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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05.20.24 Council MinutesCity of Farmington Regular Council Meeting Minutes Monday, May 20, 2024 The City Council met in regular session on Monday, May 20, 2024, at Farmington City Hall, 430 31 Street, Farmington, Minnesota. 1. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Hoyt called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Hoyt led everyone in the Pledge of Allegiance. 3. ROLL CALL Members Present: Mayor Joshua Hoyt Councilmembers Holly Bernatz, Nick Lien, and Steve Wilson Members Absent: None Staff Present: Lynn Gorski, City Administrator Julie Flaten, Asst City Administrator/HR Director Leah Koch, City Attorney Deanna Kuennen, Community & Economic Development Director Kim Sommerland, Finance Director Matt Price, Interim Fire Chief Kellee Omlid, Parks & Recreation Director Tony Wippler, Planning Manager Jared Johnson, Planning Coordinator Gary Rutherford, Police Chief John Powell, Public Works Director Shirley Buecksler, City Clerk Also Present: Barb Svoboda, Branch Manager, Dakota County Library Robb Lubenow, Co -Founder & Development Lead, Yellow Tree Vishal Dutt, Development Partner, Yellow Tree 4. APPROVE AGENDA Administrator Gorski asked that Item 5.2, Introduction of Regional Funding Manager Kari Kubicek, be removed from the agenda. Motion was made by Councilmember Wilson and seconded by Councilmember Bernatz to remove Item 5.2 and approve the agenda, as amended. Motion carried: 4 ayes / 0 nays Regular City Council Meeting Minutes of May 20, 2024 Page I of 8 5. ANNOUNCEMENTS / COMMENDATIONS 5.1 Branch Manager Barb Svoboda from Dakota County Farmington Library Barb Svoboda provided an update for Council regarding the Dakota County Farmington Library. 5.2 Introduction of Regional Funding Manager Kari Kubicek — Item Removed 6. CITIZENS COMMENTS / RESPONSES TO COMMENTS • David Pritzlaff, 20255 Akin Road, addressed the Council to express concerns in reference to the Akin Road construction project and fiber optic installation in the area. Katherine Thovson, Owner & Executive Director of Grace Filled Table, addressed the Council to let everyone know about their community meals events on Wednesdays from 5:30 — 7:30 p.m. at Faith Church, 710 8th Street, Farmington. Everyone is invited. 7. CONSENT AGENDA 7.1 Application from Farmington Fire Relief Association to Conduct Off -Site Gambling November 6, 2024; Resolution 2024-40 7.2 Minutes of the City Council Work Session of May 6, 2024 7.3 Minutes of the Regular City Council Meeting of May 6, 2024 7.4 Resolution 2024-39 Approving Amendment to the Appointments to Council Committees for Remainder of 2024 7.5 Temporary On -Sale Liquor License Application from Farmington Lions Club 7.6 Development Contract — Vermillion Commons 3rd Addition 7.7 Ordinance 2024-05 Amending Title 11, Chapter 5, of the Farmington City Code Regulating Subdivisions to Establish a Process to Request an Alternate Formula for Development Fees 7.8 Financial Review for the Quarter Ending March 31, 2024 7.9 Payment of Claims 7.10 Fire Service Agreement with Dakota County Agricultural Society 7.11 Grants Management Policy 7.12 Staff Changes and Recommendations, including the appointment(s) of: • McKenna Rodine as full-time Water Resources Specialist • Corey Ley as a Seasonal Public Works Worker • Josephine Jones as a Seasonal Skate Instructor • Tyler Aase as a Seasonal Recreation Assistant • Luke Seufer as a Seasonal Recreation Program Supervisor 7.13 Squad Camera Contract 7.14 Quotes and Award of Contract for the 2024 Mill and Overlay Ash Tree Removals Motion was made by Councilmember Bernatz and seconded by Councilmember Lien to approve the Consent Agenda, as presented. Motion carried: 4 ayes / 0 nays Regular City Council Meeting Minutes of May 20, 2024 Page 2 of 8 8. PUBLIC HEARINGS 8.1 Vacation of Road Right -of -Way within the Vermillion River Crossings Plat Mayor Hoyt opened the public hearing at 7:29 p.m. Planning Manager Wippler presented the vacation of road right-of-way within the Vermillion River Crossings Plat. Seeing no one from the public wishing to speak, Mayor Hoyt closed the public hearing at 7:33 p.m. Motion was made by Councilmember Wilson and seconded by Councilmember Bernatz to adopt Resolution 2024-42 Vacating a Portion of Spruce Street and Dushane Parkway Right -of -Way. Motion carried: 4 ayes / 0 nays 8.2 Authorizing Tax Abatement and Abatement Agreement with Apartments Farmington, LLC (the Developer) Mayor Hoyt opened the public hearing at 7:33 p.m. Director Kuennen presented on the tax abatement and the Abatement Agreement with Apartments Farmington, LLC. Seeing no one from the public wishing to speak, Mayor Hoyt closed the public hearing at 7:45 p.m. Motion was made by Councilmember Lien and seconded by Councilmember Bernatz to adopt Resolution 2024-43 Authorizing Tax Abatement and Abatement Agreement. Motion carried: 4 ayes / 0 nays 9. AWARD OF CONTRACT None 10. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS 10.1 Combined Preliminary and Final Plat for Vermillion Crossings 31d Addition Planning Coordinator Jared Johnson presented the combined preliminary and final plat for Vermillion Crossings 3rd Addition. Motion was made by Councilmember Bernatz and seconded by Councilmember Lien to adopt Resolution 2024-41 Approving Vermillion River Crossings 3rd Addition Combined Preliminary and Final Plat, subject to the four presented criteria. Motion carried: 4 ayes / 0 nays Regular City Council Meeting Minutes of May 20, 2024 Page 3 of 8 11. UNFINISHED BUSINESS None 12. NEW BUSINESS 12.1 Fire Chief Appointment Administrator Gorski presented the appointment of Matt Price as Fire Chief for Farmington Fire -Rescue Department. I am honored to ask for the approval of the appointment of Interim Fire Chief Matt Price to Fire Chief. Interim Fire Chief Matt Price has held multiple roles within the Farmington Fire -Rescue Department. In 2012, he was hired as a Paid -on -Call (POC) Firefighter. In 2015, he was promoted to POC Fire Lieutenant, followed by his promotion to full-time Deputy Fire Chief on July 1, 2019. Matt has held the role of Interim Fire Chief since March 6, 2024. During the past 12 years, Matt has led with integrity and has earned the respect of members of the Farmington Fire -Rescue Department, as we see many of them in the audience tonight. Thank you for coming and supporting him. He has earned respect from his teammates in the Fire Department, from the leadership team and Council, and from the community members. Matt has proven his experience and dedication to the City and to the Fire Department while serving in a multitude of roles. Appointing Matt Price as Fire Chief allows the Fire Department to move forward while continuing to uphold the high standards of excellence the Department is known for. Tonight I ask for your approval to appoint Matt Price as Fire Chief effective May 21, 2024. Motion was made by Councilmember Wilson and seconded by Councilmember Bernatz to appoint Matt Price as Fire Chief of the Farmington Fire -Rescue Department effective May 21, 2024. The Mayor and Council congratulated Matt Price on his promotion to Fire Chief. Motion carried: 4 ayes / 0 nays 13.CITY COUNCIL ROUNDTABLE Attorney Koch: Judge Shawn Moynihan retired from the First District Judicial Court chambered in Hastings. Governor Walz and the Commission on Judicial Selection has offered three names, one of which will fill this vacancy. Councilmember Lien: Go Timberwolves! Regular City Council Meeting Minutes of May 20, 2024 Page 4 of 8 Councilmember Bernatz: Congrats to the Class of 2024 — Farmington is producing great individuals to go out and do great things and hopefully come back and do great things for Farmington. The Police Open House was an awesome event, and it's always fun to see the Mayor destroyed by a dog. Another note of congratulations to you, Matt. Councilmember Wilson: The Farmington Girls Softball Team is ranked number one in the state right now and number one in sections. I wish them all success — they went to state last year and were close. Hopefully they make it through section and into state again this year. I encouraged Katherine Thovson to come in and talk about Grace Filled Table. She is such an amazing person and does so many things for the community. If you haven't been to the community meal, there are a lot of smiles and laughter and interesting people to meet. Gary, thank you for you and your team that put the event together on Saturday. With the unfortunate movement by a very select few, the Police community doesn't get the just praise that should be automatically warranted by all of us day in and day out. It's great to see everything that the Farmington Police Department does, as well as the Minnesota State Patrol, Dakota County Sheriff's Office, Farmington Fire Department, and all of our partners that assist all of us. Job well done, thank you. Administrator Gorski: Dakota County has started a friendly challenge amongst the cities in Dakota County called the Water Wise Challenge. It's a friendly competition where we are going to ask residents to sign up on the Dakota County website to participate in the challenge. You can pick up water gauges and tablets at our front desk at City Hall. We encourage you to sign up and participate in this challenge. Clerk Buecksler: Congratulations, Matt. I believe you are going to be a great Chief, and I am happy for you. Director Flaten: Matt, welcome to the Team. Director Kuennen: Welcome to the Team, Matt. We had a wonderful EDA meeting tonight where we talked about a lot of the progress that has been made from an economic development perspective in this Regular City Council Meeting Minutes of May 20, 2024 Page 5 of 8 community over the last year and a half or so. We had those conversations so we can set ourselves up to talk about how we continue the momentum, what does the budget need to look like moving forward, what are we doing, how are we meeting businesses where we're at, how are we working with our existing businesses, as well as working to attract new businesses here with the intention of being able to add to the tax base and help this community grow in a responsible way. Thank you for all those conversations. We talked about our business retention and expansion program where our Staff will be out meeting with a lot of businesses over the course of the next number of months. This is an on -going thing but if you're a business in town, please expect a phone call from somebody on our team and please accept that phone call when you get it. We will also be doing more advertising for a Small Business Resource Fair that we're planning for July 16th. There will be information coming out on social media and direct mailing. This is a way that we can reach out to our existing business base and let them know about the kind of resources that are available to help them grow here in our community. Thank you, again, for the great discussion. There are lots of good things to come. Director Powell: Congratulations to Chief Price. We are very happy to have you as part of the leadership Team. This week, construction began on the 2024 street improvements with clearing and grubbing. We worked very closely with the elementary school to make sure that they could start the tree removal without interfering with the student activities. The contractor and subcontractor activities are limited to 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. but that does allow them to get in ahead, will also allow the gas company to start their work, and keep the project on schedule. So if you see some activity down in that area, that's what's happening right now. We also had a neighborhood meeting last week with the contractor and the inspector, so the residents got to meet them directly and had some good feedback. We're excited to get going. Director Omlid: Congratulations to Chief Price — well-earned and deserved. I look forward to continuing to work with you. Tomorrow's Open Door food distribution at the Rambling River Center has been cancelled due to the forecasted inclement weather. They will be back on Tuesday, June 18th for regular distribution. It's not too early or too late to register for summer programs at Farmington MN.gov. Music in the Park starts a week from Wednesday. On Wednesday, May 29th, it is Dirty Shorts Brass Band. According to them, they're the real deal — a New Orleans style brass band. Rambling River Park 7 p.m. Regular City Council Meeting Minutes of May 20, 2024 Page 6 of 8 The playground equipment for Rambling River Park is all in. Delivery of the poured in place rubber surfacing is supposed to happen tomorrow and, weather permitting, it will start to be installed on Wednesday. We are hopefully getting closer to taking that fence down and letting kids play on the playground. Director Sommerland: Congratulations to Chief Price. It's been great working with you, and I'm happy to have you as part of the leadership Team. Chief Price: Our new Fire Marshal, Matthew Brown, started this morning so this week is his onboarding process. The IT Department did a phenomenal job to make sure he is logged into everything, and his desk is now full of all the plans that used to sit on my desk. Chief Rutherford: Congratulations Chief. Lynn, excellent choice — well done. I don't think there's a better candidate on the planet to lead this Department than Chief Price. To the men and women of the Farmington Fire Department, look after your Chief, he's going to need your help, we always do. I would like to point out that Katherine of Grace Filled Table is super humble. Some of the stuff she does is absolutely amazing. For example, she didn't touch on the fact that after the events in Burnsville in February and all the extra work that we were putting in, Grace Filled Table provided probably somewhere in the neighborhood of about 150-200 meals to local public safety, Farmington Police and Fire and the Dakota County Sheriffs Office, to keep us fed during those long days and nights, and it was greatly appreciated. would like to give a big thank you to everybody that helped us with the Open House. It was a great event like it usually is, and we had great weather. From Parks Staff getting our grounds together, the Street Department sweeping our parking lot twice because they did it the first time and somebody left us a leaf blower and we blew leaves all over the parking lot a second time, the men and women at the Police Department that all showed up to staff the events and, mostly, to the residents that came out and had just a great time. It's always a fun event, and we really enjoy it. Thank you. Mayor Hoyt: It's that time of the year. It's nice out, the sun's out, school is getting ready to be out, and all the activities seem to have a significant uptick and they're right around the corner. There are two Memorial Day ceremonies — one at Corinthian and one at the Veteran's Memorial at Rambling River Park. Dew Days is right around the corner and it's going to be 4th of July before we know it. A couple of trips to wherever it is that people go, the County Fair, and it's Labor Day and we're back in school. We're going to blink, and it'll be over. It's the reality of the summer, it's what we do. Regular City Council Meeting Minutes of May 20, 2024 Page 7 of 8 But there are also a lot of things going on in the community. There continues to be a lot of change, a lot of new opportunities, a lot of new development. In my State of the City, I talked about it, and I just want to continue to hit that. The message that we continue to send is that we can celebrate our past while also boldly defining our future. While some of these things don't look like what we may have envisioned years ago, they are investments in our community by people who believe in the same things that we believe in. That Farmington is a place where you can live, work, and play. It is a place that you can call home, and they're building and creating opportunities to do that. Businesses continue to come, businesses continue to reinvest, and those are all positive signs. Those are all things that we have been working diligently and intelligently towards for some time, and we're starting to see it come to fruition. That's a testament of the vision of the Council, the commitment of our Team, and the work that we do every day to continue to deliver that. Thank you to our residents for your patience because we're there. And we're starting to realize it and see it firsthand. Thank you to my peers, to our Team, our future is unbelievable, and I cannot wait to see what the next 6, 12, and 18 months holds for the city of Farmington. 14.ADJOURNMENT Motion was made by Councilmember Wilson and seconded by Councilmember Lien to adjourn the meeting at 8:13 p.m. Motion carried: 4 ayes / 0 nays Re pectfully submitted, S y R ksler 'y* City Clerk Regular City Council Meeting Minutes of May 20, 2024 Page 8 of 8