CCP 03-08-2004 - Laserfiche WebLink

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ARDEN HILLS REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES FEBRUARY 23, 2004 7 . Ted Brausen, owner of Brausen Service Solutions, stated both police departments were fine departments. He stated he was very happy with the County and the County did an excellent job. He indicated a concern was that the New Brighton Police Department contract was higher and the last thing he wanted to see was more expense. He stated he felt comfortable with his business being in the City and felt secure that the Sheriff's Department did a good job. He stated the biggest issue was how many officers the departments get on the street and how fast their response time was. He stated the Sheriff's Department did a good job with both. Clark Adair, 3332 New Brighton Road, asked how much it would cost New Brighton to train in the seven new officers and he asked who would pay for that training. He stated the citizens of New Brighton paid considerably more per capita for police protection and asked how long it would be before they increased their cost for the City of Arden Hills. He asked for a reason or an advantage to change the police services. Public Safety Director Jacobson replied the training of the new officers would be absorbed within their 2004 budget. He noted the new officers would not only be assigned to Arden Hills. He stated the officers would be rotated between the two cities. With respect to per capita cost, he agreed the citizens of New Brighton did pay a higher per capita cost because the New Brighton Police Department offered more services than the Ramsey County Sheriff's Department did. . Sheriff Fletcher stated the Sheriff's Department had more resources to serve the needs of the residents. They would be there faster and would do it for less than the City of New Brighton. Public Safety Director Jacobson replied their response times would also be quick. He stated they also prided themselves on their neighborhood services. Mayor Aplikowski noted the City was not looking for reasons to change the provider of services. This was an opportunity that came to the City and they believed it was good to look at contracts and services once in awhile. Sheriff Fletcher stated the first and foremost responsibility was to be able to respond to emergency situations on a timely basis and that was why they put this as a top priority. Nancy Kneeland, 1716 Chatham Avenue, stated prior to moving to Arden Hills, she had lived in New Brighton for ten years. She stated she did not see anything that New Brighton offered that the Sheriff's Department did not offer. She indicated public safety was one of the most important things the City could offer. She asked what type of liability the City would have by hiring one department over another. She expressed concern about the contract itself. She expressed concern about the political structure of the two facilities. She stated she did not think the City's issues would be solved by changing the police departments. She thanked Ramsey County for the excellent service. She asked if New Brighton had any officers of color on staff. . Public Safety Director Jacobson replied they did not have any officers of color at this time.