Concerned Citizens Curious About Police Protection, Budgets

A group calling themselves Concerned Citizens for Community have been meeting for the last couple of months to talk about law enforcement. A public forum has been set for Monday, March 31 to get more answers. Billie Pestello owns Pestello's Bar in Pequot Lakes. Pestello said for him, the search for answers intensified after he saw how law enforcement budgets had grown for Pequot Lakes and other communities as well. He also has a concern that some departments don't have officers on duty between 2am and 6am some nights. A common practice in small communities is to turn over police calls to county law enforcement during early morning hours but sometimes that means very slow response times. Pestello said he has a good relationship with local officers and sees them often in his restaurant. But he sees the meeting at the end of March at Pequot Lakes High School as just the beginning of the dialogue. That meeting starts at 7pm.