This transcript has been formatted with the appropriate speaker names based on the context provided and the proceedings of the meeting. **Note:** While your provided list mentioned Gary Severson, the transcript clearly identifies **Council Member Willenbring** and **Council Member Jake (Schrapp)** as the participants in this specific meeting. *** [00:00] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** [Music] all right let's go ahead and call to order the regular meaning of the Oakdale city council for June 27 2023. Katie will you take the role here? [00:13] **Katie Wrich:** Council Member Morcomb? [00:15] **Andy Morcomb:** Here. [00:16] **Katie Wrich:** Council Member Willenbring? [00:17] **Council Member Willenbring:** Here. [00:18] **Katie Wrich:** Mayor? [00:19] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Here. Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. [00:23] **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. [00:35] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Council members, in front of us we have a slightly amended agenda tonight. Were there any other changes before we go ahead and approve that? I'll look for a motion to approve the agenda. [00:43] **Council Member Morcomb:** There's a motion. [00:44] **Council Member Willenbring:** Is there a second? Second. [00:45] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Motion a second. Final comments? All those in favor say aye. [00:49] **Council Members:** Aye. [00:50] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Opposed? And the agenda is approved. Next up, approval of minutes first Workshop from June 13th 2023. Are there any changes council members? I'll look for motion. [00:58] **Council Member Morcomb:** So moved. [01:00] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** There's a motion. Is there a second? [01:01] **Council Member Willenbring:** Second. [01:02] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Motion a second. Final comments? All those in favor say aye. [01:05] **Council Members:** Aye. [01:06] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Opposed? And those minutes are approved. Next up we have regular meeting minutes from June 13th 2023. Any changes or Corrections? I'll look for a motion. [01:14] **Council Member Morcomb:** There's a motion. [01:15] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Is there a second? [01:16] **Council Member Willenbring:** Second. [01:17] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Motion and a second. Final comments? All those in favor say aye. [01:21] **Council Members:** Aye. [01:22] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Opposed? And those minutes are approved. Next up we have a public hearing for an amendment to the Willowbrook planned unit of development to allow accessory Apartments. Luke, welcome. [01:31] **Luke McClanahan:** Good evening Mayor and Council. So recall that this request was discussed at the June 13th city council Workshop. We did obtain the council's intent on and direction on how to proceed with this. We did meet with the City Attorney and we had further staff discussions. I think that the subsequent discussions actually brought up more questions and we identified more things to look into. So we are requesting that a little bit more time be allowed for staff to look into this. However, with the public hearing advertised, that should be opened and any public comments received and then closed. And then our staff recommendation is to propose action on the request until the July 11th council meeting. Otherwise, I'd be happy to answer any questions. [02:22] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Thanks Luke. Any questions Council? Okay, so at this time we're going to go ahead and open the public meeting. This is an opportunity for anybody in the public who would like to share any comments on the amendment of the Willowbrook PUD to step up to the microphone and do so. All we ask is you state your name and address for the record, try and keep comments for roughly three minutes and we will go from there. So at this time I'll go ahead and open the public hearing. [03:00] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Seeing none, we'll go ahead and close the public hearing. Council members, we have a staff recommendation on action. Would somebody like to make the motion to postpone action on the request until the July 11, 2023 city council regular meeting? [03:15] **Council Member Morcomb:** There's a motion. [03:16] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Is there a second? [03:17] **Council Member Willenbring:** Second. [03:18] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Motion of the second. Any comments? All those in favor say aye. [03:22] **Council Members:** Aye. [03:23] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Opposed? And that item is postponed until July 11 2023. Next up on our agenda is the open Forum. This is an opportunity for anybody in the audience to share anything on their mind related to anything on the agenda or not. Please feel free to step up to the podium, state your name and address for the record. Similar to the public hearing, we ask that people try and keep comments to three minutes or so but feel free to share anything that's on your mind. [04:02] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Whoa, calm down everybody! Wow. All right, we'll keep going and move on to consensus motions. Council members, we have A through E in front of us. I'm going to request to remove B for individual consideration. Are there any others that council members would like to discuss and decide individually? [04:22] **Council Member Willenbring:** Councilmember Willenbring would like to consider C separately. [04:26] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Council members, any others? I will look for a motion on consensus A, D and E as presented. [04:33] **Council Member Morcomb:** Make a motion to approve consensus motions A, D and E as presented. [04:38] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** There's a motion. Is there a second? [04:40] **Council Member Willenbring:** Second. [04:41] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Motion a second. Any conversation? All those in favor say aye. [04:46] **Council Members:** Aye. [04:47] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Opposed? And those motions are approved. Council Member Willenbring, would you like to talk about C a little bit? [04:55] **Council Member Willenbring:** Partnering [Music] um I guess bow hunting for deer removal in the fall and I just wanted to reserve my right to vote no already. [05:08] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Council members, would somebody like to make a motion on C? [05:11] **Council Member Morcomb:** I'll make a motion to approve a consensus motion C as presented. [05:15] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** There's a motion. Is there a second? [05:16] **Council Member Jake (Schrapp):** Second. [05:17] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Motion a second. Final comments? All those in favor say aye. [05:22] **Council Members:** Aye. [05:23] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Opposed? [05:24] **Council Member Willenbring:** Nay. [05:25] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** And consensus motion C passes four to one. Next, oh, I pulled off consensus motion B. This is a hiring of a police officer in the city of Oakdale and I'm going to call on Chief Nick Newton to present this one. [05:40] **Chief Nick Newton:** Good evening Honorable Mayor, members of the Council. The police department currently has a vacancy to fill a police officer position. Following a comprehensive selection process, the police department is recommending the appointment of Erica Lagoon to fulfill the police officer position effective June 28th. You know, it's always special when someone wants to get into the business of Public Service. I find it even more special when someone wants to do it in the community they live. Erica grew up in Oakdale, she attended this local schools, graduated from Tartan High School, went on to the University of Wisconsin River Falls where she graduated with a bachelor's degree in sociology and criminology. Erica comes to us with some experience working as a correctional officer at the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office. We're very excited to have Erica join our team and it's requested per city code and city policy that City Council appoint Erica Lagoon as a probationary police officer effective June 28th. [06:48] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Mayor Turnpike two... thank you Chief. Council members, can I get a motion? [06:54] **Council Member Morcomb:** I'll make a motion to approve consensus motion B as presented. [06:58] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** There's a motion. Is there a second? [06:59] **Council Member Jake (Schrapp):** Second. [07:00] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Motion of the second. Final comments? All those in favor say aye. [07:05] **Council Members:** Aye. [07:06] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Opposed? And consensus motion B is approved. Now I have the really cool honor of... I get to administer the oath of office to our new police officer. So Erica, if you could join me down front. Let's step up here, better lighting. All right, go ahead and raise your right hand and repeat after me. I, Erica Lagoon... [07:35] **Erica Lagoon:** I, Erica Lagoon... [07:36] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States of America... [07:41] **Erica Lagoon:** Do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States of America... [07:45] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** The constitution of the state of Minnesota... [07:48] **Erica Lagoon:** The constitution of the state of Minnesota... [07:49] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** And that I will faithfully, justly and impartially discharge the duties of police officer... [07:56] **Erica Lagoon:** And that I will faithfully, justly and impartially discharge the duties of police officer... [08:00] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** For the city of Oakdale, Minnesota, to the best of my judgment and ability, so help me God. [08:06] **Erica Lagoon:** For the city of Oakdale, Minnesota, to the best of my judgment and ability, so help me God. [08:11] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Congratulations! [Applause] Come on down, perfect. [Applause] Council real quick, and then also out to any groups you want—family, the department, whatever you want. Council, will you join me? One, two, three. One, two, three. One, two, three. Go ahead, have family come on up. Congratulations, don't be shy. One, two, three. One, two, three. One, two, three. Thank you. How about the department? Okay, come on everybody. [Music] Thank you. One, two, and a three. One, two, three. One, two, three. One, two, three. Thank you. Ready? Chief and Erica, one last point of business: I need your signatures on the oath of office. Wow, we took the photo, it's already official. Thank you. There we are. And this is yours I believe, right Chris? [09:28] **Christina Volkers:** Yes, this is Erica's. [09:29] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Okay, congratulations! Thank you for serving. [Applause] It's gonna be hard to follow that. Next up, let's check in with our advisory boards and commissions. Tree Board—Tree Board's the only one that met this past month. What's going on with that group? [09:50] **Council Member Katie Wrich:** So what we talked about—or what they talked about—is the Arbor Day and spring planting kind of a debrief. Talked about what went well, what went wrong, what they can do better for next year. And even for Arbor Day they were already discussing tree alternatives. And then they set a tentative date for the Buckthorn removal; it is October 14th but that is just tentative for now. And then they went through their 2024 work plan, they just started to review that. [10:19] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Good deal. Yep, they have a lot going on at that group. Next up, staff reports. Community Development, we have a request for a conditional use permit. City Planner Luke McClanahan, welcome—welcome back, I should say. [10:35] **Luke McClanahan:** Thank you again Mayor and Council. I recall that we just spoke about this request at the workshop earlier this evening. To be clear on the location: the applicant owns three parcels, the residence is at 6200 25th Street North. The request is for an additional accessory structure that is proposed to be 900 square feet. The Planning Commission heard this request as a public hearing item on June 1st and based on the workshop, it sounds like the council intent is to pursue or go with the resolution option A, which is in the packet. I'd be happy to answer any questions. [11:15] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Council members, any questions for Luke? I would look for a motion and just to clarify, I suppose option A is the deeded, not the subdivided? [11:24] **Luke McClanahan:** Correct, that's correct, yes. [11:26] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Just want to make sure on that. Is there a motion? [11:28] **Council Member Morcomb:** I'll make a motion to waive reading and adopt resolution 2023-68 approving a conditional use permit for an additional accessory structure at parcel number 19029-212-30032 with conditions included in the attached resolution option A. [11:46] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** There's a motion. Is there a second? [11:48] **Council Member Jake (Schrapp):** Second. [11:49] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Motion a second. Final comments? All those in favor say aye. [11:53] **Council Members:** Aye. [11:54] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Opposed? And that conditional use permit is passed. Next, Police Department. Chief Newton, welcome back. We have a donation. [12:03] **Chief Nick Newton:** Thank you Honorable Mayor, members of the Council. At the June 13th council meeting, the Council adopted a resolution to accept the steering wheel lock donation from Hyundai Motors. It was noted at that meeting approximately 30 percent of our auto thefts were either Hyundai or Kia vehicles. Well, since the meeting we connected with Kia Motors and they have donated 50 steering wheel locks. If that donation is accepted by Council, the police department will offer steering wheel locks to all Oakdale residents who own a Kia with a key start ignition, and the police department would look to roll this program out at the same time as Hyundai later this week. [12:44] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Council members, any questions for the Chief? [12:47] **Council Member Jake (Schrapp):** Yeah, just one question. So if we find that there's more people in town that need this and we have donations available, is there an opportunity to go back to these manufacturers for more? [12:57] **Chief Nick Newton:** Yes, absolutely. In our communication with both Hyundai and Kia, they are open to making further donations. [13:03] **Council Member Jake (Schrapp):** Perfect, thank you. [13:04] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Thank you. Council members, I'll look for a motion. [13:07] **Council Member Katie Wrich:** Wave reading... to wave reading and adopt resolution 2023-66 accepting a donation from Kia America for 50 steering wheel locks. [13:17] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** There's a motion. Is there a second? [13:19] **Council Member Morcomb:** Second. [13:20] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Motion of the second. Final comments? All those in favor say aye. [13:24] **Council Members:** Aye. [13:25] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Opposed? And that donation is graciously accepted by the city. Thanks Chief. We have another donation, this time in the Recreation Department. Recreation Superintendent Julie Williams, welcome. [13:37] **Julie Williams:** Mr. Mayor and Council, thank you. The Recreation Department received a very generous donation from Larry and Vicki Eberhard of Keller Williams Realty to sponsor our 5K this past weekend. So per policy and state statute we need to formally accept this donation, and I can stand for any questions. [13:58] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Thanks Julie. Council members, any questions for Julie? None. All right, I would look for a motion. [14:04] **Council Member Morcomb:** I'll make a motion to waive reading and adopt resolution 2023-6-7 accepting a donation from Larry and Vicki Eberhard of Keller Williams Realty in the amount of fifteen hundred dollars for sponsorship of the Oakdale Nature Preserve 5K. [14:19] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** There's motion. Is there second? [14:21] **Council Member Willenbring:** Second. [14:22] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Motion a second. Final comments? All those in favor say aye. [14:26] **Council Members:** Aye. [14:27] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Opposed? And that donation is accepted as well. And a big thank you to Larry and Vicki for that donation for the 5K. Thank you. [14:35] **Julie Williams:** Thanks Julie. [14:36] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** City Attorney Mr. Thompson, anything tonight? [14:39] **Jim Thompson:** Mr. Mayor, members of Council, nothing specific but happy to answer questions. [14:43] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Council members, anything for Jim? No. All right. Turn the other way. Administrator's report, Ms. Volkers. [14:50] **Christina Volkers:** Mayor, Council, thank you. Before you tonight is another policy. We are slowly reviewing every city policy and there are a lot of them. City policy EPB011 was implemented or instituted a long time ago in 1997 and it doesn't—not only have we not used it, it does not apply because our city code, actually Chapter 8, has a sign section where all this information is provided in signs or City code, I'm sorry, which trumped policy. So this policy is not needed. So I'm suggesting that you repeal it and before you have the motion to make that suggestion. Thank you. [15:33] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Thanks Chris. Council members, any questions for Chris? I'll look for motion. [15:37] **Council Member Jake (Schrapp):** Make a motion to repeal City policy EPB-011 signs real estate. [15:43] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** There's a motion. Is there a second? [15:44] **Council Member Morcomb:** Second. [15:45] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Motion of the second. Final comments? All those in favor say aye. [15:49] **Council Members:** Aye. [15:50] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Opposed? And that policy is repealed. Council presentations, who wants to go first? [15:56] **Council Member Jake (Schrapp):** I just want to thank everybody for coming out to Summerfest this weekend. My family was there Saturday night at the parade... well me and my son were at the parade Thursday night and then we were there Saturday night at the community picnic Sunday, and at the Chamber golf tournament Monday I was there as well. A blast at all events and I want to thank everybody that served to plan Summerfest this year as it is no longer officially a city event. Big change. [16:24] **Council Member Jake (Schrapp):** Anything else? Yeah, and one other thing of note from Summerfest. Just want to give a shout out to our police and fire who did a magnificent job handling the event this weekend. And feedback to me was overly positive on the police presence and if there were any problems I haven't heard about them, so that was good. [16:45] **Council Member Andy Morcomb:** Yeah, sure. Well and just to add to what Jake was saying. Not only was Summerfest a great event, the Medallion Hunt was fun as it is every year, and congrats to our winners. And I'll add to the list of people to thank: Public Works, because managing an event this size takes a lot of work. So thanks to the city staff who did all that. Thank you. [17:07] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Andy? Let's go this way. Anybody? [17:11] **Council Member Willenbring:** I have nothing to report again, thank you. [17:13] **Council Member Kari Moore:** I just want to second what both Jake and Andy said. Thank you to everybody who worked on Summerfest. It was awesome this year. [17:19] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Great. Well, staff gave me a whole bunch to talk about so bear with me here. This is a big one: starting tomorrow, 40th Street is back open. That stretch of road has been closed for a while now, longer than we would have hoped, but when you have to deal with utility companies and weather and all those fun external forces that we have no control over, that's sometimes what happens. So we appreciate our residents' patience while that stretch has been closed. But now the new alignment is being reopened. It is fantastic. We encourage residents to take a drive down it, check out all the new development in the Willowbrook area. There's a lot that has happened behind the scenes, behind that stretch of road. So it's pretty cool to see that one done. So thank you to all the crews for getting that done and our residents' patience. As my colleagues said, you know, Summerfest was Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday—any other days that I missed? It was five days this year and the city just wants to offer a big thank you to the Oakdale Summerfest Community Organization, the all-volunteer group who took that over this year. It is amazing. I am in awe of what five people can accomplish in four months taking on a tremendous event like that and I think we all agree they knocked it out of the park. It's going to be very exciting to see where that event goes in the years ahead; you know, there's only—it's onward and upward for that event. So we're very appreciative to OSCO for everything they did to make that event a success. A big thank you to the event sponsors and vendors. You know, it's not easy when there's a threat of rain pretty much every single day but they were out there interacting with our residents and visitors, selling their products. We're really appreciative of them as well. Our city staff—I think pretty much every department in the city touched Summerfest in some way or another, which is pretty cool. So a big thank you to them for, you know, assisting OSCO through this process, being there to help our residents and visitors. It's a big endeavor. And thank you to our residents and visitors. You know, like I said, the rain was a little spotty but the crowds were tremendous every single night. A lot of fun was had, so we look forward to seeing them all at Summerfest next year. Next on my list: congratulations to our Summerfest Medallion finders, three siblings: Lauren, Brett, and Lisa Burfeld. They found the medallion at Oakwood Luster Park shortly after Clue Five was revealed on Friday. Right? Yeah, I think that was Friday. These three are avid Summerfest Medallion hunters and they've been searching for it since 2015. Also a big thank you to the Oakdale Area Chamber of Commerce who was the sponsor for the event. The three finders found a $500 prize. And if you haven't seen already, there was a cool post on the city's Facebook page about the t-shirts and the binder that the finders make, you know, with all of the intel and the resources they use. Because people... when you're out—I hunt for the Winter Carnival Medallion—people always ask you what are you doing? And that was I'm sure the meaning behind the shirt: "I'm hunting for the Medallion." Very cool. Very cool. Voting for our Spring Photo Contest runs through this Friday. Actually, there are two things with deadlines this Friday. So the Spring Photo Contest is one; six outstanding photos have been selected as finalists, and so you can head over to the city's Facebook page and put a like on the photos that you want to win. The top three photos with the most likes will be named the winner. The other thing that has their deadline this Friday is the Oakdale Acorn Award. So if you know of any beautiful gardens—either at residential, public, or business/commercial properties—please visit oakdalemn.gov to nominate them. Always a fun award to give out every year and see the hard work that people put into their gardens. Finally, a reminder city offices will be closed Thursday, July 4th in observance of Independence Day. We want everybody to have a safe and fun holiday. I think pretty much all of our neighboring cities have fireworks that night so, you know, hopefully we have great weather. Go on out, see some fireworks, have a good time, but please, please be safe. Some bills: our claims roster for June 14th through June 27th, just... sorry, two million bucks: $1,995,065.60. Council members, any questions on the claims? I'll look for motion. [21:44] **Council Member Jake (Schrapp):** Make a motion to approve claims as presented. [21:47] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** There's a motion. Is there a second? [21:49] **Council Member Morcomb:** Second. [21:50] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Motion a second. Final comments? All those in favor say aye. [21:54] **Council Members:** Aye. [21:55] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Opposed? Bills are paid. Motion to adjourn, please. [22:00] **Council Member Morcomb:** There's a motion. [22:01] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Is there a second? [22:02] **Council Member Willenbring:** Second. [22:03] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Motion in a second. All those in favor say aye. [22:06] **Council Members:** Aye. [22:07] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Opposed? We are adjourned. Thank you and good night. Oh my God, I had something for Kelly digging in the bushes!