McLean County Times

City of Bloomington Public Safety & Community Relations Board met August 8.

Here is the minutes provided by the Board:

1. Call to Order

The meeting was convened at 3:30 pm by Chairman Arthur Taylor.

2. Roll Call

Mr. Taylor called the roll. Member Bennett was absent for roll call but joined the meeting at approximately 3:34 pm.

Staff present: Chief Clay Wheeler, Greg Moredock, Nora Dukowitz

3. Public Comment

None.

4. Consideration of approving Meeting Minutes of June 13, 2018 and July 11, 2018.

Member Woodard made a motion to approve both sets of minutes. The motion was seconded by Member Lancaster. The minutes were unanimously approved by the Board.

5. Discussion of Pending Citizen Complaints Received

No complaints have been received for the review of the PSCRB. The Police department has received ten complaints for the year and has one of those pending.

6. Debriefing from Quarterly Meeting

Mr. Taylor asked for feedback from the Board regarding the recent Quarterly Meeting. The following feedback was shared:

-Member Fish said it seemed most of the audience was not there to learn about/discuss the PSCRB but to lobby for a Welcoming City ordinance.

-Member Lancaster liked that more people showed up but also noted the amount of attendees that wanted to talk about the Welcoming City ordinance, which she thinks is not in the purview of the PSCRB. She noted some people’s concern with the location of the PSCRB’s monthly meetings and a misunderstanding of where/how complaints can be filed.

-Member Rudolph was glad to see the stakeholders that did show up. She also noted some people’s concern about the regular meeting location. She stated she is still curious about the expectations of the PSCRB.

-Member Bosquez liked the Police Officer’s presentation/participation. He also thought the Mayor should have talked to the PSCRB before mentioning the Board in relation to the Welcoming City topic.

-Member Bennett also noted the concern from some regarding the regular meeting location. He said that perhaps at the next Quarterly Meeting the Board could try and get a sense for why complaints are not making their way to the PSCRB. Is it that people are scared to bring them forward? Or that people are satisfied with how the PD is handling their complaints? Or some other reason?

-Member Woodard noted that some people might have different expectations of what the PSCRB is supposed to be doing or not doing. He echoed Member Bennett’s comments about figuring out why complaints are not making their way to the PSCRB.

-Mr. Moredock expressed that the PSCRB was doing a good job of defining its role per the ordinance.

-Chief Wheeler was pleased that there were good questions during the Officer’s presentation at the Quarterly Meeting. He noted there needs to be clarification of if original complaints (for the PD) can be initially delivered to the PSCRB. Mr. Moredock said that was open to interpretation and could warrant additional discussion.

-Chairman Taylor thought it was a good meeting and heard much of the same as the rest of the Board did. He also noted the amount of comments regarding Welcoming City and that if the Board were to discuss the topic, they certainly were not ready at the Quarterly Meeting.

7. Mayor’s Proclamation & PSCRB Involvement

Chairman Taylor reviewed the Mayor’s public statement regarding the Welcoming City topic and the proclamation he released. Mr. Taylor invited the Mayor to today’s meeting to discuss this topic; however, the Mayor was unavailable. Mr. Taylor read an email the Mayor sent him saying he was unavailable but looked forward to the PSCRB’s assistance in outreach to the community regarding new policies the Chief will establish in relation to the Welcoming City topic. Art asked the Chief to give an update on the PD’s development of these policies. The Chief reported it is going more slowly than he originally anticipated but that he wants to get it right. Multiple members of the Board said they did not think it was the PSCRB’s place to get involved with any aspect of developing or communicating anything relating to the Welcoming City topic. Member Rudolph proposed a motion that the PSCRB not participate in forming a Welcoming City ordinance or communicating any related policies. After discussion, the Board determined they should communicate this to the Mayor before taking any action. Member Rudolph withdrew her motion. Chair Taylor and Member Lancaster plan to meet with the Mayor to discuss.

8. Discussion of future meeting dates, times, and location

The next regular meeting will be September 12 at 3:30 pm. Chair Taylor is looking into possible alternate locations.

9. Adjournment

Motion by Member Rudolph, seconded by Member Fish to adjourn. Time: 5:05 pm

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