Good evening everyone. I would like to call the uh Chaza City Council meeting for Monday, June 16th to order at 7:01. Will everyone please rise for the pledge of allegiance? I pledge algiance 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. All right, at least we call roll please. Council member Hatfield here. Council member Benes here. Council member Chevlin. Council member McGrath here.
Mayor Hard here. Um, okay. Uh, I would entertain entertain uh an adoption of the agenda unless there are any additions or corrections to the agenda. Motion to adopt the agenda. Second. All right. We have a motion by council member Hatfield and a second by council member Benes.
Any other discussion? Otherwise, all those in favor say I. I. Opposed. Adoption of the agenda is uh accomplished. Okay. Next, we have visitor presentations. Uh so we have uh one that's on the agenda and then I
think we have some visitors also in the crowd. So first we're going to start with 5A which is growth through opportunity swearing in ceremony. Will the chief like to come up and say a few words? Good evening mayor council members with the exception of council member Benes. I've been in front of you before and
believe it or not this is the fourth year of the growth through opportunity program in the city of Chaska. And if you recall, this is a fantastic program that takes young people um and they can work alongside city staff, including the police department um which has just been
a fantastic program. Um again, if you recall, this is about an 8-week program um where they come to work for the city two days a week and we were actually the third community in the state to adopt this and there since have been others as well. But what makes Chaza's program
unique in my opinion or the strength of our program is that we involve all the various city departments consisting of administration, finance, police, fire, electric, public works, the town course, water and sewer in the community center.
And at least compared to the pioneers in this program, that's a lot more opportunity um for these young people as they become our cadetses. So, if you look around the room, we do have some of our past cadets um in the room as well. And I think it's very important to note that some of them have gone on to seek
employment with the city beyond their time um as our cadets in the program. Um but for you two to remember is in August, we're going to do a recap session and I'm going to ask you guys what your favorite part of the internship program was. It doesn't have
to be the police. It could be admin. I won't take it personally. It could be administration. It can be flyer, it can be administration. Um, so I'm going to ask you guys that on the last night. So as you go through these next eight weeks, just really pay attention to what you think was the most fun and where you
had the best opportunities and we'll have you share that with us on that last night. Okay. All right. Um, but what's important and before we get into this is every officer that starts in the police department has to take an all and in a few minutes we're
going to do that. The mayor um is going to administer the oath of office for both of you as police cadets. But before we do that, just a few quick things on both of our cadets for this year. Griffin Williams lives in Eden Prairie. He enjoys working out, music, and
cooking. you might have to give me some tips in hanging out with family and friends. He describes himself as helpful and caring and that he enjoys volunteering and working with young people and he's very excited for this internship opportunity. And then we also
have Aiden Coughlin who lives in Shorewood and he loves meeting new people and socializing which is going to be a really good thing for this position. and he enjoys playing pickle ball, tennis, and basketball. And he enjoys music and dancing. And he says
that he has a sense of humor that is infectious. And he's a hard worker. Those are also good traits for this position. And he also is excited to become a team member for the city of Chaskin. So with that said, mayor, if you want to come down and we will administer the oath of office. All
right. This is a first for me, so you guys have to bear with me. Let's see. Aiden, would you like to go first? Okay. So, I want you to raise your right hand and repeat after me.
I I Aiden Coff Aiden Coffman domly swear. Constitution of the United States of United States and the state of Minnesota and state Minnesota and faithfully discharge fally discharge the duties of the duties of and honor honorary police
cadet honorary police cadet of the city of Jes of city of Jes to the best of my judgment and ability to my judge yeah you got it sorry long enough so help All right. Well, guess what? You're
sworn in, sir. Sit down. Well, I should we should we take a picture real quick? And then people can feel free to come up and get a better angle, too, if somebody wants if anybody wants to get a better angle for photos.
Here, let's have you guys go where we need to be. Go ahead. All right. Awesome. All right, sir. Congratulations. I look forward to seeing more of you. Okay. All right,
Griffin. Are you ready? Yes. Okay. Go ahead and raise your right hand and repeat after me. I, Griffin Williams, I I G Williams, do solemnly swear swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States United States and
the state of Minnesota and the state of Minnesota and faithfully discharge faithfully the duties of an honorary police cadet of the city of Chaza city to the best of my judgment and ability my judgment
That's where I need. So help me God. Well, God. All right. Guess what? Congratulations. Take a picture. Smile. All right. All right. Congratulations. Yeah.
I was gonna say we should get one with all the cadets. Okay. Yeah. Uh should we have the cadets come on? I'm so proud of you. Aie, you're the sweetest. We can
officer Martin. There's not a We need to have the badges on either side here. Hey everyone, smile. So cute, guys. Go ahead. Don't be shy.
All right. And then maybe just [Laughter] like I'm so grateful for you. I don't miss this place.
What's up? All right, one more. One, two, three, and then whoever stay there. If we got some other photos, don't be shy. Come up. Any family or feeling good?
All right. Good. All right. That's good. You guys can go ahead and have a seat. Thank you, sir. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. Okay. So, there there is cake in the breakroom for those that
are here. Congratulations. We'll see you tomorrow. All right. I'll say uh Chief, they both told me before the meeting they're we're most excited for the police. So you have a tall bar to achieve there. Interesting department.
Thank you everybody for coming. It was wonderful seeing everybody here at the same 41 had me so turned around. I finally got to take a different way this go around. No way.
Madam, Madam Mayor, yes. Can I just ask since we have a larger group of people, can I just have you run through in case we did have to shelter because we have a lot of unfamiliar people, including myself, I don't know where to go. Uh, could you just talk to us about if that were to occur, what we should do? Yeah.
So, uh, if we do have to go out because of a storm, we'll go straight out to the stairs down there. Uh, I'll lead the way so people can see where to go. And then, uh, we'll go down into the hallway. There's a stairway into the basement, but stay out of the elevator. Uh I have
been stuck in there before, so and it's not fun. Uh but there is a stairwell that goes down to the basement and then we have a hallway down there. So just just follow me. Well, now that we know that that's We did that, it won't happen. See, that was
good. This is pretty wild. So yeah, exactly. Um okay. Uh moving along. Do we have any other visitors here that are here to present that maybe aren't on an agenda item this evening? So, okay, we have come on up. You'll
have to state your name and address for the record and we can't take any action at this time, but we are listening ear. So, well, welcome. My name is Scott Morris. I'm at 542 Sweetwater Path in U Chaza, the Brooks Ridge Division um
property. It's also known as the Pioneer Hollow. I just found that out with some documents. And um we're here today to um urge some action to take place to get a quiet zone over Bavaria Avenue of
Bavaria Road. Uh when my wife and I first purchased the house about eight years ago, they said that train would run about twice a week. Well, much to our surprise, it's doing about six times a day now. And at 3:00 in the morning, we get a very nice wakeup call with a
horn blaring. So, I know it's a county road. There's a few other things. We met with Matt and his staff, and it's a little more complicated than when when I first uh investigated the um what you needed to do to have a quiet zone, which is almost all there except there's a
little thing called a pedestrian crosswalk that also has to have gates and bells and whistles and all that. So anyways, um it's getting to be quite noticeable for people's complaints. I'm
on the uh HOA board and we have people with babies that get woke up at 3 in the morning. It's not just financial because it is 7% less value your home is if you're near a railroad, but uh it's also getting to be a health issue. and
I'm 52 yards from my back door to the south rail of the railroad tracks. And I I was looking through some documents that was provided to me and what really came clear it was that the city or the
city planning, they only mentioned no train noise once about the northwest corner of the property that uh goes along Bavaria. And the city was pleased with the PY homes for putting spruce
pine trees there for mitigating the noise factor. I want to tell you pine trees don't stand a chance against a horn that's on a railroad. And uh so I know there's some planning going on with the county road being widened and that's
you know 8 n 10 years from now. I don't have 10 years. I want to sleep and I'm getting up at 3:00 am now just because I'm used to it. So Matt and his staff has asked the railroad to what happened
because it was pretty good for a while and I something happened because it's been pretty good lately. Yeah, actually I got to answer back so I'll say at the end. Yeah. So anyways, if there's any way we can I I I just can't believe the city wouldn't have asked about the train
noise even when they built Tuscanyany. uh uh community and Jonathan and all I mean there's plenty of opportunities that that could have been a quiet zone especially with the growth that the city's experiencing and uh for future for the council to
take an advisement is new developments that are next to a railroad should automatically have some kind of mitigation of this noise because it's it's just not right. I mean, you can put up with the clicketity clack of the railroad and especially in the winter
time when the house shakes, but being 52 yards is like a a lob wedge in the golf course, it that's pretty close. And more than importantly is you start thinking about Palentine um Ohio I think it was
that had a derailment and you know you never know what's in some of those cars you know and and there's they haul ethanol and uh so I just want to for future community development this should be automatic. We should have quiet zones
when you're that close to people's homes. With that that's all I got. So, thank you. Go Matt. Did you want to Yeah, I could. So, a couple things on that. So, uh we did I would say probably what three four years ago got together
with the railroad uh with Twin Cities and Western to talk with them about uh sort of their operations. And the thing that we focused on the most at that point was they have a sighting that they put uh on the railroad track or next to the railroad track that starts just to
the east of of the uh Pioneer Bavaria sort of crossing there and it goes all the way back into our industrial park. And so they put that on there because uh they have large storage needs during the the course of the year with what they're actually hauling. And at the time what
was happening is that the cars were when they decouple and couple uh and you know you can imagine the bang and all that kind of stuff that goes with it. So as part of that process we got them to agree to move that activity down into our industrial park and to do everything
down uh down on that end. Uh which they uh did do. Uh, and they also gave like a number to call unless in case there was different issues that popped up, which I know Mike Garman, who's on their uh, board of directors, I know, had a contact and if there was issues that pop
up, he was able to call them and they deal with them. Um, they do have a new uh, uh, president uh, of Twin Cities Western. Uh I got introduced to him today and uh he indicated that some of
the noise that you guys were hearing a couple weeks ago had to do with uh they weren't able to use their line farther down because there was work with the Southwest uh light rail uh project that was going on that forced them to move some of the stuff over there. He said
that's done and they should be done with that type of activity until the fall time. and he said at that point they will be moving it down into the industrial park. So that should take care of that. Uh the other thing that was mentioned is that the uh uh train
horn uh who whoever is blowing the train horn seems to uh be pretty aggressive uh with the the way that they've been uh blowing it. So, uh, the, uh, president, uh, did say that they were going to be going through and reviewing those
standards and making sure that they're not being excessive at at, uh, blowing those. So, Twin States Western has always been very responsive to us, which is good. Um, so that's that's sort of the one piece of the issue. The other
one was a silent crossing. Uh so we, you know, we have housing that exists along railroad tracks pretty much throughout the the whole community. Uh the only silent crossing that we have is actually in the Clover Ridge neighborhood. Uh
that was one uh that uh the developer uh actually uh wanted to put in uh when they built the Clover Ridge neighborhood and they were the ones that actually paid for it and you know they paid for it. Hence the people who lived in Clover Ridge ended up paying for it through the
the cost of their lots and through their their homes. Um so that that's sort of the precedent that we've created in the past is that uh we can put in silent crossings. Uh but uh the benefit is to
the people who uh are adjacent uh to it. Um, so right now we're uh going through the uh they had asked that we update sort of our cost estimate because we did do a design for that a few years ago.
I believe it was about 700 to $750,000 to Yeah, I remember being about a million, but yeah. And so, uh, we're going through the process of of, uh, basically say what the costs, uh, would be to do
that. And then what would be sort of the breakdown per homeowner, uh, if we were to move in that in that direction? And they petitioned us to do that. Are are they is it that just Brook Brooks Ridge or are we talking about also Tuscany
Hills? So see this is where I think things get very complicated because you know obviously Tuscany Hills has been there for a very very long time. Yeah and uh we have not received a request from them in the past. What about the fairway village? Uh they're they're a
little bit further away. Uh, these ones are like right at the V. The houses are, but I didn't think I thought the villas were right there. The villas are the villas are still farther than these two neighborhoods we're talking. These ones back right up to there. Um, we're running the numbers two ways. We're
running them as if you were cuz they're well, we're running them as if both neighborhoods were part of a project and then we're running it as if one uh neighborhood just to sort of see how the numbers shake out. Uh there is a point
on the railroad track uh that we have to sort of put notice that something is a silent crossing for the engineers and the trains. And so that ends up being sort of the demarcation line for benefit uh in that. And so that's what we're sort of looking at now. So we don't have
the information yet, but we are pulling it together. Are there grant opportunities to help alleviate some of that financial burden since it's after the fact and it's like noise pollution? Maybe I I can't think of any off the top of my head. Okay. Um but uh um I mean
one thing for certain a silent clock crossing is physically possible there. Sure. Um uh the the real issue ends up being the cost and then probably even more so is how do we make sure that we're not uh
we're not inequitable with how we've treated uh these in the past where again Cloveridge neighborhood ended up paying for their silent crossing uh to making sure that that people who benefit are the ones that end up contributing
towards it. Sure. So, we'll have additional information. Um, but yeah, Matt's pulling that together. But in the meantime, um, I'll I'll get you uh copied up. I copied Mike Garman, but but I'll I'll get the response back from the
Twin Cities and Western so that we can get you guys in the loop of sort of what they're doing, what they expect to do, and what they're going to do for training for for some of their engineers. I I I would like to just acknowledge I appreciate you coming down here tonight
and taking the time out to to to talk about this topic. Um I know it can be a little intimidating to get up in a public meeting and and and talk about things. So, I really do appreciate it and uh we'll make sure to stay on it and see if there's something that we can do.
But I'm thankful that we have such a great relationship with the railroad that they that sounds like maybe they're going to address some of the Yeah. I mean, I I reached out to him and he got back to me within two hours. Yeah. So, I mean, they're and if I did that with Union Pacific, that would not happen.
Yeah, I know. So, I know. So, I So, I I am very grateful that it's Twins and Western we're working with. So, thank you. Okay, moving along. Any other visitors for visitor presentation? Again, come on
up. State your name and address and All right. Um, good evening, Mayor Hubard and council members. Um, my name is Jen Welbert. I live at 632 Dresen Circle. Sorry.
Is this better? I think so. You can just pull it right for us. There you go. You got it. Good idea. Okay. Um, so we are here tonight not representing any specific group or organization, but
as residents of Chaza and the surrounding areas. We're here to express our gratitude towards you all as public servants. We're aware of the risks that you face and we are thankful for your service for
democracy. We also want to express extra gr gratitude and thanks to Chesca's finest, the Chesca Police Department. On June 14th, a day of great sadness and
extra fear in our society, the Chesca Police Department worked extra hours to protect the community as well as being available at the No Kings event. They specifically spoke with gentle calm to
some of our over 2,000 peaceful demonstrators and even parked squad cars in specific locations to present or prevent any rogue vehicles from possibly entering the sidewalks where we were lined up.
Their presence made everyone feel safe, allowing them to demonstrate their love for our country and for democracy. We are all very grateful to the city of Chaza and the Chaza Police Department.
Thank you. And thank you, Chief Cert. I appreciate you guys coming down tonight expressing um your gratitude. I know that was really a horrible day in our history. And as I was on the phone
with the chief in the morning or early morning, I don't even know what time it was, but before your demonstration, that was actually a top a top concern was just making sure that um everybody in Chaza that was coming down to Chaza was going to be safe and welcomed in this
community. And that is a shared goal that I think we all as a council have and I know um everybody in the community has. So, um, I'm grateful for you guys to come down here and kind of acknowledge that and we'll continue to strive towards that that mission
together. So, yeah. And I feel like you really achieved that goal. Um, I think people felt safe, they felt welcome. It was a very unknown, tense kind of morning, but so many people felt the
importance of um you know, exercising their first amendment rights. And we're grateful that the police department was there to protect no matter what the reason was because it was a community
event. Yeah, absolutely. Thank you. Okay. Thank you all. I I can mention that um I've seen at least 40 um 40 participants that have reached out on social media and mentioned the same thing like being very appreciative. So, thank you so much. Yeah. And I and I
would like to say that our chief emailed all of us as a council and um gave us like commentary uh list out kind of of some of the the shared and expressed comments of that day. So, I I appreciate coming down and it's nice to see that because uh there's a lot of extra time
involved in work. You know, we had uh police officers that were off duty that came on duty to to kind of help um make sure that everybody was safe. So, you know, one thing I'll I'll mention too, uh a lot of people don't
know is that two of our officers uh were part of the SWAT initiative. Uh two of our officers were uh the ones that apprehended the suspect uh down uh in uh well at Fox and Township uh down by Bell
Plane Green uh area. Uh so Ryan had a very busy weekend. Well, it was very it was uh you know another word of praise. It was we were driving on 212. I forget we might have been at mass or I can't even remember where we were but driving home and I saw
all the tactical units and cars and of course your first thought is what is going on but when you just saw how ready they were for anything and how they were trying to keep the public safe and you know was it was just amazing all the effort that went into that as well. So, you know, I don't think that anybody ever feels unsafe in the city, but when
you see that kind of thing, then you're even more grateful for the public safety division. Thank you guys for coming down. All right. Um, moving along. Any other visitors for the
visitor presentation? Not on the not on the agenda. Otherwise, we will move along to approval of the um meeting minutes for uh June 2nd uh 2025. Do I have any corrections or additions to the
minutes? Otherwise, I'll entertain a motion for approval. Motion to approve. Okay. Motion by council member. We're all think we're all thinking about our cars right now. I second that. Second from council
member Gra. Um any other discussion? All those in favor say I. I. Opposed. Minutes are approved. Okay. Moving along to the consent items. We have um some uh consent items here. These items receive
little to no discussion, but if anybody would like to pull them off the agenda um and have a bigger discussion, we certainly can. Otherwise, uh I would entertain um or I'd entertain a a motion to approve the consent items or
motion to approve consent. Okay, I have a motion from council member um Hatfield. Second, and second from council member Bennishes. Any discussion? I think the only thing I would like to say is I'm I'm just excited for 7C to see that uh in in final completion for
Beck and Coulter. So, yay. Um otherwise, any other discussion? All right. All those in favor say I. I. I. Opposed. All right. Motion uh carries. All right. Moving on to action items 8A, public
hearing and resolution 2025-33 authorizing execution of a tax abatement agreement for Beck Beckman Coulter expansion. So mayor and council member uh we're not done with Beckman Coulter yet. Uh we got one more item here which
is uh our typical assistance package and Alisa is going to go over and uh describe in detail uh how that'll look. Uh so mayor and council members uh Julie Gro our economic development coordinator has been working on this uh and she's unable to be here tonight so I'll be
presenting on that and I do believe we have a representative of Beckman Coulter here as well. Uh so previously you saw the item related to tax abatement at the beginning of May uh where you entered into a letter of intent with Beckman
Coulter. Since that time um they've gone through their planning items. you just approved uh on consent their site and building plan um as well. So this is like u Matt said, this is kind of that final piece um for approval tonight. So
just as a reminder, tax abatement is an economic development tool that allows us to rebate property taxes back to that property owner for key projects. So when we're evaluating tax abatement projects, we kind of look at three key things. Is there a demonstrated need for
assistance? Does it increase the number of quality jobs and does it stimulate economic growth through tax base uh growth and infrastructure investments? So, as you saw as part of um your consent agenda tonight, Beckman Coulter is proposing or you have approved
Beckman Coulter for 148,000 square foot expansion with an investment of $50 million and they anticipate um adding about 300 highquality jobs as part of that expansion over two to three years. So since the letter of intent was
improved, uh Julie in particular has worked closely with Beckman Coulter to develop that tax abatement um package and agreement which is included as part of your packet tonight. Um some key uh terms as part of the agreement include,
and again you saw the majority of these before, a pay as you go abatement up to $1.4 4 million a maximum term of 13 years. Now that is different slightly different than your letter of intent which called out 12
years. In working with Beckman Coulter, we added a 13th year in case there's a delay in beginning construction or something happens during the construction process. This just adds so that we don't have to come back to you to revise that agreement if needed.
Um and and it's either or. I guess I shouldn't say either or, but it's whatever happens first, either 13 years or $1.4 million in abatement assistance. And so if we hit that $1.4 million before the end of the 13 years, then
that abatement will be closed. Uh, additionally, a portion of that abatement will go to resurfacing Lake Hazeline Drive, which the city will do and it will be done by 2028. And then finally, um, Beckman Coulter will also continue to coordinate with Chesca
Electric to allow access to both, uh, existing and new transformers as needed as part of this project. So, uh, with, uh, tax abatement, it does require a public hearing and notice for tonight's hearing was published in the Laconia Patriot uh, on June 5th in accordance
with statute. So given that this project brings um you know significant tax base as well as high quality jobs um as well as that infrastructure improvements to Lake Hazeline Drive stack staff is recommending that you approve that agreement with Beckman Coulter and I'm
happy to answer any questions that you might have. Does anybody have any questions for Elise? Closer to a great, you know, partnership and longlasting industrial residences. Yeah. All right. I think it's also going
to benefit all the businesses out there because we'll get the road redone which desperately needs it. So, it's I think this is a positive for everybody. Agreed. Agreed.
Um, okay. Uh, so I guess we got to open up a public hearing here. All right. So I call public hearing to order, uh, or KOA hearing for 7:35. Anybody here would like to come up to the microphone and speak.
Now is the time. And seeing none, we're going to close that public hearing at 7:36. We're almost there. Um and uh bring it back in for uh an for an adoption. So um
I would entertain a motion to adopt resolution 2025-33. Approval of the property tax agreement. Motion to adopt the resolution. All right, we got a motion by council member Benes. Second. A second by council member Gra. Any other discussion?
All those in favor say I. I. I uh motion carries. Sorry. All right. Thank you guys so much for for for coming this evening and um we look forward to getting things started. So,
all right. All right. Moving along on the agenda. Um item 8B, implement an electric utility franchise and franchise fee with both um Minnesota Valley Electric and uh Excel. Uh mayor and council members, uh this is an item that we've been working on for the past
several weeks, including having a public open house with this. Uh I'm going to turn it over to to null, who's been working on putting together the details of it. uh you'll see there's a lot of actions uh that we have to take under this uh including agre agreements but
also uh changes to our ordinance as well. So I'll turn it over to null and he can go through the details. Um mayor and members of the council. Thank you. Um the action before you tonight is to approve several ordinances that will allow the city to establish an
electric franchise um utility agreement with both Excel and Minnesota Valley. There'll also be an ordinance that allow the uh where the city will implement a 5% franchise fee with both of those electric utilities.
The reason the city is proceeding with this at this time is we have a public rightaway that is used for locating our city infrastructure for our roads and utilities. We also share that infrastructure with communication companies as well as with other utility
companies such as gas, cable TV and electric utilities. It's a very crowded rightway. There's a lot of participants who are in that rightaway and we impose these franchise fees as a way of providing resources to acquire the rightway to maintain the rightway and to
mark our city utilities that are located within that rightaway when there is activi construction activities in an effort to ensure that those utilities are not damaged and service is not interrupted. Um the city has historically had a franchise agreement
in place with Centerpoint Energy. Uh when that was last renewed, we in in 2014, we put in place the 5% franchise fee with Centerpoint Energy at that time. The city has since then been working with both Minnesota Valley and
XL Energy to also have them contribute to the rightway usage by imposing a 5% rate of franchise fee on them as well. We have not done this previously because there were several actions that we had to take. One was first of all to complete the uh centerpoint energy
franchise agreement and franchise fee because we want to have parody between the different competing energy companies that are in the rightway. Secondly, in 2021, the city had to um unbundle our own rightaway fee that we charge our
electric customers and we took 5% of our rates that included the cost for servicing the rightway and unbundled that to show it as a separate light, you know, on our city utility bill. So, every one of our Chaza electric customers is paying a rightway charge
based on 5% of their electric fees. So, it's a way of trying to show par um across all of the utilities. There's very few customers with Excel. I'm guessing it's between like 12 and 15. We have just over 400 customers with Minnesota Valley. Those are mostly
residential customers in the northwest portion of the city. Um we have been working with both Excel and Min Valley to go through and draft the franchise agreements. Kristoff has been very instrumental. He's the actually the fourth attorney that the city has worked
with to actually complete this process. So, it's been a very long process to get this into a final form that both Excel and Minnesota Valley have agreed to at this point. So, at this point, we do have um Joe Green with Minnesota Valley and Michelle Swanson from Excel who are
available to answer any questions. Our intent here tonight would be to have you approve all four of the ordinances and then also approve a resolution that would allow us to publish a summary of the ordinances instead of the full ordinance in the Wakonia Patriot. This
is permitted by state statute. It's a cost-saving measure to the city. The uh full ordinances have been on the city website for public access for more than 10 days and the final form will also be available on the city website. So, taking advantage of this summary
publication is something we've done in the past, particularly for our utility ordinances. So, we'll be going through five different actions tonight to approve the four ordinances and the one resolution that will need a four-fifths vote for approval. With that, I would open it up to any questions you have of
staff or of our guests tonight. I'll just mention two things. First of all, with the public open house that we had uh we had only one person uh show up for that and they were a member of the uh ENVIC uh board of directors and so I
think they're just very curious about stuff. Um we uh provided sent out notices to everybody who's affected and we didn't receive any uh responses uh back on that. Um and then probably
the the last thing is you know We talk about equity a lot, but equity is important uh across the city. And and one thing that this action will do is it'll make sure that the 420ome uh properties that are affected by this,
it makes sure that what how we're treating them is exactly the same way we're treating the other 11,000 residents within the the city. So it make So now everybody across the board uh in the city will all be on the same page uh with uh with things.
Anybody have any questions for for staff? That was my question was I know we did some public notification and did anybody come forward and what was the the thoughts but sounds like did not. So yeah. Okay.
Um, I know we we had a work session about this. So, I know it seems like maybe to the public that's all watching on our 1.2 million viewers on YouTube that that we might be breezing through this, but I promise we are not. We have had this discussion um and kind of uh
talked through things um as a council uh in regards to this. So, uh so this is just the next step. So, with that, if no one else has any questions, I would entertain we get started on these um adoptions of these ordinances here
because we have a few of them. Um, and so, uh, I'll kick it off. Uh, does anybody uh want to uh make a motion to adopt ordinance number 2025- 1063 granting Minnesota Valley Electric Cooperative and as a an electric utility
franchise? So, moved. Second. Okay. So, we have a a motion from council member Hatfield and a second by council member Gra. Any other discussion? Otherwise, all those in favor say I. I. I. Opposed. All right.
That an ordinance is adopted. And then moving along to the next one, we have adopt ordinance number 2025-1064 implementing an electric energy in franchise fee on Minnesota Valley Electric Cooperative. Any other discussion or do I have a
motion? motion. Okay, I have a motion from Council Member Chevlin and a second from Council Member Benes. All right, any other discussion? Otherwise, um all those in favor say I. I opposed. That one's adopted. All right, moving along
to adopt ordinance number 2025-1065 granting Northern States Power Company and Electric Utility franchise. Have a motion. So moved. I'll second that one. So, I have a motion from Council Member Bennishes and a second
from Mayor Huard. Uh, any other discussion? All those in favor say I. I. Opposed. All right. And then we have adopt ordinance number 2025-1066 implementing.
Yeah, this is a different one, right? Implementing an electric energy franchise fee on Northern States Power Company. Motion to adopt. All right. Second. Okay. I have a motion from council member Chevlin and a second from council member Gra. Any other
discussion? Otherwise, all those in favor say I. I. Opposed. All right, that one's adopted. And then last, we have adopt resolution number 2025-32 to approve summary publication of ordinances 2025-1063,
2025-1064, 2025-1065, and 2025-1066. So moved. Second. All right. I've got a motion from Council Member Hatfield and a second from Council Member Bennish. Any discussion? Otherwise, all those in
favor say I. I. Opposed. All right. That is adopted. Thank you guys for coming out. It's nice. A big thanks to Joe and Michelle and Null and Kristoff. They all worked very hard on this. Thank you. Thank you. That's why they call you the closer to Yeah. you
together. The closer. took took the fourth lawyer to come in and do it. Right on. Okay, moving right along to bills. The most exciting part of our agenda. Does anybody have any questions on a bill?
Speak now or forever. Hold your piece. Wow, that's clamoring. Okay, I'll make a motion to pay the bills. Thank you. I'll second. All right. So, I have a motion from council member GR and a second from council member Chevlin. Uh, any discussion? Otherwise, roll call, please. Council member Hap, yes. Council
member Vanish, yes. Council member Chevlin, yes. Council member McGrath, I. Mayor Hubard, I. All right, those are adopted. Awesome. Okay, moving on to other business. Uh, let's start with Council Member GR. Oh, what you got? Or
should I move on to somebody else? No, that's fine. Sorry. I I to start that mean um I think I'm just you know reflective of the events that we talked about. I think uh madame mayor your your message that
you had put out on uh the social immediiacy was was well written and I appreciated that and I know um I'm sure those were 100% all your words from your heart and I and I truly mean that. Uh and I think it's just it is it's an interesting time and um you know it's um
you know I'm reflective of the fact that one of the interests I was a political science major one of the interests that I've always felt good is good conversation and debate among people and I do feel like that is a lost part of society right now. There is not a healthy debate or conversation
respectfully. uh it tends to just become really rooted quickly and I just I I wish that wasn't the case and I don't know there's no magic way to fix that. um you know but in conversations with my kids right who hear the news and wonder what's going on
and all those tough conversations that get had um just doing the right thing and I think you know for me it's about myself doing the right model and you appreciating people come in and have different ideas and and listening to them and respecting and um and understand that I'm not always going to
agree with someone who uh but we can be respectfully disagree right and I think there's true value in that I don't just say that to say that um so you know for myself I think That is really what I view kind of from the vents is like when not controlling the things you can't
control but trying to be part of the solution and just doing what you can control as individuals and as people. So um you know just a a thought for the 1.2 million people who are watching this to to try to bring that you know common politeness back to the political
concourse and conversation and um and just you know get to know people. people are people and we're all we have more common uh connections than we do differences. So, um so again, appreciate your message. I just thought it was very well written and and kind of hit the
tone. Um just as um a couple things I shared with Elise, but I'll just share general the council and get it on the public record. I did get a request uh a little bit from I know it's the first day that 41's closed. So if you haven't tried to figure out how to get around
town, do so now. Savannah Way is a good route. That's the route I actually took to Community Field today. Remember to do that instead of taking the highway because I always forget coming from my neighborhood. Um but the one request was and I think you were going to pass it on the county was um White Oak Drive seems
to have today at least a lot of people thinking that maybe be a route to get north and you have to go pretty far onto that road to realize you can't go any further. So they requested maybe a no through you know not a through road uh sign there at the top because they're seeing a lot of turnaround traffic. And
when those people turn around, as by historical content of my neighborhood, they get pretty frustrated and they want to fly out of there. And it's a I mean, you got to go a decent way before you realize before you realize you can't go. So just some observations. So
appreciate, you know, people's patience as people navigate that area. The roundabouts interesting. like it's just like I just when I took it here from community it's just kind of an interesting like wow this this fit in this space and it's kind of a you know a lot of cones to look at and um I know
they'll get a stripe soon. So just encourage people with patience and maybe for the first couple days extra plan some extra time to get around as you got to adapt new ways to get there. Be respectful of the neighborhoods. Be respectful to the detours. There's reason why detours get set up the way they are. Even though there might be a
shorter way be respectful for those neighbors that that might be routing through. So, can I uh council regra I did send that message on to the county staff and they've gotten several of those messages today and anticipate signage in the next few days. So, I want to provide you with that answer.
Perfect. Yeah, I mean I I can see what happens, right? You're like, "Oh, I'm going to go this route." And you're driving, driving, driving until you realize that you can't get a dead end eventually, right? So, uh lastly, just uh you know, we uh with my connection to the baseball organizations held the Ches
Classic. Uh the city I think showed well right good baseball fields good uh um conditions a lot of people come unfortunately mother nature didn't want to share with that excitement and uh we did impact one set of uh grades the nine-year-olds unfortunately did not get
to play because they were at Pioneer and Pioneers fields historically um don't hold as water as well as other fields hold water. Uh but also just a shout out to volunteers and parents and people who spent a lot of time on Friday, hours and hours getting those fields ready to
showcase Chaza. Um and working with the school and with the city and all those places because it took it took a lot of quick dry. I don't know how much pounds of quick dry we went through to try to throw down to kind of absorb that water and rake, but uh it's good. It was just good to see activity at the ball fields,
people around. Um, and you know, if if if you're wondering what was happening at the ball fields, that's what it was. So, it was nine year olds, which didn't happen up to 11 year olds. So, teams from River Falls, Mano, um, River Falls. So, lots of different teams coming from different ways.
Fire Lakes, those type of teams, too. So, and that is all I have here. Awesome. Well, speaking of someone that learned how to paint the lines on an athletic field recently, is not an easy job. Just gonna I will put that out there. That was It
was interesting, especially when you don't know how to drive a a manual shift vehicle. So, um, thank you. All right. Uh, Council Member Hatfield. Sure. A few things. Um, can't remember anything that's
happened the last two weeks, but it's been one of those couple days. Um, some events coming up though. Chaska Pride is on June 21st at Mcnite Park. Um, right. Mcnite. Okay. I was like, did I
make that up? Yep. Um, and then Picnic with Police, uh, June 25th, new location, Fireman's. So, not at Veterans this year. I did not know that. That's good to know. That's what the Facebook says. Okay. No, I have I have the, you know, I didn't look I guess I didn't
look that close. So, yeah. So, it's it says fireman's. Okay. I guess my computer decides it doesn't want to work. I'd assume they put the right one on it. So, they did say bring a lawn chair blanket. I would recommend that especially because Veterans has like a
whole little thing to sit down at right there versus Fireman's has the seating, but it's in a little different spot. So, bring but it is always like an event that's very well attended. So, it would make sense that we need a bigger venue. So, that's exciting. That's exciting. Um, and then a pop-up splash
pad, which if you put it on Facebook ahead of a time, is it really a popup? I don't know. But pop-up splash pad. Well, it's not there and then it's there. That's true. That's true. Um, at also at Fireman's. Um, Henber touched on the
Highway 1041 closure. Lots of ways to get around. Um, so it is closed, but you know, there's Ottabon Savannah Way. Um, is is 11 fully open yet? No. No, don't
try that one then. Um, June is Pride month and I didn't say it at our last meeting. So, happy Pride. It's also National Safety Month, so happy National Safety Month. Um, and then finally, I wrote up something. I don't think I'll get through it. Oh. So,
um, but Do you want me to come back? It's okay. Okay. You want me to read what you wrote? No, it's okay. Okay. Um, I just think that I won't read I won't read it because I
won't get through it. I'll write it on Facebook or something. But I just want to say that what you wrote was perfect. And I think I thought about it a lot over the weekend and that vile human that committed those acts is not a
representation of Minnesota. And I just want to put that out there and I want to say that the people who demonstrated so peacefully this weekend are a demonst are a representation of what Minnesota is. And so thank you to the people of
our community that did that were, you know, still going out with passion and maybe anger and all of those things, but did it peacefully and were able to represent truly what I think Minnesota is. So I won't be able to read all this,
but I wanted to say that that's all. I appreciate your thoughts. Um, yeah, I agree wholeheartedly that you're right. this not a not a representative
person of our community or the state of Minnesota. Right. So, okay. Um, shifting gears, council membership. Well, again, I will follow up with the words were wonderful. I read it and I
was very moved by your words. Um, and I think you meant them, so that's even better when someone means the words that they say and they're not just gpting it out. Yeah. Um, and we, you know, we went to mass the next day and Father Telbot said from the pulpit, um, I had a homaly planned for you all and I'm not going to
do it today. We're going to switch gears and we're going to talk about what happened. And the message ended with that you model all this behavior. So, it starts at home and how you handle conflict in your home and how you teach your children how to handle conflict and that's, you know, whether it's being respectful or disrespectful of another
person's point of view starts there and goes on. So I would just, you know, it was a very moving homaly because it was from the heart right there at the pulpit and I think it had everybody thinking it really doesn't matter what side of the house you're on. Violence and you know unkind behavior is not the way to go. So um I would just echo what everybody else
has said about that. And then um shout out to the um community sports or Zack is it Johnson Batcher? I never know his name anymore, but we started um baseball this week. Little chess whatever community center baseball and although I
thought it was soccer, so my six-year-old was dressed in soccer queens and chin guards for the first baseball game. Maybe one of those things needs to come off. Yeah, exactly. I mean, we didn't have our gloves on. We'll be fun. Yeah. So, um, but we will be prepared this Tuesday for baseball. But
he was up at the fields at Pioneer Ridge, um, and greeting all the parents and all the kids and juice boxes and just it was a very, uh, nice way to kick off summer sports for the littles who are not yet on competitive or school leagues. That's how it starts though. I know. And wearing cleats and chin guards
to baseball. That's how it starts. And then you're busy every weekend. I have such fond memories of going through that program with Ethan. And we did this, we did do the soccer. It was in the fall. It was it was at the the sunset which is like right across the street from my house and so we just have to walk out
the door, walk across and we do the gymnastics and we participate in u most of the youth activities that go on skating. We did exceptional job at that. Yeah. Everything but swimming we've done and it's all been amazing. So, I shout out to all of the volunteer coaches and and
mostly dads, but who volunteer their time to do that for the youth and and all of the community workers that help make it possible. That's all. All I have to say is enjoy it because soon enough they're going to look like that. How you doing back there?
He's pointing to his son who's who's a grown man now. So, um wonderful. Uh, all right. Council member Bench, I will echo all the comments of the other council member members that have been stated. I will
say myself, um, it was a tough weekend and no matter what side of the aisle you reside on, if you if you even choose to reside on a side of the aisle, you can reside anywhere. Political violence has no
place in this country. Not here. It's it's not what we do. Um, respectful discourse, agree to disagree, debate, debate it out. And, uh, one of the things I always tell my kids
to stress is every day do the right thing and be a good person. And I feel like if we could all just do that, we'd be in a much better spot right now. and start to condemn social media and
just knee-jerk reactions of people without thinking and just do the right thing and be good people. So that's all I've got. I appreciate hearing your thoughts. Um
okay, moving along. Police do not have any updates. Okay, Kristoff Matt. Um the uh couple of things. So on the 30th, we are having the meeting and not having on the 7th. Um
we did have City Square West. We were going to do work session on that tonight and unfortunately uh we did not get funding again this year. So um we're we're we're working through coming up with what the plans are. So, when we're ready, hopefully in
July, we're we're thinking probably mid July, we'll be ready to come back and and talk about that. But on the uh 30th, we are planning having two work sessions that or two topics for a work session that night. Uh one of them will be sort
of exciting. We'll be able to show you sort of the first uh renditions of the municipal service building uh that we're going through and we do have the cost estimates uh now uh back. and I have a smile on my face, so they're not bad. That is good. Yeah. So, that's good. Um,
so, uh, we'll be, uh, talking a little bit about that so you can get sort of a sense of not only how we're going to use that site, but how we're going to reuse, uh, and, uh, hopefully make it better for the neighbors and everything over at our old site. Uh, so, uh, some of the stuff that
we'll do over there. And then the second part of the work session will be uh our first discussion of the budget for 2026. Uh the meeting itself uh there's a couple of items that we have in there. So it'll be relatively short. So if we don't finish up everything uh before the
meeting, we'll just finish up whatever we don't after we uh go through the meeting at 7 o'clock. Um so you want us here at 5:30? Yeah, we're gonna do 5:30 is going to be that. And I think that's it. I I concur with what
everybody has said up here. Great words. Um just terrible, terrible weekend. Um and uh um it's just even hard to put in words. But
but I just prayers obviously to everybody who's been involved in it. Um and also just to our our police department because um you know Ryan won't say it but you know Ryan worked all weekend and he I mean he was calling
me multiple times you know throughout the weekend just giving me updates on things and they were busy the entire time keeping us safe. uh because uh you know it crossed our mind several times that
where these crimes occurred and where his home were that were in between that. And so that was very much on on the chief's mind especially with the demonstration that was going to happen that they just needed to be extra vigilant. So, I just so much appreciate
our officers willingness to just jump in, come in, uh, you know, do the work that needed to be done and, uh, just make people feel safe. So, big thanks to them. Absolutely. Um, yeah, huge thanks
to our our police department and to you, Matt. I mean, you were in contact with me and um, you I don't know how much you really got a weekend off either. So, as you were kind of hashing through things and kind of keeping things up to date. So, it was it was a a huge sigh of
relief, I think, that we probably all felt last night when we had heard the news that he um had been apprehended. So, um but it was also a little bit a little bit jarring that he had made it all the way to Green Isle and it was like, you're right. It was like there
was that in between and and there's just so much unknown. And I'm sure as things unfold, we'll we'll learn more and know more. But that was very horrible news. And um as I sat in my living room, my son was watching the news. He's 10. He's
got, you know, he's he comprehends a lot. Um, and the panic on my kid's face because he just when they say that this individual has a list of people that he's targeting, my son immediately, who's on that list? Are you
on that list? Do you people, you know, on that list? And, you know, trying to reassure your children. Um, but he was also with, you know, as you know, you door knock the community. And I will say, you know, very, very few, very, very minuscule amount of incidents as I
came in contact with members of our community that were not positive. Um, and only once did I ever feel like this might be a real escalating issue with an individual. Um, but it is, it goes to sentiment, as you
said, Council Member Grad, that we can have disagreements and still have respect for one another. And I think that's really the long goal. And I think about, you know, in a neighboring community, there was a school board member that, you know, a really challenging issue came up and she was
bullied so hard into submission that she just said, "I got I've got kids and I I can't do this." And so you have people that are really good. And you hear that all the time like why don't more good people sign up to put themselves on the
line to to to put themselves out there and to be a part of public office? You have great ideas. Well, those are the the fears that happen in the back of people's heads because um some people don't have that respect
factor and and bad things can happen and um and so I commend anybody who puts themselves on the line and I as I said that in that statement is not an easy position. you know that the the choices and the votes that you make impact the
lives of other people around you, but you do it with the sense of due diligence and knowing that, you know, you're keeping the framework of the community in mind and that you're um you care about the community just like any other individual does. And um and you
may differ about what that looks like, but in the in the end, we all care a lot about this community. And so I just hope that we keep the mentality of loving people first um and foremost and having respect for people first and foremost. So I was
nervous about our uh demonstration that was scheduled to happen. I did not want to see anything negative happen to anybody that was in this community. I I wanted to allow everyone the freedom to express their views. Um but you don't want to create a
cause for more violence. So, I so commend our police officers for stepping up to take the time off to come and be an added help and effort and to also help create a sense of calm and well-being um in our community. So, and and one thing I forgot, the fire
department, too. And yes, and the fire department was part of that. They were part of that. They they stepped up and heeded the call as well. So, so thank you. They they definitely deserve to be acknowledged and all of that. um and also for uh some of our visitors to come down and and thank them. So,
it's much appreciated. Um switching gears, ebikes and pedestrian safety. Now, to talk about communities, the things I have had a lot of calls lately of or messages of people that like, you know,
people aren't stopping in the crosswalks. I almost got hit by a car myself 100 mark. Um, you know, there are kids that are on uh ebikes that are just I mean going max speed and they're not
really saying, "Hey, I'm on your left or or whatever." And so there are people that are fearful to to to use and utilize our amenities, our trails. They're our top amenities. So, I would just like to express to the community
that we should be paying attention. there are a lot of kids out and and pedestrians out. It's summertime. We need to make sure we're watching where we're driving and that we're driving safe appropriate speeds on the roads and acknowledging that those pedestrians, they do have the rightway on a crosswalk. That you can't just drive
through and just they're just going to stand there on the sidelines. But also when you're on the trails, if you are on electronic bike or biking really fast, that you're just being respectful and you're acknowledging to people that are uh on the trail with you that you're sharing that trail and you're you're
being safe. that maybe slow down a little bit when you're passing people and you can zoom up ahead and everything. And um I know you're going to have something to say about this, but uh one thing I do know is that you have to be 15 to use those things. So if you have um an ebike and you are letting
your kids under the age of 15 use it, please stop. Please don't because uh that is against the uh law. So why don't you go ahead and take it away on that. So a couple different issues there. So, one of them is safe crossings at our uh
trails that that go across collector roads. So, really the two main roads that we have that uh condition on is Huntermark and on Bavaria. And so, uh we are going to be installing
at Purple Brick Road. So, that's the entrance into the the high school. Uh at Friendship Park, there's a crosswalk that goes into our area. And then at Community Park, there's another crossing goes in there. We're going to be putting
the uh pedestrian activated uh blinking uh lights uh at those. We'll do that this summer. Um next summer is when we repave uh Bavaria Road. So there'll be two intersections there that we'll be uh
putting by Bavaria Hills. Right by Bavaria Hills. And then uh there's another one I think might be up by Nickel Creek, but there's like two crossings that are on there that we'll put those on uh as we're repaving that road uh next summer. It'll be good. Um
second thing is uh I know Hunter and Kevin have been working on uh putting together like an educational piece for people. The city of Shaki just did one. City of Edina just did one. Um, a lot of cities are seeing very similar issues
with with uh these ebikes uh that are out there and just sort of the danger and some of them you can't tell the difference between them and looks like a dirt bike, you know, that that's going on there. So, uh we're sort of uh using some of the examples they've had for
doing educational piece. Now, we do have the ability and Kristoff's done some some investigation or research into this. we do have the ability to uh create some type some restrictions on
the trails um which we can do. Uh the challenge is enforcement and so I think um I think at least my opinion I think if we are uh I think we should take it one step at a time and maybe start with
the educational pieces and see what happens. I get concerned a little concerned about putting out an ordinance that we don't have the ability to enforce because once we create the ordinance then um people are going to have an expectation that that we enforce
it you know you can imagine how hard it is if somebody calls and says well there's a person driving on this trail uh you know going real fast and by the time we get out there they're halfway across town. Um so it's we're giving some thought and talking to other
departments have given some some thought to this about is there a better way than others to enforce that or is there better types of restrictions that you can put in place that make it a little bit easier to uh see some type of enforcement action that you could take.
Uh so that's some of the research that we're we're doing right now. Uh but that's just sort of an update on both of those topics. hire my 10-year-old because we're at community today. We've had this conversation in my family because I've heard it from several officers as well as just observation. And I'm sitting watching my son's
baseball game and at community and my 10-year-old's at the park right behind me and I see an ebike go ebike go flying down the bike pal and I hear my son go, "How old are you? You need to be 15." Yeah. You can just hang out. I'm like, "So, if you need someone just to like
sit there, right?" I just laughed. I was just like, "Yep, we've had that conversation." That's true. Oh, the children are our future. Let us let them show the way, right? Um, yeah. So, well, good. I'm glad. And yeah, it I
I know we're we're not alone in in that in as far as community wise, it's kind of undergoing this as as those bikes become more available and affordable and and used. So, just a kind of a new chapter. Uh, we talked about the
construction. Yeah, I filled in some calls about that today. Um, yeah, be mindful of the detours. Uh, you talked about the human rights commission picnic 3 to 6 at Mcnite. The community market is on Thursdays from 4 to 8. They also
have the Clayhole concert series that are happening at the same time at 6 o'clock this week upcoming here for this Thursday's traveled ground. It's a local group. And Chesca Cubs is having the family night in the ballpark from 4 to 6 this Sunday.
Uh I think that's the 22nd. Am I right? Yeah. Okay. Um first pitch is or it's from 4 to 6. Uh first pitch is at 5:00. Shameless. I get to throw it. So you nervous? Yeah. Yourself like Well, I
might I might give it over to my son. The key is aim high. Yeah. Yeah. You want to be a viral video start practicing my my my throwing here. Um but no, so Cap Agency is sponsoring
or the benefactor of this and so is Little Ruse. Um so they um they always do such a nice job at the Cubs game. Such a great great uh great experience out there. Um, also at the top of my list on Wednesday, the Met Council is
coming to our event center and uh they're kind of like doing this traveling road show uh deal where that's open to the public. Uh you guys council members are encouraged to to come down. Um it starts at 4:30 with an open house. Uh and then they'll have uh like a
council met council meeting briefly or or opening comments and then there are some panel discussions and drum roll please because there is a guest speaker that is going to be a part of one of these panels um and I think everyone
will enjoy. Should I give it away? Um, so it's former mayor Mark Windshuttle is going to be here on Wednesday, uh, talking about, you know, fireman's park history and other historical aspects projects of Chaska along alongside of
me. So, we get to the dynamic duo gets to come back to together again. So, but then there's another panel that has um so the Mattowwalkin um community um is it the director of the Mottowin community and then also a business owner
in Shak P and then uh Mayor Johnson from Carver will be a part of that panel as well. So, fun times to be had um down at the event center again 4:30 to 6 and we have posted it so everybody can go without having to worry about open
meeting laws. Yes. Um, so, uh, I think that's it. I think we've mentioned everything else other than the with the police picnic. They are gathering donations for Southern Valley. So, stuff the squad. So, I'm assuming it's school supplies. They didn't really say specifically, but that's what
they've done in years past. Um, next council meeting is on the 30th. We have a couple work sessions before that. No meeting on July 7th. That's all I have. We got through this, you guys. Okay. Um, so, uh, I would, I guess, entertain,
unless anybody has anything else they forgot, I would entertain a motion to adjourn. Motion to adjurnn. All right. Second. All right. Motion by Council Member Brown, second by Council Member Chevlin. Um, all those in favor say I. I. Opposed. We are adjourned. Thank you,
everyone.