The City of Peterson has debated the need for policing several times over the last six years, each time determining that there isn’t enough public demand or concern for it. At the June 9 council meeting, the issue was discussed once again with Fillmore County Sheriff John DeGeorge in attendance.
Within Fillmore County, only Rushford Village, Whalan, and Peterson have no city police force or independent policing contract. Fillmore County is currently the city’s public safety provider should a need arise. “We’re going to provide service, but it’s going to be out of necessity,” clarified DeGeorge. “We patrol as much as we can. I don’t want to give the impression that if you don’t contract we don’t care. We’ll come, just not as quickly as those that are contracted.”
The department offers independent municipal contracts for $24,000 per year. They include a minimum of two hours per day of additional patrol time. Cities Wykoff, Ostrander, and Mabel currently use this contracting. “It’s a standard contract,” added DeGeorge. “There’s really no way to make that smaller. We would have to give you less of a service than the other municipalities. It doesn’t make the county a lot of money, but it shouldn’t cost the county money. The other part is, we’re not going to take funds and not provide service. If we enter into a contract, we will make sure we’re staffed enough to do it.”
Peterson considered this contract six years ago, but deemed it too costly at the time. It was noted that costs will continue to rise. “The cost is going to go up; it has to go up. I realize the impact that it would have on your taxes.”
City Clerk Chris Grindland noted a public survey done a few years ago. “Overwhelmingly the citizens did not want it,” he stated.
“It’s a lot of money for the taxpayers of the city,” added Mayor Tim Hallum. Both the mayor and council noted having seen more of a presence in the city from the department in the last two years. “I feel comfortable with the services we have now, but we will talk about more when the model contract is received.”
The council did approve utilizing the department’s presence during their Gammel Dag celebration. The cost is $167 and Friends of Peterson will pay half of the cost of policing.
DeGeorge, along with Fillmore County Commissioner Mitch Lentz, also discussed the county’s ongoing Jail Needs Study with the council. “We don’t want to hear anyone say they didn’t hear about it or at least some part of it,” said Lentz. The study is expected to be done soon.
In 2017, the Minnesota Department of Corrections switched the jail from a 365-day to 90-day holding facility after acknowledging a set of conditions that did not meet current standards. The 1969 jail, likely the oldest in the state, was constructed according to rules put in place in 1911. While the county has gotten a great deal of good from it, it’s no longer functional. Should the county do nothing, the state will force the closure of the jail.
Public outreach to all city councils and civic groups has been ongoing for the last year. “We really do want community input,” said DeGeorge. “We’re doing the study to address some shortfalls and to avoid an abrupt shutdown.” The four options being considered, each which requires an investment, are outsourcing, making the jail a 72-hour book and hold facility, continuing as a 90-day holding facility, and returning to a 365-day facility.
Councilor Chris Stenzel expressed concern for outsourcing, one of the four options being considered, noting a hardship to families being away from incarcerated loved ones.
“Not everyone in jail is a really bad person,” noted DeGeorge, discussing the importance of an inmate support system. “They’re coming back into the community. We are connected. There are a lot of social considerations and it has to be part of the conversation. These people are coming back into our community and we want them to be successful.”
If the jail closes, the Sentenced to Serve program will also go away. Small cities, like Peterson, have benefited greatly from working with this program. DeGeorge expects that the study findings will be presented to the county as early as next month.
One citizen complaint was heard at the meeting regarding the ATV/UTV Trail Study that’s underway. Peterson is one of the areas that’s been looked at for a portion of the trail system. Cathy Johnson, speaking for herself and Joe Johnson, expressed concerns over lack of police presence for problems that arise, such as noise levels, speed limits, and trail usage at night, effects on the 16 homes adjacent to the proposed location, driving on loose gravel roads and near unseen drop-off and cliff areas, spotty cellular service in case of accidents, and the effect to both people and livestock in the area. There is no approved site, timeline, or financial cost for the trail at this time, but Johnsons concerns were noted.
In other news, the city has received a donation from the Peterson American Legion in the amount of $8,000 to cover any unforeseen costs related to current Peterson Museum project. The museum recently received notice of a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant award which will net 55% of updating to the original and older addition portions of the museum. The total for the updating is $24,545.
The next regularly scheduled council meeting is Wednesday, July 14, at 6 p.m., at city hall. The meeting is open to the public.
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