We're good. Oh, Robbie? Robbie, do you have to sign in on the top? The top right? You have to sign in on your computer because that's where you set it for. Oh, okay. It's great when it works. See, I can see it, you know. And it says, organizer will let you in when the meeting starts. Yeah. You gotta change it so that anybody can come in. Starts. I don't know why we just don't leave it open. We could probably get started because he's gonna let me to work on a little while, isn't he? Or do you want them to see everybody's here? That's why he's gonna Sometimes you just have to leave the whole thing and come back. Otherwise, we go back to the old fashioned tape recorder.
I don't know what the team's app. Yeah. We saw people coming. So That's Lisa. School school board. I think we have to. We do his next month if we need to or not, Tammy. We can't get it. Do we do him do him next month? Who's that? The I think they're having a problem getting the audit the audit thing in. No. He's just trying to get the re the live feed. Oh, the live feed. Okay. Alright. I think we should start, mayor. We're gonna start? Okay. Welcome, everybody, to the City Council meeting. It's Tuesday, May 13. So if you'd like to stand up and say the pledge of allegiance before we
start, much appreciated. Thank you very much. One of our members is not present. Dan is not right. Oh, we're trying to get Dan on virtually, but at this point, he is not here. Okay. Any changes to the agenda then? No changes to the agenda. Motion to approve the agenda. So moved. Second. Here we go. First, second. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Agenda approved. The next line is the consent agenda. There's, six items down there. I'll read each one individually. Stop if there's any discussion on those, and we'll approve them all at the end. First one is city council minutes, April 8. PDA minutes,
February 18. Warrant list for $3.34 and some change. Four d is approval after payment for 96,000. 4 e is Minnesota lawful gambling exempt permit for the Christ the King Catholic church. And the last one on the consent agenda is professional service agreement. Any discussions with those? Move approval of the consent agenda. Second. There, we got a first and second. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Consent agenda approved. We're moving down. This next one is really gonna be fun. We have a good audience here. It's called mayor for the day. They started this a couple years ago?
Started it last year. Last year. So I'll let, let Justin explain to him, but this is really cool. It's actually we listen to a lot of parents in town. We hear a lot about that. But the young kids, this is great because they have an opportunity to say, what would I do if I'm the mayor for the day? And, boy, I tell you what, there was many submissions. Thirty, forty, whatever there was. Well, I went through all of those and there's some really cool stuff that the kids are presenting. So what I did was I picked four. There's four here? Four, yeah. Four students here that I thought were really pretty good. They were all really good.
Believe me, they were all great. Some really wild ideas and some down to earth ideas. So I picked the four that made some great sense and well done. So they're gonna present those four to us tonight, and and we'll listen to everybody. And it's really nice to hear from the the young kids in the community. One of ours, Leigh Downs, who's one of the fourth graders that was chosen, she her and her family are Disney World, so, you know, tough. Tough. Yes. Do we have three then? We have three. Yeah. And I wanna thank the three, I think, yeah, fourth graders here that are here with us tonight for your patience.
I know this is a a project that we completed in my class, a couple fourth grade classes earlier this year. And, I think some of the students specifically from this class never let me forget, hey. When are we when are you gonna pick when's the mayor gonna pick these essays? When is he gonna pick pick these essays? So, we you know, we had a busy winter, and you were gone there for a month through mayor. And, like mayor said, he spent a lot of time reading all of the essays, and, they're always so great to read. So we've got some students here with some wonderful ideas, if they were mayor for the day. So we'll have all three,
come up one at a time to read their essays, and then, there'll be an opportunity, I think, for a a picture afterwards. Yes. Yes. We'll take a picture with all three, when we're all done there. So our first one is by fourth correct me if I'm wrong from the class, but I think they're all from Mrs. O'Plante's fourth grade class. Awesome teacher. She does a great job. So doesn't surprise me one bit. She's amazing. The first one up will be, Oliver Liedens. Hi. I am Oliver Liedens, and today, you are going to hear what I would do if I was mayor for the day. The first thing I think Byron should do is turn the old car shop by
Wildwood into an arcade so children could get more entertainment for less money. This would give children a place to go in the colder months. They would have fun together based on interest and kindness rather than age, gender, or race. This could help sustain friendships and lead to more happiness in Byron. The second thing I would do is put a dog park by fairway in the open land plot. I think this would be a I think this would be a great way for the pets in Byron to get their energy out. Byron has great walking paths, but this would be a place that dogs could safely run to get their energy
out. Dog dogs could freely run outside in the fresh air instead of in a house. That is why Byron could add a dog park. The last thing I would add to Byron is a stoplight on Highway 5 by the high school. I think this would come in handy because there's a potential for a lot of accidents at that intersection. This would be a great addition to Byron because more people could safely travel throughout the the town, especially to the high school. I think this would be helpful because more people would be safe leading to Byron being in an even better place. That's what I'd do if I was mayor of Byron for a day.
I hope you got some inspiration for if you're ever mayor. Oliver, yes. Nice job, Oliver. Thank you. Some pretty good ideas there. Thank you. Next up, we will have Eva McElrath. If I was mayor for one day. Hi. My name is Evangeline McElrath. I am 10 years old and in miss LaPlante's fourth grade class. I have a question for you. Would you be mayor of Byron just for one day? Well, I would. So I'm going to tell you the changes I would make if I was mayor for one day in our community. The first thing I would do is put up a camera by the new basketball
courts at Valley View Park because Valley View Park gets vandalized sometimes. I want to keep the new basketball courts clean and nice for people to enjoy. Another thing I would do if I was mayor in Byron for one day is make a pharmacy. I would make a pharmacy because we have some elderly people, and it's harder for them to leave their houses. They wouldn't have to travel as far if we had a pharmacy in Byron. There are a few more things I would do if I was there for one day in Byron, so I'm going to share these ideas with you. My next idea for Byron is to have a public library for kids and adults.
The reason why I would put a library in is because, so people can get new books even if they don't go to school. And another reason is so young kids can come and get picture books to read. This could be a place where absolutely everyone would be welcome when everyone liked that. I know I would because I like to meet new people. The last thing I would do if I was mayor for for one day in Byron is make a bigger place for the Byron food pantry. When they came to Byron Intermediate School, they said that they don't have enough space for a bigger fridge.
My friend said his mom volunteers at the Byron food pantry, and they need a big bigger fridge to put more food. These are the things I would do if I was mayor for one day in Byron. Okay. Alright. Nice job, Shadi. And then Tom, we're on the camera at the basketball court. Yep. Hey. The and the I gotta stop for one moment. What's really fun about these are the these are, like, ideas that we often talk about. Yes. We do. Yes. We do. And ideas we often hear from, like Mayor said, from the adults in our community. So,
you know, safer streets, you know, cameras. The park. Oh, the park. We've talked about Food pantry. That was kind of a new one, but that's that's I know we had one, but everybody wants it expanded, which is awesome. Yes. Sounds great. Next up, we'll have Madeline Lynch. Hello. My name is Madeline Lynch. Have you ever wanted to be a mayor for today? I think that'd be really cool. I'm gonna tell you about the things I would do for our community if I was a mayor for a day. If I was a mayor for a day, I would try to make changes to our pool. First, I would decide to get more lifeguards. We need more people to help other people be more safe.
Also, we would need more tape on the diving boards. This special tape prevents you from slipping. We probably need it for the ladder too. We don't want people slipping off the ladder when they are climbing up the diving board. The last thing I would do for the barn pool is lower the price a little bit because we want more people to have fun. We just need to lower it down a bit. Not too much where we go broke, but enough for people to get in easily. Next, I would decide to get a police department in Byron. As I said before, we need more people in our community to be safe.
We need more people to help with safety issues such as roads, driving accidents, and more. I think that'd be important for Byron to have. Finally, I would support a community center. It could be for all ages. All people in Byron are welcome to do activities, discuss current events that are happening in Byron, and they would develop a stronger relationship among all citizens of Byron. It also might help people socialize more with our community. I think that would be a great decision for us to have. Thank you for looking at my thoughts for it and being mayor for the day. K. Thank you.
Again, like Justin said, spot on with some of those, ideas. Tom, tape it. Get the thing taped. Get the the crypto. Get the the crypto. Lower the prices. There we go. First of all, excellent. Oh, great. Topic. Right on right on with her. I will. I'm good friends with missus O'Plant, so I'll let her know how awesome you all did today. Not only great essays, but we could I could also tell we could tell that you also practiced the, the speaking part part. You know, public speaking is is a is a fear of a lot of people. So it took a lot to come up here and and talk in front of all of us here today. And you all three of you,
did a wonderful job. It was awesome. I think we're gonna get some pictures now. Yeah. If you could let's recon up with me and Justin there, and we'll take some pictures. It'll get in, our little newsletter. So Greta's got it. Now they just have to volunteer. Yeah. Gotta get out of the picture. I know. Good job, guys. Oh, you're handing out stuff. That's not good. Madeline will like that. We've got a full discussion on the agenda here tonight. So See, that's pretty good. Nice. Nice. Nice. That's really fun. Okay. So we're let's see. Where where's my I had some notes. Five b.
Five b. Pickleball update. Pickleball team or team to present. So who would like to or all three or okay. It's a tough act to follow, fellas. I know. I was you noticed I didn't mention pickleball courts. I would have appreciated it if it had gone before them. No. That's great. We're really thankful for everything, the support that we've been getting from the community of Byron in regard to the pickleball courts. And, and I just we wanted to give you a fundraiser update and let you kinda know how things are progressing and, how we're all excited. The one thing I do wanna make sure is,
yes, I may be the spokesperson right now, but Tammy Fogelson, I'm one B, she's one A. She keeps me organized, just like she does for her husband. So That's a lot of work. Thank you, Tammy. That's a lot of work. But, anyway, and we have Steve here, too. Steve Friedrich, he presented the last time to give you an update. And then we also have Loray Aishens that's been doing a great job monitoring all the donations coming in and also including them, on a spreadsheet for us. And so, you know, I You know, here we are talking about a sport, we're talking about pickleball and playing and everything.
And, you know, five, six years ago, I don't know if I I thought I was getting into it to be activism and still think I was an athlete. Now, it's the furthest thing from my mind. And so you'll see we have, you know, some goals there. It really has become health and well-being. Staying active has been crucial, for so many. I okay. I'll use the word senior, but I'm talking, like, over 50 year old. We have a lot of people in town playing pickleball. But the one thing you're also starting to see across the country is pickleball is
not just an old person's game. It's becoming younger and younger, even at a professional level. And the other thing that it's really done is the people I'm playing pickleball with are the people I'm hanging out with. We're finding other ways to get together and be socially active with each other, supporting each other. So, those really are the primary goals of what this project can also provide for Byron. I'm not going to go through this word by word. But you can see some of the objectives of what would entail at the park,
at the courts. But, the fundraising summary, we started with a goal that we looked at was $80,000 Alright? I am really pleased to say that right now we are just shy of 60,000. We got a huge boost a couple weeks ago. The, Taylor Family Farms Foundation grant, we received 25,000 from them. And we did that kind of through Smith based out of Owatonna. It was awesome. Man, you know when you get a letter in the mail and you think it's a form letter? There's a reason you got to open them up.
And it was I couldn't hold it back. I had to call Tammy up immediately. You won't believe it. So, we are really pumped. But I kind of wanted to give you a breakdown too. The business donations, we've had 12. And they account for 20,000. And we have two of them pending right now. They've said yes. We just don't have the money yet. The Byron Public Schools community ed, the last two years, we've conducted a pickleball tournament at Good Neighbour Days. And so, those are those dollars that are moved over into the pickleball court donation.
Private donations, 21 families of us that are playing, just shy of $8,000 The Taylor Family Farms Foundation, dollars twenty five thousand. And, yes, the Kunkel Bunko night, which is coming up this Saturday, we've got darn near 50 people gonna be playing Bunko. And the Kuncles have said, we are gonna match you up to a thousand. So that's why I'm putting the 2,000 down. The pressure's on the people who show up now. So, anyway, we're really looking forward to that. And like I said before, it's like we're all becoming one big family, which has really been a great experience for us.
The business donation, the ones I have down right here are either Byron businesses or the businesses are affiliated with someone from Byron. And you can see, like, Minnesota Energy, seven thousand five hundred. One of the things, actually came from Daryl Heeman, was our contact person. But, one of the things that we're going to do is we're working with these companies to show them how much we appreciate their donation by doing something that's going to reflect them at the courts. And I know, like, for, for Minnesota Energy, we're looking at putting up a bench and it's going to have,
you know, in honor of Minnesota Energy. And so that'll be at the court. Byron Lyons Club. Awesome. They came forward with $5,000 And the one thing they really said, you know what, we have so many programs and events that go on that we're having a hard time getting people to volunteer. And we said, absolutely. I put together a list of, I think it's 12 to 15 couples that are we're all going to be helping with putting out the flags and taking them down. They were just struggling getting volunteers for that. And I said, absolutely. And not only that,
but if they have other opportunities throughout the year, let us know. We'll be there to help out. Olmstead Medical, two thousand five hundred. Byron Youth Football, two thousand. The Byron Community Foundation, fifteen hundred. Gauthier Industries, and it's owned by a person from Byron, 1,500. And, Needs Car Wash, five hundred. Hobies Plumbing, the Byron Legion. And, oh, oh, this next one, I'm really looking we're really looking forward to this. This is something that Al and Justin allowed us to come forward and talk to them about, is a diversity event.
Doing the, Bar B Q no. It's the Bear B Q. Brew BQ. Brew BQ. Sorry. Gotta get the alcohol in there. Alright. That's why we show up. Right? So, the Brew BQ. And we have, we have one representative on there, Don Thompson. And so, we really want to be a part of that. We will definitely have people up volunteering for that day. We just really appreciate the opportunity to be, if you're you, to, pick us as a champion for that event. People's Co op. Al is, he's already put together a rough draft of one to send in.
I think it opens up in May. And we're asking for $7,500 on that. Thank you, Al, for doing that for us. And that's the People's Co op. And then, Byron Pickleball, just to let you know, we've reached out to 68 businesses. 56 are still pending. We have had 12 of us just say they aren't interested. Alright? Now we also have I'm in discussion with a company in the area about naming rights. I talked to Al about this and we thought it would be a good idea if we could attract someone.
And, a one time donation of $15,000 They get five years of naming rights. On the end of the court that's going to be facing Twentieth Street and the path will have their company. Okay. So, they'll get great they'll get a great everybody will be able to see, see their logo and everything, advertising. And besides that, besides that, it's a great location because thousands of people for soccer. So they will get great. Yes. That's there all summer long. Well, I tell you what. When I ride my bike now around town,
I'm seeing more and more people using that road, more and more people that are on the trails as well. Which, on a side note, thank you for continuing the trails. That's a great, great addition to the community. We'll also make sure that they, their name and logo included in all media sites and communications. So, you know, one of the things that we're looking at doing here is, for the younger people, is community education opportunities for teaching younger kids a chance to learn the sport. And it seems like if the kids like it, the parents will like it.
It's just going to help the sport to continue to grow. And then we will definitely have, like, a recognition. We'll have a ribbon cutting ceremony. And then we'll have it so that, like, when people see the courts, it's kind of like a separate park. It'll have their name on there, on the website. So So, we get to the next steps. And, first of all, I just want to let you know is that, yes, we're raising funds for the pickleball courts, but it doesn't end at that. We are going to be a partner with the city beyond that, because we know the needs and the maintenance and all those types of things.
We need to keep doing this together. So, we just want you to know we're not going away. All right? We'll still be around to help out with anything that we can do. The use of the funds. Some grants this is one thing I didn't know about until I got into it. Al is much more knowledgeable on this. Is, we always kind of find this little clause that said, funds need to be used within twelve months of being received. And so I'm always a little nervous of that if I'm getting funds that are happening in March or April, because I know we it's tough to get much done for about four or five
months, here in Minnesota. So that's one thing. And then so what we were kind of wondering, and Al and I did have a little a little exchange today, but, and we can talk about it beyond this too, is we were just wondering, you know, and hoping that the bidding process could start, like, in June, maybe. And, trying to get that out to people. We were hoping maybe construction in August sometime and hopefully the courts could get done in 2025 in September or October, whatever. Now, so the one thing that we were kind of wondering is
there is, we were at the rink the other night and there was like a sign that says that there is, it's the lion's ring. And just wondering, is there any chance we could put up a sign similar to that in that size recognizing that there is a fundraiser going on for new pickleball court? So I just pose that to you tonight. You let me know. Put the sign where the Oh, you know where the Byron is? Yes. Yes. Okay. Like, right next to it. They put up another one saying, Hey, just alert people that a fundraiser.
I don't see an issue with that if they, wanna put a sign up that says, you know, funds for new pickleball courts. K. Have a QR code or a contact or Exactly. That's what I was thinking, was that a QR code. But someone will get their attention. Your phone number, not mine. Tammy's. Okay. No kidding. I don't see an issue with the sign, as a temporary sign Okay. Going up up there. Okay. So okay with that? Yep. Yep. I have no problem with it. It's a temporary sign. Okay. Awesome. It's up on that one. The one thing I we we did notice,
and this is something that Al is I just shared it with him today, so it's all real new, is we did notice that the community gardens have been tilled. And we're wondering, is there a chance that those could be moved to their new location this year? Just because now that we have raised money, I think we've raised the money faster than we thought we could have. So we're getting really close and wondering if the new location could be done now, leaving that land available for the flexibility of people being able to do work or whatever,
down the road. So I just pose that to you. You guys can have that discussion. But, just wanted to bring that up. And then, you know what, in closure I'm just going to read it because it took so darn long to write this. Okay? The Byron Pickwell Community Foundation sincerely thanks every person, business, organization and the City of Byron for supporting this project. Your kindness and support are helping to create a fun, healthy space for people of all ages to enjoy. This new amenity will strengthen community spirit and bring people together for years to come.
We are proud to live in a town that cares about health, connection, and working together. Thank you for sharing in this vision with us. So thank you. Anybody questions? Do you have anything? No? No. I do got a question. Your big grant, the $25,000 Taylor Family Farms Foundation grant, is that one of the grants that will sunset after twelve months? Yes. Okay. Yes. And when when when did you receive that? We're about to receive it any day now. Okay. And I'm just trying I think it's gonna go into the Byron Community Foundation is
what it does. So we're keeping our eyes on that to see when it is received. So sometimes it takes Smith a couple of weeks to get to get the list updated. Just wanna make sure if this if this time line you propose here doesn't fit with what we got planned here at the city level, I just wanna make sure that the funds that would that grant would you would you would be could use those before, you know, the twelve months. Regardless of our construction time frame with what we have in mind, unless we have, you know,
three months of rain before it snows, hitting the 12 mark is not likely to be an issue. Okay. The city is also contributing a sizable amount to to the project. I think we can use the, the grant dollars first. I mean, I think we can tap into most of those ahead of time to make sure we don't lose those. So I I don't have quite the I appreciate the concern. I don't have that concern because I think there's a way for us to You can front end load it. Front end it with those funds that have to be used the soonest.
Mhmm. Right. And okay. And I think we have to what we do is we provide a summary to them after the project's done to let them know it's completed and how their dollars were used for it. So And I'm not sure. I can double check on it. But and to to your point, I'm also not concerned about the project taking more than twelve months to complete. I I think k. We're pretty comfortable in in being able to complete it, yet this fall. K. Well, again, this is amazing. Yes. It is. This I I was I wasn't sure how long this would take,
and this has definitely surpassed my expectations. Yeah. So and we we and we still have numerous people that we're meeting with. You know, 80,000 doesn't mean that it has to stop at 80,000. So anybody that is willing to give us anything. And, you know, I think the biggest thing is it's like it's it's it's so many times people are wanting to give for kids, and I get that. But you know what? A lot of times, there's not much for us as adults to be able to go out and have as much fun as we're having. And so that's why it's it's just kinda like a new lease on life.
And I went by at 07:30 this morning, and the courts are full with all the seniors down there. You know? And so it's like, it's it's not just, at night. It's in the morning. It's and it's year round. It's at the school during the winter months. So, I mean, it it's really, really growing fast. And, but I, like, again, this is going to be a great, great, resource for the City of Byron for a long time. Well, we're really looking forward to it, to the addition of Byron to have that. And then again, we really thank you guys for stepping up and helping get partnership in this with
some funds. So all in all together, we're going to make it happen, no doubt about it, and it's going to be really nice. Well, I got to thank Robbie too because he's the guy that I contacted to check our spreadsheet out. So I'm sorry, Robbie. I should have done that right away. Thank you. Thank you, guys. Thank you. Sure. I'm sorry. Otherwise, nobody online will be able to hear you. So So my additional question is the group that we, represent kind of want to know what results are tonight. I mean, what are our next steps? When what do we report back to them?
The city was receptive of our information. I mean, we need to have a takeaway for us, is what I'm thinking, to report back to them. And I'm just wondering what that might be. Well, I think the real takeaway here is, I'm pleasantly surprised at your fundraising, and I commend you for the work that you've done. At this point, I think we sit down with the city engineer and Okay. Do that next step, that, final design piece and and see where we can go with that. Because I think there was a mention of, you know, soil bearings, boring, something needs to be done,
you have tested soils and all that. There's a certain amount of prep work that has to go into it and I think we're at a point where we can begin that process. Okay. That's great. I don't want to make promises on timelines because I don't have that tonight. But I think that we're at a point now with your assistance and commend you for that work that we can So the city will Our report back is the city is gonna continue to take next steps moving forward. We're behind it and moving forward. Mhmm. Perfect. Thank you. Thank you. And and just to add to that, Al, this the the cost of this will pass the invitational quote threshold.
So this will be a publicly bid project. So that's gonna that'll take up extra time. Okay. K. Yep. K. Okay. Alright. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Next on the list is the incidents and calls for Byron Deputy, give us a little update, please. Good evening. Good to see you all again. This is deputy Butcher with sheriff's office. I'll start off with the calls for service for the month of April. We had a total of 261 calls for service. Of those, we're sitting at about 55% of proactive calls.
So our our deputies are out there getting things done and not just sitting back waiting for things to come. As far as updates since the last meeting, the main concern for us from the last meeting was the the vandalism and the noise and things like that at the basketball courts. I've sat out there a couple times since then. Right away, I sent an email out to the whole department, so I know some of my partners have been out there as well. I I've been watching the calls, and I haven't seen anything, any new issues since then. So as far as I'm aware, there hasn't been anything. At least that's risen to our radar.
Correct me if I'm wrong if you guys have seen anything. Haven't we haven't received anything either. Perfect. So as far as that goes and I know there has been a lot of work out there recently, so I don't know if that's changed anything. But as far as we're aware, there hasn't been any more issues. We've been watching that as best we can. And the only other issue I've got is something that came up just earlier today with the construction over on the West Side of Second Avenue there, about Seventh Street and Ninth Street. With with Seventh Street being under construction, there's been a lot more travel coming westbound on Seventh Street. People come into that neighborhood,
a lot of high schoolers. And Seventh, Seventh Street and Fourth Avenue, that four way intersection, that four way stop, There have been a lot of people coming westbound on Seventh Street just below on that stop sign. So I sat out there for a couple hours today. I I got a got an email from one of the people that live in that neighborhood. I sat out there for a couple hours today, and I made three stops myself. And I saw two more that I wasn't able to wasn't able to get to just because I I wasn't able to pull out on them in time. But, so just in that couple hours, there were five people that I saw that pulled through that stop sign. So I sent an email off to the department as well to keep have my
partners keep that in mind in their travels, and we'll try to really hit that intersection hard and stop that. But I noticed for the ones that I saw today, it was mostly, like, high school students coming home from school and things like that. So I've been trying to get the kids, and I'll work with the, school resource officer as well to see if maybe there's something he can raise attention to. But from our end, that's all I've got for you guys tonight. Perfect. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Appreciate it. Thank you. I think it's important, yeah, to contact so any way we can get those high schoolers aware of that intersection
would be great. Alright. The next one is the Byron community newsletter. Speaking of the new deputies down there, it's highlighted on the newsletter there, the new, for the resource as well as the Byron, deputy. So thank you, guys. Appreciate that. Looks like it's a three year rotation is what it Four years. Four years? Okay. Very good. You'll get to know Byron really well then. Thank you. No public hearings. We have one resolution. It's 20 20 five, dash 21 accepting donations to the pickleball courts. I think there's 10 on there with donations down there. So any questions on that?
I'll move approval of resolution 25Dash21, accepting pickleball donations. Second. K. We got a first and second. Any public comments on that? Any public comments? K. Any other council comments? I, would leave it up to staff to decide how whether or not to move the, gardens. I mean, it depends on what you think the schedule's really gonna look like. We we have sold off the plots, and they're they're planted. Yeah. Okay. K. So we have to do everything that we can. So when when the planting season is done, then we'll have to get right on it the best we can. Okay? I I think by the time you go through the bid process and get a
contractor under contract, generally, they can't start the next day. Okay. I mean, they we could be wrong, but usually, they need some lead time in there too. So, again, I'm confident that we'll have it constructed this fall. Mother nature always has a vote, but, no. I'm confident that we'll have it. Did a fine job with the basketball and got it in that in that time too, so thank you very much for that as well. Alright. Okay. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Resolution twenty twenty five-twenty one approved. Okay. No unfinished business. New business, fire chief Grant to present.
He's got some renovations going on. Matt Grant, fire chief. So if I was mayor for a day You want a fire chief for the day one, too? Absolutely. Uh-huh. So in your 2025 CIP, you guys approved us to start doing some of our our renovations, for 2025 on the existing building. I have gotten some bids back, two bids. First one was, come in at, hundred and $16,005.35 and then $17.07 for the flooring. And then I threw a thousand dollars in there, because we have to rent some storage containers to,
put our stuff in while the work is going done. So that bid come back at a hundred and 30 5, 2 30 5. The second bid come back with the same, stuff at a hundred and $24.06 42. So a difference of just shy $11,000. So, we wanted to keep it under that that mark you guys, put in just in case there is some bumps in the road, some extras or whatnot that we hit during construction. So I'm I ask for approval tonight, to award the work to Construction Collaborative at their hundred and $24,006.42.
And that'll leave us a pretty big buffer where if we get done without any bumps in the road, we can add on some extras, you know, because we still have some room there. So so I'm I'm looking for approval to award to construction co lab, and they can start work. I move that we approve, awarding the work to Construction Collaborative as competitively quoted. Second. Okay. We got a first and second. Any public comments on this? Any other council comments? Okay. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you. K. Next one, another presentation. This is Cammy's, audit presentation. Final audit. Good to go? Alright. Good evening. My name is Tyler C. I'm an audit manager at Avdell, and I am going to present the 2024 financial statement audit presentation. So the audit presentation is meant to be a high level overview of the audit. Tom's giving you the main points that we think you should be aware of without being too lost in the details. If you have any questions about the audit presentation, please feel free to have, either staff email me or or reach out, to my email,
with any questions. But, otherwise, I'll just get right into it. So what I'm gonna be going over today is our responsibility as auditors as well as the audit opinion. I'll then go over the general fund results followed by the other governmental funds and the enterprise funds, and then I'll end the presentation with what we like to call key performance indicators. First of all, our, responsibility as auditors is to issue an opinion on the city's financial statements. For the city of Byron, we issue a qualified opinion for the governmental activities, which the qualified opinion basically means that we feel like everything is material accurate materially
accurate except for one item, and that item is that the city has elected not to implement GASB 68 for your fire relief association. So this has really no effect on the funds of the city, but it has an effect on the government wide, statements of the statement of deposition and the statement of activities. Because the city hasn't implemented GASB 68 for the fire relief, we do issue that qualified opinion. Otherwise, though, our opinion on all the other opinion units of the city is an unmodified or a clean opinion. So, you can be your strident for as that clean opinion.
For Minnesota legal compliance, we also do some testing around state statute, and we also have no compliance issues to note, for, state statutes relevant to the city. We do issue a couple findings this year related to the city's audit, and these are a couple internal control findings. So the first finding is a material audit adjustment. We had to make an adjustment throughout the course of the audit, correcting accounts payable balances at year end. And because of the size of the entry we need to make, we needed to issue a material audit adjustment.
So that was basically just correcting the payable balances for the city. We also issue a finding. This one is one that's recurring every year, the preparation of financial statements. This essentially just means that as your auditor, we not only perform the audit, but we prepare the financial statements, which is technically an internal control issue. So this finding could be one that you recognize from previous audit years. This is probably the most common audit finding we issue. Alright. So then moving into the financial results. This first graph here, what we're looking at is the general fund's fund balance in comparison to the city's
general fund fund balance policy. So the the city's fund balance policy, it's maintained a fund balance that's 50% of the following year's budget. What this graph is showing is that your actual fund balance as of year end 2024 is 85.1% of your 2025 budget. So you're meeting and exceeding that fund balance policy, which has really been consistent over the last several years that you've been meeting a meeting that's on balance policy. Moving on. Now we're looking at the general fund budget to actual results for the year. But here, what we're looking at is your final 2024 budget,
your actual results in the middle, and the variance of that final budget on the right. So what slide is showing is positive revenue and expenditure budget variances. Your revenues were about $225,000 over budget. This is mostly due to kind of miscellaneous revenues like interest on investments as well as, refunds and reimbursements. Your expenditures were about $375,000 under budget, and this was mostly due to capital outlay costs, that were less than the budget. The general fund also did transfer out about a hundred and $79,000 to other funds,
most of the fire equipment fund. Overall, your general fund did increase by about $420,000, And this $2,800,000 amount is your year end general fund fund balance. Moving on here, we just have a slide that shows your general fund revenues by date over the last three years, but up between your property tax levy, charges for services, intergovernmental revenues, which is the grant revenue, and then other revenue sources, which is kind of the point of things like interest on investments, refunds and reimbursements, those kind of things. So kinda consistent with past years, your property tax levy and your general fund is,
of course, your main, revenue for that fund. And now similar slide here, which looking at your expenditures in the general fund over the last three years, breaking it up by your different departments, general government, public safety, public work, your transfers out other funds, and then other rev or other expenditures, which is stuff like culture and rec, economic development, capital, like, things of that nature. So, overall, you know, most things pretty consistent over the years, some up and down in some areas, but that's just kind of a broad look at how you're spending your money in
your general fund. Moving on to other governmental funds here, we're just taking a quick look at your only special revenue fund, which is your surface water management fund, which had a positive operating year. The fund balance in that fund increased by about $220,000. So this is your year end fund balance for your surface water management fund. Now looking at your service funds, these are kinda your governmental debt service funds. So, currently, you have five debt service funds, and here on the graph, we're just showing your your cash available and assets in each fund, the bonds outstanding, and when those bonds occur.
And then down here, we're just showing your 10 your future ten years debt for a publication for your, governmental debt. Here, we're looking at your capital project funds. So the city has seven pro capital project fund, currently outstanding right now. And here, again, just showing your fund balance between 2024 and 2023, how that increased or decreased, over the years as well. But kind of, you know, a couple of your main ones. You know, your capital reserve fund is your main, capital projects fund, which had a a good operating year increasing about about 1,400,000.
So increasing your capital reserve for future projects and things of that nature. The other thing I'll point out with your debts or your capital project fund is the twentieth three project fund. This fund, that that project is now finished. But the main activity in this fund is you actually have deferred revenue related to municipal state aid. Each year, the city will receive an allocation of municipal state aid, and that's gonna, that's gonna get rid of that fund balance deficit over time. But currently, that fund does have a deficit, which will go away over time. Moving on to your enterprise funds here,
this is the water fund to begin. And here on the top, what we're looking at is basically your operating activity, you know, your operating receipts and then operating disbursements and your debt payments. And then this just shows your cash balance over the years and what we like to call a minimum target balance, which is your following year's debt service plus 50% of your operating costs. Just one thing I wanna point out specifically with the water fund is that last year in 2024, your operating disbursements actually did decrease a decent amount. That's kinda one thing I noticed. This is mostly due to stuff like payroll costs as well as increased repair and
maintenance costs. Overall, your cash balance is still meeting that target balance, and it did increase a little bit by about 30,000 or about 35,000. Sewer fund here, same format that's graphed, you know, up on your operating activity over the last four years. And then, again, looking at your cash balance compared to that target balance. One thing I'll note for this past year is your cash balance did increase quite a lot in the sewer fund. This is mostly because you issued that sewer, sewer note in 2024, and that project hasn't begun yet. So all that cash from that bond issuance is still sitting in that fund.
Now just looking at your total cash and investment balances by type over the last three years. So here, we're just showing your total cash the city has and then broken out by which fund, which type of fund all the cash is sitting in. So, you know, your your cash this past year did increase up to $17,300,000. A lot of this due to just some positive, fund operations, like in your capital reserve fund and general fund, but then also, of course, that sewer note being, issued without the cost being recognized yet. That's another main reason your cash jumped up this past year.
Alright. So now looking at some key perform performance indicators. So here, what we're looking at is the city of Byron's always gonna be this black line here. And then we're comparing the city of Byron to class four cities, which is fitted all across the state with a population of 10,000 or less, and then also just cities in Olmsted County. So this first graph here, we're looking at your tax rate with, you know, kinda consistently over the years have been a little bit over that class four city average. So if the city's in Olmsted County average has been decreasing a bit over the past year, your tax rate actually dropped,
about 6% this past year. And I know when I've gone to the city hall to present one thing that's kinda been brought there in the council meetings is local government aid as kind of a factor, with these tax graphs. So tax rates and then as well as taxes per capita, kind of a filler story here where, you know, the city of Byron has consistently been above your peer group averages for class four cities in cities in Olmsted County. And so per capita, looking at that over the years, your net per capita has gone down over the last years even yeah. It's gone down over the last years.
And, really, you're kind of at that average with cities in Olmstead County and below the average of class four cities. One thing I forgot to put on a previous slide is the 2022 data is the most recent data we have available to us for your peer groups. So we are kinda comparing you know, we have your current data, but, of course, when we're looking at your peer groups, we have to look a couple years back. And then this is just your this this graph here is just your debt expense as a percent of your, total expenditures. So just kinda how much of your money is spent on debt. This this one kinda goes up and down a little bit,
and over the past year, it increased a little bit. Usually, when you issue new debt, that expense does go up a little bit, in comparison with the total. And then this last graph here is just your current expenses per capita and your capital expenses per capita. So just kind of, how you compare with, you know, current would be, like, your operating per capita stuff like, you know, payroll and stuff like that, current expenses. And then capital expenses is basically, you know, project related expenses. So just kinda how you compare, you know, current expenses per capita. It looks like you've been pretty much below the averages of your peer group.
And then capital, you know, capital is always kind of all now. It depends on when your projects take place, and things like that. So that's what I got for the audit presentation. Like I said at the beginning of the video, feel free to email me or give me a call if you do have any questions related to the audit. And thank you, and have a great meeting. Thank you. Thank you. Alright. Before we anything for Cammy on this? Any questions before we Nothing? So what did you think of them coming, doing a prerecording versus being in person? Any preference? Not really. No. I mean, we don't usually have too many questions anyway.
So, I mean, I mean, if we had big questions, like, my only one for you is why how what's stopping us from bringing the One Fund into Gatsby compliance. I have to double check with him on that one. It's not a huge deal, but it's, you know The relief association is its own separate, so I'm not quite sure. This is the first time I've heard about that piece of it. So I'll find out on that. Yep. I mean, it's not a huge deal because it's they didn't find anything wrong with it. It's just and the GASB requirements are
unique. Oh, yes. And ever changing. Oh, yes. Okay. Well, I have no other discussion. A motion to accept the 2024 financial statement as presented. So moved. Second. K. We got a first and second. Any public comments on the presentation? Okay. Any other council comments? If not, all in favor? Aye. Any opposed? None opposed? Financial statement approved. Thank you. Delinquent utilities, there's six on there. So a motion I move approval of the delinquent utilities. Second. Okay. We got a first and second. Any public comments?
Any council comments? All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Linked matilities accepted. Swimming pool discussion. Where are we going with that? Is that just Well, this is really kind of doing a a litmus test with the council. We have had a preliminary conversation, with the school board about doing a creating a partnership where the current pool is located. The one thing that we don't have is parking. The one thing the school has identified as a need for the community education center is parking.
And, so we have suggested to the school board, if they would provide the land, we would provide the parking. We need parking for the pool. And, there was a little bit of hesitation on their part. They're thinking about it. I mean, we could buy the land and let them pay for the parking lot. I think they would be financially more responsible to allow us to put the parking lot on the land and share that utilization because they need it primarily when the pool is closed. We need it for three months in the summer,
they need it for eight months during the school year, primarily. But we just wanted to make sure before we chase that too far that the council was okay with this concept of, planning for a new pool at its current location, expanding the parking, if we can come to an agreement with the school on this land issue. And, again, answer questions or get your feedback on that location. What exactly was there hesitation? Well, I was able to be at the school board, and it it wasn't hesitation. It was more like, you know, not comfortable giving away land k.
Which is completely understandable. You know? One of the bigger things that they're it's more like the language of the agreement. You know? I think the concept is there, but, maintenance got brought up. Other things got kinda brought up like that. So it's more long is is it smart for the school to give away land at this point is kind of what they were wrestling with on their on their own terms. So instead of giving it away, what about a what about a lease arrangement? So, basically, it's a $0 lease with they get the use of the parking lot for seven months out of the year.
They did propose a long term lease, but I think it's the opposite way of what you're thinking. They would lease it to us. We would build the parking lot. And then in twenty years, they could have it back if they wanted it. That was one of the early decisions. I mean, I guess it doesn't really make any difference which way you skin the cat on it. But, I mean, I don't know from their calculations for their money they get from the state if that land is factored into those calculations for you know, that they have to have so much land around the building.
So if it's still within their name, it may factor into that. But that's a nuanced question I don't know. Yeah. I Question. Because I know the older your buildings are The more money you get. And that's one of the reasons why the oldest building in the districts. Yeah. And my only I mean, some of my other concerns are I mean, ones that can be addressed, but, I mean, I realize this is a schematic design. You're gonna have another small building on that site for chemicals, because you're not gonna put the chemicals in the bathhouse.
Nope. And you're, and I wanna know what the, bathing load design is going to be because that area that pool that's there was put in forty years ago. And when the community was, you know, much smaller than it is today, it still handles today, but that's probably because there's actually multiple pools in town and some other things. If we're putting in a forty year asset, I'd like to know that either we have expandability of the forty year asset or it's sized day one for projections close to where we'll be in forty years.
And I'm not saying the whole parking lot and everything's gonna have to be there for forty years, but at least the really expensive parts of it. No. And and just to clarify, that that conceptual drawing there Yep. Is a ten minute It's I know it's very conceptual. It's a artist you know, it's a very quick rendering. I think one of those where is where what we were looking for is is this is this location? Yep. Not the location. Is that is that what the council is leaning towards to have staff pursue the
possibility of having an agreement with the location? I think we'd go with that, but all still based on the parking. I mean, if that's not there, then we might have to look for another location. Well, we own my ideal location, we haven't been able to buy. So that's the whole other issue. So, you know, so that's you know, you have to deal with the realities of the situation you're in. So I think what they're asking is is is for the council to prove them to proceed with this. You know? Are we okay with that locate But before we go any further with the school, we thought maybe we should check-in with the bosses.
Yeah. I mean, I think it's a I think it's a viable solution. I mean, I think that I like just like I like the other low the location because it's still central, but but we can't you know, there's a reluctant seller here. If we can come up with a deal that is mutually beneficial to both us and the school district, you know, being as we have different, voters, I think that's great and we can help each other out. I think it's, you know, sharing some of those expenses where it makes sense. So, I mean, I think it's a good deal. I think there's gonna be a few topography issues,
but I think they're pretty minor and can be solved. You know, so Mhmm. And we haven't given up on other locations. They're just moving much slower than we think the pool will allow us to move. Yeah. I'm concerned about the fact that we're on borrow we've been on borrowed time since I started with the council on pool. Right. Yeah. So we don't need any motion just to just to General. Just just a general, hey. You know, are we on the right track or or not? And and, again, publicly just to address right now,
this is the best, low the most viable location for us. Do you agree? And, you know, I I think that we're on the same page. Yep. I agree To go forward. Yep. Yep. Yep. Okay. Is that what you need for that one? We're great. Thank you. Yeah. K. Public comments from the this the whole k. Okay. Come up to the public comments. You gotta come up and talk to us at first. Introduce yourself and how important you are to buy a room. Address too, Greta? Obviously, the most important person in the room. Dan, you forgot to mention your hole in one. Oh, thank you.
Oh my gosh. That's so rare. Well, Matt, he's done. The pool open this year? What was that question? Does the pool open this year? Yes. The pool does open this year. And when? We're shooting for the first weekend in June. Because I have that cool picture I wanna use. So I'm gonna send you the post tomorrow. Oh, yeah. Yes. Let's see how easy that works. So now you put him on the spot because now he's gotta figure out. Alright. Or the second weekend engine. Any other public any other public comments? Any other public comments? One more time for public comments. Okay.
Roundtable. Lisa, you got anything for the school you wanna talk about? Thank you. Thank you. So we're continuing to work with Knutson Construction to repair the baseball field. There's been some flooding out there. So working to to get that rectified. And there's also a large crack by the concessions. So they're working with Knutson to fix that too. Let's see. We heard the presentation for the pool expansion and, yeah. I mean, you guys talked about it, and we think it's a great idea. It seems like a win win for the city and for the school. Yep. Thank you. Yep. And we approved a new director of finance,
Sean Ellsberry from Pine Island. And the last thing is that there's a community survey. It went out in the Byron Buzz and on Facebook, and it's also on the district website. And we just wanna make sure that it is able to be taken by everyone in the community. And it's so hard, like, just being on the diversity council. Like, how do you get the word out there about things? And so the survey, we were wondering or I'm wondering, actually, if we could link like, put something on the city website for the school survey.
Alright. I don't know. That's the question from It's not a it's not a vote yes or anything. It's just a survey. Right. Right. Yeah. It's just to get the to get the word out there and to talk about the referendum. It will go out in the newsletter, at Facebook page. The QR code that you can link to that to that survey. The survey? Okay. And and I'll take a look a little harder at the website. I hadn't contemplated that yet, but make sure that that's the right place for it. But it will be on the Okay. You know, through Facebook and in the newsletter.
And the newsletter is the probably our best avenue to get it out to the most people. Yeah. We just wanna make sure that it gets out to the people that don't have kids in the district because that's the the major piece that we're missing. So When does the when does the survey close? I'm not even sure when it closes. Okay. Right June late June? Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Yeah. Try to get it over again. Really precise in that one. Atta girl. Thank you, though. Mid to mid to late June, I guess. Thank you. No. Thank you. Thank you. It's the same week in the pool. Alright. We'll go around the team.
Cam, anything else? Nothing. Thank you. Steve? Not directly. I would like to say that I appreciate the students coming and spending time and talking to us. And when you get a little older or even now, remember, you can always volunteer to help, and there's always a board, volunteer boards that are have are looking for new ideas and people to become members. And if you'd like to talk about why some of those ideals stay ideals and don't move forward, I'd be happy to talk with you after this meeting or some other time because a lot of them, we don't have a lot of control of over even though we wish we did
have more control over them. Yeah. So Alright. Thank you. Yep. K. Do we have we didn't have EDA last month. No. Nope. So no. Other than, yeah, I got a hold of one. No. I just met I just met with the city team out to the pool there and with the inspector and Scott the okay for the year. And as you asked, and they will be filling up and going good to go. Lifeguards seem to be okay. Numbers? So far. Yep. Good. Okay. And again, thanks for the mayor for the day thing. It was so fun to read them. It was really cool. Some were way out there and some were right on track.
So it was really pretty fun to listen to. I enjoy that every year. So thank you. Yes. Thanks again, students. I'll be sure to let missus a plan how awesome you all did today. I was not able to attend, first responders, due to coaching. We did not have a park board, but, Tom has been doing a great job of communicating with me. Well, I was gonna take my stew our st student council to the Valley View Park. That's where we usually go for our field trip. And then I'm like, wait a second. Then I saw the Byron post on the Facebook that said,
oh, there's no more there's no more playground. So I immediately then got on the email and talking to some other teachers who are because we always sign up to go to the park in the springtime. So I let them know right let the offices both offices at the primary and intermediate know that there's no more playground. And then I contacted Tom to get kind of a time line, and he's been doing a great job of updating me on that timeline. A little bit delayed. I think I drove by yesterday. They hadn't started putting it together. Nope. They should be on-site tomorrow morning. On-site tomorrow morning. We did have a conversation with the actual builder,
and they've moved in some of their equipment now. So they should be on-site tomorrow. Yep. Yeah. So he's done a great job of letting me know, and then I forward that information on to all the teachers that need to know for that. But it's great that we're gonna have that playground ready to go come summertime. Yes. It'd be another to do That park's, like, gonna look great. We got the we got we have the volleyball courts coming soon too. We've got the new basketball courts, new playground. That's but I I I but I think people are kind of in grieving that it's not gonna be called the Red Park anymore.
That was you know, there's so many people that are confused when you say the Red Park because they're like, what? What's where's the Red Park? And if you the peep you know? And it's like, well, it actually has a name. It's not like you have to call by Valley View. Team. So maybe a different name. Yeah. Anyway Well, they're just going back to using its original name. Valley View. Valley View Park. Yeah. Yep. So couple posts where, you know, I I wish I'd known ahead of time. I like taking my kids there for the last time. It's like it was dying or something. You know? So there's some pretty interesting posts. But, again, everybody was sincere about it. They love the park there.
So really appreciate you updating that one. So got some good comments there. Awesome. And then mister Kiefer mentioned the, Byron BBQ. So we're still working on that. That'll be our big work to do this this summer here as we get going. We've got, Jack's Bottle Shop laid out a really great plan for us in regard to the craft beer part of that, festival. We're working. We got some word out to a couple of the bands that have played in our open mic nights who are penciled in,
to help us out and play on August 23, which is that date, August 23. And then, what else? I've got some definite vendor, Ben from Smokin' Silverback. That was three weeks ago. Alan and I met met him to discuss how this kind of ribs contest smoked meat fest would work, to get some guidelines on how the contest would work. And then I've got, a maybe from Yield Yield Butcher Shop. Lindsay from Blondie's in Waddamingo. Sounded really excited about it. She's gotta check her schedule and get back to us.
What else? We've got a lot of things we still gotta do. We might look at to, like, maybe figure out how to well, first, how to pay for it. So that's one thing we gotta talk about now. But it's a fundraiser, as Keith mister Kiefer said for, the pickleball courts. So we're looking forward to that. We've gotta get some a logo going. But as it gets going, we'll share out the details. But, yeah, I think that's all I got. Thank you. Nope. Nothing for me. Paul, anything new? Nothing. I, appreciate the council and the staff support over the last couple of weeks.
It's been a long couple of weeks, but, everybody's been very, very considerate and very helpful, and, especially the staff that covered while I was out. Thank you. They did a great job and gave me the space I needed for, where we were at. Thank you. It's nice to see you again, Al. Yep. Yep. Thank you. Robbie, anything? Alright. Sunburn concert series? Oh, yep. And then the neighbor's day is right around the corner. So June will have our first concert. All there'll be information will be rolling out here. So Tom has some banners to put up. Yep. We'll get some or did you?
Banner's already done? No. Okay. Okay. K. We'll have I think that one no. What's what's the first one? Is that the was that the big truck one or something maybe? No. The the balloon the hot air balloon will be the one in August. So we're I thought we talked about the a big truck thing. You know? Okay. So so we need a secondary besides the concert for something. Anyway yeah. We'll have to revisit that. Well, the concert series starts in June, so and it well received last year. We've got bands lined up. It's gonna be another fun time with that.
So food trucks, looking forward to that again. So I'm there. One last thing. Sure. It's not as cool as a whole one, but Robbie is a new daddy. Go ahead. Congratulations, Robbie. Good job. Alright. Any other discussions? Motion to adjourn. I move that we adjourn. Second. We had a first second. Adjourned at 07:11. Thank you, everybody, for coming. Thank you. I really appreciate that. I agree with the adjournment. Yeah. We didn't I don't know if we voted on that, but that's okay. So on a league thing or just No. It was, it was just with two other bodies. On summer, we bowled 13.
K. A 60 yards, eight iron just peered it. Didn't even Did he get that? Didn't even make a pinch mark. It just dunked. In the middle of the hill. We we heard it bounce out. It just dumps and stayed. We heard it hit the flagstick. I didn't see it go anywhere. I was like, I assume we ran up there. Yeah. Sure. Shit. Nice. It didn't even, like, hurt the hole. It didn't stay in there. So you can't say it's going out. I know. Yeah. You gotta be very proud of that because you're thinking about this size for a 60 yards away and nailed it. Percentage on that. Yeah. Nailed it. That's awesome. Yeah. Just stay Charlie,
make sure you tell me about it. Did you get into the high school? Yeah. It was a long weekend. But since those streets are gone all slick for you? Well, so we have insurance that we pay out. Okay. And you don't so each golf member does a five book insurance. So you get about $620. Okay. That's about a k. Couple of people. So buy a keg and then buy individual drinks. Well, yeah. And then, you know, you buy your, like, friends. Love drinks or Or a shot or something. But yeah. It was it was fun. Now I can die happy. Yeah. Because you had your hole in one. Doesn't happen to all of that.
Do you pull your pages? No. I haven't been close.