That's a long minute there. Here we go. We are ready to go. All right. Um well, good evening everybody and welcome to the Dina City Council meeting. It is Tuesday the May 20th, 2025. It is 7:00 uh right on the dot and we are ready to start. Uh Carrie sending our uh assistant city clerk uh let you know earlier that we're doing things in a hybrid fashion here. people can listen uh and watch online uh if they so desire. Tonight there's only one opportunity for people to participate uh with the council and that is during community comment. We don't have any public hearings this evening. So uh the council can be addressed on any matter that is of importance to them that's not on the agenda or scheduled for a future public hearing. Uh otherwise you'll have three minutes to give your uh remarks to the council on a matter of concern to you. And so having pro provided that information, I'm going to call the meeting to order. And I'm going to ask Miss Senning to call the role. Council member Agnu here. Council member Jackson here. Council member Pierce here. Council member Risser here. Mayor Havland here. Next 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. Next, we have uh a meeting agenda to approve so we can do our work this evening. And is there anyone anyone on the council or uh at the staff level that wishes to modify the agenda in any form or fashion? All right. Is there a motion to approve the meeting agenda as published? So moved. Second. Member Jackson moves member Agnu seconds the adoption of the meeting agenda as published. Any further discussion? All those in favor of adopting the meeting agenda as published say I. I. I. Opposed. Carried. The meeting agenda is adopted. Uh now we are at community comment. Uh folks, we're going to get these uh phone numbers and contact information on the screen. And while we're doing that, we'll turn to um uh residents in our uh chambers that wish to speak to us this evening and see if anyone wants to address the council on a matter of concern to them. And and one of our residents has uh appeared magically from behind the monitor there. And uh welcome, welcome, mayor and council members. My name is Ralph Sickert. I live at 4311 Cornelius Circle. May 7th, 2025, Adina issued a press release titled feedback sought on safer way to cross France Avenue, i.e. the proposed tunnel under France. That press release stated if the city decides to move forward, funding would be sought from federal, state, med counseling in Henipin County or money could come from new property taxes. The press release also stated that funding for the project had not yet been established. Two days prior to the press release, in a meeting with Cordelia neighborhood residents, Bill Nuendorf, Adina's economic development manager, shared that Henipin County had already informed Adina that they Henipin County would not commit funds to this project. This is important because France Avenue is a county road, not a state road like Highway 100 and not a federal highway like 494. Yes, funding may be sought from the other sources, but given the financial troubles at the Met Council, the state, and the federal government, all of whom are in even worse financial straits than Adina, it would seem the funding solution will in fact be Adina property taxes. In an August 15, 2024 Sunern article by Alex Cotsman titled more details on France Avenue underpass, Bill Nuendorf is interviewed and the article states the majority of the funding would come from tax increment financing, i.e. property taxes sequestered from the Macy's tiff district. That sun uncurrent article is further supported by last year's 4 to1 vote of Adina's housing and redevelopment authority which authorized up to $30 million of Adina's property taxes to fund the tunnel under France. And to be clear, those five H members just happen to be our current council members. So Mr. Neil, I look forward to a simple yes or no answer. Did the Adina Housing and Redevelopment Authority authorize the use of up to $30 million of Adina property tax to fund a potential tunnel under France? I contend the answer is yes, and therefore funding has been established. One is left to wonder if a tunnel under France is such a great idea, why all the secrecy as to its 20 to30 million price tag and where the and where the money is or is not going to come from to pay for it. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Ziggard. Anyone else in the audience wish to address the council on a matter of concern to them? Good evening everyone. Uh my name is Jason Banks. Live on 431 Scott Terrace and uh I'd like to make a comment about the city's tree ordinance if I may. We've lived in the Morningside neighborhood for 20 years in a modest home of a ground footprint of 800 square ft. Recently we made a small addition to that house of just 420 ft. On our property lot, we have six trees. A mature maple and a mature catalpa tree, both of which we planted ourselves. We have two ash trees, which we have treated by an arborist. We have a lilac tree and a lynen basswood. To complete the addition to our house, we had to take down one of those trees, the lynen basswood. Now, as a result of the ordinance, we're being asked to replace that one tree with up to 12 trees. Simply because that basswood was wide in its diameter. The city ordinance forces us to plant trees with a combined diameter of almost 20 in. Adina's closest garden center, Sunnyside, typically sells trees with a diameter of 1 and 3/4 in, including its native birch trees, which we'd like to plant. But the ordinance requirement would mean we'd have to plant 12 of them. There's a farm that sells larger lynen basswoods, the same as the ones we took down. They have 3 and 12 in diameter trees, but even with that, we'd have to plant six of those to be compliant. These become big trees. We only have 40 foot in our backyard. Our arborist has warned us not to plant more than two of them. We just don't have the space to allow these sort of trees to grow healthily. Then there's the lack of choice for these trees. We've learned that planting native conifers is not an option as we'd planned. Despite them being recommended by the uh Adidina count uh sorry the Henipin County because we removed one deciduous tree. Our only option is to plant more deciduous trees. Then there's the cost. Our current landscaper has approximated it would cost $18,000 to plant all of these trees. We like trees. We want them in our neighborhoods and our properties. And I'm all for a healthy canopy. But there are lot lot of numbers and trees and square foot and all of that, but ultimately we've been asked to replace one tree with up to 12. It just doesn't seem right. Thank you for your time. Thank you for being here tonight. Miss Felt, did you have something else you wanted to share with the council? Okay. Yeah, you're you're entitled to your three minutes, too. So, I'll try to do it a minute and a half. That's fine. Thank you. Okay. Thank you. This is the lot that Stephanie and um Jason have. This is 4231 Scott Terrace. And um would you identify yourself and and give us your address and your occupation, please? Yes. I'm Mary Weatherfeld. I live at 4116 Grimes Avenue South and I'm the architect for Stephanie and Jason Banks. And um you know, we were originally excited about going through this talking about the tree ordinance. We're like, "Oh, they've got this tree ordinance. We love trees. We want to, you know, participate in this." Um, but so I'm going to kind of go through what I think the argument is for um, Stephanie and Jason. This is the existing house that was 814 ft. The existing garage 254 square ft. The addition and the porch which make up 429 square ft. This is their catalpa and um, a maple and the um, ashes that they keep up and the tree that had to be removed. Um, currently the Dina tree ordinance allows protected and heritage trees to be removed without mitigation on unbuilt lots within the building pad and within a 10-ft radius of the building pad. For single family Dina zoning, um, for single family, adinazone allows 25% building coverage on lots over 9,000 square feet. 4231 Scott Terrace is 10,000 square feet. a 2500 foot house would be allowed on that. The existing house is very modest at 814 square feet with a detached garage. Um, and it's less than half the allowable footprint. So Stephanie and Jason added 49 489 square ft between the addition and the porch. This is still 450 square feet less than the allowable square footage of a of a building coverage on the slot. The tree that was taken down was within the addition footprint. That's right here. Essentially within what would have been a building pad on an unbuilt lot. I feel existing R1 lot should be given the same footprint exception as unbuilt or underbuilt lots and that Stephanie and Jason and Jason should be able to take this exception. Um, we all understand maintaining our tree canopy is important and we in the beginning were all for taking part in this, but after having gone through it, I may hesitate to go through it again. And if I'm not mistaken, homeowners who live in a dinina can take down a tree and not be penalized for it. I do feel that the tree ordinance, however well intention, is hurting the wrong people and may keep some people from um, planting trees. So, I want you all to know, you know, I appreciate very much living here and everything it has to offer and I appreciate being able to talk to you about this tonight. Thank you. Oh, and thank you. Yes. Would you make those? If you hand those to the clerk, she'll make them part of the record. Our clerk right here. Thank you, Mr. Banks and Miss Herman, for being here this evening. Is there anyone else in the chambers that wishes to address the council on a matter of concern to them? Okay, let's turn to the virtual world and see if we have anybody waiting to speak to the council. There is nobody in the virtual queue to speak and it has been over one minute so I believe it is safe to proceed. All right. Very good. Our practice is to have the city manager respond to comments that were made at the prior city council meeting. We generally do that uh within just a matter of a few day of a few days of the uh of the regular city council meeting with responses on uh on the website on the city website. Uh those are usually posted up by Friday following a Tuesday meeting. And then we follow up with our um uh with our city manager for comments as well at the following meeting. And I'm going to turn to him now to see if there was anything that we needed to address from the prior meeting. Thank you, your honor. Yes, there was one question we had at our May 6th meeting. That is, will the city consider posting no parking signs on Wilson Road during the Vernon Avenue Highway 101 interchange project? Uh our response is that we are looking at that request right now, balancing it with the other elements of that detour and the traffic safety committee is committed to getting a response together uh as soon as they can because we know the timing of the project. Right. Very good. Uh questions from council based on that comment from the city manager or comments. All right. Very good. Uh we're going to move on now to the uh items on the consent agenda. Member Risser wants to remove the uh minutes from the work session on the regular meeting on May 6, 2025. She was happen to be out of the country, unavailable for the meeting, uh and doesn't think it'll be appropriate for her to vote on those minutes. So, we're going to remove those 6.1. And then we've got some folks in in the audience that have been really generous that Tom Swinson I'm going to ask him to introduce uh who's with us this evening from the Adina Garden Council and the Kiloale Garden Club uh and they can talk a little bit about this labyrinth as well. So we'll remove 6.1 6.3 and 6.4 from the consent agenda. Does any other council member wish to remove an item from the consent agenda other than the ones identified? Okay. Uh, with the exception of items 6.1, 6.3, and 6.4, is there a motion to adopt the other items on the consent agenda in a single motion? So, moved. A second. All right. Member Jackson moves member uh Agnu seconds the adoption of the items on the consent agenda with the exception of items 6.1, 6.3, and 6.4. Uh, is there any further discussion on this matter? All those in favor of adopting the items on the consent agenda with the exception of items 6.1, 6.3, and 6.4, say I. I. I. Opposed. Uh, now back to 6.1. Uh, the work session and regular uh meeting minutes. Uh, member Russer, did you want to make a comment at all or did I? Uh, no. I just would like to abstain. Okay. All right. Uh, we've got work session and regular minutes from May 6, 2025 to deal with. Does someone care to move the adoption of those minutes? So moved. I second. Uh member Jackson moves member Agnu seconds the adoption of the work session and regular session city council meeting minutes for May 6, 2025. Any further discussion? All those in favor of adoption of those minutes for both those sessions say I. I. I. Opposed. Abstension. Abstain. Minutes are approved uh for both the work session and the regular city council meeting on May 6, 2025. Uh and then uh let's go to 6.3 and 6.4. Four, uh, when the city gets a a donation or somebody wants to make a donation to the city, uh, we have to get, uh, a super majority approval by state law. And so it requires four-fifths vote of the council. And, um, tonight we've got some, uh, I think a really extraordinary gift related to something that's going to be adding to the luster of Arnison Acres Park. A couple of the hardworking members of the Adana Garden Council and the Kila Day Garden Club are here. You know, we just had the plant sale. Was that last week? Uh and on Friday of last week and uh boy, it was just a terrific turnout and uh I think I spent about a month's worth of mayor salary there. So, uh it was a it was a good outing and I'd love to see other people. So, Tom Swinson, why don't you come up with um the folks and then explain what's going on here and then uh we'll do the resolutions. Now, thank you, Mayor, members of council. So, uh the Dina Garden Council and the Keadale Garden Club, uh generously together are donating $30,000 for a project at Arnison Acres Park. It's going to be a a labyrinth which is a circular piece of concrete uh with this design uh emboldened into it. Uh and it'll be located at Arnison Acres Park and we have Esther Hasowitz uh with Edina Garden Council and Diane Plunket Leam uh with Keeladale Garden Club as representing the whole group. but their groups donated this money uh all together for this project that'll be located in the uh formal gardens at Arnison Acres. So, I think we should let them speak to the project and and the donation to Punka Laam. Go ahead. We're very much looking forward to this. Uh it is something that uh children can do when they're in the park. uh you follow this path and uh it leads right to the center and we're going to have a grand opening in August for it and the Brindles have uh uh consented to come and play their elorns to kick off the ceremony. So we'll have a lot of fun be watching for this event in mid August and uh or mid July and we'll look forward to seeing you there. please. We're looking forward to the opening and for those of you who haven't been in the labyrinth, it's really a meditative sort of walk and it's a perfect addition to the park and we thank you for shopping at our sale and for everyone else who's there because this the proceeds that we get from our sale every year is what allows us to purchase everything we need to grow all the flowers you see around Edina as well as we're using some of the proceeds also for the labyrinth. Good. Well, thank you very much, ladies, for being here this evening. Yes, member Jackson. Yes, thank you. Where in the park is it going to be? Um, it's going to anchor the far end beyond the uh uh uh fountain. On the one end is the gazebo, the center is the fountain, and this will be the far end. So, it'll be kind of three evenly spaced uh uh events there. Terrific. Thank you so much. All right, council. We've got a resolution in front of us to accept this uh combined donation of about a little over $30,000 from the the Dana Garden Council on the Giladale Garden Club. Resolution 2025-39. Is there a motion to adopt the same? So moved. I second. Member Jackson moves. Member Agnu seconds the adoption of resolution 2025-39 which would accept these generous donations from the Dina Garden Council in the Keadale Garden Club uh for the building of the labyrinth at the Arnison Acres Park facility. Uh any further discussion? All those in favor of adoption of the resolution say I. I opposed carried. The resolution's adopted. Uh Miss Senning has the official resolution. We could get you a copy of it I think if you would like that. Yes. Uh and then let's do the next matter as well. The request for purchase for the concrete labyrinth at Arnest Acres Park. Is there a motion to approve that request for purchase? So moved. A second. Member Jackson moves. Member Agnu seconds the request for purchase for the concrete labyrinth construction at Arnerson Acres Park. Any further discussion? All those in favor of adoption of the uh uh of the uh item that provides for the uh uh approval of the purchase request for the concrete labyrinth at the Arnison Acres Park. Say I I opposed. Carried. That's approved as well. So here we go. I hope your contractor is ready to go. Yes. Yeah. Because I can tell if you want that up in August, you're not messing around. You want get that thing built. All right. Um, that completes the uh items on the consent agenda and now we're going to turn to special recognitions and presentations. We got three proclamations tonight and and an award to pass out. And um so I'm going to read that. First one deals with emergency medical services week, which is something that we have every year and then we get an update on some uh important information that pertains to the city and the residents in our city. So let me read that proclamation. uh EMS week uh May 18th through the 24th and this will coincidentally uh coincide with National Public Works Week. Uh but as to uh emergency medical services week, the proclamation reads as follows. Whereas emergency medical services are a vital public service and whereas the members of emergency medical services teams are ready to provide life-saving care to those in need 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And whereas access to quality emergency care dramatically improves the survival and recovery rate of those who experience sudden illness or injury. And whereas emergency medical services fill health care gaps by providing important out of hospital care including preventative medicine, follow-up care, and access to tele medicine. And whereas the emergency medical services system consists of first responders, emergency medical technicians, paramedics, emergency medical dispatchers, firefighters, police officers, educators, administrators, prehosp nurses, emergency nurses, emergency physicians, trained members of the public, and other out of hospital medical care providers. And whereas the members of emergency medical services teams, whether career or volunteer, engage in thousands of hours of specialized training and continuing education to enhance their life-saving skills. And whereas it is appropriate to recognize the value and the accomplishments of emergency medical services providers by designating the emergency medical services week. Now therefore, we the city council of the city of Adina do hereby proclaim May 18th through the 24th, 2025 is emergency medical services week in the city of Edina. And the theme of of EMS's 51st anniversary is EMS week. We care for everyone. We encourage the community to observe this week with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities in honor of the EMS profession and the essential services it provides. Is there a motion to adopt that proclamation? So moved. A second. Member Jackson moves member Agnu seconds the adoption of the emergency medical services week proclamation designating May 18th through the 24th 2025 as emergency medical services week in the city of Vina. Uh all those in favor say I. I. I opposed carried. The proclamation is adopted. And we have uh we had the pleasure of having Sean White with us upstairs for our work session today, our training and fire safety chief. And he is here to accept the proclamation. I'm going to walk this down to him and I think he has some information he wants to share with us as well. Thank you very much, Mr. Mayor, Council. Uh, I also want to show appreciation to city staff um for this uh very valuable recognition. Uh, I take great pride in standing here representing uh the paramedic firefighters of Idana Fire. Um I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge the important um uh addition that Edina police provides with us co-response uh in uh all emergency medical uh situations. Um I think this is a as we get continue to get busier and busier and provide more and more care to our citizens uh hopefully it's recognized uh the phenomenal service that we're able to provide by uh being able to incorporate all these different pieces uh to our entire uh city. So, thank you very much for this. I appreciate it. Thank you, Chief. Um, yeah, and I was thinking about this as I was reading the proclamation. Um, it must be 10, 12 years ago now that the unbeknownst to us, the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta did a study about where in the United States you were most likely to come out of the hospital after a cardiac event, who had the highest save rate in the country. And it turns out Henipin County had the highest county save rate. uh and Edina was number one in the country in cardiac saves and we were four times the save rate of Henipin County and uh I don't know if they've continued to do those studies in any uh series but it was really quite remarkable to get that information and it's it's in large part you know there was some technology involved with Bluetooth technology and being able to communicate with uh M Health Fairview but the quality of our EMS services that that you run and make sure that uh uh well serve the people of Edina was an extraordinary part of that that that saving that goes on here of saving human lives day in day out. So we thank you for that great work that you do on behalf of all of the residents of Edidina. You are are are a superb crew and and we're happy to recognize you this particular week and every week of the year for that matter. So thank you. Thanks for being here this evening as well. Should we have all the EMS people come up and do a photo or is that Yeah. Do you want another photo? I want to honor all of them. They're sitting in the very shy. They're okay. All right. Thank you. Yeah, that was a nice thing to ask. Yeah. Thank you. Um All right. So, next uh next is a proclamation involving National Public Works Week and Brian Olsson, our uh our public uh our you know public director is here. So, our public works director uh here to help us out and tell us about what's going on in the city with respect to public works. So, the proclamation reads as follows. National Public Works Week May 18th through the 24th, 2025. Whereas public works professionals focus on infrastructure, facilities, programs and services that are of vital importance to sustainable and resilient communities and to public health, high quality of life and well-being of the people of Edina. And whereas these infrastructure facilities and services could not be provided without the dedicated efforts of public works professionals who are engineers, managers and employees at all levels of government in the private sector who are responsible for rebuilding, improving and protecting our nation's transportation, water supply, water treatment and sewer systems, public buildings and other structures and facilities essential for our citizens. And whereas it is in the public interest for the citizens, civic leaders and children in Indiana to gain knowledge of of and maintain an ongoing interest and understanding of the importance of public works and public works programs. And whereas the efficiency of the qualified and dedicated personnel who staff public works departments is materially influenced by the people's attitude and understanding of the importance of the work they perform. Now therefore, we the city council of the city of Vana do hereby proclaim the week of May 18th through the 2020 to the through the 24th, 2025 as National Public Works Week in the city of Adana. And we call upon all citizens to join with representatives of the American Public Works Association and government agencies in activities, events, and ceremonies designed to pay tribute to our public works professionals, engineers, managers, and employees, and to recognize the substantial contributions they make to protect our national health, safety, and advancing quality of life for all. Is there a motion to adopt a proclamation as read? So moved. Second. Member Jackson moves. Member Pierce seconds the adoption of the National Public Works Week proclamation designating May 18 through the 24th, 2025 as National Public Works Week in the city of Edina. Any further discussion? All those in favor of adoption of the proclamation is read say I. I. Opposed? Carried. Uh Brian, you want to come up here? Mr. Olson, I'll director Olson the proclamation about National Public Works Week and have our public works director speak. Oh Mr. Mayor, members of the city council, thank you for reading and approving that proclamation. This year's theme, people, purpose, and presence, highlights three cornerstone ideals that motivate public works professionals to serve in their communities every day. Meeting the needs of people is what gives public works its sense of purpose. Many times, public works professionals don't even meet those that have been impacted because when things are going right, no one knows that public works is there. But day after day, public works is ever present, working in the background to advance quality of life for all. We value this community and the role that engineering and public works professionals um provide on a day-to-day basis in keeping it safe and functioning smoothly. For the last 65 years, National Public Works Week has been designed to increase public awareness by enlightening the public about duties, practices, and goals of each of their public works professionals. So once again, thank you for reading improving the proclamation declaring May 18th through the 28th as National Public Works Week. And thank you for supporting our efforts over the years. It is only with the dedicated efforts of a highly motivated uh public works department, well-maintained equipment and resources provided by this city council that only that allows us to uh perform excellent public service every day of the year. So, thank you very much. Thank you, Director Olson. think that um uh everybody in our community and especially this council that has more direct interaction with you realize what a fabulous job you do day in day out in our public works department making sure that everything functions as it should function in Nina and uh the only people that probably don't appreciate it are kids that don't like uh going to school all the time in the winter time because we got the best snow plowing in the country so uh there's no there's no snow days in Edina Um that that having said that thank you for the great work that you do and we'll give you a round of applause as well and thank you for being here to accept the proclamation. And one more uh thing going on in May. It's typically preservation month in Edina and it is again this year and we got a proclamation regarding preservation month designating May 2025 as uh preservation month in the city of Edina and that proclamation reads as follows. 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 2025 is sponsored by the Adina Heritage Preservation Commission. And now therefore, we the city council of the city of Adana do hereby proclaim May 2025 as preservation month and call upon the people of Adana to join their fellow citizens in recognizing and participating in this special observance. Is there a motion to adopt a proclamation as read? So moved. I second. Member Jackson moves member Agnu seconds the adoption of the proclamation as read declaring May 2025 as preservation month in the city of Vina. Uh any further discussion? All those in favor of adoption of the proclamation is read say I. I. I. Opposed. Carried. The proclamation is adopted. And we've got Katie Pulp, the vice chair of our Heritage Preservation Commission here with us this evening to accept the proclamation. And then we've got some other things that we're going to be doing tonight. We've got some uh residents here uh that are going to help us celebrate a special event. But let's take care of this proclamation first. and you may have some remarks that you wish to make uh before we get on to the next portion of the agenda involving the heritage restoration. back down. Oh, thank you. You have the right up here with me. That's perfect. So, every year we have an Adina Heritage Preservation Award that we give out and we've got one this year and um Katie, I'm going to bring it down and you've got some of the folks with you that are going to be accepting that award and I think it's good best if I bring it down now and then you Okay, perfect. It's not official yet. Oh, great. Well, I'm Katie Pope. I'm vice chair of the Heritage Preservation Commission. I'm honored to have the opportunity to speak about this charming piece of history in Parkwood Nolles and this year's Edina Heritage Award for 2025. Jim Frey is here tonight along with his wife Mary are the current homeowners and the family who led the efforts to save the cabin. and Elise Matney, a neighbor of Jim and Mary's who submitted for this year's award and her article was originally highlighted in the Stroll Parkwood Nolles magazine. The first photos that you're seeing now are um show the cabin in its current location. It was originally built in 1932 for Dennis Ralph Booze, who provided dental care to Native Americans in upstate New York. He commissioned a skilled Native American craftsman to build the cabin in its original location, which is now redeveloped as Mirror Oaks of Edina. In 1995996, the Frey family spearheaded efforts including conservation easements and detailed planning to salvage its legacy of preservation, craftsmanship, and cultural significance. There were multiple rounds of planning commission reviews and approvals around the electricity and water to the cabin. The structure is constructed else. Here we go. The structure is constructed using pegs instead of nails. A draw knife was used to remove the bark from all of the logs. Wow. When it was relocated, the foundation was built in advance. And after the location, there was existing lacquer and creassote on the logs which was sanded and removed. Its interior is filled with artifacts from the Booze family, including Ralph's African big game hunts of Will the Beast and Antelopee. There's even a 1947 Filco Ford refrigerator still in its original location. The fireplace is easily the showpiece within the cabin. It's constructed of loose lace stone fit with no mortar, just concrete set behind the facade. And a fun fact is the cabin was also featured in the 1972 film The Heartbreak Kid, starring Cyibil Shepard and Charles Groden. The HPC had the opportunity to see the cabin in person, and it's clear why the Frey family worked so hard to preserve it. The detailing is exquisite, and the setting on the Freys property is out of a story book. We're so honored to award Booze Cabin as this year's Edina Heritage Award. And please, of course, it's on. Okay. Thank you, Katie. And I first of all I want to say thank you to Elise for uh taking the time and having the uh the foresight to chronicle what we had well it's been in our backyard for 25 years and after a time you become accustomed to it. Um and it was interesting coming back here Mr. Mayor uh of thinking uh this is probably 25 years or more ago. uh I had to come before the council several times to get the approval for first of all electrical and then for water and it took several rounds of of uh presentation to make that happen and uh the cabin itself has been just a it's a delight to have and we've used it on numerous occasions and uh I will tell you that the last couple years it hadn't been used a lot um and lease it was thank you for for writing the story about it with able help from your mother uh and uh Lauram and and so um we have now kind of a newfound appreciation. There's a party going on in my house tonight uh that I am missing part of and uh but for the bad weather there are a number of people who have said let's go out and take a look at that thing and so a few of them are have trumped out to take a look and it's it's a piece of history which is uh I remember it as a kid uh going by the old boost house. You could barely see the cabin from Blake Road. Uh but it was always this mystical thing and uh uh when I had a chance to uh to actually long story of negotiation with the uh the buyer or the the developer of the land uh that this is a once in a-lifetime opportunity to to keep this wonderful piece of of history alive and um it is just it it's just a delight and um I'm I'm very pleased to be able to do this. I am but a steward of this and someone else somewhere down the road will be maintaining this. Thank you all for recognition. [Applause] All right, that completes everything in the special recognitions and presentations portion of the agenda this evening. Uh we're going to move on now on now to the reports and recommendations portion of the agenda. And we've got a couple of matters there. The first one is a resolution 2025-40 accepting donations on behalf of the city. We've got a couple of generous donations to talk about this evening. Is there someone who wants to move on the council the adoption of resolution 2025-40? So moved. Member Jackson moves a second. Member seconds the adoption of resolution 2025-40 which accepts donations on behalf of the city of Adina. Uh all those in favor of adoption of the resolution as provided say I. I. Opposed carried. Resolution 2025-40 is adopted. The items are accepted for donation both to the park and recck department this particular reporting period. Uh Dennis Scholstead, longtime resident of the city of Edina, uh lost his wife several years ago. Put a beautiful couple beautiful pieces of sculpture up at Centennial Lakes. One a golden retriever. another one that he found out at the arboritum. Uh uh and um and and now he's providing us with some maintenance money for Centennial Lakes, sum of $5,000, very very generous. Uh and Indiana Baseball Association, uh little over $19,000 for Countryside Park field updates, and that field is looking really good. Every time you drive by there, there's some activity going on there. So, thank you to those donors uh both individual and association wise. We really appreciate it. Uh and then next we are on to um the uh item 8.2 uh which is a potential adoption of resolution 2025-35 and ordinance 2025-05 which involve a request for reszoning. Uh and Carrie Teague, our community development director, has this matter and we took this up a couple of weeks ago, had a public hearing, and now we are uh at the decision-making time. So, Director Teague, going to bring us up to speed on this matter. Yes. Thank you, Mayor, members of the council. So, this is the Southdale office center site, the 22 acre parcel directly west of Southdale. So the uh the resoning is to establish the original PCD3 zoning on the site and the conditional use permit is for the existing offices to become a permitted use or conditionally permitted use. The property owner plans to remodel the two middle office buildings and build a couple of small handicap accessible entrances uh to those buildings. This action will rescend the 2017 PUD for that largecale development in which buildings were going to be removed um where the buildings are being remodeled. That project never came to be. So this action would rescend uh that PUD from the ordinance and establishes the PCD3 zoning district. Uh there was no additional feedback uh received on better together. So, we would ask that you adopt uh the resolution and for the ordinance, we would ask that you wave second reading. The applicant team is here should you have any questions of them. With that, I'll turn it back to the council and the staff recommendation and the planning commission recommendation was was for approval. Planning commission recommendation was unanimous. Right. And staff as well. All right. Thank you for that. Uh questions for Director Teague at this point in time or for the applicant. We've got the applicant's team with us. Yes. Member RER, I did watch uh the meeting that I missed. Uh, one question I have is about having a tree ordinance that addresses um the zone PCD3 or um what's going to happen when we switch this back because that Oak Grove is not going to be protected. That's correct. It's not protected under the current PUD, but the the hope is with the um Energy and Environment Commission, we will be bringing forward an ordinance amendment um similar to the residential um that will protect trees in our commercial district. So, we hope to have that done by the end of the year. I did not see that on the work plan for the EEC. Maybe I missed it, but it's one that they've they've been working on. They have a draft. um it's been kind of put on hold as we're working on other elements of that uh tree ordinance, but that is it is in the works for this year. I'm getting concerned. I and I um tried to find the work session where the tree ordinance first came up because I know at that meeting I asked about having language that would cover the commercial zone. And I'm particularly concerned because in our southeast quadrant, we just have such a small, meager tree canopy. And I could not find that meeting. And I also want to find it because of the community comment that came up at the beginning of the meeting because I I thought we talked about tree density and just having it become too much on single family sites. So, I'm going to dig again and try to find that. But if anybody knows the date when that happened, that'd be really fantastic. I feel like it's been over a year um of me asking that we have something. So um it's troubling that we're at the point where we are and we revert back. Um you can say nothing really protected it in the PUD, but the PUD did specifically um not allow buildings in that area. And you can say, well, nothing's going to happen unless they, you know, come forward with a plan to put something where that oak grove is. But, I mean, they could they could take out that oak grove any time. Um, so I I really want to see that come forward. Um, feeling kind of frustrated about that. U, that's all I have. Thank you, Council Member Jackson. Yes. Thank you, Mr. Mr. Mayor, so we got an email from a resident wanting to know about any opportunity to make two places more safely safe to walk. And that is on the northern end of the property along 62nd Street or 66th Street, I guess, and then also um at the light and I can't remember which light he was talking about, but he said that he's he walks regularly and it's not particularly safe. I know that's outside the scope of what we're voting on tonight, but is there h how can we respond to residents who are concerned about the walkability um in this area? That could be an item for the traffic safety committee to take up. Okay. Yeah, I would recommend that we contact the engineering department to add that to one of their agendas. I forwarded that email to the developer. They may have they may have a comment on that. I don't know if they were they were going to take a look at it, but I don't know if they have prepared to comment on that this evening or not. Mr. Smith, mayor and members of the council, um we have looked at um You want to give us your name and address, please? Yeah, Sean Smith. Um I'm with uh Southdale office partners at 6800 France Avenue South. Um, we have uh looked into and we've certainly made improvements to the um uh to the walkability and the and the um safety of that site. And I think the project that we're doing now in front of you really really does enhance the ADA access and those need improvements for those buildings. Um I think as it relates to just the general overall site um you know we've um if you look at some of the areas where that resident had concern there isn't any infrastructure to connect you to like for example uh I think he he he referenced the intersection that stoplight that's uh north of Tavern on France. Well, there's no crosswalk or any infrastructure to get from our site to Southdale uh Mall, for example. So, we've we've certainly looked into that. Um, even back in, let's see here, I want to say 2018ish, we added a sidewalk from Bank of America and we installed the um signalized intersection uh the pedestrian signalized um uh marker at uh uh right there right by Valley View. And so we've certainly added those enhancements, but at this point, um, we need a little bit of direction on on kind of how that's plan with the city, um, to to kind of make those connections in the future. So, thank you. Yep. And I just a general comment that I wanted to make is that I these are some of the most beautiful buildings in the city and I'm really pleased that you've worked so hard to preserve them and um for a lot of reasons, but um but I'm glad that you're invest continue to invest in the property and and preserve those beautiful buildings. Smith, while we got you up here, do you want to come back up and comment on member Risser's concerns about the Oak Savannah? Yeah, sure. Um I, you know, we've we've certainly talked to the association. Um our current plan, we don't have any we're not doing any work in those trees. Um and uh we've we've maintained those well since since we've been a part of this, uh which is the early 2000s. Um and so this proposal doesn't um doesn't consider really doing anything those trees. And I would say too, um I think any future plan obviously we would have to come back for that we need a site plan and um I at at this point that might be premature to just you know to assume something that um really isn't being considered tonight. So, um, we we've certainly done a lot to that site to to enhance. We've we've added a a wood chip path with the lighted um with the light um through those trees and everything. So, our tenants find benefit in that. And I think if if if you look back at some of the plans and planning commission comments and even your comments too, we've ma we've modified our plan to protect those trees. And I think the plan that's tonight um is really protecting every one of those trees. So um right and I I have to say I feel for you because that PUD it was just you know very ownorous in some ways and I um the ask that you are making to reszone there is such a logic behind it. My frustration is um the fact that we do not have language protecting trees in the commercial zone. So, I just want to say I'm not frustrated. Yep. Um but yeah, I think you know this is a very logical, reasonable request that you're making. Yes. Could this Mr. Smith um this may or may not be something you've talked to your team about. Would you entertain a condition on the resolution that would preclude the removal of any of those trees in that oak savannah except if they were diseased for example? Um could you repeat that again? I'm sorry. So, you know, one of the things we can do because we're passing a resolution tonight is reszoning from PUD11 to PCD3 and and theoretically proving conditional use of office on the site as we as we reszone it. But as a as a condition of that resolution, we could we could put in a provision restricting uh any removal of uh any of the trees in that oak savannah along Valley View. And uh to me from you know it's something that I think you guys might be comfortable with because you've you've done such a good job maintaining that oak savannah cleaning out all the buckthorn that was there creating those wooden paths and the lighted pathways and y um I I would maintain that I I just feel like something like that would be premature when there's when we're there's no plan that would consider removing those trees at this point. Um, you know, we we've also worked with the city of Edina on various ideas for storm water infrastructure and um I believe at one point we were talking about a um uh the fire uh there was a um uh the the u uh fire station as a potential location as a part of that. So I think some of those restrictions while well-meaning might provide some you know um inability to get some of those creative ideas in the future uh that we could partner with too. So you've got some reticence about doing that pro protecting that trees through a restrictive uh condition on the resolution. Yes. So I think anytime you add a restriction on the property um that there's there's there's a reticence on our part. Yes. Right. All right. Thank you. Any other questions from council members? We got a couple of different um maybe this is a question for attorney Kendall. We've got a uh resolution that uh requests resoning from PUD11 to PCD3. And then uh in the context of that resolution sets forth the fact that uh office the office use would become a conditional use on the site and that also rescends the prior PUD. That's the ordinance that rescends PUB1. Can we vote on them together or you think we should separate them out? Um, I think it'd be clear if you separate them out, mayor. Okay. And because I think the director Teague wanted the waiver of second reading on the ordinance anyway. So, all right. Let's take up uh the first matter. Let's take up the resolution 2025-35 which um if approved uh would approve the reasonzoning from PUD11 to PCD3 plan commercial district uh and and it would provide for the issuance of a conditional use permit to allow office uses on the site. Is there a motion to adopt that resolution? So moved. Is there a second? Second. We got a motion from member Agnu, excuse me, member Jackson, second from member Pierce to adopt the um resolution uh 2025-35. Any further discussion? All those in favor of adoption of resolution 2025-35 say I. I. I. Opposed. Carried. Resolution 2025-35 is adopted. And now ordinance number 2025-05 um would resend the PUD11 uh and um and Director Teague is suggesting that we wave second reading on that ordinance amendment. Is there a motion to adopt the uh ordinance 2025-05 with a waiver of second reading? So moved. Member Jackson moves. Pier seconds the adoption of uh ordinance number 2025-05 with a waiver of second reading. Uh any further discussion? All those in favor of adoption of ordinance number 2025-05 and waiver of second reading say I. I. I. Opposed carried. Ordinance 2025 with a waiver of second reading is approved. Both aspects of the requests are approved and um we look forward to seeing the improvements on the property. So, we know you've been good stewards. Yeah, we're counting on you to be good stewards in the future as well. For sure. And and you know, we've we've been here a few times. I I did have a few things to say. So, um you know, we um we just want to thank you for this um the approval of the request here tonight. Um, you know, you you've all seen this project as it sits today and you've seen what it could be in various elements, but today is not that um ambitious, but it certainly is important and um tonight's resolution really puts a clear set of guidelines in place and allows us to move forward with the confidence. So, um I would like to recognize, you know, since this has been a process staff's time, um you guys have been just great to work with. Um, so thanks for all the emails and the research and calls and meetings. Um, the community as well. Um, I'm uh I did not see the um president of the association of Cornelia here tonight, but I know um they have done a lot of work and communication those neighborhoods. So um Cornelia Association and the Point of France as well. And then you um I just um you know we've we've been through a few of these meetings to one two o'clock at sometimes and um it just uh um really shows your civic engagement and and all that for the city of Edina. So thank you and we look forward to moving this project forward. Thanks. All right, Miss Cine and Mr. Ericson, thanks for being here as well. Thanks for your good work. Thanks for your good work, Mr. Smith. All right. We look forward to those uh improvements on those as uh as member Jackson says, those two great historic or that historic complex really. So, thank you. All right, that takes us actually to the end of the meeting and in terms of the uh actions that we have to undertake. Um I think I'll jump right to manager's comments. You've got a couple of things you wanted to cover with us. Thank you, your honor. Just uh yeah, I do. Mostly calendar items. Um this is just a reminder that we are getting uh moving into the summer season. Uh meaning that we've got um uh two meetings in June, June 3rd and June 17th. And then we don't have a meeting scheduled for the council until July 15th, so almost four weeks. Uh and after that, July 15th, we have the extra week because of of the way the calendar falls. So then your next meeting after that is is uh two is three weeks later. That's August 6th and that's a Wednesday. Um the uh Tuesday of that week is is National Night Out, a night to unite. Um and council has traditionally uh participated in that. So the meeting that week is we slide it into Wednesday and then August 19th which is a conventional Tuesday. Um I just wanted to give you a heads up also uh from the last HA meeting uh there is interest in having a special HR meeting to continue your analysis of the RFPs for the 5146 Eden Avenue site. Uh Jen Garski will be reaching out to you probably starting tomorrow if you haven't heard from her already to uh find about uh discover what your availability is for a couple of different dates and time combos in uh June. And that's all I've got. Thank you. Good. Uh member anything for us this evening? Yeah, I have a couple of things. Good. Um if if Chad Milner were here, I would probably direct these to him. But a couple of questions. Um we've gotten um some concerns, I think specifically with the construction happening over on the other side of 100 about um the pedestrian crossway from Grand View Square to the Abidor. um people not adhering to the flashing lights and just overall concerns of pedestrian safety. And so I'm curious if at the very least in the short term, but I do understand that these concerns have been a little bit broader than just during the construction. Um but wanting to evaluate what we can do. Um I'm not sure there's a ton we can do, but I at least wanted to analyze when there's already the button and I think the flashy lights. Um, but we've gotten I've gotten multiple calls about concerns in that area. Um, the other one is I received this via email. I'm sure others did as well. Um, of a request for us to reconsider again another pedestrian safety issue at Interlock in and Vanderborg. Um, so I'm not sure. I I just want Chad's opinion on I know that this one went through the the traffic safety report process. Um, but if there is anything else that we could do in that uh case as well, I think that that would be helpful. Um, and then thirdly, uh, I've gotten some concerns multiple times, but most recently, um, this last week, uh, I think with the the changing of the seasons about the nuisance of leaf blowers, um, specifically gas powered leaf blowers. And so I wanted to understand one if this is something we've considered. I know that there are a lot of other communities that have bans on gas powered leaf blowers. Um but I just wanted to kind of like throw that out there and see if there was any other interest in us as a a council exploring that and potentially um looking to kind of curtail some of that noise and gas um issue that we see. Wanted to just kind of throw that out there. I can help you on the first two because I've been working on those things as well. Okay. So, uh, Nick Baller is meeting with the the president who has been hit almost almost been hit a couple of times in the crosswalk on Eden Avenue. He's meeting with her tomorrow, I think he said, and they're trying to figure out what they can do there. He said that we've got it as well flashed as you can. Apparently there's different grades of flashing lights and this is the highest most visible form. Uh but nonetheless it's in a tough spot where they cross there are people coming down that hill around that curve. So they're going to look at they're my understanding is they're going to look at that further. Is that your understanding as well? And they're working on that now. And the second one you raised was the Vandervor interlockan. And I sent all that data to that person today that he relied on because I asked him about what did they rely on for that data and I sent it to the resident and it may not um hear the issue in their opinion. You know, they still would like a way to get safely across interlock which isn't that easy. I'm sure no matter where you try to cross. So, anything else, manager Neil, on that? I will check. I will confer with uh city engineer on both of those and we'll get some report ready to give to you at an upcoming council meeting. Gas leaf blower issue that's been raised several times over the last year by residents, I think with all of us, and I think that would be something we'd want to send to the energy and environment commissioner. could talk about doing that, making it part of their work plan because I think for most cities that have done it, you've got to have a phase out period, you know. I mean, some guys over at Jerry's now buying a gas leaf blower, you know, and and uh now you've said you can't use that anymore, you know, and uh so there's usually a four or five year phase in period from what I've seen. But nonetheless, that's an issue probably worth looking at, but we can talk about the work plan. Yeah. Member Pierce. Um the only other one that I had in addition to um the three that we just covered um was we've gotten emails about the train noise and so I forwarded that. Um I knew Chad Doc Milner wasn't going to be here, but I did forward him that one and um copied Scott. Um, we looked at that, I believe, back in 23 is the last time I remember looking at it. But, um, it would be good to have, um, that looked into and then have someone come back and just give us, um, just remind us where we are with that and what the opportunities are. Um, and if you remember, it was just around the increase in train traffic and horn and the the uh horn horn horn no noise uh was tough for me to say. Um, and so that was one. And then the other, this is just a general communication one. um with the Braar burn um we got email a couple of emails from a resident that um was adversely impacted by that. Um and so I I we've responded a couple of times. Uh but that is one where I forwarded to manager Neil. um I felt like we needed a more um coordinated response than what we we ended up doing. Um and so that's another one. Um where it is now, if you haven't read that email, it does sound um as though it is escalating. And so we we do need to um look at that and just figure out as a city um a different communication approach to it. And um that's it on the train uh whistle issue. I think we've all heard on that one too. And um I did there's a mayor at the US Conference of Mayors that's on the standing committee on transportation with me was the vice chair for uh surface rail. And so he's on he happens to be on the board of Amtrak. So, I asked them for the names of a couple of consultants we might talk to because we got turned down on that first request for what was it 225,000 we requested and see if you know we might hire somebody that knows a different pathway to get a grant or we might just have to face up to that notion ourselves of self-unding. So, but those are those are important issues too. Um, member Jackson, thank you. So, we got must be getting so much court um communication because I also got an email about trying to keep in mind as the city takes activities into account, places for teenagers to go that's constructive for places for them to hang out, whether it's a gym or places to eat and stuff. We I had a long conversation about that this morning with one of our residents and the um teenagers are speaking out at least through uh this gentleman that they really want places to go. So as we plan Fred Richards Park and the new Bremar Arena and other things, let's try and keep in mind that eight months to 80 years old perspective um as we uh provide activities and um opportunities for our residents. Thank you, member. Um, I feel like I need to catch up because I was gone, but um, it was I would like to get was the neighborhood meeting about the tunnel recorded so that other council members could listen to concerns that were raised at that. It was not. I didn't have a sense that it was. I don't Yeah. Okay. Um, are there any plans to have a public meeting about the tunnel? Um, I would think we would have a I mean, if we got the far enough where we thought we should proceed and have a public hearing about whether we wanted to do it or not or get public input on the idea. Well, since there's this two is it a two-eek window for people to put comments on better together and there hasn't been an event that um all council members could attend and hear what the community is thinking and contribute to it. Maybe I guess that's not necess that doesn't seem to be on the radar. Um but there is this window for people to comment on it. So that's important to underscore. Um, one thing another thing that I was uh concerned about is one of the items is the quarterly financial report and progress portal. Um, and we didn't really do a deep dive into that, but it does include 2025 advisory commission work. And I did mention that that plan or whatever the, you know, to put language together so that we can have an ordinance that addresses trees in the commercial area was not there. And it makes me wonder if there's other work that commissions are doing that is not listed. And I really would hope that we could get a comprehensive list of all the things that the commissions are working on because I think that's important. um you know just basic in terms of being able to recognize them, but also if it's not on this list, it might not really be on their radar. We could get to the end of 2025 and we still don't have anything. So I'm wondering if we need to take another pass at those lists and update those. And the then finally um I would just like to end on a more upbeat kind of note. It was wonderful this Saturday to go to Rosland Park um and to be at the Edina Asian-American Alliance um annual festival and I really had a good time and learned a lot and it was just a really great experience. So, want to do a shout out to all the people who worked on that and all of the participants. Yeah, we ran into you by the food truck. Food trucks. It was a I just segue off of that one, too. I guess it was a great event Saturday starting at noon with the Asian-American Alliance. This whole celebration of South Asian culture from, I'd say, India all the way to China and every country in between. It was uh really even even on a chilly day that wasn't raining fortunately, but great turnout and a lot of fun. And then earlier that morning, uh the Rotary Club had the Dina Rides uh bike ride. I'd say probably a 30% 35% of the riders showed up. It wasn't very good, but it was still a great event and uh it'll that'll be something that builds on itself, too. Uh just like the the Valley View Vibe 5K that'll be building. All these things are are great for community and everybody's making our town a better place to live every day, which is really wonderful. I think um I got to say when I drive around town, these dandelions are really driving me nuts. Like, you know, we've got people in our town that are experts on organic control of weeds. And I I I just I just think we should be talking to somebody about I know that people are sensitive about chemical use uh in in the parks in other places, but some of the places look really uh just overrun with dandelions. And it's just something I I think it's worth a conversation with somebody that does organic uh treatment over time that uh could help us out and make things look a little bit better. just a personal view. Uh and then the boulevards on Valley View and then 66th Street from France to York. Those are two areas that are ripe for I'd say reshaping, replanting, replanting, get rid of all of the the crab grass and quack grass in there that we mow for no good reason other than keep it down. But those are two boulevard areas that could look just fabulous if we put in uh you know prairie grasses and wild flowers. Especially that stretch from uh on 66th from France uh by Restoration Hardware right there where it starts in the in the new pump house all the way over to York. That that's a big wide boulevard. Could could look great with wild flowers and prairie grasses on it. And the other thing I've been worried about lately is um pickle ball. I know that um we're we're going to see some plans for Fred Richards uh that are going to be um there's also going to be other things coming I think that are going to involve multifamily housing right up next to pickle ball courts. And all you hear around the country are people's concerns about the doink doink day and night from pickle ball. That makes me think about uh maybe the park and rec should have this conversation about. I know they've been working on attenuation, you know, rackets and balls that aren't as noisy, but still I think it's something to be concerned about and think about. We're and and I don't want to I don't want to diss pickle ball. I want to I want to expand pickle ball if we can because it's so enjoyable for people. But like Rosen Park, we had the perfect spot. It's right by the cross town and and nobody hears it. You know, it doesn't offend anybody and people can have a great time. So, I think we had to be looking for other spots where we uh aren't going to create any kind of tension between um dwellers and multif family buildings or or even single family homes in pickle ball. That's it for me. Uh anybody else have any other thoughts that came to mind as a result of these conversations here? Okay. Um, we got tab tomorrow and and uh that's about it. We had some we had a team from US Conference of Mayors here last week that met with about a dozen mayors on different issues that involved uh federal programming uh including the uh the budget process at the uh at Congress and reauthorization that'll be coming up fairly soon. So, that was an interesting conversation as well. Is there a motion to adjurnn the city council meeting this 20th day of May 2025? So moved. Second. Member Jackson moves uh adjournment. Member eggno seconds. Any further discussion? All those in favor of adjourning the meeting of city council this 20th day of May 2025 say I. I. I. Opposed carried. We stand adjourned.