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Nowthen City Council Work Session (Anoka County Sheriff) meeting, November 4, 2021

Council Work Session

Thursday, November 4, 2021

This meeting on the city's website ↗

Agenda

Not on file

What was on the agenda.

Packet

Not on file

The supporting materials the board reviewed.

Minutes

Not on file

The official record of what happened.

Source missingNo agenda, packet, or minutes are on file for this meeting.

The meeting recording listed below is the only record we have.

One-line summary

Council held a work session with Anoka County Sheriff’s Office leadership to review the proposed law enforcement contract, discuss staffing/operations, and agreed to place the contract on the next council meeting agenda (as consent).

What was on the agenda

10 items as recorded in the meeting transcript, each with a short summary of what was at issue.

  1. ACall to order / opening of work session

    • meeting_procedure
    Discussion only
    0:15uh we'll open our work session here this is uh thursday november 4th so 6 08 p.m and

  2. BRoll call / introductions

    Mayor and councilmembers present/absent and staff/guests introduced (Sheriff’s Office leadership and interim administrator).

    • meeting_procedure
    Discussion only
    0:24this is a council work session we have myself mayor pilon council member rainville councilmember alders councilman greenberg councilmember blake is excused tonight and we have our new interim administrator frank boyles0:41and we have sheriff james stewart commander wayne heath and what's the lieutenant right now okay lieutenant bill jacobson

  3. CPurpose of meeting: overview of Sheriff’s Office and contract questions; confirm start date

    Council discussed the meeting being postponed from earlier in the year and intended to settle a start date (noting a return to a July start date).

    Council met with Sheriff James Stewart and Sheriff’s Office leaders to get an overview of Sheriff’s Office operations and to ask questions about the proposed contract, including a discussion of returning to a July start date due to staffing and training timelines. Members discussed city needs such as providing squad parking/office space (potentially at the fire station) and expectations for consistent coverage, liability, and communications. Council voted to put the agreement on the next Tuesday meeting agenda, noting it should be on the consent agenda.

    • sheriff_contract_start_date
    • law_enforcement_contract
    Discussion only
    0:50and the purpose of this is to uh it's a postponed meeting we had scheduled earlier in the year to get together meet with the sheriff as a council get an overview of what the sheriff's department is doing and talk about the specifics of the contract with any questions1:09and then to settle a start date so that we could finalize the contract and get that back to the county2:15go back to a july start date understand that right correct

  4. DSheriff’s Office overview: staffing, recruitment/retention, operations, community programs, and jail project

    Sheriff discussed staffing turnover, hiring timelines, recruitment challenges, technology, community outreach, and the new jail planning.

    Sheriff Stewart shared that the county is in high-level design and development for a new jail located north of the current jail site, involving removal and replacement of the parking ramp. Later, Commander Heath noted he had been asked to be the project manager for the jail project, and flagged that this could affect his availability in the coming years, with no expected change through mid-next year.

    • sheriff_office_overview
    • jail_project
    • recruitment_retention
    • technology
    Discussion only
    2:57revisiting a mid-year start was uh certainly beneficial to us with some of our staffing struggles that we're going through... from the time we post a position to the time we go through the hiring process... and then to get somebody on the street and run them through our field training program start to finish it can be …4:36we're seeing our commanders retire as an example uh commander dave paschall his last day within our jail division was last friday 30 over 35 years with the county5:43fast forward to today we typically hire up to 10 a year and uh i think our last process we had around 60 applicants and right off the bat we know half of them don't pass the written test8:58the plan for uh as of right now is it'll be on the site just north of our current jail it will be where the parking ramp is and the vacant lot to the north of that is is the vision11:53we were the first in the state to have a uas or drone uh program we now have six units14:07some states are beginning to explore it... by looking into our retinas... they've been able to identify the patterns to identify covid

  5. EContract logistics: city-provided squad parking and office space (potential fire station partnership)

    Council asked about what the city must provide (parking a squad, office/technology needs). Discussion included possible use of the fire station and internet speed notes.

    Council met with Sheriff James Stewart and Sheriff’s Office leaders to get an overview of Sheriff’s Office operations and to ask questions about the proposed contract, including a discussion of returning to a July start date due to staffing and training timelines. Members discussed city needs such as providing squad parking/office space (potentially at the fire station) and expectations for consistent coverage, liability, and communications. Council voted to put the agreement on the next Tuesday meeting agenda, noting it should be on the consent agenda.

    • law_enforcement_contract
    • facility_needs
    • fire_station
    Discussion only
    22:19back when we had this initial conversation we talked about if we went with a full-time person what was going to be the request of the city to supplement that full-time deputy22:58location of park is squad and the office you know uh technic uh technology needs things those types of things22:59as most of our contracts have that section right in there the city will provide a place for the squad we'll provide an office space etc etc but um i hopefully we've demonstrated our willingness to be flexible in those areas24:33they certainly have a radio room a really nice office setup and it should be getting high-speed internet in the next couple of weeks here so there will be 100 down 50 up and uh really nice desks

  6. FContract review: services included and how sheriff’s contracts operate

    Sheriff and command staff gave a high-level review of contract services, including dedicated and county-wide backfill coverage, investigations, supervision, equipment, training, and liability approach.

    Council met with Sheriff James Stewart and Sheriff’s Office leaders to get an overview of Sheriff’s Office operations and to ask questions about the proposed contract, including a discussion of returning to a July start date due to staffing and training timelines. Members discussed city needs such as providing squad parking/office space (potentially at the fire station) and expectations for consistent coverage, liability, and communications. Council voted to put the agreement on the next Tuesday meeting agenda, noting it should be on the consent agenda.

    • law_enforcement_contract
    Discussion only
    28:54the easiest way to look at our contract is all-inclusive we we come once a year and in simplest terms we ask you to write a check and we will provide all related services30:08you get the dedicated again patrol coverage the squad that is assigned in the city you also get the county-wide patrol coverage for additional contract service30:48we'll make sure the county-wide cars always absorb the backfill so you won't be without a squad for those three hours48:33the budget is the budget annually we pitch the number if again if if one of your squads or two of your squads are totaled we don't come back and say oh by the way we need another sixty thousand uh for the squad and the equipment it's46:30the liability we do retain liability for law enforcement actions taken by our team within city limits

  7. GEmergency planning / large-scale disaster coordination discussion

    Mayor raised need for updated emergency planning and a joint exercise with the new fire department; sheriff’s office noted preparedness and discussed options.

    During the contract discussion, the mayor raised the need for renewed emergency planning for large-scale disasters (like tornadoes) and suggested a joint tabletop or similar exercise now that the city has its own fire department. Sheriff’s Office leadership responded that their staff train for many scenarios and discussed options such as volunteer lists and equipment considerations, emphasizing coordinated roles during major incidents.

    • emergency_management
    • fire_department_coordination
    Discussion only
    32:09that is something we really haven't discussed is that tornado is that large-scale disaster we've it's been a long time since we've done any emergency planning here and table tops32:58now we have our own fire department i would like to consider a joint exercise of some sort so that it's not the first time we're all working together when something does happen

  8. HQuestions: media/spokesperson practice, EMS/ambulance coordination, volunteer programs, and complaint process

    Council discussed press inquiries, ambulance transport roles, Explorer/Reserve/Chaplain programs, and how resident complaints are handled including use of body cameras.

    • public_communications
    • ems_coordination
    • volunteers
    • complaints_process
    Discussion only
    38:54we should not be talking to the press about yeah i heard that too i saw that on facebook i wouldn't recommend it40:11our folks are generally the first on scene... ambulance does all the transports for this region fire and law enforcement do not do transports43:52so the explorer that's how i got my start uh it's a division of the boy scouts1:15:17if uh a resident complains about officer attitude or behavior... who does that and it's directed to us what do we direct them to that so you can you can either direct it to me or you can if they want if they call our our communication center right away they'll get the on duty sergeant1:17:40we have a body camera and we've had them for quite a few years now

  9. IAction: place sheriff contract approval on next council agenda (consent)

    Council voted to put the agreement on the next Tuesday’s agenda, and noted it should go on the consent agenda.

    Council met with Sheriff James Stewart and Sheriff’s Office leaders to get an overview of Sheriff’s Office operations and to ask questions about the proposed contract, including a discussion of returning to a July start date due to staffing and training timelines. Members discussed city needs such as providing squad parking/office space (potentially at the fire station) and expectations for consistent coverage, liability, and communications. Council voted to put the agreement on the next Tuesday meeting agenda, noting it should be on the consent agenda.

    Motion was to place the item on Tuesday’s agenda (as consent).

    • law_enforcement_contract
    • next_meeting_agenda
    Approved
    1:20:10should we then vote to put this on the to on tuesday's agenda i i would recommend we have it on tuesdays well i would move it that we move this to tuesday's agenda1:20:28all right second dad any other discussion all those in favor1:20:28say aye aye on the agenda perfect thank you1:20:38it should be able to go in consent right correct yes consent agenda that's what it is okay

  10. JAdjourn

    Adjourned by motion; vote not recorded in transcript.

    • meeting_procedure
    Approved
    1:23:12so mr mayor if there's nothing else i move to adjourn all right we are adjourned

Motions and votes

2 motions on the record.

  • M1I would move it that we move this to tuesday's agenda.

    Exact transcript text

    i would move it that we move this to tuesday's agenda

    moved by raymond, seconded by dad

    Passed

    Passed by voice vote (ayes heard; no nays stated).

    1:20:10should we then vote to put this on the to on tuesday's agenda i i would recommend we have it on tuesdays well i would move it that we move this to tuesday's agenda all right second dad any other discussion all those in favor say aye aye on the agenda perfect thank you

  • M2Move to adjourn.

    Exact transcript text

    move to adjourn

    moved by mr mayor

    Passed
    1:23:12so mr mayor if there's nothing else i move to adjourn all right we are adjourned

Sources

Documents and recordings archived for this meeting, when available.

Show a sample of the transcript (562 segments, 1:23:22 total)
  • 0:15 uh we'll open our work session here this is uh thursday november 4th so 6 08 p.m and
  • 0:24 this is a council work session we have myself mayor pilon council member rainville councilmember alders
  • 0:32 councilman greenberg councilmember blake is excused tonight and we have our new interim administrator frank boyles
  • 0:41 and we have sheriff james stewart commander wayne heath and what's the lieutenant
  • 0:50 right now okay lieutenant bill jacobson and the purpose of this is to uh it's a postponed meeting we had scheduled earlier in the year to get together meet with the sheriff as
  • 1:00 a council get an overview of what the sheriff's department is doing and talk about the specifics of the contract with any questions
  • 1:09 and then to settle a start date so that we could finalize the contract and get that back to the county so i miss anything
  • 1:18 no sir all right so this is the chance obviously for the council to ask any questions of the sheriff and any clarifications that you still
  • 1:26 needed on the contract there was there was some discussion and so we just started off with
  • 1:35 we originally had proposed a full full-year contract and when we were in our budget discussions we asked the sheriff's department if they would consider
  • 1:44 half them starting in mid-year in july and they agreed and they sent us a revised contract that showed mid-year and then we decided let's get aggressive
  • 1:54 and and go january 1st um we had not signed a contract and committed to that and so with with the changes that are
  • Showing first 12 segments. Open the YouTube video for the full transcript.

The summary on this page is AI-extracted and may need correction. The PDFs and the meeting recording are the official record. What do the trust labels mean?