02-08-2021 CC (2) - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mounds View City Council February 8, 2021 Regular Meeting Page 3 Mayor Mueller thanked Mr. Connelly for attending this meeting and for his dedicated service to the business community. B. 4th Quarter/2020 MVPD Annual Report – Chief Harder Verbal Overview. Police Chief Harder provided the Council with a presentation on the 4th Quarter of 2020 along with the Mounds View Police Department Annual Report. He commented on the great success the VCET unit has had with drug arrests in Ramsey County. He discussed the grant he received for a full-time DUI officer and noted the great work Officer Aase was doing on behalf of the community. He indicated the new radar sign was assisting in slowing traffic in Mounds View. He stated he was proud of the great work his officers completed in 2020, noting this was a difficult year. Police Chief Harder described how the department got creative in order to conduct community outreach with the public during the pandemic. He discussed the quick reaction forces that have been created to address future civil unrest. He was pleased to report mental health calls for the City were down which meant people were getting the assistance and resources they needed. He commended NYFS for their assistance in the mental health calls. He thanked the SRO officers for making the best of a difficult situation and for organizing the department’s Christmas event. He success of the K-9 unit was discussed at length. He reviewed the number of calls for service and number of arrests noting calls for service were down in 2020. He noted there was an increase in motor vehicle thefts and the thefts of catalytic converters. He thanked his officers for working so diligently on behalf of the community shorthanded throughout the pandemic. Council Member Meehlhause thanked Police Chief Harder for his outstanding leadership and thanked all of the Mounds View officers for their outstanding service to the community. He stated he was glad to hear the representatives at NYFS were serving the community well. Council Member Cermak questioned if the City received any reimbursement for providing K-9 mutual aid to the City of New Brighton. Police Chief Harder explained both cities provided mutual aid to each other and no compensation is offered by either department. Council Member Bergeron commended the entire department on their tremendous efforts during the pandemic. He thanked all of the officers and Police Chief Harder for their dedicated service to the community. Mayor Mueller thanked Police Chief Harder for his outstanding report. She appreciated the fact that Police Chief Harder came in under budget, especially knowing that the department was shorthanded in 2020. She expressed frustration with the fact the department was doing great police work, getting criminals off the street, but these individuals were being released back into the public quickly and were then able to recommit crimes. Police Chief Harder explained the Minnesota Freedom Fund was bonding people out of jail for offenses that don’t hurt people. He discussed how frustrating this was to the individuals that have had their cars stolen and damaged. He stated he was against revictimizing people but explained the justice system was in a perfect storm at this time and the courts were backed up. He encouraged the City Council to be patient as these cases make their way through the court system.