HomeMy WebLinkAbout5.a. Citizen Recognition - Mr. Glen Wagner- F
CITY OF ROSEMOUNT
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY FOR ACTION
City Council Meeting Date: November 16, 2004
AGENDA ITEM:
Citizen Recognition — Mr. Glen Wagner
AGENDA SECTION:
Department Head Reports
PREPARED BY:
CITY OF ROSEMOUNT
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY FOR ACTION
City Council Meeting Date: November 16, 2004
AGENDA ITEM:
Citizen Recognition — Mr. Glen Wagner
AGENDA SECTION:
Department Head Reports
PREPARED BY:
Gary Kalstabakken
AGE .
A 5 A
Chief of Police
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APPROVED BY:
ATTACHMENTS:
None
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Presentation of Certificate
ACTION:
SUMMARY
Providing a safe community for Rosemount's residents, business owners and workers is one
of the on -going goals of the Council and city staff. This can only be attained by having
community residents who are willing to become involved and to be willing to take action when
suspicious or criminal activity or any unsafe activities are observed. Council is being asked
to recognize a citizen who did become involved and, as a result, prevented a hazardous
situation from becoming even more wide spread than it already was.
On Labor Day, Monday, September 6, 2004, several children in the Rosemount Woods
Manufactured Housing complex touched and played with mercury that had been stolen
earlier in the day from one of the buildings at the Brockway Warehouse site. The children
were unaware of the hazards associated with mercury. Fortunately, Mr. Glen Wagner
observed the children with the mercury and immediately realized that this was a potentially
hazardous situation. Mr. Wagner immediately reported the activity to the police department
and assisted in identifying children that he had seen with the mercury. His quick actions
prevented the situation from becoming even more wide spread than it already was before Mr.
Wagner intervened.
An extensive cleanup effort followed the mercury exposure at Rosemount Woods. This
involved cleaning several outdoor areas, vehicles and homes where the mercury had been
spilled by those involved. In addition, health testing was conducted on several persons .
exposed to the mercury. The professional staff from the Minnesota Pollution Control A9ency,
Minnesota Department of Health and the Dakota County Public Health Department all
commented on how important it was to have been able to contain and isolate the
contamination as quickly as possible. Mr. Glen Wagner's reporting of this incident was vitally
important to the containment efforts.
The mercury was in the hands of the youth for approximately two to two and one -half hours.
In that time, there were fourteen homes, thirty -eight persons and numerous outside areas
that were exposed to the hazardous material. It is clear that the contamination was
spreading relatively quickly and would have continued to spread as long as the mercury
remained in the hands of the youth. Although we are unable to state with certainty how many
other persons were prevented from being directly impacted by the mercury contamination
because of Mr. Wagner's willingness to become involved, it is clear that he lessened the
impact of this incident because he acted.
Mr. Wagner looked beyond himself and his family. He took action to report an incident that
he believed was endangering his neighbors, his neighborhood and his community. The
citizen's of Rosemount are fortunate to have people like Glen Wagner as neighbors. His
actions are a model for others to follow and demonstrate the importance of reporting
suspicious, criminal or hazardous circumstances immediately.