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Council Meeting Minutes for April 15, 2024 <br />Page 2 of 5 <br /> <br />Boarding demonstrations. The event will conclude on Sunday with the Lions scholarship <br />presentation and drawings. The festival begins at 5 p.m. on Friday. <br /> <br />Miron made motion, Klein seconded to co-sponsor the event by waiving the Special Event <br />Permit and providing Washington County deputies to be present during the event, as in the past. <br /> <br />All Ayes. Motion carried. <br /> <br />Washington County Sheriff's Department Annual Report <br /> <br />Washington County Sheriff Dan Starry was in attendance to present the Sheriff’s Department <br />2023 Annual Report. He began by introducing Chief Deputy Doug Anschutz, Commander Sara <br />Halverson, and Sergeant Joe Zerwas. He explained there are eight full time deputies assigned to <br />Hugo, and there was coverage 24/7. <br /> <br />The following deputies introduced themselves: Deputies Greg Reiter, Jeffry Workman, Ross <br />Peterson, Jacob Monsma, Cassie Rice, and Detective Anthony Jaring. Starry presented the <br />service cost breakdown for 2024 that totaled $1,603,369.29, equivalent to $94.25 per capita. <br /> <br />In 2023, there were 9,098 calls for service, approximately 25 calls per day, and 321 of the cases <br />were investigated. Starry spoke of a recent call where a child was taken by a parent. They were <br />able to find her on the Virgin Islands, and Starry commended Detective Jaring and the other <br />agencies on their good work. Starry provided call data saying most calls come in between 8 a.m. <br />and 10 p.m. Thefts had increased due to thefts at construction sites and parents using the park <br />and leaving valuables in their vehicles. There were 168 arrests in 2023, down a little from the <br />last two years. There were 140 motor vehicle accidents and 197 mental health/person in crises <br />calls, which were very time consuming. A lot of time was also spent on scams involving <br />grandparents and BitCoin/Cryptocurrency. <br /> <br />Starry talked about how they were responding to trends. They are one of nine agencies that <br />received a grant from the state for $75,000 for the purchase of a distracted driving vehicle. <br />Numbers are expected to climb with people using their phones while driving. They were also <br />working with a Coordinated Response Team for mental health/crisis calls and adding another <br />social worker. They continue to offer Employee Wellness for staff. <br /> <br />Starry said Fentanyl continued to be an issue. Sixty-seven pounds were seized that had a $2.2 <br />million street value. The Drug Take Back boxes had collected over 53 tons of medications since <br />2013, and he thanked the citizens for disposing of medications properly. He talked about their <br />new crime mapping software that citizens can access through the County website, though a lot of <br />the calls would not be mapped due to data practices. Recuriting and retention was one of their <br />focus areas. They had new positions for community service deputies, and a fulltime clinician <br />would be onboard in May. Telecommunicators week was April 14th – 20th, and he thanked their <br />34 - 911 operators for their good work. He thanked the City of Hugo and Council for their <br />support. <br /> <br />Petryk said she had never received a bad comment regarding the police department, and she <br />thanked them. She talked about spam emails she received from the Mayor. Starry replied that <br />the scammers were very good, and there was little the department could do except educate the <br />public. She asked about mental health issues. Starry replied that the deputies take on extra