As an expert transcriptionist, I have analyzed the context of the meeting, the names provided, and the dialogue to assign the correct speakers to your transcript. [0:01] **Mary Fasbender (Mayor):** Time being 7 o'clock, I call the Hastings City Council meeting to order. Please stand for the pledge of 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. [0:26] **Mary Fasbender (Mayor):** Welcome and let the role reflect. We do have council member Vihrachoff is absent today, but we do have a quorum. Under new employees introductions tonight, we will have several new employees introduced and for this we will have our city administrator, assistant city administrator, Kelly Murtaugh. Welcome, Kelly. [0:56] **Kelly Murtaugh (Assistant City Administrator):** Thank you, mayor, council members. Uh on behalf of Ashley Bernardi who is our assistant finance manager, uh I am thrilled to introduce to you Charlotte King. Unfortunately, she is unable to be with us this evening. So I will just tell you a little bit about her. Uh the finance department is thrilled to have Charlotte on the team. She started with the city in December 27th. She has most recently been employed at Brain Balance of Woodbury as an office manager. She currently resides in Prescott, Wisconsin with her dog and two cats. Charlotte's interests include outdoor activities and spending time with friends and family. [1:27] **Kelly Murtaugh (Assistant City Administrator):** She has two granddaughters, Leah, age three, and Ameilia 15 months. Please help me welcome Charlotte to the city of Hastings. [1:38] **John Townsend (Fire Chief):** Mayor and Council, uh, I'm here to introduce two of our new staff. I'll invite them up here right now. Lucas Canol and Anna Hen. [2:03] **John Townsend (Fire Chief):** Um, so our first one is Anna Hen. Anna comes to us from Plum City. She uh works as an ambulance EMT in Plum City and Duran, Wisconsin. Um she currently finished up her firefighting school at Chipoa Valley Technical College and is working on completing her paramedic. She started on January 6th and since joining us has completed her field training and is out in the world protecting the citizens of Hastings. and we're super excited to have Anna. Um Lucas Canol um he also started as a full-time firefighter paramedic on January 6th. [2:43] **John Townsend (Fire Chief):** However, Lucas has been with us for about three years. He served as a paid on call firefighter. So, he's been with our community for some time um and has completed his paramedic and all his fire training and also has completed his field training. So, they're both on shifts now out protecting our citizens. [3:00] **John Townsend (Fire Chief):** So, we're super excited to have both of them. Um, and glad they're on board. Thank you. [3:15] **Mary Fasbender (Mayor):** Thanks, John. Council [Applause] Picture. Sorry. Much. Okay. Charming smiles. Here we go. Three two one. Charming smile. [4:22] **Mary Fasbender (Mayor):** He probably wants to be eight. Nice turn. All right. That's always a great time uh when we can um have new employees at the beginning of the quarter. So, we appreciate that. [4:42] **Mary Fasbender (Mayor):** Tonight, we have a presentation by our Hastings Environmental Protectors. We have with us Joe Batty and Dwight Smith. Welcome. [5:01] **Joe Batty (Hastings Environmental Protectors):** Thank you. Thank you. Can you hear this? Okay. Well, thanks so much for letting us come tonight. We really appreciate it. We're going to tell you a little bit about our group. So on this first slide, we'll talk about our founder. Her name was Techla Karpin. A unique name. I've never met a Techla other than Techla. You probably have not either. So she was born some time ago, 1926. And uh she passed away when she was 90 years old. I think that might be on my next slide. Oh no. So, um, she she passed away when she was 90 years old, 2017, I believe. And she lived right at the end of River Street. So, if you know where the senior center is, that's on River. And there's a funny little dead end street right at the end of that street. She lived in a house back in the woods. You've probably never even seen it at the end of that street. So that that was Techla. Um she was a speech and language professor at uh Minnesota State University at Mankato I guess is what you say formerly. When she was done as her stint as a professor, she came home here to Hastings and actually she lived in the house that she grew up in on 100 River Street. Yeah. And there she became an artist. She was also a poet and she was a fabulous tea party host which both Dwight and I went to many times. It was a wonderful occasion. And like I started off with she inaugurated our group Hastings Environmental Protectors. So that's just a quick little insight into who Techla Karpman was. [6:53] **Dwight Smith (Member, Parks and Recreation Commission / Hastings Environmental Protectors):** Is this mine? I hope so. Okay. Uh our group is a uh has a membership of about a hundred people now and or a little bit more than that. And uh we have a vision statement that we envision an economically thriving community where our stewardship protects natural habitat as we adapt to climate change and other challenges for a sustainable future. Uh we feel as an organization that we occupy kind of a unique niche here in Hastings because we see ourselves as a service organization much like any other service organization. But there is no other service organization that really addresses our environment and our natural heritage. And we feel that this is something that Techla that was her notion is to found something like this that would address these issues. And so we have uh taken up that role. And um one of the things that we really uh I guess focus on is that we do most of our work uh either through our own funding or uh with a lot of volunteer help. uh some of our projects and this is one of my favorites because it was my original idea and so I take some pride in that. Uh and also it was uh a notion that somehow or other we have to improve the water quality of our wetlands here in Hastings. Uh most of the water we have, including Lake Rebecca, are really impaired waters. Uh especially these retention ponds. And so we came up with this idea of floating islands. And the floating islands are um it's an artificial island. We put these in Kerry Park. This is the first this is the first one we've done. Uh the beauty of them is they float in the water. They send these roots down into the water and absorb the excess nutrients. And you also have a diverse community of plants sitting on these. I don't know if any of you have been to Kerry Park to see this, but they are really terrific because during the summer there's this just explosion of green and blooms floating out there on the on the water. [9:36] **Dwight Smith (Member, Parks and Recreation Commission / Hastings Environmental Protectors):** And so it it is also an aesthetic thing. Uh we were able to do this. This is something that we had thought of doing for many several years and we were able to do it because of a community investment fund grant. Uh city of Hastings uh provided us the bulk of the money. We put in the money for the plants and provided all of the labor for it and uh we will be maintaining it then during the rest of the every year from now on. Um, it's also something that is a something of a test because, uh, we're going to be looking at how the water quality is improving through the work of the county's wetlands health evaluation program, which that's one of the sites that they test every year. And so, they'll be testing that site for macro invertebrates and vegetation to see if the water the body of water is actually improving, which is our intent. And if that's the case, we hope to be putting in more of these floating islands in other ponds. [10:48] **Joe Batty (Hastings Environmental Protectors):** All right, so let's review. Um, so far, you know, Techla Karpin was our founder. You know, our group is about 100 plus people. And you know that we do some really cool projects outside like those floating islands. Now, more recently, we've started to have like a second focus, and that is energy efficiency. So, we're going to keep doing all those cool projects outside. That's kind of our kind of our namesake thus far. But, we've really started to get into this whole world of energy. So, what you see here is our attempt to work with two manufactured home parks in the city of Hastings. So, uh you might know that Hastings Terrace is kind of right next to the hockey rink and you might know that Three Rivers is kind of parallel to the industrial park. So that's where they are and uh our whole goal there was kind of twofold. Um one was kind of a lofty goal and that was to reduce carbon emissions. Uh you know that we live in an age of climate change. So our big goal was to help drop carbon emissions in our city of Hastings. But in the goal of the homeowners at those two manufactured home parks, our goal was to make their energy bills lower. And you probably know that when uh when you have limited income, an energy bill is a bigger part of your expenditure. So we felt this was a really good place to go to really help these people out and to help the earth. [12:25] **Joe Batty (Hastings Environmental Protectors):** So that was our whole goal. Um, we worked and are working with Excel Energy. So, Excel Energy worked with us and we got them free energy audits. So, we would walk the manufactured home park, offer these to homeowners, and uh, normally what was well, let's see, $65, something like that. um they came free. So it was a fantastic way for them to look at their house, see where they could make changes, and actually that was the next thing is to figure out, okay, now that you had an audit, now what can you do? And that was our job to kind of take the next step with them. All right. And we're going to finish up now. I hope our our time was okay with you. So, uh actually, Dwight, I think you were going to take this, weren't you? [13:19] **Dwight Smith (Member, Parks and Recreation Commission / Hastings Environmental Protectors):** Yes, I was. Oh, okay. I'll let you take over then. We got community investment grants not only for the floating islands, but also uh if you bike around the uh the paths in Hastings and go by the Vermillion River Linear Park, probably have noticed the Dale Lewis uh sculpture out there. That was something that we worked with the uh fairly newly established uh arts and uh culture commission of the city to get that installed. And that's going to be swapped out now each year. Should have been done already, but it's a little bit behind schedule because of uh Dale Lewis having been injured. Uh but that will be uh happening as well. Uh if you also as you're running around the trails or biking uh notice that we now have interpretive signs on our uh community gardens. Uh thank you. What you see here is one of the uh pollinator gardens we've put in. Uh one of the things about pollinator gardens is they're very attractive, we think, but a lot of people look at them and all they see is weeds because they aren't native plants. And some native plants really are just weeds. And so to explain why these things are here, we got the grant to put these interpretive signs in explaining the importance of pollinators and the importance of why we have these gardens. [14:57] **Dwight Smith (Member, Parks and Recreation Commission / Hastings Environmental Protectors):** Um, we also got a nice uh sign from uh through the grant with uh so we can place out there so volunteers can find us more easily. And of course, I've already mentioned the floating islands. Uh we're also with the city uh participating in the Minnesota Greenstep Cities program. Um our role as we see it is we're the organization that will be implementing the best practices number 24 of being the group that is the community engagement for the greater community coming back and reporting to the city. And that's pretty much it. Joe. [15:41] **Joe Batty (Hastings Environmental Protectors):** Okay, John. If I hit escape, can I get back to the beginning? Yes. Okay. All right. I'm just going to go real quick back to the beginning because I want you to just take a moment and think about how pretty our city is. So, if you think about 100 River Street right above Lake Rebecca, my gosh, that's a beautiful area, isn't it? And let's just go to the next slide real quick. So, this is the Hastings Sand Coulee Scientific and Natural Area, which is state land, but it's it's right next to our city. So, kind of a gorgeous little gem. And then go right here that Dwight talked about. This is Kerry Park and becoming much more beautiful because of his floating island concept. And then right here we have two very nice manufactured home parks in our city. Right here, this is Old Mill Park. That's right next to Vermillion Falls. Fantastic place. And then lastly, lastly, this is our beautiful city not far from where we are right now. So, I just want to wrap up by saying thank you and we hope to continue working hand-in-hand with you. I think we can have a great relationship. We can help you and you can help us. I think it'll be a great synergy. we can work toward quality of life continuing in Hastings and also perhaps pursue sustainability in our city. So, thanks so much. [17:16] **Mary Fasbender (Mayor):** Thank you both for being here. Council, any words for Joe or Dwight? Council Member Haus. [17:23] **Angie Haus (Councilmember):** Thank you both for being here. I really appreciate uh what your organization is doing as a beekeeper and a natural uh naturalist and person who likes to go hiking. and I used to hike the coulee a lot when I was a kid um growing up. So, with that being said, what are ways that residents can get involved with your organization and how can they help reach out for uh volunteering and events? [17:51] **Joe Batty (Hastings Environmental Protectors):** Well, that's a that's a great idea. Thank you. Well, we have a website. Um it's not a tremendously sophisticated website, but we do have a website, so they can always go there. um they can get involved in any way they wish from something small to something large. We're also on Facebook. Facebook. Yes. Um so if my gosh, if you wanted to just come to a meeting, you could certainly do that. Or if you wanted to jump in with both feet and go help out with a pollinator garden or help out with uh uh one of those floating islands or help us monitor Lake Rebecca. My gosh, there are all kinds of things that people could get involved with if they so wish. Everything from little to big. Thank you so much. [18:30] **Mary Fasbender (Mayor):** Council member Pemble. [18:32] **Dave Pemble (Councilmember):** Thanks, guys. Um, how often do you meet quarterly? When how often do you meet? [18:38] **Dwight Smith (Member, Parks and Recreation Commission / Hastings Environmental Protectors):** Once a month. Once a month. And where? Regular board meeting at the uh public library. Get that information out. And is that on the website, too, so people can touch base with that? Yeah. Yeah, actually we have a meeting this Thursday. Very good. Starting at six o'clock in the evening. Very good. Thank you. Yeah. Do you want me to give them the website? You can probably just Google it. I I would think. Yeah. Yeah. [19:10] **Mary Fasbender (Mayor):** Thank you. And thank you for helping protect our environment. Absolutely. Thanks for the invitation. I appreciate it. Of course. [19:17] **Mary Fasbender (Mayor):** Approval of minutes. Council. Um, except uh any corrections for the minutes from Oh, John, did you have Oh, I'm just playing AB guy. That's all. No worries. He's Mr. IT. Any corrections to the minutes from the workshop or the meeting on March 3rd? Okay. With not If not, they have been approved. Comments from the audience. At this time, we will hear comments from the audience. Please step to the podium. State your name and your address. [19:58] **Theresa Auge` (Chair, Public Safety Advisory Commission):** Mayor and council members and administration, I'm Theresa. I live on 14th Street West over here. Have to do that last. Can you hear me now? Do I have to repeat that? It's also for the TV. Okay. I'm Theresa. I'm on 14th Street West and I'm here because last meeting you talked about narrowing the streets from 36 to 32 in a section of the city. And I just want to throw out an idea. You also adopted an ordinance to put electric bikes, not on the sidewalks. So I'm assuming they're going to go on the streets. So, if you narrow the streets and now you have park cars, you're going to have something like 15th Street and you're going to put electric bikes on there and potentially other electronic propulsion type toys. Um, and that creates, I would think, a greater hazard than the potential for speeding on a on a street that's 36 feet wide. Um, if you take a look at 15th Street, people are parking on the grass. They don't they can't park their cars on the side. Um, and on trash day, it's a disaster. Um, and we have spring around the corner. So, I know that there's a project coming up and I know you have future projects, but I just would challenge you to think about, do we really need to narrow our streets and could we save money by not having to do that? Just a thought. and I wore a different hat when I was here last time. So, I'm coming as a resident, not as a member of the public safety advisory commission. Thank you. [21:40] **Mary Fasbender (Mayor):** Anyone else wish to speak to the council at this time? [21:48] **Ashley Alitz Edell (Member, Heritage Preservation Commission / Business Employee):** Hi, I'm Ashley. I live in Inver Grove Heights, but I work in Hastings. Um uh 1355 South Frontage Road um Westview Tobacco. And this is Dana. [22:04] **Dana (Employee, Marketplace Tobacco):** Hi, I'm Dana. I live here in town. I work at Marketplace Tobacco. [22:08] **Mary Fasbender (Mayor):** Your address? [22:09] **Dana (Employee, Marketplace Tobacco):** Oh, do you want my address? Yes, please. Okay. 124 West 23rd Street. Or do you want the tobacco's? 1769 Marketplace. [22:21] **Mary Fasbender (Mayor):** Address. [22:22] **Ashley Alitz Edell (Member, Heritage Preservation Commission / Business Employee):** Okay. 1769 Frontage Road Marketplace. Do you want mine from Inver Grove? Do you want my address from Inver Grove? Are we good? [22:30] **Mary Fasbender (Mayor):** No. Oh, yeah. Sure. [22:32] **Ashley Alitz Edell (Member, Heritage Preservation Commission / Business Employee):** Um 3341 78th Street Inver Grove Heights. Thank you. Thank you. Um so, good evening um mayor, council members, and fellow residents. I'm here to express my um my opposition to the proposed ordinance that would limit the number of tobacco license shops for Hastings to just four. I understand the intent behind the proposal, but I believe it has unintended consequences um that will negatively impact small businesses um owners, employees, and the local economy um for the way it's written. Um I'm not opposed to it completely um for restriction. It restricts business ownerships and property rights. One of the fundamental rights of business owners is the ability to sell their business. This ordinance would prevent a current license holder from selling their store to a new owner, effectively making the investment worthless. Um, and it's unfair to those businesses that have been here for years. Let's say they want to retire or um, the development, the owner of the building wants to switch the development and they don't want to rent it to us anymore, then we should be able to move the business um, without losing the opportunity to keep our license. [23:48] **Ashley Alitz Edell (Member, Heritage Preservation Commission / Business Employee):** Um restricting licenses does not promote fair competition or economic growth. Um if a tobacco store closes due to this restriction, it does not guarantee that another local business will fill that space. Instead, it could lead to more vacant storefronts. Um, business owners who operate legally and follow all restrictions should not be subject to arbitrary limits that could force them out of business. If the city is concerned about business practices, the focus should be on enforcing existing laws rather than the ability to sell, own, or relocate businesses. Um, I have proposed alternatives. Um rather than capping the number of tobacco licenses at four, I urge the council to consider a system where licenses remain transferable to new owners um and businesses are allowed to relocate with it in Hastings. Um any concerns regarding business practices are addressed through proper oversight rather than limiting competition. Um thank you for your time. Sorry. Um, I do have one more thing I wanted to talk about, but I don't know if this is the approp—I don't know if I can do it in this meeting. It was for glass. Um, I I—Could I read that one, too? Okay. Um, I appreciate the opportunity to speak today regarding the sale of glass silicone paraphernalia within the city of Hastings. I urge the council to reconsider and amend the current ordinance that prohibits the sale of these items as outlined in section 13.16 on drug paraphernalia. Um medical use and legal compliance. The sale of glass silicone metal bowls should not be classified under the same category as illicit drug paraphernalia. Uh many individuals including medical marijuana patients require these products for legally prescribed treatments. The state of Minnesota has recognized THC's medical benefits and Hastings would benefit to align with some of the state laws rather than restricting access to necessary tools for legal consumption. Um right now residents must travel to Prescott. That's less than 15 minutes away depending on where you're at in the city um to purchase these items. while they're there, they go out, they go shopping, and then they're like, "Oh, there's this restaurant here. I'm going to go eat there." Versus, if we had the sale here for Glass, it would help the economy because then they would want to eat here versus already being in another town and losing that um revenue. [26:38] **Ashley Alitz Edell (Member, Heritage Preservation Commission / Business Employee):** Um the intent here is not to promote or sell anything that would facilitate the use of illegal substances. Glass, silicone, and metal bowls are commonly used for legally sold state regulated products including tobacco and cannabis were permitted by law. Other cities have adapted these policies to recognize the distinction and Hastings should consider doing the same. Um it has come to our attention that a local bar—the Bar—is seeking to open a dispensary in Hastings. If the city is to open a business selling legal THC products, it is logical to also allow the sale of accessories needed to consume these products. To prohibit one while promoting the other creates an inconsistent policy that unfairly limits local business opportunities. Expanding the definition behind glass: The current ordinances uses the term paraphernalia to broadly categorize all smoking accessories under a negative legal framework. Our proposal is not just about glass bowls but also include silicone and metal options which provide a safer reusable and more durable alternatives. Additionally, the ordinance should not restrict the sale of storage containers for THC products or blenders used for legally preparing THC and edibles or consumable forms. These items commonly used by medical cannabis patients and recreational users in compliance with state law. By unnecessarily classifying these products as paraphernalia, the ordinance creates barriers for those who rely on them for legal and medical purposes. The existing ordinance groups everyday smoking accessories, storage containers, and preparation tools with illicit drug related items, creating unfair restriction on lawful businesses. Many of those products such as bowls, water pipes, grinders, and storage containers are used legally for tobacco and cannabis when permitted. An amendment should clarify that these are legal accessories when sold in compliance with state regulations. My conclusion, we are simply asking for a fair, reasonable amendment that aligns Hastings with neighboring communities, supports local businesses, and respects consumers rights to purchase legal products. By making this change, Hastings can benefit economically, create a fair business environment, and eliminate unnecessary restrictions that push customers elsewhere. Thank you for your time and consideration. I welcome any questions and look forward to working together to modify this policy for the benefit of our community. Thank you. [29:00] **Mary Fasbender (Mayor):** Thank you. Thank you both. Yes, council member. Oh, do you have a question? No. Oh, the question the question I have as a little clarity is you're both employees of this business. Yes. Correct. Two different businesses. Yep. Two different businesses. The owners of either—the owner is the same for both businesses. Okay. That's what I—Thank you. Council member Leifeld. [29:26] **Lisa Leifeld (Councilmember):** Just as a side note, not to speak too early, but regarding the glass piece, that is something the city will be looking at. Okay. When we've got better instruction from the state as far as where we're going with a dispensary, okay, so there have been no decisions made in the city regarding who will be opening a dispensary. Okay. That has not been applied for and that's not been decided. Okay. Despite the signs you may see in town. Okay. Thank you. Thanks for your time. [29:56] **Mary Fasbender (Mayor):** Thank you. Thank you. We're good. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. All right, council. Any items to be considered? Council, I would accept a motion to approve the consent agenda. Motion by Council member Leifeld, second by Council Member Lawrence. All those in favor of the motion state by saying I. [30:22] **Council Members:** I. [30:23] **Mary Fasbender (Mayor):** Opposed to that motion state by saying nay. And that motion prevails. Tonight, under reports from city staff, we will have an introduction by community development director John Hinzman for adopting the Highway 55 and Jacob Avenue growth area plan. Welcome, John. [30:43] **John Hinzman (Community Development Director):** Thank you, Mayor, City Council members. I have before us tonight Brian Harges from HKGI Consultants. They were instrumental in putting this plan together. Brian will go through uh a higher level analysis of the plan. uh the purposes behind it and what we have today. So, I'll turn it over to Brian and thank you. [31:11] **Brian Harges (HKGI Consultant):** Thanks, John. Mayor, uh council members, thanks for having me here tonight. This again is intended to be a very brief overview of the final report that's a part of your packet, but to really kind of hit the highlights of the overall project and project process that we went through for uh the growth area study. It's shown here in orange on the map. This is roughly about a 600 acre overall study area uh inclusive of uh some expanded area that we looked at to include some understanding for uh some sewer and water connections uh throughout uh but primarily that's uh across the highway 55 uh corridor as you see it through here and then Jacob Avenue um which is currently an unpaved roadway really kind of at the top of the hill if you look to the west side of town. Um overall what this project process intended to do was better determine ideas and thoughts related to land use uh across that entire study area. Better connect and think about um the infrastructure needs that would be out there between sanitary sewer uh water main water services. Um thinking about parks and open space connectivity and the roadway connectivity throughout that entire area. and then essentially just be able to kind of create a game plan for how this area could develop really over the next 20 to 30 years looking out uh or that general time horizon. So, uh it tries to put all the pieces together um for what this area could look like uh longer term. [32:27] **Brian Harges (HKGI Consultant):** Um, generally today as it's currently guided through the 2040 comprehensive plan, you look uh mostly at commercial land uses that are identified in red to towards the north side of Highway 55, a small area 40 acre area there to the south. Um currently there are some areas that are currently guided for uh medium density residential around that predominantly some uh lower density residential and the lighter yellow and then a couple of areas that were a more high-density residential even aggur to the west and part of this process that we went through began to look at and examine all those uh as a part of the overall piece and uh with that it was guided by some key market findings. Lokai Consulting was the market uh study uh group that we worked with to help identify some of the market demand needs across the project overall. And really when we looked at these sort of three categories of uh potential land use, it seems like residential would fit the best in a lot of this area. However, that there's a really strong component for some potential commercial along that Highway 55 corridor because of the traffic volumes and the visibility that would be there as well. Um, generally across the study area, predominantly single family land use would probably be the most palatable in terms of market approach. There may be small components that could see um some uh apartments or potentially town home developments uh within that as well. Um retail is really benefited by the the visibility and the traffic along Highway 55. Um but it is going to be a little slower to start I think in that area as we wait for some more households to build across that overall area. Um industrial we look kind of broadly at this and obviously there's a lot of influence towards the highway 52 corridor much further to the west and how that may pull or attract potential uses. Um generally uh we looked at uh areas here that may have more of an employment focus uh for a core portion of this and I'll get to this in a second but not necessarily heavy industrial users as a part of this. So more jobs per square foot uh potentially with this. [34:31] **Brian Harges (HKGI Consultant):** Um this side sort of summarizes an online engagement component we had for the preferred concept. I should say that an initiation of this entire project began with conversations with all the property owners out there. Um, and better understanding some of their individual needs and desires. Um, there is currently one existing business out in that area. Some of that area is currently agricultural use and there's a few exception uh, homestead properties out there as well. and knowing that this is going to take many many years to develop and trying to get an understanding and and um everybody to know that this isn't the city uh going to uh kind of influence any decisions going on right now but more about helping them game plan and understand some of the conversations that were come so we could uh sync up conversations about roadway improvements um utility improvements etc. So um what we did hear from the community engagement was a little bit of mixed reactions towards expanding employment um and some businesses in that area. I think there is a desire though um for more commercial use along that corridor. Um, obviously there was a need kind of in the comments about more affordable housing, but I think generally the market and some of the interest we heard from other conversations was to keep that more in the single family uh residential guidance rather than more higher density residential. Uh, but we do have some areas uh for that identified. Um, there was some question and concerns obviously about water treatment facilities and some of the future water tower that was planned for this. So, we try to articulate some of that uh within the development. There will be a need for a second water tower on the west side of town uh more north of Highway 55 at the highest elevation. Um that will come in subsequent phases of development. There are some near-term areas of development that could happen uh right away. However, obviously an emphasis on uh some natural resource preservation and we really identified kind of outside of the study area the larger uh ravine and bluff landscape as you come out of the valley up towards the hillside to make sure that there's a preservation of the topography and and vegetation on those steep slopes and connect that to uh storm water treatment facilities, parks and open space and trails. And then lastly was uh thoughts on traffic management and circulation uh connecting and the the the circulation patterns from General Seven through Jacob and the use of the east west roads that kind of tie all that area together. And I'll talk about that now with the concept plan uh that we show uh for general development purposes. [37:16] **Brian Harges (HKGI Consultant):** So, some of the colors have changed on the map slightly to better reflect what we're seeing from our understanding of the development uh patterns and conversations with uh potential land owners, what we heard from the market standpoint, but squint your eyes and it's kind of this very similar to what it was previously, a little bit just a little bit more refined and testing some other areas. So, more than half of this area kind of outside of the Highway 55 corridor is predominantly guided as low density residential. Um, you can see that in the yellow color. From there, we get a little bit more intense in terms of development pattern and density as we get closer to Highway 55 where we have the roadways and the and the infrastructure there to support more of the transportation and trips uh through that area. Um, so with with Highway 55, the main uh east west route uh through town here, Jacob Avenue being the central north south spine that would connect all the way down to County Road 46. We do look at a series of additional east west roads here to help support uh transportation and circulation uh throughout all that development area. But um access and egress off of Highway 55 will rely heavily on the Jacob Avenue intersection in the future. And we'll also rely quite a bit on the circulation that happens sort of the next block behind that in terms of development. So u you can see in here a few areas of uh higher density residential and some pockets immediately adjacent to some of the commercial as well as some medium density residential and spots uh nearby that as well. One other component that we studied and looked at was an sort of this combination employment area, sort of this flexible zone against Highway 55 that over time uh we can continue to evaluate the need for additional employment in town and perhaps that area could grow or shrink depending upon the desires of the community. But those development forms are very similar um from commercial to uh employment areas in that aspect. And this is one of the longer term components in terms of infrastructure availability for the plan. So we think there is some flexibility for that uh longer term. [39:15] **Brian Harges (HKGI Consultant):** And speaking to that uh key point on some of the phasing and sequencing that's talked about, there's really in our eyes sort of three phases as a part of this. The immediate availability there in green um does have some hindrances though on sanitary sewer capacity both s both to the south and to the north of Highway 55 as well as some of the topographic constraints that are there today with the ridge line uh here in terms of getting uh sewer flow sort of over the top of that ridge and then back uh down into the existing system. But it does uh have the ability to unlock a few pieces of development uh both north and south of Highway 55 depending upon the end uses that would be in those uh ultimate areas. The next phase of this is a little bit more circuitous, but it does rely on a sanitary sewer extension uh from an area here in the south as it reaches all the way up here to the north to better connect these areas. So um it for the purposes of this study it kind of follows this larger uh yellow area of development may impact a portion of this area as well depending upon any of those earlier immediate phases. But that uh initial sanitary sewer extension the trunk infrastructure there would allow that development to take place and then that would then be timed out with roadway improvements and the other corresponding pieces. And the last piece of this is sort of over and at top the uh the hill, the crest of the hill. And there's a secondary uh lift station needed for that development in order for that to get uh lifted and taken down uh to the main sanitary trunk lines that run down along the Vermillion river corridor through that phase. And that is a quick summary of the overall process. happy to answer any questions on the overall presentation or if there are questions within the uh report we shared as well. So, thank you. [41:01] **Mary Fasbender (Mayor):** Thank you, council. Discussion? Council Member Haus. [41:05] **Angie Haus (Councilmember):** Thank you. Not really discussion. Um but I would like to make a motion to uh recommend the adoption of Highway 55 Jacob Avenue area plan to city council. um with this. Um something I just want to highlight for our residents here too is a few questions I've gotten is why is the city looking at this? Well, the city wasn't. Um we were contacted by multiple uh house—um by multiple property owners that had land holdings outside of the city limits. This is not a plan that we're actively seeking annexation, but just prepares the city for when we decide to develop that land or they request annexation. [41:51] **Mary Fasbender (Mayor):** Thank you, Council Member Haus. Any other discussion and a second by Council Member Pemble. Any other discussion? Council, again, I'll just thank you for um the report. I think it's great and I do think Council Member Haus makes a great comment for our audience to hear that the city is not the one pursuing this, but this helps us with a vision for our future growth. you know, into our community. We really only have two ways we can grow, west and south, right? So, we we want to have a vision so if someone does come to us, um we can help them make good recommendations. So, thank you. Thank you, John, also for assisting. There is a motion on the table first and the second. All those in favor of the motion state by saying I. [42:38] **Council Members:** I. [42:39] **Mary Fasbender (Mayor):** I opposed to that motion state by saying nay. And that motion prevails. Thank you. You Thank you very much. Appreciate it. Have a great night. Of course. Okay, thanks John. Yeah, tonight under administration we have a community investment fund and for this item we will have an introduction by our city administrator Dan Wietecha. [43:03] **Dan Wietecha (City Administrator):** Dan, thank thank you. I'm going to back up real quick too on the highway 55 plan that you guys just adopted. Noting that city council had two workshops on it. It was also through the planning commission and Hedra. So, if it seemed like it went fast here, it's because it had many months of leadup to to this moment. Thank you. Uh, Community Investment Fund. This is our fourth year uh with it. We heard it hinted at earlier this evening by Hastings Environmental Protectors. We had three applications uh and then uh I I will note uh we had two late applications that will be considered in May but they were not here for uh the finance committee's review last week. Um finance committee is recommending two of them. One of them tonight and one uh coming back in April and I'll explain that in a second. Uh the one this evening is uh from the Dakota County Historic Society, $13,000 for signage, a chicken feed dispenser, display cases, and furniture restoration at the LeDuc estate. Uh and the uh County Historic Society would provide $3,000 matching funds as well as in-kind labor. Uh that one is is recommended uh for approval tonight. uh which would be your your vote uh presumably here at the end of my comments and your questions. Uh also want to note uh the Corey Tap House uh had put in an application for um why my memo says portable. That really seems odd. Um but but for a mural on uh the wall coming into downtown where there had been a mural before they had to do those repairs. Um they cannot be here this evening. So they asked that we hold their discussion till April 7th so they could be here to answer any questions that you might have and I thought that was very reasonable request. Uh the other one that we had was from uh building remembrance for reconciliation BR4R. Uh the committee agreed this is an extremely important project for Hastings. Uh but having already done two planning rounds uh of funding for them, really wanted to see this application more concrete with a work plan, a timeline, uh specific budget on how this works towards implementing a project uh rather than uh simply additional planning without knowing what's coming after the planning. So, uh, ask them to revisit their application and please resubmit, uh, in May, uh, when we have our next round of reviews. With that, again, tonight's recommendation is $13,000, uh, towards the, uh, county historic Society's uh, work at the LeDuc. Uh, and I can take questions. The committee can take questions. I see that Matt Carter from the Dakota County Historic Society is here. if you've got questions of him directly, want to know what a chicken feed dispenser is. Thank you. [46:09] **Mary Fasbender (Mayor):** Thank you, Dan. Council, Council Member Pemble. [46:13] **Dave Pemble (Councilmember):** I'll make a motion that we uh do the $13,000 for signage, chicken feed dispenser, display cases, and furniture restoration at LeDuc. [46:24] **Mary Fasbender (Mayor):** Thank you, Council Member Pemble. And a second by Council Member Lawrence. Any discussion at all? Council member Haus. [46:32] **Angie Haus (Councilmember):** Thank you, your honor. I would like to just put it out there. I would support BR4R um in the future of their project as well um with more planning like stated um something that uh just having that further details out would just be beneficial for the city um to kind of grasp what uh what project they want to have down there. [46:58] **Mary Fasbender (Mayor):** Thank you, Council Member Haus. There is a first and a second. All those in favor of the motion state by saying I. [47:06] **Council Members:** I. [47:07] **Mary Fasbender (Mayor):** Opposed to that motion state by saying nay. Thank you. That motion prevails. Let's see. Then we have under Red Rock Corridor and Great River Rail Joint Powers Agreement. For this item, Dan, you may continue with this introduction. [47:24] **Dan Wietecha (City Administrator):** These are two uh long-term uh joint powers agreements. Uh the Red Rock Corridor Commission dates to 98 and the Great River Rail Commission uh back to 2009. Uh the city is a non-financial member of both of these, meaning uh it does not affect us from a a direct budgetary standpoint, but uh does give us some uh a seat at the table in discussion. uh during their their meetings. Uh there was a question uh from our representative on these two commissions uh council member Pemble about uh whether it makes sense to continue with these uh the Great River Rail, its main focus was a second train between the Twin Cities and Chicago. Mission accomplished. Uh and Red Rock Corridor uh more focusing on transit uh between uh the Twin Cities and down to Red Wing. uh they actually seem to be more focusing um in other areas of the corridor and even more of an east-west approach than uh along the the initial view of the corridor. Um so there's a question about whether or not we should uh continue with uh our our membership or participation with these two organizations, one or the other, both. Um if the city wishes to withdraw, you can't do that tonight. What you could do is give some indication that hey, we'd like to have a resolution written uh and it requires 90 days notice to uh each of those commissions in order to withdraw the formality. Uh but um certainly open it up for your discussion this evening on uh the merits of staying in or or uh removing ourselves. um uh if if you want to additional uh research or questions to bring it back to a future meeting, if you want to refer it to uh commission, uh whatever you may want this evening. Thank you. [49:17] **Mary Fasbender (Mayor):** Thank you, Dan. I'd like to hear from Council Member Pemble this side. [49:27] **Dave Pemble (Councilmember):** Certainly. Thank you. The last two years I've been the city's representative on both commissions. As uh Dan has stated, the uh Red Rock and the Great River Rail, the Great River Rail is actually, you know, their their objective was to create this second train that went from St. Paul to Chicago in the middle of the day. Uh Amtrak is now doing that. It's funded by the state of Minnesota, state of Wisconsin, and state of Illinois. It's it's complete. It's it has record uh ridership to the point where it's even hard to get on the train at the last minute. But as far as moving forward there, it's operationally all done. Amtrak is responsible and the states are funding it. The need for a continuing uh commission to support it is It's pretty thin in reality. It meets four times a year. In fact, they both meet four times a year. And the discussion usually is okay. Yep. It's going good. We're fine. And what's the objective to move forward? And in for the Great River Rail, there was zero. It's like, okay. And and I think that as the community, the city's representative on this organization and also on the second the red rock, we have a lot of things on our plate and if there's not the advantage—I mean there there will be never a point where the train will stop at Hastings. It's not designed for that. It has eight stops between St. Paul and Chicago and those are all laid out at a certain distance and there's not any interest in trying to slow the train up because basically what we were told couple years ago was that every additional stop is at least 20 minutes on the time frame. Right now, the schedule for this is about seven and a half hours, about supposedly the same time as you could drive, but it gets you right to the center of Chicago and right to St. Paul. [52:11] **Dave Pemble (Councilmember):** On the Red Rock issue, that started out as uh a train moving from Hastings to St. Paul and then that evolved into bus service. And last September, we had a visit when we had a Red Rock meeting from the Metro Council representative and also the bus service, the Metro Transit Service bus uh director. And I said, you know, originally when this was laid out, the travel time was originally designed to come into Hastings and then back out again with bus service. Well, they started out with the idea that it was going to be in Cottage Grove at Langden, and then they talked about it was going to be at the top of the hill here at the uh intersection of 10 and 61. Well, those two things never really happened. They built a a bus drop spot on the west side of 80th Street and Highway 61, and they're not the numbers. The transit supervisor said they maybe have 25 cars a day in there now. And their approach to the rapid transit or the uh Red Rock is to um drop the route 354 which is the one that would come to Hastings and it doesn't—it's not coming to Hastings but even they would drop it coming to Cottage Grove. The transit thought is to build the red rock across from where the Gold Line ends and that's going to open next month in Woodbury and then come down 94 and then go across into Dakota County and then go Egan to the airport. But that's still way off and there doesn't seem to be the interest to get anybody to think that bus service to Hastings is viable. And so with that point, our biggest issue moving forward between all the other things that we have on our plate is not necessarily these two commissions. And I feel that it should be time that at least now that we just suspend our uh participation in both organizations. Thank you. [54:35] **Mary Fasbender (Mayor):** Thank you, Council Member Pemble. Council Member Leifeld. [54:40] **Lisa Leifeld (Councilmember):** Thanks, your honor. Council Member Pemble. Um, I agree with us removing ourselves from both of these based on conversations that we've had before. I do have one question. Um, before I got on council, I know that we've been talking a long time about busing coming to Hastings. We've been talking about this a long time. I remember the last thing I heard was definitely won't see that before 2040 at least. At least. And then we were hearing when they go through the lots and see what cars are there, those cars aren't coming from Hastings. So they were trying to say, well, your people aren't picking up the bus in Cottage Grove. Why should we come to Hastings? And then I think the argument was, well, wait a minute, if you came here, because these people are driving themselves in, right? But if you came here, but that's not how the busing comp—how they work. They need us to be able to prove the ridership, right? Okay. So my question for you would be if in the future—because we don't want the community to think that we are not wanting to advance the idea of a bus line coming through town. We definitely would be open to that. That's not what this is, right? So just to confirm that if if this were something, it's not like Red Rock's going to say, "Oh, we're not going to Hastings because they're not coming to our meetings." [55:58] **Dave Pemble (Councilmember):** No, that it's—in the packet that everybody received, there's a diagram about the routes that are going to be suspended and it's like this one right down here to Cottage Grove. They've already committed to that this year somewhere along the way. So, what does that tell us moving forward? The situation that they're looking at is if they keep Cottage Grove and move down 94 and then put in feeder buses in Cottage Grove to get them up to Newport where they bridge goes across on 494. That's kind of what where the transition is working right now. [56:32] **Lisa Leifeld (Councilmember):** Yeah. So, I think my my point, so I appreciate what you're saying, is just so that the community hears this and doesn't hear us saying we're not—this isn't something we support. We obviously do support it. It's just right now we're you're you're sort of just spinning your wheels and you've got—we could use your experience someplace else is what we—Right. Yes. Thank you. [56:56] **Mary Fasbender (Mayor):** Thank you, Council Member Pemble. Thank you, Council Member Leifeld. Council Member Haus. [57:04] **Angie Haus (Councilmember):** Thank you. I know that there is an interest now, council member, but do you um out of your personal and opinion believe that this would stop us from advocating for future projects? [57:15] **Dave Pemble (Councilmember):** No, not at all. In fact, in the bigger packet, there's—there is consensus if and when the time is that Highway 55 is made four lane from uh Pine Bend to Hastings that there should be some kind of transit location on the west side, but that's decades out. [57:35] **Angie Haus (Councilmember):** Our lifetime. [57:38] **Dave Pemble (Councilmember):** Yes. [57:40] **Mary Fasbender (Mayor):** Thank you, Council Member Haus. All right, council. Uh, thank you Dave for um being the liaison for both of those committees at this time. Council, your desire—I just I I think there's enough here to put a couple resolutions on a future agenda and they can act at that point. Okay. Thank you. All right, council. any um reports or announcements other than we've heard? Okay, I do have a few. Um we recognize Friday, March 21st as World Down Syndrome Day. Hastings Tastings is March 24th. Hastings Area Restaurants provide samples of their specialty menu items to guests. There is silent auctions and raffles. Hastings tastings occurs during the Minnesota Food Share campaign. Therefore, all proceeds raised in the event are proportionately matched by Minnesota Food Share. Tickets available through the Hastings Family Service. Coffee with a cop, which will be on Tuesday, March 25th at Froth and Cork. Please meet with police and ask questions, voice concerns, and get to know one another. Presentation on the upcoming construction for the central water treatment plant will be on Tuesday, March 25th. The friends of the Hill—Pleasant Hill Library used book sale is April 3rd to the 6th. Happy birthday at the end of the month, Council Member Pemble. Wednesday, March 19th, the Parks and Recreation Commission meeting has been cancelled. Thursday, March 20th, there is a public safety advisory commission meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday, March 24th, 7 p.m., there is a parks and recreation committee meeting. And also 7:00 p.m. there is a planning commission meeting. Monday, March 31st, there is a operations committee meeting at 7 PM. And Monday, April 7th, council, we have a workshop for our PAS funding and water rates at 5:30 with a regular council meeting at 7:00 p.m. With that, I would have a motion to adjourn. Council member Haus and a Council Member Leifeld, a second. No discussion. All those in favor of the motion state by saying I. [59:50] **Council Members:** I. [59:51] **Mary Fasbender (Mayor):** Opposed to that motion state by saying nay and that motion prevails. We are adjourned.