Good evening. It's now 6:30 and I call this regular meeting of the Victoria City Council to order. We begin with the Pledge of Allegiance. So, please stand and join us. I pledge algiance 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. The first item on our agenda this evening is announcements. We have several announcements. Um, first, there is a city council workshop scheduled
from Monday, May 12th from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. This is a closed session to provide council a litigation update. All meetings of the city council, including workshops, are open to the public and held in council chambers at city hall unless otherwise noted. We encourage
anyone wanting to attend our council meetings or workshops in person to contact our city clerk in advance. Um, in other announcements, please make sure to stop by Victoria's downtown on May 3rd to celebrate spring with our local
businesses at the Victoria in Bloom event. Many of our businesses will have specials and activities throughout the day. Again, this is May 3rd and the city's website has additional information on that event. Next on the agenda is I have two
proclamations that I'll read from the DAS. The first is a proclamation to recognize May 5th through 9th, 2025 as teacher appreciation week. Whereas teacher appreciation day was first recognized in 1953 after
Elanor Roosevelt spoke before Congress, persuading them that there was a need to recognize teachers on a specific day for their hard work and dedication. And whereas following Ms. Roosevelt's advocacy efforts and with the support of the National Education Association, the
Kansas State Board of Education and the Indiana State Board of Education, National Teacher Day was established in 1980 and initially celebrated on March 7th until it was moved in 1984 to be observed the first week of May. And
whereas teachers dedicate themselves to providing the best learning experience for our students, whether in person or through distance learning. And whereas teachers provide more than a curriculum to their students, they become involved individuals who serve as mentors and motivators who provide guidance and
support. And whereas teachers have a crucial role in inspiring young minds, they educate. They empower the development of our children into well-rounded individuals who reach their full potential to contribute to our community and our society. And now
therefore, be it resolved, I Deborah McMillan, on behalf of the city council, do hereby recognize May 5th through the 9th as teacher appreciation week. And that teacher appreciation day is Tuesday, May 6th,
2025. The second proclamation is a proclamation declaring May 2025 as mental health awareness month. Whereas mental health is important for our well-being and vitality as well as that of our families, communities, and businesses. And whereas mental illnesses
impact a significant number of people in America and around the world. And whereas the effects of mental illness extend beyond individuals to their families and friends, influencing families, neighborhoods, schools, and workplaces.
And whereas stigma and fear of discrimination prevent many who could benefit from mental health services from seeking help. And whereas promoting promoting mental health awareness and reducing stigma in our communities is
crucial to raising awareness that mental health services encompass more than just therapy and medication. Caring for mental health may also include comprehensive services and support that assist individuals in recovering holistically, addressing their social,
vocational, and community contributions. And whereas mental health recovery not only benefits individuals with mental health disorders by emphasizing their abilities to live, work, learn, and actively participate in society, but it also enriches the
culture of our community life. Now therefore, be it resolved that I, Deborah McMillan, on behalf of the city council, do hereby recognize May 2025 as mental health awareness month in the city of Victoria, Minnesota. Our next order of business is
to adopt the final agenda. Council, can I get a motion to adopt the final agenda? Motion to adopt the final agenda. We have a motion. Can I get a second? Second. We have a motion and a second. All in favor signify by saying I. I. Any opposed? Motion carries. Our
next item is open forum. This is the opportunity for anyone to address the council on an item that is not on the agenda and not an application at a future date. The Victoria Library has registered to speak in advance and we welcome Jod Edstrom,
director of the Carver County Library System, and Patrick Jones, Victoria Library branch manager. Welcome, Jod and Patrick. Good evening. Good evening, mayor, council members, and city of Victoria. I am Jod Edstrom, the library director for Carver County, and I'm here with Patrick
Jones, the Victoria branch manager. He also manages our Chanhassen branch. So, we're glad to be here tonight. I'm going to go through very quickly a few kind of the some of the system accomplishments as a whole. As you may know, we have six libraries across the county, four express locker libraries, and a law
library. So, we we kick it off. We celebrate nearly 1.5 million checkouts in 2024. And that encompasses both our print materials and our digital materials. If you're a Libby user at all and you check out ebooks or e audiobooks, that's also
included in this checkout number. Um on the next slide, there's a lot of numbers. I'm only going to point out two. One being our digital increase. We continue to see a pretty significant increase in those ebook ebook and e audiobook checkouts. So 25% increase.
Again, the big yellow part of the pie is 46% which is attributed to youth materials and that's all of our print materials which makes up just a really um huge number to show how much our families and our youth are using our spaces and our libraries. Speaking of
youth, we continue to roll out our virtual library card project. Um, we just launched into Eastern Carver County District 112 this last year and are starting to bring grades six on with the ultimate goal of um, giving that opportunity to all grades 6 through 12.
And that links their student ID number to directly into our library system as their library card. So really great partnership way to um grow together and to support our students. Uh, I won't touch too much on the adult programs but we did see some great um increase in
engagement. Patrick will share more about the fun and wonderful things that are happening here at Victoria. In terms of technology, we have all new se selfch checkouts in all of our branches now. And we also have mobile printing available. So, wherever you are, you could submit a print job to one of our
branches, be able to walk in and have staff assist you or it's very um you can very self-service model as well. So, great access for our communities. Youth of course is a huge part about what of what we do. um our summer reading program always such a huge hit and we
saw such terrific engagement this last summer. Um so lots of great things happening ahead this next summer that we're planning for and of course our thousand books before kindergarten program which we encourage our youngest readers to to meet that goal to really help build their literacy skills. We're
fortunate to have an internal um Dulki grant program um that our staff can apply for on an annual basis and we did a lot of work in relation to our Spanish collection Spanish programming this last year. We also laid the groundwork to go fine free in 2025. So now all of our
metro area libraries in Mela are all fine free. You won't see any more overdue uh late charges on your account. Uh, I will note if you have a dog like mine who likes to eat library materials though, you may still see a lost or damaged uh fee on your account. And then
my last slide is just to share the top checkouts in 2024. So Kristen Hannah's The Women was the top checkout for adults for both print and digital. For teens, it was A Good Girls Guide to Murder, which is also now a popular Netflix series. And then still coming in
at one, number one for youth is Diary of a Wimpy Kid. And with that, I'm gonna turn it over to Patrick. Thank you so much. Thanks, Jody. Good evening, Patrick. Oh, hey. Oh, hey. I just wanted the the Girls Guide to Murder is is fiction, not a non-fiction
book. Thank you for that clarification. Yes, thank you. Um, so mentioned numbers. Victoria has really funky numbers compared to all the other branches where the system is 49% youth circulation. Victoria is
75. 75% of the materials that check out check out to kids or teen. So that's just a huge hunk of that pie up there. Um and one other thing that Victoria of course is the fourth biggest library so of course doesn't have the greatest circulation. One way we measure circulation is something called turnover
rate. That is how often a book goes out. Victoria is like double a lot of the other branches. Every book down there goes out 10 times as opposed to the system average which is seven times. So that's pretty spectacular. Um we do that by doing lots of programming. Jody already mentioned the thousand books
before K. We do lots of crafts. There's a picture of our book bingo program. Uh no no one was hurt during that. Um summer reading program we do every year. We do them when we can outside. Last summer we were challenged it seemed every Monday with bad weather. So you
can see us jamming too many people into the bottom down there. And then we also had our end of year summer dance party. There were bubbles involved. Jose is still speaking to me though. Um we do adult programming. Uh I want to point out two in the middle. We had a writer program and we did this one at the Vic
Rec Center. Um because we thought we'd have a nice turnout for it and we want to actually do more programs over there given the lack of a meeting room downstairs. And then you might see this is I I believe a genealogy program. behind it is the legacy banner. The legacy amendment which was passed, I
don't know, 15 years ago, supplies funding for library programs. We do lots of craft programs. Those are very popular. They can be done downstairs in those tables with 8 to 12 people. And then again, we do use the outside band stand for music programs. We did some outreach with the city at
the farmers market. And we also go to parks and do outreach as well. And then we have our book sales run by our friends of the library. We couldn't do any of this work without the support of the friends of the library. And I want to introduce Julie, the president of the friends, who wants to say just a few words and then we'll wrap up. Julie,
thank you. Thank you. Welcome, Julie. Thank you. Um I am the president of the Friends of the um Victoria Library. And the Friends is a notfor-profit that was formed 10 years ago to create a partnership between the Victoria
community and our library staff. We raise funds through contributions by individuals and community businesses as well as through our annual semianual book sales. I'd like to make a special call out to the Lions Club who has been
very generous in the last 10 years. Funds are used for innovative programs and for learning opportunities of people of all ages. These programs are a valuable part of creating a sense of community in the heart of Victoria.
Anyone who is interested in joining this effort is encouraged to contact us through our website at www.friends of the victoriaal library.org. We would like to also encourage people to contribute gently
used books for our book sales. They can be dropped at the library at any time throughout the year. And of course, monetary donations are always appreciated. We thank you for your support and we look forward to seeing you at our big
10-year celebration on Saturday as we usher in the next 10 years of this valued Victoria institution. Thanks, Julie. Um, so May 3rd is uh as as Julie mentioned is our 10th anniversary. Okay,
it was really in March, but who wants to do an outside program in March in Minnesota? So, we're doing it on May 3rd. We're going to have the Row family singers down there. We're going to have people speak ahead of time. And then the best part, cake. Um so, and then on the 10th, uh our book
sale is coming up. Our May 10th will be our next Chanhassen Friends of the Library or Victoria Friends of the Library sale. So, that's what we've been doing, which is very busy, very active in this community, and we hope to be a big part of the center of it. Thank you. Very good. Thank you, Patrick. And we're
looking forward to this party next week. You just want the cake. So, do anyone have any questions for any of us? Council, any questions? None. No. Carry on and keep up the good work. Thanks so much. Thank you.
All right. Is there anyone else in the audience who would like to address the council on an item that's not on the agenda this evening? All right. Seeing no one, uh, we're moving on to the consent agenda. Items on the consent agenda are routine administrative and do not require
deliberation or are housekeeping items that are required by law. Consent agenda items are approved with one vote unless someone requests an item to be considered separately. Miss Hardy, does staff wish to pull anything from the consent agenda this evening? None from staff. Madame Mayor, any member of the
council wish to push pull anything from the consent agenda or a member of the audience that wishes to pull something from our consent agenda for separate discussion and vote. All right, seeing none, I will take a motion to approve
the consent agenda. Motion to adopt the consent agenda. Second. We have a motion and a second. All in favor signify by saying I. I. Any opposed? Motion carries. Now moving on to our regular agenda. This could be a lengthy meeting as we have a lot of
items to discuss tonight. So thanks for your patience for those in the audience. Um the first item on our regular agenda is item 6.1 which is to consider the establishment of a tax increment financing district 1 through 10 for an affordable housing project located
within Victoria Ridge. I understand that this evening we'd like to extend the time the public has to comment on this item. and why we will take public comment this evening. The staff presentation on this project will be postponed until May 27th. So with that,
this is a public hearing. I will now open the public hearing and anyone who wishes to speak to this item can now approach the podium and address the council. Good evening. Good evening. I think we're supposed to give name here. Uh Vince Bodad. live in Victoria at
118579th Street. Uh I'm uh looking into this only now, this uh project, this tax increment project that we're considering, you guys are considering. And what I'd really like to know is what exactly is the long-term vision that you
as a city council have? That is, uh it's a major decision on your part if we bring in uh if we allow or enable tax increment financing. I'm pretty sure I know what that is. That is basically uh let's leave the taxes down uh on an
improved property to encourage uh development of said property. Now, this we've had a lot of tax increment financing in Victoria over the years and I don't I'm not going to criticize any of that. It's all behind us and there's been some good things coming from it.
However, it's a little different with this because here we are by way of tax increment financing encouraging uh people to come out uh from wherever they're coming. We're encouraging people
to move to Victoria and that includes the uh low-income housing and it was just described a minute ago as a lowincome housing project. Okay, I'm not saying I'm against that per se, but not within I'm beginning to
have a problem with it if it's enabled by way of tax increment financing. If the city council here wants to zone in favor of uh a a project that will include low-income housing out on the west side, I don't really have a problem
with that. But I'm going to be looking closely at this and asking myself, is there wisdom in enabling and encouraging people to come to Victoria? Uh, the whole the whole ball of wax. Uh, 33
apartments is what I read in the, you know, document of a month month or two ago. I don't think that's going to make any big difference in Victoria's culture. But if we're trying to get many, many more people out here, and that's my question to you. What are we trying to do long term? what's the vision thing? I'd like you to discuss
that in more detail. Articulate what you have in mind uh for housing out here in Victoria. A great development over there that that has already been uh raised in uh opposite city hall here. But what what is the vision thing going forward
uh for people that you want to come to Victoria? I think I can leave it at that and I will look forward to that discussion as you sort this out. Thank you. All right. Thank you, Mr. Baette. Is there anyone else who would like to address the council on on this public
hearing on this item? Okay, seeing no others, um we're going to continue this public hearing to May 27th. At that time, we will hear uh the report from staff and additional information on that. Council, can I get a motion to continue the
public hearing? Motion to continue the public hearing to May 27th. To May 27th, 2025. Thank you. We have a motion. Can I get a second? We have a motion and a second from Council Member Ibansky. All in favor signify by
saying I. I. Any opposed? Motion carries. The next item on the agenda, item 6.2, Two is also a public hearing to approve licenses for Omni Brewing Company for on sale intoxicating liquor, brew pub off sale, and Sunday sales.
Presenting this item is our city clerk, Claudia Edisfold. Miss Edisfold, the floor is yours. Thank you, madame mayor and council members. Um, Omni Brewing um has submitted an application for a intoxicating liquor license, a brew pub
off sale, and Sunday sales. Omni will be um is in the process of acquiring Inky Brewing. Um so as part of our municipal cold, we are required to hold uh a public hearing
before any new intoxicating liquor licenses can be issued. Thank you. Anything else, Miss Addis? No. Right. Perfect. This is a public hearing and I will now open the public hearing. So if there is anyone who wishes to speak to this item, please
step forward. Anyone wishing to speak to this item and last call, no pun intended. Seeing no one, I will now close the public hearing and open for uh council discussion. Uh, council, any
comments, questions on this item? All right, seeing none, I will now entertain a motion. Motion to adopt the resolution approving an onsale intoxicating liquor, brew pub, offsale, and Sunday licenses for Omni Brewing and consider waving the
new license fees from April 28th to June 30th, 2025. We have a motion. Can I get a second? Second one. We have a motion and a second and we have a comment from Miss Nelson. Can I clarify? Um, it does say consider waving the fee. That is
something that council can consider to do. If it's a a motion to wave the fee, we just want to strike the word consider from that. Okay. Um, you want to make a motion to wave the fee? Uh, so I'll redo the motion. So motion adopting the resolution approving
an on-sale intoxicating liquor brew pub off sale and Sunday licenses for Omni Brewing and wave the new license fee from April 28th to June 30th, 2012. Very good. Can I And now we have a second. All in favor signify by saying I. I. Any
opposed? Motion carries. We are now moving on to item 6.3, which is another public hearing regarding the c the cable franchise applications for Comcast and Midco. Presenting on that, we'll hear from assistant city manager
Alyssa Nelson again. Miss Nelson, the floor is yours again. Wonderful. Thank you, mayor. Thank you, city council members. Um, as you mentioned, yes, today we are holding a public hearing for cable franchise fees. Um, and we're also considering negotiations for cable franchise fees. Um, so how did we get
here? Well, on council February 24th, you approved the notice of intent to accept applications for cable franchising. Um, from that then staff published uh the the notice in uh the paper as required by state statute. Um, that was done in the Wakonia Patriot and
the application deadline for submitt was uh March 27th. We did receive two applications. Um on March 21st, we received an application from Comcast and then on March 25th, we received an application from Midcontinental Communications, otherwise known as
Midco. And both the applicants are in the audience this evening and when you open the public hearing, they both have presentations for you as well. Um so this is a very a fairly uh state regulated process. Um so we're on step
three and four or part of three and four. So, tonight we're here to hold the public hearing regarding both these applicants and the cable franchise. And then, uh, council, you will also have an opportunity to direct staff to negotiate the cable franchise agreement if that
shall be your wishes. Um, council, you will not be able to act or accept applications at this time. Um, that will be something that we'll bring back after the negotiation process is settled. So just something to highlight uh both
companies are currently within Victoria city limits in construction currently. Um they are installing fiber or internet services. That is something that we don't have the ability to manage or control other other than the the typical rightaway permit process that is held at
the state and federal levels as well as Metronet that is not seeking a cable franchise um with the city but they are providing fiber and internet services to Victoria. Um we also have city engineer Cara Garin in the audience today and she
is um available for any questions to talk about the current construction project when it comes to um both of these companies or all three of these companies um installing fiber with the city use right away. Um I'd also like to note that we do have an incumbent cable provider in Victoria which is Mediacom.
Um they are currently with in the ground and they've been here for quite a number of years. Um and then we also have other communications providers in the city currently which is Century Link. So having both of these additional cable providers um and internet service providers would lead up to five
different communication providers within the city. Um that would be Century Link Mediacom as I mentioned Metronet and then the two additional Midco and Comcast. Um, and I'd also like to note that again we don't pro we don't have any regulation over who can come in for
fiber and internet services. So let's say for instance that you choose not to move forward with the cable franchise process, both of these companies would still be able to move forward with construction buildout for fiber and internet service. And with that um I will suggest
that you open the public hearing. Um, but I also wanted to see if there's anything additional that our attorney vos wants to speak to on regarding uh this item. Yeah, mayor and council. I I thought about there a couple of points I want to get out and I thought about whether saying them now or after you hear from the applicants would be
better. I think maybe if I could just take two more minutes and give you the points now, it might help focus your attention on on these good folks and then it may also inform what they're going to say to you a little bit. So, just a a couple of points. Um, staff has been doing a great job. this statutory
process in Minnesota is a little bit awkward candidly uh and and so there's a little bit of work for staff to do to sort of proctor this through and and they've been doing a good job. So, but the things I want to say were first of all this the the facts that we have here the facts of you having Century Link
which actually provides internet service I think primarily through a company that's subsidiary of theirs quantum fiber they're a provider Mediacom's a provider metronet of course as you're well aware building out your your uh community and then now two applicants to
be internet phone cable providers so a total of five that is truly unp unprecedented. Uh, and so I don't I don't want to lose sight of that. Um, you know, the staff has pointed out that there are some challenges that this proposes and I think you'll hear a little bit more about that. I I want to be clear. I mean, this is truly
unprecedented. There are a number of communities in Minnesota where there are three providers. The incumbent phone company that's gotten into cable, the incumbent cable company that's gotten into internet and phone. That that's a situation that exists in a lot of communities. There are some communities
that are benefited by having three providers. A a third provider has come in to compete with the two incumbents. There are precious few, if any, cities in Minnesota with four providers and none, literally none, to my knowledge that have five providers. So truly, I think unprecedented um the amount of
competition folks are looking to provide to your community. I'm characterizing it as an opportunity. It poses challenges, too. There's just no doubt about that. So, but I I want to be clear about that. The other thing is um and this will be yet to come but it might be helpful to you for you to hear now. There is a
legally recognized standard for cities in deciding whether to grant a franchise to a competitive company or competitive companies. I lose my voice. Uh and and that standard is this um uh cities are to look at the
legal and technical and financial qualifications of these applicants. And state law, again, there's this process in state law for considering this. That state law process required the companies to submit applications that contain a whole bunch of stuff that's set out in
state statute. So, the city staff and I didn't come up with the list of questions that they had to respond to. It's actually state law that spells out those questions. And the purpose for those questions in state law is to make sure that a city gets adequate information about the legal, technical,
and financial qualifications of the companies that are coming before you. I we it's up to you ultimately to decide if they're qualified or not. I've taken a look, of course, at their applications. I've looked at many, many, many dozens of these competitive applications and I will just tell you my
initial first blush view is that both companies are going to be qualified. they're going to be legally, technically, and financially qualified. And so, I guess I'm just giving you the heads up that literally denying an application, denying a franchise to one of these companies, I think would be
legally difficult um based on the information that I'm I'm seeing in their applications. And then the last thing is, and I think you have a sense for this, the incumbent company, Mediacom, the incumbent cable company, under state law, again, it's antiquated and it's a little awkward, state law protects in
effect in the cable market compete fairly or evenly with respect to the franchise fees. You know that media comp pays you franchise fees. You have to impose the same kind of franchise fees on these companies if you grant franchises to them. So that's an area of parity. And
then also you have to be uh in par with respect to public programming, the community programming that we do uh that goes out in the cable system. those obligations need to be uniform generally speaking. Then the last area which is usually the most controversial controversial is the area that a new
company a competitor serves. I will tell you again back to my unprecedented comment almost always when a competitor comes into a community like this the city is saying great we want competition but we really want you competitor to serve everybody. We don't want you to pick and choose in our community. Serve
everybody that the incumbent is serving. Well, in this case, you've got two companies that are coming forward and we've had discussions with them outside of their applications. Both are prepared to do that. Both are prepared to essentially serve your entire community. And so that usual give and take where we're encouraging the competitor to meet
this level playing field obligation. That really isn't the discussion that we've had at least yet with either company. They're both prepared to build out your communities. The last thing, and I'll be quiet, is as Cara would tell you much better than I could, all of this unprecedentedness, all this
opportunity for competition really does impose some burdens on the neighborhoods that are having buildouts occurring. You've heard about that more than I have, of course, but uh that's a real thing, of course, and uh we're not we're not blind to that at all. It is a challenge for sure. Uh and and staff is
aware of that. So, I'll stop there. I wanted to get those out though so that you can have that information in your heads as you hear from these folks. Very good. Thank you, Attorney V. Anything any questions for Bob before we move on? All right. All right. At this point, I'm going to open up the public hearing and
we do have the two applicants in the in the um audience this evening indicating their desire to speak toward this item. So, Comcast is our first applicant. So, I'm going to ask them to come to the podium first and then followed by Midco. Please introduce yourself for the
record. Absolutely. Mayor, council members. My name is Karly Bargo Wernern. I'm the vice president of external affairs for Comcast here in the Midwest region. So excited to be in front of you tonight. Um the Midwest region of Comcast is headquartered in the Twin Cities region and our almost 800
employees of the Midwest region of Comcast live, work, and play in these communities that we serve, including Victoria probably at Floyd's one too many times. or maybe that's just me. Um, as your packet notes, we have been in informal conversations with the staff
for some time. We've been expanding our network in the Twin Cities region. We built Weisetta a couple years ago. We're in the process of completing our expansion into Chanhasson. We'll be finishing that this summer. And we were very excited and wanted Victoria to be
the next city out here that we serve. And so really excited to talk to you about that prospect tonight. Now, we did submit our application and as Bob said, our kind of bonafides around our financial, legal, and technical qualifications are in there. So, I'm not
going to go into that in detail, but happy to answer any questions you have about that. But what I wanted to take this opportunity to do tonight was to really introduce Comcast to you. Now, you probably have heard of us. You may have conceptions of who we are, but I want to take this opportunity um to tell
you where we're going and hopefully you're going to be pleasantly surprised by what you learn. Um do I have the clicker? All right, so here we go. This is us over six years of expansion. We are a global media and technology company. You'll see here some of the fun
events we can bring to life like the Olympics. If you didn't watch our coverage of Paris on Peacock, our streaming service, you're going to get a chance to watch the 2026 Winter Olympics um coming up here and of course our
theme parks, other um assets that we own. But of course, we are the nation's largest broadband provider. And I'm here to posit you tonight that our scale and innovation, an investment that we can make is going to be a difference
maker or we're going to bring to residents of Victoria a different value proposition than perhaps the service providers that you have here today. Now, this slide is not going to tell you anything you probably don't know, but I
think it's interesting nonetheless. Broadband usage is skyrocketing and the trends are not changing anytime soon right with the stream with streaming with gaming with AI with cloud computing we are just
going to see more and more of the usage and for Comcast today over 70% of our network usage is entertainment is streaming that trend is not changing either as you can see here. Does someone
say streaming sports? The last the five biggest broadband usage events that happened over the last were over the last 10 months and they all had to do with sports streaming um and with gaming when a new game came out and everybody
was downloading it. So, what does that mean for residents of Victoria? That means that you need a provider that has a network that's built for the future. And I'm here to tell you as Comcast has
the largest fiber network in the nation. We're running at a 99%.9% reliability. Why is that? Because we've got processes in place that we're monitoring the network 247. We're
fighting problems before they exist. We have AI now that are fixing problems in our network. Um, but we do fiber. We know fiber. We know fiber the best. But that's just table stakes at
this point for us. We're really raising the bar because we've asked ourselves, how are people using the network? And that goes back to those stats I was showing you before about the convergence of media
and technology. And that's where we're meeting people today. So you'll see here what we have done is develop the best wifi superiority. 90% of
devices in your home more than are connected to Wi-Fi. Right? Nobody is plugging in the device and their modem in the wall anymore. I remember those days. No, my kids are never going to see those days, right? And so that's what we're solving for. We have developed
worldclass gateway modems. We're about to roll out our XB10, which is going to be the first modem in which customers can do symmetrical speed wi-fi in their house, as well as connect up to 300
devices. Now we already know the average C Comcast customer has about 36 Wi-Fi devices in their home. We have some super users that already have that 300 mark. Uh we are meeting that with our technology. The other thing that really
I think is a value ad for Exfinity customers is our robust wifi network hotspot network. Now, we have over almost 50,000 Wi-Fi hotspots, Exfinity hotspots in the Twin
Cities. So, what does that mean? Say you're out and about at in a waiting room or at a coffee shop or you're at a restaurant and your kid brought his tablet and he wants to get on to YouTube and you want him to because he's bothering everybody. Chances are you're
going to find a Wi-Fi hotspot where you are in the Twin Cities that you could access as an Exfinity customer for free. The best part about it is that it's secure. It's secure and that's huge. Um, and then if you're a if you're traveling, you know, again, our our our
wide nationwide network has over 23 million Wi-Fi hotspots. So, if you're in Chicago or Denver or Boston, any of the major cities markets that we serve, you're also going to be able to access those Wi-Fi hotspots. That's a just a value ad as an Exfinity customer. That's
how people are using internet these days. On top of that, we asked, how also can we use this converge? How can we really converge our network again to meet people and our customers where they're at? And we have a mature,
sophisticated mobile product that we've had for over seven years. We've been able to prove out that bundling, adding your uh mobile to your internet package saves customers
money. It's an average of over $1,000 a year of our Exfinity Mobile customer savings over the big three carriers. Now, why? again that magical word Wi-Fi over 90% of internet of cellular or
smartphone traffic excuse me travels over Wi-Fi and not cellular networks so while we are partnered with a 5G nationwide cellular network less than 10% of our customers
smartphone traffics are traveling over that and that saves them a lot of money and again it's accessing that robust Wi-Fi um network that we have as Exfinity Comp has built. Um and again, we're just constantly innovating this product. Um
we've got just we just rolled out our Wi-Fi power boost, which allows again those Wi-Fi hotspots to to to let an Exfinity user experience speeds they're not about. That's like 10 times the speed of the cellular network.
So, it really comes in handy if you're like me. Last Friday at their child's baseball game at Bennett Field in Metitaka, the same time the Timberwolves game was on. I use the Wi-Fi power boost to do to get the best of both worlds.
Um, and so we're just continuing to uh really innovate that product as well. We're best-in-class on our mobile and we've just rolled out, and I really want you to know this, a fiveyear price guarantee. where an infinity, excuse me,
internet customer now can lock in a price for five years as well as a lot of value ads that come with that package which includes that gateway modem that I was just telling you about that worldclass service modem. It comes with
um a year of a free Exfinity mobile line uh and another and a couple other great great values there um in this five-year price guarantee. No contracts. Customer can just have the five-year price
guarantee. Now, those are just a couple of the products that we offer. And here's the great thing. I was just telling how our scale and investment in innovation really sets us apart. The other thing that really sets
us apart is that we are hyper local and we have over 15 retail locations throughout the Twin Cities region. Got one in Minnetonka, Redale, Eden Prairie. We're about to open one in Chanhassen. So places that
are very convenient to residents here in Victoria and they can go into those stores and talk to our professional sales agents about what package is right for them. We've got everything from a prepaid real price value product all the way up to, like I said, bundling your
mobile internet. We also have a home security product that you can go into the stores, touch, see, feel, see how it works. um find out, you know, what package is right for you because we've got something literally for every class
user. Now, I would definitely be remiss if I did not talk about Comcast business and what a game changer that would be as well for businesses here in Victoria. Again, because of our scale and technology, we can serve any
kind of business from these fantastic local uh businesses here, independent businesses here downtown all the way up to, you know, a target that's got campuses in different states and
different cities. We have a solution for any kind of business. And the best part about it too is that we are heads and tails uh advanced in our security. We are consistently 247
running security for these businesses that we know find that to be one of the most important ways to protect their assets these days. And last, and again, this is definitely my favorite part because this is our great team that
gets to do this work. And we are committed to the communities that we serve. You will know us, you will see us, we will be present. We have a whole team and part of it is led by Stacy Nelson Kumar
who's joined us today. She's our director of community impact who will be in your community. Finding out ways we can partner. We have for over a decade been a leader in digital opportunity. Table Stakes on this is our
internet essentials product that we've had again for over a decade. It's a lowcost product for qual uh that's a high-speed broadband product for qualifying households. And for example, during the pandemic, we partnered with the Eastern Carvey County
School District to make sure that information was out to every household. And not only that, a code for free internet through the school to connect every kid during distance learning. Our presence and scale and products allowed
us to be that trusted partner for the school district during that time. We also have lift zones. Um we have over a hundred in the Twin Cities region. This is free gigabit Wi-Fi to community centers, rec centers, places where
children are gathering to learn, adults come for workforce development, digital skills, literacy training. Um so there can be free, fast, robust Wi-Fi provided in those areas and you know in a um just
a a consistent sponsor of activities that are important to the communities that we serve. We've already signed up to be a Goldways community partner sponsor for Victoria this summer. We're very excited to see some T-ball teams that are powered by Exfinity. So, of course, we were out doing this work
before we even got our franchise. And so, with that, like I said, in our application is all the information about our financial, technical, and legal qualifications to serve here. and I'm here to answer any
questions that you have about that. But just really want to emphasize we couldn't be more excited to serve the residents of Victoria and bring this fantastic world-class technology to their doorstep. Thank you, Carly. Any
questions for Carly? All right. Thank you. You were very thorough with your presentation. Thank you. And now we have Midco stepping up to the podium. Please introduce yourself. Good evening, mayors and council members. My name is Andrew Curley. I'm the senior director
of government relations for Midco. Um, and similar to Carly, I want to take the opportunity tonight to kind of introduce you to MidCo, who we are, what we've been up to in Victoria to date, and kind of what we have in mind going forward, we're proposing with our cable TV application. So, just a little bit about
Midco. And actually, this has a brief video on the slide. In a world where connections matter more than ever, Midco is here to ensure you stay linked to what truly counts for what's happening now and for what's next. Because we're ready to spend less time worrying about
connectivity, and more time planning for your future, building your business, and making memories with those around you with our reliable multi- gig fiber-based services. As we approach each new day with a fiberforward mentality, every mile of fiber that we lay is an
investment in your future and our possibilities together. But our connections go beyond just technology. We're dedicated to making a positive impact in our communities. From supporting local schools to sponsoring community events, Midco is proud to
stand by the people we serve as a force for good. Get ready to experience the power of Midco, where the connection goes beyond fiber. So, video just to share a little bit about kind of who we are as a company, but I'll expand on that throughout this presentation. Um, as you can see here,
the services we offer. Obviously, we're talking today about a cable TV franchise. Midco does offer a video product called Midco TV that does come over our fiber-based internet services. So, we obviously a fiber internet provider as well as a phone company. and we will be later this year launching a
MidCo mobile uh um mobile product as well. So just a little bit about our history as a company. Midco was founded in 1931. So we're coming up on 100 years of existence. Midco was founded in St. Paul as the Wellworth Theater Company and they got that name from our founder
Lloyd Benson because he wanted to be well worth the dime that patrons spent on a movie and that's an athlete that we've kept as a company throughout our history. Um in 1953 we moved into South Dakota and launched the first cable TV station in the state of South Dakota. And then in 1982 we became the first company in the state of South Dakota to
launch long distance services uh telephone services. So technology, communication, connectivity have kind of always been that backbone of the company and then in 1991 we started connecting some of those cable systems that we had via fiber. at the time that fiber was used to expand the capacity of
our uh video product. But of course that fiber soon became had another purpose and so in 1998 we were able to launch home internet services to across our footprint. And of course you know since since then the last 30 years or so we've been what you call a traditional triple
play provider of video services, internet services and phone services. And then in n in two uh excuse me 2021 we could took that next great leap in our connectivity by investing announcing we're investing over $500 million in our fiber fiber forward initiative. And
that's really accomplishing two things. First we're upgrading our our current communities that we serve to push fiber deeper and deeper into our network to increase the the speed and reliability of that network as well as expanding our network to new communities which of course leads us to this area and to Victoria.
So today, Midco has 17,000 miles of Midco owned and operated um fiber. Primarily that's in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota. And then we have a little bit in Wisconsin. And then we're also in Lawrence, Kansas. So that's kind of the upper Midwest is really what we talk about as far as the
Mid Cove footprint. Um and so we're currently in this area serving Minatrista, Greenfield, and we're working on expansion projects in Oro. Um we also work we'll be doing work in Shorewood Excelsier over the next couple years as well. um this this fiber network u we call it
599 99.999% of the time it's up and running. We likewise um monitor that network 247 365 from our network operation center and we have redundant fiber rings throughout that footprint that I just talked about to make sure that if there
is ever a you know weather incident or a fiber cut that we've got multiple routes to every customer to try to keep them up and up and running like I said 99.999% of the time. Um because of this commitment to um our network, Miko's been honored to have a
couple different awards over the over the years, including CableFax, which is an industry publication named us the top multiple service operator of the year in 2024. Um UCLA, which is a third party validator of kind of internet speed and consistency, consistently ranks us
number one in several of the markets that we serve. And as an employee, I can about this last one is Midco is consistently named one of the best midsize employers in the country. And one you won't see listed on here, one that we're particularly proud of is we've received multiple JD Power award
for customer satisfaction at the residential level. It's something that we uh really take pride in as a company and it really comes back to having local customer support. So we make sure that we have teams that are local and actually have with me tonight Eric Householder. He's our uh field operations manager for this area. So
Eric's teams are the ones out driving big trucks, installing customers, making sure there is an issue, they're on site. We try to have those folks local nearby to every customer. We off also offer 15 minute service windows. So if you call into Mid Coast, say, "Hey, I need somebody to come out." We'll give you a
15 minutee window and we meet meet that about 96 to 97% of the time. A lot of providers who call and say, "Yeah, we'll be there between 8 and noon or noon and 5." Miko gives you a 15-minute window. And we also have multiple ways you can get in touch with our teams. So as a Miko customer myself, I like to take
advantage of the text option. I can text in saying, "Hey, what's happening with my service here?" Go back go about my day and get a response pretty quickly. But we also have digital opportunities. You can uh email and phone in, of course. Um, and then we have dedicated folks dealing with business customers as
well. And then the kind of the third stool of of from Miko is we have a great network, great customer service, and we're we want to be involved in the community. We call it being a force for good for the communities we serve. When Miko comes to town, we want to be part of that community. We have the MidCo Foundation that gives out grants to
nonprofits. We have teams that sponsor things in the community. We also have a program called Midco where our employees go out and volunteer in the communities that we serve. And these are just a few examples of things we've done in Minnesota. This is just a small snapshot of that, but some of the opportunities and
sponsorships and partnerships we've developed here in Minnesota. Um and you can see we can is one in in the area that we recently had a partnership with our our uh we actually were honored to host our corporate board meeting actually at the rec center here in Victoria in November and then our uh
corporate leadership was able to go out and present that was actually on the last slide that bottom right picture some of our corporate leadership presenting a foundation check to the weekend organization in mound as part of that uh visit in November. So that's a little bit about Midco and who we are. I just want to
touch a little bit on kind of our process and what we have in mind for uh Victoria. So just take a step back a little bit. Um we started conversations uh with the city last June. Uh we had a meeting with Dana and with Helissa kind of talking about hey make co's interested in serving uh the city of
Victoria. We did get a a welcome reception there. We were able to start construction in 2024. Um you can see from that map we kind of started in that Lake Bridge development on the west side of town. We were able to do construction to over 750 um addresses in Victoria in
2024 and we were able to complete the process to about 315 of those addresses before the end of last year. And then fast forwarding to this year, we've now as been noted um started construction. Um some of those areas that we didn't wrap up in uh last fall is where we've
uh started this year and we have been working with city staff on permitting and we have permits um queued up for the entire 2025 construction season. Um, and what you can see from this slide, that picture is actually just a snapshot of the midco.com backvictoria page where you can see the
green is areas where we've already launched. Purple are those areas I talked about where we did some work last year and we're wrapping up this year and we'll be launching in May. And that site's an opportunity for folks to go see what we're up to and where we're working. Um, just to briefly I want to touch on kind of our process obviously
scoping out the area. um and we're putting that plan into action and that's where we really need to collaborate with um city staff with other providers to make sure that as we go through the process of construction um we're kind of communicating with all the right people and so we've been really um appreciative
of the city staff here in Victoria of that process. We've been during the construction seating season meeting weekly with city staff to say here's where we've been up to, here's where we're going, getting feedback from the team um here at the city and it's been a really um communicative and collaborative effort and so we've been
very much appreciative of that and then of course we go out and construct construct work. Um we want we recognize that this process can be destructive. Um we're working in people's yards, working in the public right away. Um we want to make sure that people are aware of what we're up to. We
also know that we want to leave the yard as as we found it. And so we have a pretty robust uh restoration process that we'll go through as we do the construction process. And then once we get the fire in the ground, we go back and do the work to activate that service and make
it available to those residents. And of course, we're open to installing services then once we got the network up and running. And we do kind of do it on a rolling basis. So, as we talked about that we were able to do some construction last year, we were able to launch um services in that area
without having to build out the rest of the area. So, it's kind of as you finish a neighborhood, you can launch that area, then move on to the next area. And throughout this process, of course, we want to be communicative. We want to make sure that when folks um see us out working, they're not who the heck's Miko and what are they doing in
my neighborhood. So, we have a pretty robust communications process. First, we send out letters saying, "Hey, here's who MCO is. we're um doing work in the area. As we get closer to a neighborhood, they'll get an additional communication saying, "Hey, we're working in your neighborhood." And then once we're doing work on a particular
street, they'll get what called door tagged. We'll go door to door with a tag saying, "Hey, we're doing work on your street in the next couple days." And on both that postcard and on that door tag, there's an 800 number that goes directly to the cell phone of our local construction leader. So, Jacob, who I
know the public works team here has gotten very familiar with, he's the one actually received those calls. So, a resident says, "Hey, who who are you guys? What are you doing?" or has a concern about what we did in their yard or anything like that, they can call directly and get someone from Midco who's on the ground doing the work and
hopefully get a quick, very, very quick response. And so, we want to make sure that we are communicating the residents um in multiple different ways. And then you'll see this throughout some of the neighborhoods, your yard signs. Again, just making sure people know who we are, what we're up
to, and why we're in their area. And lastly, we try to personalize some of that communication. So, as I mentioned, we do have midco.comVictoria where folks can go to, they can see the map with the work we're doing in the area. They can sign up for services if they're interested. They know they're going to want them once we
once we do launch and they can get some of those questions. We have a construction support uh page on there as well. And then that last line, we do want to work with city staff. So, I know that uh here in City of Victoria, there's landing pages on your city website for some of these projects. We
want to make sure that we're answering some of those questions for city staff. We know that folks we as much as we want people to reach out to us, we know some people are going to be more comfortable reaching out to the city. So, we want to make sure we equip the staff with the answers to some of those questions. And that's what we've been able to do with some of those landing pages.
And of course, as I mentioned, we've been working with um several different communities in the area and we've had a very um collaborative and communicative process and it's gone really well for us and that's obviously why we're looking to do more expansion in this region because we have seen a welcome reception. And I would just note that in
the areas we have launched here in Victoria. Um we've had a a very uh strong response from the residents. So I'll close this by noting obviously as Bob noted, you've got a lot of options here. you've got a lot of folks interested in and and serving
Victoria. Um we've appreciated that it's kind of been a a very free market. You're you're kind of open to competition. You're looking for um options. We also recognize that this is a lot. Um and so we want to take our cue from from the city. If you're um as
we've laid out in our application, as we've talked with the city about we're interested in serving the entire community, we're also not a company that's going to come to you and say, "Here's our plan. Take it or leave it." So again, we want we've had communicative and collaborative uh process with the city staff so far and we extend that to you as well that we want to take your feedback on this
proposal. If it's something that you're interested in, we'd like to move forward. There's something different you'd like to see from us, we'd open to that conversation as well. So, that's I'll leave it with that and stand by for questions. Very good. Thank you, Andrew. Any questions for Mr. Curley before we
carry on with our public hearing? Thank you. Thank you. All right. Is there anyone else in the audience that wishes to speak to this item? Please step forward. Mr. Baette, welcome back. Maybe I can I didn't come here for this, but it is a
interesting topic to me. Uh we've seen and this is kind going to be a question of sorts too. We have seen uh metronet uh and their big cables. There's big blue and orange cables all over Victoria and elsewhere in Carver County. And I'm going to assume I just want to be know I
want to know if I'm right or wrong. I'm going to assume that those cables are only for Metronet. Metronet uh is only going to be selling they're not going to be selling content. And I guess what I also want to know is sounds like u these
other two Midco and Comcast are going to be selling content. Uh that would make it different that would make them different from Metronet. I want to be sure I understand that right. Uh I am tempted to get away from uh Mediacom. I don't frankly I don't think they've
served us well. They're uh we probably all know this. Their prices went way up and they had simultaneously dropped a lot of programming options. And I asked them over at the office, why are they doing that? The answer was well really what we're trying to do is get people
away from wired cable and uh into streaming which is the same as Roku and others. So my other my last question is just from my own understanding the content that would arrive from MITO or from um Comcast
again the vision thing what is it uh at the TV set is it coming by way of streaming uh content from the modem or is there are we still envisioning a hard wire coming from their modem up to our TV sets. So maybe we can get a couple of
these things again uh sorted out. Maybe everybody knows them but me, but I'd sure like some answers on that if we can get them. Thank you. Thank you. I'm sure these I'm sure these folks would love to talk to you, Mr. Baette, after this meeting and let you know what their services will be. All
right. Anyone else who wishes to speak to this item? Go ahead. Yeah, Carly, please. council members. I'll be quick. Um, but you know, obviously I could talk about this all night long, but I will be quick. Um, well, certainly, you know, as far as Comcast goes, we're really trying
to meet customers where we're at, and we're recognizing that streaming, you know, as I said in my in my presentation, has become a very popular item. And so what we did years ago was really develop this X1 platform where um
and I don't know if anyone's seen it or had it where on your home council as our as our kind of landing page is you can get our traditional cable as well as the streaming services Netflix, Hulu,
Peacock understanding that that's how customers are consuming information and so um it would be fiber wire. We're building fiber hopefully um if you approve our franchise to everybody's house. Then I talk about how to bring it
into the house and that's through that gateway modem and then all your TVs I'm sure these days have a wireless connection to them and then from there um the customer will choose either the traditional cable option as we would provide and all sorts of different packages. We also have a streaming
option and um you could download any of your apps then right there on our landing page. I see you later. Thank you. Thank you for clarifying that for us. All right. Is there anyone else in the audience that wishes to speak to this item?
And one more time. All right. Seeing no one, I will now close the public hearing and open the floor for council discussion. Council questions, comments. I don't have a question, but I would just say
I obviously competition is good. So, I'm glad we are getting more competition in the city. Uh, but we've also heard a lot of complaints from residents. And so, I just hope we can make sure we're listening to our community members.
We're communicating. Communication is going to be key because, you know, we already had yards dug up last summer. We're going to have it two more times now here. So, um, uh, and unfortunately our city staff are the ones who probably have to hear
this the most. So, um, a lot of angry people because their yards are getting torn up and they're they don't want it. Some of them, right? A lot of them do, but a lot of them don't. And it's unfortunately you can't go around, right? So, um, I just I communication
has to be key and, you know, being respectful of the neighborhoods because, yeah, we want we want the competition. We want the products, but you know, we want our residents not to have dirt thrown in their yard and you
know, so that's all I have. Yeah. And I'll add to that. I think one of you mentioned, I think it maybe it was Andrew le, you know, the yard as you see it, it should be the same when you come back and you're done with your work, right? I mean, you know, it's it's a lot
of work to dig and everything, but just respect that these are folks's yards and just communicate like Chad said, and a lot of them are really appreciating their brand new sod because they're new developments and you know, they lived through a season of mud and they don't want to do it again. So, all right, the
point is well communicated then. All right, any other questions, comments from council? It's probably for Cara. What's the real estate in the rightaway look like for adding five providers?
Miss Scaren, welcome this evening. Good evening, mayor, members of city council. Thank you for answering that question and I did not send you a note and ask you to ask it ahead of time. Um, real estate is
becoming a challenge. So, um, particularly the problem we're having today that's generating the complaints that are happening today relates to Comcast installing in the Huntersbrook neighborhood, which interestingly enough is a new neighborhood. Um but already we
have Mediacom, Metroet, gas, electric, boulevard, trees, sidewalk, fire hydrants, light poles, all in the real estate that you
just mentioned. So Comcast contractor is trying to find space to install down there right now. So, that's generating a lot of challenges. Um, our staff is spending significant amount of time
trying to respond to questions from the Comcast contractor trying to figure out where exactly they're going to fit within the rightway. And that's an area where we have 60 foot rightway with a 10-ft drainage and utility easement
adjacent to it. Midco is permitted in that neighborhood, but hasn't installed there yet. So, um, I would consider that to be an area with more space. As we continue to move into older parts of the community where we only have a 50-foot
rightaway in some areas, um, that challenge is going to be more of a challenge for these folks who are trying to figure out how to install. Um, and then in some examples, uh, take for example the Victoria Ridge neighborhood
that was approved recently, um, where we approved private streets with a reduced right of way. I think we only have 40 feet to work with and 10-ft drainage and utility easements and reduced front yard setbacks, also with boulevard trees and
sidewalk on one side of the street and uh, light poles and fire hydrants and all sorts of fun things. um that's what's creating the challenge. So as these contractors go in and try to fit their infrastructure in the rightway, it
is becoming increasingly congested. So um that is the challenge that staff is dealing with um and is creating a lot of the problems that we're seeing as the subsequent utilities are coming in. um Midco and Metronet last summer, we were
able to coordinate the construction to have one contractor working in one half the city at one time and the other contractor working in the other half of the city at another time, but eventually they are going to cross over and start
working in the area where the previous contractors worked last year. So, that will be another time that everybody's yards will be getting dug up again. And then if Comcast comes in, that's going to be a third time. So, um, we have to figure out how to fit them and your
residents will be continuing to contact all of us. So, I I think um we are, which Bob can speak to, we are required to permit these folks to go into the rightway. um but it is uh resulting in
significant amount of staff time. So what happens if theoretically you can't find space and right part of this contract is you have to match what the current per you know so how does that I mean I guess we're talking more cable
than fiber but they're running their cable through right the fiber so how does that work if I don't know maybe this isn't realistic maybe they eventually will find a spot but if they can't what happens I guess well and we've heard that this is unprecedented
So, let's talk that through because that's that's significant. I mean, if we aren't allowing enough right ofway in our developments for these kinds of infrastructure, I mean, that's that's significant. And I'll just note that your rightway, the 60 foot rightway and
your 10-ft drainage and utilities is typical for residential development. But yes, that has been my phone call to your city attorney. attorneys like like you're on the hot seat here like like the city engineer I appreciate the question because it gives me an opportunity to
say something I'm sitting here thinking I want to say um and as to the unprecedented I'll get to your specific question but um it it's unprecedented and this is a lot of of telecom competition by by I think I said it on a call by Manhattan standards let alone by
Victoria Minnesota standards so uh but I want to say and I want to say it to the extent residents are listening mayor you said that we the city hear the concerns that are being raised by your residents. I I can't emphasize enough I you know I've done many many many competitive
cable franchising processes. I've never come anywhere close to spending as much time and energy on right-of-way related issues both just with your staff with all of your staff and both companies with me and each company. Uh I mean this
is being taken incredibly seriously by the city staff um in trying to find solutions to the naturally occurring frankly um conflicts that are happening in neighborhoods and issues that are happening. So I don't want anybody to think that the staff is unaware that this is a big thing. It's a big thing
and the staff is acting accordingly. As to your question and this is an unsatisfying answer but so state law regarding city authority over rights of ways was enacted in 1997. So it's not that old. It's old, but it's not that old. And the law is, this is me
talking now, the law is written in a way where you can get any answer you want out of it. Unfortunately, there's a lot of ambiguity about the right-of-way law. And there's been no litigation about it. So, there's been no court clarification of what the law says. That's great for lawyers. It allows me to say that we have all of the authority that we need
on the city side to deal with things. Of course, the providers have a different view on various issues that come up. The the reality though is on your question about congested right-of-way, there is actually a provision in the statute, the statute giving cities authority over this that says cities can reach a
conclusion that rights of ways are congested. City has to make certain findings, city council has to make certain findings to reach that conclusion and then should a city reach that conclusion, the city has additional authorities over permitting of the right
ofway. Theoretically, in that scenario, a city could literally say, even though you both both companies have franchises now to build out, this right away is so congested that the first one there gets to be there and the second one there's no room. First come, first serve. That
is a theoretical thing that I've never seen actually play out, at least yet. Maybe it's coming in Minnesota, but it hasn't played out yet. So, the statute really does contemplate that someday we may cities may have so many providers that we've just run out of space. And then there is authority for cities to
say no uh ultimately to the next provider in the door. Um to to the point about um are we sort of there yet? Look, I I could sit here and list all of the things that we have been talking about, we your staff have been talking about about ways to manage this. Uh we've
talked about a wide range of ways to manage this. One of them is the thing I said earlier, which is might we just say no to one of these companies? just say it's only going to work out for one of you and the other can't come here at all. I I think as a practical matter that may be hard for some residents to
hear because some residents may prefer one provider or the other and want that provider to be in their neighborhood. Number one. Number two, I've already said legally I think it would be challenging to deny a franchise to either of these companies, at least based on what I've read so far in their
applications. Uh and so but we've been talking about other alternatives for trying to mitigate the problems that are created when you have this much construction happening. So a long-winded answer, but the answer is that the staff really, you know, it's unprecedented,
but the response from the staff is pretty unprecedented, too, which we understand. We always know that our staff is awesome and treats our residents really well. I mean, that high level of customer service is in doesn't happen everywhere and we know
that and we appreciate that from our staff. But we're going to ask for some patience from our residents as well as we try and wrestle through this unprecedented I mean how many times can we say that unprecedented in in Victoria?
I feel like we should have an award or something. Yeah. Mayor and council, I'm going to learn that there is some other city of Minnesota with five telecom providers. I'm just I am definitely not aware of it though. So if it isn't unprecedented, it'll be news to me. Okay. Yep. Good. All right. Um, we close the public hearing.
I've I've lost track of where we are. We close the public hearing. Any other comments or questions from council? Um, seeing none, um, I'm going to entertain a motion from the council here on this
motion to direct staff to negotiate franchise terms. Is that what we need? Yep. With both companies. Both companies. Yeah. We have a motion. Can I get a second? Second. We have a motion and a second. All in favor signify by saying I. I. I. Any opposed? Motion
carries. All right. Moving on. Our next item 6.4 is to consider the final plat site plan and building materials review and PUD amendment for the Victoria Ridge second edition residential development. Looks
like Mr. Mr. McCann, you're up. Thank you, Mayor. Give me just a second to get my presentation pulled up. Okay, great. Yes, tonight we are considering a final plat PUD amendment and a site plan and building materials
application from Inland Development. uh they are the applicant in this situation, but Golden Valley Land Company is the master developer that came back um earlier this year and received approvals for the first edition of Victoria Ridge. So, just keep that in
mind as we look ahead here. So, the first edition for the 70 town homes that you previously reviewed um went through the sketch plat process back in January of 2024, then received preliminary approvals in May with final plat for
that first phase in September of 2024. Uh the addition that we're looking at this evening, second edition, consists of the apartment building and then the third edition is anticipated to be the remainder of the town homes in that
development. So where we're at in the process, we are at final plat, which is the final stage. That's where we review the final details of the development. We finalize a development agreement. Uh they take everything they get recorded at the county when everything's said and done.
So, location and existing conditions for the property. It's located south of the Marshall development and the railroad. It's right off of County Road 11 on the west side. Uh current site conditions, it is a vacant farmstead with fields.
They had structures that were recently removed, which you can see on the aerial. Um there is some slight topography with some wetlands on the west side. There are no trees on the apartment site in the southeast corner, which we'll be talking about tonight.
And if you've been on County Road 11 recently, you've noticed that there's some ongoing grading out there. That's because of the grading agreements that were uh approved a few months ago by the council. So, their applications this
evening, uh the first being their final plat. So, they're just proposing the single lot and block for the apartment building. Then the site plan and building materials review. We'll take a look at their proposed site plan, architecture, and lighting plans. And
then their PUD amendment for uh some parking modifications and an increased unit count. So here is the plat that was submitted for consideration. They're proposing a 165 unit apartment building
with various private amenities. Uh they're also proposing a 20% affordable component which comes out to about 33 units in the building. As I mentioned, they're looking at just lot one block one for the building with no outlots and then a 20 foot wide drainage and utility
easement for the extension of uh sewer and water to the building. Then zoning and comprehensive plan. It was reszoned uh when first edition for Victoria Ridge came through last year.
The applicant is requesting a PUD amendment to modify the parking uh standards and the increased unit count. Um what they were previously approved for was for 144 units. So they're increasing by 21 units for this
building. Looking at the density for this site, it comes out to about 40 units per acre. That is above the guidance for 12 to 36 units per acre. But we ran this by the Met Council uh back in preliminary plat and final plat for the first phase of Victoria Ridge.
And since it's a phase development on a single parcel, they did not anticipate any required comp plan amendments for uh the second phase. So, looking at what was previously approved back in September with the first edition uh with Golden Valley
Land, these are all the standards. Uh we're going to be taking a look at the parking of 1.89 spaces per unit. Um and then that 144 units approved for the apartment because what they're proposing
is a reduction from 1.89 parking stalls per unit down to 1.77. Also a reduction in the amount of enclosed parking from one stall per unit to 0.98 stalls per unit. So really slight modification there. And then the
increase to the unit numbers that I mentioned from 144 to 165. Uh with any PUD or PUD amendment, I just always like to incorporate this slide talks about how PUDs should be innovative, creative, um and provide for
flexible development that are um sensitive to environmental, cultural, and economic considerations. So the process wise, what you are considering this evening is a ordinance for the final
plat. Then here's the proposed architecture that was included in your packet. They are proposing private amenities including underground parking, a fitness room, a club room, an outdoor dog run, which you can see here on the
screen, as well as an outdoor pool and sauna, and an indoor sauna as well. Unit sizes range from 578 ft to 1,35. And the exterior materials include
stone veneers, pre-cast concrete, lap siding, and board and batten trim. So for the lighting and signage, uh they do have 25 foot tall parking lot light poles proposed in the locations highlighted in green throughout the parking lot. Uh this would provide
sufficient lighting coverage for the residents of the apartment building as well as a monument sign in the northeast corner of the development highlighted in blue. Staff will review uh the specifications for that when they apply for a building permit for that signage.
Looking at the landscaping, they do meet all of our minimum requirements, including open space, the number of plantings, uh their 40 foot wide buffer with those 2:1 slopes that were approved with the PUD back in September. They're also providing the necessary spacing and
types for boulevard trees. Uh foundation plantings, and tree preservation is not applicable to this phase because they do not have any existing trees on the apartment site. So for parking and pedestrian connections, our code requires two
spaces per unit for apartments with one space enclosed. As I mentioned, there was a deviation previously approved down to 1.89. The applicant this evening is requesting 1.77 spaces per unit with that reduction as well and enclosed parking from 1 to
0.98 spaces per unit. They also have trail connections uh shown along Ridge View Boulevard u and the uh reconstruction of County Road 11 that is set to occur um later this
century or decade park dedication say century is a long ways away it's decade um park dedication so for 165 apartment units at one and a half residents per unit per our code that
comes out to about 3.3 acres of land dedication. Uh that would take up almost the entire 4 acre site. So that's not feasible. Uh so we are expecting the cash fee in lie of land which comes out to about 350,000. And then just to note that
private amenities that I mentioned earlier are not eligible for parkland dedication. So, access and streets, they're proposing access from Ridge View Boulevard, uh, with the connection to County Road 11, um, with the connection
being a right and right out as shown here on the screen. Uh, Carver County has also approved the traffic study that was attached to the case for this item, and those improvements that I mentioned uh, are anticipated for 2027 or later.
And then site utilities are proposed to extend from the Marsh Hollow development to the north as well as Victoria Ridge first edition. They're doing some work out there right now to get the utilities under the railroad which will eventually connect to this apartment building as well. Um those will follow that 20 foot
wide drainage and utility easement I showed on the plat earlier. And then just to note that there is a condition of final plat approval this evening that the well must be permitted for pumping prior to landscape installation. As we all know the well's complete. It just
hasn't been permitted yet by the DNR for pumping. So that may impact their landscaping schedule. And then for storm water management it's subject to the CCWMO rules. Wetland impacts um are subject to their rules. They have to plat wetlands
and buffers out in out lots deed to the city and the pond access points must meet city standards as well. And then here's a list of what was approved with the preliminary plat resolution. There's still two items that
are kind of floating out there. The first one being that uh signage which I mentioned will review when a building permit comes in for that. and for well number six to be uh complete and permitted. As I mentioned, it's complete but not yet permitted. So, we've carried
that over to the final plat uh proposed conditions for you this evening. Uh these were included with your report. Um as I mentioned, there's the well number six. There's also uh compliance with PUB standards, city attorneys plat opinion,
recording the plat, all the basic uh requirements for a final plat. With that, we did have a public hearing at the planning commission meeting on April 15th, which was properly noticed. Staff did not receive any comments and we did not have anyone
speak at the public hearing. Uh planning commission did recommend approval 5 to one. Um, and they also discussed some of the proposed PUB amendments, the affordability and the traffic study. And then I just like to highlight
all of the our internal departments who review these applications such as our fire department, engineering, public works, as well as community development and externally. uh not in this case, but we typically do have the DNR look at these applications as well as Carver
County uh transportation and the CCWMO. With that, I have some sample motions for you on the screen. We do have three motions this evening. Uh representatives of the application are in the audience and I can stand for any questions you may have as well. Very good. Thank you, Mr.
McCann. All right, council questions, comments. I have one for you, Bryant. When do we expect the permit to be for pumpkin? Do you have any guidance on that? Uh, mayor and council member, I do not have any
insight on the permit date. I don't know if city engineer Garren has any insight on that. Miss Garren, welcome back. Hi there, mayor, members of city council. I assume we're talking about the DNR permit. Yes, for will number six. Sure. um it's in
process and I can't answer that for you yet. Um but what had transpired between preliminary plat and final plat was we made modifications to the um water storage facility at um located out by Rap City Park which really um reduced
our concern with being able to move forward with these projects um south of the railroad track. So, um it it reduced our um comfort level with moving forward, but we wanted to the landscaping provision in there in the
event we find ourselves in a drought condition. Um it gives us some some little bit of flexibility in case we run into some significant delays in the permit. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Other questions, comments? I just had a
question on the breakout. I think the units are increasing by like 21 and then you gave a square footage range but what does that break out to in like onebedroom twobedroom? Hi please introduce yourself. Yes. Hi Juel Haidider. I'm with the inland development team here to present. So
thank you mayor and council for hearing us tonight. Excited to be back. We were here back in December for some tiff discussions. Had great conversations with the planning commission a couple weeks ago. We also broke down the unit sizes for them. So, uh, El Cove unit,
which is a smaller one bed unit, would range around 600 to 700 ft². A one bed would be between the mid7s to 900 square f feet. And then a two-bedroom unit would be between 12 and uh,300 square f feet. Typical Rambler, for instance, a
new construction rambler, one level finish with the unfinished basement is about 1,400 square feet. So, we have again small onebedrooms, which is considered an elove, one plus den, one bed, and two bed units in this property. So, a good writing that's highly based on our experience in the multif family
sector. We have a lot of western suburb properties in our portfolio and then market studies that tell us, you know, really what the demographic is that's going to be leasing. You know, a lot of the demographic is actually existing residents or residents that are trying to move back to this community and aren't quite in the home buying purchase
either situation by choice or by force by based on the price point. So having a variety of those units in that kind of range is really important. The three bed and up kind of start to compete with where the town home market is. Under El Cove, we're really not seeing that really really young professional, which
would be a studio in this market. So that's kind of the range of units and why we selected them. Got it. Thank you. Can you remind me? I think maybe I asked this question the last time you guys were but so with the uh affordable units, right? 20%.
Uh how do you split those up? Right. Is it do you is it some of each of your different things or is it more someone comes in and they qualify for affordable and they want that specific one then it's how does that work? Yes, absolutely. Thank you, Council Member Roberts. question is the breakdown of
the 33 units and how we break it up between the unit sizes. We have about 40% one bed and then 40% two and then the remaining 10% is the kind of smaller Elco units. Right now the breakdown is um four El Cove units. We would have 14
one bed and 15 two beds. So perspective of the percent of units, it's equal. Okay. Um that'll be specified in the tiff agreement as well. Um and I wanted to bring up the affordability. I know we had a a comment from a resident and I know it's really important to this city. An example of a 50% AMI. I've got a
chart in front of me from um most posted latest income levels. It's really broken down by the household size. I'll remind you I'm just giving you an example of a oneerson household, but a one person household that household at 50% AMI would make 43,500 a year. That's your
teachers, your firefighters, your starting, you know, that are starting in their career. I actually have a real example of someone that I know that was actually trying to find an apartment in this market in the Chanhass and Victoria market because her parents raised her here and she had a hard time finding
something that she could get into um because of you know her income and she went to a four-year degree. She got her teacher license. She did everything you know she thought she should to get the American dream and had trouble finding housing in the community she wanted. So, that's a really good example for you to understand what affordable housing means
and why you're incentivizing it within a mixed development. We do a lot of these projects with 20% affordable units. And those residents thrive within our building. They're not in one spot. They're all over the building. Their units look the same. They just might have a different income because of the job profession they chose over their
person next door. And so we really believe in it too and um appreciate where we're at in the process and the support so far for the 20% units um at that 50% AMI level. You other questions come? Just I mean so
that it's abundantly clear that there is zero ambiguity on this topic that this is not an affordable housing project. This is an 80% market rate development where the remaining 20% meets the
threshold of 50% AMI for affordability. Yes, Council Member Vensky. Correct. So, the TIFF process and the affordable housing tiff statutory requirements would allow um four of those affordable units to be rented out, but the remaining 80% are going to market rate
just like they typically would in this market. And in order to go through that process, the property management team will have to report, right, to make sure the residents that are in those 20% units that are affordable are accurately portraying their income while everybody else that is paying market rate, it's
based more recently to what their income should be at that level. Right. So, yes, market rate department project 20% affordable unit. Thank you for clearing that up. and and council just so that you know we can close the loop on this topic. We we've waxed poetically about
the need to meet all of Victoria's demands for housing from people who live in million-dollar houses to people who need housing to come serve our community in in other ways that you know that we
sometimes people take for granted as to you know who buses their tables or who is working in business some of the smaller business local businesses that are starting up and trying to make a go of it so that they can expand their
businesses. The the economic reality is that uh we need to be able to attract those residents and keep them here so that we have a a a community that is balanced that is post poised for future growth. And I think that you know I I'll
go on record saying that I think that that adds to our community and we've we've made attempts to address these and not sat back as a council on our eels and pretended that we're not we're doing something about it. This actually is
puts this topic front and center that with this project we are actionable and we're accountable and we're creating these opportunities. Good point. Thank you, Council Member Ivanski. Any other questions or comments? I have one small question. It wasn't
abundantly clear to me as to why somebody on the planning commission gave a nay vote. Was it for the planned unit development? Was it based on the building materials? What if you can explain to me what your thoughts are on that? I know it's a little bit hearsay,
but yeah, Mayor and Council Member Person, I didn't get a direct answer from that commissioner after the meeting either. Um, based on the comments during the meeting, I'm going to suggest it was likely due to the increased unit count,
but I'm not entirely sure to be honest. Thank you. Thanks. I have to say I'm a little uncomfortable with the parking requirement downgrades. Um, less than one unit. Uh, so when you're renting an apartment in in this building, are you
provided a parking space as part of your rent or is that an additional cost to have a parking space underground or if you don't pay that extra cost then you have to park outside? Mayor, great
question. I'm prepared to address the parking because I know it's something across the board in every jurisdiction we get asked. Again, in our experience in the suburban market, we typically have multiple projects, six that I can address right now that are actually still within the property management team's portfolio that are going to be
managing this. At a 1.6 to a 1.65 parking ratio, we're at a 1.77 here. And that 1.6 to 1.65 includes both enclosed and non-encclosed parking and guest dolls. We've seen that be successful because we look at two different metrics, um, units, bedrooms, and
overall parking ratio. So, you have 287 parking stalls here. 159 are enclosed and 128 are on the surface. We're just below that one enclosed to um one unit ratio because of actually a couple things. So, in that parking garage,
there's columns that come down. If you would study that kind of, you probably can't see it in this plan, but if you study between those parking stalls, every about three stalls, there is a column that comes down. And so the parking stall width is a eight and a half requirement, but we did nine because of where that column location
would come in at the front of the stall. We've learned residents don't have a great parking experience. So we went to a larger parking stall inside the building than the city's requirement, which then encounter we went to less than a one:1 inside the building. We're at a 0.98 there. So that is something if
somebody wanted to rent a conditioned parking stall inside the garage, yes, they would pay in addition to their rent to rent that and they would reserve that. Those are rented on a first come first um basis. And we typically limit if you have um a two bed unit, we would limit, you know, that people can't rent
more than two per unit and not kind of take the the bulk of that. Then the surface stalls, 128 surface stalls would then be they'd still have to have that in their lease so there isn't parking chaos. um and you don't have a resident with six cars, you know, per their unit
that start taking up the parking. But that would be for those that maybe don't have don't want to pay a premium for an inside garage stall. Sometimes we see fluctuations in the winter months where more people want to be inside. And so that'll vary, but again, the 1.7 overall
parking stalls to us is extremely healthy um compared to other projects we have seen. Um we actually just recently did a study. We have a property that our management company is managing in Minnetonka off of 394 and they had studied the guest parking stall for two
weeks and they had a camera out there and they said at the peak of any weekend hours there's 15 guests for that property. They had planned for 30 guest stalls. On average they were seeing about five to seven and that's 174 unit building. So again to give you
perspective of what we've experienced there is a 1.2 25 parking stalls per bedroom in this building and a 1.77 parking stalls per unit. So if you look at a per bedroom, another metrics we typically look at is a one to one, one
stall per one bedroom because a lot of times you might have some renters that have just one person in that one bed unit. Every four you might have a couple and then you might also have a two-bedroom where you actually have one person in that two-bedroom that's choosing to use that other room for an
office. So it really again based on our experience that 1.77 is higher by 10% than any of our other projects. Um and so we feel confident in that given this isn't a transit um forward community and we
assume everybody's going to have a car in this building. Okay. Thank you. All right. Any other questions, comments? All right. We're going to take this in three separate motions then. So, uh, council, I will entertain the first
motion. Motion to adopt the resolution approving the final plat and site plan and building material request for Victoria Ridge, second edition. Thank you. We have a motion. Can I get a second? Second. We have a motion and a second. All in favor signify by saying I. I. Any opposed? Motion carries. I
will entertain a second motion, please. Motion to adopt ordinance 480Z amending the PUD for Victoria Ridge. Second. We have a motion and a second. All in favor signify by saying I. I. Any opposed? Motion carries. And
the final, please. I'll make a motion to adopt the resolution approving summary publication of ordinance 480ZC. We have a motion. Can I get a second? Second. A motion and a second. All in favor signify by saying I. I. I. Any
opposed? Motion carries. Next item on our agenda 6.5 is to consider a final plat and resoning for request for a quick trip. And again, Mr. McCann, the floor is yours. Thank you, mayor and council members. Tonight we have a final
plat and reszoning request from Tradition Development on behalf of Quick Trip. Uh it was previously reviewed for sketch plat back in August and most recently for preliminary plat this January. As I mentioned before, our
final plat is where we look at the final details for the development, approve the DA, um and get everything prepared for recording at the county. for the location area. It's a single parcel west of County Road 11, north of County Road
10, uh south of the railroad and the Victoria Ridge development that we just reviewed. Uh for reference, this will be directly south of the apartment building that we just took a look at. The parcel area is about 48 acres, but the project itself is about 4 acres located up in
the northeast corner of the parcel. Uh it is proposed to be a 9100 square foot convenience store with 10 gas pumps and a single lane car wash. The existing conditions for the site, it is vacant farmland with fields.
There are minimal trees on the entire parcel, but there are no trees on the Quick Trip site at all. Um, there's also a 120 foot wide power line easement, uh, which I've highlighted in yellow on the screen here, uh, with one of those
towers being circled in red. Um, that easement is measured 62 1/2 ft on each side from the center line of those towers. So, you imagine the middle transformer line running through there, that easement is 62 1/2 ft on each side of that. Uh the applicant is currently
working with Excel for the road and trail encroachments which I will highlight here shortly. For the land use review, they're proposing a lot one block one for the QuickTrip site and two outlots for future development of the remaining
48 acres. Uh they are also requesting the final resoning from agricultural to C2 community commercial district. As you may recall, back in January, they did have conditional use permits, um, which were approved with their preliminary
plat for their proposed gas pumps and car wash. And they also had a comprehensive plan amendment, which city council authorized staff to send to the Metropolitan Council, which has since been approved by the Metropolitan Council. So, here is the final plat that
was provided to us. As I mentioned, there's that power line easement here. You can see they have some slight encroachments for the extension of crossings Parkway within that easement, but they also have the lot one block one with drainage and utility to get
utilities to the site and DNU over the private storm water pond as well. So, here's the site plan that was submitted uh with the 10 gas pumps towards the south side of the site with the single lane car wash on the north.
They're also proposing 63 parking spaces. Uh some changes that have occurred since preliminary plat that you might notice. The first one being that they've incorporated a right turn lane into the site from Crossings Parkway. Uh previously it was a straight and right
turn single lane. Now they have two lanes, one being straight and one being a right turn into the site. They also relocated the vacuums and air pump which were previously over here on the site. And they also incorporated an additional
fire lane on the north side here uh for full fire access turnaround throughout the site. As I mentioned, they needed a comprehensive plan amendment. The area was previously guided for flex employment and has since been changed to
commercial um since the metropolitan council approved the amendment last week. And then looking at reszoning, the property was annexed back with the sketch plat request in August of last year. What happened after that annexation occurred is that the property
automatically became agriculturally zoned. Um the applicant is proposing to reszone to C2 Community Commercial. Um, I do have a draft ordinance attached to the case for city council consideration. Uh, as you can see here on our bulk
regulations table, their proposed building uh, greatly exceeds all of our minimum requirements for the C2 district for this type of use. Now, looking at the site plan, I thought it was worth mentioning that we will not be reviewing architectural and
lighting. Quick Trip will have to come back with a separate site plan and building materials application once they have actual renderings and exterior materials planned for the site. So, uh this won't be the last time you will see Quick Trip. They will come back
again. Looking at the parking, uh as I mentioned, they have 63 spaces provided with the site. Um it meets our minimum requirements for retail stores and service establishments. the minimum requirement would be 41 parking spaces.
So, um they're exceeding that by over half of the requirement. They're also compliant with our minimum drive aisle and parking space dimensions as well. They did provide some specifications for signage. They do have
two wall signs proposed as well as a canopy strip for the gas pumps. They also have various directional signage which will be posted throughout the site directing people to um like the vacuums, the car wash, the store itself, the gas
pumps, things like that. And then they will also have a freestanding sign. I'll also note that any signage um that has dynamic display requires a conditional use permit per our new sign code. So when they come back with that site plan and building materials application,
we'll also likely see a CUP amendment to include this signage as well. They did also provide a state circulation exhibit um showing that the truck radi for our largest fire truck and their largest delivery vehicles will
meet the turn radius to navigate throughout the site no problem. They also have a few pedestrian connections such as sidewalks noted in blue along Ridge View Boulevard and Crossings Parkway as well as a separate
sidewalk connection in red here from Ridge View Boulevard and then the future trail with future County Road 11 improvements. And then for park dedication, our code uh calculated as their site area uh for 5% of that comes
out to be about a fifth of an acre or $22,000 relatively. Um previous guidance from the park and recreation committee was that they anticipated cash for this site, but a greater park for the entire south growth commercial area should be
considered with potential developments in the future. Looking at landscaping and buffering, they meet all of our minimum requirements for open space, the number of plantings, as well as those boulevard tree types and spacings. Um, they have
not provided foundation plantings around the building. That's something we'll anticipate to see with the site plan and building materials application as well. But they have the 30-foot required landscape buffer uh with that slight deviation that was approved by the
council to accommodate that fire lane on the north side of the car wash. Then moving on to the city engineer review items. They do have three intersections incorporated with this development. The first one being a
full access on the west side of the site from Ridge View Boulevard. The second being a full access intersection onto Crossings Parkway um with that right turn lane that was provided. And then thirdly, a full
access intersection onto County Road 11 with a left turn and a right turn in those two incoming lanes. for the site utilities. Those will be extended down Ridge View Boulevard from the Victoria Ridge development to the north. As I mentioned
in the last item, another similar scenario here with well number six, um that the landscaping should not be installed until that well is permitted for pumping by the DNR. And then for grading and storm
water management, uh same thing as always, subject to the CCWMO rules. Um those wetlands and buffers should be pli platted as outlots. Pond access must meet the city requirements and the wetland impacts are subject to their rules. As I mentioned, there's that
private storm water pond which they have here as well as the city storm water pond to accommodate Ridge View Boulevard and Crossings Parkway runoff. Here are the conditions that were attached with the preliminary plat
resolution back in January. Uh, as I've mentioned, all of these conditions appear to have been met. Uh, this item 11 here has been carried over to the conditions for final plat approval. Here you can see at number eight that is just
in case there we run into stacking issues along Crossings Parkway with that blue intersection that I outlined um with the full access here. We anticipate there may be some issues once the entire approximately 80 acres of commercial
development is built out. So, we just want a condition in place that if that intersection needs to be upgraded to a right and right out, uh that quick trip in the city will work together to come to a solution for that if need be. With that, we had a public hearing
at the planning commission on April 15th. They did recommend uh unanimous approval 6, but they h had expressed some concerns with future development in the South Growth commercial area as it relates to County Road 11 and future
improvements out there um regarding access and safety for potential residents going in and out of that area. So, they just suggested that staff uh coordinate with the county to discuss the need for additional access out in
these 80 acres of future commercial area. And then our internal review consists of the fire department, engineering, public works, community development. externally. Once again, DNR did not have to review this one because it's outside of Shoreland, but Carver
County Transportation approved the traffic study uh for this and the Victoria Ridge development to the north and the CCWMO also reviewed this application. With that, I have some sample motions for you on the screen. Once again, we have three motions to
consider this evening. Uh a representative of the application is in the audience and I can stand for questions as well. Thank you, Mr. McCann council questions, comments. I just have council member Roberts. Can
you go back to the one of the site uh like showing the layout with the parking and so did they give a reason why they're moving the uh vacuums and stuff? It seems like it's more the front of the like you'd think
you'd want it not taking up prime space right by the potential front door like why they want it there versus at the exit of the of the car wash. Sure. Uh Mayor and Council Member Roberts, that was actually a request from staff. Um
and the reason for that being is the way the car wash is oriented. uh they enter from the west and then they would either have to take a sharp Uturn here to get back out of the site or they'll have to come down through this area. We just
wanted to reduce some congestion in this area by relocating the uh vacuums and air pumps. And then do we I'm just trying to think about the entrance and the exit on 11 here. Um, you know, most quick trips that I
think about, right, going into Wakonia, it's you're coming into town or Carver, right? Like you're coming into town, this is kind of out, you know, on the main roads. Like I mean, I know there's discussion about that, right? Like it could eventually be a ride in right now. Like I I just am worried like I think
about Marsh Lake Road and how bad of an intersection that is. You got people zooming across 10 um people trying to turn left there. I guess it's hard for me to picture how far away exactly that, but I just worry a little bit about people trying to turn left there. Um,
getting out of of I mean, I'm not saying it's a a deal breaker, but I'm just it's it makes me a little concerned because we've seen it in other intersections. So, more just of a a point of and Carver County did review this traffic and mayor and council
member, that's correct. And um part of the reason for that condition number eight that I showed with the potential evaluation in the future for a right in right out is because right now Quicktrip's going to be the only user out there. Um until that commercial area
expands, it's not entirely necessary to have a right in right out until we know what else is going to be out in the area. So, if we have some much less intense uses going out in our commercial area, maybe a right in right out isn't needed at all, but we wanted to build that option in just in case we need it.
That's all I have. Thank you. Good. Any other questions, comments from council? I actually have a question. Member, how quickly and by what method would u and maybe this is
question for gold ballot. Um will this facility be walkable from Victoria Crossings. We're going to have a pretty significant amount of town homes in there. We're going to have we just moments ago we talked about, you
know, 100 plus units of of apartment. like this seems like this is like uh going to be actually a golden opportunity for both Quick Trip to have hundreds of customers just like within walking distance.
Um, I want to get a sense for how accessible and how quickly that will be and so that we're not having residents be put in harm's way or creating a, you know, a traffic hazard for people who are driving through there. Yeah, mayor
and council member. Um, absolutely. So, I think this slide is probably the best one to use. So, here's the quick trip site where it will go in the corner. Uh this triangle parcel, you can't see all of it, but just directly to the north is
the entire Victoria Ridge development. That's those 134 town homes as well the as well as the 165 unit apartment building. Um they do have trails along Ridge View Boulevard which will come down um through Victoria Ridge and
connect down to the Quick Trip site. regarding walkability and the amount of time it would take to walk that a couple minutes. It's very close and very accessible. Okay. So, do we have a sense in distance? Like I mean I can almost see somebody's going to be looking to
like air quote cut through um we have um some suggestions here on being able to make that trip. a shortcut, so to speak, but with the intention that it's it's more
uh I mean logistically, yes, you could walk down a sidewalk, but you know, the reality of people's behaviors, they're not going to walk 400 feet to the west, walk 300 feet, and they could see that, hey, in 30 or 40 feet or even less than
that. I I'll I'll have that. and what do we have as a concept of, you know, good neighbors working with each other? Yeah. Make that access. Mayor and council member Vansky, that's a good point. Um, I'll just note that anyone that does attempt to cross from the development to
the north, the apartment building, they're going to have to walk up and down a burm, which also has significant plantings on it. I would guess that would deter a number of individuals from crossing uh the site, but they did not
have a proposed uh direct access walkable path to the north, if that's what you're mentioning. Yeah. I mean, I'm less interested in a deterrence in more in creating something that's walkable easily with perhaps stairs in
the BM so that you know there is you know, I I'm a path option or I'm sensitive to, you know, like we talk about all the time. You know, this is a small little thing that builds a sense of a community and, you know, rather than, you know, having structures that
isolate. I mean, I think we're going to have our trails around here though. So, right. So, I mean, you had the you had another slide that where was the Right. So, this Yeah. So there there will be sidewalks
on Ridge View Boulevard and trail on County Road 11 eventually. So I think the concern about maybe making a little trail that kind of goes over the burm is the fact that the traffic is circulating through that
well you know through this. So, have we even contemplated it? Because the the the turnaround is a recent addition for um you know to have both fuel delivery,
supply delivery, you know, hopefully it'll the day will never come that we have to run a fire truck through there. Meaning, uh I mean, I'm just thinking about the the having really an access
point between the two property owners so that they can make life easier for both of them. One, make it easier for residents of the apartment buildings to be able to carry groceries. It keeps them off, you know, that keeps them off the um certainly driving. They would
potentially eliminate that. Uh effectively, you know, in some respects, this will become a a mini supermarket for the people who live there. I mean, I think quick trip is done well will almost have their shelves cleared out
almost every day because there's just so many residents nearby. And um it seems fitting that there's a better access point between those two properties and have these uh two property owners work for a common benefit of both the
business and the residents that are going to be directed to the market. Comments Anything else? All right. Seeing no additional comments, we'll take this. Uh we we have three
separate motions on this as well. And I will entertain the first motion. Motion to adopt the resolution approving the final plat for quick trip number 1792. We've got a motion. How about a second? Second. We have a motion and a second. All in favor signify by saying I. I. I.
Any opposed? Motion carries. Um the second motion, please. Motion to adopt ordinance 481Z reszoning the property from agricultural to C2 community commercial
district for quick trip number 1792. We have a motion. Can I get a second? Second. We have a motion and a second. All in favor signify by saying I. I. Any opposed? Motion carries. And a motion to adopt the resolution approving summary.
I guess I'm making this motion. To a motion to adopt the resolution approving summary publication of ordinance 481 ZC. Can I get a second? Second. We have a motion and a second. All in favor signify by saying I. I. I. Any opposed?
Motion carries. Mayor needs to have her name in the minutes once in a while, apparently. All right, council. There are no more items to come before our regular on our regular agenda this evening. So, moving on to reports and emerging issues. Attorney Vos, you're up first. No, thank you, Mayor. Miss Hardy,
anything from you? Thank you, mayor, members of the council. Just real quick, um three of us and uh council members, so the mayor, council member Refe, and council member Patterson along with um Jen Brewington, community development,
community and economic development director. It's late. Excuse me. And then me the we all went to a conference last week. So I just minute and report back um about that conference. Um it was the NATO
conference. So the National Association of Development Organizations and um that conference largely focused on economic development and regional economic development. So I think um it was well worth our time. There were a lot of really great discussions and great dis great um
sessions where we learned about um as we as we think about our south growth area and our western growth areas and even downtown west how to leverage the strengths of our existing community um and the natural surroundings that we
have um in terms of economic development. So, you don't necessarily have to go out there and always think about when you're thinking about um commercial development properties and attracting new businesses to the community. Um you don't always have to think big and grand and go for the big
companies. it's um leveraging your community strengths and um so we were learning about the different tools and the different um strengths that we have and how we could uh work with different um the different tools and the different
um potential businesses and partners um to attract the development that fits our community and fits our community's vision. Um so lots of great ideas. Um the region that we um that was focused on was kind of the the Midwest and
western states. So there's a lot of agriculture um in that. So there was a lot of um lot of discussion about um I'll call it agro tourism and then um economic development that really focused on the agricultural
industry and what that means and along um with dig a lot a big focus on digital technology and how that's transforming um maybe the light to medium use industrial areas. So, lots of good things to think about, especially as
we're um starting to with the quickrip project this evening, starting to um look at growth and development in our south growth area. So, um I would just pass it over to the mayor and the other council members that were at the conference if you have anything else you'd like to add, but I do think it was
well worth our time and I think there's a lot of great great things that came out of that um out of the that conference for us to be thinking about. Yeah. And Dana did a good job summarizing. The only thing I would add is um partnership was a big theme. Um
and partnership not just with your uh current community, but also looking to your education, your um medical providers, all of those kind of big pillars that are in your community and how you can work together with those. So
just a really great regional approach and I think it gave us some great ideas on how we can move forward. So completely agree. I think one the one session with Keith Cook datadriven economic development was excellent and I
think we built a contact there who agreed to even offer his time over a conference call and advise and um that's excellent. some great networking contacts for us to uh leverage and not
only that but a tool that we already own that we can better utilize for Yeah. Keith does as excuse me mayor um Ezri which is our uh GIS system. So the county does we partner with the county already. They provide us staff and um
through that partnership access to GIS. So, it's leveraging the GS system not only to tell our story, but to really slice and dice the data to help us make decisions. Good. Any other comments? Um, for me, it was absolutely
educational just on the new acronyms. I mean, having been in this role for three months, I got to learn all a whole new language. But I think one of the key components and it gets it's something you don't necessarily always think
about, but you know, how do you eat a dinosaur? One bite at a time. And that's kind of where a lot of these things started is, hey, we started small. There were three of us that got together and we built it up and we built it up. And there's a level of um stick tuitiveness that I think is
required. And a lot of the case studies were just inspiring on how they went from very small to now there's a 100 person development shop within the within the city. So um not only educational but also inspiring. Yeah.
Persistence was the key. All right. Anything else from council this evening? All right. Uh, seeing no more items coming before the body this evening, I will entertain a motion to adjurnn. Motion to adjurnn. Second. We have a motion and a second. All in favor
signify by saying I. I. Any opposed? Motion carries. We stand adjourned.