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Regular City Council Meeting Monday,August 08,2011 Page 30 Mr. Larson opined that the proposed reduction and/or elimination of such events and programs was nothing less than a grandstand play. Mr. Larson opined that by cutting police services and programs and eliminating civic pride opportunities, it would only increase crime in the community; and would serve to require would only serve to require additional police officers in the future. Mr. Larson stated "What's money?;" and opined that he didn't need it and a lot of people in the community had deep pockets; and rather than jumping on current national trends, things were good in Roseville, with good schools and infrastructure, and should be maintained. Gale Pederson,929 West Roselawn Avenue When first reviewing the proposed budget, as part of her role on the City's Advi- sory Parks and Recreation Commission, she expressed her deep frustration with the recommendations of City Manager Malinen. While recognizing Mr. Mali- nen's responsibility to run the City and the City Council's responsibility to deter- mine where taxpayer dollars were spent, she opined that the community of Rose- ville was a huge tapestry above and beyond just public safety needs. As a 37-year resident of Roseville, and long-time volunteer, Ms. Pederson noted the many budget cuts she'd observed, a significant number applied to the City's Parks and Recreation Department. Ms. Pederson opined that the Parks and Recreation Department could not afford to lose another full-time employee, with the Parks Supervisor position remaining vacant for some time as a result of pre- vious budget cuts. Proposed additional cuts to the Park Improvement Program (PIP) was another stick area in Ms. Pederson's opinion; and noted that, at one point during her tenure volunteering with the City, there was over $250,000 in the PIP unfunded to meet its demands. Ms. Pederson opined that it was one of the purposes of the Parks Master Plan process to address those things, in priority rank, which had been put off for way too long; and she further opined that she was not willing to take another $140,000 from that fund, further eradicating the PIP. While not yet aware of the next implementation steps in Phase I of the Mas- ter Plan process, pending City Council action, Ms. Pederson advised that she was unwilling to back off any more dollars until that City Council decision was known. Ms. Pederson noted that a lot of activities in the community keep it going and bring in people and young families into the community. While being cogni- zant of other needs throughout the community, Ms. Pederson opined that it was those very activities proposed to be reduced or eliminated that brought people into Roseville to experience and participate in those amenities; whether children using park equipment and facilities, attending various recreation programs, or families attending community events. Ms. Pederson noted that the City was able to continue offering clean and safe parks through the efforts of many departments, including the City's Fire, Police and Parks and Recreation Departments. Ms. Pederson stated that she was willing