A special meeting of the City Council of the City of International Falls, Minnesota was held in the Council Chambers of the Municipal Building on the 28th day of July 2025 at the hour of 5:30 P.M.
MEMBERS PRESENT: Mayor Dill and Councilors Buller, Holden, Kalar and Wegner
MEMBERS ABSENT: None
| NEW BUSINESS:
APPROVED sending a formal letter to Koochiching County Board, St Louis County, and City of Ranier explaining current ambulance situation and desire for a taxing district |
MOTION by Councilor Holden to send a formal letter to the Koochiching County Board of Directors explaining the current ambulance situation and the desire for a taxing district and the City’s need for a potential change in ambulance service if the City is unable to find options. Motion seconded by Councilor Wegner. A friendly amendment was asked by Councilor Buller to have the letter sent to all governmental agencies in the service area. Motion maker and second agreed to the friendly amendment. Motion carried unanimously. |
| APPROVED Mayor Dill and Councilor Holden to represent the City on an Ambulance Steering Committee with Koochiching County, St Louis County and City of Ranier | MOTION by Councilor Kalar to have Mayor Dill and Councilor Holden represent the City of International Falls on an Ambulance Steering Committee with Koochiching County, St Louis County, and City of Ranier. Motion seconded by Council Wegner and carried unanimously. |
| APPROVED letter to Office of Emergency Management (OEM) to ask if the City is able to only provide BLS service | MOTION by Councilor Kalar to have Mayor Dill send a letter to the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) regarding the current situation the service is in and asking OEM if they would allow the city to only utilize the BLS licensure, providing only BLS service and not use the part-time ALS licensure. Motion seconded by Councilor Wegner and carried unanimously. |
| Discussed plan to pay for three ambulances that are currently on order | Council had a brief discussion on what the plan is to pay for the three ambulances currently on order. Mayor asked that this item be added to the next regular city council meeting for discussion. |
| AUDIENCE | Paul Eklund, 703 16th St E, former councilor, noted he was on the Council when ALS was initiated. Eklund asked that due to past failures of negotiations for a taxing district the Council take a different tactic and go as a quorum, so open meeting law applies, allowing people to see and hear what is going on and be informed.
Councilor Wegner noted that the Council has tried that tactic with no success so now they are trying a small group approach to allow for easier negotiations. |
| Tyler Weir, 1201 2nd Ave E, questioned whether the current ambulances could be repaired versus replaced. | |
| Mayor Dill added he is cautiously optimistic, there does seem to be a level of support and feedback for a taxing district from Koochiching County. Dill further noted, not to be misleading, that if a taxing district is formed our taxes go up too- the city is in the district. Dill added that this is a problem across the State and even BLS services across the State are not profitable, with capital purchases.
Councilor Wegner asked Chief Mannausau to look into refurbishing vs buying new. Chief Mannausau indicated that he had inquired about a refurbish a few years back- at that time a new rig was $165,000 and a refurbish was $120,00- a small savings- that was not touching the box. Council Kalar agreed with looking into options but understands the importance of having reliable vehicles. Mayor Dill asked Chief Mannausau to research options of refurbishing. |
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| Helen Tveit, 3001 Co Rd 2 N, noted she had attended the County Board meeting in Birchdale and thought the conversation was very positive and the County Board was enthusiastic. Tveit spoke to the need for the State of MN to include EMS as an essential service- questioning how we go about helping make that happen. Tveit further noted the City shouldn’t have to keep losing money- we are one team-one fight and need to work together on all these issues. | |
| ADJOURNMENT | Mayor Dill adjourned the meeting at 6:00 P.M. |
Drake Dill, Mayor
ATTEST:
Betty Bergstrom, City Administrator
