As an expert transcriptionist, I have reviewed the dialogue against the provided list of officials and the internal context of the meeting. Please note: The raw transcript contains some names not included in your provided list (such as Council Members Engebretson and Willenbring), likely due to recent elections or appointments. I have used the names as they were identified during the roll call and discussion. Since the source text did not include timestamps, I have omitted them to ensure accuracy, or you may view them as sequential entries. *** **[00:00] Mayor Kevin Zabel:** All righty everybody, we're going to go ahead and call to order the regular meeting of the Oakdale City Council, April 9th, 2024. Sarah, will you take the roll? **[00:15] Sarah (City Clerk):** Council Member Her? **[00:16] Council Member Noah Her:** Here. **[00:17] Sarah (City Clerk):** Council Member Engebretson? **[00:18] Council Member Jake Engebretson:** Here. **[00:19] Sarah (City Clerk):** Council Member Morcomb? **[00:20] Council Member Andy Morcomb:** Here. **[00:21] Sarah (City Clerk):** Council Member Willenbring? **[00:22] Council Member Willenbring:** Here. **[00:23] Sarah (City Clerk):** Mayor Zabel? **[00:24] Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Here. Please join me for the Pledge of Allegiance. **[00:26] 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. **[00:40] Mayor Kevin Zabel:** First up on the agenda tonight is the approval of the agenda. Council members, we have a slightly amended version in front of us. Can I get a motion to approve the agenda as amended? **[00:50] Council Member:** So moved. **[00:51] Mayor Kevin Zabel:** There's a motion. Is there a second? **[00:52] Council Member:** Second. **[00:53] Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Motion and a second. Any comments? All those in favor say aye. **[00:55] Council Members:** Aye. **[00:56] Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Opposed? And the agenda is adopted. Next up, we have approval of minutes, two sets tonight. First beginning with workshop meeting minutes from March 26, 2024. Council members, any changes or corrections? I'll look for a motion. **[01:10] Council Member:** So moved. **[01:11] Mayor Kevin Zabel:** There's a motion. Is there a second? **[01:12] Council Member:** Second. **[01:13] Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Motion and a second. Any comments? All those in favor say aye. **[01:15] Council Members:** Aye. **[01:16] Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Opposed? And those minutes are approved. Next up, we have regular meeting minutes from March 26, 2024. Are there any changes or corrections? Look for a motion. **[01:25] Council Member:** So moved. **[01:26] Mayor Kevin Zabel:** There's a motion. Is there a second? **[01:27] Council Member:** Second. **[01:28] Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Motion and a second. All those in favor say aye. **[01:30] Council Members:** Aye. **[01:31] Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Opposed? And those minutes are approved as well. We have nothing under public hearings tonight, so we'll move right into open forum. Before we open up the floor to anybody that might want to speak, we have one proclamation recognizing Fair Housing Month in the city of Oakdale. "Whereas the Fair Housing Act, enacted on April 11th, 1968, enshrined into federal law the goal of eliminating racial segregation and ending housing discrimination in the United States; and whereas the Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin, and disability and commits recipients of federal funding to affirmatively further fair housing in their communities; and whereas the City of Oakdale is committed to the mission and intent of Congress to provide fair and equal housing opportunities for all; and whereas our social fabric, the economy, health, and environment are strengthened in diverse, inclusive communities; and whereas more than 50 years after the passage of the Fair Housing Act, discrimination persists and many communities remain segregated; and whereas acts of housing discrimination and barriers to equal housing opportunity are repugnant to a common sense of decency and fairness; and whereas the City of Oakdale is an inclusive community committed to fair housing and to promoting appropriate activities by private and public entities to provide and advocate for equal housing opportunities for all residents and prospective residents of Oakdale; therefore I, Kevin Zabel, Mayor of Oakdale, Minnesota, do hereby proclaim the month of April 2024 as Fair Housing Month." Going back to the agenda, we are still under open forum. This is an opportunity for anybody in the audience who would like to share anything on their mind with the city council. Please feel free to step up to the podium, start with your name and address for the record, and share anything that's on your mind. We ask you to try and keep comments to roughly three minutes. Seeing none, we will keep going and move into consensus motions. Council members, we have motions A through H in front of us tonight. Council members, are there any that you would like to remove from the consent agenda for individual consideration? Seeing none, I'll look for a motion. **[04:45] Council Member:** I'll make a motion to approve consensus motions A through H as presented. **[04:48] Mayor Kevin Zabel:** There's a motion. Is there a second? **[04:49] Council Member:** Second. **[04:50] Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Motion and a second. Any comments? All those in favor say aye. **[04:52] Council Members:** Aye. **[04:53] Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Opposed? And A through H are approved as presented. Next up is an opportunity to check in with our advisory boards and commissions. It looks like the only one that met was the Planning Commission on April 4th. Council Member Engebretson is the liaison. **[05:08] Council Member Jake Engebretson:** If memory serves me right, they just had an application for an accessory dwelling. Would that be a house? Yeah, an addition to a house for a family member. I can't remember the term—accessory, yep. But it looked very nice. And then the Planning Commission also had numerous training opportunities put on by our City Clerk, City Attorney, and City Administrator. That is correct. But that's it. **[05:40] Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Great, thank you for that, Jake. Nothing under award of bids tonight, so we'll move into staff reports. First up, Police Department. Chief Newton, would you like to tee this one up for us? **[05:50] Police Chief Nick Newton:** Yes, thank you, Honorable Mayor, Council Members. This evening in front of you is a recommendation for denial of a liquor license. This is pertaining to Oak Liquor at 1801 Geneva Avenue. The applicant was late to submit a liquor license renewal application, including late processing for payment of a deadline of February 16th. On March 27th, the city licensing clerk sent a letter to the business owner advising that they will need to cease sales of alcohol and liquor between April 1st and April 9th until Council is able to review and make a recommendation. In addition to that letter, the Police Department contacted the owner by phone to let them know that you should not sell any liquor between April 1st and April 9th. During that first week of April, the Police Department learned that Oak Liquor was selling liquor, and this happened on April 3rd where a Police Department employee observed a customer walk out of the business with a case of beer. The following day, a police detective went in the store and bought a six-pack of beer, and at that time the police detective and another police employee made contact with the owner again to reiterate that they need to stop the sale of liquor until after April 9th. Two days later, or the weekend of April 7th, we learned that an Oakdale resident purchased alcohol from the business. That following day, on Monday, the Police Department made contact with the owner, who admitted to selling liquor over the weekend, claiming that he needed to keep the business running due to financial reasons. In addition to what unfolded that first week of April, there have been some previous compliance issues: one dating back to 2021 with an underage alcohol/tobacco sale; in October of '23, an underage sale for alcohol; and in December of '23, an underage sale for tobacco. So, in light of these violations, they will be facing some administrative fines for those violations. Also, due to these willful acts by the owner and persistence to keep selling even after being advised by the Police Department, the Police Department is making a recommendation for denial. **[08:10] Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Thank you, Chief Newton. Council members, are there any questions for Chief Newton? **[08:15] Council Member Jake Engebretson:** Just a quick one... there were violations on October 24th and December 21st of 2023. Did they pass any in that time? **[08:25] Police Chief Nick Newton:** No, those were the only compliance checks we did in 2023. **[08:30] Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Council members, any other questions for Police Chief Newton? Do we have the applicant here with us tonight? Yes, Mr. Lor is seated in the back. Mr. Lor, we want to afford you an opportunity to say anything before we make a decision. If you would like to, you are welcome to step up to the podium and share anything. Looking at the City Attorney, we're good? **[08:50] Assistant City Attorney Rachel Tierney:** Mayor, you are perfectly good to have Mr. Lor speak. But what's before you today—if the Council chooses to deny the license—my recommendation is going to be that we lay it over, write a resolution on the basis for those denials, and then give Mr. Lor the right to a hearing so he can show up, understand the basis, and respond to those allegations before you make a final decision. The recommendation for today is for you to direct staff to begin that process to prepare that resolution. **[09:20] Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Okay, thank you. Mr. Lor, the floor is yours if there is anything you would like to say. **[09:25] Mr. Lor (Oak Liquor Applicant):** Okay, so as of February 5th, 2024, we put—we have an agreement with Nana and NV Investment LLC for a purchase agreement and then upon the closing date to be March 31st. And the buyer agreed to apply for a license within the seven days of the date the purchase agreement was signed. And then I have—we thought that Nana and the NV Investment LLCs agreed to apply for a liquor license because they're serious about it. But then it was after the deadline they backed out on the purchase agreement. So we're late. And then for the cease sales, it was going to be like a financial burden for us if we close for a week, you know? And we're just going to be stuck with 10-15,000 in debt, so it's going to be hard on our part. Thank you. **[10:40] Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Thank you. Council members, we have a recommendation from city staff and our City Attorney in front of us. Would anybody like to make that motion? **[10:50] Council Member Noah Her:** Mayor Zabel, if you don't mind me asking—I do want to ask: what if we were to decline this liquor license? What are the steps for the applicant to possibly re-qualify or reapply, or what is the corrective measure here? Is there a path forward for them to try and get back in the good graces of the city? **[11:10] City Administrator Christina Volkers:** Mayor Zabel, Council Member Her, I'm going to defer to our Assistant City Attorney Rachel Tierney. I think she can explain what those steps would be probably better than I can. **[11:20] Assistant City Attorney Rachel Tierney:** Well, first of all, let me just explain what your options are today. The staff has recommended that you move forward with the process to deny, but you have more than that. You have the choice to simply renew the license today—that's what's actually before you is the license renewal. If you want to take a penalty based on what has happened, then you could lay this matter over for a penalty that isn't denial—so a license suspension or a fine. That's another option. What staff is recommending based on the past seven days or so is denial of the license. I apologize, I'm not familiar—and I don't know if Katie’s [City Attorney] not here—if some cities have a provision where you can reapply after one year and some cities are simply silent on that issue. I think this is a city that's silent on that issue, and that means that the applicant can reapply at any time and have you reconsider that application. I think what would be best is if you offered the applicant some guidance on how long it would take before you would reconsider an application if you've denied it because of a failure to comply with your rules. Generally, that means that you're not really willing to have this individual hold a license in your city for any particular period of time. If you're considering allowing this person to obtain a license in a shorter period of time, then you might want to consider rather than a denial, issuing the license and then moving forward with some sort of a suspension. **[13:00] Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Thank you, Rachel. Happy to answer more questions. Council Member Her, did you have anything else? **[13:05] Council Member Noah Her:** You know, I don't want to downplay the fact that, you know, there was—and based on their statement there—there seems to be a transition and overlaps in the transaction between the sale, and that's kind of what set off all of these challenges here. I'm not going to downplay the fact that there were still these offenses. I do feel that for any business, for us to decline their license or cancel their license... I would want to ask the Council to see if we could find another solution, something else that could be a little bit more heavy-handed, but short of barring them from doing business within the city. **[13:50] Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Council Member Her, what I would say is while I respect your opinion, I think about the dozens and dozens of license holders, regardless of what type of license it is, around our city who play by the rules. I don't think our ordinance is onerous in any sort of way. I think any number of them could point to extenuating circumstances within their businesses that might affect their application or their timing or their ability to pay their fee. As a city, we have a city code to defend and to fairly implement. I think it would be reasonable to say that if this item came up a week ago and we were only looking at the compliance violations in '21 and '23, I think the Police Department would be recommending approval. What's transpired in the last week has been a deliberate and willful determination by the business to ignore the city code and a disregard for advice from our Police Department. I find that very troubling. In my entire time in city government, I cannot recall an even remotely similar instance where our staff communicated not only at the threshold that they need to to satisfy our expectations, but I think they went well beyond that in saying repeatedly, "You cannot be selling liquor in the city of Oakdale." And unfortunately, I think for me, that is a line you don't get to go back on. Because you do it once, I think it's reasonable to assume they would do it again. I also want to be fair to all of those businesses and license holders that are playing by the rules and not cutting corners. **[15:25] Council Member Noah Her:** Yeah, and I respect that, Mayor. **[15:26] Council Member Jake Engebretson:** Just, you know, in response to Noah's points too... for me, to an extent, I can understand why for financial reasons it would be an issue to be closed for nine days. I get it. I don't agree with it, but what concerns me is the aggregate of the violations—selling to underage in addition to this. I think a narrative here has emerged that... the reason I asked the Police Chief about any compliance checks that passed is that it seems obvious to me there's a narrative here that there just isn't an interest in following the rules. And that's where the trouble lies with me is the entire story. Yeah, I mean, you just can't... if the police call you and tell you you can't do this, you can't do it. It's pretty cut and dry as far as I'm concerned. **[16:20] Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Any other council members wish to speak on this? I will look for a motion now. Would we need to make a motion to table it? I would follow the language outlined on the agenda. **[16:30] Council Member:** I will make a motion to make intent to deny issuance of a liquor license for the current term to Oakdale Liquor Inc., DBA Oak Liquor at 1801 Geneva Avenue North, and bring back findings in resolution format for formal action at the next council meeting on April 23rd, 2024. The licensee continues to be unlicensed since April 1st, 2024. **[16:55] Mayor Kevin Zabel:** There's a motion. Is there a second? **[16:56] Council Member:** Second. **[16:57] Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Motion and a second. Final comments? All those in favor say aye. **[16:58] Council Members:** Aye. **[16:59] Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Opposed? Nay. And that motion is approved. Next up, we will check in with Public Works Utilities. We have an adjustment to a city project. Mike Kofee? Mike, welcome. **[17:10] Mike Kofee (Public Works):** Thank you, Mayor Zabel and Council Members. I'm here this evening to request additional funding for city project U2024-03, the Lift Station 11 emergency generator replacement. The reason for the increase is because we need a larger capacity generator in order to handle the new pumps that were installed a couple years ago. This is going to be purchased through the Sourcewell cooperative purchasing contract through Ziegler Power Systems. **[17:40] Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Any questions, council members? Any questions for Mike? All right, I'll look for a motion. **[17:45] Council Member:** I'll make a motion to wave reading and adopt Resolution 2024-52 approving the request for additional funds for city project U2024-03 Lift Station 11 emergency generator replacement for the purchase of an emergency generator replacement in the total amount of $129,584.51 through the Sourcewell cooperative purchasing contract and amending the 2024 budget and authorizing the Mayor and City Administrator to sign and execute the quote for the equipment purchase. **[18:15] Mayor Kevin Zabel:** There's a motion. Is there a second? **[18:16] Council Member:** Second. **[18:17] Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Motion and a second. Final comments? All those in favor say aye. **[18:19] Council Members:** Aye. **[18:20] Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Opposed? And that resolution is adopted. Thank you, Mike. Next up, we will check in with our City Attorney. We have one item: on-site gambling premise permit request. Rachel? **[18:30] Assistant City Attorney Rachel Tierney:** Thank you, Mayor, Council Members. What's before you today is an application for a permit to conduct charitable gambling in Oakdale. The license itself is issued by the state of Minnesota, but in order for them to obtain that license, they have to have a city resolution approving that license. There is a resolution before you that was prepared by my colleague Jim Thompson, who, based on the discussion that this Council had at the last meeting of an intention to deny the application... my understanding is the applicant was going to be here and wished to address the Council. **[19:10] Mayor Kevin Zabel:** We'll welcome the applicant up. Please begin with stating your name and address for the record and then proceed with your comments. **[19:15] Kevin Bergeron:** Hello, my name is Kevin Bergeron. I live at 142nd Circle North in Hugo, Minnesota. I am the gambling manager for the White Bear Lake Area Hockey Association. A little background on our association: we are one of the largest associations in the state. We have over 800 skaters on 48 different teams, and that includes six girls from Oakdale that didn't have a place to play hockey last year. They came to us and asked if they could be part of our association because they didn't have enough numbers on their association, so we allowed them to join. Currently, we have six sites where we operate charitable gambling. All of these sites have pull tabs, e-tabs, meat raffles, some have Bingo, and some have a tri-wheel. While the majority of our proceeds do go to our main mission, which is providing safe and quality hockey to our association, we do a lot of other great things for our community. Some of those things are we donate to a number of local and regional food shelves, we donate to families that are in crisis, and we donate to city events like the Vadnais Heights Heritage Days. If we were allowed to do gambling in Oakdale, I'm sure our members would be happy to extend some of those benefits to organizations in Oakdale such as Open Cupboard or Oakdale Summerfest. Why does The Borough want to do gambling with White Bear Hockey? I wish Tom Wartman was here; he's the owner of The Borough, but he was away on business. If I was to guess why he wants to partner with White Bear Hockey, it's because we run a very effective, profitable, and compliant charitable operation. Like I said, we have six different sites. We run nine sessions of bar bingo a week and about eight sessions of meat raffles. These are intended to bring business into those bars and make them money. Currently, The Borough does not have any gambling going on at their location; their last charitable organization pulled out. So they were looking for someone to take their place. We got in touch with them, and we came up with a great plan that would be beneficial to them and to us. If this application is denied, it's going to hurt The Borough; it's going to push them back to start over to find a different partner. Speaking to the resolution, it talks about our organization not supporting the city of Oakdale. But really, according to the city code, we do not have to demonstrate benefit directly to the city of Oakdale—it's the city of Oakdale "trade area." The city of Oakdale trade area includes White Bear Lake. We do share a border at the junction of 694 and Century Boulevard. So therefore, anything that we do to contribute within the city of White Bear Lake is considered the city of Oakdale trade area. So I disagree with the resolution. One other point: it's to me not really much different than Hill-Murray’s Father's Club; they're allowed to do gambling at Duke’s Pizza Pub. They are not an Oakdale charity either; they're in Maplewood, which is also your trade area just like White Bear Lake. I hope what I brought to you you will consider changing your mind. Thank you. **[22:45] Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Thank you. Council members, in front of us, we have a recommendation. I just want to make one comment. You know, it doesn't happen very often, but every now and then we get a messy one where we have to make a decision that may or may not be in the best interest of Oakdale, but sometimes that's just the rules that we have to play by. Personally, I think this unfortunately is one of those situations where, even a number of years ago when I asked what the trade area was, I thought it was silly that we had to consider economic benefit outside of our borders. We don't really do that for anything else. But this is something that state law says we have to consider. So I'm sympathetic to White Bear Hockey's argument. I hope this is an opportunity for the city to continue our work on an emerging policy to clarify how we view these licenses and how we go about consideration because I do think our ordinance is woefully out of date. Also, I just think there's been a lot of changes in terms of charitable gambling in the last few years, whether it's e-tabs or etc., that we could probably stand to update our ordinance on. I don't necessarily like the result, but sometimes we have to uphold the rules that we all took oaths to defend. Personally, regarding the question of denying an on-site gambling premise permit tonight, I will be voting no because I do believe the applicant has satisfied the rules even though I don't like them. And I hope we change them, but that work is still ongoing. So I don't know who wants to make a motion, but feel free. **[24:35] Council Member:** I'll make a motion to wave reading and adopt Resolution 2024-53. **[24:40] Mayor Kevin Zabel:** There's a motion. Is there a second? **[24:41] Council Member:** Second. **[24:42] Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Motion and a second. Any further comments? Clerk, take the roll. **[24:45] Sarah (City Clerk):** Council Member Her? **[24:46] Council Member Noah Her:** Aye. **[24:47] Sarah (City Clerk):** Council Member Engebretson? **[24:48] Council Member Jake Engebretson:** Aye. **[24:49] Sarah (City Clerk):** Council Member Morcomb? **[24:50] Council Member Andy Morcomb:** Aye. **[24:51] Sarah (City Clerk):** Council Member Willenbring? **[24:52] Council Member Willenbring:** No. **[24:53] Sarah (City Clerk):** Mayor Zabel? **[24:54] Mayor Kevin Zabel:** No. **[24:55] Mayor Kevin Zabel:** And that premise permit is denied 3 to 2. Administrator report—let's check. Oh, Rachel, did you have anything else for us? **[25:05] Assistant City Attorney Rachel Tierney:** I do not under City Attorney time. **[25:10] Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Administrator report, Miss Volkers? **[25:12] City Administrator Christina Volkers:** Mayor, City Council, I do not have anything to report this evening. **[25:15] Mayor Kevin Zabel:** All righty. Anybody have any questions for Chris? All right, let's keep rolling. Going to Council presentations. Anybody have anything they would like to share? None down here? All righty. I've got a few from staff that they'd like me to cover. Everybody got their property valuation statements. If you have any questions about it, Washington County is hosting four open book meetings in April, including one here at Oakdale City Hall tomorrow, Wednesday, April 10th, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. It's a great opportunity to bring in your property valuation statement and ask questions of the City Assessor or County Assessors and their staff. Next week is Park Cleanup Week, and we're looking for volunteers to help clean up Oakdale parks. Parks may be cleaned up anytime during the week of April 22nd through the 28th. Garbage bags are provided, and each participant will receive a complimentary thank you gift. This is just a fun activity for any group—school groups, church groups, civic groups, or even just people walking through the parks on their own. If you want to volunteer, you can reach out to the Recreation Department by calling 651-747-3860 or pop into the Discovery Center. The Pete Grassy Arbor Day Tree Giveaway is coming up Saturday, April 27th. All of the trees have been reserved; they went really fast this year. But we are looking forward to distributing the trees to all those that have pre-registered. You can still go to the city's website, oakdale.gov, and hop on a waitlist. In conjunction with the tree giveaway, a free mobile paper shredding event sponsored by Eberhard Group Real Estate will be held Saturday, April 27th, from 9:00 a.m. to noon in the northeast corner of the City Hall parking lot. If you have boxes and bags of papers, great opportunity to bring them down, get rid of them for free, and they will shred them on site. Finally, the Maplewood Oakdale Lions Club will again be hosting the citywide garage sales from Thursday, May 2nd through Saturday, May 4th. If you would like to add your sale to their list, visit the Maplewood Oakdale Lions Club Facebook page. Big thank you to the Lions Club for hosting that once again this year. Time to pay the bills. We have a claims roster in front of us, March 27th through April 9th, in the amount of just over a million bucks. Can I get a motion? **[28:10] Council Member:** I'll make a motion to approve claims as presented. **[28:12] Mayor Kevin Zabel:** There's a motion. Is there a second? **[28:13] Council Member:** Second. **[28:14] Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Motion and a second. Any comments? All those in favor say aye. **[28:16] Council Members:** Aye. **[28:17] Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Opposed? And the bills are paid. Can I get a motion to adjourn? **[28:20] Council Member:** So moved. **[28:21] Mayor Kevin Zabel:** There's a motion. Is there a second? **[28:22] Council Member:** Second. **[28:23] Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Motion, second. All those in favor say aye. **[28:25] Council Members:** Aye. **[28:26] Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Opposed? We are adjourned. Thank you and good night.