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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026/06/03 - ADMIN - Minutes - Police Advisory Commission - Regular1. Call To Order – Welcome Guests – If Any Chair Karl Gamradt called the meeting to order and welcomed Deputy Chief Siar Nadem as a guest observer. 2. Roll Call Present: Chair Karl Gamradt, Commissioner Jay Wolkenbrod, Commissioner Diane Slais, Youth Commissioner Jillian Dixon, Commissioner Michael Rydberg, PAC Liaison Matt Blomsness, Deputy Chief Siar Nadem (guest) Absent: Commissioner Carrie Holmes; Daniel Stockton (term expired, did not reapply) It was noted that two new adult member appointments are pending City Council approval on June 15th, effective July 1st. Youth member positions will be filled through a separate interview process later in the summer. 3. Approval Of Agenda Motion to approve the agenda was made and seconded. The motion carried unanimously. 4. Approval Of May 2026 Minutes Motion to approve the May 2026 minutes was made and seconded. The motion carried unanimously. 260603 PAC Meeting Minutes June 4, 2026, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM 5. Old Business No substantive old business was raised. Outstanding items were addressed under subsequent agenda items. 6. Vote On Purpose Statement The commission reviewed the existing purpose statement and identified two revisions: correcting minor grammatical issues and adding language to reflect that the commission submits an annual report and work plan and meets with the City Council annually. The revised language was drafted and approved at the meeting. Motion to adopt the revised purpose statement was made by Chair Gamradt and seconded. The motion carried unanimously. Liaison Blomsness will forward the revised statement to staff for processing. 7. Updates – Community Conversations With The PAC Chair Gamradt presented a draft PowerPoint outline for the community conversations program. Following discussion with Deputy Chief Nadem and Liaison Blomsness, the commission agreed on several substantive revisions to improve flow and community engagement: The opening section will contrast traditional policing with community policing, drawing on the department's philosophy of districts, stakeholder relationships, and problem-solving beyond immediate incidents. The Behavioral Health Unit (BHU) section will incorporate a short city-produced video (~9 minutes) in addition to key facts. The BHU's name was noted as intentionally chosen to reduce stigma. CIT training was noted as a goal for all staff past probation, with 100% of dispatchers currently trained. A new section on officer wellness will be added between the BHU and domestic violence sections, reflecting the community's interest in officer fitness and professionalism. The domestic violence response section will address the department's advocacy partnerships, follow-up protocols, and safety planning in general terms, concluding with an encouragement for residents experiencing abuse to contact the department. The DHS/immigration response section will open with the city's full position statement, followed by bullet-point specifics. SLPD's role at protest events will be framed around protecting First Amendment rights and maintaining public safety. A "how to get involved" slide will highlight the volume of outreach events (~125 annually) and engagement opportunities such as Citizens Academy and police reserves. A final slide will list upcoming events and remain displayed during post- presentation mingling. Audience engagement will include a Post-It note activity on community policing perceptions, with brief open sharing limited to approximately 5 minutes and individual contributions encouraged to be around 60 seconds. The overall presentation target remains approximately 20–30 minutes of facilitated content. Chair Gamradt will revise the deck based on this discussion. 8. Updates - Community Survey Deferred. The commission agreed to revisit the community survey once membership is fuller. 9. Workplan Review / Need For Updates? Deferred to the July meeting. Liaison Blomsness will provide the council-issued work plan template for commission review. The commission also noted the desire to make future bylaw updates, including removing the unfilled secretary position, to align with current city code and practice. 10. July Meeting? The commission agreed to hold the July meeting on July 1st as originally scheduled. The meeting will be informal in nature, focused on work planning rather than formal votes, and attendance will be recorded. Commissioner Dixon noted she plans to bring treats, as it will likely be her final meeting as a youth member. 11. Senior And School Outreach Liaison Blomsness noted the following upcoming community engagement opportunities open to PAC members: June 10 – Senior Social Hour, Lenox Community Center, 10:00 AM June 8 & ongoing Thursdays – Basketball in the Park, Ainsworth Park, 6:00 PM (weather permitting; cancellations posted on SLPD social media by 1:00 PM) June 17 – Fishing with a Cop, Wolf Park (weather permitting) June 20 – Parktacular parade July 22 – Skate-a-Palooza, Carpenter Park, 5:00 PM August (TBD) – National Night Out; Deputy Chief Nadem invited PAC members to ride along PAC members interested in National Night Out were asked to notify Liaison Blomsness so Officer Cisco can follow up directly. Regarding school outreach, Youth Commissioner Dixon confirmed she met with the SLP High School principal and clarified that academic credit for PAC participation is available on an individual basis. Students should initiate the request through their counselor. Commissioner Slais will work to maintain this pathway for future youth commissioners. 12. New Business 13. Attendance Checks Coming End Of June Liaison Blomsness confirmed that attendance checks will be conducted at the end of June. The annual council check-in has been moved to August; Blomsness will provide a date and the commission presentation template. 14. Other Business Chair Gamradt noted two unresolved follow-up items with staff: the commission's 2024 and 2025 annual reports have not been posted to the city website, and no response has been received regarding a tabling opportunity at Parktacular (deadline June 7th). Liaison Blomsness committed to following up with staff on both items and provided contact information for the Parktacular event organizer. 15. Adjournment Motion to adjourn was made and seconded. The motion carried unanimously. These minutes were created with the assistance of a generative AI transcript service, then edited and finalized by a city staff person.