Laserfiche WebLink
<br />Nowthen PoliceServices Proposal Committee Meeting <br /> <br />Thursday, February 5, 2009 1:00pm <br /> <br />The committee meeting was held on Thursday, February 5, 2009 at 1:00 p.m. to discuss a <br />proposal request for police services for the City of Nowthen. Attending the meeting were <br />Mayor Bob Ramsey, Councilmember John Dehen, Councilmember Dave Jeffrey (Ramsey City <br />Council); Mayor Bill Schulz, Council member Harlan Meyer, Councilmember Laurie Dimon <br />(Nowthen City Council); Chief Jim Way, Capt Tim Dwyer, Sgt Jeff Katers, Office Supervisor Joleen <br />Wiemann (Ramsey Police Dept); Chief Dean Kapler (Ramsey Fire Dept); Asst CityAdministrator <br />Heidi Nelson (City of Ramsey); and Bob Johnson (Anoka County Attorney). <br /> <br />Mayor Ramsey welcomed the group and discussed the objectives of the meeting. A handout <br />was distributed that outlined the City of Ramsey's questions regarding the scope of services for <br />completing the proposal. Mayor Ramsey inquired as to whether the council members in <br />attendance from the City of Nowthen constituted a quorum. <br /> <br />Councilmember Jeffrey was nominated as chair of the committee, which was seconded by <br />Mayor Ramsey. Committee members voted to elect Councilmember Jeffrey as the chair. <br /> <br />Chairman Jeffrey invited Anoka County Attorney Bob Johnson to share his thoughts on this <br />endeavor. County Attorney Johnson said that shared servlces are important.. There are three <br />models in the county; individual departments, contracted services with the sheriff, and a <br />commission that is the responsible authority for three different cities (Centennial Lakes PO). He <br />added that there is currently no city to city mutual aid agreement in the county. The Sheriff has <br />a responsibility to the City of Nowthen, as taxes are paid to the county for some of these. <br />services. However, how his resources are deployed is the Sheriff's decision. County Attorney <br />Johnson feels that it is reasonable for the sheriff provide services like a contract with Nowthen, <br />as they have a number of other contracts with cities for this service. However, he commends <br />the City of Nowthen for requesting this proposal and to the City of Ramsey for exploring the <br />venture. He advi'sed that his experience is that cities like to have a level of control and prefer to <br />have their own services rather than relying on the county. <br /> <br />Chief Way and Capt Dwyer began by discussing the timeline for a proposal and when a decision <br />would be made for police services. Councilmember Meyer advised that there would be a public <br />hearing prior to any decision, but would hope to begin in mid-2009. There Is still a debate as to <br />whether the City of Nowthen will be contracting for services, but the council as a whole wants <br />to move forward. <br /> <br />With an eight (8) hour per day contract, there was discussion on who would be covering the <br />other 16 hours per day for services. Chief Way advised that per State Statute, the Sheriff would <br />be obligated to respond to emergencies but beyond that the Sheriff has no statutory obligation. <br /> <br />Capt Dwyer discussed the hiring process and field training program. There was discussion <br />regarding which city would be paying for the officer during this time. Councilmember Meyer <br />advised that he would like to see the same officer for the shifts, so they could get to know one <br /> <br />-61- <br />