Town of Auburn

Police Commission

 May 12, 2010

PRESENT:    Ken Robinson, Hubert Topliff, John McCaugherty, Chief Picard, Lt. David Flight,  Jane Rego

GUESTS:       Lt. Gary Bartis,  Officer Jeffrey Mullaney, Arthur Cochran, Auburn resident

]Mr. Robinson called the meeting to order at 4:12 p.m.

REVIEW OF BILLS

All bills presented were signed and approved.  

MINUTES of February 2010.  Mr. Topliff made a motion to accept the amended minutes.  Mr. McCaugherty seconded.  All in favor.

Chief Picard began the discussion concerning a second unmarked vehicle.  He referenced the initial discussion that took place at the Department Meeting on April 27^th.  Lt. Bartis has been using his POV in the past, but it is not feasible for undercover work and a marked police cruiser cannot be taken to a Pawn Shop.  It is not likely that his POV would be covered through his personal insurance if something were to happen to it while he is performing his police duties.

Lt. Bartis, who has been with the department for thirteen years, feels that it is time for the town to invest in another unmarked vehicle to be used when a marked vehicle won’t do.   The cost should be minimal to the town if we simply keep one of the vehicles we usually sell.  With the economy as it is, we have not been able to recoup what the vehicles are worth and this would be a good time to keep one of them.  The striping has already been removed, no painting necessary.  Not sure how the additional car will impact the insurance rates. 

Lt. Bartis does not anticipate putting on excessive mileage, perhaps eight – ten thousand miles per year so this one vehicle should last for quite some time.

A motion was made by Ken Robinson to keep one of the vehicles normally sold as an unmarked to be added into the fleet.  Seconded by Hu Topliff.  All in favor, motion carries.

Chief Picard would like to make inquiries to see if we could get vehicle painted.  He would prefer not to have two white unmarked vehicles.

Lt. Bartis departed meeting at 4:20 p.m.

Department Reports

Chief’s Report

Related how he was bitten by a dog this past Saturday night.  He will be submitting the appropriate paperwork to the town for processing.

DWI patrols will be starting in June.  The Police Department has been busy.  All officers are now Intox. Certified.  All is status quo.

Surrounding towns have been hit hard with burglaries.  It is only a matter of time before it starts here.  We will keep up with our increased visibility  and police presence to hopefully deter them from Auburn.

Lieutenant’s Report

Approximately 75% of the officers are now qualified with the new weapons, just have a few stragglers left.  There have been no issues to date, and we will be shipping the old weapons back.  All-in-all the officers seem to like them.

Officer Mullaney, who was present for a short time at the meeting, indicated that he was very happy with the new weapons.  He stated they were “well-received”, and everyone’s scores when up during training on them.  He felt they were “a step in the right direction for the PD”.

Lt. Flight has been meeting with vendors and having quotes submitted for the new laptops and installation.  He has it narrowed down to two vendors, PC Connection and TransCor.  There are pros and cons with both.  One simply supplies the laptops, we would be responsible for installation, etc. and the other does “soup to nuts” complete installation. 

Both are competitive in pricing for what they offer.  Lt. Flight will continue to work with them to get the best possible deal.

He inquired of the Commissioners how they want him to proceed?

Commissioner Robinson would like to stay within the allocated monies if possible and Commissioner Topliff would like a full report prior to making any final decision.

Lt. Flight will make arrangements to present his findings to the Police Commission before any decision as to which company to go with is made.  He is hoping to have final numbers by the end of the week

Lt. Flight has had a couple of inquiries into the vehicle we will be selling and asked the Commission how they would like him to proceed.

A motion was made to sell the one vehicle for the best price he could negotiate by Commissioner Topliff.  Seconded  by  Commissioner Robinson.  All in favor.

New Business

Commissioner Robinson inquired about Neighborhood Watch signs being put around Auburn.

Chief Picard mentioned that when Officer Tardif worked here we did have organized Neighborhood Watch groups.  There is much information regarding these groups on the Internet and there is an organization set up for Neighborhood Watch groups that supplies signs and information, but you have to have an organized group.  You cannot just get the signs to put up.

Chief Picard inquired of Lt. Flight if he had spoken with the Highway Safety Committee about littering signs. Lt. Flight stated they did not act favorably to that.

Commissioner Robinson will be putting an article in the Crier regarding Neighborhood Watch Groups.

Officer Chabot entered the meeting at this point with a quote from Cen-Com for various lease options on a portable repeater.

As all present is aware, 98% of the time an officer is unable to broadcast out on our current portable radios.  The repeater that Cen-Com is quoting would query the signal from the strongest portable, there would be no “cross-talking” which is a real problem for the officers.

Officer Chabot is not sure if Rockingham Dispatch would have issues with this set-up, we would need to speak with them prior to making any decision, but not having working portables is a real officer safety issue that must be addressed as soon as possible as it is only a matter of time before and officer is in a situation needing backup.

There are various grants available to offset the cost of this repeater.  Officer Chabot will look into this.  In the meantime, he will speak with Cen-Com about possibly getting one to try out.

Officer Chabot left the meeting at 4:47 p.m.

The Commissioners discussed the Police Commission Chairmanship for 2010.  It was decided that Commissioner Robinson will continue as Chairman.  A motion was made by Commissioner Topliff.  Seconded by Commissioner McCaugherty.  All in favor.  

Chief Picard requested to enter into non-public session at 4:52 p.m.; seconded by Commissioner McCaugherty; all were in favor.

Commissioner Topliff made a motion to exit out of non-public session at 4:54 p.m..  Commissioner McCaugherty seconded the motion; all were in favor.

Motion to adjourn meeting by Commissioner Robinson at 4:58 p.m.  Approved – Mr. Topliff,   All in favor

Next meeting, June 8, 2010, 4:00 p.m. @ the Auburn Safety Complex.