Hey, hey, hey. Hey, city council meeting for Monday, April 6th. To the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands nation under God indivisible with
liberty and justice for all. >> Call the roll please. >> Council member Bernance >> here. Council member Wilson >> here. >> Counciloman record >> here. >> Mayor Lean >> here. Moving on. Are there any changes to the agenda? >> I have a change to the agenda. Um I need
or I'm asking to pull item 69 from the consent agenda so that I can abstain from voting on that item. Um 69 is a payment of claims. It includes a payment to my company beyond design. Uh the payment is related to contractual relationship that my company has had with the city since 2017.
that does predate my time as a council member. The payment is on the March payment of claims for 178. Because I have a direct financial interest of $12 on the payment, I want to abstain from voting to approve the March payment of claims. So, if we can move that to the end of new business, that would be
appreciated. >> Very good. Any other changes, >> Steve? All right. We'll look for a motion to approve. >> Motion to approve, noting the change that member Bernett's pointing out. Second >> motion by Steve, second by Jake. All in
favor say I. >> I. >> An agenda. Moving on to 51. We have a legislative update from Representative Drew Roach. Here we are. Looks like this one's green. All right. Good evening. Uh
uh the mayor, uh city council members, staff, Farmington neighbors, um thank you for having me here. As your state representative for district 58B, uh I'm committed to delivering results that strengthen our community right here in Farmington and across District 58B.
Farmington is a is a growing fast is growing fast and our families, businesses, and local government deserve a partner in St. Paul, who listens, acts with transparency, and fights for practical solutions. Last session, I was proud to deliver two significant legislative wins for our
district. I authored House File 1954 with the help of Senator Ley, who has been championing this bill for many years, uh, when he's been in the Senate. um which is a uh it modernizes the Minnesota's cottage
food laws by raising the sales limits and making it easier for home-based food entrepreneurs to operate illegally or legally. This bill passed and will go into effect in August of 2027. It directly supports small businesses
and local food producers right here in Farmington. Whether it's someone selling home good home homemade goods at our farmers market downtown events or online helping families turn their passion for cooking into real economic opportunity was a big step forward for this
industry. I also co-authored House File 1392 which established a consumer protection restitution account. This new law ensures that funds recovered in consumer protection cases are directed back to
help victims receive restitution. It strengthens the protections for hardworking farmington families against fraud and scams and is now in effect. The 2020 legislative session is well underway. We're tackling rising costs
for families and the real world impacts of growth on cities like ours. Below are the key topics and legislative priorities I'm advancing that directly affect and benefit Farmington. These are tailored to our city's needs. Revitalizing downtown, strengthening
local decisionmaking, fighting waste fraud and abuse and state government and community priorities. Uh first off, the downtown revitalization and economic stimulus. Uh this is House File 403 4036, the social
district bill. Um, downtown Farmington businesses have asked for years, how do we how do we make downtown a destination? Again, I've met with many of the businesses owner business owners in downtown area who have helped with the downtown and and have helped with the downtown social events that they
have worked really hard last year on organizing and promoting. Um, my sponsored legislation, House File 4036, gives the Farmington City Council the authority to vote on and create a social district in the downtown area.
What it does during city approved events and festivals, people could carry alcoholic beverages within a designated pedestrian friendly zone. Benefits for Farmington. It it boosts pedestrian traffic, supports local restaurants and businesses, and creates
more reasons for families and visitors to stay and spend their money here instead of driving elsewhere. It's a high impact, low uh tool for economic vitality in community events, exactly what our downtown businesses are asking for.
um the status of that that is moving toward uh forward and I'm optimistic it will pass and give Farmington the fi flexibility it it needs. This directly aligns with your goals of a vibrant walkable downtown and diversity our local and and diversifying our local tax
base. Um two strengthening local control and property rights. Two bills I have recently introduced put real power back into the hands of Farmington, our neighbor, our neighboring townships and individual
property owners. One, House File 4669 allows municipalities to opt out of unfunded mandates. This legislation allows cities, counties, and local governments to to decline compliance with state mandates that come with full with that come
without full state uh funding. Benefits for Farmington. It stops the state from shifting its cost and ex uh shifting expensive new requirements onto city taxpayers. Farmington gains flexibility to focus budget dollars on local priorities like
roads, parks, public safety, water infrastructure, and services without being forced to raise raise property taxes to cover unfunded state obligations. House File 4765, protecting property owners rights to fight annexation.
This bill strengthens protections for individual land owners by limiting orderly annexation agreements to 10 years, clarifying the supremacy of those agreements and narrowing the grounds for annexation by by ordinance. The benefits for Farmington and our district. It gives proper property owners in
Farmington and its surrounding townships Castle Rock Empire and Greenville strong tools, stronger legal tools and due process to challenge or negotiate unwanted annexation. This protects private property owners, preserves rural character where where
desired, and ensures growth happens fairly and voluntarily without heavy-handed force expansion that could impact taxes, land use, or community identity. These bills directly support Farmington's ability to manage its own growth while re respecting the rights
and of residents and neighboring property owners. Three, fighting waste, fraud, and abuse in state government. Waste fraud and abuse are are rampant in the state government and I am taking decisive action to combat them. I'm actively implementing and advancing initiatives
that increase transparency, strengthen oversight and accountability, and crack down on wasteful spending. These measures protect hardworking motans, taxpayers, especially Farmington families by ensuring every dollar is used efficiently and effectively for the
priorities that matter most to our communities rather than being lost to inefficiency or fraud. Defending second amendment rights. I have fought hard this year to defend the second amendment rights of motans, including law-abiding citizens and
families right here in Farmington. Despite numerous attempts in the legis in the legislature to strip away these fundamental constitutional rights from responsible gun owners, I have stood strong in opposition, voting against restrictive bills and advocating to
protect our freedoms, whether for se for self-defense, hunting, sport shooting, or simply safeguarding the god-given right to keep and bear arms. I rem I I remain committed to ensuring that law-abiding citizens are never penalized or disarmed by
onesizefits-all government overreach. Five, housing, public safety, and community priority. Housing um balance growth with diversity. um attain option attain options including worst fork housing while
protecting our small town feel with with the help in um with of many including council member Steve Wilson who came and testified. We have worked hard on keeping local control in place when House File 3, House File 3895 was being proposed in the legislation this year,
fighting to ensure cities like Farmington retain authority over zoning and development decisions that reflect our community's values and vision rather than a one-sizefits-all state model.
public safety, strong support for law for local law enforcement and EMS funding critical is critical as our population grows. I stood up for first responders with when their long-term care was stripped last year. Serving as
a strong advocate against that change, I will continue to fight to make sure we repeal that provision so our heroes who protect our community receive the care and support they deserve. education and families. Farmington
schools are a cornerstone. I'm imposing unnecessary mandates so local districts can focus on kids. Passing a school safety an anonymous reporting system has been a key priority. um that system uh is is in schools
across the country and is has been been proven to be very beneficial in in preventing um violence in our schools, including mass shootings. Um it will provide the resources for school districts to keep students safe without
costing them any additional money. And finally, looking ahead and how we work together, we're making real progress on issues that matter most to Farmington. A thriving downtown, local control over mandates and property rights, fighting waste, fraud and abuse, and state
government, and community priorities. I'll keep fighting for Farmington and all of district house 58B in St. Paul. Your input matters whether it's in the social district, unfunded mandate mandates, annexation protections, fighting government waste, and other
issues. Please reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns. I appreciate your time. >> Thank you. And stand up for a couple questions. >> Yeah, absolutely. >> All right, Steve. >> Um Drew, I really appreciate you being here. You know, and I talked to you a couple weeks ago. It was uh believe it
was a day before I went was down at the capital. It was either day before or a day after. um and appreciated the opportunity to be able to testify um on that legislation. >> Um and of course, you're always welcome to come here. >> Yeah, >> you do represent us, so we'd like to see
you a couple times a year um just to let us know what's going on. I don't want to put you on the spot too much, but unfortunately, in my opinion, there's a little bit too much political theater around some of the fraud, waste, and
abuse. um especially the fraud given just kind of all the facts that are known out there. So, do you have any prediction on what the end of session could look like with this topic? >> Well, to touch on your point with theatrics, uh I I don't disagree. Um I
I'll I'll be honest, one of the things that I have been taken back by is is the amount of of theatrics that is in state government. Um you know, in in by in many cases, we know how committees are going to go. We know how floor votes are going to go. At least in the House side
where it's a tied body 6767, we know that each each bill that we hear requires one vote on the other side. Um, currently right now, you're seeing a lot of bills being brought to the floor under urgency. Um, in that case, in many
ways, it's an it's a it's a no-win situation because the urgency requires first a motion to adopt it, which requires a simple majority, 68 votes, but then it requires uh a twothirds majority, so 90 votes to pass. And most
of those bills being heard under urgency, um, you know, they're they're partisan issues in in in some cases. in other cases. Um, you know, with when it comes to fraud, wasted abuse, I think, you know, without getting too political,
um, you know, there's one side of the aisle that wants to skirt things under the rug and pretend like waste, fraud, and abuse is is something that's really not happening or not happening at the scales that we're seeing. Um, and in reality, you know, we had a state budget
LA, you know, years ago. Oh, we had a $18 billion surplus and going into next into the next bianium, we're looking at a at a at a deficit. So, where did that money go? Uh many motans are seeing their property taxes rise. They're seeing increased costs. They're seeing their tab fees go through the roof. And
these are all issues that could have could have and should have been fixed uh when we had an $18 billion surplus. So, um how is that going to shake out? Uh if I'm being honest, probably more political theater. I I I am hoping that
we can get an OIG bill across AC across the uh the finish line. I'm not going to sit here and say that that's the the the perfect answer. You know, that's creating another government agency. Is another government agency that oversees the rest of the government
the right answer? I can't say that it is. You know, more government doesn't, you know, it shouldn't have we shouldn't need that. Um we do need oversight. We do need an overhaul. I hope that motans uh across the state are paying attention to their
local government that they don't get caught up in in the news cycles of the federal government. uh we have a lot of things going on in in our home here and we've got to pay attention to and if if um the majority of the voters that don't
come out in uh in midterm elections don't show up this year um you know it's going to be it's going to be more issues and and our costs are only going to go up and our taxes are only going to rise. So I hope Minnesota motans and
Farmington residents house district 58b in general are are are really paying attention to what's going on at the state level and and kind of drown out the noise at the federal level and don't let those federal issues dictate what happens at our state level because uh we really need to make sure that we we turn
the corner on on some of these things for sure. >> Right. Thank you Jake. Uh Representative Roach, thank you for coming tonight. It's good to see you and good to hear uh your legislative update. I did just have one question along the lines of working together like
you had mentioned. Um about a month ago, we had a strategic planning meeting and we were talking about different funding sources for some of the big projects coming up uh down the pike for the city of Farmington including you know the police department expansion among others. um if we and I understand this year we're behind the eightball when it
comes to bonding, but if that's something we want to pursue going forward, is that something we can work with you wi with or is that excuse me um somebody in your office that we could contact? How would we pursue that? >> Yeah, I'm I'm always opening open to
helping out where I can. I I know uh Chief CM and I we have we have talks and and I've uh been able to help uh with with letters for for the police department and getting the funding that they need. So, if there's a specific need, one of the one of the the things, and I I didn't touch on it in here, is
uh there's a bonding bill for the city of Dennis for a water project. I I authored that and I have a hearing on that on Tuesday. Um you know, to be to be honest with you, um I'm not a huge fan of bonding. >> Um I'm just being being honest. When it comes to water, um and making sure that
the citizens have clean water, I'm will support that always. Um, I'm always open to conversations and and we'll, you know, sit down and and talk about those moving forward. So, I'm I'm open to those conversations on whatever bonding projects the city has in store in the future.
>> Thank you, sir. >> Yep. >> You Holly. >> Uh, yeah, Representative Roach, thank you for coming and and sharing. Um, and also thank you for your service. Uh, one of the questions that I have actually has a little bit to do with the um since others have been talked about the
downtown social district bill. Um, it was one that I was surprised to hear about outside of Farmington because we didn't have a chance to connect on it, at least personally or or professionally before that. So, I'm curious to know um both in your conversations with business
owners and also just in your own thoughts, what what is the vision for this and the role that it serves that we don't already have in this area? Um, just from a generalization standpoint. >> Yeah. Well, you know, I I've I've talked
to many many residents uh in downtown business owners in downtown Farmington. They last year started the uh the downtown social uh and it was it was a you know kind of a grassroots effort uh effort within those business owners to help drive business um into downtown
Farmington because you know many people live outside of the downtown area and and we know that they travel to Lakeville and Rosemont and Apple Valley and it's it's easier to go northbound than it is to come back into downtown Farmington. So, this just provides an opportunity for the council to draw up a
map if they if they, you know, if it if it passes and and they uh see the need to to help drive some business into downtown Farmington, um that that otherwise we we're not getting. Um from my understanding with the social district right now, unless it's, you
know, permitted within certain days, it doesn't allow for some of these uh uh some of these restrictions that are that would the the social district would allow. Um, so it's just opening up that and giving the the council the opportunity to to do that if they see fit.
>> Any other questions? >> No, I'm good. >> Okay. Uh, they asked most of the other ones. I guess maybe I'll be daring and asked to downscope the elephant in the room a little bit, but on the topic of data centers has do you could you weigh in at all on any conversations that
you've had about, you know, in the area of public utility commission as far as power and protecting residents from increasing power bills from data centers. Or if you want to flip to, you know, water usage and the fact that, you know, there's been one resident that raised up, you know, you have five or
six active projects going through permitting process right now and they're all basing their information on the fact that they're not turned on right now and you turn on six at once. What happens, you know, then? Um, any conversations that you've had in those two arenas that you'd want to weigh in on? >> Um, you know, a lot of those
conversations, uh, they they happen, but not to the level that I' I'd like. Um to be honest, a lot of the data center uh debate is being controlled by special interests right now. Uh and they've killed a lot of the initiatives to put
things in place that would, you know, otherwise um slow down uh the the building of data centers. Um I I do hear many concerns about the water usage uh and the the increased, you know, cost of electricity, more so when it comes to
the 2040 carbon-f free initiative plan that we have coming down the pipeline. um that that is a a mandate at the state level that's it's going to force us to continue to invest in our infrastructure. Um and we've we've seen in other communities where the solar and wind
isn't a a a long-term sustainable um input to the to the grid to you know meet the the output output requirements that the aggregate amount of data centers could be could put on our our uh miso grid. So I I it's it's something
that is definitely um you know I I do have concerns about it specifically with the nuclear moratorum. Uh one of the one of the things I think that uh legislators and communities need
to be realistic about is if the data centers at the aggregate a level go forward, we have to start talking about how we're going to uh you know run those and and the power sources that's going to be needed and and you know nuclear
energy takes a long time to develop and and to to start. So, those are conversations that we really need to be having right now, right away, uh, until, you know, instead of 5 years from now when it's too late. So, um, I know maybe some members aren't aren't too fond of
that, but it's it's it's a reality of where we're at with our our current uh, state mandates with the carbon-f free initiative. >> Very good. I just, like I said, I don't want to make it look like I'm deflecting, but it is one loud topic that people have brought up is the power and the water. And I've I've tried to
explain that so much of that happens at the state level with the permitting and we have to have trust in our state government. So if there's anything I could forward on, it's in those regards is to keep fighting in those areas, right? There are a lot of very real concerns and myself among them, right? Is I I do want to see the proper
controls and safeguards in place that we can have that trust in the DNR and the PUC. Yeah. To know that, you know, we're building on rails that are safe and and and guided. So >> I I really appre like Dave said, I really appreciate you coming and taking time to talk to us. Hopefully it can be a regular occurrence here and we'll
hopefully see you back here again sometime in the future. >> Appreciate you guys. Thank you. >> Item 52, we have our county chamber of commerce President John Alto for a chamber update.
Good evening, mayor, council members, and staff, and thank you for the opportunity for me to be here. I'm John Alto. I'm president, chief mission officer of the Dakota County Regional Chamber of Commerce, now in its 68th year of serving businesses and
communities. We represent over 425 member organizations that have over 37,000 employees across nine cities, three townships, including Farmington, Rosemont, Egan, Menota Heights, and West St. Paul.
And yes, some days that means I'm in multiple cities in one day, but tonight I'm in Farmington and I'm proudly wearing Tiger Orange. The DCR chamber was formed by bringing together individual city chambers over time. You might ask why. Because we
recognized something that was important. We share a common economic goals. We share a workforce and we share infrastructure. And ultimately, we're stronger together. today. That means over a 100red events a year, strong business advocacy, and
united regional voice focused on growth, vitality, and opportunity. Let me briefly touch on a topic of interest in the news right now and here in Farmington, data centers. If you
hold one of these in your hand ever, um, you're demanding more data centers and more power. The DCR Chamber along with the Minnesota Chamber has supported reasonable and responsible data center growth because
of what it brings, jobs, infrastructure investment, and support for schools and communities across our region. Rosemont is advancing a major development, the largest in the state.
Egan continues to evaluate a moratorum but will introduce at least three to four data centers in the next couple years that will be built or are operational today. And Farmington is actively pursuing opportunities. And here's where we as a chamber stand
clearly. We support growth and we support local decisionmaking. Each city has the right and indeed the responsibility to make decisions based on its residents, its infrastructure, and its future. All within the framework
of laws. To be clear, the DCR is not a universal and unilateral policy driver. We're a mirror. We reflect what our members and what our partner communities
desire. And important questions are being asked like Representative Roach was talking about just now and they should be. But we have confidence in our city governments in our region. We have confidence in our innovation and our infrastructure
in places like Virginia, which has 660 data centers. They operate and contribute 30% of their tax dollars for their schools and significantly to local economies. while maintaining grid stability.
Locally, our leaders at Excel Energy and Dakota Electric have expressed confidence in building the capacity needed to support this growth just as they've done in Virginia without placing additional cost burden on residents.
Technology is advancing, efficiencies are improving, and solutions are being built in real time. Um, let me close with something that reflects another side of what we do, bringing communities together. The DCR Chamber proudly supports 27 nonprofits
in our region. One of them is the American Cancer Society, and through that partnership, we've created the annual Mayor's Cup. Mayor, perhaps you've heard of it. Um, it's simple and powerful. a local mayor step up to kick a football
through the uprights at TCO Stadium to raise funds to fight breast cancer, a disease that impacts one of eight women in our communities. Farmington has been a part of this effort from the beginning thanks to former mayor Joshua Hoy who was the
first mayor to commit kicking years ago. and alongside him, mayors from Egan, Rosemont, and West St. Paul joined and raised over $5,000 to fight breast cancer in just 30 minutes of kicking at the Seio Stadium. That's the power of leadership. That's the power of
community. So, tonight, mayor, I'll close with the challenge. I'm delivering the trophy for the most money raised and the most kicks made to the city of farm or to excuse excuse me, to the I wish it was Farmington sometimes.
But I'm delivering to the city of Rosemont for the third year in a row. And it's my hope that you will participate on October 3rd at TCO Stadium to kick 25 field goals in uh in
30 minutes or less and just maybe bring these trophies home to Farmington perhaps. Will you do it? You know, I've spent the last two months trying to build up a reputation and you're going to throw it away in a week, but I'll happily accept that. Yeah,
>> I will I will leave it. >> Very good. Thank you. >> There you go. >> All right. Oh, we'll leave it right there. Sure. Thank you, John. >> Thank you for your time this evening. >> Yeah. Would you want to stand for a couple questions or >> I'm I'm here. >> All right. We'll start with
>> for you. Uh, thank you for being here, John. I uh appreciate the time that you seem to always have for our community. There there isn't a ribbon cutting, I don't think, that I haven't seen you at. There isn't an event that we are hosting that you're not here for. And uh, frankly, I
sometimes wonder how you make the time to be able to get from point A to point B. It's like you spawn in and out without drive time. Um I appreciate that um you know it that you're also coming forward um in a space where it's hard to share support of
something that has um real impact for residents but also has real opportunities uh for the community of Farmington um and other communities that are around here. um in the circles that you um find yourselves in. Um I know one
of the things that often comes up is um from our residents um that are uh voicing opposition is that Farmington as a whole, as a community, as elected officials um have become perhaps the butt of jokes or a laughingstock or something like that. Is is there a
concern that you're hearing in your circles um for what's happening right now? Um, are there other municipalities that are are struggling with similar things? Um, are we seeing support in general across the region or is it still
kind of a wishy-washy iffy area? >> Um, it's a very highly emotional issue, not only here in Farmington, but in other communities in our region. Um, Dakota County will have more data centers than any other county in the
state uh within the next two years. um because I think certain communities see that kind of growth and that kind of opportunity. It's not without um a lot of deep thought, conversations, and debate. Um there's a lot of information
that's coming forth every day. Um uh as an example, you know, Egan uh recently passed a one-year moratorum on data centers, as I think everyone's aware. um they already have a data center operational and they will have I believe
it's three data centers that will be operational even with that moratorium under underway in the next uh year or so. But they brought up that moratorum because of of consumer or excuse me of of citizens concerns. Um and we support
city to make any decision. Uh that's their decision. Farmington's made their decision. The city of Farmington, the city of Rosemont's made their decision. We stand by cities to make the decision to do the best for their cities. Um we do think that uh in another uh year when
the moratorum is over the Egan will also see the benefits of um of data centers that both Farmington and Rosemont have seen. Time will tell >> any more. >> No, Jake. >> John, I just also want to thank you for
being here tonight. Like Holly said, you seem to be everywhere. So, thank you for taking time out of your calendar to join us tonight. I just appreciate the ongoing partnership between the city of Farmington and the Dakota County Chamber. >> My pleasure. >> Excreate your advocacy for our Farmington
business community. And uh you know, I think I've said this before, before you came along, we didn't really have consistent representation from the chamber. In fact, it almost felt like nobody wanted to be uh a chamber in Farmington and all a sudden you came along and it's uh we've really seen the
benefits of your partnership. Um I also really value um you having the um the mayor's cup and raising money and I know it's impacted your family personally and so I just want to thank you for that.
>> Thank you. Like they said, I'll I'll uh just echo my thanks for make taking the time to come update. Like I said, I see you around. Had a few ribbon cutting cutings lately. So, it's been nice to see you and talk to you there. Um and I appreciate you coming and kind of giving
what could be, like I said, is a controversial update, but like I said, it's it's it's important to hear from all sides on this one. So, I really appreciate you taking the time. Uh I'll start training now, I guess, but I think Josh probably had a stronger leg than me, but we'll figure it out. I'll start lifting now.
And I I don't want to minimize the issue and I don't know Holly if I answered your question properly. I mean this is a lot of emotion to it. I present the position of the voice of business and the economic development of the region
which data centers will bring um you report to the citizens and know you're taking their best interests at heart. >> Thank you. All right, moving on. Item 53. >> Thank you, John. Sorry.
>> Believe we have Chief Seam coming up for the recognition of Detective Sean Scoville's retirement. >> Thank you, Mayor and Councel. I'd ask Detective Scoville to join me up here, please. Uh, mayor, council members, members of the community,
tonight we have the honor of recognizing Detective Sha Scoville on his retirement after 26 years of service in law enforcement. Detective Scoville has served the city of Farmington with professionalism, integrity, and a deep commitment to public safety. Prior to joining Farmington, he also served with
the Northfield Police Department, building a career defined by service to others. Throughout his time with Farmington PD, Shawn has taken on many important roles, including police officer, field training officer, drug recognition expert. He's also designated significant years to the
SWAT team, elevating to the position of SWAT sniper. Following his time in SWAT, Shawn transitioned to a crisis negotiator role where he used his talents as communicating as communicator to persuade peaceful resolutions. He also served two rotations on the
Dakota County Drug Task Force as an investigator and several years as a detective for the Farmington Police Department. I think it's worth taking a moment to talk about those roles that he served uh with the task force, the SWAT team, and
in general investigations. There are many roles in the police department that that require a significant amount of time uh and dedication and those are top three on the list. Uh the SWAT team is an incredible training requirement and
you're on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year with a pager in your pocket at all times. being called in at all hours of the day, the dead of winter and the sweltering summers uh to go and take
care of stuff that officers need help with. And um it's a considerable sacrifice to your personal life and your family as well. And it's worth noting uh he did it for many years and then also
served on the drug task force for two rotations, three rotations, >> which is another significant commitment of time. Uh and that you're working odd hours, evenings, overnights. Um if
you're on an investigation, uh you could be working for 24 hours straight. Just keep going. Um, I want to thank you for that. Shawn's relentless pursuit of justice has created a reputation of excellence that has followed throughout his career.
It's difficult for me to express how good Shawn is at his job. Like say there's uh some references that we take with officers. If you're an officer in training and you're nearing the end, we'll ask FTO's, is this an officer that you want to work with to be backing you
up on calls? Yes. Okay. one, they'll move on to being a police officer. And then, uh, the measure of a good cop. Is this a cop that you would want to be taking a call from someone in your family? If they had a complaint, a crime happened to them, would you want them to
take this call? That's a good cop. Good investigator. When I think of a good investigator, it's the investigator that I would want to be taking my case if something happened to me or my family. Without question, Sean Scoville
is the very top of that list. If I stopped here and that was the end of his law enforcement story, it would be a career to be proud of. But that's not the end. Shawn's service to the profession is where he separates himself.
He is always there to listen, to help a partner, a supervisor, or even a chief. There are so many of the Farmington Police Department that have benefited from your ability to listen without judgment. We are all forever grateful to your
service to those who walk the blue line. On behalf of the city of Farmington, we thank you, Sean, for your 26 years of service, your sacrifices, and your commitment to keeping our community safe. We wish you and your family the best in this next chapter.
I don't want to talk. >> Your choice. I just want to say thank you for the opportunity to serve the citizens of Farmington for this to the uh men and women who came before me who taught me everything that I know and to my brothers who continue to serve. Thank you. God bless the Peacemakers.
>> Thank you. Sean, do you want to stay up here for one second? >> Sean, do you want to stay up here for one second? >> Well, you gota you gotta suffer through all of us. Sorry. We got to say our our laurels to here. Ollie, why don't you go ahead? >> Best and worst thing about retiring is
that you get to stand through that and then also you have to stand through that, right? >> Um I would say that in in my experience um good leaders come from good leaders and good leaders make good leaders, right? And so for you to be in the sandwich of
both. To recognize the people that came before you and also to be the person that is recognized by those that are coming up is a very sweet position to be in. From me as a resident's perspective, when there is someone who has accomplished this much in their career
and who has quietly served our community for as long as you have, that's the standpoint that I take is, you know, the best among the best, right? those that have done the work and have done it consistently and religiously. There's no
fanfare. There's not a lot of excitement. The name doesn't hit here and there. And that means that you're doing all of the right things at all of the right times, supporting all of the right people. And um very very grateful, very very grateful. If if you do nothing
else, you sit down and you relax and you look back at this and say, I did really really good things for a really long time. and our community is exponentially better because you've served in it. So, thank you. >> Thank you. >> You Jake, Sean, I just also want to say
thank you for everything you've done for the city of Farmington and like Chief said tonight, everything you've done for your brothers and sisters in blue. Um there's a lot of institutional memory it sounds like, walking out the door as you go into retirement and that's now on the
chief and and everyone else to to fill those gaps. But thank you for everything that you've done and I wish you the best of of what's next. >> Thank you, >> Steve. >> Sean, I obviously also want to thank you for your >> You're muted.
>> Sean, I just want to also thank you for your service to our community. You know, I was looking earlier to kind of get a sense of what 26 years is compared to maybe the average police officer out there. And you know, of course, and I'm sure you know this, they have a lot of
cops. Um, it's a five or ten year career. They get burnt out. They see a lot of stuff. They go through a lot of stuff. Um, but I think for those that's that serve, the average is about 20 to 25. And you've eclipsed that by a year.
Um, and I didn't realize all the amazing things that you've contributed to within our department until Nate read them all off. Um, and I just want to thank you for the leadership that you provided and all that you've given to our community. So, thank you. >> Thank you.
>> I'll add as best I can. It's hard to compete with her ad lib speeches sometimes, but you know, I just like 26 years is an eternity. And I guess all I can add to it is, you know, some of you guys that were around for a long time, I still see them mysteriously haunting around out there, you know, and I still see Gary and Jimmy haunts around here.
So, I hope you won't be a stranger. I hope these are still your brothers and sisters. and as you'll look out for them and contribute in your own way. But I understand too if if it's retirement's retirement, you've definitely earned that too. So >> they can come to Florida,
>> be there twice. But like I said, I hope everyone checks in on each other once in a while. And I I hope you find a nice beach then if you are going to Florida. So but thank you again. Like I said, it's quite a career. Now you can head off.
>> Thank you, mayor and councel. >> Thank you. Item 54, we have an Arbor Day proclamation. Thank you, mayor and council members. This is our annual Arbor Day proclamation. The city of Farmington's been designated as a Tree City USA for
35 years, demonstrating an ongoing commitment to sustainable forestry. A requirement of the program is to proclaim Arbor Day within the city and hold an annual observance or celebration. City of Farmington will observe Arbor
Day with a tree planting celebration at Evergreen Null Park at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, April 24th of this year. This event is open to the public and council members and members of the community are invited to come and participate in the celebration where trees are to be
planted. So the requested action is to proclaim Friday, April 24th, 2026 as Arbor Day in Farmington and the month of May 2026 as Arbor Month in Farmington. >> Very good.
>> All right. Well, I am going to start the proclamation. Whereas the health and longevity of Minnesota's trees and forests are being affected by increased pressure and from pests and diseases, changing temperature and precipitation, and other weather
events due to climate change. And whereas Arbor Day provides people in Minnesota with the opportunity to celebrate the importance of trees and forest to our economy, culture, history, and future of the state. And whereas
Minnesota's forests are at risk from invasive species such as emerald ashbor that can impact carbon storage, habitat, and air and water quality. And >> whereas trees are of great value as they provide clean air and water, shade and
energy savings, wildlife habitat, recreational opportunities, wood products, and jobs while capturing and storing carbon from the atmosphere, thereby offsetting greenhouse gas emissions emissions. And whereas trees that are resilient to pests, diseases,
and the impacts of climate change can live longer, thereby capturing and storing carbon from the atmosphere and offsetting greenhouse gas emissions. And whereas properly planting and caring for a diverse mix of trees makes community forests more resilient by minimizing the
impacts of diseases, insects, and other stressors such as climate change, and providing long-term community and environmental benefits. And whereas a healthy, resilient tree canopy decreases summertime temperatures and neighborhoods, enhances property values, improves air quality, and reduces storm
water runoff. And >> whereas thoughtfully choosing, planting, and caring for a diverse mix of trees, now supports resilient communities into the future. Now therefore, I, Nicholas Lean, mayor, on behalf of the Farmington City Council, do hereby proclaim Friday, April 24th, 2026 as Arbor Day and the
month of May 2026 as Arbor Month in Farmington. In witness whereof, I have here unto set my hand and caused the seal of the city of Farmington, Minnesota to be affixed on the 6th day of April, 2026. >> Thank you. >> Thank you.
>> Moving on. Item six is our consent agenda. We'd look for a motion to approve the consent agenda as amended earlier in the meeting. >> Motion to approve. >> Second. >> Motion by Steve, second by Jake. All in favor say I. I.
I can stop there for a second. Moving on. Item number 11 have a compensation and classification study. Good evening, mayor and council members. I want to begin by thanking you for the opportunity to present this evening.
Tonight, I plan to share the city of Farmington's recent pay equity results, outline what this means for the city, and present staff's recommended approach to address these findings. Before we get into the results, I want to provide a quick overview for
Minnesota's pay equity requirement to provide context for our findings. Minnesota pay equity is a statemandated requirement for all public jurisdictions to ensure men and women are paid equitably for work of comparable value.
The city is required to evaluate its compensation system and submit data every 3 years. Our most recent submission was in January of 2026 using 2025 data. Compliance isn't just a best practice.
It is a legal obligation tied to how the state determines whether a pay structure is fair, consistent, and defensible. Pay equity compliance protects the city from liability, helps ensure an equitable and competitive work environment, and maintains public trust
in our pay process. The city of Farmington did not meet the state's pay equity standards in our most recent submission. Under Minnesota law, failing the pay equity report carries significant consequences. The state may impose a
fine of $100 a day or withhold 5% of our state aid, whichever amount is greater. Jurisdictions out of compliance have 90 days from the date they received notice of non-compliance to correct deficiencies
or provide a plan for corrective action. After receiving pay equity results, staff immediately contacted the state to gain a deeper understanding of how and why our organization failed. Based on review, it became clear that the issue
is not a simple administrative error or a small pay adjustment. There are discrepancies across various levels within the organization impacting full-time, part-time, union, and non-union rules. The core problem that
led to non-compliance is structural. The city's current pay and classification system does not align with what the state requires for demonstrating pay equity. Due to the scope and scale of discrepancies, there is no simple or
quick fix that would bring the city back into compliance. This led to the conclusion that the city needs to conduct a comprehensive compensation and classification study. It is important to note that staff had already planned to begin a compensation
study in fall 2026 as the most recent comprehensive compensation and classification study that was conducted for the city occurred approximately 13 years ago in 2013. The pay equity results accelerated this
timeline and made the study an urgent requirement, not just a best practice. staff communicated with the state to ensure our corrective approach of conducting a comp a compensation and classification study would grant the
city an extension on the 90-day established timeline. Before granting the extension, the state required detailed information, including which consultant or firm the city would partner with, the estimated project timeline, and the process for
resubmitting the city's corrected pay equity data. From there, staff started the vendor selection process. Staff reached out to peer cities and organizations to identified qualified compensation consultants. The city solicited quotes and received
five proposals from reputable firms. After an in-depth review of experience, methodology, pricing, and timeline, staff determined that MRA is the consultant best suited to meet the city's needs and ensure long-term
compliance. M >> here's a brief look at what you can expect the compensation and classification study process to look like and what you can expect. The consultant will kick off the project by meeting with our team, reviewing our
existing job documentation, and making sure they have a clear understanding of how the organization operates. Employees and supervisors will be introduced to the project and provided with the job analysis questionnaire, which is one of the tools used to capture what each
position does. This is the stage where staff will look to council for any initial direction or priorities you want the consultant to be aware of. The project will then focus on job analysis. The consultant will review all
employee submitted questionnaires and begin updating job descriptions. Supervisors and employees will have an active role in confirming accuracy and ensuring each position is represented correctly. If any structural questions come up during this phase, staff will
bring those forward to council for guidance. After finalizing job descriptions, the consultant launches the market survey to comparable municipalities, which gives us the data needed to understand how our compensation aligns or doesn't align
with the broader market. Staff will work with council to determine preference on comparable cities to be used in this study. The consultant then analyzes the market data and completes the internal job evaluation. This gives staff a clear picture of both
market competitiveness and internal equity. During this phase, staff will provide updates and may seek council direction on compensation philosophy. for example, whether the city aims to match or lead the market. From there, the consultant uses all of
that information to develop a new revised pay structure. They refine grade placements and prepare an employee impact report so staff fully understands the financial implications. This is a key stage where staff will rely on counsel to provide guidance on
affordability, implementation timing, and overall compensation strategy. The consultant then completes a full pay equity analysis to ensure the new structure brings the city into compliance with state requirements
before anything is adopted. After getting confirmation that we will fall back into compliance, staff then prepares for implementation. The consultant provides training to supervisors so the system is used consistently going forward. Throughout
this entire process, employees, supervisors, staff, and council all play active roles. Overall, the project is estimated to take six months from start to finish to complete. Each month builds on the one before it and your direction will be
essential as we move toward a sustainable and equitable compensation plan. To summarize, conducting a compensation and classification study will allow the city to correct the issues identified by the state, protect the city from future
fines or loss of state aid, ensure long-term pay equity compliance, strengthen our ability to recruit and retain employees. Modernize our pay structure and remove inconsistencies. increase transparency and public trust
in our compensation practices. >> The overall cost of the compensation study at the 2026 MRA member rate ranges between $56,100 to $83,600. The final project cost will be
determined by the actual number of hours required to complete the study. The city is planning to become a member of MRA with the cost of membership included in the range provided. In addition to a discounted rate for the compensation
study, being a member with MRA will allow staff to ensure our compensation plans remains equitable long-term and also will provide additional HR resources. These resources that would have otherwise been paid for out of the city's budget will help to support the
city's human resources team, benefiting both ongoing and future initiatives that serve city employees and in turn enhance services provided to community members. As the full cost of the compensation study was not budgeted in 2026, staff
recommends the use of fund balance to cover these costs. The city's fund balance policy states that the fund balance for the general fund at the end of each fiscal year should be 40 to 50% of the subsequent year's budgeted expenditures and transfers out. While
the 2025 audit is currently underway, the city ended 2024 with a fund balance of approximately 57% of 2025 general fund budget expenditures and transfers out. Staff does not anticipate change to fund balance for
2026. Based on this information, staff recommends that the city council approved the agreement with MRA to conduct a comprehensive compensation and classification study. If the agreement with MRA is approved, staff also recommends amending the
budget to fund the project. Staff recommends amending the budget via use of fund balance to cover these costs. Overall, completion of the compensation and classification study is not only a state requirement. It is an
investment in long-term compliance, fairness, competitiveness, and organizational stability. With that, I welcome any questions you may have. >> Steve. >> Yeah. Hi, Samantha. Thank you for the nice presentation. A couple things jump
out at me. So, we're going to complete this six-month activity and then is the membership through MRA or the tools or strategies we're going to learn allow us to continuously be essentially in a good
spot so we don't have to do this again in a couple of years. >> That yes, that is correct. So as part of the implementation process, they um essentially hold our hand every step of the way and give us tools as well as the methodology on how to ensure that we are
scoring and grading our positions correctly to make sure that there is no internal disparities between position. So long answer long yes longasting tools. >> Okay. And then of course you know the council at any point can change and look
different. So council goals and priorities might be different. There might be initiatives where a certain council wants to put more funding to which is going to relate to the staff that do it. Um I'll use an example like the emerald ashbor. We came up with a
very aggressive strategy which might have resulted in more people and FTEEs in that category with money being expended. So knowing that you've got some of that stuff in play, does this does this study and the results, you
know, essentially plan and prepare for that >> fluctuation? >> Yeah. So the main priority of this project is to get us in compliance with the state. That's first and foremost. Um so that is where the project starts and
then from there those um more customizable pieces in terms of comparable cities or where we fall within the market that part may fluctuate year after year but the biggest most pressing concern is getting us in compliance with the state and and
that's the priority. >> Okay. Thank you Jake. Um thank you Samantha for the presentation. Um my my one question um I think early on your presentation you had mentioned the last um state report was
three years ago. Did I get that right? >> Yep. Correct. >> Can you tell us what happened in the last three years to go from compliant report to non-compliant report? >> Yeah. So, from my understanding, because obviously I started with the city in January of this year, um there has been
a history of non-compliance um sprinkled in and out over the last few years um within the last six years. Um, so this has been a systemic issue that has just not been addressed and we've gotten to the point where the state is now
propo proposing that they will either reduce our funding or give us those fines of $100 a day. Um, so that's kind of it. It has just been building off of one another. >> Thank you. >> Of course. Thank you, >> Holly. >> All right. Well, this is uncomfortable,
right? It's always great when there are things that are going really really well and we get to celebrate that. It's also important to acknowledge when things are not going so well and we have stuff that we need to fix. Um I I would encourage I guess more of a statement than a question right away. I would encourage
residents who are interested in this to dig into the agenda and read through the pages of documentation on this so you can get a better handle on on what MRA is and what it's doing. Um, one of the things that I noticed on page six was talking about how it measures the
following factors. And so, um, again, I'm not sure if this is more of a question or a clarification statement that I just need to make sure that I'm understanding correctly. Um, it's not so much that people have been hired in in weird spaces and offered different
amounts of money to do similar things. It's that there is a weighted average against the types of things that individuals do within their capacity. And so MRA system is qualifications and skills and employee needs registers at 30%. And then duties of the job
including decisions, problem solving and relationships is 55%. And working conditions including effort, hazards and environment is 15%. And so unless if I'm understanding this incorrectly, um we've
largely been determining that independent of any outside agency. And so it would be interesting or easy to overlook the the mental or physical load from one department as compared to another department when we're looking at
equal levels of management or experience within those departments. And what we're trying to do now is obviously come into compliance because that's necessary, but go back and rebalance what has been at least over the last six years floating in and out of balance and then stay
there. Am I understanding that and reexplaining it back correctly? >> Yes, that is correct. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Welcome. Thank you, >> M. Mr. Mayor. If I can also add to council member Bernance's question or statement, part of it too is as Sam
alluded to in her presentation or stated, last time we did a study like this was 2013. So because it's been 13 years, part of what happens is we haven't gone back and done that recalibration. >> So that's why positions haven't we haven't looked back and gone, you know,
job descriptions might have changed. uh the environment of that position has changed but how we score it where we place it on our grid hasn't changed and that's a lot of what of why we are out of compliance now >> David can you offer insight to into how this is different in the public versus
private sector is there a is there a difference because it's public sector positions as compared to what a private organization may or may not be able to do or is that not something >> so this goes all the way back to slam's first slide if pay equity is something that's actually unique to Minnesota. We're the only state that does it and it
is only applicable to public entities. >> Um, first question I guess or congratulations on your first I think Farmington presentation. Now you did great. >> Yeah. >> Um, so we did something similar to this with the code 911 not too long ago, right? And I think that one was less
about compliance, but more about kind of being allowing the board to kind of set what it wanted for a pay standard as far as attracting and retaining talent. Is that a secondary outcome of this study is that we as a council kind of get to set the priority of where we want those
pay bands to land in terms of creating a competitive work environment in those regards. >> Yes. >> This is the same general kind of study, right? Um, and I guess that conversation will come down the road. Obviously, the compliance piece of that is is the more important part. The I guess
this is a lot more information than I think you need to present. So, I just I don't want people to see this and say this is a mouthful. This is a lot. Like, she's really giving you like every nut andbolt detail about this thing. So, this is incredible. Um, I had a second thought. the
the staffing the budget that we have for our staff is by and large like one of our largest ones here, right? We pay an enormous amount. So, a lot of people may look at the price tag of something like this and go that's outrageous. But relative to the amount that we spend on our actual pay, it's worth spending a little bit of money to make sure you
have it right and that you're not paying penalties on this. This is one of those things where I think we net win even though we are paying a price tag. So, I just want that to be kind of on the record as saying it this doesn't to me this is how you rightsize your organization and how you prevent a lot
of, you know, risky maneuvers and and keep your talent feeling like they're being paid fairly and equitably like you said. So, I appreciate all the the work to to shore this stuff up. >> Yes. And just to add on to that, it also if we did not invest in this project, we
would have to pay in state fines. So that's the biggest takeaway is we are paying one way or the other and this is helping us get back into compliance and and make our organization a place for top talent. >> I was going a step further and even if we weren't having to pay penalties these
things still have a way of of making sense. I mean private private entities pay enormous sums of money for their payband studies right is that is one of the things that if you look at a corporation they are doing this constantly. So the fact that we haven't done this in 13 years is kind of a testament of, you know, we should do this and we should do this fairly
regularly. So I appreciate the ongoing model we have going here and hopefully it's not another 13 years before we, you know, get an update and look forward to it. So I would look for, let me make sure I get the action right on this one. I would look for a motion to approve the
agreement with MRA to conduct a comprehensive compensation and classification study and amending the budget accordingly. Motion to approve. >> Second. >> Motion by Holly, second by Jake. All in favor say I. >> I. I. >> Thank you. Have item 11.2, the creation
of communication and public affairs manager. Mr. Mayor, members of council, thank you for this opportunity. Before I start, um I'm going to brag and embarrass Sam just a little bit. Uh Mr. Mayor, as you mentioned, not not only was this her
first presentation to this council, it was actually her first presentation to any council. And I thought she did a fantastic job. I actually asked her, I said, you know, this is um you know, as Holly, I think you mentioned, this is not the uh the flashiest or the greatest
conversation to have. So, being your first presentation, I said, are you sure you want to do this? And she said she's the HR manager and she was going to do it. So, I thought she did a fantastic job. >> Awesome. So, back to what we're here to talk about. Um, first of do this so people can see what we're talking
about. Let's pull that up. When I first joined the city last February, I had one-on-one meetings uh with every our one of our department heads and every member of our council. During those meetings, there was one resounding theme
that every single person brought up, and that was communications. And that's a theme that has continued to to this day both internally and externally uh during the strategic planning process in 2025 and throughout the 2026 budget
development process. The expansion of the city's communications team and activities was a council priority. While an additional communications position was included in the preliminary 2026 budget, it was ultimately removed from the final budget due to competing
priorities. However, during the strategic planning meeting that was held on March 5th, communications was again a significant topic of discussion. Through follow follow-up discussions with each member
of the city council, it became apparent that the city can no longer delay adding a communications professional to provide city-wide leadership in all our communications related activities. On top of that, in recent events, the city's communications specialist also
resigned effective March 27th to pursue another opportunity. So, the city is currently without a communications team. That leaves me managing all communication communications activities until a new communications team is in place, which I anticipate it'll be at
least the next two to three months. So tonight, I'm asking the city council to approve the creation of a communications and public affairs manager. This position will lead the communications division as well as direct and manage all communications and
public information functions for the city. This position will be responsible for developing and implementing strategic communications initiatives that promote transparency, strengthen community engagement, and ensure consistent messaging across all city departments.
collaborating with city leadership, yourselves, and departments. The communications and public affairs manager will serve as the primary liaison between the city and the public, the media and stakeholders, providing accurate and timely information about city programs, services, and
initiatives, as well as managing crisis and emergency communications. If approved, some of the initial duties that will be assigned to this position include uh the development and implementation of a citywide strategic communications plan, which is a process
actually already underway. Uh conduct an in-depth evaluation on all aspects of the city's communications and make structural and strategic adjustments. collaborate with departments to develop and implement project communication plans to better inform and keep the
public up to date on city projects. Uh partner with myself to develop a citywide citizens academy to be held in 2027 and collaborate with the city clerk to produce educational content and information on the 2026 state and
general elections. Due the resignation of the communications specialist and the period of time that we will be without a communications team, we anticipate that there will be enough budgeted funds in the communications division to both add the communications and public affairs
manager position and potentially hire a new communications specialist in the fall. With that, I'm I request that the city council approve the creation of a communications and public affairs manager approving the job description included in the packet and authorizing
staff to conduct the recruitment process. With that, I'll take any questions you may have. >> Very good. Holly first. >> Thank you. >> Pleasure. Um so when we reflect on the the pillars
that we have as council members um our accessibility to residents and our communication with residents is among the top of the pillars. Um not that any of them is weighted differently but you've got four legs. If you take away one you get wobbly right? Um what's
different about what I see happening now as compared to even when I um started in this position four years ago and prior to that is initially it was more about the idea of making ourselves visible and accessible and I think that as individuals we are visible and
accessible. you will see us out and around in the community and um you know the mayor has obviously started with office hours and any one of us is um largely available uh for anything. What what I want to know from a resident's
perspective is when we're looking at this I I can see what the value of this is in a communications from a communication standpoint. What is it that our residents can expect when these positions fill that make this a valuable
decision for us to make? Um, knowing that we had someone in this position but not at this level of the position, are they going to see a tangible change? Is it more information? Is it different avenues of information? Is it all of the above? Like, can you explain that a little bit better?
>> Yeah, absolutely. Uh, so with with um as we looked at this, we've talked about communications. what is it we're we're looking to strive for and then add in uh the resonation of our our previous communications specialist. Our intention is is actually by first um hiring this
position and also working on creating this uh strategic communications plan that'll ultimately come before you and we'll presenting start talking with you I think in the next couple months as we put some more meat to those bones is we're actually looking to pretty much completely overhaul our communications
division and then from there looking at all of our avenues of communication. Um so what can the residents expect? I think a lot different. Um, one of the things that we've already started to try to do with our communications is one be a lot more intentional, a lot more
educational, not just informative. Um, we don't want to just tell people here's some information, but what is it? It's in want to be information that actually affects them, information that can help them better either be in um, interact with the city or know what's going on in
the community. Um, not just, hey, there's this thing or there's that thing. Um, so that's that's our main goal again is to one thing we've been hearing is we want to the city um to better inform of what's going on. And that's the ultimate goal is to look at
how are um our communications getting to members of the public, how are they being received? Um are the avenues we are currently even using for communications being effective? Um so that's going to be some of the first jobs of the communications and public affairs manager. if you approve it and that person gets gets here is to be
evaluating all those aspects whether it's social media our website the currents are they actually being effective to what we want to accomplish and again part of that will be discussions that we will be having with you as a council as well
>> you Jake um I just appreciate Holly's question that's what I had written down as well what the takeaways we can see will be but um thank you David for presenting this tonight thank you for listening to council when we've suggested stronger communication plans
and like you alluded to earlier uh the real-time feedback that we even heard earlier today that we should be doing a better job communicating with residents. So, I appreciate taking that feedback creating this position and I'm excited to see where this goes. >> Thank you, Steve.
Um David, couple questions here. So, kind of from the what the average resident might look at is like the excuse me, day-to-day communication activities like social media. Is this person going to be engaged in the social
media piece of it or not so much? >> So, this person will oversee all aspects of it. Um, when we look after we get this person in place and we look at potentially replacing the communication specialist position, we'll look at, you know, what is exactly are we looking at from kind of a day-to-day. Um, but this
person will be involved and oversee all communications including social media. >> Okay. I guess the one direction I would give to staff on this one is, and you pointed this out earlier, and I've talked a little bit with Lynn about this too. I do think elevating our
communications is something that we've needed to do for a while, but I don't want to just assume we're going to hire a communications, you know, specialist like we've had before. I'd rather have the person come in, find out what's
what's working, what isn't working, have a consultation with, you know, through Linen staff to us and say, you know what, we had this position before, but we think this type of position is better. 100%. >> So, I just want to put it out there that
I'm not okay with hiring this and saying, "Okay, well, in September, we're just going to hire a replacement to fill a vacancy." I think that would be >> full agreement with you. >> Okay. Just want to make sure we're on the same page. >> All right. Thank you.
Yeah. I mean, this kind of almost feels a little bit overdue. You know, one of the things it came up constantly in the strategic planning is how do we get communication? How do we get that basic education out there? you know, the most kind of 101 stuff that not everyone pays attention to and that's not always, like
I said, a bad thing. It's just those, you know, where's our agendas, how do we get to our agendas, those kind of things has been a big thing. But then even when we get to the more sensitive topics, you know, in our interviews earlier today, we kind of heard that same theme. It was not so much about what we chose or why
we did the things we did, it's why didn't you communicate about the things you did and why you chose that way. And so I I think so much of the sensitivity right now is just more in in why we're doing, you know, being transparent about why we did the things we did and at the
time that they're done. And I think that is just where we were missing the mark on a lot of this. So I really appreciate you taking the initiative to kind of champion trying to correct that issue. Nobody's going to expect us to get it perfect on the try, but but we're going to try, right? And we're going to strategize and we're going to come up
with a different approach than what we were doing. um just you know we've gotten plenty of feedback that says please do it a little bit better and we're trying. So thank you. With that we will look for a motion to approve the communications and public affairs manager job description and
authorized staff to conduct the recruitment process. >> Motion to approve. >> Second >> motion by Jake, second by Steve. All in favor say I. I. I work 113 Mr. Soldier Hulkamania.
>> Hello leadership team, colleagues, and Farmington friends. My name is Josh Salinger and I am your liquor operations manager. I'm here today because we've reached an impass at Farmington Liquors. I view my job kind of like as climbing a mountain. I know I'm never going to reach the top, but I love the way up
there. I like taking step by step and getting a little bit closer to the peak. But currently momentum has kind of slowed and it's for two main reasons. First, our legacy staffing model of being reliant on part-time employees has become increasingly challenging. A main
reason being that our business has grown nearly 25% since I started. In a perfect world, weekly we have 58 shifts that need coverage. Our part-time employees are relied on to cover at least 33 of those. Our part-time teammates have careers, families, and other interests
that they need to focus on. And when things get busy, the part-time job is usually the first to go. Every Monday, I begin working on our uh schedule two weeks out, and recently I haven't been able to post them until Thursday because I'm trying
to find creative ways to keep us staffed even at a minimal level. Second, I am relied upon to be at our downtown store at least 5 days a week. I'm the backup checkup checkout counter. I do carry outs, place orders, meet with sales representatives, accept and check
in deliveries, input purchase orders, create the schedule, build relationship with our customers, and so many more tasks that just keep us operational. My time for getting into the deep details and focusing on big picture tasks is limited to 10-minute increments a few times a day. And if I want to spend time
at our other store, it comes at the expense of leaving somebody downtown all by themsel. But don't worry, I've got a solution. I'm here today to request two additional full-time positions at Farmington Liquors. Adding two additional full-time positions would offer up more scheduling flexibility and
predictability. PTO can be used without placing immense pressure on the rest of the team. We would have more backup options if someone needed to use some ESST. and the schedule can be created without having to go back and ask teammates to pick up just one more shift.
Also, with more predictable scheduling, I can start to hand off some of the tasks that take up large blocks of my time during the work week, enabling me to spend more time at both stores and allow me to focus on some of the I've wanted to tackle for quite some time, like a new Farmington Liquors employee
policy and manual, going live with e-commerce, full store resets, multiple full store inventory counts throughout the year, and building more impactful rotating sales displays. This does come at a cost, but there will be no burden to our taxpayers. Part of the cost will
be mitigated by a reduction in part-time shifts. But I just wanted to let you know the last time I asked for an additional full-time employee was in 2022, and we went on to have the single greatest year-over-year growth in Farmington Liquor's history. I don't do that to
make an unre I don't say that to make an unrealistic promise. I just do it to point out that I know this is what it's going to take for us to evolve and grow for Farmington Liquors in the future. And my request is two additional full-time positions, please.
>> Which should I start from? Let's do Steve this time. >> Um, I hate to ask you this, but I'm going to. I'm supportive of this. At the same time,
looking back to the best of your ability during our budgeting time frame, is this something that could have been predicted or or or was everything generally going pretty good where it would have been kind of hard to predict? >> This comes and goes in waves. So, it's
been an issue that we've had for the last year and a half or two years, but we'll get these great part-time employees who have tons of availability and then I have to worry about burning them out. >> Sure. >> Asking them to cover too many shifts. So, there are times where I feel great and very comfortable and then there's
times like now where we're shoestring right now, >> right? >> So, it's hard to tell, but I've been putting off this. >> Okay. >> Mr. Mayor, if I can to answer Council Member Wilson's question as well. Um, last year in during budget, you know, I
think I'd been here for what, not even like 6 months at that time. We're in transition period. Um, still wanting to get to, you know, know all the different operations and I do oversee liquor operations. And so, um, as we got through that, um, that transition period
had more opportunity to work with Josh. Um and part of it was pushing Josh on, you know, how are things going in liquor operations and and um him actually I think part of it is is Josh is kind of our rock star and our biggest cheerleader and he'll do what has to get done to get it done. Um so it was a
little bit I think of also pushing and and really talking through that and so I think as Josh pointed out some of these these issues existed previously but we were just working through them um and and not to our advantage. And so after, you know, he and I talking about this
and working through it, um due to some and then and then some recent uh resonations we've had and people going out on leave, um it kind of came to that point and then as we brought it before the council during strategic planning as well of um I think this is a a good
strategic time to to look at this. Um and as also mentioned in in the packet um in that memo um as we go through this process with MRA, one of the things we want to also do is also look at the struct the overall structure of how
municipal liquor is is aligned under Josh um and what um responsibilities and such are. And so that's also one reason why we're just asking for two regular clerks and not wanting to get too crazy on on the structure yet. But during that process as we have MRA as Sam mentioned
with all the extra expertise they'll be able to provide to us is then also look at the structure of municipal liquor and make sure it's structured appropriately for the future as well. >> Yeah. Yeah. I and I mean you have really
I just want to you know I'm not trying to be critical. I just had to ask that question >> of course. um because you've really done a phenomenal job of, you know, really taking the operations of an enterprise fund and something
that's valuable to the community to have a local liquor store. Um and you've really done a nice job with it. It benefits um and you communicate this often. I mean, there's such a huge benefit to the community for the investments that residents make in
shopping there. Um, and you've really just built up a it's just a it's just a happy place to go to in terms of making that type of purchase. Now, I personally don't go there just um because I don't consume alcohol anymore in my life, but
um you know, but everybody that I've, you know, seen up there, heard about it. It's a great experience. So, Steve, >> I definitely support you know, the initiative and just wanted to let you know that. >> Thank you. I did expand my NA selection. No, I know >> it's quite vast.
>> I even so I you know just here and there here and there for me >> Jake. Um Josh, you and I had the chance to talk about this a few weeks ago at liquor operations committee and at that point I just could see the excitement um
in in your presentation and I'm excited um to see this happen to see our one of our more successful operations continue to grow and see what you're able to do now that you're a little more freed from some of the day-to-day stuff and focus
on the big picture leadership items. And hopefully we can look forward to more uh hilarious videos. >> Yes. Yes. >> Yeah, we do. Wonderful. >> Good point, >> Ollie. >> All right. Um yes, thank you for the presentation and always for your um
bubbliness. >> I appreciate that. Uh I agree with you, Steve. I it would be it would be fantastic if these things happened in a really nice linear pattern where we could have identified this in a budget cycle and all of that sort of stuff. Um I'm I'm going to come back to the
pillars again though. One of the pillars that we have is employee wellness and engagement, right? And one of the things that we learned over the last year is um giving the safe space to our employees regardless of the level that they're at
within the city to tell us when they need additional help and they need additional support because what they're being charged with is more than a single person can be expected to do in a long term process. Um and that's something that I think we learned in a very
difficult manner in another position and we have to open ourselves to the reality that um losing really good people due to burnout is not just a um reality of certain departments. It is a reality of
every department. and asking someone to both be the overseer of an entire department and then also be in the middle of the day-to-day minuscule aspects of that is not the best way to run that especially when we're talking about something that can come back and
give back into the community. Um so my thanks to you is is in collaboration with David to be able to have that open discussion and get to the point to say yeah this is not the best use of my time. and it's not the best use of my talents. And while we may or may not be
working through a way to forge through and figure this out without adding positions or changing things structurally, it's probably the smartest thing to do. Um, I am wholly supportive of finding balance in your position again so that you can
focus on the things that you not so shamelessly or shame. I'm not sure what the right turn of phrase is for that, but 25% growth since you've started is not dismissed. That that is huge and that is all money that comes back into and gets used in our community. So, as
an enterprise, it's great to see it obviously, you know, operate in um in a space where we're making money, but it's not just the city making money. It's about the city making money and turning that money into things for our residents. And so, very supportive of
that. Thank you for coming um and you know telling us what it is that you need so that this can be the best operation possible. >> Yes. >> I'll just add a little bit. Like I said, thank you for the positivity. Like I said, we talk a lot. I appreciate your
enthusiasm. Um you know, you you have a blurb in this budget impact part that we are an enterprise or you are an enterprise, right? This is somewhat independent from how we staff a lot of other departments where you kind of control your own destiny as an organization. So, you
know, if you say you needed to continue functioning and can see a profit stream from it, that's your decision to make as the person who watches the day-to-day obviously far more than us. If there's you're going to make the best financial decision uh for the benefit of what is your business effectively. So, I appreciate the uncomfortable ask. Um in
a perfect world, we would see it right in a budget cycle, but I mean, like I said, you're a store at the end of the day. It's it's hard, right? Especially with part-time. So, um I also am in support. So, I I appreciate it. With that, we'll look for a motion to approve the addition of two liquor store
clerks to municipal liquor operations, authorized staff to conduct the recruitment process, and amended the budget accordingly. >> Motion to approve. >> Second. >> Motion by Holly, second by Steve. All in favor say I. >> I. I. >> An approval. Have to sneak on item
11.4 here, which was is it 6.7? >> 69. >> 6.9. And I would look for a motion to approve the payment of claims as listed in item 6.9 of our consent agenda earlier. >> Motion to approve. >> Second.
>> Motion by. >> Motion by Jake. Second by Steve. All in favor say I. I. Staining. All right. All good. Item number 12, citizen comments. Comments are a time for anyone to address the city council on matters not
on the agenda. Comments from speakers must be informal in nature and may not exceed 5 minutes. The city council will not engage in discussion or debate in those five minutes, but will take the information and issue a response to those requiring one by the next council meeting. When you come up to the podium, state the city or township that you live
in. And as part of the protocol, it is unacceptable for any speaker to slander or engage in character assassination or discuss personnel complaints at a public council meeting. As such, speakers will not be allowed to identify city employees either by name or position or to identify any other person by name
during the public comment period. If one does, their comments will be deemed done. Please address your comments to the council as a whole. If decorum cannot be maintained during a speaker's time, the council will recess to allow decorum to be restored. Upon return from recess, citizen comments will resume
provided order can be maintained. If order cannot be restored, the meeting may be adjourned. Is there anyone who would like to speak tonight? >> Yes. >> I am Beth Abcus Moore, 19840 Chile Avenue in Empire.
I would like to talk about the data centers. This is about making uh making sure powerful, demanding uh damaging interests are not placed above public welfare. And I've got to say it must be difficult
for you sitting up there making decisions knowing that you can't please everyone. At one point, one of you said that we have to go with what some want but not others. I want to be as non-judgmental as
possible. I want to treat you all with dignity and compassion, but I also want to be authentic about what I see in the big picture. You know, how do you feel when the citizens have come up here time and time
again? You know, the global elite feel nothing and some elite are overseeing this data center as it's designed. They want us to fight each other. They usually li uh rise to the top of
society because they like power. The elite cannot be trusted. They exhibit the core traits of all psychopaths, superficial charm, grandiosity, and self-importance. They are known for lying, deception,
manipulation, and the inability to feel remorse or guilt. These are people pushing us towards data centers everywhere. They have disdain for people who display virtues of empathy, honesty,
compassion, and self-sacrifice. They live by the creed of me me. I try to understand people. Do you feel powerful or powerless in your situation?
I don't understand why you you've heard all the things that your fellow citizens have said and yet you haven't changed your mind. And I have a lot of questions. Is it about money that someone thinks
they will get? Is it something hidden in the non-disclosure? Some empty promise not written down? They want it their way. And we know big business and big corporations have no integrity. They have hurt communities across the
country. And behind each corporation lie elite pulling the strings. Are you caught in the middle? Who else is telling you not to help us? Do you value money over human well-being?
I am driven to end suffering where I can see it. I can't do everything but I can do something and that's why I speak today. I'm here on behalf of the ones who live close to the potential data site center data data center site.
We all understand the consequences for them. I can't imagine the stress they must be under. Your fellow citizens have told you the facts and the potential problems and these problems might extend to all of us.
We must come together and draw a line to keep the elite from ruining the cohesion we have built in this community. You are putting all of us at risk and potentially yourselves at risk as well.
You still have time to act and make different choices. I've heard about moratorum as a potential way to at least postpone so you can study more and find out if we do have the infrastructure for these data centers.
These are predatory agencies and I don't know why you can't see that. Stop ruining lives in the soontobe future. Since you won't listen to facts, perhaps I can appeal to your moral principles,
your conscience. Do any of you go to church? Can you imagine your fellow churchgoers or others in the community when they have consequences of dirty water, higher costs in a ruined environment? It is difficult to believe that we can't
rely on you, our neighbors, to protect us. And for what? again. Do you value profits over human well-being? Are you too proud to admit that you were wrong? That maybe you've been tricked
into the situation? Imagine instead what would happen if you do protect us, the appreciation from this community. True despair, and I believe a lot of people here feel that despair is powerlessness.
and resistance. Meaningful resistance is empowerment. It awards self-worth. It confers dignity. Resistance is the only option that allows us to use the word hope. >> Ma'am, we're at our five minutes. You have a close Are you close to the end?
>> Um just I pray for you. >> Thank you, >> Mayor. If we could grab the Sure. One second, Mr. H. Good evening everyone. Uh, been a while since I've been here. My name is
Dave Aken. Uh, I live in Castle Rock Township. I've been a Farmontonian for five generations in my family. Mayors uh county commissioners, policemen,
everything that we do here tonight. Uh I consider myself to be kind of a owie junior senior citizen these days. So uh be careful when you give me a pen, a podium, and some passion. This is going to sound quite disjointed because I
haven't been to a meeting for a while at the council. I'm fully involved in everything with the data center push back. But uh what I was going to say is I've taken a lot of notes tonight and there were some beautiful presentations by some of these city staffers I must
say and I do sense a different climate since I've been in a meeting and there's been some changes. So I appreciate all of that. Uh I'm not looking for any answers. I'm going to bounce around with my notes and things I saw tonight and saw but uh and
not necessarily push back. one of the earlier speakers who shall not be named when he talked about the Second Amendment rights. I'm a gun owner. I was brought up with guns. I got a permit. I love guns. I don't fully go all the
way down on the Second Amendment rights, though. And one thing I just wanted to push back on is I don't see any way that the Second Amendment is a God-given right. That's a proclamation by somebody else. It's not up to me to say it's a
God-given right or anybody else. And if we're talking about God, I doubt there was guns there. So, whatever. Uh, I heard the term values and vision. I didn't hear team Farmington yet tonight, but I did see an orange tie.
Uh, spot zoning. That's what I still think it is. I'd like to see some singleisssue bills at the legislature, not everything in the big ball of goo. Uh, somebody either on the council or
maybe it was a speaker said we should have had these conversations 10 years ago. Well, of course we should have had these conversations 10 years ago. We should had them 10 months ago, 10 days ago. Now, that's a convenient thing to say, but there is so much noise on the
data center issue right now that I don't know how anybody can possibly not be aware of it. And all we're asking is from some common sense guidelines. Uh, can't mention a name, but somebody said tonight that when we were talking about something else, how the state can
kind of control or help to control or do something about the water issues. But right here in the meeting I was sitting at, I heard after about a 45 minute presentation by tract that night that the city took action on allowing track to glom onto the city water per as a
partner. That was a local decision. That wasn't a state decision and that was a dang poor decision in my mind. You guys have rights and responsibilities and the responsibility kind of seems to be lacking at times.
And then we went into the uh Am I done? >> I think you're still good for a little bit. >> My clock's still at five. >> Yeah. Two minutes. >> All right. I'm just gonna keep going then. Uh it it's not going to be too much more. But uh I thought it was really
interesting when we're talking about the Arbor Day proclamation because three or four of the pages I heard read, you could just substitute the word data center for all of these things that are issues that we're so concerned with the trees except we're not concerned about bulldozing 320
acres. We're not concerned about wrecking the trout pond, the trout stream, the breeding area. We're not worried about taking out a city park that already exists. I mean, it it we kind of talk out both sides of our
mouth, I guess. But uh and then I haven't been here for a while, but I saw a couple on uh the recordings lately, but you guys are getting pretty good at throwing roses at employees and guest speakers. Well, you
throw the at the neighbors and the residents. And I'm sure it's not intentional, but it certainly appears that way. Uh John, no, not supposed to mention a name. Uh the representative from the
Dakota County uh Chamber, I was just wondering if you've been to the actual data center location that we're opposing with the spot zoning in the middle of the three neighborhoods and everything else. I said I wish that
>> I'm almost done. >> Okay, thank you. >> Elon the uh she who made the presentation who I shall not name. I wish her and Sean can't say Sean the uh detective
they show qualities, traits, character, good listener, beautiful presentations. I almost kind of got the impression you said a little too too much tonight for some of these people. I appreciate it because that's what we need. Honesty and transparency,
not shadow decisions driven by billionaires without citizen input. Thank you for your time. >> Thank you, Dave. >> I bet you'll start the timer now, Nate. uh Nate with uh city of far not I live in the city of Farmington. So um just
kind of a few things to uh to mention uh tonight. So there was a gentleman from the chamber who talked about uh Virginia and it's really important to me that we get our facts right. One of the very last things that the previous mayor went
on about was these half facts and these half-truths and we're just pulling data out of thin air. So that person who you commended and you you know you talked about and just what a wonderful thing that that was a half fact. Most of it was half fact, right? Well, Virginia's
got the largest center center of data centers. He's absolutely right. They do. But how many of them I'll ask you how many of them are over 700 megawws? My guess is none of you know, but there's not one. There's not a campus that exists currently in Virginia that
is over 700 megawatts. What type of zoning do that do those data centers sit on? Those data centers, some of them were grandfathered in. That's no longer as of 2025. Those data centers now sit in industrial zoned land. The entire time that I've been up here, the entire
time that I've been talking to you has been about the zoning and land use. It's so important that you got it wrong. using mixeduse commercial industrial is the wrong zoning for this piece of property for this data center project.
It should have been zoned industrial. By zoning it industrial then it would have triggered an EIS versus an AUR and that is a huge thank you. That is a that is a huge difference maker. So an
EIS looks at the impacts of one singular project and it is detailed. that says what is going to happen if you put this project in and AUR compared two different projects. If you recall the two projects compared in the AU AR one
was a residential which that property had always been zoned for since it came into the city of Farmington specifically the golf course property. The school property was not zoned yet until you brought it into the city of Farmington. You brought it in directly into an um to
a mixeduse commercial industrial. So, but the other one was zoned against for residential most of it. Yes, there was some commercial that was along County Road 50, but the vast majority of it and there was a park that was there. So, by
changing the zoning to mixuse commercial industrial, you skirted the issue of actually zoning the entire project industrial, which would have automatically triggered an EIS, which then you would have brought facts and actual figures to the things that the
previous mayor was. so so just adamant about that we bring facts we bring figures we bring actual things but he didn't call for that he called for an AUR that says well what are these two projects how do they compare against each other not so much exactly how does
this one project which in this case would be a data center how do how does that and what does that actually look like and I'm going to I'm going to say this again and I've said it before if you are so freaking confident that this project meets the AU or meets the meets
the standards for EIS, then require one. And you have that opportunity coming up in May when you renew this project. If it gets renewed, you have that opportunity to go back to the drawing table, to go back to the drawing board. You have that there to then start to
require an EIS. And that because these state agencies that you're relying on so much are simply relying on the AUAR. They're not relying on an impactful EIS study. you guys that that it's huge. It's the zoning. It's I don't know. I forget.
It's like, you know, whatever. Um the the the zoning side of this is the biggest thing. And again, we want to talk about halftruths. We want to talk about things that are that are factual. Then then I'm curious that person who came up here and said, "All these data centers provide so many jobs." On
average, they provide 0.5 to 1.2 jobs per kilowatt. And that's not per megawatt, excuse me. And that is not and that's after construction. The vast amount of jobs these these thousands of jobs only occurs during that construction phase. It is not a
long-term thousands of jobs. Most of these facility employ less than 40 people full-time and a vast majority of that is security. I'm curious how would you like it if I flew a a drone over your home in your backyard in the summer with your kids
out there playing? Anyone who property is up against that buffer up against that's what's going to happen. That's that is the security level. Most of those people who are employed by these data centers are security people because they're so secure and they have to be
secure which I completely understand. But if we're going to talk about facts, we're going to talk about figures, we're going to talk about those things and I think it's important I think it's very important that we actually that we actually use things. And I'm curious if that the gentleman back there, who is he
funded by, is it the electric company that's out to earn over $400 million by selling them electricity? Just curious. Thank you for your time. My name is Sarah Fry. I live in executive estates.
Um for two years uh members of the coalition for responsible data center development and now in partnership with the coalition for responsible data center development fund 501c4 and 501c3 respectively have been bringing you concerns regarding health and
well-being. We have mentioned environmental concerns of polluted water and polluted air from gas turbines or generators. had have mentioned the trout restocking and trout raising programs which have im been immensely popular
with the community and how the trout could be at serious risk if the water temperatures change from data center um water drainage but quality of life and the legacy of the trout restocking and education programs don't seem to be very
important to the council so I'm bringing up money clearly City Council and economic development believe that there will be an increase of some type of revenue. So I would like to remind you of the report published by Good Jobs First
regarding the report released in February 2026 by the state of Georgia. In fiscal year 2025, the sales tax losses felt by local governments were
2.5 billion. This was only sales tax. The actual losses felt statewide exceeded the estimate by 664% or 6.64 times the estimate. Virginia, we talking about Virginia today. Virginia
also saw a loss of 1.6 billion due to subsidies to data center developers. But if if we think that that's far away and not important, um let's look at Minnesota.
In 2024, the DNR received 22 complaints from well owners in the Elco New Market, Minnesota area who began to pump black city water from their wells following a 4-week test of of the city pumping 1.8 8
million gallons of water per day out of the aquifer as it began to work with Niagara Bottling Company. In 2024, the Minnesota DNR issued water appropriation a water appropriation permit, therefore making Elco responsible to remedy the
cause of failed wells and blackened water. The city of Farmington has agreed with track to provide municipal water for their project. The project estimate was 800 million gallons of water per year. So, let's do a little math. 800
million gallons divided by 365 days a year. That's 2.19 million gallons of water per day. More water than what Elk was doing in their test. According to census data, there are 507
households in Castle Rock Township. Is Farmington prepared to pay for costs or legal fees when the wells dry up for those residents? Even if half of the households are receive damages of say $10,000,
which doesn't even begin to bring the cost of replacing a well, you're looking at a cost of $2.5 million. Soon, people will be able to have their AI assistant on their device. They can have their cat videos. They can improve
their resumes, all of it, on their device. No cloud needed, only software. If we don't need the cloud to improve our lives, then why is the city of Farmington asking its residents to pay our money to improve the lives of
billionaires? Thank you. Hello, council members. Uh my name is Nikita Clan. Um live in Executive Estates. I would like to thank uh some of the council members for coming out to the Easter event that we've uh hosted.
That was nice to see the outreach. Um I didn't get to talk to you guys. That was partially my own doing, I guess. But um with that, um I'll try not to ramble. I actually try to write something down today.
Um, on the topic of data centers, um, the one word that constantly comes up is it's an emotional issue and, you know, it's polarizing, whatever. I would like to discourage us from simply referring
to that issue as emotional. Without the proper context, we must recognize from where that emotion comes from. The fact of the matter, the facts of the matter is what drives our emotion.
The fact that special interest groups drive uh this mindless development. The fact that despite citizens protest, the city has chosen to proceed with an unpopular project. The fact that utility
bills will probably go up. the fact that my property value will probably go down and that my property taxes will remain the same or keep going up. So, pardon me, but coloring this as just
an emotional issue does this word an injustice without proper context. It's kind of dismissive. So, at the end of the day, do we need data centers? Yes, I think we do.
The nature of technological advancement dictates that we need that. But I would like to point out that in the last 15 years, these so-called technology companies that have promised us conveniences and community and all of this stuff have
done nothing but increase depression rates among teenagers and adults. They've done nothing but create isolation and division among people. So, do we need technological advancement? Yes. But do we need that kind of
technological advancement? No. This type of thing does not belong in residential settings. So, thank you for your time. >> Thank you. Castle Rock Township Nancy Arstead. Tonight's talk, contrasting leadership
and bloodbath. If you have been paying attention across Minnesota, cities and lawmakers are slowing the status center industry down, asking harder questions and showing more caution. The chamber speaker who spoke earlier has made his support for
Farmington's data center clear, but there is nothing visionary or respectable about backing a project that places the burden on the very people that now unfortunately live next to it.
That is power protecting power. While using us, we bear the consequences. Stepping on some for the benefit of others is not just morally wrong. It is more just more failed leadership. He has
the privilege of not living on Bearing Avenue. In Egan, the city council passed a one-year moratorum on new data centers. In Apple Valley, the city council just denied a major proposed data center project. Monaceel moved to make projects go through a formal land
use process instead of sliding through using outdated codes. These cities choose caution. Farmington chose speed. You rushed this project through with tracks sending your staff anticipated schedules. And you shoved it between our
homes while ignoring the residents standing right in front of you begging you to slow down. That is the contrast. While other cities are pumping the brakes, you still have data centers sitting on the permitted use list right next to daycarees and health clubs. That
is the contrast. Right now in this legislative session, Minnesota lawmakers are trying to change things. One bill would create a moratorum on new data centers. Another would require at least two public hearings before approving data center reszones. One would ban local
governments from signing these NDAs that keep the public in the dark like us. Another would require data centers to get their own water use permit instead of piggybacking off city water like you are allowing track to do. If your process was so proper and
defensible, then why is there a push for more hearings, disclosure, more limits on NDAs, more water oversight and moratoriums? Is it the belief that you and your staff are smarter and more enlightened than these city leaders around us the and the
lawmakers who are pushing for fairness and transparency? There is the contrasting leadership. Is there any other city in the five-state region forcing a data center this large this close to established residential
homes? No, just you and track. Sometimes I lay awake at night and wonder whether you are truly proud of your of yourselves and your legacy. Is your staff proud of how they've handled themselves?
Is track proud? The CEO, Kristen Phil, Kristen and Phillip, are they proud of how this project looks, pressed up against people's homes like it is? Do other developers envy them or do they look down on them a little when they see that map? Is track proud of how quickly
they helped you move along the resoning and approval? Sadly, I think yes. I think all of you are very proud and when you talk amongst yourselves. Now, tract has started work on the land. You have released the lion into the
arena of the coliseum. You will be entertained. You will see us suffer. Unfortunately, once the lion is done with us, he's going to turn and he's going to jump up into the stands and he's going to take out way more people
than you ever expected. You may or may not be safe up there on your thrones. Do not extend the plat for tract in May. Amend the PUD. Vote in a moratorum. Fix your codes. Show us you are human.
The coalition is hosting a town hall on Tuesday, April 28th, 6:30 p.m. at the Farmington Public Library. Speakers Janelle Kushna and Vita Canet, residents of Elanu Market, will share what happened to their wells and water after a large water user Niagara came to town.
It is open to the public. Anyone is welcome. Please come and learn. Thank you. >> My name is Terry Pearson, 2475 225th Street West, Castle Rock. I have a children's story to share with you
tonight. It's called Water, Water Everywhere. Water makes so many things, the steamy song Kettle Sings. It makes rivers and seas and lets us skate in winter's freeze.
It makes frost, icicles, and snow, and give the boats place to go. It makes a place for us to swim and bathe our little babies in. It makes a fountain, sometimes tears and
gets us clean behind our ears. It makes steam that runs our trains. It feeds the flowers when it rains. It sparkles grass with shiny dew and water puts out fires, too.
Just the perfect stuff for fishes going waiting, washing dishes. It cleans our clothes. And my just think water's lovely just to drink. The copyright on this is 1953.
So for 73 years, water is still an important issue. And I urge you to prioritize humans and the environment over data centers because how well we live tomorrow depends on our decisions
today. >> Good evening. Thank you for letting me speak this evening. I am Denise May. I'm at 22 2265 Bearing Avenue. In less than one month, it will be two years since the public found out that the former Fountain Valley Golf Course had been
sold pending reszoning and approvals for the development of a technology park, a hypers scale data center. We've known for about two years. You have known for much longer because of NDAs. Why do you think the developer wanted
you to sign NDAs? They say it's so that competitors won't know what they are up to. But that strategy has proven that their project had significant progress toward approval before the public realized what was going on and can have a voice. Voices
you claim you want to hear. Voices you say help make your decisions. I'm not going to talk about all the facts. Many people at this podium have given you those facts many, many times over the past two years. You all know you know about all the
unbelievable amount of water that will be needed. You know our private wells will be affected. What about the city's water supply? You usually restrict wa lawn watering in the summer. You know about the construction noise we will
endure for years. You know about the 247 constant noise we will endure after construction stops. You know about the light pollution. You know these will we will lose property value. You know about what has happened and is
happening in other parts of the country. Yet knowing all of this has not made a difference to those of you on that side of the podium. What makes you think the problems and issues happening to other communities will not happen to Farmington? Let's not be naive. The
problems and lawsuits will happen just as they are right now in other parts of the country. After the developer is gone, the problems and lawsuits will be yours. You will be responsible and you will have the headaches, not the developers. Look at what is happening
right now in Elco New Market. It is not too late for you to change your mind. There is a reason why there is now a temporary moratorium against hyperscale data centers in Egan. There are bills being introduced at our state
legislature trying to do the same. Why developers are coming in to Minnesota at a fast pace. There needs to be time for more study to allow more time to determine the real impact of hypers scale data centers and decide what legislation would be needed to protect
our natural resources and the residents of Minnesota. You care about people. That is why you are serving the Farmington community. But you you care about all people, even the ones just beyond your borders, like me. I live in Castle Rock Township. I
share a property line with a developer. Any decisions you make for your official residents affect my neighborhood, too. A neighborhood that supports Farmington in many ways. For many, many months, I have thought about two things that you said
to us. First, we were told if we don't like what's happening, move. The second thing you say you make decisions based on what's best for the greater good of Farmington. I have heard you say that many times while saying you know there will be
losers. Those losers are Farmington residents and those just beyond your borders. Think about your family for a moment. Would you decide to do something you think best for your family knowing it will cause one of your children to suffer?
Of course not. Thank you. Thank you. I'm Mark Pearson from Castro Rock Township. Data center proposals are moving ahead quickly in Minnesota with over 20 potential sites across the state. If all of them are built, it would overwhelm
our electrical grid and strain our groundwater. The rateayer protections passed last legislative session have not been implemented yet at the public utilities commission and water permitting and environmental review changes have yet to be adopted. Put
simply, the proposals are moving faster than communities and the state can respond. The legislature should put a moratorium in place on new data center permitting and construction until protections are for electricity, water use, sighting, and environmental review are in place.
We're working very hard at that at the at the state level and the city of Farmington should do the same thing. Stop it now before it becomes impossible to stop. And I will quote one of my favorite TV characters right now, Commander Spock said, uh, one of the
tenants of the Federation of Planets is that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. In that case, I believe that's the the tack you've taken. It's not true because we don't need a data center. We need clean air. We need clean water and we need quiet
airwaves. Thank you for listening. >> Hi, I'm Carolyn Kefir and I never really um wanted to talk in front of people but u there I live on Alba Castle Rock Albatross Circle and my neighborhood is concerned about their wells and they think it's a lost cause. Farmington
doesn't care. What happens when my well dries up? What happens when my wellwater is no good? Do I need to spend $30,000 to dig a deeper one? Will Farmington bring me water if they have any left? And I know you can't answer my questions right here, but we
have a lot of questions about I mean the is there an environmental impact study? Do we even know what's going to happen? Have the proper studies been done? And I just hope that you would think about that. Thank you. >> Jeff Shler, executive Estates
Neighborhood Farmington. Um, I wrote a speech, but I won't read it. I'll email it to you for I had an interview with you guys earlier and and one of you expressed your concerns about how you felt about how I talked um and that you were maybe
insulted. I I I I want you to think about that for a little bit. Um think of how insulted I am or maybe just how stupid I am. Um was I so dumb to believe in residential?
Was I dumb to buy in a residential neighborhood in Farmington and not to expect to have the heaviest industrial thing that ever came to Farmington be placed next door to me? Am I that stupid? Is was that a mistake that I made? What did we do wrong? What did all these people do wrong buying in
residential? I didn't buy in residential on the corner of 535. Um I bought in residential surrounded by residential. What gives you the right to come in and impact us for some economic development? Are we tools and pawns? Is that all it
is? Um to for us to have to believe in the words that are written in the comp plan and to believe the words that come out of you guys is hard. It gets harder every day because nothing has changed. Nothing has changed. It's almost two
years into it. Tracked Kristen. Phillip, you here? Hey Graham, they're not here. It's two years straight. We're here every other chance there is asking for something to change.
Have you even asked them? Have you said, "Hey, we need 500 ft. We need 1,000 ft. We need generators. We need power put off site because we're not going to do it to our people. We're not going to subject them to that noise and that dust and that glare." Do you understand? And I know you've
driven by. I sure hope you have. I think I've asked you 15 times. Drive by Meta again at night and find a place in your neighborhoods for those lights, for the generators, for the fuel storage, for the employee parking, for the routes in and out for
the semis, for the material staging, for the cranes, for the transmission center. Remember, keep that one 50 ft from your house because that's what you're doing over there. It's a residential area. How does any resident in Farmington believe
a comp plan or believe zoning or want to follow your rules when you don't follow your own rules? This is residential. What you're putting next to it is the largest and heaviest deviation or separation from residential that Farmington has ever seen. Show me
another place in Dakota County where they have removed the residential zoning when surrounded by residential and put anything remotely close to this size there. Bring up an example and show it. Do you think that
the Kulk refinery was a neighborhood that's the next biggest thing to us? Meta is small compared to this. Do you think the coke refinery popped up in a neighborhood that they resoneed residential? Um, did they reszone Meta's land residential?
Did Canon Falls have to reszone residential land and make it fit? You ever hear the phrase, "If the shoe doesn't fit, you don't wear it." Any of you ever heard that? This doesn't fit there. Whether you can get them to accommodate it to a size that fits and
give some guarantees, what do you really know? How much water are they going to take? Can any of you pull out a piece of paper and say this is how much water they're using? Does that paper exist? Anybody? Did they give you a total of
how much water they'll use? Or did they just say up to 2.93 million gallons of water a day? But we're not going to tell you how much. Anybody know? We got to nod. Yes or no? Anybody here can even nod? No. Broken necks. You see what I'm
saying? How are we supposed to respect you guys? You don't answer simple questions like that. How are we supposed to listen to you and trust your words and and how are we supposed to listen? Trust the process. Give us time. We'll work on it. You don't work on water
usage and limits and placement of sound and buildings and lights after an approval. You do it ahead of time. You guys wouldn't let me buy a lot and say I'm going to buy a house without seeing some ideas of what we're doing. Um, why
doesn't that pertain to them? We're not tools and we're not ponds and the only thing in this city isn't about economic development. It's about people. You don't need economic developers. You don't need chambers of commerce. You don't need city councils if there aren't people.
Remember to respect your people. That's what we're here for. We're coming every other week. We've been here every other week. I was here today. I was here tonight. Be here the next time you have a meeting. be here this fall if I have to be along with the rest of these people. Um, we have rights too and
you're infringing on them and it seems to be recklessly and without care. So, I don't know how you can expect my words not to be offensive when you're physically threatening the health of my family, our abilities to
enjoy our residential property, people's water sources. How do you expect me to be respectful with that? Thank you, Jeff. Council. Um, my name is Dove Mitchell. I live in Executive Estates at 22280
Cameron Way and I um wasn't expecting to come here. I work as a teacher and then my son was supposed to have his first baseball game and it was canceled due to weather. So I got the opportunity even though I am part of a group that does
discuss this. Um so I was just hastily putting together some of my thoughts. um as I went through and I was sitting on the couch uh watching Sheriff Country and enjoying it and realizing, oh,
there's a meeting. I'm going to speak because I've been taught in my family that to speak means or to not speak means you're complicit and that is not something I wish to be. Um,
I did hear about how much more the Arbor Day gets than the residents of Farmington. Now, I moved here from Egan in 2019. I still have
many ties to Egan. Um, however, I do know that they do not want more data centers and that it is not put within residential areas and if it was near your home, you would also not want it
there. Um, if you're looking about growing Farmington, um, my daughter actually goes to St. Olaf and she wrote a paper on how to help Farmington and um the need for grocery stores was mentioned. I know that's probably come up many times.
However, um her idea was in a co-op and she put together how that could come about um to create revenue and things that the Farmington residents actually need instead of going into Rosemont, Lakeville or Northfield for our
groceries. Um, I think about my animal who is very sensitive to noise myself. I got a lot that actually has a preserve behind it. And then you have the row of homes and then the golf course
and I think of the effect on that land and the different people around me. And I also know as a teacher who works with middle and high schoolers that I make a lot of mistakes and I have
to admit those mistakes all the time, you know, and how to get made fun of very easily. It's very, you know, very nice to do that um sometimes. But, uh, I wish that you guys could look at it
and think about it and say, "Hey, I've made a mistake. Maybe we need to come revisit this. Maybe talk to us. Come into our neighborhood. I didn't know you guys were at the egg hunt. Actually, my house is right there. My kids are um I have a senior in high school and then a
college student, so they're they're not they're past the age of finding the Easter eggs. Um unless there's money involved. Um truth. Um, I am also a member of my school board
and we have to make hard decisions all the time. We make them in staffing and budgets and all of those things. And so, but one thing we never do is we never say, well, it will benefit these
students and not these, so let's do it. We are always coming up with a solution that's going to benefit every student in our community, no matter what. And so that is what I am hoping that you guys can come together and reconsider to do is to find a solution, something that
we can all come together on and agree on that will benefit everyone in this room. Um, and my boss always says, don't just say no to an idea, but give another one or
come together to find another solution. So I am willing to work with anyone on another solution. Um I'm you know of average intelligence. Um I did make it through college and got my masters but uh that took me a long road
and um so I am willing to come together with residents and whoever is willing to work but know that I will fight for my family, my home, my other neighbors. um and
what's best for all of the Farmington residents. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Anybody else tonight? >> Hi, I'm Tiffany Ryan. live in executive estates. I've been coming for the last two years and all of these people say, "When are you gonna speak?" And I just
keep saying, "You guys are doing great." Um, this is not my forte. But a quote I live by and a quote that I really think is something you need to hear spoke um came from Maya Angelo and she says, "Do the best you can until you know better.
Then when you know better, do better." I think when you started learning about this project, you did do the best you could. You thought you were given the proper information. You thought you had all of the facts. Clearly, in the last two years, that is not the case. And all
we are asking for at this point is you know better now. Please do better. Thank you. Last call. All right. Round table. Amy.
>> Good evening, mayor and members of the council. I don't have a report tonight. >> I have nothing tonight, mayor. >> Okay. I just want to thank the 13 applicants that we had that we got to meet with earlier today for the vacant city
council position. Thank them all for the applying. Thank them for their feedback and their interest in serving our community. >> Steve, I have no comments. Thank you, >> Lyn. >> Thank you, Mayor and Council. I have a
few comments tonight. Um, first of all, I want to say congratulations to Sean Scoville. He is a great asset to the city of Farmington and he has protected and served the city and its residents and we're grateful for that and we wish
him well in his retirement. And also thank you council for adding the communications and public affairs manager position. This is a game changer for us. Um, and David, thank you for covering because that's a lot added onto
your plate. And we hear a lot about transparency and um, this this is going to help us because we need to do better. I always say there's room for improvement and this is going to help us get out there and uh, communicate and tell the story
and for people to um, learn about what's going on. The last thing I want to discuss is I just received a letter from tract and I wanted to share it because it will answer some of the questions that we received during the public
comment tonight. Um we received a letter and it is in regards to release release of city employees from the October 2023 non-disclosure agreement. And um we're going to put this letter on our website
under the project information that we have. I think it's really important for people to go out and read it in its entirety. But I I do want to read um some of the comments that were made in the letter tonight. Not in its all entirety, but a few of them. So forgive
me for reading to you. But um at this time of track's initial outreach to Farmington city staff in 2023, there were multiple parties actively interested in the property that tracked al ultimately purchased for development in the farming technology park because
we were in early stage discussions relating to its site selection including our evaluation of the city's experience and resources to serve the plan development. Um, tracks request requested that certain city employees execute NDAs to
protect tracks competitive position and securing the site for the farming technology park. Um, and I'm going to skip down here. It says, "These NDAs were meant only to protect tracks um from competing developers in relation to property
acquisition, not to shield potential pro uh project related information from the residents of the Farmington community. Track has now executed contracts with the seller of those properties. Thus the NDAs are served have served their
limited purpose of facilitating track sharing of its confidential and pri proprietary information namely tracks pricing infrastructure business plan information with key city staff members and active and competitive process and
it does list the five staff members that had signed the NDAs that are released. Um there is no city council member that signed NDAs for tract. Um I also wanted to mention in the bottom of the letter in spirit of
transparency tract has created a website containing information describing project plans. Um this website has um been identified. I'm going to say it out loud so you can write it down. It's also going to be in the letter and then we'll
make sure we'll have it in the minutes. But it is um mn for Minnesota, lccoarington.com. And what they do is they have on this website a lot of the questions and answers that people have been asking
about this proposed upcoming uh technology park. And one of the things I just wanted to mention that I noticed as I was reviewing it um tonight, somebody asked us, can you tell us how much water tract is going to use? And I'm going to
tell you what's on the website, but I strongly encourage everybody to go through and look through it. Um it says the entire campus is expected to use 50 million gallons per year or 137,000
gallons per day. Okay. So that is um of water during full operations assuming a direct evaporation cooling system. This is roughly the same amount of water that is appropriated under the two existing well permits on the property to irrigate
the old golf course and the agricultural land. The city of Farmington has 1 billion gallons per year of permitted groundwater appropriations from the DNR and is pumping 700 to 835 million gallons per year. Based on the current
DNR appropriation permit held by the city, the water usage for the project would adversely affect the demand of the priority prairie dashene and Jordan aquifer. So they also mentioned that the two properties have uh water permits
already on them that is equivalent to what they're asking to use. So there is additional information. Um, I strongly encourage you to go out and look at it. If you have questions about the information that is on the website in the letter, they also say that you can
email connect.com and that's where um you can send them an email and they'll be able to answer what is on the website and what they're proposing on this. And again, the website is mn
I'm sorry, mnccoington.com. Thank you. >> Thank you, Lynn. Shirley, >> no report tonight. Thank you. >> All right, David. >> Uh, just a couple things. Um, first of all, we hate it when we lose uh great members of team Farmington, but we love
it when we get an opportunity to celebrate careers well done um and uh applaud people and and and cheer people on into retirement. So again, I want to thank Shawn uh for a career well done and his service to Farmington and wish him the best in retirement and into his
next endeavors. On April 20th, we'll have three more retirements um from team Farmington to celebrate. Um one of them you know will be Shirley. Um as uh if you didn't realize, tonight is actually her last regular council meeting as
clerk. Sorry, it's gone mounting you as Melissa G will take over as clerk on April 20th with Shirley officially retiring on the 23rd. So Shirley will still be here on the 20th. Um but Melissa will be officially uh taking over the duties of clerk that day. Also,
uh payroll specialist Patty Ridley will be retiring on May 1st. So, tonight on the consent agenda, you did approve the hiring of uh Corey Corey Blowvelt as our new payroll specialist. Uh she'll begin with the city on April 27th.
Um and that is all I have this evening. Thank you, >> David Deanna. >> Thank you, Mayor and Council. No report tonight. >> You John. >> Thank you, Mayor and Council members. Uh we started our spring hydrant flushing today. It'll continue through this week
and through next week. The dates uh which various geographic areas are flushed is up on the website. So, I encourage people to go to the city website and if they have any questions, uh they should be answered there. Thank you. >> Thank you.
>> Uh good evening, mayor and councel. On tonight's consent agenda, you approved five donations to the parks and recreation department. So, I want to thank those individuals and businesses for their uh very generous donations to the department. And also, um, April is National Volunteer Month. So, I want to
thank all the volunteers who make the park and recck department go. We couldn't do it without our Rambling River Center volunteers, our park, uh, adopters and cleanupers, um, our volunteer coaches. So, thank you to all those volunteers who contribute their their time to to the great park system
we have. Thank you, Chief. Uh first, thank you to everybody's warm words for uh Detective Scoville. Uh that's not something we've done in the past uh for anything uh below command staff at the police department, but it was David recommended that we start
doing that and I think it's uh it's great and I know he appreciated it. Um also, thank you for the approval of CSO Claire Kennedy being promoted to officer. She starts next Monday. And finally, we are still uh we still
have our position open uh for application, our police officer position. We haven't had one open since um May of 2025, an open position. And just to give you a reference of uh the market right now for officers, uh the
last three postings that we've had for for uh hiring police officers, we had a total of 24 applicants uh in those three postings total. Uh, as of this afternoon, we're up to 30 applicants for this posting. So, the market's looking a lot better. It's improving. We're doing
doing good. >> That's all I have. >> You'll have to forgive me. It's been about 10 hours now. I don't have a lot of words left, but um, thank you, John, for purposely timing the fire hydrants in my neighborhood to be right when I was taking a shower today. It's really cutting it close.
>> Mr. Mayor, it's not personal. >> I trust you on that. >> It's completely random. Um, Nate, your speeches are getting a lot better. I like I like the uh the touching speech about Sean there. That was great. Um, I said I think we've kind of said enough about him, but I couldn't be happier for people that make it all the way to the
finish line. Um, obviously what Lynn said is hopefully big news. Hopefully it gives us something to kind of go and look at what the next step looks like and start seeing with a little more clarity what might be coming in the future. I I like I said, I still hope that this is some
sort of uh cathartic for you to come up and speak. I'll listen to you all day long. I'll come to you, talk to you. I'll come listen to you as best I can, as best as my schedule can. That's one thing I do want to try and strive to do is at least hear you and feel listened to. Even if we do continue to disagree,
I want you to feel listened to and feel heard. That's one thing I do have in my power to change through all of this. So, I'll keep doing my best. Um, thank you to those 13 applicants who did want to raise their hand and step forward. I I think I told all of them today and they all got sick of hearing me say it like
we have to kind of say no to 12 people and yes to only one. I hope that those other 12 people realize the impact that they make by at least making their opinion known, showing up as champions for their community and saying, "I want to help. I want to be part of this. I want to help guide the decisions."
Whether you're up here or not, you guys can do that, you know, to the best of your ability. You don't have to be up here to be a champion for Farmington. So, keep talking, keep keep being present, keep being involved, and I appreciate everything you guys are doing. So, with that, I'll look for a
motion to adjurnn. >> Motion. >> Second. >> Motion by Steve, second by Holly. All in favor say I. >> I. >> I. We're adjourned at 9:33.