--- ## author: Davis, Allison date: D:20260305155230-06'00' --- ## City Council Workshop Meeting ## Ash Conference Rooms March 11, 2026 | 5:30 PM This City Council Workshop meeting is taking place virtually and at Woodbury City Hall in the Ash Conference Rooms. Members of the public may attend the meeting in person and may also join the meeting using a computer, tablet, or smartphone and accessing the virtual meeting link at woodburymn.gov/VirtualMeetings. Public comments will be accepted during the meeting both in person and virtually. Virtual questions should be submitted via the online Q&A feature within the virtual meeting link. Questions regarding the meeting will be taken between the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at 651-714-3524 or at council@woodburymn.gov. Questions received after 4:30 p.m. will be responded to in the next three to seven business days. Please note that all agenda times are estimates. Unfinished workshop items will be carried over to the end of the Council meeting. 5:00 p.m.Dinner – Birch Conference Room The intent of the workshop session is to provide a forum for City Council and City staff to discuss more in-depth Council items, exchanging viewpoints and visions prior to the item being set for Council action at a regular meeting of the City Council. Workshop sessions are neither a public hearing nor an open microphone session. No formal votes will be taken and any direction from Council will be in consensus format. The workshop session is not recorded. ## Workshop Agenda ## 1.Workshop Discussion Items 1A.Discussion of Solicitor Permits and Proposed Ordinance Changes 26-37 1B.Public Safety Vehicle Showcase: Police Armored Vehicle and Fire Ladder Truck 26-38 2.Administrator Comments and Updates* ## 3.Mayor and City Council Comments and Commission Liaison Updates* 4.Adjournment ## Watch the Live Meeting ## Woodbury City Council Workshop Agenda March 11, 2026 | 5:30 PM Items under comments and updates are intended to be informational or of brief inquiry. More substantial discussion of matters under comments and updates should be scheduled for a future agenda. The City of Woodbury is subject to Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability by public entities. The City is committed to full implementation of the Act to our services, programs, and activities. Information regarding the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act is available from the Administration office at 651-714-3500. Auxiliary aids for disabled persons are available upon request at least 72 hours in advance of an event. Please call the ADA Coordinator at 651-714-3500 (TDD 731-5796) to make arrangements. ## 1A ## City of Woodbury, Minnesota ## Office of City Administrator ## Council Workshop Letter 26-37 March 11, 2026 ## To:The Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council ## From:Jeffrey J. Dahl, City Administrator ## Subject:Discussion of Solicitor Permits and Proposed Ordinance Changes ## Summary Staff will provide an overview of the City’s current solicitor permit process, outlining key operational challenges and public concerns. Three policy options are presented for Council consideration: 1. Ordinance amendment to prohibit soliciting within the city; with exceptions 2. Ordinance amendment to implement a solicitor permit fee 3. No changes; maintain the existing ordinance and requirements Guidance from the Council is requested regarding which option is recommended. ## Recommendation Staff recommends that the City Council provide direction on the above options. Options one or two are recommended by staff as they may help address the growing administrative and enforcement burden, resident complaints, and gaps in background checks for out-of-state applicants. ## Governance Mode 1 Fiduciary - Stewardship of tangible assets, oversees operations and ensures efficient and appropriate use of resources, legal compliance and fiscal accountability. Generative - Identifying key questions, anticipating future challenges, framing of issues, development of options. Problem-framing. What to pay attention to, what it means, and what to do about it. How does it fit with our mission, vision and values? ## Fiscal Implications Currently, the fiscal implication of allowing solicitation to occur in Woodbury is in the form of administrative and operational costs. Staff time is required for application intake, background checks through various agency portals, and production of individualized badges, including supply costs for printing equipment and materials. Additionally, police officer time is expended responding 1 Items marked “fiduciary” are primarily business-oriented topics; “strategic” items are primarily related to long- term strategies or goals; and “generative” items are primarily meant to produce new thoughts or ideas. ## Council Workshop Letter 26-37 March 11, 2026 Page 2 to solicitor-related complaints, which totaled 43 calls for service in 2025. These activities represent an ongoing administrative burden without any offsetting revenue, as permits are currently issued at no charge. Implementing a permit fee structure could help recover administrative costs and reduce application volume, while repealing the ordinance would eliminate these costs. ## Policy Woodbury City Code Chapter 11, Article VI – Peddlers and Solicitors ## Public Process This is the first public process for this item. ## Background Under current practice (City Code Chapter 11), the Public Safety Department processes solicitor applications, performs background checks using our Records Management System (RMS) and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) Criminal History Portal, and then issues permits to approved applicants. The intent of City Code Chapter 11 is to regulate door-to-door sales and canvassing activities to protect residents from fraud and nuisance while allowing legitimate businesses to operate. The demand for permits has increased in recent years. The City recorded 397 submitted applications in 2025 (386 in 2024; 195 in 2023;). The process requires administrative support and officer time to address solicitor-related complaints. ## Identified Concerns Given the following concerns, staff believe a review of the ordinance is worthwhile. Resident Complaints/Nuisance: In 2025, the City received approximately 43 police calls for service related to solicitors (56 in 2024) and additional informal complaints via phone calls and social channels. Common complaints included aggressive tactics, ignoring ‘No Solicitor’ signs, and lack of permits. Staff Workload and Associated Cost: Administrative staff dedicate time to process each solicitor application, which includes the background check process and creating individualized badges. Additional hours have been spent on permits that applicants never collect. These tasks represent a notable administrative cost burden, even before accounting for complex reviews of applications that lead to denials. Additionally, complaint calls related to solicitors require police officer involvement, adding further resource demands. There are also supply expenses for producing solicitor badges, such as printer equipment, ink, and cards. ## Background Check Gaps with Out of State Applicants: Current BCA portal requirements limit the ability to fully verify comprehensive criminal histories for out-of- state solicitors. In 2025, 40% of applicants were out-of-state. This limits the City’s ability to fully vet applicants and reduce the risk of fraud or nuisance. ## Council Workshop Letter 26-37 March 11, 2026 Page 3 ## Options for Council Consideration 1. Ordinance Amendment to Prohibit Soliciting Within the City: Consider modifying Woodbury City Ordinance Chapter 11, Article IV to prohibit soliciting in the City of Woodbury. One nearby city with a comparable ordinance is Lake Elmo. The ordinance classifies soliciting as a public nuisance and prohibits it, though it provides exceptions comparable to those outlined in Woodbury’s Chapter 11. 2. Ordinance Amendment to Implement a Solicitor Permit Fee: Establishing a reasonable solicitor permit fee would both offset the cost burden and naturally limit the number of applicants. Many cities around the Twin Cities Metro have implemented solicitor application fee structures, and these cities have significantly lower applicant numbers (see table below). ## City Fee Structure Oakdale $375 for a two-year background check; approval ## by City Administrator North & South St. Paul $100 per company and $75 per applicant Rosemont $90; application must be notarized Blaine $600 per applicant plus $35 for background check Stillwater $15 for a personal history check Hudson, WI $100 license fee for a 30-day permit River Falls, WI $20/month or $200/year per company plus $25 investigation fee and $12 per employee North Dakota (out of state comparable) $200 per company; cities may require additional fees 3. Ordinance Remains Unchanged: Due to the concerns outlined in this memo, staff do not recommend this option. It should be noted that none of these proposed options would impact the City’s mobile vendor or peddler ordinances, as mobile vendors and peddlers are defined differently. It is also important to note that we propose that the options proposed above would still include the current exemptions under Chapter 11, Article VI: Exceptions to the definition of a solicitor a. Any person selling or attempting to sell at wholesale any goods, wares, products, merchandise, or other personal property to a retail seller of the items being sold by the wholesaler. b. Any person who makes initial contacts with other people for the purpose of establishing or trying to establish a regular customer delivery route for the delivery of perishable food and dairy products, such as baked goods or milk. c. Any person making deliveries of perishable food and dairy products to the customers on his or her established delivery route. d. Any person making deliveries of newspapers, newsletters, or other similar publications on an established customer delivery route, when attempting to establish a regular delivery route, or when publications are delivered to the community at large. ## Council Workshop Letter 26-37 March 11, 2026 Page 4 e. Any child aged 18 and under selling or attempting to sell goods or services when such child represents their own school, church, or other civic organization to which they belong. Examples include schools, churches, scouting organizations, parent-teacher organizations, and local athletic associations. f.Any person conducting the type of sale commonly known as garage sales, rummage sales, or estate sales. g. Any person participating in an organized multi-person bazaar or flea market. h. Any person conducting an auction as a properly licensed auctioneer. i.Any officer of the court conducting a court-ordered sale. Registration exemptions: a. No registration shall be required for any person to sell or attempt to sell or to take or attempt to take orders for any product grown, produced, cultivated, or raised on any farm. b. No license or registration shall be required of any person going from house to house, door to door, business to business, street to street, or other type of place-to-place movement for the primary purpose of exercising that person's state or federal constitutional rights such as the freedom of speech, press, religion or the like. This exemption may be lost if the person's exercise of constitutional rights is merely incidental to a commercial activity. ## Written By:Mariah Dunson, Administrative Assistant ## Nicole Pontrelli, Public Safety Manager ## Approved Through:Jason Posel, Public Safety Director/Police Chief ## Attachment:None ## 1B ## City of Woodbury, Minnesota ## Office of City Administrator ## Council Workshop Letter 26-38 March 11, 2026 ## To:The Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council ## From:Jeffrey J. Dahl, City Administrator Subject:Public Safety Vehicle Showcase: Police Armored Vehicle and Fire Ladder Truck ## Summary Staff will provide an informational walk through of the Police Division’s armored vehicle and the Fire Division's ladder truck. Vehicles will be positioned at City Hall the evening of the workshop to allow Council to see and hear more about features, capabilities, deployment scenarios, and training considerations. ## Recommendation Staff recommends council attend the showcase and ask questions. ## Governance Mode 1 Fiduciary - Stewardship of tangible assets, oversees operations and ensures efficient and appropriate use of resources, legal compliance and fiscal accountability. ## Fiscal Implications Police Armored Vehicle was funded through the 2024 Capital Improvement Fund, with a budgeted amount of $205,000. The Fire Ladder Truck was funded over a three-year period (2024-2026) through the Capital Improvement Fund, with a total budget amount of $2,100,000. ## Policy Not applicable. ## Public Process June 28, 2023 Council Meeting; Adoption of the 2024-2028 Capital Improvement Plan June 12, 2024 Council Meeting; Adoption of the 2025-2029 Capital Improvement Plan July 30, 2025 Council Meeting; Adoption of the 2026-2030 Capital Improvement Plan 1 Items marked “fiduciary” are primarily business-oriented topics; “strategic” items are primarily related to long- term strategies or goals; and “generative” items are primarily meant to produce new thoughts or ideas. ## Council Workshop Letter 26-38 March 11, 2026 Page 2 ## Background To support the City’s commitment to delivering safe, efficient, and high-quality public safety services, the Public Safety Department will utilize both new vehicles as essential resources during operations. The Police armored suburban will enhance our ability to respond to high‑risk situations safely and efficiently by providing rapid deployment to incidents where weapons may be present, while also offering ballistic protection against firearm threats. This vehicle improves the safety of both officers and community members by enabling protected rescue efforts when an individual requires removal from a dangerous environment. Additionally, it allows first responders to operate in closer proximity to locations involving search‑warrants, hostage situations, or barricaded armed subjects, supporting a more secure and effective tactical response. The Fire ladder truck is designed with the latest technology and improved operator-friendly functions that increase efficiency and safety. The ladder truck has a reach of over 100 feet which provides enhanced EMS and rescue capabilities, elevated fire suppression along with the ability to perform complex technical rescue operations. As Woodbury continues to grow with numerous multi-level residential buildings, expansive commercial properties, and multi-unit housing developments the demand for reliable elevated suppression and rescue operations remains significant. This apparatus ensures we are properly equipped to meet those demands and safeguard our community effectively. ## Written By: ## Approved By: ## Attachments: ## Jason Posel, Public Safety Director/Police Chief ## Jeffrey J. Dahl, City Administrator ## None