All right, here we go. Well, good evening everyone and welcome to the Edina City Council meeting on May 5th, 2026. It is 7:01 p.m. And as Director Benderot indicated to those of you in the audience, we're doing this on a these meetings on a hybrid sort of basis. We have been doing it since COVID started, since the pandemic started and and continue that practice. People might be watching online. If there were public hearings tonight, they could call in for that, but they can still call in if they want to address the council on a matter of concern to them under community comment. That's not on the agenda or scheduled for a future public hearing, so keep that in mind as you get up to give your remarks whether you're going to give them virtually to us or you are here in the um in the chambers with us this evening. Having provided information, I'm going to call the meeting to order and ask our clerk, Sharon Allison, to call the roll of the council. Council Member Agney. Here. Council Member Jackson. Here. Council Member Piers. Here. Council Member Risler. Here. Mayor Hovland. Here. Next folks is the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance 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. Thanks, everybody. Um And now our meeting agenda this evening was pre-published. We've got a little change we're going to make here this evening. We're going to switch I'm going to propose switching um uh section six and section seven. So, we would move the adoption of the consent agenda behind special recognitions and presentations. We've got four of those this evening and we want to make sure those folks have a chance to um make those presentations and and in some cases accept awards. And so, uh I'm going to ask if there is a uh motion to adopt the City Council meeting agenda for this May 5th, 2026 in some amended form, switching sections 6 and 7 in the in the agenda. So moved. Second. We've got a motion by member Jackson, second by member Pierce to adopt the City Council meeting agenda in its in its amended form, switching sections 6 and 7, putting special recognitions and presentations before the consent portion of the agenda. Any further discussion? All those in favor of adoption of the motion as stated, say I. I. >> I. Opposed? Carried. And then we are now at community comment. If there's anyone in the audience who wishes to address the council on a matter of concern to them, feel free to come forward. Um Some folks are here on a regular basis and know the the 3-minute rule. You'll get a yellow warning light when you got 30 seconds left, and then you should be thinking about wrapping up your comments. Mayor, Council members, my name is Ralph Zickert. Mayor Hovland, at the 21-minute 45-second mark of the April 21st Council meeting, you and Manager Neil claimed Edina's long-standing AAA bond rating refutes my statement made during community comment earlier that evening, i.e., that a resident's perspective of the 2026 budget was unsound and unsustainable, and therefore the Council deserved a grade of F minus. Yes, Mayor, Edina's bonds are rated AAA. And yes, Moody's is staffed by experts. However, the litmus test those experts use is this. Moody's rating represents the probability of default and the expected severity of loss given a default. Moody's rating is based on the likelihood of Edina not being able to pay its borrowed debt obligations based on Edina's taxing capacity. For reference, a quick Google search of Minnesota cities shows the following. Minneapolis, a city eight times Edina's population and with only four times Edina's taxing capacity, also has a AAA bond rating. Similar story for the other cities on this short list. All Edina's AAA bond rating reveals is that Edina doesn't carry a lot of debt in relation to how much it could carry. So, sorry, Mayor. Edina's high real estate values, not Edina's fiscal management, is the reason for our AAA bond rating. The council's poor budget performance has nothing to do with Moody's rating. Rather, your well-deserved F minus is based on the $1 million added to residents' utility bills, the $586,000 added to Hennepin County's tax levy, and the $1.8 million deferred to future years. All three of which were promoted by this council as 2026 cuts to spending. In reality, they were just smoke and mirrors and had zero impact on residents' ultimate tax burden. In summary, your 20 April 21st reply was a AAA Trumpian attempt to distract with an unrelated bright shiny object. And in hindsight, it would seem a grade of grade of F minus was too generous. I'm also left to wonder why Mr. Neil chose not to post any response to my April 21st questions. Therefore, let me repeat. Will the schedule prepared by staff and shared with member Agnew showing that spending cuts played a minor role in the 2026 levy be posted to Edina's website under responses to community comment? And two, will you, Mayor, finally acknowledge in chambers that spending cuts played a minor role in the 2026 general levy? Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Zickert. Good evening. Evening. Um my name is Jake Vandalis. I live near Todd Park, Edina. And I'm here to speak in favor of the protected bike lanes on Wooddale Avenue. Um adding a protected bike lane on Wooddale would allow cyclists to more easily connect to schools, parks, and public amenities in Northeast Edina. In terms of schools, for those living north on 54th Street, there's no safe way for a child to bike to Concord, Southview Middle School, or Normandale without being side-by-side with trucks and cars going 30 mph. In addition to benefiting kids biking to school, a protected bike lane on Wooddale would allow uh connections to public amenities and parks in Northeast Edina, including Arden Park, Pamela Park, Edina Country Club, Edina Community Center, Coleman Field, and access to the soon-to-be-built bridge um over Highway 62, which would access further amenities including Rosland Park, Lake Cornelia, the Aquatic Center. Um and if if the Wooddale protected bike lanes are not installed, I fear that bikes will really not be able to access the new bridge over Highway 62 because um without a protected Wooddale, there's no real way to get there um safely on a bike. And adding protected bike lanes on Wooddale is also in accordance with the city's guiding principles, including the comprehensive plan's transportation chapter, the pedestrian and bike master plan, the climate action plan, and the living streets plan. Um I'll also add while I'm up here um if I could shoot for the moon, I'd also ask that the council consider going up to to a fully protected bike lane. Um so not just putting paint on the street and hoping that cars don't cross that paint, but actually adding something that would separate the cars from bikes. Um that would be a first in [snorts] Edina, and I think this would be a good project to start. Um to do that, I think the best way to do it would be a two-way bike lane on one side of the road, >> [snorts] >> um and then add some sort of, you know, plastic bollard would be the cheapest option, all the way up to a grade-separated bike lane, which would be the most expensive option. Um and I suspect those living along Wooddale, maybe some who are in the audience today, >> [snorts] >> um are opposed to taking away parking um on their street, and I totally understand that. I would be irked as well. Um [snorts] but Councilman Price's editorial in the um Sun Current this week was spot-on, I thought. In case you missed it, he said that we can't let today's discomfort prevent tomorrow's progress. And this infrastructure is laid out in the pedestrian and bike plan, which took into account public um [snorts] uh public feedback, and it supports the city's guiding principles and will promote a more livable city. So I hope that this discomfort will not prevent tomorrow's progress on this important project. Thank you. Thank you. I can tell you we're looking at that very issue right now. Thank you. Good evening. Good evening. Uh Mayor Hovland, members of the city council, my name is Bill Egan and I live on 5237 Wooddale. My comments are timely following Jake's comments. I'm here to speak on behalf of the residents of of Wooddale Avenue in opposition to the proposed parking ban. You're going to hear lots of comments about this through the public through the process of the submission. So, I'm not going to address the complaints that we have. They're numerous. What I'm here to propose is an alternative for this stretch of road from 50th to 56th Street that allows for both parking and for two dedicated protected bike lanes and for the vehicular traffic lanes. The state law pursuant to state law um any road that is in a city that's 45 miles hour or less allows for a minimum traffic width lane of 10 ft. A minimum bike width lane of 5 ft and a minimum parking lane of 7 ft. So, that's a total of 37 ft. Wooddale Avenue between 50th and 56th Street is 38 ft wide. So, the city can certainly build restripe the the roadway and also preserve that parking lane at least from 50th Street up to 56th Street. This doesn't help the people from 56th Street all the way up to Valley View, but frankly that's not my concern tonight. I have spoken with the general manager of Edina Country Club and this will adversely impact member and guest use of Edina Country Club. The lot was full tonight and it's not even there's no golfers out there. The swimming pool is not open. Very often those lanes all the way from 50th Street up to up to our house at 56 50 between 52nd and 53rd are occupied. On Sundays St. Stephen's Church, they don't have off-street parking. They use the public lots on 50th Street, and then they use the um the street on-street parking. They don't have anywhere else to go. They're going to have to come up to Oak Lawn and walk all the way down to the corner uh on um you know, perhaps in the winter, perhaps in adverse uh conditions. So, there certainly is a way to do this. The city has already proposed 10-ft wide drive lanes for the for the south half of the street. Adding 10-ft wide drive lanes going all the way up to 50th is very consistent with all of that. 5 and 1/2-ft uh bike lanes are consistent with the with state law. You can fit them. You can make everybody happy. The city wins, the bikers win, the kids win, Edina Country Club wins, St. Stephen's wins, and the residents that are opposed to losing their parking win as well. So, thank you very much. >> Yeah, thanks for sharing. Thanks for that thought. Appreciate you sharing that. I get the mic. Of course. Is it still up there? Yeah, it's still up there. Hi. I'm Taylor Brushwein. Uh common theme tonight. I'm here to talk about the bike but Wooddale Ave bike lanes. Um I have two asks for you. The first is that you direct staff to provide a protected versus an unprotected bike lane on the stretches where it's possible. I'll talk a little bit more in that about that in a second. But, that's what you received the advisory communication from the ETC and the EEC on. You've also received letters of support from the Concord Elementary PTO, the Bloomington Public Health Department, West Metro Active Transportation Alliance, and the statewide Bike MN. Um so, the the quickest way I can show that to you is through a couple pictures. This is a billboard from Vancouver, and it shows an unprotected bike lane. The main takeaway is this isn't safe. Think about your own kid being there or yourself being there. Does that feel like a safe place to be to you? Because it doesn't to me. I also like the smoking comparison. You got to let on smoking. I know you all know that. Um it's another example of just because something safe has been normalized doesn't mean we should continue to do that unsafe thing. So what I'm proposing is a protected lane more like this. So there's two major components to it. One is the horizontal separation and that happens on the ground with the two stripes of paint separates the cars from bikes. The second is a vertical separation. In this picture it's the white sticks and that's kind of the cheapest option that you can do. There are portions of the design already that have that horizontal buffer in the street. I'm asking for the white sticks. This is a cheap option. The rough cost of this would be about $10,000 to the project. This would be a huge step in providing safety and to show those vulnerable users that they're truly meaningful to you. So that's my first ask but it's kind of secondary. For any of that to happen, you're going to have to approve a parking resolution. And I've laid out the two outcomes here. If you choose to approve that, you'll be improving the safety for those users I just mentioned. You'll be advancing almost every city plan that we have including the C-map plan which I think you'll see later tonight. You'll be following recommendations from all those groups that I listed and city staff who also is recommending this right now. And if you choose to reject it, you'll be using precious taxpayer dollars and limited public right of way to subsidize free parking for private establishments. You'll also be providing convenience for our residents on that street and more accurately the guests of those residents on the street. We have an overnight parking ban already. So to be blunt, you're going to hear from the Edina Country Club. This will affect their overflow parking. You're going to hear from powerful, politically influential people asking you to subsidize their parking. I'm asking you to have conviction and don't lose sight of the two outcomes that there are and what that means not only for the current residents but for our future generations as well. Thank you. Yeah, thanks, Mr. Brush I'm going to go ahead. Hi, my name is Will Madrigal. Um, I commute via Nine Mile Creek Trail through Fred Richards Park 3 days a week taking the bus down from Minneapolis and biking from there across 100 ending in the Cahill neighborhood. I just want to say that these crossings aren't just nice to have. They're essential to about allow both residents and commuters easy ways to cross which allows people to commute without cars in the Edina area. You are already working on multiple projects that will greatly improve the accessibility of Edina to cyclists. The bridge over 62 will be pretty amazing for commuters coming down from Minneapolis. I urge you to continue on these projects. But I'm frustrated with the lack of effective outreach to users of the trail about future projects. There were no signs or advertising about the open house or comment process earlier this month and very few trail users knew of the other crossings on France were being considered. The residents of Parkland Parklawn and Centennial Lakes area deserve to have a say in this process and I fear they have not. Safer crossings improve Edina for all residents and it's a goal we're striving towards. I commuted via Wooddale Avenue for a long time riding it under 62 on Valley View connecting to that via Wooddale. I think it's a critical to build a bike lane on Wooddale, especially a protected bike lane. Um if you're investing in Roselawn Bridge being accessible to cyclists and pedestrians, you need to connect this critical corridor to all users. It's a key connector between Harriet Grand Round Trail and the 62 Bridge. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Madry. Anyone else? Okay. Do we have any Nobody online? No, sir. All right. Um let's switch over to Manager Neil. Uh our practice is to respond to comments that were made at the last meeting of the City Council. We get those uh answers posted up online by the end of the week. The City Council meets uh and then Manager Neil will uh supplement his answers that were online uh this evening so that we have a a clear record. Then I think um Council member Jackson had a question too that she wanted to pose it. Uh maybe when he's finished with his remarks. >> Okay. Thank you. Okay. We have two questions that we responded to from the April 21st meeting. The first question, will the city's old public works property on Eden Avenue be removed from the TIF district so that taxpayers receive more benefit? Uh the city it's I think it's important to know the city or the HRA has owned that land uh since 1962. That's when it became exempt uh from the tax base. This property is located within the boundaries of the Grand View 2 uh tax increment financing district. The district became active in 2020 and expects to be retired uh by 2045 at the earliest. Dur- at the latest, excuse me. Uh during this 25-year period, base value property taxes will continue to be distributed to each of the taxing agencies while new incremental taxes uh will be collected from new projects and retained within the TIF district uh, to repay debts incurred. At this time, the Grand View 2 TIF district has 6.76 million dollars of debt obligations. These debt uh, were incurred uh, in 2021 and 2022 with the reconstruction of some of the streets around uh, around City Hall and in the Grand View district. Um, new street lighting, new pedestrian bridge, as well as improvements to the city's parking garage, but which we call the Jerry's uh, ramp. To avoid increases to the city's tax levy, incremental property taxes from the properties within the district are used to repay this debt. So, we're using uh, we're using taxes generated in that TIF district to pay the debt for the projects that many people uh, use and enjoy coming around this building. City and the city staff anticipates that the property will remain in the TIF district for at least 5 to 6 years in order to avoid unexpected increases in tax burden that would be borne by all taxpayers in Edina, not just the taxpayers in this TIF TIF district. The base value of this tax uh, the base value of the vacant property will change to reflect its value after the property is sold to a private owner. We think that will occur sometime in 2027 when we close. Uh, the conversion will increase the overall tax base of the city, county, and school as early as 2028. Okay. Um, next question we had was if families live in Edina, why aren't some able to attend classes at Edina public school in the Edina public school district? The boundaries of the city and the school district are not the same, and sometimes that can be confusing uh, for all concerned. Um, we've made we've had a couple of conversations over the years to uh, to straighten out the boundaries so that they make more sense. It's it's a very difficult thing to do with school districts and with the State Department of Education. Um, so the City Council does not have a role in establishing uh school district boundaries, nor determining the policy of the school district about who goes to school where. The first round of open but uh public schools uh Edina Public Schools gives residents uh open enrollment preference. They are not but they are not guaranteed spots in local schools. The first round of open enrollment applications are due in Edina Public Schools by January 15th of each year. That's what I got. Good. Thanks. Did that prompt any questions or comments from from Manager Neil? I'm going to turn it over to Council Member Jackson who had a question. Yeah. So, um Mr. Brushwein mentioned several um communications and I don't know if they've been received by the city so like from the PTO, um from the uh commissions, um if you've have you have we received those because I don't see them in our packet and I'd like to read them. I think I'll ask Mr. Milner to if he can respond to that question. Yeah, I believe there's been a couple advisories that you've received in previous packets. So, it's not tonight. And then we're collecting all the data. Andrew and I will be reviewing all the surveys and coming up with a recommendation and then being back in front of you in June. Okay. Could you include those letters uh at that time? You bet. Okay. Great. Thank you so much. Anything else from Council Members? Uh I'm disappointed Mr. Zicker didn't stick around. Um all the years that I've been involved in local government uh when we've been rated by the rating agencies and we have a double triple A bond rating for over 20 years, it has not just involved our ability to repay debt. It has involved uh our long-term security which says an analyzation of the financial stability of the of the city, including its budget performance, which is what he was critical of. So, I know from personal experience that that is one of the issues that the rating agencies look at. So, to kind of selectively decide what you're going to choose to emphasize a point uh and leave a key point out in the terms of the budget analysis, I think was uh improper and um I stand by my remarks that I made 2 weeks ago that our city is in excellent financial condition. And with respect to our budgeting, we have I don't know how many years we've had at least a dozen years we've gotten we've received a certificate of financial excellence from uh some of the accounting rating agencies with regard to our budgetary performance, which is exactly what he was talking about. So, I'm sure he'll be back here in 2 weeks to tell me how wrong I am about something. Uh and he'll point out the timing on the uh meeting and uh we'll have this conversation again and maybe next time he'll stick around. Member Pierce. Thanks, Mr. Mayor. Um so, just I want to make a statement, but I do have a question. Um I What are there Are Are there particular reasons we would not provide the information that Mr. Zickert was asking for? And I I'm sure what he was asking for. But he he referenced Council Member Agnew. Yeah, so I what I took from his ask is that we acknowledge that some of the changes that we made were not just like So, I know when we were having the budgeting conversations last year, we talked both about reducing the levy as reducing the tax burden on residents. And I think his concern is for some of those things we may have reduced the levy, but we didn't directly reduce the burden on residents. And I think he's just looking for acknowledgement of that. So, I I don't know where the the the Excel I assume it was Excel spreadsheet, it just had each of the reductions. Um and that was it. Where to what decisions were made and what the impact was to the levy was what the spreadsheet was. Um and so, you don't have to respond to that, but that was the question I was was asking if there's any reason we would not provide that to the public. Um and then my comment um it it's it is super easy to throw rocks at a process when you have absolutely no accountability accountability for the outcome. And so, I like I appreciate that. I appreciate when everybody has questions, they email, we kind of dig into it together. Um but it is easy to take that approach. And so, with this particular one, I actually take it personally because um to Mayor's some of Mayor's comments, the very first time when Manager Neil showed us the projections of budgets and we all collectively saw double [snorts] double-digit right, double-digit increases for three separate budgeting cycles. And we all said, "That's not sustainable. We got to work on that." And we've been working on that for at least 2 years. Uh we were able to since that since you showed that information, we've not had a double-digit levy since then. And we continue to work on that. Um and so, I take it personally because I know how much work I'm putting into looking at the budget, working with staff to figure out what changes we might be able to make. I know the questions that the rest of the council has been making. Um, and so right or wrong, transparently, I take it personally. And I'll I'll state it again, it is super easy to throw rocks when you have no accountability for an outcome. Um, and so if you don't like the outcome of what we've been working on, what I have been working on, what I continue to work on, there's an easy way to to address that. Throw the rock and come sit up here. And then once you have the accountability and you're responsible for the outcome, then have added. Bring your ideas, engage in the process. Um, I'm happy to have that. So that one, I just personally, I take it personally. Um, I do think to my first question, if there is no reason we should not provide that information, um, and I ask it that way because we did have some uh people impacts in there. And so there might be some sensitivity around things like that that we may not want to provide that information. Uh, but we we should at least address that and and and make it clear whether we will or whether we won't. Thank you. Thank you. Council member Pierce, Council member Mercer. Thank you. Um, I do the overarching point um about the difference between what is a cut from the budget versus you know, a different way of bringing down the levy. I think it's an important one and I do want to say for this year and I I'm like divinely lit by this blinding light. So [laughter] You got a nice glow about you. >> I know. Isn't it amazing? Like this happens this time of year. But I do think this year with this budget we do need to look at the schedule and try to figure out how we can create a situation where we are looking at actual more potential cuts. And then we as a council will have more choices to make. I feel like the past two years that hasn't happened and I do remain concerned that basically the way things were laid out at the retreat, we have a date in August and then from that date we have a date in September where we have to do a turnaround and produce our preliminary levy and that makes me nervous and I really would like to see something in July so that we can have more a more refined process and do a little bit more of a deep dive. So I wanted to say that. Thank you. Your anticipation is like ours and I think we're going to hear some information later about getting things sooner rather than later and maybe even in June. From a budgetary standpoint. So I'm going to switch over now to the special recognitions and presentations portion of the agenda. We've got our Hennepin County Commissioner Heather Edelson with us who lives in Edina. Was our former state rep. Is just a human dynamo. Has represented Edina so well at the legislature and we hated to see her leave the legislature and now she's up at the county and doing a magnificent job there as well. And so we're so pleased to have her with us this evening to give us a update from the county and I'm sure that she listens to this few of these budget comments uh they resonate uh with her as well because I know the county's working on these same sort of challenges on how to keep the cost down for people on these things that we all own together and we're trying to to have as as benefits and buildings and everything else that that that we think are important to have from a public ownership standpoint. So Commissioner Edelson, welcome. Thank you for being here. Well, thank you. It's good to see all of you. Yeah, there's no there's no It's It's silent. They're not excited to see me too. >> [laughter] >> We're listening. Well, that was fun. I got to learn about a few things in the community. So the bike lanes, thank you for educating me on this. I didn't know that. Um this was that was this was coming up. I clearly I've 16 cities now, so it's hard to follow all of the things. I'm like Lake Minnetonka two now, so and you can only imagine like we're talking about bike lanes, they're talking about boat lanes and aquatic invasive species. The education I'm getting is is uh it's extensive. So um and I have seen some of the invasive carp. They're scary. Have you ever seen them? Like Minnetonka, like literally it's scary. So anyways, and so is the the 4th of July when they're boating and all the kids boat together. Public health was there. I'm just saying. Okay, well so it's good to see all of you. Heather Edelson, it's good to see you. Jake, I saw you. Um all right. All right, so I'm going to go ahead and I'm going to try to keep it quick cuz it looks like you guys have a full agenda. So um Hennepin County, largest county in the state of Minnesota. Da da da da da. How many counties do we have in the state of Minnesota? Boom. All right. Sorry, we've just got to keep it fun. I have to do 16 of these. So um county was established in 1852. State of Minnesota was established in 1858, right? History, I think I'm I'm thinking right. Yes? Yes? Thank you. I'm like, oh, it's been a long day. We have 45 cities in Hennepin County. I have 16 of them. We have 1.3 million residents, eight Fortune 500 companies. We're hopefully going to get some more companies I hear coming, which is exciting. 11 watershed districts. Can one of you guys name one of them in Edina? Mhm, yes. Minnehaha's well. Good. All right, so here's a my my stint did this word cloud, which I thought was really cool, but now my 45-year-old eyes cannot see all of the small little things for it. But I did highlight them and I didn't bring my glasses, but we do the Hennepin County does a lot. So you think between the federal government, the state government, and then municipalities and schools, we're that middle government that's kind of sticking things together and trying to make up all of the difference. So we have child protection, we have adult representation services, we have documents, we have to provide space for the courts, when you get called for jury duty, which I never get selected, by the way. It's very frustrating. Been elected eight eight years now and been called four times and they never select me. It's really irritating. But we do a lot. We do a lot at Hennepin County. SNAP benefits have been a big thing in the news. We do search and rescue. We have the sheriff's department under us, victim supports, and I am going to talk a little bit about our budget. And yes, we do have the same comments where we have residents come People don't want to come downtown at 1:30 on a on a Tuesday very often because it just doesn't happen. So we don't have as many people. Uh so this is our 2026 budget that we adopted. It's a $3.15 billion budget. We're the largest budget outside of the state of Minnesota. And so you can see our revenue sources here is what I have up. Property taxes is the largest revenue source for for county, Um, you can see other um, dispersals of, you know, federal and state funding there. And then our expenditures per line of business. Uh, you can see health and human services is 48% of our budget. It's a very large uh, section and I'm going to look at trends here coming up this well. Um, you can see law safety and justice and health and human services are actually the budgets that we are seeing grow um, over the last few years. And these are things that quite frankly, the state and the federal government require the county to do many things. Um, they don't always fund us for it, but they require it. So, um, then we are stuck with making sure um, it's funded and so that gets passed off to property taxes. And you guys just interrupt me if you have any questions, mayor and council. You guys all know me enough to I won't be offended. All right, so I know this is super small, um, but I wanted this one in there. So, this one is our source of revenue. So, you can see where all of the funding is coming. So, property taxes, you can see we've had this upward this trend of um, I want to acknowledge that this is not a good trend. And so, we're relying more and more. This is the dark blue line is 2024, light blue line 2025, 2026 is the green line. Um, and so, the trend is not sustainable and we are having, just like you're talking about um, council member Wester talking about having earlier budget meetings and mayor, we are doing that at the county because right now we're looking at um, if we change nothing now, we'll have a double digit uh, levy increase and we cannot do that. Um, a levy at Hennepin County is $10 million. That's not sustainable for residents. It's too much. And so, we're looking at where we can cut. So, we're reviewing all of our contracts. We're having monthly budget briefings. Um, we're doing a lot of attrition. Um, so no hiring. We have hiring freezes. Um, and you might have heard we have this beast of a financial issue with our hospital. Um, it's been in the news a little bit. So, I there's this and then expenditures per line of business. If you look at health, um you've seen that number go up significantly. Law safety and justice is also increasing. Now, the sheriff's budget has been in the news a bit, and there's, you know, been some debate on our um our committee uh in our board about uh that that, and I just want to be clear that the sheriff's department um So, we've had a staff a lot The sheriff's had a staff a lot around the jail, and um when lo- local law enforcement bring people to the jail, they bring them to the jail. The sheriff doesn't get to decide when people leave the jail. That's the courts. So, the sheriff can't say, "You know what? I'm going to deny you because we're over budget. I can't take in this person that committed a crime." Sorry, Edina police officer, you have to bring them to some other county jail. We can't do that. That doesn't work for public safety. And so, we are seeing more people come into our jail, um and it is unfortunately it's a it's a it's a financial challenge that we have to deal with. We have to keep it staffed Yeah, according [laughter] according to the Department of Corrections in a very specific way. So, that is going up, and it's a financial challenge that we're facing. So, I just want to be clear though, that is a financial challenge we have to meet. We cannot cut the sheriff's department. All right. So, keep going. Sorry. I'll I'll go a little faster, you guys. Okay, so here's the property taxes increase that we've seen. It's about an average for Edina, the net change is about 274 um uh dollars or 9.1%. And then, you guys have heard So, federal government, they are um what we anticipate Well, [snorts] these are the the cuts that we've already received. So, the SNAP cuts that we've received for Hennepin County are 8 million uh this year, and then there's terminated FEMA grants, which were for shelter housing. We've received 2.8 million cuts already, and these are These are things that were already spent. And I just want to be clear, SNAP uh So, SNAP is the food security program that we administer. So, in uh the state of Minnesota, Hennepin County administers it for um well, we do the eligibility eligibility for the state of Minnesota. In other states, the state actually runs it, so they check eligibility, and then they also issue the the the the funding. Um in the state of Minnesota, how we do it is the county checks eligibility, then we approve it, and then the state actually sends the funding out. Um so, with that process, they actually cut administration. Um and so, we're looking at an $8 million cut there, but we're still required to provide the service, yes. Thank you. I just really quick question. So, we have to spend this, it sounds like, regardless as a community. It just means we need to find a way to now cover this in another way, so raising taxes or something else, because we're not getting that funding from the federal government. Is that correct? That is correct, Council member, yes. Thank you. All right, so we're going to keep moving. It's going to be a lot of it feels it's going to feel like negative. Sorry, I apologize. Um this feedback I've got from the other councils. Uh 2027, we have hospital and um and county anticipated cuts. We have SNAP security. Um again, this is talking about the um the error rates, and the error rate is it's a complicated mechanism, but essentially, what it is is somebody reports their income or reports a job. We report that into a database that says they qualify for a certain amount of SNAP uh funding or um for them and their family, and then it might come back that that reporting was uh incorrect. They might receive more or less than what they should have. Now, we're not talking about fraud like the state of Minnesota. We're talking about small amounts of money, um and then we can correct that. It usually takes a few months to correct it. Um but we're looking at fines, because the error rate in the HR1 that was passed, the error rate can only be 6%. The state of Minnesota's 8.6% on our error rate. So, what we are expecting is $20 million of fines um starting in January of 2027. And so, this is actually not just Hennepin County or the state of Minnesota. There's 33 other states that have air rates that are higher than Minnesota. So, this is an issue. And Alaska got, you know, nicely carved out with their senator good negotiating for them. But, we've been asking the federal government to hold on that. We also have our supportive housing grants with HUD. I saw Secretary Ronnie Crance when I was in Washington to see at a conference and I talked to him about this. He had taken he had spoke and then he had left and didn't take any questions and I I ran after him and I was like, "Wait, wait, wait. We are doing a lot of progress in terms of supportive housing and making sure people with disabilities are housed. What is going to happen when you cut this $12 million?" And we've had a good back and forth email exchange, but no commitment to stop or hopefully stop this policy, which is going to continue to hope. Ever the optimist, we'll we'll keep trying. All right, so state and federal we are just 2 weeks left of session. If you haven't noticed, this legislative session is one like we've never seen before. There's no conference committees. They're not getting a lot done. So, I'm hoping HCMC actually will get some funding because if it's not, we'll start the wind-down process for the hospital probably June, July. And that will be really devastating for all of our hospital systems. And you might think, "Why? I don't get care at HCMC. It'll be okay." No, actually, the lines for all the other hospital systems will be clogged up and it will be a huge strain on our resources. So, we really need the legislature. If they're going to do one thing this session, we need them to help us because what's happening >> [snorts] >> in here I'm just going to go to this one. What's happening, you'll see we have about 100 million of reductions to be making out actually it's not just 2027. It's going to be we're going to have to be constantly monitoring the finances. HR 1 has made some devastating Medicaid changes. and if you look at our Hennepin County Medical Center, it's that's our that's the base. You're serving people on Medicaid and then you're also serving people with uncompensated care or uninsured. So it's it's a very challenging payer mix where other hospitals say like Fairview here in Edina, they might have Medicaid but they also have commercial insurance which also pays for the cost of care. Medicaid does not do that. So very challenging, fingers crossed we get something. I just Are you getting some encouragement from the legislature that they'll try to do something because I mean all of us I think we've we've had this conversation in your absence really about how this is a state safety net hospital. And and it provides excellent medical care but it's it's the safety net for the whole state. It's not just Hennepin County's burden. So you know, we got to find a solution to this because we should have a state safety net hospital. I agree Mayor. I agree. I wish you were there right now and I I think our you know, our our legislators for Edina absolutely agree with us. It's just can we actually get the agreement in St. Paul when the house is evenly divided and the Senate is where they are. Um It's challenging. It's an election year. I was there and I understand on election when it's when it's an election year, you're going into it. We're already getting commercials. I watch KARE 11 News and I'm already getting commercials for the governor's race. I'm like, what is happening? So I worry. I hope that you know, in Congress they they do nothing. I'm I'm just going to be honest. Like let's it's very frustrating. I mean we have a bunch of things happening for our state. We need our state legislators to actually be able to get things done. So I'm hoping they can work across the aisle and and save this because otherwise it really will have implications across Hennepin County and across the state quite frankly. So I'm going to be hopeful. Let's be hopeful. All right. So we have early voting at Hennepin for Hennepin County. We uh uh Scott Neal. Sorry, I was going to say Scott. Um hopefully you got an email about up to 9,000 helping for absentee voting and that we're going to of course apply for that, right? Okay, good. Good stuff. All right, so that's how we're helping because we also have a lot of small cities and we're working with that, but you don't need to hear the whole song and dance what we're trying to do with small cities because we're not one of them. All right, so youth crisis stabilization center, we opened this. Uh police department, you should be very happy. Hopefully have you guys brought anybody there yet? Jake? No? Okay. Um I can bug Todd about it. So, we opened this youth crisis stabilization center. What was happening, you guys, in Hennepin County where we would have youth that were coming in and out of the system. Um so, the the juvenile detention center only has about 20 kids in it right now and the kids that are there are kids that have committed really violent crimes. Uh attempted murder, rape. So, it's not your everyday um auto theft where there's no physical violence. So, it is kids where they've actually done and it's just a change in how we've done our our youth system. Now, these at the crisis uh stabilization center, it is kids that have been that are struggling with severe mental illness, but also have uh complex mental health needs where they also might have some physical violence as well. So, we were they were sometimes being sent out of state and it was costing us people. So, this costed uh I think it was like $20 million and you're like, 13 bed, $20 million. Do you know how much one kid could cost to try to get him the proper care? Over a million dollars. So, trust me, it's actually worth the investment. And plus, they're close to their family and we're getting them the help they need and they're not the recidivism of going back in. It's not happening. So, uh we have a new public safety headquarters. Uh we don't use this as much because we don't have uh we do our own dispatch and all of that, but it's very cool if you haven't seen it. And we still have the sheriff's department here, right? They still help. Um And auto theft collaboration, um so it's interesting. I was looking at the data before I came, and I don't have any recent data, but in terms of uh we have uh for 2025, we saw auto thefts go down, um but I do know there's been this uptick because there's this new device. What is it, Jake? It's like a they can take it and Yeah, it can take it and read the electronic cuz so I'm a little worried about this summer, um in terms of what's going to happen with that, but we'll keep watching it. But we do we just passed this auto theft collaboration cooperative agreement, so it it utilizes 631,000 in grant funding, um and then what it's going to do is establish a multi-jurisdiction framework for investigating automobile thefts with our amazing police departments and uh other agencies looking at that. So, um we will be a little bit uh hopefully ahead of the curve as we start to prepare for that. So, hopefully some of that money um Jake can go to figuring out what to do with those devices. Um all right, so and then we have some infrastructure pro- projects. We just pavement preservation, that's pretty much what these ones are. And then but the Xerxes Avenue Bridge replacement, Scott, are we going to be is the county going to be leading that project or was the city going to take that over? Do you know? The Xerxes Bridge for 2030? It's a county project. >> County pro- Yeah, okay, good. All right. Well, sometimes you know our county projects you like Vernon, you're like, "We'll just take it." >> You can have this one. >> Okay, we can have this one. Okay, thank you. You don't want it. All right, so if you guys are mad about Xerxes, call me. >> managing state projects. >> Yeah, that's that there you I bet you are. So, Vernon Bridge, that one's you guys. You're doing that. I'm like, "Why is this on here?" But we gave you money, right? So, um and then I don't know what the Vernon Avenue multimodal safety project is, so don't please ask me. Um but I can look into it for you cuz they put it on there and I'm like, "What is this?" Actually not 100% sure. We're leading that one, too. >> You who leading that one. Okay, good. Thank you. I'm really glad cuz I had no idea what that was. All right. So, here's a map of our capital projects. If you have any questions on that. >> have any If you have any uh questions about you when your bridge is going to be done, the County bridge over the railroad tracks, I think end of June? Correct. End of June, yeah. And I love the pedestrian bridge. I saw that. You guys love that. Remem- I was I was telling Chad and I were talking about how I got I I think it was $3 million. I called Scott Miel at the end of session and I was like, I got it cuz I told him I was going to vote no on the transportation bill. And so, but hope Did we get that money actually? Uh it Well, not yet, but we're depending on it. It's committed. >> It's earmarked. Okay, we got it. All right. Okay, well, I'm happy to take any questions. That's all I have. Yeah, we got a few comments and questions along the way, but uh Council member Pierce, um so uh thank you, Mr. Mayor. This could be like a coffee question. >> [laughter] >> So, you don't have to answer it uh tonight, but just going through your budget, it is exponentially more complicated than Edina's. And Edina's is complicated. Right? So, they're both complicated. Um and the order of magnitude of the dollars are are different. Um and the impact is broader, as well, because you impact every property that's assigned in the county, essentially. So, how do you think about the budget principles of how you make decisions on what to value and where to focus on making certain cuts um to get your levy from double digits to single digits? Well, for That's a great question, Council member. You're al- It's good one. Um okay, so well, there's a few different things. So, four levy points are for the hospital alone. So, that's $40 million. So, if we in fact get a sales tax four levy points. Yeah, 40 million dollars. That's what we're giving the hospital right now. We're subsidizing taxpayers in Hennepin County are. So, So if we look at that, if we get a sales tax at a 0.5, then what we would do is remove that 40 million and we would cuz we had it can't do double double taxation, right? Let's just be honest here. That's not the right thing to do. So, we would take that 4% that four levy points out. It would go there. But what we are doing for all So, that's just one way to bring it down. That would be positive. Um and it does a you know, people that shop in Hennepin County would also pay for it that don't live in Hennepin County which would be a positive. Um but I you know, we'll see. Um I I what I fear is that they're going to give us a chunk of money and then say, "Well, it's all going to be okay." Just and I that's not sustainable. Um so, there's one way we're that we're looking at it outside of that this next 2 weeks legislative session is also looking at what's mandated services versus not mandated services. So, the vision is is you know, the county what we overwhelmingly do transportation's actually a very small part of our budget. You saw it. What we mostly do is we're in the business of people. We're in the business of helping people survive, people that are in need, people that need housing, people that need social services. We're in the people business. And so, when we look at that, it's what is mandated by the federal and the state government, what do our cities absolutely need from us? Because there's some things that you guys absolutely need from us because you built your budget around it. So, what is mandated and what are we doing because there are things that are left over from COVID when we had when we were in the abundance time of of funding for counties and for just governments in general. There's things that are left over. That's what we're going to be looking at cutting. Thank you. Council Member Jackson. Yes, thank you, Mr. Mayor. Thanks for the wonderful presentation. Um once upon a time the county had undergone a data um analysis sort of when people would drop off services and then come back on and that was a huge cost. Is that kind of data analysis continuing on or is that something that is just kind of been lost in all the crises of the other things? Have you been following that? I don't know anything about that. I can ask. I'll I'll check. I would That would be really helpful to have a understanding about that. I mean, we we projections on who's going to be on services. It's it is something that would be nice to know because quite frankly we know that if you look at the the demographics of our state, we know that our state is getting older and so trying to see but yeah, no, I I don't know anything about that. I would love to know. I'll check in. I'll check in with I'll give you more details offline, but that I thought was a really interesting way to cut some expenses by using data and I'll I'll get you offline with it. >> I would love that. Hopefully that exists. >> Yeah, thank you. Also remember Russia. I'm concerned um about income and specifically what municipalities are able to do with TIF financing and thinking about that K-shaped economy and um we do have a program, the Heroes program, which does give up to $100,000 in down payment assistance for somebody to purchase a home in Edina valued at $600,000 or less. Individuals can earn up to $106,000. Um families $137,000. And um you know, it's a wonderful program, but you know, I'm to me personally, I feel like that's more of a like a private fund should be doing it instead of public money, especially in this particular day and age. And that's one example and knowing that any municipality can do something on that scale and it's diverting money from the county and you know, so that [clears throat] is something that actually literally in the middle of the night I'm kind of going, "Wow, that's sort of a interesting situation." But there's other uses of TIF, um you know, thinking about is it actually for structural necessity or is it for other things that are beyond that? And so, I'm wondering if at this point um it would make sense to try and tighten some of those state regulations on TIF. I know that that's something that can't happen right now, but just in terms of the sustainability, uh I just want to let you know that that is something that I'm concerned about and wanted to just bring that up. Well, I actually think TIFs are incredibly important tool for cities. Um so, to take it away, and I don't know if that's what you're proposing. I I don't think that's a good idea. I So, I think that there are some conversations to be had about where I mean, TIF has always, you know, Council member, you know, there's always complications. Are cities overusing it? But, I I, you know, there we were talking about it with our board last year just about how important it is um that cities are able to solve some of the the the issues going on in their city, especially for cities um like ours, quite frankly, and and other cities where you're just not getting other um any other resources that you would typically might get. And so, I get it, we're a well-funded city, but even well-funded cities need other tools. So, I'm I think it's a conversation for the legislature, though. Thank you. Council member Agnew. Thank you. Uh so, last week, I got to attend one of the like quarterly like internal to the city AI Council conversations. It was amazing. It was really inspiring to see all the work that's happening across the city within AI. So, I'm going to put you on the spot. I'm curious if you're familiar or aware of things that are happening at the county level and if you can share some of those items. I It's so funny that you asked this, Council member. I am a a fan of trying to figure out how we can use AI. Um so we're using it uh because I think honestly when we're looking at our budgets and the demand for residents and even growing up, I grew up to a single mom, we grew up in poverty, I used county services. So when I think about how we uh county services are not accessible still and they're complicated to get to. So um I am all for trying to figure out how we can make it more accessible. We are using chats um that are answering questions more easily, directing people um but I would love to see um AI used more. So right now services are so disjointed. Somebody comes into the child protection system, that family might need a lot of different resources, but even that child protection worker might not know of all the different resources because it's everybody's so siloed. So we're looking at that right now with child well-being um and we're looking at how to use AI as this great tool not to necessarily replace anyone, but to make services better for the community and make things more efficient um and keep people because we would know one of the biggest indicators of say somebody interacting with uh child protection is actually income, income disparities, poverty. Um we know domestic assaults and uh domestic abuse happens more when people are in poverty. So looking at ways that we can actually uproot people and get them to better places using AI, I'm so excited about it. So thanks for asking the question. Yeah. Well, thanks for being here this evening. We're really uh you know, we'll look forward to your annual report next year. And we'll we'll see you we'll see you in the broader neighborhood soon, I'm sure. All right, thanks. Uh we've got a couple other matters in this portion of the agenda. One of them uh what's coming up next um the proclamation regarding National Police Week. It's it's becoming more and more I think uh annually an important sort of recognition that we that we make nationally, that we make locally. We've got Jason Bearer, one of our police sergeants here with us this evening in his dress blues. And uh he will be wearing those in a week or so and a flag is lifted to half half-staff to um celebrate peace officers, not celebrate but recognize peace officers on Memorial Day. Um I'm going to read the proclamation and uh we think about our own police as recently as um when we were trying to make sure that our residents were safe uh in the face of um some federal enforcement that was going on here during the winter months and uh I think our police became recognized by our constituents, by our residents as being a really trusted source of of um protection, if you will, and uh reliance for our residents. And so the work that you've done, that you represent, uh both of you that are here with us this evening, uh our police department uh and the trust that you've engendered in people in our community, I think is really something uh special. And so let's talk a little bit about this National Police Week. I'm going to let you make a few comments. I'll read the proclamation first. The proclamation is about National Police Week, May 11th through the 17th, 2026. Whereas the week of May 11th through the 17th, 2026 is National Police Week in the United States. And whereas there are more than 800,000 law enforcement officers serving in communities across the United States, including the dedicated members of the United Police Department. And whereas since the first recorded death of a police officer in 1786, over 24,500 law enforcement officers in the United States have made the ultimate sacrifice, have been killed in the line of duty. And whereas the names of these dedicated public servants are engraved on the walls of the National Law Enforcement Memorial in Washington, D.C. And whereas 363, 363 new names of fallen heroes are being added to the National Law Enforcement Memorial this spring. Including 109 officers killed in 2025 and 254 officers killed in the previous years. And whereas the service and sacrifice of all officers killed in the line of duty will be honored during the National Law Enforcement Officer Memorial Funds Memorial Funds 38th annual candlelight vigil on May 13th, 2026. And whereas on May 15th, that date is designated as Peace Officers Memorial Day in honor of all the fallen officers and their families and US flags shall be flown at half-staff. And now therefore the City Council of the City of Edina, Minnesota hereby proclaims May 11th through the 17th, 2026 as National Police Week in the City of Edina and calls upon the people of Edina to observe this week in honor of the men and women whose diligence and professionalism keep the residents in the City of Edina safe. Is there a motion to adopt that proclamation as read? So moved. Second. Member Jackson moves by regular seconds the adoption of the proclamation designating May 11th through the 17th, 2026 as National Police Week in the City of Edina. Uh any further discussion? All those in favor of adoption of the proclamation say I. I. >> I. Opposed? Carried. The proclamation is adopted. Sergeant, uh thank you for being here this evening. Uh and uh we look forward to your remarks. I got to go right here? Yes. That's good. All right. Mr. Mayor, members of the City Council, thank you for recognizing Police Week. My name is Jason Bear. I'm a sergeant. I work night shift patrol and I've been a police officer in Edina for 26 years. I'm honored to accept this proclamation on behalf of the men and women of the Edina Police Department. Our sworn officers, dispatchers, and our professional staff who serve this community every day. I also want to acknowledge their families who support makes this work possible. They share in the long hours, the missed time at home, and the challenges that come with the profession. As a sergeant, I have the privilege of working closely with our officers on a daily basis, and I get to see firsthand the level of commitment they bring to this job. It shows up in how they respond to calls for service, how they handle difficult, and sometimes unpredictable situations, and how they treat people with professionalism, patience, and respect. A lot of that work happens without recognition, but it's what defines who we are as a department. Police Week is also a time for reflection. It's a time to honor the fallen and remember the survivors. We remember the officers across this country who have lost their lives in the line of duty, and we also recognize those who carry forward after experiencing loss, families, co-workers, communities who continue on with strength and resilience. Their sacrifice and their endurance are never far from our minds, and they serve as a constant reminder of the responsibility we carry each time we put on the uniform. Any day in one of the things that truly stands out as a department's uh culture of building trust. It's not just a goal, it's an expectation that's built in the way we do our work. It's reflected in the way our officers communicate, in how they approach interactions, and in the efforts they make to be present and engaged in the community beyond just responding to calls. That culture is strengthened by the partnerships we have here. The relationships with our residents, our schools, our businesses, and local organizations play a critical role in public safety. Those connections allow us to better understand the needs of our community and respond in ways that are thoughtful, effective, and fair. It also means that when challenges arise, we're not facing them alone. We're working through them together. I've seen that trust in action on my shift, in conversations that start small but matter, in moments where taking a little extra time makes a big difference, in the willingness of community members to engage with us openly and honestly. Those everyday interactions are what build the foundation for everything else we do. We recognize that trust is not automatic. It isn't permanent. It has to be earned, maintained, and reinforced over time. That's something our department is committed to, and it's something we continue to work at every single day. On behalf of the United Police Department, thank you for your continued support, for your partnership, and for recognizing Police Week. We're proud to serve this community, and we're committed to doing that work with professionalism, integrity, and continued focus on building and maintaining trust. Thank you. Sergeant, thanks for all the work you do. We're going [applause] to We're going to do a photo. I'm going to ask the council members to come down with me. We're going to do a photo here. Well, the next two matters in this portion of the agenda involving special recognitions and presentations involve our Heritage Preservation Commission. We got Brad Olson, our our chair of our commission with us this evening and um first we've got a proclamation with regard to preservation month designating May 2026 as preservation month uh in the city of Edina. And then we've got one other award that we're going to uh take care of this evening and uh the chair also's going to help on both those matters and uh we're pleased to have him here with us this evening. Here's the proclamation for preservation month, May 2026. Whereas historic preservation is an effective tool for managing growth and sustainable development, revitalizing neighborhoods, fostering local pride, and maintaining community character while enhancing livability. And whereas historic preservation is relevant for communities across the nation, both urban and rural, and for Americans of all ages, all walks of life, and all ethnic backgrounds. And whereas it is important to celebrate the role of history in our lives and the contributions made by dedicated individuals in helping to preserve the tangible aspects of the heritage that has shaped us as a people. And whereas preservation month 2026 is sponsored by the Edina Edina Heritage Preservation Commission, now therefore the City Council of the City of Edina hereby proclaims May 2026 as preservation month in the City of Edina and calls upon the people of Edina to join their fellow citizens in recognizing and participating in this special observance. Is there a motion to adopt the proclamation? So moved. Second. >> Member Jackson moved and member Bragdon seconds the adoption of the proclamation designating May 2026 as preservation month in the city of Edina. Any further discussion? All those in favor of adoption of the proclamation say I. I. I. Opposed? Carried. The proclamation's adopted. I'm going to walk down and hand this Chair, would you Do you have some remarks that you wanted to make? Um yes. >> Yeah, please. And then we'll take a photo. So uh this year, uh Mr. Mayor, council members, we're delighted that Andrew Scipioni will be our recipient of the annual Heritage Preservation Commission, uh, award. He has, uh, come up with a delightful product in If These Streets Could Talk. And it, uh, if you haven't seen it, I encourage you to take a look. It's a delightful montage of different areas of Edina that, uh, covers their associated streets, interesting historical facts, and just simply a fun notions about that part of our city and the streets that run through it. Uh, I think it was a creative endeavor that, uh, anybody's going to use to appreciate Edina and the history of our city. So, thank you very much, Andrew, and I'm glad that he will be recipient of that award. >> Yeah, I'm going to bring these two things down and I've got the plaque. I'm sure you want to award it to him. Um, let's walk down with the council members again and take a couple of photos. Then maybe some other remarks. I'm sure Andrew has a couple of remarks. Staff me as well. Yeah, you're welcome. Thanks. Cool. Thank you very much. All right, let's shift this way so I don't have this monitor in your picture. Almost. Almost. Okay. Thank you. Let's give one without her. Yeah. Thank you. for letting me know, Jen. Okay, big smiles. Oh, yeah, now this is a lot better now. Okay, couple more. Thank you very Go ahead. Yep. >> [snorts] >> Thank you, Mayor, members of Council, and members of the Heritage Preservation Commission. It's It's an honor to be selected for this award this year. I've been working on this project actually since I was an intern with the Engineering Department about 12 years ago. I was doing research for a street reconstruction project and I noticed that the name of one of the streets was clearly from one of the property owners listed on a on a plat that I was looking at. I had previously read a book, there's a great book called if the street where you live, which is basically an encyclopedia of street and place names in the city of St. Paul. And having read that book and come across this plat, I decided to start this task of research into started with streets in Edina, but then expanded into parks and other community places. Years into this effort, the Edina Historical Society asked me to give a presentation as part of their annual programming and that led to several other organizations reaching out to ask me to give similar presentation. Um, at the end of each one I I always ask the audience if they have their own stories or histories of the street and park where they live, uh I ask them to please share that with me so that I can include that in my work and and pass that on for future generations. Um, not every city has its own historical society or museum, but every city has streets and parks. Uh, the names reflected on a city's map tell the story of the people and places that existed before us. They are expressions of a city's identity and values and that history deserves to be shared with the community. Uh, thanks to the city of Edina and to the Edina Historical Society for assisting me in my research over the years. Uh, and biggest thanks goes to my family um for uh attending multiple of my presentations. I think they would take issue with your use of the word delightful. But, uh also thanks to them for allowing me to stop at every museum and every historical marker that we come across. Thank you. Yeah, thank you. Congratulations. >> [applause] >> Em- Emily, do you have anything? Oh, okay. All right. Very good. All right, that that concludes that portion of the agenda. Uh, special recognitions and presentations. We're now going to go back to um section six, which is the um consent portion of the agenda and um I understand we've got some items that uh Council Member Russ wishes to remove to discuss individually item 6.5, 6.10, 6.12. Does anyone else on the Council wish to remove an item from the consent agenda? Council Member Jackson, do you want to remove 6.7 which is that fuel thing that's right up your I Yeah, we can. Yeah, let's talk about that a little bit. I'll let you lead off on that one. Uh So with the exception of um item 6.5, 6.7, 6.10, and 6.12 is there a motion to adopt the items on the consent agenda in a single motion? So moved. Second. Member Jackson moves, member Agnew seconds the adoption of the items on the consent agenda with the exception of item 6.5, 6.7, 6.10, and 6.12, which we'll take up individually. Any further discussion? All those in favor of adoption of those items on the consent agenda with the exceptions noted, say I. I. I. Opposed? Carried. The items on the consent agenda are adopted. Let's now turn back to item 6.5, which was a petition requesting safety study and flashing pedestrian crosswalk lights at Tracy Avenue and Benton. We've heard from folks about that irregular intersection that we all recognize so well, and I'm going to turn it over to member Risser to see what she wants to comment on there. Thank you. I wanted to pull this just to have an opportunity to get more clarity on the timing of this and the whole process once the petition has been submitted. And I did talk to the individual who is really promoting the petition, and we discussed how there were really two parts to this. One is the flashing light request at the crosswalks, and then the other is to um engage in a study. And so I'm wondering about the the timelines for both of those things. Yeah, thank you, member Risser, for the flashing What's the request? Flashing pedestrian crossing? That could go through our traffic safety committee. We've collected a lot of data at that intersection over the last year. We've had a meeting with many people over there. So that one could run two to three months and get through our typical process. The second request is a safety study. That we'd have to take a little bit more time and figure out what does that mean and what's the timing on that. So, I don't have an answer on the timing of that. And when um it's [clears throat] ready for it to come back to us, will it be on the consent agenda? We usually put a put a petition response back on consent. There's some cases where council may have received a lot of feedback, then we would have a discussion at the report section of the agenda. Okay, thank you. You care to move the matter, member Russcher? So moved. Second. All right, we've got a motion by member Russcher, second by member Pierce to accept a petition requesting safety a safety study and flashing pedestrian crosswalk lights at Tracy Avenue and [clears throat] Benton Avenue and you're free for the discussion. All those in favor of accepting that petition say I. I. I. Opposed? Carried. Uh and next uh Council member Jackson, resolution 2026-21 which uh looks odd on its face, approving the Minnesota Soybean Council Cooperative Agreement. And you folks might wonder what the heck is that about. So, Council member Jackson talk about a little bit and I think it's it's something that's unique to our city and we're the first in Minnesota to deal with this issue. Council member Jackson. Yes, thank you, Mr. Mayor. So, this is a unique opportunity. We have a outstanding grant writer in our environmental department and he was able to land this grant with the soybean um association and it's actually from the Pollution Control Agency, the Department of Agriculture, the Minnesota Commerce Department and the US Department of Energy um all together. I can't see the total amount um just looking at this briefly, but it's it's a very large grant. And it's allowing us to turn our heavy-duty fleet vehicles into soy diesel vehicles. So, it's very difficult to um have a heavy-duty vehicle that is an electric motor. So, we're looking for ways to we have to have these big trucks in our um fleet, how can we have them reduce their greenhouse gas footprint and we are doing this trial run with the soybean association to use soy diesel. Um it's unique. I think it's something that if we um are successful in this, it's something that can be scaled up across the state, not only in the public sector, but in the private sector as well. And also, I just have to say, you know, looking at the statewide thing, the market for soybeans is soft, and it would be wonderful if we could have a homegrown fuel source that we can run right here in Minnesota. So, I'm super, super excited about this. I want to um say thank you to the Soybean Council for uh working with us, and I'm looking forward to getting a full report on how successful we are. All right, very good. Yeah, thanks for that. Uh the notion of uh taking a uh well, close to a dozen of our pieces of heavy equipment and converting them over to something that reduces greenhouse gas by 90% is pretty remarkable. And it it's a novel way of dealing with heavy equipment and and uh and not dealing with elec- electric vehicles, which uh would would it would would be difficult in equipment of that size. So, uh Member Jackson, you care to move the uh purchase request or the excuse me, the the resolution approving the Minnesota Soybean Council Cooperative Agreement? >> So moved. Is there a second? Second by Member Pearce. Uh we got a motion and second on resolution 2026-21, which would approve the Minnesota Soybean Council Cooperative Agreement. Any further discussion? All those in favor of adoption of resolution 2026-21, say aye. Aye. Aye. Opposed? Carried. The uh Minnesota Soybean Council Cooperative Agreement is adopted. Uh and then we're back to Member Russert on item 6.10, which is a request for purchase for construction services for the Roslyn Park pedestrian bridge. Uh Council Member Russert. Perhaps we can bundle um 6.10 and 6.12 cuz it's the same dealing with the same issue. I would be okay with that. All right, very good. Um and when we were having our discussion at our last um council meeting, I am concerned about the cost um other aspects of the cladding, um possible vis- visibility issues, and maintenance issues because there is that gap that occurs with the cladding angle and the fencing that goes up. So, I wanted to pull it off of the consent agenda just for the vote. Yeah, and you had voted against it last time when we approved the the the um the form of the design, I guess, and then you went forward with everything you needed to do with MinDot. So, you've got Now, at the purchase request level, we've got the purchase request for construction services for the Rosland Park Pedestrian Bridge and also the purchase request for the Rosland Park Pedestrian Bridge and Trails. Uh those bundled together is there a motion to approve those two items? So moved. Second. >> Member Jackson moves, member Pierce seconds the adoption of items 6.10 and 6.12, which are purchase requests for the construction services for the Rosland Park Pedestrian Bridge and the Rosland Park Pedestrian Bridge and Trails. Uh any further discussion? All those in favor of adoption of item say I. I. I. Opposed? Nay. The motion carries. So, those two items are approved for purchase. And I think that is it for um that portion of the agenda. And now we will go back over to proportion recommendations. And the first item over there is um resolution 2026 -26. And that is Let me find it here. Is the um resolution accepting donations on behalf of the city of Edina. Uh we have to accept all donat- those donations to the city of Edina uh on a four-fifths majority vote of a supermajority vote. Is there anyone who cares to make a motion to approve resolution 2026- that 2026-26? So moved. Second. I get a motion and a second. Motion by member Jackson, second by member Pierce to adopt resolution 2026-26 accepting donations on behalf of the city of Edina. Any further discussion? All those in favor of adoption of resolution 2026-26 say I. I. >> I. Opposed? Carried. The items approved. And those names of those folks to see I'm trying to find that one. Somebody have it up real quick? I can It's a long list. Yeah. Their names will be posted the donors names will be posted on the website. The Rotary Clubs were instrumental as I recall in some significant donations here to police and fire. Yeah, member Pierce has it up here. Edina Rotary Club Foundation gave $4,000 for canine vests and the Circle of Discipline project that they're working on with a um local boxing club. Edina Park and Rec and got a couple of donations for trees. Edina Rotary Foundation almost $4,000 for CPR mannequins and AED trainers. And then there were some donations from Home Depot in St. Louis Park a high some smoke detectors. And then Philip and Carla Johnson a memorial to the Edina Fire Department. So thank you to those donors for those contributions. And let's see. We're moving on then to the next matter which is item 8.2 which is the Fred Richards Park guaranteed maximum price construction approval. Good evening. Good evening. Thank you, Mayor Council members. My my name is Rachel DeVries. I'm the park planning project manager here at the city of Edina, and I've had the wonderful task of implementation of the Fred Richards Park project. Um, today I am in front of you to present our final construction layout, and then ask you to approve a set guaranteed maximum price for construction in order to start our full construction on the project. So, the Fred Richards Park timeline, um, started really in 2014 with the closure of Fred Richards Golf Course. Um, from there, the the city really approached visioning for the space, um, engaging with the community, um, and really setting what this master plan could be. In 2017, we set that master plan, and then we went about trying to find funding for this. Um, so we kind of moved into that that funding process. Um, in 2022, we were able to find that funding source, and we moved now into the refinement Um, really looking at shaping this project, um, and creating construction documents in order to make this a reality. Today's approval will move us into that construction area. An exciting, um, end for this process. So, I really wanted to talk a little bit about the backbone of the project and kind of what was the driving forces, and then talk about how these are will be seen in this layout. So, the project goals for this were, um, created during that master plan process. Um, there's three main ones. The first one is to restore nature's role. So, this is providing critical ecosystem services to an area of the city that is in is under increasing flood in flood pressures. Also has heat island issues as well. So, numerous other ecological pressures on this, um, space. It also will create create habitats including meadows and marshlands restoring historic landscape function to the space. The second goal is to create pathways for play and health. And when we're talking about health, we're not just talking about jumping jacks. We're talking about physical, mental, and also social health. Um providing walking trails and safe connections for spaces, creating a nature play area for all, balancing active and passive recreation. The third goal is to invite the whole community to really create a welcoming space, create year-round access, to create safe and inviting spaces for all users. So, the team balanced these project goals as long as well as our the values of the city. So, stewardship, sustainability, health and all policies, race and equity, and community engagement. Those project drivers helped us to make decisions throughout this whole process. We kind of had some conversations back and forth during this process as we were moving through, you know, schematic design um to design through design development. And we really appreciate that feedback. This is um what our refined concept is now. This is the the design that we would like to take through construction. So, um just to quick do a quick highlight of the areas. We'll also dig into it later, but um over half of the space is a is a wetland preserve and wetland enhancements. So, that's over 20 acres of the 43-acre site. Um that is the west side. In the northern section, we have a wetland creation and the creation of a food forest. Um this is an opportunity to teach to teach the community about access accessible foraging and local food sources. The East neighborhood retains a connection, um a connection to the existing playground that serves that community and also a connection to a pedestrian system. Um that kind of leads into the heart of the park. The heart of the park is our active space um with the addition of a basketball court, pickleball courts, open fields, a sledding hill, restrooms, food and beverage services, a nature play area, and a programming space. Um So I I would like to touch on how some of these goals were materialized in the space, so you know what we're getting for this construction GMP. Um but the but before I do that, I would like to reach out and um thank the community for those of you who have been in contact with me and started conversations. Um I know projects like this come with a lot of impacts, and some of those are being seen right now. Um I've I've listened to a lot of community members that have a lot of passion about the residents, but also the passion about the four-legged residents, the winged residents, and the ecology of the site as well. Um with any project like this, when it's a restoration, sometimes it looks worse before it looks better. Um so you we're looking at building a foundation for success and building a foundation for a restoration. Because of this, we had two pre-construction packages with this project. Today I'm asking you for construction, but I was in front of you twice before asking for other um requests and consent. So the first one was a surcharge package. This package was important in our timeline in order to have settlement of areas and prep prepare the site for hard surfaces. The second one, which was more more recent and definitely had a larger disturbance, um was our um tree removals package. As with any removal of a tree, whether it be one or in this case 224, we we look very seriously at these um aspects. Every tree that was removed was either identified as a hazard, invasive, or had a conflict with the grading on the site or the new proposed layout. Um we evaluated all of these trees, not just on paper, but in the field. They were looked at for their health and condition, looked at to see if they would be able to to um tolerate any of the grade changes. 575 trees are planned to replace these. That's more than a two-for-one ratio. That doesn't make it any easier to stomach, but it does mean that we're planting in succession, and we will have a resilient community. These trees that we're planting will be climate-resilient natives. They will be pieces that um that complement the restoration packages, meaning that they will support the ecosystems and the ecotypes that will be placed there. Ms. Burgess, it sounds like you've been getting some of the same calls that some of us have been getting from distressed nearby residents that are concerned about the tree loss. And um Yeah, again, it's a it's a very difficult >> on their at least their perceived effect on wildlife, and I'm wondering what you know, what what you've been telling them um and if we if we could have been if we could have been more effective communicators in some way because some of the voicemails that I've listened to uh some pretty distressed individuals. Agreed. Agreed. Like I Like I mentioned, this is this is a very difficult piece of the process, um and and every piece that every tree that was identified was for a specific reason. Um the timing of it was also very critical. We were looking very clearly at trying to mitigate our disturbances. So, we had to plan between emergence of reptiles and amphibians and nesting of mammals and rearing of young as well. So, we had a small window. So, it seems like a lot all at once and just crazy chaos, but it was because again we were looking very critically at those habitats and how do we mitigate as much as possible on that? Um, so that's kind of why it was not a phased approach. It had to be all at once in order to mitigate those environmental impacts. And then with respect to trees that will replace those on the more than a two-to-one basis, Correct. um, what will will they be nice and mature trees that we can spade in and and not small ones that'll take 40 years to grow? I mean, will will people in the neighborhood notice right away that they're getting some more mature tree stock? So, majority of them will not be larger trees. They will be smaller trees. Um, the reason for this is because of the um, establishment of this as a restoration and the succession plantings. There will be different sizes. They're not all going to be, you know, little whip saplings. Um, but with the spading of trees typically, you're bringing in unnatural and native soils and you're really doing more disruption and it has less success in that location. So, we're building up, you know, a a succession for um, canopy. Is there a member of staff that has a question ready? Just a comment. I've also heard that when you start with the smaller trees and you don't bring in the really big ones, and you might have just said, but the chance of them actually surviving is much higher. Correct. >> Okay, thank you. >> Correct. I think I again we we retained as much canopy as we possibly could. Um but we did do quite a bit of removal. A lot of the species that were being removed removed are not on our list technically to preserve. That doesn't mean we still don't want to preserve them, but a lot of them um were a lot around wetlands and they were box elders, um mulberry, things that have volunteered since the 2014 closure. Um actually the park tried to rewild itself a little bit, um but it was rewilding itself with aggressive species. So, invasive species, very aggressive natives, um that did not have the structure and the form to be maintainable. A lot of them either had limbs that were falling off during any windstorm, um were in groupings that weren't going to be sustainable either. Um but like any the loss of any tree is a loss. So, I think that that's the hardest piece on this um but I I do want to remind council and remind the community um that the city has an amazing success with with these restoration projects. Um they come with a a little bit of growing pains here at the beginning, but then you really get to watch them grow. Um parks like Arden, Weber, and Braemar are success stories, and Fred Richards Park has is is set up to be a success story as well. Um but it's going to be a little bit of disturbance here before that happens. So, with that I'm just going to jump back in if that's okay. >> Keep going. Yeah, okay. Perfect. Um so again, that goal was to restore nature's role. So, the creation of that um wetland preserve, where really what we're doing is we're getting rid of what shouldn't be here. So, we're removing the golf course fill that was brought in to make this um course, getting back to native soils, enhancing these um what are actually water hazards of a golf course, but are actually part of our storm water system here in the city. Um, enhancing these, removing debris that's within them. Um, and then adding all of these native plantings. Um, we're actually working in partnership with Hennepin County um, and their natural resources group to help us um, reseed this area and establish it. Um, in the northern panhandle, we're also doing things to restore nature's role. Um, this is a section where again, tree loss was difficult because there was a a few stands of cottonwood trees. We had to remove some because of hazards. We kept the ones that were structurally sound um, for future um, plantings. Um, the other uh, area that will be added up there is the food forest. Um, the last one I just want to touch on is active recreation spaces. So, even though it's an active recreation space, we are still bringing in nature. So, we're using sustainable landscaping around these features, whether it be, you know, an an event lawn space or around even the playground itself. Um, we're also adding in some of these natural um, features as well. So, some of the trees that came down, those timbers are actually being reused for climbing structures and benches on the site. So, they'll be staying at Fred Richards. So, I just wanted to um, show this picture to um, cuz when you tell people a wetland preserve or try to describe a space, it's sometimes a little bit difficult. So, I really wanted to show this imagery um, to show that there's a variety here um, and that we're creating these emergent zones and making habitat where there wasn't a habitat before. Um, so again, enhancing what we have, but making it so that it is habitable to other like species. So, instead of just having, you know, turf up to a a into a pond, we have these emergent zones where there's different vegetation and different types. Um so, kind of wanted to show this um image to give you an idea of that. Next goal was um create pathways for play and health. So, I mentioned um earlier, but we're looking at health as not just physical health, but mental health um and social health as well. Um so, we talked a little bit about these passive spaces. Um these are really big for mental health, um but we're also looking at how can you add social to that as well. So, these um gathering spaces within these passive spaces. So, you'll see even within the um wetland bank, there's small gathering spaces and a room for an outdoor classroom. Um and then literal pathways. We have walking paths and mixed-use paths. Um these are these are going uh secondary paths um to the Nine Mile Creek Trail. There are we have limited the crossings and intersections and increased safety on those. Um nature-themed play scape. Um um the pickleball courts, basketball court, a large sledding hill, and an open gathering space kind of here at that heart of the park. Um just wanted to touch a little bit on the playground. Um I I would really would like to thank our um our work group and the advocates in the community who have helped us to look at inclusivity and accessibility in a whole 'nother lens, um not just looking at physical, but looking at cognitive. Um and not just looking at um abilities, but making sure it's good for all ages, but also all interests. So, making sure that, you know, if if a child has a different approach to things, we have something for them, something that they can play in. Um if they would rather play alone versus in a group, there's a space for that. Um I so again, looking at at abilities, ages, and interests and making sure that it's all encompassing. The last one is to invite the whole community. So this one is in order to make the space welcoming. So we wanted to look at inviting the whole community from all of the routes of transportation. Um we were very fortunate to be able to um add the new entry drive off of 77th, which will be a critical piece for the park. Um the parking lot layout reflects the ability to accommodate the people at who may come from within town, but may also come from without it from out of town. Um safe crossings and intersections of the Nine Mile Creek Trail. Um as we even heard earlier today, that that trail is critical for both commuters and then also recreational users. Um so making sure that there's safe crossings and visual um and we limit the visual impacts to that trail system. Also, we want to make sure that we have um the user support that we need. So the addition of new restrooms, the addition of a new food and beverage service, um and then spaces for events and gathering and possible food trucks. So very high level to here's what the I just wanted to show that heart of the park, um which which talked about a lot of those things we just mentioned. Um the number one is our existing building. So this is both a well house and a our old clubhouse facility, um but also how we're integrating that with um the new building, which is three, which will have year-round outdoor restrooms as well as a food and beverage service. All of that kind of around this event space lawn area, um which again allows um different user experiences. So there's areas to congregate either solo or with a small group or even with a larger group. Um, we're going to accommodate all of those things. Um, one piece that I also wanted to bring up is um, the importance of sustainability within this space. So, not only in the selection of the playground materials that we're doing, um, but also in the design of the new building. So, the new building it will be all electric. It is lead certified. The site as a whole is sustainable sites. It will be sustainable sites certified. Um, there will be onsite renewables as you will see from the solar. Um, there also will be EV charging stations. So, really focusing on how we can make that core as sustainable as possible. So, I'm going to I apologize. This is one of our um, our our consultant did this for us, but it goes pretty quickly. So, I'm going to pause it a few times just to make sure that we catch it all. Um, but this is going to be just kind of a run through again of that that heart of the park just showing some of these new um, amenities. So, firstly, this is just the view as you're kind of coming in the existing building. Um, it will be repainted um, and then also made to fit within the site. So, as you're approaching it's Looking around, you can see oh. I have to go a little bit lower to pause. Sorry about that. So. Sorry. I'll give it one more time and then otherwise I'll have to let it let it go. Sorry. So, this is the northern part of existing facility. Um the clubhouse will be used for programming in the future. Sorry about that. All right, I'm going to let her run. Sorry. We can replay it, too. I apologize. So this is going to be an entry point that is more passive um for the playground. We have a more active one there in the north. So this is heading into that location. There's sensory play um including sand and water. Um this is a great area that has some shade, but also has misting stations. Um so an ability to cool and musical elements, as well. As you'll see, you can kind of look down into the playground itself. This is an embankment slide um really using the landscape. This is the new um food and beverage service. You can see there's two windows, one for um placing orders and one for pickup. And then restrooms are on the north side of that building. Um also have a covered overhang for seating. Looking finally out at the um active lawn and towards the um existing building. So with that um today we're requesting that you approve the guaranteed maximum price for Fred Richards Park uh master plan implementation um with HNU construction for $15,286,130. Um this would allow construction to to begin this summer and projected completion in Q3 of 2027. With that, I'm happy to take any questions. >> Yeah, let me let's go to questions from council members. But what is your first comment on the source of funds for paying for this. Just to remind folks uh uh uh where we're where we're getting the money to do this. >> Sure. So, 17.7 was um what the our referendum vote was for, and so that's local option sales tax funding that is going towards this. Um uh we have pursued additional funding through different sources. Um we have received grant funding of um $500,000 for um resilient um climate grant, and that allows us to do um three shade structures within the site. We've also received um partnership and um funding from Hennepin County to help with the natural resources work. Um and then lastly, um the watershed has partnered with us on um numerous aspects as well to help us as with that. So, the 17.7 is the local option sales tax funding. Beyond that, we've been finding other sources for additional pieces. All right, very good. Council Member Russcher has a question or two for you. Actually, more of just a comment. And when I we first moved here, someone said, "You have to go to Fred Richards Park. It's the bouncy park." And it really was because and you know, probably still is in parts. But I I appreciate the layout. I do like the um wetland area. I think that makes so much sense because it truly is um a bouncy water-logged area. I also would like to just just um voice my appreciation for you going for the grants. And I do think it's so important to have those areas where there's shade cuz that can make all the difference um whether someone wants to be outside or not during those summer months. So, um that's all I have. Thank you. Council Member Pierce. Uh thanks, Mr. Mayor. I So, I just a comment. I was excited about this the very first time you showed the concept. Um and so, every presentation think I probably get more excited. And so, uh, thank you for um especially the the focus on being inclusive and having so many different uh, ways that um, um, people can interact with the park. Um, and I do love the the the nature um, that you elements that you were also able to bring in. Uh, so I'm just excited to um, see this come fully to fruition. So, thank you. Thanks, Councilmember Pierce. Councilmember Councilmember Jackson. Yes, thank you. So, thank you for all your hard work. This is a complicate complicated complex project and it is I think we're all getting very excited to have it under construction. Um, so I have a question that I I thought of as you were talking and you may not know the answer, but um, you know, we looked at last time we had heat maps that we saw um, within the environmental um, presentation. How do wetlands help address heat um, islands? So, there's different So, it doesn't necessarily help with the heat island necessarily, but carbon sequestration is huge. So, the difference between actually a wetland can can sequester more carbon than a woodland can. Which sounds crazy, but um, so there is that aspect of it. Um, but again, that addition of all of the the canopy and coverage on the on the perimeter. I We did do a calculation and I I can send it to you, but about what the difference would be with the with the addition of the trees. Um, so I can send that to you. >> Yeah, that'd be wonderful. Thank you. And then my second question is, um, so we we have 17.7 limit on use of the local option sales tax. What's the overall cost of this project? So, we're we're sticking to Now, I'm going to forget and I'm going to put you on the spot, Dustin. It was 18 Yep. Around 20. Okay, so it's it's the local option sales tax plus the grants and the corporate Thank you for for reaching out and doing that cuz I know there was a some cost engineering as we got close to actually construction. Wait a minute, this is this is growing in expense. So it's exciting. So about 20 total for the whole undertaking. Correct. And the the GMP that we're requesting with the funding that we've already found and the local option sales tax, we're at that point. We're we're not over it. We're not, you know, thinking we're going to get a little bit more. This this request is at budget. Terrific. Thank you so much. Yeah, I I would join Council member Jackson saying I'd be really proud of yourself for the work you've done here as a professional and and the whole team, the whole Park and Rec Department has really stepped up here on this 43-acre piece, roughly, I think in in figuring out how to with the high water table and as member Rossiter said, I I yeah, I know some guys uh some of them are deceased now, but they played uh softball down there in the '70s and they talked about running around like it was like I'm running on a mattress, you know, and they're playing softball down there. Uh so you've you've figured out how to return it to what it what it was and what it should be for about half or 2/3 of the use and then we've got places where we can accommodate more active uses. So that combination of passive and active, I think, is really it's a it's a wonderful thing. When you look at some of those those renderings and and and we see what it can be. You know, we we've all experienced that the the the rough impact on Arden Park in the aftermath of that 3 years into it and and seen what a jewel it turned into and we won a national award off of it with the watershed district. So, uh I I expect the same thing here that uh 3 4 years from now or when we're done, uh it'll be really something spectacular. And from the get-go, I think it'll be [clears throat] uh something very very special in our community. Kind of like a naturalized Centennial Lakes West, in a way. Um so, uh is there a motion to approve the purchase request of uh what was it? 15. some million? 15.286130 million? So moved. Second. >> Second. Okay. We got a motion by was it Member Jackson? Yeah, and Member uh Pierce seconded the approval to purchase uh for Fred Richards Park construction with H+U Construction uh maximum price guaranteed not to exceed 15,286,130. Um any further discussion? All those in favor of adoption of the uh action request, the motion as stated, say aye. Aye. >> Aye. Opposed? Carried. Here we go. Appreciate it. Next meeting. Oh, what is Speaking of here we go, what what's next? What what's what's the sequencing? So, with that, we are able to um confirm our contractors. And so, we'll rally our contractors and get a construction schedule. Um we're looking at It'll probably be starting construction later here in probably June or July, um mobilizing. I I I hate to admit that 2026 is going to be a little bit of a muddy situation. Um we're really looking at again that land shaping, um setting that great foundation for success. Um and then there'll be some seeding and planting in the fall, um as well as the spring. In 2027 is when we're really going to start seeing some of those elements take shape. So, again, the the concrete courts, um the the playground will be in 2027. So, we're looking at you know, again end of 2027 for us all to start going down those embankment slides. When when will you put in the or expand the drive and put in the parking lot at least on a preliminary basis so we can you know, you people can move in and out of there with the equipment and other things. So so the there needs to be a bridge that goes through so that will take a little bit of extra work just because of the wetlands that are there. So it probably will not go in initially right away. We'll be using the existing access road for a little bit while we surcharge and prepare that space. Okay. All right, very good. That's that's a enough general information to give us a idea of the sequence. All right, thanks very much. Thanks for again for your good work. Um All right, Councilmember Jackson and Councilmember Pierce have the next matter. We've got to really commend these two Councilmembers for working on something that's very difficult and and very uh important to our our community and and the I'm sure they have a real heightened sense of responsibility on this thing because uh finding a replacement for Manager Neil is not going to be easy and uh and but they're going about it in a very methodical, deliberate, and highly professional way and I just want to commend them both publicly for the work they've done to date and I know what we've got more good work coming from them. Uh and so I'm going to turn it over to Councilmember Jackson who's going to talk about uh authorizing the hiring of a company called DDA to provide consulting services for the city to uh help us with the search for the new city manager. Yes, thank you, Mr. Mayor. Councilmember Jackson, go ahead. So um this has been uh the process has begun and we're trying to loop people in as much as possible as we look to replace our city manager. Um we've got a small committee. It's our Assistant City Manager Ari Lens, our management fellow, Assad Masood, uh member Pierce and I. And we are uh at the first exciting big stage, but I kind of want to set up a little bit where we are. So, we put together an RFP, which we gave to the council to review. We sent it out. We received 11 responses back for search uh agencies. >> [snorts] >> And we narrowed it down to three. We did a zoom meet and greet. And all three of the companies that we looked at would have been just fine to go with. But, I have to say DDA really stood out. Um when we put out our RFP, they listened very carefully to what we had put into that, cuz we put a lot of time and energy in. Their response um that came back was very responsive. One of the the Their fee is in line with the other um consultants that we heard from. So, I'm very comfortable with that. They actually reduced the amount that they're going to be charging to accommodate the work that Dave Unmacht did for us preliminarily. Uh David Unmacht is uh retired executive director of the League of Minnesota Cities. And he helped us do um stakeholder input at to start this process. And so, his work will be folded into the work that DDA does to put together a profile. They will send out a um and a s- will create a package, send it out, find candidates uh actively and passively and a a complicated and wonderful process. They will bring them back. Um member Pierce and I or our whole committee will have a chance to see the resumes of everybody that comes in. Um so, it will be an interactive process. They will select, I believe, 12 candidates, um do a deeper search on them, and then recommend with our input and the input of our committee um uh three or four to be interviewed. And and we'll do that. One thing I want to say about why we selected um DD at least I personally is in addition to you know, looking at resumes and talking to people and everything, they have some um uh profile reports that they do on potential candidates, especially as they get closer in. And I thought that was really wonderful to have both quantitative and qualitative work. Um and I I'm really looking forward to seeing this process. The other thing that they're offering are post-hiring onboarding support um and uh that including a mentor from DDA. And I'm really looking forward to having that help cuz this is going to be a big transition not only for our community but also for our new city manager. So um I can uh stand for questions if anybody has any questions about where we're at and what we're doing. Yeah, well, your colleague thinks you're doing just fine. >> [laughter] >> Well, thank you. He's going to let you stand for questions, too. He may He may have a few. I don't know. >> [laughter] >> Oh, he's a member Pierce is a great partner in this process. Uh puts a lot of professionalism >> we've been talking about this in some of our meetings and uh been really um grateful for the work that these two have done, our colleagues. Uh any any questions? Council member Ruscher. No questions. Just I really did appreciate at the retreat um Council member Pierce uh saying, "If you have questions that you want to have asked, you know, please let me know." And so I I do appreciate that the process is one that is as open as it possibly can, I think. So and thank you both for working on this. Yeah, good. Council member Agnew, any A note of gratitude, I'm sure, at a minimum. Go ahead. Yes, of course. I can provide some gratitude. No, I mean I I think that this is it's a process that um even those of us who weren't necessarily on this committee, we've been um member Risser and I and and mayor uh um have been having part of these conversations, and so I appreciate the opportunity to give feedback and and to still contribute. Um this is a really important decision that we're going to be making as a council for our community. Um and I think we all have an appreciation for that importance. Um so just want to thank you both for kind of taking the lead and and doing this in a way that feels um focused and transparent and and kind of engaging us all. So thank you for that. >> Yeah, thanks for that. Yeah, Councilmember Jackson, we've got somebody with us who's sitting here. >> So I'd like to invite >> yes. Yeah, hold your How long is this >> Okay, now we've got a question for you. I I did want to add I don't remember if you mentioned this or not, Member Jackson, but in the process, we are also having conversations about community involvement, and um we will go through a process to select uh community members to also be a part of the the vetting process as well. So >> yeah. So staff, staff leadership, community members, and and council um will be part So I'd like to invite Ms. Don- Donabauer up here. This is Liza Donabauer from DDA, and we're looking forward to working with you. Wonderful. Thank you for having me here tonight. I'm happy to be here and and create some of that familiarity just being here in front of your face. But yes, I am Liza Donabauer with DDA Human Resources. I'm happy to be here and proud to work alongside with you in finding your next city manager. Just want to say just briefly that city manager Scott Neal, the impact of his leadership has been felt across the state. He's one of our biggest cheerleaders in growing the profession of city leadership, and he's been a tremendous support to those that are entering into this career as well as provide support to those that that need it along the way that have been doing it for a while. So I take this um this very seriously. So, I had the honor to of getting to listen in on the retreat last week that you had, so I got to listen to Dave Unmack. I've had an opportunity to work with him in another community. So, he's already exchanged his notes with me. I look forward to meeting with him later on this week just to get some more insight. I'll be looking forward to meeting with the council committee on Friday as well so we can kind of create some of those additional details just to make sure that we all understand how we want to work through the process together. So, I'm happy to answer any questions, but yeah, I just want to make sure I touch on all my notes, so. >> [laughter] >> Yeah, Ms. Donabauer, thanks for being over here this evening. We appreciate your physical presence here. It's nice to see. Wouldn't have been necessary, but it's always reinforcing when you're about to award a contract to somebody. That's wonderful. I look forward to being in conversation later on this week. Thank you. All right. Um so, the recommended motion is to authorize the city council committee, which is composed of council member Jackson and Pierce and staff to enter into an agreement with DDA to provide consult consulting services for the city on the city manager recruitment and search in an amount not to exceed $25,000. Is there a motion to that effect? So moved. Member Jackson moves. I second. Member Egner seconds the adoption of the motion as stated to hire DDA to help with consulting services in our city manager search for sum not to exceed $25,000. Any further discussion? All those in favor of adoption of the motion say I. I. >> I. Opposed? Carried. That motion's approved. Thank you, Ms. Donabauer, again for being here and we're eager to have you get to work. So, thank you. We've got two more matters on the agenda this evening and uh, our Ward E and our staff member Andrew Scepani uh, is now a presenter. He's putting on his presenter hat and uh, he's got Tim Burkhart, uh, director of transportation planning at Alliant with him, I believe, and he'll be introduced. I think Mr. Scepani, go ahead. That's correct. Thank you, Mayor and members of Council. Uh, it's my pleasure today to uh, present uh, our safe and equitable mobility action plan for your consideration tonight. Uh, I'm joined by Tim Burkhart of Alliant Engineering who has been uh, with us on this long process to develop this plan. Um, so tonight we'll talk about a little bit of background, um, how this plan was developed. Um, Tim will help in explaining some of the crash and technical analysis that was performed as part of this work. We'll discuss community engagement process, um, the priority network that was developed in this plan, the recommendations, uh, our plan for implementation of the recommendations, and then how we measure progress going forward. Uh, so for context, um, Edina thankfully has a relatively low rate of uh, fatal crashes. However, we do we don't have uh, zero. Um, from a period of 2015 to 2024, there were four fatal crashes and 53 serious injury crashes that occurred in Edina. This includes all roads, local, county, and state highways. Um, picture here shows uh, an image from KARE 11's recent coverage of an accident that occurred just last week on Highway 169 in our community where a Shakopee teacher was killed, unfortunately, in a crash. Um, traffic safety, as as we all know, is regularly cited as a community concern and has a significant impact on the quality of life of our residents, uh, our workers, and people who come to to our community. Um, in 2024, the city applied for a grant through the federal Safe Streets and Roads for All program to develop a safety action plan, and that is what we have before you tonight. We call it our Safe and Equitable Mobility Action Plan. The process of developing this plan began about February 2025 uh until now, so about a 16-month period. Um, this development was led by a was uh run by a consultant team led by Alliance Engineering along with Tool Design Group and Humanize Minnesota. The work was guided by a project management team, which included staff from engineering, public works, sustainability, engagement, as well as representatives from our Transportation Commission. Additionally, we also had a task force that provided more broader input on the project. Uh, members of the task force included uh the members mentioned previously in the project management team, but also included police and fire, community health, Edina Public Schools, Hennepin County, MnDOT, Metro Transit, and a representative from the Federal Highway Administration. Uh, one of the first steps in this plan was a uh leadership commitment and goal setting. This is one of the requirements through the uh SS4A grant. Uh, if you recall, Council adopted resolution 2025-83 uh in July of last year uh in which the city committed to a goal of zero traffic deaths and serious injuries on all roadways by 2050, and also set an interim goal of a 50% reduction toward 2035. So, ultimately, this is the goal that the this document uh strives to achieve. With that, I'll turn it over to Tim to talk about the uh technical analysis. Thanks, Andrew. And uh Mr. Mayor and Council members, again, Tim Burkhart with Alliance Engineering. So, um I'll present just a few slides here with some key items from the safety plan and sort of help build up to how we get to the result and the end point. So, key foundation is crash analysis as shown in this slide. Um some bullets here on the left just indicate that pedestrians and cyclists face greater risk of death and serious injury than motorists. Um and in a diner single vehicle run off the road and pedestrian crashes are the deadliest or that's that's in general. Um in a diner rear end and right angle crashes are the most common. Majority of crashes are non-intersection related which I can explain. Um and then fatal and serious injury crashes are concentrated in late summer, weekends, and daytime hours. So, those are just some statistics. There's a lot more in the um analysis and just to point you to >> on just a moment. Commissioner Jackson's got a question for you. Yes, so uh I was actually thinking about this before I read the presentation, but pedestrians and cyclists face greater risk of death or serious injury than motorists. Tell me what that's a factor by. I I remember hearing a statistic that it's like 50 times more likely to be seriously injured. Can you give us some numbers on on comparing the the risk to pedestrians and bicyclists to those of motorists? Um I don't have a statistic in mind. I I have it memorized from the plan. So, there there are a variety different of different statistics based on which agency conducted the study. Um for uh the crash analysis that we conducted in the C map, what we found was that um cyclists risk of serious injury or fatality is about four times greater than a motorist and for a pedestrian it jumps up to 18%. or 18 times more likely. Okay, thank you. Yeah, good question. Um so, to point you then to the map here in this slide, this is what we called our call our high injury network. And that represents all the um historic crashes over the last 5 years that have occurred on all roads in the city. Um and so this shows um the state highways, county roads, and city streets. And the colors in the map indicate the um um level of of injury that we use from very high, high, medium, and low. And so what that represents is those individual crashes occur um weighted by severity and combined so you can sort of you know, if you will, blur your eyes to see where those segments of roadway that have um the greatest crash history. So you can see if you sort of go to the darkest colors, um certainly you see the state roads, um which obviously are not under the city's control. You see um county roads such as France and Xerxes there in the southeast quadrant. As well as various city streets um around the city. So that was the crash, sort of looking backwards what's happened. Another piece is what we call the risk assessment. So looking at the possibility that crash occurs based on other factors, not looking at whether one has occurred but whether a crash might occur. So that's the risk assessment. Um this table on the left just indicates some of the factors that that go into that risk assessment. Um there's a lot of detail here in the quantitative information. I won't read all the numbers. But what we see is the top six factors in this table that indicate risk of crash. Um a county roadway such as France, Xerxes, etc. High zero vehicle vehicle households, commercial land uses, transit routes, high poverty, and high senior population. So those are risk factors. And the numbers there indicate um those uh FSI and MPI are crash types. So, um to sort of get get to thing conclusion to develop the uh image you see here on the screen, that's our high risk network. The other map was the high injury network. So, again, this represents those risk factors using a similar type of methodology ranking the roadways by Mr. Redel, I have a question for you. Remember Risher has a question for you. Please, go ahead. I went through your document, which was very large and I didn't go through it as slowly as I wish I could have cuz it's so many pages, but I really appreciate it. One thing that um raised a concern for me is when I look at Vernon and I also look at Valley View, uh those two roads, um I believe Vernon is an arterial, Valley View is a collector in the area where we see risk, um runs by in each case, there is a small triangular-shaped lot that used to be initially was a gas station. And um I have done a little digging, little um AI research and I've noticed that cities in Minnesota it says generally prohibit or strictly limit new residential driveways or commercial driveways onto arterials or collectors if there is another access from a lesser-used road. And in both of these situations, there is um in one case, we approved a development that's about um four times what you would or well, about two and a half times what you would allow. We do not have any cap on how far beyond the legal buildable area a structure can go. There's no limit any data. And at one point for the one that is on Vernon and there's a project that is coming forward, but there was a memory care and actually I have slides for the next thing that we're talking about, but it was just huge compared to the legal buildable area. And as I do more digging, I'm seeing, you know, that if a lot is, you know, just lying, nothing's happening, it's out of business or whatever, um and it's one where you have that access and a year passes, it seems to be the case that some cities will take action and cut off that driveway access route. And I'm wondering is Edina kind of an outlier in that we're not removing these points, but actually going in a direction where we're encouraging or allowing development that goes beyond what, you know, the legal buildable area is. Sorry, that was kind of long and rambling. Member Wester, I think that's I'll try to answer that. Not really related to what we're presenting this evening, but we're happy to talk about driveways and stuff like that. I don't Tim's for sure not prepared to answer that question at this point, but it's little unrelated, I think, to this high-level the we got to remember this is a high-level study right now, not down to driveways. Okay, it's a high-level study, but I think one of the risks is that we're allowing these driveways to continue to exist. But does that's beyond the scope of your study? Certainly, access, you know, the the number and spacing of accesses along a roadway has a factor into its risk and its crash history. And I think we'll get to this later when we're talking about implementation, but one of the ways that we that I see us using this tool is in reviewing private development uh applications and to look at what is the crash history, what is the risk on the roadways adjacent to a proposed project. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Um and thank you so far for the presentation. This has been really informative. Um a lot of these risk factors to me make sense. Like county roadways, commercial land use, um I can understand the connection. The one that stands out for me where I'm not fully understanding the the connection is the second one, high zero vehicle households. Can you explain why that is such a a large risk factor? Um yeah, I would say these are these are um just see two things in the table here. See the risk factors and you see those crashes per mile. Those are associations. So, that's what the risk factors are. They're not necessarily entirely causal. So, the short answer for zero vehicle household is really about exposure to traffic. Zero vehicle households, people in those households more likely to be walking and biking. So, there's just it's it's sort of the if you think of it from a public health perspective, it's that exposure to those risks. With Eagan to add to that, I'll say with Eagan, it's it's contextual too because a significant number of our um zero vehicle households are on that in that eastern side of town. Uh they're they're more likely to be adjacent to collector streets or county roads, which by their nature carry more volume and then also have more crashes. Thank you very much. I That was an interesting tidbit. Good question. Okay. Um So, in addition to the technical analysis, we also um uh engaged the community on uh what are the uh safety issues that they have in the community um and how can we how can we potentially address those in this plan? So, over the summer of 2025, we held five pop-up events at community events. We tried to space those out so we hit all four quadrants of the city. In those, we had about 133 conversations with public participants. We also had a survey available online through our Better Together Edina page, and we received over 200 submissions. We had an interactive map on that website where residents could place pins and comments on areas where they feel unsafe walking, biking, or just have any kind of general traffic concern. We had 55 pins that were placed on that map. In addition, the task force that I mentioned met five or four times over the course of this development to provide additional input into the plan. These are just bullet points listed on the slide here of what we heard, the common themes through that community engagement process. What we heard is that speeding and unsafe driver behavior are the most widespread safety concern. Pedestrians and bicyclists feel unsafe particularly at crossings and on key corridors. E-bike safety was a prominent and distinctive concern. Residents want infrastructure changes and stronger enforcement, and safety concerns are particularly concentrated in Eastern Edina. Okay, I've got two more slides here. This one, as you can see, titled social vulnerability. One of the additional pieces of work we did was a vulnerability analysis resulting in the map you see on the right, which is titled social vulnerability score or composite score. So, this was really to understand, again, from a survey risk perspective from traffic safety, where vulnerable populations are in the city. And we used a methodology that includes the social vulnerability factors listed down the screen, which I'll just read off. So, race and ethnicity, age, disability status, employment status, income, and vehicle access. Again, these are associations, but together we combine those into an index develops scores at the census block group level. So, again, if you see on the map by the color coding, the numbers associated with those colors, the darkest blue is the lowest score, a zero to two on our index. Moving through the light blue, yellow, orange, and then red is the highest score. So, again, just a way to think about the population in terms of vulnerability to um crash risk and or to traffic crashes. And so, that was used as part of our prioritization process essentially to get to the end result, which I will share on this last slide. So, just to review, we looked at crash history, looked at the risk assessment, and community input as Andrew described. So, this map, which looks similar, but is different to the others, this is the roadway safety priority network. So, the roads identified here, and you can see again the colors, the darkest color is very high priority, the red color is high priority, and that orange color is medium priority. A quick note, if you're paying attention, this map does not rank the state routes 62, 100, 169. We do have information on those, they're just not on this map, so this focuses on city and county facilities. So, the purpose of the priority network, there's a lot of information in the plan as you pointed out, a lot of facilities in the city, try to bring some some focus to where are the areas, the street segments that that can be looked at sort of in a priority order. Thank you, Tim. So, the recommendations in this plan are grouped into four categories. Infrastructure, which in the plan we have a safety countermeasure toolbox. This is basically a list of strategies like curb extensions, roundabouts, no right turn on red, those kinds of things and um a kind of a matrix showing what types of crashes and what types of locations each of those countermeasures is specifically appropriate for. Um there are also policy and process recommendations. So, through the through the course of this plan, um we looked at existing city policies and plans and made developed recommendations for potential changes to those to help support this goal of getting to zero fatal and serious injury crashes. There are also recommendations related to outreach and education, specifically on traffic safety in general, but also education on the plan itself and how the city plans to implement it. And then there are supplemental planning and engineering activities recommended. These are actions that require further study beyond the scope of this safety action plan or they need additional funding for us to complete. And this table here just shows an example of one of those recommendations. This is table eight, which were the policy and process recommendations. So, you can see within each section they're also broken down into some subsections. So, here there's general policy and process, those related to motor vehicles, those related to active transportation, and then each specific recommendation has a time frame given, whether that's short-term, mid-term, or long-term. So, staff will use these in developing future work plan items. The main avenue that we propose to implement the recommendations of this plan is through our proactive pavement management program. So, one of the things that we have been able to do is take that safety priority network and overlay it with our current capital improvement plan to identify areas that are within existing reconstruction or overlay projects and look for ways within those already scheduled projects to expand the scope to include some of those safety countermeasures. We also plan to incorporate these recommendations into our stand-alone Pax fund projects. We plan to continue coordinating and advocating with Hennepin County and MnDOT for safety improvements on roadways under their jurisdictions. And as I mentioned before, we also plan to incorporate this into private development review. The SS4A program ends in 2026. That's the last year that funding is available. The uh uh application for grants is open right now through the end of the month. May 26th is the deadline. So, we are in the process of preparing to submit some grant applications based on the recommendations in this plan. Uh one of the last and but certainly most important aspects of this of this plan is how do we measure progress? How do we ensure that we are making good progress toward that goal of zero fatal and serious injury crashes by 2050? So, on table 11 of the plan shows the reporting metrics that we are planning to review on an annual basis. Um these include crash reduction, looking at at the at the crash data annually. Um infrastructure projects and investments, looking at the total number of safety improvements that the city invests in, the dollar value of those investments, and the total number of traffic safety requests that we receive on an annual basis. And then in the policy and program changes section, um will look at the list of policies and programs and and processes um that we've changed or modified um and then also list of educational events and campaigns that contribute to improving traffic safety. So, with that, I would ask council to I would recommend adopting the Safe and Equitable Mobility Action Plan uh and I will stand for Tim and I will stand for any questions you may have. Yes, thanks for that. Um just first of all, just a comment um we congratulated Mr. Freeze and the entire park department, park and rec department here a few minutes ago and this is really quite a fine piece of work. You should really be proud of yourself, too, for this work that you've done and uh we know you've had some good consulting help uh with the Alliance >> Great consulting help. >> and uh and and we appreciate Mr. Burkhart being involved in it. Uh but uh this is something you should be feeling really good about. I'm going to turn to my colleagues now and see see if anybody has any questions. Council member Wesser. And I do want to echo what the mayor just said and I am planning to It was over 200 pa- It was a big document. So, I I need to >> a copy if you want. >> I That's okay. I'll read it online, but I I do plan to return to it. So, um the maps were particularly helpful and I think this will it has the potential to if we pay attention to it as we're going through developments, really have an impact. So, thank you. Council member Jackson. Yes, thank you, Mr. Mayor. Thank you also for me for the hard work. I will take your paper copy when all is said and done tonight. Um when we adopted the climate action plan, it was a similar It wasn't as long as this, but it was very complicated. And as we move forward, um it was to read it, process it, and then vote on it. Um to take all this information. And so, my question is, as we're using this, I know it's a good road map for staff in planning, and we love the concept, but as we get down into the details, um and it conflicts with other um documents, how how does that work? How do we use this document? Um you know, oh, well, here on page 217 is something that conflicts with you, but you approved this unanimously, so this is the controlling document. Well, I didn't read page 217 before I took my vote, honestly. Um how can we use a document like this? Thank you for the question, Member Jackson. Um so, one of the uh kind of groups of recommendations in the C Map is policy and process changes. And some of those include making changes to the Living Streets Plan or to the Ped and Bike Master Plan to account for those inconsistencies. So, um that is one area where staff will kind of look at first to uh to review and propose potential changes to those documents um so that they're not in conflict with each other. And you'll bring that to us, and this does not tie us to a certain answer to that. It's like, here are some conflicts, this is what we recommend based on what we learned in this process, but it's not going to be held against us. You voted on this already, so it's already decided. Um because the given the complexity of this, I don't want to box in future city councils who never got to read this certain page that is now at controversy. Does that make sense? Yes. Yes, it does make sense. So, it sounds like this is a guide. It's not a controlling document. It's like, we want to we want to tackle this issue. This is what the the study recommends. And this is where we're this is how we bring it all together, is the type of question that future councils will be looking at, correct? >> Correct. This plan is a guide toward that goal, as I mentioned before. Um one of the uh the grant that we received has some requirements in it. One of those requirements is that that task force group continues to meet to oversee implementation, and that the city continue to report on its progress toward implementation. So, both of those activities we will continue to do. Okay, so we've adopted the Toward Zero Death goal. Whatever is comes before us that best implements that will be uh a choice for future city councils to make. Correct. >> Wonderful. Okay, thank you so much. Let's go to Member Pierce. Thanks, Mr. Mayor. Uh to just a quick um acknowledgement, I appreciate the work, data, data, and more data. Um and so I I definitely um found the information valuable. Um and hopefully it will be more um informing, cuz it's kind of the timing, I think, is excellent, given that we're going into the comprehensive planning. Um and so having this this level of specificity, I think, will will just help make that a richer document uh with respect to um um traffic and pedestrian pathways. So, thank you. Absolutely agree. Thank you. Thank you so much. I I absolutely love this, and I um I think a lot of the guiding documents that we have as a community really help inform the council as we consider things that are brought forward. And and I really appreciate knowing that as we're making decisions, that it's backed by what Member Pierce was just saying, right? A lot of data that goes into um preparing so that we don't have to do this every single time we're making a decision, right? We have these master plans, we have these action plans, and I think that that's really important. Um as I was reading through this, I was understanding more of like that tangible recommendations that were being made right now to be like policy oriented. But then as I was looking at some of the specific maps, and this was even one that was showing up there, um which like maybe everyone did this where I kind of like, "Oh, where do I live? Like what what's in my area?" And I saw what looked like a a darker circle on what I think was probably like Wooddale and 60th or maybe 58th. I didn't couldn't really see for sure. Um and so will there be a plan to then like take some of those hot spots that were identified in the map and then translate that directly into "This is a recommended improvement for this intersection." And if that level of granularity was in here and I missed it, please just direct me to it. It It's It's in there in pieces. I I understand the question. Um so >> [clears throat] >> the the first step from my perspective is to take this safety priority network and overlay it with our CIP. Again, to identify where are the locations that are uh have very high priority or high priority where we already have a project planned in the future. Um an example, one area uh I think of offhand is this is I believe Chowen or Beard Avenue in the in 57th Street in the Chowen Park neighborhood. That area is coming up for reconstruction in the next couple years. And there are several other segments in that neighborhood you can see that are a little bit lighter in color. Um but in part of scoping out that project, we will look more specifically at those segments and at those crash histories to see what other safety components, you know, we we plan to continue the Living Streets recommendations. We We to continue um ped bike infrastructure improvements that are recommended in the pen bike master plan, but this gives us another another opportunity to look at the project through a different lens, specifically through the lens of safety. That being said, not all of the high priority areas here are going to be in our CAP right now. Or some of them may be in areas where we already have made significant investment. One example would be the the dark areas around Vernon and Interlaken where work is still going on right now. What what I want to do is develop some kind of framework so that we are trying to address at least one or more of these areas or at least we have one kind of traffic safety project every year. And we've built some funding from PAX into the CAP to help account for that. So there may be years where there's no overlap with the roadway reconstruction projects, in which case we will look at what are those those darkest areas, those high priority areas for essentially a stand alone safety project. Okay, and that's super helpful. So kind of what I just heard is we already have a ton of projects that we're doing across the community, some of which are kind of guided by our street reconstruction program. Some are guided by when we get petitions or we get concerns from residents through our other kind of like traffic safety process. And so this is just yet again another layer that will inform that as we're making some of these decisions, but there won't necessarily be a project to to dig into each of these hotspots in a priority or like we're not adding more work necessarily. We're informing and helping to prioritize work that we would already be doing. Is that accurate? In some cases I would say it's not necessarily more work, but it's re-prioritizing where we make the work. So right now, the the stand-alone Pax Fund projects, for example, those are primarily guided by our street reconstruction program first, because that's where we can put in new sidewalks and bike facilities the most cost-effective, and then they're guided by where are the gaps in our network, the really significant gaps that we want to try to close. This is another another component to look at where can we make ped and bike improvements that address these known safety concerns. Um so, that will essentially become a factor in uh scheduling those projects that are funded either through the Pax Fund or through our reconstruction program. Thank you. This is really great. Thank you both. Thank you. If I could just add quickly, um I think it's clear to you cuz you know your street system well, what this map is showing the county and the city roadways in terms of the priority. So, the to-do's are not just for the city, and just to emphasize what Andrew already said, this plan has been a good tool for just enhancing that coordination between the city and the county, and and I think advocacy was a word in one of your slides, that's another tool for the city to use to have that coordination. Obviously, every county street intersects with the city street, I think that's true, so they're not unrelated, but they're obviously two different sets of streets and projects. Well, you've just reminded all of us of a what we think is a pretty good idea on a county road in terms of slowing people down and looking at France Avenue, and we want to you know, I see that was that project was in there. Um thank you for you know, working on this and taking a look at it. I think we all do, because we at least think this is one possibility here. I I you know, that whole uh Vision Zero, I think it was started under Secretary when Pete Buttigieg was Secretary of Transportation under Biden. And um so, to to continue this work is really important, I think, because I I think his observation was, "Well, wait a minute. We've We've for for decades we've taken for granted that we're going to kill 40 years at 40,000 people a year going to get killed in in automobile or motor vehicle accidents or or interaction with pedestrians, whatever it might be. And so, the idea that we have taken this to heart as a community and have said, "Yeah, we think that's a really laudable goal and by 2050 we'd like to be there." Uh I I think it's really significant and and this pathway that you've given us with all the detail in that pathway is is a is a guide that I think whether it's our council or subsequent councils will be eager to follow to to reach that goal because it's a very laudable and important goal to be reaching toward. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. >> Uh so, uh the request is from staff that we um uh pass a motion that would uh adopt the safe and equitable mobility action plan as presented. Uh is there a motion to that effect? So moved. Second. Member Pierce moves, member Agnew seconds. The motion to adopt the safe and equitable mobility action plan as presented. Um any further discussion? All those in favor of adoption of the safe and equitable mobility action plan say I. I. Opposed? Motion carries. The plan's adopted. Thank you. Thank Mr. Burkhardt for your good help here for our staff, Mr. Scipioni. We might want to give you another award tonight if we had one. I don't know. He He deserves it. Just doing my job. >> [snorts] >> All right. Uh we've got one other item on the agenda this evening and it's something that um resurfaced as an issue. Uh, we had uh, majority of our council members want to take a look at this idea of um, allowing electric assisted bicycles on sidewalks under some some circumstances. Uh, you know, speed, helmets, uh, things like that. Uh, we'll talk about that in more detail in just a moment here. Uh, and I think you've been looking at a proposed modification of that ordinance. Um, and so we'll let you make your presentation. Uh, I think uh, and then we can have a conversation about what we What do we want to stay the course and and keep e-bikes out on the street or we What do we want to allow them under the on the sidewalk on certain under certain conditions? Turning back to you again, Mr. Scipioni. It's the all Scipioni night tonight. Thank you, Mayor. Apologies, just pulling up my my notes here. Yeah, take your time. >> All right. Thank you. Um, so yes, I am uh, I'm back here again to to present ordinance uh, 202607, uh, which uh, would amend chapter 26 of the Edina City Code concerning electric assist bicycles. Uh, as you may recall, last year you adopted ordinance 202504, uh, which made the following changes to city code. It defined electric assisted bicycles or e-bikes consistent with state statute. It required users in Edina under the age of 18 to wear helmet or protective headgear. And it also restricted e-bikes from operating on sidewalks. The sidewalk restriction was not originally in the proposed ordinance uh, that staff presented, um, but was later requested by council in response to um, community concerns expressed about pedestrian safety. Uh, after adoption of this ordinance, the city began a community education campaign which included um, public service announcements. The image here uh, shown is a a a of one of those public service announcements. Um we also um had social media posts, flyers, and sidewalk stickers. The other two images shown here are examples of those sidewalk stickers, which conveyed messages including yield to pedestrians and no e-bikes on sidewalks. The Transportation Commission, as part of their work plan initiative, uh presented a final or prepared a final report in November of 2025 related to this ordinance. Um In their report, they provided recommendations including uh recommending uh repealing the sidewalk ban uh the from the e-bike ban on sidewalks, promoting safety provisions that are already codified in section 26.283, directing staff to communicate safety requirements and expectations, and considering a 1-year pilot program with allowing e-bikes on sidewalks and following up with safety and compliance evaluation. The Energy and Environment Commission subsequently approved an advisory communication in support of the ETC's recommendations, and in March of this year uh Council directed staff to uh prepare the ordinance that's in front of you right uh front of you tonight. Here's a brief uh review of the current regulations related to not only e-bikes but also regular bikes um within Edina. They're governed by various sections of state statute and city code. State statute allows e-bikes most places where regular bikes can go. Um business districts are the exception where they're restricted by default unless the local agency allows them to be used. And the state also establishes the minimum e-bike user age at 15. City code currently allows e-bikes also in most places uh where bikes can go except for the sidewalks. Um again, as I mentioned before, our code requires users under the age of 18, e-bike users specifically under 18, to wear a helmet or protective headgear. And then uh our code allows regular bicycles to operate on sidewalks under the following provisions. They cannot ride They have to ride at a reasonable speed and at no time greater than 10 mph. They must slow to a walking pace when pedestrians are present. Slow to a walking pace when approaching or crossing a driveway or intersection. Not ride on sidewalks where a building or entrance abuts the sidewalk, and not ride on other sidewalks where it is posted. As mentioned before, we're aware uh that many in the community have expressed concerns about e-bike usage in Edina. Um this chart here shows the number of complaints Edina Police Department has received um from January 2025 to April of 2026. Um in all of 2025, the Police Department received 94 complaints. Um you can see the first complaint registered was in March of 2025. Uh it jumps up to eight in April, 15 in May, uh to a peak of 19 complaints in June, um followed by a decrease to the 12 to eight range, um down to two in November, none in December, January, February. And then, uh to date this year in 2026, they've only received four complaints. Um some additional data. We reached out to Three Rivers Park District to see what kind of complaints they are receiving uh on their on the Nine Mile Creek Regional Trail that runs through the city. They told us that in 2025, they received 100 service calls related to e-bikes. Um we didn't get any additional information on what the specific nature of the complaints were. Um but from for some additional context, the Nine Mile Creek Regional Trail, it's through its entire alignment through Hopkins, Edina, and Richfield sees uh 950,000 visits per year. We also understand that there's concern among some community members about the safety of pedestrians if e-bikes are continued or should be allowed on the sidewalks. So, we looked at crash uh reported crashes between 2025 and 2024. Uh over that period, 2,482 crashes were reported on local or county roads within Edina, according to data collected by the Department of Public Safety. What this chart or what this table does is break down those crashes based on the uh vehicles that were involved. So, you can see 95% of those crashes involved two or more motor vehicles and only motor vehicles. But, 5% of those crashes involved a motor vehicle and either a pedestrian or a cyclist. And in that time frame, there were no crashes reported to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety that involved only a pedestrian and only a cyclist. Now, we recognize that crashes of this nature and incidents of this nature do occur and are just not reported. However, we feel [clears throat] that basing traffic control decisions and traffic safety decisions uh off of anecdotal evidence ignores the potential bias that uh those stories introduce and it fails to recognize the broader picture that is provided by the data. Looking at how the ordinance before you relates to existing city plans and values, um this ordinance supports goals in the transportation chapter of the comprehensive plan related to improving mobility, maximizing safety, and reducing dependence on single occupancy vehicles. It supports goals within the pedestrian and bicycle master plan to increase the number of people who walk or bike for transportation, health, fitness, and recreation. It supports principles of the Living Streets Plan to meet the needs of the most vulnerable users and provide access and mobility for all modes of transportation. And it supports goals in the climate action plan by encouraging the use of alternative transportation modes. In summary, I recommend that you adopt ordinance 2026-07 repealing the ban on electric-assisted bicycles from sidewalks. Um as mentioned before, the city code already addresses cyclist behavior and the ordinance before you, um those restrictions would also apply to uh e-cyclists on our sidewalks. The available data indicates that there's minimal impact to pedestrian safety should e-bikes be allowed uh in the same space as pedestrians. And ordinance 2025-04 disproportionately impacts the responsible e-bike users who desire separation from from motor vehicle traffic. Um so I ask tonight that you uh approve the adopt ordinance and approve summary publication of the ordinance. Um if the ordinance is adopted, then staff will continue efforts to educate the public um about cyclist safety and the existing regulations. And with that, I'll stand for any questions you may have. Thank you. Councilmember Regnew. Thank you. Uh thank you for the presentation tonight. Um seen a lot of you. It's been great. Um okay, so I want to just dig into some of these complaints a little bit more. So if we go back up to slide five-ish, yeah, this one. Um so help me understand then if these were complaints, it sounds like they were maybe then concerns about the safety of the cyclist and not necessarily reporting an injury or a crash. Is that how I should be interpreting this data? That is my understanding. Uh I'd ask uh Jake Lieutenant Jake if he's able to provide any additional context, but the these complaints, the data that I received kind of range from a call that wasn't necessarily followed up on or by the time police arrived sometimes a user is already gone so there's no enforcement that can be done. Uh I believe in three of the cases in 2025 resulted in citations um to the writer um but I'll ask if police would like to provide any additional context. >> Well, I'll just add a little bit for and I know when we working with with Vinnie from the police department it was really that education. So, citations wasn't a goal for the year. It was really let's educate, let's try to catch I call them the middle school motorcycles, you know, catch those groups of kids that are misbehaving, have bad behaviors, educate them, but also educate the parents. So, police really did that last year on that education piece and try to change those behaviors and just educate people on what was allowed that 15-year-old age limit. Most parents didn't know that so I think that was really the focus for last year and and many of these incidents. Yeah, as for the the nature of the complaints we'd have to go into the actual complaint itself and look what the notes are within the Also, we may have access to more of that data, but I won't be able to have that until we went in looked at the actual narratives of each one. Okay, thank you. And the reason that I'm asking is because I you know, we got a lot of emails about the concerns of injury, especially injury to pedestrians. Um and so I'm just trying to understand what evidence we have and I I understand completely too like we only are going to capture it as a data point if it's reported. Um and but what I'm understanding from this data is that it doesn't look like we have received many reports of or even if we go down then to the next slide, we didn't haven't received any reports of crashes specifically between pedestrians and bicyclists. Is that accurate? Correct. Okay, thank you. Um and so I'm sure others have questions, but I I did want to dig into um I think what Director Milliner you were just saying too about the education that we did with youth previously. Um I know that's why we were really pushing from a timeline perspective to just get something in at this point in time last year because we were just seeing a lot of carelessness, right? Um and I I think it was evident in a lot of parents not knowing what the regulations [clears throat] were and the age requirements and all of that. And so I I'm really proud that we were able to introduce some of those and then use the opportunity to educate. But we're already seeing it again this year. And so I'm curious regardless of what we do um with this ordinance directly, what are those continued opportunities for education or I mean I think back to when I was 14 and I had to get my like snowmobile license. Like is there any opportunity for something like that? Like just what else can we do targeting the concern around youth, which I think is sometimes different than um the other like very safe and courteous riders that we hear from who are driving their kids around the community. Like those are different user groups. Certainly. Um certainly the the anecdotal evidence does suggest that majority of the complaints are related to youth riding e-bikes. And I think because of that um what I would want to do um in do this year is to um really leverage our connections within Edina Public Schools to try and um either provide more resources or education not only to students, but also to get information out to parents um because in most cases parents are the ones purchasing the the vehicles for the um for the students to use. Um Uh we've also talked I've also talked with communications about doing the sidewalk stickers again, getting more of those out there. Um and there's a handful of other strategies, social media posts, more public service announcements that we're considering to to help um enforce that enforce this idea of safe and responsible pedestrian behavior and cyclist behavior. Okay, so if I'm hearing you, you want us to continue pushing the education piece and there's probably not an offer opportunity to like require licensing or classes. That's probably not within our purview. I don't think that that's necessary. I think you know, when I when I look at this data, I'm reminded of what happened in our community when Lime bikes came in and then when Lime scooters came in before the pandemic and the the quantity of complaints and the pattern of complaints, this big spike when they initially come in followed by this kind of gradual decline is very similar to what we saw in that case. And I think it's typical of any new mode of transportation that's going to come in. There's going to be initially this really big reaction and concern about how it's enforced and especially with e-bikes, I know the the state regulation kind of lagged behind the adoption and had to was more reactive than proactive about it. Um so I do think, you know, looking we only have 2 months of data so far for this year, but it is lower than what we saw year-to-date from 2025. So personally with the with the education that we've done in addition to the other resources that are available to members of the community, I would expect that those complaint numbers overall to be lower than 2025 just because there's more understanding of what is a class 3 e-bike versus what is a a motorbike that is not regulated by state statute. Thank you very much. Go ahead. Go. Thanks, Mr. Mayor. Um >> [clears throat and cough] >> So, I I I don't know that I have a question, just a couple of comments. I really appreciate your Lime bike example. Um And it just made me think about data in a different way. You We may not have data that supports the um notion of safety, accidents, those types of things. But, that's a really good trend data point to be able to share. Um and so, I There may be more things like that that we can share that you could use to predict what will happen within this particular cycle. Uh so, I I would encourage you to to lean into that um a little bit more. Um I So, I support doing this. But, I just from a more pragmatic perspective, um I just I don't think we should use ordinances uh in general, just legislation um to govern how people behave in certain instances. So, for this, it's not going to be enforced. If we're not going to have our police officers traversing the sidewalks and pulling kids over and giving them citations, taking away a license, or something like that, um then I then what we're really talking about is how people behave. And so, this has happened to me three times already this year. Um I'm walking down Hanson headed to Yancey Park, and I assume this was a mom with three kids. She was carrying one in a basket, but they were all riding bikes. So, she's one is in a basket, the other two have bikes, and they're little kids. So, I am walking towards them. I see the mom. She has panic in her face cuz her two little cyclists are ahead of her. And she's yelling to them to watch out for me. So, I stopped. I got off the sidewalk. I high-fived the little kids as they went by. Mom apologized, and I said, "No worries. I have three little kids, too." And then I kept walking. Um a second time, these kids were on an e-bike, and I think I was coming up Vernon. Um they saw me. They were on the sidewalk. They got off the sidewalk. Drove past me, or rode past me, and then hopped back on the sidewalk. Um and then the the third time, Dad was This was in Highlands. Dad was with I assume this was Dad was with his son. He was The son was a little older. Um and in that case, we just walked past each other. I walked past them, and they rode past me, and they spoke. We kept going. And so, I I just feel like the way that you have written this is the way that I think about it. I think if you are riding an e-bike in whatever scenario, if you don't feel safe, if the bike lane isn't big enough or if the if it's on Vernon and there's too much traffic um and you're with a small child or it could just be you as an adult then get on the sidewalk if you feel safer until you get to a point where now you can merge back into the bike lane and get off the sidewalk. Um and so I just I feel like if we have an ordinance that says e-bikes are not allowed on on um sidewalks and I got an email from a resident I would tell them to use the sidewalk if they don't feel safe. Which is totally if that's what the ordinance was it would be totally me going against the ordinance. But if the parent doesn't feel safe I would want them to use the sidewalk. Um and then um vice versa if you are riding a bike and you feel safe being in the street I would tell you to use the street. And so I just like to see us get to a point where you understand that sidewalks is the way I think about it sidewalks are for pedestrians. Right? And if you're riding a bike I want you to be in the bike lane. But if you don't feel safe for whatever reason and you're the judge of that as the person as the parent then use the sidewalk. Um and I think if we did that I think we would be fine. Uh and and and then I and the reason I mentioned the Lime bike is because I do when you mentioned that I remember there being a ton of noise not just about safety but people were also concerned that we would be littering Lime bikes all over Edina. And we don't have that. And so I I I do think this idea of sometimes it takes time for a cycle to show itself. And so sometimes taking a pause, maybe doing something um for a period of time to study it more can help. But just on principle, I think it's a bad idea for us to have an ordinance to tell people when they can ride a bike on a sidewalk and when they can't. If we give them good rules like you the regulations already cover that. Um if you are approaching someone as the the example you gave and it's in your your presentation, slow to a walking pace. I've had it before where a kid gets off his bike and walks past me and then gets back on their bike and go. So whoever those parents are, if those those examples seem familiar, then you're doing your job. Um but that's kind of how I I I think about it. So thank you for the presentation and the suggestion. Thank you. Just going to go right down the line here. Council Member Jackson. Sure. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. So my thoughts on this have evolved since we last looked at this and the fact that the people who are asking for this are primarily the first round were more senior people who want to continue to use active transportation. And this is something we want to encourage. And then we had some younger people who use e-bikes to travel around with carts for their with their kids. And so very safe, responsible users are the ones who are asking for this. So I want to establish that. It's not, "Oh, my kids should be able to ride wherever they want." We got some emails like that. And I'm like, "No, this is about keeping mobility um going. And people will get out and walk and ride their bikes when it is comfortable, convenient, and fun. And so, when there's that feeling of not being safe, people will think twice or abandon active transportation altogether. So, you know, that's the principle. And they're like, "Well, how do you apply it?" And I think allowing people the option to get on a sidewalk will encourage them to feel more safe going out and continuing with the active transportation. Um I would love to see this community complaints um chart again in a year. Um this is very helpful for me. I'd like to see the trend in that. Um and I like the fact that we this is a a 1-year um trial to try this. And uh Is that to clarify >> Clarify that was what the Transportation Commission recommended. What staff is recommending is to make a permanent change to the ordinance. Okay, well, we'll deal with that in a moment. >> Okay. Um >> I like that pilot idea, but I'll tell you why. >> Um so, yeah. So, that those are my comments. And and I'm I'm in favor of making the change, but Remember is there Um I am also in favor of making the change. And I did request some images. Uh This was inspired by a resident who provided two pieces of information. Um one, she stated that Edina is not designed for bikes. And we just shouldn't do this. And I um have been really concerned about just the way we are approaching infrastructure. And I feel like we're at a point where we're really trying to embrace um more multimodal, but we continue to kind of do things that undercut that. And so, what I have here is this is from 2020, but it is the philosophy that um when we're developing sites, if they're small and they're oddly shaped, and if you look at the highlighted area number two um here on page seven, uh this was in response to the development at um View 44, and the argument was this site is unique given its small size, limited depth, and odd shape. These conditions were not created by the applicant. And you you think about this approach, it's a small, oddly shaped lot. That's not the developer's fault. Ergo, let's you know, treat it as if it were a regularly shaped lot. And I think that's one of the problems that we're seeing, especially when we're talking about development that is on a minor collector or a minor arterial. And if we could go to the next slide, this is looking at Valleyview, okay? And what we did is we allowed an easement into the public right of way. When you Google or you put into AI, you know, can a municipality grant an easement into the public right of way for a private development, you get a yeah, but kind of answer. Yes, you can, however, it cannot be done if it's going to compromise the public use. And when member Pierce was talking about stepping off of the sidewalk, you know, that really resonated because when I'm walking along Valleyview, a lot of times I am stepping off of the sidewalk, uh because there is somebody pushing a stroller coming toward me or just somebody walking, and I'm, you know, being polite. But, if we did not do this sort of thing, people could step away from Valley View instead of toward Valley View. And I really I think we need to think about how we're approaching development. Um if I could get the next slide. Uh because I do think the multimodal and the bike uh pathway and using sidewalks so that it kind of accommodate both bikers and pedestrians makes sense. And so this is the other example. Uh the buildable area is very small. Really um you know, this site was vacant for a long time. Instead of taking the path of closing off that driveway access, we kept it and we put in a development that is really very large. And now I really I remain worried and concerned about kids on bikes who are going to be going down that sidewalk on their way to Pamela Park or on their way to a school. So I think I think we should pass this, but I also think we need to recommit to building in a more safer kind of way. And I think that was my last slide. Um nope. Okay, here. Uh um this is Vernon and again, you know, just a building concept that is so much larger than the legal buildable area. And if we were to again, it it has been vacant. It's not or not vacant, but it's not being used. If we were to take the approach that so many other municipalities are taking with these lots where there are two options, you know, and closing off the one along the arterial so that you were really creating a safer area. I think that would improve things for bikers tremendously. Okay, so I'm done with that. Um but back to the action tonight, I really do think it makes sense. And I appreciated what all of the council members have said thus far, but you know, so often you see the sidewalk and no one's on the sidewalk. And on these busy roads it is dangerous. You know, and I I was biking in the street along Valley View with my husband just to experience it as sort of a you know, thing I should do before this and coming down underneath the Crosstown where you have traffic merging off of the freeway is a really memorable thing to do. And so if people haven't done it, I encourage you to just well, maybe not. But anyhow, uh being able to get up on the sidewalk, I think is a safety issue. It is so important. I think we have been messaging really well about driving 25 mph or less. I could see that banner on the bottom of the front page of the Sun Current being used to let people know about how important it is to keep speed at 10 mph or less. Also, that you cannot legally purchase a bike or you cannot have your child who is under 15, you know, ride an e-bike. That needs to be messaged very consistently. The person who's told me that Edina was not designed for bikes also told me that in California a parent had been charged due to the horrific crash that her 14-year-old child was involved with on an e-bike. So, there there are serious consequences. Um So, I I support this. I support moving ahead the way staff is recommending. Um and that is where I am. Trying to figure out what that slide means. On community complaints because we passed that ordinance in April of 25 and then the complaints continued to roll in all summer long while we were going through this education program. And then of course we got to November and the weather changes drastically. And there was one complaint. Now we're back in March of 26 and there's two and then there was one in April so far. I guess I we're done with April. So we had one in April. So I don't know if that means that the educational part of this was successful. Uh it needed time to kind of marinate, percolate, whatever word you want to choose get through to people. I I I just don't know. Um and then yeah I went online to try to find some data myself. Uh to find out uh you know the the the the question really is that some residents in our town want to be able to ride e-bikes on the sidewalks in our city and the sidewalks are generally 5 ft wide. And how do the safety risks compare for pedestrians being exposed to e-bikes on the sidewalk compared to e-bikes being on the street and exposed to motor vehicles? I couldn't find any good comparative data. Maybe you've done this too and um and um there isn't really a real good data set that I could find where the where it quantified the pedestrian risk from e-bikes on sidewalks versus rider risk from cars when e-bikes are in the street. Um but I you you sort of instinctively know this is that sidewalk riding shifts the risk from the rider to the pedestrian. That's pretty clear. I mean it's not the it's not the bike rider that's at risk at most risk. It's the pedestrian on the sidewalk. It increases the conflict frequency because there's more bikes on a narrow sidewalk. Most of our sidewalks being 5 ft I think. But the road riding risks that shifts towards a rarer sort of circumstance, but the crashes are more severe with motor vehicles, and the consequences are far far more significant, I think. So, I end up in this conflicted position where on the sidewalk, I feel like the conflict frequency is high, the crash severity is probably low to moderate, the pedestrian is bearing the risk, and there's some predictability involved with uh mixed speeds and and random movements. Uh but once you get on the street, the risks are lower, but the there's a high risk of fatality. And who bears the risk there is the rider. And so, I'm I'm really got to the myself to the point where I'm kind of confused as to what to think about this whole thing. Um Sidewalks trade many small risks to pedestrians for fewer but potentially fatal risks to drivers in traffic. And I guess it kind of leads me to a conclusion that despite the fact that I didn't really want to change the ordinance, I would do it on a pilot program basis consistent with what the ETC was recommending for 1 year. A 1-year pilot program with follow-up on safety and compliance evaluation at end of that year 1-year period. Um and I would make that I would make that motion and support that kind of motion with respect to what you're suggesting here otherwise. Otherwise, if my colleagues aren't inclined to do that, then I'm not going to vote for it because I just feel like uh the risk to the pedestrian is too great on balance. Just and that's just a put that's a purely subjective analysis because I wanted to find good data. And there are people that are persuasive in our community. Some of them are here tonight. People talking about seniors wanting to be on the sidewalk to be safer. People that are pulling Burleys with kids in them. Um So, what were you going to say? I I was just I want to clarify and make sure that I'm I'm expressing the the recommendation of the Transportation Commission more clearly. Um they did in they recommended a permanent change to the ordinance. That was their number one recommendation. Their recommendation was then they had another recommendation to consider a one-year pilot. So, essentially if the council wasn't comfortable with making a blanket permanent change in the ordinance, consider making that change for one year and then coming back and reviewing. But, their their primary [clears throat] recommendation was to make a permanent change. Um I believe if I We have members of the Transportation Commission here. I want to be sure that I'm not I'm representing their views accurately. >> you've explained it well. I think, you know, that it was a sort of secondary choice. It'd be my primary choice. I mean, I'm willing to take I'm willing to take a look at it with inconclusive data understanding that that the risks of severe injury on the road are much, much higher than they are on the sidewalk for a pedestrian. But, um depending on what how my colleagues feel about it, you know. If they want a permanent change, then we may depart views on it. But, I don't know how my colleagues feel about a one-year pilot program with a follow-up uh from staff with a safety compliance evaluation at the end of that one-year period. So, that's the question I ask all of you. Member Jackson. I've never heard of a pilot ordinance. So, I think just functionally we would change the ordinance now and come back in a year and review it. I don't I understand the idea of a pilot project, but um I think we change the ordinance and then have to come back and look. I I don't I've no You can't just kind of temporarily suspend a law. Um at least I don't think we have the power to do that. Well, it wouldn't be suspending the law. It would You one way you could do it would be to change the ordinance as recommended and then have it have it be a one-year ordinance. It Can you re- have an automatic repeal in a year? >> Sure. I think you could. Okay, never heard of that before. Um So, I would I'd ask two things. If what data are we going to request at the end of the year Yeah, it's a good question. >> to make a decision um is one. And then the second I'd like when I am walking I don't feel like I'm at risk. And so, I appreciate you saying the way your you feel about it is subjective. Frankly, I think all the emails, it's all subjective. And I think there is value in that. Right? If that's how people feel, then yeah, that's how they they feel. Um but they but the reverse of that is true of the person who is riding. Right? They don't feel safe, and you articulated that well, whether you're on a sidewalk or um in the street. Um in general I don't think anything is going to change. And so if I am that mother riding down hands in to take my kids to Yancey I'm using the sidewalk. No matter what the ordinance says. And so the the best way to keep people safe comes boils down to people being respectful of others when they're using the sidewalk. Um is is I think what it um boils down to. And and I honestly don't think an ordinance is going to change that. The I accept the point that we don't know if the awareness campaign has done that either because we we don't have all the data. Um but yeah, I I I'd be fine with saying well, let's change the ordinance and come back in a year. We've done that with some other things. Let's change it get the data, come back in a year and look at it again. I I think that's it's always smart to look at the things the decisions that we're taking. For this one, others we knew what we were measuring. So this one I would just ask us to be clear about what we're measuring so that we know if we're getting the right outcome. So member Jackson made a good point, you know, from a legal standpoint it seems to me that you'd one one at least one possibility would be you had to adopt the recommenda- recommended ordinance in its form and have a sunset date on it of one year. And you could always repeal the sunset date at the end of the year and then do the data that you would gather. I'm assuming we'd gather the same data that we have been gathering which is community complaints and then crash data. And and and then we could maybe make a more well-reasoned decision on long term. You know, I was also thinking about okay, who who are the people that have we had come here that made legitimate points about it? Were seniors and people that are pulling kids around in a Burley. You know. Well, and you look at this ordinance, it's got all kinds of uh conditions attached. So, I'm trying to find it here. Um >> regulations? Yeah, well, you mean you can't you got to walk your bike at 50th and France, you know, so the question was well, could we add you you can ride your bike on the sidewalk if you're over 60 or if you're pulling kids in a Burley or you know, but then that gets really awkward, too. So, it's it struck me that this one-year look somehow was a reasonable way to do it. At least one that I could support. Um because if the data doesn't if there's not data out there whether it's local or national that takes you one direction or the other. Maybe there's a period of time that elapses here where we do have enough to at least make a well-reasoned decision on our own. Or to your point that other option is you don't have an ordinance to try to manage how people use sidewalks. If you don't have data to support one way or the other, you let people learn to treat each other the right way when they're on sidewalks. That's what I think we should be doing. I don't think we should have an ordinance at all. I think people should >> [clears throat] >> I think people should use the pathways and respectfully. Um but that's just my my opinion. I I think it's a bad idea. >> opinion. We have laws and ordinances to tell people how to treat each other. But in this particular instance. Member Jackson. Well, I I like the idea of requiring helmets. I don't want to repeal that. I don't want to repeal this other stuff either. I just want to talk about the e-bikes on the sidewalks. I think it should be that you slow down, um you know, if people are smart and read this, it gives a staff something to talk about in their um education. Um but I don't I I just want to talk about e-bikes on the sidewalks. I don't want to repeal the rest of this. That That's fair. I I wasn't suggesting I wasn't suggesting that. I was just making the illustrative point. Um yeah, I my kids will wear helmets whether you had an ordinance that says you needed to or not. Because we know the health benefits of it. Uh from an awareness campaign that we probably saw 20 years ago. That's That's my only That's my only point. So, I I'm not interested in in in saying that we should retract that. I am I agree with you. We're talking about e-bikes on the sidewalks. So, I want to add that I appreciate Member Pierce kind of the experiences that you've had um and how much you get out and enjoy our sidewalks. Um I've also received some emails from people that have explicitly stated that their e-bike usage is zero to non-existent now because of this ordinance as it currently stands. And so, there's, you know, bikes gathering dust because they would feel safer riding on the sidewalk and don't feel that they can today. And so, that's where I do think like I know there are some people that already do it and don't follow the ordinance, but there are also people that do look to the ordinances that we state set to to guide their behavior um in some cases, I'm sure. Um and I think it's really good evidence here that we're having this conversation a year after we put it in place to begin with. And so I I will vote either way whether we say, you know, update this forever to allow e-bikes or we say update it for a one-year pilot program. Um but I think even if we did say update it indefinitely, we could always come back in another year, look at the data, and make a decision at that point. Do we change it again? Um cuz that's what we're doing here tonight. Um so I don't know that we have to get super fancy in like sunset clauses and and making um our lawyer uh really Earnest keep tonight, but I do think that I I'm supportive of this regardless. I agree with what member Agnew said and I I feel like we're at the point where we could make a motion um and move forward. So we've got a um motion to adopt ordinance 2026-07 amending chapter 26 of the United City Code concerning electric assisted bicycles and wave second reading. And we know the substance of that um that proposed ordinance change. Uh is there someone that cares to make that motion? So moved. And member Agnew moves, member Pierce seconds the motion to adopt ordinance 2026-07 amending chapter 26 of the United City Code concerning electric assisted bicycles and wave second reading. Uh any further discussion? Um can we put it on tickler on the calendar of staff to come back and tell us, you know, what happens in the in the ensuing year? Absolutely. Okay. Thank you. It's a tough one for me. Um okay. Um >> [clears throat] >> All those in favor of adoption of the motion as stated say I. I. If we're going to take a look at it in a year, I'll I'll I'll vote I as well. So, how are we going to handle that? They could come back and just calendar it to take a look at it? >> Yes. Come back with Be it after I've put it on my calendar tonight. Be a conversation just much like this one, I'm guessing. Okay. Mayor, I just have one other comment on this. I it doesn't directly relate to what you're doing tonight, but there's a bill in [clears throat] the legislature to address so-called e-motos, which are the faster motorcycle style e-bikes without pedals. They don't meet the definition of electric assisted bikes like you're talking about here tonight. So, that something may happen on that at a statewide level and that may inform your discussion a year from now as well. Those are the types of vehicles that have been involved in some of the more high-profile crashes because they're faster and more dangerous and the state may address that this year. As far as pedal assist e-bikes, I'm not aware, I mean, anecdotally of a lot of uh data on bad crashes involving those and they are generally legal on sidewalks in most cities in Minnesota. That helps me a little bit. Thank you. And I think the the E-Moto one is the one that member Risser was referring to the accident in California was a guy doing a wheelie on the E-Moto and I believe so. Yeah. Okay. Uh those opposed are motions approved. Motion carries. We'll look at it again in a year. Um Then we need a motion to approve the summary publication of ordinance 2026-07. Is there a motion to that effect? So moved. I second. There's a motion by member Peer, second by member Agnew to approve the summary publication of ordinance 2026-07. Any further discussion? All those in favor of passage of the motion as stated say I. I. I. Opposed? Carried. That will be subject to summary publication. Here we go. Let's hope this works out. Um Thank you. Thank you. Manager comments. Thank you, Your Honor. I have two things. One is that it it is uh appearing now by pushing some items to this meeting and some items back to the Janu- or excuse me, the June 2nd meeting that we uh do not have material for a council meeting on May 19th. So, I'm going to propose that we cancel that meeting and seek your affirmation for that. >> [snorts] >> So, a motion to cancel the meeting on the 19th of >> May 19th, yep. >> A motion [clears throat] to cancel the meeting on May 19th. So moved. I second. Lot of enthusiasm there. We got a mo- [laughter] motion by member Peer, second by member Agnew to cancel the meeting on May 19th, 2026. Any further discussion? All those in favor of canceling the May 19th, 2026 meeting of the uh Dana City Council say I. Opposed? Carried. That meeting's canceled. Thank you. Second thing for me is that one of the interesting parts of my job as a as a city manager in a council manager plan B form of government is that state statutes 412.651 really outline my duties, my job description as your city manager. And in subdivision second subdivision second seven of that of that section, it's called advise on annual budget. And it just reads one sentence. The city manager shall keep the council fully advised as to the financial condition and needs of the city. And the city manager shall prepare and submit to the council the annual budget. So, I intend to prepare and submit my proposal to you and put it in your hands on June 23rd. Which is 2 months faster than we have currently been doing that and gives you more time over the summer to digest, to ask questions, to do some engagement both organizationally and individually if you choose to do that. But that is our plan. So, we'll be moving forward with that option with with that procedure and and intend to deliver it to you that day. Okay. Very good. That's all I have. Thank you. All right. Jump around a little bit. Remember Jackson, you want to give us you have any council comments? Well, if we're not going to have a meeting on the 19th, I have to promote public works open house on May 21st. It is the coolest and funnest thing if the kid in everybody come see the big trucks and the enthusiastic people who drive them and all the really cool equipment. It's from 4:00 to 7:00 at the public works facility down on Metro Boulevard and I will see you there. Okay. Back to remember Roeser. That's hard to follow in terms of like the energy level, but I'll try. Okay, I would like to promote uh the Edina Asian American Alliance um Asian American Pacific Islander Festival on Saturday, May 16th at Rosland Park. And that'll be going from 12:00 until 4:00. And uh I've gone pretty much every year and it really is a fun event. So, lots of things to do. Thank you. >> a great event. I had a Tibetan healer last year feel my wrist and said I needed to eat more celery. So, anyway. Did it work? >> I eat more celery. Yeah, did you? A little bit, yeah. I mean, I >> [laughter] >> for a while. It was a fleeting sort of experience. Remember Pierce. >> Uh nothing from me this evening. Remember Egdahl. Nothing from me, either. Thank you. >> Okay. I'm looking at our lieutenant over there and thinking about uh the conversation that uh Manager Neal and the chief and I had today along with Stephanie Hawkinson about the two shooting incidents we've had in Edina in the last 2 weeks. Um I don't know if folks are familiar with the most recent one that was at 6300 York, but um that was a son. It was a pure domestic situation, a son shooting his father who was in critical condition. Uh And um so, for folks in the community that are worried about public safety in Edina, I think in the other incident, too, at uh 66 West I'll back up a second. I'll say with the aid of um the Flock technology, we were able to catch the perpetrator at 6300 York, the guy who shot his dad within 2 hours. Wow. Within 2 hours between Flock Technology here and throughout the metro, we were able to get him. And of course, the other issue over at 66 West, um we're going to be meeting with Beacon to discuss what can happen over there. There's 39 young people living over there and they had some trouble unquestionably with uh with four people over there and one one fellow young fellow ended up John Stroud ended up dead as a result of a confrontation over there. So, um isolated incidents, um certainly don't want to see them happen anywhere. There's too many guns out there. We're seeing every day there's shooting somewhere, it seems like. And it's not good to see, but um our police are first-rate. They're solving these issues quickly. Uh and I think they're to be commended for the excellent work that they've done uh in creating a environment of trust and professionalism as our sergeant talked about during the presentation this evening about National Police Week. So, that's uh that's all I had to just uh share with folks in the in the broader audience. Um We do not think the general public's in danger. Overall, I would say that crime is down. I think our chief would say that the crime statistics uh uh support that and if people want to look at our crime statistics, they're available to the public. The data can be accessed on the PD website and you're more than welcome to look at it uh in terms of um verifying what I've just told you. I think auto theft is down by 40%. So, uh there are things happening in the metro and happening in Edina, too. We regret it and they're disappointed that these things have happened and there have been tragedies in some circumstances both those circumstances and wish it hadn't happened anywhere but it happened here but I think the public is generally safe. It's a very very safe city. All right, that's all I've got. Anybody have anything else? Is motion to adjourn? So moved. Second. Get a motion by member Jackson second by member Reagan to adjourn the meeting of the city council this Tuesday, May 5th, 2026 at 10:32 p.m. Any further discussion all those in favor of adjournment say I. I. I. Opposed to carried. We stand adjourned.