January 19, 2005

Guilford Police Headquarters

5:30 P.M.

• Vice-Chairman Limauro
• Commissioners Peter Barrett
• Thomas Cole

• Chief Thomas A. Terribile
• Deputy Chief Jeffrey C. Hutchinson
• Anita Catardi(Clerk of the Board)

Others:Thomas Hasche(left after presentation)

The meeting was called to order by Vice-Chairman Limauro at 5:32 P.M.

1. Approval of prior meeting minutes

Motion:Motion made by Commissioner Cole, seconded by Commissioner Barrett to approve the minutes of December 15, 2004 as presented.

Vote:In favor:Commissioners Barrett, Cole, and Limauro

Opposed:None

Abstained:None

Motion:Motion made by Commissioner Barrett, seconded by Commissioner Cole to move 7.1 Citizen Award up to 2. Public/Petition/Commentary.

Vote:In favor:Commissioners Barrett, Cole, and Limauro

Opposed:None

Abstained:None

2. Public Petition/Commentary

Vice-Chairman Limauro presented Mr. Thomas Hasche with a Citizen’s Award from the Guilford Police Department. Commissioner Limauro read the wording on the plaque presented to Mr. Hasche. “While checking a home for a friend, heard the faint sound of cries for help from the house next door; while investigating the cries, he located an elderly woman who had fallen, sustaining a broken shoulder. The weather conditions were very cold, and according to paramedics on the scene; if Mr. Hasche had not responded to her cries for help; the woman, who lives alone, would not have survived the fall.

The Guilford Police Department would like to recognize Mr. Hasche for his gallant efforts and concern for a fellow citizen”.

The Commissioners, as well as the Chief and Deputy Chief congratulated Mr. Hasche.

3. Traffic

3.1. North River Street

Chief Terribile said he had a background study done on speeds and types of vehicles on North River Street. Chief spoke with the Traffic Commissioner at the State. The Chief and the Traffic Commissioner were not able to find any application or approval for a “No Truck Traffic” on North River Street. The Chief said both the State and Town have a listing of other Streets which have been approved, by the State for No Truck Traffic; but nothing for North River Street. The Chief said that the sign which is in place on North River Street is not an authorized sign and should be removed. He told the Commissioners that if they wished to have North River Street designated as no truck traffic they would have to apply to the State for a study to be done.

In addition, the Chief spoke to the Traffic Commissioner regarding the definition of truck traffic on roads in Guilford. Unless the road is designated by the State as no truck traffic as long as trucks are delivering in the town they can stop anywhere on any road.

Commissioner Cole asked, “have we looked at the volume of traffic on North River Street?” Chief Terribile said a study by several officers and Lt. Robinson between January 11, 2005 and January 14, 2005 was conducted. The officers surveyed the number of vehicles, type of vehicles, and speed (by radar) at various times of the day. The study showed the average speed was less than 30 MPH. There was no indication of excessive speed and one warning ticket was issued during the study. There was no excessive truck or school bus traffic and the accident rate on North River Street is nearly nonexistent, with one reported accident in 2004.

Chief Terribile said he spoke to the Fire Department and they have been using North River Street for fire/emergency calls. He also spoke to Laidlaw regarding their use of the road and they too will be using North River because turning west onto Route One is extremely difficult for the buses. Commissioner Limauro said the bus traffic according to the study showed no more than four buses between 07:15 and 08:45. Commissioner Barrett asked Lt. Robinson when the study was conducted were the officers’ visible? Lt. Robinson said it would be difficult to “hide” on North River Street.

Commissioner Barrett asked if the Hubbard Road project will help eliminate some of the traffic? Commissioner Cole felt that Hubbard Road should help with the school buses, but felt that when Walgreen’s is completed it will probably escalate the traffic in that area.

Commissioner Limauro said the sight line on North River Street near Cherry Street was looked at by Chief Terribile and himself, and it appeared to be ok.

Commissioner Limauro said the Chief and he had checked to if there were speed signs on the road; there is one on the westside and one on the east side for 25 MPH. Commissioner Limauro said there is a “No Truck” sign on a post. Chief Terribile said the No Truck traffic sign is not enforceable because it is not an approved sign.

Commissioner Limauro said that after reviewing the concerns expressed by residents of North River Street, he would like to recommend that we continue monitoring the road by radar, as recommended by the Chief. He asked the Commissioners what they would like to do about the No Truck sign that is currently posted. After a brief discussion, the Commission agreed to leave the sign in place.

3.3. Saw Mill Road

Chief Terribile said a letter was received from Mr. Robert J. Ehrhart regarding the current Saw Mill Road bridge. The Chief said he wanted the Commission to have a copy of the letter. Mr. Ehrhart’s letter was also sent to Mr. Portley and the Board of Selectman. Chief said this appears to be an engineering problem not something the Commission could address.

3.3. Holiday Statistics

Vice-Chairman Limauro discussed the Holiday Statistics for D.U.I. stops in the State during the recent holiday weekend. He said that Guilford did not have that many stops.

Chief Terribile said he is waiting to hear from Attorney Dorney for regarding parking enforcement on Town property, which would include school properties as well. Once we get a ruling, then the Commission would then have to approve the traffic signs on Town property. He said we would have to work with the Board of Education for any signs on school properties.

4. Committee Reports

4.1. Facilities/Equipment

4.1.1. Animal Shelter Update

Commissioner Barrett reported to the Commission that all ten bids received were well above the budgeted amount. The Building Committee met and voted to request $220,000 more to meet the lowest bidder. After the letter was sent to the Selectman, the lowest bidder forwarded a letter stating that his figures were incorrect and as a result this bidder was no longer the lowest bidder. At its last meeting, the Building Committee reviewed the bids again deciding on the next qualified bidder, which resulted in a request to the Town for $250,000 in additional funding. The letter was presented to the Selectman at its recent meeting accepting the request and then it was forwarded to the Board of Finance. The Board of Finance reviewed the request and has tabled it to its next meeting, on February 15, 2005 Commissioner Barrett said it is our hope that it will get approved.

4.2. Personnel

4.2.1. Manpower Allocation Study &

4.2.2. Three Year Plan

Vice-Chairman Limauro complimented Lt. Robinson on his work, not just this report but on his monthly reports which are very professionally done.

Lt. Robinson explained to the Commission how he does his workload analysis. He said basically it is the percentage of time an officer is committed. He said he compared work activity for two years; number of complaints, by time, by day, by week, by month, by the hour of the day. Currently, we are at 75.9% committed time. Chief Terribile said that between 75% - 80% is high and means that the officers are being stretched to the max. He said when crime is up and the committed time is up then it is time to look at getting more personnel. Lt. Robinson explained further the process of determining shift openings for the bidding process.

Lt. Robinson said, as a result of looking at the construction/development plans in town for the next three years and the committed time, he would like the Commission to consider, in the future, hiring another officer. He said, as the Commissioners know, it will take over a year to get someone hired, trained and on the road.

Chief Terribile said he has a formula to determine how many officers it takes to maintain coverage 24/7(covering for vacations, sick time, etc.) A map enclosed in the Commissioner’s packets indicate most of the new construction coming to town are South of Route 80 & North of Route One. He further stated that the three-year plan together with the Police Department and the Town as a whole shows that most of the building is on Route One, and Sectors, 6, 7, & 8. He is recommending a split in these Sectors; not right now, but as the need arises; and at some point we will need to increase our minimum staffing needs.

Commissioner Cole said, we would have to obtain approval from the Selectman. Chief said the increase in personnel would probably be presented at budget time. At that time, the Chief would show the manpower allocation numbers to the Commission, then the Selectman presenting documentation for the need to increase personnel. Chief Terribile said that one of the other possibilities would be to discontinue the D.A.R.E. officer and the S.R.O.. Commissioner Cole said it was not cosmetically feasible. Chief Terribile said that Lt. Robinson would be maintaining the numbers to keep a watch on staffing needs now and in the future.

Commissioner Barrett asked about the relationship to the bidding process to the availability of officers. Lt. Robinson explained the open shifts and closed shifts and how we determine shift openings to meet the needs of the minimum staffing for each shift.

Chief Terribile told the Commissioners that Officer Moreno and Officer Gardner are starting up an Explorer Program with local youths. They are working with the Boy Scouts in town and will be having their first meeting next month. The Explorers will encourage local youths who may have an interest in law enforcement. The Department will be able to use them for traffic duties, etc. Some budget funds may be used to cover items needed to get started for each of the officers.

4.2.3. Sick Time Usage

A list of employees not using any sick time for the past six months was included in the Commissioner’s packets. Among them, the Chief said, is Officer Mastriano who has not taken a sick day since his arrival in July 2001. Commissioner Limauro, on behalf of the Police Commissioners, congratulated everyone on the list.

4.3. Communications

4.3.1. Vice-Chairman Limauro read a thank you letter from Sgt. Cipollini for a fruit basket that was sent to her at her mother’s passing.

4.3.2. Vice-Chairman Limauro said we had received a letter from the State Prosecutor’s Office regarding a recent drunk driver case. The prosecutor commended the work and cooperation he received from Deputy Chief Hutchinson, Detective Magriz, and Officers Hill, Maisano, and Provencher. Commissioner Limauro commended all officers involved, but further stated that he is not surprised as we constantly get letters of thanks to our officers. He said it only affirmed the caliber of the officers we have in the Department.

Commissioner Limauro said to take it one step further, this has a lot to say about our hiring process; Commissioners both past and present who have been involved in the interviewing/ hiring process have set a high standard for the police department.

Commissioner Barrett said it is very unusual to receive a letter like this from the Prosecutor’s Office, which says a lot for the Department.

4.3.3. Guilford Lakes Elementary School

Chief Terribile explained a few days before Christmas student representatives from the school along with Mr. Biddle, the school principal, came to the Department with handmade holiday greeting cards for each employee. A photo was taken at that time and appeared in the Guilford Courier, in addition, the photo was framed and presented to the school. Chief said it was a great morale booster for the employees.

4.4. Budget/ Finance

4.4.1. Budget 2004/2005

Chief Terribile reviewed the budget and his quarterly budget analysis with the Commission. He said barring anything unforseen, the replacement line item should have a significant surplus this year. The utilities’ bills are up; gasoline is up but the mileage is down. Electronics is over, but we are expecting a Block Grant from the State for $4,000 which will correct that overage. We should be getting money for monies expended on vests last year, but it may not arrive until after July. Chief said as of this date, the Department may have a surplus of approximately $24,000 at the end of this fiscal year; barring unexpected events.

Commissioner Limauro asked if the Commissioners had any questions regarding the budget?

5. Monthly Reports

Commissioner Limauro asked if the Commissioners had any questions regarding the reports?

6. Old Business

6.1. C.A.L.E.A.

Chief Terribile showed the Commissioners the taped “closing statements” of the auditors who did the Department evaluation. Video showed which ran for approximately 15 minutes.

The Department will be recommended to the C.A.L.E.A. board for certification in March 2005, in Alabama. The Chief will be in attendance and will be presented the certification.

Commissioner Limauro commended Chief Terribile and Deputy Chief Hutchinson and the Department for their team effort in accomplishing a successful audit. Commissioners Barrett and Cole congratulated the Department as well.

Chief Terribile said we will be the 16^th Department in the State to get C.A.L.E.A. Accredited. The next audit will take place in 2008.

Commissioner Cole asked what was the total cost of C.A.L.E.A.? Chief said the first three years membership is $4,700 a year, then it goes to approximately $ 3,500. Commissioner Cole asked about the cost of manpower? Chief said the overtime last week during the audit was approximately $3,500. The cost over the past three years is in the range of $16,000. Commissioner Cole asked what the impact of accreditation would be? Chief said the greatest impact would be the reduced number of law suits.

Chief Terribile said as a result of the audit C.A.L.E.A. made a few suggestions, one of which was to make a few changes in our Duty Manual. He said the reports will be ongoing in order to be ready for the next audit. One of the suggestions made was to define, in the Duty Manual, the evaluation process; whom does who? The Administrative Assistant is done by the Chief and/or the Deputy Chief, the Deputy Chief is done by the Chief, and the Chief is done by the Commission. It should also state when the evaluations are done. Once the steps are placed in the Duty Manual, C.A.L.E.A. will be looking for “proof” that the Duty Manual is being followed. Chief asked with regard to himself would the Commission want to do his review on a semiannual or annual basis?

Commissioner Cole said he would like to table that decision until all of the members of the Commission are present; with two members not here this evening, he would prefer to wait. Everyone agreed.

7. New Business

7.1. Citizen Award

Moved to Public Petition/Commentary

7.2. Wrecker Application - Denial

Copy of a letter was included in the Commissioner’s packet to a wrecker application request, and a letter of denial. Commissioner Limauro said the Commission had previously determined that wreckers working with the police department should have the business reside in Guilford, and for that reason the current applicant was denied.

8. Police Personnel Comments

None

Commissioner Cole asked Chief Terribile how long is an officer assigned to the Statewide Narcotics Task Force? When would the officer be due back? Chief Terribile said that the State would like the officer long term, but if we wanted the officer back or if the officer wanted to come back, all we would have to do is request the officer’s return from the State. Commissioner Cole asked if the officer had to be from the detective unit or could it be a patrolman? The Chief said, the State perfers officers experienced with search/arrest warrants otherwise they would have to spend more time in the training process. It does not have to be a detective.

Vice-Chairman Limauro asked if there was a need to go into Executive Session? If there was none he asked for a motion to adjourn.

Motion:Motion made by Commissioner Cole, seconded by Commissioner Barrett to adjourn the meeting at 7:02 P.M.

Vote:In favor:Commissioners Barrett, Cole, and Limauro

Opposed: None

Abstained:None

Respectfully submitted,
Anita Catardi
Clerk of the Board

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