EMERGENCY SERVICES COMMITTEE & DEPARTMENT 2004
Year-End Report
The Emergency Services Committee, Bill Sanko (Chair),
Jerry Raskin, Len Jacob, Ed Will, and Lisa McCaffrey met regularly
throughout 2004. The Emergency Services Committee meets the second
Monday of each month at 10am in the Homes Association Conference
Room.
During the year the ES Committee met 12 times in
regular meetings and twice in special meetings to present findings
to the HOA Board, evaluate major project proposals, etc. All
meetings were open to Village homeowners with homeowner input
welcomed. A detailed financial review of operating expenses and a
detailed activity report was presented and discussed at every
regular meeting. Annual total operating expenses for 2004 were again
within the HOA Board approved target of maximum of 45% of revenues
in spite of several significant increases in uncontrollable expenses
such as health insurance, and energy and fuel costs.
2004 EMERGENCY SERVICES DEPARTMENT ACTIVITIES:
Your Emergency Services Department had another busy year in 2004.
Three Officers completed a child safety seat installation course
where they were certified to inspect the installation of child
restraint safety seats in your vehicle. Emergency Services Officers
responded to 5,393 incidents throughout the year. Officers handled
89 actual medical calls (several for life threatening events, which
were successfully handled), investigated 268 Homeowner complaints,
responded to 560 residence calls for assistance, and responded to
over 1800 alarm activations.
ACCESS CONTROL: Improving visitor and resident
access at gates 3, 4, and 5 was one of our goals for 2004. In the
spring the interior entrance gates at those locations were automated
to provide Village residents a dedicated entrance lane while
allowing visitors access to the Village using the interior lane.
This addition allowed us to modify the staffing hours at those gates
resulting in a nearly $90,000 saving in Emergency Services labor
costs.
VILLAGE SAFETY: While striving to reach one of our
2004 goals to “Increase our communications capability with the
community during local emergencies.” Emergency Services purchased
and employed a Village wide emergency notification system (Reverse
911). The October test of that system was a great success. Another
2004 goal was to “Effectively address traffic issues within the
Village to maintain a safe environment for drivers and pedestrians.”
Along with your Metro district we approached this goal from several
angles. With the approval of the Board of Directors Emergency
Services obtained a traffic education cart which reinforces speed
limits by visually displaying a drives speed, this addition to our
organization has proved to be a valuable asset to the community. We
provided input to the Metro led Village Wide Speed Study conducted
by an independent engineering firm. And lastly we increased our
traffic enforcement of the Village speed limits to assist in
maintaining a safe environment for drivers and pedestrians.
ANNUAL EVENTS: Emergency Services held several
events throughout the year to acquaint the community with the
department and its people. Along with several other public safety
organizations and the Homes Association Staff the department held a
Health Awareness Open House at the Fitness Center in May. October
saw our Fourth Annual Pancake Breakfast where over 250 of you
enjoyed a wonderful breakfast on us. We also held two CPR classes
throughout the year with nearly 40 village residents earning their
CPR certification. Watch for these events again in 2005.
2005 GOALS: In addition to continued improvement
in providing “Safety, Security, and Service” to Village residents
and guests specific Emergency Services projects include;
• Continue to explore new technology to improve
homeowner and visitor
access through all our gates.
• Enhance our tactical communications with local law enforcement and
fire
organizations to improve our response to emergency situations.
• Added camera surveillance at our gates to improve detection at
those
locations during unstaffed periods.
The committee will continue to explore ways to
update the technology used by the Emergency Services Department,
increasing the quality of service as well as controlling the cost of
doing our business. Issues that are continuously explored are
Emergency Services staffing levels, EMT service, covenant
enforcement, and a review of the Emergency Services Department
budget on a monthly basis.
In closing we would like to thank those who
donated to the Emergency Services Holiday Fund. Over 40 percent of
Village homeowners made generous donations. An average hourly
Emergency Services Officer received nearly $1,100 through fund
distributions made in December and January.
Respectfully submitted, /S/ /S/ Bill Sanko,
Chairman Mark G. Larson, Chief Emergency Services Committee
Emergency Services Department |
