[0:05] Good evening and welcome. This is the
regular city council meeting for the
[0:09] city of St. Peter. It is Monday, August
24th and it is 7:00 p.m. We are called
[0:16] to order. Please rise for the pledgece
[0:23] to the flag of the United States of
America and to the republic for which it
[0:28] stands. One nation under God,
indivisible, with liberty and justice
[0:33] for all.
[0:38] » All right. The first um item is to
approve the agenda. Are there any
[0:42] revisions or corrections to the agenda?
If not, can I get a motion to approve
[0:47] the agenda?
>> So moved.
[0:50] » Second. We have a motion and a second.
All those in favor say I.
[0:53] » I.
>> Those opposed, same sign.
[0:56] » Agenda is approved. Next, we have the
approval of the minutes from our last
[1:01] council meeting. Minutes were from
August 10th, 2026. Are there any
[1:07] revisions or corrections to the meeting
minutes?
[1:12] hearing. Uh, none. I'll take a motion to
approve.
[1:16] » Some move. Second.
>> We have a motion and a second. All those
[1:19] in favor say I.
>> I.
[1:22] » Those opposed, same sign.
>> The minutes are approved.
[1:27] Next up, we have uh visitor comments.
And so we have time on our agenda for uh
[1:33] visitor comments on any agenda item. Uh
any item that is on our current agenda.
[1:38] Do we have any uh members of the
audience who would like to come forward
[1:41] and speak on any agenda item?
Right. Seeing none, we have general
[1:47] visitor comments. Do we have any
visitors in the audience who would like
[1:50] to make a general visitor comment?
Right. Seeing none, we will move on to
[1:57] the approval of our consent agenda
items. The consent agenda items are on
[2:01] pages 7 through 11 in our packets. And
we tonight we're approving on our
[2:09] consent agenda the following uh employee
appointments. Amy Cam, maintenance
[2:14] superintendent. Uh Samuel Pledo, police
patrol officer. Uh Bolton and Mech is
[2:21] authorized to provide construction
services for the 2026 North for Street
[2:25] improvements. The SK and then the
schedule of dispersements for August
[2:29] 7th, 2026 through August 20th, 2026.
Are there any uh comments or questions
[2:36] on the consent agenda?
>> Uh council member Dvas.
[2:39] » Yeah, I have a question. Well, basically
related to construction services. Um
[2:44] we're approving the add the manage the
contract uh for construction services,
[2:48] but construction has already started on
it. Correct.
[2:51] » Is this something that should have been
done before we started construction?
[2:55] » It would have been fantastic had we done
that. However, a lot of the construction
[2:58] services can occur really started today
and so there's ample time. This is a lot
[3:03] of making sure that the quantities are
right. Making sure that staking is
[3:06] appropriate. Make sure that the right
amount of thickness all of those types
[3:10] of things are done. And then the wrap
paperwork as it relates to the contract.
[3:14] Have the appropriate been counted. Is it
the right unit price? Those types of
[3:18] activities. And maybe most importantly,
ensuring that it's built according to
[3:23] specifications or if there's a need for
a change to the specifications that it's
[3:27] rational, reasonable will help the
project follow through.
[3:33] Any other questions?
If not, I will take a motion to approve
[3:38] the consent agenda.
>> So moved. Second.
[3:42] » Have a motion in a second. Um, we will
take a roll call vote. Go ahead, Kesha.
[3:49] » Council member Wenfeld.
>> I.
[3:50] » Council member Zstrom.
>> I.
[3:52] » Council member Devos.
>> I.
[3:53] » Council member Johnson.
>> I.
[3:55] » Council member Pettis.
>> I.
[3:57] » The consent agenda is approved. Next up,
we have unfinished business, which there
[4:03] is no unfinished business. So, we're
going to move on to new business. And
[4:07] the first item of new business is the Co
North development agreement. And Todd,
[4:12] are you taking this one?
>> I'm taking this one. I'm sorry Ben isn't
[4:14] here tonight. Um, and I know you talked
all of you had the opportunity to speak
[4:18] to Ben about this and he's articulated
some of the main points here. Um, let me
[4:22] go through a few items that I think are
major important to you. First of all,
[4:27] the request tonight is for you to
approve a resolution that allows the
[4:30] mayor and the city administrator to
enter into a development agreement with
[4:32] CO North. As many of you know, Coor is a
not for profit that's located in
[4:38] Minnesota. Its home bases in Minnesota.
Its primary mission over the past more
[4:43] than a decade has really been in the
acquisition of troubled manufactured
[4:50] housing communities and developing them
into a co-op model where residents of
[4:56] the neighborhood are folks that manage,
own, and make sure to take care of the
[5:02] the spot that they're in. You'll see
there are a few timelines that we
[5:06] mentioned here, but at least from my
perspective, and um council members, you
[5:10] might remember this as well. This is a
project that you've been talking about
[5:13] and working on for a couple of years
now. Um really, the development
[5:16] agreement outlines the stuff that's
necessary to make sure that we
[5:21] understand and they understand what the
other party is looking for as a part of
[5:25] this new type of subdivision. Um this is
a high density neighborhood, um more
[5:31] dense than you've seen in previous
neighborhoods. It will be um
[5:36] it will be composed of city-owned
infrastructure. So the streets and the
[5:40] storm water, the w water, sewer, all of
those kind of things will be owned by
[5:44] the city. Um which is different than
what we see in um some neighborhoods
[5:49] that you have within our community, but
much more similar. In fact, exactly like
[5:55] the other housing subdivisions that you
have like Traverse Green, Nicola
[5:59] Meadows, Standard Subdivision, and
others. So, it follows that pattern. It
[6:03] will be owned by the co-op. So, the
residents will be members of that co-op.
[6:08] And so, they'll make decisions related
to the operations of the neighborhood
[6:12] and how lots are leased or not leased,
how that works, and they'll be supported
[6:16] by Conor. One of Conor North strengths,
of course, has been to help these other
[6:20] entities um have governance skills and
managerial skills in making this move
[6:27] forward. So, we're excited about that.
This will be facility built housing and
[6:31] so it will be housing that is largely
manufactured not necessarily built to
[6:36] stick on site and so that does a number
of things for us including creates
[6:41] additional affordability along with the
density and one of the council's goals
[6:45] related to housing has certainly been to
reach as far as we can to ensure that
[6:50] workforce and affordable housing is
available for the entire community and
[6:53] frankly for folks that want to come to
your community and network and live
[6:56] here. Um, so that's really important and
so we'll be meeting some of the price
[7:02] points that have been discussed
previously in meeting that entry
[7:05] levelvel marketplace. Um, we'll own the
sidewalks, will own the streets, the
[7:11] curb and gutters. So that will make sure
to be um, kept up appropriately based on
[7:15] decisions that the council makes. Um,
this is different than what we see in
[7:19] some other communities. Be happy to go
through any of the information that's
[7:23] included in the packet and talk
specifically about the agreement. Um, if
[7:27] you want, we've gone through this
previously at a workshop at a high level
[7:30] of detail and outlined really the
agreement in total. Um, including the
[7:35] fees that they're expected to pay, the
$30,000 down that they have to provide
[7:40] to enter into this agreement for the
city, how engineering is going to work,
[7:44] when do they or when does the city have
the opportunity um to say we're going to
[7:48] stop, we're not interested in pursuing
further. Um it outlines the type of
[7:52] housing, the approximate number of
housing units. Uh we also outline and
[7:58] require as a part of the development
agreement mortgage products that will be
[8:01] available to folks and we think that's
been a significant issue and there's
[8:05] been some developments over the last
year that make this more attainable. So
[8:08] we're excited about that. Again, um
madame mayor prom and members happy to
[8:14] answer any questions about the
development agreement. On page 51, I
[8:19] believe, is the um resolution um to
allow the city administrator and the
[8:24] mayor to enter into the agreement.
Again, happy to answer any questions.
[8:27] And there's some fantastic materials
that um Co North has provided that's
[8:33] also in their packet that describe many
of the things that they're doing and
[8:37] their perspective on the project
overall.
[8:40] » Before we take comments, do you want to
just note the change on the handout
[8:44] development agreement? Yeah, on your
desk is a is the development agreement
[8:48] and it is only slightly different from
the development agreement that you saw
[8:51] at your workshop. And so that change is
on page three on item number seven. This
[8:58] relates to the conversation about
continuing to try and work towards a
[9:03] reduction in your fiber or carbon
footprint. Um and so this provides a
[9:08] little bit more specificity than the
previous language related to utilization
[9:13] of electrical connections and the
requirements that stoves um water
[9:17] heaters and closed dryers be electric.
This allows you to move forward um again
[9:22] and trying to reduce your carbon
footprint within this neighborhood.
[9:26] » Any comments or questions? Council
member DVOS.
[9:28] » Uh I'd just like uh thank staff for uh
moving quickly in updating uh section 7.
[9:34] I I do appreciate them uh reaching out
today and getting that and getting that
[9:38] fixed. So,
>> any other questions or comments from
[9:42] council members?
>> The only other comment that I'd make,
[9:47] Madame Mayor Prom, is that um I think
it's important to note that this mixture
[9:54] of tools and resources is untested.
This is new. These are all tools that
[10:02] you've used previously. They've been
used in different types of applications.
[10:05] They've been used at different levels.
It's a different kind of cake. The
[10:09] ingredients are there, but in different
proportions compared to what you've seen
[10:14] previously. And so I think one of the
things that's interesting and and at
[10:17] least a few of you have commented to me
that it's interesting maybe to be on the
[10:21] forefront in this kind of area meeting
these affordability and workforce
[10:25] opportunities much like you were
previously with Nicola Meadows
[10:30] Washington Terrace and Traverse Green
which have worked out very well for the
[10:33] community. So, I think that's not
unimportant and I think it does provide
[10:38] opportunity for some of the grant
resources that we talked about within
[10:41] the body of the memo and are
anticipating through Minnesota Housing
[10:44] Finance, Greater Minnesota Housing Fund
and others.
[10:47] » Well, and I think we did our due
diligence as a council. We talked about
[10:51] this for months and um you know it
really is good governance to kind of
[10:56] question something new, question the
location, talk about it in depth and um
[11:01] I appreciate the discussions that we had
together and and where we're at right
[11:06] now. And um I think this will be a great
addition to our community. That was
[11:10] never in question. We all agreed on
that. And uh yes. So um without further
[11:16] ado, we will um consider their
resolution approving a development
[11:20] agreement with CO North for the new
north development.
[11:23] » Okay.
>> Yes.
[11:24] » Oh, I had my hand up. I'm sorry. I think
it is worth noting um for anyone who's
[11:28] listening or who has been following this
for the last year now. Um, we did look
[11:33] at lots of different locations
>> and at the end of the day, we as a
[11:37] council agreed that we wanted to do this
project for affordability. What we
[11:42] didn't agree upon was where we were
going to do it. And simply put, after
[11:46] looking at all of the other viable
options,
[11:49] this was the most appropriate fit
because we've owned the land for so
[11:55] long. And I think it's important for
people or anyone who's viewing this to
[11:58] know all other options would have
required us to raise taxes to fund this
[12:03] project.
>> Thank you. Any other comments or
[12:07] questions?
>> Todd, what's our ongoing financial
[12:09] liability with this?
>> Your ongoing financial liability will be
[12:13] just like you have really with any other
subdivision. Um, so you'll be
[12:18] responsible for plowing and maintaining
the streets and seal coating the streets
[12:22] and doing all those things like you do
in any other subdivision. I guess my
[12:24] question is more so we're we're donating
the land for this and then we're
[12:28] providing them several loans in relation
to um
[12:32] » development and infrastructure. Is there
anything beyond that?
[12:35] » No, there really isn't anything beyond
that besides the commitment to assist in
[12:40] applications for grants and those types
of things. So, one could argue there's a
[12:43] little bit of a cost to be write a
letter, those types of things, but
[12:46] » yeah, nothing that significant. And I
mean the primary funding source for this
[12:50] will be under Minnesota statute 429
where Cone North uh the co-op um is
[12:56] assessed for the street, sewer,
sidewalks, all of those kind of things.
[13:00] Again, just like really any other
subdivision that you've put together
[13:04] over the last 15 or 20 years.
>> Any other questions or comments before
[13:10] we
Okay. Um, the resolution approving the
[13:14] development agreement with Cone North is
on pages 50 and 51 of the packet. Do I
[13:19] have a motion to approve?
>> So move.
[13:22] » Second.
>> We have a motion in a second. Uh, call
[13:25] the role, please.
>> Council member Sharstrom.
[13:28] » I.
>> Council member Devos.
[13:30] » I.
>> Council member Johnson.
[13:31] » I.
>> Council member Pettis.
[13:33] » Hi.
>> Council member Wisel.
[13:35] » I.
>> Resolution is approved.
[13:39] All right. Next we have the wastewater
treatment plant switchge gear
[13:43] replacement and we have Pete here to
talk to us about that.
[13:48] » City council um before you you have a
request uh to replace a switch gear
[13:54] transfer switch uh at the wastewater
plant. As you guys know, we use the
[13:58] wastewater plant uh to treat water that
goes to the Minnesota River. Uh we also
[14:04] have backup generation [snorts] which we
rely on heavily to uh help us load shed
[14:10] during the summertime to try to keep our
peak and coincidental peak with our
[14:14] electrical provider at its lowest point
that we can possibly manage. Uh during a
[14:19] June event, as you know, when we had all
that hot weather right around the
[14:23] fourth, um the unit did fail and it
causes some concerns because we didn't
[14:28] know what level of loss we were going to
have. Um, we had some electrical panels
[14:33] that did go out. Uh, we had Ziggler down
here to take a look at it. Of course, it
[14:37] runs the Ziggler CAT uh, generating
unit. That's a 2 megawatt unit. Uh, so
[14:42] it's very important to our, uh,
portfolio.
[14:46] Um, they looked at it, uh, said that you
could probably get parts. Don't know how
[14:51] long they would last. If we could get
parts, they'd be used. uh we need a
[14:56] different level of dependability in
order to make this facility operate the
[15:00] way we need it to. Uh so what we did is
we went through the Sourcewell
[15:03] competitive purchasing um process and
had Ziggler supply a new transfer switch
[15:10] and switch gear as part of that price
which seems to be the best overall fit
[15:14] for us. Um, and so what we wanted to do
here tonight was authorize repair or
[15:19] replacement of the switch gear through
Ziggler, uh, in the amount of 283,25176.
[15:27] Uh, we don't know exactly how we're
going to pay for it yet. It's either
[15:31] going to be through reserves in the
wastewater plant, which we have adequate
[15:35] funding for, or we may finance it as
part of our overall finance package with
[15:39] a variety of other projects that we have
going. Um, and I think you're aware of
[15:43] where that's that's uh set up to go in
the process. And so at this time, we'd
[15:48] ask that you approve the resolution on
page 54.
[15:52] » Any questions or comments?
>> Pete, the reason this is important is
[15:56] because if there happens to be maybe a
big transmission failure in the region
[16:00] and electricity is out here. Yep.
>> This is the thing that helps keep that
[16:04] waste water plant going, which is
>> still treat waste water. Yes, sir.
[16:07] » Helps keep sewage out of your basement.
>> That's right.
[16:10] » Yep. important stuff,
>> right?
[16:14] » Uh well, first I think this really is
kind of a crappy resolution. [laughter]
[16:20] » Oh boy.
[16:23] » Um and in seriousness, um
>> he gets one a meeting.
[16:26] » I get one a meeting. [laughter]
>> Stinks.
[16:32] Pete
>> doesn't need a food right now.
[16:36] » Um so I replacing the switch gear. Um
>> [clears throat]
[16:40] » Is there anything you said the generator
controls are 23 years old? Are there any
[16:45] other parts of this that you're worried
about failure uh basically
[16:49] » continually?
>> And so I guess looking at this from a
[16:53] long term uh is there from a maintenance
perspective, is there any preventive
[16:56] stuff you can look at as far as or I I
guess I'm looking at we're spending
[17:01] 283,000 now. What are you going to run
into another problem next year that's
[17:05] going to cost us?
>> Yeah. Not with the switch gear unit. You
[17:07] know, you always have software updates
for your uh generation facilities. We've
[17:12] gone through that with our generation
facility up on top of the hill. Uh we've
[17:17] tried to phase that in a variety of
different things. You know, you're
[17:20] always one lightning strike away from
some kind of disaster at the wastewater
[17:24] plant or at any any electrical facility.
So,
[17:28] » well, lightning strikes, that's
insurance.
[17:30] » [laughter]
>> still still puts us in kind of dire
[17:34] straits, but this is the best that we
can do with what we're at right now.
[17:38] » I I think if I could, Pete had mentioned
to me that I think a real important
[17:41] perspective is that as the council
continues to move forward towards some
[17:45] major um improvements to the wastewater
treatment plant replacements. You know,
[17:50] we talked about it being 23 to 24 years
old. It needs new struts and brakes and
[17:55] all those things. This is the kind of
stuff that will support that going
[17:58] forward. So, There won't be any
modifications that are necessary as you
[18:02] move forward with the improvements that
are really necessary for that wastewater
[18:05] treatment plant. And that's that's not a
minor consideration as we do this. We'd
[18:10] hate to put 15 16 17 million in the
wastewater treatment plant and this be
[18:15] wink link because we bought uh park that
was used from other places, you know,
[18:22] and so important.
>> Yeah. And I'm not questioning needing to
[18:24] replace. I'm just questioning do we have
other things that we're concerned about
[18:27] at this point? Yeah, we've we we've got
a plan for phasing in some of those
[18:31] improvements.
>> Yeah. And some of that relates to the
[18:35] work that you've been doing with MPCA
and the changes that you're looking to
[18:38] make going forward with that plan.
>> Any other questions or comments?
[18:45] All right. The resolution authorizing
emergency replacement of water
[18:49] wastewater treatment plant switch gear
is on page 54. Do I have a motion to
[18:53] approve?
>> So moved.
[18:56] » Second. We have a motion and a second.
Call the role, please.
[19:00] » Council member Debas,
>> I.
[19:02] » Council member Johnson,
>> I.
[19:04] » Council member Pettis,
>> I.
[19:05] » Council member Wel,
>> I.
[19:07] » Council member Sh.
>> I.
[19:09] » Resolution is approved. Next on our
agenda, it we have the front street
[19:15] substation switch gear upgrade. And Pete
is here to talk about this one as well.
[19:20] » Right. This project has been completed.
This is the formality that follows most
[19:24] of those projects. Um, back in spring of
2024, uh, Harold Schultz was hired to
[19:31] make the second phase improvements of
the Front Street substation. Um, as you
[19:36] may or may not remember, back in 2018,
we did the first phase of this project
[19:41] and it went really well. We tra uh
changed out one of the transformers at
[19:46] that time and uh this phase here we
changed out the other transformer
[19:51] million dollars for six circuits that we
upgraded and changed. Uh we did change
[19:58] out uh not only the transformer but
reclosures and voltage regulators. We
[20:02] got the areas that were basically
causing us outages because of the
[20:07] squirrels that would get in there. Went
to a more dependable system. uh about
[20:11] time again the unit was old old and
older. Um and uh this is a 138 um KV
[20:20] system and we did upgrade all six
electrical circuits that feed out of
[20:25] that substation on the second phase and
added dependability and um redistributed
[20:31] some of the uh load on those breakers.
Uh the original contract price was
[20:36] $250,900
and the construction cost came in at
[20:40] $250,900
and so it was right on schedule. Uh
[20:45] Harold Schultz did a great job for us,
worked really closely with Jason and his
[20:49] crew to get that accomplished. Uh we
just recently received the asbuilts for
[20:54] that project and that's why we're
bringing this forward to get the final
[20:57] project approved and the final payment
to the contractor.
[21:01] » Any questions or comments for Pete?
Well, this was a long time coming to get
[21:06] to this point, the end the end uh game
here. I know many of us I remember us
[21:11] talking about, you know, just even
ordering it and having it the lead time
[21:16] being so long. So, this is a milestone
to get to this point. The resolution
[21:21] accepting the switch gear improvements
at the front street substation as
[21:25] complete and authorizing final payment
is on page 56. We have a motion to
[21:30] approve.
>> So moved. Second.
[21:33] » We have a motion and a second. Call the
role, please.
[21:36] » Council member Johnson,
>> I.
[21:37] » Council member Pettis.
>> I.
[21:39] » Council member Wisen.
>> I.
[21:41] » Council member Shro.
>> I.
[21:42] » Council member Deos.
>> I.
[21:45] » Next on our agenda, library flooring
replacement project bid acceptance.
[21:50] » So Ryan is here from the recreational
services department, which of course
[21:54] includes all things recreation,
including the library. And so Orion,
[21:59] I'll let you talk about this one which
has been in the works now for a couple
[22:01] of years as well.
>> So the uh uh obviously the library
[22:06] flooring is in need of replacement and
um after u the uh it was out for bid
[22:13] burger interiors was the successful and
sole bidder at a total of 100,18985.
[22:20] a second company called All Furniture
has been secured to do the moving um of
[22:25] all the shelves and the library staff is
taking this opportunity uh to do some
[22:31] rearranging as well. So, kind of getting
a couple things done at once. Um
[22:37] and the brief schedule on that is uh
they'll start Friday, September 11th,
[22:42] moving crew will show up. Monday the
14th, the library will still be open to
[22:46] the public. some areas will be closed
and through the 15th, 16th, and 17th,
[22:50] the library will be closed to the
public. Um the staff will still be able
[22:54] to work in there and they'll be able to
do um uh people will still be able to
[22:59] come and pick up holds during that time.
And
[23:01] » so Ryan, just if I can ask, so you guys
have set up a system so that if I had a
[23:05] book on order or I called in and said
[clears throat] I wanted the latest John
[23:08] Gisham novel and we had it, I could come
to the door and somebody would help me
[23:12] get it. I wouldn't have to I wouldn't
get to go inside, but we'd set it up.
[23:15] drive-thru library
>> pretty much a little bit like CO but a
[23:18] little more interaction. Yeah. So
>> fantastic. Yeah. How great.
[23:21] » And then back again uh Friday, September
18th, open to the public with some
[23:25] limited access and then all should be up
and running the following week.
[23:28] » So in total the parts of the library
will be out of commission just for a few
[23:33] days it sounds like.
>> Yeah. Yep.
[23:35] » Okay.
>> And what what is the communication plan
[23:39] » to to the public?
>> So we'll uh utilize Corey on our staff.
[23:43] uh she's done a great job of getting
those things out to the public. Uh it'll
[23:46] be posted and the the library has a
number of channels as well and
[23:49] throughout the building too. So
>> So when you approve there'll be a flood
[23:53] of information over the next week that
will go out to folks to make them aware.
[23:56] » Sounds good. Any other questions or
comments?
[23:59] Council member Damas.
>> Um so well number one it's great to see
[24:02] it 50,000 under budget but does that
include the moving or how much does the
[24:06] move or how much is the moving going to
cost approximately?
[24:08] » Yeah, good question. Um the move uh cost
is $20,000 on the head. So, so basically
[24:14] uh 30,000 under budget.
>> That's correct.
[24:18] » If you keep doing that while you're
here, I hope you have
[24:21] » Well, [laughter] I I would love to take
uh um some credit for that, but I can't.
[24:25] So,
>> so thank you.
[24:27] » Yeah.
>> Any other questions or comments?
[24:31] If not, the resolution
awarding the bid for 2026 library
[24:37] flooring replacement project to Burger
Interiors is on page 58. Do I have a
[24:42] motion to approve?
>> Some moved.
[24:45] » Second.
>> A motion and a second. Call the role,
[24:47] please.
>> Council member Pettis.
[24:50] » I.
>> Council member Wenfeld.
[24:52] » I.
>> Council member Sharstrom.
[24:53] » I.
>> Council member Devos.
[24:55] » I.
>> Council member Johnson.
[24:57] » I. Our last item of new business is city
assistance requests for the St. Peter
[25:03] Art Stroll.
>> Mayor members, the or mayor prom and
[25:06] members, the St. Peter art stroll has
been going on for a while. Our support
[25:10] in this is something that we provided
last year. Um the thought here was to
[25:14] formalize it just a little bit more. And
this really includes authorizing Pete's
[25:18] crew to put up some specialized banners
in the downtown area related to
[25:24] promotion of the stroll. So that they
the promotion occurs a little bit before
[25:28] but also as a part of the art stroll.
The estimated cost we think is around
[25:33] $500 or so. And um the request is in
front of you as is a resolution
[25:37] providing approval on page 60.
>> Any comments or questions?
[25:46] All right. Just want to say thank you to
public works for assisting uh this uh
[25:51] annual event and for all the businesses
that participate, including the
[25:54] community members that put it on the
resolution authorizing city assistance
[25:59] for St. the St. Peter Art Stroll on
September 26 to 27th, 2026 is on page
[26:05] 60. Do I have a motion to approve?
>> So move.
[26:07] » Second.
>> Have a motion and a second. Call the
[26:10] role, please.
>> Council member Wisenfeld.
[26:12] » I.
>> Council member Sharstrom.
[26:14] » I. Council member Devos.
>> I.
[26:16] » Council member Johnson.
>> I.
[26:17] » Council member Pettis.
>> Hi.
[26:19] » The resolution is approved. Next on our
agenda, we have reports. And as mayor
[26:24] prom, I just have one report. Um I
attended my second meeting with the
[26:30] League of Minnesota Cities, our board
meeting. Um and I just wanted to
[26:35] highlight that um dues will not increase
beyond 4%. Um, as I talked about
[26:41] earlier, the Coalition of Greater
Minnesota Cities dues are flat this
[26:45] year. Um, we found out that the league
dues won't increase beyond 4%. That gets
[26:50] finalized later on, but at least we can
budget for um what is expected. And then
[26:57] there's a new program with the league
that um sounds really exciting. It's not
[27:02] just for newly elected, it's for um it's
a continuing education program for all
[27:06] council members that want to partake.
It's voluntary. It's called uh the
[27:11] electric electric talking a lot about
electricity today. Um elected leaders
[27:16] institute certificate. Um more
information will come out in November.
[27:21] Uh but it's a great opportunity to
engage with the league in their learning
[27:26] opportunities. And then there's a
certificate process and a recognition
[27:31] not at this upcoming league conference
but the conference in 2028. And it's
[27:35] free. And so it's a combination of
in-person learning and um online
[27:40] learning. And the the learning would
have to take place within two years, but
[27:44] it can be accomplished in one year. So I
think it's a great a great new program
[27:48] that allows us as council members to
continue learning and um engaging in the
[27:53] resources that are available to us
through these different um you know
[27:58] entities like the league that want to
support us. And then it also helps us
[28:02] engage with uh the league more to see
what they have available. So, I just
[28:06] wanted to give you all a heads up that
more information will be coming out
[28:09] November, but that was that program was
just approved.
[28:12] Do any council members have reports?
>> I guess I just have a question. Will
[28:17] this be our last formal council meeting
>> in this room
[28:20] » in this room?
>> Yeah.
[28:21] » Um, hang tight. We're really close to
having a final on when that will occur.
[28:27] So, um, hang tight. Continue to watch
your agendas and we'll make sure that we
[28:31] promote as much as possible as we're
able to make that change.
[28:34] » How long How long have you been here?
>> Uh we've been here since 2002, I
[28:39] believe, Darl, if I remember correctly.
Maybe 2003.
[28:43] » Yeah, it's been a great spot. Um the new
spot will be great as well. And there'll
[28:47] be um technology that will mean that
Tony or Katherine won't have to set up
[28:53] all the wires and everything. It's
embedded. It'll be a little bit clearer,
[28:56] better, sound will be better, those
types of things, which will be great as
[29:00] frankly more people watch you online
than come here to watch your council
[29:04] meetings. So, it's great to be able to
have that opportunity.
[29:07] » Will we still have Tony and Katherine,
though?
[29:08] » We we still will as long as they're
interested in continuing to do it. Yes,
[29:13] we still will. And they do a number of
things. Of course, they help with school
[29:16] board, which um the school board
contracts through you to provide
[29:19] services for that. And we have a number
of other things according to a policy
[29:23] that we provide for uh support on like
lead women voters candidate forums.
[29:30] » Any other reports from council members?
If not, we'll move on to our city
[29:35] administrator.
>> Madame Mayor Prom, I have three that I
[29:39] want to mention. One I'm going to hit
Pete up on. So, Pete, Fourth Street, um,
[29:43] started today. Can you talk just a
little bit about that and kind of what
[29:47] the timeline is? That's probably what
most people are interested in besides
[29:50] all the folks that want to come down
there and see all the big equipment
[29:53] moving around. Well, I haven't been down
there yet today. So, um but removals
[29:58] will be the first thing that happen
along the line and um setting up um silk
[30:03] fence and storm water protection areas.
Um we've been working with homeowners
[30:08] along the line there to identify a scope
of work on private property. Those are
[30:12] all taken care of by waiverss. Um should
be most of those projects uh have been
[30:18] identified already. So, we've got a
couple of tail enders there that we're
[30:21] still working with. Uh then what they'll
do is do is they'll set up temporary
[30:26] water which is 99% complete. Uh sanitary
sewer and then water man will go through
[30:32] uh anticipated completion is still on
schedule for November. So it'll take
[30:37] about 60 days to get all the utility
underground worked and they'll come in
[30:40] for curbon gutter and then asphalt for
the roadway.
[30:43] » It'll be a nice improvement certainly in
that area. And this is the area at least
[30:48] much of it is adjacent to the pool.
>> That's right. Um, and we are one of the
[30:53] bigger contributors to the cost of this
overall project. Uh, but one of the
[30:57] areas down there, this will improve the
water flow in the area for fire
[31:00] protection. That's one of the biggest
benefits of this.
[31:02] » Sure. And PE, if people notice that
there's uh equipment, people digging in
[31:08] yards and stuff up and down Scarrow.
That's not the city of St. Peter,
[31:11] correct?
>> Correct. That's correct.
[31:12] » Who is that?
>> Um, that is your MetroNet um doing
[31:16] additional fiber work there. So there's
a number of companies right now doing
[31:20] that kind of work within the community
>> all subs
[31:23] » and um so if people have questions we're
certainly happy to help them. Um but
[31:28] there's
you got to make sure that you're
[31:31] protecting your own property and those
types of things and we've had a lot of
[31:34] good information that's gone out in that
meeting.
[31:36] » I just know I I just know a couple weeks
ago when they were doing work along
[31:40] there people were confusing it with the
city work that was going up there on
[31:43] fourth street. Yeah, hopefully um we've
at least tried we have tried really hard
[31:48] to reduce the amount of confusion. It's
hard. People are in your boulevard and
[31:52] digging stuff up and hard to sometimes
figure that out.
[31:56] » Pete, thank you.
>> Y
[31:58] » um next I have on my list is Ryan again.
Um the council may remember that you
[32:03] budgeted for what is really the first
time since 2002 2003 that we've fully
[32:10] redone the gym floor. So Ryan, that's
going to go on. So, we want to talk
[32:13] about that because that affects the
community. So many people use that
[32:15] facility.
>> Sure. Uh so we get a call. We knew it
[32:19] was going to be sometime in the next
couple weeks depending on how the
[32:22] contractor's other jobs went and he
called uh today. He said he'll be
[32:25] starting tomorrow. So um we put out word
again through our channels and um they
[32:32] it'll be about a two-eek process during
which time the gym and the walking track
[32:37] will be closed. Um there may be some
limited access to the walking track in
[32:41] the next day or two, but for now we're
just going to say it's both are closed
[32:44] unless there's some circum special
circumstances. Um again another example
[32:49] of our staff making lemonade out of
lemons. Um so we found out this early
[32:54] this morning by noon today. Kayla had
already uh put a popup program on and
[32:59] out there for uh people to come in and
um roller skate in the gym one uh one
[33:04] time here before the floors are all
redone.
[33:05] » Yeah, normally we wouldn't let that.
That would be a no no
[33:09] » right now.
>> So it's uh um I just stopped on there.
[33:12] There was uh half a dozen or more kids a
number of different families down there
[33:16] uh you know playing in the gym the
chance that they have. So
[33:20] » another 25 years and we'll have
>> right once every 25 years.
[33:24] » The life cycle here has been longer than
what normally might be expected. And so
[33:29] that's kind of kudos to the maintenance
staff. They've done some great job to
[33:32] keep that going. And so normally it
would occur at about every 10 to 12 year
[33:36] pace. So we've done very very well and
that's you know the community is
[33:40] generally pretty cooperative about how
they use that facility as well. Makes a
[33:44] difference.
>> Yeah. And there's another opportunity in
[33:46] with this too since um pickle ball
wasn't really pickle ball 25 years ago.
[33:51] Uh so they've been putting uh lines down
with vinyl floor tape and so uh every
[33:56] year taking it down putting back. Um so
that'll be permanent lines will be
[34:01] installed for that. And you know, you
didn't notice the change in the color
[34:04] because it was so uh gradual, but uh
when they redo the floor completely, the
[34:10] change will be dramatic. So, be a lot
lighter.
[34:13] » We have a massive basketball tournament
here in February as well that brings
[34:17] people to the community. Is there any
updates to the courts in that way or is
[34:21] it kind of be similar?
>> Uh, as far as my understanding is, the
[34:24] courts and everything else will be uh
stay the same. Just the pickleball
[34:27] courts as they are lined up now will be
moved so they're more in line with some
[34:30] of the other lines. Just a few less
lines on the court on the on the floor.
[34:35] » Nice floor to play on.
>> Yeah.
[34:37] » Yeah.
>> Yeah. We got the parking lot being
[34:39] redone. Steps are coming up. We got the
uh the gym floor being done. There's
[34:43] just a lot going on in the building
right now.
[34:47] » Thank you,
>> Madam Mayor. Pro Tim, I have one other
[34:50] item that I want to mention. Maybe it's
two or three items, but it all comes in
[34:53] the vein of some of the questions or
comments that you made as council
[34:56] members. We just really want to
encourage people that if they want to
[34:59] know more about what's going on with the
community, there's four or five really
[35:02] great sources for that. So, one of which
is the hot sheet, which embeds a lot of
[35:05] information about programs, activities,
and activities of this um city council.
[35:10] Um that's something that's an email
newsletter that you can sign up for
[35:13] online. It'll come every other week to
your mailbox and you can read it once or
[35:18] twice or not at all if you're busy that
week. We also want to mention that you
[35:21] have a YouTube channel where meetings
like this are shown, gavveltogl, and you
[35:25] have other uh items that are on there,
including the city administrators blog
[35:30] and other short videos that are included
within that. You can find out a lot of
[35:34] great information, including
opportunities to sign up for services,
[35:38] utilities, and others in a couple three
different languages. So, that's really
[35:42] nice to still have there. your updated
website that you want to ward on has
[35:46] great information that pumps out there,
including your new mass information
[35:50] system that people can sign up for. And
then last but not least, social media.
[35:54] We continue to put a lot of stuff out on
Facebook. So, we'd encourage people to
[35:57] subscribe or like us there and that can
help with a lot of the information that
[36:02] goes on within our community. Um, that's
all I have for my list for you tonight.
[36:07] » All right, with that, we are ready to
adjourn. Do we do I have a motion to
[36:12] adjurnn?
>> So move.
[36:15] » Second. Have
>> a motion and a second. All those in
[36:17] favor of adjournment say I.
>> I.
[36:20] » Those opposed, same sign. We are
adjourned.
[36:24] Thanks everyone.
[36:28] [laughter]