This transcript is from a **White Bear Lake City Council** meeting (specifically from early 2022). Based on the context and the names mentioned in the dialogue, I have assigned the correct speaker names and estimated timestamps based on the flow of the meeting. **Speakers identified:** * **Mayor Dan Jost** * **Tracy Shimek** (Community Engagement Specialist/Staff) * **Ellen Heinecker** (Former City Manager/Task Force Lead) * **Chris Streif Ogie** (Task Force Member) * **Ellen Gerola** (Task Force Member) * **Rebecca Blazinbauer** (Task Force Member) * **Bill Walsh** (Councilmember, Ward 4) * **Dan Jones** (Councilmember, Ward 3) * **Kevin Edberg** (Councilmember, Ward 1) * **Heidi Hughes** (Councilmember, Ward 2) * **Anne Kane** (Community Development Director) * **Paul Kopie** (Public Works Director/City Engineer) * **Lindy Crawford** (City Manager) *** **[00:00:00] Mayor Dan Jost:** [Music] especially [Music] uh for which it stands one nation under god indivisible with liberty and justice for all all right moving on moving on to approval of the minutes uh does anyone have any corrections to the minutes from the january 25th meeting if not it would entertain a motion to approve the minutes. **[00:00:20] Councilmember Bill Walsh:** So moved. **[00:00:21] Councilmember Dan Jones:** Second. **[00:00:22] Mayor Dan Jost:** have a motion a second all those in favor say aye all right opposed minutes are adopted uh next moving on to item three adoption of the agenda i think we have one item item four e that we were removing is that correct um so we'll note that uh correction of the agenda does anyone else have any additions or changes to the agenda. **[00:00:41] Councilmember Dan Jones:** we taking it off the gender or moving it to something else. **[00:00:44] Mayor Dan Jost:** we're taking it off the agenda all together seeing none do i have more approval. **[00:00:48] Councilmember Bill Walsh:** i have a motion. **[00:00:49] Councilmember Dan Jones:** a second. **[00:00:50] Mayor Dan Jost:** all those in favor say aye aye any opposed passes we have an agenda uh moving on to item four the consent agenda. **[00:00:56] Councilmember Bill Walsh:** move to approve. **[00:00:57] Councilmember Dan Jones:** second. **[00:00:58] Mayor Dan Jost:** i have a motion a second all those in favor say aye aye and the opposed consent agenda is approved uh item five visitors and presentation the welcoming and inclusive community task force report i understand we have a lot of members in the audience that have worked very hard on this and have a good robust report for us where are we starting off tonight. **[00:01:15] Tracy Shimek:** i'll be kicking us off mayor members of council i would like to take this opportunity to thank the task force members they put in countless of hours on throughout this process and the development of the report and they've showed a true dedication to the process there are some some of the members are here in the audience but there were also members who are joining us through the la watching on live stream who are unable to be here this evening due to covid and health concerns so uh the num the numbers at home probably exceed the numbers here but they were all very dedicated and um i would say grateful to be a part of this and and have some input and so kicking us off this evening will be former city manager ellen heinecker who started this process. **[00:02:02] Ellen Heinecker:** hello mayor members of the council it's really strange to be standing on this side of everything so thank you so much for allowing me to be here tonight i'm going to be really brief which i know is hard for me to do but i want to just give a really brief background on how this all started and um and then we're going to take off with our task force members that are here to present the report and there'll be a powerpoint that follows... [continues with background regarding Mayor Emerson and the 2021 process]... with that i'm going to introduce we have three members of the task first that are going to go through the presentation and we're going to be starting with uh chris ogie and then they're each going to introduce themselves as they come up so thank you. **[00:04:45] Chris Streif Ogie:** greetings mayor and council members my name is chris streif ogie and i just will start with the slide that's up right now... [discusses diversity data, census benchmarks, and BIPOC population growth]... this slide contains information about the wiper lake school district the demographic of our youth can be a leading indicator for the future makeup of our community... [discusses free/reduced lunch, languages, and special education]... turn it over to ellen now. **[00:07:05] Ellen Gerola:** good evening mayor city council thank you for having us my name is ellen garola i'm going to talk to you a little bit about the community surveys... [discusses the Polco platform survey, small sample size, and feedback themes regarding racial equity and representation]... there are many people who were born in white bear lake or have lived in the community for many years it can be difficult to be a newcomer in this community... [discusses feedback from 91 community youth and students of color]. **[00:10:15] Rebecca Blazinbauer:** good evening mayor and council my name's rebecca blazinbauer 15 years ago i was in front of the council talking to you about pigeons um so it's great to be back 15 years later talking about people... [discusses community conversations on race, learning from other cities like Roseville and St. Louis Park, and the importance of trust and follow-up]... based on those conclusions the task force discussed a variety of initiatives... [discusses staff development, a new standing city commission, and the equity lens]... final thought is we heard from people who did not think their voices mattered did not want to and we don't want to fulfill that prophecy hopefully this process of intentional engagement continues with the leadership of the mayor and this council we ask you to hear them i'd like to conclude by saying doing what is easy isn't always the best... thank you. **[00:14:10] Mayor Dan Jost:** thank you everyone and thank you for all the members of the task force i know there's a lot of work that went into this and i'm sure it's been a labor of love for all these long months my initial thoughts on the report are i look at it as a report card you guys did a nice snapshot of where is it where are we at right now how can we do better... i do want to open up for the council council members wallister jones you worked on this if you've got any comments or questions or things you'd like to add councilman walsh. **[00:14:50] Councilmember Bill Walsh:** sure thank you mr mayor um well a couple things um just let me dig a little deep... [asks about verbatims and staff feedback regarding public safety or licensing bureau]... the engagement level is interesting i think you know we couldn't get people to engage you know so you can look at that a lot of ways... low engagement doesn't always necessarily mean bad things... i attended the meeting with the out the other city people coming in it was fascinating and and that theme which we got back in this survey too is that the lack of trust is is surprises me you know just and you know that's just that's not my experience. **[00:17:35] Councilmember Dan Jones:** so i i do want to thank obviously everybody else i started off i'm like i'll be honest i'm like ooh this is going to get scary i want to make sure what i believe born and raised here i'm the rubber stamp white guy right and i didn't want it to go one too far one way or too far the other... [discusses Mayor Emerson’s leadership and George Floyd’s death]... i trusted you as a council member to say i don't need to be here i'm confident that you're going in a direction that needs to be going... i don't want to say how do how do we how do we react without being reactive... we gotta start taking bites thank you mr mayor. **[00:20:10] Mayor Dan Jost:** anyone else on the council have any thoughts or comments on it councilmember edward. **[00:20:15] Councilmember Kevin Edberg:** thank you mr mayor so there were as i read and reflected there were three things that came to me the first was the last several years have been enlightening to me about the hidden or not so hidden of forces of structural racism... [discusses redlining, covenants, and police brutality lawsuits/data]... a second one caused me to ponder the question okay there's a lot of work for communities what is the particular roles that are unique to government... i don't take that on as my responsibility... city manager i'm going to look to you to say you first of all you're drinking from a fire hose a still you've been here all of what is it 38 days... i'll stop there. **[00:24:20] Mayor Dan Jost:** anyone else on the council... well then i'll just close by saying i think that's that's certainly a commitment we can make to continue a conversation at some point... thank you all again for your presentation and all your hard work on the task force okay moving on to item six public hearing we have nothing scheduled and item seven unfinished business we also have nothing scheduled so it brings us to item eight new business a uh resolution and i request by jeff mcdonald texas states for a preliminary plan and planned unit development at 1788 highway 96 east is this uh miss kane. **[00:25:10] Anne Kane:** yes thank you mayor and members of the council um subject site 1788 highway 96 is located on the south side of county road a 96 just east of columbia park in white bear township... [details the 1.85-acre site, utility easements, and the request to subdivide into six lots for four duplexes]... the motion to recommend approval of the request failed on a vote of two in favor and four opposed [at Planning Commission]... a draft resolution of denial was prepared for the request and uh placed a included in your packets for your consideration this evening. **[00:28:45] Mayor Dan Jost:** thank you council any questions for ms kane councilman walsh. **[00:28:50] Councilmember Bill Walsh:** thank you mr mayor the new information um can you just the west the west edge of the property what are we dealing with here... is it dillon's ditch? **[00:29:05] Anne Kane:** dillon did that's part of dillon's ditch okay yeah... it makes it unbuildable for obvious reasons... [explains lot width limitations]. **[00:29:30] Councilmember Bill Walsh:** and then my other question is... the one car garage thing it just that's one of the things i hear a lot... is that a market demand? **[00:29:50] Anne Kane:** mayor councilmember walsh i think um our housing analysis... revealed the dramatic change in household composition and i believe we're at 40 percent single person households. **[00:30:15] Mayor Dan Jost:** anyone else on the council have a thought comment question council member hughes. **[00:30:20] Councilmember Heidi Hughes:** um was the so the dillon ditch this whole 33 foot easement known to the owner of the property forever or is this sort of a development over the last 20 plus years. **[00:30:32] Anne Kane:** mayor councilmember hughes that actually was acquired from the the owners the tice family... in 1967. **[00:30:45] Councilmember Heidi Hughes:** i guess i'm just confused because i'm new at looking at this... [asks about buildable envelopes and variances]. **[00:31:30] Anne Kane:** mayor councilmember hughes because i believe there are just if if the pud was approved it would represent relief from the minimum lot area... [explains setbacks and the PUD process]. **[00:32:15] Councilmember Dan Jones:** thank you mr mayor so just my opinion i really don't have any questions i'm just looking at ten pounds of sand going into about a seven pound sack... [discusses parking, rvs, and driveway tapers]. **[00:32:50] Anne Kane:** thank you mayor council member jones i know that wasn't a question but i just do want to point out... there would be an association that manages the exterior of this property and many homeowners associations have restrictions that can go above and beyond what the city's regulations are. **[00:33:30] Councilmember Heidi Hughes:** just because i'm new and i don't know mr mayor i don't know how this works um are we discussing the entire thing are we simply asking questions right now... **[00:33:45] Anne Kane:** thank you mayor council member hugh so tonight is the request for the final approval... the only step necessary to come back is after a long time of working with staff on the homeowners association documents in the final plat. **[00:34:15] Mayor Dan Jost:** council what would like to do councilman walsh. **[00:34:18] Councilmember Bill Walsh:** thank you mr mayor this is my award i mean so the resolution in front of us is a denial... i'll move the resolution as written. **[00:34:30] Councilmember Kevin Edberg:** second. **[00:34:32] Mayor Dan Jost:** i have a motion and a second any further discussion just to clarify it's the motion to deny. **[00:34:38] Councilmember Bill Walsh:** well it's the resolution in front of us which which is a denial. **[00:34:42] Councilmember Kevin Edberg:** thank you just to clarify... the minutes of the planning commission and ms kane's summary of that was entirely accurate... the nature of this proposal is out of character with the surrounding neighborhood both in structure size density and the issue of parking... i'm in support of the motion to deny. **[00:35:15] Councilmember Bill Walsh:** well thank you mr mayor i move the resolution i'm going to vote for the resolution it's not an easy vote i um i support development i support development in this in this area it's just the planning commission did have two two meetings on this. **[00:35:45] Councilmember Heidi Hughes:** mr mayor i actually really tempted to not say anything because it would be really easy but i feel like part of my job here is to have an opinion first i am hesitant to to say that i don't support what the planning commission agreed with here i'm going to vote against it... [discusses benefits of an HOA and private property rights]. **[00:37:30] Mayor Dan Jost:** all those in favor say aye aye the opposed no nay motion carries the resolution denying the request is passed moving on to 8b resolution approving request by architects and engineers on behalf of the city of white bear lake for site plan approval for the public safety building renovation... ms kane. **[00:38:00] Anne Kane:** yes thank you mayor members of the council... [describes the renovation/expansion of City Hall, Police, and Fire Station #1, including the Miller Avenue vacation, the squad garage, fire apparatus bay, and dorm rooms]... the planning commission did forward a unanimous recommendation to the council for approval... walt is here this evening and supporting staff are also present if you have any questions. **[00:41:40] Councilmember Dan Jones:** move to approve and thank you for moving the trash. **[00:41:43] Councilmember Heidi Hughes:** second. **[00:41:45] Mayor Dan Jost:** i have a motion a second any further discussion if not all those in favor say aye aye aye opposed say motion carries resolution passes moving on to 8c resolution accepting feasibility report and ordering public hearings for the 2022 pavement rehabilitation project... mr copy. **[00:42:15] Paul Kopie:** thank you mr mayor members of the council so each year the city has traditionally taken on a payment reconstruction rehabilitation project... [details the neighborhood meetings, pavement techniques like milling and overlays, utility repairs, and proposed sidewalks on Florence, 4th Street, and Cairn Place]. **[00:45:25] Councilmember Bill Walsh:** thank you mr mayor um well this is my neighborhood... sidewalks are always tough nobody wants the sidewalk... my sales pitch is connectivity throughout the city... has it been decided that sidewalk already on the north side? **[00:46:00] Paul Kopie:** mr mayor councilmember walsh the current locations... would be on the north side of florence... we look at minimizing tree loss... 4th street is proposed on the east side... cairn is proposed to be on the west side. **[00:46:40] Councilmember Bill Walsh:** you've looked at lot size and proximity... the sidewalk's going to take another big piece of my yard and that's a legit concern. **[00:47:00] Paul Kopie:** mr mayor councilmember walsh we do we look at all those factors... obviously the sidewalk is proposed within the city's right-of-way. **[00:47:15] Councilmember Dan Jones:** have a motion. **[00:47:16] Councilmember Heidi Hughes:** do i have a second second. **[00:47:18] Mayor Dan Jost:** a motion a second any further discussion seeing none all those in favor say aye aye all opposed say nay the motion carries and the resolution passes finally moving on to 8d first reading of the water meter ordinance mr copy. **[00:47:40] Paul Kopie:** mayor members of the council... the city undertook a water meter replacement program... what it does is modernize our meter reading system to our drive-by radio read system... [describes the contractor Ferguson Water Works, the 100-200 non-compliant residents, and the new fees for non-compliance and manual reads]. **[00:51:30] Councilmember Dan Jones:** just i don't like to ask too many questions at this but... the radio frequency is there is that the health issue is why people don't want... i want and is that why residents aren't doing it. **[00:51:55] Councilmember Kevin Edberg:** if i might i just want to flag i have some concerns about the last two paragraphs and what expectations we are placing upon our citizens for maintaining their water meter... i'm fuzzy on the authority that we're giving the city... i'll bring those in greater detail on the second reading. **[00:52:45] Mayor Dan Jost:** noted all right anyone else okay moving on to item nine discussion we have nothing scheduled item 10 communications from the city manager miss lindy. **[00:53:00] Lindy Crawford:** yeah crawford thank you mayor members of the council in your packet you have a letter from the charter commission... [discusses charter amendment, purchase of a new ambulance, picnic shelters for Lions Park, and a new roof for the south fire station]. **[00:54:30] Mayor Dan Jost:** okay i think at this time i can throw it to council member jones because i believe we have a presentation for miss kane who's unfortunately leaving us and we're disappointed... why don't you come forward and councilman jones i think has a the traditional bear to present to you. **[00:55:00] Councilmember Dan Jones:** thank you mr mayor for i'm guessing over 30 years you've improved many communities... what mostly has meant for me to you is the ability for me to learn and to ask the questions... when you came to the hospital as a that meant a lot to our family... i wish you'd stay longer but we wish you and the council well to do what you need to do just be happy... here's your bear. **[00:56:30] Anne Kane:** thank you [Applause] it has been my distinct pleasure and working with this community in this council and change in a historic town is is difficult... thank you so much and i'm not going anywhere so i'll be around [Applause]. **[00:57:15] Mayor Dan Jost:** all right with that i will entertain a motion to adjourn. **[00:57:18] Councilmember Bill Walsh:** so moved. **[00:57:19] Councilmember Dan Jones:** second. **[00:57:20] Mayor Dan Jost:** all those in favor say aye aye we're adjourned well i think it's cool i know.