[0:00] [Music] [0:13] Hey, [0:17] [Music] [0:19] Ah. [0:26] [Music] [0:56] Good evening. Welcome to the November [0:58] 3rd city council meeting. If you join me [1:00] for a moment of silence in the pledge of [1:01] allegiance [1:18] to the flag of the United States of [1:20] America and to the republic for it [1:23] stands one nation [1:26] indivisible with liberty and justice for [1:33] Okay, roll call, please. [1:36] Michelle Vulk, [1:37] here. [1:37] Luke Kelly, [1:38] here. [1:38] John Burmel, [1:39] here. [1:40] Dan Walter, [1:41] here. [1:41] Joshua Lee [1:42] here. [1:43] All right, great. We'll move on to item [1:44] three, citizens comments. Is opportunity [1:46] for those in audience to address the [1:48] council for up to three minutes on issue [1:50] not related to something agenda. [1:54] Seeing none, move on. Any additional [1:56] agenda information, Mr. Miller. [1:58] Nothing tonight, Mayor. [1:59] Okay. And we'll now turn it over to our [2:02] police chief, Brad Pollson, for our [2:04] quarterly report. Good evening, Chief. [2:10] Good evening, Mayor and members of the [2:11] council here tonight to present our [2:14] quarter 3 report covering the months of [2:16] July through September of this year. As [2:20] we always do, we'll start with the [2:22] mission statement. The Lakeville Police [2:23] Department exists to ensure an excellent [2:25] quality of life in Lakeville by serving [2:27] and protecting in a professional and [2:29] innovative way. [2:32] It has been a year of of movement for [2:34] Lakeville PD. So, uh highlighting some [2:36] of our quarter three uh long-term [2:38] retirements here on this slide on the [2:40] left there is Jenny Davis who after 25 [2:42] years as a records technician. Uh [2:44] retired in August. Uh thinking back to [2:47] 25 years ago in a police records job, [2:49] her her job changed significantly over [2:51] those years and she did a great job of [2:52] adapting as time went on. But happy for [2:55] her in a in a well retirement. In the [2:57] middle there, Officer Chad Laughler. Uh [3:00] he had a total of 28 plus years in law [3:02] enforcement. Uh I think he was 21, a [3:04] little over 21 with Lakeville PD, but uh [3:07] Chad did a lot of work with canines over [3:09] the years. He handled three dogs with [3:10] Lakeville uh Storm as you see there [3:13] along with Tank and Shadow before that [3:15] and he's given a lot to that program [3:16] over the years. Then on the right, uh [3:19] community service officer, our lead [3:20] community service officer, Randy Smith [3:22] spent eight years with us uh and did a [3:24] great job in that role. uh he did a lot [3:27] of onboarding with our seasonal CSOS, [3:29] younger employees who are at college age [3:31] and getting them outfitted and and [3:33] trained and up to speed. [3:36] So now back filling some of those spots [3:38] uh starting in uh in August, Kristen B [3:41] who is a new records technician. She [3:43] comes from us uh comes to us from the [3:45] Minnesota Department of Health where [3:47] she's been spent 13 years there uh doing [3:50] newborn screening, public health data [3:52] analysis. She did a lot of work on [3:54] substance abuse including uh opioid over [3:57] overdoses. So a lot of lot of crossuh [4:00] section with public safety in that role [4:02] and she's been a great addition to our [4:03] team and our staff. [4:06] Uh new community service officer Bill [4:08] Nelson who spent uh little over three [4:10] years as a reserve officer for us. Uh [4:12] kind of a a second or or third or even [4:15] fourth career. Bill's done a little bit [4:16] of everything over the years but uh his [4:18] main career was a air traffic [4:20] controller. Retired from that. also a [4:22] member of the the US Air Force. Uh but [4:24] he's jumped right in uh where Randy left [4:27] off and and he's uh his time as a [4:30] reserve has certainly helped him get up [4:31] to speed quickly in that role. [4:35] A few new officers uh starting out in [4:37] July. Bennett Wrand was also a cso for [4:40] us for a few years. Graduated from [4:43] Winona. Uh so he's been around but [4:45] officially started in his sworn role in [4:47] uh middle of July just after Pana [4:49] Prague. [4:51] All joining him is Joe Baron. Um Joe [4:54] grew up in the St. Peter area, went to [4:56] school up at Baiji State. Uh this is his [4:59] first uh sworn police officer job. So [5:01] he's uh uh doing well. All of these [5:04] officers see here are are winding down [5:07] their field training phase. So they [5:08] started in July and and kind of starting [5:09] to wrap wrap some of that up. So close [5:12] to being out on their own. [5:15] Megan Karp uh also started in July. you [5:18] see there. She was one of our u grant [5:21] funded recipients of the uh the IC poet [5:23] grant. So graduated from Henipin [5:25] Technical College uh in July and started [5:27] with us as a sworn officer. She uh got [5:30] her undergrad graduate degree from St. [5:32] Cloud State but came to us really from [5:35] the hospitality industry. [5:38] And then Josh Enavald, [5:40] also on the IC Poet grant, uh, graduated [5:44] from Minnesota State Mano and prior to [5:46] Lakeville PD was at the Carver County [5:48] Sheriff's Office in a in a detention [5:50] deputy role. [5:54] Quick update on the first center. If you [5:56] haven't seen pictures or driven by, some [5:59] good progress out there. Uh, most the [6:01] exterior walls are up. Uh the big push [6:03] now is to get things tightened up and [6:05] enclosed before uh before the snow [6:07] flies. They're they're coming along good [6:08] on that. Uh there's a note there, the [6:11] first layer of asphalt will be laid [6:12] before winter. That now down. I drove by [6:15] earlier today, so that's a that's a good [6:17] sign. So, uh we're on track with uh [6:20] getting that sealed up to do the [6:21] interior work over the cold weather [6:23] months. Uh as far as partnerships, we're [6:25] in the final stages of uh finishing up [6:27] some capital member uh agreements with [6:30] four area law enforcement agencies, just [6:32] putting kind of the finishing touches on [6:34] those agreements. Uh and also continuing [6:36] to have a conversation with the local [6:38] college on partnering on a potential [6:40] skills program there. Uh they were [6:42] waiting to see some of the uh changes [6:44] with uh the Minnesota Post board and the [6:46] education requirements that they were [6:48] looking at and now that that's been [6:49] flushed out a little bit, uh those [6:51] conversations have have re-engaged. So [6:53] that's uh exciting for us. [6:57] Highlighting some of our support from [6:59] the Lakeville Public Safety Foundation. [7:01] On the left there was a significant [7:02] grant for a UTV uh which we received [7:06] just before Panaprog this year. It was a [7:07] good tool to have out there uh to to get [7:10] around downtown. I think that picture is [7:12] from just before the parade. But uh with [7:14] with crowds uh that's that's a nice [7:16] asset for us to have. Uh also good [7:19] conversation piece for people coming up [7:21] to to look to engage with our staff. Uh [7:23] given our parks with Ritter and now [7:25] Grand Prairie, some of these large area [7:27] parks that uh it's not probably [7:29] conducive to drive a squad all over. [7:30] This will be a good tool for us to get [7:32] around in those areas as well. On the [7:35] upper right there is our what's become [7:37] an annual police fire softball game that [7:39] our public safety foundation helps to [7:41] support. Our first round at it uh in [7:45] late September. We made it, I think, one [7:47] batter in before the skies opened up and [7:49] we got rained out quickly and uh we [7:52] tried to cancel, but the fire department [7:53] wouldn't let us. So, we uh we came back [7:56] in October and uh and we came up short [7:58] once again. But um always a good time to [8:00] get together with with their staff and a [8:02] relaxing evening for for everybody. And [8:05] then on the bottom right, that picture [8:06] is from the uh police and fire ball in [8:09] uh September, the biggest foundation [8:11] event every year where we highlight and [8:13] honor the both police and firefighter of [8:15] the year. And it's a room full at [8:18] brackets of supporters and donors and a [8:20] and a good evening for all of us. [8:24] Community engagement, just a few [8:25] highlights there. We get a lot of um a [8:28] lot of requests for uh for events and [8:30] for our staff to come out and speak or [8:32] interact with people. Some of it is uh [8:34] just uh by happen stance as well with [8:36] people driving around and looking for [8:38] opportunities. Uh but these are a few of [8:40] those moments. On the left there is [8:41] officer Andy Shurmer doing a drone [8:43] demonstration at the fountains. Uh one [8:45] of our senior care facilities. They're [8:47] always amazed at some of the new [8:48] technology trends that are out there. So [8:50] we're always happy to get out there and [8:51] show them some of our tools. That's uh [8:54] CSO Anuka Lang talking with a gentleman [8:56] and is I believe a parrot of some sort [8:59] that the bird does talk. I've seen it [9:01] before. Uh that's down at Antlers Park. [9:04] On the upper right is a community [9:05] education visit. I believe that's [9:07] Officer Brian Smith up there. And then [9:09] on the bottom right, safety camp which [9:11] is in August. Always a good turnout for [9:13] that. And the helicopter landing is [9:15] always one of the one of the big [9:17] highlights for all the kids to see. [9:18] That's North Air. That helps us out with [9:20] that. [9:22] And of course, it seems like a long time [9:24] ago, but this was in quarter three in [9:26] July. Panaprag. Uh it's it's a heavy [9:28] lift citywide, including for our [9:30] department. Um, we wouldn't want to do [9:32] it every weekend. Uh, but it's a great [9:35] way for uh for us to uh interact with [9:37] the community. Uh, by and large, most of [9:39] the folks that are out there looking [9:40] just to have a good time and enjoy the [9:42] community, enjoy each other. There's [9:43] always a handful of people that uh that [9:46] we deal with and try to do that as [9:47] discreetly and and efficiently as we can [9:50] to not impact everybody else's good [9:52] time. Uh but always proud of our staff [9:54] for the amount of days and long long [9:56] days and hours that they put in to uh to [9:58] safely get through all of those events. [10:03] And then uh National Night Out, which is [10:05] in early August, about a hundred parties [10:07] again this year. We get to as many of [10:09] those as we can along with the fire [10:10] department. But again, a great way for [10:12] kids to jump in squad cars and check out [10:15] equipment and interact with officers. Uh [10:18] we had another good weather year, which [10:20] always always helps us out. And uh some [10:23] of us ate way too much once again. So [10:27] highlighting some of our training and [10:29] development. Not uh intending for people [10:31] to read through every bullet point on [10:33] the slide here, but there's a lot of [10:34] acronyms and abbreviations, but just to [10:36] kind of capture the amount of training [10:38] and development that gets done. That's [10:40] one of our uh internal priorities is [10:42] professional development. There's [10:44] certainly a lot of training tied to our [10:46] lensure uh which we're mandated to do. [10:48] Uh but there's a lot of extras that uh [10:50] that people look to try to enhance their [10:52] skills. Uh both technical skills, [10:54] leadership skills, mentoring. Uh you see [10:57] a real variety there from the upper [10:59] left, the Glock armors, the folks, our [11:01] staff that inspect and maintain our [11:03] firearms. Uh some of the more um I guess [11:08] job related tasks with emergency driving [11:10] out at the Dakota County uh track. Uh [11:13] and then on the right you see uh leading [11:16] without rank uh mentorship and [11:18] leadership uh northwestern school of [11:20] police staff and command. Those are more [11:22] leadershipbased programs that uh we do [11:25] our best to get uh get our staff [11:26] through. [11:29] Moving into some of the uh the numbers [11:31] here, the statistics and a lot of the [11:33] slides leading up till now uh with our [11:35] community activities. Um they're they're [11:38] fun uh events for the most part for our [11:40] officers and positive. the uh [11:42] statistics. I think what kind of gets [11:44] lost and buried in some of these is some [11:46] of the heavier work that our staff does [11:47] that um you know isn't as well [11:49] represented in public slideshows and [11:52] presentations, but I don't want it lost. [11:54] I know the council recognizes this, but [11:55] for the public uh there's some heavy [11:57] calls that our staff deals with and uh a [11:59] statistic doesn't often tell the whole [12:01] story, but these are just a way for us [12:03] to show some of the work that gets done [12:04] on uh on the more enforcement side of [12:06] things. So, third quarter uh police [12:08] reports um actually pulled. We're down [12:12] uh we were down uh about 30 from uh [12:15] third quarter of 2024. [12:18] And then our 911 uh CRU call transfers. [12:21] These are calls that come into dispatch, [12:23] 911 calls that the dispatcher uh [12:26] realizes are probably better served by [12:28] our crisis response unit. So we've we [12:30] saw 25 of those calls specific to [12:32] Lakeville in quarter 3. uh and we [12:34] continue to be right around that 75 to [12:36] 85% that uh police department never gets [12:40] involved with um which is how that [12:42] program or that um function is intended. [12:45] So good to see those numbers kind of [12:46] tracking consistently. [12:50] Calls for service uh you can see in the [12:52] parentheses just above the title there [12:54] um we're at about 12,400 [12:57] in quarter 3 down from u 14,200 uh last [13:02] year. Again, that's driven largely by [13:03] our medical response. Fire department [13:05] move moving to full-time, there's a lot [13:07] less medical calls that we uh respond [13:09] to. So, that's been a good improvement. [13:12] Uh welfare check and crisis mental [13:14] health calls, both down a little bit in [13:16] quarter three, which is which is great [13:17] to see. We put a lot of afterare [13:20] resources out there to try to minimize [13:21] uh the call back on on some of our folks [13:24] that uh are struggling uh with certain [13:26] things in the community. [13:29] And then uh more traffic related, our [13:31] traffic stop numbers uh were down in [13:33] 2025 and quarter 3 driven largely by a [13:36] little bit shorter staff in in patrol [13:38] with some of our changeover and uh uh [13:41] people out on medical leave and other [13:42] types of leave. And then uh crashes are [13:46] relatively consistent year-over-year [13:47] with property damage and also personal [13:50] injury. [13:53] And just a comparison to some of our [13:54] neighboring uh agency total calls there. [13:56] We're just uh right in between Apple [13:59] Valley and Burnsville in quarter 3. [14:04] And on criminal offense reporting on the [14:06] far left, they're driving under the [14:07] influence. Those numbers are up a little [14:09] bit. Uh we've uh we have three trained [14:12] drug recognition experts. You'll call [14:14] you'll hear them called DRRE. Uh but [14:17] they uh are great at looking for um [14:19] drugs outside of alcohol. So, uh, [14:22] cannabis, prescription, uh, opioids, [14:25] things like that. And we're seeing more [14:26] and more drivers impaired by u [14:28] substances other than alcohol. Uh, but [14:30] it's a different type of of training and [14:32] skill set to recognize those. So, as our [14:34] staff continues to get more used to that [14:36] and trained on that, uh, we're hoping to [14:38] see those numbers continue to to go up [14:40] as they're more proactive in uh, in [14:42] taking our impaired drivers off the [14:44] streets. Uh, aggravated assaults are up [14:47] just a little bit. Simple assaults or [14:48] misdemeanor assaults down. Um the the [14:51] one other one to highlight there that [14:53] which is a pretty significant drop [14:54] damage, vandalism. Um those are more uh [14:58] what we would call kind of a spree type [15:00] of crime where sometimes you might get a [15:02] pack of these all in one uh one event or [15:05] one evening which can generate a number [15:07] of case files based on one uh evening of [15:10] activity. [15:13] And finally just some snapshots from our [15:15] uh social media work out there. The [15:16] animals always get uh get a lot of [15:18] attention on the left there. I think [15:20] that's officer Engel. It's a little [15:23] small for me to see from here with a [15:25] injured bald eagle. Um, you know, all [15:28] kinds of things that we get called to to [15:30] assist with. Uh, they they're large and [15:32] dangerous. Uh, but we were able to get [15:35] that bird up to the U of M Raptor [15:37] Center, which is always a great partner [15:38] and and very willing to uh work with [15:40] staff and in getting uh injured raptors [15:43] up there. In the middle was a awfully [15:46] friendly raccoon which went to a [15:48] wildlife rehab center up in Roseville. [15:51] Uh on the right there is a picture from [15:54] prior to swearing in uh when we [15:56] introduced our officers here a few [15:58] months ago and uh a birthday uh shout [16:01] out to K9 Nora on the right. [16:06] That wraps up our uh third quarter [16:08] report. Happy to answer uh any questions [16:10] you may have. [16:11] Okay. Thank you, Chief. Questions, [16:12] comments? [16:14] Just a [16:17] question with the uh impaired driving [16:19] stats. Uh have you noticed in [16:23] proportions between alcohol and let's [16:25] say marijuana or other drugs? Um those [16:28] used to be rare, relatively rare, but [16:31] have you seen a change in that? [16:33] We have seen an increase. I don't have [16:34] the numbers in front of me with [16:36] statisticals. Um it is still largely [16:39] alcohol. I mean that is still the main [16:40] driver. And I do think a piece of that [16:42] is it's it's more recognizable and [16:44] officers are are more trained in [16:46] enforcing that. When you think of a [16:48] roadside portable test, uh we have tools [16:51] that can detect alcohol. We do not have [16:53] something that someone can blow into [16:55] that detects uh THC or you know other u [16:59] other substances, intoxicating [17:01] substances. So that's a piece of it, but [17:02] we are seeing the trend uh rise with [17:05] other drug impairment for sure. That's [17:07] it's good to see us investing in a [17:09] training that's going to allow people to [17:11] detect that. [17:14] Joshua [17:19] G, thanks for the report. I um had a [17:22] request for your next quarterly. Um [17:24] we've received some new striping at the [17:28] uh roundabout and I'm curious if we [17:30] could maybe get a report on potential [17:32] decreases in fender benders around that. [17:35] Yes, we are tracking those. It's still a [17:37] little early to get a good grasp of it, [17:39] but we will provide that um those [17:41] numbers at uh the next quarterly report [17:44] for sure. [17:44] Thank you. [17:45] You bet. [17:47] Thank you, Chief. Appreciate it. [17:50] Okay, moving on to our consent agenda. [17:52] Mr. Miller, anything you'd like to [17:53] highlight? [17:54] Thank you, Mayor. A few items tonight. [17:55] 6G is an acceptance of a donation to the [17:58] fire department from the McCoy family. [18:00] Uh Skyler McCoy was a former firefighter [18:02] for us and his family donated over $32 [18:05] that's going to be designated toward [18:06] fitness equipment for the fire [18:07] department. Item 6M is an amended and [18:11] restated joint powers agreement with ISD [18:13] 194 Lakeville schools. You reviewed this [18:15] at your work session last week. This is [18:17] in relation to um revised use policies [18:20] for facilities and parks between the the [18:22] two entities. And then item 6 is a [18:24] resolution of support for the 2026 [18:27] through 2030 Dakota County Capital [18:29] Improvement Program and we uh appreciate [18:32] their support and partnership and uh [18:34] projects that are occurring in [18:35] Lakeville. [18:36] Very good. Thank you. Uh council, any [18:38] items you'd like to have further [18:40] discussion? [18:41] Not I will take a motion agenda. [18:46] Is there a second? Any further [18:49] discussion? Seeing none, all those in [18:51] favor say I. I post. Okay, the consent [18:55] agenda passes. We'll move on to item [18:57] seven, a public hearing imposing a [19:00] service charge for special district [19:01] number one for taxes payable in 2026. [19:06] And I'll turn it over to our finance [19:08] director to give us [19:10] Thank you, Mr. Mayor, members of the [19:12] council. Um, the district special [19:14] service district was created in 1998 and [19:17] it has to follow Minnesota statute 428A. [19:20] One of the requirements of that statute [19:22] statute is holding a public hearing [19:24] every year um to impose a special [19:26] service charge whether there's a charge [19:28] or not. Um the special service district [19:31] advisory board is recommending a zero [19:34] special service charge for taxes payable [19:36] 2026 [19:38] and the budget that they have um [19:40] provided or put forth for 2020 their [19:42] 2026 2027 year is an exhibit B. Um, and [19:47] with that, I'll just open it up for [19:49] public hearing or any questions council [19:51] may have. [19:52] Okay. [19:52] Of the board. [19:53] This is a public hearing, so if you have [19:55] any comments related to now open. [20:01] Okay. Seeing none, I'll take a motion to [20:03] close the public hearing. [20:06] Okay. Is there a second? [20:08] All those in favor say I. [20:10] I. [20:11] Opposed? Public hearing is closed. And [20:14] with that, I'll take a motion to approve [20:17] budget and charge. Yep. Council member [20:19] Burmel. [20:20] I move to approve the resolution [20:22] imposing a service charge for special [20:24] service district number one for taxables [20:27] payable payable in 2026. [20:31] Is there a second? [20:32] Second. [20:33] Any further discussion? [20:36] The only thing I'll note, I had a [20:37] conversation at one point with the DLBA [20:40] and they think they're getting to the [20:42] point where they're almost drawn down [20:43] and they're going to have conversations [20:44] about what the future of this charges. [20:47] So that I'll take a motion or roll call. [20:51] Burmal [20:52] I [20:52] Walter [20:53] I [20:53] Lee [20:54] Vulk [20:55] I [20:56] Helier [20:56] I Okay, motion prevails. Um items 8, [21:01] nine, unfinished and new business. [21:04] Seeing none announcements. Our next city [21:06] council uh meeting is uh Monday, [21:08] November 17th, and our next work session [21:11] is November 24th. And with that, I'll [21:13] take a motion to adjurnn. [21:16] Is there a second? [21:18] All those in favor say I. I. Opposed. [21:22] We're adjourned. [21:25] [Music]