Agenda - Council - 02/24/2009 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Nowthen Police Services Proposal Committee Meeting Thursday, February S, 2009 1:OOpm The committee meeting was held on Thursday, February 5, 2009 at 1;00 p.m. to discuss a. proposal request far police services for the City of Nowthen. Attending the meeting were Mayor Bob Ramsey, Councilmember John Dehen, Councilmember Dave Jeffrey (Ramsey City Council); Mayor Bill Schulz, Councilmember Harlan Meyer, Councilmember Laurie Olmon (Nowthen City Council,); Chief Jim Way, Capt Tim Dwyer, Sgt Jeff Katers, Office Supervisor Joleen Wiemann (Ramsey Police Dept); Chief Dean Kapler (Ramsey Fire Dept); Asst City Administrator Heidi Nelson (City of Ramsey); and Bob Johnson (Anoka County Attorney). Mayor Ramsey welcomed the group and discussed the objectives of the meeting. A handout was distributed that outlined the City of Ramsey's questions regarding the scope of services for completing the proposal, Mayor Ramsey inquired as to whether the council members in attendance from the City of Nowthen constituted a quorum. Councilmember Jeffrey was nominated as chair of the committee, which was seconded by Mayor Ramsey. Committee members voted to elect Councilmember Jeffrey as the chair. Chairman Jeffrey invited Anoka County Attorney Bob Johnson to share his thoughts on this- endeavor. County Attorney Johnson said that shared services are important. There are three models inthe-county; individual departments, contracted services with the sheriff, and a commission that is the responsible authority for three different cities (Centenn.ial Lakes PD). He added that there is currently no city to city, mutual aid agreement in the county. The Sheriff has a responsibility to the City of Nowthen, as taxes are paid to the county for some of these services. However, how his resources are deployed is the Sheriff's decision. County Attorney Johnson feels that it is reasonable for the sheriff provide services like a contract with Nowthen, as they have a number of other contracts with cities for this service. However, he commends the City of Nowthen for requesting this proposal and to the City of Ramsey for exploring the venture.` He advised that his experience is that cities like to have a level of control and prefer to have their own services rather than relying on the county. Chief Way and Capt Dwyer began by discussing the timeline.for a proposal and when a decision would be made for police services. Councilmember Meyer advised that there would be a public hearing prior to any decision, but would hope to begin in mid-2009. There is still a debate as to whether the City of Nowthen will be contracting for services, but the council as a whole wants to move forward. With an eight (8) hour per day contract, there was discussion on who would be covering the other 16 hours per day for services. Chief Way advised that per State Statute, the Sheriff would be obligated to respond to emergencies but beyond that the Sheriff has no statutory obligation. Capt Dwyer discussed the hiring process and field training program. There was discussion regarding which city would be paying for the officer during this time. Councilmember Meyer advised that he would like to see the same officer for the shifts, so they could get to know one -203-