He's in the consent agenda tonight. >> Call this St. Joseph City Council meeting to order for August 18th, 2025. Everyone, please rise for the pledge of allegiance. I aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic
for it stands nation indivisibley and justice for all. >> And now emergency personnel recognition. [Music] Yeah, you can sit in front of us. You're more important.
>> All right, mayor, council members, city staff, and guests. My name is Matt Johnson. I'm the deputy chief of the St. Joseph Police Department. Tonight, we're here to recognize members of our first respon responder family along with several incredible citizens with a lifesaving
award for their heroic actions. On June 26th, 2025, at 7:26 a.m., the St. Joseph Police, St. Joseph Fire and Rescue, and Mayo Ambulance were dispatched to a medical at Quick Trip West by its name, the one on the west
side of town. Um, after a 911 call was placed by Quick Trip employee Carla Marklowitz, first responders were advised that a male was unresponsive and laying on the sidewalk in front of the store and CPR was in progress.
When St. Joseph police officers uh or when arriving, St. Joseph police officers observed several citizens who had assisted in rendering medical aid including Diane Hmering um who had started CPR and Amber Wenty who had taken over CPR when our officers
arrived. Amber, there you go. Um officer Alex Lion applied an AED and Chief Dwight Funenstein began giving breaths with a bag valve mask. When
prompted by the AED, Officer Lion delivered a shock with the AED and Officer Dan Funenstein took over compressions. After the shock was delivered, Amber was able to detect uh light radial pulse. Several St. Joseph
rescue members arrived on scene and applied a Lucas and continued life-saving measures. For those of you who don't know, the Lucas is an apparatus that gives mechanical compressions to the chest. Um, Mayo ambulance paramedics arrived on
scene and a pulse was again located. It appeared that the male was taking breaths on his own at this time. Mayo ambulance loaded the male into their ambulance, continued care, and transported him to the St. Cloud Hospital. Joining us tonight is Brian Becker, the
unconscious male who received the life-saving care. Come on, Brian. Brian will come up in a minute and talk, but he's joined tonight with his wife Karen. Had to say that right. Uh their children Hannah and Josh, four
grandchildren, and I think I saw several more family members that were here. So, welcome. Um, I'm happy to report talking to Brian several times since this is an incident that he's fully recovered. >> So, Brian, if you want to say a couple words. >> Sure.
>> Come on up so they can hear you. >> Well, all I can say is I'm so thankful that I'm here today and I am so thankful for all of you and you three to start at the beginning for being citizens and just stepping up and
um doing what you did. And all of you first responders and ambulance drivers and policemen that you guys did your professional job in a great way and um kept me alive or brought me back to life and I get to hopefully live a long life
with my family and kids and grandkids. And since the incident, four days after I had a little grandbaby that was born, which I would have never got to meet him. So, I from my my heart and my family, I just want to thank all of you guys for everything you did and um and
just being so fast and professional and giving me good care. So, thank you. >> So, we have a few that could not make it tonight. It's tough with summer schedules to get everybody here, but we do have of several of the people here. So, Mayor Sapontiac is going to um issue
some certificates for the first responders and the citizens. So, I will name them off. Chief Dwight Funenstein, Officer Alex Lion, Officer Dan Funenstein couldn't be here tonight. Was close. Uh, fire captain Ken
Jacobson, >> firefighter Justin Hunt, Firefighter Jake Richter, firefighter Chris Zita, paramedic Mike her,
Citizen Diane Harding, Citizen Amber Wenty, and Citizen Carla Mark Lewitz. So, that concludes our presentation. We will meet straight across. I think Brian wanted to talk to all of you guys if you could come over there for a few minutes.
Um, and we'll let you carry on with the council meeting. Thank you. Well, with that, I think we have everybody in here that's going to stay. Our next item on the agenda is public comment. If anybody would like to address the council on anything that is not on tonight's agenda, you're welcome
to do so. You can step to the podium and just state your name and address, please. Seeing no public comment, we'll close we'll close the public comment period. Item number four, approval of the agenda. >> So moved.
>> Seeing a motion, a second. Any further comment? All those in favor signify by I. >> I I >> opposed. Motion carries. >> Item number five, consent agenda. >> So moved.
>> Second. >> Seeing a motion, a second. Any further comment? All those in favor signify by I. >> I. >> Opposed. Motion carries for consent agenda. Item number six, continuation of public
hearing for 2025 street improvements. Thank you, mayor. My name is Bryce Johnson. I work for the city engineer. I am here tonight to present uh present the details uh for a special assessment hearing for the 2025 street
improvement project. Just wait a moment here to see if that will come up. Otherwise, we'll unplug. What was the control? All right. Sorry about that. So again,
we're here to discuss the special assessments for the 2025 street improvements. So these are the project locations uh various streets in town. Uh and all the all these streets are are determined uh through the city's capital
improvement plan. So we lay out over many years uh planned improvements and we we don't always follow that exactly. Those those can vary a little bit depending on street condition, but generally these streets are determined years ahead on what will be improved in what years.
Those project locations are shown here in uh in purple shade as well as green. And this thin red line is the trail improvements along Minnesota Street and Highway 2.
These are the projected final total project costs. So, we see the project item, public hearing, estimated cost, and where we sit tonight after opening publicly opening bids for our assessment hearing uh proposed final cost. So, here
we we have a total at our first our first uh public hearing, the our estimated total project cost was just over a million dollars. Uh, and tonight here we sit at $981,000 roughly.
This just breaks down the total costs into project area a little bit more. So, we've got project area here, our estimated cost at the improvement hearing, and our proposed final cost here. So, again, we've got just north of a million million was our initial
estimate, and tonight we sit at $980,000. This shows our projected funding preliminary and this is our projected funding final. So we've got again the project area
special assessment revenue city subsidy and the proposed total cost. So roughly 53% of the cost for this project is proposed to be funded by special assessment with the remaining 47% coming from uh city subsidy general funds.
Some special assessment info. It has been and continues to be the policy of the city of St. Joseph that whenever infrastructure improvements are constructed providing benefit to a particular area, those costs shall be levied against benefiting properties. With that, the city commissioned a special assessment benefit report to
determine a maximum assessment. So, typically we will we'll go off of the the city's assessment policy and then we'll have this third party special assessment benefit report done and that oftent times will cap the assessments depending on the property uh the specific properties that are being
assessed. So the city's policy is to assess up to 60% of the street overlay reconstruct costs uh with 100% of the street cost being assessed to annex properties with no previous assessment. So the remaining 40% would be typically subsidized by the
city and those special assessment those those uh footages are determined by the frontage of your property that abuts the project. So, if you live on a corner, you would only be assessed for the the length of your property that that abuts the improvement if you only if the
improvement only lies on one side of your of your corner lot. These were the findings of the special assessment benefit report. So, again, depending on the the type and use of the property, this third party determines a maximum market benefit. Uh so the
simplest to look at would be these res single family residential homes which are capped out per per parcel. Some more some more special assessment info. So for your your average rectangular interior lot 100% of that a
budding a budding project frontage uh would be would be assessed. The city policy also has different determinations for different shaped lots. Um, corner lots, again, the the
long side of that corner lot, you would only be assessed half of that footage. Uh, in irregular interior lots, we we take an average of the of the front and back width to find that that footage.
Special assessment rates. So here again we have our project area on the left, the type of improvement done and here we've got our estimated preliminary special assessment rate and on the far right here we've got the proposed final special assessment rate this evening. So
as you can see all of these were slightly reduced. Again here was our initial estimate and here's the final. So these are the the unit the unit price special assessment rates. These special assessments may be paid in
annual installments over time. They are typically collected with property taxes. For this project, the term is 10 years and the interest rate is 5%. There there would be no interest if the special assessment was paid in full within 30 days of the adoption of the
assessment role. You may partially prepay these amounts at at any time. Um and then you would would be charged interest on the remaining the remaining amount. Uh those that would be need to be paid uh prior
to November 15th or interest would be charged through December 31st of the succeeding year. There are special considerations for military persons, seniors, uh, and disability. So, you do have the
opportunity for a deferral. It's important to understand that it it is not a it is not a forgiveness. It's not a loan forgiveness. You would also still acrue uh you would also still acrue interest over that time. But those are those are
an option. The process for a deferral, you would apply using a form available from the city. Complete complete that form within 30 days of the adoption of the special assessment, which would typically occur this evening. Uh the city council would
would make the ultimate decision on whether to grant that deferral. And again, that interest still occurs. Appeals. No appeal may be taken as to the amount of an assessment unless a written objection by the affected
property owner is filed with the municipal clerk prior to the hearing or presented to the presiding officer at the hearing. So that's the hearing that we're at. So appeals would need to be given in written form to the council uh this evening.
Sorry. You must serve notice upon the mayor or city clerk within 30 days after the adoption of the assessment. >> And that's related to if if a property owner is going to appeal to district court, they have to follow that process on the bottom two bullets. If if you're
going to appeal uh to district court tonight, in order to maintain your ability to appeal, you have to serve the mayor or the clerk uh at the >> Yes. Thank you, Randy. This is uh an example special assessment
calculation. So if our unit rate is 29 ft and you have an 80 foot wide interior lot, you have 80 feet of of your property that abuts the project. This would be your total assessment. If you lived on a corner lot, say, and
your your lot dimension was 80 feet by 100 ft and the the long side is where the improvement was being done, you are only going to be assessed for half of that long side. So, it would be half of this 100 ft times the unit price. So, if
if we combine these two and both sides of your corner lot are are being improved, you would add those two together. So you're still only assessed half of your long side. This is a tenative schedule
for the remaining work. So we would be looking to start construction this year in early September and the vast majority of the project would be complete this season. Uh Minnesota Street, the overlay on Minnesota Street would not be done until next year after completion of the
roundabout project at at County Road 2. With that, I can take any questions from the council or the public. At this time, does the council have any questions for Randy or Bryce? Seeing none, we're going to look to open
the public hearing. And some of the residents that are present here tonight might remember they're here about a month ago for another public hearing. The reason why we have an additional public hearing tonight is one resident who was impacted by street assessments this year did not receive proper
notification from the city. That is our fault. So, as a result, we're having an additional public hearing tonight. Typically, that would be reserved specifically for that resident to speak during the public hearing. If anybody wants to speak that was at the previous
public hearing, I'm fine with that. So, if anybody has questions that they would like to direct at Bryce, Randy, or the council and myself, you're welcome to do so. Just state your name and address and please approach the podium so people at home can pick you up on the mic. So,
with that, we will open our public hearing. If no one would like to approach the council, I'll ask one last time. and we may look to close the public hearing. With that, we will close the public hearing. Is there any other action that you'd
like, David? Excuse me. No, you do not need to take any action tonight. You did take it at the the last meeting. So, this was for any additional comment for the one that did not receive notice. So, we can move to the next agenda item. >> Okay. Thank you everyone.
On to agenda item number seven, zoning text amendment for cannabis cultivation in B2 highway business district and L1 light industrial district. >> Yeah, thank you um mayor and council. I'll be presenting the zoning ordinance
text amendment item um which involves um an amendment allowing cannabis cultivation in the B2 highway 75 business district and light industrial district. I'll provide an overview of the requests and then ask for action this evening.
So the city has received two requests to amend the city's zoning ordinance to again allow cannabis cultivation. One request is to allow indoor cannabis cultivation as a conditional use in the B2 Highway business district due to pursuing indoor cannabis cultivation at
417 First Avenue Northeast. A second request is to allow indoor cannabis cultivation as a permitted use in the light industrial district due to pursuing operations in the Northland Business Center Industrial Park. So recent laws legalized adult use
cannabis in Minnesota and established a regulatory framework over the cannabis industry. The city of St. Joseph adopted a cannabis ordinance related to retail registration and licensing in 2025. This request is related to the cultivation of cannabis which is not listed as a
permitted or conditional use in any of the city's zoning districts. The draft zoning text amendment includes adding indoor greenhouse including cannabis cultivation as a conditional use in the B2 district and as a permitted use in the light industrial district.
So I'm pulling up the zoning map here uh in regards to um the B2 that would be the I know might be kind of might be hard to see but the red is the B2 highway 75 business district. Um, so when you if you amend the ordinance to allow for that, those would be the areas
that it would be allowed. And then the uh purplish color is the light industrial districts. The planning commission reviewed this request and held a public hearing on August 5th. They discussed safety, order control, wastewater lighting, hours of
operation, truck traffic, um amount of production, number of employees, and the city having the city's cannabis ordinance addressing a cultivation. Um um there was discussion on having an an ordinance in place to provide guidance
on how to handle cultivation. Um there was discussion on the suitability to allow in the B2 district that is more retail use focused. Um, a letter has been included in your packet by um, Planning Commissioner Mark Thompson. Uh, the applicant uh,
indicated that carbon filters will be used uh, saying there will be little to no smell. Um, that the state has rigorous safety standards and any transportation um, would be rare and plant waste is composting. Um, the plan commission voted they took two separate
motions on the item. Um they voted 3 to one to approve the ordinance amending um section 502.54 of the 502 ordinance which adds indoor greenhouse including cannabis cultivation in the B2 highway 75
business district and that was based on those concerns that um Commissioner Thompson had raised. Um they uh did vote four and zero um unanimously to approve the ordinance amending adding it to section 506.62 which is the
light industrial district to add that as a permitted use. So the requested action this evening um you can do uh either a motion all allin-one motion to uh table deny or approve ordinance 2025-010
amending ordinance 502 sections 502.54 and 506.62 62. So that you could do it in one motion which would amend allowing it as a conditional use in the B2 d excuse me B2 district and light industrial
district or you can do it in two separate motions if you you wish. So those options are laid before you on the screen and then lastly we would um ask for a motion for the summary publication. So with that I can take any questions you may have. The applicant is here this
evening if you actually the both applicants are here this evening if you have questions. >> Council is any questions? So would the candidates mind coming to the podium for a couple questions? So they're looking at becoming cultivators, growers, and they're looking to do
indoor cultivation growth only. And what the city of St. Joseph is pursuing, and we're still waiting on the OCM, the office of cannabis management is a municipal retail license. So they're not looking to per se sell to the public. They're looking to be growers and then sell to a distributor. Do I have that
correct? >> Correct. >> Okay, >> that's correct. We're working on location in Uptown Minneapolis. And so essentially, I can go over some of the questions that were asked to help ease some of your concerns. So, crime and security, Office of Cannabis Management is pretty
strict on that. We have cameras, we have alarm systems that go to the police. We have all those kind of things covered. Odor control, we use HEPA filters for mold and toxins. We use carbon filters for smell. It's actually a sealed room that we have. So there's not even
exhaust where air is coming out. We have CO2 that's feeding inside the room. So it's literally all sealed. There's no windows. There's no light leakage. There's no water leakage. We use coconut husk. So it's from coconuts and it's a natural source. And essentially when the
drip emitter goes on top and drips, there's a pot on the bottom. You've probably seen with regular pots, the water goes the bottom. So there's no waste water. And in regards to waste material, the roots, the stocks, there's a fenced that Cory, the owner of the building, has where we can put like a a
composting pile. So, this is all regenerative process. We're regenerating the coconut husk amending it and creating nutrients and reusing it. So, there's not water waste. There's no other one other thing product amount. It's not like we're going to have a
retail shop with a sign. It's honestly like you're going to notice that we're not even there. Once every month and a half or month, we take a whole bunch of product. We map out the retail stores in Minneapolis and other want it and then we either use a transporter or we transport it to that
place and we use bags and devices that seal it from smell has to go in a lock box. Like I said, state has really stringent rules on this stuff. And so I think that covers it all. And for us, we're small, more like a boutique. His location is much larger. Ours is 3,000
square feet. So we're talking 3 to 600 pounds of product over the period of a year. Think of it like a fine French type of fine winery type of thing. We're we're kind of catering to that boutique market. And so that's essentially what we're doing. And uh yeah,
>> wanted to piggy back onto that with uh Commissioner Thompson's questions. Uh the light pollution, the growing environment is contained, so there will be no light pollution outside of the building. And the uh physical waste is
all organic wast. We have to separate any hazardous waste they call it. That's just something that has tricoms in it. There's really no hazard to it other than I suppose somebody trying to take it out of the garbage or something. But we have to remediate that by chopping it up and mixing it with organic waste.
That's soil stocks leaves. They're all just byproducts of the process. So, and then THC, one of the concerns was water contamination. So, THC is not water soluble. Any other questions? Go for it. >> Um, just I'm glad that Councilman
Schnetler brought up is there potential confusion? And so we want the public to know that we have, as the mayor mentioned, applied to get a retail license to have a city-owned cannabis store, just like there would be
a mun municipal liquor store. These two businesses are totally different. they're going to be growing to sell to retailers in other places in Minnesota. Um, I'm in favor of the motion. I attended the planning commission meeting
uh on August 5th. It was a robust discussion and I can appreciate planning commissioner Kennedy's uh issues that he has with it, but nevertheless, it did get voted in favor by the planning commission 4 to one.
Any other questions for them? >> I don't have any questions myself. If you were doing this outdoors, I'd have a flurry of questions for you. But you're doing all your operations indoor, very self-contained, it sounds like. And I understand with going through our license process how much the OCM forces
you to do to be safe and have everything buttoned up. So, I don't have any questions or issue with this. >> Thank you. Thank you, Mayor and Council. >> With that, we're looking for a motion to table deny or approve u individual
ordinances or both. >> Questions? >> We're just taking questions from the applicants. It's not a public hearing. >> I think your letter was in the packet, Commissioner Kennedy. I think your
letter was in the packet. Unfortunately, this isn't a public hearing. >> I move to approve ordinance 2025-010 amending ordinance 502 sections 502.54 and 506.62.
>> Seeing a motion is second. Any further comment or questions? All those in All those in favor signify by I >> I oppose. Motion carries. >> I move to approve summary publication
resolution 2025-057. >> I'll second that. Any other questions or comments? All those in favor signify by I. >> I. >> Opposed. >> Motion carries. Thank you.
On to item number eight, River's Bend five preliminary and final plaque. Do you have that one, David, that you're carrying for us or I believe is is taking this is trying to load, I believe.
Yeah, thank you. I'll be presenting the riverbend plat 5. Um, again providing an overview of the proposed subdivision and asking for action on that item tonight. >> I will do that and I'll
>> absolutely That would be great for those. >> Yes, I'll talk louder. >> All right. So, this is uh the location of uh the proposed subdivision. To your right, you'll see Rivers Ben Plat 5. The
previous plats are shown on there as well. Um in the corner uh on the upper um left hand side, if you will, more west is Riverbend Plat 4. Essentially, this is an extension of um
Lanigan Way Southeast. The land use uh plan guides the property for um medium density residential and you'll see the arrow um showing the location of the proposed subdivision. The zoning of the property is R4, excuse
me, R4 townhouse patio home residential. It was actually platted um in 2005. It encompassed quite a bit of area including um to the south um Kennedy and over time um it was amended and went
through um various iterations. Here's a um an exhibit showing our transportation plan. Um and the on right hand side there you'll see the overall transportation plan map. I have an arrow
pointing to the location. Uh Jade Road, which is also known as 12th Avenue, has been part of the city's transportation plan for uh quite some time. It's a future plan minor arterial roadway. And then the smaller map just shows a a
closer up view with the arrow showing uh the future Jade Road. This exhibit is the preliminary plat. Um it shows uh the right of way uh for again that future um Jade Road. Um and
uh also the lots there um in the extension of Lannigan Way southeast extending to the east and the future Jade Road. North on the northerly lots are four patio homes and then the south
where I have the arrows are two duplex lots which are twin homes attached side by side. This exhibit shows the final plat which is consistent with the preliminary plat. Um and it's really platting is a two-part process. It's governed by state
statute as well as your subdivision ordinance. And this is the document that would get recorded with um the county um after the city council um approves that. As you can see from this exhibit, they're not showing uh the rightway
being um dedicated. Um, one of the items that we have included in your resolutions this evening is to have that be a required for the dedication of um, Lanigan, excuse me, um, of Jade Road. So, we are adding that as a a condition
for them to add that. So for your uh action this evening uh we are asking for a motion in regards to approving the preliminary plat of Riversben Plat 5. And then the second motion would be an approval for the resolution approving the final plat and
development agreement of Riversb Plat 5. Um I do want to point out maybe I'll go back to the map here. Um this right here they're not proposing again uh that be right away. We are asking that to be a condition of approval that they uh add that on the
final plat exhibit. As far as the timing of um construction of Jade Road, uh that was intended um that it would be part of this future phase. They're not proposing that. So that is a discussion that's ongoing with the developers and city
staff on on the timing of that. It is addressed in the development agreement from a previous plat um plat three just to the west of this where it abuts. You'll notice actually maybe I'll go back a couple sides so you can see the aerial.
There's a culde-sac right here. So part of that approval of that plat um encompassed a temporary turnaround and um there's actually an easement over that. Um and this the building permit
for this lot will not be issued until uh that is vacated and this roadway is extended and then connects again future Jade Road and then connects to County Road 121 aligning with Jade
Road to the south. Otherwise, these are the actions again that um are before you this evening. If you have any questions for me, I'd be more than happy to ask them. Um the planning commission um did uh review this and held a public hearing on the preliminary plat. And they are
recommending approval of both the preliminary plat and the final plat. They did not weigh in on in regards to the timing of um Jade Road. Um they didn't have any input on that. The one item they did ask us a condition that be added and it was added to the
resolutions is for a temporary construction um easement or excuse me access off of um that future Jade Road. They wanted construction to come off that. >> So with that, any questions? councilors.
>> So, what they're saying is that they want the city to have that. >> Oh, thank you. I appreciate you speaking up so that you can hear. Um, is that better? >> Perfect. Thank you. Um, so what you're
saying is that they're requesting the city to have access so that they can get to that for development. >> No, it would actually be for the developer. So, they would have to put the improvements in. And so part of their request and they're they're proposing the subdivision, they have to do those improvements. So put the new
roadway that will serve um the patio home lots as well as the duplex lots. >> Okay. And so >> so that would be on the um that would be the developer's responsibility. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Any other questions or comments? I personally have none myself. So we are
just looking for a motion to approve resolution 2025-04. Then >> so moved. >> Second. >> Seeing a motion and a second. Any other comments or questions?
>> All those in favor signify by I. >> I. >> Opposed. Motion carries. I will make the motion to approve resolution 2025-055 for the final plat. Looking for a second.
>> Second. Seeing a motion, a second. Any further comment. All those in favor signify by I. >> I. >> Opposed. >> Motion carries. Thank you, Trice. On to item number nine, labor peace
agreement for Red Pine Group. >> Thank Thank you, Mr. Mayor, council members. I'll be fairly brief with this one. It's um actually, for my opinion, bit more of a formality that we're required from OCM. One of the um
interesting quirks of the law that was passed is that um we have to have a labor peace agreement with any potential unions. Uh that would be uh for the mun municipal dispensary employees. Um however, as the council's aware, we are contracting with Red Pine Group to
provide the management services for that, which would include they would they would employ the employees. Um so that was not really addressed in the law. So one of the things that we've been working on for a little while is how to address that. So what we have what the attorneys have come up with is
a labor peace agreement which um would spec would specifically reference is the teamsters here uh because they are the the one union group that has um I guess expressed interest in potentially representing any employees. So the agreement that is um is written, it
specifies that the city intends to hire the independent contractor to run the retail space and the agreement will either be assigned to the operator or the operator may enter into a separate agreement with the union um if they so choose to unionize. So they would not have to unionize, but it would this
agreement would be in place if they so choose. So with that being said, it is um um approved by two form and content by the city attorney that is representing us in the municipal can cannabis dispensary. So with that um I'll take any questions.
Otherwise, we just be looking for a motion to approve the labor peace agreement. I'll make a motion to approve the labor peace agreement. >> Second. Any other questions? All those in favor signify by I.
>> I. >> Opposed. Motion carries. Thank you, David. Item number 10, department reports. >> I'll add something real quick. I just want to give a shout out to my fellow
co-workers, Kayla, David, Lori, and everyone that helped fill in while I was out for the past four weeks. Um, and also thank you to Theres for filling in and helping as well. So very appreciative. We have a great team. So thank you everyone.
>> Glad to have you back, Nate. Anybody else? Department reports? Nothing. With that, we have mayor and council reports. Anything >> tonight? I'd want to mention that uh tonight's a unique circumstance where we're having
our work session after a city council meeting. Traditionally, that is before that we have on a monthly basis. So, immediately following this, we're going to walk across the hall to our conference room and we'll be discussing a native plant ordinance for roughly an hour. If we can get through that quickly
and swiftly, we have a couple other topics to discuss, but if not, we'll just be attending to that one. So if anybody would like to come to that work sessions are open to the public and you're more than welcome to do so. See no other reports. Looking for a motion to adjurnn.
>> Move to adjourn. >> Second. >> All those in favor signify by I. >> I opposed. We are adjourned. She must have been