07/23/2003 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION JULY 23, 2003 APPROVED Councilmember O'Donnell suggested the Chief of the Department be the Chair and cast • the tie breaking vote. The Chief would be agreed on by the involved cities so that should be acceptable. Councilmember Dahl stated she is concerned that the City of Lino Lakes invested the dollars into the building and is still paying for it. It doesn't seem right that other cities can come into the building with no investment. She indicated she is aware that the building can accommodate a larger department. However, the residents of Lino Lakes are paying for the building. The other cities came to the City of Lino Lakes with the request. She stated she does not believe the concept will work. The City has to make a business decision in regard to the proposal. Contracting out to the other cities has been offered in the past. She stated she wants to keep the City's Chief of Police and the current Police Officer's. She stated she does not believe a 50/50 agreement is a good idea. She stated she does not want to lose what the City has and the City should have 51% of the vote if a merger occurs. Chief Pecchia stated that if the City pursues the Quad Cities Police Department, the timeline needs to be changed. He stated he believes the choice of the Chief of the Department is critical. Levels of service will change and the Chief of the Department will be a major reason why they will change. The timeline of the decision is still very critical to the current police force. Councilmember Reinert asked if the City should make a counter proposal to the Task Force that would involve a 50/50 plus one, with the recommendation that Chief Pecchia is the Chair who casts the tie breaking vote, and would also be the Chief of the Department. Councilmember Carlson stated she is not in favor of the counter proposal unless the City of Lino Lakes would have more than 50% of the vote. Councilmember Dahl stated she also feels the City of Lino Lakes should have at least 51% of the vote. By a slim majority of the Council, it was determined that City Administrator Waite Smith would email the City Administrators of the involved cities with the counter proposal that includes a 50/50 vote plus one, with the tie breaking vote coming from the Chair of the Committee, and Chief of the Department, Dave Pecchia. BIRCH STREET SPEED STUDY, JIM STUDENSKI Community Development Director Grochala advised the City received a request to conduct a speed study on Birch Street at the last Council meeting. Staff would like direction regarding whether or not they should contact the County. The County may do the speed study or may ask the City to conduct the speed study. It is possible that the speed limit on Birch Street could increase after the speed study is conducted. MnDOT ultimately determines if the speed limit will increase, decrease or stay the same. •