Good evening everyone. I'd like to welcome you to the Osteigo City Council meeting. Tonight is Monday, June 22nd. Audrey, can you have the record show that our city attorney, city planner, city engineer present along with council member Dunlap, council member Tanner, council member Lond, council member Gaty
is absent this evening. And present we also have our assistant city administrator and our city administrator. At this time, I'll ask you all to join us in the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the
republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Thank you. Our first item of business this evening is our open forum. This is the portion of the meeting where you can come to the podium, state your name and
address, and limit comments to 5 minutes or less. Would anyone like to speak at this time? >> Kathy Kohl's, 15613 Street Northeast. Here's this month's picture. >> Mayor, another citation has been sent
>> and another will be going out um next week. Have we gotten any response when the citations have been sent? >> I've asked for an update. I had been getting updates in the past, but I hadn't gotten what a response to my last message. So,
>> all right. Any other comments? >> Gabe Davis, a couple things. What's the city doing about all the obnoxious weeds growing? Particular
birdfoot, the yellow plant that's grown along all the roadways, sidewalks, walkways. It's highly invasive. Um, I spent four hours spraying my ditches
to kill it and my neighbor's property. What the thing does, it grows, kills out your grass, and it produces a ton of seeds, and next year you're inundated with it. And what's the city doing about it? Is it spraying it? Is it going to get rid
of it? You've got to spray it while it's blooming and before it starts to bloom. >> Mr. Davis, what? You said it's on what roads? >> Everywhere. >> You've got it growing everywhere. All the way here. I passed it on Oadin. The
side streets coming down this way before the traffic circle, Packard Avenue, 70th Avenue. It's yellow. You can't miss it. >> Super invasive. >> Some of those are city roads, some of them are county roads. That's why it was
just everywhere. um Adam or I can look to Nick which Nick is parks but any comments on >> mayor's uh staff would need to consult with public works to determine if there's a plan for spraying roadside uh road ditches
>> okay because I I same thing with the dandelions when we get dandelion seasons drive down 70th and there's just fields of dandelions first you get a nice big show of yellow flowers next thing you get is a whole show off white puffy
things that blow all over the place. Nobody says take care of it or show any concern for that. >> 70th Street would be the county road. >> Well, every road. >> No, I I know I'm just referring to you. You mentioned 70th Street. So, we can
ask also the county >> what their plan is for that. >> Okay. Because um my neighbor had two small patches of it last year. He asked me to spray it. What I found effective on it is weed be gone
and uh put it out as a kind of like a mist. It kills the dan lines and it kills anything else that's in the way. The only thing it doesn't really kill is Canadian thistle. This has got a tap routt that goes down a couple feet and travels horizontally
and you can spray that sucker three, four times and it keeps coming back. It just doesn't want to give up. Second question I've got thing I've got is I notice I do has a posted a list of the new hires for the fire department
that you're going to consider tonight. One of the names on there is Tina Goody who also knows part-time Tina who isn't here tonight either keeping up with it. Why, even though it may be legal to hire as a
fire person, why doesn't the city have enough ethics or her to not apply for the job unless she's no longer on the council? Being she's on the council, she directly can vote for the fire department funds, fire department bills, fire department
pension, anything that would also directly affect her compensation. I find it highly impractical and unethical. When I was a union steward and officer in all kinds of various organizations, the number one rule we
always adhere to was even though it may be legal, if it looks funny, you don't do it. Period. Because it reflects badly on it. Now, what's the citizens going to think when they see she gets hired? If she gets hired, you know,
they're going to question the integrity of the city council and the way the city is run. If it looks funny, you don't do it. >> You any other comments? >> All right, we will close the open forum and move on to consider our agenda for
approval. Does anyone have anything that they would like to add or delete at this time? >> Madame Mayor. >> Yes, Ryan. >> On the consent agenda, I would like to bring down item 3.3, 3.11, and 3.12. We can move those under item 5.1
starting with uh sub bullet F and re number them respectfully, respectively. >> Okay. Anyone else have any changes? Madame Mayor. >> Yes, Ryan. >> I move to approve the agenda as amended. Is
>> there a second? >> Second. >> Motion by Ryan, seconded by Corey. Is there any discussion? >> All those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. >> I. >> All those opposed. Same sign. Motion passes.
Moving on to our consent agenda. A motion would be in order. >> Madam Mayor, >> yes, Ryan. >> I move to approve the consent agenda as amended. Is there a second? >> Second. >> Motion by Ryan, seconded by Corey. Is there any discussion?
All those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. >> All those opposed, same sign. Motion passes. Moving on to item 4.1 is Zachman Meadow second edition. I will turn this over to our city planner.
Thank you, Mayor. So the application is for Zachman Meadows. Uh this is a 12 acre site located north of the initial development of Zachman Meadows along Cadler Avenue north of 70th Street. It's currently undeveloped. There was a portion of a storm water basin put on the site as
part of the first phase of development. Uh the site is within the west sewer district designated by the comprehensive plan. Uh the comprehensive plan also guides the property for future low to medium density residential land uses. Uh the property is currently zoned A1 agricultural rural service district
consistent with the uh city's interim land use policies. It's surrounded by mostly undeveloped property to the north northeast residential uses to the south and southeast uh and existing and future industrial development to the west of
Cadler Avenue. Uh the applicant is requesting amendment of the zoning map to include the property as part of the Zach Meadows planned unit development district. Uh and related to that then for development of the site a PUD development stage plan and preliminary flat of 43 single family lots. When the
initial Zachin Meadows development was approved uh this property was included as part of the environmental assessment worksheet uh because of the number of units and the industrial development to the south pushed over the thresholds for that process. Uh so the developer proactively looked at including this as
part of that so as not to have to uh reverse steps and go backwards uh to review this. Now uh the lot requirements for the uh preliminary platter that the lots must be at least 5,000 square feet. Uh the average here is just over uh 6700 square ft. So it does comply with the
requirements of the PUD district. There is one access to Cadler Avenue. So that will provide additional circulation into the neighborhood uh off of that. uh roadway in addition to the accesses available uh from 70th Street to the southeast and then local streets within
the development. There's two connections to Zach Meadows to the south. Uh and those streets are of course 60 foot wide rightway, 28 foot wide street section with a sidewalk on one side. The developer provided a landscape plan with the the project showing the required two
trees per lot as well as the uh required buffer yard along Tadler Avenue. Uh, one of the items the planning commission added to the list of conditions was uh to enhance the landscaping along the north side of block one. Uh, the area to the north is
planned for future industrial so by putting some screening trees in at that location can get ahead of the curve to provide some buffering for when that property to the north develops. uh that property would also be able to be required to provide more extensive uh landscaping along the lines of what uh
the city has looked at for uh other developments where they above residential uses. Uh the city engineer completed their review of the application related to storm water management utilities uh and found that they comply with the requirements of the subdivision ordinance and engineering manual. There are easements provided
over the perimeter of each lot and over any drainage areas within uh those lots as well. Uh there is one outlot which encompasses the creek and the wetland areas to the north side of the site. Uh we did recommend that the storm water basin that was developed with the first
phase of Zachman Meadows also be included in an outlot and be deed to the city for perpetual maintenance. Uh with park dedication requirements, the city does anticipate developing a greenway corridor along that creek on the north side of the site in the future. Um but the depth of this property between Zach
Meadows and that creek isn't sufficient to allow space for the the greenway corridor today. Uh so we'll look to acquire that land in the future when the property to the north develops. Uh in lie of land dedication, this plat will satisfy park dedication requirements
through payment on a per lot basis. So, city staff is recommending approval of the application based on consistency with the comprehensive plan and uh compliance with the applicable development requirements of the city. The planning commission held a public hearing on June 15th to consider the application. Uh, one resident did speak
with a question regarding u the builder and the value of homes that would be constructed, which uh has not been disclosed by the developer at this point as to potential builder that will be active in the in the subdivision. Uh and then the planning commission of course discussed the landscaping requirement
but had no other concerns. After closing the public hearing, they voted six to zero to recommend approval. Uh so for your action tonight, we've prepared ordinance 20269 amending the zoning map and resolution 2026-51 and approving the PUD development stage
and preliminary plat. And that approval would be subject to the 17 17 conditions as presented. >> Thank you. Does the developer wish to comment? Good evening, mayor, council members. My name is Kendra Lindall with Landform, and I'm here tonight with the developer
uh uh Craig Dansky of Delanscape Boyd LLC. Um we're here tonight to ask for approval. And while we believe that the planning commission's addition of the landscape uh requirements is unnecessary because of the code requirements for the
industrial landscaping, we've spoken to the planner. We're comfortable uh with the conditions and we just here to answer any questions. >> All right. >> Yes. Thank you, Madame Mayor. Thank you, council members. >> Thank you. All right. Also, any
questions or comments for staff or for the developer? >> Madame Mayor. >> Yes, Ryan. I I asked this at the planning commission, but would you mind explaining the um the setback of the 65 feet because it looks like there's plenty of space there.
>> Yeah. Mayor, um so the city has Cadler Avenue designated and it's been constructed as a industrial commercial collector street. City requires that roadway be within a 50 or excuse me 40 foot wide half right ofway. Um the
county has on their transportation plan that this could be a potential future county road extending between I94 and the Mississippi River County Road 39. Their requirement is 75 ft of rightway. So um the city is requiring the
developer to dedicate the additional 35 ft of rightway for the east half of the roadway in anticipation that that may occur in the future. City staff doesn't necessarily believe it will happen in the future any longer. um and so as to not penalize this project by requiring
them to dedicate the additional rightaway plus then have the 65 foot setback that would apply from the road. We've effectively reduced the rear guard setback by 35 ft. So the separation from the roadway itself is actually the same as what it would have been if there was
a 65 foot setback. It's just taken up by additional rightway at this point. Okay. >> Yeah. Thank you. >> Any other questions or comments? All right. And we have two motions of request. Madam >> Mayor. >> Yes, Ryan. >> I move to adopt ordinance 2026-09
amending the zoning map and adopt resolution 2026-51 adopting findings of fact and approving a PUD development stage plan and preliminary plan for Zach Meadows second edition subjects to the subject to the conditions as stated. >> Second.
>> Motion by Ryan, seconded by Michelle. Is there any discussion? All those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. >> I. All those opposed, same sign. >> Motion passes. >> Thank you, Madam. Thank you. >> Thank you.
>> Okay. Moving on to item 5.1 is under public safety fire department staffing. We have a presentation tonight by Chief McCoy. Honorable mayor and council, uh, thanks for having me tonight. Um, before you is a, um, series of, um, options for hiring
full-time staff and part-time staff. Um, we're going to start with, um, hiring our our full-time captain, Aaron Endy, um, if approved. Um Erin's going to start in the July 6 time frame uh pending approval of all his um
pre-employment conditions, his physical, his psychological, his background check. Um we've received lots of compliments on hiring Erin, even from those that um we chose to pass on this first round of hiring captain. So very excited to get
uh Erin in here and get him working for the fire department. Great. questions regarding this one. Otherwise, a motion would be in order. >> Yes, Cory. >> Um, Chief, I just had a quick question.
Uh, how many applicants again did we have for the the captain role? >> Was there a dozen? I think there were 12 12 applicants for captain. >> Okay. And they had it's a couple round of interviews, right? Yeah, we we interviewed uh just one round of
interviews with our interview team. >> Okay. >> Mayor for he's starting a little bit earlier. When was his initial when you were putting the plan together to hire somebody? Mayor, council, uh, in the budget for
2026, under previous director Roush's plan, uh, the hiring of this position would have occurred sometime this fall, October, November timeline. Uh, at a meeting in February, uh, interim Chief Scott did, uh, introduce a revised hiring timeline to the council. Uh, you
talked through that. We did show you, uh, budget impacts, uh, for going over, uh, by moving these hirings up, but again, that was discussed at the February council meeting. >> Great. Thank you. I will make a motion to approve the hiring of Aaron Endy to the position of
fire captain at pay grade nine step one. Second motion by Jessica, seconded by Michelle. Is there any discussion? >> Madam. >> Yes, Ryan. Uh while I respect the firefighters involved and understand that these expenditures are deemed necessary if the department continues in
its current form, I continue to believe that the city made the wrong decision in creating the department in the first place. Because of these because these expenditures flow directly from that original decision, I will be voting no. >> Great. Is there any more discussion?
All those in favor signify by saying I. I. I. >> All those opposed, same sign. I >> motion passes 3 to one. Next council item under they're labeled differently on our formed versus here. Um is our job
description. >> So before you is a job description for the full-time firefighter position. Um then the next item on the agenda will be the hiring of a full-time firefighter. Um originally we wanted to hire two captains. Um we came across this
individual in the next um motion um but we just couldn't pass up and which pushed the um this forward a little bit. So ultimately we want to hire one captain and one firefighter right now. So this is the job description for the firefighter position which we'll be
asking for um um in the next motion. >> Okay. There any comments on this one? >> Uh, no comments, mayor. Okay, any questions or comments from councel?
>> Um, madame mayor, just to clarify, we're just hiring a firefighter, one firefighter and one fire captain in L of two fire captain. >> Correct. >> Thank you. >> Any more discussion break? Madame Mayor,
um Chief, it looks like, you know, reading through this, you know, it was supported by the peer group. Um the pay grade was similar in size and comparisons with cities such as ours. Um that's true, right?
>> Correct. >> Yeah. >> Any other questions or comments? Do we have a do we have a candidate in mind right now? The way it sounds. >> Yes. He'll be the next motion. >> Okay. Okay. >> Cy.
>> With that, Madame Mayor, I'll make a motion to approve the full-time firefighter job description. >> Second. Motion by Corey, seconded by Michelle. Is there any discussion? >> Madame Mayor. >> Yes, Ryan. >> For the reasons previously stated on the record, I will be voting no.
Any more discussion? All those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. I. >> All those opposed, same sign. >> I. >> Motion passes 3 to one. Next item is to consider um approval of hiring of our full-time firefighter
position. Chief McCoy. >> So, Mr. Carlson um interviewed for fire captain. Um, we see great potential in Mr. Carlson. Um, he's, uh, coming to us from Monaceel. Um, Erin's also a local
individual. Um, we'd like the opportunity to, um, mentor Grant a little bit, um, before fall, get started here. Um, we just feel we couldn't pass up. That's why we are not hiring a second captain, but we're hiring Grant
instead as a firefighter. um extremely talented as is Aaron and we think we're getting the best of the best with these two hires. >> Any comments? >> Otherwise, motion would be in order. >> Madame Mayor, yes. I'd like to motion to
approve the hiring of Grant Carlson for the position of full-time firefighter at a grade seven step one. >> Second. >> Motion by Michelle, seconded by Corey. Is there any discussion? >> Madam Mayor, >> yes. >> For the reasons previously stated on the record, I will be voting no.
>> All those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. >> I. All those opposed, same sign. >> I. >> Motion passes 3 to one. Moving on to consider approval of hiring of our part-time fire cadet positions.
So, the last motion for hiring, um, I believe there's 22 candidates on there for the part-time position. Um, just met with our training provider today. We're still on track if all of our pre-employment comes back to start on, uh, July 13th with the training of the
individuals that are not trained already. Um, so far we've had 99, I believe it is, candidates for this position. Our focus uh when we interviewed was to get local uh individuals that reside in the city
of Atgo. We've had we continue to get um inside and outside meaning outside the city and inside the city candidates uh applying or not coming in as fast and furious as they were, but they're they're still coming in. So, super exciting. U back to my interview, the biggest thing I was worried about was finding individuals within the city that
wanted to do this. and I am ecstatic at the the support for the fire department from everybody that's applied. So, um before you use that that list that um we're putting forward. >> All right. Any questions or comments?
>> I was going to say, Chief McLean, I'm impressed. In your memo, it says 98 total applications, but it's great to hear that we had 99. I appreciate that we had residents willing to step up and serve our community. Yeah, it's been overwhelming. I mean, it's Yeah. Great.
So, >> any questions or comments? >> Madam Mayor, um Chief, I called um interim Chief Mike Scott today and asked him some questions about this and was just curious uh kind of to the comment
and open forum. You know, what what are the expectations or background that a person must have to to apply for this position? So, um there were no requirements um when we when we took applications for part-time firefighter. Like I said, we
focused on um trying to hire people. I think we have one that's coming from Elk River. Everybody else is from the uh city of Oiggo. So, our focus was to get community members, community support. Um so, your neighbors a firefighter. Um but everybody that was interviewed um got
the same interview questions. Nobody got any special treatment. Um everything was even across the board um as far as the interview goes and the application process was the application process. So um anybody literally anybody could apply.
>> Okay. >> Madam Mayor, just to clarify, you guys are picking the best 22 candidates out of the 99, >> the ones we feel will work the best. >> Madame Mayor, >> another question I have actually more of
a confirmation statement. >> I guess um my understanding is if any council member has some sort of personal investment in anything that is brought to council for decision, that person is required to recuse themselves. Is that correct?
>> You turn to the attorney for that question. >> Yes. So it has to do with um you know the level of personal involvement or benefit in question. You know, a council member simply serving on the fire department is not a conflict of
interest. If there was a particular issue that came before the council that where their vote could potentially personally benefit them, then I would advise them to recuse themselves of that vote. >> Great. >> Thank you.
>> Any other questions or comments? And the motion would be in order. Madam Mayor, I'd like to make a motion to approve the hiring of 22 part-time firefighters candidate presented above at an hourly rate of $16 per hour.
>> Is there a second? >> Second. >> Motion by Michelle, seconded by Corey. Is there any discussion? >> Madame Mayor. >> Yes. Right. >> Over the past few years, this council decided to create a municipal fire department. Tens of millions of taxpayer dollars have been committed to that
effort. The department was established under a framework that blocked residents from voting on the expenditure despite significant public concern about its necessity, costs, and long-term financial impact. Now, after participating in creating, funding, and expanding that department
through a process that excluded the public, a member of this governing body has accepted a paid position within the very organization they helped create. I'm not here to argue whether this arrangement is legal. It may satisfy Minnesota state laws technical
requirements, but if the standard for ethical government is just avoiding a statutory violation, then our standards are far too low. The real issue is trust. Can reasonable citizens look at this situation and conclude public decisions were made
solely in the public interest? Can residents believe there is no personal interest involved when an elected official votes to create an entity, structures financing to shielded from public vote, and later joins its payroll?
Can those citizens be faulted for questioning whether the opportunity existed because of the officials authority to create it? These questions arise naturally because the situation itself invites them. Public officials have an absolute duty to avoid not only
actual conflicts of interest, but the appearance of impropriy that erodess public confidence in government. When an elected official moves from overseeing an organization to personally benefiting from it, the boundary between public service and private gain disappears.
You can't sit on both sides of the ledger. You can't be the architect of a public program and then become its paid beneficiary. This decision reinforces deep concerns many residents already have about the fire department. Those who watch this
department get pushed forward without public input will now see what appears to be a governing body rewarding its own with opportunities generated through its own votes. Perception matters because public trust
is the fuel for legitimate governance. Government can't function effectively when citizens wonder whether a vote was cast for the community's good or as an investment in a future job. The public demands more than a defense rooted in technical legality. They expect conduct
that's beyond reproach and a council that respects both their financial contributions and their right to self-governance. tonight. I hope this council reflects not only on what is being permitted, but on what's worthy of the trust placed in us by the people we serve. Thank you,
>> Ryan. My comment will be that this position $16 per hour. We have somebody willing to step up to continue to serve is the email that we all received and you all read it. and any one of us could have stepped up to
continue to serve or could have at any time stepped up to be a firefighter and none of us did. So that's my comment on that. >> Madame Mayor, I'd like to make another comment. Um >> I'm curious to know if anybody on this council would be willing to put their
life on the line for $16 an hour. >> Good point. Any other comments, >> Madame Mayor? Dave, uh would any part of this I think you know you just kind of spoke to it, but maybe
could just reiterate. Is anything about this unethical in your opinion? >> Well, yeah. So, I can speak to there's a statute that says particularly mayors are not barred from serving on a fire department. It does address other council members, but there's a lot of
pace law in Minnesota and attorney general opinions indicating that it is not a per se conflict of interest for a council member to simply serve on a fire department. It has to do with like if they're up for some kind of promotion and they vote on that, that'd be a clear conflict of interest. Has to do with
their personal stake in the issue before the council. So if a if any council member were serving on a fire department and were on the council when an issue came up before the council that could personally benefit them, I would advise them to excuse themselves and not vote on that issue. >> Sure.
And uh chief um you know these you know Mike was saying that you know in other communities this might be phrased a little bit different what the job title is but it's paid on call so it's it's not full-time. Um,
and you know, would would this really really start the job duty until next year or would there be training involved? >> So, as I stated, training is going to start on uh July 13th. >> Okay. >> If all goes well, so we get everybody wrapped up in their their
pre-employment. So, the the training will happen between now and the end of the year. And then um the calls will will start on January 1. >> Sure. And by that time, um, Council Member Gaty would would not be in office
anymore. Have you had, uh, um, in your history, uh, your career of any other council members who's who have ever served? >> Yeah. Yeah, when I arrived arrived in Austin, Austin, one of the council
members was a um paid on call firefighter part-time um received compensation for it and also served um their council district. >> Okay. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. >> And mayor, >> sorry. >> I would just respond to that by saying
that's not the same issue that we're talking about here. I understand in other communities they have council members that serve as part-time firefighters on their fire department and I think that that is admirable. This situation is completely different. In
this situation, we had a council member who has, as I said in in my comments, helped create this entire thing and is now going to be on the payroll. That's a that's a world of difference than a
council member who gets elected and decides to join the fire department or the other way around. This did not exist before this council member joined office. That's a world of difference. Madame Mayor, as uh Mayor Stockam said,
it's $16 an hour. Nobody's getting rich off this. Nobody's getting rich off serving um you know, their communities. We know that. So, I would disagree with what you're saying. I mean, if that's the
case, then do it for free. Any other comments? We have a motion and a second. All those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. >> I. >> All those opposed, same signs. >> I. Motion passes three to one. All right. Um Ryan, you pulled down item
3.3 under which is now F. Following along, right? >> Thank you, Madam Mayor. I oppose this action because our city is able to receive excellent service from our existing contract providers at a price
point that is costefficient for the taxpayer. By the end of this meeting, we will have spent over $22.7 million so far on having our own fire department. That amount of money would have covered more than 16 years of contracted fire service.
>> Thank you. >> Motion, anyone? >> Madame Mayor, I'll make a motion to approve pay application number 18 in the amount of $311,760.88 for work completed on the fire station project. Second motion by Corey, seconded by Michelle. Is there any
discussion? All those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. >> All those opposed, same sign. >> I. >> Motion passes 3 to1. Moving on to item G, which is our former 3.11. Ryan.
>> Madam Mayor, for the reason for the reasons previously stated on the record, I'll be voting no. Okay. 3.1. >> Which one are we on? >> 3.11. Yes, it's now >> G.
Audrey, you following along? H. >> This one's G. >> This is G. Yep. I'm sorry. H is 3.12. This is for the radios and equipment. Oh, okay. Right. Okay.
They could have just named it like >> Madame Mayor, I'll make a motion to accept the quote from DSC Communications and to authorize procurement of radios, equipment, and programming in the amount of $24,000.84. >> I'll second that motion. Motion by
Corey, seconded by Jessica. Is there any discussion? All those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. >> I. >> All those opposed, same sign. >> I. >> Motion passes 3 to one. Now moving on to
H is item field item 3.12. Ryan. >> Madam Mayor, for the reasons previously stated on the record, I will be voting no. Mary like make a motion to accept the quotes and authorize purchase of SCBA
and related equipment from Alex Air apparatus in amount of $245,61. >> Second >> motion by Michelle, seconded by Corey. Is there any discussion? >> All those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. I.
>> All those opposed, same sign. I >> motion passes three to one. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. >> All right. We are under city council reports and updates. Our first item is Heritage Preservation Commission Corey.
>> Thank you, Madam Mayor. Uh the commission met earlier this month at the fire station and got a tour from uh Chief McCoy and interim chief Scott. It was a great uh great tour and um I think the commission enjoyed it and got some ideas for implementing some of the hot
seago history at at the uh fire station. >> Thank you. Next is park and recreation in the shop. Earlier this evening, we did um kind of an update with parks and wand um in phase one and understanding kind of the scope, what we're looking at for
the potential project and then the potential budget will go on should come soon. Um as far as other items, um the what do you call it? Um
the that's under construction right now. Thank you. That is going well from my understanding. And that is looking to wrap up here in the next month, I think, if I remember correctly. Close enough. Good enough. Yeah. And then we also have started the um my favorite time of year,
which is the um uh um farmers market. So that's every Tuesday. Hope to see everyone there. Great. Next is planning commission Ryan Uh, madame mayor, the planning commission met last week and recommended approval for the
Zachman Meadow second edition and the RNL carriers building that were approved earlier tonight. Uh, they also recommended approval for the plans for the South Central Water Treatment Plant that will come to the council at a later date. The next planning commission meeting is scheduled for July 6 and that will be held at the fire station for
their tour. >> Perfect. Thank you. Um, next is public safety. I will take that one. Uh we had four residents in attendance that night with concerns over speeding on Randolph Avenue. So we spent quite a bit of time talking with that. Um emails and
communication were sent to both public works staff, our engineer um was included in on that and um park and rec staff. So um updates with that is we did put the speed wagon out. They've been collecting data on that. Um we are hoping to come up with some bit of
resolution. The concerns are that there is um traffic from the Capstone neighborhood driving down Randolph. We're hoping maybe a >> Redford >> Radford. Sorry, that's what I do have written. Radford. There's a lot of Rs.
Sorry, Radford. Um a potential stop sign was some suggestions or doing a neighborhood meeting between the two neighborhoods to discuss this further. And then uh that group met for the first time also at the fire station and we did a tour So, we are still under city council
reports and updates. Does anyone have anything? Okay, then moving on to staff reports and updates. Sabrina, >> thank you, mayor. I just want to note uh the farmers market is open and we are uh actually having a city booth this year,
so we're trying to get out as much information available for residents. So, we encourage you to stop by the farmers market um and then also stop by the city booth for uh information on city projects and uh other updates of communication styles. >> Thank you. Great. Thank you.
>> Thank you, >> Adam. >> Uh mayor, council, a few updates. Uh next week I'll be attending the government finance officer association conference uh in Chicago and will be out of the office next week. Uh city offices are closed next Friday. uh the observed
day for Independence Day and all of you should be watching your email uh later this week. I'll be sending out a doodle poll to uh guide scheduling for future budget meetings. So uh please watch your email for that. >> Thank you. Thank you Audra.
>> Uh thank you mayor and council. I do have a few updates regarding elections. Um we had previously taken down the candidate filing reports to redact any addresses. those have been completed and are back up on the website. So, we well within the sixmonth requirement to get
that done. Um, also this Friday, absentee voting starts for the primary election. And if voters want to vote, uh, they'll have to do that with the envelope process until early voting starts. And the early voting will start at city hall on July 24th.
Um, again, if people want to do the envelope balloting, they will need to go to Wright County to do that or apply online and it'll come in the mail. So, there's more information on the city's website if people have questions or they can call our office and ask too. And then my
last notice or last uh information was candidate filing starts July 14th through July 28th. >> Any questions? Can you give me So I I know we had questions last time about what you had to take down. Can you give us a little bit more background on that?
>> Sure. On the candidate filing, um the legislator legislation had a a change and if there's any private addresses that were listed on the campaign finance reports. We were asked to redact that information.
So the county had told us to just pull it down until we had time to do that. >> Okay. So then the names are still present just not the addresses. >> Correct. >> Thank you. You're welcome. >> Welcome to Bank. >> Hey Dan.
>> Nothing further to report. >> Ron. >> Thank you, Mayor. Uh Milan overlay project is complete. They striped the target area today. Only thing that would be left is some shouldering as needed in a few areas, but that project's complete. Okay.
>> Thank you, Nick. Good evening, madame mayor and council. Good to see you again after our 5:30 discussion. Uh just wanted to kind of update everyone uh and thank our residents for their great support in our community engagement efforts. Obviously, you know, we had our touch a truck event that many people attended, came out and
voiced their opinions on what uh features and amenities they'd like to see in the potential Prairie Park phase one project. So, we appreciate their feedback at the in-person event as well as the 429 responses received in our online survey which was open the month of May. So, fantastic efforts by our
residents to voice what they would like to see in this potential project. Tonight, we uh had an overview of two concepts that were presented to the park and rec commission last week. So, there was a concept A, concept B. Last week, we narrowed that down to a preferred concept, which is presented to council tonight for an update. Uh, you know,
many of those things, just so residents are aware, we discussed are the potential pavilion that has flushable restrooms, which is something we've heard about for several years, so we're excited about that. Offering a nice safe changing space for residents to go if they're using our splash pad, you know, any of our park amenities, playgrounds,
things like that. Uh, you know, another big update is the destination style playground. So offering some sort of community focused play area that residents can come to for one central location as well as our ball field improvements part of phase one. Uh obviously we've tried to do improvements
at the ball fields before. So we're hoping that this time everything goes through. Uh and we're also looking to improve our veterans memorial which would be a great um amenity for our residents to enhance that space. And um
I think there's some alternates as well in this project for pickle ball and our basketball court as well for expanding those as well as adding additional parking spaces because this is such a regional draw for uh people to come visit as well as all our residents come. This is our only community park we
offer. So really trying to do a comprehensive approach to the Prairie Park phase one project. And uh with that another update, Lily Pond Park, as Michelle mentioned, is uh underway and it's off to a good start. There was a little bit of a correction on the courts out there that city engineer Widner
could speak to. We found some boulders that were kind of percolating up to the surface that was causing the current the courts that were out there to crack up and whatnot. So, we have the correct soil corrections in place and that'll really help to make sure that those courts are maintained and playable into
the future. So, the project's going uh right on schedule. So, the playground is in, the zip line is in, surfacing's being complete this week, and then it's just really the site features such as the courts and trails and whatnot. So, things are going very well this summer. >> Nick, how is our kayak rental going?
>> Kayaks are off to a hot start. So, right now, we had uh four out today, I believe. I think we have six out tomorrow. So, uh it's been very well received by residents, and you know, very affordable price points of $30 guarantees on a spot from 9:00 a.m. on the river all the way to 5:00 pm to return at Carrick's Landing. It's eight
miles from the river. We encourage people to get out and use that program. >> Yeah. Perfect. >> Nick, do we have a like a grand reopening like of Lily Pond or I guess I haven't been part of a park that's been >> uh we have not historically done that in the past with school park. We did not do
like a grand reopening. We typically only do an event when it's a brand new park in our system. >> Okay, good. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. Thank you, >> Chief McCoy. Just a couple of minor updates. Um trying to get uh Marshall Smith started
next Monday. Um he's working through some of the items in his contract. Um so hopefully we can make that happen. And our apparatus arrived in Apple Valley last week um late this afternoon. Uh they started working on them. So they'll be working on them um hot and heavy
again tomorrow morning. So both the ladder truck and the the engine are sitting in the valley and hopefully in our station soon. One of the big items that I'm going to have our our full-time staff do is we need to get equipment for the trucks and they need to decide where it goes. So we have some some idea
layout based on our our partners that have identical or very close apparatus. So we'll be working uh based off some pictures we took and uh from our from our neighbors try to lay them out the best we can. Thank you. >> Good,
>> Sergeant Almans. Nick didn't have it quite right for me. Uh, well, we're talking about Lily Pond Park. Um, that'll be kind of interesting the timing on that. Um, I think with everything new coming there, when that park, which is great, the park
gets uh redone or a park opens, that foot traffic uh really explodes to that particular park. We already have some um traffic complaints as it pertains to Cadler Avenue right now. Um this year, and I know even last year, we had some. So, I want to make sure that we're getting out there. Um, as people come
down from County Road 39 and you're coming down the hill, uh, some speed kind of gets up there, I think, as they kind of let off the throttle or whatever, and they're just kind of coasting down the hill and people keep that speed up and aren't hitting the brakes like they should, especially uh, kids on both sides are crossing the
street, uh, crossing cattle to get over the park. So, I want to make sure that if we're having a lot more kids go out there and a lot more families and strollers, people walking the dogs that we're getting some enforcement and I guess presence. Um to your point, um on the east side of town, uh as people are kind of coming through River Point and
the Capstone area, um same thing. We're trying to get uh the squad cars out there. Kind of what we told the residents of, you know, it's going to be a multi-phase thing or there's, you know, no one thing is going to fix the speeding problem. Um, that's going to be a combination of maybe one thing here,
one thing there, and hopefully the speeds are coming down. The volume is coming down through there. So, I don't um um I've still taken a few phone calls on it. I kind of told everybody like I'm not expecting like immediate like, okay, there's no magic fix to this. Like I said, I I I wish I had it. I wish I
could just put squad cars over there for 24 hours straight and get the solution figured out. um the speeds that we've been getting on the squad cars, uh those radars that we've have at the squad cars, again to the point is they are seeing a squad car and they're immediately hit the brakes before
there's really even an opportunity for them to get that speed up. Um so again, like it it's working when the squad car is there, but then the second the squad car is gone, that speed creeps up and we're not even able to catch him. Um sorry, I'm discombobulated. I kind of
want to go over a handful of things. Um, uh, there's been a number of places in town, and I don't want to get real specific into it, I guess, but there's been a couple places in town and across the county where, uh, we've been spending some time. There's a few, I'll give an example. Um, Bloomington Police Department here recently actually just
came up with like a a division that are dedicated to public official safety essentially. We do on occasion have those issues in the city of Seigos. currently has like one or two that's sort of active kind of on
the border of Elbertville uh where we spend some time where there's either elected officials andor other public figures that live in the area that are facing facing some issues. Like I said, I don't want to get into the specifics of it because I don't want to uh point anybody out, but uh where we do need to spend some time and come up with kind of
safety plans for different officials that live in the area. So, um, the reason I bring that up, I guess it was, you know, just a year and a week ago that, uh, a public official were killed in Minnesota. Um, when that happened, I was working that weekend and
kind of tried to spearhead the, uh, the safety plans for the the elected officials that live in our area. And you know that has carried over into the last uh week or so that there's been a few things that have been going on. Not to that extreme like last year, but uh we want to make sure that the our officials
that are in the area some capacity um they know what what I need so to speak from a how we need to be contacted uh how that needs to happen, what that looks like. So, u kind of working on that and I've been had a few phone calls and text messages over over the last
week and trying to make sure everybody's on the same page there. Um, I think the last time I had mentioned call load. Uh, I think I said this is kind of that teeter point was what, two weeks ago, four weeks ago that I had mentioned that, but last 30 days we'll be at,00
calls for service here in the last 30 days. So, it's a pretty pretty high number for us. And like I said, usually July 4th is actually our peak point. I would say July 4th, right at that that day is a huge teetering point for us. And so we're barely in, you know, coming
up on that. So, um, other than that, a lot of, like I said, a lot of traffic complaints that we're taking, a lot of mental health calls that we're taking. I know a lot of the mental health calls that we're dealing with, we're struggling with, uh, once we can get somebody to the hospital. The house hospitals are struggling with the the beds that they have available, the staff
that they have available. not uh that's kind of causing some problem solving on our end and how we want to help facilitate that with the EMS staff and medical staff. So um a lot of time on calls because we got to problem solve some of that stuff. Um you know I I I go back to when I first started it was if
there was a mental health issue you have literally like throw them the back of an ambulance and that was it. It's there's a lot more time that we commit to this and how we handle that and what our investment is. Um the mental health calls that we've been going how we spending a lot of time, a lot of effort,
a lot of uh sweat and tears kind of go and do each one of those individually. I don't like to show up on those anymore. Just kind of say, "All right, good luck." And kick kick the can down the road. So that system doesn't work. So we uh want to make sure we're putting the time in. So,
um, yeah, kind of spit out a whole bunch of random stuff there, so I apologize. Any questions for me? Otherwise, I'll step down. >> Oh, appreciate it. >> Thank you. >> Cool. Thank you, sir. >> All right. Does anyone else have anything?
If not, a motion would be in order. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Motion by Corey, seconded by Michelle. Is there any discussion? All those in favor signify by saying I. I >> all those opposed same sign. The meeting has ended. Thank you all for attending.