Lakeville Council Swears In Members, Approves Liquor License
The Lakeville City Council conducted its annual organizational meeting Monday, administering oaths of office to council members and approving a new liquor license for a local business.
Council members Dan Walter and another member were sworn in during the ceremony. The council also designated Council Member Vul as acting mayor for 2025, a position that serves when the mayor is absent.
The council approved an on-sale liquor license for Farmers Grants on Eatery at 8333 210th Street, currently the Amico Gas Station location. Tony Donatell, representing applicant Paul Donatell, told the council the business is remodeling the convenience store and building out an adjacent bar area. The establishment expects to open in March.
Public Works Director presented the department's fourth-quarter report, highlighting several major infrastructure projects. The I-35 and County Road 50 interchange improvement project held a neighborhood meeting in December with about 40 property owners attending. The $50 million project is moving toward finalizing alignment plans for submission to the Minnesota Department of Transportation, with potential construction beginning in 2028 if funding is secured.
The 185th Street project from Kenwood Trail to Ipava Avenue will begin bidding in early February for summer construction. The project will expand the two-lane rural roadway to a four-lane divided highway with trail improvements and turn lanes. Environmental Services reported managing over 100 acres of vegetation throughout the city and completing ash tree surveys, with second compliance letters scheduled for January.
Our proprietary artificial intelligence agent analyzed publicly available documents including meeting agendas, minutes, and transcripts to write this story to help inform local residents. Feedback helps us improve, so please consider rating how we did with the thumbs up or down below.
Go deeper on this topic
Research related meeting documents and build a brief — without rewriting the story.
Full analysis
Votes (4)
Public Works Quarter Report
Public Works Director Mr. Omi presented comprehensive fourth quarter report covering major infrastructure projects (I-35/County Road 50 interchange, 185th Street expansion, County Road 50 roundabout), street operations (snow/ice control, sweeping, patching, culvert inspections), utility operations (water production, lead/copper inventory, wellhead protection), environmental services (vegetation management, recycling, MS4 compliance), and forestry (ash tree management, EV charging stations). Key metrics included 25% annual street inventory with roads rated 70-80 PCI, 2.5 billion gallons water production (20% decrease), 23,000 service lines with 2,600 unknown materials, 100+ acres vegetation management, 33,000 pounds pumpkin composting, 604 ash tree survey letters, 1,353 ash tree injections, and five operational EV charging stations.
Consent Agenda - Item 6D: Property Purchase Agreement and Item 6F: Legal Newspaper Designation
Moved by Council Member [Name not identified] [Timestamp] · Seconded by Council Member [Name not identified] [Timestamp]
City Manager Miller highlighted two organizational items: (1) a purchase agreement for excess city property adjacent to the Lakeville liquor store, recommended for approval by staff; (2) designation of The Sun This Week as the official legal newspaper for 2025. Council Member Del Volk raised a clarification question regarding the lead/copper service line inventory letters, noting uncertainty about whether recipients understood required actions. Public Works Director Omi explained that the letter included required Department of Health language requesting property owners to submit photos or contact the city for material identification assistance, and acknowledged the need for follow-up with non-responsive property owners.
Public Hearing - Application for Farmers Grants On-Sale Liquor License (833 210th Street)
Moved by Council Member [Name not identified] [Timestamp] · Seconded by Council Member [Name not identified] [Timestamp]
Tony Donatell, representing the applicant (his brother Paul Donatell, finance manager for the Hospitality Group), presented an application for an on-sale liquor license at 833 210th Street, currently the Amico gas station/The Outpost. The applicant is remodeling the convenience store with menu changes and quick-casual food service (order-at-counter with limited seating), and constructing an adjacent bar. Expected opening is March 2025. The public hearing was opened and closed with no public comments received.
Appointment of Acting Mayor for 2025
Moved by Council Member Joshua Lee [Timestamp] · Seconded by [Name not identified] [Timestamp]
Mayor opened nominations for Acting Mayor to serve in the mayor's absence. Council Member Joshua Lee nominated Council Member Del Volk, noting that Volk had served in this capacity the previous year. Volk accepted the nomination. No other nominations were made. The council voted unanimously to approve Volk as Acting Mayor for 2025.
Notable Quotes (10)
I35 and County Road 50 interchange improvements...we did hold a neighborhood meeting open house for that project on December 19th and um had about 40 Property Owners attend that had some great comments uh we received for the preferred layout um now that we received those comments uh we're looking at moving the preferred layout forward um and finalizing the alignment and setting that to mot for consideration...it is a $50 million project estimate right now um but hopefully we can secure some of that funding in the near term here um and then if funding does come through we're looking at construction um maybe starting in 2028
we did complete that again in um before October 16th and submitted that information to the Department of Health we do have a little over 23,000 services within our community we did find that we do have unknown Serv materials um that are 26 2600 of them a little bit over um that we don't know the materials so right now we have um mailed out notices to those property owners and have did some door knocking too so we knocked that 2600 number down to about 23 uh 2300 U 2400 um uh Service uh properties now and we did find six galvaniz services that were identified through that process
we did finish up the Wellhead protection plan um that was approved by the primary health in October this um plan reduces helps to reduce the potential contamination path um from surface contaminantes down to our aquer um and also provides education for residents that have may have wells or septic systems to how to properly maintain those or if they're not using the well to We There are some Grant dollars that are available to cap those Wells
electric vehicle public charging stations are now operational we do have five sites throughout the community um Heritage Center City Hall Market Street parking lot um the Arts Center and then the ases arena all have um public charging facilities now the city did partner with a private company um parbon solutions group uh for the EV charging stations the company funded the Capital Improvements and the their ongoing operational cost and the users that hook up or use the charging stations pay a fee for the use of those stations
item 6D is a purchase agreement uh as you may recall the city has some excess property next to our Kook Lake Lakeville liquor store and the city council reviewed this purchase agreement and uh staff is recommending approval
the lead copper pipe you sent out 2600 notices right was the citizen supposed to contact you well the in the letter it stated that um we basically the gist of the letter was we don't know what type of material a service line we have in your house um if you can send us a picture of what that service line is or if you need to um if you have any questions about it please contact us and we can we can help you identify what type of material your service line is so there is you only had 300 responses right so okay so we have a lot of work to do there
we we've had that response there is there is certain language that was required by the Department of Health that we had include in that letter so um we're we'll definitely be re uh reconnecting with those property owners that we haven't heard from yet and um and see if we can uh figure out what material they have in their service line
I'm Tony donatell I'm actually the brother of the applic my brother is uh Paul donel okay um he's the the finance guy behind our Hospitality Group um we are before you seeking a liquor license for um 833 3 210th Street it's uh currently the Amico gas station um or The Outpost is what has been referred to we are in the process of remodeling the convenience store um we made a few changes to the menu in the kitchen so we're bringing in our food programs that are offered kind of quick casual style um order at the counter and either leave or very limited seating area and then next door we're um building out a bar and so we're seeking a a liquor license to be able to serve um on site or on sale liquor
do you have a expected opening date well we're hoping for sometime in March okay
I had the privilege to do this this past year um but I would love to nominate this year council member vul to take on that role do you accept I do thank you
Ordinances & Resolutions (9)
EPA and Department of Health mandated inventory completed by October 16th deadline; identified 23,000 total services with 2,600 unknown materials (reduced to 2,300-2,400 through outreach) and 6 galvanized services. Full inventory of unknown materials due November 2027.
Approved by Primary Health Department in October 2024; reduces contamination pathways to aquifers and provides education for residents on well and septic system maintenance.
Stormwater permit requiring annual inspections; 216 pounds inspected and 287 construction site inspections completed in 2024.
Grant of approximately $340,000 for replacement of ash trees in public spaces and city parks; first year work completed with additional removals and replacements planned for next two years.
Grant program funding up to 50% of replacement costs for inefficient irrigation controllers, sprinkler system heads, and toilets.
New grant program funding 50% of sewer service line repair or rehabilitation (lining or replacement) to reduce groundwater infiltration into service lines.
Application for on-sale liquor license at 833 210th Street (The Outpost); applicant is remodeling convenience store with quick-casual food service and building adjacent bar; expected opening March 2025.
Purchase agreement for excess city property adjacent to Lakeville liquor store; approved by city council.
The Sun This Week designated as official legal newspaper for 2025.
Source document
Was this story helpful?
Other Topics from This Document
Public Works Quarter Report - I-35 and County Road 50 Interchange Improvements
Public Works Quarter Report - 185th Street Expansion Project
Public Works Quarter Report - County Road 50 Roundabout
Street Operations and Maintenance
Water Production and Lead/Copper Service Line Inventory
Wellhead Protection Plan and Water Conservation Grants
Utility Locates and Educational Outreach
Environmental Services - Vegetation Management and Recycling
Forestry - Ash Tree Management and EV Charging Stations
Consent Agenda - Property Purchase Agreement and Legal Newspaper Designation
Public Hearing - Farmers Grants On-Sale Liquor License Application
Appointment of Acting Mayor
Want to know when new stories arrive?
Enter your email to receive updates.
We will not use your email for any other purpose. You can unsubscribe at any time.