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thank you it is 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday February 18th 2025 we will call the city council meeting of the city of New Alm to order at this time first item is consent agenda counselors what are your wishes I'll offer a motion to approve second thank you motion and a second any
further discussion those in favor signal by saying I I I that motion does carry item 2.1 BNL bar alley closure for bachfest celebration all offer the resolution authorizing to temporarily close the alley adjacent to the BNL bar
for bachfest celebration on Friday March 7th 2025 beginning at 5:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. on Sunday March 9th 2025 and authorized the extension of the BNL bar Liquor License into the alley area on the requested dates to allow alcohol to be consumed subject to all conditions
second thank you we have a motion and a second any further discussion director Jorgenson please call the role councelor warka yes councelor Mack yes and president Becker yes that motion does carry item 3.1 is a summary of business conducted during board and commission
meetings any updates counselors I'm just going to say from the sister cities commission we conducted three interviews on the 5th of February and notices will be going out to the selected candidate and then uh we've got some good uh candidates for the inbound
potentially so we're looking for some employment opportunities so if there's anybody watching um in the audience or you know on TV that uh we're going to be looking for some uh employers within the community yet as options perfect perfect
and I don't have anything new from commissions but uh um last week uh Joe Sim John nisley and myself uh met with a network New Alm youth group here in City Hall at noon um had a very very good conversation with the kids and uh got to
teach them a little bit about local Civics um and we did have to ask well what what would you want this community what changes would you see in besides having a Starbucks by the high school a Culver's and a Target comeback the you know the normals uh the one that really
got me was uh their their love of pickle ball that they want more pickle ball courts in town uh they were really uh happy to hear there's little bit of talk about M mountain bike trails and they also want more trees by their high school so it's just kind of interesting to hear what the what the real pressing
matters of the youth is but uh pickle ball was the one that got me that that's a All the Rage I guess so yeah nothing else well thank you so much and I think it's interesting I know they went trees up there because when my daughter walks into school the wind is so heavy up
there uh pickle ball that is that's very fascinating who else is surprised by that um in the bike trails and I love that the kids still have their hearts with Target because I certainly do as well you know we can continue to hope but um and the mayor and I were sorry that we couldn't attend that day we were
actually at the Coalition of Greater Minnesota cities um day in St Paul and so I don't know mayor if you want to maybe maybe touch on that and then I can speak a little as well oh certainly uh it was a great day I felt uh first of all the co Coalition of Greater
Minnesota cities uh really represents us well it it looks at us it doesn't look at the larger cities so our issues are are important issues uh one of the things and some of you in the audience would appreciate uh the one size fits-all for zoning obviously uh we're
opposed to that and as were those that were representing us we also had appointments with Dames uh and Tolsen and were able to share our opinions on uh not only those things that uh floated to the top for the organization or the
Coalition but personally we uh locally when you're talking about not for-profits having to comply with the uh the leave program that is out there now where you can take off many uh weeks like 12 weeks or 12 12 to 20 depending
um that's all great and fine for employees but when we are looking at oills as an example and other organizations with uh fewer employees it's difficult to see how that can be managed so again we are able to lobby with them uh very very good session
thank you um and I'll say my comments um so I serve on the board of directors for the Coalition of Greater Minnesota cities and I am the co-chair for LGA and Taxation um and one of the things that is coming up that I think will be involved in as well is um the end of the moratoriums coming on the local option
sales tax so right now communities um who want a local option sales tax have no option to put anything in place um and that is we're just kind of following that information but um more specifically like mayor backer said um there is there is continued legislation
being introduced um and it's bipartisan legislation uh basically stripping the zoning rights of any communities and you know we've been really following that um and so if you hear anything about it please just get informed and know what's
going on um because we are in vem opposition um and I'll continue to watch that and make sure that our zoning rights are protected so um but other than that yes it was a great day great meetings um once again they put on a nice event uh and I don't know that's my
updates oh and Eda any updates from Eda Eda uh we finalized our cont contct for this year with newrick uh with support of $50,000 and they um have shared with us their strategic plan for the year so we'll have an opportunity to track uh
their performance or their productivity as it relates to the contract so feeling really good about that relationship as well thank you any additional updates thank you we'll move on to uh section four reports from officers
boards and commissions uh 4.1 request for qualifications for professional ENC call airport engineering and planning Services Mr stadheim all right thank you madam president City counselors before you today is a request to release a RFQ for professional on call uh airport
engineering and planning Services um in order to be eligible for federal grants um uh for consultant Services the city is required to go through the solicitation process every 5 years per FAA guidelines our current contract with
mean huntt who's been our consultant for 20 to 25 years expires in May um so we are just working through the process to go through the solicitation this is all Guided by faa's
uh circular 150 510014 14e so really just have to qu um follow that process uh and this is step one in that process these are qualification based solicitations um these are not Fe based um so that was one of the comments and
questions that came up during the airport commission meeting is well how can we choose a consultant not knowing what the fees are going to be um so we explained uh that process a little little bit during the commission meeting we really go through what's called an independent fee evaluation when we have
um consultant uh task orders come through uh the through our contract with our consultant and really that is a check on the consultant's prices to make sure we're getting fair value for the dollars that we spend so there there is
a way that that uh cost is um checked but it's not during the actual qualifications review that we'll be doing uh should you approve this tonight so the RFQ document is attached in the packet for your review as well so I would be happy to answer any questions
you may have than Mr stadheim and when you have con consultation for five years it's best to make sure you have the the best of the best doing it um so I guess let's get the ball rolling on this I'll make a motion to authorize a request for qualification
statement for professional on call airport engineering and planning Services second thank you we have a motion and a second any further discussion those in favor signal by saying I I that motion does carry item 4.2 ordinance number 2025 d TBD first
consideration regarding cannabis zoning regulations Mr nle good evening council president council is John nisley planner at the city of New Alm um so just for a little bit of background on uh the canabus zoning regulations as you may
all recall uh the council met in early January and had a Works brief work session on upcoming uh potential cannabis regulations for the city of newal following that uh the new Planning Commission heard at their January 31st
uh 2025 meeting a a pretty um intense outline of what are the state regulations regarding cannabis and how can the uh regulations be implemented locally and what role do we play as a city in cannabis regulations um after
that meeting uh or the the Planning Commission then provided recommendations to City staff to work with uh the City attorney to develop dra zoning regulations um and then present present them at a special meeting on
February 13th so last Thursday uh uh we presented to the Planning Commission a draft ordinance um and at that draft ordinance or that draft ordinance includes uh buffer distances from schools but generally speaking we tried
to craft the ordinance to be very similar to uses um similar in nature that are already regulated in the city's zoning ordinance such as breweries bars brew pubs distilleries micro distilleries those types of things
um so prior to prior to the city permitting any type of cannabis business the business business must first receive a license from the state of Minnesota of which one of the requirements is they have to do a zoning verific verification check in with in which uh municipality
uh they will be conducting business in um so that's just another layer of of checks um before forign I uh licenses issued to that type of business so there's kind of two parts to cannabis regulations in the city here we have the zoning part which regulates essentially
where these businesses can be set up and located within the community and then there's a SE uh separate part uh which will be the licensing procedures and that'll be handled through City Administration and the finance department I believe they're working on that right now and you should be seeing something soon from them so um rather
than go through each uh one of these um rather than going through the ordinance uh piece by piece we put together a table uh to kind of paint a easier picture to see on what we're looking at um for these proposed land
uses within the city so um first of all all of the uh uses that are on the leand side retail delivery manufacturing testing facility Transportation wholesale H manufacturer and then cultivation both indoor and outdoor doors we've defined those uh in the
draft ordinance and those will be incorporated into the city zoning ordinance um so what we did uh again following sort of where we we allow alcohol uses or um businesses in the city uh we tried to craft this the same
way um in our B2 which is our general business district our B3 uh which is community business and then B4 which is the central business district that's the downtown um those retail uh sales of cannabis and cannabis products would be
considered a permitted use um if they were going to do retail in an industrial district uh that can only be an accessory use meaning that it's not the primary use of the property the primary use would be Industrial in
nature like uh manufacturing testing Transportation those types of things and then have a smaller retail component they would be allowed to do that with a condition use permit the example I used at the Planning Commission is it's the same thing we did with black Frost distilling the main uh the property is
mainly used for the distillation process and manufacturing of distilled Spirits The Tasting Room required a conditional use permix where then we're we're bringing in more uh retail traffic to the site we're designing this the same way uh the other uh uses delivery
manufacturing testing Transportation wholesale Manufacturing uh hemp manufacturer and then cultivation or um we'll stop there at manufacturers uh those would only be permitted in the i1 planned industrial and I2 uh General industrial zoning
districts if someone were to grow uh both indoors or Outdoors we would only allow that in our AOS that's our agricultural open space zoning districts um and I think what um can show you a little bit B more clear
picture on what that actually would look like um with a map that we we have here so uh in our draft ordinance we would require that any cannabis business uh
would be 1,000 ft a minimum of 1,000 ft from a school and 500 ft from a daycare um uh daycare adult treatment facility um as well as uh a park so um in the state
regulations those are the maximum buffers that we can uh recommend uh we stuck with those uh we actually use the um boundaries of all the parks rather than just a specific location in the park so all our parks are buffered um
entirely and what we did was we put in those buffers uh with the known daycare treatment facilities uh parks and schools um and then those areas that were within those buffers were just taken out of the map so the areas uh in
purple in the center that would be where you could potentially permit cannabis retail in the downtown um the area just to the south of that in the lighter pink is our uh B2 zoning District where there could be a small space allowed there uh but again
there there aren't really any open spaces in that area the uh bright red on both the North and South End of New Alm those are B3 uh zoning districts where those uh uses could be permitted and outside the buffer zones um and then in the light
blue that's our i1 or our planned industrial district and then the I2 is the darker blue that's on the screen where those those uses could potentially be allowed so you can see once you throw in those buffers uh it takes out a large chunk of the community uh where these
types of cannabis uh bu businesses would be allowed um so I would note that um we also have use specific standards uh we didn't go into use specific standards in in great
depth but what we did was make sure that any of these businesses um we have a standard that they have to meet all the buffer requirements and then they also have to follow all state regulations that go along with that type of use um so to date uh staff has not received
any phone calls uh regarding this um we have had um a a proposed business uh actually bring to light and inform us on a lot of the Cannabis uh business and how that licensing process works uh through the state of Minnesota which has
been helpful for staff in crafting this ordinance we also looked at four different communities who are of similar size uh to Us North M oana um Marshall and Fairmont and our ordinance that we're proposing here is very much in
line with what uh they've already adopted in those communities um so that that concludes the staff report I believe the City attorney is also on the line as well in case there are any specific questions for them thank you Mr
niely um is Mr Scott on today should be David David uh David's yeah David I know David did all the drafting on this but he's at a different meeting tonight just because of the holiday yesterday we had an
abundance of meetings tonight um can you add any uh is there anything that you would like to add to what our planner Mr nisle had said I don't have much to add that was a terrific presentation um I would just
Echo that um this this ordinance is is very in line with all of our other cities that we've been um doing these for um I think if anything um it's maybe a little bit more stringent it's using
the max buffer zones um a lot of our cities aren't just because that wouldn't leave with leave much space for anything but looks like um you know that's all figured out obviously so um the most important thing is um just
getting something on the books for now and then we're going to continue to get additional guidance from uh the office of cannabis management um which which may require updates down the line but um I think this this uh ordinance is
perfectly crafted for the city um and and meets all the requirements thank you um I just had a question if I did do we have a closer map like I can't zoom in on kind of the purple section if you
will we can zoom in on that thank you I can find my it's like top you want to go to the downtown yeah so here is Center Street Broadway and then Minnesota right here it's interesting that there's these
very tiny small pockets of pink as you get in closer that's what I was going to say I really appreciate you guys putting taking the work to put a map like this together to really visualize how many city parks and daycares and things that actually matter that uh people would
probably have maybe a opinion or a complaint about and and just like you I have not received any emails any phone calls with any grievances or uh concerns with this and it certainly looks like you have done the the research and the homework to have this done properly are
we still looking at giving two permits to the community when that comes or license yeah is that the idea two or three we and you guys can make that decision we'll probably be bringing the draft um um registration portion of it either the first meeting in March first
or second meeting in March okay and I know that there's a a potential uh retailer um already looking and and that has very much so done their research too does this location does that fall in line with kind of where they're thinking at the moment as far as I understand it
does yes okay no I appreciate this very much it shows a lot and from the zoning end of it you know new Al is spread out enough that and the the potential business is looking that they want to be in the
downtown area we're not stopping them you know we've outlined it and you know this is the guidelines you know at this point in time with the current daycare and park situation schools and Facilities so you know we had no issues with it and we looked at other cities
and had the discussion there you know because early on you know was whether we need a conditional use permit or an intern permit but we're just going to go by permanent and uh start that process oh very good perfect um I just
will State for the record that there are two counselors missing but this is the first consideration of the ordinance um I am assuming that both counselors um read or will read the packets and the minutes um and so I do I have support for moving this forward I know this is a
big thing so um I will leave it up to you guys for a motion well I'm going to offer motion to conduct the first consider rization of ordinance number 2025 TBD amending appendix a to the newm city code the zoning ordinance of the
city of New Alm to establish zoning districts and use specific standards for cannabis and hemp businesses second thank you we have a motion in a second any further discussion those in favor signal by saying I I I that motion does
carry it item um 5.1 under old business we have ordinance number 2025966412 finding of facts found in your packets it was also then presented at the February 4th city council city council meeting for the first reading so basically what this does is establishes
a second set of standards in the i1 uh planned industrial zoning district and that is to allow for smaller lots and then reduce setback so lots between 12,000 and 19,999 square ft and then the second set
for 20,000 plus Square ft and those would only be standards um set forth in the grid pattern so the the uh historic um City uh City platting that took place in the 1800s it's only for the i1
districts located in in those areas of the community um since the last council meeting we have not received any comments from the public um and there have been uh no changes to the ordinance uh since the first reading if it were to
be uh If This Were to be approved here would go into effect Mar March 24th I've got nothing more to add on it at all from the zoning end of it from the meetings you know we covered it so is there
um any verbage about uh like Civic events or anything like that we'll get to that on the on the next okay on the next ordinance okay this one is spec sorry excuse me this one is specifically on the north end
it's generally uh for the the i1 district on the North End just to the south of um 20th North and between Valley and about uh um Minnesota okay well I'm going to offer a motion to
conduct a second consideration adopt ordinance number 2025-the the zoning ordinance of city of New Al to provide a established second set of development standards in the i1 planned
industrial zoning District improve the attached summary of ordinance amendments to be published in the newm journal it was uh number 202-9770 no this is 96 oh I'm on the wrong one I'm so sorry you guys there's two of them yeah there we go second
96 um we do have a motion in a second any further discussion um I'll say you know the finding of facts report really kind of speaks for themselves and as you go through those if you're finding it's not being answered the way that you want you know then it doesn't go all the way so
um so I appreciate that um any other comments those in favor sign sign by saying I I that motion does carry item 5.2 ordinance number 202-9770 with this uh temporary sign regulation
is it provides a lot more detail um to our temporary sign regulations including information like there's no more than one temporary sign uh that can be displayed per business uh there is a um allowance on or a time limit on when
temporary signs can be displayed that's one continuous 30-day period in each four-month period so uh 13-day period per quarter uh temporary sign uh duration that it can be up is 30 days from the date of issuance you can have a
maximum size of 32 square ft uh per sign surface um in the commercial zoning districts and it can't be uh taller than 8 feet in height um again these regulations are to allow temporary signage over and above the base sign
regulations that are already in the zoning ordinance so um a a place of business or even in the residential districts you have a certain amount of allowed signage already in existence temporary signs would be over and above that base allowance um and then we also have
Provisions about how these signs shouldn't be illuminated um I would note a a couple things um we had looked into adding a provision to allow for both uh Civic or community events um and we were uh
provided guidance from our City attorney that that would then mean we are regulating content you can't regulate signed content um so we had to um we had to take a provision like that out um we did receive one phone call from a
business in town just asking for clarification on what these regulations will mean for their business and whether or not they would meet the standards that we're setting forth here um and that that conversation uh went just fine other than that we haven't received any
more calls from the public uh regarding this matter thank you Mr nisle um I will say as I've read through this and I'm looking at at what staff has put together and I really really appreciate that because you know you
look around and you see the signs um you know pancake breakfasts and you know uh Community happenings and events and I just you know while while this I think is very well crafted I feel like it's
going to have an unintended impact um I don't know that people in the community are going to really understand these very well I feel like it's going to drive a lot of Staff calls and I feel like it's kind of an un I personally as I'm really digging into this I feel like it's a little bit unnecessary um I also
don't feel comfortable not having two counselors here um and I'll just be very clear that my thoughts are I would love to have staff go back and just kind of you know revisit this and um and see if this is something that is very necessary or if this is kind of a broad brush
approach um to things because I in my four plus years now as council president have never received one phone call about um signage complaints in fact I've I've gotten more um Communications about confusion about this ordinance um and
and how some of these uh Community organizers are like fearful that they're not going to be able to promote their events um and I just I don't know that I'm comfortable at this time supporting this ordinance I guess I've I do have the same opinion
on that one um I've seen a lot of comments online and I have received emails of the same concerns of like I said those Civic events that we have in this town that's what makes kind of a small town unique um special I think it's sometimes okay to have those things
and having rules like this in place I I do think we could look into it a little bit more too so I would support doing a little bit more research on this one well from from the zoning I think what prompted this from staff was that a a new b a newer business and I'm not
trying to speak out a tun here but there was a particular business that all of a sudden three big signs occurred on their property and staff didn't know how to address that you know should you have a you know by size limit you know or this defines it to 32 square feet but there
were three of them I can't speak how big they were if they were you know in if they were six foot square or whatever but it drew attention and then they they told the business have it for 30 days but then they'll work on updating the
the zoning and I think you know from the zoning end of it it was just trying to be consistent you how to handle the situations I also like the mayor to maybe chime in on this one well the the only question I have now we're going to
thicken the pot here but um that does not impact the signage that we're seeing on Center Street and Broadway or it does impact that I thought last conversation so the the way it could impact that okay um is that
again sign regulations are tricky because you have to look at each individual site property um and then what zoning District they're in so for instance that is in the B2 I believe um and they're allowed a certain amount of
square footage per lot based on the uh number of Street Front that they have so one week they might be okay um but if they add three or four more signs they might be above and beyond okay that's why this uh administering this type of
ordinance is a little bit tricky it's kind of um it can change frequently depending on if the temporary sign is up for a long period of time or it's only up for a couple days so um that's kind of the Nuance that goes with this this type of ordinance okay okay uh I have to
say um in support of an ordinance to manage that that has been called to my attention that there's a lot of signs in that location if it does address that okay thank you um I guess I will defer to see if we
have an option to or if a vote is required on this I will ask for a motion and a vote otherwise um I would be okay with pulling this for um either staff to reconsider or come back with with more
information another time I um I know that I just I can't approve it as it is I do support that as well I would make a motion to uh reconsider this ordinance number [Music]
202-9770 consider to look at a little bit more options on this I'll second that okay so just for clarification um for you all what would likely be the situation then is for to go back and and do some revisions it'll go back to the
Planning Commission and um they would want to review and provide feedback on those Provisions before it would come back to the council again for for a first reading I I'll just kind of take a little straw poll here do we feel like we need to invest City staff time in
revisiting this at this time I don't think so I don't think so I think we've it's covered you know I mean we didn't have anything prior and I guess depends on how we want to pick which sign you know or signs in the community and we can't
do that and so I would rather I would rather move forward with Mr zel yeah right now the way we would deal with temporary signage is it's included in the total amount of signage
on the property MH it's up for 30 days but we don't have a time limit for the yearly thing okay is where so they could have it up for 30 days down for another day come for a permit up for another 30 days so it could be continuous okay but
it is included in the total signage of the lot right now okay right Mak sense so we have the option to Motion in second and vote no um or um do I have the ability to just pull
this and someone can make need a motion to deny it or want to it table and bring it back uh I'm G to I'm going to ask for uh to us to move forward and and take a vote on this I will do a roll call on this um and see where it
goes but we do need a motion in a second to move this forward and you have that to reconsider is what the motion is right now we have a motion and a second to reconsider okay well um that being said director
Jorgenson please call the RO councelor M or warka no councelor Mack no and uh president Becker no uh but that doesn't mean that this is approved no do you you could have a second motion if there's
something else that you action you would like to take my action is that at this time I my motion would be to not take any further action but I can't make that motion if we're having a reconsider reconsideration we'll have two more
counselors at the next one to actually have a little bit more discussion if we need to if they do come up with anything different we can have another discussion there is what I'd suggest have two more opinions well you voted not to reconsider Oh I thought my motion was to reconsider but then I voted no but okay
well I would stand by that I mean if we're okay with that I'm okay with it I I don't think that we do need to waste any City time on this I agree thank you for the staff time so far appreciate it thank you all right under item 6.1 new
business um 2027 North Garden Street project design variance request Mr stadim thank you madam president State counselors before you today uh a we're going to be asking the state for a designed variance request for our proposed 2027 North Garden Street
project uh this uh project would run from approximately Center Street not including Center Street on um Garden Street up to fifth North Street including the intersection of fifth North Street U with the potential mini
roundabout construction at that location the city has been programmed in fiscal um fiscal 2027 um in 2023 we were programmed to receive 1.68 million and in 2024 we were
programmed to receive 1.71 million in federal funds to assist with the completion of this project this project is proposed to include pedestrian enhancements along the corridor um adjacent to Harmon Park as well as the before mentioned mini roundabout at
fifth North Street so this variance request um is requesting our design to vary from the state aid uh design standards uh for in particular for the 45 degree Pullin diagonal parking adjacent to Harmon
Park so state aid rules specify that on a roadway in excess of 3,000 vehicles per day which Garden Street is is to allow a 14t distance between the back of the parking stall and the traffic lane currently that configuration is a 4T
distance um and that is the variance that we are requesting is to keep that 4ft variance as opposed to the 14t variant um distance um between the parking and driving lane I I think it's important to note the reasoning for the variance request
I'm going to go through those uh just so they're in the record the location is adjacent to Harmon Park between first North and second North streets it currently includes angled parking on the west side of the street and and is proposed to be the same with the proposed 2027 project angled street
parking is required excuse me required for the adjacent Recreation fields to meet the facility parking needs the combined width of the parking stall distance between the traffic lanes and parking stall and traffic lane in the existing condition is 30 ft the
combined width of the parking stall distance between the traffic lane and parking stall and traffic lane is proposed to be 36 ft as proposed the parking stall and the distance between the traffic lane and parking stall will exceed the existing condition by a total
of 6 feet with no change proposed to the traffic lane width as proposed the distance between the traffic lane and parking stall will exceed the minimum for the roadway of less than three or with more than 3,000 vehicles per day meeting the requirements for that foot
14t um distance between the parking Lane and the traffic lane if we were to move forward following the state a design standards we would need to eliminate sidewalk and it would encroach into the adjacent
recreational Fields um or we would have to eliminate diagonal parking which is not the preferred alternative in this case Peak traffic times on the street generally do not coincide with high use of the diagonal parking so our high traffic volume times are generally early
in the morning and midafternoon the park is generally have those heavy use times later in the day and on weekends so that's the reasoning for the variance request so if approved today this variance request would go to the menot variance committee at their March
27th meeting and I would be following up with the menot district 7 state aid engineer um to share results of the meeting today and to formally um request the variance request do we gain or lose any parking with this
new if we with the propos we're looking at um some concept grinds that have bump outs at first and second we may lose a couple just you know we um depending on how those bump outs lay out but we're trying to maximize and maintain as much
parking as we can on the segment um we do have a public open house scheduled for Wednesday February 25th um between 4 and 6 clock um our consultant engineer sh will have some concept drawings available at that meeting if you are able to make it
mhm I did look through the drawings and I mean I know it's a distance but I think there's there's um street parking on the other side of the park there on um is it like on the other end of the park where the grass is you know there's parking there as well on second yep yeah
we're just trying to pretty much maintain what we have so M I think it looks good I do too so I'm going to offer resolution approving the variance requests from standards for state aid operations for project number
SP 1481 121-0 one0 second thank you we have a motion in a second any further discussion um my only question is does the state have the ability to just tell us know that that they won't do this or do you think with the variance request
you know we'll continue to move this project forward cuz I feel very strongly about having the bump outs in that area y i I'm hopeful the variance request is approved and I think we have a strong case to deviate from state aid standards but being that this is a state aid route
yes the state aid uh office does have final say in the design perfect thank you so much any additional discussion director Jorgenson please call the role councelor warka yes and councelor M yes president Becker yes that motion does
carry um item number 6.2 is tax exempt General obligation permanent Improvement revolving fund bond series 2025 councilors this is an annual request that allows us to move forward with the projects for the year and then reimburse ourselves for any costs we
incur before we actually sell bonds we all offer a resolution to declare official intent of the city of New Alm to reimburse utility Street alley and other Capital expenditures with proceeds of tax exempt General obligation permanent improving
Improvement revolving fund bonds series 2025 second thank you motion and a second any further discussion director jensson please call the rolec warka yes councelor Mack yes president Becker yes motion carries item 6.3 um we do need a
majority vote for this um we need at least four counselors to approve um because of some excused absences tonight we will not meet the Quorum necessary for this item um regarding the year transfers and incumbrances so this will
be uh redocked for the next council meeting in March item 6.4 orderly annexation agreement for Cottonwood Township Mr nisley okay so this is a resolution approving the orderly annexation
agreement with Cottonwood Township uh the Cottonwood Township Board tentatively approved the uh attached orderly annexation agreement at their meeting held Tuesday February 11th 2025 uh sign copy of the orderly annexation agreement will be provided to
the city in the last week of February um so just a little bit of background the city of New Alman and cotwood Township previously entered into uh this agreement um orderly annexation agreement on May 11th 2016 uh that agreement expired on
December 31st of 2024 so it was approximately a 20-year term um Cottonwood Township uh for those of you may not be familiar abuts the southeast side of the city of new um and the purpose of this orderly annexation
agreement is to plan for future growth and development of the area identified uh in the agreement while also protecting the public health safety and Welfare um this is accompanied by identifying those areas within the township that are most susceptible to Future development and growth by the
city um the orderly annexation agreement um as stated when we brought to you the Milford Township orderly annexation agreement um also establishes a more expedited annexation process for properties within the orderly annexation area uh this type of agreement is
authorized by uh State Statute um but this orderly annexation agreement differs from the previous one with cwood Township in just a few ways number one the term of the agreement is now going to be 10 years versus
previously being 20 years um number two is that uh we decrease the size of what is defined as Agricultural Development from having to be a 40 acre parcel or larger and we decrease that down to 10 acres or larger that would again be in
line with brown County's definition or the Brown County Assessor's definition of agricultural land uh being 10 acres or more um and then we have to do a new map when we for the orderly annexation area so previously uh with Cottonwood Township um the orderly orderly
annexation area was 1,950 Acres uh the new land area in this new agreement is 1,690 Acres um so that would just show that some of that Land from the previous agreement had already been anex
therefore uh we had to change the amount of total Acres but the actual boundary of the orderly annexation area didn't change change from the previous agreement um uh an additional sentence has also been added that requires any land area
being an nexted uh has to AB but the city so if the property being annexed isn't AB but the city the land between the parcel to be annexed and the city could also be annexed uh this would avoid creating any island of Township property hanging out there uh the city
will continue to provide the township with a property tax reimbursement for any annexed property um I would note that uh there haven't there hasn't been any uh concerned from those uh residents within the orderly annexation area to have
their properties removed from the map or anything like that um uh with Cottonwood Township and uh that would conclude the staff report thank you Mr nisle I'm going to offer the resolution
approving the orderly annexation agreement with Cottonwood Township I will second that thank you we have a motion in a second any further discussion um just that I know annexation Agreements are you know sticky but necessary and it looks like
you made some appropriate changes so I appreciate that any other discussion director jensson please call the role councelor warka yes councelor Mack yes president Becker yes that motion does carry item number 6.5
Prairie Lakes arts and cultural heritage arts and music festivals Grant request Mr shugal thank you president council president beter city council Joey shugal Park and Recreation director uh this is a grant request through the Prairie Lakes Regional Arts Council that would
if awarded would go to support the summer concert series in German Park that we partner with with KJ uh we're requesting $6,000 in this grant Grant uh if awarded those Grant um dollars would go to promotional materials compensating
banss along with the free activities that we offer down at German Park during this event such as Papa wagon and wreck on the go uh this is a grant that we haven't traditionally applied for with this summer concert series and there is no cost to apply and no required
match it's a good organization I was thinking of applying for this for music as well but um I can I certainly have no shortage of other things um but no very good to have the music in the park um and you said you have not requested this one in the past we have not and and Prairie Lakes
supports communities all over southern Minnesota and it would not be uncommon for them to support multiple organizations within the same city as well yeah perfect no I think it's a great idea um to get any help that covers you know the marketing and promotion staff time the music itself um
I think is very important thank you yeah I completely agree I love to see uh some new new Talent new bands type of thing and and better marketing I think that's a great great use of funds and great use of our beautiful Park we have and Amphitheater so I'd love to may offer
the resolution authorizing staff to submit a Grant application to the Prairie Lakes Regional Art Council for the Arts and cultural heritage arts and music festivals grant for the summer concert series in German Park second thank you we have a motion in a second any further discussion director Jenson
please call the role councelor warka yes councelor Mack yes president Becker yes motion carries item 6.6 LL CMR Grant request for the pollinator Park thank you council president Bear City Council this is another Grant request from lccmr
which stands for legislative citizen Commission on Minnesota resources and this uh these Grant dollars are aimed to protect conserve preserve and enhance Minnesota air water land Fish Wildlife and other natural resources uh so this
is a state funded uh pot of money for projects that fall in that category uh as we've identified our current pollinator Park sits on 2.64 Acres although there are 20 additional Acres that make up two Parcels of City owned
land that have but that area that area is is used within that Park already there are some Trails um just some very natural trails in that area but the goal of of if awarded uh a grant like this uh would be to enhance that area and and
some of the ideas with enhancement would be include nature Play features in the area native Prairie restoration some further Trail development educational signage and uh allow for interaction with that educational um and with Play
features and then invasive species management as well uh the grant uh request amount would be for 246 ,000 I've included in in your packet uh a concept that isg put together for us and again that is a concept um which those
dollars if awarded would be focused on areas a b and c which would in potentially include again that nature-based play area that could go to really not only serve the the mobile home park right across the road there that has been um traditionally
underserved through the city park system uh as well as I think really be a Community Asset and Community draw and then even a regional draw with a with a nature play feature in that area um picnic shelter area enhanced picnic shelter area and again that trail
development and and Native Prairie reg restoration would be part of those dollars the concept includes further expansion um in the future as well uh but those those dollars if awarded again could go to Project or enhance ments as
I've listed uh again there is no cost to apply for this and there is for this funding source there is no matching Grant this is not like the DNR outdoor red uh Recreation grant that includes a matching uh dollars from us thank
you I absolutely love the work the city has done and our countless volunteers that have kind of put that together I I go for walks daily there with my dog and just seeing what's changed over the years is is absolutely remarkable even the little trails that they're cutting
through is it's really neat I I really appreciate the work they've done already and if there's a way to Spur a little bit more and and get a little bit better use out of it I'd absolutely love to see that on on my shade of town so i' again offer resolution authorizing staff to
submit a Grant application for the legislative citizen Commission on Minnesota resources to fund enhancements at our pollinator Park second thank you we have a motion in a second and any further discussion no I think it's a great idea thanks for doing this Joy um
my question is just for clarification this grant would would include which pieces of the uh the schematic that we have here are the concept I don't think I can pull up it on on the screen but in your packet there's the map on there so there's sections a b and c okay those
would be the focus areas um phase one of potential enhancements okay thank you Joy thank thank you any additional discussion director jensson please call the role councelor warka yes councelor Mack yes president Becker yes motion
carries last item of business today is item 6.7 Park and Recreation donations once again Mr shle yes council president beter uh city council we had have do have two um donations this month for you uh both from the Isaac Walton League
first one is for the Riverside environmental Learning Center for $2,000 which would go towards uh programming and general supplies and for $2,000 and then $5,000 for the Sue Valley Gun trap range and that would go towards the
potential for a new um facility on the Trap range there thank you well I'm going to offer a resolution to accept the following donations offered to the city of New alms through the park and recreational department for identified purposes for a total of $7,000 from the local Isaac
Walton I'll second that but I do have one question about that uh gun that trap range how much do they have established right now is there a fund their keeping or yeah so yeah councelor warco so we have an internal restricted fund and that those funds are if you recall the
dollars that you transferred last month from uh leftover for the battery building which was approximately $99,000 the Isaac Walton League's contributions with this 5,000 and another 5,000 so about $20,000 is there but um the Sue
Valley Gun Club is you know committing some of their funds to this uh facility and most of their funds to this facility uh in discussions with them right now we're in the process of we need design to be able to uh apply for the DNR Grant
and once we know the design budget and what a facility would look like then um the Su Val Gun Club will make their um proposal on how much they can contribute our goal is to not use any additional city funding for this since they operate
the facility uh but that's where we're at right now this one is a if a if once the the plan is done um our goal is to apply for a DNR grant for that that requires a 50% match so we're hoping um
that there's enough dollars there for that 50% match is really what the goal is I just know it's a wildly popular uh pastime activ sport um that people love and i' love to see it keep growing thank you thank you we have a motion and a
second any further discussion director jensson please call the role councelor warka yes councelor Mack yes and president Becker yes that motion does carry with no additional business this meeting is adjourned work session will follow as soon as the booth
is