Finance Committee - 11/20/2019 Page 3
| think it is very important with the growth that is happening in our City; we are not a developing City we are a
re-developing City. We will look at some of the density that we are adding. We need an outside
comprehensive, objective view of what is happening with our community and can we meet the needs today,
but more importantly, can we prepare for tomorrow.
Another huge component of this is — so there was a comprehensive study done 30 years ago. There was
another one done 10 years after, so 20 years ago. Both of those studies referred to the potential need for
additional fire protection in the northwest and southwest quadrants of our community. To date, respectively 20
and 30 years later, we do not have the increased fire protection in those areas of our community. It is critically
important, | think, to evaluate that now as we look to put a Junior High School in one of the areas that was
identified in two previous studies.
Alderman Laws
Thank you for that. Last on Planning & Economic Development we tentatively approved a Master Plan for the
City. | can’t remember off-hand, are you included in the Committee or a representative of NFD included in the
Committee that is going to be doing that Master Plan? | feel like there is a lot of overlap that might be
happening in the two.
Chief Rhodes
Mr. Chairman if | may answer? Yes Commissioner Grant was part of that Planning Committee with the
Aldermanic Representative, Alderman Melizzi-Golja was also part of that. It is our intention to include that
Resolution of the City’s plan for the Master Plan into this document once it is completed.
Alderman Laws
Excellent, thank you.
Alderwoman Kelly
Thank you. | would like a little — 1 want the 15,000 foot view; he wanted 30 | want a little bit deeper. | know we
have talked about this a lot at the time of Budget and | am wondering specifically what kind of things we are
going to get out of it. | know you already talked about Fire Protection. Is it also going to look at dispatchers,
and what will we get out of the report?
Chief Rhodes
This will be — I’m sorry Mr. Chairman, may | answer. This will be a comprehensive, top to bottom review
starting with the administration, do we have industry standard best practice; administration to handle an
organization of 180 personnel and over $20 million? Are we providing the appropriate service in regard to our
internal customers and our training division, our dispatch services and our external customers in our
inspectional services. We have 3 members of our Fire Marshall’s Office for a City of 90,000 people. The town
of Hudson has 3 for 30,000 people. Our employees do an incredible job but they are overworked and that’s
not from them, that’s from me saying that as their boss. They do an incredible job for us but we could do a
much better service to our community.
One example of that is every year, we are under mandate from the State, to inspect every single one of our
schools. You know how many schools we have and every year we have to get the reminder letter from the
State Fire Marshall’s Office to “we need those inspections done” and that’s not from lack of trying. That’s just
from the lack of the building and redevelopment and occupancy permit inspections that need to be done in a
City of this size.
