And the republic for worship stands one nation under God and indivisible liberty and justice for all.

Want to welcome everybody and wish you a top of the meeting.

I want to welcome you to the March 17th regular meeting of the Egan City Council.

This is our uh second regular meeting of the month of March.

Uh it falls on St.

Patrick's Day, so I want to wish somebody happened in St.

Patrick's Day.

Um we have a uh um welcomedly brief uh agenda tonight.

We'll do a uh retirement and redevelopment uh in that order.

So uh with that, um Ms.

Miller any changes the agenda.

No, Ms.

Fair.

Uh Council, he changed the agenda.

Move to adopt the agenda.

Second.

That's moved and seconded.

Any further conversation on the agenda?

Saying none, all David Singles saying aye.

I oppose nay.

That motion carries, and we have an agenda tonight.

Uh our first item is on recognitions and presentations.

Um fire chief Hugo Searle has been with the city of Egan for five years, but in the fire service, um, which is what I now call it because of Hugo.

Um he's been in the fire service for 34 years.

Uh and so tonight we're gonna recognize uh his retirement.

I'm gonna hand it off to Diane, who will uh choreograph our uh movement through that.

Um want to welcome you, Lynn as well.

Uh happy St.

Patrick's Day.

I see you got the memo.

Um but uh and with that uh turn over to you guys.

Perfect.

All right, thank you, Mr.

Rare, members of the council and those in the audience.

Um tonight it is an honor to get to recognize the retirement of our fire chief Hugo Searle.

Uh as the mayor indicated, um Hugo has been with us for nearly five years, but in the fire service for 34 years.

Uh before he came here to Egan to lead us, Chief Searle honed his skills in St.

Louis Park and Brooklyn Park from his early days as firefighter to assistant fire chief of EMS and training.

Hugo has worn many hats, but always with the same dedication.

Uh I do want to recognize Chief Searle's wife Lynn who's here with us tonight, along with any friends, families, colleagues who may be watching.

I hope his daughter Karis is watching somewhere online.

I know she is very proud of you.

Um and as we all know in this room, and the firefighters standing in the back, thank you for being here.

You know, it really does take a huge sacrifice on the part of families, as we often talk about um to support these firefighters, and so we thank you uh for giving us your giving us your Hugo as our chief for so many years.

We really appreciate it.

Um since Chief Searle's appointment in 2021 here in Egan, he has been the steady hand leading us through the transition to a full-time professional staffing model, and we really appreciate that about him.

What I love about Hugo is he never guesses.

Um he always uses data to prove his points, something that will always be a lasting legacy of his.

Uh, by tracking metrics and service delivery, he successfully lowered response time significantly, which is such a benefit to our community.

He ensures that when our residents call for help, we're faster and more prepared to answer.

And because of his focus on professional development and excellence, our department is skilled and strategically capable, and they truly are a model in this state, and for that we appreciate you.

Uh one of Chief Searle's lasting impacts will be his work to diversify our department and ensure an inclusive culture where every firefighter firefighter feels that they belong.

Under his leadership and with the council support, we now have a cadet program uh to train the next generation of firefighters, and the enthusiasm and passion of those cadets really mirrors the hope and care that Chief Searle puts into each of them.

Something I'm really grateful for.

Um that's the level of care that Hugo consistently has given to growing the future leaders of our department.

You know, at the most recent fire recognition event, Chief Searle asked everyone in the room who used to work as a firefighter for the city of Egan to please rise.

And it was such a cool moment because dozens of people in that room stood up as battalion chiefs, assistant chiefs, fire chiefs, all because they got their start in Egan.

Um what a wonderful testament um to this department and to Chief Searles and the city's ongoing commitment to growing our own and when necessary, sharing our talent for the betterment of other communities.

Um I've seen firsthand how much Hugo cares for his his staff.

He has endured along with our firefighters some especially difficult moments in the time that he has been here.