[00:00:00] **Mayor Mary Supple:** Good evening ladies and gentlemen, good evening again. People someone asked because we're running out of chairs if they could hear in the hallway—can you hear me in the hallway? All right, I'm getting the thumbs up. So with that, I'm going to call to order this meeting of the Richfield City Council. It is August 8th at 7:00 PM. If you are able, please rise and join us in the Pledge of Allegiance. [00:00:20] **All:** 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. [00:00:40] **Mayor Mary Supple:** All right, thank you. So we're going to start off with Open Forum, and it looks like we have a number of people that would like to speak. So just a reminder for Open Forum: thank you for attending tonight's meeting. When you'll be signing in, and when you do so, please state your name and address and I'll begin timing after that. You have three minutes. We want to provide a safe platform to state our opinions about municipal policies, so please stick to the issues. This is not a forum to discuss individuals. The Council will be listening and taking notes, but we will not be responding to comments at the Open Forum. This Open Forum is designed to hear from you but not to be a debate. Now I did want to note on the agenda that we do have a public hearing that is going to be about whether or not to have a moratorium for cannabis businesses. If you want to speak to some of the other issues, such as the proposal about the tobacco ordinance, you would have to speak at the Open Forum time because we have a set-aside public hearing for the other one, but that's the only public hearing tonight. So if you are watching us remotely, you can call into the forum by dialing 1-415-655-0001, use webinar access code 2630-925-5372, and the password is one two three four. All right, and then before we begin, I know acting City Manager Thongvanh, there were a number of letters that were sent in. Are you going to summarize those at the end after we hear all the other comments or how would you like to go about that? All right, so why don't you go ahead—that will give people time if they want to call in—and then we'll go to the people that are in the room as well. Thank you, go ahead. [00:03:00] **Acting City Manager Sack Thongvanh:** In addition to receiving five letters commenting on the ordinance amending Chapter 11, Section 11.46 from the July 25th city council meeting, we received seven letters in support and one letter against. All letters will be included in the record for the city council meeting. The letters of support were from the Advocate for Better Health, Association for Non-Smokers, Blue Cross Blue Shield Minnesota, Cancer Alliance, Minnesota Menthol Coalition, Parents Against Vaping E-cigarettes, and American Heart Association. And then the one letter against was a coalition of neighborhood retailers. [00:03:45] **Mayor Mary Supple:** Okay, and to clarify, the neighborhood retailers were against the part that you could prohibit the transfer of businesses and they were only wanting us to ban vaping products, just to clarify. Correct? Thank you. Has anyone called in? All right, so what we'll do is we'll take four people in person, then we'll do the four attendees [online], and then we'll do the remainder of the people that are in person. So let's start off with in-person. I have Gina DiMaggio. So if you want to come up and state your name and address and you have three minutes. Yep, you should be able to—the microphone should be on. And do you want me to sign in? Yes, go ahead, sign in. [00:04:30] **Gina DiMaggio:** Great, all right. Thanks everybody for being here today. My name is Gina DiMaggio and I'm a Richfield resident since 2019. My husband grew up here and my kids are fourth-generation Richfield residents and I have fallen in love with Richfield. But as a mom, we often find ourselves going to other cities to dine out with our kids for options that are more spacious and a better fit for families. In particular, we often head to the restaurants in Minneapolis that are located in the parks, and actually, just this evening I was at Sea Salt with my family. On a recent trip to the Farmers Market, we realized how great it would be to have a restaurant like that in a Richfield park. Veterans Park is a well-utilized and well-loved venue and park. It hosts the Farmers Market, has a great playground, beautiful natural amenities, and hosts lots of other gatherings under the pavilion. It's also next to the Ice Arena, the pool, and the future redevelopment of the American Legion site. I believe the building that currently houses Wheel Fun Rentals and the concession has unrealized potential. The city of Richfield has an untapped opportunity to generate revenue and add a valuable amenity to the community by repurposing that building into a full-scale restaurant. Imagine a restaurant space with an expansive patio with roll-up garage doors that already exist that connect the restaurant with the outdoors, where kids can play safely on the playground maybe while adults enjoy a beer on the patio, where farmers from the farmers market can supply the restaurant with seasonal produce, where folks from the community can enjoy being in Richfield in a safe, natural, and beautiful environment. Community members still talk about Lynn 65 on the community Facebook page despite it closing more than two years ago, and I know that my family, our friends, and lots of others in the community feel like they're itching for another dining option similar to Lynn 65 but maybe more toned down for a wider audience. And what a better place to do that than at Veterans Park? Minneapolis Parks charge a 12 percent fee on revenue for restaurants located on park property. Four of their restaurants generated more than $800,000 in revenue for the city in 2021, and those are all mainly seasonal restaurants. They attract visitors to parks and encourage enjoyment of our outdoor amenities while creating a distinct sense of place. While those parks and settings are different from Veterans, I think it shows the popularity of the concept. It's something that not only contributes to the vitality of the community and the quality of life for residents but can attract visitors and generate revenue for the city. I understand lots of ideas are more complex than they seem and certainly there would be many moving parts and stakeholders, but I actually think this is low-hanging fruit for the city. Capital improvements would need to happen, sure, to make the space more suitable for a full-scale restaurant, but much of the infrastructure is already in place. The bones are there to be repurposed. The location has great parking, people are already going there for other reasons, and there's plenty of space around the building to expand for patio seating and there are synergistic opportunities with the Farmers Market. Restaurants and parks do a lot for the city of Minneapolis and creating a sense of place where people want to meet, gather, and live. Richfield has the opportunity to do the same. Thanks for this opportunity. I'm excited to plant the seed with you all and see if we can jump-start something larger for the community and have a vibrant destination restaurant in Veterans Park. Thank you. [00:08:00] **Mayor Mary Supple:** Thank you. [00:08:02] **Gina DiMaggio:** And also, I have something to submit to you so that you have this to assist you. [00:08:05] **Mayor Mary Supple:** You can take it over to the City Clerk, thank you. Next, we have Ruino Nisarosa. [00:08:15] **Ruino Nisarosa:** Ruino Nisarosa, 2421 West 65th Street. At the last meeting of the Richfield City Council held July 25th, 2023, Manager Rodriguez indicated that she would send documents to me in the mail. I have not received them. If you are concerned about the cost, I have brought postage. I watched the council meeting on Channel 16 cable television the evening of the 25th. At the end of the meeting, Ms. Rodriguez said that according to an attorney named Julie, whose letter she had in hand, bonding documents are commonly dated the first date of a month for all documents relating to bonding issuance. I present here this evening copies of five documents produced in the offices of the city of Richfield and under cover of a letterhead of the Ehlers Public Finance Advisors of Roseville, Minnesota, offering very specific timelines relative to the bond issue of 2022 relating to the 65th Street project. Not one of the dates associated with the bonding for that project was dated the first of any month. Thank you for providing me with the information regarding salaries and benefits which the city provides council members. It is my opinion that Council, by continuing to misuse consent agendas, bypasses discussion for and on behalf of the citizens of Richfield. Questions are not asked that ought to be asked on behalf of the public and the taxpayers. It is very clear that the council members have absolute confidence and appreciation for some members of the city staff and vice versa. This makes it for cordiality and convenience; it leaves we the people out of the loop. I would like to request that item number 87 on the consent agenda this evening be opened up for discussion. I believe that Richfielders would like to hear more about the security arrangements therein and I would like for the Council to discuss it rather than just put it on their consent agenda without any discussion whatsoever. And perhaps for those of you who don't know what this is all about, it has to do with a 10-million-dollar bonding issue that the Housing and Redevelopment Authority of Richfield passed on June 5th. Then there was an open hearing on June 5th and that all the documents were signed on June 1st, which means that they were doing it for as a matter of form. They had no intention of listening to or taking the advice of those of us who wanted to speak against it. Thank you. [00:11:00] **Mayor Mary Supple:** Thank you. And for clarification, you would ask us to take something off the consent agenda—could you clarify that with the City Clerk? Because I don't see an item 87. Meanwhile, we're going to be moving on and I have Jenny Song that wishes to speak next. [00:11:15] **Jenny Song:** Good evening. I'm Jenny Song, I'm with Blue Cross as a senior communications consultant and tonight I'll be speaking on behalf of Bukata Hayes, who intended to speak tonight but was unable to. So: "Good evening Mayor Supple and members of the City Council. My name is Bukata Hayes and I'm a resident of Richfield along with my wife and four children. I'm here tonight both as a resident and on behalf of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, where I serve as the Vice President of Racial and Health Equity and Chief Equity Officer, to voice my support for your proposed ordinance to prohibit the sale of flavored and menthol tobacco products and to cap retail tobacco licenses to the existing four. I'm sure you're all aware of the predatory role the commercial tobacco industry has played and continues to play in attracting the next generation of smokers and nicotine users. Menthol, candy, and fruit flavors are deliberately used to mask the harshness of tobacco and to make it seem like a safe product. What you may not know is that their targets are young people, people of color, and LGBTQ individuals, among others who use menthol and flavor tobacco at much higher rates than the general population. In Minnesota, one in seven 11th graders use e-cigarettes and nine out of ten use flavored e-cigarettes. More than 70 percent of youth e-cigarette users in Minnesota are showing signs of nicotine dependence. According to national statistics, nine out of ten African-American adult smokers use menthol tobacco compared to 25 percent of adult white smokers. These staggering disparities continue for LGBTQ individuals, indigenous people, and those living with substance use disorders or mental illness. Ending the sale of flavored and menthol tobacco products will have an immediate effect in the lives of every Richfield resident, but for your residents of color, youth, and anyone who has been targeted by Big Tobacco, it will save lives. These policies are also overwhelmingly popular. A 2023 statewide poll found that 62 percent of Minnesotans support the proposals to end the sale of all flavored tobacco products. Support for this policy was high across demographics and regions, including among African Americans with 68 percent support and rural residents with 67 percent support. In conclusion, I urge you to support this ordinance. The staggering costs of tobacco in both healthcare costs and the loss of life cannot be compared to the loss of profits for those who want to continue to sell these lethal products. Thank you." [00:14:15] **Mayor Mary Supple:** Thank you. All right, and I said we would do four people here, so the next one here is Alicia Leisinger. [00:14:25] **Alicia Leisinger:** Mayor Supple, Council Members, my name is Alicia Leisinger. I've been a Richfield resident in Ward 3 since 2014. I'm also a public health professional and I'm here today to voice my support for the proposed ordinance that would end the sale of flavored tobacco in Richfield and cap tobacco licenses at four. My husband and I are raising our daughter here—she's six—in this community, and we're proud to live in a city that prioritizes the health of its community members and of the environment. The tobacco industry deliberately uses flavors to attract youth with the goal of gaining lifelong customers, as Jenny spoke about. In Minnesota, 88 percent of students who use e-cigarettes use flavored e-cigarettes. As my daughter gets older, I don't want her to have access to these enticing but harmful products. We have a high school bus stop on our corner and I pretty regularly pick up littered e-cigarettes and little cigar wrappers from our yard. Not only does the litter negatively impact our environment, our young people are getting addicted. Research shows that youth who live or attend school in neighborhoods with the highest density of tobacco retailers have higher smoking rates. By capping licenses in our city, you are taking important steps to prevent youth from accessing these harmful products. With this ordinance, we can prevent young people from getting addicted to nicotine and reduce the environmental damage that is created by tobacco and e-cigarette waste. I ask you to help protect our community from the harms of commercial tobacco products and vote 'Yes' on this ordinance. Thank you. [00:16:15] **Mayor Mary Supple:** Thank you. All right, so we took four people that were here and now we're going to do the people that are online and then we'll go back to the remaining four people, so we mix things up. City Clerk, who would be our first speaker? [00:16:30] **City Clerk Michelle Friedrich:** Caller with the area code 626, would you like to speak? [00:16:35] **Jasmine:** Yes, can you hear us? Hello? Good evening Council, my name is Jasmine, 2400 West 66th Street. I'm commenting as a supporter for our small business owners in Richfield. I'm here to comment on number seven, eliminating the sale of flavored products and capping the number of tobacco licenses. This motion could have some drastic effects on community businesses. The proposed ordinance is over-hasty, reactive, and unnecessary, and we strongly urge Council to hold off and move forward. I have family in California, and even though California passed the flavor ban in December 2022, according to my family, they still have access to flavor vapes due to their lack of enforcement. In fact, there's even more unregulated vapes on the shelves now. I agree there should be action on flavors with youth vapes, and enforcement should focus on that. Bans like this shift sales from law-abiding retailers in a regulated environment and increase black market activity, which is more dangerous to our youth. Now more than ever, local businesses are the backbone of every community, and they're the ones that will be financially affected by this ordinance. Please do not move forward with number seven. I appreciate Council’s consideration and I hope that facts over emotions will prevail in stopping the flavor ban. Thank you. [00:18:00] **Mayor Mary Supple:** Thank you. Our next caller? [00:18:05] **City Clerk Michelle Friedrich:** Caller with area code 213, would you like to speak? [00:18:10] **Jaime Rojas:** Mayor and council members, my name is Jaime Rojas with the National Association of Tobacco Outlets calling in regards to opposition of the flavor ban as written. We've reached out and, as many of you know, many of our retailers in the city are recent immigrants who believe in the American Dream. They put their hard-earned savings into opening up a legal business, provide jobs, pay taxes, and hopefully save for their future through their business. We've called multiple times and reached out via email to the Council with no response except for Mayor Supple. We understood that many of those who helped craft this ordinance met with council members. We ask that you continue in believing in the American Dream of fairness and justice of all stakeholders. We're asking for slowing the process down, understanding the issue right now that's on youth is on flavor tobacco and flavored vape and e-cigarettes, as mentioned just recently by the speaker from Blue Cross. Let's focus on banning disposable flavor vape products. Let's focus also on not including prohibiting the license transfer. As mentioned earlier, that hits drastically the legal business of a small business owner, many of whom rely on the sale of their business in order to retire. We hope that the Council considers this opportunity to take all stakeholders into consideration and slow the process down. We appreciate your time. Thank you. [00:19:40] **Mayor Mary Supple:** Thank you. Next caller please. [00:19:45] **City Clerk Michelle Friedrich:** Caller with the phone number with the area code 612, would you like to speak? [00:19:50] **Abdullah Savasi:** Yes please. Hi, my name is Abdullah Savasi. I am the new owner of the Holiday gas station. I just purchased the gas station on May 9th, and working with the city on remodeling the store and spending about a million dollars on remodeling. I found out before I purchased that the [highway] exit might be closed, and now the flavor ban is going on. So it's really very tough for me to get this place remodeled and keep it going and thriving if I'm going to lose some of my business. Unfortunately, flavored tobacco is a big portion of any business. My opinion about it is: it is a legal product, it is a product that is only sold to adults 21 and up. We advertise to no kids. I do understand the issue of targeting kids and things like that, but we do not target kids and we do not advertise to kids. The second thing is, I know this motion did pass in several other cities in the Twin Cities, but I never seen any data that shows that really did change anything. So I personally don't think that it would change anything, and the only thing I saw happening—because I do own another store in Saint Paul—it's just the creation of black markets. Bringing in cigarettes from different states, small corner stores starting selling cigarettes that don't even have a Minnesota stamp on them, and I know that for a fact that's happening. I just think that this will just take us into an area that really is not going to do nothing but hurt small, honest business people. Thank you very much. [00:21:40] **Mayor Mary Supple:** Thank you. And our final caller? [00:21:45] **City Clerk Michelle Friedrich:** Caller with a 503 area code, would you like to speak? Can you hear us? Caller with the 503 area code, would you like to speak to the Council? [00:22:00] **Mayor Mary Supple:** Okay, well at this point we'll try again and we'll go ahead with the people that are here in the room, but we can come back to the person who's on the phone. The next person I have on the list for the people in the room is Aisha Ibrahim. [00:22:15] **Aisha Ibrahim:** City Council Members, my name is Aisha Ibrahim, I'm a senior at Eagan High School. I'm here on behalf of the Minnesota Youth Council. The Minnesota Youth Council is a diverse group of high school students who are representatives of each congressional district in Minnesota. As youth council members, we are tasked with representing the interests of youth at the legislature, strive towards educating adults and community members about issues in our community, and work towards gaining a better understanding of the legislature and educating Minnesota youth. The Minnesota Youth Council is glad that the Richfield City Council is considering an ordinance to end the sale of all flavor tobacco products including menthol and capping retailer licenses. Tobacco use is still a problem among young people. It is an entirely different picture than what you may imagine, as many adults reasonably assume that most kids my age and younger don't smoke because my generation grew up knowing how bad smoking is for us. But many kids use flavored chews and vapes. Anyone who vapes uses flavored e-juice. The smell is fruity and sweet and smells like candy, and to any ninth grader who enters high school without any prior experience with e-cigarettes, it smells good. The aroma is all around school, not only in bathrooms where you occasionally get a student who will blow smoke right into your face, but also in classrooms where teachers are not looking and students are using vape sweaters, vape lipstick, vape watches, etc. Kids are also vaping in cars and at parties—something my peers and I have seen either in person or in classmates' social media posts and Snapchat stories. Advertising vapes is extremely common and I see it daily. Flavored products may mask the harshness of tobacco, but they are just as addictive and harmful as non-flavored tobacco products. Many flavored vape products contain as much nicotine or more as a pack of [traditional] cigarettes, but kids my age don't seem to worry about getting addicted to these dangerous products. In fact, at school, I regularly see teens skipping school to vape in the bathrooms. Why do they feel motivated to do this? Because they are addicted to the harsh chemicals that are in the flavored vapes and chews that the tobacco industry has targeted them with. On behalf of the Minnesota Youth Council, thank you Mayor Supple and City Council members for your leadership. This ordinance will help prevent addiction and tobacco-related diseases for future generations. Thank you. [00:25:30] **Mayor Mary Supple:** Thank you. Um, so we have two people signed up named Mark Olson with different addresses. So we're going to call up the Mark Olson that's on Knox Avenue. And we have two other people after Mr. Olson and then we will [address] the person that's online and then we'll move on from Open Forum and to the proclamation. [00:25:55] **Mark Olson (Knox Avenue):** Good evening Mayor Supple, Council Members. My name is Mark Olson and 16 years ago I was serving on the Human Rights Commission for the city of Richfield and I had a heart attack. When I had my heart attack, I was sitting in the hospital and the thing that I thought of at that point is: what can I do to change this for future generations? So I volunteered with the American Heart Association and I made a pledge to do what I could to make sure that the youth of today weren't sitting where I was in the future. When I made that pledge, I pledged to do all the different pieces and one of the things was tobacco. When I first started working with the Heart Association, we were at the Capitol fighting against the marketing that the tobacco industry was using at that time to target youth. Well, here we are again with vaping products—that's what's happening again. My nephew, I called him on the phone, he's taken up vaping and tobacco. I talked to him and said how did you get involved with using tobacco? And he said it started when he was 15 years old with a vape pen that one of his friends had in school and they tried it and he got hooked, and he's been hooked ever since. And I want to see that change for other youth. I want to make sure that that does not happen to them. Some statistics that the Heart Association has that are really interesting: back in 1977, 25 percent of high schoolers used tobacco; by 2019, 5 percent were using it, but now one in four are using again. So it's back up to that 25 percent and it's all because of flavors, it's all because of vaping. As one of the previous testifiers said, let's talk a little bit about living the American Dream. I want kids to be able to live the American Dream in the future, and without this ordinance, it's going to set them up to maybe not even be living to do that. Now, some of your own statistics that I've found: back in 2021 when the tobacco ordinance was being discussed, you talked about the states—there was a survey done by the city of Richfield that stated that the average state use of tobacco in youth was 7.3 percent, but in Richfield, it was 13.5 percent. We have this issue here still, and I expect those numbers have risen since COVID with students getting back together more. Other statistics I would cite: 68 percent of kids start with vaping and flavors, 48 percent with smokeless tobacco products. Others have said the same types of things and I just want to make sure that we realize that we need to be thinking of the future of the kids in our community and making sure that this is not something that's going to be putting them in that bed that I was in in the hospital 16 years ago. Thank you for your time and I hope that you pass that ordinance. [00:29:15] **Mayor Mary Supple:** Thank you. Next, we have Cena Galletto. [00:29:20] **Cena Galletto:** Good evening Mayor Supple and members of the City Council. My name is Cena Galletto and I'm an intern at North Point Health and Wellness and a student at the University of Minnesota. I am here tonight to speak in strong support of the proposal to end the sale of all flavored commercial tobacco products and to cap the number of tobacco licenses in the city of Richfield. I would like to say a few words about a specific type of flavored tobacco: shisha, which is a tobacco used in hookah. Some have made the argument that we need to exempt flavored shisha because it is culturally important to the East African communities here in Minnesota. As a member of this community, I want you to know that hookah use is not unique to any community or culture, but it is becoming increasingly common among young people from many different backgrounds. And most of these young people are not using hookah for cultural reasons. As with other tobacco products, hookah comes in kid-friendly flavors like blueberry, watermelon, strawberry cream, and cotton candy. These highly appealing flavors, combined with the fact that many young people wrongly believe that hookah is safer than smoking cigarettes, is the main reason why so many youth and young adults are using hookah in Minnesota. The truth is that just like any other commercial tobacco product, hookah has tremendous negative health implications such as lung cancer, heart disease, and asthma. It is also very highly addictive. Plus, communities historically targeted by the tobacco industry tend to use hookah at higher rates than the general population, just like we've seen with other products such as menthol cigarettes. It is communities like mine that get left behind when policies get watered down while the tobacco industry gets another free pass to market and sell a deadly product. In addition to being from the East African community, I've also worked alongside other community members and organizations to do outreach and education about hookah. What we've heard over and over is that while there are certainly members of the East African community in Minnesota who view hookah as a cultural activity, it is not considered a sacred practice like traditional tobacco use by Native Americans. In fact, Islam offers explicit guidance about not harming one's body with substances such as nicotine. Further, the tobacco industry has no interest in supporting cultural practices; they only want to make a profit and they will exploit communities of color to do so. In closing, I urge us all to celebrate East African culture—which includes music, food, language, and art—without giving the tobacco industry a clear path to market hookah to a new generation. We cannot allow the people who are selling these deadly products to speak for our culture. Thank you. [00:32:30] **Mayor Mary Supple:** Thank you. All right, and next we have the other Mark Olson. This person is on Penn Avenue. [00:32:40] **Mark Olson (Penn Avenue):** Good evening Mayor Supple and City Council members. My name is Mark Olson, I'm the owner-operator of the Richfield Monoco on 68th and Penn. I'd like to start off by just reading a few things that might be repetitive from what Jaime said. Addressing the youth vaping issue should not be local government's [role] to overturn and prohibit the sale of all flavored tobacco products. In my store, I've never sold them, don't want to—I actually believe in that myself. Youth rates of tobacco products are historically low and declining. Retailers have been part of the solution in preventing the sale of tobacco products to underage persons. We have sting operations all the time; we follow through with them and do all the stuff with the credit card swipes and everything for licenses. The Council should reconsider the blanket ban on the flavors of tobacco products by focusing on the issue favored by youth: disposable flavored vapor products. Prohibiting license transfers will hurt small businesses. Addressing that a little bit: I've had the station for 25 years in Richfield. If I had known back then that we wouldn't be allowed to transfer tobacco licenses, I probably wouldn't have bought it. It represents between 18 and 20 percent of my sales. Without having it be able to transfer, I probably am not going to find many owners that want to buy a gas station anymore. It just—that's just the way it is. So that would take out a considerable chunk of whatever retirement I've got coming. Not allowing for transfers of existing licenses, whether by sale or gift or will, takes away a good deal of the value of their businesses, which is a substantial part of the retirement plan for small business owners. We hope that you will give this some serious consideration as to all effects and information from the impacted stakeholders including the small business community. One thing I was thinking is that if you say—if you slow it down with this process—and you say I can transfer my license to the next owner, and you tell him that next time he can't resell it, at least he's going in knowing this is the last guy. He could make that decision without you guys making the decision for him or me. I mean, I was just thinking of some solutions that might be able to help both sides. With that said, I just want to thank you for your time and that's all I have. [00:35:15] **Mayor Mary Supple:** Thank you. City Clerk Friedrich, can we try one more time with the last caller? Caller with the area code 503, would you like to speak? It does not appear that there's anyone there. This completes the list that I have here for people wishing to speak, and so since we're not hearing from that final caller, at this point, we're going to end the Open Forum. Thank you everyone for all your participation both in person and online; we really appreciate that. Next, we'll move on to the approval of the minutes of the City Council Work Session of July 25th, 2023, and the City Council Meeting of July 25th, 2023. [00:36:00] **Council Member Sharon Christensen:** I move approval of the minutes. [00:36:02] **Council Member Sean Hayford Oleary:** Second. [00:36:05] **Mayor Mary Supple:** It's been moved and seconded. Is there any discussion? [00:36:08] **Council Member Sean Hayford Oleary:** There was a small correction I brought to staff, but I believe that's already reflected, right? [00:36:12] **Mayor Mary Supple:** Yep. All right, thank you. And so all in favor of approving both sets of minutes please say 'Aye'. [00:36:15] **All:** Aye. [00:36:17] **Mayor Mary Supple:** All opposed? And we've approved the minutes, thank you. Next, we're going to move on to a proclamation that is celebrating Ron Katon. So if Dana Anderson could meet me up at the podium, thank you. First of all, I wanted to say we have a picture of the person being honored and we also have his baseball hat, so I don't know if we want to hold that up so people can see who we're talking about. "Whereas Ronald Anthony Catone had a passion for baseball; he was known as 'Mr. Baseball' in Richfield. And whereas Ron helped establish the 35 and older Federal Baseball League in 1986, ensuring these players had a place to play. He served for several years as the league's commissioner as well as being elected to the Federal League Hall of Fame in 2008 and winning the Chris Erickson Award in 2022. And whereas Ron founded the Richfield Rockets Baseball Club in 1989, managing the Rockets and coaching third base until his passing in 2022. And whereas Ron demonstrated true sportsmanship on and off the field, ensuring equity for all; he was always sure to shake hands with the opposing team even if they beat his beloved Rockets. And whereas Ron extended the warmth and compassion of his personality and his wisdom not only to other players and his teammates but also to the fans and families, making sure they felt cared for, comfortable, and included. And whereas although Ron's passion was baseball, he was also a proud Richfield resident and a dedicated member of the community for nearly 30 years, always willing to lend a hand, even helping to remodel homes. And whereas Ron viewed life through an enlightened spiritual lens; he welcomed philosophical conversations on life, society, culture, faith, or his favorite: baseball. And whereas Ron's legacy cannot be overstated; he created a flourishing baseball community in the Twin Cities and surrounding area where fairness, inclusion, and friendship were valued. And whereas Ron's impact on his friends, family, teammates, and baseball in our community will be forever felt. Now, therefore, I, Mary Supple, Mayor of the city of Richfield, in recognition of Ron's lifelong baseball uniform number eight, do hereby proclaim August 8, 2023, as Ron Catone Day in the city of Richfield." Congratulations. Did you want to have a picture with all of the teammates up front or—sure. All right, and did any of the council members want to add anything? [00:39:30] **Council Member Sean Hayford Oleary:** I'll just add very briefly... I was helping coordinate this with City staff and I had heard from a friend about Ron, and just as soon as I started googling Ron Catone Richfield, it was very obvious the impact he had. Certainly, I just want to thank Dana and the many others who worked with our city staff to help write this and describe all the work he's done. So thank you for doing this; it's clear that he is worthy of this honor. [00:40:15] **Dana Anderson:** Thank you very much, Mayor and everyone who's helped contribute with memories and putting this together. I was told if you have a few—well, looks like all the team members are leaving... they're going to the bar. I was going to ask if they wanted to share any baseball memories but I guess we'll do that at the bar. Ron's influence, just because he was an amazing person and very kind-hearted... we've all learned so much more about him and the areas he touched. He was excellent in everything he did, but this was his love, was baseball, and that's why he's being commemorated today. So thank you very much, and I guess we better adjourn to the tailgate or they're going to have all the beer. [00:41:10] **Mayor Mary Supple:** Thank you, Dana, for adding those words. All right, we'll take a moment while the room clears. All right, thank you all. Next, we'll move on with approval of the agenda. [00:41:40] **Council Member Sharon Christensen:** I move approval of the agenda. [00:41:42] **Council Member Sean Hayford Oleary:** Second. [00:41:45] **Mayor Mary Supple:** It's been moved and seconded to approve the agenda. Is there any discussion? We did check with the person that spoke at Open Forum about the consent agenda, and it was determined that the item that she wished to discuss is not actually on this consent agenda, so we will go with the agenda as printed. All right, so if there's no further discussion, all in favor of approving the agenda please say 'Aye'. [00:42:10] **All:** Aye. [00:42:12] **Mayor Mary Supple:** All opposed? All right, we've approved the agenda, thank you. Next, we'll move on to the Consent Agenda and I'll turn it over to acting City Manager Thongvanh. [00:42:20] **Acting City Manager Sack Thongvanh:** Mayor and Council Members, thank you. The Consent Agenda contains several separate items which are acted upon by the city council in one motion. Once the consent calendar has been approved, the individual items and recommended actions have been approved; no further Council action on this item is necessary. Item A: Consider a request to amend conditional use permit to increase the capacity of the preschool and daycare at 7132 Portland Avenue to 330 children (originally it was 244). Item B: Consider resolution approving a special request to allow the relocation of a billboard at 7731 4th Avenue South, Blaylock Plumbing. Item C: Consider approval of easement agreement for perpetual easements on four roadways that border the tax parcel containing ISD number 280 STEM and Dual Language Elementary School. Item D: Consider the adoption of resolution identifying the need for Livable Community Transit Oriented Development funding and authorizing an application for grant funds on behalf of the Aster Commons development located at 6613-25 Portland Avenue. Item E: Consider approval of the 2023-2024 emergency preparedness agreement with the City of Bloomington using Public Health Emergency Preparedness grant funds distributed by federal grants from the Center for Disease Control to provide services to the area of public health emergency preparedness, bioterrorism, and the development of a response system. Item F: Approval of resolution supporting a request for State Bonding to fund the city portion of the cost to be reconstructed of Nicollet Avenue from 77th Street to 66th Street. I submit these six items from the Consent Agenda for your consideration. [00:44:00] **Mayor Mary Supple:** Thank you. Is there a motion to approve the consent calendar? [00:44:03] **Council Member Sharon Christensen:** I so move. [00:44:05] **Council Member Sean Hayford Oleary:** Second. [00:44:07] **Mayor Mary Supple:** It's been moved and seconded to approve the consent calendar. Any comments or questions on any of these items? All right, hearing none, all in favor of approving the consent calendar please say 'Aye'. [00:44:15] **All:** Aye. [00:44:17] **Mayor Mary Supple:** All opposed? All right, we have approved the consent calendar. Next, we will move on to the Public Hearing and I'm going to turn this over to Council Member Hayford Oleary. [00:44:25] **Council Member Sean Hayford Oleary:** This is a public hearing and consideration of the second reading of an interim ordinance authorizing the study and imposing a moratorium on the operation of cannabis businesses in the city, which will expire on January 1st, 2025, or upon the city's receipt of an application from the Office of Cannabis Management for a cannabis business within the city of Richfield, whichever occurs first, unless repealed earlier by the City Council. The Minnesota Legislature recently enacted, and the Governor signed, 2023 Minnesota Session Laws Chapter 63 HF 100, which will be referred to as 'the Act', which is comprehensive legislation related to adult-use cannabis. The Act provides that if a city is in the process of conducting studies or has authorized a study to be conducted or has held or has scheduled a hearing for the purpose of considering adoption or amendment of reasonable restrictions on the time, place, and manner of the operation of a cannabis business, the government body of the local unit of government may adopt an interim ordinance applicable to all or part of its jurisdiction for the purposes of protecting the planning process and the health, safety, and welfare of its citizens. As part of the city's interim ordinance, the city may prohibit a cannabis business from opening until January 1st, 2025. The City Council held a work session on July 11th, 2023, to hear staff recommendations and discuss the adult-use cannabis legislation, required city regulation, and its impacts on the city. Staff were directed by the City Council to bring a first reading of an interim ordinance to the July 25th, 2023, City Council meeting imposing a moratorium on the operation of cannabis businesses until January 1st, 2025. The moratorium will be in effect until January 1st, 2025, or until the city receives an application from the Office of Cannabis Management for a cannabis business within the city of Richfield, whichever occurs first, unless repealed earlier by the Council. The first reading of this ordinance was heard by the City Council on July 25th, 2023. Does staff have anything to add prior to opening the public hearing? [00:46:45] **Mayor Mary Supple:** All right, so we've opened the public hearing. Is there anyone who wishes to speak to this ordinance? Is there anybody online? The same one that didn't respond earlier? Yeah, maybe this is what they're here for. Caller with area code 503, would you like to speak on this item? Okay, apparently that person is just listening. Is there anyone that is here in the audience that wishes to speak on the item? All right, go ahead. You can come up and give us your name and your address and you'll have three minutes to speak. [00:47:20] **Larry Ernster:** My name's Larry Ernster, I'm at 6727 Elliott Avenue South. I am fully in support of this ordinance, but I propose that you go back to your original statement rather than the way it was originally written—that it would expire in January 1st, 2025, or when you decided to change it—and strike the paragraph that's been added that said, as discussion went, you said 'Well, first I'll discuss it if there's a license approved by cannabis,' then you said 'Well, if there's an application for a license.' The city has given up its prerogative and its ability to decide when they want to terminate it by saying it will expire automatically. I propose you go back to the way it was originally written, where it will expire, and once you get the application, you can decide whether or not you want to end the moratorium. That's it. Thank you. [00:48:20] **Mayor Mary Supple:** Thank you. Is there anyone else who wishes to speak? Anyone else who wishes to speak on the matter? All right, it appears there's no one else who wishes to speak, so a motion would be in order to close the public hearing. [00:48:35] **Council Member Sean Hayford Oleary:** Mayor, I move that we close the public hearing. [00:48:38] **Council Member Sharon Christensen:** Second. [00:48:40] **Mayor Mary Supple:** It's been moved and seconded to close the public hearing. Is there any discussion? And no one else has called in. So all in favor of closing the public hearing please say 'Aye'. [00:48:50] **All:** Aye. [00:48:52] **Mayor Mary Supple:** All opposed? All right, we've closed the public hearing. So go ahead and make some motion. I do have at least one discussion item after that. [00:48:58] **Council Member Sean Hayford Oleary:** I move that we approve the second reading of an interim ordinance authorizing a study and imposing a moratorium on the operation of cannabis businesses in the city, which will expire January 1st, 2025, or upon the city's receipt of an application from the Office of Cannabis Management for a cannabis business within the city of Richfield, whichever occurs first, unless repealed earlier by the City Council, and approve a resolution authorizing summary publication of said ordinance. [00:49:30] **Council Member Sharon Christensen:** Second. [00:49:35] **Mayor Mary Supple:** It's been moved and seconded. Is there any discussion? [00:49:38] **Council Member Sean Hayford Oleary:** So I just wanted to clarify with staff the language in Section 4, Moratorium. It says, "Accordingly, during the period that this ordinance is in effect, the City shall not accept, process, or act on any application, site plan, etc., or other requests from the OCM or other governmental entity." I'm just wondering how that interacts with the change we made last time that was just recently mentioned—that as soon as we receive an application, the moratorium is up. Do those conflict, or am I just misunderstanding that? City Attorney Tietjen, did you want to speak to that issue? [00:50:15] **City Attorney Mary Tietjen:** Sure, Mayor. I need to take a look at that section since I wasn't prepared for that question, but I will take a look at it right now. Mayor, Council Member Hayford Oleary, I think that the state law is going to supersede this particular ordinance, and so with the way that the effective date is currently written, if staff receives an application from the Office of Cannabis Management, I think that would trigger the automatic expiration that's written into the ordinance. You know, I think with the approval of the Council and perhaps a short amendment to the motion, we could strike that and make that consistent so there's no conflicting language there. [00:51:00] **Council Member Sean Hayford Oleary:** Would you feel comfortable with us just striking that as part of this motion tonight, or do you feel you need to bring it back in a future meeting? [00:51:08] **City Attorney Mary Tietjen:** We can go ahead and just do that; we don't need to bring it back again. [00:51:12] **Mayor Mary Supple:** Can we clarify exactly what's going to be stricken? [00:51:15] **City Attorney Mary Tietjen:** I think that we just want to make it clear in Section 4... we would add something that refers to the automatic expiration so that that's clear. [00:51:25] **Mayor Mary Supple:** All right, do we need to make an amendment at this point then to the main motion on the floor? [00:51:30] **Council Member Sean Hayford Oleary:** I would suggest that we amend the motion on the table to remove the sentence that starts with "Accordingly, during the period that the ordinance is in effect" and ending with "to engage in the operation of a cannabis business." So we remove the part about the city being prohibited from engaging in the application and simply keep the part about no business shall operate the cannabis business during the moratorium's effect. [00:51:55] **City Attorney Mary Tietjen:** Mayor, if I may. Council Member Hayford Oleary, I think what we want to be careful of is we want to just look at adding something that says "notwithstanding the language in Section 4, the moratorium will automatically expire upon the receipt of an application from OCM." I don't want to eliminate staff's ability to turn away applications for site plans or other things that somebody might come into the City and try to obtain during this moratorium. So that would be my concern. [00:52:25] **Council Member Sean Hayford Oleary:** Thank you for that clarification. I withdraw my motion and I request we instead add the clause as described by the City Attorney, "notwithstanding the automatic expiration described in Section 8." [00:52:40] **Council Member Sharon Christensen:** Second. [00:52:42] **Mayor Mary Supple:** All right, so we're voting only on the amendment and then eventually we'll discuss the main motion as amended if this passes. So is there any discussion on the amendment that Council Member Hayford Oleary has put forward? I would say I would agree; it's a good clarification to make sure that we're very clear on what we're doing here. All right, any further discussion? All in favor of the amendment please say 'Aye'. [00:53:05] **All:** Aye. [00:53:07] **Mayor Mary Supple:** All opposed? All right, we now have the main motion as amended. Is there further discussion? [00:53:15] **Council Member Sean Hayford Oleary:** I just will say briefly... because I very strongly opposed what might seem like a similar moratorium regarding the edible hemp products, I do think this is quite different because this is just giving the city time to react to this new law and protect ourselves from potentially illegal sales now. It is not with the intent of delaying, and I think we've further bolstered that by making clear that we're going to have this automatic expiration. So I support what's in front of us right now. [00:53:45] **Mayor Mary Supple:** All right, other discussion. In the public hearing, it was brought up about the change that was made after the first reading to have that repeal. Can you review that, City Attorney Tietjen—what the effect of that is and what we currently have in front of us as far as when this would be repealed? [00:54:05] **City Attorney Mary Tietjen:** Yes, there was a change to this ordinance since the first reading and the language that was added is in Section 8 of the ordinance. Indicating that, at the direction of the Council, staff and the City Attorney added language that the moratorium would expire on January 1st, 2025, or upon the city's receipt of an application from the Office of Cannabis Management for a cannabis business within the city, whichever occurs first. The Council still has the option, of course, to repeal the ordinance anytime earlier than that if it wishes. So that's the change in between first and second reading. [00:54:40] **Mayor Mary Supple:** All right, and at that point, the moratorium would go away if there's an application, but we still have to follow all the legal procedures in the state laws considering whether or not the license would be granted. Is that correct? [00:54:52] **City Attorney Mary Tietjen:** That is correct. Once the city receives a notice that there's an application for a business within the city, the city has a period of 30 days to respond to that and give input as to whether the business would meet local zoning rules, for example, and then it would go through the process at the state level. [00:55:10] **Mayor Mary Supple:** Okay, so there's not like a 30-day waiting period or any of that? It's triggered immediately that the moratorium is gone with the way the moratorium is currently written? [00:55:18] **City Attorney Mary Tietjen:** Yes, it would be automatically—it would automatically expire at that point. [00:55:22] **Mayor Mary Supple:** All right, further discussion or clarification? I do think this does give us time to be thoughtful and figure out what the rules are going to be and to look at some of the model ordinances, so I will be supporting the moratorium. All right, any further discussion? All in favor please say 'Aye'. [00:55:40] **All:** Aye. [00:55:42] **Mayor Mary Supple:** All opposed? All right, we have passed the ordinance as amended. Thank you. Next, we'll move on to Item number 6 and that will go to Council Member Christensen. [00:55:50] **Council Member Sharon Christensen:** This is the consideration of the second reading of the transitory ordinance repealing Ordinance 19.26, which authorized a study and imposed a moratorium on the sale of edible cannabinoid products. On July 1st, 2022, it became legal to sell certain products containing Delta 9 THC products in Minnesota. The legislation allows THC products to be sold if the following requirements are met: not more than five milligrams of THC per dose, not more than 50 milligrams of THC per container, the purchaser is at least 21 years old, and the products are not marketed towards children. On October 25th, 2022, the Richfield City Council approved a one-year moratorium on selling THC products. The moratorium went into effect on December 3rd, 2022, and expires on December 3rd, 2023, or when the City Council repeals it. This ordinance will be effective 30 days after the ordinance is published. The first reading of this ordinance was heard by the City Council on July 25th, 2023. Staff, do you have any further comments on this? I make a motion then to approve the second reading of an ordinance repealing interim ordinance 19.26, which authorized a study and imposed a moratorium on the sale of edible cannabinoid products. [00:57:15] **Council Member Sean Hayford Oleary:** Second. [00:57:18] **Mayor Mary Supple:** It's been moved and seconded and so now we'll have discussion. I do need to apologize—Council Member Whalen couldn't be here tonight and he asked that we read a statement about all three [items], and I should have read that on the last item, but I'm going to ask Council Member Hayford Oleary to read it now. So my apologies, Council Member Whalen. [00:57:35] **Council Member Sean Hayford Oleary:** Thank you. So again, this is a statement from Council Member [Simon] Whalen I'll be reading. He writes: "Sorry to miss this meeting tonight, but thank you for all the work and discussion staff, Council, and community partners have had over the last couple of years regarding public health as it relates to tobacco and cannabis products. I'm in full support of all three actions before the Council today. A moratorium on dispensaries until they can be state-licensed gives us important local authority to address any business that tries to jump ahead of the state legalization process. Repealing the moratorium on edibles makes sense now that the state has cleared up some of the initial confusion around that, and banning the sale of flavored tobacco products plus limiting tobacco licenses over time makes sense as a way to prioritize public health. I've heard public support for all three actions for now and know that we will need to keep discussing next steps, particularly around cannabis, in the months and years to come. Thank you." So those were comments by Council Member Whalen. Speaking as Sean, I will say I am also in support of this. I'm delighted to see that we have the clarity we need to be able to get rid of this moratorium and I hope to see people having responsible fun and enjoying themselves in Richfield businesses and other places and spending their dollars locally. [00:59:00] **Mayor Mary Supple:** I would support this repeal of the moratorium now that the legislature has put some guardrails and some common sense safety rules into effect, like that it has to be behind a counter and you can't just go and do self-service and that type of things, and that it cannot be marketed to children. So I would be in support of repealing the moratorium for the edibles at this point. Other discussion? All in favor please say 'Aye'. [00:59:30] **All:** Aye. [00:59:32] **Mayor Mary Supple:** All opposed? All right, we have passed the motion. Next, we're going to move on to Item 7, Council Member Hayford Oleary. [00:59:35] **Council Member Sean Hayford Oleary:** Thank you. This is to consider the second reading of an ordinance amending Chapter 11, Section 11.46 of the Richfield City Code to include eliminating the sale of flavored products and capping the number of tobacco licenses. The Richfield Advisory Board of Health (ABH) is charged with bringing recommendations to the City Council related to community health and has a long history of advocating for sound health policies that protect residents. In their continued effort to protect youth and adults, particularly members of the LGBTQ and Black communities who have been historically targeted by the tobacco companies from the harms of tobacco products, the ABH is recommending prohibiting the sale of flavored tobacco products and placing a cap on the number of tobacco licenses issued to four. Reducing the number of tobacco licenses will take time since the current licenses are only revoked when a current licensee moves or the business changes ownership. Work sessions with City Council members were held March 22nd, 2022, and March 28th, 2023. First reading of this ordinance was heard by the City Council on July 25th, 2023. Does staff have anything to add? I will move that we approve a second reading of an ordinance amending Chapter 11, Section 11.46 of the Richfield City Code to include prohibiting the sale of all flavored products and reduce the number of tobacco licenses to four, and approve a resolution authorizing summary publication of said ordinance. [01:01:20] **Council Member Sharon Christensen:** Second. [01:01:22] **Mayor Mary Supple:** It's been moved and seconded. Is there further discussion? [01:01:25] **Council Member Sean Hayford Oleary:** Thank you. I just want to say, first off, thank you to all the supporters who are here tonight and sharing your perspective, especially the Richfield residents. I appreciate that. I also do appreciate the businesses and the groups that represent those businesses that we've heard from. We know there is pain in this, but as one of the speakers had that pretty perfect line: to live the American Dream, you need to be alive. The bottom line is that we're choosing to prioritize public health here and I think that that's the point. I do want to add—it's not part of our formal action tonight, but it is happening in conjunction with this—that Richfield is taking another step as a city in not selling any tobacco products around approximately the start of next year in our city liquor stores. Recognizing that we are putting a burden on small businesses, we're trying to lead by example and accept a little bit of that financial pain ourselves because we think it's the right thing to do for public health. We know it's a sacrifice and an inconvenience for businesses, but I think on balance it's the right policy for Richfield. [01:02:40] **Mayor Mary Supple:** I would echo that. I appreciate the robust discussion about this. There were a number of things that came up that I myself would probably not have thought of, but it was good to hear the debate about it and to hear the feedback from everyone involved. I do recognize that this does have an effect on small business owners and so I think that that is something that we do have to acknowledge here. And thank you for explaining that we will be pulling the tobacco products out of the liquor stores here in Richfield. Given all of the debate, I think the overriding concern is for public health and we need to do what's best for the long-term health of the community, and so I'm going to be supporting this ordinance. We did make it so that it takes effect at the beginning of next year so that those business owners have a chance to adjust their businesses and their inventory. So again, thank you to everybody that participated in all of the debate, whether you were for or against. [01:03:50] **Council Member Sharon Christensen:** I'd like to actually thank also the youth that addressed the Council tonight. It's very enlightening to see that the youth of today are concerned about this because there is a lot of pressure—there is a lot of pressure from a lot of things in varying forms when you're in high school and college—and if this is one thing that we can overcome, that this will be good for our community. [01:04:15] **Mayor Mary Supple:** All right, then we will call the question. This is to approve the second reading and to approve the summary publication. All in favor please say 'Aye'. [01:04:20] **All:** Aye. [01:04:22] **Mayor Mary Supple:** All opposed? All right, and we have approved both, thank you. Next, we'll be moving on to the City Manager's Report. Acting City Manager Thongvanh? [01:04:30] **Acting City Manager Sack Thongvanh:** No additional updates. [01:04:32] **Mayor Mary Supple:** Thank you. Then we'll move on to Claims and Payroll. [01:04:35] **Council Member Sharon Christensen:** I move Claims and Payroll. [01:04:37] **Council Member Sean Hayford Oleary:** Second. [01:04:40] **Mayor Mary Supple:** All in favor of approving Claims and Payroll please say 'Aye'. [01:04:43] **All:** Aye. [01:04:45] **Mayor Mary Supple:** Next we'll move on to the Hats Off to Hometown Hits. Council Member Christensen? [01:04:50] **Council Member Sharon Christensen:** Yes, I'd like to highlight an event that's actually coming up this Saturday, August 12th, from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM at the Richfield Historical Society at 69th and Lyndale. They're having their annual Ice Cream Social featuring games, ice cream of course, and also the Teddy Bear Band. So it's from 2 to 6 PM. Thank you. [01:05:10] **Council Member Sean Hayford Oleary:** I just want to thank the Ward 2 residents who welcomed me on Night to Unite last Tuesday. A lot of fun; I attended as quickly as I could eight parties—the smallest was two people besides me and the largest was like 40. It's really a wide range of what people do, but it's all a great community event. And then I also want to give a quick plug: tomorrow night we're going to do a really fun, slow-paced family-oriented ride around Richfield. It'll be a five-mile loop. We'll meet at 6:30 PM in front of the Richfield Bandshell. If you're driving there, you can park in the Ice Arena lot. We'll have a live DJ and we'll be stopping in a couple spaces around Richfield. [01:06:00] **Mayor Mary Supple:** Yes, Night to Unite was a fabulous gathering and thank you to all the community members that welcomed us in and also to all of the volunteers and the people from the Police and the Fire Department that helped participate in that as well. So I also wanted to do a shout-out to the Mosaic Hockey Collective who represented us well on Good Morning America; they were featured there and they did a fabulous job. I also want to thank everyone who participated in the Urban Wildland 5K and Half Marathon, both the runners and all the volunteers. It was just fun to see everybody. Just another plug: there is still an opening to the HRA and we are taking applications through August 13th. Coming up before we have our next community meeting is we're going to have the Unity in the Community celebration, and that has activities, arts and crafts, performances, a resource fair... there are school supplies first-come-first-serve if the children are present. There will also be ice cream. It's going to be on August 17th, 2023, from 4:00 to 7:00 PM and it's going to be at the Bandshell at Christian Park. Thank you to Public Safety for organizing that. And my final 'Hats Off' is to the Nine Mile Creek Watershed District. Richfield has three different watershed districts... Nine Mile Creek Watershed had a summer tour and they invited people from all of the five cities that are part of their watershed to join them. Look them up online and you can find out about their various projects that are going on. With that, thank you all for your attention tonight and thank you for all the public input as we made the various decisions. We have no further business so I would entertain a motion to adjourn the meeting. [01:08:10] **Council Member Sean Hayford Oleary:** I move that we adjourn. [01:08:12] **Council Member Sharon Christensen:** Second. [01:08:15] **Mayor Mary Supple:** All in favor of adjourning the meeting please say 'Aye'. [01:08:17] **All:** Aye. [01:08:19] **Mayor Mary Supple:** All opposed? We've adjourned the meeting, thank you.