Minutes - Council - 08/26/2008 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Council Business Mayor Gamec called the regular City Council meeting back to order at 7:59 p.m. Motion by Councilmember Strommen, seconded by Councilmember Olson, to approve an on- sale, Sunday and 2:00 a.m. intoxicating liquor license application for SPM Properties, Inc. d/b/a Jacobs Tavern. Motion carried. V oting Yes: Mayor Gamec, Councilmembers Strommen, Olson, Dehen, Elvig, Jeffrey, and Look. Voting No: None. Case #3: 2008-2009 Safe and Sober Campaign Agreement with State of Minnesota Police Chief Way stated that this item was included on the August 12. 2008 Consent Agenda. He stated that he was not present that evening and the Council had questions regarding the Safe and Sober Campaign, so it was added as a regular agenda item tonight. He stated that Bob O'Brien who is the law enforcement liaison from the State is also present at tonight's meeting to answer questions the Council may have. Mr. O'Brien distributed information on the history of crashes and cost information for the City. He stated that the Safe and Sober program began in 1994 and is funded by the National Highway and Safety Administration. He stated that all but two positions in their office are paid by federal funds. He noted that in 1994, there were well over 100,000 crashes in Minnesota and 75% of them had people who were not wearing their seatbelts. He stated that these numbers are down to 80,000 crashes and only 49% of the fatalities were not wearing seatbelts. He stated that the program is designed to combat deaths and injuries on the roads. He stated there are specific funds for different enforcements, such as DWI and seat belt enforcement. He stated that they adhere to the 3 E's: Engineering; Education; and Enforcement. He stated that Anoka County is unique because they were doing this type of work long before the Safe and Sober campaign. Councilmember Dehen asked why the City would take tax dollars to pay officers time and a half to do something they were already doing. Mr. O'Brien stated that they would not be able to do enough of it. He stated that when there is DWI enforcement, it is happening all over the nation. He stated that when everyone is out working together, people notice a difference. He stated that Minnesota's program has become a showcase for the rest of the country. He reiterated that the idea of the program is to reduce the number of crashes and deaths and the numbers show that it works. Police Chief Way stated that by being part of this program, in 2007, the City was able to have 207 more hours of enforcement that the City wouldn't have been able to do otherwise. He stated that it enables the officers to just be out doing traffic enforcement. He stated that during this additional time, the City made 436 traffic stops. City Council / August 26, 2008 Page 9 of 15