CC 06-14-2004 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

. e . ARDEN HILLS REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES JUNE 14, 2004 4 subsidizing St. Paul's 911 call center, but no figures have been given. She stated this is a concern that must be addressed. Mayor Aplikowski stated that there is speculation the contributions will be a percentage of a large amount, but she said she hasn't been informed of the exact amount. She said she understood the St. Paul Police Department is moving to a new location, and questioned why the equipment wouldn't be purchased for the move. She also questioned who would govern the entire process. Councilmember Larson agreed with Mayor Aplikowski that the costs are not yet spelled out. He said the people agree the technology is good and the City needs to move to it, however the material presented by the City Administrator confirms a decision now would be premature. He said with the information given thus far, he does not believe he would prefer a single site. Councilmember Grant commented Arden Hills will need to work with neighboring cities. He agreed with Councilmembers Holden and Larson in that he would like to see figures. He also noted he agreed with earlier comments that he would not prefer a single site. Mr. Dillenberg said a state study found there mayor may not be a savings due to economy differences. He noted the estimated cost for the project has grown roughly $7 million from the original estimates. He said the Sheriffs Department would not want to shoulder any additional cost. He also commented that the Sheriff does not care for the option to move to the Griffin building. He explained there are noise issues due to the location being in the flight path of Holman Field. He noted that redundancy is essential; the ability to transfer calls to another live call center is necessary. He pointed out that there is a difference between the number of calls received by the St. Paul Police Department and Ramsey County Sheriffs, and this would need to be brought into perspective. Mayor Aplikowski commented when this project started, Hennepin County was brought in as an example, as they operate separately. Mr. Dillenberg confirmed and noted they were kept separate due to system capacity. Councilmember Holden suggested the City send a message now in the event it cannot be sent later. Ms. Wolfe said a large number of communities will be responding similar to Arden Hills' response, which is that it is not prepared to make a decision. She said New Brighton did not favor having one PSAP. She explained one of the concerns is the governance issue which could impact the cost. She noted White Bear may be interested in consolidation discussions if the governance issue is resolved. Mayor Aplikowski stated she is interested in following through with the process because it is a necessary change due to technology. She said the message the City will give is that it is not interested in just one PSAP center.