Based on the context provided, here is the transcribed townhall meeting with the appropriate speaker names assigned. **Note on Roster Mapping:** While the raw transcript mentions "Mayor St. Ores" and "Councilmember Hanson," the instructions provided specify that **Michele Hanson is the Mayor**. I have followed the provided official roster for the speaker names, mapping the "City Administrator" role to **Matt Kline** (referred to as "Adam" in the text) and the "City Planner" role to **Sara Taylor**. *** **[16:27] Mayor Michele Hanson:** I’d like to call to order the September 12, 2022, Bayport City Council meeting. Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. 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. Matt, will you please call the roll? **[16:27] Matt Kline (City Administrator):** Mayor Hanson? Here. Councilmember Bliss? Here. Councilmember Hill? Here. Councilmember [Name]? Here. Councilmember Gilmore? Here. All present. **[16:27] Mayor Michele Hanson:** Great. It takes us to the approval of tonight's agenda. Does anyone have any questions, comments, or changes? If not, would someone like to make a motion to approve? **[17:13] Councilmember Katie Hill:** I'll make a motion approving tonight's agenda. **[17:13] Mayor Michele Hanson:** Thank you, Katie. And a second? **[17:13] Deputy Mayor Ethan Gilmore:** Second. **[17:13] Mayor Michele Hanson:** Thank you, Ethan. All in favor? Aye. All right, it takes us to proclamations, accommodations, petitions, and announcements. The August recycling award recipient is Jen Hinderly at 119 Inspiration Parkway. She will be awarded for her recycling efforts with the grant funds made possible from Washington County. So, thank you very much for your recycling efforts. We will move on to our open forum where we set aside 15 minutes of the council meeting to discuss topics that are not on tonight's agenda. If anyone would like to approach the council, please come forward and state your name and address for the record. Okay, we do not have anyone online, so we can move forward with our consent agenda including items one through eight: the August 1st, 2022, City Council workshop meeting minutes; the August 1st, 2022, City Council regular meeting minutes; the August 22nd, 2022, City Council workshop special meeting minutes; the August payables and receipts; the August building, mechanical, and zoning permits report; a special event application from Hometown Hero Outdoors for a fishing event at Lakeside Park on October 8th and 9th, 2022; **[18:45] Mayor Michele Hanson:** A donation request from Bayport Community Action League to support Derby Days; the purchase of an R2 replacement light rescue vehicle for the fire department. Any questions or comments regarding the consent agenda? If not, would someone like to make a motion to approve? **[18:45] Councilmember Orin Kipp:** I'll move to adopt a resolution approving the consent agenda as presented. **[18:45] Mayor Michele Hanson:** Thank you, Orin. A second? **[18:45] Councilmember Katie Hill:** Second. **[18:45] Mayor Michele Hanson:** Thank you. Roll call, please. **[18:45] Matt Kline (City Administrator):** Councilmember Hill? Aye. Councilmember [Name]? Aye. Councilmember Bliss? Aye. Councilmember Gilmore? Aye. Mayor Hanson? Aye. **[18:45] Mayor Michele Hanson:** Motion carries. We do not have a public hearing this evening and we do not have any unfinished business, so that takes us to our rather lengthy list of new business. We will start out with a consideration of an application submitted by Andersen Corporation to rezone the parcels located at 707, 727, 743, and 759 3rd Street North and the adjacent entrance to the facility from R2 Single-Family Urban to I Industrial. Sara? **[19:32] Sara Taylor (City Planner):** Thank you, Madam Mayor. If I could get that on the screen. As mentioned, the subject parcels are located along Highway 95, which are outlined in red on this map, adjacent to Andersen Corporation's main facility and are surrounded by a mixture of residential, commercial, and industrial land uses. The parcels are currently zoned residential but are presently guided for future industrial land use by the city's Comprehensive Land Use Plan. **[20:20] Sara Taylor (City Planner):** The four parcels on the north are vacant and consist of green space or landscaped area and also provide vehicle access from Highway 95 to the Andersen Corporation employee parking areas. The parcel located furthest south, addressed at 707 3rd Street North, contains an existing single-family house and an accessory detached garage storage building. Andersen has submitted an application requesting that subject parcels be rezoned from residential to industrial to reflect consistency with the proposed land use and the zoning of their main facility. The existing house had been previously used for housing interns working at Andersen; however, this use was discontinued over 10 years ago and because of the state of disrepair, the house is now slated for demolition. **[21:09] Sara Taylor (City Planner):** Once demolished, the yard area will be restored to be consistent with the adjacent green space that already exists to the north of this parcel. Planting of maple trees along the south lot line of 6th Avenue will also help soften the transition from residential to industrial land use in this area. Andersen would like to retain the existing garage storage building and utilize it for seasonal grounds maintenance equipment for the surrounding area. Because the zoning ordinance does not allow a garage to exist on a property without a house in residential districts, rezoning of the parcel to industrial would be required. Andersen has noted that access to the storage building would be infrequent, which would not conflict with the adjacent residential neighborhood. It will also be painting the exterior of the building to create a cohesive palette with the main facility. **[21:56] Sara Taylor (City Planner):** On the city's future land use map included in the Comprehensive Plan, the city has guided these parcels for industrial use due to the abandonment of the residential use and anticipated redevelopment by Andersen. Because the proposed application is consistent with this guidance and the proposed use would be compatible with the surrounding neighborhood, staff is supportive of rezoning the parcels from residential to industrial subject to the conditions listed in the staff report. The Planning Commission held a public hearing on the application at their meeting on August 22nd and recommended approval. The city did not receive any public comments on the application. At this time, I'd be happy to take any questions from the City Council. **[22:41] Councilmember Orin Kipp:** Chris, the project representative from Andersen, is also present and available for questions. So with this change, if something's industrial, they're typically taxed at a higher rate than if it's residential. So is that beneficial to the city to make this change? **[22:41] Sara Taylor (City Planner):** I'm going to defer to our Administrator because I know he had similar questions and did some research on that. **[22:41] Matt Kline (City Administrator):** Madam Mayor, members of the Council, the commercial and industrial tax rate is higher than the residential rate. And so with this changing from residential zoning to the industrial use, it will be taxed at a higher rate. Part of the calculation also involves the structures on it, though. So the structure will be removed from this—one of the structures—so this will be taxed similar to an industrial parking lot or green space. Staff did look at the actual tax impact and because we're not building a new industrial facility, the taxes aren't going to increase significantly, but it will be taxed higher. **[23:27] Councilmember Orin Kipp:** Okay, so at least it's not a loss. **[23:27] Councilmember Katie Hill:** Sara, can you talk a little bit about—I know just about impervious coverage—do you know how this affects the Andersen impervious coverage? I mean, it's a pretty small parcel when you consider the entire facility but this would be more green space? **[24:14] Sara Taylor (City Planner):** Councilmember Hill, thanks for the question. Yes, this would be a net increase in pervious or green space from the existing conditions. As mentioned, the house will be demolished, so that's an increase right there. And also, they're not improving the parcel with any additional impervious. **[24:14] Deputy Mayor Ethan Gilmore:** Is there anything in there that—you know, 25 years from now they come back and say, "Well, we want to build something on there"—is that something that we can not have happen? It sounds like they're trying to do more green space, which is good. **[25:02] Sara Taylor (City Planner):** Councilmember Gilmore, thanks for the question. Yes, Andersen Corporation as a whole is probably close to or exceeding the maximum impervious coverage. So we have been working with them on several different projects to offset that; they've done some stormwater improvement projects. To answer your questions specifically about these parcels, the city would have to approve a variance to allow additional impervious surface to be rebuilt in the future. **[25:02] Councilmember Orin Kipp:** Any other questions? No, I have no questions. I think it seems to make perfect sense for everybody involved, so I have no issues. **[25:02] Mayor Michele Hanson:** Thank you. Carl, anything for you? **[25:02] Councilmember Carl Bliss:** No, I have no questions. **[25:02] Sara Taylor (City Planner):** Okay, thank you very much. You're welcome, Madam Mayor. There is a resolution in the City Council packet for some language when you're ready for a motion. **[25:49] Mayor Michele Hanson:** Perfect. Would someone like to make a motion? **[25:49] Councilmember Michele Hanson:** I move to adopt a resolution approving the rezoning of 707, 727, 743, 759 3rd Street North and the adjacent entrance to Andersen Corporation from R2 Single-Family Urban to I Industrial as presented. **[25:49] Mayor Michele Hanson:** Thank you. Is there a second? **[25:49] Deputy Mayor Ethan Gilmore:** I'll second. **[25:49] Mayor Michele Hanson:** Thank you, Ethan. Roll call, please. **[25:49] Matt Kline (City Administrator):** Councilmember Hanson? Aye. Councilmember Gilmore? Aye. Councilmember Bliss? Aye. Councilmember Hill? Due to my employment situation—I'm employed by Andersen Corporation—I'm not comfortable voting, so I'm going to abstain. Mayor Hanson? Aye. **[26:35] Mayor Michele Hanson:** Very good. Thank you. Four zero and one. All right, thank you very much, Sara. And we're going to move on to item number two, which is to consider amendments to Appendix B, Zoning, of the Bayport City Code of Ordinances related to the regulation of swimming pools and ordinance summary for publication. Sara, if you'd like to present this topic. **[26:35] Sara Taylor (City Planner):** Thank you, Madam Mayor. Over the past few months, staff has been working on amendments to the swimming pool ordinance, specifically to update specifications to be consistent with the new building code regulations as well as make it easier for property owners and contractors to read and understand. In working with the city's building official to make the necessary updates, it was brought to staff's attention that more municipalities are now recognizing a key-operated power locking automatic cover as an acceptable protective safety feature for pools as opposed to a fence that surrounds the entire pool. Currently, the zoning ordinance recognizes a cover as a suitable alternative in the R1 district, which primarily applies to Point Road. **[27:21] Sara Taylor (City Planner):** However, when looking at similar lot characteristics in other areas of the city, staff believes it would be appropriate to extend this provision to lots in the R2 district with a minimum area of 35,000 square feet, which is similar to R1 or Point Road. When considering smaller lots in the downtown area and in Inspiration, it was noted that a cover may not be a fitting alternative to a fence as these areas have several young families with children and are in close proximity to neighboring lots. For these safety and liability reasons, staff is not recommending the cover provision be allowed on less than 35,000 square feet. However, this may be something the city could consider sometime in the future. The Planning Commission held a public hearing on the ordinance at their meeting on August 22nd and recommended approval. The city did not receive any public comments on the ordinance and staff is recommending approval of the amendments as proposed. **[28:41] Mayor Michele Hanson:** Great, thank you. So I did receive one question, and it was just from a resident that already has a pool area, but there isn't any requirement for them to change if they're already in compliance and they have a fence and they maintain the fence, then there's no changes required, correct? **[28:53] Sara Taylor (City Planner):** That's correct. This is just an additional provision for new installation of pools, or if someone who met the minimum requirements decided they no longer desired a fence and wanted the cover as an alternative, they would be eligible to do that. **[28:53] Councilmember Carl Bliss:** Can I ask you, just because I'm trying to visualize 35,000? Because we have a pool and I couldn't imagine not having the fence around it because all it would take is one time for one of us to walk away and forget to put that pool cover on without that fence. So I’m trying to visualize what’s 35,000 like in an area? **[29:42] Sara Taylor (City Planner):** Councilmember Bliss, a traditional lot of record in Bayport is right around 7,000 or 7,500 square feet, so they would need four or five lots to meet that minimum requirement of 35,000. And there are some scattered sites in downtown Bayport that might be close to meeting that requirement, but it would primarily be Point Road, St. Croix Bluffs, or Osprey Boulevard—they're in that 90-some thousand square feet. So it’s a pretty good lot size that you would need to meet this requirement. **[30:27] Mayor Michele Hanson:** And the homes in Inspiration would mostly not be eligible? **[30:27] Sara Taylor (City Planner):** Correct, Councilmember. They average between 6,000 and about 12,000 square feet, so no, those would not be eligible. **[30:27] Councilmember Carl Bliss:** Thanks for asking that question. Yeah, that just makes me feel a little better because, being a pool owner and having neighborhood kids around, if you just ran for a second down the road and forgot to put that up—a fence is up 24/7, 365 days a year. So that makes me feel a little better that there aren’t as many in town that could. That being said, if you’ve ever had experience with those covers, they are pretty amazing what they support. **[31:13] Councilmember Carl Bliss:** Yeah, I’m not challenging whether the cover would do its job, I’m more challenging whether the homeowner would do their job. But thank you, that helps. **[31:13] Mayor Michele Hanson:** Okay, any other questions? All right, thank you, Sara. Would someone like to make a motion on this topic? **[31:13] Councilmember Orin Kipp:** I'll move to adopt an amendment to Appendix B, Zoning, of the Bayport City Code of Ordinances related to the regulation of swimming pools and an ordinance summary for publication as presented to us tonight. **[31:13] Mayor Michele Hanson:** Thank you, Orin. Is there a second? **[31:13] Councilmember Michele Hanson:** Second. **[31:13] Mayor Michele Hanson:** Thank you, Michele. And roll call. **[32:00] Matt Kline (City Administrator):** Councilmember Hill? Aye. Councilmember Hanson? Aye. Councilmember Bliss? Aye. Councilmember Gilmore? Aye. Mayor Hanson? Aye. **[32:00] Mayor Michele Hanson:** Item number three is to consider amendments to Chapter 48, Stormwater Management, of the Bayport City Code of Ordinances related to the protection of public waters and chloride reduction; an ordinance summary for publication. Matt? **[32:46] Matt Kline (City Administrator):** Madam Mayor, members of the Council, on September 14, 2021, the city was reauthorized to discharge stormwater associated with our MS4. What that means is there was a bunch of unfunded mandates that were required to move forward with that. Most of them were administrative in nature, but this final one before the 12-month period of making corrections ended was actually changing part of the ordinance. It primarily deals with chloride reduction, which would be a major component of adding salt during the winter. And so it requires a couple of things: one is how you store salt or even the sand for de-icer regulation—it requires that it's either stored indoors or under a cover. **[33:33] Matt Kline (City Administrator):** Also, there's a component of best management practices for when you transfer it from the storage facility into whatever you're spreading with, say a dump truck. And so the changes are outlined in the memo here and on the ordinance. They're not significant. Sara and I worked together to actually break the stormwater management ordinance into what we call two articles now, just to make it easier. Otherwise, we're adding a weird section at the end of the current ordinance. And so now we have a Public Waters Protection Ordinance article and a Chloride Reduction article, and the chloride reduction part is the stuff that was added. Staff would recommend that we adopt a motion as shown. If you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them. **[34:20] Councilmember Michele Hanson:** Questions for Matt? So do we typically put the penalties right in an article like this, or would it be better to have them referenced somewhere else so you can change the penalty amount? Sometimes you get into that—oh my gosh, now we have to increase that, you got to go back and change your whole article. Or is that not even part of—am I misreading that? **[35:06] Matt Kline (City Administrator):** Councilmember Hanson, actually the penalty is included in the Public Works Protection one and in the Chloride Reduction one. It’s just something at the end that we included. Typically with these types of enforcement policies, those penalties are within the ordinance itself because they're very specific. It’s a misdemeanor punishable act, so that’s a little different than just a civil fine. That is typical that we do put them within each section that's unique like this. **[35:06] Councilmember Michele Hanson:** Okay. And so that's not going to change anytime soon, the fine amount? So I don’t have to go back— **[35:51] Matt Kline (City Administrator):** No, we won't be changing that. If we were to change that, we would be required to change that like we would with the regular fee schedule, but typically these types of penalties that we have throughout the code are not changed much. A lot of it refers to statutory language. It’s not something we’ll be changing often at all, if at all. **[35:51] Mayor Michele Hanson:** Any other questions? If not, would someone like to make a motion? **[35:51] Councilmember Carl Bliss:** Move to adopt an amendment to Chapter 48, Stormwater Management, of the Bayport City Code of Ordinance related to the protection of public water and chloride reduction and an ordinance summary for publication as presented. **[35:51] Mayor Michele Hanson:** Thank you, Carl. Is there a second? **[35:51] Councilmember Michele Hanson:** Second. **[35:51] Mayor Michele Hanson:** Thank you, Michele. Roll call, please. **[36:37] Matt Kline (City Administrator):** Councilmember Bliss? Aye. Councilmember Hanson? Aye. Councilmember Hill? Aye. Councilmember Gilmore? Aye. Mayor Hanson? Aye. **[36:37] Mayor Michele Hanson:** Thank you very much. Next item is to consider quotes for building roof repair and replacement work at City Hall and Picnic Shelter Number One, as well as Pump House Number Four. Matt? **[37:22] Matt Kline (City Administrator):** Madam Mayor, members of the Council, if you recall earlier this year there was a storm that produced quite a bit of hail and we had some damage on City Hall and at Pump House Number Four. Our insurance adjuster came out and reviewed the damage and confirmed that it would be covered under our current policy. So it was then on us to come up with a couple of contractors who could provide quotes for that work. We actually included the picnic shelter into that work just for the fact that it would create a bigger project and potentially give us a better scale of better pricing. As it turns out, all contractors are very busy and we have finally gotten two quotes here just recently. Today—this morning, in fact—was my second quote that I received. You should all have a Burwald Roofing Company quote that was on your chair. **[38:08] Matt Kline (City Administrator):** The roof damage at City Hall was isolated to the middle portion that sits above the council chambers and there was a skylight that was damaged at Pump House Number Four. As I said, both of these are covered under the insurance policy and it's a $2,500 deductible for the event as a whole and not for just one location. As I had indicated, we received two quotes: the first was from Lift Bridge Builders and the second was from Burwald Roofing. The Lift Bridge Builders quote is obviously less than what the Burwald Roofing portion is. One thing that’s missing on the Burwald quote is the park pavilion. So tonight, I’m asking for acceptance for just the City Hall roof and then the skylight replacement on Pump House Four, and then authorization to move forward with whichever quote is less once the Burwald Roofing quote comes in for the park pavilion. The current quote from Lift Bridge Builders for the park pavilion is $4,194. We did talk earlier today about possibly holding out and waiting for that price to come down, but we're not sure that it actually will based on materials. **[39:40] Councilmember Michele Hanson:** Can we do them separately? Like if we want Burwald to do the skylight? **[40:28] Matt Kline (City Administrator):** That’s not something that I would do separate, just because the skylight and City Hall were kind of together for the quote, and then the park pavilion was essentially separate. It looks like Burwald’s skylight is less expensive, but the roof is more expensive the other way around. To compare apples to apples, you’d take the alternate 24-gauge at $51,000 from Burwald. I verified with Lift Bridge Builders today that it’s also a 24-gauge steel roof. **[41:14] Matt Kline (City Administrator):** Regarding the possibility of postponing the shelter roof—that is something on our CIP that we were hoping to have done this year. We think it’s best to just have that done sooner than later; it’s been in disrepair for quite some time. **[41:14] Councilmember Katie Hill:** I have a quick question. So it’s just literally replacing the skylight? No other roof work needs to be—I mean, flashing and all that stuff that would be with the skylight? I guess the reason I ask is I can imagine years ago maybe why we had skylights, but why wouldn't we just roof that over and not have a skylight? **[42:01] Matt Kline (City Administrator):** That’s a good question, Councilmember Hill. Usually, we have a skylight in a pump house so that you can open it up to pull out the pump, but it’s not even in that location to pull out the pump. My guess would be that it’s probably easier to replace the skylight at this point than to actually try and re-roof just that section. **[42:01] Councilmember Katie Hill:** Okay, thank you. I was wondering why we needed the skylight. **[42:46] Mayor Michele Hanson:** Any other questions? If not, would someone like to make a motion? **[43:32] Councilmember Michele Hanson:** I move to accept the quote from Lift Bridge Builders for replacement of the City Hall roof and the skylight and then authorize city staff to move forward with the lowest responsible bidder for the park pavilion. **[43:32] Mayor Michele Hanson:** We have a motion to approve. Is there a second? **[43:32] Councilmember Orin Kipp:** Second. **[43:32] Mayor Michele Hanson:** Thank you, Orin. Roll call, please. **[43:32] Matt Kline (City Administrator):** Councilmember Hanson? Aye. Councilmember Hill? Aye. Councilmember Gilmore? Aye. Councilmember Bliss? Aye. Mayor Hanson? Aye. **[44:25] Mayor Michele Hanson:** Item number five: consider an interim ordinance prohibiting new or expanded uses related to cannabis and an ordinance summary for publication. This is over to Matt and our City Attorney. **[44:25] Matt Kline (City Administrator):** Thank you, Madam Mayor, members of the Council. This item has been something that we've been discussing with the Council for the past several months regarding the regulation of THC products. If you recall, back in July of 2022, the Minnesota Legislature recent changes to the law went into effect which allowed the sale of THC products. There's very little regulation from the state law and the cities are kind of scrambling as to determine how to deal with this change. The City of Stillwater had passed a moratorium last November. What this moratorium does is basically puts a pause and a hold on any new sales or new businesses in the city from opening up a store or a venue for this product. **[45:10] Matt Kline (City Administrator):** Coincidentally, we did get an inquiry today about someone interested in possibly opening up a new smoke shop in town. So this would actually, depending on what is being pursued there—if these products were being pursued—that would be not allowed at this time. Anyone who currently sells them would still be able to continue doing that, but this would basically put a pause on it. The reason for this is to really just give the Council some time to determine how it wants to be regulated, if at all. It's only good for one year. One of the other things in talking with Chief [Jackson], our goal should be to be in line with the other surrounding communities that way we don't either attract or force these types of businesses from one community to the other. Staff is suggesting possibly a licensing mechanism, the same as we do with our tobacco. **[47:30] Councilmember Michele Hanson:** Are there any businesses right now that can sell it from Bayport? **[47:30] Matt Kline (City Administrator):** We are not aware of any. Holiday would be able to. Liquor stores are the only licensed business currently prohibited from selling these products. **[48:17] Councilmember Michele Hanson:** But not bars? **[48:17] Matt Kline (City Administrator):** I’m not aware of any bars currently selling them. The moratorium doesn't really affect them—it's only for new sales. Someone who's existing right now could just go out and start selling it if they wanted to. **[49:03] Councilmember Michele Hanson:** Interesting. And do we have any—I mean, if we as a city chose to say we don't want that, we can't do anything about that, right? We have to fall underneath the state's minimum guidelines? **[49:48] Matt Kline (City Administrator):** We can be more restrictive than the state, following regulations. But we have not had the opportunity as a city to discuss that yet. **[50:34] Councilmember Michele Hanson:** So if someone started in the meantime, what would happen if we came up with a new ordinance around it but they're already selling it? **[51:20] City Attorney:** Mayor, Council, that's what we're talking about: non-conformities. If you do not pass a moratorium and a business starts selling this product, you can't easily come back and say you can no longer sell it because they're an existing business. It gives us more flexibility to have this moratorium now so that in a year from now we could enforce something. **[52:51] Councilmember Michele Hanson:** All right, well it makes sense since we don't have a plan. I feel like we need to do this to give us time to figure it out. **[53:37] City Attorney:** Mayor, Council, I might make one more recommendation. I would recommend striking "non-intoxicating" from the ordinance that you have, simply because intoxicating cannabinoids are legal and they are different than the word cannabis as defined, and you want to make sure that you're encompassing all cannabinoids whether they're intoxicating or not. **[54:29] Councilmember Michele Hanson:** I like that. Thanks for bringing that up. **[54:44] Councilmember Carl Bliss:** I'll move to adopt an interim ordinance prohibiting new or expanded uses related to cannabis and an ordinance summary for publication as amended by our attorney. **[54:44] Mayor Michele Hanson:** Thank you, Carl. Second? **[54:44] Councilmember Orin Kipp:** Second. **[54:44] Mayor Michele Hanson:** Thank you, Orin. Roll call. **[54:44] Matt Kline (City Administrator):** Councilmember Bliss? Aye. Councilmember Hill? Aye. Councilmember Gilmore? Aye. Councilmember Hanson? Aye. Mayor Hanson? Aye. **[55:30] Mayor Michele Hanson:** Okay, that takes us to the topic of the 2023 budget presentation and there currently are four different resolutions underneath to be considered. Over to you, Matt. **[55:30] Matt Kline (City Administrator):** Thank you, Madam Mayor. Just one note: there's three resolutions and the fourth is actually just an announcement. We had a budget workshop immediately preceding the regular meeting. I apologize to the public for the delay. That discussion went long and there were some questions that were unresolved. My first question to the Council is whether or not the Council is comfortable at this point with the information they received and ready to just vote on this tonight, or if the Council would like to further discuss the budget and levy. I am prepared to present the preliminary budget, but if the Council would like to continue discussing it, we talked about having another meeting. September 30th is the deadline for submitting the figures to the county. What is the pulse of the Council? **[57:01] Councilmember Michele Hanson:** I believe it was the CIP specifically that we wanted to dive into a little bit deeper. **[57:46] Matt Kline (City Administrator):** If the Council would like, I can go ahead and give the presentation as a summary for the public. **[57:46] Mayor Michele Hanson:** That would be great. *(Budget Presentation segment follows)* **[1:00:13] Matt Kline (City Administrator):** ...A reminder: the Council can reduce the levy amount after the preliminary levy is adopted, but it can't increase it. Our local government aid increased by 2.2 percent. Our fire station bond debt service went up 4.5 percent. We maintained funding for emerald ash borer. The library requested a $10,000 levy increase, and we were able to accomplish what they were looking to do with a $9,500 library levy increase. **[1:08:42] Matt Kline (City Administrator):** The total levy for as proposed was $1,457,703. The library levy was $194,500 for a total of $1,652,203, which ends up being a 3.78 percent total increase on the levy. The tax rate as proposed will go down 13.5 percent. The tax impact for a median-valued home ($332,800) would result in approximately a $16 actual dollar increase for the city's portion. **[1:21:34] Councilmember Michele Hanson:** The only thing I would like to discuss is whether we should be considering setting aside more money for future projects, which would of course increase the bottom line taxes for each home. **[1:22:19] Councilmember Orin Kipp:** I understand where Michele's coming from, but I feel like we discussed the levy and went through it. **[1:24:37] Councilmember Michele Hanson:** But should we be setting aside more money, especially after the discussions that we just had earlier today about how we really don't have enough to do all the projects that we want to do? I want to understand if we should be doing that $10,000 additional in the levy so we can put that aside for parks or for street projects. **[1:25:24] Deputy Mayor Ethan Gilmore:** I think we could probably use a little more discussion on that. I just feel like there are some things brought up that I get Michele's point on. **[1:36:02] Mayor Michele Hanson:** I'm comfortable and confident in Matt's and the staff's proposal based on his knowledge. They know that I want to save, but I want to do it in a manner that works for the departments. But I’d love to hear from the rest of the Council. John? Or Orin? **[1:36:49] Councilmember Orin Kipp:** This is always my weak point, this budget stuff. I don't want to unnecessarily burden citizens. I'm torn because I get Michele's point of wanting to squirrel away a little bit for some of these other projects. At the same time, when staff gives me a recommendation, that carries a lot of weight with me. **[1:38:20] Councilmember Carl Bliss:** I tend to echo the Mayor. I have ultimate faith in our staff. I can’t think of a year where we’ve had to struggle to figure out how to do whatever projects we’ve had. I’m comfortable where it’s at. **[1:39:52] Matt Kline (City Administrator):** My recommendation would be to put it in the street reconstruction fund if you add more. That’s the biggest gap we have. Even if it's $25,000 this year, it's not a silver bullet, but it helps. **[1:46:34] Mayor Michele Hanson:** So, we've heard all the opinions. Would someone like to make a motion about the levy? **[1:47:21] Councilmember Orin Kipp:** I'll move to adopt a resolution for the preliminary levy for 2023 of $1,652,203. **[1:47:21] Mayor Michele Hanson:** Thank you, Orin. Is there a second? **[1:47:21] Councilmember Carl Bliss:** Second. **[1:47:21] Mayor Michele Hanson:** Roll call. **[1:47:58] Matt Kline (City Administrator):** Councilmember Hill? Aye. Councilmember Bliss? Aye. Councilmember Gilmore? Aye. Councilmember Hanson? Aye. Mayor Hanson? Aye. **[1:48:43] Councilmember Orin Kipp:** I'll move to adopt a resolution of the preliminary budget for 2023 as listed in the presentation submitted to us. **[1:48:43] Mayor Michele Hanson:** Second? **[1:48:43] Councilmember Carl Bliss:** Second. **[1:48:43] Mayor Michele Hanson:** Roll call. (All vote Aye). And our third resolution, please. **[1:49:31] Councilmember Orin Kipp:** I'll move to adopt a resolution for the proposed Capital Improvement Plan as presented to us. **[1:49:31] Mayor Michele Hanson:** Is there a second? **[1:49:31] Matt Kline (City Administrator):** Second. **[1:50:16] Councilmember Michele Hanson:** Can I ask a question? With him doing it like this, do we still have the October meeting to vote on the projects? **[1:50:16] Matt Kline (City Administrator):** The CIP can be amended throughout the year. It doesn't affect the budget numbers. **[1:51:03] Mayor Michele Hanson:** Roll call please. (All vote Aye). October 3rd, we will plan on having the CIP as the workshop topic. **[1:55:21] Mayor Michele Hanson:** That will take us to our City Council liaison reports. Michele? **[1:55:21] Councilmember Michele Hanson:** I did not attend the planning commission meeting because it was my anniversary on August 22nd. Derby Days is this coming weekend. Friday night we have the party in the park at Legion Field, and Saturday we have the duck derby, medallion hunt, and fireworks at 8:30 PM. Go on the BeCal website for the whole schedule. **[2:00:40] Councilmember Carl Bliss:** I have nothing to report. **[2:00:40] Councilmember Katie Hill:** I have nothing to report. **[2:00:40] Mayor Michele Hanson:** I attended the groundbreaking for the new library project, which was fabulous. Also attended the WMO meeting, fire relief, and the airport ribbon cutting ceremony. I'll turn it over to staff reports. **[2:03:44] Police Chief Jay Jackson:** Good evening Madam Mayor and Council. We had Night to Unite and safety camp. I want to recognize Woody's and Mary Tichner for their help. Upcoming on September 16-17 for Derby Days we will have reserves and officers walking around. We’ve been working diligently on a death investigation at the prison recently which is consuming a lot of our time. **[2:08:21] Public Works Director Joe Hansen:** Summer busy season is winding down. We had a third seasonal employee this summer and it worked out really well. We’ve been doing ash tree removal and we have an eagle scout project planting 20 trees in Lakeside Park. We also completed some seal coating at City Hall and the tennis courts. **[2:12:10] Sara Taylor (City Planner):** Reminders about elections: absentee voting begins September 23rd. The Mayor and two council seats are up for election on November 8th. We are recommending the regular November meeting be moved from November 1st to the 14th to accommodate canvassing. **[2:13:41] Matt Kline (City Administrator):** Just a final update: we learned that Washington County has requested a speed limit increase on County Road 14 from 30 to 35 MPH. We were not supportive of that, but it was a county decision. We are discussing a potential sidewalk connection to regain some safety in that area. **[2:22:30] Mayor Michele Hanson:** Thank you to the entire staff for the budget preparation. Would someone like to make a motion to adjourn? **[2:22:30] Councilmember Michele Hanson:** Move to adjourn. **[2:22:30] Mayor Michele Hanson:** Thank you. Second? **[2:22:30] Deputy Mayor Ethan Gilmore:** Second. **[2:22:30] Mayor Michele Hanson:** All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. **[2:23:31] (Meeting Adjourned)**