09-14-2015 CCM SPECIAL JOINT - Laserfiche WebLink

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Special Joint Elk River/Ramsey City Council Minutes Page 6 September 14, 2015 3.06 Regional Recreational Corridor for North Mississippi Giver Mr. Riverblood updated the group regarding the regional recreational corridor for North Mississippi River. Mr. Benoit stated the city adopted their Master Park Plan in June. He updated the group about the Master Plan and indicated trails are very important to residents of Elk River. 3.07 Public Safety Coordination Chief Kapler updated the group about public safety in Ramsey. He stated coordination across county line is working well. He noted Fire Station #2 is being rebuilt. There will be a police substation and an ambulance bay within the building. Chief Cunningham agreed and stated as a department they can't do everything themselves noting he appreciates the cooperative efforts. He updated the group about public safety in Elk River. Chief Katers stated the police departments work well together. They have had calls for service but mutual aid is different than how it works for fire departments because there are two counties involved. The demands have changed in the calls for service. Law enforcement in general has recently had some negative publicity but when he has talked to local residents he has found it not to be the case. Residents are very supportive of the department. The department is constantly looking at different ways to reallocate resources and one area they are working on is community engagement. He stated it has been successful and positive. Chief Nierenhausen concurred and stated they are similar yet different. There is a lot of land in between the two cities and different radio systems are used unless they go to a different channel to communicate, which they are hoping to rectify in the near future. He thought the overall lesson public safety has learned is to reach out to other organizations and find out where each is strong/weak and to learn from each other. He stated they have to be self-sufficient and rely on what is around them. Mayor Dietz asked about officer morale due to the current negative climate in the U.S. Chief Katers stated he keeps reminding officers of the reason they joined the force, plus there has been positive comments from local citizens. The officers have actually seen an increase in the amount of citizens coming to them at events and thanking them. He thought it was almost a reverse effect. He stated they will continue to do the job whether they are seen in the best light or not but he thought it had a good effect locally. lIVIRII Ir NATURE