All right, everyone. It is August 25th, 2025. It's 5:30 p.m. I am Mayor Shelley Carlson. The Morhead City Council welcomes public input on issues listed on the agenda or of general community interest, time, and council permitting. Speakers are limited to three minutes each. If you'd like to address the
council during the meeting, you'll need to fill out a form provided by our city clerk and we will call you up during the citizens to address the council portion of the agenda. You'll need to state your name and if you are Morhead resident. If comments were submitted to the clerk prior to the meeting via email or phone. Those comments will be entered into
record. For more information on participation, please visit the council meetings page on the city of Morhead website at morheadmn.gov. We the Morhead city council collectively and with gratitude acknowledge the sacred land the city of Morhead is built upon. We acknowledge the people who have resided here for generations and recognize that the spirit of the Dakota
Ojiway Mati and all indigenous communities permeate or permeates this land. Um and could I get a roll call please? Ryan Nelson here. Nicole Matson here. Heather Nissmeer here. Emily Moore here. Deb White. Lisa Borggan here.
Sebastian McDougall here. Chuck Hendrickson here. Mayor Shelley Carlson here. And for those who are able, please stand for the pledge of allegiance. Right. And city man, do we have any agenda amendments? We have there are no amendments to the agenda tonight, mayor. All right. Thank you. Um, could I get a
motion to approve the consent agenda? So, move Nissa Meyer. Second. Motion and a second. Any discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying I. I. I. Uh, any opposed? That motion carries. Right. We have a number of presentations and recognitions tonight. The first is
we will be doing a swearing in and o office for our new assistant chief Bill Alfett. Uh oh, there you are. I was looking for you over there. Um so first I'll call up Chief Helmick and I'll make way over there. Good evening, mayor, council members. Uh
tonight I'm pretty excited to be able to introduce to you our new assistant chief. Uh, Bill Offeltz had previously served at the Park Police Department for over 23 years. Uh, during that time he served a lot of roles. Uh, he was a patrol officer, police training officer,
investigator, patrol sergeant, professional standard sergeant, patrol lieutenant, captive investigations, did a few things. Um, he's also a member of the peer support team for Fargo for over 20 years. Uh, served as on the, uh, Red River Valley SWAT team for over 20 years
as well. also served as the commander for over seven years of that team. Uh and because of that service, he received the special operations training association's lifetime achievement award in 2023. A couple of things to note about uh Bill was that he was instrumental in starting
the community engagement team at the Fargo Police Department. Um he also established the first time realtime crime center in North Dakota very recently. Uh he's a graduate of NDSU and also a graduate of the Northwestern School of Police Staff and Command class 398.
On a personal level, Bill and I were sworn in together at Fargo Police Department uh on December 19th, 2001. Seems like a long time ago, was a long time ago. Um and since then, we've been through quite a bit together in our careers. Uh we kind of latched on to
each other and worked together on patrol quite often. and been through some other critical incidents and other events at Fargo PD together and uh I'm really excited to bring him on board with the Morhead Police Department. I think that he's going to be a great fit with our our department and our community. A
couple things about Bill is that he values relationships not only inside the department but also outside the department in the community. Um he's also very a big believer in inclusive and transparent leadership and community engagement.
Um, I value his knowledge and his is his his experience and I think we're going to be a strong team for the department and for the community and u I'm also proud to call him a friend. So with that, I'm going to introduce to you Assistant Chief Bill Offelt.
I'll just do this. And why don't we do this so that everybody can hear you. So, um, you want to raise your right hand. I, and then state your name. I, Bill Offel, do solemnly swear solemnly swear that I will support and comply that I will support and comply with the Constitution of the United
States of America. the Constitution of the United States of America. The Constitution, laws of the state of Minnesota, constitutional laws of the state of Minnesota, the charter, laws, and ordinances of the city of Morhead, the charter, laws, and ordinances of the city of the policies and procedures of the Morhead Police Department, the policies and procedures of the
department and the law enforcement of ethics and the law enforcement code of ethics, and that I will faithfully discharge faithfully discharge the duties as a police officer the duties as a police officer to the best of my ability. to the best of my ability. I further pledge that on my honor further pledge that on my honor
I will never bet bet bet bet bet bet bet bet bet bet bet bet bet bet bet bet bet bet bet bet betray my badge betray my badge my integrity integrity my character my character or the public trust public I will always have the courage to hold myself I will always have the courage to hold myself and others accountable for our actions and others accountable for our
I will always uphold my community I will always uphold my community and the agency the agency I which is now the Morhead Police Department Congratulations I got it. Thank you. Congratulations. All right, I'll uh I'll keep this brief.
Uh just appreciate the opportunity uh for the ability to come here and work in the city more as your assistant chief. Um started today. I have a lot to learn about the city and how the city works and about everyone at the agency, but I'm fully committed obviously to to
doing that and uh looking at how uh how I'll fit in the city and and what we can do uh as a team uh Chief Elmik to uh to make the Morhead Police Department uh even better than what it is today and uh work with the members of that agency to do that. So, I'll keep it brief. I
really appreciate the opportunity and look forward to working with you all uh in the years to come. Thank you very much. So, Deputy Chief, Ala, I had an opportunity to visit with your dad who is sitting over there um and his wife
and your dad told me that you started wearing a police badge when you were three years old. So, um, obviously this has been a lifelong career for you and I know your wife is here as well. So, and and several members of our police department. So, we are excited to have
you on board and really excited that you said yes and look forward to both yours and Chief Pelnik's leadership. All right. Uh, moving on to the loop sponsorship recognition. I'll turn this over to Miss Lisa Bod.
Well, good evening um members of the city council. We are here to thank one of the major sponsors of the loop. The Morehead Public Library and Community Center and the con uh the visit Fargo Morehead the Convention and Visitors
Bureau has made a contribution of $150,000 to sponsor the uh presentation hall within the library community center. and we're here with Charlie Johnson tonight
representing the CBB who is also soon to retire. So, this is an opportunity to give him a real thanks and this is a really sweet way for him to um show his um his contributions to Morehead. So, I thought it was well worthy of a thank
you for Charlie tonight and the CBB for the amazing work that they do within Morehead and the surrounding area. So with that, Mayor Carlson, you want to
for a photo opportunity? Sure. Thank you very much. We appreciate this uh recognition. We're always happy to help out uh all three cities and of course since I live in Morhead, I'm always happy to help Morehead out with a with a grant and we've had a few opportunities to do that during my tenure. 13 years at Visit Fargo
Morehead. soon to come to an end except for a little part-time work, a little thing about a convention center that we hope to get picked out by uh maybe first quarter. Uh but uh it's rapidly coming to a close. It's been a great adventure and it's uh I I think I can speak on
behalf of our board and staff when I say we love to be able to give money away to worthy projects in the community that help bring visitors here. Not just visitors, but residents as well. And we always uh we've been very involved in workforce uh efforts over the last uh 13
years that I've been here and we firmly believe that the same things that we sell to people as reasons to come visit us are the things that might attract them to come and live with us too. So and take jobs here and fill some of those many open jobs that we have. So obviously the community center and library the loop is a great example of
that and we're happy to help. So thank you for the recognition. Thank you so much, Charlie, um, for that generous donation. We're always seeking donations for the Community Center Library. So, if you too would like to donate, feel free. Um, but we really truly believe that the community center
library will be not just a tourist destination like you said. Um, I think of all the people that are in town for tournaments. There was a there's a huge hockey tournament just this weekend and I kept thinking of the the folks that are from out of town um in the wintertime, they'll be able to have somewhere to go and hang out. Kids can
play. They'll be able to walk, just read a book, whatever. Um, but it's it's going to be um such a great amenity also for the people that are living here. So, um, next presentation. This is another exciting one. I feel like, um, with three, sorry, hockey theme, getting a
hat trick here, but a presentation from Chris Hogan in regards to a bond sale. So, Chris, I think you're here in person um, and drove up from the cities to be able to present to us this evening. So, it's really exciting. So, turn it over
to you. Thank you, mayor, and members of the council. I have a presentation that Good evening. Um Chris Hogan here from Baker Tilly serving the uh city as their municipal advisor here to present the results of the city's bond sale earlier
this morning. Um so the city sold two series of bonds. They sold 11,560,000 general obligation temporary improvement bonds series 2025A. Proceeds of those bonds are going to be used to finance improvements related to
the city's mall redevelopment in anticipation of a long-term financing uh fund to capitalize interest and pay the cost of issuance. The repayment term of the temporary bonds is three years. It has a three uh shortterm um redemption on September 1, 2026.
Interest payments are paid with capitalized interest that was bonded for. The other issue the city sold this morning was their 16,575,000 general obligation improvement and wastewater refunding bond series 2025B.
Proceeds of the series 2025B bonds will be used to finance various 24 and 25 improvement projects. Uh refund the city's general obligation wastewater sorry something came up on the screen. uh wastewater revenue bond series 2014A
and pay the cost of issuance. The refunding of the series 2020 2014A bonds is being undertaken to provide debt service relief for four years and to provide interest cost savings. Debt service will be paid with a combination of general advalorum taxes, special
assessments and net revenues of the wastewater treatment fund. The debt will be repaid over terms of eight eight years for the refunding and the improvements are repaid over 20 years with the assessments over 20 and 25 years. So the pricing on the general obligation
temporary bond series 2025A as of mid July we were seeing a market we are estimating a market uh true interest cost of 3.984. Um, based on last week's, we always update shortly before the sale based on the current interest rate environment.
We were projecting a true interest cost estimate of 3.7 and actual results today were 3.24. There was three biders for the temporary bonds. As you can see, Oppenheimer was the lowest bid at the 3.24 and then
there was Robert Baird and Piper Sandley Sandler. Uh this is a snapshot of the pricing which shows that the bonds were marketed at 11,4560,000. It was bid with a premium meaning there was additional proceeds generated from the pricing. We were able to use that
premium to downsize the issue size. The series 2025B uh as of mid July we were estimating a true interest cost of 4.172. As of last week our estimate was 4.05. Our actual results today came in at 3.89.
There was this is a list of biders. As you can see, there was really great um interest in the bonds. There was 11 biders. The lowest was Janie Montgomery Scott at 3.889 and this is a snapshot of that pricing. So, this pricing was generated
um premium 1.283 million. uh we used that premium to reduce the issue size. Uh had 150,000 more of proceeds for some of the improvements. Um one of the really things that um really good things I wanted to point out is the refunding
ended up with a net present value benefit of 223,000. Um and so not only were you be able to restructure the bonds, but there was significant savings by doing that refunding. So part of a a public sale is you get
the bonds rated. So we went through a rating process. Um Moody's assigned a rating of MIG one. That's just a short-term financing. It's equivalent to the double A2 long-term financing that was given on the 2025B bonds. Um bonds
are rated for a number of reasons, but basically it's a measure of the city's financial strength and the ability to repay the bonds. The debt serves as an independent third-party assessment. It supplements investor due diligence and the stronger the rating the lower the interest cost and the lower cost of
borrowing. So Moody's provides a credit report and I always like to highlight a few things from that report. So they identified a few of the credit strengths they identified with strong financial position growing and diverse local economy serving as a regional economic
hub manageable leverage even with plan borrowing over the next year will remain moderate compared to revenue local rate setting authority and that's referred to uh Morhead public service and strong liquid liquidity and again that was a reference to Morhead public service
factors they identify for an upgrade would be strengthening of resident income ratio, significant decline in long-term liabilities, increased diversification of general of generation. Again, that's related to Morehead public service. Factors that
could lead to a downgrade would be a decline in fund balance, an increase in overall leverage, and materially reduced liquidity. I am recommending that the council approve the resolution awarding the 11,320,000 general obligation temporary improvement
bond series 2025A the Oppenheimer and company based on their low low bid of 3.241 241 and approving the resolution awarding the 16,220,000 general obligation improvement and wastewater refunding bond series 2025B
to Janie Montgomery Scott based on their low bid of 3.889 and I'm happy to take any questions. Thank you. Any questions from council? No questions. This is excellent news. um
to be able to close um at this rate and have the this many entities um vying for our bid. Um if there aren't any questions, we can skip to 18A. Um and I
would be looking for a motion to approve 18A. And I believe that we can take 18A and 18B together. So moved. Mayor, I would actually take them separately. Just separate to do with separate issues. Okay. All right. So,
to approve 18A for vote. Second. There's a motion and a second. Again, any discussion or questions? Seeing none, all those in favor of approving 18A
signify by saying I. I. Any opposed? That motion carries. I'm now looking for a motion to approve 18B. So moved. Second. Motion and a second. Any discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor signify
by saying I. I. Any opposed? That motion carries as well. Thank you, Miss Hogan, for coming up um driving to the cities to deliver this great news in person. I'm really excited about this, particularly the the savings, too. All right. Uh the next is
a presentation by Metrocog on the 20th Street and I94 interstate or interchange study. I will turn this over to Dan Farnsworth. Thank you, Mayor and members of the council. We have a presentation. We'll try to keep it to uh 10 or 15 minutes.
So, we try not to go too long, but just want to let you know about this study that has been ongoing for the last few years and we're just wrapping it up and want to present it to you. So this is the Morehead I 94 and 20th Street interchange study that has been going on. We um I have WDE Frank here as well.
He's with the Stantech who we consulted with for this study. So I'll just start with that first slide. Um as some of you all of you know the interchange of I 94 and 20th Street is a partial interchange. So it only has ramps to and from the west and that can
pose some challenges um for getting on and off um in different directions. And so we got asked by the city of Morehead to take a look at this and do this study and so we contracted with them as well. Um and so there are a number of constraints in this area as you can see on the map. Uh both property constraints
and infrastructure constraints. So there's that. The main thing is you have that railroad just a little bit to the east of that um 20th Street. Um there was a study done in 2008 which included this interchange and the A Street. Um but further study needed to be done to
take a look at this interchange and um so the part of this uh study is to look at the feasibility and um of having ramps to and from the east and working with the railroad tracks and the all the constraints in that area. So here's a study area. You can see in that um green
blue scion I guess would be the correct color is um really the study area that we looked at. But then we also zoomed out to include the other interchanges in the area to see how traffic could be affected or relieved in those other interchanges if a full interchange were to be constructed here.
Um we had a study review committee that met four times who guided this study. And so, um, as part of that study view committee, we had, uh, staff from Metrocog, City of Morehead, Minnesota Department of Transportation, the Federal Highway Administration, um, North Dakota Department of
Transportation because they're our oversight agency, and then the consultant team, Stantech. And so, um, they helped guide this study as we went through it all. And then there was public engagement, which is always important with our studies. And so we had one public engagement meeting back
in September of uh 2023. And I will mention this study kicked off in 2023 in case you're curious. Um we had about 25 people in attendance which is pretty um normal for a study like this. Um a lot of folks from that general area. Um and
so 17% this is just an initial um uh meeting that we had. 17% um showed that they favored seeing a full interchange there. Uh four people uh didn't really see a benefit. So you can see the majority did find it beneficial to have a full interchange. And then um some
other key key themes at this particular meeting were things like there was a little bit of confusion that we heard from the public about going northbound on 20th Street um might have been the um because sometimes that lane drops on the left lane turns into a left turn lane. So we heard that from the public as well
and we'll talk about some solutions to that um later in this uh presentation. And then also just um what other con connectivity could be done between 20th Street and 34th Street. We heard from the public. There was also online engagement too which reflected a lot of what we heard here in the meeting. Um
and then there was a second public input meeting later on in the study and Wade will talk about that a little bit later. We also had stakeholder uh meetings. We had two different meetings, two different groups based on what their um on the kind of the the group that we
had. So we called the first group the um um let's see they were more of the schools and the um church and and all that. So um and then the second group was more the business group and so you can see there we had Triumph Lutheran Church, Morehead Fire Department,
Morhead public schools, Morhead public service, MState, MSUMM and Matt Bus on that first group and second group was Macrosource who used to be Gavlon um fertilizer Ken sanitation the chamber uh BNSS and Anheiser Bush. And so we walked
through the um we asked um how they use that interchange today, how it could be used better in the future. Uh do they have plans for expanding? That's important too because a lot of them are property owners in that area. And then we went over the initial um alternatives with them for that interchange. Uh some of the themes that we heard um maybe I
don't need to go through too much of them just to save time, but um you can see that um the the church was um just didn't want to see the ramps any closer to their property was one of the things we heard. Um and then um MState, they're a big one. They're a huge one. And so
they were concerned about any loss of parking, but at the same time, they did want to work with us as well. And then over there with um Macro Source used to be Gavlon. Um there was an alternative and we'll show it um where it loops a little bit to the north of their property. Um they had a few
concerns about that. Ken Sanitation wanted to make sure that we still maintain their access to 28th um Avenue. And then BNSF um just mentioned that they would likely be able to work with us, but uh noted there would be some pretty big construction costs with um making redoing their bridge in that
location over the interstate. So I will hand it over to Wade here. Okay. So the uh alternative development process um consisted of starting off at a high level with an internal tool that we have at our company called the highway interchange tool that looks at kind of the the wide universe of
interchanges. and we just kind of narrowed it down from there. Um, and basically the the goal of the study was to try to identify two feasible alternatives that could be constructed at this location. Um, Dan just kind of talked about some of the constraints and and again the big one is is the railroad
mainly because it's not it's not as simple as just adding ramps on the east side because you can't cross over um a railroad track with with interstate ramps. It's just not not allowed. um that and if we add ramps that have additional lanes on the interstate um
the railroad bridge that's there the the pier is too close to the to the road so you'd have to replace that bridge. So that's why we we were concerned about replacing that bridge. So again with this highway interchange tool we put in project specific information. It generates a score based on safety and cost and some other things
of all the different interchanges basically that are available. And what our initial analysis showed, there was about 15 different interchange configurations that had a a pretty decent score. And we narrowed it down from there down to five that we could study in more detail that were actually,
you know, confirmed as as good fits for the site. So that was the kind of the the crux of the of the process. So the five interchange alternatives basically with that constraint of the of the railroad brid track there, you can accomplish crossing that two ways.
either go up and over everything or put everything on the west side of the interchange away from the from the tracks. We had three elevated alternatives and then two where everything is on the west side. And we have graphics for each of these. I don't know that we want to get into too much
detail with them. Um but basically the first one was an elevated diverging diamond which would be similar to the eighth street interchange. It would operate the same way just be up in the air so that you could have bridges over the railroad track. Um, as Dan talked about, we had we showed a um rerouting
28th Avenue on the east side of the interchange to to tie in up at 24th to maintain some access to to 20th Street. And as he said, what we found is that that's not feasible because the railroad track switch mechanism is right there. And so you can't have a crossing there.
So, um, we'll talk later about how we we worked with that. Um, so then, um, the other two elevated alternatives are similar. This is a kind of a conventional diamond shaped interchange which again would be elevated, similar impacts and things like that. And then
we did a bit of a hybrid here trying to find a way that maybe the interchange could be built um and kept open during construction. So this one would actually have three different levels. The interstate level, the 20th street level, and then above that um to try to make make that work or just to be able to
answer the question of what would it take to keep the interchange open during construction. So that um concludes the um elevated ones. And now the the other two, this one is was identified by the the initial analysis that we did and it's called the single quadrant because
most three of the four ramps would be on the south side. And what you can see there on the north side is to accommodate traffic going westbound and wanting to get off at 20th, you would actually go up and go on a loop and go
over the top of I94 and back around to the other side. And um like I said that that's that was one of the interchange types that our our initial analysis identified. It's also an interchange that's been done in Minnesota. Um it's in the Twin Cities near 494. So MDOT has experience with it
and and has seen it work before. Um similar impact on the 28th Avenue on the west side. It would it would cut off access. But um yeah, similar stuff here. Then this is the most conventional of the options that we
looked at. This is a partial clover leaf where we're simply adding loop ramps to to accommodate those new movements. And um so basically we went through all of those did some some high level cost estimates did some kind of comparing them to some some um screening criteria
and and basically what we came to is we met with the study review committee me study review committee and they ruled out the first three alternatives for for you know fairly obvious reasons. that were very costly and potentially impactful. They were very supportive of alternative five, the partial clover
leaf. A little bit hesitant on um number four, the uh single quadrant just because it was a little bit less conventional design. Um, so what we did then was trying to think about how to maintain
the connection with 28th Avenue because in the meantime, Anheiser Bush had announced that they were closing their facility and city staff, you know, brought it to our attention that that's probably going to result in a lot more traffic in the area at 20th and wanting to maintain the connection between 28th
and and 20th. So we did a little brainstorming and kind of went back and looked at those two alternatives four and five to see if there was a way that we could maintain a connection between 28th and 20th. And so this one um the single quadrant we we modified this a
little bit and what you'll see on the on the north side there is I guess it's kind of called like a scissor geometry scissor configuration but it's very similar to if you're familiar with Fargo 13th Avenue and I29. And if you're going to go north on I29, you can turn to go on the ramp or you can get onto the
front edge road. And that's what this is doing. So it's it's a a design that's been done in the area and it allows us to keep a connection between 28th, a full access connection between 28th and 20th. And then for the partial clover leaf, there's just no way to do something like that without physically
impacting the MState building. So what we did there was rerouted 28th on the west side um which would require relocating a business and then on the east side it would require putting in a north south connection on the west side of Mstate's property. So it wouldn't be
you know as direct as the other alternative but it would be a way to keep a roadway connection between 28th and 20th. And so once we did that, we went out for our second public input meeting, presented those alternatives, and we had some online engagement as well. And as you can see there,
basically most people are in favor of a full interchange. Um, both alternatives were were viewed as acceptable from from those that commented. Um, the 28th uh connection that I just talked about on the west side of MState, that maybe was a little little less positive. Um, but
there were some people that were unsure about that. And um again like Dan was saying, there was comments about confusion and and some of those kind of things in the area as well. So after we got all that information, we put together our draft report which was reviewed by the the study review
committee meeting. Then we um made that available for public comment and now basically where we're at is um presenting to you and then next month presenting to Metrocog to uh you know seek their approval on on the report and um assuming that they do approve it and
if the city of Morhead decides that they want to continue to to pursue um this this interchange project um the next steps would involve starting the kind of the the more formal preliminary engineering and environmental documentation and uh working through the process of getting approval from Federal
Highway Administration to actually add ramps um on the interstate system and then um you know starting to look for funding and things like that and that was one of the things that we were asked to do as part of the study was to identify potential funding sources. So we did some research. There are 10 under
current state and federal law that would apply to this type of project. The ones in bold um you can use those funds for the preliminary engineering stuff as well as as construction. So, we uh plowed through that really quick. Um but if you have any questions, we'll certainly take them.
All right. Thank you so much. Um a lot of in public engagement, which is always nice to let the public know that there's all these options that are out there and it's crazy how you engineers are able to figure out all that traffic flow. Um
questions from council or comments. Uh, Council Member Borggan, could you put up the one that you're saying is the one you think you want to go with so we can take another look at that? Uh, how do I go backwards here? Um, so
the report does not identify which one to choose. We were asked to to identify two feasible alternatives. So this one. So this one and and this one. Okay. These two. Um, because at this point in the process, you we're not allowed to make a
decision. Basically, it has to there has to be more environmental analysis done. So, the goal and the the from the from the beginning was to identify at least two. And from a cost standpoint, they're essentially the same. Um, they accomplish the same things. They just do it in a little bit different way with
different impacts. So, on this one, and I'm not an engineer, so I really don't get it. The purple the purple little diagram that is the railroad, and the railroad would not be rerouted. And it would just stay where it's at.
Yeah, I glossed over that. It would the bridge would be replaced. It would be replaced. Okay. So, it would require a temporary shoefly is the term, you know, temporary bridge over the interstates. So, it' be it'd be a lot, you know, you guys are familiar now with what what railroad we we all know what a shoe fly is in Morehead.
Yep. Yep. So, um, so yeah, that that yeah, like I said, we're trying to be conscious of time here, so I was flying through things, but yes, the the railroad bridge would be replaced, and it would be a big undertaking for sure. And on both alternative 4 A and 4B, that would be part of the deal. Yes.
So, how many years are we talking? We're also very familiar with it taking a long time. It it depends on how how you face it. At least two construction seasons, I would think. you know, one one to get the railroad stuff in place, one to build the interchange, and then maybe part of
a second one to take out all the temporary stuff. Okay. Thank you. Say, if I if I could go ahead. So, a lot of times next would be preliminary engineering and then funding for design. So, if there was interest in pursuing, we'd probably seek a grant to get that process started. So, um, you
know, we may, you know, next might be taking this to a workshop, for instance, and getting kind of more formalized direction from the council if this is something we're interested in. I think where I was kind of going without saying it, which maybe I should have just said, is if we do this, which I know there's a lot of steps, hopefully
it would be after 11th Street is done. Yes. Which sounds like Yes. Okay. Thank you, Council Member Matson, and then Council Member Nissmeer. Thank you, Madam Mayor. Um, can we advance one side please?
So that 33.9 million, does that include the cost of I I guess I don't know what our cost would be to move Ken sanitation. I assume we'd have to pay them something for that. It it includes an allowance for for that. Yes. Okay. Thank you. Yes, Council Member Nissmire.
Madame Mayor, um, that was my I had two questions. Uh, council member Borggan said it would be done by the time 11th Street, Highway 10, Highway 75 just because of longevity sake that it takes years for us to do grants and pre-engineering
steps to even get like one shovel near the ground. Correct. Right. Okay. So we're looking at many years out and there is there has been consultation as you mentioned with the businesses that would be impacted and so the allowance for moving would be handled by
the Minnesota Department of Transportation and all of that land stuff correct or would this be facilitated by the city of Morehead as one of our projects be a combination I guess because it's involving the interstate. Um so anything
on interstate rightaway would be or if it's expanding the interstate rightway that yes the um the the mindot would be involved in it but um I think the city would have a role too and I'm I'm not an expert on on rightway acquisitions and things like that. Um but it would be a combination I think.
All right. The the reason I ask is we've had um lots of road work um it now and in our future and impacting businesses is something that's near and dear to my heart and the hope is is that those conversations can start happening sooner rather than later and have
um some really good opportunities for all parties involved. And so that's why I was sort of asking I I don't know the specifics either and I'm not asking you or Dan to know all of the things, but just something to keep in mind as we workshop this. Thank you, city manager
Molly saying like we're not done. We're going to keep this ball rolling and have more discussion is that I think those are some really good conversations to have. It's difficult to know where we should be because this is so far out. I mean, I got to be part of the ribbon cutting at the 20th and 21st Street
underpass, and I had nothing to do with it besides being a citizen because it took decades to to get done. And so, um, I just want to appreciate all of the work that you did to put this study together, um, and showing us all of the options just so we know that you just didn't plop two down and say, "Oh, these
are the best." And so, there's still lots of room to explore and grow. And I think that that's an opportunity that we have as um city leaders to talk with all of the parties involved and move forward. Thank you very much for your presentation tonight. And you're exactly right with the timing. Just as a case in point was I
was involved in the Metrocog study that started the 11th Street underpass in 2016 and 2017. So yeah, you're you're exactly right on the timeline. All right. Uh Council Member Hendrickson. Uh thank you, M Carlson. Just more of a comment. And I want to thank Metrocog for all the hard work you've done. And I
know you've been working on this for a long time. I do get asked about um another entrance ramp going east for this because they have to go way over to 34th to get onto the interstate. So yeah, I think we I'm on record to keep the ball rolling and take more looks at
this, but I think it's a good idea. I think it'll help out traffic flow quite a bit. So thanks. I don't see any other council members. So, thank you very much for coming and sharing this information. I know that it's been an ongoing conversation for several years. So, welcome.
Right. Moving on to the approval of the uh August 11th, 2025 meeting minutes. Do I have a motion to approve the minutes? To approve more. Second, Nelson. Motion and a second. Any discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying I. I. Any opposed? That motion carries. All
right. We have citizens to address the council. Um the first one is Daltton Swanson. Um Daltton, if you want to come up to the podium, if you want to state your name and if you are a resident of Morehead and you will have three minutes
um once the city clerk gets back and can start the timer. Hello and thank you, mayor and council members. My name is Dalton Swanson. I've lived in Morehead for 22 of my 25 years here. And I would invite you to think
tonight not just about the uh potential hassle and you know cumbersome business that comes with infrastructure in this city but also the benefits something a little more efficient and straight to the point if you will. You see I think
that if we have certain types of projects it could lead to a positive feedback loop. The chief concern being would be a good project like potentially building a sidewalk on the corner of 14th Street and Center Avenue. As it
stands right now, it's addled with construction equipment and the closest thing to an accessible, you know, type of walkway on that area is no more than a stunted trail full of grass and cockroaches. And I think right now if we were to
potentially add that and within the next year or so, depending on when we get to it, it could be nothing but a benefit to upand cominging businesses on Center Avenue. And I know that it that it would be quite vital for us to, you know,
potentially start building new enterprises in that region of the city. Given that we're already on a roll with our downtown revitalization projects, I'm convinced that it would be a next logical step. And besides, I mean, there are a wealth of customers that come in
from other parts of the city, most notably some of the bars or small businesses on Center Avenue. You know, if people are spending money down there, then perhaps if it were a bit more accessible, we already have a cross a crosswalk on that area. And you know,
most of the heavy li heavy lifting would already be done by that point if we were to build a sidewalk to, you know, just connect it with the existing infrastructure on Center Avenue leading to the heart of the city. So with that,
it's just my recommendation that uh you know, we can all work together to see if we can find a solution that can work over there. Thank you for your time. Thank you, Mr. Swanson. Uh, the next is Vince Pru.
I didn't want to mispronounce it. So, if you want to state your name and if you are a resident of Morehead and then you will have three minutes to speak and if when this turns red, um, you'll need to wrap it up. Um, or I'll just cut you off. So, go ahead.
Okay. Main reason being here is for garbage and junk on the boulevards. Um, no m long grass and um, nonparticipation
in the mowing your lawn, no long grass to a certain extent and snow removal. And it's all covered by uh, this one. You all got the packet and uh this snow and ice removal and you also got this packet code
violations. And they go from um mainly this area runs from 8th Street West. And the closer you get to the river, the less u code violations there are.
And again, as you move east, get over to 11th Street and 20th Street. Romki used to be a bad area, but to me, uh, driving down there, I go down there quite a bit on 20th Street, and it looks pretty good. Uh, probably because they got
their big dumpsters in a fence. Um, there's a lot to cover here. I know I won't cover it all, but you got it down there. I made some comments on u these um, Okay. One thing I wanted to point out is I went through
North and South Morehead during cleanup week. I should say weeks. Um, and you can that's supposed to be two weeks and you can add another week on the beginning of that and another week after
on Fourth and Fifth Street and over to 11th Street and further. I've been all I was all over Morehead during cleanup week. Nothing is out there like it is on fourth and fifth street and 11th street. And then
I'm also going to get to um overflowing garbage bins which I've turned in a number of times on A Street on the east and side east and um west side of a street on 24th Avenue.
The apartments there and I can't remember them now. And then the the um street there, what do you call it? Anyway, that a part a set of businesses on the on 24th Avenue along 8 street
there. Their garbage bins are overflowing a lot by codes. They have to have a fence around them. Even if they've been what do you call that? It um governed in or from the past. Uh but if the violations
keep on, which they are, they have to put up events. Um okay. Um according to the codes, you're not supposed to throw stuff out on the boulevard until the day before or evening before
4:00 and after. Oh, done. Huh. Okay. Yep. We have all of your information here. So we will get this information to um the appropriate department and they will connect with you to to visit with you further about your your comments. Okay.
All right. Thank you. Um the next three individuals um uh wish to speak in regards to um Ariel sprain and um in regards to aerial spraining. What I want to say is
that two weeks ago that there was uh this topic was on the council agenda at that time. We spent over an hour hearing from citizens and we also met um as a council and did a council workshop workshop on this particular issue and the policy. Um, we have I know uh myself
and I know the council members and um our city manager have gotten inundated with emails both um in favor of aerial spring and also those um who are not in favor in favor of aerial spring. So to the individuals if you've already if you
already spoke at the last council meeting and want to just come and reiterate what you're saying um I don't know that there's a need to do that. Um, if there is anything absolutely mind-blowingly brand new that you want to share with us, then feel free.
Otherwise, if it is just to reiterate something that you've already said, um, you you wouldn't need to do that. We've heard it multitude of times. I can guarantee you. Um, so for the three individuals who would like to speak, do
any of you have anything new um that you haven't already either spoken to the council about or emailed the council about? And if so, then feel free to come up to the podium to share this new information. Otherwise, if it's not new information, we have the information that you're here. Um, I recognize some
of the names. So, I know I received emails from you. Um, and I know that there were multiple emails because I get it get them like three times. So, if it comes to me and then it goes to the council, I get it two times and if you just email certain council members, I get it a third time. So, some of you
have heard like from five times. Um, anybody um who wanted to speak, is it anything new that you want to reiterate? Okay. If it's something that is brand new that you have not told us in an email or spoken up about before, feel
free to come forward and you will have two minutes to speak on this because um this is a topic we have heard ad nauseium. So um who would like to come up first? Okay. And if you want to state your name and if you're a Morhead resident and
you'll have two minutes. Okay. I'm gonna have to talk fast. I'm Joseph Allen. I'm I'm a Morehead resident. Uh, North Dakota with a population of 800,000 sees at most one or two deaths
per year to Westnile virus. According to the North Dakota Health and Human Services, in 2024, there were zero West Nile deaths and so far in 2025, also zero. The chance of dying from WestNile virus in North Dakota is just a little
greater than the chance of being struck by lightning. Meanwhile, CO killed 61 in North Dakota in 2024. West Nile is being used as an excuse to aerial spray, but the real targets are new nuisance mosquitoes. CO is no longer
a public health emergency, and neither is Westnile virus. Also, as you know, a PhD's trap count data analysis has shown that aerial spraying is simply an unreliable way to kill mosquitoes. Aerial spraying is not a sustainable
solution to mosquito control. Mosquito well you know all this uh become resistant to poison. How many people remember chlorine? Chlorane was a pesticide that was considered safe and was widely used in agriculture in homes to exterminate
termites and other household insects. Chlorine was used for over 40 years before it was banned in 1988 when evidence finally emerged that it caused cancer, neurological disorders, and diabetes. Over 30 million homes were treated with chlorine before it was
banned. How long before we find out what the carcinogen peromethrine can do to us, our children, and our pets? Let's look beyond today's barbecue and support practices that protect the world God gave us. The aerial spraying budget
should be used for homeowner subsidies to spray their own yards or for more eco-friendly methods such as mosquito traps. Okay, sir. That's all information we already have received multiple times. So, is there anything new that you'd like to contribute to the conversation?
Well, that was new for me saying it. Okay. Well, it's not Sorry. Sorry if I've displeased you. Yeah, we've we've heard it from multitudes of people. So, um if again, if there's any new information that you
want to share, feel free. Um uh Noel, feel free to come up. Um if you want to state your name if you're a resident of Morehead, and I know that you sent a very long email uh not just to me, but to the council as well. Um, I see that when it comes, so please, um, I
will interrupt you and and, uh, cut you off if you start to repeat information we've already heard. Go ahead. Sounds good. And I'll just remind you that the public has a right to come and give comment at public meetings. Absolutely. We just don't want to hear it repeated 14,000 times.
So, the first thing I'd like to say is immense gratitude to each and every one of you for taking the time for a deeper look at this issue. I know it's painful. I also believe it's really important for our community and even if we're not on the same side of it, I appreciate you
being here. One thing that I've never shared in public comment is that I was actually sprayed in August 2020. I was standing outside. I remember the plane flying over me twice. I also remember experiencing three days of headaches and
brain fog to a point where even my colleagues were telling me, "You don't seem like yourself, Noel." Um, so I urge you to weigh um all of the health concerns when you're looking at this issue, what happened to me, which I've never shared before publicly. Um, as
well as a neighbor of mine who experienced two years of neurological issues after she was sprayed. I think the question here is not whether mosquitoes are bad or pollinators are good, but what are the true costs of it and does it really work? I know that you
all have the data to show that it's not working in Fargo and West Fargo. I also would like to know how the roughly hundred,000 that we've budgeted every year for three aerial sprays, why isn't that being put to use for alternative methods of
mosquito control? Another new factoid, I set up a mosquito larvicide trap in my yard, and it is far and away the most effective reduction in mosquitoes that I've ever seen. And my 13-year-old thinks it's pretty cool as well. So,
that's really what I wanted to weigh in on tonight. And again, I thank you for following through on your commitment to this issue and to hear from the public. Thank you. Thank you. Um, and Terry, did you have additional information that you wanted to share on top of anything else that
has been already shared with us? Go ahead. And again, um, state your name if you're a resident of Morehead and and please don't repeat anything that's been said, um, previously. My name is Terrell Peterson and I live in Morehead, Minnesota. I've
lived here for 77 plus years. And I I grew up here and I don't ever remember the mosquitoes being this bad. Honestly, they're just terrible. And if you if you
would like to come to my neighborhood and just have a little get together outside, you certainly can because they are horrible. And I'm just um I I would just like to a ask of you a question
all of you. Which is more important the pollinators that are pollinating our flowers and fields and whatever else they pollinate or the citizens of Morehead, Minnesota and the surrounding
area? Which is more important? Some people are getting sick because of uh you know the uh the mosquito bites and there have been I think in North Dakota there were a couple in Fargo maybe of the um uh the West Nile
disease. I don't want to get that. And uh I just that's my statement. It is just horrid the awful the mosquitoes in and around the car. And I live by Concordia MS
um Christ the King Church, Probesfield School, Ellen Hopkins and all in that area and it's just horrid. So, I would like an answer. Which is more important? The pollinators that
I've heard of, I don't know what they pollinate, but or the citizens of Morehead. Thank you. Thank you. Any any answers? This um when we have citizens to address the council, it's not a back and forth. This is just an opportunity for you to
give information to the council. We don't engaged in a a question and answer kind of a session. Okay. So, thank you so much for coming. Okay. Thank you. Yep. Right. Moving on to the public hearing. Um, do I have a motion to open the
public hearing to consider actions related to a declaration of a hazardous building? So moved. Nissa Meyer. Second. Nelson. There's a motion and a second. Any discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying I. I. Any opposed? All right. The public
hearing is open and I will turn it over to our community development director, Christy Lasheski. Thank you, Madam Mayor, members of the council. before you tonight is a public hearing and staff is recommending approval of two resolutions um for a hazardous building at 1402 1st Avenue
North. The building is the former home of Jigsaw upholstery which has been closed few for a number of years and the Morehead Fire Department had noticed a significant hole in the roof and alerted us. Uh we then did a building inspection and assessment and did find that the hole in the roof resulted in both
excessive damage to the structure as well as a number of safety concerns. We did send a letter to the owner of the building in May of 2024 asking for it to be either uh repaired or demolished by the end of the year and unfortunately we have not made any progress on either of
those things. For the hearing tonight, there's two resolutions related to the declaration. The first is a resolution declaring this a damaged structure and a hazardous building under Minnesota statute. And then the second is authorizing the agreements necessary to
abate and demolish the hazardous conditions. Um I do want to provide a quick update that as I understand the owner may now be working with a realtor and we may be seeing some movement on the site. Um that being said, we've got about an additional four to five weeks
of notices and publications that we have to do if the council approves this motion tonight before we would go to court. Um, so what we're recommending is that we continue with this action. We'll continue to be in contact with the owner. If we do get notice that they are proceeding to a demolition, then we
would not then request the court order. Um, the actions tonight again would uh would allow us to proceed with that. If there was no additional um actions taken on the site and I'm available to answer any questions. Thank you, Director Lasheski. Um, are
there any members of the public who wish to speak to this specific item? Again, any members of the public who wish to speak to this specific item? Right. Seeing none, seeing none, um, I would understand a motion to close the
public hearing portion of this agenda item. So, move Na Meer. Second. There's a motion and a second. Any discussion? Seeing none, or did you have a discussion on closing the hearing? Okay. Um, so seeing none, all those in favor of closing the public hearing, um, signify by saying I.
I. Any opposed? That motion carries. Um, questions for Miss Leasheski. Um, Council Member Ner. Thank you, Madam Mayor. My hand was just very eager to get into this discussion. Um, you had mentioned that the current owner has been contacted multiple times
and, um, you've received word that they are, um, engaging with a realtor. So, we wouldn't need to take court action, but can the property, if it has been deemed hazardous, be sold as is or would it have to be demolished in order to be sold? Um, it could be sold and there
would be two alternatives for a future buyer. The first would be to repair the roof so that is it is structurally sound or the second would be to demolish it. Okay? And that is um completely outside of our purview, but our goal is just to remove the hazardous building from um
property. Exactly. Correct. Yes. Okay. Thank you. Any other questions? If not, uh can we take these 9, B, and C together? Thank you, Mayor. Oh, sorry to interrupt.
Oh, I'm sorry. Um you you can Yes, you can take these resolutions together. Okay. Thank you. Um Council Member Hendrickson. Sorry about that, Mayor Carlson. How big a hole are we talking, Christie? Is it like I saw I saw pictures of it, but is it it's a pretty good size hole?
It's a significant size hole. And um one of the issues that brings it into the realm of being hazardous is um we see the hole from the aerial photography. Um but the the structure the roof structure around that hole also isn't safe. Um and
that we don't know the extent of it. Um, but it it is a significant hole. Is there any type of like walls bending in because of weather or anything like that or is it just the roof? Not that we've seen, although we have not been um inside the building to do an inspection because it's really not safe
to do so. Yeah. And do you know how long has it been on the market with the real estate agent? Do you know? I don't know. I can't confirm that it is on the market. I've just heard that they've started working with potentially started working with the realtor. It's a pretty it's a busy uh spot. So, I
wouldn't be surprised if somebody bought it, but you know, I'm in favor of continuing the pro the process of condemning that the the building. So, that's all I have. Thanks. Was that a motion or Yeah, I'll make the motion. Second, Lisa Meyer.
Okay, there's a motion to approve 9B and C. B and C. Correct. And a second. Um, so a motion and a second. Uh any further discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying I. I. I. Any opposed?
That motion carries. Thank you, Miss Leski. All right, moving on to uh number 16 with the police department. I will turn this over to Chief Hilnik to talk about the back to school safety traffic safety
plan. Good evening again, council members, mayor. Uh, I'll keep this brief, but I just want to talk a little bit about our back to school plans for September 2nd. Uh, we know that traffic safety has been a very significant uh topic of conversation recently since the death of
Adam. And we also know that going into the first day of school, that's going to be probably at the foremost of every parent's mind as their kids walk, bike to school, or they're traveling to school in their cars. Um, so we're going to try to do our part this year to make
sure that this is a safe return. And so I just want to talk a little bit about those plans. Uh, essentially what we are planning for the first day is, uh, we working in cooperation with the Morhead school district and, uh, we're going to have a 24-hour traffic safety period during that day. Uh, there'll be a
couple prongs to this approach. Uh, first thing is we're going to increase our presence at all the uh, elementary schools and the high school and Horizon Middle School. uh during the drop off periods and the pickup periods in the afternoon. Uh we'll have officers there
along with some of our uh cadetses, our csos and our volunteers. And what we're really trying to do is just increase visible presence. Uh enforcement is not the first priority. It's just to be visible to hopefully slow down the public, make them more aware of what's
going on in that area and again make sure that the kids are able to get to the their schools safely and that they're able to get picked up or leave school uh as as safe as well. Uh we'll start out the elementary schools and like I said, we'll move to the high schools and Horizon later in the morning
and the afternoon during both periods. Um, we're also working on uh we've been extending an invitation to Minnesota State Patrol and Klay County to also help out with this effort. Uh, in between the school periods, what we will be doing is a couple things. Uh, we'll
be doing some increased traffic enforcement details throughout the city. Uh, trying to target key areas uh where we need some extra attention. Um, we also know that uh there are some issues with some of the kids driving from the high school to the career academy and so we're going to be making sure that that
is done safely as well. So, uh we will be pretty active that day and uh we we are bringing all hands on deck that includes admin staff uh some of the investigations crew uh they'll be hitting the streets as well. So, uh we're going to do our effort uh to try
to make this a safe return. One thing to really note about this is, you know, this is only one day. We can't do this every single day of the year. I know that people would really enjoy that, but we just aren't able to do that with the resources that we have. But there's one key piece of of this traffic
safety effort that needs to be emphasized, and that is the the uh the traveling public. Uh they really play the key role in this whole effort. And uh what we really are asking people to do is slow down, pay attention to
traffic control devices, be aware of kids, school buses, uh and then most importantly, especially with the construction situation in the city, be patient. Uh things are going to move slowly at certain areas and uh people just need to be patient, give themselves
some extra time to get around that particular day and just just just recognize there's going to be a lot of extra traffic in in those key areas. Um so again that's uh what our plan is. It's pretty straightforward, pretty simple, but we hope that raising that awareness is uh going to again make sure
that this is a safe return for all the kids to school. And one important note too is that uh we're going to try to make this an annual event. So the first day of school we'll we'll uh see the same effort. And uh we've also reached out to the Amin family to do this in
dedication to Adam. So uh every year we plan to have the Adam Amin traffic safety day. That'll be the first day of school and you'll see the same level of effort. So with that, I will take any questions that you might have. Thank you so much, Chief Elnik. Um, and
I know that uh the mean family is is very grateful that Adam will be honored in this way. Um, also I think it's perfect timing that we have a deputy chief who also can now help patrol. So you get to get back in a squad car
and do that. Uh any questions or comments from uh members? Council member Borggan, I don't have a question, but I just want to commend you for taking the initiative and just being really proactive, and I think the members of the community will really appreciate that, your leadership,
your uh assistant chief's leadership. So, thank you so much for what you're doing for our community. Welcome, Council Member Nism. Thank you, Madam Mayor. I'm going to echo uh Council Member Borgens's comments. um as uh a ward ward two that
has lots of schools and lots of construction. Um there are lots of comments, but I think highlighting patience and how we can all work together as a community to get there safely is really important, but also the proactiveness of doing this each and every first day of school I think is
important. I know as we have a whole bunch of new dragons and cobbers and MState students in town, I can always tell when there are new faces here because they're driving the wrong way on oneways. Um, and so it's uh great to have lots of oneways in our community um
to grow strength and have people wave at you when you're going the wrong direction down the road. But I also think it's important to give everyone grace and um realize that we can participate in the safety um and patience and getting around when most of our main thoroughares are closed and and
we have to be creative to get there safely. So I just want to uh commend you and your staff support for everybody coming out on that day. um and hitting the road. I think that's really fantastic. But also um doing so to honor the loss. Any loss is one too many. And
uh I appreciate the effort being made to keep us all safe on uh that particular day. Any other council members have any comments or questions? Uh Council Member Nelson. Thank you, Mayor. Uh Chief Helmick, uh
again, uh thank you for this. If there's anything else that we as council can do to support you or your department in this endeavor, please let us know. I'll try and help. I'm sure other council members promoted on social media and other uh things on that day or leading up to those days. But if there's something else, uh don't hesitate to
reach out. We'd love to uh I know I can't write traffic tickets or anything like that or we can't I'm not looking to do that, but if there's anything else uh we're extra hands or extra voices um to speak out on it. So, thank you. I appreciate that. I think that that's
just a key piece is, you know, if there you have ways to spread that word and get that out. We'll definitely be doing things on our own social media, but if you have means of of spreading that word to to uh your constituents or anybody else that uh should hear that message,
we'd really appreciate that. Okay. I don't see any other hands being raised. So, thank you so much and thank you for being here and congratulations again, Deputy Chief. All right. Uh next on the agenda um is
uh 18F um to discuss aerial spraying as a means of vector control. Um as I previously stated, we had um an incredible public engagement at our last council meeting. I think we had people up um at the
podium talking for over an hour. Uh we also we had a good discussion at our council workshop and we have been inundated. Um I've been a part of the council for going on my seventh year. I have not had as much uh
engagement with citizens uh sending me emails um ever before. This is the the most I've ever had. So, we paused two weeks ago to um allow for that type of engagement and research and um being
able to gather more information and said that we would come back to determine if we are going to unpause and move forward with the policy that we currently have in place. And so that is what I would be looking for. If there is anybody who
would like to put a motion to do the unpause u move forward with the policy um I'm ready to entertain uh a motion at this point in time. Um this is up to council. I'll make that motion. Second more.
Okay. So there is a motion to unpause and move forward with the current policy that is in place and there is a second. Any discussion by council members on this topic? Council member um Nissa Mayer and then Council Member Nelson.
Uh thank you, Madame Mayor. My um hope is that we follow the policy that um we have in place with the um timing of spraying as well as the Promethean levels. Um that was uh my first and foremost concern that we follow the
policy but also that um in reviewing the policy we look for uh additional um opportunities that we have within the budget as well as what other communities are going to do. That will take time and research. I asked for that additional
information at last Tuesday's workshop. Um I don't know if staff has had time to provide that. And so my hope is is that um should aerial spraying uh take part and take place that we have an opportunity not to let it sit and stay
as it is, but we can continue to take ideas and feedback uh and find in our own research some best practices that we can do to expand our mosquito management plan in the community. Thank you, Heather. Uh council member um
council member Nelson. Thank you, mayor. Um, I don't think that uh well, all the council and the mayor knows where I stand on on this issue. And currently, the uh policy that we had in place that we paused was a public
health uh related type of mosquito um aerial spray policy. And uh I understand the history of how that got put into place um from uh you know, four or five years ago with the previous councils.
Um, you know, I'm in uh with with the uh um mosquito control position that or the uh uh I guess where I'd like to see us go eventually is to uh move in addition to the public health side of that of the chart or kind of the gauge that we go
off of is have some type of nuisance control in our policy. And I know that's not in there right now and that's not the action, but I think we need to look at that. um everybody's been hearing um all the issues out there, the quality of
life issues and uh the health concerns on the other side, too. So, we can't we can't ignore that. Um so, I'd like it to see expand a little bit um and include that public nuisance um aerial spraying
when needed. So, uh, I'm not opposed to, uh, you know, I think it's going to take some time for staff to maybe look and at options down the road. I don't know that we're we can't have that answer tonight. Obviously, if there's alternatives, we don't know any other alternatives at
this point. So, um, I don't know what the flavor is of council tonight if or if we can expand that tonight. Is that a is it can it just be that? Well, the motion policy the motion right now on the table is to
essentially reinstate the policy that we currently have. So, sure. So, you know, is that uh and maybe that's a the question for Cat is can we make a I make a motion at the and I can wait to
make it sure it's clean at the end here, but can would that be an issue if we uh I'm not making the motion, but if we make the motion to go back to what the previous policy was prior to that and that can go forward and we
we're good. we can handle above what the mayor is suggesting or the mayor's. So I I think council member Nelson I think if we can keep this motion clean and then maybe after this motion then we can maybe talk um about other options
that might be out there um just so we can keep this motion clean. Okay, I I understand that's a very good point and I will so just a follow-up question then. So, let's say that uh we take a vote on on releasing the pause of
this or of this um ordinance or plan. And let's say we vote in favor of of going back to where we were a couple weeks ago and I vote in favor of that. I can then make a motion to say
I want to expand that to go back to the previous policy in place. There's no issues with that. Yeah, thanks. Council me council member Nelson. Yes, you could make an additional motion. Um, it sounds like too I would maybe defer to Dan, but it sounds like there's discussion of city staff looking into some of that that
information for the future and for next year's policy as well already. Um, but I don't there's don't believe there's anything precluding you from making an additional motion. Thank you. Did you have anything to add to that or would you like me to continue?
Sure. Okay. Yeah, I'd be happy. Yeah, we fully anticipate um exploring other options uh and bringing that to the council likely. I mean, it takes some time to do this research and study. So, quarter 1, two of 2026. Okay. Council member Matson.
Just a couple of clarifying questions, comments. Um, just from my just so I'm clear, we do nuisance spraying for spray for nuisance mosquitoes. It's just truck spraying. Is that correct? Correct. Ground spraying. Okay. So, we do I mean just so we're all
clear like we do spray for nuisance mosquitoes. It's just that we don't aerial spray. We truck spray. Yes. Okay. And then um I just want to say I was on the other side of this last time. I'm I'm fine with unpausing the pause because we are
also going to do this additional research and look into additional non-toxic options. I think um I don't think just in all the conversations we've had, all the emails and everything, I don't think anybody what what when people say they want aerial spring, I think what they are actually
saying is they want fewer mosquitoes. And so if we can get to fewer mosquitoes next year without the aerial spraying, I think that would make everybody happy. And so I think that's what we should do. And toward that end, I am happy to um vote to unpause the pause right now. And then hopefully next year we can come up
with something a little bit um more effective and less toxic. Uh Council Member Nelson, just a followup. Thank you, Mayor. Can uh can can the uh C County Vector Control when they do the aerial spray if
if uh Fargo West Fargo decide to spray and they're spraying at that higher threshold that 7, can they uh spray the Morehead side at that 0.035 or that 0035 percentage that that lower threshold that's currently in the policy
that we're talking about here tonight. So we have um Paul Fner is here too. I'm not calling you up here, Paul, but if we get to that point, uh, we certainly can grab Paul. So, uh, we have local control, um, on aerial spring. Now, when we went when we moved to the policy,
that was one of the things. So, the agreement with the aerial applicator is a direct agreement between the city of Morehead and the um the person that provides the the pilot. Um there's another agreement with the mosquito man who does the ground spraying and then a
third which is with um Cass County vector control and that's for the larvides, the netting, the trapping, the testing, the data that we use to you to utilize this information. So, so that's the menu. Um, as far as you know, um, Paul has spoken with the pilot directly,
uh, that higher um, concentration that is, um, sprayed, aerial sprayed, um, on the North Dakota side of the river, he's not able to land the plane and then refill with the lower ratio um, to go into Morhead. So, so it would not occur
the same night, but it can occur around that same time. There are factors like weather and wind and and different things that happen, but um not the same evening if that's the question you were asking. Uh Council Member Hendrickson and then Council Member Borggan.
Um thank you, Mayor Carlson. I'm with Council Member Nelson. I think we should go back to the previous um process where we the one before this because I remember like I said 10 years ago, you know, there are no mosquitoes you can go
on your deck and everything. So, but I'm in favor of unpausing it and then you know looking at different alternatives for spraying. So, thank you, Council Member Borggan. Thank you, Mayor. You know, I just want to say that
we have a great community because I have received more emails on this subject than I frankly care to have received and I haven't responded to all of them because it's been too many. But I will say I think people are really passionate
on both sides of the issue. And as an elected official, I may have an opinion personally, but I have to listen to the people who contact me and the people who are in my um area, my ward, and more of
them want us to aerial spray. I think there is an unrealistic expectation that aerial spraying is going to kill all the mosquitoes. It's just not going to happen because it didn't happen in Fargo or West Fargo when they have been spraying. So, I am in support of it as a
council member. As a person, I don't really love it because I think it was a wet year, people. It was a wet year. We have more mosquitoes because it was a wet year. Incidentally, I was at my mother's house and she lives by Christ the King, which is an area that you just mentioned. And I was out there today.
There wasn't any mosquitoes. And she said, "Wow, there's hardly any mosquitoes." I said, "Well, it hasn't rained for two weeks." So, I mean, there there's a lot of factors that go into this, but I don't have a problem going back to our policy that we had in place when we took the pause. So, I will call
the question. All right. So, with that, uh, can we get a roll call vote, please, on this? Nelson. Hi. Matson. Yes. Nissa Meyer. Yes. More.
Yes. Forgan. Yes. McDougall. I Hendrickson. All right. That is unanimous. So um the policy in regards to um aerial spraying
will be reinstated. Um that is the current policy that we will be following. And um council member Matson, I just thank you, Madam Mayor. I just had one addition to um the research that we're asking staff to do. If we could um
please also ask staff to look into what it would take for us to test our local mosquito populations for pesticide resistance to make sure that the pesticide use that we are doing is effective. Um, I would like to add that to our list of things we're looking into over the over the next few months. Thank
you. Yes. Uh, thank you, Council Member Matson. Um, yeah, I don't think we have anything more on that. So, um the aerial spraying policy is reinstated and staff will be
looking into other um options and alternatives um which may be in addition to or up to and you know there's a variety of things that could happen with this. So stay tuned. Moving on to mayor and council reports. Any council members
have reports from boards or committees? Uh council member Hendrickson. Uh thank you Mayor Carlson. I attended um the Midwest Technology Summit when actually it was on my wedding anniversary so I had to cut out early and I can I don't have to explain why
but um it's a good event. They talked about um AI and u you know different effects it has on society. So um very good conference um and or social I should say. So it was it was it was a good time. So thanks
you council member Nism. Thank you, Madam Mayor. Um, we have an upcoming solid waste advisory committee meeting this Thursday um at the resource recovery center at 8 a.m. I mentioned that specifically in case folks want to come and hang out with us while we get
our um PAS uh information about the tests in and around our landfill. I know PAS has been a hot topic as of late and um our uh SWAC or solid waste advisory committee decided to go the extra mile a
couple of years ago and pay for some PAS testing in our uh in and around our landfill area. Um it has not yet been required by the Minnesota pollution oh I'm going to get it the acronym wrong for the Minnesota um entity that
requires those sorts of testing. They have not required it yet, but we went ahead and did it so we have a baseline for our community. So, I encourage you to visit um us Thursday morning. I'll be there with bells on if you'd like to join me. Um also, a reminder that the Grey Greater Morehead Days Parade is
free for participants. Whether you want to stand on the street or you want to walk down the middle of the street for you, your organization, any group that you represent, um you can register to participate in the Greater Morehead Days parade, which is Friday, September 5th until um August 30th, and you can apply
online to participate. The inclusive Morehead social is after the parade at MState at roughly about 6:45. and everybody from the community, whether you are standing and collecting candy and goods, um or um you have participated in the parade, you're
encouraged to come to Mstate and visit. Uh another Greater Morehead Day is the wings and wheels flyin and car show. I brought both posters if you'd like to hang at your uh place of business or um group area meeting or or a postcard if
you'd like to take with to hand out to your book club, to your co-workers. Everybody is welcome to come to the wheels wings and wheels flyin on uh Saturday September 6th from 8 am to 1 pm at the Florence Klingan Smith field.
There's ribbon cutting planes ride plane rides for kids uh classic car show bunch of things to do. So, I encourage everybody to participate. And if you just can't wait for fun things, the global market is here tomorrow in the Yum Comps from 5 to 7:00 p.m. Um, I am
not able to um come and join and do greeting, but I know that council member Moore will be there with bells on. We always have bells on um uh greeting folks that are able to come in. It is hosted uh as the city of Morehead in addition to the farmers market which is
3:30 to 6:30 in the Viking Ship Park. So, a big big praise for all of the collaboration that goes into those events. I also had the opportunity to participate in the indigenous um picnic on uh Sunday. Was it last Sunday? I
can't even remember what Sunday it was. But my appreciation to the staff uh for the city of Morehead who made that possible by hosting it at MB Johnson Park. It was an outstanding event, even in the rain. And boy was it cold. I did not dress appropriately, but it was still a wonderful um barbecue with I
great artists. I got some fantastic earrings. There was wonderful information and conversation. So, again, to all of those who collaborated to sponsor that event, but especially the city of Morehead staff. Thank you, Council Member Ner, Council Member Madson.
Thank you, Madame Mayor. I just wanted to let everyone know that um Morehead Community Access Media is hosting an open house this Thursday to to show their newly completed 4K studio. Um the mall is not there anymore where they used to be. So or at least there's part
of it. They're part of it. Um so they have moved to the industrial park at uh let's see 232316th Avenue South sweet 104. It is this Thursday from 5:30 to 7 and you can get a tour of their new studio.
Thank you, Council Member Matson. Uh, Council Member Moore. Thank you, Madame Mayor. Um, I just wanted to report that on August 14th, we had the Lake Agaze Regional Library Board meeting where we did come to resolution and agree for the new lease
at our new library pending legal review. So, that's exciting news for us. And then on August 19th, um, we were hosted by CAPLP or the Lakes and Prairie's Community Action and connected and collaborated with their folks to hear
about the important work and services they provide in our community. So, thank you so much to them for hosting us. Right. Thank you, Council Member Moore. Uh, Council Member Hendrickson. Um, thank you, Mayor Carlson. I just wanted to um mention that Nancy Edmund
Hansen who covers the Morhead city council meetings for the extra her husband passed away. So I send my condolences to her and I'm sure the council does too. So Russ was a great guy and he um captured a lot of images for North Dakota and their tourism bureau. So and he I was in Rotary with
him. So like I said, my condolences. Thanks. Thank you, Council Member Hendrickson. All right. I don't see any other council members. So for mayor reports, um since the last council meeting, I've participated in 19 meetings andor
events. Uh the 12th I met with a Kurdistani diaspora center for of Minnesota leaders. Um we have obviously a large Kurdish population in our community and and uh the despora of Minnesota is is wanting to get more involved. So that was nice to meet with
the leaders of that group. Um, I think somebody mentioned the employee appreciation picnic, I think. Oh, we didn't. Oh, okay. Well, maybe I don't know, Dan. Yeah, I'm going to mention the employee picnic. We had dozens and dozens and
dozens of our employees of the city of Morehead. We have almost 300 um full-time employees in the city of Morehead and I don't even know how many part- timerrs that we have, but um this is an annual event where we invite them and we serve them a meal um to really
show and extend our appreciation for the work that they do all that's behind the scenes. And there's so many people that work so hard to make sure that this community just uh flows so nicely and um stealing a few things from our city manager that when you turn the faucet on, you get good clean water. when you
flush the toilet, it goes away. You don't have to clean anything up. Um, we have people who plow the streets in the wintertime that mow our parks in in the summertime and our law enforcement and our fire department. We have great public safety. We just have such a
phenomenal group of people um that comprise #teamorehead that it's always a great annual event to really show our appreciation for them. So, um, for those of you who might be listening, reach out to, um, somebody if you know that they work for the city and just give them a heartfelt, um, thank
you and in gratitude for the work that they do. Um, I also had an opportunity to speak at the Tikkin Academy, which was held at the Morehead High School. This is a week-long leadership and and other skills that is sponsored by the Tkin family, Tyken family. Um, and I got
to speak to a room full of freshman football players. Um, which is interestingly I was kind of intimidated because some of those boys are very very big. uh very they're football players and very tall, but um great group of
young men and the leadership skills that they're teaching them from um budget management, how did you check the oil in your car um and what it is to be a leader in the community is just a a really great set of skills that is incorporated as part of um the athletic
program with Morhead High School. So, I appreciated being asked to participate in that. Um the 20th or I'm going to skip those two. Um 21st I had a League of Minnesota board of directors meeting. We're currently examining legislative priorities for 2026. Uh on Saturday I
was a judge for the first Miss Africa North Dakota and Klay County pageant. So I want to send in congratulations to Miss Serengeti Deavina uh Fbula for being crowned the first Miss Africa North Dakota. Um it was a 4-hour event. Uh I know some of our law enforcement
stopped in during the event. Um, it was really fun. I actually learned um a couple different new things about different parts of Africa that the the women represented and it was really about um women empowerment and um being inspirational and I think that Miss
Deina is going to represent our community very well. This morning I was participating in the hands for change at Concordia um college where they have all of their incoming freshmen go out into the community and do volunteer work with different nonprofits. Um, as a dragon, it's always a little uncomfortable for
me to be in Cobber country, but uh, they accepted me. I got to hold my transfer beanie. Um, and also want to welcome the dragons that are new to town and the new students at MState. It's always a fun time to have all these new college students coming to town and returning
students as well. Um on August 18th, uh I attended an event at Luther Family Ford and I looking at the chief, he was there along with other members of um our law enforcement community and Luther Family Ford does a salute to law enforcement on a monthly basis and uh
law enforcement officer Sean Grigo was selected for law enforcement officer of the month. He served with Mor Police Department for 23 years. um his whole entire family was there and his parents were there and uh saw tears in his parents' eyes and it was just a
really really amazing uh event to be part of and I would like to just extend a lot of appreciation and gratitude to officer Grigo. He is a real proponent of u making sure that uh our public safety community addresses mental health and he
has been a strong advocate for it and is very open um and willing to speak about it himself and I think that that's extremely brave and to be vulnerable like that um just want to send a congratulations to him. And last but not least, uh, Chief Helmick and I were on Minnesota Public Radio and we were
interviewed about crime in the city of Morehead and, uh, Chief Helnick reported he had gathered some statistical information from 2024 to 2025. And what I can tell you is that he shared that personal crime is down 20% in the city
and property crime is down 7%. So, um, it I think, uh, Chief Helm did a great job. I think I was just there to I don't know support and cheer him on. Um but he spoke very highly of of um our community and the fact that we're all involved and um also that uh we have a law
enforcement community who is doing a lot of really really great things and response being very responsive to the public um when they are very short staffed. So thank you for that and thank you for agreeing to go on Minnesota Public Radio with me. And that is all I have and I'll turn it over to you, City Manager Molly.
Thank you, Mayor. No update other than to say thank you all for being there at the employee picnic. That was a really special afternoon. It was fun. All right. Thank you. Um we do have an executive session tonight. We haven't had one for a while. So I'm trying to look at my notes, figure out
how to do this again. Okay. So um I just will need a motion to go into um closed executive session pursuant to Minnesota statute 13D.05 5 subdivision 3C print 3 for the purposes of
developing the sale price for real property. Um, and I'm not going to read uh the three different parcel numbers, but it would be for 21 A, B, and C. And I think that that is legally okay to do. Uh, moved. Second. Thank you. So, there's a motion and a
second. Any discussion? Seeing none. All those in favor signify by saying I. I. Any opposed? That motion carries. We are now in executive session. All right, we are back from executive session. Do I have a motion to close the executive session? So, move Nelson second.
Uh motion and a second. Uh all those in favor signify by saying I. I. Any opposed? That motion carries. And we do not have any new business tonight. And so it is 7:37. We are adjourned. Good night, Morehead.