03-25-2024 Council Meeting Packet

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Lino Lakes, Minnesota – Fire Department Analysis Page 5 Risk, Demand, Deployment The District is a suburban community with a population density of approximately 800 citizens per square mile. Most of the jurisdiction is residential area with pockets of commercial development. There are no large hazardous material generation facilities and manufacturing is mostly light use. The main risk to the community is the two interstates I-35E and I-35W which run along the eastern and western edges of the city and the number of lakes and wetland areas. Hazardous material moving by truck presents constant risk to the community on these two interstates and recreational uses of the lakes do present medical emergencies and incidents. Current emergency calls for the district are about 1,000 per year including fire, rescue, and several types of other emergent calls. From department data it appears that almost 75% of calls are EMS calls which would equate to about two calls per day. Fires, alarms, good intent, hazardous situations and weather related calls add less than one (0.8) calls per day. The only area of deployment which presents concern is the southern part of Lino Lakes, which is separated by lakes and few direct roads. This area has numerous developments which also contain cul-de- sacs and dead end streets, which severely impede emergency response. Also the area east on I-35E has access issues since some locations can only be reached by going several miles out of the way to get across the interstate. Population Growth and Development The District’s population has experienced steady growth over the past 25 years, with most of that growth occurring in Lino Lakes. The CFD’s total population was approximately 15,250 in the 1990 Census, growing to 24,900 in the 2000 Census. The population has continued to rise, reaching nearly 29,000 in the 2010 Census, and over 29,500 in 2012. Forecasts from the Metropolitan Council estimate the District’s population will be more than 35,000 by 2020 and over 40,000 by 2030. During this period, Lino Lakes saw the majority share of population growth. The city grew from 8,839 in the 1990 Census, to 16,985 in 2000, an increase of 92%. The city grew another 19% over the next decade, reaching a population of 20,263 in the 2010 Census. This rapid growth has meant that Lino Lakes’ proportion of CFD’s total population has increased. In 1990, Lino Lakes represented 58% of the District’s population. By 2000, the proportion had risen to 68%. The city currently represents about 70% of the District’s total population, and will be more than 75% according to the 2030 forecast. Figure 1 shows the population growth in the Centennial Fire District since 1990, as well as the Metropolitan Council’s forecasts through 2030. 11