[0:25] good evening everybody Welcome to the EV [0:33] and um you heard Mr denfield talk about the fact that we're handling these meetings on a hybrid basis uh there will [0:42] be an opportunity for people to uh call in tonight for uh concerns of residents [0:47] and otherwise there was no public hearing matter this evening that they can call in for so uh if there's some [0:54] information that can be put on the screen for people at home uh those are the numbers that you want to be mindful [0:59] of and be writing down right away because Community comment comes up fairly quickly you may be tuning in on [1:06] uh you know on your computer in some form or fashion and uh so make sure that you uh can communicate with us and then [1:14] you'll get in a call with an operator and the operator will bring you to Mr denfield and Mr denfield will bring you into the council meeting so get ready [1:21] for that here in relatively short order um and then of course we'll call on our residents that are here with us in the [1:27] audience this evening that have concern that they wish to express to the council that are not on the agenda this evening [1:34] or otherwise scheduled for a future public hearing those are only two areas that we say that you cannot cover in [1:40] your in your community comments and your public comments so uh let's now call the meeting to order and I'll ask uh Carrie [1:47] sinning our uh Deputy clerk to call the role council member agnu here council [1:54] member Jackson here council member Pierce here council member Risser here May May hland here next is the Pledge of [2:03] Allegiance Pledge of ALG to the flag of the United States of America and to the [2:10] Republic for which it stands one nation under God individual with liberty and [2:16] justice for [2:23] all we have a form of meeting agenda that's been published uh for uh members [2:28] of the council and staff and our general public is there anyone who wishes to modify the agenda in any former Fashion [2:35] on the council from a staff standpoint all right is there a motion to approve the meeting agenda is published so moved [2:41] second member Jackson moves member Pierce second the approval of the meeting agenda is published any further [2:47] discussion all those in favor of approving the meeting agenda is published say I I I opposed carried the [2:52] meeting agenda is approved uh and now we are back at Community comment so I'm going to get those um numbers up on the [3:00] screen uh but in the meantime we're going to see if our there are folks with us uh in Chambers this evening that wish [3:06] to address the Council on matters of concern to them uh and U we've got one [3:12] of our residents has already uh stepped up to address the [3:27] council good evening mayor and councel good [3:43] evening my name is Ralph ziker I live at 4311 Cornelia Circle I'm here tonight to [3:50] talk about the ongoing lack of transparency with res [3:55] with residents during two prior HRA meetings over some four hours of [4:01] presentations an estimate of the property tax revenues needed to pay the [4:07] interest cost on the proposed $23 million of Tiff notes for the Macy site [4:13] was never shared therefore at the August 20th council meeting I asked what is an [4:20] estimate of those costs Mr Neil's response posted to the [4:28] city's website it's too early in the financing process to predict a precise [4:34] interest rate two years ago it wasn't too early for the developer to predict an interest [4:41] rate was it precise no but you can be darn sure an interest cost was [4:48] calculated and shared with investors what Mr Neil is really saying [4:53] is that it's too early for residents to be fully informed too early to be told [4:59] that interest on the Macy's Tiff notes will suck up another 15 to $25 million [5:07] of city property tax revenue making this not a 23 million but a 4 million a $40 [5:15] million gift of Tiff what's more both HRA presentations [5:21] noted that without public health help the Macy's project did not meet the [5:26] developers desired rate of return but that rate of return was not specified [5:31] anywhere therefore I posed a second question is a [5:38] d $23 million of Tiff enough to close the gap to which Mr [5:44] Neil posted to the city website yes yes A din Tiff proposal was enough [5:51] to close the gap yet yes is in glaring conf conflict [5:57] to Mr Neil's August 14th email to a similar question posed by [6:03] member Risser a reply that was cc to the entire Council Mr Neil's email clearly shows [6:10] that the that ad's $23 million does not close the gap not even half the Gap and [6:18] using the numbers from Mr Neil's email yet another $35 million of public [6:24] subsidy would be needed is $35 million a precise number no but it's a heck of a [6:31] lot closer than zero or no answer at all no wonder the project meets the butt [6:38] for test mayor council members when will the [6:44] lack of transparency and Mr Neil's ongoing behavior of dissing residents [6:49] with replies that are not replies become unacceptable finally a personal thank [6:57] you to member Pierce and member r for asking probing thoughtful questions [7:02] and voicing substantial concerns too often those actions only [7:08] become apparent after a public data request had other members of the council [7:15] done the same they too would have been called out thank you thank you Mr zer [7:39] evening yeah you'll need that [7:44] handheld sorry first time first time hi ladies and gentlemen so ITA city council [7:51] thank you for allowing me to speak here today my name is Eric on I am resident on 5105 62nd Street and the member of [7:59] mentioned Chinese Christian Church also known as mncc nice to meet everyone with our [8:06] congregation member behind I'm here to advocate for the approval of local [8:12] Asian-American Church uh proposal to purchase the art center and transer into [8:17] a place of worship and multiculture hub in last two months we have collected about 137 signatures from fellow Idina [8:26] residents this initiative holds immense up potential for our community and I [8:31] would like to highlight three key reasons why this approval is not only beneficial for the Dina uh Community but [8:38] also embracing D values transforming the art first transforming the art center [8:43] into a vibrant Rally Point for fostter Unity and inclusivity for our diverse [8:49] Community 's Home for people from various cultural backgrounds and this [8:55] proposal celebrates Embrace that uh diversity and [9:00] the new use of the space will unite individuals from diverse backgrounds fure culture exchange and mutual [9:08] understanding to serve entire city his initiative was strengthen the community Bond and promote mutual respect and [9:16] understanding second mncc has proven track of community engagement and support newcommerce over last 26 years [9:24] he has organized numerous impactful events and initiatives uh with uh [9:30] demonstrated unweaving commitments to Thea Community partnering with the [9:35] Christ Presbyterian Church they share a vision of peaceful Harmony amongst all people groups approving this proposal [9:42] recognize their dedication and UST the center space to organization that [9:48] consistently and cons uh brings the people together and creates meaningful [9:53] connections hence enhancing the quality of life here Ina [9:59] uh third point reassigning the our Center space for MNC will create a platform for culture exchange and [10:06] education we will we will host public events workshop and program showcasing [10:11] our communities diverse cultural heritage activities such as summer camps [10:17] exibitions music performance Workforce preparation and language training where [10:23] you bridge uh residents life to attract visitors boosting our local economy [10:29] and in conclusion approving this proposal line was D commitment in promoting diversity and inclusion [10:36] reaffirming is a dedication to this values the transformed location will serve as a beacon of diversity welcome [10:44] and value everyone furthermore transferring this loc location into a ph and multiculture [10:50] event Hub will benefit our Edina Community by F uh Unity celebrating [10:57] common values and share experience with all Americans while promoting education [11:03] at changes I urge The Honorable members of city council here uh to approve the [11:09] proposal and supportting creation of a vibrant inclusive thriving nus in our [11:15] city thank you thank you very much would you want to leave your [11:20] written remarks with our clerk so we could make them part of the record yes [11:31] okay yes I would ask you to hand that to her as well thank you thank you everyone [11:39] yeah and um if you can all stay for just a little bit I think we might be able to have our park and rec director talk [11:45] about this issue and um it may have been in part because of a conversation I had [11:52] with one of your church members uh just yeah are is right there and a conversation on the west side of rosin [11:59] Park one night that uh caused you to think about this site as a as a location [12:05] for a church yeah yeah I yeah okay so uh what if you can all [12:11] just stand by we're going to go through our residents here and see if anybody's online and wants to address us and Community comment and we can talk a [12:17] little bit about this issue okay thank [12:23] you David Frankl 4510 lak viiew Drive uh came to my attention today that a couple [12:29] weeks ago there was a major drug bust at 4040 West 70th Street Fentanyl and [12:35] meth uh that that particular apartment building's been home to a lot of police [12:41] calls since it was opened up and there should be something on the radar in some form of community policing to talk about [12:48] what's going on over there in some of the other affordable sites uh it's just being ignored another issue that's being [12:55] ignored you know a lot of these are quality of life issues that seem to be shoved under the carpet here uh my wife [13:02] was at Arden Park today and she normally doesn't step out of line and yell at people but after almost seeing a couple [13:09] elderly women walking their dogs almost being hit by a couple kids on their ebikes going excessive speeds she yelled [13:17] at them and I've seen this numerous times I've seen kids on sidewalks going 20 [13:23] miles an hour two weeks ago I had a teenager play chicken with me on my bicycle came right at me and turned at [13:30] the last second I almost had to hit him to keep him from hitting me uh you might [13:35] be aware it's was in the newspaper city of excel Shire has a new ordinance that [13:40] requires anybody under 18 who's riding an ebike to wear a helmet City VI should be looking at [13:47] those types of things the county Orange County California has a very extensive [13:52] ordinance for ebikes it classifies bikes at different levels of speed and size [13:58] that's kind of the extreme but Nationwide there's got to be better ordinances regulating ebikes they just [14:05] go too fast and they're too big the other issue is some places have already started [14:11] putting up speed limit signs on bike trails 20 miles an hour which is pretty [14:17] fast but C Minneapolis marks its bike trails at 10 which probably any 10-year-old can probably go 10 miles an [14:24] hour but some of these things have to be looked at for ebikes they're just getting too dangerous [14:30] the other issue is the bridge over here the bridge of nowhere the pedestrian bridge that's now being completed with [14:36] rails evidently in the CIP for 2026 $2.2 million has been allocated to make the [14:43] Grand View parking ramp or Jerry's ramp 88 compliant I'm not sure if that ramp [14:49] is feasible to be compliant I think it's talking about the actual you're shaking your head that's what I read in the CIP [14:56] says 2.2 for the Grand View ramp is that wrong it's a city [15:02] document we can reply next week unless the mayor well you know back to what Ralph was talking [15:08] about it's transparency I just see a document it says Grand View parking ramp 88 compliant 2.2 million you know I'm [15:14] just a resident I don't spend a lot of time in this building cross-examining people to find out what the real issue [15:20] is and also there was a structural test done of that Jerry's ramp I requested a [15:26] month ago through the through the city data request process for a copy of the [15:32] the uh structural test report and I still haven't received that so I don't know where that's at because that's [15:37] going to play into how this ramp if it ever is opened again if it can be open if that ramp is actually usable thank [15:44] you I think Mr Frankle interesting you raised this issue of the of the speed on [15:50] the ebikes because that's something that we're going to talk about at the end of the meeting tonight with our chief of police so if you want to stick around uh [15:56] and listen to what the chief reports out on it's an issue that uh not only you have raised tonight but others have [16:02] raised and we're thinking about it ourselves so we're going to be addressing that issue tonight oh yeah [16:07] thank you and um last time I think you were here you left early and I think the our [16:13] city engineer did address some of the issues that you had raised with respect to the jury's parking ramp and why were [16:18] we doing testing over there so uh I'm sorry you missed that report out by him [16:24] well I just asked for the report I mean a data request State law I should be able to get a copy of it but I'm sure [16:29] it's coming your way well [16:35] when I'll just make one last comment as far as the data requests I sent an email [16:41] to hanen County Traffic engineering yesterday this morning I got a response less than a day I never get that quick a [16:48] response from the city of Edina mayor I can just chime in we don't have the report yet we're waiting for [16:54] the consultant to finish the report then we'll provide it to Mr frinkle so we know there's a request very [17:02] good uh yeah so I I mean some of these things we can talk about 40 40 Flats I [17:07] know we can we probably can't talk about some we can tell people that there have been three evictions [17:15] there I don't know if we can or not um well I just did [17:21] um okay so let's let's uh can be is that is that it folks is there anybody else [17:28] that wishes to address the council let's go online and then uh we'll have you ask [17:34] your folks to stick around just a little bit mayor I don't have anyone online um [17:39] if you would like to give our our usual 30 45 second break we could if you'd [17:45] like well we're waiting for that maybe we'll ask director veter to come up and and [17:51] um this really this this particular issue is not one that we're familiar with we became familiar with it just a [17:57] couple hours ago it's uh there's a lot there are a lot of issues at play here particularly how [18:04] that land was acquired and whether we could sell it for another purpose I [18:09] think I we I understand all that but I director veter and I had a a sidebar conversation with some of the folks that [18:15] were here and I think it would be helpful them to broadly understand that nothing's happening there until at least [18:21] 2027 and we just don't know what the future of it's going to be and I think for folks in the audience it would be [18:27] good for them to hear because I'll set this up by saying we had this chance encounter just a nice conversation yeah [18:35] uh on the west side of uh of rosin Park one night and and uh you had expressed [18:40] that we you know you were looking for your own church home that you were I think you rent spaced on a Christ [18:47] Presbyterian and you you asked me well what about the art center and I I think I told you has an uncertain future we [18:53] just don't know yet and uh and then we just had a quick conversation before the meeting with director veter I think and [19:00] your and maybe your wife uh that um uh you know caus director veter to say that [19:06] it's going to be at least 2027 before we understand anything about what could potentially happen there uh [19:14] and it of course it's public land and it may be put to a public use so we really appreciate your interest and I I don't [19:20] know if you have anything else that you wanted to add from a timing standpoint I mean there's a lot of factors of play here yeah thank you mayor members of the [19:26] council I was uh informed of that just prior to the meeting as well I did give one representative my business card I [19:33] would look forward to reading um the materials that were dropped off with our assistant city clerk but we are [19:38] currently still utilizing the art center it is in use while it's not open to the general public we utilize it for [19:44] programming um now and into the future um as you know and uh many members of [19:49] the community know we are working on a uh potential agreement with hennipin County to be a tenant in their new [19:55] library for our art center space but uh that is a distant few years into the future and as [20:01] you indicated the art center isn't just on a certain parcel it's actually within the confines of Rosland Park and um that [20:10] would have a whole other set of uh requirements and research and land use [20:15] uh portions of that site as well um again we also talked about during your CIP tour about uh doing some master [20:21] planning in the area about finding what the community exactly wants and needs we have a new pedestrian bridge um upgrades [20:27] to the Arts uh the Aquatic Center and a number of other factors as well so um so [20:33] for this evening that's all I have is I be prepared to read their proposal and get in contact with the members thank [20:38] you yeah thanks for that and we understand your desire for a church home [20:44] um and it was really uh I think really um wonderful that you came in to talk to [20:51] your city council tonight to express an interest in in uh if there's ever an [20:56] opportunity to think don't don't forget about us you know your group in terms of [21:03] of if there's something that we ever do with that property it doesn't have a purely public purpose so uh thanks for [21:09] coming tonight and I hope to see you uh out walking soon we can continue that conversation yeah and you come on up to [21:17] the come on up to the podium so we can get you on the yeah you you talk about uh you also you propose another solution [21:24] is a l Grant for 99 years and we also interest in that too if that's more [21:31] economical way to to have the use of that building we have been waiting for [21:37] 26 years we we renting CPC for 26 years [21:43] and so it's all the organization in [21:49] in and hopefully we we will be here last longer than 99 [21:55] years so all right well thanks for coming tonight okay thank you for all of your support it please consider our see [22:03] see you on the walking trail oh see you again yeah of course okay all right good night thanks for sticking around okay [22:10] thank you thank you thank you for your presentation thank you everybody and Mr Mayor for the record [22:17] there's still nobody no callers so I think it's okay to move on all right [22:29] so now we've got uh that portion of the agenda where we go to the city manager for his response to Comm any Community [22:35] comments that were made at the prior meeting and I'll turn to manager Neil these these comments of course um are a [22:42] follow on to what we posted and I think uh Mr ziker one of our residents referenced some of those [22:48] postings uh and so I'll go ahead and let you comment on comments from the prior meeting thank you honor members of [22:55] council uh at the recent uh HRA meeting there was a reference made to uh there [23:01] was a or we received a question about an H uh meeting where we discussed the idea [23:08] of making a $23 million uh Tiff um agreement with a developer on France [23:15] Avenue uh it's important to understand that that isn't we we are not saying nor [23:21] we would nor would we ever recommend from a staff perspective that the city just take $23 million of publicly issued [23:28] bonds and hand that over to a developer that's not how it works it's never how it's worked here in Adina we issue pay [23:36] as youo notes meaning that if the developer does a project that is uh [23:42] consistent with a pre- uh negotiated agreement with the city and they pay their taxes that some of those taxes go [23:49] back to pay that developer so if they don't do the project that qualifies [23:55] under the agreement or they don't pay their taxes they don't get the money and that that protects uh the city and the [24:01] taxpayers in that kind of an arrangement and yes there there is interest bearing [24:07] there's an interest bearing element in this agreement uh those things are all under [24:12] negotiation uh the council will see those numbers and you'll see precisely what they are uh be you know before or [24:19] at or close to the time you're going to be asked to make a judgment on whether it's in the Public's interest or not uh [24:26] to approve that agreement so you will not be asked to approve an agreement with major fiscal holes in it um so the [24:34] other question about was does the tax increment financing close the gap on what's needed to finance the development [24:39] of 7235 France Avenue yes we believe that uh ultimately what we what we may [24:46] agree to uh is going to be sufficiently covered uh by the by the anticipated [24:51] property taxes that will uh be generated by that project again if the developer [24:57] doesn't do the project that we've agreed to or doesn't pay taxes there's again no money going back to the [25:04] developer uh finally there was another question about are crossing lights for pedestrians plan for the 50th Street [25:10] Eden Avenue Grange Road um c u roundabouts uh pedestrian activated [25:16] flashers are not proposed to be installed at at that area just right outside of city hall right now the city [25:22] installs pedestrian activated flashers per our pedestrian Crossing policy and so we would Analyze That intersection [25:29] but do not believe that it would qualify um staff will continue monitoring the pedestrian traffic that's there it does [25:36] I think it's important to remind the public and and even ourselves that it does take a while for people to get used [25:42] to driving uh on a roundabout and the change that we've implemented in that [25:47] area and so we do believe that the design of that will be sufficient and and will be [25:52] safe thank you cause any questions on a follow on basis from council members all [25:58] right thank you manager Neil um next is the consent agenda there are certain items on the consent agenda uh item [26:07] 6.8 uh has been requested for a removal from the consent agenda by council member Jackson and we're going to [26:13] discuss that separately is there anyone else on the council that wishes to remove any other item from the consent [26:20] agenda hearing nothing is there a motion to approve all the items on the consent agenda and a single motion with the [26:26] exception of item 6.8 so moved Jackson moves second member Pierce seconds the [26:33] adoption of the items on the consent agenda and a single motion with the exception of item 6.8 which we will [26:38] handle separately any further discussion all those in favor of adoption of the motion of stated say I I I opposed [26:45] carried uh the items on the consent agenda are adopted with respect to um everything except 6.8 and 6.8 is a [26:54] resolution entitled 202 24- 56 which which is support from the council for a [27:00] grant application for railroad crossing elimination program with the federal rail Administration and council member [27:06] Jackson yes thank you Mr Mayor I just wanted to um highlight this I'm glad that we're applying for this I we've [27:12] hear a lot about the railroad crossings being unsafe and um I just wanted to ask [27:18] uh director Milner uh sort of the timeline expected timeline I know federal grants sometimes take a while [27:24] but um the application is going in with this resolution and then when do you think we'll hear back yeah the [27:30] applications due late September early October um I think we'll hear back by the end of the year and then it's about [27:37] a year study for these it's a safety review of The Seven Crossings we have in town okay and with the potential of to [27:43] eliminate the crossings we don't think there's a possibility we're not really focusing on [27:49] elimination because they're all at grade crossings that would be major Bridges and major underpasses we're looking at [27:54] safety improvements such as Crossing arms signage lights stuff like that that we can make it safer because again it's [27:59] a low volume low speed rail that goes through town terrific that's very helpful thank you so much here to move [28:05] the matter I will move the matter resolution number 202 24- 56 is there a [28:11] second second Pier seconds member Jackson's motion to adopt resolution [28:21] 2024-25 d56 say I I I opposed carried resolution 20245 six is hereby [28:29] adopted and uh next we are on to the um reports and recommendations [28:36] portion of the agenda and we have [28:41] here um [29:04] you got it the uh resolution 20245 59 accepting [29:12] donations um and um is there we you know we have to approve these uh on a [29:18] majority actually a super majority basis when we have a donation to the city requires a forist vote uh to approve it [29:26] so uh 2024 59 is there a motion to adopt resolution 2024 d59 so moved Jackson [29:34] moves second remember eggu seconds the adoption of uh resolution 2024 59 which [29:41] accepts donations on behalf of the city of viina any further discussion all those in favor of adoption of resolution [29:47] 2024 59 say I I I opposed carried and uh [29:52] this reporting period there was a donation from uh a lady from Apple Valley named POA winsky and it is a [29:59] memorial bench at Centennial Lakes Park a $3,200 gift and that will be posted up [30:05] on the city website so thank you Jackie hollinsky from Apple Valley for remembering a loved one uh in the city [30:12] of udina and putting a special bench in at Centennial Lakes um now we're on the reports uh [30:19] beyond the reports and recommendations this is uh maybe one of the fastest agendas we've ever had here at City Hall [30:26] I don't even know what to do here with this 7:30 at night [30:32] um commission correspondents I doubt anything else has come in I'll turned on to manager's [30:37] comments uh thank you your honor I've got two things to talk about both of which were sort of added uh uh late and [30:45] didn't make it on the printed agenda but I'll just give some comments on them uh the first is ebikes uh we have received [30:52] and you have received uh many comments from residents about uh ebikes and the [30:58] behavior of e bikers uh I had a chance earlier this morning to talk with our City attorney and our and our chief of [31:04] police about what what are the current regs uh regulations regarding uh the use [31:10] of ebikes in the city um and I think they're both prepared to to say a few comments about that to inform the [31:16] council perhaps you know what we're observing what we can enforce right now and what we have the uh perhaps the [31:23] opportunity to regulate if we if we if you so choose [31:29] City attorney has got has got part part of this and we'll put him up first and then the chief can come in after some [31:36] other cities that have been looking at the same issue I I have yes thanks mayor and I'll hand off to the police chief uh [31:42] after my comments but I am aware that several other the cities uh in the Twin Cities area have recently either [31:48] considered or enacted um helmet requirements for use of ebikes in their [31:53] cities uh I don't think that's probably preempted by state law of course you know the lack of there's state law [32:00] that says motorcyclists are not required to wear a helmet there's no ebikes are categorized differently from motorcycles and there's no such state law either way [32:07] on helmets on ebikes so I think it would be possible for cities to consider an [32:12] ordinance requiring helmets particularly for those under 18 uh I think that's [32:18] what the other cities and the Twin Cities have considered and some have passed so if you want to consider action [32:23] along those lines I think you could I'll consider uh I'll continue um re searching that issue and I'll look at [32:29] the ordinances passed by other cities and if you'd like me to um draft a proposed ordinance free Dina I can do [32:36] that is there some special type of lure required for someone who has a bike that [32:42] performs at a certain level of speed mayor I don't think there's there there there are different categories of [32:48] ebikes that are categorized differently in our state law depending on how much electronic motor assist they have I [32:55] don't think that there's lure for for required for uh Vehicles categorized as ebikes [33:03] the police chief might know more than that about that than I do I'm not aware of any licensure requirements I am aware [33:09] of um helmet requirements being passed by number of cities for those under [33:14] 18 uh one of the things we've heard about is uh kids riding those ebikes on the sidewalks where we do [33:23] permit bicycles person powered bikes to ride to to occupy that space but we do [33:29] something about that too the General State Statute says that ebikes are treated similar to bicycles and can [33:36] utilize all the same Pathways and obey the same traffic laws that bicycles have to obey I've now [33:42] looked at whether you could regulate ebikes and for for example say that they can't use certain sidewalks or bike [33:50] trails uh any Dina I could look at that issue if you'd like but I think there may be state law on that issue already [33:57] which says that ebikes generally have to obey all the same traffic laws as bicycles okay chief yeah thank you mayor [34:05] and I agree with Dave's comments just a couple things to add to that um under State Statute it's a little murky [34:11] because we have city ordinance and state statute that kind of sort of regulates uh much of what we're talking about today but uh you can operate a ebike on [34:18] a shoulder of a roadway you can operate it in a bicycle lane in in a bicycle route under State Statute um you have to [34:25] be 15 years or older right so if you're under that that you cannot operate an ebike and under those circumstances and [34:31] on the city ordinance side uh there's language that talks about this the sidewalk issue so you I think the issue [34:37] is that it doesn't classify what a regular pedal bike is versus an ebike under that ordinance though it does [34:42] allow you to ride your bike on a sidewalk it is permitted but there's a cap to the speed uh of 10 miles no more [34:48] than 10 miles per hour on a sidewalk right so I think that's old language it's a little murky does that fit within [34:53] an ebik classification I agree with Dave it might require a little bit more research on what would be appropriate to take a look at and consider um also U [35:01] for us on the law enforcement side I asked some of my officers tonight in briefing have they seen this happening have they been out you know giving [35:07] warnings and things like that they've reported back more anecdotally that they have seen um kids out there um biking [35:13] around on ebikes um in violation of some State Statute so when you think about maybe obstructing traffic not staying [35:19] within the shoulder things like that and they've made some stops and they've uh warned some kids not to do that so that [35:25] that has been in some process but like everyone else and for law enforcement this is relatively new for us as well so [35:30] we don't necessarily track or Cod it um as a violation we can do that moving forward if if we get interested in doing [35:37] some more research and start to understand a little bit better on the law enforcement side are we getting those 9 And1 calls coming in are We [35:42] writing citations are we giving warnings and things like that that's the work that we can do moving forward as well [35:48] I'm going to turn over to my colleague Chad because he also has some comments on this as well so I believe in the [35:53] transportation commission's draft work plan for next year they were going to study policies ordinances Across the [36:00] Nation and come back with some recommendations I would offer if that's still if the timing works based on this [36:06] conversation but we're hoping that they would take that up and really do the initial work on reviewing all those different ordinances and policies [36:12] Nationwide and see what we should do here or what they would recommend doing any Dino CC Jackson yes thank you Mr Mayor [36:21] so would we be able to um regulate the speed if we can regulate the speed could we do it on the 9mile creek trail [36:30] I might have defer to the police chief or Mr Milner on that one I I I think they The Three Rivers Park District [36:37] probably has jurisdiction to regulate the speed limits on that trail but I think the city could regulate speed limits on all of its City bike trails [36:44] and I know they're having the same conversation on their Trail so this was already a discussion point for them so [36:50] we may be able to have that discussion together and come to something with any D excellent thank you also M Pierce uh [36:57] thanks Mr Mayor so I you know I have to justess a couple of [37:03] comments this feels like we're talking we're having a rational conversation about [37:09] something that is clearly an issue and I get a lot of times right there are legal [37:16] precedents and I understand all of that um but I you know I sent an email we saw [37:24] a kid on an ebike popping a wheelie down Vernon and I don't know how old the kid was but [37:31] he was popping a wheelie down in the bike lane and my wife and I [37:37] said you know if that was our kid and somebody told us they saw our kid [37:43] popping a wheelie on an ebike going down Vernon because of the safety issue that's inappropriate all of the you know [37:51] all of the reasons we talked about what we would do to our kid if we found that [37:58] and so I I think there's I think we should be I I understand enforcement [38:04] right I get that and legalities um and so I I think that is one lane that we need to be in but I [38:12] think we also need to be talking about um is there some and I don't know if it's awareness or what um because it's [38:21] not I I just think it's I think we're talking about this in a rational way and [38:27] I don't know that this is something that's going to give us time uh before [38:32] something happens like imagine if that kid going down Fern and loses control [38:39] and some car that's going 45 miles an hour hits [38:44] them um and so I I would encourage us to really lean [38:50] into you got two paths here definitely have to follow the legalities right how [38:56] how can we put something in place from an ordinance perspective that we can actually enforce because enforcement's a [39:02] big deal in this case U but are there some safety type things that we should [39:09] also be doing from an awareness perspective and I don't know the answer to that but it feels like we ought to be [39:15] doing something in the other lane as well Mr Mayor I may uh thank you for those comments I [39:22] forgot that last important piece uh regardless of how we handle an ordinance you know research project or get it [39:27] enacted that takes time and we're still on the back end of summer into fall and we have a really good Communications [39:33] team and we already have statutory language in place and ordinance language in place we could do some marketing right away and get some information out [39:39] because I think there's just a lot of people out there that are uninformed it's a new issue that we're all dealing with and that's a that's a low hanging [39:45] fruit something that we could easily do yet this year mayor just one more comment to kind of dovetail on that you [39:51] know I mean operating any vehicle including a regular bike or an ebike and a dangerous or negligent Manner and it's [39:58] still going to be contrary to existing state statute so if if someone sees a [40:03] child operating a bike in a way that may get the child injured or a motorist injured I mean the police can still [40:08] respond to that right now we don't have to have specialized ebike laws uh in the city ordinance book in order for the [40:14] police to respond to those types of issues member [40:20] rer um I just wanted to also note that there's um other e transportation [40:27] devices e skateboards um scooters and um member Pierce's comments [40:34] actually made me really think we do need to think about this with a two-pronged approach because it's one thing when I [40:41] think about a really big ebik going fast you know that um poses a risk to other people especially if they're on the [40:48] sidewalk um but you know you see somebody sailing down we saw this on Valley View going down Valley View Road [40:54] and then up a hill on a e skateboard and it was really kind of cool because it [40:59] just went up the hill without having to you know kick it up the hill but you know that could be cause for concern as [41:07] well just in terms of safety for others and also the user I got a call the other day from a [41:13] resident um actually not too far from your neighborhood member rer who said that a 12-year-old he thought I mean [41:19] that was his estimate of the age 12-year-old coming on the side about going over 20 miles an hour just about hit a older person who stepped off the [41:27] sidewalk to her house onto the sidewalk that runs parallel to the street and just just about CH or you know and um so [41:35] to remember Pierce's point I feel like there's some immediacy to some aspects [41:41] of this that we ought to be able to deal with while the Eden Transportation [41:46] Commission looks at Best Practices around the country but the idea of [41:52] making them wear a helmet if some of those other things I don't see why we wouldn't do something about that and [41:58] with changing climate and it's staying nicer longer typically in Years Gone by you'd [42:05] say well it's going to snow in a month you know and they they won't be running around but who knows so I I do feel like [42:11] there's some immediacy to some aspect of these things helmets especially I guess would be an easy thing to deal with so I don't [42:19] know how how do we deal with that well we can I think what we're getting from you is some interest in moving this ahead moving this ahead you [42:26] expeditiously so we can do that okay okay okay and you had one [42:33] other I I did and this this uh pertains to the the on and off the the reliability [42:41] issues of our communities um electric grid uh we've had a number of complaints [42:47] and and uh concerns about that expressed to both staff and Council uh I had an [42:53] opportunity U uh this week to to touch base with a contact that I have at the [42:59] Public Utilities Commission she told me that uh her office that she operates [43:05] which is called the Consumer Affairs office uh is the correct person is the [43:11] correct body within state government specifically the Pu to address uh [43:16] formally address comments about excel's performance directly to her um there is [43:24] currently right now A a filing period uh that closes on September 12th uh where [43:30] if people have complaints they could get them into her office and they'll be considered uh through the they'll be [43:36] they'll be researched for for example but they will be considered by the Pu in that filing process uh her name is an [43:44] Tom she's a supervisor with the Consumer Affairs office we will put uh some [43:50] attention we'll give some attention to putting her name and her contact information up on our website and and [43:56] some other um and some other public information strategies to get that out [44:01] there as fast as we can uh we can also issue a uh I'm planning to issue a [44:07] comment uh on behalf of city government to her directly as well but if residents want to contact her they they certainly [44:14] can and we'll make sure they have the the name and the contact information to do that sometime U sometime starting [44:20] tomorrow good good for that yeah um all right council member comments member U you want to leave [44:28] off sure um so I also received I think this is kind of on the heels of um what um [44:36] manager Neil was speaking about um we've gotten a lot of emails after the storms and I think the uptick and storms and [44:43] the sever weather that we had this year um and got a query about how we used to [44:49] offer City operated um brush disposal um spoke to Scott a little bit [44:55] about this we don't anymore um and it seems like the site had some logistical [45:02] issues and probably some things that we'd need to figure out as a city if we wanted to resume that type of service um [45:10] so I just would I think it would be interesting to explore if there are other sites around the city that we could offer that um I know that a lot a [45:18] lot of other cities do it I don't know if this is something that should go to a commission or or what the right way to deal with it is but I I do think that [45:25] that is a good service that I'd like for us to offer members of our community um next so on last week as [45:33] Commissioners for the h we got another update on um the possibility of having [45:40] an underpass um on France between 7250 [45:48] 72001 what the East and the west side of France let's say um and I kind of left [45:55] not really exactly sure what the next steps were I know like we were doing this like phase of the project and [46:02] knowing that we're within the next short amount of time within the next couple of [46:07] months going to be reviewing um that project again I'm sure we'll get another revisit from the ma [46:12] Macy's furniture site again I I think it we need to continue [46:17] pushing it forward and I'd like to see it progress and so for this one I don't know if the right next step is to ask [46:24] staff to prepare a resolution so that we as a council can like have that conversation then um and decide on next [46:31] steps but I think that would be my direct ask is let's let's push it forward and let's discuss it formally as [46:37] a council um to make a decision that if we want to move forward with that that we're taking those right next steps so [46:43] that we can ideally get the timing to work out with all of those projects so [46:49] that we don't have one project pursuing something and having to waste some [46:54] investment um as much as we can get those to line I think the better so that would be my ask thank you for those [47:01] comments member Pierce uh nothing from me tonight thank you thank you member [47:07] Jackson yes thank you Mr Mayor so we we as a city council received notice from [47:13] the Met Council that their population estimates um through 2050 have been published and there's a comment period [47:19] right now um the population estimates are unrealistic in my mind and I wanted [47:26] to um put forward that I'd like to know what the process is for us as a city to [47:32] comment on these population estimates and um see if we can't um get them pushed down to something more realistic [47:39] they're they're pretty high um but I would like to in the [47:44] comment period have us as a city uh make some formal comments great thank you we'll do [47:51] that remember rer um this is sobering [47:56] news in this year um we've had 288 traffic fatalities in the state of [48:04] Minnesota last year we were around 2 um [48:09] 38 so about 50 fatalities over where we were last year we are going in the wrong [48:15] direction and this Sunday was a horrific crash at Park Tavern in St Louis Park [48:23] and I just want to say our hearts go out to the family family and the loved ones [48:28] of Christina fartz who was killed along with Gabe Harvey um also injured um were [48:37] three employees of Methodist Hospital loric nson tan dalbani and Theo Larsson [48:44] and I just want to say we're really thinking about all of them all of their [48:50] families all of their friends and you know driving is a serious thing you got to be sober when you get behind the [48:56] wheel um so this didn't need to [49:02] happen thank you member rer um I want to segue off a couple of [49:07] things that other folks have said manager Neil as well I was really disappointed in the performance of Excel [49:13] Energy on terms of being able to get people back up and operating with on the electrical grid you know it wasn't that [49:19] many months ago where they had another episode somewhere in the state where they had to bring in several hundred [49:24] people to try to make things work and um now they brought in I think 700 people from around the country and it just [49:30] seems that if this if this new climate that we're operating in they better figure out a way to be more resilient [49:38] and I know in our neighborhood the first time the wind blows over 40 mil hour the power goes out it's just like automatic [49:44] and so um I I think uh this is a conversation that [49:49] is uh it's time that time to hold it and time to be thinking about how to improve [49:55] the resilience of our state through our quazi Monopoly Public Utilities provider [50:01] Excel Energy um I really like what member U [50:06] had to say about the the pickup and pick up of the brush now talking to director veter about this [50:13] we'd probably have to get some more equipment and figure out how we're going to do this but I do think it's a great [50:20] service I mean it's it's just one of those wonderful things about living in the city and um and so I'd like I'd like to [50:27] think more about that you know people bring their things to the to the Berm or the curb and then we figure out a way [50:32] we're going to get it picked up just like Minneapolis does every year with leaves you know they've got a they've [50:38] got us they got the equipment and the system in place to do all that work um [50:43] interesting on the on the Excel thing after 3 days of being without power people I had a woman call me who said [50:50] um uh she wasn't blaming the city because she knew we weren't a utility operator but she said you know when the [50:57] city sees this happening for an extended number of days like that uh and there's [51:04] just a touch of humor in here but but also a bit of seriousness she said you know we couldn't find ice anywhere she [51:10] said I think the city should be in the ice business and that we should be thinking [51:15] about how we're going to get how we're going to help out you know and so it's another one of [51:22] those uh services that you provide your constituents for and I don't know I [51:27] don't know if we want to get any ice business or have a big ice cooler out at uh out [51:33] at Public Works where we load it up and go through the neighborhood like a uh ice cream truck you know but uh anyway [51:41] yeah we got email that we got an email that used the term ice block which I haven't heard since talking about [51:47] antiques as a little girl it's like where's the icean with the ice block manager Neil wrote a dissertation on [51:53] that one time he told me nots not a dissertation but a major Collegiate [51:59] project on Municipal ice utilities which were a thing um in the latter half of [52:04] the 19th century um and then a couple other uh [52:10] Little Things um yeah that book um went to a few weeks ago to a celebration of [52:18] life ceremony for Brian Chang and this is a book that he wrote he lived in Idina for many many years but it's just [52:25] a fabulous story of um a young guy growing up in MA [52:31] China uh in a collective barely able to get by with his parents loving parents [52:38] and uh teaching himself English and then ended up being an [52:44] interpreter and then at a business meeting between Chinese Executives and [52:51] uh a fellow who became the eventual CEO of international multifoods named Andre Jal [52:57] who was here for years um he was working with Brian on this translation and he [53:04] helped him get to the United States to go to college at University of Minnesota [53:09] and um it was just such a a grateful happy person to have had the these [53:16] opportunities as he says right on the cover of the book uh and the successes that he had uh in the United States [53:21] first I think of financial services then decided he was too entrepreneurial and ended up going back and forth to China a [53:28] great deal and uh at one time he wanted us to have a sister city relationship [53:33] with a city that was close to his heart in China well it was like us at 50,000 [53:38] and this city at like 8 million you know didn't really fit that well so nothing [53:44] ever happened on that but his wife Renee had a wonderful ceremony for him and uh [53:50] over at the Centrum and his two daughters were there lovely young women and so our condolences to to the Brian [53:57] Chang family uh and then just one other piece to put up that just pertains to [54:02] something M Jackson was talking about um uh somebody I guess my wife noticed [54:10] it on next door that one of our residents was questioning why I was spending taxpayer money going to the [54:17] leadership meeting of the US Conference of Mayors and what good did that do he Dina and um [54:24] so uh I just Point people out just by Serendipity to [54:30] items 6.8 and 6.9 on our consent agenda this [54:35] evening and I will tell you that without being involved Beyond Edina or in the [54:41] region or in the state or as I am with the US Conference of Mayors on the transportation committee us Conference [54:48] of Mayors had a tremendous amount of influence on the iig ACT and also with respect to uh the IRA [54:57] and so uh and and another good example of it is this Grant application we're going for with respect to railroad [55:03] crossing elimination programs that is possible to apply for that Grant because of the things that [55:11] cities and and City organizations like our city council how we were able to [55:16] influence Congress to a significant degree on some of this major leg legislation that's passed under the [55:22] Biden Administration so when I take two days off of work to go to some of these things I know it's an expense for the [55:29] taxpayers but there are potential benefits there because we then get to be in the competitive bidding process to [55:35] try to get some of these things this map I happen to ask Scott to put up deals with all the recipients that have gotten [55:41] the first round of money for uh redoing their um or or put installing uh the uh [55:47] EV systems so I'm thinking that that's something that we ought to be thinking about on this next go there's a half a [55:54] billion dollars in this fund and this is the first go run the first two Awards in Minnesota you can see where we had two [56:00] of them here one was to menot and I think one was to hopan County but you [56:05] know many in many of these states it's it's some of the major cities that are getting really significant financial [56:11] support for building out their EV network and so I would encourage us to be thinking about that too and that [56:17] opportunity exists because of the the work that's that local government does on a federal level so I hope that helps [56:24] people understand why uh we do the things that we do as local government officials whether it's going [56:30] to the National League of cities meetings or to the US Conference of Mayor meetings uh to try to create [56:36] opportunity for our cities to grow and prosper um that's it for me I think let [56:42] me look at my little list here one more time ebikes were on my list too so [56:50] um and I think that's it for me that cause anybody else to think of anything else they wanted to raise [56:56] okay is there a motion to adjourn so moved second Jackson moves member U [57:01] second that we a motion to adjourn the meeting of the city council this Tuesday [57:07] September 3rd 2024 any further discussion all those in favor of adjournment say I I I opposed carried We [57:14] Stand adjourned that's [57:19] good that was [57:25] early e