The St. Anthony Police Department (SAPD) will once again patrol the streets of Falcon Heights.
The St. Anthony City Council approved a contract Tuesday, Oct. 22, that will provide policing beginning March 1, 2025, through Dec. 31, 2030. It was the culmination of a yearlong conversation between the two cities, their citizens and members of SAPD regarding restoration of service, which was discontinued after a former St. Anthony police officer killed Philando Castile in Falcon Heights in 2016.
What the contract covers
The contract calls for random patrolling of Falcon Heights residences, businesses and public properties. Officers will ticket for traffic violations. Eventually, St. Anthony officers will be “within the boundaries” of Falcon Heights 24 hours per day.
SAPD will provide traffic patrol services for special events, as well as license inspections, background investigations and license enforcement services.
St. Anthony will offer crime prevention programs and encourage citizen involvement in them. Officers will also attend public safety or city council meetings at Falcon Heights’ request.
Animal control services will be provided by the service used by St. Anthony.
Staffing up
To adequately meet Falcon Heights’ policing needs, SAPD will need four additional patrol officers, two swing shift patrol officers, one additional investigator, an additional administrative person and a community relations officer. Police Chief Jeff Spiess said the community relations position would be filled last.
To meet the terms of the contract, SAPD has to increase its staff from 19 to 30 (it’s currently authorized for 22 sworn officers). Spiess said this would happen in stages, with limited patrols in Falcon Heights at the beginning of the contract, a commitment to daily patrols by July 2026 and full service by January 2027. Recruiting has already begun.
Falcon Heights’ contract with the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Department ends January 31, 2025. The city is negotiating an extension through February. SAPD will assign three full-time officers to Falcon Heights in March of next year. Initially, SAPD will provide service eight hours per day. They will respond to emergency calls at any time of day.
Monthly meetings
St. Anthony will continue to provide police services to the city of Lauderdale. Representatives of the three cities will hold monthly meetings to assess the program and make adjustments to the service schedule.
Costs
The cost of the new police positions will be covered through contract fees paid by Falcon Heights and will not result in a levy increase to St. Anthony Village property owners. Falcon Heights will be billed monthly for police services, and the Options Committee will determine when to increase services. Cost allocations are based on a 50/50 blend of population percentage and call volume percentage, applied to total police costs. Spiess provided the annual cost estimates.
Spiess also addressed the department’s request for facility upgrades, which were discussed before talks with Falcon Heights began.
The current police station has run out of space. They are seeking an indoor garage for all their vehicles, expansion of their evidence processing and storage space, additional officer workstations and offices and dedicated space for classroom and tactical training.
St. Anthony City Manager Charlie Yunker spoke about costs. Adding on to the existing City Hall building could be done but would cost $8 million to $10 million. A preferred “public safety approach” would provide a combined police and fire station, with a police wing added to the fire station. Yunker gave an estimate of $12 million to $15 million for the project, and said help would need to be sought from the Minnesota Legislature and possibly from the federal government.
As part of the contract costs, Falcon Heights will contribute $263,700 annually for shared fixed costs and capital contributions to support necessary facility upgrades.
In a press release, St. Anthony Village Mayor Wendy Webster said, “The St. Anthony Police Department has provided community-oriented policing services to the residents of Lauderdale for 30 years and, for 24 of those years, to the residents of Falcon Heights. This renewed policing partnership with Falcon Heights will enhance the resiliency of the St. Anthony Police Department by increasing the staff dedicated to serving all three communities while sharing the costs of high-quality community-oriented policing services.”
Falcon Heights Mayor Randy Gustafson said, “This renewed partnership with St. Anthony Village and Falcon Heights centered on community-oriented policing services will benefit all of us in the years ahead.”
SAPD Chief Jeff Spiess said the renewed relationship between St. Anthony and Falcon Heights would provide advancement and training opportunities for officers, making the department more attractive to job seekers. (Cynthia Sowden)