Clear Lake Twp. Supervisors Gary Gray and Joe Goenner attended the Clear Lake City Council meeting Monday night for approval on the latest version of the new fire contract. Members of the Palmer Twp. board and Clear Lake Fire Dept. were also in attendance.

 

Gray explained the fire board had reviewed the alternative formula of population, tax base and addresses requested by the council and determined addresses were still the best direction to take. The current fire contract is based on net tax capacity.

 

Meeting with Sherburne Co., Gray was told they determine addresses by improved parcels, which have structures on them, and total parcels, which include all land.

 

As over 98% of the fire department’s calls are to improved parcels, the fire board determined it was the best choice to make. Using this formula, the city would pay 13%, Clear Lake Twp. 33% and Palmer Twp. 53%. Under the current formula the numbers break down to 8%, 41% and 53%.

 

“I’ve been on record that we should be paying more,” said Council Member Dale Powers. “But I can’t support this. It’s too high of a jump.”

 

Council Member Bob Arnold asked Fire Chief Ron Koren if he recommended agreeing to the new contract. Receiving an affirmative, Arnold indicated his opinion was to go with the chief and fire board.

 

“The original contract was designed for the fire board to make the decisions on purchasing and bring it back to you to approve,” said Gray. “You have two members on the board, everyone on the board has a voice. If three say yes and one says no you go with it.”

 

Powers said the new contract was overly generous to Clear Lake Twp. and grievous to the city.

 

“Maybe the last few years were overly generous to the city,” said Koren. “All I’m trying to do is be fair. Who pays what percent of my budget doesn’t matter as long as I have the funds to operate the department with.”

 

Gray stressed they all valued the fire department equally and he was looking for everyone to be treated equally, no matter the value of their home.

 

“We’ve put a lot of time into this and if it’s just going to get shot down I’m going to step down [from the fire board] as I’ve got better things to do,” said Palmer Twp. Supervisor Mike Ganz. “Going from $20,000 to $31,000 for an entire city isn’t even half a pickup. The townships each pay close to $100,000.”

 

The city council voted to reject the new contract in favor of their proposed formula using population, tax base and addresses. In this formula the city pays 11%, Clear Lake Twp. pays 38% and Palmer Twp. pays 51%.

 

Powers stated the council recognized the work that had been put into the contract but at the end of the day they had to look to their constituents. 

 

“If you’re going to send people to the advisory board you can’t say you don’t know enough about it,” said Koren in reference to Council Member Sandy Paige saying she didn’t feel she was knowledgeable enough on the subject. “That’s no excuse and does us no good.”

 

Gray said Clear Lake Twp.’s offer to pay half the city’s increase the first year would be retracted if the formula they had just approved was used, and the issue would be addressed again next December; the council stated that was fair. In this scenario, the city will pay more in 2018 than if they had approved the proposed contract with Clear Lake Twp. paying half of the total percentage increase.

 

Sherburne Co. Sheriff Joel Brott presented the council with the county’s 2017 annual report.

 

There were 522 total law enforcement contacts in the city for the year. Brott explained the number was up slightly over the previous two years primarily due to increased security checks. 

For serious criminal activity, the city had three burglaries, two narcotic arrests, five DUIs, eight thefts and two criminal damage to property.

 

Brott informed the council the county had hired four new deputies, and the Sherburne Co. Jail had received ACA (American Correctional Association) Accreditation in 2017. The process, which looks at 433 standards, took two years.

 

“We’re only the second jail in Minnesota to receive this, so we’re really proud of that,” he said.

 

The council preapproved $17,261 for new fire truck radios, portable radios and pagers, which is 10% of a joint grant being proposed by all jurisdictions in Sherburne Co. 

 

Motions carried approving the proposed amendment to the Joint Powers Agreement, Resolution 18-06 allocation to committed funds, the pay equity report and the state construction agreement invoice. 

 

The next Clear Lake City Council meeting will be March 5 at 7 p.m.