Board of Alderman Public Health & Safety Committee Meeting

BOARD OF ALDERMEN PUBLIC HEALTH & SAFETY COMMITTEE Meeting Minutes April 14, 2025 7:00 PM 1 GOVERNMENT CTR. BALLWIN, MO 63011 THE MINUTES ARE PREPARED IN SUMMARY TO REFLECT THE OVERALL DISCUSSIONS, NOT VERBATIM QUOTES. The meeting was called to order by Alderman Michael Finley at 6:00 p.m. ROLL CALL Committee Members Present:​ Absent Committee Chairman Michael Finley Alderman Mark Weaver Alderman David Siegel Alderman Pamela Haug Also Present: Mayor Tim Pogue Alderman Mike Utt Alderman Mark Stallmann Alderman Frank Fleming Alderman Jim Lehmkuhl City Administrator Eric Sterman Chief of Police John Bergfeld AGENDA Representatives from West Central Dispatch Center were present, including Daryl Ostendorf, the General Manager of WCDC, Chief Jeffrey Hartman from the Creve Coeur Police Department, and Mark Perkins, Creve Coeur City Administrator and Board Member. City Administrator Eric Sterman noted that WCDC approached Chief John Bergfeld about the City joining their dispatch center and met with Chief Bergfeld several times regarding the potential merger. He also noted the City of Ballwin currently pays $1.169 million for dispatch services, a majority of which are salaries and benefits. That is more than Ellisville, Town & Country, Des Peres, Manchester and Chesterfield combined. He noted more cities are consolidating dispatch centers across St. Louis County, with 58 municipal police departments only having 12 dispatch centers among them. City of Ballwin- Board of Aldermen Meeting Minutes​ April 14, 2024​ 1  BOARD OF ALDERMEN PUBLIC HEALTH & SAFETY COMMITTEE Meeting Minutes April 14, 2025 7:00 PM 1 GOVERNMENT CTR. BALLWIN, MO 63011 City Administrator Sterman noted the City of Ballwin has also had trouble staffing the Dispatch Center for the past several years which has led to overtime pay and open positions. WCDC General Manager Daryl Ostendorf presented the proposal to the City which would have the City joining WCDC and sharing dispatch services with the cities of Creve Coeur, Ladue, Frontenac and Town & Country. The potential merger would cost $588,515 a year plus a one time $110,748 base fee. This proposal would relocate West Central Dispatch Center to the Ballwin Police Department. Committee Chairman Michael Finley asked whether the City of Ballwin could create their own dispatch centers. City Administrator Sterman noted most of the surrounding cities are dispatched currently by St. Louis County or other agencies at a cost that is cheaper than what we would most likely be able to offer. Committee Chairman Michael Finley also asked Creve Coeur if they had received any feedback when the WCDC was created in 2011. Creve Coeur City Administrator Mark Perkins noted the primary concern was that dispatch would no longer be housed in their building, which is an issue that would not be present in Ballwin. Mayor Tim Pogue asked about the funding formula and whether that would possibly change if we added more officers. WCDC noted it would. Creve Coeur Police Chief Jeffrey Hartman also noted each City has its own procedures for noting dispatch calls so comparing call volume isn’t apples to apples. Alderman Mark Weaver asked how the call center would work, whether Ballwin dispatchers would only answer Ballwin calls. WCDC General Manager Daryl Ostendorf noted everyone does everything in the dispatch center, but that would be phased in until other dispatchers are familiar with Ballwin and Ballwin’s procedures. He also noted there are currently 21 employees and at least 4 full time and 2 part time would be added if Ballwin joins WCDC. Alderman Pamela Haug asked whether there were ways to measure satisfaction and WCDC General Manager Daryl Ostendorf noted they were looking into ways to measure as part of getting CALEA accredited, which they expect to do by November. Alderman Frank Fleming asked about call volume, whether that was measured and if dispatchers would be rushed to answer other calls. WCDC General Manager Daryl Ostendorf noted they are not numbers driven but not numbers focused. He also noted he would pull numbers from 2024-2025 for call volume and how much time was spent on each call. City of Ballwin- Board of Aldermen Meeting Minutes​ ​ ​ ​ ​ April 14, 2024​ 2  BOARD OF ALDERMEN PUBLIC HEALTH & SAFETY COMMITTEE Meeting Minutes April 14, 2025 7:00 PM 1 GOVERNMENT CTR. BALLWIN, MO 63011 Chairman Michael Finley noted he would like to see a separate stand alone meeting to allow comments from citizens regarding the proposal. Alderman David Siegel made a motion to adjourn the meeting with Alderman Mark Weaver seconding that motion. A voice vote was taken with unanimous affirmative result and the motion passed. The meeting adjourned at 7:05 p.m. City of Ballwin- Board of Aldermen Meeting Minutes​ April 14, 2024​ 3