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. . . ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL - JUNE 14, 1999 10 Councijmember Aplikowski stated that, while she is not opposed to the trail segment, it seems like a lot of maintenance work for such limited use, Mr. Fritsinger stated that, if the larger map is considered, it could be seen how this trail interrelates with the rest of the community trails, It is a trail that connects to Highway 96 and that will create an uninterrupted trail from White Bear Lake to Long Lake Regional. Mr. Fritsinger expressed his belief that this trail currently experiences substantial use, and heavier use is projected in the future as this business area continues to develop. Mayor Probst concurred with Mr. Fritsinger's statements and indicated that he would support the construction of the trail. He noted that other communities construct miles of trails at a time, where the City of Arden Hills constructs shorter segments at a time which makes it difficult to focus on the big picture. He snggested that it might be helpful for staff to revisit what has been done and what is left to be accomplished, The City may also wish to consider a different strategy where larger portions of trail are constructed every other year rather than small sections every year. Mr. Post pointed out that the Park Fund would fund the trail segment. The motion carried unanimously (4-0), ADMINISTRATOR COMMENTS Thcre were no Administrator comments, COUNCIL COMMENTS Councilmember Larson stated that he had attended the Fire Board meeting a couple weeks ago. The major topic of the meeting was the amount of oversight that the Board would have over the Volunteer Fire Department and how much leeway is to be given to the Department to exceed the budget if it became necessary to do so. The Arden Hills representatives argued for tighter reigns, while Shoreview and North Oaks wished to be more flexible, The result was that the Fire Department would be allowed to exceed the budget by a certain percentage each year. Arden Hills also wanted, but did not succeed with, a requirement that the Fire Department come before the Fire Board to explain what is needed that will exceed the budget. The Fire Board would then decide whether or not to grant its approval, It was decided that, ifthere was an emergency which required the Fire Department to exceed the budget, and there was not time to come before the Board, the Department would be required to present the Board with an explanation ofthe expenditure. Therefore, if the Fire Board did not agree with the expenditure, then the Fire Department would have to raise the money to cover the budget. Mr. Fritsinger noted that in the past the Fire Department had been paid twice per year for their services, As a part of the current contract, the City had negotiated a quarterly payment, This results in the Fire Department apparently being short on cash, The Department will typically carryall their fire runs for 1998 and pay them the first month of 1999, By staggering out the