The Council Worksession began with a briefing on initial data findings from the Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium (ROC) by Dr. Paul Pepe and Dr. Ahamed Idris of the UT Southwestern Medical Center. The National Institute of Health (NIH) has recognized Carrollton as a center of excellence, for its increased survivability rate of EMS-treated out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

For the past four years, Carrollton has been participating with 12 partner cities in the Dallas area in a federal study designed to identify ways in which to improve the survival and quality of life after a heart attack. With the implementation of aggressive training and installation of Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs) in public buildings, the survivability rate in Carrollton has grown from 4.2 in 2006; to 15.8 in 2009. That’s a 376% improvement in survival to hospital discharge, and represents one of the best scores in the nation, with Seattle scoring at 16.2.

Dr. Pepe, Medical Director for the Carrollton Fire Department said, “Your paramedics and firefighters are doing a fantastic job. The Carrollton Fire Department should be a source of pride for this community, and we enjoy working with them. They are progressive at field training—often we learn from them.” He added, “In terms of public safety, this is what it’s all about.”

The Council worksession continued with a briefing on a Teen Court Research project completed by the Youth Task Force. The presentation to Council was made by Sarah Ting, Youth Task Force Chair, Newman Smith High School, 12th grade; Charlie Foster, Youth Task Force Co-Chair, Newman Smith High School, 12th grade; and Andrés Lukic, Youth Task Force member, Arbor Creek Middle School, 7th grade.

The idea behind a teen court is to offer an alternative to juveniles who plead guilty to any Class C misdemeanors. The juvenile would then go before a Teen Court of peers who would decide on appropriate punishment, typically including community service hours, written essays and apologies, or other measures. Once the juvenile completes their sentence, the crime would be permanently removed from their record.

The Youth Task Force presented details on ways in which other communities fund and structure their Teen Courts. The Council did not take any action on this item; however, would need to consider the budgetary implications. In addition, while juvenile records are kept confidential by the courts, teen court participants would not be protected under the same degree of privacy.

The worksession went on to include a discussion of a vacancy on the Historic Preservation Advisory Committee and consideration of nominations for Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone No. 1 Board of Directors.

The regular Council meeting also featured a presentation regarding the ROC outcomes; and presentation of a 30-year service award pin to Captain Ronny Carroll of the Carrollton Fire Department. Captain Carroll is one of seven active Carrollton Fire Department members with over 30 years of service.
Among the consent agenda items was an item to approve the purchase of shade structures for Rosemeade Rainforest Aquatics Center to coincide with a deck expansion. Councilmember Pat Malone was the sole dissenting vote against this item, and stating she thought it would be better to spend money for improvements at Thomas Pool.