Additional money from county would be used to add ALS to service
International Falls City Council will ask Koochiching County to provide more money to the ambulance service in 2009 than it has provided in the past.
The additional money would be used by the service to transition from providing basic life support to advanced life support.
The council agreed to ask the county for $16,361 in 2009, about $6,000 more than the county annually provides. In addition, the council will ask county officials to put in place a funding mechanism that would permanently provide money to operate the service in a fair and equitable manner.
City Administrator Rod Otterness said the only mechanism he knew of was a taxing district, however Mayor Shawn Mason said that county officials may be aware of other ways to fund the service than a taxing district.
Otterness also noted that a taxing district could not now be set up in time to provide funding for 2009.
Jerry Jensen, who serves at the ambulance service director, told the council that he and members of a task force are working to gain information about how other communities implemented ALS and how those communities adjusted their ambulance service rates.
Jensen said a taxing district for ambulance service would encompass a larger area than rural fire protection covers now. He also said St. Louise County would need to establish a taxing district for the portion of the county that the Falls Ambulance Service covers.
In other business Monday, the council heard an update on a Department of Employment and Economic Development grant of $395,600 to be used to rehabilitate eight homes in each International Falls and Littlefork.
Scott Zahorik, of Kootasca Community Action, explained that the homes selected in the Falls for the grant money would be selected to fit in with the city’s fight on blight. Kootasca will administer the grant.
Zahorik noted that 81 homeowners applied for the grants, and he expects to receive a few more. The high number of applicants justifies the need in the community and he said the information will be used to seek an additional grant next year.
The council also heard from July Kennedy, of the engineer firm of Short, Elliott, Hendrickson about a proposal to create a comprehensive wetland management plan at a cost of $76,400.
The council is expected to hear another proposal from a different firm next week and select one of the vendors at its July 21 meeting.
Kennedy explained that the plan can help the city grow without the day-to-day fights with regulatory agencies. Seeking support of the plan by the decision-makers at the U.S. Corps of Engineers and Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources by including them in some of the planning is critical, she said.
International Falls Council News Notes
• The council Monday reviewed a letter sent by Bob Anderson, public affairs manager of Boise Inc., in response to a request for Boise to provide easement to the city for sanitary sewer to property along Rainy River and Highway 11 East. Anderson stated that company had provided the city easement across its property for a water line and did so because the city had assured the company that it would cooperate on Boise’s request for vacation of the Burner Road. City Councilor Gail Rognerud, chair of the city’s Infrastructure an Public Works Committee, responded in a letter that the city wants a road to a foreign trade zone and the Boise can get all it wants by asking the county and city to work to build a truck route to the FTZ. In addition, she wrote that the sewer easement is needed to move forward with planned developments along the river.
• The council approved Michael Larson, Justin Chezick, Brady Fougner, William Schrader, Jacob Harris, Matt LaVigne, Michael Wilson and Miranda Sears as members of the International Falls Fire Department. Van Pavleck was appointed as assistant chief and David Vohler as captain.
• The council agreed to review letters of interest for the West Ward vacant council seat at next week’s Human Resource Committee and recommend an applicant be seated at the July 21 meeting. Letters were received from Clarence “Swede” Sundberg, Cynthia Jaksa, and Edward Bernath.
• The council agreed to close the meeting prior to adjournment to briefly discuss an issue regarding Minnesota Highway 332. The meeting was closed because the city has filed suit against the Minnesota Department of Transportation Commissioner Tom Sorel.