Minutes - 2002/02/11 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mounds View City Council February 11, 2002 Regular Meeting Page 10 Fire Chief Zikmund indicated that the department had been granted another contract to continue as the HAZMAT response team. Fire Chief Zikmund reported he is involved in the Minnesota Fire Chief's Association and the Legislative Committee. He then indicated that there are some groups attempting to legalize fireworks in Minnesota and the departments are against that because of the obvious dangers. He then indicated that there is a bill attempting to add a box to the tax return to be able to contribute to the police and fireman's fund. Fire Chief Zikmund indicated that the department uses a curriculum called Risk Watch and noted it is a new approach to doing fire prevention education. He indicated that Risk Watch is designed to integrate into the school curriculum and be taught by the teachers. He then indicated that the curriculum has been proven to be effective but it is expensive. He further indicated the fire department would be writing a grant to attempt to obtain an $80,000 grant for more curriculum. Fire Chief Zikmund indicated he is looking at reducing the costs spent on false alarms by working with dispatch for better information on call outs. He then indicated that over the last year there had been 40 out of 1000 calls where he would say the department over responded. He further indicated that, depending on what the legislature does, his department would be looking at cutting out association activity and phasing in the software implementation slowly to save • costs. Mayor Sonterre indicated he had seen a lot of reports indicating that interest in serving rose greatly after September 11th but he has also been hearing that people are not following through. He then asked the Chief if he had received increased interest in serving. Fire Chief Zikmund indicated he had not seen any real increase in the numbers of calls. He then indicated that, in meeting with the Metro Fire Chiefs, there has been a modest increase. He further noted that those articles tend to attract people that the fire department does not want, not because they are bad people, but because they do not understand the commitment that it takes to be a firefighter. He also noted that most of what the fire department does is quite boring. D. Resolution 5712, a Resolution Approving the 2002 Community Forest Health -Oak Wilt Grant Agreement Finance Director Hansen indicated that this agreement would allow cost sharing for anyone in the City having to deal with a tree with Oak Wilt. For example, a resident would only pay $150.00 to have the tree removed rather than the full $300.00. He also noted that the same would apply to the City for any trees it needs to remove from City owned land. MOTION/SECOND: Quick/Thomas. To Waive the Reading and Approve Resolution 5712, a Resolution Approving the 2002 Community Forest Health -Oak Wilt Grant Agreement.