Good evening and welcome to the Rapids City Council meeting for Tuesday, December 16th, 2025. If you could please rise and join us for the pledge. 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. >> Please call the role. >> Council member Brisco >> here. >> Council member Butler >> here. >> Council member Novak >> here. >> Council member Gisler here. >> Council member Armstrong here.
>> Council member Carlson >> here. >> Mayor Cook >> here. >> All right. All right, why don't we adopt this evening's agenda? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Motion by Gesler, second by Butler to adopt the agenda. Any corrections? Hearing none. All in favor signify by saying I. Opposed. And that motion
carries. We don't have any proclamations or presentations. And we're looking at approving the minutes of the December 2nd uh meeting. >> Motion to approve the minutes from the December 2nd, 2025 meeting. >> Second. >> Motion by Butler and a second by Armstrong. Any discussion or
corrections? Hearing none. All in favor signify by saying I. I. Opposed. >> And the motion carries. One abstension. Council member Gesler. And okay, we have one, two, three, four, five, six, seven items on our consent
agenda this evening. The first one is to approve the 2026 business license renewals. And all of the nice all of the license applications are renewals. And as indicated on the tabulation, most license renewals are complete with the exception of those businesses missing
the indicated items. Um, all missing items are expected to be received by Friday, December 19th. So, we're looking to approve the 2026 business license renewals as listed on the attached tabulation contingent upon
receipt of additional information as noted and subject to compliance with all city codes. item. The next item on the consent agenda is to accept and it's just anformational item. We have a corporate
officer change for Total Wine and More 3,400 124th Avenue Northwest, Brandon Wayne Wilkerson as chief financial officer, treasurer, and Robert Thompson Thomas Schaefer III as secretary. This
is just information they need to provide to us. The next item on the consent agenda is to approve the final payment to Cedar Creek Energy for project 24-63, the solar array at fire station number three.
Um the change order, we had one change order in this was for an additional 20-year warranty extension for the inverter. So, we're looking to approve the change order and the final payment to Cedar Creek Energy in the amount of
$20,370.80 for project 24-63 solar fire station 3. Uh, next on our consent agenda is to receive the schedule of electronic payments. Um staff has prepared the attached list of electronic payments
processed since the last council meeting and we are just receiving the schedule of electronic payments from November 25th, 2025 to December 10th, 2025. Next item is to adopt resolution 25-130
accepting donations and business sponsorships. Uh the city council um is required to accept any donations and sponsor sponsorships and we have several here. Um Kun Rapids Crime Prevention
Association donated $1,197 to the police department for crime scene lights. Uh the family of Chris Jensen donated $300 to the parks for a tree donated uh for Riverview Park. Um, and then we had Panda Express and
Chick-fil-A that did donations for the treelighting festival. And then we had several just miscellaneous um, donations um, mostly anonymous for various things at the senior center. Uh, we would like to thank all of the donors and businesses that supported events and
programs. And so we're looking to adopt resolution 25-130 to accept contributions made to the city between October 1st and December 15th, 2025. Next item on the consent agenda is to adopt resolution 25-131
approving parks and I panicked. I thought that was my phone. I'm going oh no, what did I do first for everything? Adopt resolution 25-131 approving parks and recreation
commission appointment. Um Jeff Johnson applied to the parks and recreation commission after discussion with the applicant and attending a number of meetings in 2025. The parks and recreation commission supports the appointment of Jeff Johnson to fill the vacancy with a term ending
in 2028. So, we're looking to adopt resolution 25-131 appointing Jeff Johnson to the Parks and Recreation Commission. And then item eight, and this is our final item on the consent agenda, is to approve an onsale
3.2% malt liquor, wine, strong beer, and Sunday liquor licensing for Cheers Pablo, 12759 Riverdale Boulevard. Cheers. Pablo has recently changed ownership, prompting the submittal of the new liquor applications. The license and
investigation fees have been paid. The police department has conducted a background investigation with no finding that would prevent licensing. And a certificate of liquor liability showing proof of coverage has been received. So, we're looking to approve the issuance of
the on sale 3.2% 2% malt liquor wine strong beer and Sunday liquor licensing to J5 Enterprises LLC doing business as Cheers Pablo located at 12759
Riverdale Boulevard Northwest. And that is our consent agenda for this evening. Your >> honor. Council member Novak. >> Move to approve the consent agenda. >> Second. >> Motion by Novak and a second by Butler. Is there any discussion or questions? >> Mr. Mayor,
>> Council Member Butler. >> Uh, just two quick things. First, I just want to congratulate Mr. Johnson on his uh, appointment to the Parks and Rec Commission. I really appreciate anyone who steps up and wants to serve the city. The second thing I just wanted to note as we're talking about a couple different things related to business
fees for 2026 is again just appreciating that the council was able to do a little bit of work this year to reduce some of our liquor licenses and hopefully we can continue that discussion in 2027 for further reductions. >> Absolutely. I did have to go a little
deeper dive on that one. I went why do some of these places have a tavern license and others don't have a tavern license? >> We could talk about that next year. >> Well, no. No, it's the the ones with tavern licenses because then they can have live music. Apparently, the definition of a tavern is something with
live music or something. I don't know. But I couldn't figure out why some of the bars were had it and some didn't. But anyway, >> all right. >> Learn something new every day. >> There you go. Yeah. Yeah. That little rabbit hole that distracted me from finishing the packet again for a while,
you know. Um, any other questions or comments on the consent agenda? >> Mr. Mr. Mayor, council member Goskovia, >> I just had one question and it's on consent agenda item four uh the final payment to Cedar Creek Energy. We've purchased that additional warranty for
that inverter which is a great thing. Protect our environment. And by the way, we spent uh good good way to spend the $105,000 we got on the grant to get this solar installation on the fire station. But my question was the change order was for an additional 20-year extension on the inverter. If I could just get
clarification now or maybe next week, does that give us 30 years of warranty coverage on that inverter? Uh, that would match the the warranty on the panels. >> Mr. Hammer, >> I'll look. >> You'll look, but I will. >> Very good.
>> Mr. Hammer is going to get back to you. >> Perfect. >> All right. Anything else on the consent agenda? >> We have a motion and a second. All in favor signify by saying I. >> I. Opposed. And that motion carries. Item nine is to consider resolution
25-129 approving the year-end budget appropriations and amendment. And I bet we're going to Miss Hansen on this one. >> Good evening. Good evening. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. City Council. um before you
asked to consider a resolution that will amend the general fund budget and reallocate budget appropriation between the various um categories and activities. So, uh chapter two of the city code establishes a legal level of
budgetary control to be at the category level within an activity. So staff has uh updated the year-end estimates for revenue and expenditures in the general fund and then compared them to the budget and have recommended adjustments
that have a net zero impact. Um and attached the agenda is an updated general fund comparison and I'm happy to answer any questions. >> Very good. Any questions of Miss Hansen? >> Your honor. >> Council member Novak. I move to approve
resolution 25-129 relocating funds within the 2025 general fund budget. >> Second >> motion by Novak and a second by Butler. I would say to clarify to reallocate.
>> Sorry, I thought I said that. >> Well, it sounded like relocated, but it's kind of the same thing, I guess. But um any questions or discussion? Mr. Mayor, >> Council Besler, >> the other G. Um, I I just wanted to
thank staff for answering. I had a whole bunch of questions on, you know, how we're moving it around and where it's coming up and how budget lands and there. And, you know, I think just back since I wasn't at the meeting uh last month, just highlighting too, you know, the the fund balance policy is a big part of government accounting here. And
you know, while it may look like some funds are really full, it it we need to maintain that to get to those property tax dispersements because we don't get that every single month. That comes only a couple times a year. And and so I I appreciate how hard this is and you know between uh the accounting standards and
all that and keeping this all square and keeping it digestible. So I just wanted to you know again thank staff for the time of helping make that uh easy to follow and follow along for uh first year. That's a, you know, that's a great reminder. We don't we don't get that
check. They come in come in October and then it's next May again. So, you got a it's a pretty good gap there. All right. Any other discussion hearing? None. All in favor signify by saying I.
>> I opposed. And that motion carries. Item 10 is to consider the 2026 workers compensation coverage. Back to you again, Miss Hansen. >> Thank you, Mr. Mayor. City Council, um council has asked to consider um
approval of workers compensation coverage for 2026. Uh the League of Minnesota City's Insurance Trust has provided a quote um that is actually show the net premium is a 25.4% reduction over 2025. So positive results
for us. Uh this is largely due to the league um reducing rates by about 25% and then the city also had a reduction slight reduction in our mod factor based on experience over the last few years. Um as in previous years um the city is
staff is recommending that the city chooses the retro rated plan option one. Um the city has utilized this plan for a number of years and it looks back instead of sticking with the net premium, it looks back at actual um claims. Um and as a result, the city has
seen uh net savings by utilizing this plan and it really is effective when you're consistent with that. So staff is recommending that the council approve option one um for the workers compensation coverage with the League of Minnesota Cities. And I'm happy to answer any questions.
>> Excellent. Any questions you have? Anyone has Miss Hansen? >> Mr. Mayor, Council Member Geyser. >> Uh, so just for staff, so the form of this motion, are we are you asking us to approve option one is the format that
you'd like this motion made in? Just understanding that. >> Nodding heads. >> Yes. >> Pull it up. >> Were you thinking about making it? I was gonna give a second, but yes. Uh, Mr. Mayor, I I will make a motion that, uh,
uh, city council recommend the adoption or the adoption of option one of the retrated plans with the legal Minnesota cities ins insurance trust. >> Second motion by Gesler and a second by Butler.
Is there further discussion on this? Hearing none, all in favor signify by saying I. I opposed and that motion carries. Item 11 is to consider feasibility report and order a public hearing and assessment hearing for street
reconstruction project 26-1. It must be about Christmas. Mr. Hansen's back. >> Yes. Thank you, Mayor and Council. I'm here to talk to you about our 2026 street reconstruction program or program and uh have a presentation here to
provide to you and hopefully answer some questions uh that you may have after I'm complete. Uh so a little bit of background about our proposed project next year. the streets that are proposed have been rated as deficient and poor condition. And we also talk very closely
with our public works streets maintenance department and figure out where they are spending the most time maintaining and uh repairing potholes. So, as we break down the specific streets that are proposed for next year's street reconstruction project,
we're looking at 89th Avenue, that's west of East River Road, out over to Mississippi Boulevard. And then also 86th Lane and 87th Lane, both of which are west of East River Road and 85th Avenue Culdeac, that is east of
Mississippi Boulevard. The scope of the work included on these streets is to replace the asphalt pavement and all of the damaged curb and gutter. Replacing storm sewer catch basins as needed. Replacing the water mane pipes in their
entirety on 86 lane 86 87th lane and 89th Avenue. Replacing all of the sewer manhole castings throughout. upgrading city-owned street light LEDs or to LED standards and that is only on
85th Avenue. The rest are all owned and maintained by Excel Energy. And then lastly, we are proposing to install a water man loop connection to the neighborhood that is accessed from 89th
Avenue. Currently, the only water man into that entire neighborhood, including the Adams Elementary School, comes from 89th Avenue. There is only one water man connection. So, we have a force main pipe that follows through the school property. We have been working with the
school district and informed them of our desire to also install a water mane pipe connection that would go from the end of the 80 or 90th Avenue Culdeac over to Sycamore Street. So, we think that would be a good investment for this neighborhood for the long term. It's
going to provide more redundancy, better water quality and circulation through the neighborhood and then just protect against or make it much easier to be able to provide water in the event of any future breaks uh down the road. The next group of streets that are
proposed for reconstruction are the Northdale edition streets that are bounded by Egret Boulevard on the south, Kumquat Street on the west over to Foley Boulevard, and then Northdale Boulevard on the north end. Again, replacing all
of the asphalt pavement, all of the curbs and gutters in this neighborhood because of the water manes all being replaced on every one of these streets, including all of the service lines. uh replacing the storm sewer catch basins as needed and then also looking to
extend storm sewer pipes strategically and add additional catch basins along Kumquat Street where we've heard concerns about water ponding on the street in those areas. Uh, as I said, we'll be replacing the water man pipes and all of the
impertinances that go along with that system, replacing the sewer manhole castings, and then also looking at new 6- foot wide sidewalks on the north side of 110th Avenue between Kumquat Street and Foley Boulevard. And then the west
side of Kumquat Street between 109th Avenue north to Northdale Boulevard. And then lastly, uh looking at adding some storm water quality basins in Moore Park and this is something that we need to do to meet the requirements of our watershed and our
storm water standards. Uh so there is an area of Moore Park that is very difficult to to mow and maintain these days. So we have done some soil borings. Uh we think that might be a good place to put a storm water pond and then a
infiltration basin kind of over by where the tennis courts are along Kumquad Street. So we still have a lot more work to to do to uh uh fret those designs out completely. But that is all part of our storm water management uh that is
necessary to be able to reconstruct these streets and meet the the permit requirements. Uh so the project schedule is in January. At the end of January, we're going to do another public open house. We have already done one. We did one on October 1st. We had about two to three
dozen people show up and ask questions and express concerns about the project. Most people were understanding of the project and the work that needed to be done. Heard a few concerns about the sidewalks that are proposed. We always do. Um, but we responded to those and
and inform people how we would go about constructing those sidewalks if that gets uh ultimately approved. February 17th is when we will propose to hold the public hearing and the assessment hearing. So that is the second meeting in February. That has historically over
the past 10 years been the night that we do that for these particular projects. Assuming council approves the plans and specs on that night, orders the ad for bids, we would proceed to do that and then come back to council in April and
May for contract awards and adoption of assessments. We will do a uh another open house in the spring of 26 where we'll at that point we'll have the contractors and the schedules. So, we'll pick a neighborhood
park, probably going to be more park, where we'll invite everybody that lives around there to come and ask us questions. We'll have the schedules printed, all the frequently asked questions there. Um, and we'll do that late April before any of the work starts. And then the idea would be to
start the first week of May and then with a project like this with so much pipe replacement, we're going to go mostly through October before we're done. uh letters with all of the project contacts. The schedule responses for frequently asked questions will be
mailed to everybody before we begin any work. Coincidentally, we've sent several mailings already to residents that live in this area. Council member Armstrong has probably received a couple of these. Uh we have sent letters about the
opportunity to televise sewer service lines uh free of charge. So, we've had some residents that have wisely taken us up on that opportunity to televise their service line and then if there's any repairs that should be done
when we're ripping up the streets next year now or that would be a great time. We're also trying to finalize if there's any lead service lines within these neighborhoods. So Minnesota Health Department uh has some funds available
for residents that may have a uh customer side, we call it service line. So residents own from the shut off in their yard up to and into their house. That part of the water service is owned
by the resident or the property owner. So, a lot of these water manes in the Northdale editions in particular were installed in 1957, 1958. The city had an ordinance in 1959 that require no lead services. We haven't found any yet.
We've done a lot of uh mailings, door knockings, phone calls, emails, every which way we can to get a hold of people and determine what that material is. We haven't found any yet, but there's other things that could be there
galvanized. We would want those to be replaced. So, we're doing a lot of outreach right now trying to uh just make sure that if the opportunity if if people want to replace their line, it can be done and there's funds available to help them pay for that. So, all part
of the communication that we've been doing as part of our outreach for this project. Um, as typical we have done in the past years, we will have weekly updates available on our city website every Friday. We'll also send notices about uh those updates via email. People
can sign up for those. We also have an option for text messaging for some unusual circumstances if they come up during construction. We don't send a text message out when we have an update on our website. We don't want to overburden people with communication that way.
Uh so some project estimated costs. So the total cost is estimated and this is a very high level estimate at 13.7 million and that is spread out uh numerous funds city funds with assessments coming in about 1.1 million
which would offset some of the street surfacing costs. So to about 23% or so of the estimated costs. So ideally when we get out for bids in the spring and we see competitive bids,
our hope is historically they'd come in below our estimates. Um at this point these are really mile by mile cost per mile cost very high level. Our hope is that as we finalize the plans and the details, things will come down a little
bit and we get some pretty competitive bids uh in the spring as we have uh been able to do the past many years. The assessment rates have gone up uh a bit over 13% this year from what they were last year due to where the
construction cost index is at this time. And so the proposed single family residence assessment rate for next year is $2755. All single family homes pay the same. It does not matter if you are a corner lot
or an interior lot. Our policy has been always has been to assess everybody the same for single family homes. Uh there are some town home uh properties uh in the project and they're assessed more at a front foot rate and that rate is $36 a
foot. Commercial properties, we have a couple of them, $69 uh a foot and then industrial properties, we don't have any in in the project next year, but if we did, they'd be assessed at $87 a foot. Uh there are a few different ways for
property owners to be able to pay their assessments. So, as the schedule lays out, uh, they would be able to and when they get their hearing notice in in January about the project and and the public hearing,
um, it'll have some of these details in there, but they will be able to pay their assessment between May 6, assuming the council adopts it on May 5th at their regular meeting that night, up to June 5th, and no interest would be
charged. So, we estimate there will be about a four to 5% interest that will come with the special assessment if they choose to pay it with their property taxes. We do that because that helps offset some of our bonding costs that we have to issue for these projects. Uh
after June 6 and up until November 15th, uh property owners would pay their assessment plus any interest accured up until that point. And then the option, the third option for property owners is that they can do nothing and the assessment will roll onto their 27
property taxes. That would wind up being about $365 a year for the average single family the the single family home assessment to pay off over the 10-year period. So the assessment period lasts for 10 years. We
do have the option for senior citizens, active military personnel to be able to defer the assessment. Uh they have to fill out some uh forms and qualify for that, but the assessment does not go
away. Um it actually may carry a higher interest rate, but that option is available for some people if they find themselves in a very particular situation where they can't pay it off. All of that information is included in the public hearing notice that the property owners will get about at the
end of January 2026. >> Your honor, >> council member Nov. >> Uh, sorry to interrupt. Could you go back two slides real quickly so I can see the feed schedule again? >> Thank you. I just want to take a quick picture of that. >> Thank you. >> Okay,
>> Mr. Mr. Hansen, while we've paused for a second. >> Sure. Um what's remind me what our objective is. You said that um we're about 23% of the street reconstruction cost we're we're recapturing in assessments. Is that about our goal? Do
we shoot for a third or a quarter or something or >> We really shoot for 50%. Oh, that's close. >> We never we never come close to it. >> We're usually between 20 and 30%. Every single year that I've been here, every feasibility report, every assessment
goal I've done for the city in the last 11 years has been between 20 and 30%. >> They should probably change our goal then. >> Our assessment rates are pretty pretty low in comparison to what a lot of other cities charge around us. And you'll see
more information about that when I come back to you for the public hearing in February. >> Okay. Thank you. So, we have street reconstruction videos available on the city website. There's two different videos available for residents to to look at. One is going to
walk through the entire process from start to finish. And then one focuses more on the typical questions that people ask about how do I get my mail during the project? How do how does garbage get collected? What do I do if my irrigation system gets damaged? That type of thing. All of that's available
on our city website. So, with that, I'll take any questions that uh the council has. We recommend the council adopt the the resolutions that are attached to the agenda item. And >> all right, take any questions you have.
>> Council, any questions for Mr. Hansen? >> Mr. Mayor, Council Butler. >> Uh, Mr. Hansen, thank you for the presentation. I'm I'm a little curious about the construction cost index. So, you had mentioned it's going up about 13.4% or so. Can you remind us just like
over the last 3 or 5 years like what is the typical growth? Is it something >> it's around 3 to 4%. >> Okay. So 13 seems like an outlier. >> Yes. >> Um my follow-up question to that is I know that they publish sort of projections each month. How are things
looking since we discussed this at the work session several months ago? Is it still >> still bit higher? Yes. Yes. It's due to a very tight labor market, material costs increases
>> and and just for my own um refresher, this is a metric of like 20 different metropolitan areas, right? >> It's focused on the Minneapolis area. >> Okay. >> So, it's mostly on Minneapolis. Thank you, >> Mr. Mayor. Council member, >> Mr. N, I apologize about not sending you
this question before. Um, but following up, uh, we had a discussion about the sidewalks on 110th or 111th. Yes. >> Um what what came out of that or what did you find? Obviously you're still recommending 100th here. I'm just curious how that shook out from the work session. >> Yeah, we we looked at that there there is a couple sentences about it in the
feasibility report. Uh in in looking at the two different streets um staff felt that uh 110th is a better connection between Foley and Kumquad. Typically we don't put sidewalks on culdeacs. 111th
is now a culde-sac. used to be before Foley was upgraded, but now it is. Just looking at the topography, the amount of landscaping items that are in boulevard areas, the number of trees, uh it was just determined that 110th would be a
better connection for the sidewalk. Now, we've heard a number of concerns from people that live on 110th. I'm sure Council Member Armstrong may have as well uh that don't necessarily feel like it is a a good sidewalk connection, but it's been
shown on our map for many years. If we are ever going to build it, this would be the time to do it as part of the street reconstruction project. >> So, it's it's kind of the lesser impact between them, knowing that we do need to get something connecting the major road
of Foley with those sidewalks in towards more park there. >> Yes. to provide something for safe travel for people. >> Sidewalks are not easy to build is is even when you're redoing the street because we don't want to steepen up the driveway slopes. We always our goal is
always same or better condition for everything. But adding a sidewalk across somebody's driveway does impact the way they can park in their driveway. Um, it does adjust the slopes a little bit and we try to to go back further when we need
to. So, when we looked at 111th, we'd be going back quite a ways on a number of driveways to be able to make up the grade for that flatter sidewalk area. >> Okay. Thank you, >> your honor. Council, >> uh, Mr. Hansen, I was wondering, and
this is something that I'm always curious about whenever we go in and we do this type of work, uh, the age of the sewers that are there right now, >> how old are those, and what are they made of? >> So, most of the sewers within the Northdale edition project are are vitrified clay pipe
>> and they were installed in the 1960s, but they have been lined. So, in general, the sewers are in good condition. We have and I would say in fact they are we have done uh closed
circuit televising on all of the sewer mains and I have gone through everything very carefully. Um the pipes themselves are good. We've noticed a few instances where some of the service connections have roots built up wet wipes and other
things. So we're working on notifying those homeowners about those. Um, but the the mains are are lined and they are in good condition. The ones that are not clay pipe are PVC and there's no issues
that have been identified with those. And the other thing I did want to mention, and this is more for the audience in general, um, the endorsement that you're going to be looking for on your homeowners insurance is a sewer backup endorsement. >> And I can't recommend highly enough that
you get that. Uh that'll save you a lot of money if there's ever an incident. >> Yeah. And we'd still encourage residents to contact us if they desire to have their service line televised. So when I say the the sewers have been lined, I'm
talking about the mains that are in the street, the publicly owned sewers, the service lines all the way up to the main that's in the street are owned and maintained by the property owner. Those have not been lined. and many of those are clay.
So, it would be a good thing to get it televised. If there's any digging that has to be done, we'd love to coordinate with people to help them through that repair. Yep. Yep. That is a uh that is a great time.
That's a that's a greater than $200 cost of to get it to get it a video done. Mhm. >> Um I think it's probably closer to three now >> depending who does it. >> And we will do it the city will do it at no cost. >> So that's so that's really something for
them to take advantage of. >> Yes. >> It it may show them something they don't want to see, >> you know. >> Yes. >> But this is that this is the time to take care of it. >> And if they can't afford to do something with it, we do have programs that they can,
>> you know, that they can access. >> Yes. >> So >> Mr. House Geyser, >> I would just ask com as someone who had uh who did the sewer service line on my house, it's a pretty penny when you have to get some work done on your own dollar. So, I I would not could not
encourage you to take them up on that even if you think it's fine. Uh that that is a great great opportunity to do that. And you want to fix it before it becomes a problem because when it's a problem, it's even more expensive. >> So, it's it's well worth doing.
Yeah. All right. Any other questions of Mr. Hansen? >> Mr. Mayor, >> Council Member Armstrong, >> real quickly, since we're considering the feasibility report and looking at uh setting up the public hearing, I'm going
to vote in the affirmative to have that done, but I know I'm going to be getting an earful. So, um I believe we have to bring this forward to not only keep the process moving but also hopefully what's
in the best interest in uh in the best interest of uh ward five because these streets do need to be done. Uh um as Mr. packing relay uh relay that
sewers were put in in the 60s. Um so better better get it done when it's uh when it's probably the cheapest and the least expense. Oh yeah, the least expensive to have it done. But uh yeah, I fully expect to hear from a few
individuals. >> And that that's in reference to the sidewalk. >> Sidewalk. Yes. Okay. I'm just customer. >> It'll be great too when it's all done to have a nice street, you know. I mean, I
know we've had to haven't been able to do much with those streets because we don't want to tear them all up again, you know. So, it'd be nice. Everybody's going to have a nice nice uh nice new streets as well. >> Yeah. And and the sidewalks are always a hard pill to swallow when you haven't
had one there or if they're going to expand it. Um, for whatever reason, when Rapids developed, we developed primarily without sidewalks, >> which means you're going to be doing all your recreing in the streets. And now we've got more pressure for parking in the streets. So now it just puts it
makes it more dangerous for pedestrians and bicycles and anybody recreating. Um, I I think the sidewalks are very important to get us back to to get us to a safe I think we're a safe community. I
think it just make it a a more walkable community, make it more familyfriendly. >> Yeah. >> Especially when you got a park like Moore Park, which is a busy park down there. >> Yeah. >> All right. Any question? Any more questions, Mr. Hansen?
>> What was that? >> Oh, you're doing sign language here or what? >> Feel free to leave me out of it. No problem. >> Sure. >> Council member Carlson, are you sure? Because I think council member Giswood's got all the sign language. >> I will defer.
>> All right. Okay. >> If you guys got the sign thing going. I don't know. >> Mr. R. My question My question was how staff would prefer this moved as one, two, or three motions one time. >> All at once. Yeah. Okay. >> I kind of assume that, but that was a
lot of fun. >> So, is that like you're set to my spike or is it? >> Yeah. All yours. >> All right. Mr. Mayor, I make a motion to adopt resolution number 26-1 sub4, accepting the feasibility report and ordering a public hearing for February
17, 2026 and adopt resolution number 26-1 sub10 declaring the cost to be assessed and ordering the preparation of a proposed assessment role and adopt resolution number 26-1 suble1 setting an
assessment hearing date for February 17, 2026. Second motion by Carlson and a second by Gesler. Is there further discussion on this? >> Hearing none. All in favor signify by saying I. I. Opposed. And that motion
carries. >> Item 12 is to consider Thank you, Mr. Hansen. Are you hanging out for this one, too? >> Consider acceptance of a PAS PFAS settlement funds. Mr. Hammer. >> Mr. Mayor, council. Uh there was a
settlement reach between Dupont and 3M with the state of Minnesota. All public water systems could have um joined in this class action or went about it on their own. The city chose to submit all the required information, put it into
their portal. It took a couple of years I think we're into it now. And there's some formulary equation they use based upon your results, all of the people requesting. And so the city was um proposed to receive, my computer is not
moving on me, uh $174,55.92 from the 3M settlement and $18,32.82 from DuPant. So um we are recommending approval to accept the funds. uh we would put those in the water fund and we would use that to continue doing our
testing and monitoring and any other water quality improvements into that fund. So um there's a lot to it, some of which I probably have answers to, a lot of which I may not have some answers to, and that's why Mr. Brody's our expert in that. So I'm more than happy to answer
any questions about this one. >> All right, any questions of Mr. Hammer on this? >> Mr. Mayor, >> Council Butler. >> Uh Mr. Hammer, thank you for that. Uh can you give us a sense of if we approve this tonight when would we receive the settlement funds? >> Uh we have we would go in and put it for
a electronic transfer and I I they didn't give me any indication if that's a week or a month but their recommendation to me was the sooner you get it in the sooner you get your funds because over time as more people take it um th those funds depreciate quickly.
>> Okay. >> Mr. Mr. Hammer, uh, just real quick question. Once these funds are dispersed and we do receive them, they go straight into our general fund. They can be used for pretty much any project we have. Correct. >> Council member Novak, they would go into the enterprise fund for water, not into the general fund.
>> Gotcha. Okay. Thank you. >> Okay. Any other questions? Mr. Hammer. >> Uh, Mr. Mayor, >> Counc, you know, being part of this class action, we opted to be part of the class action quite a while ago. So, I mean,
obviously, we we're going to want to accept these funds because we actually can't being part of that class action. I already we gave up our opportunity to sue or litigate individually anyway. So, it's just a matter of accepting the funds at this point. Is that
>> that just one point of clarification, we were automatically included. we would have had to take an action to opt out of the um lawsuit and most of the not most all of the advice we were getting was to stay in like most if not all other cities did as well.
>> Okay. >> Okay. Your honor, >> Councilman Novak, >> move to accept the settlement funds and disperse the funds to the water utility fund. Have a seat. There is the answer to my question. Uh 601 for water quality compliance and improvements. >> Second. >> Motion by Novak and a second by Geisler.
Is there further discussion on this? Hearing none. All in favor signify by saying I. I. Opposed. And that motion carries. All right. Cue up the gear dags. >> Consider purchase of ice resurfacing
equipment at Rapids Ice Center. Um, Mr. Stem Wed. Mayor and Council, I'll take this one. As long as you don't ask me to sing the song, that would be appreciated. Uh so in the 2026 budget, we did include in the capital equipment fund uh dollars to purchase a new ice
resurfacer. Staff is recommending we replace unit 678, which is a Zamboni unit that's now 17 years old. It's been refurbished once already. It's reaching the end of its useful life. And the new resurfacer will take up to about a year
to get. So we'd like to place this order now. Uh given that it's a purchase over $100,000, we're asking for council's permission to do so. This particular unit uh then Zamboni um is on the Sourceville contract. Sourceville is a
cooperative purchase arrangement that um does the public bidding process for us to meet state u mandates related to purchase requirements. So that's the method uh for the purchase. It's coming in at $198,3428. Um, included in the 2026 budget was
$212,000. So, we're within that budget amount. And I'll answer any questions if you have any. >> What's the uh process for the old Samony? >> We will once we receive the new one and it's up and running, we will auction that off. We expect it. It's hard to say exactly, but somewhere in the
neighborhood of $30,000 is what we had estimated when we were going through the budget process five or six months ago. So we will auction it and get rid of it and get a little return. >> Very good. Thank you. >> Your honor, council member Novak, >> I just want to say that uh that Zamboni
gets a lot of work over there. It does. >> That is a very popular place to go. And because of that, I would like to move to approve the purchase of a new Zamboni in the amount of 198,3428, which is about $14,000 less than we were
expecting. Second >> motion by Novak, second by Armstrong. The amount is $198,3428. Is there any further discussion on this, >> Mr. Mayor? >> Council member Geyser. >> Uh I just wanted to call out as well that includes uh some support equipment
and some additional upgrades to it. It's not just the base unit. There's other parts baked into that total cost. >> Um so that that's within the packet if folks really want to get into the weeds on what's there. But uh that that's that comes with a lot of additional support stuff uh for that piece of equipment.
>> All right. And the principal product they have to sell is the ice itself. Frank >> Mr. Mayor, council, >> regarding the uh the suite of other items we're getting with it. Um does it come with are we going to get it wrapped
in the Rapids logo or is there going to be opportunity for a sponsorship logo on this thing? How does that work? Yep. We do have a we do have a a program that if folks are interested in sponsoring the Zamboni wrap, that is an option we can get. Somebody wants to know what that looks like and what it
costs, we can certainly send that out, but that is a part of the Ice Arena um sponsorship program. You know, the Dasher board, some other areas in Zamboni and it's been sponsored by different entities in the past. I don't recall exactly who's got it now, but >> Okay.
Okay. Former council member Kicker is going to want to know if he could drive the Zamboni. Probably not, huh? Um, if he if he'd like to get trained in and apply as a ICE technician, we'd be happy to do that. >> All right. Well, let I'll let him know. I am. All right.
>> All right. We have a motion and we have a second. Do we have any further discussion on this, >> Mr. Mayor? Council member Butler. >> Uh, Mr. Samuel, I know this might be a question for a future day, but I I was just looking again at kind of what we're buying, and it mentions that this comes with a battery. Do we have a sense of
how long that battery would last? I I assume that at some point that battery would need to be replaced prior to us buying a new Zambone in 20 years. >> Yeah, it's pretty common for us to rebatter these electric Zambonies. I don't recall exactly the lifespan. It's, you know, multiple years. In this case,
this Zamboni has been the existing one rebatteried once or twice. And that's, you know, it's like a $10,000 $12,000 effort, I think, to do that given the the cost of batteries, but I'll have to get some specifics on those. Got it. >> Thank you.
Okay. Any other discussion? Hearing none. All in favor signify by saying I. I. Opposed. >> And that motion carries. Um item 14, consider resolution 25-132
approving the 2026 compensation plan for unrepresented employees. Ms. Roth. >> Good evening. Um mayor and councel. Thank you. So, we ask that you consider the resolution 25-132
approving the 2026 compensation plan for unrepresented employees. This resolution is being presented in compliance with the city code section 3-301, which requires the annual presentation of a compensation plan to city council. City
staff requests that the council adopt a resolution establishing the 2026 compensation plan for unrepresented employees. The 2026 compensation plan includes uh the
full-time and part-time unrepresented wage schedule which entails a 3% COLA wage increase and a 1% market adjustment. The variable wage schedule includes a 3% wage increase um both to
be effective on January 1, 2026 and which can be supported by the budget. With that, I'm happy to answer any questions. >> All right, council. Any questions? Word of Ms. Roth.
>> Mr. Mayor. Council >> member Butler. I move that we adopt resolution 25-132 approving the 2026 compensation plan for unrepresented employees. >> Second motion by Butler and a second by Geisler. Is there further discussion on this?
>> Hearing none. All in favor signify by saying I. >> I opposed. >> And that motion carries. Thank you very much. All of that work and it was just done. >> That's right. All right. We are up to the open mic. Open mic public comment
portion of the meeting. Anybody here for open mic this evening? All right. Oops. Here we go. Open mic provides an opportunity for the public to address the city council on subjects that are not part of the regular meeting agenda. The public is invited to express any
concerns they may have which are relevant to the affairs, policies, or practices of the city of Rapids. Remarks will be limited to three minutes. And if you're going to participate, please approach the podium and state your name and address before addressing the council.
>> That's mine. Yes. >> Welcome. >> Thank you. Um my name is Dr. Kamal Ahmed and um I represent I'm the Muslim community at the Nus Mosque 11450 Robinson Drive, Kon Rapids. Um, honorable mayor, um, KO, members of the
city council, um, uh, Grass Kovak and Council Member Butler, Council Member Novak, Council Member Gistler, Council Member Armstrong, and our friend, Council Member Carson, um, esteemed member of
our police and fire department, and fellow resident, may peace and blessing be upon you all. I'm here on behalf of the Amia Muslim community with the mosque um as I said down the road Nus mosque to express our profound gratitude
um of our community for your unwavering commitment to our city. your dedication and that of the entire and uh your dedication and that of the entire police and the fire department at the bedrock of the safety and security.
We all too often take for granted. The hard work and sacrifice you make every day to keep our neighbors safe do not go unnoticed and for that we are very thankful. As we gather here in safety, our hearts
are heavy with the news of the recent tragic terrorist attack in Sydney, Australia. Innocent lives were brutally taken during a Hanukkah celebration. 15 victims, including a 10-year-old girl and 87 year old uh person were amongst
those who got killed in a senseless act of violence. Dozens more were injured. As a member of AMD Muslim community whose members face strong religious persecution and killings around the world, we strongly condemn and mourn the
innocent lives lost. That is a direct result of lack of religious knowledge and understanding as sanctity of human life is above anything and all lives are equal. As our prophet Muhammad peace and blessings be upon him said, "Whoever
took a life of an innocent human being as as if have killed killed the whole humanity." Our motto of our organization is love for all hatred for none and that is a true teaching of of our religion. This horrific event serves as a stark
reminder of the fragility of peace and critical importance of remaining vigilant against all forms of hatred and violence both at home and abroad. It underscores why the work you do is so vital and necessary in our world today.
As this year comes to a close, my whole community wishes everyone here and all members of our community the very best of a peaceful and prosperous new year. May we continue to foster a community defined by unity, kindness, and
compassion. Thank you so much. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. Wow. >> And well under three minutes. That was impressive. >> Thank you. Anybody else here to address council for open mic this evening?
All right. If not, we'll close the open mic portion of the meeting. >> And we're looking to other business. >> Mr. Hammer, hang on, Mr. Hammer. >> Uh, Council Member Rousco, the answer to your previous question on the warranty extension, uh, there was a a typo in the
memo. It's a 10-year warranty that gets doubled to 20 years. It's not an additional 20 years. It's a total of 20 years. >> So, point of clarification. >> Oh, thank you for looking at that. It's what I saw in the original agreement and I just wanted to clarify. So, thank you.
>> Very good. Um, I would like to mention that last Saturday on December 13th, we had our tree lighting event and some very hearty souls showed up. It was extremely cold. Um, but we had a heated
tent that stayed very occupied and it was a very fun event and so many more people showed up than I would have ever anticipated given the uh the temperature. But it was it was awesome and I just want to thank um Tiffany
Booff or Tiffany Fick for chairing that committee and all of our firefighters and police and explorers, city staff, communications, especially Stephanie and Julie in that department. Um it was just a tremendous event and Nest of Threads
was there. Um you know gosh I'm not okay I'm not going to go any further down that. >> Um but it was just yeah it was a great event and um look for some big changes for next year and look forward again. >> Mr. Mayor member Carlson. >> Kudos to our police department for
pulling off another shop with a cop. >> Oh Deputy Chief Jacobson. I'd love to put you on the spot. How'd that go this year? >> Council member Carlson, thank you. Uh we were able to help 25 kids uh attended the shop with a cop event as long as well as several officers and other police department staff. Uh we spent
over 600 or $6,000 in donations uh including Target uh donated $2,000 and this all occurred at the Target in Riverdale uh on December 7th. So we thank everybody for their support in helping us assist uh the 25 kids.
>> All right. Thank you. Mr. Mayor Counc If we could go back to the tree lighting for a minute. I I >> Are you out yet? >> Oh, I I was warm as I was warm as toast. That was no big deal. But I just wanted
to to give a shout out to two little girls for at the tree lighting that for some odd reason thought I was Santa Claus. They I I I dutifully pointed them out to the real guy in charge,
>> but they they they warmed my heart. >> You didn't go with that, huh? >> What's that? It's awesome. >> No, that that was amazing, too. When we looked over, you know, they always put up the big pile of snow for the kids just in case. Well, it's like 20 below
windchill. Pill's just covered with kids. sliding down and it's like, "Oh boy, Minnesota kids, they're awesome." >> And I I I do want to give a quick shout out to the the the ladies that work with the Community Strength Foundation because I think I've had five or six of
them say, "Your your cheeks are red. Your frost bit. Go inside the tent." >> I'm I'm fine. >> Thanks, Bob. >> Yep. >> Mr. Stem, I saw your hand up over there. >> Mayor, Council, I was just going to um mention something that's coming upon us
fairly quickly. The Northstar commuter rail, as it's been discussed for the past 6 months or so, will be going out of service soon. And actually, there was an update from Metro Transit today that their plans are a full go to cease that service on either January 3rd or 4th,
depending on what day the Vikings Packers game is on. They haven't scheduled that day yet. So, whatever day that falls on will be the last trips for Northstar commuter rail to be replaced by bus service, which will begin Monday, January 5th. Uh the route for Rapids is route 888. Uh you can find
lots of information out there about that particular service, how frequently it'll run. Um they'll be dropping off some of the bus maps to city hall here yet this week. Um so if anybody has questions about that, you can go out to metrotransit.org, just search for Northstar or come into city hall or call us. We'll point you in the right the
right direction. >> All right. Other business. >> Mr. Mayor, >> remember guys, >> I was just going to highlight coming up on the future, we do have the holiday skate with Rocky on December 21st uh still scheduled. That's on the calendar
for 6:00 to 7:30. Hey, there it is. Uh so future event coming up um for folks to just go and have some fun. But then and then the other thing I was going to bring up is obviously be aware of closure dates for the holidays coming up for city hall and city businesses. So
just or city uh buildings. Yeah. Um, it's not open for traffic yet for pedestrians, but we have a pedestrian bridge that's that's been placed on Rapids Boulevard. That looks nice. Very impressive. >> Beautiful. >> And it'll get even better once we add
all the signage and lighting to it. It'll be a nice entryway to Rapids. >> Yeah, your honor. >> Council member Novak. Um, I've received quite a bit of feedback on that bridge and I would just like to point out for the record that the point of the bridge was not to get to that little school that's right there or Lily Putt. The
point of the bridge was to connect the Creek Regional Trail with the Rapids Dam Regional Trail and that I think forms the largest trail system now in the northern suburbs. >> It's big. That was the whole point of it. >> Yeah, we keep saying regional trail
connection. Regional trail connection. That's why it was paid for regionally and not by the city of Rapids. >> Exactly. >> Yeah. >> Motion to adjourn, Mr. Mayor. >> All right. Hold that thought, Mr. Mayor. Hold that thought. >> All right.
>> Any other business to come before uh city council this evening? >> Motion to German, Mr. Mayor. >> Second. >> Motion by Carlson, second by Butler. All in favor signify by saying I. I. >> I. Merry Christmas. We're adjourned.