Call this meeting to order for city council regular meeting Tuesday, September 2nd, 2025 at 6:30 p.m. All rise for the pledge of allegiance. Pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the
republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Item number three on the agenda. Roll call. Administrator Poo. Council member Ball. Council member Jensen present. Council
member present. Council member Scott present. Thank you. Number four on the agenda. Open forum. The city council invites residents to share new ideas or concerns related to city business not already on the agenda. However, individual questions or remarks are
limited to three minutes per speaker. No city council action will be taken, although the council may refer issues to staff for followup or for consideration at a future meeting. The mayor may use discretion if speakers are are repeating views already expressed or ask for a spokesperson for groups of individuals
with similar views. Speakers should state their name and home address at the podium before speaking. With that presented, is there anybody here that wishes to address the city council in open forum? I'll ask again, is there anybody here that wishes to address the city council
in open forum? Hearing none, open forum is closed. Moving on, item five, consent agenda. 5A, approve claims totaling $65,7266 for checks 14482 to 14543
and e checks 3969E to 3997E. 5B, approve city council meeting minutes from August 4th, 2025. 5 C approve pay application number two for sanitary sewer extension project. 5D declare
vehicle as surplus and authorized sale of property. 5E resolution 17-25 accept sign donation to Breezy Point Parks and Recreation Department. 5 F resolution 18-25
approve donations to Pelican Woods Cemetery. 5G resolution 20-25 supporting and authorizing the application for Sourcewell Community Impact Funding for public safety grant submitt 5H. Resolution 21-25 supporting and
authorizing the application for Sourcewell community match funding for public works grant submitt. Is there any questions or comments from the council on the consent agenda? None for me. Hearing none, do I have a motion to approve as read? So moved. Second.
Motion from council member Jensen, second from council member Rooney. Discussion hearing none. All those in favor signify by saying I. I. I. Opposed. Abstensions. A motion carries. Item six on the agenda, business item
6A, approve high-tech pay application number 11. Thank you, Commissioner Pos. Yep. Um, high-tech pay application number 11 is due for payment for the city hall facility reconstruction. Staff recommends approving the pay application as presented in the packet.
Any questions from the council? Hearing none, do I have a motion to approve the high-tech payment application number 11? Also move. I have a motion from council member Maron. Do I have a second? Second. Second from council member Jensen. Any further discussion? Hearing none, all
those in favor signify by saying I. I opposed abstensions. The motion carries. 6B. Approve parks and recreation master plan proposal by Woodsth Joe public works director. Uh we received seven responses at the
last uh park and recreation meeting. Um the committee me members all scored independently. Uh the results of the scoring is in the chart. Uh Woods had the top score of 478. Um the financial impact 25,000 for the
master plan. Um possible additional costs up to 5,000 for surveying if required. Um timeline next year. It's not real firmed up. We'll firm that up once we get into the process, but that's a approximate
timeline. So, any questions? Questions? Council member Moroni? Mr. Mayor. Uh, for the is it the start for next year or the completion for next year? Start completion. Um, the next park meeting after today, we'll see if they're
available and um it'll probably be the main focus of of the committee. Um I would anticipate you know mid midsummer or something fall but it's speculation until we get into it really. So
so so again the the time frame from beginning to end is what three four 6 months I'd say six to seven months. Yeah. As long as you know there's progress and uh consensus and we're not rehashing
things. Um there was quite a there's some flexibility in there just because you never know if we'll have a you know committee member enough people there and those sorts of things. So okay other questions.
All right. Well hearing none. Do I have a motion to approve the park and recreation master plan proposal by Woods to move forward with that? So moved. I have a motion from council member Jensen. Do I have a second? Second.
Second from council member Rooney. Any further discussion? No. No. I'm happy to see it. I'm I'm glad we're doing this. I think it's an important aspect for us to have this plan put in place to give us a good record of of a vision of where we can go
forward with regards to our park and rack. So I applaud the committee for working toward of this and I look forward to seeing what Woodsith comes up with for results as we work through the process. So I hear no further discussion. I'll call the motion. All those in favor signify by saying I.
I. I. Opposed. Abstensions. The motion carries. Thank you, Joe. Moving on. Item 6 C, Bushman Road project funding discussion. Administrator Pus. Yes. Thank you. Um, as you know, the
Bushman Road construction project began its planning and engineering in December of 2022. Since then, the city has completed multiple steps, including engineering design, public engagement, funding considerations, and most recently the land acquisition. To date,
um, the city has invested approximately $950,000 in the planning, engineering, and land acquisition costs with about $3.1 million remaining to complete the project. The finance committee met and discussed fun funding alternatives for
this project. After evaluating options, the committee recommends issuing a 15-year general obligation bond. The annual payment for the bond, which is included in the budget that I'll present later tonight, is $35,000. Already included in the 2025 budget was
$280,000 for anticipated future debt obligation payments. The estimated increase of $25,000 is reflected in the preliminary budget that I will present later tonight. Um, this type of funding mechanisms allow the cost of the project
to be paid by the current and future residents of Breezy Point. Benefers of the approved infrastructure will not only be our existing residents, but any future residents over the next 15 years. This method allows the city to preserve its day-to-day services, helps spread
the financial burden to future residents, and ensures the taxpayer dollars are used for the intended purpose. If approved, the next step would be to approve plans and specs and authorize ad for bid in October. In December, the city council would award the bid and from there, tree clearing
would start late winter, early spring, and construction would begin in May of 26. So, I recommend that you guys discuss um the Bushman Road project and we will reflect any decision made in the preliminary budget tonight.
Thank you. Council questions, thoughts, concerns, anything? I think we need to move forward with it. I mean, this project is long overdue. It's been many many years of avoiding
it. Um, it needs to happen. The road is deteriorating. Um, and I think we need to move forward. Well, I would state that we've already invested the amount that's been said. Correct. So, the idea of not moving forward the
project does not enter into my brain at all with regards to that. I think the idea of the 15-year bond, um, speaking and I don't want to speak for the finance committee, but since I'm on that, that was what we thought was the best way to move forward. Um, and it
looked to be the best um the best for the city, the best position for the city is a 15-year um to go ahead and move forward with that. I think the positive thing is that there was some foresight done previously in regards to the idea that they knew the project was coming
and so last year there was some stuff put into the budget already. So we know that the majority of it's there. It's just a little additional piece to get us to where we need to be. Um and I think if we work for it to approve, we can get this going and we can get an opportunity
to get a good bid. That's a big thing in road projects is the earlier we can get it out there, the better off I think we're going to be. People, you know, the companies that are there will be competitive in the bidding and that could benefit us in the end as well. So, that's my thoughts and ideas and I
agree. But, Council Member Jent, it's got to be done. We got to improve that road for the safety of the citizens here in Breezy Point. Um, and it's not just the citizens, there's a lot of other people that use that road. So, um I think it falls on us as the city to be responsible in taking care of the road
and making sure it's it's there uh in good shape for the future um for others. So, Council Member any comments or thoughts? Nothing really further to add. It's been a discussion point for multiple years uh now. Uh we're finally getting closer. I'm glad the land acquisition was was performed because if for some reason we
did uh put a pin in it, we still have that ready to go. So, I'm glad that we move forward with the way we did. Um, and I think going for bid at the time that we're going to go is going to see f hopefully favorable bids that we get back and uh and moving forward with that and I think the bond is the right way to go.
Yeah. So, all right. Well, hearing any further discussion, do I have a motion to go ahead and approve um the idea of doing I got to read this so I got it right. To uh approve move move forward with the Bushman Road funding
project with the idea of doing a 15-year bond um and to follow the tenative project timeline as put forward by our administrator. So moved. So I have a motion from council member Jensen. Do I have a second? I'll second. I have a second from
council member Any further discussion hearing? None. Make a comment. Um, is this appropriate? If not, not at this time. If you would just hold it, please. Thank you. Um, any further
discussion from the council hearing? None. All those in favor signify by saying I. I. I. Opposed. Abstensions. Motion carries. Now, if you'd please come forward, I'll allow you to make your comment. State your name, where you're from, and who you're representing.
My name is Dave Peterson. My name is Dave Peterson. I'm a supervisor of Ideal Township, and I'd like to congratulate the Breezy Point Council. Uh, I echo the mayor's comments. Uh, it seems like I've been talking about this road for 10 years. I'm glad we're finally moving forward
with this. Uh, we finished up the tail end piece down there ourselves. It's going to be a little bit different than what we're doing for the majority of the road. It's going to still be having 12oot driving lanes, but we're going to have two foot gravel shoulders. So, we've completed the acquisition of that uh portion uh there also. So, we're
ready to move forward. We rolled it in to the rest of the uh contract. So, uh we're ready to roll. So, we're glad we're going to get this done. Thank you for your comments. We appreciate it. All right. Moving on. 66 6D zoning code revision discussion. Administrator
Pulfus. Yes, thank you. Um, the city council had initiated the process of updating it zoning code in early 2023. The council selected HKGI as lead consultant and approved a contract with them for $120,000.
This project was placed on hold at the end of 2024 and the city has spent about $14,000 to date on preliminary work. The council should have a discussion regarding the zoning code update and determine if it is still a priority to them. I included some items to consider
as you make your decision. Some options um to move forward are to continue with update as planned, reallocate some or all of the funds to capital reserves for another project or remove the project funding. I'd also like to ask Jerry to share his insights regarding the current
city code. Um as we know, he has the most in-depth knowledge and experience in this area. So, I'll lean on him for any answers to your questions. Very good. Thank you. Council questions, thoughts. I'd like to get our planning
and zoning uh administrator's thoughts and ideas surrounding this. Would you mind sharing? Sure. Happy to. Um, as you know that when Peter left, we we had anticipated having a uh joint meeting between the
planning commission and the city council to basically kind of kick off the process. Uh, prior to that, there was about 14 or to $17,000 worth of preliminary work, mapping, that kind of
stuff, getting to know the the code, whatever, by HDKI. Um, Peter left and and we basically suspended that in February and uh we've had some discussions since the building
is being put down. Alex, come on board. we're we're starting to think about what what we're going to do in the future and and those type of things. Um I I don't know the the real reason why
in 2023 there was actually a a push to redo the zoning code. Quite frankly, I think there were a couple reasons that I've been made aware of. Um, I don't know that fixing the code in any way would fix the issues that I became aware
of. Um, I think those some of those issues are going to be there no matter what the the code says. Also in in talking to the consultant, we've kind of uh had a conversation about the
the code and the the uh comp plan don't coincide very well and they need we the the focus maybe should be turned to the the comp plan first to figure out what the vision of
the city is for the next 20 years so that we can adopt a code that promotes that that vision. Uh the the way it was proposed before was just the opposite was we were going to
make the code and then base the vision on the code. U although they do cooperate together, one justifies the other more than anything else. and and if if in fact we continue on with this uh process, we I
think we really need to consider doing that comp plan again. I know that was done relatively reasonably. Um I don't really think that it took into consideration a lot of land use stuff.
That said, um I I I just wonder if there's a real understanding of what's the matter with the code the way it is. Um and I think there needs to be some discussions about what what you'd like
to change and and maybe it isn't a whole rewrite, maybe it's just a partial uh rewrite. I think there probably needs to be some discussion about tax size. Um, and do we continue on with the way
the the uh current code is is any new subdivision is 2 and a half acres. Is that realistic? Um, we do have some zoning districts that are 10 acres. We have some that are five acres. But even in the close proximity to what I
call the central uh community where we're at right now, um any new subdivision is 2 and a half acres. Is that real? And I think those are type of discussions that have to happen as part of a a comp plan.
Mhm. Um getting back is there really something wrong and and I I think that's that's a crux. Um I think if in fact we get into this this project further
um I would assume that the planning commission becomes the the lead agency. I really really believe that there needs to be council involvement in that process with the planning
commission so that there's buy in. Uh if in fact there are changes made and there the there's ordinance changes and those type of things. I think I think the council's input and backing is is essential.
Right now we don't have a the planning commission does not have a uh leaison even and I would suggest if we get into this that there be at least two council members that are part of that uh planning process.
Um, I I think there might there's probably a need to to sit back and and have another conversation with the consultant about what we can do, maybe with a lesser
project than what was proposed initially and maybe more focus on the the uh comp plan than on the the zoning ordinance itself. Um, I suspect one of the reasons that
the zoning ordinance was was called out is because not a lot of people understand it. Um, it's and quite frankly, I don't know of any zoning ordinance that's understandable very well, but some are easier than
others. But, um, I think that's probably the the crux of it. Um, those are that's a lot of thoughts in in one little bit of time, but I think there should be some rethinking
done. I I also know there's some budget constraints and concerns that might come into it. I I think we could probably get some value out of a lesser budget than we have to than we had anticipated. Might help you out in the the total
scheme of things. Um, with that I'm open for questions. All right. First of all, thank you for your input. Very much appreciated. Um, I guess I'll I'll start, but you know, this is something that came about before
I my current term as mayor. Um, but coming into it, uh, one of the things that that I had heard about, but then also thought about as well is is our comp plan. Okay. And to me, it makes sense that the comp plan is something
that you put together and then potentially look at your ordinance if it needs to be changed based off of what the comp plan kind of comes to comes to fruition on it. Um, you know, and they kind of go hand in hand, but I I see it as being, you know,
the comp plan being something that we probably should be looking at first and then ultimately looking at uh the reasonzoning. I can't speak to why it was brought forth to have it redone cuz I I wasn't I wasn't part of that. Um I think the important thing is thinking
about it now and do we is this something that we need to do right now? Is it something we'd be better off looking at our comp plan first and work through that process and then come back and look at our uh ordinance at that time? And even with that being said, is there a
huge overhaul that needs to be done? Um, you know, um, I think, uh, Jerry's comments about, uh, understanding a zoning ordinance. I'd be the first to admit that I I mean, I'm I'm constantly
learning about it and understanding what the different areas are and how they work and what it is and the variances that come with each one. So, um, you know, I'd be the first to admit that definitely more education is always needed in that area. And I think that's also for the public as well. So, I don't
know. I from my perspective, I think it would make more sense for us to maybe potentially put this off to look at not doing it right now, but not forget about it. The idea that maybe we we once we get through this year and work through
our budget, we look at our comp. It is due. So, we know we need to start taking a look at that. And then I think honestly look at our comp and say, "Okay, what's that? do what type of account comp plan do we want to do? You know, how many years do we want to look at? There's lots of different variances
there. And I know that's not the same track as what we're on right now, but it's relevant. The idea that I think we need to look at that, too, to think about planning for the future because that really then does impact if you're looking 15, 20 years out, what does it look like then with your planning and
zoning ordinance? What you have currently right now may not work for what you're thinking about what it could look like in 15 or 20 years. So I that's my thoughts and ideas. I would be in favor of of looking at not moving forward with the project and potentially doing something to help us out with
regards to our budget right now um for this year and and then potentially not striking it off but making sure it's there on our list to do for the future. So those are just my thoughts. So, Council Member Moroni,
some some history on that is um is to make it simplified or attempt to um with our current code. I know there's a discussion point that we had a lot of things that needed variances. So, to dig into what are we seeing in front of us,
can we can we make a rule for it versus variance requests for many things that came in front of the P&Z. Um again, I think the PNZ kind of uh spearheaded this. I think they they reviewed the bids if memory serves me correctly. Then they recommended uh the firm
uh to come forth and and again we had different leadership too as as well uh at that time. Peter was new to us so it was a great opportunity to rewrite that ordinance with with a staff member that we envisioned for long term. Um and so a
lot of things worked against us in this last year. Um so I I I'm okay with it on hold. Um I know upon the last meeting we had um agreement with Jerry sticking on for a little bit more helping with the
P&Z um until we get that staff position filled and so it can be something that we can discuss and again with a new employee that would be you know the goal is a long-term somebody to buy in with what we're doing. Um I do know as far as the council and P&Z that was going to be
the kickoff meeting was to a joint effort and I think that was to develop of who is going to be working on that plan whether it's a full council and P&Z meeting by monthly. It was TBD on what we were going to do to work together
with the P&Z. Peter left before that. We canled the meeting and now we're here um months later. So, I'm okay with suspending, but I think it needs to be something they reviewed, right, eventually.
Yeah. I'm not whether it's start with a comp plan or not. And yeah, you know, just I I yield to Jerry. I mean, Jerry, you've worked with it for 10 12 years, 10 years, more than you think. Yeah.
The one thing I would would say to your your comment about not needing variances and making different rules for variances. I would say that the majority of the variances that that are handled by the
board of adjustment today are variances on lakes shore because of state shoreland regulations and the need to follow those shoreland regulations in our zoning ordinance. they they mirror each other. Quite
frankly, it's almost impossible to change some of those criteria for the variances. You're always going to have variances on the lake. uh that doesn't mean that
when I talk about lot size and and those type of things that might negate the need for some variances if you were to reduce lot sizes that that type of thing I think you can accomplish but I don't think you can negate the need for
variances on on lakes shore now are some of those variances valid or are they just wants of something. Um, and we're going to see a lot of wants quite frankly. That doesn't necessarily
mean that they're they're valid. Um, so there's it's like anything else in any rule, there's going to be some wiggle room in it. And there's a lot of gray that goes
with variances and and there's some common sense that goes with them, too. But um I don't think you'll ever get away from them. Council member Jensen, I would agree that uh I think we should suspend it. Um and to kind of piggyback
on what Michael said, there was a reason we looked to redo them. Nobody understands ordinances. I mean, Jerry does, but Jerry's looked at them for years. Um the example we were given, the city of Brainard redid theirs. I mean,
they're in English. They're easy to understand. There's diagrams. This is what you can build. And um but the comp plan does need to get redone. And it makes no sense. I 100% agree to pursue this um without, you know, doing
the comp plan first. Right. Right. Um so, okay. So, that that brings us then to what do we do? We have some options that administrator pulus has put before us.
They are ones that we can look at, but we can also come up with our own option as to what we think we want to do. Uh there is uh the funding uh in there. So the options listed is to continue budgeting the 85,000 for the project with no levy change. Option two is to
reallocate some of the money towards capital reserves which reduces the levy. Uh and then option three is to remove project funding entirely which reduces the levy more but then we've taken we've taken the money completely back out. So or we can come up with something completely different. These are just
things that uh administrator PFU has recommended. I do know that in the finance committee we discussed some ideas around that. So we were thinking about it in case this was something that the council wanted to do. What would that look like? You know what what what
steps could we take to move forward? So I think it's important for us to think about what we want to do because that's going to impact what our end budget is going to be at the end. So I think those it's important for us to give direction to our staff so they understand what
what they can think about going forward or how we want to take a look at it. So I would prefer to delay selecting options until after the finance committee meets towards the end of the month. Okay. I think it's good timing. We're looking
at the overall budget. Let's, you know, with the finance specialist and administrator pulus, let's lump that into the finance committee. Um, and look to see what we should do with the funds. I'm not opposed to that. I was going to second that. You know, that
um no rash decision right now. If it's in the preliminary, again, preliminary we said it. We can always with withdraw items from it. So, if it's in there, I'd say leave it for there. let the finance committee narrow that down on what what to do with those funds.
Perfectly fine with that. I I don't have any issues with that. We definitely can bring it back to the finance committee and bang it around tomorrow with staff and come up with some good ideas and bring it back to the council and say, "Okay, here's what we came up with. We think this might be the best way." And the council at the end of the day can make a decision. So, okay. Very good.
I'm fine with that. So then we we will then uh wait to uh discuss it in finance committee, make some final recommendations and we can bring it back to the council and they can make a final decision on it then. All right. Very good.
All right. Moving on to item 6E which is the 2026 preliminary budget presentation in discussion. Administrator Pus. Thank you, Mayor. I'm gonna speak a lot. I'm going to try to keep it succinct here, but pop in, ask the questions as
we go through it. Um, so each year the city council must adopt a preliminary tax levy by the end of September in order to certify our proposed taxes to the county. Tonight, I'll walk us through the 2026 proposed budget and presentation. I'll also share the
finance committee's recommendations um open the floor to you guys for discussion and ultimately we will want to adopt the preliminary 2026 budget and levies and set the date for our final budget hearing. So before tonight's meeting, staff had discussions with department heads to
evaluate departmental needs. We have had ongoing discussions with our staff. Um, the finance committee also met on August 7th to review the preliminary budget in detail. This process is very much a team effort and so I'd like to thank Janette
and also the department heads for um, taking part in this, taking ownership of their budget. Um, so I'll start with kind of a quick overview of what a tax levy is. In its simplest terms, a levy is the amount of revenue we must collect through property taxes to ensure we have
a balanced budget. By law, we must adopt the preliminary levy by the end of September. The final levy, which will be adopted in December, can only be reduced, but cannot be increase beyond this preliminary amount. It's also important for both council members and residents to remember that
property tax statements they receive include three public entities and some special assessments if they have any, and the city can only control its portion. Breezy appoints residents. Property tax bills are divided as shown up there. Approximately 50% goes um to
the city, 30% goes to Crowing County, and about 20% from the school to the school district. This is based off last year's property tax statement. So the city's levy is comprised of four main funds. You have your general fund, which is all of your core operating
expenses, which also includes the equipment capital improvement plan. You have your economic development authority fund, your cemetery fund, and your debt service fund, which covers the city's debt obligations. Some key drivers for the budget for 2026
um are the increases in employee compensation and benefits, rising insurance premiums, ongoing cost of financial um software and other software required in our new facility, the need to replenish our capital reserves, police and fire production contracts,
capital equipment purchases, and as we discussed earlier tonight, the Bushman Road project. So, I'll kind of break it out by fund here. I'll discuss them briefly and we can go into detail if we want. Um to start, the general fund supports our general government, um senior, city
council, administration, attorney, planning and zoning, um our public safety and fire protection, public works and parks and recreation. to shape the budget that um we see tonight. We review the 2024 actuals that um were in the
audit. The 2025 budget and the current year-to- date numbers to ensure we have accurate projections. Our equipment CIP capital improvement plan includes items the finance committee identified as essential to maintaining the city's operations.
For 2026, we're proposing to levy for these items rather than draw from capital reserves. Our capital reserves have been getting depleted by our city hall facility. In the past, this um plan has been funded in part by the capital
reserves, but we're proposing to levy for these items. And then the EDA and cemetery funds, there's no proposed increases to the EDA. the cemetery fund, the proposed increases, we will actually use um the cemetery capital fund. It has its own
capital. Um so no levy is required for that. And finance uh finally, the debt service fund includes the $35,000 bond payment for the proposed Bushman Road project. As discussed, we
previously budgeted um 280,000, which leaves that 25,000 remaining for the 2026 In total, all the proposed changes result in a 10.41% preliminary levy increase.
And then the next slide um kind of breaks down what that increase means in terms of city services. So about 30% of that increase supports your general government. Uh 35 goes to public safety, so your fire and police protection. About 20% supports public works and
parks. And then 7% of the funds um will be used on the Bushman Road project. And then the following two slides um show how the proposed levy increase and a projected 5.6% increase in property valuations will affect um your tax rate.
So your tax rate is the percentage used to calculate how much property t each property owner will pay based on the assessed value of their property. And with the estimated tax rate of 40.05, 5. You can see how the average residents
tax burden will change from 2025 to 2026 in the slide up there. The average tax rate in surrounding communities in 2025 was about 49% compared to our 40.05 and the average levy increase in surrounding
communities in 2025 was about 6%. And then the final slide illustrates how typical homes tax dollars are allocated across your city services and shows exactly how much resident tax dollars are being spent annually and where they
go. So that's just an example of a tax bill. I used an average homeowners um actually I used Joe's um tax the bill um and calculated how how that's broken out um and what your
taxes are going toward. So, our next steps tonight, we need to approve a preliminary 2026 tax levy. It can be adjusted tonight. We can do it on the fly um however you guys want to make adjustments. We'll set the final budget hearing for um our meeting in December.
And then looking ahead, we meet with the finance committee in September. In October, we'll hold a discussion for SE schedule. And in November, we'll have a um we'll review the sewer fund. Sewer funds, an enterprise fund. um it's user fees who fund those services. So it does
not it's not part of the levy tonight. And then in December we'll hold the final adoption for the budget and levy. So if I didn't bore you enough, I'm here to stand for any questions you might have. And Janette, too. Janette's uh been working hard on this, so she
knows a lot of the history and in the weeds on it. Well, thank you for the presentation, Administrator Pulfus, and I do want to commend the staff for all the work that they put into it and uh the work that's been done to put this together and present it to us as a council. I know
that there's been a lot of discussions and a lot of information that's been shared back and forth and being on the finance committee and working with administrator Pulfus and also Janette getting to the point where we're at. Um there's a lot of things that were talked and discussed. So, thank you. I know
there's been some hard discussions and decisions that have had to be made based around this. So, I just want to say thank you to you and all the rest of the staff as well for your hard work. So, um with that, I'll just open it up to the council. Council member Moroni or Council Member Jensen comments,
thoughts, questions, anything that you see that you wanted clarification on or nothing immediately from my perspective. again, you know, sitting in on the finance committee, um, you know, the
preliminary levy, we can reduce it. I think we need to work towards trying to reduce it, but there are some things we can do, but at this point, I think another finance committee meeting and input from a full council is definitely needed um from our peers as to what they
think I agree needs to be done. Well, and the idea is we can set it and it can always be changed downward. So, we know we know we've got a starting point to work off of and I think there are some opportunities for us to reduce it. Uh we've heard a couple of those
options already. I think there's going to be more that comes out of that as we get together in our next finance committee uh meeting. Uh some of the things regarding around our fees and other things that we discuss could potentially do something there too as well. So, um I don't have any other
comments or thoughts at this point. So um hearing none uh on I would say that we um we move to item F which is resolution number 9-205
approve 2026 preliminary tax levy and state set date for public comment. Commissioner Pov, do you have any comments on that? I don't. Okay. Approve that presented. All right. So changing basically we're we're at that point. So,
do I have a motion to approve the 20 to resolution dash number 19-2025 to approve the 2026 preliminary tax levy as presented by our administrator tonight? Um, and then set the date for
public comment um which I would state would probably be our December council meeting as regularly scheduled. Also move. So, I have a motion from council member Moroni. Do I have a second? Second. I have a second from council member Jen
Jensen. Is there any further discussion? Just to further clarify, that is December 1st at 6:30 p.m. Yes. Thank you. Yep. So, it' be December 1st at 6:30 p.m. Thank you. Yep. All right. Hearing no other further
discussion, I will call the motion. All those in favor signify by saying I. I. I. Opposed. Abstensions. The motion carries. We've got work to do and we'll get to it. I think one other thing too to the taxpayers of the community, we need your
feedback. Um it's very easy off our website to send emails. Um you can call the council members. Um but I think the community needs to provide feedback as to what you want. Um it's not easy
looking at the expenses. If we did nothing, it would increase 5%. Just with the cost of what Administrator Pulpa said, insurance, uh, workman's comp, wages, just the cost of goods. Um, and it's
near impossible to not have an increase unfortunately, but that's the way it is. Um, so look forward to uh getting feedback from the community. Well, and I would just state this on December 1st when we have our meeting, that is the
opportunity and time when the public will have the ability to come in and comment to the council and share their feedback, too. So, by all means, I echo council member Jensen. Feel free to contact us, email, contact our city administrator, share your thoughts with
her as well. Um, we're here to represent you. We ultimately do the best that we can. Um, and there's always challenges with it. So, uh, but we do encourage you to reach out to us, talk to us, but also come December 1st, come forward, make
your comments known, share them with the council, um, so that we can hear what it is that you that you're thinking about. So, if I may, yes, admin, someformational um, mailers to all the residents. Perfect. Hopefully within the next couple weeks
and we'll have a whole website page with a lot of the information presented tonight. So, outstanding. Thank you. Appreciate that. Thank you. All right, moving on. Item seven, departmental updates. 7A, city hall update and
payment tracking. Administrator Pulus. Yes, thank you. Um, so paving as you can see out there of the entire parking lot and striping was completed I think about two weeks ago at this point. Um, they have completed the demo of the old city hall portion and have begun remodeling.
Hopefully our next city council meeting will be in the new chambers over there if everything goes smoothly. So I will keep you guys updated on that. Do you have anything to add, Jerry? Not really. That he's like
the things that are left are little things, but they they mount up to Oh, yeah. to a a question every hour. Can only imagine. And I really have to thank Mr. for helping us out through some of the
technological uh wizardry that needed to happen. Um but I think you're going to be pleased when you get there and and uh your your chambers are going to be cool. I I I got to believe that the the staff
is totally enamored with the uh the new facility that we're currently housed in. Yes. Um, I I think I think it brings smiles to everybody face just that walks in the door. Quite frankly, it it's it's
a needed improvement and it's really been pretty impressive. And I would highly encourage the public as well. If you haven't been to the new city hall, please come in, visit. If you don't have business, that's okay. Just come on in and check it out. Uh staff will be more than happy to answer any questions you may have about it as well.
I do know that we're proposing uh to potentially when we have our first council meeting to hopefully have a ribbon cutting ceremony uh out in front maybe prior to the meeting, something along that nature. So again, I encourage public to come that evening as well to the council meeting. Um but also come
and check it out. Like I said, staff is there to help uh you know, the new digs and and they're more than happy to give you a little tour and give you a rundown of what's happening and where it's going. So, um, it's it's something that I think that we should be proud of as a
city, as citizens of this city, be proud of the fact that we have that and and it's something that we can be proud of. So, I encourage all of you to come check it out. Um, 7B, administrator administrative assistant position update. Administrator
Pulus, thank you very much. I thought I'd just provide an update. Um, so as you know, we posted the administrative and it's an administrative assistant, not an assistant administrator. There's been some confusion on that. So, it's just it's an administrative assistant. Um, we
received 62 applications uh, which were scored and evaluated. There were a lot of qualified candidates and Janette, Deb, and I um agreed on six candidates to interview. The interviews will be completed this week and hopefully we will extend a conditional offer of employment to our final candidate by
early next week. Um the personnel committee will be involved in that conditional offer and um how to navigate that. So it should be on the October city council meeting for um final approval. Excellent. Thank you. Very good to hear that you had that many applicants. I'm
happy to hear that we had that. Uh so that was a good pool for you to be able to choose from. Hopefully the interviews go well and we have a candidate that we can be looking at to approve in October then. So great. Thank you. 7 C financial software implementation
update. Janette. Ah thank you mayor and council. Um so the new software that was approved at December's council meeting. We're finally getting around to implementing it. It's been quite a crazy year at city
hall with all the changes, but so in about two weeks, we're going to start implementation. Uh the first module we're going to start with is the sewer billing. Um that's scheduled to go live at the beginning of October. Um at that
time, the uh residents will have access to a new payment platform which is going to be so much more user friendly. They'll be able to sign up to get text reminders, email reminders, view their bill online, and even um sign up for
autopay, which has been highly soughta. Um and then for the next couple months after that, we'll be learning the other modules like payroll, accounts payable, cash receiping. Staff is gate with all
of this. Um but we plan on wrapping it up by the beginning of December. Good. Thank you. And it's timely that you're hiring an assistant right now with the new software coming online. They can learn at the same time everybody else is. Yes. That's great. That's good.
Excellent. Thank you for the update. 7D Planning and Zoning Commission upcoming agenda. Mr. Bonesac, he's laughing. I right now um we've have a uh planning commission hearing a couple hearings set
for um the 16th of September. Uh it's not on its usual day because we had a internal issue with publication and we had to reschedu it but uh it's
been rescheduled and the notices have been reubmitted and we're we're on our way. There's a a variance application for a house on Asamana Key. Um, and the resort is doing some more
proposing of changes to some of their um, facilities and and one of the changes they're proposing is a rerouting of a couple of holes on the uh, White Birch Golf Course. I believe if you're a golfer, it's holes number eight and nine
on the front nine. Uh they're proposing to reroute those those holes from their existing location to a location further to the the west and uh move
the zoning. Uh there's a piece in the middle of the the golf course, not in the middle, but in in segregated from the rest of the the developed area that's uh currently zoned R4. they'd like to move that to where the rerouted
holes are and they um changed the zoning from from one from resort commercial to R4. Um that said, I there is some controversy. Um there are some there's going to be neighborhood uh opposition
and uh I would think we're going to have a full house. Okay. We haven't had a full house for a long time. Okay. Well, thank you for the update. I appreciate the information. Um and yeah,
uh it'll be interesting to see what the commission comes up with with regards to their recommendation to the council. But and and one of the reasons we're giving you this update this evening, unlike variances and conditional uses, which they the the planning commission has the
final say on they this these are zoning issues and they're some replplatting issues. They come they'll be recommendations that come to the council. Correct. Yep. And that that so I appreciate the update and and making us aware of what
the situation is there too. So, we'll be we'll be looking to see what the commission decides and looking for the recommendation when the time comes. So, thank you. All right, moving on. Number eight, adjourn. Do I
I'll make a motion to adjurnn. I have a motion from council member Jensen to adjurnn. Do I have a second? Second. Second from council member Rooney. All those in favor have by saying I. I. I opposed. Abstensions. Motion carries.