Winslow Police Chief Dan Brown told the Winslow City Council last week that he still has two vacancies in his patrol department. During the council meeting, he presented his quarterly report for November through January and mentioned the need for officers more than once.
“We currently do have two officers in the field training process but we have space for two more. We could also use two more temporary, part-time transport officers.”
He said, “Again, we have continued to have an increase in calls for service. Of the nearly 5,000 calls that came in to our dispatch, 4,200 of those were police calls. Of those, we made 431 arrests.”
Brown also mentioned the fact that the Criminal Investigations Unit faces many cases. “The three detectives have an average case load of 22 felonies that range from, but are not limited to, sexual assaults, aggravated assaults, crimes against children, burglaries, thefts and financial crimes.”
Brown thanked the mayor and council for their support of the police department and said, “Many citizens have approached me and have commented on the visible changes at the police department.”
The use of Narcan has also increased in Winslow, according to Brown. Narcan is the brand name for naloxone, a chemical administered to someone experiencing an opioid overdose. “We are the only first responders in Winslow that carry Narcan on us at all times. We also have made it available to members of the public for no charge and no questions asked. It has saved many lives and is continuing to do so.”
Brown was also part of a discussion on the agenda regarding the process of obtaining public records from city departments.
Mayor Tom McCauley asked City Attorney Trish Struhan for rundown of the process. In her lengthy reply, Struhan explained that records take time and resources to obtain and to pass on to the public.
“Arizona has its own public records laws. The cities and towns are required to promptly produce public records. However, there is not a bright line rule as far as how long prompt is,” said Struhan.
She explained that something as simple as a contract approved by the city council is fairly easy to obtain. However, records including sensitive information such as social security numbers and addresses must be redacted. Records that are more involved, such as emails, police department dashboard and body cameras and others will take more time to find as well as to redact.
Brown added, “When suspects or even victims request camera footage, that takes time. We have to go through videos frame by frame. In those frames, we have to redact license plate numbers, blur out the faces of bystanders, addresses and more. We have an obligation to protect the public. We are required to do it by law and we will, but it takes time depending on priority and manpower among other things. It is literally hundreds of hours of video.”
During the call to the public portion of the meeting the council was addressed by Winslow resident Olivia Todd.
Todd asked the council and city staff to be more transparent in their relaying of information to the public, specifically financial reports. She explained that doing away with monthly financial updates by the finance director at council meetings was not in the best interest of the citizens of Winslow. She also requested the city be more cognizant of resident questions on social media sites. She said that she specifically had asked a question regarding sewage rates on the city’s Facebook page every week for over a month with no answer from staff.
The council also received a status report from City Manager John Barkley in which he announced the removal of barricades on the property known as 3B’s Truck Stop. The removal is in hopes to bring more commerce off of I-40 in to Winslow by allowing semi-truck parking.
In other business, and in the absence of Councilman Robin Boyd, the council:
* Approved an intergovernmental agreement with AHCCCS (Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System) and the City of Winslow and a Hold Harmless agreement between the City and Little Colorado Medical Center for the benefit of the hospital. This is an annual agreement.
* Approved a resolution authorizing staff to prepare and submit to the Federal Transportation Administration and the Arizona Department of Transportation a grant funding application for the budget cycle beginning October 2020.
* Approved an ordinance authorizing the sale of 32 acres located at the intersection of North Road and Santa Fe Drive to Steven and Linda Pyles for $25,416. Pyles intends to build a recreation vehicle park on the property and it is understood he must begin development within 180 days, per city ordinance.
* Approved an ordinance adding a fee schedule to the city code regarding rates, fees and charges pertaining to the Winslow Transit Program.
* Approved a $1,000 request for support to Robert Carr representing the Native America Music Festival. This in an annual contribution and is budgeted.
* Adjourned into executive session in which the council consulted with legal council regarding the city’s position regarding an option agreement with Arizona Forest Power related to the sale of real property by the city. No action or public discussion took place.
The next meeting of the Winslow City Council will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 25, in the Hubbell Building, located at 523 W. Second St.
