We are going to start our meeting in just a second. All right, if we're ready to go. Looks good. Well, thank you everyone for coming to our meeting tonight. My name is the Marcus Simila, mayor of Columbia Heights, and tonight is our Monday, April 14th, city council meeting. Could we please have a roll call? Council member Spriggs, here. Council member Denine here, council member James here, council member Biscins here, Mayor Marquez Simila here, and welcome to everyone here in the council chambers and everyone watching this either streaming or recording. Uh you are always welcome to attend our meetings. We're happy to have you here. Um first we're going to start with our pledge of allegiance. So if you're able to please join me and stand in and saying the pledgece of the United States. Thank you. And now I would like to ask the council if we are okay to approve the agenda as presented. Yes. All right. I have a motion then to approve the agenda as presented. So moved. Second. I have a motion by council member Denine and a second by council member James to approve the agenda. Any questions? Seeing none, then all in favor say I. I. I. Any opposed? And the motion passes. Next we have our proclamations. Tonight for our first proclamation, we have autism acceptance awareness month. and I will read our proclamation first and then we will have our um our guests come up to receive the proclamation. So, first I'm going to read this. In Columbia Heights, we strive to be a city where everyone belongs, where people of all abilities are recognized, supported, and included. During autism acceptance month, we deepen our commitment to embracing neurodeiversity and celebrating the contributions of our neighbors on the autism spectrum. One in 34 motans is diagnosed with autism. As understanding and awareness have grown, so too has a recognition that autism is a spectrum and support must reflect that. Some individuals may need lifelong 247 care, while others require accommodations to thrive in schools, workplaces, and community spaces. Every person with autism deserves access to the resources, dignity, and belonging that allow them to live fully. Autistic individuals enrich our community through their perspectives, talents, and lived experiences. We honored the diverse and intersectional identities within the autism community and the vibrant culture that has emerged from it. True acceptance means moving beyond awareness. It means ensuring our city's policies, services, schools, and businesses reflect our values of inclusion and accessibility. It means recognizing that there's still work to be done, especially when creating systems that are welcoming to all neurotypes. This April, Columbia Heights proudly honors Autism Acceptance Month and World Autism Day on April 2nd. Together, we celebrate the beauty of neurodeiversity and reaffirm our responsibility to build a community where everyone feels seen, respected, and valued. Now, therefore, I am Amada Marcus Simila, Mayor of Columbia Heights, do hereby declare the month of April 2025 as autism awareness month. [Applause] And to receive the proclamation is Anna Bum with her parents and they're going to join up at the pro at the podium and then we'll also do a photo of the present. Thank you so much. Family and friends. Hello, my name is Nikki Bow. I'm a special education teacher and behavioral specialist. My daughter is the awesome Anna. Anna's had a rough go of things when she was younger. She had she's a two-time cancer survivor. When she was four, we went in for neurological testing to be completed to see if Ana had developmental effects from chemotherapy. At this time, we were told Anya had autism. Just like other people in the family, it may be genetic, and that is how she got it. In Ana's case, this is the case. The cancer had nothing to do with autism. Autism and autism spectrum disorder refers to a broad range of conditions such as challenges, social group, repetitive behaviors, speech, and non-verbal communication. Um, Anna happens to be on the higher end of the spectrum, she has a hard time making and keeping friends and with this book that we are showing that we tell Anna that she has an autism boost and that she's a superhero and she has learned a lot from this book. Um, I just wanted to say thank you to listening to our story and thank you for this Columbia Heights for giving Anna this high honor and happy aware autism awareness month. Thank you, [Applause] Nikki. Our next proclamation is for Earth Day and reading this proclamation is Rachel James. Council member James, thank you. proclamation recognizing April 22nd, 2025 as Earth Day. Earth Day was first celebrated on April 22nd, 1970 with the goal of inspiring appreciation of our nation's natural resources through conservation and environmental protection. From the conception of Earth Day, activists across Minnesota have engaged in this national movement and established a tradition of environmental consciousness. On the very first Earth Day in 1970, approximately 350 University of Minnesota students protested unsustainable energy practices. Indigenous movements in Minnesota have organized to preserve the health and stability of the environment. The global community is facing extraordinary environmental challenges such as climate extremes, public health issues, economic strains, and food and water shortages. These challenges will continue to have more severe, negative, and lasting impacts on every member of our global community and have been found to disproportionately affect people with lowincome, people of color, indigenous communities, and immigrants. The people of Colombia Heights must continue to step forward and take action to create positive environmental changes to combat these extraordinary challenges. People and organizations across Columbia Heights celebrate Earth Month with activities throughout April in recognition of our commitment to environmental stewardship while remembering that one day is not enough. Thank you. Now therefore, be it resolved that I, Amada Marcus Simila, mayor of Columbia Heights, do hereby proclaim and recognize April 22nd, 2025 as Earth Day in the city of Columbia Heights, County of Anoka, state of Minnesota, USA. [Applause] And here to receive our proclamation on behalf of the community is our sustainability commission members, Brie Lant and Cassandra Leone Halbaka. If you could come up to the uh podium. Oh, [Laughter] sorry. Sure. Okay. Before I begin, I just want to quickly introduce myself. I'm Dr. Maline Johnson Christian. Thank you to our mayor and the council for presenting this Earth Day proclamation during today's meeting. As the chair of the city sustainability commission, it is an honor to lead our group of nine individuals from the community who are dedicated to making Columbia Heights a healthy and safe place to live. For the Sustainability Commission, the mission and vision of Earth Day expands beyond the confines of a single day. Each month, we gather to advance policies and initiatives to improve the quality of our natural environment, city-wide spaces, transportation, and much more. Building towards an interconnected community, and climate resilience. We appreciate the council's support of this work and are grateful for this proclamation to remind us all of the importance of such work. Thank you. Thank you. [Applause] Our next proclamation is for Arbor Day and Council Member Denine is going to read this for us. Sure. Thank you. Arbor Day, Arbor Month, trees and forest soils play a vital role in protecting our environment. They help clean our lakes and streams by naturally filtering out pollutants and sediments. Forest soils act as sponges, absorbing and storing rain water and snow melt, reducing storm water runoff and preventing flooding. This water is then slowly released into our lakes, streams, and groundwater, keeping our ecosystem balanced. Thoughtful management of our forest is one of the most effective ways to protect our drinking water and reduce the cost of water treatment. Forest forested public lands surrounding the Mississippi River provide over 1 million motans with clean drinking water. In fact, about threearters of all motans rely on drinking water that originates in our state's forested regions. Planting and caring for trees is one of the most straightforward and powerful actions to protect our water and environment. Trees connect us to clean water, air, shade, beauty, and climate resilience. Each year on the last Friday of April and throughout May, motans unite to recognize and celebrate trees essential role in our lives. It is a time to recommmit to nurturing the vitality of our forests and planting seeds for a healthier future. In Columbia Heights, we celebrate Arbor Day on Friday, April 25th, 2025 with a special tree planting event. Our city forester will be on hand to share knowledge and answer questions. Children are invited to participate in the planting and learn about the importance of trees in our community. Now therefore, I am Amada Marcus Simila, Mayor of Columbia Heights, Minnesota, do hereby proclaim Friday, April 25th, 2025 as Arbor Day and the month of May 2025 as Arbor Month in the city of Columbia Heights. Let us celebrate by planting, protecting, and appreciating the trees that sustain us all. And which members of our sustainability commission would like to receive this? All three again. All right, come on up. Let's do another photo, everyone. Okay. Hello. Uh, so thank you to our mayor and the council for presenting this Arbor Day proclamation today. Uh, as members of city's sustainability commission, Bri and I are proud to work on policies and projects that address many aspects of environmental health and community building. One that is near and dear to us is building and maintaining a robust canopy of trees in Columbia Heights. We have had the joy of partnering with the city's urban forester expert, Liam Genter, to understand the advancements he has made during his tenure to diversify and expand the tree population in our city. When you're walking around your neighborhood, please take time to admire and appreciate the boulevard trees and park trees that Liam has planted and nurtured for us, which are not only beautiful and proven to boost public health, but are also a critical tool in community climate resilience. We are extremely grateful for the city's investment in our urban forest and appreciate this Arbor Day proclamation to recognize the progress we have made and the future work we can do together. Thank you. What a great show of community action from our sustainability commission. I think this is the most we've ever had of of a commission members coming to our council meeting. But thank you for all coming here, all four of you. Um, our next proclamation is for National Volunteer Month and Council Member uh Bisgens will read this one. Hello everyone. Uh, proclamation for National Volunteer Month, April 2025. In Columbia Heights, volunteers make a real difference every day. When people offer their time, talents, and energy to help others, they strengthen the heart of our community. From tackling climate change to providing food and shelter for neighbors in need, volunteers across Minnesota have stepped up in powerful ways. They've helped reduce inequality, supported those impacted by the CO 19 pandemic, and shown us all what it means to care for one another. In our state, 40.3% of people formally volunteer through organizations, while 63.4% give their time informally by helping friends, families, and neighbors. This spirit of generosity has earned Minnesota the third highest volunteerism rate in the country. Between September 2022 and 2023 more than 1.8 million motans gave over 110 million hours of service here in Columbia Heights. That spirit is alive and thriving. Volunteer groups like the Lions, Rotary, Kiwanas, Heights Next, our neighborhood associations, and faith communities regularly lead service projects, organize events, and offer helping hands. Many individuals give their time at Seikka, Southern Anoka Community Assistance in our schools, our public library, and within their places of worship. Their work uplifts neighbors, creates meaningful connections, and improves lives in visible and lasting ways. Volunteers are at the core of what makes communities like Columbia Heights thrive. They build stronger, more connected neighborhoods and inspire lasting change where they live, work, and play. During volunteer month, we celebrate how people use their time and voices to uplift causes they care about. We also recognize the essential role of volunteers in creating a more equitable and resilient community. Thank you. Now therefore, be it resolved that I, Amada Marcus Simila, Mayor of Columbia Heights, proclaim April 2025 as National Volunteer Month in the city of Columbia Heights. I encourage individuals, families, and groups to find opportunities to get involved and make a difference through service. Our community is stronger because of you. And receiving our Oh, yes, we can caught. Sorry. And receiving this proclamation tonight is Becky Gith. if you want to come on up. [Applause] There you go. So what both of you spoke about the proclamation kind of summarized it pretty well. But as a resident of Columbia Heights for more than 25 years, I felt like I existed in Columbia Heights for the first 15, but I've lived in Columbia Heights for the last 10. And that's due to becoming involved in things, whether it's being on one of the commissions, something that the city has an organized thing or one of the um community groups such as Heights Next or even just picking up trash every day on my dog walks. It's making me feel more like this is my home and more um proud to be part of this that I want to make it a better place. And so I encourage anyone who isn't already involved in something to find what your passion is, what your interest is, and there's something out there for you that you can contribute to making Columbia Heights a better place. Thank you so much. And on the behalf of the of uh mentioning volunteer month, we just had another volunteer in Columbia Heights who was highlighted in the Nor Easter newspaper, Neil Granland, for just being a part of the community and volunteering. So, we were thankful that uh the Nor Easter was out there highlighting volunteers this month as well. So, little plug for that. But, thank you so much for coming in and we appreciate your work so much. Next, we have our community forum. The community forum is an opportunity to address the city council about items not scheduled for a public hearing. And I'll ask our city clerk if there's anyone here who would like to speak tonight. There are. All right. Mark Veronicus would like to address the council. Thank you. Come on up. Good morning. Good evening. Yeah. When you work 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., this is 6:00 a.m. Regardless of what you mentally think or what it looks like out there, your whole whole world's backwards. I have page one today. I'm proud of myself. It's been a while since I've been before you. Three months and change, I believe. Right. Uh anyway, uh hi there. First off, I'm Mark Veronicus. I live at 1055 Peters Place, but we already all know that. So, um I wish I could say uh I wish I could say that it's nice to be back here with you, Madam Mayor, council members, but honestly, I'd much rather be at work right now. Okay, I just woke up. Why? Really? What? Really? What was that? I'd much rather be at work. So there we are all done with the formalities. Now on to the reason why we're back yet again. Parking on Peter's Place in Ghoul. The no parking on the north side of the street has been a great success. As for as far as the trash pickup's concerned, that being said, the people on that side of the street still have no parking when they have friends or family come over. It's not because there's not enough parking on one side of the street. It's because the ratio takes all the spaces even though there's more than enough parking for every unit in the apartment building right there in the in the building itself. Uh from the beginning of the planning stages, parking was a priority because of how the apartments and what the effects were going to be on the surroundings neighborhood. If that wasn't addressed right from the beginning as a resident of the surrounding neighbor neighborhood have firsthand and countless years I've been firsthand had countless years been dealing with the effects and let's face it sucks. So here we are back at back yet again at another city council meeting to find out how our threemon window pertaining to the updated plan you came up with is working out. I have to say that if you have already evaluated it, I'd be rather surprised. That being said, this is my evaluation. Rarely ever has a city issued tickets or toll vehicles off the off the street. If if they did, it was only because of the people living in the neighborhood that that you come out probably from only because of the people in the neighborhood. It's crazy crazy to me to look at the last snowstorm as an example. Even then, there was still no parking allowed on the city streets from 2 am to 6:00 a.m. Not one car was told until about 11:00 a.m. after the snowstorm. And that's after multiple neighbors called and complained to the city, including me, who called Aaron, asking him if he could please do something because I was sick of all my neighbors calling me to complain because because I was in the middle of my working week. I work 12 hours nights. So when they call 10, 9, 8 in the morning and they're complaining about parking, it really messes my sleeping schedule up. So I was rather crabby that night at work. And uh where was I? Our roads were terrible because of all the cars on them when the plows came through. And what the plow guys have to deal with when they try to plow our streets is a joke. The cars should be long gone before they come through. And as far as how the cars parked in front of the ratio, do you really think they're out there parked to go to the businesses? So after living with this nightmare for almost three years now, can you please give us back the plan we spent two years putting together before you took it away and came up with this amazing new plan. Please give us our permit parking and let us self police the parking. If someone is parked in front of someone's driveway or parked in the no parking zones or doesn't have a permit on their car, give us the power to call a troll up tow truck and have it removed. Please, please give us our sanity back. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Kathy Gomez would like to address the council. Thank you. Come on up. Hi, I'm Kathy Gomez, live down the street Heights um resident. I was just wondering works sound a little tired still, but you know, um I understand the three-hour parking and that, but if you look out my window at 11:00, 12:00, there ain't no businesses open. Why are there cars up and down the street still at 12:00 in the morning? I mean, it was okay. We tried it for three months to see if this would work and it's not. I mean, you can't get up and down no far this way. I mean, up that way and then you look up that way and it's like all the cars from I'm assuming ratio or whatever on that side of the street where they're supposed to be, but it's still at midnight one where it's, you know, saying no parking after for three hours. I can't even park in front of my my house because it's like no parking emergency vehicles here and then the three-hour parking. So, which which way do I park? So, I park in the grass. I'm waiting for the police to come and get me for that. But if I can't park in front of my house because I don't have a drive. I have a garage in the back but not in front. When I have my husband that can barely walk, darn right I'm going to park in the grass cuz he can't walk into the house and go upstairs and stuff. I am going to go down and try to get a parking permit from the city to get or DMV to get a you know whatever they call them, you know, hand thank you because he can't walk. So I mean it was good idea for it to go for three months. We tried it. I'm just wondering why that 12 o'clock in the morning there's cars and there is no business. No Dairy Queen, no bank is open, no movie theater, and they're all still parked there. And I could tell some of the cars I was like, "Yep, that's ratio." Because you watch them go and they go to ratio. I mean, I'm just wondering what's happening now. All right. Thank you. Paul Edner would like to address the council. All right. Welcome, Paul. Good evening, Madame Mayor, city council members, and distinguished guests. Uh same same issue. Uh parking on Gold and Peters Place. I have seen noted improvement over the last three months. if the council has indeed completed a three-month evaluation of the current situation. And if that has not already been posted uh on the city uh web page, it would be nice to get that information updated because well, we only come periodically for these council meetings. Um, just a few days ago, I had to call the police at 12:30 a.m. to have a car removed from in front of my driveway. Uh, within a day, the uh, distinguished neighbor Mark was over and there was car parked on the opposite side of the street, so the north side of Gold Avenue. and he called the police and they were going to just issue a citation, but Mark reminded them that talk to your superiors. We are having cars towed and they did. So, it is making a difference. However, we'd like to see something change. As was mentioned with the three-hour rule, there's constantly cars parked in the uh three-hour business parking at all hours of the day and night. The two-hour parking rule I know has a limited schedule between I want to say April or May and then November. I've seen them out all winter at 2 to 6:00 a.m. Uh so an update on uh the parking situation, what uh results you've gotten back from uh police and any other the mendot. Going on to the second topic, the Central Avenue corridor. Hopefully uh you've gotten uh more feedback from the community because it's going to drastically impact getting in and out of Minneapolis. And since we're right on the edge, it's going to affect us profoundly. So, uh buses are currently, uh stopping in the traffic lane, not even in the shoulder to get people on and off. Well, if we only have one lane, there isn't going to be any movement until a bus goes. So, I'd appreciate any updated information. Uh, and I appreciate your time. Thank you, Paul. Yes. Um, I will say that we can follow up uh with a study. We have not done a study yet on the on the the third sorry a three-month study on gold but I would be interested to get some data. I know it's something that we've working on. I'm glad to hear that you have seen some a change. Um but yeah we have not done a or at least as council I don't think we've seen a formal study right now but we will make that happen and and get some data collected for that. three months three months. Yeah. Well, yeah, we will we will uh get that and then we will figure out when we'll we'll definitely talk about it, I think, at the next work session. So, Madame Mayor, if I could, I think that's a great idea. This is very helpful for you guys to come in and share your anecdotes and stories, you know, during that three-month period. We can compile data from the police department and all other staff that have kind of interacted with the quarter because we have, you know, had conversations with the business community and other residents. Compile that, bring it back to a work session for discussion and then see if the council would like to consider any additional action um from there. Yeah. And also the concerns that you brought up, we'll make sure that the chief hears about them and brings that into our data, too. So yes, if you'd like if you one more thing if you can come to the microphone. Yep. Sure. Um on that study as we had um requested and it sounded like it was going to be done like January to March or February to April. Um could we get a time frame on that? Could we uh know that if it's going to be one more month or three more months or six more months? I'll look at our city. Let's put it on the May work session to have the report compiled from the time that the program was instituted, you know, through now, right? So, no additional When would the work session be or the results from the work session? May 5th, I believe, is the next work session. Thank you. I'm getting the nod from city clerk. So, yeah, May 5th. Okay. And would that be where we get the information or just where you get it collected? That would be where we would discuss the report from staff uh w with the city council and it is open to the public. Excellent. So, yeah. Thank you. So, that will be I'll just kind of also reframe that staff will bring forth the report and that's when council will see it. So, that's when we'll have a chance to discuss and ask questions based on that report. Excellent. And again, whether it's published on the city website, mailed out to residents or something, if we could get the update at earliest convenience. Sure. And then also your extra or your second question was about Minda. We also have a mindot presentation at that same work session. So that'd be great for you to come and you can see kind of where things are at at that as well. Thank you. All right. We'll see you then in a few weeks. Thank you. Oh, if you'd like to I'll have you Mark come up to the microphone. Otherwise, we can't hear it on the recording. We won't I haven't even had caffeine yet today. This is terrible. I knew I should have downed a Coke before I came in. But one of our my other neighbors, uh, Alyssa, you know her, nice lady. Uh, she told me to read this to you guys. She said, "Hey, Mark." This is her email, her texting me. Hey Mark, thanks for reaching out. Based on what I've seen on our road, it looks like one side is no parking. The other is Sand's temporary from November to March. No overnight parking. big biggest issue I see is the ratio tenants parking more than three hours in the business spots and that area gets busy. Unfortunately, unfortunately, the current setup didn't work. So far, no major issues I'm aware of then, but I believe the city should consider parking permits for our streets. And she said, she's sorry, couldn't make it, but uh that being said, um uh if you guys couldn't enforce the ordinances in the winter time when it's easy, like the blizzard over here, and how you going to enforce it in the summer? I mean, if it's if if you literally, you know, we have a foot of heavy wet snow and the cars are obviously parked out there from 2 am to 6 a.m. when there's no parking on city streets in Columbia Heights. If you guys can't enforce it on a day like that, how are you going to do it when it's 80 and sunny in Columbia Heights? I I don't see the logic. I mean, the road out here, it was horrible. If you went on Peter's place, literally we had a plow just wide enough for a p wide enough for a plow to get through because there were parked cars on both sides there. There were people that they they tried going up the street. They couldn't even get up the street because there was so much snow and and ice. And you when I was talking about it, I was like, "What's the point in coming back out and blowing it now? It's going to be 70 degrees in a couple days. It's just going to melt on its own. just wasting more taxpayer dollars to fix a problem that shouldn't have been there to start with. So, all right. Well, if you can't do it now, how are you going to do it then? And hopefully your study will figure that out. We will Yep. We will try our best to figure it out and and happy to have you at the work session in May so you can hear that report. What day? What day is that on? May 5th. Is that a Monday, Tuesday? Monday. Oh, right, Sarah? That's true. It's not a a holiday affected. Okay. What? It's Monday the 5th and it'll start at 6 PM, of course. And the everything will be posted May 5th, the Friday before. So, you'll have all the information the Friday before as well. Um I'm curious about the uh Rainbow Site since we're here. You know, we've we had Grand Central Lofts up there that when they went in, they had the problem with the parking when they put the other housing in the low income buy it. and we've had the problem with the park at the ratio here and you know so we in theory should have learned from the first one and obviously we didn't because we're me my neighbors were still here today. Uh is the ratio going to be the same way as this? Are they are you is are they going to be allowed to park on the street down there or is I know it's all in the planning stages and it's all you know the hush hush whatever can't tell us anything kind of thing but but I'm wondering have you learned from this experience and the other experience is that going to be better than this or is it going to be even more chaos than this? I would just say we're it's still in the planning stages. I would say there's nothing that we can't say as much as there's not much to say. Um I believe our website has our basic information on that space, but yeah, I don't know if you want to add anything. Yeah, madame mayor. No significant updates, but definitely learning from past projects and incorporating that into future projects is is something that we will do. Um it's different in the sense that um it's not inside the central business district which relies on integrating the municipal parking ramp. So there I a significant difference in how we will approach calculating parking spaces on that site versus this project um especially as it relates to you know guest parking um and other business overflow parking. So it's a different analysis alto together but um there'll be a lot of hearings there'll be a lot of opportunities um to participate. We don't have a timeline um for exactly when that'll take place but stay tuned. There'll be a lot of good advertisement and a lot of chances to engage with the planning commission who really starts the the nuts andbolt analysis of parking data. Um right now they're they've been planning for over two years. I mean, yeah, absolutely. Yeah. So, we haven't had any plans submitted um to actually go through the formal process with the city, so we're still waiting on that. Yeah. Yeah. I thought they learned it from here because this place, you know, you know, I'm sure you've all been in the garages. I mean, it's two floors of garages. I mean, there's parking for every unit, plus there's there's ample parking to give us our neighborhood back, but obviously that's not a thing with this development. So, I was just wondering if it's going to they're going to be in the same boat, plenty of parking, yet nobody's going to be able to afford the park and we're going to have the same problem in that neighborhood. Well, I can say we are we are definitely learning. We're learning from things. So, yes. Yeah. Yeah. Like I said, I'd rather be anywhere than here right now. So yeah, I understand. Thank you for coming in though. Is there anyone else who'd like to speak this evening? No one else has requested and there is no one online. All right. Thank you. It looks like everyone who's been here is going to say something. So, thank you for coming in um and sharing that and we will get that on our work session at our next meeting. All right, that takes us to our consent agenda. These items are considered to be routine by the city council and will be enacted as part of the consent agenda by one motion. Does anyone on the council have any items they'd like moved or have questions on? All right. Seeing none, then I'll ask our city manager to take us through the items. Madame Mayor, councel, um item one is approval of the March 24th, 2025 city council meeting minutes. Item two is approval of the April 7th uh 2025 city council work session meeting minutes. Item three is acceptance of the October 17th, 2024 charter commission meeting minutes. Item four is acceptance of the February 4th, 2025 planning commission meeting minutes. Item five is acceptance of the February 5th, 2025 library board meeting minutes. Item six is acceptance of the March 3rd, 2025 regular EDA meeting minute meeting minutes. Item seven is approval of change order number one uh for the city hall library parking lot paving project. So um contractor got into the project did a little bit deeper survey work to start it this spring and um uncovered an issue with the design of our retaining wall. we have to change the scope and methodology. Um it's it's detailed in the report, Kevin. I'm gonna try to do it justice, but um rather than tying the fabric back or excuse me, tying the retaining wall with fabric um to hold it in place, we don't have the space for that. So switching to a a concrete filled or backfilled um construction methodology has increased cost on that project. Total change order amount is $27,315. Item eight is a change order uh number one for the corn main water meter replacement program city project 2409. So this is to bring in essentially all of the commercial water main excuse me water meters into the scope. It was previously focused on just residential. This is really anything one inch and above. Um the last time that the these meters were replaced was 2014. So, they're past their 20-year useful um lifespan. And it would bring then all of the city's meters into alignment with the same radio transceiver that is on all of the new uh meters going into to residents uh properties throughout the city. Item nine is authorization for capital equipment replacement for the generator at the public safety building. So, uh, generators past its useful lifespan and was oversized and has not been, um, leaking fluids and and not in a state where investing in uh, reworking the generator is recommended by the city's um, central garage. So, replacement of the generator, right sizing it um to the appropriate uh, it's about double the size that it needs to be currently. So, uh, that estimate is, um, off government contract pricing 87,500. It's expected that the city's or excuse me, that the the police's 2025 budget is going to be able to absorb this um, and not have to require a budget amendment. Item 10, authorization for capital equipment purchase, sixyard HD satellite mounted hopper unit. This is for uh improving trash handling operations in the city's parks. So, we have a smaller unit, this two-yard unit. This would upgrade to a sixyard and allow compaction and allow less trips back and forth from uh parks back to public works. Um and then the current unit would be uh switched over to recycling operations for the parks. Item 11 is consideration of rental license exemption for three properties. Um these properties were part of a larger approval if the council recalls from brick by brick. Uh they gave a quite an extensive report to the city council regarding their acquisition of 10 homes within the city. Actually 345 across the metro um where the the company that they bought them from was facing legal action from the state. So they stepped in. They've kind of have that unique program where they're trying to promote um essentially a lease own model. It's that group. They have three that are uh affected by the city's density cap that they're just asking for additional time to complete the the necessary repairs. Item 11 is uh license agenda. So, routine business licenses. Item 13 are the routine rental occupancy licenses for approval. And finally, item 14 uh review of the city's bills for this period, which total 1,927,814.79. Madam Mayor, thank you. Are there any questions? Uh, council member James. Um, first regarding number item number 10, I'm really thankful for this opportunity. I know members of our public works have been working really hard to keep our parks clean and this is a significant upgrade for our public works staff. And where is that fund coming from? Is it just coming that has a number here, but is that the general capital Equipments fund? I'm not sure what that's from. I'd let public works director answer that question. Thank you. Thank you, mayor. members to council. So the 431 is our capital equipment replacement general fund and then the 3121 is the streets department. So it's coming out of streets capital equipment. Thank you. I'm really grateful that's been done. And I'm also just a comment on item number seven, the parking lot paving behind the library. Um I'm glad we're working to make that u just a longlasting project because I think that that parking lot's going to play an important part as we're working on redoing how the central business district and our library has events. And I'm grateful that number eight, the water meter replacement program is tying in our commercial properties. So I think that's the next step. So all good. Thank you. Thank you. Any other comments or questions? No. Thank you for your uh comments, Council Member James. All right. Then if there's no other comments or questions, then we have a motion to approve the uh motion to accept the consent agenda as presented. So moved. Second. I have a motion by council member Spriggs and a second by council member Bisgens to accept the consent agenda as presented. Any discussion? Seeing none, then all in favor say I. I. Any opposed? And the motion passes. Thank you. Next we um we have no public hearings this evening and our items. The next then is items for consideration. So I under item number 15 we have our first reading of ordinance number 1712 an ordinance to amend chapter 3 administrative code article 5 administration administrative offices and this will be presenting this will be our city planner Andrew Bucher. Thank you madam mayor. Uh council, before you we have ordinance number 1712, um an ordinance to amend chapter 3, administrative code, uh article 5, administrative offenses. Over the past year, we've taken a series of actions uh related to the development of a administrative citation ordinance. Uh Minnesota statute 462.362 allows municipalities by ordinance to um provide for the enforcement of ordinances through um an administrative citation process. Um, basically this came as a result of the fire chief and the city attorney reviewing uh some of the potential consequences specifically related to late fees and the inclusion of language essentially that basically said that if a late fee if a payment is missed essentially or fine that would lead to the automatic revocation of all city licenses based on how it's written. and that con comes into conflict with the next one uh which basically states that they may be subject to revocation. So really all the amendment is is just tweaking the language in subsection D to just be consistent with the very next point and just making sure that we aren't putting people in a situation where licenses are automatically revoked uh but that they may be subject to uh revocation. And with that I will take any questions you guys have. Thank you for for um bringing this to us. Any questions or discussion, Council Member Denine? Um I just want to say that I'm super excited that our code is getting updated and that we're getting down into the nitty-gritty details which are so important. And I thank you guys for really doing your due diligence and and pawing through all the stuff which I know is a lot. So, uh thank you very much for all your work on that. Thank you. Yeah, thank you so much. We're glad to move forward with this and I'm glad we have our city attorney on board to double check, triple check that we're providing the best service we can for our community. All right. Well, if there's no other comments or questions, then I have a motion to wave the reading. I'll make a motion to wave the reading of ordinance 1712. There being ample copies available to the public. Second. I have a motion by council member Denine and a second by council member James to wave the reading. Any discussion? hearing none. Then all in favor say I. I. Any opposed. The motion passes. And next we have a motion then to set the second reading. Motion to set the second reading of ordinance 1712 being an ordinance to amend chapter 3 administrative code article 5 administrative offenses in the city of Columbia Heights for April 28th, 2025 at approximately 6 p.m. Second. I have a motion by council member Denine and a second by council member James to set the second reading. Any discussion hearing? None. Then all in favor say I. I. Any opposed? And the motion passes. Thank you. Next we have item number 16, consideration of a rental license exemption for 572 38th Avenue Northeast. And our community development director, Mitch Farna, will take us through this item. Madam member, madame mayor, members of the council, thank you very much. Um, just to start out this discussion this evening, I do have one amendment to the item in front of you, which is the section mo the second motion under the recommended motions. It currently reads as move to deny, but it should mo read as move to approve. This is just a clerical error that um even if the council decides to deny the um the resolution, then you vote down the approval or you vote for the approval. Just to make some clarification. Um, it is also should be known that staff do not have a recommendation this evening for any of the rental exemptions in front of you. So, we had put a piece of um language in all of the staff letters talking about future processes and everything like that, but that does not have standing with this evening. Staff do not have a recommendation for any of these rental exemptions and are just here to kind of bring the facts forward and um go from there. But thatformational item will help the council as you guys make the decisions moving forward with how this policy will be implemented in the future. With that, our the first rental exemption in front of you this evening is for 572 38th Avenue. It is the same owner as the uh previous rental exemption that was approved at last council meeting at 38003rd Street. the previous rental exemption. They had received notice from the fire department that they had an illegal rental going on. Then they came to the community development staff to get an exemption for that. Um they had a family member living in that property and required time to um give that family member either sell the property or give that family member time to you know move on or um items like that which the council had approved. This is the second of their um three properties that they own within the city of Columbia Heights, which is 57238th. This property is a property that they purchased and are looking to start renting the property. Um they there's not currently a tenant in this property. Um and they are currently doing renovations getting this property ready to make it a rental. And then the prop other property, the third property that they own within the city of Columbia Heights is a property that they currently reside in at this po this moment in time. The property 57238 is located within a block of block 139 uh which includes 20 single family homes. It currently has two licensed single family rentals which meets the block's rental aotment. Um with that staff are open to answer any questions. I do have Andrew, our city planner, has been in contact with them so he can answer some more of their questions. It doesn't look like they're able to join us this evening um to be in in person or online. All right. Thank you. Um but we did receive um an email. Is that is this correct? Okay, Madam Mayor, members of the the C Yep. There's an email in the Yep. So, I just Yeah. let let people know that we did receive an email that was printed out and placed at all of our seats here um so we could have more information since they were not able to attend this evening. All right. Um do we have any discussion from the council on this item? Madam Mayor, Council Member Denine, I will say um I'm a little less inclined to approve this one than I was the other one. There's no one currently living there. It's specifically bought as an investment property to be rented out and the due diligence wasn't done to make sure that that was okay in that area. Um the the purpose of our rental cap is to make sure that we don't have a lot of people going around and buying up all the single family homes and renting them out. Uh so that we can make sure that we still have a market for first-time home buyers. I know that this is unfortunate that you know someone just may maybe didn't know the rules. Um but we have allowed you know them to continue renting out one house. So, I I wish that the email may have, you know, had a little bit more information behind it to kind of, you know, persuade me either way, but with the what we've been talking about with this program and how we want to go forward with it and our justifications, I don't feel that it meets uh the requirements that we would um move forward with. Thank you. I agree. Anything else? Council member James is not Yep. Just going to say I thank you council member Denine for that synopsis and I agree with that. All right. Well, if there's nothing else uh from the council then may have a motion then to wave the reading. Move to wave the reading of resolution 2025-038. There be an ample copies available to the public. Second. I have a motion by council member Biskins and a second by council member Spriggs to wave the reading. Any discussion? Seeing none, then all in favor say I. I. Any opposed? And the motion to wave the reading passes. Next then we're going to have a motion to approve the resolution. Move to approve resolution 2025-038. A resolution approving the single family rental exemption request for the rental application at 57238th Avenue Northeast Columbia Heights. Men 55421. Second. I have a motion by council member Biskkins and a second by council member Spriggs to approve the resolution. All in favor say I. All oppose say nay. Nay. Nay. And the motion does not pass. Thank you. Now we are at item number 17, consideration of a rental license exemption for 4942 7th Street Northeast. And our community development director, Mitch Fern, will take us through this as well. Madame Mayor, members of the council, with this one, the second motion is correct. Staff got it right on one of the two. Um, no problem. No problem. We we are flexible with that, Madame Mayor. Um, as I had stated in the previous conversation, but just to have it on the record, staff are not making a recommendation for this one. the item in the second paragraph or the discussion in the second paragraph is solely as anformational item for the council on um kind of the discussion we had at the work session for the continuing discussion on the policy. So staff do not have a recommendation and are just going to be stating the facts on this one. Um on April 9th, 2025, the owner of 4942 7th Street reached out and to request an exemption for their single family property. The block the property is on block 64 which has two single family rentals out of the total s 23 single family rental units with an aotment of two overall. So they are just right at the cap. Um with their children grown and they're looking to start a f or they're already started a family and the children starting the families of their own. They're looking to retire and downsize. So they purchased another property or looking to move out of the city of Columbia Heights. Um they've um identified the need for financial stability um es especially given um previous battle with cancer um unfortunately and um looking to rent this property out while they move to the other property. Um the only two properties that they own are the two that they have rinsed and that staff could find with that staff are available for any questions on the situation. All right. Thank you. Any questions or comments from the council? Council member Denine. Um, yes. I was wondering in their letter, it sounds like they want this as a long-term rental, which is not something that is even up for discussion at the moment. You could do the one year, you can renew it for another year as it stands right now. Um, are they aware of that policy because or are they just looking to rent it out for the one two-year period as they move and get settled? That that I wasn't clear on. I don't know that they really gave any indication one way or the other. I think they were intending to use this as a passive source of income as they're, you know, near retirement. Thank you. Any other comments? Uh, Council Member James, would properties that had let's I guess this this may not be the right time to discuss this, but if if the council were to change the policy of how long a rental exemption, I wonder if people could come back and apply for longer or if it's this is or if if once it's approved, then that's it for however long it is. Madame Mayor, members of the council, and the city attorney can correct me if I'm wrong here, but if we change the ordinance, they would they would be able they would get the new length of the ordinance. So, as we're considering these changing it to a five-year term, they would then fall under the five-year term from their origination date. That's correct. Thanks, Scott. Appreciate that. Thank you. because um I agree that's not a lifelong opportunity, but I know in other situations that I've talked to homeowners, you you got to time the market to sell it at the right time. And so I think that um for for me this fits um financial hardship as in ending a career and moving into a different tax bracket often. Uh to me that would make me interested. I also am interested in figuring out how we can um frame the ordinance for those people who are currently living in their home and then um it's it's not bought as an investment property, but it was bought as a home that they were to live in. So, I'm for this resolution and I agree with Council Member Janine that the time frame might not be helpful for their goals, but yeah, I agree. And I think giving them that one year while we're we may be in flux, but at least they would have a year to know that they can what they can make a decision with. And it seems like they've had a lot of hard times um going on in their personal life, too. So I think that so I would be in favor of allowing this. All right. If there's no other comments from the council, then All right. Thank you. Um I have a motion then to wave the reading. Move to wave the reading of resolution 2025-037 there being ample copies available to the public. Second. I have a motion by council member James and a second by council member Denine to wave the reading. Any discussion? Hearing is none then all in favor say I. I. Any opposed? The motion passes. And next we have a motion to approve the resolution. Move to approve resolution 2025-037, a resolution approving the single family rental exemption request for the rental application at 4942 7th Street Northeast, Columbia Heights, Minnesota 55421. Second. I have a motion by council member James and a second by council member Denine to approve the resolution. All in favor say I. I. I. Any opposed? Nay. And the motion passes. Thank you. Next, we have item number 18, consideration of resolution 2025-35, approving planning and inspections budget amendment. And taking us through this again will be our community development director, Mitch Farna. Madame Mayor, members of the council, in front of you today is the resolution 202535, which would officially establish or would amend our planning inspections fund 2011 to allow us to hire a code enforcement officer or code enforcement inspector. At a previous work session, staff brought forward the idea of hiring the inspector um as stated in the letter to be more proactive with our code enforcement and also be more equitable, making sure that we're not just picking on certain people with our code enforcement. kind of spread that out around the the city and make sure that everybody is following the same rules. As part of this, since the position was not budgeted for in 2025, this budget amendment allows for that person's salary and then also some of the other items on on um required to have their position. Of key note is their salary and benefits. This pays for the rest of the year for this position. when we come back in 2026, we'll have a better idea of what kind of fees are generated from the position that would offset a little bit of the budget ask and then um computer, iPhone kind of getting the equipment that they need and then the vehicle maintenance costs. There are vehicles available at the public works department that they're actually gearing up for an auction. So, there is a vehicle that the inspector will be able to take over and use for the for the for the future here. um which definitely takes a lot of the budget ask off of this piece. Um with that, staff are recommending um passage of this and then we can get um in the hiring process right away. So great, thank you. It's always quite a process to get the job descriptions and everything set up. Uh so thank you very much for bringing this to us. Are there any comments from the council or questions? Council member Biskkins. So excited. And I know Andrew is very excited, too. Um, this is long and coming and I'm very excited about this to have a consistent program, a person that's in charge. I just sent something in today to add to their to-do list when they get started. Um, I just have a quick question. How soon will we'll be posting? U Madam Mayor, members of the council, I'd let community development director Mitch Forny give a more detailed update. He's been collaborating with um human resources. Madame Mayor, members of the council, I'll turn over the job or the job description to HR this week. So hopefully have it posted by the end of the week and then approximately two to three probably around 3 weeks to keep it open. Um and then we'll go through interviews and hopefully in about a month and a half we'll we'll have somebody in here. Very excited. Thank you very much for all your work in getting this done. Thank you. Any other comments from the council? I would just say that uh word of mouth is the best way to find out about positions. So, anyone watching this, if you know anyone who's interested, please share this. Um I know it'll get posted on our city um website, social media, LinkedIn. So, please uh like and share so we get that message out and we get many people applying. So, we have some great uh qualified applicants to to choose from. But, thank you. All right. Right. Then may I have a motion then to wave the reading if there's no other comments? Move to wave the reading of resolution 2025-35. There being ample copies available to the public. Second. I have a motion by council member Spriggs and a second by council member Denine to wave the reading. Any discussion hearing? None. Then all in favor say I. I. Any opposed? The motion passes. And next we have a motion to approve. Move to approve resolution 2025-35, a resolution authorizing an amendment to the fiscal year 2025 planning and inspections fund budget. Second. I have a motion by council member Sprigs and a second by council member Denine to approve the resolution. Any discussion? Hearing none, then all in favor say I. I. Any opposed? And the motion passes. Thank you. Great work. Um, next in our meeting, we do not have bid considerations or new business. So that takes us to our city council and administrative reports and we will start with our report from city council member James. Okay. Thank you. Um we pull up my report. Yeah. Sorry I kind of No problem. I'm ready through. I'm ready. Um uh uh at the end of March I was able to attend with the mayor and I don't know if anyone else was able to make it that night the community if supported by the Columbia Heights Police Foundation. Thank you so much for those officers and others who um financed that and for the ifar and all of our community members there to welcome us. It was a beautiful night. And then on uh the 27th, I was able to attend the uh swearing in of Officer Jacobe and we're just grateful for our police department continually recruiting and finding new officers and moving forward. In April, um the economic development authority met and we had a good meeting on the 7th. We worked on some facade and fire suppression grants for our businesses. We are diligently working to um bring money back to our business community so that we can support our business community and our business community can support our community. We had a work session that night as well. The sustainability commission met um April 8th and I'm the liazison to that and we did our second session of our goal setting and I'll tell you right now the sustainability commission has some big goals. So thank you to our city planner Andrew Buchcher and to all the staff that work with the sustainability commission. Um we're going to continue to work on reaching those goals. And finally, on Saturday, um, Council Member Spriggs and I attended a town hall put on by senators Kesha and Doran Clark and our representatives Feist and Keaggel where they, uh, represented what they've been up to this year at the Minnesota State Legislature, answered residents questions, and if you weren't able to make it, they do send weekly or bi-weekly reports to anyone who signs up on their websites, and you can also email them with any questions. That's it for me. Thank you. All right. Thank you, Council Biscans. I attended the Minnesota City, well, I did it online. Minnesota cities climate coalition. Um, they talked about time of sale energy audits and, uh, Bloomington has badges for their residents in this type of program, which is kind of interesting, something for us to think about. also uh with other council members attended the swearing in for our new police officer Jacobe went and welcoming him to the community. Um I met with a resident up at Kodiak Park, Julian. Um we are going to be hopefully knocking on doors for folks up there to try to coax folks more folks in adopting storm drains that feed into the lake at Cordier Park to help clean it up a little bit more. Um, also attended the swearing in for captain, our new captain, Beth Pasal, and also attended online a senior court consortium. It was really interesting to see what kind of services are provided for our seniors and they're starting to network apparently and work together on that. So, and that's it. Thank you. Great. Thank you so much. Uh, Council Member Denine. Thank you. Um, I also attended the swearing in ceremony for Officer Jacobe Dietrich at the police station. I attended a board game and networking event at Fix Coffee at the end of last month. It was great to see a lot of people enjoying games and making new connections in our community. Uh I attended the local progress seminar on approaches to unsheltered communities where we discussed the needs of unhoused people as well as funding and zoning for h that for houselessness uh programming. We also had a presentation about dignity village in Portland and how great had great conversations on a myriad of ways that cities and counties can support unhoused individuals. I attended the city planning commission meeting where we uh welcomed three new commissioners to the dis and discussed the function of the commission and expectations of our city planning commissioners. I also attended the swearing and uh ceremony for Columbia Heights police captain Beth Posel on the 4th. attended our EDA meeting and council work session on the 7th and I stopped by the uh by nothing event this weekend which is really great to see all of our community members out there uh getting some stuff that they need and then also you know recycling things that you don't need anymore that doesn't necessarily mean that no one can use them and it's a great way to keep stuff out of landfills to cut down on waste and also support people in our community so that's it for me right thank you so much and council member Spriggs yeah just a couple of things um as other council members said uh also attended the ED and work session Um, I also attended, as Council Member Jane said, the Senate District Town Hall for Senate District 39, our district here. You know, it was great to hear from our representatives and state senator about just kind of the work going on at the capital and how that's relevant to us as a city and our uh county as well. And then uh last Thursday, I attended the charter commission as the liaison. They moved their meeting up just a week due to the holidays this week. So, that was good to attend. Thank you. Um, it's been a busy few weeks. Um a on March 25th, I met with faith leaders and the school district superintendent Stenvvic and also assistant superintendent uh Bondo at First Lutheran Church to receive updates on the collaboration between faith communities and how they're serving um families and students with the school district. On March 26th, I attended a Rotary meeting. Uh presenting was Braver Angels. Um also I met with the police chief at our regular u bi-weekly meeting. Um the following day, March 27th, I participated in the climate coalition virtual meeting and saw council member Bisgens there. Um and then attended the IFAR sponsored by the Columbia Heights Police Association. Um and that was such a fun night. Every year it just like more and more people are coming up and saying hi. And we actually um had people come from Ham Lake um to come down because they saw it was sponsored by the police. and people were coming up and asking me to take pictures of their families with the police officer. Um, no one cared that I was the mayor. They wanted they wanted pictures with the police officer. So, that was a lot of fun um to be there in community again. March 29th, I spoke at the Latino Lead Latina Activista event that focused on empowering women in leadership. and on March 31st attended the local progress virtual meeting with um with council member Denine and was really just great to hear someone speaking about uh dignit dignity housing and um what they're doing in Portland, right? Was it Portland? Um and different ways people are having services for um when they aren't unhoused. On April 1st, I had a leadership summary review meeting here with our uh city manager and council member Bisgens about our leadership um training that we went through a few weeks ago. April 2nd, participated in a Rotary meeting and also our board meeting. Um met with our police chief, city manager, and additionally met with our past outstanding citizens of the year to select our next recipients. Um, and then also, uh, was able to call our business of the year. Um, so that will be announced shortly, but it's still a surprise, so I can't I won't say anything yet. Um, and then, uh, attended the library board meeting. On April 3rd, I attended the regional council mayor's executive planning meeting and, um, heard about our past meeting, which was with our, um, police, and that was attended. I was not able to go to that meeting, but council member James went in my place uh with our captain um Jackie Urbanac. Um let's see. I also part also went to and participated in the swearony swearing in ceremony for officer Jacobe Dietrich and then Captain Beth Patel. Um on April 5th, I watched the movie Join or Die with the League of Women Voters. And this film discusses how joining a volunteer organization helps us become better community members and fosters a healthier democracy. I definitely recommend watching it if you haven't. It is on Netflix. Um and they suggest to watch it with friends. Um but it's a really great movie about getting involved. The main thing is that um bowling teams have declined since the 50s. Um but that's indicative of people just getting involved. Um, but as we heard earlier, volunteer life is very, very enriching and live and well in Columbia Heights. April 7th, I attended EDA and city work session with the rest of our council. Um, April 8th, participated in the sister cities meeting where we're discussing a Polish picnic that might be um, collaborated with the city. At April 9th, attended another Rotary meeting and art to change the world board meeting. And April 10th, I judged the art contest at North Park Elementary School. Uh April 11th, I spoke with high school students at North Henipin Technical College about pursuing a future in elected office. And then finally, April 12th, helped organize the buy nothing group event at First Lutheran Church. Um and that is open to the public. Those are usually done fall, winter, and spring. Um, and every time it happens, more people come and everyone is just giving generously of kind of their abundance. Um, and it's just really a great event. So, the next time there's a buy nothing grip event, definitely suggest people stop by. Everything is free. Um, and that is my full report. I added dates because at our um, EDA and work session, we actually had a community member who was there. He heard us all as a council talking about what we'd be doing this upcoming month. And he said, "I can't believe how busy you all are and how much you're a part of the community doing things." And I thought, I'm just going to name all the dates of the things that I did to kind of show how um how involved we all are and um just demonstrating our care for our community. Council member James, thank you. I you definitely are involved and busy very much so. Um, I was just going to mention, I realized our next meeting won't be until after the street cleanup. So, I wanted to invite anyone, I forgot to say this in my report, but on April 26th, there is an opportunity to clean up Central Avenue in Columbia Heights, and we need all the help we can get. We're going to meet at the library at 9:00 a.m. If you are interested in coming, we would love to have you come out and bring some friends. Alternatively, if you can't do that, you can adopt any of the parks in Columbia Heights or just do an unscheduled pickup. That is allowed. And then there's going to be, I think, a community shredding event that same day that maybe the city manager will share, but it's April 26th at 9:00 am at the library. Thank you. And usually there's like free treats, right? Yes. We're going to have Heights Bakery Donuts. Yes. Double reasons to come out. Yes. Oh, Council Member Spriggs. Council Member James, if you have little children, is there an alternative? Yes. Thank you so much. We do parks for the kids and so usually the week of I drive around and see which parks need it the most. Great question. Yes. So, if you show up and you're older, um, an adult and feel safe on the streets, you'll be assigned a couple blocks to help clean up as a group. And then families with young children will get to assigned a park. And, um, yeah, and then they pick up the trash. We try to gather it. And, um, every year we pick up, I don't even know, 30, 40 bags of trash along Central Avenue. All right. Thank you everyone. And now we'll hear a report from our city manager. Madame Mayor, members of the council, um a few routine updates and then some responses to questions that were raised at the last community forum. So, uh paper shredding to kick it off is in fact April 26th. It's a free paper shredding event that will be at the Columbia Heights Recycling Center on Saturday the 26th from 10 to noon. Along with that, the city's encouraging attendees to bring recycle recyclable materials to the center. um while you're there. Today, the city was contacted by uh the WCCCO news team. They did a special on the city's fire hydrant flushing program that's taking place right now. Uh that should air later this week. Um Arbor Day tree sale is uh underway and winding down. There's just a few trees remain at last count. I think six. Uh if you have interest in that, please sit visit the city's website. you can just um search Arbor Day Treeill uh in the search function. So, at the last community forum, there were some questions that were raised regarding a few things. The first was the city's water meter replacement program and how the meters are being recycled. I have some detailed information uh from the city's public works director. So, um, what happens with the old meters, HydroCorp, the city's contractor that is doing these swaps, uh, brings the meters and the radios back to public works, and as public works staff have time, they do, uh, dismantle those, uh, separating the brass from the radio. Uh, the brass is then picked up for recycling. That revenue, uh, does go into the city's water fund. Uh the radios do have um both plastic and metal inside them and they are separated uh as well and and um we pay for that effort uh due to those metals that are in the radio. So the city doesn't dismantle the radios. A separate company is doing that on behalf of the city. Depending on commodity pricing, the city then receives um about $5.50 to $6.25 per meter. It costs about $2 to $2.50 to recycle the radios and the net is$3 to $4 per meter that goes back into the city's water meter fund. Um there are some questions around the material composition of the meters and staff did reach out to census who uh is providing the new meters on a fact sheet specifically related to microlastics. We haven't received that. Um, of note, uh, the public works director added that the current meters that are being removed, um, did have plastic in them, uh, plastic screen and a plastic piston that water flowed through as part of the mechanical measurement apparatus. Um, that design in in his estimation is improved with the new meters as far as how water interacts with plastic. um there aren't mechanical plastic moving parts rather um it's measured electromagnetically through a composite polymer flow tube. So a plastic tube um but magnets um measuring the flow rate rather than um the plastic parts moving in the way that they used to. That's all the information we can um provide on plastics right now. There are also questions uh from the same individual about uh contract obligations with waste management. So there specifically um the individual raised the the question about liquidated damage damages. So what did the city get back for the poor performance of waste management during the time where we were having all the issues in the pandemic and switching um to different contractor. He mentioned that he didn't see a credit on his bill and would like to know what happened to that money uh and what has happened in general. So from the city's finance director, I received the following response. Um there were two remedies to address these breaches of contract by waste management. um the amounts that the city paid for alternate hauling and disposal were taken on a dollar for-dollar basis and reduced the amount that the city paid to waste management under that contract. there's not a credit um under that remedy to the customer because it was just like for-like exchange. To the extent um that a pickup was missed uh by the hauler for an entire service cycle that's weekly for most customers and to the extent that the city was aware of that or that it was reported uh by the customer calling or other means. The city did credit individual customers bills for those missed pickups and then short paid that corresponding amount to waste management. So neither of those remedies um compensated the city or customer for customers for all problems were you know we're aware of that and all of the contract breaches by waste management. We would note that they were significant um and didn't require additional time and and expense of litigation. So, all right. Thank you very much. We appreciate you being able to uh provide a report from past questions at our community forum. Thank you for doing that. And I would add the questions raised about gold parking. I missed an opportunity. I just want to manage expectations for study. You know, that term was being thrown around. Um the city's not going to commission a third party study to analyze, you know, what has happened in those three months. What I'd like to propose is just a compilation of um reporting from the various departments that have interacted um with uh residents or business community or that have taken action and then we can look at that data and uh make a determination on how the council would like to move forward. But there there's not going to be an independent third party study. Um just a report back. Thank you. I believe that will suffice. Um, yeah, just we haven't had that opportunity yet to hear those reports and have it compiled together. So, that will be good, I think, for the council. Yes. All right. Well, thank you for the your report and letting us know about the paper shredding event. Um, any questions or any other comments from the council? All right, then hearing is none. Then, could I have a motion to adjourn the meeting? So moved. Second. I have a motion by council member Bisgens and a second by Council Member Sprigs to adjourn the meeting. Any discussion? Hearing none, then all in favor say I. I. Any opposed? The motion passes. The meeting is adjourned. Thank you and good night.