This transcript has been formatted with speaker identifications based on the provided city official list and the context of the meeting proceedings. [0:00] **Mayor Kevin Zabel**: Yeah, yeah, but not like that. No. All right, for the thumbs up from the booth, we are good to go. We're gonna go ahead and call to order the Oakdale City Council meeting, September 26, 2023. Sarah, will you take the roll? [0:13] **City Staff (Sarah)**: Council Member Moore? [0:14] **Council Member Kari Moore**: Here. [0:15] **City Staff (Sarah)**: Council Member Morcomb? [0:16] **Council Member Andy Morcomb**: Here. [0:17] **City Staff (Sarah)**: Council Member Wrich? [0:17] **Council Member Katie Wrich**: Here. [0:18] **City Staff (Sarah)**: Mayor Zabel? [0:19] **Mayor Kevin Zabel**: Here. Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. [0:25] **All**: (Reciting Pledge of Allegiance) [0:30] **Mayor Kevin Zabel**: First up on our agenda tonight is the approval of the agenda. Council members, we have a slightly amended version in front of us dealing with consensus motion B. Can I get a motion to approve the agenda? [0:41] **Council Member Andy Morcomb**: So moved. [0:42] **Mayor Kevin Zabel**: There's a motion. Is there a second? [0:43] **Council Member Kari Moore**: Second. [0:44] **Mayor Kevin Zabel**: Motion and a second. Final comments? All those in favor say aye. [0:46] **Council Members**: Aye. [0:47] **Mayor Kevin Zabel**: Opposed? And the agenda is adopted. Next up, we have approval of two sets of minutes. First, our Workshop minutes from September 12, 2023. Council members, any changes or corrections? I'll look for a motion. [1:00] **Council Member Gary Severson**: So moved. [1:01] **Mayor Kevin Zabel**: There's a motion. Is there a second? [1:02] **Council Member Katie Wrich**: Second. [1:03] **Mayor Kevin Zabel**: Motion and a second. Final comments? All those in favor say aye. [1:05] **Council Members**: Aye. [1:06] **Mayor Kevin Zabel**: Opposed? And those minutes are approved. Next up, we have meeting minutes for the regular meeting on September 12, 2023. Any changes or corrections? I'll look for a motion. [1:18] **Council Member Andy Morcomb**: So moved. [1:19] **Mayor Kevin Zabel**: There's a motion. Is there a second? [1:20] **Council Member Kari Moore**: Second. [1:21] **Mayor Kevin Zabel**: There's a motion and a second. Final comments? All those in favor say aye. [1:24] **Council Members**: Aye. [1:25] **Mayor Kevin Zabel**: Opposed? And those minutes are approved as well. Next up on the agenda, we have something pretty special. I'm administering the oath of office to a new police officer here in the city of Oakdale. Um, this was a hire we made at our last meeting, right Chris? I think it's the last meeting, but tonight we get to administer the oath of office. So, just a quick rundown of how this is going to work. So, um, I will join the officer down front here, administer the oath of office. We will invite, uh, whoever's doing the pinning—usually a family member—to come up and put the pin on the officer, and then we will take some pictures starting with the city council, and then we will invite up family and friends, and then we'll get a photo of the department. So, sound like a plan? All right. Riley, meet me up front. [2:05] **Mayor Kevin Zabel**: In there, go ahead and raise your right hand and repeat after me. I, Riley Aviota... [2:12] **Officer Riley Aviota**: I, Riley Aviota... [2:14] **Mayor Kevin Zabel**: Do solemnly swear... [2:16] **Officer Riley Aviota**: Do solemnly swear... [2:17] **Mayor Kevin Zabel**: That I will support the Constitution of the United States of America... [2:20] **Officer Riley Aviota**: That I will support the Constitution of the United States of America... [2:23] **Mayor Kevin Zabel**: The Constitution of the State of Minnesota... [2:25] **Officer Riley Aviota**: The Constitution of the State of Minnesota... [2:27] **Mayor Kevin Zabel**: And that I will faithfully, justly, and impartially... [2:30] **Officer Riley Aviota**: And that I will faithfully, justly, and impartially... [2:32] **Mayor Kevin Zabel**: Discharge the duties of police officer for the City of Oakdale, Minnesota... [2:36] **Officer Riley Aviota**: Discharge the duties of police officer for the City of Oakdale, Minnesota... [2:39] **Mayor Kevin Zabel**: To the best of my judgment and ability. [2:41] **Officer Riley Aviota**: To the best of my judgment and ability. [2:43] **Mayor Kevin Zabel**: Congratulations. [2:44] **All**: [Applause] [2:50] **Mayor Kevin Zabel**: You need to sign your oath of office. Sign there, and then why don't you sign that one as well? And then Chief Newton as well. Go ahead and date them too—the 26th. Chief, looks like a pen right here. There we go. And that is your copy. And I want to invite the city council down to take some photos. [3:20] **City Staff (Laurie)**: [Music] Wait for me. Ready? One, two, three. Everyone smile. One more. [3:45] **Mayor Kevin Zabel**: Kevin, your family? And the department officers, come on up. One more. All right. [4:18] **All**: [Applause] [4:25] **Mayor Kevin Zabel**: So, if anybody wants to stick around for the rest of our meeting, please feel free, but there are refreshments upstairs, so we understand if that sounds more fun. Um, but you know, to Riley, just a tremendous thank you on behalf of the city council to him and to anybody that raises their hand committed to serving and protecting our city. You know, we know it's not an easy job, and we greatly appreciate anybody that puts on the shield of the city and serves our community. So, thank you. Next up, we have a public hearing dealing with a second-hand goods dealer license. Is there a staff presentation? [4:55] **City Administrator Christina Volkers**: That would be me. This application is for, as it says, a second-hand dealer's license for "Get Guns Now." They have been in Oakdale for quite some time and they sell second-hand goods, and as a result, they need the license to do so. So, um, that is what's before you today—is their application and recommended approval. [5:15] **Mayor Kevin Zabel**: Okay. Council members, any questions for staff right off the bat? Otherwise, we will go ahead and open the public hearing. This is an opportunity for anybody in the public that would like to speak on this specific item to step up to the podium, state your name and address, and share any thoughts on your mind. So with that, we're going to go ahead and open the public hearing. [5:30] **Mayor Kevin Zabel**: Seeing none, we're going to go ahead and close the public hearing and bring it back up for Council consideration. Council members, any final comments or questions? I'll look for a motion. [5:38] **Council Member Andy Morcomb**: I’d like to move to approve a new second-hand goods dealer license to David Bean of "Get Guns Now," located at 1949 Geneva Ave North. [5:45] **Mayor Kevin Zabel**: There's a motion. Is there a second? [5:46] **Council Member Gary Severson**: Second. [5:47] **Mayor Kevin Zabel**: There's a motion and a second. Final comments? All those in favor say aye. [5:50] **Council Members**: Aye. [5:51] **Mayor Kevin Zabel**: Opposed? And that license is approved. Next up we have Open Forum on our agenda. This is an opportunity for anybody in the audience to step on up and share anything that's on their mind on any topic. Simple house rules: we ask residents or speakers to try and keep comments to three minutes or so, and as always, the Golden Rule applies, so we ask for respect here in our council chamber. So, anybody that would like to address the City Council, please feel free to step up and share whatever's on your mind. Any takers? Gone once, going twice... All right, we're gonna keep things moving and move on to consensus motions. Council members, in front of us we have A through M. Council members, are there any that you would like to pull for individual consideration? [6:35] **Mayor Kevin Zabel**: Seeing none, I'll look for a motion. [6:38] **Council Member Katie Wrich**: Make a motion to approve consensus motions A through M as presented. [6:40] **Mayor Kevin Zabel**: There's a motion. Is there a second? [6:41] **Council Member Andy Morcomb**: Second. [6:42] **Mayor Kevin Zabel**: There's a motion and a second. Final comments? All those in favor say aye. [6:45] **Council Members**: Aye. [6:46] **Mayor Kevin Zabel**: Opposed? And those A through M are approved. Next up is our opportunity to check in with the city's advisory boards and commissions. We have five of them ranging on a number of topics. First on the list was the Environmental Management Commission. That is my group. Oh golly, what did they work on? That was like eight days ago... they worked on their 2024 work plan. They're continuing to work on that. They got an update from staff on development projects. Is Hannah here? I'm looking for the staff liaison... no. They're a very active group so, yeah, mostly the 2024 work plan. They have a very busy year ahead, so they are excited about that. Nothing from Planning. Parks and Rec? Council Member Morcomb, you're the liaison for that group. [7:43] **Council Member Andy Morcomb**: Yep. Parks and Rec Commission met and they've done a couple things recently here in their last meeting. One, they did put together a work plan as well, but they also had some park tours. We went around the city on a couple of Saturdays—one in August, one in September—and they toured different parks, they spoke with residents, they got feedback. Really helpful information. A lot of the recommendations they made they forwarded on to City staff for further consideration, but we've got a lot of opportunity with new parks coming in the city both in Willowbrook and down at our 4th Street small area plan, our Bus Rapid Transit area. So the feedback from the city and residents is really important. So anyone who's got more feedback for our parks or ideas, please come forward and look up the commission—you can find it on the city website. But that is what they're working on currently. [8:30] **Mayor Kevin Zabel**: Excellent. Thank you, Andy. Tree Board? Matt, you want me to take that one? Please. I filled in for Council Member Willbring... what did they work on? Well, these meetings blend together. No, they decided on the trees for the 2024 Arbor Day tree giveaway, so that is a big deal. They reviewed the city's Emerald Ash Borer work plan. There was one more thing... oh, just reviewed all of their work plan for 2024. You know, they're very event-driven groups, so thinking about things like the spring planting event, what they want to do with that, the Buckthorn removal event... they have a lot of stuff coming up including the Buckthorn event next month, so they were working on details for all of that. Nothing under Award of Bid tonight. Staff reports: Community Development. We have two items, first beginning with the home occupation CUP. Our City Planner, Luke McClanahan. Welcome, Luke. [9:25] **Planning Manager Luke McClanahan**: Thank you, Mayor and Council. So yes, this first request is a home occupation at 6700 4th Street North. This is a pet grooming facility. It's been in operation for a little while now; the applicant is working with the city to bring the use into zoning compliance. On September 7th, the Planning Commission reviewed this request—it was a public hearing item—and they recommended approval. So staff finds that this use meets the zoning requirements of the code provided that certain conditions are met, and there's three conditions that staff suggested in the resolution: The first one is hours of operation be limited from Monday through Friday 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and then on Saturdays 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM; compliance with State Plumbing Code for the sewer system; and verification that the sewer lines for the use are at least 60 inches below grade, and that's just to prevent from freezing. Although this is not a public hearing, I know the applicant is here in attendance if you have any questions, and I'd be happy to answer any questions. Thank you. [10:15] **Mayor Kevin Zabel**: Thanks, Luke. Council members, any questions for staff or the applicant directly? [10:18] **Council Member Andy Morcomb**: Yeah, I had a question. So in terms of how many animals or dogs you plan to take care of at once, is there any limit in that facility? [10:24] **Mayor Kevin Zabel**: Council member, is that more of a question for the applicant? [10:26] **Council Member Andy Morcomb**: It can be for the applicant if they know their business, right? And I'm thinking the number of animals at once and then also controlling noise. So please, if you'd be willing to speak to that, it'd be much appreciated. [10:35] **Applicant (Pet Groomer)**: Hello. Hi. Um, we are mainly a one-on-one grooming salon, so we take one pet a day. Me and my business partner, Brittany, we both work the same schedule, so two pets at a time. Um, sometimes we may have a pet drop off early or pick up late, so sometimes we have a little bit of overlap, but for the most part, that's two pets in the salon at a time. Um, we are very small, we plan to stay small. That's kind of our niche in the area—is that we work with a lot of pets that are highly anxious going to the bigger places. So, um, that's kind of our brand and because of that, it's kind of nice to work in a home-based business working with just the pets, not a retail store behind us or anything that's causing more distractions. So I'd say one to two pets at a time. We can each groom six to eight a day. So it's kind of like, I'd say, six to eight pets a day. [11:15] **Council Member Andy Morcomb**: Perfect. That answers my question. Thank you. [11:17] **Applicant (Pet Groomer)**: Yep. Thank you. [11:18] **Mayor Kevin Zabel**: Any other questions? No? All right, I'll look for a motion. [11:22] **Council Member Kari Moore**: I'll make a motion to waive reading and adopt resolution 2023-93 approving a conditional use permit for a home occupation pet grooming facility at 6700 4th Street North with conditions included in the attached resolution. [11:35] **Mayor Kevin Zabel**: There's a motion. Is there a second? [11:36] **Council Member Gary Severson**: Second. [11:37] **Mayor Kevin Zabel**: Motion and a second. Final comments? All those in favor say aye. [11:40] **Council Members**: Aye. [11:41] **Mayor Kevin Zabel**: Opposed? And that CUP is approved. Next up we have the Glenbrook small area plan approval. Luke is back. All right, take it away. [11:48] **Planning Manager Luke McClanahan**: Thank you. Recall that the plan was initiated in late 2022, and this plan is for what we call the Glenbrook neighborhood. And just to be clear, this is a neighborhood on the north side of Highway 36, east of 120, and just south of the Greens of Silver Lake neighborhood. The purpose of this plan is to help provide an overall vision for future development, how other means that we could help improve the area by reducing conflicts in land use, and also suggest some infrastructure improvements. And through numerous engagement efforts including public input opportunities, staff worked with our consultant, Stantec, to gather data and again collect feedback for this plan. And we have provided several recommendations for this area to again help reduce those conflicts and land uses, improve infrastructure, and provide an overall vision for the area. We would like to thank the City Council through all the workshops, all the meetings that we've had for your feedback on this plan; the Planning Commission, Economic Development Commission, Environmental Management Commission, area residents, businesses, City staff, and Washington County, Minnesota DOT, and again our consulting partner, Stantec. So with that, I'd be happy to answer any questions. Thank you. [12:55] **Mayor Kevin Zabel**: Council members, any questions for Luke that we haven't talked about in about the 18 workshops we've been working on this project? Amen. [Laughter] Any questions? Going twice... I'll look for a motion. [13:08] **Council Member Andy Morcomb**: I'll make a motion to waive reading and adopt resolution 2023-94 approving the Glenbrook small area plan. [13:13] **Mayor Kevin Zabel**: There's a motion. Is there a second? [13:14] **Council Member Kari Moore**: Second. [13:15] **Mayor Kevin Zabel**: Okay, everybody seconding. Numerous seconds. All those in favor say aye. [13:17] **Council Members**: Aye. [13:18] **Mayor Kevin Zabel**: Opposed? And that small area plan is written—or edited—approved and adopted. We are done with that, and for the better. No, it'll be a helpful guiding tool for any development on the North end of the city. So, we say tongue-in-cheek, but it's important. City Attorney, check-in. [13:35] **City Attorney**: No specific report, but happy to answer any questions. [13:38] **Mayor Kevin Zabel**: Anybody have any problems to hand over to the City Attorney? No. All right, let's turn the other way. Check in with our City Administrator, Ms. Volkers. [13:45] **City Administrator Christina Volkers**: Ditto. Nothing. [13:48] **Mayor Kevin Zabel**: All righty. Anybody have anything for Chris? All right. Council presentations. Who wants to go first? Anything down here? No. None from me. All right, nothing from me. All right, let's look the other way. [14:02] **Mayor Kevin Zabel**: I just actually want to give a shout-out to my wife and kids—Sarah, Pate, Morgan, and Linden—who decided to surprise me tonight. I've been on the council for almost five years now, and I think this is only the second meeting they've come to, and the other one being when I was sworn in the first time. So we should drag this out for two more hours... I'm kidding. But thank you for coming, I love having you there. All right, we'll be brief. Thanks for coming, you guys. Definitely. Yeah, we love having people here. Andy? [14:35] **Council Member Andy Morcomb**: Yeah, and just to say thank you to our Scout friends here. We have from Scout Troop 580 and Pack... we love that people in town take an interest. So thanks for being here. [14:45] **Mayor Kevin Zabel**: Absolutely. Absolutely. I have a number of updates here from City staff about upcoming events, so bear with me. Farmers Market taking place tomorrow, 2:00 to 6:00 PM in the City Hall parking lot. We only have three left, but the pumpkins have arrived—squash, gourds, apples, they're all there. The last one will be October 11th, so please come on out, visit with our vendors, buy lots of great produce and baked goods and flowers. I know they still have mums out there; there's a little bit of everything for everybody. So please stop by tomorrow, 2:00 to 6:00 PM in the City Hall parking lot. Voting is now open for our 2023 summer photo contest. We have six outstanding finalists that were selected. You can vote for your favorite photo—all you have to do is go to our city Facebook page, find that post, and then click "like" on the photos that you want to vote for. You have until Saturday, September 30th, and the top three photos will be our winners. [15:40] **Mayor Kevin Zabel**: We have a couple upcoming activities through the Oakdale Wellness 50 Plus group. First, a flu shot clinic will be held September 30th—Saturday, September 30th—from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM at the Discovery Center. Shots are at no cost with most insurance; please bring a photo ID and insurance card. No registration is necessary, so if you need your flu shot, just pop on up to 4444 Hadley Avenue North. The Wellness 50 Plus group also has a class on fire prevention and public safety. This will be held on Saturday, October 7th from 10:00 to noon at the Discovery Center. Again, no registration is necessary, so please stop on by if you have any questions. I'm going to assume that we're gonna have a firefighter or a cop or something there to answer questions. Our City Administrator is nodding, so we just volunteered them. So if you have any questions, please pop on by—that is October 7th, 10:00 AM to noon at the Discovery Center. [16:35] **Mayor Kevin Zabel**: It's fall, so once again the city is offering complimentary curbside collection for Buckthorn. Pickup is for Oakdale residents and is restricted to Buckthorn only. To participate, all you have to do is go to the city website, submit the collection waiver, and we ask—or we require—that it be submitted by the Friday prior to when your pickup is. So the remaining collection dates for 2023 are October 10th or October 24th. So if you want the city to stop by and pick up your Buckthorn, have it in by the Friday prior. All of the rules, all the waivers, everything can be found on the city's website, OakdaleMN.gov. [17:15] **Mayor Kevin Zabel**: Finally, at our last city council meeting, we announced that Oakdale was a finalist in two categories for the Saint Paul Area Chamber's Leader in Local Government Awards, and we won! Our business retention, expansion, and attraction program won in the business category. So it was a tremendous honor of mine to attend with a lot of our staff and a lot of our community members and accept that award on behalf of our city. That has been a very successful program for us; in the first year, we met with 18 local businesses to hear what was on their mind and connect them with resources at the city, county, state, and federal government. So a big thank you to the Saint Paul Chamber for this recognition, a huge thank you to our Community Development team, our Economic Development Commission members who participated, local business owners who participated, and my Council colleagues. It was... we weren't quite sure what to expect in the first year, but the information that we got from businesses has been incredibly helpful, so we are excited to keep that going. [18:25] **Mayor Kevin Zabel**: Time to pay the bills. In front of us, council members, we have the claims roster for September 13th through September 26th in the amount of 2.5 million and change. Lots of bills to pay this go-around. Council members, any questions on claims? I'll look for a motion. [18:40] **Council Member Andy Morcomb**: I'll make a motion to approve claims as presented. [18:42] **Mayor Kevin Zabel**: There's a motion. Is there a second? [18:43] **Council Member Kari Moore**: Second. [18:44] **Mayor Kevin Zabel**: There's a motion and a second. All those in favor say aye. [18:46] **Council Members**: Aye. [18:47] **Mayor Kevin Zabel**: Opposed? Bills are paid. Can I have a motion to adjourn? [18:49] **Council Member Gary Severson**: So moved. [18:50] **Mayor Kevin Zabel**: There's a motion. Is there a second? [18:51] **Council Member Katie Wrich**: Second. [18:52] **Mayor Kevin Zabel**: There's a motion and a second. All those in favor say aye. [18:54] **Council Members**: Aye. [18:55] **Mayor Kevin Zabel**: Opposed? We are adjourned. Thank you and good night.