[0:15] Well, it is 6:30. I will go ahead and
[0:16] call the meeting for order
[0:19] city council on January 20th. Um, any
[0:23] status and concerns, Julie?
[0:24] >> I have no
[0:26] um additions or deletions to the agenda.
[0:29] There'll be one addition which will be
[0:31] solar for the fireball. It will be um
[0:35] we'll make it number eight and if Gen
[0:37] Peek from West Central Initiative isn't
[0:40] quite here at that time, we'll just move
[0:41] it down when he gets on on Zoom.
[0:46] Um can I have a motion to approve the
[0:48] agenda with that one addition?
[0:50] >> Motion second.
[0:51] >> We have a motion from James, a second
[0:53] from Paul. All in favor by saying I.
[0:56] >> Any opposed? Then we have the consent
[0:59] agenda.
[1:01] Um, anybody want anything pulled or
[1:04] otherwise? I'll entertain a motion to
[1:06] approve the consent agenda.
[1:09] >> Motion motion from Paul, a second.
[1:12] >> So moved.
[1:15] Bruce call to the vote. All in favor
[1:17] indicate by saying I.
[1:18] >> I.
[1:19] >> Opposed. Consent agenda approved. Our
[1:23] first item is the place, time, and date.
[1:25] uh we start a new year. So whether we
[1:28] want to change our meeting date, our
[1:31] time or place or are we good with what
[1:34] we back? We are the third Tuesday of the
[1:35] month at 6:30.
[1:39] » Is that working for everyone?
[1:42] >> At the present time. Yeah.
[1:44] >> Third Tuesday.
[1:45] >> Yep.
[1:46] >> Yeah. Sure. Don't conflict with the
[1:47] lines.
[1:48] >> Yep. Yeah. We kind of back away from
[1:50] that state.
[1:51] >> Yeah. was they used a lot of parking and
[1:54] >> yes
[1:56] >> or was somewhat noisy and
[2:00] >> it's okay with that. Can I have a a
[2:02] motion to maintain our current um
[2:04] schedule of the third Tuesday at 6:30
[2:07] here
[2:08] >> meeting room? We have a motion from
[2:09] Paul. Is there a second?
[2:11] >> I'll second.
[2:13] >> All in favor indicate by saying I.
[2:15] >> I.
[2:16] uh appointment of acting mayor other
[2:18] than the portfolio. The appointment was
[2:22] um really to recommend no change. So it
[2:25] would be James Stinger. Any other
[2:28] comments or a recommendation?
[2:32] Otherwise, I'll call for a motion to
[2:35] accept James Finger as acting mayor.
[2:38] >> Motion a motion to follow a second.
[2:40] >> Second, a second from Bruce. All in
[2:42] favor by saying I. I
[2:45] >> posted. Okay. Then we have our
[2:47] appointments. Um I think unless somebody
[2:51] wants one pulled out, I think we'll do
[2:53] the whole section instead of one by one.
[2:57] Um I would just note for the um the
[3:00] appointment of the city attorney and the
[3:03] engineer um you have the annual review
[3:06] in there and we will be providing those
[3:08] to um Blaine with with Seth and um to
[3:12] Karen. So um I I think you saw the
[3:16] overall results uh for attorney overall
[3:19] very favorable results however noted
[3:21] it's been six months we do realize we
[3:23] don't have a full year uh the annual
[3:25] review for engineering um
[3:27] acknowledgement in favorable is the
[3:30] expertise and knowledge um that has been
[3:33] brought um from the engineering service
[3:35] and an opportunity for improvement was
[3:38] in relative to communications more
[3:40] timely better communications. So um just
[3:43] so that you made note of the annual
[3:46] review as we approve these appointments.
[3:49] So we have the council portfolio
[3:52] attorney, the official paper,
[3:55] um the crazy form, the
[3:58] um designation of the city website, uh
[4:02] the depository state bank and engineer
[4:06] um
[4:07] >> motion.
[4:08] >> We have a motion from Paul to accept
[4:09] those appointments. Is there a second?
[4:12] >> I'll second.
[4:12] >> We have a second from James. All in
[4:14] favor indicate by saying I.
[4:16] >> I.
[4:17] Okay. And it looks like Griffin is on.
[4:21] Um so number eight, we have Griffin Peek
[4:24] from West Central Initiative who wanted
[4:27] to talk to us about solar and the city
[4:31] fireh hall. So I'll hand it over to you,
[4:33] Griffin.
[4:36] >> Awesome. Well, good evening everyone.
[4:38] Uh, sorry I could not be there in
[4:40] person. The roads were starting to look
[4:41] a little slick out there and I did not
[4:44] want to drive back to Battle Lake after the meeting. So glad I can join
[4:49] you all on Zoom. Um, today I'm here to
[4:52] talk a little provide some updates about
[4:54] the solar project for the community
[4:56] center and also talk a little bit about
[4:59] a new opportunity. So first I'll talk a
[5:01] little bit about your the building
[5:03] you're currently sitting in which is the
[5:04] community center. Um, as you've probably
[5:08] surmised, there's been quite a few
[5:10] delays um, in the contractor's
[5:12] processing in getting solar up. Um,
[5:16] however, I believe they have
[5:17] communicated updated timelines at this
[5:19] time to all communities uh, regarding
[5:22] their plans for battery installations as
[5:24] well as the solar installations once the
[5:27] snow melts. So, um, I know that they are
[5:31] behind. I know specifically in Verus,
[5:33] one of the things that pushed back the
[5:35] timeline quite a bit was a transformer
[5:37] upgrade. Um, that's something that uh
[5:39] cost that was unforeseen by both the
[5:42] contractor and by West Central
[5:43] Initiative. Um, we only found that the
[5:47] project needed a transformer upgrade
[5:48] when they dug into the interconnection
[5:50] paperwork. Um because in other uh areas
[5:54] that they'd worked in before uh
[5:56] essentially they had in with utilities
[5:59] they'd allowed um they'd allowed an
[6:02] entity to install up to the capacity of
[6:04] the transformer on a given site. For
[6:07] whatever reason, Ottertale Power only
[6:09] allows you to install up to half of the
[6:11] capa uh half of the capacity of the
[6:13] transformer on site. And so I believe
[6:15] the transformer at the Verus Community
[6:17] Center had to be upgraded in order to be
[6:20] compatible with the type of solar that
[6:22] we were putting on. And so that added
[6:25] quite a bit of of obviously time to
[6:27] their their estimate. Um and is part of
[6:30] what uh why there isn't solar on the
[6:32] building already. Um
[6:34] >> I'm just going to note what they gave us
[6:35] for our new timeline because I'm not
[6:37] sure others have seen this. Um for the
[6:41] electric schedule it is the first part
[6:43] of March. For the roof ground schedule
[6:46] it is the first part of May and the
[6:48] battery roof buildout is January the end
[6:51] very end of January. And the battery
[6:54] room blueprint is completed.
[6:57] >> Y the timelines we got
[6:59] >> that's the timeline I I saw as well. So
[7:02] and we we do believe they're on track to
[7:04] meet those timelines. Um they did begin
[7:07] work on a pro on a west central
[7:10] initiative project as well as they
[7:12] started again work on another project in
[7:15] the city of Ashby. So we believe that
[7:18] those those timelines are accurate at
[7:19] this time.
[7:24] Any questions before I talk a little bit
[7:26] about a new opportunity?
[7:29] >> I don't think so, Griffin.
[7:31] >> Okay, sounds good. I'm going to share my
[7:34] screen here. So we are in the process
[7:37] now of putting together our second
[7:40] cohort of communities to explore solar
[7:43] projects. And so uh I just have to find
[7:47] the document.
[7:49] Here we are. Um,
[7:53] and so
[7:55] the reason we're I'm here today is to
[7:57] see is to really provide a highle
[8:00] overview of the opportunity that may
[8:02] exist for solar for the fireh hall. Uh,
[8:05] can everybody see my screen? I'll zoom
[8:08] in a little here.
[8:10] There we go. Everybody see that? All
[8:12] right.
[8:14] >> It's quite a little, but yeah, we can
[8:15] see it.
[8:16] >> Okay. Maybe I can try and make it full
[8:18] size here. My controls are in the way.
[8:23] Okay,
[8:26] there we go. Is that a little better
[8:29] >> a little bit?
[8:30] >> Okay.
[8:31] >> Oh, that is
[8:32] >> that is
[8:33] >> Oh, god.
[8:35] >> Okay, I'm just gonna
[8:37] >> try it there. Okay, so uh we we you
[8:42] know, we heard from from Julie and Julie
[8:44] that there may be interest in looking at
[8:45] quotes again for the fireh hall. So
[8:48] here's some highle analysis on what a
[8:51] potential solar project for a fire the
[8:53] fire hall might look like. So it's
[8:55] actually quite a bit better than the the
[8:57] community center for a couple of reasons
[8:58] that I'll point out here. So first at a
[9:01] very high level the fireh hall consumes
[9:04] 66,64 kwatt hours per year and it
[9:07] consumes that much energy split between
[9:09] three different services. The small
[9:11] general service which runs the lights,
[9:13] the plug loads, you know your
[9:14] microwaves, that sort of stuff. um
[9:17] something called fixed time of service
[9:19] which is used for a heat system in this
[9:21] case and uh only delivers power from I
[9:25] believe it's 1000 p.m. to 6 a.m. and
[9:27] then an off peak water heater service
[9:29] and so the total bill cost per year is
[9:33] uh $3,922
[9:35] of which 228967
[9:39] is direct those direct energy charges.
[9:42] Um in terms looking at the rate analysis
[9:45] again there's a small general service
[9:47] the fixed time of service and then this
[9:51] uh off- peak water heater service. The
[9:53] small general service uh in the summer
[9:56] it's 7 1/2 cents. In the winter it's 5
[9:58] 1/2 cents which when you include energy
[10:01] adjustments averages out to about 8
[10:03] cents a kilowatt hour. For the fixed
[10:05] time of service uh it's 1.032 cents in
[10:10] the summer and 1.109 109 cents per
[10:12] kilowatt hour in the winter. And then
[10:14] when you include the energy adjustments,
[10:16] it's an average rate of 2.6 cents per
[10:19] kilowatt hour. And then the off- peak
[10:21] water heater, which in this case is a
[10:23] very minimal amount of the total use, is
[10:27] uh 3 cents in the summer and 3.2 cents
[10:29] in the winter
[10:31] with an average rate including energy
[10:33] adjustments of 4.7. Now when you look at
[10:37] the whole picture and all the energy
[10:39] consumed on site, the average rate for
[10:41] energy p average rate paid for energy
[10:43] consumed in the building is 3.58.
[10:47] Um the reason why this building is still
[10:50] really a good choice for solar is this
[10:54] the bulk of the energy in the building
[10:56] is consumed under this fixed time of
[10:58] service heat. Like I said, that that's
[11:00] power that's only delivered at night,
[11:02] which means that when you install a
[11:05] solar system on a building like this,
[11:07] you're going to export almost all of the
[11:08] energy, which means that you get 8.3
[11:11] cents for all of that energy. And so, as
[11:14] you can see here, between the average
[11:17] rates, none of the average rates, we're
[11:19] getting close to 8.3 cents. But because
[11:22] of the way that this building runs,
[11:25] it'll it consumes a lot of energy. you
[11:27] can put a large solar array on it, but
[11:29] it's going to put almost all of that
[11:31] energy back onto the grid for which
[11:33] you'll get compensated at the retail
[11:34] rate. Um, and then it will be offset
[11:38] when you consume energy uh overnight.
[11:41] And so I'll scroll down here to the kind
[11:44] of highle uh analysis for for a solar
[11:47] array. So quite a lot quite a bit larger
[11:50] than the array for the event center. It'
[11:53] be a 50 kWDC 40 kW. That's the maximum
[11:56] amount that you can install on a public
[11:58] building and uh still get that retail
[12:01] credit. Um the system would produce
[12:04] 62,260
[12:05] kilos a year. And so depending on the
[12:09] year uh I had a access to about 3 years
[12:11] of bills. It'll offset 90 to 110% of the
[12:16] total analy use. So again um really
[12:19] offsetting most if not all of the energy
[12:22] use in the building. Um we estimate a
[12:25] total upfront cost um of $117,500.
[12:30] Uh and then again the rebate, the
[12:32] primary rebate being the autotail power
[12:34] pop rebate which for this project for
[12:37] this sort of array would come in at
[12:38] 58,750
[12:41] and then the 30% tax credit which would
[12:44] come in at $35,250
[12:47] which would make the total incentives
[12:49] $94,000.
[12:52] And then the balance after incentives 24
[12:55] or $23,500,
[12:57] excuse me. Um,
[12:59] this is the this is the kicker. Annual
[13:02] energy savings $5,100.
[13:04] So, if you decided to do a project on
[13:07] this building, the solar would more than
[13:10] pay for the total energy bill of the
[13:11] building. In fact, you would have
[13:14] probably $1,000 extra on top of the bill
[13:16] you're currently paying for that
[13:18] building. So that's the really big kind
[13:21] of opportunity I see here. Um and then
[13:25] uh it would be cash flow positive after
[13:27] uh about four and a half years of
[13:29] operations.
[13:31] Over a 30-year lifetime, the project
[13:33] would save the city $149,661.
[13:38] Um and the total energy value, so that's
[13:40] the total value of all the energy it
[13:42] produces over its lifetime would be
[13:44] $173,161.
[13:48] And then I'll just scroll down a little
[13:50] bit to this cash flow that kind of
[13:52] illustrates that in a more visual um
[13:55] manner.
[13:57] And um it sounds like we will be or my
[14:01] colleague Cedar Walters will be
[14:03] presenting uh to the fireh hall board on
[14:06] February 2nd to seek approval um to to
[14:11] put these details into our cooperative
[14:13] RFP. If that approval is granted, it
[14:16] means that the city and the fireh hall
[14:18] board would receive a bid in May or
[14:21] June. It would not again uh as last time
[14:24] it would not this, you know, decision
[14:26] tonight or February 2nd doesn't commit
[14:28] the city to anything. It just means that
[14:30] you'll receive a bid um and get to
[14:33] decide in May or June if you want to
[14:34] move forward at that point.
[14:37] Um so maybe I'll pause there for for
[14:39] questions or comments.
[14:45] questions. The the energy and resilience
[14:47] committee met last week and we didn't
[14:49] have a quorum but those presidents that
[14:50] were supportive um and thought that you
[14:54] go to the fire board and for the next
[14:56] step
[14:57] >> on there there's the west central
[14:58] initiative grant um you have nothing
[15:01] there.
[15:02] >> So is it because we're going to make
[15:04] money so quickly that we are not
[15:06] eligible or you just don't know?
[15:08] >> We just don't know yet. So, as you might
[15:10] remember last time when I ca when I was
[15:12] there probably over a year ago now when
[15:14] we I was pitching the first project, we
[15:16] weren't sure like how how much prices
[15:18] were going to come in. I think last year
[15:20] when I pitched we were pitching at 250
[15:24] or 275 a watt. Um this this analysis is
[15:29] at 235 a watt which is more expensive
[15:31] than the bid we received last year just
[15:34] because of some policy changes at the
[15:36] federal level. We're expecting a little
[15:37] bit of increase in price from last year.
[15:39] Um, but we do know that we're going to
[15:41] be below 250 a watt. Um, the reason I
[15:44] don't have anything in here is because
[15:46] we don't we just don't know a how many
[15:48] communities are going to move forward
[15:50] with a project and b what the pricing is
[15:53] going to look like. And depending on the
[15:55] pricing and how many communities move
[15:57] forward will kind of uh help us decide
[16:01] how we use grant funds. Obviously, last
[16:04] year we used the grant funds to pay for
[16:06] battery systems. One thing we're
[16:08] considering this year is if the prices
[16:11] come in at 235 or above, instead of
[16:14] doing larger grants to specific
[16:17] communities for batteries, we might do
[16:19] some smaller grants to all communities
[16:21] to help pay down that cash flow. um we
[16:24] just don't know where the pricing will
[16:25] land and we also don't know how many
[16:27] communities will ultimately move forward
[16:29] with the project and so we're not
[16:31] putting anything in there. Um but it's
[16:33] possible that West Central Initiative
[16:35] would also be able to contribute grant
[16:37] funds to support this work as well.
[16:43] » Any other questions for Griffin
[16:46] at this point?
[16:48] >> No further questions right now but
[16:50] Griffin.
[16:52] Okay, sounds good. If anyone has other
[16:54] questions or comments or anything,
[16:58] Julie, maybe you can share my email
[16:59] address with the council um and they can
[17:02] reach me that way. And then like I said,
[17:05] my colleague Cedar Walters will present
[17:06] to the fire board on February 2nd for
[17:09] that formal approval.
[17:11] >> Perhaps we he could share his slides
[17:14] because they were really hard to
[17:15] >> Yeah. Can you send me the slides so that
[17:18] I can have those? Or is Cedar going to
[17:20] bring those?
[17:22] >> Yep. I will I will send you send you
[17:23] this copy and I'll be sure Cedar has a
[17:25] couple copies with her as well.
[17:27] >> Thank you.
[17:28] >> You could electronically share them with
[17:29] the council too just because there's a
[17:31] lot of information and like you said a
[17:32] little hard to see.
[17:34] >> Yeah,
[17:35] >> absolutely. Um and I will just maybe
[17:37] share here. I'll stop sharing my screen.
[17:39] I will just share some of the other
[17:41] communities we have on board for this
[17:44] second round. We do have a number of uh
[17:48] communities like Fergus that are
[17:49] returning for a second project. Let me
[17:52] just get that list pulled up here. Okay,
[17:54] so as of right now, we have the city of
[17:57] Ottabon, the city of Brandon, the city
[17:58] of Chicago, the city of Ottertale, the
[18:01] city of Rosé, the city of Underwood, the
[18:04] city of Callaway, the city of Hitterall.
[18:06] Those are all new communities that are
[18:08] joining that were kind of inspired by
[18:10] the first cohort. And then Battle Lake,
[18:13] Parker's Prairie, Hoffman, and New York
[18:16] Mills are other communities that were in
[18:18] it the first round that are also
[18:19] returning for a second project. So,
[18:21] we're hopeful we'll get a a good price
[18:23] with the number of communities we put
[18:25] together. Um, and and yeah, we're
[18:28] looking forward to to continuing this
[18:31] work uh in the region.
[18:35] » Thank you, Griffin. Appreciate it.
[18:37] >> Awesome. Thank you, Julie. and Julie, I
[18:40] will see you two tomorrow for our our
[18:42] meeting. I have some exciting updates to
[18:44] share then.
[18:45] >> Thanks. We have
[18:48] >> Oh, yeah. I thought I thought we had one
[18:52] with mommy. Okay. Thanks, Gone.
[18:56] Uh, our next order of business is the
[18:59] city center parking lot. Blaine.
[19:05] » Yeah. Uh, let me see if I can get my
[19:08] camera on here. There we are. Um, just a
[19:12] quick update on that. You know, nothing
[19:13] obviously has changed from last month
[19:15] other than we have a uh an additional
[19:18] payment above last uh payment there. Um,
[19:22] and so that uh amount that you're seeing
[19:24] that 55,000 I believe. Um, that's kind
[19:28] of due, you know, to the contractor.
[19:31] That's for all the work that's complete.
[19:33] Um the last little thing out that's
[19:34] hanging out there is a little bit of
[19:36] concrete and we talked with the concrete
[19:38] uh contractor and he seemed willing to
[19:41] look at it in the spring. So we do have
[19:43] uh 3% retainage held out there uh to
[19:46] make sure you know when we really once
[19:48] the ice melts and we get a good look at
[19:50] it uh if we need to fix it and it seems
[19:52] like we're trending in that direction um
[19:55] that we can get that done in the spring.
[19:57] But otherwise um yeah overall a good
[20:01] project. Tori uh and his crew did a
[20:03] really good job. Um yeah, then if
[20:07] there's any questions, I'd be glad to
[20:08] answer them.
[20:12] » Questions on this second and silent? If
[20:15] not, I'll take a recommendation to
[20:17] approve.
[20:20] » I would make a motion to approve partial
[20:23] pay request number two.
[20:25] >> Second
[20:27] motion by Bruce and a second by Paul.
[20:29] All in favor by saying I
[20:32] >> I
[20:32] >> opposed. Okay. Then we have the
[20:36] assessment hearing that we're willing to
[20:38] do. Um our next meeting is February 17th
[20:42] if we'd want to do it like at 6 o'clock
[20:45] before our council meeting.
[20:48] >> Is that soon enough, Julie?
[20:51] >> Yes.
[20:53] thoughts about when does that work to
[20:56] just do it when we're together anyway?
[21:00] >> Okay. So, we'll do 6 PM on February
[21:02] 17th. The other recommendation is how
[21:05] many years do we want to indicate or the
[21:09] assessment payment? It seems like we've
[21:11] done 20 in the past, but these aren't
[21:13] huge.
[21:14] Um, do do you have an idea what they
[21:17] are, Julie? I think you were going to
[21:19] take a look at that.
[21:21] Do you have those exact numbers of what
[21:25] I mean? I can look up your email, too.
[21:27] >> Yeah, let me um I can pull them up here
[21:30] real quick.
[21:42] So, it's kind of broken into the two
[21:45] different sections as we know. um where
[21:48] when the work was the private work on on
[21:50] the property that was being directly
[21:52] build and then what was actually
[21:53] assessed to the property owners that was
[21:57] by a cost per linear foot basis. Um and
[22:01] so yeah, I have those numbers and I can
[22:04] Do you want me to rattle them off or
[22:07] um how do you want me to
[22:10] convey those?
[22:14] Well, I think we're just kind of
[22:15] wondering kind of where the prices are
[22:17] to set the year term.
[22:20] >> So, we have one person getting three for
[22:23] assessment costs.
[22:24] >> What was it?
[22:25] >> Um, one place is one parcel is $3,46752.
[22:31] » Y
[22:32] >> another parcel is $1,69344.
[22:36] Another parcel is 80640.
[22:39] Another is $216.
[22:42] And the last parcel is $2,688
[22:48] for a total of $36,970.
[22:54] » Uh that's that's once you include the
[22:56] city's share of that as well, Julie. Um
[23:00] if you look at what is only being
[23:03] assessed, that amount is $10,671.36.
[23:11] Well, we can assess the city as well.
[23:14] Um, $26,326.34
[23:18] for the two parcels that the city.
[23:22] >> And so that that amount is based off of
[23:24] uh the the rate of I think I $26.88
[23:29] a linear foot. That's what was presented
[23:31] at the the public hearing. Um I suppose
[23:35] that was about a year and a half ago now
[23:37] um that we originally presented that.
[23:39] you know, that's kind of the the
[23:40] maximum. It it exceeded that by um a
[23:44] little bit, so we can't go above that
[23:45] without reholding a public hearing. And
[23:48] at that point, it's it isn't worth it, I
[23:50] don't think. But um to meet the, you
[23:53] know, 429 statuates um that going with
[23:56] that 2688 is is what we'd recommend.
[24:06] » That's the recommendation for repayment.
[24:08] 10 20 like I said we've done 20 but
[24:11] that's usually been considerably more
[24:14] than this amount that we got here but
[24:18] >> we went 10 I mean on the highest one
[24:20] 3457 it amounts to you know $345 a year
[24:24] you know plus interest
[24:27] >> we know what the interest is
[24:29] >> right
[24:31] >> it is 1% higher than what we got in the
[24:34] bond and I do not know that off the top
[24:37] I'll have that ready for public hearing
[24:46] » is
[24:48] if we set that tonight, that's when
[24:50] we'll go into the public hearing then or
[24:52] what if
[24:54] >> we don't um if we don't set that we
[24:56] can't make a we can't get
[25:00] of what uh at the public hearing we
[25:02] won't have all the information available
[25:04] at public hearing if we don't know the
[25:09] But that doesn't mean that after
[25:11] significant dialogue if they wanted it
[25:12] more you can change.
[25:14] >> Yes. This is only proposed.
[25:16] >> Make a motion that we go 10 years on
[25:19] bond for the parking lot improvement
[25:21] project.
[25:25] » We have a motion by Bruce a second by
[25:27] James
[25:28] comfort vote. All in favor by saying I
[25:32] in the
[25:32] >> post.
[25:38] Okay, we need a motion for the public
[25:41] hearing. Oh gosh, we didn't do that.
[25:43] Okay. And I have a motion to hold the
[25:45] public meeting February 17th at 6 p.m.
[25:48] here.
[25:50] >> I'll make motion.
[25:51] >> We have a motion by James. Is there a
[25:52] second?
[25:56] » We have a second.
[25:58] All in favor by saying
[26:00] >> I
[26:05] committee reports.
[26:09] Um
[26:13] the first one is um
[26:16] the um approval of the successful
[26:20] performance ratings for the city clerk
[26:23] and utility superintendent.
[26:28] Is there a motion to accept that? I'll
[26:30] >> make a motion. We
[26:32] >> have a motion from James. Is there a
[26:33] second? Second.
[26:35] >> Offer the vote. All in favor, indicate
[26:37] by saying I.
[26:38] >> I.
[26:39] >> Uh the next item is um we've talked
[26:41] about the Minnesota paid leave law. It
[26:44] It's been placed into our personnel
[26:46] policy. It's on page nine. It's pretty
[26:48] much language straight out of the the
[26:50] law. and uh personnel reviewed and
[26:54] approved um that section of the policy
[26:57] in personnel.
[27:00] Is there a motion to approve that
[27:01] addition?
[27:03] >> I'll make that motion.
[27:04] >> Motion from James. Is there a second?
[27:06] >> Second.
[27:08] >> Paul. Um all in favor indicate by saying
[27:11] I
[27:11] >> I
[27:13] Okay, that's all we got from personnel.
[27:16] Aba H.
[27:20] um
[27:27] to request a resolution of support from
[27:29] the city council waving the
[27:33] water and sewer fees and the conditional
[27:35] use permit fee for the daycare project
[27:38] if it gets to that point where it
[27:40] actually
[27:42] becomes a buildable project. Uh at this
[27:46] point in time, we know that uh one of
[27:49] the things that we're going to have to
[27:50] do is come up with a pretty a fairly
[27:53] detailed budget. And of course, these
[27:55] numbers would factor into that if we can
[27:57] say they're waved. Um it helps us with
[28:01] our budgeting.
[28:02] >> What are the lacking faces?
[28:04] >> Um $750 for water and $750 for sewer per
[28:09] property. So on the property that the um
[28:12] EDA has a p or h has a purchase
[28:15] agreement on, they would be putting two
[28:19] um properties on there. So it would be
[28:21] costing the water $1,500,
[28:24] the sewer $1,500.
[28:27] And then they're also asking for the
[28:28] conditional use permit fee to be waved,
[28:31] which is $400. So we're talking about
[28:34] $3,400
[28:36] um divided up between those three
[28:38] different entities. general fund, water
[28:40] fund, and sewer fund.
[28:43] >> I think we've done that in the past for
[28:45] community um projects of this nature.
[28:48] So, we'll see if we get to that point.
[28:51] It would be nice to say we're going to
[28:52] get to a point where we're actually
[28:54] going to build it.
[28:55] >> Yeah. I mean, daycare has been kind of a
[28:57] priority in so
[28:59] >> a lot of sit and teased to cross between
[29:02] now and that actually happening.
[29:06] The other thing I see is you don't
[29:07] really want to miss a meeting of this
[29:09] group because you could be nominated as
[29:11] chair.
[29:15] » So is the um
[29:18] is the resolution separate
[29:21] >> or can we
[29:24] >> they have a resolution? Okay. Um, is
[29:27] there a recommendation that we would um
[29:30] wave the whack and sack fees and the
[29:33] conditional use permit for a daycare?
[29:37] >> I would make that motion.
[29:39] >> We have a motion. Is there a second?
[29:40] >> Second.
[29:41] >> Have a motion and a second. All in favor
[29:44] by saying I
[29:47] >> The other part is a resolution. the EDA
[29:50] was wanting to make sure after they go
[29:53] through all this work that it wouldn't
[29:55] come to the council and then um not get
[29:58] supported. Um so they were requesting
[30:01] that there be a resolution that the EDA
[30:05] um as well as having those fees um waved
[30:09] would have city council support as they
[30:11] move forward um with investigating if
[30:14] they care
[30:15] >> and that will help as we also apply for
[30:17] different grants and stuff that are
[30:19] available um to a project of this
[30:22] nature. So, I would make a motion that
[30:25] the council approve resolution 2026-001
[30:31] um indicating city council support of
[30:34] that potential project.
[30:36] >> We have a motion from Bruce. Is there a
[30:39] second?
[30:39] >> Second.
[30:40] >> We have a second from Paul. All in favor
[30:43] keep by saying I.
[30:44] >> I
[30:46] approve. Motion carried. Um the liquor
[30:49] store municipal building
[30:54] Um we had a meeting
[30:57] last week. Um
[31:00] the among recommendation the council um
[31:03] was that the stepup boutique had
[31:06] requested um signage last meeting and we
[31:10] approved
[31:11] um some but not all of the signage and
[31:14] we the signage that we did not approve
[31:17] got kind of altered and still hung up.
[31:20] So, what they had originally requested
[31:22] was the step-up boutique sign next to
[31:24] the door. We did not approve it and we
[31:28] told them to come back to us with
[31:30] something that had different wordage
[31:32] that would have liquor store and separ.
[31:37] They went ahead and redid it and they
[31:39] hung it up, but it hasn't been approved,
[31:41] nor is it branded in a way that goes
[31:45] with the liquor store. and then the
[31:46] wording of the policy and their
[31:48] agreement that it cannot
[31:51] take away from sales of the liquor store
[31:54] or detract from liquor store at all. So,
[31:57] >> and then it was adhered without
[32:00] drilling.
[32:00] >> It is not Yes, it is noted with drilling
[32:04] or anything, but it's it's
[32:09] » I never did look at the back of it, so I
[32:10] don't know how it's attached. I don't
[32:12] know if it's double-sided tape or
[32:14] Velcro. I'm not sure.
[32:16] >> I don't know. But in this one, we should
[32:17] look into
[32:19] >> I just know after our last meeting, not
[32:21] the meeting like a week ago that he's
[32:23] talking a meeting like a month or so ago
[32:24] that we discussed that.
[32:25] >> That was before small town Christmas.
[32:27] >> Yes, I think so. It was right around
[32:29] that time. I probably failed in how I
[32:30] worded it to them. I told them there are
[32:32] no nails, screws, absolutely nothing to
[32:34] be on the exterior.
[32:37] Failed to say no signage.
[32:39] >> What was your conversation after you
[32:41] since this meeting? Have you had any
[32:42] chance?
[32:43] >> I've never been able to find her. I came
[32:44] in on the weekend. I left a note up
[32:46] there for her. Okay.
[32:47] >> Of letting her know about tonight.
[32:51] >> So, our recommendation to the city
[32:52] council would be to remove the step up
[32:54] sign by the entrance that does not
[32:56] adhere to our branding stuff and wasn't
[33:01] approved.
[33:03] >> I would put them back then to what our
[33:05] decision was at the December council
[33:06] meeting is to come back with a revised
[33:08] design.
[33:10] >> Yep. I would make a motion to remove the
[33:13] existing sign and to follow council's
[33:16] December recommendations. Is
[33:18] >> there a second?
[33:19] >> I'll second a motion from Bruce, a
[33:21] second from James. All in favor by
[33:24] saying I
[33:25] >> I
[33:28] anything else from
[33:31] just the one recommendation?
[33:34] Okay. Then we have event center. That's
[33:37] you.
[33:38] >> Okay. Um, so the only recommendation
[33:42] um that we have for the event center is,
[33:46] let me just see what this Oh, wait. Put
[33:49] it in here. Um,
[33:52] we've had a little bit of an issue since
[33:54] the last city council meeting regarding
[33:57] the ashtrays around town around the
[34:00] event center. Um, and um, we've recently
[34:05] kind of fixed that a little bit.
[34:09] Um but
[34:11] in the process we've gotten um
[34:16] some push back from the city employees
[34:18] as a part of how the policy reads as to
[34:21] who has control over this building or
[34:23] how this building is run. Um we just
[34:26] recommend that the city council um look
[34:29] at the policy um as far as um city
[34:32] employees as opposed for
[34:36] safety of this building.
[34:38] Essentially what had happened was um we
[34:41] had last meeting we agreed that the
[34:44] ashtrays would be taken off
[34:48] um and that was agreed upon. It was not
[34:53] communicated correctly apparently and um
[34:56] we got some push back saying that as an
[34:59] advisory board that we advise the city
[35:01] council but we do not make um we do not
[35:05] make the rules
[35:07] >> and our only concern is that in a safety
[35:10] situation we do not have the three weeks
[35:12] to wait for a meeting and the decision
[35:14] that we had made was to remove them for
[35:18] the safety of not having the building
[35:20] burned now. So, we would just like that
[35:22] looked at um as so that we
[35:26] cannot have these problems in the in the
[35:29] future. Um Julie did attach the
[35:32] personnel policy for this building.
[35:35] >> No, no, no. I know it's not yet.
[35:38] >> Um we need to look at it though. So,
[35:40] we'll bring it back to next meeting. But
[35:41] I just wanted that
[35:42] >> when I looked it's outdated. So, be a
[35:45] great opportunity to
[35:47] >> um and it it does kind of outline the
[35:49] various responsibilities. they're not
[35:51] clear and it gives you an opportunity to
[35:54] >> we have gotten the
[35:57] with our meeting the
[36:00] um ashtrays were removed. Um we
[36:04] discussed different options. We did not
[36:06] come to a s to a final say what was
[36:09] going to happen but I my understanding
[36:11] is that they were purchased new ones
[36:12] were purchased after that meeting. Um
[36:15] and that's where we're at with that
[36:17] meeting.
[36:22] Well, I guess we should look at the
[36:23] policy and see what it says. But, you
[36:25] know, I don't use the ashtrays, so I'm
[36:26] not I know in the front wasn't there
[36:28] kind of like a sand or something. You
[36:30] didn't put your cigarette butt in.
[36:32] >> Used to be. Yes.
[36:33] >> I just My concern if we don't have
[36:35] ashtrays, where are those butts going to
[36:36] end up? They're going to end up in a
[36:38] bass.
[36:38] >> Our our concern was that they should not
[36:42] be attached to the building so that they
[36:43] can be remove like moved away from the
[36:45] building if they were on fire,
[36:46] >> right? which was not able to happen at
[36:49] that time. That was our suggest
[36:52] that was the one that was having the
[36:54] issues. Our only recommendation is that
[36:56] they removed until we figured out
[36:57] another option. It was never to not have
[36:59] them. It was just to remove them for the
[37:02] time being. So
[37:04] >> what is the footage? They have to be
[37:06] >> Well, you can't smoke within 20 ft of
[37:08] them.
[37:08] >> 20T
[37:09] >> of the door.
[37:10] >> That's smoking. But your ashtrays, there
[37:12] is no state statute. No. Um
[37:15] >> I couldn't find
[37:16] >> right. Yeah. Um Otteraw County and the
[37:18] city of Vergus does not have but there
[37:21] is a recommendation from um that states
[37:25] best practice is 15 to 25 ft from any
[37:28] entrance window or air intake.
[37:32] >> So I think we're going to have a problem
[37:35] if you have them farther away from the
[37:36] door than you have them they don't use
[37:38] them as much. Um, so I don't think it
[37:42] was like the biggest problem was having
[37:44] them away from the door. It was just
[37:46] more so having them connected to the
[37:47] building.
[37:48] >> Yeah. And
[37:49] >> I do think we have to observe some
[37:50] distance because I have gotten
[37:52] complaints about people that go in the
[37:54] municipal building towards the liquor
[37:56] store because there's someone who has a
[37:58] tendency to smoke right outside the door
[38:01] >> and they find it bothersome to walk
[38:04] through there. So,
[38:07] >> not even kind of briefly dug into that
[38:09] too about like what Julie just said
[38:12] about how there is no distance
[38:14] requirement for the ashtray itself
[38:17] because I I smell it too. I can smell it
[38:19] when people put them out and they come
[38:20] in and
[38:21] >> I see it out there smoking just coming
[38:24] into the door and I've often wondered
[38:26] that with the Clean Air Act that it's
[38:28] only two feet away from the front door.
[38:30] Yeah. So, it' be a good time as we're
[38:32] looking at new ash trees going up to
[38:35] take a look at that footage and you want
[38:37] it convenient, but you don't want it
[38:40] right at the doorway where
[38:43] smokers again don't have that issue, but
[38:46] most smokers are, you know, probably
[38:48] want to put their butt on, you know,
[38:51] >> if anything does get decided with the
[38:53] event center on that, I would like to
[38:54] hear it at as well. Might you propose it
[38:56] at the liquor store, too?
[39:07] All of them.
[39:09] >> Yeah, they just came the shop today.
[39:11] Gotcha.
[39:12] >> So, we'll take a look at how many feet
[39:14] in them before they're installed. Are
[39:16] they multi?
[39:18] >> You wanted them where you could just
[39:19] grab them.
[39:21] >> Oh,
[39:22] they're the
[39:24] >> whatever.
[39:25] >> Yeah. Yeah, the ones that between the
[39:28] >> Yeah,
[39:28] >> the bank and the loom's desk look
[39:30] exactly like that one.
[39:34] >> I I do agree that I do see more butts
[39:36] hitting the ground if we don't have them
[39:38] there. Like I already see people dumping
[39:40] their ashtrays from their car right on
[39:42] the alley between us and did merkantile.
[39:45] Yeah, there's a lot of butts out there
[39:47] even though we have an ashtray over
[39:48] there.
[39:53] Okay,
[39:56] thank you.
[39:58] Um,
[40:01] I guess we are down to staff reports.
[40:03] Um,
[40:06] >> I presented my report to you guys in
[40:10] paper or form. Do you guys have any
[40:11] questions?
[40:15] » Um, do we was there any followup for
[40:18] Keely Shores? cuz at our last meeting
[40:20] there was going to be followup. I see
[40:21] you matched or is it still not resolved?
[40:25] >> Yeah, me and Blaine went out there and
[40:26] looked at it and um like he's not on
[40:28] there I guess.
[40:29] >> Yeah, he's on.
[40:30] >> He's on. He's just not.
[40:31] >> He was in agreement but it still didn't
[40:34] meet the criteria.
[40:36] >> So there was going to be discussion
[40:38] engineer to engineer. Do you know if
[40:40] that ever occurred when did you have a
[40:42] chance to talk to the engineer?
[40:45] >> Yes. So, I um Keith had emailed uh the
[40:49] engineer and then CCD me on it. Um and
[40:51] then I also emailed the engineer. I
[40:53] haven't heard back from them yet. Um so
[40:57] that's where that sits currently.
[40:59] >> Okay.
[41:02] Any other questions on Mike?
[41:08] If not, uh, liquor store report kind of
[41:13] >> um, at the end of quarter 4. Um, let's
[41:17] see.
[41:18] We're still waiting on some sign
[41:20] material from JH signs. That's on back
[41:22] order. That's the last we heard from
[41:24] them. Um, soon as that signage material
[41:27] shows up, they should be installed in
[41:29] the main liquor store sign up on top of
[41:31] the roof.
[41:33] Um, midtime December, gutters were
[41:36] installed. Um, some concerns were
[41:39] brought to the meeting, but nothing that
[41:41] had to get brought up here. I'm getting
[41:43] different quotes for different gutters
[41:45] to potentially bring to council. Maybe I
[41:48] don't even know if it' be my next
[41:50] meeting or next February, but
[41:53] um, so gutters may be getting brought up
[41:56] again soon to the council.
[42:00] Um, hold on as I load here.
[42:04] So, I don't think we could actually
[42:06] attach I do a year end PowerPoint
[42:08] preview. I don't think we could attach
[42:09] it. I don't know if you guys got a print
[42:11] out of it.
[42:12] >> No, they didn't. Are you about to
[42:16] >> or did you get a PDF? I'm not sure.
[42:18] >> They didn't get anything on.
[42:20] >> It might not be too crucial. I can
[42:21] >> We just kind of got your fourth quarter
[42:23] sales and
[42:26] >> just kind of what you know
[42:28] >> does kind of summarize. I mean, it
[42:30] includes first quarter, second quarter,
[42:32] third quarter, and a second one. Yeah. I
[42:34] guess the PowerPoint I was asking that's
[42:36] just kind of the the fun numbers
[42:38] throughout the year. I didn't know if
[42:39] you guys got that one yet or not.
[42:42] >> No, they have not. Okay. But I will get
[42:45] that.
[42:47] >> Well, before we I don't know if you're
[42:48] emailing it. Before we get to that, um,
[42:50] yeah, sales have decreased from 25
[42:54] versus 24. That's not just us. I mean,
[42:57] fortunately, it's not just us, but
[42:59] unfortunately, we are affected by it as
[43:01] well. It's kind of a nationwide thing
[43:03] happening right now. Um,
[43:07] part of the I mean, we're we're still,
[43:10] let's see, we still exceeded over a
[43:12] million in sales. We did exceed last
[43:14] year's sales by
[43:16] roughly 1 $1,800
[43:20] higher than last year's. Yeah. Last year
[43:22] we hit 1,12,000. This year we hit just
[43:25] shy of 1,14.
[43:29] So yes, we're still getting the sales.
[43:32] Yes, we're still rolling in the profit,
[43:33] but it is not the increase that we were
[43:36] expecting that I was expecting.
[43:41] » But that's probably representative of
[43:43] the nationwide trends or whatever we
[43:46] hear all
[43:47] >> initi
[43:49] liquor store is part of an organization
[43:51] called MMBA. It's Minnesota Municipal
[43:54] Meers Association. all municipal liquor
[43:57] stores had the option of being part of
[43:58] it. Um
[44:01] I don't know maybe four or five months
[44:02] into the year the the head president of
[44:05] that was reaching out to all of us
[44:06] asking us for our sales history.
[44:09] Wasn't too much long after that asking
[44:11] for THC history and it sounded like they
[44:13] were maybe going to some national
[44:15] conference to discuss sales there as
[44:16] well. So it it is trending. Alcohol
[44:20] sales are definitely trending downward
[44:22] nationwide.
[44:25] So support local as much as you possibly
[44:27] can. That's for sure.
[44:30] Were we able to get that over?
[44:32] >> Yeah, we should care.
[44:34] >> Okay, then we'll kind of briefly touch
[44:36] on that. Yeah, we did exceed over a
[44:39] million again this year, which you guys
[44:41] can see on the first slide there. Um
[44:44] approximate profit after all expenses,
[44:47] that's utility bills, wages, everything
[44:50] should be approximately 32,000.
[44:53] That is an estimated number. We're still
[44:55] waiting to hear from the state auditor
[44:56] whenever she comes and gets our audit
[44:58] done.
[44:59] Um several months ago, we transferred
[45:02] over $20,000 into the Bergus general
[45:04] fund
[45:06] and just little over 13,000 was given
[45:09] back into the community in a form of
[45:12] some type of discount whether that's
[45:14] senior um veteran, military.
[45:20] The next slides I put in our comparisons
[45:23] from 24 to 25. So the first one which is
[45:26] our sales comparison. Obviously we want
[45:28] to see that orange bar which is 25 to be
[45:31] slightly higher than the blue one. Some
[45:34] months it is. Some months it's not. And
[45:37] unfortunately the months where we really
[45:38] want to be up which is like June, July,
[45:40] August, that's where it's down.
[45:43] >> June, July, I guess it's down not
[45:45] August.
[45:50] I'll get any questions as we go or
[45:54] keep going. Um, I kind of briefly broke
[45:57] it down by categories as far as what
[45:59] we're selling. Um, with the new POS
[46:02] software, I I'm no longer able to pull a
[46:05] report to show percentage. So, I don't
[46:07] know the exact percentage of like what
[46:09] beer is doing, what wine is doing, but
[46:11] at least shows the number of products
[46:13] sold per category and the dollars that
[46:16] it brought in.
[46:20] Um,
[46:22] just a question on expense comparison.
[46:25] Of course, um
[46:27] obviously
[46:29] um expenses were greater than 2024 also.
[46:34] >> Yeah. What factors entered into that?
[46:37] The wholesale prices of liquor or what?
[46:40] >> I I do see some wholesaling pricing
[46:42] going up. Um I think our insurance is
[46:44] probably also a big factor in that. That
[46:46] was a
[46:48] correct me if I'm wrong, Julie. I
[46:49] believe that that was a decent increase
[46:51] there.
[46:52] >> 14% increase.
[46:53] >> Yeah. So I just wonder because
[46:57] like at the very beginning of that bar
[46:59] graph as well or whatever graph that is
[47:03] I don't I don't focus too much on how it
[47:06] drastically changes in January February
[47:09] like that because municipals typically
[47:11] try and thin our stock out at the end of
[47:13] the year and come the beginning of the
[47:16] fiscal year that's when we're looking
[47:18] for those crazy buys.
[47:21] But yeah, so the expense is not just
[47:24] liquor, it's everything to keep that
[47:27] store open. Y
[47:32] » um onto the sales statistic page. I'm
[47:35] not going to read off all the numbers.
[47:37] It just kind of gives some fun numbers
[47:38] of how many products we sold throughout
[47:40] the year, how many transactions.
[47:43] The average transaction is about neck
[47:45] andneck with last year at $27 and change
[47:48] per transaction.
[47:51] Um, kind of a fun one I put in there.
[47:53] The amount of ice that we sold was over
[47:55] 25,000 pounds and almost all of that got
[47:57] hauled into the store by employees.
[48:00] >> Um, and then at the very end there, I
[48:04] just like to put in our top products
[48:05] that we sold. So, I kind of accumulated
[48:07] all of our top 10 shooters, which were
[48:09] over 11,000
[48:11] little airplane shooters that we did.
[48:14] And then the top beer was Bush Light,
[48:16] followed closely by Kors Light and
[48:17] Keystone.
[48:22] And that's just the end of that unless
[48:23] there's any questions
[48:29] from Kyle.
[48:34] » I guess not. Thank you, Kyle. This is
[48:37] >> was a good overview. Thank you.
[48:40] >> I think I said it last year. I don't
[48:42] give this big overview every single
[48:43] quarter. It's just kind of a year end
[48:45] recap.
[48:47] Appreciate that.
[48:51] We ended up being so
[48:57] clerk treasure Julie.
[48:58] >> All right. I also gave you a written
[49:00] report um on what is going on. the one
[49:05] grant that was submitted, the MDH
[49:07] implementation grant. We were awarded
[49:10] the grant. Um, but the availability of
[49:13] grant funds have been exhausted and so
[49:15] our application is sitting on a list.
[49:17] When the state gets funds for that,
[49:19] that's when they'll distribute that. So,
[49:22] we're on a yes, you're approved, but you
[49:25] have to wait, you can't do anything
[49:27] until um they can sign the paperwork and
[49:31] know that they have the funding.
[49:32] >> Which was that? That's the um NDH
[49:35] implementation. It's where we want to
[49:37] put the fence up around the water tower.
[49:47] Any other questions of Julie come for a
[49:50] report here?
[49:57] And thank you Julie
[50:02] to
[50:04] grass for 2025.
[50:09] Um, past annual addresses have had a
[50:11] focus on planning, vision for the
[50:13] future, and partnerships, and those
[50:15] themes remain important to the work of
[50:17] the city. But this year, resilience was
[50:20] introduced as an importance to the
[50:22] future of Bergus. Resilience is the
[50:24] capacity to anticipate, adapt, respond
[50:27] to disruptions while maintaining
[50:29] essential functions that ensure
[50:31] long-term survival and growth. Through
[50:33] collaboration with ESMC, which was the
[50:36] empowering small Minnesota communities,
[50:39] RSDP regional sustainable development
[50:42] partnership, and WCI West Central
[50:46] Initiative, Bergus has advanced our
[50:48] efforts to strengthen city resilience.
[50:51] The 2022 city comprehensive plan remains
[50:54] our overarching road mapap for the
[50:56] future vertus to the year 2036.
[50:59] Currently 86% of the identified
[51:02] strategies have either been completed or
[51:05] have had some progress made. Parking,
[51:08] housing, and businesses were the top
[51:10] focus areas which have received ongoing
[51:13] attention since 2022. Of note in 2025
[51:17] was the completion of the city center
[51:19] parking lot and additionally two
[51:21] handicap parking designations were added
[51:24] to the downtown parking. With the three
[51:26] housing um new housing additions, 94% of
[51:30] the lots have been sold. the EDA, the
[51:33] Economic Development Administration and
[51:35] HRA, the housing redevelopment authority
[51:38] and the Burgus Community Club. They have
[51:41] continued to provide the strong support
[51:42] to the the business community. The EDA H
[51:46] continues to offer the business facade
[51:48] improvement program and is maintaining
[51:51] the CEDA for community and economic
[51:53] development associates contract for
[51:56] 2026. SEGA has been invaluable in
[51:59] providing services and expertise in
[52:01] identifying improvement opportunities
[52:03] and funding resources. The EDA H made it
[52:07] a priority this year to secure a daycare
[52:09] in Bergus. A purchase agreement has been
[52:12] made that secures the daycare location
[52:14] at 303 Eltona Avenue. The EBAH is
[52:18] visiting other community daycarees,
[52:20] researching grant opportunities and
[52:22] established a daycare committee to lay
[52:24] out the operational bank framework. It
[52:27] should also be noted the comm community
[52:30] club maintains a high visibility through
[52:32] the hosting of community events to bring
[52:35] people to fellows and has expanded um
[52:38] the looney and holiday dollars to direct
[52:41] spending to our local businesses within
[52:44] the comprehensive plan. The importance
[52:46] of our parks and open space was also
[52:48] identified. This was further validated
[52:50] by a resilience and energy survey that
[52:52] we conducted in April this year. The
[52:55] protection of lakes and our natural
[52:56] environment scored as a highest area
[52:58] concern in the survey and a 2023 parks
[53:02] improvement plan um was devised. The
[53:05] Long Lake Park is very important to
[53:07] verbus recreationally, environmentally,
[53:09] and economically. Funding has been the
[53:12] barrier to execute the plan. In
[53:14] November, the city council approved the
[53:16] sales tax resolution to request
[53:18] permission from the state res
[53:20] legislature for a half cent sales tax
[53:22] increase on city retail sales. If
[53:25] approved, this would be placed on the
[53:27] November 26 elections ballot. Based on
[53:30] historical data of city sales, it's
[53:32] anticipated it would take approximately
[53:34] 5 years to raise the $1.2 million
[53:38] estimated project cost. Additionally, in
[53:41] 2023, a city of Bergus trail feasibility
[53:44] study had been conducted and this year
[53:46] Bergus was connected to the heart of
[53:48] lakes trail. Next step would be to
[53:50] connect to the Hartland regional trail
[53:52] which is targeted for the year 2031.
[53:56] In May 2024, the Verus city of Verus was
[53:59] awarded grants um from the empowering
[54:02] small Minnesota communities and the
[54:04] regional sustainable development
[54:06] partnership.
[54:08] The grants focused on engaging in energy
[54:10] initiatives with direct Bennett's bits
[54:13] to the community fiscally and
[54:15] environmentally. It entailed baseline
[54:17] assessments of our municipal building
[54:20] energy use energy audits of the
[54:22] municipal buildings and building
[54:23] enclosure and operations. The city
[54:26] received another grant from the
[54:28] Minnesota pollution control agency to
[54:30] make the identified weatherization
[54:32] improvements to the event center fireall
[54:35] and the liquor store municipal building.
[54:37] These grants have positioned the city of
[54:39] Burgers to receive further funding which
[54:41] was through the West Sentinel initiative
[54:43] for the installation of solar panels at
[54:45] the event center along with the
[54:47] installation of a battery bank that will
[54:50] support decreasing energy costs and
[54:52] provide energy backup commit
[54:54] capabilities for the community in the
[54:56] event of a power failure. In 2024,
[54:59] Bergus became the 100th and 49th
[55:02] Minnesota community to become a green
[55:04] step city. And this year, a level 205
[55:06] was achieved. Green steps is a
[55:08] recognition program that helps cities
[55:10] achieve resilience, sustainability, and
[55:12] quality of life goals to guide the city
[55:15] in achieving identified best practices
[55:18] and energy resilience. Um, advisory
[55:21] board was established this past year.
[55:24] Energy grant data, results of the
[55:26] community energy resilience survey, and
[55:28] best practices outlined in the GreenStep
[55:30] program is guiding work toward
[55:32] achievements in the following priority
[55:35] areas: energy and building
[55:37] infrastructure, natural environment, and
[55:39] green infrastructure, water, lake
[55:41] systems, and emergency preparedness and
[55:43] management. In summary, Bergus has moved
[55:46] forward and experienced significant
[55:48] momentum in 2025 and demonstrated what
[55:51] is truly possible even if you're a small
[55:53] community. The 2025 story would be
[55:56] defined as what is possible. What is
[55:59] possible when a small town uses data,
[56:01] partnerships, commitment, and community
[56:04] engagement to achieve advancement,
[56:06] resilience, and quality of life while
[56:09] keeping the small town charm and the
[56:11] heart of the community. And that is the
[56:14] 2025 address.
[56:18] Along with the address, it it noted our
[56:21] comprehensive plan. And in your packet,
[56:23] there were this plan was done in uh
[56:26] 2022. There were 58 strategies and 50 of
[56:30] those strategies. You know, we're seeing
[56:32] some progress. Some we've actually
[56:34] closed out because they're basically
[56:36] done. There's not more we can do. Um
[56:39] there are eight areas where we really
[56:40] aren't seeing traction. And granted,
[56:42] this plan goes to 2036, but it would be
[56:45] nice to just see if you know, are they, viable? Are they ones
[56:52] that are there that we don't see that
[56:54] there is a need? So, I think we're going
[56:56] to just kind of put those out and uh to
[56:59] the areas that would have
[57:01] some oversight and and kind of see what
[57:04] do they think. Like one was conduct a
[57:07] feasibility study for soccer fields and
[57:09] Frisbee golf. Does it need to be that
[57:12] specific? Or as uh you probably noticed
[57:14] in the parkboard minutes, they want to
[57:16] take a look at the little league field.
[57:18] Maybe it's something we can incorporate
[57:20] there. Um show uh show snowshoe rental
[57:24] companies. Look at them. I don't know,
[57:27] you know, does that follow in the realm
[57:29] of our our comp plan. So, we're going to
[57:32] kind of put those eight of those out and
[57:34] just see if if they're viable and and at
[57:37] the 5year mark, we'll take some time to
[57:39] just really overall evaluate. But, um um
[57:43] you know, it it's pretty incredible with
[57:46] that. We, you know, 86% of these 58
[57:49] strategies are we're seeing some work
[57:51] done. So, uh kudos because it isn't us
[57:54] doing the work. There is lots of groups
[57:56] in the community doing this work. So uh
[57:58] we appreciate all their all their
[58:00] efforts.
[58:03] any questions or further comments on we
[58:06] have plan
[58:12] just for information announcements don't
[58:14] forget about our April 8th uh board of
[58:17] review and our hazardous waste is June
[58:20] 23rd and then uh the employee training
[58:22] that we had previously um approved at
[58:25] the beginning at the end of the year.
[58:27] including
[58:30] on our agenda. Can I have a motion to
[58:32] approve or to move the motion to return?
[58:35] >> I like motion for James.
[58:40] All in favor?
[58:42] I