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City Council Minutes <br />August 10, 2015 <br />Page 2 <br />Fire & Building Safety <br />Chief Cunningham reviewed the Fire Administration budget and the department's <br />goals, including review and update of the strategic plan and a focus on education. <br />Chief Cunningham explained that the additional staff person request is driven by the <br />rental program, and noted that the fire prevention specialist is currently completely <br />booked with rental inspections. <br />Deputy Chief Surratt and Chief Cunningham discussed the success of the fire <br />academy. <br />Mayor Dietz asked if the fire station study was just for Station 1. Deputy Chief <br />Surratt stated they will look at the entire district. Chief Cunningham noted their goal <br />is wrap up the study by the end of the summer. <br />Deputy Chief Surratt provided detail on the Fire Operations budget. <br />Mayor Dietz asked why the part time pay was increased substantially. Deputy Chief <br />Surratt explained that there has been an increase in the number of fire fighters and <br />cost of training. He stated they average 23 fire fighters showing up per call. If a <br />third station is added, they will change to station paging, where currently they page <br />everyone (44-45 fire fighters). He stated that they would only page the firefighters <br />assigned to a particular station. <br />Emeaena Management <br />Chief Cunningham stated that the budget mainly includes costs for batteries for <br />sirens and siren maintenance. He explained that they will not be doing any siren <br />.replacements next year because of the upgrades already in place. <br />Code Enforcement <br />Chief Cunningham stated they have tracked 227 complaints and 114 re -inspections <br />for follow-up on compliance. He stated their focus on education and community <br />outreach has paid off. Chief Cunningham stated that when they discuss strategic <br />planning, they would like to discuss blight and Council's objective. He stated that <br />currently, code enforcement is complaint -driven. <br />Councilmember Olsen, asked if the department is any way connected to HRA. <br />Chief Cunningham stated they may become more involved with the loan programs <br />to deal with blight. <br />Fire and Building Safety <br />Councilmember Burandt asked for clarification on building safety codes. Mr. <br />Ruprecht explained. He stated they do their best to insure buildings are safe. <br />Councilmember Burandt stated that her concern is accessibility issues in existing <br />businesses. Mr. Ruprecht stated that accessibility issues are addressed if a business <br />needed a building permit, and they do not normally go around looking for violations. <br />PANEAEN Nr <br />NATURE <br />