Going to call the Lake Elmo City Council meeting for Wednesday, August 6, 2025 at 7 p.m. to order. Please stand with me for the pledge of >> allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Thank you. Our first item is to do the approval of the agenda and entertain a motion unless somebody has something they'd like to move. >> I'd move for approval of the agenda. Second. >> All right, we have a motion and a second. All those in favor, please signify by saying I. >> I. >> I. >> All right, agenda is hereby approved. >> Going into presentations, uh, got a couple people that want to speak this evening. When you come to the podium, please state your name and address for the record and, uh, you'll have six minutes. Uh other than that, just uh make sure your uh decorum is handled properly in the in the in the council chambers. I'll call on Tony Zaitton and Denise Elliot. >> Hi, I'm Denise Elliot. I live on 9077 Jane Road North. >> And I'm Tony Ziken and I live at 9109 Jane Road North. Can you show our pictures of the PowerPoint or can you see them? There we go. Um, so just we came here to talk about the shoreline in Lake Jane. Um, the water levels are at an all-time high. We've talked to the DNR and they can't release any water until um, spring and um, Olsen and Deonteville um, run into our lake. So, we're the last feeding pond of the water and it's just ridiculously high and our shores are getting worse. Our grandkids can't play on the beach because they get toppled with waves and at on my property they can't even walk down to get to the beach because it's been just shoved back so much by the water. So, we've got an extreme amount of damage. We have a lot of people that have been moving onto Lake Jane Road lately um with people passing of course it's changing hands and these people are coming in with bigger boats every time that someone moves in and nobody sits down and talks to them about wake lines and things like that. And so we we've you know we're trying to keep our property and I'm like 10 feet from the shore right now. So I'm starting to get nervous. Um so the issue is just that that the shore is just getting destroyed by all these big white folks. Um we have I think we counted 85 plus v between boats, pontoons and jet skis. We had 85. >> There's more. There's more than 85. It's 85 with the pontoons and the speedboats. >> Then we have jet skis. We have a we have a a a parking lot that people can pull their boats in and we have some residents that have up to five water vehicles on Lake Jane. >> So our question is can we what we would like to know is could we because they're coming within 50 feet of our shore. Could we get buoys to put in the lake of where the wake line is because I think it's two or three hundred feet out. It's depends on where you read and what you read. Um, and I think just giving them that sense of like, okay, this is the no wake zone could really solve a lot of problems. Um, is there any grants available from any of the the DNR, the county, the city to help repair our shoreline? Because there's a lot of people that are involved with this on the north and north east side, I think. So, I don't know my laugh more or less that. So, if we need to get to um to So, anyways, we talked to the DNR. The DNR said call the sheriff. When you call the sheriff, nobody shows up. they don't come out there for it. Um, so it's not real helpful and I'm sure they have more important things to do. Um, they have the DNR puts young kids on our dock once in a while and the kids are not going to push back on anybody coming in with these boats or anything going on in the lake. They just are checking for the >> mil foil and the snails or something. >> We've really rehearsed this. Can you tell >> the zebra muscles? >> So, our lake is 152 acres. It's 152 acres. It's 2.38 square miles. It's um less than a mile long and it's less than a third of a mile wide and we have 90 boats on that lake. So I' I've talked to people at the that do the lobbyist stuff and I've talked to them and said, "Isn't there a capacity I'm probably catching our time? Is there a capacity on the number of boats that can go into a lake?" Because when they built the the public launch for us, they only put six six spots in there because our our lake was so small that you shouldn't have that many boats in there. So we we know that we they have that water ski thing coming up and we're not saying that they shouldn't have that but we are saying that we need to get some control or get something around there even if it's just buoys or at this point we're asking you to have a no wake zone completely because we're at the top of our limits right now water-wise and they're not releasing anything until um spring. Um I think that was it. Oh, here's just some references and I can give them to you if you need them of things we've read to go into this. And then um so we talked to the um water district about this stuff because everybody told us to go to the water district and the district said to go to the DNR, the DNR said to go to the sheriff and now we're here to you. So that's kind of what we wanted to talk about. Um I I'm not trying to stop people from buying boats, but I think there's something common sense being lost in this whole situation. And at the end of the day, who's responsible when our shorelines? Because we're like 10 feet off now. So, in no time at all, our whole deck's going to be in the lake at the rate we're going. So, um I know you can't answer and you can't respond. If you have any questions, >> thank you. Thank you. Appreciate it. >> Thank you very much. I don't know where to plug this back in for you, >> so I'll just leave it here. >> We got it. >> I think >> Thank you very much. Thanks. Uh, and then we have Jill Lundren. >> Hi, my name is Jill Lundren and I live at 8282 Hidden Bay Court North Lake Elmo. I want to talk about a few things today. The first is the farmers market. I started the farmers market about 11 years ago and I am no longer going to be running the farmers market. Hopefully, uh, we have a new manager. Her name is Trista and she's going to be running the farmers market. Um, unfortunately, it is very difficult to run a farmers market without volunteers. I started it in a small parking lot with maybe six vendors. We have now over 30 vendors. Um, some are part-time, some are full-time. We always have a food truck there. We have music there. And it could not have happened without this community. Our average um, walkth through traffic we count is 4 to 500. This farmers market is run on volunteers and um, we get up on Saturdays. We are there at 7:00 in the morning. We put signs out the day before. We put banners out. We are marking the parking lot spaces so the vendors when they come in, they know where to go. We block off the area so nobody's driving their cars through the Lake Elmo um school. We buy insurance um through the Minnesota Farmers Market Association. We pay for the parking lot through the Stillwater School District and we have become um a 5013C. This couldn't have been done. I I had surgery at the time if it was not for the volunteers that actively pursued this. Through the time we have handed out simple book bags. this last time. Um, we have handed out coffee cups to to the vendors and um to the folks coming through. We have donated over $6,000 to the Washington County K9 unit because they were in need of two vest for the police dogs. We have put together a cookbook that was written by all the hand notes, handwritten recipes from the vendors and then from some of the folks walking through the market. Uh this week at National Night Out, we have handed out bags with our logo on. Susan's got a bag for everybody here. But this market and other things cannot be done unless we have a core of volunteers. I mean that's the core of every community is volunteers. Susan has been with me for 11 years. I could not have done it without her and her husband. I mean they are there with me at 7 in the morning. We are marking numbers. We are putting out signs. You have a faithful volunteer here that has been through everything for 11 years, 12 weeks, every Saturday nonstop, rain or shine. We've been inspected. We've opened through COVID. I mean, this market is part of this community and it's going to be really sad if it ends there. We are down to three board members and that's it. We need volunteers. So, I'm asking for the community to start stepping up and and just help this market. You know, come in and share. You don't need a full-time person. You can share it. You can have someone come in, but we need community to help step up and to save the farmers market. Um, the other thing I'm asking is that this council bring back the environmental committee. We had it at one time. It was a good committee and there are volunteers out there that would like to see this happen. The other thing is I'd like this council to re-evaluate the Lake Olsen Deontraville and Lake Jane. I mean 12 years ago these lakes were all had a high water mark. They had hours of operation. It went to the council. It got voted down. But Lake Elmo retained their hours of operation. They retained their high watermark because one council member wanted it and the others all voted for it. And that was during the times of troubles I'll say. So I would like this put in a workshop in this reviewed. We now have what's called travelers. They are the microorganisms that come from the zebra muscles. We have them in Olen and Deontraville. We asked the DNR if they could treat the lake that feeds into our lake and the DNR won't. So within 5 years, Lake Olsen and Dantraville will have zebra muscles. It will be on our boats. It'll be on our docks. It'll be on the lake where the children step and it will cut their feet. These little zebra muscles are sharp, very invasive. The travelers, they're called travelers. Those microorganisms are already in our lakes. We need to do something. The lakes are high. The boats are big. It is a wellproven fact that they are doing nothing but stirring up the lake and pushing it onto the shore. Thank you so much. >> Thank you. >> And I will say one thing. I don't think tennis needs to come in at 6:00 a.m. and wake people up. That's just my opinion. Sorry. Thank you, Miss Lungurn. All right. Um, so we have approval of the minutes from the July 15, 2025 regular and special meetings along with the July 8th, 2025 workshop. I'll entertain a motion to approve those. >> Motion to approve the approval of minutes for July 15, 2025. support. >> So just just moving forward, you guys are my only hope on getting motions and seconds. Just there aren't two others here. So, you know, just recognize that. I appreciate it. All right, we have a motion and a second. Approve the minutes for the July 15th regular special meetings along with the July 2025 workshop. Please signify by if for approval, please signify by saying I. >> I I minutes are hereby approved. Okay. Consent agenda is approved payment and dispersements and payroll. Approve special event permit inwood neighborhood social event. Approve special event permit for ride to end ALZ. Approve change order number two for the Hudson Boulevard improvement segment A. Approve pay request number four for the Hudson Boulevard improvement segment A. Authorize engineering services for the Northwater treatment plant site study. Authorize engineering services and geotechnical investigation for the Southwater treatment plant and wells. Approve release of of warranty security for Union Park first and second. Approve pay request number one for the Village Parkway UP Railroad crossing improvements. Accept quotes in a work contract for the delmilation of water tower number one. I'll entertain a motion to approve the consent agenda. Move to approve the consent agenda. >> Second. >> All right, we have a motion and a second to approve the uh consent agenda agenda. All those in favor, please signify by saying I. >> I. >> Uh those opposed, same sign. Hearing none. Consent agenda is approved. Now we'll go into the regular agenda. Item number 12 is trash haulers hours of operation ordinance 2025-13 and resolution 2025-056. You'll remember this from a workshop we had I think a month or two ago. Okay. So, we had a workshop on this and it was a request from tennis to move the hours of operation from 7 to 6 a.m. So, just the background. Uh we did a review and we reviewed solid waste for 12 nearby cities. Um, of the cities reviewed, four have a start time of 6 a.m. and six have a start time of 7 a.m. Um, you said cities that didn't specify. You can go through kind of the cities right here. So, you can see St. Paul and actually Minneapolis is a 6 a.m. start time, but uh we reached out to Woodberry and their change happened in 2009. Um, they don't receive very many complaints unless it's before 6 a.m. Uh, they said at the time it wasn't a contentious process to change their hours of operation. Um, Cottage Grove, same thing, but in 2016, we basically heard the same thing from all the communities. And then Maplewood, um, also as a 6 a.m. from 2011. U, it wasn't much of a process. It wasn't contentious. and they don't receive complaints unless it's before 6 am. So, you can see some of the other cities have the se 7 am start time, but this is the research that we did. This is what we found. And then the proposed language would just be a strike through the 7 um am 6 a.m. And then if some, you know, if you want to approve it, it would be a move to adopt ordinance 2025. And you have the u adoption of the summary of uh publication resolution. >> Any questions? >> Oh, thank you for that. Any questions for Mr. Stoppo? >> No questions here. >> No questions. It seems like not a question. >> Yeah. Yeah. All right. With that, I'll entertain a motion. Move to adopt ordinance 2025-13 amending city code as presented by city staff. >> Support. >> Okay. We have a motion second discussion. >> Well, observations most of the cities are at 7:00. There's only what, two or three? Three that are at 6. >> Yeah. And we don't know if that was based on a request from the haulers or anything like that, do we? >> It was. It was. Okay. One of them actually was operating at six and realized their code said seven and then changed it to six. >> Yeah, >> I guess for my part, um I don't have a problem with it. I could see people getting there before six would be a problem. Um at least where from what I recognize I don't have. It's not like hitting up a diesel vehicle and clanking around a dump truck bucket or something like that. you know, they come in, grab it with the arm, dumps it in, and then move on. >> They're gone. Um, if it uh I would assume and maybe that's the wrong assumption is that if we can accommodate a little hourly change for the trash haulers in all time, I mean it benefits them in getting their trucks in on time and whatnot, but it would also um then they can they can better serve the the the people that they have contracts with, I guess. Yes. >> I don't find them to be particularly noisy. I mean, they're in our neighborhood right after 7 and it's no not a huge amount of noise and certainly no more noise when they they're plowing the streets at 4 in the morning. >> Sure. >> You know, especially if Marty's driving, it's real noisy, but um but I don't see it as any as any more noise than that. I appreciate there'll be some folks who are very noise sensitive, but I think by and large it's not a an operation that should cause, you know, a huge upar. >> Yeah. Unless I'm missing something. I don't I don't seem to have a problem with it. So, I'll call the question. All those in favor of adopting ordinance 2025-13 amending city code is presented by city staff, please signify by saying I. >> I. >> I. >> Uh, it's adopted. I'll entertain a motion. >> Uh, Mr. Mayor. >> Yes. >> We can't do the second one because you need four people. Yep. >> All right. We'll have to put that on the next uh the publication on the next one. Can you put the publication in the consent agenda? >> Yes. >> Okay, let's do that. Great. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. >> All right. Number 13 is approved city sponsored 100year anniversary celebration. Miss Miller, >> mayor and councel, um this item was put on for the council to discuss um based on their request um at our last meeting to have staff look into um the fireworks display. So, um we have this item just in general for you to discuss um the scope of the celebration if it's going to ex be beyond the fireworks display. >> So, we don't have anything else prepared for it. I thought we would have do Oh, just the cost for the fireworks. Well, we're going to need more cost based on um having a ban or things of that nature. Do we need to take care of that now? >> Yeah, this would be for the item for anything above and beyond the fireworks. The fireworks is a separate item after this. So, >> um perhaps um you would discuss and then create a motion. um to authorize staff um to or authorize spending uh a certain amount not to exceed for x y and z whatever you decide the scope to be. >> Mayor, yes, as I was the one who initiated this discussion um couple weeks ago >> and I was very happy that my fellow elected officials were enthusiastic as I was about it. I would make a motion that we authorize staff to spend up to $50,000 exclusive fireworks for the celebration. I think that would be enough to cover I don't we may not spend it all, but that would be sufficient to cover some of the items we had talked about. I'm good with that. I think we'll fall well in line with that based on some of the numbers I'm seeing. So, is that you want to make a motion? I made that as a motion. >> Okay, you >> second. >> Okay, we have a motion and a second. Motion is for city council to prove staff did not exceed the cost in the addition uh to the amount of $50,000 for the 100redyear anniversary celebration. All those in favor, please signify by saying I. >> I. >> I. All right, good to go. And we get the approved city sponsored firework display. >> Yeah. So um from the last meeting staff has done some research and we did provide um in the packet a quote for a fireworks u display and then also we have um learned of an alternative so a drone show and so I just wanted to pass that information along for your consideration. Um, we have had our fire chief working with um the fireworks and the drone show um vendors to make sure all the safety precautions are taken place. And um Dustin can answer any questions that you might have about what's required for fire code as well. Um, in the packet is the preferred locations or different spots um that the firework vendor as well as Chief Kas have um looked at. And I would say the the first one in the packet is the preferred site for both from the fire chief and the fireworks vendor. >> We also So you're not proposing the drone show? >> Well, I was leaving that up to the council. we just propose or we're just giving you an alternative to look at. It is something that's fairly new. Um and um I have contacted the city of Cottage Grove recently added this to their strawberry fest and the feedback was um nothing nothing but good stuff. It's uh was wellreceived and they plan on um continuing to add this into their yearly celebration. Um they do fireworks plus a drone show. So, so we just wanted to let you know show you some alternatives as well. >> Mayor, I'd make a motion to authorize staff to spend up to $15,000 for a fireworks display. I know we're 8 to 12, but I don't want it to come 12,75 and have, you know, an issue. I believe it would be part of a very festive celebration to have a fireworks display for a 100red-y year celebration and I think our community would appreciate it. So, I'd make that motion. >> And uh what about uh location or type of Do you want to get into that or do we want to leave that up to staff? I think we've got a recommendation of >> Yeah, >> putting the the multi-shot in a is that what I saw? >> Yeah, it's Yeah, I recommendation of the fire chief for the location and type of fireworks. I mean, I think we have to be safe about this, too. So, I would amend my motion to or ask that my motion be allowed to include that. >> Okay. All right. So, we have a motion on the floor. Is there a second? >> Okay. >> And the motion is to um authorize staff to spend in the total amount of $15,000 for fireworks show um >> a preferred site a >> preer preferred site A as as presented by staff >> and the type of fireworks as recommended by the chief. There's a certain level of height or something as I recall. Yeah, we're fire code dictates the the the show or what what's being uh launched in the air. Um spectator distance has and and clearance distance has to be it all depends on the shell type and size, >> right? >> So the bigger the fireworks, you know, big aerial show much more distance, frankly, way more distance than we currently have right now. Um, but I think as you look at event planning and keeping things in the downtown corridor and in Lions Park, um, the site A is probably our best bet. It gives us a true kind of an existing perimeter utilizing the ball field. If there are some wind conditions that, uh, adjust as the day goes on or as the evening goes on for this event. Um, it's still an area that we can increase the the distance that's needed, um, up to a certain point. Um, if we look at the VFW ball field, um, a little bit larger show, I mean, in height, um, but then it also takes from what I'm assuming is the the Lever Avenue planning of the event. Now, we have to get spectators kind of somewhere else to kind of get a little closer to that or kind of maneuver maneuver them around. If we can keep everything right in Lions Park, I think that's our best bet. >> All right, sounds good. So all those in favor of the motion as presented please signify by saying I >> I >> I approved. So move into council reports. You have anything to report. Council member Jesus >> only to thank the staff for the extra work they did on this c 100 year celebration thing. It involved a lot more people than I I guess I envisioned it would and rightfully so. Um, but I from this city council, I appreciate the effort that you did um, and putting this together in very short notice and I'd also thank the mayor for his leadership and helping to organize this as well. I know he spent a lot of extra time um, in our discussions last evening about the different events and all that. So, that's my only report is to thank everybody who will help make this very successful. >> Yeah. Uh, ditto on that. I'd like to thank um the group that put together the national night out last night. And again, another great turnout. Uh a lot of new vendors, people there. I see a lot of smiling kids, not so many crying kids. It's great to have the K9 unit come and do a little display. Thanks to the fire department and public works department and city staff for being there to ask questions and and um kids run around and check out the big stuff that I know they think that's cool. Well, I I mean I probably still think that's cool, too. So, um appreciate the the the sheriff's office being there uh as well. Again, it's just nice to see people in the community coming together and and and walking there in in a safe environment. Um, getting to see some of the offerings that >> some businesses have in and around the community. I was it was a little interesting that some of the businesses weren't even included, aren't like the owners would live in Lake Elmo, but their business was somewhere closer, but they thought it was important enough for them to be there. I thought that was that was good. So, that's my uh that's from my report. You have anything, Council Member Krauss? >> Yeah, I uh I was looking into the food trucks for the 100redy year anniversary and we have 13 interested food trucks so far. >> Okay. >> Um I've contacted all of them and I've heard back from a handful on food and beverage minimums as well. Um, I think what I've seen from the few that have reached back out, they're going to wave that amount due to the 100red-y year anniversary, which is pretty cool. Um, but that's all I have so far. >> Sounds good. Staff reports, anything, Administrator Miller? >> Well, I just want to echo what you guys said of thanking the staff for attending Lake Elmo Night Out. There's a lot of staff there and it's it was nice to see that as well. One additional question that we wanted to bring up was an alternative date for the fireworks show if weather was to be an issue >> um in September. >> Fire Chief Kay had a good idea of perhaps an alternative date is um during the light up of the tree in December. Oh, >> just in case, just have a backup plan. >> Knowing other cities with firework, you know, legacy fireworks displays and the potential issue that causes if weather wants to throw a wrench into our plans. >> So, it's not just a hat rack, >> right? >> Nice. >> Um, try to think of another date to keep, you know, again, to keep it. I I you know administrator would know in the contract language if it's we just have to cancel it. You know what do we set up another date right now with the vendor or do we just kind of wait and see approach? But um at least in the plan A aspect we kind of already have that in the back of our minds. >> I like it. >> I like that. >> That's great. Good idea. >> Again similar area. We've already got closures in place. >> The the kind of the planning and the the work on our end is already kind of there for that event too. Nice. >> Miss Johnson, >> no report. Thank you, >> Mr. Stoa. >> Today I was at the Minnesota Shopping Center Association um on a panel talking about Lake Elmo and economic development opportunities and I was giving them an update on the 180 acres. So hopefully they're interested and followup. So yeah, >> pitch the site. So >> all that laying along 94 >> and all that too. Yeah. >> Yeah. Mayor, I'd like to add I did receive a message from a commercial developer that I know personally and commenting what a great job Jason did in presenting that and um she wants to know where we got him from and and I said we you know he came to Lake Hamilton because such a wonderful place to work um but she was very complimentary of the presentation that he made and you know said he did a great job for the city and she had no reason to do that. I mean, right. It's nice to get those that unsolicited feedback. For sure. >> She's not going to refund the 20 bucks you gave her, obviously. >> Director Powers. >> Um, for the first time, maybe uh Lake Elmo's going to be submitting uh water for the taste test at the state fair. So, anybody goes to the state fair, make make sure you pick the right >> glass of water. >> Interesting. Okay, chief. >> No report for me. >> No report for me. >> Stanley, no. >> Sarah, >> no report. >> All right, with that nice short meeting this evening. Thank you for everybody's time. We'll adjourn this meeting at 8 7:32.