Laserfiche WebLink
Regular City Council Meeting <br /> Monday,March 18,2013 <br /> Page 21 <br /> Chief O'Neill concurred, and reviewed current legislation for opening up Provider <br /> Service Areas (PSA's) and various considerations as to whether the City should <br /> get into the transportation industry or pursue other options, which would be the <br /> purpose of the proposed study to evaluate those future opportunities. Prior to <br /> considering the capital costs of starting down the PSA road, Chief O'Neill noted <br /> that how to ensure revenues to offset those ongoing costs to the Fire Department <br /> would be needed through such a study. <br /> At the request of Councilmember McGehee, Chief O'Neill reviewed the purpose <br /> of a shared services study, cautioning that there may be areas to consider beyond <br /> the current mutual aid agreements provided among St. Paul, Minneapolis, and <br /> Lake Johanna Volunteer Fire Department and Roseville. While part of the study <br /> would be to determine whether feasible or not, Chief O'Neill noted that City <br /> Councils in those areas may not necessarily be receptive to such a joint venture or <br /> share a positive perspective for combining departments, even though the depart- <br /> ments worked cooperatively on a regular basis. <br /> Mayor Roe concurred that it made good sense to have those conversations sooner <br /> rather than later at the City Council level. <br /> Parks&Recreation <br /> Mayor Roe sought clarification on the increased maintenance costs outlined in the <br /> summary, presuming they were directly related to the Park Renewal Program. <br /> Parks and Recreation Director Brokke advised that this was true overall;however, <br /> it also included replacing park maintenance personnel previously lost in past <br /> budget cuts. <br /> At the request of Mayor Roe for elaboration, Mr. Brokke advised that the three <br /> additional FTE's in the Forestry Division were proposed to respond the communi- <br /> ty's request to upgrade maintenance, including a part-time technician for the For- <br /> estry area and the other positions to address new programs and services expanding <br /> through the Renewal Program. <br /> At the request of Councilmember McGehee, Mr. Brooke clarified the energy <br /> management system for the Skating Center to facilitate the additional geothermal <br /> system. <br /> Councilmember McGehee spoke in support of adding solar panels to run the geo- <br /> thermal system for a quicker payback. <br /> Mr. Brokke advised that staff continued to research multiple systems. <br /> Mr. Miller advised that he and Mr. Brokke had found the inadvertent omission of <br /> one position in the larger Strategic Plan that was not included in the Summary <br />