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Authorizing the City of Saint Paul to enter into the Fencing Consortium Joint Powers Agreement for the purpose of leasing anti-scalable fencing as a de-escalation tool and a public safety measure.
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WHEREAS, cities throughout the state have experienced an increased incidence of civil unrest involving violence, and destruction of property, threating public safety, city personnel, its buildings, and critical infrastructure; and
WHEREAS, the City of Saint Paul supports the rights of all its residents to peacefully assemble, protects freedom of speech and the press afforded by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution; and to petition the government for a redress of grievances; and
WHEREAS, cities have recognized the need to have ready access to anti-scalable fencing as a tool for de-escalation and community safety while protecting against threats of violence and destruction of property; and
WHEREAS, recent experience has shown that the use of anti-scale fencing has greatly de-escalated tension between law enforcement and incidents of civil unrest; and
WHEREAS, by de-escalating the tension, the anti-scale fencing helps to reduce the trauma on the community, improve the safety for all, minimize the impact on neighboring properties, and reduce the community resources that have to be committed to such events; and
WHEREAS, the best means for cities to access anti-scale fencing in a timely and cost-effective manner is to work cooperatively with other cities in the state; and
WHEREAS, the Fencing Consortium Joint Powers Agreement (“Fencing JPA”), which is incorporated herein by reference, establishes a joint board to obtain and make available to members anti-scalable fencing in response to critical incidences, sets out the powers of the joint board, requires members to pay their share of the fencing costs and operational costs of the Fencing Consortium, requires members to provide staffing to assemble and disassemble the fencing as part...
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