[0:08] Good evening. It is 5:01

[0:10] p.m.

[0:11] » This is the public safety committee

[0:13] meeting on March 16th, 2026.

[0:18] I'm Rob Wattton, chair of the committee,

[0:21] and I am calling us to order. First

[0:24] order of business is roll call and we

[0:27] have members of the uh committee here

[0:30] present. Council member Cotton, Council

[0:33] Member Holloway, as well as City

[0:35] Attorney Dina Burke, Mayor James Mayhew,

[0:40] and Rebecca Sullum. And uh welcome all.

[0:45] So, first order of business.

[0:48] Next is the approval of the agenda as

[0:52] presented. Are there any corrections,

[0:54] additions to tonight's agenda?

[0:59] Hearing none, we'll accept the agenda as

[1:02] presented. Thank you. Next, we'll move

[1:04] on to public comments. If you happen to

[1:06] be in person, we welcome your comments.

[1:09] Uh you're given up to three minutes here

[1:12] um to to present. If you're not here,

[1:16] you can always send in your comments to

[1:18] the city clerk, to the city um mayor or

[1:23] to the council members and we will make

[1:25] sure that those are noted.

[1:28] Uh we'll move on to the minutes and we

[1:31] have two sets of minutes. Uh we need to

[1:34] approve the minutes. First of all, dated

[1:36] February 17th, 2026.

[1:40] Council members, are there any additions

[1:43] to the minutes from the 17th of

[1:46] February?

[1:47] » None that I saw.

[1:48] » Seeing none, we'll go ahead and approve

[1:50] the minutes from February 17th, 2026.

[1:54] And then next is the approval of the

[1:56] minutes dated March 2nd, 2026.

[2:00] Are there any corrections to those

[2:01] minutes?

[2:04] Seeing none, we will approve the minutes

[2:06] of March 2nd, 2026.

[2:10] And now

[2:12] the real reason why you were here

[2:14] tonight,

[2:16] and that's agenda bills. We've got uh

[2:18] just one this evening. It's AB26-00005,

[2:23] ordinance amending chapter 10.24,

[2:27] compression breaks. And uh when I before

[2:30] I call the chief up to um present on

[2:33] that, we do have a modification from the

[2:36] city attorney and it's on section three

[2:41] and attorney Burke, would you care to

[2:44] fill us in on the last line, please?

[2:46] » Thank you, chair. Um in section three,

[2:48] that's the corrections by city clerk of

[2:50] code revisor. There's a minor typo in

[2:53] the last clause. It should read or

[2:55] ordinance, comma, section, comma, or

[2:57] subsection numbering. So, if um the

[3:00] committee recommends this goes forward

[3:02] to uh council, um I would recommend that

[3:05] that uh typo be fixed.

[3:08] » Council members, are there is there any

[3:10] objection to changing the wording and

[3:11] and cleaning it up as we move forward?

[3:14] Hearing none, we'll accept that as an

[3:17] amended portion to tonight's agenda

[3:20] bill. And with that, I'm going to call

[3:21] on

[3:22] on Chief Hores to bring us up to speed

[3:28] on changes to the compression brakes.

[3:30] And this is to approve ordinance 1317

[3:34] and amend the Snowquali Municipal Code

[3:37] of 10.24

[3:40] on compression brakes. You can do it

[3:43] from the comfort of your chair. You

[3:45] don't even need to stand up.

[3:47] » I have a mic now. Uh, good evening,

[3:49] council members, mayor, um, interim

[3:52] chief Gary Horesy. And this agenda bill

[3:55] seeks to repeal and replace chapter 1024

[3:59] on the compression brakes, which was

[4:00] originally adopted by the city in 1986.

[4:04] um throughout or well I'll just say the

[4:08] city of Snomi has received multiple

[4:10] complaints um regarding compression

[4:12] brakes used in the city and

[4:15] through doing some research we have and

[4:19] looking at our previous um or or the

[4:22] current ordinance we feel there needs to

[4:24] be some updates um defining what a motor

[4:26] vehicle is defining what a compression

[4:28] brake Jake brake is um or better known

[4:31] as a Jacob's brake and just kind of

[4:34] updating the code from back then to

[4:37] bring it more into the standards of what

[4:39] Snamami is now with the residential

[4:41] areas to address the concerns especially

[4:43] along the Parkway and 202 where we get a

[4:45] lot of truck traffic. Um, so we're

[4:48] asking to update that with the ordinance

[4:50] that's been presented before you, which

[4:53] define, you know, like I said, defines

[4:54] the engine compression brake, um, of

[4:57] motor vehicle, and then it describes

[5:00] when it shall be used, which we're

[5:02] saying it shall not be used in the city.

[5:05] And then we also updated the penalty

[5:08] from $50 to $250.

[5:11] Um, and then we left we added a piece in

[5:15] there talking about a signage addition,

[5:17] which we already have the signs in

[5:18] place, but our current ordinance doesn't

[5:21] really address that. So, we're adding

[5:23] we're adding that piece in there. Um,

[5:25] and with that, I'm happy to answer any

[5:27] questions or give you a little, you

[5:29] know, provide more information if

[5:30] needed.

[5:32] » Thank you, Chief. The very first thing,

[5:34] the ordinance as it stands now is from

[5:37] 1986,

[5:39] if I followed correctly. Correct.

[5:41] » And that was before the parkway was even

[5:44] imagined or or built because that came

[5:47] along about 10 years later. You couldn't

[5:51] even go up past where the hospital is

[5:55] now from 18. So just put it in context.

[5:59] Things have changed a little bit and a

[6:01] few houses been built where they're

[6:03] probably affected the most. So that's my

[6:05] commentary. Council member Cotton.

[6:09] » Yes. I just was wondering. So, um cuz

[6:13] even, you know, downtown you can hear,

[6:16] uh both those areas when trucks are

[6:20] trying to run the red light down, you

[6:23] know, to get get back to the the quarry.

[6:25] Um and they uh cuz you can hear them

[6:28] accelerating and trying to beat the

[6:30] light and then they hammer down on the

[6:32] Jake break and um and it the the sound

[6:36] carries tremendously. How will PD um

[6:41] actually enforce that? I mean, unless

[6:43] you're obviously witnessing it. Is there

[6:47] I mean, you can't really do it from uh

[6:49] citizen complaints, right?

[6:51] » No, ma'am. We have to on view the

[6:53] violation. Um we have the officers have

[6:56] been instructed to put a focus and an

[6:58] emphasis on this along the parkway

[6:59] listening for it. Um part of it is is

[7:03] there's twofold to this. Yes, we've

[7:07] and I heard it last week sitting in my

[7:09] office working on um other things where

[7:12] I heard the Jake break being utilized.

[7:14] » Yeah.

[7:15] » Um but we also have the noise coming up

[7:17] the parkway where they're just trying to

[7:19] maintain a speed. So there's but there's

[7:22] two different distinct sounds. The Jake

[7:23] brake has a little bit of a faster

[7:25] repetition to it because it's

[7:27] compression pushed back on the engine

[7:29] from the exhaust system. And so um

[7:34] we'll on view and then we will you know

[7:37] issue a citation if necessary. You know

[7:39] there's officer discretion in that. Um

[7:42] but we're we've also asked and I'll get

[7:45] into it a little bit later on the next

[7:46] presentation. But I've also asked for

[7:48] this to be addressed with the commercial

[7:50] motor vehicle division of state patrol

[7:53] um while they're out in the area just to

[7:54] provide assistance when our officers are

[7:56] tied up on things or not necessarily on

[7:58] the parkway. So, I've asked for a little

[8:00] bit of assistance that will be addressed

[8:02] more so in other other areas or they can

[8:04] site into our court and then we would

[8:07] obviously site into our court on a

[8:08] municipal side. Um whether it's under

[8:11] the 1986 version at $50 or if we update

[8:15] it in the, you know, next council

[8:17] meetings that it would be a $250 fine or

[8:20] whatever y'all may choose to change or

[8:24] whatever. This we're recommending a $250

[8:26] fine.

[8:27] » Yes. A followup council member followup

[8:30] is um so if we pass this through

[8:33] whatever the fine and I agree with it

[8:35] being a higher fine is this something

[8:37] where um we could notify all the

[8:40] trucking companies out there by Mil Pond

[8:43] um uh the owners that hey this has gone

[8:47] up and it's going to it could make a

[8:49] dent in your wallet. So, I've already

[8:52] started reaching out to some of those

[8:54] companies through our officer who's

[8:55] actually on light duty right now going,

[8:57] "Hey, we're seeing these issues." And

[9:00] one of them we'll talk about in a little

[9:01] bit and reaching out to the companies

[9:02] that we see frequently down the Parkway

[9:04] going, "Hey, we're trying to address

[9:07] this. We're giving you a heads up and

[9:09] we're just doing that communication

[9:10] going, we need y'all to help us."

[9:13] » Great.

[9:14] » So, there is that notification already

[9:16] taking place in a lot of areas.

[9:17] » Super. Okay.

[9:19] » All right. Council member Holloway,

[9:22] » Why 250?

[9:24] » Uh, I looked at different uh ordinances

[9:26] and and talked to the prosecutor's

[9:28] office and that was something that is

[9:30] just kind of becoming more of a

[9:32] standard. They range from anywhere from

[9:34] 150 to 250 based on the time frame from

[9:38] 1986. Obviously, inflation has changed

[9:42] what they what fines look like and

[9:46] um so I'm kind of trying to stay with

[9:47] industry standard right now. Okay. And

[9:51] » Go ahead.

[9:52] » Help me. Why why we're making this

[9:55] change? I again uh the defining of a

[9:59] compression brake.

[10:01] I don't necessarily believe that helps

[10:03] you in further enforcement, but it does

[10:05] define it. Defining a motor vehicle. I

[10:08] think we know a tractor is a motor

[10:10] vehicle. So, I don't think we often get

[10:11] questions along those lines. Is really

[10:14] the intent here to do some of that

[10:16] cleanup, but also to update the fine

[10:18] level. just to do everything kind of

[10:20] bring it up to speed to say that when

[10:22] they're not authorized provide the

[10:24] definition of what they are because

[10:25] there's different variations of it so

[10:27] it's not just a Jacobson break which is

[10:30] a brand name um and then yes to to

[10:33] update the penalties and then we

[10:35] obviously added the signage piece into

[10:37] this saying that we have it posted which

[10:39] we already do but it's not currently

[10:41] listed in our ordinance so we're just

[10:44] kind of bringing everything up to speed

[10:46] » And the prior ordinance inhibited you

[10:47] from enforcement No, it just we're

[10:50] trying to clearly define it so that

[10:51] there's no argument on the court side

[10:53] and prosecution saying, "Well, you

[10:55] didn't post it, but this way we're

[10:57] saying we we we have signs posted on the

[10:59] Parkway going both directions saying

[11:02] compression brakes are illegal."

[11:05] » Um, but it's not in there. So, it just

[11:07] helps us with the prosecution side when

[11:09] I ran it through them that they asked

[11:10] for that to be defined as well.

[11:15] Any further questions, council member?

[11:20] That's good. I've got one. Does speed

[11:24] have anything to do with increased

[11:26] usage? Because as you're mentioning that

[11:28] you can hear from your office, the

[11:31] trucks coming up the parkway as well as

[11:33] those that are coming down and breaking.

[11:37] » So compression brakes are used on the

[11:38] downhill.

[11:40] » They're not on the uphill. So speed can

[11:42] play a factor in it a little bit. Um

[11:46] it's it it also depends on what their

[11:48] weight load is and everything else. If

[11:50] they're hauling, let's say they're

[11:52] leaving the construction site at the

[11:54] hospital or at I90 and 18 when they were

[11:58] moving a bunch of stuff, the heavier the

[12:00] load, the louder that compression

[12:02] break's going to be because it's got a

[12:03] heavier weight limit that it's trying to

[12:05] reduce. So it's kind of a combination of

[12:07] those two. Um, and then the noise going

[12:12] up is just them carrying that work, that

[12:15] load up the hill.

[12:16] » Okay.

[12:17] » All right.

[12:17] » And it's as much a style on the part of

[12:19] the driver as it is. He can use the

[12:22] brakes. They're designed for it. He

[12:24] wants to save on the brakes. He'll use

[12:26] the Jake it. So, it driver option.

[12:30] » Okay. All right. Any further questions?

[12:34] Mayor Administration,

[12:36] uh, other council member Cotton,

[12:40] do do you have any issues moving this

[12:43] forward to the full council for

[12:45] consideration at this point?

[12:47] » No issues.

[12:48] » No issues.

[12:49] » And this is a two reading

[12:52] » Process anyway. Okay. And if there's no

[12:55] objection, we'll just go ahead and ask

[12:57] for that on the FNA calendar and and for

[13:00] on the uh regular calendar as well.

[13:04] Okay. I

[13:05] » Think it's already there.

[13:06] » All right. Yeah. Well,

[13:08] » Written ready to go tomorrow. Yeah.

[13:10] » Fabulous.

[13:12] » Okay. Excellent. Thank you. Hearing no

[13:14] objection, we will move the agenda bill

[13:16] AB26-005

[13:19] ordinance amending chapter 10.24

[13:23] compression breaks to the council

[13:26] agenda.

[13:28] And we've got two more items of

[13:31] discussion. Is there anything else? Are

[13:34] you good?

[13:36] » You're good.

[13:37] » Yes.

[13:39] All right.

[13:39] » We We realized we didn't know which one

[13:41] of us was going to cause it to be on the

[13:43] screen.

[13:43] » Oh, okay. I can do it.

[13:45] » That's important. Okay. So, while you're

[13:48] queuing that up over there. Yes.

[13:50] » Because all I do is sit here and just

[13:51] kind of entertain everyone. Um our our

[13:54] next point is to go on to discussions.

[13:57] And the very first one is the uh police

[14:01] chief timeline. And who is leading off

[14:04] on this?

[14:05] » That's the one we're trying to put on

[14:06] this.

[14:08] » Jimmy, can you promote me to panelist so

[14:10] I can share my screen

[14:11] » On the edge of our seats?

[14:31] There we go.

[14:33] » Can you all see that tweet day?

[14:37] » A bit.

[14:37] » Mayor, I presume you're presenting on

[14:39] this,

[14:40] » Correct?

[14:41] » All right.

[14:42] » All right.

[14:42] » Mayor Mayhew,

[14:44] » That is the uh the calendar for March.

[14:48] So, the 23rd, 24th, and 25th of March.

[14:52] Um this is the timeline we have for

[14:55] interviews, public interviews, council

[14:58] interviews, the various interviews that

[15:00] are going to happen uh with um the

[15:03] police chief finalist candidates. So I

[15:06] wanted to make you aware of that. Um so

[15:09] on the 23rd um there's some internal

[15:13] interviewing still going on. On the 24th

[15:17] we'll have meet and greets in the

[15:18] council chambers from 2 to 4:00. We've

[15:21] invited business owners from throughout

[15:23] the city to come in and they'll have a

[15:25] chance to just interact with the

[15:27] different candidates from 6:30 to 8. Uh

[15:31] same thing this time we've just invited

[15:33] the community residents to come in. Um

[15:36] the idea between doing those two groups

[15:39] separately is that they might have

[15:40] different sort of nature of questions um

[15:43] focus of questions. So, we want to

[15:46] enable that. And then it's also two two

[15:48] different times of day so that folks

[15:50] that can um maybe not make one can make

[15:53] the other.

[15:55] Then, uh on uh the 25th, Wednesday the

[15:58] 25th from 4 to 6:00 p.m. we'll have a

[16:01] council meet and greet. So, this is just

[16:02] you council members. Um

[16:07] chairs over there.

[16:08] » Oh, yes.

[16:10] » Yes, please. Council member C.

[16:12] » Interject. Isn't this the one where we

[16:14] had one of the um conflicts with

[16:16] schedule because that is um you know

[16:21] coming up on on when we were having the

[16:23] SVGA meeting or is this to try and get

[16:26] it done before we

[16:28] » No, that was just a there was an error

[16:29] in the email that went out to you. There

[16:31] actually never was a conflict. We just

[16:33] told you the wrong date. So the email

[16:34] that I sent to you said that the thing

[16:37] that you see there on the 25th

[16:39] » Uhhuh. In my email to you, I told you it

[16:41] was on the 24th, which would have been a

[16:43] conflict because the 24th is the SVGA

[16:46] meeting.

[16:47] » No, that's

[16:48] » I'm saying it backwards.

[16:49] » Yeah, the SVGA meetings are on

[16:52] Wednesday.

[16:52] » Yes.

[16:54] » They've always been on the last

[16:55] Wednesday.

[16:56] » All right, let I'll just make sure that

[16:58] this is clarified, but the day that we

[17:00] have lined up for you is not the same

[17:03] day as the SVGA. So now if this is an

[17:06] error,

[17:07] » I thought it got moved to Thursday by an

[17:10] email from Nicole.

[17:11] » Yeah, we never moved it. It was just

[17:13] that we told you the wrong thing. So let

[17:15] me find out. Sounds like I need to

[17:17] double check the calendar.

[17:19] Uh and um clear this up. So I'll send

[17:22] you an email.

[17:23] » Okay. meaning the three of you

[17:26] » Uh and if there's any correcting this

[17:29] and uh if there's any mistake in what's

[17:32] gone out to the full council then we'll

[17:33] correct that as well.

[17:35] » Great. Thank you.

[17:36] » Um so over those three days uh the point

[17:38] here is um well the point was to tell

[17:41] you the plan but uh three different

[17:43] groups of community

[17:46] uh meet and greets with the candidates

[17:50] um is kind of our plan over a three-day

[17:52] period.

[17:54] Uh, Council Member Holloway.

[17:57] » Uh, and where does the council

[18:00] participate in interviews?

[18:03] » Uh, that's the 4 to 6 PM meet and greet

[18:06] on the 25th.

[18:08] » That's a meet and greet.

[18:09] » Yeah.

[18:10] » It has often been the case where the

[18:11] council participates in interviews

[18:14] in addition to meet and greet.

[18:16] » We didn't wasn't planning to do that.

[18:22] I I don't like that

[18:27] again it has been practice council

[18:29] participate in the interview

[18:30] particularly of

[18:32] » Department

[18:32] » Director chief and what and at that

[18:35] level um

[18:38] » It will be hard to schedule a seven

[18:42] council member interview. No, no, no.

[18:44] » It's representative. It's like two

[18:46] council members participate in one of

[18:48] the interview panels.

[18:50] » Uh or there's usually a a staff level

[18:54] interview and then there's a uh call

[18:58] executive level interview and the

[19:01] council participates one to two members

[19:03] in that executive level interview.

[19:07] um

[19:10] mean and greet again the the positions

[19:12] have to be ratified by the council I it

[19:17] helps in that decision.

[19:19] » Yeah. So the goal here was to enable the

[19:21] full council to have interaction with

[19:23] the candidates so they'd be in a

[19:24] position to cast their vote to

[19:27] um confirm or not confirm an

[19:29] appointment. And so since every council

[19:32] member has to take that vote, the goal

[19:34] was to try and enable all of the council

[19:37] members to have interaction that would

[19:38] allow them to do that. Um I I'm guessing

[19:42] you're not against that or

[19:44] » I'm not against the meet and greet.

[19:47] Se uh representative council members

[19:49] need to participate in an interview

[19:52] panel.

[19:53] your choice where,

[19:56] but there needs to be participation by

[19:58] representative council in that interview

[20:00] process.

[20:02] We're not going to get down to issues

[20:04] over cheese and grape juice. I won't say

[20:07] wine. Uh because I assume it's not wine.

[20:11] » We wish.

[20:12] » Yeah, we wish. It should be a lot

[20:13] easier.

[20:14] » So, switching back to the meet and greet

[20:16] for just a moment. Um, the goal is to

[20:18] absolutely make that a a useful meeting

[20:20] because the only people invited are the

[20:22] seven council members. So, whatever

[20:24] format that So, I know you're talking

[20:26] about something else. I'm not ignoring

[20:27] that. I'm just saying with regard to the

[20:29] meet and greet, if you'd let us know how

[20:32] what would be the most useful format for

[20:34] the meet and greet that all seven of you

[20:36] hopefully will be able to participate

[20:38] in, I'd like to set that up in whatever

[20:40] format is most helpful. Um,

[20:45] and then your other request is have one

[20:47] or two council members involved on an

[20:50] interview panel as well. So, I'm hearing

[20:53] that, but if you, so I don't have an

[20:55] answer for you on that right now. We'll

[20:56] have to go back and think about that.

[20:57] But with regard to the meet and greet,

[20:59] if you could tell us if the, you know,

[21:02] what format would be most useful, that

[21:04] would be great.

[21:06] I think the the point is this, mayor, is

[21:10] we've all gone through several different

[21:14] panels and and department heads and and

[21:17] typically the chair of each of the

[21:19] committees is involved in it plus

[21:22] another member could be from the the

[21:24] committee or or another committee, one

[21:26] of the seven. But but being involved in

[21:30] that process has been enlightening

[21:33] because we bring the perspective of

[21:35] hopefully all seven and our concerns and

[21:39] we kind of come back with a sense of

[21:41] trust and by the time it's determined

[21:45] who the pick is, there's there's already

[21:50] um buy in by certain members and we look

[21:55] to each other for that guidance. and you

[21:57] were part of the council as well. So I

[21:59] mean this is not foreign to you as well.

[22:02] Um but I think to council member

[22:04] Holloway and I think council member

[22:06] Cotton is going to chime in here in a

[22:09] moment as well which I I welcome is it

[22:12] just we need to make sure there's a

[22:14] diversity of point of view because what

[22:17] we as the seven council members is what

[22:19] you were a part of. we we have a

[22:22] different perspective than what other

[22:24] department heads other folks that may be

[22:27] um uh stakeholders in the community and

[22:30] we come together and coales and then

[22:33] when that person is chosen hopefully

[22:36] we're all of the same mindset and and I

[22:39] think that's part of the concern and and

[22:41] secondly it comes back to open public

[22:43] meeting acts if we are seven meeting u

[22:47] the candidate I'm not sure that it's

[22:51] going to give the right perception if

[22:54] it's closed and not inclusive of the

[22:57] community so that we're not like

[23:00] creating and and making decision on our

[23:03] own. And I I I think you know, attorney

[23:06] Burke may

[23:08] want to chime in or may not. All right.

[23:11] Can we just go you brought up a whole

[23:12] bunch of points so let's go through

[23:14] them. That'd be all right.

[23:15] » Sure.

[23:16] » First off, one of the things I'm

[23:18] responding to is complaints by your

[23:20] fellow council members about council

[23:23] members who have been excluded. They

[23:25] weren't on the interview panel and have

[23:29] expressed several of them um frustration

[23:33] with that. So the goal here, my goal is

[23:36] to include the council in ways that make

[23:39] the counsel let the council get to the

[23:42] very important confirmation decision

[23:44] they have to make in the way that most

[23:46] helps you. So, this is not a um

[23:50] difference of opinion. Whatever helps

[23:52] you is what we're going to do. So, um

[23:55] what I need to hear from you is what

[23:57] would help you and then that's what

[23:59] we'll do. But do be mindful that um

[24:03] council members that aren't the ones

[24:04] that are on the interview panel have

[24:08] expressed frustration with that. So,

[24:10] I'm, you know, if we can find some set

[24:12] of things, maybe it's a meet and greet

[24:13] and panel like, if we can find some set

[24:15] of things that kind of help all seven of

[24:18] you get to the decision you need to

[24:19] make, then that's what I'm in favor of.

[24:22] Um, city attorney, one one question was

[24:24] brought up is this meet and greet um and

[24:29] OPMA concerns. Do you have any comment

[24:30] on that?

[24:31] » Uh, yes, mayor. I would recommend it

[24:33] being noticed as a special meeting. So

[24:35] technically members of the public could

[24:36] attend in the audience um but it could

[24:39] be you know whatever format you know

[24:42] council desires you know for asking the

[24:45] candidates questions.

[24:48] » Thank you council member Cotton. Um, so

[24:51] my question kind of dovtales in on that

[24:53] last part is that and I do think we

[24:56] should at least do a combination of the

[24:58] two, have several council members

[25:02] involved with the interviews and then we

[25:04] can also have the council meet and greet

[25:06] so nobody's noses get out of joint about

[25:08] not being on the interview panel. My

[25:11] question was more to you you had made a

[25:13] comment mayor about us um kind of

[25:17] coalesing or you know our vote and so in

[25:21] what when would we do that since uh as

[25:26] far as making a a decision uh of the

[25:30] council? um because obviously we would

[25:33] want to be talking about it probably

[25:36] amongst ourselves as far as you know if

[25:39] it was down to a couple candidates and

[25:41] things like that. So what's the kind of

[25:43] the vision or process we see for for

[25:46] that or

[25:48] » If I may just as a reminder the pick of

[25:52] the administrative head is the mayor's

[25:55] unless I'm wrong is the mayor's choice

[25:58] but they're confirmed by the council. So

[26:01] we go through this process. It's a

[26:03] vetting process and then the mayor gets

[26:06] to make the ultimate recommendation back

[26:09] to the council. And council member

[26:12] Holloway, you've been through this a

[26:14] gazillion times. Um, please help me if

[26:18] I'm missing anything.

[26:20] » Use a different number, but

[26:22] » You're a veteran. You're a veteran. So,

[26:25] so as far as that, I mean, what we're

[26:27] doing is we're helping vet the

[26:30] candidates and help the mayor and his

[26:32] decision, but it's ultimately the mayor

[26:34] that gets to choose who he appoints and

[26:38] we confirm. Is that correct?

[26:41] » Yeah, that's absolutely correct. And and

[26:43] the the point I'd add here is the

[26:46] council members have a lot of

[26:50] well evidently one of them has a lot of

[26:52] experience gazillion times. Um others

[26:56] have may no but in all seriousness

[26:58] council members have a perspective that

[27:00] will will advise. So I think um as I

[27:04] make this choice the advice of council

[27:06] members is something I very much could

[27:08] use. So I think there's two concepts

[27:11] here is help advise

[27:14] great that will help me and guide me in

[27:17] my decision. Um but ultimately

[27:20] you have as a body the final say you

[27:23] will either confirm or not. So you are

[27:24] also trying to accomplish your own task

[27:27] of deciding each of you how you will

[27:30] vote. So there sort of two things I'm

[27:31] hoping to get out of this. The advice

[27:33] and then obviously the confirmation of

[27:36] whatever choice. And to the question of

[27:38] what's the time frame,

[27:41] my answer is it sort of depends. It may

[27:44] be that we go through this process and

[27:48] most people feel that the answer is very

[27:50] clear, very quickly and we move quickly.

[27:53] It may be that it's not so clear. So um

[27:56] it sort of depends how we go. So, I

[27:57] haven't put in a specific date, but the

[28:00] intention would be to move following

[28:02] this process

[28:04] expeditiously, shall we say, to a

[28:06] decision.

[28:09] » So, Council Member Holloway,

[28:15] » Privately, I can tell you offline, there

[28:17] have been two separate occasions when I

[28:19] have advised the mayor, the then

[28:20] standing mayor not to pick a particular

[28:23] candidate for various reasons. I can

[28:26] name two instances in which that advice

[28:28] was

[28:29] uh taken but gone a different direction

[28:32] and proved very detrimental to the city.

[28:36] You've left no opportunity for that

[28:38] interaction that happened as part of the

[28:40] interview activity. If you are setting

[28:43] this up in which if I don't like a

[28:46] candidate, I've got to rip him open in a

[28:48] public meeting. I'm kind of at the stage

[28:50] my career I'll do that.

[28:52] Okay. But I don't think that's a proper

[28:54] way. I don't think that leads to good

[28:57] feelings at that meeting if we have to,

[29:00] you know, basically gut the candidate in

[29:02] public.

[29:04] Um whe whichever way the vote goes, uh

[29:08] I'd rather step into it and part of that

[29:10] is council representative council

[29:13] participation in the interview on which

[29:15] there can be again post discussion of

[29:20] good candidate, bad candidate, don't

[29:21] like that, like that. What does that

[29:23] mean? Um, so

[29:27] I

[29:30] you tell I'm strongly feeling it there

[29:32] needs to be council participation in an

[29:34] interview format.

[29:37] » Mayor Mayhe,

[29:38] » That's sounds fantastic. I think um my

[29:41] intention which I sort of wrote down

[29:43] here, maybe we need to actually come

[29:45] back to you and talk about or or lay out

[29:47] a consultation process. My thought was

[29:49] frankly after the council meet and

[29:52] greet, my intention was to in fact poll

[29:55] one and when I say poll, let me say it

[29:58] differently to speak with each of the

[30:01] seven council members and receive their

[30:04] advice individually and

[30:09] sort of in whatever length of time to

[30:12] sort of explore that. So I really had an

[30:14] idea of a process of really going to the

[30:16] council members who had done who had

[30:19] come hopefully all of them saying what

[30:22] did you think why tell me more you know

[30:24] what about this what about that and

[30:27] really kind of um get the full benefit

[30:29] of of that advice. So the intent my

[30:33] intent is a process of interacting with

[30:36] you all oneonone excuse me oneon-one. So

[30:40] maybe we should sort of put that in

[30:41] there. Process time frame, a

[30:44] consultation process time. So um I'll

[30:47] think about that and put it on uh put it

[30:49] on the agenda or on the calendar.

[30:53] » May May I make another suggestion? And I

[30:55] I have similar feelings. However,

[30:58] they're they're honed a little

[30:59] differently. That's all. Um and I I

[31:02] think the the concern is this.

[31:06] You have several panel, you have two

[31:09] panel interviews. I don't know exactly

[31:12] what you know what the format is on

[31:15] that. I'd like to see

[31:19] um the council members that want to

[31:22] participate in the interview process be

[31:25] included somehow some way. And for

[31:28] instance, maybe they're included in the

[31:31] panel interviews

[31:33] where there's a couple council members,

[31:37] but also give them the option if if they

[31:39] don't have the time to participate in

[31:42] the meet and greet with the business

[31:44] owners to hear that context with the

[31:47] community to hear that compact context

[31:51] or be included in the mayor's interview

[31:54] um panel. That would be my suggestion.

[31:56] And maybe all seven or six now six um

[32:02] four or five are able to and somebody's

[32:05] just simply because of their schedule

[32:07] not able to. I think that there would be

[32:10] more comfort around the council and

[32:12] that's what I'm hearing from council

[32:14] member Holloway and we've all have hired

[32:17] people whether it's through the city or

[32:19] through our own businesses

[32:22] and realize the times that you know

[32:25] those interviews you try to make them a

[32:27] little bit better each time because um

[32:31] that's the one chance where you can kind

[32:33] of

[32:35] understand a little bit more deeply

[32:37] about the candidate. And I totally agree

[32:40] with council member Holloway and that is

[32:43] just doing the meet and greet and and us

[32:45] all being really nice to each other and

[32:48] and sometimes the brutal reality is

[32:51] business has to happen and the business

[32:55] of our community is incredibly

[32:57] important. This is a very important role

[33:00] and um just you know it's it's the

[33:04] process is ultimately up to you but

[33:06] we're just asking for greater

[33:08] involvement than the meet and greet. I

[33:10] think that's what I'm hearing is there

[33:12] there's different ways that we want to

[33:14] be involved and we want to be able to be

[33:17] there to help support whomever you pick

[33:21] and and wholeheartedly support that not

[33:24] only the the confirmation but also in

[33:27] supporting them going forward. So that's

[33:30] that's just my one perspective to it.

[33:34] Council member Holloway. So, why don't

[33:36] we put on the council agenda one, a

[33:38] discussion on uh meet and greet options.

[33:41] If you guys could give us some talking

[33:43] material, it's kind of an open-ended

[33:44] question at this stage, and that'll get

[33:47] silenced. Um uh to have a discussion on

[33:52] a

[33:53] council panel interview uh and get

[33:56] you're hearing you're hearing, Jim, I'll

[33:59] tell you, you're hearing from three

[34:00] council members.

[34:02] and I'm not hearing

[34:05] acceptance of the feedback. So, let's

[34:08] put it on the council agenda. Make sure

[34:11] you're just not hearing from uh three

[34:13] minority members with full council.

[34:15] Let's have a discussion on council

[34:17] panel.

[34:18] » Okay.

[34:20] » Yeah, Barry,

[34:21] » If I could please.

[34:22] » Um I'm not sure why you're not hearing

[34:25] yes because I'm practically screaming

[34:27] yes. Um

[34:28] » Because you haven't made any changes to

[34:29] that chart. I

[34:31] » He doesn't like the font either.

[34:33] » I don't like the font either. That is a

[34:34] horrible font. But

[34:40] » That was not going to bring that up.

[34:44] » But but I So how are we changing this

[34:47] and where does council participate?

[34:49] » Yes, that deserves an answer.

[34:52] » And we don't have to have one tonight.

[34:54] You have

[34:55] » Look, this requires thought. Honestly,

[34:58] we can't put council members in panels

[35:00] with staff. Just cancel the interview.

[35:03] Staff will shut up the minute one of you

[35:04] show. That doesn't work.

[35:06] » That's inappropriate.

[35:07] » So, I absolutely hear what you want. I

[35:09] absolutely I'm trying to tell you, yes,

[35:11] we'll find a way to facilitate what you

[35:13] want. I just got to figure out how that

[35:15] will work.

[35:16] » And I'm not going to shoot from the hip,

[35:18] but give us 24 hours to figure it out.

[35:21] » That's fair.

[35:22] Okay. Thank you very much, Mayor.

[35:26] Right. Sorry.

[35:28] » Oh, I just wanted to say from a legal

[35:30] perspective.

[35:32] » Yes. Yes, please.

[35:34] » Sorry.

[35:35] » Bernie Burke, you you got precedence

[35:37] over all of it.

[35:38] » Oh, thanks. Um

[35:41] just um if we could get 24 hours notice

[35:43] so we can post potential quorum or

[35:45] special meetings. That's the only thing

[35:46] I would ask for.

[35:48] » Can we change the font?

[35:49] » I I can draft this, but absolutely. I

[35:52] will tell the person who drafted it to

[35:53] change the font.

[35:54] » Okay. That was just a side thumb at you,

[35:56] Rebecca.

[35:57] » Make it a big deal. Go ahead.

[35:58] » Yes, please. To

[35:59] » Be fair, I made it just for the mayor

[36:01] and the mayor said that he loved it and

[36:03] to ask.

[36:04] » So, I made it for him only.

[36:06] » Oh, well, now that we know that the font

[36:09] is fine.

[36:10] » No, but next time you make it for the

[36:12] mayor, you ask him, "Are you going to

[36:13] present it?"

[36:16] » Ask that next time for sure.

[36:19] » Thank you. Sorry. Sorry to out you on

[36:21] your font.

[36:23] All right. Moving

[36:28] right along. Let's let's let's switch

[36:30] gears million. But any go on. Let's

[36:33] let's switch gears over to covered load

[36:36] enforcement discussion. Uh

[36:40] » Chief, which chief wants to take this

[36:42] one on,

[36:45] » Please?

[36:45] » Uh good evening, council members again.

[36:46] Um so this is more of a discussion just

[36:49] to kind of update. We've been receiving

[36:51] a number of complaints um around the

[36:54] city, mostly down the Parkway for

[36:57] unsecured loads, uh big trucks that

[36:59] don't have their um loads covered,

[37:02] things like that. Um things falling from

[37:04] them in different areas of the Parkway.

[37:07] So, as I kind of mentioned earlier,

[37:08] we've been reaching out to some of those

[37:10] companies that have been pointed out to

[37:11] us by community members when they see it

[37:14] and they get the name off the truck and

[37:16] we'll reach out to them because again we

[37:18] have to on view that violation

[37:21] which is an RCW. And then I've asked all

[37:24] the officers to again be mindful, pay

[37:26] attention, watch for things. if you see

[37:29] something falling out or you see an

[37:30] unsecured load that they take

[37:32] enforcement action or at least an

[37:34] education piece going hey next time or

[37:37] you know whatever they feel that

[37:38] discretion needs to be um we've had some

[37:41] vehicles that have been struck um by

[37:44] falling debris things like that so we're

[37:46] taking it very seriously I've asked

[37:48] Washington State Patrol's commercial

[37:50] commercial motor vehicle division to

[37:52] come out and provide a continuous um

[37:55] assistance to us and kind of to help us

[37:58] curb some of the commercial motor

[38:00] vehicle things that are going on again

[38:03] the use of compression brakes and now

[38:05] this and they have agreed they're

[38:08] assigning that out. I've been in

[38:09] communication by email to uh one of the

[38:13] lieutenants and then the uh supervisor

[38:16] over the lieutenant that's actually over

[38:17] the commercial motor vehicle division in

[38:19] this section uh or in this district for

[38:22] them. So we're taking it serious. We're

[38:24] going to have some, you know, if we see

[38:26] it, we will address it and hopefully

[38:29] curb this uh concern. Uh, and we're

[38:32] looking at both areas, 202 and the

[38:35] Parkway, which is our, you know,

[38:37] frequently traveled areas. I don't

[38:38] haven't had any complaints of them in

[38:40] any of the subdivisions, obviously, but

[38:42] those are our main focus points.

[38:47] » I do have a question. I I think this is

[38:49] an awesome thing. Thank you for doing

[38:51] the covered loads.

[38:53] I have seen large rigs parked in

[38:57] neighborhoods and I don't know if that's

[39:00] an issue. Maybe it was weather related

[39:03] but um with loads huge industrial loads

[39:07] like for instance a week ago there were

[39:10] there was a flatbed truck with several

[39:14] rolls of astroturf huge rolls parked in

[39:18] one of the neighborhoods. I don't

[39:20] remember where. Um, and you know, the

[39:24] more that we can do to make sure that

[39:28] um, we have a lot of truck traffic that

[39:31] goes up and down the Parkway. The

[39:33] parkway is not built for trucks to begin

[39:35] with. It's built for cars,

[39:39] even though it looks like a freeway. I

[39:41] think the more that we can do to help

[39:43] bring some harmony to our residents,

[39:47] the better off we are. So, yay on Jake

[39:51] brakes, yay on covered loads. Um, third

[39:56] one is speed and you're addressing that.

[39:59] Maybe we need cameras for uncovered

[40:01] loads. I don't know. But anyway, um,

[40:04] those are my perspectives as far as this

[40:07] is a discussion for the committee. Is

[40:10] um, the other council members have any

[40:12] questions or input?

[40:15] I

[40:16] » Covered loads

[40:17] » For those companies. If you know, if

[40:20] Jake breaks are an issue, uncovered

[40:21] loads are an issue, wear and tear on the

[40:23] streets an issue, maybe that's a

[40:26] non-commercial street.

[40:28] » And and you know, to address like the

[40:31] parking concerns, we've been addressing

[40:32] parking concerns with the 18-wheelers.

[40:34] Um we had we had one not that long ago

[40:37] on Douglas um that we addressed and and

[40:42] we're constantly reviewing things. I

[40:44] mean, you're going to see several

[40:45] ordinances over the next, you know, year

[40:48] or more where we're just trying to

[40:50] update things that, you know, I think we

[40:52] have one coming forward to y'all soon

[40:54] that was original from 1903.

[40:57] Um, so there's a lot of things that we

[40:59] just have to bring and and get up to

[41:01] date and if we see something, we are

[41:03] addressing it. Um, parking is one of

[41:05] those concerns um, specifically for the

[41:09] downtown area um, because there's a lot

[41:12] of issues there. But with this issue, it

[41:15] is something that would is on our radar.

[41:17] We need to, you know, at least address

[41:19] it and and like I said, we're also

[41:21] communicating with those companies. Um,

[41:23] once we're told who they are, if

[41:25] somebody sees it, even if we don't see

[41:27] it and they just shoot us an email, that

[41:30] communication goes a long way with a

[41:32] company. when I when we contact

[41:34] management go, hey, this is what was

[41:37] seen today. Can you have a conversation

[41:39] with your truck drivers? And then we go

[41:41] from there.

[41:42] » Thank you. Council member Cotton,

[41:45] » Is is there an ordinance already

[41:47] existing like from 1986 on the covered

[41:50] load uh enforcement?

[41:53] » So that so the covering of loads is

[41:55] actually handled by the RCW. It's under

[41:57] the unsecured load. So we don't need an

[41:59] ordinance on that one. Um it's state

[42:01] law.

[42:01] » Okay. And so there's that's one of the

[42:03] reasons like commercial having

[42:05] commercial motor vehicle group from

[42:06] state patrol come out. It's across the

[42:09] board the same. They're not trying to

[42:10] enforce an ordinance citing it in our

[42:12] court. Theirs would go to district

[42:14] court. Ours would go to municipal court,

[42:16] but it's the same law.

[42:18] » Okay. Thank you.

[42:20] » Thank you, Mayor. Please, if

[42:22] » I could, um, we've had a

[42:25] increasing number of complaints come in

[42:27] on, um, covered loads. To to be

[42:31] specific, they don't complain about

[42:32] covered load. They complain about the

[42:34] little rock chips hitting their

[42:36] windshield and, you know, boom, there's

[42:38] your $500 deductible and your insurance

[42:41] rate goes up next year. So um

[42:45] the the a question I have for you is um

[42:50] as we sort of move into more enforcement

[42:52] of this, is this something you want to

[42:54] have a discussion with at council such

[42:56] that um uh and is it something you want

[43:00] us to start doing some um communications

[43:03] around so we start to get the word out

[43:06] to residents that really we are being

[43:08] responsive to this concern. Um so i.e.

[43:12] the great police department's doing some

[43:14] things. Do you want to do beyond that do

[43:17] some communications things around this

[43:19] maybe with the rest of the council and

[43:21] or with the rest of the community?

[43:27] » We'll do a round robin. My preference is

[43:30] the administration just puts out the

[43:32] message that covered loads is important.

[43:37] Jake brakes exists. We have an ordinance

[43:41] and speed is a concern and that can all

[43:43] come from the administration side except

[43:46] we have to pass this this ordinance

[43:49] piece first on that. But um other

[43:52] council members

[43:55] » In the at least the public safety

[43:57] section of the agenda coming council

[43:59] agenda coming up as chair can you just

[44:02] mention that we had conversations in

[44:04] regards to uncovered loads. They've got

[44:07] the Jake break which they'll have.

[44:09] » Um,

[44:11] » And what was the other one?

[44:12] » Speed and parking.

[44:14] » Speed and parking.

[44:15] » Okay.

[44:16] » And just make the rest of the council

[44:17] aware those conversations are going on.

[44:20] And yeah, I got in the community

[44:23] newsletter or whatever. Yeah.

[44:25] » I'm not sure you're getting the right

[44:26] audience, but Yeah.

[44:29] » Okay. Excellent. Thank you. If if I

[44:32] could on the audience, the point there

[44:33] is

[44:35] » To let the community know that we are

[44:37] responding

[44:38] » And that we're we're doing some things

[44:40] in this area. I I think is the point I

[44:42] was trying to make. Yes. The people who

[44:44] are causing the problem are probably not

[44:47] paying attention to our communications.

[44:50] » Okay. Excellent. Thank you, Council

[44:52] Member Cotton.

[44:53] » And that I was along that same line. And

[44:55] I was just wondering if um since the

[44:58] truck drivers uh you know may not reside

[45:01] in this area where they're necessarily

[45:04] reading the the community news but I

[45:07] would think that to emphasize that that

[45:11] you know washed up I is you know

[45:14] Washington State Patrol is also in you

[45:16] know adding to the enforcement fines

[45:20] have been increasing you know all those

[45:22] types of things I think are good

[45:25] um

[45:27] approaches to the to communication that

[45:29] we put out so that that we're taking it

[45:31] seriously.

[45:35] » Well done. Uh one more. Yes.

[45:37] » Are the truck drivers teamsters?

[45:42] » They may or may not be. It depends on

[45:44] the company.

[45:45] » I don't know.

[45:45] » I don't know. It may be interesting to

[45:47] contact the teamsters and say, "Hey,

[45:49] this has become an issue." whether you

[45:51] what whatever they want to do with it.

[45:53] They may do a general

[45:55] community, they probably have a

[45:56] newsletter to say, "Hey,

[45:59] there's heightened concern about

[46:00] unsecured loads and Jake breaks and all

[46:02] that."

[46:03] » May you

[46:04] » Washington Truckers Association, there's

[46:06] a number along the lines of what you're

[46:08] saying. There are groups that we can go

[46:09] to and so we'll do that as well uh to

[46:11] get the the word out. Um, as you all

[46:14] know with regard to the rocks, you know,

[46:16] it's the quarry and they go up the

[46:19] Parkway to get to I90 and when they

[46:22] don't cover the load, um, our residents

[46:26] pay for it with their windshields.

[46:29] » Well, and out of all fairness, covering

[46:32] the load helps to mitigate some of it,

[46:34] but whenever you put loose rock in the

[46:37] bed of a truck,

[46:39] » Happen. So, it's like, yeah, it's just

[46:42] one of those things. But, you know, we

[46:44] we definitely want to do everything to

[46:46] keep our uh community safe. And so,

[46:49] thank you and and thank you, Council

[46:50] Member Holloway. I will definitely make

[46:52] sure that that's part of the report out.

[46:55] Um and then, uh with that, we're down to

[46:58] unless there's anything else you want to

[47:00] add, Chief. Thank you very much, Chief

[47:02] Heresy. Um items for future discussion.

[47:06] Council member Cotton, please. Uh well,

[47:09] you know, I always have something.

[47:11] » That's okay. That's good. That's why

[47:13] » Um and this may actually be more

[47:14] relevant after uh tomorrow's open house

[47:17] or meeting um with the public. But um I

[47:21] would certainly like to see um even

[47:24] though the um uh Jupiter Power um

[47:28] battery energy storage system uh is not

[47:32] within the city limits, it's immediately

[47:34] adjacent.

[47:36] And um I do believe it's a matter of

[47:38] public safety in the fact that our fire

[47:42] department will be the first uh agency

[47:45] to respond to any uh issues there. And

[47:49] so I I certainly think that, you know,

[47:52] pending what what's happening going

[47:55] forward, this is something that

[47:57] definitely needs to be on our radar from

[48:00] a public safety standpoint.

[48:02] um that that uh we would probably be

[48:05] having more discussions about.

[48:07] » Okay. Well, we will take that under

[48:09] advisement. The um the current permit

[48:13] process has been halted. They've

[48:16] withdrawn the the permit. However,

[48:18] there's a public hearing tomorrow night

[48:20] or a public presentation tomorrow night.

[48:22] Public presentation. Thank you. Sorry,

[48:25] said the wrong thing. Um where we can

[48:27] learn more about it and we'll continue

[48:30] to lean in. Um, anything else that uh,

[48:34] Chief Bailey or the mayor would like to

[48:37] add?

[48:39] » We're not right now.

[48:40] » Good. Right. Yeah. We're just kind of on

[48:42] a

[48:42] » Something we're monitoring very closely.

[48:44] Yep.

[48:44] » Yeah. Okay. Anything else for the good

[48:47] of the order?

[48:49] » Hearing none, I will call for the

[48:51] adjournment.

[48:53] Any any objection tojourn?

[48:56] And hearing none, we stand adjourned at

[48:59] 5:50 p.m. Thank you very much.

Public Safety Committee Meeting

Agenda

Transcript