Minutes 02-12-01MINUTES OF THE SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING HELD IN CONFERENCE
ROOM C, WEST WING, CITY HALL, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA
ON MONDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2001 @ 10:00 A.M.
PRESENT
Chuck Magazine, Chairman
Curlene Baker
Mark Bobich
Bob Borden
Eric Falstad
Steve Lulkin
Dorothy Mack
Barbara Madden
Larry Quinn
Eugene Rufolo
Mike Rumpf
Sharon Tierney
Carisse Weise, Vice Chairperson
Risk Management
Communications
Utilities Admin/EWTP
Fire
Golf Course
Recreation
Human Resources
City Clerk's Office
Public Works
Utilities/WWTP
Planning
ITS
City Manager
ABSENT
Tom Balfe
Wendy Danysh
Dominic Demauro
Phyllis Dixon
A.D. Henehan, Jr.
Parks
Police
Finance/Warehouse
Communications
Library
I. Call to Order
Chairman Magazine called the meeting to order at 10:05 a.m.
II. Roll Call
The Recording Secretary called the roll. A quorum was declared present.
III. Acceptance of Minutes of January 8, 2001 Regular Meeting
Motion
Mr. Lulkin moved to accept the minutes, which was seconded by Mr. Bobich and
unanimously carried.
Meeting Minutes
Safety Committee Meeting
Boynton Beach, FL
January 8, 2001
IV. Safety Committee Education and Traininq Program
Chairman Magazine stated that today the Committee would be discussing
evacuation planning and asked Vice Chair Weise to present the issue. Vice
Chair Weise stated she has been working with Randy Northrop of the City's ITS
Department to come up with a notification system. The City is unable to use the
current existing fire alarm system because that is not permitted under law. A ring-
down system was also looked at, but it was determined that this would be
ineffective if a person was not at their desk or on the telephone at the time when
the ring-down took place.
Currently Mr. Northrop is exploring a possible software PA notification system
that could be attached to the phone system, which would permit dispatch to
make a general announcement utilizing the microphones in the City's telephones.
Vice Chair Weise said she would have more to report, as well as a cost
breakdown, at the next meeting. It was noted that not ail facilities are on the
City's line and Vice Chairman Magazine stated that the PA system would only be
for the City Hall Complex, including City Hall, the West Wing, East Wing, Police
and Fire Administration.
Assistant Fire Marshal Borden inquired if the Police Department had been
consulted on this and Vice Chair Weise stated that she is trying to schedule a
meeting with Assistant Fire Marshal Borden and Wendy Danysh from the Police
Department. Vice Chair Weise said she has received and reviewed the Fire and
Police SOG's. Chairman Magazine stated that Public Works and Utilities might
also want to utilize the same system. Mr. Bobich pointed out that Utilities is on
the City's phone system. Assistant Fire Marshal Borden suggested that it would
be beneficial to utilize a code system in order to avoid any type of panic.
Mr. Bobich inquired if this would be incorporated into the APM and Vice Chair
Weise stated that it would. Chairman Magazine suggested that a section could
be added to the APM that could be called emergency response to include a
section on fire drills, bomb threats and violence in the workplace.
V. OLD BUSINESS
A. Fire Drills
Assistant Fire Marshal Borden had none to report. Chairman Magazine
suggested that he and Assistant Fire Marshal Borden speak with the Fire
Marshal regarding fire drills.
B, "Proud to be a Safe Worker" Awards
Meeting Minutes
Safety Committee Meeting
Boynton Beach, FL
January 8, 2001
Mr. Bobich noted that Safe Worker Awards were presented to Kerry Isom, Tina
Smith and Marvin Razz. On February 7, 2001 at approximately 9:30 a.m. a soda
truck lost part of its load at the visitor entrance to the building, which ended up in
the two eastbound lanes of Woolbright Avenue. The three employees cleaned up
the mess and removed the glass from the traffic lanes. The driver returned 10
minutes later and thanked the employees for their quick action (a copy of the
award is attached to the original minutes).
C. Departmental Inspections.and Safety Meetings
Chairman Magazine distributed copies of the safety meetings and inspections for
the year 2000. Also distributed to members was the Safety Committee
Attendance Record for the year by departments. Chairman Magazine stated that
he has figured the percentages of attendance of meetings and this information
will be furnished to the City Manager and the EXCL Team. He noted that some
departments do not have regular attendance at the meetings and this needs to
be improved. If any member has any corrections, please furnish them to the
Chairman as soon as possible.
Chairman Magazine reviewed his memorandum of February 12, 2001 as follows:
The number of OSHA recordable incidents have been constant, but because
of the increase in personnel and the number of hours worked, the percentage
is actually dropping.
With regard to vehicle safety, the number of vehicles has increased, but over
the past two years the number of preventable collisions has remained
constant.
The overall incident rate'has been dropping steadily.
Chairman Magazine noted that being a Safety Coordinator for your department is
an additional assignment and focus needs to be geared more at the department
level. Chairman Magazine said he would be including in next year's budget a
Safety Officer for the City. Boca Raton and Delray Beach already have a Safety
Officer. West Palm Beach has a safety department under Risk Management.
This is necessary because it appears that a plateau has been reached under the
current efforts. In order to break through the plateau, the focus must be placed
upon the department, which could be accomplished by utilizing a Safety Officer
to work with the Safety Coordinators. The Safety Officer would be a resource for
safety meetings and inspections. The person that would be hired would have a
background with OSHA. The Safety Officer would not be utilized to replace the
Safety Coordinators, but to work with the departments to conduct training and to
be a resource to the departments. Chairman Magazine noted that the City has
Meeting Minutes ~
Safety Committee Meeting
Boynton Beach, FL
January 8, 2001
come a long way and that in order for the City to do even better, the next step
must be taken, i.e. hiring a Safety Officer.
D. Defensive Driver Course
There will be at least one to two classes offered in March and two to three in
April. Chairman Magazine requested that the Safety Coordinators check with
their department personnel to determine who needs to take the course again.
The certificates are only good for three years for insurance purposes. The
course is mandatory for any employee driving a City vehicle or their personal
vehicle on City business.
E. Safety Belt Use Project Team
Chairman Magazine reported that the State Legislature is considering a Bill that
will enable the police to pull drivers over for not wearing their seat belts or having
a child in child restraints and for no other reason. Under current law, this is not
permissible. If passed, this would be changed to allow an officer to pull a driver
over simply for not wearing their seatbelts.
Assistant Fire Marshal Borden reported that there are two personnel from the
Fire Department that are trained in child safety seat installation. Anyone who
wishes to have their existing car seat inspected can telephone his office to make
an appointment to have a technician check the existing car seat to determine if it
is properly installed. Also, there are a great deal of car seats that have been
recalled. Assistant Fire Marshal Borden noted that during the grand opening of
the Wal-kMart Store the Fire Department was present to make inspections and
installations of car seats which were donated by Wal-kMart. This should take
place again in the near future. Ms. Weise stated that she would have Mr. Wayne
Segal contact Assistant Fire Marshal Borden in order to publicize this.
F. Incident Review Board Referrals
None
G. Infection Control Policy
Mr. Bobich reported that it is almost complete and he would e-mail it to Chairman
Magazine.
H. Safety Policies Review
Vice Chair Weise thanked those people who got back to her promptly with regard
to the different sections of the policy each was asked to review. Mr. Bob Lee
submitted very comprehensive review notes, as well as Mr. Fiege in Facilities.
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Meeting Minutes
Safety Committee Meeting
Boynton Beach, FL
January 8, 2001
She stated that she is still awaiting comments from a few other departments and
requested those persons contact her so that she can complete the Safety Manual
as soon. as possible.
Ms. Tierney announced that ITS reviewed their section and had no changes.
Chairman Magazine stated that when the Safety Manual is complete, a copy will
be furnished to every employee.
Mr. Bobich inquired if there was a section devoted to first aid in the manual, and
Vice Chair Weise stated there is a section on accident, injury and incident
reporting and on-the-job injury procedures, but there are no specifics on the
types of first aid that should be given. Vice Chair Weise stated that in every first
aid kit in the departments, there is an emergency manual that instructs a person
on how to administer basic procedures. Chairman Magazine also reported that it
would be appropriate to include Tylenol, which are available at the warehouse, to
the first aid kits.
Vice Chair Weise noted that it was intended that in every department there
should be a person who has basic lifesaver training. The Fire Department offers
a basic lifesaver course at no charge. Assistant Fire Marshal Borden noted that
anyone desiring to take this course should call 742-6336. Vice Chair Weise
noted that the course is held in the evening and generally runs around two hours.
Also consideration is being given to having defibrillators in various buildings as in
all police and fire vehicles. Chairman Magazine said that it would be necessary
to have people trained in order to use the defibrillators. Mr. Lulkin reported that
there was no defibrillator in the Senior Center. Chairman Magazine said that
every department should include in their budget for next year the cost of
purchasing a defibrillator. Assistant Fire Marshal Borden explained to the
members how the defibrillators work and that a monitoring device is placed on
the person and the machine adjusts itself. Assistant Fire Marshal Borden said
that he would speak with Deputy Chief Ness on this issue.
Mr. Rumpf inquired if the City Manager should first be consulted before every
department starts purchasing defibrillators? Vice Chair Weise said she would
bring this up at their next staff meeting.
It was suggested that a safety-training course be offered to all the Safety
Coordinators and Assistant Fire Marshal Borden stated that a course would take
approximately two hours. Chairman Magazine requested that Vice Chair Weise
consult with Ms. Spoerri to determine if she could arrange for a first aid class that
would be available to everyone which would include first aid, CPR and
defibrillators. Ms. Tierney questioned if the employee would be held responsible
in the event first aid was administered. Vice Chair Weise pointed out that a
regular citizen would not be held legally or morally responsible for administering
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Meeting Minutes
Safety Committee Meeting
Boynton Beach, FL
January8,2001
first aid. Chairman Magazine also noted that the State has the Good Samaritan
Law and a person would not be held responsible.
Ms. Baker noted that there is a chart of instructions in Communications that is
used when someone calls in for assistance.
I. Safety Shoe Program
Chairman Magazine reported that safety shoes can now be purchased at the
new Wal-kMart Store and new vouchers should be available shortly. The
contract for the Blue Collar Union states that the City will look at a shoe truck and
a local vendor. After checking with a shoe truck and compared to the prices at
Wal-kMart, the City will be staying with Wal-kMart because of the price. Also, the
quality of the shoe is very good.
If an employee cannot find a pair of shoes at Wal-kMart, they can go elsewhere
and will be reimbursed a maximum of $75.00. An employee is allowed two pairs
of shoes per year. Also, there is a one-year guarantee for normal wear.
Purchases must be made at the service desk; not at the cash registers.
VI. NEW BUSINESS
A. Other
Ms. Mack inquired if the Safety Committee Meetings could be held on a quarterly
basis as opposed to monthly? Chairman Magazine said that the Committee is
bound by State Statute to meet monthly. Also, Chairman Magazine pointed out
that more speakers will be brought in for future trainings.
Mr. Bobich also felt that the Committee should review the accident investigation
procedures and that he has a video on this,
Vice Chair Weise announced that Pam Webb was going to be trained in
Operation Lifesaver, but because of her pending surgery, the City was unable to
send a representative to the training. When the next training is offered, Vice
Chair Weise and Ms. Webb will be attending to become certified in Operation
Lifesaver.
VII. ANNOUNCEMENTS
Chairman Magazine distributed the latest workshops being offered by the Palm
Beach County Safety Council, Chairman Weise inquired if the City still has to
pay for the courses and was informed that they did.
Meeting Minutes
Safety Committee Meeting
Boynton Beach, FL
January8,2001
Chairman Magazine announced that a Conflict Resolution Workshop will be
taking place on February 27th and is being sponsored by the Florida Partnership
for Safety and Health, of which the City is a charter member. This means that
any employee of the City can take the class for free. Anyone wishing to take the
course should contact the Florida League of Cities to register. Paul Viollis, who
also gave the City's training course and spoke to the Safety Committee
previously, is conducting the workshop.
A Motor Vehicle Investigation Workshop will be conducted on March 27th and
when Chairman Magazine receives the flyers, he will distribute them to the
members. Dan Marble, who sometimes consults for the City on motor vehicle
accidents, will conduct the workShop. There is no charge to employees of the
City.
Chairman Magazine stated that he would like to schedule one workshop per
month on safety and related topics. Ergonomic classes are also being
scheduled.
VIII. Next Meeting Date: Monday, March 12, 200'1 @ 10:00 a.m., location
t/b/a
IX. ADJOURNMENT
Motion
Mr. Bobich moved to adjourn, which was seconded by Vice Chair Weise. The
meeting properly adjourned at 11:20 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Barbara M. Madden
Recording Secretary
(two tapes)