Edina City Council Meeting / Sept. 2, 2025
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Edina City Council Meeting / Sept. 2, 2025
Published Wednesday, September 3, 2025
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Edina Council Overrides Engineers, Approves Four Stop Signs
Transformer Installation Visual Impact - Hawk Lake Lift Station
City Financial Management and Fiscal Responsibility
Chowan Park Neighborhood Traffic Control - Stop Sign Petition
Certificate of Appropriateness Appeal - Country Club District Historic Home
General Obligation Bond Sale - Vernon Avenue Bridge and Aquatic Center
70th and France Tax Increment Financing District Special Law
Gun Violence Prevention and Community Response
E-Bike Enforcement and Youth Safety
Board of Appeal and Equalization Transition
Full Document Analysis
Votes (10)
Community Comment - Eden Avenue Crosswalk Safety
Nancy Greer presented a two-year history of requests for pedestrian safety improvements on Eden Avenue, including an advanced traffic flasher and improved visibility of speed limit signs obscured by tree leaves. She emphasized the vulnerability of senior citizens and children in the Grand View business district. Staff reported that equipment was ordered in June but the critical flashing beacon component was not delivered; staff committed to expedited pickup from Milwaukee vendor rather than waiting until end of September. City acknowledged that Vernon Avenue signage falls under county jurisdiction and committed to coordination with county staff.
Community Comment - Transformer Installation Visual Impact
Alexander Melton presented concerns about a large transformer installed in an easement adjacent to his residence for the Hawk Lake lift station power infrastructure. He provided photographic evidence showing the transformer's significant visual prominence from multiple vantage points, including from his front door and dining room window. Melton noted that the transformer's dimensions were not communicated to neighbors during pre-installation coordination, despite the city's knowledge of the size. He requested city assistance in implementing grading and landscaping to mitigate visual impact.
Community Comment - City Financial Management Critique
Ralph Zickert presented a detailed critique of city financial practices, alleging that recent council actions (employee terminations, utility rate increases, deferred maintenance deferrals) constitute 'financial sleight of hand' designed to reduce the appearance of tax levy increases. He challenged the interpretation of the AAA bond rating as a measure of fiscal management, arguing it reflects only creditworthiness and the city's large tax base relative to debt, not operational efficiency. Zickert cited $70 million in unfunded deferred projects and questioned the fiscal prudence of major capital projects including a $30 million pedestrian tunnel, $21 million parking ramp, and $10 million aquatic center amenities.
Chowan Park Neighborhood Traffic Control - Stop Sign Petition (Item 6.11)
Dissent: Amendment proposed by Council Member Agnu to defer direction determination to engineering staff failed 3-2 (Agnu, Jackson, Pierce in favor; Risser, Mayor opposed). Main motion adopting neighborhood recommendation passed 5-0.
Moved by Council Member Pierce [Discussion] · Seconded by Council Member Jackson [Discussion]
City engineers presented analysis of four uncontrolled intersections in Chowan Park neighborhood where residents requested stop signs. Staff recommended two-way yield controls at two intersections and a two-way stop at one intersection (Abbott Avenue and 59th Street, which had four crashes in 10 years), declining to implement four-way stops at all four requested intersections based on MUTCD warrants emphasizing crash history, sight lines, and traffic volume. Council members expressed concern that professional standards did not align with lived experience of residents, particularly regarding child safety and consistency with surrounding signage patterns. Council Member Risser presented photographic evidence of sight line obstructions and noted that all surrounding intersections had stop signs, creating expectation of control at unmarked intersections. Council Member Pierce noted that processes leading to outcomes incongruent with resident experience are challenging. Council Member Jackson emphasized that crash history is vehicle-centric while resident concerns focus on non-motorized vehicle safety. After discussion, council voted to adopt the neighborhood's full recommendation for two-way stops at all four intersections, with engineering to determine direction (north/south or east/west) at each location.
Public Hearing - Certificate of Appropriateness Appeal (4630 Edgebrook Place)
Moved by Council Member Jackson [Discussion] · Seconded by Council Member Pierce [Discussion]
Property owner appealed Heritage Preservation Commission denial of proposed modifications to front entry of historic colonial revival home (built 1935) in Country Club District. Applicant argued that modifications were necessary to address water management issues caused by zero-threshold entry and to meet building code egress requirements. Proposed changes included raising front stoop, removing historic fan transom panel, and installing arched front door. Heritage Preservation Commission and preservation consultants opposed removal of fan transom as character-defining feature, noting that arch doors are not typical of colonial revival style. Applicant presented photographic evidence of other colonial revival homes in neighborhood with arched doors and argued that complete reconstruction would be required to retain fan transom while raising stoop. Council voted to defer public input closure to September 7, 2025 and action to September 16, 2025 meeting to allow additional consideration.
Resolution 2025-79 - Acceptance of Donations
Moved by Council Member Agnu [Motion] · Seconded by Council Member Pierce [Second]
Council approved acceptance of memorial bench donation from Terry Hoffer ($3,200) for Centennial Lakes Park. Mayor acknowledged generosity of donation.
Resolution 2025-75 - General Obligation Bond Sale (Series 2025B)
Dissent: Council Member Jackson voted against, citing concerns about overall fiscal management raised in earlier community comment regarding deferred projects and capital spending priorities.
Moved by Council Member Agnu [Motion] · Seconded by Council Member Pierce [Second]
City awarded $8,785,000 in general obligation bonds to Hilltop Securities of Dallas, Texas for financing Vernon Avenue and Highway 100 overpass reconstruction and aquatic center improvements. Bonds received AAA ratings from both Moody's and Standard & Poor's. Eleven competitive bids were received with tight spreads among top bidders. Winning bid from Hilltop Securities at true interest cost of 3.67%, below pre-sale estimates of 3.9%. Bond closing scheduled for September 25, 2025. Council Member Jackson voted against the resolution, citing concerns about fiscal management raised in earlier community comment.
Resolution 2025-69 - Special Law for 70th and France Tax Increment Financing District
Dissent: Council Member Risser voted against, citing concerns about lack of transparency regarding public assumption of parking ramp financing risk and sequencing of information disclosure to elected officials and state legislators.
Moved by Council Member Agnu [Motion] · Seconded by Council Member Pierce [Second]
Council re-voted on resolution approving special law enabling extension of 70th and France TIF district, correcting procedural defect from August 19, 2025 meeting. Manager Neil emphasized importance of strict compliance with state procedural requirements for special laws. Council Member Risser expressed concern that the legislature was not informed of the city's plan to assume public risk for parking ramp financing at the US Bank site, and questioned the sequencing of information disclosure to elected officials. Council Member Jackson clarified that the vote approves the state's enabling legislation but does not obligate the city to extend the TIF district. Manager Neil confirmed that the resolution only empowers but does not require the city to extend the TIF.
Gun Violence Prevention - Community Response and Policy Discussion
Following the Annunciation shooting tragedy, council members discussed appropriate city-level responses. Council Member Jackson proposed drafting a formal resolution denouncing gun violence and requested police input on street gun prevalence. Council Member Pierce raised concerns about addressing root causes of violence beyond gun availability, citing historical patterns of violence in sacred spaces and arguing that 'smoldering hate within our culture' is the core issue. Council Member Agnu expressed support for passing a resolution and coordinating with city lobbyists to advance specific legislative measures at state level. Mayor indicated coordination with legislative delegation on community conversation regarding gun violence prevention, with potential venue at high school performing arts center (capacity ~1,000). Mayor noted that governors and mayors are moving toward legislative action rather than continued discussion.
E-Bike Enforcement and Youth Safety
Council Member Agnu raised concerns about underage riders operating e-bikes in violation of city ordinance (minimum age 15). Police reported 70 complaints since ordinance approval, with enforcement focused on parent education rather than citations to minors. Positive trend noted in increased helmet usage among youth riders. Discussion included potential for additional signage at problem areas such as 50th and France intersection. Police indicated coordination with school resource officers and school contacts to leverage existing relationships for education.
Notable Quotes (32)
I have brought a copy of the email on Eden Avenue Cross Safety that I sent the council members on 724. I assume that it ended up in your spam filter because I never received a reply... Two years is a long time to wait.
If you don't want to see me again, fix the problem.
The equipment was ordered in June... Everything got delivered except for the flashing beacon that's needed for that thing. So, we are reaching out to the vendor. They're in Milwaukee and we may send a staff member over there just to pick it up because their next delivery date is the end of September and we think that's too long.
We are broadly supportive of this sort of critical infrastructure investment as it benefits the community and the environment... It appears the city of Edina requested power feed enhancement from Excel. Excel complied with the city's request with the installation of a large transformer of a size that wasn't communicated to the neighbors.
We're seeking the city's assistance in design and implementing appropriate grading to lower the visual perceived height of the transformer and landscaping to address visual impact of the placement of the transformer directly in front of a residence.
In June, council approved terminating six employees in the transfer of $1 million onto Hennepin County tax levy. In July, council approved adding an incremental 1.2 million to residents gas and electric bills... the acknowledged purpose of these actions is all about the optics, not reduce the actual tax burden on residents... If this isn't slight of hand, I don't know what is.
Adina's AAA rating reflects the extremely low risk of default. It does not... reflect how well Adina is run... Adina could borrow and spend money like a drunken sailor and still have a great bond rating.
Adina is on track to spend $30 million for a present pedestrian tunnel under France. 21 million for a parking ramp to serve yet an unbuilt commercial building at the US Bank site and an additional 10 million for future aquatic center amenities... Meanwhile, Adina has identified over $70 million of unfunded deferred projects, an amount that has doubled in three years.
When reviewing the warrants for stop signs and traffic control devices, one of the factors we look at is crash history... of the four intersections that were included in this petition, only one intersection had any reported crashes in that time period, and that's the intersection of Abbott Avenue and 59th Street.
When you look at these, I only and I did visit and I did look, you've got two additional dots that I did not see um when I did my count... it looks like the other dots that are there are all on three-way stops, not four-way stops. So, that is a concern. Um, I do think it makes good policy if you're in an area where there are all of these marked stops to continue with that.
The stories that came to us are of kids on bikes or on foot having near misses. And so, um, the crash history really seems to me vehicle centric. And the worries that people were coming were non-motorized vehicle centric.
I it's challenging for me that our processes lead us to outcomes that are not congruent with the lived experience of the resident... when I looked at this, it just seemed odd that there are four intersections that are uncontrolled amongst however many that are on that sheet.
Member Pierce said that lived experience has value too. You know data can't necessarily drive everything.
Our intent of this certificate of appropriateness was to really to make minimal impacts to the front of the house... this home is historic and it doesn't have a front stoop. It's basically like a zero threshold. I think over time it's sunk... we're hoping to bring back that historic stoop so that we don't have water management issues that have been ongoing.
If we were to keep a fan light and raise the stoop, we would have to completely rebuild this... we would probably have to there's there would just be we'd have to completely rebuild it in order to have that fit in that space. So, we thought the easiest way to accomplish our goals is just to switch out the door.
Our recommendations were based on evaluating this proposed scope of work against the plan of treatment... best practices are to retain historic material and to retain character-defining features on this house... the ornamentation around that front entry as a character defining feature.
My concern with changing things is um that arch doorway does visually have a very different impact because you've got that white line and then you've got the fan motif above it and then if you start changing um the height you're changing you know the proportion of the pillars and all of that you kind of lose the um aesthetic appeal of the entryway.
Is there a way to determine that it actually has sunk over time or is it just that's the best guess of what's happened?
Terry Hoffer, $3,200 donation for Memorial Bench. That was very, very generous. Terry, thank you.
We did open bids earlier this morning on behalf of the city on the purchase of bonds issued for the projects... We had 11 bids uh this morning on this transaction... Hilltop Securities came in with uh the winning bid. Their indicated rate before making any adjustments and and the financing costs uh came in at 3.64 or just under 3.65%.
The calculated true interest cost using the pricing from Hilltop was at a 3.67%. Uh this is in comparison to our pre-sale estimates. Uh we're above 3.9%. Uh admittedly intentionally conservative.
This is an important... the voting process for a special law is very important to observe. The state requires us to just be very tight in terms of our process in getting you to approve the special law before we turn it back to the state.
I asked whether representatives in the legislature, the tax committee knew that we had been talking about the public assuming the risk for building the parking ramp for that project. And I was told it was not the purview of the tax committee to know that. But I do think it really was because how do you make a decision if you don't know...
The vote tonight is to acknowledge that the state changed the law. It is not to approve anything regarding our extension of this tiff. It is simply to acknowledge that the legislature did as we asked them and allow created the possibility that we could extend it. Not we're not making any decision about the actual tiff tonight.
It empowers us but it doesn't uh doesn't force us to do it.
I would like us to pass something um denouncing gun violence... I'd like some input from the police department on the number of guns on the street and what they're seeing... I'd like us to to make a formal statement um especially if there's going to be a special session.
I don't know that guns are the core of the issue here... I feel like there's smoldering hate within our culture and we haven't dealt with it as a nation and so people act out in these ways.
There's things that we can do as a city and things that we cannot do as a city. And I want to make sure that we're doing as many of the things that we can do... passing some type of resolution... double down with our city lobbyists to make sure that these are um on the agenda for the state of Minnesota.
I'm working we are working with our uh legislative delegation on having a community conversation on on gun violence prevention... I think we've got a couple of sanctuaries that hold about a thousand people... or the performing arts center at the high school that probably holds about a thousand... I think we're just about at the point where we're done talking and getting to the doing what you're talking about. Let's get to the doing all of us thinking about it.
I've gotten a couple of emails, I think just in general, of like now that school is back in session, I think I've seen even an uptick in the number of kids that are driving ebikes to school... I see them all the time and every single time I'm like, you're not 15.
We've had close to 70 um complaints and we track whether or not we've been able to make contact with the folks um or the children make contact with the parents as well too. And um we're trying to make uh we're trying to be um we're trying to enforce it but not heavy-handed. I don't want to hand out a lot of citations to children. I don't think that's the answer here, but by working with the parents, we're really trying to educate them.
One thing I have seen this summer is a huge uptick in kids wearing helmets on the bikes as well, too. Doesn't solve the four the under 15 problem. Um, but we're we're continuously working on it.
Ordinances & Resolutions (8)
Acceptance of donations; includes $3,200 memorial bench donation from Terry Hoffer for Centennial Lakes Park.
Authorization and award of sale of $8,785,000 in general obligation bonds (Series 2025B) to Hilltop Securities for Vernon Avenue bridge and aquatic center projects.
Approval of special law for 70th and France Tax Increment Financing District extension; corrected procedural defect from August 19, 2025 meeting.
Application for modifications to street-facing facade of 4630 Edgebrook Place; partially denied by Heritage Preservation Commission regarding front door and transom removal.
Document used by Heritage Preservation Commission to evaluate proposed changes against standards of rehabilitation for historic properties in Country Club District.
Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices; referenced by city engineers for warrants regarding stop sign installation based on crash history, sight lines, and traffic volume.
Federal preservation standards adapted into local plan of treatment; used to evaluate appropriateness of modifications to historic properties.
Plan authorizing city council to determine issuance of debt for Vernon Avenue and Highway 100 overpass projects; adopted July 15, 2025.