MINUTES
ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
City Hall,
Room 604
5:45 P.M.
MEMBERS PRESENT: Council President Chad Fradette, Council
Vice-President Chris Wery, Ald. John VanderLeest, Ald. Celestine Jeffreys, Ald.
Jerry Wiezbiskie
MEMBERS EXCUSED: Ald. Tom Weber
OTHERS PRESENT: Ald. Andy Nicholson, Ald. Thomas De Wane,
Chief Jeff Stauber, Asst. Chief Don Phillips, Capt. Bill Galvin, Rob Strong,
Atty. Jerry Hanson, Atty. Jon Nitti, Cheryl Renier-Wigg, Andrew Vissers, Chad Weininger,
other interested parties.
1. Call to order.
The meeting was called to
order by Chairman Chad Fradette at 5:50 p.m.
At the start of the meeting, Ald. Vanderleest was absent and Ald. Wery
would be arriving late. Ald. DeWane was
appointed to sit in on the committee for purposes of a quorum, until another
committee member arrived.
2. Approval of the Agenda.
Motion made by Ald. DeWane,
seconded by Ald. Wiezbiskie to approve the agenda. Motion carried.
3. Approval of the Minutes of the February 6, 2007
meeting.
Motion made by Ald.
Wiezbiskie, seconded by Ald. DeWane to approve the minutes of the February 6,
2007 meeting as submitted. Motion
carried.
4. Report by Ald. Nicholson to review the Imperial Lane
project.
Andrew Vissers, Planner
II-Zoning Specialist, gave background on the Imperial Lane area, stating that
last year there was a large scale rezoning along Manitowoc Road and Bader,
rezoning many parcels from R3 to R1 because there were a number of two family
units that were existing in those parcels and it was zoned R3. He said the area they are looking at in this
presentation is the vicinity along Imperial Lane, Winter Lane and Bader and
southward to the city limits with the Village of Bellevue bordered on the west
side by Lime Kiln and on the east by Guns.
He said most of the property
around the Imperial Lane area is zoned R3, which is very dense
residential. He indicated the area
where the Kroc Center is being proposed.
Mr. Vissers said there are approximately 283 residential units within an
area of 18.81 acres, which is just over 15 dwelling units per acre. He said if the vacant parcels are taken out,
it pushes it to 16-17 units per acre, which is more than is allowed by the R3
zoning, adding that this area was developed in the 70’s and 80’s and exceeds
the maximum density that the code allows right now. He said the number of acres in the entire area is a little more
than 78 acres. Mr. Vissers said there
are constraints to developing the property and indicated an area that could be
a wetland and would have to be delineated and there would be a cost to that.
This area is approximately 8 acres and there is also a large 200 foot wide
transmission tower easement that runs directly north to south in the center of
this property, which hampers road network activity. He stated that there is also a question from the Dept. of Public
Works as to getting sewer service to some of these areas. He added that there has to be coordination with
the Village of Bellevue and the Green Bay School District on a road network.
Mr. Vissers gave a power
point presentation on four options that could be considered for the Imperial
Lane area. They are as follows: Option 1 - would keep intact the
western portion of Imperial Lane, while the majority of the western portion
would be cleared and opened up for business park related uses. A new road network would be established
connecting Bader to Debra Lane with medium density residential zoning proposed
just north of the proposed Kroc Center site.
A separate road network would be established on the eastern portion of
the subject area connecting back to Guns Road.
The cost of acquisition of properties in this proposal based on Fair
Market Value is just under $6.9 million and the taxes generated on those
properties would be just over $151,000.
Ald. Vanderleest arrived at
this time.
Option 2 – very similar to Option 1, however more of the
existing western portion of Imperial would remain. The road network on the eastern site of the subject area has been
modified to remove the cul-de-sac as shown in Option 1. General industrial zoning remains on the
southern portion of the subject area.
The cost of acquisition of properties in this proposal based on fair
market value would be just over $6.6 million, and the taxes generated on these
properties is approximately $145,000. Option
3 – eliminates the residential component of Imperial Lane completely. A road network would be established
connecting Guns Road with Lime Kiln Road as well as north/south streets throughout
the study area. Business Park related
uses would be established in the former residential area of Imperial Lane as
well as north of the Kroc Center site, while general industrial related uses
would remain as it is currently zoned on the southern portion. The cost of acquisition of properties in
this proposal based on fair market value is just over $10.2 million. These properties currently generate
approximately $223,720 in taxes per year.
Option 4 – would selectively identify properties that could be
purchased and removed (approximately 62 units) which would thin out the density
in this area. In this option,
acquisition costs would be greatly reduced as well as loss of property taxes
generated, which is approximately $50,709 per year. Acquisition cost of conceptual properties would be just under
$2.3 million.
Ald. Vanderleest asked if
CDBG funds could be used to help with this process? Rob Strong explained that the goal of CDBG and the Home Funds
programs is to create affordable housing and said they could do rehab but would
need to create new housing. Rob said it would be costly to remove all
residential and convert to a business park.
He said this would have limitations, adding that there has not been a
lot of interest in this area from developers, with access not being as good to
the major highways. He suggested using
TIF where they could do a mixed use of residential and commercial or clear it
out and TIF the whole thing to try to get a developer. He said if Option 4 is chosen, it’s important
to work with the property owners and get the buildings in the hands of people
who will invest in them and rehab some of the units. He stated that landlords had attended a couple of meetings in the
past but lost interest when they didn’t get what they wanted. The Kroc Center was discussed as a possible
draw to people wanting to live in this area.
Ald. Wiezbiskie questioned
if there is an Option 5? Rob responded
that he has not marketed this area nationwide, but said the people he has
talked to that have been looking for space in industrial parks have not found
this of interest, but said option 4 allows us to address some of the short-term
concerns of changing the environment that people are living in.
Ald. Nicholson said he has
been working for five years to improve this neighborhood and nothing has
worked. He stated that he’s coming to
City Council and Planning for options to eliminate the density and to change
the environment in this area, adding that it is a fire hazard. He stated that we use a lot of resources
(Inspection and Police) in the Imperial Lane area.
Motion made by Ald.
Vanderleest, seconded by Ald. Jeffreys to refer Option 4 to staff to explore
other options for marketing the Imperial Lane area to developers, to ask that
the City work with Inspection to try to improve problem properties in the
Imperial Lane area, and to report back in three months with an update.
Rob said the biggest
obstacle will be the $2.3 million to secure these properties. He suggested
creating a plan with some incentive packages, to get a developer to buy some of
these properties so the city would not need to purchase them. He stated that it will take some time to
find these people. In response to a question of how this area got to be
overbuilt and not in line with the Comprehensive Plan, Rob responded that he
believes this area was developed prior to ordinances being placed in effect
that require green space and setback.
He said the density was allowed under the ordinance at the time. Mr. Strong said his department will look
more closely at these properties, take a close look at funding sources and try
to project over time how long it will take the city with the resources they
bring to the table. He indicated that
this will give them time to talk with developers.
Ald. Wery arrived at this
time.
A vote was taken on Ald.
Vanderleest’s motion. Motion
carried.
Chairman Fradette requested
a motion to move item #7 up. Motion made by Ald. Jeffreys, seconded by Ald.
Wiezbiskie to move item #7 up. Motion
carried.
7. Request by Ald. Fradette for review of Fire
Department Training. The committee may
convene in closed session pursuant to Section 19.85(1)(c), Wis Stats., for the
purpose of considering employment, promotion, compensation or performance
evaluation data of any public employee over which the governmental body has
jurisdiction. The committee may
thereafter reconvene in open session pursuant to Section 19.85(2), Wis. Stats.
Ald. Fradette said he
requested this review to learn what is going on and to ask what is the plan for
the training division for the future.
Chief Stauber stated that he
accepted the resignation of the training captain in mid December and looked at
this as an opportunity to completely review their training program. He stated that he has been working on job
descriptions and duties with Human Resources for reclassification. He said the position had been a captain and
said there has been a long history of various ranks in that position, from
deputy chief, captain, shift commander captains, shift commander, and said they
have struggled because he believes there is too much work for one or two
people. He said we need to have a
top-notch training program. He said
they have received job descriptions and table of organizations from comparable
departments throughout the state and said he has been working with Shannon
Metzler in Human Resources to write a job description and justification for the
reclassification and said we will come out of it with a better training program
in the end. Chief Stauber indicated
that the position would probably not be filled until July. He stated that Asst. Chief Phillips has
worked hard to maintain the department’s training throughout that period and
said their training calendar for the year is filled with programs that they
have lined up.
Chief Stauber said they are
looking for a Chief Officer for this position, that will be third in command in
the department, and will have experience and knowledge. He indicated that they are using FPA
standard for fire instructor and are looking at the top level, Level 3, which
is Program Management. He stated that
they have been missing a program manger who can do a needs analysis, see that
the program is delivered with the proper curriculum, develop curriculum where
it’s needed and in the end do an evaluation.
He said presently, once we deliver a program there is very little
evaluation done to know if the firefighters/officers have retained any of the
knowledge they were supposed to have gained in the training.
Ald. Vanderleest questioned
the video conferencing equipment? Chief Stauber responded that this equipment
has been a big assistance but is only for the classroom portion and does not
replace a hands-on trainer. He said
with the tasks paramedics and firefighters perform, it’s essential to maintain
a hands-on trainer, or more. He stated
that he anticipates coming to the next budget process with a request for an
additional position; he feels it’s needed because of the hours of mandated
training that firefighters are required to get throughout the year. He said the initial request will go to
Personnel and it will be a reclassification request for the vacated captain’s
position. He stated that they are looking at the entire training program as it
has been done in the past and looking for an opportunity for utilizing the
talent they have in the department; 16 fire instructors, company officers who
in their job duties require that they do the company training, and daily drill
activities.
Chief Stauber clarified that
he is looking to hire one person who would be a chief officer and program
manager. He again said in the next
budget cycle he believes they will be able come forward with a recommendation
if they can do with a half-time person, another full time person, two full-time
people? Chief reviewed the minimum
qualifications for the Chief Officer stating that the person would need to have
the level of certification of fire service background, or they would be given
time to obtain that certification, a Bachelors Degree, at least 10 years of
fire service experience, and 3 years supervisory experience. Chief Stauber said the video conferencing is
used daily at 7:45 a.m., and explained that process where all stations log on
and roll call is taken, and every officer is asked what they are going to train
on that day. He stated that this equipment is also used for continuing medical
training and said they recently had the water utility in and were able to
conduct their training in three sessions where it would have taken 6-12
presentations in the past. Ald.
Fradette asked how upper management is utilizing the video conferencing
equipment for training? Chief Stauber responded that upper level management arranges
for the training but do not conduct the training of personnel. The Chief said every department that they
surveyed in the state has a chief officer in charge of the Training Division.
Ald. Fradette inquired if
the Chief himself receives any training?
Chief Stauber responded that he and Asst. Chief Phillips attend
seminars, conferences, and classes when they need them. He added that he and
the Asst. Chief are both certified to the top level of the executive officer
training. He indicated that the officers
receive tactical training and said he does not do tactics and does not respond
to emergencies except in a command support position. Ald. Wiezbiskie expressed concern that nobody is in place as a
trainer right now. The Chief responded
that until last week, they were not at the top of Human Resources’ list and
said the document will be ready to go to Personnel at the end of the month and
said the request will be before Council at the April meeting. In response to a question if there was
anyone internally who qualifies for the Instructor Level 3, the Chief replied
that he didn’t know; they would need to post the position and see is someone
applies.
Ald. Vanderleest inquired
what the committee was looking for tonight, regarding this issue, since it will
be following the process to Personnel and Council? Ald. Fradette responded his concern that the training program has
fallen apart and wished to know what plan the Chief had for training. Chief
Stauber said the Arnie Wolff incident was a wake up call and said that has
initiated some of the focus for additional training and having a top notch
training program. Ald. Fradette asked
that the Chief bring a respectable training budget to next year’s budget
request and said he doesn’t feel they are spending near enough on training.
Chief Stauber explained the process, stating that he has tried to increase his
training budget every year since he took office and said the budget got cut
every year by 10%, 5%, 2%, and 2%. He
said he can’t get his request past the first round of budget meetings.
Ald. Jeffreys expressed
concern with video conference training and said the presence of a
person/professor is invaluable. The
Chief agreed that the quality may not be there but said for the classroom
portion, there is value to it and again agreed that it does not replace the
hands on training. He said he cut his
overtime spending from $850,000 to $510,000 last year and said they cut
training out. He said it’s a symptom of
our economy for the last four or five years. He stated that he is trying to
manage a department with the funds he has available. He stated that he gets asked on a monthly basis about his
overtime budget. He explained that
sometimes a firefighter cannot attend a 30-hour certification class without
missing a class and they used to come in on a day off and make up the class
with overtime, but said this has been cut out because of the budget. He said all training overtime comes out of
the salary line item and said they spent $89,000 last year on overtime for
training. He said they are looking at
their needs and want to create a top notch Fire Trainer because his
firefighters deserve it.
Ald. Vanderleest supports
the value of the video conference equipment and mentioned the benefit of
on-line classes, adding that the preferred is one-on-one with a professor. He agrees with getting a top notch person on
board who can develop a budget, look for efficiencies, opportunities, bringing
some structure, which would be good for the city.
Motion made by Ald.
Vanderleest, seconded by Ald. Wiezbiskie to refer the Fire Department training
issue to Human Resource staff.
Ald. Fradette said he
expects the Chief to be a little tougher and stand up like the Police Chief
does on budget night and ask for what he needs, and he will get it. Ald. Wiezbiskie concurred that the Chief
needs to “speak louder” at Council on budget night in asking for additional
budget amounts that his department needs.
Ald. DeWane stated that he believes more than one trainer is needed and
asked Chairman Fradette to expedite the process to get a temporary trainer on
board. Ald. Fradette indicated that he
will work on this on Friday.
Ald. Jeffreys questioned why
there is not an interim trainer? Chief
Stauber said it again comes down to an overtime issue and said they have been
supplementing with outside resources like the Technical College, grant
trainers, and contracted instructors, at no charge to the department. Ald. Wery said if Council doesn’t hear from
the Chief, they will assume he is satisfied with his budget. Ald. Vanderleest encouraged the Chief to
look at additional uses for the video conference equipment and to come to
Personnel with a plan.
Ald. Fradette questioned if
there is someone within the department that could be interim trainer? Chief Stauber responded that they would have
to follow the posting procedure, adding that there is only one person in the
department, according to the labor agreement who could take the position. Ald.
Fradette and Jeffreys would like to see this done right now. Ald. Vanderleest
stated that if a person fills the position on an interim basis, it will be
perceived that this person will take over the training. The Chief said his plan is if they need
someone to deliver in the interim, they will post and pay overtime or contract
with someone from the outside. Ald. Wiezbiskie feels the Chief is handling it
and said to let him go with the path he has selected. Chief said he has some very talented people in the department and
said he is comfortable tapping into those resources with paying overtime or
what is needed. He stated that he feels
they can get by with this until they hire a Level 3 Trainer. Ald. Fradette questioned what the position
would be called if an interim trainer is appointed, and if they would utilize
that person if he/she was appointed?
Chief Stauber responded that he would need to look at the level of pay
and would defer to the Asst. Chief, adding again that their training calendar
is filled with the courses they are required to take. He stated that they have
worked very hard to get through this period and if there’s a delay, he will
come back and ask for assistance.
Motion made by Ald. Wery,
seconded by Ald. Jeffreys to convene in closed session. Motion unanimously carried. Ald. Jeffreys read the closed session
notice.
*********************
Return to open session. Ald. DeWane said in the last ten years, the
department has had fewer firefighters while Green Bay has grown. Ald. Fradette asked if technological advances
have helped in respect to reducing their force and still being able to protect
the city? Chief Stauber responded that
it is still a very labor intensive job to put out a fire. He stated that the biggest effect in
reduction of personnel is the reduction of people on ambulances, with the
reduction to two.
Ald. Vanderleest left the
meeting at this time.
Ald. Fradette asked if the
Asst. Chief could have the recommendation for the new person ready before July,
to get it in before the next budget.
The Chief said they should be able to do this.
A vote was taken on the
motion by Ald. Vanderleest to refer this item to Human Resources. Motion carried unanimously.
5. Request by
Ald. Jeffreys to discuss the focus of the Neighborhood Action Team (NAT).
Ald. Jeffreys stated that
she has attended a couple of NAT team meetings and said she has not seen the
kind of neighborhood cleanup that she had anticipated when she was a
neighborhood association president. She
had asked if we need to do not just police and inspection issues, but Police
and/or inspection issues. She indicated that NAT is a good tool and after attending
a few NAT meetings, she feels that this is not necessary. She would like to discuss some issues
tonight as to why this tool isn’t working, and distributed a copy of the
initial abatement program. Ald.
Jeffreys said NAT collects information from various agencies but said it lacks
the shame factor of bringing in the landlords and explaining the penalties if
they do not follow the rules. She cited
the example of former landlord Despina Gerakis, whose properties are still
blighting our neighborhoods. Ald. Fradette said NAT worked at one time and said
something has happened to change that.
Ald. Wery said one big change is that there was a change in the Asst.
City Attorney, and said Atty. Lanny Schimmel was a hard charger and went after
the violators. Ald. Jeffreys said she
is not getting into personnel issues, adding that we have the procedure in
place and anyone can follow the process.
Rob Strong addressed the
committee stating that when NAT came to
be, the city was trying to get at the worst of the worst. He said the theory was if they pooled their
resources with Inspection, Police and involved the City Attorneys Office, they would find the tools
necessary to hammer on those properties until they are no longer a
problem. Mr. Strong said it did work
early on and said he believes it has a lot to do with the players that are
involved and the commitment of the players towards that goal. He said the
belief was that if they had Police and Inspection on the same property with
problems, it was evident that this property was a nuisance and they would have
state statutes supporting them to do whatever they needed to do. Mr. Strong said initially they went after a
property and then would do an abatement plan, but that plan would cover all the
properties that this individual owns, and now we have ten or twelve properties
to keep our eye on. He believes that maybe we got away from the original plan
of staying after one property until it was cleaned up. He concurred that former Asst. City Attorney
Lanny Schimmel and Lt. Colleen Belongea went after a property and didn’t let
go.
Ald. DeWane shared
information on a property in his district that had an abatement plan and said
the problems persist, adding that the city lets it happen. Mr. Strong said this
would not happen with the worst of the worst, adding that property owners know
how to play the game and put their property on the market for sale at an
inflated price. He said a change was made on the Inspection side where if
Inspection goes to the same property a third time in a year, they get citations
right away with no warning. He agrees that with the NAT tool the city should be
taking every tool we have to keep going after the property; putting it in
receivership, nailing it with more fines, re-inspection fees, etc. He said one
landlord received fines over $10,000 and chose to go to jail. He said Despina Gerakis crossed the line and
was charged criminally.
Ald. Wiezbiskie asked who is
the ultimate enforcer? Police? Inspection?
Rob Strong said once a citation is issued, his staff can keep going
there and issuing more citations, adding that they should not go out more than
twice; it should be out of their hands after two inspections. Rob summarized by stating that going after
several properties instead of one at a time didn’t work, adding that the city
has to be more persistent than the property owners.
Cheryl Renier-Wigg said she
has been part of the NAT Team since it’s inception and said that whenever there
is a change in staff, people have different ideas and the process has
changed. She shares the frustration of
the Council members. Cheryl said in the past they had a list of properties that
they could track and it listed if they were inspection or police, or both. She said in the beginning, they would bring
the landlord in with the “higher ups”, Lt. Belongea, Asst. City Attorney,
telling them that this is going to change or this is what’s going to happen.
She said now everyone seems to be doing their own abatement plan, the CP’s,
Inspection, Atty. Nitti. She said we need to figure out a way to get the
nuisance property bated, such as using the Health Dept, lead, etc.
Discussion ensued regarding
stronger inspections and putting signs with owners names in front of nuisance
properties. Cheryl said when landlords are at the NAT Team they have been given
many notices and citations, and she feels there should be no negotiating. Ald. Jeffreys said we need the element of
having one cohesive abatement plan with everyone on the same page with a
property or with properties owned by a landlord. She cited an example of a
problem property in her district where the police, inspection and she were
there at the same time telling the landlord what needed to be done. She
indicated it took a little time, but it worked. Cheryl Renier-Wigg asked that the Council and CP’s email
information on nuisance properties to her so she is aware of the problem
areas. Cheryl stated that they should
get back to where they were when the NAT Team was first formed.
Atty. Jon Nitti recapped what
was in place when he arrived, stating that they had a list of 7-10 names of bad
landlords, identified through police and inspection issues and said abatement
plans at NAT were already done with most of them. He said these people
continued to be a problem for the next couple of years and said many citations
were issued. He stated that the properties of Despina Gerakis are in
foreclosure and said there is an interim period before they go to a Sheriff
sale. He indicated that some of the
abatement plans listed all properties owned by a landlord, as a nuisance and
all properties were not a nuisance.
Discussion ensued about focusing on a landlord as well as their problem
properties. Atty. Nitti said NAT is not
an enforcement agency like the Police and Inspection Departments. He said NAT
figures out where the problems co-exist between Police and Inspection and try
to determine a game plan on how to deal with it. He said they added Consumer Protection as a representative of NAT
where they can investigate for criminal charges and also have involved Keith
Pamperin because there’s sometimes issues with public housing. He said they have transitioned from
landlords to worst properties. He said
he’s hearing inconsistencies and stated that he’s looking for direction from
Council as to what process they want NAT to follow.
Ald. Wiezbiskie said in his
and Ald. DeWane’s districts they do not have landlords with multiple problem
properties, but said not to lose sight of the few properties that are a
problem. Ald. Wery said the program
objective of NAT is to provide the residents of the City of Green Bay with
enjoyable and comfortable nuisance-free neighborhoods. The Public Nuisance
Abatement program can take swift action to stop nuisance conditions. He said NAT was put in place to take action
and to coordinate with different departments like Police and Inspection. He stated that NAT pushes the buttons for
Police, Inspection and the City Attorney’s Office to become involved. Ald. Wery said there should be no more
acting nice; we should be hammering these properties. Atty. Nitti explained that the only citations he sees are the
ones that have been entered as not guilty.
He said he sees the same faces in Municipal Court repeatedly and they
are paying thousands of dollars in fines.
Ald. Wery asked that Atty. Nitti research or devise a way where
properties are taken. Atty. Nitti
explained Receivership are in those cases where a property is a repeated
nuisance and the owner is not taking care of it and you petition the court to
have someone else manage it for him. He said Circuit Court judges are not going
to trample on people’s property rights very easily.
Ald. Wery asked if we could
find a way to make repairs on a property and make the landlord pay, after two
warnings are issued. Atty. Nitti said
they have to follow the law and cited a case where a judge found that the raze
and repair was a different type of process and found the order defective and
said ultimately it’s up to the judge.
Ald. DeWane cited an example of a property in his district that was to
have been razed two years ago and is still standing. He said the property was condemned but the landlord still rented
it out and Inspection didn’t come back. Atty. Nitti said the owner wouldn’t
allow Inspection in to follow-up. Atty. Hanson said they’re all searching for
what else can be done. He stated that
his office will take another look at receivership. Atty. Nitti asked that Council give him a list of problem
properties in their district and said they’ll look into them and added that is
what they have been doing. Ald.
Jeffreys said you can look at particular landlords and even though not all of
their properties are a nuisance, she believes ultimately the landlord is the problem. She would like the NAT team to look at the
number of citations on a specific property and said this is indicative that the
problem is not fixed.
Further discussion
surrounded coming up with more tools like rental registration and licensing and
having Rob Strong go to Madison to get the law changed. Rob said we need to
find the tool to plug the hole how these landlords are getting around doing the
repairs. Ald. Wiezbiskie said we need
to treat the problem, and agrees with Ald. Wery that if we can legally hire the
repairs done, and make the landlord pay, we should do that. Atty. Nitti believes the property rights may
prevent the city from being allowed to do this. Ald. DeWane said once a
property is condemned and the owner rents it out anyway, that can’t be allowed
to happen, with Atty. Nitti responding that this is a crime and should be
referred to the District Attorney’s office.
Ald. Fradette addressed
Atty. Nitti stating that he repeatedly hears “property rights” and asked what
about the property rights of the neighbors? He asked that Atty. Nitti get out
and fight these cases in court and said the NAT Team is the enforcer. Atty. Nitti said he follows the policy of
holding a fine open for a certain period of time to comply. If they comply within
the time limit, the fine is reduced; if not, they assess the full amount. He stated that this is the way it has always
been done. He cited a recent case that he litigated in circuit court and won.
Ald. Fradette said he may not be using the tools effectively and said he has a
different management style. Ald.
Fradette said he measures success in how long it takes from the time he reports
a problem property, to the time it takes to take care of a problem. Atty. Nitti said he prosecutes zealously and
has pride in litigating.
The consensus of the
committee was to take care of problem properties quickly, put fear in the
landlords, and hammer them hard and don’t give up, when they need it. They added that they want the attorney to
give it his all and said they are o.k. if he loses a court battle, but to get
in there and fight. Capt. Bill Galvin
said he has attended two NAT meetings and said they have a better system now
with incident reports where they can tag them for inspection and get a copy of
it. He said because of the NAT meetings
his department gets updated on ordinance violations etc. He said they have
instituted a program with the Brown County Dispatch Center where all abatement
plan properties are flagged in the computer so when a call is received at that
particular address, the officer is notified and must take that call and put
extensive notes in the computer. Capt. Galvin said the Community Police are
doing an outstanding job getting out talking with neighbors and landlords and
they have called inspection if they see other issues. He stated that Inspection has responded right
away and said they started a new process with inspection for towing abandoned
vehicles, where inspection doesn’t have to do it, the police can do it and have
their own placards that they put on cars.
He believes things are working well, but said he hasn’t seen the worst
of the worst and said if they give the Police the tools they’ll use every tool
they are given. He added they are
looking to get rid of the problem properties so they can focus on other things in
the community. He complimented Jean
Angell and Don Vandersteen who are not afraid to issue citations or condemn
properties.
Atty. Hanson said his
department will take another look at receivership and special assessments and
what their options are within the state law.
Ald. Jeffreys would like to see an assessment to measure the success of
NAT in dealing with a landlord or property; stating that she needs to see some
assessment tool.
Motion made by Ald. Jeffreys,
seconded by Ald. Wery to refer this item to the Law Department to research receivership and see if the city
can successfully litigate the “you fix it or we will” repairs for the worst of
the worst and for NAT to come up their self-assessment tool, and to report back
in two months.
Motion carried.
6. Request by Ald. Jeffreys to develop a 5-year plan for
improving our emergency and 911 communications.
Ald. Jeffreys stated that
according to the firefighters, we have dead spots in the city and part of the
reason for this is the inadequacy of the number of towers we have to receive
radio signals. She indicated that there
are security issues with our trunk lines or transmission line. She said she understands that this is a
lengthy, expensive process and she feels it is inappropriate for a city the
size of Green Bay to have dead spots, and we need to insure that our
transmission is secure.
Another area of concern to
Ald. Jeffreys is the 911 Center itself; she stated that she is not satisfied with
the customer service at the communication center and said that she and her
neighbors have complaints about the customer service there. Ald. Fradette stated that a 911
Communication Center operator did not know of Day Street. Chief Stauber suggested inviting Sheriff
Kocken and Interim Director John Rogers to the next meeting.
Motion made by Ald.
Jeffreys, seconded by Ald. Wery for the City Council to bring back a resolution
to urge the County to conduct a study of the City’s technical needs for the emergency
system, including the security of our transmission lines, the inadequacy of the
number of radio towers to receive signals and to research the problem with
customer service at the 911 Communication Center, and to hold this item for
thirty days for review at the next meeting.
Ald. Wery questioned if
there are radio problems communicating with each other, dead areas in the
city? Chief Stauber confirmed that
there are dead spots throughout the city. The Chief said the system is old and
needs replacement. Comment made that
they hope the two candidates for County Board would make upgrading the
technical needs for the emergency system a priority.
A vote was taken on the
motion by Ald. Jeffreys. Motion
carried.
There being no further
business, motion was made by Ald. Jeffreys, seconded by Ald. Wery to adjourn
the meeting. Motion carried.
Mary Haupt, Recording
Secretary