[0:41] pm and uh you heard Director Benerat explain that we are continuing to do these meetings on a uh a hybrid sort of

[0:48] basis Uh we have folks tuning in uh online uh watching in a variety of

[0:53] different ways We also have folks here in the audience that are appearing live And so we're going to continue this

[0:59] method uh into the indefinite future Uh if you're online and uh or if you're

[1:05] here we've got a couple different opportunities for uh comment once uh community comment and this is your

[1:11] access code information uh to call in You can call in during community comment Remember that if it's on the agenda this

[1:17] evening or scheduled for a future public hearing uh that's those are two categories in which you cannot comment

[1:23] Uh otherwise we're eager to hear what your concerns or comments are Uh and then we've got two public hearing

[1:29] matters this evening as well that uh we'll take public testimony on So uh having provided that information I'm

[1:36] going to ask our clerk Sharon Ellison to call the role Council member Agnu here

[1:41] Council member Jackson here Council member Pierce here Council member Risser here Mayor Hublin here And now the

[1:48] pledge of allegiance I pledge allegiance to the flag of the

[1:54] United States of America and to the republic for which it stands one nation

[2:00] under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all

[2:05] Thanks everybody And um we've got a form of meeting agenda in front of us this

[2:11] evening Anyone on the council wish to modify the meeting agenda or from a staff standpoint all right Is there a

[2:17] motion to approve the meeting agenda as published so moved I second Member Jackson moves M Ragnu seconds the

[2:23] adoption of the of the meeting agenda as published Any further discussion all those in favor of adoption of the

[2:29] meeting agenda as published say I I I Opposed Carried The meeting agenda is adopted Uh and now we are at community

[2:35] comment And uh for folks in the audience again a reminder uh we welcome your participation in the council meeting

[2:41] this evening on anything that's not scheduled for a future public hearing or on the agenda this evenings uh we don't

[2:48] want to be creating a a de facto sort of public hearing uh where some people have

[2:53] advantage over others So um we welcome people in the audience first and then we'll turn to the uh virtual world and

[3:00] see if we have anybody else that wants to participate with us on an online basis

[3:18] Good evening mayor council members My name is Ralph Sickert I live at 4311

[3:23] Cornelius Circle I applaud the council for taking the initiative to start the

[3:28] 2026 budget discussions earlier than ever before The looming 17% increase in

[3:35] property tax levy warrants a different approach Unfortunately after three months manager

[3:43] Neil deserves a failing grade for his efforts Not a C not a D but an F Mr Neil

[3:50] deserves a failing grade because he missed the first step in solving a problem That first step being clearly

[3:57] define the problem you're trying to solve In multiple meetings and presentations Mr Neil has made it clear

[4:04] he does not believe the tax burden on residents is too high Instead Mr Neil

[4:10] sees the problem as one of being optics the optics of a 17% increase in property

[4:16] tax levy No wonder then that Mr Neil's largest so-called reductions in next

[4:22] year's tax levy are to be achieved by increasing your utility bills increasing your

[4:29] Henipin County property taxes and increasing your sales tax at the checkout counter

[4:36] Look no further than the numbers shared with the

[4:43] council March 15th $2.6 million almost half of the

[4:49] so-called levy reduction initiatives merely shift the collection of those

[4:55] revenues from what is currently a dino of property taxes to a different taxing authority A change that would further

[5:02] obscure the real cost of running the city Only in an insulated bureaucratic

[5:08] environment would this be perceived as a reduction in Adina's tax burden So yes

[5:14] Mr Neil's efforts deserve a failing mark After three months only

[5:22] $500,000 of true taxpayer savings has been identified and $300,000 of that

[5:28] came from a resident's suggestion not staff Yet to be fair we still are nine

[5:35] months away from having to hold our noses as we have the last two years before the final budget vote in December

[5:43] So my question tonight is this In these intervening nine months who will be the

[5:48] last council member to demonstrate that the problem facing Adina is not one of optics the problem is a ballooning tax

[5:56] burden in need of long-term spending reductions which do not kick the can down the road

[6:03] real process improvements which result in lower spending and ongoing revenue streams that don't just change the name

[6:09] of the tax collector And after tonight's work session let's not forget service

[6:15] levels Thank you Thank you Mr Zert Anyone

[6:23] else yes please come forward Saw a hand come up in the back

[6:28] there

[6:39] Good evening Good evening

[7:02] Hello Um my name is Jarl Perry and I am a part of the coalition to end slavery

[7:08] in our prison systems in our Minnesota prison systems Uh thank you for having me city council as well as mayor Um

[7:17] slavery is legal and must be ended by legislation Uh slavery is legal under

[7:24] the article 1 section two of the Minnesota Constitution which allows

[7:29] slavery as punishment for a crime Uh yes in Minnesota in 2025 slavery is still

[7:36] legal Uh eight states have ended slavery in the Constitution including Alabama uh

[7:43] Nebraska Tennessee and Utah are four of them Uh but no one in in or impacted by

[7:51] the prison system has yet felt the benefits from these changes Which is why

[7:56] we as have organized uh for Minnesota to be the first state to reclassify

[8:03] prisoners as workers through legislative means

[8:08] All right Hi my name is Cesaly McMillan As an

[8:14] inmate in Riker's Island I was forced to work up to 16 hours a day at a rate of 17 cents an hour the highest paying job

[8:21] in that institution as a suicide prevention aid to adolescent girls imprisoned

[8:26] there Making sure that none of them quote hung up or cut up Here in

[8:32] Minnesota people in prison are forced to work starting at 25 cents an hour at a punishment of incel or actual

[8:40] solitary confinement for failing to do so while at the same time the cost of purchasing hygiene email and other

[8:47] things that you need to survive in prison costs more money more than the money that you can make This enforced

[8:53] poverty drains families prevents victims from receiving restitution and sets up more than 25% of people to leave prison

[9:01] in a state of homelessness in poverty um without any uh ability to avoid

[9:07] reconviction rates with rearrest rates that go up by six and 12 times respectively The difference between real

[9:14] wages and slave wages is stealing a hund00 million a year from the poorest motans their children their families and

[9:21] the victims For all of our sakes we must do better Thank you Mrs McMillan Thank you My name

[9:28] Raj and um uh uh Adina is connected to prison slavery and can be part of the

[9:36] solution right um and and illegal slavery right and um illegal slavery is

[9:45] is even connected to the beautiful city of Adina According to the Minnesota Department of Corrections the following

[9:53] entities that uh have had work crew contracted since 2019 right cities like

[10:00] Shau View Blaine Rapids Minnitanka Woodbury Plymouth Savage Eden Prairie uh

[10:08] Good Hugh County Dakota County Parks Minnesota Department of Transportation

[10:13] Habitat for Humanity and Adina Two contracts that we received that we were able to see that

[10:21] such cities are paying 10 incarcerated work crew members for 40 hours a week

[10:27] for 85 for $98,500 a year to the Minnesota Department of Corrections or roughly

[10:35] $4.90 an hour with an overtime costing 85 um $85 an hour or 8.5 or 50 cents

[10:46] $8.50 per person We know from these work working working u these those working uh

[10:53] these jobs that they had roughly paid an hour a dollar an hour Right We are glad

[11:01] that cities like Idina are hiring people in prison but our state needs to uh

[11:08] needs you to ensure that these human beings right are paid real not slave

[11:15] wages and those opportunities become successful pipelines right out and into

[11:23] the community Yeah thanks for that

[11:30] Good evening mayor and councilman Um reclassifying prisoners as state workers

[11:37] could be a potential to lift up the prisoners as well as making them leaders in uh leaders in the community It also

[11:43] can help them uh with the families the the prisoners and the safety of the

[11:48] victims and economic Uh me myself uh worked on the crew uh inside the prison

[11:55] and uh I've worked on the very grounds here putting out mulch and things around here So with that being said that with

[12:02] 25 cents an hour compared to a regular worker it could help them with um job

[12:07] ethics as well as helping the the victims and the community uh with the leadership and stuff So I want to thank

[12:14] y'all That would be you know a solution to to put them as regular workers and

[12:19] study slave wages which is 25 cent compared to what regular workers are getting And that will help them And I

[12:25] want to thank y'all Yeah sure And would you give us your name for the record too please oh I'm sorry for that My name is David Islam Okay Thanks Thanks Dave

[12:34] All right Um could you anybody tell us what kind of success you've had with this maybe you weren't done with your

[12:40] remarks yet we can ask Uh thank you Um so

[12:45] um in the bill that we are trying to push forward um it shows that uh we want

[12:51] to be able to have everybody moved up to $15 an hour That's minimum wage Um be

[12:57] able to by reclassifying them as working class they'll get better working conditions Uh and the option not to work

[13:03] if they don't want to without punishment which is very key Um we we have started

[13:10] this initiative and tried to uh campaign out this process by the 5,000 jobs

[13:15] initiative by trying to partner with a lot of uh companies and organizations to be able to give people opportunities to

[13:22] be able to work uh inside and actually can be transferred to outside work as well uh because a lot of the people that

[13:29] are working on the inside of the prison system once they re once they exit the prison system the same job that they

[13:35] were doing for 10 years on the inside now they are unqualified to do on the outside and that just blows my mind uh

[13:42] by being able to establish the $15 an hour uh 50 no yeah 50% or less uh will

[13:49] be earmarked to take care of restitution as well as uh taking care of any type of child support or to be able to support

[13:56] your family on outside Uh you would get a small increase on the inside Uh but the biggest thing is you would have a a

[14:02] high yield savings account on outside Uh what that would do you would be able to save up enough money so when you do exit

[14:08] you have a nest egg to be able to start your life over and uh actual feet to be able to stand on I know a lot of the

[14:14] times it's fight or flight when a lot of these people get out of the prison system and being able to be effective

[14:21] inside to outside and being able to give them a chance to be able to stand on their own and take care of that

[14:27] restitution and all those uh things that usually put people back into the prison

[14:32] system with that recidivism If we if we get change this by 1% if we change the recidivism by 1% uh that will be $1

[14:40] million that doesn't go to our prison systems and $10 million that our taxpayers are not paying 58 million 58

[14:48] million Okay All right 1% reduction Okay So 58 million for 1% produ uh reduction

[14:56] Reduction Reduction not production So it's very key that we uh get the support

[15:02] of the city council and we would love uh for you guys to be able to sign on and support as as uh any way possible and um

[15:11] uh I would let uh CC follow up All right Yeah thanks for that Go ahead us um uh

[15:18] in so much as we've had uh AG Ellison sign on Uh we have the bill sponsors um

[15:24] right now working with the language uh Claire Umu Verbaton in the Senate and Cedric Fraser Cedric Frasier in the

[15:30] House Um uh Jacob uh Fry is that right

[15:36] okay No he's really lovely Uh I moved here three years ago actually because there's so few places that you can

[15:43] actually live even put your name on a lease Um I was living for eight years in

[15:49] my hometown of Atlanta without ever being able to be on that lease Um which is to say Maslo's hierarchy of needs

[15:55] Like I literally had to be able to stay with whomever had enough privilege to let me be there And when I arrived here

[16:02] I had three job offers and they're supposed to be banan the box uh they were all rescended uh because I'm a

[16:08] legal liability So when job discrimination is real when housing discrimination is real when that's a

[16:13] requirement of your probation upon leaving and you leave with no money or no no support no transferability of

[16:20] skills that's a problem And so on our end what we're doing uh between now and

[16:26] the upcoming next session is we're actually raising the 3,000 jobs that we would need to from Fortune 500 companies

[16:32] from nonprofits and small businesses organizations here in this state which is the first state to send troops to

[16:38] back the Civil War to end slavery And we're hoping that we can walk this in

[16:43] January 2026 without a financial attachment necessary the hund00 million

[16:49] that exists could just go to jobs at minimum wage to continue to fund the

[16:55] operations of the prison and now we can set up jobs that can transfer from within to without

[17:01] Okay So Cedric Frasier has got your bill in the house and who who did you say had it in the Senate um Claire Umu Verbaten

[17:08] and they're the bill sponsors currently working on that bill language um to walk

[17:13] it in uh 2026 with the idea that we will have twice uh the jobs uh 6,000 jobs

[17:21] pledge is what I'm okay yeah I was thinking if you were working on the language now it's just from doing things

[17:28] over there it's probably a little bit late for this year but you're talking about 2026 yes sir yeah makes sense okay

[17:36] um Other council members have any questions or we thank you for taking the time to come over here tonight and uh

[17:42] enlightening all of us on this uh on this challenge I know I'd be the second city council to endorse this along with

[17:48] Minneapolis city council and I think that would be all right really awesome So thank you so much Okay Thank you

[17:54] Thanks Miss Miss McMillan Yeah we we got the Yeah we got the handout too So we got

[18:01] everything on there All right Thank you Thank you

[18:09] Anybody else in the audience

[18:14] okay Um no one no one

[18:20] online Disappointing I know for you We can talk

[18:25] some more We will Thank you All right

[18:33] Um city manager responses to community comment from the prior meeting Anything to respond to i don't think there there

[18:39] were no I don't remember any questions Just had two speakers but we had no questions uh for staff to answer

[18:47] Okay Uh we've got a consent agenda in front of us I know member Risser would

[18:52] like to remove the minute 6.1 Does any other council member wish to remove any item from the consent agenda or a staff

[18:59] person all right Is there a motion to approve the items on the consent agenda with the exception of item 6.1 so moved Second

[19:07] Member Jackson moves member Pierce seconds the adoption of the items on the consent agenda with the exception of 6.1

[19:14] Um any further discussion all those in favor of adoption of the items on the consent agenda except 6.1 say I I I

[19:22] Opposed Carried Uh all those items are adopted with the exception of 6.1 And now we'll go to member Risser and item

[19:29] 6.1 to find out what her concern is there Member Risser thank you And I

[19:35] would like to thank um clerk Allison for working with me on

[19:40] this Uh resident Norah Davis uh did come to community comment at our last meeting

[19:47] and um the way her comments were originally presented in the minutes were

[19:53] very inaccurate Um she was credited with saying that the neighbors were never notified that a fourth floor was being

[19:59] constructed at the 4040 building and that was not what she said And I'm very

[20:05] happy with the change Um Norah Davis addressed a previous community comment about the fourth floor of the 4040

[20:12] building where a resident claimed neighbors were not notified Um though staff refuted this Miss Davis recalled

[20:19] the project was initially approved for three stories with a setback fourth floor but staff and the developer

[20:25] altered the plans in 2021 Um and so that was what I was concerned about And I

[20:32] think we have two images that I submitted and

[20:37] um Norah Davis was responding to a resident at an earlier meeting And um I

[20:45] these are this is our statute about plan modifications A development can be

[20:52] changed one time if the planning department um deems those changes as

[20:58] minor And if we could go to the other image and here is at the top what 4040

[21:06] is um looks like or what it was supposed to look like and this is the image that you'll still see if you go to better

[21:12] together um that is how it was shown and you'll note in the other image um that

[21:17] is how it was built and um what resident Davis was concerned about was that upper

[21:25] um fourth floor on the north end of the building was pulled out and so it wasn't

[21:32] pushed back as far as it was originally supposed to be Also she didn't mention

[21:38] this but there was a railing that was added so that we have a porch coming out on the top deck and that was not

[21:44] anticipated The other thing is that the building was lifted up off the ground so it doesn't sit directly on the ground

[21:51] And um I think you know that all three of those changes together you know it's

[21:59] a matter of opinion I think in one individual's um set of minor changes is

[22:06] going to be viewed as very different um by another person and I can really understand how the residents feel uh

[22:13] this was not a minor change that it was a significant shift and I I wanted to

[22:20] show these images and bring up our statute because I think it's important to understand this is considered minor

[22:28] change and um we go through a lot of process reviewing plans We have public

[22:34] hearings and all of that and I I just think we need to be mindful of that Uh but I want to also apologize to um Nora

[22:42] Davis because I I did remember those changes but I didn't have at the time

[22:48] when she brought her concerns forward I just sat and listened and I didn't say anything and I feel really badly that I

[22:54] didn't say anything So I wanted to correct that tonight And with that I am

[23:00] fine The minutes have been amended and I um appreciate the time to explain my

[23:06] concern So I would be happy to go ahead and move those All right Yeah So you

[23:12] want to move the amended minutes i do Okay Um member Risser moves the adoption

[23:18] of the amended minutes of the regular meeting of the Dina City Council for March 18 2025

[23:24] Is there a second member Pierce seconds Uh any further discussion all those in favor of adopting the amended minutes of

[23:30] the regular meeting of the city council held March 18 2025 Say I I I I Opposed

[23:36] Carried The amended minutes for March 18 2025 city council meeting are adopted

[23:43] And um as you were going through that uh uh those visuals it it reminded me that

[23:49] when they were in the final stages of construction I think Director Teague is not here tonight Uh we had somebody

[23:57] because I think there were several of us that were concerned about is this getting built the way it was approved We

[24:03] had somebody independent from the from the team here in house take a look at it to see if it was built being built

[24:09] according to the to the plans and specs And I thought that do you remember that Miss Del Rumple as to who that was and

[24:15] and remember manager Neil do you remember that remember that we had somebody come and look at it carefully

[24:20] and analyze it uh kind of scrutinize everything and and and opine that it was

[24:26] uh in compliance So um um I don't but I know that director Teague will be here

[24:31] at the next meeting and he can speak to that because maybe next maybe why don't you make a note to talk to him about that in the gap period here between this

[24:38] meeting and the meeting on the 16th of April I can do that And um I just can't remember who that was that we that we

[24:45] hired to take a look at the issue Okay Thank you Um all right that takes care of the uh

[24:54] consent agenda and um we're going to move on to the um special recognitions

[25:00] and presentations for the portion of the agenda We've got uh several proclamations here this evening to uh go

[25:06] through And we've got Janelle Harris our dispatch supervisor There she is uh in

[25:12] the front row uh with us this evening for the very first one which is something that I think all of us take a

[25:17] great deal of uh uh pride and comfort in knowing you're upstairs working with

[25:22] your team uh for us and our residents uh as dispatchers and the proclamation

[25:29] which uh discusses uh the establishment of National Public Safety Telecommunicator Week Sunday April 13

[25:36] 2025 through Saturday April 19 2025 And the proclamation reads as

[25:41] follows Whereas emergencies can occur at any time that require police fire or emergency medical services And whereas

[25:48] when an emergency occurs the prompt response of police officers firefighters and paramedics is critical to the pro

[25:55] protection of life and preservation of property And whereas the safety of our police officers firefighters and

[26:01] paramedics is dependent upon the quality and accuracy of information obtained from citizens who telephone or text the

[26:07] Adana Communication Center And whereas public safety telecommunicators are the first and most critical contact our

[26:13] citizens have with emergency services And whereas public safety telecommunicators are the single vital

[26:19] link for our police officers firefighters and paramedics by monitoring their activities by radio

[26:25] providing them with information and ensuring their safety And whereas public safety telecommunicators of Dana

[26:31] Communications Center have contributed substantially to the apprehension of criminal criminals suppression of fires

[26:38] and treatment of patients And whereas each public safety telecommunicator has

[26:43] exhibited compassion understanding and professionalism during the performance of their job in the past year Now

[26:50] therefore the city council of the city of Vina hereby proclaims the week of April 13th through April 19th 2025 as

[26:57] National Public Safety Telecommunicator Week in the city of Vina in honor of the men and women whose diligence and

[27:02] professionalism keep our city and our citizens safe Is there a motion to adopt

[27:08] a proclamation so moved Second Member Jackson moves Member Agnu seconds the adoption of the

[27:13] National Public Safety Telecommunicator Week Proclamation Any further discussion all those in favor of adoption Adoption

[27:19] of the proclamation as read Say I I I Opposed carried The proclamation is

[27:25] adopted I'm going to walk down and hand it to you And I know you've got a few remarks for us You and this is always great information that you share with us

[27:31] and the public

[27:45] Okay So I do appreciate that and thank you for the time you're allowing me to speak So thank you to Mayor Olin to our

[27:51] council members to city manager Neil and all on the dis here Um as supervisor of

[27:56] the 911 dispatch center uh I do want to thank you for recognizing the work of our 911 dispatchers who will very soon

[28:03] in a couple weeks be celebrating National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week Kind of a mouthful Um Edina's

[28:09] public safety telecommunicators also known as 911 dispatchers are talented

[28:15] professionals with a desire to serve this community They are an integral piece of the overall public safety

[28:21] response And while they may not wear a badge or ride in a squad car they are

[28:27] every bit uh the lifeline that emergency response relies on And and so much is

[28:32] expected of them as well So the public relies on them to answer calls quickly providing life-saving instruction while

[28:39] sending people to help Police fire and medical responders rely on them to provide accurate and timely information

[28:45] by radio to prepare them for the often unknown situations they are approaching

[28:50] while always still knowing their location and status to keep them safe New hires rely on them to train and

[28:56] mentor them into the profession throughout the time it takes to become a confident and competent dispatcher Our

[29:02] exceptional staff respect and fulfill these responsibilities hour after hour and shift after shift To paint a picture

[29:10] of a typical shift our 911 center will staff two to three dispatchers at a time who work at consoles composed of five

[29:17] large monitors fed from four computers and running more than 10 software systems at any time The person sitting

[29:24] at the controls must know how to operate all the numerous technology networks um an elaborate multi-line telephone system

[29:31] a statewide shared radio system a local computerated dispatch system and multiple record management systems along

[29:38] with dozens of auxiliary um components In our highly technical environment not

[29:44] one of these systems stays the same for long making our dispatchers multitasking pros and skilled change agents typing

[29:51] faster than courtrooms tenographers and flipping between radio channels like an air traffic controller Um this past year

[29:59] our 911 dispatchers who are often recognized as the first first responders received over 105,000 emergent and

[30:06] non-emergent calls for service So that's over 280 calls that we field per

[30:11] day These calls range from accidental misdials all the way to the most serious

[30:17] emergencies So at any one time you could walk in and our dispatchers could be providing CPR instructions ini advising

[30:24] how to escape a structure that is on fire or helping someone hide from an asalent without a single beat of

[30:30] hesitation Always keeping their voices steady no matter how horrifying the call is on the other

[30:36] side The city of Edina employs some of the most dedicated and professional public safety telecommunicators in the

[30:42] state of Minnesota when you have an opportunity to observe them or even as you live and work in this community uh

[30:50] it is easy to take for granted the quality speed decision making and collaboration used to reach

[30:56] extraordinary accomplishments in their daily work When they seem like just a voice on the other line of the phone

[31:02] it's easy to forget the challenges of physical and emotional stressors they encounter in the heroic work that they

[31:08] perform as they protect community members safety and property They complete their work with no

[31:14] thoughts of glory or praise other than the knowledge that they have helped someone in their hour of need So when

[31:20] considering them please remember that before the sirens wail before help arrives before lives are saved they are

[31:27] giving everything they have to make sure responders get where they need to be with the information necessary to

[31:32] provide crucial timely assistance to those in desperate need of it So that is why it is so important that we take the

[31:39] time and honor them during National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week I am so proud of their dedication

[31:46] compassion and service I'm so grateful for this leadership's recognition of that of these same qualities There are

[31:53] easier jobs for sure but to our 911 dispatchers it it isn't just a job It is

[31:58] truly a calling in their lives So on behalf of all the dispatchers who are currently working right now uh thank you

[32:04] again for the Thanks We're going to give you a round of

[32:10] applause That um those of us that have walked up there with on our own or with groups and seen

[32:18] you at work in that calm environment handling over 100,000 calls a year it's it's remarkable and we're really so

[32:24] appreciative of the work that uh you all do and and the team that you lead So

[32:29] thanks for thanks for all that and thanks for uh uh providing the

[32:34] information we needed to do the appropriate sort of proclamation Thank you Thank you Thank you Miss Harris

[32:41] Um another thing that occurs in April is Earth Day And I know that uh some of our

[32:47] folks I think Project Earth folks have something planned down at um uh Weber

[32:53] Park uh over on Earth Day or near Earth Day And the proclamation for Earth Day

[32:58] is April 22nd 2025 And the proclamation reads as follows Whereas Earth Day is

[33:03] commemorated annually uh on April 22nd to demonstrate support for environmental protection advance sustainability

[33:10] initiatives and raise awareness about climate change And whereas the city of Edina is committed to addressing climate

[33:16] change and has taken steps to reduce its carbon footprint conserve natural resources and foster a culture of

[33:21] environmental stewardship And whereas in 2021 the city of Vina adopted a climate action plan outlining our community's

[33:28] commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 45% by 2030 and achieve net

[33:33] zero emissions by 2050 And whereas Edina residents and businesses are actively supporting climate action by

[33:39] participating in the community climate action fund diverting waste from landfills by participating in organics

[33:45] recycling and choosing to walk bike and bus as alternative ways to move through our community And whereas Earth Day

[33:52] serves as a reminder of our responsibility to climate action stewardship of our resources and future

[33:57] generations to live live in a livable world to leave a liveable world excuse me Now therefore the city council of the

[34:04] city of Edina Minnesota does hereby proclaim April 22nd 2025 as Earth Day in

[34:09] Edina and encourages all residents and businesses to acknowledge their role in protecting our environment and combating

[34:15] climate change fostering a culture of environmental stewardship within their network attending local Earth Day events

[34:21] such as the annual clothing swap and tree planting and participate in the Dina programs that help reduce your

[34:28] carbon footprint Is there a motion to adopt the Earth Day proclamation so moved Second Member Jackson moves Member

[34:34] Agnu seconds the adoption of the Earth Day proclamation designated April designating April 22nd 2025 as Earth Day

[34:41] in Edina Any further discussion all those in favor of adoption of the proclamation is read Say I I I Opposed

[34:47] Carried The proclamation is adopted Uh I was going to have you come up Luther and accept it We don't have anybody from

[34:53] staff to accept it but uh you can hold on if you want because we're going to go to Arbor Day next and then you'll be

[34:59] coming up anyway So I could I could uh I could give them both to you Um so let's

[35:05] uh move on then to um uh Arbor Day uh April 25 2025 And Luther Overhalt our

[35:13] forester is here with us this evening And that proclamation for April 25 2025

[35:18] designation uh of that date as Arbor Day reads as follows Uh whereas in 1872 Jay

[35:26] Sterling Morton proposed to the Nebraska Board of Agriculture that a special day be set aside for the planting of

[35:33] trees It must not have resonated really well down in Nebraska It doesn't seem

[35:38] like they did a really good job of planting trees down there to me Maybe in the northeast corner Uh and whereas this

[35:44] holiday called Arbor Day was first observed with the planting of more than a million trees in Nebraska

[35:50] And whereas uh forest soils preventing flooding and reduce prevent flooding and reduce storm water by capturing and

[35:57] storing rain water and snow melt which is then slowly released to our lakes streams and groundwater And whereas

[36:03] trees and forests improve our physical health by cleaning the air reducing exposure to the sun's UV rays and

[36:09] decreasing temperatures during the summertime And whereas one tree provides $62,000 worth of pollution control over

[36:17] a period of 50 years And whereas trees can reduce the erosion of our precious top soil by wind and water cut heating

[36:24] and cooling costs moderate the temperature clean the air produce life-giving oxygen and provide habitat

[36:29] for wildlife And whereas forests create high quality drinking water by acting as a natural filter And whereas Adina is

[36:36] proud of the beautiful shade trees which grace our homes and public places And so therefore the city council of the city

[36:42] of Adina does hereby proclaim April 25th 2025 as Arbor Day in the city of Adana

[36:48] and calls upon the spirited and foresighted citizens of Adina to continue to plant trees now for our

[36:54] pleasure and that of future generations Is there a motion to adopt a proclamation so moved Member Jackson

[37:00] moves Member Agnu seconds the adoption of uh uh Arbor Day as uh in the

[37:05] designation of April 25th 2025 as Arbor Day in the city of Edina All those in

[37:11] favor of adoption of the proclamation is read say I I I Opposed Carried Uh Luther

[37:16] come on up I bet you've got some information you want to share with us And for some of those in the audience

[37:21] and listening in at home uh they may not know that uh you you've planted you planted a thousand trees within the last

[37:27] couple of years I think So yeah to talk about that a little bit too Uh over a thousand um and that was with the some

[37:34] of the co relief funds We planted over a thousand new trees here uh throughout the city uh focusing in the southeast

[37:40] quadrant That's where our lowest uh lowest tree canopy is And so um got an

[37:45] interactive map on the city website you can um peek at and it's got uh uh shows the location of all those trees that

[37:50] were planted in the species as well So that that's pretty fun But uh um mayor and council thank you for uh uh

[37:57] observing Arbor Day this year Our Arbor Day celebration is Friday April 25th

[38:02] from 10:00 a.m to 2:00 p.m at Braar Golf Course We're going to be planting um

[38:09] right around 300 new trees at the golf course Um a lot of it will be kind of

[38:14] adjacent you know to the course uh with uh throughout kind of the area where we uh have the new mountain bike trails um

[38:21] where um you know we removed a lot of buckthornne And so we'll be kind of uh you know adding uh more oaks a lot of

[38:28] oaks back in there um as well as some other nut trees and um shrubs And uh so

[38:35] you can show up Uh we'll have um shovels and uh all the holes kind of pre-dug um

[38:42] with an auger So we'll do all that work ahead of time So it makes planting go a lot easier Um and uh we'll kind of be

[38:48] back out there starting uh on the the the back lawn area and then kind of

[38:54] going out and intervals throughout the day uh planting in in groups Um so always look forward to that It's kind of

[39:00] like Christmas for me So I'm really excited about Arbor Day Um and then two with Earth Day Um yeah April 24th so the

[39:06] day before is the uh clothing swap at Braar Arena And so that's another um you

[39:11] know fun event uh that that we put on and that's uh that that afternoon I think it starts around like three or

[39:18] four um at at Braay Marina in the backyard rink where anyone can go and uh

[39:23] you know pick out clothing that others have you know dropped off there and uh I think most of the time a lot of it gets

[39:29] uh gets uh taken or you know used by people that are there at the event and then everything else we donate after So just another uh great way to kind of try

[39:36] and reduce our carbon footprint and um you know just kind of fun that the the city puts that on as well All right

[39:41] thanks for that information Member Jackson has a question for you Yes So could you please repeat the hours of the

[39:47] Arbor Day celebration and where do you want people to gather so when the public comes where do they go um right behind

[39:53] the the clubhouse and the we have that that kind of the the lawn area behind the clubhouse And so we'll be uh out

[40:00] there with um I'll have some some other vendors that are there They'll have uh free tree seedlings available Um and

[40:06] then um you know food and beverage at at Red River Kitchen And so we'll be kind of just right right out back behind the

[40:11] clubhouse and then u you know starting there and then like I said we'll be kind of going out in multiple groups probably

[40:17] every you know 45 minutes half hour uh to go plant uh plant more trees and

[40:22] again please 10 a.m to 2 p.m Okay great Thank you Thank you And then you've had

[40:28] a tree sale too You have been doing that twice a year and Yep And so uh this

[40:33] year's was very popular We had about 20 different species and I I think after the first day we only had four left and

[40:39] so sold out um quickly There's I don't think there's any trees left now We will have another round of trees though for

[40:46] this fall Um and so um you know look for more information for that as we get closer to the fall but it'll probably be

[40:53] um you know posted around August and then pick up in late September or something like that for the for the fall

[40:58] sale And there'll be 250 trees available for that uh as well And that was what you had this time was 250 Yep Yeah I

[41:05] know I emailed you a couple days ago and it said I'd like to buy a couple You said they're all gone Yep So yeah it

[41:10] went went fast this year but we had a lot of great uh great uh varieties to select from and so I think uh you know

[41:16] residents love it and it's great way to get you know new trees for uh for your house Good Any other questions comments

[41:23] about Arbor Day or the things that are events that are coming up all right Thank you Thank you All right Uh one

[41:30] more proclamation in this portion of the agenda uh before we move on uh to the

[41:35] public hearings and this involves uh building safety month uh and uh Nate

[41:42] Borbage is with us uh from our chief building official and the proclamation

[41:47] for building safety month uh designating May 2025 as building safety month reads as follows Whereas our city of Vina is

[41:55] committed to recognizing that our growth and strength depends on the safety and essential role of our homes buildings

[42:01] and infrastructure and the role they play both in everyday life and in times of natural disaster And whereas our

[42:07] confidence in the structural integrity of these buildings that make up our community is achieved through the devotion of vigilant guardians such as

[42:14] building safety and fire prevention officials and others in the construction industry who work year round to ensure

[42:20] the safe construction of buildings And whereas these guardians are dedicated members of the international code

[42:26] council that are experts in the built environment to create and implement the highest quality codes protect us in the

[42:32] buildings where we live learn work and play And whereas these modern building codes include safeguards to protect the

[42:38] public from natural disasters such as hurricanes snowstorms tornadoes wildland fires floods and earthquakes And whereas

[42:46] building safety month is sponsored by the international code council to remind the public about the critical role of

[42:52] our communities uh of our community's largely unknown protectors of public safety Our local code officials who

[42:58] assure us of safe sustainable and affordable buildings that are essential to our prosperity And whereas game on is

[43:06] the theme for building safety month 2025 and encourages us all to raise awareness

[43:12] about building safety on a personal local and global scale And whereas each year in observance of building safety

[43:18] month people all over the world are asked to consider the commitment to improving building safety and to

[43:23] acknowledge the essential service provided to all of us by local state tribal territorial and federal building

[43:29] and safety prevention uh and fire departments in protecting lives and property Now therefore the city council

[43:36] of the city of Vina is hereby proclaimed the month of May 2025 as building safety month in the city of Vina and

[43:42] accordingly we encourage our citizens to join with their communities in participation in building safety month

[43:48] Is there a motion to adopt the proclamation as read so moved I second Member Jackson moves we're on the roll

[43:54] here Mayor Jackson moves member Agnu seconds the adoption of the building safety month proclamation designating

[44:00] May 2025 as building safety month Any further discussion all those in favor of adoption of the proclamation is read say

[44:06] "I." I I Opposed Carried The proclamation is adopted Nate welcome

[44:11] Thank you We look forward to your update Yeah Thank you uh mayor and city council members But I am Nate Borage a chief

[44:17] building official for the city of Edina Uh our building department consists of 15 employees and we provide services to

[44:25] the community that safeguard life health property and public welfare by

[44:30] regulating and controlling the design alteration construction materials use and occupancy of buildings

[44:38] and homes in Edina In 2024 the city of Edina issued nearly 6,000 permits uh and

[44:47] conducted just under 19,500 inspections Our department is a proud

[44:52] member of the International Code Council and we will work to promote public awareness of the role building safety

[44:59] and fire prevention officials play to protect lives and structures I'd like to

[45:04] thank you for supporting the building inspections department and building safety month I'd also like to thank our

[45:11] inspections department staff and the work they do to keep the public safe Thank you guys Thank you Mr Mor Thanks

[45:18] Thanks sir All the good work you do We know that you are so busy all the

[45:25] time with the things that are going on in our community We're so grateful that you do

[45:49] Come on down

[46:24] Good job

[46:42] As I mentioned earlier we've got a couple of public hearing matters I think the first one will go fairly fast Um

[46:48] this involves the potential issuance of a new intoxicating on sale intoxicating and Sunday sale liquor license for Demo

[46:55] and Sons And um our clerk Sharon Ellison has this matter Clerk Ellison Thank you

[47:00] Mr Mayor uh member of the council Uh this is just a um public hearing to

[47:06] approve the on sale intoxicating liquor for Diamo Uh currently Diamo has a bear

[47:12] and wine license and they're switching to uh full intox and per our ordinance

[47:17] it requires a public hearing Good And all the background checks went just fine it looks like Yep

[47:25] Okay Uh any questions for clerk Ellison from council members all right Let me open this up

[47:31] for public testimony This is a public hearing matter Is anyone in the audience that wishes to testify regarding the

[47:36] potential issuance of a new on sale intoxicating a Sunday sale liquor license to Demo and

[47:42] Suns seeing no one coming forward hearing nothing I'll turn to Director Benrod Anybody

[47:49] online wishes to comment no we don't have anyone online yet but

[47:55] because the public hearing just started I would recommend we wait a minute or so since there is a slight delay in the

[48:01] broadcast My clock shows it at 7:50 so I'll come back to you at 7:51 or when I

[48:06] have a caller whichever's first Right Thank you

[49:06] One of the longest minutes of your day has now ended and I still don't have anyone So I think it's safe to move

[49:12] forward with the agenda All right Very good Uh council members is there a motion to close the public

[49:18] hearing in this matter so moved Second Jackson moves Member Pierce seconds the closure of the public hearing matter

[49:24] involving the potential issuance of a new on sale intoxicating and Sunday sale liquor license to Demo and Suns All

[49:31] those in favor of closing the public hearing say I I I Opposed Carried The public hearing is closed Uh staff would

[49:38] like a motion to approve the new on sale intoxicating and Sunday liquor sale licenses for De Mo and Suns LLC DBA Deco

[49:46] and Suns Is there a motion to that effect so moved Second All right we're mixing it up Uh member Pierce moves

[49:54] member Jackson seconds The adoption of the motion as stated All right any further discussion all those in favor of

[49:59] adoption of the motion as stated say I I I Opposed Carried Uh motion's approved

[50:05] and there will be a new on sale intoxicating and Sunday sale liquor licenses for Domo and Sun LLC DBA Deco

[50:12] and Suns issued by our clerk Thank you for that Um and now we're going to move

[50:17] on to the uh second public hearing matter we have this evening I think all of us have been eager to continue this

[50:23] conversation and we've got folks with us from the design team and and for those

[50:28] that have attended some of the other sessions that the county has held at the at the old library It was one of the

[50:34] last things at the old library I think before they started the demolition Uh it

[50:39] was a excellent presentation and we're going to have that again this evening I think in some updates

[50:45] Uh we've got some uh some things to consider uh which is um one thing would

[50:51] be the potential issuance of a conditional use permit uh and a building height variance for the the new library

[50:58] Uh so we're going to start the conversation with our um assistant city planner Emily Delmple and she's going to

[51:06] tee it up here and then we're going to have some other presentations by the county and manager Neil may have a

[51:11] comment or two too I'm not quite sure yet but u Miss Del Rumple go ahead Um

[51:16] thank you mayor and members of the council Tonight the request is for an updated conditional use permit a site plan and a building height variance for

[51:23] a county library and art center at 701 York Avenue The subject site is a 7.75

[51:29] acre site that's located at the southeast corner of York and 70th Street West The site is guided as community

[51:35] activity center in the city's comprehensive plan and is zoned as R1 single dwelling unit district Henipin

[51:42] County is proposing to tear down the existing 76,000qt regional library and 38,000qt service center building to

[51:49] construct a new 43,000 square foot library and 16,000t art center in the

[51:54] north half of the site The Adina Art Center would be a tenant in the proposed building The south half of the site

[52:00] would include green space with sidewalks and bike paths through the site that connect to a regional bike trail through

[52:05] Adams Hill Park to the south The green space on the south half of the site would also include space for support

[52:11] activities for the art center and the library The request tonight um requires

[52:16] a conditional use permit a site plan and a building height variance Um

[52:21] publiclyowned civic institutions such as libraries are conditionally permitted uses in the city's R1 zoning district

[52:28] And per section 36434 in the city's code a conditional use permit should not be granted unless certain conditions are

[52:34] met and staff believes that all the conditions to grant a conditional permit conditional use permit are met in this

[52:40] instance The project would not have an adverse impact on government facilities utilities or services and the total

[52:46] square footage of the project is less than the service that exists today or that currently is on site Roughly

[52:52] there's 112,000 square foot um square feet of library space and or service

[52:58] space I should say and um there's 59,000 ft proposed The project would not

[53:04] generate any additional traffic on the street serving the property A traffic study was completed for the project and

[53:09] found that the existing roadways would support the project There is not an adverse impact on public health safety

[53:15] or welfare The use of the property remains the same The proposed project would enhance the property and fits well

[53:21] on the site The project conforms to the zoning code with the exception of the building height and the use is

[53:27] consistent with the city's comprehensive plan Public libraries are conditionally permitted use in the R1 zoning district

[53:33] and land uses in the community activity center in the comprehensive plan include institutional and recreational

[53:39] uses As stated the proposed project also meets the city requirements um or all

[53:45] the requirements of the city zoning ordinance with the exception of the building height The proposed building meets all setback requirements and there

[53:51] is a decrease in both the building coverage and impervious surface coverage with the proposed project The site has

[53:58] vehicle access from 70th Street and existing access off of York Avenue would be closed The building has pedestrian

[54:04] access from the north south and east sides of the building and trails connect through the site to Adams Park to the

[54:09] south I will note that there's also a sidewalk connection that's added or proposed along the south side of the

[54:15] property for connectivity Um the code requires 160 parking stalls for the project and the site shows site

[54:22] plan shows a total of 184 parking spaces including 109 surface parking stall lot

[54:29] um along 70th street and 75 spaces underground A parking study was

[54:34] completed and the existing library and art center were studied for peak parking demands and based on those findings the

[54:40] 184 proposed spots are expected to accommodate the forecasted peak parking for this building

[54:46] The proposed landscaping on site is relatively extensive but it does not meet the city's tree replacement

[54:52] ordinance of the city code The tree replacement ordinance is located outside of the city's zoning ordinance which is

[54:58] it's located in chapter 10 and therefore there's not a path to request or receive a variance for the requirements The city

[55:05] forester has received the proposed plans and believes there are some options that can be considered so that the tree

[55:10] ordinance is met One option would be that they could preserve more trees on site or transplant trees on site so they

[55:16] don't have to be mitigated They could also pay for the escrow or obtain a letter of credit for the valuation of

[55:22] the escrow to meet the city's requirements The ordinance also allows the planting of trees offsite but within

[55:28] the boundaries of Edina So staff recommends that as a condition of approval for the project that the app

[55:34] continue to work with the city forester so that the tree replacement ordinance is met prior to the issuance of a

[55:39] building permit The proposed building materials are aluminum and metal panels with large

[55:45] windows The site is unique in the fact that it's located within the greater South District but it has an R1 single

[55:52] dwelling unit zoning designation The R1 zoning district does not have any building material requirements such as

[55:58] other zoning districts um some other of the zoning districts in the greater South District

[56:05] do The requested variance tonight is for building height of the proposed structure The zoning district the R1

[56:11] district would allow for a structure that is three stories or 40 feet in height The proposed structure is two

[56:17] stories and 59 feet in height And that 59 ft in height is measured from average existing

[56:23] grade Staff believes that the proposed variance building uh height the proposed

[56:28] variance for building height is justified The variance is in harmony with the general purpose and intent of

[56:33] the code The intent of the code is to not provide uniformity in building height The site is not located within a

[56:39] traditional R1 area surrounded by single family homes All surrounding properties within Dina are commercial or office

[56:46] uses that would allow for taller buildings The closest structure to the south is 52 ft in height similar to the

[56:52] proposed height of the building And nearby buildings include the Weston which is roughly 230 ft Yorktown

[56:58] Continental Apartments which is 118 and the Bower which is 200 ft The proposed

[57:04] variance is consistent with the comprehensive plan The comprehensive plan doesn't regulate building height Um

[57:09] but the site is located within the CAC community activity center district which are the areas in Edina that allow for

[57:16] the most height and density There are practical difficulties in complying with the city's ordinance The variance is

[57:22] reasonable given the location of the subject property and there are other buildings in the area that are taller than the proposed library and the height

[57:28] of the existing library is 60 ft The circumstances of the subject property are unique and are not created by the

[57:34] land owner and the proposed height variance would not alter the character of the neighborhood There are existing

[57:40] buildings in the area that are taller than the proposed building and like I said the existing library is 60 ft The

[57:46] planning commission see um held a public hearing on March 12th and they

[57:52] unanimously recommended city council approve the conditional use permits site plan and building height variance for

[57:57] 7001 York Avenue Um the project meets the conditional use permit standards The

[58:02] project meets the criteria to grant a variance The height of the structure is consistent with other buildings in the

[58:07] area The existing height of the library is 60 ft and the proposed project would not alter the essential character of the

[58:13] neighborhood were their findings Um their recommendation also included the conditions that were outlined in the

[58:18] staff report including the requirement to meet the city's tree ordinance prior to the issuance of a building permit And

[58:24] with that I can stand for any questions And I know the county and MSR design is here to give a presentation as well

[58:38] Yes thank you for the presentation Um if the compliance with the tree ordinance

[58:44] is planting on other sites can we put a condition that it be within the Southdale area um because I know that's

[58:50] part of the city that has the fewest trees and I'd like to to keep the city the trees in that neighborhood I believe

[58:55] it would have to be on county property but Attorney Kendall do you have any additional comments on requirements or

[59:01] where the city could require those tree plantings uh well the ordinance

[59:07] currently says it could be planted anywhere in Dina but I I think it's a very good idea to plant it as close as

[59:12] possible to the subject property So maybe that could be negotiated with the

[59:17] developer that they would agree to that condition I I that's a condition I'd like to see that it remain the trees

[59:24] remain within the Southdale area not anywhere in Eina I don't think the the ordinance doesn't require it to be on

[59:30] county property It can be on any property We're building a new park at Fred Richards Um but you know if there's

[59:37] a a place where it can be in that neighborhood that has so few trees that'd be great

[59:50] Thanks Mr Mayor Can you go back i I think it's just one slide Well it's one more that one Um what's the I'm just

[59:59] curious about the uh residential neighborhood um to the I guess east Um

[1:00:08] what's the distance from the new structure to the

[1:00:14] homes i think the applicant might have that in their presentation so I'll speak All right Okay All

[1:00:20] right Um and then I think you answer my other question about the height The current library is the same height as

[1:00:28] the proposed is 60 ft and the proposed is 59 Okay

[1:00:45] how you want to do it David Huff might want to provide a

[1:00:50] little introduction and then uh we go to the team and we've got quite a few folks

[1:00:56] here and it's going to be an excellent presentation Look forward to it Mayor council thank you very much for this opportunity We've been working on this

[1:01:02] for 13 years and uh it's geared up over the last seven years We're very appreciative of all the uh collaboration

[1:01:09] partnership with the Dina We're excited for the Adina Arts Center taking uh almost 8 acres of asphalt and turning it

[1:01:16] into this beautiful new project including uh several acres of green space where we'll be planting several

[1:01:23] hundred trees currently uh which is as I said asphalt I'm going to have our team our

[1:01:30] project team that are committed and have spent so much time energy and effort on this working with your team try to

[1:01:37] figure out a path forward uh present what we're attempting to do here This has been in the uh county's capital

[1:01:44] improvement program for several years now Uh and this is as you know probably

[1:01:50] a ndigit investment 100 million is what we're anticipating to invest here in

[1:01:57] this uh regional library which has been one of our highly used facilities and is

[1:02:03] is a real uh showpiece in the 41 library system that have been operate So with

[1:02:08] that turn it over to the team which has a presentation Thank you for your time and

[1:02:22] thank good evening

[1:02:29] Um my name is Elizabeth Eero I am the project manager for this project for Henipin County in the design and

[1:02:36] construction division I am joined by and presenting with

[1:02:41] good evening Matthew Krad with MSR design principal architect and we are accompanying with a various different

[1:02:48] project team members and some of our agency leaders as well I'm going to

[1:02:54] start us off with uh Henry County Library's mission The library's mission

[1:02:59] is to inspire facilitate and celebrate lifelong learning One of the ways we

[1:03:05] achieve this mission is by creating inviting inclusive accessible and safe public spaces You'll see this woven in

[1:03:13] the presentation today As noted the facility was open or

[1:03:19] built and opened in 1971 So serving um residents of Bloomington Richfield

[1:03:24] Minneapolis and here in Edino for quite some time Also noted as the fourth busiest

[1:03:31] library in our system As Da David noted it's been in the works

[1:03:37] for quite some time as well Various different conversations various different degrees Um and what you can

[1:03:43] see here since 2023 is the path that we're currently on right now I can promise throughout these years

[1:03:51] we have been in continuous communication and uh connection with our community

[1:03:57] Those various different means are surveys outreaches interactive websites

[1:04:03] and then planned engagements which I know the mayor had noted Uh some of note

[1:04:08] were the in last or the last part of 2023 also the last part of 2024 which

[1:04:15] attendees at nearly 100 each Also key attendees that were there were young

[1:04:21] families and our senior citizen neighbors I will get to uh some of the

[1:04:27] feedback shortly Also as part of this process we hosted an open house just this past February which some key

[1:04:34] attendees were the single residents uh just to our east This brings us to today As you can

[1:04:41] see we've been in a long road of design and we are in the midst of refinement You also may know that the library and

[1:04:48] full facility is actually closed As we note the library or the facility is

[1:04:53] still up but what I can promise is there's a lot of work happening We're moving from the inside We're working

[1:04:59] from the inside out So careful salvaging of different materials building components and also

[1:05:06] furniture And so being mindful of the integrity that needs to be held for that repurpose and just the safety This leads

[1:05:13] us to handing over the facility here shortly to our construction manager at risk which will head into the full

[1:05:19] demolition construction and then leading into a completion and open facility in late

[1:05:26] 2027 All right So some of that positive feedback a lot of this feedback uh

[1:05:33] you'll see as attributes in the design that Matthew will touch on some key

[1:05:38] single words that we heard repeatedly bikable accessible welcoming

[1:05:44] walkable outdoor green space natural light better acoustics ease and safe of

[1:05:50] parking and access Some other attributes that the

[1:05:56] library will provide for more effective services and what we heard embedded in a lot of that feedback was the street

[1:06:03] access or street level access and parking enough parking plentiful

[1:06:08] sidewalks and trails and um 360 connectivity to the neighbors neighborhoods better utilizing space I'm

[1:06:15] going to connect on that That was one of the comments in the planning was um how to define that I can compare that to the

[1:06:21] current facility by identifying that the current facility is three levels which then needs a lot of circulation square

[1:06:27] footage Also at the current at the current facility the previous design and model had a lot of administrative and

[1:06:34] lab and library support square footage which isn't part of this current design

[1:06:39] and also with that multiple levels there's multiple service points and so again uh working with efficiency of a a

[1:06:47] new plan However we are getting more meeting spaces uh better access to technology a

[1:06:54] space for extended time for hold pickup which is definitely a need Uh our tenant

[1:06:59] on the second floor is mentioned and then also partnering with Three uh Rivers Park District and the trail

[1:07:05] development which I'll touch on shortly We are truly embracing an opportunity to improve accessibility strengthen our

[1:07:12] programming and partnerships provide green space and really showcase a strong sustainable

[1:07:23] design Here you can see that our design is filling a gap to promote connectivity to civic infrastructures both to Yadina

[1:07:31] Richfield and beyond This is through the NM Creek Trail This approach is a

[1:07:37] partnership with the city and three rivers districts as a multimodal trail encouraging various ways ways and I

[1:07:44] believe me we've talked all the various different ways I'm going to hand it over now to Matthew to with MSR design to

[1:07:51] share more details on the overall design and really explain how transformative

[1:07:56] this project is for our community Thank you Thanks Miss Pedero and thanks for being with us this evening and good to

[1:08:03] see you again Thank you Thank you Liz Uh mayor council members and city

[1:08:10] staff Um as I mentioned my name is Matthew Krad I'm a principal architect with MSR Design Uh we work on libraries

[1:08:17] public libraries across the nation and um I can really say that I'm going to

[1:08:22] talk about a very special library tonight It's um I'm going to represent

[1:08:28] uh many people uh talented people and engaged and um excited people uh that

[1:08:35] from both the city and the design team and I'll do my best to represent the work that they've done which has been

[1:08:40] passionate Um so offer up just to interject if you have questions along the way or hold them uh but I'd just

[1:08:47] like to give a a good impression of what we've been up to and open it up for conversation So um as was mentioned

[1:08:55] there's a extreme amount of connectivity here and I'll uh drill a little bit further into that and describe what that

[1:09:02] means in terms of how people can access uh the services going to be on the site But really at its core we're trying to

[1:09:09] transform this site As uh David mentioned earlier we're moving from uh predominantly parking to green space And

[1:09:16] that green space is full of trees Um it's minimizing uh on surface or

[1:09:23] impermeable surfacing Um and then it's a restorative or reparative landscape So

[1:09:29] uh building off of oak savannah grasslands and wetlands uh to uh mitigate changes that are happening in

[1:09:36] the environment um and be resilient to that change long term Um as a little bit

[1:09:42] of tidbit uh there's about 19,000 cubic feet of excess water retention on site

[1:09:48] that we've designed in from what would be required So we've gone above and beyond And I just like to keep that in

[1:09:55] mind when we talk about some of these other things because we really have gone above and beyond on the resiliency and the sustainable aspects of this So that

[1:10:02] it's a longterm element within the community

[1:10:07] uh uh performancedriven design is built into the things you'll see here So there's native landscapes Um rainfall is

[1:10:16] managed on site We've oriented to the south to create daylit spaces We're

[1:10:21] using healthy materials Uh so there aren't toxins and offging in the construction Uh there's low embodied

[1:10:29] carbon so we're capturing carbon All this is based off of B3 Minnesota B3

[1:10:34] guidelines which are highly sustainable guidelines uh again reaching above and beyond in many aspects There's solar uh

[1:10:42] PV array on top and then a geothermal heat pumps that are efficient in inside of the mechanics of it All that comes

[1:10:50] together as a really sustainable uh approach Um on top of that our

[1:10:56] restoration or repairative landscape has these different ecosystems which will be

[1:11:01] provide for bi biodiversity across the site something that's not there right now unless you consider asphalt uh

[1:11:08] something that's biodiverse Um so what that means is we'll have infiltration uh

[1:11:14] we'll uh work with plant life um and tree systems that will evapot transansperate It improves the air

[1:11:21] quality pollinators A lot of the things that are built into your uh uh climate action plan that you've uh issued in

[1:11:28] 2021 are right in line with what we're looking at on the screen here Um we

[1:11:34] sequester carbon through uh that amount of organic materials u especially with

[1:11:40] the root systems There'll be migratory birds coming in We've designed the building to kind of react and respond

[1:11:46] for safety of birds as well And then uh just generally we're people that want to

[1:11:51] engage in spaces and that's what this is going to provide Um I might uh the next

[1:11:56] slide uh our planting pallet um is one that we'll have to establish over time

[1:12:02] So as we know native plants want to uh respond to the environment and they have to be hearty and resilient Um so it's

[1:12:09] not your kind of roll out the sad approach Um so I might ask Brida to come up if Britta is here Um and just talk

[1:12:16] real quickly about what that looks like from a time frame in terms of establishing and what we're after here

[1:12:23] Sure Thank you Britta Hansen landscape architect for the project Um we are

[1:12:29] establishing as Matthew has uh introduced a landscape based on a

[1:12:35] gradient of pre-settlement uh biomes that would have been here in Adina uh

[1:12:42] prior to European settlement of this land And so we're restoring the landscape and many of the benefits that

[1:12:48] that landscape can provide But as mentioned this takes more time in the

[1:12:55] beginning to establish that healthy long-term high quality high biodiversity

[1:13:02] landscape So we'll be investing through contracting and through strategic

[1:13:07] planning to invest in that maintenance in the first three years uh after planting to make sure that that

[1:13:13] landscape of native plant materials is well established and then in the long term it will actually provide more

[1:13:19] benefits and require less maintenance inputs over time

[1:13:25] Thank you Br So I'll walk through real quickly what

[1:13:30] this means from the larger site Um there's a typical water level uh to the

[1:13:36] south of the site will have uh retention space uh with the plantings Again this

[1:13:42] is um not engaged space It's uh you would uh experience it from afar Um with

[1:13:49] the exception of a boardwalk that we're looking at installing that would give you some access right above it But

[1:13:56] there'll be an area that has some water retention that's all all their year all around all year And then uh as we uh

[1:14:05] experience rain events uh 2-year 20our sto 24-hour storm we'd get about 2.85 in

[1:14:12] that would start to fill up a little bit and then it percolate in So the the site will really eb and flow based on the

[1:14:19] water saturation and the seasons Um if it's a larger 10-year event you'll see

[1:14:25] how it starts to fill in more Um and then 25 year um the landscape will hold

[1:14:31] this for about 4 days as it slowly dissipates in Um and then the uh plant

[1:14:37] life will respond as well So uh highly integrated at a 100redyear event uh

[1:14:42] there's controlled uh uh reduction of the water levels through the system um

[1:14:48] in a delayed manner So um all this is built into the thinking on the site and

[1:14:54] really transforming it from what it was uh ideas of what it would look like if

[1:15:00] you were on the south uh side This was mentioned earlier with connectivity and I'll talk a little bit more deeply about

[1:15:05] how we're making connectivity across the site but again across this uh wetland area towards the southacing uh facade

[1:15:13] letting daylight in uh feeling very transparent and welcoming uh from the landscape

[1:15:20] So some of the elements that uh are on site here um our car entry is the

[1:15:25] current car entry uh so vehicular comes into the north east side of the site where it is existing uh we've minimized

[1:15:33] that we've eliminated the York Street access point and uh really consolidated into one The parking system has

[1:15:41] permeable favors and it's within what we're considering the Oak Glade at the

[1:15:46] uh north portion of the site So again Oak Savannah's approach to the uh rejuvenation of the site Uh parking is

[1:15:54] direct Um and that's only a portion of the parking Um we heard through the public engagement sessions that some

[1:16:00] ongrade parking and then below grade parking The balance of that is what we've worked with uh to provide what we

[1:16:06] think is the right amount Um not too much and not too little Um libraries

[1:16:12] have very complicated parking structures uh you have to drop a book off on the driver's

[1:16:19] side you have to drop people off on the part uh passenger side So there's a bunch of security uh concerns that are

[1:16:25] built into this and we've really honed that to separate those trans uh the coming and going uh for people so that

[1:16:32] it's safe and effective and it doesn't create congestion and confusion Um I'll

[1:16:37] show you a little bit what in a little bit what those access points look like but we have a bookdrop Uh we have

[1:16:44] surface parking Underground parking has an access that's directly off of that surface parking goes in to basically the

[1:16:51] under under the footprint of the building Uh you can see there's a solar array on an upper roof that uh tilts

[1:16:59] south Uh there's a terrace system on the south So you have ongrade terracing and

[1:17:04] outdoor spaces you can sit in um as well as a terrace that's on the second floor

[1:17:10] uh overlooking uh the south facing lawn or the south facing wetlands Uh there can be plaza and

[1:17:17] outdoor programming that's also very well connected to the 9mm uh creek uh

[1:17:23] trail system as a uh part of the spur uh outdoor learning landscape Again there's

[1:17:29] uh pathways that are at the edges but uh not necessarily going deep into the wetlands

[1:17:36] So uh what does access look like we've worked hard uh to look at this as um

[1:17:42] part of the Southdale district and part of the neighborhood to the east Okay So

[1:17:48] um any of the access points on the corners uh is handicap accessible So we've regraded it If you've ever been

[1:17:54] out there there's a really steep grade on the on the east side at the neighborhood and then there's a tall

[1:18:00] building It's really off-putting for the majority of the people that can actually walk here Um and so we've worked really

[1:18:06] hard to make that a seamless integration of bicycles pedestrians and then again

[1:18:13] mentioning the vehicular separation that makes it safe Um so the spur that comes

[1:18:18] through uh connects with the exception of the little gap uh between the park and uh the south corner Um but it's it's

[1:18:26] really meant to kind of tie into the larger uh regional trail Bus access is

[1:18:31] remains on York Uh we've uh had continued conversations about where the location of those stops are in terms of

[1:18:37] safety and directness to the front door Uh the two locations really minimize um

[1:18:42] access So if you look at the north west corner we're looking at uh re

[1:18:47] restricting or reducing the amount of walkway across the street from that bus stop and then it goes right to a plaza

[1:18:55] type area that directs to the front door on the north side There's a a front door

[1:19:00] on the south side as well Also there's two very uh connecting pieces that are uh accessible from all locations Um what

[1:19:08] I would also like to remark on is that um in the past we've had conversations about the Southdale district um

[1:19:14] guidelines Um what we've done is we've uh initiated a strategy to connect at

[1:19:20] all four corners plus midblock And and the thinking here is that someday uh

[1:19:26] South Dale across the street maybe Target will be densified Um and you'll see more density all across here and

[1:19:34] this will be a great respbit inside of that and still very well connected with

[1:19:39] those guidelines in mind so that the access points and pedestrian multimodal all weave in together Um you'll see a

[1:19:46] little later how we've addressed the scale on the east side to the uh neighborhood neighborhood on the east

[1:19:52] which is very small uh residences and um higher on the hill So there's an impact

[1:19:58] there that could be um drastic but we've really mitigated it into a really I

[1:20:03] think what is a delightful uh uh experience You'll see some of that by we pushed it to the north west corner away

[1:20:10] from the east um and then let the landscape play Uh you'll see some of the grading uh to the east which really make

[1:20:17] it seamless It almost uh it comes up and and really makes it a one-story building on the east

[1:20:23] side Um vehicular access This gives you just a little bit more of a diagrammatic idea of what that means So if you were

[1:20:30] coming in from the entry on 70th uh there's a two-way direction that gets

[1:20:35] you into the parking garage below grade Uh and then it's one way from the uh from that point to the drop off which

[1:20:43] enables us to kind of have a more safe uh access point for both drop off book

[1:20:48] drop and uh coming to the library as well with the um uh uh ADA stalls that

[1:20:55] are close to the front door Um and then also uh a few EV charging stations as

[1:21:01] well uh you see the split of the parking stalls the surface and underground

[1:21:06] stalls So uh the planning uh on the first floor which is mainly all library

[1:21:11] it's meant to be very transparent open Um so um if you start from the entry at

[1:21:17] the top and work counterclockwise that's all uh almost 100% glass uh all the way around from

[1:21:26] starting at 12:00 on to 9:00 to 6:00 almost to 4:00 where the grade

[1:21:35] starts to fill up That's all transparent glass um anywhere you're standing around that you could feel like you just walk

[1:21:41] right up and look inside the library or come in the front door Um so um the

[1:21:47] staff area where you see the bookdrop is uh back of the house that has higher

[1:21:52] windows Um so it does let you see in um it's just not a grade It gives the privacy for working and also allows

[1:21:59] daylight to come into the staff members So um working to try to get a nearly linear uh transparency all the way

[1:22:06] around Um you come in either the from the north or the south into the main library All library space The center has

[1:22:13] an atrium space You'll see this in some of the renderings Um main collection on the floors there Uh there's a couple

[1:22:20] meeting room spaces Uh right in the center There's a large meeting space Um and then the children's space is just

[1:22:26] off to the uh lower right corner of the plan Um which is uh going to be really

[1:22:32] spectacular It's right out looking out to the south Um and then there's some outdoor programming space for the

[1:22:38] children as well just outside of that And you'll see that in one of the renderings coming

[1:22:44] up So this would be coming in just from the north You walk into the the library out of the parking or you were just

[1:22:50] dropped off or maybe you came on the bus or parked your bike uh walked up from the neighborhood Um you would see all

[1:22:57] the way through to the south which would be you'd see right out into the wetland and then you'd see the collection uh

[1:23:02] start to unfold The uh service desk is just off to the left So the uh healthful librarian be right there And then you

[1:23:08] see up through this uh atrium space up to what would be the terrace straight ahead of you So public terrace uh out

[1:23:16] overlooking the south Um Edina Arts Center is just up to the upper right Um

[1:23:22] so you'll see some imagery that give you a sense of what that is This is the new market This is where you're going to come and get your popular materials

[1:23:29] You're going to walk in You're going to have something on hold very convenient and easy Uh we like to make it easy but

[1:23:35] we want to make it also that you like change your mind and you stay right you don't just come in and take it and go So and I think this library is really

[1:23:41] headed towards that Um this is if you went back into the corner um uh for the

[1:23:48] children's area Again you would be looking out into the south plaza just to the right and then there's a children's

[1:23:54] programming area just off to the left and then the grade start to slope up towards the neighborhood Um and again if

[1:24:00] you just went right out there's a door there Uh you could wander out and there's an ADA accessible point that

[1:24:06] goes right to midb block Um so very accessible compared to what is currently

[1:24:11] there in that location If you went up to the second floor we have uh controlled access uh

[1:24:18] where you see the elevator in the uh kind of bluish uh square uh that uh

[1:24:24] provide we've designed it to have after hours access So um uh library and arts

[1:24:29] center can have differing uh schedules um and you can have evening events or things like that So uh very convenient

[1:24:36] in that um the reading balcony uh is associated with a planted terrace

[1:24:42] There'll be casual seating up here It'll probably be used quite a bit just in terms of reading or engaging in uh

[1:24:48] content Any of the art center would be in the pink areas as well There's uh great exhibits Uh there's a gallery

[1:24:55] space along with um some gathering space and then the public meeting room um

[1:25:01] larger public meeting room is on the southeast corner um that has facilities to facilitate larger events Um and then

[1:25:08] also the area just outside of it is part of the engagement space and then spill out under the terrace if if wanted Um

[1:25:15] there's some uh outdoor space just to the east I'll show you what that looks like here in a minute

[1:25:22] Uh this would be standing on that seating terrace Um looking back down that's the service point just in the

[1:25:29] lower right corner So you would see where you came if you came in from the north you would see that straight ahead

[1:25:34] is gallery space and then some pre-unction spaces but pre-unction is usually what we use for larger events

[1:25:40] and things like where community can gather um as well Um but you can kind of see how this is going to be uh like you

[1:25:47] can imagine uh wanting just to come sit on the terrace Uh it has a covering over it so it does mitigate um solar Um this

[1:25:56] is you can imagine a complete glass wall facing south We've tuned it in a way to

[1:26:02] allow uh the sun to heat in the winter Um and then the shading uh enables us to

[1:26:08] keep it cool in the summer So it's very tuned to the environment So it uh it

[1:26:13] doesn't use a lot of energy um uh in comparative to other facilities Um and

[1:26:20] then there's also bird safe glass So all this glass has uh a frit on it that helps uh make sure that uh birds won't

[1:26:28] try to fly through it They see it um as well because of the the biodiversity that we're building into the the site

[1:26:36] Matt do you want to touch on the clear story oh yeah Uh so uh if you just look off to the right um there's a clear

[1:26:43] story uh skylight that it comes in and what that does is it helps us get almost

[1:26:48] 100% daylight autonomy So we're reducing uh electrified light inside the space Um

[1:26:53] but it's also really great light for an art center So north light coming in uh

[1:26:58] is really ideal for the type of work that's going to be there Um and there's other benefits of if you're standing um

[1:27:06] out in the plaza on the south it'll look like you just look through the building to the sky Um so it's very transparent

[1:27:14] and and welcoming in terms of its ability to kind of try to reduce the barriers to the interior

[1:27:21] space Uh this would be uh what it's like uh the feeling that we're after on the

[1:27:27] terrace side So there'll be plantings on it as well Again all of this is a system

[1:27:32] So we're capturing rain water on the roof We're managing it down onto the terrace and then we're managing it

[1:27:38] through the site to slow it down and ensure that uh we don't cause problems

[1:27:44] downstream and the engineering needs that most municipalities are struggling with right now to compensate for the

[1:27:50] increased flow of of water So very sensitive to um future impacts and how

[1:27:57] this can mitigate the current conditions and what's to come Um this is looking at the structure

[1:28:05] from the northwest corner Again that plaza going right to the front door Um

[1:28:10] it's it's a taller structure but it's really meant to quiet down and focus on the landscape and then direct you to the

[1:28:16] front door There'll be some signage here for the the library and then connectivity to the park uh the walkways

[1:28:22] and paths across the site but you see that transparency looking right into the collection Um and then uh from this

[1:28:29] perspective you won't really see the parking So um as we go around through

[1:28:34] this even though when you see it in a plan it looks like there's a big uh swath of parking uh the way it's tucked

[1:28:40] into the landscape um it really is you're either looking over the vehicles

[1:28:46] um or you're uh kind of obscured from them So it's really kind of intimate feel as you go around the building And

[1:28:52] really the main thing you're going to feel is the landscape and the plantings that we were discussing earlier on the

[1:28:59] landscape Again all this glazing will have the bird safe uh uh strategies

[1:29:05] associated with them to um make sure that the biodiversity maintains itself Um this is becoming uh from the

[1:29:13] drop off plaza just to the north Uh the parking just off to the left and then that entry going right through Uh

[1:29:20] there's seating areas obviously if you want somebody to come and wait or you're being picked up uh you'd have a

[1:29:26] comfortable space to sit in Um and then you also see up into the uh art center up on the second floor Uh main elevator

[1:29:34] and stair is a wayfinding piece So it's very clear Um if you're picking somebody up after hours it's uh I'll see you

[1:29:42] coming down the stairs from the second floor Very easy Um this is coming from that uh I

[1:29:49] mentioned earlier that ADA access along the east neighborhood So you can kind of

[1:29:54] see up on that hill um how the scale is reduced because of the topography that

[1:30:00] we've shaped But it also gives us an opportunity to make this outdoor space for the children uh programming right

[1:30:06] associated with that children's space which is just at that lower corner that we saw from the inside out earlier Um

[1:30:13] and then again this is on a path that's uh accessible right up to the front door

[1:30:18] from the neighborhood Uh we wanted to be the sledding hill um

[1:30:24] in the winter So paying attention as well as we love our winters here and uh

[1:30:29] what that might mean for the community as hey just let's walk out of the neighborhood and engage in the landscape

[1:30:35] Uh we have some great images of what this site was before It was a gravel pit

[1:30:40] of you know and actually I think Peggy Peggy was one of those kids that was

[1:30:47] riding riding her Honda 50 in the gravel pits And uh what a what a wonderful

[1:30:53] thing to be able to kind of repair and restore the landscape but keep that kind of life and uh uh connection to it

[1:31:00] almost as if we're all How old were you eight years old Yeah

[1:31:05] We should all be eight Um you know uh we've uh developed strategies for all

[1:31:11] these trees And so um I'm from Nebraska about 20 miles from the birth

[1:31:19] of Arbor Arbor Day but you know and they don't have enough trees right so but but

[1:31:26] we there are a ton of trees here and that's what's so great about Minnesota in general You know a guy should learn

[1:31:31] when to keep his mouth shut shouldn't he even No offense taken I I'm here because I love the trees right and but yeah

[1:31:38] definitely definitely uh as David mentioned there there are a lot of trees that are being deployed throughout the

[1:31:44] site and it will fill in and grow with time in a really elegant way and uh with

[1:31:50] the idea of resiliency embedded in it So the idea not just the plantings but the

[1:31:56] trees that will be resilient as things change um long term and that's a a goal

[1:32:02] of the whole facility because this is a decades and decades and decades long

[1:32:07] facility Uh this would be just uh as you come to the south uh you you're just off of the spur for the trail looking

[1:32:15] towards the south entry and the plaza above there You can kind of see if you look at the second level you're seeing

[1:32:20] all the way through the building That's that clear story right through uh to the sky again So very transparent Uh these

[1:32:27] are some different moods you might feel uh throughout the day as you come in in

[1:32:33] the evening on a bike ride or something and get that last uh opportunity to pick up a book for tomorrow morning Right

[1:32:42] So that's the just I just want to interject just I'm sure others have comments as well but as you've gone

[1:32:47] through we've looked at all the elevations and all the interior and exterior spaces It's just one remarkable

[1:32:54] place to spend time after another whether it's indoors or outdoors and and uh uh it's it's extraordinary Thank you

[1:33:02] for that good work You should be really proud of yourself Your team should be really proud of itself Thank you Thank you And I I can't stress how much of the

[1:33:08] talented people not only from uh the design team but the county and the city everybody has really come together on

[1:33:14] this And I I do I do appreciate the comment It's um and I I take that for

[1:33:19] all of the people that have been involved That's what's so special about libraries for me is that if we do them

[1:33:25] right you will find a different place in the morning you'll find a different place in the evening and you'll come

[1:33:31] back twice in one day right and I I think that's what's so great about it not only the programming but the things that you can get from it Um and I I hope

[1:33:38] design can actually do that So thank you

[1:33:43] Um so some of this was gone over earlier but um our our real really our strategy

[1:33:48] is to try to not uh overwhelm um I think we've done better than the existing building for sure um and make sure that

[1:33:56] we integrate and are responsive to the neighborhood uh to the east and make it

[1:34:03] a welcoming uh approach from the east as well So uh just as a little bit more

[1:34:09] detail that uh you see the dash line there that's the existing height Um the

[1:34:14] blue line is what we're uh proposing and really is mainly that clear story that transparent uh area that's letting light

[1:34:21] into the center of the building that gets to that height Uh there you see it again So that

[1:34:28] just off right that highest point is the piece that kind of gets up into that uh

[1:34:33] height area Uh so materials that were mentioned um

[1:34:39] these are uh it's a champagne uh material aluminum panel that we're looking at and we really want it to be

[1:34:46] subtle and quiet Uh nothing that's uh really jarring or in your face It'll

[1:34:51] it'll change through the out the day because it has a a vertical texture to it So depending on the daylight Um and

[1:34:59] this is really built to try to uh kind of mimic uh the idea of trees and the

[1:35:05] different light qualities that come through them So you'll experience a kind of dappled light on the second level um

[1:35:10] and then some on the first level with that transparency So um we're really trying to break down the scale and just

[1:35:16] make it a a a quiet uh second level uh that sits um on the landscape on the

[1:35:22] left on the east and then uh hovers over the transparency on the west Um and then

[1:35:28] there's some dur it's mainly durable materials again decades and decades long We want to reduce maintenance Um the

[1:35:35] clear story is just a very simple uh glass uh piece that sits on

[1:35:42] top Uh this is the west facade you're seeing um similar strategy uh as well as

[1:35:50] the main mainly I think what you'll notice is the terrace as you come around the covering because it'll be um very

[1:35:57] open and transparent There's some perforated metals that we're using um but mainly it's all meant to be tuned uh

[1:36:05] to uh reflect light and minimize the solar gain And as well if you ever been

[1:36:11] in a library and uh you have uh need to wear glasses or anything like that the

[1:36:17] glare is a huge piece So these fins that we're putting on these aluminum fins are meant to minimize the amount of glare

[1:36:23] but also let a lot of daylight in So it's bouncing light in Um so it's all tuned uh for the uses that we're

[1:36:29] intending to have inside Uh the south side you've seen other images that are renderings along

[1:36:35] this Uh just off to the right you see how that grade goes up Um and then there's some that that's where the kiln

[1:36:41] facility is for the uh art center Um which sits on a landscape It's a very

[1:36:46] small scale compared to the rest of the building next to the uh neighborhood

[1:36:52] there You see in this wide area So it really is kind of a one-story uh structure at the neighborhood side uh

[1:36:59] with the exception where it slopes down and you sled around the corner towards the front door

[1:37:07] There's all four elevations Um yeah So a very limited

[1:37:15] palette Um but mainly using shade and shadow uh and changes throughout the

[1:37:22] day Very uh durable and resistant materials Uh the aluminum um andor

[1:37:28] stainless steel is meant to resist any corrosion or anything like that um and be maintainable uh so that there isn't

[1:37:35] ongoing maintenance So again uh this south site I did mention it but there's a fourpoint

[1:37:42] connectivity There's a path that connects on the south side as well Um and it can be that enticement to go

[1:37:49] around the corner and uh come into the library

[1:37:56] That's a lot of it There's a lot more but I'd like to leave it open for any

[1:38:01] other questions or clarifications there That's a good that's a good perspective And again I would just say you know as

[1:38:08] many of us have gone to places like Washington DC over time and seen what our federal government has done with

[1:38:14] architecture celebrating different things in more recent years the African-American Museum and the Native American Museum and then to have a

[1:38:23] development partner in a county government that is so sensitive to design and function it's it's it's

[1:38:31] remarkable And so for the administrators at the county and the board at the county to think in a grand way about

[1:38:38] what public spaces ought to be like and how special public places should be is

[1:38:43] really uh it's really affirming of I think what we've tried to do here in our town even with our own city hall here

[1:38:49] which has stood the test of time over the last 20 years and is still a wonderful place So congratulations again

[1:38:56] to both you as an architect but also the county as a as a developer as the

[1:39:01] sponsor of this and wanting to do the best possible thing they could for their system and for our town Thank you for

[1:39:09] that Um member Pierce Uh thanks Mr Mayor Just really briefly I um I was trying to

[1:39:18] count the slides and like you guys should do this but I think you were 20

[1:39:23] slides in before you even got into the building And so all of the features

[1:39:30] outside um just as mayor was saying I I think that it's a draw to

[1:39:39] um interact with the entire space And so I I just thought that was uh really cool

[1:39:47] the way you're being purposeful in everything you're designing outside Um

[1:39:53] so that that it's it's a feature for the entire city Um and so I I uh definitely

[1:40:00] thank you uh for that I um was laughing with um member Agnu I drove out there a

[1:40:09] couple weeks ago from work Uh was planning to do some writing and I think

[1:40:14] I got all the way over there and I thought "Oh it's closed." So and somehow

[1:40:20] I forgot that But there's three libraries that I spent a lot of time in

[1:40:29] Um Ridgedale Minneapolis downtown and the

[1:40:35] South Dale And I think um this for sure will be my favorite uh when it's

[1:40:42] completed So I definitely tell the entire team I think they're doing a a

[1:40:49] fabulous job and um whatever we can do to um help further the um getting the

[1:40:55] the building done um we're I think we're all in alignment to try and do that So

[1:41:01] thank you Thank you Member Jackson Thank you Mr Mayor So I want to

[1:41:07] start by saying thank you to the county This is an extraordinary investment in

[1:41:12] our community and it's just we are so lucky that this

[1:41:18] is going to be coming to us and it's beautiful and it's functional and I've been to so many of these

[1:41:25] meetings of the neighbors coming in and talking Um so first of all I just want to start with a great big thank you The

[1:41:32] second one is thank you for handling the complexity of this project Um and Miss

[1:41:37] Vero in particular this is super complex and just from the public side of what

[1:41:43] people are asking for here and then when you add in um the park district the

[1:41:49] watershed district us and our art center and everything this is so complex and I

[1:41:55] want to thank you all for your very hard work in in making it come together

[1:42:00] Um uh I actually have a question Um well first of all thank you also for the

[1:42:06] glare reduction I hadn't thought about that but with all that sunlight having to sit and read um it sounds pretty

[1:42:13] amazing Um so it it will be a good place to read as well as to come visit and everything So that's really cool The one

[1:42:20] question I have is in this water retention area um will it be possible

[1:42:25] for staff to go out and pick up garbage in that area it's I know that the public is not invited to walk in there but it's

[1:42:32] in an urban area and there will be plastic bags and paper cups and stuff Is that accessible for maintenance

[1:42:40] yeah I think Brida would be best to answer how these are maintained Um I

[1:42:47] might say something wrong Sure Yes Uh the wetland area is not

[1:42:54] intended for the public to go into it but there are gravel trails around it and it will be accessible for

[1:43:02] maintenance staff There will be detailed maintenance plans for how uh the maintenance the landscape maintenance

[1:43:08] professionals can get in there and do yearly mowing and trash collection and

[1:43:13] those sorts of things Okay great Thank you I I figured you had but I had to ask And so I I just want to conclude

[1:43:22] Miss Vero you start out talking with the mission of the library and it has one of my favorite phrases in it lifelong

[1:43:28] learning In 2015 the city vina divisioning process and were two values

[1:43:33] that stood up above and beyond everything else environmental sustainability and lifelong learning And

[1:43:40] so I'm just blown away by bringing this to our community So thank you all very

[1:43:45] much member and then member Russer Thank you and thank you for the presentation

[1:43:51] Uh even just to build off of what member Jackson was just saying it's it's

[1:43:57] exciting to see you know the revitalization the replacement of the library that's there today but even the

[1:44:03] great partnership that we're having with the Adina Art Center finding a new space for that being able to invest into the

[1:44:10] pottery experience and all of that like I cannot imagine or I could not have

[1:44:15] created probably a better partnership in the vein of learning and continuing

[1:44:20] education of bringing those two things together So thank you for your partnership on that Um you know when I

[1:44:26] go and I watch the the planning commission um and I I definitely heard um I think it was Chair Bennett um

[1:44:33] really I think wanting more right from this project and from this site And I

[1:44:39] know that this has been a multi-year um effort more more than that if you go way

[1:44:44] way back And I know that we reviewed you know possible opportunities that were

[1:44:50] evaluated of could there be housing on this site and what would that look like and you know when I if I look at it in a

[1:44:57] silo part of me is still like disappointed in the sense that we weren't able to find something that

[1:45:04] worked to also add housing or to do something else And I can't imagine like a better

[1:45:12] project here And so it's it's really good to you know know that there's

[1:45:17] something that we're missing out on as a community but at the same time with the

[1:45:23] inclusion of all the community aspects the outdoor area the wetlands the water

[1:45:28] retention all of those things I think make this really a perfect project So it's amazing to see it come

[1:45:34] together I will though ask the question about parking I always do Um and I know

[1:45:40] Commissioner Alky was kind of pushing on this point And what's hard for me is

[1:45:46] when you dig into the numbers of the parking study that was conducted Um you

[1:45:51] know it was peak evaluation of 116 spaces needed Um I know as a city we

[1:45:57] would require 160 Um tell me how we landed on a number 184

[1:46:07] that's bigger than what we require It's bigger than what the peak estimated was going to be And I know you spoke to this

[1:46:13] on the planning commission but even just like reiterate why you think 184 is the right

[1:46:20] number Um and maybe we can have some dialogue on that Yeah Um again uh there's the science of

[1:46:27] it and then there's uh what we see in examples and

[1:46:34] um I don't know how to not overstress or

[1:46:39] uh talk about the impact of this facility that I in my career I haven't

[1:46:45] worked on a facility that I think is as spectacular as this Um and with it being

[1:46:53] uh located as a regional uh location so you're going to get a draw from outside

[1:46:58] the community what you would consider community here Um the demand is is really hard to

[1:47:05] measure and I just know there's going to be a lot of people coming you know and I I see that from examples of other

[1:47:11] regional libraries we do especially when it's at this caliber I mean this is world class Um so you know you think of

[1:47:20] a world where there's um social media and the places you want to be and how uh

[1:47:27] what we hope to have described here is such a delightful place um that's the

[1:47:32] hardest part to measure and I think um we just know from our experience that it's going to be especially at the

[1:47:39] larger events and you have partnerships right these aren't common um a

[1:47:44] partnership of a library and an arts center um those two things from a

[1:47:49] lifelong learning of you know learning uh through uh the mind and then learning

[1:47:56] through your hands um you don't see that at libraries and those things are going to come together in in a really uh

[1:48:02] magical way So what we've done is we've looked at that and we've talked to

[1:48:07] deeply with Henipin County and what they uh typically need for their clientele um

[1:48:13] and from our experiences and we've tried to balance it um and not go too far and

[1:48:18] then mitigate it through how we've designed it and that's uh really the process to date I'll add a couple also

[1:48:27] Um so as I mentioned through the various different community engagements parking was a very hot topic and kind of

[1:48:34] communicating the need Um also managing that uh what we could put under the um

[1:48:40] building based on the square footage and the perimeter and then also being respectful to what was on the the

[1:48:45] surface as well and really being mindful of how we designed it too And so working

[1:48:51] through that also right or wrong as we shared our data to um our our consultant

[1:48:57] to make that um recommendation or that peak demand We uh used our best guess

[1:49:03] and but it also is historic data too and so we don't have a crystal ball in terms

[1:49:09] of a worldclass art center being in this central location or a a library at this

[1:49:14] scale and design Um so using that data to inform um as Matthew mentioned the

[1:49:21] scientific or the logarithms that that expert provided uh we did our own and so

[1:49:27] um having that relationship between uh the forecasting uh got us to that number

[1:49:33] that we had plus the informative of uh the community as well

[1:49:41] Thank you for that and thank you for for pro providing a little bit more I don't know insight and experience Um what's

[1:49:48] hard is right in every picture that we see of the existing library we see the

[1:49:54] sea of parking and you look across the street and you see how much parking is

[1:50:00] at the target Um and it's what one or two days a year that maybe the parking there is filled And and that's even a

[1:50:07] site that I think is technically underparked um based off of the the city

[1:50:13] requirements And so I am just curious if 5 10 years down the

[1:50:21] road we get to a point where we're like "Oh gosh we've never even seen like the

[1:50:27] surface lot filled in and no one's even using the basement for 6 months of the

[1:50:33] year." Is that an opportunity for myself to come to you and say like "Hey is

[1:50:39] there going to can we just like eliminate a little bit of this and and create some green space or or rethink

[1:50:44] some of the surface parking?" Um would you be open to that if it's identified that it's not being fully utilized

[1:50:53] i think I'll respond and encourage if there's any from my team members that want to add I think um one strategy so

[1:51:02] just showing like the confidence that we have we are putting a a parking counter or awareness of if the underground is

[1:51:09] full or not because we have so much confidence regardless of that I think

[1:51:14] there is opportunity for us to keep that lens We always keep a lens on how our buildings are being utilized both in

[1:51:21] terms of durability uh the continued maintenance and preservation we have to do So that same attitude can be used in

[1:51:28] terms of the the use because we do that for how often our do doors are used and it it's starting to not uh you know be

[1:51:36] in the good shape in order to be uh used I'd argue if that's the reverse for parking that same evaluation can be done

[1:51:46] Wonderful Thank you Thanks member Uh member Mercer

[1:51:53] I also really appreciate all the work that has gone into this and um I I do

[1:51:59] want to push back on the idea of the Southdale design guidelines not really being followed because I think you

[1:52:05] really are breaking up the space beautifully The other thing is as I look at the Southdale design guidelines and I

[1:52:11] see county roads going through this area I wonder do our design guidelines

[1:52:16] respect county road policy because what you're doing is eliminating a driveway

[1:52:22] area and our guidelines continually encourage more driveways onto your county roads So I

[1:52:30] it's kind of a I think you've provided a wonderful solution and I hope it is

[1:52:38] something that is picked up and used at other development sites So thank you for that Um I did watch the planning

[1:52:46] commission so I don't have a lot of concerns I did bring in an image um that I wanted to show I too have Nebraska

[1:52:54] connections My mom grew up there and every summer I summered in Hastings for like two weeks And

[1:53:02] um I remember just that overwhelming sense of heat And this is not the

[1:53:07] greatest picture but if you go to Google Maps this is what you're going to see when you plunk down at York And um your

[1:53:15] corner you can view your site as a sea of asphalt Your site has some of the

[1:53:21] fewest trees in our area And if you look across the street how desolate that road

[1:53:27] is This is the little enchanted library forest And so if you can keep part of

[1:53:34] that that would be absolutely wonderful There's also a cluster of hackberries

[1:53:40] And um everything's relative but when it is really hot and humid and it's you

[1:53:47] know 90 100° and people are walking across your corner is the only one where

[1:53:54] they get some relief and some shade And I'm thinking if you know somehow this

[1:54:00] could be maintained that would be absolutely wonderful I really can't get enthusiastic about another open plaza

[1:54:07] because then no one's going to have any place to go So I don't know if that could be really rethought That's my

[1:54:13] biggest concern Well actually I the other concern or well idea I have but as

[1:54:18] I was seeing all your beautiful images I don't know if it would be possible But just because it's a learning center

[1:54:24] because you have so much light you know could a few of those glass panels or maybe just one be one that had solar

[1:54:31] energy generation capabilities in it as a learning experience for kids on the inside that's one thought I had The

[1:54:38] other thought um and this is actually I want to credit Commissioner Alky He talked about you know could we work in

[1:54:44] some kind of um specific language requiring um the sidewalk that the city

[1:54:50] needs to build in order to connect your building to Adams Park but that's not really on you but I think it's on us and

[1:54:56] it I would really like to see that commitment So that's all I have But

[1:55:04] beautiful work Thank you Thank you Great observations Thank you

[1:55:10] All right Um stand by This is a public hearing I don't know if anyone else wishes to testify on the public hearing

[1:55:18] uh that's in the audience You're certainly welcome to as part of the team Um but I'm going to open it up now for

[1:55:24] public testimony And if you you folks sit down and we'll see what happens here

[1:55:30] Um see if anybody comes forward Um I don't see anybody other than your team

[1:55:36] here but nonetheless we'll um see if anybody wants to come forward to testify

[1:55:42] regarding this matter And this matter was the potential issuance of a conditional use permit and a building

[1:55:48] height variance for the uh library site at 71 York Avenue

[1:55:54] South Seeing no one coming forward and hearing nothing I'm going to turn to Director Benro and see if we have anybody online that wishes to testify

[1:56:01] It's a very quiet night over here in call-in land Um because the public hearing just opened and there is a

[1:56:08] slight delay in the broadcast I'd recommend we wait a minute or so giving people an opportunity to call in if they

[1:56:14] so desire My clock shows that it's 8:58 so I'll come back to you at 8:59

[1:56:20] whichever when we get a caller whichever's first All right Thank you for that While you're waiting um I think the

[1:56:28] recommended motion from staff is that we do what we've been doing recently on some of the public hearings and that is

[1:56:34] with partic with respect to this matter you know close the public input at noon on Sunday the 6th of April and then

[1:56:41] continue the action to our meeting on Wednesday April 16th So keep that in

[1:56:46] mind as we wait for the uh passage of time here calculated by director Benerat

[1:57:23] All right it is 8:59 and I still don't have a caller so I think it's safe for you to move forward with the agenda

[1:57:28] Thank you Director Benerro Um the motion would be to close the public input uh on this matter uh at noon on Sunday April

[1:57:36] 6th and continue the action which would involve the potential issuance of a conditional use permit uh site plan and

[1:57:43] building height variance for 7001 York Avenue Continue that matter to the

[1:57:48] Wednesday April 16 2025 meeting of the United City Council Is there a motion to that effect so moved I second Got a

[1:57:55] motion by member Jackson second by member Agnu to adopt that motion as stated Uh any further discussion all

[1:58:02] those in favor of adoption of the motion as stated say I I I Opposed Carried The motion's adopted The uh public input

[1:58:09] will be possible until noon on Sunday April 6th Then we will continue this matter to our meeting on the evening of

[1:58:16] April 16 2025 Thank you the entire team for being here

[1:58:22] including the the the administrator and the assistant administrator Thank you for sticking around Thanks for being

[1:58:28] with us earlier at the work session And um maybe we'll see some of you on the

[1:58:33] 16th All right Very good Have a good rest of the evening

[1:58:40] Uh we're going to move on to the reports and recommendations portion of the agenda And uh we've got uh the

[1:58:47] donations portion of it now and uh resolution 2025-29 accepts donations on

[1:58:53] behalf of the city of Vina Is there a motion to adopt that resolution so moved Second All right Member Pierce moves and

[1:59:01] member Jackson seconds the adoption of resolution 2025-29 which accepts certain designated

[1:59:07] donations on behalf of the city of Vina Any further discussion all those in favor of adopting resolution 2025-29 say

[1:59:15] I I I Opposed Carried Motion 2025-29 is adopted And uh in this uh reporting

[1:59:23] period uh Bob Thompson and Jack Weston

[1:59:29] uh our local historian Bob Thompson and then Jack Weston one of our local

[1:59:34] photographers put this beautiful book together uh with wildlife along the creek and they're going to be at our

[1:59:40] April 16th meeting to make a presentation I watched uh on um Saturday

[1:59:46] afternoon they did a presentation over at the at Arnison Acres and it was

[1:59:52] fascinating what how beautiful these photos are and they're going to bring books for all of you all the council

[1:59:57] members to pass out and so they'll be here on the 16th So they've given three books to the city Uh both Joan Row and

[2:00:06] Anne and David Braden have donated $3,200 respectively for memorial benches

[2:00:12] at Arnison Acres Park and Centennial Lakes Park uh in honor of loved ones now

[2:00:18] departed And then Keelale Garden Club has donated $350 for a tree at Eerson

[2:00:24] Acres and the Garden Club of Minneapolis donated three bags of compost for community gardens So thank you to all

[2:00:31] those donors and their names will be posted on the website And the u next and

[2:00:37] last portion of the activity under this portion of the agenda is a continuation

[2:00:43] of our conversation about uh ordinance 202504 which would be a potential

[2:00:49] amendment of the um uh or that ordinance uh and uh allow some uh activity

[2:00:57] sidewalk related uh on electric assisted bicycles So uh we've got Director Milner

[2:01:02] here and Lieutenant Dave Venny is with us this evening as well and we're going to revisit this topic to see if we want

[2:01:08] to do anything about this Yeah Thank you Mayor members of council So since the packet was published we've had a

[2:01:14] conversation with member Risser and we have a better understanding of her comments from the last meeting and attorney Kendall provided some feedback

[2:01:21] that you all saw this evening So we may or may not be able to get this approved this evening Um let me start with

[2:01:27] section one So the definition uh staff does support member Risser's suggestions

[2:01:33] from the last meeting and where a definition of a sidewalk would mean the portion of a street between the curb

[2:01:38] lines or the lateral lines of a roadway and the adjacent property lines intended for use for pedestrians So that doesn't

[2:01:46] limit other uses but it says intended for pedestrians So staff would support that change It's not shown in your

[2:01:52] packet because we just talked about that this evening staff really feels section two is the

[2:01:57] most important one of this ordinance Right now state statute does not uh does

[2:02:02] not have a a requirement to have helmets for individuals 15 to 17 or under 18

[2:02:09] years old We think that's very important to have that in there quickly so the police department has something to start

[2:02:14] these education outreach initiatives with members of our public that are biking without helmet helmets in that

[2:02:20] age range so they can start those conversations So that's really the most important part of this ordinance uh this

[2:02:27] evening And then section three we would recommend that you leave it as is And

[2:02:33] then the last option if there's not if there's a a will of the council a majority to say that we should

[2:02:39] reconsider bikes on sidewalks we would remind you of all the public engagement we had when that originally came forward

[2:02:46] and all the work that the transportation commission did at the time And we would say that we wouldn't recommend doing

[2:02:51] that just at this evening that you'd send that back to staff the ETC and our consultants are working on the safe and

[2:02:57] equitable mobility plan which is trying to merge all of our bike and ped master plans living streets plans and we could

[2:03:03] have that conversation of bikes on sidewalks at the same time and bring back potentially any changes at a later

[2:03:09] date on the sidewalk So I would offer that we read use the definition submitted by member Risser for sidewalk

[2:03:16] and approve all else of the ordinance and I'd be happy to stand for any questions

[2:03:22] Member Pierce Um can you repeat the what

[2:03:28] you were saying about sidewalks just now if you wanted to

[2:03:34] regulate bikes on sidewalks that portion Yes Yeah So we would I would not recommend that because in 2014-15 Mark

[2:03:42] Nolan was a transportation at the time transportation planner there was a huge outreach for the bike and ped master

[2:03:48] plan and the transportation commission put a lot of work in to change the ordinance to allow bicycles and

[2:03:53] sidewalks So I would feel like we should re-engage the community and the etc and

[2:03:59] we have an opportunity with the safe and equitable mobility plan that's being

[2:04:04] developed right now We could have that conversation as part of that work that's scheduled for 2025 with more community

[2:04:10] input Exactly Is your point All right And so then you're suggesting

[2:04:16] helmets and the definition of a sidewalk Yep So

[2:04:22] the red line copy that's in the packet I would just change the definition to the state statute that member Risser

[2:04:28] suggested last time And I can read it if we need that but and I would leave the

[2:04:33] rest of the changes in there And you would recommend leaving the rest as is Uh but then we would lean

[2:04:41] into use of bicycles on sidewalks but we would user public I guess I'll call it

[2:04:48] public process That's what the council wanted to revisit that decision We can do that Okay

[2:04:57] Yeah Member Jackson Um so this is a question for you Mr Mayor Can we um offer an amendment to what's proposed

[2:05:04] here and adopt that this evening so we could adopt the ordinance we could Okay Yeah we'd have to uh you

[2:05:11] know act on the amendment first and then act on the amended ordinance Okay Yeah

[2:05:17] So um we'll let other questions go forward but I'd like to offer that amendment when it's appropriate Okay So

[2:05:23] do you want to talk about what or the amendment that we're we were just discussing oh okay All right Is there

[2:05:29] anybody else that has I've got some clarification still so that I need member I'll go to you first Thank you So

[2:05:35] just to be explicit as it's written here even whatever the changing might be um

[2:05:41] regarding the definition of a sidewalk this would still allow as

[2:05:47] written for bicycles and ebikes to be used on sidewalks

[2:05:53] If we wanted to change that we would revisit that do the public process but as written nothing would be preventing

[2:05:59] that Is that correct correct And I'd probably let attorney Kendall provide

[2:06:04] any other details

[2:06:22] If if the council wanted to revisit that issue uh you could do that through the public engagement process Thank you for

[2:06:28] just being clear Thank you RER I would really like to see um this be

[2:06:35] amended and approved tonight because I do think there is a time concern and I

[2:06:41] think their educational programming that's being proposed is really valuable particularly surrounding helmets If we

[2:06:47] wanted to think about changing this ordinance there are other things we could do and I guess we could I think coming back to it at a later date would

[2:06:54] make sense I know Minneapolis has no bikes in um business on sidewalks near

[2:06:59] business areas That could be something that we thought about but I I I think to Director Milner's point it's a

[2:07:05] conversation that needs to be done methodically and with more time

[2:07:12] And we do restrict bikes in the 50th and France district Yeah Yeah So that there's already signs on the periphery

[2:07:18] of that district So what I'm still a little bit confused about is in section 2A we define a

[2:07:26] bicycle within the meaning of minstat 169.011 subdivision 4 Then we've added a

[2:07:33] section 2B which defines an electric assisted bicycle

[2:07:38] uh has the meaning given it in uh MSAT 169.011 and

[2:07:45] 169.222 So by virtue of being defined in

[2:07:51] 169.011 does that turn an electric assisted bicycle into a bicycle because

[2:07:56] the bicycle is also defined under that section of the

[2:08:02] statute Mayor if that's a question for me I would say no Um this the definitions in the state statute

[2:08:08] distinguish between the two I mean obviously an electric assisted bicycle is a type of bicycle but it's

[2:08:14] distinguished in the statute between an electric assisted bicycle and a standard bicycle So where in this ordinance do

[2:08:21] you see where it allows you to ride an electric assisted bicycle on a sidewalk

[2:08:27] uh well that's Go ahead Well state statute covers that How they define a bicycle includes both And it's presumed

[2:08:35] that it's not illegal to ride on a sidewalk So you could ride on a sidewalk and our code allows riding on a sidewalk

[2:08:40] with bicycles So why didn't we say that an electric assisted bicycle is a bicycle under state statute instead of

[2:08:47] doing it the way we did because um I think it was it was confusing for me a

[2:08:52] little bit I thought well are they allowed or not allowed because we had that conversation I've got a personal concern about whether electric assisted

[2:08:59] bicycles ought to be on a sidewalk And I frankly um if electric assisted bicycles under

[2:09:07] this proposed ordinance are allowed on the sidewalk then I'm going to vote against it because I don't think they should be on the sidewalk because you

[2:09:14] can't ride a bike electric assisted bike unless you're at least 15 And I think then you should have

[2:09:20] enough you should be savvy enough riding a bike to be able to ride it on the street because on balance for me it's

[2:09:27] more important to keep pedestrians safe than to than to think about keeping some people that want to ride an ebike e

[2:09:33] assisted bike on a sidewalk safe because I think I think those ebikes pose more danger to a pedestrian than a pedestrian

[2:09:40] does to a bicycle I just think we need to think about keeping pedestrians safe and to me the way you do that is you

[2:09:45] keep it's it's it's it's There's some risk with bicycles on the sidewalk We haven't had that experience

[2:09:51] fortunately But I think with ebikes and the stories we've had anecdotally from

[2:09:56] people in our town about the experiences they've had having ebikes roar up on them from behind I think uh I personally

[2:10:04] think it's a bad idea So bicycles continuing on

[2:10:10] sidewalks you know basically the status quo Adding that language around bicycle

[2:10:16] paths bicycle trails and shared use paths fine by me The ebikes on

[2:10:22] sidewalks not for me Can I just offer one comment that I think the ebikes and

[2:10:28] the situations that you're getting emails they are not ebikes There are these unregulated electric mobiles that

[2:10:35] I agree with They shouldn't even be on the sidewalks and they're not even in a class classified So I think there's that

[2:10:43] if I was thinking about actual ebike users I think they're normal bike users It's these

[2:10:49] unclassified almost electric motorcycles that you see going down the sidewalk But

[2:10:55] just a comment Yeah But an electric assisted bike as I understand it is one that you can get an assist from if you

[2:11:02] feel like you need it You're going up a hill and it's a little bit tough You can deploy a little bit of electric assist

[2:11:09] Maybe you still have to pedal to do it That's the key is the pedaling It's these things with don't even have pedals and they're running Nonetheless with an

[2:11:15] eassisted bike you can still achieve speeds up to what 20 miles an hour Yep

[2:11:20] 28 for That's where That's where it gets risky for me So whether it's a straight old ebike or an eass assisted bike I

[2:11:28] just think the I think on balance for me uh the risks are too steep when you

[2:11:35] oriented around pedestrians And you've got a different opinion Well I do and I think that we should have this as a

[2:11:41] community community discussion because they are in the same bicycle class and

[2:11:46] would welcome that broader community but I'll whatever the council so wishes

[2:11:52] Oh Um go ahead Member Jackson go ahead Just to to follow up on your comments my

[2:11:58] understanding on the presentation that we had two weeks ago was that by passing

[2:12:03] something and requiring the helmets we can start a public um education campaign

[2:12:09] Um because I think one of the problems that we have are the young kids riding these electric assist bikes and we need

[2:12:16] to get the word out that they're not allowed to And how do we do this safely and and by passing this ordinance we

[2:12:24] trigger a public safety campaign which is the best way on your training that the two of you went through for making

[2:12:30] this safe Um and that simply banning it at this point we lose that opportunity

[2:12:36] for education Um can you clarify that a little bit for me please yeah we think the best case is education outreach Uh

[2:12:43] both the users right we've seen a lot of like that age range 15 to 17 but also

[2:12:49] the parents and the families They shouldn't be buying It's not legal to have these under 15 And those are probably the kids that were seeing these

[2:12:56] worst behaviors on the sidewalks I don't know if Lieutenant Vinnie wants to add

[2:13:01] Yeah I we're getting a lot of calls from parents of middle school age children

[2:13:07] asking can we buy these things for our children and you know the answer is for us if you're not 15 no you can't And

[2:13:14] unfortunately we get the well my neighbor has one or my neighbor's neighbor has one And we're actually working with the schools right now

[2:13:20] because uh the assistant principal um is concerned about some of the driving conduct of the middle schoolers right

[2:13:25] well the simple solution is u they're not legal for you know for a 13-year-old

[2:13:31] to be able to drive to ride though by uh by incorporating a um ordinance with

[2:13:38] helmet requirement that allows our officers some engagement right because right now if someone's riding an ebike

[2:13:47] without a helmet it's tough 13 to 15 you know what does that age look like so um hopefully

[2:13:55] that answered your question there I like that idea too the the helmet under 18 I think that's a great idea but I still

[2:14:01] don't like the idea of anything e assisted on a sidewalk or the fire

[2:14:06] Remember Pierce oh thanks Mr Mayor So I I don't think

[2:14:12] anybody disagrees with you Um I think we all care about safety

[2:14:20] Um I think what I am hearing is that we should follow more due diligence

[2:14:28] to to write an ordinance to address those issues Um and so what I'm hearing

[2:14:36] us say is status quo for now with the exception of the

[2:14:43] helmet Um and then what am I missing the helmet and um the definition of the

[2:14:49] definition of a sidewalk and then we will follow the public process

[2:14:55] to really come up with something that is more comprehensive um because I do think it is more

[2:15:01] complicated um than that when you start looking at class 2 class three you know what's an

[2:15:08] ebike what's state statute how does it govern it um I think we do need to spend

[2:15:15] more due diligence on it and have more of a public process to

[2:15:21] figure out what we should do to ha to ensure that we've got the safety So this is like an interim thing So but in the

[2:15:28] meantime they can but in the meantime they can ride e assist on the sidewalk while we make up our mind what to do

[2:15:33] That's what bothers me I feel like you can do an educational program uh without that component I you know I

[2:15:41] feel like okay define bicycle is anything that doesn't have a electric um or a gas motor on it It's

[2:15:49] not it's not powered by anything other than your legs

[2:15:55] Uh it's uh I like so many parts of it It's just

[2:16:02] to allow in the gap I think it's just risky to allow electric assisted electric assisted anything on the

[2:16:08] sidewalk Well just to underscore the complexity of it um for

[2:16:15] tonight I'm actually not super excited about having any bicycles on sidewalks U

[2:16:23] but that's not what we have in place today Um so I'd be

[2:16:29] arguing no bicycles or ebikes on sidewalks If we're going to do that it

[2:16:35] has to be you know on a shared uh path right

[2:16:41] so nine M now nine mile creek right there's clearly pedestrian cyclists Um

[2:16:51] and so that's where my head would be from and because of the same reasons you said from a safety

[2:16:57] perspective but I I don't like I don't think we're going to get to that tonight

[2:17:04] in that way Britisher um I hear what you're saying I don't

[2:17:10] know if we could just uh get rid of and I don't have the

[2:17:16] ordinance in front of me but any language that allows the electric bikes

[2:17:24] um if it's separated out or just add a statement saying electric powered bikes

[2:17:30] are not allowed But I think you know I get concerned when I hear I don't want

[2:17:35] to see any bikes on sidewalks You know I I look at kids biking to Pamela Park on

[2:17:41] the sidewalk by Valley View Road and I am happy that they are on the sidewalk and not in the road Um so there's that

[2:17:51] I just am looking at that definition of bicycle and that 169.011 subdivision

[2:17:57] 4 Uh a bicycle means every device capable of being propelled solely by human power

[2:18:04] upon which any person may ride having two tandem wheels and including any device generally recognized as a bicycle

[2:18:11] though equipped with two front or rear wheels And then they add one more sentence that says bicycle includes an

[2:18:18] electric assisted bicycle as defined in subdivision 27 You could take that last sentence right out of there and leave

[2:18:24] the definition of bicycle uh intact and create our own definition And then it

[2:18:29] says B subp part B is bicycle does not include scooters motorized foot scooters or similar devices which is what uh

[2:18:37] director Milner was talking about which we all think are too dangerous for the sidewalk

[2:18:43] So it doesn't seem to me that it's that difficult to create a definition of bicycle that excludes electric assisted

[2:18:49] bicycles by just dropping that last sentence from 169.011 subdivision

[2:18:55] 4 creating our own definition and doing it tonight

[2:19:01] If we do that I would still want us to go through the public process because I don't to respond to member Risser Like I

[2:19:08] think that's what the comp part of the complexity when I say no bikes on

[2:19:14] sidewalks I'm actually talking about um people that are riding They're like

[2:19:20] cyclists and they're out there and I get nervous when they're behind me I'm actually not talking about a middle

[2:19:26] schooler on a bike But how do you write that into an ordinance at

[2:19:32] 9:20 p.m i don't know But if we are going to try to cover that kind of

[2:19:38] complexity we have to do more due diligence around what the issue is that

[2:19:43] we're actually trying to solve So whatever we do tonight is I think is an in is interim

[2:19:51] I did not mean to interrupt you I thought you were done Okay Um I see the logic of the mayor's point that we could

[2:19:59] have the dialogue about whether to include electric bicycles

[2:20:04] um at a later date I think we're not saying that we're going to ban bikes

[2:20:10] from sidewalks and that would be where we'd be getting into the level of complexity But um his point uh that you

[2:20:18] know why don't we not do electric bikes now and have the discussion and then figure out if it makes sense for us I

[2:20:24] think is just in my head and I can't get rid of it It's very logical So I would be in favor of that and um but trying to

[2:20:33] move this forward tonight uh because there is kind of I I don't want this to

[2:20:39] get kicked down the road So I I agree with that What the only thing I'm saying

[2:20:45] is we should follow the process from the recommendation that we do more due diligence on the ordinance and in the

[2:20:54] interim helmets definition of sidewalk and then we can have a definition of no

[2:20:59] ebikes definition of bicycle of bicycle e insisted bikes and write that into the

[2:21:06] ordinance now but then we would follow the process to do the rest of the due diligence Member Jackson do you want to

[2:21:12] give us that language so I've got the sidewalk language Sidewalk means that

[2:21:19] portion of a street between the curb lines or the lateral lines of a roadway

[2:21:25] comma and the adjacent property lines intended for the use of pedestrians

[2:21:32] So that would be a substitute for the language in section one

[2:21:37] Okay Then I have a question Um if we if we're looking at the public process

[2:21:42] what's the timeline anticipated for that is that a two-year process is it a six-month process what what's the

[2:21:48] general um timeline for this extended public process about the entire bike

[2:21:54] plan yep It was a one-year plan and they just got started in March So it' be the first quarter of 2026 Okay Thank you

[2:22:10] I'm trying to get to figure out how to make section two there There is no uh

[2:22:16] you know there's a section subsection A in there but those oh yeah there's B So

[2:22:21] we'd eliminate A So all we need there is

[2:22:26] um would substitute that we would use the definition of bicycle but eliminate

[2:22:31] that last sentence which says

[2:22:39] um bicycle includes an electric assisted bicycle is defined in subdivision 27 So

[2:22:44] the definition then would be bicycle means every human every device capable

[2:22:50] of being propelled solely by human power upon which any person may ride having

[2:22:55] two tandem wheels and including any device generally recognized as a bicycle though equipped with two front or rear

[2:23:02] wheels Period So you could do that as subsection

[2:23:10] A Eliminate uh B and then one subp part

[2:23:17] one there could become B I suppose any person under the age of 18 blah blah blah You know the helmet part of it

[2:23:25] So you would define bicycle in A and then have that helmet language on

[2:23:32] B and everything else would stay the same and you had add that definition of sidewalk substitute definition of

[2:23:39] sidewalk in there that did that So anybody get that well I I would recommend keeping the

[2:23:46] subsection B because we want the helmets on electric assisted bicycles So you're talking about changing a instead of

[2:23:54] using a statutory definition of bicycle have our definition of bicycle and then

[2:24:00] I would keep any person operating a bicycle on any street or bicycle lane Yeah I maybe didn't explain it very well

[2:24:05] I keep that And then keep B because for purposes this article then you define

[2:24:11] electric assisted bicycle and then electric assisted bicycles people riding them under 18 have to have a helmet So

[2:24:19] you need that definition still in there or the the

[2:24:26] So that's a that's a good point Yeah you could what you could do is

[2:24:32] um just move that for purposes of this article move it in behind what's labeled

[2:24:38] as one So first you talk about the helmet and then you define the e assisted bike Although I suppose you

[2:24:44] could leave it the way it is I just would change the first sentence of a to

[2:24:49] a shortened version of the definition of bicycle in statute rather than referring

[2:24:54] to the statute Right You'd have to take that out You'd take you'd say for the purpose of this article the term bicycle

[2:25:00] has a meaning and then or it means the following and we'd put in our own definition Yes Mayor I think we need to

[2:25:07] bring this back next time There's a lot of words April 16th They quick enough to act and then we we can wave second

[2:25:13] reading Member Rert We can I think that would be wise and then you can really

[2:25:18] get your program ready to roll Okay Sorry I thought it' be gives lawyer

[2:25:26] Kendall a chance to look at the whole thing and figure out how it should be properly structured but you get you get

[2:25:32] the thoughts No I I think we have good guidance now I can come back with what I think you're looking for Okay We

[2:25:38] probably need a motion to table it till the next meeting Yeah Yeah So we'll we'll continue Is there a motion to

[2:25:44] continue this discussion on potential adoption of ordinance 202504 to the April 16 meeting of the city council so

[2:25:51] move second a motion second to adopt the motion as stated to uh postpone this

[2:25:57] matter to decision or table it for decision to uh April 16 2024 on ordinance

[2:26:03] 202504 Any further discussion all those in favor of adoption of the motion stated say I I Opposed carried Motion's

[2:26:10] adopted clarification as to who made the motion and seconded

[2:26:19] I second You You guys are our best guess It was

[2:26:25] the two of them I don't know what to order

[2:26:31] [Music] Um All right Um thanks everybody for the

[2:26:39] conversation We've had some good ones here lately Uh

[2:26:46] okay Manager comments Uh thank you your honor I just have a couple Um one is

[2:26:51] that we've mentioned it a couple times tonight but I just want to affirm that everyone knows our next meeting is

[2:26:57] Wednesday April 16th Uh to to comply with our uh religious holiday observance

[2:27:03] uh policy This meeting was pushed from the Tuesday the 15th to Wednesday the 16th So all of our public hearings and

[2:27:11] pardon I I just thought that was because of tax day I didn't really know why it was We

[2:27:17] have a policy that guides us how we how we position these meetings and that's uh that's how that's happened Uh second is

[2:27:25] if there are members who are interested in attending the uh League of Minnesota C's uh annual conference We're still in

[2:27:33] the kind of early bird uh promotion period where we get a cheaper rate for

[2:27:38] folks that want to attend It's June 25th 20 through 27th at the Duth deck Let me

[2:27:44] know if you want to do that And finally we have snow tonight and uh we have an

[2:27:50] allout uh snow removal planned and uh for later this late well later tomorrow

[2:27:56] morning at 4:00 a.m uh the whole the whole crew will be here to do snow

[2:28:01] removal That's all I got Thank youer

[2:28:07] I am just so thrilled that the annual international film festival is showing

[2:28:12] films at the Adina movie theater I have bought my tickets for that Iwayi way

[2:28:18] show because I just love him But uh it's really nice especially with the snow to

[2:28:23] know that I don't have to go all the way to St Anthony Maine So really thrilled about that And if you haven't looked at

[2:28:29] the website um it starts I believe tomorrow So very exciting Although we

[2:28:36] don't start seeing things here at the Edina Theater until Friday but that's just around the corner

[2:28:46] That's anything else no that's it Okay All right Good Nothing for me tonight

[2:28:53] Member Pierce Um I you know I had some other remarks I was going to make Um I'm

[2:28:59] going to hold those for the next meeting Um I just tonight wanted to

[2:29:06] um just acknowledge the work that we're doing on the budget

[2:29:12] um and thank the staff um manager Neil for the work that you

[2:29:18] guys are are leading us through Um we are much further ahead than we

[2:29:26] have been in previous years and it's tough work to do Um and so I just I want

[2:29:33] to just say how much I do appreciate the work that you guys are doing and um I

[2:29:40] know you're getting lots of emails from us I know I'm sending a ton of them on the topic and I appreciate the way that

[2:29:47] you've been engaging Thanks for that Nothing for me tonight

[2:29:53] Thank you Um thanks for mentioning that Uh member Pierce I think um we have started early

[2:30:01] and um we had a great all day session a few weeks ago on a Saturday Staff understands what we're

[2:30:08] trying to do and manager Neil's doing a great job leading the way So I concur I think we all feel that same way Um only

[2:30:16] one other thing for me and that was uh yesterday and I had to miss it because of an appointment but Tim Zimmerman our

[2:30:22] longtime kind of chief gardener uh retired and I really feel bad that I

[2:30:29] had to miss that retirement 41 years of service So I'd like to if you can find me his contact information I'd like to

[2:30:36] buy him lunch or breakfast or something tell him how much I appreciated all the work he's done over the years

[2:30:42] beautifying Edina and leading all these teams that beautify Edina So Tim if you

[2:30:47] by chance happen to tune in uh we uh we are so appreciative of all the great

[2:30:53] work that you did here in Edina over the years it uh it's pretty remarkable how

[2:30:59] be how beautiful you've made our community uh and how loyal you've been and diligent you've been on the on the

[2:31:05] work that you've done and uh so the best to you in retirement really pleased for

[2:31:10] you thank you that's it for me anything else from anybody is there a motion to adjurnn so

[2:31:17] moved second all at this time member seconds member Jackson moves we second

[2:31:22] we journ member seconds any further discussion Those in favor of German say I I I Opposed Carried We stand adjourned

[2:31:50] Thank you for raising safety I didn't see how we could