Jeremy Petersma, Lake Travis Fire Rescue battalion chief, Bee Cave Police Chief Gary Miller and Lakeway Police Chief Todd Radford presented chamber members and guests with updates and information about their departments' services.
Petersma offered a look at the goals and work of the Lake Travis Fire Rescue. Between April 3-May 3, Petersma said the majority of calls the department fielded were medical, making up 59 percent of the total calls during that time. Fires comprised 19 percent of the total calls, while traffic incidents were 11 percent of the total calls, he said. The remaining 11 percent of the total calls included miscellaneous issues such as water pipe bursts or area odor problems, he said.
With an increasing population in the area, the department receives more simultaneous calls—when multiple calls overlap, Petersma said.
“We’re starting to see a lot more of that [overlap],” he said. “The growth out here is phenomenal. If we keep status quo, it’s just going to keep growing—it’s actually going to delay our response to get to your house.”
Lakeway Police Chief Todd Radford explains trends in the city's traffic stops and violations.[/caption]The department has set goals for the speed of their response, depending on the type of area where the emergency is taking place, Petersma said. For example, if the firefighters are responding to an emergency in an urban or suburban area with more than 1,000 people per square foot, he said the first fire truck should optimally arrive within 7 minutes of the call.
Petersma explained some of the options for handling the higher call volume, including increasing staffing and adding stations. In order to save money for future developments, the department is refurbishing some fire trucks rather than buying new ones, saving $5.1 million, he said. However, this does not eliminate the need to buy some new fire trucks, Petersma said.
Miller gave a synopsis on the work of the Bee Cave Police Department, mentioning the success of its bicycle patrol and some of the department’s latest events.
“The Bee Cave Police department has been protecting 'the hive' since 2005,” Miller said.
He provided data showing how traffic stops, warnings and citations increased by 139 percent from 2013-2016, which corresponded with a 17 percent decrease in motor vehicle accidents from 2014-2016.
Miller emphasized the role of the police department in the community, showing pictures of officers with their families and working with students.
“In a small community where police officers are very well-known by the people who live here, it’s very important that every individual officer is a good fit for the community they are working in,” he said.
Radford addressed the Lakeway Police Department’s traffic policies.
“We are aggressive about what we do but we try to do it in a polite way,” he said. “If people would just comply with the posted lights and posted signs, all of the things all of us know we should do or not do, we would have much safer roadways.”
This year, the majority of arrests have been for the possession of drug paraphernalia, but Radford said assaults and driving while intoxicated are “picking up” in quantity.
Each arrest takes around five hours of a Lakeway police officer’s time, which can strain the department, he said.
“The challenges we have living out here is we have to take people we arrest downtown,” Radford said. “There is the need to increase our manpower.”
Lakeway’s Proposition 1, which would fund a new police facility, is currently undergoing a recount after passing by 9 votes May 6.
Radford said he hopes the recount will “come out on our side” to improve police resources.
He finished his presentation with an acknowledgment of National Police Week, which takes place May 14-20 and serves as an opportunity for the community to remember police officers who were killed while on duty.
For more information about the Lake Travis Fire Rescue, visit www.ltfr.org. Learn more about the Bee Cave Police Department at www.beecavetexas.com and the Lakeway Police Department at www.lakeway-tx.gov.
