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HomeMy WebLinkAboutcc min 1977/12/22 MINUTES OF AN ADJOURNED REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF CHULA VISTA, CALIFORNIA Held Thursday December 22, 1977 An adjourned regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Chula Vista, California~ was held on the above date beginning at 4:00 p.m. in the Council Conference Room, City Hall, 276 Fourth Avenue. 1. ROLL CALL Councilmen present: Mayor Hyde, Councilmen Cox~ Scott, Egdahl Councilmen absent: Councilman Hobel Staff present: City Manager Cole~ City Attorney Lindberg, Assistant City Manager Asmus 2. PRESENTATION OF POLICE Chief William Winters stated that two presenta- DEPARTMENT OPERATIONS tions would be made: (1) Juvenile Diversion and (2) Neighborhood Watch Program, Juvenile Diversion Sgt. Billy Cox said he has been in this Division since 1973. He explained the sequence of events of what happens to juveniles when first taken into custody and what happens to them after that. Sgt. Cox then discussed the various programs: (1) Protective Custody: Last year, 286 inves- tigations were made and out of this~ 100 children were taken out of their homes and placed in the Hillside Receiving Home~ (2) Counsel Enclose: Approximately 50% of all juvenile arrests are handled by this informal procedure. There are two juvenile counselors in this Division and last year~ they handled 600 cases; 460 additional children were referred from the various schools, plus referrals from the Probation Department. (3) Film Counseling: There is a 14-minute slide presentation which outlines the juvenile problems in Chula Vista. Since 1971, over 5,000 children and parents have viewed this film and it has proved a 92% success~ Sgt. Cox then submitted statistics noting the community resources used; recidivism percentage; number of children being referred to the pro- bationary department; number taken before the criminal justice; alcoholism; incest; and other miscellaneous crime areas. (4) Children placed in Juvenile Hall: Sgt. Cox noted that this is a real problem in San Diego County with just 176 beds available (Juvenile Hall) and an additional 100 beds at Campo. Last year, there were over 18~000 petitions requested in this County. Sgt. Cox remarked that there is a new law now which sets out procedures for handling the "status offenders" - they can no longer be locked up in Juvenile Hall - they must now be "dealt with in the community." Another law (HR69) precludes the Police from obtaining information from the school districts. Sgt? Cox explained that if a student is picked up, the Police can call the school to verify that he is enrolled at that particular school but cannot ask the school authorities if the student is absent; therefore~ no way of verifying whether or not he is a truant. Adjourned Regular ~eeting -2~ December 22, 1977 Other programs in the Division are: (1) updating the record system; (2) eight officers assigned to the program to take care of the school safety patrol, teaching at the various schools and assignments at the junior and high schools, Sgt Cox said that there is a new piece of legisla- tion that will be voted on in February 1978 which consists of 24 volumes of Federal Standards for Juvenile Justice and Procedures, It was drafted by the American Bar Association under a Federal Grant. It will completely change the method of handling juvenile offenders - all misdemeanor offenses will be "decriminalized." Film presentation Mayor Hyde asked the City Manager to meet with Chief Winters and set a time for Council viewing of the film referred to by Sgt~ Cox. Council discussion Councilman Scott questioned the type of juvenile problems depicted by "60 MINUTES" (T,V, program) and the WALL STREET JOURNAL~ Sgt, Cox answered that Chula Vista does not have the severe problems as related in the TV program. There are, however, more cases of "sexual exploitation" being encountered. Councilman Egdahl discussed the approach being used in Bellflower, California - a program started by a car dealer as a preventive measure in dealing with juveniles, and suggested Chula Vista look into a similar program. NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH Sgt. Ross Withers explained that this program has now been in effect for approximately one year in Chula Vista. It is a program of "people helping themselves to help each other to help the police,~' It gets people in the community to know each other and help each other by reporting suspicious activities that go on in their neighborhoods. Sgt? Withers discussed similar programs in New York, Pennsylvania, and specifically, the City of Santa Ana. Presently, the program is in effect at five school areas in Chula Vista with the main emphasis on burglaries. Sgt. Withers noted how the officers meet with the parents at PTA meetings and at homes ex- plaining to them what they should do when they see something suspicious; the various locks they can install in their homes to prevent burglaries; a showing of a film called "Operation Identification" and the tool-marking equipment that is available to the public to mark household possessions. Sgt. Withers remarked that the program is a positive approach to crimeprevention along with being the best community public relation program ever invented. He added that the biggest problem encountered in this Division is not having enough time to effective- ly operate the program. To date, they have talked with over 3,000 individuals. The main cost of the program is primarily overtime, since most of the officers meet with the parents and attend PTA meetings in the evenings. Council discussion Councilman Egdahl discussed a presentation he saw in Minneapolis whereby they set up districts within their city (such as Chula Vista is doing with its redevelopment program) for developing community awareness and crimeprevention. The areas were then funded with Block Grant monies. He suggested Chula Vista look into Block Grant funding for similar projects. Adjourned Regular Meeting -3- December 22~ 1977 Motion for staff It was moved by Councilman Egdahl~ seconded by study Ma~or ~yde and unanimously carried by those present that this matter be referred to the City Manager. RECORDING EQUIPMENT City Clerk Fulasz enumerated the problems encounter- FOR COUNCIL ed with recording Council Conferenc~susing the CONFERENCES Uher recorder. She described a demonstration she saw of the GYYR equipment which is used primarily for recording conferences having four or eight channels (mikes). She noted the cost ($1900 including tax) adding that it was the type of recorder she would recommend, Mrs. Fulasz remarked that the Communications Technician, BillAlbrektsen, had planned to be present at this meeting to inform the Council on alternates: a "mix" that he can put onto the Uher recorder consisting of a set of four microphones, and (2) the use of the recording equipment in the Council Chamber when the Chamber is moved to the new building, Motion for staff It was moved by Mayor Hyde, seconded by Councilman report Cox and unanimously carried by those present that the City Manager be directed to look into the short range and long range solution to the recording and amplification situation in the Conference Room and have a presentation to the Council on the options, as soon as practical to have it (before budget time). AGENDA FOR JOINT Mayor Hyde suggested the following items for MEETING WITH THE CHULA discussion: VISTA AND SWEETWATER UNION HIGH SCHOOL 1. Joint use of facilities (an expansion of the DISTRICTS ON JAN. park-school program~ 19, 1978 2. Cultural programs and activities - example: the City will be receiving some funds for the summer concert series from the Sweetwater Union High School district. 3. Vandalism. 4. Traffic Safety. 5. Juvenile Diversion Program. CITY MANAGER'S REPORT Operations Review City Manager Cole said he reviewed the report pre- sented by former City Manager John Thomson, particu- larly as it referred to combining the Fire and Police Departments. Mr, Cole indicated that there were a lot of ramifications to this proposal and he is not ready~ at this time, to make a recommendation on it. Councilman Egdahl suggested that a meeting be held of representatives of the two departments to explore the possibilities. Councilman Cox commented that he originally asked for this report. He said his purpose in bringing it up at this time would be to consider incremental phasing of the reorganization plan. He remarked that it would be a good opportunity to pursue this matter now since there is a vacancy in the Fire Department. Councilman Cox added that there could possibly be a reduction in personnel and felt that the City Manager should come back to the Council with a report of what positions he feels are absolutely necessary in the Fire Department. Adjourned Regular Meeting -4- December 22, 1977 City Manager Cole indicated that, depending on what is done in filling the vacancy (Fire Chief), there may be some positions that could be eliminated. As to the rest of the departments, he strongly feels that something must be done, especially in the areas of planning, building and housing, public works and commun±~y development because of their close relationship. Councilman Egdahl declared it would be a timely thing to analyze this theory prior to the depart- ments moving into their new building, Council discussion Discussion followed regarding the filling o£ the Fire Chief vacancy; the recommendations to be made by the City Manager for overall City reorganization; Mr. John Thomson's report relative to the Agency concept; and the advantages and disadvantages of the reorganization program. Assistant City Manager Asmus said he submitted a report to the City Manager listing the reorganiza- tional project as being of the highest priority. ~e suggested a consultant be hired to formulate the plan - the cost of which would be approximately $30~000, Motion for agenda It was moved by Mayor Hyde, seconded by Councilman item for Council Cox and unanimously carried by those present that Conference this matter be docketed again for discussion pur- poses at the next regular Council Con£erence - the second Thursday in January - and see if the City Manager has any further thoughts to see where the Council should go (relative to the reorganizational plan.) MAYOR'S REPORT None. COUNCIL COMMENTS None. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Hyde adjourned the meeting at 6~05 p.m. ie M. F'ulas~f~ City Clerk