[0:10] It is 7:00. I'll call the meeting to order.

[0:12] Please stand 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

[0:26] justice for all.

[0:35] Additions, deletions, and modifications to the agenda, we've got two.

[0:39] In modify 5A, the verified claims, the old amount of

[0:45] $126,993.88.

[0:50] The new amount is $288,158.72.

[0:57] And in

[0:59] 5C, consider application submitted by Trinity Lutheran Church for exemption of

[1:04] lawful gambling license required to allow raffle activities at

[1:10] 220 South 13th Street on May 16th of 2027.

[1:19] I'll make the motion.

[1:20] A motion by Steve.

[1:22] I'll second that.

[1:23] And a second by Bev. All in favor?

[1:26] Aye.

[1:27] Motion carries.

[1:30] Approval of the minutes of the regular meeting of September 8th of 2026.

[1:38] I will make a motion to approve.

[1:40] Motion by Bev.

[1:41] I'll second.

[1:42] Second by Gwen. All in favor?

[1:45] Aye.

[1:47] Motion carries. We'll go on to four,

[1:51] notice communication, announcements, and appearance of any interested citizens that

[1:55] are not on the agenda.

[1:59] I'm seeing none, except for one there, and she is on our agenda.

[2:05] And that's 4A, appearance by Taylor Donahue-Erickson, FLOCK cameras in Montevideo.

[2:11] If you'd like to please-- Oh, Marv?

[2:14] I want to speak too.

[2:16] Okay.

[2:16] I thought the chief would be speaking first, and then I'd defend him.

[2:23] How do we want to do this? Ms. Donahue, would you be willing

[2:29] to go first? Okay.

[2:33] Do I come up here?

[2:34] Yes. Please come up here and state your name and address for the record.

[2:37] Hello. My name is Taylor Donahue-Erickson.

[2:41] You said address?

[2:42] Yes.

[2:43] 4767 330th Avenue, Montevideo.

[2:48] Thank you guys for allowing me the time to speak tonight, and thank you, Ken, for

[2:52] taking the time to be here.

[2:53] Yeah, here we go.

[2:57] My name is Taylor Erickson, and I was born and raised here in Montevideo, and moved

[3:01] back here a few years ago to raise our three children with my husband, Jacob.

[3:05] Montevideo is home to me, and I care about the wellbeing of my city.

[3:08] So I'm here to bring to you an issue that's important to me and many others, and

[3:12] that is the recent implementation of FLOCK cameras in our community.

[3:16] I'm not a public speaker by any means, and I'm better at writing, so I've written

[3:20] my thoughts on paper for the city council to consider.

[3:24] You guys have maybe seen my petition that I created on Facebook, but I included

[3:28] that as well in writing. It includes 560 local signatures, and it grows every day.

[3:35] I'm asking that the city council take the time to genuinely consider the items I've

[3:38] presented and to return with me with a resolution at some point.

[3:43] And I've also asked Ken to be here tonight to answer a few questions regarding the

[3:47] FLOCK cameras so the public could consider his perspectives as well.

[3:51] Is it okay if I hand you guys my writing?

[3:53] Sure.

[3:53] Yeah, please.

[3:57] I only have one of these, so I'm going to give it to you, Dan.

[3:59] Okay.

[4:01] These are all the signatures I've collected so far.

[4:05] Okay. And I'll just give it to you for us up here too.

[4:18] Thanks.

[4:26] Thank you.

[4:32] Thank you.

[4:50] Is it okay if I just go ahead and ask you my questions or-

[4:54] Yeah, if you'd like. You could just ask us the questions and then

[4:59] if Ken wants to answer them right after you get done. Is that all right, Ken?

[5:04] Yeah.

[5:04] That way?

[5:05] Sure.

[5:05] That'd be easier.

[5:08] Okay. Widespread concerns are being raised throughout Montevideo about the

[5:11] potential risks associated with having FLOCK cameras installed in our community.

[5:16] My goal is to respectfully inform you of these concerns and come to a resolution

[5:19] that satisfies the public concerns.

[5:24] A few questions that are on the minds of many people that you may have the

[5:27] knowledge to answer, Ken. First of all, what issues or concerns in our city

[5:32] initially prompted you to ask the city council for approval of these cameras back

[5:36] in 2025?

[5:38] Okay.

[5:39] Sorry. Can you not hear me?

[5:40] I think I got it. I was-

[5:41] Okay

[5:41] ... caught off guard as you asked me a question, but-

[5:46] I can email it to you

[5:46] ... is that reference to the question number one?

[5:48] Yes.

[5:48] Sure.

[5:51] So

[5:53] let's see. City council for approval of FLOCK cameras back in '25.

[5:59] And I know a couple newer council members here, but I know that you are

[6:05] both familiar with some of the crimes that we had going on later '24

[6:11] and 2025 with all the drive-by shootings.

[6:14] And when I say all, that's kind of an unknown because we had so many different

[6:20] reports,

[6:21] and some were not verified because we didn't have

[6:27] victims that came forward. We couldn't find bullet holes in buildings or

[6:33] wherever these locations were. But

[6:36] we had numerous confirmed drive-by shootings that hit residents'

[6:42] vehicles, houses, garages.

[6:45] It was pretty chaotic for a longer period of time.

[6:50] I fielded several phone calls from concerned citizens that were

[6:56] concerned with these instances that were happening in Montevideo and were

[7:02] expressing that they were feeling unsafe, especially in certain parts of our

[7:07] community.

[7:09] I

[7:11] had conversations with council at the time, and fielded some questions from council

[7:16] members

[7:18] of what we were doing to try and keep the community safe.

[7:23] I did some research. FLOCK cameras had been around for a little while,

[7:29] and

[7:31] did some research on the cameras, and I thought that might be something that would

[7:35] be good for our community.

[7:38] Again, did some research on it, brought it to council as an idea that, "Hey, this

[7:43] is something that we've been looking at.

[7:45] I think this could help us out with a lot of our investigations that we have going

[7:50] on, and certainly around some of the drive-by shootings that we

[7:56] had taking place."

[7:59] Ultimately, I brought a proposal to council back on October

[8:05] 4th of 2025 regarding FLOCK cameras and looking at

[8:12] purchasing two cameras, two different locations in town, which are kind of like the

[8:16] thorough ways into our communities.

[8:21] Did a lot of research on it, trying to figure out the best areas that could help us

[8:26] out.

[8:28] And ultimately,

[8:32] I had conversations with the city manager, and with city finance trying to figure

[8:37] out the best way to

[8:40] cover expenses for these cameras.

[8:43] There was state aid funding that we had available,

[8:49] and that's ultimately what we used.

[8:51] The money did not come from taxpayers in the city of Montevideo.

[8:55] The state aid funding that we get through the state, and you have so much time to

[9:01] use it or you-

[9:03] That was something that we had a discussion.

[9:06] We thought that this would fit in that area

[9:12] with the state funding that we had.

[9:17] So it brought up the proposal as far as with the cameras.

[9:21] Now, that was listed when that was accepted for the purchase of the two

[9:26] cameras. It was under contract for three years through Flock.

[9:31] And the reason for the three years is I felt three years would give us enough time

[9:36] to see if these cameras benefit our community.

[9:40] I didn't want to sign a longer contract, seven years, 10-year contract with it.

[9:46] I felt three years was adequate

[9:49] for our community at that time.

[9:53] I did add, because after the approval for the

[9:59] cameras, I found out that one location didn't have a live view camera on

[10:05] the quote from

[10:08] Flock. So I added that camera, which that's where it jumped

[10:14] from the 18,000 to the 19,500. The money that was used for that was from our

[10:20] forfeiture funds. So again, that didn't come from, per se, taxpayer dollars.

[10:25] Mm-hmm.

[10:25] Forfeiture fund, how that works is, I'll give you an example.

[10:30] When we are dealing with city ordinance violations, say like junk vehicles that are

[10:34] around town, and we go through the proper notices, and we end up towing them off,

[10:39] and nobody claims them, we sell them on auction.

[10:42] Those proceeds go into the forfeiture fund.

[10:45] So that's the money that was used to cover that extra camera that was put up.

[10:50] And the camera that was put up is just a live view camera on that.

[10:55] That was additional to the LPR, the license plate reader.

[10:59] Okay.

[11:01] I'm sorry, may I piggyback off of that?

[11:03] Yeah.

[11:03] What is the difference? What information does that give you versus the

[11:09] LPR?

[11:11] The live view will capture video. So the license plate

[11:16] reader will capture images-

[11:18] Mm-hmm

[11:19] ... of vehicles and log in, and specifically, those camera's lenses zoom in if

[11:24] they're looking for license plates, so they can identify vehicles-

[11:28] Okay

[11:28] ... as it's going by. The live view is basically just a security camera-

[11:33] Okay

[11:33] ... that is capturing the traffic flow covering those intersections and the areas

[11:39] where those cameras are mounted.

[11:41] Okay.

[11:43] And

[11:45] after the three years is up, you've already paid for the initial cameras?

[11:49] Correct.

[11:51] Will the long-term expense fall on taxpayers?

[11:54] Potentially, yes.

[11:55] Okay.

[11:56] So there's a couple different options, and that's something we look at

[12:00] when it gets closer to the three-year mark is

[12:04] weigh the benefits of it. Is it worth having these cameras?

[12:10] Are we getting the value? Are we getting the security and the benefits that we're

[12:15] hoping that we're going to get from it?

[12:18] If not,

[12:20] then at that time, we get the option of pulling those cameras.

[12:24] If it is a benefit, then what I would certainly look at is grant writing.

[12:28] Okay.

[12:29] There are some different options out there,

[12:32] and

[12:34] ultimately, that's something that we'd have to figure out.

[12:37] Okay.

[12:37] Yep.

[12:40] My next question is, are you aware of the misuse and abuse cases surrounding these

[12:44] cameras across the nation and our state?

[12:46] And how is your department handling these issues in a way that keeps our community

[12:50] safe from instances of abuse?

[12:53] Yes, absolutely. I am aware of different cases that have happened throughout the

[12:58] US.

[13:00] Some of the different safeguards that we put into place are, one,

[13:04] drafting department policy on the operations of the cameras.

[13:09] And some of the safeguards with that is

[13:13] each staff member that has access to the Flock camera system has a login.

[13:18] So if they're going to search for something, basically use that platform, they have

[13:24] to sign in. Everything is logged.

[13:27] So it would show me. If I signed in, if I was going to be looking for something, I

[13:32] would sign in. It's logged that I signed in.

[13:35] Everything I do within that platform is logged.

[13:38] If I search for a specific vehicle at a specific time, everything is logged.

[13:45] So

[13:47] you would potentially, if you want to, you could get a full report on that.

[13:53] Also, our policy is drafted. There's been changes,

[13:57] and

[13:59] anticipating there's going to be future changes with...

[14:04] Flock is a brand.

[14:06] Mm-hmm.

[14:07] The LPRs, there's different brands out there.

[14:10] So the license plate readers, the state

[14:14] is looking at this. There's going to be new case law on it.

[14:17] I've been trying to stay up to date with everything that's going on with that, and

[14:22] we get updates from the state on potential changes as far as

[14:31] the statutes under that. So with our policy, our policy reflects back to

[14:37] Minnesota Statute 13.824, Subdivision 5, Paragraph 6,

[14:43] which covers basically the do's and don'ts of license plate readers.

[14:48] What you can do, what you can search, when you can search, when you need a search

[14:51] warrant in order to search for specific things.

[14:55] If we're looking for a vehicle and it's under a criminal investigation, we have to

[14:59] have a search warrant in order to search for

[15:04] that vehicle and information on that vehicle.

[15:07] That's all covered under

[15:10] Minnesota statute. And then also, the 13.824 also covers under the

[15:16] biannual audit. So

[15:19] we're subject to being audited

[15:22] by the state and have to be able to produce a record showing everything that we've

[15:25] done-

[15:26] Okay

[15:26] ... within that system.

[15:28] Thank you.

[15:32] How many and what types of crimes have these specific cameras helped you solve over

[15:36] the past year? I'm interested in knowing specific cases, if you're able to provide

[15:41] any.

[15:42] So specific cases, I can give you some specifics.

[15:48] Not necessarily names.

[15:50] That's okay.

[15:50] That'd have to be covered under data requests.

[15:53] Understood. Mm-hmm.

[15:55] But certainly, what the camera's been able to, they've helped us with our

[15:58] investigation on some of these driveway shootings.

[16:01] Can't even get into some of the specifics because they're still pending cases.

[16:05] Okay.

[16:06] But

[16:08] the cameras have provided us with critical information that has been used in those

[16:12] investigations. It's also helped surrounding agencies on some

[16:17] serious level cases that they've worked on

[16:22] where individuals have been traveling between our community and their community.

[16:28] We've used it for,

[16:31] there was an incident where it was some suspicious activity, some items that were

[16:35] found in our community that an officer found that led into a welfare

[16:41] check searching for a suicidal individual.

[16:44] Those cameras played in because we found a vehicle off of the cameras, ended up

[16:48] helping another agency and a family get this person the help that they

[16:54] needed at the time.

[16:56] Can I ask a question about that?

[16:57] Sure.

[16:57] Does that make-

[16:58] Yeah.

[16:59] So how many, like you talk about

[17:02] crossing over and helping each other out, so how many different agency

[17:06] organizations have access to our Flock cameras?

[17:09] Sure.

[17:11] And how does that work?

[17:12] Yep, and that's actually on, I think, one of the questions.

[17:15] Oh, it is? Yeah. Sorry.

[17:17] Yep.

[17:20] That was on here.

[17:22] There's two agencies right now that have access, and that'd be Bloomer and Kaneohe

[17:26] by county. But like I've explained in different council meetings updates

[17:32] with the Flock system,

[17:35] how that works is they can't just go in and search for anything.

[17:41] So they log in, and they have permissions to be able to, on our system, they have

[17:45] to log in with a case number,

[17:49] and it'll show us what they pulled up.

[17:54] Okay. So that's just organized-

[17:56] Everything's recorded on the system.

[17:59] Yep.

[18:02] This is kind of redundant, but do you feel they have significantly helped the

[18:06] Montevideo Police Department do their job over the past years compared to previous

[18:10] years where we did not have them?

[18:15] We should run on the same one here.

[18:17] I'm on number four.

[18:20] Oh, yeah.

[18:21] Beating cases. Yes. Now,

[18:26] how often the system is used, not on a regular basis.

[18:33] The cameras are used when we got specific reasons

[18:39] to be searching for different things.

[18:45] Under certain criminal investigations that we've been working, yes.

[18:50] Long-term, we're a year into it. I think we're approaching a year

[18:56] mark with it. I would say yes, as far as worth.

[18:59] Now at three years, that's something we're going to have to evaluate.

[19:03] I'm not going to say that the

[19:08] cameras stopped certain illegal activity, but

[19:13] through the course of the different investigations with the drive-by shootings,

[19:19] we haven't had anything in over a year.

[19:22] Mm-hmm.

[19:23] Now,

[19:27] that didn't stop just because of the flock cameras.

[19:30] Yeah.

[19:30] But the flock cameras helped us in those investigations.

[19:32] That makes sense.

[19:33] And we've got individuals that have been sentenced and are most likely going to be

[19:38] sentenced to prison.

[19:39] Mm-hmm. So some of those cases have been solved since then?

[19:42] Yes.

[19:46] Okay. I don't really know if... My number five was what's

[19:52] the long-term goal of this contract and what's the expected long-term expense?

[19:55] We've kind of covered that. We don't actually know the answer yet.

[20:01] In a rural city with an extremely low crime rate per capita, do you have any

[20:05] specific data showing that flock cameras create statistically lower crime rates?

[20:13] There's been some different studies that have been put out there, but nothing's

[20:17] been

[20:19] really cited on that. As far as for us, I can give some examples of

[20:27] how the cameras have helped us in certain investigations that were, I'm not going

[20:31] to say the cases wouldn't have been solved, but

[20:37] by having the access to those cameras put us in the right direction,

[20:44] and definitely sped up those investigations.

[20:49] There could've been something down the road that a witness would come forward or

[20:54] something like that.

[20:56] But otherwise, that was the lead that got us in the right direction.

[21:01] Okay.

[21:03] One of these flock cameras near the intersection by Cuppa Joe appears to be an

[21:07] addition to four cameras on top of the stoplight that points in all directions.

[21:12] Would you feel justified having an additional surveillance in that area that

[21:16] already has it?

[21:17] Sure. I'm not sure. Did I email you

[21:21] on that?

[21:22] Uh-uh. I don't know.

[21:23] I thought I did.

[21:24] Anyways.

[21:24] Maybe I did, because I wanted to just have a discussion here.

[21:28] Those are not cameras. Those are EVP detectors,

[21:35] which is for emergency response vehicles, ambulances,

[21:39] fire trucks, police. What those do is they pick up-- It's a flashing

[21:45] light emitter on emergency vehicles.

[21:49] They flash at a certain rate, and they'll trip the sensors on the lights, so

[21:55] they change.

[21:57] Thank you.

[21:57] The traffic lights to green to allow emergency vehicles to go through.

[22:01] There's no cameras on those lights.

[22:03] Thank you.

[22:05] Yep.

[22:06] What resolutions do you foresee could satisfy the widespread public concerns at

[22:11] hand?

[22:17] As far as concern, I mean, just a part of it, is having discussions on this.

[22:22] And we've had numerous different discussions with the city council, prior to

[22:26] purchasing, giving updates on January 5th and

[22:32] August 17th of this year, updates on the flock cameras, and

[22:39] to try and be transparent with the city council on some of the concerns that were

[22:44] coming up with flock cameras.

[22:47] And we've had different discussions throughout the way.

[22:51] When we

[22:53] essentially signed the contract with flock cameras, got the cameras up literally

[22:57] within a month is when things started going up with flock.

[23:00] Mm-hmm.

[23:01] Once we had them installed, that's when we started having different discussions on

[23:06] this.

[23:09] And I've been doing my best as far as monitoring to see where things are going with

[23:14] it and to make sure that we are doing the right things, we're handling the data

[23:18] appropriately, and we've got safeguards for our agency as far as with

[23:25] the department policies on it. We're following the state statute on it.

[23:30] And I think I kind of touched on that.

[23:31] That's going to be evolving because there's different

[23:35] case laws that are going to

[23:37] potentially change some of that, and operations, and how we can utilize

[23:43] that technology.

[23:45] Sure.

[23:47] That's really all I had.

[23:52] I guess, to be honest,

[23:55] it's hard to explain all of my concerns

[23:59] here with my limited public speaking skills.

[24:04] Do you mind if I also give you one of these?

[24:06] Yeah, absolutely.

[24:06] These are just my honest thoughts.

[24:08] Yep.

[24:08] My honest concerns, and thank you for answering all these questions.

[24:13] I do feel like this was productive and helpful.

[24:18] I guess I'm honestly just concerned that while technology advances, who

[24:23] has access to these, and what are they capable of?

[24:27] We start with one harmless thing,

[24:31] and 50 years down the road, what does it become?

[24:36] And that's really what I've written about in

[24:41] the paperwork that I've handed you guys.

[24:44] And obviously, Ken has answered these questions well.

[24:49] I think his answers are comforting.

[24:52] But like I said, as technology continues to advance, will those answers stay the

[24:56] same?

[24:57] That's my main worry.

[25:00] And I think everybody here probably has concerns themselves, and it's

[25:05] something that we as a council, and Ken as the chief, being able

[25:11] to provide us and

[25:15] give us the proper information on how everything is being used and making sure that

[25:21] our department... I'm not going to speak for other departments because obviously

[25:26] you've seen in the news, and everybody's seen in the news that people are misusing

[25:30] them. But as far as our department goes and the policies we have set,

[25:37] I think everybody that sits here can say

[25:41] we trust our police department.

[25:44] And it's a touchy subject. Flock cameras are all over the

[25:50] news, and you hear about it every single day.

[25:55] But

[25:56] I trust that man right there in our department on making sure we're doing the right

[26:01] thing, and they've got the stuff in line.

[26:05] And I think the five of us that are sitting here, the elected officials that are

[26:09] sitting here, if something was to go wrong and the flock cameras need to go down,

[26:16] I can guarantee you probably got the votes to take them down.

[26:19] But right now, we feel because Ken has given us updates, he's given us regular

[26:25] updates, and he's very good at doing that,

[26:29] and who knows what's going to happen in three years when the contract is up?

[26:35] Ken may come and say, "You know what?

[26:37] They're not helping us much anymore."

[26:39] We don't know that until the time comes.

[26:42] And

[26:45] you're right, things are going to change. Other things are going to come around.

[26:49] There's going to be a lot of different things that are going to come through the

[26:53] security systems on everything. And I just think that as long as

[26:59] we're being informed, we're informing the public.

[27:01] You can go back, like Ken said, he's been here three times or two times now, and

[27:08] fill us in and helped us out because we've all had questions, too.

[27:13] Becky, can-- Yes.

[27:14] Oh, sorry.

[27:15] No

[27:28] Our police department to use our flock cameras, and if they did, would we be

[27:33] allowed to?

[27:34] I've had a discussion with

[27:38] the ICE agents that were working in our community, that were working in this area,

[27:44] and they never had access to our cameras.

[27:48] ICE and Department of Homeland Security have their own stuff.

[27:52] I think they asked for it.

[27:55] Yeah.

[27:57] All the agents that have worked in our community never asked to have access.

[28:03] Yep.

[28:05] Yes, Mark.

[28:07] Well, I apologize. I haven't got the best hearing, and I'm not hearing you people

[28:11] very well.

[28:14] Mark Garvey, 303 North Third Street. I'm an individual.

[28:19] It's another tool in our toolbox.

[28:22] I don't think you people think about it.

[28:24] When I worked part-time as a jailer dispatcher,

[28:29] nights when I was dispatching, I got the CD system up there, and every one of you

[28:34] that are here, I could look you up anytime I wanted to.

[28:38] But I can't. It's against the law. The only time I can enter anything in there and

[28:43] look up something is when a police officer or a sheriff's deputy or the courts ask

[28:48] me to look up information for them.

[28:51] It's the honesty of the people that are running the system.

[28:54] Exactly.

[28:55] We got fraud in this state. Does that bother anybody?

[29:00] It's honesty,

[29:02] and if you can't trust your police chief, then you better get a new police chief.

[29:07] Do you worry about when you're driving through Walmart parking lots?

[29:11] Who's monitoring there? What are those people that are sitting up there in the

[29:14] upper office doing with that recordings they're doing?

[29:19] Every Ring camera every house has got, what are they doing with that information?

[29:25] We've got to give our law enforcement as much help as we can because

[29:31] crime isn't getting any less. I can remember in the sheriff's department with the

[29:35] sheriff and a deputy sheriff, and when they were both busy, they gave the keys to

[29:40] an inmate to answer the phone.

[29:44] And that's a fact. He was a trustee.

[29:48] When he had the jail key, he could let the rest of the inmates out.

[29:55] But you got to give them every tool they can in their toolbox to combat crime

[30:00] because it isn't getting any less in this community.

[30:03] And then if you've got a couple officers on leave, you're shorthanded.

[30:07] Look at Minneapolis. It's getting to be a criminal city.

[30:14] And as long as a consent agenda,

[30:17] I wish you'd all drive in my alley behind me.

[30:23] That is a garbage pit.

[30:26] We got to clean up property in this community, and the way to do it, in the spring

[30:31] of the year, tour the community, make a list of who they are, and start sending

[30:36] letters.

[30:38] Don't take them on individual complaints, and it isn't a law enforcement job to do

[30:42] it.

[30:44] It's right here at city administration where it stops.

[30:49] But take a look. I took and killed all the weeds back there, but now you can see

[30:54] all the garbage. Please drive through there and look at the crap that's there.

[30:59] Yep.

[30:59] Thank you.

[31:00] Thank you.

[31:00] Mark,

[31:01] I'll drive by your house tomorrow, but at our last council meeting, we did address

[31:05] and approve that we're going to start fining folks for having-

[31:07] Yep

[31:07] ... blighted properties because a letter just isn't working.

[31:11] Yeah. Appreciate that.

[31:12] So we're going to start getting financial fines for that.

[31:15] Appreciate that. Thank you.

[31:16] Changed everything last week or two weeks ago.

[31:19] Two weeks ago.

[31:19] Two weeks ago. Yeah. Thanks, Mark.

[31:22] I just have one more thing, and then I'll let you guys get to the rest of your

[31:26] agenda.

[31:28] I hear Mark, and I hear the rest of you say, "We trust Ken.

[31:32] We trust our police department." But I've never met Ken before, and neither has

[31:37] most of Monona video. So I can't just say I trust that what Ken's doing.

[31:41] I need you to just understand.

[31:44] It's not that easy for those of us who don't work with him.

[31:49] So what can we do to foster relationships amongst our community that we could trust

[31:54] our police department as a whole?

[31:57] I don't need an answer right now, but maybe that's part of our resolution

[32:03] is just fostering more of a-

[32:06] That's why we have the National Night Out.

[32:09] We have the National Night Out, and that's what it's there for.

[32:13] It's there to

[32:15] let our community interact with our police department and the emergency services we

[32:20] have.

[32:27] Could we do it more instead of just doing it that one night a week, that one night

[32:31] a year, instead of having just the National Night Out and do something?

[32:35] Obviously, we could probably do something like that, but that's why the National

[32:38] Night Out is there, is to

[32:41] interact with the police department and actually realize that that man in the blue

[32:47] that carries a gun

[32:49] is a human being. And

[32:54] that's one thing that we can say is-- And you're right. You don't know him.

[32:59] We've known him. I've known him since before he was even chief. And it's a trust.

[33:05] And

[33:07] as elected officials,

[33:10] we've got to also let the community know that you

[33:16] guys, everybody needs to trust our police department.

[33:19] It may not be the proper in what people think

[33:24] that they can't trust a policeman, but you can trust a police officer.

[33:30] If we could, then there wouldn't be these cases of misuse and abuse of flock

[33:34] cameras. We can't just say-

[33:35] I'm not talking for the rest. I'm not-

[33:38] What's the percentage of that if there's cops in America?

[33:40] What's the percentage of people that have been abusing it?

[33:43] I don't actually know the answer to that.

[33:44] I mean-

[33:45] But it still raises concerns.

[33:46] It does.

[33:47] You can't just say, "I trust him because-"

[33:49] Well, sure you can, but I mean, there's been probably 100 of them in the whole

[33:52] United States, and there's 300 million people. That's a pretty low percentage.

[33:56] I understand.

[33:57] You know?

[33:58] Does it-

[33:59] I think a great part of her concern, how you get the information out.

[34:03] Here in the next couple weeks, we're going to have a new newspaper in town.

[34:06] Very much so. Yes.

[34:08] And they are determined to get information out.

[34:13] And that, what's lacking a little bit a lot here, newspaper, and I'll add the radio

[34:19] station to it.

[34:20] Mm-hmm.

[34:20] We are not getting information out. I'm a subscriber.

[34:25] I guess I've just done it because I've done it for 900 years.

[34:29] But there's nothing in it, and that's what these investors are doing, and they're

[34:34] doing a new newspaper. The mayor is aware of it because he sits on the EDA with me,

[34:37] and so does Steve, and Gwen.

[34:42] And then when they get the newspaper, we got to support it and subscribe to it.

[34:46] Yeah.

[34:49] Because newspaper isn't cheap.

[34:51] And the past meetings are on our website

[34:57] for when Ken has approached us and given us updates.

[35:01] And

[35:03] Marv is completely right. We haven't had that ability of a

[35:09] newspaper to

[35:12] help us get the information out.

[35:16] Yeah, you can rely on social media and all this stuff, but

[35:18] I'd much rather sit and

[35:24] hold it than search it. That's me. I'm a technology

[35:30] idiot.

[35:31] Well, the reality is all the technology we have, we all have these sitting in front

[35:35] of us-

[35:36] Mm-hmm

[35:36] ... that listen to us all day long. Most of our homes-- I live in the neighborhood

[35:40] that had the shootings. I don't know if I necessarily thought it was going to be

[35:44] flock cameras, but our neighborhood was terrified for a long time.

[35:48] We wouldn't play in our yards. We didn't want to sit on our deck.

[35:51] The drive-by shootings were two doors down from me, and it was terrifying to live

[35:56] in that. I think that at least knowing that our cops were doing something, which

[36:01] gave us a little bit of that peace of mind, even though there's still activity or

[36:06] those things, there was something that gave that peace of mind.

[36:10] But we all have cameras in our neighborhoods.

[36:12] You go to any street in town, you're probably being recorded.

[36:16] The thing is, is we're not all sitting and looking at the recordings all the time.

[36:21] I've had policemen show up to my house and say, "Do you have a recording on this

[36:25] day from this time?" Yeah, I do. But I don't just sit and look at my surveillance,

[36:30] same as the way the cops aren't doing that for the flock.

[36:34] And I think we just have to remember that.

[36:35] I mean, every store we go to, every street we walk down, everything, unfortunately,

[36:39] we are probably being watched in different ways.

[36:42] If we own a cell phone, we're being listened to. They can be hacked.

[36:46] Our Facebook accounts can all have those things, too.

[36:49] But I think it's just really trying to do your own due diligence on

[36:56] ... what you're putting out there and how we're using those devices, and just

[37:00] trying to have a little bit of that trust and faith in some of those systems that

[37:05] we have. So I don't know where I stand on FLOC, but I know like I said, it does

[37:11] give me a little peace of mind being in that neighborhood that had the drive-by

[37:14] shootings.

[37:18] The only comment I have,

[37:20] Taylor, I've been doing this for two years, and I commend your courage because

[37:24] you're the first person in two years to come here, probably way outside of your

[37:28] comfort zone.

[37:30] So although we don't necessarily agree, but I appreciate you coming and voicing

[37:34] your concerns because just for everybody who's watching, keeping your concerns to

[37:40] yourself and not sharing them,

[37:42] how is anything going to change? So where will we be in three years or two years

[37:47] now? I don't know. Can't look that far forward, but I do appreciate you coming and

[37:52] planting the seed for all of us to think about 18 months from now when it's time to

[37:58] get rid of, change to a different one, or keep it.

[38:01] It should be determined, but I do appreciate you coming.

[38:05] I wish more folks would step up like you and come to council when they have a

[38:09] concern.

[38:10] Mm-hmm.

[38:10] So at least we're aware of it, and more just mad about it.

[38:14] Well, they didn't ask a question like you did, and you can ask him.

[38:17] They're like, "What's the deal?" Well, come and ask him.

[38:20] I'm sure you learned something today, whether it was good, bad, or otherwise-

[38:24] Yeah

[38:24] ... what you wanted to hear or not wanted to hear.

[38:26] No, I think this was truly productive.

[38:28] Exactly.

[38:28] Yep, it was.

[38:30] On both sides.

[38:31] Yeah. I would still appreciate it if you would read my thoughts and take them into

[38:33] account.

[38:34] Most certainly will. I mean-

[38:36] I didn't expect you to agree with me. I just wanted to be heard.

[38:39] Yeah.

[38:39] To be clear, we can all agree or disagree.

[38:41] Like I said, I'm glad you came.

[38:42] Yeah.

[38:42] Yeah, and we appre-

[38:44] And I think we can do that

[38:44] ... yeah, we appreciate it. And we've got the list here of the people that have

[38:49] signed the petition and stuff, which we'll go through, and your concerns

[38:55] that you've brought up,

[38:57] I'm glad you did it.

[39:01] If more people, instead of just sitting back and complaining on their couch, would

[39:06] come down here and talk to us, I think it would clear up a lot of different things

[39:09] in the community and in society itself.

[39:13] You did a very good job, and I'm proud of you.

[39:16] Very nice. And I think as the discussion's going on and I'm listening to everybody,

[39:21] I think everybody in this room has the same goal is the safety of our families, of

[39:27] our loved ones and friends, everybody.

[39:31] And I think that is the main goal

[39:49] of

[39:49] That's all you have?

[39:51] Thank you.

[39:51] Thank you very much. I'm going to go put my kids to bed.

[39:55] They're probably waiting for mom.

[39:57] Okay.

[40:02] Thanks, Marv, for speaking too.

[40:04] Yeah, and I missed "Wheel of Fortune."

[40:06] Oh, nuts.

[40:09] There's a rerun tonight anyway, Marv.

[40:13] With my memory, I wouldn't know that.

[40:17] Okay, let's move on to the consent agenda.

[40:21] 5A, consider approval of verified claims, period ending September

[40:27] 17th of 2026, with the new amount of

[40:30] $288,158.72.

[40:37] 5B, consider application from Two Rivers Chapter Minnesota Deer Hunters Association

[40:42] for exemption from lawful gambling license requirement.

[40:47] And 5C, consider application for Trinity Lutheran

[40:53] Church of Montevideo for exemption from lawful gambling license

[40:59] requirement.

[41:03] I will make a motion to approve.

[41:05] A motion by Steve.

[41:07] I'll second.

[41:08] Second by Jared. All in favor?

[41:11] Aye.

[41:12] Approved. Motion approves.

[41:15] We'll go on to general business.

[41:18] Consider application submitted by Becky Daley of Java River Coffee Shop for the use

[41:23] of City Street for the Montevideo Meetup on Friday, October 2nd,

[41:30] 2026 from 5:00 to 10:00 PM.

[41:34] If you guys would like, I can read through the descriptions and stuff like that,

[41:38] but I think that this is something that Becky has done the past few years, and

[41:44] Becky is here to address us if need be.

[41:47] Yeah, if you have any questions about that.

[41:48] We're adding something to the meetup this year that does require city approval, per

[41:55] Robert

[41:58] I guess. So first of all, do you guys have any questions about what the Money

[42:01] Meetup is?

[42:02] Just state your name and everything for the cameras.

[42:04] Oh, sorry.

[42:06] Because that's what they tell us to do every time.

[42:07] They're always such a pain in the a*s.

[42:08] Follow the rules.

[42:09] Yeah. My name is Rebecca Daley. I live at 900 William Avenue in Montevideo.

[42:17] So the Creatives, if you guys are aware of them, they are this organization in

[42:21] town. They're about two years old at this point.

[42:26] I am part of that. They just did the mural downtown.

[42:29] They were a big driving force behind that.

[42:31] So they've always obviously had a really active role in Money Meetups before by

[42:36] doing some kind of interactive art.

[42:39] This year,

[42:41] what we need permission for is we'd like to, and I don't know if you guys have ever

[42:45] seen... I had to look for it myself. There's been a lot of street painting.

[42:50] Granite does it a lot. Theirs is a little bit more permanent than what we're

[42:54] looking to do.

[42:56] So we're looking to just be able to in parking spaces, not all over the road, so

[43:02] it's crazy, but on Main Street-

[43:03] Like school does in their parking spots?

[43:05] Yes. Kind of. Yes. They're a little more long-term. Exactly.

[43:09] So- Yeah, kind of like that.

[43:10] If somebody wants to go have a look, they get the idea.

[43:12] Yeah. And this is the logo for the Montevideo Creatives.

[43:18] And so it'd be something very similar, like the circle, but not quite as

[43:21] embellished because that would be a huge waste of time to do all of that.

[43:27] Because we can freehand, or some people can freehand that.

[43:31] So it will still look good.

[43:34] The thoughts right now are tempera paints for the outline, and then people would

[43:39] just fill it in with chalk. So it wouldn't be a whole lot of paint on the street.

[43:45] And with tempera paint, it's still water-based.

[43:47] It will last depending on weather, anywhere from a week to two months, honestly.

[43:52] It's just really a-

[43:53] How many are you thinking to do at once?

[43:56] Six total, maybe, because we're going to basically have like-

[43:58] In street?

[43:59] Yeah.

[43:59] Are you looking on the street or in the parking stalls?

[44:03] Well, I'm thinking it more like in the parking, so it's not going, like I said, not

[44:06] going to interfere with anybody being confused-

[44:09] C-7 is not for a reason

[44:11] ... on that center line. I don't know if you spend any time on Main Street, maybe

[44:14] it will help. I don't know. It's crazy down there.

[44:18] But yeah, so out of the way, not in the middle of the street, and we can just kind

[44:22] of cone them off the week before, so we can get the

[44:26] outline done. There's always an excess of them on the sidewalk chalk at the Money

[44:30] Meetup, so this is a great way to direct that.

[44:35] This is part of the meander, right?

[44:37] Mm-hmm.

[44:37] Do you need barricades to make sure nobody gets run over?

[44:40] Yes. I was going to ask you guys about that as well.

[44:43] Because Tess has always been more hands-on in this one in the past, so she's always

[44:48] shown up with barricades, and I just don't know where she gets them.

[44:50] I don't know if- I just got them for an event over there where I work, and I think

[44:55] they're like $5 a barricade, and you just have to contact...

[45:00] Ryan?

[45:00] Yep. Thank you. In Lake City.

[45:02] Oh, that works.

[45:03] Yep. Okay. Oh, okay, perfect. And they, did you just pick them up?

[45:06] Did you pick them up? He dropped them off. Dropped them off. Okay.

[45:08] Or somebody dropped them off.

[45:09] Easy for you.

[45:10] They appeared. Well, that's usually the thing.

[45:13] Like I don't even see them come and go. They just appear and disappear.

[45:16] So I can- And they usually come pick them up, too. Yeah.

[45:18] It is on your-

[45:20] That's great

[45:20] ... on the application here, the staff comments that the area proposed to be used

[45:25] is the streets and sidewalks between Canyon and Nichols.

[45:28] The area will be barricaded.

[45:30] Mm-hmm. Yep.

[45:31] We will be providing barricades. The street barricades like we do for fiesta days

[45:35] and-

[45:35] Yep. Oh, cool. Yep. That'd be perfect, and like I said, it's not even that big.

[45:40] Yeah.

[45:40] I would just say coordinate with Ryan, though.

[45:43] Yeah.

[45:43] Or city staff. Just-

[45:45] Yeah, someone

[45:45] ... coordinate with Robert when it comes closer.

[45:47] Yep. We'll make sure that we get them.

[45:49] It's temporary paint back in meander. I don't see an issue.

[45:52] I don't know what everybody else says, but like I said, it's tempera paint and

[45:56] chalk.

[45:57] Yeah. It's not-

[45:58] It's a good idea. Are you involved?

[46:00] No, as maybe it's going to turn into the Sahara here, and it's going to be like

[46:03] permanently imprinted or something crazy becauseWe've lacked some training, but

[46:07] yeah, I think it'd be cool.

[46:09] I know years ago they were talking about doing chalk art during the meander on the

[46:15] sidewalks.

[46:15] Mm.

[46:16] Before.

[46:17] Yeah.

[46:18] Everybody gets a square.

[46:19] Mm-hmm. Yep.

[46:20] Do your own little chalk thing.

[46:22] Oh, for sure.

[46:24] But yeah, I have no problem with it. I don't know.

[46:27] I think it's fine. Okay, cool.

[46:30] So circle your parking lots. Go ahead.

[46:34] Thank you. With great pleasure, I will circle them. Thank you.

[46:40] All right. Do we have a-

[46:41] I'll make a motion to approve.

[46:42] I'll second it.

[46:43] Got a motion by Jared and second by Gwen. All in favor?

[46:47] Aye.

[46:47] Aye. Aye.

[46:48] Opposed? Thanks, Becky.

[46:50] Thank you.

[46:55] 7B, consider resolution establishing the preliminary 2027 tax

[47:01] levy.

[47:03] Minnesota State statute requires the city to adopt a preliminary

[47:06] 2027 tax levy and certify the levy to the county

[47:12] auditor by September 30th of 2026.

[47:16] The preliminary 2027 levy is not necessarily the

[47:22] levy which will be proposed as a final levy in December.

[47:26] Under certain circumstances, the levy may be increased.

[47:31] Comment by staff, preliminary levy has been incorporated into the preliminary

[47:36] budget. Overall levy increase is 9.48%.

[47:42] Recommended approval. Other options is to increase or lower the levy and

[47:47] direct staff as to corresponding budget changes.

[47:54] Legal issue, preliminary levy must be certified to the county by

[48:00] September 30th of 2026.

[48:05] And if you guys remember,

[48:08] during our budget discussions, we set kind of a limit-

[48:12] Yep

[48:12] ... on what we, as far as the height, as far as the budget or levy could

[48:18] go, and

[48:20] I think Jill did a job. They did a job by even going lower than

[48:26] what we had hoped.

[48:30] Well, the general fund levy is at 15%.

[48:33] You guys said 15, but you might get around 13.

[48:36] Mm-hmm.

[48:36] So yeah, we can go forward.

[48:39] Okay.

[48:39] And then not getting in negotiation for insurance.

[48:42] Insurance.

[48:43] Yes.

[48:44] Mm-hmm.

[48:51] I will offer the resolution.

[48:54] Resolution offered by Steve.

[48:56] I'll second.

[48:56] Second by Bev. It is a resolution requiring four votes. Gwen?

[49:00] Aye.

[49:03] Jared?

[49:04] Aye.

[49:06] Bev?

[49:06] Aye.

[49:07] Steve?

[49:07] Aye.

[49:08] And I. Resolution is carries.

[49:12] It's still me.

[49:14] You think so? Consider resolution approving preliminary

[49:19] 2027 budget. The charter for the City of Montevideo requires

[49:25] that the budget shall be the principal item of business at the first regular

[49:29] monthly meeting of council in September.

[49:33] The council shall hold adjourned meetings from time to time until all estimates

[49:39] have been considered, chapter 7.06.

[49:43] In addition, the state legislation requires the adoption of a preliminary levy and

[49:49] preliminary budget by September 30th.

[49:53] Comments by staff, recommendations from the work sessions of August 3rd and August

[49:59] 10th have been incorporated into the preliminary budget.

[50:02] A discussion of the preliminary budget has been held on September 8th at the city

[50:06] council meeting, as the resolution requires four votes.

[50:29] I'll make a motion to approve the budget.

[50:32] To offer the resolution?

[50:33] Yep.

[50:33] Okay. We got a motion by Jared.

[50:36] I'll second.

[50:37] Second by Bev. This is a resolution requiring four votes. Bev?

[50:41] Aye.

[50:42] Steve?

[50:42] Aye.

[50:44] Jared?

[50:44] Aye.

[50:45] Gwen?

[50:46] Aye.

[50:46] And I. Resolution carries.

[50:50] Consider resolution approving the EDA tax levy for 2027.

[50:57] The city has the authority to levy a tax for the use by the EDA.

[51:02] This was approved by the city in 2026, and the EDA is requesting it again for

[51:08] 2027. The tax is based on the maximum of

[51:14] 0.01813 of the market value of the city,

[51:21] which was $68,800 for the taxes

[51:26] payable in 2026.

[51:31] Staff comment, the City of Montevideo final market value for tax payable in 2027

[51:37] has not been calculated at this time.

[51:39] The resolution states the percentage which will be used.

[51:44] The levy for 2027 is estimated at this time and will be

[51:49] adjusted to the actual when the final market value is calculated,

[51:56] and attaches the approved resolution.

[52:03] And this tax is

[52:06] essential for the EDA to do their business. Operate.

[52:12] I'll offer the resolution.

[52:15] So we've got resolution offered by Steve.

[52:17] I'll second.

[52:18] Second by Gwen, and this is a resolution requiring four votes. Bev?

[52:22] Aye.

[52:23] Steve?

[52:23] Aye.

[52:24] Jared?

[52:25] Aye.

[52:25] Gwen?

[52:26] Aye.

[52:26] And I. Resolution carries.

[52:31] 7E, consider selection of date for the city

[52:37] public comment meeting to discuss the 2027 budget and levy.

[52:43] The city must announce information about public comment meeting at which the

[52:48] council will be discussing the 2027 budget and levy.

[52:54] This is a meeting information must also be given to the Chippewa County,

[53:01] so it can include the parcel-specific notices.

[53:05] The meeting must be held between November 25th and December 28th, 2026, and it must

[53:11] be held at 6:00 PM or later. Recommendation by staff,

[53:17] staff recommends that the public comment

[53:21] meeting be held on December 6th or December 7th, 2026 at

[53:27] 7:00.

[53:29] We could choose another date between November 25th and December 28th, but that's

[53:34] the one that they have

[53:36] picked for us.

[53:38] And I believe-

[53:39] That's a city council meeting, right?

[53:40] That's a city council meeting at 7:00. So we'd be here at 6:00.

[53:45] We're here later.

[53:45] Yeah.

[53:49] It'll be at 7:00, so it's the same as the council meeting.

[53:52] Mm-hmm. Yeah. That works.

[53:54] Sounds good.

[53:55] We're already going to be here.

[53:56] Yeah.

[53:57] So are you?

[53:58] Yep. I had a good feeling.

[54:01] You need this as a motion?

[54:02] Mm-hmm.

[54:02] Okay. You want to make that motion?

[54:05] I'll make the motion.

[54:06] We have a motion by Jared.

[54:09] I'll second.

[54:09] Second by Bev.

[54:11] All in favor?

[54:12] Aye.

[54:12] Aye. Aye.

[54:14] Motion carries.

[54:17] Consider resolution designating election judges for the 2026 general election.

[54:24] Election judges need to be appointed for the general election on November 3rd,

[54:28] 2026. The resolution has been prepared which names election judges and

[54:34] alternate judges.

[54:37] By previous resolution, the council approved the tack as the polling site for the

[54:43] 2026 for both Montevideo precincts.

[54:49] Designate, and it's got your list of all the different judges and stuff like that.

[55:02] I can enter the vote.

[55:04] For the resolution.

[55:05] We got a resolution-

[55:06] Resolution

[55:07] ... yeah, motioned by Bev.

[55:08] I'll second.

[55:09] Second by Gwen. This is a resolution requiring four votes. Gwen?

[55:14] Aye.

[55:14] Jared?

[55:15] Aye.

[55:15] Steve?

[55:16] Aye.

[55:16] Bev?

[55:17] Aye.

[55:17] And I. Resolution carries.

[55:21] Consider a resolution accepting gifts and grants from various organizations and

[55:26] individuals. Donations and/or grants have been received from various

[55:32] organizations and individual, which may be formally accepted by the city.

[55:36] According to Minnesota State Statute 465.03,

[55:42] gifts from municipalities, the city must accept all donations, grants by

[55:47] resolution, adopting by two-thirds majority vote by the members.

[55:51] Resolution is attached on the donations, and it's Montevideo Family Dentistry

[55:57] for the splash pad of $200.

[56:01] I'll offer resolution.

[56:03] Offered by Steve. Second by Bev. This is a resolution requiring four votes.

[56:11] Gwen.

[56:12] Aye.

[56:13] Jared.

[56:13] Aye.

[56:14] Bev.

[56:15] Aye.

[56:15] Steve.

[56:15] Aye.

[56:16] And aye, resolution carries.

[56:19] And

[56:22] we have no ordinances. That is the end of our general business.

[56:26] We have no ordinances.

[56:30] Boards and commission updates. Anybody?

[56:33] I'll talk about the EDA little bit.

[56:35] Marv kind of talked to us about the newspaper that is coming up.

[56:41] We discussed that at the EDA meeting.

[56:43] They're hoping to be up and running, what did he say, October 1st?

[56:47] Yeah.

[56:47] It's kind of the initial plan. And so like Marv said, try to support our local

[56:52] paper as they get that up and running. Seven different investors coming together.

[56:57] Are they going to print it in Montevideo?

[56:58] I don't know if it'll be printed in Montevideo.

[57:00] It's in Minnesota, but it's not in Montevideo.

[57:02] Yeah. But it sounds like they're really trying hard to have reporters going to

[57:07] events, things like city council meetings, bringing it back to local, sports, those

[57:11] things. And it'll be a regular paper, not like a brochure-type

[57:18] booklet like how it has been. But watch for that information and help support local

[57:23] when you can.

[57:27] Mm-hmm. Yeah, it's really exciting.

[57:28] And

[57:31] to Beast, Kyle.

[57:33] Oh.

[57:34] Thank you. I kept wanting to say Kevin, and I know it wasn't right.

[57:36] He is just jazzed up and ready to go, and it was just so fun to see his enthusiasm

[57:41] and

[57:43] just to get this up and running and to get these things in.

[57:46] He seems very driven, along with the other group of people, so it'll be exciting to

[57:50] see.

[57:51] That's excellent news for the city.

[57:54] Yeah, it really is.

[57:55] I think everybody's looking forward to it.

[57:58] Anybody else?

[58:00] I don't have anything right now.

[58:01] Airport

[58:03] is the 20-something, I can't remember, but sometime in September here

[58:09] at the end.

[58:11] For those that said on the CCM Health, they do have a couple announcements.

[58:17] Are we able to say these? Are they public yet?

[58:22] Wait.

[58:22] I think they are.

[58:23] I think they are. They said on Facebook.

[58:24] Yeah, I think they're public.

[58:25] Go ahead and say it. We already said it. Not saying it's something beyond.

[58:28] Yeah. But CCM Health was officially named number eight best place to work

[58:34] in healthcare in the nation by the Modern Healthcare.

[58:39] That's the highest rating we've gotten yet.

[58:42] We were ninth last year.

[58:43] Yeah, we were ninth last year.

[58:46] Also, we were number one in the healthiest place to work in healthcare

[58:51] among providers and insurers, and we were number two best place to

[58:57] work in the nation in the medium-sized employees category.

[59:02] So that kind of sums up on

[59:06] the hospital board meeting. We didn't have this

[59:11] month because they were at

[59:14] this awards ceremony, which I think speaks very highly for our hospital and

[59:19] clinic that we have here in town.

[59:24] Anything else? Nothing from anybody?

[59:26] All right, we'll go around the-

[59:27] I was just going to say, the last two Saturdays I joined the Chippewa County

[59:31] Historical Board. And so I mentioned that they were having a horse draw, which

[59:36] turned out really, really well. It was a beautiful day. A lot of people came out.

[59:40] Good.

[59:40] It was a little lower than the year before, but it was just my first week into it.

[59:45] Last Saturday, they had the barn dance, the first year that they tried the barn

[59:50] dance. Weather did not cooperate, you guys, on Friday. They said Saturday.

[59:53] It was Friday night, and it was that rainy, yucky night.

[59:56] More like a Halloween scary night.

[59:58] Mm-hmm.

[59:59] But they had a pretty low crowd that came. However, it didn't scare us out.

[1:00:05] We're going to try again next year.

[1:00:07] Good. And we'll go around the table.

[1:00:11] Mike, are you done playing Tic-Tac-Toe or whatever you're doing over there?

[1:00:14] Yeah, pretty much.

[1:00:15] All right. You got anything for us?

[1:00:16] Probably not much of an update for you guys.

[1:00:19] I'm sure you've been around or have seen most of the improvements

[1:00:22] construction-wise. Paving has been done up on William Avenue.

[1:00:26] There is still a little bit of concrete work to finish up on the corners, and that

[1:00:30] is planned to be done when they come to finish once 13th is at that point.

[1:00:36] On 13th Street, they did wrap up the main utilities, I believe

[1:00:42] this morning, with water main, and so the next phase would be to reconnect all the

[1:00:46] services. And so that'll take up

[1:00:50] probably better part of this week, especially if the weather continues to kind of

[1:00:53] play a factor. So

[1:00:55] not complicated work, just kind of tedious, takes some time.

[1:00:59] So I'd say over the next couple of weeks, we'll be finishing the services and then

[1:01:02] the street sub cut and hauling new gravel, hopefully sometime next week.

[1:01:07] So moving along, I would anticipate concrete hopefully the beginning part of

[1:01:12] October for 13th and the finish on up on William.

[1:01:15] So trudging ahead there. Ashmore Trail, that

[1:01:21] project is also kind of getting close to the end.

[1:01:25] I would say the bulk of it is complete. All the paving has been done.

[1:01:30] The concrete pedestrian ramps were completed as well last week.

[1:01:33] So now there's just at the pedestrian ramps on a few of them, there's a little

[1:01:38] hole, if you will, right before that in the street section that needs to be patched

[1:01:41] with bituminous. So outside of that, if you're able to get on the trail, I would

[1:01:46] say it's certainly open for use. If you're able and want to navigate it, go ahead

[1:01:49] and use it.

[1:01:51] You'll notice if at some point what's left is to bring

[1:01:55] a shouldering back up, if you will, of the dirt and get all that cleaned up.

[1:01:58] So I don't have a specific date on that yet, but if you see people working around

[1:02:02] it, give them some room. But if there's nobody out there, feel free to walk on it

[1:02:06] or ride a bike if you're able to and interested.

[1:02:11] Kind of same true as the ped crossing.

[1:02:13] So our Ashmore Trail kind of bleeds into that or transitions to the ped crossing.

[1:02:19] That project as well has kind of gotten to a point of a standstill.

[1:02:22] Most of the work is done, but what's missing is the important part, the crossing

[1:02:26] lights, if you will. And unfortunately, they're having some logistical issues with

[1:02:31] the material. The steel isn't slated to be delivered till the beginning of November

[1:02:36] first week is what we're being told.

[1:02:38] So

[1:02:39] that installation process goes pretty quickly.

[1:02:41] It's a matter of them hanging them up there and hooking up the electrical.

[1:02:45] So I think that once it does come, it should go up fairly quickly.

[1:02:49] The crosswalk striping has been painted.

[1:02:52] So if you are out there, please utilize it as you would've normally.

[1:02:57] Use caution, pay attention.

[1:03:00] I was talking with Jeremy, the county engineer, and we do plan to try to publish

[1:03:03] some sort of information of kind of how to and how we use those things.

[1:03:08] We just want to make people to know just because there's a light there, just like

[1:03:11] crossing anywhere else, doesn't mean that people are automatically going to stop.

[1:03:14] So like now, if it looks open, go ahead and use it.

[1:03:18] The concrete's in the bituminous, or you're able to be on there.

[1:03:22] Just like always, be attentive to the traffic.

[1:03:25] But by all means, get out there while the weather's still decent for this fall.

[1:03:28] So

[1:03:29] that's pretty much it for right now.

[1:03:31] When do they plan on doing the bituminous around the entrances?

[1:03:35] Is that something that we're going to wait until they do 13th Street or?

[1:03:39] They're not connected so much. Dunnic is the prime contractor on the Ashmore Trail.

[1:03:45] And

[1:03:47] if I could predict their schedule, I wouldn't be sitting here.

[1:03:49] I'd be doing something else because I'd...

[1:03:51] Yeah, good point.

[1:03:52] So I'm not 100% sure. I don't know that we would have to wait till that's done

[1:03:56] because that paving on 13th won't happen till, I would say, the middle towards the

[1:04:00] end of October. I'm hoping they're able to get up here and there's a possibility it

[1:04:05] does take a little bit, but I'm hoping they're here sooner than later to fill

[1:04:09] those-

[1:04:09] All right

[1:04:10] ... patches.

[1:04:12] Elizabeth.

[1:04:15] Nothing.

[1:04:15] We'll go around the table.

[1:04:17] Bev?

[1:04:19] Nothing.

[1:04:19] Steve?

[1:04:19] Nothing.

[1:04:21] Gwen?

[1:04:21] No.

[1:04:23] Jared?

[1:04:23] I'm good.

[1:04:24] Mayor?

[1:04:26] Real quick, the letter that you all signed on with me two weeks ago, requesting the

[1:04:30] league to support us in lobbying the state to pay some taxes for their property.

[1:04:36] They wrapped up their legislative lobbying priorities literally at the end of last

[1:04:41] month.

[1:04:42] But they did ask me to join their legislative committee to go to some meetings next

[1:04:47] year, and I said I would do it to put this on the agenda.

[1:04:51] And since then, I've had a couple dozen mayors reach out thanking all of us for

[1:04:57] doing this, and I already have a couple of meetings on the books with some house

[1:05:01] reps and senators who

[1:05:03] would like to talk. So stay tuned. That's all I got.

[1:05:08] Good. It opens some eyes.

[1:05:11] Yep.

[1:05:12] That's good. I'm glad we could help out and

[1:05:15] happy to put our names to it.

[1:05:18] Young lady, do you have anything?

[1:05:20] No.

[1:05:20] I have nothing. We are adjourned.

Council Meeting 9-21-26

Transcript