 - 40) to review and refocus our efforts for the coming 18-24 months. This process would continue so that the goals and objectives agreed upon integrate with the 2030 Vision and Strategic Plan and can be incorporated into the Safe and Healthy Community Vision Element. FINANCIAL IMPACT: The financial impact for these actions is modest. However, the responsibilities, when successful, will create the need for at least one new full-time equivalent position by 2010. Costs could also increase if funding anticipated from the Prior Lake Rotary, School District or National Center for Missing and Exploited Children were to be unavailable now or in the future. ALTERNATIVES: 1. Approve the Community Safety Task Force report. 2. Approve the recommended priorities in the five categories and direct their implementation. 3. Take no action with respect to the Task Force report. 4. Take no action to approve the recommended priorities and direction to the staff. RECOMMENDED Alternatives #1 and #2. MOTION: Review~fPY: \