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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2/16/2000 - STAFF REPORTS (17) DATE: February 16, 2000 TO: City Council FROM: C. Lee Weigel, Chief of Police APPROVE BUDGET AMENDMENT FOR MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR TO PALM SPRINGS POLICE AERO SQUADRON CESSNA AIRPLANE IN THE AMOUNT OF $5159.00 RECOMMENDATION: It is recommended that City Council approve a resolution amending the 1999-2000 fiscal year budget for maintenance and repairs to the Palm Springs Police Aero Squadron Cessna airplane in the amount of $5,159. BACKGROUND: For many years, the Palm Springs Police Aero Squadron has been a volunteer auxiliary organization of the Police Department. The Squadron consists of pilots and observers who have donated their time, and often the use of their personally owned aircraft, to the citizens of Palm Springs. Primarily, the Squadron would be activated on a very limited basis, for long-distance transportation, photo and surveillance missions, and emergency situations. In February of 1999, the Police Department formed a committee to investigate the feasibility of an airship for Police, Fire, and Search & Rescue functions. As a precursor to this, the Police Department was authorized by the Chief of Police and City Manager to initiate a trial air support program using existing Aero Squadron volunteer pilots, and regular Police Department personnel as observers. Several years ago, the Aero Squadron, through their own efforts, acquired a seized vintage aircraft. The members restored the aircraft, sold it, and were able to use the funds to purchase a more suitable airplane for law enforcement use, our Cessna 182 Skylane, tail #N47PS. The money that was left over became the Aero Squadron treasury. Since Summer of 1999, the Aero Squadron has been flying its "Eye in the Sky" program approximately three days per week, two to four hours per day. In the last year, 15 pilots have volunteered their time, flying over 118 hours of various missions with the City's airplane alone, and nearly 100 additional hours using their own aircraft. Throughout this trial period, our observers spotted six suspects from the air (including two parolees and an escaped prisoner) resulting in their capture. They called out 14 suspicious vehicles, were first to arrive on seven traffic collisions, spotted three fires, assisted Tribal Police in the canyons, monitored activity around the freight trains, and assisted on numerous alarm calls, disturbance calls, vehicle and pedestrian checks, and other patrol functions. Unfortunately, the sharp increase in the use of the Aero Squadron plane has severely drained the Aero Squadron's treasury, which does not get replenished except for annual dues paid into it by the volunteer members. In addition to the maintenance of the aircraft, $272 per month is drained from the account to pay the airport for rental of the T-hanger where the City's plane is kept. The City budgets $2,500 annually to help pay for the Squadron's use of fuel. 17A Recently, the aircraft underwent repairs due to a leaking fuel cell, as well as a propeller that needed to be repaired and rebuilt due to a required FAA maintenance directive. These two repairs alone cost the Aero Squadron $5,158.64. In order to continue this valuable, potentially life-saving air support program without depleting the treasury of the volunteer Aero Squadron, reimbursement is requested for the completed repairs in the amount of $5,158.64. A budget resolution amending the 1999-2000 budget in the amount of $5,159 is attached. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: This program has been very well received by the community, the media, and the City personnel who have participated in and benefited from it. If this funding is not approved, we will have to eliminate the air patrol, and revert back to a stand-by basis for occasional call-outs only. Eventually, as the Aero Squadron's treasury continues to get depleted without replacement, the aircraft would have to be grounded, and could lead to the loss of this valuable auxiliary organization. OVIV (X� C. EE WEIGEL Police Chief APPROV City Manager ATTACHMENTS: 1. Resolution DATE: February 10, 2000 `�:�' Ply TO: Palm Springs City Council FROM: Commander Jim Heazlett, Police Department SUBJECT: Police Aero Squadron Funding Request The Palm Springs Police Aero Squadron is an all volunteer auxiliary organization of the Police Department. For over twenty-five years, the pilots and observers who make up the Aero Squadron have donated their time and privately owned aircraft, plus the one Squadron owned airplane, to fly missions for the Police Department serving the citizens and the City of Palm Springs. The objectives of the Aero Squadron are to maintain an organization comprised of pilots and observers to aid, support, and enhance law enforcement. The Squadron also furnishes planes and personnel for law enforcement, search and rescue, and any other designated Squadron activities, including assisting the media and any other governmental agency approved by the Chief of Police. An additional role of the Squadron is to support and participate in activities promoting the betterment and welfare of aviation. Squadron Aircraft Several years ago, the Aero Squadron acquired a seized vintage aircraft that was not really suitable for the Squadron's mission. The members restored the aircraft with their own funds, sold it, and used the proceeds to purchase a more suitable airplane for law enforcement use, our Cessna 182 Skylane, tail#N47PS. The remaining funds from the sale of the vintage aircraft became the Squadron's operating budget and treasury. Squadron members also fly seven personally owned aircraft to fly Squadron missions. The only reimbursement for these flights from the City is to provide $2500 annually for fuel and oil, which falls far short of actual fuel expenditures. The Squadron houses the Squadron owned airplane in a rented T-hanger at the Palm Springs International Airport for a monthly fee of$272, a cost which is paid for out of the Squadron treasury and not reimbursed via City funds. From October of 1998 thru October 1999, over 118 hours of flight time were completed in the Squadron owned plane, 4N47PS. This does not account for flight time flown on behalf of the City in member's personally owned aircraft. Transportation Missions The types of missions flown by the Aero Squadron are many. Each year the Aero Squadron has been tasked to provide transportation of officers and detectives to other locations in California and surrounding states so that they may conduct investigations and interview witnesses and suspects of serious crimes that occurred in Palm Springs. Occasionally the Squadron has transported prisoners arrested in other jurisdictions for crimes committed in the City of Palm Springs back to the Palm Springs Police Department for booking and eventual prosecution. These same day round trip transportation missions have saved the City of Palm Springs several thousands of dollars in commercial airline fees, rental cars, or the lost work time and associated costs of officers driving to the destinations, staying overnight due to long distances, meal per diem, investigator overtime, and returning on the next day. An example of typical cost savings to the City via the transportation flights follows. Commercial airline round-trip rates to the fJ AG 17 Page 2 Aero Squadron Funding Request February 10, 2000 following areas from Palm Springs, where the Squadron has flown police personnel during the past year are: San Francisco $420, Phoenix $493, Bullhead City via Phoenix $805. Other cities flown to by the Squadron and investigators during the past year include Fresno, Sacramento, Monterey, and Palmdale. In addition, those investigators would probably need to rent a vehicle to get them to their final destination, overnight stay at a hotel plus meals averages $160 per diem. A prisoner escort would require two investigators for officer safety concerns, doubling the cost. What is the expense of an Aero Squadron round-trip flight to Phoenix area, same day, with one investigator to interview a victim/witness or suspect in jail/prison custody? Less than $240 in fuel and oil, lunch for the pilot and investigators (approximately $260 total), plus car rental if local law enforcement agency couldn't provide vehicle transportation. The cost savings to the City is considerable, and the expense of the Squadron transportation flights is negligible by comparison. Search and Rescue The Squadron is available upon request to perform search and rescue operations in conjunction with the Mounted Police Search and Rescue Unit. Within recent weeks, the Squadron aircraft assisted in the location and eventual rescue of a stranded female hiker in the Indian Canyons on the South end of Palm Springs. Aerial Surveillance The Palm Springs Narcotics Task Force has used the squadron on several occasions to provide surveillance of known drug and narcotics dealers in and around the Coachella Valley. For many years during the annual Spring Break, the Squadron flew multiple daily surveillance missions over Tahquitz Canyon and other popular gathering areas of Palm Springs. The pilots and observers would report trespassers, fires, traffic congestion, and other unusual activities to the Police or Fire Departments. Shortly after the violent 1999 robbery of Leeds Jewelry Store in Palm Springs, Squadron members in a private aircraft became airborne, tracking and monitoring the ensuing high speed pursuit of the suspect's vehicle into the greater Los Angeles area. Orientation Flights Occasionally, the Aero Squadron provides aircraft orientation flights for teenage members of groups such as the Civil Air Patrol, the Police Explorer Post, or the Air Force ROTC Program. These flights offer an opportunity for many students to participate in their first small aircraft flight and discover the many wonders of flight and aviation. During the past two years the Squadron has provided scheduled orientation flights for Police Department personnel in order to offer a vastly different perspective of Palm Springs and the surrounding area from the air, improving the officer's knowledge and layout of local geography. This aerial orientation is especially helpful for new police employees. Page 3 Aero Squadron Funding Request February 10, 2000 Emergency Response Plan In 1999, the Aero Squadron began training all members in a comprehensive and detailed Emergency Response Plan. This plan provides immediate and ongoing response and participation of Squadron personnel and aircraft in the event of a major emergency or disaster, such as earthquake, fire, or flash floods; all of which the Palm Springs area has been subjected to during past years. Training for this plan includes scheduled"emergency" responses, coordinated practice flights, testing of Squadron communications equipment, and training of aircrews in implementation of the plan. In the event of such an emergency, the Squadron would provide almost immediate aerial monitoring, communications and assistance to emergency services in and around Palm Springs. The practice and training missions for this program have been temporarily suspended due to lack of City funding for fuel and oil. Eye in the Sky Program The most recent innovation of the Aero Squadron was the implementation of the trial "Eye in the Sky Program" in August 1999. Volunteer Squadron pilots, accompanied by a police officer observer, fly regularly scheduled patrol flights over Palm Springs to assist officers in ground units with response to various calls and incidents. Currently, the Squadron flies three days per weeks, two to four hours per day. Since implementation, our observers spotted six felony suspects from the air, including two parolees and an escaped prisoner, resulting in their capture. They notified patrol officers of fourteen suspicious vehicles, were first to arrive on seven traffic collisions, spotted three fires, assisted Tribal Police in the canyons, searched for ongoing theft activity from freight trains passing through the northern part of our City, assisted on numerous burglary and robbery alarm calls, disturbance calls, vehicle and pedestrian checks, and other patrol functions. Only the Squadron owned aircraft is used for this program due to radio limitations and the installation of a STOL kit which allows the plane to continuously circle at slow speeds. The"Eye in the Sky" is available upon request to fly short term assistance missions to other cities in the Coachella Valley. This very successful program has been recently temporarily suspended due to lack of available funding in the Police budget for fuel and oil required for the Squadron owned aircraft to keep flying. Western States Aero Squadron Fly-ins The Aero Squadron recently began participating again in the Western States Sheriffs Aero Squadron Fly-ins. These events, attended by similar organizations and hosted throughout California and neighboring states several times per year, provide professional training and event competition for participating law enforcement Aero Squadrons. The Palm Springs Police Aero Squadron has participated in five such events during the past year, each time bringing home trophies attesting to their skills in flying, navigating, fuel planning, and competitive shooting. All expenses are paid for by the participating members, at no cost to the City. In October 2000, the Palm Springs Aero Squadron will host a Palm Springs Western States Fly-in, which has the potential of bringing in several hundred visitors and their aircraft to Palm Springs for the three day event. This popular event should prove to be a boon to the City and local tourism industry. Page 4 Aero Squadron Funding Request February 10, 2000 Aerial Photography Aerial photography missions have been recently flown by the Squadron to document homicide crime scene locations and search for physical evidence that may not be readily visible or located by ground units. Squadron Financial Status Operating costs, less the annual fuel allotment provided by the City, and maintenance costs for the Squadron owned aircraft are funded by the Aero Squadron Treasury, which is rapidly being depleted. Scheduled maintenance and unforseen repairs of the single Squadron owned aircraft during the past year have totaled approximately $12,000. The repairs were considered normal for a twenty-five year old aircraft, but all became necessary within a rather short period of time. The increased use of the Squadron aircraft results in increased routine maintenance and scheduled maintenance costs. The Aero Squadron airplane is in dire need of a new aircraft radio system, at an estimated cost of$15,000, which will allow the pilot and crew to monitor both the aviation frequencies and police radio frequency simultaneously, and communicate on either channel without having to change headsets or microphones. The current aviation radio system of#N47PS is incompatible with the law enforcement radio system frequencies. Aero Squadron operational flights have been suspended, except in emergencies, until the beginning of the new Fiscal Year on July 1, 2000, due to lack of available funding for fuel and oil in the Police budget. The Aero Squadron has no fund raising ability other than hosting the upcoming Western States Aero Squadron Fly-in of October 2000, where we hope to raise $3,000 to $4,000. During the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Convention in 1998, Squadron members sold wooden aircraft wheel chocks for $10 apiece, and raised $1500 for the Squadron Treasury. The Aero Squadron is looking for financial assistance to keep the various programs, mentioned previously, ongoing without significant interruptions of service. Our operational goals for the upcoming year are to continue with the"Eye in the Sky Program", continue ongoing training in the Emergency Response Plan, and provide service and assistance as needed to local law enforcement, including the Tribal Police. Securing additional funding for fuel, oil, and maintenance allocations will get both of these programs back into the air. The estimated $15,000 needed to purchase and install the aviation radio equipment will greatly enhance the aircrew ability of the Squadron owned aircraft to communicate rapidly and effectively with the Airport Control Tower while remaining in contact with the Police Department or whichever agency we are assisting at the time. Page 5 Aero Squadron Funding Request February 10, 2000 We feel that the service that the Palm Springs Police Aero Squadron provides to law enforcement and the citizenry of Palm Springs is an important aspect in maintaining and improving the safety and welfare of our community. We also know that the Aero Squadron's Treasury is dwindling rapidly to continue paying for operational and maintenance costs, and that the current level of service provided by the Squadron may be short-lived without some financial assistance from the City. Any consideration given by the City Council towards the Aero Squadron would be greatly appreciated and hailed as a superb supportive effort by the Council in safeguarding and improving the quality of life of our community. The thirty current members of the Aero Squadron, fifteen pilots and fifteen observers, are very proud to have served our community, and look forward to continuing our volunteer service now and in the future. I thank you for your time and consideration. James A. Heazlett Commander Investigations Division/Range Operations Aero Squadron Liaison Officer RESOLUTION NO. 19746 OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING THE BUDGET FOR THE 1999-00 FISCAL YEAR. WHEREAS Resolution 19541, approving the budget for the fiscal year 1999-00 was adopted on June 16, 1999; and WHEREAS the City Manager has recommended, and the City Council desires to approve, certain amendments to said budget; NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Director of Finance is authorized to record inter-fund cash transfers as required in accordance with this Resolution, and that Resolution 19541, adopting the budget for the 1999-00 fiscal year is hereby amended as follows: SECTION 1. ADDITIONS FUND Activity Account Amount No. 001 3010 50015 $ 5, 160 Title: General Fund Police Specialized Equipment Purpose: To provide funds for Police Aero Squadron Aircraft Repair SECTION 2 . SOURCE FUND Activity Account Amount No. 001 29301 $ 5, 160 Title: General Fund Fund Balance Adopted this 16th day of February 2000 AYES: Members Jones, Hodges, Oden, Reller-Spurgin and Mayor Kleindienst NOES: None ABSENT: None ATTEST: CITY OF PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA By City Clerk City Manager REVIEWED AND APPROVED AS TO FORM I