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. . . ARDEN HILLS REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES FEBRUARY 23, 2004 8 Jerry Stratinger stated he was a retired deputy. He indicated the issue was response time. He stated the Sheri ff s Department patrolled the entire County and had arrest powers for the entire County, while the New Brighton Police Department would stay in the City because they did not have arrest powers outside of the City, except in certain situations. He stated he did not have an opinion one way or another as to which was a better department. He noted if people were going to make an opinion, they needed all of the facts and he believed some of the opinions expressed here tonight were biased. He stated both departments were equal, but the scale tipped one way. One received national awards and one did not. David McClung, 4370 North Snelling Avenue, stated they were very well served by Ramsey County Sheriffs Department and had heen for years, but he also believed they would be served well with the New Brighton Police Department. He stated the main issue was response time. He questioned the two minute difference in response time between "fight" and "medical" calls in the materials. He stated if there was a major incident, jurisdictional boundaries would cease to exist and all resources would be called in to assist. He stated they needed to see how much of the time the Sheriffs Department deputies were out of the City of Arden Hills. He noted Arden Hills did not have a lot of serious crimes, but they did have some crime and they need to feel comfortable with whatever Department they went with. He requested the Sheriffs Department become more proactive, however, if they were awarded the contract. He asked the Council to look at going with the City of New Brighton because of their neighborhood approach. James Welsh, Owner of Big 10 Supper Club, stated he was happy with the Sheriffs Department and their response time had been good. Ms. Wolfe stated the City had prepared press releases as well as an e-mail list that invited residents to come to this meeting. She indicated she had received various letters and e-mails, which she had placed into the Council's packet. She indicated she had also received a phone call from a resident off of Lake Valentine Road who felt they had received excellent service from the Sheriffs Department. Sheriff Fletcher stated the majority of their medical runs were to the nursing home and in most cases they did not respond to those medical calls with red lights and sirens because that facility had medical personnel on site, and the Sheriffs Department was not able to provide any different type of medical services than their medical personnel did. He indicated their response time to that type of a facility was approximately five minutes. He noted some medical emergencies required red lights and sirens, and some did not. Public Safety Officer Jacobson stated their response time was 3.5 to 3.75 minutes for a medical emergency, including nursing home facilities. Mayor Steve Larson, New Brighton, stated he was very proud of the New Brighton Police Department and they prided themselves on getting involved in the community. He stated once you lose control oftbe neighborhoods, you lose control of the community. Mayor Aplikowski thanked everyone for their time and input.