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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03.17.25 Council MinutesCity of Farmington Regular Council Meeting Minutes Monday, March 17, 2025 The City Council met in regular session on Monday, March 17, 2025, at Farmington City Hall, 430 Third Street, Farmington, Minnesota. 1. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Hoyt called the meeting to order at 7 pm. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Hoyt led everyone in the Pledge of Allegiance. 3. ROLL CALL Members Present: Mayor Joshua Hoyt Councilmembers Holly Bernatz, Jake Cordes, Nick Lien, and Steve Wilson Members Absent: None Staff Present: Lynn Gorski, City Administrator David Chanski, HR Director/Assistant City Administrator Amy Schmidt, City Attorney Deanna Kuennen, Economic & Community Development Director Tony Wippler, Planning Manager Kim Sommerland, Finance Director Kellee Omlid, Parks & Recreation Director Jeremy Pire, Parks & Facilities Supervisor Missie Kohlbeck, Recreation Supervisor Emilee Shearer, Recreation Supervisor Gary Rutherford, Police Chief McKenna Rodine, Water Resources Specialist Shirley Buecksler, City Clerk Also Present: Steve Troskey, Lennar - Land Entitlement Manager 4. APPROVE AGENDA Administrator Gorski requested that a Public Works Building Lease Agreement with the City of Empire be added to the Consent Agenda as Item 7.15. Regular City Council Meeting Minutes of March 17, 2025 Page 1 of 7 Motion was made by Councilmember Wilson and seconded by Councilmember Lien to approve the agenda with the addition of Item 7.15. Motion carried: 5 ayes / 0 nays 5. ANNOUNCEMENTS / COMMENDATIONS 5.1 Parks and Recreation Department's 2024 Annual Report Director Omlid, Parks & Facilities Supervisor Pire, Recreation Supervisor Shearer, and Recreation Supervisor Kohlbeck presented the Parks and Recreation Department's 2024 annual report for Council. 5.2 Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) Annual Review Water Resources Specialist Rodine presented the MS4 annual review for Council. 6. CITIZENS COMMENTS / RESPONSES TO COMMENTS The following citizen(s) addressed the Council: • Nancy Aarestad, 22165 Beaumont Ave, Castle Rock Township • Citizen (did not provide name and address) • Citizen (did not provide name and address) • Jeff Schottler, 22420 Calico Ct, Farmington • Mark Pearson, 2475 225rh St W, Castle Rock Township • Terrie Pearson, 2475 225fh St W, Castle Rock Township 7. CONSENT AGENDA 7.1 Minutes of the March 3, 2025 Joint City Council and Parks & Recreation Commission Work Session 7.2 Minutes of the March 3, 2025 Regular City Council Meeting 7.3 Temporary On -Sale Liquor License for Corinthian Lodge, April 26, 2025 7.4 Dakota County Community Development Agency - City of Farmington Local Affordable Housing Aid Agreement 7.5 2024 Investment Portfolio Overview 7.6 Payment of Claims 7.7 Apple Valley / Farmington / Rosemount Cable Commission PEG Payment Agreement 7.8 Staff Approvals and Recommendations, including the appointment of: • Torri Wolf as Senior Administrative Support Technician within the Public Works Department 7.9 Joint Powers Agreement for the 4rh and Willow TSS Reduction Project Between the Vermillion River Watershed Joint Powers Organization, the City of Farmington, and Dakota County Regular City Council Meeting Minutes of March 17, 2025 Page 2 of 7 7.10 Plans and Specifications and Authorize the Advertisement for Bids for the 2025 Street Improvement Project 7.11 Professional Services Agreement with Alliant Engineering, Inc. for the Dushane Parkway / Spruce Street Intersection Construction Services 7.12 Professional Services Agreement with Emmons & Olivier Resources, Inc. for the Devonshire Pont Maintenance Feasibility Study 7.13 Professional Services Agreement with TKDA, Inc. for the Natural Resources Inventory Update 7.14 Receive Bids and Award a Contract for the Dushane Parkway / Spruce Street Improvements 7.15 Lease Agreement with City of Empire for Use of Public Works Building Motion was made by Councilmember Wilson and seconded by Councilmember Bernatz to approve the Consent Agenda, as presented. Motion carried: 5 ayes / 0 nays 8. PUBLIC HEARINGS 9. AWARD OF CONTRACT 10. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS 10.1 Vermillion Commons 51h Addition Final Plat Planning Manager Wippler presented an application for final plat submitted by U.S. Home, LLC (Lennar) for Vermillion Commons 5th Addition. The 5th Addition is located to the southeast of the Vermillion Commons 4th Addition and is just to the west of the intersection of Denmark Avenue and 2201h Street W. The final plat consists of 66 townhome lots on 7.25 acres. Steve Troskey of Lennar was available for questions and invited everyone to tour the model single family home when it's finished. Motion was made by Councilmember Cordes and seconded by Councilmember Bernatz to adopt Resolution 2025-021 Approving Final Plat for Vermillion Commons 5th Addition, contingent upon the following: 1) The satisfaction of all engineering comments related to the construction plans for grading utilities. 2) A Development Contract between the Developer and the City of Farmington shall be executed and security fees and costs shall be paid. Submission of all other documents required under the Development Contract shall be required. Motion carried: 5 ayes / 0 nays Regular City Council Meeting Minutes of March 17, 2025 Page 3 of 7 11.UNFINISHED BUSINESS 12. NEW BUSINESS 12.1 Resolution Authorizing to Request Funding from the Environmental and Natural Resources Trust Fund The Legislative -Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR) announced funding opportunities for projects of all sizes that address several priorities including Education and Outdoor Recreation and that aim to protect, conserve, preserve, and enhance Minnesota's air, water, land, fish, wildlife, and other natural resources. Director Omlid stated that, during the Rambling River Park master planning process, public and stakeholder engagement showed a strong desire for trails and more facilities to support popular events. Trail improvements were ranked as the highest priority. In addition, responses included trail loops, better trail conditions, wayfinding, care for trails, landscaping, and seating adjacent to trails. Improved restrooms were ranked as the second highest priority and new restrooms were ranked as the fourth highest priority. Additional restrooms were identified as a specific need to support popular events at the park. One of the requirements for a proposal to be considered is the submission of an adopted resolution demonstrating the local government's authorization of submission of the proposal. Motion was made by Councilmember Bernatz and seconded by Councilmember Wilson to adopt Resolution 2025-18 Authorizing Approval for the City of Farmington to Request Funding from the Environmental and Natural Resources Fund. Motion carried: 5 ayes / 0 nays 13.CITY COUNCIL ROUNDTABLE City Attorney Schmidt: The Office of Cannabis Management is currently accepting their business applications, but they haven't issued any licenses, yet, because the rule - making process is not complete. They expect to send a draft of the rules to the Office of Administrative Hearings in the coming weeks. If the timeline holds by the end of April, they could start issuing license and all the work that the City has done to get ready will have to move into position. A fun fact for St. Patrick's Day: in 2022, 12.1 % of Dakota County residents reporting their Irish ancestry. That is .1% more than Washington County. The U.S. average was 9.5%, so Dakota County is well represented on St. Patrick's Day. Regular City Council Meeting Minutes of March 17, 2025 Page 4 of 7 Councilmember Lien: At the last meeting, I gave an example of life lessons that I've learned and shouldn't repeat, so I'll give another example. If you notice that I have a giant bandage on my face and don't want to be a 40-year-old that a dermatologist wags his finger at, please wear sunscreen. Councilmember Bernatz: The Currents is out and, if you're like my family, you open this up and you start identifying all the things you want to do all summer long and jotting them down in your calendars. There is a lot going on in here. There are ways that you can support ways, that you can impact ways, and ways that you can have a little bit of fun in Farmington. When we talk about putting Farmington first, we don't mean just business, we also mean recreational. There is so much going on and so many opportunities to engage. And since it's St. Patty's Day, Ireland is home to the oldest known bar in the world. Sean's Bar located in Athlone has been serving pints since 900 A.D. That's over 1,100 years of continuous operation. Archaeologists even found ancient coins and wattle and daub walls during renovations, confirming its history. The hope is that in 1,100 years from now, someone will be sitting here and saying something magnificent about a business that's in Farmington and how crazy it is that it's been in continuous operation for 1,100 years. Mayor - and it will likely be the Steakhouse. Councilmember Cordes: I want to congratulate a bunch of happy looking children and our own Kellee Omlid and Steve Wilson for their debut as cover models of the Farmington Currents. I was ambitious this morning and wanted to say Happy St. Patrick's Day in Irish, but I realized that isn't going to happen, so in English, Happy St. Patrick's Day. Councilmember Wilson: I also want to comment about The Currents. I had my wife call me and say I didn't realize you had seven kids. And I really don't, we have three together, Josh, Ben, and Elizabeth. In all seriousness, the Police Department did a really good job of promoting this last year and it was pointed out that the weather wasn't as ideal. I don't remember a 10-mile bike ride, Kellee, I remember it ended up being about two blocks because it was raining. But what I would honestly encourage everybody that is watching (and we already know that the Arbitron rating for the Farmington Council meetings is really, really high) that when you get this, look through it, put an event or two that you want to partake in for yourself, with your family, with your kids, Regular City Council Meeting Minutes of March 17, 2025 Page 5 of 7 or maybe with your parents at the senior center. There is just so many good things in here, and I also like the fact that Caryn did something really nice here, too, which she always does. She highlights our new employees, so we get to meet the new employees. This is a really good, packed edition of The Currents, so thank you to Caryn and everybody who helped put that together. Director Chanski: Tonight, you approved the appointment of Torri Wolf to the Senior Administrative Support Technician in the Public Works Department. While we are very excited to see Torri take on some new challenges in Public Works, it does open up a key vacancy at the front desk. That position really is truly a central service that is both physically located smack dab in the middle of the City Hall, as one of the first faces visitors to City Hall see. But also, operationally - as it supports Administration, Human Resources, Finance, Parks & Recreation, Liquor Operations, and serves as a back-up to Community and Economic Development. Kim, Kellee, and I did take some time to review the job description and ensure it still best serves the needs of the City, especially with Torri's new position in Public Works. This position should be posted tomorrow and, should all go well, we are excited to hopefully have a new team member join us mid- to late May. Other than that, I continue my dive down the rabbit hole and, needless to say, there is no twiddling of the thumbs occurring in my office. Director Kuennen: At our EDA meeting today, we had the leadership from Dakota County Technical College (DCTC) and Inver Hills Community College (IHCC) come in and talk with the EDA about the partnership and collaboration that currently exists between the City and the colleges. But then we also had an opportunity to have a robust discussion about ways that we can enhance their offerings and the relationship that we have to continue to better the community. I'm really thankful for the participation that you all had with that conversation, and I'm also very excited to see where that partnership and collaboration can go. We will also be bringing in additional partners to the EDA meetings, just so we can continue to have these kinds of conversations. So, thank you for that. Director Omlid: With the delivering of the summer Currents as mentioned earlier, program registration is now up and going. As of this morning, we already had seven signed up for the Helmet Heroes Day. That is a free event but we do ask for registration just so we know how many and who's going to be there. Regular City Council Meeting Minutes of March 17, 2025 Page 6 of 7 The Open Door Food Pantry pop-up is tomorrow from 3 - 4:30 pm at Faith United Methodist Church on 71h Street. 14.ADJOURNMENT Motion was made by Councilmember Cordes and seconded by Councilmember Wilson to adjourn the meeting at 8:47 pm. Motion carried: 5 ayes / 0 nays Respectfully submitted, S AyRPsler City Clerk Regular City Council Meeting Minutes of March 17, 2025 Page 7 of 7