2015.04.20 CC Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Hugo City Council Meeting Minutes for April 20,2015 Page 6 of 8 Coalition and agreed it was important to discuss and act on issues as a whole,building bonds and cooperation among cities. They agreed that the summit meetings have brought attention to the issues of water and conservation,and it was best to be proactive in sending messages to the legislators. It was also agreed the water summit group needed to become more formalized and take action on certain issues. The consensus of the Council was to officially organize the group and continue to meet on issues affecting all communities. Update on Ambulance Workshop The Hugo City Council held a workshop to discuss ambulance service in Hugo on March 18, 2015. This was the second workshop related to ambulance service. Representatives from the Hugo Fire Department,North Memorial Ambulance, and the White Bear Lake Fire Department were in attendance. At the meeting,Council had discussed the progressive improvement in emergency services being provided to Hugo residents,challenges due to growing call volumes, and possible changes that may result toward further improvements in emergency response. City Administrator Bryan Bear provided background on the Joint Powers Agreement with White Bear Lake for shared Basic Life Support(BLS) services.This agreement was formed in 2008 with the intent of Hugo moving forward to provide full service;however,there is nothing in the agreement to outline how that would happen. Hugo is absorbing more costs and increased call volume. It was noted that both White Bear Lake and Hugo Fire Departments operate as paid-on- call departments. Bryan explained White Bear Lake and North Memorial both have license to provide care in an assigned Primary Service Areas(PSA). These PSAs overlap in Hugo. It was noted that service from White Bear Lake has been good,but with the future growth and demographics,neither Hugo nor White Bear Lake would be able to cover the call volume. He presented four options: do nothing,expand Hugo's role, have White Bear Lake provide full coverage,or have North Memorial provide full coverage. With North Memorial providing coverage, a staffed ambulance would be in Hugo during the day and in a nearby community during the evening. There would be no additional costs to Hugo taxpayers. The Council agreed that the option to have North Memorial cover Hugo would best serve the community. Hugo and White Bear Lake have done a nice job in providing ambulance service and it has been great partnership,but having full-time professional staff on hand would be a safety improvement for the resident. It was stated that the Hugo Fire Department has been unselfish in understanding these issues and know it's the right thing for Hugo's citizens. Weidt made motion, Haas seconded,to move forward with the option to have North Memorial cover Hugo by having further discussions with White Bear Lake and North Memorial on details, serve White Bear Lake with the 90 day notice to withdraw from the JPA,and move forward with an agreement with North Memorial. Ayes: Petryk, Haas,Miron,Klein,Weidt Nays: None Motion carried.