Agenda - Council - 10/22/2019 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mayor LeTourneau stated that perhaps it would be helpful for one of Ramsey's members to participate on the Board, or in another way, to help provide a voice for the community. 2.02: Fire Department Joint Powers Agreement Update City Administrator Ulrich provided background information on the topic. Fire Chief Kohner reviewed the staff report. Councilmember Kuzma asked how much of the equipment and staff are at the Nowthen station. Fire Chief Kohner replied that this is not a common JPA. He explained that Nowthen purchased all their own equipment and own their facility. He stated that Nowthen is also fully staffed with personnel and officers. He noted that the firefighters that respond to the Nowthen station are employees of Ramsey, but the way the contract is written, Nowthen would be able to retain those members as they are residents of Nowthen. Councilmember Musgrove asked for more information on the division of firefighters, specifically whether members would need to live in the city, for example Ramsey firefighters would need to live within Ramsey and Nowthen firefighters would need to live in Nowthen. Fire Chief Kohner replied that would be correct, noting that membership would be based on geographic location. He explained that it would not make sense for members to respond to a further location. He stated that Nowthen would be in a good position as they own their facility and equipment and could then start to provide service on their own. He noted that there are many other cities with similar, or less population that provide their own fire service. He stated that Nowthen could also join a different neighboring community. Councilmember Heinrich asked for additional explanation on the deficit that Ramsey has operated on for the last several years. Fire Chief Kohner provided additional details on the cost allocation formula that was developed and includes the average number of fire calls for each community over the past five years, the population, and the market value which provides a percentage. He stated that puts Nowthen at 16.9 percent. He noted that additionally Ramsey provides Fire Chief services, which provides operation and administration services; Fire Technician, which provides payroll services; mandated national reporting; and training, noting that Nowthen has never paid for training. He noted that after the addition of those services, the cost to Nowthen raised from $6,416 to $40,000. He explained that as he continued to review, he determined additional costs such as human resources services which are currently not covered under the current JPA and is not the best use of staff time. He stated that they must also consider whether the JPA works from an operational standpoint which he does not believe it does. Councilmember Kuzma asked for additional information on coverage. City Council Work Session / September 24, 2019 Page 3 of 10