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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03.02.26 Council Minutes City of Farmington Regular Council Meeting Minutes Monday, March 2, 2026 The City Council met in regular session on Monday, March 2 , 2026, at Farmington City Hall, 430 Third Street, Farmington, Minnesota. 1. CALL TO ORDER Acting Mayor Lien called the meeting to order at 7 pm. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Acting Mayor Lien led everyone in the Pledge of Allegiance. 3. ROLL CALL Members Present: Acting Mayor Lien Councilmembers Holly Bernatz, Jake Cordes, and Steve Wilson Members Absent: None Staff Present: Lynn Gorski, City Administrator David Chanski, Assistant City Administrator Amy Schmidt, City Attorney arrived at 7:04 pm Deanna Kuennen, Economic & Community Development Director Kim Sommerland, Finance Director Kellee Omlid, Parks & Recreation Director Nate Siem, Police Chief John Powell, Public Works Director Melissa Geis, Building Permit Technician Shirley Buecksler, City Clerk 4. APPROVE AGENDA Councilmember Wilson requested Item 7.1 on the Consent Agenda be moved to New Business as Item 12.2 and that the remainder of the Consent Agenda be renumbered. City Administrator Gorski requested that Item 5.1 be pulled and postponed to a future date. Regular City Council Meeting Minutes of March 2,2026 Page 1 of 7 Motion was made by Councilmember Wilson and seconded by Councilmember Bernatz to approve the agenda as amended by Councilmember Wilson and City Administrator Gorski. Motion carried: 4 ayes / 0 nays 5. ANNOUNCEMENTS / COMMENDATIONS 5.1 C". 8GFiRg IR Pel;G8 98PGFfRv eRt PeFse.,.,oi _this item was pulled from the agenda and postponed to a future date. 6. CITIZENS COMMENTS / RESPONSES TO COMMENTS The following citizen(s) addressed the Council: • David Seaberg, Farmington • David Pritzlaff, Farmington • Casey Nelson, city/township not stated • Katie, city/township not stated 7. CONSENT AGENDA 7.1 e R=Ie d 94Y Qe RGil Q„_L Gws—this item was moved to New Business as Item 12.2 7.1 Application for Gambling Exempt Permit for Farmington Rotary Club 7.2 Master Subscription Agreement with DaMarco Solutions, LLC for Safety Data Sheet Management 7.3 Minutes of the February 2, 2026 Regular City Council Meeting 7.4 Minutes of the February 17, 2026 Special Council Work Session 7.5 Minutes of the February 17, 2026 Regular City Council Meeting 7.6 Temporary On-Sale Liquor License Application for Corinthian Masonic Lodge No. 67 for April 11, 2026 7.7 Consent to Assignment of Development Contract 7.8 Payment of Claims 7.9 Staff Approvals and Recommendations: appointment of Derrik Pelant as Police Officer 7.10 Final Payment for Rambling River Center Project 7.11 Professional Services Agreement with Bolton & Menk for Jim Bell Park and Preserve Trail Project 7.12 First Amendment to Communication Site Lease Agreement With Option for T-Mobile Central Motion was made by Councilmember Wilson and seconded by Councilmember Cordes to approve the Consent Agenda, as amended. Motion carried: 4 ayes / 0 nays Regular City Council Meeting Minutes of March 2,2026 Page 2 of 7 8. PUBLIC HEARINGS 9. AWARD OF CONTRACT 10.PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS 11.UNFINISHED BUSINESS 12.NEW BUSINESS 12.1 Appointment of Mayor Following Resignation of Mayor Hoyt Motion was made by Councilmember Wilson and seconded by Councilmember Bernatz to adopt Resolution 2026-019 Appointing Nick Lien to the Office of Mayor of the City of Farmington, effective immediately,to serve until a successor is elected on November 3,2026 and the election has officially been certified. Motion carried: 4 ayes / 0 nays 12.2 Amend City Council By-Laws (moved to New Business from Consent Agenda) Motion was made by Councilmember Bernatz and seconded by Councilmember Wilson to approve an amendment to Section IV of the City Council By-Laws to relocate the Citizen Comments section to follow New Business in the Order of Business, as discussed at the February 17, 2026 Work Session, and to approve the revised agenda format as presented. Motion carried: 4 ayes / 0 nays 13.CITY COUNCIL ROUNDTABLE City Attorney Schmidt: earlier in February, I had the opportunity to meet with the Parks and Recreation Commission and talk to them about the Open Meeting Law and how that affects the performance of their duties. I had a really good time meeting them. Councilmember Bernatz told Mayor Lien that she really appreciates his commitment to Farmington. I am very grateful to you and, by extension, to your family for their support and seeing you in this role. Councilmember Bernatz also shared successes by a lot of Farmington kids in the last couple of weeks, which included opportunities to head to State, and a few wrestlers that did an exceptional job and were awarded State title. We had Regular City Council Meeting Minutes of March 2,2026 Page 3 of 7 some that put all they had to give onto the court, the ice, or the mat - and maybe did not come out with a medal but gave it everything they had, and they should be very proud of that. We also had a very successful Cabaret weekend for Farmington High School Choir. Councilmember Bernatz said she is grateful for the community members and the support they give to our kids. Councilmember Cordes thanked Mayor Lien for his willingness to step out of his comfort zone and step up into this new role during this time of transition. Councilmember Cordes added to Councilmember Bernatz's comments about our students. In addition to the basketball, the hockey, the wrestlers, and the boys swim team attended State, as well. The 200 Free Relay Team broke their own record. Congratulations to all of our students who completed their winter season. Councilmember Wilson said he appreciates Mayor Lien and that he is very honest and thoughtful in his approach to how he serves. Councilmember Wilson said we approved, on the Consent Agenda, improvements to Jim Bell Park Trail in a partnership between the City and Dakota County. We have 52 miles of trail in this community that are widely used and among our most popular amenities. Councilmember Wilson thanked every resident who came up to speak. It's nice when we have the public engage with us and provide respectful comments to us. City Administrator Gorski thanked everyone for their comments tonight during the work session to appoint Nick as Mayor and described the process for the vacant Council seat. The vacancy will be declared at the next City Council meeting, then the City Council can either appoint someone, or they can run an application process. At the work session tonight, Council decided to run a process that includes: March 16: City Council will declare a vacancy on the Council. March 17-30: Application period; closes at 4 pm on March 30. April 6: (Tentative) date for the City Council to conduct interviews. City Administrator Gorski encouraged anyone that has questions about the data center process that we've gone through as of today - all of the step-by- step process is on the City's website under the main page, then Project Updates, and Development Project - Data Centers. Project Updates I Farmington, MN (https://www.farminatommn.gov/428/Project-Updates). As of right now, we do not have a project in front of us. What we have done is the Regular City Council Meeting Minutes of March 2,2026 Page 4 of 7 City Council approved some plats and the PUD (Planned Unit Development), but that is just to identify minimums, if a specific project does come in front of Council. But, as of right now, there is nothing for Council to approve that is in front of them. City Clerk Buecksler thanked the Council for approving the appointment of Melissa Geis to City Clerk. I couldn't be happier for Melissa to take over my position.She is such a kind and happy person and will be a fantastic City Clerk. If it weren't for health issues, I would probably be here for another ten or more years because I love this job and Team Farmington so much. Congratulations, Melissa, I hope you love this job even more than I do. Assistant City Administrator Chanski thanked the Council and congratulated Melissa on her pending promotion. She will become the City Clerk effective April 20th, with Shirley officially retiring on April 23rd. When we have the opportunity to promote from within, it's a lot of fun, especially in local government where there is not always opportunity to move up within your organization. Sometimes you have to move around. The City received over a hundred applications. After a multi-phase interview process, we came to the decision that Melissa was the best person for this position, and we couldn't be happier to have her on board. Melissa started with the City as a temp, then she became an Admin Specialist, and then moved over to her current position as a Building Permit Technician. It's been exciting for many Team Farmington members to see Melissa move along in the organization. I look forward to working with Melissa for many years to come. Assistant City Administrator Chanski said the promotion for Derrick Pelant from ICPOET Cadet to Patrol Officer was also approved on the Consent Agenda tonight. He will begin field training later this week. Director Kuennen said she has appreciated working with Nick as Councilmember and looks forward to working with him as the Mayor.Thank you for stepping into this position. Director Kuennen said Melissa has been a true asset to Team Farmington, especially to the Community Development Department and the Building Department. She will be missed with us, but I am thrilled for the organization. This is absolutely the best thing that could happen for this organization and Team Farmington. Congratulations, Melissa. Director Powell said the industrial park ditch cleaning process is well underway and they have completed cleaning of the farm field area and along the north border of Northern Natural Gas' property. We expect, in the next couple of Regular City Council Meeting Minutes of March 2,2026 Page 5 of 7 days, that they will be inside the fence at Northern Natural Gas cleaning the ditch in that area. Director Powell said, with the warm weather and melting, we will be out sweeping if we have any clear curb lines. Director Powell also mentioned an Engineering Technician position that is currently open and posted. Director Omlid said we are moving into the next phase of the Rambling River Center Skate Park. A design survey selection was posted last Friday to the City's website and social media. Spohn Ranch has developed three conceptual design options for the project. We encourage all to review the proposed concepts and complete the online survey to share their preference. Feedback will play an important role in guiding the final design selection for construction. The survey will remain open through Sunday, March 8th. Police Chief Siem said we had a traffic collision involving a squad car tonight. He wanted to inform everyone here that CR 50 and Highway 3 is currently blocked with two vehicles on scene. Mayor Lien said Cabaret was incredible and commented on the gem we have in Farmington, whether it's musicals, the choir, the band, or anything we have with the arts. Their talent is incredible. Mayor Lien thanked a resident who took the time to text him a few nights ago with a simple update about a meeting they wanted to have with Tract and the Coalition. The resident was willing to break that communication barrier where it was just one-on-one communication, and I think that's the key to all of this. Let's have these one-on-one conversations where we're talking about specific needs and specific concerns one by one, not these conditions of person against panel or Tract against the Coalition. It's only going to get defensive behaviors out of all of us. We're not going to progress through something unless we have difficult one-on-one productive conversations.So,thank you for taking that first step, and I hope we can build on that. 14.ADJOURNMENT Motion was made by Councilmember Cordes and seconded by Councilmember Bernatz to adjourn the meeting at 7:48 pm. Motion carried: 4 ayes / 0 nays Regular City Council Meeting Minutes of March 2,2026 Page 6 of 7 Respectfully submitted, Sh*rRB c r Ciyerk Regular City Council Meeting Minutes of March 2,2026 Page 7 of 7