[0:00] Multiple Speakers: I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. [0:19] Mayor Mary Fasbender: Welcome and let the roll reflect. We do have a full council and a quorum tonight. Next to me is our city administrator Dan Wietecha who is in the building but he is just not sitting here. He's got a bit of a cold so he is zooming in from his office just to keep us safe. So with that approval of minutes council, are there any changes to the council meeting from November 17th and workshop? [0:54] Mayor Mary Fasbender: Okay. Comments from the audience. At this time, we will hear comments from the audience to be presented to the council via Zoom or live. And if you wish to speak to the council at this time, please step to the podium, state your name and address, and we will hear your comments. Anyone wish to speak to the council at this time? [1:19] Mayor Mary Fasbender: Anyone wish to speak to the council at this time? Anyone on Zoom? Doesn't look like it. All right, council. Any items to be considered? All right, council. I would accept a motion to approve the consent agenda. [1:38] Councilmember Dave Pemble: [Motion]. Mayor Mary Fasbender: Councilmember Pemble. Councilmember Angie Haus: [Second]. Mayor Mary Fasbender: Councilmember Haus. Any discussion? Council. All those in favor of the motion state by saying I. Multiple Speakers: I. Mayor Mary Fasbender: Opposed to that motion state by saying nay. And that motion prevails. Tonight under awarding of contracts, we do have a public hearing for truth and taxation in 2026 budget. And for this item, we will have an introduction by finance manager Chris Eitemiller, followed by a public hearing and several potential actions by the city council. [2:13] Mayor Mary Fasbender: Welcome Chris. Chris Eitemiller: Good evening. Welcome to everyone. As the mayor mentioned, it's our annual truth and taxation meeting. And just at the outset here, the purpose of the meeting, dual purposes, is to present our budget to the public and to receive public comment. It is not to address any market valuations questions. That is something completed by the county in the spring. So, it is not something we can address this evening. [2:43] Chris Eitemiller: The council will be asked to adopt our final budgets, levy and capital plans if not tonight by the end of this month. So typically that would be done by the 15th at the latest. While we build this budget, we try to focus on our city's core values as well as budget principles. We focus on providing basic city services and funding those services at adequate levels. This year we went a bit further that with everything going on this was intended to be a lights on budget and to maintain our service levels with minimal new initiatives. [3:28] Chris Eitemiller: We every year will estimate our anticipated revenues as best we can at realistic levels to avoid any uncertainty or surprises in the next year and we retain our adequate reserves to protect against financial uncertainty as well. [3:44] Chris Eitemiller: We also work to provide strong stewardship of our infrastructure as well as plan for any repair or replacement necessary in a proactive manner. As I mentioned, the city's core values, they focus on optimal service, communication, respect for resources, and enthusiasm. [4:07] Chris Eitemiller: And we also have a number of strategic initiatives that the city council has worked on over the years. Speaking of the strategic initiatives, we have a number of items in this year's proposed budget to support those initiatives. Under operational effectiveness, we have a number of different types of equipment. One that is new that we've never had before is an electric vehicle fire suppression equipment that the fire department states they say they need this because EVs just burn a long time and it's different than fighting your typical fire. Also for fire is some improved key security and a dosage calculator for the EMS branch of the department. Facilities is going to if approved put in a key fob system for city hall to provide better security and tracking of who is accessing the building at various hours whether it be regular business hours, weekends, evenings, what have you. We also have some ballistic vest replacements scheduled for police and LED lighting for the vets baseball field. There are a few staff changes or additions to address service needs. We'll be getting to that a bit later. And we're continuing to phase in and move toward a 5-year replacement schedule of our fleet vehicles. [5:34] Chris Eitemiller: Also, another big issue, of course, that we've been talking about for years now is improving water treatment. We will begin construction of the eastern water treatment plant in 2026. This will include a connection to the vets home. This is the second of three water treatment plants that are needed. We'd also begin design work for the final of those three plants on the western side of town. We have well number nine planned to be added to the system. This will help with capacity needs and also we hope will help make our case for additional funding from MPCA. [6:15] Chris Eitemiller: And then as far as asset management, we want to continue addressing deferred maintenance of buildings. One of those, the biggest by far is a new roof for the public works building. And then we have a trail project within the park system—that exact trail to be determined. We would hope to work toward ongoing funding for these types of projects. [6:41] Chris Eitemiller: So the budget process begins in June every year. Staff starts with getting direction from council in work sessions that month. Then we would prepare the budget to address the goals and operational needs. And then throughout the course of the summer and early fall, we'll have budget discussions with the finance committee who meets with departments as well as city council workshops. By the end of September, we adopt the preliminary budget and tax levy. After that, the county will send out notices of the estimated tax impact for all taxing bodies. So it'll be the county, the city, school district, etc. And then in December, here we are with the truth and taxation hearing. And again, we must adopt the budget and the levy this month. So what is in the budget for the revenue side of the ledger? We have a 7.88% increase, about a million 580 in total. [7:53] Chris Eitemiller: The proposed increase in September was 8.4%. So this has decreased from that to 7.88. Annual impact for a median valued home of $331,000 would be $153 annually or $12.75 a month. About 44% of that was due to tax capacity growth and the tax rate will stay almost flat, not quite—go up just under 1% from 59.157 to 60.104. [8:26] Chris Eitemiller: Looking at some other revenues, for the second year in a row, local government aid is essentially flat. We're getting a $6,600 increase. Increased interest earnings though are better based on the last year, year and a half's worth of earnings on that. So, we increased that budget by $200,000. Also reflecting a trend in the market, building permit revenues are decreasing. So, we're dropping that by $64,500. We are staying in compliance with our fund balance policies, but we are utilizing some reserves for one-time revenue for one-time spending. A half million of that coming from the general fund, $45,000 from the aquatic center fund, and $100,000 from the vehicle and equipment fund. [9:16] Chris Eitemiller: So, looking at our expenses, some key areas, looking at staff additions or changes. We're increasing an administrative assistant in public works to help with some work, take it off the plate of the city engineer. That person is already qualifying for benefits, so it's a $2,700 cost for that additional tenth of a position. The aquatics manager position, we are looking to increase that by eight weeks. It's not a full-time position for the full year, but it's full-time during that season that it's needed. By upping that position by this amount of time, it qualifies the position for benefits. So that would be at a cost of about $23,000. [10:04] Chris Eitemiller: There's an adjustment in a human resources position, wage adjustment about $4,100. There is an administrative halftime administrative position in police for $37,800 approximately. There is a 3.5% COLA (cost of living adjustment) for most employees. One difference in that is in the fire department. It's been determined recently that the firefighter positions are—that our pay rates are lower than the market of peer cities. So in addition to that COLA, we're planning a 4% additional market rate adjustment for firefighters and that is for three years, not for one. So that is a 12% increase over a period of three years. [10:58] Chris Eitemiller: And finally under staff we have election judge pay increase along with some supplies and equipment for those judges. Other key areas we have as previously mentioned a $510,000 roof to replace on the public works building and that is far and away the biggest maintenance task of the year. And then there is the police building HVAC system. And the facilities department is proposing that we split this up over five years. So it'd be about 20 to 22,000 a year each year. [11:35] Chris Eitemiller: So to try to take out some of the peaks and valleys, year one of five is $21,000. We also have a number of contracted services and IT maintenance contracts that have inflationary increases. [11:51] Chris Eitemiller: So now turning to capital, we want to continue to emphasize public safety, infrastructure, and managing our capital assets. Some of the larger investments: $300,000 for a new dump truck for the public works department; replacing 11 aging fleet vehicles, two of which are police squad cars. The grand total of those 11 vehicles is $693,000. Facility maintenance and repairs beyond the roof of the public works buildings is $161,000. $129,000 for information technology, replacing computers and other network equipment. And then the parks trail and the vets field baseball lighting, $150,000 for each of those projects. [12:42] Chris Eitemiller: We have some bonding projects planned. The annual street project, $4.2 million, same as this past year. 2.3 million of that would be funded through GEO bonds and 1.9 through utility revenue bonds and that debt service in the utility funds was factored in in our most recent rate study. [13:05] Chris Eitemiller: Then we are looking at the second of three water treatment plants. This one the eastern side of town that are required to treat PFAS and other contaminants per federal law. This plant would cost a total of about $22.3 million. The city's continuing to pursue revenue sources beyond revenue bonds that are paid by our water customers. [13:36] Chris Eitemiller: So in looking at other utility points of interest, we have currently a 10% rate increase planned for January of 2026. And we are hoping that we can get revenue that would mean we don't have to raise rates to cover this entire plant. [13:55] Chris Eitemiller: So, we are going to try and get past the legislative session and other lobbying efforts and see if we can get to the final cost as well as funding split and then we may have additional rate increases later in the year. That remains to be seen how much, but like I say, we're working to minimize that to the extent possible. Other utilities: the sewer at 4.5% and storm water at a 4% increase. Those match what was done for 2025 and just continuing the most recent rate study recommendations for those two. [14:30] Chris Eitemiller: The utility capital items as mentioned before: we've got the neighborhood project and the well number nine and pump house. We've got sewer lining and mill and overlay and SCADA upgrade for water and sewer as we do each year. Also, we have the sewer lift station and pump controls and water quality improvement project. [14:56] Chris Eitemiller: So, just a very high overview here. 60.1% tax rate, 0.95% increase from 2025. The tax levy total dollars would be about 21,630,000, which is an increase of 7.88%. And we'd have about a $216,000 amount generated by 1% of the levy. This chart shows our levy, our tax rate, tax capacity—those bars graphs that you see in the tan color. You'll see that that has been going up the most. We had pretty much a flat tax capacity from '24 to '25, but we are going up about 6% from '25 to '26. You'll see the green line there is the tax levy and then the tax rate is that maroon bar that starts out the highest on the left and then comes in second highest on the far right. [15:59] Chris Eitemiller: These next few slides, we've got some charts that are provided by Dakota County. Just trying to compare us with the rest of the county. And the map's too big to fit on this one slide. So, we just kind of get the northern part of the county here, but this is residential average tax. And so Hastings at 549, Apple Valley almost identical there. You'll see some others that are a little bit less, a little bit more, but just kind of show that we're in the middle for a lot of the county. [16:43] Chris Eitemiller: Now, showing commercial properties, same thing. Average total tax for commercial industrial properties, Hastings at 7.4%. And then this is comparing again the same part of the county as the other and it looks like we are one of the lower ones in that regard. So you've got some that are at or above 10% and a few others that are around eight and a couple that are in the same ballpark as Hastings. [17:16] Chris Eitemiller: And then this is market value and here it shows that all residential homestead properties 5.4 here for Hastings and then some others a little bit less. Burnsville at 2.6 being kind of on the lower end, Rosemount at 6 on the higher end. And just for comparison sake, we're including our economic development component unit, HEDRA. We have a tax levy for that that is separate from the city's operating levy. It is limited by law to a certain percentage of taxable market value and that amount for '26 is $548,904. Total spending budget for HEDRA is $712,000. The difference between that levy and total spending would be HEDRA reserves. [18:01] Chris Eitemiller: To kind of give an overview, we again are making efforts to try to minimize the cost and accompanying tax increases from '25 to '26, focusing again on a lights on budget. We did reduce the tax levy from the prelim amount. Asset management—we are of the belief that these are going to save the city money in the long run. The 5-year fleet replacement schedule as one example saves a lot of money on repair and maintenance from just a few years ago. And then skimming, patching, and a mill and overlay are extending the life of the roads to delay reconstruction, which is quite a bit higher than either of these types of restoration. Also, we are continuing to address deferred maintenance in the various buildings. [19:09] Chris Eitemiller: As touched upon briefly earlier, we're working where possible to phase in costs to avoid any large sudden increases—the five-year process for facilities to upgrade the police department's HVAC system being one example. Another, the market rate adjustments for firefighters, having that divided up over three years. And then also as far as outside funding or cost management where possible, you purchase with government contracts, get better rates on a number of things. And the water treatment plant funding—we are delaying the customer rate increase that we could if we were to factor in thinking we're going to need to have rate increases to fund the whole thing. We're trying to delay that while we have a little more time to pursue other types of funding. [20:02] Chris Eitemiller: So, tonight is truth and taxation and public hearing and then we would ask that the city council adopt when comfortable, either tonight or on the 15th, the budget and levies and utility rates. And then tonight is also the first hearing for our fee schedule that would include, among other things, our utility rate proposal. That needs two hearings. So, that would not be adopted before the 15th. I guess with that I'd entertain any questions. [20:31] Mayor Mary Fasbender: Thank you Chris. At this time I'll open the public hearing and then council we can discuss afterwards. So at this time I will open the public hearing for the truth and taxation. Anyone wish to speak to the council at this time? Anyone wish to speak to the council at this time? Anybody on Zoom? And no one is on Zoom. Sure, you may step up. Step to the podium, please. State your name and your address. [21:13] Les Helton: Hi, my name is Les Helton and I live in 802 Court, right across from Omar Park. I'm here to discuss the tax rate increase. I built my home 24 years ago and with the intention of retiring out of there. I am 72 now and still working in order to keep my home. And it's not easy with these tax rate increases that you have. I don't know, a lot of people don't understand that as you get older things happen. My wife passed away five years ago. She was an RN at Regina for 29 years. We built the home with intentions as I stated of staying there and retiring out of that home. But it's getting to the point now where just my single income—social security and what I do work part-time—is just to keep the house. [22:25] Les Helton: But it's getting to the point now with these tax increases that I don't know if I'll be able to stay in Hastings much longer. It's sad because I was raised here. I graduated here. And with the unnecessary—I see unnecessary wants, four TV screens in here. Spending that's not necessary. I mean, if a person can't read one screen, that's pretty bad. But I see different things around town that's going on as far as unnecessary cost spending. And maybe a lot of you don't realize, maybe it's easy for you to get tax money from the public here. And it's kind of disappointing. I don't see more people here. And the people that are here, it's nice that the people come. I would like to see more people speak up because with the intentions I had of staying in the home, when my wife passed away, she had been sick and I had to refinance probably two, maybe I think it was two times, otherwise my house would have been paid off. [23:10] Les Helton: So I'm still paying on my home to stay in that home. She got sick and then she passed away and a lot of people don't realize with one income, it's not that easy. I have a nice home and I built a nice home with intentions of staying there. I general contracted myself years years ago and I don't want to leave Hastings, but it's getting to the point of being forced out of my home. It's sad. Real sad. And a lot of you people don't understand that you're younger. You haven't reached that age yet to where there's people like myself and some of you I can see shaking your head. It's getting to the point it's getting very tough to stay in this town and I know Mary, I vote for you and a lot of you people here and I hope you understand that and I hope you back us up as individuals. [24:25] Les Helton: The other thing is the water bills. Between that, the taxes and the water bills, the rate increases... well, we've been informed that we shouldn't drink the water. Is that correct? [24:41] Mayor Mary Fasbender: Well, we would suggest you talk to your doctor, your medical people to see if— [24:41] Les Helton: Okay. But if the case is from all I've seen that it says should not drink the water. Well, but yet we're paying these huge increases to correct that problem. In the meantime, we can't drink the water. Well, how about some reimbursement to us, the public, to pay for the water that we have to purchase that's safe to drink? We don't hear nothing about that. You know, it's frustrating with all the things going on. And I just wanted to voice my opinion and let the public know and people of Hastings, especially younger people that are working nowadays they probably got two incomes coming in and it's easy for—and I shouldn't say easy, nothing's easy anymore with the cost of living the way things have gone up in gas and groceries—to try to afford to stay in your home. And I feel sorry for families that have children in school that are paying tuitions for private schools. [25:57] Les Helton: Truthfully, I don't know how they can make it. If I had to do it all over again, it would be real tough. I've been with the company 40 years that I work for. And I'll tell you, I'm fortunate that they've let me stay on because I wouldn't be able to stay in my home otherwise. That's really sad. So, how would you feel if you had your house, you built your home, you wanted to stay in that home until you retired, okay? And then all of a sudden you keep getting these tax increases every year. The city, the county, the school referendums. It gets to a point to where you can't afford to do it. I barely keep up. And, I'll tell you, it's not easy for me. I love this town. I can see the necessary items that are costs that have to be done and I understand that, but every year this city budget keeps going up and up and last year the city budget went higher than the county and went higher than the school district. It's very frustrating when I see this happening and I hope that more people understand this and that there are people watching on the cable vision. [27:09] Les Helton: And I hope that more people come to the future meetings and start understanding and learn to speak up to the council because you are the people that decide and make what happens to us the public, if we can afford to stay in our homes or not. So and what do you do? Do you sell your house? Do you downsize? Do you go into an apartment? That's the other thing. I do have a question. All these new large apartment complexes going up in town or these senior homes, how do they affect our taxes? Do they bring the tax down? And my other question is what is the tax levy per thousand? Can you tell me that? [27:56] Les Helton: And the tax levy keeps going up and up and up and people don't understand your taxes go up but you raise the levy along with it. [28:24] Chris Eitemiller: I don't know what to compare that to anything else. Les Helton: Okay, there's a good example right there. [28:40] Les Helton: Okay. Well, I'm not afraid to speak up. That's why I'm here. And, just want to let you know it's not an easy thing. And, I hope that you consider this before you do pass this budget and realize and look at deeply what we need and what we don't need. And are we buying something just because the superintendent of streets or the head of the fire department says we need this and do we really need it? Consider that. Because how many new squad cars are in the proposal? Two. Was it last year? [29:22] Chris Eitemiller: No. No. We replace two annually except every fourth or fifth year we do three. We never do more than three. Les Helton: Okay. [29:36] Les Helton: Okay. So, we don't have any—and you also discuss the increase for the firefighters. Okay. Well, I'll tell you what. I got a notice for social security. My social security went up $185 a year. Okay. A year. Well, it went up and you talk about time. Yeah. Well, I'm going to take my time. That was a lot. I'll be finished. But, $185 a year. Then I get another letter from Medicare. My Medicare, the $185 increase is being made up by the Medicare cost increase. Gone. So, it breaks even. And the amount that these taxes are going up, you mentioned a $300 and some thousand house, $152 a year increase. He mentioned the increase. Well, my income and my taxes... my income does not increase near the value what the tax rate increase has been going up here. So, you figure that out and figure out for the retired person how can they make it? They have to work part-time working at Walmart. Some of these people are 80 some, I'm approaching that 80 year old age, you know, and it's not easy. So, but thank you and I appreciate you taking the time to listen to me. [31:10] Mayor Mary Fasbender: Thank you for your comments. [Applause] John Larson: Absolutely. Everything is way too high now and it's not stopping. Just saying. Mayor Mary Fasbender: Please step to the podium and state your name and address. [31:28] John Larson: I've only been in Hastings a couple years. My name is John Larson. I live at 113 Rivers, but everything is going up. I mean, the rent's going up, your taxes are going up, insurance is going up, the grocery store is going up, and then there's all these little projects. And I understand a roof. $510,000 to do the roof. How many bids do we have? I mean, that's insane. I'm just saying, you know, so there has to be a way. And there's a big crash coming. People don't think there is, but there's a big crash coming and these houses are going to start losing value and people are going to start having to move because people can't afford things. And I'm just saying you got to reduce it. And I don't know how to do it. That's what you guys are all about. And I know you got to go up to Congress and you gotta give them your spiel. But like he said, he's barely affording his house. And I'm sure half the people here are too. And it's getting ugly. I watch a lot of YouTube, unfortunately, and all this financial stuff. I'm just saying. God bless you all. Do the best you can. [32:40] Mayor Mary Fasbender: Thank you. [Applause] [32:51] Kelvin Lawrence: Kelvin Lawrence, live at 411 19th Street. Um I don't know how they've come up with this as far as property taxes. My property taxes are supposed to go up 14.7%. My bill for the city is going up over 17%. I'm like, where, how, who gets that kind of an increase in one year? It's just I don't know anybody that does. I really don't. I don't know anybody in the world that gets over a 17% increase in one year. And like I said, my property taxes are almost 15%. In one year, what's next year going to be? I mean, I don't... no, this is not sustainable. I don't believe that we can sustain increases like this. I don't know what else to say. I don't know what can be done, but it's just no. 17% in one year from the city. That's... where do you get numbers like that? Where does anybody get numbers like that? I don't get it. I don't get it. You know, I mean, when people ask for a 4% increase or a 7% increase, I just don't get it. Something needs to be done. Evidently, something needs to be done here. That's all I got to say. [34:42] Mayor Mary Fasbender: Thank you. [Applause] Mayor Mary Fasbender: Anyone else wish to speak to council? Still no one on Zoom. Okay, one more time. Anyone else wish to speak to the council about the levy? At this time, I'll close the public hearing and council discussion. I will say council, we do have four items and I think we should do it separately because there are four different motions to be needed. Okay, Councilmember Pemble. [35:58] Councilmember Dave Pemble: First off, Chris, there's a mistake in your presentation on the picture of what the road rebuild program is for 2026. You have the 2025 picture in there right now. Chris Eitemiller: So, the proposal is Pleasant and Fourth, correct? Councilmember Dave Pemble: Yes. [36:34] Councilmember Dave Pemble: I guess I will comment on some of the things that I heard this evening is that no matter how you look at it, I don't know any place else in the county that you're going to be or even in the metro area where somebody is going to move and have a better tax evaluation. I know that it's difficult and when the county comes and they look at what the property price value is and it's based on the previous year's sales in the area that you live. So if a lot of houses in your area sold for a lot more money than probably what people think, that drives up that cost and you're looking and saying, "Well, how did my cost go up?" I mean, I'm looking at my own home and it's we've been there 45 years and I think I paid like $83,000 for it 45 years ago and now the estimated value is like 445, excuse me. [37:24] Councilmember Dave Pemble: But that's been 45 years in the making and wages go up, costs of fleet vehicles keep going up. You can't say that you're going to go buy a truck for—I don't think you can buy a dump truck for 100,000 anymore. It's three or 400,000 just to buy a truck. Well, everybody wants their roads plowed in the wintertime. And that's what those trucks do; you put a blade on them and a sidewing and they're doing the city's work to maintain the property. We've got like 110 miles of street in the city limits and I don't know how many miles of sewer and water that has to be maintained and we continue still having breaks because some of it is 50 plus years of age and that clay tile that it was put in with breaks and we have to keep up after that. And so, yes, it feels very inconvenient. I think part of looking at the overall county estimates, we're not as bad as some other places in the county. Now, it wasn't too many years ago that Hastings was like at the top because we had a bunch of property sales that raised up our property value. [38:58] Councilmember Dave Pemble: Well, they're over someplace else in the county raising property tax values. So, we're probably not—and it shows in some of these displays that Chris had put up here—that we're not at the top. We're more at the bottom of overall the county in these different areas. Yes, it's expensive. I hate that, but we cannot go without services in this county or in the city. And that's part of the big problem when you look at it. Yes, that overall cost bites the person, the property owner in their wallet, but we need to provide those services for the people that live in this community and that makes it very difficult and I'll get off my horse and be quiet for a while. [39:51] Mayor Mary Fasbender: Thank you, Councilmember Pemble. Councilmember Vihrachoff. Councilmember DawnMarie Vihrachoff: Thank you, your honor. Uh, thank you to those of you that came out tonight and thank you for speaking. You know, um we've joked a little bit before that these are not often well-attended meetings. And so we want to hear from our neighbors and a reminder that we are your neighbors. We live in your neighborhood. I live just down the street from here in Cow Town where a house recently sold for over a million dollars. Is that something that probably a lot of folks in Hastings thought that they would ever see? A house in Cow Town going for a million dollars, admittedly on the river. But I promise you as somebody that sits on the finance committee as part of this group that these are decisions and conversations that we have for months and hours and hours and we go back and forth with staff making recommendations and where can we make cuts and what makes the most sense in terms of being good stewards of our community and making sure that you get all of the services that you've come to rely on in this community, growing up here, living here, retiring here, like Les was talking about. I mean, I hear you, John. I hear you, Kelvin. We understand—like I said, we are your neighbors. [41:15] Councilmember DawnMarie Vihrachoff: I'm thankful that you all came tonight. I'm thankful for your input. I don't want to speak for others, but I know this group pretty well. And I would say that there's not a person up here that wouldn't love to talk with you after this meeting that wouldn't love to meet you for coffee or a beer or something and talk more about this so that we can have a better understanding. I get it. It's expensive. We hear you. Thank you for being here tonight. Can I completely switch gears, mayor, and ask Chris something? Since we're talking about the point that even smaller amounts in a much larger budget can have, um, can you remind me: building permit revenue forecast to decrease by $64,000—what was that about? [41:59] Chris Eitemiller: Less building. Thank you, councilmember. It's just slowdown in the market. Less building going on, fewer permits being issued. Simple as that. Councilmember DawnMarie Vihrachoff: Would could I then also deduce that less building going on, less permits being issued means less people moving to town, more people then having to carry a higher tax burden? [42:20] Chris Eitemiller: I don't know. I mean, we've got some of those apartment buildings going up. There could be people moving in there. We did reduce a vacant building inspector position this year to try to keep cost down. So, that is one step we took for the building department in particular. [42:40] Councilmember DawnMarie Vihrachoff: Can I make one more comment, Mayor? Mayor Mary Fasbender: You may. Councilmember DawnMarie Vihrachoff: Thank you, Chris. I know that you and your team put an enormous amount of work and energy into this. I know that this isn't easy. I know that there's a lot of cuts and a lot of back and forth and hearing from department heads and the fire chief and the police chief and yourself and folks saying "this is what we must have this year to continue to provide safety and resources for our neighbors." So, thank you. I know there's a lot of work that goes into this. Thank you, your honor. [43:05] Mayor Mary Fasbender: Thank you, Councilmember Vihrachoff. Councilmember Leifeld. Councilmember Lisa Leifeld: Thanks, Honor. First, you've all heard me say many, many times, this isn't my day job. I manage a bank. So, when we sit here and we go to our finance committee meetings and we sit in on our workshops and we talk about the budget or really anything for that matter about the city, we're sitting here like you are. We're just residents. I don't have an MBA in political science. I'm not a city administrator. I'm a resident of Hastings. I was born and raised here. I've lived here for 57 years. There is nothing about raising taxes that makes me happy. I won't speak for anyone else, but there's nothing about this that makes me feel good. I have said before I am a single homeowner, very proud of the fact that I'm a homeowner. Is it easy? Absolutely not. And this isn't going to make it any easier for me. I put in two egress windows with myself and some friends this summer. Pulled a couple permits, so you're welcome. That helped revenue. And I put in two egress windows in my unfinished basement in the hope that I might have to get a roommate. [44:16] Councilmember Lisa Leifeld: I'm 57 years old. There is no point in my life where I thought I'd be getting a roommate. We aren't making these choices to build big extravagant things. Would we love to build a new police station? Absolutely. Do we need to build a new fire station? Absolutely. These are things we need to do and we're putting them on the side because right now this is really that term "keeping the lights on." That's what this is. When the fire happens in your neighborhood, we need the infrastructure under the roads to run the water so the fire trucks can get there. We need the fire trucks to run. When it snows, we need the plows to run to get to your house so that if you have a medical emergency, EMS can get to you. These are things that we're proposing for taxes. And when I hear Les—I am so sorry for your loss. That is obviously something nobody plans for, right? This wasn't in the cards; him and his beautiful bride were going to retire in that home and probably travel and spend time with grandkids and what have you. These are the things that are happening. And when we look at rent increases, taxes increases, insurance increasing, groceries increasing, it's all increasing. It's all inflation, right? Those are the things that happen. [45:40] Councilmember Lisa Leifeld: Councilmember Pemble talking about paying 80-some for a home that's worth 400-some thousand. I can tell you he didn't add in any gold inlay anywhere. So that is inflation. It also means he could sell his house for that. But where is he going to move right now? That's just it. I could make money on my home, but where am I going to go, right? Unless I want to rent. So, I want all of you to really look at all of us—I read the Facebook comments and I know what people say and it's easy to say things when you're sitting behind a keyboard. None of this is easy for us. Nobody up here has it out for you. We're all dealing with the exact same things. Could I make some cuts in my own budget? Yep, I could. Instead, I have three jobs. Am I probably going to work till the day I die? Probably. [46:48] Councilmember Lisa Leifeld: So, I just want you to understand though that we're real people, the six of us. We do live in your neighborhoods. We are your neighbors. We're your friends. We're your family. This is not an easy decision. So, I appreciate hearing everybody's comments, but I need you to understand that this affects all of us. And right now, this affects me and it's big and I'm going to have to vote for it because we need to keep the lights on. We can't let things—the expression, whatever you want to call it, "kick the can," right?—we can't keep kicking the can down the road while our infrastructure crumbles around us. So, please just understand that it's hard when people stand up here. It's so hard to not respond when people are talking because I want to answer you. I'm glad we got this opportunity to speak because I feel like we sit here like this [motioning]. We're not cold, heartless monsters. We have to do these things. And if we knew, if I had a crystal ball or a wishing well, obviously we would make it all go away. But we can't. So, please just remember, we are human, too. And this is affecting us just the same as it's affecting you. And some of us it affects more than others. We get that. I get that. So, thank you for coming tonight and speaking, and know that this is not something we're taking lightly. Thank you, your honor, for the time. [48:04] Mayor Mary Fasbender: Thank you, Councilmember Leifeld. Councilmember Haus. Councilmember Angie Haus: Thank you, your honor. I just want to say I appreciate all that the finance committee has done, Chris's team on finance, and I want to congratulate or appreciate everyone who came out and spoken today. It's not easy to come out and talk to your council and speak up. And so, I appreciate it. And I am sorry to hear about your loss as well. Like councilmember Leifeld was saying, we are people. I have lived in this town my entire life. And since the day I turned 17, I've worked a minimum of two to three jobs every day since. And I'm 28 now and I still do. And that's the realistic life for a lot of us in this town and throughout Minnesota and in the US. Some things that we can't control: we can't control what Dakota County sets their levies at or their taxes at. We can't control Medicare or Medure. We can't control those increases on insurance. We can't control roofs that cost $500,000 plus dollars. But we also can't control water treatment or 3M with our water. We can't control any of that that has happened to us. But what we can control is fixing that building that needs a roof so that way we can continue doing the road maintenance. That way we can continue the hard work that we're trying to push forward so that we don't kick the can down the road overall. [49:37] Councilmember Angie Haus: I think it's really important that we don't continue to kick the can because that has happened for such a long time for so many years that I was on council prior to even councilmember Leifeld being on council where we didn't raise taxes, we didn't raise, we didn't raise. And that built us a giant hole of where we're at now. And so that's why we're trying to just maintain. And I'm grateful that we were able to look at the budget within the last few weeks and bring it down from 8.38 to 7.88. It's minimal, but I mean, every percentage helps as we all know. I thank everyone again for coming out here today. Again, it's not an easy vote. It affects us and it's going to affect me greatly and my family greatly too. And you know, it's how it is. And I wish there was more that we can do as a society to do better and change these things. But again, some of this is out of our control within the city limits. So reach out to your legislators, talk to them as well because Dakota County, they set their tax levies in spring every year. So talk to your Dakota County commissioners as well. So, thank you again. [50:42] Mayor Mary Fasbender: Thank you, Councilmember Haus. I'm not going to say the same thing that everyone else is saying, but along the same lines, this council is very mindful of this budget. It is tough times, but they are like they've all said, it's "lights on." This committee of council, the finance committee, our finance team, every department has worked diligently to listen to what their true needs are. Not wants. It's not fluffy. It's nothing fun that you're going to be able to say, "Oh, we got a new this, we got a new that." No, these are things that we have to keep this city running and try to being as fiscally responsible as we can. Yes, it's hard. I'm probably never going to retire, but I don't want to think about that. I just want you to know that we are listening. We appreciate you coming here. They are hard times, but we have to try to keep our buildings running and our businesses open. So, as much as you can, continue to support us and continue to choose Hastings for your shopping so we do have these businesses that we can continue to support and have them in our community. They help with our tax base. So, we do appreciate all of you being here. We don't know what's going to happen at the end until we start voting, but please know that if you have any questions afterward, you can come up and talk to us again. Thank you. [52:32] Mayor Mary Fasbender: Okay. At this time then, council, as I said before, we'll have four different motions. And first off, I would accept a motion to adopt the resolution to adopt the final 2026 city property tax levy and final budget. Councilmember Lisa Leifeld: So moved, your honor. Mayor Mary Fasbender: Councilmember Leifeld and a second... Councilmember DawnMarie Vihrachoff: [Second]. Mayor Mary Fasbender: ...with Councilmember Vihrachoff. Any new discussion? Council. All those in favor of the motion state by saying I. Multiple Speakers: I. Mayor Mary Fasbender: Opposed to that motion state by saying nay. And that motion prevails. Council, I would accept a motion to adopt a resolution approving a final 2026 HEDRA special levy. Councilmember Dave Pemble: [Motion]. Mayor Mary Fasbender: Councilmember Pemble. Second. Councilmember Tim Lawrence: [Second]. Mayor Mary Fasbender: Councilmember Lawrence. Any discussion? Council. All those in favor of that motion state by saying I. Multiple Speakers: I. Mayor Mary Fasbender: Opposed to that motion state by saying nay. And that motion prevails. Council, I would accept a motion to adopt a resolution to the 2026 to the 2030 capital investment plan (CIP) and capital Equipment Plan. Councilmember Lisa Leifeld: [Motion]. Councilmember Angie Haus: [Second]. Mayor Mary Fasbender: Councilmember Leifeld and a Councilmember Haus. Discussion council. All those in favor of the motion state by saying I. Multiple Speakers: I. Mayor Mary Fasbender: Opposed to that motion state by saying nay. And that motion prevails. Council, I would accept a motion to conduct the first reading to consider an ordinance of the city of Hastings, Minnesota, amending chapter 34 of the Hastings City Code pertaining to fees for municipal services. Councilmember Lisa Leifeld: [Motion]. Councilmember Dave Pemble: [Second]. Mayor Mary Fasbender: Councilmember Leifeld second and a Councilmember Pemble with a second. Any discussion, council? All those in favor of the motion state by saying I. Multiple Speakers: I. Mayor Mary Fasbender: Opposed to that motion state by saying nay. And that motion prevails. Thank you, council. Okay. Emerging—I'm sorry—Engineering services for property for Kimley-Horn for this item. Dan is on Zoom and he will present this for us tonight. Welcome Dan. [55:19] Dan Wietecha: There are two contracts proposed on the board tonight with Kimley-Horn and these come about because of an unexpected staffing change. We had earlier—not this month, I guess it was November, mid-November—our city engineer Cody Mathisen resigned, took a new position with Kimley-Horn. Quite simply a better fit for him and his interests, his passions, his skills. Wish him the best; we're really losing a great employee and good for them. But it puts us in a tight spot from two standpoints. One, we have our annual neighborhood infrastructure project. Unfortunately, you didn't see the map of it earlier this evening, but it's West Fourth Street and Pleasant between 4th and Highway 55. It is an area that is experiencing increasing numbers of utility breaks, water main particularly. So really wanting to get that fixed and not delayed. Also some of the worst condition road and wanting to make sure that we're every year picking up and doing some road projects and not falling behind on street maintenance. It's important. [56:51] Dan Wietecha: Also the other factor on this project is it will not be an official detour when the Highway 61 project comes in a couple of years, but we know that locals will probably be using it as an unofficial detour and a way to avoid some of the traffic jams. So we'd rather get it fixed ahead of that additional traffic flow. Typically our engineering department does that design work over the winter and then we can go into bid in the spring and construction over the summer. With our city engineer leaving, it puts us in a tough position to do that work over the winter. And realistically, if wanting to keep the project on schedule, which is our recommendation, it means hiring out and bringing in some assistance and realistically I think there are two options for that. One would be to work with WSB, who we do a number of consulting engineering work with—they're the ones that were doing most of the engineering on the PFAS project for example—and this is the one that we're recommending. [58:18] Dan Wietecha: Cody Mathisen has started our design work as we went into winter so maybe we're at the 30% point on the design for this year's project. Recommends sticking with Cody essentially to carry it through so that we can put it out to bid, carry it into the assessment process, answer questions of the public about the project, decisions that were made on it, some limited oversight of the construction. Basically just sort of verifying the quantities and making sure that they're pulling together the pay requests appropriately. Not construction management, that's on the administration on the project. But really that's a point of recommending hiring Kimley-Horn to help us keep this important project on schedule. Otherwise we'd be looking at delaying it to a future year and seeing increased water breaks and difficulties with that as well as not maintaining a road project every year. The cost estimate on that is $254,000. That is a "not to exceed" number. So if the actual hours come in less—I think they probably will with some familiarity with the project and what typically would be needed—the actual cost would be based on billed hours. [1:00:07] Dan Wietecha: The second Kimley-Horn proposal is also to work with Mr. Mathisen, estimated as 8 to 10 hours a week—some weeks going to be higher, 15 or 16. But essentially it's a matter of until we get a new city engineer—probably advertising it here in mid-December—it takes some time to hire that individual on and until that individual is up to speed, there'll be things that come up that, well, we're short staffed, we need a little bit of help. Maybe it's something related to a crosswalk or a culvert. And if Cody's been involved in the development that that crosswalk is adjacent to, we can probably turn to him and get it answered or figured out or a little bit of engineering on it in two or three hours where if we work with an outside consultant that isn't familiar with the project, it may be two days instead of two hours just a matter of unfamiliarity, needing to get up to speed. So really believe that this "as needed" consulting work over the next few months is a cost-effective approach to the transition. Obviously our intent is to get the position filled, but in the meantime, we still have to make sure that we're addressing our engineering needs for the department. With that overview, I can take your questions. [1:01:51] Mayor Mary Fasbender: Thank you, Dan. Council, any questions? Councilmember Vihrachoff. Councilmember DawnMarie Vihrachoff: Thank you, your honor. So, Dan, I support this completely. I agree. I don't want these projects to be delayed any further. And since Cody is an engineer that's incredibly familiar with them, I love this idea. But just so that I'm clear, if the city was to hire Cody's replacement for that engineer position, what would then happen to this contract? Does that make sense? [1:02:28] Dan Wietecha: We would continue working with Kimley-Horn and Cody Mathisen on the design for the neighborhood project. That would allow the new person the ramp up speed in order to get into the department. It also is a matter of—although this is a big part of the job duties particularly in the winter—it's not the only job duties of the position. So, we would have other work for the new city engineer as well as others on our engineering staff to continue going forward. [1:03:15] Councilmember DawnMarie Vihrachoff: Thank you for clarifying. Thank you, your honor. Mayor Mary Fasbender: Thank you, Councilmember Vihrachoff. Any other questions, council? All right, then I would accept a motion to approve the proposal for feasibility study, preliminary design and final design service for the 2026 neighborhood infrastructure improvements and proposal for city engineering transition services. Councilmember DawnMarie Vihrachoff: [Motion]. Mayor Mary Fasbender: Councilmember Vihrachoff with this and a second... Councilmember Tim Lawrence: [Second]. Mayor Mary Fasbender: ...from Councilmember Lawrence. Any discussion council? All those in favor of the motion state by saying I. Multiple Speakers: I. Mayor Mary Fasbender: Oppose that motion state by saying nay. And that motion prevails. Thank you, Dan. Under community development tonight, we have a second reading to adopt the ordinance for city code amendment lower potency hemp edibles. And with us, we have an introduction from John Hinzman. Welcome, John. [1:04:17] John Hinzman: Thank you, mayor, city council members. Before us tonight is a second reading of an ordinance amendment for lower potency hemp edibles. And I know we've had a lot of discussion over the last year or so pertaining to cannabis and hemp edibles. Want to clarify tonight we're looking at hemp edibles only, where cannabis discussion is not part of the ordinance amendment. Background on this is back in December of last year we adopted an ordinance in which we set standards for cannabis and lower potency hemp edibles. Some of the information included within the staff report at that time wasn't put into the code that we adopted and there was some instances there where there was some things that could be better clarified. So, we're doing that tonight with this ordinance amendment. Some of the items in there in which lower potency hemp cannabis was in a chart in the packet approved in some districts, we're putting that in the ordinance now. So really, we look at this as more of a cleanup more than anything else on this. Planning Commission did review this amendment at their November 10th meeting and they did vote 6 to 0 to recommend approval of this as it sits right now. So I can stand for any questions. Again, we're looking for an ordinance amendment adoption tonight by the council. [1:05:36] Mayor Mary Fasbender: Thank you, John. Councilmember Leifeld. Councilmember Lisa Leifeld: Thanks Honor. So, John, is this just sort of housekeeping while we wait to find out what's happening with the federal hemp limits? John Hinzman: Interesting enough, councilmember, this started before the surprise of the hemp bill at the federal level. So, I am uncertain what will happen at the federal level, if there'll be any changes or not. If it stands as it sits right now, and these are going to be termed not to be able to occur in a year, well, then we'll have to abide by that. [1:06:09] Councilmember Lisa Leifeld: Thank you, John. Mayor Mary Fasbender: Thank you, Councilmember Leifeld. Any other questions, council? Councilmember Haus. Councilmember Angie Haus: Thank you, Honor. It looks like the Planning Commission discussed on and off-sale liquor licenses. Was there any discrepancies within that as well? John Hinzman: Yes, there was some discussion at the Planning Commission pertaining to some of distances on setbacks for operation of different facilities. We better clarify that within the ordinance amendment that we have before you tonight. [1:06:49] Councilmember Angie Haus: Perfect. Thank you so much. And I'd like to make a motion to approve that. Mayor Mary Fasbender: Thank you, Councilmember Haus. And a second... Councilmember Lisa Leifeld: [Second]. Mayor Mary Fasbender: ...with Councilmember Leifeld. New discussion, Council? All those in favor of the motion state by saying I. Multiple Speakers: I. Mayor Mary Fasbender: Oppose that motion state by saying nay. And that motion prevails. Thanks, John. We also have a resolution for a special use permit for manufacture of lower potency hemp edibles for Spiral Brewery, 111 2nd Street East. You may continue, John. [1:07:08] John Hinzman: Thank you, Mayor. Special use permit request is from Spiral Brewery in downtown. What they're proposing to do is to manufacture hemp edibles. What that means in English is these could be beverages; these could possibly be gummies or edibles. They would also be looking at selling those on the site as well. The sale of those does not require any zoning action. However, the manufacturing of low potency hemp edibles does require a special use permit. So that is what's before you tonight. In talking to Spiral, it appears that this is something that they would be doing in addition to their brewing operations to supplement the lines that they offer. Part of what they're doing necessitated the ordinance amendment that we just previously approved because some of the language there was a little uncertain. The approval of this resolution does require six of seven councilmembers. The Planning Commission did review this on November 10th. They voted 6-0 to recommend approval of the special use permit. [1:08:23] John Hinzman: During the public hearing, no one spoke for or against the item. One item that I will note: state rules do mandate that the sale of alcohol to someone consuming THC or vice versa cannot be allowed. So there would need to be a way and a methodology that would be approved by our police chief in order for them to do that. Essentially, they need to be able to prevent those that are buying one product from buying the other in the same night. We discussed a few items with Spiral Brewery, but we do have a condition with the special use permit that they would need to implement that plan to the approval of the police chief. So, I can stand for any questions you have. [1:09:29] Mayor Mary Fasbender: Thank you, John. Any questions? Councilmember Leifeld. Councilmember Lisa Leifeld: So, this just to me seems like a way for a business to make more business. I think it's great. They're a local business. There's a lot of competition in that market. You can buy it in your liquor stores, you can buy it in tobacco shops. So, I think that's a smart move on the part of a local business to try and get in on that. I have no idea what it entails compared to the facility that they've already got, but I remember when we were sitting here talking about them making seltzers just a few years back. To me, this is just a great way to include more people into a local business. And I would like to make a motion to allow the zoning code for the lower potency hemp edibles. Mayor Mary Fasbender: As Councilmember Leifeld and a second... Councilmember Angie Haus: [Second]. Mayor Mary Fasbender: ...by Councilmember Haus. New discussion council. All those in favor of the motion state by saying I. Multiple Speakers: I. Mayor Mary Fasbender: Oppose that motion state by saying nay. And that motion prevails. Good luck, Amy. Okay. Also, we have a resolution for a home occupancy permit for a taxidermy for Canole at 714 13th Street West. [1:10:59] John Hinzman: Thank you, mayor. Home occupations within the city are regulated in two matters. One, most home occupations are permitted as a right. There are certain items in which a special use permit public hearing review is necessary. One of those items is if you're operating that business within a garage or outside of the main home itself, which is the case here with Mr. Canole. He is proposing to operate taxidermy within the garage itself. We did send a public hearing notice out on this one; did not receive any comment back. Planning Commission also voted to recommend approval of this at the November 24th meeting. Hours of operation would be 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Usually, we're looking at having one customer at a time, though during hunting season, it's going to be a little more seasonal. But we do believe that the amount of traffic that would be generated has adequate parking within the neighborhood to handle it. So we are recommending approval along with the planning commission. [1:12:30] Mayor Mary Fasbender: Thanks, John. Councilmember Leifeld. Councilmember Lisa Leifeld: I love this for the Canoles. I can't imagine how many people around town are doing such things without having all of the proper things in place. So, this is fantastic that we've got a resident who wants to do right and register and get the proper permitting. I would make a motion to approve this resolution as well. Mayor Mary Fasbender: Thank you, Councilmember Leifeld. Councilmember Pemble. Councilmember Dave Pemble: I'd second that motion with one question. We already do have a taxidermy setup in town, right? Is that correct? John Hinzman: They closed, now. Councilmember Dave Pemble: Okay. So, this would be the one and only. Very good. I stand with a second and no other comment. Mayor Mary Fasbender: All right. Any discussion? Councilmember Haus. [1:13:39] Councilmember Angie Haus: I do have one question actually. Will all taxidermy work be done in the garage? I was asked by a resident. John Hinzman: Councilmember, that's my understanding—that the business and the process that would take place in the garage. Councilmember Angie Haus: Fantastic. [1:14:08] Councilmember Mya Beck: Just a really quick clarifying question. That would be the garage that the business is in and not the one on the front of the house? I saw two garages. John Hinzman: It's the back garage. Detached garage. Councilmember Mya Beck: Thank you. Councilmember Lisa Leifeld: One other question. Is there any regulations for disposing of carcasses there? John Hinzman: I do know there is a licensure required for taxidermy. I don't know if that has regulations pertaining to disposal of things. [1:14:51] Mayor Mary Fasbender: Okay. We do have a motion. All those in favor of the motion state by saying I. Multiple Speakers: I. Mayor Mary Fasbender: Oppose that motion state by saying nay. And that motion prevails. Great for them. All right. First meeting of the month, we do always have a PFAS update. So with that, Dan should be rejoining us again for that. Welcome Dan. [1:15:23] Dan Wietecha: Thank you mayor and council. As you noted, this is just informational, but I can certainly answer any questions you may have. It's a matter of—this is repeatedly the big topic in Hastings that dominates many of our discussions and just wanted to make sure that we're providing frequent updates and clarification. In the last month, in late October and early November, we had visits from the Senate and House capital investment committees regarding our request for state financial assistance for our water treatment project. Open meetings were well attended, engaged, and well-received. Hopefully we'll have additional chances at hearings in front of committees as we've had in the past. Typically any bonding bill is a late decision in May by the legislature. [1:17:33] Dan Wietecha: Also, the Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB) has a brief survey through Monday next week. I think the 8th is the last day, but it is a chance for residents throughout the state to comment and give some input to the governor's office about where they see priorities in a future bonding bill. So, a chance for Hastings residents to say water is critical infrastructure, this is shovel ready, and this shouldn't be borne by our local residents. I encourage people to look for that link in the recent City Hall updates. [1:18:27] Dan Wietecha: In mid-November, the state came out with its draft Project Priority List (PPL) rankings. We submitted two projects—our eastern and our western plants. And the Eastern Plant came in in the draft as the number one drinking water project in the state. That's a significant case and I think is one of the pieces that we emphasize when we message the importance of state bonding dollars. Our western plant is tied at number 17 on the list. Both are reportedly in the fundable range, which at minimum means low interest loan, but hopefully also gets us into range for grants. [1:20:23] Dan Wietecha: Also, we've had ongoing for the past couple of years environmental investigations scheduled to be completed here around the end of the year looking at the potential sources of PFAS contaminants in our drinking water. If you remember October a year ago, we were determined to have connection on one of our wells to a 3M disposal site, and that helped with partial funding. Hopefully these studies will help us with more funding. As noted earlier this evening, our current budget is looking at continuing water rate increases. The whole project between the three plants is over $70 million. Even with 23 million from the 3M settlement and grants, we're still looking at over 150% increase in our water rates between 2024 and 2028. We completely recognize that's a budget buster for our residents and our businesses. [1:22:56] Dan Wietecha: Right now for the eastern treatment plant, we would be looking at about a 29% rate increase. Much more than we want to do. So what we're recommending is a 10% increase January 1st to buy us some time. Let's wait until summer for a second rate increase and maybe it's smaller or not needed if we get good news from the studies or state funding. So we're looking at a potential 10, 10, and 10 increase just trying to put off the worst of the expense until we have no other options. [1:24:11] Dan Wietecha: Last piece: in late October we were served notice that Carbone's is suing us over the acquisition of the property that they were leasing. There isn't a whole lot to say right now, but we dispute the substance of their claims. We have been from the start following the requirements of the Uniform Relocation and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act. Our insurer, the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust, is defending the city. In the meantime, the most important piece is we as a city still want to find a good home for Carbone's Pizza. We want them to be a successful business here in town. The lawsuit piece will proceed in the background; it may take a couple months, may take a couple years, but it really it's more of a procedural piece to go through. I'm not overly concerned about how it would have to play out. With that, I can certainly take any questions. Thank you. [1:26:04] Mayor Mary Fasbender: Thank you, Dan. Council, any questions? Okay. Thank you. Also on the agenda is the 2026 budget, but we addressed all of those earlier in the meeting. Council, any announcements? Okay, I do have a few. Dakota County is hosting an open house about the upcoming County Road 42 project on Wednesday, December 4th at the YMCA and that starts at 5:00. We have a new mural at the civic arena. Thank you to the artists Lily Lennox and Nico Alexander and the Arts and Culture Commission. There is a ribbon cutting at 3:30 this Friday, December 5th. Enjoy the CPKC holiday train and free holiday concert by American Authors and Pink Beard on Friday, December 12th. Bring a food or monetary donation for Hastings Family Service. The train estimated arrival time is 8:30 p.m. [1:27:13] Mayor Mary Fasbender: The new city website is scheduled to go live next week, December 11th. City offices will be closed from 11:30 to 1:30 on Thursday, December 11th for the city employee holiday party and staff recognition. Hastings Prescott Art Council annual gala and silent auction is Sunday, December 14th. And recycle your old lights with the Henz facility 920 10th Street West through January 31st. Monday, December 8th, 7 p.m., operations committee is meeting. The planning commission meeting has been cancelled. Wednesday, December 10th, 6 p.m., Arts and Culture Commission. Thursday, December 11th, 6 p.m. HEDRA. Monday, December 13th, 7 p.m., there is a city council meeting. With that, I would stand for a motion for adjourn. Councilmember Lisa Leifeld: [Motion]. Councilmember DawnMarie Vihrachoff: I'm so sorry, your honor. Point of order. Just one quick note. I was just looking at all of the announcements and it seems like one was missed. Could I just bring it to light? It's happy birthday to Mayor Fasbender! [1:29:13] Multiple Speakers: Happy birthday! Mayor Mary Fasbender: Another year older. With that, a first and a second. No discussion. All those in favor of the motion state by saying I. Multiple Speakers: I. Mayor Mary Fasbender: Opposed? We are adjourned. Wisenheimer. Why would you even print it on there? Councilmember DawnMarie Vihrachoff: Because!