[00:00] Mayor Mary Supple: Ahead, good evening everyone. I'd like to call to order this regular city council meeting of the city of Richfield. It's February 11th, it is officially I believe 7:03 pm, and if you're able, please rise and join us for the Pledge of Allegiance. Thank you. Next, we'll move on to the open Forum. Participants can share their comments in person, by voicemail or email, and may also request to participate virtually. For more information on submitting comments, you can refer to the council agenda minutes page on Richfieldmn.gov/citycouncil. We also have the opportunity that you can speak in person, and at the moment I have one card that's been submitted. Is there anyone else that wants to turn one in before we start the speaking? Okay. So remember that you have three minutes and you will come up when I call you up. You'll come up to the podium and tell us your name and your address. And then you can also—since you've submitted a card, you don't need to sign in. You can sign if you want to. You'll have three minutes once you've started with your name and your address. So, acting city manager Thongvanh, did we have anybody that you know of that called in ahead of time or ever emailed? [00:01] Sack Thongvanh: All right, so then we're gonna go ahead with... I’m gonna call up John Lucas Erickson. So if you could join us, thank you. [00:01] John Lucas Erickson: Good evening, members of the city council. Uh, thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight. My name is John Lucas Erickson, and I'm a local short-term rental operator. I know this topic isn't on tonight's agenda, but I want to briefly highlight some of the significant benefits short-term rentals provide to the community and suggest some practical, balanced regulations that ensure responsible operations while allowing this valuable asset to be available to the community. Short-term rentals serve an essential function by providing temporary housing solutions. Many of our guests are not traditional tourists, but families visiting loved ones, attending weddings or funerals, relocating for work, or dealing with emergency home repairs. During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, short-term rentals provided a safe, clean, and comfortable space for quarantining individuals, demonstrating their ability to serve critical community needs. In addition to the hosts, each short-term rental listing employs cleaning staff, maintenance crews, snow removal teams, handymen, and other service professionals, all of whom would be affected by decisions made regarding short-term rentals in Richfield. Beyond these direct jobs, short-term rental guests actively support local businesses: restaurants, cafes, shops, and attractions. In fact, guests frequently mention their positive experiences with Richfield's local establishments, thus playing a role in sustaining our small business community. I also recognize that there have been some issues with short-term rentals in Richfield, and I fully support new regulations that ensure short-term rentals operate in a way that benefits not only hosts but their neighbors and the broader community as well. Many responsible hosts already implement best practices to prevent disruptive behavior. To protect short-term rentals' ability to be a benefit to everyone involved, I encourage the council to create a simple short-term rental license that includes the following: a two-night minimum stay requirement to prevent an overwhelming majority of parties; mandatory noise monitoring devices and outdoor security cameras, equipping hosts to be proactive rather than reactive; clear communication of existing noise, trash, and parking laws; and require a designated local contact be provided for each short-term rental to promptly address any potential issues. Additionally, a reasonable cap on short-term rental licenses, such as 2% of total housing units, could prevent excessive growth while still allowing responsible operators to continue serving visitors and residents in need of temporary housing. In conclusion, short-term rentals are a real asset to Richfield. They provide essential accommodations for a variety of guests, generate tax revenue to the city, and support local businesses. Rather than banning short-term rentals, I encourage the council to consider balanced and practical regulations that encourage responsible hosting while preserving the advantages short-term rentals offer Richfield residents and their families. I urge the council to adopt thoughtful policies that recognize the value of short-term rentals and their role in making Richfield a welcoming and prosperous city. Thank you for your time. If you have any questions for me, please reach out after the meeting tonight. I'm more than happy to help. [00:04] Mayor Mary Supple: Okay, thank you. Is there anyone else who wishes to speak for open forum? And then I just received a text from somebody who's watching us and they said they're having a hard time hearing us. If we could turn up the volume—so I don't know if tech can fix that, but if we can all talk louder, that would probably help as well. So just, the community is reaching out and they want to hear what's being said. So thank you for your comments. And also, I believe you shared a pack of information with each of the council members. Do you have an extra one that we could give to the city clerk or—oh okay, well I don't want to take your copy, otherwise we can make a copy. Thank you, that would be good so we could have it in the record and the council members could also have it. So if there are no further people that wish to speak for the open Forum, we will move on with the agenda. Thank you for your comments. Next, we're going to move on to approval of the minutes of the city council work session from January 28th, 2025, and the city council regular meeting from January 28th, 2025. I would like to point out that it has come to our attention that there were a couple of corrections that need to be made, and so we're going to read those out loud now so that they can be entered into the record, and then we will move the minutes as amended. So for the city council work session on January 28th, there is a correction with who had inquired about the total number of emergency calls received from rentals, and that should be Council Member Burk. So that had the wrong council member written down, so that is corrected on the work session. It was Council Member Burk that inquired on the total number of emergency calls received from rentals. And then if you go to the regular council meeting minutes from January 28th, we did have one just typographical error: Margaret Perez—her name was spelled correctly in the first sentence and then it was misspelled in the second sentence. And so we wanted to make sure we actually spell the name correctly in both places. So those are the two changes that have to do in the official minutes. [00:05] Sean Hayford Oleary: I’ll make a motion to approve. [00:05] Walter Burk: Second. [00:05] Mayor Mary Supple: Okay, and as amended? [00:05] Sean Hayford Oleary: As amended. [00:05] Mayor Mary Supple: Is there a second? [00:05] Walter Burk: Second. [00:05] Mayor Mary Supple: All right, so we've had a motion and a second to approve the minutes as amended. I did want to make one other statement—I made a mistake during the work session and it is not reflected in the minutes, and the minutes are corrected so we don't need to make a correction that way, but I did make a misstatement and I want to correct that so the council members have the correct information. I had mentioned that both Edina and Bloomington had banned short-term rentals, but I was wrong about when that happened. Edina actually did it like 40 years ago, and so I wanted to correct that. Bloomington was more recent in the last 10 years, and I'd mistakenly said they both were more recent. So I just want to correct that. Edina has had a ban for 40 years. In the actual minutes, it just says that—I don't think it needs to be corrected because it mentions where is it exactly... it just says they had not that short-term rentals had not been a concern until neighboring communities began Banning them. So that is accurate in the minutes and I just want to make sure that I'm correcting my mistake if anybody was listening to the work session. [00:06] Sean Hayford Oleary: Mayor? Yes, I just noticed another issue or possible issue. Are we sure that Melissa Gonzalez is pastor of Oak Grove Lutheran Church? I thought she was at a different—I don't remember her specifying that in her testimony, and I don't know if that's correct. She is actually the pastor of Tapestry. [00:06] Mayor Mary Supple: Okay, so I would... [00:06] Sean Hayford Oleary: I would move that we amend it. Can we just say "Pastor" instead of specifying? Because it does say that she's the pastor of Oak Grove Lutheran Church. [00:06] Michelle Friedrich: It does, yeah. So I believe she simply identified herself as a pastor with the congregation in Richfield, not specifying. [00:06] Mayor Mary Supple: So you—we can delete Oak Grove Lutheran Church. [00:06] Sean Hayford Oleary: Yeah, I think just "Melissa Melnick Gonzalez, Pastor." [00:06] Mayor Mary Supple: All right. So do you—you're moving to amend? [00:06] Sean Hayford Oleary: I will move to amend as described. [00:07] Mayor Mary Supple: The motion as amended... so again, I am moving and we're only considering whether we remove the "Oak Grove Lutheran" from the section. So is there a second? [00:07] Walter Burk: Sorry, oh, motion to approve the amended Amendment of the minutes. [00:07] Mayor Mary Supple: Okay, so we never had this much complication on minutes! So the motion before us is to correct and delete Oak Grove Lutheran Church so that it just says "Melissa Melnick Gonzalez, Pastor." Any further discussion on that Amendment? All in favor please say aye. [00:07] All Council Members: Aye. [00:07] Mayor Mary Supple: All opposed? Okay, so we fixed that. So now we're back to the original motion to pass both sets of minutes as amended, and there's three things: we've already addressed the Oak Grove Lutheran Church deletion, we're correcting Miss Perez's name, and we're also correcting which council member asked about the emergency things. So we have a motion and a second, and is there any further discussion? All right, well thank you for all for your careful reading. All in favor please say aye. [00:07] All Council Members: Aye. [00:07] Mayor Mary Supple: All opposed? And City Clerk Friedrich, was that clear to you? All right, thank you. Thank you so much. All right, next we'll move on to our Proclamation celebrating Black History Month. And so I would like to invite Carol Kelly from the Human Rights Commission to meet me and receive the proclamation. I'll—okay, all right. So I'm going to move the microphone really close because they said they were having trouble hearing us, and we'll be talking very loudly. So this is a proclamation of the city of Richfield: "Whereas each February during Black History Month, the United States honors the contribution and sacrifice of African-Americans who have helped shape the nation; and whereas the city of Richfield, Minnesota also takes pride in recognizing February 2025 as Black History Month, we want to honor the many notable contributions that people of African descent have made to the United States including our community, and to celebrate the rich cultural heritage, triumphs, and adversities that are an indelible part of our country's history; and whereas we celebrate the diversity of black people in Richfield, the state of Minnesota, our nation, and the black diaspora, whether they self-identify as African, African-American, Afro-Latino, Afro-Caribbean, or Black; and whereas in January of 2025 the city of Richfield swore in the first black female council member, Rori Coleman Woods; and whereas Americans of African descent are responsible for more than 50,000 inventions with the US Patent Office that are used every day that improve the lives of Americans, such as home security systems, traffic lights, refrigerated trucks, and color monitors; and whereas the city of Richfield, its city council and staff identify diversity and equity as core values, recognizing that our diverse culture is one of our greatest strengths and assets, striving to promote an environment of equity and inclusion; and whereas the Richfield Human Rights Commission supported this Proclamation at its February 4th, 2025 meeting and recommended the Richfield City Council do the same; and now therefore I, Mary Supple, Mayor of Richfield, on behalf of the Richfield City Council, do hereby proclaim the month of February 2025 as Black History Month in the city of Richfield and call on the people of Richfield to observe this month with appropriate programs, activities, and ceremonies and to continue to honor the contributions of black Americans throughout the year. Proclaimed this 11th day of February 2025." So thank you. Would you like to say a few words? [00:10] Carol Kelly: Thank you. It's really an honor to be able to bring this as a member of the HRC to the city. We all collaborate in compiling these proclamations and deciding kind of what we're going to feature. As an Afro-Caribbean Richfield resident, I was so proud to see you sworn in, Councilman Coleman Woods—Councilperson, excuse me. We chose about eight years ago to have Richfield be our home with my biracial children because it is a beautifully diverse community. We have a beautifully diverse neighborhood and it's a place we feel safe as a black family, and a place where we know that the city is really vested in honoring all of us during this month. So thank you. [00:11] Mayor Mary Supple: Thank you so much. Oh, you want a picture? [00:11] Rori A. Coleman-Woods: I’m proud of our city for taking the extra step to recognize Black History Month and yeah, I'm proud of our accomplishments thus far. As a lifelong Richfield resident, this means a lot to me. So thank you so much, Mayor. Appreciate your help, and the Human Rights Commission, thank you for your contribution. [00:11] Mayor Mary Supple: Did anyone else wish to add anything? [00:11] Walter Burk: Please send your thanks to the Human Rights Commission. This is one of the important things that that commission does, and it's the yearly reminders of all the different people who live in the city who make it a great city. It's great that we have these proclamations to remind us every year of that importance. So thank you both for that. [00:12] Mayor Mary Supple: All right, did anyone else wish to speak? And I would like to reiterate thank you to the Human Rights Commission and I'm very proud of the city of Richfield and I'm glad that we're celebrating Black History Month. So if there are any other comments or questions? All right, then we'll move on to the next item on the agenda. Is there a motion to approve the agenda? [00:12] Walter Burk: Moved. [00:12] Sharon Christensen: Second. [00:12] Mayor Mary Supple: It’s been moved and seconded to approve the agenda. Is there any discussion? All in favor of approving the agenda please say aye. [00:12] All Council Members: Aye. [00:12] Mayor Mary Supple: All opposed? We have approved the agenda, thank you. Our next item is the consent calendar and I'll turn it over to Acting City Manager Thongvanh. [00:12] Sack Thongvanh: All right, thank you. The consent calendar contains several separate items which are acted upon by the city council in one motion. Once the consent calendar has been approved, the individual items recommended for Action have also been approved; no further Council action on these items is necessary. However, any council member may request that an item be removed from the consent calendar and placed on the regular agenda for Council discussion and action. All items listed on the consent calendar are recommended for approval. Consent agenda Item A: consider the approval of the second reading of an ordinance Amendment pertaining to city code section 925.01 public nuisance subdivision 2. The City Council approved the first reading on January 28th, 2025. And then consent Item B: consider a resolution authorizing a designation of $1 million in the city of Richfield capital reserve fund to serve as Assurance for the funding of the Wood Lake Nature Center building project for the purpose of releasing funds from the 2023 state of Minnesota Corporation Bill administered by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development in the amount of $12 million. Consent Item C: consider the approval of the First Amendment to the foundational Public Health responsibility agreement with the city of Bloomington. And consent Item D: consider approval of a Fifth Amendment to the agreement of the city of Bloomington for the provision of Public Health Services for the city of Richfield for 2025. [00:14] Mayor Mary Supple: Thank you. Is there a motion to accept the consent calendar? [00:14] Walter Burk: So moved. [00:14] Sean Hayford Oleary: Second. [00:14] Mayor Mary Supple: It’s been moved and seconded to approve all of the items on the consent calendar. Is there any discussion? All right. All in favor please say aye. [00:14] All Council Members: Aye. [00:14] Mayor Mary Supple: All opposed? And we have approved the items on the consent calendar. Next, I'm going to turn it over to Council Member Christensen for item number five. [00:14] Sharon Christensen: Thank you, Mayor. This is a request for site plan approval of an entirely new Wood Lake Nature Center building at 6710 Lakeshore Drive. HGA, who is the applicant on behalf of the Richfield Recreation Services Department, has submitted an application for the site plan approval to construct a new Wood Lake Nature Center building at 6710 Lakeshore Drive. As most parks in the city, the property is zoned R: low-density residential. Governmental buildings are a permitted use in this District. Site plan review is required due to the construction of a new building. The proposed site plan is designed to provide a new one-story building that will be twice the size of the existing building. The new building will be 40 feet farther from the lake and 80 feet closer to the street. It will be characterized by dark brown wood siding and green roof forms. In the interior, it will include an improved lobby, exhibits lounge, and conference spaces, multi-purpose rooms for educational programming and rentals, and staff office space. The parking lot will be improved through the addition of landscaping perimeter plantings and electric vehicle chargers, but it will remain mostly unchanged. Construction is set to begin in the spring of this year, completing in the spring/summer of 2026. No variances are requested as part of the project, but there are certain modifications necessary in regard to landscaping requirements as discussed in the policy section of this document. The staff finds these modifications reasonable based on the unique nature of the property and the project's sustainability and energy reduction features. Staff recommends approval of the project subject to the conditions listed in the draft resolution of approval. Does the city have anything to add? [00:16] Melissa Poehlman: Thank you, Council Member Christensen and members of the Council. I really don't. This is one of the final steps in this very long process—an exciting process to build a Wood Lake Nature Center—but in terms of a land use application, this is very straightforward. I think the staff report lays it out well and I'm happy to answer any questions. [00:17] Mayor Mary Supple: Are there any questions for staff? Council Member Hayford Oleary. [00:17] Sean Hayford Oleary: Yeah, I am also of course very excited and of course we've had several opportunities to get feedback on this in our capacity as part of the applicant. But from this perspective, I'm just wondering or wanting to confirm: so this is within our parking maximum? It sounds like it is maxed out of what we would allow without a variance. [00:17] Melissa Poehlman: Yes, that is my understanding. There are a lot of events that happen at the Nature Center and so yes, they have asked to maximize, but still within our allowances. [00:17] Sean Hayford Oleary: Okay. And if I remember correctly—if you don't know you don't have to confirm this—but I remember correctly that it doesn't really account for the use of the park? It is really just based on the building that the parking allowances are determined. [00:17] Melissa Poehlman: Council Member Hayford Oleary, I did not calculate the parking so I can't answer that. I could check with the planners though to confirm. [00:17] Sean Hayford Oleary: It does not affect my vote tonight, but I guess I would say I would have more concern again from the applicant side, not from the land use approval side, about us maxing out parking. But based on my understanding that it doesn't account for general park use, I think it's reasonable. I am glad to see that being brought within compliance rather than getting a variance ourselves for that rule, because I think that rule does have value. And then just a small request—I don't think I'm asking for any formal change—but if Community Development can perhaps show other examples of the front parking right next to a sidewalk and how you've recommended other users protect the sidewalk from overhanging vehicles with wheel stops or with widening that area. It'd be helpful to look at that because a large pickup truck could obstruct that sidewalk. Those are my only concerns; otherwise, it looks great and I'm excited to support it. [00:18] Mayor Mary Supple: Are there any other questions for Community Development Director Poehlman? If there's no further questions, I’d like to adopt a resolution. [00:18] Sharon Christensen: I’ll make a motion to adopt the resolution approving the site plan for a new Wood Lake Nature Center building at 6710 Lakeshore Drive. [00:18] Walter Burk: Second. [00:18] Mayor Mary Supple: It’s been moved and seconded. Is there any further discussion? I'm very excited to see this moving forward. We had a work session earlier tonight talking about the exhibits as well, and so it was just fun to see all of it coming together. So looking forward to the final results. Any other discussions? All in favor please say aye. [00:19] All Council Members: Aye. [00:19] Mayor Mary Supple: All opposed? And we have adopted the resolution. Thank you. Next, we'll move on to item number six, and that's going to be presented by Council Member Hayford Oleary. [00:19] Sean Hayford Oleary: Thank you, and we've got another Wood Lake item here. This item is M.A. Mortenson Construction's proposed guaranteed maximum price for the construction of Wood Lake Nature Center. M.A. Mortenson Construction has developed a guaranteed maximum price (GMP) estimate of $21,378,655. This estimate includes the building, general site improvements, and the amphitheater adjacent to the building. This GMP is based on bids Mortenson received for each scope of work needed for construction. The bids were made from drawings and specifications created by HGA Architects during the design development phase of the Wood Lake Nature Center building project, which in turn were created based on feedback from residents, City Council, and staff. Bidding for each scope of work followed the competitive bidding guidelines outlined in state statute and received multiple bids during this process. The GMP document contains six alternates and their corresponding costs. These alternates can be added, expanding the scope of the project. Staff recommended approval of Exhibit A, amending the contract with Mortenson Company for the Wood Lake Nature Center building project to set the guaranteed maximum price for the construction of the Wood Lake Nature Center building and the surrounding site at $21,378,655. Completing design work and waiting to accept either of these alternate options will provide time to better understand the risk associated with site conditions and the proposed tariffs, both of which could significantly impact costs. The decision to include the snowmelt system and/or the underground ductwork will need to be made before the risks related to tariffs and site conditions can be fully understood or mitigated. Staff is recommending maintaining a significant contingency—3 to 4% of the project cost—based on that guaranteed maximum price in place until the building's footings and structural supports are completed. Does staff have anything to add? [00:21] Karl Huemiller: I do not have anything to add at the moment, other than this will kick off the process for starting construction, allow us to secure contractors for procuring the framing and everything for the building. So this is a big—kind of a big step forward once we... if we're able to do this. [00:21] Mayor Mary Supple: I did have a question. We had talked at the work session and you said there was new information about the alternates, like the snowmelt system versus the underground ductwork. When will we... will we be having a work session to talk about that, or is that something we should weigh in on this evening? Or what's the format? [00:22] Karl Huemiller: Yeah, Mayor, it's something that can be brought back at a future date, although if you want to make a decision today, that would allow us to focus our efforts in design and whatnot. I can repeat: we've been researching both the Blue Duct system and the snowmelt system, and a couple of items we've learned about the snowmelt system is that currently at Wood Lake, we don't use any salt; we only use sand. And with the new configuration of the sidewalks, it'll be much easier to manage water runoff that freezes or snow melt or just snow in general with the new configuration. Additionally, if we were to add the snowmelt system, it would mean taking away some of our outdoor fenced-in space because we'd have to add an extension to the building to house an electric boiler that would do the snowmelt system, which would also increase long-term operating costs for the building. [00:23] Mayor Mary Supple: Yeah, so with that additional information—I know in the past I had thought it would be great to have a snowmelt system to avoid the salt, but I'd be solving a problem that we don't have, and it sounds like it would be better to choose the underground ductwork over the snowmelt. So I'm just going to change what I've said in past work sessions. I do like the fact that we're doing the Ornilux glazing—and for anybody that's listening, that is a protective film so that we don't have bird strikes. So I don't know if other people want to weigh in on any feedback on the alternates. [00:23] Sean Hayford Oleary: I will just share—I share your revised preference. I agree with staff prioritizing the glazing above all else, but between those two items, especially hearing now that there are both logistical issues with doing the snowmelt and that it may be less of an issue, I really think getting that underground ductwork is important. That room has been a priority and the multi-functionality beyond the Wood Lake programming has been important, so I think getting that as nice as it possibly can be is important to me and I hope that is the chosen alternate. [00:23] Mayor Mary Supple: Any other feedback on the alternates? Council Member Burk. [00:23] Walter Burk: Wasn’t one concern or possibility adding additional underground heating for—or under-floor heating for staff locations? Is that correct? [00:24] Karl Huemiller: Yeah, that was one of the other alternates there: to add additional... so we already have in-floor heating in key spaces so the building will be comfortable, but it would just be adding an extra layer of comfort there. So that is another alternate that's available as we think about it in terms of where the priority is and also maintaining a contingency until we get out of the ground. As staff see it, the Blue Duct would be the priority for us. And when the contingency can be spent—because the risk from getting out of the ground is realized—it’d be difficult to maintain our contingency and have all of those alternates at the same time. [00:24] Walter Burk: As long as I have a chance later on to voice an opinion about this, I think I'll think about it some more, but thank you for the information. [00:25] Mayor Mary Supple: Other feedback on the alternates? Are there other questions for Director Huemiller? [00:25] Sean Hayford Oleary: I did have a question about the concerns about the geothermal system. Could you say a little more about that and how much could it affect the price if it's not as conducive to having a geothermal system? [00:25] Karl Huemiller: Yeah, so we're still going to be able to do the geothermal system. We did a conductivity test in order to determine the size the system will need to be, and what came back is it's something like 30% less conductive than we expected. So that just means that we need to either create a larger geothermal field—so more wells—or have larger equipment there. So those both would have cost impacts. It's not an either-or, it's kind of a gradient. We can have a little bit bigger equipment and a little bit bigger geothermal field. As we've been looking at it, we see the maximum impact of that is about $200,000, which is part of why we have the larger contingency there as we're going through that design process. Our hope is that it's less than that, but don't know at this point. [00:26] Sean Hayford Oleary: Think that helps, thank you. [00:26] Mayor Mary Supple: Director Huemiller, are they still thinking about doing the wells under the current parking lot? [00:26] Karl Huemiller: Yes, the current plan is to do them under the current parking lot, and that's part of the tradeoffs: if we add more wells, it means we need to expand the well field, and how much are we willing to do that without impacting the parkland? [00:26] Mayor Mary Supple: Other questions, comments? Council Member Hayford Oleary. [00:26] Sean Hayford Oleary: And this is just a clarification: when this is done, will the parking lot be fully repaved or will some of it be the existing material? [00:26] Karl Huemiller: The lower parking lot will be fully repaved. [00:26] Sean Hayford Oleary: And that means the larger one closer to Lyndale? [00:26] Karl Huemiller: Yes, the larger one. The other one will just be trimmed down basically. So the walking path across will turn into grass and then the upper lot—the Western parking lot—will remain the same paving that is there currently. [00:26] Sean Hayford Oleary: Okay, thanks for clarifying. Yeah, I'm just... just excited about this and particularly thank you for all of your work specifically, Director Huemiller. This has come a long way. I think it's going to be such a cool landmark and it's great to see some of the pieces of feedback, some of the priority items that Council expressed. I particularly like seeing the pedestrian path to Lakeshore Drive. So thank you for all this and all the details you've considered and continue to consider, like in the work session tonight on the exhibits. In terms of our approvals, are there other Council items that you anticipate happening after this, or will this be the main Council action on this? [00:27] Karl Huemiller: This is the main Council action on this. We will most likely bring the alternates back at a later date. [00:27] Sean Hayford Oleary: Okay, thank you. That's helpful to know what the next steps are. [00:27] Mayor Mary Supple: Are there any other questions? Go ahead. [00:27] Sean Hayford Oleary: I will move that we approve Exhibit A, amending the contract with M.A. Mortenson Company for the Wood Lake Nature Center building project to set the guaranteed maximum price for the construction of the Wood Lake Nature Center building and surrounding site at $21,378,655, and authorize the Mayor and City Manager to execute the amendment and make adjustments of up to $175,000 or as appropriate based on the listed alternates for the project. [00:28] Walter Burk: I’ll second that. [00:28] Mayor Mary Supple: It’s been moved and seconded. Is there any further discussion? I just want to again thank you for this. This is going to be just amazing to get this thing started, so thank you. And I did have one other question for the viewing public: I know we've asked this before, but can you explain the "CliffsNotes" version of a guaranteed maximum price and how that works and what we might be responsible for if there's a cost overrun? [00:28] Karl Huemiller: Yeah, so the guaranteed maximum price is the maximum what we’ll pay for the scope that is defined within this document. So if there are things like the bids come in a little bit higher than we expected, that won't be on the city; that'll be on Mortenson as the construction manager. If there are design changes or unexpected conditions that aren't listed in this document, then the city would be responsible for those. One of the biggest ones is tariffs; those would get passed through to the city if tariffs were put in place, but Mortenson would not have any profit on those tariffs—it would just be a direct pass-through. [00:29] Mayor Mary Supple: Thank you, that's helpful. So the risk is spread out a little bit. And if anybody hasn't looked at the packet that's watching this, you can look and it lists off—you can go online and look—the construction risks that we would be taking. So we talked about the geothermal system and we talked about the tariffs, and the other one is if there were any unexpected conditions when you start excavating and you find something there that you're not expecting. Any other questions, comments? And I would also like to thank everybody for all their work on this and I want to thank the community for voting to allow us to go forward with this. I'm very excited to see what's going to happen at Wood Lake Nature Center and about this investment. So we have a motion before us and a second to approve the contract with Mortenson. All in favor please say aye. [00:30] All Council Members: Aye. [00:30] Mayor Mary Supple: All opposed? And we have approved the contract. Thank you. Next, we'll move on to the city manager report. [00:30] Sack Thongvanh: All right, thank you so much. And claims and payroll. [00:30] Sean Hayford Oleary: I move approval of claims and payroll. [00:30] Walter Burk: Second. [00:30] Mayor Mary Supple: It’s been moved and seconded to approve claims and payroll. Are there any comments, questions? Hearing none, all in favor of approving claims and payroll please say aye. [00:30] All Council Members: Aye. [00:30] Mayor Mary Supple: All opposed? We've approved the claims and payroll. Next, we'll move on to the Hats Off for Hometown Hits. And let's see, I don't think we've started with Council Member Christensen lately, so we'll let you do the honors. [00:31] Sharon Christensen: Thank you, Mayor. I'd like to give a hats off to the Parks and Recreation department of the city here. I recently received the summer catalog for the different events that are happening in the city through the parks department, and if you haven't received it yet, it should be coming in your mail this week. And they have a lot of variety, a lot of things for all ages, and it just doesn't include—I see it right here—it just doesn't include for children, but for adults as well. And not only for the locations at Wood Lake Nature Center—this year being moved to other locations because of the construction—but at the Community Center as well. So a lot of variety. So thank you. [00:31] Mayor Mary Supple: Then we'll move on to Council Member Burk. [00:31] Walter Burk: None today, thank you. [00:31] Mayor Mary Supple: All right. Council Member Hayford Oleary. [00:31] Sean Hayford Oleary: I have no items tonight. [00:31] Mayor Mary Supple: All right, thank you. Council Member Coleman Woods. [00:31] Rori A. Coleman-Woods: I don’t have any items tonight either. [00:31] Mayor Mary Supple: All right, thank you. So Council Member Christensen and I were able to go to the Met Council State of the Region, and I just want to give a hats off to the Met Council. They were explaining the wastewater systems, our Metro drinking water supply, they were also talking about transit, and there was a great panel discussion. So I would encourage people to go on their website if they want to learn more about the Met Council. And then finally, I want to give a hats off to our Assistant Utility Superintendent, Chad Donnelly. He was part of a group that helped bring clean drinking water to a rural village of 2,000 people. He is a travel mentor and a supporting engineer for the University of Wisconsin-Duluth students from Engineers Without Borders, and together with those students, they designed a system and raised funds for the project. The team built wells, pipelines, and a solar-powered pumping system to deliver safe water throughout the village—and again, that was a village of 2,000 people that now have water in Nan Sakia, Kenya. So hats off to Chad Donnelly, our Assistant Utility Superintendent. So is there anything else that anyone would like to add? All right, then I would entertain a motion to adjourn the meeting. [00:32] Rori A. Coleman-Woods: Moved. [00:32] Sean Hayford Oleary: Second. I will second Council Member Coleman Woods' motion. [00:32] Mayor Mary Supple: All right, it's been moved and seconded to adjourn the meeting. All in favor please say aye. [00:33] All Council Members: Aye. [00:33] Mayor Mary Supple: All opposed? And the meeting is adjourned.