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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2.a. New Rosemount Police Badge E X E C U T I V E S U M M A R Y City Council Work Session: January 2, 2019 AGENDA ITEM: New Rosemount Police Badge AGENDA SECTION: Discussion PREPARED BY: Mitchell Scott, Police Chief AGENDA NO. 2.a ATTACHMENTS: None. APPROVED BY: LJM RECOMMENDED ACTION: Informational only. BACKGROUND Throughout my tenure as the Rosemount Police Chief, I have stressed how important it is to have meaning behind our patch and the badge we wear on our uniforms. The Rosemount Police Department patch is unique to the Rosemount Police Department, whereas the Rosemount Police Badge is not unique. There are several police departments not only in Minnesota, but in the country that wear the same badge as the Rosemount Police Department. In May 2018, a committee was tasked to research a new badge for the Rosemount Police Department. The committee was given two specific instructions: (1) The badge must have a historical meaning regarding the City of Rosemount; and (2) there must be no costs to the city. Understanding the requirements, the badge committee began working to create a new badge design for the Police Department. Understanding that Dakota County established Rosemount as one of its first townships on April 6, 1858, a primary focus was to identify a few of the most symbolic icons that would best represent Rosemount as one of the oldest townships in the State of Minnesota. Specifically, the committee reflected on officers’ feedback from the initial designs, they met with the Rosemount Historical Society, and they worked with three separate badge designers to design the new Rosemount Police badge. Below is some brief information shared by the badge committee about the icons to help bring an understanding as to why they were selected to represent the unique and extensive history of the community we serve. The left symbol on the badge is a train to represent the railroad that runs through the heart of Rosemount's principal streets. In 1865, at the end of the Civil War, Minnesota Central Railroad crossed from north to south through Rosemount; this provided a transportation connection to other areas that enabled the township to flourish. Specifically, the railroad brought people, jobs, and eventually the 40,000-bushel grain elevator. The railroad was the main contributor that allowed the village to become the City of Rosemount that the police serve today. 2 Centered on the badge is what is now known as the Steeple Center, which also played a major role in the settlement and growth of Rosemount. In 1856, St. Joseph Parish members began celebrating mass in their homes, but later decided on a centrally located church about three miles south of Rosemount. In May of 1881, a cyclone destroyed this church and a second church was built at its current location in Rosemount in November of 1881. In 2004, the City of Rosemount purchased the Steeple Center in hopes to preserve its history. The current space is being used for regular arts and cultural programs, as well as parties and events. The Steeple Center is the third oldest building in Rosemount and the oldest church in the city. The right symbol on the Rosemount Police badge is the iconic chimneys from the Gopher Ordnance Works (GOW) plant; these chimneys are commonly known as “the stacks”. As the name describes, this plant produced munitions and ordnance from 1942 until 1945 throughout World War II. Like the majority of the country during that era, Rosemount was a part of the large war effort supporting the Second World War. This plant brought more than 3,000 jobs to the City of Rosemount and the 858 buildings of GOW spanned across 11,500 acres of our city. Amazingly, the plant hired 19,428 workers within six months which was 18 times Rosemount’s population at that time. The Rosemount plant was known for bearing down towards the end of the war by producing around 115 million dollars of high-quality powder in only four months. Today, the stacks no longer remain, but their importance is represented proudly with the symbol on the RPD badge. Finally, the committee conversed with American Legion Post #65 about financially supporting the purchase of badges for officers. Thankfully, it is anticipated that the Legion will fully fund the purchase of two badges for each officer!