Agenda Packets - 2025/06/09 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mounds View City Council May 27, 2025 Regular Meeting Page 2 Mayor Lindstrom reported he received an email from former Mayor Linke’s wife and he 1 understood he still had family that lives in the area. He sent his condolences to the entire Linke 2 family and thanked them for their tremendous dedication to the City of Mounds. 3 4 B. SBM Fire Department Yearly Updates 5 6 Fire Chief Dan Retka provided the Council with a presentation from the SBM Fire Department. 7 He reported six new recruits recently graduated from the academy and in total the department has 8 added 32 fire fighters over the last two years, after losing 10. He explained the chiefs in the county 9 voted to part ways with Century College and would be taking back the fire training academy with 10 Anoka County. He explained mutual aid calls continue to rise and he was working to improve the 11 relationship between SBM and the Lake Johanna Fire Department. He stated the Lino Lakes Fire 12 Department was having issues with staffing and over the last few months a staffing study was 13 completed and Lino Lakes decided to hire a full-time fire chief and police chief. He stated this was 14 a positive decision for this community and would greatly enhance their police and fire services. 15 He discussed how the fire department was working to engage with the public from elementary 16 aged children to senior citizens. He indicated the fire department has certified just under 1,000 17 people in CPR this year. He commented further on the fire safety work that was being done with 18 the apartment complexes in Blaine, Spring Lake Park and Mounds View. He reported the bike 19 helmet events have been struggling since COVID. He explained the Senior Fair was very well 20 received this year. He thanked the Council for their time and asked if there were any comments or 21 questions. 22 23 Council Member Meehlhause asked how things were going with the Centennial Fire Department. 24 Fire Chief Retka reported SBM has an administrative contract with the Centennial Fire Department 25 and he hoped this contract would continue into the future. 26 27 Council Member Meehlhause requested an update on the new fire station land. Fire Chief Retka 28 explained the city of Blaine has land set aside as a preferred location for the new fire station that 29 was on the corner of Lexington Avenue and Main Street. 30 31 Council Member Meehlhause inquired if the fire department had any new apparatus on order. Fire 32 Chief Retka reported the fire department had two new pieces of equipment on order, one being a 33 new engine and the other being a rescue vehicle. He reported the new engines were taking three 34 years to build. 35 36 Council Member Clark thanked the SBM Fire Department for being on hand at the recent Easter 37 egg hunt. 38 39 Mayor Lindstrom asked how the closing of the federal fire academy would impact the fire 40 department. Fire Chief Retka stated this was a huge hit for the fire service because the federal fire 41 academy was the foremost education provider for firefighters. He reported more local and state 42 educational options were becoming available. 43 44 Mayor Lindstrom inquired if there was anything the SBM Fire Department required from the City 45 of Mounds View at this time. Fire Chief Retka asked for the City’s continued support of the fire 46