[music] [music] [music] [music] I feel I feel you. We'll call the city council regular meeting to order for Monday, January 5th, 2026. Would everyone please stand for the pledge of >> allegiance? To the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all. >> Call the role, please. >> Council member Wilson, >> here. Council member Gordes >> here. >> Mayor Hoy >> here. >> Council member Bernett >> here. Council member Lean >> here. >> All right. Any changes to the agenda? Nick or Holly. Amy. >> All right. Seeing no changes to the agenda, I would seek a motion to approve. >> Motion to approve. >> Second. >> Motion by Jake, second by Steve. All in favor say I. >> I. >> I. >> All right. Moving on. Item 51 under our announcements and commendations is Dakota County update from County Commissioner Mike Slavic. Welcome, sir. >> Thank you. Uh good evening, mayor, council members, city staff, those in the audience, and those watching online. Uh as was said, my name is Mike Slavic, uh District 1 County Commissioner representing Hastings, Farmington, all of the townships and uh small cities in the southern half of Dakota County. So, 21 cities and townships. Uh the largest being the city of Farmington. Uh thank you very much for having me here to give a county update as I do a couple times a year. Uh it's certainly my pleasure and honor to represent all of you and to be here to give a little update of what's been happening in Dakota County. Uh we've tried to make this happen at the December meeting, but due to some scheduling conflicts had to be here today. Uh but happy new year to all of you. Um just want to start with just a little bit of a recap on 2025 and then some things looking forward. Um that's I guess we've used it out of the county board this past year that this was probably a roller coaster of a year. So I think that we uh we started the year so much uh when I was started the year I became chair in 2025 and we really put our focus was going to be on the partnerships that we must continue to grow and uh strive for success uh between local governments between our business community uh between our residents. So that was really our focus. This was going to be the year of partnerships. And I think that we that was where our state of the county was that we realized that um and when times get tough that's when you need to figure out how to get smart and how to go and figure out to do things. So we really worked and we do appreciate our partnerships with our school districts, our cities, our townships and the business community. And uh we put a lot of our energy and emphasis on that. And then just about a month after that, the governor's budget came out. and the budgeters governor's budget had about a $300 million shift to counties uh that were currently paid for by state dollars. Um uh you may or may not be aware about 70% of what county government does is mandated by either the state or federal government. And if with this shift in here you would have gotten pretty close to 75% would have been um mandated by the state uh by the state and federal government and paid for that way. So it was uh kind of an all hands-on deck. We had to do certainly a shift in how we address our budget knowing that uh we already were experiencing as cities, as schools were the some of the impacts of of the state trifecta, the federal trifecta were already having some impacts on what our budgets were going to look like in the coming years. We knew that we were already in some challenges. Um, but it got especially worse with the governor's proposal and we went, the end of the story was that we ultimately were able to get a two-year reprieve to go and form a group to try to figure out how to save that money in health and human services. And uh, most of those uh, shifts were put off in a two-year delay, but an automatic shift to county government if they are not done. Uh, if we can't figure out a way to go and and uh, streamline those services. And the challenge that came in there was this was not to go and make services better, but it only to go in and who's going to pay for them. So, it was a shift in what was paid for by the state is now paid for by by local governments. And you all know that happens very often. And uh we went and were able to put a little bit of time to try to work on on figuring out that. But that was only part of the challenge on what that was able to stop off that portion. And then in um July, the federal government did its version of shifts and and mandates that went on to the uh state uh onto counties and was as a result of that that went and kind of had us sharpen our pencils one more time. So I just want to give you an update of what has happened and what you may all see as part of uh a services within Dakota County. So the county board worked with leadership with staff uh to really try to figure out what was not mandated and what could be the cuts that we would make. and the county board went and did a hiring freeze. Uh we went and eliminated permanently 44 positions and hiring zero new employees for 2026. We actually had about 57 positions open, but we reallocated about 13 of them that needed to go for things that were different services for this year. So the the net is about uh 57 positions uh but 44 of them permanently eliminated. We had an impact. We've been very proud of what we've been able to try to address on some of our homeless shelter work and some of that part there. That is not a mandated service by the state or federal government and that is going to see some reworks on what that does and that will certainly have an impact um throughout the county. But that is some of the the aspects of what we are going in there. But overall we were able to um do the things that we felt for 2026 could be mostly lowhanging fruit because we think we found a solution on how to still provide the the services related to shelter and many of those. So this year was challenging and difficult in terms of how to get the budget but at the same time um this was the year that kind of addressed some of the uh the easier things. the coming 2027 will be even more challenging and that is mostly because uh many of the proposed or many of the the parts of the bill in the federal level from July don't go into effect until 2027 and 2028. A quick example of that is um I think everyone in this room would say if you are an able-bodied uh working uh individual who's receiving government health insurance that you should be able to either volunteer or work. That is a requirement in SNAP. It's been part of SNAP since uh the Clinton administration in the 1990s. The difference on and by the way to mandate to figure out are you employed? Are you volunteering this many hours? That's a county service that's required to go and make this sure that happens. The difference though is that when that went into place, it was staggered over a number of years to do that verification to get it up to that point. um that the switch turns on in 2027 and that is the if we would follow the same standards that's the equivalent of up to uh 50 to 70 positions that we need to hire just to address that one mandate. So that that certainly puts the county board and our budgets in a in a difficult time. As I said 70% of that budget is mandated. 30% are the things people like like libraries, like the county fair, like uh 4. Uh those are the things that like parks and trails. Those are the things that we don't have to do that we were tried to hold harmless because they are also the on every survey we do the number one thing that people say they value about Dakota County. So I just want to say in there that we appreciate because we know that uh our these costs are going up. You see it in the media that we've been able to work as partners and and what can happen in there and we really are going to need your help in 2020 for 2027 in this coming year and I know that we've got a good team that can make that happen. Second thing that I want to talk about that happened that really some emphasis in 2025 that we did was related to mental health. Um we went and in 2025 opened up the recovery and crisis center up in West St. Paul. So that is a 16 bed facility in Dakota County. We are lacking beds for individuals who are in mental health crisis. We're also lacking spaces when you are in a crisis of of now and you need to address that. So, uh, the crisis and recovery center, which I would encourage you to get a tour if you have not. Um, it is not only 16 beds, but it's also partnered with guild and a 24h hour to be able to go in and be able to there's people there at all times to be able to be kind of partnered with our crisis line, the hotline number we have to be able to address that. But that was a substantial investment partnership with the state, the federal government and local county dollars to go and say that this is a growing need in our communities and what can we do um to go and expand beds and that. So that was one thing that we were able to add there. The second thing that happened um we put on an addition to the jail. It's our integrated health unit which is uh we are seeing more and more of the individuals who are in jail who they're committing crimes related more to mental health issues not necessarily the crime that they're doing. And um we go in, they spend their time in jail and if we were not we were not addressing the problem they're released and they're coming back and they're uh doing crime again. So, we put on a $16 million addition uh which is a um a wing, a pod of within the jail that is addressing individuals who have mental health and health issues to be able to address that, to be able to uh address them so that when they are released and they go back into the community, they're not going to come back. Because you want to talk about one of the most expensive things of where your county tax dollars go, it's our jail. What we spend on jail would blow your mind. uh for an individual who spends uh their time incarcerated in in our county jail, that's nothing to say what happens at a state or federal level. And if we can go and make sure that their uh these individuals don't come back, uh that is a success story and a true value and not only to go and make that individual's life better, but also to go in and uh save the taxpayers uh some dollars. The next thing I want to bring up in 2025 was related to the environmental resources. So, Farmington residents should be very excited after about 25 years of planning. We are looking we are um have awarded a contract to break ground and build a second facility for a recycling zone. So those of you who go up to Egan right now to drop off your uh your your recycling, your your uh appliances, all that sort right now. Um that serves the northern part of the county, but there's really nothing that serves the southern part of the county. Uh we partnered with Scott County to go in and build a joint uh dual county facility. We looked at both sides of Scott and Dakota. Ultimately found a location in Lakeville and uh we will be breaking ground as soon as the ground is soft again. Uh so that has been a 25-year process that uh project to be able to get through and uh we call it RZ2, the recycling zone 2 that we will be building serving the southern part of um uh Dakota County. So we're very excited for that because that has been a growing need. And the reality is if you don't want to go and drive all the way up to Egan, you're just going to go and find it maybe potentially on a ditch or a road that everyone knows about. Um and then with that, I just want to the last thing that I'll share is uh of 2025 is Denmark Trail. Uh that is the um workforce housing that uh we partnered with the city Dakota County CDA to build 40 units of uh housing where you must have a job, you have a family. Um, and you realize that many of the jobs that we have just are not head of household incomes. Yet, they are still so valuable. They're working in our nursing homes. They're working as pairs in our schools. They're working as bus drivers. And they are not necessarily able to afford the the rents or the cost of um home ownership. However, they are a vital part of our community. And uh so we built an additional unit uh development of 40 units. And those are onebedroom, two-bedroom, threebedroom, and fourbedroom units. And I think I want to just start out by acknowledging that our CDA staff, community development staff have said that Farmington was one of the best cities they've ever worked with in terms of uh going through the permitting process and that there was a hiccup that had nothing to do with local government, but not every every community has been great in support. So, I just thank the city, the council and staff for being able to get that. The other thing that I'll make note of that point is it's fully rented. We're going to have an official ribbon cutting this spring when it gets warm, but it it did we did get everybody in by late fall. Um, and the other thing is that Farmington had struggled a little bit because, you know, not everybody necessarily knew about where Farmington was. It's a wait list of almost six years to get into this type of housing, but it was very virtually no wait list at all in the city of Farmington and some other communities. uh we did a pilot where we actually created a Farmington um uh list of and we have 900 families in just that that want to go and and live in in the developments within Farmington. So this is addressing a great need but this is also when not every job can be uh the pay that can be able to afford a house in Farmington. This allows you to get there to be able to save and then eventually bring not only have your kids in the school district but able to eventually buy a house in Hast or in excuse me in Farmington. The that's kind of a little bit of what happened in 2025 of of note there. And I just want to go very briefly because I'm well over my five minutes and I know I don't have a bunch but um in 2026 moving forward it's going to be continuing the partnerships that we have. I think that we're going to have to figure out ways to um work on our budgets collectively because I we've seen what's happened at all levels of local government and what the impacts been on our property taxes. And I think that um frankly many of our residents are feeling fatigue on what that is. But we still know that we must have public safety um at its best level. We must have roads in good condition. We we must be that community that people want to be part of and that county that people want to be part of. So, uh, being able to work together on that, I think, is a is the work that we're going to do. Some great examples of that have happened in within the transportation realm. We're not going to be burdened with road construction at the uh, county city level. I know there'll be city projects, but a lot of what we are doing in this coming year is going to be planning for the future for projects that are going to be on county roads. So, that will be really the focus of that part in there. Um, and then I would just go in and say that uh, uh, I'm looking forward to good year. We'll have some very good stuff in there. Um, you'll see me as much as you need me to and I'll certainly be uh present as I've been in the past and um but I want to just thank you very much for the opportunity to be here to to visit. Anyone wants to feel free to reach out to me uh send me an email or or phone call that works as well from the audience or those of you. You all know how to get a hold of me, but they can too. So, thank you for your time, mayor and councel. >> Thank you, sir. Steve, any comments or questions for the commissioner? >> Yeah, Mike. uh you know your partnership with the city and you know you talked about being here a couple times a year but you're at different community events whether it's band concerts events uh ribbon cutings um choir concerts I mean we see all over the place so we really appreciate that I do want to go back to your point about the mandates and I happen to notice our state representative here and I know that he gets it because I've talked to him a couple times so he understands this point but I really would like to see a county and Dakota County City partnership um on a legislative front and maybe that's our a coalition of us going to the capital to meet with our Dakota County legislators because there are too many representatives that you know get really excited about all the exciting things that they can implement but then it gets passed down to cities and counties which we have to deal with you have to deal with and I don't think our voice is as loud as it could be um in terms of advocating what the impact is going to be for our communities from a tax burden perspective. So um you know just kind of an idea to th float out there that maybe there's a coalition of us from you know from Dakota County and you know like yourself and a few of us from Dakota County cities that can go up to the capital and meet with our folks. And mayor, if I could quickly say on that, you know, so Dakota County is we're 8% of the population and roughly 8 plus% of the uh um of the re of the tax revenue that's generated for all of the state of Minnesota comes from Dakota County. And uh there are other regions that are very good about having special days at the capital. And I know that there's city day at the capital and county day at the capital and township day at the capital, but we've been just trying to figure out some conversation about possibly getting a Dakota County day that actually brings our now we do have issues that are in conflict with each other as local government, but but there are points where if there are some things where we can find some common ground and and meet with our delegation that way and then be able to say but but I I think that's a wonderful idea. We've tried some of that legislative breakfast that we've had about once I think Lynn, you've been at it a few times where we've had that up in West St. Paul, invite our delegation to go and we've had all the levels of government. So, we've been doing I think that still is on the plan. Uh but I think actually rather than making our delegate legislators come to us, I think we actually have to go to them. I like that idea. Thank you. Okay. >> Um no questions from me tonight. Just thank you again, Mike, for coming tonight and always being a present uh partner in in local government. >> Appreciate it. Thank you. >> No questions for me. Just thanks for being here. >> In case anyone ever wondered how much Mike is actually dedicated to Farmington Eve and substitute teaches in our schools with an eight of 10 review from my for my son. >> Eight out of 10. Yes. >> So >> that was because I told him that he had to follow the rules, right? >> That's probably true. >> Yes. But no, I really appreciate how much we see you around here. It's it's not hard to know that you're here and have our best interest in mind. So, I appreciate it every year. >> But not every day is always uh easy and you know the jobs we all do as electeds and just the it's it's a tougher time um than it has been in past years and all that. So, I think that, you know, when we can be positive and try to find find the good, it it certainly has, you know, there's there's enough negative going on in the world. So, how we can go and work together and be positive is is a very important thing to do. I just echo what my peers have said. Um, you know, the six, seven years I've sat up here and you've continued to deliver um, day in and day out. I mean, you're not just present, but you're active, right? Showing up is one thing. Being a part of it is something completely different and you continue to do that. Um, I will share a little something about Denmark Trail though and I I remember when the conversation initially started. Um, you and I believe it Tony was there, Tony Shler from the CDA, and there was another representative and the comment was made, we just need a city that's willing to work with us. And I remember looking around going, really? That's that's all you need is someone who's willing to work with you? You're like, yeah, we we don't have cities that want to partner with us. Okay. Yes. And then the project was done. Um it was fascinating to me that that that was an actual roadblock, right? It was just sitting down at the table. We both understand there's a need. Um that need was met. You it you know went through the funding sources that you had and um it's great to see a project like that come to fruition um when we are the ones that get in the way from that. Um, but that again is just a testament of your awareness of what our community needs. Um, you listen to the residents, you you continue to show up, you're active, you do all the work. Um, >> one damn tough hole to fill. >> So, you just stay there for a while. All right. >> I appreciate even though the Freudian slip of Hastings went in there. >> It's okay. >> It is very hard when you when you're a lifer there. It's hard, right? [laughter] >> I get it. No. And and knowing that, right? Like I guess you know to speak candidly uh knowing where your heart lies with Hastings and uh feeling like you practically are resident of Farmington because you are everywhere all the time and we appreciate it. Sincerely, thank you for everything that you and your peers do. >> I appreciate that. It it I didn't I don't always come here I don't come here for the accolades but it is I really do appreciate the kind words. So thank you. >> Welld deserving. >> Thank you. >> Thank you sir. All right, our next item on the agenda is 52, which is our municipal separate storm sewer system, the MS4 annual review. All right. Uh, good evening, council members, uh, and mayor Hoy. My name is McKenna Anderson. I am the city's water resources specialist. I will be presenting tonight a year in review of our Farmington's MS4. A little MS4 permit refresher. MS4 stands for municipal separate storm sewer system. And that is a system owned or operated by a public entity designed or used for collecting or transporting storm water. The MS4 permit is issued by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency or MPCA. Permits are issued every five years um and are broken down into a number of requirements mainly consisting of a stormwater pollution prevention plan mapping and six minimum control measures or MCMS that we are I'll discuss in the slides next slides and the purpose of this permit is to reduce the amount of sediment and other pollutants entering state waters from storm water systems and there's a few different ways that the MPCA enforces compliance with the permit. One is annual reporting where we were we are required to report um how we are specifically meeting all of the requirements every year. However, this has been on pause since 2021. Um so, and we haven't had an update on when that's going to come back, but we are still required to keep all of that information and documentation from those prior years. Uh but however, the biggest way that this is enforced is through auditing. Um Farmington was last audited in 2015. So, we are due for an audit. Um, that's just an more in-depth way that the MPCA um enforces the permit where we actually need to provide um documentation and evidence per se of how we are meeting the requirements. Um, and they also, you know, might come um and make site visits to the city as well. So, how is Farmington meeting the requirements? Uh we have a stormwater pollution prevention plan that outlines um every single way that we're meeting the requirements of the permit. This is available on our website for the public to see as well and also serves as a reference document um for city staff such as myself. Uh we are required to keep updated maps of our storm water infrastructure. This includes our pipes, ponds, outfalls, um catch basins um and with each development adding um that infrastructure onto the maps as well. And then we are also required to keep um a map of all the um areas within the city that have a higher potential for elicit discharges, whether that be in an industrial area um or per business uh within the city. MCM1 has to do with public education and outreach. So we're required to educate on pet waste, deicing salt, yard waste, elicit discharges, and residential BMPs. And we do that through a number of ways. Our current newspaper that's sent out quarterly each year has information on all of these topics as well as our social media making periodically or periodically making um posts on there. Um the past two years that I've worked here, I've also hosted a table at the Dakota County Fair with all this information as well as handouts. Um we also include all this information on our website and have uh distributed letters to businesses on these topics as well. MCM2 is public participation and involvement. uh we are required to at least offer one volunteer opportunity or public involvement opportunity to the public related to storm water pollution. Um and we actually um offer a number of them or adopt a pond program. Residents can adopt a pond either in their neighborhood or somewhere they frequent often um to help keep it clean and maintained. Similarly, they can also adopt a storm drain and keep that cleaned and maintained as well. Um and then if um residents don't want to make that big of a commitment, we also have our annual pond and park cleanup day uh where we do supply the or provide the necessary supplies um where residents and volunteers can go out and clean a park or a pond. Um, we also offer a storm drain stenciling program where we provide stencil kits to uh those who wish to stencil a message next to a storm drain such as drains to stream keep it clean. Um, this is so when people walk by um or drive by, they notice the message and um hopefully it serves as a reminder that anything that goes down the drains um can potentially pollute our water bodies. We also participate in the wetland health evaluation program through Dakota County where uh volunteers can help monitor wetland health um on a number of our wetlands within the city. And we also partner with landscaping for clean water through the soil and water conservation district um that helps residents um construct rain gardens or native gardens on their property to help with storm water runoff. And then also we do provide public comment opportunity on our SWIP each year um where the public can provide suggestions or edits to how we are complying with these requirements. And I did just want to point out some of the numbers uh through these opportunities. Uh we have a total of 11 ponds adopted about a 100red storm drains adopted. um this year garnered about 150 participants in our pond and park cleanup day. Um we have about 60 storm drains stencled throughout the city um with seven participants um that did that. Uh we've um have four wetlands that were monitored through the wetland health evaluation program and seven participants on that team. And then landscaping for clean water just in Farmington alone uh there were 13 participants. So great to see that there are people um who want to be involved and obviously um there's only room to grow. So MCM3 has to do with elicit discharge detection and elimination. Um so again, this involves educating not only the public but our city staff for what to look out for um when out in the field. Um, basically anything other than rainwater or snow melts that goes down a storm drain is considered an illicit discharge. So being aware of this um and helping to report it goes a long way um in helping to also mitigate storm water pollution. And if there is an illicit discharge that occurs within the city, we are required to document it. So documenting what happened um what the spill was or what [snorts] went down either a storm drain or entered into a water body and what was done about it. And we also have a spill response plan for city staff to follow if they um do come across a spill or an illicit discharge. MCM 4 and five um revolve around construction site storm water runoff. Uh the biggest thing is MPCA also has a separate construction storm water permit that developers must follow if they're disturbing equal to or greater than one acre of land or less than an acre but part of a larger common plan of development. Um and as part of our MS4 permit, we are required to enforce this CSW permit. Um and enforcement includes plan reviews and inspections. Um each site um is excuse me each site is um required to have a sight specific storm water pollution prevention plan, erosion and sediment controls and permanent storm water treatment systems if um adding an acre or more of imperous surface. So reviewing the plans ahead of time to make sure they have all the necessary controls for their site and then inspections during construction to make sure that throughout construction they're complying >> [snorts] >> um and and are mitigating storm water runoff from their site. Some construction inspection highlights. There were 17 total projects in 2025. 187 inspections were completed by the city on these projects. Um, of those 187 inspections, 47 informal notices were provided um to developers. That usually consists of either a verbal um warning or an email that states the violation that they were out of compliance with um and a time frame to get that corrected. Um, if those don't get corrected, a notice of violation is sent, which is just a more formal document that lists out those same violations and an additional time frame to get it corrected. So, of those 47 informal notices, only six were um elevated to a notice of violation. And then if that still doesn't um gain compliance, we do have the ability to charge their escrow to hire um someone to complete the corrective action for them. But as you can see, we have not had to use that option, which is great. So things are getting corrected if there are um non-compliance, but most of the time uh our developers are complying. Um I did just want to point out that two uh city-owned projects this year, our 2025 street improvements and Duchain Parkway and Spruce Street intersection improvements were inspected by MPCA construction stormwater staff. and both projects received a letter of acknowledgement for 100% compliance with the CSW permit. So, a little pat on the back for us and some bragging rights um there, but also it just shows that um we want to set the example that if you know we're out there enforcing this on um our developers projects that we're also complying with those same requirements. MCM6 pollution prevention and good housekeeping for municipal operations. Uh this includes best management practices to prevent or reduce storm water pollution. Things like street sweeping, um erosion and sediment controls on city projects, proper storage of equipment, vehicles and materials, chloride and pet waste management, and also making sure that we're providing um the necessary staff training. So an annual environmental compliance training, elicit discharge detection and elimination training, smart salting, and also training on erosion sediment controls. A big part of this MCM is stormwater infrastructure inspections and maintenance. We are required to inspect all storm water ponds and outfalls at least once per permit term or every 5 years. And we are required to inspect all sump catch basins yearly. And then depending on what those um inspections identify, we are required to perform the necessary maintenance. So just wanted to point out um some numbers here. We have over 200 ponds within the city, 56 outfalls, and over 200 sump catch basins. So even spread out over the five years, there's still plenty to inspect and maintain, um which is a big part of of our storm water system. um and managing stormwater pollution in general. So in addition to how we are meeting our MS4 requirements, I did want to take this opportunity opportunity to highlight several projects that we have completed this past year. Um and I do want to recognize Ben Humley, our city's natural resources specialist, and all of our public works staff for their contributions to each of these projects as well. So, as the Spruce and Denmark restoration, the area highlighted in green was um a buckthorn forest, which buckthornne is a highly invasive plant species that crowds out native vegetation and degrades natural ecosystems. We wanted to target this area due to the proximity to the Vermillion River, which is a major watershed. And our goal with this was to restore vegetation or restore to native vegetation to overall promote a healthier more sustainable environment for plants and wildlife. Um and not to mention that native species actually help to better absorb um storm water more effectively helping to reduce the amount of pollutants entering the vermilion. So these are the before pictures on the right hand side there um that show the buckthornne forest. Um and then afterwards which I'm pretty sure um just due to the location most have probably seen. Um we did forestry mow this area and then seated with a wet prairie seed mix of native grasses and flowers. The picture on the right hand um side on the bottom shows a blackeyed susan in bloom which is great. And then um more plants will also establish you know just as years go by takes some time. The next project is east east stormwater pond restoration. Uh this location had a small remnant burr oak population but was otherwise populated by buckthornne willows box eldelders and just other undesirable vegetation. This was also targeted for being the last storm water treatment in this area before outflowing to Middle Creek on that right hand side picture you can see to the south there. Um, and our goal with this project was to protect the oaks and return to a healthier and ecologically appropriate oak savannah landscape while also improving water quality. and afterwards. So, we mowed um our forestry mode again here and we also treated the buckthorn in this location hopefully so that it doesn't come back. The oaks were also treated to prevent the two-line chestnut bore from slowly killing the trees. And then we seated with a mezzik prairie mix and woodland edge seed mixes of native grasses, sedges, and forbes. We also did some work at the Lake Julia storm water pond. Uh there were inlets to this pond on the south side that were clogged and backed up by sediment, vegetation, and debris causing upstream flooding issues. >> Um and so we decided what the best thing to do in this area was to remove the vegetation um and trees and also clean and jet or clear and jet the inlet pipes. We also added rip wrap or the rocks around the inlets to better facilitate drainage and stability of the inlets. Um and then also seated this area with a mezzik prairie mix and woodland edge seed mix as well. Um Duncan Circle Natural Area Vegetation Management. This is one of many examples that we've also done um in other areas around the city uh that again just kind of buckthorn undesirable vegetation which we forestry mode to expose this and support the growth of pollinator habitat that was already present in the area. Um and again are part of our continuing effort to control invasive species within our natural areas in the city. We did complete the construction of the salt storage shed this year um for future salt storage so that staff doesn't have to go offsite anymore. Um and we have it right here. This is up at our maintenance facility. Um we also created a natural resources inventory. Um this includes natural areas of importance and sites of biodiversity significance. maps of all surface waters, wetlands, flood planes, groundwater, soil types, geological resources, all that good stuff. Um, and also includes vegetation surveys of the natural areas, some of the natural areas within the city as well. Street sweeping. [sighs] Um, I wanted to highlight this because this is something great that I think that the city does or that we do. Um we swept the entire city in the spring and summer and then twice in the fall and additional sweeping took place for the city after f or for festivals or after storm events and this helps keeps debris and pollutants out of storm water infrastructure and also reduces total sus suspended solids and total phosphorus in water bodies. So in short it saves us from having to remove debris and pollutants out of storm pipes and ponds later which saves us on maintenance costs. So I think it's a huge way um that we can overall reduce storm water pollution. Chloride pollution is also a concern in Minnesota largely due to deicing salt and water softener salt. High concentrations of chloride is toxic to aquatic life and degrades water quality and it is also a permanent pollutant. So just one teaspoon of salt can pollute 5 gallons of water. Uh so it's because of this I was interested in testing chloride levels in three of our major waterways in the city, North Creek, Middle Creek, and the Vermillion River. Um the Isaac Walton League of America actually provides a salt watch program um and free salt or chloride testing kits. So I just ordered those and used those to test chloride levels quarterly. but um found that overall chloride concentrations in all three water bodies remained well below the EPA's recommended water quality criteria. Uh the chloride levels did tend to be higher in the winter suggesting influence from chloride pollution likely associated with the road salt application. Um but overall chloride pollution levels were not substantial enough to indicate significance significant risk to aquatic life or human health. So, no concerns at this time, but this is something that we do want to continue to monitor as it's important that we continue to educate and take action to uh use salt responsibly um and reduce application where we can. This report is up on our website, so I do encourage anybody who um wants to take a deeper dive into the information to check that out. Uh something new we also did this year was some water quality testing in our storm water ponds this past fall. Uh we collected water samples from 10 city owned storm water ponds to test common storm water contaminants with a goal to assess overall water quality of the ponds and provide residents with information about contaminants present present in the water. There are 47 contaminants tested for total falling um within one of these six categories. Um and as I mentioned, we chose 10 ponds throughout the city based on their size as well as the utilization utilization of these ponds for recreational purposes. Um so of the 47 contaminants tested for only nine were detected across all ponds. Bromide was present in all ponds but one. Heptochloropoxide was present only in Sapphire Lake pond and nitrate was present only in Lake Julia pond. The good news is that the results indicate generally good chemical conditions. Um, berium, bromide, chloride, nitrate, and sulfate were present at low and non-significant levels. PH values across all ponds fell squarely within EPA accepted ranges. Ecoli and total cifforms were were detected in every pond, but none of the ponds surpassed the EPA single sample limits for recreational exposure. So, overall, the results were not surprising. Most detected contamin chemical contaminants were minimal, naturally occurring, and of little concern. uh supporting the conclusion that the ponds exhibit generally stable and acceptable water quality um from a chemical standpoint. Again, this is something we also do want to continue to monitor in the future to provide information this information to our residents um and continue to monitor the overall health and well-being of the water bodies within our city. And similarly with the chloride report, this is also up on our website um and is included in the next issuance of the currents and will also be posted on social media. Uh just kind of get the word out so residents are aware that they can find all this information on our website. So with that being said for 2025, I did want to just give a brief looking ahead for 2026. Our Devonshshire Avenue and 206 Street pond maintenance is about ready to get started and finished this winter. This project was identified as a priority to perform necessary pond maintenance as required per the MS4 permit and also improve water quality flowing into Middle Creek. Uh this involves clearing vegetation to recede and restore, returning the pond to its original expansion footprint to allow for more storage volume and adding a sump catch basin upstream. Our industrial park ditch cleanout um will also hopefully be starting very soon pending weather conditions and hopefully finish by this spring. And this is needed to mitigate the flooding issues within the industrial park and involves clearing out the ditch to allow for non-obstructed water flow. Our fourth and willow project um is also making good progress and hoping to begin um this year. It involves installing a treatment structure to help significantly reduce TSS and TP from entering the ver V ver Vermillion River. We do want to implement more street sweeping as well again to help overall reduce um pollutants entering our stormwater infrastructure and ultimately into major waterways. We will continue to also perform stormwater maintenance and vegetation management um where necessary. And then we are also wanting to adopt the stormwater asset management program or swamp as it's referred to which is a tool to help assist in managing our storm water BMPs data collection maintenance prioritization and MS4 inspections. So, we've explored other options to help assist us, including using existing GIS software. Uh, but Swamp really is the um the only tool that that does it all effectively. Um, and so this would also be a big help when we do get audited by the state to make sure or to help us um, comply with MS4 permit, but also other cities use this tool as well and the MPCA is familiar with it, so they know it is it meets the requirements of of the permit. continue to educate um and provide outreach and public involvement opportunities um and continue to push the word out so more people are aware of those opportunities um to get involved. And then as I mentioned [sighs] a little earlier in the presentation, permits are issued every 5 years. The next issuance of the MS4 permit is scheduled to come out this next spring. Um and we'll likely have a few more requirements that we'll have to follow. So, thank you for your time and bearing with me. Public speaking is not my forte. So, I appreciate you your patience. Um, and I would be happy to try and answer any questions if you have them. >> You did very well. Seasoned professional. >> Thank you. >> Thank you, Steve. >> Yeah. Uh, McKenna, I just want to thank you for the It was actually very informative. And I think what's really most interesting is, and especially we have a nice audience here tonight, I don't think a lot of residents really understand how much work goes into storm water management. You know, all the different things that we're not only mandated to do, but that we want to do to comply with the MS4. Um, I don't know if you know this or if Kelly knows this, but how many tons of waste are generally picked up every year at the park and pond cleanup? That's a good question. Yeah, I don't I don't know that we have any numbers. >> You haven't weighed that? >> I'm sure they probably have it, but I I don't know the numbers. >> A lot. >> Yeah, >> it's a lot. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> It's a great effort. So, >> yeah. So, thank you again. >> Thank you, >> Jake. No questions [clears throat] for me, but thank you, McKenna, for your presentation tonight. I never would have guessed that public speaking is not your forte. So, good job. >> Thank you. [laughter] >> Uh, thanks for being here. You did a great job. I the only question that I have actually relates to um citizen involvement. So you had talked about early on in the presentation the number of ponds that have an adopt a pond program and the storm storm water drainage and I know it shows up in the currents but for people that either have missed it in the currents or aren't interested in waiting for the currents to come out how can they get involved if they want to be involved in any one of these programs? Yeah, all of our opportunities are also listed on our website um under our natural resources page and it's a volunteer uh page that they can go to um really they can just reach out to either myself or Ben Hley, our natural resources specialist or probably anybody at the city honestly to direct them to um someone who can help with that with that opportunity. Um, I provide or not just me, but I I have this uh stencil kits in my office that residents can come pick up at city hall. Um, and likewise just all the paperwork for the other programs. Um, but yeah, everything can be found on our website. We do try to like I said make um social media posts periodically so if people are following those pages um but yeah if there's if there's any ideas that people have to of trying to get the the word out for these opportunities more so that would be that would be beneficial to know. I guess one of the most exciting changes that I think has come over this org since I started here four years ago is how much horsepower we've kind of put into our natural resources and our want to say natural mostly the natural resources this buckthorn removal storm water management this wasn't quite in the focus and I think it's such a key part of our parks and trails that people don't really realize what it should look like and what it can look like until you see the forest Multure come through a neighborhood and tear out an entire park's worth of buckthornne one day and you go, "Holy cow." I mean, I I've seen it happen behind my house in Middle Creek and now the one that was at the end of East View there and you're like, "This is a totally different space." And just to see it opened up and what the vegetation can be in there, what it looks like is just awesome. And I love the efficiency that Ben has put to it with the cover crop and all that stuff. And it's just it's it's super exciting. I don't know if that's just me being an outside junkie, but I think I'm not alone in that in Farmington. It's one of our biggest draws and I'm happy we're paying attention to it now. So, thank you. >> Absolutely. Yeah, me too. >> Like Jake said, you wouldn't know that you don't practice public speaking. Um, your presentation was phenomenal. >> Thank you. >> Um, I whenever we get into engineering, I tend to think a lot of that stuff's goes over my head, right? It just it I need it dummy down a little bit. And I especially appreciate to Nick's point how much work has been put in over the last, you know, 12 or 18 months. Um, you know, whether you drive by it and you see it at, you know, Spruce in Denmark or, uh, even up the street from my house. And I mean, I remember the the Lake Julia um that outlet or whatever it was that that was being that got completely refurbished um three or four years ago during park and pond cleanup was cleaning that thing out and there were literally trees growing through the grates and it's just um what doesn't get attention doesn't get focused on, right? It doesn't get any work done to it. And so that's something that we've tried to to really make a priority is making sure that there's adequate funding for it, that we have the team, the resources, um the experience and the acumen to go out and do the work because just putting it on paper is one thing, but um allocating sufficient time and and energy and resources to getting the work done is ultimately what our residents see and um what we all benefit from. So thank you very much for your presentation. And thank you to both to everyone in our staff that was involved from engineering to park and wreck um streets and maintenance. It it it is making a measurable difference and we appreciate it. Thank you very much. >> Thank you. All right, 53 is our next item. Uh, presentation of police department citizen letter of appreciation. Chief, >> thank you, mayor and councel. I'm fortunate today to be able to present a couple of awards. Uh, it's one of my favorite things to do. Uh, before I start with the awards, I wanted to talk uh to you and to the audience a little bit about where our awards program comes from. Uh back in 2019, Chief Rutherford uh initiated an all-encompassing wellness program uh with the Farmington Police Department to include uh classes on financial wellness that were hosted at our at our police station. Um some physical wellness initiatives including expanding our workout on duty um allowances in our on-site uh gym facilities. mental health initiatives to include annual mandatory mental health check-ins and up to 12 paid visits per year for all of our officers and staff. And then finally, our employee recognition program, which is why we're here today. So, part of that employee recognition program is our awards banquet that we host annually in October. Um this past October we were fortunate enough to uh present a couple of awards to citizens and I'd like to talk to you about those today. Now unfortunately um these two recipients they're uh humble uh wonderful people and did not want to come and receive these in front of you but um know that they are very appreciative and they received these awards in October. Um, on April 19th of 2025, Dakota 91 911 dispatcher Tiffany Gleason received a call from Farmington resident Jodi Whipple, whose husband had gone into cardiac arrest at their home. In that moment of crisis, dispatcher Gleason calmly provided CPR instructions over the phone, guided Jod step by step through life-saving procedures until Farmington police and fire personnel arrived. When fire person, excuse me, when first responders arrived, they found the patient with no pulse, not breathing, and blew around the mouth. Farmington police officers and fire department personnel immediately began CPR and use AED, successfully restoring a pulse before the patient was transported to the hospital. The following day, the patient was was reported to be in stable condition and inspected to make a full recovery. The remark remarkable outcome was a result of teamwork, courage, and professionalism displayed at every level of response. Dispatcher Gleon's calm direction, and expertise were critical in initiating effective CPR to the to the arrival of responders. Her ability to guide a distraught caller through precise life-saving instructions exemplifies the indispensable role that emergency dispatchers play in every successful rescue. Jod Whipple's courage and composure under unimaginable stress are equally commendable. Many callers hesitate or freeze in moments of fear and uncertainty, but Jod acted decisively, performing CPR as instructed to give her husband the best possible chance of survival. The Farmington Police Department believes it is important to recognize both Judy Whipple and dispatcher Gleason for their exceptional actions. Their partnership under pressure serves as a powerful example of how calm communication, trust, and courage can truly save a life. Staff recommends that the city council join the Farmington Police Department in recognizing Dakota 91 dispatcher Tiffany Gleason for outstanding professionalism, calm direction, and life-saving assistance during a cardiac arrest emergency. and citizen Jod Whipple for her courage, composure, and decisive actions in performing CPR that directly contributed to her husband's survival. Both the individuals were presented with citizen letters of appreciation and gratitude for their extraordinary efforts and service to the community. >> Thank you, sir. >> Thank you. >> And you said Jod's not here. >> No. >> Right. No. No. Because um [clears throat] Yeah. Okay, sorry. I would I missed that part where she wasn't here. Um, when this was brought up at the banquet, right, uh, dispatcher Gleon was there with her husband, right? >> Correct. >> Um, the one thing that I noticed the most was the look on the face of our officers in the room. Like I think it was the recognition that when the call goes out, they know the voice is there and they know that there's directive that's coming and everyone's trained and does the thing right. But there's that moment of of we've stopped, the event has happened, we've processed it and there's a human being that has chosen to be a part of this profession that is um PAP or 911 dispatching, right? But the average resident doesn't take training unless they're in the medical field. They don't take training. And when something happens to your loved one in that moment, like everything just you refer to it as code black, right? It go gets really small really quick. Um, watching the officers in the room while that was being read was something I will remember forever because it was a it was a reminder of like the importance of time and the importance of um staying calm and being collective and recognizing the moment and what needed to be done. Um, I could never imagine doing this to a a loved one, right? But it happens and it's unfortunate that they're not here because they they do deserve that recognition. They do deserve to um be recognized by as many people as could hear the story. Um so I hope they look back and watch this uh and [clears throat] understand how much it is appreciated. There's not a certificate, there's not a plaque, there's not an award. Um, life is the reward and it should be recognized as such and I just think it's it's beyond commendable. Um, there are no words for it other than thank you for doing everything that you could in that moment that resulted in the the saving of another one's life. That is that is beyond remarkable. So, Jody, thank you for being amazing. Um, dispatcher Gleon, thank you for being amazing. Thank you for doing what you had to do in the moment because there's a life that's still walking because of that. And that should be commended very much [applause] >> comments. Um, [clears throat] I don't know that there's a whole lot to say after that to be honest. Uh, I think a lot of times we think of first responders as the people that are running into the situation and they they are right. Our our police officers are our fire uh department. Those individuals that put themselves in positions uh potentially of harm's way to be able to help others. And then to the mayor's point, there are the people that are on the back end of a phone call who are not able to be present in that moment, but have to be fully present in that moment. Um, as a parent that has had to call 911 on a child that was seizing after uh a head hit, I can tell you I was not a calm individual and there was very little that anyone would have been able to say to me to create calm in me. It is a special kind of person that takes on the role of 911 dispatcher to be able to get uh a loved one to the point of being able to do the thing that they need to do until first responders can arrive. That's one. Two is that this is a beautiful example of when things turn out perfectly and well. Um that is not to disqualify the work that is done every single day by dispatchers where the result is not um what we want it to be and it is not to take away all of the work that is done by the police department and by our fire department in those situations as well. So for me, it's an acknowledgement, yes, of of the amazing outcome for this, but also to say thank you every single day. Whether the outcome is what we want it to be or whether it's less than what we want it to be, the work is still um at a level that you can't describe. Thank you. >> I have nothing to add on to those two stems. That's about as much as you could possibly say. So, >> thank you. >> See, >> nothing >> nothing to add other than I echo what you say about hopefully that they watch this video tonight or tomorrow or next week and realize how truly appreciated their action under pressure is. And thank you, Chief, for um for making it public, for bringing it out for others to hear and maybe even inspire someone to learn just a little something about, you know, rendering first aid, um basic stuff so that if and when that time comes, um they're that much more prepared for it. So, thank you, sir, very much. >> Thank you. And, uh thank you for your comments. Like you said, these dispatchers are doing this kind of work every single day and it is it is incredible work. Um, and I will make sure and get uh the message to both of them to watch this video and see uh your words firsthand. Thank you. >> Thank you, sir. >> All right. Our next item on the agenda is citizen comments. Since comments are a time for anyone to address the city council on matters not on the agenda, uh those speaking should state their name and their address and limit their comment to five minutes. Uh the time limit will be strictly adhered to regardless of the nature of your comment. The city council will not engage in discussion on your topic, but those issues that do require a response will be responded to by the next city council meeting where permissible. The city council also asks that anyone speaking at the meeting please be respectful. There's anyone wishing to come up, please come up and do so at this time. [cough and clears throat] Uh I'm Steven. I'm a medically retired lieutenant of the Farmington Fire Department. My address is 1804 180th Court West, Farmington, Minnesota. Uh before I begin, I want to express my deepest sympathy to Pete Zjax's family. As a former Farmington first, excuse me, as a former first Farmington first responder who suffers from jobreated PTSD and major depressive disorder, I'm absolutely devastated by Pete's passing. At Mayor Hoy, a few weeks ago, you t you spoke about the importance of having tough conversations about mental health. I wholeheartedly agree. Tonight, I want to share some of my experiences with the city of Farmington and the impact it has had. Some of what I say may be difficult to hear, but I ask that you listen with an open heart. My [snorts] intention in speaking candidly is to create awareness and invoke change. I think it is important to remember that I was a volunteer paid on call firefighter. I'm someone who stood up and raised his hand to serve this community with integrity and for very little pay. Due to time limitations, I cannot cover everything. But since 2019, I've been very open about my struggles with PTSD. My primary trauma stems stems from a fire call in September 2019 where I performed CPR on one of my best friends for an extended period. And [snorts] then a month later, I responded to a call of a first responder that that had committed suicide in our service area. Because of the mental health challenges I face as a result of serving this community, I spend approximately 70% of my life wishing I was dead. [snorts] I have a suicide plan. [laughter] I [snorts] know the place and I know how I would do it. The only thing keeping me alive is guilt. [snorts] The guilt of hurting the people I love most. I want you to think about that. The [snorts] only reason for me being alive is that I don't want to hurt others. That is the one silver lining of being haunted by [snorts] the cries of a wife of a first responder who just died by suicide. I don't want to do that to the ones I love. [snorts] Fast forward to December 17th, 2024. During a meeting with Chief Price and Lingorski, I informed that I was scheduled for a psychiatric evaluation in early 2025. The meeting grew contentious when I said I did not feel supported in my mental health struggles. Chief Price Lynn, [snorts] you may recall that I told you that while I hoped and prayed every day that I was wrong, the city's handling of mental health issues would eventually lead to a Farmington first responder seriously harming themselves or worse. [snorts] >> [crying and gasps] >> It devastates me that I [snorts] saw this nearly a year before Pete passed away and seemingly nothing changed. I even [snorts] explained that I had personally been on the scene of a first responder suicide in our area and a [snorts] separate incident involving a suicidal first responder. [snorts] I actually left that meeting so distraught that I I drove to the location of my suicide pl, a [snorts] place I normally avoid. On January 10th, 20 2025, I emailed Chief Price and Psychiatric's initial assessment. She confirmed my therapist diagnosis of PTSD and wrote, "Due [snorts] to his work as a firefighter for the city of Farmington and the ongoing traumatic events he has been exposed to while performing his duties as a firefighter [snorts] was a substr substantial contributing factor in his development of this diagnosis. Based on clinical assessment, Mr. Andress is unable to safely perform normal duties of a firefighter at this time. [snorts] To this day, no one from the fire department's leadership or the city has reached out to ask if there's anything they can do to support Michelle or me. In fact, I've never even received a thank you for my service. I wasn't even invited to the retirement party for the two guys that retired the same week that I did. That's deeply disappointing. [snorts] We gave so much to this community. I deserve better. And more importantly, Michelle deserves better. It hurts [snorts] to know how much she sacrificed so that I could be the firefighter I was. And she and now she faces the challenges of my symptoms with no support. >> [snorts] >> Instead of support, the city sent me two certified letters quoting my psych psych psychiatrist findings and stating that the city had reasonable belief to my ability to perform essential job functions may be impaired and requested that I have healthcare provider complete paperwork. This is perplexing considering they had a letter from a licensed psychiatrist explicitly stating I was not able to safely perform my duties due to PTSD. It [snorts] was clear the city was not supporting me. I would like to point out that when I went on leave for kidney failure, I did not receive any certified letters or anything requesting anything similar. Then came a letter from Lynn dated March 28th, 2025 notifying me that she was considering recommending my termination to city council and that I had until April 14th to to resign or respond. This was just weeks before council approved changes to the pension plan, changes that would make me eligible for a pension. It [snorts] is wrong that she attempted to use her position of authority to intimidate me into resigning shortly before I would qualify for a benefit I spent years earning. Ultimately, I was coerced into retiring with when a similar letter from Lynn dated May 8th was received. This time, the acred interest on my pension was threatened if I did not retire. [snorts] Mayor, on September 22nd, 2025, I posted on Facebook about how the city had treated me, including issues I cannot fit into tonight's remarks. I said it was time for city hall and fire department leadership to do better. Your response was to unfriend me. I'm not trying to embarrass you tonight, but I hope you can reflect on the message that sent. With [snorts] everything that has transpired since then, I hope your heart is in a different place. The impact on how the city has handled my situation has not only affected me, but it has had significant impact on others as well. I've quickly touched on what Michelle has to endure. I have many challenges with the symptoms of PTSD that she gets to deal with. I've faced many struggles and challenges at my full-time job. >> Stephen, your time is expired. >> I'll finish reading. >> You're more than welcome to. And mayor, I just >> And that's not personal. That's it's 5 minutes. We're going to hold it to five minutes regardless of the topic. >> And I've been here numerous times where the data center does not get held to their five minutes. >> That's why we're doing it. >> I'm strongly disappointed in that. >> Where did you leave off? >> I was not able to attend >> I was not able to attend the demolition derbies this year at the Dakota County Fairgrounds. This was something that my father and I enjoyed doing together. I couldn't mentally handle seeing the firefighters in the derby, so my father and I did not go. He passed away on November 17th. Because of the way this city has handled the injuries to my mental health and the lack of support I've received, I missed the last opportunity to have to spend this time with my dad. I'm not sure how I can forgive that. Others on the department have seen how I've been treated. I've had a couple of firefighters that privately support me, but have expressed that they are not comfortable publicly supporting me. Over the years, several Farmington firefighters who were struggling sought me out because I was open about my struggles. But I have been told by a current fire department member that since I left, there's been less focus on mental health and checking on others after difficult calls. I cannot confirm this, but this is what I've been told. In closing, meaningful change is desperately needed. The treatment of first responders who come forward about mental health struggles is appalling and the consequences can be tragic. You cannot say you could support mental health while treating people seeking help in harmful ways. Words are easy. Actions matter. If I had been hit by a vehicle while performing CPR on the roadside and suffered lifealtering physical injuries, I would likely have been treated as a hero. Michelle and I have certainly received significant resp support support from fire department leadership and many of you on the council would have reached out personally. So why is it so different when the injury is to my mental health? I did not mean this as an attack. Most of you likely have no idea what I've been through until now. But I ask you to reflect. Why is it so different? I have laid myself bare. It's not easy to stand here in front of my fiance, my mother, everyone in this room, and anyone watching that to admit that I wish I were dead. I know the pain and fear that caused my loved ones. I risked a lot here tonight, and it's almost certain my words will likely be twisted and used against me by the League of Minnesota Cities. But I need you to understand this is not theoretical. This is life or death for me and potentially for other first responders. I'm certain there will be private conversations attempting to explain why things were handled the way they were. I urge you to challenge these explanations. Understand that what I've shared tonight is just the tip of the iceberg. For instance, the city administrator has expressed that she does not believe the city should have provided me with therapy when I was unable to sleep for days at a time and would go into a full panic attack. The excuse of that's what we had to do should not be acceptable. Supporting an employee who is struggling with mental health issues should be prioritized over concerns about liability, especially when the liability is with the League of Minnesota Cities. Why would the city prioritize that liability over the life of its 200 2019 firefighter of the year or any other employee? The way mental health struggles are addressed should be just as important how physical injuries are treated. If you would not treat a physical injury with indifference or disregard, then why should a mental health injury be handled any differently? You have the authority to demand change, and I encourage you to use it. Use your position to make every first responder feel truly supported, not just in words, but in action. Be the ones that start a shift in how first responders with mental health challenges are treated. Your decisions and actions could be the difference between someone choosing to end their life or choosing to get help. Keep fighting. Our friends and family deserve it. >> Thank you. [applause] Good evening. I'm Kathy Johnson. I the chair of the coalition for responsible data center development 22280 Bearing Avenue Farmington. In his essay, Politics of the Very Worst, philosopher Paul Verillio warns us, "When you invent the ship, you also invent the shipwreck. And when you invent the plane, you invent the plane crash. And you when you invent electricity, you invent electric electrocution. Data centers have risk which will affect Dakota County citizens far beyond the borders of Farmington. Some advocates of of AI even acknowledge risk when they predict change associated with automation or advances in science. But no one seems to acknowledge the risks associated with hyperscale data centers which are real in communities like Farmington where a hyperscale data center has been approved to go in right in the middle of longestablished residential neighborhoods. The demand for resources and risk to environment and quality of life from hyperscale data centers are unprecedented. Unfortunately, no one's looking holistically at the risk to communities and ordinary folks who live there. Having followed the process from the beginning, it's clear that state agencies don't know how to regulate the or govern these projects and definitely not small local governing units. The state seems not to be looking at other states which are further ahead in the proliferation of data centers and the local authorities are completely out of their realm. Both have no experience because this is a new industry. Developers like track come to small towns like Farmington to use our resources especially water and our existing infrastructure like electricity or sewers. The template will promise jobs and eval and and revenue if you guarantee us the de your domestic water supply and sign NDAs and that's the game plan that's be using been being used nationwide. Why? Because developers make a big fat profit. By the way, the offer of big property tax gains in the same city council meeting where Tony Whipler asked the city to approve the development contract for the technology park, he recommended that the city cut the rates charged to end users for wastewater evacuation by half. It will cut into the projected revenue, but it can be figured out later. That's a paraphrase. That's using infrastructure belonging to city taxpayers and giving it away. And look at the precedent there. concessions to developers to attract end users. Billionaires pay half to use the city's infrastructure to make a big profit for themselves and misrepresent representing well doumented facts regarding few permanent jobs created. I asked the citizens to ask themselves who is bearing the risk. The developers of data centers are the residents left with known environmental degradation and the risk to the power grid, their water supply, to health, quality of life. Have you paid attention to the economists who now refer to the proliferation of data centers as a possible AI bubble? Who would bear the cost of reclaiming the property if end users pearl out or if people don't end users don't buy into tracks plans in the first place? It's the residents who will experience exponential in increases in their cost of electricity. That's what's happened in every other community where data centers have proliferated. Minnesota's an electricity importer. No matter how Dakota Electric painted when power has to be purchased at auction from neighboring states or Canada, the costs will reflect that. All of the down these downsides are well documented in communities which host hyperscale data centers. I invite listeners to go to noatacenter.com, look at our library of research and our announcement about a public meeting with experts in place and an update on our lawsuit. January 20th, two weeks from now, 7:00 at the library. In closing, I want to contrast a thought process when considering the downside of an issue and a thought processor of a developer who's trying to sell the city council on panacea. Remember the city had remember the city has hidden so much of the development behind the NDAs. It takes a great deal of work for us folks in the coalition to dig and research and find the alternative side and expose those risks. This type of thinking makes one's ability to do a good causebenefit analysis difficult. Since the city's been incredibly secretive and vague about how the city will benefit from the proposed technology park, I asked the city the citizens again to look realistically. Why did the city go to such lengths to require citizens to use the data practices act in order to discover information that should have been public in the first place? And why did the city have to do something so egregious that the leaders had to turn to developers to get coaching on how to deal with resistance? Developers are coming to our region for to use our resources especially water our existing infrastructure and to profit for themselves offering a token of financial gain for the city me misrepresenting well doumented facts regarding NDAs and hiding facts. Isn't this enough red flag? I asked you asked you who is bearing the risk. Anyone else wishing to speak? Moving on, we'll seek a motion to approve the consent agenda. >> Motion to approve. >> Second. >> Motion by Nick, second by Jake. All in favor say I. I. I. We'll move on to item 121, which is the designation of acting mayor for 2026. >> Thank you, mayor and councel. Um, tonight I bring to you the appointment of council member Nick Lean as acting mayor for 2026. The city council bylaws state that an acting mayor shall be appointed annually and on a rotating basis in the absence of the mayor. According to the bylaws, the acting mayor shall be selected as follows. In an even number year, the member serving their fourth year to term who received the second most votes when elected. So my action tonight is I ask the mayor and council to approve the appointment of council member Nick Lean as appointing mayor for 2026. >> Thank you ma'am. I'd seek a motion to approve the appointment of council member Nick Lean as acting mayor for 2026. >> Motion. >> Second. >> Motion by Steve. Second by Holly. Call the role, please. Council member Cortez, >> yes. >> Mayor Hoy, >> yes. >> Council member Bernett, >> yes. >> And council member Wilson, >> yes. >> Council member Lean, >> yes. >> To abstain from that. >> You can vote for yourself. It's fine. >> My kids will be so confused. >> Next item on the agenda is 122, the resolution approving council committee appointments for 2026. >> All right. Thank Thank you, mayor and councel. Um, the next item I ask for approval for council committee appointments for 2026. Every year at our previous work session, the first of the year, we discuss all the appointments and members are appointed um to the appointments. And this year, I'll read them all off, but there were only one change to the current 2020 25 appointments. And we did add an additional um committee and that was the legislative priority committee. So, I'll start at the top and reread all of them. Air Lake Airport Advisory Commission, Holly Bernance, Primary. Jake Cordis alternate Elf Ambulance. Steve Wilson primary Nick Lean alternate Dakota 911 Board of Directors Nick Lean Primary Steve Wilson alternate FPAC Empire Farmington Planning Advisory Committee Joshua Hoy Primary. Jake Cortis alternate Eureka Farmington Planning Advisory Committee. Holly Bernance primary, Joshua Hoy alternate Farmington Castle Rock Planning Advisory Committee, Joshua Hoy Primary, Steve Wilson alternate fire relief board, Steve Wilson primary, Jake Cordis alternate. Um, the addition of the legislative priority committee will be Jay Cortis and Steve Wilson. Liquor Operations Committee, Jay Cordis Primary, Nick Lean Alternate, Musa Review Committee, that's a metropolitan urban service area, Holly Bernance Primary, and Nick Lean as the alternate. So, tonight again, I ask for the adoption of the 2026-003 appointments to the council committees for 2026. >> Thank you, ma'am. We conversed about it in work session. Any comments, conversation now? No. All >> right. Seeing none, then I would seek a motion to adopt resolution 2026 TAC 003 approving the appointments to city council committees for 2026. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Motion by Jake, second by Holly. Call the role, please. >> Council member, >> yes. >> Council member Lean, >> yes. >> Council member Wilson, >> yes. >> Council member Gordes, >> yes. >> Mayor Hoy, >> yes. Thank you. round table. Amy, >> good evening, mayor and members of the council. Um, I don't have a report tonight other than to wish everyone a happy new year. >> Thank you, >> Nick. Uh, similar. I hope everyone had a good and safe holiday and I and uh excited for one more year of this. Uh, 2026 should always be exciting. >> Holly, >> I have good news tonight. Um, so many of our residents know that uh, Farmington Parks and Rec does the holiday light tour and some of you might know that um, there is a culde-sac in the light tour called the 12 homes of Christmas which technically now includes 14 homes because there were two houses at the end that were persuaded to to join. Um, I'm actually going to take a second to tell you a little bit about this and how it came to be. So that uh, what comes after that makes a lot of sense. Um, I actually live in this culde-sac and this is something that I mean we've always been fairly festive and a few of us, you know, popped up on the Holiday Light Tour, but a couple of years ago um our neighbors uh Christa and Nate Miller came to uh the neighborhood and said, "How would you all feel if we synchronized these lights?" And admittedly, it was met with some mixed feelings. [laughter] Most of the people were really excited and then some of us were like, "Are we all going to have seizures as a result of the strobing lights?" And uh it turns out that Christa's idea was far beyond what any of us could have imagined. She took it upon herself to research everything and their family privately assumed a lot of the cost and we all chipped in little bits to help make it uh come to fruition. But one of the primary goals uh for us was not to just have it be a fun light show, although it is. Um if anybody's come through, it's it's pretty awesome and what she does is amazing. Um last year was the first year that we put forward a goal to have it make a positive change and we moved the needle a little bit. Um, this year however our donation totals came in and I am not sharing these because this is something our culde-sac did. I'm sharing this because this is something that our community did and this is something that people that decided to come to our community did in the Toys for Town program. We collected $5,554 and four truckloads of toys to be donated to Toys for Town for 2025. While that is awesome, what comes next is staggering. The donations that came in for the Farmington Food Shelf totaled 13,9853 and over 4,847 pounds of food that were donated. So, our cash total is 186 5353 and then whatever you could accumulate for value in toys and food. Um Mark from the food shelf sent a message that said that this is truly mind-blowing. I'm already thinking about all of the ways that we can utilize this huge gift. We'll increase our quantities of food for all of our families and invest in some muchneeded gas cards for starters. We can't thank all of you enough for this outpouring of generosity. Be sure the neighbors know how much it is appreciated. And I am actually passing that along to the community and for the people that came into the culde-sac. Um, we were averaging between 500 and 1,000 cars a night and many of us stood out at the back and consistently people reached out their hand to donate cash or to pull over and donate anything from a couple of cans to a few bags to an entire back of a car full of food. Um, and you all are amazing. Like absolutely amazing. And so, um, it was it was a pretty cool holiday to be a part of and I hope it's something that is able to continue and to grow upon. But thank you all for everything that you did to support those two organizations and the people that benefit from them. [applause] >> So, I'm going to interject real quick because I have a question on that. So, I know when when um they do the the winter in the village at Dakota City Heritage Village, um the people working the gate often ask people coming in where they traveled from. Did you guys ask how far people came away from? I like I'm because I know it got covered across like multiple outlets, but I'm curious if >> we So, I wasn't out there every night. I I I was not the main stayer out there. I do know that we had people that traveled from neighboring states. So, we had people that came from Iowa, Wisconsin, South Dakota. Um, I know that there were people from all over the state of Minnesota, many of whom drove more than an hour or two um to come, which I think is super special. Um, the furthest that I know of is someone that claims that they came from Hawaii. I think they were just home for Christmas. Um, but uh they win. Um, my favorite message though, uh, came from a family that was able to come through on the first of the year. And it says, "My oldest is in town on military leave. I got ill shortly after he got here, his first Christmas in the military, and I couldn't see him until seven days into his 8-day leave." So, New Year's was the first full day that we could spend quality time together. And he as he had to leave the next morning, which we did. And we love the synchronized lights and the synchronized tree that said happy new year. >> Um, so that came back on the page. So that was pretty special, too. >> Wherever Wherever that particular individual was stationed, >> that's where they came from. >> Well done. Well done, Jake. >> I got nothing. >> You got top of that. >> I can't [clears throat] I will say as somebody with epilepsy who did visit, I didn't have a seizure, so you're safe. Um, I wanted to comment that we every single council meeting we do have actually every agenda we always see donations to the Rambling River Center. There's so many individuals in the community. And I really don't necessarily want to highlight anyone, but there are two really large donations. And I guess the one I do want to call out is I want to thank David Mcnite for essentially buying a brand new treadmill for the for the center. [clears throat] He and his family and actually extended family have given so much to the community. I also want to thank uh Joy Pearson and the team at uh Finch and Daisy for their generous contribution too. And those are two of just many. I mean um we have $25 donations, $50 donations. So every donation is so meaningful to support that center. So thank you all very much. >> Um my comment tonight is that uh in observant of Martin Luther [clears throat] King Day, our next scheduled meeting is on January 19th and it will be moved to the 20th. >> Thank you. >> Yay. >> Nothing to report >> David. Uh today was an exciting day as we added seven new members to team Farmington, including Samantha Hazelrig, who assumed the newly created human resources manager position and who brings additional leadership and expertise to the human resources team [snorts] as we strive to continually improve our support for all our employees. Thank you, >> Diana. >> Thank you, Mayor and Council. I actually was going to pass tonight, but um I wrote something down on my paper. Uh and it was during when Commissioner Mike Slavic was speaking and one of the things you said, Commissioner, was find the good. And I think we often get caught up in some of the negative. And I had wrote this down and I think Holly, you just did a fantastic job of reminding us to find the good and you did too tonight, Chief, telling us to find that good. So, um, I just want to encourage all of us to find that good and to share those stories and I appreciate being part of this team and thank you for everything that you do. >> Thank you, John. >> Thank you, mayor and council members, and thank you for awarding the contract for the industrial park ditch cleaning. It's been a long time coming to study the area, come up with the best solutions. Uh now we really need to hope for cooperative weather. So it needs to freeze real quick, get very firm out there so the equipment can get their work done and then thaw in a hurry so the farmer can get back out in the field and do their planting in plenty of time. So uh but thank you for awarding that contract and uh just one of many that McKenna highlighted that we're doing from a stormwater standpoint. >> Thanks sir. Kelly >> uh good evening mayor and council. Uh, Council Member Bernance and Wilson kind of talked about it tonight, but we always talk about how fortunate we are to be in a community with so many giving individuals and businesses. And I did want to highlight the the donations at the Rambling River Center. Thank you to Carol Spruy, David Mcnite, Finch and Daisy Consulting, Gary Smith, and Mary Briner for their very, very generous donations to the to the senior center. Uh, S'mores and More is this Sunday at Rambling River Park Warming House from 1 to 3 PM. This family uh event is free, includes skating, uh games as long as there's skatable ice. We do have it now, but I know it's supposed to warm up this week. S'mores, hot cocoa, and more. So, please join us uh Sunday from 1 to 3 at Ramling River Park warming house. And then the next skate park design meeting is Monday, January 26th from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Ramling River Center. At this meeting, Spawn Ranch will present two conceptual designs to sol to solicit feedback to get to a preferred design. So, hope to see everybody on that evening, January 26th at 6 PM at the senior center. >> Do we have do we have pre-registration for that? >> No, just show up. It um they're working on the um invitation right now. I should probably have that tomorrow when we have a um we have email addresses of people who attended the meeting and also who completed the design survey. So, we'll get out to them as well. So, yep, just show up and if you can't be there for the whole time, come when you can. If you can be there at 6:00, leave at 6:30. If you can come at 7:00, please come. Thank you, Chief. >> Uh, so this morning kicked off our first day of our academy uh for our six full-time um firefighters, three officers, three firefighters. Uh we talked about expectations, how we move forward, uh standards. Uh this first week is kind of the um paperwork process of everything through HR, making sure everybody's on board. uh we issued cell phones and then we actually move into the uh physical activity the portion of our academy in weeks two, three and four. >> Thanks sir. >> Chief, uh first want to congratulate the fire department on their six new firefighters. Um I definitely want to be on the list for your first uh firehouse breakfast. Um but it's a great accomplishment. Congratulations. Um, also I want to thank council for uh approving the hire of Marco Icheretta tonight. Uh, he comes to to us from Glen Copo PD with a year of experience and he's going to be a great addition to the force and we'll start him uh later this month. And finally, I wanted to um inform everyone of our first movie night with a cop uh that's going to be happening on the 21st of this month. Uh we received some grant funding through the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association uh to support this program and it is for 5 to 10 year olds at the police station. Pizza, popcorn, uh door prizes provided uh and uh will be watching the movie Lilo and Stitch, the 2025 version with a bunch of our officers. Hope to see you there. >> Where's that going to happen at the PD? >> In our uh training room, emergency operations center. >> Okay. Just thinking for residents with their kiddos that want to come up like what do we do a secure building just go to the main entrance and we'll have people there. >> Yeah. Sorry I should have mentioned there is a there is a door limit too. We have 20 uh spots available and you can register for that through uh the easiest way is to go to our Facebook post uh and click on the link to go and register for that event. >> Cool. Thank you sir. I don't have anything to add. So with that I would seek a motion to adjurnn. >> Motion to second. >> Motion by Jake. Second by Nick. All in favor say I. >> I. >> I. We'rejourned at 8:34. [music] Hey, hey, hey.