HAMPTON ROADS CRIMINAL JUSTICE TRAINING ACADEMY
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
June 25, 2015
MINUTES
Members Present:
Chief Bowen, Chair
Sheriff Morgan
Mr. Simons
Chief Sloggie
Sheriff Deeds
Chief Rinehimer
Mr. Doss
Call to Order:
Chief Bowen called the meeting to order. Bowen asked if the agenda for the meeting was acceptable. All agreed that the agenda was acceptable as presented.
Approval of Minutes:
Chief Bowen asked if there was a motion to approve the minutes from the 05/04/2015 Executive Committee Meeting. Mr. Simons made a motion to approve the minutes. Sheriff Morgan seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously.
Financial Update:
Mr. Ferrara provided financial statements through 05/31/2015. Some committee members had questions about State funding for FY16 which Mr. Ferrara stated he could not answer because those funding figures would not be known until early October 2015.
Replacement for Vice-Chair & Member at Large:
Chief Bowen explained that the Academy Bylaws give him the authority to appoint a Vice-Chair since the position has become vacant. He asked the Executive Committee Members to consider if they would be interested in the position and contact him some time in the near future. After some initial discussion Mr. Simon stated that he would be interested in the position. All the other committee members felt that Mr. Simon would be a good choice and Chief Bowen appointed him as Vice Chair. It was explained by Mr. Ferrara that this appointment would only be until the end of 2015 because new elections will be completed at the December Board Meeting. He also advised that a Nominating Committee would need to be established soon. At that point Sheriff Morgan was selected as the Nominating Committee Chair and Chief Rinehimer was appointed as a member to the committee. Sheriff Morgan will appoint another member from the membership at large. The vacant seat on the Executive Committee was not filled because there is only six months until new members will be elected. However, Sheriff Morgan indicated that if during the nominating process if someone is interested in completing the term it may be feasible to fill the vacant position.
Advanced Leadership Series:
Mr. Ferrara made a recommendation to start the Advanced Leadership Series with a class the Scott Barlow and Jeff Rosen put together. The class, How to Evaluate, has already been taught once and got very strong reviews. Ferrara stated they could hold it at the Saint Leo branch here in Oyster Point Park. Mr. Barlow added some background on the program. The Executive Committee liked the recommendation and requested that the class be offered two times during calendar year 2016. Both Ferrara and Barlow stated that two How to Evaluate classes would be included in the 2016 Training Calendar.
Range Update:
Chief Bowen told the committee that he and Scott Barlow met with Randy Wheeler, Poquoson City Manager, to talk about the range. He further stated that since that meeting Mr. Wheeler has met with the city managers from both Hampton and Newport News, and they are both interested in exploring the range project. Chairman Bowen said that he and Mr. Barlow would continue to work on this project and they would try to get a cost estimate on an indoor range by comparing and visiting like ranges.
Health Insurance Costs:
Mr. Ferrara advised the committee that health insurance costs have increased 7% and that the City of Hampton has picked up the entire increase, so the employees do not have to pay more than they did last fiscal year. Ferrara said that he believes that since Hampton is the Academy’s fiscal agent that Academy employees cannot be treated differently, so the academy would have to pay the additional cost for health insurance. He said that the increase would be approximately a total of $7,000 for the year. He also advised the committee that another employee has taken a health insurance plan that is more than was budgeted and that when the Lead Instructor Position is filled if that employee elects for health insurance it was not budgeted, so those two employees health insurance choices will also increase the amount of costs that will need to paid by the academy. Mr. Simons made a motion for the Academy to pay the health insurance increase, Chief Sloggie seconded the motion. All present voted in favor. The committee advised the Executive Director to provide figures of the increase in health insurance costs to the Board at the December meeting.
Lead Instructor Vacancy:
It was explained by Executive Director Ferrara that the Leads Instructor Position was vacant again because Frank Crotty had resigned to take a position working overseas. Ferrara advised that the position will be advertised starting on July 5th. The same selection process will be used as the last time the position was filled, and Mr. Barlow will coordinate the process as he did the last time.
Civil Disturbance Training:
A discussion was started by Chief Bowen in regards to civil disturbance training discussed at the last Executive Committee Meeting. At the last meeting Chief Sloggie requested that civil disturbance training be included in the basic law enforcement academy. Chief Bowen began by saying he does not think the training requested by Chief Sloggie could be provided. During the discussion it was determined that there must have been miscommunication between what Chief Sloggie was requesting and how it was interpreted. The type of training Sloggie was requesting was clarified and both Ferrara and Barlow stated this training could be accomplished. Barlow indicated that the training is being done presently, but it would be expanded and improved upon. Basically, the recruits will be taught the theories and concepts surrounding dealing with a civil disturbance and what their role is as a first responding officer.
New Items/Items From the Floor
Sheriff Morgan asked if it was possible to host a Polygraph Examiners Course. Sheriff Morgan and Director Ferrara explained how this was accomplished in the past and how it could be done again. Committee members thought it was a good idea to do it again and Ferrara advised that he would follow-up on it to see if we could get the program back here at HRCJTA.
Adjournment:
At 9:55 a.m. Chief Bowen asked if there was a motion to adjourn. Sheriff Deeds made a motion to adjourn, Chief Sloggie seconded the motion. All present voted in favor (Mr. Doss left earlier for an emergency).