Minutes - Council Work Session - 10/25/2011

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project cost estimate is upwards to $900,000 but the City could reduce costs if some work can be done in-house. Mayor Ramsey asked how much the DNR grant is. Parks Supervisor Riverblood answered it is $100,000. Mayor Ramsey stated it would cost $400,000 to complete the trail plus $400,000 for the park building. He stated it seems the City is contributing a lot for the trail so this should be a competitive application. Parks Supervisor Riverblood agreed this is a strong proposal as written because a city can have a match as low as ten percent but the more trail, elements, and synergy to benefit the trail,' the better. He noted this trail would provide connection of all neighbors in northern Ramsey. Mayor Ramsey stated he thinks the City will be awarded the grant if the park building is included so the question is whether the Council is prepared to spend the money on the rest of the trail and building. Or, that may be a decision for a future Council. Councilmember Tossey stated he thinks Mr. Prosper can get other groups involved to offset building costs and if it can be used year round, he would support including it in the grant proposal. It was the consensus of the City Council to authorize staff to apply for Minnesota DNR trail grant funding for a significant trail along T.H. #47 with the Elmerest Park building as part of a local match. 5) Discuss Police Services Proposal Response to City of Nowthen Police Chief Way reviewed the staff report and noted Nowthen is only seeking coverage four days a week so he does not think Ramsey can compete with a proposal from the Sheriff's Department. Mayor Ramsey pointed out that the last time Ramsey submitted a proposal to provide police services to Nowthen, the Council tried to cover every penny expended. He explained he had no problem with that approach but asked if there was any benefit to Ramsey in having some police service with Nowthen in the same way Ramsey benefited by contracting for fire services with Nowthen. Councilmember Elvig asked Police Chief Way for his thoughts about supplying services to Nowthen. He asked if it would be a benefit or difficult. Police Chief Way stated his opinion that it would not be a good deal for citizens of Ramsey to provide police services to Nowthen because they only want 8 hours of coverage so the other 16 hours a day would be paid by Ramsey's residents. He estimated that 30 -34% of calls require response by two squads so Ramsey would have to respond in that manner to Nowthen. Police City Council Work Session / October 25, 2011 Page 8 of 10