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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL - NOVEMBER 30 1998 7 , . Mayor Probst stated that, in the past, the Public Safety Commission had bcen presented with petitions signed by neighbors for this type of request. He suggested that it may be helpful to have a petition available for the December 17th meeting, Ms. Torres agreed, UNFINISHED AND NEW BUSINESS A. Lake Johanna Volunteer Fire Deoartment 1. Resolution #98-68, Authorizing Execution of a Fire Protection Service Contract 2. Resolution #98-69, Authorizing the Joint Powers Agreement Establishing the Arden Hills, North Oaks and Shoreview Fire Protection Board ML Fritsinger explained that the City's ten year agreement for fire protection services with the Lake Johanna Volunteer Fire Department (LJVFD) expires at the end of 1998, In September of 1997, the Arden Hills City Council held ajoint meeting with the North Oaks and Shoreview City Councils, and representatives from the LJVFD, to discuss the renewal of this agreement, At that meeting the City Councils indicated there was a strong desire to strengthen communication between the LJVFD and the cities, During this time in 1997, Arden Hills created a Task Force which reviewed the overall operations of the Fire Department. Over the last year, staff from each of the cities, along with . City Attorney Jerry Filla, have met on several occasions with representatives of the LJVFD to develop a new Fire Protection Agreement. There was also another joint meeting held with all parties on August 19, 1998. A number of the issues identified by the Task Force have been incorporated into the agreements, The negotiations resulted in the development of both a Joint Powers Services Agreement between the three communities, as well as a Fire Protection Board to enhance communication between the LJVFD and the cities. The Board would consist of a Councilmember and the Chief Administrative Officer from each of the cities, the Fire Chief and one other member ofthe Fire Department. The Fire Protection Board would serve in an advisory capacity to the City Councils and make recommendations on matters such as the annual budget and capital improvements program, the purchasing of new fire equipment, facility improvements and other issues which impact fire protection services, ML Fritsinger indicated that one of the key provisions ofthe Fire Protection Services Agreement was the term, The initial term of the agreement was five years, with three automatic five-year extensions, This will run the contract through the year 2018, The cities and the Fire Department have the ability, through the contract, to consider termination of the agreement by adoption of a resolution and a one-year notice, Although the contract was for a total of 20 years, the cities have the opportunity each year to take action which would cause reconsideration of the contract. ML Fritsinger stated that the revision of the contract took out much of the language which dealt with the requirements for materials each of the parties were to provide the others, This included some reports which were not functional for use by the cities or the Fire Department. ~ ML Fritsinger stated that the key issue in Section 4, City Responsibilities, was to assist the Fire Department with recruitment of volunteers. The Fire Department had seen some decline in volunteers, however, they recently have been successful with their advertising, ML Fritsinger