2023.11.14 CC Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

October 24, 2023 Page 5 of 7 residents (80%) and those who were new to the community (20%). He hoped that both voices and their experiences would be able to be heard through this process. Mr. Bostrom explained he could ask participants to let him know how long they have been a resident of New Brighton. Councilmember Abdulle thanked Mr. Bostrom for his detailed presentation. He stated he looked forward to seeing this work begin. He understood policing was difficult and understood there were strong views on policing. He appreciated the fact Mr. Bostrom was familiar with policing and that he was aware of the gaps that exist. He indicated some groups in the community were over engaged while other populations were under engaged. He stated there were some folks who were not comfortable speaking to any government agencies or staff members because they do not feel safe. However, these residents also deserve the same level of service from the City. He questioned how the City overcomes these community trust challenges. Mr. Bostrom explained relationships are woven over time and the timing for trust is different for each person based on individual life experiences. He commented on how he wanted trust to be the oxygen for people when they come to work in this City in order to for people to see something different when they are in New Brighton. He discussed how important it was for a community to have shared values in order to build trust. He stated New Brighton has an engine that was already running and this engine was in need of fine tuning going into the future. Councilmember Axberg thanked Mr. Bostrom for his detailed presentation. She commented on how important shared values were on informing behavior. She believed this study would be a real growth opportunity and learning process for the City. She asked what the Council was being asked to approve this evening. City Manager Massopust explained he wanted to explore the values portion of the study further with Mr. Bostrom, but noted there were some of the add ons that he was not interested in exploring. He reported he spoke to Mr. Bostrom about this and he would be comfortable working with the City on which add ons would be further explored and which would be dropped. Councilmember Axberg inquired if the City received a grant to cover the expense of this study. City Manager Massopust reported the City did not receive a grant, but rather received State funding that could be used on public safety initiatives. Mayor Niedfeldt-Thomas discussed the unique situation suburbs were facing which was increased poverty. She explained New Brighton was not in an area that had a wholistic social service provider. She indicated this meant these social services were being provided by the New Brighton Public Safety team. She understood this was not ideal, but she knew the team doing a tremendous job on behalf of the community. She asked if any new recommendations, regarding gaps in social services, would be made as part of this study. Mr. Bostrom reported core service expectations from public safety would be discussed with the community and any gaps would be presented to the Council. Mayor Niedfeldt-Thomas stated the New Brighton Public Safety Department made a number of changes to build a new culture and model within the department. She explained she looked forward to learning a great deal from this study as to how the department can continue to rise above and meet the needs of the community. She questioned what the timeline was to complete the organizational assessment and staffing study. Mr. Bostrom estimated the project would take him 26 weeks to complete. He explained he would not be taking on any other projects during this timeframe noting he would be working solely for the City of New Brighton. Councilmember Abdulle thanked Mr. Bostrom for his thoughtful proposal and detailed presentation. Councilmember Allen stated Public Safety had asked for this study and he appreciated the fact the City Council had made it a priority to allocate dollars from the State for this project. Motion by Councilmember Dunsworth, seconded by Councilmember Axberg to approve professional services agreement with CVBI to perform Public Safety Organizational Assessment and Staffing Study. 5 Ayes, 0 Nays-Motion Carried