Jennifer Kern
Staff Writer

With drug cases a growing problem in Washington County, the Forest Lake Police Department is looking to band together with other departments in the county to combat the issue.

Police Chief Clark Quiring presented a plan to the city council at its regular meeting on Monday, requesting that Forest Lake take part in the Washington County Drug Task Force.

The task force has been in existence for nearly 20 years and is a cooperative between police departments to work together on drug cases.

ìWeíve found that drugs do not stop at city lines or county borders,î said Quiring.

Part of a team

Quiring requested the council to have a FL officer take part in the task force. That officerís duties would be to spend 60 to 80 percent of his/her time working exclusively on Forest Lake cases. The rest of the work would be aiding other departments with drug cases.

The benefit for Forest Lake, according to Quiring, would be officers from other departments helping locally with drug busts and case developments.

ìWe can draw them in on their resources and help us out,î he explained.

Council member Susan Young expressed concern about having an officer aiding other departments and leaving the FL department understaffed.

ìI donít think that weíre losing an officer, weíre giving them a job task,î detailed Quiring.

He said joining the task force could potentially benefit the city financially. Quiring explained that if Forest Lake police made a drug bust locally without the help of the task force, it would be the cityís responsibility to cover the clean-up costs. As a part of the task force, that cost would be federal expense.

Mayor Terry Smith expressed interest in Quiringís proposal to join. He cited increased drug crime in the area, which requires a lot of manpower, as a reason to take part in the task force.

ìWeíve seen some pretty big busts in the Forest Lake area,î commented Smith.

All council members agreed to further look into joining and the topic was forwarded to the city attorney for review.

Academy to expand

With steadily increasing enrollment numbers at Lakes International Language Academy, the council approved an amendment to the academyís conditional use permit to allow for expansion.

Currently partially occupying the former Fairview Hospital, the academy intends to eventually use the building in its entirety as enrollment numbers grow. With its previous enrollment at 177 students, the academy is anticipating an enrollment of 300 students in the fall. Currently, 260 students have enrolled for the upcoming school year.

ìTheyíre looking to expand internally in the building,î described Doug Borglund, community development coordinator for the city.

Extending Fourth of July Hours

The owners of both Upperdeck and the Forest Laker went in front of the council to ask that the closing time change for outdoor entertainment during Forest Lakeís Fourth of July celebration.

Currently, the ordinance states that outdoor entertainment end at 12 a.m. Bo Bogotty, of Upperdeck and Pete Paidar, of the Forest Laker, asked the council to extend the time to more closely tie-in to bar close time at 1 a.m.

Bogotty mentioned his request was out of concern for public safety. He noted that clientele from the outside crowd have clashed with the inside clientele at his establishment in the past. When outdoor entertainment closes, the crowd outside moves into his location and problems are created between the two types of clientele, explained Bogotty.

The two ownersí explanations for their requests were that by extending time for the Fourth of July celebration, less problems would occur at their locations.

ìIím not going to endanger the people of Forest Lake and my customers,î said Bogotty.

Though no action was taken, Mayor Smith and council members Rick Ashbach and Dick Tschidaís comments tended to lean in favor of Bogotty and Paidar.

Smith mentioned the Fourth of July celebration in Forest Lake could warrant a later time.

ìI personally feel that there should be some exceptions,î he said.

Council members Young and Judy Bull did not agree with making any exceptions for the Fourth of July.

ìWhat makes one (event) more special than the others,î commented Young.

Both councilwomen were vocal that the ordinance not be changed, as the 12 a.m. rule had just gone into effect last year. Young mentioned in order to practice ìgood public policyî a change should not occur after one year.

Despite Young and Bullís comments, attorney Dave Hebert was asked to create drafts for a possible ordinance change.

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Forest Lake Times
P.O. Box 218
880 SW 15 St.
Forest Lake, MN 55025
651-464-4601
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