There you go. I was looking at Matt. Call me a pretty person. I was looking at Matt. Mr. Baylor Regional Park long range plan update. Yep. Good morning, Mr. Chair and members of the board. Thanks for some time this morning. Here we've got an update for you on our planning work out at Baylor Regional Park. I'm going to kick us off and then I'm going to pass it to our planning consultant um here who's with us this morning. But we've got some objectives for our conversation with you today. Um we want to give you an update of course on the work that's been done. We want to affirm some board direction on the plan outcomes here as we're I'll say kind of about the midway point of the of the project and then have some conversation about board direction around potential boundary adjustment considerations. Here's a very I'll say very general project schedule. Uh you can see the Gant chart there on the right which is is not super helpful but again it planning at this work is about a year to 15 months worth of of duration. Um some of the milestones of course that have been completed there are in 25 we completed data collection or generally data collection is done. Project analysis work is mostly completed. We're kind of in the I'll say the fun part the primary uh engagement and um outreach work with communities. And so that's kind of what's consuming the the bulk of our time right now. Uh May through kind of August being when folks are are real active in community events and such. Uh August and September is planning and design. We'll be back with the board here in early fall with some concept diagrams to uh to get some direction on and then we go into development of the draft plan late late in the year and move into 26 for really kind of the approvals and authorization of the plan. Oh, and with that, I'm going to turn it to Candace for for the bulk of the presentation. You're fast. Good morning. I am Candace with WSB. I'm a planning consultant working with the county on this. Um, I've know many of you from previous projects. So, we're again just happy to be working on this project. So, again, long range plan. We are updating the the master plan for Baylor Park. The previous one was done in the 70s, so obviously a little bit outdated. Um but again it's just a strategic plan in order to provide guidance as to where funding should go to what the improvement should be and you know typically how to phase that in in order to meet the the current needs of the community. Um we do need to align with the Metropolitan Council's brand new 2050 park policy plan. So our final document will be written out according to how you know their their guidelines and recommendations for that. Um, here again are just some of the the chapters that the 2050 park policy plan kind of wants you to run through. I'm not going to run through each and every one of these obviously, but it's pretty similar to the previous one. They just um consolidated some areas and and made it a little bit simpler to to get through. So, the long range plan, so we want to identify short, mid, and long-term priorities. Um we're going through right now public input and we will eventually be going through a review process with them once we kind of come up with some conceptual ideas and after that we will create the draft final plan with a preferred concept and that will kind of outline the recommendations moving forward in terms of park developments and improvements. Um again once that has been completed and we've gone through all the review processes it will go through the Met Council for their review and adoption before coming back to you for final county board approval. So engagement and outreach um we have been meeting with LGUs. We have a technical advisory committee. We've had one meeting to date with two more pending. We do have a project website with an interactive map so people can kind of go on there provide their comments of things they like. uh maybe areas of concern or ideas that they may have. And throughout July, we're going to be attending a bunch of community popup events. Um and we're trying to make sure that we're strategically, you know, looking at different areas within Carver County. So, we were out at the Wild Game Fed in in Waconia. We have things going on in Mayor um New Germany. Um we'll be at Stingingfest, you know, close by. So again, just trying to make sure that we're reaching the majority of the areas are providing easy access to to interact with us. Um, we are also conducting one-on-one interviews with certain stakeholders of the project to just gather more information because there are people who have like really good knowledge of the site, how it's used, who the users are. Um, we've been talking with the astronomical society on their long range plans as well. um just because they are a constituent of of the park site itself. Um so again, this is kind of a a little graphic here showing what we have done to date is in the grade area and all the ones in white below that are the events kind of yet planned. They're they're planned and we'll be at all of these. We do advertise them on our website currently so that if people are directed to go to the website, they can see what's coming up in their area so that they can come see us. And we will be having another open house meeting out at Baylor Park. The or the county has got a rock climbing wall and they're going to be doing campfire activities out there as well uh to encourage people to come out and visit us at that. All right. So, some of the stuff we've completed today is project analysis. So, we've gone through what we call a Scott analysis. That's understanding the strengths, challenges, opportunities, and threats related to the park. and we talked with the Carver County staff as well as the design team. We had a meeting specifically with the adjacent residents or neighborhood area around Baylor Park. Um we had a park commission meeting and then again our technical advisory committee in May. And up there you can kind of see the kind of the highlighted areas or the things that kept coming forward again and again. So some of the strengths again camping came out you know enormous as well as the trails. So the trails are valued by the people who use the park. Um cross-country track meets out there and people just absolutely love the boardwalk. The observatory obviously brings people from a much larger regional draw than just the county itself. So that is a very important component of the park site. Um people really love the barn and the rural feel of the site itself and um they come out for the sugar maple activities that take place in the spring and the disc golf course. I mean it's amazing. We've been talking with stakeholders. They' be related to like for instance the observatory but those people also come out to the site to actually use the disc golf course. So that's proven to be quite popular as well. Um birding and fishing and then the recreational programs that take place. Challenges is circulation and safety. So we do have some issues where you know there's not really good separation between vehicles and pedestrians on site. Um making sure that we have the proper way finding I think will be important. Um that sense of entrance once you once you come into there is also a a challenge. And then of course looking at the environmental factors that that are taking place. You know there's obviously issues with the water quality itself. So again that's one of those things that's been highlighted over and over by people we've talked to. And then as well as like um tree die off um so accounting for you know making sure that we have enough new trees kind of going going in to replace some of those that are you know reaching the end of their life and then of course staffing um always a concern for for taking care of whatever we put in and distance to amenities and that was primarily people from the campground. So, if there are people camping there, they will actually get in their vehicle and drive to other areas of the park to use it and then drive back to to their camp spot. Um, some of the opportunities are maybe looking at improved camping opportunities. So, looking at that a little differently, what else can we offer? Expanded park area and recreation opportunities. Maybe looking at private public opportunities, wildlife viewing, and then another thing that came up was regional connectivity. So connecting to our neighboring communities as well as the regional trails in the area. Um threats development, you know, as development keeps coming closer to the park, you know, that might affect that rural feel and character of the park. It also brings with light pollution and that is like a big concern of the the observatory. Um again, environmental factors of anything that's running into the lake and then disrespectful use always, you know, pops up. And then the biggest one of course is funding. you know, how do we fund some of these improvements as well as the ongoing maintenance and operations of it? All right. We also took a look at all the natural resources of the site. We looked at the different land cover. So, there's a vast mixture of natural resource areas. We have open water, marsh, prairie, maple, basswood. We have non-native woodland areas. Uh you name it. I mean, has a a broad mixture of natural resources. Looked at the geology, soils. We did a slope analysis and then looked at biological resources. Most were below what the DNR would consider, you know, a quality biodiverse, you know, resource area. But again, this will help us as we're coming and kind of developing concepts to know which areas need a little bit more protection, um, which areas we can enhance a little bit more to to enhance those natural resources on the site. Um we also did a campground um service area analysis and this was conducted by one of our sub consultants called Pros Consulting and they found out that for the campground specifically is a very hyper local service area. So the vast majority of people using your campgrounds are within Carver Mloud counties. They also looked at a secondary service area of Minneapolis St. Paul metro and that will be important to to kind of identify those two distinct user group areas for the metropolitan council. All right. So some of the recreation trends um analysis that was completed showed for the primary service area and that's where we're seeing a lot of people is in Carver Mloud their recreational preferences are either at or above the averages for spending on entertainment and recreation. Uh many of them have active families that like outdoor experiences and camping rated at the top of what they would have for preferences. Um education programming courses kind of rank lowest for that group. Now if we look out to our secondary service area which is more the Minneapolis St. Paul metro area. Um that's falls way down below the averages for spending on entertainment and recreation. They primarily seek out art galleries, museums, and culturally significant things which rated high. And education programming courses also did rank higher, but camping did rank at the very bottom of their preferences. All right. And then we also took at a look at the demographics of both that primary service area, which is Mloud or generally Carver County, but a little bit of Mloud. um obviously a little bit more less diverse, higher median age, higher income level. Um but it is becoming more diverse as growth is continuing in into the county. Um there has been about a 1.4% growth um over the past five years. Now if we look at the secondary service area, Minneapolis St. Paul metro, it is more diverse with a lower median age, lower income, and less than let's say about.14% growth over the past past five years. uh generally because they're, you know, a little bit more built out. All right. So, as part of that recreational trends analysis, what we do is we kind of use that data to kind of tell us what are those recreational preferences. So, what would improve the overall experience to the use existing users, you know, our primary user groups? What would attract users from beyond our primary service area? So, again, that's going to be important for the Met Council. um what are we doing to kind of increase knowledge or awareness of the park itself? Uh maybe expanding opportunities for people to access the park and learn a new skill and what gaps in recreation could be filled. So understanding what other parks within that primary service area, what they have to offer. We want to be able to complement that. We don't want to overduplicate and provide something that another park already has. We'd want to make sure that Baylor remains a little bit more unique and is providing something that people are going to continually come to the park to seek out. All right. And so here is just a a quick graphic kind of showing the analysis in terms of camping. So we just wanted to show this because it is a top attraction at Baylor. So additional campgrounds are kind of shown within the 10 mile as well as a 20 mile radius of the park. And um the other one that kind of ranked a little bit higher I think or was brought up was Colinwood Regional Park in Bright County. I did want to highlight the Winstead Music Festival or Wintock um music festival right there in Winstead because um a lot of users do use the surrounding campgrounds for that festival rather than just staying on site. Um, but we know that people come here routinely just from within the county for for weekend getaways, sometimes even one week at a time to get out. Um, again, other parks within the area, Lake Rebecca Park Reserve, Baker Park, um, Highland Creek Park, Rush River Park, Glen Co, and there's also some privately owned campgrounds as well. But you can kind of see the location of Baylor and why it might be a draw just based on its location um, within that 10 and 20 mile radius area. All right. So, uh, Pros Consulting also did a benchmark analysis to comparable out of state parks as well as within and some of their findings show that a stronger focus on RV sites with, you know, better improvements, more modern facilities may increase use. I know the the electrical components at Baylor are are much lower than some of those other campgrounds. So, that's something we're looking at. Wi-Fi could be upgraded because this is important to campers and visitors unfortunately, but that that is the, you know, what's happening. And some people come out here and even if they're with their family for a week getting away, there might still be a parent who is still logging in remotely um to their work to kind of check on things. Uh cabins and improve improved accommodations are increasingly become desirable. So things like yurts, camper cabins, those types of things because not everybody can afford like an RV to go out and camping. So this kind of offers another opportunity for people to get out and still experience camping without like tent gear or anything that more expensive like an RV. More activities and opportunities for campers are important. So once they're at the campground, making sure that they have access to fun things for the kids as well as themselves. Again, Baylor, the the trails out here are a huge draw. Um the downside is like they're looking for water recreation, you know, water related recreation and without ability to swim in the lake, that is a downfall of Baylor Park currently. Um bathgrounds and bathrooms and playgrounds are also very critical to upgrade. So, we did hear comments related to both of those. All right. Also in the regional context was the astronomical society. So, this is a top attraction with users, like I mentioned before, from a much broader service area. Um, but it does include the campground users as well. And so, you're getting people from a much larger um group area um who are coming to use this because the Astronomical Society, I believe, only has like three built facilities. This is the only one where they run actual public programs out of. The other ones are for members only. So, this is why this is one is so popular. So, it's likely to remain unique and an important feature of the park. Um, again, as I mentioned, the light dome impacts are a concern to them and there are initiatives to kind of help control like light impacts if we can work with some of the surrounding communities. So, there are things that you can do in terms of like lighting that may be dimmer unless something goes underneath them and then they brighten up. um things like that, you know, especially as new developments are coming in closer and closer to the park itself. And then looking at outdoor recreation, so the Maple Syrup educational programs are very popular as well as the cross-country ski events. Uh rentals have high demand when there are suitable conditions. I know this last winter was pretty difficult. Um and then it ended up being like an illuminated like trail night, but it still brought people out to the park. Uh there are inadequate facilities for educational programming growth to continue. Um but there is potential revenue generation opportunity there as well if if we do make some improvements. All right. Disc golf is a top attraction. So not only local but non-local specifically come to this park for this amenities. So it was designed very well. uh has a following and um they just have simple requests for facility improvements such as like concrete teapads, waste stations, uh maybe an expanded or revamped course, but but again very popular. So now we'll go and jump into the project goals and the vision. So again, some of the short-term goals is making sure that we understand and align with what the public is looking for. So what are those things that they're telling us? So, that's we've got a pretty good idea of what we heard to date, but throughout July, we're going to be getting out and talking with more people throughout the community and kind of gathering more information here. Um, we do want to address water recreational opportunities, again, natural resource management, improve improve safety in terms of circulation, and then modernization of facilities. So, there are a lot of outdated amenities out here. just simply, you know, updating them to to meet how people are currently using these will significantly improve their experience. We also want to identify potential re revenue generation partnerships and enterprise opportunities that might fit well within the park and how it's operated. Um, we also want to consider additional lakeshore property for preservation and increase use and awareness of the park. Um, so it is one of the the lesser known parks of your three parks, you know, county parks. Um, you know, everybody else knows Minnow Washington, Lake Wakonia really well. It's mainly people within this area that that are really familiar with Baylor itself. Uh, mid to long-term goals, maybe a loop trail around Eagle Lake. A lot of people brought that up. Address regional connectivity. So some of the communities um like Norwood Young America would love to finish a trail connection to get people from there out to the park. And there are other people who are like, you know, if we can connect this further to the to the existing regional trails, you know, that would just make it amazing. And then look at future land acquisitions and development that that might fit in with expanded park property. So again, uh I think I touched on a few of these already already, but park user interest and this is what we've heard to date. So there'll probably be some more things popping up, but a lot of what you see up here, I'm not going to read them all are what we've kind of heard like over and over from people and just might be the certain types of stakeholders that we've talked to to date. Um, but again, it's going to help us kind of identify what improvements need to be done as we kind of move into conceptual plan development. All right. So, one of the things we're looking at is boundary expansion considerations. So, we did hold a community meant neighbors. This was to kind of inform them of our planning process this year. uh some of the requirements especially related to um land acquisition and receive input from them. Um we wanted to talk with them and let them know if there were any willing sellers that that they could reach out to Carver County directly and continue that discussion. So there was an additional communication sent out by a letter to the same neighborhood residents just to ensure that anybody who was not able to attend the meeting had the same information that was relayed at the meeting and to kind of give them that that contact information. Individual meetings and discussions were held with those who approached Carver County as willing sellers to provide information and timelines. Um so they did talk to Tim Zelman and I believe conversations with him have been going on over like 20 years. And then Ron Richtor was another person who had some parcel information um worth considering. So this map kind of just shows some not only acquisition opportunities but public sites for maybe future partnerships. Um so the area labeled one kind of in green just on bottom there. I don't know if I have like a laser or not, but this is the Tim Zelman one of his parcels that does have lake shore. So, it's right directly adjacent to the lake and right next to the park property. He also has a parcel way to the top labeled as number two, which is of high natural resource value. So, it has, you know, the wetlands. It does h it's not a great woodland area, so that would need some restoration work. And there's also some agricultural land that would need to be restored. But again, this is just going to help with the natural resource protection of the park site itself. Um the area next to number two, number seven, that is his current property as well. And he just did express there may be potential future interest in portions of that that would maybe give access um out to the county road. Um, possible sites for future partnerships include number three, which is a state parcel that has a little bit of water access. It's right along the lake shore. Uh, just to the south of there is a state parcel that the CCWMO might have interest in, just include um further improvements for water resourcees and water conditions. And then over to the east side of the lake is a little parcel owned by the state which provides boat access to the lake. All right. Before I go on, are there any questions on on the parcels that I have identified on this map? All good. All right. In terms of the bond expansion process, so Carver County Board is to provide direction provide direction on obtaining appraisals of any of those specific parcels. Um from there the county could develop a with property owners with an intent to sell for park purposes. So land owners would get their own appraisals which would be reimbursed by the county and the appraisals would be made public data. The county board would then authorize offer or a negotiation with property owners which would eventually be lead to the development of purchase agreements. Uh we would refine boundary adjustments in the long range plan. Um, that's part of the planning document we're currently working on, which would be submitted to Met Council. Met Council and Carver County would determine if financing is available and then affirmable timing for the property owner. Carver County then submits a request for acquisition opportunity funding to Met Council and the long-range plan and funding acquisition can be submitted simultaneously to the Met Council. So, we did have a previous discussion with them and we can handle it that way. So next steps, board consensus on our draft plan goals to date and board consensus on potential boundary expansion priorities. So providing direction to contract appraisals with willing sellers and then conduct a tour for park and recreation commission to Cedar Lake Farm Regional Park is I think tentatively set for July 9th to kind of look at some example of camp camper cabin facilities. Um, we will be working on development of conceptual diagram plans roughly in August and would like to return to the board for an update tentatively set for September 23rd to give you an opportunity to kind of review where those conceptual plans are to date, provide feedback on that. And then after that we would present complete public engagement findings, receive direction on those plans and if there was appraisal information available at that time it would be um provided to you as well. You going to follow up? Okay. Thank you very much. Mr. Chair, members, if I could add a bit of context here to the appraisal consideration in terms of boundary expansion. Let me go back a slide. Uh this one uh for context again um what what we're looking for here is of course direction on if there's interest to consider appraisals that would not put forward any land acquisition program or commitment in any way. Again, what it does for the board as we're to move forward in our planning work is it gives the board the full information about kind of the magnitude of scale of what those parcels might cost and understanding that detail of course is a strong component to any next decisions around boundary expansion. So I want to just put that into context that looking for appraisal information doesn't put put the board in any kind of required position uh but I think gives the board full information about again cost of acquisition um so that a good decision could be made. Um I would I would like to add a little bit too on on Ron Richtor. I think Candace just missed that briefly. I did have a conversation with Mr. Richter. He's on parcel five there. Um, I spoke with him after the public meeting in March that we had with with neighbors. His interest was to sell the the parcel that's on the west side of 33 there. And his interest was to see it be developed into a golf course. And so I, you know, again, want to add that context to the board. But, uh, in terms of priority, those would be at least from a staff perspective kind of prioritized. Um, at least items one and two certainly in in order. there part that I want to connect the dots a lot of lot of dots to connect here but I think the board's aware of Miller Lake and the conversations that have been had about that in the last you know 18 months at this time if you know you ask the question okay where's the priority for considering additions to to park acorage it would really be in this area the Miller Lake kind of topic has been kind of stalled or put to the side for this you know in this in this moment in time due to you know the the private property owners kind of interest there so in terms of priority this is really where where boundary expansion and potential land acquisition would lie in terms of park acreage. Um, so I wanted to add that context here to to really what we're looking for in terms of some direction around appraisal uh services and and that topic. But with that, I guess we'll stand for questions and and discussion. Uh, the parcel you had listed as five. Uh do you see that in the in the park plan uh as a possible use? You said uh a golf course or a disc golf course. Wouldn't number one be more suited for like a disc golf course expansion? Correct. Yeah, Mr. Chair. Good question, Commissioner Lynch. I I do not see parcel 5 being represented in this long-range plan update. I think that's in potentially another rendition of a long range plan update somewhere in the future. So, at this time, I would not say that's part of the long-range plan update in terms of the um the boundary the boundary expansion potential. And again, the the reason for considering um where boundary might expand is to run concurrent with this long-range plan update. And that leverages uh dollars from from that council acquisition opportunity funds. If our plan shows where there would be boundary expansion, that would leverage the potential for those those dollars. Uh right now, Baylor Park is shown as a potential kind of search area. It doesn't really get very specific into where in terms of where boundary expansion might occur. And so again, going through the the appraisal step to understand associated cost could allow the board to make a decision and say, okay, parcels one and two might be included in this long range plan update in terms of a mapping diagram and that would put us in position, put the county in position to uh pursue acquisition opportunity dollars for that transition at that at a later time. Again, no schedule to that. Um, but at least gives you full information about what those costs are. Sam, what about the parcel directly north of the lake there? It's south of seven. The seven parcel. Yeah, that's another Zelman. Uh, and Commissioner Fay, you might be able to help help me out there. I believe that's another Zelman. A different person. Yep. Same cousin. Sorry. Go ahead. A cousin. Cousin. Yep. David and Jamie. No, no comments were brought forward there in terms of an interest to to have a conversation with the county about selling that for park purposes into the future. Of course, that would be a key one to have if there's a consideration again down the line that you'd have a lake uh excuse me, a trail opportunity that takes you around Eagle Lake. Of course, that's pretty critical, but nothing at this time Uh go ahead. You want me to go ahead? Sure. Yeah. Uh great dreaming and uh visioning. I great public input, good process. I would say however uh there's some fiscal realities that we're facing. So I would urge uh proceeding with caution slowly. I would not recommend uh getting into the appraisal process, increasing the expectations of land owners at least. I realize this is a long-term plan right out into the future, but I think we can get some pretty good handles on the values here if we want to do some planning. I think we need to revisit the the park asset management plan and blend that into our annual budget discussion uh and also gather some more information on other revenue sources uh better understand uh and not I'm not suggesting you you are recommending you do this but better understand referendums land I think we need to be much more creative here to make this a fiscal reality quite frankly uh the board's going to be facing some tough tough decision decisions on prioritization. Uh the uh space master plan is hanging out there. That document is done. Resent it to you. Uh there's a lot of lot of issues hanging out there and we're having trouble addressing number one the number one priority which is the government center. There's a $460,000 annual request in the levy for the next four years. So, so I think I would I would suggest the board gets a better handle on all those things and then walks through the pro the annual proc budgetary process to make sure you understand where we're where we're positioned and then let's come up with a game plan a long-term game plan. Uh I would also remind you we had had a legislative priority to request uh reimbursement for 4.2 2 million in Met Council past uh acquisitions that we were unsuccessful in obtaining recapturing those dollars and you know we knew that those weren't guaranteed. I was hoping that wouldn't happen but it did that that because and they're blaming on the IRS could cover right but uh but that's the fact the fact is there's 4.2 million out there. So again, I think we want to regroup and go, well, wait a minute, uh before we take a next step here and I think there's timing issues obviously, but there's also timing issues when you get an appraisal right by the you don't want those to expire, have to redo them. All the steps are I think premature from my perspective and I and I get the Met Council planning and all the acquisition but but the fact is we'll have we as an organization would have to come up with some sort of funding even if it's Met Council money likely 25% uh cost sharing you know they've changed all the rules etc but let's better understand that those would be my comments Mr. share. Sorry to throw some cold water on it, but that's that's the reality that we're heading into and it's not only 20 26 as we talked about, but 27 looks as difficult, if not more. So, that is, you know, long range as we head into the next few years here. Sam, yep, thank you, Commissioner Workman. Uh, Comminer Hemsy makes some good points and I'll I'll kind of add to his his comments there. uh the appraisal uh uh services and and information is now good for three years with Met Council. So again, to Dave's point, it doesn't put uh any schedule to this, but um again, in terms of how long that appraisal information is good, that's that's now three years. That's been a change in recent time. The uh the acquisition opportunity fund does require 25% match. There's been discussion that that uh local match might be removed. Again, nothing I'll I'll say is firm in there, but there's been discussion and Marty can add a bit more to that, but um that's been shared too in recent that that might might be removed that acquisition uh funds might might be coming strict strictly from the metro council and not a local match, but that has not been I'll say kind of changed in policy. Um, so adding to to Dave's comments, Commissioner Anderson, um, Administrator Hemsy, um, read read my mind, um, when I because I was, um, thinking about funding options, and I think it's really about balancing long-term 20-y year, long-term, you know, with the with the a 2050 comp plan and and current realities. So, thank you for addressing um those thoughts. I just had one other question. You had brought up um revenue generating activities. What would be an an example of that? Well, it could be as small as potatoes as again increased programming, you know, and and um again or as big as or you know, modest as in increased camping opportunities, whether it's camper cabins or yurts, things reservable spaces, again, things that we're doing today, but keeping up with the trends. um that's been discussed for quite a while is how do we expand camping? Do you just add amenities to the campground that we have today or expand the number of camping sites that are all reservable spaces that drive revenue? Uh there is example of enterprise opportunity. So I'm glad you asked this, Commissioner Anderson, because I do want to make sure we're on par with what the board's expectations are at this point in the planning process and where we land. you know, we come back to you in September and we'll have concept and then from there we probably don't come back to you unless there's a real critical need to until we're kind of at the the final final step next year to make sure we're on step with what the expectations are. Again, enterprise opportunities um and and models where again um other parts of the regional system have enterprise um you know based um operations that are really driving revenue in that way. And so again, if it's everything from a, you know, there's been discussion about or question about concert venue spaces and those things, if if there's large large ticket ideas that the board would like us to uh look into and compare against other regional context and uh context uh nationally of similar parks, then that's kind of the direction we're looking for today is if we're on the right path to board expectations with what the park might look like in 20 years and as it relates to revenue driven opportunities. I mean, I guess I would encourage you if if we were looking at at revenue generating ideas is, you know, what is the return on investment? A cap or cabin kid could cost, you know, I don't know what what the cost of that is, but understanding how long it would take to pay that back. Um, and and those pieces. Um, you know, I've been out to Baylor Park. It's beautiful um park. Um, and and to me, it's all about connecting with nature. It's the trails. It's the lake. It's the um you know the the camping, the stars. Um you know that that's an amazing facility. Not sure it's a good facility for um a concert venue, for example. It's it seems to me like people want to go there to connect with with nature. Um but that's just um kind of where I'm at. Um but back to my original it just any of those potential um revenue generation I I personally would like to see kind of what the ROI is on that so we so we can understand because again short we have this short-term issue which I which I hope is a short-term budgetary issue um but I do think going forward we're we're just really going to have to continue to keep our eye on the bottom Mr. chair, just Sam and Candace, thank you for all the information and I've been involved in a lot of these discussions and went to the various open houses and obviously being from that area and I personally visit Baylor Park pretty regularly and I think the concept is there and I I think the focus to on the nature piece of it and camping aspect as Commissioner Anderson had highlighted there. Again, personally, I I don't or I haven't heard any type of support for some sort of concert venue or a large scale type of facility to be built out in Bay Park. That's never been brought up. That was never brought up at any of the community involvement. Um the the neighbors just really enjoy the park and and what it has to offer and and to be able to to walk through and and use all those various amenities. And then of course we think we have a willing seller. And so that what it just makes it attractive and and to try to to look forward and I know we've talked and I think to Commissioner Hemsy's point I I think we really need to understand the whole budget challenge you know from what would the levy levy amount be and what would that impact be and is that five years from today for example or is it 10 years from today and then how to put that together Just a question in regards to the appraisals. If we try to do that internally, Dave, uh if if we could do that with public works staff to get an estimate and whatever that cost is and I know it's probably not a binding appraisal, but would that qualify for the next step to go down through the Met Council route? Yeah, good question, Mr. Chair and Commissioner P. I I believe the answer to that is no. I think we'd certainly needed a a certified appraisal done by a third party and I think frankly we'd want one for some obvious reasons but it it could get the information of the board that we're kind of you know indicating now that you'd have the full information or you know I'll say generally get get some good information there. Um, I want to connect a couple dots that again um and I'm not looking to steer steer the board in a certain direction, but um to to expand the park boundary at a later date um and look at the parcels or other parcels in consideration is really kind of redoing the vast majority of the planning work that that we're already in now. So, it's an efficiency to kind of look at this at this time and that's kind of again why we're bringing it forward now. It's kind of the critical path. Otherwise, you're either redoing the process and amending the long-range plan, which brings on public engagement and basically, you know, call it 50 to 75% of a full long-range plan update, or you're waiting for that next milestone when the plan is otherwise kind of outdated 20 years and looking at opportunities then. And as as John's saying, we've sat down with Tim. I don't know that there's a critical need to sell now. Um, that hasn't been the sentiment that I've got from from him in the conversations we've had. Um, so I don't think that it's a critical kind of need of his or interest of his today. And so maybe that opportunity is is there down the line when it's it's the right timing for the board. But I think Marty wants to jump in here. Yeah. Just a couple quick comments with regards to land acquisition. Excuse me, land acquisition. I think you all understand it's quite a lengthy process with regards to land acquisition. I think in terms of the county being able to take advantage of what I'll say is future opportunities. It's not so much the appraisal that's kind of the critical path. It's kind of what I'll say is identifying the boundary adjustment. If the boundary adjustment is is there, then there's a process that I'll say streamlines things for going forward into the future. And so you don't necessarily need to get into the appraisal information today. But you could certainly what I'll say again if the at the end of the day the park has a boundary adjustment then that's one step in what I'll say is the right direction in terms of then within the park boundary the metropolitan council has recognized that that area is potential acquisition and then there's a process going forward for getting an appraisal at that point in time. As Sam has mentioned, there are some efficiencies about doing appraisals now in terms of understanding what the land value might be and then the potential for taking advantage of whatever opportunity might be for funding and again understanding that the county's financial constraints are what they are. But the occasion there are opportunities that what I'll say is just kind of arise and I'll say having the boundary identified allows us to take advantage of of that. So that would be my my point here. So thank you. Well, so Marty, you you mean the old draw the line around, in other words, that land? I would suggest again if we have willing property owners that are wanting to have that consideration to show that boundary adjustment and to show potentially how that boundary, you know, what that change might be to show actively how that might be planned. So again, there's kind of an awareness of what what might take place. Does that then put a ticking clock on the property for how long? How long can that sit in in a designated future park? Well, I don't know that there's a timeline on it. It does certainly, again, if we had what I'll say is an unwilling um property owner. I don't know that I would say suggest about expanding the park boundary. But with a willing property owner, I feel much more comfortable, especially since the conversations that we've had and um you know, with this particular individual, the conversation started probably 20 years ago. The Paul's don't own any property nearby here. Good question. Inside joke, huh? Inside joke for No, for two of us. Um, Marty, do we uh you and I get down to regional park meetings weekly at the cap and with the Met Council. Do is there are we are we at an uncertain stage about where the mech council is participating with the park agencies for land purchases etc. I don't know that we're at an uncertain stage, but you know what I would say is that there's been, as Sam mentioned, there's been some conversation about trying to remove some of the barriers to land acquisition and and the 25% match has been one of those barriers. There has been a policy change along those lines at this point in time that removes that barrier. Um, and so that's that would be one what I'll say is potential policy change that might take place. Now, this last legislative session again I don't know how Met Council will will choose to use or if it will use. So, um, as we go through the capital improvement process, the Met Council matches 40% against whatever the state has for funding. And this year, the state didn't put any dollars in the capital improvement program for regional parks. The ME council is still hanging on to its 40%. and how they choose to utilize that 40% at this point in time is not known but there might be an opportunity for how that 40% would be utilized. It could be used for development. Somebody might suggest from say my perspective put it all towards land acquisition to remove the barriers take that 40% put it in the park acquisition opportunity fund. So there are some potential opportunities there, but again fully respect and understand the financial concerns that the board may have. Maybe the CDA could borrow us some money. Um and then what of the four and a four and a half four and a half million that they sort of didn't come through? Uh have we decided that we're never going to get that money? Well, But I think from the countyy's perspective, no, the county is quite eagerly and aggressively trying to and some other counties and at least one other county. I think we keep fighting that maybe not even maybe through the legislate legislative body, but perhaps other ways try and find other sources. But that's the fact is, you know, and again, I think that's why I'd like you to see the the broader picture. Again, if nothing else, to refresh your memories, uh, with not only the obviously the annual budget, but the long-term financial plan, park asset management plan, all these pieces to me are relative to this discussion, but on on the the mapping, and that that's been kicked around this boardroom quite a bit for those of us that have been around for a while. Uh, yeah. Okay. If it if this is a willing land owner. Yeah. Maybe uh what kind of uh there there's no commitments then from the landowner. Right. So that this governing body can do that right formally if they wanted to. Now obviously it changes the the zoning or does it change the zoning on that property? It changes the potential. Mr. Chair, it eliminates it. Yeah. I'm again I'm not familiar with what I'll say is the zoning aspect in the rural rural areas of of that park typically is not not a zoning it's not a zoning but the land use itself may have so right now it's I believe it's zoned agriculture and so if it gets changed to designated park use I'd have to again follow up with our folks in land management but parks typically is not a zoning so certainly a you know a board choice a policy choice uh but it is a a pretty big commitment to to make that statement that you're moving forward. Future boards I suppose could change it and say no we're not. But that's a pretty big step. Now no fiscal commitments necessarily, but that's kind of the snowball, right? It's you start it and here we go. I I think even that you should pause and go, well, wait a minute. Where are we fiscally? Can we can we come up with X amount? I I we have enough professionals on staff. we can figure out what the the market value is right when you enter negotiations that as we've learned through our road projects can be a totally different number. Uh but I think we get a good enough handle on that. I think uh we're missing a connection here with Dave Freshman and company uh that we need need to make that stronger connection to tie all these things together and then uh bring it back in multiple ways in the boardroom. Yeah, I think to commissioner's questions at least for the planning process. So where does that leave us? Uh the process continues but the board is on standby. Yeah, I would suggest uh uh not completely stop it, but slow it down and and let's gather some of this information, come back. Now, we should all congratulate Marty for his retirement. Yes, we should. By the way, congratulations, Marty. So, there's a little transition there. It does that will impact some of this as Lynon and I are reviewing uh options and we'll bring those back to you, too. So, a lot lot of things in play here, but in particular is the the fiscal issue. So, we slow it down a little bit. uh we'll come back I think you know the focus on the on what we should in particular the park asset management plan I thought there's a a number of things that need to be addressed with that and that blends into the annual budget and of course we're going to we're hitting that full speed right here I and as if if I may just comment it you know this is a challenge right we want to balance short-term needs with long-term vision And um sometimes it's it's you we can get tunnel vision about what's happening short term. So love to hear more ideas like from funding and do a little bit more research. Um but I would continue to advocate for that long-term vision of just understanding that it might be a longer term vision. It might be longer term than what we'd like. Does that make sense? Kind of. It's it's it's an unfortunate budget year. The administrator is worried about his budget and so the rest of the board is worried about his budget. Uh just think to to December your budget. We're digging in the cushions now. But but I I do like it. I I I don't get to get out there as often. I get over to Minawasha. By the way, there's no recycling bins anywhere near Have we given up on recycling in the park? People can't do it. Um but uh not not to leave Baylor out hanging or anything else. Um beautiful place. Um I I think we're all committed to it. We got to do a little more work with our budget. And I and I do want a little more solid info on the uh where the Met Council. Yes. Uh fool us once. Right. So, um I'm sorry. Could you repeat that? Met council. What was the question, Commissioner? Well, I just want to I don't know better or a a more solid idea about the money. um where is it coming from and can we count can we trust the M council to be there and they're a part of the state and that's it's just a big mess. Um so so I don't know if that's clear enough for you guys. Congratulations Marty on your retirement. Nobody likes a quitter but uh he's still gonna be with us kind of phased. So good. Well that'll be good. We'll have time to have some fun. But uh I don't know is that clear? Everybody good? Is that clear? Yeah, Mr. Chair, I've got good direction. We will not proceed with I'll say external um appraisals. We'll be performing some of that work in in house and get at least get a decent understanding of what costs might be. We can come back in September. I think with our other already scheduled board updates in September related to the long-range plan development with that information, I think that's probably feasible. I can work with Lynon's Linen's group on that and in September should be able to have that that packaged up for you. So, I've got good direction. And then maybe one last thing, that parcel I asked about that's on the lake, the other cousins or whatever, sure seems like that should need to be a part of it. Um, I mean, does does the purchase of two and seven make as much sense if you don't own the one below it? So, it sure does. seem like it's a primo. They still have cattle there. It's an active farm and might be affecting the lake too, right? Yeah, we think there's some water quality, you know, impacts there. And, you know, Paul's in the room if if you got questions. Eagle Lake is part of WMO's as Commissioner Fay mentioned during the tour as part of their their work and a water quality study and and program there. Again, the what's shown there for those um potentials is really just what we know today. What what came forward in our process that was shared. You know, the Zelman's on the parcel that you know, Commissioner Workman is referencing just hadn't brought forward any comment about an interest to to have a conversation. So, um but recognize that as you're saying, that's a pretty critical one. So, yeah. Okay. And just to that point, Sam, that landowner was at one of the public meetings and y received a letter express any interest. So, Mr. Chair, one other clarification would be uh the mapping issue. I come when you come back, I think we should clarify for the board what the timelines are related to that and I think the board should then give some some guidance on that issue because we we have made significant investments in this in this planning process. Yes, we have and there there are real time frames behind the long-term master space planning process for this for the parks that we don't want to miss those those deadlines. and maybe the board says, "No, we don't want to map it anyway." But that there's a big uh milestone coming up. That would be good for the board to know that and get and get real good direction on that. All right. Thank you. Thank you. Anybody need a break? We're going to take a threeminut break. Colin There is no such thing. Alison Morning Alison dabble them down, Mr. Chair. All three of us. Hey, Heather. Heather, you're going to go on double secret probation. Yeah, he did. We're gabling. Okay. Okay. Good morning, chair and commissioners. Um I'm Allison Strike, the executive director for Carver County CDA, and we are here today to talk about our 2026 budget and levy request. Um I'm going to introduce the staff that I have with me. Um, I have Janette Meyer, uh, our director of HR and operations, Chenica Bumpers, our director of housing, Melody Bridgeman, our director of community development, and the newest member to our team is Britney Larson. She is our new director of finance. Welcome. Um, and I'm going to turn it over to Greg Anderson, the chair of our board. Even better, boy power. I didn't get the wear black combo, apparently. So, Well, good morning, chair and commissioners. Um, thank you for the opportunity to present today. As Allison said, I'm Greg Anderson. I'm the current chair of the Carver County CDA. Today's work session is an important step in our annual budget review and levy process. We're here to provide an overview of the CDA's 26 budget and levy request and highlight some key initiatives and gather your input. I want to thank administer Hemsy and Assistant Administrator Katabi and the county board for hosting this session earlier than in previous years. This early collaboration ensures the alignment and transparency as we move forward. The CDA's had a busy and productive year launching new programs like the down payment assistance program, expanding our land trust home ownership opportunities, and continuing construction on new multifamily housing. If you guys haven't been by Carver lately, um it's kind of exciting what's going on out there. We're excited about the progress that we've made in 2025 and we're looking forward to 26 with optimism and a strategic focus. And with that, we'll walk you through the highlights of our strategic plan, the budget priorities, and levy request for 2026. Allison's going to take us through the details, and we welcome your questions or any feedback throughout the process. Thanks. Thanks, Greg. Um just the brief history, the uh Carver County Ozen Redevelopment Authority was created in 1980. We received our first levy in 1992 for payable 1993 taxes. Um in 2001, we were granted EDA powers and in 2006 the H officially changed their name to the Community Development Agency. Uh the mission of the CDA is to provide affordable housing opportunities and foster community and economic development. Um as Greg mentioned, we did um adopt our 2024 to 2027 strategic plan at the end of 24. Um and then we provided an update to the board on our goals and initiatives at the end of May 2025. These are the four overarching categories of our new strategic plan. Um, so I'm going to start by talking about community development. Uh, the community growth uh partnership initiative was created and funded by the CDA in January of 2016. The goals of the program are to increase the tax base and improve the quality of life in Carver County through three specific strategies. affordable housing development, uh, job creation and redevelopment or community development, uh, through direct grants to the Carver County cities and townships. To date, the CDA has awarded 32 pre-development grants totaling $236,680 and $2.172 million in community development grants to the cities and township. And these funds have leveraged over $225 million in Carver County cities and townships since its inception. Next stage um we continue to support Next Stage uh who provides bis uh businesses with no uh cost business consulting. Planning resources include writing business plans, refining concept, testing concept feasibility and compiling financial projects. Starting business resources include helping select appropriate an appropriate business entity, licensing compliance um and um accounting system support and then as well as direct financing once the business is up and running. Support includes building revenue, managing costs, securing capital, and providing access to state and local financing. Uh the last four quarters um so that's through uh quarter 1 of 2025. Next Stage has assisted 69 clients and invested just over $2.4 million in financing. And Next Stage will be launching CEO 1.5 in 2025. And that's to help existing businesses with continued focus growth growth. And the small pilot group training program um is intended to empower established small businesses. Uh owners identify growth and management opportunities to boost profitability. And then the local housing trust fund. Um the local housing trust fund was established by the county in 2024. We allocated $100,000 in 2024 and 32,500 in 2025 of our levy funding. Um and we are currently working on an expansion with our Beyond New Beginnings partnership uh for the use of the money that's currently in the local housing trust fund. the Carver County subsurface treatment system. We partner with Carver County Environmental Services to provide residents with lowinterest loans for improvements to failing septic systems and well wells. Um we verify the uh applicant's income for this program. Uh our community land trust program. So we administer the land trust program which provides access to home ownership for low to moderate income uh households who might not otherwise qualify for homes in the community. Um, we ensure permanent affordability by retaining ownership of the land and removing it from the real estate purchase. Homeowners for this program must be at or below 80% of area median income, uh, receive a certification from an a home buyer education course and be mortgage ready. So, currently we have 42 homes in our land trust program. Um, and they are in Chesca, Cologne, Mayor, Waconia, and Watertown. Um, and since its inception, the land trust has has served over 74 households. Um, we will have an additional five we have an additional five homes that are in development right now. Four are in Chesca. One is the rehab of the historic Erns House with three new units being built on that site. Um, and then we have another one under construction in the city of Watertown. And then we'll be adding another six homes through a home buyer initiative program where we got funded from Minnesota housing in 2024. And with that program, um, we identify the home buyer, we give them a commitment, and then they go out and buy the home and we bring that into the land trust. And then the Minnesota housing rehab programs. Uh we administer some housing rehab loan and emergency and accessibility loan programs throughout Carver County. Um and they provide deferred load financing to eligible lowincome home homeowners who aren't able to secure um home improvement financing in the private sector. the local affordable housing aid or LAA which is the money coming from the new sales tax in the metro. Um we signed the agreement between the CDA and the county um on April 30th and then we we are administering 70% of the county's LAA money. Um we launched our down payment assistance closing cost assistance program in June uh 2025. Um and just a note that this is just pass through funding. Um so the first initiative of of these pass through pass through grants as I mentioned is the DPA program. Um this initiative will provide financing for qualified first-time homeowners to use towards down payment and or closing costs um for homes located in Carver County with a maximum sale price of 415,000. Eligible applicants can receive up to 25% of the purchase price uh or not to exceed 50,000. Loans are forgiv a forgivable 20-year 0% interest rate loans um with 5% of the original loan being forgiven um annually. Uh we anticipate providing $1 million in down payment assistance to assist 20 households achieve their dream of home ownership in Carver County. Um, and as of today, we have 32 applications, three reservations, and two of those reservations have a closing date. This is just our list of all the CDA owned properties, the number of units, and when we acquired or built them. Um, and we had a new map created showing where all of those properties are located throughout the county. Um, I have a typo on this one that I will change because none of these projects were funded with ARPA money. Um, the remaining projects are all the Carver County CDA housing project funds. Um, so just an update. Um, Carver Place, that money has been received by the CDA, put into the project. It is under construction. It will be opening September 1st. Um, Carver Oaks, we've received the money for the project as well. That project's under construction and it will be opening March 1st. And then Trails Edge Senior, we will be submitting an application to Minnesota Housing on uh July 10th. And for Trails Edge C Senior, in order for that project to be more competitive and to reduce the gap, we reduce the number of units in this project from 76 to 43. Uh Carver Place, as I mentioned, will be opening on September 1st. It'll consist of 60 units with a range of 1 to three bedrooms affordable affordable to households at or below 60% of area median income which is currently 55,620 for a household of one and 92,160 for a household of six. And then there'll be seven units of section 811. Um that is for households between the age of 18 and 61 um where there is a disability and there are supportive services for that. and then seven units for high priority homeless funded through housing supports from the county with the CAP agency as the service provider. Um and those 811 units and the high priority homeless target households at or below 30% of area median income. Carver Oaks is a 43 unit senior property serving households at or below 50% of area median income which is currently 43,500 for a household of one and 62,100 for a household of four. The project will consist of 32 onebedroom and 11 two-bedroom units. Um and then we will also have seven units of VASH funding in this uh property. So that will target homeless veterans. It is project based vouchers. uh residents pay 30% of their income and then they will have supportive housing services through the VA. Just an update um on the CDA office space. Um so as you may or may not know, the CDA owns the retail space within Brookyard that is currently leased by Subway. Um at the direction of our board, we gave Subway notice that we we will be ending their lease in March of 2026. Um, and we are currently working with an architect to expand into that space to allow for growth of the agency without taking on any debt by moving into a new building. Um, and we anticipate using the funds from the sale of the arboritum houses uh to pay for the construction costs to renovate this uh to suit our needs. So, we're anticipating the cost to renovate to be about 175 and we're currently showing that we'll be owed about 190,000 um on the arboritum houses. We've sold four of them and we still have one left to sell. Um then just to talk a little bit about some of the uncertainty that the CDA is facing right now. Um, so this shows the total CDA revenue um for all of our CDA owned and managed properties exclusive of parking in 2024 was just over $9.6 million. Uh, rental assistance made up 30% of that at just over $3 million. Uh, the current administration's full budget requests would slash funding for HUD rental assistance uh, programs by 26.72 billion from the previous year. So, an unprecedented 43% cut. Um, and it would redesign HUD rental assistance programs entirely. So, under the proposal, HUD's housing choice voucher program, their public housing, projectbased rental assistance, uh, section 202 housing for the elderly and section 811 housing for persons with disabilities would be combined under one state rental assistance block grant funded at about 31.79 billion. While this proposal would prioritize elderly and seniors, uh a 43% cut to this would be devastating for the residents that the CDA serves. Um adding on to that the proposed cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, and food support. Um so we've been doing some contingency planning with our board. Um and some of the immediate steps we've taken is to limit our capital improvement projects in 2025 to only those that are deemed absolutely necessary. Um, and then as we begin our 2026 budget process, we will be reviewing all light line items for cost-saving measures. All right. So, in accordance with Minnesota statute, the CDA is authorized to uh levy special benefit taxes subject to approval from the county Carver County Board of Commissioners. Per the formula and statute, which we are eligible for a maximum levy of 0185% of the estimated market value. Um, we're eligible for a maximum levy of 4,160,545, uh, which is a 16% increase from the 2020 levy. Uh we held a work session with our board on April 24th and the board approved our 2026 budget at our June 26th meeting. Um and we will request the county board to approve it our levy at the September 2nd board meeting. So for our 2026 budget, the CDA is requesting a levy of 3,827,073, which is a 6.8% levy increase. um which is a $243,671 increase from the 2025 approved levy. And the impact on a $492,700 value home is an increase of 2 uh $2.95 for a total of $72.67 per year. The total 2026 budget for the CDA is uh just over $9.5 million of which the levy represents 20%. Funds from the levy increase would be utilized to offset increased payroll and benefit costs. Um so this just shows the breakdown. In 2025, our entire levy went toward administrative uh to salary and benefits and that would be the same for 2026. Um so this slide is not specific to the levy. This is just specific to our budget. Um but we thought that the board would like to know um that we are able to increase the community growth partnership initiative and the local housing trust fund. If you recall in 2026 we cut both of those programs. uh going into 2026 um as another revenue source, the CDA will be adding in management fees from Carver Place and Carver Oaks and then just an overall increase as our rents are going up at our properties. So between those um those the changes in the management fees, we are able to increase the community growth partnership and the local housing trust fund back to 2024 levels. Um and then the office rent increase as we take over the subway uh space. We are able to absorb the cost cost of that increase in rent by reducing a budget line item for temporary office admin help. This slide just shows the breakdown of uh CDA revenue sources. So you can see the levies 20%, state, local and operating is 20% and then housing makes up 60% of our revenue. So this just shows the changes in admin from 2025 to 2026. Administrative revenues include pass through grant funds, grant administration, operating revenues which include management fees and enterprise chargebacks which is like payroll benefits and any shared expenses with the properties. Um housing revenues are just the rental income from the properties. and then our levy. Um and then again, same thing for administrative um on the expense side, those salary benefits, um pass through grants, the community growth partnership, the local housing trust fund, and our community development expenses. Um housing expenses are just the expense direct expenses of the properties and then those bond expenses are the annual CDA levy contributions that we make to any properties that are funded with county or city geo bonds. Uh this slide shows just a history of the levy approval going back to 20 uh 2015. And so the action before you now is to provide any input, comments, or questions on our proposed budget and levy. Okay, any questions? Do we rather go back and talk about Baylor Park? Commissioner Anderson. All right, Chair Workman. Um, I had the pleasure of um, seeing this presentation a couple times. Uh, and um, I really am uh, I appreciate all your work and everything that you do. I did have a conversation with Allison on how do we trim this budget anymore and um, feel really comfortable that she has made some really smart financial decisions um, in order to, you know, keep costs contained as as much as possible. um especially with the the subway lease um moving into that space versus um taking on another lease um with all the uncertainty and that that's happening. I think um she's also made some other decisions just to a as administrator Hemsy would say create opportunities because you you never know what's going to happen. So, um I I I feel like this is um as stable as we can get with with this budget and and just appreciate your work for the community and just being fiscally responsible with your funds. Appreciate that. Thank you, Mr. Fe. Mr. Chair, I also had the opportunity to sit down with Allison and also Commissioner Anderson and and go through the budget and we talked and had multiple questions and and whatnot. And I think the absorbing that subway space is a a great opportunity for the CDA to be able to expand their footprint where they currently are. and and I too support this increase of the 6.8%. Okay. Does this mean the big new building we are talking about the last several years that's sort of out of the picture now? Yeah. Yes. Okay. Where's Subway going to go? Not your problem. Sure. Hopefully not much lighter way. chair of answering that. Yes, there's empty space in the field for property. There's empty space. There's actually quite a few potential opportunities for that. And there they've got I mean, again, their lease is not up till March, so they've got time. Yeah, I'm sure they appreciate that. I get in there once in a while. Yeah, I'm hungry all the time. Commissioner Lynch, anything? Um, I think Allison has done a wonderful job. I will uh at at this point I think that they they've done a wonderful job and we'll have to see. We'll have to run it past our administrator who has been raining on our parade uh consistent consistently. Was it rain on that? I think he rained on the parade early this year. Good job that whole time. I I would say, Mr. Chair, uh they're they're an independent body as you know. Uh they've done nice jobs going through this. I like the idea of uh increasing the grants to the cities too. I hear a lot of good things about about that seed money and how that propels them to do better things. I think it's good. Obviously, it follows the pattern that we had laid out there. Doesn't mean that we will do that, but it's a good benchmark and I think it is reflective of what we're we're experiencing with our wages and benefits. Uh that built into the recipe here. That's the most significant pressure. So yeah, nice job. So I know I won't rain on their prey. Allison, this is your first one, right? My first solo? Yeah. Without Julie? Yes. And with And with no Karen. Mhm. Um because she they got used to coming in here. 24%. We're going to do 24%. Or something. It was always seemed like it was a pretty high number and we're all kind of sitting back. So this looks this looks good. Nothing against Julie. Hope is Julie doing good. Anybody? Yes, I talk to her regularly. She has a new grandbaby. Really? Yes, she does. Uh she's not being a hermit or something. No. Um but yeah, so this this looks like the trend that we're on as uh Mr. Heamy said about wages and benefits and everything else. And so, Mr. Chair, I neglected to thank Nick uh for making connections. Yes. To the CDA. That was uh one of our plan items was let's improve those connections. Uh we've sat down kind of quarterly and Allison and I just talk about meshing plans together as as well as we could and nice to see the the other folks in the room here. That's part of the that's part of the plan. Let's make sure there's appearances and get to know each other if nothing else. So that that's working pretty well. So great to hear. Great to see. Good job, Nick. And uh congrats to the new finance director over there, Wizard. Week four. Week four. Anybody got any other questions? We don't need to vote on this as a work session. So, uh lots of puzz. Correct. All right. Thank you. Well, thank you guys. Appreciate it coming in. This meeting is adjourned. All right. This work session is adjourned. Work session. Work session isn't for discretion. It's still