04-23-97 Council Workshop Minutes

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MINUTES CITY COUNCIL APRIL 23, 1997 Noon and at 6 P.M. each day. While a couple of complaints have been received, the Department has gotten a lot of positive feedback. The Chief reported that there is no business reason for sounding the siren other than to let the community know the time of day. The Chief felt sounding the siren was a gesture of community spirit. The Council discussed the sounding of the siren and su~gested that since there is no public safety benefit in sounding it, the Department be sensitive to any complaints that might be received. If there are a lot of complaints, the Council asked the Department to re-consider the practice. The next issue discussed was the Cairns helmet. Total cost of a helmet is $25,000, and the City has budgeted $12,500. Boss reported that a committee of the Fire Department is working on tliis and will be sendin~ ~ letter to the major businesses in the City, inviting their participation in the purchase. LaValle asked if other depaitments in the area had these helmets. BoU Leibel responded that many have them or are considering the purchase. It was thought that the price of the helmet is not likely to come down, and that a joint purchasing venture with other fire departments would be a way to reduce the cost. The Chief reported that through ~amblin~ funds an AB foam system has been installed in tlie ladder truck A committee is also plannin~ the refurbishment of 742. Once that project is completed, gambling revenue will be earmarked for other projects. The Chief reported that the Fire Department has been reviewing their insurance coverage, and Uy doing some shopping around was able to reduce insurance costs by approximately 10%. This savings will be reflected in next year's Uudget. Sprinklering of buildin~s within the City was discussed. The Chief acknowledged that because of a late stait on The Provinces, the City was unable to get those buildings sprinklered. However, the Chief encouraged the Council to take a serious look at the issue with Montreal Courts. Montreal Courts has the largest number of children per capita in the City and the addition of a sprinkler system to those buildings would be a very important life safety improvement. The Chief reported that he has addressed the sprinklering issue with an individual who is associated with HUD, and asked whether or not HUD gives the saine priority to life safety improvements as it does to structural improvements. This individual will do some research on this issue. Fahey su~gested that rather than the City taking a loan ori~ination fee for a project such as The Provinces, those dollars could be used as an 2