This transcript has been processed to include speaker names based on the context provided, meeting protocols, and internal dialogue cues. [8:41] Mayor Anne Burt: Okay. Good evening. Welcome to the city of Woodbury's city council meeting for today. It is what is our date here? I had so many papers. April 22nd. Um, I apologize for the few minute delay. We're meeting with Cub Scouts. So great to have them here. Um, and they're going to be coming up helping us with the pledge of allegiance here in just a minute. Um, just a couple of things. Uh, meetings are recorded using by True Lens Community Media. They're nicely over there in the little broadcast booth. Uh, this replays back on cable channel 799. [9:15] Mayor Anne Burt: Um, Cub Scouts, I know it's always kind of fun to see yourself on TV because when you come up here, you'll be able to then watch it. So either look for channel 799 or look at the city of Woodbury's YouTube channel and you can go back and watch yourself. Um, okay with that why don't you all cub scouts all come up. This is troop 601 right? 601. Come on up all of you and you can come up here and lead us in the pledge of allegiance. [9:46] Mayor Anne Burt: Trying to avoid blocking everything. Okay. Come like just come in here. Of course we face the flag. [9:59] Mayor Anne Burt: Turn flags this way. Okay. Actually, let me I'll let them nice to Okay. Ready? [10:04] Cub Scouts: I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. [10:28] Mayor Anne Burt: Thank you. Fantastic. Okay, I've got uh Well, hang on one second because I'll let you all get here. Everyone gets one pound of the gavel. Yep. And then you get Jen little. Everybody get. Do not use it on your siblings. [10:57] Council Member Steve Morris: He had to go to that. [11:00] Mayor Anne Burt: I was going to say I've got little boys just like your age. So I know. Oh, I see myself. And then um we're going to have you all go down in front here and we'll take a picture. [11:21] Mayor Anne Burt: Everybody down and then come up here. Face that way. Now you can see yourself on TV. There you are. Line up. Almost every day. Welcome to my life. [11:46] Mayor Anne Burt: It's not like pictures. It's like the first thing that I Okay. And one of the one of the scout leaders is taking pictures. Okay. Everyone look look at your scout leader. Smile. Look at your scout leader and smile. [12:05] Mayor Anne Burt: Awesome. All right. Thanks, boys. Thank you. [12:17] Mayor Anne Burt: Um, with the beginning of that, would you now do the roll call, please? Ashleigh? [12:21] Ashleigh Sullivan: Council Member Morris? [12:22] Council Member Steve Morris: Here. [12:23] Ashleigh Sullivan: Council member Santini? [12:24] Council Member Jennifer Santini: Here. [12:24] Ashleigh Sullivan: Council member Stafford? [12:25] Council Member Donna Stafford: Here. [12:25] Ashleigh Sullivan: Council member Wilson? [12:26] Council Member Kim Wilson: Here. [12:27] Ashleigh Sullivan: Mayor Burt? [12:28] Mayor Anne Burt: Here. We are all here tonight. So, we're able to conduct tonight's business. We've got uh special orders of business to begin with. Three important proclamations and I'm going to begin with the very first one. Is Mike Where's Mike Madigan? [12:47] Mayor Anne Burt: Oh, there he is. Hello. Hello, Mike. Good to see you. We're putting we're putting some pressure on you. But positive pressure. No, I'm going to invite you up in a minute. But let me just read our proclamation. Um this is a proclamation for the city of Woodbury, Washington County, Minnesota. We are recognizing Woodbury resident Mike Madigan. His 18 years of tenure on the South Washington Watershed District Board. My apologies. Whereas Mike Madigan is a resident of the city of Woodbury. Mr. Madigan has served as a manager on the board of the South Washington Watershed District for 18 years. Through Mr. Madigan's leadership and service, South Washington Watershed District has fostered and sustained effective working partnerships across southern Washington County. And whereas under Mr. Madigan's leadership, South Washington Watershed District has made substantial infrastructure investments to protect district resources, including the central draw overflow in Glacial Valley Park, Hasenbank and Cargle Parks storm water facilities, and enhanced street sweeping. All of which directly benefit the surface water and groundwater in Woodbury. Whereas Mr. Madigan retired from his tenure at the South Washington Watershed District Board of Managers on Tuesday, April 14th, 2026. [14:02] Mayor Anne Burt: Now therefore, I Anne W. Burt, mayor of the city of Woodbury, Washington County, Minnesota, do hereby recognize Mike Madigan on his years of service and commitment to preserving and protecting water quality for current and future residents of Woodbury. Um, and again just thank you besides uh the years he spent on that uh he has been our liaison to the 3M settlement with all that's been going on with the PFAS group that started in 2018 or 2019 and it has taken more time and effort than one ever thought it was going to but without your involvement and leadership we would not be where we are today. So thank you for that. Mike was also formerly a city council member for the city of Woodbury. So just outstanding service uh and again so much great work for the uh watershed district. I do have um an official proclamation framed that I will hand to you and would you like to come up and say anything at the mic for the group? [14:59] Mike Madigan: Just thank you for the kind words and the opportunity to serve. Thank you very much. [15:10] Mayor Anne Burt: Mike, we have the box for you. Mike, he's leaving. That's it. 18 years and he's out of here. [15:25] Council Member Jennifer Santini: Oh, he'll be back. [15:27] Mayor Anne Burt: Okay, that's that one. Okay, then we have uh a proclamation recognizing public service recognition week. Uh uh. No, hang on. Hang on. Hang on. Volunteer. I don't know that I I don't know that I have that one in front of me. Do I have that one in front of me? You know what? While we look for that, I'm going to go on to the next proclamation, which is the recognizing volunteer recognition week. Uh so volunteer recognition week is the week of April 19th through April 25th, 2026. [15:59] Mayor Anne Burt: Whereas volunteerism is an integral part of our great culture and heritage in Woodbury, more than 400 volunteers of all ages annually contribute to volunteer services. Now I say that that's just those that contribute to the city itself. We have got volunteers all over doing all kinds of great work throughout the community, but we're speaking today specifically about those that uh engage with the city directly. Whereas volunteers make significant contributions to the quality of life in Woodbury and through their efforts help to ensure a brighter future for our city. Volunteerism promotes personal, social, and intellectual development of young people and prepares them to become involved and responsible citizens. Individuals and groups volunteering in Woodbury are making their neighborhoods better places in which to live by providing support to those in need, solving community problems, improving schools, helping people with disabilities, and preserving the environment. Whereas recognition should be given to our dedicated volunteers who have demonstrated their commitment to the betterment of our community throughout the year. Now therefore, I Anne W. Burt, mayor of the city, Woodbury, Washington County, Minnesota, do hereby proclaim April 19th through 25th, 2026 to be volunteer recognition week. As we continue to face the challenges and opportunities of our society, I call on all citizens of the city to sustain and increase Woodbury's volunteer spirit now and for the future. Together we serve Woodbury and serve it well. So, thank you to all those volunteers. We do a very nice thing. We sent cards and letters out to all those that have volunteered uh offering them to come in and uh pick up a special gift from the city. Um, many many more opportunities exist. So, um thank you again and sincerely for all those that do what you do to make this city great and uh I encourage those who haven't look for opportunities to do so. So, thank you. [17:46] Council Member Kim Wilson: Mayor Burt, where could people find those opportunities if they wanted to get involved with the city? Is it on the website? [17:51] Mayor Anne Burt: That is a good question. Can Ashleigh, can you uh because I don't I'm This is as much volunteer as I can do right now as this job, but— [18:03] Ashleigh Sullivan: I know. Yeah, we do have opportunities on our website, but also just reach out to staff and we'll be happy to connect people. Thank you. [18:14] Mayor Anne Burt: Well, that's a different because we were talking about the city directly, but yeah, Woodbury Community Foundation is also a great source and we are actually working in collaboration with them to see if we can come up with a method of encouraging additional volunteerism and having a way to get the word out on what the needs are and have people—that's in a long range plan which we just met on that last week. [18:38] Council Member Jennifer Santini: As well as other organizations like the Lions Club, the Heritage Society, right? [18:41] Mayor Anne Burt: Exactly. Lots of ways. Lots and lots and lots of ways to to uh Exactly. Okay. Now, we're going to do uh 4B, which is a proclamation recognizing public service recognition week. So, public service recognition week is May 3rd through May 9th, 2026. Uh this covers peace officers memorial day, which is May 15th, National Police Week, which is May 10th through May 16th, and then Emergency Medical Services Week May 17th through May 23rd. So actually we've got four different together in this one proclamation recognizing all those various groups. So whereas the services of the city of Woodbury employees are of vital importance to the health, safety and well-being of the citizens and vitality of the businesses of the city of Woodbury. Whereas the members of the Woodbury Public Safety Department, Police Division play an essential role in working collaboratively with federal, state, county, and other law enforcement agencies to promote safety and safeguard freedoms of Woodbury residents. Whereas the city of Woodbury acknowledges the sacrifices that public safety employees make in serving the community with courage and compassion every day as well as those officers both locally and nationally who have sustained injuries or lost their lives in the performance of their duties. Emergency medical services is a vital public service and the Woodbury Emergency Medical Services team used their medical expertise, courage, and compassion to provide life-saving medical care to those in need 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Now therefore, I Anne W. Burt, mayor of the city of Woodbury, Washington County, do hereby proclaim May 3rd through 9th to be public service recognition week, May 15th to be peace officers memorial day, May 10th through May 16th to be police week, and furthermore, I hereby proclaim that May 17th through May 23rd to be emergency medical services week in Woodbury. I do encourage members of the community to observe these designations and express their appreciation to the important services provided by the city of Woodbury personnel. So, thank you again to all of our staff and all that you do to uh besides all the volunteers that happen. You all, you know, it takes a team here to make this a great city and thanks for all that you do for that. [20:51] Mayor Anne Burt: Any other comments from council members? [20:53] Jeffrey J. Dahl: Do you mind if I just say a few words about our staff? [20:56] Mayor Anne Burt: Yeah, please. That would be great. [20:57] Jeffrey J. Dahl: I'd love to. Um, as city administrator, I'm honored to recognize all of our public servants and outstanding individuals who serve our community every day. Our 500 plus full-time, part-time, and seasonal employees from public safety to public works, from parks and rec to engineering to administrative services to ICT to community development. We've got a lot of departments here and a lot of services that we provide, but overall our employees are our organization's greatest asset. To our team, your dedication in living out our organizational values of responsiveness, professionalism, and leadership while meeting the ever evolving needs of our residents are the foundation of a strong and thriving city and allow us to exceed expectations and be the best. From delivering essential services to supporting one another as a team, your work across all of our departments does not go unnoticed. Thank you for the pride that you take in public service and for the positive impact you have in our community every day. Your work really does matter and I hope you all have a little extra swagger in your step in May because you deserve it. You're awesome and I know I and we all really appreciate you. So, thank you everybody uh in this organization. You're the best. [22:12] Mayor Anne Burt: Thank you. That's a round of applause for all. Thank you. Okay. Um we're now going on to the open forum portion of the council meeting where a maximum of three people will be allowed to address the council on subjects which are not part of the meeting agenda. So I'll just begin with this. I have more than three sheets here. So I'm going to have to determine which ones we're going to address tonight. Um persons wishing to speak must complete a signup sheet. Again I have those here. Um when you uh we will again have somebody come up. Please provide your name and city of residence with your question for the official record. Speakers are limited to three minutes each. And we do have a timer system. So if you're not familiar with this, we've got a timer that'll be going there that shows three minutes. We have a red, yellow, green system up here with lights. Um it'll start off being green when you have one minute left it turns yellow and then it turns red when you're going to be finished. Um we do listen attentively to comments but in most instances we will not be responding today at the meeting itself. Um, so here is my challenge is that I have seven. I can I'm going to pick three. I'm going to start at the top, but I would like to hear from people that are here for different reasons. So if you're all here for the same reason, then one spokesperson can speak. If you've came in a coordinated manner and there's a particular topic that one of you wants to speak on maybe you want to amongst yourselves determine that. Um otherwise I do have uh one person wants to speak about ICE detention but window replacement inspection. So I think we're going to take—I'll take somebody on ICE detention and then you can speak to window replacement since that's a whole different topic. Um, and then I have someone else that wants to speak on parks and public building resolution. So, I think we'll take that one because that's a different topic. [24:34] Council Member Kim Wilson: Okay. [24:35] Mayor Anne Burt: We have heard um we have heard several and have had many opportunities for people to speak on ICE detention facilities and what we're doing about that. So, uh if there's one person that wants to speak on that—do you have a recommendation? [24:50] Jeffrey J. Dahl: Well, just one—well, two quick things. One is um we don't have any online so that makes it a little bit more simple. Um and I do know that Miss Densen came here and maybe um wanted to speak under the volunteer appreciation week. So I think she uh wrote one too. So if we were able to allow some time for Miss Densen, that'd be great. [25:06] Mayor Anne Burt: Well, let me Okay, why don't we take uh Miss Densen first then because that really relates to our prior topic which is not open forum. So Christie, come on up and um you have time for that. [25:21] Christie Densen: Well, thank you. Uh good evening, mayor, members of council. My name is Christie Densen. I'm the board chair for Woodbury Community Foundation. And before I begin, I just want to thank you for recognizing volunteer appreciation week here in Woodbury. It's a meaningful reminder. Um so much of what makes our community strong um are the people who give their time. And um with that at the Woodbury Community Foundation, that belief really is at the core of what we do. And our mission is to connect people and organizations to causes that matter, strengthening the fabric of this community. We are an all-volunteer organization and we're proud to work alongside many outstanding nonprofits and community partners who are doing incredible work in our community every day to serve Woodbury. Um, we see our role not as competing with that, but really amplifying it and help connecting residents to philanthropy in our community, elevating causes and growing a culture of Woodbury um that gives back. Over the past year, we've had almost 13,000 volunteer hours come out of our organization alone that have been contributed to our network, supporting families, strengthening nonprofits, and responding to real needs in our community. Um but beyond the numbers, we're really focused on strengthening the pipeline of leaders in our community. We have partnered with the city on many objectives over the years, including the community academy, youth engagement leadership academy, providing opportunities uh for members to engage through thrives and the community garden. All of these are opportunities for people to onboard and serve in our community um and and create accessible entry points. But what we're finding right now is that there's a challenge and an opportunity. Volunteer opportunities um are fragmented across Woodbury. And for many residents, the barrier isn't willingness, it's knowing where to go. So um we believe there's an opportunity to change that. And we respectfully just ask for the city to consider a couple of things as we're looking toward opportunities for that. And so first, um, to help support a more centralized approach to community volunteerism, just to make it easier for residents to connect with volunteer opportunities across multiple organizations. We have so many good ones here in Woodbury. And second, to leverage the city's communication channels that would help amplify volunteer needs and opportunities. You already have trusted, far-reaching platforms that can help elevate this work. And third, um, considering volunteerism and civic engagement as a priority value in your future strategic plan. Uh, strong communities are not built by services alone. They are built by people who feel connected and invested in one another. Um, Woodbury Community Foundation stands ready to partner in this work with you. We have the relationships, we have the volunteer network, and we have a community that wants to show up, but together, we can make it easier for them to do so. So, thank you for your time and for your leadership and the opportunity to share tonight. [28:17] Mayor Anne Burt: Thank you, Christie. [28:27] Council Member Steve Morris: Um, do you have a comment? I mean, we're talking about 18 minutes because there's six—seven. [28:44] Mayor Anne Burt: Okay, six now. [28:45] Council Member Steve Morris: Yeah, Christie was a different category. I would make a motion. We're only talking about 18 minutes. I'd make a motion to let all six go. We did it in January. [28:55] Council Member Kim Wilson: I'll second. [29:01] Mayor Anne Burt: Motion to extend the public forum to allow six instead of three. Three minutes each. Yeah, I second. Motion a second. All in favor? [29:16] Council Members: Aye. [29:19] Council Member Kim Wilson: I would just recommend then that maybe we take the ones that don't have to pertain to a certain topic first. [29:26] Mayor Anne Burt: Well, I don't know what they are because they're not identified. That's part of my issue. [29:28] Council Member Kim Wilson: I thought you pulled some out. So then they're just not getting in the middle of stuff. [29:32] Mayor Anne Burt: Yeah, unfortunately. Okay, why don't we take—I'll do that. I'll take um—Let's do this. Uh Jenny Stevens regarding the parks and public building resolution. Oh, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. This is for immigration enforcement. Oh, that's the same topic. I'm sorry. I read parks and public building. Okay, that's the same topic. We'll just I'll just go. You know what? These have gotten mixed up. I'm going in the order that now sits at the top of my desk, which is um Susan Asplund. So, you may come up first. And while I say this, too, uh one thing occurred in one of our previous meetings, we do not allow or appreciate or allow outbursts and you may not come and speak at the mic unless you've been invited up. So, I will read the six names and you'll be invited to speak. There you go. You're invited. So, state your name and your uh city of residence for the record, please. [30:26] Susan Asplund: Uh, my name is Susan Asplund and I'm a resident of Woodbury. Uh, in the past month, community members drafted and presented a resolution affirming the city of Woodbury's commitment to community safety and restricting the use of city property for federal immigration enforcement activities. More than 150 community members signed a petition in support of this resolution. In January, hundreds of people came to the council meeting because they were deeply concerned about the activities of DHS and ICE in Woodbury. That concern has not gone away. To your credit, the April 8th proclamation from the mayor and the city administrator affirmed the city's values and outlined steps taken so far, including opposition to a federal immigration detention center in Woodbury. But a proclamation is not policy. It creates no obligation, no sense of protection, and no meaningful change. We know from your own discussions that policy matters. Council member Kim Wilson stated on April 8th that resolutions establish policy. The city attorney confirmed that this council has the legal authority to restrict the use of city-owned property. There are examples throughout the Twin Cities metro area of city councils taking action. The Cities for Safe and Stable Communities is a coalition of over 30 cities advocating for public safety approaches that respect constitutional rights and support community stability. One of their major tenets is that effective public safety depends on trust. When residents are afraid to engage with the local government or access services, communities become less safe overall. Right now, there is no policy in Woodbury preventing ICE or DHS from using our city-owned spaces. Our parks, our community centers are meant to serve residents, not to be used in ways that put us all at risk. The impacts of federal police actions fall hardest on the people who are already navigating systems of inequity and fear. You have the authority to act and this community has asked you to act. I am asking you to place the proposed resolution restricting DHS and ICE activity on a future agenda for a formal vote. The proclamation was not enough. Residents deserve a clear recorded vote. Thank you for your time. [33:25] Mayor Anne Burt: Next up, Sumitra Ness. [33:33] Sumitra Ness: Hello, my name is Sumitra Ness and I have resided in Woodbury for almost 30 years. Please note that tonight we are convening at a location 20 minutes from Fort Snelling, Minnesota's first concentration camp where the people native to this land were imprisoned and starved. One would have hoped that would be the last concentration camp in Minnesota. But here we are—guessing the ages of the people here on this council—you have close family members, fathers, grandfathers, or uncles who fought in World War II and possibly participated in the liberation of concentration camps run by the Third Reich. If they did, I urge you to learn their stories. And if they didn't, I urge you to familiarize yourself with the stories of American soldiers who did so. I'd also urge you to read accounts from Japanese American citizens who were stripped of their belongings and their property and put in internment camps here in the United States of America. Some who were children at the time are still alive and can be asked directly. All of us in this room are very lucky. We grew up in a time where we knew this horrific history but believed it when we heard people say "never again." But here we are. The mayor and city council have given verbal assurances that the building targeted by ICE here in Woodbury would not become a concentration camp and that you worked behind the scenes to make that happen. But as you stated in a previous council meeting, you will not disclose how that arrangement was negotiated. Aside from not being transparent in any way, it certainly raises questions about how that transpired and gives no framework to understand how new locations might be dealt with. That is why hundreds of citizens signed a petition asking for the city to pass a resolution against ICE in Woodbury. There are currently horrific concentration camps in our country. Elected leaders are routinely denied access. And when they do finally get access after prisoners are moved, they describe inhumane conditions. One can only imagine what those conditions are like before the electeds are allowed in. The Dilly in Texas is one such camp. Someday, someday very soon, the word Dilly will be equivalent to Dachau. Everyone born since 1900 knows the word Dachau. But we don't really know anything else other than it was a concentration camp after World War II. Many people said most Germans didn't know what was happening. Understand that now in 2026, we all know, the whole world knows what is happening here in the American concentration camps and we the people expect our elected leaders to act on this information. We have a wonderful city here. Abundant medical services, fabulous indoor and outdoor entertainment, sporting facilities, good schools, shopping, and restaurants. You have all worked very hard to advertise our city as destination Woodbury, a place everyone would want to visit. Should a camp be built here, the name Woodbury will go down in history like Dachau or Dilly, and destination Woodbury will have a whole new meaning. I am sure there are solid legal arguments about why it does not seem possible to win a fight against the federal government should they sue Woodbury if we passed this resolution. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't try and if we fail, try again. I urge the mayor and city council to put the resolution to a vote. I urge you to remember the "never again" mindset that we all grew up with and to be on the right side of history. Thank you. [37:24] Mayor Anne Burt: Thank you. I always hate the idea of having to cut people off, but I'm going to ask everyone that when you come up and when the red light goes off, please just finish your sentence so that we can be respectful of everyone else's time. Uh, Linda G, you have two topics on uh, ICE detention and window replacement inspection. [37:46] Linda G: Um, my name is Linda G. I live in Eagle Valley, Woodbury, Minnesota. Um, I've lived in Minnesota for over 30 years now. Um, when I first came here, Mayor Hargis was the mayor and Jim Lammers was the city attorney. Now, I'm on my second home now, my move up home. And um, so now my home is around 22, 24 years now, 24 years old now. And so my husband and I were trying to do a "age in place" type of home. So we wanted to do some remodeling. And so one of the things that we did was we contracted for window replacements. And this is one of the most expensive items when it comes to home renovations or just maintenance of a home. And so people can spend 80 or 90 or $100,000 on new windows for a whole entire house with 20 openings. Now the kind of window replacement that I had is called full frame window replacement where they pull out the whole entire frame. It's not an insert replacement. They pull out the whole frame so that it's down to a rough opening of just a wood opening. And so at that point the wood is very vulnerable to water intrusion. So it's very important that the contractor carefully flash the opening and tape to the water barrier which is also called Tyvek. So in my project that was not done. Um my contractor had something that they called a Z-channel perimeter flashing. And so what they did was they put the new window in after they pulled out the old window and they put this thing called Z-channel perimeter flashing without removing any of the exterior trim or any of the siding. So this was pretty much their experimental window replacement installation. Okay. And so we immediately had issues with our windows and there was water and mold growing on our windows and we had water intrusion on the top. Now when I learned when I carefully read the Marvin website and read all of the information about window installation—carefully read about preparation of the rough opening and flashing it—my contractor did none of that. Now, when it came to the building inspection department, they have this policy that they follow where they don't inspect the midpoint. They don't inspect the flashing of the wood rough opening. They wait till everything is done to get to the end of it and then when the window's already in there and it's—they have this thing called the channel on the top and that's the only thing they inspect. So they don't have the midpoint inspection and also other cities have this thing where contractors upload photos of how it's flashed. They take a photo of the exterior wall where the window has been placed before it's been covered up and then they upload it to the website for building inspection. So without any of this happening, we're in a situation where we have damage to our home. We have to have somebody coming out to redo our windows or basically get new windows. And this is like a $16,000 investment. And then I had a big thing with the building official that we don't have to do that inspection. And so I just was um thinking that that's not helping residents who are trying to get replacement windows, which everybody who has a 25-year-old house has to worry about. [41:47] Mayor Anne Burt: Thank you, Miss G. So your point is you would you're suggesting that there be a different process or you were asking for something just in a few short words. [41:55] Linda G: There has to be a midpoint inspection of the waterproofing, the taping, when it's flashed and taped to the water barrier. And they need to have—and other cities do this—contractors take a photo of the exterior before you put the window down, just the rough opening to the wood, and then upload it so there is evidence about how they installed the window. If there's no evidence, they are free to cut corners however they want. [42:27] Mayor Anne Burt: Thank you. I'm sorry to hear that you've gone through that. I think that's something that we can well we'll follow up on. [42:35] Council Member Steve Morris: Every city in America will tell you they're not responsible for the quality work the contractor did. [42:40] Linda G: Well, but other—excuse me— [42:42] Mayor Anne Burt: Um, this is not a place to debate. I'm sorry. I appreciate that. [42:47] Council Member Steve Morris: You guys can—I just got to shoot. [42:49] Linda G: Okay. Well, he he said something like a contractor would say to me. Okay. And so that's why I was responding to him because that's what they all say. [43:02] Mayor Anne Burt: Thank you. Thank you, Miss G. Um next up, Justin Repella. [43:10] Justin Repella: Thank you. Hi. Um, my name is Justin Repella and I live in Woodbury. Um, I am here to discuss the resolution regarding immigration enforcement and uh the use of municipal property. On April 8th, this council issued a proclamation opposing a federal detention center in Woodbury. Uh, while the sentiment is appreciated, uh we do need to be honest about what a proclamation is. It is a ceremonial statement. It does not establish policy. It does not create enforceable rules and it does not direct city staff to take any specific action. If anything in this process has been performative, it is the use of a proclamation in place of a resolution. When concrete action is available to this body, the original draft resolution was designed to do what the proclamation does not. It included explicit directives to restrict the use of city-owned or city-controlled property like our parks and our public buildings uh for the purpose of staging or supporting civil immigration enforcement activities. This is not a symbolic gesture. It is a concrete exercise of local authority. Um I have heard concern that a resolution like this is unenforceable or that it risks impeding federal agents. And I want to be very clear. The city of Woodbury is not a subordinate branch of the federal government. Under the anti-commandeering principles of the 10th amendment, we are not required to voluntarily offer our local assets as operational locations for federal agencies. Choosing to withhold a home base for these tactics is a valid and lawful policy choice. The resolution would empower city staff to evaluate and update our facility use agreements and property permits. These are standard administrative tools. By codifying the separation between our local public spaces and federal immigration enforcement, we create a predictable environment for every resident. When people know that public property that they visit and the parks where their children play uh can't be used uh as staging areas for raids, they feel more comfortable. They feel more secure and that creates trust. That is a trust that is a practical safety asset to our community. It ensures that residents feel comfortable calling 911 or seeking help in an emergency without fear. The community has asked for transparency and accountability and replacing a policy directive with a statement of sentiment intentionally avoids that accountability. I am asking the council to place the full resolution on an upcoming agenda for a formal recorded vote. If the council believes that our public property should remain available for these federal operations, then that position should be stated and voted on. Governance requires more than shared values. It requires the courage to put those values into enforceable policy. Thank you. [46:10] Mayor Anne Burt: Next up, Kevin Schoberg. Oh, okay. All right. That was not clear on this sheet. Uh, Jenny Stevens. [46:30] Jenny Stevens: Good evening, members and mayor. Jenny Stevens, Woodbury. Um, so I'll tell you a little bit the story. My daughter was home from college—our one and only—um this winter break. I was looking forward to her helping us out with simple things at home like with the dogs and running errands and things like that while um my husband and I are teaching during the day. Instead, she was on house arrest by me and her dad. Why? Because she's an East African immigrant. The first night ICE was in the area, I was paralyzed with fear. She was at a restaurant in Woodbury with her boyfriend's family, and I insisted that she come home immediately. Did she have her passport on her? No. Did she have her certificate of citizenship on her? No. Why would she? I never imagined my child would need to carry proof of her citizenship to go out to dinner in our community. For the weeks that followed, I was emotionally paralyzed. I showed up to work every day. I'm a special ed teacher. I have to keep it together for my students. And I told no one. I was literally falling apart inside. This is not theatrical. This is what fear looks like in our community. And this is why it matters. So, we sent our daughter back to college with her passport, her certificate of citizenship. I'm not sure if you all know what that is, but it's a really important document that when we adopted her all those years ago, they said, "You don't need it. You don't need it." But um and she was already denied once for her passport, but now she has it again. I don't know how many of you have college students and you ever think about sending them with their passport to school, but as she's driving out of the city down through all of the small towns and her four and a half hour drive, as a parent um it was hard and it's hard still every day. Um, and when she's in this lovely community—both of her parents are teachers—we support our community. Um, but in this proclamation, you all know what you need to do. You know the right thing that you need to do for the community here that um voted for you and and um put their trust in you. So, thank you. [49:20] Mayor Anne Burt: Well, thank you again for sharing these additional thoughts. Uh, you know, this has been agonizing, I'm going to say, for all of us in this, uh, whether it's in Woodbury or this broader community, this been a very, very, very tough time. And, um, and your coming forward has meant a lot to us. And we have—we agree with you. The question—and this is where it becomes difficult—is what do we do as a governing body? Um, there are some limitations for us to—and to be clear a couple things that I heard is that we maybe—and I don't—I won't get the words right—but one of the speakers spoke about that we haven't been fully open and full disclosure about how we've gone about where we've learned things. But we have been and I don't know if we what—I think we've explained it over and over again how we've gone about learning what we learned. We have things in writing. It's not just verbal. We have things in writing. We've had communication. Operation Metro Surge has really essentially gone away in this community and we no longer have the extent of—Okay, but my point—Okay, hang on. Hang on, hang on, hang on, hang on. You all have had an opportunity to speak. I I'm just—and we can all have—okay—we have all—you all have had the opportunity to speak. Council has an opportunity just to say a few things and I'm not going to get into an argument. I don't mean to. But I think it's—whether or not you believe it's—we no longer have 3,000 ICE agents around the area. The surge has changed in its format over time. Yes, I understand there's still fears out there. We understand all that. I want to be clear that when I hear things about uh safe and stable coalition, we looked at joining that group. That group really is focused and they haven't done anything formal and none of those cities have done a resolution, by the way. None of them have. None of them have done a resolution. You're asking for this city to do something that no other cities have done except for—Okay, you have had your opportunity to speak. This is now the council's opportunity to speak. And again, I understand the sentiment. I understand the fear there, but the only cities that have done resolutions from my understanding are St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Richfield. Those are the only cities that have done resolutions. Others have done things similar to what we have done. Um so I just want to share that the safe and stable coalition is a group of cities that have come together and their focus is on recovery and looking for how to get uh financial support for any costs that they have incurred and we have talked about that in our city. Um when it comes to staging—to be clear—we have had no staging in the city of Woodbury and one of the challenges—no staging in the city of Woodbury occurred on city property. To be clear, one of the challenges that we have here in city government is to look at where we spend our time and effort and what needs to be done. We are constantly balancing all kinds of things and trying to make most sense for where we can apply their best judgment decisions going forward. So we have felt that as a council that what we have said and done thus far is working. I would like to open this up to council members for any other comments. Again, I I hope you can understand we—we are not—okay, you're asking for a resolution. There are times resolutions work and sometimes when they don't operate the same way. I'm just going to say—would anyone else in council like to say anything? [53:22] Council Member Steve Morris: Excuse me. I made a statement in January. I believe I made one in March. And I will stand by those statements. [53:38] Council Member Jennifer Santini: I make a motion we move to consent agenda. [53:40] Mayor Anne Burt: Okay. Thank you. [53:41] Council Member Donna Stafford: Second. [53:43] Mayor Anne Burt: Okay. We'll just move on to consent agenda. Again, I appreciate everyone coming and sharing your sentiment. Consent agenda. All items listed under the consent agenda are considered to be routine by the city council will be enacted by one motion and an affirmative vote by roll call of the majority of the members present. There will be no separate discussion of the items unless a council member or a citizen sell request in which event the item will be removed from the consent agenda and considered a separate subject of discussion by the council. [54:16] Audience Member: I'm sorry but we can't hear you. [54:18] Mayor Anne Burt: My mic is on. I don't know—because the doors are open and they're being loud. So just give them a minute to exit. Does anybody want a pull or discussion? Did anyone want to have anything removed from consent agenda? Hearing none. Any anybody online? All right. Council members, anything to be removed from consent agenda? Hearing none. I'll make a motion to approve the consent agenda items 6A through 6J. [54:55] Council Member Jennifer Santini: I'll second. [54:57] Mayor Anne Burt: Motion a second. Any further discussion? Hearing none. The roll call, please. [54:59] Ashleigh Sullivan: Council member Morris. [55:00] Council Member Steve Morris: Aye. [55:01] Ashleigh Sullivan: Council member Santini. [55:02] Council Member Jennifer Santini: Aye. [55:03] Ashleigh Sullivan: Council member Stafford. [55:04] Council Member Donna Stafford: Aye. [55:04] Ashleigh Sullivan: Council member Wilson. [55:05] Council Member Kim Wilson: Aye. [55:06] Ashleigh Sullivan: Mayor Burt. [55:06] Mayor Anne Burt: Aye. Those consent agenda items pass. We will now move on to the public hearing portion. We have two agenda items for this public hearing. One is regarding franchise fees and the other is regarding special assessments. So with that—and I do have one person that wants to speak on the special assessment. So with that I'm going to formally share what the rules of engagement are for public hearings in order to allow a full airing of all speakers. Individual remarks may not exceed 10 minutes. Remarks or points already made by someone else should not be repeated. Remarks should be limited to the subject at hand. Speakers are encouraged to coordinate presentations if needed. Those in attendance at the public hearing will refrain from applause or other expressions of emotion. Inappropriate language, outbursts, or criticisms aimed at individuals or groups are not allowed. So with that, the hearing is now open for the subject of considering the approval of an amendment to chapter 9 franchises section 96, CenterPoint Energy Resources Corp. Gas franchise fee schedule A. Angela Gorall is here to share more about that. Welcome, Angela. [56:30] Angela Gorall: Right. Good evening. Thank you, mayor, members of council. So somewhat of a unique agenda item for your public hearing tonight. So, it is an amendment to our CenterPoint franchise fee. The fee schedule in particular, an exemption was requested to our franchise fee for a grain dryer operation. Yes, we have a grain dryer operation in Woodbury. [56:51] Mayor Anne Burt: Can you explain what that is? [56:52] Angela Gorall: Dry the corn on a farm. Yeah. Um, so the need for the exemption is CenterPoint Energy changed their grain dryer—what they call their tariff, which is basically their fee schedule. So, the fees on this particular single operation changed from about $90 a year to over $1,000 a year for their operation. Um, we did confirm it is the only such operation in the city. So, it's a very narrow exemption we would be providing. Um, the tariff required the operation basically would be charged year-round. And I put in the council letter all the detail of kind of what changed with the tariff. Um, so essentially the dryer though only operates one to two months a year, but they're essentially charged this tariff year-round. So it's kind of run up to a situation with our franchise fees and how CenterPoint has to charge that. Staff um did review the exemption request. Um we did take some time to really look at it partly because we wanted to take a look at our park and trails replacement fund which the franchise fees fund. So, both the CenterPoint fees and the Xcel Energy fees fund the park and trails replacement fund. We wanted to make sure if we're going to come to council asking you to change these fees—it's a more involved process. There's notifications, it's an ordinance, um there's this notification period also to CenterPoint if we change it. So, if we were going to take the effort to do it, we wanted to make sure we wanted to change the fees or make a recommendation to council on changing the overall fees. So, we wanted to get a good footing for the current capital improvement plan, which we did, and staff doesn't have recommendations as part of that plan to change the broader franchise fees. Thus, why we felt comfortable to bring this forward to council to look at this single exemption. Um, we were hoping we could do it just through administrative action, but unfortunately, if we're going to touch the franchise fees, you got to go through the whole ordinance process. And basically whenever we change franchise fees, however we adopted the fees, you basically got to do the same process all over again. So thus a public hearing is required. Um if approved, the fee change wouldn't be effective until August 1st because it requires that much notification period to CenterPoint to allow them to change, you know, their fees on their end. So it's a very simple change to the fee schedule. So, it's the schedule A within the franchise fee. And so, effective August 1st, 2026, agricultural grain dryer customers in all customer classifications shall be exempt from payment of this fee. Um again, no other changes to the fee amounts themselves, just this single exemption. So, staff recommends the ordinance as listed. [59:27] Mayor Anne Burt: Okay. Thank you for that. Um I don't have any green sheets on that topic. Is there anybody online? Okay. I make a motion that we close the hearing. [59:38] Council Member Jennifer Santini: Second. [59:39] Mayor Anne Burt: Motion a second. Any further discussion? Hearing none. All in favor? [59:43] Council Members: Aye. [59:44] Mayor Anne Burt: Okay. The hearing is closed. And I'll open it up to council members for questions, comments or— [59:52] Council Member Steve Morris: I'll make a motion. Straightforward. I get it. I'll make a motion to adopt ordinance 2077, ordinance amending chapter 9, franchises section 96, CenterPoint Energy Resources Corp. Gas franchise fee schedule A. [1:00:02] Council Member Donna Stafford: Second. [1:00:03] Mayor Anne Burt: Motion a second. Any further discussion? Hearing none. The roll call, please. [1:00:08] Ashleigh Sullivan: Council member Santini. [1:00:09] Council Member Jennifer Santini: Aye. [1:00:10] Ashleigh Sullivan: Council member Stafford. [1:00:11] Council Member Donna Stafford: Aye. [1:00:11] Ashleigh Sullivan: Council member Wilson. [1:00:12] Council Member Kim Wilson: Aye. [1:00:13] Ashleigh Sullivan: Council member Morris. [1:00:13] Council Member Steve Morris: Aye. [1:00:14] Ashleigh Sullivan: Mayor Burt. [1:00:14] Mayor Anne Burt: Aye. That passes. All right. That'll make those people happy that have the one grain dryer. All right. The next topic, and the hearing is now open for considering approval of special assessments for the 2026 pavement rehabilitation project for Woodlane Drive. Um, so we will have a presentation by staff and then after that's done, council members remind me I've got a few to make public that we've received. I'll have a green sheet to address. Um, so go ahead and welcome Mike Hejna as our assistant director of engineering. [1:00:48] Mike Hejna: Um, thank you, mayor, members of council. Um, here tonight to present the Woodlane Drive uh, pavement rehabilitation project assessment hearing. Uh, so purpose of this meeting here is just go over the project scope. Um and then we will hold the assessment hearing, accept any written objections, um and then we will ask council to certify the assessment role um and approve the associated resolutions. So, a little background on this project. This is Woodlane Drive, um between Wooddale Drive and Bailey Road. So, um a pavement rehabilitation project and this map highlights the properties that are going to be assessed as part of the project based on our assessment policy. Uh so, there's been quite a bit of public process with this project. Um, so we've had four separate neighborhood meetings. The project kicked off with a corridor study in 2024. Um, and then we had some further neighborhood open houses once the scope was more well defined. Um, and then another neighborhood open house about a month ago in March of 2026. Um, we've sent over 5,000 letters to over 1500 addresses to um, really get a lot of feedback on this corridor since it's a pretty significant corridor in the city. Um we've had over 170 people that have attended neighborhood meetings. Um and we also had an online questionnaire with nearly 140 online responses. Um we've also had several check-in points with city council. Um we authorized the corridor study back in 2024 and then there was a council workshop where we had discussions on what staff was going to recommend for trail and sidewalk improvements with this project. Um in 2025 we had council authorize the preparation of the preliminary report and then held the public improvement hearing June of 2025. Um and then today is the assessment hearing. [1:02:39] Mike Hejna: General project scope here. Um so this is a 4 to 3 lane pavement conversion project. So similar to what we've done on Lake Road east of Woodlane Drive. um which is a pretty typical safety improvement project that we've done a handful of throughout the community. Um so we will be replacing all of the pavement and doing curb replacement. Um and then we're doing some pedestrian crossing enhancements. So we've got five different areas where we're looking at doing some of those pedestrian refuge islands that we also have on Lake Road to help it be more accessible for pedestrians to cross safely. um replacing all the trail that's currently along the east side of Woodlane Drive and then also a couple of trail extensions between Newberry Road and Bailey Road. So that's kind of the very southern part of it where there's an existing gap and then a short extension near the high school to make a more convenient crossing for the kids because the high school has changed their pedestrian trail along the high school. [1:03:42] Mayor Anne Burt: Woodbury High School. Oh, I thought about your pointer. Sorry. Following the point. [1:03:46] Mike Hejna: Sorry for the confusion. Yep. So, Woodbury High School up here. So, there's another extension um right around here. Um with the project scope, we also looked at extending trail along the west side of Woodlane Drive. Um we've heard some concerns from residents in this neighborhood about pedestrian safety, but um really when we looked at impacts with property acquisition, tree impacts and grading—and then when we got the feedback from the residents—a lot of the concerns really related just around crossing Woodlane Drive and a lot of the concerns we heard was from the high schoolers. So putting the trail along the west side wouldn't eliminate the need to cross Woodlane. So with this project, we really focused on improving the crossings to make it safer for pedestrians to cross Woodlane Drive. Uh we also have some water main replacement with this project that's primarily on the north side here in this commercial area and then some minor storm and sanitary sewer improvements. [1:04:47] Mike Hejna: So we have several funding sources for this project. Um want to highlight here this grant that we received. So, we received similar grants for the Lake Road 4 to 3 lane conversion projects. So, with this is our third one that we've received a grant for for a 4 to 3 lane and over $3 million that we have secured in funding for those projects. So, um it's been great to to get some money, some financial aid from these grants. And we have additional funding sources from the street reconstruction and maintenance fund. It's a little over $3 million. Um and then about $460,000 from the storm utility fund. Um and then $769,000 from parks and trails replacement fund. And then $766,000 for water and sewer utility fund. Again, a lot of that is for the water main replacement on the north side of the project. And about $800,000 of special assessments. Um with this project, special assessments are about 11% of the total project costs. Um, and that's slightly under what the 2026 adopted budget is. Um, 7.1 million is the total project cost. Slightly under what the adopted budget total cost is. [1:05:56] Mayor Anne Burt: It's always nice to see something come in under budget. [1:05:58] Mike Hejna: Yep. Exactly. Um, proposed assessments. There are quite a few different types of properties along this corridor. So, we have a wide range of assessments. Um, so single family properties, we've got a range from about $5,000 to close to $12,000 per parcel. um multifamily between $1,900 and $30,000. Um commercial properties between $4,000 and about $37,000 and then public semi-public which are the Woodbury High School properties—31,000 to 141,000. So special assessments are a charge that are put on the project for properties for certain improvements. Um they benefit the owners of these properties and they're used by the city to partially finance public improvements. And we have existing policies in place that were used with the development of the assessment role for this project. we also do benefit appraisals to ensure that we are not assessing more than what the benefit of the improvement is. And so we do check those and and we'll adjust the assessments if the benefit shows a lower amount and the city funds the remaining balance. So we hold the assessment hearing prior to the project award. Um there's a 30-day no interest payment period. Um but people can pay over 15 years. Um and the first payment would be due with the first half of property taxes in 2027 and the interest rate is 4.5%. We would also encourage anybody um who uses Woodlane Drive or lives along this corridor to sign up for InTouch to get weekly updates as far as the construction schedule. Um, so this is a link to how you'd be able to get more notice about the project and then the project contacts from the city, Colton Espinosa and then myself. So the recommended actions tonight would be to hold the assessment hearing, acknowledge any objections to the assessments and then adoption of the resolution certifying the assessment role and then following that we'll have a discussion where we will ask council to adopt the resolution to award the construction contract, amend the budget and authorize consultant selection of construction services. With that I'll open up to any questions. [1:08:12] Mayor Anne Burt: Uh, thank you Mike for sharing that. And um, it's important to know that before we close the hearing, anyone that objects needs to put that in writing. I guess we have a form available in case someone is there that hasn't done it yet that is here for that. Otherwise, I have from Kevin Schoberg three different parcels and uh you're at this point you're welcome to come up if you want to state what those are or I can—I've got them here as well, but if you want to officially— [1:08:44] Kevin Schoberg: What I'd like to do, Mayor and members of the council, um I I should have four objections filed. One on behalf of KRS Properties LLC, two on behalf of CTS3 Properties LLC, and one on behalf of LWK-2. [1:09:02] Mayor Anne Burt: Okay, I think that's right. So, um, 1809 Woodlane Drive is one parcel. [1:09:07] Kevin Schoberg: Yeah. 1951 Woodlane Drive—there are two parcels on that. And then one at KRS at 1803/1805 Woodlane Drive. [1:09:13] Mayor Anne Burt: Correct. [1:09:14] Kevin Schoberg: Okay. My name is Kevin Schoberg. I've been an attorney in Woodbury for quite some time. My office is on Woodlane Drive. Um, I've provided the written objections uh for you to review, but I want to just kind of briefly go through some of my client's concerns. Um, the scope of this project has changed from what was proposed and what's attempting to be assessed. It's especially true with respect to how it relates to KRS properties LLC. When the process started, uh KRS was being assessed a full assessment for 22 ft of frontage. Now, under the new proposal, the road is going actually on the other side of the boundary of the property. And my understanding is that that's based on the fact that the city doesn't have any records of where the water is. So as a result of that, KRS properties is going to be paying because you don't have records of where the water is. Um I got that from the SE agent who came out and looked at it. Um I'm not quite sure how that makes any sense. We didn't think we were going to be involved in that project at all. Um it's difficult in general to understand how the assessments were calculated. Uh it should be noted that the numbers in your feasibility report don't match up with the assessments that are being proposed against the parcels. In particular, I think my clients are concerned because Woodlane Drive is a major arterial road under your 2040 comprehensive plan. It provides access to the high school, Valley Creek, Bailey, all of those things. This is a project that the city should have paid for. There shouldn't have been any assessments. The fact of the matter is is that in this case um in particular, my understanding is there's a car count of about 9,000 cars on Woodlane. That's not going to benefit any of my clients. The reality of it is is when this project is completed, there was a road in front of all of the properties. There'll be a road there. In fact, what we think is going to happen is that the properties will actually decrease in value because we've already had some experiences with this moving from four lanes to three lanes. The reality of it is uh Mr. Sedle, my client, sent you a picture, some information in 2025 where he showed you what was happening. Um, what we're quite surprised about is the city hasn't done anything with the Chick-fil-A issue. um that's—it's not this project that's the problem. This is a maintenance project. Uh there's nothing in the Woodbury repaving project that's going to add special benefits to any of my clients. Their properties aren't going to increase in value. Um the fact of the matter is these particular properties—KRS properties pays property taxes of $21,166 in 2026. LWK2 pays 5,794. CTS3 Properties pays $24,592 for one property and 3,674. Now, what that means is that $55,226.89 is paid to the city of Woodbury every year. You clearly have enough money from just the four of us, almost 50 grand a year. We don't see the benefit. Um, in particular, what my clients are worried about is from 2023 until now, the assessed values have increased 23%. Which means our taxes have done the same thing. I mean, we're paying taxes at a much higher rate than the residential. And that's part of our issue with this proposal. um the proposal that you're working on is something that actually benefits all of the residential properties in that area. It's not a benefit to the commercial properties. The fact of the matter is we already have a road there. In fact, we think that with four lanes of traffic, it's better than with three. Um, in particular, when the city adopted these policies, we think they're unfair. I don't know whether the council knows it or not, but when you did the Tamarack project, all of my clients paid for that. How would that be? We're not anywhere near that, but we all paid assessments for it. I don't know how that's possible. And you can't adopt a policy that says all of these residentials—you just heard what your engineer said. Over 5,000 people were surveyed. Why is that? Because there's many residential houses in that area that travel on Woodlane Drive. It's the major arterial in that area. In particular, what's even worse as far as we're concerned, assessing it on a per foot basis doesn't take into consideration what the improvement is doing. The reality of it is that the city received the highway safety improvement program grant and took the $1 million and allocated it to the city's responsibility, not the entire project. Completely unfair. That should have been broken down and we as the people who are being assessed should have got some of that benefit. That is completely unfair. In addition to which the city has a history of not properly determining benefit from projects attempting to collect fees that are not owed. I can draw your attention to Harstad versus city of Woodbury. I mean, the reality of it is is this project should have been funded by the city of Woodbury. It benefits everyone. It doesn't benefit us in particular because we already have a road there. We already have a sidewalk there. In this case, we're requesting that the council not adopt the assessment role as it's proposed because quite frankly, I was kind of surprised with some of the numbers. My understanding is that the school district is going to have an assessment of about $222,000. What I read from their minutes and so forth is they intend to assess that over the entire district. So guess who's going to pay for that, too? All of my clients. We're going to pay your assessment, then we're going to pay theirs. Completely unfair. The reality of it is is this project doesn't add special benefits to any of our properties. We're already paying taxes that should be used to fund this and you should be paying this out of your general fund because it benefits all of the residents in the city of Woodbury. So, we've filed our written objections. Uh we would urge the council not to go forward with the assessments as they are. uh we don't think that there will be any special benefits to my clients and as a result of that uh we think that uh this—the way that this has been done—is not fair. It's unfair to us and I think it's unfair to you because the reality of it is this project supposedly benefits everybody and if that's the case then everybody should share in that. I don't have uh any customers in my building or any of my other clients where we're using the sidewalks or any of those things. It's a commercial area, but we see the residents walk by. It benefits them. It doesn't benefit us. Thank you. [1:17:33] Mayor Anne Burt: Thank you. Um anybody else need an opportunity to speak on this or anyone online? Okay. Because again, this is the last opportunity to get your objection recorded and known before we close the hearing. So with that, I make a motion that we close the hearing. [1:18:03] Council Member Jennifer Santini: Second. [1:18:04] Mayor Anne Burt: Motion a second. Any further discussion? Hearing none. All in favor? [1:18:07] Council Members: Aye. [1:18:08] Mayor Anne Burt: Okay. The hearing is now closed. Um Kevin, city attorney, can you just share what the process is now that these objections have been provided? Where does this go from here? [1:18:22] City Attorney: Sure. Thank you, Madam Mayor. Uh certainly I believe the city staff disagrees with Mr. Schoberg's objections and uh certainly on behalf of his clients, he can choose to continue to appeal this matter to the court system if he so chooses. [1:18:31] Mayor Anne Burt: Okay. Um and again, I just think from—one of the—we have a policy that's been in place. It's been in place a number of years. We follow the policy and do it consistently across every project that we've had. It's my understanding of it. So um any other comments from council? [1:18:54] Council Member Jennifer Santini: Briefly, as much as I can be brief, I understand and I hear the the the argument that was just given to us and that we've received. You know, that the argument that the city should pay the full full amount, that's a valid argument. That's a change to the assessment policy and can't be done individually by project. That's not fair. And that if the council so wishes to change the entire mathematics and structure of how we fund roadway projects, then that's a question that has to go—should go—to taxpayers because that completely changes the mathematics of how roadway repair is done across the city for the next hundred years. It's a huge change which will impact taxpayers in general negatively because everyone's going to pay more because now there's no assessments and everybody—the roadways are going to get done. So I'm not saying that's not a valid argument and a valid conversation. We've had that conversation before. I'm not a fan of that every 20 years. I'd prefer to pay a little bit more every 20 years when it comes through. So to your point, we have an assessment policy. We haven't established a past assessment policy. It's up to the city attorney and the engineers and and they go through that process and what has been provided to us in our packets is the application of that which I think I understand the arguments and the folks are free to make those arguments and make those those appeals. That's what the process is for. But there's nothing in here that would say that we've deviated from our process and that the merits are going to need to be argued as the merits. I don't think there's anything for us that deviates from that. So that's my position. [1:20:41] Council Member Kim Wilson: Well, everybody knows on this council that road assessments are what got me to run for city council because I found myself in the same situation of questioning the feasibility report and the assessments and how this came about. Um, I do know for a fact that we have a policy. Uh, it has been in place for I think it was approved in 2015. Um, so it's been in place for 11 years. That was supposed to be um relooked at starting in '24 to be implemented in '25 but um we did not have time to do that. I agree uh that I am not a fan of assessments but I will also say that although we have a policy we have in the past deviated from the policy on some occasions um based on the feasibility reports. So I—but the road needs to be done and everything that you said. I wish I knew you 10 years ago. Um so um but I do have questions on on the um can you just tell me where the where you said that there was a multifamily assessments on there. Can you tell me where there's multifamily? [1:21:49] Mike Hejna: Um I think south of Lake—exactly where they—Yeah. Council member Wilson. So there's a a handful of multifamily. So this parcel right here is assessed because they have private street. So it's this kind of reddish color. Um and this is also multifamily up here as well. Um and then this is senior living down here at the corner of Woodlane and Lake Road. Um those are all multifamily. [1:22:10] Council Member Kim Wilson: I see what you're saying. [1:22:11] Mike Hejna: Yes. [1:22:11] Council Member Kim Wilson: So that's considered—the senior living center is not a commercial property then? That is considered multi-tenant like a town home or apartment building, right? [1:22:21] Mike Hejna: Correct. Okay. [1:22:24] Council Member Kim Wilson: And then the the other one at the top—is that a rental town home? [1:22:28] Mike Hejna: Correct. Yes. [1:22:29] Council Member Kim Wilson: And they have access off of Woodlane or access off of— [1:22:34] Mike Hejna: They have private street access off of Woodlane Drive. So they would be assessed. [1:22:41] Council Member Kim Wilson: Okay. Is that it for you? Uh, and are we going to address the sidewalk issue? I'm a little confused on on what has happened because I do remember attending these open houses on the—I'll say trails—sidewalk trails on the west side and how it was discussed. Will there be a trail on the west side from Bailey up to—is it Lydia? Will there be a trail there on the west side? [1:23:10] Mike Hejna: Correct. Yeah. So, right now there's a trail between Lydia and Newberry on the west side. So, with this project, we're going to extend it so it has more of a logical end point and extend to Bailey Road. So, there will be a trail—continuous trail from Bailey Road up to Lydia Lane and it will end there. [1:23:27] Council Member Kim Wilson: Okay. So, um this project received federal funding. um what we proposed—the project that we put forward to receive that federal funding—has it changed from what was proposed that we received the funding? Does that make sense? So we sent in the feasibility and the plans and received federal funding for it. Has it deviated from that? [1:23:54] Mike Hejna: Yep. So we applied for federal funding before we had a feasibility report. So we had this federal funding approved maybe in 2024. Um but we have—it's a fairly high level scope at that point. Um so we haven't deviated from what was approved with the federal funding. [1:24:14] Council Member Kim Wilson: Okay. So what was sent to receive the federal funding in '24 is what's going forward today. [1:24:20] Mike Hejna: Yeah. The city's receiving federal funding for the four lane to three lane conversion portion of the project and that's what the application was for and that is what we are proposing with the project. So there are additional components to the project that are not funded. It's only a million dollars of our total project cost. So the grant was provided because of the safety improvements that are provided by a 4 to 3 lane conversion. [1:24:44] Council Member Kim Wilson: Okay. I mean I understand what you're saying. I just I do remember calling into question something on Lake Road and was asking why we wouldn't just add the trails right away when we were doing Lake Road. And the response I got was that it was because you had already received the federal funding, we couldn't change that scope. And so my question is is—have we changed the scope from receiving the federal funding? [1:25:08] Mike Hejna: No. And to be very clear, the scope of this project is the same as approved by council at the public improvement hearing at which there was significant discussion at a workshop ahead of the public improvement hearing for the scope of the project. What you're saying probably—or I'm assuming—is that if we were to give direction to try to put a trail or sidewalk along the west side because that wasn't within the scope with the federal funding, we wouldn't be able to do that within that grant money. [1:25:38] Mike Hejna: At this point, you've bid the project. Um, you'd be talking about a multi-million dollar addition to the project. We would have to go back and rebid the project. um you would be starting the project over because of the significant property acquisition that we had shown during our initial analysis of that trail on the west side. Um we would need a year plus time to go out and acquire that property—likely some of them through condemnation. Um and we would have to redesign the project and rebid the project. So that would be a very significant change to the project. [1:26:08] Council Member Kim Wilson: So then if you could just help me understand because we do have high school students crossing then where there is no sidewalk on the west side. We do have a sidewalk on the west side that was put in—or a trail—I don't know the name of the road but we have the stop lights to go right into the school there and it's on the west side and it goes down to that next street over—so it offers a safe crossing there—but then there is a significant gap for all of the students that are trying to cross Woodlane. Um what are we doing? Are we putting in a flashing signal like we have on Lake? What are we doing? [1:26:45] Mike Hejna: Yeah. So, um you're correct. We've got a trail on Copper Cliff Trail here just north to the high school. So, we're extending that a little bit just so it aligns better with the high school—they're actually changing their trail into the school. They're going to move it to the north side of their driveway. Um with these other streets that are further south where we don't have that trail on the west side, we are proposing to put in those refuge islands like on Lake Road. Um we're not proposing the rapid flashing beacons right now, but we'll have those enhanced kind of refuge islands at those intersections. [1:27:23] Jeffrey J. Dahl: And Mayor Burt and members of council, we have had positive feedback for those refuge islands on Lake Road. Um and throughout the process on Woodlane Drive here at the open houses we did hear positive feedback that they'd like those features on this project because of their effectiveness. [1:27:41] Mike Hejna: Correct. [1:27:42] Mayor Anne Burt: Thank you for that additional clarification. I just want to make a comment too on what I heard Mr. Schoberg say—if I heard this right and I apologize if I didn't—but I think you were referring to property tax and that whole bill. And I just want to point out that if you study the property tax, you'll find that that whole amount that you were quoting—the city only has a portion of that entire bill. If you look at your property bill, a lot of that goes to the county, the school districts, etc. So, just just to clarify that, maybe you knew that, but I just for anyone else listening. And that the appraisals are done by the county, just to be clear on that. Anything else you want to say? [1:28:22] Jeffrey J. Dahl: I would also add that property classifications and how they are taxed is a state matter. The city does not determine the classifications or their allocation of the tax. [1:28:34] Mayor Anne Burt: Yeah, good point. So, a lot of complexity in all that. [1:28:36] Kevin Schoberg: If I can—the numbers I gave you was your contribution. You received $50,000 each of the four. Okay. So, to give you an example, one of my clients pays 57,000 a year by himself. The other client 22,000—just to—and what I'm saying is that's just to the city. He's got another portion of his bill. What I'm saying is that it's almost $100,000 but the city receives $50,000 of that money. [1:29:06] Mayor Anne Burt: Okay. Thank you. [1:29:10] Kevin Schoberg: So, and I'm well aware of the classification. It's the county that controls that and appraisals. Thanks. [1:29:19] Mayor Anne Burt: Just want to clarify in case I misheard something. Maybe I did. Police, fire, water. I'm just adding the things that go to property taxes. [1:29:24] Council Member Kim Wilson: Sure. I I would love to, you know—for the record, I think I, you know, I can't wait to get back and to re-evaluate our assessments and run some numbers and figure out how we can do this. Uh because those assessments are debilitating. Yeah. In addition to everything else that's going on. [1:29:50] Mayor Anne Burt: Yes. Well, and in addition, it costs a lot to maintain roads. So, there's got to be payment from somewhere. So, we are at this point in time just continuing to follow our policy. Um, okay. With that, um, if there's no more discussion, would somebody like to put forth a motion? [1:30:08] Council Member Steve Morris: I'll move to adopt resolution 26-46, a resolution approving the special assessments for the 2026 pavement rehabilitation project, Woodlane Drive. [1:30:17] Council Member Donna Stafford: Second. [1:30:18] Mayor Anne Burt: Motion a second. Any further discussion? Hearing none. The roll call, please. [1:30:21] Ashleigh Sullivan: Council member Stafford. [1:30:21] Council Member Donna Stafford: Aye. [1:30:22] Ashleigh Sullivan: Council member Wilson. [1:30:23] Council Member Kim Wilson: No. [1:30:23] Ashleigh Sullivan: Council member Morris. [1:30:24] Council Member Steve Morris: Aye. [1:30:25] Ashleigh Sullivan: Council member Santini. [1:30:25] Council Member Jennifer Santini: Aye. [1:30:26] Ashleigh Sullivan: Mayor Burt. [1:30:26] Mayor Anne Burt: Aye. That resolution passes. We will now move on to item 8A. This is under discussion. So, after we've just approved the assessments, now we have to um basically award the contract. Do you have more to say on this? You pretty much have said it. Do you need to— [1:30:46] Mike Hejna: Right. So, the presentation covered both items. So, if you have any questions, we're happy to answer. [1:30:49] Mayor Anne Burt: Yeah. Any—So, council members, any questions on that or was that clear enough for you? Okay. If somebody would like to put forth a motion. [1:31:01] Council Member Steve Morris: I'll make a motion to adopt resolution 26-47, a resolution awarding the construction contract to McNamara Contracting in the amount of $5,687,344.46 for the Woodlane Drive/Bailey Road to Wooddale Drive pavement rehab project and authorizing the mayor and city administrator to sign said contract; amending the 2026 adopted annual budget; and authorizing the mayor and city administrator to execute a professional engineering services agreement with Kimley-Horn and Associates Inc. in the amount of $662,900 for construction administration services for the Woodlane Drive/Bailey Road to Wooddale Drive pavement rehab project. [1:31:50] Council Member Donna Stafford: Just making sure you got every word right. I'll second. [1:31:54] Mayor Anne Burt: Motion a second. Any further discussion? Hearing none. The roll call, please. [1:31:58] Ashleigh Sullivan: Council member Wilson. [1:31:58] Council Member Kim Wilson: Aye. [1:31:59] Ashleigh Sullivan: Council member Morris. [1:31:59] Council Member Steve Morris: Aye. [1:32:00] Ashleigh Sullivan: Council member Santini. [1:32:00] Council Member Jennifer Santini: Aye. [1:32:01] Ashleigh Sullivan: Council member Stafford. [1:32:01] Council Member Donna Stafford: Aye. [1:32:02] Ashleigh Sullivan: Mayor Burt. [1:32:02] Mayor Anne Burt: Aye. All right. You may award the contract and get more construction going because we don't have enough right now in the city. We always need more. But we do like the road when they're all done, though. They sure are nice. So, thank you. Um, we'll now move on to staff reports. And, uh, Tony, it looks like you're on board to give us a transportation update. [1:32:27] Tony Kutzke: I am. Good segue into all of the traffic impacts around town. There are a number of construction projects this year. This will be another busy year just like last year was. Um the active projects right now we have about four of our seven active. After your award tonight, we'll be working with the contractor to get started on our Woodlane Drive schedule. Also, what you see today for construction and road closures is mostly our water treatment work. Um water pipelines are being installed along Valley Creek Road. Uh there is a single lane closure for westbound and eastbound traffic on Valley Creek Road between Woodbury Drive and where the old intersection of Cottage Grove Drive was. Um that work is to install water treatment pipelines under the roadway and after that the roadways will be rebuilt and a trail will be added on the north side of Valley Creek Road within that area. Along Bailey Road, we do have a significant number of pipe crews working down there right now. Um they've installed probably about 90% of the pipe along Bailey Road. Uh they've made a lot of progress in the last month. Um that work is mostly underneath the trail. Um but we do have a closure between Radio Drive and Salem Drive because we needed to cross Pioneer Drive with our pipelines heading south in the Pioneer Drive corridor. So that closure there will remain till about mid-May. Um and then the contractor will work on opening Bailey Road for our next phase of the construction project. Contractor is currently working south on Pioneer Drive to install pipe towards Hargis Parkway where they will head west to the water treatment plant location. [1:34:13] Tony Kutzke: Valley Creek Road project, as I'd mentioned, does have a trail being constructed on the north side of Valley Creek Road from just east of Dancing Waters Parkway where it connects with the existing trail network west to the underpass on Colby Lake Drive. You won't see a lot of traffic impacts for that. That's being coordinated with the water treatment work. So right behind the pipeline installation, they are constructing that trail with the closures that are in place for the water treatment work. There is a traffic signal being constructed for Math and Science Academy at Bailey Road and Fairway Drive. Um a number of the items that they need to get into the ground for that project are being done and coordinated with our existing closure. The traffic signal itself will be erected later this summer. We don't have an exact date on that—we'll need to get delivery of the steel for that. It is planned to be operational prior to school going in session in the fall. [1:35:12] Tony Kutzke: The roadway rehabilitation project for 2026 is also underway. Uh the first phase here is Afton Road. Uh no work has begun quite yet on that portion. We're working through permitting for the project. Um but the contractor has mobilized into the blue area that's shown on here which was our phase two. They do have utility work with sewer and water improvements. They have removed the pavement in phase two and then also mobbed in some equipment for temporary water where they will need to replace water mains and have water service out for a temporary period of time. This is a picture of the temporary water lines that are laid out to provide temporary water service while those water lines are being repaired. Woodlane Drive pavement rehabilitation project—this is a future project. We'll work with our contractor on the schedule now that we have authorization to move forward with that contract. We'll bring that back at the next transportation update. [1:36:14] Tony Kutzke: Starting May 4th, Washington County has reported that they will begin construction at the Bailey Road and Settler's Ridge Parkway intersection. You do see some activities out there in recent weeks. The utility companies are moving their private utilities out of the way of this project so that on May 4th, the road contractor can move in and mobilize. We do anticipate road closures or intersection closures beginning May 4th. And then the Intrepid Fiber project—we are working on authorizing permits for their work to begin. They have indicated mid-May that they will likely begin their work. Um, so we're still refining schedules with them and and their locations of where they'll begin, but they're—they will start with their "backbone" infrastructure and then work their way out through neighborhoods on that schedule. The majority of the work is focused here—the green box that's drawn in here is really the general borders of Woodbury. So you'll see they're focusing construction this year in the southern portion of Woodbury and the eastern portion kind of in the Stonemill Farms/Dancing Waters area. Sorry, tried to spit that out too quickly. [1:37:34] Mayor Anne Burt: Uh before you move on to that, can you just go back because of course everyone's like, well, when's it coming to my area? So how do people know? Because I can't read this map, but—are people knocking on the doors there? [1:37:47] Council Member Donna Stafford: Did you say that there is a mailing out? [1:37:54] Tony Kutzke: They will provide a notice to you ahead of their work beginning. And then also we do have a website set up at woodburymn.gov/fiber. Um and also some information from Intrepid Fiber themselves on intrepidfiber.com which will provide updates to their phasing of their work. [1:38:12] Mayor Anne Burt: Okay. Any other questions on that? [1:38:15] Council Member Donna Stafford: Tony, not a question on this project, but are they going to complete East View Road? [1:38:22] Tony Kutzke: Yes, that's a great question. Uh, right now the Metropolitan Council is working on some sewer force mains in that area. So, our work, as may have been reported at Transportation Updates, was delayed till this year. The Met Council is working to get under contract to do some excavations of that pipeline that they're working on. Uh they anticipate that would last a few months this summer and then we would come in. Our contractor has agreed to a change order to allow them to do that work following Met Council's work. We don't have precise schedules on that yet because Met Council is not quite under contract with their contractor. [1:38:58] Council Member Donna Stafford: Did we do final lift on that last year? [1:39:00] Tony Kutzke: Uh no, we delayed work on East View Road. Yes. We basically abandoned all work on East View Road until we had better knowledge of what was going to happen with Met Council. [1:39:11] Council Member Donna Stafford: Do we have a picture of that? [1:39:13] Tony Kutzke: I do. Yeah. So that in case anyone's trying to track this. Oh, okay. All right. There we go. So, the Met Council will be working between the two green stars. So, Ridge Drive—just west of Ridge Drive—to about Settler's Ridge Parkway. That's an open excavation area. um they tried to repair the pipes without excavating but are now needing to go back and dig up that pipe and replace it. So, city staff has recommended to the contractor we hold off on our road rehab work until they're completely done and out of the way in that area. Then we'll come in. We will need to update residents as we have a more definite schedule. [1:39:57] Tony Kutzke: Uh I want to remind everyone that woodburymn.gov/watertreatment is our full road closure and traffic impact map. We update this anytime that traffic changes are made. So not quite daily, but anytime that they're done, we do update this map. We also contact Waze, Apple Maps and Google Maps so that when people do type in stuff into their navigation systems, they can find their locations on the official detour routes rather than other routes that Google Maps might find. Um so please visit this often. It is your Bible for knowing what's closing and what's coming up. We do have the future road closures and phasing also included on this web page with additional information about the projects. Reminder to sign up for InTouch if you want to receive information about specific projects. You do need to opt in by checking the box and adding your email to that. And that was what I have for transportation update. [1:41:03] Council Member Kim Wilson: Can I ask a question? [1:41:04] Tony Kutzke: Yes. [1:41:05] Council Member Kim Wilson: Um on the Valley Creek trail project would be on the north side. It ends at Settler's Ridge? There you go. Right there. It doesn't continue on because why? [1:41:16] Tony Kutzke: Yeah. So, there was a fairly good study conducted in cooperation with the county and the city on this. Um there is a tunnel today at Colby Lake Park at the location of terminus and it will connect into the existing trail network. Once we go west of that tunnel that's in there towards Jewel Drive, there are significant grades that do not accommodate the trail very well. Um so it is feasible to construct. We are probably talking about—the cost to build this mile and a half could be about the same cost to construct a few hundred feet of that trail. So um that's not to say that that wouldn't be proposed here in the near future. Um, but it needs further investigation and planning into our capital improvement plan if we're going to construct that. [1:42:07] Council Member Kim Wilson: Is there anything we can do in the meantime to help people cross? If you've ever tried to cross Valley Creek without signalized intersections—it's almost like Frogger. [1:42:22] Tony Kutzke: Yeah, certainly crossing at controlled intersections would be the recommendation. Um, in the meantime, we don't have any other I'll call it improvements. [1:42:31] Council Member Kim Wilson: I guess what I'm saying is there are no controlled intersections between Jewel and Colby Lake. So, all of those residents on that side have to try to cross—I'm going to say eight lanes of traffic. [1:42:47] Tony Kutzke: Yeah, agree. We would recommend them move through to Colby Lake Drive and cross at a signalized intersection. [1:42:54] Council Member Kim Wilson: We just talked about the path of least resistance when people have to go someplace and now you want them to go back. [1:43:05] Tony Kutzke: I will add that city and county staff are looking at—we are looking at extending the trail further west. It's just not at this time. [1:43:16] Council Member Kim Wilson: Yeah, I know. We do. We just— [1:43:21] Mayor Anne Burt: Anything else for Tony? That was my big thing since I've done it. Thank you for stepping in for Chris. Appreciate that. Um, city administrator Jeff Dahl, do you have any updates on your— [1:43:32] Jeffrey J. Dahl: Mayor Burt? Uh, just a couple of events coming up that I want to remind the council and let the community know about. So, similar to green talks, another event that has its origins from all the great work that the environmental stewardship plan has in it. Uh we are having an "Electrify Everything" workshop on April 27th at Central Park where we dig deep on heat pumps and home electrification—excuse me—from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Central Park. It's free, in-person, and residents can come and explore how they can make energy efficient changes that not only is better for the environment but also saves them a lot of money. So encourage folks to go and check that out. [1:44:20] Council Member Steve Morris: It should be noted that your two attempts at puns failed. Uh in a "deep dive" into— [1:44:26] Jeffrey J. Dahl: You miss 100% of the shots you don't take. That's true. Next item is our joint workshop meeting with Cottage Grove. That'll be next week—April 29th which is a Wednesday. We do this every two years. We have a lot of partnerships with Cottage Grove. So, we talk about those partnerships, give each other updates on what's going on, and just build those relationships since we have so many things in common with Cottage Grove. So, looking forward to that. It'll be at Central Park. Um, and lastly, I wanted to give the community a heads up. Work is still continuing—we're almost done—with the updates to the Lower Afton fire station. station is to be updated in order to accommodate our new 24-hour shifts for our fire department. Uh so we're going to be having an open house on May 14th, 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Come one, come all. the entire neighborhood and everybody else who wants to see the new station, the improvements that we made, and how we'll be serving that area of the community, and how we'll be also providing much needed space as we move forward with the demolition and construction of the public safety building as well. So, perfect timing to have that. [1:45:48] Mayor Anne Burt: What is the date again? May 14th, 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.? [1:45:54] Jeffrey J. Dahl: So it'll be in the afternoon and evening. [1:45:58] Mayor Anne Burt: I'm sure we'll have treats and tours and trucks to look at. So bring the family, dogs, the pet. Yep. I'm sure Otis will make an appearance. [1:46:11] Jeffrey J. Dahl: So hopefully we'll have good weather and, uh, Madam Mayor, that's all I have. [1:46:16] Council Member Kim Wilson: Just one question. Is there parking? Like where will people park when they go to that fire station because it is on Afton Road? [1:46:28] Jeffrey J. Dahl: That's a great question. We'll get information out so people know where to go. [1:46:33] Mayor Anne Burt: Yeah, good point. Okay. Anything else? Not I make a motion that we adjourn the meeting. [1:46:42] Council Member Donna Stafford: Second. [1:46:43] Mayor Anne Burt: Motion second. Any further discussion? All in favor? [1:46:46] Council Members: Aye. [1:46:47] Mayor Anne Burt: We are adjourned. Thank you everyone.