[0:05] Good evening everyone. I'd like to welcome you to the ATGO city council

[0:08] meeting. Tonight is Monday, August 24th. Audrey, can you have the record show

[0:12] that our city attorney, city planner, city engineer, along with all council

[0:16] members, our assistant city administrator, and our city

[0:19] administrator are present this evening. At this time, I'll ask you all to join

[0:22] us in the pledge of allegiance.

[0:28] I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the

[0:33] republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and

[0:40] justice for all.

[0:44] » Thank you. Our first item of business this evening is our open forum. This is

[0:48] the portion of the meeting where you can come to the podium, state your name and

[0:52] address, and limit comments to five minutes or less. Would anyone like to

[0:55] speak at this time?

[1:01] » Kathy Kohl's 156139th Street Northeast. Here's this month's picture.

[1:07] » Dan, >> mayor, no update. Um, we'll be sending

[1:11] another citation this week.

[1:16] » Thank you. Any other comments?

[1:23] All right, we will close the open forum and move on to consider our agenda for

[1:26] approval. Does anyone have anything that they would like to add or delete at this

[1:30] time? >> Madame Mayor.

[1:32] » Yes, Ryan. >> I'd like to bring down item 3.3 and

[1:35] 3.11. We can make those items 6.1 and 6.2 respectfully. Respectively.

[1:42] » 6.1 6. >> And with that, I move to approve the

[1:47] agenda as amended. >> Is there a second? Second

[1:50] » motion by Ryan, seconded by Michelle. Is there any discussion?

[1:56] All those in favor signify by saying I. >> All those opposed, same sign. Motion

[2:01] passes. Moving on to our consent agenda. A motion would be in order.

[2:06] » Madame Mayor. >> Yes, Ryan.

[2:07] » I move to approve the consent agenda as amended.

[2:10] » Second. >> Motion by Ryan, seconded by Corey. Is

[2:13] there any discussion?

[2:17] All those in favor signify by saying I. >> I.

[2:20] » All those opposed, same sign. Motion passes. Moving on to planning. Item 4.1

[2:26] is the MRD crisis rent second edition, which is the revolutionary or revolution

[2:32] gym. Dan, >> thank you, mayor. Uh, so revolution gym

[2:37] is proposing uh development of the uh property at the southwest corner of

[2:42] County Road 39 and trunk highway 101. It's a 10acre property that's currently

[2:47] partially developed with Christ Church. Uh the comprehensive plan guides this

[2:50] site for commercial land uses. Um based on the existing church use of the

[2:54] property, its own institutional district, but the portion to be acquired

[2:58] and developed for Revolution Gym would be reszoned to B1 retail business

[3:03] district. Uh this is largely a commercial area at this interchange

[3:07] reflecting the city's uh desire to have commercial uh development surrounding

[3:12] the uh high visibility and hight traffic corridor along 101. So the applications

[3:17] include a zoning map amendment for the amendment to B1 district, a preliminary

[3:22] and final plat for the subdivision of the one lot into two conditional use

[3:26] permit related to setback requirements and site building plans for the 3500

[3:30] foot building. Along with the plat, we're also vacating the existing

[3:34] easements on the property which will be replaced with the updated final plat. So

[3:39] the uh subdivision of the property into the two lots, both lots will comply with

[3:43] the minimum lot area and width requirements. There is no need for

[3:47] additional rightway to be dedicated. You have entrance ramp for trunk highway 101

[3:51] on the east, county road 39 on the north and 88th Street on the south side. All

[3:56] of that right away was dedicated either when the lot was initially platted or

[4:01] when Highway 101 was improved. Utilities are available to the property and will

[4:06] be extended in to serve the proposed Revolution gym building. Uh and with the

[4:10] property already being developed and having been platted previously, there is

[4:14] no park dedication requirement. Uh the site plan basically complies with all

[4:19] the u setback requirements of the zoning ordinance. The one exception is along

[4:24] the north side where the design of County Road 39 going into that single

[4:28] point interchange with trunk highway 101. Uh that rightway is oversized so it

[4:33] creates a large separation from uh the lot line to the actual roadway itself of

[4:39] 105 ft. Uh so to make efficient use of the property and ensure that uh we can

[4:44] maximize the development of the site uh reducing that to 19 feet from the

[4:49] required 30t is appropriate. off streetet parking is over and above

[4:54] what's required by the zoning ordinance. The planning commission did discuss the

[4:57] access and circulation uh within the property uh because it will be both

[5:02] revolution gym and a second tenant ensuring that there's enough stacking

[5:06] space for drop offs and pickups uh and city staff intends to work with the

[5:10] developer on that. There will be pedestrian access to the trail on 88th

[5:15] Street. They've provided a landscape plan that meets the requirements of the

[5:18] zoning ordinance. We did recommend some additional variety along the west side

[5:22] of the building which doesn't have any windows. So using the landscape to kind

[5:26] of break up the mass of the building and then the uh requirements for exterior

[5:31] lighting and waste storage will also be demonstrated to comply with the zoning

[5:34] ordinance. We will have a performance agreement that goes along with uh the

[5:38] final flat uh development agreement. So the building itself is 3500 square

[5:43] 35,000 square feet, excuse me. Uh it's approximately uh 19 to 20 feet high

[5:49] singlestory structure. Obviously when you're doing gymnastics inside a struct

[5:53] building you need some clearance. Uh so uh that is provided for but it's still

[5:58] within the allowance of the zoning ordinance. They're only showing uh wall

[6:02] signs on the building at this time which are well within the allowance of the

[6:05] zoning ordinance. Again the planning commission discussed that uh you could

[6:08] put additional signs both on the north and west and south elevations to

[6:13] increase visibility of the site. There's also opportunity for two freestanding

[6:17] signs, one on the north side along County Road 39 and one on the south side

[6:21] along uh 88th Street, which again we can work with the developer on that.

[6:26] Overall, the planning commission really liked the appearance of the building. Uh

[6:29] we were going to work with the developer on just adding some additional details

[6:33] or again trying to mask the the size of the building and its horizontal lines to

[6:38] be consistent with other structures in the area. But uh the planning commission

[6:41] really liked what they were seeing. Uh so uh based on that, city staff was

[6:46] recommending approval based on consistency with the comprehensive plan

[6:49] compliance with the city's development regulations. We do support the request

[6:53] for reduction and setback from county road 39 by conditional use permit.

[6:57] Planning commission held their public hearing to consider the application

[7:00] August 17th. There were no public comments. I highlighted the discussion

[7:04] that the planning commission had regarding the access and circulation

[7:08] which we will continue to work with them uh on as they move towards building

[7:13] permit process but the planning commission voted 7 to zero to recommend

[7:16] approval of that subject to 18 conditions. So we have for the council

[7:20] this evening ordinance 2026-13 amending the zoning map not the administrator uh

[7:26] and 2026-74 adopting findings improving the

[7:31] preliminary plan conditional use permit and the site building plans.

[7:34] » Thank you. Does the applicant wish to comment?

[7:42] » Any comments? >> We'll have you come to the podium and

[7:45] state your name. Have any comments? I'm Kim Jacobson. I come from Independence,

[7:50] Minnesota. I'm the architect. Um, we've put together a plan. We put together a

[7:55] site plan. We're working very hard. We've got a lot of fill. So, one of our

[8:01] goals would be to get the development agreement put together to start working

[8:05] on the dirt that we have to haul in. Um, once we get done with that, we would

[8:09] like to keep moving forward. Um, our goal is to get it in the ground this

[8:14] year. whether we can make it or not will weather depend everything else happens

[8:19] but that's where we're working Dan's been very helpful so we've worked with

[8:24] him throughout the process and feel very confident we can put it all together so

[8:28] I think that's where we're at >> anybody have any questions for us

[8:33] » turn it over to questions for the applicant or for staff

[8:37] » I just have one question for the developer what's kind of your current

[8:42] perspective on the drive plan that you've designed,

[8:46] » our engineers, everybody else feel that it's going to be a situation that

[8:50] internally they're going to handle it, >> okay,

[8:53] » much better than the situation they have today. And that's being handled on a

[8:58] different site than their other building. So, the administration, which

[9:02] is the building ownership, feels very confident that they'll be able to work

[9:06] with their people and not have an issue. We also feel that there are some

[9:11] opportunities to possibly widen it out, move it further north. We have an

[9:15] abundance of parking. Um, we might sacrifice a few parking stalls. The

[9:20] parking is set up so that people can come either stay with their kids or not.

[9:26] And then they do have events once in a while to where there would be people

[9:30] from other communities coming in and uh doing their thing and you know actually

[9:36] competing. So that's why the parking lot's designed like it is. But the main

[9:41] function of it is to bring in drop off your student or come and park and go

[9:47] with your student into the building. So that's why it was done like that. I do

[9:51] think we can make it better than it is right now going to be honest with you.

[9:54] So we'll try very hard. >> Okay.

[9:57] » That was going to be my question because that was talked about um at the planning

[10:01] commission. So, it's good to hear that you guys are continuing to look at that

[10:04] and as you said, parents of those students will figure it out and

[10:08] administration is >> Yep. I I believe we'll we'll we I've

[10:11] already talked to engineers and we've got some ideas and we just haven't put

[10:14] it on paper yet. We will. So, >> all right. Any other questions?

[10:19] » I just had a had a comment. I don't know if it's for you or maybe Dan. Um do we

[10:24] have any background on the Revolution gymnastics? like how many people that it

[10:31] typically brings in. I think it's really exciting.

[10:36] » Um, you know, with families and kids. >> Paul's actually the person who know

[10:42] how's that trade level construction out of Corkran,

[10:46] Minnesota. Um, they are about 50 kids an hour. um when they're busy busy

[10:55] » and that's nine to one for kind of the younger kids and then the later part of

[10:59] the day is like I think between three and five or three and eight so like five

[11:04] hours at night. So they run a pretty good quantity of

[11:08] children through day. >> Well that's great. They're in Rogers

[11:11] right now. >> Yep.

[11:13] » Yep. And they they're in their second site in Rogers which you know they keep

[11:16] growing. So >> very good. The reason I was asking is um

[11:22] you know we're a developing community and and people always want more

[11:25] restaurants and you got to like families coming in. We have boss swim school and

[11:29] I you know it's just exciting times for that. So

[11:35] » any other comments? Then a motion would be in order.

[11:40] » Madam Mayor, >> that's right. I will move to adopt

[11:43] ordinance 2026-13 amending the zoning map and adopting resolution 202674

[11:49] adopting findings of fact approving a preliminary plan for MRD Christ Lutheran

[11:53] Christ Lutheran second edition and approving a plan unit development

[11:57] conditional use permit and site and building plans for lot two block one MRD

[12:02] uh Christ Lutheran second edition subject conditions as presented second

[12:07] » motion by Ryan seconded by Tina is there any discussion

[12:13] All those in favor signify by saying I. >> I.

[12:16] » All those opposed, same sign. Motion passes.

[12:21] Moving on to item 5.1, our general obligation water revenue bond series

[12:27] 2026A. I will turn this over to our city administrator.

[12:32] » Mayor, council. Thank you. Uh number of items here uh included in this packet

[12:37] tonight, but all related to a bond sale. Uh the bond sale is for the South

[12:41] Central uh water treatment plant. Uh council has taken action on that at a

[12:45] few previous meetings. So I'll kind of walk through the memos section by

[12:49] section. Uh first up is a municipal advisory service agreement. Uh Northland

[12:53] Securities is the city's municipal adviser. Uh this is outlining the terms

[12:57] and agreements uh of their work uh alongside the city in uh pursuing this

[13:02] bond sale. Uh the agreement does outline fees in the amount of 71,600.

[13:08] uh if the city does decide to issue bonds uh that will be payable out of

[13:12] those proceeds. If the city determines not to issue bonds, that fee is not

[13:16] payable uh and would be waved uh as part of that. So uh that agreement is

[13:22] included in your packet for consideration.

[13:26] The second piece is the PFA credit enhancement program. Uh so the state of

[13:31] Minnesota offers the ability to essentially borrow the credit rating uh

[13:36] of the state of Minnesota. Uh the city of Atgo carries a double A+ credit

[13:41] rating. Uh the state of Minnesota carries a AAA. Uh so this is just one

[13:45] degree of difference. Uh the cost to apply for this program is $500. Uh but

[13:51] as you can see in the memo, there is potential interest savings ranging from

[13:55] 30,000 to 75,000 which far outweigh that application fee. So again, Northland is

[14:00] advising the council to consider uh applying for that. In the packet, there

[14:05] is an agreement for that program and also the application form that staff

[14:08] would submit pending council action.

[14:14] Uh next up is kind of some details on the bond. Uh again at the August 10th

[14:20] meeting, the city council awarded this project uh to Rice Lake Construction and

[14:26] also uh approved engineering agreements uh for construction uh of that facility.

[14:31] Uh along with the actual water treatment facility, there are associated wells and

[14:36] water manes um in the general vicinity of this project but expected to be used

[14:42] for financing um as part of this package. This is a long duration project

[14:48] uh spanning from 2026 through 2029. Uh for that we will be issuing two bonds

[14:54] for this project. Uh there are a number of pieces of this project that are

[14:57] currently based off of budget estimates. Uh the big portion has already been

[15:02] approved. But by doing it in two issues, uh you're achieving interest rate

[15:06] savings uh over the time uh that you're not sitting on those bond proceeds. and

[15:11] also you can better craft that second uh bond issue to the amount that you need

[15:15] to fully complete the project. Um these assumptions were used in our most recent

[15:22] water rate study. Um so this is following that same path. Those have

[15:26] been accounted for uh in the budget both short-term and long-term uh as well. So,

[15:33] uh, in the packet is a finance plan that generally outlines kind of a a rough

[15:38] draft of what you might see, uh, with that.

[15:42] Um, the total bond amount is $26 million. Uh, this would be paid over a

[15:47] 20-year amortization period.

[15:52] Uh, some of the next steps would be on September 14th, uh, the city staff and

[15:57] Northland would go through a rating call with S&P Global Ratings. uh we would get

[16:02] that rating back the week of September 25th. Uh currently the date of bond sale

[16:08] is October 6th. Uh this is not a routine council night. Uh the primary reason for

[16:13] that is that October 12th is a holiday both at the state and federal level. Uh

[16:19] so there are no banking and bond markets that day. Uh so we cannot sell bonds.

[16:24] You cannot consider award of those bonds at that meeting that night. So, uh,

[16:28] given that the project's already been awarded, construction will be initiating

[16:32] here shortly. Uh, we don't want to delay the delivery of those proceeds to be

[16:36] able to pay the contractors on that. So, uh, as of now, we are considering

[16:40] Tuesday, October 6th. Um, some of that's dependent on when we get the credit

[16:44] rating back and also the credit enhancement through PFA. So, once staff

[16:49] and Northland fully have that, we would ask you to schedule a special meeting

[16:53] uh, most likely on that evening. Otherwise, uh the sale would take place

[16:58] on October 6th. Uh we'd have a meeting uh that same night. Council would

[17:03] consider award of the bonds and then that money will show up in the city's

[17:06] bank account on November 5th. So in the packet there are multiple

[17:13] supporting documents. I can uh field questions from staff or I'm sorry from

[17:17] council uh on any of those. Otherwise, a motion is included in your packet for

[17:22] consideration. Council questions for staff.

[17:28] » Mor I don't really have any questions but I just kind of want to reiterate

[17:33] some of the points that um make because it's a it's a big project and there's a

[17:37] lot of money there but um you know with with a general obligation revenue bond

[17:44] what we're doing is taking the money from uh the users on the system. So,

[17:50] this isn't a we're in budget season right now, but this is not a property

[17:54] tax project. So, uh people sometimes get confused with that. So, I want to make

[17:58] sure we're clear that this is essentially paid for by users on the

[18:02] system. And we've already done the rate study as as our um city administrator

[18:06] pointed out that kind of um understands how much we have to invest in the

[18:12] future. So, um, having, uh, significant increases in rates in order to pay for

[18:18] this project is pretty unlikely, I would say, at this point. Um and because of

[18:24] the process that we went through for um this particular facility, the the Seamar

[18:30] process which was new um that means that this project essentially can't go over

[18:35] budget which is I mean it is technically possible to go over budget but um

[18:40] realistically it doesn't really happen unless there's some scope change that

[18:44] you know the city is the council that we ask for. So, um, overall I think it's a

[18:50] it's a great project. I think we went about it the right way. It's going to

[18:55] improve water quality significantly, I think, because by the time this is done,

[18:59] we'll have uh wellhouse 3 done. Well, house 4 was just finished up or is kind

[19:05] of still being finished up, but um so that will um significantly, I think,

[19:11] improve water quality for the entire city for the majority of the season. Um,

[19:17] so, uh, I'm looking forward to seeing this happen.

[19:22] » Any other comments? Do

[19:25] » I have a motion be in order? >> Madam Mayor,

[19:27] » yes, ma'am. >> I move to approve municipal advisory

[19:31] service agreement between city of Northland Securities, Inc., and adopt

[19:35] resolution 2026 J-75 relating to the issuance of general obligation of water

[19:39] revenue bonds series 2026A covenanting

[19:43] and obligating the city to be bound by and to use the provisions of Minnesota

[19:48] state statute section 446A.086 086 to guarantee the payment of principle in

[19:54] interest on the bonds and adopt resolution 2026-76

[19:59] authorizing the competitive negotiated sale of general obligation water revenue

[20:03] bonds series 2026A. >> Is there a second?

[20:07] » Second. >> Motion by Ryan, seconded by Michelle. Is

[20:12] there any discussion?

[20:16] » All those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. All those opposed, same sign. Motion

[20:21] passes. Moving on to 5.2. There's a approve of

[20:27] the plaintless. I will recuse myself and turn it over to Corey for this item.

[20:33] » Okay. Um

[20:37] a motion that I make with this

[20:43] » mayor council. Uh the motion would just be to approve the claims list uh as item

[20:47] 5.2. two. >> Okay.

[20:51] » Um I'll make a motion to approve the claims list of 5.2.

[20:56] » Is that

[20:59] um hearing? Uh there second. Uh do we have any discussion?

[21:04] » Mr. Chair. >> Yep.

[21:08] Sorry, that's new. Uh I just wanted to uh commend the mayor on her decision to

[21:12] recuse herself in this agenda item. That is the correct decision to make. State

[21:16] law and our own city code are unambiguous. Council members must

[21:19] disclose a potential conflict of interest and step aside. That is how we

[21:23] protect the public trust and the integrity of this council. Thank you.

[21:28] » Thank you. Any other discussion?

[21:32] Um guess well all in favor I

[21:36] » I all opposed. Motion passes.

[21:42] Right. Roger, you have that. Thank you. All

[21:47] right, moving on to item 6.1. Ryan, you pull that up. That's item 3.3.

[21:55] » Yes. Uh, Madame Mayor, I oppose this action because our city is able to

[21:58] receive excellent service from our existing contract providers at a price

[22:02] point that is costefficient for the taxpayer. If approved, this item will

[22:06] increase the total cost for owning our own fire department to $23,600,25.76

[22:13] cents, which is more than 17 times the cost of contracted fire service.

[22:20] » Okay. Thank you. Motion B.

[22:24] » Madame Mayor, I'll make a motion to approve pay application number 20 in the

[22:27] amount of 224,8

[22:31] $84.79 for the work completed on the fire

[22:34] station project. >> Second.

[22:37] » Motion by Corey, seconded by Tina. Is there any discussion?

[22:42] All those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. I.

[22:45] » All those opposed, same sign. >> I. Motion passes for

[22:51] item 6.2. Ryan, that's item 3.11.

[22:56] » Yes, Madam Mayor, for the reasons previously stated on the record, I will

[22:59] be voting no. >> Thank you.

[23:02] Is there a motion? Madame Mayor, yes. I'd like to make a

[23:08] motion to accept the bullet as outlined above to authorize p uh procurement of

[23:13] firefighter protective equipment in the amount of $195,800.

[23:18] » Second motion by Michelle, seconded by Corey. Is there any discussion?

[23:26] All those in favor signify by saying I. >> I.

[23:30] » All those opposed, same sign. >> I.

[23:33] » Motion passes 4 to1. All right, moving on to updates. First

[23:40] is Heritage Preservation. Corey, >> thank you, Madam Mayor. Um, OPC met last

[23:45] Wednesday, the 19th um and discussed a couple of the events coming up, one

[23:50] being the Prairie Festival um September 12th, and then um the cemetery tour um

[23:55] on October 29th and uh registrations available on the park and wreck

[24:00] » great site. So, >> perfect.

[24:05] Thank you. Next is park and map. Michelle,

[24:08] » we met last Tuesday. So, um the 22nd, I think, or whatever the date was last

[24:16] week. Last Tuesday, I'm sorry. Um and the 18th. Thank you. Um and we

[24:22] toured the um the uh new fire station and had a brief meeting afterwards and

[24:30] um really everyone's super busy preparing for parade festival and the

[24:35] typical stuff that's going on as far as parks maintenance and stuff like that.

[24:39] So next is planning commission Ryan.

[24:42] » Uh madame mayor the uh commission met to and recommended approval for air

[24:46] pollution gym which was just approved tonight. Uh the next meeting is

[24:49] scheduled for Tuesday, September 8th, uh due to the holiday.

[24:54] » Thank you. Uh next is public safety. I will take this one. Um we were we got an

[25:01] update from Milan Ferguson. He's with the Office of Emergency Medical

[25:05] Services. Um he was present that evening and it was actually a really long

[25:10] meeting. We had three of our ambulance providers, uh Central Care, Alina, and

[25:15] Oak River were all present.

[25:19] I think he's trying to quiet his phone. Um, we talked about um, you know, the

[25:26] history of how providers were chosen for who got their maps and these are back

[25:31] goes back to the 70s and 80s and and actually it was interesting because

[25:35] Steve from Elk River um, ambulance had talked about, you know, he was part of

[25:39] those discussions back in the day. Um, and I quote Dylan's words said that

[25:44] we're the perfect example of an in between city. We're at the end of

[25:47] everyone's runs. Basically, we talked about reviewing call volumes, response

[25:52] times, and he did share with us that in the state statute, there's no standard

[25:57] for response times outlined. So, I think that was very interesting for all of us

[26:02] to hear. There was a lot of questions um from the commission members regarding

[26:06] that um just because there's obviously standards for every other you know fire

[26:12] departments the uh police department but there's no real time that they're

[26:17] actually required to respond to. So that that was interesting. Um his office has

[26:23] very little authority he talked about but he's the keeper of the books. Again

[26:27] these are all quotes from from things that he had said. um we discussed ways

[26:31] that we can actually look at changing and uh eliminating or retracting and he

[26:36] said based on statutes it's not really likely that you can do that. Um in 2025

[26:42] he had shared his data that he's been given and this again is given by all of

[26:47] the providers that would provide services for here in Sego. Um he had 7%

[26:53] as red critical, 60% yellow and 30% green. Um, his office also has zero

[26:59] authority over each of the operational matric matrixes for each of those

[27:03] departments. And in Minnesota, there's 294 active licenses in the state of

[27:08] Minnesota for inland service. And of the 294, half of them are owned by

[27:13] municipalities. So, um, it was, you know, this this

[27:19] gentleman was very, very knowledgeable. He was rambling off statutes. I can

[27:23] agree that me and Ryan were both scribbling feverishly. um he just knew

[27:27] these statute names. So again, I thought it was uh I mean he knows his stuff and

[27:32] I appreciated that he took time to come visit with us and just kind of lay it

[27:37] out. Does it, you know, maybe answer some questions for us or make us feel

[27:41] better about certain things. I I I would have to wait till the next meeting to

[27:47] kind of debrief from the group because by the time Dylan got done talking. Uh

[27:52] they were trying to finish up other business and we talked about um

[27:56] applications that had come in. Uh Chief shared with with that um and then they

[28:01] talked about which Jason talked about ebikes, how many calls he had received

[28:05] for ebikes. So it was a very long night but very interesting information. And so

[28:10] um Ryan, you were there. Would you Was there anything that I missed?

[28:15] » Uh, no. I I guess I would just add that um you know, talking about some of the

[28:19] statistics uh because he had pulled it together at at um I think the chief and

[28:23] and um interim chief uh Scott's request >> um and he looked at some of the numbers

[28:29] and he you know just kind of from his perspective that doesn't have any more

[28:33] or less calls than cities typically our size when it comes to EMS and the uh

[28:39] sort of the response time that is in there. He didn't see any deviation from

[28:43] what he would expect of a city of our size, which is is good. I think that's

[28:48] definitely a concern that the commission has had for for quite some time.

[28:51] » So to have some numbers behind that, I think is is really helpful. But I would

[28:55] just echo your statements. Uh it's it's fun to watch someone who really knows

[29:00] their stuff just talk. So it was a it was an interesting meeting. It was a lot

[29:05] of fun. And he did share um to piggy back on some comments that you just said

[29:09] Ryan um he did share that he would provide the chief with some data points

[29:14] to those cities that were same similar sizes to us. Um and again he said you

[29:18] know we are he said at Seagull it Seagull is unusual but not the only one

[29:23] with having multiple providers for a city. Um I tried to make sure that's

[29:28] exactly what he said so in my notes that I could write that down. So, I will uh

[29:32] be interested to see when that information is provided to the chief and

[29:36] to share with the group. >> Madam Mayor, I concur and uh while I was

[29:40] in there, uh it was amazing with him just popping out these statutes. Um and

[29:47] correct me if I'm wrong. It wasn't there mention of uh the state of Minnesota not

[29:52] requiring licenses about ambulance?

[29:57] » No. >> Wasn't there something about that? We

[29:59] had to be l uh everyone has to be licensed in that room. But he talked a

[30:02] lot about um municipalities versus private if is that what you were

[30:07] referring to? >> I I think so. I was kind of walking out

[30:09] at that point, but >> Sure. And he talked about ALS and the

[30:12] BLS and funding for these things and what it cost and

[30:16] » it was very impressive. >> It was very impressive. So, thank you

[30:19] for having him come and talk with us and pull data for us that we we have those

[30:24] checkpoints. to me and that was one of my questions is so you get this

[30:27] information what do you do with it and um and he laughed and enjoyed I think

[30:33] our question because I just he just when he said there's no

[30:38] um authority in certain things that they do it's just my question was well then

[30:41] what is the office doing but he spends a lot of time with with legislators in his

[30:46] office and from both sides uh trying to improve this and it was in um 2025 is

[30:54] when uh this office was changed to. So, this is a fairly new office

[31:01] based on a lot of um complaints it sounds like. So,

[31:08] that's my update. All right, we are still under city

[31:12] council reports and updates. Does anyone else have anything?

[31:16] All right, we will move on to staff reports and updates. Sabrina,

[31:20] » thank you, Mayor. Uh just some quick recruitment updates. So, we have a few

[31:24] open positions right now. So, mechanics, we're hopefully going to be finishing up

[31:28] and doing interviews in the next couple weeks. We received 11 applicants for

[31:32] that, which is better than we have in the past. So, that's really exciting.

[31:36] Um, and then we also have our full-time firefighter and full-time fire captain

[31:41] positions. So, we're at 87 full-time firefighter positions or applications,

[31:47] uh, which is pretty amazing. It's going to be a lot to go through. Uh, and then

[31:50] our fire captain, we're sitting at 11. And then just as for if anyone's

[31:55] interested in joining the fire department as part-time, uh we are at 88

[32:00] applicants and we're going to be doing a review later this year. So um as we have

[32:04] active training going on, we won't be doing another review of applications. So

[32:09] I get that me and Jake get that question quite a bit of um why we haven't heard

[32:14] back on their application as we haven't been doing another review as uh we can't

[32:19] just start people mid-training. So, >> okay.

[32:22] » Um but yeah, so that's been um exciting. Other than that, um have some new faces

[32:27] at city hall. Um Terry and utility billing and yeah,

[32:33] » thank you. >> Thank you, Adam.

[32:36] » Mayor, council, thank you. Um staff has been working pretty closely with school

[32:40] district officials as they're preparing for the referendum. uh they have

[32:43] extended uh the option of them attending a future council meeting uh either on

[32:48] September 14th or October 12th. Um just making sure that's okay with the council

[32:53] that you would uh have me uh schedule them on a future agenda.

[32:57] » Uh likely the October 12th date is kind of what I'm leaning towards at this

[33:01] point, but wanted to check with you to make sure you're okay with that

[33:04] » um at a future meeting. >> I I would have a question on that. I

[33:08] kind of brought this up before, but since there is a an item that would be

[33:15] on the ballot, what kind of issues do we run into if we

[33:21] advocate for or against that item that's on the ballot

[33:25] » as members of the council? >> Would it just be a listening session?

[33:29] Uh, mayor, council, this would be a presentation from the school district

[33:33] officials to the city council and the public in attendance either in person or

[33:38] on Zoom. Uh, isn't necessarily any sort of advocation for or against it. It's

[33:43] information sharing, okay? >> Uh, from the school district.

[33:47] » Uh, so they're trying to get out in the communities uh that the district covers

[33:51] and make sure that people are educated so that they can make their own decision

[33:55] uh on the referendum coming this fall. Thank you.

[34:00] » Okay. >> Uh just a reminder, city offices will be

[34:04] closed on September 7th for Labor Day.

[34:08] » Did you say that? >> No.

[34:12] » Did you want to call the closed session or did our

[34:16] » I'm sorry. What? the close session for the

[34:19] » mayor. We did that during the special meeting, but uh

[34:21] » at the uh special meeting just before this, the council did schedule a uh

[34:26] special meeting on September 14th at 5:13.

[34:30] » Audra, >> uh thank you, mayor and council. Just to

[34:33] remind everybody that the photo contest ends on September

[34:38] um shoot, September 1st. So get your photos submitted by 5:00 PM that

[34:42] Tuesday. So you got a week. Perfect. >> Thank you.

[34:47] Dave, >> nothing to report. Thanks, Mayor.

[34:49] » All right, Dan. >> Mayor, nothing to report. Okay,

[34:52] » Ron. >> Thanks, Mayor. We held the

[34:55] pre-construction meeting for Microsurface Project um or the 2026

[35:00] street maintenance. Uh it actually covers 80th Street, CASA

[35:06] 19 West to Cadler, then Cadler from 80th Street north to 85th and then 85th west

[35:12] to the border with Monasaw Township. and they will be coming into town uh

[35:17] scheduled September 3rd and September 4th. And there'll be a lot of uh

[35:21] striping that goes along with that. There we stripe half the city every year

[35:25] and that was part of their um project. So you'll see stripers around town.

[35:30] » Okay, perfect. All right. The chief said he has nothing

[35:35] to report. We'll invite Sergeant

[35:50] I was just in a meeting last week and one of our captains at the sheriff's

[35:54] office uh looked over and said, "I heard a rumor that uh you have looking at me,

[35:59] you have your own name plate at the city of Aud."

[36:01] » You do. >> And I mentioned I now have more than

[36:04] one. And he rolled his eyes like so. Anyway, um

[36:12] I think our big thing right now is is our going to be our back to school

[36:16] stuff. I know I kind of mention it every year as we do this. We really try to

[36:19] enforce the the school bus arm violations. We're going to be out there.

[36:22] Uh we'll literally have squad cars following buses to kind of get the ball

[36:27] rolling on that and get the extra visibility out there. Um again, I we're

[36:32] really at the point, especially up here, that every bus has a camera on it, more

[36:35] than one camera. Um, some of the ones in the SDMA district have like three or

[36:39] four of them on them so that we can make sure we get license plates and the

[36:42] violations very clear. If anybody had paid attention during last year and some

[36:47] of the legislative sessions, the special sessions with the statutes on the the

[36:51] buses specifically, the statute actually like changed three different times over

[36:55] the course of the last probably I don't know probably 20 months. um trying to

[37:00] evaluate how we can do it u be really aggressive with the charges but at the

[37:05] same time it kind of goes back and forth with uh you know how much distance needs

[37:09] to be there and reaction times and so all these things kind of got considered

[37:12] so I think we got a pretty good handle on it uh for what we're going to be

[37:16] charging the county attorney's offices on board with how we're going to be

[37:19] handling them so um that's going to be big we're going to spend a lot of time

[37:22] as far as you know watching for crosswalk violations and uh spending

[37:28] some time at the schools we're going to be spending some times uh at the main

[37:32] routes for to and from school. So, uh really trying to get out there and

[37:36] certainly that's usually when I get a lot of phone calls or emails about how

[37:40] the routes work. Certainly the schools evaluate and they try to cooperate with

[37:44] the school resource officers on mainly the drop off times. I know I mean

[37:49] we've had conversations about exgo elementary and how their drop off

[37:53] process worked and they've tried to completely revamp that over the last

[37:56] couple years and it is working really well. There are certainly other schools

[37:59] in the county that we struggle with a little bit. We have to put a lot of

[38:02] effort into kind of presence and trying to keep everybody on task. So, I know

[38:06] the schools spend a ton of time trying to get an efficient process for pickup

[38:09] and drop off time. So, we're trying to get out there and helping whatever way

[38:12] we can without feeling like an occupation force at the same time. So,

[38:17] um yeah, that's kind of where we're sitting, I think, right now. Like I

[38:20] said, just kind of working on the back to school stuff. our school resource

[38:23] officers just had uh about a week and a half training down at our training

[38:27] center to kind of get the ball rolling on everything that they want to focus on

[38:30] this year. So, it's really cool to see especially we have the largest school

[38:34] resource division in the entire state. So, it's kind of interesting to see that

[38:37] big of a group all showing up there where like these are all our just SRO's.

[38:42] So, it's kind of cool to see >> and that I don't know if I have too much

[38:46] else unless you have questions. >> Anyone else? Cory's got ebike questions,

[38:52] right? >> I have no ebike, but I was going to

[38:53] mention you have your own baseball card, too.

[38:55] » Yeah, I'm hoping I can get those print. Yeah,

[38:58] » I made him. >> Oh, okay. Pretty cool.

[39:02] » All right. Well, if no one else has anything, thank you.

[39:05] » Thank you, sir. Thank you. >> All right. If we got nothing else and a

[39:09] motion to adjurnn would be in order. So, moved.

[39:11] » Second. >> Motion by Tina, seconded by Corey. Is

[39:15] there any discussion? All those in favor signify by saying I.

[39:19] » I. I. >> All those opposed, same sign. The

[39:22] meeting is ended. Thank you all for attending.

Otsego City Council Meeting August 24, 2026

Transcript