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Regular City Council Meeting <br /> Monday,July 17,2017 <br /> Page 10 <br /> Councilmember Willmus stated that this then becomes a conversation as to the <br /> City of Roseville's comfort level to jump in. While not saying "no," Coun- <br /> cilmember Willmus stated that he was still up in the air and would need a better <br /> understanding of the build-out, annual lease costs, annualized staffing and opera- <br /> tional costs, and whether that included 24/7 staffing and what other costs would <br /> be involved in bringing in other partner groups and social events at that location. <br /> Councilmember Willmus requested additional information from the Foundation <br /> on other communities with existing substations and how they've affected sur- <br /> rounding areas to better inform his decision-making. <br /> Councilmember Etten stated that he, along with others in that area of Roseville, <br /> had long been a proponent of this substation idea, but noted his hesitancy as num- <br /> bers continued to grow to accomplish the goal. Councilmember Etten opined that <br /> other potential funding partners needed a push for more commitment (e.g. Ram- <br /> sey County Department of Social Services) as it became harder to determine who <br /> in actuality would be involved. While he supported the Karen Organization of <br /> Minnesota(KOM) as a good partner, Councilmember Etten questioned how much <br /> funding they would have available when they already had their own office to sup- <br /> port and whether their formal participation had been requested at this point. <br /> While supporting the City of Roseville's leadership with this effort, Councilmem- <br /> ber Etten expressed his concerns with staffing costs and how to make it a smooth <br /> operation and a new resource in that area of the community, with costs already <br /> projected over $100,000 annually over the next five years without regular staffing <br /> costs figured in. Councilmember Etten opined that was a big number to consider <br /> in the overall city budget. Councilmember Etten also expressed his concern in re- <br /> cently learning that the City of St. Paul had pulled out of their last police substa- <br /> tion venture and statements that they no longer thought that was a good way to <br /> accomplish their work. With this representing a unique circumstance, Coun- <br /> cilmember Etten stated his big concerns as to whether or not it would work out. <br /> Mayor Roe echoed the comments of his colleagues, stating the need to identify <br /> partners and their actual commitments, including the big role Ramsey County <br /> played in this opportunity. Mayor Roe noted that he had not previously consid- <br /> ered private entities that could provide services in that space as well as communi- <br /> ty policing. Mayor Roe supported the need to better define costs and funding be- <br /> fore moving forward; and while supporting the potential for the City of Roseville <br /> taking the lead, noted that he was also cognizant of the track record of past substa- <br /> tion efforts, including better understanding the rationale in the City of St. Paul <br /> abandoning their substation efforts and what model they had used or if it was <br /> simply a financial and/or prioritization issue for them. While a five year lease <br /> was not a long-term commitment and the city could always learn from its mis- <br /> takes and efforts to think outside the box, Mayor Roe stated that he also didn't <br /> want to spend significant money if it could be spent in other ways that would be <br /> more cost-effective. Therefore, before he could support going down this path, <br /> Mayor Roe advised that he needed additional information on potential opportuni- <br />