[0:08] Call this meeting to order. All rise for
the pledge of allegiance.
[0:15] » I pledge allegiance to the flag of the
United States of America and to the
[0:20] republic for which it stands, one nation
under God, indivisible, with liberty and
[0:25] justice for all.
[0:36] All right. Um, can I get a motion to
approve the agenda?
[0:41] » There is one change, Mr. Mayor. Uh, 7G
needs to be eliminated, please.
[0:45] » 7G is eliminated.
>> So, motion.
[0:49] » Second.
>> All in favor say I. I.
[0:51] » Opposed. Motion carried. Open forum. Uh
if anybody would like to speak, they can
[0:56] stand on up and come over here and
speak.
[1:03] I do have one thing. Um
I got a uh a letter from the city of
[1:09] Holding for that they would like me to
read and it reads to our neighboring
[1:13] fire departments. On behalf of the city
of Holding for, our residents, and our
[1:18] entire community, we extend our deepest
gratitude for your extraordinary service
[1:23] during the fire at the Holding for Mill
on Sunday night. What unfolded was a
[1:28] devastating and emotional moment for the
Bergs and for our town. Yet, in the face
[1:34] of loss, we witnessed something
powerful. The unwavering dedication of
[1:39] the fire departments and private parties
who responded without hesitation. 10
[1:44] departments came together, bringing
tankers, equipment, and skilled
[1:48] firefighters to battle an intense and
challenging blaze. Your teamwork,
[1:52] professionalism, and determination
protected nearby homes and businesses
[1:58] pred uh preventing further destruction
and brought comfort to our community
[2:02] watching a historic landmark burn.
We know the long hours, the cold air,
[2:08] and the physical and emotional demand
that came with the response of this
[2:12] scale. Your willingness to step in,
support one another, to serve our city
[2:18] exemplifies the very best in what it
means to be part of a shared community.
[2:23] Please accept our heartfelt thanks for
your courage, your commitment, and your
[2:28] partnership. Holding for is stronger
because of neighbors like you. With
[2:32] sincere appreciation, the city of
Holding Fort.
[2:37] Um, otherwise if there's no one that
would like to talk and I would just like
[2:41] to thank our fire department for all
they did on a Sunday night for fire. Um,
[2:47] appreciate it. Thank you guys.
>> Thank you.
[2:51] » All right, we have a consent agenda.
Approve of the mills and purchase
[2:54] orders. Um, there's investments. There
was a donation of $5,000 to the Mars
[3:00] Fire Department from Arbig, a 25 years
service for Chief Mouse, a step increase
[3:06] for an employee. Can I get a motion to
approve?
[3:10] » So move.
>> Second. All
[3:11] » in favor say I.
>> I.
[3:12] » Oppos. Motion carried. Uh, police
department report. By the way, thank you
[3:17] for 25 years of serving our community,
Chief. Appreciate everything you have
[3:21] done between police reserves, police
chief, fire department, and everything
[3:25] else that you've done for us. We
appreciate you.
[3:27] » Right on.
>> All right. January 2026 in our traffic
[3:31] area, we had 15 citation, 81 uh verbal
warnings, eight written warnings. Uh we
[3:35] ended on uh 272 calls or requests for
service. Last year was 293. So a 21 call
[3:41] drop. Um a good amount of that is our
rental inspections. We had fewer in
[3:45] January, but a bunch in February. So
we'll see that number come back up. Um
[3:48] we also had u our first month being
short staffed and then it was cold for a
[3:53] good snap in there as well as good and
warm for a good snap in there, too. But
[3:55] the cold definitely slowed everybody
down and everything down. Um you'll see
[3:59] the act the numbers will be more
accurate now that we're a year into our
[4:02] new um software system and everything
will bounce out. So last couple months I
[4:07] haven't been able to give you good
numbers on what actually was happening
[4:09] because of that. Um seven agency
assists. Those are lower than normal
[4:13] which is good to see. Uh you should see
the new Durango on the road. That one's
[4:17] got the lighter color rims on instead of
the dark colored rims, the one that I've
[4:19] been driving. So that one's out and
about. Good to see that out on the road.
[4:22] And then the other one is up at
Equipment right now. It'll come down for
[4:26] graphics. And I would say by middle of
March, that one should be out and about,
[4:29] too. And then we'll be bidding another
one come this fall. So
[4:33] um we received or um received a grant
for an AED. There's a program through
[4:38] the U of M that um really focused on
private donations to get AEDs in every
[4:43] squad car in the state. Uh we've got
five of those that came from this
[4:46] program and now we got one more from the
additional squad. So, it's good to see.
[4:49] Well, probably catching that in the next
couple weeks here. So, some extra money
[4:54] doesn't have to come out of our budget
or anybody else's pockets. So, it's good
[4:57] to have and they definitely do their
duties. So, um I think that's the gist
[5:01] of it unless there's any questions.
>> Thank you.
[5:04] » Thank you, Chiefs.
>> Community development director's report.
[5:11] » So, we have several agenda items tonight
as we move forward to spring. It's
[5:15] always fun to talk about things like
playgrounds and sports courts. So
[5:18] looking forward to that. Work continues
on grant applications. I submitted an AP
[5:23] grant to help with the walking path in
the Railroad West Park. And I'm
[5:26] currently working with a local business
on a uh deed Minnesota Department of
[5:31] Employment and Economic Development
grant for child care and for a child
[5:34] care center here in Melrose.
Um since the last meeting, we were
[5:38] notified that we advanced in the next
round of the small cities grant and
[5:41] invited to complete a full application.
And I met with the small cities program
[5:46] people and they had a couple of
suggestions for the full application,
[5:49] but they were impressed by the narrative
and the case that was built for the
[5:53] needs of our community.
Work moves forward on the Geno
[5:57] redevelopment, including we keep doing
tours with the contractors. Um,
[6:01] agreements are being bounced back and
forth between the legal teams and some
[6:05] proposals on the parking lot. So, I
think this is now a week old. Last week,
[6:10] Tuesday, we were notified by Geno
corporate executives of the sale of the
[6:13] new plant on the east side. We had a
good discussion with them and look
[6:16] forward to meeting with the life science
innovations team. Feedback from several
[6:21] local people who know and are familiar
with LSI say this acquisition will be a
[6:25] positive thing for Melrose.
Um, just to give you a heads up on your
[6:29] March meeting, I need at least two
public hearings. One is for the small
[6:34] city's application. We need a we need to
show proof that we had a public hearing
[6:38] and I received a request for a drainage
and utility easement vacation in
[6:43] Highlands to allow someone to build a
new house across some property lines. So
[6:47] to give you a heads up, those are
coming.
[6:49] » Thank you.
>> City engineer report.
[6:56] » All right. Good evening. As usual, a
quick one for you. Uh so borings on the
[7:01] 2026 project should be happening either
tomorrow or early next week. Uh once we
[7:05] get those in place and make sure there's
no black dirt out there, we'll get those
[7:08] plans uh ready for council approval at
the March meeting for getting that on
[7:12] the street. So um otherwise, everything
else for me is a new business and I'll
[7:16] be back up in five minutes.
>> Okay. Thanks.
[7:20] » All right, city administrator report.
So, I'm going to roll from my city
[7:26] administrator report under new business,
which is the city administrator um
[7:31] bridge plan discussion. So, this past
week, I submitted my resignation as the
[7:38] city administrator effective as of April
3rd.
[7:43] The council and the
um PUC met.
[7:49] There was a joint meeting that was held
on February 24th where a discussion took
[7:53] place regarding what the next steps are
for the city administrator position. The
[7:58] council and the PUZ were presented with
three separate um executive search
[8:03] consultants
proposals and the discussion was that
[8:09] they would like to interview David Drown
and Associates. So, a joint meeting has
[8:16] been set up between the council and the
PUC on March 9th at 5:30 p.m. where they
[8:22] will be talking to Pat Melvin with David
Dr and Associates.
[8:26] In the interim, the discussion was also
held about transition and at this uh the
[8:33] council and the PUC determined that the
transition would include Chief Craig
[8:38] Mouse being the point of contact until
such time that a new city administrator
[8:44] was hired.
the uh mayor Joe Fininken and PUC
[8:51] commission member Eric Sanger met with
all staff then on February 24th and they
[8:58] visited with them about the transition
and what is going to be happening. So
[9:03] that is where we are to date with that.
Um,
[9:08] I will save kind of my other stuff for
when you guys have your formal meeting
[9:12] in March and we can kind of talk about,
you know, where where you where the
[9:17] plans the plan is. So, that's kind of
what I have for now. So,
[9:21] » perfect. All right. And then we're on
the police department for uh short
[9:26] staffing.
>> This is um something that has come
[9:29] before you before. So in this case, um,
Chief Mous is going to be serving in a
[9:36] capacity to fill in for patrol work when
because we are short staffed.
[9:42] Um,
sorry, I should have this in front of
[9:46] me. My apologies. Um,
if it's a period of 45 consecutive
[9:53] calendar days for staffing levels of the
police department fall below the
[9:56] requisite staffing amount. Thank you,
Connor.
[10:00] Do you want this?
>> Well, I have that part. I wanted to look
[10:04] at the actual, but that's fine.
>> So, anyway, so um you guys have entered
[10:09] into for short staffing before with the
police department is put, uh Chief Craig
[10:14] Mouse. So if they go into a period of
over 45 consecutive calendar days,
[10:22] um the staffing levels of the police
department fall below the requisite
[10:26] staffing amount, then the arrangement
described in this notice which you have
[10:32] will apply but not before that 45day
period.
[10:36] So this is limited exceptions as far as
um theou itself.
[10:43] the chief is obviously going to um
receive additional compensation
[10:48] and again um
it's really at the soldier discretion of
[10:54] the city as far as how they want to do
this. This is again the second one that
[10:57] they have put in place. And so when the
chief has to serve in
[11:05] any capac other capacity within the
police department, he will be
[11:09] compensated per thisou.
So that's what we have.
[11:14] » All right. Can I get a motion to
approve?
[11:17] » So move.
>> Second. All
[11:18] » in favor say I.
>> I.
[11:19] » Oppos. Motion is carried.
>> Similarly, you have before you um Mr.
[11:25] our street park supervisor Andrew has
been acting because we have been short
[11:30] staffed on the public work site as well.
Um and so Andrew has
[11:36] been acting he has actually moved um he
has actually taken on additional duties
[11:42] and the way our policy works is that if
you're working outside your class or
[11:47] your job description then you are
adequately should get compensated for
[11:51] some of that. So for Andrew, um the
recommendation really is to move him to
[11:57] step four at this time and not wait
until he would normally be at step four,
[12:02] which would be in July. So I would say
the council to provide consideration
[12:06] approving a step increase for Andrew at
this time.
[12:09] » And I just like to say thank you,
Andrew, for stepping up and helping out
[12:12] down there with with the other
employees. Uh it's been a big help.
[12:17] Appreciate all that you've been doing.
Can I get a motion to approve? So move.
[12:21] » Second. All in favor say I. I
>> opposed. Motion is carried.
[12:25] » Um, city of Mau's quarterly financial
reports.
[12:33] You can run the slides for me.
Thank you.
[12:38] » Good evening, mayor and council members.
Tonight, I'll be presenting the quarter
[12:41] 4 financial summary, highlighting
general fund performance, key trends
[12:45] across other funds, and take a brief
look ahead to 2026.
[12:50] Overall, the city remains in a stable
financial position. Revenues performed
[12:54] well. Expenditures were managed
carefully, and we continue to maintain
[12:58] strong fund balances. I'll walk through
the major highlights, explain a few
[13:02] year-over-year changes, and then change
close with what we're focusing on as we
[13:07] move into the next budget cycle.
[13:12] Um, general fund revenues exceeded
budget expectations overall with all
[13:16] major categories meeting or surpassing
projections except charges for services.
[13:21] Individual expense expense categories
show both increases and decreases. Total
[13:26] expenses remain below the overall budget
level. Year end net position is slightly
[13:31] below the prior year primarily due to
lower building permit revenues and
[13:34] non-reoccurring grant revenues received
in the pri previous year. Fourth quarter
[13:39] revenues reflect receipt of the second
half properties tax settlement and the
[13:43] second half LGA distribution.
Overall general fund revenues performed
[13:48] well and exceeded our budget
projections. Most major revenue
[13:52] categories met or outperformed
expectations. The only category that
[13:56] came in below budget was charges for
services. Strong performance in interest
[14:01] income, intergovernmental revenue, and
miscellaneous revenue helped offset that
[14:05] shortfall. Overall revenues finished the
year at approximately 104% of budget.
[14:14] While we saw some categories come in
higher and others lower than budget,
[14:18] overall spending remained under the
total budget amount. Departments managed
[14:22] expenditures carefully throughout the
year. This reflects continued cost
[14:26] awareness and monitoring across
operations. Overall department
[14:30] expenditures were generally well
controlled in 2025. administration and
[14:34] finance, public safety, public works,
and planning and development all
[14:38] finished under budget.
[14:42] Um, year end net position is slightly
below the prior year. This is primarily
[14:46] due to lower building permit activity
compared to last year. In addition,
[14:50] certain grant revenues received in the
prior year were one-time in nature and
[14:54] did not repeat this year. This
represents a normalization following
[14:58] last year's elevated revenues, not a
structural imbalance.
[15:03] The MATA fund remained stable, supported
by the plan transfer from the general
[15:07] fund as well as solid investment
earnings in capital projects. Net income
[15:12] was positively impacted by county
reimbursement related to the street
[15:16] project, which which strengthened the
fund position at year end. Fire
[15:20] department revenues performed well in
the fourth quarter with fire charges
[15:23] coming in at 124% of budget for quarter
4. Ambulance activity remains strong
[15:29] with run volumes higher than budget and
net income finishing above prior year.
[15:35] Overall, these funds continue to
demonstrate stable operations and
[15:39] positive financial trends heading into
2026.
[15:44] As we look ahead to 2026, our focus
remains on strategic and sustainable
[15:48] financial management. We will continue
aligning departmental spending with
[15:52] council's 26 priorities, ensuring
resources are directed toward core
[15:57] services and community needs. On the
investment side, we will work to
[16:01] optimize returns while maintaining
appropriate liquidity to support
[16:04] operations and upcoming capital
projects. We are also planning
[16:09] proactively for future fire and police
capital replacement needs, ensuring
[16:12] long-term readiness for public safety,
infrastructure, and equipment. Finally,
[16:18] long-term financial sustainability
remains a key priority, maintaining
[16:22] strong reserves, monitoring revenue
trends, and positioning the city for a
[16:26] stable operations in future budget
cycles. Overall, our approach for 26 is
[16:31] proactive, balance, and focused on
long-term stability.
[16:34] Do you have any questions?
>> Thank you, Jackie.
[16:41] All right, we're on the action items.
So, what we all have here is liquor
[16:46] license renewal applications. Uh, so
we'll have uh intoxic intoxicating
[16:51] liquor on sale, off sale, Sunday on sale
renewals. Then there's a club and Sunday
[16:57] on sale renewals, 32 malt liquor off
sale, wine license renewals.
[17:03] Uh, everybody has been background
checked and everything, so everything's
[17:07] good to go, right?
>> Mhm.
[17:08] » All right. Can I get a motion to
approve?
[17:10] » So move.
>> Second.
[17:11] » All in favor say I.
>> I. opposed. Motion is carried. Uh world
[17:16] seal project 2026. Is that going to be?
>> Yep.
[17:22] » Pretty straightforward.
[17:26] » Yeah. So, uh if you saw it in the back,
it was really ahead of time the map.
[17:30] Otherwise, it's just the annual Silco
projects that we go forward every year
[17:34] and we just need ad or a motion to
advertise a bit. So,
[17:38] » all right. Did they have any concerns or
anything? All right. Can I get a motion
[17:42] to approve?
>> Second. All
[17:45] » in favor say I.
>> I.
[17:46] » Motion carried
uh Main Street sidewalk project.
[17:53] » All right, I'll cover this one. So,
myself, Sheila, and Andrew, I I walked
[17:57] the Main Street sidewalk last week right
before it snowed again. Uh, so good
[18:01] timing on that. We can see everything
that was out there. It's not getting
[18:04] better. As anybody's probably noticed
out there, the settlements are getting
[18:07] worse at at the buildings and behind the
curb. and we all know the tripping
[18:10] hazard that that is. Unfortunately, the
number that they gave us last fall to do
[18:14] it isn't going to cut it anymore and
it's going to get us above the bidding
[18:17] threshold. Um, so I think we're going to
have to probably take that that project
[18:21] away from just being a quote and
actually bid it out.
[18:25] And what I my main concern is that we
actually probably survey it, make sure
[18:28] that we're meeting ADA grades. I'm
afraid that to put it back in, we
[18:31] wouldn't do those. We'll be tearing it
out in three years. That that's my fear.
[18:35] So, I'd like to actually get some survey
out there, actually confirm that it's
[18:39] put in correctly, and then bid it. So, I
don't have a contract or anything with
[18:43] you guys tonight. Just looking for input
from the council. Is that the direction
[18:46] you want to go, or do you want to have
Andrew or the guys keep patching it?
[18:50] They do it. What they've done worked,
but it certainly doesn't look as nice as
[18:53] we'd like to see on our main street.
>> What's driving the cost? Is it labor
[18:57] material? Both?
>> Yes.
[18:59] » Yes.
>> Um, couple that with uh they did a
[19:03] really bare bones job. Uh they're going
to replace what's there and that's it.
[19:07] We need to connect the curb to that
sidewalk so we don't see that settlement
[19:10] again. They didn't have doll bars in
there. We're going to put them in. Uh
[19:13] they didn't have chunks of curb
replacement that need to happen. Those
[19:16] got to happen. There's two ped ramps
that got to get switched out. Most of
[19:18] them unfortunately are good yet, but two
of them do have to change. So
[19:23] » So we want to just hold off on it or
move forward without getting the
[19:27] council's input on it. So I guess this
isn't so much an action item as a
[19:30] direction to staff item. If you did it
in two years, would it have to go out to
[19:34] bids? So, if you did two different
projects, we did some of it this year.
[19:39] » That's an option.
>> Spaced it out. Maybe
[19:42] » that could do it. Yes, that would that
would work. We could do one block at a
[19:45] time or whatever that that approach
would be. That would absolutely work.
[19:47] Keep quotes from public contractors.
And the real question is, do we want to
[19:51] bid it with our 2026 retreat project or
a side or separate from it? They're kind
[19:55] of different type projects. One's a
concrete project, one's an asphalt
[19:59] project. So, I I don't know that we
gained a heck of a lot of bidding them
[20:01] together, but again, just looking for
input from the council.
[20:06] » Okay, Julian.
>> Uh, well, I trust you guys making that
[20:13] right decision for us.
[20:19] » And you just put straight up concrete.
You wouldn't put the exposed aggregate
[20:22] or you wouldn't stamp it. It would just
be
[20:24] » nothing decorative. We'd go lesson
learned and go to plain concrete.
[20:29] I think it'd be a big savings to just do
it all at once instead of into two
[20:33] pieces though.
>> There's a savings that'll be had for
[20:36] that for sure. You know, you always are
going to have some mobilization cost
[20:39] that you'll avoid if you do that, but
you would be able to just quote it out
[20:42] if you broke it broke it in half. So, I
mean, there are there's a benefit to be
[20:45] to both.
>> I would say just do it all at once.
[20:48] It'll go up another 10 15% in 2027. So,
>> concrete prices have not been anything
[20:55] close to stable. that 10 15% is
absolutely an accurate statement. So
[21:00] » if that's the case then at the next
meeting I'll get something together for
[21:02] you guys to formally approve and what it
is.
[21:06] » Have to do that.
>> Sounds good.
[21:07] » And there is um undesated fund reserves
in the street department.
[21:12] » Okay.
>> We are running a deficit in that
[21:14] particular
>> then yeah let's at least uh go ahead and
[21:19] get a quote on it. Yeah for sure.
>> Well no we'd have to do formal
[21:22] » business.
[21:25] Okay.
All right. We are on to do we have to
[21:31] make a motion to do that or that's just
consensus to come back to it. Right.
[21:35] » Yeah. The motion will be made at uh in
March, Dave. Um and he'll bring back his
[21:41] engineering contract and his design
contract, right? Or would you bring back
[21:45] the whole package?
>> We'll bring back everything with it uh
[21:48] to get the survey for the survey stuff
together.
[21:51] » Perfect.
So it's not as a consensus. All right.
[21:55] Then we are on to the PP01-2026-201
[21:59] preliminary central career.
>> Yes. We have two items coming over to
[22:03] you tonight from the Meadows Planning
and Zoning Commission. So the first
[22:07] item, the Planning and Zoning Commission
had a public hearing on Monday, January
[22:11] 26 for the purpose of considering a
preliminary platform to Centricare.
[22:16] We've discussed this before. Um when
Kira bought the assisted living in the
[22:20] nursing home, um those buildings are
very tied together. You all know what
[22:25] Pine Villa looks like. We're trying to
figure out what's centric care and
[22:28] what's and so they've presented a
preliminary plat with some shared common
[22:30] laws. Uh planning and zoning commission
looked at it. They approved the
[22:34] preliminary plat subject to a bunch of
things that need to be done before the
[22:38] final plat is brought forward. So I had
the planning report as approved by the
[22:44] planning and zoning commission in your
packets. So tonight we're asking for
[22:48] consideration
um to consider the recommendation of the
[22:51] planning and zoning commission and
determine whether to approve or deny the
[22:54] preliminary plan.
>> Okay. Again motion to approve.
[22:57] » So move second.
>> All in favor say I.
[23:00] » I oppose. Motion carried. We have CUP1
uh 01-2026-401
[23:08] uh entering use
permit. Melrose Area Arts Council
[23:12] Campbell Enterprise Northwest Inc.
Yes. And tonight we have members of the
[23:17] arts council and the artist of the mural
here present with us. Um we do have a
[23:22] sketch. Uh the planning and zoning
commission held a public hearing on
[23:27] January 26 to consider the interim use
permit application from the Mrose Area
[23:31] Arts Council and Campbell Enterprises.
This would be a mural on the east facing
[23:36] side of the Midwest Automatic Building.
Um in your packet was the panel
[23:43] discussion. So, a couple conditions.
This is written up as an interim use
[23:47] permit as opposed to a conditional use
permit. Conditional use permits run with
[23:51] the land just as long as it's there.
Interim use allows them to put a set
[23:56] time limit on it. And it in the
recommendation of the planning and
[24:00] zoning commission was seven years
subject to maintenance at all times. If
[24:05] they decide to go with another sketch
three years from now, they have to come
[24:08] back because it's this is the sketch
that's approved. So any change of the
[24:13] sketch would have to be run through
another interim use permit. And our
[24:18] process is very clear that the owner of
the mural is the building, not um the
[24:24] artist or the arts council. So for
example, if this building were to sell,
[24:28] the owner of the building would have
every right to take it down. I think the
[24:31] arts council is well aware of that. And
the maintenance is up to the owner of
[24:37] the property.
So if you have any questions for the
[24:40] arts council or Justine who is the
artist, she is here tonight.
[24:46] » Sheila, thank you. Um and um I guess a
question, there have been updates to the
[24:51] sketch itself. If I may present that um
here it's a much more detailed version
[24:58] of what you see before you. Um, I'm
sorry that I did not include it in the
[25:02] agenda, but as you can see, it is Main
Street, the craft plan, um, the old
[25:06] church and farms in background.
[25:12] » Any questions or suggestions?
>> Very nice.
[25:15] » That looks great.
>> Thank you.
[25:19] » Thank you very much. No problem.
>> Yeah. So the action item is to consider
[25:24] the recommendation of planning and
zoning and to approve or deny the
[25:27] interim use permit for the arts council
and camel enterprises.
[25:30] » U quick question uh when is start date
and how long do you think it'll take
[25:34] you?
>> It should take about four months. Uh the
[25:37] process has already begun of sketching.
Um
[25:41] what will be done is a scaled down
version of the painting about a third of
[25:45] the size. So the total size that will
appear on the building is 30 by 10 ft.
[25:50] So the one/3 size is 10 by 3T which will
be done by June 1st. Correct.
[26:00] » Yes.
>> That's the supply. Yes.
[26:05] » All right. Looking forward to seeing.
That would be fantastic.
[26:08] » Thank you.
>> Can I get a motion to approve, please?
[26:11] » Second.
>> All in favor say I.
[26:12] » I.
>> Oppos. Motion is carried.
[26:17] » Pickle ball court park. So Andrew and I
are looking at each other to figure out
[26:22] who wants to present on this one. Um the
council to provide consideration on a
[26:27] second pickle ball court. So the park
board met on February 4th and they have
[26:31] received two quotes for a second pickle
ball court. This will be located
[26:35] directly west of the existing court.
We're hearing from pickle ball players
[26:40] that it's fun to play in groups and they
want two courts. So um requested action
[26:45] tonight is to consider the construction
of a second court and award the project
[26:48] to boing masonry the lower bidder
>> and funds are there.
[26:52] » Yep. Yes.
>> I've heard the same thing from the
[26:57] public that they would like to see more.
>> Um it's good thing I see there people
[27:02] there a lot. So
>> that's like the in thing nowadays.
[27:07] » Yeah. And it's something that looks like
it's going to stick around. So that's
[27:12] Can I get a motion to approve, please?
>> Second.
[27:14] » All in favor say I.
>> I oppos. Motion carries.
[27:18] » All right. G was cancelled and then we
on the playground equipment for um
[27:22] Railroad West Park.
>> Yes. G will we be bringing back for your
[27:26] March meeting. We just need to get a
little clarification on the bids that we
[27:30] have. Um so H is the playground
equipment. um that we are building a new
[27:35] park on in Railroad West which will be
located between the apartment building
[27:39] and the Roach townhouse project. Uh the
park board reviewed estimates at its
[27:44] February 4th meeting and is recommending
the flagship landscape structures. I
[27:50] think there might be a sketch.
>> That's the one they chose. They like the
[27:54] rock wall and there's a little zipline,
little mini zip line over there and it
[28:00] is targeted for five to 12 year olds. Um
Andrew is here to answer questions and
[28:05] Mark who is the chair of the park board
can answer any questions.
[28:10] » Any questions?
[28:14] » Can I get a motion to approve? So move
>> second. All in favor say I. I.
[28:20] » All right. Motion is approved.
um fireh hall workout room renovation.
[28:27] » So as part of the ongoing um
wellness that we are required to have
[28:36] for our public or I'm sorry our
emergency medical services and just
[28:40] overall wellness. A budget was set aside
and approved for 26 for a new workout
[28:48] room in the fire hall. So, Fire Chief
Buddy has received two quotes for new
[28:52] exercise equipment. The first is from
REP, which includes a trainer machine,
[28:57] dumbbell set, weightlifting rack, weight
bench, squat bar, racks, and various
[29:02] other equipment. That quote was
$13,3.31.
[29:09] The second quote is from Titan Fitness
which includes a trainer machine,
[29:13] weightlifting rack, weight bench,
dumbbell weight sets, racks, and
[29:16] additional equipment for 11,9328.
A quote was also received for new
[29:23] flooring in the wait room from Hennan
floor covering.
[29:27] Council to provide consideration to
approving quotes for the fireh hall
[29:31] workout room renovation project. I'm
going to put
[29:35] » Craig on the spot or Joe, whoever wants
to speak to this if they have additional
[29:40] information.
>> Uh I know the original equipment was
[29:44] donated from was it Anytime Fitness,
Joe?
[29:47] » Lifetime Fitness.
>> Lifetime Fitness. And that was a former
[29:49] um firefighters family.
>> Yes.
[29:52] » That uh donated that. And it was used
from commercial grade stuff, but it's
[29:56] definitely done its time and
>> um some it's not safe to use anymore.
[30:00] So, I think it's good that we're
replacing the equipment. I think that
[30:02] this will be a much used upgrade between
all three emergency departments and I
[30:08] believe it's open to city staff as well
because it's city building. So
[30:10] » yeah. Do you know the difference between
the two courts?
[30:13] » Uh it looked as though almost everything
is very similar. They might have um had
[30:17] one piece of equipment that wasn't
completely a match as far as the exact,
[30:21] you know, usage or whatever you want to
call it. So, I would say either one's
[30:26] going to be adequate as far as whichever
choice would be made unless uh fire
[30:32] chief Bod had one that was a better
recommendation.
[30:35] » He just gave both quotes. It looks like
>> if I could speak for a second, I did
[30:39] talk a little bit about it. He did did
have recommendations on the he thought
[30:43] that equipment was just a little bit
heavier maybe. So, he did recommend that
[30:48] one. If anything, his recommendation
would be that one. Based off the
[30:52] durability potential and based off of
talking to the individuals he's been
[30:56] discussing with for the equipment, they
felt that that one might be a little
[31:00] better option for our setup.
>> Do we have to approve the specific one?
[31:04] » Yes, you can approve. If you want to
approve the specific one, that would be
[31:08] great. So then they can get it ordered.
Um, just so you're aware, this came in
[31:13] far under bid for what we had allocated
in the budget for this project.
[31:18] » Yeah. So, it' probably be 7 I1 and 7 I3
would probably be the ones.
[31:23] » Yep. 7 I1 and 7 I3. I would say you
should make
[31:26] » a motion.
>> Are you going to maintain the stuff at
[31:29] the city administration building as well
or is that stuff going to go away?
[31:33] » That'll all stay there.
>> That all stay there, but we're not
[31:36] looking for funds at some point to
update that either. What we've done in
[31:40] the past is any excess or surplus in the
police department budget, we've made
[31:43] purchases.
>> Um,
[31:46] » primarily that's who is using it. Um,
city staff is always welcome to use it
[31:49] as well, but primarily that's who's
using it. So, we'll just use excess
[31:52] funds at times if anything needs to be
upgraded or changed.
[31:55] » And we just actually that was repainted
and there were new mats put in there
[31:59] what, four years ago?
>> About that.
[32:01] » Yeah.
[32:05] » Can I get a motion to approve it that
way? So
[32:08] » second.
>> All in favor say I.
[32:10] » I.
>> Motion carried.
[32:12] » Uh fee schedule amendment.
[32:19] » Um after further review of the fee
schedule that was approved for 2026,
[32:23] there is just a couple amendments that
um we're asking to make. So rows 175
[32:29] through 177 under the park um shelter
rental there were the forprofit not for
[32:36] profit and um groups over 300 on there
and we never really use those lines. So
[32:41] just to keep it even or easy for rental
we'd like to just take that down to one
[32:47] line. And then um per Chief Moody he
would like to add per truck under the
[32:52] fire department
um rate as well.
[32:58] All right. Can I get a motion for that
fee amendment?
[33:03] » Second. All in
>> favor say I.
[33:05] » I.
>> Motion carried. And then the other part
[33:08] is the 2026 2027
uh League of Minnesota's IT worker comp
[33:15] compensation insurance quote.
>> Okay. We received a quote back for the
[33:18] 2627 workers compensation. The council
to give consideration approved in the
[33:24] quote received from League of Minnesota
City's insurance trust for workers
[33:27] compensation insurance for period of
March 7th 26 through March 7th 27. The
[33:33] net premium costs for the upcoming
period are $72,439.
[33:38] The quote in 25 was $55,962
which is an increase of 29%. Due to
[33:45] claims history, the experience
modification changed to a 1.03 03 debit
[33:50] for the 2627 coverage period up from a
73 credit for the 2526 coverage period.
[33:57] Overall workers compensation rates for
26 have decreased for the third year in
[34:01] a row. It is recommended that the
council again approve the reg regular
[34:05] premium option. The general fund share
of the premium is $60,022
[34:10] and the utility share is $12,417
compared to 42,531
[34:17] and for 13,431
respectively for the past year. The
[34:22] council to give consideration approving
the League of Minnesota's workers comp
[34:26] insurance at the regular premium option.
>> Any questions?
[34:31] » Can I get a motion to approve?
>> So move.
[34:33] » Second. All in favor say I. opposed.
Motion is carried.
[34:38] » All right. Hiring police officer.
>> Yes, we received three applications for
[34:43] the open officer position. We
interviewed two. One person did withdraw
[34:46] prior to interview time as they had
received a position somewhere else
[34:50] already. Uh we extended a conditional
offer to uh Miss Kylie Forsir. Um the
[34:56] offer is contingent upon her passing a
successful background check,
[35:00] psychological and pre-employment drug
and physical exam. Um, we're
[35:04] recommending that uh, Miss Forsier be
hired at step one in the wage scale and
[35:08] after six months of uh, full-time
employment and a favorable full
[35:12] evaluation, we would make the
recommendation to move her to step two.
[35:16] » All right. Motion to approve. So move.
>> Second. All
[35:19] » in favor say I.
>> I motion carried. And hiring a police
[35:23] reserve officer.
>> Yes. We also got an application from uh
[35:27] Kaden Swanson for a police reserve
position which has been either
[35:30] non-existent or very limited as far as
that um program being um used in the
[35:35] last several years. Um this has also
continued upon a successful background
[35:39] check, pre-employment physical and drug
test. Um Kaden Swanson is actually the
[35:43] son of Chris Swanson who worked here. He
left in 2012 give or take to go to
[35:47] Alexandria Police Department. So um
Kaden will be going to AL in the fall to
[35:52] be a police officer as well.
Sounds great.
[35:55] » Okay, get a motion to approve.
>> Second.
[35:59] » All in favor say I. I
>> opposed. Motion carried.
[36:03] » Uh hiring of a seasonal street arts
worker go through every year, right?
[36:09] » Yep.
[36:15] » Historically, city has hired a seasonal
part-time worker to assist with summer
[36:18] workload. Uh I'm here to request an
approval to hire temporary summer
[36:21] seasonal worker on the need on a needed
basis uh to assist with lawn and park
[36:25] maintenance, cleaning, etc. Therefore,
I'm requesting the council to approve
[36:29] the hire of seasonal parttime workers.
>> Can I get a motion to approve?
[36:33] » Some move. Favor say I.
>> I motion is carried. Old business for
[36:40] Minnesota paid family leave.
>> So u your memo as written is not
[36:46] correct. So what we found out is we had
approved this for 26, 27, and 28. We
[36:53] should not approve it for 28 because
we're tying it back to the contracts,
[36:57] your union contracts. So we are simply
asking for the language to be amended in
[37:03] theou to only reflect January 1st, 2026
through December 31st, 2027.
[37:13] » Any questions or concerns? Can I a
motion to approve, please? So move.
[37:19] » Second.
>> All in favor say I.
[37:21] » Oppos. Motion carried.
>> We're on the information items, schools
[37:25] and training. Uh a few people from the
fire department going to different
[37:30] schools. Uh there's going to be a Sterns
County Commissioners Board meeting. Uh
[37:35] April 7th, 2026 at 6 p.m. in Mau, which
should be pretty uh interesting. Uh I
[37:40] think people should show up for that. It
doesn't happen but once a year that the
[37:43] county will do their county meetings
outside of St. Cloud and they will be
[37:47] having a a large discussion about the
DNR with people here hunting with either
[37:54] shotguns or uh rifles in this area. So
should be a pretty interesting meeting.
[37:59] So might be a good thing for people to
attend. And then there's the next city
[38:04] council meeting which is Thursday, March
19th at 6 pm.
[38:09] » If I may, Mr. Mr. Mayor, a couple things
and this just happened today. So, um on
[38:14] March 9th, there's a joint meeting
between the public utilities commission
[38:18] and the city council. That meeting is
designed at 5:30 and that is
[38:23] specifically to work um to talk to David
Associates. And then on March 12th at 7
[38:29] a.m. there will be a closed meeting for
union negotiations.
[38:34] » Okay.
Good.
[38:38] All right. All right. Unless there's
anything else, can I get a motion to
[38:40] adjurnn?
>> Second.
[38:42] » All in favor say I.
>> Oppos. Meeting adjourned.