Agenda packet
Town Council · from the Town's website · released Mar 1, 2022 · 2 pages · 78 KB
open the file ↗ · original at the source ↗
No Agenda There is no agenda available for this meeting. Please review the minutes. Meeting Materials PUBLIC_SAFETY_COMM.REPORT.3-1-22.PDF 1. 2. Documents: Public Safety Committee Report to Town Council 3/1/2022 The Public Safety Committee met several times since the last Council Meeting. On Monday, 2/14, Chief Scott Wiley gave the Committee a tour of both of the firehouses. We were able to examine the deterioration of both of the antique buildings and learn about the difficulty, and in some cases the impossibility of fitting in modern equipment and technology, the increasing problems of meeting state standards with limited space, and the incursions of water and rodents, etc. On Tuesday 2/22, the Committee met to review and compare what we learned and to discuss the feasibility of renovating the current Center Firehouse, replacing it at the current site or at another location, and the feasibility of combining the Fire Department with the Police Department in one facility. Our conclusion is that it is urgent that we replace the current firehouse and we should promptly move forward with a consultant to finalize a plan to do so. We also determined that the Fire Department is amenable to being temporarily relocated while the current Central Firehouse is removed and replaced with a modern facility. On Thursday, 2/24, The Committee met to review the two requests from National Grid to do work on Crystal Cove Avenue and Tafts Avenue. | contacted Mr. Cameron at National Grid to ask for an updated list of their progress on removing the 98 double poles that | originally understood were the responsibility of National Grid. He had been on vacation but forwarded two reports to me this morning. (The reports are attached.) The new reports clarify that 12 poles have been removed since last year and 42 of the current 96 double poles require work by Winthrop before removal. National Grid now has responsibility for 39. Given that there has been some progress during Covid the committee is recommending that the work on both projects be approved. At the same meeting the Committee discussed the severe back-up of traffic on Saratoga Street/Main Street when the flood gate is closed in Beachmont causing safety concerns for emergency vehicles. It was suggested that the traffic light at Bennington Street be retimed to provide more access into Winthrop at times when the floodgate is closed and that the flashing pedestrian light at Barnes Avenue might be timed to delay until the traffic light was red. A letter was drafted to assist our Town Manager in contacting on behalf of the Town the DCR Commissioner, Senator Edwards, and Representative Turco requesting help in this matter. | will forward that draft to the Interim Town Manager. Respectfully Submitted Barbara T. Flockhart, Councilor Chair, Public Safety Committee