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Minutes 08-08-05 MINUTES OF THE SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING HELD IN THE FIRE/POLICE TRAINING ROOM, CITY HALL, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA, ON MONDAY, AUGUST 8,2005 AT 10:00 A.M. Present: John Bebensee, Chair Kevin Nugent, Vice Chair Barbara Madden, Secretary Brenda LeVant Chris Mitchell Franz LaFontant Tom Balfe (arrived at 10:13 a.m.) Barbara Scott Tim Calhoun Chuck Magazine Gary Ezzell Recreation Fire/EMS City Clerk Communications Development Engineering Parks Police/Code Compliance Public Works Risk Management Utilities Absent: Carisse LeJeune Rodney Vicki Eric Falstad Dorothy Mack Glendon Morgan City Manager Finance/Warehouse Golf Course Human Resources ITS I. Call to Order Chairman Bebensee called the meeting to order at 10:11 a.m. II. Roll Call The Secretary called the roll and declared a quorum was present. Chairman Bebensee introduced Carl Mahady, the new Beach Supervisor. III. Acceptance of Minutes of July 11, 2005 Regular Meeting Motion Mr. Magazine moved to accept the minutes. Motion seconded by Ms. LeVant and unanimously carried. Meeting Minutes Safety Committee Meeting Boynton Beach, Florida August 8,2005 IV. Safety Committee Education and Training Program "Rip Current Dangerous Force in the Ocean" A video on rip currents was viewed. Chairman Bebensee explained the beach employs a flag system to alert people to the conditions at the beach as follows: red - stop no swimming; yellow - use caution; green - good swimming; and purple indicates the presence of sea pests, such as jelly fish, sea lice, etc. Mr. Mitchell inquired if there was any particular portion of the beach where rip currents would be more prevalent. Chairman Bebensee responded there was no particular portion of the beach that would have more rip currents. Vice Chair Nugent asked if rip currents would be more prevalent during a certain time of the year. Chairman Bebensee pointed out rip currents are likely to occur whenever southeast winds are ubiquitous, especially in the summer. Chairman Bebensee noted rip currents are wind driven and kill approximately 100 people annually, which is second only to heat related deaths. V. Unfinished Business A. Fire Drills Vice Chair Nugent reported as a result of the opening of the new Fire Station #4, he has not had an opportunity to address fire drills. He does have a form available that was discussed at the July meeting that he will be distributing to the Safety Coordinators for use when fire drills are held. Vice Chair Nugent will also be coordinating with dispatch when drills are scheduled. B. Proud to be a Safe Worker Awards None C. Departmental Inspections & Safety Meetings (C. Magazine) Mr. Magazine reported several departments have notified him of the dates they would be holding departmental inspections and safety meetings. He requested that all departments notify Risk Management the dates of their safety meetings and inspections so that Mr. Magazine could be in attendance. D. Defensive Driver Course (C. Magazine) Mr. Magazine announced 450 people have taken the course. The Police Department needs to be scheduled and there are still employees at Public Works that need to take the course. He noted other risk managers throughout the county have contacted him about the City's defensive driver program that appears to be the best program available. 2 Meeting Minutes Safety Committee Meeting Boynton Beach, Florida August 8, 2005 He will be offering the program to other municipalities. Once all current employees complete the course, only new employees will be required to take it, since the test is good for three years. All people that score 100 on both portions of the test receive a key chain. Mr. Calhoun inquired what employees in Public Works still needed to take the test. Mr. Magazine will check on this and will provide a list to Glenda Hall. Vice Chair Nugent reported that a firefighter that took the test was informed by her insurance company they would accept the certificate of completion for a discount on her automobile insurance. Mr. Magazine said there are some insurance companies that will accept the course for a discount. He recommended people should check with their own insurance companies to determine whether they are eligible for a discount. E. Incident Review Board Referrals (C. Magazine) None F. Lightning Protection Chairman Bebensee announced they are trying to set up a meeting with vendors that sell hand-held lightning detectors. Vice Chair Nugent announced he played golf at High Ridge Country Club and reported the club had a very good lightning detection system. They invited the safety sub- committee to view the system to see how it was set up. Mr. Magazine inquired if it was a computer based system and was informed it was. Vice Chair Nugent will follow through with the invitation. G. Department Alternates (J. Bebensee) It was reported earlier that Sharyn Stump was no longer employed by the Library. Chairman Bebensee will contact the Library Director to determine who the new representative from the Library will be. He will also contact Ms. LeJeune from the City Manager's Office to determine if they have found an alternate from the City Manager's Office. H. Low-hanging Branches in Private Communities (C. Magazine) Ms. Scott reported that she spoke with Code Administrator Scott Blasie regarding low- hanging branches and wires that had been discussed at the July meeting. Mr. Blasie responded by E-mail, and Chairman Bebensee read Mr. Blasie's response into the record. A copy of the E-mail is on file with the record of the meeting. In summary, Mr. Blasie's response was people who travel the streets on a regular basis with heavy equipment should identify low hanging branches, wires, etc. The Code 3 Meeting Minutes Safety Committee Meeting Boynton Beach, Florida August 8, 2005 Compliance staff can also initiate enforcement actions, but he would like all staff that use the roadways to report low hanging branches and wires to his office. Mr. Blasie requested all reported locations be E-mailed to him directly so he can hold his staff accountable and keep a spreadsheet on each occurrence. After an instance is identified, the Code Enforcement Office will handle all correspondence to the homeowner/business owner in accordance with their regular p roced u res. There is an ordinance that requires limbs/branches not to be lower than 14' over the roadway and wires are addressed on an individual basis as they are reported. Mr. Blasie was not certain if there was anything that addressed dumpsters being situated under wires. Mr. Magazine said anyone could report low hanging branches or wires by notifying Mr. Blasie via E-mail. He requested that the Safety Coordinators inform their staff if they see any low-hanging branches or wires, it should be reported to Code Enforcement so they could follow through as soon as possible. VI. New Business A. Departmental Safety Issues Mr. Magazine noted it was time to update the Safety Manual and the Vice Chair has normally been charged with this task. Mr. Magazine will speak with Vice Chair Nugent on how this had been addressed in the past. Previously, the Manual was divided into chapters and Committee members would each be given a chapter to update. This could be done at the next meeting. Mr. Magazine would like to have the Safety Manual updated by the end of the year. Mr. Calhoun inquired when Hepatitis B shots are given to technicians. Vice Chair Nugent will speak with Mike Landress and report back to Mr. Calhoun how this is handled. Mr. Magazine thought that the worker's comp clinic could also administer the shots. Mr. Balfe reported Human Resources sends people for immunization shots to that clinic. B. Other None VII. Announcements None 4 Meeting Minutes Safety Committee Meeting Boynton Beach, Florida August 8, 2005 VIII. Next Meeting Date: Monday, September 12, 2005 at 10:00 a.m. IX. Adjournment There being no further business, the meeting properly adjourned at 10:35 a.m. Respectfully submitted, I~,it . ~~- Barbara M. Madden Recording Secretary (August 9,2005) 5