Executive session called on police expansion

Two Linesville residents attended the October Conneaut Lake Regional Police Commission meeting, with the expressed hope that they might ascertain what is happening with Linesville officially “joining forces” with the Conneaut Lake department.

Unfortunately for the former mayor, Chris Seeley, and a retired police officer, Mr. Button, both of Linesville, an executive session had been scheduled to discuss the situation.

However, they were brought up to speed as far as what might be next pertaining to the plans for Linesville to become a part of the regional force.

Since Conneaut Lake Mayor Tim Kaider has been present at all meetings involving Linesville, he was asked to impart what he could to those in attendance.

Once they wrap up the process of thoroughly researching the proposals from Linesville and when the numbers are all crunched, the process will be very close to completion. The next step would be for the results of such to go before both Conneaut Lake Borough Council and Sadsbury Township Supervisors.

After that, the police would then submit their findings and information to Linesville Borough Council.

This whole process began a few months ago when Conneaut Lake was approached by Linesville about the possibility of them either coming aboard with a contract, or becoming a full-blown member of the regional department.

Recently, Linesville held somewhat of an informational meeting for the public. At that time, they heard from many residents and got a feel of what would be best for their community.

After that, Linesville expressed that they would rather become official members, which would include having representatives on the police commission board. Since that time, Conneaut Lake has been figuring out some of the details like the final costs, coverage time, etc.

Mr. Button asked if a definitive study had been carried out on behalf of the state. Police Chief Pfeifer said that one was not necessary because of their status, meaning that the department is already in existence.

In other words, it would be a different matter altogether if they were starting from scratch and were just developing a regional unit but, that is clearly not the case.

Conneaut Lake Borough Council President Richard Holabaugh, who led the meeting in the absence of Township Supervisor Roy Whaley, pointed out that it was almost a forgone conclusion for the borough to join, back in the day, because they were literally, geographically speaking, surrounded by the township.

He went on to say that Summit would have been another logical township to climb on board but they did not feel that it was necessary at that place in time.

Mayor Kaider stated that their objective would be to get through the next step as quickly as possible because they realize that Linesville is anxious to hear something soon.

Button said that because he served for 30 years as an officer, he had a great deal of respect for and is a firm believer in municipal departments. He concluded by saying he was curious and hopeful that something could be worked out that would be beneficial for all involved.

Holabaugh said that perhaps by November, they would know more details and he then thanked the two for attending the meeting.

In other police related business, the officer who was in charge of the department during the Pumpkin Fest Parade, since Pfeifer was off that day, reported that there were around 30,000 people in attendance. According to Pfeifer, that number is the highest in the history of the parade.

Even with the large number of attendees, there were not any notable problems in terms of traffic accidents. Holabaugh pointed out that some of the usual complaints like folks blocking driveways and things of that nature, were brought to his attention but, other than that, there had been no major incidents, even with the crowd being that large.

The chief presented the activity report for September and it was as follows:

There were 7 traffic citations issued in the township and 12 in the borough; 1 non traffic citation in the township; 1 warrant served in the township; 9 incident reports in the township and 6 in the borough; 3 incidents cleared in the township and 1 in the borough; 6 accident reports in the township with 1 injury and 2 accident reports in the borough with 1 injury; 4 follow up reports in the township and 15 in the borough; 59 calls in the township and 24 in the borough and 10 outside the area;

29 verbal/written warnings in the township and 79 in the borough; 33 traffic stops in the township and 81 in the borough and 4 motorist assists in the township and 3 in the borough.

K9 activities were: 2 assists in the township and 8 hours of training.

Property value lost/stolen was $26,650 in the township and $200 in the borough with $2,444 property value recovered in the borough.

The next meeting of the Conneaut Lake Regional Police Commission will take place on November 17, at 6:30. The meetings are held at the Sadsbury Township building and begin at 6:30.