This transcript appears to be from the **Richfield City Council meeting held on June 11, 2024**. Based on the roles provided in your list and the context of the dialogue, I have identified the speakers below. *Note: The transcript mentions "Council Member Troutman" and "Council Member Whalen" (transcribed as "whan"). While not on your initial list, Simon Trautmann and Ben Whalen are members of the Richfield City Council.* [00:00:00] **Mayor Mary Supple:** 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. Thank you. Next, I would like to have a moment of silence honoring the life and service of Officer Jamal Mitchell of Minneapolis who lost his life in the line of duty. Thank you. Our sincere condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of Officer Mitchell and to the entire Minneapolis Community. We know this loss reverberates throughout the entire law enforcement community and grieve with you at yet another tragic loss in the line of duty as Governor Walz said, this cannot become the norm. Thank you. Next, we'll move on to the open Forum. If there's anyone in the audience that would like to speak you can fill out a form or come up to the microphone over there. If you're watching from home you can call in open Forum by dialing 1-415-655-0001 and use webinar access code 2635 863 9398 and the password is 1 2 3 4. Administrative Assistant, is there anyone on the line? [00:01:15] **City Clerk Michelle Friedrich:** Okay, and no emails were received and it doesn't look like anyone here would like to speak. [00:01:20] **Mayor Mary Supple:** So we'll move on from the open Forum. Next, we're going to move on to the minutes and before we actually move the minutes I wanted to read a statement. So before making a motion to approve the minutes I want to further clarify one of the agenda items passed at our last meeting. The council passed a construction agreement with the Minnesota Department of Transportation to construct a noise wall along Highway 62. The resolution and agenda description correctly described the project beginning at Xerxes Avenue but was less precise about the ending point which falls between Russell and Penn Avenues. The agreement we approved provides the specific terminus of 800ths of miles west of Penn Avenue South and we wanted to note that clarification in public. So with that, is there anyone who would like to move the minutes? [00:02:05] **Council Member Walter Burk:** So moved. [00:02:06] **Council Member Sharon Christensen:** Second. [00:02:07] **Mayor Mary Supple:** All right, it's been moved and seconded. Is there anything that anyone wishes to add or correct or delete or—all right, hearing no changes, all in favor please say aye. [00:02:15] **Council Members (In Unison):** Aye. [00:02:16] **Mayor Mary Supple:** All opposed? All right, we've passed the minutes for the city council meeting of May 28th, 2024. Next, we'll move on to approving the agenda. [00:02:25] **Council Member Sean Hayford Oleary:** Move to approve the agenda. [00:02:27] **Council Member Ben Whalen:** Second. [00:02:28] **Mayor Mary Supple:** It's been moved and seconded to approve the agenda. Is there any discussion? All right, hearing none, all in favor of approving the agenda please say aye. [00:02:35] **Council Members (In Unison):** Aye. [00:02:36] **Mayor Mary Supple:** All opposed? All right, we've approved the agenda. At this point in our agenda, we are to the proclamation of the city of Richfield for celebrating Juneteenth. So I would like to invite Dr. Joyce Marie to join me over at the microphone. Thank you for joining us here tonight. [00:02:50] **Dr. Joyce Marie:** Yes, it's a pleasure. [00:02:52] **Mayor Mary Supple:** Whereas President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1st, 1863, declaring that all persons held as slaves within the rebellious states are and henceforward shall be free; and whereas this Freedom was deferred for many black Americans as slaveholders seeking to maintain their wealth and power kept word of this Proclamation from their newly freed slaves... [Mayor continues reading the full proclamation] ...Now therefore I, Mary Supple, mayor of Richfield, on behalf of the Richfield city council do acknowledge the relevance of June 19th, 1865, and celebrate every June 19th as Juneteenth Freedom Day in the city of Richfield. Proclaimed this 11th day of June 2024. Thank you. [00:05:00] **Dr. Joyce Marie:** Thank you, mayor. I'm so honored and privileged to receive this proclamation. What I wanted to say is that this has been a great undertaking as far as America. This is the third year that the federal holiday came forth on June 17, 2021. We truly know when I think about Maya Angelou's poem "The Caged Bird," I think about why the Caged Bird sings... I want to thank the city of Richfield and the government officials for awarding this proclamation. If one is chained, then none of us are free. Thank you. [Applause] [00:06:15] **Mayor Mary Supple:** Thank you so much, Dr. Joyce Marie. Next, we're going to do the presentation of the food safety awards and I'm going to turn it over to Health Administrator Jennifer Anderson. [00:06:25] **Health Administrator Jennifer Anderson:** Thank you. Good evening mayor, members of the council. Beginning in 2006, the Richfield Advisory Board of Health started recognizing food establishments for their excellence and food safety and service practices... This evening, the 2023 full-service restaurant award goes to Broadway Pizza and we have John and Nina here to receive their plaque. [Applause] And the 2023 fast food pizza carry out award goes to Taco Bell and we have Sandy and Alfredo here tonight to receive this award. [Applause] I want to thank each of the establishments for their commitment to food safety. Thank you. [00:08:10] **Mayor Mary Supple:** Thank you, and I believe then you'll be taking pictures out in the lobby. All right, thank you. The consent calendar is our next item on the agenda and I'm going to turn it over to City Manager Rodriguez. [00:08:25] **City Manager Katie Rodriguez:** Thank you, mayor. The consent calendar contains several separate items which are acted upon by the city council in one motion... [Manager reads Items A, B, and C regarding liquor licenses, bonds, and firefighter health plans] ...and I submit these items for your consideration as part of the consent calendar. [00:09:40] **Mayor Mary Supple:** All right, is there a motion to approve the consent calendar? [00:09:43] **Council Member Ben Whalen:** So moved. [00:09:44] **Council Member Walter Burk:** Second. [00:09:45] **Mayor Mary Supple:** It's been moved and seconded to approve the consent calendar. Is there any discussion? All in favor please say aye. [00:09:50] **Council Members (In Unison):** Aye. [00:09:52] **Mayor Mary Supple:** All opposed? The consent calendar has passed. Next, we'll move on to item six and I'll turn that over to Council Member Trautmann. [00:10:00] **Council Member Simon Trautmann:** Thank you, mayor. This item is to consider the approval of a second reading of an ordinance amending section 925.2 relating to the regulation of vacant buildings... in October 2023 the city council approved an ordinance relating to managed natural landscapes and the new maintenance standard of grass height from 6 to 8 inches per state law... this section should have been amended but was overlooked. I would move we approve a second reading of the ordinance amending the section 22.021 for vacant properties as well as a resolution and summary publication of this ordinance. [00:10:45] **Council Member Sean Hayford Oleary:** Second. [00:10:46] **Mayor Mary Supple:** It's been moved and seconded. Is there any discussion? [00:10:48] **Council Member Sean Hayford Oleary:** I just wanted to say briefly I appreciate City staff jumping on this right away so thank you for being so prompt. [00:10:55] **Mayor Mary Supple:** Any other discussion? All right, all in favor please say aye. [00:11:00] **Council Members (In Unison):** Aye. [00:11:01] **Mayor Mary Supple:** All opposed? We've passed this motion. Next, we'll move on to item number seven, Council Member Hayford. [00:11:05] **Council Member Sean Hayford Oleary:** Yes, this item is to consider a resolution amending the approved plan unit development and final development plan and authorizing execution of the proposed amendment to the parking agreement with Partnership Academy at 6500 Nicolet Avenue... [Reads long report detailing the 2018 approval, the 2022 expansion, the current parking deficit, and the request for a one-year extension to avoid a $50,000 penalty] ...I will move that we approve the attached resolution amending the approved plan unit development and final development plan and authorizing execution of the proposed amendment to the parking agreement at 6500 Nicolet Avenue. [00:13:50] **Council Member Simon Trautmann:** Second. [00:13:51] **Mayor Mary Supple:** Okay, we've had a motion and a second. Are there any questions for staff? Council Member Trautmann. [00:13:55] **Council Member Simon Trautmann:** Thank you, mayor. I'm really pleased to support this motion. I did have a question with regards to any penalties. I like the idea of not holding a devastating penalty over a school's head but I did wonder if there was any tool that we were retaining if we needed to enforce the agreement? [00:14:15] **Community Development Director Melissa Poehlman:** Council Member Trautmann, members of the council, the penalty remains in the agreement. The Planning Commission waived it for 2024. So if we were to waive it going forward there would have to be action by the council, so it is still in place. [00:14:35] **Council Member Ben Whalen:** I've got a couple questions. I haven't watched the Planning Commission discussion on this yet, but I appreciate the recommendation. I was just curious—it was deliberate that they recommended 5 years rather than the 10 requested by the applicant? [00:14:55] **Community Development Director Melissa Poehlman:** Yes, that is correct. [00:14:57] **Council Member Ben Whalen:** I guess I am wondering about the procedure of annually renewing it. What does staff consider in the administrative approvals versus us just saying they're good until 2029? [00:15:05] **Community Development Director Melissa Poehlman:** The idea here is that they would need to come in each year and tell us progress that they're making and then the extension could be granted by the community development director... If they weren't making that progress we could bring them back to you. [00:15:25] **Mayor Mary Supple:** I would like to make an amendment to this because it said in the staff report that we were waving the penalties but it wasn't clear to me in reading the resolution. I would like to make the following amendment on the resolution: Item number three—"the penalty for non-compliance by April 12th, 2024 shall be waived." Is there a second? [00:15:50] **Council Member Simon Trautmann:** I second. [00:15:52] **Council Member Ben Whalen:** In the Financial Impact section, staff recommends that it be prorated for a two-month delinquency period. What are your thoughts on that versus just waving it? [00:16:10] **Mayor Mary Supple:** From what I understand, because I asked that question... there was a 6-1 vote at Planning Commission. One member thought it should not be waived and the other six thought it should be. I talked to Director Poehlman and she explained what the intent was. I thought maybe it would be easier to clarify it. [00:16:30] **Council Member Ben Whalen:** I don't want our penalties to mean nothing but obviously I'm not really in favor of holding their feet to the fire about parking in general. Director Poehlman, would you feel that it's fair that they were working with staff prior to the deadline passing? [00:16:45] **Community Development Director Melissa Poehlman:** Members of the council, yes, they did reach out prior to the deadline. [00:16:50] **Council Member Ben Whalen:** I would support this amendment. [00:16:55] **Mayor Mary Supple:** All in favor of the amendment please say aye. (Aye). All right, we're back to discussing the main motion. I had one question: If we had to invoke and say you've got to build a structured parking garage, about how long would that take? [00:17:15] **Community Development Director Melissa Poehlman:** Madam Mayor, members of the council, my best guess is it's probably close to 18 months for construction of a structured parking ramp in this vicinity. [00:17:40] **Council Member Simon Trautmann:** Would we also be able to waive any fees during that delinquency but good faith process? [00:17:50] **Community Development Director Melissa Poehlman:** Yes, if they were working toward that there absolutely is a mechanism to make sure we wouldn't charge them that fee on top of that work. [00:18:05] **Council Member Sean Hayford Oleary:** I'll be voting in support of this as amended. I just want to note I appreciate the Planning Commission specifically noting that the solution of demolishing an existing commercial building to be used as non-taxpaying surface parking is just such a good point. [00:18:30] **Mayor Mary Supple:** All in favor of approval of the motion as amended please say aye. [00:18:35] **Council Members (In Unison):** Aye. [00:18:37] **Mayor Mary Supple:** All opposed? All right, we have approved the motion as amended. Next, we will move on to the city manager's report. City Manager Rodriguez? [00:18:45] **City Manager Katie Rodriguez:** Nothing to report tonight, thank you. [00:18:47] **Council Member Ben Whalen:** I'd move claims and payroll. [00:18:49] **Council Member Sharon Christensen:** I'll second. [00:18:50] **Mayor Mary Supple:** All in favor please say aye. (Aye). We have approved claims and payroll. Hats off to Hometown Hits. Council Member Whalen? [00:19:05] **Council Member Ben Whalen:** Nothing tonight other than just thanking everyone who had a role in the state of the city event right before this. It was a lovely event and was great to have everyone here. [00:19:20] **Council Member Sharon Christensen:** Yes, I'd like to give a hats off to the Richfield Arts Commission. This Saturday we will be doing a seed bomb event at the Richfield Farmers Market. [00:19:40] **Mayor Mary Supple:** Can you tell us what a seed bomb is? [00:19:42] **Council Member Sharon Christensen:** You take potting soil and dirt, get it wet, form it into a ball, and drop seeds in. They specifically do native Minnesota prairie flowers. [00:19:55] **Council Member Sean Hayford Oleary:** I just want to give my hats off to the progress on our 25 miles per hour limit which kicks in the day of our next meeting. You don't need to steal signs from Minneapolis anymore because now we have our own! [00:20:15] **Council Member Simon Trautmann:** Thank you, mayor. It was just an incredible event this afternoon for all our city staff and community leaders. Our mayor gave great remarks. And I also wanted to take my hats off to our Public Works team who have our pool up and running. [00:20:45] **Mayor Mary Supple:** I would like to give hats off to our Police Department that is helping out in Minneapolis today in the Third Precinct to cover during the memorial service. I also want to give a hats off to all the graduates. And thank you to everyone for the "State of the Community" event. We will next be moving into the closed session regarding the city manager's annual performance evaluation. Council Member Christensen? [00:21:20] **Council Member Sharon Christensen:** I move that the council convene to a closed session pursuant to Minnesota statutes section 13D.05 subdivision 3 for the city manager's annual performance evaluation. [00:21:30] **Council Member Walter Burk:** Second. [00:21:31] **Mayor Mary Supple:** All in favor please say aye. (Aye). We will move to the Babcock room. *(The council conducts the closed session and then reconvenes)* [00:22:00] **Mayor Mary Supple:** The council just conducted a closed session for a performance evaluation of the city manager. The council will be holding another closed performance evaluation meeting on June 18th and as required by law, the council will provide a summary of the performance evaluation at its next regular meeting on June 25th, 2024. A motion is in order to adjourn the meeting. [00:22:25] **Council Member Ben Whalen:** So moved. [00:22:26] **Council Member Sean Hayford Oleary:** Second. [00:22:27] **Mayor Mary Supple:** All in favor please say aye. [00:22:28] **Council Members (In Unison):** Aye. [00:22:29] **Mayor Mary Supple:** All opposed? We stand adjourned.