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City Council Regular Meeting Minutes <br />October 22, 2024 <br />Page 14 <br />1 Benefits and risks. <br />o2 Lessons Learned from Previous Partnership. <br />o3 Police Department SWOT Analysis – Chief Spiess met with all members of the <br />4 Police Department individually. He also conducted a survey. The main barrier is <br />5 the staffing. <br />o6 Department Staff Feedback. <br />7 Phased Staffing Plan – Incentives have been recommended. Hope to be at full staff by <br />8 January 1, 2027. <br />9 Contract. <br />o10 Appropriate Sharing of Financial Risk. <br />o11 Financial Plan – Shared fix costs of running a Police Department. <br />12 Facility Needs – The best option would be a public safety facility. Grant funding will be <br />13 sought. <br />14 <br />15 Detailed updates were provided by Staff. Over the course of the year, staff from both St. <br />16 Anthony Village and Falcon Heights have worked to address risks and concerns with a renewed <br />17 partnership, including: <br />18 Revising the contract to better protect from financial impacts of critical incidents. <br />19 Addressing department feedback and protecting from additional required overtime. <br />20 A financial plan to ensure no levy impact to St. Anthony taxpayers. <br />21 Began work toward a facility upgrade solution that is feasible for the community. <br />22 <br />23 Council is requested to consider approval of renewing the policing services partnership with <br />24 Falcon Heights; authorizing staff to complete negotiations and finalize draft contract to be <br />25 effective March 1, 2025; and, commitment to facility upgrades. <br />26 <br />27 Mayor Webster referred to Police Chief Spiess’s presentation at the work session, where he <br />28 shared his two priorities – commitment to high-quality policing for St. Anthony and Lauderdale <br />29 and the well-being of the officers. These are the Council’s priorities also. <br />30 <br />31 Councilmember Jenson stated he appreciates the comments on the SWOT analysis and the <br />32 benefits going forward. He asked when the decision of Building A or Building B needs to be <br />33 made. Mr. Yunker stated he has reached out to a colleague to get State bonding and insights to <br />34 their approach. He suggested starting out with a State Bonding Request then reach out to the <br />35 Federal Representative on options. This may take a couple of years. There are things that can be <br />36 done now to the current Police Department facility. Councilmember Jenson asked what would <br />37 happen to the current Police Department facility. Mr. Yunker stated they would look at other <br />38 departments within the City needing more space. <br />39 <br />40 Councilmember Randle asked how long it would take to get fully staffed. Police Chief Spiess <br />41 stated they do not have to be at a full staff level of 30 to be effective in policing in Falcon <br />42 Heights. Some of the positions are not as critical as others such as the community service officer. <br />43 The patrol staff is more critical. Police Chief Spiess stated the City wants to keep current staff <br />44 and the job market makes it difficult but by January 1, 2027, it could be possible. <br />45