4.8 SR 12-20-2021Request for Action
To
Item Number
Mayor and Ci T Council
4.8
Agenda Section
Meeting Date
Prepared by
Consent
December 20, 2021
Cal Portner, City Administrator
Item Description
Reviewed by
Otsego Fire Services Agreement
Mark Dickinson, Fire Chief
Reviewed by
Peter Beck, City Attorney
Action Requested
Approve, by motion, a fire services agreement with the City of Otsego.
Background/Discussion
The City of Otsego receives fire protection services from three neighboring cities including the City of Elk River.
In 2018, Otsego completed a study updating the service areas within their community. The study suggested
decreasing the number of parcels covered by the Elk River Fire Department (ERFD), resulting in the decrease of
our annual fee. Elk River's portion of the fire community is the fastest growing portion of Otsego and our
contract for service should reflect that, not parcels.
For 2021, due to the pandemic, the expiring agreement was extended under the same terms through December
31, 2021. The cities agreed to work together to develop a fee agreement that was fair and equitable to each
community.
A review of the previous five years of service calls indicated Otsego accounted for 20 percent of ERFD's call
volume. The new agreement uses a rolling five-year average of call volume to account for Otsego's cost share of
the ERFD operational budget and vehicle depreciation to account for replacement cost.
Financial Impact
N/A
Mission/Policy/Goal
The City of Elk River Mission Statement
Attachments
• Fire Services Agreement
The Elk River Vision
A welcoming community with revolutionary and spirited resourcefulness, exceptional
service, and community engagement that encourages and inspires pi ospei l_ y.
M
TUREJ
Updated.• August 2020
CONTRACT FOR FIREFIGHTING AND ANCILLARY SERVICES
This Contract for Firefighting and Ancillary Services ("AGREEMENT") is made and entered into
effective January 1, 2022, by and between the City of Elk River, a Minnesota municipal
corporation ("ELK RIVER") and the City of Otsego, a Minnesota municipal corporation
("OTSEGO").
IT IS HEREBY AGREED BY AND BETWEEN SAID PARTIES AS FOLLOWS:
ARTICLE I FIREFIGHTING SERVICES
ELK RIVER agrees to furnish, through the Elk River Fire Department ("ERFD"), firefighting
services ("SERVICES"), as outlined in EXHIBIT A attached hereto, to all properties in OTSEGO
located within the Fire Service Area set forth in EXHIBIT B attached hereto ("FSA").
A. Response and Resources
ERFD will make reasonable efforts to promptly respond to requests for service ("CALL(s)")
in the FSA upon notification of such request through the ERFD's primary Public Safety
Answering Point ("PSAP"), subject to the following terms and conditions:
The ERFD Fire Chief and/or his/her designee ("CHIEF"), shall be in command of
ERFD, including its personnel, equipment, and resources, at all times, as outlined
in the ERFD's policy manual and/or the ELK RIVER Code of Ordinances.
Furthermore, ELK RIVER owns the buildings and equipment associated with
ERFD, and the amounts paid by the OTSEGO for firefighting services do not give
rise to any ownership interest in, or responsibility toward, those items.
2. The safety of ERFD personnel and equipment are of the utmost importance when
responding to and operating at an incident. The CHIEF shall have the authority to
modify and/or cancel a response if road, weather and/or other hazardous
condition(s) pose a safety threat to ERFD's personnel and/or equipment.
3. ELK RIVER and/or ERFD shall not be liable to OTSEGO, for loss or damage of
any kind whatever resulting from any failure to furnish or delay in furnishing
personnel or equipment, or from any failure to prevent, control or extinguish any
fire or control or mitigate a situation, whether or not such loss or damage is caused
by the negligence of the officers, agents or employees of ELK RIVER or the ERFD,
except when such loss or damage is caused by gross negligence or criminal acts
by ELK RIVER and/or ERFD. OTSEGO shall indemnify and hold harmless ELK
RIVER and/or the ERFD from any claims of loss or damage arising from ELK
RIVER's undertaking to furnish SERVICES under this AGREEMENT, except for
loss or damage caused by the gross negligence or criminal acts of ELK RIVER or
ERFD.
4. In the event that ERFD is committed and unavailable at the time of a CALL in
OTSEGO, ERFD will respond as soon as reasonably possible in the sole discretion
of the CHIEF. The CHIEF has the sole authority to prioritize CALLs, to allocate
equipment and resources, and to request mutual aid assistance at his/her
discretion and professional judgment.
Page I
B. Reimbursement for SERVICES
OTSEGO shall reimburse ELK RIVER for SERVICES as follows:
1. During the five (5) calendar years between 2016 and 2020, 20% of the CALLs
responded to by ERFD have been to sites in the FSA.
2. For the calendar year 2022, OTSEGO shall reimburse ELK RIVER for SERVICES
in an amount equal to 20% of the 2022 ERFD Adjusted Budget, plus 20% of the
ERFD fleet depreciation (based on replacement cost).
3. The ERFD Adjusted Budget shall be the total ERFD budget, less:
(a) Amounts budgeted for Emergency Management; and
(b) Amounts budgeted for Fire State Aid.
(c) Line item for budgeted fleet purchases.
4. In years 2023 and beyond, OTSEGO's reimbursement for SERVICES each
calendar year shall be the total of:
(a) the percentage of the ERFD Adjusted Budget for that year equal to the
percentage of CALLs generated in the FSA over the five (5) years
preceding the most recent year; and
(b) an additional amount equal to the same percentage as calculated in 4(a)
of the ERFD depreciation for that year.
ARTICLE II FIRE INSPECTION SERVICES
Commencing on January 1, 2022, ELK RIVER shall undertake required Fire Inspection within the
Elk RIVER FSA of OTSEGO.
A. Process and Indemnification
1. OTSEGO shall provide to ELK RIVER an annual list of sites that require fire
inspections.
2. ELK RIVER shall provide to OTSEGO, at the time of billing, documentation and
reports (in written or electronic format) regarding each inspection setting forth the
address of the site inspected, the time spent on the inspection, observations made
at the site, and the result of the inspection.
3. ELK RIVER shall defend, hold harmless and fully indemnify OTSEGO from any
and all claims or causes of action of whatever nature resulting from or arising from
the fire inspections undertaken pursuant to this AGREEMENT. However, nothing
in this AGREEMENT shall waive any immunities or liability caps applicable to ELK
RIVER under Minnesota statutory or case law, including Minnesota Statutes,
Chapter 466.
Page 12
B. Reimbursement for Fire Inspection Services
A. 2022
OTSEGO shall pay to ELK RIVER, upon receipt of properly detailed billing, $50.00
per hour only for time spent on fire inspection within OTSEGO. No additional costs
such as mileage will be paid above the $50.00 per hour above stated.
ARTICLE III PAYMENT
ELK RIVER shall notify OTSEGO of the amount due for firefighting services in
2022 once the ERFD budget for 2022 is approved by the Elk River City Council.
2. ELK RIVER shall invoice, and OTSEGO shall pay, the amount due for 2022 in two
(2) equal installments due on the last day of January and July 2022.
B. 2023 and beyond
1. ELK RIVER shall calculate the amount due from OTSEGO for 2023 and years
beyond as provided in this AGREEMENT and notify OTSEGO of that amount by
January 15 of each year.
2. ELK RIVER shall invoice, and OTSEGO shall pay, the amount due for 2023 and
each year beyond 2023 in two (2) equal installments due on the last day of January
and July each year.
ARTICLE IV MUTUAL AID
Because ERFD has heretofore entered into mutual assistance firefighting agreements with other
fire departments, municipalities, and agencies possessing equipment and/or personnel, which
equipment and/or personnel could be called by the CHIEF to a CALL in the FSA, OTSEGO agrees
to pay such additional cost as may be incurred thereby if in the sole judgment of the CHIEF such
additional equipment and/or personnel are needed for assistance in the FSA and are requested
by the CHIEF.
ARTICLE V FALSE ALARMS
All parties acknowledge that excessive false alarms constitute a public nuisance. OTSEGO
agrees to enforce its false alarm policy and to collect and forward to ELK RIVER penalties and
fees collected from properties within the FSA for excessive false alarms.
Page 13
ARTICLE VI TERM
This Agreement shall commence on January 1, 2022 and shall remain in effect unless and until
terminated as provided in Article VIII herein.
ARTICLE VII MODIFICATION
A. Amendments
This writing contains the entire agreement between the parties and no alterations, variations,
modifications, or waivers of the provisions of this AGREEMENT are valid unless reduced to writing
and signed by both ELK RIVER and OTSEGO, with the exception that:
1. Otsego may adjust the FSA effective January 1st of any year by providing Elk River with
an amended exhibit B no later than September 1 of the preceding year.
B. Entire agreement
This AGREEMENT and the exhibits attached hereto contain the entire agreement of the parties
with respect to the subject matter of this AGREEMENT, and supersede all prior negotiations,
agreements, and understandings with respect thereto.
ARTICLE VIII TERMINATION
A. By Agreement
This AGREEMENT may be terminated at any time during its term by mutual agreement of
the parties. Such mutual agreement to terminate shall be in writing and shall be effective
when fully executed by both parties.
B. By Either Party
Either party may terminate this AGREEMENT by serving a 365-day written notice of
termination to the other party. This AGREEMENT shall terminate 365 days from the date
of written notice of termination, unless the party serving the notice specifies a later date of
termination or withdraws the notice of termination in writing before it is effective.
C. By ELK RIVER
1. If OTSEGO fails to pay for SERVICES as provided in Articles I, II and III hereof,
ELK RIVER may terminate this AGREEMENT upon 60 days' written termination
notice.
2. If OTSEGO fails to reimburse ELK RIVER for mutual aid costs as provided in
Article IV hereof or fails to collect and forward to ELK RIVER penalties for false
alarms as provided in Article V hereof, ELK RIVER may give 30 days' notice to
make payment or settle any dispute. In the event that payment is not made, or any
dispute is not resolved within the 30-day period, ELK RIVER may terminate this
AGREEMENT upon 180 days written termination notice.
Page 14
O. Effect of Termination
In the event this AGREEMENT is terminated, OTSEGO shall still be responsible for paying
in full any amount owed to ELK RIVER for SERVICES provided under this AGREEMENT
up to the date of termination. ELK RIVER shall return any portion of the annual fee already
paid allocated for SERVICES provided after the date of termination. Notice to either party
shall bamade tothe Office ofthe City Clerk.
ARTICLE IX SEVERAB|LITY
The provisions of this AGREEMENT shall be deemed severable. If any part of this contact is
rendered void, invalid, or otherwise unenforceable, such rendering shall not affect the validity and
enforceability of the remainder of this contract.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have executed this AGREEMENT effective on the date
indicated above.
CITY OF ELK RIVER CITY OF OTSEGO
Bvits Mayor: By its Mayor:
an(vt a d'��
Signature m0momna /
La
Print Name Print Name ^
k� —i? Qf_���` t
Date Date
City Clerk: City Clerk:
Signature Signature f�wa—e'�_J-
PrintPrint Name
Date Dabs
Poge|6
EXHIBIT A: SERVICES
The CITY OF ELK RIVER and the FIRE DEPARTMENT agrees to provide the CITY OF OTSEGO
the following SERVCIES, subject to the terms and conditions of the AGREEMENT:
• Structural Firefighting, specifically:
o Exterior Structural Firefighting
o Interior Structural Firefighting
• Grass/Forest Firefighting
• Other Firefighting, specifically:
o Vehicle & Equipment Firefighting
• Technical Rescue, specifically:
o Vehicle & Equipment Extrication
o General Search and Rescue
o Surface Ice Rescue
o Rope Access/Confined Space Rescue (subject to team availability)
• Other, specifically:
o Investigation of Fire and Carbon Monoxide Alarms
• Hazardous Materials Response, specifically:
o First Responder, Awareness Level
o First Responder, Operations Level
• Emergency Medical Services, specifically:
o First Responder Level to Personal Injury Accidents (as requested per ERFD
policy) and to support Technical Rescue Operations
• Disaster Response, specifically:
o Initial response for rescue, life -safety and incident stabilization (not including
emergency management related functions)
Page 16
Fire Service Area (FSA)
1fts
DIJtriGt
31Stt3Gt
itn Gt