##VIDEO ID:OtK5Q2LbmX0## e e e ick sweet call to order for city of Canon Falls city council meeting for Tuesday December 17th if I could get a roll call please GM me here Gro here jebson here Johnson here cronenberger here Lindell Montgomery here please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance I 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 if I could get a motion to approve of tonight's amended agenda no moved motion from Lisa second second from Ryan all those in favor I opposed carries gets us to public input public input is intended to afford the public an opportunity to address concerns to the city council the public input will be no longer than 30 minutes in total length each speaker will have no more than 3 minutes to speak speakers May address topics relevant to the governance of the city speakers must sign up in advance and must provide their name address and the topic they intend to address comments must be on topic respectful pertinent to City business and adhere to the applicable data privacy rules any speaker that violates these rules will be asked to sit down and if the speaker refuses to comply they may be removed from the meeting speakers shall not address topics that are the subject of a public hearing all such comments shall be made at the public hearing the city council will not generally act on issues raised by the public input uh by the public input but may choose to schedule consideration of the item on a future agenda first off tonight Greta is it berkes Canon Valley Fair Association thank you very much you're you're welcome is the green light on on the bottom of the there we go now it is there we go that work okay thank you uh uh good evening as the mayor said my name is Greta berkes I'm an attorney at lavander Gillan and Miller in Egan and I represent the Canon Valley Fair Association and I'm here tonight to address you about the proposed ordinance in front of you for first reading uh pertaining to the fair grounds in some we are asking that you deny the proposed ordinance that is in front of you tonight for a first reading and I'll go ahead and mention just briefly a couple reasons why the Canon Valley Fair Association continues to be has been and continues to be a partner with the city we request the opportunity to work cooperatively with the city in any ordinance that pertains to its property the draft that is before you tonight was not drafted in cooperation with the fair Association the draft was simply provided to me a mere couple of hours before the public hearing that was in front of the Planning Commission last week despite that at the public hearing the president of the fair Association did uh speak at the public hearing and highlighted some of the many deficiencies that are in the proposed ordinance and I'll highlight just a couple of those one there are incorrect partial identification numbers for the fair property it's not a major deal and it appears that those pids have been corrected and the draft in front of you this evening however the ordinance does omit a handful or I'm sorry probably about three Parcels of property that the fair Association owns those are simply not included in the ordinance tonight um second the proposed ordinance prohibits the fair Association from operating certain longstanding events during its annual fair this was not the understanding of my client or me from what city staff was proposing to do with the ordinance amendments the discussions between the city staff and the fair Association pertaining to the racetrack have also not been properly incorporated into the proposed ordinance and I think that was the impetus for the ordinance changes and just as a a brief reminder the Canon Valley Fair Association donated land to the city that now comprises the southerly portion of Hannah's Bend Park the fair Association donated easements to the city for um permanent utility and drainage easements no consideration was received by the fair Association for those donations to the city there are examples of other cities that have clean simple ordinances pertaining to Fair associations and track operations there are examples out there that we can use and learn from there is a better solution than what is before you tonight so I we respectfully ask that you deny the proposed ordinance in front of you tonight and give us the opportunity to work cooperatively with you and the city to have an ordinance that satisfies what your Planning Commission would like what what you as counsel would like and what my client the land owner would like so thank you thank you uh next up Jim Hoffman to talk about the Canon Valley Fair and the racetrack hi Jim mman 917 Park Street West uh I'd like to thank the opportunity to speak yet again um last Monday excuse me there was another public Hearing in front of the Planning Commission the recommendation was to not change any zoning we have had two public hearings now on both times of Planning Commission has has voted unanimously not to approve any changes concerning the Canon River Raceway people to this point have been very respectful on both sides I believe it's time the city council finally acts and issues a cease and desist order and not just a friendly cease and desist order as it was described last fall which allowed racing to continue we need a cease and desist order that will be enforced to whatever degree it takes to shut the racetrack down I would like to SP a couple of facts on topics that have been misleading have had some misleading conversations the first one is that the racetrack was given the goad goahead by the city last spring this just isn't true the other is somehow people that are not in favor of the race track are somehow not in favor of the fair that again is just not true if the citizens and the city leaders were against the fair why would we do annually donate to the fair board and last year that was a dune of $7,500 if the planning commission's closing comments last Monday they spoke to the fairboard and they and and said that they needed to get back to their mission statement and go back to fair business I wholeheartedly agree with the planning commission's advice in closing we need to get back to what's most important to caner Falls and that's protecting the taxpaying citizens thank you thank you Jim and next up Alicia saladino to talk about the swans hello I am Alicia saladino I uh first stood before the parks and Public Works board it was about last it was last February close to a year ago just asking a simple question who cares for the swan I didn't get an answer so I asked again and I asked again now I'm here and I am reading from a petition drafted by Aaron Anderson a pro bono attorney volunteer with the animal legal defense fund and I guess I'm speaking for those that have signed the petition we demand the following information be made immediately publicly available the name and licensing information of the Swan breeder whom the city of Canon Falls purchased the swans if these are captive bred swans or if the swans are not captive bred a copy of the license obtained by the city as required by Minnesota statute 997a 501 wild animals defined under 97 a015 sub d39 to exhibit and possess special concern species like Trump swans the current diet and feeding schedule of the swans this is our second demand the current diet and feeding schedule of the swans and who is responsible for their care and feeding along with that caretaker's credentials for such care and the third the number of swans that the city of Canon Falls has purchased for exhibition in total over the years I have copies of the rest I can pass them around if you haven't seen the petition this has become a real problem it's getting cold swans can only live to about 20 below we get 30 below here in Minnesota so so and also uh I have Support also from I'm sorry let's see here the investigations Department Minnesota Federated Human Society um this petition asks that Corrections are made by tomorrow other than that I think I'll have my lawyer talk to your lawyer thank you thank you all right that gets us to tonight's consent agenda consent agenda items may be adopted under one motion as presented or may be removed for discussion and resolution as Council business I'll go through them tonight we've got item a just and correct claims for the accounting period ending December 12 2024 B meeting minutes for December 3rd 2024 city council meeting item C resolution 2794 adopting the 2025 tax levy and budget item D approv data center tax analysis engagement letter item e introduction and first reading of ordinance 408 an ordinance amending Canon Falls city code regarding zoning related to cannabis businesses item F approve new therapeutic massage massage license for Harmon given in 2025 item G resolution 2795 authorizing budget transfers for the year end of 2024 and item H approve the request to apply for the assistance to Firefighters Grant is there anything the council would like to see pulled down to council business hearing none I would recommend a motion to approve tonight's consent agenda soov motion from Lindell second from Diane all those in favor I opposed carries get us to council business uh item a tonight combined service pension bylaw changes and fire chief Bryce Miller good evening um can of Falls fire we would like to align ourselves with surrounding departments and add this combined service pension benefit um essentially what it is is um if you're vesting minimums if both departments meet the vesting minimums for our case it would be 5 years if we were if we had a M that were to transfer or we would accept the member they would come on board with 5 years credit for vesting Services there are some rules that apply um both departments have to have this in their bylaws um the member must be vested in uh fully vested in the first not fully but partially vested in the first Department um and it must happen within two years of leaving the first Department um really what this is is it's trying to keep recruitment in the volunteer fire service uh any questions for chief Miller I assume this is pretty standard especially when you say numbers for recruiting and for fire so this is becoming Universal Nationwide uh Volunteer Fire Service uh we're facing a six-year turnover or 6% turnover every year um with a 7% call increase so okay yeah any questions from the council hearing none I would seek a motion to approve the combined service pension bylaw changes so moved uh we're going to give that to Ryan and the second for Steve all those in favor I opposed carries moves us to Item B the aqua I handheld sonar uh Chief McCormack if you would like to take this Bryce I know you said you you've got a head out but if you want to stick around for this one stick around for this I I'm glad to have Bryce stick around um this memo is really a joint request from police department and the fire department uh as you know uh on the 2nd uh we responded to a missing person 2nd of December uh that led to U several days of search to try to find him ultimately we ended up recovering his body from the water unfortunately for us it took us until Saturday to be able to do that because of the ice Tuesday Monday night and Tuesday and then there some Sub Zero cold that came in on Wednesday um we did not know about this tool um uh fire chief uh described it as uh Flur for water and Flur is short for forward facing infared thermal imaging and about 15 years ago I think fire department got that equipment and you know it's a a tremendous piece of equipment for them to use it can identify where there's hot spots in building where there's bodies inside of a building uh they used it that night that we were looking for the missing person but it requires a heat signature uh from the person to find them uh this device uh we were able to get on Saturday Rochester has two of them and they were willing to send us one and the reason that they only sent us one was that they needed to keep one there just in case something happened in their Community um so we uh luck one of their firefighters for us also works for them and he was familiar with it so they were the fire department did sort of a adjust in time training uh and we deployed that that afternoon after lunch uh the ice on the river by that point had freed up on a good chunk of the river and so we deployed the aqua eye where we expected the body may be and then we put firefighters in for lack of a better term Gumby suits uh that's their cold water uh rescue suits and they were going to walk down the uh River and then they were going to swap places and and do it again um as it turned out they found the person Upstream from where we suspected he went in and were're able to recover the body but after learning about this device uh we felt that it was something that would make a lot of sense in we should have um that day after the body was located they did bring the device up and uh did some training with it there and it every time would find uh the body and if you watch the video that was uh linked in the memo um it displays X's and O's and so as you turn it it'll put an X and then you can turn it and get that X to line up and so you can move in the direction uh where the body is located and for us the river this time of year is incredibly shallow but it's got a lot of Deep Pockets and that makes it challenge especially when there's ice on top of it uh the device comes or has the ability to be operated with a pole that you could actually stick below the ice operate it bring it up read it and then go know where you needed to go um so that's why when the the fire chief and I talked uh neither of us had a plan in our budget uh we may very well have at the end of the year as you know we're coming up to the end of the year we may very well have the the funds available at the end we just don't know because all the bills are coming in everything's in flux when I asked Sarah and Michelle for some numbers they both gave me numbers but said understand bills coming to daily um so we don't know you know this is the number as of this minute um the auditor was here today and I had an opportunity to to chat with him and cover you know sort of what we were thinking and what he told me was we have a very healthy budget Reserve $10,000 isn't going to impact it now we're not asking for 10,000 but that was a round number he used and even if you take 10,000 out of that Reserve purchase this at the end of the year between our two budgets we may have that kind of funding left available that just goes back into the general Reserve fund ons um so I don't think it's you know that you're you're throwing this money away I think you're going to get partially replenished if if not fully but at the same time we'd be putting a tool in the hands of the fire department and or us that could be incredibly useful if we ever find that need again um I do not know if it would have made a difference between life and death in this case because of the time delay between when we determined that he went likely into the river and when we were on scene looking but I would be much more comfortable in the future being able to bring a closure to a family that evening as opposed to several days later and that's why the fire chief and isol strongly felt that this needed to come forward to you guys now questions or comments from the council for the chief either Miller or McCormack go ahead Dan um I think it sounds like an incredibly good piece of equipment that indeed we should have I guess my question is um did this go before the police commission for their input and discussion nope this has not gone before any commissions this was just brought to you guys okay and I guess not that I don't want us to get it but I also like us to follow like correct procedure and I thought most requests like this should have gone through the police commission before they came to the council I don't think that's a dual thing because I think it's through the fire department yeah fire department as well would this go through the finance for spending or because police usually Personnel hiring but I'm not sure mayor it's a fair question Diane yeah it is and you know at it's it's one of those things where for uh the fire chief and I you know we were just looking at this is something that we felt very strongly um and made the request it would just be brought directly here as opposed to being delayed through committees just because of the timing of the year yeah fair question Dian um any other questions or comments from the Council on this item Sarah and just just for understanding this piece of equipment would be housed with the fire department um they would incorporate it into just their normal training uh the training is is something that can be accomplished pretty much as part of their routine we wouldn't have to send anybody to Switzerland where this is made yeah have we then consider I know you said we borrowed the one from Rochester I I assume none of the surrounding communities have one of these uh we had Dakota County assisting us they didn't even know about it okay so have you between the two of you come up with some kind of a I mean so next thing it happens it's uh the Randolph Squad that's out and if they want to use it do we have we figured out a plan for sharing with other neighboring departments or so we we report all equipment to goodu County they have a list of every piece of equipment we had so if somebody from Dakota County were to contact could you County Dispatch they would be able to get that information and just like today we had a truck fire uh just north of town M meville requested the uh canall fire department those requests would come in and they would continue to be honored just as Mutual Aid request obviously it's a fabulous tour for our community but if somebody asks um I would hope that we would make it available to to help who's ever in need MH yeah we are tonight we're ice waterer training out at the lake and that's Wan Mingo is joining us for Mutual Aid training so I mean definitely mutual Aid so yeah Sarah would that be something that we we would uh could transfer out of the general fund but uh like Jeff said that maybe their budget would reflect a uh ability to reimburse the um the city funds so we would just pay for it right out of the um the general Reserve funds and then if at the end of the year they have money if that's what you would vote on then we could transfer that to cover that I think it sounds like a good idea to get it handy piece of equipment yeah you know I agree with you Lisa I'm I'm not a fan of spending you know 8 to$ 10,000 just on a quick decision however and it's not the timeliness of the situation of the uh missing person it's more I thought more about our community like billsby the river um we're not Rochester I know they have two but like you said with with our community and how many people are canoeing tubing swimming fishing billsby busy you know second biggest city in the county uh I think that this would be an Okay purchase and like the chief said it's it's it's not to be free spending it's to be you know replenished in the funds when possible any other questions or comments from the council hearing none I would seek a motion to approve purchasing the aqua handheld sonar so moved motion from Lisa second second from Derek all those in favor I one question can we do what Sarah says and you know money from the general Reserve to be replenished by police fire if any is available at the end of the year we're General funds anyway that's where it always goes okay but yes we'll make it clear okay yeah if you want to modify your motion to that effect it has really no bearing on on how we function um but that would you know maybe make it easier for Sarah in their operations sure okay all right any further discussion all those in favor I I opposed carries brings us to item C Canon Valley Fair Zach yeah so what council is voting on tonight is a ordinance Amendment relating to the Canon Valley Fair what is being proposed is a reone of the fair property to a new uh fair fair ground Zone um which will allow the city to lay out a list of permitted accessory interim and prohibited uses along with the corresponding conditions um this new Fair Zone would be specific to the fairgrounds property and would give the city authorization to put restrictions on events that occur within the fair such as racing events so uh Shelley is there anything that you would like to preface this by uh thank you Mr Mayor also in the packet is a companion resolution with findings if the council determines to accept the recommendation of the Planning Commission uh to essentially deny making the suggested changes to the zoning ordinance at this time so it's um we've provided two paths uh for proceeding with appropriate memorialization in the record all right questions comments from the council I don't know if we need a ton of discussion considering I was going to say it the fact that Planning Commission it was unanimously denied and the fair itself doesn't appear to want it right um I just I don't see why we would go ahead with it yeah I would accept a motion to deny Steve go ahead I need a little bit of clarification because what's in front of us tonight in our packet is a little bit different than what we had at the Planning Commission correct yes so if if we just went ahead and approved what the Planning Commission not approved but we denied the applic or the or the stoning change zoning change so tonight to word it correctly if if the council agrees on the same thing do we vote to approve the denial or deny the request you saying a double negative deny the denial there three there's a few more yeah um actually no I we understand you totally yeah that is an excellent question and and so to to make this a clear process there was before the Planning Commission a suggested ordinance which is required in order to amend your zoning code must do that by ordinance that what the Planning Commission unan unanimously rejected um and recommended to the council that you do not pass that uh you can always override the Planning Commission their recommending body so that ordinance is still in your packet but what I would if you're not uh amenable to changing the the code and you want to go with what the Planning Commission did I've included a resolution with findings so the motion I would recommend is to approve the resolution Zach did we put a number on it no I don't think so or if there's not a number on it that's fine but it's a resolution denying an ordinance amending the Canon Fall City code relating to the Canon Valley Fair and what that does is create a written record with findings supporting your denial and it is essentially council member G me an acceptance of the Planning Commission recommendation just more substance to do it sh do you have a page number that's I know Sarah's wanted to pack it gotcha and then it would be resolution 2796 is what it would be thank you s find you said 2796 got it resolution denying an ordinance amending Canon Falls city code relating to the Canon Valley Fair so we would be approving the resolution that denies all right I'm going to make that motion motion 96 second motion from Steve second from Diane uh any further discussion all those in favor of resolution 2796 resolution denying an ordinance amending Canon Falls city code relating to the Canon Valley Fair say I I I those opposed it carries that gets us to reports Chamber of Commerce Maggie right good evening Council and mayor um just a couple things for me tonight um we're a couple weeks out now but we did wrap up a very successful Deck The Falls in November um despite the cold we had a great turnout for it and I just wanted to thank a couple people um obviously the community for all coming out um and braving the cold weather and sporting Cannon Falls in our small businesses that day um thank you to our public works department for all the help and work that they do leading up to the event and then the of the event um the can Falls Police Department for helping with traffic fire department allows us to use the fire department um building in a couple rooms in there to store our stuff and prep for deck The Falls um and also all of our sponsors our community sponsors our business sponsors and then the city of Canon Falls for being a sponsor for duck The Falls uh next up we have our chamber annual business recognition event January 8th and I invite all of you to attend um this invite goes to current Council m members incoming Council outgoing Council um any City staff we encourage you to attend it'll be at the winery January 8th starting at 5: um we recognize our businesses talk about the accomplishments of 2024 and then um John our new city administrator is going to be speaking that night um I just ask that you RSP to me by January 3rd and then lastly I just wanted to encourage the community to um really think about our small businesses this small business season and this upcoming winter um please shop local if you can um uh you know as we go into the winter months things get pretty quiet around Canon Falls things slow down a lot and it really does make an impact when people shop and stay local so just a little plea for our community and surrounding members to do that so anything for me tonight all right thank you thanks Maggie thanks Maggie uh the Eda met on December 5th Laura if you would go through that with us please it's hard for me to even think back that far and it probably wasn't that long ago um I'm trying to think uh we continue to sell Lots in hardwood Estates I believe we've got two single family lots that are not under some type of contract at this point so that's pretty great um there are two models available for touring um and Timber Ridge uh they also have two models that are available up um formerly Sandstone Ridge up by Cedar Hills they do have two models that are available for touring up there as well and Lisa londell can you can connect with her if anyone wants to tour those um so yeah I'm shocked that people are still buying and wanting to build at this time of year you'd think they'd have different Focus but that's exciting for us I guess um so we will be working um pretty frivolously on getting um the next phasee started as soon as we possibly can with whks um otherwise John doll our Eda chair uh will be retiring so we will have an at large seat open on the Eda so if anyone's interested we do have applications here at City Hall I think there's other also some other boards and commissions that are also seeking positions so you can get those at Canon at City Hall here if you're interested um otherwise I'll just Echo what Maggie says it's really important to support anytime that you go to Amazon or go to an e-commerce site think twice and think if you can maybe buy it in town instead I think you'd be shocked at how many Fantastic gifts you can buy right here in town and I would really think and hope that you would support our um business owners instead so um and thank you to Maggie for a great deck the falls and Merry Christmas to all of you thank you Laura uh public works and Park Board also met on the 5th no they oh it was canceled those were canceled all right uh did the library board meet on December 9th I very very briefly um we did the stakeholders meeting instead which was cool so I'm glad I was a part of it awesome um Planning and Zoning commission which I know that we dealt with the the fair situation that was in that meeting was there anything else from that meeting that no no cannabis and fair cannabis and fair cannabis y there you go uh joint po Trail board December 16th did that happen yes by Zoom quick yeah we just had to discuss mile 14 and 16 slope failure again all right still failing there you go all right we'll go around the horn Jed mayor and Council um there's a chance of snow Thursday mhm we might get plow trucks out you know to actually plow snow and not just spread salt s um just uh heads up to everybody that you know driving conditions I know things have been mild last year and so far this year but please slow down um also my Public Works guys are going around uh since the weather has held out we're removing as many ash trees as we can through different parks and whatnot so I get a lot of calls about ash trees and boulevards and whatnot and we are trying to get to them but we want to focus on one area at a time so we're not just popping all around town uh thank you awesome thank you Zach license renewals for 2025 almost everybody's turned them in who had a license last year but if you're a business in town and you're watching this and you sell tobacco or liquor um please give to me by this week and then the cops can do a background check and I can get it off to the state and it'll be all good so thank you thank you anything else Laura um I just wanted to thank uh counc whole person gmme and Gro for your time and service and um Steve you've been on our Eda for a bit so I just want to thank you for your input and support and also welcome our new city administrator John I know he's a little under under the weather today but um it's been really great getting to know him over the last week so um I think he's a great addition to our city and I know Neil's not listening anywhere but um U but just a great um great mentor he's been to me over the last four and a half years so that's it all right Chief so I'm going to build on a couple of things from that side of the room uh snow uh so if they do come out to plow I want to remind people that who get their vehicles off of the city streets um we try to uh clear the streets before Public Works comes in so that when they plow they're very efficient they don't have to come back uh that isn't always possible because in addition to doing that we have to do whatever calls for service we get um so sometimes we may get half the city cleared and not the other half for cars on the roadway um but we just ask everybody to try to get off um there is parking uh down in the city Lots it's signed uh no permits required uh but uh if you can't get off the uh the road you may get a ticket and you may get Toad and we don't want to do that um but we also understand that you know for Public Works they to be able to get out there and clear those streets without uh without that Obstacle of vehicles it makes it more challenging for them in many ways then I will touch on what Zach talked about with licenses and just remind any of our businesses that still need to get their licenses in it's behooved upon them to do so rapidly because it's got to go to the state get approved and we get notified because if we don't get notified you will not have a license to operate especially our liquor establishments on uh 1201 New Year's Day and we do not want to have a violation that we have to bring back before the council for selling without a license so make sure you get those in Zach's pretty diligent about get them to my staff so that we can do the required uh background checks and investigations we need to do but understand once we get them done they have to go to the state before they become official what's the normal turnaround time every other year yeah I don't work for the state well but so what's the day that you would tell our our local businesses to get it to you by other than as soon as possible Friday okay if we don't have it by Friday understand the state's going to be closed for at least two days next week yep middle of the week you got it so they're going to be closed for another day uh you know New Year's Eve usually so just you want to get them in they've been put on really works hard to make sure that people comply and get them in but at the end of the day it's on the owners right they they ones need to fill out the paperwork correctly if they don't the state catches it they're not going to issue the license and really not care um but we do and we try to help them get there so that's why I want to make sure we get the that message out to get your stuff into Zach all right uh then uh for the ELO council members it's been a great working with you for the last two plus years um it's uh interesting the Dynamics that uh that occur when you know console seat and everybody's trying to figure out uh how the process works but you guys adjusted very rapid ly to it U for those that you're staying I continue to look forward to working for you with the at least the two plus years that's all I have thank you Chief Sarah no I think I'm gonna pass you're gonna pass all right all right well no Shelly all right Laura I'll just reiterate you know it's been good working with the folks that are leaving and I'm saying [Laughter] but no that's it all right Lisa U thank you to everyone who voted for me I highly encourage people to run for city council it's a very eye-opening experience and I've learned so much I appreciate you City people so much you have no idea so be kind that's all I got thank you you're welcome Ryan that was nice working with you Derek yeah Steve yeah all right DK yeah excuse me uh yeah it's my last meeting after six years obviously thanks to the community for trusting me and voting for me um I think we're in good hands we have good people working running the city um I think John will be good if he's feeling better um yeah like Lisa said get involved come to meetings run for something because what you find out is things aren't always so cut and dry it's easy to sit and read the beacon or the Facebook forum and say what are these idiots doing why aren't they doing this why aren't they listening it's things aren't always black and white I guess is what I'm saying so thank you to the community and uh thanks for all you guys thanks Derek Diane and I have to go back on to thanks DK and and what's your name again Lisa um it's been great great great serving with you even if I had to SI between two of you I don't know but um and welcome to to John and uh as I think they all said it's it's different when you have to make the decisions than when you just get to complain right but you can complain up here [Laughter] too Steve well what you mean what's his name I I had to write notes because I'm not very good at this but um six years I've been on the council it's went by like a blink of an eye um there's been sleepless nights we've had many successes a lot of it I attribute to Laura we got housing developments we got a a new apartment I know there's yeses and knows about that U I thought when I came in there was a few things that I wanted to help change it's not easy changing it's not easy changing um just an ongoing battle um I've been called a puppet a good old boy I've been called unqualified by a failed business owner I still stuck it out I still came every couple weeks U I've lost friends I've alienated relatives I had a complaint complaint filed against me because I hurt someone's feelings uh but I also had the opportunity to meet fantastic people in the community our uh um our support staff the staff in the city is topnotch I have nothing to compare it to but I don't think there's a better better staff I could work with ever um they always answered my calls J um I figured if I was half right you know that would be in baseball that would be 500 I don't think I'm going to be elected to an All-Star game but um um to all the council members that I've worked with we've agreed to disagree but we've done it on a respectful basis um not everyone ever left here at night happy um but uh people ask me if I ever regretted starting in this thing six years ago and I said I said the same answer every time I wouldn't trade it for the world so that's all I have thank you thank you Steve yeah right no three minute rule for us it's just for the public input sorry about the rambling that's a hard act to follow that's a tough one um I do want to say welcome to John I hope you feel better quickly John but John I think is going to do a fantastic job here for our community um I I know that he is uh smart as a whip when it comes to the numbers I think the budgeting is going to continue to be uh you know we are not free Spenders here I think that he is going to keep a very tight book and a nice budget uh I think he see I think he has a a great vision for the future of Canon Falls uh I'm not going to waste a ton of time saying goodbye to Neil because he's not here tonight but I do want to remind the council that um you know saying goodbye Friday December 20th noon to 1 I believe that's open to the public open to the public at City Hall or if people want to wish him well he's he's definitely going to be uh but reminder at least of the council if you can make it please do uh I think that he's going to be uh he's ready to you know I wouldn't be surprised if he does the Minnesota goodbye we'll keep him here for another couple months the Irish goodbye he might be saying I'm out of here see you later so that hour might be all we get he might Zoom yeah he might right just just to say goodbye zo um like Laura had said uh John do president of the Eda his term is up I want to say thank you to John he's a tremendous person um he's been so kind to the community and the Eda has done so much um I think the term or the word that was used to describe the Housing Development was ecstatic we could not ask for things to be going better than they are right now I know you sit here and say there's only two lots left for single family homes similar developments in towns our size uh can take years and ours is like on Rocket speed right now and I remember it was John dah who sat at that meeting and said we can either take action and do something where we could be sitting here for five years and be saying the same thing and we took action and it's been successful and I'm proud of that and John should be proud of that too um Bruce Hemma Planning and Zoning commission how many years did Bruce serve the community and so he's officially retiring I want to say thank you to Bruce um he was tremendous um on the planning and zoning and then there's a gentleman for the trail board I'm sorry that I don't have the name is it Kowski Kowski y y he's also stepping down correct so uh to all the people if you want to be involved Civic involvement is uh needed to keep a community alive to keep things working to keep things running we need people I know Jim Hoffman is interested in joining the police commission to the new council members I hope that you guys are willing to jump in head for first and serve the community like uh these council members have um John and I have already talked about this is the kind of job where there is no orientation this is like you you have to dive in and learn on the go we are going to try to have a meeting in January so we can get to know each other a little bit better but also so you can get to know the department heads and like Derek and Steve like the getting to know what we do and seeing the inner workings that meeting I think is very important uh then I strongly encourage people if you've never gone uh League of Minnesota City's uh events I think they're held in March um for newly elected and for people who have been longer serving um they have meetings of both kind so that you can learn more about um your job your duty how things go even the little stuff I remember they did a skit about Robert's Rules and public input and how to be polite and not be stuck on your even when you're doing the three minute timer and going through the agenda and emails uh you still have to be uh polite to the general public and your citizens uh so I definitely encourage you to do that um to the council members I just want to say thank you I mean you're my ride or die friend so this isn't like goodbye uh Steve I know that I'm going to run into you at the coffee shop and Lisa I know I'm going to see you at Al off so um but I do want to share just one last thing I remember before we graduated high school they said you don't realize the group that you're with until they're gone we'll see each other we'll still be friends we're still going to work together for a few more years but this is it and from the dis like you had said before doing this job there's very few people that get to do this and it is a privilege because we've earned the Public's trust but that also has the negatives and all of you have sat up here and got to see it the good and the bad but when we adjourn tonight it's the end of this Council I wish you guys the best like I said we will not be strangers we'll see each other so with that I will take a motion to adjourn so moved from Derek and from Steve all those in favor and we are adjourned thank you everybody