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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10.02.23 Council Minutes City of Farmington Regular Council Meeting Minutes Monday, October 2, 2023 The City Council met in regular session on Monday, October 2, 2023, at Farmington City Hall, 430 3rd Street, Farmington, Minnesota. 1. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Hoyt called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. 3. ROLL CALL Members Present: Mayor Joshua Hoyt Councilmembers Holly Bernatz, Nick Lien, and Steve Wilson Members Absent: Councilmember Katie Porter (excused absence) Staff Present: Julie Flaten, Asst City Administrator/HR Director Leah Koch, City Attorney Chris Regis, Finance Director Justin Elvestad, Fire Chief Kellee Omlid, Parks & Recreation Director Tony Wippler, Planning Manager Gary Rutherford, Police Chief John Powell, Public Works Director Shirley Buecksler, City Clerk 4. APPROVE AGENDA Motion was made by Councilmember Bernatz and seconded by Councilmember Lien to approve the agenda, as presented. Motion carried: 4 ayes / 0 nays 5. ANNOUNCEMENTS / COMMENDATIONS None 6. CITIZENS COMMENTS / RESPONSES TO COMMENTS • David Pritzlaff, 20255 Akin Road, regarding the Akin Road project and his yard. 7. CONSENT AGENDA 7.1 Gambling Event Permit for the Farmington High School Fishing Team, November 9, 2023; Resolution R65-23 7.2 Regular City Council Meeting Minutes for September 18, 2023 Regular City Council Meeting Minutes of October 2,2023 Page I of 5 7.3 Special Work Session Minutes for September 18, 2023 7.4 Encroachment Agreement Between the City of Farmington and Ten Nineteen — Farmington, LLC 7.5 Bills for September 13, 2023 — September 26, 2023 7.6 Fire-Rescue Service Agreement Between the City of Farmington and Jon Baird dba Soundwave Productions 7.7 Staff Changes and Recommendations Approving the Appointment of Kimberly Sommerland as Finance Director, Zoe Pokorny and Zach LaMotte as Seasonal Arena Supervisors, and Maya Tracey and Jaelyn Sather as Seasonal Skate Guards 7.8 Donation in the Amount of$600.60 from Happy Harry's Furniture to the Rambling River Center; Resolution R66-23 Motion was made by Councilmember Lien and seconded by Councilmember Wilson to approve the Consent Agenda, as presented. Motion carried: 4 ayes / 0 nays. 8. PUBLIC HEARINGS None 9. AWARD OF CONTRACT None 10.PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS None 11.UNFINISHED BUSINESS None 12.NEW BUSINESS None 13.CITY COUNCIL ROUNDTABLE Councilmember Lien: I attended the funeral today for Leon Orr of Farmington. He passed away on September 24, 2023. Leon served several roles within the community and was heavily involved in the design and development of the park system, the youth center, the senior citizen's center, the ice arena, and the Farmington Lutheran Church. He also served ten years as a City Councilmember and sat in on the Park Board. Leon had been a volunteer coach for little league baseball and has mentored several local youth at his church. Leon's last big project in Farmington was truly a great example of his belief in service to the community and country. Leon worked with other dedicated military veterans to design, fund raise for, and implement the construction of the Farmington Veterans Memorial. He drove to several states to visit other memorials to gain ideas and make sure this was the best possible salute to those who served our nation. Thank you, Leon, for your service to Farmington. Regular City Council Meeting Minutes of October 2,2023 Page 2 of 5 Councilmember Bernatz: I had a great time at Bourbon Butcher last Friday. Twin Cities Live was in town and did a fantastic job of letting people know what Farmington is about. A community event at its finest. Thank you to Twin Cities Live for selecting Farmington, to everyone coming out, and the band and its directors for performing. This is also Homecoming Week — it will be a lot busier with kids out. Parade Wednesday, game Friday, and the dance on Saturday. This is where we show who we are as a community, so be mindful of the kids and the visitors, and have a good time. Attorney Koch: The pandemic had brought a backlog of criminal cases for the judicial system. The First Judicial District (Dakota County) has received recognition for doing good work on that backlog and getting rid of it. Congratulations to all those city prosecutors, people on the bench, and court administration for their good work on this. Clerk Buecksler: The School District is in need of more Election Judges for the November election. Contact either me or the School District for more information. We hope to get more people involved. Director Flaten: It's a little bittersweet to say goodbye to Chris Regis after tonight's meeting. Council approved the hiring of Kim Sommerland as our new Finance Director, and we are excited to have her begin on October 23rd Director Powell: Public Works Staff held Snow Day 2023 last week. The Police Department was also there to talk about how plow drivers and the Police Department interact and reminders of who to contact if something happens. We also reviewed all the plow routes and plow route updates, damage claims, reporting steps, and review of equipment to be sure Staff have what they need once the season starts. In the afternoon, they drove their entire routes and documented things, such as manholes that need adjustment, gate valves, basketball hoops in the road, etc. To do that, they used a new app that our GIS Specialist developed specifically for Public Works. They were able to open the app on their phone and easily log the issue and location, which saved a lot of time. Hats off to our GIS Staff and Public Works Staff. Director Omlid: Homecoming is Wednesday, with the Homecoming Parade starting at 6 p.m., followed by the Tiger Cub Pep Fest outside the Rambling River Center. The deadline to register your house for the 2nd Annual Halloween Havoc Tour is Sunday. Houses must be ready by October 16tn Thank you to Leon Orr for all he has done for the Parks and Recreation Department. We wouldn't be where we are today with the amenities we have, without him. Congratulations to Chris Regis on his upcoming retirement. It's been a pleasure to work with you, and I hope you enjoy your retirement. Regular City Council Meeting Minutes of October 2,2023 Page 3 of 5 Director Regis: This is my last Council meeting. Thank you for the opportunity to come here. It has been a great place to work, in a great city. I've really enjoyed working with everyone and the Council. Thank you. Chief Elvestad: Next week is Fire Prevention Week. We had our Open House early because of the weather, and it was a great success. Fire Prevention Week is to commemorate the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. This year's theme is "Cooking Safety Starts with YOU." Reminder to everyone to be safe when you're cooking and set timers. Chief Rutherford: October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. As part of that, and for the last number of years, the Farmington Police Department has participated in the Pink Patch Project. Over the years, we have sold several versions of our patch in pink. This year, in addition to the patches and challenge coins that we're selling, we have a replica of our K-9 Smoke, who also has our pink patch on his tactical vest. You can pick these up in the lobby of the Police Department or at Fissan Training Kennels, who very generously donated the money needed to purchase these replicas of Smoke. Mayor Hoyt: Chris, it's been a pleasure. You have been an asset to the team, and you filled the void that we very much needed very quickly. You have been professional, and you have been there in all the times that we've had questions. While your time here with the City of Farmington was fairly short, we got to catch you on the tail end of what I know is most certainly an amazing career. Enjoy it, you've earned it. Leon Orr is one of the pillars of this community and has been for decades. A lot of people would recognize him but wouldn't know him, but they know and they feel his legacy. He was involved in City Council, Parks and Recreation, and an unlimited number of non-profits. He was the driver behind the vest for the K-9's. He was always the guy who showed up and showed up for the community first. He was very respectful, very passionate, and he loved everything about this community. He is going to be missed. We had a very rare opportunity last week with Twin Cities Live, the show, the production, and them coming to town. It was an unbelievable opportunity for the people outside of the city of Farmington to get a picture of what we, as a city, have to offer. To hear the enthusiasm in the host's voice throughout the week in the segments that were filmed, from Sweet Kneads, to Brand Farms, to Blue Nose Coffee, to Crazy Legs Pumpkin Patch, including Ben's trip on Wednesday and the tour we had, and he and Elizabeth on Friday at Bourbon Butcher, they even joked about it this afternoon in their lead-in. You can't buy that coverage. The feedback I personally heard was the positive light that it shed on everything that is great about this community. It was an unbelievable way to showcase our community, and we very much appreciate KSTP and the Twin Cities Live team for coming and being a part of that. Thank you. Regular City Council Meeting Minutes of October 2,2023 Page 4 of 5 14.ADJOURNMENT Motion was made by Councilmember Wilson and seconded by Councilmember Bernatz to adjourn the meeting at 7:18 p.m. Motion carried: 4 ayes / 0 nays. Respectfully submitted, Shirley u�cksler City Clerk Regular City Council Meeting Minutes of October 2,2023 Page 5 of 5