[Music]
she didn't I [Music] know songs that I can never get up oh I've done that I've never done that that once now I'm
extremely offic all right we'll call the meeting to order please stand for the pledge of allegiance that not one nation under God indivisible with liy and Justice all right good evening everyone welcome to the uh coldest meeting of the
Year Tom take the roll call please mayor King pres council member at large Austin present council member pusta pres Fisher present Waller present Basin HMA Hy present we have a quum your honor
thank you Tom item number one is a motion for the adoption the agenda moved is there a second second all in favor I opposed motion carries item number two is approving our minutes from our February 3rd 2025 meeting so moved
second all in favor I oppose the motion carries on number three I'd like to recognize uh dick pashley who's a a long long-term city council member jefff and I both served with him I think he did five terms 20 years on city council that's a that's a good poke that's a lifetime but dick was a certainly a
value ad for the community and and very engaged in other aspects but to serve that long on the city council just want to remember him as he passed away uh a couple maybe a week or week and a half ago so um we appreciate what he did and uh and helping Drive the city forward for the amount of time he did so just an
honor of dick pasel i' like to just remember him so thank you item number four is a motion for the consent agenda with the addition so moved second all in favor I hi opposed carries now je Jeff noted that we're
moving from item four no confusion for the audience member we don't have a five so we're five is overrated so we're going from item number four to item number six in the public hearing item number uh uh item number six is a public hearing on Street improvements on 6th
Street Northeast from 30th Avenue to 36th Avenue Northeast project number 1 19106 Andrew welcome good evening May um I was waiting for number
five I I can see why you're thrown off we all [Music] were [Laughter] okay okay this first this the first
street can you hear me now yep okay uh this first street is a Sixth Street Northeast and it is from 30th Avenue Northeast and extends about uh 18 18800 ft to the north
uh currently the the the South 600 ft is gravel and anywhere from 19 to 20 ft wide uh the last 800 ft is paved but only with 2 and 1/2 in a
bit the plan is to uh completely excavate the sou portion uh down to include about 6 in of egg and 4 and 1/2 bit it's a city standard and 22 ft wide uh there will be
no curban Gutter and then the northern th000 ft that will we will reclaim 22 ft with a portion of the subgrade the existing subgrade and then and then also pay that with the 4
and A2 inches a bit uh with this project we will also remove um we have a tile line that runs through uh in this area and it crosses we have a concrete uh panel and a drop
Inlet right there we plan to remove that and regrade with the remainder of the street there are two inlets on each side and they will collect any of the storm water so we have some the the U excuse
me the uh storm so we work there with this project and then after that we will pave we will replace the driveway approaches get them up to grade and any Boulevard restoration when we needed uh this construction right now we
have it pegged for May to early July um looking at a project estimate around 160,000 that would be um that would be 140,000 in the street and then 20,000 in the storm
sewer um that's really all I have um you have any questions Andrew that road when that was constructed was that on a a developer developed it and that's why it's it was not as thick as that is my understanding of the history yes okay
and we didn't we talk about this in 2019 and we tabled it and we're back back okay so we're back all right so you're going to start at 30th Avenue and go not all the way North just to the last house just to the last house um my
understanding is the state of Minnesota owns north of that and then how wide is it now how wide is the street 22t now it is 22t yes the pave section is 22 ft the gravel section uh is 22 ft but it gets
narrower as as you h South all right any other questions for Andrew Council open up to the public if not is anybody hear from the public wishing to speak on this uh item number six hearing none any without any further
questions looking for a resolution uh ordering Improvement approving plans and specifications uh and ordering advertisement for bids so moved a second Thomas council member pusta hi Fisher hi
Waller hi heli hi council member at large Austin hi resolution passes 5 Z your honor very good thank you Tom item number seven is a public hearing on Street improvements on 21st Street Southwest uh from fourth drive to 12th Street Southwest project number
25102 Andrew thank you uh yes this is from fourth drive to 12th Street Southwest it's Pro approximately 600 ft uh it is a standard withd Street uh we're going to
call a full reconstruction project it'll include a sanitary sewer storm sewer water M as well as some uh some tree removal and kban gut a replacement largely on
the south um complete kban got a replacement here on the South Side just due to its condition and then uh some spot KB gutter on the northern half uh so we are intending to do a
little redesign in the sanitary uh there was a um I apologize I cannot recall which uh Which Resident had extensively long service so we are going to tie it in in a more um more
appropriate more standard fashion and with that we will be able to remove a section of the sanitary sewer uh the storm sewer will be removed and replaced we are adding on adding another um little bit more here at 11th and at
10th to prevent um more of the water to uh to run through the gutter and across the street potentially freezing and causing issues there uh sidewalk will be replaced based on condition largely where it exists
here um on the southern portion between 10th and 12th it will continue from um for this section here from 12 to where it ends about this property
line uh so we'll continue that and then a continuation from 17 to the corner at and then a continuation along South Grove Park and with that here just a little uh continuation of the the existing trail
to the uh playground once all that's done driveway approaches will be replaced uh poured back and uh Boulevard restoration uh the time frame here we're looking at June to October this comes with a project as of
950,000 670,000 of that for Street 160 storm and 120,000 sanitary any questions thank you Andrew Council any questions on this uh this project on 21st Street item number
seven 21st Avenue it's 21st Avenue but it's listed as 21st stre on the agenda so it's Avenue okay it is Avenue it's your you're only putting sidewalks on it's three properties two two owners otherwise continuation through the park then that's the new yes new side of that
Park okay uh if no questions from Council open up to the public on item number seven is there anybody here uh wishing to speak on this project 21st Avenue Southwest hearing none looking for a resolution uh ordering the Improvement approving plans and specifications
ordering advertisement for bids so moved second Tom council member shusta hi Fisher hi Waller hi Hy hi council member at large Austin hi resolution passes 5 Z your honor thank you Tom on item number
eight public hearing on Street improvements on Sixth La Northeast from 18th drive to 19th Street Northeast and 18th Drive Northeast from 5th Avenue to 6th Avenue Northeast project 25106 Andrew yes this uh this project has a
complete reconstruction as well um approximately 700 ft of 8 18 Drive 650 ft of 6th Avenue Northeast we will redo the entire sanitary sewer uh this will help us
correct some uh shared services uh basically uh people across the street were sharing a tea service and it was dropping directly into the sanitary sewer this could cause problems this is something
we want to Al alleviate um but with the full with the full reconstruction of the sanitary sewer we'll cover that uh water main and services will also be replaced uh storm sewer and structures will be replaced
and and uh with that there is a large trunk uh storm sewer that we are going to realign and get up to standard here on the south end your 18th drive or between the alleyway and Fifth Fifth Avenue
uh we will do Street and Edge drains with Su Mains and uh service stubs and then yes a full Street reconstruct egg base and pavement uh this one includes entire uh
on on 6th Avenue an entire curban gutter removal and replacement we will be adding curban gutter that is not existing on 18th drive this should help us with um erosion storm sewer collection and even help with uh
plowing uh continuation of the sidewalk along the sixth um 6th Avenue and it is complete uh it'll go all the way to 18th drive from 19th Street to 18th drive we could not continue it down 18th Drive
due to we only have 33 ft of RightWay and it's it's restricted as it is all Street or all driveway approaches will be removed and replaced and then Boulevard restoration time frame here we're looking at July to
October uh total project cost estimate $900,000 Street improvements would be 520,000 of that storm 130 sanitary 250,000 is there any questions councel any questions for number
eight if not open up to the public anybody in the public wishing to speak uh on this project six stab Northeast please come to the microphone and give us your name and address for the minutes and uh tell us what your concerns
are hi I'm Christine kbach and I'm her husband Travis kbach we live at 19026 Avenue Northeast okay thank you what do you have for us today uh I guess my concern is just uh what are our options as far as the sidewalk if we I just feel it just takes
away the aesthetic of the neighborhood just didn't know how that works sidewalks again Council sidewalks get it um how many what are you adding here the whole looks like you
replaceing some from 19th Drive to Drive sidewalk will be extended okay so the orange that we're seeing on the map is that that is correct yes from the corner all the way down to 19th yeah and is anybody else here speaking in this
neighborhood are you the only ones so far what what seems to happen is well first of all City of Austin has a complete streets policy where anytime we do Street reconstruction we add sidewalks to it if they're not there now that said we've worked around the edges there when neighbors do complain or say
they're just not for it um sometimes it passes sometimes it doesn't anyway but uh critical mass seems to be the issue that drives it so if as I look at how many homes are on that street and that affected maybe it's 12 homes to be added
and have you talked to other neighbors are they just not here or they don't just not here they are they of similar attitude because that seems to be what happens is we have events like this where people can come and and air it up and say we don't really want them and Council has a decision to make then but
I'm leaving it up to council I don't get a vote so I'll leave it up to council what they want to do with the six question is I noticed you're not putting sidewalk on the north side of 6 Avenue yeah same as that project on 21st there was sidewalks on one side of the street not others uh probably just uh maybe as
long as you have one path to the to the sidewalk or the curb or the I mean to the trail system I don't know but whenever we do propose these things it does seem like one side the street would has the proposed sidewalks in my neighborhood last year side of the street sidewalks dead end at 18th drive
noreast and go nowhere yeah so this does rear its head every time we do Street assessment sidewalks or no sidewalks and you can also look at that in a practical side of the C the page and look at it more practically we're looking at extra added costs you're going to add cost to
the project by adding that sidewalk and how much is that per property yeah you know do fifth and seventh have sidewalks do you new sidewalk yes new sidewalk on 190 uh would be what 19
182 19 1902 and 1903 so those four properties would need sidewalks and how much would it cost for a Prof uh this project it's not assess been 30 doesn't get assess but the city would pay for it
yeah I've been 30 years in the instruction in the construction industry there's two things you can pretty much guaranteed overages and unforeseen yeah now if you can eliminate those costs on that sidewalk you can put that towards those overages and unforeseen cost I think what the becomes an issue here and I know council is
going to speak to it is the is accessibility and and mobility of bikes and Walkers and everything else for the safety um and again I I wish more of your neighbors would hear because I think the volume of people matters the amount of people matters it really does so I'll turn it over to council for
anything they want to talk about sidewalks here well I I'll I'll speak to why the city has a default policy of adding the sidewalks one reason is we're not going to be back down on that street for 50 years uh and so we try to do everything
that that needs to be done the one time we're there we try to tear it up once and then put everything back the way we think we're going to want it for the next 50 years uh research shows that households are looking for uh
connectivity they're looking for for places to move that have walking paths biking trails and options besides just driving a car so long term for Austin to remain competitive it benefits us to
have the most connected sidewalks the most possible sidewalks and trails that we can have um and it is generational the older Generations aren't as keyed into it the younger Generations are looking for it so neighbor Hood by
neighborhood we have to make a choice between what the five neighbors who live there want and what's good for the whole Community we're not going to be back for 50 years that's why we make it the default policy and you saw there's a couple projects that were before yours
there was nobody here um from those projects those projects will get sidewalk um I I I am convinced that it's good for the community for us to build those um I think it helps us keep seniors in their homes longer I think it
keeps um babies and strollers safer I I I uh do not like to see people walking on the street itself I don't think it's as safe if I if you don't mind but it would make sense and I get what you're saying and everything but as as you can see on that road it's going to stop
right there so anybody that and I know CU I live in that neighborhood you're walking along there you're going to continue on and then there's no side so I'm just is point not to that 19 Drive Northeast has no sidewalk
on I think with the goal so but the thing is when you're connecting in your building it the the argument is circular like I'm connecting to nothing now but now but then when I go to the next neighborhood they're going to say well you didn't do them on 6th Avenue
Northeast over you didn't 19th driveeast we're not done no connectivity there if you're if you're going to connect you need to consistently connect otherwise you cannot not if you ifb KBS box please if you could let's have a little bit of order here uh let Miss heli finish and
then you can certainly we'll we'll do this back and forth we got all night but don't interrupt people I um I I'm not trying to make light of what neighbors want I understand there's a there's a hassle factor of having construction and there's a hassle factor of having
something then that you're responsible for shoveling I think that this is one of those situations where we have to decide are we a community do we make decisions based on what's good for the whole Community if we believe in connectivity then each decision to connect is really
important because every time you make an exception you just drive the the well why do we have to do it because you you made an exception over there so that's why I would urge Council that we just honor the policy which the policy states
we put in sidewalks when we come and build a street we put in sidewalks um that's if you honor that as a policy and apply it fairly across every neighborhood then you don't have these fairness arguments that we keep hearing about well how come you didn't put it
over there how come you didn't put it over there that that's just that's my opinion uh I'm sorry I was uh maybe talking over people I get a little passionate about this but I as councel there's very little point to having a
policy if you uh make an exception every time one is asked for you might as well just abandon the policy and stop pretending that we believe in connectivity K back anything to retort add to that policy only makes sense when it connects to
something this connects to right and I think what what the goal of the city is we get that there's places that don't have sidewalk connectivity but we need to start somewhere and so as these Street projects come and go we'd like to add them to them again as as it goes this I've been on it for 16 years and
this seems to always be a feather that gets ruffled when you have a home that hasn't had them for 40 plus years and we're trying to add them I certainly understand it it happened in my neighborhood last year there was a lot of drama but I I there's a policy so I'd just turn it over to council if there
more questions or uh or a resolution on what they would like to do on this street project on Sixth I had Stephen I had a question for Stephen okay I asked if there was sidewalk on fifth or seventh and just sixth the only one with withouts
sidewalk correct there is sidewalk on Fifth Avenue Northwest and there is sidewalk on sth Avenue Northwest Northeast St Northeast I'm sorry okay yes you know I it's again as mayor said numbers speak
volumes and we've got one household of 12 here representing um and you know the complete streets policy as you're hearing was developed and without the numbers to kind of back you up it's hard to reverse the decision at this time
yeah so with that I'll make a motion is that to approve the as is the project yes I'll second that thank you for your time count thank you grab the box so we have a motion and a second for the resolution um
Tommy hi Fisher hi Waller hi Hy hi council member at large Austin hi resolution passes 5 Z your honor thank you Tom item number nine is a public hearing on Street improvements on 25th Street Southwest Oakland Avenue West to
7th and 8th Avenue Southwest project 25107 Andrew yes thank you uh this one will be just a 1 and 1/2 in Mill and overlay uh it's approximately 2,250 ft
it's a standard 36t wide Street I can bring it up apologize uh we do have two spot I'll zoom in just a little bit two spot um repairs for the sanitary sewer
notice they are two um where two uh services are um we found that this would be a good time for those one of them is a definite culprit for our ey and I um looking to find situations like
this there is a break right at at the service at the main and you could see from a video you could see groundwater coming in the other one is a similar situation we did not see it on the camera but it would be well worth
replacing uh this estimated construction time frame June to July um project estimate $1,000 that would be 150,000 for the paving and the milling and then about 50 ,000 for the
sanitary sewer repairs excellent one of our simpler projects this year yes all right Council any questions for Andrew and I number nine anybody from the public wishing to speak on this project anybody all and Ron looking to
speak on this just a quick question how long do you think project will take um this is standard over right yep um probably about Jun yeah put your name on the record here R if you could and
um uh we're probably looking at three to four weeks of work we'll give them about 6 weeks of a window to get it in so you got to do will the whole Road be shut down that long no it um you'll be able to drive on a on a a milled surface so
just when they're Milling it and just when they're Paving it would access be really affected uh also the the homes on that 4 well the the five 500 block North probably only have one way out when
those sanitary sewer spot Replacements are happening and each one of those should only be a day okay perfect yeah get it done thanks Ron appreciate it all right uh without hearing any
nobody else oh we got one more name and address if you could hi Jim schad 403 25th Street Southwest right in the middle there I just have a question it's it you're going to start and finish when
wasn't it June to July yes okay yeah and how long will it take I I said about about a six week window six we we're giving them and where can we park and where we can't park in a street at all in that time or or what it will probably sit as a mil
surface for for probably several weeks hopefully not much longer than that especially when they do have those spot repairs done so part of the time we can park there most when when they're prepping and when they're ready to go and repave it yes we will let people know there are
several ways of contacting hopefully contacting you okay and um no sidewalks there no there are no sidewalk just a Mill and overlay I would strongly suggest people people do the text messaging sign up for the text message I did it with my street last year it's amazing the city will will absolutely
warn you and and tell you every detail when they're coming when you may or may not park on that street so right thank you yep thank you appreciate it Jim all right anybody else from the public wishing to speak on that hearing none looking for a
resolution so mov second Tom council member pusta I Fisher hi Waller hi Elly hi council member at large Austin hi resolution passes 5- Z your honor before we move past the uh Road improvements I
know the foxes came in late your project was the first one out of the gate so we we dealt with it but I'll give you an opportunity to ask you had a question maybe on the how the assessment policy worked for your area Terry no I know we talk you sure
all right I've encouraged them to just speak to Mr Lang on it the assessment policy for that that road out there on 30 was it 31st 30th thank you y all right sorry Terry uh moving on then to item number 10 is a public hearing on Nature's Ridge fourth edition plat approval
Holly thank you Andrew thank you the preliminary plat for nature Ridge Force subdivision was approved uh by Council on January 21st 2025 um there were some conditions uh in order to uh get that approval number one
was that there would be final approval by the city engineer and Austin utilities two that a development agreement and civil drawings uh would be included with the final plat at the final plat will be submitted within six months of approval of the preliminary plat that all multiple provisions of the
subdivision code and permitting agencies should be met um and that any issues regarding a strip of land not part of the plat uh that remains uh as part of the nature natur Ridge Subdivision in the area owned by uh nature Ridge
properties of Austin uh would be resolved um the above items or th those items and any additional issues have been addressed as follows uh the developer will do a fee in Li of Park dedication the Nature
Center is located adjacent um public Spa that public space will benefit the neighborhood uh a sidewalk will be constructed on the south side of the proposed development comply with uh the multi multimodal complete streets requirement uh the city engineer and Austin utilities have no objection to
the final plat as presented um less than six months have passed since the approval of the preliminary plat uh proposed development agreement with required attachments has been submitted uh for Council approval included in the this
packet uh the city engineer will go over that uh development agreement with you uh nature Ridge properties of Austin uh is also known as the developer which is to retain ownership and maintenance
responsibilities for the approximately 30ft strip of land again not included in the platted area of nature Ridge 4 so this whole area is known as nature Ridge and this is the last uh phase of that subdivision at least in the area
that's currently owned by Nature Ridge properties um the strip extends along nature Ridge 2 and nature Ridge three phase two and phase three uh the strip of land is partially used uh and may be used further in the
future for control water flow from the land adjacent to the current subdivision um as a condition also as a condition of plat approval the developer would work with the city of Austin to transfer uh the existing storm
water Pond and Trail Outlets Outlaws to the city as follows um the the trail and storm water ponds are encompassed by Outlaws a b c e and f um and as part of that transfer the
developer will confirm uh through a professional engineering and surveying firm that the pond depps meet original design specifications prior to a transfer of ownership uh longterm the responsibility for uh most infrastructure always falls on the city
um nature Ridge 4 again will be complete um so is important to address anything uh that may require ongoing maintenance and repair uh to make sure that the uh subdivision continues to operate as intended um and
uh also as a condition the developer will work with uh again with a professional engineering and surveying firm the corrective plating issue in nature Ridge third uh related to the mission of Outlaw e as it relates to um certain blocks um in that in that uh
plat so the requested action is to approve the final plat uh with the conditions that I've read the um plat itself has not changed so these were just additional issues that needed to be sorted out along with the uh Final Phase
of this uh subdivision do you have any questions thank you hly counsel any questions on 10A if not looking for a resolution approving the final plat so move
second council member pusta hi Fisher hi Waller hi heli hi council member at large Austin hi resolution passes 5 Z your honor thank you Tom under uh 10 B and C is development agreement presentation Steve
Steph yeah so first I'll just uh talk on Item B first and then um look for a resolution then I'll just item c a little bit but uh as the area Holly just described in the plat we've laid out a development agreement to build all the
public infrastructure for that those 30 Lots it would be um developing sections of roadway on 18th Street Northeast 14th Avenue Northeast and 19th Street Northeast the roadways would be built to a a local roadway standard or a 7 ton
design that'll include asphalt pavement kbon gutter aggregate based sidewalks and Street lighting those are all called out in our normal development agreement standards and then uh there's also criteria involved for uh the underground infrastructure that would be sanitary
sewer storm sewer and then there are petitions at the very end of the development agreement um for installation of Austin utilities water Gas and Electric um all of those things combined for the public infrastructure and the lot grading or the site grading
for these 30 lots are all called out in this uh development agreement for Nature's Ridge forth uh included in your packet it does not have the signatures but uh signed signatures from the developer were dropped off at City Hall
today for execution so they are in agreement with this overall development document excellent thank you any questions Mr L councel if not looking for a resolution for item number 10 B approving a development agreement natur's Ridge fourth edition all
moved is there a second second Tom council member pusta I Fisher hi Waller hi Hy I council member at large Austin I resolution passes 5 Z your honor thank you uh I'm Number 10 C Stephen any more
to add yes uh now that we've just uh approve the development agreement we're going to wave a bunch of items in the development agreement uh so what's before you now is something new that has been talked about with Council for the past few years and this is the first developer I believe to to utilize a
utilize the city as a funding source um for the project and anytime the city gets involved as a funding source we then need to run it through our normal assessment process we would we would actually build the project uh and then
we would assess the cost of the project 100% of the cost back to the these 30 developed Lots so in order to do that and and then we also want to ensure that the developer who is the property owner of these 30 Lots doesn't object to our
assessments when we come to do them in the fall after the project so before you now is a waiver um it's an agreement of assessment and waiver of irregularity and appeal uh this document was developed by our our city attorney's
office and we're essentially waving some of the requirements in the development agreement that call for the developer to get um Shri and financial backing for the project because the city will fund the project and then assess them to the adjacent Lots uh one key part of this is
um the city would then recoup our our assessment cost or our construction costs through yearly assessments that are are paid by the property owner in this case the developer paid back each year at tax tax time once a lot
sells once the developer sells a lot to a builder or a uh future homeowner then that entire assessment would need to be paid in full so we'll either get our money back over time over a 15-year assessment period or we would get it
back once that lot sells and hopefully if housing um continues to progress in this area as it has um we would see our our payments coming back to us much before the 15 your uh timeline so with that this is something new for a a a
development project like this um but we would uh recommend that the council approve the agreement of assessment and waiver of irregularity and appeal very good I appreciate it very creative any questions for Mr
Lang looking for a resolution on 10d so move second Tom council member pusta hi Fisher hi Waller hi heli hi council member large Austin hi resolution passes
5 than Tom on to petitions and request I have number 11 is resolution I'm looking forward for setting the public hearing for March 17th now the 18th March 17th 2025 for Street Improvement project assessments so moved there second second
Tom council member pusta hi Fisher hi Waller hi Ellie hi council member at large Austin hi resolution passes 5- Zer your honor thank you number 12 is resolution approving an airport Farm lease with Dave Morris Stephen we have a couple small Parcels
of property that are located adjacent to other Dave Morris plots of land and it just seemed appropriate over the past 15 years to just expand his Fields into our smaller areas these properties were purchased during the airport expansion
in the mid 2000s they're not used for an airport need so we they actually farmed and maintained in that manner uh before you is a three-year agreement uh continuing with Dave Morris continuing at the same rate it has been of $225 per
acre and we would recommend approval of the proposed lease agreement thank you Stephen councel any questions looking for resolution approving 12 so moved second Tom council member pusta hi fiser hi
Waller hi Helly hi council member large Austin hi resolution passes 5 Z your honor thank number 13 is resolution approving an airport T Hanger Grant Stephen yes this is a uh matching Grant to go along with a a recently approved
grant that council did a couple uh meetings ago it's all part of our funding package that we have planned and in place for the t- hanger project it was very extensive funding package that went out over a couple years with uh pre-s spending some dollars paying some
dollars back to other communities also getting future uh state and federal grants and this is part of that so we would recommend approval of this grant Council any questions looking for resolution on item number 13 so
mov second Tom council member pusta hi fiser hi Waller hi Ellie I council member lar Austin hi resolution passes 5 Z your honor thank I'm number 14's resolution approving addendum number one to the wastewater treatment plant Levy
design Stephen yeah so as you can see we've been working on this for about five years um and and reasons for a long design like this mainly revolve around the wastewater treatment plant project itself um focusing on that project and
then filling in where we can do this Levy project um we do have funds in place for this construction of this Levy project that was a approved about um 14 months ago or so when we invited Pat Lynch to our council meeting and
recognized him uh that's when the the state funding came into play for this project but circling back um anytime we're working on a project for over five years uh plans change ideas change and trying to make uh improvements think of
new ideas to make the project better anytime we have those changes There's real cost associated with that that the the designer may need to redesign a portion of of something that they've already done so that's what's happened in this case as we've refined the plan over the years to make it fit better with the overall site uh there's been
some redesigns and some costs have been uh associated with that one new cost uh for them is the muscle and plant survey we have to it was flagged as part of our federal review that we have to review the Waterway for a certain type of
muscle and we also need to uh review the stream banks for certain types of plants to make sure that we are not impacting them so that is something new but with that uh we would recommend approval of this addendum in the amount of
$159,500 for SE and work to be completed to finalize the plans and specs for this phase one of this project very good thank you Stephen councel any questions looking for resolution approving the addendum all moved second
time hi Fisher hi Waller Hi H hi council member at large Austin hi resolution passes 5- Z your honor thanks Tom item number 15 is a motion approving the 2025 firework contact contract Tom uh we received the contract from flashing
Thunder fireworks who's done our fireworks for the last several years here in town there was a slight price increase for 2025 the total contracts at $336,000 the city budget's 10 the horal foundation has given us 23,000 and the Eagles Club donated three grand to help
bridge the gap so with that we request Council approval to sign the agreement very good thank you Tom uh Council any questions on this otherwise looking for a motion accepting or approving the 2025 firework contract so moved is there a
second second all in favor hi opposed that motion carries item number 16 is resolution approving a parking lot lease with Mor County Craig uh thank you mayor members uh as you know we've had an agreement with maer County to utilize the parking lot which
was on the former Austin Daily Herald site we're continuing that for another year uh same terms apply um moving forward we're asking for it to change and that it automatically renews unless there's notice from either party um we
also are changing the notice from 90 days to 30 days um otherwise they're still responsible for Main and snow removal and pay us the amount of whopping $950 very good be happy to answer any questions coun any questions for Mr
Clark I looking for resolution approving the parking lot lease so moved second council member pusta hi fiser hi Waller hi heli hi council member at large Austin hi resolution passes 5 Z
your honor thank grab number 17 is a resolution renewing a joint Powers agreement for the the internet uh crimes against children's children task force M yeah this would be at least our second renewal uh I know uh we had this joint Powers agreement when Mark haer detective Mark haer uh worked with the
Minnesota BCA on uh these types of crimes uh Derek Ellis has been our liaison with the Minnesota BCA uh since he came on board as a detective he remains uh in that role uh we do have a good partnership with them and this is just part of the package that we need to
preserve that uh working relationship with the Minnesota BCA on these uh types of crimes very good thanks Chief uh Council any questions I was looking for resolution renewing The Joint Powers agreement so move second Tom council
member pusta hi Fisher hi Waller hi Hy hi council member large Austin hi resolution passes 5- Z your honor thank you Tom item number 18 is a resolution accepting these donations to the City of Austin Terry dorsy
uh gift of $50 for the flowers and Ralph and Judy pnin also uh for the flower program at $100 so with that we appreciate the generosity recognize them looking to for resolution accepting those donations so moved second Tom
council member pusta hi Fisher hi Waller hi heli hi council member at large Austin hi resolution passes 5 Z your honor thank you Tom on to Citizens addressing the council anyone in the chambers here tonight looking Council and items that weren't on the
agenda hearing none looking uh any comments Cindy it's your last honorary council member uh event here you have any closing comments I do okay i' like to thank everybody for allowing me to be um this term of honorary city council member but I also have just some
questions on the agenda for tonight going back to number eight the public hearing on the street Improvement on 6th Avenue Northeast with that couple that was here I do understand their concerns there and then I had some questions I understand it's also the policy with the
sidewalk but as you stated um you won't go back there in 50 years okay so then why is the sidewalk not going to be completed where they said it ends here that's the only sidewalk it's not going to be on the other side who's going to incur those costs just those 12
residents there's no because it's going to benefit those if it's policy it's going to benefit those in the area so is that whole neor neighborhood going to incur that cost so the city policy has been your first sidewalk is free okay if
I understand correct everybody in town pays for it in other words in other words yes everyone in town pays for the first time your sidewalk and then when we come back and do repairs or have to replace it then you're assessed it okay that that's good to hear and and that's
for a fairness reason yeah so if you're not going to go back in for 50 years per se like you said why wouldn't they just complete complete the sidewalk all the way down you want to speak to that it's it's as we're doing the road
projects uh because it's difficult enough just to get it on one side and once we get it on one side we feel that we've provided an off-road option for Walkers and folks on mobilized motorized scooters things like
that so our goal is we would like to have it on both but um we feel that one side is better than none so that's why we're generally propose it on one side if there is not any okay thank you and
then my other question will be I guess directed to you again Steve so um in uh number 10 for that nature Ridge fourth fourth edition So when you say the city's going to fund at the cost where's the where
are these funds coming from that's actually Tom she said Ste um so we have a Capal Improvement revolving fund so when we do a street project we Levy a dollar amount down the middle of the of the um street that we get collections from over the years from
assessments so we're going to try something new this year with this one and that we're going to fund it out of that out of that fund and then you as those assessments come back and replenish the fund as I've talked to staff about this we're going to try it because I can't fund a whole lot of these because we don't have you know
millions of dollars in this fund um to do those projects so this is like a a trial project basically using fund balancer dollars we've we've banked up over the year and we revolve into other Street projects okay thank you I mean to ask those questions just because when I
asked questions on the second meeting about tax abatement and the tax levy and um they can ask to extend that tax abatement and stuff so I just asking where these funds are coming from to see how much of a burden it's going to be for the community and this will probably
be what million and and a half of cash out the door that we you know in theory we'll get 115th back every year and then if a lot sells we'll get the immediate payment back based on what the actual assessment is and again we're just trying it out helping the developers out
to get the infrastructure out there because we need the single family homes and sometimes it's easier to work with us with our assessment policy um than having to go to the bank and try to finance that in the private markets these days so we're giving it a shot we're even a trial run Craig do you have
something yeah just to add to that I'm glad Tom added that second part but trying to find the balance the hardest thing for developers is to come up with that Capital cost for the infrastructure so as Tom mentioned we want to try to see more single family homes constructed
so we're trying to extend an olive branch and making that more palatable while at the same time over the 15-year period we're still made whole and we have the interest on to of that that comes in to make sure that the city's taken care of and their General aren't
subsidizing it long term okay I mean and and I see that too you know and all these developments in the um housing coming in but it for economic growth too what about businesses I mean we don't really to me I don't see you know we have a Marshalls and we have a running and Walmart are we trying to do anything
to bring other businesses we are we primarily focused on um manufacturing so in our Creekside Business Park we uh sought I think over 4 million in Grants for the infrastructure to connect east side to the west side there so that
those costs generally the Port Authority has taken a um passing along the benefit of getting those gr dollars so it makes it more affordable and more attractive for somebody to locate their manufacturing fa facility in the Creekside Business
Park okay thank you the the general philosophy has been that um city and local government should incentivize manufacturing and other higher paying jobs with the idea that retail will follow um I have an opinion on if that
is uh the right strategy or not but that's been Austin strategy for decades run with Nature's Ridge our security for the taxpayers is the the land if for some reason it doesn't you know they don't make payments on the assessments that's our our security is that land will be
ours thank you all right anything else Cindy nope that is very good thank you and thanks for your uh six uh six meetings with the city council last one was sick but five's good I guess we're okay so thank you for joining us as the
uh honorary council member well I would like to thank uh Sergeant Mike tisher for his 18 and a half years of service Serv um as he retiring soon thank you for all those years of dedication and and making our community safe as well as thank you to all the city employees for
what you do every day to make this city function so thank you thanks Paul Joyce uh also Mike tisher congratulations and thank you and it's been a rough couple weeks I know for APD and Austin fire as well so thanks for
all you guys do and to keep us safe out there good thanks Jo Laura uh I wanted to announce that Fourth Avenue Fest is scheduled for Wednesday June 4th 4: to 7:00 p.m. this seems like a really good night to remind everybody that June is coming we will actually
want to go to open swim or um take a canoe out into mil Pond um so mark your calendars now uh I also want to um especially thank the Eagles uh club for their contribution to our fireworks and just point out that you know we're here
twice a month and I don't know that that a meeting goes by that we don't have some Community partner that has contributed to the city usually with dollars but um in other ways as well and so um nationally right now I see some chatter about people who who uh believe
that they live separately um from their communities and I just think that's an illusion I think we're all connected and we're all well served when we um pull our resources into things like fire protection uh law enforcement Parks
libraries um we are we know this in Austin right we know our neighbors we know we're connected um and I will just keep talking about that um and how it is to our benefit um for as long as I have to so thank you yeah thank you Lauren
Jeff uh yes there was a library board meeting last week uh they wanted to thank Tom Daner for coming and walking them through the budget they really appreciate his time and expertise in explaining that uh the library has struggled with staff shortages lately
due to illnesses and leaves uh so they are exploring new options around cross training uh minimum Staffing requirements to be open to the public Etc and what they need to adjust to uh Library legislative Day is coming up this uh Thursday the 20th julan nataya
will be attending with a group of celco people uh the use of our four study rooms and group room has increased from a high of 1,24 uses in 2019 to 2015 uses last year increase of
67% wow uh also uh as the mayor mentioned earlier uh dick pasel former council member passed away um I was made aware of this just uh last week late last week by his son Scott Pas who also served on the council for a term or two
and uh license and uh enjoyed enjoyed uh serving with uh dick uh he was always uh uh passionate about uh serving his constituents and I guess it was shown by the fact that he
was reelected so many times and uh so passionate about serving the City of Austin so he will be missed thank you Jeff nothing just a tag on Jeff we we have a lot of you know dick passal
memories and I know one is every time the horal foundation grants come up Tom's got to explain what the number 10 and number one means because as the ranking ranking goes Dick pasel had there was our way of ranking and there was the dick Pas so that that will
forever be in the council memory and and lore so we we do uh we do remember some great times with dick pasel so and also I know Julie has something yes good evening I just have a couple informational things for you tonight not enough for a work session so I'm just going to slip them in here quick um as
Jeff mentioned we gave the library board some information on our annual study room use this isn't our meeting rooms our large and small meeting rooms just our study rooms and from the chart you can see that between 2015 and 2019 we we're already seeing an increase in the two small study rooms that we had
they're one to three people rooms back there kind of stuck behind the desk kind of dark um so we had talked about in our construction project of creating new spaces um in 2020 obviously we were closed for covid in 2021 we still weren't quite getting people back of
those two rooms in 2022 we did add a virtual meeting space so there is a laptop that's available and it we put padding up on the walls to make it more soundproof but still not a whole lot of use in 2022 but in 2023 we did that construction project we added two um um
small meeting rooms for studying that could be used between one and four people and then a group study room as well and you can see that in 20124 then our numbers jumped up to 2015 that's not people that is just occurrences of use so each of those
occurrences had anywhere from one to three one to four or 1 to 10 people in those meeting rooms so we just wanted to show that that that study room use those free rooms that can be used at the library are getting used all the time so that was the one piece the other piece was just an
informational um bit again it is Library legislative week this week and the D the library directors had gotten together to gather information on what federal funding looks like for the libraries and what kind of happens if that freezes so that other piece is just a little
information about how the Austin Public Library is funded through Federal funding and some information I know the Institute of uh Minnesota the I'm sorry The Institute of Museum and Library services that imls gets talked about a lot but people don't usually know what that means or how that affects them so
that's what that paper is and it is on our website and you can link it to the um Minnesota library association's website where there's a lot of information there too so just for your perusal thank you Julie Julie do you
know why the meeting room uses so far do you attribute it to just having nicer meeting rooms well we went from two to 5 so we went from two little rooms that could only hold one to three to we added on two more small rooms that hold one to
four people and then we added on the group room and those rooms have Windows they have whiteboards they're a little bit they're a little bit nicer um although we still catch people sitting in there in the dark at night they don't turn on the lights but um I so I think that part of it is we increase the
number of rooms available but part of that was because of usage that we were seeing coming um and I think it's they're free you I don't know if you guys remember what was the mocha no Java Joka yep jamoka there you go had that room there and that space got used a lot and um there so I think it's just a free
space where people can come in they don't have to purchase anything so they're getting a lot of use thank you thank you Julie uh before we adjourn I just wanted to manage expectations here I know our County friends are waiting in the lobby we had a work session with them on the economic
data the urban 3 uh presentation with by Urban 3 so just and I think they have a meeting to go to at 7 so we we'll that'll be the front of the agenda and we' still have a a ways to go on the work session but I just want to make sure everybody knows to break as short as we can to get the pizza and have
Marty rewind the tape as soon as he's done we're rolling on the work session the county folks get them in and out of here so thank you looking for