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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Crime Control And Prevention District - 07/18/1997 611 VI MINUTES FOR THE CRIME CONTROL DISTRICT MEETING JULY 18, 1997 - 12 NOON COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT: Laurie Cook Rose Vela Sandra Lanier-Lerma Cefe Valenzuela Marta Huerta Lynda Cantu Isaac Valencia OTHERS PRESENT: Bill Hennings P. Alvarez, Jr. Pat Eldridge Mary Ann Robinson Joe O'Brien Bill Kolpecki Raymond Hasker The meeting began with Bill Hennings thanking the Committee Members for accepting the task of serving on the board. He introduced the Police Department staff who he stated will be available to assist the Board in any way. He said Jimmy Bray, City Attorney, had drafted a letter for review by the Committee and scheduled today's meeting to get started. He asked the Committee to review the meeting schedule attached to the letter. He stated that all local law enforcement agencies should be notified of future meetings. Now until August 15, the Committee will have the task of planning the crime control plan and budget. The Committee's first order of business should be to elect a Chairperson, decide when and how often they should meet, and the location of the meetings. The Police Department will propose to the Committee, by the end of next week, a two-year crime plan that the Committee can consider or reject. The Sheriff's Department, Constables' Office, FBI, and other local law enforcement agencies will be notified of the next meeting so they can attend because the meetings will be public meetings under the open meeting act. Mr. Hennings asked Chief Alvarez to say a few words. Chief Alvarez thanked everyone for being present. He said he realizes that it will be a very time-consuming task. He will be presenting to them next week a rough draft of what the Police Department thinks it needs to enhance the services provided. He stated the Police Department staff is available to assist in the needs of the Committee Members. 1 SCANNED 4110 The first order of business for the Committee was to elect a 111/ nomination Cefe Valenzuela nominated Laurie Cook. The nomination was seconded, and passed. Ms. Cook said she believes that serving on the Crime Control District Committee will be very interesting. The next order of business was to adopt a meeting schedule. All Committee members agreed that the July 25 meeting should be held as scheduled at noon. The two changes the Committee decided on were the August 8 and 13 meetings. August 8 was changed to August 11 and August 15 was changed to August 13. The others August 16 and 26 and September 9 and 29 will remain the same. Chief Alvarez told the Committee that the Chief's Conference Room will be available for the meetings. It was decided that the July 25 meeting will be held at this location. The third order of business (directors other than the chair can designate another person to serve in their absence) was brought before the Committee. The Committee decided to discuss this issue at the next meeting. The fourth order of business (request staff to notify local law enforcement and related agencies of the temporary board's meeting schedule and opportunity for input) . This item was agreed upon earlier in the meeting. Ms. Cook told the Committee that the next item of discussion should be the legislation's intent. She stated the legislation is setup specifically for municipalities with a population of more than 5,000 and is strictly police-related. Chief Alvarez stated hopefully by Wednesday, July 23, a recommendation will be submitted to the Committee for consideration. He said that the proposal should include adding 50 additional officers. He also said the Police Department will provide the dollar amounts, look at the initiatives, and develop strategies. He told the Committee that the proposal will include hiring 50 additional police officers over a five-year period. The two-year plan will include hiring support personnel such as ID Techs, Dispatchers, and Data Entry Clerks because the additional officers will generate more work. The main intent is shifting towards a community-policing program. The Police Department will be asking for some way to fund a center to house curfew violators. Chief Alvarez said Corona Substation was setup as a temporary center. A permanent facility should be created to take care of these young children. Every item submitted to the Committee will be justifiable and will be very much needed in our community. Sandra Lanier-Lerma asked Chief Alvarez whether officers will be placed in secondary schools. Chief Alvarez responded by saying that he hopes to "beef up" the J.E.T. unit. Ms. Lanier-Lerma agreed with Chief Alvarez ' preventive-type strategies. Chief 411, 2 `„r Alvarez also said that officers need to get out in the community and he would like to establish several substations within the city 418" that will be manned by an individual commander that will report on activities within that area of the city. These substations will have 24-hour operations where citizens can go in an file reports which he believes will get the Police Department closer to the community. Lynda Cantu asked the Chief in addition to the recommended plan will he have any statistical data to present to the committee. Chief Alvarez told the Committee that those stats will be forthcoming. Ms. Lanier-Lerma stated that information for the implementation of store-front operations will also be helpful. Chief Alvarez told the Committee that he proposes to implement a Crime Stoppers Program in the school district. Chief Alvarez stated that the Police Department has applied for a grant to hire a consultant to evaluate the Police Department's operations and return with a recommendation of improvements and this study will fall into place with the Department's long-term plan. Pat Eldridge added to the comment by saying that the grant is in the amount of $85,000 for a consultant to study all the Department's manpower and whether this manpower is being used efficiently, with an implementation date of November 1st. ilW Isaac Valencia stressed the important of the Crime Control District financing being used strictly for the Police Department hiring additional officers. Cefe Valenzuela questioned whether the budget will have a fiscal year or calendar year schedule. Joe O'Brien made a brief comment. Raymond Hasker told the Committee that he thinks the hiring of additional officers should be the responsibility of City staff within the City's budget instead of increasing the sales tax. He believes the citizens of Corpus Christi have been taxed enough. With no other comments from the Committee or audience the meeting adjourned at 12:55 p.m. 4111/ 3