[00:00:01]
[CALL TO ORDER]
TO THE MAY, REGULARLY CALLED MEETING OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION.I WILL GO AHEAD AND START WITH ROLL CALL.
COMMISSIONER NU PRESENT COMMISSIONER OR PRESENT? COMMISSIONER SIERRA? YEAH.
COMMISSIONER SMITH IS NOT WITH US.
JUST LET ME KNOW IF YOU NEED TO.
HE DOES NEED TO HAVE AUDIO CAPABILITY.
UH, COMMISSIONER SIERRA VELO, IF YOU WANNA LOG OFF AND THEN JOIN AGAIN.
SOMETIMES THAT FIXES THE ISSUE.
YOU, UM, AND WITH THAT, I WAS JUST GONNA GIVE, UM, COMMISSIONER IGO AND COMMISSIONER CAROL, JUST A MINUTE TO INTRODUCE THEMSELVES AND SAY HELLO.
SO MY NAME IS, UH, KIMBERLY HIO.
UM, AND I AM BRAND NEW TO THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION, SO I'M VERY EXCITED TO BE HERE.
I WAS APPOINTED BY, UM, MAYOR PRO TEM VANESSA FUENTES.
UM, I'M VERY HONORED TO HAVE RECEIVED THIS APPOINTMENT.
UM, I, UH, AM CURRENTLY EMPLOYED BY THE TRAVIS COUNTY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE.
I'M A PROSECUTOR, UM, AND I'VE BEEN A PROSECUTOR FOR THE PAST SEVEN YEARS.
UM, AND SO YEAH, I'M VERY EXCITED TO BE HERE AND, AND LEARN AND, AND SEE EXACTLY WHAT IT IS WE DO HERE.
SO,
UH, MY NAME'S ANGEL CARROLL WAS APPOINTED BY COUNCIL WOMAN KRISTA LANE, UM, IN DISTRICT SIX.
UM, THE DIRECTOR OF ADVOCACY FOR MEASURE RESEARCH ORGANIZATION.
UM, AND I'VE WORKED IN VARIOUS PUBLIC SAFETY SPACES.
I, UH, WORKED AT A PRISON FOR TWO YEARS, AND I WAS ACTUALLY BORN AND RAISED HERE IN AUSTIN.
SO IT REALLY IS AN HONOR TO REPRESENT THE CITY I WAS BORN IN.
UM, AND WITH THAT, I ACTUALLY JUST WANTED TO TAKE, UM, WE HAVE TWO QUICK ANNOUNCEMENTS BEFORE WE GET STARTED.
ONE, I JUST WANTED TO GO AHEAD AND MAKE A MENTION OF IT BEING THE TWO YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF WHEN THE CITY OF AUSTIN VOTED FOR THE A POA.
WE HAD REQUESTED THAT OPO BE HERE TODAY SO THAT WE COULD TALK ABOUT THE ANNUAL REPORT THAT THEY RELEASED AND THEY WEREN'T ABLE TO JOIN US.
UM, BUT WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO HEARING FROM THEM IN THE NEXT MONTH OR TWO.
UM, AND ALSO, COMMISSIONER BERNHARDT HAD A QUICK ANNOUNCEMENT AS WELL.
UM, I JUST, UH, AS MANY OF Y'ALL KNOW, UM, MY HUSBAND HAD STAGE FOUR GASTRIC CANCER.
UM, HE UNFORTUNATELY LOST HIS FIGHT WITH CANCER IN FEBRUARY.
UM, BUT AS A RESULT OF THAT AND NOT BEING ABLE TO GET HIM TO THE HOSPITAL OURSELVES, UM, WE HAD TO CALL 9 1 1 A COUPLE OF TIMES.
UM, AND I JUST WANNA THANK, UM, EMS AND FIRE FOR, UH, THEIR INCREDIBLY PROFESSIONAL BEHAVIOR AND, AND, AND WORK.
UM, IT, UH, I KNOW NOW FROM FIRSTHAND EXPERIENCE THAT IT CAN'T BE EASY, UM, TO GO INTO ANYBODY'S HOUSE WHEN THEY'RE HAVING A MEDICAL EMERGENCY.
UM, AND, UH, I JUST WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU.
THANK YOU FOR THAT, COMMISSIONER.
UM, AND WITH THAT, DO WE HAVE ANY PUBLIC COMMUNICATION? NO.
[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
UM, IF EVERYBODY CAN TAKE A LOOK AT THE MINUTES BRIEFLY, IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY.UM, DO WE HAVE ANY OBJECTIONS CHANGES? IF NOT, IF I CAN GET A MOTION FROM THE FLOOR TO APPROVE AND A SECOND MOVE TO APPROVE AND A SECOND FROM ANYONE? SECOND.
AND JUST A QUICK HAND, UM, TO SHOW APPROVAL.
WE HAVE 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.
[00:05:01]
UH, I THINK IT'S UNANIMOUS.[2. Public Safety Quarterly Report, Austin Fire Department.]
THEN WITH THAT, WE WILL JUST GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED.UM, OUR FIRST ITEM IS THE FIRE QUARTERLY REPORT.
ROB MEYERS, THE CHIEF OF STAFF WITH THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT.
WELCOME TO THE NEW COMMISSIONERS.
UH, FOR REFERENCE, WE DO A QUARTERLY REPORT, OBVIOUSLY, UH, FROM ONE MONTH TO THE OTHER FROM OUR DIFFERENT AGENCIES.
UH, FOR US TODAY, YOU'LL HAVE IN YOUR, JUST FOR YOUR AWARENESS, THERE'LL BE TWO ITEMS IN THE BACKUP.
ONE IS THE ACTUAL PRESENTATION WE'LL GO OVER.
AND THE OTHER IS, UH, SOME STATISTICS THAT ARE DIVIDED OUT BY DISTRICT.
SO THERE'S INFORMATION IN THERE THAT'LL, THAT'LL HELP YOU DRILL DOWN TO THINGS YOU NEED TO THE DISTRICT THAT YOU'RE HERE REPRESENTING.
UM, THAT INFORMATION STAYS RELATIVELY STATIC, BARRING AN ANOMALY FROM ONE, UH, QUARTER TO THE NEXT.
UH, IF THOSE ANOMALIES EXIST, WE TRY TO HIGHLIGHT THOSE.
BUT OTHERWISE, WHAT YOU'LL SEE THERE IS REPRESENTATIVE OF OF YEAR ROUND.
UH, AS FAR AS OUR RESPONSE GOES, UH, THAT'S IT.
WE HAVE THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
SO WHAT ISN'T STATIC OVER TIME IS THE GROWTH OF THE CITY.
AND WHAT YOU SEE HERE IS OUR, UH, THE, OUR, UH, CALL VOLUME, UH, FROM 2012 TO PRESENT.
AND OUR RESPONSE TIMES OUR RESPONSE TIME IS OUR GOAL.
THE, THE, THE STRAIGHT LINE YOU SEE ON THE BOTTOM IS, UH, EIGHT MINUTES FOR EVERY SINGLE CALL WE GO ON.
AND THAT'S FOR BASED ON AN NFPA NATIONAL, UH, FIRE PROTECTION ASSOCIATION STANDARD THAT SAYS WE SHOULD HAVE ALL RESPONDING UNITS ON SCENE IN EIGHT MINUTES.
UH, FOR REFERENCE, THE TIME THAT YOU SHOWED THAT YOU SEE, FOR US ACTUALLY GETTING THERE IS FOR THE FIRST UNIT TO, TO BE THERE.
SO THE, THE CITY MOST CERTAINLY HAS, HAS OUTPACED THE GROWTH OF PUBLIC SAFETY HERE, SPECIFICALLY THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT.
UH, WE LOOK AT A VARIETY OF STRATEGIES TO ADDRESS THIS, SOME OF 'EM WITH TECHNOLOGY, WHICH ARE FORTHCOMING, AND, UH, EVEN SOME THINGS WITHIN OUR OWN NORMAL, UH, RESPONSE PACKAGE TO TRY TO ADDRESS THIS AS, AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE WITHIN THE THINGS WE HAVE CONTROL OVER, TO, TO, TO MEET THE NEEDS OF THE, THE COMMUNITY.
SO, JUST AS A REFERENCE THOUGH, UH, IT'S JUST A WAY OF LOOKING AT, AT HOW THE CITY HAS CHANGED AND, AND, AND WHERE WE ARE IN THAT PROCESS.
SO, HAPPY TO SHARE, UH, GRAND OPENING OF, UH, FIRE DEPARTMENT STATION 54 EMS, NUMBER 5 43.
AND AS THE NUMBERS WILL SHOW IN THAT UPPER, UH, LEFT HAND PICTURE, THEY COULD PUT 'EM IN THE WAY THEY DID.
AND IT WORKS IN EITHER DIRECTION THAT YOU LOOK AT IT.
SO IT WAS KIND OF A NEAT ARTISTIC ITEM THERE.
THIS WAS THE LAST OF FIVE STATIONS TO BE BUILT OVER SIX YEARS, AND VERY GRATEFUL FOR THIS.
THIS ONE'S UP IN THE NORTHWEST AREA.
UH, CANYON CREEK IS THE, THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
IT IS A JOINT STATION AS ALL THE OTHER, UH, FOUR OTHER ONES WERE AS WELL.
UH, TO HELP US, UH, TRY TO, TO BETTER MEET THE NEEDS OF THAT PARTICULAR COMMUNITY.
UH, WE COULD DO THE, THE, THE, UM, GROUNDBREAKING FOR IT ON MARCH 8TH.
AND THAT STATION IS UP AND RUNNING, TAKING CARE OF THE NEEDS IN THAT AREA.
SO, UH, IT'S NO SMALL ENDEAVOR TO ACQUIRE THE LAND NECESSARY FOR, FOR THOSE.
WE TAKE A PRETTY GOOD SIZE FOOTPRINT, UH, TO MEET ALL OF THE CODE REQUIREMENTS AND THEN TO, TO BUILD THE STATION.
MEETING THE MODERN NEEDS OF, OF, OF OUR DEPARTMENTS IS, IS A MONUMENTAL TASK WITH A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT, THAT, THAT PUT A LOT OF GREAT EFFORT INTO MAKING THOSE HAPPEN.
IN ADDITION TO NEWS STATIONS, WE'VE GOT EXISTING ONES THAT, THAT HAVE BEEN AROUND FOR A LONG TIME.
OUR OLDEST STATION, UH, STILL IN, IN, IN, UH, USE IS FIRE STATION NUMBER FOUR, WHICH IS AT 10TH AND BLANCO, UH, WHICH IS JUST WEST OF THE DOWNTOWN AREA.
AND THAT ONE'S BEEN AROUND FOR OVER A HUNDRED YEARS.
UH, YOU GO LOOK INSIDE OF IT, THERE'S A PICTURE.
YOU SEE THE EXACT SAME STATION, BUT IT'S A HORSE DRAWN CART BEING PULLED OUT OF IT.
UH, SOMEWHAT RUMOR THAT THE PERSON ON THE CART IS STILL DRIVING THE APPARATUS THERE TODAY,
UH, SOME OF IT TO DO WITH EQUITY WITH, UH, LOCKER ROOMS AND BATHROOMS TO MEET, UH, OUR, OUR DIVERSE WORKFORCE.
AND, AND MODERN TIMES IS ALSO DEALING WITH SOME HEALTH AND WELLNESS ISSUES, UH, WITH, UH, TRYING TO KEEP THE, ALL THE, THE, UM, CONTAMINANTS WE'VE COME ACROSS ON MEDICAL AND FIRE CALLS OUT OF THE LIVING QUARTERS.
UH, BACK IN THE, UH, LATE 19 HUNDREDS WHEN I JOINED THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, IT SET
[00:10:01]
LOOK YOUNGER THAN THAT.THE, UH, UH, WE WOULD GO TO SLEEP IN, IN AN OPEN BAY ROOM, UH, AND YOU'D HAVE THE TURNOUTS RIGHT NEXT TO YOU.
THE TURNOUTS HAVE ALL THE CONTAMINANTS FROM THE FIRES YOU'VE BEEN ON, ET CETERA.
WE'D HAVE A LOT OF, UH, BOX FANS AROUND THERE TO HELP WITH AIRFLOW AND, UH, SNORE ABATEMENT, IF YOU WILL.
AND, AND THAT MOST CERTAINLY WAS NOT THE HEALTHIEST OF ENVIRONMENTS TO BE IN.
WE'VE MADE A LOT OF CHANGES SINCE THEN.
TURNOUTS DON'T GO INTO THE QUARTERS ANY LONGER, UH, TO HELP US WITH SOME CANCER INITIATIVES, WHICH YOU'LL HEAR ABOUT HERE SHORTLY.
UH, AND WE ALSO HAVE, UH, SLEEPING QUARTERS NOW IN THE NEWER STATIONS THAT ARE INDIVIDUALIZED FOR PRIVACY.
AND WHEN YOU'VE GOT STATIONS WITH MULTIPLE UNITS, THE ABILITY TO WAKE UP, ONLY THE UNIT THAT NEEDS TO GO ON THE CALL, THAT'S AT HAND.
SO THE OTHER FOLKS STILL GET TO PRESERVE SOME THEIR SLEEP, WHICH HASN'T BEEN THE CASE BEFORE.
WHEN IT WAS A MULTI-UNIT STATION, THE ALARM WOULD GO UP, EVERYONE WOULD WAKE UP, AND YOU'D HAVE TO FIGURE OUT WHO GOES ON THIS CALL.
AND, AND THEY WOULD, UH, UH, THE OTHERS THAT STAYED BEHIND WOULD'VE TO FIGURE OUT TO GO BACK TO SLEEP AFTER THE ADRENALINE HAD ALREADY BEEN, UH, INTRODUCED TO THEIR BODY.
UH, THAT SAID, WE'VE GOT SOME STATIONS HERE, STATION 8 23 47, WHICH IS A UNIQUE ONE.
SEPARATE TWENTIES AND 20 ONES THAT ARE BEING RENOVATED FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS.
UH, SOME OF THEM, IT'S TO MODERNIZE THEM AND TO ADD SOME OF THE SAFETY FEATURES JUST DESCRIBED.
UH, STATION 47 IS A PARTNERSHIP WITH ESD FOUR.
IT'S EMERGENCY SERVICES DISTRICT FOUR.
UH, THEY ARE THE OWNERS OF THE BUILDING, SO THEY'RE THE ONES THAT ARE INVESTING IN IT TO, TO GET IT TO MODERN STANDARDS.
THEY'RE VERY GRATEFUL FOR THAT PARTNERSHIP WITH THEM AS WE SERVE THEIR COMMUNITY.
UH, STATION 20 HAD SOME ISSUES WITH, UM, UH, SOME, UH, UH, MOLD FROM THE AIR CONDITIONING THAT GOT INTO THE, THE WALLS, ET CETERA THAT THEY'RE GOING THROUGH AND ABATING.
UH, AND ALL THESE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF GETTING BACK IN, IN, IN PLACE SO THAT WE CAN REOCCUPY THOSE, THESE STATIONS, WHILE THEY'RE BEING WORKED ON, AREN'T OCCUPIED.
THEY, UH, THEY NEED TO, TO, TO BE VACATED FOR THE, THE WORK THAT'S BEING DONE ON 'EM.
UH, ONE OF THE DELAYS HERE IS, UH, IMPLEMENTING OR INCLUDING IN THE CONSTRUCTION DESIGN A GENERATOR.
AND THESE ARE GAS GENERATORS, NOT, NOT, UH, UH, NATURAL GAS, NOT, NOT FUEL, NOT, UH, DIESEL FUEL WITH THAT REQUIRES LARGER PIPING TO, TO, TO ACCOMMODATE THE, THE VOLUME OF, OF NATURAL GAS NEEDED TO MAKE THAT GENERATOR WORK.
AND THAT'S CREATED SOME CHALLENGES IN GETTING THAT INFRASTRUCTURE UPDATED AND HAS CAUSED SOME DELAYS.
HERE'S A MOMENT FOR ME TO GIVE A HUGE SHOUT OUT.
AND THANKS TO BUILDING SERVICES DEPARTMENT, THEY'VE BEEN PHENOMENAL PARTNERS WITH US.
AS WE'VE HAD EXPERIENCES WITH THE PAST COUPLE OF WINTER STORMS WHERE WE'VE LOST POWER TO OUR, OUR PUBLIC SAFETY FACILITIES.
THEY HAVE BEEN A MONUMENTAL PARTNER IN, IN HELPING US GET THE GENERATORS ON BOARD, UH, IN A TEMPORARY FASHION, AND THEN TO A FULL FASHION THROUGH, THROUGH THESE, UH, INITIATIVES.
SO, UH, TRAVIS COUNTY HAS 14 DIFFERENT FIRE DEPARTMENTS IN IT.
YOU HAVE THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT, YOU'VE GOT WESTLAKE, YOU'VE GOT, UH, MANOR, UH, UH, LAKE TRAVIS, ET CETERA.
SO A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT FIRE DEPARTMENTS.
THEY'RE REFERRED TO AS ESDS EMERGENCY SERVICE DISTRICTS.
AND WE'RE ALL UNDER AN AUTO AID AGREEMENT.
AND WHAT THAT, WE'RE ALL DISPATCHED FROM THE SAME DISPATCH CENTERS.
WHEN YOU CALL 9 1 1 ANYWHERE IN TRAVIS COUNTY, IT GOES TO THE SAME ANSWERING FACILITY.
AND, UH, WHENEVER THERE IS A, A FIRE OR MEDICAL CALL, THE CLOSEST UNIT GOES REGARDLESS OF WHOSE CITY LABEL IS ON THE SIDE OF THE DOOR.
THIS I'M SPEAKING GENERALLY IN THIS REGARD, AND WE'VE HAD AUTO AID FOR TRAVIS COUNTY FOR A VERY LONG TIME.
UH, WE'VE, UH, A NUMBER OF YEARS AGO EXPANDED UP INTO WILLIAMSON COUNTY.
NOW, WILLIAMSON COUNTY IS NOT LIKE TRAVIS COUNTY, WHERE THEY'VE GOT ONE ANSWERING FOR, UH, UH, CENTER FOR THE WHOLE COUNTY.
THEY'VE GOT SEVERAL ANSWERING CENTERS, AND THOSE ANSWERING CENTERS, AND OUR ANSWERING CENTERS DON'T SPEAK THE SAME LANGUAGE.
UH, IF YOU THINK OF APPLE AND MICROSOFT, RIGHT? THOSE, THOSE AREN'T THE SAME.
THERE'S GOTTA BE SOME TRANSLATOR TO MAKE THOSE INTERACT AND COMMUNICATE TO EACH OTHER.
AND WHERE THAT'S IMPORTANT IS, IT'S THE, THE PROVISION OF GPS DATA FOR THE, THE EMERGENCY VEHICLES, WHICH IS CRUCIAL IF YOU WANT THE CLOSEST UNIT TO GO IN A TIMELY FASHION.
THE MOMENT THE DISPATCHER ANSWERS THE PHONE OR THE CALL TAKER ANSWERS THE PHONE IDENTIFYING ADDRESS CLOSEST UNIT.
AND GETTING THAT RESPONSE IS, IS, IS MOST IMPORTANT FOR WHOEVER'S ON THE OTHER LINE NEEDING HELP.
AND THIS AUTO AID AGREEMENT, UH, WITH A VARIETY OF PARTNERS, NOT ONLY IN TRAVIS COUNTY, BUT SOME OF WILLIAMSON COUNTY AS IT EXPANDED, HELPS US, ESPECIALLY WITH THE POPULATION ALONG THE TRAVIS WILLIAMSON COUNTY BORDER.
UH, IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE WITH THE TAX DOLLARS
[00:15:01]
TO BUILD, UH, EMERGENCY STATIONS RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET FROM EACH OTHER, BECAUSE THAT STREET'S THE DIVIDING LINE FROM ONE AREA TO THE OTHER.THIS HELPS TO, TO, TO AVERAGE THAT OUT AND PROVIDE THE BEST RESPONSE IN SOMEONE'S EMERGENCY, AND ALSO DO IT AT A, UH, UH, A RESPONSIBLE WAY WITH, UH, THE, UH, AND STEWARDSHIP OF THE TAX DOLLARS.
NOT ONLY IS IT SET UP FOR, UH, EVERYONE TO WORK OFF THE SAME SHEET OF MUSIC ON THE CALL, BUT ALSO ON ARRIVAL TOO.
AND WITH THAT, WE HAD A, A, A RECENT IN DEAL HERE, IT'S A SECOND BULLET ON THERE THAT TALKS ABOUT A, UH, FIRE ON A, ON A ON A BOAT, AND A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS THAT SHOWED UP AND WORKED IN CHORUS TOGETHER TO SOLVE THAT ISSUE.
UH, AND THAT COURSE TOGETHER GOES TO TRAINING DONE.
SO IT'S NOT JUST WHAT WE RESPOND TO, BUT HOW WE PRACTICE PRIOR TO.
AND WE MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE PRACTICING TOGETHER ON A REGULAR BASIS.
SO AS WE'RE FAMILIAR WITH EACH OTHER, WE'RE FAMILIAR WITH, WITH WHAT TO DO ON THE FIRE GROUND SO THAT IT'S DONE SEAMLESSLY, UH, FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE COMMUNITY AND FOR THE SAFETY OF THE FIREFIGHTERS ON GROUND, THAT THEY'RE NOT DOING INADVERTENTLY OPPOSING THINGS THAT COULD CAUSE HARM, UH, ALONG THE WAY.
I KNOW Y'ALL GET THIS IN A VARIETY OF WAYS FROM, FROM EMS AND FROM US.
JUST HIGHLIGHTS THE, THE WORK THAT'S, THAT'S BEING DONE THERE, UH, WITH THE, UH, GREAT COMMUNICATION FROM EMS AND OTHERS.
UH, THE NARCAN IS OUT THERE, UH, IN, IN THE PUBLIC FOR PEOPLE TO USE IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY.
SO YOU'LL SEE THAT A, A GOOD PERCENTAGE OF IT'S DONE BEFORE, UH, EMERGENCY ARRIVAL, RIGHT? AND THEN WE'VE GOT A, ALSO ON THE, THE FIRETRUCK AND AMBULANCE TO HELP, UH, AS NECESSARY AS WELL, ABOUT HALF THE TIME FROM, FROM HIS, ROUGHLY SPEAKING, IT WAS, IT WAS PROVIDED BEFORE OUR ARRIVAL.
THE OTHER HALF OF THE TIME WAS DONE BY US.
AND THE, THE MAP OVER THERE IS THE DOTS ON THERE, SHOW YOU THE AREAS WHERE, WHERE WE RESPONDED TO AND ADMINISTERED, UH, THE, THE NARCAN OR NALOXONE TO, TO HELP FOLKS OUT.
OUR INVESTIGATIONS, WE GO OVER THIS.
UH, FOLKS, THESE, THE ARSON INVESTIGATORS ARE FIREFIGHTERS.
THEY JOINED THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, PROMOTED THROUGH THE RANKS, AND THEN WHEN THEY PROMOTED, LIEUTENANT ASKED FOR, AND WERE, WERE SELECTED TO GO TO OUR ARSON INVESTIGATIONS, OF WHICH THEY WENT THROUGH A PEACE OFFICER TRAINING.
SO THEY ARE PEACE OFFICERS, STATE OF TEXAS AS WELL.
AND THEY'VE ALSO GONE THROUGH, UH, UNIQUE AND SPECIFIC TRAINING ON, UH, ARSON INVESTIGATIONS CAUSE AND DETERMINATION OF WHAT, WHAT CAUSED THE FIRE AND HOW TO HANDLE ALL THE ADMINISTRATIVE PAPERWORK TO MAKE SURE THAT IF THEIR FIRE WAS INTENTIONALLY SET, THAT WE DON'T INADVERTENTLY DO SOMETHING WRONG.
AND BECAUSE OF THAT WRONG EFFORT ON OUR BEHALF, THAT, THAT THE PERSON RESPONSIBLE IS, IS LET GO.
IN FACT, OUR, OUR ARSON INVESTIGATORS, THIS IS A, A CONSTANT, ARE FROM ALMOST TWICE THE CLEARANCE RATE AS, AS EVERYWHERE ELSE IN THE COUNTRY.
THEY DO AT VERY THOROUGH, UH, WITH THE, THE, THE WORK THAT THEY, UH, THE VOLUME OF WORK THAT THEY DO TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE, THEY'RE HOLDING PEOPLE ACCOUNTABLE APPROPRIATELY, UH, IN AN ARSON SITUATION.
SO WE HAVE A WILDFIRE DIVISION.
THOSE ARE GONNA BE STAFF FOLKS, AND THEY DO A LOT OF THE EDUCATION, UH, AROUND THE COMMUNITY ON HOW TO, UH, MAKE YOUR HOME FIRE SAFE IN THE ADV EVENT OF A WILDFIRE.
AND THAT'S THE, THEY, THEY, UH, WORK A MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY, NINE TO FIVE SCHEDULE.
WE ALSO HAVE A WILDFIRE BATTALION.
SO THAT'S A SEGMENT OF OUR OPERATIONS FOLKS THAT GO THROUGH, UH, ADDITIONAL TRAINING ON HOW TO OPERATE A CHAINSAW, UH, TO DO SO EFFECTIVELY, SAFELY, HOW TO OPERATE A BRUSH TRUCK SAFELY AND, AND HOW TO MITIGATE A, A, A WILDFIRE, UH, THAT'S ABOVE AND BEYOND WHAT THE REST OF THE DEPARTMENT DOES.
THE WHOLE DEPARTMENT IS TRAINED ON RESPONDING TO THE INTERFACE, WHICH IS WHERE YOUR, YOUR NEIGHBORHOODS AND THE FORESTRY KIND OF COME TOGETHER.
IT, IT'S A GREAT LOOKING HOME AND, AND A AND A GREAT, UH, ENVIRONMENT.
BUT THOSE TWO THINGS TOGETHER CREATE SOME UNIQUE CHALLENGES VERSUS A HOUSE FIRE THAT'S NOT NEAR THE, THE WOODS.
AND SO THE WHOLE DEPARTMENT'S TRAINED ON THAT.
UH, THESE FOLKS HAVE SOME ADDITIONAL TRAINING ABOVE AND BEYOND HERE I'D LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT, UH, A STRUCTURAL IGNITION ZONE EVALUATION, OTHERWISE SIZE FOR SHORT, IF SOMETHING THAT WE PROVIDE, UH, TO ANYONE THAT ASKS FOR IT.
AND WHAT IT DOES IS WE GO LOOK AT YOUR HOME TO SAY, THESE ARE THE THINGS YOU CAN DO TO MAKE YOUR FIRE, YOUR HOME, MORE FIRE WILDFIRE RESISTANT.
UH, IF YOU HAVE AN OLDER HOME THAT'S MADE OF, LET'S SAY YOU HAVE, UH, CEDAR SHINGLES, THAT'S VERY UNCOMMON IN AUSTIN, BUT I'LL USE THAT AS AN EXAMPLE.
THAT OBVIOUSLY IS NOT FIRE RESISTANT.
AN ASPHALT SHINGLE IS OBVIOUSLY A METAL ROOF, IS
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A TILE ROOF, IS, UH, THAT SAME CONCEPT OF THE ROOF ALSO, UH, UH, IS WITH THE SIDING OF THE HOME AS WELL, ALONG WITH GUTTERS THAT STILL HAVE LEAVES IN THEM.AND THEN THE WOOD FENCES THAT GO RIGHT UP AGAINST THE HOUSE ARE ALL, UH, ITEMS THAT IF THERE WAS A WILDFIRE, THOSE WILL BE MORE SUSCEPTIBLE TO CATCH FIRE AND THEN POTENTIALLY CATCH YOUR HOUSE ON FIRE.
SO THE, THE SIZE EVALUATION IS OUR FOLKS GO AND LOOK AT THE HOME AND SAY, HERE'S SOME THINGS THAT YOU CAN DO.
MAYBE DON'T HAVE SHRUBS UP AGAINST THE HOUSE.
IF YOU'VE GOT FIREWOOD FURTHER AWAY FROM THE HOUSE, THINGS THAT YOU CAN DO THAT, THAT MAKE YOUR HOME MORE RESISTANT.
THE FLAMES BRUSHING UP AGAINST THE HOME.
IT'S THE EMBERS THAT THE WIND CARRIES FURTHER DOWN, WIND A COUPLE MILES, UH, UH, IS NOT UNCOMMON THAT THOSE EMBERS THEN RESTING IN THE GUTTERS WHERE THE DRY LEAVES ARE, OR IN THE, THE, THE DRY MULCH NEXT TO THE HOUSE, OR THOSE SORT OF THINGS THAT HAVE A GREATER CHANCE OF CAUSING THE HOUSE TO BURN.
SO THESE ARE THINGS THAT THEY SHOW YOU AND GUIDE YOU TO DO THAT MAKE YOUR HOME MORE FIRE RESISTANT.
UH, WITH THE TRAGEDIES THAT HAPPENED IN HAWAII AND ALSO LA THERE'S BEEN A GREATER FOCUS ON THOSE EVALUATIONS HERE LOCALLY.
UH, NOT GRATEFUL FOR THOSE INCIDENCES THAT OCCURRED IN HAWAII OR LA BUT GRATEFUL FOR THE AWARENESS.
UH, THE, THE, UH, HERE LOCALLY FOR FOLKS THAT HAVE ASKED FOR EVALUATIONS AT THEIR HOMES.
UH, YOU CAN SEE JUST IN ALL OF OF 24, WE DID 88 ASSESSMENTS.
THESE ARE THINGS PEOPLE REQUEST, UH, UH, AT A, A, UH, VALUE OF PROPERTY ASSESSED AT A LITTLE OVER A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS THIS YEAR, RIGHT? JUST IN THE FIRST QUARTER, WE'VE HAD 280 ASSESSMENTS WITH OVER 300, $300 MILLION, UH, EVALUATED.
SO THE, WE'RE DOING WITH A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT WITH THE COMMUNITY, UH, UH, GREAT WORK TO HELP FOR WHENEVER THAT NEXT WILDFIRE MIGHT OCCURRED, TO MINIMIZE THE RISK OF, OF A VARIETY OF STRUCTURES AND NEIGHBORHOODS.
AS YOU SEE PICTURES FROM THOSE DEVASTATING EXPERIENCES, YOU'LL SEE WHAT, WHAT LOOKS LIKE A WHOLE COMMUNITY DEVASTATED AND A HOUSE UNSCATHED.
I WOULD OFFER THAT HOUSE THAT LOOKS LIKE IT WAS BUILT AFTER THE FIRE WAS ONE THAT SUSTAINED THE FIRE BECAUSE IT WAS EITHER BY DESIGN OR BY ACCIDENT, UH, HARDENED AND, AND, AND MADE SAFER FROM THOSE EMBERS.
THESE ARE FOLKS THAT GO, UH, UH, AND MAKE SURE THAT ALL THE, THE ACTIVITIES AROUND TOWN ARE DONE IN A SAFE FASHION SOUTH BY, UH, ACL F1 AS THE LARGER ONES, BUT A LOT OF SMALLER EVENTS AS WELL TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE DONE IN A, IN A FASHION THAT'S SAFE FOR THE COMMUNITY.
AND THAT'S A COLLABORATIVE, OR NOT JUST A, OF A VARIETY OF DEPARTMENTS OF WHICH THE FIRE DEPARTMENT IS, IS AN ASPECT OF ONE OF THOSE EVENTS WAS THE, UH, CAPITAL 10 K DONE HERE IN AUSTIN.
AND YOU'LL SEE THE PICTURE THERE TO THE SIDE ARE SOME OF OUR FIREFIGHTERS WHO CHOSE TO RUN THAT, NOT JUST RUN IT, BUT RAN IT WITH TURNOUTS ON SOME OF THEM WITH AIR PACKS ON AS WELL.
SO IT'S A, IT'S A GREAT TESTIMONY TO HIGHLIGHT OUR FANTASTIC, UH, WORKFORCE AND THE GREAT WORK THEY DO.
IT'S ALSO A FANTASTIC RECRUITING TOOL AS WELL AS THEY'RE OUT THERE IN TURNOUTS.
IT TENDS TO DRAW SOME ATTENTION BECAUSE IT, IT, THEY STAND OUT AND THEY STAND OUT A RIGHT OF WAYS 'CAUSE THEY'RE AWESOME.
SO, UH, WE, ANYTHING THAT'S BUILT IN IN TOWN HAS TO GO THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT, OF WHICH THE FIRE DEPARTMENT IS A, A, A PORTION OF THAT TO MAKE SURE LIFE SAFETY THINGS ARE, ARE TAKEN CARE OF.
THAT WOULD BE YOUR SPRINKLER SYSTEMS, YOUR FIRE ALARMS, UH, ET CETERA, ET CETERA.
UH, WHEN SOMETHING IS BUILT BRAND NEW, ALL THAT STUFF HAS TO BE INSECT INSPECTED AND APPROVED FOR THEM TO GET THEIR CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY ONCE THEY'RE OCCUPIED.
UH, HISTORICALLY THERE WASN'T ANYTHING THAT FOLLOWED UP TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE THINGS WERE MAINTAINED AND, AND WORKING AS DESIGNED.
AND YOU CAN SEE BACK IN 14, 15 AND 16, A HANDFUL OF PEOPLE DOING THEIR BEST TO DO IT, JUST THE, THE, THE, THE, THE MANAGEMENT AT APARTMENT COMPLEXES AND, AND A VARIETY OF, OF FACILITIES WOULD CHANGE OVER ENOUGH THAT YOU LOSE YOUR CONTACTS.
AND SO IT WAS CONSTANTLY REBUILDING, REBUILDING, REBUILDING RELATIONSHIPS AND CONNECTIONS TO MAKE SURE WE WERE TRACKING THIS ACCURATELY.
SO WE NOW HAVE REALIZING THAT THAT WAS AN UPHILL BATTLE THAT WASN'T WORKING VERY WELL.
WE PARTNERED WITH A THIRD PARTY AGENCY AND WITH THEM IN PLACE, YOU CAN SEE WE'RE NOW UP TO 85% COMPLIANCE.
SO, UH, OF ALL THE BUILDINGS THAT WE KNOW OF IN TOWN, SO THIS IS NOT A PERFECT SYSTEM.
UH, 85% OF THEM ARE MAINTAINING COMPLIANCE WITH THEIR SPRINKLERS, ALARM SYSTEMS, ET CETERA.
WELL, THAT ENSURES IS, IS PUBLIC SAFETY IF THERE WAS EVER AN INCIDENT.
AND THOSE BUILDINGS AFTER THEY'RE OCCUPIED FOR,
[00:25:01]
FOR YEARS TO COME.UH, WE DO A VARIETY OF THINGS.
UH, WE WILL, UH, IN, UH, INSTALL AT NO CHARGE.
LEMME REPEAT THAT AT NO CHARGE.
SMOKE ALARMS, THAT IS THE FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE IN ANY HOME, UH, IN GETTING OUT BEFORE THE, THE, THE SMOKE OR THE PRODUCTS OF COMBUSTION OR THE FLAMES, UH, BUILD AND, AND CAUSE SOMEONE TO BE SUCCUMB TO CARBON MONOXIDE OR SOMETHING ALONG THOSE LINES.
UH, YOU CAN SEE HERE THE, THE NUMBERS THAT WE'VE INSTALLED PER QUARTER.
UH, IT IS A, UH, WE DO CANVAS NEIGHBORHOODS AFTER THERE'S A, A FIRE, UH, WE GO THERE AND WE KNOCK ON DOORS AND, AND OFFER TO INSTALL AND PEOPLE CAN CONTACT US, WHICH IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, SHOULD BE, UH, UH, SHOWS YOU WHERE WE'VE INSTALLED IT BY DISTRICTS.
SO, UH, AND GET A FEEL FOR WHERE THROUGHOUT THE, THE, THE CITY WE'VE INSTALLED THEM.
AND IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, AN ADVERTISEMENT, UH, WE WILL COME TO YOU AND WE WILL INSTALL SMOKE ALARMS. IF YOU, IF YOU CAN DO IT YOURSELF, GREAT.
IF YOU CANNOT, WE WILL BRING ONE AND INSTALL IT FOR YOU.
UH, WHERE THEY NEED TO TYPICALLY GO IS IN THE HALLWAY THAT LEADS TO YOUR BEDROOMS. UH, 'CAUSE IF YOU SLEEP WITH YOUR DOORS, SHUT THOSE DOORS.
EVEN THE FLIMSY INTERIOR ONES DO A GREAT JOB OF, OF KEEPING THE SMOKE AND, AND, AND PRODUCTS OF COMBUSTION AND FLAMES OUT OF THOSE BEDROOMS. ALLOW US TIME TO GET THERE AND GET YOU OUT THROUGH A WINDOW.
UH, SO PROVIDE SOME SAFETY THERE.
SO EARLY ALARM BY HAVING ONE IN THE HALLWAY IS GOOD.
AND THEN ALSO IN YOUR BEDROOMS IN THE BEDROOM, YOU WANT IT UP HIGH, EITHER ON THE CEILING OR CLOSE TO, AND IN PROXIMITY TO WHERE THE DOOR IS.
OBVIOUSLY, WHEN THE SMOKE COMES IN, IT GOES UP.
YOU WANT IT TO WHERE IT'S GONNA, UH, DETECT THAT SMOKE AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE TO GIVE YOU THE MOST TIME TO HELP GET YOURSELF OUT.
AND AGAIN, WE WILL COME INSTALL THOSE IF I DIDN'T MENTION EARLIER FOR FREE.
THIS TWO IS, IS RELATIVELY, UH, CONSISTENT FROM QUARTER TO QUARTER, UH, FOR OUR EITHER SEPARATIONS OR RETIREMENTS.
BY AND LARGE, MOST PEOPLE JOIN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT.
THEY STAY FOR A FULL HEALTHY CAREER OF 20 TO 30 YEARS AND RETIRE EVERY NOW AND THEN.
LIFE CIRCUMSTANCES, UH, DICTATE THAT SOMEONE MOVE ON TO SOMETHING ELSE.
WE DO EXIT INTERVIEWS AND, AND WE, WE TRY TO GET AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHY PEOPLE ARE LEAVING.
AND IT'S TYPICALLY BEEN FOR FAMILY REASONS.
THEY, THEY'VE GOT FAMILY ELSEWHERE THEY NEED GO TAKE CARE OF.
AND SO THEY HAVE TO LEAVE HERE TO GO DO THAT IS THE MOST COMMON ONE.
UM, RIGHT NOW OUR VACANCY RATE FOR SWORN IS ABOUT 83 PEOPLE, AND OUR CIVILIAN IS FIVE.
OUR CIVILIANS DO A LOT OF SUPPORT THINGS.
OUR WELLNESS IS, YOU'LL MEET ONE OF OUR CIVILIANS HERE IN A MOMENT.
HEATHER
WE CAN'T DO THE THINGS THAT WE DO, UH, WHEN WE GO SERVE THE COMMUNITY WITHOUT THE SUPPORT OF ALL OF OUR MEMBERS, WHETHER THEY'RE SWORN OR CIVILIAN.
SO, UH, ONGOING, UH, WE DO A RECRUITING PROCESS, UH, AND TRY TO HI, GET, UH, POOLS OF CANDIDATES TO, TO HIRE FOR, UH, OUR VACANCIES.
AS YOU SAW, WE HAD 83 CURRENTLY.
UH, I'LL TELL YOU THE CADET CLASSES WE HAVE IN MOTION.
THIS LAST TIME AROUND, WE HAD ABOUT 1700 CANDIDATE INTEREST CARDS.
THERE'S A WEBSITE, JOIN AFD.COM.
YOU CAN SHARE WITH YOUR FRIENDS IF THEY'RE INTERESTED IN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT.
YOU GET A LOT OF GOOD INFORMATION.
AND THEY CAN ALSO SIGN UP TO HAVE, UH, INFORMATION SENT TO THEM AS FAR AS WHEN WE'RE GONNA HIRE NEXT.
UH, OF THOSE, WE HAD, UH, 1300 APPLICANTS.
OF THOSE 1300 APPLICANTS, ONLY 667 SHOWED UP FOR THE WRITTEN TEST.
SO, UH, INTEREST AND APPLYING DON'T COUNT UNLESS YOU SHOW UP FOR THE TEST ITSELF.
UH, FROM THAT LIST, WE'RE GONNA HIRE A TOTAL OF THREE CLASSES, WHICH I'LL GET TO IN A MOMENT.
THEY GO THROUGH A VARIETY OF, OF, UM, ASSESSMENTS TO MAKE SURE THAT, UH, THEY ARE APPROPRIATE FOR THIS JOB AND MEET THE REQUIREMENTS FOR IT.
UH, YOU'LL SEE THAT INFORMATION ALONG THERE.
THAT AND THE, WE, WE RUN THEM THROUGH IN BATCHES.
'CAUSE IT'S, IT'S VERY LABORIOUS TO DO THAT.
UH, AND WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE GET, UH, TO A POINT WHERE WE HAVE HIREABLE CANDIDATES FOR OUR FIRST CLASS WHILE WE'RE WORKING THOSE OTHER BATCHES THROUGH.
SO THAT'S WHY YOU SEE THE VARIETY OF GROUPS THERE.
ALRIGHT, SO CURRENTLY WE HAVE TWO CADET CLASSES IN PLACE.
CADET CLASS NUMBER 1 39 STARTED IN JANUARY.
UH, SOME OF THE REASONS FOR, FOR THE, THE, THE, THE DROP ARE, UH, ACADEMICS OR, UH, NOT MEETING THE PHYSICAL STANDARDS, OR THEY GET IN AND, AND REALIZE MAYBE IT'S NOT NECESSARILY FOR THEM AND THEY SELF WITHDRAW.
UH, CLASS ONE 40 STARTED WITH 45 CADETS BACK ON THE MARCH 24TH.
[00:30:01]
THEY'RE NOW DOWN TO 40, SAME EXACT REASONS AS BEFORE.AND, UH, WE'VE GOT ANOTHER CADET CLASS STARTING IN, UH, AUGUST THAT WILL HAVE IDEALLY 48 CANDIDATES IN.
SO IF YOU SEE THERE, BASED ON OUR, OUR ATTRITION RATE, WE'RE HOPING TO KEEP OUR VACANCIES DOWN PRETTY LOW.
A FEW YEARS AGO, WE HAD OUR VACANCIES DOWN TO ABOUT 12, 12 PEOPLE, NOT 12%, 12 PEOPLE.
THAT'S FROM MY PARTNERS HERE TO MY RIGHT.
UH, THE, UH, THE, WE'RE VERY FORTUNATE WITH
SORRY, MAYBE THAT'S A LITTLE TOO, TOO JOKEY.
UH, WE'RE VERY FORTUNATE THAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO KEEP THAT DOWN LOW.
VERY IMPORTANT BECAUSE WE DO HAVE REQUIRED STAFFING FOR APPARATUS.
AND IF WE DON'T MEET THAT, THAT DOES REQUIRE PEOPLE TO STAY IN A MANDATORY FASHION.
AND BY DOING OUR BEST TO KEEP OUR VACANCIES DOWN LOW, WE'RE MINIMIZING THAT MANDATORY ASPECTS.
WE'RE TRYING TO MINE THE, THE, THE HEALTH OF ALL BEING OF OUR MEMBERS BY, BY DOING SO.
THAT, IS IT NORMALLY THE LAST? WELL, IT DOES AT THE VERY BOTTOM.
IT'S A DIFFERENT, UH, UM, VIEW TO IT.
BUT YOU'LL SEE AT THE BOTTOM THE JOIN AFD.COM.
ANYONE INTERESTED IN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT? UH, HIGHLY ENCOURAGE 'EM TO CHECK US OUT.
UH, 30 YEARS IN THE DEPARTMENT, HAVE ENJOYED EVERY BIT OF IT, AND I HOPE THERE'S OTHERS THAT, THAT GET THAT SAME OPPORTUNITY THAT I GOT.
ANY QUESTIONS? DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? I'M LOOKING ONLINE FIRST TO SEE IF WE HAVE, IF WE CAN GET EVERYBODY'S CAMERAS ON, THAT'D BE GREAT.
UM, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS HERE? I HAVE, UM, I HAVE ONE.
UM, WITH, UM, YOU MENTIONED WHEN YOU WERE GOING THROUGH THE FACILITIES REVIEW ABOUT THE GENERATORS AND THE NATURAL GAS THAT LIKE THE, THE FIT, THE NEW FITTINGS THAT THE STATIONS HAD TO GET MM-HMM
WITH THIS LAST BIT OF CONSTRUCTION THAT THE CITY HAS BEEN GOING THROUGH, WILL ALL THE STATIONS NOW HAVE GENERATORS? ALL OF THOSE STATIONS THAT HAVE BEEN REMODELED? YES.
UH, BUT THERE'S STILL A LOT MORE TO GO.
AND AGAIN, BSD HAS BEEN A PHENOMENAL PARTNER THROUGH THIS.
UH, THEY DO HAVE, UH, PORTABLE GENERATORS TO HELP US IF THOSE NEEDS ARISE AS WE WORK THROUGH THE PROCESS OF GETTING, UH, GENERATORS FULLY INSTALLED AT ALL OF OUR LOCATIONS.
DO YOU HAVE A SENSE OF WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THE STATIONS? I DON'T HAVE THAT OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, BUT I CAN MOST CERTAINLY EMAIL THAT TO Y'ALL.
I JUST KNOW THAT IT WAS A, IT WAS A BIG DEAL WHEN WE HAD THE STORMS. AND JUST KIND OF GETTING A SENSE OF WHERE YOU GUYS ARE WITH, WITH THAT, THAT MORE PERMANENT SORT OF INSTALLATION OF GENERATORS.
IT'S NOT ONE OF THOSE QUICK RESOLVE.
I KNOW BSD, AGAIN, IS, IS WORKING VERY DILIGENTLY TO HELP US OUT TO, TO GET US TO THAT FULL GENERATOR LEVEL.
AND, AND THEY'VE GOT A, AN INTERIM PLAN WITH THE, THE PORTABLE GENERATORS TO HELP US ALONG THE WAY.
DID WE HAVE ANYTHING ELSE? YEAH, WE, ONE, ONE QUESTION, AND THANK YOU
UM, ONE STAFFING QUESTION, I MEAN, EXCITED TO SEE THE STAFFING NUMBERS COMING UP IN THE LOW VACANCY RATES.
I I, I'M CURIOUS WITH THE RESPONSE TIMES KIND OF CREEPING UP, UM, WITH THE CITY'S POPULATION GROWTH, DO YOU THINK THERE'S A NEED TO HAVE MORE STAFFING OR IS IT MORE APPARATUS AND LOCATIONS TO KIND OF GET, GET BACK TO THAT NATIONAL TARGET? THE SHORT ANSWER TO THAT'S GONNA BE YES,
ONE IS, UH, FOR RESPONSE TIMES, UH, MAYBE LOOKING AT ADDITIONAL RESPONSE MODELS, UH, MAYBE SQUADS OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
UH, THAT'S LESS EXPENSIVE THAN BUILDING A WHOLE BRAND NEW FIRE STATION.
A A MODIFIED, UH, PICKUP TRUCK OR BRUSH TRUCK IS LESS EXPENSIVE THAN AN A, UH, A FIRE PUMPER OR AN AERIAL AND COULD BE MAYBE STAFFED WITH A, A LESSER NUMBER OF PEOPLE TOO INSTEAD OF FOUR.
AND THEY MOST SORT OF LIKELY BE RESPONSIVE TO VARIETY OF CALLS THAT WOULD HELP WITH THE, UH, RESPONSE TIMES.
THAT, THAT'S A FUTURE VISION ITEM.
THERE'S SOME TECHNOLOGY ITEMS HERE TO HELP US THROUGH, UH, THROUGH TRAFFIC SIGNALS IN A MORE EXPEDITED FASHION THAT WE'RE PARTNERING WITH, UH, OTHER CITY AGENCIES THAT AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT AND OTHERS TO, TO GET IN PLACE, WHICH WILL HELP HELP ALL OF OUR AGENCIES OUT TO, TO HELP, UH, WITH THE RESPONSE TIME.
SO THERE'S A VARIETY OF TOOLS THAT WERE, THAT WERE, THAT ARE IN MOTION, UH, FOR THAT ADDITIONAL STAFFING WOULD, WOULD HELP TO ADDRESS SOME OF THE, THE MANDATORY STUFF THAT WE TALKED ABOUT A LITTLE, I MENTIONED A LITTLE WHILE AGO AS WELL.
SO, BUT THE, THE, THE, IT'S A, IT'S A, A MIXTURE OF A MULTIPLE, MULTIPLE THINGS TO TRY TO HELP ADDRESS THAT.
THAT, AND JUST A REMINDER, AND I'M JUST SAYING IT OUT LOUD
[00:35:01]
SO THAT WE REMEMBER, UM, IS THAT WE HAD, WHEN FLEET CAME OUT LAST TIME, TALKED ABOUT HEARING BACK FROM THEM ABOUT ALTERNATIVE VEHICLES AND ALTERNATIVE RESPONSE MODELS WITH THE MAYBE SMALLER VEHICLES MM-HMMUM, SO THAT WE COULD ALWAYS REVISIT THAT CONVERSATION WITH REGARDS TO FIRE SPECIFICALLY OR FOR ALL THE, THE ENTIRE FLEET.
[3. Discussion of sexual assault data with Austin Police Department, The SAFE Alliance, Travis County District Attorney's Office, Austin Travis County Sexual Assault Response and Resource Team (SARRT), and members of the Collective Sex Crimes Response Model Project (CSCRM).]
TO OUR NEXT ITEM.OH, ACTUALLY OUR NEXT ITEM NUMBER THREE, WHICH IS OUR DISCUSSION OF SEXUAL ASSAULT DATA WITH A PD SAFE AND TRAVIS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE IS POST IS CANCELED, IS POSTPONED.
WE DID NOT HAVE ENOUGH STAKEHOLDERS ABLE TO PRESENT THEIR DATA TODAY.
UM, YOU'LL NOTICE THAT THERE IS IN OUR BACKUP, UM, TRAVIS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, UM, SUBMITTED THEIR DATA.
WE DID NOT HAVE ANYBODY PRESENTING TODAY.
THEIR DATA, THOUGH, UM, SAFE HAD SUBMITTED THEIR DATA.
DID THAT END UP GETTING POSTED, CHRISTIE, OR DID, OR DID WE KNOW? NO, IT DIDN'T.
SO SAFE DID SUBMIT THEIR DATA AND THEY WERE PLANNING ON COMING AND A PD NOTIFIED US, UM, LATE ON FRIDAY THAT THEY WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO PRESENT THEIR DATA EITHER.
UM, CITING DATA INTEGRITY ISSUES.
UM, DID YOU WANNA SAY ANYTHING ELSE TO THAT CHIEF HENDERSON? YES.
SO AS WE WERE PUTTING THE DATA TOGETHER, WE REALIZED THAT THERE WERE SOME, UH, POTENTIAL DATA INTEGRITY ISSUES.
AND SO WE JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT IT WAS THOROUGHLY VETTED.
UM, AND THEN MAKE SURE WHEN WE DO PRESENT OUT THAT IT'S ACCURATE AND CONSISTENT.
AND SO JUST WANTED TO HAVE THAT ADDITIONAL TIME.
SO WE APOLOGIZE TO THE COMMISSION THAT WE WEREN'T ABLE TO PROVIDE THAT, BUT WE ARE WORKING ON IT AND WE WILL BE ABLE TO PRESENT WHEN IT DOES GET RESCHEDULED.
UM, WE ARE A LITTLE DISAPPOINTED.
WE WERE, WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON THIS ITEM FOR QUITE SOME TIME, AND SO NOT HAVING IT AT THE LAST MINUTE WAS A LITTLE DISAPPOINTING.
UM, I WAS ACTUALLY REALLY GRATEFUL AND IMPRESSED, UM, BY APDS DATA LAST TIME.
AND I'M HOPEFUL THAT IT'LL HAVE THE SAME CANDOR AND TENOR WHEN, WHEN THEY COME BACK, UM, TO PRESENT THE DATA NEXT TIME.
'CAUSE IT WAS VERY FORTHCOMING AND, AND, AND IT WAS REALLY REFRESHING, QUITE FRANKLY.
SO I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING THAT AGAIN SOON.
UM, AND WITH THAT WE WILL REVISIT THAT LATER.
[4. Presentation on firefighter cancer prevention and changes in funding for continued tracking of efforts by Austin Fire Department.]
IS, UM, ITEM FOUR, UH, PRESENTATION ON FIREFIGHTER CANCER PREVENTION AND CHANGES IN FUNDING FOR CONTINUED TRACKING.I'M THE CLINIC ADMINISTRATOR FOR THE PUBLIC SAFETY WELLNESS CENTER.
AND, UM, I'M EXCITED TO SPEAK TO YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE WORK THAT WE DO AT, UH, THE WELLNESS CENTER.
SO, UM, A FEW OF THE SCREENINGS THAT WE DO, UM, IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE ANNUAL EXAMS ARE LISTED HERE.
UM, AND THOUGH THEY'RE NOT CANCER SCREENINGS IN AND OF THEMSELVES, THEY DO HELP IDENTIFY ABNORMALITIES THAT WILL THEN, UM, ALLOW OUR PHYSICIAN TO, TO REFER OUR FIRST RESPONDERS OUT, UH, FOR ADDITIONAL SCREENING OR OR TESTING AS NEEDED.
UM, SO WE PERFORM SPIROMETRY, UM, WE DO A URINALYSIS, UH, AND A PSA CHECK FOR, UM, PROSTATE SPECIFIC ANTIGEN IN THE BLOOD WORK THAT IS DONE, UH, DURING THE ANNUAL EXAMS AND ALSO A THYROID CHECK.
UH, AND THOUGH WE ARE REFERRING TO, UM, FIREFIGHTER CANCER SCREENINGS, UH, SOME OF THESE ARE ALSO DONE FOR OUR OTHER FIRST RESPONDERS, SO OUR EMS EMPLOYEES AND OUR PD WHEN THEY COME THROUGH FOR THEIR EXAMS. UM, SO IT ALLOWS US TO PROVIDE THOSE SCREENINGS FOR THOSE MEMBERS AS WELL.
AND THEN SOME OF THE SCREENINGS THAT ARE DONE THROUGH EDUCATION, ALSO DURING THE ANNUAL EXAM, UM, INCLUDE SUGGESTIONS FOR, UM, A MAMMOGRAPHY, UM, AN ANNUAL WOMAN'S EXAM OR EVEN A COLONOSCOPY.
AND THAT'S A CONVERSATION THAT HAPPENS BETWEEN THE PHYSICIAN AND THE PATIENT, DEPENDING ON THEIR AGE, UM, AND WHETHER THOSE, THOSE REQUIREMENTS ARE MET.
ALSO, JUST REFERRING THEM TO THE GENERAL THINGS THAT HELP IDENTIFY WHEN THERE'S AN ISSUE, UM, SUCH AS YOUR REGULAR DENTIST APPOINTMENT, UM, AND ANYTHING ELSE THAT MAY ARISE THAT IS OF CONCERN FOR THE MEMBER.
AND THEN YOUR GENERAL PALPATION TO IDENTIFY ANY MASSES THAT MIGHT BE WITHIN THE BODY, UM, OR ANY AREAS OF CONCERN FROM THE PATIENT.
AND THEN WE ALSO PROVIDE SKIN CANCER SCREENINGS THROUGH A THIRD PARTY.
UM, ITS CENTRAL AUSTIN DERMATOLOGY GROUP REACHED OUT TO US.
AND SO THEY PROVIDE SCREENINGS MONTHLY IN OUR FACILITY FOR ALL OF OUR, AGAIN, ALL OF OUR FIRST RESPONDERS.
THAT'S FIREFIGHTERS, EMS EMPLOYEES PD.
AND WE'VE EXTENDED THAT TO A FEW OF OUR OTHER, UM, CITY DEPARTMENTS WHO HAVE MEMBERS WHO ARE OUT IN THE SUN ON A REGULAR BASIS.
AND THAT'S ALSO AVAILABLE TO OUR CIVILIANS, SO THAT THEY'VE BEEN A GREAT, UM, SUPPORT FOR SKIN CANCER SCREENINGS.
AND THEN ADDITIONAL INITIATIVES THAT WE HAVE, WE WERE ABLE TO CONDUCT PFOS TESTS FOR ABOUT 78 OF OUR, UM, FIREFIGHTERS THAT WAS GRANT FUNDED.
UH, THE TESTS ARE PRETTY EXPENSIVE, SO WE WERE KIND OF LIMITED ON HOW MANY WE COULD PERFORM.
UM, AND THEN THE MEMBERS CAN TAKE THAT INFORMATION
[00:40:01]
TO THEIR PCP TO DO ANY ADDITIONAL TESTING, UH, PFOS TESTS OR, OR AS I MENTIONED, PRETTY NEW.AND SO WE'RE KIND OF LIMITED ON WHAT WE CAN DO WITH THAT INFORMATION, BUT IT PROVIDES AT THE, AT THE, UM, BASIC LEVEL, JUST KIND OF A BASELINE SO THAT WE KNOW WHERE WE'RE STARTING FROM.
AND THEN FOR ONGOING EDUCATION, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UM, THE WELLNESS CENTER HAS BEEN DOING IS ATTENDING THE ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL FIREFIGHTER CANCER SYMPOSIUM AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI SCHOOL OF MEDICINE.
AND THAT'S BEEN A VERY INFORMATIVE, UH, WAY FOR US TO KEEP UP TO DATE ON THE LATEST RESEARCH WITHIN, UM, CANCER RESEARCH FOR, FOR FIREFIGHTERS.
UM, BUT WHAT'S REALLY GREAT IS THAT THAT ALSO EXTENDS TO, UM, OUR OTHER GROUPS AS WELL, UH, WHEN THEY'RE INVOLVED IN SIMILAR INCIDENTS THAT IT, UH, EXPOSE THEM TO CERTAIN ELEMENTS.
SO THAT'S JUST A REALLY HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW OF THE SKIN CANCER SCREENINGS THAT WE DO THROUGH THE WELLNESS CENTER AND THE INITIATIVES THAT WE HAVE GOING ON.
SO I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS IF YOU HAVE THEM.
ACTUALLY, BEFORE YOU GET STARTED, CAN YOU JUST TALK A LITTLE BIT, YOU OR CHIEF ABOUT, UM, PFAS AND JUST WHAT THAT IS, JUST SO THAT PEOPLE THAT ARE WATCHING UNDERSTAND AND WHY, WHY IS THERE A CANCER RISK TO FIREFIGHTERS? THERE MAY BE PEOPLE THAT DON'T KNOW.
SO, UM, FIREFIGHTING AND, AND FEEL FREE TO JUMP IN HERE, CHIEF FIRES, BUT, UM, FIREFIGHTING HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED AS A CARCINOGEN, AS AS AN, UM, OCCUPATION.
UM, SO THAT'S WHY, UH, CANCER RATES HAVE BEEN FAIRLY HIGH WITHIN THE FIREFIGHTER POPULATION AND WHY WE'RE CONDUCTING THESE INITIATIVES AND, UM, MAKING SURE THAT WE DO ALL THESE SCREENINGS DURING THEIR ANNUAL EXAMS, SPECIFICALLY FOR PFAS.
SO, UM, I'M SURE WE'VE HEARD OF IT WITHIN, UH, TEFLON, REALLY ANY PLASTIC THAT WE HAVE.
UM, THERE ARE MANY, MANY COMPOUNDS, BUT FOR FIREFIGHTERS, THERE WAS, UM, A SPECIFICALLY HIGH AMOUNT OF PFAS IN FIREFIGHTING FOAM THAT WE'VE USED AT AIRPORTS MM-HMM
OH, I CAN STEP IN FOR THAT A LITTLE BIT.
SO, UH, THE INITIATIVES THAT STARTED EARLY ON, ONCE THEY RECOGNIZED PFAS TO BE THE, UH, UH, UH, CANCER CONCERNING, WAS TO, UH, CHANGE OVER THE, THE FOAM, UH, THAT'S USED AT THE AIRPORT TO, TO NON PFAS RELATED.
THE, THE, THE CHALLENGE HERE BECOMES WHAT WORKED VERY WELL, BUT HAD A CANCER RISK TO IT.
MOVING TO SOMETHING THAT DOESN'T HAVE A CANCER RISK TO IT DOES NOT WORK AS WELL AS THE ORIGINAL PRODUCT.
AND, AND DOING IT IN A RESPONSIBLE FASHION, UH, IN COLLABORATION WITH THE AIRPORT, HAVE BEEN GREAT PARTNERS IN, IN, UH, GETTING EDUCATED EARLY ON.
THIS HAS BEEN A SEVERAL YEAR PROCESS, UH, WORKING THROUGH A MITIGATION, UH, PLAN TO GET RID OF THE, THE FOAM THAT'S THERE CURRENTLY TO, THEY LEARNED THAT CLEANING OUT THE UNITS WAS A BIT MORE EXPENSIVE THAN MAYBE IT, IT MADE SENSE TO DO SO.
THEY'RE CHANGING THE UNITS OUT.
SO INSTEAD OF DOING A WHOLE CLEAN OUT TO MAKE SURE THE, THE TANK AND THE, AND ALL THE, THE FITTINGS AND PIPES WERE, WERE, WERE CLEAR OF THE OLD, UH, FOAM.
THEY'VE CHANGED OUT THE APPARATUS THROUGH, UH, A PROCESS TO GET US TO, I THINK BY THE END OF THIS YEAR, UH, AUSTIN, UH, BURHAM AIRPORT WILL BE COMPLETELY PFOS FREE AS FAR AS FOAM IN THE APPARATUS THEMSELVES FOR, UH, THE TURNOUTS.
ONE OF THE RESOLUTIONS FROM, UH, IT WAS COUNCIL MEMBER MCKENZIE KELLY, WAS TO, TO NOT ONLY ADDRESS THE FOAM ITEM, WHICH WE'RE WORKING ON, AS I DESCRIBED, BUT ALSO IN OUR TURNOUTS.
THERE'S THREE LAYERS TO THE TURNOUTS OUTER SHELL INNER, UH, A THERMAL BARRIER AND A MOISTURE BARRIER.
AND IN BETWEEN TWO OF THOSE, IT IS THE MATERIAL THAT'S, THAT'S GOT PFAS IN IT.
SO WE ARE GOING THROUGH A PROCESS OF, OF WORKING THROUGH A VARIETY OF TURNOUT.
TURNOUTS ARE THE, THE, THE, THE, THE CLOTHING YOU THINK OF FIREFIGHTERS WEARING WHEN WE GO INTO, UH, A, A BURNING BUILDING TO, TO FIND SOMETHING THAT'S A SUITABLE REPLACEMENT AS IT SITS IN BETWEEN THOSE TWO LAYERS.
SO LONG AS THERE'S NOT ANY DAMAGED FABRIC, IT, IT, IT'S, IT'S NOT AS DANGEROUS AS IF IT WERE, WERE EXPOSED.
UM, SO WE ARE WORKING THROUGH A PROCESS THERE TO, TO, TO GET TURNOUTS THAT ARE PROPERLY PROTECTED FOR OUR FOLKS.
WE DON'T, WE DON'T WANNA PUT 'EM IN FURTHER HARM'S WAY AS WE'RE TRYING TO SOLVE ONE ISSUE BY GIVING 'EM A DIFFERENT ISSUE THAT THAT MAY BE WORSE THAN THE CURRENT ONE.
SO WE ARE WORKING THROUGH THAT IN THE MIDST OF THIS ATTACK.
ATTACKING ON ABOVE AND BEYOND PFAS IS, IS A NUMBER OF OTHER CANCER INITIATIVES THAT WE HAVE.
UH, WE HAVE WHAT'S CALLED A CLEAN CAB INITIATIVE.
SO YOU THINK, REMEMBER I TALKED ABOUT THE TURNOUTS WE USED TO LEAVE ON THE SIDE OF THE, OF THE BEDS AND, AND THE AIR BLOWING AND, AND, AND ALL THOSE CONTAMINANTS THEN IN THE AIR AROUND US.
WELL, THE SAME HOLDS TRUE WHEN SOMEONE, WHEN A, WHEN A, WHEN A CREW FINISHES A FIRE SCENE, THEY'VE BEEN INSIDE THEIR TURNOUTS ARE, ARE NOW AND PERMEATED WITH THE CONTENTS OF THE, THE SMOKE AND STUFF THAT WAS IN THERE.
THEY GET BACK IN THEIR CAB WITH THOSE SAME, THOSE SAME TURNOUTS ON THE AIR WHIRLING AROUND IN THERE WOULD CAUSE THE SAME ISSUE.
SO NOW, WHENEVER THERE'S A MAJOR FIRE, UH, WE HAVE, UH,
[00:45:01]
AN ON-CALL GROUP THAT GOES AND GETS, UM, LOANER TURNOUT GEAR, WHICH WE HAVE, UH, A SUPPLY OF.THEY GO TO THE SCENE, THEY, THE, THE FIREFIGHTERS BAG UP, THE ONES THAT HAVE BEEN IN THE, IN THE FIRE AND THAT HAVE THE CONTAMINANTS IN IT.
THEY'VE GOT NOW CLEAN TURNOUTS TO WEAR, SO THEY CAN CONTINUE DOING THEIR JOB MOVING ON FROM THERE.
AND THOSE OTHER TURNOUTS ARE TAKEN BACK, AND WE HAVE EXTRACTORS.
THEY'RE, THEY'RE INDUSTRIAL, UH, WASHERS, IF YOU WILL, TO HELP PULL OUT THE CONTAMINANTS.
UH, THEY'RE, THEY'RE DRIED AND THEN THEY'RE, THEN THE REVERSE IS DONE.
THEY GET BACK TO THE FIREFIGHTER, RETURN 'EM THEIR ORIGINAL GEAR AND RECLAIM THE LOANERS, CLEAN THOSE, AND MAKE THOSE AVAILABLE FOR SOMEONE IN THE FUTURE.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE'VE GOT, UH, WIPES THAT ARE USED ON SCENE.
THE, THE, I USED TO KNOW THE EXACT STATISTICS ON THIS, BUT FOR EVERY TEMP DEGREE THAT THE BODY GOES UP, THE ABSORPTION RATE OF THE, THE CONTAMINANTS INCREASES BY AN EXPONENTIAL AMOUNT.
SO GETTING THAT OUT OF THEM AND OFF OF THEM AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE, I I, IS VERY IMPORTANT.
SO THEY HAVE WIPES THAT THEY CAN USE ON SCENE TO, TO GET THE, THE BULK OF THE CONTAMINANTS OFF, AND WE RETURN BACK TO THE STATION WITHIN AN HOUR.
THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO HAVE TAKEN A SHOWER TO GET THE REST OF THE CONTAMINANTS OFF OF THEM.
UM, WE'VE ALSO GOT WHAT'S, UH, CALLED A PLY EVENT, UH, WHEN THEY RETURN TO THE STATION.
DIESEL EXHAUST IS ALSO A CARCINOGEN.
UH, AND THAT EXHAUST JUST BILLOWING INTO THE TRUCK ROOM WHERE THE APPARATUS PARKS IS CONCERNING.
'CAUSE MANY OF THE, THE, THE, THE STATIONS, THAT'S WHERE THEIR WORKOUT EQUIPMENT IS, WHERE THEY STORE THEIR TURNOUTS.
UH, SO IT'S COUNTERPRODUCTIVE IN THAT REGARD.
SO WHEN THEY PULL UP TO THE, WHEN THEY BACK UP TO THE BAY, THERE'S A, AN, UH, AN EXTRACTION SYSTEM, IT'S A TUBE THAT ATTACHES TO THE EXHAUST PIPE AND, UH, IT AUTOMATICALLY TURNS ON, AND IT SUCKS ALL THAT, THAT DIESEL EXHAUST OUT THROUGH THE ROOF AND, AND, AND EXPELS IT THAT WAY VERSUS IT, UH, BILLOWING AND COLLECTING INSIDE OF THE TRUCK ROOM ITSELF.
I KNOW THIS IS NOT PFAS SPECIFIC, BUT AS, AS I'M EXPANDING THAT JUST A LITTLE BIT ABOVE AND BEYOND WHAT, WHAT HEATHER SHARED, THOSE ARE SOME OTHER THINGS THAT, THAT WE'VE DONE.
WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT SOME OTHER CANCER SCREENING ITEMS. THEY'RE JUST NOT YET FDA APPROVED.
SO WE, WE'VE WORKED WITH AND, AND, UH, UH, THE, THE NATIONAL AND THE INTERNATIONAL AS FIREFIGHTERS.
UH, SO IT'S A COLLECTIVE DEAL.
AND THE WELLNESS FITNESS INITIATIVE FOR THINGS THAT WE COULD DO TO, TO RESPONSIBLY ENHANCE THE, THE SCREENING FOR AND, AND, AND, AND TAKING CARE OF OUR FIREFIGHTERS AS FAR AS FINDING CANCER EARLY VERSUS LATER WHEN, WHEN THE MITIGATION AND, AND THE TREATMENTS ARE OR MAYBE HAVE A BETTER CHANCE OF SUCCESS.
DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? I'M GONNA LOOK ONLINE REAL QUICK.
I TO SEE, I FIGURED
UM, I'M, I'M CURIOUS IF Y'ALL HAVE CONSIDERED, UM, OR IF YOU'VE DONE INTERVIEWS WITH ALL OF YOUR FIREFIGHTERS TO IDENTIFY FOLKS WHO HAVE FAMILY HISTORIES OF CANCER WHO MIGHT BE GOOD CANDIDATES FOR HEREDITARY TESTING.
UH, SO A MEDICAL HISTORY IS, IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S DONE WITH THE PROVIDER, UM, DURING THEIR ANNUAL EXAM.
UM, SO THAT'S DEFINITELY SOMETHING THAT, THAT COULD BE SPOKEN TO DURING THAT TIME.
UH, I CAN'T SPEAK TO WHETHER THAT'S A CONVERSATION WITH EVERYBODY ABOUT, UM, THAT SPECIFIC TYPE OF TESTING.
UM, BUT IT'S DEFINITELY SOMETHING THAT WE WOULD REFER OUT IF, UM, IF THE REQUEST WAS MADE, UH, BY THE MEMBER.
I KNOW WE'VE HAD A, A FEW OTHER TESTS AND SCREENINGS THAT, UH, AS CHIEF I MENTIONED, OR MAYBE NOT FDA APPROVED OR NOT HIGHLY RECOMMENDED WITHIN THE MEDICAL COMMUNITY.
BUT IF THE MEMBER, UM, WANTS SUPPORT, WE DO PROVIDE SUPPORT IN THAT WAY SO THAT THEY CAN GET THAT TESTING DONE.
IT, IT MIGHT BE VALUABLE TO JUST HAVE, UH, COMMUNITY EDUCATION AMONG THE FIREFIGHTERS THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT JUST IMMEDIATE RELATIVES LIKE, YOU KNOW, PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS, BUT IF THEY HAVE AUNTS AND UNCLES, UH, WITH SERIOUS, UM, CANCER DIAGNOSES, IT, IT, IT REALLY IS WORTH FIGURING OUT WHAT THAT WAS AND FIGURING OUT IF THEY NEED TO BE TESTED.
THANK YOU FOR THE RECOMMENDATION.
DID WE HAVE COMMISSIONER ANO? WASN'T SURE IF YOUR HAND WAS UP? NO.
WELL, WITH THAT, THANK OH, GO AHEAD.
COMMISSIONER RUAN, NO QUESTION.
IN TERMS OF CANCER THAT YOU ALL TRACK, I KNOW THERE'S SEVERAL CANCERS THAT ARE, AT LEAST IN THE STATE OF TEXAS, MY UNDERSTANDING, CONSIDER PRESUMPTIVE DISABILITIES, YOU KNOW, STOMACH, COLON, A COUPLE OF LYMPHOMAS, MULTIPLE MYELOMA.
DO YOU GUYS DO ANY TRACKING OR SCREENING FOR THOSE WITHIN A FD AS PART OF THE BROADER INITIATIVE? UH, WE DON'T DO ANY TRACKING NECESSARILY ON THE PRESUMPTIVE.
IT MIGHT BE ON THE WORKERS' COMPENSATION SIDE, UM, THAT SOME OF THAT TRACKING IS DONE, BUT WE DO, UH, TRACKING WHEN WE
[00:50:01]
HAVE SOME, SOME SAVES OR CANCER IDENTIFICATIONS THROUGH THE ANNUAL EXAMS. BUT IF THAT'S INFORMATION THAT, THAT YOU WOULD LIKE SPECIFICALLY, WE CAN DEFINITELY PROVIDE THAT.OUR WORKERS' COMP GROUP WOULD PROBABLY HAVE A BETTER ABILITY TO ANSWER THAT PARTICULAR QUESTION.
JUST BE CURIOUS IN TERMS OF THINKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THOSE HIGH RISK ONES THAT WE KNOW ARE ASSOCIATED AND, AND YOU KNOW, WHAT'S, WHAT WE CAN DO TO TRY TO IDENTIFY ANYTHING EARLIER AS PART OF THE SCREENINGS, BUT WHATEVER BEST PRACTICES ARE NATIONWIDE.
AND THEN WE, WE DO WORK HAND IN HAND WITH, UH, THE, UH, A FA, THE FIREFIGHTERS ASSOCIATION IS, IS WE'RE ALL IN IT TO LOOKING FOR THE BEST SOLUTIONS POSSIBLE TO INCLUDE THE RECOMMENDATIONS BY COMMISSIONER BERNHARDT TO DO WHAT WE CAN TO EDUCATE AND, AND, UH, PREVENT WHERE WE CAN AND, AND, AND IDENTIFY EARLY ON.
BUT THAT PARTICULAR QUESTION WE CAN CIRCLE BACK AT WITH AN ANSWER FROM OUR WORKERS' COMP FOLKS FOR YOU.
AND COMMISSIONER BERNHARDT WAS REMINDING ME OF THE FUNDING SORT OF ISSUES THAT YOU GUYS MIGHT BE IF, IF, IF, AND WHAT FUNDING ISSUES YOU GUYS ARE COMING ACROSS ON AS, AS FEDERAL GRANTS START TO WITH AWAY
YEAH, SO, UH, CURRENTLY WE DON'T HAVE ANY FUNDING ISSUES.
UM, WE ARE, UM, FUNDED BY AN ANNUAL BUDGET, UM, THAT, UH, FLOWS THROUGH THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, BUT, UM, WE ALSO RECEIVE FUNDING FROM POLICE AND, AND EMS AS WELL, UM, FOR SPECIFIC ITEMS, UH, WORKS IN COLLABORATION.
AND SO WE HAVE A GOOD, UM, WORKING RELATIONSHIP IN PROVIDING ALL THE FUNDING THAT THE WELLNESS CENTER NEEDS.
UH, ADDITIONALLY, THE, UH, FIRE FOUNDATION PROVIDES, UM, SOMETIMES EQUIPMENT AS WE NEED THEM AS WELL.
SO WE GOT AN ERGONOMIC BIKE, WHICH HELPS TO GET A MODI METABOLIC SCORE FOR FOLKS WHO CAN'T RUN ON THE TREADMILL.
UM, SO THAT'S BEEN VERY, VERY HELPFUL.
UM, IN THE PAST, UH, A PD HAS PROVIDED A HEARING BOOTH FOR US.
UM, AND SO ALL OF THOSE THINGS ARE, ARE TAKEN CARE OF ON A REGULAR BASIS.
AND, UH, IT'S BEEN REALLY GREAT TO WORK WITH THE FOUNDATION TO PROVIDE ANY ADDITIONAL FUNDING THAT WE MIGHT NEED.
UM, BUT WE DO A PRETTY GOOD JOB OF PROJECTING OUT FOR THINGS LIKE VACCINES, UM, AND THOSE ARE, ARE WELL FUNDED AS WELL.
SO, UM, THE ONE THING THAT I GUESS IS NOT NECESSARILY BUDGET WISE IS THAT WE JUST HAVE HAD A HARD TIME HIRING A SECOND PHYSICIAN, UM, WHICH I THINK, UM, HAS, HAS BEEN MENTIONED BEFORE IN THE PAST, UM, THE, WE DID GET A, UM, A, UM, A GRANT FOR PFAS TESTING.
UH, IT, IT DID HAVE SOME LIMITATIONS TO THE, THE, THE AMOUNT WHICH EQUATED THE NUMBER OF, OF FIREFIGHTERS.
SO WE FOCUSED ON THE AIRPORT FOLKS FIRST.
UH, ACTIVE, AND THEN WE WENT TO RETIRED AND, AND THEN EXPANDED IT FROM THERE AS, AS INTEREST AND OR, UH, THE FUNDING ALLOWED FOR.
SO THERE WAS SOME FUNDING THAT WAY.
AND THEN THE FIRE FOUNDATION, AS, AS HEATHER ALLUDED TO EARLIER, HAS BEEN PHENOMENAL IN HELPING US WITH THE, THE, THE FREE, UH, UH, SKIN, UH, EVALUATIONS THAT HAPPENED ON A MONTHLY BASIS.
SO WE'VE, WE, WE WORKED HARD ON SOME, A VARIETY OF PARTNERSHIPS, RIGHT.
LOOKING FOR UNIQUE AND, AND OUT OF THE BOX WAYS TO, TO MAKE SURE WE'RE, WE'RE DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN FOR OUR MEMBERS TO DO A GREAT JOB DAY IN, DAY OUT, AS YOU'RE FAMILIAR.
UM, IF WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING ELSE, DID I SEE COMMISSIONER NGUYEN LEANING INTO THE MIC? I CAN'T HEAR YOU RIGHT YET.
LEMME TURN YOUR, UH, IS THERE YOU ARE? IS THE MIC WORKING? YEP.
UH, CHIEF, THANK YOU FOR ALL THAT INFORMATION AND, UH, YOU KNOW, TALKING ABOUT THE EXTRACTOR AND ALL THE OTHER PROCEDURES AND POLICIES THAT YOU ARE, YOU KNOW, CONSIDERING, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS I, I WAS WONDERING IN, IN THIS PROCESS, AND, UH, I KNOW THE END GOAL IS TALKING ABOUT FIREFIGHTER HEALTH, BUT, UM, WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A F UM, AND PFAS AND HOW IT AFFECTS FIREFIGHTERS, HAVE YOU CONSIDERED APPROACHING AND HAVING CONVERSATIONS WITH WATERSHED ABOUT THE EFFECTS OF, OF, UM, RUNOFF, UH, FROM A FF AND SEEING IF THAT COULDN'T, YOU KNOW, UH, PIGGYBACK OFF OF THAT FUNDING FOR RESEARCH AS WELL ON, UM, UH, ON THE EFFECTS AND, AND ALTERNATIVES AND THINGS LIKE THAT? I, I DO KNOW THAT THERE WAS A, A LARGE CONSORTIUM OF, OF CITY DEPARTMENTS INVOLVED IN THE, THE ONCE IDENTIFIED THE, THE PFAS AS A CONCERN AND THE FIREFIGHTING FOAM AT THE AIRPORT.
A NUMBER OF AGENCIES WERE INVOLVED.
I, I DON'T KNOW THE SPECIFICS OF THAT.
I'LL GO BACK AND DOUBLE CHECK WITH OUR, OUR FOLKS AT OUR AIRPORT, UH, UH, FIRE STATION, THEIR LEADERSHIP TO ENSURE THAT WE WERE PART OF THAT.
I BELIEVE THAT WAS THE CASE, BUT I DON'T WANNA SPEAK OUT OF TURN BECAUSE I, I CAN'T SAY THAT WITH, WITH GREAT MEMORY AND CONFIDENCE AT THIS MOMENT.
I, I CAN ADD JUST A LITTLE BIT TO THAT.
WHEN WE APPLIED FOR THE GRANT FUNDING, WE DID ASK FOR, UM, SOIL TESTING, BUT IT WAS DENIED, UH, AS
[00:55:01]
PART OF THE GRANT APPROVAL.SO IT, IT IS DEFINITELY SOMETHING THAT'S, UM, UM, THAT'S UNDERSTOOD TO BE A OF A, A LITTLE BIT HIGHER OF A CONCERN THAN MAYBE SKIN CONTACT OR, OR THE FACT THAT, YOU KNOW, PFAS IS IN EVERYTHING.
SO IT'S REALLY HARD TO DETERMINE EXACTLY WHERE IT CAME FROM.
UM, BUT IT, IT WAS INITIALLY DENIED.
UM, AND WITH THAT, UM, WE ARE JUST GONNA MOVE THROUGH, UM, THESE, UM, REMAINING WORKING ITEMS. I THINK WE CAN KNOCK THROUGH THEM RELATIVELY QUICKLY, UM, DEPENDING ON HOW MUCH DISCUSSION WE WANNA HAVE.
[5. Update from the Training Academy Working Group on scheduled tour of APD Training Academy]
FIRST UP, JUST AN UPDATE FROM THE TRAINING ACADEMY WORK GROUP.UM, THERE IS A TOUR THAT'S BEEN OFFERED, UM, TO THE TRAINING ACADEMY WORK GROUP, UM, OF, OF THE ACADEMY, UM, THAT IS COMING UP IN JUNE.
UM, AND WE HAVEN'T MET IN THE PAST MONTH OR SO, BUT I'M HOPING THAT WE CAN DO THAT IN THE COMING MONTH AND, AND, AND PERHAPS AFTER THAT TOUR, SO WE CAN TALK ABOUT WHAT OUR NEXT STEPS, UM, ARE GOING TO BE.
[6. Approve updates to the membership of the Training Academy Working Group.]
I ALSO JUST KNOW THAT WE HAVE A FEW NEW MEMBERS AND THIS IS THE CLOSEST WE'VE HAD TO FULL, UM, ATTENDANCE IN A WHILE.UM, AND I WAS HOPING THAT THAT WOULD BE THE CASE.
SO I WENT AHEAD AND PUT ON THE AGENDA JUST OFFERING, UM, THE ABILITY FOR ANYBODY ELSE THAT IS INTERESTED IN JOINING THE TRAINING ACADEMY WORKING GROUP, UM, THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THAT DO YOU WANNA EXPLAIN THE NEW MEMBERS HOW WORKING GROUPS FUNCTION? YEAH.
UM, SO WORKING GROUPS ARE NON QUORUM GROUPS, SO THEY'RE LESS THAN SIX MEMBERS, UM, MADE UP OF THE COMMISSION.
AND WE BASICALLY HAVE THE APPROVAL TO MOVE AND DO SOME WORK IN BETWEEN MEETINGS.
UM, UM, WE MEET WITH DIFFERENT MEMBERS OF THE DEPARTMENT DEPENDING ON THE, THE, THE SCOPE OF THE WORKING GROUP.
UM, FOR THE TRAINING ACADEMY IN PARTICULAR, WE'VE BEEN MEETING WITH TRAINING ACADEMY STAFF.
WE'VE MET WITH CHIEF HENDERSON, WE'VE MET WITH SEVERAL AND VARIOUS PEOPLE, UM, AS WE REVIEW THE KROLL RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, AND THE WORK THAT THE ACADEMY HAS BEEN DOING TO TRACK, UM, THE WORK THAT THEY'RE DOING.
UM, SO THAT'S SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THE TRAINING ACADEMY AND, UM, WE DO HAVE TO APPOINT MEMBERS FROM THE COMMISSION TO JOIN THE, THE WORKING GROUPS IF SOMEONE IS INTERESTED IN DOING THAT.
UM, AND WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO REVISIT OUR SCOPE, UM, AS THE LIFECYCLE OF THE WORKING GROUP MOVES ON, IF WE NEED TO MAKE ANY CHANGES.
UM, THE TRAINING ACADEMY WORKING GROUP SPECIFICALLY, THE SCOPE OF IT IS TO JUST REVIEW SPECIFICALLY CRAWL RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND OUR END GOAL IS TO COME UP WITH SOME RECOMMENDATIONS MOVING FORWARD.
UM, AND WE HAVE OVER THE PAST, I DON'T KNOW, FIVE, SIX MONTHS, BEEN GATHERING INFORMATION IS KIND OF WHAT WE'VE BEEN UP TO.
IF WE HAVE INTEREST, NOW WOULD BE THE TIME TO RAISE YOUR HAND AND LET ME KNOW, AND IF NOT, THAT IS TOTALLY OKAY.
UM, I JUST FELT LIKE I WOULD PUT THAT OUT THERE.
SO THAT'S THE TRAINING ACADEMY.
CAN I ASK A QUESTION? OF COURSE.
UM, WHAT, WHAT DOES THE TIME COMMITMENT LOOK LIKE? OR HOW OFTEN ARE THE, THE TRAINING GROUPS MEETING? HOW DOES THAT WORK? UM, WE, UM, IT'S NOT A HUGE TIME COMMITMENT.
I THINK IT'S JUST ABOUT HOW MUCH TIME YOU WANT TO, HOW MUCH TIME YOU HAVE AVAILABLE TO PUT INTO IT.
WE MEET MAYBE ONCE A MONTH OVER THE HOLIDAYS.
WE KIND OF HAVEN'T MET QUITE AS OFTEN.
UM, BUT WE, I THINK WE'RE ON TRACK TO MEETING ABOUT ONCE A MONTH AND WE CHECK IN.
I TRY TO KEEP MEETING SUPER BRIEF, UM, AND WE, YOU KNOW, YEAH.
SO IT'S MAYBE AN HOUR, AN EXTRA HOUR A MONTH.
I DON'T KNOW, UM, IF INTERESTED, I'D BE INTERESTED IN JOINING THAT.
SO, UM, WITH THAT, DO WE NEED TO APPROVE COMMISSIONER GOGGLE TO JOIN US? UH, YES.
IF THERE'S NO OTHER COMMISSIONERS, UH, INTERESTED, THEN YOU CAN TAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE COMMISSIONER GOGGLE.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS THAT ARE INTERESTED? I OKAY.
AND THEN CAN WE GO AHEAD AND VOTE WITH THE SHOW OF HANDS? 1, 2, 3.
I DIDN'T CATCH COMMISSIONER SIERRA RELU.
[01:00:01]
UM, THANK YOU FOR THAT.[7. Discussion and update on the work of the Wellness Center Working Group and approve the dissolution of the Wellness Center Working Group.]
THEN NEXT WE HAVE, UM, ITEM SEVEN, A DISCUSSION AND UPDATE ON THE WELLNESS CENTER WORKING GROUP.IF WE CAN HAVE, UM, PIERRE, JUST GIVE US A, A BIT OF A, A, A, AN UPDATE ON WHERE WE ARE AND WHAT WE'RE GONNA BE DOING NEXT.
UM, SO, UH, I MEAN, WE HAD, WE HAD TALKED ABOUT, UM, MARKET RATE SALARIES FOR THE PHYSICIAN POSITION, AND, AND WE HAD A RECOMMENDATION FOR THAT WITH THE BUDGET.
BUT I THINK AT THIS TIME, UM, WITH ALL THE CHANGES THAT ARE HAPPENING WITH THE AUSTIN PUBLIC, UH, SAFETY WELLNESS CENTER AND TALKING TO, UM, TALKING TO YOU CHAIR AND, AND ALSO TALKING TO, UM, UH, VICE CHAIR, UH, RATAN, UH, WE'VE DECIDED TO CONSIDER, UH, CLOSING, UH, THIS WORKING GROUP, UM, AND REVISITING IT, UH, ONCE, UM, THERE'S, THERE, YOU KNOW, THE PUBLIC SAFETY WELLNESS CENTER, UM, HAS SETTLED DOWN A LITTLE BIT.
I, I THINK THERE WAS A CONSIDERATION FOR RELOCATION AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO, UH, THAT, THAT WAS OUR RECOMMENDATION AT THIS TIME.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF WE HAVE TO GO THROUGH A VOTE FOR THAT, UM, OR WHAT THE PROCESS IS, IS MOVING FORWARD.
UM, YES, SO IF YOU AREN'T BRINGING FORTH A RECOMMENDATION TO CLOSE OUT THE WORK OF THE WORKING GROUP, THEN YOU CAN MAKE A VOTE TO, UM, DISSOLVE IT.
AND, UM, WE DID, WE DID PASS, UM, SOME PUBLIC SAFETY WELLNESS CENTER, UM, RECOMMENDATIONS EARLIER ON.
IT WASN'T A SPECIFIC PUBLIC SAFETY WELLNESS CENTER AS PART OF OUR BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND JUST TO EXPAND ON WHAT, UM, COMMISSIONER N NEN SAID, THE PUBLIC SAFETY WELLNESS CENTER IS GOING TO BE PART OF THE NEW PUBLIC SAFETY HEADQUARTERS IN THE FUTURE WHEN THAT MOVES FORWARD.
AND I THINK WE WERE JUST, UM, HOPING TO PIGGYBACK ON THOSE, UM, CONVERSATIONS WHEN THOSE PICK BACK UP A LITTLE BIT LATER.
AND AS THE, THAT DEVELOPS A LITTLE BIT MORE.
UM, SO WITH THAT, UM, MOTION FROM THE FLOOR FOR DISSOLUTION OF THE WORKING GROUP, SO MOVED I MOTION.
WE GOT A FIRST AND A SECOND FROM COMMISSIONER BERNHARDT AND COMMISSIONER NEN.
THANK YOU EVERYBODY, AND THANK YOU FOR PUTTING UP WITH THIS BIT OF BUSINESS AT THE END OF, UM, OUR MEETING.
I KNOW WE DON'T USUALLY HAVE TO DO MUCH OF THIS.
UM, WE DON'T USUALLY HAVE THE TIME, HONESTLY,
[8. Discussion of Public Safety Commission bylaws and applicable city code and formation of working group to assess and recommend changes.]
ITEM IS, UH, ITEM EIGHT, DISCUSSION OF A PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION, UH, BYLAWS AND APPLICABLE CITY CODE AND FORMATION OF WORKING GROUP TO ASSESS AND RECOMMEND CHANGES.UM, THIS WAS SOMETHING THAT SORT OF CAME TO MIND AS CITY COUNCIL HAS SORT OF BEEN, IT SORT OF POPPED INTO MY HEAD AS WE, UM, CITY COUNCIL STARTED REVISITING A BUNCH OF THE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS AND JUST HOW IT WORKS.
AND, UM, I REVISITED, UM, YOU KNOW, OUR BYLAWS AND ALSO OUR CODE.
UM, THE DESCRIPTION OF THE COMMISSION AND CODE, ALL OF THAT'S IN YOUR BACKUP.
AND, UM, I THINK FOR ME, THIS IS AN EXPLORATION THAT I THINK WE CAN DO AS A COMMISSION TO TALK A BIT AND SORT OF REVISIT WHAT IT IS THAT WE DO, UM, WHO SHOULD BE SITTING AT THE TABLE WITH US AS WE TALK ABOUT PUBLIC SAFETY, UM, BOTH IN TERMS OF THE AGENCIES THAT ARE SITTING AT THE TABLE WITH US AND, UM, WHAT COMMUNITY MEMBERS WE WANT JOINING US AS WE DISCUSS PUBLIC SAFETY.
UM, AND SO I KIND OF JUST WANTED TO OPEN THAT UP, UM, AND SEE IF THERE'S AN INTEREST IN SORT OF REVIEWING OUR BYLAWS.
UM,
UM, AND THE LANGUAGE IN CITY CODE DEFINITELY SHOWS THAT, THAT AGE, UM, AND THE BYLAWS THEMSELVES, UM, THERE'S A TEMPLATE THAT IS AVAILABLE TO US WHERE WE CAN MAKE SOME CHANGES, BUT ALSO IT'S JUST AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO KIND OF DO A DEEP DIVE.
SO WITH THAT, I'LL JUST KIND OF THROW IT TO THE FLOOR TO SEE IF ANYBODY HAS THOUGHTS.
JUST ONE OTHER BACKGROUND TO, AS I DISCUSSED, I THINK BROADLY SPEAKING, CITY COUNCIL HAS BEEN LOOKING AT REVISITING BOARDS, POTENTIALLY CLOSING SOME BOARDS, REVISITING BYLAWS.
I THINK THAT WAS PART OF THE IMPETUS TOO, IS, UM, JUST SOME, SOME BROADER EFFORTS IN THE PARTY COUNCIL.
AND NOT, AND WE, UH, UH, WE ARE NOT ONE OF THE COMMISSIONS THAT IS ON THAT IS BEING CONSIDERED FOR DISSOLUTION AT ANY, AT ANY WAY TO JUST KIND OF STARTED THIS EXERCISE.
UM, SO DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY THOUGHTS? SURE.
[01:05:01]
IS, UH, COMMISSIONER WYNN.UH, I, I KNOW IN OUR CONVERSATIONS WE'VE INVOLVED TS O UH, QUITE A BIT.
UM, AND WHEN WE'RE TALKING PUBLIC SAFETY, I KNOW A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, A-P-D-E-M-S, UH, A FD, UM, BUT I THINK THERE SHOULD BE A CONSIDERATION IF, IF WE ARE LOOKING AT BYLAWS TO CONSIDER ALSO INCLUDING HESS O IN THOSE CONVERSATIONS AS WELL, ESPECIALLY WITH MORE SEVERE WEATHER AND, UH, THOSE RESPONSES AND HAVING A REPRESENTATIVE AT THE TABLE WITH HESS O UH, BECAUSE I, I DO BELIEVE THAT PUBLIC SAFETY ALSO INCLUDES EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AS WELL.
AND YES, COMMISSIONER, NO, THE CONVERSATIONS I'VE HAD WITH YOU ALSO VERY MUCH, YOU, YOU'VE MENTIONED HESS, I I THINK SINCE YOUR FIRST MEETING, UM, YOU SAID, WHY ISN'T HESS I AT THE TABLE? UM, AND SO YEAH, IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO DEFINITELY, UM, THAT, THAT, THAT IS VERY MUCH WHAT I MEAN WHEN I TALK ABOUT HOW DO WE EXPAND THE DEFINITION OF PUBLIC SAFETY? ARE THERE, ARE THERE PEOPLE THAT WE, THAT WE WANNA HAVE HERE SO THAT WE CAN HAVE MORE NUANCED, UM, MORE, UM, DEEP CONVERSATIONS ABOUT PUBLIC SAFETY.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER IDEAS FOR OTHER PEOPLE THAT WE'D LIKE TO SEE AT THE TABLE? ANYONE ELSE HAVE ANYTHING IN MIND? CHAIR? I HAVE ONE MORE THING IF YEAH, IF NOBODY ELSE HAS ANYTHING.
UM, SO, UH, BEING A COMMISSIONER ON THE ASIAN AMERICAN QUALITY OF LIFE COMMISSION TOO, WE DID HAVE A WORKING GROUP FOR, UH, PUBLIC SAFETY AND PUBLIC HEALTH.
UM, AND I THINK ONE OF THE, THE, THE THINGS THAT I, I DID SEE BEING ON TWO COMMISSIONS IS, IS SOME OF THE OVERLAPPING NEEDS, UH, OF QUALITY OF LIFE.
AND I THINK WE ALSO HAD THIS DISCUSSION TOO, ABOUT, UM, HOW DO WE, UH, BECAUSE I KNOW STAFF SPENDS A LOT OF TIME PRESENTING SOME OF THE SAME INFORMATION, AND I, I THINK PUBLIC SAFETY'S WRAPPED AROUND A LOT OF THE WORK THAT WE DO ANYWAY.
AND I'M, I, I, I'M NOT EXACTLY SURE HOW WE WOULD CULTIVATE THIS, WHETHER IT LOOKS SIMILAR, LIKE A SIMILAR TO LIKE A JIC, LIKE THE JOINT INCLUSION COMMITTEE OR, OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
UM, BUT, UH, I, I'M WONDERING IF THERE SHOULD BE DISCUSSIONS ABOUT NON-VOTING MEMBERS FROM OTHER, IF WE HAVE COMMISSIONS, UH, BEING PART OF, UH, THE CONVERSATION AS WELL FOR THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION.
UM, I THINK THAT, UM, THAT IS VERY MUCH A HOPE OF MINE.
I THINK THAT, UM, QUALITY OF LIFE, THE QUALITY OF LIFE COMMISSIONS IN PARTICULAR, I THINK COULD OFFER QUITE A BIT.
UM, WE HAVE, UM, A MEMBER OF THE JIC AND A MEMBER OF A QUALITY OF LIFE IN THE AUDIENCE AS WELL.
UH, WE'VE BEEN IN, IN SOME, UM, CASUAL CONVERSATIONS ABOUT HOW WE COULD POTENTIALLY COLLABORATE THAT SOME WORK THAT WE COULD, THAT WE COULD DO AS A WORKING GROUP MOVING FORWARD TO TALK ABOUT WHAT THE BEST FORMAT FOR THEIR PARTICIPATION IN OUR MEETINGS WOULD BE.
UM, I'M HOPING THAT THAT'S SOMETHING THAT THE WORKING GROUP CAN TALK ABOUT, UM, MORE IN DEPTH IN PARTICULAR, I THINK THINK HAVING THE QU THERE ARE A LOT OF TIMES WHEN WE HAVE CONVERSATIONS THAT I REALLY WISH WE JUST HAD MORE COMMUNITY MEMBERS HERE, UM, TO HAVE THE CONVERSATIONS, UM, WITH, UM, SO THAT WE CAN HAVE RICHER DISCUSSIONS.
UM, AND RIGHT NOW, UM, WHETHER OR NOT THERE ARE ADDITIONAL COMMUNITY MEMBERS AT THE TABLE WHEN WE TALK ABOUT HOMELESSNESS, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT CHANGES TO STAIRWELL PROVISIONS, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT, UM, A NUMBER OF EMS AND THERE'S OPIOID OVERDOSES, UM, WHETHER OR NOT WE HAVE COMMUNITY MEMBERS, UM, FROM OUR VARIOUS QUALITY OF LIFE COMMISSIONS OR JUST COMMUNITY MEMBERS IN GENERAL OF OTHER ORGANIZATIONS, IT VERY MUCH RELIES ON CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR, UM, TO, TO FIND THOSE CONNECTIONS AND GET THOSE PEOPLE HERE.
AND I THINK IF WE JUST HAD MORE PEOPLE AT THE TABLE, UM, WE, IT MIGHT DO SOME OF THAT WORK FOR US.
UM, SO THAT WE AREN'T TALKING ABOUT OUR UNHOUSED COMMUNITY WITHOUT THE UNHOUSED COMMUNITY PRESENT.
YOU KNOW, WE, WE, THAT THERE ARE TOO MANY TIMES WHEN WE HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS, UM, AND MY DEEPEST REGRET IS NOT HAVING MORE PEOPLE AT THE TABLE.
UM, AND SO I THINK HAVING THOSE PEOPLE HERE WOULD BE HELPFUL FOR US.
I ALSO THINK IF WE TALK ABOUT POTENTIALLY INCLUDING THE JIC SOMEHOW OR QUALITY OF LIFE COMMISSIONS, I THINK THAT THIS COULD ALSO HELP THOSE COMMISSIONS, UM, BE BETTER INFORMED AND MORE INCLUDED IN OUR PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSIONS.
THEY'RE THE, THEY'RE THE COMMUNITIES
[01:10:01]
THAT ARE IMPACTED, UM, BY PUBLIC SAFETY DECISIONS THAT ARE MADE THROUGHOUT THE CITY.UM, SO THERE'S, THERE'S A LOT OF STUFF TO TALK ABOUT.
UM, ANYBODY ELSE I CAN TALK ON FOR FOREVER UNTIL WE DECIDE? YEAH.
UM, JUST ECHOING THAT AS WELL, I'M THINKING ABOUT THE TASK FORCE ON GUN VIOLENCE AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND JUST ASKING, YOU KNOW, HOW CAN WE TALK ABOUT PUBLIC SAFETY? AND WE DON'T KNOW WHAT PUBLIC SAFETY LOOKS LIKE FOR OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
UM, AND I KNOW THE CITY, WE'VE DONE THAT BEFORE.
SO GETTING BACK TO THAT I THINK IS REALLY IMPORTANT.
SO I'M ALL IN AND HOWEVER I CAN SUPPORT, UM, COME IN.
YEAH, GO AHEAD, COMMISSIONER BURNHART.
UM, YEAH, THIS IS JUST, I THINK MAYBE STARTING TO BRAINSTORM DOWN THE ROAD OF WHAT THE WORKING GROUP MIGHT WORK ON, BUT, UM, I WONDER IF FOR, UM, SOME OR ALL OF THE, UM, QUALITY OF LIFE COMMISSIONS, WE COULD HAVE THEM APPEAR QUARTERLY OR HAVE A QUARTERLY MEETING WHERE WE TALK ABOUT, UH, YOU KNOW, SORT OF ONGOING PUBLIC SAFETY CONCERNS MM-HMM
UM, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE I, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE DIFFERENT FOR EACH OF THE COMMISSIONS, AND I THINK WE DON'T, WE JUST DON'T HAVE THAT CONDUIT OF COMMUNICATION ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE ASIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY HAVING LANGUAGE ACCESS ISSUES FOR PUBLIC SAFETY OR, ANYWAY, ANY NUMBER OF DIFFERENT, AND I WILL NOT PRETEND THAT THIS IS A VERY EXCITING PROSPECT FOR ME TO GET US ONGOING LANGUAGE SUPPORT, UM, BUILT IN, UM, FOR ALL OF OUR MEETINGS SO THAT WE HAVE A SL TRANSLATORS AND SPANISH LANGUAGE TRANSLATORS, AND EVERY LANGUAGE ON THE FACE.
LIKE THIS IS, THIS IS A LITTLE PIPE DREAM OF MINE, BUT I WOULD LOVE, I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE US, UM, TO HAVE BETTER LANGUAGE ACCESS BECAUSE I KNOW THAT IT IS POSSIBLE TO CALL INTO THE CITY AND GET, UM, WITH TWO DAYS NOTICE, UM, GET TRANSLATORS HERE.
UM, BUT IT WOULD BE NICE IF YOU KNEW THAT THIS MEETING WAS HAPPENED AND YOU COULD JUST POP IN AND KNOW THAT, THAT, THAT THAT WOULD BE HERE.
SO, UM, CHAIR, JUST, JUST TO ADD TO THAT.
YEAH, I KNOW WE, UH, I HAD, YOU KNOW, SPOKEN TO AND HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH, UH, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE CITY OF BOSTON, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, WITH THE ASIAN AMERICAN QUALITY OF LIFE COMMISSION WHEN IT COMES TO LANGUAGE ACCESS, WE, WE ACTUALLY HAVE A COMMISSIONER THAT WE, UH, PROVIDE A TRANSLATOR TO, UM, ON, ON OCCASION AS WELL.
UM, I, I'VE, I HAVE NOT SEEN IT WHERE, UM, THE LANGUAGE ACCESS WAS PROVIDED TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
I'VE ONLY SEEN IT WHERE THERE WAS LANGUAGE ACCESS PROVIDED, UM, TO A INDIVIDUAL, UM, UH, WHEN THEY'RE EITHER COMING TO TESTIFY, BUT IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT AVAILABLE.
BUT I HEARD THERE WERE HAVE, UH, AND I'M WONDERING NOW THAT WE'RE HAVING THIS CONVERSATION, IF WE SHOULD ALSO TALK ABOUT SOME COLLABORATION WITH, UM, UH, A COMMISSION FOR TECHNOLOGY TOO, BECAUSE THAT, THAT'S ANOTHER THING IS, IS HOW DO YOU MAKE THAT ACCESS POSSIBLE? UH, AND I KNOW WE'RE BRAINSTORMING RIGHT NOW MM-HMM
BUT THAT, THAT WAS JUST SOMETHING THAT I WAS THINKING ABOUT AS WELL.
UM, WE, WE HAD A LONG TIME AGO, I WANNA SAY IT WAS PROBABLY THREE OR FOUR YEARS AGO, WE HAD A PROSPECTIVE, UM, SPANISH SPEAKING COMMISSIONER, UM, THAT WAS GOING TO BE JOINING US.
UM, AND IT JUST DID NOT HAPPEN.
AND I REALLY DO THINK THAT IT'S BECAUSE LANGUAGE WAS SUCH A HURDLE, UM, AND GETTING MATERIALS, UM, PROVIDED WAS A HURDLE.
UM, SO, UM, I WOULD LIKE, YEAH.
SO, UM, WITH THAT, I'M, IF ANYBODY ELSE HAS COMMENTS, QUESTIONS, I THINK THERE'S INTEREST.
WE SHOULD PROBABLY FORM A, UM, WORKING GROUP FOR THE BYLAWS.
MOVED TO FORMER WORKING GROUP.
AND THE, THE, THE WORK THAT WE WOULD BE DOING AS THE WORKING GROUP WOULD JUST BE TO REVIEW OUR BYLAWS THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF THAT WORK.
WE COULD OF COURSE, BRAINSTORM MORE, UM, WE CAN MEET WITH OTHER MEMBERS OF SOME OTHER COMMISSIONS THAT YOU KNOW, TO, TO GET SOME MORE IDEAS ABOUT HOW TO, HOW TO DO THAT.
UM, WE CAN MEET WITH CITY STAFF, WE CAN MEET WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS, UM, SO THAT WE CAN GET SOME FEEDBACK ON, UH, UM, OUR, OUR MUNI CODE AS WELL.
UM, AND THEN DO WE HAVE, UM, ANY INTEREST FROM THE COMMISSION IF WE COULD SEE A RAISE OF HANDS FOR PEOPLE THAT ARE INTERESTED IN JOINING? WE HAVE A MAX OF SIX, AND I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M SAYING THAT WORD, BUT CHAIR, I'M SORRY, SINCE THERE WAS A MOTION.
AND SECOND TO FORM, COULD YOU DO THE VOTE TO
[01:15:01]
JUST OH YES.APPROVE THE WORKING GROUP AND, UH, UH, THEN YOU CAN ADD THE MEMBERS, IF I CAN GET A VOTE FIRST SO THAT WE CAN FORM THE WORKING GROUP'S.
ANY VOTES? COMMISSIONER SIERRA
AND NOW WE WILL, IF WE COULD SEE A SHOW OF HANDS FOR PEOPLE THAT ARE INTERESTED IN JOINING THE WORKING GROUP.
I SEE COMMISSIONER CARROLL ONLINE.
COMMISSIONER RUAN, COMMISSIONER BERNHARDT.
THAT'S THE MOST WE CAN HAVE, CORRECT? CORRECT.
SO JUST TO CONFIRM, COMMISSIONER NEN NEN OR CAROL RUTAN AND BERNHARDT ARE FORMING THE WORKING GROUP? CORRECT.
AND, UM, CHAIR, I MEAN, IF YOU WANTED PART OF THE WORKING GROUP AS CHAIR, I THINK THAT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE.
I'M, I'M HAPPY TO LET YOU, I THINK AT LEAST ONE OF US SHOULD BE ON THERE IF YOU WOULD PREFER.
SO I AM MORE THAN HAPPY TO NOT BE ON THE WORKING GROUP AND LET OTHER PEOPLE DO THE WORK.
I'M HAPPY TO TALK TO ANYBODY, UM, ABOUT MY THOUGHTS, UM, AT SOME POINT.
BUT I AM, I AM ECSTATIC THAT THERE ARE OTHER PEOPLE EXCITED ABOUT THIS, SO I'M GOOD
[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]
UM, JUST ONE MORE, UM, ITEM, WHICH IS JUST TO TALK ABOUT FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. IS THERE ANYTHING IN PARTICULAR THAT ANYBODY WANTS TO HEAR ABOUT? UM, I BELIEVE NEXT MONTH WE ARE HEARING FROM THE AUDITOR'S OFFICE ON BOTH THE RECRUITING AND HIRING AUDIT THAT THEY DID OF A PD.UM, WE ARE ALSO GOING TO BE HEARING ABOUT THE AUTOMATED LICENSE PLATE READER PROGRAM AUDIT THAT THEY DID.
UM, WE HAVE NOT YET CONFIRMED WHETHER OR NOT OPO WILL BE BACK, BUT WE HAVE, WE, WE ARE TAKING SUGGESTIONS FOR MEETINGS AFTER JUNE.
UH, I WOULD LOVE TO SEE, UM, IF WE COULD HAVE, UH, SOMETHING ON THE TABLE WHEN IT COMES TO, UH, AROUND THE SEASON OF, OF WHATEVER, UH, SEVERE WEATHER WE'RE EXPERIENCING.
SO, UM, AROUND JUNE STARTS HURRICANE SEASON.
UM, AND THEN WE HIT INTO SUMMER, WHICH INCLUDES, UM, HOT WEATHER, UM, UH, ENERGY RELIANCE OR UN RELIANCE, UM, AND THEN ALSO, YOU KNOW, HEAT EMERGENCIES AND WILDFIRES.
SO, UM, I, I WOULD LOVE TO, TO SEE IF WE CAN GET SOME MORE INFORMATION ON, UH, I GUESS, UH, HOW WE'RE SUPPORTING OUR COMMUNITY IN THOSE INSTANCES.
'CAUSE I KNOW FOR WARM WEATHER, ESPECIALLY FOR THE UNHOUSED, UM, WHEN, WHEN IT'S HOT OUTSIDE, UH, IT, IT, THERE MAY BE NEEDS FOR ACTIVATION OF A COOLING CENTER.
SO I'D LIKE TO SEE HOW THAT'S GONNA BE OPERATING, UH, MOVING FORWARD.
SO THAT, THAT WAS KIND OF A LOT.
BUT, UM, THESE NO RESPONSES TO SEVERE WEATHER.
UM, WE WILL TAKE A LOOK AT WHEN THEY WERE LAST HERE AND IF YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS BEYOND FOR, FOR, FOR TIMING FOR THAT.
I KNOW THAT LAST TIME WE FELT LIKE WE TALKED ABOUT WINTER TOO LATE.
UM, SO IF, IF YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS FOR TIMING, WE CAN, WE CAN FOLLOW UP AND TALK A BIT ABOUT THAT.
UM, ANYTHING ELSE? COMMISSIONER BERNHARDT, I THINK I SAW YOU WITH YOUR HAND UP.
UM, I, UM, AM NOT EXACTLY SURE SORT OF WHO WE WOULD INVITE FOR THIS, BUT I, UM, THINK IT WOULD BE USEFUL TO HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT, UM, I GUESS THE BROADER ISSUE OF, UM, THE SENSE OF SAFETY AND SECURITY OF THE L-G-B-T-Q COMMUNITY AND THEN SORT OF A MORE NARROW FOCUS ON, UH, THE TRANS COMMUNITY.
UM, DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING ELSE? I KNOW THAT COMMISSIONER RUTAN HAD MENTIONED, UM, A DISCUSSION TOPIC ON THE CHANGES TO THE EMS RESPONSE SYSTEM.
UM, I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING WE'D LIKE TO, UM, HEAR ABOUT AND SPECIFICALLY SOME OF THE TRANSPORT POLICIES AND AND WHATNOT.
[01:20:02]
AND THEN I AM JUST GONNA GO THROUGH A QUICK LIST THAT I WROTE SO THAT WE GET THEM ON THE RECORD OF THIS IS STUFF THAT I'VE HAD ON THE BRAIN.UM, I WOULD LIKE US TO HAVE A CONVERSATION AT SOME POINT ABOUT THE NINE ONE ONE CALL CENTER AND THE POSSIBILITY OF, UM, MOVING THAT OUT OF APDS BUDGET.
UM, MUCH LIKE WE DID WITH THE FORENSIC SCIENCE CENTER A FEW YEARS AGO.
I THINK THAT WAS ON THE LIST, THAT THAT WAS PART OF THE CONVERSATION THAT WE HAD A FEW YEARS AGO WHEN THE FORENSIC SCIENCE CENTER WAS PULLED OFF.
BUT IT WAS IDENTIFIED AT THAT POINT THAT THE SIZE OF THE NINE ONE ONE CALL CENTER BUDGET DID NOT MAKE THAT POSSIBLE.
UM, SO I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT THAT.
TO PIGGYBACK OFF OF THAT, IT HAS BEEN A LONG TIME SINCE WE'VE GOTTEN AN UPDATE ABOUT THE FORENSIC SCIENCE CENTER ITSELF, UM, AND I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR HOW THINGS ARE GOING THERE.
UM, AND I HAD ALREADY BROUGHT UP THE ALTERNATIVE VEHICLES AND ARE REVISITING THAT WITH FLEET.
UM, SO THOSE WERE SOME OF THE THINGS I HAD ON MIND.
IF YOU HAVE ANYTHING ELSE, UM, I'M NOT SURE WHEN, I THINK IT'S DEFINITELY NOT TIME SENSITIVE, BUT I'M CURIOUS WHEN TALKING ABOUT THE NINE ONE ONE CALL CENTER, UM, IF A PD IS STILL UTILIZING RISK TERRAIN MODELING AND HOW THAT YEAH.
WELL, I MADE A PREDICTION THAT WE COULD GET US OUTTA HERE BY FIVE 30.
UM, FEEL FREE TO REACH OUT IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR, UM, IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN BEING A SECOND ON ANY OF THESE ITEMS. UM, AND LET ME KNOW IF YOU GUYS NEED HELP, JUST JUMP STARTING THE, THE WORKING GROUP.
UM, AND I'M, I'M HAPPY TO, TO HELP WITH THAT.
YOU GUYS ENJOY THE REST OF YOUR DAY.