HomeMy WebLinkAboutEmergency Services Committee Minutes 02.27.2023MINUTES
CITY OF LAUREL
EMERGENCY SERVICES COMMITTEE
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2023
The Emergency Services Committee meeting was called to order at 6:00pm on Monday, February 28,
2023, by Chair Heidi Sparks
Members Present: Heidi Sparks- Chair, Iry Wilke- Vice Chair (tardy), Richard Klose, Jodi Mackay,
Jamie Swecker, Jim Irwin (tardy)
Others Present: Police Chief Stan Langve, Fire Chief Brent Peters, Ambulance Director Lyndy
Gurchiek, Troy Charbonneau- Ambulance Dept
Public Input:
Jayson Nicholson- - Jayson stated that he would like to have a working relationship between the
city and the fire department. They would like to have a seat at the table to have a voice in the
conversations.
Johnathan Gotchall- Jon stated that he spoke at the council workshop last week and did not mean
to come across in a negative way if that's how it came across.
General Items
1. Approval of Emergency Services Committee minutes of January 23, 2023. Richard Klose
moved to approve the minutes; Jodi Mackay seconded- Motion carried 4-0
New Business
2. Update from Emergency Departments
a. Police Department Chief Langve — Report attached
i. Items to note:
1. Decrease in overall calls. One officer at the academy, but should return to
duty in March
2. Article will be coming out in The Outlook, there has been an increase in
mental health related calls
3. Montana Attorney General Austin Knudson stated there has been a
11,100% increase in Fentanyl seizures since 2019
a. Jodi asked why Fentanyl has become so prevalent. Chief Langve
stated it increased the addiction of the drug. Approximately 1/3 of
population gets highly addicted to opioids.
4. Roughly 70 Fentanyl overdoses for the state since January 1St
5. Jodi gave feedback on CIT training- she has attended this is previous
occupation and thought it was beneficial. Happy to hear the ER Services
taking this training
b. Fire Chief Brent Peters — Reports will be provided for next month
i. Items to note:
1. Brent provided information on the training that the Fire Department goes
through in the 1St year they are in the department. There are 2 manuals
that they are provided and they go through both manuals in the 1St year
2.
There is also a pager that is provided to each of the firefighters. Brent has
provided a pager to the Emergency Services committee members to rotate
around the member, starting with Chair Heidi Sparks
3.
Brent stated as of midnight tomorrow, March 1, 2023, he will no longer
be the Fire Chief, as he has resigned from the position. He stated that he
has concerns about the administration of the city and stated that he is sad
the fire department is the area that is bringing this to a head. Brent also
stated that he cannot perform as a department head when his boss is not
present, he has asked for meetings with the mayor but has not been able
to get a meeting outside of his performance review, which was
interrupted and never completed
4.
Brent stated he was asked to pull his letter of resignation, but the mayor
would not allow that
5.
Jodi stated she is extremely thankful for the services and work that the
department provides to the city and the citizens
6.
Richard stated that American Legion has a Fire Fighter and Police Officer
of the Year award, which he was very disappointed with the turnout for
that recognition. He stated he wants to thank all 3 of the departments for
the work that they do
7.
Iry stated that when he moved to the city in 1991, the negative perception
of the Fire Department was what he saw from the department. He has
seen a change in the department over the years
8.
Brent invited the committee to attend training, which takes place on
Wednesday evenings at 7:00pm- I 0:00pm. Rookie training takes place on
Thursday evenings
9.
Brent introduced JW is a deputy chief for the Fire Department and Brent
stated JW will be attending the Emergency Service committee meetings
going forward
c. Ambulance Director
Lyndy Gurchiek — Reports will be provided at next meeting
i. Items to note:
1. Lyndy has been involved in calls and did not have a chance to prepare
formal reports, will provide these at March meeting
2. Completed Legal Blood Draw policy and procedure for her team to be
able to complete these for the Police Department. Currently with City
Attorney for prior approval to be able to start training.
3. Working on recertification and continued education for department
4. Local Emergency Planning Committee has asked Laurel Ambulance to
start being involved in this group. Lyndy and Troy will b attending on
behalf of Laurel
5. Community Outreach has begun. Two staff members have been at the
walk-in clinic working with them on options for potential home visits
a. Car seat clinics have been taking place. Mandy has attended or
provided two car seat clinics
Old Business:
Other Items:
Announcements
3. Next Meeting will be Monday, March 27, 2023, at 6:00pm in Council Chambers
Meeting adjourned at 6:52pm
February 27, 2023
]Laurel Pollee
]Department
215 W. I` Street Laurel, Mt. 59044 • Phone 406-628-8737 • Fax 406-628-4641
Chief of Police Stanley J Langve
Emergency Services Report February 2023
For the reporting period of January 30th to February 27th 2023 the FAP saw a decrease in the
average number of calls for service with 581. We are at 1, 266 calls for service this year. Part of
the impact of this on the Police side is that Officer Seibert is at the academy and we are still
working to fill the remaining vacant Patrol Officer position. Those two positions represent nearly
30 % of our Patrol Division and unfortunately we have had to run some single Officer shifts. The
very cold weather also seems to impact call volume for a short period of time so that might be a
bit fortuitous.
Kylee Nelson graduated the Montana Law Enforcement Academy's Dispatcher Basic Academy
on the 17th of this month. We were also able to send dispatchers to Crisis Intervention training in
Billings this last month. Known by its initials C. I. T. it is interactive and in depth two day
training to help recognize those in mental health crisis and provided tools to deal with those in
need. There was a lot of positive feedback from those who attended.
The Police Department has seen an increase in mental health related calls, thefts, vehicle break
ins, and burglaries. One burglary was while the resident was at home. I believe that there is a
correlation with the prevalence of Fentanyl in Montana. Montana Attorney General Austin
Knudson was on national television this past weekend speaking to the subject. He reported that
there was a 11,100% increase in Fentanyl seizures since 2019.1 have attached the OD Map
report for 2022. It shows 1,103 suspected Overdoses of Fentanyl with 160 fatalities and 408
administrations of Naloxone. The Police Department has carried Naloxone for at least five years
now and was able to replenish their stock through a state program recently.
March will inevitably see a large increase in calls, not only with the warmer weather and more
activity, but with the large Cenex Refinery turnaround ramping up. Cenex has taken measures to
mitigate the impact of the turn around and has readily offered.to compensate the city for incurred
overtime associated with increased traffic control presences and supplement overtime shifts to
cover when we only have single Officer shifts.
Respectfully,
Chief Langve
Laurel Pe DeDartment
W. 1 Street Laurel, Mt. 59044 • Phone 406-62&8737 • Fax 406-628-4641
Total Calls Printed on April 10, 2023
[CFS Date/Time] is between '2023-01-30 00:00' and '2023-02-27 23:59' and
[Primary Incident Code ->Code : Description] All
Code : Description
Page 1 of 5
Totals
10-15 : With Prisoner
0
0
Abandoned Vehicle
18
18
Agency Assist
50
50
Alarm - Burglary
9
9
Alarm - Fire
6
6
AMB: Ambulance
96
96
Animal Complaint
7
7
Area Check
8
8
Assault
2
2
Bad Checks
0
0
Barking Dog
3
3
Bomb Threat
0
0
Burglary
2
2
Child Abuse/Neglect
2
2
Civil Complaint
3
3
Code Enforcment Violation
1
1
Counterfeiting
0
0
Page 1 of 5
Code : Description
Totals
Criminal Mischief
2
2
Criminal Trespass
1
1
Cruelty to Animals
3
3
Curfew Violation
1
1
Discharge Firearm
0
0
Disorderly Conduct
9
9
Dog at Large
12
12
Dog Bite
0
0
DUI : DUI Driver
6
6
: Duplicate Call
3
3
:Escape
0
0
Family Disturbance
11
11
Fight
0
0
FIRE : Fire or Smoke
11
11
Fireworks
0
0
Forgery
0
0
Found Property
3
3
Fraud
5
5
Harassment
6
6
Hit & Run
5
5
Identity Theft
0
0
Page 2 of 5
Code : Description
Totals
Indecent Exposure
0
0
Insecure Premises
5
5
Intoxicated Pedestrian
4
4
Kidnapping
0
0
Littering
0
0
Loitering
0
0
Lost or Stray Animal
8
8
Lost Property
3
3
Mental Health
0
0
Missing Person
3
3
Noise Complaint
4
4
Open Container
0
0
Order of Protection Violation
0
0
Parking Complaint
17
17
Possession of Alcohol
0
0
Possession of Drugs
1
1
Possession of Tobacco
0
0
Privacy in Communications
0
0
Prowler
0
0
Public Assist
44
44
Public Safety Complaint
2
2
Page 3 of 5
Code : Description
Totals
Public Works Call
9
9
Report Not Needed
8
8
Robbery
0
0
Runaway Juvenile
1
1
Sexual Assault
3
3
Suicide
0
0
Suicide - Attempt
0
0
Suicide - Threat
1
1
Suspicious Activity
84
84
Suspicious Person
8
8
Theft
17
17
Threats
1
1
Tow Call
0
0
Traffic Accident
17
17
Traffic Hazard
2
2
Traffic Incident
12
12
TRO Violation
0
0
Truancy
0
0
T/S : Traffic Stop
42
42
Unattended Death
3
3
Unknown - Converted
0
0
Page 4 of 5
Code : Description
Totals
Unlawful Transactions w/Minors 0 0
Unlawful Use of Motor Vehicle
Vicious Dog
Warrant
0 0
Welfare Check 14 14
Totals
610 610
Page 5 of 5