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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03.16.26 Council Minutes City of Farmington Regular Council Meeting Minutes Monday, March 16, 2026 The City Council met in regular session on Monday, March 16, 2026, at Farmington City Hall, 430 Third Street, Farmington, Minnesota. 1. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Lien called the meeting to order at 7 pm. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Lien led everyone in the Pledge of Allegiance. 3. ROLL CALL Members Present: Mayor Lien Councilmembers Holly Bernatz, Jake Cordes, and Steve Wilson Members Absent: None Staff Present: Lynn Gorski, City Administrator Amy Schmidt, City Attorney Deanna Kuennen, Economic & Community Development Director Tony Wippler, Planning Manager Kim Sommerland, Finance Director Matt Price, Fire Chief Kellee Omlid, Parks & Recreation Director Nate Siem, Police Chief John Powell, Public Works Director 4. APPROVE AGENDA Motion was made by Councilmember Wilson and seconded by Councilmember Cordes to approve the agenda as presented. Motion carried: 4 ayes / 0 nays 5. ANNOUNCEMENTS / COMMENDATIONS 6. CONSENT AGENDA 6.1 Minutes of the March 2, 2026 City Council Work Session 6.2 Minutes of the March 2, 2026 Regular City Council Meeting 6.3 Minutes of the March 5, 2026 Special City Council Work Session Regular City Council Meeting Minutes of March 16,2026 Page 1 of 8 6.4 Payment of Claims 6.5 Staff Approvals and Recommendations: appointment of Shane Van Dusartz as Public Works Maintenance Worker 6.6 Amendment to AIA Owner / Architect Agreement with JLG Architects for City Hall Project 6.7 Plans and Specifications and Authorize the Advertisement for Bids for the Willow Street MSA Improvements 6.8 Professional Services Agreement with WSB for a Citywide Speed Limit Study Motion was made by Councilmember Bernatz and seconded by Councilmember Cordes to approve the Consent Agenda, as amended. Motion carried: 4 ayes / 0 nays 7. PUBLIC HEARINGS 7.1 Ordinance Amending Charges and Fees for Licenses Mayor Lien opened the public hearing at 7:07 pm. Seeing no one wishing to speak, Mayor Lien closed the public hearing at 7:07 pm. Motion was made by Councilmember Wilson and seconded by Councilmember Cordes to pass Ordinance 2026-002 Amending Charges and Fees for Licenses, Permits, or Other City Approvals and Services for Calendar Year 2026. Motion carried: 4 ayes / 0 nays 8. AWARD OF CONTRACT 8.1 Agreement for Services with Hoisington Koegler Group, Inc. for the 2050 Comprehensive Plan Update Motion was made by Councilmember Bernatz and seconded by Councilmember Wilson to approve the signing of an agreement for services with Hoisington Koegler Group, Inc. for the 2050 Comprehensive Plan Update. Motion carried: 4 ayes / 0 nays Motion was made by Councilmember Cordes and seconded by Councilmember Bernatz to approve the amendment of the 2026 budget to include an additional $20,000 to the Professional Services line item in the Planning Department's budget. Motion carried: 4 ayes / 0 nays Regular City Council Meeting Minutes of March 16,2026 Page 2 of 8 9. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS 9.1 Preliminary Plat and Preliminary Planned Unit Development Approval; Amending the Zoning Ordinance and Rezoning the Development; and Amending the 2040 Comprehensive Plan-for the Development Known as Sawyer Glenn Motion was made by Councilmember Bernatz and seconded by Councilmember Cordes to adopt Resolution 2026-023 Approving the Sawyer Glenn Preliminary Plat and Preliminary Planned Unit Development, subject to the following conditions: a. The satisfaction of all engineering comments/requirements including plans for grading, stormwater, and utilities. b. Approval of the rezoning of a portion of the Sawyer Glenn development area from R-3 (Medium Density Residential) to R-2 (Low/Medium Density Residential). c. Approval of comprehensive plan amendments to land use, MUSA designation, and development staging timeframe by the Metropolitan Council. Motion carried: 4 ayes / 0 nays Motion was made by Councilmember Wilson and seconded by Councilmember Cordes to pass Ordinance 2026-003 Amending Title 10 of the Farmington City Code, the Farmington Zoning Ordinance, Rezoning the Development Known as Sawyer Glenn from A-1 (Agriculture) to R-2 (Low/Medium Density Residential). Motion carried: 4 ayes / 0 nays Motion was made by Councilmember Cordes and seconded by Councilmember Bernatz to adopt Resolution 2026-022 Approving the 2040 Comprehensive Plan Amendments to the Future Land Use Guidance, MUSA Staging and Development Staging for the Development Known as Sawyer Glenn. Motion carried: 4 ayes / 0 nays 10.UNFINISHED BUSINESS 11.NEW BUSINESS 11.1 Resolution Authorizing to Request Funding from the Environmental and Natural Resources Trust Fund Regular City Council Meeting Minutes of March 16,2026 Page 3 of 8 Motion was made by Councilmember Wilson and seconded by Councilmember Cordes to adopt Resolution 2026-021 Authorizing Approval for the City of Farmington to Request Funding from the Environmental and Natural Resources Trust Fund - for the North Creek Greenway Trails and Trailhead Construction Project. Motion carried: 4 ayes / 0 nays Mayor Lien said he would sign a letter of support. 11 .2 Designation of Acting Mayor for the Remainder of 2026 Councilmember Bernatz and Councilmember Cordes provided direction for Staff to bring back an amendment to the City Council By-laws that includes direction for appointing an Acting Mayor when a current Acting Mayor is appointed to the mayoral seat due to vacancy. Motion as made by Councilmember Bernatz and seconded by Councilmember Wilson to appoint Councilmember Jake Cordes as Acting Mayor for the remainder of calendar year 2026 and through his 2027 appointment as Acting Mayor, effective March 16, 2026 through December 31, 2027. Motion carried: 4 ayes / 0 nays 11.3 Declaration of Vacancy- City Council Seat (Nick Lien) Motion was made by Councilmember Wilson and seconded by Councilmember Cordes to adopt Resolution 2026-020 Declaring a Vacancy on the City Council. Motion carried: 4 ayes / 0 nays 12.CITIZENS COMMENTS / RESPONSES TO COMMENTS The following citizen(s) addressed the Council: • David Pritzlaff, Farmington • Cathy Johnson, Castle Rock Township • Mark Pearson, Castle Rock Township • Jeff Schottler, Farmington • Nancy Aarestad, Castle Rock Township • Terrie Pearson, Castle Rock Township • Resident (name not provided), Farmington • Nate Ryan, Farmington Regular City Council Meeting Minutes of March 16,2026 Page 4 of 8 13.CITY COUNCIL ROUNDTABLE City Attorney Schmidt made a general statement about issues raised during public comment. In regard to environmental concerns, she reminded the City Council that on February 26th, the plaintiffs in the lawsuits against the City filed a second amended complaint in the lawsuit. This time, they added claims related to the Minnesota Environmental Rights Act (MERA). Because of the new claims, that makes it more difficult for the City Council to be in a position to talk about environmental issues because the City Council has to protect the City's legal position in the lawsuits. This is the advice of the litigation attorneys - that standard procedures are followed when the City is in litigation, and issues raised in the lawsuit are not discussed. Councilmember Bernatz thanked the plow drivers and City Staff for their hard work during the snowstorm. She is very grateful, both as a Councilmember and a resident, for those who are involved in keeping Farmington up and running and safe. Councilmember Bernatz is hopeful and excited to see residents apply for the Council vacancy, which will open tomorrow and close at 4 pm on March 30th. Councilmember Cordes also thanked the plow drivers and everyone who was out keeping our streets safe and asked the Public Works Director to extend that to his Staff. We appreciate everything they do during the minor and major snow events and everything in-between. Councilmember Wilson thanked the City Administrator for her work on both Nick Lien's appointment to Mayor and the Council vacancy. He also thanked City Staff and their hard work putting together The Currents, which goes out to every resident and has a lot of great information. It's designed to allow the average resident to become more engaged in the community. He pointed out page 19 which shows he was nominated for the Kiss The Pig contest and he provided information on how and where to donate and vote. All proceeds go to the Rambling River Center. City Administrator Gorski addressed some of the public comments made regarding transparency and our items on the agenda. On the City of Farmington's main website page, there is a button halfway down labeled "Agendas & Minutes." Example: Image of Agendas & Minutes button on the City's website. 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By clicking on a meeting, you will be able to see all of the items that are on that agenda. Under each agenda item are links to the Council memo explaining what is being approved or not approved on the agenda, as well as any attachments to it. To reiterate, on February 17th, we did have a City Council Work Session, and we did discuss the public comment. And on March 2nd, there was an agenda item listed under the Consent Agenda, but this item was pulled to New Business in order to have a detailed discussion in regard to the by-law change. This by-law change was approved for the following meeting (tonight). And that is how the public comment period was changed on this evening's meeting agenda. Director Kuennen appreciated the robust conversation at the EDA meeting tonight. She mentioned a couple of items from the meeting: • We will be rolling out a pilot program, which was also in The Currents (spring issue), for a 15-minute parking spot program in the downtown area to support our small businesses. Approval of those locations and the included map will be coming to the City Council for approval and launch this spring. • The EDA will be supporting the Downtown Social activities, a homegrown event in the downtown that will take place on the fourth Thursday of each month. The EDA will be helping to grow this and there is a lot more Regular City Council Meeting Minutes of March 16,2026 Page 6 of 8 to come from it. We encourage our community to support the downtown businesses, as well as all of our businesses. • The EDA also discussed the growth of some of our businesses, including the Spanish immersion daycare here in Farmington which has just opened and is already looking to expand. Director Powell shared that the contractor doing the industrial park ditch cleaning was substantially complete before our weekend snow. They just have some cleanup left to do. Additionally, we have been talking about a citywide speed limit study since about late 2024, and I am very appreciative that we're launching a project to do a citywide speed limit study. The residents will be seeing more public engagement on that moving forward. We hope to have this done or near done by the end of this year or early next year. Director Omlid shared that on the front cover of this edition of The Currents is a photo of the newly renovated Rambling River Center (RRC) and the Rambling River Center Advisory Board. She thanked the Advisory Board for all the work they've done over the years. A fact about the RRC, since it's reopening, from the last week in June 2025 through February 28, 2026, we have approximately 100 brand new members (not renewals). She thanked the City Council for their support of the RRC, for making this investment in our community, and for doing this as a single-phase project. It means a lot to the people who call the RRC home. Director Omlid is excited for the next step in the skatepark process. The final design reveal will be next Monday night, March 23rd - a virtual meeting at 6 pm. Spohn Ranch will be presenting the final design, and information and the link is on the front page of the City's website. Chief Price said Fire Staff were out today shoveling around hydrants. If you have a hydrant close by that's buried, please give us a hand, because seconds matter. You'll see our Staff out again tomorrow and the next day. Warm weather is coming but until the snow is gone, we ask for the public's assistance to try and clean these hydrants. Seconds matter-when we need to get to that hydrant, it takes time for us to shovel it out during an emergency. It should be cleared 3 feet by 3 feet by 3 feet around the hydrant or as much access as we possibly can to get to the hydrant to hook up. Chief Siem said the Police Department and the School District held joint interviews for School Resource Officer. Officer Dane Tukua was selected, and he will be starting in the schools next school year and making those connections with students and staff. He will serve us well. Regular City Council Meeting Minutes of March 16,2026 Page 7 of 8 Chief Siem shared that Detective Shawn Scovill has announced his retirement, with his last day set for April 9th. Also, this is CSO Claire Kennedy's last week of school. She graduates on Saturday, and we look to have her approved for hire as a Police Officer at our next meeting. Mayor Lien discussed work sessions and the public being able to talk during work sessions. There are things I can change but there are things I cannot change. I am doing my best to change what is possible for me to change. And to try and be a little more open to listen in the way that I can when we're in the middle of lawsuits like this. A work session is two hours long, and we have an agenda that is packed. First and foremost, Staff and the Council have to get through the discussion of those topics. If there is extra time, that's the public's opportunity to speak. I cannot promise that it is going to be an open discussion among the entire general public or we will never get through a meeting. That is how a meeting has to be run in order to finish on time. We can only solve problems and move through things in one-on-one discussions and small communication. For right now, I can commit to Mondays and Fridays -on Mondays before Council meetings, I will sit in the office across the hall for an hour or two before the City Council meeting. You can come in and talk with me one-on-one. There is not a lot I can say back to you without legal advice, but I can listen, and you can share your ideas and your frustrations. I am not going to get involved in Facebook arguments; productive conversation doesn't happen on a community Facebook page that is moderated by different people. We have official channels-a City Facebook page, the newspaper, and you can also call or email me. Beyond that, I'm doing my best to listen, and I'm doing my best to change. That's all I can say. 14.ADJOURNMENT Motion was made by Councilmember Wilson and seconded by Councilmember Bernatz to adjourn the meeting at 8:48 pm. Motion carried: 4 ayes / 0 nays R spectfully submitted, 1Srley lRffkslMer+ City Clerk Regular City Council Meeting Minutes of March 16,2026 Page 8 of 8