To foster our commitment to careers and leadership in the arts, an arts internship program has been discussed among staff and developed, and an anonymous donation of $50,000 has been committed for 2 years to support the internship.

I mean, you can't thank that person enough for the the um passion and the care they have for the Eden Prairie Art Center and and what they've given uh back to the community is is just you can't thank them enough.

And it helps fulfill our mission of providing access and opportunity and enhancing the programs and events that we are able to offer to the community to low to no cost for our residents and to highlight those businesses that have generously donated.

I say this every time we accept these donations that the city yes, we do collect quite a bit in tax dollars, but we can't do everything. And these donations allow us to do that go that extra step in any event depending on what was it was donated to, but we're really very appreciative of all these different groups and businesses that gave money.

We are providing three inclusionary housing units at or below 30% of AMI. And um the development also includes 9,000 square feet of open space.

I'm looking at seven heritage trees going down. That's kind of sensitive spot over in Needville Prairie. Um and virtually every other tree is significant. There's some that are, you know, there's some in poorer condition, fair, I get that. But, is there no way you cannot clear-cut that property? I think that's a problem.

The difficult part of that is there's pretty significant grades on that southern portion to where we'd have to we have to grade out that southern half in order to make a make the site viable to develop as much as possible.

City code allows for tree removal, but requires replacement based on the size of the tree that's being removed... City code also allows tree replacement requirements to be met through the planting of new trees, or it can be met through the payment in lieu option.

I would suggest, and this photo was taken just a few I guess our last snowstorm, um Chestnut Drive. It was parking um bumper to bumper the entire uh section of Chestnut Drive... I think it might be wise to post no parking on one side of Chestnut Drive.

I guess my request in front of the city council tonight is we would like the city council to continue this project for 2 weeks or a month to give us an opportunity and for the developer to follow through on what they said in providing us with information that we can agree to on the additional tree plantings.

I'm not comfortable postponing a a project just on a because I think we can solve this thing in a conversation. So, I would direct staff to meet with Don or meet with your board and and find out any of the I know you'd like some teeth to this. I get that.

As you know, the community development block grant funds are federal funds that are pass-through funds for the City of Eden Prairie that we receive from the federal government that can only be used to serve uh low-to-moderate income residents in Eden Prairie.

On average, the city contribution to each home is approximately 52,000 dollars, while Homes Within Reach brings an additional 127,000 dollars. In other words, 29% of the investment comes from the city and 71% comes from other leveraged sources that we write grants to get. This is a strong return on the local investment, and it shows as a testament to the effectiveness of our partnership.

We used the CDBG funds to help pay a month or two of her rent, so her balance uh was then brought back into compliance, so she no eviction proceedings started. The family stayed stably housed and her 6-year-old remained uh in Eden Prairie schools without any disruption, and she was able to keep her job and keep working.

We'll actually go to a older adult's home. We can help with their, uh, desktop computers or if they're having network issues. Uh one of the presentations we do is how to cut the cord. So, helping peop- people figure out their streaming services, making things more affordable that way.

The council gave overwhelmingly positive feedback praising his leadership, communication, and management skills, as well as his success in hiring and retaining high-quality staff. They also commended his responsiveness to the council and community and the positive environment that he fosters.

And the um coming from the corporate world and stuff for many years, one of the biggest uh things in judging a leader is the respect shown to him by those uh by his staff. And I guess it's always kind of amazed me, not just how good he is at his job... is that the way you carry yourself with the staff and the uh the respect that they show you.

Um this year's performance review really reflects what we see every day. Steady, effective leadership, and strong commitment to both the organization and and the community. Um you lead with integrity, professionalism, and a clear sense of purpose.

in all seriousness, I do want to make a quick it's uh obviously it's uh very lucky to work here. It's been a pleasure. Uh continues to be a pleasure as I always um I always reiterate you're only as good as as the people you work with and that includes the leadership from above and and the people that work for the city and I just I just try not to get in the way and and allow the great people that work for the city to do the great job for the residents that are here.