--------- All right. At this time, we're going to bring the uh March 23rd, 2026 uh council work meeting to order. Um we're going to move up number four to the first part here. And not being rude or nothing, Jacob, could we have you step out while
we're discussing this just to be fair with everything? >> Sure. Happy to do so. Okay, Mr. Mayor and Council, I'm going to try and make it through tonight with my voice. Um, and uh, at the last council meeting, we worked on some of
the uh, submittals for the city attorney discussion and uh, I trust you've had an opportunity to review that information. I know it was quite a bit. And uh essentially what we're kind of up against is a contract um that's going to
be expiring. We need to uh get a new contract in place and approved. Um and um and this is we're hoping for direction this evening from the council as to which candidate is of your
preference. And um and then with that direction, we'll work with drafting a new contract and go from there. Okay. find it again. >> Well, I'm going to say personally I think um
change is good and I think uh we should try the alternate than what we've been using. I called all the references that are on this page plus other cities that are included
and I talked to everybody there and they're very happy with Bergland Bombgards and Glazer. I heard nothing negative at all about them and they are fast movers. And one thing that I really
liked and I heard from a lot of them is they to the council and then they advise on that. I talked to the city administrator in Lexington. They've had them for 27 years and Elk River Police
Department 17 years. So, they've been around a long time. And I had a lot of good, like I said, no negative, nothing, all good stuff. So, I'm going to propose that we go with this company.
>> Yep. >> And I like that they're cost less. >> That's true. >> I mean, change is always good. I agree with that. And uh I know we've had very good
services over the years with uh Beckburg and and that that uh I think it is time to move forward and uh go new. >> I agree with everything I've heard.
There's one thing I want to have in this new contract because in the proposal Mark Berglin says that is going to be the attorney sitting at that here. So, I'd suggest that that's in the contract for sure
on that. That's all I got. >> Ryan, any input? Well, knowing when Neck Barton Lamers came into the city, uh they've always provided excellent
service to the city and for the city. Um I could go either way. We know the service that we're gaining with Ebert and Lamers. They've always been attentive to all of our needs. All their
their attorneys are very good. So I could go either way with this. So I'm hearing right I'm hearing a consensus to move with the Humber. >> Is that what I'm hearing?
>> Yes, sir. >> Yes. >> And this is going to be a two-year contract. >> Um I think what uh they propose is a three-year contract. they keep their price the same for those three years, no increases. Um, that'll be in the
contract obviously, but um, as with every contract, the city has a 30-day out clause if we don't like, you know, what we have or see or anything of that nature. So, I think, uh, we're protected from that standpoint if if
it's if it turns out this isn't a good fit or whatever the case may be. So, >> okay, that's good to hear. Thank you for doing the problem. So with the consensus moving forward with the new group,
we'll bring that to the regular meeting and go forth with that. At what point would they would we start to engage them after May 31st? >> I believe it's April 31st is the
expiration of the contracts and engage them. May 1st. >> Okay. It says May 31st on the in our packet here. >> Does it say? >> Yeah, >> I'm we're we're having a conversation trying to recall the date, but whatever the date is, it'll be the
>> after that date. Okay. All right. Let's move on to number one, abatement properties. >> Uh Mr. Mayor and Council, again, wanted to circle back on this discussion as well. We um also gave you a lot of information at last council meeting
concerning four properties that um that are currently uh code violation properties and uh and what's the best tool in the toolbox to try and resolve this. Again, from a city standpoint, we don't like being in this position. We
would like compliance uh and we would like the best tool possible to gain that compliance. Usually it's a letter, you know, uh might be a fine, but uh but unfortunately these these um properties
have languished some for up to in over four years. So um it's time to I hate to say rip the band-aid off, but in some cases that may be the you know the situation that we need to get these resolved. I think uh we get a lot of
phone calls. Um for example, on the Southern Home property right now, the the chatter on the street is that um the case was dismissed. Uh that is incorrect. Um the case was settled um as far as prosecution goes, but that
does not mean the property is cleaned up. So whatever the penalty was that the the courts uh you know determined was appropriate the penalty was paid case is is closed uh does not mean it's settled. So again
in a prosecution type of arrangement on that you'd start back at square one again which will likely end in the same way. So then we kind of step into the civil um you know civil option which
which would be the abatement option and u this is uncharted territory for us. Um and we would we would if if the council chooses to go that route we would engage uh our new attorney at at appropriate
time to to start that process um so there isn't that overlap. But um they seem to have indicated at least as far as their presentations. Um they zeroed in on that because we're having an abatement discussion right
before the right before the attorney uh interviews. But um they had indicated that they're very familiar with how to make sure that the city is protected in abatement procedure if the council chooses to go that route.
So again, it's um count the the the staff is consider us Switzerland. You know, we're independent of this. You tell us what you want us to do in terms of what the code is, we enforce the code. You want to change the code, you have the ability to change the code. All
we want to do is ensure that whatever code is there is that we're following it and implementing it to the best of our ability and and all parties get treated equally. Uh there's no favoritism. Um there's been accusations of that in
the past and I wasn't here so I can't substantiate any of that but uh but as far as uh going forward all parties get treated the same under the code you know Matt you g you know we had a ton of
information you know at the last meeting when you go through every one of these files every time we get to this it's like we're describing that a common gap one between like criminal enforcement, you know, with the fines and and actual
compliance. You know, that what I'm hearing and what I'm seeing is that paying is paying the fine is only resolving basically the criminal part of it where the violation is can be just as bad as it was in day one.
You know, that's why these fines are punitive. They're not corrective. My question is going through it, can we actually seek a court order for the resident to clean it up? I mean,
we go through fines and find people and then we take them to court. Then we have the option of abatement if they don't. Can we ask for a court order? I mean, I I would think that might be something we should add to
something here with our ordinances. if if we don't or if that's just left open. The other thing is are we uh assessing those unpaid costs to property taxes?
I'd like to know that. I mean, something is is ary and listening to uh Nick. Escalating the fines is one thing, especially if people are using it as basically a cost of doing business at
home sometimes, you know, not cleaning up the stuff. But if I was moving into this city, I would expect that this city should be able to protect my investment, so to speak. At
the same time, you know, I can sit up here and say I'm all for as little government as possible on your property and so forth, which I am, but there's a fine line in looking at these properties. I mean, there's some of them
that are pretty questionable to say the least that are in trouble. Um, one just needs to be cleaned up. Just really needs to be cleaned up. So, how do we get there when we talk about
this stuff? Do we need to escalate our fines? Do we need to ask for court orders? I know the DNR can help us around lakes. I mean, the question is, are we utilizing everything we can to resolve this? And if we are, what do we need to do
extra? Because that's not in those files. You know what I mean? It's just it's frustrating because like you said, 90% of the people, no problem. They'll take care of it. You know, they realize it's it's not supposed to be that way.
But I don't even think you can see that one guy's house from you know, it's that bad. So, we definitely have to come up with something. >> Um, to Tim's question, Jacob, can we get
a court order? >> Yeah. Thank you, Mr. Mayor, Council, Mr. Miller. Um, when you pursue the criminal process, you can ask for the court to propose fees or abatement. um they're unlikely to grant that in the criminal system. They'll say that's what the
civil system is used for. Now, our office has had conversations with staff going on for well, my predecessors. Um we talked about this with Matt robustly in December and January. Uh the civil process is what we use to obtain corrections. The criminal process is
what we use to punish. And to this point, the city has not been interested in pursuing civil remedies. So when they tell us to prosecute criminally, we prosecute criminally. If they were to tell us prosecute civily or to pursue civil remedies, then we would.
But that option has always been there. It just hasn't been used. >> Has anybody up here heard of that for our residents? >> No. >> We didn't even know that was an option. >> Well, staff knows that's an option and has always known that's an option.
So with a civil remedy, we could effectively get a court order for an individual to clean up a property or to remedy whatever code violations there are. Um, and what if they do not follow
that court order, what happens then to that property? If the resident assuming that the city obtains the relief it's looking for, then the city obtains a warrant to go and clean up the property and assess the cost back to the resident.
>> So if a court order, so a court order can be issued. If they do not follow that court order, then the next step would be abatement >> through a civil process. Yes. >> Okay. Would we have to go through another
um round of going before a judge for abatement? >> When you um >> So, so >> are you saying because you've already gone through on the criminal side, would you have to start over in >> No, the civil side
>> for on the civil side, you go in from a judge for a court order. If that fails, do we then have to go in front of a judge for a lengthy period to get an payment? >> Um, you would need to have the warrant to enter the property and so the the
judge would issue that warrant and it wouldn't be lengthy. >> So, we won't have to start the whole process over and be another 3 to 6 months. It could just be okay, they've had, say, x amount of days to >> comply with the court order. They
haven't. So we now choose to go with abatement and we could have a court order within a week, two weeks. >> Yeah. It all it all starts with how we begin the process from an enforcement
perspective. So Mr. Schmidz goes out and witnesses the violation, issues a citation, and then we follow the process there from to give the requisite number of days and the requisite hearing. And you know, it still has a process associated with it. But once you start down that track, if they don't comply
within the amount of time, then the city says, "Okay, you failed to comply. We're now going to the the court. Does that help answer your question?" So then the court will issue the relief that the city is asking for at the time. >> Yeah. But yeah, the court would order them to comply. >> Yep.
>> And then if they fail to comply, we can go after. we don't have to go through another court proceeding. It would just be a warrant signed by a judge. And what kind of time process was would that take? >> Um, in terms of obtaining the warrant
from the judge, it' be as fast as you can get a hearing scheduled with the court. >> So, >> so it wouldn't be a new process. It'd be continuation of the same schedule cleaned up >> within a week probably. >> Um, I don't want to speak for the courts, but conceivably. Yeah. >> Okay.
>> Within a week. It won't be a three to six month. >> No, it shouldn't be. >> Okay. >> It shouldn't be. Courts are never that busy. >> And then the city's able to assess those costs for abatement back on the property owner for collection with property taxes. >> Um, as we've discussed, I mean, there's
never a hard and fast guarantee, right? It's pretty straightforward. It's pretty procedural um in terms of being the same every time. But as Matt has shared, you know, when cities miss a step, sometimes they don't get their cost back or sometimes the property owner is right. And I think that's part of the system we
have in America with private property rights and respecting the government's ability to regulate those properties. >> Okay. So, does that put the city in a much better legal position in case we didn't have that court order,
they could sue us for anything? Correct. Um, I'll try to answer your question. If I get it wrong, you just correct me. >> If we have a court order, then it's and they don't follow, it's much easier for us to get an abatement or we can just do the abatement.
>> So, the abatement and the court order, it's all part of the same process. You're pursuing a civil abatement process for civil nuisance violation. >> And to do that, you have to work through the courts because we don't allow the the government to just come onto private property, >> right? And so the court is how we gain
access to one the property for abatement and two to order that the property owner perform >> the cleanup two tools right there. We can use one or we can use both together. >> Um that might be one way to think about
it but it's sort of a follow on from the first. Right? So, we're still looking at residents to comply with the code >> and we're using the civil process to be the hammer in this case and say if you won't do it then we are coming in and we are doing it and we're making you pay
for our costs to come do that. So I have a question um regarding the dwitz exactly what would be abated under the dwitz because I are the is a plan to go in and take this shed down um do they
know that uh and has there been discussion because when she contacted me she said that she is under the impression that she is allowed to have those 14 foot walls and
I understand it's for larger buildings but I don't think they understand that and maybe they should be given another chance because and that is the only thing that I can see that's really wrong with their property right now.
>> Mr. Mr. Mayor and Council, we would do an analysis on what has been fixed or hasn't been fixed and include what hasn't been in whatever the abatement proceeding would be. Um, for sheds 200 ft or less according
to code, they can only have 8 foot uh sidewall heights. Um, pole barns can have 14 up to 14. And uh we don't know the size of the shed because we have not been allowed on that property to see it, but it is definitely above 8 foot and it
is if you look at a satellite view, it's within the 200 range. So that is definitely one of the issues. Uh there is other things that need to be cleaned up too on the sideyard. Um there is this uh you know
continued discussion of a of a bus and as to whether that's ever going to get completed in our lifetime, you know, for an RV or if it's just going to continue to sit there in a half completed form. So, these are all
issues that that um have been brought up over the years and um and so we would do a final analysis on what needs to be abated. And I understand that people may not
fully comprehend the the code. It's um it's not easy. But when presented with uh the reality that you're in violation of the code, to prolong it for four years is somewhat,
you know, somewhat non-ooperative, shall we say. So there's council member Miller brought up the question about fines. There's two fines. There's administrative fines. Um
the one, two, or three stages of those fines. Those fines uh are rarely paid and we cannot apply those to taxes as per a prior legal opinion. However, the court can issue fines and what we
typically find or have seen at least in the setter home deal is you will get fined and you will serve jail time or you can clean up your property. And for those that think that paying a fine and three hots and a cot is great, you don't
get compliance. So that's the unfortunate side of of the prosecution. If it gets to that point, generally speaking, when you get a letter that you need to go to court on something, there's whether it's 95% or whatever the number
is, people people usually comply at that point. Some don't. So we need a we need a tool to be able to handle those that >> So you're saying people aren't are not paying fines? Majority of them are not paid.
>> are not paid. >> To the best of my knowledge, the only one that has has paid them is Foss. >> But we we're talking about >> administr the 250 whatever the >> this is the right of people.
I can I can check with Nick as to how many outstanding fines there are, but it's it's almost >> So what happens if they don't pay a fine? We issue a second thing with the second fine. Y >> and then a third find. >> Yep. If they continue to refuse at that
point, then you turn it over to the attorneys with council blessing, which is the current policy. And um and you go from there. >> I almost want to know what we're sitting at. >> I would really like to know what what what's
>> Again, I I don't I don't think most people get to find. I think they Hey, sorry. I I know it's bad. We're going to get to it. Can you give us a couple weeks? That's generally the what we're hearing. Okay. Um
for those that say a couple weeks and you call back in a couple weeks and oh, we need a couple more, you might give them a couple of leeways, but then then you got to roll in a little heavier. At any rate, >> what are you doing off in first, second,
third? If that's fine, or are they all different in the different categories? >> No, I think the first one was 50, second one was 100, and the third one was 150, I think. I'm just trying to draw a memory on what they are. We're talking about changing those to a more current,
you know, incentive. That's an option to try. I mean, a lot of this is trial and error, right? I mean, >> it's uh again, we would just prefer compliance. I would not like to get to the fines or any of the punitive part or
>> unfortunately then you get bad feelings and they're picking on me and calling the council and you know the whole story. So, That is the goal. The actual goal is just to correct the problem.
That is the goal. So, just so I'm clear, without an abatement, without a court order, we have no tools at that point. Correct. We can prosecute. That's it. That's it.
I think have gain a court order is worth investigating >> as it's laid out here. And you want to try it that break out there? Well, I'm talking in theory right now, but
court getting a court order before abatement is just been proposed here. I think that's good because court order would essentially say this is your last warning,
but it's actually issued by a judge >> and it would have a date on it for compliance. it would have a date and then so we're still giving you opportunity to fix to resolve your code issues
and if they don't then they know the next step is abatement. >> So there's two components to item number one here. >> Yes, >> it's abatement whether you're willing to go down that road which you're indicating you are. But then there's
prosecution for two other properties that we need the council's blessing for if we go that route. Again, we've gotten compliance in the past from FOS. I'm hoping we'll get compliance again. Um,
Temple Property, we exist exhausted the letters out to her already. We're on second or third right now. So obviously before we pursue, you know, FOS is completed already can go to prosecution. Yimple may require a few
more process steps which we would want to follow before that would go to prosecution. if you want to go that route. >> I got to tell you, I am irritated with the gimple thing that's going on. She
has one of the nicest horse farms I've ever seen. And I don't know what the problem is sitting down and getting the permits to have x amount of horses. I I don't get it. I don't I don't understand the fight or the fight back.
Uh it doesn't make any sense to me. I know people love her and people in this city. Okay. You know, you watch Facebook. I've seen her her facility. Her facility is topnotch. Why would you even want to mess around with not having the proper
paperwork to do this stuff is beyond me. I don't understand it. I really don't. >> I don't think her property according to our code would support the number of horses she has. >> Well, I know she has more now, >> but for years she had, you know, three and four horses out there. And I know
she got some from saving some and so forth. And I I think they've expanded a little bit of their where the horses can go and so forth, but I've driven by a lot of horse farms
and she and hers is it's right up there >> and the animals are well taken care of. >> Absolutely. And that's what irritates me that we can't say, okay, this is your property. This is how many horses you can have, period. I I don't understand.
She's well aware of the ignore it. What I don't understand, >> you know, it's sad to say, >> but I'm hoping we can figure that one out, too, because I to do what needs to be done to a place
that is that nice. I can understand if the horses were not taken care of. This is a whole different ball game, you know. I don't want to be known as a city that takes away horses from a perfectly good looking and real nice horse farm.
You know, it's just But there comes a point in time if you don't have the proper paperwork and you just won't get it, you don't have a choice, you know. You know, that that's what sucks about some of these decisions
because you want this to be going on. You want this to be a great place for animals and you know how they're taking care of. I I hope they look at that and think about it and know that they have a great
great farm. I'd hate to see him not be able to use it because they're stubborn or something like that. I just hope they they think about that a little bit. >> So, moving forward here, we got to give staff some kind of direction which we
want to go on these. I would say in prosecution side for foss you indicated that all the letters and everything else has been exhausted and it is at the point that could proceed.
So I would say let's proceed there with gimple you're saying that there's still some more steps to be taken. Let's take those. Let's urge her to come in, complete the applications for horse
permits to keep as many as she can. I think we all want that. We don't want to trample on really what know personal property freedoms
but we do need compliance at some point. Um I suppose bring that back to us once everything has been exhausted all those steps.
Um and with the uh abatement properties I would suggest let's look it into the court order then abatement see get some more information on that see what that looks
like and if we can maybe have something back by the next meeting or two meetings then we could make a decision on how we'd want to proceed on Yeah, >> I would suggest that again we in the
middle of switching attorney firms, we should probably wait till we have a new attorney firm on board and we can >> a clean start to do that. >> But I'd say that's >> staff can look into the process of looking at the civil court part of it.
>> Yeah, I think we should be educated on that before we move forward with trying something new like that. Yeah, I would think as far as the education goes, we'll want the attorney to educate us on all the legal process there. So, yeah,
>> I'm good with that. >> All right. >> Okay. >> Move forward that one. Uh, you wanted to move the fire app up, right? >> Um, if we can if we can just discuss a VBO discussion real quick. I think gentleman is here for that discussion.
Um, essentially what we have is a um, our city code does not address VBOS's right now. We have half a dozen or more that are in operation. And um, and usually cities will license that or require some sort of permit to operate
VRBO's. The challenge that we're having here is we have a very large house on the lake. It is being used more as a venue for uh weddings, for large parties, for things of that nature. There's inadequate parking. There's a question
as to whether the the structure can actually hold as many people as are in there, you know, from a fire safety standpoint safely. There's a question as to whether the septic system can support all those people. And uh and so as far as the discussion goes this evening, we
would just need a head nod from council if you want us to draft up uh um a an amendment to the code that would essentially isolate VRBOs that are problematic. you know, you'd need a permit and the
large ones that are venues are not allowed unless you have a capacity to handle that, which again, I think if you're on city so and water be a different scenario. Um, but anything where you often read of these these
these bars that a fire starts out and people scramble and trample each other and and die and want to avoid a situation such as that. That might be, you know, um, exaggeration a little bit, but I really don't know how these things go down with how many people can be
there in there. So, it's, uh, I I think it's just not necessarily a fit within a neighborhood situation where there's excessive noise, excessive parking, potential use of alcohol, and the associated challenges that come with
those that leave the property. So >> I know with the BRBO I think our first process should be just to send them a formal letter from the city because they do have policies and that on the people that do these venues. So they can take
that sort of action. But on the other side of city side, I've looked in a lot of this and a lot of cities are going to this short-term rental ordinances, especially up north around the Brainer Lakes. Uh Shago County put one on their
whole county. Uh there's other counties that have put it on and beat the cities to it because the city can have a permit process for this too, right? So I I think first off we send a letter to VBO,
you know, saying what the issue is in that. And in the long term, we got to look at like a what all these other cities are doing. They're going to these short-term rentals, which spells out everything, all of them. And speaking
with Eric Johnson uh this this morning, we were talking about this and uh he had suggested possibly an IUP, not a CUP that would follow the property, but an IUP that would be able to put some conditions around this and uh any violation of those conditions or neighbors complaining or whatever the
case is, you can pull that IUP then and restrict that from happening. So >> yeah, this is Cass Lake short-term rental deal. So there's there there's they're out there. And actually the league of city Minnesota cities has a model too. >> So if we have the blessing from council,
we would we would uh start working on that if everyone's in agreement. >> I think we got it. >> I'll chime in quick here, folks. My reading of your rental license for rental properties in chapter 50 requires registration from anyone renting their
units. So you already have a mechanism in place where this property owner should have registered with the city. That's not to say you shouldn't also be regulating VBOS's and STRO's, but you already have a process in place. Yeah, I I think the uh rental ordinance was
intended for long-term when it was put into place because at that time there was no ordinances around renting when we put into place and VBO's were not a thing yet. Um so I think as the times
change >> we need to amend it. >> We need to >> and define things. >> We've got to be over occupying that. They do in that place. >> I think we have a witness that in fact they do. >> Well, that that's
now we're breaking our own fire safety codes, all that kind of stuff. So, I mean, if there's nothing there, actually, there's a uh state statute, too. Uh 157-15, uh that involves the health department
on these issues, too. Well, it would require them to be inspected with a capacity. Like, so if there's six bedrooms, that would mean 12 people and every single one has every single room has to
have a um smoke alarm and all that kind of stuff. >> Water sprinklers, that kind of thing for a business. Okay. Sounds like the council's in agreement on that. >> Yeah. >> Okay. >> Get something. >> Yeah. >> Get ahead of it.
>> Okay. >> Because it's going to get worse. >> Very good. >> All right. Fire apparatus discussion. >> Mr. Mayor and Council, we've chatted a little bit about the fire apparatus. We've been uh busy trying to determine
the best course of action. And let me just kind of kind of give the the the historical view on this. Um we've had a couple of fire chiefs from our current one now and um and there was a kind of a
ballpark of time frame of what fire engines would last for back then. it is now kind of uh common commonly uh determined that instead of 30 years what we planned on it's more 20 years uh especially in assaultridden environment
like we like we find ourselves um and so in terms of the CIP and putting dollars away we again uh depreciate vehicles so that you have a million dollar vehicle and it says a 10 year lifespan you put $100,000 away so that in 10 years you
million dollars to buy a new vehicle and uh and there really isn't dollars in there for um for this kind of change from 30 to 20 years to handle that. So, we're kind of up against that issue. Uh but then uh we've we do have some dollars in there. I think it's 400,000
if I'm not mistaken. It all gets lumped into a an account, but um but kind of gets separated out. Mike does some of the identification of how that uh those dollars get separated. But at any rate, um the fire chief uh has been working on some options. Wanted to present those
this evening. We have about 30 days before the options go away for the vehicles that um that are out there and can be purchased. So kind of time is somewhat of the essence, but wanted to bring it back before you see what your u
preference is on this and then we can try and work towards accomplishing one way or the other. So hopefully that's good warm up. Mayor, members of the council, thank you for having me back again. Uh last time that I was here two weeks ago, uh we
discussed this and it was said to bring back options and a timeline. um in speaking with uh uh uh Dingis Fire who uh sells the HME apparatus that we've been uh looking at. Um we have
looked at other ones as well. Uh but in uh talking with them, there is a lease option with them through their or through uh Republic First National that um I don't know if you have the ability to bring up those numbers.
Um, we plug into that. >> I can try. >> Um, so we were we were sent these options. Um, nope. >> I apologize. N >> there we go.
So, um these were numbers that they came up with us uh to be able to buy uh both of the apparatus that we had talked about. Um the amounts that we've been talking about are 900,000 per apparatus. The goal would be to come in under that
number between 850 and 900. Um, they asked us when we wanted to start making payments, which are the two options that you see there. First payment due in September of 27, uh, versus first payment due in March of 28. Um, 5, 7, 10, and 15-year plans. Um,
when I look at these numbers, if we were going to consider uh either option, it would be a 10-year plan that allows us to put money aside for a 20-year replacement without running up against a a 5-year window to make up that money.
Um, as far as the timeline that we have to make a decision, um, um, Cummings has said that we have a engine inframe deadline of March April
31st, I believe it is, of next year. If it's not in the frame by that time, uh, Cummins is going to recall those engines for their fleets, uh, for engine replacements of what's currently out there. What that means is we have until
approximately April 10th to tell them our intent and then they will work with us for a short time after that to extend that so that we can uh fulfill or sign that contract with them. Um
>> so is it April 10th of this year or next year? >> April 10th of this year. >> Okay. >> Because it's a 13-month build. >> Yep. Yep. the engine has to be in the chassis or in the frame rails in order to meet the deadline proposed by >> Cummins. Y
>> um so again uh these are some of the options that we came up with uh as far as looking at being able to take advantage of this opportunity to get ahead of the the 27 emissions and uh hit
the reset button on main part of our fleet. So essentially they're under payments for 10 10 years. You're looking at 237,58263. If we have somewhere in that $400,000 range of money already set aside, we'd
have two years of being able to pay for that while we're able to marginally try and increase that CIP um without big spikes, you know, to pay for this every year. um $100,000 increase is easier than a
$200,000 increase on the budget for one year spike. So, it's uh you you should consider that there is interest on this. You will be paying interest on it. If you if you take out a um a bond to purchase this,
you'll be paying interest. Anything short of having cash on hand, you won't pay interest. But the cash that is primarily in there has been uh religiously set aside by our public works department um who manage all the way down to a brush cutter of when it
needs to be replaced and what dollars will be needed in there. That is the new model that we're implementing for uh the fire department as well. These are the most expensive assets we have in terms of equipment and they need to be managed appropriately so that we have those
dollars in hand. when these two new pieces of equipment 20 years from now need to be replaced. We may not be here, but um but we certainly don't want to hamstring those that are. So, we got to set those plans in place to account for
that. Um so, again, we we can raid the account of the money that's in there, the 1.8 million that we have in there, but then again, that puts public works in jeopardy, right? We've got we've got
equipment uh kind of scheduled out for them that need needs replacement and uh and so this would be um a lease to own type of scenario uh paying an uh an interest rate and um
would solve the uh the immediate need uh that we have for equipment that some of which is aging, some of which could be utilized still as a backup unit positioning the department a little better than it currently is. So,
>> uh, one thing I would like to clarify is this is termed a lease. Um, this is not like your automobile lease where this would go back to the manufacturer after 10 years. There's a $1 buyout at the end of the lease contract and that asset
becomes ours at least. Sorry, I I just wanted to clarify that for anybody that might might have been thinking the way I was when I first heard the word lease. >> The tenure looks like it has the least amount of
pressure on taxpayers, you know, for dollar-wise. Is that what I'm seeing that that the impact that it's going to make? their residence for, you know, taxes. >> Well, uh, technically the 15-year would be the lowest payment that we could make
per year. Um, again, that has to be considered though on the time frame that it gives us to build up that ass that account to replace these vehicles in in the 20-year plan, >> right? Can you uh give a little description on
the frames on the current trucks, what they're made of and the frames on the new trucks and what they're made of? >> Uh so the current apparatus that we have um well I can speak to engine 11 uh specifically. I may need to rely on the mayor here for a little bit of help on
the frames. Uh but engine 11 has a two-piece steel frame. um they are um sandwiched together C channels um on either side that make up the frame rails. Uh one of the things that they are prone to is rusting in between the
two frame rails which leads to rust jacking. Uh that rustjacking can eventually break the frame. Um this is a common problem. This is a known issue. However, it is an issue with these trucks nonetheless. Uh when
we had engine 11 repaired um this last time for a water pump uh while the uh mechanic was waiting for the part to arrive, he said, "Hey, I noticed that uh this engine has the beginnings of rust jacking on the frame." It was not severe. He didn't say that it was
detrimental at this point, but we know that now it is started, which with the age could be expected. Um again, it's a common issue with these frames, these two-piece frames. Uh the new frames are galvanized steel and then they typically
coat them as well. Um which is supposed to minimize that issue. Um long long term I would say it's hard to say it's impossible for anything like this to happen but that's another reason for that 20-year uh turnaround for these
pieces of apparatus. Again, engine 11 is a 2003. Engine 21 is a 2013. And again, I I would have to actually ask the mayor if uh he knows if uh engine 21 is a galvanized frame or if it was traditional.
>> It's not galvanized. >> Okay. So then it's a traditional frame like engine 11 would be. Well, I think getting the proper tools for the fire department to fit their needs to protect our residents are a priority. The fact that you found two of
them and there is such a good deal on them. You know, it is a very good deal if you were to piece them out one by one. fact right now is is finding the right comfort zone for the city and spending it so we can do it and not have
to pay a lot more money down the road because it's going to be a lot more. So I think uh should look at the softest way to impact this deal. I mean look at it from all the numbers like you're doing and go
with that one. That's how I'm looking at it. Yeah, I think the chief's due diligence that he's put forward here and keeping trying to find a better process that'll impact the residents the least is uh a
credit to himself. I mean that that's way above I would have never even looked at something like that because I don't think we had it back in the days when we bought trucks. But, uh, no, that's very interesting.
>> Um, engine 11 still has a fair amount of value and I'm waiting for a value on engine 21 should we decide to sell that as well. Um, but it sounds like the value on that is I cannot uh I'm not going to give the numbers they gave me, but from what I'm able to find in the
records, it's close to what we paid for it in 2013 that they believe they can sell it for. And that's because of the increase in the current apparatuses apparatus prices. Again, I can't confirm that 100%. We do not have a buyer for it. That's not what
I'm saying, but that's what they're estimating. >> There's potential for recovery. >> Correct. >> I think the chief's done a good job of breaking this down and the research, and I agree with what Mr. Miller says, too. It's like we got to look out for our
residents and our firefighters as well. And some of the stuff that we have is older and the new stuff is where the new is. And price-wise it blows me away, but that's just the way it is. But I understand it's going
to get higher. So I think he's done a great job at doing that and uh I think we should maybe move forward. Mr. Mayor, we can bring forward uh the financials on this and do a deeper dive on how we would pay for that. Again, we
wouldn't have to make a payment till 2027. >> Uh 2027 or 2028 um respectively on these options. Uh so >> have a little bit of time to put some money away. >> Um and uh but doesn't he have to have a
deal verbal before the 10th of next month? >> Yeah. we wouldn't meet before then. >> I was told that if I get them an intent that we intend to go forward, it doesn't have to be a a written agreement right now, as to my understanding, that they
would work with us for a short time after that, which would definitely get us to the 14th or to the 13th rather of April, uh, which is the next scheduled meeting. Um, however, that's what I found out today. So, just relaying that message. >> So, is does it require a down payment
then or is it just an intent letter? Uh this this is uh zero down. Okay. >> Uh if we were to go through with the the financing option here, uh it's zero down with uh with this bank. Um I can follow up with uh with HME and
figure out what their intent requires, but it sounded like it was just me telling them we intend to move forward with this and then they would work with us on the date. It wasn't going to be something that could be extended, you know, by a couple of months or something. and it was going to be, you
know, a couple of weeks. Um, their hands are also tied. They're they're they're bound by the manufacturer who's going to put out their new engine that's going to be in these trucks. Uh, and the estimated increase is at least $100,000 from what we're currently looking at.
>> Is there any room on the interest rate? >> I don't know. I can call the bank and ask. >> Doesn't hurt to ask. I I can do that. >> Okay. >> Got a deal for you.
that we using to soft sell it would be the cash that we have on hand. So, we'd probably want to hold that and make those payments with it. Um, so we we'll come up with a financial strategy. >> Okay. >> So, the grants for vehicles are very
difficult to get. Um, they they are out there, but they're very difficult to get. There's no way we would meet any of these time frames. Um we'd be looking at spending more and the chances of getting them are very low, but they are out there. >> Yeah. I was just thinking if we applied,
we wouldn't I realize we wouldn't have time to do it now, but maybe we'd get it in a year or two from now and we could put a big chunk of money down on it. That was my train of thought anyway. >> We can see if that's something we can do. I'm not positive that that's
possible after a purchase has been agreed to. >> Okay, that's what I was wondering. >> Thank you, J. >> All right, this time we'll close the work session. Part: 2
How you doing? >> Feel incredibly safe for some reason. Okay. >> Yep. >> Max. >> Yep. Okay. At this time, we'll call the March 23rd, 2026 uh council regular
meeting to order. All rise if you can before the pledge. >> To the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice
for all. >> Make a motion to adopt tonight's agenda as presented. Uh there is a supplemental bill list. >> Yep. >> Uh introduce that as item J on the consent agenda. >> Okay, we have a motion.
>> Second. >> Motion second. All in favor? I >> Okay, no county sheriffs. >> Good evening, mayor and council. Uh, in February, we responded to a total of 367 calls for service. We responded
to eight assaults, three theft reports, and two damage to property calls. We made a total of 17 arrests and 117 traffic stops were conducted on our city streets which resulted in 14 traffic citations. Um we had a few notable calls, one of
which occurred on the 3rd of February 26. Deputy Grover took a phone call fraud report. I know we talked about this last month. The reporting party advised that she had responded to a Facebook advertisement offering free puppies for seniors. The ad claimed to be posted by an individual in Carlton,
Minnesota, who stated she was a licensed dog breeder. After selecting a puppy, the reporting party was told she needed to pay $200 for vaccinations and paperwork. The reporting party paid this amount using Apple gift cards, but after the payment, the seller demanded an
additional $500 delivery fee along with $150 crate, promising partial reimbursement upon delivery. The reporting party refused this and asked for a money back but was not given uh those funds were not returned. Excuse me. The resident provided screenshots
and photos for documentation for our deputy and an online search did confirm that no such business existed. The situation was determined to be fraud and the investigation into this is still ongoing. So like we have touched on last month. We're getting a lot of those phone call reports throughout our our
daily rotations. On the 11th of February, at 2:31 a.m., Deputy Johnson was conducting surveillance at a residence near Sims Road. A vehicle associated with the address left the property and was stopped for an equipment violation. Deputy Johnson approached the car and noted that it was occupied by three
individuals. A records check revealed that the front passenger had an active warrant out of Anoka County for fraud. The passenger was advised of the warrant, told that they were under arrest. passenger was arrested without incident and transported to jail and booked on that warrant. And then finally, on the 25th of
February at 11:21 a.m., deputies responded to a reported burglary at a business on Sims Road Northeast. An employee discovered that the power to the store's signage, cash register, and camera system was cut and was off. The cash register had been left open the
previous night showed no signs of tampering. While checking the property, the employee found that the rear door had been forcibly opened. Our staff observed damage to the door frame, which indicated a tool had been used to pry that door open. Deputies observed damage
um excuse me, no suspects were located inside after clearing it, and no missing items were immediately identified. Uh the business camera systems had been off, as I had mentioned, with the last recorded motion occurring the previous evening. So, uh, the deputies found
surveillance surveillance footage from a neighboring property which showed an an unidentified individual walking around the business multiple times during the night. So, uh, deputies were unable to gain a physical description of the suspect and that result the result of this case is that it's inactive pending
further suspect information. So, as a passing note for anybody, if you see anything suspicious, especially as the weather warms up, please let us know. Call 911. We'll send somebody out to take a look and see if we can find any of that evidence that actionable intelligence that we can use to to
forward these investigations. >> Any questions? Anything you'd like me to clarify or address? >> Any questions for the audience? >> We'll get right to it then. I brought the stars of the show with me off to my right here. So, um, I told each and
every one of them, I said, "Make sure that you have a 10-minute speech, you know, so that you can really dive into your, uh, dive into your history and and tell council and and everyone that's that's with us tonight, um, how excited you are to be here and all those things." So, but, but seriously, um,
we'll just call everybody up one at a time, and I told them it's a little bit more fun, a little bit more organic and dynamic if we can come up and I, you know, um, introduce yourselves and say something about why you enjoy working for the city. So, we're doing it new this year. We're going to start junior
deputy first. So, Deputy Kurchin, come on up. >> All right. Good evening. My name is Deputy Kurchin. I've been with the uh the sheriff's office for about two years now. I started off as a cso back in early 2024 and then moved into a deputy
position uh last May. So, we're coming up on a year here on patrol. I did my first five or six months over in Oak Grove and then uh most recently now in East Bethl since December of last year. Um prior to being work being with the
sheriff's office, I was uh in the Minnesota Army National Guard for six years. I worked as a a supply specialist. Um grew up right down the road in Ramsey, so pretty familiar with the area. Yeah, I've been enjoying my time here in East.
Deputy Tyler Borgus. >> Greetings, council. My name is Tyler Borguson. Uh, I've been with the sheriff's office for five years now. Uh, my first year I worked at the jail, so this will be start of my fourth year on patrol. I've been the East Bethl Power
Car. This will be my third year now um as the East Bethl Power Car. Um and I've enjoy working for the city. I enjoy working for the citizens. It's a good good group of people up here and I like talking with them and engaging with
the clientele. And something interesting about me would be my wife and I's retirement plan is to sell everything that we own and then buy a yacht and then sail the Caribbean for the rest of our lives.
>> Deputy Matt Madson. >> Yes, I am Deputy Matt Madson. Uh I've been with Anoka County for uh 12 years now since 2014. I was in the jail for the first three. Uh got promoted to patrol in
2017. Um spent the bulk of my time here in East Bethl. Uh four four years I was on Knights and the last two years now I'll be on the East Bethle Power Shift. I am
a member of the marine unit with our office and a field training officer. Um, little fun fact about me is I am a born and raised East Bethl resident. So, I have a lot of ties to this community
and uh my wife is also a member of our lovely fire department. So, God bless you guys. Thank you, Deputy Jordan O'Brien. Good evening. Uh Jordan O'Brien, been with the sheriff's office for 18 years.
Uh deputy. Um this is my seventh year working east. Working on the day shift currently and um I'm also a field training officer and a member of our unit. So that's been
allowing me some unique uh skills and working on uh ice diving has been my my newest thing. So the last two months I've done three ice dives anywhere from two feet of ice to just a couple inches. So it's been a fun experience
comes to Mayor Cel the old of the crew. Um been with the sheriff's office 23 years now. I got six years prior plus nine years nine years Army National Guard. Um done variety of things from field training to
explore advisor to investigations to courts transport whatnot. Um I got fun fact is that I've been copying longer than Ryan has been alive. So they like rub rub that in. But yeah, it's all
it's all good. So, but I grew I grew up in Ham Lake, so I'm been around the area for a long time and I'll continue until I retire. So, >> thank you. >> So, there you have it. We're missing uh
we're missing two other deputies, Isaac Thompson and investigator Derek Lean. they unfortunately couldn't be here tonight. But as you can see, we we have a a great group of staff members that have a a ton of experience in many different areas that uh definitely make my job as the liaison and as a patrol
lieutenant very easy. Um these guys care what they do. Um everything that they do out on patrol is done with the utmost care and respect and it's always a pleasure to to get everybody in the same room and at least um you know get them in front of you folks so that you can
put a name to a face. So, um, there's two others right off to my right here. You might notice might notice them or recognize them. Sheriff Brad Wise and Chief Deputy Bill Jacobson, big supporters obviously of of our operations up here. And, uh, I will turn
the mic over to him. >> Mayor, Council Brad Weise, I'm in my fourth year at Anoka County Sheriff's Office after serving 27 years with the city of Rapids. 31 in law enforcement. I'm willing to bet every single one of these guys got into law enforcement because they really didn't
want to do public speaking. But thank you gentlemen for being willing uh to engage because it's important to have that relationship with the community, right? Is that the whole purpose behind this is so the citizens can have a chance to see what the deputies are like. Um I'm very proud and honored to work for the sheriff's
office. It's a great group of people that I get to work with. I'd like to say that the morale in our office is good, which means that we deliver great service to the citizens of East Bethl. I can assure you as somebody worked for a city police department before is that you get a lot of bang for your buck out
here. Um, we have committed young men that want to serve. They want to do great work when they're responding to calls for service. They enjoy doing track and traffic enforcement to make sure that the roads are safe, that we do as much as we can to prevent crashes and so on. Um, so for sure if you have any
questions related to our law enforcement in the future, please ask me about them. The one topic though I did want to bring to you and speaking about um the sheriff's office. Actually, I got to backtrack. I got to Bill Jacobson is the chief deputy for the sheriff's office, too. He gets off the hook and gets to
Sandler with his arms folded and stuff, but um he's the guy. He's the operations guy. And of course, uh Derek, uh Lieutenant Peters is a phenomenal asset to the sheriff's office. I'm sure you like having him as your staff liaison. He's a great human being. He's going to
be absent for a few months while you get some training, but it's only going to make him a better asset for both the sheriff's office and your community. So, um I mean, even as an outsider looking in, you're lucky to have him. Um so, that said, you live in a safe community. I know you know that. Our goal is to
keep it that way. Our goal is also to make sure that we do our best to mind the budget. you have enormous responsibilities to your taxpayers to make sure they get the best bang for the buck they can um that comes up when it when it uh happens to um when we
negotiate the contract. Please understand that I I get the position that you're in and contract negotiations are tough with um city administrator. Look, squeezing nickels is what you're supposed to do. Uh, I always just say to the cities, the pinch point though is
that I always have those cities that aren't contract cities that have their own police departments that ride me pretty good uh to make sure that they're not subsidizing law enforcement costs here. So, I just want you to know that I'm very mindful of the costs. Um, I get it and you're trying to keep your
property tax levy as low as you can while providing the service that your citizens demand. I get that. Um, the only other thing I want to talk about is the jail. Of course, um, Mr. look is painfully aware of the history of the jail project. It's still sort of lingering out in the weeds. The sad
thing is time equals money, which is bad. Um meaning the longer the delay in getting the shovel in the ground, the higher the cost is for this project. But I want you to know that we're not it's this building isn't an homage to anybody. It's a building that we need to
do. Um the current structure is basically falling apart and m Mr. looked at the tour. And frankly, for any of you, if you're interested in touring the jail, um, hit me up via email. I'd be happy to take you around, um, to look in the facility itself, to see the pipes, to see the concrete, to see the, uh,
rooms that we have. Um, that it it needs to be replaced. It's going to be a major expense to our taxpayers. Nobody likes it. It doesn't really bring anything, no added value to the community, but it we have to have a place for people who do bad stuff to be housed because that's the way we do
things. We we pluck criminals like weeds and they need to be placed somewhere until they figure things out that they're not going to be criminals that harm our our communities any longer. Um so that said, we're in the middle of litigation. It's all going to be in the newspaper as issues pop up between the
city of Anoka and Anoka County. I just want you to know nobody's a bad guy in this. Everybody literally is trying to do their best. It's just when you reach a point that you can't negotiate a settlement any longer that you need a referee. And basically that's what we're asking the courts to do is sort of referee a decision that makes sense. So
it's not it's not hard feelings. Um the I know I appreciate what an NOA city council what their issues are as it relates to their town. I appreciate the the pressure that the county commissioners are under because it's not like I said an inexpensive building. Um
at this point we just need the help of the bench to get us across the finish line. So, um, hang in there with us. U hopefully sooner rather than later, we'll get a shovel in the ground. It's been far too long. Um, we got to stop spending money by waiting. So, with
that, I'll definitely stand for any questions if you have some for me. >> Well, I'd like to thank you. This is the safest I've ever felt at a council. I'll tell you that. >> Yeah. Look at these guys. Good-looking young men right there. Yeah. >> Yeah. No, thank you guys for what you do. Y keeping our residents safe is is
priority one and we've got a good group of guys out there. We thank you for what you do. >> Thanks for saying so. Appreciate it. >> Thank you every one of you. Appreciate you. >> I appreciate all your service military and police. Uh is there a location for
that jail yet or is that what's being litigated? >> Yeah, the the issue is related to the um location for sure. The problem is you have to build a new jail without tearing down the old jail. So you have to have the two two facilities functioning. It'd be great if you could just tear down one and then rebuild in the same spot or or
more or less the same spot. But um the county smartly many years ago acquired some property and they're able to make it work. Uh more or less there's a dispute over whether or not a road um whether or not a road can remain. It's
fan. I don't want to get too far in the weeds, but whether or not the new building will fit within the lot that's already owned and whether or not the road should be taken for the sake of the building and so on. So, they're they're tough issues. I'm sure you can see it, too. If if this was East Bethl that were in that position, you'd be asking some
pretty tough questions, too. So, like I said, I get it. It's just that we got to reach a compromise somewhere soon. It's getting This is serious serious money for sure. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Thank you all. Thank you. >> Thanks, So, I guess you're you're going to be doing the swearing in of a
firefighter, too. Is that right? Is that what I'm catching? >> Good deal. >> Fire chief. >> Thanks again, >> Mayor, members of the council. Thank you for having me tonight. Uh for the monthly update, uh we had 50 calls for
service uh through the month uh since last time we talked. Uh the majority of them uh were uh medical calls. Uh shortness of breath or breathing difficulty and abdominal pain were the majority of those. Uh we did have uh one
mutual aid fire uh that was in now. Then um two of our members attended that with one of our tenders. Uh and according to one of our members, it was the most water that they had ever shuttled uh for a single operation over a few hours span. Uh so uh we also
I am going to grab one uh call that came in over the weekend uh which would bring our total up to 51 uh which was a grass fire on Saturday. Um uh it was handled relatively quickly uh right around noon. uh fire departments that came and helped
us uh was Rum River Fire District, uh Lynwood, Ham Lake, and Oak Grove. Uh and that brings me to my next point. Uh with the snow being gone as quickly as it came, um there's an increased fire danger. It's extremely dry out there, uh
I don't see any significant precipitation until potentially this weekend sometime. Uh so those that have uh purchased a permit, a burn permit through the DNR, I would encourage them to check the DNR's website and see if they're if we're in extreme danger or if
there's a a ban on those per those permits even though they've been issued. Uh the uh the website does currently require a permit. Um and that applies to large brush fires. Um so your
uh big limbs and that kind of deal. Uh 3x3 wreck fires can still be had as far as like a smaller uh bonfire or bonfire pit. Um one thing just make sure it's out. Make sure it's out before you leave that fire unattended so that it doesn't
spread. Uh that has happened in the past. Um one other thing that happened in the last month um on the 1st of March uh we held the uh strategic planning meeting with the officer corps. Uh there were seven officers that attended that and
from that uh four goals came out uh that we'll accomplish over the next two and then four years. Uh one was increased public outreach. Uh we're still putting the benchmarks together for each one of these. Uh but we want to be more out in the community. Uh more engaged with the senior center, all of that kind of stuff
that we can. Um, we want to be able to improve the facilities that we have within our limits, making them more efficient and effective for our operations. Um, cleaning up uh old equipment that's no longer useful, um,
and being able to maximize storage and usefulness of the stations we have. We're going to continue to uh pursue recruitment and retention. And then we also want to increase our uh, relationship with the city council. We want to be more present here. Uh we
invite you all to be present at our fire departments. Uh which also leads us to the pinning ceremony that we're going to do tonight. Um but before we get to that, the one last thing that I do want to put point out uh is that um ice
conditions are unfavorable. So I would stay off of the ice uh for the time being until it's open water. Uh, with that I'll entertain any questions. All right. So, for the pinning ceremony, this is
something that's fairly new uh with the city of East Bethl as far as I understand. Uh, when I was pinned uh almost a year ago as the new fire chief, that was the first time that we had done that. Um, we are continuing that. Uh we are going to um
we're going to celebrate the accomplishments of all of our people um as best we can. Uh tonight we will be pinning uh two captains. Um Captain Chad Fish uh joined the East Bethl Fire Department in 2010 as a
candidate with a desire to serve his community. a threetime Rookie of the Year award winner. He was promoted to lieutenant in 2023 and he was assigned to station two and has been the ranking line officer during the day shift. Uh
Chad has shown dedication to the community and the department through his 16 years with the organization. Chad leads by example, never afraid to jump in and get a task completed. Chad has had quiet, selfless patience with a
large number of candidates uh that have joined uh the department mostly due to his experience as a field training officer as his full-time job. Chad has shown sound tactical decision-making on scenes and always uh projected an aura of calm. We recognize his
accomplishments and dedication through the promotion of captain. Captain Jill King has held an interest in the fire service since her enrollment in the citizens academy at a neighboring city. She was onboarded as a candidate
in 2017 and has been a great asset to the department since. Joe was promoted to the position of lieutenant uh in 2020 and was assigned to station three as the single line officer in charge of that station. Jill's passion
in training, which is reflected in her additional role as a department's training officer, uh, has continued to shine through. She coordinates all aspects of training uh, for the department, including scheduling monthly drills, candidate onboarding, and coordinating with the Enoka County
Fire Academy, and comp uh, compiling and organizing outside training opportunities for our department members. Jill also works with Minfire whose purpose is to assist firefighters both physically and with mental health issues. Jill has gone above and beyond
to pro improve the department and we recognize her well-deserved promotion to the rank of captain. I now invite Ben up here to explain the importance of the Bugles. Good evening everybody. Um, like chief was just saying, just going to go over a
brief description on kind of the uh reason we're here tonight and the sign significance of our uh our uh ranking insignia. Um, in the fire service, we carry our history on our callers. Long before the era of digital radios and
high decel sirens, the bugle was the primary tool of command. In the heat and roar of a blaze, the fire officer would use a brass speaking trumpet or a bugle to shout orders that could be heard over the crashing of timber and hiss of steam. The number of bugles on your
badge and collar today represents the weight of your voice. One bugle for a lieutenant, two for captain, and more for all the chiefs. But this symbol is more than just a rank. It's a reminder that your words carry the power to protect or to peril.
To wear the bugles is to accept the responsibility of being the calm voice in the middle of the storm. It signifies that you are the one who directs the line, ensures the safety of your crew, and leads them back home. Lead by example, stay safe, and congratulations
to both of you on this achievement. >> At this time, we're going to have family, friend, or mentor who wants to pin them come forward. We're going to have you remove their current collar insignia and their badge. Just to let you guys know, I have a
practice. For those of you in the audience, this is a lot more difficult than it looks. >> As long as you all have your tetanus shots, we'll be okay. colors are problematic. We'll get the bugles with the magnetic Next time.
>> He has his own bugles he has to put on. >> All right, family members. Almost. All right. If you guys want to have a seat again, we have one more thing we have to accomplish here. Chief's going to administer the oath to office. We'll do this together. You would Please
raise your right hand. Repeat after me. I state your name. Do you sound >> that I will serve the citizens >> that I will serve >> I will serve the citizens >> and firefighters of East
>> with honor and integrity >> with honor and >> that I will in all respects >> that I will in all respects >> observe the US >> of the US
State of Minnesota >> and the city code >> and the city code >> that I will faithfully execute >> that I will faithfully execute >> the duties of the position assigned to me >> the duties of the position assigned to me >> to the best of my judgment and ability
>> to the best of my judgment and ability. >> So help me. >> Congratulations Thank you for allowing us the time to do that and we will see you uh soon with more. >> All right. >> I love that you're doing that here now.
That's amazing. >> That's great. >> We will have uh those that come off probation as they receive their badges will also have that. Um and any other promotions. >> I love it. Thank you. >> Great. Thank you. >> Thank you all.
>> Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. >> All right. Public form. I don't believe anybody signed. Okay. Consent agenda. >> Mr. Mayor, we have one public hearing. >> Oh, that's right. Item C, public hearing on offsale liquor
license, Crown Liquor, new owner. >> Mr. Mayor, staff recommends conducting a public hearing to receive comments on the offsale liquor license for SP stores LLC doing business as Crown Liquor. Once uh the public hearing is closed and there are no reasons to deny the
license, Stafford Gmans council approve the offsale liquor license for SP stores LLC DBA Crown Liquor located at 23733 Highway 65 Northeast, East Bethl, Minnesota 55005. >> Okay, at this time we'll open the public
hearing for comment from public. Anybody >> going once? Seeing nobody is here to talk about, I'll close the public hearing and council discussion.
>> Mr. Mayor, just for the record, the final approval of the license will be contingent on approval of state commissioner of public safety. Um, so this is one step to get that approved this evening. And then with that, state commissioner of public safety, they'll be on the road to Opening business.
>> I'll make a motion to approve an offset liquor license for SP Stores LLC DBA Crown Liquor located at 23733 Highway 65 Northeast East Bethl, Minnesota. >> Second.
>> Motion and a second. Any further discussion? None being heard. All those in favor? I >> I. >> Motion passes. Consent agenda. >> Make a motion to approve the consent agenda as presented.
>> I'll second. And I'd like to pull item B and H. >> I want to pull A. >> Which one? M. >> A. A. >> A. Okay. All right.
A motion, a second. Uh, all right. All those in favor of the amended agenda? >> I >> I >> item A. >> Hey, Matt, I'm just curious on page 24,
these uh auto miscellaneous license fees. You got uh one up there on top, third one down, 54516. You got one. Same number. 5516.
Same amounts. Give me a second. Pull that up. As you can see, there's actually three of them. There's three of them that are identical. >> Yeah, it's the same price. >> Well, it's not jumped out to me. So, I'll have to get back to you on that one
here hopefully before the end of the meeting. >> Okay. Then on page 28, I'm just curious on the land form. Now, are we done with them guys now that we have a city planner with all these like almost $5,000.
Are we completely done this from the last time? >> So, Mr. Mayor and Council, um Eric Johnson didn't start till halfway through the month. So, this would be for that half a month of work that that she was involved with. So, he does contact her periodically, but it's few and far
between. So, >> we're largely done, although they are on contract if there's any sort of need. >> Okay. Thank you for that. And then I'll make a motion to approve item A. Second. >> Motion a second. Any further discussion?
None being heard. All in favor? >> I. >> Motion passes. Item B. >> Item B is uh the minutes from the work meeting. And I'm just wondering if the issue was resolved that um the audio started like almost 2 minutes late and
then the video um there was a minute or so missing. >> Yeah. So, as Carrie had indicated, there was about a minute missing of some um testimony that uh that our public works
director was giving uh on a question. um we unfortunately when you know it's it's impossible to recreate that unless it's best memory type of scenario. So it wasn't critical information although we're thankful for Nate's comments. Um
so it was kind of deemed as potentially lost and unreoverable. But whatever the issue was that caused that, it's not going to happen again or do we know what caused it or >> I promise that there's a lot of uh a lot of ghosts in the system here. So um
yeah, I I cannot answer that question. It's uh we get surprised on a regular basis as to what the challenges are that we're dealing with. So, um, we're hoping to minimize what we can, but there's a little bit of a chewing gum and band-aid
and, you know, type of system have going we have going on here. So would it be possible uh just on your computer that uh to get a voice voice recording program that
so we have contingency plan after contingency plan that >> you know when we start the meeting you just hit start on that and that should record the audio in the room. >> Generally we do have that and I'm not I'm surprised why we don't. So nothing was started at that point but we can
look into to a redundant type of scenario given some of the challenges we're having. >> Okay, with that, I'll make a motion to approve item B on the consent agenda. >> Second. >> Have a motion, a second. Any further discussion?
None being heard. All those in favor? >> I opposed. Item H. >> Mr. Mayor, if I can just just cut in real quick on that uh charge to 546. Those are solid waste abatement charges that we pay to in noa county. So every
year we have to pay a solid waste abatement. Um all businesses entities pay that. We get some of that money back um which we use for our recycling center. Um we're here that's different
but uh that is what that amount is. >> Thank you. >> All right. Item H. Item H is the Anoka County hazard mitigation plan. And I'm just curious if this is going to require us to um have additional policies or
ordinances or anything like that in our book or if this is just all we need. >> Uh Mr. Mayor Council, I have the fire chief up here. He's our um emergency manager. Um, but my understanding is this is a uh just a necessary plan
that's put together on an annual basis and uh you have to submit it and and essentially that's what this is that you're looking at. >> So this plan has already been submitted to FEMA and approved and vetted by the uh the federal government
uh for uh the purpose of m mitigating hazards within ana county. Each city is then required to adopt it as and recognizing it as the mitigation plan for the county. That does not mean we don't have our own emergency operations plan, which I'm currently working
through and hoping to have something for you by the end of April or at least a significant update on it. Um, so it doesn't change anything. It's just saying that we recognize that Anoka County has one. It's gone through the vetting process and that we're adopting it.
>> Okay. I was wondering where the actual plan was. So, you're working on it. So, that's >> uh Anoka County's plan is on their website. I can uh get you all the link if you would like to take a look at it. Um our plan is on the share drive in a
couple of different places. Um but I am working on updating our plan to ensure that it meets our needs as a city. >> Okay. I'll go look it up. If I can't find it, I'll ask for the link. >> Okay. >> Thank you. >> Yep. >> With that, I'll make a motion to approve
item H on the consent agenda. >> Second. It's a motion and second. Any further discussion? All those in favor? >> I. >> City administrator. >> Mr. Mayor, um we have before you here
this evening amending uh the meeting date for the canvasing for the 2026 election results per Minnesota state statute. The city council and its role as the election canvasing board is required to canvas the municipal election results between the 3rd and
10th day following the election. at the December 22nd, 2025 uh council meeting. Uh the date for this canvasing was set for November 9th, 2026, the same day as our regularly scheduled council meeting. Um the 2026 general election will be
held on November 3rd, and the NO County uh election staff has indicated they will need ample time to complete their statistical entries and return the abstracts to the cities. So, their first available date would be Tuesday, November 10th. uh 2026
and uh there's currently a parks meeting scheduled for that evening. And with a holiday closure on November 11th, staff is requesting a rescheduled canvasing board meeting to 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, November 10th. So that'd be a special meeting for everyone here. Um and you
would need to uh pass a resolution to that effect changing the previous previously scheduled date for the special meeting to canvas. The election results should be a short meeting, but it takes time out of your morning. I'll make a motion to approve resolution
number 2026-16 amending um and setting the election canvasing board meeting date for the 2026 general election. >> Second. >> Motion in a second. Any further discussion?
None being heard. All those in favor? >> I >> I item two. Sensitive computer here. Uh Mr. Mr. Mayor and Council, before you hear this evening is the um the
essentially the two submittals uh for legal services and uh per our work session direction this evening, we just ask for a uh motion to direct staff to uh proceed with the candidate of choice uh for future council consideration
approval in April of the new legal contract. I'll make a motion to go with Berglin Bombgard Gardner and Glazer and in their contract just make sure it's listed that Mark Berglin is going
to be our attorney at our council meetings. >> Second. >> Okay, we have a motion and a second. Any further discussion? >> Being heard, all those in favor? I >> opposed. Unheard.
staff report. >> Mr. Mayor, just a couple of items uh to update everybody on this evening in the consent agenda. Go back to it here. Um we approved this evening uh the street service improvement project
accepting bids. Uh just want to give everyone a heads up that this is for the Cedarbrook edition. Uh we had a budget of $420,000 for this work. We had an engineers estimate of $350,000. Obviously, you want to budget for worst
case scenario. Don't know what the cost of asphalt and and uh things of that nature is, but uh the engineer spit was $350,000. The bid came in at roughly $260,000. So, we got an incredible value um on
this work. And Nate right now is kind of looking at, okay, if we we budgeted 420, what other project might need to be done critically uh and possibly able to get it done this year. So, want to let everybody know that one, we got phenomenal bids. Two, if it's still an
awesome bidding market out there and we have some money left in the budget, we may want to uh um kind of advance a project that we didn't think we could afford before. So, that would be a choice of the council at that point. I wanted to give that uh update on that.
The second thing is as some of you know that we uh applied for um Congress uh Congressman Emmer's community project request. They call it the community project request. We like to call it earmarks, but they don't like the term
earmark. Uh but essentially it's federal dollars where you submit a a project in your community that you think will compete well with uh all the other projects that are submitted for dollars. And I want to just uh report to the council that I received notice on Friday
that our project has been selected to go uh as one of their recommendations which means that uh that will go into the ultimate bill and if the bill is approved we will then be awarded $3 million for this project. Keep in mind the water project, this is the Sims and
65 water project, is a $10.5 million project. We have a $10.5 million bond request in at the state right now. We will be able to reduce that bond request by $3 million. So, a $7.5 million request that will not only position us
better at the state level. Uh, but I think once the state learns through testimony that the federal government is supporting this project, that gives what the young kids like to call street credit to to our project.
So, at any rate, uh, good news on that. Uh, $3 million is perhaps the largest grant this city may have ever gotten. Um, I'm not sure from a historical standpoint of all the other ones we've we've gotten, but it's an incredible investment in that corridor and the
project. Um, and uh, and I've notified the school district, Karsten Anderson, their administrator. He's he's excited about that because he's hoping that that we can provide some solutions to the uh to the school with regards to their
utility needs over there. So, good news on that and uh hopefully uh with state cooperation and incentive, we'll be able to hopefully secure the other dollars and get this uh needed work done. So, aside from that, uh that concludes my report unless there's any questions.
>> Outstanding. Outstanding. >> Appreciate you doing that, Matt. >> That's great. >> Well, thanks to Congressman Ever. He's uh he's going to bat for us. council reports. I just want to say thank you to our sheriff's department for this evening
and to meet the deputies and stuff that are serving our community. That's fantastic. And also, I want to thank Chad Fish, Jill King at their new positions as captains of the fire department. We have a great fire department and they're uh great for the positions. That's it.
>> Well said, Jim. sentiment. >> I just want to remind everybody that the first Friday in April, there will be a fun senior dance over there. And um if you're over 55, come on by.
>> I'll entertain a motion to adjurnn. >> Make a motion to adjurnn. >> I'll second. All in favor? >> Thank you everybody.