This conference will now be recorded. I >> got 6:00. We'll call the meeting in order. We'll start with the pledge of allegiance. >> Algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under
God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Um before we proceed, Thomas, you want to identify yourself that's on the Zoom meeting, please? Thomas on Zoom, can you identify yourself, please?
>> Oh, might just have to stay as Thomas said. >> He's Thomas Kim. >> All right. Uh, I just need the adoption of the agenda. >> I'll make a motion to adopt the agenda. >> Any further discussions? All in favor?
>> I oppose. Passes 500. We'll open the public comment portion. Individuals may address the city council about any item of concern. Speakers must state their name and limit their remarks to five minutes. Any public comments?
Any public comments? I will close the public comment portion and we'll jump down to consent agenda. All items listed on the consent agenda are considered routine by council and will approve by one motion. There will be no separate discussion on these items unless council member request in which case the item
will be removed from the consent agenda and be considered in its normal sequence of agenda. >> Make a motion to approve the consent agenda. >> I'll second. Any further discussions?
All in favor? I opposed. Second 50. Accounts payable. Bob Priy. >> I just wanted to highlight one uh number 82458. Uh that was for the Zamroa Fire Board dues of 92,29806.
Uh everything else was extremely low and normal I think. So there's any questions? Otherwise, I'd make a motion to approve the accounts payable for $103,38.92. >> Second. >> I just have one question and it might be
an air on the department. It says sewer. >> That's an air. >> Okay, that's what I figured, but I just I saw that. I'm like, >> okay, perfect. We got a f a motion and a second. Uh, all in favor? >> I oppose. Passes 500. Thanks, Bob.
unfinished business safety dollars allocation. I'm going to throw it right out to council for discussion. I know it's been discussed. I know we've seen many numbers. Um I know it's kind of been a hot topic, different ideas and different opinions.
So, I'll throw out the council kind of to I mean I printed out I think you saw everything that Kim done. I wanted to thank Kim for all the work she's done uh giving us information. Um, did council all see that thing from Bev
or Beth from Amb. >> So, it's basically just calls and stuff like that. >> Well, I would just like to, you know, tell me if I'm wrong or not, but the fire department, you know, by volunteering their time. They volunteer
a lot of time fundraising to keep our budget down. to where where it's at which which I give them a lot of credit for you know all the volunteer work but the way we're doing this for them keeping their budget way down on our end
is kind of bad for them then the way we're doing the percentage then if they weren't helping out to keep that budget down there and that budget was higher they'd get a little more money out of this fund than or this money that we've
gotten So to me it looked like for them working hard to keep the budget down for the people in town, they're getting penalized the way we want to do the percentage thing here. >> The the percentages are basically based on what it is part of our budget for our
citizens of Zambroa. That's where the percentages came down. So that uh was it 91,972? That's the city of Zumba's portion for our residents for the fire budget. higher if we had to pay these guys. If that was higher than that,
>> yeah, >> they would be getting more money then. >> And Fred is right, if I can jump in. Yeah, Fred is right that yeah, if they didn't do the fundraising and they needed uh we needed put more levy in there, then we'd be paying more than levying more.
>> So would the townships. >> Yes. So the townships. However, to uh characterize it as penalizing them, um you know, I think that like we had said that these are our city of Zimroa taxpayer dollars. We're already paying
51% of the fire uh the fire dues. Um so over half is our is our city taxpayer dollars. Um so, you know, if you choose to give them more that that's that's fine. That's great. But if you choose not to, that's not a penalty.
Um that's choosing to keep our taxpayer dollars with a city department where we can u theoretically make an impact on on the levy that way. Um you know whether we use it for equipment uh for our for our police department or whatever it
might be. You know they stand a chance that it'll carve a few things out that we would not have to levy for. So, you know, however you look at it, that's just uh the reality of it. And I think that can be a a
benefit um if it's divided equally and I understand the percentages and and and things like that. I like the idea of it just equal. It's still going to affect the citizens. I believe it can bring down the uh the budget for the fire department. I think it can bring down the budget for the um the ambulance. Um,
it's a sizable amount amount of money if it's split evenly. I got to believe it's going to be very well used by all three entities and it's more effective in a little larger sum than it is for
11,000 or 13,000 which it's suggested if we go by percentage of what the of the um budget is for the police or for the city. the ambulance. I mean, having the ambulance in town here helps our budget, too. So, we the fire department don't
have to have their own first responders like other towns do. I mean, it's a huge benefit to having very very important for the city to have that there. So, I don't know. I in my my personal feeling the money that we got was to help all
three of these entities to to to divy it to me to divvy it up equal to show that they're equal important to everything and we want to help. We're all in this together. I mean any way we can help equipment is expensive for everybody. So
I just think this is money given by this the government extra money to help each one of these and I don't I I personally think it should be divided equally. >> So the monies came back to the tax base
for safe public safety dollars not just to be spread amongst there. So in when we look out to August right Pat's going to be retiring. We're going to be looking to replace his position. We're probably going to have to boost the salary, adjust the budget. That's where
are the township's going to kick in for his budget replacement. That wouldn't be just for us to require the townships to pitch in on that. This is money returned back to the city of Zroen. We have obligations to the fire department and the ambulance and we should give them
something. But just there's no guilt on us for making sure the citizens who paid the taxes are getting all their necessary uh expenses covered, which we are 100% responsible for the police
budget. There's no aid coming in for that. So I much prefer the the split as it is that was recommended back with the uh based off the percentage that the city allies to the budgets and we have
agreements in place right joint powers they're set up on the front end to accommodate the costs and it can feel generous for us to give money away but it is the taxpayers's money that's in the residents of
Zimroda, not just the community at large. >> And I would I mean just to voice my opinion to kind of I agree with Kevin that as council and mayor that we try to do the best decision for our taxpayers, the city of Zumbroa and that's the way
that I would have to lean and that the numbers doesn't lie. It's right here. that's what's best for our taxpayers because that's what our taxpayers are paying on a percentage per them budgets and we got joint powers that take care of it. Um it's unfortunate that the uh
townships didn't get any money from the good you uh county but it's that is something that's out of kind of our control of doing it. So I always got to look back as what's best for our taxpayers, our residents in the city of Umbro. So, I would have to agree with
Kevin that at best we do in these numbers and I again say I appreciate Kim putting them out there and getting us the numbers and what it really is. So, that's kind of my opinion, >> I guess. Yeah. My opinion is okay and
that it's probably where I am in my life, but right now I've used both the ambulance and the fire to help with my dad at this point. So, I'm full that, you know, I appreciate that they're here, but I kind of agree with Todd and
with with Kevin that we're ultimately responsible for Zumbroa and with the joint powers. they're we're paying that and this was to come back to our citizens and police is our you know and we're still giving out a percentage
um based on our budget with these two but I absolutely they are fabulous and they have helped numerous times and I cannot say how wonderful they are but I also feel like as taxpayers our citizens
kind of deserve the money coming back in the percentages to our budget, but they're fabulous. I don't want to discount them in any way. I guess my only comment um if this is
the way that this vote goes, if this is what we'd like to do, I would like u to know how those dollars are going to be spent so that we can spend them that directly affects the budget so that we can reduce things as far as equipment, either vehicles or other things that it
can drop our budget in the meantime a little bit for the, you know, a few years to And Brian and I actually talked about it and we always meet before council and that was one of the things I told Brian. I said however the money gets divided that council should have direction. I'm
not too much as worried about fire or ambulance just because of the sum is not super big. But I think with the police department and being that and like Kevin says that we are going to be dealing with some turnover here with
chief retiring in five more years and but that in October. So we could possibly have some issues with labor costs that could affect our budgets and not knowing which way we go with that. So, but I would
definitely agree with Bob that however this money however it is that council does the approval and and Brian's like, "Yeah, it should be that way." Versus a budget when we tell Chief he's got so much money for this and so much money that's what he can spend, but this is
extra. And my guess is it's probably going to do more probably more labor, more training, and maybe some equipment would be my guess is probably where a lot of that's going to go. But I do would would like to see a council approve it before >> there won't be any. It's it's in a
separate fund. So the only way I can move that money over into a fund to be spent like say to move it into the general fund is with council approval. So it will come as a transfer out from a specific fund to general fund and it would have to be voted on >> by approval wherever you put it.
>> Absolutely. Sounds great. >> So, you're saying when the chief gets replaced is going to be more expensive than when we replace normal? >> I'm just saying because we could have some overlap of extra training. Uh because I assume the chief will have to
train the train or be around for a couple weeks, couple months. Uh depending on who the new police chief is, we'll have extra labor there. Um I think is going to be the main expense. just one example, you know, equipment is
always there. It's always a need. We can defay some costs there. Um, you know, many ways just like any just like fire and ambulance, there's there's always somewhere that needs uh that needs some dollars. Make a motion to aortion safety dollars
according to the percentage of the city budget. >> I'll second that. >> Does that clarify everything for you, Kim? Okay. >> Any further discussions? All in favor? I >> I >> I oppose.
>> Name >> passes three two. First of all, I want to thank Kim for all work on the numbers and I want to thank council for the extra work we've done at this and talking residents and looking at that stuff. Uh let's jump to new business.
Something exciting. Uh, Sergeant, hire chief. So, as you know, a couple of weeks ago, we conducted interviews for uh Sergeant um and uh with the outcome of that, we
made a conditional office offer to uh Stephanie Meyer Miner who happens to be here. You had an opportunity to meet her up close. Um and so Stephanie comes from Dodge County Sheriff's Office. um she's been there approximately five years and
uh is uh very motivated um toward management leadership and so she fits very well with what we're looking for. And so right now we're just in the process of uh going through background investigation, psychological and physical and once those results are back
then we can actually set a date of starting date and uh move forward with the position. So, >> so Monday. >> Well, no, >> we're still not there yet. Okay. So, no, she's got stuff going on next week. A couple of appointments there and
hopefully we'll get some responses back uh fairly quickly. So, >> what kind of the ETA just do we know? >> I'm hoping sometime in March. That's kind of kind of what I'm speculating. If it's earlier, wow, we're awesome. But
that's kind of where I've been at. So, But yeah, looking forward to the process and uh hopefully being able to fill that role quickly and I think that uh the the training process should be much quicker than um you know a a new hire in
general. So um with the experience, we don't have to spend a lot of time teaching someone how to be a police officer, let alone a supervisor. There's going to be a little bit of a learning curve with that end of things. And then of course our kind of our standard
geography, our policy, so forth. So we're hoping that we're able to move pretty quickly through that. >> Perfect. Welcome, Stephanie. >> Um >> I just I told her to keep her speech to 10 minutes or less. >> Yeah.
>> And I want to thank uh the personnel committee, Bob, uh I know Chief and Pushwali. Um I can't remember is there a sergeant from Goody County that helped interviews? >> Yeah. >> And Brian. So for the work on that we had two good candidates and I'm excited
for Stephanie to uh join our department. >> So I just need a motion and a second to approve that. >> I'll make that motion. >> I'll second. >> Any further discussions? All in favor? >> I oppose. Passes 500. Uh Chief, don't
sit down. We got police annual report. So before you have your police report for 2025 and uh with a little of help from uh Sergeant Pasquali who I will remind you had a communications degree
and as his bachelor's and so he really understands you know this is the second time he's helped out did a really nice layout and uh putting this particular PowerPoint together. Um and so um which which is going to be helpful uh in the
future in if in fact uh he ends up beating the position of chief. But um couple of things just to kind of highlight um within here. Um one of our busiest years even with less staff we're
we're up at close to 5,500 calls for service. That's a lot of calls for service for a population such as this. And you I assume most of you understand why that is. It's where we're at. It's,
you know, we're geographically in the middle of two major thorough bears. You've got the metro north of us. You've got Rochester to the south of us. And of course, you got Redwing, Treasure Island, I might add. um places that uh
people are traveling to and from and so a lot of the uh a lot of problematic things we have um end up being transient issues. So people coming within our community and you know causing trouble you know whether they be traffic violations let alone DUIs or other
offenses. So, um it's pretty interesting to see that that type of a number and uh so there's a lot of data in here. Um I hope you had an opportunity to read the narrative, a lot of good training
opportunities for staff. Um which has been great. Uh of course, we're highlighting some of the events within a lot of cooperative efforts with the sheriff's office, which has been great. Um, we do have a great working relationship with with county and uh as
well as state patrol and uh I think this community is pretty blessed with having these entities surrounding us. So, but as far as uh that goes, I mean, do you have any questions regarding calls for
service? Um, you know, the the trends, they eb and flow. Um, if you looked at the specific categories, um, there are some things that are fairly steady where we really don't have too many things happen in those
categories. Um, I would have to say most of our issues are more more or less safety related issues. Um, there are some property offenses that occur that we still deal with, but I would still venture to guess based on our calls for
service percentage-wise, that's still lower than when I first started here. There's a lot of property crime when I came here. And uh that's that's diminished to some extent if you look at it percentage-wise. But hey, Pat, the
alarms category here. >> Yep. So, one of the things I should mention is um the county had um they condensed a lot of the um activity types. So, all those
type of things that you're seeing, 911 calls, abuse, you know, uh burglary, those type of calls, they they condensed a whole bunch. They wanted to clean up the activity codes. And so there were several different types of alarms and we
didn't always get them. So some of them like if it's if it's a certain fire alarm, we wouldn't necessarily get all those calls listed to us. So you see a large amount of calls and that's fire alarms, smoke
detector alarms, um CO2 alarms, car alarm, you know, and it's usually not car alarms, but it could be um you know, building alarms and stuff like that. Um water flow alarms, we get a lot of them at DFA, for instance. So that's why there's such a
huge increase in it. It's it's it's because those things were condensed. It isn't because you wouldn't believe how many alarms we went to this year. It's almost 4,000%. No, that's not really the case. >> Thanks, Chief. Any questions for Chief
on the report? I mean, it's always good to look at these numbers and kind of compare. I kind of like it how they got the last five years on there. >> One question for you, Chief. Um you've got community engagement and then um um school visits and things like that.
>> Yep. >> Are those all included in that 5500 number or those above and beyond? >> They they would be included in the calls for service. Yes. >> Okay. >> Yep. So, because we, you know, anytime we do, you know, if we have a a school
activity that we're taking, you know, one of the things that we've been told is we they like to see us out there doing um you know, being visible. We've had issues with, you know, traffic um uh stop sign violations at certain
intersections. We'll consider all that school activity. So then that cuz it's really kind of specific to the school students leaving. So um a lot of that but uh and of course community engagement you know when when we have
you know opportunities to uh you know with different events or um boy um we've done community engagements with coffee with a cop type of thing. You know all that type stuff goes into that.
That's that was a newer category in fact just a few years ago that the sheriff's office put in there um because we're putting it different things you know and it was really kind of hard to you know some of these things are kind of hard to put in a category they end up often
being civil miscellaneous civil and it's like well it fits this better so but yeah >> okay thank you >> any more questions for chief Thank you for reporting and thank the PD
for that hard work. >> Uh reports Brian. >> Yes. Our pleasant road project. We are going to have a public meeting here in council chambers on Wednesday, February 25th at 6 pm. Now the way these road projects work, the letters go out to all
the adjacent properties. Those properties affected. They get letters directly. Uh we do post it on our website as well. Um that's how those notifications go out uh for a road project. Um the pool project, we had the pre-bid meeting in
here on Tuesday and there were several contact contractors in attendance. Uh a few here and then quite a few online. They did a teams meeting this time or a zoom meeting and so there's quite a few on there. But there's 28 plan holders uh
with this round. There was 20 plan holders last time. So a little bit more but we are in four more or four um different plan rooms all all across the country. Um so it's it's got exposure from both coast north and south
in these separate plan rooms. So so a lot of contractors all over are seeing it. We did have three or four or five local contractors that were in attendance as well whether they be a general contractor, electrician, um that type of thing. Um, yeah, and
bids are due February 17th. And so then we'll know some more more then and and hopefully we've got some bids to accept and that'll be the first meeting in March for the council. >> Keep you posted. >> That it that's it. Thanks, Brian. Chief,
>> I got nothing else. >> James, >> nothing tonight. Thanks, >> Jeff. >> Nothing tonight. >> Kim, >> nothing today. >> Miles, >> nothing. I have nothing. Bob have nothing. Joan, >> I just like to thank the guys from the police for doing such a great report.
And again, Kim, thank you for all your extra. >> That's it. >> Kevin, nothing tonight. >> Nothing. >> Officer Curtis, >> I knew we'd be here another half an hour. Hey, Scott. Thanks for the update.