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The first 2025 meeting of Lakes Area Police Commission members did not bring any news good or bad, on whether Lindstrom City Hall could be retro-fitted for use as a law enforcement facility.  

The police commission had reluctantly agreed, based on information provided last August from Lindstrom City Administrator Dan Undem that the consulting firm Leo A Daly could do a study to determine the feasibility of re-using Lindstrom City Hall for the law enforcement facility.   The four-member (two from Chisago and two from Lindstrom) police commission did not support chipping in on costs for the study.  The commission also came to no agreement on the concept of police buying Lindstrom City Hall.

New Lindstrom officials serving on the commission, Brian Norelius and Judy Chartrand, pressed to have the police commission table any requests for proposals (RFPs) which the commission was prepared to send out in January 2024, having met a few times since fall of 2023,  with Kraus Anderson construction managers.  The RFPs have been shelved.

(The consultants doing the re-use study for Lindstrom City Hall also did the Forest Lake fire hall and city hall/police facility project. Lindstrom’s city administrator  Undem was employed in Forest Lake before succeeding the  prior administrator in Lindstrom, who resigned.)   

The Lindstrom City Council appropriated $10,000 for looking into the feasibility to re-use city hall.

At last week’s police commission meeting.  Administrator Undem said there ought to be something presented initially to Lindstrom City Council by March. He added that he hasn’t really had an opportunity to look over any of the analysis product yet.

The police commission hired a lobbyist to represent the project at the state legislature unsuccessfully for the past three years. State aid was part of the fiscal plan to construct a new public safety facility in Chisago City, a plan pursued for several years by former police commissioners.  

The police commission was advancing an $8 to $9 million  18,000 square foot project—but after not being approved for state money there was discussion on the need to downsize to 4,000 square feet when Lindstrom council members declared the city could contribute $2 million at most.

The commissioners had no discussion on the lack of an update and handled annual business for the remainder of the meeting:

The fees for Lakes Area officer time was increased to $70 per hour.  Traffic control for private parties (such as utility work detours) is usually performed by off-duty officers and will be $85 hourly. Impound fees are now $65 daily, up from $55.  The charges are only assessed after the vehicle has been released and is no longer retained for evidence and the chief said very few people get charged this fee.

Two squad cars were heavily damaged in recent incidents. Insurance will cover this but Chief Schlumbohm added the replacing of the cars is a hassle.  Inventory is low and it can take months to build-out a functioning squad and its accessories and electronics.

One property damage incident has been charged out as it was part of a fleeing incident starting in North Branch and involving Washington County too.

Calls continue to originate equally in Chisago and Lindstrom, according to call logs provided (See graphic.)

Due to a Harmony in the Park conflict Wednesday, July 9 police commission meeting at Lindstrom city hall is re-scheduled to Tuesday, July 8.

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