HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-04-24 PUBLIC SAFETYSANTA ANA CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE
PUBLIC SAFETY
Minutes of Meeting
April 24, 2012
CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was convened at 6:00 P.M. at Santa Ana Police Department, 60 Civic Center Plaza, Police
Community Room, Santa Ana, California.
ATTENDANCE
Council members present: Claudia Alvarez, Sal Tinajero, and David Benavides
Staff present: Police Chief Paul Walters, Fire Chief Dave Thomas, Assistant City Attorneys Teresa Judd
and Melissa Crosthwaite, Deputy Chief Carlos Rojas, Commander Ken Gominsky, Jay Trevino, Alvaro
Nunez, Commander James Schnabl, and Loretta Tafoya, Recording Secretary.
Public sign-ins: Rene D. Guzman, Avid Reichert, Karen Blue, Tom Cannon, Monica Molina, Julie Stroud,
Connie Hamilton, Irma Macias, Rosa Aldaz, Evelyn Rodriguez, Angie Higared, Cristina Damian, Sharon
Portman, Helen Cannon, Sharon Tipton, Jerry Vargas, John Franks.
SUMMARY OF DISCUSSIONS
1. PUBLIC COMMENTS
• Steve M. Guigan from the Westend COP is disappointed that Santa Ana is known for
their marijuana dispensaries. He stated that the fire department and police department
should also be working together with the dispensaries regarding public safety issues. He
also mentioned how upset he was with the marijuana machine.
• Sharon Portman stated she has lived in Santa Ana for over 50 years, and she loves the
fact that it is a diverse community. She never heard of any problems with any disease.
• Helen Cannon stated she had taken surveys throughout the county and has not come
across any complaints.
• Karen Blue also supports the Chicken Ordinance. She has a neighbor that has chickens
and has not had any problems.
• Monica Molina supports the Chicken Ordinance and is hoping the footage between
dwellings is reduced.
• Sharon Tipton has concerns regarding the Camping Ordinance. She worries about the
homeless getting ticketed when they have no place to sleep. She has done informal
study that showed there are no beds for single men. She would like an amendment to
the camping ordinance so the City can provide the homeless to get assistance.
• Grace Ouach supported the Chicken Ordinance. She has them with her children and has
never has had a problem with illness. Grace brought a board with pictures showing her
children playing with the chickens and showing the difference between store bought eggs
and eggs from her chickens that she raises at home.
2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Minutes of the January 24, 2012 meeting approved.
3. SEX OFFENDER ORDINANCE
Committee member Claudia Alvarez stated the City of Santa Ana is the first city in the county to
have a Sex Offender Ordinance. Committee member Claudia Alvarez thanked Assistant City
Attorney Teresa Judd and Police Chief Paul Walters for the work on the Ordinance. Committee
member Alvarez presented a TV clip that was shown six years ago on the new sex offender
ordinance.
Assistant City Attorney Teresa Judd reviewed the purpose and definitions of the ordinance and
the difference between the City and County ordinance. Committee member David Benavides
asked Assistant City Attorney Teresa Judd what her recommendations were as to including
additional locations. She stated if the city wanted to add new children's facilities they should be
specified in the named ordinance. Committee member Tinajero stated he felt the Ordinance
should be made more restrictive. After a discussion by Committee members and staff, a motion
was made and unanimously passed the recommendation that the City Council consider adopting
a revised ordinance that adds provisions similar to the county ordinance. The Committee also
recommended that KidWorks, the Orange County Therapeutic Arts Center, and the Main Library
be included in the list of Children's facilities. Committee member Alvarez agreed and is going to
have an email sent to the Council so they will have a list of suggestions they feel should be put in
the ordinance for the next council meeting.
4. CHICKEN ORDINANCE
Deputy Chief Rojas reviewed the chicken ordinance modifications. After researching numerous
ordinances in Orange County, modifying the distance to allow fowl to be kept 30 feet of any family
residence or building designated for human occupancy, with the exception of the owner, is a
reasonable distance. There is no data that determines the risk of disease and there is no
indication that noise complaints will increase. The distance reduction recommendation will be
consistent with the majority of Orange County cities. Deputy Chief Rojas recommends the
modifications. Committee member Alvarez made a motion to accept and Committee members
Benavides and Tinajero agreed to send to the Council.
INTEGRATED I.T. PRESENTATION
Deputy Chief Harrelson and Commander Jim Schnabl proposed an Integrated Software System
for the Santa Ana Police Department. They stated the major systems used at the Santa Ana
Police Department are: Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD), Report Writing (I132), Jail Management
System (JMS), Records Management System, Digital Information Management System (SIMS)
and the Case Management system (CMS). The Integrated System would eliminate nearly all of
the repeat data entry based on research from agencies. Another important feature of the
integrated system is the ability to go virtually paperless. While the amount of data entry required
for our current systems continues to increase, the personnel needed to perform these task has
decreased. This has resulted in a back log of the workload. Committee member Benavides
asked about the upfront costs. Commander Schnabl stated there will be transition cost but
Integrated Software Systems would work with the Police Department to keep costs down.
Committee member Alvarez stated she was worried about the costs and would like an
independent company to review. Committee member Benavides appreciated working with
Commander Schnabl and asked what Chief Walter's recommendation was. Chief Walters stated
technology has been very important to the police department, and we want to be cost-effective.
We are still in recovery mode and we still don't have adequate reserves. Committee member
Benavides recommended City Hall I.T. and PD combine information. Committee member Alvarez
agreed. A motion was made to put on the next Public Safety Meeting agenda.
6. FIRE SERVICES EVALUATION
Chief Thomas stated a weekly "Executive Summary" report will sent to the City Manager that
include: news & events, board action, weekly update on response and preparedness, community
events, significant emergency incidents and a table listing incidents by major category. Following
a two-year period, OCFA and the City will evaluate the response performance for the current
configuration of response units in the City and discuss results of the analysis, including any
recommendations from either party for modifications that are warranted. Committee member
Alvarez stated she wanted to make sure the OCFA can still bring good service to the community.
She would also like to make a motion to have a six year plan to see if the City will stay with the
OCFA; make sure we protect all records regarding services; City Council have their own survey,
and have a quarterly survey of the percentage of firemen that have stayed with the City. She
asked if council agreed. Motion passed.
7. MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES
Steve Trevino presents video to the committee regarding the news clip on the vending machine
that dispenses marijuana. He reviewed the background of the medical marijuana Proposition 215
and Senate Bill 420. In 2005, the City began a two year moratorium on medical marijuana. The
City regulation specifically prohibits medical marijuana dispensaries while not interfering with the
regulations of Proposition 215. The City stops businesses before they start. The City has
modified business license and certificate of occupancy applications to identify potential medical
marijuana dispensaries. Administrative citations are a very good tool. Cites are given to violating
tenants and the property owners who operate as a dispensary. Code Enforcement, Police
Department and the City Attorney's Office work together with the enforcement efforts. Deputy
City Attorney Melissa Crosthwaite reviewed the ordinance challenges. Committee member David
Benavides asked Deputy City Attorney Melissa Crosthwaite if we were successful in the cases
that were challenged. She said we were successful. Committee member Steve Trevino closed by
saying we approached this in a multi-faceted way and are committed to a comprehensive
approach. Committee members Claudia Alvarez and David Benavides thanked Deputy City
Attorney Melissa Crosthwaite, Jay Trevino, and Alvaro Nunez for their presentation and hard
work. Jay Trevino said the success is due to the cooperative efforts between Code Enforcement,
Police and City Attorney's Office. Committee applauded the legal team.
8. COMMITTEE MEMBER COMMENTS
David Benevides thanked everyone for attending the meeting.
9. ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING
A. IT Presentation
B. Chief Thomas presentation on 4th of July
NEXT MEETING DATE - Tuesday, June 26, 2012, 5:30 pm, Santa Ana Police Department Community
Room, 60 Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana, California
ADJOURNMENT - 6:35 P.M.
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PAUL M. WALTERS
Chief of Police