The chief imparted that currently things have been working out well with the part time person but, during his vacation, for example, there had not been 24/7 coverage.

Whaley said that two meetings ago, he had made a request for the chief to gather figures for a part time secretary so they could evaluate them.

He said he agreed with the original plan in that they were leaning toward the 24/7 coverage, “if circumstances led us to that, we'd be closer and ready to go.” He said he did have a concern because with the one part time guy, it gives the chief more office time with paperwork etc. He said if they brought on another part timer, it would basically have the chief become an office worker and would pretty much remove him from the street.

This was the reason Whaley asked for the numbers concerning the secretary. “If the need does not mandate or force us into the second part time officer for this year, maybe we need to look at the part time secretary for this year for training...”

The chief said it's somewhat of a double edged sword because with the increase in officers, the crime rate has quite possibly gone down. He said that there had been a burglary at Page's on his first day of vacation. He didn't say that it was only due to the lack of an officer on duty, but said it could have been. He did say that the crime rate in general had gone down though.

Holabaugh piped up and said that the number one complaint he hears is the speed at which people drive through town. He said, too, that when they do have extra officers trying to control such, people then complain about that so, it's almost a no win situation.

The conversation made its way back to the part time secretary with the chief telling the board that he investigated a program called “Way to Work Initiative.” He explained that it is basically a local grant and the funding would allow for a worker to be hired through September. At that time, the department would then have to take over expenditures, if they wanted to hire this person, or, they would have the option of not keeping her/him on.

The program does come with some stipulations. Being able to work at the police department has its stipulations as well, according to the chief.

Whaley asked if it would be worthwhile to start this because of the short time span between now and September and the time it would take to train a person.

Pfeifer mentioned that there really isn't any budgeted money for a secretary, (if it went beyond Sept. and they officially hired the person), unless they were to take it from that part time officer “fund” that was allocated in the budget. He indicated that an officer should have been hired back at the beginning of the year. This is another area in which the whole secretary vs. part time officer comes into play, because of using that money to pay a secretary.

Whaley said it might be worth it to try though but VanHonk and the mayor mentioned the training time, which would take away from the chief's time in the cruiser.

Whaley said, on the other hand, it would give them a chance to check out a person and if he/she worked out, they might consider keeping him/her on.

This line of discussion went on for a bit and then the subject went back to the 24/7 department. The mayor jumped in and said he really didn't see a need for this. “My opinion on this is that we don't need to be 24/7 just because the government is threatening with charging our citizens additional money for coverage. If that should come to fruition, we could go 24/7, just like that.”

Whaley then asked if they should entertain a motion at that time concerning the secretarial deal. Holabaugh said it would depend on the wording, as he didn't want to close the option for hiring one at a future time.

The mayor bottom lined this by asking if the chief was asking for a secretary at that time. Pfeifer replied, “For nine years I did prior to last budget. It kept getting shot down so I didn't put in for it. That's why I put in for the two part time officers that got approved. So for eight and a half years, it was in my budgetary request every year. This year, I didn't ask for it because it was never approved.”

He then stated that he would love to get out of the office and do what he got into law enforcement to do.

After some back and forth about whether or not to make any kind of formal motion to put the matter to rest, VanHonk said they should definitely make room for the possibility in the 2011 budget. This was agreed upon by all involved.

Whaley said he would be OK with not making the motion to deny the secretary at that time. The mayor said he liked VanHonk's idea in terms of the 2011 budget and also said that would give them a chance to see where they were in terms of an extra officer too.

A motion was then made to give consideration to hiring a part time secretary and part time officers when they plan the next budget. It was seconded and carried.

Another topic was that of crossing the street in town. There are crosswalks but citizens are reminded that where none exist, they are to cross at the nearest intersection.

In some other exciting news, the official speed limit in the borough is now 25 mph. The chief recommended using “mouse ears” in order to bring the signs to the attention of drivers.

The chief presented the activity report for May and it was as follows: There were 21 traffic citations issued in the township and 23 in the borough; 2 non-traffic citations in the borough;

1 felony arrest in the borough; 4 misdemeanor arrests in the township; 1 field interview in the township; 6 incident reports in the township and 1 in the borough; 5 incidents cleared in the township and 1 in the borough; 3 accident reports in the township with 7 injuries and 6 accident report in the borough with 1 injury;

13 follow up reports in the township and 2 in the borough; 69 calls in the township and 28 in the borough and 8 outside the area; 109 verbal/written warnings in the township and 130 in the borough; 121 traffic stops in the township and 153 in the borough; 3 motorist assists in the township and 1 in the borough. There was no property value lost or stolen in the township or in the borough.

K9 activities were: 4.5 hours of assists and 6 hours of training.

Total calls were 411 in May.

The next meeting of the Conneaut Lake Regional Police Commission will take place on July 21 at 6:30. The meetings are held at the Sadsbury Township building and begin at 6:30.