At the Dec. 22 meeting the East Bethel City Council received monthly reports from the Sheriff's Office and the fire department, addressed several consent-agenda items and line-item budget questions, and heard a staff update about a pending property acquisition.

Sheriff's Office representative (Speaker 3) said deputies responded to 404 calls for service in November, handled four assaults and four theft reports, made 38 arrests, and conducted 117 traffic stops resulting in 17 citations. The sheriff's presenter described three notable incidents: Deputy Gagnon responded to a Quick Trip disturbance where a male had thrown items off shelves and took a Red Bull without paying; deputies later arrested a person on an Anoka County felony warrant after locating him at a residence; and Deputy Borgeson stopped a vehicle tied to a revoked registration and arrested the driver after the driver exited the vehicle and attempted to move to a detached garage.

Fire Department Chief (Speaker 6) said the department recorded about 78 calls in the reporting period (staff updated an earlier 61 figure), and described a Dec. 5 structure fire that displaced three people and one dog; the incident was contained to the origin and affected parties were referred to the Red Cross. The chief highlighted ongoing station-floor replacements (Stations 2 and 3 complete, Station 1 in progress), new forecast monitors arriving, and community outreach: Firefighter Mike Howe coordinated a Santa parade that collected 891 pounds of food for NACE.

On the consent agenda, councilmembers pulled several items for discussion (including minutes, the fee schedule and a contract renewal for the city secretary). Council approved the consent agenda as amended. During the fee-schedule discussion a councilmember raised concerns about differing cannabis-related fees and wide variation in water rates across areas such as Whispering Aspen; staff said cannabis licensing fees are set by state statute and that water rates vary based on system size, negotiated arrangements and depreciated-cost calculations.

In a staff report, city staff said the appraisal for 1347 SIMS came in under value and a Phase I environmental analysis identified no contamination; a closing is scheduled for February or earlier. Staff also reported a court hearing was continued pending a related case and that no final court decision was made yet.

Council concluded with announcements about community events and administration of facilities; no further formal actions were taken beyond consent approvals and routine reports.