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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC MINUTES 01311969 Meeting Sheet I IIIIII VIII VIII VIII VIII VIII IIII IIII 106057 Box: 36 Folder: CC MINUTES AND AGENDAS 1969 Document: CC MINUTES 01311969 VILLAGE OF ST. ANTHONY - � COUNCIL MINUTES Special Meeting January 31 , 1969 The meeting was called to order by the Mayor at 1 :00 o'-lock P. M. The following were present at roll calls O 'Connor, Crouse, Emond, Dougherty. Absent: Levandowski . Also presents Raymond Haik, Village Attorney John Pri nton, Village Manager The Village Manager reported that mailed notice was delivered to the Central Avenue Post Office at 2: 15 P. li. January 30, 1969. The notices were sent by Special Deliv- ery. In addition, all members were called starting at 8:00 A. M. January 31 , 1969 and all members reached by 9:15 A. M. Motion by Councilman Crouse and seconded by Councilman Emond that the rules be waived and that Ordinance 1969-2 be readopted. Mr. Fred Memer placed an objection to action taken at this meeting as not being adequate notice. He stated the place and time not mentioned in the notice. Councilman Dougherty asked to be recognized. He made the following statements The Volunteer Firemen served the Village for 12 years or more and have done an • excellent job. They are recognized as being competent. The Volunteer Department has projected salary costs of $12,000 and insurance costs. The present situation is the outgrowth of a series of ultimatums that have reached an empasse. He feels that the Council does not feel that the Volunteer Department has not done a satisfy- ing job. They have 300 years of experience and 300 hours of training. He feels they are professional . Many Communities have Volunteer Departments. Many are larger than St. Anthony. The spirit of the Department has been excellent in the past. The Volunteers have fostered a community in St. Anthony. They outfitted the rescue van and built a work shop. The Volunteers have served St. Anthony well. He feels the Council is throwing out benefits of the Department. He acknowledged the new department could be adequate in time, but we could have problems with auxiliary of police and maintenance departments. There have been instances where police have neglected police duty. The State of Michigan prohibits such a Depart- ment. He stated that he felt the Council by this meeting was not carrying out a commitment by the Mayor, that the meeting should be in larger quarters. He felt the notice sent to residents was misleading. There was no projection of salary increases for the permanent department. He feels the comparison was distorted. The Village Manager has inquired of other communities as to hiring a fire chief to serve the department. Councilman Crouse asked the Village Manager if this was true and the Village Manager replied that it was not. Councilman Dougherty stated that the report was possibly distorted. He stated that the use of surplus liquor store funds would not allow for temporary financing of improvements, and that the improvement of Highway #8 may have impact on earnings. We have a $80,000 system compared to a $30,000 system with the potential of a greater size department with increased demands of employees. The new department wilt join unions and make demands on the Council . The Volunteers have not made demands up to this year. The on call costs of other towns show greater salaries for Volunteers. Columbia Heights pays $8,000 to firemen. The Village does not have salary projection for the new department. The Council has not provided for costs in the budget to this date. The Council should take due consideration of L -2- the 2-the January 10th letter of Mayor O'Connor. The Mayor's letter was read by Council- man Dougherty. He felt the Council had gone a long way from January 10th. The meeting of January 15th was the first discussion of a full time fire depart- ment, he stated. In five days the Council went a long ways from its original position. Instead of talking we threw them out. He felt the Council should negotiate--the whole Council . It should involve deliberation with residents, discuss costs, alternatives, whether there should be partial permanent or volunteers. Instead, he continued, we propose to spend considerably more. The average fire is one every 3-4 days. Four men in the new department will just be sitting around all day. The Volunteers have always been available. The advantage is that they are in the Village close to the fires. Trucks are rolling and the men are leaving their homes within minutes. There is no response time problem with the Volunteers. There have been numerous compliments to the Volunteer Department from citizens. Nothing has been done to say they have not done a good job. The people appreciate them. Their demands and the manner in which it was made is the bone of contention. The Volunteers have completely withdrawn their letter--this should have opened the door to discussion. The roster shows professional people; educated, profession- al people. The new department could also be dedicated. The Volunteers are trained. They have experts training them constantly. They have many hours of training. It is beyond me how we got into the present situation. The Volunteers did attach strings, but there was a breakdown in communications. He feels that the Council should not adopt Ordinance 1969-2. It is an error on the part of the Council. The Volunteers are here to serve us. If not, would they be here to fight the action. An evening meeting would bring more people. Feels an afternoon meeting does not give individuals a chance to appear. This meeting, with a 7:00 P. M., • January 30th notice to me is not proper. A Councilman working in Bloomington cannot get to this 1 :00 P. M. meeting. Instead the meeting should be at 7:00 P. M. Special daytime meetings should he aholished. How could we come up with a new proposal in twelve hours. The Council should have proper information to act upon. I object to any material that does not come up with sufficient prior notice. There should be a report by the Manager on the whole proposal . On the mailed report to residents, he feels the figures not to be correct and the people are being misled. He stated, the report is a fake. Lets think about a permanent department, and put the Volunteers back to work. The State Fire Marshal represen- tative offered to come in. The action is without due consideration. It affects the long term operation of the Village. St. Anthony is one of few with a full time department. Bloomington has a Volunteer Department with its present size. Brooklyn Center is 100% Volunteer department with Brookdale. Why does St. Anthony need a full time department. We have 35 men in the Volunteer Department. They are capable, let 's put them back on duty. The Council 's other proposal should be discussed further with the Volunteers. The Director of Public Safety has not talked to the Council about this problem; he states he is not a firemen, that he will have individuals with rank of Captain in charge. It's the responsibility of the Director of Public Safety to ask what are you doing without consulting me. The Council is talking of a change without an executive session to discuss the Director of Public Safety, Police Department, Maintenance Department and the fire underwriters. The Council should have answers before making decisions. A corporation would vote out a Aoard if they acted in this manner. There was no advance work on the Ja nua ry 15th meeting. I made a motion, on that date, to return the Volunteers on Item #1, and discuss Items 2, 3 & 4 at a later date. Throw the rascals out seems to be the action. Sure we have disagreements. There doesn't appear to be a party line vote on the Council. He feels the Council has been reasonable in the past and should resolve the problem. I feel, he stated, that by July 1st all alternatives could be resolved. All of us have friends on the Volunteer Department. Ede can't like all of them--but they are the kind of people we can sit down and talk with. Lets set up a committee and sit down and talk with them. This is not an unreasonable proposal . He feels that the Volun- -3- teer's or the Council 's proposal could be negotiated. We reach agreements with unions by compromise. We should negotiate. What kind of politicians are we that we're not willing to compromise. There is a lot of interest in the Village on this. I•L- haven't spent enough time on this. There may be a combination that is possible. I know we've had an excellent Volunteer Department. We've accepted Volunteer reports with no objections. Did we ever complain of the officers appoint- ed or the budget? Did we complain of the time it took to get to fires? No. There are many Volunteer Departments. Bloomington is an example. There is possibly some personal animosity involved here, but there are also some friends among the Volunteers and the Council, but that friendship is not a criteria. The economics of the proposal should be considered. We should put the Volunteers 530k to work He stated he felt the audience should be heard as this is an open meeting. Mayor O'Connor stated that there was a motion of the floor. He further stated, Mr. Dougherty you agreed with the Council position before. The matter of harrassment was discussed. Councilman Dougherty stated that he called four people regarding pressure and all told him that no pressure was put on them. They were Alderman Anderson, 1st Ward, Mr. Bruce, Assistant Coordinator City of Minneapolis and Mayor Naftalin's aid and one other. There was no evidence of coercion. Some of the Volunteers, he said, talked to their friends on other departments, I'm sure. Councilman Crouse called for a vote on the motion. Voting on the motion: • Aye: O'Connor, Emond, Crouse. Nay: Dougherty. Absent not voting: Levandowski. Motion carried. Councilman Emond introduced Resolution 69-009 and moved its adoption. RESOLUTION NO. 69-009 A RESOLUTION DIRECTING THE VILLAGE MANAGER TO ORGANIZE A FULL TIME FIRE DEPARTMENT RATIFYING THE COUNCIL ACTION OF JANUARY 15, 1969, AND ALL ACTIONS TAKEN THEREUNDER. The resolution was duly seconded by Councilman Crouse. Councilman Dougherty read Resolution No. 69-009 aloud. He stated that the meeting was illegal. Mr. Haik, Village attorney, stated that the resolution speaks for itself and is in proper form to be adopted. Councilman Dougherty continued with the reading of the resolution. He stated that the points of the Volunteer Depart- ment contained by reference in the foregoing resolution were expectations, not demands. The first whereas, he stated, appears to be misleading. He repeated that they were not demands as shown by the use of the word 'stipulations '. We never went back to see if point #1 was acceptable. They might choose points #1 and #4 or #2 and #3, but they, the Volunteers, were'nt given a chance--their letter was rejected. Councilman Crouse stated that no alternatives were given to the Council. Councilman Dougherty stated that he felt the audience may have something ti -4- to 4-to say. ldhy don't we sit down and talk with the Volunteers. We talk with unions and negotiate their demands. Councilman Dougherty acknowledged that the majority of the Council certainly rules but that he was trying to get members of the Council to change their minds. He stated that the Volunteers will return at a snap of the fingers and then we should start negotiating. He stated that there was not enough information in the resolution to take action. He asked if the Council had looked at all angles. Availability of the auxiliary department, the stability of liquor store revenue. He asked other Council members if they didn't wish to discuss the matter. Councilman Crouse called for a vote on the motion. Voting on the motion: Aye: O'Connor, Crouse, Emond. Nay: Dougherty. Absent not voting: Levandowski. Motion carried. Mrs. Hobart Swan, wife of a Volunteer firemen asked for audience discussion. A report from the Village Manager as to the status of his organization of the fire • department was as follows: 65 applicants were screened to 12 individuals who were given agility tests and other exams including physical examinations. The Richfield Fire Chief assisted in the evaluation of the 12 final candidates. Every candidate has had prior fire service on professional departments or in the service. Candidates will be hired following the Council action and prior to February 15, 1969. There will be two individuals as fire captains at $750.00 a month, three firemen at $600.00 a month and five firemen $500.00 a month. The difference in pay was the result of duties to be assigned and experience. The manager reported that in organizing the depart- ment he had as directed by the Council stayed within the estimated expenditures previously discussed. The average monthly salary will be $580.00. Councilman Emond introduced Resolution No. 69-010 and moved its adoption. RESOLUTION NO. 69-010 A RESOLUTION DIRECTING THE MANAGER TO TRANSFER FUNDS TO THE ACCOUNT FOR THE FULL TIME FIRE DEPARTMENT. The resolution was duly seconded by Councilman Crouse. Councilman Dougherty asked, "do we have the funds?" Where is the audit to sub- stantiate this?" Voting on the adoption of the resolution: Aye: O'Connor, Emond, Crouse. Nay: Dougherty. Absent not voting: Levandowski. -5- - Motion carried. Councilman Dougherty stated that he wanted to make the fact clear that he did not blame the Manager for any action taken, that he was carrying out the directives of the Council . Motion by Councilman Crouse and seconded by Councilman Emond the meeting be adjourned. Motion carried. ayor ATTEST: Village C k Vi ge Manager