uh want to appear on a remote uh sort of uh basis, they can do so. Um they're watching on YouTube or community uh television station and they're welcome to call in uh either doing uh during community comment or we have I think five public hearings tonight. Um and so we'll we'll address uh folks that have concerns there as well. Um having provided that information, uh also a reminder Okay. >> I guess it wouldn't matter for this portion of it, but we can we can wait until we get that green light going here and get on camera. Yeah. Here's a community call-in number. Now, so folks, just to restate this, uh, as Director Benrod indicated, um, before I call the meeting to order, wanted to let you know that we're handling these meetings on a hybrid basis. folks can uh call in remotely that are watching uh in some form or fashion. Uh and also uh those in the audience will treat them first in terms of uh being able to hear their community comments on things that are of vital concern to them. And then we also have some public hearings this evening that people may want to testify at. Uh several of them we're going to keep open for uh public input for another week or so and take them up in October. Uh but there's at least one matter there that we may want to take up tonight. So uh having provided that information and look at the call-in information here. If you're watching remote and want to call in on something that's of concern to you, you want to address in community comment or uh for public hearing, there's the information you'll want to be taking down. We'll have it up again as we uh get to these portions of the agenda, but you might want to try to write it down when you have a chance. So, having provided that information, I'm going to call the meeting to order of the Adina City Council this uh Tuesday, September 16th, 2025. It is 7:04 p.m. And I'm going to ask our clerk, Sharon Ellison, to call the role. Clerk Allison, >> Council Member Agu >> here. Council member Jackson >> here. Council member Pierce >> here. >> Council member Risser >> here. Mayor Hublin >> here. Uh, next is the pledge of allegiance. I aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. We have a form of meeting agenda that's been published in advance of our meeting this evening so people in our community could see what uh was on the agenda or proposed to be on the agenda this evening and also for the benefit of council members. Is there anyone on the council or from a staff standpoint that wishes to modify the meeting agenda in any form or fashion? Is there a motion to approve the meeting agenda as published? >> So moved. >> Member Jackson moves >> a second. Member Agnu seconds the adoption of the meeting agenda uh that has been produced to the public. It's in front of us this evening. Any further discussion? All those in favor of approval of the meeting agenda as published say I. >> I. Opposed? Carried. We have a meeting agenda that we will be following this evening. Uh and now we are at community comment. U so let's um get that phone number up on the screen in case anybody wants to call in and address the council. And we have some of our fellow residents that are here this evening uh that wish to address the council on on matters of concern to them. And I'm going to go ahead and uh ask our first presenter to introduce himself. Again, a reminder, you'll have three minutes and you'll get a yellow warning light when uh when you'll have about 30 seconds left and then we'll have you wrap up your comments so that we give everybody equal treatment and equal time. Mayor, council members, my name is Ralph Zickert. I live at 4311 Cornelius Circle. First, a thank you to Adina's Fire Department for all they do. On July 10th, 2011, they and several other municipalities responded to certainly one of the most unusual fires they've seen in the last 15 years. And it was my house that was on fire. Lightning had ignited a gas line and it was like a blowtorrch on the side of the house. Thankfully, no one, firefighter or resident, was injured. And on that July 10th evening, multiple municipalities responded to our fire. Why? because Adina lacked enough firefighters to safely tackle that fire. Today, as it did 15 years ago, the city council has still not authorized the funding to staff Adina's fire department to single-handedly respond to a one-story house fire. Adina's current state current per shift staffing falls below 10 per shift. National standards indicate 16 are needed for a 2,000 square foot house fire. 27 are needed to respond to a moderateiz apartment building. Yes, 16 for a 2,000 square foot home. Some of us see life-threatening issues like cardiac arrest or a house houseire as emergencies. Um, I just want to kind of get that out there because it's easy to rack up bonding debt >> and it was an emergency. We would have to close the pool for two years if we didn't for it. That was the decision that we made. Um, but going back to the >> last Thursday was September 11th, a day that will live in this nation's history as one of the most tragic for firefighters. Every day they put their lives on the line. How many of us can say the same? Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Zickert. Yes, Miss Greer, welcome back. >> Thank you. My name is Nancy Greer. I live at 5225 Grand View Square, unit 216. I am here again to navigate for an advanced warning flasher. I am providing a timeline for how long we have been trying to get this safety device. We started this in 2023. Please turn your attention to the timeline for 5:30 2025. On 5:30 2025, I met with the city engineer who told me that the advanced pleasure had been ordered a long time ago. He said, "Apparently, everyone across the country wanted one and it was on back order on 92205." The city engineer said it was ordered in June of 2025. I wonder what is really the truth. On 99 2025, Representative Ukim and Council Member Rizzer met with some of the residents of Grand View Square. Attached is Representative Ukim's recommendations. I have also included some pictures since uh picture is worth a thousand words that show how poorly designed the redirect traffic has been. There is only one speed limit sign on Eden Avenue. Two other signs obscure the speed limit number. The other picture shows that Avdor's side of the street does not have a sidewalk up to Vernon Avenue. If I were on the council, I would be concerned that a personal injury attorney would have everything they needed for a lawsuit against the city. Between the city council meetings and representative Ua Kim's insights, the city would be paying a substantial amount to a plaintiff. I did a quick Google search for the cost of these signs. They run around $3,000. Certainly cheaper than a lawsuit would cost. the city. I hope the council decides to be proactive and not reactive. Mayor Hlin, I invite you to do one of your walks in Grand View Square. Please let me know if you are interested. And I will say I can't be here on October 7th because I'm sure nothing will be done by then, but that's my 70th birthday. Unless you all want to buy me a birthday cake from Sweet Science, I'm going to have my husband on the hook for a nice dinner. Thank you. >> All right. Thank you, Mr. David Frankle, 4510 Lake View Drive. Almost two years ago, I filed an ADA complaint with the United States Department of Justice about the pedestrian bridge in Grand View. Recently, the DOJ issued a six-page settlement agreement confirming the bridge was not ADA compliant. been listening for two years to the rationale why that bridge was compliant. Now the US Department of Justice disagrees with everybody in this building about it. It is not ADA compliant. The city released only a three paragraph press release about the six pages that were sent to the city of Edina. This is not enough. Residents deserve to see the entire six-page DOJ settlement agreement and have it explained clearly by the city manager. Anything less is withholding the full truth from the public. For over two years, residents with physical disabilities have been excluded from safely using this bridge. They will remain excluded until the bridge is re remediated. City vina should issue a formal public apology to these residents. Pew Research estimates at least 5% of Edina residents have a physical disability. Accessibility is not an option. It is a federal law. This is a black eye for the city of Edina for council members and staff who argue the bridge was compliant. The DOJ's findings prove otherwise. Incumbent council members will face serious credibility issues in any re-election campaign for their involvement in the violation of federal ADA law. By state statute, the city manager is responsible for compliance with local, state, and federal laws. In this case, the city manager failed that duty and violated federal ADA law. Termination with cause is warranted. At a minimum, staff directly involved should face the motion. I recognize the council will not likely take these steps, and that exactly why I intend to run for city council next year. Violating federal law is serious and must be taken seriously. This council must choose between transparency, accountability, and action or further erosion of public trust. If you're interested in videos on this issue, you can go to YouTube at Edina issues where I've posted videos of the bridge and its non-compliance. Thank you. Anyone else? >> Good evening. My name is Nora Davis and I live at 6921 Southdale Road in the Lake Cornelia neighborhood. And by the way, it is true the bears do like Lake Cornelius's goldfish. But that's not why I'm here tonight. I'm here about USI and internet and kind of the mess they've made in our neighborhood. I do understand that T-Mobile has taken over USI, so I don't know how that changes everything, but my first question was, was the city paid when they came in? Did they pay you to do what they did or did they just say, "Hey, we're going to be here. we're going to rip up your property. That's my first question. Secondly, since T-Mobile is now in charge, are they going to continue to kind of clean up the mess they made? Um, we've had them out twice. I'm not sure what kind of grass seed they're using, but they must have gotten a really good deal on it because it really hasn't grown. I did go out and look at it tonight before I left and they are the most amazing weeds I have ever seen. It is really a mess and I don't think residents should have to go out, spend the money, spend the time, spend the energy to clean up the mess that they made. And it was a difficult time period. They kept hitting gas lines in our neighborhood. I remember looking out the front window and seeing a fireman knocking on the door across the street. Now, I know they don't sell cookies, so I didn't think that's why he was there. I went out, bam, there was a big fire truck there. And of course, nobody on that side of the street was home. So, I spent the morning, you know, tracking everyone down. But, it's really not been a good experience. So, I hope before winter sets in, we can get that grass growing. So, thank you. >> Thank you. We'll see what we can do about that. Anyone else? Good evening. My name is Ryan Day and I live at 6808 Chapel Lane. I'm here tonight in the wake of a string of violent and tragic events that have struck even here in Minnesota in our own backyard. Like many of you, I've asked myself, how do I respond to something like this? What can I do? There are many possible answers, but I choose to start here tonight and share just a few thoughts. As a father, I want to set an example for my children and for others. And that in moments like these, we must turn toward community. So, why start here? Well, as you know, I have the unique status of former political opponent to council members on the dis tonight. Not long ago, we debated, we disagreed, and we offered slightly different visions for the future of Adina. Of course, those debates and disagreements continue to this day. But right now, it's not our differences that I want to focus on. Instead, I want to focus on the positive. Thank you for your service and make it clear that what unites us is far greater than what sets us apart. I know it's not much to offer uh but it's something. So to start, let me acknowledge that everyone on the dis in front of me tonight, both council and city staff is here because we care deeply about this city. That commitment is what unites us. Though we may have different perspectives on policies and priorities, we do agree on something essential. We all want Adina to be the best possible version of itself both now and into the future. But sometimes lost in the discussion of what we can do better is praised for what we already do so well. Adina of course is an amazing place to live and that is in no small part due to the hard work of all of you as well as many city staff that are not here tonight. We have in this city wonderful parks, reliable services, dependable and effective fire and police departments, and relentless community engagement. Thank you for that. As we move forward in the coming days, weeks, months, and years, let none of us forget that we are neighbors. That means that we have to continue working together with respect, with humility, and with care for one another. I won't promise you that I won't continue to voice dissent or criticism over city council actions or ideas. One, because I simply employ a different perspective and way of thinking than some of you. And two, most importantly, because I believe to engage, probe, and question is critical element of our democratic process. I can promise, however, that I'll always keep in mind those elements that unite us. That all of you are mothers or fathers and daughters or sons. And at the end of the day, there are boundaries that no disagreement should cross. I won't forget that my responsibility, really all of our responsibility, is to look out for one another, serve our community, and to turn our differences into collaborative strength. I'll conclude by thanking each of you, all of you again for your service and saying that I hope that we can continue to build on the things we do well even as we debate how to do better. >> Thank you, Mr. Day. Anyone else in the audience wish to come forward and express a matter of concern to the council that they have? Yes, sir. Welcome. >> Thank you. Uh my name is Scott Maym, uh 5617 Tracy Avenue. Um I wrote a letter to this council earlier this week and would like to again thank council member Jackson and city manager Neil for their prompt response. Uh because I know emails are easy to overlook with your permission, I'd like to reiterate that proposal for you here this evening. I am speaking here tonight to formally request a variance from Adina Code Ordinance Chapter 10 article 3 division 3 section 10-82 preservation protection and replacement of protected trees. As I'll explain, I'd like to propose an alternative to items four and 13 of the ordinance in order to support the city's tree canopy while providing plant diversity and increased viability of newly planted trees. The stated purpose of this division is to preserve Adina's highvalued trees while allowing reasonable development to take place and to not interfere with how existing property owners use their property. On our lot, we are very fortunate to have many mature trees that fit the criteria stated in the division in that they promote Adina's tree canopy, protect and advance property values and Adina's distinctive character, and improve our lives and the lives of wildlife. Our trees are healthy trees, the overwhelming majority of which do not adversely affect the development and building permit processes as set forth by the Adina code of ordinances. On our property, we have four silver maples, two honeyloust, a hybrid maple, a blue spruce, a lilac tree, and a paper birch. Altogether, our nine deciduous trees total 20 261 in of measured tree diameter at breast height, plus the 8ft tall spruce tree. We are currently in the process of applying for a building permit to construct an accessory building on our property. In order to accomplish this, we regrettably need to remove two of our trees, one honeyloust and the hybrid maple. Together, these two trees represent 17 in of diameter at breast height. This represents a loss of approximately 6 12% of the tree diameter on our property. To comply with items 4 and 13 of the ordinance, we would need to replace 13 in of deciduous tree diameter planting no less than 3 and 1/2 in diameter trees. This would require four trees total. In our research, the trees of this size are one not commonly available for purchase at local nurseries. Two, varieties that are available for purchase at this diameter tend to grow into very large trees reaching 70 50 to 75 feet in height and canopy spread. And three are more prone to transplant failure versus smaller trees. As a common rule of thumb is that trees require 1 inch per year of DBH to establish a root system needed to survive. As an alternative to the requirements set forth by the ordinance, we would like to propose that we replace the removed trees with two trees purchased through the 20uh 26 city tree sale program. The trio available through this program will allow for increased selection and result relating uh resulting in greater plant diversity and quicker to establish and therefore more likely to survive and an of equal importance will be a better fit for the eight preserved trees on our property. Item 15 of the ordinance stipulates a financial guarantee to be provided as part of the permit request process. We would still like to honor the terms of that financial guarantee only substituting trees from the Adina tree sale program as the basis for return of the escro funds as opposed to those called for by items four and 13 of the ordinance. Thank you. >> Yeah. Thank you, Mr. Mayan. Anyone else wish to address the council on a matter of concern to them? Okay, let's turn to the virtual world world and see if we have anybody waiting. >> I have a caller. >> All right. >> Um, caller, I'm going to unmute your line and then please begin by stating your full name and address for the record. >> All right. Thanks. Hi, my name is Taylor Brushwin. with that 5744 Euing Avenue South. Uh first, thanks for uh offering the remote options. It's great for people that can't be there in person. So, I appreciate you you keeping it on. Um I'm calling in to advocate for improving bikeability within our city. Uh my motivation is for my two daughters who are one and three to at some point in their junior high or high school lives be able to safely bike or walk through our city on a safe and well-connected network, which is something that we just don't have right now. Um the good news is that this has been identified already by the city as a priority and an important one. All of our major guiding documents, the comp plan, the climate action plan, the living streets plan, they explicitly identify a safe well-con connected bike and pedestrian network as a priority to develop. And even more good news, we've developed a plan that shows what that framework looks like and how to implement such a network with the bike and ped master plan published in 2018. The the bad news is that we've stopped at that planning stage. Um, in a study from the Edina Transportation Commission, they estimated that with the current levels of funding, it would take another 40 to 45 years to complete that network. That would be 2065 to 2070. So, that's not only too late for my kids, that's too late for their kids. Um, 50 years to implement a plan like this just can't be acceptable. So, as you're I'd urge you to look for funding to move us past just saying the right things on on this topic and and moving to the doing the things that that we all agreed on in in all of these plans. So, with that in mind, I have a couple quick questions for staff. Um the the PAX fund is funded by the utility franchise fees that were recently changed from a flat rate to a percentage rate to increase revenue. Uh so the first question is what's that in anticipated increase in revenue per year due to the change and how much of that increase will go directly to the PAX fund. Right? Thanks Ken for the time and offering the remote option. Thank you. >> Thanks for calling in Caleb. >> I don't have any other caller sir. >> Okay. All right, very good. Uh, let's go back to, you know, usually what we do is, uh, we take these questions under advisement and then the city manager and staff uh, work on responses that go into the onto the city website by the end of the week so that they're timely in in their response. And then at the subsequent city city council meeting, the city manager provides that same information. So, it's coming from a different communication or different communication methodology. So, um but some of these things I think we could we could address. First of all, thank you to Mr. Zickert for that uh that gratitude for the fire department. Um and then Nancy Greer, uh I think we could probably deal with that one. Um, I'm going to turn to Director Milner that's been working on this issue uh which has its challenges because of the uh bridge construction projects we have going on and the uh higher than normal volume on Eden Avenue in particular. And I don't know if you'd want to comment on where we are on the advanced warning flashing lights uh in in terms of their installation, but uh if you have any updated information, it might be appreciated. >> I do. So, the delivery was made of a whole package of materials late August and it didn't include the flasher. vendor forgot it. So, we reached out and said, "Where's the flasher?" And they said, "We can have it to you by Thanksgiving." We said, "Well, that's not acceptable. Please expedite it." And they said, "Well, we can get it to you by the end of September, early October." We offered to go pick it up ourselves in Milwaukee. The challenge is it has to be programmed to talk to the other flashers out there. So, we can't get it any earlier even if we drive over there and get it. So, I'm hoping that it's here and installed before her birthday on the next council meeting, but we shall see if the vendor is uh meets that expedited delivery date of end of September, early October. >> Okay. Uh let's talk a little bit about this uh uh concern of Mr. Frankles that uh he said he filed an ADA complaint two and a half two years ago about the bridge over by the Jerry's parking lot that we put into place over there. Um, I think it might be worth just doing a little bit of a summary on who it was we consulted with respect to whether or not that bridge was ADA compliant and and the timing of doing some things that would attach to it in terms of what the DOJ decision was. I think it might be important for people in our community to understand that so they've got a a balanced sort of factual situation that they can they can take advantage of. So, Director Miller, you want to comment on that? >> Sure. Um, we had experts design the bridge and the sidewalk that connects to Arcadia Avenue. It connected to a facility that we knew was not ADA compliant, a 1980s parking ramp. Um, our thoughts were we're going to have future projects where we could make that connection to the west landing of the bridge. The bridge itself is compliant, the sidewalk is, but it needs to be connected. That's what the DOJ's opinion was, that we need to provide a connection to that landing. So, we're going to continue to work with experts and review that potential agreement. That agreement will come back to council for consideration. But the experts are Kimley Horn as the engineer and bridge designer. We had JQP who's an ADA expert. She does many ADA audits for the city. And we met with a person from the Minnesota Disabilities Council. And all of them said it was really kind of a gray area on which rules applied in this case. But the DOJ made a made made a statement made a in a a ruling and we need to follow that and we will bring that back to the council in due process. >> And this may be a question for um our city attorney, but we would have a right to appeal that decision, I take it, if we wanted to. >> Well, mayor, I'm actually not handling that lawsuit. It's been tendered to insurance defense council. >> That's a great way to duck out of that. Well, I would say that it's I as I understand it and you should talk to the attorney who's been assigned to handle the case, but I believe it's a proposed settlement agreement and you can discuss with the DOJ whether there's any changes that could be made to that proposal. >> That's correct. And we're continued to be uh represented by by a league attorney. Um so some some of their projects they handle in internally, some of their projects they contract out with private law firms. This one has an internal uh lawyer who's doing the work for it. >> And and just understanding some basics about it, it's it strikes me that they must have been sensitive to the arguments that we made because they said by October of 2026, come up with a plan, >> right? >> Which is somewhat consistent with what we're doing down there in terms of redevelopment. And I think what we always intended to do when we figured out what we were going to do with that adjoining property at the public old public works site, we were going to complete that project. is my understanding. >> We had a couple projects in the capital improvement plan for consideration. >> Anything else, manager Neil, on that issue? >> Uh, no. >> Okay. All right. Um, and I guess we could have we could have closed off the whole bridge this entire period of time, too, and not let anybody use it. >> We could have we chose to put a sign on the east side that says it's only accessible to the parking ramp and that's it. So, people wouldn't feel stranded. So, there was a notification of of the issues that we've just been talking about. >> Okay. All right. Um, and then Norah Davis, uh, it's a it's an issue that we've heard from others about concerns of US internet doing their work in the rightway and they tear up people's yards when they're putting in that uh, cable. And uh, what what do we need to do there? We got our address. >> Yep, I can speak to that. So, the question was, were they paid? No. uh state law allows communication companies and other private utilities to operate within the right of way. So, they were not paid. They need to pay for a permit. They got to submit permits and that's through my department, through the engineering department. Um and they're required to clean it up afterwards. So, if they're not getting the service they expect, they should call uh my staff member Andy Renish and we would reach out to US internet. Whoever the permit holder is is responsible for that cleanup. So his role is doing a lot of policing of the rideway permits and that exact that exact issue. So please call us and we will help coordinate that restoration. >> So under federal and state law they've got a legal right to be in the rightway to install uh the cable but they don't have uh right to they've got an obligation also to uh restore the land in to its former condition. Correct. After after they disturb the same. >> Correct. And we're here to assist residents in that regard. >> All right. Good. Miss Davis, you're still here. Did you hear that person's name? Okay, good. Um, and I think, manager Neil, I the other ones were uh just a comment by Mr. Day about um civility, I think, and is one way overarching word that you could use there. Uh and then Scott man over on Tracy has a request with regard to a potential variance on the tree ordinance and we're working on some modifications of that tree ordinance right now that that this is another factual scenario that I don't know if it's been thought of by staff or us but uh another one to work into the mix I guess. >> So it's it's clearly one of those building the plane while we're flying it um situations. Um so we have uh we have taken u Mr. demands uh facts into consideration. We'll visit with staff about them and see see what's possible. >> And I didn't get Caleb's last name, but uh I thought he had an interesting point about he wants to improve bikability in the city and and Director Milner, you would love that. You're an avid uh bicycling. Uh but he said that it was going to be 40 45 years to complete the network. I don't know if you have any thoughts on what the plans are in completing the network that we've designed and approved, but um >> yeah, the etc did a study and looked at the available funding, considered inflation, and the amount of capital that we'd have to spend, and those were the numbers that they came up with. So, we do have a dedicated funding source. It's just not keeping up, right? We have a lot of needs, and we'd love to build it all out at once, but we got to balance all the needs that the council has to balance with the budget. So, um, the question on the change to the ordinance for franchise fees, yes, it increased revenue. However, most of that went to the street reconstruction program, uh, to pull that out of the general levy. And on the pack side, it's it's kind of a flat what was there last year is what's going to be generated in the future years. >> It's around a million dollars, million and a half a year. >> Exactly. >> Okay. >> And that could use that gets used for non-motorized purposes. sidewalks, bike lanes, these flashers we've been talking about. Um, but the comments on the bike lanes, that's typically where the trade-offs of the rideaway space happen and we have those discussions here and we do that usually in December with our street reconstruction program. So, um, we bring all those ideas in the bike pit master plan and we have discussions. Now, over at the uh TAB where I serve, the transportation advisory board of the Met Council, we're we're charged with uh dealing with that new source of funds and we're working on trying to figure out how to do it that they call it active transportation money, but it's about 25 million a year that comes to the region from sales tax is authorized by the legislature all for non-motorized purposes. So, we might want to be thinking about uh opportunities there to apply for some funding for some of the route work that we want to do on on a non-motorized basis. So, just a heads up on that >> that that work is close to being completed. That active transportation group has been uh working for well over a year now. So, they're close to coming up coming up with some recommendations. Uh manager Neil, anything else from last meeting that you want to address? Uh uh yes, your honor. There was one other question that was posed at the last meeting on on September 2nd. That question had to do with um could the city help uh a resident by helping to move an XL transformer that um was placed over near the Hawk Lake um area. And the answer is no. Uh this belongs to first of all it's not our utility. It belongs to XL Energy. It needs to be in the location that they placed it in from a from an employee safety and reliability standpoint. Um, it's pretty key to our ability to do flood control in that part of our town. Uh, we have offered to uh work with the the resident to build a boulder wall to to somewhat obscure the the the transformer. We don't typically do that, but in this case, it was a magnitude above what most of transformers are, groundbased transformers. Uh we have offered that to the uh adjoining homeowner and we're waiting to see if they accept that offer. >> Okay. Yeah, the Miltons were here. I think >> the legitimate concern I thought too that was a pretty significantly sized piece of equipment. >> Council member Jackson. >> Yes, I think you covered it. I I heard what they were saying is they wanted something to um landscape around it, make it more presentable, and that's what you're working with them on. Okay. And so this is we have the the um utility box wrap, but because this is an Excel box, that program's not available. >> Um I don't think so. Mr. Miller, I don't >> I don't know. I guess we'd have to look into which ones are part of that program and which ones are not. >> We usually try to have them wrap the ugliest ones first. And there's and there's a lot of them out there. Yeah, >> I think another standard besides the ugly factor is are they in an area that's highly trafficked. >> So, not so much on residential property, but in our commercial areas where uh they they truly can serve as public art. >> Okay. So, landscaping or or a wall something, but you're working with them on on mitigating. >> We have offer we have offered that to them. Yeah. >> Okay. Thank you. >> All right. Very good. Uh anything else? No. >> Okay. Thank you. Um, that completes that portion of the agenda regarding community comment. Let's move on to the consent agenda. Is there anyone on the council or staff that wishes to remove an item from the consent agenda? Is there a motion to approve all the items on the consent agenda in a single motion? >> So moved. >> Member Jackson moves. Member Agnu seconds the adoption of the items on the consent agenda in a single motion. Any further discussion? All those in favor of adoption of the items on the consent agenda in a single motion say I. >> I. >> I. Opposed. Carried. Those items are all approved that are on the consent agenda under paragraph six. And then we'll move on to special recognitions and presentations. And I'm going to ask our clerk if she has that first proclamation handy. You do not. Okay. I'll find it online here. Bear with me a second. I think we have somebody here from the >> Yeah. >> And nothing to physically receive. It sounds like >> Let's um Okay. and you are you're Diana Lynch because you've been here with us before and we appreciate that. And so I'm going to read the um and you're with the monument chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. I think regardless of whether we can give you the proclamation physically tonight, we're going to ask you to make a few remarks and I think you're comfortable doing that as I recall. Okay, good. Um so the proclamation reads as follows. Constitution Week, September 17th through the 23rd, 2025. Whereas it is the privilege of all Americans to commemorate the 238th anniversary of the drafting of the Constitution of the United States of America with appropriate ceremonies and activities. And whereas it is fitting and proper to officially recognize this magnificent document and the anniversary of its creation. And whereas public law 915 guarantees the issuance of a proclamation by the president of the United States of America designating September 17 through the 23rd as constitution week. Now therefore, the city council of the city of Vina, Minnesota does hereby proclaim the week of September 17th through September 23rd, 2025 as Constitution Week in the city of Vina and urges all citizens to study the Constitution, reflect on the privilege of being an American with all the rights and responsibilities that privilege involves and reaffirm the ideals of the Constitution. Is there a motion to adopt that proclamation as read? >> So moved. >> A second. >> Member Jackson moves. Member Agnu seconds the adoption of uh the proclamation involving Constitution Week uh designating September 17th through September 23rd, 2025 as Constitution Week in the city of Adana. Uh any further further discussion on the proclamation is read. All those in favor of adoption of the proclamation is read say I. >> I. >> I. Opposed carried. The proclamation is adopted. Uh me Miss Lynch, we'll we'll get that to you some way somehow. I apologize for not not having it ready for you tonight, but please come up to the podium and and give us a few thoughts with regard to this particular proclamation and the importance of the constitution and the work the daughters of the American of re uh of the American Revolution are doing in this regard. >> Thank you. Um, my name is Diana Lynch and on behalf of Monu Monument Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, I want to thank Mayor Hlin, the Adina City Council, and the city of Adina for recognizing Constitution Week. Constitution Day and Citizenship Day is an American federal observance that recognizes the adoption of the United States Constitution and those who have become US citizens. It's normally observed on September 17th, the day in 1787 that delegates to the Constitution Convention signed the Constitution in Philadelphia. The United States Congress designated September 17th as Constitution Day and Citizenship Day on February 29th, 1952 by a joint resolution. Thank you for this proclamation and thank you for your time. I hope you have a successful city council meeting tonight. >> Thank you, Miss Lynch. Yes, we hope so as well. >> Pardon me. >> Can we get a quick picture? Even without the proclamation. >> Yeah, I'll bring all the council members down here for Constitution Week. >> Oh, that'd be awesome. Thank you so much. >> Let's keep going. Cozy cozy. Perfect. Thank you much. >> Well, we have something. Uh there's a lot of special things that go in eina on an eina but we've got something really special coming up this month and that is the adaptive open uh that we are hosting at Braar and our course general manager Braar golf course general manager Joe Boot is here with us tonight to uh uh let all of us know about it at the on the council uh and all also everybody watching in that uh will be interested I think in this uh Braar Golf update from uh Mr. Bud. So, welcome Joe. >> Thank you. Good evening, mayor, council members. Uh, I'm here tonight to uh well, first of all, my my name is Joe Boot. I'm the general manager at the golf course, Braark Golf Course. Here tonight to talk about uh the Minnesota uh adaptive Open. It is going to be the inaugural Minnesota Adaptive Open. So, the MGA actually selected us about a year ago and we have been working through this process uh getting ready for this tournament. It's going to be a a a great event for Braar. It's going to be a great event for the city of Adina. We have some tremendous athletes uh coming out for this event. Um it's going to be uh on September 26th through the 28th. Um and just wanted to give you a little history of why kind of the MGA chose uh Braar to have the event. Um in 1979 uh through today uh Courage Kenny uh it used to be Sister Kenny uh has had an adaptive program at Braar Golf Course. In 2000 uh they uh Larry Nelson brought his adaptive program to Braar. um the city uh we have a number of programs throughout the year uh that we do with adaptive uh lessons run by our PGA professionals and um that's been around for about 30 years. So um another event we had this year was in June we hosted the an adaptive tea clinic and then again we're going to be hosting it the the the big event on the 26th through 28th. Um, kicking off the weekend for the adaptive uh event would be a clinic. Uh, the MGA has signed up for about 20 adaptive uh participants to come out for the clinic and we're going to actually have a couple wild players out there uh to kick off the weekend. Uh, a couple of the goalies, uh, Gusto and Walstead. So, it's going to be a fun little event where we're going to have a a happy Gilmore style uh, putting contest with the big hockey stick putter. So, it should be fun. Uh, we have about well, we do have 39 players uh registered for the event. Um, they wanted 40. Uh, I think one person dropped off, but so we do have a full event. Um, there's going to be three divisions, a men's division, a senior women, and a uh and a women's division. Uh, there's going to be seven seven different impairments uh categories for here. So, it's going to be a really good event. It's really good test for the golfers that uh are coming out. Uh we do have players from 15 states coming. Uh we have 12 Minnesota players. So that's going to be fun to root on some of our uh own uh hometown talent. Um six of those players qualified for the US Adaptive Open. Um Max to forgive me, I'm going to pronounce his last name wrong to to maybe to >> he's the number one seated adaptive player in the world. Uh, so we have some really good players coming out. Um, about a couple months ago, we opened it up for the volunteers. We probably saw about 80 people sign up to be a volunteer. We still need a couple more if anybody's interested in coming out. Um, it should be a fun event over the weekend. And that's about it. I just want to give you a quick update because this is we're excited as a staff about it. Um, it is a really good thing. It's a great program to have. We're hoping that uh well I I'm pretty sure this event is going to go very well and we are hoping to be the permanent site of the Minnesota Adaptive Open going forward. So if you have any questions I can answer those now. >> Yes. Council member Jackson has a comment. >> Yes. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. So congratulations. This is very exciting. If the public want to come watch, what do they do? >> They just come out. Um the tea time start at 8 a.m. on Saturday and 8 a.m. on Sunday. um and they are welcome to walk the course and see the different players out there. We'll have uh t- sheets that we're going to put out uh to the public to where people can see what time certain players are playing if there's somebody you want to catch in particular. Um but you can just come out and walk the grounds and just watch some good golf. >> Terrific. Thank you. >> Yeah, I think this is just a fantastic event uh for Braar and and and it deserves to be there. I think our long history with adaptive golf programs and if you're out there on a Monday night at the driving range and you see the uh the wonderful time that everybody that's involved in that program is having with various types of disabilities. It's just it's it couldn't get any better than what it what it is on Monday night for them. I think it just so many joyful people out there that uh are really enjoying themselves and our folks are doing such a great job assisting and making sure that they all uh can get the kind of experience they want out of it. So, congratulations for that. When I let the uh Minnesota Golf Association know today that you were going to make this presentation tonight, they sent a note to me saying that they were so pleased with the level of support they've se received from you and your staff that they couldn't have had a better experience and they're having on preparing for this event uh than to be working with the the Braar Golf Course staff. So, uh a big compliment coming your way from the MGA. >> Thank you very much. I mean, we're we are super excited about this. This is going to be a fun event and it's a great event to get these uh people a chance to participate in a true championship and I think it's going to go extremely well this uh this uh coming weekends. >> Good. All right. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. Thanks for being here, Joe. things go from um you know there's various the way agendas get framed up I'll put it this way uh things happen in sequence that don't necessarily seem to fall sequentially and and and um this is one of those circumstances where we just were able to talk about uh the adaptive open and all of the different categories of disability that people have and uh are still trying to enjoy golf. Uh this brings us then to um the events that occurred at Annunciation Catholic School in their community a few weeks ago. No, I think it's about three weeks ago. And um we've had our staff asked our staff to help put together a resolution pursuant to the suggestion of our colleague council member Jackson uh that would express solidarity and support for the Annunciation Catholic School community and then uh calling for our legislators both state and federal to take a strong look at uh a hard look at whether or not we needed some stronger gun safety protections. And so this resolution 2025-86 has been crafted uh to try to reflect the um suggestion of council member Jackson uh and I think the rest of us as well. And I don't know if anybody had any suggestions on it. I' I'd be more than happy to read it. I don't know if that's necessary. It's not it's not a proclamation per se, but um it it may be something that we do want to read after we act on it. Um, does anybody care to move the adoption of resolution 2025-86? >> So moved. I second. >> Member Jackson moves and member Agnu seconds the adoption of resolution 2025-86 which expresses solidarity with the Annunciation Catholic School Community and calls for stronger gun safety protections. Um, any further discussion? All those in favor of adoption of the resolution say I. >> I. I. Opposed. >> Carried. Resolution is adopted. And the and the resolution reads as follows. Whereas on August 27th, 2025, a horrific act of gun violence shattered the safety of Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, taking young lives and leaving lasting trauma and injury for students, families, and educators. And whereas violence involving firearms is now the leading cause of death among children in the United States, with nearly seven children dying every day from gunfire. And whereas no parent should have to fear for their child's safety at school. And no child should have to run from gunfire in a place meant for learning, friendship, and growth. And whereas in Minneapolis are deeply connected by roads, families, shared hopes for our children. And when tragedy strikes one, as it did at Enunciation Church, it is felt by us all. And whereas the city of Vana is committed to doing our part at the local level to build safe, resilient communities. And whereas meaningful common sense measures to prevent gun violence are within reach at the federal, state, and local levels. Now therefore, be it resolved that the United Council expresses in deep solidarity its deepest solidarity with the Annunciation Catholic School Community with all families impacted by gun violence and with every child who deserves to feel safe at school. Be it further resolved that the Adina City Council calls for stronger protections against gun violence and calls for on the state of Minnesota and Congress to enact and strengthen state level protections which include consideration of the following. Ensuring universal background checks on all commercial firearm transfers. Strengthening extreme risk protection orders, red flag laws by ensuring timely enforcement. enacting and funding strong safe storage and child access prevention requirements paired with statewide public education campaigns. Providing the safe and pos uh the sale provide prohibiting excuse me prohibiting the sale and possession of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. Preserving and strengthening Minnesota's permit to purchase and carry licensing system and opposing permitless carry. Banning ghost guns, 3D printed firearms, bump stocks and conversion devices. expanding funding for community violence intervention programs and hospital-based intervention models and fully funding school and youth mental health services so that trauma does not define our children's future. Um be it finally resolve that the Adina City Council affirms cities are ready to partner on these issues and we therefore call on this Minnesota State Legislature and Congress to enact cities to engage cities in this work with the urgency, courage and persistence needed. Our children deserve our best effort together to end gun violence everywhere. And that's the uh substance of the resolution that we adopted this evening. Um and thank you for all that input and thank you for that careful crafting by our staff and the editing that took place as well. Uh now, uh Carrie Teague, we've got um see here. No, we we're yeah, we're going to go into public hearings. And the first one uh involves city manager Scott Neil and Zoe Johnson, our city management fellow, who's going to discuss a possible uh way to deal with um our appeal and equalization power uh at the city level and whether or not we might want to shift that responsibility over to the county in some form or fashion. So, uh, Manager Neil, do you want to introduce the topic before Miss Johnson goes ahead with her presentation? >> Uh, yes, I would. Uh, Mr. Mayor, um, as you recall, earlier this year, uh, the city took the step of of of moving forward with a merger of our services, our our city assessing services with those at the county. Um, we have made that uh, we've made that move. It's been approved on both ends, both at the county and at the city. Um, so that is moving forward. Uh, there is this additional issue about how we handle our local board of appeal and equalization that kind of stems from that previous decision. Uh, we have some options. Uh, those options involve having a public hearing, which is why we're here tonight. And with that, I'll I'll turn it over to Zoe Johnson, our our city management fellow, and she can walk through a brief presentation about what our options are. We also have uh city assessor uh and county assessor uh both here with us tonight to answer any questions you might have. >> Thank you, Manager Neil. >> Johnson, welcome All right. Thank you for the introduction, Manager Neil. Uh, good evening, Mayor and Council. Uh happy to be here tonight to talk to you about our local board of appeal and equalization and the options that we have. Um this is um all information that's taken from Henipin County through a previous presentation that they had done for the city of Greenwood on this topic. Um so city council through Minnesota statute uh chapter 274 subdivision subdivision 3 um you are able to transfer the city's local board of appeal and equalization powers and duties under subdivision one of the same chapter in the stat state statute to the county board and no longer perform the function of a local board. um public notice is required um by the public body to consider this transfer of powers. Um which is why we're holding a public hearing tonight and you have a drafted resolution in front of you. Um and with that, let's first review our current practice of a local board of appeal and equalization. So first let's talk about taxpayer appearance types. Um there is at least 10 days notice um needed as a requirement before the local board meeting. The assessor must mail a written notice to taxpayers regarding their property's valuation and classification. Um this 10-day window list is more of uh more of a sta staff task than it is a taxpayer deterrent if that makes sense to uh file an appeal or go to talk to the local board. um for assessing staff and taxpayers. Both options of a local board and uh delegating to open book meetings essentially have the same process, but open book meetings simply allow for a longer window to make those appeals um for taxpayers, i.e. meaning it's a shorter window uh to make those appeals for local boards. Um, and if a taxpayer fails to attend a local board meeting, they no longer have the right in statute to appeal at the county board level. So, this just talks a little bit about you can have an appearance after communication with an assessor. That's before typically before those um meeting dates with the local board. And then you have an appearance without communication with the assessor. That's they don't speak to the city assessing staff and they just go straight to the local board and they make their appeal. >> Could I interrupt you just for a moment so I understand process carefully? It's been a I mean years ago the council used to sit as the board of appeal and equalization and we formed a board of appeal and equalization that's been populated by residents in our community. So, uh, just to make sure I understand properly and recall correctly, if if a resident has a concern about their estimated market value on their, uh, residents for tax purposes, they have to come to the board of appeal and equalization hearing locally to be able to be uh to take that appeal to the county. >> Correct. >> Under the pres under the present system. >> Correct. Because we have are designated as a local board city. Um, that's our current process. You must make an appeal at the local board to be able to continue on to the county board for your appeal. >> Okay. All right. Thanks. >> Of course. Yep. Um, moving on. Just basics for what the local board can do. Very similar to what the county board can do. Um, like I said, there's not a lot of differences between these two processes. It's essentially a delegation. Um so with that it's we just talk about reducing the value of a property incre increasing the value of a property property with due notification um and the like and the antithesis of that what can the local board not do uh again very similar to what the county board cannot do. Um so uh the biggest thing you should note at the bottom of this slide the board cannot change an assessment after adjournment that is consistent with county board um powers. So again, just want to reiterate that um for taxpayers, these processes will be very similar, if not the same, except for that longer window um for them to make an appeal. Um with that, let's move on to our alternative option uh if we were to delegate to an open book city. So this is an overview of the open book delegation needs and process. Um, more information about this is included in your item report and drafted resolution. Um, that's been included um as a as separate item attachments in your council packet. But, uh, essentially the county assessor must provide alternative means alternative means of appeal uh, referred to as open book meeting. Um, so this is done through public process with a public hearing like we are like we've already talked about covered today. Um and then we have council adopt a resolution if those powers um wish to be transferred to the county either for a trial period of x number of years has to be a minimum of three that's within state statute or indefinitely. Uh after that trial period uh you can come back with a another resolution and say that you want to do another trial period or you want to do it indefinitely. The option is yours again. Um, and then I just have Minnesota statute linked here if you are curious. And we will move on to objectives of the county. So again, this is taken from a presentation from Henipin County. So they just maintain that customer service is always the goal. And I want to reiterate because these processes, whether it's a local board or an open book meeting, these processes are very similar if not identical. It's just again that longer um window for taxpayers to be able to appeal their um to appeal to assessing or appraisal staff. Um and again, those those powers of what they can and cannot do are essentially the same. This slide is just showing you the 2024 open book schedule. So again, this is outdated, but I just wanted to show you the variety um of where they have these open book meetings and also the final count down below when it comes to residential and commercial attendees of those open book meetings. Um >> so what what does this mean? Does this mean if we would would adopt this for a limited period of time or indefinitely having the county take over this responsibility, somebody from Edina would go to a meeting at Richfield or would there be an open book uh schedule set up for Edina too? >> Uh we have talked about um setting up a specific open book meeting in Adina um if council uh does wish to go this route. Um, but like you were saying there, if I worked in um if I worked in Golden Valley and I lived in Mound, it might be easier for me to go to the open book meeting in Golden Valley and talk about my property in Mound and that's just fine. Um, I'm meeting with Henipin County assessing staff property all the same. It's just whatever's more convenient for the taxpayer, which is a really great value ad um for this process. It doesn't matter where they have the meetings, but wherever they have the meetings, a resident from any town can go to one of those meetings. >> Correct. As long as they are designated as an open book city. So, um, right now the city of Adina taxpayers could not go to this open book meeting in Golden Valley. >> Sure. Understood. >> Yes. >> Yeah. >> Okay. Um, and now we will move on to our map of Henipin County um, open book versus local board cities. This map isn't included as a separate attachment in your council item packet if you are curious to look at it a little bit deeper. Um I highlighted this in the item report, but there are 24 cities currently operating with open book meetings and the other 21 cities operate their own local boards. Um also included in this map is the territory of Fort Snelling and uh MSP airport, but those are not included in um our final counts. And wrapping up here, we're just going to cover some more information on county board of appeals and equalization. And this highlighted text um is uh sub is obviously needs to change and update, but we do not currently have that known timeline yet. So, it has not been updated um for the that engagement. Um but this is that same number that you can call or email this email to um connect with assessing staff at the county. Um and then this is just more resources provided by the county on this subject matter if you are curious to learn a little bit more about board of appeal and equalization processes. And like manager Neil stated already, we have city assessor Sheila Schorzinger here tonight as well as county assessor Josh Hoolland to answer any questions that you might have and talk about um talk about your concerns when it comes to service level or uh the transition. But thank you and we will stand for questions. >> Questions for M. Johnson. Yes, Council Member Jackson. >> Yes. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. So, let me just kind of walk through this. Currently, if I want to challenge the assessment of my home, I call up the assessor's office and we have a conversation. And if it's resolved to my satisfaction, that's the end of the story. Then, if it's not, I go before the city board of appeals and equalization. And that's one night, right, in the entire year. >> They meet twice, I believe. >> Twice. um in April. >> Okay. >> We have two meetings. The first meeting is um a resident's opportunity to speak to the board and let them know what their issues are. And then the second meeting two weeks later would be the appraisers coming back to the board with their determination and their recommendation. >> Okay. So, it's a two meeting process, but as a resident, I would only have the one night. If I don't show up to that, then I can't further appeal to the county. Is that correct? I have to make the appeal before the local board under the current system before I can go to the county. >> Yes. But you can make your appeal by letter or phone. You can get on the list. Especially if you've already talked to us and you say, "I don't agree." We would put you on the list. >> Okay. So there's sort of this time period after you get your assessment and before the meeting you have the conversation and you can write in you can show up but there's a but there's kind of a then the door closes after that meeting. >> Correct. >> And then if the board of appeals the local board of appeals you're still not agre agreed with that then you can go to the county and further appeal your assessment. Is that correct? Okay. So, in the open book process, does it work pretty much the same or it sounds like the time period is more flexible? How is how is the >> It works exactly the same. Exactly. They call us, we deal with them, hopefully we resolve it. If we don't resolve it, they can um go to the county board. >> So, they just don't have that intermediate step. >> Okay. And is that >> local board >> the board that member Pierce sits on? Were you on? Yeah. So there's a county panel. >> Yeah. >> That you can again write in or appear in person and then the door shuts when that hearing is over. >> Close closes. It's >> okay. Okay. But but there's no second appeal after that. That's the decision is the decision, >> right? >> Okay. All right. Thank you. >> Did you have anything you wanted to add? >> Mr. Mayor, members of the council, my name is Josh Holden, county assessor. I was just going to add to what Sheila said. I think the the biggest trade-off is the amount of flexibility. You know, there's no requirement. They don't have to call us by any certain time to then go to the county board and statutoily. The county board has to be held sometime after the second Friday in June. Statutory language has to convene within 10 days or prior to June 30th. So that extends local boards are typically in the month of April throughout the month. So that would be the deadline to appeal. If somebody lost their notice, didn't see it until after that board adjourned, there's nothing statutoily that we would have the authority to do. If they found it any time within April or or May and gave us a call and attended that county board or we able to resolve it earlier, we can still make that change. >> Okay. Other questions at this point in time? >> All right. Um, and it looks like you you do you've got these uh meetings uh meeting locations uh in these particular cities that uh are part of this process, but you also do a virtual meeting. >> Uh, Mr. Mayor, that's correct. Yep. If uh I would say that so last year we had approximately 30 people 38 people attend those five meetings throughout the county and I would like to attribute that to our amount of advertising and customer service and resolving a lot of questions and concerns in advance of those scheduled meetings. >> I think it said 38 or something that that attended. Um okay. And then uh these open book locations uh are they consistent year after year after year? >> Uh they're not. In fact, Brooklyn Center was a new city that went to open book last year. So this year we converted from Golden Valley City Hall to move it a little closer geographically to the Crystal Community Center. >> So if Adina went to the the open book router, took the recommendation of staff here and had you do this work. You may or may not have United designated as a location where there's a hearing. >> Mr. Mayor, if we can find a room in city hall, we would happily take it in. >> We'll find We'll find you a room in city hall. Yeah, that's not a problem. >> I get Miss Johnson's point that somebody who lives in Edina might work in Golden Valley and and they could drop in the Golden Valley, but uh I also understand that a lot of people would rather rather come to the city hall here based on past practice. So, um, anything else, Mr. Hoogland, that we need to know about this distinction in the two processes and and you're and we appreciate your willingness to take on this additional responsibility, too. But, uh, just wanted to make sure that our our residents are treated appropriately here on any concerns they might have about their estimated market value. Yep. Uh the only thing I'll add is our commitment to providing customer service and responsiveness and working with taxpayers. And if at the end we we ultimately don't have an agreement on what the value should be or understanding of kind of how the process works, they still have that due process at the county level. >> Okay, good. Any other questions from council members at this point in time? Okay, thank you. Thanks, Sheila. Um this is a public hearing matter. I'm going to open this up now for uh potential testimony from uh residents or interested parties uh that wish to comment on this proposal that could potentially transfer um local board authority of appeal and equalization power and duty to Henipin County. >> Good evening. My name is Nora Davis and I live at 6921 Southtail Road in the Lake Cornelia neighborhood. And again, the bears love the goldfish from Lake Cornelia. I just want to express a little bit of concern about the loss of personal service with the open book. Who would the people be that would be sitting where you are during an open book? Would it be anyone that knew, you know, the community or have any idea? That would be uncomfortable, I would think, for any Dina resident to go to Golden Valley and talk to people about property in Edina when those people up there don't know anything about Edina. I think it's important that they have an idea of the community and how the community works. And about Henipin County, it's interesting. You know, you call assessing any dinina and somebody picks up the phone. You call Henipin County and you go into a phone tree and no one ever picks up a phone and you wait and wait and wait and wait and then that person calls you back and you miss the call. So then the whole process starts all over again. And I'm thinking what it would do is people would not go through the process. And I think people have the right to go through the process and I think we need to maintain that personal contact with the people that live here and pay taxes here. Thank you. >> Thank you, Miss Davis. Maybe we could ask Mr. Huland about that um that personal service, that touch, personal touch. Um, so if hypothetically uh we did this and and we were an open book city, uh who would populate the u uh the meeting to explain things to people or answer their questions? >> Mr. Mayor, uh you know, depending on the community that we're holding the meeting within, it's primarily going to be uh staffed by appraisers working in that city. So for instance, uh sta staff appraisers working in the city of Adina would be primarily who's here. But because because anybody across the county can attend those discussions, we're going to have other appraisers from other communities. You know, last year for instance, or this year for instance, we held a open book meeting in the city of Plymouth had a lot of members of the Lake Mitaka community show up. So we had we made sure that we had those appraisers that understood those areas there as well. So it's a it's a basically a large eclectic group of our appraisal staff that can hopefully handle almost anybody that shows up. what the concern Miss Davis raised about uh ability to communicate through the uh phone system. >> Um I'd have to look at that. There is a phone tree that directs taxpayers directly to the appraiser assigned to their parcel by entering their property identification number. Um I would need a little bit more information to respond to that specific scenario though. >> Okay. So maybe you could tell us how that system's designed. Now, somebody calls in, Miss Davis calls in and she doesn't she thinks her property has been overly valued. Yes. >> For taxation purposes. >> If you call into the county assessor phone number, you'll get a a phone tree that asks if you're requesting information related to property tax programs such as homestead or have a valuation or classification concern. If you select that homestead and program, you're going to go to the tech. Then you're asked to enter your 13digit property identification number. If uh if you select the first option, you'll go to that technician that's responsible for programs within that jurisdiction for that particular parcel. If you select uh valuation or classification, then you're directed to the the appraisal staff that's responsible for that parcel. Our response time policy is within 24 hours to get back in touch and answer the phone if we can. >> Obviously, during high volume times such as the spring, value notices are out and mailboxes, it's sometimes difficult. >> All right. Thank you for that. Other questions this point in time? Okay. Thanks. Uh, anybody else wish to testify regarding this matter? >> All right. Do we have anybody online that wishes to testify? >> No, sir. I do not. >> Let me ask manager Neil a question. you know, this we with every other public hearing matter in front of us this evening, uh, we've got a recommend recommendation from staff to close the public hearing at noon on Sunday, September 28th and continue it continue the action to the October 7th city council meeting. We didn't do that in this particular circumstance. Were you thinking that you wanted to deal with this issue this evening? >> No. Our intent was that it be on your agenda on October 7th for an action. Is that seventh? So handle potentially handle this matter the way we were handling the other ones this evening. >> All right. Um, so I'm not going to close the public hearing, but I'm going to entertain a motion from uh any of my colleagues um that we um close the public hearing uh on this matter involving the potential transference of local board authority of appeal and equalization power and duty to Henipin County. uh continue that matter and close it at noon on Sunday, September 28th and continue the action to the October 7 city council meeting. Is there a motion to that effect? >> So moved. I second. >> Jackson moves. Member Agnu seconds the motion as stated. Uh any further discussion? All those in favor of adoption of the motion stated say I. >> I. >> I. Opposed. >> Mayor, a point of clarification. I think they're asking for approval tonight according to the motion that I see here. It looks >> No, we're not asking for approval tonight. >> Okay. No, thank you. >> We're postponing it till uh that's an issue we just went through. >> Yeah. To decide whether or not we're going to do it tonight or or on October 7th. So, um Okay. Let me take that vote again just to be clear. All those in favor of adoption of the motion as stated, say I. >> I. >> I. Opposed. Carried. Uh that matter will now be um taken up. We we're going to leave the record open until noon on Sunday, September 28th and continue the action to the October 7th city council meeting. And this is regard to the potential transference of local board authority of appeal and equalization power and duty to Henipin County. Um thanks everybody for being here on this issue and um we'll take this up again on October 7th. The the next matter we have in front of us is the potential approval of a um subdivision at 6417 Warren Avenue. Director Teague. >> Yes, thank you. Mayor, members, >> properties located west of Highway 100, >> south of the cross town located in a predominantly single family residential neighborhood uh with a Normandale Park to the south. Here is a look at the site. Um, this picture is taken from Warren. You can see there's a retaining wall, uh, that's got some trees growing through it. Here's a look from the intersection of 64th and Warren, the subject property. So, it's a lot of woods, um, overgrown brush. Uh, a look at the site. It is somewhat oversized compared to the neighborhood. However, this area, all of this area was platted with 50 foot wide lots. However, when this when the neighborhood developed, people purchased two, three, and in this instance, four lots, combined them, and put a house on it. What the proposal is this evening is to subdivide that property into two lots. They would tear down that existing residence. The site's currently served off of 64th Street, the driveway located here. The applicant has provided two alternatives for how the site could be accessed and graded. This is the first alternative, which would be a shared driveway utilizing that existing driveway off of 64th. If they choose this option, they would need to establish an access easement over lot one to provide that access to lot two. The second option is to cut in a new access off of Warren um and then utilize the existing access for uh the lot one to the north. These are code compliant lots. The the uh building pads that are shown here would meet all of our setback requirements within Edina. As you know, the minimum lot size is established by the median of single family lots within 500 ft. And these two lots meet those medians for lot area, width, and depth. Here is a look at the final plat itself. Again, establishing two lots over the existing one. Couple of issues that came up at the planning commission. Uh, one is in regard to this retaining wall. the property owner to the south had indicated the potential that there was an easement over that retaining wall and that the city had maintained it over the years. Uh doing some research with uh director Milner, there's there's not an easement over that and it's not a retaining wall that the city um has maintained over the years. So it is um it is the property owner's responsibility for that. In fact, it's in such poor condition that um director Milner is recommending that that retaining wall be removed and the applicant is planning on doing that. Second issue that came up um the property owner here at 6400 Mildrid had asked about whether there was a survey done on the site and yes there was. This is one of those surveys here. The concern they had was the the applicant had gone in and removed this tree right here. Um staff met with this property owner. It appears to me that that tree is on the adjacent property. Um so the um the property owner and the developer are going to meet and the uh developer intends to to make good by that that tree removal. Although first um the surveyor is going to go out there and mark the property lines. It looks like that tree could be right on the lot line. Nonetheless, um that is something that needs to be worked out between um the property owner um and the the developer. The planning commission recommended approval of this subdivision as does staff, but the recommendation this evening is to close the public hearing at noon on Sunday, September 28th, and then continue the action to October 7th. Uh, Mr. Tim Bellin is here. He doesn't have a formal presentation, but is here to answer any questions that you may have. With that, I'll turn it back to the city council for discussion. >> Great. Thank you for that. Mr. Bell, do you have anything you wanted to add at all without making a formal presentation? No, just thanks for your time and considering this. Uh, >> yeah, just come up here. Yeah. To the side podium. I think you don't need that. >> And introduce yourself, too, please. >> Uh, my name is Tim Bell. I'm the owner of Bellon Construction. I'm a residential home builder. I've uh now been working in the city of Edina for about 10 years. I typically have two or three new construction projects going at all times in the city of Edina. So, I'm pretty familiar uh with the processes and ordinances and codes in the city. Um I have done one other lot split in the city of Edina that was approved about four years ago, four or five years ago. Um so, I I think we're just trying to improve the property that's there. Like I said, we've agreed to take on the retaining wall work and um the development to try to clean up the site that's out there. Um, just appreciate your time in considering this project. >> You have a personal preference on the access on the two lots. >> I would I would rather uh split the driveways and have the personally we'd rather put the new driveway in off a warrant just to give each each homeowner their own access and not having to deal with an easement of driveway. So, which is it's a lot more work for us to do it that way, but I feel like it's a a better system long run. So >> any staff recommendation or planning commission recommendation relative to the shared driveway versus the separate drives? >> Yeah, not a specific recommendation either way other than if they do choose that shared driveway arrangement that a an easement needs to be established on that northern lot. >> Okay, good. Council member Jackson, I think, has a question or a comment. >> They answered it. >> Oh, okay. Okay. Anyone else on council have a question at this point in time? All right, this is a public hearing matter. I'm going to now open it up. Go ahead, Mr. Bell. You can sit down and stand by. And there may be some questions you need to answer, but we'll see. Is anyone in the audience who wishes to testify regarding this matter on this proposed uh subdivision lot subdivision? Okay, hearing nothing. Seeing no one coming forward, let me check with Director Benerro, see if we have anybody online. I don't have anyone online, but because there is a a brief delay in the broadcast, I would recommend that we wait one minute or so before moving forward. That gives people time to call in if they'd like. My clock shows that it's 8:27. I'll come back to you at 8:28 or when I have a caller, whichever is first. >> Thank you. It is now 8:28 and I still don't have a caller. So, I think it's safe for you to move forward with the agenda. >> All right. Very good. Uh, council member staff is recommending that we uh take this matter up at our October 7th city council meeting. And so, the motion would be to close the public hearing at noon on September Sunday, September 28th, and continue the action to the October 7th city council meeting. Is there a motion to that effect? >> So, moved. >> Second. >> Member Pierce moves. Member Jackson seconds uh the motion to close the public hearing in this matter at noon on Sunday, September 28th and continue the action to the October October 7th city council meeting. Any further discussion on the motion as stated? All those in favor of adoption of the motion as stated, say I. >> I. Opposed carried. The motion's adopted. This matter will remain open for further public input until noon on Sunday, September 28th, and we'll take it up at the October 7, 2025 city council meeting. Mr. Bell, thank you for being here this evening. >> Thank you. >> All right. Very good. The next public hearing matter we have involves the uh property at 5036 France Avenue South. And Addison Lewis, our community development coordinator, has this matter. And uh the property owner, Ryan Bernett, is with us as well. Uh, and this is again a public hearing matter. Welcome, Mr. Lewis. >> Good evening. >> All right. Good evening, Mayor, members of council. Um, so this is a site plan review and variance at 5036 France Avenue South. Uh, here's a look at the subject property in the 50th and France district just south of 50th and on the west side of France. Uh, the property is currently occupied by Cosina Delbario restaurant. The property is zoned plan commercial district 2 which allows for a variety of commercial and retail uses including restaurants. The property is guided mixeduse center in the comprehensive plan which is described as established or emerging mixeduse districts serving areas larger than one neighborhood and beyond city boundaries. Uh the primary uses include retail, office, service, multif family, residential, and institutional uses. Here are some photos of the building as it is today. Here's a look from the south side of the building from the parking lot in the adjacent bank and from the rear of the property um from the alley. Um and so here's a look at what's being proposed. The applicant states in their narrative that the existing building is due for an update and a partial second floor addition is proposed as part of the improvement. The existing building would remain largely as it is now with updates to the entry door and building color. The second floor edition is approximately 1,58 square ft of gross floor area and would consist of a gabled glass conservatory that would house additional dining and bar space. Uh there is no off- streetet parking existing or proposed on the property. Uh here's just an additional rendering showing what it would look like. There is a second floor terrace here um that they stated would not be accessible to customers of the restaurant. That would just be for plants and vegetation to kind of enhance the appearance of the building. Um so as I mentioned here's that glass uh conservatory part of the structure and then you see from the side view here um this a lot of the side and also the rear of the building would be brick to match the um the first story. So the proposal requires the following two requests site plan review as well as variance from section 361311 and 361312 to allow floor area ratio of approximately 1.2 two without providing additional off- streetet parking spaces where F up to one is allowed before additional off- streetet parking spaces must be provided. The proposal results in a parking stall variance of 14 stalls. So, here's a look at our compliance table to just show you that the proposed addition would comply with all building setbacks, building height, uh the overall floor area ratio for the property, uh and the building materials. It's just uh the parking stall variance of 14 stalls. Um, so looking at our parking requirements in the code, section 361311 requires restaurants provide at least one space for each 100 square feet of indoor floor area plus one space for each employee on the major shift. And then section 361312 states parking for uses in the 50th and France commercial node may rely on the city parking ramps with a floor area ratio up to one as defined in section 3610. Uses exceeding one must provide additional off- streetet parking spaces for square footage above one. Um and just to give some context that F requirement goes back to 19778. Uh just before that the city had adopted a master plan for 50th in France that identified a number of parcels for redevelopment and soon after that the city realized um that the parking ramps could not accommodate uh every parcel redeveloping to the maximum F of 1.5 uh and that there was a need to develop a policy that would distribute the parking to all property owners in a way that was fair. Um, so yesterday the applicant submitted a shared parking agreement with the adjacent land owner at 5050 France Avenue. That's the uh Beimo Harris Bank location to utilize the 31 parking stalls on that property uh with a valet service. The applicant is showing that they can fit up to 39 to 45 cars on that property. Um just a reminder, they only need a variance for 14 stalls. So it's it's much more than what they're required to provide by code. Um, a copy of that agreement was emailed to the city council and added to the meeting packet. The applicant states that the hours of the bank, which are 9:00 to 5:00 Monday through Friday and 9 to 12 on Saturday, will not overlap with the proposed uh operating hours of the new restaurant, which is proposed to be open for dinner hours uh starting at 5:00 p.m. and that lunch will not be offered. The city code does allow for shared parking through private agreements between property owners, but there are certain requirements, including that the agreement run with the land and be recorded against the property. It doesn't appear that that will be the case um here, as the agreement allows the adjacent land owner to terminate the agreement with uh 90 days written notice. The applicant has also stated that they'll be offering incentives and transit passes for employees to further reduce parking demand. The property is adjacent to Metro Transit Route 46 as well as uh the new Eline which is scheduled to open in December of this year um without the shared parking agreement or if if the parking agreement were to be terminated in the future. Um customers that drive to the restaurant are likely to park in the south ramp adjacent to the property. And um we do have uh data in those ramps on on the occupancy and data from the south ramp indicate that 73 spaces are available on the average Friday and Saturday evening. Um and then since our planning commission meeting last week, staff also looked at the north and central ramp as well and found that between all three ramps, um there should be about 327 spaces available on an average Friday or Saturday. Um the applicant's parking study indicated that the additional man from the demand from the floor area above one is uh 16 spaces. So just to be very clear um from this variance, we do not anticipate that there would be uh any kind of parking shortage. So Minnesota statutes and section 3698 of the Dina zoning ordinance require that a variance shall not be granted uh unless the following findings are made. Um so I'll just walk through this criteria here uh individually and and give you the staff finding as well. So uh the first is that the variance would be in harmony with the general purposes and intent of the ordinance. Um the staff finding is that the parking ramps at 50th in France are a shared resource and the F restriction is intended to distribute the park the available parking fairly among all the properties in the district. Uh if a use is allowed to exceed F of one, it would arguably be using more than its fair share of the district parking and if all properties were allowed to exceed a F of one, um it's possible that there could be a parking shortage. So um staff do not find that that criteria uh to be met. Secondly is that the variance would be consistent with the comprehensive plan. Um the 50th in France small area plan specifically references this F limit and notes that the existing parking supply is insufficient to accommodate an increase in demand from additional redevelopment. The plan states developments in the study area will need to either provide their own parking or public private agreements will need to be reached on how to meet the increased demand. Um as I mentioned a private agreement for shared parking has been provided to us. Um, however, it does not meet all the requirements of the code. So, uh, for this one, we're saying this criteria is potentially met. Uh, the property owner proposes to use the property in a reasonable manner not permitted by the zoning ordinance. Uh, the staff finding is that the applicant is proposing a relatively small addition that requires additional parking. The applicant states that the addition is necessary to make the business viable and there is no space on the property to provide additional parking. So, staff find the request to be reasonable. Next is that the plightly to the land owner is due to circumstances unique to the property not created by the land owner. Um in this case the plight of the land owners that there's no space on the existing property to provide additional parking. Uh however this u is true for most of the buildings at 50th in France and is not unique to the subject property. Um it's possible that the city could receive similar variance requests from other property owners in the district. Um so we cannot say that this criteria is met. um if these types of expansions are desired by the city, staff recommend exploring amending the code. Um so that the same opportunity would be available to all property owners in the district. Um and that's probably worth taking a look at just given, you know, the data I mentioned shows there is a lot of excess capacity in those ramps. Um we have the opening of the Eline here in December. Um it's been 6 years since that small area plan was done. That sort of reaffirmed the need for that uh floor area ratio standard. Um we've adopted a climate action plan since then that has aggressive goals for increasing transit ridership and reducing vehicle miles traveled. Um as well as the overwhelming amount of public support for this project that we've seen. Um next is that the variance if granted will not alter the essential character of the locality. So given the floor area of the addition is relatively small compared to the total commercial floor area in the district, this variance alone is not likely to have a significant impact on the amount of available parking most hours of the day uh most days of the week. And data from the south ramp indicate that 73 spaces are available during peak time on the average Friday and Saturday. The applicants parking study indicated an additional demand for 16 stalls on the average Friday evening for the floor area uh above an F of one. So we do find that criteria to be met. So um today the staff recommendation is a motion to close the public hearing at noon Sunday, September 28th, 2025 and continue action to the October 7th, 2025 meeting. Um on October 7th, 2025, the staff recommendation is for denial of the requested variance and site plan um just due to the the findings um related to the variance. Um however, we have drafted findings for approval uh for you as well in the staff report. Um on September 10th, 2025, the planning commission voted 51 to recommend approval of the site plan and variance with an added condition that additional bike parking be considered. Um so with that, be happy to take questions. Uh the applicant is also here as well. Uh and we'd be happy to give you a presentation. >> Thanks for that presentation. Very thorough. Uh let me check to see if anyone has questions for you. Yes. >> First a comment. I do appreciate how um staff will be encouraged to use transit. But as I look at other restaurants and my experience going to 50th in France, I always park in the ramp when I go to Edina Grill, when I go to Saloo, um, Rau, it's this site sort of stands out in that it actually does have some parking. So, I'm just kind of wondering if you could comment on that. And there's also restaurants across the street in Minneapolis that probably use our parking ramps. >> Yeah. So, I'll actually respond to that second point you just made uh first about, you know, Edina historically has provided a lot of the parking and you're you're right. Um it's very likely that customers going to businesses on the Minneapolis side do park in Edina. Um we know that Minneapolis does not have parking requirements. I think they have much more liberal zoning that allows much more development. So, it's likely that, you know, um a property on that side of the border um could do an expansion um without, you know, this barrier um of the parking requirement. Um the the parking is not actually on the property of this property owner. It's it's an agreement that they have with the property owner next door. Um we do have standards in the code about shared parking agreements. This doesn't quite meet those. Um but given the other factors, you may be comfortable with it. The other comment and just in terms of 50th in France, I'm pulling a blank. I know outside of Luns there's bike racks. Are there bike racks nearby in the restaurant area? >> I think there actually is a bike rack in the public rideway right in front of the restaurant currently that you might be able to see. Uh I I think there are like three bike racks right here. Um, those are the only ones that I know of, but there could be others. And >> I guess just with the new route coming down, and I'm looking at Rebecca, like wondering if there's any sort of plan to encourage residents to bike or walk or take mass transit to 50th in France. I know I've walked with, we would always walk um sort of on date night with the kids. we'd go over a mile from our house because then we earned our, you know, movie and dinner and then we'd walk home and it was great. But I don't I don't know if you could speak to whether there's more of an emphasis on >> um alternative transit what with that new route coming in. >> So, member Risser, I can speak to that. Andrew Skippy has recently re walked the district with uh Brian Dreamer and Rebecca and they look for locations to put in more bike racks to support bikes. So, I was just down there at the business meeting on Friday and we had a business owner chase me out of the door and say, "We need more bike racks." And she was looking for some specifically in front of her business. So, that review of bike racks is happening right now. >> Excellent. Thank you, >> Jackson. >> Yes. Thank you. This is a general question. As we're looking at updating the code, is this something the requirement for parking at 50th in France that it will be included in that review? >> It's certainly something that we could do. I think um it would be good to hear get some direction from council on you know whether that's something you're interested in um and then you know kind of what level of study and analysis of the ramps do you want us to do you know to give you information to make an informed decision on what that should be. So it's probably a bigger conversation for for another day where we would come back and probably ask you to give us a little more direction on that. I'm going to ask that you put it in the hopper of potential issues in the future because here we've got a fact scenario. Um, and I want it to be fair for every all the different businesses at 50th in France. I think >> you want to put it in the parking lot. >> I want to put it in the parking lot. Yes. >> All right. Thank you. [Laughter] >> Um, I just had been nine o'clock here. >> I just had one question. Uh when you gave the available parking lot uh the available parking spaces in the district parking, did that include the the fact that Eina Grill is closing and that that restaurant will now be uh a jewelry store? That space is expanding and so it won't be another restaurant. >> So that that was just data mostly based off of the last nine months. And then so the the data in our system um for last fall 2024 um it looked like there was an issue with the system. So I actually looked at the three months um from like September to the end of the year from 2023. So it's it's about 11 12 months worth of data from the last year. So obviously the restaurant I think has been open that whole time. So no it would not reflect that. >> Okay. All right. Thank you. >> Yep. Council Breu, anything at this point in time? >> Do you know of any other properties within the area that had been exploring potential expansions that didn't pursue it because of parking constraints? >> I I have not heard of any. I don't know. No, Director T. No. Okay. No, we have not. Um and then kind of based off of the relative increase to this site, um 14 additional stalls are required for this site. Um knowing that there's roughly 300 additional parking stalls at the evening hours of what Friday and Saturday is, I think what you said, we could feasibly accommodate 20 such projects within the area. before we ran out of parking. >> Um, yeah, I think that's a fair way to put it. Yep. >> Okay. I do think it it's going to be important for us to I think as um member Jackson was saying like look at this area and and potentially come up with some revisions in general. Um but I I don't think that this is going to really take a big dent into the the parking that we have. Um, but I I do want to explore um because I'm curious if there were other projects, right, that they were like, "Oh, we couldn't get it approved, so let's not even pursue it." I do want to make it more equitable and and continue to foster more investment and more development within that area. So, thank you. I think Council Member Ragna and Council Member Jackson making a great point here that I think we're on the cusp of becoming a kind of a culinary hub down at 50th and France if we do this right and and to think about a Friday or Saturday night and 300 plus empty spaces available in those ramps. That means there's a lot of business to be had down there. And so something worth uh thinking about because we don't want to be discouraging people from coming. We're thinking about expanding because of um what looks like to be a the far may be far may be low. I'm not you know there hasn't been a study yet but to the point you were making yourself provided us with this information um something I think worth looking at. And then the fact that uh uh the adjoining property owner is offering 31 stalls. Uh yeah, it doesn't run with the land. Um but if you knew the adjoining property owner, you'd knew it'd be a pretty tight agreement. So anyway, um this is a public hearing. I think anybody else have questions for Mr. Lewis at this point in time. We'll open it up for some public testimony. I I think Mr. Bernett's here >> and I think he'd want to make a comment about um this matter and then others I see others in the audience as well who may wish to testify. >> Mr. Mayor Bennett, welcome. >> Thank you. Thank you for your time. Uh my name is Ryan Bernett. I am the building owner of 5036 France and been the owner of Coina Delbario for the past 15 years. Um, in the back there we have my business partner Danny Delpra and our team, our architect and Jerry Wolf who helps us with our operations. So, they're here in support as well. Um, I'll try not to be redundant because you you guys covered quite a bit. Um, but and I think you hopefully have this deck, but if not, I think it'll be emailed to you. Um, to start with, why this concept? Why now? Um, having been on that block for 15 years, uh, we've had I've been able to watch what's been going on and it's been, um, somewhat of a slow death for Salute Edin Gril and Bario. Um, and we've seen it coming for a while. And the the recent news about the two other restaurants in the block was not a shock to me. Um, because we were feeling the same the same pain. So, um, my my love for the the block, my love for the area, um, you know, and and and closing a restaurant was not something I took lightly. So, I I I went to Danny, who is in my mind, uh, one of the best, if not the best restaurant, I'm sorry, the best restaurant operator in town. And uh I I wanted to create something that would bring back some vibrancy to the block uh that I think is is sorely needed. Um it's an opportunity to reset and bring back um identity to that block and to really help the cenency of everyone in that district and and rise at sea level. Um, touching briefly on the experience, uh, you know, a fresh coat of paint and a couple different changes of appetizers or or drinks is not going to do it. Um, having lived this, having this been my my my business now for north of 18 years with different concepts throughout town, we both knew that we needed to make something somewhat bold and something unique to the Twin Cities to to drive the the vitality needed for this this particular building. And while it comes with a a hefty price tag, the the the concept of being able to to have a glass rooftop that um is open all year round and is a is a totally different experience than you'd really get anywhere else in town. We knew we had to do um and you know, the images do some justice, but not not really when when it's open to actually experience what it's going to be. We're going to have live trees in there. we're going to have. It's just going to be um completely unique to anything that that that we've seen. So, we see it as uh a landmark that's going to draw visitors, media attention, and and community pride. Uh an important part about this is is is our alignment with the 50th and 50th and France comp plan. And we see we hit on six points. connectivity in public realm with the year-round dining atrium. It's going to connect the guests to nature in the neighborhood and it's a gathering place that's going to strengthen the community life. Uh the building design and the density scale adding the second story by responsibly reusing the existing structure and preserving street charm, economic vitality. I think this really helps reinforce the 50th in France as a pre premier metro dining hub like you said, Mr. Mayor. Um the urban design and character a glass rooftop is is unique to the Twin Cities creating a destination draw site sustainability adaptive reuse minimizes carbon footprint by retaining existing building materials and last on the the 50th 50th in France alignment of the comp plan is access parking and movement. So, the valet services reduces pressure on the city and the street parking. Uh, as previously discussed, we're asking for a variance of 14 spots. Um, and to satisfy this, I think we've gone in, in my humble opinion, um, above and beyond and reached an agreement with our neighbor, um, where we can easily fit 45 spaces there, uh, valet, off streetet, and I think it it helps the the dining experience in that area. And I feel it it shows the sincerity of how we want to approach this project and and the the seriousness that we're taking what this potential what this variance is. Um it does not necessarily comply with the I believe it has to be a 30-year lease. Um but what it does show is a testament to how neighbors are working together to help raise the sea level again as I said earlier for the area. and um my neighbor has been nothing but but great to work with on that and and I I think he alongside all of the other co-enants that we have in the district have shown an outpouring of support for us. Um in my presentation it talks about the 327 parking stall. So I'm just going to I'm going to I'm going to leave that one for the fact that it's nine o'clock now. Um, and as as you said, council member Pierce, um, I I with Edina Grill closing in 200 seats and potentially Salute, there's a lot more vacancy that's going to be coming. Um, so I I I feel um that we are, you know, we're we're we're excited to to work with the city on this project and and I believe parking has been something we've taken seriously and will handle. Um, last part, well, second to last, um, as I just said earlier, we've had unsolicited outpouring of support that we didn't fully expect. Uh, and it's been not only from the residents of the area, but residents of Edina holistically as well as, uh, all of the businesses that share the parking. Um, I I believe you guys have received some emails as well, but it's been um overwhelming and and uh it felt it felt good. I mean, it it really helped reinforce how we felt about what we're going to hopefully be doing. So, um the outpouring is still coming our way and um you know, it it it shows a sense of pride in the area. So, our commitment uh we we believe this building will be the lynch pin providing revitalizing that block and bringing the right energy back to that block. Um we're closing Bario on October 1st. It's it's it's done. And uh if as opposed to losing three restaurants, we can gain something that will will hopefully plant a flag for what's yet to come for Edina. >> Thank you for your time. >> Thank you, Mr. Burnt. Uh, let me check to see if anybody has any questions on the council for you at this point in time. All right, good. Stand by. You can leave that microphone. I don't think you want to take that to the back row and have us listening on any of your conversations back there. Uh, so this is a public hearing matter. I'm going to open it up for public testimony. And if anyone desires to come forward and testify, I think Miss Sorenson is here for a reason. Not just to be not just to be an observer. >> But uh yeah, thank you. >> You won't need that at the side podium unless you have something. >> No, this is great. Thank you. I'm Rebecca Sorenson, 4304 Eaten Place. I'm the director of 50th in France and I oversee the 150 businesses at the intersection of 50th in France. I'm here on behalf of those businesses to bring our full support of this project. We are very excited about Americana uh presented by Ryan and Bernett and Daniel Delprao. Um this project will bring the energy and vitality our district needs at this time. Um it's impeccably designed. It's going to be open at 5:00 when most businesses will be closed. And since parking seems to be the main issue here, I just want to reiterate that um we have steps away, not just the south ramp, but I'm glad that staff investigated the center ramp and the north ramp because I think originally that wasn't taken into into consideration and I brought that up with the planning commission. Um, and we like to say, and if you just look at 50th and France Instagram, I do a video showing a thousand free parking spots at 50th in France and really encourage everyone to spread the word about the parking. I think people when they don't see it on street think it doesn't exist. It's embedded in those ramps. We have a lot of wonderful free parking and especially after five o'clock. Um, the secured valet service, the bike racks. I'm so thrilled that there was progress made at the last planning commission meeting and we had this meeting on Friday and that that's being pursued as we went around with Andrew and looked at locations for more bike parking. We do see an increase in in bikers at 50th in France. We'd love to see that. Um and the eline, you know, you advocated for the eline. Um we went through the construction of the eline. We got on the other side of it and it will be opening in December as a new enhanced bus line. I'm already seeing um more ridership. I'm working with Metroransit to promote more ridership to our district. Um, and we plan to help with the unveiling in December at 50th in France. Um, I also just want to point out if you're concerned about parking, just across the street is an underutilized lot, the Ewing lot on the Minneapolis side. Um, we rarely see people using that lot, but it is there. And, um, I think there are, you know, at least a hundred parking spots in that lot as well. And it's it's even with restaurants um in that area, it's it's always underutilized. Um and then ride sharing. You know, many of Daniel Delpra's restaurants are accessed with Uber and Lyft. Uh we see many of his clientele um arriving that way um at some of his other restaurants. Um so we're just excited about the the new foot traffic, the new interest, renewed interest in the district um and reinforcing the work that we're doing at 50th and France as a vibrant, walkable destination. and we think our community treasures. It's a draw for many people when they come to our area. I also want to just reinforce what community partners they are. Um, tonight they're doing 10% of sales at their other restaurant, Dexters, and all of Daniel Delpra's restaurants to Annunciation. Um, they also last week did um another percentage of sales, I think it was also 10% to the Adana Education Fund for mental health support. This is a real community partner. We know that with Americana, we're going to see more of that in our district and our community as well. Um, so again, just thank you so much and I really hope um this goes forward. Let me know if you have any questions. >> Yes. Let's let's see if anybody has any questions for you. You know, thanks for being here this evening. >> Yeah. Thank you. >> Okay. Anyone else? Sir Delpra, you want to come forward? We wanted to kind of meet you anyway. >> Okay. Well, can you come forward? Anyway, I would like to thank you for um uh what you're doing at at the 50th and France neighborhood. Uh not only Dexters, which is Minneapolis, but it's right there. Uh but but the Lynh Hall, you know, you're you're going to take over that operation that we heard turning. >> I love the location. I love that area. And then >> Yes. >> Yeah. This is your chance at a little promo here. >> Okay. on the Lyn Hall. You're going to reopen it as what? >> Yes. Well, no, we are really excited about this project. Like um when Ryan approached me, I I see that part of town like um it's going through a transition. You know, it happens a lot with uh parts of town and and I think there's an opportunity there to just bring that area to where I think it can be. I mean, I love the area as it is right now and the restaurants there, but I think, you know, uh I want to be part of what is next. I think um I'm not that young, but I, you know, for the younger part of it. So, >> you are? >> Yeah. Um so, yeah, we are excited about it and um yeah, thank you for your time and and thank you for the support. We have a lot of support from a lot of people. Um, so yeah, this I'm pretty shy. So, >> very good. Yeah, thanks for being here tonight to support Mr. >> Burn. Thank you for for everything you've done >> and thinking about that investment too is great. Thank you. >> Thanks. >> Anyone else in the audience wish to testify? Okay, let's see if we have anybody online. Okay. A disappointed no. >> Yeah. All right. Well, um staff is recommending that we leave this matter open for further public input until noon on Sunday, September 28th, and then continue the action to the October 7, 2025 city council meeting. Is there a motion to that effect? >> So move. >> Member Pierce moves. Member Agnu seconds the adoption of the motion stated which would leave the public hearing in this matter open until noon on September 28th, 2025 and continue the action to our October 7, 2025 meeting. Um any further discussion? All those in favor of adoption of the motion stated say I. >> I. I. Opposed. Carried. Motion's carried and we will take this up on October 7. Thank you everybody for being here this evening. And then we've got a couple more to go uh that are more internal oriented. One is uh I guess they're both water related. One is a potential amendment regarding storm water management and uh the one following that uh or actually the one preceding that is um potential changes to the code on flood plane districts. So, we're going to take that matter up first. And, uh, Jessica Wilson, our water resources manager, is here to talk about that one. >> Hello. Good evening, uh, Mr. Mayor, members of the council. Thank you. My name is Jessica Wilson. I'm the water resources manager and the certified flood plane manager for the community. And then Ross Bitner is also here, engineering services manager. So, this first one is our floodplane districts amendment. And so we have two separate but related ordinance revisions. So just a real quick on what's the difference between these two. Both are centered on no adverse impact principles and a good neighbor approach. The flood plane district's ordinance update utilizes elevation to reduce exposure and is focused on limiting flood losses and damages. The storm water management ordinance is more about controlling runoff and providing assurances for long-term functionality of the control measures. So, the recommendation is to close the public input at noon on September 28th and continue action to the October 7th meeting regarding this ordinance amendment. And the purpose of the update is to incorporate our local flood plane development policy, an element of the flood risk reduction strategy, to incorporate a more recent state model ordinance, and to incorporate a letter of map revision or LOMER panel that was recently approved by FEMA. Planning Commission heard these uh proposed updates and unanimously recommended approval. So, how did we get here? 1980 city vina joined the national flood insurance program and adopted some minimum standards at that time. Maps have been updated in 2004 and 2016 following reissuance of maps. In 2017 2018 we developed our own uh uh visualization of that and published an interactive map. And then in 2018 we had a water resources management plan update. This was in the midst of the wetest decade on record following a peak period of residential redevelopment and we heard loud and clear from council and residents that there was a desire for more transformative progress on flooding and drainage issues which led to the promise to develop that flood risk reduction strategy. So we have two maps here on the left is those regional areas. This is what has been uh in code for a long time since 1980 with some minor changes over time and the ordinance amendment is going to incorporate our local flood areas that are defined in the city model. So you can see that it extends to a lot more areas for several reasons. We have more detailed uh landform data. We have more updated precipitation data. we can get more detailed on our local storm sewer network and then we can annually incorporate any changes on the landscape into that model so that local flood areas is what's being uh added. We know uh it's getting wetter and we're having more intense storms. The 2010s was the wetest decade on record. Uh this next graph, this is the new home permit history for the past several decades where you can see in that same time frame of the 2010s where we're seeing a peak in residential redevelopment. And so these forces all coming together uh led us to uh developing that flood risk reduction strategy. So in 2018 we made a promise in the plan to develop that strategy. 2019 convened a task force. 2020 had uh our flood risk reduction strategy was adopted by the city council and then in 2022 the water resources management plan was amended to incorporate that new policy the flood risk reduction strategy. So since 2022 we've been implementing those policies for uh redevelopment. Uh so what we're proposing tonight is to codify those things that we've been doing since the time of that amendment in 2022. This council knows well the flood risk reduction strategy we've talked to you about it many times. That strategy is to comprehensively reduce the risk throughout the community and the area of work that is the subject of the uh conversation tonight is that regulation area of work where we acknowledge competing demands of land use and address drainage, groundwater and surface water issues. We help people solve issues without without harming another. So, in this new local flood area district that we're incorporating into the code, these are things that we've been implementing through policy since 2022. And this is uh to codify those policies. So, we're referencing the data that we're using in this interactive water resources map that's available on our uh the city website. We have standards for below grade garages and parking outside of R1 and R2 zoning districts. We have a local flood area district that is created that specifies minimum low opening elevations in local flood areas. Uh low floor elevations adjacent to ponding basins and lowf flooror elevations uh adjacent to uh in areas that are landlocked. Uh landlocked basins are those areas where there's not a natural uh where there's not an outlet. water can only leave through evaporation, infiltration, or setting up a temporary pumping operation. And these areas are particularly vulnerable to prolonged high water, especially during wet periods when groundwater levels are high like we all lived through in that uh the teens, the 201s. There's also an option for sight specific standards where you can uh essentially trade um uh um a practice that would reduce your exposure for an alternative that would reduce your vulnerability. So it's still a net reduction in flood risk but a little bit more flexibility in those local areas on how you achieve that. Uh and there's certain conditions on where and when that makes the most sense to do. uh we can't we don't have that flexibility in those regional flood areas but in local ones we do. Uh we also have a flood fill standard that essentially follows this uh good neighbor no adverse impact approach. So it's possible if you can prove that you can do it without harming another. Uh and then we also have wershed districts that regulate fill as well. So the purpose again of the update here is to incorporate that local flood plane development policy, an element of the flood risk reduction strategy that we've been incorporate been applying through policy since 2022, but we're getting to uh now to codify that. Uh it incorporates a more recent state model ordinance and a letter of map revision panel that was recently approved by FEMA. So real quick what that is, there's a tiny little square right in the middle here where there's a little revision. uh the property owner there. Um it it the the zone that they're in seemed like it was a a modeling error, kind of a sloppy modeling that's just kind of perpetuated since 1980. And so they cleaned that issue up with FEMA. And so FEMA reissued this panel to make that correction on that one parcel. So you see that one tiny little change there. And if you if you want to learn more about that, we can talk more about that. So to conclude on this first one, the flood risk reduction strategy aims to increase community capacity to withstand and recover from flood hazards. Regulating flood plane development is a key area of work for making progress toward the goal of comprehensively reducing flood risk across the community. So the recommendation is to close public input at noon on September 28th, continue action to October 7th. >> Very good. Thank you, Miss Wilson. Uh questions for Miss Wilson on this uh good work that uh staff has done led by her. Could you go back and find that slide? That was the one right before uh the land the um landlocked right before landlocked here. So t tell us a little bit more about this um notion of um below grade garages and parking below grade garages requiring is to understand this correctly we would require them to be floodp proofed uh and have other measures that would reduce vulnerability if they were within the flood plane or the local flood area district. Is that it? >> Yep. So these are outside of R1 and R2. Those are kind of captured with low uh opening standards elsewhere. But this might be if you have a parking garage where you can have uh an evacuation plan uh where you can um notify people ahead of time to stay out or you can put up a barrier to keep people out during that time. Um or you can do some other uh flood proofing depending on the level of exposure that there would be. So >> flood proofing doesn't mean if someone's going to build a new multif family apartment building with underground parking in it that they have to flood proof the basement. >> There's uh dry flood proofing is like it has to stay dry and then there's wet flood proofing where it could allow some water in and depending on the depth of that uh inundation that might be something uh that would be allowed. >> What do we require now if you're in a flood plane? So in a local flood plane this we have it in our policy in our water resources management plan the same criteria. So we've been applying that and this is to codify that existing policy that we've been applying. >> Okay. >> Um maybe I'll just check in. Do do we have examples in the last few years where this has occurred. Do you want to share that story? >> Mr. Mayor Ross Benner, engineering services manager. Uh an example uh from recent commercial redevelopment uh 40 407th Street. Oh yeah. Uh very near a large regional flood area connected closely in the groundwater with the sandy soils. Um there they designed the basement for flood forces and basically made the entrance to the garage uh up and above safely up and above the local flood area. Uh we see this type of flood risk throughout the community in areas that it wasn't planned uh where water can get right down into parking garages. So just across the street from there um 6600 6800 France uh has had history of flooding in the parking garage and flood risk that goes you know 4t deep in those areas. So things that we want to slowly start planning for and new development make sure that it's done right and we don't put people at risk. >> Oh good good to know that was helpful. Thank you. Any other questions? I prompting me remember >> can you go to the slide where you're talking about um reducing risk versus reducing it was like there we go exposure and alternative vulnerability um a little bit more about this because it sounds like this is introducing um sort of some ambiguity and I don't know if I'm reading that wrong. >> So typically the standard is two foot of freeboard. So essentially your twoft of vertical height over the inundation peak. So in some instances if you're doing you know an addition to the rear of your home uh and you want it to be level as you're walking from the existing home into your addition and you'd think oh if we could just do one and a half foot of freeboard then I can just walk from this existing into the um addition without a step up. Um and so we might say we could you know that would be um uh we would entertain that proposal if there was some other commenurate reduction in vulnerability. So perhaps there's some other low opening that already exists that could be go from you know a door to a window or something to reduce another route of exposure for flooding. Um, another common one we see is if you're already exposed to flooding in a lower level and you um have a sanitary backflow flooding issue, which is the grossest kind of flooding, then maybe there's it maybe it would make sense depending on the scope of the project to do some kind of backflow prevention or some other way of reducing uh the exposure from that uh route of flooding. So, it's more of like a um a kind of we still want a net reduction in risk. Um but you could make a a proposal that's unique to that particular scenario and we would entertain that. this >> um and looking at this and just thinking about development in general around Adina and um the last time you were both before us, it was a work session and we were talking about water quality and the development that the original the first development opus suggested was happening and the comment was made that the more impervious surface we approve the harder it is to maintain water quality. And so I can't help it, but I think about that whenever I see you two together. But um what I'm getting at is this is providing some tools, but it's it's not addressing how we do permit projects that are two and a half times the legal buildable area to go up in the commercial district. Would there be any there probably isn't any opportunity to say if you're near a flood zone in a flood zone adjacent to one that kind of activity would not be allowed that would be beyond the purview of what you're doing here tonight. So the the flood plane one has mostly to do with setting those minimum elevations to reduce exposure. The storm water one, which is coming just next, is going to be all about how do you manage that uh drainage and runoff so that you're not harming other properties. Uh and that includes, you know, downstream water resources. We also have wershed districts and they have some water quality rules and we partner with them on uh storm water control measures that get implemented to manage that runoff from any upsizing of of impervious um to manage that. And then we partner on inspecting and making sure those things are perpetually maintained. I think generally speaking when properties do redevelop it's a once in a generation opportunity to make some improvements when it comes to flood exposure and storm water runoff. >> You council member Jackson. >> Yes. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. So why this? Why now? Um, is is the new FEMA map the impetus for making these changes or is this just a a step by step how we're doing our flood risk mitigation? >> Yeah, thank you for that. So, 2022 was when we amended the water resources management plan and we put in those policies that uh set minimum building elevations. Uh, and then the DNR came out with their updated model ordinance in 2022. And so that was kind of the the start of getting to a process to codify it separately. We have a property owner that was working through this lmer and so we were kind of ready and waiting for their panel to get issued by FEMA so that we can incorporate that into the zoning code so that down the road we could review a building permit application and actually be able to issue it for that property as they're redeveloping. >> Okay. Thank you. All right. Anything further? All right. This is a public hearing matter. Let's open this up to see if anybody in the audience wishes to testify regarding this matter. See one of our residents coming forward. Good evening. My name is Nora Davis and I'm still at 6921 South Dell Road in the um Lake Cornelia neighborhood and I'm not seeing my photo up here. Do I need to press >> Yeah, it's up there. >> Yep. >> I'm not seeing it here. There it is. Okay. I'm a survivor of the great flood of 87. Still haven't recovered. Still have a bit of PTSD when it rains really, really hard. Um, the photo that is up I did not take. And if you look closely, these are cars floating because this is a huge parking lot. And this is where if you go past 7200 France, there's still a hole there. They're attempting to fill it with a building, but that's where this particular photo was taken. Um, this again, you can see cars floating in the back. Um there was a lot of water on that site. I didn't take these photos because uh my neighborhood was flooded that night. Um we had at my home we had 8 ft of water in the basement within an inch of the first floor. Several neighbors kitty corner from me actually had water on the first floor. And I remember looking out about 10:00 at night and we were literally an island and it was rather terrifying. Uh my husband had his business at the ba in the basement at that time and he carried everything to the basement steps and I carried it up and it kept raining and I thought we've done all this work and if it keeps raining we've got a problem. So this is kind of my memory lane type. We have to keep flooding in mind no matter what we do because it's always there. Climate change has been kind of frightening with a lot of the rainstorms that we've had. They've come rather quickly and with a lot of water. Um needless to say, I'm very supportive of what Edina staff has done. They've been very concerned about neighborhoods and spending time with the people that went through it. So there's an understanding of what needs to be done and they kept working on it and I am just so gracious and thankful for these folks that did that because it has reduced my PTSD just a bit. Um but again it's something that we have to be very very aware of. Um so this definitely needs to be part of the city code. Um, so again, I appreciate all that's been done and look forward to continuing work with this issue. Thank you. >> Thanks, Miss Davis. >> Anyone else wish to testify that's in chambers? All right, let's check with uh, Director Benrock to see if there's anyone on the line that wishes to testify regarding this matter. >> I don't have anyone on the line for this public hearing either. >> All right. Um the recommendation of staff from Miss Wilson is that uh we close the public hearing on this matter on Sunday, September 28th at noon uh and continue the action to the October 7, 2025 city council meeting. Is there a motion to that effect? >> So moved. >> Second. Ragnu moves member Pierce seconds the motion to close the public hearing in this matter on noon September 28th, 2025 and continue the action to the October 7, 2025 meeting. Uh any further discussion? All those in favor of adoption of the motion as stated say I. >> I. >> I. Opposed carried. Motion's adopted. We will close the public hearing on this matter at noon on September on September 28th and continue the action to the October 7, 2025 city council meeting. Uh and one more public hearing matter this evening and Miss Wilson has this matter as well and this is a potential amendment regarding storm water management. Miss Wilson. >> All right. Thank you again. Okay. So, we've done a lot of the groundwork for the storm water part already. So, we're going to fly through this one. So, uh this one is related to uh storm water management. The recommendation we have is the same as the prior uh to close the public input at noon on September 28th, continue action to the October 7th meeting. And the purpose of this update is to update and move those storm water management requirements that were that are currently in chapter 10 and move those to chapter 36. We want to clarify code requirements regarding storm water management plans where they apply to more than just new single and double dwelling units and also capturing ADUs and other improvements like additions. Uh this clarifies and codifies staff's application of requirements that have been the status quo since 2016 following a series of meetings with council and planning commission. And the update is consistent with policy in the water resources management plan to regulate development and redevelopment to ensure actions proposed at the time of development consider flood risk and do not adversely impact others. So we have our storm water management plan um implementation. Here's our water resources interactive map and the requirements that apply are based on existing drainage issues and the scope of the project that folks are proposing to do. Uh so again, these are separate but related ordinance revisions. They both center on that no adverse impact principle, that good neighbor approach. While the flood plane one was more about elevating and reducing exposure and limiting losses and damages, the storm water management uh ordinance is about controlling runoff, providing assurances for long-term functionality of the control measures that are implemented. And the other change from our status quo policy implementation is we're adding in some way to ensure that long-term functionality of control measures. We have a program where those measures that are implemented based on watershed district uh rules are inspected and maintained perpetually. So, we're going to take that same model and apply it for those ones that we are requiring at the city scale uh to kind of fill in the gap on those drainage and local flood area issues. So, with that, uh development projects have implications for storm water runoff. The proposed change codifies the status quo of reviewing and mitigating potential adverse impacts to neighboring properties consistent with that original spirit of storm water management plan requirements. So, the recommendation is to close public input at noon on September 28th and continue action to October 7th. Um, and this is something we've been implementing for many years and got some advice after the ADU ordinance change in 2024 and a review and said, you know, we've been applying this policy and it doesn't quite match up with what's in code. We should fix that to align with our standard practice. >> Yeah, that's a good explanation. Thank you for that succinct explanation. questions for Miss Wilson on this matter. >> Council member Jackson. >> Yes. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Um, did you present this to the watershed districts and did they have any comments on it? >> We've been talking with them about our flood risk reduction strategy for years. We are a leading community in this local flood district um um regulation uh at this level. And so they're often looking to us and getting input from us, but we're keeping them in the loop all along the way. Their rules center a lot on water quality improvements. And there's a lot of overlap when it comes to drainage and flooding as well. So we can overlap and then the city can kind of fill in to meet our local um uh levels of service when it comes to drainage and flood risk management. >> So they've seen these ideas of stuff you've been working with for years and we're just codifying it. >> Yep. Yeah. and and uh on the the watershed district side, they're more focused on um they do have some flood plane regulations, but I think the city's the lead in a lot of communities on the flood risk flood exposure side. Um and then they're doing more of those water quality requirements, but there's that overlap. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Good. Uh this is a public hearing matter. I'm going to open it up for public testimony. Is there anyone who wishes to testify regarding this matter? My name is Nora Davis and I live at 6921 Southdale Road in the Lake Cornelia neighborhood. And needless to say, I am very supportive of this change. Um, it's just so important when I think over the years of the things that have been done to protect our neighborhood. And I remember when our street was rebuilt in 2007, they dug the street down so when it rains, our street holds water. They put in massive storm sewer tunnels essentially. They were huge. They also increased the number of storm inlets, I think the proper term is. Um, and this is something that we're all aware of. Um, I as I mentioned to my flood friends, I do night to unite and part of that is a flood instruction. I have a massive flood map that many of you have seen. But everybody knows if they see Nora out sweeping the street, she is keeping her adopted uh storm drain clean. And I am absolutely delighted to have our street swept on a regular basis. when I hear him coming down the street, I have to run out and wave because that means I don't have to sweep the street because it's being done for us. So, a lot of things are being done. Um, so appreciate all that's been done and I know there's a lot to do as we continue. So, thank you. >> Thank you, Miss Davis. Anyone else wish to testify regarding this matter that's in chambers? Is there anyone online that wishes to testify? Director Benerro. >> No, sir. >> Okay. Uh, the recommendation here from Miss Wilson is the same as her last matter that she handled for us, and that is to close the public hearing at noon on se uh, Sunday, September 28th, 2025, and continue the action to the October 7, 2025 city council meeting. Is there a motion to that effect? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Jackson moves. Member Agnu seconds the motion to close the public hearing in this matter at noon on Sunday, September 28th, 2025 and continue the action to the October 7, 2025 city council meeting. Any further discussion? All those in favor of adoption of the motion as stated stated say I. >> I opposed carried. Motion's adopted. We'll take this matter up again on October 7th at our city council regular city council meeting. Now, we're going to move on to the reports and recommendations portion of the agenda. We've got a couple items in that portion of the agenda. The first one is uh resolution 2025-77, which deals with a matter that we uh heard about a few weeks ago. Uh the certificate certificate of of appropriateness appeal for 4630 Edgebrook Place. And we've got Emily Del Rimprimple, our assistant city planner with us to make a follow-up presentation. And um the question is whether or not we want to um support the decision uh to not to deny the COA request to remove a fan transom over the front door uh and um or leave it uh as required under the recommendation of the uh heritage preservation board and our consulting expert. So, I'll take turn it over now to Emily Del Rimple. >> Um, thank you, mayor, members of the council. Um, the request is for an appeal of a certificate of appropriateness, a portion of which was denied for changes to the front entry at 4630 Edrook Place. Um, like the mayor said, was the removal of a fan light and the addition of an arched front door. 4630 Edge Brook Place is located within the Country Club District and was built within the district's period of significance. The Heritage Preservation Commission approved the portion of the COA at their meeting on August 12th associated with changes outside of the front entry. Staff outlined a path for approval or denial for the HPC for the changes to the front entry and ultimately the changes to the front entry were denied with a 5 to1 vote. The city council held a public hearing on September 2nd. The public comments closed on September 7th and no comments were received on better together. A resolution for approval and denial was included in your packet with findings for each, but ultimately the recommendation is for denial. And the applicant, Angie Windgate with Ray Camp Larson Architects and the homeowner as well as the city's preservation consultants are also in the audience tonight to answer any questions if you have them, but they do not have a formal presentation. And with that, I can answer any questions you might have. >> Questions for Miss Del Rimple. >> Okay. Yes, member Risser. Thank you. Um, as I look at this, okay, so my understanding is the current door has a flat edge and then you've got the fan element above it. >> Correct. >> But could there be a way of adding tracing to the rounded door at the top so that visually you had that fan element? I sort of drew over the last slide that and and so you wouldn't necessarily have to have the setup that's right there, but visually you could kind of make that happen. Would that be acceptable? >> Um that was discussed at the Heritage Preservation Commission meeting. Ultimately they decided that wasn't a avenue that they would prefer because ultimately at some point that could be removed and this is an original piece of the house. So that was the sentiment at the meeting with the Heritage Preservation Commission, but that was discussed there. >> Um, this is a great uh PowerPoint slide here. I think um that helps that helped me understand what was going on a little bit. And I wonder if um Miss Windgate could come up here. Is she back there? >> She is. So, I just want to make sure I understood this from the last presentation you had. Um, with the existing architectural feature of the fan at the top, it creates that um kind of dead space above the door, but it necessitated that uh existing front entry on the interior of of having that um drop floor uh or raised floor, however you want to characterize it, when you come in the entry. Uh and then you it was also some there was some water management issues that you were trying to solve and then there was a flesh stoop threshold issue as well. So would you want to walk back through those three things again? Sure. >> I think that would help me understand a little bit about u it helped me frame up my thinking a little bit better. >> Yeah. Thank you for the opportunity to talk through it again. Um >> oh thank you. Um so so the main goals here are really yeah to to add a stoop and which then kind of adds this there's a chain reaction of things that have to happen. Um but between adding the stoop so I guess um by adding the stoop we have to adjust the the height of the door and then we the the fan light doesn't work anymore because it's u becomes too short if we keep that that um mullion in that location. Um, so there's there's that, but if we were to keep the fan light, we would have to completely rebuild everything. So we're trying to take the most practical approach and give the homeowners the ability to not have to have these issues that have been, you know, present for the last 18 years that they've lived there. Um, a stoop is a historic feature and we don't have that here. Um and the the tripping step on the interior is just one of those things that is a constant aggravation. So between so that would be solved if we add a stoop and then and then adding a historic door which around top door is historic. Um, and I think and I don't know, Emily, if if we can go back to the historic preservation if we wanted to to add, you know, to talk about a design for the door. But, um, I think the main goal here is to take have the most practical approach to having the homeowners like to live in this house for, you know, future years to come and and keeping as much as we can on that front facade. That was a little rambling, but >> yeah, I I know that would be a goal of your architectural firm. Um, as I said, be because I think you do a lot of work in the neighborhood and uh and one of the name partners lives in the neighborhood. At least she used to. >> Yep. They still do. >> Green Ray Camp. Yeah. So, if I understand this correctly, then what you're saying is that your architectural drawing on the left side of the screen raises the stoop and gets rid of that potential water runin problem. >> Correct. uh in into the front door. And if you raise the stoop, then you get rid of that that uh that step up in the entryway. >> Correct. >> Which is a potential hazard either stepping up or stepping down. >> That is that is that a fair characterization? >> Yes. >> Okay. >> All right. Okay. Thanks. Thanks for that. Other questions? Yeah. >> Thanks, Mr. Mayor. ever appears. >> And so with the um the recommended um our proposed architecture on the left, I'm like I'm confused by why this is different. So, when I I feel like when I look at it, um it feels like it's going to look the same as the current, but there's a new feature, which is the stoop. And I think the last time you showed us there are properties in the neighborhood that have stoops. And so I just I'm I'm not sure why what's on the left is not sound from a heritage perspective. And I don't know if you can answer that, but that's my that's my main question. >> I can take a stab at it. I think um this >> hold that microphone close now. >> Okay. Sorry. The the heritage or the the style this colonial revival style often has a fan-like transom. So often they they have more a rectangular square top and not the arch top. Um it is unique to see this this brick detail that's this is arched brick detail. >> Yeah. >> And in in our argument we think that's actually more character defining than the type of door. Um now there's a lot we can do for you know if you were to say we have to keep the the fan transom. We have to completely rebuild all this. it would all be new. Now, you could replicate that, but there's a lot of, you know, lots of other chain reaction things that will happen if if that was the case. And um in our proposal, it feels like an arch top door is um is acceptable with this style. and and other other examples in the neighborhood. There's lots of arch top doors that follow that are with colonial revivals. Even if it's not the the exact prototype of a perfect colonial revival, it still it still is historic looking. It still um and it and it does it it does all these other really practical things for us. Um so yeah, so I think it it just it follows the typical style of a colonial revival to have the family So, I'm I'm not I'm honestly not trying to trivialize this. I'm just trying to understand it. >> But are you describe are you only describing the part of the top of the door on the right? >> Yes. This >> and so >> other than that on the left it looks the same to me. >> Mhm. >> It's just doesn't have this. Right. doesn't have that mullion or whatever. >> It's like a division between a panel above and a and a door below. >> Um, and then what we're showing is it's a single door. >> And so why can't we have that in your design? >> That's a possibility. You mean to have a fan detail in the door? >> Yeah. Or to just create a thicker mullion on the storm door. >> Correct. >> Or screen door. So it looks like that. >> Correct. Yeah, >> just thickening up that top piece that goes across, >> right? >> It could be done in that that matter. >> I mean, you're going to do a custom door anyway. So, >> because everything else is the the same right now, when you say you have to rebuild it all in quotes, what do you mean when you say that? >> Sure. Um, so I'll just say with this design, adding the stoop, we would have to adjust the bases of the columns and the pilasters, but everything above here, the brick detail, the arch top with the brick. Um, this this portico canopy, everything here, this is all original would stay intact. >> Mhm. Now, if we were to put the fan light door back or put the fan light in, we would have to I wish I had a diagram with this shown, but um so this the top of this portico, the peak of that is about six inches from this from this original brick ledge above of a window that's right above. So, we would have to maintain that peak. we would have to change the slope of the portico to keep that peak in place in order to add another six inches to that arch top door. So basically we need to we need to add we would have to add six inches because we're taking six inches out from the stoop. >> So it just creates this chain reaction of everything has to go up six inches >> and we have to change the slope because we can't go higher >> if you have the same fanlike treatment >> with a stoop. >> With a stoop. Okay. So that's why you don't have it. >> You have the stoop, but um Oh, I get it. I get it. So when you open that door, it just opens as two panels instead here. That treatment stays there. >> Yes. So if this, let's just say we added a stoop down here, everything would just have to lift six inches. But that would, you would have to take all that off and restart that. You'd have to rebuild that whole portico. >> But then last question. So if you are doing a custom door, the top half of your new door, you could design it so that when it's closed, it has that look from the street. >> You good? You good? >> Right. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Member Risser and member Jackson. >> This reminds me a lot of the discussion that we had with the exterior home in this historic district and we talked about the architectural details. um on the chimney element and we ended up supporting those and but this is more complicated. However, I really when I look at the proposed door, it looks so anacronistic because you've got that grid going up to the arch which is just so not part of the colonial era. And I really like the idea of creating a custom door that would have the feeling of the fan as part of it. And I think that would be to me I think a good solution. Um because I I totally understand, you know, all of the work that you would have to do to, you know, make this work this way. But it just if we could just push it a little with design and I think what member Pierce was getting at is a really good idea. just, you know, add make that fan element come out because the the grid that's there, it it is so not part of that era. Um >> the grid is not part of >> the grid that you know >> the window grid >> the window grid that intersects with the curved line but it's creating these bizarre curve for the colonial era that just does not it's so anacronistic and so just if that could be replaced so that you had that fan window element you know when you were hinting at it I think that would just help and from the street it would look like that was what it was instead instead of cuz this just it it looks very strange cuz it's not it is so different from a you know you know that detail and it's like I just want to see that fan you know so that's my opinion >> Jackson >> yes thank you Mr. Mayor, so I echo um member Risser's comments about if it could if the door could be designed to look like a rectangular door with a fan over it, that would be that would capture that element. And I don't know if that's possible. Um I have a question. So first of all, is that possible? >> Yeah, I think um that is possible. >> Um so I think that captures the look that's going away. Um, are you going to be able to replace that hanging lamp um in the doorway in some capacity? >> Um, that would have to change because that's part of the the door opening. >> Yeah, it would have to be shorter or something. But looking at the, you know, the side byside pictures, um, that's also part of that entry. I think the discussion you had with member Pierce that broadening it and lifting it would change the um outdoor the section more the look more than just changing the door. So if you could get the door to look like it had the fan window um I think that would resolve a lot of the um problems. It's not safe. I I look at I was thinking about all you know for two weeks that lower part inside like oh what a nightmare um and the water coming in with the without having the stoop. So I just think making that front door safer is a great idea >> but that door is really different looking. So if there was a way to design it so that it looked more like the original I think broadening it and and changing it architecturally would be a much bigger change than than the door. So um with that condition I I would be in favor of that. >> I would say that member any comment? >> I'll kind of I mean I'll summarize my thoughts. Um just I think given the safety that you get improved by bringing it up on the inside. Um given that you're reducing the storm water damage, I'm supportive of it. I think some of the compromises that my fellow um council members offered are are fair. Um if it could look similar to it, um but even if it ended up looking exactly like it shown here, I I would be supportive. I think that there's enough reason and enough benefit um to continue on with that manner rather than forcing it to still be at that lower level just to have that same look and feel. Um but welcome other thoughts. >> Yeah, thank you for that explanation. I I'm right on the mark with you, Council Member Agnu. I I I'm I'm mildly concerned about the fan issue, but I'm more concerned about the safety aspects of this thing. And to get rid of that flush stoop threshold that I I just see in addition to water, I see a mechanism there with that slightly raised lip of a a trip a tripping mechanism there >> and and that front entry interior where you've got that step up and step down. We've got that in our house to transition from the foyer into the kitchen. And uh people are tripping on that. I mean, I've caught so many people either going down or going up, >> tripping, and um it's it's not good. And so I to me the the the what you've done in terms of design work, the as member Agnu said, the safety aspects of it to me outweigh the aesthetic concerns that I've got. But I think my council fellow council members come up with a pretty good idea. You got two doors here. You got the inner door, the heavy door, and then you've got that outer door. And if you could make that outer door, whether it's a storm door insert or the serene insert, look like it has that fan sort of effect, I think that's probably something to think about. >> Council member Pierce. >> Thanks, Mr. Mayor. I I do um just want to acknowledge I appreciate that you're essentially reusing all of the treatment, current treatment in your design. So I I think when um developers and architects come in and they really are trying to honor the intent behind this, like that comes through um in the proposals that you make. Um and so I definitely appreciate that. Um, and then to the preservation commission, I we've had these before where I think their charge is to preserve. And so I think they do that. We ask them to do that. But there are times when um as a council we might rule, I'm not rule against them. And I think we have to think about that are are we giving them the best charge for that commission and how they do the work that that they do um as well. And we've talked about that a couple times um before. Um and so I just wanted to acknowledge I think what they're doing um in providing all of this information and doing that first view. Um we appreciate that. Um but then al often times we may still come to a different um creative solution but we're trying to all achieve the same um goal. >> I feel like our um council members are on the same page here. Let me see if I can craft something here that uh is a would be a motion to approve uh resolution no motion to grant a certificate of appropriateness uh that requests removal of the fan transom over the front door of the property at 4630 Edgebook Place and install a new arched front door with the requirement that the exterior door reflect the fan element of the original door. >> That makes sense. >> I would What do you want? >> I would move that. >> Okay. Member Pierce moves. >> I will. >> Oh, go ahead. >> A second. >> Risser seconds. The motion as stated. Um, is that clear? Clerk Allison. Was that clear enough? >> Okay. All right. I can I can write it up afterwards, too. Uh anyway, we got a motion and a second on this granting of the certificate of appropriateness at 4630 Edbook Place to remove a fan transom over the front door and install a new arch front door uh with the requirement that the exterior door reflect the fan element of the original door uh on the home at that address. Any further discussion? >> Yes. Um, >> yes, >> just to to member Pierce's comments, thank you for rem acknowledging the um historic preservation commission. This was hard. This was and I know you worked hard on it. It was it was a really difficult issue to find the right answer, but uh we're going to overrule them and I think this is a good solution. >> Thank you, Miss Del Rimple, too, for your work on this matter. Um, okay, >> we got a motion and a second. Uh, all those in favor of adoption of the motion as stated, say, I. >> I. I opposed carried. The certificate of appropriateness is uh granted uh in the form stated. Thank you, madam homeowner, for being here as well. All right. Uh here we go on a little financial activity. We've got uh to deal with the potential consent for the 2026 HR levy. I think Scott Neil and uh our city manager and Ptow, our finance director, have the next matter. Thank you, your honor. I'll I'll kick this uh first one off. Um this is usually the easier of the two. Uh resolution 202573 is is the city council's consent uh to set the preliminary 2026 HR tax levy at $200, $267,100. This represents a 3% increase in that levy uh from current levels of 2025. These dollars are used uh in our economic development and housing functions to provide uh money for staff support and other operating uh support. Uh this is an item that has as as a customary 3% increase from year to year and which allows it to grow incrementally and pay those costs which also grow in incrementally. U we'd be happy to answer any questions you might have. >> Right. Thank you, manager Neil. questions for manager Neil or for Patau. Okay. Um, is there a motion to approve resolution 2025-73 uh granting consent for the adoption of the 2026 H levy as uh recommended by the city manager uh with a 3% increase to a total levy amount of $267,100 >> for 2076. >> Second. Moved by member Jackson, second by member Agnu. Any further discussion? All those in favor of adoption of the resolution as stated say I. >> I. >> I. Opposed. >> Carried. Resolution 2025-73 establishing the 2026 H levy is approved at $267,100 for calendar year 2026. Next matter is also financial related. It involves the budget we've been working on for several months. I think the staff's been working on it since we had our meeting last year and told them to uh think about the coming year, which would be 2026, and that we did not want to see a double-digit increase in the permanent levy. There was a recommendation made by staff that we that they come in under 10% that involved uh a couple components of it that were important. one was six firefighters that were added to the budget. Uh put us at about what was it? 9 >> 9.23 >> 23% uh and that represented about 2 and a half% of that 9.23. So the uh budget increase without the fire department personnel would have been about 6 and a.5%. We've had a conversation at the work session tonight about uh setting this preliminary levy and of course uh we know that uh we can't go above the preliminary levy set. Uh last year I think we set it at what 13% and then went down to 8% on the final levy. And uh I think based on a good conversation we had in the work session, folks are thinking that because of the fire chief's recommendation that we hire more than six firefighters, we want to think about giving ourselves a little bit more uh leeway for conversation on how many to actually add. So there's I think members of the council have certain thoughts about that. Uh but I'm going to turn first to manager Neil and then Pau for their presentation on the proposed adoption or the adoption of the proposed preliminary levy. Uh and we're going to discuss at what at what percentage point here in the conversation. >> Thank you your honor. uh as a as a plan B statutory city uh chapter 412 of Minnesota state statutes imposes some pretty specific obligations on the city manager with regard to budget. Uh chapter 412 uh 651 uh paragraph 7 provides very specific direction. City manager shall keep the council fully advised as to the financial condition of the city and the needs of the city and the city manager shall prepare and submit an to the council an annual budget. That's where we are tonight. This process involves a lot of plate spinning, a lot of participation both at the staff level and at the council level. But at some point uh we have to stop and we have to uh approve something or or bless some or endorse something. And that's where we are tonight. Tonight is uh the night when we ask the council to set the preliminary uh property tax levy for the upcoming year for 2026. Uh that's what's uh in front of you this evening for a certification. We had the chance to meet with council uh earlier tonight in the work session. You gave us some additional direction. Our finance director PTA has had a chance to incorporate that uh additional direction into the proposal tonight. You've seen most of this proposal before. Uh but we'll give this proposal to you tonight and we'll answer questions about the operating and fiscal impacts of it. So, Miss Tao, >> thank you. Uh, good evening, mayor and council member. Um to start us off uh just a little reminder or to call out the mission of the city of Adida is to provide effective and valued services, maintain a sound public infrastructure, offer premier public facilities, and guide the development and redevelopment of lands all in manner that sustains and improves the high quality of life enjoyed by residents and businesses. The vision for the city of Edina is to be the preminent uh preeminent place for living, learning, raising families and doing business. The vision is distinguished by a livable environment, effective and valued city services, a sound public infrastructure, a balance of land uses and innovation. So with this um the budget is our largest largest reflection of an organization's priorities. The budget serves as the foundation of oper operationalizing the community's goals into actionable plans. With this there there are budget pillars which are are a broad outcome to be achieved by our two-year budget. These outcomes are strong foundation, reliable services, livable city and better together. These pillars they stay consistent yeartoear and while the budget pillars and objectives they direct the work of city staff organizational values guides guides how we do that work. So through the lens of equity, stewardship, health, sustainability and engagement, these are all interwoven. Uh as you can see here, visionina budget values and pillars and the comprehensive plan are strategic plans that guides the creation of the bianual budget work plan which in turns drives other implementation level work plans including our department work plans, commission work plans and ultimately staff work plans. You've seen this slide before. Um this is just a depiction of what our bianual budget process looks like. Um since we are in the odd year second year of our last bianial budget, we have been focusing on developing our next bianual budget for 2627. Our objective with this is to alternate years of where we focus on between operating budget and our capital improvement plan process while at the same time we focus on both but reviewing more in depth um alternating between the two. So with this being said, um in terms of the budget that's also in front of you, it we also included a draft budget work plan for the next bianial years. In terms of strong foundation, we have plans for a fire station 3 design and planning park improvements to the Fred Richards Braar Arena and Bremar Park as well as the south trunk sanitary area, the police department and the fire I mean the city hall renovation design and planning as well as replacing the pump room at the aquatics uh Edina Aquatic Center. Now, for reliable service for 26 and 27, we drafted enhancing support for staff experiencing social disruption events as well as mental health service enhancements. Um, we have a assessing transition to the county as well as Edinburghough Park. Take a look at that to process automation and AI exploration as well as a staff study. Now for livable cities, we have affordable housing advancement and growth along with a comprehensive plan update, a zoning code update, safe and equitable mobility action plan. And finally, for better together, we have plans for quality of life survey, uh our community engagement online platform update, as well as a long-term art center plan. Now as uh coun as uh city manager Neil stated we have been working together in developing the 202627 bianial budget. It has been a collaborative effort which began I want to say early this year since you last adopted the last the last uh budget. So with that council has uh at the beginning of the year council had requested for a more comprehensive review. Therefore, staff met with you through a series of uh work session to give department service overviews as well as our council retreat to discuss what our our priorities or focus should be. And tonight um I'll be presenting or recommending a preliminary levy based off off of all these discussions we have had to adopt our 2026 preliminary tax levy. So, what you have here is this revised budget following our discussion at tonight's earlier work session, which allows uh for 12 firefighters with a possibility of 18 if we are awarded a safer grant. With this feedback, uh we are presenting a 11.03 preliminary levy for approval tonight. As a reminder, the preliminarily levy must be set at the maximum levy amount and cannot be increased after you have set it. You can certainly lower it, but it cannot increased past your preliminary levy. uh once it's said with this proposal that you have in front of you, we will continue uh the growth of our public safety services, especially in our EMS services uh as well as outside of public safety service, keep current service levels in place and to explore alternative revenue options. In addition with the 11.3 increase uh we have controlled department operating costs by restricting their annual rate of growth by less than 3%. We've reduced operating costs by reducing staff in two general fund departments. Six full-time which is six full-time employees in assessing uh and one full-time employee and in fleet management or maintenance. We increased nonpropy tax revenues through our utility franchise fees which you reviewed earlier. uh this uh late this summer. I was going to say fall. Fall hasn't started. And then uh we use them to replace debt service property tax levies for future street reconstruction projects along with organizing capital spending and priorities within our available property tax levies. Um we will continue our practice of accumulating savings and personnel related operating costs by controlling employee vacancy placement savings in 26 and 27. And we have also adjusted our debt service uh expenses over the next two years uh to enable the city to service new debt service associated with the final tranch of the fire station 2 um and the aquatic center and highway 100. Um, if adopted, the proposed 26 annual budget would enable, like I mentioned earlier, 12 full firefighters guaranteed or 18 if we get the safer grant and then budget commitments for the budget work plan drafts I mentioned earlier as well as a 2025 comprehensive plan update. Uh, continue contracting. We will also continue contracting public safety partnership programs with Henipin County uh such as our joint community police partnership as well as our embedded social worker program. Uh again in response to council's directive staff conducted a thorough review of all services area service areas and funding strategies. Several departments uh submitted requests for additional resources which were previously included in your previous um council packets. However, with the proposed 26 preliminary tax levy of 65,517,752, this includes flexibility to support sta uh different staffing levels for paramedic firefighters. Of course, depending on the outcome of the safer grant application. Um, this next chart is just to depict the sources and uses or revenues and expenditures for the general fund uh for the 2026 budget. As you can see, a majority of the revenue is made up uh for the general fund, heavily dependent on property tax with our biggest uh expenses uh going towards public safety. Here is a chart you've seen before. I don't have 2026 numbers yet, but for comparison for 25, how the city of Edina compares to u its peer cities, uh cities of more than 45,000 in population, we are at in 2025 at 30.2 2% for tax rate uh where the average tax rate is 35.8%. So we are about 18.6% lower than the highest city and 5.6% less than the average tax rate amongst our peers. Here is that same comparison but then with all Henipin County uh cities that are more than 10,000 in population. Again we uh the average tax rate amongst this group is 47.6 6 whereas Edina is um 36.5% lower than the city with the highest tax rate. Another slide on information um from the 2025 assessment we realized our biggest increase in single family homes at 2.3% growth and we saw a 6.9 decrease in 25 in comparison to prior year. Um new construction home added 22 million to our 17.2 2 billion total market value in 25 which equates to a.7% increase for all property types. Our estimated market value gross percent increased by about 2% from prior year. You may ask what is the cost for these um uh apartment valuation reduction. It follows a very large increase uh from prior year and valuations are affected by many complex factors and fluctuation and valuation is fairly common in the market. This next slide shows a uh trend line I would like to call it in terms of where the city has been in the last 5 years with our tax capacity uh in comparison to our tax levy and our tax rate. Uh we've been keeping steady over the last five year which has been beneficial to the city's uh benefit in terms of a steady t uh certified tax le tax levy. I can't talk. Um this is a listing of all the debt service levy projection. Um the colored ones are what you have approved thus far and then the one that are sort of grayed out or gradient those are uh future potential projects that will come to you for discussion in the future. But just for depiction. Now you may ask where does all my property tax dollar go? Um it goes towards uh the county um the school district the watershed metro district and there is other district special districts about 27% of it comes to the city of Edina and that funds public safety general government your parks your public works construction fund for equipment and capital improvements to your debt service where we pay our bonds and then that 03% for H. I'd like to point out at this on this screen that you're looking at a residential property. The the distribution on a commercial industrial property is much different than that. >> So you may ask what is the estimated tax uh sorry the estimated levy impact considering this proposal I have in front of you. So for comparison, in 2025, a $500,000 value home pays about $126.54 per month in property tax to fund all city provided services. Um that same value home in 2026 will pay about $138.7 per month, I meant per month, in property taxes to fund all city provided services, an increase of 11 point $1153 per month. So, with that being said, um I re uh staff recommends the appro uh approval of resolution number 2025-74 adopting the proposed budget and establishing the proposed total tax levy of 65,517,752 for payable 2026 11.03 levy increase. Um we will have to certify it tonight as um mentioned earlier by city manager Neil. Um there is state statute that uh we will need to certify a levy to the county by the end of September otherwise we will default back to our last uh certified levy which would have been 2025. And so, um, I believe that as we continue this with this proposal, it will enable us to provide essential services, uh, that the community needs and values. So, after tonight, we'll come back to you in December 2nd with a truth and taxation hearing with a final, um, tax levy adoption and budget on December 7 16th. And uh how many more work sessions are you projecting between now and final levy adoption on December 16th for the council to discuss uh potential reductions in the U preliminary budget number that's being proposed? >> Yeah, let me pull up this >> Yeah, you want to pull up the calendar. >> So here's a here's a tentative timeline that we have. Um we have a potential another work session on December 2nd. Um, so we'll meet again to discuss as we work towards finalizing our final levy at the end of the year after tonight. I think with the discussion we had tonight about, you know, where to where do we want to land with respect to the number of potential firefighter additions and the overall impact on the budget. It strikes me that and my colleagues have their own opinions, I'm sure, but it seems to me like we need two more before the December 2nd meeting. >> Frankly, Manager Neil. >> Uh yes, your honor. I you know, this this calendar was prepared before this evening's uh work session discussion. So, I think you're right. Uh we'll take some time to figure out what our what our um work session commitments are for this fall and fit those in. And I think there should be an explanation as to how we got here tonight over what people have been seeing at that 9.32 or whatever the number was on projected preliminary levy and now we're at 11.03 uh what happened in the conversation tonight that drove that temporary increase while we work on on the firefighter issue. I don't know if you want to explain it. member Jackson had a good explanation upstairs I thought too that um was thoughtful in terms of why we should give ourselves a little bit more breathing room. >> Want to comment on that or not? >> Uh yes, thank you Mr. Mayor. So we've been hearing from residents about and from the chief of the fire chief about uh was adequate staffing. um it's exceptionally complicated. And so what we wanted to do is look at hiring what the impact would be for hiring 12 firefighters next year without the safer grant. I'll say I don't want to hire 18 next year and and so I I'm just throw that out there whether or not we get the safer grant um because we have a fire a third fire station coming online long term. But the discussion we had is let's give ourselves some room. See what the response is to an 11.3 or 11.03% increase in the levy. See what the public says about that. We can always bring it down. We can't put it back up again. So, let's get that conversation. And then from the staff, we want to hear to get it back down below 10%. what would have to be cut from other departments, whether it's the construction fund, whether it's other staffing, um delay in staffing, leaving things open. We want to see what the options are. But by raising it today gives the public an op an opportunity to weigh and say, yes, those additional six firefighters are worth it. We are willing to pay a higher rate of tax. Um but we can't come back and raise it later. So, we're going to raise it tonight in case that uh to leave our options open. member Pearson and member Risser. >> Uh thanks uh Mr. Mayor. I you know I don't know that I have a lot more to add. Um I think the way member Jackson uh phrase framed it um is the way I support that framing. Um, I do want to acknowledge the work that we've been doing and I think it's all been all year, right? We've been doing it. Um, asking tough questions, right? The staff pulling pulling together additional data. um really trying to dig into having these value conversations and then getting input from the community. And so I personally think where we are today is a much better position than we were. And I've used the term we're trying to stabilize our budget projections. Um I think we've gone a long way in doing that. Um, and so the only thing I will add to member Jackson's comments, and it's really just just a different lens. Um, but you did say this, right? We we're setting it today at the 11.03, giving ourselves room. Um, but we do want to have that value conversation. So if we can get below 10 and you can bring back this decisions for us that we can now have a valuebased conversation around uh meeting the goal of being single digits. We're adding I think roughly is it 1.89% is what I think it calculates to being adding firefighters. um which we know we we need to have some number in there whether it's 12 or 18 we'll have that conversation but like I feel good about the type of engagement that we've had as a council and with staff um to get us to this point >> member Risser and then member >> I do think it's important for the public to understand when we talk about firefighters in Edina we're talking about paramedic firefighters when we're talking about adding 12 positions we're talking about staffing over a 24-hour period. And so, um, and we are also looking at change to Minnesota law come January 1st, there will be increased benefits people can take in the public sector. And that means that it could be harder to have as many people as we need behind those ambulances that people depend on. And so right now we are at a point where we have 9.5 um staff and we can't get all three of our ambulance services out at the same time. And that really does expose the community to a lot of risk. So when you hear 12, that might sound like a lot, but we were, you know, slated to bring on six last year for this year's budget and they got cut. So we are really behind. And when you hear six basically right now, so 9.5, you're just getting it into number 10. Okay? So being able to have 10 people and to be able to get those three emergency vehicles out. It also is very clear that we do not have adequate staffing to, as um one of our residents pointed out in the um community comment, you know, go and really address serious issues, fires um that are happening. And so we are behind. We are underst staffed. And what this um 11.3 allows us to do or 11.03 03 allows us to do is to have the capacity to bring on 12 in the event we don't get the safer grant. And it really is important. Um safety is a foundation of every community. And we need to be providing a situation where our residents are safe but also where our firefighters are safe. And right now there's a level of risk that I am really uncomfortable with. and you know you don't want to have underststaffing for this very critical surf service. So that that is really an important thing. But between now and our next meeting it would also be um it is also important for staff to go back over revisit what can be cut. Um could we uh cut down on the amount of experts that have to come and you know travel and are lodged and all of that. Um can we look more toward local experts that kind of thing. Um and I also we did have an opportunity council members to offer suggestions for lowering the budget and if you go to the first work session in May you can see that document. One thing I am concerned about is we end up incurring costs unnecessarily because we're not properly vetting projects. And we need to be sure that we do have objective, fully informed asks that come before council. And so, you know, if we can cut down on waste in that way, I think that would be really important. Um, we did talk about the DOJ decision. I got nervous when experts I heard experts said it was a gray area, but we went ahead anyway. That makes me nervous. Um, it makes me nervous that we have a really significant fellowship that's worth it's two years. It's worth about $140,000 and it's targeted toward one university in Kansas. And I know at the same time there's not supposed to be a geographic requirement um for these fellowships and that's just getting scooting way too close to that for me. And I also think it's too bad that this isn't something that is um open to the same degree to students who are at institutions at in Minnesota, the University of Minnesota, Hamlin, Mano, you know, all of those places. So, I'm kind of that's what I think is important to take away. There's still room, I think, for reducing costs. Um, but when we look at safety and we look at the fact that our paramedic, we provide the ambulance service. We are not having Henipin County come in. We are the only municipality in Henipin County that does this. And so we need to step up and we need to make sure that that staff is adequately or that service is adequately staffed. Thank you. >> Thank you. Uh member Agnu. >> Thank you. Um, first I just want to appreciate what member Risser was saying on the explanation of fire and paramedics because I do think that that's a really important component and I know a lot of our discussion as a council recently has been about our emergency services and so I want to add that the number of responders that we have is only a component of what leads to our response time. I know that more so recently there was a an instance in the Morningside neighborhood um where people were concerned about response time. Adding additional people doesn't make our fire station closer to the Morningside neighborhood. And so this brings us back to we've talked about the need for fire station number three. It's something we're thinking about talking about planning for as a city. And so I just want to place that as there are two components that really make up overall what are the response times that we have across the city. Investing in firefighters and par and firefighter paramedics now as a component. We will still need to invest in fire station number three. Um so I think that we'll continue in years to come have these conversations about how are we funding public safety and how are we continuing to make it a priority. Um I think the other thing that I did just want to have a question about if you don't mind. Um you we had an earlier conversation today in our work session where we were provided as a council three different options um related to staffing for fire paramedics. And so based off of that you integrated option number three and that's what we're reviewing here tonight. I just want to validate that then the numbers that we are seeing then for 2027 or I guess 2026 and beyond are also accounting for we have additional staff um and so long-term that's built into the budget. Can you just speak to that really briefly? >> Yes, thank you for the question. Yes, it is built in there. Um as I have on slide uh the slide title 2026 hyphen 27 preliminary tax levy proposal updated uh 2026 in the far right column has 11.03% and this in 27 that I have in the far right column has that u 1218 paramedic firefighters built in there projecting a 9.25%. >> Okay. And so that number for 2027 um the percent increase that we're seeing here, the 9.25 is less than what it had been when we were thinking about option number one. And that's because we're seeing a bigger increase this year, which reduces the overall percentage increase that we would experience next year if nothing changed. Is that correct? >> Correct. >> Okay. Thank you. Um and and overall I do just want to really appreciate um kind of all of the work that went into this kind of echoing what other council members said. It it has been a year-long process and and now we're asking for more additional sessions in addition to what we had already planned on and I think that those will be really productive. Um I look forward to conversations about how we continue to get it even lower. Um, I know that that council member Risser had some um suggestions and I I just always want to, you know, when I hear something kind of add a little bit of a a correction. I do know that that fellowship is not just exclusive to one school. It is something that has been open to other schools. Um, and so I just I think it's important that we're asking these questions and being diligent and having a good dialogue about what are our programming and and how are we making those as open and equitable as possible and really critiquing what are we doing with our money as a city. So I I do appreciate that. Um, but just wanted to add that that it is something that is open to um people from other schools. >> Thank you. >> Thank you all of you. >> Yes, it is. >> No, that's not true. That's good news. >> You know what? Well, >> okay. >> I can I I >> I'd like to just clear that up. Um we've had our fellowship for almost 14 years, almost 15 years. Um we have had we've had a number of students from uh Kansas University of Kansas have participated most recently. Uh but we've had students from other universities as well from Mano State, from the University of Minnesota, the Humphrey School, um from Hamlin, etc. Um council member Risser expressed concern to us that we weren't recruiting locally. So we have started to recruit local locally. Uh and we started that I think this week or last week. We have four uh local candidates already that have uh applied to to for this fellowship and we will be taking a look at them. We're also going to be interviewing uh folks from other universities at our at our conference this fall. >> Member Richer, >> I I appreciate that we have started that. Um the I would like to know what the breakdown is though because my understanding is 60% have come from Kansas and I believe everyone who has received the two-year fellowship has come from Kansas. I is that true? >> I haven't measured I haven't looked at that particular >> All right. That that is my understanding. Apologies if I'm wrong. The other um concern that I have is that I don't know how much staff time is going into this program um when we have you know and so I would just like to get an understanding of that because as we're talking about things um really figuring out where we need to emphasize things where we need to put our priorities. Thank you. Just a couple of quick observations as we set this um potentially set this preliminary levy at 11.03%. Uh the conversation we've had uh over the past several weeks has and and months actually has involved the uh ability of our uh firefighters to provide the um the responsive services that we think are necessary in our community. And I I will and I think we all recognize this uh that um we're kind of the gold standard for the whole state. You know, when people were worried last year at the legislature and the year before that at the legislature about uh what kind of emergency medical services they could deliver around the state, they were looking at Edina and then I think Burnsville as examples of of what they would like to be and what they would like to see. And we've had recommendations internally. We're going to be adding it. We are adding that new fire station that's going to be dedicated on the 30th of October now, which is a fantastic new facility that we have to staff up for. But I don't think it's certain yet amongst this council how many firefighters we need to hire because some of the things that we can are concerned about are overlapping incidents. Member Risser touched on that. If we add six, that's going to be adding two to each shift according to our fire chief. That gives us the ability to staff three ambulances at the same time. So we can handle what the what is characterized internally at the fire department as overlapping incidents. And so to the extent we have three of those incidents in the city at the same time, we can we can manage that. member Agnum made a really significant point here I think is that it's the location of the fire station that's probably depend you know most critical in terms of response time so until we get this third fire station constructed near city hall hopefully uh then we can really effectively serve northeast Dina country club Morningside uh but the but the services will be coming now from primarily Tracy and then from down on 77th So people that live down in the in the um Southtale district are going to get faster response times than they have before because it' be coming off Tracy out of the small group out of next to the Y. Uh which is pretty responsive. But uh I think that this whole conversation of ours will then evolve over the time the few months we have between now and when we set the final levy on how much better can we do in response times depending on the people we add. I I think it's going to be uh kind of difficult to quantify but we do know there'll be faster response times in the south district because of that new fire station. Uh and then uh how many overlapping incidents should we be able to handle at the same time? And then member Risser made some other good points about staffing, family emergency medical leave act, all those things are going to affect staffing levels for everybody, every fire department around the around the state. But nonetheless, at the end of the day, it's going to be our job to figure out how many firefighters, firefighters to add and and put that extra budget pressure on our residents in return for providing this kinds of services, continuing to provide the kind of services we've always provided in the past. So, it it'll be an interesting couple of months here as we as we talk about these different issues. Um, personally, I don't see member Risser mentioned she sees waste. I don't see waste going on in the budget or the spending decisions made by this council. I think we're really careful with the money that all of us as residents have to pay and what our residents are paying for taxes and how that money is spent. And so um uh I you know I just don't see it. I think it's I think we're very responsible. uh the DOJ decision uh basically they they said the same thing that we were going to do anyway, you know, that we were going to we got until October next year to come up with a plan. That was about our time frame anyway because we weren't going to act on this uh completion of the bridge uh and access to the parking ramp until we had a project going on down at the PO public works site and that's what we're doing. So that's something we're just going to take on in due course. uh and the intern program. Uh it's something I guess worthy of discussion, but it's a smaller item in the scheme of the budget. And it's a great opportunity for young people that come to work here regardless of where they come from. And let's not forget the value that those people bring and the feelings that they may have about being subtly criticized in public uh because you question the value of the program. by questioning the value of the program, it may cause some people to feel bad about their own worth. So, let's be careful about how we talk about that intern program. Um, and so here we go on the next phase of the budget discussion, and we'll see where we end up, but I think all of us are intent on making sure that we deliver the best possible service at the lowest possible cost to our our residents. And we're going to we're going to get their feedback. I think feedback between now and when we make a final decision on firefighters from the public will be important. So, we need to frame that up some way somehow with maybe some kind of a questionnaire or polling that we do. I think it's going to be important to have public input on this matter. Those are my comments. Um, does somebody care to make a motion on the uh uh proposed budget levy adoption and tax levy payable in 2026 embodied in resolution 2025-74 at 11.03%. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Ragna moves member Pierce seconds the adoption of resolution 2025-74 which would adopt the proposed budget and preliminary tax levy payable in 2026 at 11.0. 03%. Uh any further discussion? All those in favor uh of adoption of the resolution as stated say I. >> I. >> I. Opposed. Carried. We got a preliminary budget adopted and a lot of work left to do. All right. Now, we got one more item on the agenda this evening and then comments from council members. Uh, we're going to get an update on the pedestrian bridge over the cross town, what we call the Rosland Park pedestrian bridge. Director Milner has this matter. Thank you, mayor, members of council. Uh, time for an update on the Rosen Park pedestrian bridge. Um, this is our project team. We got Bolton Mink doing the engineering snow cry like architects and Anderson bridges with the you are the steel fabricators. So this is our team that we're working on and all the graphics and layouts again our draft. We're getting close to having some layouts but we'll give some updates on where we've been since I was last here earlier this summer. So we've been to the state bridge office. What we heard is no wood products allowed over Highway 62. So that cladding product that was recommended by Snow Krell, they would not allow that. So, we've recommended doing welded steel cladding instead. Same thing with the concern. They have concerns with the connection gear or the bolts that would hold those wood products and that wood falling on the vehicles. So, again, that welded steel cladding would address that. Um, bridges built at or above the state required height are hit once a week in Minnesota. So, even if we built it to the height, they're still concerned about bridges being hit. So, they don't like the idea of wood projectiles. So that goes to that steel cladding, the welded option. Uh there was where that cladding was located within the steel bridge itself made it difficult to conduct bridge inspections. So we adjusted that height of the cladding so they could see the bottom of the structure and do those inspections. And they're also concerned about future maintenance of having to remove wood panels versus if we have welded steel cladding, you just paint the whole structure because the bridge was going to be painted already. We also got some feedback from the state bike and bed ped coordinator and it was just a slight adjustment to the curves on the ramps. So what does this look like going from the wood cladding to the steel cladding? So this is a graphic original graphic with the steel or with the wood. The steel is just slightly lighter but it's the same dimension, same spacings, everything. We also are value engineering this product uh project. We've been here before. I've mentioned that we need to we're having concerns with budgets and that'll be a table later on. Uh but there might be opportunities where we don't use the cladding on this entire structure because of cost. So we started looking at railing options. You can see off the actual span of the bridge. We go to a more of a decorative railing and that's much cheaper than the cladding because you don't have two pieces of infrastructure, a railing and the cladding. You just have that railing. So here's that overlook looking out south to Rosen Park and you can see the difference. Could you show that other slide again? The wood cladding versus the metal cladding. >> Okay, thanks. >> Just a little darker. >> And then here's with the cladding. >> And is that is that stainless steel cladding then or is it just >> Nope. It'll be the same steel and painted. It'll be a painted that light gray color that the wood was going to fade to anyway because the whole bridge was going to be painted to match that light wood color. >> Okay. >> Yep. So again, here's with the cladding and without the cladding on the ramps. Some similar views with the cladding on the top, without it on the bottom. That's the ramp in on the south side in Rosen Park. And then the view from the kind of going over Highway 62 to the north. This is the wood cladding, steel cladding, almost identical. And then if we do that railing option uh depending on how the bids come in. So just a little different between the cladding and the thing. This is really the discussion tonight. So again we have a $6 million budget that's all state funded. Uh we have five different options here. We heard from this group about consider stairs. Mindot typically does not do stairs on the bridges. They don't want to maintain them in the winter. Snow and ice. Um they don't typically do them. If they are done, it's usually the local agency doing them and having to maintain them. Um, so just from that state bike and ped coordinator, that's not something they do regularly. They do not do stairs. So we got to call them for estimating. >> Would stairs be something we could do after the fact. >> Um, it'd be tough to integrate. I mean, I guess it goes back to the cladding. I didn't do a picture, but where would they, you know, the cladding and the structural, it would have different structural members. Um, they just did a stair section down near Penn and 494, which I didn't think would meet our kind of criteria. They're just a metal stair section. That's something you could just attach, but that would not fit the architectural. So, it's possible. It's easier to do it now. Of usually, it's easier to build right away. It can be done later. I just think it'd be difficult. What's that surface width again? Because I know it was the residents on the north side that were worried about interaction of of foot traffic with bikes on the on the downward slope. >> Yep. The the thing is 10 ft wide. >> 10 ft wide. >> Yep. And actually Mindot recommends 12 feet, but we said thanks for your feedback. We're going to own the bridge. We think 10 feet is relevant. Plus, that's a big cost increase because now you got to ship this bridge in four pieces instead of two pieces. And that ups the uh installation cost, ups the construction cost, the cranes, all that kind of stuff. Shipping. >> And would you try to define the bike lane on the bridge itself with paint or? >> No. No. >> Just a mixeduse. People got to >> mix use >> be relevant to each other and >> be courteous. >> So budget. The first column is the estimated construction cost with a 10% contingency. So the first option that I laid out is just the base bid, no cladding and no stairs, 5.66 million. When we add the indirect cost of 1.5 million, which is right in line with a 20 25% engineering and indirect cost, we're at 7.16 million. So we're over budget by 1.16. That does include about a half million dollars of contingency. a lot of unknowns in the bidding environment over the next four months. Option two is the base plus the bridge only in cladding. So, do we just clad the bridge over the highway? That adds 275,000. So, we're at 7.4 million. If we do the bays plus all the cladding, then we're at 7.78 million. And then we threw the stairs in. The stairs on the north are smaller. They'd be 300,000. The stairs in the south be 420,000. So the range of costs there is 7.16 to $7.88 million based on these things. Again, there's a half a million dollars of contingency. We intend to continue to value engineer, find things that we can bid as alternates, bid them because we do not want to lose the construction season of 2026. We want to get this thing built in 26. We've been talking about it for a long time to get an ADA accessible bridge at this location. You clad the whole thing for 75 70,000 more than you just clad the middle of the bridge itself. >> Bridge is the expensive cladding part. Yep. >> Okay. We're We were back here earlier this year. We've met with Mindot in July. We're getting foundation recommendations and approvals. We started that in August. We're looking for MIDOT preliminary approvals in November. Final approvals December. Final bridge plans early 2026, January, and then out for bids January, February of 2026. So we can still build this bridge and ramps in 2026. That's our goal. So I'd be happy to stand for any questions. >> Questions for Director Milner at this point in time. So, I started a preliminary conversation based on your last visit with us about costs escalating, which I guess is understandable. Everything else is escalating with inflation. Um, I've had a one conversation with the metro district engineer at at MIDOT saying, "Hey, we we could use another we could use some more money from you, you know, to help pay for this bridge." So I know you're doing the same thing from your con with your contacts at MDOT and I think we'll just go up the food chain over there to see if we can come up with some more funding. >> Correct. >> Because regard regardless we could use more funding >> no matter what no matter what option we take. >> Yep. I've shared that with the west area manager too and shared these slides and this information and ask for further discussions. So, >> member Risser and member Jackson, >> can you go back to the slide where you've got the two images with and without the cladding? >> Yeah. Um, I actually really think that visually without the cladding. Um, it has a stronger design sense to it. You can see the structure of the bridge and it's really got some very nice lines. And I think there's sort of a nice openness to it that um could be very appealing to users. I did talk to a resident and this is a new concern with the cladding. Um apparently this person was saying he would not feel particularly safe there that it would feel like it was more enclosed. And so was very concerned about that, especially, you know, we're seeing it sort of front on, but um worried about, you know, what part is visible and what is not because it's kind of an interesting optical thing where sometimes you see people and then depending on the angle, it becomes sort of this opaque wall. So, um I just want to say that I think it's a beautiful bridge without the cladding and it may eliminate some issues, but the design really comes through nicely that way. And I do like the um what did you call it? The f you didn't say fencing. You said something >> the railing. >> The railing. I I think that is a you know beautiful element. So, uh, yeah, and in fact, you know, it does really sort of feel like there's a lightness and a more open kind of quality to it that could really be very appealing to people. >> Jackson, >> um, so what is the difference in um, maintenance costs of the basic bridge and the bridge with cladding? >> It's a lot less members to paint. and >> without the cladding. >> Yep. Thoughtless members. >> So, you'd just be typical steel bridge you'd see on 494. I guess there's so many examples right now because they're adding a bunch. But >> you'd paint the bridge. You wouldn't have to worry about trying to paint the whole thing. Do structural reviews of multiple members. It's simpler and easier to do inspections and paint. So, if it was if we didn't do the cladding, would we get still a tall um fence? >> Yes. >> Has to be tall and meet certain height requirements over the highway, but we also want to design it for center of gravity of a cyclist. So, that's why the railings are also at a certain height. >> So, the center of gravity of a cyclist is it's >> But the part that's over the highway would be higher than your waist. >> Oh, yeah. It's way it's like 8 ft tall. You could see that. >> But without the cladding, it would still be tall like that is my question. >> Correct. >> I've walked across a 62 bridge on Gleon, the old one. It's very very scary. So I just want to make sure that it it doesn't go there. Um, all right. That that was my question. Thank you, >> Member Pierce. Thanks, Mr. Mayor. I I don't know if I like the not having the cladding um on the what do we the bridge or not the bridge the ramp >> um >> and I think maybe just the way this picture looks could be part of my issue. It doesn't look like it matches and and not color-wise, just the architecture of it doesn't seem like it it flows. And so maybe it's maybe it's a different railing you might do or something like that. I don't know. Uh but I hopefully that makes sense. Um it does seem open like member Risser said. Um, and then you can kind of see the architecture a little bit better. But I wanted to somehow feel like it was a part of the design, a little bit more like it was part of the design. Um, and then my only other question is you gave us five options, I think. What's our decision making process? >> Well, I'll be bringing back we're going to bid a whole bunch of options and then I'll come back with a recommendation. So, you will bid all of those options. >> Um, the stairs, we brought this back moreformational. Unless council says do stairs, I wouldn't bid it because we're way over just with cladding and potential. >> So, just tell us what you're going to bring back with bidding. >> There'd be a base bid, no cladding, no stairs. There'd be a base with the bridge cladding. There'd be a ramp cladding. There's probably going to be other options because what else can we adjust? The things you guys just mentioned, those concrete structures are custom made. Those could go away. The Vshapes are custom to this project. Those were going to talk about making a more standard to save some money. So, we'd have some of those options. And I'd share updated graphics with the council. >> Okay. >> When we went to award, but I think the main purpose of tonight is the budgets. We're above budget on many of these things and we're trying to get that back down. >> Got it. So based on your timeline, um you have kind of a drop dead date where you need a decision on what we're moving forward with. You're going to bring back the best options. >> Yep. >> Based on what you're able to do and then we would decide on that >> and as we work through these different approvals, then we can update cost estimates. So maybe I'm back in January saying, "Hey, here's where we're at now." >> Got it. >> We feel we can afford this or we're still above. >> We're going to have some tough discussions. >> Gotcha. Okay. >> And we'll maybe have an update with any discussions with our mindot partners at that time, too. >> Perfect. Thank you. >> Member, >> do you have an image of the number one, the base bed with no cladding and no stairs? Do you have any imagery? >> I don't. >> Okay. >> I don't I probably have one that I shared a couple years ago when we started this conversation, but I don't have either. These were just last minute trying to get some quick graphics for the discussion. So, we can have those next time. And I I echo I think even what um member Rur was saying of like I I didn't think I would like it without the cladding but it does feel open and so I now that I see this right I am more open to it. Um I think where I'm hemming and hawing is about the stairs. Um, and just I know you you mentioned that there's not a ton of MINDOT supported bridges that have the stairs, but um, it is such a long ramp to get up and down and knowing that there are stairs there today, I feel like it's it's hard to go away from the stairs. Um, but I'm not giving you any specific direction. I'm just that's like I'm more upset about the stairs than I am about the cladding. Okay. And again to member Pierce, we just threw the graphic together. So there'd be some kind of transition if that's the way we went between these two things. >> For me, I'm with um member Pierce. Um we started this process two years ago because the first bridge that got designed was totally devoid of form and it was all about function. And so we had that design contest and we came up with you know people selecting this no credit design and now costs are a challenge which they always are. We're always working in a constrained budgetary environment. But nonetheless, this is a chance for us, in my opinion, to have a piece of public sculpture really that is quite extraordinary uh in its full form of cladding in my opinion. And for $70,000 more, we get to clad the whole thing and not just the middle. Um, so I personally lean towards let's make sure that we match up form and function and stay the course and try to figure out how to how to pay for it. Uh, the stairs I'm not agnostic about them, but I just I'm not sure. Mindot doesn't put stairs in for a reason and I understand the reasons why some of the residents on the north side think stairs are important. Uh, but still with an eight with a 10- foot wide deck, I still think that, you know, it could be managed without staircases. So, I think member Risser had I thought I saw out the corner of my eye, she might have had her hand up in the air. >> Um, I do think there are strong aesthetic qualities to an entirely cladded bridge and one that entirely got all the cladding removed. um things that I am concerned about, you know, hearing from a resident that he'd be reticent to use it because of potential safety issues, hearing about um ongoing maintenance costs, and I don't know how challenging it would be for you to come up with an estimate of how much more money you think in the future we would have to spend to maintain a bridge that had the clotting versus one that did not. But that would be a a really good thing to know. And also the form follows function in a way this didn't really follow the use that is established for this bridge and that um is noted I think it was at the last time we looked at this u people can't gather and protest on the bridge with the cladding up and I know um you know you can say just go to France Avenue but France Avenue is a bridge with traffic and cars and everything and this is a pedestrian bridge um so I think there's more of a community kind of feeling to that. And so, you know, just thinking about the functionality of the current bridge and trying to maintain that to to some degree and not removing some of the ways that people use it. But I I just I want to underscore well I do really appreciate all these images that you have put together and all the work you've put together um on this. But I mean I think just in terms of its kind of um structure, it is a very beautiful bridge and I don't think it I think the cladding almost detracts from it. But um and just thinking about Minnesota and snow and buildup and you know could you end up in a situation where you've got you know everybody knows the snow will stick and then sometimes it goes plunk down you know it just kind of is a concern right there. Thank you. >> Bring the architects back in next time too visit with the architects >> see what they think about some of these practical issues. >> Yep. I'm sure they thought about them. They work and operate in climate. >> Yep. So, we can share all this feedback and we'll be back at a good spot in the future. So, thank you. >> Uh manager comments. >> Uh thank you, your honor. Just two tonight. Uh and they're both just reminders of upcoming events. One is that we have the police open house that's here um on this on our site here tomorrow at 5:00. And also the dedication event for the new fire station 2 is scheduled for uh October 30th and there's some play about uh exact times but it's basically in the after late in the afternoon and that will include uh public uh public dedication as well and tours and uh etc. So that's all I've got. Thank you. >> Okay. Thank you. Uh member, >> we're starting down here today. Um, so I I just wanted to um build off of the conversation that we had started earlier with the approval of the um resolution regarding gun violence and wanting to again reiterate that there are probably more tactical steps that we can take as a city as well. Um, and I want to make sure that we're pursuing those in addition to the resolution. The resolution is amazing and we have to work in partnership and that's such a core component to this. Um, but I I know that there have also been some ideas floated around of like tactical things we can do as a city. Um, whether it's related to um safe safe storage ordinance that we could potentially implement within the city um or mimicking some of the work that I think St. Paul is beginning to talk about doing. Um, you know, I know that they're just beginning to do so, but thinking about creating laws that would take effect if there are legislation changes that lift some of the preeemption on local gun control. Um, so I know that St. Paul's looking at some of that. I don't know, manager Neil, if if we've already started some of these discussions um within the city, but if not, I would love for us to begin pursuing those because I there is more we can do as well um beyond kind of calling on broader partnership. >> Yeah, thanks for that. I can I can handle a little bit of that in my comments. Member Pierce. >> Uh thanks, Mr. Mayor. Um I um have been taking a different approach to this um and while I definitely understand that um gun reform is important and support that um I just don't think that that's our biggest issue. I think our issue is we have um simmering smoldering hate in our culture. Um and so I have uh been having conversations with a few folks on um on two things. One, what can we do um to ensure that the issues that we have don't just we just don't forget about them. And so that we don't just do the resolution and we move forward, but is there some way that we can constantly uh be reminded of what the impact is of all of this violence um in our culture. Um and so that's one. And then the second is really having conversations around um um I guess you could say decorum. We started talking a little bit about that uh today, but um or I think we had a resident talk about it as well, how we can build a um a uh instill a culture where there's mutual respect. Um and so anyway, that is the approach that I have been taking. Um just trying to think about it from that perspective. Um and then looking forward to tomorrow. Um, our family likes the police open house. Um, so hopefully we'll be able to uh participate tomorrow as well. So, thank you. >> Thank you. >> Projection. >> Thank you, Mr. Mayor. So, I've been working on so many different threads. Um, today I submitted comments um to the federal regulation of the EPA. They're talking about removing what's called the endangerment finding. In 2009, the federal government um found a finding that greenhouse gases um are to be regulated under the Clean Air Act. And currently there's talk of removing that finding um which means the federal government would no longer regulate greenhouse gases. And so in going through this, I was just on to your comments, member Pierce, but following through on a lot of things, looking at the tremendous amount of work that we've done, and we saw some of that with the storm water and the water management systems today. We've done so much work because the risk of flooding is so overwhelming. And I just wanted to thank Nora Davis for her comments and for the whole group of people who worked on that flood mitigation um strategy. Uh it's a very thoughtful document and I got to go back through it again. Um and also I thought about the young people who served as commissioners on the Energy and Environment Commission when I was on it and how terrified they are of their future. And so that plus the shootings plus um I'm doing a project with the school district right now. It's so important and and the budget. It's so important for us to think about this community as a place where we raise children. And unfortunately, as we go into our budget discussions this year, but in in future years, too, there's going to be this constant tug between we have to provide safety for our elderly um residents and we have to provide uh safety for our younger residents and they're not the same type of safety always. The walkability, the be able to get around without driving, um things like that are parallel. But but when we're looking at, you know, this the aging of the population, the the costs will skew more towards older people and um we want to continue to keep in our minds we have to fund our parks and we have to continue to make this a great place to raise children. So, lots of thoughts about the wonderful people in our community and uh how we can make this is a great place for everybody, but also thinking about the the future of our children. >> Thank you for that. Um, member Richer. >> Um, and I did have some images that I submitted, but um, I do want to build on that. And I think we may not always agree and we're not going to always agree, but I really know that each of us shows up and staff shows up and everyone is trying to get to the best um, edina that we can have. And I do want to acknowledge the walk um that Nancy Greer organized and representative um Yawakim was out and it was really interesting because you go on these walks and you hear from residents and they bring up you know what they want the flashing lights the improvement there but immediately we're standing um at the intersection and she's got her hand out because she says where's the crosswalk and that was nothing nobody ever brought that up. And I do think it's important to recognize, you know, obviously infrastructure is an ongoing issue. Um, she suggested in Hopkins there is a crosswalk that has a colored background, so it really stands out. And she said you could even have green for Edina, but as you're going across this space, you've got cars coming behind you. And so it really is a disconcerting thing. And if we could go to the next slide. Um, and I'm not going to I don't have to have all of them. Um I'm going to leave some out, but um so we walked up the recommended route um going up Eden Avenue to get to Vernon and there's a series of signs and it's really disconcerting because they're all kind of clustered and this is challenging but the speed limit sign is blocked and you can kind of see that the signage does make it challenging if you're walking with somebody. Uh maybe the next slide and these are all residents um from Grand View. Well, that's another image of the slide. Um here as you get on Vernon and this is the turn lane to get into Jerry's uh a sign and the uh grass slopes significantly. So yeah, it's going to be hard to put that sign there. But it was so amazing cuz I ended up sort of at the back of the group and everybody when you start walking and you're talking and you're moving people just go around things and it's scary because you know you've got this and I went back today and it still is in the same spot and it was a 90 degree day you know and you're you're hot you're not feeling that great my knees kind of bugging me you know so I'm beginning to feel some of the things that I know are probably going to haunt me for the rest of my life but you know, just making a space that is safe for pedestrians is so important and walking the walk um I think really is something that needs to happen. And what happens when you go on the Vernon pathway is you end up on the north side of the Jerry's parking lot, which is where you really don't want to be walking through because the Jerry's parking lot is a very busy place. And so there's there's that as well. And I I did bring in other slides, but we don't need to look at the rest of them. Uh I just wanted to say if you haven't had the chance to go out there and do this walk, it is really worth the time. Um and so I appreciate the residents organizing it and also Representative Yokim for coming out there and hopefully we get that sign up by NY's birthday. We should um Thank you. Okay, thank you. Um, few things for me. Um, I think several of us, maybe all of us have gotten uh a few emails from residents that were concerned about the application of film tech for increased um discharge of pollutants uh at their manufacturing facility right on Cahill. And so um I've talked to Scott about it. We've agreed that we would because we didn't make any submission to uh MPCA uh about the request to increase their uh production of um contaminants. So, we're going to hire an air quality expert to kind of review what they're proposing and because our residents are worried there's a park right across the street filled with kids doing sports. You know, there any potential implications for us? We'll take a look at that. um to the gun violence issue. Um there will be a community conversation on gun violence prevention at UD United Community Lutheran Church on Tuesday, September 23rd. You maybe knew about that already, 6:30. And I just got the a little bit of the agenda for it and the panel going to be a space for dialogue I think is what they they characterize it as. our chief of police will be one of the panelists along with a person from Moms Demand Action. Uh another person from Protect Minnesota, also assistant county Henipin County Attorney, somebody from uh public health department, and then Senator Elise Man who will give a update on the current state of uh legislation in place and and bills to be introduced. So that's kind of what will take place on the 23rd and then both um Tim Busy from Bloomington and I will be there as well. Um and then there's a state of the airport speech is uh Thursday noon. Uh and then I wanted to talk a little bit about um an exhibition that's coming to uh St. Louis Park. Uh the person Lawrence Badson asked me to mention it at our city council meeting for people that might be interested. Uh it is going to be running from September 25th through October 11th. It's through their eyes the story of Kafarza. And the reason I'm mentioning it is because it's one of the kabutzas where the many of the residents were killed uh on October 7th, 2023 by Hamas, members of Hamas. And it happens to be a kabutz that I was in the year before at about that same time and spent a whole afternoon visiting in people's yards with moms and kids that I don't know what happened to them, but it was a lovely little village with probably two miles from the fence line in Gaza. And um so I think it's you you can get the location when you order tickets. And uh if I can give this to Jennifer Benerat, but there's a uh I think it's called tte uh all caps t and then exhibit.com. That should lead you to where you want to register to go and see the program uh in that period of time that it's running in in St. Louis Park at a location you will learn about when you buy a ticket. And it's only $10 per ticket. And they've got a couple of survivors that are going to be there as well to talk about the experience of it. And I think that's those are the key things I wanted to cover. Uh Manager Neil, anything else? Okay. Is there a motion to adjurnn? So moved. Second. >> And a motion by member Jackson, second by member Agnu to adjourn the meeting of the city council at 11:10 p.m. on this 16th day of September, 2025. Uh any further discussion? All those in favor of adjournment say I. >> I. >> I. Opposed. Carried. We stand adjourned.