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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 05/04/1999 - Workshop APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP TUESDAY MAY 4, 1999 5:00 - 6:55 PM, CITY CENTER HERITAGE ROOM H CITY COUNCIL: Mayor Jean Harris, Councilmembers Sherry Butcher-Younghans, Ronald Case, Ross Thorfinnson, Jr., and Nancy Tyra-Lukens CITY STAFF: City Manager Chris Enger, Public Safety Services Director Jim Clark, Parks & Recreation Services Director Bob Lambert, Public Works Services Director Eugene Dietz, Community Development and Financial Services Director Don Uram, Management Services Director Natalie Swaggert, Facilities Manager Barb Cross, Fire Chief 1 Spencer Conrad, Fire Chief 2 George Esbenson, City Attorney Roger Pauly and Council Recorder Peggy Rasmussen I. CALL MEETING TO ORDER-MAYOR JEAN HARRIS Mayor Harris called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. Councilmember Butcher- Younghans was absent. U. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Case moved, seconded by Thorfinmon,to approve the agenda. Motion carried. III. EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS—OVERVIEW(Jim Clark&Molly Koivumaki) Clark presented the Incident Command Structure board,which indicates the person responsible for each of the various areas to be covered during an emergency. It is important to have this structure in place for any emergency situation. Koivumaki said Heritage Room H has been designated as Eden Prairie's Emergency Operations Center(EOC). The room has been set up so that a number of computers and telephones can be brought in and used at the same time. Arrangements have been made to use other city facilities if needed. The warning system diagram from the city's City Council/Staff Workshop May 4, 1999 Page 2 Emergency Preparedness Plan indicates where the sirens are located and how they are activated. There are eleven sirens and they are tested on the first Wednesday of the month. Koivumaki plans to conduct an exercise to test the Emergency Operation Plan later this year. Mayor Harris asked how large groups of people whose homes have been destroyed would be accommodated. Koivumaki replied the Emergency Plan has designated shelters at school buildings and several churches,which have agreements with the Red Cross to be used as shelters. The Red Cross would be in charge of operating the shelters. The City has no designated places where people can go to seek shelter from tornadoes. This information is posted on the City's web site. Enger suggested an article in the Eden Prairie News stating what the City can be expected to do in case of severe weather. Mayor Harris said this would reassure the residents. Koivumaki said she plans to get information out regarding Y2K readiness. IV. FIRE SERVICES—OVERVIEW(Spencer Conrad& George Esbenson� A. RECRUITMENURETENTION There are presently 75 volunteers; two of them are women. The department is aggressively recruiting new members. A direct-mail campaign will be conducted this spring within a one-mile radius of each fire station. A TV commercial has been shown on the local cable network. There is a finder's fee for department member referrals. Some of the difficulties in recruitment and retention include the number available for daytime responses,the rising number of false alarms, and additional requirements and hours of training added by OSHA and NPA. In order to retain the current members,retirement benefits should be increased,the number of nuisance calls need to be reduced and training kept challenging B. FIRE RESPONSE—FIRE OPERATIONS—FIRE EQUIPMENT There are three fire stations in Eden Prairie, located in the southeast, central and north areas. The average on-scene time is seven minutes. Mutual Aid agreements with other cities are utilized for large-scale fires. There were about 1,300 calls for assistance last year;however, about one-third were false alarms. The department's priorities when fighting fires is: (1)rescue people, (2)protect neighboring buildings from exposure to fire, (3)ventilate the structure, (4) attack the fire, and(5)perform salvage operations. New methods being used to fight fires are thermal imaging cameras, foam injection added to the pumps on the fire trucks, and pre-emption equipment on the vehicles,which allows traffic lights to change in favor of the fire equipment at City CounciUStaff Workshop May 4, 1999 Page 3 intersections that have emergency vehicle pre-emption capability. The fire department has three automatic defibrillators at the present time. The Eden Prairie Foundation will fund four additional defibrillators;then there will be one for each car. The following equipment is owned by the fire department. • Engine 11 is the first truck out when a call is received. It has a 5-person crew, has a 2000-gallon water tank and a replacement cost of$350,000. • Five standard pumper trucks. Each has a 5-person crew, a 500-gallon tank, an average age of 11 years and a replacement cost of$300,000. • Two ladder trucks. Each has a 6-person crew, a 200-gallon tank, an average age of 15 years and a replacement cost of$700,000. • Two heavy squad cars. Each has a 6-person crew, a"Jaws of Life", an average age of 11 years and a replacement cost of$250,000. . • Two light rescue vehicles. These are primarily used for household medical emergencies and each is equipped with a defibrillator. The average age is 12 years and replacement cost is $50,000. (Fleet Services added the necessary components to the standard vehicle, saving about$25,000.) C. TRAINING Non-discriminatory tests are conducted every October. New recruits are required to have 250 hours of training in the first 10 months. Current members train 130 hours each year. The current training includes handling terrorists' attacks and structure collapse. D. FUTURE NEEDS • Add a fire station in the southwest area of Eden Prairie. Discussions are currently underway with the City of Chanhassen to provide a fire station as a joint venture. • Convert a standard tank pumper to a pump and roll vehicle. • Purchase SCUBA equipment V. FIRE STATION CONSTRUCTION UPDATE Barb Cross) Construction began at the end of September 1998. Construction work has been documented on the City's web site. The design and exterior materials match and complement the City Center building. The contract calls for a completion date of June 15, and it is expected that this date will be met. City CounciUStaff Workshop May 4, 1999 Page 4 VI. OTHER BUSINESS VH. COUNCIL FORUM—6:30—6:55 PM VIH. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Harris adjourned the meeting at 6:50 p.m.