Ronan Police Chief supports dispatch separation
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RONAN – Ronan City Council members are undecided about supporting or not supporting the separation of the 911 dispatch service from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
“I would like to hear from the public,” said Councilmember Cal Hardy during the March 21 meeting.
The council plans to attend a public meeting on Tuesday, April 12, in the Lake County Commissioners Office to hear public comment concerning the issue.
Commissioner Bill Barron sent the council a letter earlier this year asking if they would support the separation.
Ronan Police Chief Ken Weaver voiced his support for the separation during the meeting.
“I’m in support of the (Office of Emergency Management) taking over dispatch,” he said.
Chief Weaver said that the separation would give more opportunity for emergency responders to have involvement in the decision making process concerning dispatch.
He also presented the board with information concerning Lake County dispatch fees. He said that he was looking for a formula to determine how those fees are calculated but couldn’t find one.
“How are we going to fairly come up with a formula?” he said adding that he would like the county to create a contract with the city for those services and not just a bill.
Chief Weaver reported that in 2015 Polson received 7,700 calls for service, Ronan had 2,813, and St. Ignatius had 948.
“We don’t have near the calls as our sister city,” he said, explaining that he thinks the current bill the city receives for service should be less.
The council voted to send a letter to the county asking them to clarify how the bill is calculated along with a few other questions being developed by the police chief and the city attorney.
Chief Weaver said that he was concerned that his department isn’t getting the same access to police reports that other departments receive. He explained that he has to access records for his officers and then print them as opposed to all officers having instant access like other departments in the county.
In a local matter, Chief Weaver suggested the creation of a parade ordinance that would block traffic from parking on the street during parades.
“It’s a public safety concern,” he said adding that the parade route is narrowed with cars on the street, which would make it difficult to respond to an emergency and hard to see children running out onto the road.
The council decided to table the issue until public input can be heard with a meeting soon to be scheduled.
Concerning speed limits, Harold Schiele addressed the council as a member of the public. He asked the board if they would change the speed limit sign on 3rd Avenue in the 15 mph school zone past the Ronan School District to say that it should only be enforced when children are present.
Mayor Kim Aipperspach said that about every three years the issue of the school zone speed limit comes up at board meetings. He explained that it was difficult to regulate that zone and say just when children are present at the school and when they are not because events are often happening late at night, including prom, sports, and summer activities. Mayor Aipperspach said it was easier to keep the speed limit consistent so that there was no confusion. No motion was made to change the speed limit sign.
The Bockman Park pavilion was also on the agenda. As it is now, using the pavilion is based on a first come first serve basis. The council discussed creating an ordinance requiring people to reserve the pavilion in advance. The board decided to look into the issue before making a decision.
