2024.04.01 CC Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Council Meeting Minutes for April 1, 2024 Page 2 of 5 There was little or no increase in call volume over the past three years; however, calls were expected to increase with the growing population, and they expected to see more fires due to the dry weather conditions. Compton reviewed call data that showed February and May to be their busiest months with most calls coming in during daytime hours. Sundays were the busiest, and Saturdays were the least busy. Department personnel participated in 3,272 hours of training that included a propane simulator, helicopter rescue, auto extraction, entanglement, and animal and water rescue. Operational improvements in 2023 included the hiring of the City’s first full-time Fire Chief. Three firefighters had completed probation, and two new probationary firefighters were hired. The Department was awarded a 50/50 grant from the DNR for wildland gear, and a new grass firetruck was expected to be in service for the Spring 2024 grassfire season. Community involvement included blood drives, toy drives, rodeos, parades, CPR training, and Good Neighbor Days. In 2023, the department had received a total of $31,851 in donations. Some of the money went into the AED program to help maintain 28 AEDs throughout the community. The goals for 2024 were to recommend changes to the operation and structure of the department, continue discussions on daytime staffing, and hire more paid on-call firefighters. They were accepting applications, and the deadline to apply was June 28, 2024. Klein asked about AEDs in the schools and about training on electric vehicle fires. Compton replied that schools have and maintain their own AEDs, and some EV training was available at Century College. Compton said those types of fires take more water, and sometimes the vehicle needs to be completely submerged. Compton said they have had a handful of small electronic fires. Mayor Weidt thanked Chief Compton for the report. M Health Fairview EMS Annual Report M Health Operations Manager Kevin Kane was in attendance to present the 2023 M Health Fairview EMS Annual Report. Kane presented data on the overall 911 responses during the year and explained how this information was shared with the Hugo Fire Department at their monthly meetings. Within their region, they responded to 465 mutual aid calls, and requested help 216 times. Kane talked about how they categorized different types of calls according to severity, and he provided data on response times. In 2023, the response time in Hugo was eight minutes and ten seconds. In 2023, M Health received 990 requests for service. Forty-one of them were in Hugo. He presented a heatmap that showed where the calls came from, and said they used that information to determine where they station people. Kane talked about the community events they participated in that included the Tough Mudder, live burns, Fridays with Firefighters, and Good Neighbor Days. He said Clayton the dog also attends those events. The Mayor said he appreciated their involvement and partnership. Yellow Ribbon Network Update – Chuck Haas Hugo Yellow Ribbon Board President Chuck Haas presented information on recent activities of the YRN. He began by thanking Council and staff for their support which helped the YRN get their volunteer needs met. Care packages had been sent to Japan, and Haas shared a photo he received as a “thanks”. He said there were currently 600 soldiers being deployed to Kuwait and Afghanistan, and the YRN would continue to send care packages. He shared photos of the Welcome Home Pheasant Hunt that was held at the end of March, and a photo of the grand prize