Are you ready or dead? There we go. 6 o'clock and I will call the Tuesday February 10th 2026 Fairbull City Council meeting to order. First item is roll call. >> Council member Barnes >> here. Jimuya >> here. >> Ross
>> Rowan >> here. >> Vince >> here. >> Teal >> here. >> Mayor Spooner >> here. And second is pledge of 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. >> Our second item is approval of the agenda. >> Yes. Motion by Don Buouya, second by Barnes. All those in favor signify.
>> All opposed. The agenda is approved. Item number three, we have two presentations tonight. First of all is presentation of John Sherwood to John Blackmer, Chief Sherwin. Can you hear me? Oh, here we go.
>> Okay, good. Uh, mayor, members of council, delighted to be here tonight to present a recognition from We don't do this very often, um, but but this is a recognition, uh, for life-saving actions by a citizen of our
community. Um, I want to give you a little bit of the details first so you know why we're here. Um, and I'm joined by large number of our officers that were actually present that night. Uh so if you think back to December 17th of of 2025, uh we
had a work session that night and then we had a after that we had a a Christmas event that while all that was taking place, uh we had officers that were dispatched to uh the area of Ravine Street for a person in crisis. Uh a young 19-year-old man
who um was experiencing a psychological crisis and had been demonstrating some characteristics of self harm. uh and that young individual left his residence and was on foot and we were uh looking for him and concerned about his welfare.
Um the information we had was the individual had last been seen headed toward the woods of the state academy as well as toward Shadic. Um we had all of our officers that were working this was right at shift change um went to the scene. We contacted the fire department
who uh all the on duty firefighters responded as well as part-time paid on call that came in for manpower issues. We had sheriff's office uh deputies there and we had several drones that were up in the air. Um members of the department know Mr. Blackmir from his
relationship that we have with him at Shadic and and made a phone call uh to hey can you keep an eye on campus to see if this individual walks through the wooded area. He did a lot more than that and That's why we're here. This search and this effort went on for uh over uh
an hour and a half uh to no avail despite the drones and everything. And if you remember the conditions, it was cold on the ground. And uh far outside the perimeter we were looking, John went and found a lone set
of footprints along the railroad track. And so officerted officers, they responded. They were able to locate this individual almost outside of the city. Got him medical treatment and then it was discovered that his injuries that
were self-inflicted were so severe he had to be. This was absolutely lifeaving that we present this certificate. Thank you for your efforts.
Next item tonight is a proclamation. School bus drivers. Yeah. >> Bus driver. >> Thank you, gentlemen. Appreciate all you do. >> Take pictures. from the office of the mayor of Farel.
Whereas in the darkness and the daylight of the dirty roads to multi-lane highways from the warm spring through the frigid winter, Minnesota school bus drivers safely transport more than 760,000 precious students to and from
school each day. Whereas school bus drivers often bookend the students day, they can be a positive influence on a student's educational experience. Whereas school bus driving industry is the largest form of mass transit in
Minnesota and has worked hard to reduce the environmental impact through uses of alternative fuels through retrofitting diesel engines. Whereas it is estimated that the use of school bus saves the United States more
than 2.3 billion gallons of fuel each year. Whereas students are nearly eight times safer riding to and from school in a school bus rather than cars thanks to
the rigorous safety standards for vehicles and drivers as well as students training efforts. Whereas the city of Farbol participates in school bus drivers and recognizes the
val invaluable contributions they make to public education and student safety. Today we recognize the worthy professionals. Now therefore, I, Thomas J. Spooner, mayor of the city of Farble,
do hereby proclaim February 18th, 2026 as school bus driver appreciation. You're welcome. >> All right. >> Thank you. Next item is approval of the minutes of
January 27th, 2026. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Motion by Ran, second by Vance Loose to approve the minutes. All those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. >> All opposed. Motion passes.
Requests to be heard. We have quite a few tonight compared to normal. Um, you will be given three minutes to speak on your topic of which you chosen. Please come forward to the podium. State your name and your address for the
record. So, first up, Matt Cavier, 1000 Shamway Avenue. But please state that Cavalere uh 1000 Shamway Avenue, Shadic St. Mary school, the head of school. I've been member of this community for 22 years and I'm here today. I've had
good conversations with Tom and with John who just left um about some of the disruptions that ICE is in our community. Not here to talk about anything. I think very political this afternoon, but I I am talking about some financial challenges
that are happening. I can tell you that as a school that brings in students from across the country and across the globe, we are already hearing from families that they're going to choose because of what's going on in Minneapolis and maybe to a lesser extent
their knowledge of what's going and so I I I need people to understand that that while we may have differences of opinion on how and and whether it's it's right to be here without documentation or not,
there are ramifications and ripple effects that that roll out into the community um that I don't think we're always taking under consideration. Number one, Chadic St. Mary's is an incredible source of income for this town. Our students provide an incredible source of income for this town. If we
are going to get hit by that, so are all of the restaurants in town, the hotels in town, and the stores in town. Right? That's all going to have ramifications. But I'm not really here to talk about or complain about Shadic St. Mary's or any of our our struggles kind of with
students. I'm here because tonight you're going to you're going to meet this afternoon or this evening to talk about a request for $50,000, help pay some emergency rent. That's a drop in the bucket to help some people
in our community um in a situation where we don't know how long this might last. I understand that there might be some people out there who want to say that that's fine. Let's let this come to a head and let's deal with it. But the reverberations from that are pretty seismic. It means that every single if
we all of a sudden have 60 people who are evicted, 60 families who are evicted, that is going to increase the workload of almost everybody in public service here. It's going to increase the workload of the police office. It's going to increase the workload of the fire department. It's going to increase
the workload of the social services that we have in place. I would strongly urge this committee to take this into account. It is not a full plan. There needs to be a full plan. >> 28 seconds. >> 30 seconds.
>> 30 seconds. Okay. It is not a full plan and there needs to be a full plan put in place families. However, we're not talking about a full plan. We're talking about an emergency emergency service allocation. I would really hope that that would be something you'd consider.
On Blackmer is a perfect example of who we are and what we stand for both at Chadic State and we take care of everybody around us and we look to make sure that everybody's safe here. >> Thank you, Mom. >> And plank is that correct?
>> Update on >> I'm sorry for penmanship. Wow, >> that is completely okay. Uh Dana Plank, 838 at home place. Good evening, council. Um I am actually against the fact that uh they're trying to justify $50,000.
So if they're an illegal immigrant, an illegal alien, they should not be here. So there'd be no dollars at any amount that should be allocated for those jump those people in this community, let alone the state to be able to uh get a rental assistance. I for one am
completely for ICE and what they're doing. I think it should last as long as it possibly can. If you're here illegally, you need to there's not much more that I think that we should be I I guess talking about. This is a common sense issue. um no reason for us as
taxpayers to be able to fund an illegal alien to live in our community that you know we're looking at we we just heard the topic of uh um ripple effects. You have illegal aliens that are in our community that can cause crime. They may
have done um identity theft if they're paying taxes. they could be removed. So that way we actually have a place for someone else for taking that apartment or that housing that they're in it. You you you have a large uh amount of um
items or ripple effects that are not in a positive, they're in a negative and the fact that we're paying for those people to be here. So that's just my opinion. I think that you should definitely deny it. You >> Thank you, >> John Kinglin. Hi, my name is uh Jonathan Kingland.
I've lived here all my life. I would just u as leaders in our community, there is an obligation to is desired from um separate what is desired. uh and to support community with
physical and moral good decisions as servants of the community, those in official positions. Uh there's a burden and responsibility to first balance the budget and things that the law-abiding citizens need and second to ensure that there is a respons representation of
taxation. Do we have a surplus of funds? That would be my question. If we have a balanced budget and have surplus funds, are the taxpayers uh the good and legal citizens in our community, are they in agreement um content with the amount of taxes being burdened on them today
or do they want the surplus to be directly back to them taxpayer? Um questions we should be asking. We should strive to be fair and just and to be careful not to give aid to illegal activity no matter um the financial
deficit. giving funds, shelter or any type of help to those that are criminals or those who are particip participating in illegal activity. This should be considered aiding in abetting not have a desire to support illegal activity, fair or just, especially to those who
strive daily to be law-abiding, productive citizens, so good standing members of our community. uh nor is it the right and loving thing way to treat our neighbors. Uh people that have uh gone through the right way to do this
all have an obligation to yours our funds and assets and talents, skills, trades and time to build up and protect, defend and care for our community uh for our law-abiding citizens. Everyone here to do just this. Uh
remember that we are public. Remember that we're fathers desired us as they started the framework of our country what they want. Remember to to serve our community. Do what is good and just folks. >> Gordon Brennan.
>> Hello everybody. Jordan Brennan. Um 409 1st Avenue Northeast. 27 just calling or coming today. I just want to thank everybody on council for everything you do to support the community. I'm coming here to talk about charter
section 305 multi-step process which can lead to costs and delays. Plus, it's had a great effect in delaying month and then time lost
just create a clear um contractors. It's hard smaller project because leads to a lot of just kind of poor performance around it.
Other side of that is finance and I think businesses to succeed there needs a process which is understandable, predictable and consistent. >> Nate Cunningham. >> Good evening. Um Nate Cunningham also
409 1st Avenue North. Mr. Mayor, council members, uh I'm going to continue uh what Jordan was talking about. So u talking about u a double reading bars. Uh it could it it our own
projections it'll cost somewhere between veterans. We have disabled people that are uh which we're unable to do. But outside the monetary cost there's a cost to the community. Uh the system is set doesn't allow small businesses to compete.
uh we don't have the uh funds or the pocket. You're the contractors that might get >> uh delays in administration deter new businesses from even working or wanting to participate that we talked to many
from here. This is my town. I'm not going anywhere. uh cost the reputation of Farbo uh in itself. Uh frustrating. Uh so we're doing um so you know the vote to to change
this alter the section 3.05 will not fix all of this. You know, a lot of lot of city people are working. Not going to fix everything, but this will be a great step in the right
direction. >> Thank you. Honestly, Gail Bur, Council members, Gail Burke, 717 Spring Road here in Fairbolt. Is Gailberg and I've been a lifelong resident of Fairbolt. I'm here tonight
because several cats in my community have gone missing and I suspect illegal trapping by a neighbor is the cause. This husband and wife team openly trap cats with live traps and then foolishly posting about
it on Facebook. These traps sit in their front yard. They bait them with catnip. This is not only illegal but a felony under Minnesota statute 343.21. It is prohibitive because you cannot lure animals into traps that way. I
relied on information shared by the trappers. They insisted that they had approval from the Fairbolt PD to trap and dispose of nuisance cats and that Fairbolt had a strict leash law for cats. I found out that neither of those statements were true. They even
referenced this in their Facebook posts. I trusted those sources and in hindsight I should have asked more questions. There are specific ordinances and laws in place, statute 321.5, that protect cats from being trapped and
relocated without proper procedures. These protections ensure that cats are not moved away from their homes and neighborhoods without proper care and consideration. Barbara Jizzelson, a prominent animal law attorney, personally came to Farbolt
and met with the families and individuals of the missing cats. She is fully aware of the situation and has recommended drafting an ordinance to protect the cats. I conducted a thorough survey in my neighborhood that took three days, speaking with longtime
residents, documenting their responses. None of them, after living here for years, reported any cat issues. I believe that all cats have value. All cats, whether homed or unhomed, feral or domestic, deserve kindness and
protection. I believe that's why Minnesota has lost to protect cats. As I mentioned, I also believe we need accountability for any form of animal abuse. That's why I feel it's crucial to enforce an ordinance in our community. I've submitted a model ordinance
addressing those issues. Respectfully urge you, mayor and council, to take steps to stop these illegal practices, protect our pets, and uphold the law. All right, that's all we have signed up for tonight. Thank you everyone for
coming, voicing your opinion. Our next item is items six consent agenda consent agenda items. Tonight we have 6 A through 6 Q. Would anybody like
>> Mayor Spooner? >> Yes. >> I make a motion to approve consent agenda items 6A through 6 Q. >> Second. >> Motion by Vance L, second by Barnes. All those in favor signify saying I.
>> All opposed. All those are passed. On to public hearings. We have one tonight. Resolution 2026-044 Street improvements. Mark Duchain, director of engineer. >> Perfect. Thank you, mayor, members of the council, and the public. Uh before
you tonight is a resolution to order the plans and specifications for our 2026 MSA street overlay improvements project. Uh this is city contract 2026-02. Uh this year's street improvements uh for our overlay project are on 30th Streetwestern Avenue um up kind of from
Haskell's Highway 21 area through the Dr. Horton neighborhood there and around the corner and then also on Lincoln Avenue from Highway 60 or Fourth Street to 7th Street Northwest. This is our typical mill and overlay project where uh we'll either mill the
edges of the road or the full width of the road depending upon the condition of the pavement and each individual road. Uh we do full repa casting repairs and structure repairs as needed, replace defective existing curb and sidewalk and then we come back and pave a new batuminous overlay to extend the service
life of the street. Chart on the right there shows you our pavement management program where from original construction to the time we reconstruct a pavement. We we're aiming for that 50 to 60 year lifespan. Don't always get there. There's a lot of factors that go into it determine expectancy of a street. This
is the guideline that we've adopted. So, I mentioned this year's project locations are Lincoln Avenue from Highway 67 Street, 30th Street Northwest from Trunk Highway 21, Western Avenue, and then a short segment of Western Avenue. We continued this year again with our
virtual neighborhood meetings. Um, I received one question via email about the impacts during construction to adjacent properties milling over 20 minutes to a half hour when the mills going by your property that your access is limited.
We're near the impacts of them. Total project costs for this project come in just under $560,000. You can see a majority of that is paid for through our municipal state aid street fund. This is the city's portion of the state gas tax that we received. Basically,
so this and then there's a small portion that's funded out of our water utilities. Following the public hearing tonight, pending council adoption to order plans and specifications. We do anticipate being back in two weeks to have you approve
those plans and set a bid date back on on March 24th to award a contract. We anticipate then construction would begin May. We have a final completion date of August. So with that, I ask you to conduct a public hearing to solicit input on the
project and then consider resolution 202644 and I'll stand up for any questions questions for staff. >> Right. At this time, I'll entertain a motion to open up. So move >> motion by Don Vuya, second by Barnes to
open public hearing. All those in favor say I. >> I. All opposed. All right, we are on public hearing. Anybody wishing to speak on this matter, please come forward. A motion to close the public hearing. >> So move second.
>> Motion by Van Sus, second by Teal. All those in favor signify by saying I. I. All opposed. We are out of public hearing. I will now entertain a motion on the resolution. >> Motion by Barnes, second by Don Booya to
approve resolution 2026-044. Signify by saying I. >> I. All oppose. >> That resolution passes. On to number eight items for discussion. Resolution 2026-050,
approval of liquor license, Heather Schle. >> Evening, mayor and council. Um, we have received an application from Gary Abram on behalf of the Signature Bar and Grill LLC that will be doing business as the signature for a new on sale and Sunday
intoxicating liquor license. Um, this license will go into effect on on or around March 2nd pending some paperwork. um and will be valid through December 31st, 2026. Uh the police department um conducted a background check on this if
a while back and um the city attorney will be reviewing the certificate of insurance that is required for all liquor licenses um once it's submitted and prior to submitting to the state of Minnesota. Um once we submit it to the state of Minnesota, then they will review and give it a final approval. So,
um, staff is recommending approving resolution 202650 and I can take any questions. >> Any questions for staff? >> Forward. At this time, I'll entertain a motion. >> All moved. >> Second.
>> By Teal, second by Vance Loose. All those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. >> All opposed. Motion passes. Item B, resolution 2026-045 and specifications for pedestrian bridge. Once again, Mark
Duchain, the engineering. >> Thank you, mayor, members of the council, and the public for you tonight is the next step in a public improvement project, and that's having council approve the plans and specifications and set a bid date. Uh this contract is for the deer pedestrian bridge for the deer
bridge uh that's on the straight river trail just east of Willow Street north of the Sundet mobile home park um east southeast of the Fable Gymnastics Center just the existing deer bridge is an old railroad timber bridge that's been
significantly damaged by years of rot and decay as well as a couple of known fires there on the bridge. In 2023, we did hire a consultant to evaluate all of our pedestrian and non-transportation bridges. This was one of them that was identified for further investigation
that happened in 2024. And during that deeper testing, it was noticed that many of the structural members of this bridge showing significant decay structural. So, this product removes that existing railroad timber bridge, replaces that
bridge with a single span bridge. Um it'll be a steel pre-fabricated bridge with a concrete decking on it and then restoration of the adjacent. This is just an example of what I'm talking about when I say a single span pre-fabricated structural bridge.
Another good example in the community is the bridge that's on the state trail there just south of the animal clinic bridge of the fabrication company. Estimated project cost per the consulting engineer for the construction
portion of the contract is just over $64,000. Um majority of that is paid for through the park improvement fund, but we were successful last year in being awarded $100,000 grant from the DNR local program. I will say there's some conserviveness definitely built into
this estimate just based on some uncertainty on where these manufacturers gotten preliminary information from a number of folks who would be eligible to make sub bridge like this and the range quite substantial. Um
pending approval of plans and specification tonight we will go out for bids for March 4th bid opening. Um, and we hope to award a contract on March 10th. Because of the DNR funding, we do have to get concurrence from them possibly before we can do a full award. The push to get awarded now is we're
being told that these bridges have a 20. Um, so while we'll be bidding a contract now, we're going to take down some trees that we have to take down before the bat nesting season starts here in April. Um, but the majority of the work likely won't start until the fall this year and
possibly no work really will start until the spring of next year. really all going to depend on that. This project will um in some way or other extend into spring of 2020. Construction actually starts in. So with that, uh we are asking you to
consider resolution 2026-045. And I will stand for questions. >> Any questions for staff? Yes. Shane, just curious how high up that fridge >> when we spoke about earlier. >> Yes.
>> Yep. >> Of 25 across the ravine there where they >> I have a tough time supporting this asking the taxpayer for $500,000 if you take out
And that's a big ask. One thing that really came up over and over in caucus was that people are tired of being taxed to death. Is this a necessity or is this a >> I think I can speak for both our current
park director and our former park director that was here when we started this process. This is identified as a significant and key cog in our city trail system. Um there's no great alternative if this bridge is taken out. There's no great alternative alternate route for that trail system other than
putting people um on the narrower sidewalk adjacent to Willow Street back by the old Selner Man. This if parks and trails are a valued resource, this is a key cog in that existing park.
For me personally is just a support of improve a structure. I'm very happy that the D was able to at least add to what we have. Key part of our trail system. One thing we got in this town is a great trail
system. >> All right. At this point in time, I'll entertain a motion. Yes, I'll make a motion to >> second. >> I have a motion by Don Booya, second by Teal. All those in favor of resolution
2026-045 signify by saying I. >> All opposed. >> Nay. >> Motion still passes. On the last one, resolution 2026-046, a feasibility contract with HGA.
>> All right. Good evening, Mayor Council. Yes. Oh, I'm sorry to interrupt you. That's a long name. >> I pronounced your name the first time, right? Caught me off. >> I'm sorry. Um well, I'm here before you tonight to um carry on as um was discussed previously with council in a
work session about work for the community center feasibility study. And um previously the city had engaged HGA in a study for the park and we're picking up where we left off um talking about um the other side
of the coin whether we should renovate, talk about expanding existing facilities, rebuilding on the current site to so just doing a deeper dive into the previous work that was already done. And um part of this project and the reason we picked HGA is because they
have the history of the previous work. They understood and did the facility assessment and then the rationale behind the fee is we can directly appoint contract. We figured with HG full history that it was a fair price
that they came in at. So staff's recommendation is that the council authorizing the questions for south at this time I'll entertain a motion. Spooner. >> Yes. >> I make a motion to approve resolution
2026-0. >> Second. >> Motion by Davo. Yes. Second by Barnes. All in favor of resolution 2026. >> 046 signify by saying I. >> I. >> All opposed. The motion passes. Bids
tonight. We have none. Boards and commission reports of project updates. I don't want to >> Yes. Uh just a reminder that tomorrow is our monthly council chat being held at uh in conjunction with the Rice County Historical Society at the Alexander
Farbo House um from 3:30 to 4:30. And so uh obviously there's no parking on site at the Fairbow uh at the Alexander Farbo House. So, we're encouraging people to use the Vioaduct Parking lot or the parking lot um located at the Buckham uh
center to to access that site. >> I plan to be there. >> I cannot make it. >> I have a different commission meeting >> at a similar time. I I can maybe come at the beginning for a little bit. Okay. Thank you all.
All right, that's it. Motion to adjurnn. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Motion by Vans, second by Teal to adjurnn. All those in favor signify by saying I. I. >> All opposed.
>> We are adjourned with that one. >> Are we going to the other room? Nope. We're staying here. Would you like this? >> I would. Yes, please.