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Home My WebLink About05.18.26 Council MinutesRegular City Council Meeting Minutes of May 18, 2026 Page 1 of 6 City of Farmington Regular Council Meeting Minutes Monday, May 18, 2026 The City Council met in regular session on Monday, May 18, 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 Nicholas Lien Councilmembers Holly Bernatz, Jake Cordes, and Steve Wilson Members Absent: Phil Windschitl Staff Present: Lynn Gorski, City Administrator Amy Schmidt, City Attorney Deanna Kuennen, Economic & Community Development Director Matt Price, Fire Chief Heath Walker, Fire Marshal Amanda Christensen, Fire Lieutenant Mary Olson, Fire Lieutenant Justin Kelly, Fire Lieutenant Kellee Omlid, Parks & Recreation Director Tony Wippler, Planning Manager Nate Siem, Police Chief John Powell, Public Works Director Melissa Geis, City Clerk 4. APPROVE AGENDA City Administrator Gorski requested Consent Item 6.14, Donation from Beans & Boots LLC to the Police Department be moved to announcements. Motion was made by Councilmember Wilson and seconded by Councilmember Cordes to approve the agenda as amended. Motion carried: 4 ayes / 0 nays Regular City Council Meeting Minutes of May 18, 2026 Page 2 of 6 5. ANNOUNCEMENTS / COMMENDATIONS 5.1 Swearing in of Fire Department Personnel Fire Chief Price presented the following personnel and administered the Oath of Office for: • Fire Lieutenants Mary Olson and Justin Kelly 5.2 Donation from Beans & Boots LLC to the Farmington Police Department Police Chief Siem accepted a donation from Beans & Boots LLC to the Farmington Police Department K-9 program. 6. CONSENT AGENDA 6.1 Dakota County Joint Powers Agreement for Post-Election Review Services 6.2 Minutes of the May 4, 2026 City Council Work Session 6.3 Minutes of the May 4, 2026 Regular City Council Meetings 6.4 Temporary On-Sale Liquor License for Farmington Municipal Liquors June 25, 2026 6.5 Temporary On-Sale Liquor License for The Rotary Club of Farmington June 26-28, 2026 6.6 Payment of Claims 6.7 Increase in the annual Fire Relief Benefit Level 6.8 Memorandum of Agreement for AFSCME Clerical, Technical. Professional Local #3815 – Accounting Specialist 6.9 Staff Approvals and Recommendations 6.10 Declaring Items as Surplus and Authorizing Disposal (Parks and Recreation) 6.11 Donation from David McKnight to the Rambling River Center 6.12 Donation from the Farmington VFW Post 7662 to the City of Farmington 6.13 Playground Equipment for Prairieview Park 6.14 Donation from Beans & Boots to the Farmington Police Department – this item was moved to Announcements/Commendations 5.2 6.15 Professional Services Agreement with Alliant Engineering, Inc. for the Flagstaff Avenue Corridor Study Motion was made by Councilmember Cordes and seconded by Councilmember Bernatz to approve the Consent Agenda, as amended. Motion carried: 4 ayes / 0 nays Regular City Council Meeting Minutes of May 18, 2026 Page 3 of 6 7. PUBLIC HEARINGS 7.1 Ordinance Amending Charges and Fees for Licenses, Permits, or Other City Approvals and Services for Calendar Year 2026 Maylor Lien opened the public hearing at 7:17 pm. Seeing no one wishing to speak, Mayor Lien closed the public hearing at 7:17 pm. Motion was made by Councilmember Wilson and seconded by Cordes to close the public hearing at 7:17pm. Motion carried: 4 ayes/ 0 nays Motion was made by Councilmember Wilson and seconded by Councilmember Cordes to pass Ordinance 2026-004 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 9. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS 9.1 Adopt Ordinance 2026-05 Rezoning property from MUCI (Mixed-Use Commercial/Industrial) to I (Industrial); the Subject Property is Generally located at the Northeast Intersection of Pilot Knob Road and 208th Street West. Motion was made by Councilmember Bernatz and seconded by Councilmember Cordes to adopt Ordinance 2026-005 Amending Title 10 of the Farmington City Code, the Farmington Zoning Ordinance, Rezoning the western 553 feet of the Parcel with PID Number 14-02500-57-011 from MUCI (Mixed-Use Commercial/Industrial) to I (Industrial). Motion carried: 4 ayes/ 0 nays 10. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 11. NEW BUSINESS Regular City Council Meeting Minutes of May 18, 2026 Page 4 of 6 11.1 Consideration of acceptance of bid Resolution 2026-047 Accepting an Offer and Authorizing the Sale of Property Located at 19799 Embers Avenue Parcel ID: 14-56801-01-010 Motion was made by Councilmember Bernatz and seconded by Councilmember Cordes to approve Resolution 2026-047 Accepting an Offer and Authorizing the Sale of Property located at 19799 Embers Avenue, Parcel ID: 14-6801-01-010, authorizing the Mayor and City Administrator to execute all necessary documents to complete the transaction. Motion carried: 4 ayes/ 0 nays 11.2 Pass Resolution 2026-046 Adopting Findings of Fact and Record Decision on the Vermilion Reserve Environmental Assessment Worksheet. Motion was made by Councilmember Cordes and seconded by Councilmember Bernatz to Pass Resolution 2026-046 Adopting Findings of Fact and Record Decision on the Vermilion Reserve Environmental Assessment Worksheet. Motion carried: 3 ayes/ 1 nay, with Councilmembers Bernatz, Cordes and Mayor Lien voting in favor, and Councilmember Wilson voting against. 11.3 Planning Commission Appointment Motion was made by Councilmember Bernatz and seconded by Councilmember Cordes to approve the appointment of Nate Lehmeyer to the Planning Commission to fill the vacant seat through January 2028. Motion carried: 4 ayes/ 0 nays 12. CITIZENS COMMENTS / RESPONSES TO COMMENTS The following citizen(s) addressed the Council: • David Pritzlaff, Farmington • Nancy Aarestad, Castle Rock Township • Nate Ryan, Farmington • Mo Fashami, Castle Rock Township • Steven Endres Jr., Farmington • Jenny Groden, Farmington Regular City Council Meeting Minutes of May 18, 2026 Page 5 of 6 13. CITY COUNCIL ROUNDTABLE City Attorney Schmidt spoke regarding the moratorium statements and stated that the main difference between other cities and Farmington is that they don’t currently have projects that have already been approved or are this far along in process like the Tract project. If the City Council wanted to adopt a moratorium on any other project they could, if they tried to implement a moratorium on the Tract project there would be legal risk to the City for litigation. City Attorney Schmidt then spoke about the AUAR for Tract approvals and that there is not a developer with site plans in place. The AUAR looks at the hypothetical scenarios. There is no specific development plan on either the golf course site or the school district site at this time. Councilmember Cordes thanked and congratulated the Police Department on their Open House event. He then thanked Parks and Recreation along with the City of Empire Parks and Recreation for hosting the food truck event. Councilmember Wilson asked if Steven Endres Jr. could come up and share more about the 22-push-up challenge and how it supports mental health. Mr. Endres came up and spoke about the 22 Veterans a day (7,744 year) that commit suicide and brining attention to that in hopes of getting that number down to zero. Councilmember Wilson apologized for breaking protocol but wanted to acknowledge his comments with Memorial Day coming up. Mayor Lien acknowledged citizen comment from Nate Ryan, Farmington. Councilmember Wilson then thanked David McKnight and their donation to the Rambling River Center. He also thanked Police Chief Siem and the entire Police Department for their Open House event they hosted. Director Kuennen shared in the EDA meeting they had Dakota Electric Representatives, one of our partner organizations, to hear about their missions and goals. She thanked their team for coming in. Director Kuennen spoke about the new permitting software BS&A launching soon and explained the fees approved tonight are to offer convenience to the customers without costs being passed on to residents.