This transcript has been formatted with the speaker names based on the provided city official list and the contextual clues within the dialogue. Note: Several names in the raw transcript were phonetically transcribed (e.g., "Guess me" for **Steve Guesmee** and "Lindale" for **Derek Lundell**). These have been corrected to match the names used by the Mayor and the official context. *** **[4:49] Mayor Matt Montgomery:** I call to order the city council meeting for Tuesday, March 21st, 2023. Roll call. **[4:49] Steve Guesmee:** Here. **[4:49] (Unidentified):** Here. **[4:49] Lisa Zimmerman:** Here. **[4:49] Ryan Jeppesen:** Here. **[4:49] Chad Johnson:** Here. **[4:49] Laura Kronenberger:** Here. **[4:49] Derek Lundell:** Here. **[4:49] Mayor Matt Montgomery:** Montgomery, here. Please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance. **[5:23] All:** (Reciting Pledge of Allegiance) ...for us. **[5:30] Mayor Matt Montgomery:** I would take a motion and a second to approve tonight's agenda. **[5:30] Derek Lundell:** So moved. **[5:30] Mayor Matt Montgomery:** Got a motion from Derek. Do I have a second? **[5:30] Diane Johnson:** Second. **[5:30] Mayor Matt Montgomery:** Second from Diane. All those in favor say aye. **[5:30] Council Members:** Aye. **[5:30] Mayor Matt Montgomery:** Opposed? Carries. Public input: we do not have anybody signed up for tonight, so I'm just going to skip the reading of our public input information. That gets us to number six: public hearing, introduction, and first reading of Ordinance 391, an ordinance of the City of Cannon Falls, Minnesota, authorizing the sale of parcel number 52.420.0160. Neil, if you'd like to take this one. **[6:17] Neil Jensen:** Sure. Casey Underdahl approached the city a while back and asked—okay, I'm going to back up just a little bit. The land that we received from SEMCAC had many, many parcels, and Casey understood that we ended up with the property back about six months ago or so. His house actually backs up to that property; his rear lot line is five feet from his house. He would like to purchase the lot that is directly behind him. The lot is very unbuildable; the terrain is terrible. **[7:03] Neil Jensen:** So I took it to Finance. They agreed to negotiate a price. We came up—the market value on that lot was $9,700; the mutually agreed-upon price was $10,000. What we will do at the end of the day is combine the lots administratively, so he'll have a nice larger rear yard and actually then have enough land to put a shed up or a little accessory building or something. **[7:48] Mayor Matt Montgomery:** Just so the public knows, this lot is on the backyard of the last house that's up on Main Street right when you get to the base of Lime Kiln Hill to go up there. It's the last house there, and it's just a little bit of space back behind the home. **[7:48] Neil Jensen:** Yeah, it's down in that swale. Yep. **[8:35] Mayor Matt Montgomery:** With that, we can open the public hearing. Is there anybody that would like to speak for the public hearing? Public hearing, take two. Public hearing, take three. Seeing nobody, we will close the public hearing. With that, I would take a motion to approve—there needs to be action tonight? **[8:35] Neil Jensen:** Or there will be, yep. There's a motion and a second to approve the sale of that parcel. **[8:35] Steve Guesmee:** That's a move. **[8:35] Mayor Matt Montgomery:** Motion from Guesmee. **[8:35] Ryan Jeppesen:** I'll second it. **[8:35] Mayor Matt Montgomery:** Second from Jeppesen. Any further discussion? **[8:35] Derek Lundell:** Just that we discussed this at—I think you mentioned it at the Finance Committee—and nothing can happen to that lot because it's going to be—I think you said that too—that it's going to be combined into that single lot after the sale. **[8:35] Neil Jensen:** Right. **[8:35] Mayor Matt Montgomery:** Further discussion from the Council? All those in favor say aye. **[8:35] Council Members:** Aye. **[8:35] Mayor Matt Montgomery:** Opposed, nay? Carries. That leads us to a presentation: the 2022 Annual EDA and Planning presentation from Laura Qualey and Diane Howard. I got your podium HDMI, yep. **[9:20] Laura Qualey:** There you are. Oops, the gentleman in the—there we go. Perfect. Okay. All right. Good evening. That seems really loud. Good evening, Council and Mayor and staff as well. Every year the EDA is to put together an annual report of activity that's happened within our department and then also, because we work so closely with Planning and Zoning, Diane and I come by and have combined this over the last few years. **[10:05] Laura Qualey:** I'll whip through a few of these things. I can ask first before I start—I'm hoping all of you read it; they did include the actual report and then I did the presentation so you could have more of the background that supports the more visually appealing presentation. But I'll just ask first: do you have any questions about anything that you read that you want me to spend some more time focusing on? Otherwise, I'll just kind like I said, breeze through the highlights. Nothing? It was that good of a report, huh? Good, glad to hear it. (Laura Qualey continues detailed EDA presentation regarding grants, broadband, and the ADA lift chair at the pool). **[13:47] Laura Qualey:** ...And then grants that are pending would be the John Birch Park retaining wall that's on the bonding bill. Matt, just to update, it's $565,000 adjusted to inflation, correct? **[14:32] Mayor Matt Montgomery:** For those who are paying attention at home, it is past the House; it's on the list to be passed in the Governor's office. We're just waiting on the Senate. It was heard and it failed to reach the three-fifths majority that it needed, so it has been tabled. It's still alive in the session, but it is stalled for the time being. Just—I appreciate the update, thank you. (Laura Qualey continues presentation regarding business activity, apartments, Raw Bistro, and industrial park lots). **[29:38] Diane Johnson:** Yes. Raw Bistro's is developing—will they be leaving their current site or is this an addition to that? **[29:38] Laura Qualey:** No, this would be moving all operations out to that new location if that moves forward, because I believe that their current space is—I don't know, is it 10 or 11,000? They would be double, if not two and a half size out in the industrial park. Any other questions? Okay. I will be quiet and I'll let Diane speak with all her slides. **[30:25] Diane Howard:** All right. First, I'm going to introduce you to the new members of the Planning Commission this year for 2023. We do have the 2022 ones up on the board. This year we have Steve Guesmee—he is our chair; Diane Johnson; Bruce Hema; Jay Banken, who is new; and Ryan Jeppesen, who is our alternate. Thank you to all of you guys for serving. You guys do a wonderful job and you're the best in the business. (Diane Howard continues presentation on variances, conditional use permits, building permits, and the hailstorm impact). **[34:00] Mayor Matt Montgomery:** Moving on to the consent agenda. Consent agenda items may be adopted under one motion as presented or may be removed for discussion and resolution as Council Business. Item A: Claims accounting period ending on March 16, 2023. Item B: Meeting minutes for March 7th, 2023. C: Hire of Thomas Miller to the Fire Department. D: Hire of Seth Floeting to the Fire Department. E: City Attorney contract. Item F: Approve advertisement of Public Works Director and Zoning Administrator. (To staff) You hit the button so... thank you, there we go. Approve the advertisement of Public Works Director and Zoning Administrator positions. G: Cannon Valley Trail fundraising. And H: Accept police officer resignations and approval to fill positions. Are there any items that the Council would like to pull down into Council Business? **[34:00] Derek Lundell:** We do item E. **[34:00] Mayor Matt Montgomery:** Item E, City Attorney contract. We will pull that down. Should we make that Item A? **[34:00] Neil Jensen:** Can we make it after Item A? **[34:00] Mayor Matt Montgomery:** Yep, we'll make it B. Is there anything else that the Council would like to have pulled down? Hearing none, I take a motion to approve the consent agenda. **[35:19] Diane Johnson:** (Motion) **[35:19] Mayor Matt Montgomery:** I've got a motion by Diane. Do I have a second? **[35:19] Lisa Zimmerman:** Second. **[35:19] Mayor Matt Montgomery:** Second by Lisa. Any further discussion? Those in favor say aye. **[35:19] Council Members:** Aye. **[35:19] Mayor Matt Montgomery:** Opposed, nay? Carries. All right, Council Business, Item A: City Attorney attendance. Neil, would you like to take this one? Or Council, we all received the information in our packet. **[36:06] Neil Jensen:** Sure. At the last meeting, it was discussed that we should get an opinion on the City Attorney attendance. In my research, it was found that back in 2017 this item was discussed by the City Council and brought before the City Attorney. In your package, you'll find the minutes from that meeting, you'll find the memo from the City Administrator, and the opinion from Campbell Knutson, the attorney at the time, in which it says that the City Attorney does not have to be present at the meetings. Mr. Knutson pretty much says that it's informational, it's directory, and strict compliance is not required. **[36:53] Mayor Matt Montgomery:** Any discussion from the Council? All right. No action required on that tonight. Moving on to Item B, which Derek wanted pulled down. **[37:39] Derek Lundell:** Yeah, I just pulled it down. I wanted to have it after that last thing because the first thing it says on here is "attendance at all City Council meetings; attendance at other meetings as requested." Should we remove that first sentence and just have it say something like "attendance at meetings as requested"? Is that something that would make sense? **[37:39] Mayor Matt Montgomery:** Seems like it would make more sense. What does the Council think? **[37:39] Laura Kronenberger:** I agree. Change the wording of that bullet item to just take out "all." **[37:39] Mayor Matt Montgomery:** Attend meetings as requested or required. Sure. **[37:39] Derek Lundell:** Well, I will make a motion that we approve the contract with that substitution of that first line. **[37:39] Steve Guesmee:** Second. **[37:39] Mayor Matt Montgomery:** You got a motion from Derek, a second from Guesmee. Further discussion? All those in favor say aye. **[37:39] Council Members:** Aye. **[37:39] Mayor Matt Montgomery:** Opposed? Carries. Moving on to Item C, the police retention and recruiting. Chief McCormick, if you would like to have the floor. **[38:28] Police Chief Jeff McCormick:** Thank you, Mr. Mayor. So what you have before you is a Memorandum of Understanding. For those who have been on Council for a little while, it's very similar to one brought about two years ago when we lost Officer Good and Officer Larson and Officer Ramble in a short time frame. This time right now, we're down four officers, and so we want to utilize two of our part-time officers in a full-time capacity. (Chief McCormick explains the staffing crisis, recruitment challenges, and the need for competitive wages). **[41:05] Diane Johnson:** How many full-time officers do we actually have now as of today? **[41:05] Police Chief Jeff McCormick:** Yeah, let's see... three as of tomorrow. Two as of a week from tomorrow. One. Okay, so this is going to put in place of the backfill for the temporary full-time. I take that back; we do have one more—we just hired him on the 20th. He's still got to go through training, so we don't know where that's going to be yet. It could be anywhere from 12 to 18 weeks before he'd be out on his own. **[41:51] Laura Kronenberger:** Is it possible when we hire on a new officer—big girl voice, big girl voice again—all right. Is it possible when we hire on a new officer, can we sign an employment contract with them? Because like our last—not the most recent hire, but the one before—hired in August and already leaving. That's expensive for the city. **[42:37] Police Chief Jeff McCormick:** It's very expensive, but I do not know if that is something that would be achievable. It would most likely be subject to collective bargaining terms because they're not individuals; we bargain with a unit. **[43:23] Derek Lundell:** And just to add a little bit, correct me if I'm wrong, but we can't rely on the county for help at this point either because, as you said, this is not just affecting our community. It's affecting industry-wide. **[44:08] Laura Kronenberger:** I've heard you many times help us understand just what kind of crisis law enforcement overall is facing in terms of recruitment. Is there any way we could leverage more like part-time people that might be a part of our community looking for—I don't want to call it a side job because it's really not, but... **[44:53] Police Chief Jeff McCormick:** Well, realistically it almost has to be. Minnesota did away with part-time licenses half a dozen years or more ago. So right now the only way we can get somebody part-time is somebody who possesses a full-time peace officer license. (Chief McCormick continues explaining the training pipeline and market challenges). **[48:48] Mayor Matt Montgomery:** Any other questions for Police Chief McCormick? Discussion from the Council regarding the MOU that sits before us? I would take a motion to approve the police retention and recruiting Memorandum of Understanding. **[49:34] Derek Lundell:** So moved. **[49:34] Mayor Matt Montgomery:** Motion by Lundell. Do I have a second? **[49:34] Diane Johnson:** Second. **[49:34] Mayor Matt Montgomery:** Second by Johnson. Any further discussion? All those in favor say aye. **[49:34] Council Members:** Aye. **[49:34] Mayor Matt Montgomery:** Opposed? Carries. That brings us to reports. Department heads, start with Jed. **[50:23] Jed Petersen:** Well, we're starting to transition into street sweeping, pothole, hydrant flushing season. We don't have firm dates on hydrant flushing yet because there's still quite a bit of snow. Tree trimming going on right now too. I just want to add to what Jeff said—I was at a water conference in Rochester last week. The water department's retiring now at about 200 operators a year, and the schools only had seven students last year. That math doesn't quite work out. Encourage the youngsters to look into Public Works; it's not a bad job. **[50:23] Mayor Matt Montgomery:** Diane, anything you'd like to add? Anything? Okay. Thank you. Laura. **[51:10] Laura Qualey:** I just wanted to reiterate the Feast event that's coming to Cannon on Thursday. And then Maggie Wilson from the Chamber asked me to just relay some information. The Chamber did move into the Nelson Insurance office above the bakery temporarily. The Easter hunt is Saturday, April 8th, at 10:00 A.M. Veterans Memorial phase one grand opening is May 14th, and Fun Fest will be June 1st. Golf tournament is June 19th. **[52:42] Police Chief Jeff McCormick:** Speaking of transitioning, believe it or not, we've transitioned into spring. At the end of this month, our winter parking restrictions will end. However, please be mindful; if we get those events, help Public Works by getting your vehicles off the roadway. **[53:27] Mayor Matt Montgomery:** Sarah? Anything? Neil. **[53:27] Neil Jensen:** Just with the two resignations tonight of the Director's Zoning Administrator and Jed's job, the Public Works Director, it's going to get kind of busy around City Hall. We'll try our best to keep up until we get some replacements. **[54:14] Mayor Matt Montgomery:** Library Board met on March 13th. Who would like to... **[54:14] Lisa Zimmerman:** I wasn't there, but Nicole asked me to touch on the anniversary this weekend for the library and their building. Raffling, they have gifts, they're having a band—it's going to be a big to-do. The band is playing from 10:30 till 12:30. **[54:14] Mayor Matt Montgomery:** Cool. Finance Committee—I believe most of the issues that we dealt with were all included in the agenda here tonight. Police Commission, if you'd like to add? **[55:00] Police Chief Jeff McCormick:** We covered basically everything. Officer Jacobson was considered and recommended and approved by Police Commission. We are currently taking applications for the ones that you accepted the resignations on tonight. **[55:00] Mayor Matt Montgomery:** All right. Council, we'll start with you, Laura. You have anything? **[55:48] Laura Kronenberger:** Nope. Okay. **[55:48] Lisa Zimmerman:** I do not. **[55:48] Ryan Jeppesen:** Not tonight. **[55:48] Derek Lundell:** I know this is not your last meeting with us, correct? Right, one more. But I mean, I still have to say my appreciation for the incredible service both Diane and Dan have given to our town for a number of years. I know you're going home to family, but we will miss you. **[55:48] Steve Guesmee:** I don't have anything. We've got one more meeting, so I'll save it for that last one. **[55:48] Mayor Matt Montgomery:** So with that, I would take a motion to adjourn. **[55:48] Derek Lundell:** (Motion) **[55:48] Chad Johnson:** Second. **[55:48] Mayor Matt Montgomery:** Those in favor? It carries.