All right, we're going to go ahead and call to order the regular meeting of the Oakdale City Council, May 27th, 2025. Sarah, will you please take the role? Council member Moore here. Council member Morham here. Council member Severson here. Council member Willen here. Mayor Zabel here. Please join me
for the pledge of allegiance. I aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. All right, council members. First
up is approval of the agenda. I'm going to offer one small amendment um asking to move consensus motion I to under council presentations. And I'm not pulling it during consensus motions because I want to wait until that section on the agenda to cover that.
Um, any other changes or can I get a motion to approve the agenda as amended? Make a motion to approve as amended. There's a motion. Is there a second? Second. Motion a second. All those in favor say I. I. Opposed. And the agenda is adopted. Next up, uh, approval of minutes. We have two sets in front of us
tonight. First up, workshop meeting minutes for May 13th, 2025. Council members, any changes or corrections? I'll look for a motion. So move. There's a motion. Is there a second? Second. Uh, motion and a second. All those in favor say I. I. opposed. And those meeting minutes are adopted.
Next up, regular meeting minutes uh for May 13, 2025. Council members, any changes or corrections? I'll accept a motion. So move. There's a motion. Is there a second? Second. Motion second. All those in favor say I. I. Opposed. And those minutes are adopted as well.
Uh we have a public hearing in front of us tonight regarding Willoughbrook 12th edition. Um but before we get to that, let's start with the staff presentation. City planner Luke Mlanahan. Welcome. Thank you, mayor and councel. So, I'll have the presentation slides here up on
the screen in just a moment. So, the location of this request, it is at the northeast quadrant of 40th Street and 694. The uh property consists of about 10 acres. Uh this is the last development phase within
Willoughbrook, if you can believe that or not. And the purpose here is to establish a 98 unit town home development. And the applicant states that the units will be market rate or in other words they are not income restricted. Also the town home units will be sold to individuals. So uh this
will not be a fully rental neighborhood. For the zoning of the site it is zoned Willoughbrook PUD plan unit development uh which designates this site for highdensity residential and town homes are allowed there. The comp plan guides the site for mixeduse residential. the
access to the site there will just be one and I'll show that in just a moment on one of the slides but it's at the intersection of 40th Street and Hayward Avenue. Moving on to the next slide here we have the proposed subdivision plat and the developer is seeking to replplat the site to create one outlot for the
private streets and infrastructure and 98 lots for the individual town home units. Uh the uh city engineer noted that because the development will utilize the adjacent parcel to the northeast for surface water treatment that's shown on the screen with the red
asterric there. Uh that parcel uh has to be included as part of this plat. So that adjustment will have to be made by the developer before uh the final plat. Uh for in terms of easements, the developer must ensure that there are no encroachments into the drainage and utility easements. So those are just uh
easements on the periphery of the site. So there's just a small encroachment on the north side here and also a small encroachment on the east side as well. And really what that amounts to is u patios for the town homes. They'll just have to be shifted and m um be made sure that they are uh outside of that
easement area. Also as part of the platting process and in accordance with the Willoughbrook master POD agreement, the developer must satisfy park dedication requirements. So here's a look at the site plan. Um, again, the access here, it's just one access at the
intersection of 40th Street and Hayward Avenue. The internal streets for this site, uh, will be owned and maintained by the developer given that the private streets will be narrower than these, uh, standard city streets. The fire department stated that on street parking
cannot be allowed in order to allow uh, large vehicles such as fire trucks, uh, garbage trucks to properly make maneuvers throughout the site. And as such, the developer must install signage throughout the development that prohibits on street parking. The
developers plan show that a trail will run along the east side of this property, so north south there, and it will connect to other trails within the Willoughbrook neighborhood. This trail will eventually be owned and uh maintained or excuse me, not owned, but maintained by the city as part of the
Master Willoughbrook POD agreement. and the uh developer must establish an easement that grants uh public access uh for use of this trail. The Willoughbrook PUD contains specific zoning standards for the site and the developer is
seeking two deviations from them. The first one is the required density of the Willowbrook PUD and the second one is uh a reduction from setback requirements. So in terms of density, the PUD designates this property as highdensity residential as I mentioned and it
requires a density range of 35 to 55 dwelling units per acre. This proposal is only uh just a little over 10 dwelling units per acre. So the developer is seeking that amendment uh to reduce the density due to the product type that is being offered which is uh
being driven by market demand and staff finds that the reduced density is appropriate to accommodate the proposal at is excuse me as it will expand housing types within the area while also still meeting the intent of the Willbrook PUD. Now, in terms of
setbacks, shown in red is the property's boundary and the Willoughbrook PUD does have a special setback from the interstate, the property line of 694. The required setback is 60 ft. And along the west side of this development, that
60 ft setback is meant with just one exception or one small area. As you can see there on the screen, there's a the setback would be 56 ft. So, just a a small foot a 4ft reduction to accommodate the town homes there. Uh also there is a 35- foot setback
requirement from the 40th street rightaway edge. Uh that uh setback has been met here on the east side, but then there's a little jog as you can see there along 40th Street and that is due to additional areas needed for a future
pedestrian bridge connection from 40th Street across uh 694. So, it's a bit of a technicality there, but um uh the setback, the proposed setback there is 30 ft. So, that would be a 5-ft reduction in the setback along 40th
Street. So, staff finds that the reduced setbacks are appropriate to accommodate the development. Other ordinance standards, including uh tree preservation, landscaping, and parking requirements have been met for this request. So, let's take a look at some of the elevations for the town home. Uh
the development is located within that highdensity residential area as I mentioned and u the POD does require certain exterior design standards be meant and um after reviewing this request staff finds that the exterior building materials for the proposal meet
the PUD standards. I know that there is a bit of an outdated narrative in the the request uh that the developer the applicant was stating that they were seeking a deviation from the exterior design standards. Upon further review, staff finds that this request meets the
uh design standards of the PUD. So, a few more elevations just here to follow. Uh some colored renderings just to give you a flavor of what the final product might look like here. And uh finally, I want to speak to the noise variance request. The applicant is seeking a highways noise variance uh due to the
site being located adjacent to the interstate. And the applicant also submitted a noise um an an accompanying traffic noise impact that was prepared by a certified engineer. And the results of the assessment reveal that not surprisingly noise levels exceed the
state uh standards or the the minimum or the the thresholds established by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. Um, state rules, however, allow for higher noise noise levels if certain conditions are met, including the use and integration of construction materials
for windows and and um exterior doors. So, staff finds that a noise variance is appropriate provided that the developer utilize appropriate construction materials to comply with state noise standards. And uh with that uh staff also finds that the developers request
for a PUD amendment, the final PLA, the site plan uh are consistent with the city's comprehensive plan and the city's ordinances as detailed in the staff report on file. So staff recommends approval of the request subject to the following conditions that are found in the resolution packet or excuse me the
agenda packet. The resolutions here I'll read through the conditions of approval. So the first one is resolution 2025-50. So that's the final plat for Wbrook 12th edition. Bear with me. Eight conditions here. So number one, execution of a development agreement. Number two, satisfaction of park
dedication requirements. Number three, the developer must establish an easement over outlaw a Willbrook 12 enabling access to and maintenance of the sanitary sewer and water mane. Number four, the final plat must be res revised to include that portion of outlaw a
Willoughbrook fifth edition to be utilized for surface water treatment of this development and the remainder of that outlaw will must be allotted for city open space in accordance with the Willoughbrook master PUD agreement. So that's basically a long-winded way of saying that um that uh area shown with
the red aster has to be included in the plat. Number five, the developer must establish a public access easement over the trail located on the eastern portion of the site. Number six, updated civil plans uh to remove encroachments into the drainage and utility easements.
Number seven, the developer must comply with the city attorney's plat opinion letter and recording instructions. And number eight, permits and approvals from outside agencies must be obtained. So, moving on to the second resolution for Willoughbrook 12. This is
2025-51 and it is for the site plan. So conditions 1 2 3 and 9 are carried over from the previous resolution. So um no need to uh go over those again. So but moving on to uh condition number four and that is approval of a noise variance. Number five, installation of
signage to prohibit on street parking. Number six, the developer must obtain approval from the fire department for hydrant locations and connections. Number seven, the developer needs to provide additional details on ground mechanical equipment, exterior trash collection areas, and screening. And
then number eight, the developer must provide an updated phototric plan that complies with the city's regulations. And finally, the last resolution is 2025-52, and that is for the highway noise variance. Just one condition there, and that is that ex exterior
windows and doors must meet Minnesota noise standards. As a reminder, this is a public hearing and we have some folks from the uh developer side here, the applicant, if you have any questions, otherwise I'd be happy to answer questions, too. Thank you. Thank you, Luke. Uh, council members, let's start
with questions for Luke. I got one. Uh, could you go back to the slide with the property line setbacks? Oops. Yep. There. That's it. Uh so 30 ft on the south side. You had mentioned it's 30 ft to accommodate future
pedestrian um trail connections. One, is that trail already in place or is that going to be constructed by the developer? And two, I mean, is that envisioning the 40th Street pedestrian overpass that we've
talked about on 694? Cuz I didn't realize we made a decision on whether that was going to be on the north or the south side of the freeway overpass. And I know there's a sidewalk on the south side that Roars built. So I'm curious where all those pieces kind of fell into place. I might have to look around the
room for some backup here, but I I could be wrong, but is the the sidewalk on the north north side of 40th is that existing? No. Um Okay. Part of this development. Oh, yep. Thank you. Uh, so from what I'm hearing from the city engineer is that the the sidewalk on the
north side of 40th Street would have to be built as part of this development. But is that also then assuming that the 40th Street pedestrian overpass would also be on the north side? I guess what what is the value of that sidewalk if we
end up putting the overpass on the south side? Chris, was it No, sorry. I needed water. Sorry. gives us options later. Yeah. Um what I'm hearing again is that uh just with
the additional rightaway jog there, it it allows for additional rightways. So it that the the bridge might be able to be built on either north or south side. Okay. So we haven't made any determinations or assumptions. We're just putting in infrastructure just in
case. Okay. Here. I thought you found four million bucks and was ready to go on the bridge, but okay. Damn. Uh, other questions for Luke. Thank you, Luke. All right. At this time, I'm going to go ahead and open up the public hearing. This is an opportunity for anybody in the audience who would like to share comments on this specific
agenda item. Please feel free to step up to the podium, state your name and address for the record, and proceed with your comments. At this time, I'm going to go ahead and close the public hearing, bring it back up for council consideration. Uh, council members, I guess, I'm sorry, I didn't ask if they may have questions for the developer. I guess we can do
that now if there are any. Nope. All right. Any final questions? No. All right, let's hop to it. Who wants to make the first motion? Um, I didn't have a question, mayor, but I did have discussion. Let's get the motion on the table and then we can open up for discussion.
Yeah. per. I will make a motion to wave reading and adopt ordinance number 945 amending the Willoughbrook planned unit development to reduce the required density in the high density residential area. There's a motion. Is there a second? Second. Motion in a second. Comments.
Not on that one. Oh, which one? Just so I know. Two and three. Perfect. All right. Uh any comments? All right. All those in favor say I. I. Opposed. And ordinance 945 is adopted. Next item. Make a motion to
wave reading and adopt resolution 2025-50 approving the final plat for Willoughbrook 12th edition with conditions included in the attached resolution. There's a motion. Is there a second? Second. Motion a second. Comments. Wonderful. Thank you so much for that. Council member Morgan. Um I
just wanted to kind of go on record here. This one and the next one I will be voting no on. I had concerns when they came in February. I don't feel like my concerns particularly on the setbacks um have been addressed. And so I just wanted to say why in a moment I will be
voting no on those two. Okay. Thank you, Council Member Moore. Uh any other comments? All those in favor say I. I. Opposed? No. And resolution 2025-50 is adopted 4 to1. Uh site plan. We'll make a motion wave reading and adopt
resolution 2025-51 approving the site plan for Willbrook 12th edition with conditions included in the attached resolution. There's a motion. Is there a second? Second. Motion second. Any comments? All those in favor say I. I. Opposed? No. And resolution 2025-51 is adopted. 4
to one. Last item. I will make a motion to wave reading and adopt resolution 2025-52 approving a variance for highway noise levels at Willoughbrook 12th edition. There's a motion. Is there a second? Second. Motion a second. Any conversation. All in favor say I. I. Opposed. And resolution 2025-52 is
adopted. I closed the public hearing. Right. Okay. Thank you. We just barreled right through those. That's fine. Uh thank thank you, Luke. Thank you. Um gosh, 12th edition for Willoughbrook. That's
fantastic. Oh boy. Uh open forum. Um this is an opportunity to open up the floor uh to anybody who wants to talk about anything that's on their mind. But before we get to that, I have one proclamation I'd like to issue uh recognizing uh International Firefighters Day and Emergency Medical
Services Week. Whereas International Firefighters Day is observed each year on May 4th to honor and remember past firefighters who have lost their lives while serving their communities, to express gratitude to those that have served in this line of work, and to show support and appreciation for those who presently serve. And whereas in 1974,
President Gerald Ford authorized Emergency Medical Services, EMS Week, to celebrate EMS professionals and the important work they do in our nation's communities. And whereas firefighting and emergency medical services are vital public services. And whereas the members of EMS teams are ready to provide
life-saving care to those in need 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And whereas at a moment's notice, firefighters are quick to respond to uncertain situations, to mitigate danger, and to combat the threat of destructive fire in order to protect individuals, families, and the economic being of our community.
And whereas the members of the EMS teams engage in thousands of hours of specialized training and continuing education to enhance their life-saving skills. And whereas the demands of firefighting are accompanied by both personal and physical tolls that all firefighters knowingly accept while
risking their lives to protect the lives of others. Therefore, I Kevin, mayor of Oakdale, Minnesota, do hereby proclaim May 4th as International Firefighters Day and May 18th through the 24th, 2025 as emergency medical services week in the city of Oakdale. I know I speak for the entire city council and everybody in
our city when where Chief will go. There you are. Uh we say thank you. You have an absolutely incredible department of men and women who um always respond to the calls and the needs of our community. Um I think we all agree that is in large part to outstanding
leadership um in that department of chiefs past, present, and the ones that will come. You know, um you have a great team over there that um anything that our residents need, they know your team will will be there to help them out. So, a big thank you to everybody uh and your larger team. You know, that's grown in
the last few years um as we've made investments in our community to go to a full-time fire department. It has been a tremendous improvement for uh civic services in our community, and we say thank you to everybody that that um contributes to that important work. So, thank you. Uh we're still under open
forum. Uh if there's anybody in the audience that would like to share anything on their mind, please feel free to step up to the podium, state your name and address for the record, and proceed with your comments. Seeing none, we'll move into consensus motions. Uh, council members, we have A through H and J and K
tonight. Were there any that council members would like to pull for individual consideration? Mayor, believe we looked at consensus motion B to be tabled to a future date. We certainly did. Um, so why don't you pull that one for now? We can come back
to that tableabling action in a little bit. Right. I will pull consensus motion B. Okay. Uh were there any others? Okay. Can I get a motion to approve A, C through H, and J and K as presented? I'll move approval of
consensus motions A. Oh, you lost me already. C through H and J and K as presented. There's a motion. Is there a second? Second. Motion and a second. All those in favor say I. I. Opposed. And those are approved. Council member Morham, would you like to summarize B
and make the motion? Sure. Yeah. Consensus motion B regarding city council city policies on advisory boards. The council would like to uh review the language in that policy one more time before we put it forward for consensus. So I motion that we table that to the June 10th meeting. There's a
motion. Is there a second? Second. Motion a second. All those in favor say I. I. Opposed. And that city policy is tabled. Uh advisory boards and commissions opportunity to check in with them. Uh EMC met on uh May 19th.
Unfortunately, I could not be with them. Um, so I do not have an update. Uh, the only other one that met was Parks and Wreck, Council Member Morham. They met on 520. They sure did. It's Parks and Wreck met on 520. We reviewed the master parks plan. Hannah Dunn shared all of
the work that's gone into those parks plans over the past year and a half now. So, a lot of excitement about the vision for the future and now it gets back to the council to decide how and when to fund what what comes next. We also talked a lot about uh Summerfest. Big
excitement in Oakdale in June. So, we encourage obviously the commission, parks commission, all the members to be a part of it and in the community. I'm sure mayor, you're going to speak about it later today. That's what we covered. Yep. Staff wants me to talk about it. All right. Thank you for that. Uh, no
award bids tonight, so we'll move right into staff reports. Community development has a couple items for us. Luke's back. Luke, take us through the cup. Thank you, Mayor and Council. So, the location of this request is 1803 Geneva Avenue. It's at the intersection
of Stillwater Boulevard and Geneva Avenue, also known as Highway 120. The zoning of the site is C2, where electronic dynamic uh business signs are allowed through the conditional use permit process. And the purpose here is that the applicant is seeking to add a
new electronic dynamic sign component to their existing monument sign. So currently there is a 48 square ft monument sign on site. Uh the proposed electronic portion would be would add 32 ft bringing the total sign face to 80
square ft. And the existing sign faces both Geneva Avenue and Stillwater Boulevard. And uh with that um electronic signs are subject to certain review criteria that's found in the city's ordinances. and staff finds that the COP review criteria for this request
has been satisfied as detailed in the staff report on file. Staff recommends approval of the request subject to the following conditions. And I'm reading from resolution 2025-48. Six conditions here. Number one, the sign shall have a minimum uh display duration of 30 seconds. That's
also known as the dwell time. Number two, the sign shall display static messages only. So, no no video messages or moving messages. Number three, the sign shall not exceed 4,500 nits between the hours of civil sunrise and civil
sunset. And then, because this property is near or adjacent to residential property, the sign shall not exceed 250 nits from civil sunset to civil sunrise. Uh, number five, the sign shall have a fully functional off switch that auto
shuts off when the display deteriorates by 10% or greater. And then finally, number six, the applicant shall obtain the sign permit and electric permit through the city for this use. So, the planning commission held the required public hearing for this request back on May 1st, and they recommended approval.
Uh, like I said, staff is recommending approval and happy to answer questions. Thank you. Uh, council members, any questions for Luke? All right, I'll look for a motion. Make a motion to wave reading and adopt
resolution 2025-48 approving a conditional use permit for an electronic dynamic business sign at 1803 Geneva Geneva Avenue North with conditions included in the attached resolution. There's a motion. Is there a second? Second. Second. Motion second. Final comments.
All those in favor say I. I. I. Opposed. And resolution 2025-48 is adopted. Luke Enclave helmet station. Did did you walk away and then just walk back? Very dramatic.
The floor is yours. Thank you, mayor. So, if you recall back on November 26 of last year, a PUD amendment or planned unit development amendment, preliminary plat and site plan for Enclave Helmo station were approved. And this proposal involves a 262 unit apartment building,
112 unit town home development, and a 2.8 acre public park. Both the town home u uh structures or units and the apartment building are planned to be market rate. Again, that's not income restricted. Uh the location of the site is the southeast quadrant of Helmo
Avenue and Fourth Street for the town homes and then just south of Third Street and east of the Norheart building for the proposed park and apartments. Uh so the developer is seeking three subsequent approvals. The first one is the final plat and this is essentially just a resubdivision to create three new
parcels for the development. So, one parcel for the town homes, one parcel for the apartment building, and then one outlaw for the public park. So, staff reviewed the final plat and found it to be in substantial conformance with the approved preliminary plat. Uh, the developer also submitted a title
commitment to accompany the plat and in response, the city attorney's office prepared a plat opinion letter. The developer must comply with the provisions of the plat opinion letter. Uh so the second request is a highway noise variance and the applicant is seeking that noise variance because of
the proximity of the site to interstate 94. Uh uh similar to the Willoughbrook request, the applicant prepared um or worked with the engineer to prepare a traffic noise assessment and the results of the assessment revealed that noise
levels exceed the thresholds established by the state and um the min or state rules however allow for higher noise levels if certain conditions are met, including the use of certain construction materials and staff recom or staff finds that the noise variance
is appropriate provided that the developer utilize appropriate construction materials to comply with state standards. And then the third request is uh for a development agreement and the development agreement is a legal document that specifies the terms and conditions for the development
and it also specifies the city's expectations for the developer uh excuse me the developer to fulfill. Uh so with all that said, staff recommends approval of the request subject to the conditions in the resolutions. So the first resolution is uh for the final plan. So
that's 2025-46 uh six conditions here. Number one, execution of a development agreement. Number two, approval of the site civil construction plans by the city engineer. Number three, a public access easement shall be recorded for any publicly accessible sidewalks located within the
private property. Number four, vacation of any unnecessary existing public easements. We anticipate that the developer will be back at the subsequent um meeting or a June 10th meeting for that vacation request. Number five, satisfaction of parked education requirements. And then finally, number
six, permits and approvals must be obtained from outside agencies. And then moving on to the highway noise variance and that is resolution 2025-47. Just one condition of approval there and that is that the developer
must um uh include exterior windows and doors that or install those uh windows and doors that meet Minnesota state standards. Uh we we do have a represent representative from Monlave if you have questions and I'd be happy to answer your questions too. Thank you. Perfect. Thank you, Luke. Uh council members, any
questions for Luke? about questions for the Enclave team. All right. Uh let's tackle the first item. Anybody want to make a motion? I'll make a motion to wave reading and adopt resolution 2025-48 approving a
conditional use permit. That's the wrong one. I need to read the right one. Otherwise, you're going to build a sign down there. Let me start again. It would be a It would be a beautiful sign. All right. All right. I make a motion to wave reading and adopt resolution
2025-46 approving the final plat of Enclave Helmo Station with conditions included in the attached resolution. There's a motion. Is there a second? Second. Motion a second. Final comments. All those in favor say I. I. Opposed. And resolution 2025-46 is adopted. Uh
Andy, will you take the next one too, please? Sure. All right. I'll get this one right. Make a motion to wave reading and adopt resolution 2025-47 approving a variance for highway noise levels at Enclave Helmo station with conditions included in the attached resolution. There's a motion. Is there a second? Second. Motion second. Final comments.
All those in favor say I. I. Opposed. And resolution 2025-47. Last is executing the development agreement. I'm going to actually take this item and make a motion to table uh the signing and execution of a development agreement for Enclave Hill Station until June 10th, 2025. Uh it's not that we have concerns
with it, it's just uh we got it at a later time today, the final draft, and I just want to make sure all electeds have adequate opportunity to review it and understand the the numbers associated with it. So, um my motion is to table until June 10th, 2025. Can I get a second? Second. Motion a second. Any
comments? All those in favor say I. I. Opposed. And we will table that until our next meeting. Uh engineering. Mr. Bachmeire, welcome. Oh, it's time for street projects. Would you walk us through the
2025 city project, please? Good evening, mayor and council members. The the request before you this evening is to approve the plans and specifications for the Hadley overlay project from 10th Street to Hallmark Avenue. It's about a mile and a half
long. This is a pavement preservation project where they mill off the top two inches of asphalt and put down a new layer of asphalt. The project also includes replacing the street light poles and fixtures along the corridor. There's approximately 13 of them. They're the steel tapered poles with the
shoe box high-pressure sodium old style fixture and we're replacing them with the LED the bonnet style aluminum pole fixture and pole. Uh the project also includes resurfacing the buminous trails along the corridor from 10th Street all the way up to Hallmark. So, it's on the
west side from uh 10th Street up to Hadley Avenue and then on both sides from Hadley Avenue to just north of the park and then again on the east side continuing up to Hallmark Avenue. Uh this project was listed in the capital improvement program. These these improvements were also reflected in
there. Uh the request is for the council to approve the plans and authorize the advertisement and collection of bids. With that, I'd stand for any questions. Council members, any questions for Brian? All right, I'll look for a motion. I'll move we wave reading and adopt resolution
2025-49 approving the plans and specifications for city project R2025-02, the 2025 street overlay and authorize the advertisement for bid. There's a motion. Is there a second? Second. Motion a second. Final comments. All those in favor say I. I. Opposed.
And resolution 2025-49 is adopted. Thank you, Brian. Uh, next up, city attorney, Mr. Thompson. anything for us tonight? Well, Mr. Mayor, members, council, just one thing I do um I know the council just recently made aware of this, but I thought for the interest of the public just briefly um update you on we did
receive the ruling last week in the lawsuit that the city commenced on the Oakdale marketplace development. Uh the issue in the case was whether a provision in the PUD agreement that was executed back in 2005 was valid. uh that condition uh
stated that I shouldn't say that provision stated that the city would not change the uses allowed in the PUB without the consent of the developer. Uh we believe that that provision was not valid. So we did commence an action with
against the developer. The judge did rule in the city's favor and concluded that the um provision in the agreement was not valid u and therefore not enforceable and therefore the city's decision last October to change some of
the uses in that PUD um was valid even though the developer did not consent to them. So that's the gist of the ruling. Uh the developer does have the opportunity to appeal. uh to do so they have to file an appeal within 60 days
and uh but the order remains in effect if there is an appeal during the appellet process. So brief review on that. Thank you Jim. Uh anybody have questions for Jim. All right. City administrator Chris Vulkers. What do you have for us tonight? Hi Mayor Council.
Nothing for tonight. Nothing. Take questions. Oh everybody. Let's give her lots. What do we got? Any questions for Chris? All right. uh move into council presentations. I'm going to change up the order just a little bit. I'm going to go through the city ones, then we'll open up for council presentations, and
then we have that one action item from consent agenda that we will tackle at the end. Uh first things first, our first Oakdale farmers market of the season will be held on Wednesday, June 4th from 2 to 6:00 p.m. in the city hall parking lot. Uh please stop on down, pick up a variety of fresh fruits, vegetables, flowers, baked goods, and more. Always a good time. Hard to
believe it's already farmers market season, but um I guess that means winter's definitely over, so knock on wood. Uh as flowers start to bloom, uh we hope you'll consider nominating your favorite landscape properties around Oakdale for the Acorn Award. Uh please nominate as many properties as you'd
like, including your own by June 30th. To learn more about the award and the criteria, and to nominate somebody uh or nominate a property, you can check out the city website, oakdalemn.gov. A reminder, uh, we have three categories each year, which includes residential, business, commercial, and public. Um,
the public category includes churches, schools, government, etc. You may have noticed something different about Water Tower 3, which is located on the 2300 block of Hallmark Avenue North along the west side of 694. Uh, it's undergoing a reconditioning project with upgrades to the exterior
and painting or upgrades to the interior and painting the exterior to give it a revitalized appearance. Uh the project is expected to conclude in July. For more information, uh check out the city website, oakleman.gov. As Council Member Morham alluded to, uh Summerfest is just one
month away. Hard to believe, but uh we hope everybody will mark your calendars for June 23rd to the 28th. Um there's a full schedule of events online, oakdale Summerfest.com. Um it's always a good time. The a big thank you to the Oakdale Summerfest community organization, uh the volunteer group behind Summerfest
each year. every year they add something to make the event bigger and better as well as doing all the work all year long um to make this event a big success. So, a big thank you to Oscar for their work. Uh finally, my last council update. Um on behalf of the city of Oakdale, I want
to extend our condolences to the city of Oak Park Heights and the family of Mayor uh Mayor Mary McComer. She passed away yesterday after a battle with breast cancer. Um she had been mayor of one of our neighboring communities since I think 2012. So um on behalf of the city,
we want to extend our condolences to Oak Park Heights and her family. Any other council presentations? You sure? No. Take action and then we can talk. Okay. Uh council members, we have one action
item that we move from consent uh to council presentations. It is requesting that the council wave reading and adopt resolution 2025-45 accepting council member Susan Willerbring's resignation from uh the office of city council member as of midnight on June 6th, 2025 and declaring
a vacancy in the city council to be filled by uh well I guess we'll just take that part off. We'll figure out the process later to be filled. It should thereafter did not say it. Well, actually I guess it's an
appointment either way. Yeah. whether we do a process or not. Um to be filled by appointment. Um I don't know. Should I go first? Should I go first? I have like 14 pages of things I want to say to you. I don't know. All right. You want me to go first? It'll be quick and easy. You go
first. I don't really like to do these things. So, and I don't want to cry. I just want to say thank you for the opportunity. See, I'm already crying. You got you got thank you out. Thanks for the opportunity from all the
residents who somehow had faith in me to vote for me. I'm not sure how that worked out. Um let me know if you want to hear the story someday. It's pretty funny. Um it's in mine. Okay, good. Thank you to the staff for being
as great as you are. All of the staff has been nothing but kind, generous. They're just so smart and and so capable and so trusting and I appreciate that so much. But I really want to say thank you
to Kevin, Mr. Mayor. We've been together for six and a half years and it has been fun sometimes, difficult sometimes, but I appreciate your guidance and I appreciate you being here. And also thank you to Chris who is the world's
greatest ship captain. And thank you for being a great administrator, a great counselor, a great friend, and keeping us all in line. And again, thank you to all the
staff, too. It was an interesting opportunity, which I will never do again. I'm glad it's over, but I appreciate it. Thank you. You still have like a week and a half of work to do. Yeah. Right. All right. I'm going to go down here because I like to look at my
colleagues when I roast them. Oh god. And I'm bringing my water so I can take pause. Just don't make me cry. I won't. I won't. I promise. I don't believe you. You should. I'm a politician, remember.
All right. Well, my final council presentation tonight is recognizing our colleague and more importantly our friend Susan Willen for her six and a half years of service to this city and our residents. Gandhi once said, "You may never know what results come of your actions, but if you do nothing, there
will be no result." In many ways, I think Sus's entrance and time in public service was with this quote in mind. If you know Susie, you know, don't call her a politician. That's not who she is. But she is someone who once upon a time attended a city informational open
house, didn't agree or necessarily believe the information being shared, and instead of doing nothing, came back and filed to run for the city council. And when she won, she brought a lifetime of experiences and history in Oakdale as a longtime resident, a Tartan grad, and
someone who first uh someone who firsthand understands the lingering fears and concerns over water quality. She brought all of that to city hall and got to work. I could stand up here and rattle off all of the policy changes and new developments that have happened during
Sus's tenure, but I know that's not what Susie wants her legacy to be. First and foremost, Susie has always seen people first and policy second. And for me, her greatest legacy is what we have all learned about people along the way. One of the things Susie and I have
always been able to bond over is our love of gardening. And in many ways, that makes sense. Serving in local government is a lot like gardening. It starts with a vision that something can always be better. Sometimes that is a problem weed that needs pulling or other times it's an empty plot that needs just
needs to get a fresh start. It takes the right tools. Sometimes it's fellow gardeners to lend a hand and other times it's a shovel so we can dig deep to keep things moving forward. It all begins with seeds. Small ideas that with the right nurturing and perfect conditions can grow and benefit so many other
things. But we also know there's no such thing as a perfect day. Sometimes it's sunny and sometimes it's stormy. But the good and the bad keep us all grounded, focus on what we need to grow and moving forward. And sometimes even when everything goes right, the seeds still
don't grow. We But but every time we decide to roll up our sleeves, put our hands back into the dirt, and try again. Susie doesn't see herself as a politician. In fact, she bristles at the thought of it. And she's right. She's a gardener who refused to do
nothing. But for 2,337 days, Oakdale has been your garden. And so many of the blooms throughout our city are because of your hard work and your commitment to this place we all call home. Susie, we will all miss you around here. We have all
been honored to work with you even through the droughts and the rainy days. And we all say thank you for always uh deciding to do something and helping Oakdale grow. We have a little token of appreciation for you. Keeping with uh past tradition
of giving my departing colleagues a gift, I already gave you yours because I couldn't do it tonight. So, I hope you put that in your garden. I will be I will be stalking you, driving by to make sure it's there. Um council, let's come down and take a picture with Susie. Thank you.
in the middle. And in three. One, two, three. One, two, three. One, two, three. Thank you. I forgot to say something. too late. You can't say
nothing else. I gota say I got to say one more thing. It's important. The floor is yours, Susie. Just one thing. This whole business about defunding the police and all that crap, I was one of those people 10 years
ago. Had it not been for my time on the city council, previous Chief Sullivan and current Chief Newton, I probably would still feel that way. But because of them, I have learned and understand and have a great
appreciation for the police and especially for our department. And I want to say thank you to Chief Newton for being a good mentor, an awesome police chief. And just thank you and and thank you for changing my
mind. That's it. I had to say it. You want me to open the floor up to anybody that wants to speak or would you like to keep going? Anybody want to add any comments? Yeah, I'd be good. So, I'm gonna miss I'm sitting next to you for two and a half years, Susie. And for all the topics, man, it sure seems like a
lot longer than two and a half years, doesn't it? I don't know how many years, six and a half feels like. But no, um, never once, despite all the disagreements, did I ever doubt how much you cared about this city. So, anyone who steps forward to do
the work, I appreciate and thank you for what you've done. And I also think about the history that you've brought uh with all these conversations. Something as simple as how do we paint a water tower? I I didn't have an opinion. I didn't know what to do. But now we get
to see some of Oakdale's history represented in Oakdale's future and you had such good insight on it. So, thank you for all the things that you've done and how it's going to reflect in our community going forward. So, yep, Mr. Mayor. Yeah.
Um, Susie, as a neighbor, a longtime resident, um, thank you for your service to our city. Really appreciate your willingness to step up, stand up, and, uh, and serve the city. And secondly, as a short-term colleague of yours, we're really going to I'm going to really miss
your willingness to stand up um, and speak for what you believe in, even if the rest of us don't agree. That's something that um, is to me has a lot of value, and I appreciate your willingness to do that. We're going to miss you on the council. Thank you. All right,
Susie. It's kind. I promise. Um, no, I just I I remember my first council meeting. Um, and I remember uh what you had to say um about and it might have been the first workshop now that I think about it. Um I remember a very passioned
speech about um not raising the levy and why that mattered so much to you. And so um as a short uh term colleague of yours, I appreciate so much um how much you taught me without knowing that you
taught me. Now I'm going to cry. Um, I appreciate so much how much like what you instilled in me to carry you forward as a council member for the city of Oakdale. So, thank you so much. Um, it's been a pleasure to get to know you
and I probably look forward to you standing on that side um all of those future meetings. Looking forward to it. I'm manifesting it, Susie. Um, thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you.
Should we pay some bills? Might as well. I think Susie should pay some bills. You have 2.4 million. We got a claims roster. Uh Mr. Mayor, did you make a motion to accept? Yeah, we did that, didn't we? Oh, I made the motion, but we didn't actually vote on
it. Yeah. All right. I made the motion. You almost got stuck. Dang, she noticed. Um, okay. I made the motion to adopt resolution 2025-45. Can I get a second? Second.
Oh, slow down there. All those in favor say I. I oppose. And resolution 2025-45 is begrudgingly accepted. Uh claims, we got to pay the bills. Claims roster May 14th, 2025 uh to May 27th,
2025 in the amount of 2.41 million and change. Uh, council members, can I get or were there any claims we wanted to pull for individual consideration? Can I get a motion? I move to approve claims for the period of May 14th, 2025 to May 27, 2025 in the
amount of 2,411,272.34. There's a motion. Is there a second? Second. Motion second. All those in favor say I. I. Opposed. Bills are paid. Susie, would you like to do the last one? Sure. No. We have to call for a
motion to adjurnn. Oh, make a motion to adjurnn. Second. All those in favor? I I opposed. Meetings adjourned. Give me that thing.
You want it? You got to take this chair.