CC_Minutes_2017_0717 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

Regular City Council Meeting Monday,July 17, 2017 Page 8 Mayor Roe reviewed the next steps in the budget process; and encouraged indi- vidual council members and taxpayers to continue directing questions and/or comments to staff off line. b. Discuss Creation of the Rice and Larpenteur Community Safety Center City Manager Trudgeon recognized Jim Faulconbridge, President of the Roseville Police Foundation and Roseville Police Chief Rick Mathwig for this presentation and discussion. Mr. Trudgeon noted that the intent tonight was for an update and to seek City Council direction about the City of Roseville's participation in this proposed facility. Mr. Trudgeon reported that, in addition to other partners identi- fied in Attachment A to the staff report, he had reached out to Ramsey County's Health and Wellness staff about the possibility of them partnering with Roseville financially and on programming. Mr. Trudgeon advised that it was currently un- der advisement with their team scheduled to meet later on this week, at which time they will advise the city of their interest. Chief Mathwig opined that this area of Ramsey County was in the heart of gov- ernmental assistance and community service needs. The Rice/Larpenteur Safety Center represented visionary thinking that would be considered paradigm break- ing. However, Chief Mathwig also noted that it was very expensive, in excess of $300,000 to make it a safe location for such operations (e.g. bullet-resistant glass). Chief Mathwig reported that refinement of cost estimates was still in process and that funding had yet to come to full fruition. Chief Mathwig noted some of the possibilities at a potential substation in this area beyond community policing, in- cluding a community room, healthcare screening, and other services that could be delivered in a suburban setting rather than in Downtown St. Paul or on University Avenue. Chief Mathwig advised that at least one church to-date had expressed in- terest in staffing and volunteering at the substation. Chief Mathwig noted the high concentration of poverty in this area of Ramsey County and serving Rose- ville, St. Paul and Maplewood, with this representing one area in which services could be enhanced. From the Police Foundation perspective, Foundation President Faulconbridge re- ported that the Foundation had worked for a number of years in trying to secure the site, which had subsequently been sold to a private developer. Over the last year, President Faulconbridge noted the Foundation's work on potential pro- gramming of the space, referencing a recent article in the St. Paul Pioneer Press. President Faulconbridge expressed the Foundation's support of and interest in community policing opportunities to reach this area of community. With the op- portunity for a mixed space staffed in part by volunteers, President Faulconbridge advised that how that could off-set operating costs was still in process as daytime and nighttime uses were better defined. On behalf of the Foundation, President Faulconbridge recommended the advantage of this site and its viable impacts be given serious consideration by the City Council, and if they were interested, of-