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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes i� ��tJV� �ri°t � y � ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... ���� �ri e ar�d PC�� t MINUTES COTTAGE GROVE CITY COUNCIL April 19, 2017 COUNCIL CHAMBER 12800 RAVINE PARKWAY SOUTH REGULAR MEETING - 7:00 P.M. 1. CALL TO ORDER The City Council of the City of Cottage Grove, Washington County, Minnesota, held a regular meeting on April 19, 2017, at Cottage Grove City Hall, 12800 Ravine Parkway. Mayor Bailey called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The audience, staff, Mayor, and City Council Members recited the Pledge of Allegiance. 3. ROLL CALL The following were present: Mayor Myron Bailey, Council Member Steve Dennis, Council Member Wayne Johnson, Council Member La Rae Mills, and Council Member Dave Thiede. Also present were: Charlene Stevens, City Administrator; Korine Land, City Attorney- LeVander, Gillen & Miller, PA; Ryan Burfeind, Assistant City Engineer; John Burbank, Senior Planner; Les Burshten, Public Works Director; Joe Fischbach, HR Manager/City Clerk; Jennifer Levitt, Community Development Director/City Engineer; Sharon Madsen, Communications Coordinator; Robin Roland, Finance Director; Craig Woolery, Director of Public Safety; Pete Koerner, Police Captain; Greg Rinzel, Police Captain; Gwen Martin, Sergeant; Jordan Ziebarth; Police Officer/Paramedic. 4. OPEN FORUM Mayor Bailey asked if anyone in the audience wished to address the Council on any item that was not on the agenda. Jack Lavold, 6859 Ideal Avenue South, Cottage Grove, wished to thank the Council for endorsing his reappointment to the South Washington County Watershed District. He stated that City Engineer Jennifer Levitt has been good to work with and she's done a great job. Mr. Lavold stated that he deals often with engineers and planning personnel, and he felt that Cottage Grove's people were top caliber. As no one else wished to address the Council, Mayor Bailey closed the open forum. CITY OF COTTAGE GROVE • 12800 Ravine Parkway • Cottage Grove, Minnesota 55016 www.cottage-grove.org • 651-458-2800 • Fax 651-458-2897 • Equal Opportunity Employer City Council Meeting Minutes April 19, 2017 Page 2 5. ADOPTION OF AGENDA Motion by Council Member Mills, second by Council Member Thiede, to adopt the agenda. Motion carried: 5-0. Mayor Bailey stated there was supposed to a Public Hearing this evening for what's called a Host Approval; however, that Public Hearing was cancelled. 6. PRESENTATIONS A. 2017 Sustainable City Award Staff Recommendation: Award the 2017 Sustainable City Award to Hy- Vee, Inc. and the South Washington County Watershed District. Assistant City Engineer Ryan Burfeind gave a brief history of the Sustainable City Award; it's meant to recognize businesses and individuals who demonstrate environmental leadership, water conservation, sustainable building design, renewable energy, and innovative storm water practices. The 2017 recipients of the award are Hy- Vee, Inc. and the South Washington County Watershed District, related to their work at the Hy-Vee site in Cottage Grove for both storm water management and renewable energy. He stated Hy-Vee converted to an underground storm water system, and the South Washington County Watershed District was able to obtain grant funding in the amount of$600,000 to help pay for the upsized underground storm water system. Hy- Vee will be constructing a wind turbine on their site and also electric vehicle charging stations. Assistant Engineer Burfeind invited the Mayor and Council to present the awards. Mayor Bailey presented the 2017 Sustainable City Award to Hy-Vee, Inc. on behalf of the City Council and the citizens of Cottage Grove. The Hy-Vee representative stated the Cottage Grove staff had been great to work with, and they're looking forward to having their store open soon. Mayor Bailey presented the second 2017 Sustainable City Award to Jack Lavold of the South Washington County Watershed District. Mayor Bailey stated they've been amazing to work with on many projects throughout the City and thanked them on behalf of the City Council. Mr. Lavold stated it's been great working with the City on the various projects. B. Recognize Rick Constable's 7 Years of Service as a Volunteer Police Reserve Staff Recommendation: Present Rick Constable with a plaque recognizing 7 years of service as a Volunteer Police Reserve. Public Safety Director Craig Woolery stated they wanted to recognized a volunteer Police Reserve, Captain Rick Constable. He invited Police Officer/Paramedic Jordan City Council Meeting Minutes April 19, 2017 Page 3 Ziebarth, the liaison to the Police Reserve Program, to give some background on Rick. Officer Ziebarth stated Rick had been with the Department since 2009; however, he had to resign at the end of 2016 due to career and time commitments with his family. Officer Ziebarth stated that Rick had been promoted quickly to Sergeant and then to Captain. During Rick's time with the Reserve Program, he's continued to work patrol shifts in addition to the administrative duties he took on; he'd assisted with getting the Reserve Academy started. In 2014, Rick was recognized as the Volunteer of the Year in the City of Cottage Grove. Mayor Bailey presented Rick with a plaque and thanked him, on behalf of the Council and the citizens of Cottage Grove, for his years of service. Rick thanked Director Woolery, Officer Ziebarth, and Captain Rinzel for the opportunity to work with them and for all of their coaching and training. He wanted to also especially thank his fellow Reserve Officers for volunteering their time, oftentimes in the middle of the night or during inclement weather conditions, away from their families, to help others. C. Police Reserve Officer Academy and Introduction of Academy Graduates Staff Recommendation: Receive presentation from Officer Jordan Ziebarth on Reserve Officers Academy and the introduction of Reserve Officer Academy graduates. Officer Ziebarth stated the Reserve Officers are citizen volunteers who augment and assist the Police Department with a variety of duties and responsibilities. They have patrol duties, including bike patrol, park and business patrols, community events, Neighborhood Watch, crime scene security, community emergencies, traffic enforcement, assist Officers, and also do prisoner transports. In 2016, Reserve Officers donated 604 hours, which included nine emergency callouts. They started a Reserve Academy, 30 hours, during which they cover policies and procedures, squad/radio familiarization, City orientation, geography, how to complete paperwork, jail transports animal control, basic use of force, and self defense. There is also a four-month Field Training Officer period where they ride with a Sergeant or a senior Reserve Officer. Officer Ziebarth asked the new Reserve Officers and the Sergeants to step forward. Officer Ziebarth introduced them and stated they'd be presented with their badges this evening, although two of the new Reserve Officers could not be present tonight. Officer Ziebarth asked the Mayor and Council to step down, and they congratulated each of the new Reserve Officers. Officer Ziebarth asked Justin Fox and Tony Henseler to step forward; Justin Fox earned his 10-year service pin and was being promoted to Reserve Captain, to replace Rick Constable. Tony Henseler was being promoted to a Reserve Sergeant, to replace Justin. They were congratulated. Director Woolery and Officer Ziebarth thanked the Mayor and Council Members for their support. Mayor Bailey thanked all of the Reserve Officers and stated they appreciated all of the work they did in the community. City Council Meeting Minutes April 19, 2017 Page 4 7. CONSENT AGENDA A. Approve the March 15, 2017 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes. B. Authorize issuance of a single-occasion gambling permit to Basic Needs Inc. of South Washington County for bingo on June 17, 2017 at Strawberry Fest in Kingston Park. C. Adopt Resolution 2017-049 proclaiming April 29, 2017 as Arbor Day in the City of Cottage Grove. D. Receive and place on file the approved minutes for the Arts Commission meeting on March 7, 2017. E. Authorize staff to relocate the Woodridge Park playground to Pine Glen and North Ideal Parks in 2017. F. Appoint Barbara Forthun to a term on the Arts Commission effective April 20, 2017 and ending February 28, 2018. G. Authorize issuance of a single-occasion gambling permit to The Phoenix Residence, Inc. to hold a raffle at River Oaks Golf Course on 6-12-2017. H. Approve the South Washington County Watershed District (SWWD) agreements for the Central Fire Station in the amount of$91,910 and the 2017 Pond Maintenance project in the amount of$38,150. I. Approve the purchase of the Caterpillar CB24B Roller through the National Joint Powers Alliance Contract with Ziegler, Inc. for a total purchase price of$45,055, which includes the trade-in of unit 31-8302-00. J. Approve the Stormwater Management Agreement with Belijah, LLC (Gardenworld). K. Award the Water and Sewer Rate Study to SEH in the value of$41,250. L. Adopt Resolution 2017-050 amending the public hearing date for the TH 95/Manning Avenue Safety Improvement Project to May 17, 2017. M. Adopt Resolution 2017-055 awarding the 2017 Joint Crack Sealing Project to Northwest Asphalt & Maintenance in the amount of$64,324. N. Adopt Resolution 2017-054 awarding the 2017 Joint City Street Striping Project to the lowest accepted quote supplied by AAA Striping Service Co. in the amount of$46,556.16. O. Adopt Resolution 2017-057 providing concurrence for award of the CSAH 22 Management & Safety Project to Park Construction Company in the amount of$2,837,018.80. P. Adopt the 2017-2018 Strategic Plan and Goals. Q. Approve the renewal of the Package Insurance Policy with the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust for the 2017-2018 policy period in the amount of$205,507. Council Member Mills wished to pull Item F for further comment and/or discussion, and Mayor Bailey wished to pull Item C, to read the proclamation. Council Member Mills recommended Barbara Forthun for the Arts Commission; she hoped the Council would appoint her to the Commission. City Council Meeting Minutes April 19, 2017 Page 5 Mayor Bailey read the Arbor Day 2017 Proclamation, which stated the City of Cottage Grove would host its annual Arbor Day event on Saturday, April 29, 2017, at Highlands Park to promote volunteer planting of trees and plants in local parks and at homes while increasing environmental awareness within our community. All citizens were encouraged to celebrate Arbor Day, support efforts to protect trees and woodlands, and to plant trees. Motion by Council Member Thiede to approve the Consent Agenda, second by Council Member Johnson. Motion carried: 5-0. 8. APPROVE DISBURSEMENTS A. Approve payment of check numbers 200478 to 200496 in the amount of $289,324.51 and EFT Payment of$308,752.91. Motion to approve disbursements by Council Member Dennis, second by Council Member Thiede. Motion carried: 5-0. 9. PUBLIC HEARINGS A. Cancel Public Hearing — Host Approval Staff Recommendation: The borrower is requesting that the City Council cancel the public hearing to be held on April 19, 2017 and instead conduct the public hearing at the City Council meeting on May 17, 2017. The public hearing will be re-advertised. 10. BID AWARDS A. Bond Sale - $9.3 million General Obligation Capital Improvement Plan Bonds Series 2017A Staff Recommendation: Adopt Resolution 2017-053 providing for the issuance and sale of$9,300,000 G.O. Capital lmprovement Plan Bonds, Series 2017A to the appropriate bidder. Finance Director Robin Roland stated that today Ehlers, Inc., the City's financial advising firm, took bids on the $9.3 million worth of proposed debt, known as General Obligation (G.O.) Capital Improvement Plan Bonds; the bonds will finance the construction project for the Central Fire Station. The original amount of bonds to be sold was $9.3 million; as will be explained by Sean Lentz, the Ehlers, Inc. representative, that amount has been reduced. Director Roland stated after Mr. Lentz finished speaking, they'd ask the Council to officially approve the Resolution with the change to $9.15 million in bond proceeds. Mr. Lentz stated they'd put together an official statement; that document is like a stock City Council Meeting Minutes April 19, 2017 Page 6 or mutual fund prospectus, which is used by purchasers of the bonds to better understand the finance plan of the City and financial issues about Cottage Grove. They also use the official statement to update the City's bond rating, which is AA+; that's one small step below the top rating of AAA. Mr. Lentz stated since mid-March interest rates are headed downward. They took competitive bids this morning; there were five very solid bids. The winning bid from Piper Jaffray, Minneapolis, had a combined interest rate of 2.648%, which is fantastic. If that rate is approved tonight by the Council, that will be locked in for the full 20-year life of the issue; only future action by the Council could change that. They had originally expected the size of this issue to be $9.3 million; with the winning bid from Piper Jaffray, there were additional proceeds provided from that issue because they paid a premium to buy the bonds. Therefore, with the extra proceeds, they can reduce the size of the issue to $9,155,000; that decrease in the principal amount, combined with lower interest rates, led the City to an annual payment of principal and interest of about $610,000. Mr. Lentz stated this was very good news for the City. Mr. Lentz asked if there were any questions from the Council. Mayor Bailey stated he was excited to see the reaffirmation of the AA+ rating and the positive comments in the report. Mayor Bailey stated the great rates were due to the hard work of staff, managing the finances, and also due to previous Councils. Council Member Thiede asked if they wanted to pay the bonds off early, how that would occur. Mr. Lentz stated the prepayment date is February 1, 2026 for the bonds that mature in 2027 through the final payment in 2038; that prepayment date was the same for all the bids received. When the bids are received, they combine the price that they're willing to pay for the bonds and the interest rates; they compare everything on what's called a true interest cost basis, which takes into account the time value of money. All those factors are taken into account when determining the best bid. Motion by Council Member Thiede to Adopt Resolution 2017-053, providing for the issuance and sale of$9,300,000 G.O. Capital Improvement Plan Bonds, Series 2017A, to Piper Jaffray, Minneapolis; second by Council Member Dennis. Motion carried: 5-0. B. Belden Sanitary Lift Station Improvements Project Staff Recommendation: Adopt Resolution 2017-056 awarding the bid for the Belden Sanitary Lift Station Improvements Project to Pember Companies, Inc. in the amount of$161,325. City Engineer Jennifer Levitt stated they'd received six favorable bids on April 13 for the Belden Sanitary Sewer Lift Station. They're recommending the bid be awarded to Pember Companies in the amount of$161,325; the engineer's estimate was $335,000. City Council Meeting Minutes April 19, 2017 Page 7 Council Member Thiede asked if we'd used Pember Companies previously; Engineer Levitt stated they'd used them before, as they did the quadrant project for the City of Cottage Grove, which was some of the landscaping elements that were done last year. Council Member Johnson stated he'd wondered why Pember Companies, Inc. was able to do the work so much cheaper and wanted to know if that had been investigated. Engineer Levitt stated the biggest issue was related to dewatering; they had anticipated a form of dewatering that would be more expensive to install the manhole structure. The contractors believe they have an alternative solution, which was far more economical. At this point, they're moving forward with the recommendation of the award with the method of dewatering specified. Motion by Council Member Dennis to Adopt Resolution 2017-056, awarding the bid for the Belden Sanitary Lift Station Improvements Project to Pember Companies, Inc. in the amount of$161,325; second by Council Member Johnson. Motion carried: 5-0. 11. REGULAR AGENDA A. Dodge Nature Center— Shepard Farm Staff Recommendation: 1. Adopt Resolution 2017-051 and issue a certificate of appropriateness for the placement of the Shepard Farm property on the City's Local Register of Historic Sites and Landmarks as an historic district. 2. Adopt Resolution 2017-052 approving the issuance of a Historic Property Conditional Use Permit to allow for the site to be utilized for outdoor and indoor environmental education purposes, including active agricultural practices, animal husbandry, bee keeping, environmental education classes, picnics, public gardens, public access, public trails, bus parking, pre-school, private school, caretaker residences, events and gatherings, and other similar uses. Senior Planner John Burbank stated the requests before the Council would make Cottage Grove shine a bit brighter. They've been working on this for over three years and he hoped they'd take positive action tonight. The Shepard Farm is located to the west of Jamaica Avenue and to the north of 70th Street; it's a heavily-wooded site, over 140 acres. The entire property is covered under a conservation easement with the Minnesota Land Trust; that basically protects development activities that can occur on the site. The easement, however, limits the revenue-generating potential of that site. The first request was to adopt a Resolution placing the property and structures on the property as a historic district on the City's Register of Historic Sites and Landmarks. Once that's done, the request would be to issue a Historic Property Conditional Use Permit, which would allow for adaptive reuses of the property, including outdoor and indoor environmental education, active agricultural practices, animal husbandry, beekeeping, environmental education classes, picnics, public gardens, public access, public trails, bus parking, preschool, private school, caretaker residence, events and City Council Meeting Minutes April 19, 2017 Page 8 gatherings, and other similar uses. When presented to the Parks Commission, their question was what was meant by `events and gathering and other similar uses.' Senior Planner Burbank asked the Applicants for their thoughts on that statement; they said it was unlikely that the property be used as a rental center; any activities that would occur would be run by the Dodge Nature Center, for their purposes. The current events would be like Frosty Run, Rock the Barn, Halloween, and other events that bring people to the property. Weddings are unlikely. Any fundraising events might be held on the property and others would be held off site. The City's Historic Preservation Committee has reviewed this; they recommended a Certificate of Appropriateness be issued, basically saying it meets all the standards related to historic preservation, which deal with the exterior portions of the property. The Applicants will be calling this site Shepard Farm, in reference to the previous owners. Senior Planner Burbank reviewed the repurposing and creative uses of structures on the site. There are farm structures, a big house, a swimming pool, and a bungalow. In terms of land use and zoning, it's currently guided for parks and private open space; there are two zoning areas on the property, one is R-1, residential estate, and the other is agricultural, along Jamaica Avenue. They wished to continue agricultural practices there, as well as prairie management to the site. Applicants are continuing to work with the Watershed District, the City of Woodbury, and the City of Cottage Grove to expand into the Watershed District's property, so they're planning for the future. Senior Planner Burbank stated he and the Applicant would take any questions. The Applicant, Chad Dayton, 340 Summit Avenue, St. Paul, Minnesota, stated he's engaged as an independent consultant leading this project. Mr. Dayton stated it's been a real pleasure to work with all the stakeholders and stated Senior Planner Burbank has been fantastic throughout this process. Mayor Bailey asked about the community gardens and when they were proposing to have that be available. Mr. Dayton stated in 2017 they were focused on the southern and eastern edges of the property, agricultural revitalization, and rehabilitation of the historic farm buildings; they hope they can begin putting in infrastructure for community gardens as early as next week. They will be open to the public on some scale in 2017, with full operation by 2018. Mayor Bailey asked if the timeframe for beehives would be similar; Mr. Dayton confirmed it would be the same timeframe. Mayor Bailey asked if there would be trained staff and volunteers to guide citizens with the beehives. Council Member Dennis asked, since this is an historical site, if they'd be doing any archaeology there, with metal detecting or soil sifting, as there might be everything from old coins, artifacts, old bottles, etc. that could be turned into a nice collection of local history for that site. Mr. Dayton stated there was no specific plan for that right now. As they begin to till some of the agricultural plots, they'll keep whatever they find through that method. City Council Meeting Minutes April 19, 2017 Page 9 Council Member Thiede stated he'd used some of the trails this winter, and he asked if it would be open for cross-country skiing. Mr. Dayton stated that was to be determined for cross-country skiing, but they'd allow snowshoeing and kicksled work. There will be year-round access for the public to the trails on the property. Mayor Bailey asked if the big house would be used for a convention or conference center; Mr. Dayton stated the main residence is phase two, in 2018. The current thought was to duplicate the best practices of Dodge's nature-based preschool; it might be an all-day preschool or an all-day kindergarten. The vision is they see it operating as a nature-based school of some sort. Mayor Bailey stated he'd spoken with the Woodbury Mayor, and asked if in the future they could work with Mr. Dayton to have Woodbury representatives join Cottage Grove at the site to see the gem in Cottage Grove, just south of the Woodbury border. Mr. Dayton stated they're working with Woodbury on how this site can complement the educational outreach around the Ravine Parkway. Motion by Council Member Thiede to adopt Resolution 2017-051 and issue a Certificate of Appropriateness for the placement of the Shepard Farm property on the City's Local Register of Historic Sites and Landmarks as an historic district; second by Council Member Dennis. Motion carried: 5-0. Motion by Council Member Mills to adopt Resolution 2017-052, approving issuance of a Historic Property Conditional Use Permit to allow for the site to be utilized for outdoor and indoor environmental education purposes, including active agricultural practices, animal husbandry, beekeeping, environmental education classes, picnics, public gardens, public access, public trails, bus parking, preschool, private school, caretaker residence, events and gatherings, and other similar uses; second by Council Member Johnson. Motion carried: 5-0. B. Body Worn Camera Draft Policy and Power Point Presentation Staff Recommendation: Receive the Body Worn Camera Draft Policy and Power Point Presentation by Captain Greg Rinzel and Sergeant Gwen Martin and provide an opportunity for comments. Director Woolery introduced Captain Greg Rinzel and Sergeant Gwen Martin, who've worked on the draft of this policy. He reminded the Council that they don't need to take any action; it's a public hearing required by State Statute, which requires if a Department in Minnesota is to have a body-worn camera (BWC) system, they need to have a written policy and receive public comment in order to develop that policy. He stated they're in the development stage of the policy tonight; he stated they have not approached the Council for the equipment, as that's a budget process, to be addressed later this year. They wanted to hear from the Council; the presentation will be on the City's website until May 8, where the public can email and provided electronic comment from that. Director Woolery stated Sergeant Petersen couldn't be present this City Council Meeting Minutes April 19, 2017 Page 10 evening; however, both Sergeants did an excellentjob on the policy draft. Sergeant Martin stated the Cottage Grove Police Department has for many years been looking forward to the use of body-worn cameras (BWC). The primary purpose is to capture evidence arising from police-citizen encounters. This technology raises many questions about balancing public demands for accountability and transparency with the privacy concerns of those being recorded. There is the need to balance the desire to establishing exacting and detailed requirements with the reality that Officers must attend to their primary duties and the safety of all concerned. Often, these circumstances are tense, uncertain, and rapidly evolving. One of the key points of the policy is that it should outline the circumstances when recording is mandatory, when it's prohibited, and when it would allow Officer discretion. It needs to be concise, reasonable, and practical. They don't want to create inadvertent policy violations with other policies that we have or interfere with an Officer's primary duties. It needs to be specific enough to provide clear and consistent guidance, but also allow Officers room for flexibility. Law enforcement agencies considering the use of BWC look at several issues: • When should Officers activate them; • When or if they're allowed to pause or terminate the recordings; • When they are permitted to review the recordings when preparing reports, courtroom testimony, or for an Internal Affairs investigation; • If they're permitted to review recordings following critical incidents; • When supervisors may review recordings; • What are the data retention periods for BWC recordings? As it stands right now, when they should be activated has been one of the biggest areas where they've received comment. Sergeant Petersen and Sergeant Martin were before the Public Safety Commission last month and received feedback from them. The policy went through the Police Department with the Sergeants and their crews, and they got input from everybody. What they came up with was this statement: Officers should activate their body-worn cameras during all calls for service and for all law enforcement related encounters and activities, including, but not limited to, pursuits, traffic stops, suspicious persons in vehicles, arrests, searches, Use of Force situations, interrogations, transports, and during any police-citizen encounters that become adversarial. In addition, Officers should activate their body-worn cameras prior to or during other activities likely to yield information having evidentiary value. There are some exceptions to mandatory recording: • Officers need not activate their camera when it would be unsafe, impossible, or impractical to do so. It's done as soon as possible when it's safe to do so. • When Officers are assigned to an undercover or plain-clothes detail for surveillance or investigative purposes, Officers may not be equipped with body- worn cameras. • Officers should also not record in hospitals, Detox facilities, mental health care facilities, Juvenile Detention Centers, and jails unless the Officer anticipates City Council Meeting Minutes April 19, 2017 Page 11 witnessing or becoming involved in some type of criminal event, critical event, Use of Force situation, or an adversarial encounter. Captain Rinzel stated regarding when an Officer could terminate or pause the recording would include if there's an incident where they provide medical care that's not law enforcement related; with any medical care, they don't anticipate they'd continue the recording. When meeting with supervisors, undercover Officers or other Officers to discuss the probable cause or the actual incident as it occurs, as that's going to relate to the charging events, they can or will pause on those situations. Again, the Officer should state the reason why the interruption would occur. The big issue is discretion on the privacy issue. If there is a call where someone's reluctant to give a statement or refuses to talk if the BWC is recording, the benefit or the cost of not recording at that time needs to be decided. The circumstances need to be weighed, and a decision could be whether or not to turn off the BWC. When the Officers can review their recordings is an issue; there are squad cameras, and BWC would be similar to the current policy. They could review to prepare their report or defend against allegations of misconduct or sub-standard performance. Obviously, if they're performing their duties, it's their data to review; we own that data, but they're able to review it to prepare for an internal investigation, for courtroom testimony, field training, and when authorized by a supervisor. Can Officers review their recording following a critical incident? They looked at the Minnesota BCA's Standard Operating Procedure and what they are asking of Departments. Following a critical incident, the Officer may not access or view their stored BWC before preparing a report, giving a statement, or providing testimony. When an outside agency comes in to do an investigation, they don't prepare a report; the Officer is read Miranda like any other citizen, and they're allowed to give a statement at that point. The statement would be taken prior to them reviewing the BWC unless the Public Safety Director or his designee decided they needed to view that. When can supervisors review BWC? The data that's collected is owned by the City; it falls under Data Practices laws for release and for supervisors to review. Supervisors can review it to make sure it's operating properly. Every once in a while, the equipment doesn't work properly, and if it's not being reviewed to determine if it's working properly, that wouldn't be good. They can review BWC to determine if any allegations of misconduct are true, to make sure policy violations aren't occurring, and to evaluate substandard performance. Retention Period: The retention guidelines are spelled out in the Data Practices laws. Currently, when a squad's emergency lights are activated, that activates the squad camera, and it's then shut off. There's a question regarding how long we retain that data, as we don't have an infinite number of storage gigabytes to hold the data; any non-evidentiary data would be held for 30 days and then it would be deleted. City Council Meeting Minutes April 19, 2017 Page 12 Departments vary on this, from the day the incident occurs up to 90 days; they'll know if it's evidentiary prior to the 30-day window and would be able to reclassify it at that point. Captain Rinzel stated that Sergeant Martin and Sergeant Petersen reviewed policies from many Departments; they contacted the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust, who gave a model policy. They also contacted the International Associations of Chiefs of Police, who had a model policy that they reviewed. They took the pros and cons of each of one of those, and that's how they developed this policy. They're looking for public comment to continue this process and refine this policy; Sergeant Martin found that the Burnsville Police Department has probably had BWC for the longest time. She asked them how many times they'd revised their policy, and she was told it has been revised every year, as things change and technology changes. Captain Rinzel stated they'd be open to comments or questions from the Council. Council Member Johnson asked if he understood that an Officer cannot review the video after a critical situation, before filing a report; he was advised that's correct. Council Member Johnson asked why that would be the case; Captain Rinzel advised if it's a critical incident where deadly force is used, the State Statute for deadly force talks a lot about perception of what the Officer is feeling at the time. Sometimes perception and what's caught on camera are two separate things. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Best Practices would prefer to get the raw emotion of what they see. Remember, a video is a flat plane; its pictures taken over time. It's not a live stream; it's not something that's continuous. All video is a number of pictures taken and put into a series that make it appear to be a video. The eyes sometimes see something different than a video does, so the BCA really wants to get what the Officer's perception was at the time. Again, a body camera is going to look forward. If the event is happening to your left or right, you could be missing something, and they don't want to take that statement out of context of what you see on video and then change your statement to fit that scenario. They want the Officer's original raw feeling; after that, they allow for a review of the video and then an additional statement after that time. They prefer for the statement to be what their perception is at the time that it occurred. Council Member Thiede stated there was currently no law that we had to have BWC in place; Captain Rinzel confirmed that. He stated that they were just moving ahead with the policy revision in case they decided, as a City, to move forward so they wouldn't be a year behind. Council Member Thiede asked what incidents there had been in Cottage Grove or for Burnsville that would have made having BWC useful. Captain Rinzel stated it's difficult to say, although there have been a number of incidents that have been caught on the dash cam, and the dash cam was instrumental in showing exactly what the Officer saw at the time. There were two Use of Force incidents, deadly force incidents, in town, both of which were captured on video. While watching the video, it made it very clear to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and the Grand Jury regarding what had occurred that day; they were instrumental in taking out the City Council Meeting Minutes April 19, 2017 Page 13 middle man and saying this is how it occurred. Also, while the squad is parked on the street and something occurred in a back yard or inside of a house, if the BWC video were available, there would be the potential for that evidence to be very instrumental in the prosecution of a subject. Council Member Thiede asked if the BWC camera was more specialized than somebody using their cell phone, if it was tied to the squad cam or the dash video, too. Captain Rinzel stated they're looking to have an all-in-one system, so they wanted to look for a vendor who could offer that. You could take the video from the squad, tie it in with the BWC, and make it one seamless incident or tied-in event. The current system, L3 Mobile Vision, is currently in production of an all inclusive; we're meeting with them tomorrow to go over their latest upgrade. They do not currently offer a system that's integrated with the squad cameras, although there's one system that offers that. Woodbury is in the pilot program right now for an inclusive system; that system was in the neighborhood of$250,000. Cottage Grove would prefer not to do that and would like to upgrade something we already have and move forward with an addition to that. They don't want to get away from the squad camera system. Council Member Dennis stated he had read some articles on this topic. One author stated changes in how police officers operate will likely provide some initial friction. A problem could be magnified if Departments were to rush in too quickly in the face of public pressure. Policies need to be developed, training needs to take place, and of course funding needs to be secured. It's a big process that doesn't just happen overnight. Council Member Dennis stated they were discussing BWC last year, relative to budget time, and that was just a preface to say we're interested in this at some point in the future. Council Member Dennis stated as a group the Council hadn't really given a green light to go forward with BWC at that time. Council Member Dennis stated he's concerned about what we do and the impact for the staff and the community as a whole. He felt it also had to be balanced financially to make sure we could cover the cost, in addition to another full-time person to do redacting, the additional storage required, etc. Council Member Dennis stated he had some questions about BWC. 1) He asked how the Officers felt about this; Captain Rinzel stated he'd let Sergeant Martin answer that question. Sergeant Martin stated that she and Sergeant Petersen started developing a policy; they refined it and tried to get it to mirror some of our policies. They received comments from the Public Safety Commission that the `all calls for service' language should be added. That was brought back to the Officers, who agreed with that. While she can't state that every single Officer wants this language, the majority said it's not going to hurt anything to record all calls for service; it can only help us. The majority are supportive of the policy. 2) He stated he thinks about liabilities and what it takes to act in a moment in an ever-changing environment when trying to be cognizant of rules that have to be followed and the liabilities that are incurred when the wrong thing is done. His concern was Officers might act differently because they're on camera. He asked if there was any type of position statement or feeling of consideration from the police union on this; City Council Meeting Minutes April 19, 2017 Page 14 Sergeant Martin at this time there is not. Council Member Dennis asked if they had been asked; Sergeant Martin stated they hadn't asked for any formal statement from the union. The Officers, who are all part of the union, have contributed comments to the policy. 3) Council Member Dennis asked for the percentage of Minnesota Police Departments whose Officers wear BWCs. Sergeant Martin stated she did not have a percentage. Deputy Director Rinzel stated many of them are in the position that we are, preparing for the possibility that it occurs; he reiterated they're not asking to move forward with the purchase at this time. 4) He asked if there were any landmark case laws that would act to provide coverage of an industry standard liability. Captain Rinzel stated he was not aware of any court ruling that require anything; there is no law right now. If you look nationally, the transparency that's being requested of law enforcement throughout the nation is fairly apparent to all Officers. 5) Council Member Dennis asked if the Minnesota State Patrol used BWCs; Captain Rinzel replied at this point they do not; they use their squad cameras. 6) He asked if there was any position from the Minnesota POST Board on this; he was advised no. 7) Council Member Dennis asked regarding policy approval, if that's done internally at the Police Department. Captain Rinzel advised they use Best Practices, so Sergeant Martin and Sergeant Petersen pulled all of the policy model guidelines; they go through all of those to make sure they're in compliance and in Best Practices. They generally go through the Policy Manual on an annual or biannual basis to ensure that any of the policies are still within the State Statutes, as State Statutes change on a regular basis. There's also a software system that gives model policies, although that's not currently used by the Cottage Grove Police Department. 8) He asked for a best estimate of where we'd be in relation to being early, mid, or late in the process of trying to implement a BWC program, as it would apply to industry standards; Captain Rinzel stated he felt Minnesota is a little behind as far as industry standards. Across the nation, L.A.P.D. signed a contract with Taser International to do their body-camera program. Minneapolis and St. Paul are either in a pilot program or doing a full implementation. Burnsville's been doing it for a number of years. We're definitely not on cutting edge, but we're not far behind; we take a wait and see approach on a lot of the technology before we jump into anything, as there's obviously implications relative to budget and want to make sure we have the funding sources. We want to feel we're bringing the Best Practices to the Council and the citizens of Cottage Grove in a timely manner; we feel we're at the right spot because technology is changing. L3 has offered a body camera, and we've said no because we don't think, as far as efficiency, that the technology is where we want it to be. Captain Rinzel stated the meeting last September was prior to the State passing the Data Practices Act related to BWC. We stated at that time we wanted to have a wait and see approach regarding Data Practices because it would be another full-time equivalent position related to the retention and redaction for Data Practices. At that time, we didn't know if it was going to all public data, if it was going to be all private City Council Meeting Minutes April 19, 2017 Page 15 data, or if it would land somewhere in between. The Data Practices Act passed. We know everything is private data right now, so the redaction that we thought might need to occur if requested by somebody doesn't need to occur. It's private data, unless there's a Use of Force resulting in great bodily harm or death, which is public data, or a Court Order, or if you're the subject of that data, you can request a copy of it. Anybody who's in the video that doesn't want their image/voice released is where the redaction phase would take place. It will be less time consuming than what had originally been thought. Council Member Dennis stated he wasn't opposed to doing this, but he deeply cares about making sure that we're covering all potential liabilities. Council Member Dennis asked Captain Rinzel what timeframe they were looking at for this purchase. Captain Rinzel stated they wanted to get as much input from the community as they could to make sure that our policies and procedures are reflective of what the citizens of Cottage Grove want, what the Council sees as priorities, and make sure that our policies and procedures mesh with that. He felt that probably wouldn't occur until the end of this calendar year; L3 will be coming out with a new system sometime in August, but he felt a pilot program at the very earliest would most likely be the second quarter of 2018. He said they'd be receptive to the wishes of the City Council and the community. Council Member Johnson asked what happened if the Officer wanted to record and it didn't record, if it becomes a he said, she said situation and the recording didn't happen, and it's stated that the Officer turned it off because it didn't happen that way. He wondered how those situations would be handled. Captain Rinzel stated right now the policy doesn't talk about specific hardware but the L3 system has an integration package, which ties into the squad camera. If there's a call for service and the squad's lights are activated or there's a specific squad speed that activates it or it's turned on in the car, it activates all systems. If they were to turn that off, they'd have to actually document why they're turning it off. If they're stopping it outside of those policies and procedures, it would be a personnel matter taken on by the supervisor to make a determination if there was a failure in the mechanical aspect or a failure on the Officer's part to deactivate that camera. Council Member Mills thanked the Police Department for already answering many of her questions. Captain Rinzel thanked both Sergeant Martin and Sergeant Petersen, who did most of the back end work on this; he felt the policy is really right on with the other policies and in relationship to the League of Minnesota Cities and both local and national trends that they're seeing. Mayor Bailey stated he was on the Council at the time the process of putting the cameras in the squads was initiated; some of the same questions that were raised tonight were also raised at that time. Mayor Bailey stated he was aware of some instances where the camera in the squad made all the difference in the world and saved City Council Meeting Minutes April 19, 2017 Page 16 the City a lot of money in litigation just because that data was able to be provided. Mayor Bailey stated he didn't want the Officers to be worried that it's not recording, so if there are options that would trigger the recording, he's most interested in those. Captain Rinzel stated as a practitioner for tactics that you wouldn't be doing something that would eventually harm an Officer because they're thinking of doing something technical; you want the Officer to be able to react and go with the training they've been provided. The only process they'll need to remember is to turn it off at the end. Mayor Bailey asked any citizens who wished to ask questions or comment to step forward and, in effect, opened the public hearing. Wayne Perkins, 8327 Isleton Court South, thanked the Captain and Sergeant for what he felt was a fantastic presentation. As a private citizen, he didn't have much issue with the policy, but there were a few things in the presentation that he felt were a little concerning: 1) The statement, "The primary purpose of using BWCs is to capture evidence arising from police-citizen encounters." His main concern was that the BWC should be to protect the public in police misconduct or Officer critical situations. He's worried that the reason behind this policy might be to persecute rather than protect. Police and the technology and the equipment that police use are paid for by the public, and its primary purpose should be to keep the public safe. 2) Officers may pause or terminate recordings "to consult with an Officer, supervisor, undercover Officer, or confidential informant during an event." While he understood the importance of keeping undercover Officers and confidential informants' identities covert, he had concerns about consulting with an Officer or supervisor. He can't think why that would be necessary, and he felt that the consult with the supervisor should be viewed as part of the whole interaction. It might leave out important details to make a thorough conclusion regarding the incident. 3) Officers may exercise discretion to protect the privacy of victims and witnesses of a crime. He was concerned about the vague nature of"Officer discretion" and worries that the line in the policy can become blurred and might allow a gray area when the Officer is actually committing the crime or abusing his/her authority. 4) When Officers are allowed to access and view the BWC video. He felt it was appropriate for Officers to be allowed to view the video in most scenarios; however, two of the scenarios raised concern. One of those was being able to prepare their report; it was touched on how in critical incidents that wouldn't be acceptable, and he felt that should be standard protocol. He wasn't sure why an Officer would need footage to prepare a report as they are very well trained in how to prepare a report without the camera. Mr. Perkins was concerned that undermined the transparency of the process when Officers can view footage and then write a report to give testimony according to what they see on video, as opposed to their memory of what happened. Also, with authorization of a supervisor, they can view the video. Mr. Perkins felt that wording might be too vague, and it leaves room for distrust between the community and the police involved in an incident. City Council Meeting Minutes April 19, 2017 Page 17 Mr. Perkins said he truly appreciated the research that was done regarding other Cities' BWC policies; he felt it helped in the development of our own policy. Mr. Perkins stated he was very pleased that the Police Department is actually being proactive in this instance, which helps provide the trust between the community and the Police Department because when it's forced upon them due to an incident, that's bad news. Mr. Perkins requested that the Council and Officers review a copy of the American Civil Liberties Union model policy; they've drafted a model policy for police body cameras. It's basically a comprehensive plug and play policy from the perspective of the marginalized citizens who make up approximately 20% of our community. He thanked the Officers for the presentation and for allowing him to speak. Mayor Bailey asked if anyone else wished to speak on this item; as no one else wished to speak, Mayor Bailey closed the public hearing. Mayor Bailey thanked the Officers and stated he was glad that they were working in the community and with the citizens at large to come up with a policy that can be community based. We want to be sure that we're prepared. Captain Rinzel thanked the Council for allowing the public hearing; he stated they looked forward to migrating through the process and will be speaking with the Council again on this issue before asking for any budget additions. 12. COUNCIL COMMENTS AND REQUESTS Council Member Mills stated the Arts Commission has a couple events coming up; there is a Paint `n Sip Party that will take place at River Oaks Golf Course on Wednesday, May 24. You can register on the City's website page, in the Arts Commission section; there will be a link there to register. The Arts Commission will be taking poetry submissions from May 1 to July 1 to implement a new program called Path to Poetry; there will be poetry selected, which will be spray-painted onto paths in the parks, etc. The information about that can be found on the City's website, in the Arts Commission section. Council Member Mills stated the Stone Soup Thrift Shop has had trouble with people dumping items at their location; it costs Stone Soup money to dispose of those items. They're a small nonprofit, trying to do good for our community, so that puts a big dent in their budget. They're currently working toward a system to take care of that by putting in a security camera, so they'd appreciate any donations toward that cost. Council Member Mills stated the big fundraiser for the Stone Soup Thrift Shop, the "Soup-er Bowl," will take place this Saturday. Council Member Dennis stated the River Oaks Golf Course is open as of March 29; tee times can be booked online at uvuvuveriiv�rr����r��ar�ii�r�ll�e�r�r� City Council Meeting Minutes April 19, 2017 Page 18 or you give them a call or stop down. There are group golf lessons beginning in April; there's more information on the website, including dates and prices. The River Oaks Golf Course and Event Center is located at 11099 South Highway 61. Council Member Dennis also stated the Cottage Grove Chamber of Commerce Spring Business Showcase will take place this Saturday, and The Eagles Bar and Grill will be participating. If you'd like an opportunity to stop down, say hi, see what's on the menu, and try some food samples, that would be a great opportunity to do so. Council Member Dennis stated the Masons are holding their annual pancake breakfast on Sunday, May 7. If you're hungry for a great breakfast with pancakes, sausage, eggs, etc., they do an excellent job. Council Member Johnson stated he wanted to mention there's the ability to donate blood with the Red Cross blood drive on April 25, in front of Chuck & Don's. He's learned that the number of people who can donate is getting smaller and smaller. Unfortunately, they have to keep coming back to the people who are able to donate over and over again. There's a very important need for blood, so if you have the opportunity and ability to donate blood, it's important to do so. It doesn't take much time and it will benefit a lot of people. Mayor Bailey reiterated the Arbor Day event will be on Saturday, April 29, at Highlands Park. He hoped some Council Members would be there with him; any extra help and shovels would be greatly appreciated. Mayor Bailey stated Public Works Director Burshten handed him a flyer on the annual Spring Clean Up, which will take place on Saturday, May 6. The Public Works crew does an amazing job directing people through the Public Works garage, along West Point Douglas Road, off of Jamaica Avenue. There's more information on the City website and on the Facebook page regarding items accepted and any fees charged. Mayor Bailey stated on Tuesday, May 9, at 3:30 p.m., there will be the official groundbreaking for the new Central Fire Station on 80th Street, across from St. Rita's Church. Mayor Bailey stated the Youth Service Bureaus in Cottage Grove, Woodbury, and Stillwater have a gala coming up; they deal with chemical and mental health issues and service our youth and families. It will take place at the Lake Elmo Inn on May 18; there will be entertainment and keynote speakers. For further information, check the City website. All proceeds are used to help children and families in need in the City of Cottage Grove. Mayor Bailey stated Thrivent will be doing another fundraiser for the City of Cottage Grove, the Wag Farms Dog Park, near Fire Station 4; it's called Wag for Water, on Saturday, June 24. There is no actual water there for the animals, so they're working City Council Meeting Minutes April 19, 2017 Page 19 with Public Works to try to make that happen. They're also looking at paving the parking lot. 13. WORKSHOPS — OPEN TO PUBLIC — None. 14. WORKSHOPS — CLOSED TO PUBLIC — None. 15. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Council Member Thiede, second by Council Member Mills, to adjourn the meeting at 8:53 p.m. Motion carried: 5-0. Minutes prepared by Judy Graf and reviewed by Joe Fischbach, HR Manager/City Clerk.