Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout05.19.25 Council MinutesCity of Farmington Regular Council Meeting Minutes Monday, May 19, 2025 The City Council met in regular session on Monday, May 19, 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 Kim Sommerland, Finance Director Kellee Omlid, Parks & Recreation Director Gary Rutherford, Police Chief Nate Siem, Deputy Police Chief Andy Bellows, Police Sergeant Gavin Janovsky, Patrol Officer Kyle Miller, Patrol Officer Cassie Redmond-Palo, Police Sergeant John Powell, Public Works Director Eric Whitmer, Public Works Superintendent Caryn Hojnicki, Communications Specialist Shirley Buecksler, City Clerk Also Present:Jim Constantineau, Deputy Police Chief-Retired Dan Siebenaler, Police Chief-Retired Regular City Council Meeting Minutes of May 19,2025 Page 1 of 1 1 4. APPROVE AGENDA Motion was made by Councilmember Wilson and seconded by Councilmember Cordes to approve the agenda, as presented. Motion carried: 5 ayes / 0 nays 5. ANNOUNCEMENTS / COMMENDATIONS 5.1 Retirement Recognitions Director Chanski presented the retirements of Police Chief Gary Rutherford and Public Works Maintenance Worker Jeff Jones, who have served the Farmington community for a combined 45 years. Jeff Jones has been a member of the Public Works Department since 2003, and Gary Rutherford has served the Farmington Police Department since 2002. Superintendent Whitmer: Jeff couldn't be here tonight, but I would like to recognize the 22 years that Jeff has served the City of Farmington. He started his career in 2003 in the Sanitation Department and after a year and a half, he moved to the Public Works Department, where he served for the last 20 years. Fun fact that I learned just today is that he has had the exact same plow route all 20 plus years, which speaks to the consistency of the person he is. He will be taking many years of experience with him when he goes. I'd like to take this opportunity to recognize and thank Jeff for his years of service and wish him the best in retirement. Administrator Gorski: Chief Rutherford started his law enforcement career in 1995 in the City of Lake Crystal. In 1996, Gary was hired by the Northfield Police Department. Seven years later, he was hired by the Farmington Police Department as a Patrol Officer. After being an Officer on the Farmington Police force for five years, Gary was promoted to Sergeant. In 2019, Gary was appointed and took his oath as Police Chief. Gary was exactly the leadership that Farmington needed. To put it in simple terms, Chief Rutherford truly cares about the people of Farmington. Chief Rutherford created community policing before it was a thing. Chief, I want to thank you for your leadership and support you have provided Farmington, but also to thank you for your advice and true support to the entire Team and myself. We wish you the very best in your well-deserved retirement. Deputy Chief Siem: Tonight is a proud but bittersweet moment as we honor the retirement of Chief Rutherford, a man who has given so much of himself to this city, in this Department, and to all of us lucky enough to have served alongside him. Chief Rutherford was one of my FTOs when I started in this profession. He helped shaped my foundation as a young Officer, not Regular City Council Meeting Minutes of May 19,2025 Page 2 of 11 just through what he taught, but through how he carried himself with quiet confidence, compassion, and strength. Later, he became my SWAT Team Leader, and then our Commander. When he spoke, we listened. Not out of fear or formality, but because he had earned our respect through action. He has been my Chief, my Mentor, and my closest professional guide. He saw something in me I wasn't always sure I saw in myself. He promoted me to Sergeant and then Deputy Chief, and now I have the honor and responsibility of stepping into a role he is leaving behind. It's hard to put into words what it means to follow someone who has led with so much heart. He has given this Department a legacy of service, humility, and steady leadership-values I will carry forward every day. Chief, you've been a true friend. I want you to know your influence won't retire with you. You've left your mark, and we'll keep building on the strong foundation you created. Thank you for the example, the support, and the trust. Enjoy this next chapter-you've more than earned it. Chief Rutherford: Mayor, members of the Council, Staff, members of the public, members of the Farmington Police Department that are here, past and present, it's hard to put into words a 30-year career, but I'll do my level best, and I'll keep it short. Almost seven years ago, I stepped into this role, and it was a role I wasn't actually really looking for prior to that. But when I stepped into it, I did like I do with most things. I stepped into it hard, and I mashed the gas, and I've had my foot against the firewall for the better part of seven years, and I'm a little bit tired, to be perfectly honest with you. It's been a true honor and a privilege to work with this Council and Councils before. This is an amazing City Staff that you have, and I am humbled beyond measure to have been just the most recent in a long line of outstanding Chiefs for the Farmington Police Department.The Chief that actually hired me happens to be in the room. Chief Siebenaler, thank you for - I don't want to say stepping out and making that brave decision 23 years ago - as I feel like it was a no-brainer. But I've enjoyed every minute of it. Even the hard days, I wouldn't change. I think they shaped me and our Department into what it is today. I thank you all for your support. Lynn, you're an amazing boss - there's no two ways around that. I'm going to miss working for you, for sure. I have to specifically call out my partner over the better part of the last six years, Deputy Chief Constantineau is in the room. I'm pretty sure you all would have had me fired after about 15 minutes if I didn't have him by my side to help me through. So, thank you, Jim, and thank you to everybody else. Councilmember Wilson: When I first served on the Council, Dan was our Chief. I remember when Dan left and I thought, how in the world are we going to replace such a great leader? And another amazing individual stepped into line to take over the city, and I had no doubts when you Regular City Council Meeting Minutes of May 19,2025 Page 3 of 11 stepped in to be our next Chief. I think Nate said it best. Your leadership, you have a quiet command and quiet confidence, and you have given so much to the community. Immeasurably. Service before self, the Rotary motto, and that is truly a gift to all of us that live here. It has been an honor to be a Councilmember and a resident with you being our Chief, so thank you so much. Councilmember Cordes: It's hard to capture 20-plus year careers in just a few short words, but Jeff and Gary both played an important job in our community over the last several decades.They both kept us safe in a literal public safety sense and, for Jeff, keeping the roads clear and keeping them safe to drive on and making sure we have water running. So, thank you both for keeping our community safe and making it a great place to live. Gary, I had a chance to work with you when I was on the School Board, and you were put into the job as the new Chief. I had time to get to know you when I was just a resident, and now I've had time to work directly with you as a City Councilmember. You said it to Lynn but, from what I can tell, you're a great boss and you're a great leader for the men and women that work for you every day. So, thank you for doing that. Thank you for keeping our community safe. But I also think equally as important, thank you for, I'll call the fun side of your job. I mean, nobody can argue that Toys for Town flourished over the last few years, and I think that is in large part to your dedication and your Department's dedication and, I think, your joy that you brought to that part of your job. Hopefully, if you're still around next year, you'll get to come and wrap gifts. I don't know what the road holds for you, but hopefully you'll get to enjoy it from the other perspective that we've all been able to enjoy it over the last few years. Councilmember Bernatz: Prior to 2022, my relationship with Police Officers was more of a don't get in their way sort of a situation, like do everything you can to stay out of the line of sight, right? That was how you wanted to operate as a citizen, and that put you in good standing. And then we ended up in the same space around a Dew Day's table, and I learned so much about you as a person, and about your heart, and about how you care for Farmington, and about your love for candy. And what it did, is it completely changed my perspective of the role of policing in a community. It made it not the thing you wanted to avoid, but the thing that you wanted to be able to get to know on a level that put you in a space where you felt comfortable and it was a place that you could go, and as though these are individuals that you can connect with. Not on a did I do something wrong' level but a `let's work together level.' And that is entirely because of the connection that we were able to form over those months and the couple of years that followed, and now the years that Regular City Council Meeting Minutes of May 19,2025 Page 4 of 11 followed that. What I love most about that, is it's something that I've been able to pass along to my kids about the way that they can interact with the individuals that keep them safe in their community. So, I am sad, because every time someone awesome leaves, I get sad. But I am also so happy for you and excited for you in this next season that you've got, and you will be dearly missed. I also know that you will be replaced by an awesome individual who loves the community the same way you have. And you better be coming around every once in a while, even if not all the time, just to pop in and say hi. Thank you for that connection. Thank you for making all the things that have been stressful over the years less stressful, or difficult over the years less difficult. I appreciate it. Councilmember Lien: When I was in high school, I had a Coach who was just this legendary Coach. Everyone in the state knew him. He'd been around for 30 years. He retired and the new Coach kind of came in said something to the effect of, "How do I fill big shoes this big?" He said, "I don't." I think that's kind of what we're dealing with here. Gary, you're a behemoth in this community, and there is no matching it.So, to say to Nate don't try. Be Nate. Be you. I just got to say, you don't have to be Gary, because I don't think anybody can. Mayor Hoyt: It's bittersweet. And there are few things outside of family that do this (tears). That's because, for me, you're family. How I came into this in 2018, very much involved the Department. I said, "not my community." I had to be a part of it. And David McKnight was insistent that we not appoint until after I had been sworn in because of what happened that fall. And it was my first formal act, if I remember correctly. But it was at that first meeting and we've had a lot of conversations over the years and talked, and I know that, tonight, people talking about you is not your thing. You'd much rather go and say thank you and keep all the accolades and the plaques and the stuff, because that's who you are as a human being. You're a cop's cop. You believe in community first in all ways. I've had the privilege to work alongside you in so many things, from Dew Days and the long days of emptying trash together, to the meetings we felt we didn't need to always sit at. You know, hell, I convinced you to walk for 24 hours with me for a good cause. You're not just a cop's cop; you're a guy's guy. You're the thing of the thing and all the things. You're just a goddamn good human being all the way through. The lessons and the things you've taught your Team over the years, the stuff that you've passed on - one of my mentors gave me a book when I was about 22, and it's John C. Maxwell's "21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership." I've shared this with you, and I get to officially share it with you today. You'll retire on Friday, and we'll talk a little bit more about it at my State of the City, but I think people need to hear this because this is something I believe you embodied every day Regular City Council Meeting Minutes of May 19,2025 Page 5 of 11 that I've met you, every day that I've known you, and every day I've been able to work alongside you. And it, essentially, says, (Max Dupree, author) "that of leadership, is an art, declared succession is not succession, but is one of the key responsibilities of leadership. Yet, it is. Of all the laws of leadership, the law of legacy is the one that the fewest leaders ever seem to learn. Achievement comes to someone when he or she is able to do great things for themselves. Success comes when he or she empowers followers to do great things with them. Significance comes when he or she develops leaders to do great things for them. But a legacy is only created when a person puts his or her organization into the position to do great things without them." I have no doubt that you have put the organization in a position to succeed and for you and Krista to go and enjoy what you have worked your butt off for decades for. I could talk about you for hours. You are a mentor to me. You are a father figure to me. I appreciate you, and we're all going to miss you. And I thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything that you've taught me. Thank you. Everyone stood and applauded Gary. 6.CITIZENS COMMENTS / RESPONSES TO COMMENTS The following citizen(s) addressed the Council: •Kim Lomas and Vicky Hagen, Farmington American Legion Auxiliary •Nate Ryan, 22390 Cambrian Way, Farmington 7.CONSENT AGENDA 7.1 Minutes of the May 5, 2025 Council Work Session 7.2 Minutes of the May 5, 2025 Regular City Council Meeting 7.3 Development Contract Release -Vermillion River Crossings Lot 2, Block 3 7.4 Payment of Claims 7.5 Selection of Health Insurance Broker 7.6 Staff Recommendations and Approvals, including the appointment(s) of: •Damon Hoppe from Mechanic to Lead Mechanic (effective July 4, 2025) •Bryce Aguilar as Public Works Maintenance Worker •Addyson Duff as Seasonal Recreation Program Assistant •Norah Zey as Seasonal Recreation Program Assistant •Sawyer Hoffman as Seasonal Public Works Maintenance Worker 7.7 Professional Services Agreement with WSB LLC for the Northeast Area Trunk Utilities Preliminary Design Motion was made by Councilmember Wilson and seconded by Councilmember Lien to approve the Consent Agenda, as presented. Motion carried: 5 ayes/ 0 nays Regular City Council Meeting Minutes of May 19, 2025 Page 6 of 11 8. PUBLIC HEARINGS 9. AWARD OF CONTRACT 10.PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS 11.UNFINISHED BUSINESS 12.NEW BUSINESS 13.CITY COUNCIL ROUNDTABLE City Attorney Schmidt: Thank you to Chief Rutherford. I've been here with only since December, but this isn't my first rodeo with City government or Police Departments. And I can tell you, honestly, that you, Chief Rutherford, are not only just one of a kind, but you're one of the best I've ever worked with. I appreciate your good humor and that you told me that Top the Tater is made here in Farmington. Thank you - I wish you all the best in your retirement. Councilmember Lien: Well, I used up all my words in my earlier comment, but I want to know what your favorite candy is then. Councilmember Bernatz answered Reese's, and Chief Rutherford said Reese's cups. Councilmember Bernatz: I want to point out to anybody that doesn't know that the weekend coming up is Memorial Day weekend and that we have celebrations happening here in Farmington. If you're in town for that, it's a beautiful way to spend a few hours of your weekend. There is one out at the cemetery. There is a second one that usually happens shortly thereafter at the Veterans War Memorial. Go to one, go to both, they are fantastic. Councilmember Cordes: Last weekend, there were two really cool City events, and I was able to attend one. For the Parks and Recreation Staff who organized the food truck event- both the City of Farmington and the City of Empire Parks and Recreation Staff, thank you for your hard work. From everything I heard, it was a well-run and well attended event, despite the questionable weather. And to the Police Department Staff who organized the Open House, that too was a well-run and well attended event despite questionable weather. So, thank you to everyone who put those events on, and thank you to everyone who attended those events. Councilmember Wilson: I was able to attend both events, and it was a really good event, Kellee. With a food truck event, it's either the weather is absolutely amazing, or it did what it did last weekend. I really appreciate the coordination between the City of Empire and Farmington. I definitely want to thank the Regular City Council Meeting Minutes of May 19, 2025 Page 7 of 11 Police Department for all the great work over the weekend and coordination with the Dakota County Sheriff's Office and the Minnesota State Patrol with the helicopter. Everything associated with it, it was a great event. I want to congratulate former Councilmember Katie Porter. She decided to go back to school after about a 10- to 15-year hiatus and get her college degree, which I know was a really big motivation for her. So, congratulations to Katie and great job. Administrator Gorski: I would like to thank Jeff Jones and congratulate him on his retirement. I so appreciate seeing him when he stops by City Hall, and he stops in to see me in my office. What a great person he is, and we've been so fortunate to have him here at the City. That's what makes the City great, are the employees and the Council that we have, and we work together as a great Team. So, thank you. Again, Gary, we still have a week together. Clerk Buecksler: Congratulations to both Gary and Jeff. Gary, I feel proud to know you, I am going to miss you, and I hope you enjoy your retirement. Director Chanski: We've talked about this with Council already but, beginning Monday, City Hall will be moving to summer hours until Labor Day. We are closed on Monday so beginning Tuesday, City Hall will be open from 7 am to 4:30 pm Monday through Thursday, and 7 am to 11 am on Fridays. Working with our Inspection Staff, this is going to be a benefit even to our contractors. It gives them an extra hour in the morning when they actually prefer to have inspections, as well as giving some flexibility to our Staff on weekends when we see less traffic here on Friday afternoons. Being cognizant of our partners with the USDA who will still be here until 4:30 pm on Fridays, the building will remain open on Fridays until 4:30 pm. Our area will obviously be closed down and we'll have signage so if anyone comes in the lobby looking for City Hall, they'll know there's a reason you're not seeing anyone is because we're not here. We have already begun to communicate that using social media, our website, and our Front Desk Staff have been communicating with those who come in our call, as well as the Inspection Staff have been communicating this with contractors and applicants that those hours will be changing come Monday. I also want to again congratulate Jeff on 22 years-well done. And, Gary, even though we only had three months-so I guess I beat you there, Amy, but I don't know if that's a win -it has been a privilege and an honor to work with you the last three months and to get to know you. I wish you the best of luck in retirement. Regular City Council Meeting Minutes of May 19, 2025 Page 8 of 11 Director Kuennen: Tonight, we had our Economic Development Authority meeting, and we had another one of our partners come present to us, which was the Dakota County CDA, and Commissioner Slavik also attended. We had a really great presentation of the housing needs assessment that they've done. We also learned about how they're serving our community, specifically. So, those partner meetings, I believe, are super important for all of us. It gives us a better understanding and it also identifies all the additional ways that we can be working together. We also had a discussion on our grocery study, and that is a topic that is near and dear to many people's hearts here in this community. Thank you to the Economic Development Authority for allowing us to commission that grocery study. It is something that we are using actively to have conversations. None of that, though, is as important as what we were able to hear tonight and to celebrate you, so congratulations, Gary. You will be missed, and you have definitely left a huge impact. Director Powell: My congratulations to both Jeff Jones and Chief Rutherford on their retirement. People like Jeff Jones are what Public Works is fueled by. I want to thank him for getting up in the middle of the night to plow the roads, to run salt routes, to respond to watermain breaks, and to do the extra things that Public Works does to keep everything running, and so we don't get noticed. When we don't get noticed and attention is not called to Public Works, we're doing our job. And Jeff was a huge contributor to that. His knowledge, his demeanor, his even keel, he was just a real pleasure to work with. I really wish him all the best in his retirement. With regard to Chief Rutherford, I've been serving municipalities for almost 40 years in one capacity or another and, from a Police Chief standpoint, he sets the standard. Thank you. Director Omlid: Tomorrow is the Open Door pop-up event at Faith Church from 3 to 4:30 pm. And if you aren't aware, they won the Dakota County Public Health Achievement Award here in May, so congratulations to Open Door and thank you for the awesome partnership they have here in Farmington. Next Wednesday, May 28t", is the first night of Music in the Park. At 7 pm at Rambling River Park, we have the band, "Five Day Forecast," a classic rock cover band, so hope to see you all on May 28t". I want to congratulate Jeff Jones, as well, on his retirement. And Chief Rutherford, I feel like my first 13 years here, I was ripped off because you worked overnights and I worked days, and I never got that pleasure to work with you. So, I feel like I should have a do-over and maybe you can stay a little longer. Regular City Council Meeting Minutes of May 19,2025 Page 9 of 11 Gary replied, "No." I figured the answer was no but since I've been back the last four years, I really appreciate your leadership. You are an awesome, awesome dude and we will definitely miss you. I hope before you leave, for wherever you're going, South Dakota, Tennessee, you'll come out and hang at the Senior Center. I know they talk about you quite often and I know we've kind of been in transition at the Fire Station, but when we reopen, I hope you'll swing by and hang out with them. And don't be a stranger because we're going to miss you. Thank you for all you've done for our department, and the City, and the community. Best of luck, and I hope you enjoy your next adventure. Director Sommerland: Congratulations to Jeff and the Chief on their retirement. I've only been here less than two years and I'm going to get emotional. Even though we don't see each other very often because you're not here at City Hall, maybe we see each other at our Monday morning meetings or at budget time but, other than that, I don't see a lot of you. But even in that short period of time, I could tell your dedication and your heart, and I wish you the very best. Deputy Chief Siem: Last week was a really important week for us at the Police Department. It was Police Week, and we ended the week with, like many have mentioned, the Open House.That Open House is really important to me, as part of the planning in the last few years, but I wasn't able to be there this year. We were fortunate, though, to have Sergeant Cassie Redmond-Polo and the rest of the Staff that worked their behinds off to put on a really good Open House and the people came out. The weather wasn't great, but we really saw just a minor decrease in numbers from previous years. So, thank you to everyone that came out and visited with the Police Department, visited with our Officers, and met our beloved K9 friends. It really is a great event for our community and it's a great event for our Officers. A lot of them don't necessarily see all the support every day. We are fortunate that we know how we're appreciated here, but for Officers that work in the evenings or don't have those interactions, they don't get to see that and they really appreciate it. It really is impactful for them. I want to extend my thanks to Jeff Jones for what he has done for our City. It's a big career and a really great service to us. And I'd be remiss if I didn't also mention Chief Siebenaler in the back there. He hired me, as well as a huge portion of our Police Department. He really laid the groundwork for where we are right now, and I'm thankful to him for that. And, again, thank you, Chief. Mayor Hoyt: I often see Jeff ride by through the cul-de-sac from his house downtown riding up to the maintenance facility. You'd think I'd learn over the years that he typically has an earbud in and every time I see him, I'm like, "Jeff!" you're never going to hear me... And it's like the whole Home Improvement, Tim and the neighbor thing, and I've been doing that for noticeably at least the last three or four years that he's been riding. It's weird because there's a Regular City Council Meeting Minutes of May 19,2025 Page 10 of 11 part of you that, like that day is all of a sudden gone. Whether he retires and moves or stays, I don't know if that route's going to be part of his deal every day anymore, but it's just that those are the waypoints in life that seem like they're almost insignificant at the time, until all of a sudden they're gone. And when they're gone, you realize how important they actually were. Jeff, this is a very sincere thank you for everything you have done for our City for the last 22 years. Semper Fi. May you and Cheryl go and enjoy your retirement and do all the things that you've worked your butt off for and plan to do. Gary, I'll save the rest of it for Friday. 14.ADJOURNMENT Motion was made by Councilmember Bernatz and seconded by Councilmember Lien to adjourn the meeting at 7:43 pm. Motion carried: 5 ayes / 0 nays 3* e ectfully submitted, JyR e(Psle+r City Clerk Regular City Council Meeting Minutes of May 19, 2025 Page 11 of 11