06-09-1997 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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f.... f To the City Council and Citizens of the City of Orono April 29. 1997 COOPERATIVE Efforts With Other Jurisdictions The City continues to pursue opportunities for reducing the cost of City services. In 1992, Orono joined with three other cities for the provision of prosecution services. This arrangement reduced the City’s annual prosecution costs from a three-year average of approximately $100,000 to an annual fixed fee of $30,000 through 1994, $31,823 for 1995, and $35,880 for 1996. As indicated earlier, the City is involved in cooperative arrangements for both police and fire semce. T^e City of Long Lake provides fire service to the majority of Orono. The City of Orono provides police services to Long Lake. In 1993, the two cities were able to agree to three-year contracts for both the police and fire services. This has increased the stability of this cooperative arrangement between the two cities. The City Council has given conceptual approval to a joint project with Hennepin Parks to constmct a bike/hike trail on Old Crystal Bay Road connecting two regional park facilities - the Luce Line Trail and Baker Park. This trail will also serve the new City facilities and the Orono school campus. Funding for the trail is to be shared between the City and Hennepin Parks. In response to the purchase of a residential lakeshore property by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for a proposed public boat launch, Orono took action to cause the DNR to rethink its procedures related to the provision of public access. Orono urged the DNR to take a wider and longer range view of this issue to prevent a piecemeal qiproach to the provision of public access. In response, the DNR stopped all activity related to the initial site and has purchased an existing marina for conversion to a public boat launch. This will provide for public access needs without expanding commercial uses on the lake and without forcing public boat launching facilities into the City’s residential areas. This was an outstanding example of a cooperative effort between two governmental jurisdictions to find a mutually beneficial solution to a difficult problem. The public access facility is now open. Orono is currently working in a cooperative effort with the cities of Long Lake and Medina and the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District to accomplish a major water quality impiovement project on Long Lake, a lake contiguous to both the cities of Long Lake and Orono. This project is to be fiinded by the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District. A School Liaison Officer Program was initiated through a cooperative agreement with the school district. Through this program a police officer works with school adminisu-ative and counseling staff, and builds positive relationships with the students, to enable them to assist in addressing and preventing problems, and to assist in intervening with “at risk” students. This program is fully funded by the school district. The City is currently involved with a group of 14 cities located adjacent to Lake Minnetonka in an effort to identify new opportunities for cooperative service delivery to enable improved services and increased efficiency. -5-