Laserfiche WebLink
CITY COUNCIL <br />AGENDA ITEM 3A <br />STAFF ORIGINATOR: Jeff Karlson <br />MEETING DATE: May 27, 2014 <br />TOPIC: Fire Department Analysis <br />VOTE REQUIRED: 3/5 <br />INTRODUCTION <br />Springsted, Inc. has completed the Fire Department Analysis and will present its findings at the <br />May 27 meeting. The project manager, Dave Unmacht, and the fire services consultant, Pat <br />Simpson, will be available by phone to summarize the report. <br />BACKGROUND <br />On March 10, 2014, the City Council authorized Springsted, Inc. to complete an analysis of <br />service delivery options for a municipal fire department. Springsted identified five specific <br />components to the scope of services: <br />1. Provide an overview of baseline fire service, including risk, demand, deployment, and <br />response time. <br />2. Identify different options and models for organizing a fire department. <br />3. Evaluate adding one facility with a preliminary location on Birch Street. <br />4. Develop a list of essential needs required to begin a new fire department. <br />5. Identify pros and cons of combining the police and fire department. <br />In their analysis, Springsted presented six options for providing fire service to the Lino Lakes <br />community. The fire committee is recommending that all but two options be eliminated, <br />including the option of staying with the Centennial Fire District, which has proven to be the most <br />difficult option given Centerville’s and Circle Pines’ reluctance to amend the governance <br />structure in the Joint Powers Agreement. The two most viable options are to create a new Lino <br />Lakes Fire Department or to incorporate fire services into the Public Safety Department. <br />Creating a new Lino Lakes Fire Department was the initial policy direction of the City Council <br />based on several assumptions that were made from the outset. Many of these assumptions were <br />confirmed in the Springsted report, which are as follows: <br />1.Lino Lakes is 70% of the Centennial Fire District’s population and growing, while <br />Centerville and Circle Pines are mostly built out. This disparity will keep growing and <br />more of the service deliveries and fire safety issues will occur in Lino Lakes. <br />2. The new LLFD will need at least one new station on Birch Street to cover the southern <br />area of the city. <br />4