[0:31] Mary Fasbender: Okay, we are sorry for any inconveniences, but at this point we will the council uh meeting will begin. Please stand for the pledge of allegiance. I pledge of 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. [1:00] Mary Fasbender: Welcome and let the role reflect. We do have a quorum with the absence of council member Leifeld. Tonight we are we will be reading a proclamation recognizing Terry Meyer's service for the city of Hastings. [1:16] Mary Fasbender: Tonight we recognize as a longtime parks department parks department, excuse me, employer who is retiring at the end of the month. Council member Pemble, please start the proclamation. [1:23] Dave Pemble: Certainly. Whereas Terry Meyer is retiring on April 30th, 2026, having served the city of Hastings for 25 years, 9 months. And whereas Terry began his service with the public works department as a light equipment operator. And whereas Terry wisely transferred to the parks and recreation department 10 years later, taking on the role of parkkeeper 2. And whereas Terry immediately implemented his vast knowledge, skills, and abilities in his new role. And [2:02] Dave Pemble: whereas Terry has been instrumental in maintaining Hastings parks and trails and recreation facilities, large and small equipment vehicles for nearly 16 years. And whereas Terry has time again demonstrated his dedication and commitment to the job, the department, and his co-workers and the community of Hastings. And whereas Terry is a fantastic guy appreciated and enjoyed by all who know and we all wish him well and hope that he truly enjoys his welldeserved retirement. [2:35] Mary Fasbender: Now therefore, be it resolved that the Hastings City Council hereby recognizes Terry Meyer for his dedication and commitment to the city of Hastings. Thank you, Terry. Council, are there any corrections to the April 4th workshop or regular meeting? Okay, seeing none, comments from the audience. [3:03] Mary Fasbender: Anyone wish to speak to the council at this time, please step forward, state your name and your address to the podium. Anyone wish to speak to the council. Okay, moving forward. And there is no one on Zoom. [3:19] Mary Fasbender: and we don't know. So, council items to be considered. Are there any council? No. Okay. Consent agenda. At this time, I will take have a motion for the consent agenda. [3:31] Mary Fasbender: Council member Pemble with a second by council member Haus. Any discussion? Council, all those in favor of the motion state by saying I. [3:47] City Council: I. [3:48] Mary Fasbender: Opposed to that motion state by saying nay. Under awarding contracts tonight, we have a resolution receiving bids and awarding contract to the 2026 neighborhood infrastructure. And for this item, we will have presentation by public works director Ryan Stempski. Welcome Ryan. [4:00] Ryan Stempski: Thank you, mayor, members of the council. Um, yes, we did open bids on April 10th for the 2026 neighborhood infrastructure improvements. Uh, another competitive bid year for us. So, we had six qualified contractors bidding on the project, which is great to see. Um, our low bidder was Northwest Asphalt, which is a familiar name. They did our project last year. So, uh, our staff is very familiar with their project managers and their team. So, it was easy for us this year to go through the review project, look at their sample projects last year, and then grade them on the project they did for us last year. So, they did meet all of the minimum qualifications that we required in our process. Um, we did [4:45] Ryan Stempski: set this bid up a little differently. Uh, we wanted to make sure we had a project that could fit the parameters of the budget, right, with the budget constraints that we have. So, we set up two alternatives. One was for a trail um down to Lions Park from Fourth Street. [5:00] Ryan Stempski: And the second was um on the sanitary sewer front, if we didn't have enough uh dollars to fund the project, we were going to line that segment on Pleasant later um and just replace the manholes now. So, kind of some value engineering items that we put into the bid project. [5:18] Ryan Stempski: Good news was that the total base bid was about 11% below our engineers estimate. So, um very good bids. They came in competitive. And so our recommendation tonight is to include both of the alternatives, one and two. So that's to do the trail segment down to uh Lions Park from Fourth Street and then do full replacement of of the sanitary sewer, which is best practice, and we don't have to come back and do a lining project later on that same segment. So with that, the recommendation would be um a total bid with both alternatives award to Northwest Asphalt in the amount of 3,588,670.26. [6:03] Ryan Stempski: And with that, I'll stand for any questions. [6:07] Mary Fasbender: Thank you, Ryan. Uh council, any discussion? Council member Haus. [6:14] Angie Haus: Thank you, your honor. I would like to move forward with the motion uh to adopt uh the contract with Northwest Asphalt Industry. Uh total amount of $3,588,670.26. [6:24] Mary Fasbender: Thank you, Council Haus. [6:25] Mary Fasbender: Didn't hear a second. Uh Council Member Pemble, any discussion? Council, all those in favor of the motion state by saying I. [6:36] City Council: I. [6:37] Mary Fasbender: opposed to that motion state by saying nay. And that motion prevails. Thank you, Ryan. Tonight, we also under awarding contracts, we have an attorney client legal services contract with Pawa Law Group. And for this item, we will have a presentation by our city administrator, Dan Wietecha. Dan. [6:55] Dan Wietecha: thank you, Mayor. Um, as everybody knows, we've been working for the past couple of years. Uh, has PFAS contamination in all six of our municipal wells. We are addressing that with construction of three decentralized water treatment plants to uh remove the PFAS. Um started this past year in close session over the past month to discuss legal strategy regarding potential environmental litigation against one or more defendants. [7:41] Dan Wietecha: Uh this evening uh recommending uh we contract with Pawa Law Group. Uh they are a litigation and trial firm with extensive experience in complex environmental tort litigation. Uh and as a quick uh overview under the recommended contract uh Pawa Law Group would represent the city in one or more lawsuits uh from presuit investigation through appeal. Uh attorney fees are on a contingent basis, meaning uh there's no payment unless there is uh an some sort of award uh or or financial recovery. Uh they are 31% uh net of out-of-pocket costs. Uh 33% if [8:27] Dan Wietecha: there's an appeal. Uh these are actually uh slightly below the industry standard. Um uh and throughout the process the city would retain control of all decisions regarding litigation. Uh the other piece I really want to point out is that assuming that we file litigation it is a long process. It could easily be four, six, 10 years uh to resolutions. [8:53] Dan Wietecha: So this is an important step uh but it is not immediate relief to the expense. Uh and in the meantime we will continue pursuing state assistance. With that, I can take questions from council. Thank you. [9:06] Mary Fasbender: Thanks, Dan. Council, any questions at all? Council member Vihrachoff. [9:14] DawnMarie Vihrachoff: no question, your honor. Just going to Can you hear me? Okay. [9:16] Mary Fasbender: Yes. [9:17] DawnMarie Vihrachoff: Oh, I'm sorry. No questions. Just going to make a motion to approve the authorization to sign the contract with Pawa Law Group. Um, I think this has been a long time coming. I know this is incredibly important to this body. I commend the city for the thoughtfulness that they've had going through with this and um I know that we have a lot of constituents that care deeply about this and looking forward to working with them. I make a motion. [9:38] Mary Fasbender: thank you and a second by council member Haus. Now any new discussion council? All those in favor of the motion state by saying I. [9:48] City Council: I. [9:49] Mary Fasbender: opposed to that motion state by saying nay. And that motion prevails. Thanks Dan. Also under uh awarding of contracts, approval for the lead service line replacement agreement. And for this item, we will have Ryan Stempski, our public works director. Again, Ryan. [10:08] Ryan Stempski: Uh thank you, mayor. So, mayor, members of the council, this is uh kind of a continuation of the lead service line program. We've talked about this. We we've we've turned in application, etc. Um really what we're here tonight to approve is a template of an agreement. So right now with our current bid projections um or estimates I should say we we anticipate about 58 homes getting lead or galvanized private service lines replaced under this program in 2026. And so for our contractor to set our contractor up to do work on the property and inside the home to replace said line from curb stop to meter, we need to have an agreement [10:54] Ryan Stempski: to do so, right? A right of entry, something that protects our contractor and protects the city. So rather than bring 58 agreements back to city council, the purpose tonight is to approve one template, only change um the address and the names of the owners of each property and then give staff the uh administrative authority to sign said set agreement uh so that we can get those uh addressed as we are door knocking or sending letters out because right now starts our long process of educating those that are on the project. [11:29] Ryan Stempski: So, we want to have agreement in hand when we have inspectors out trying to do pre-inspection surveys with these folks or when we send out mailings, we can attach it for an example or we can put it online, etc. So, I worked with the city attorney uh Cynthia to draft this agreement and put it in an executable form. I think we have our city administrator as the staff designate to sign the form and it is in your packet tonight. If you have any questions, either of us can answer them. [12:02] Mary Fasbender: Okay. Thank you, Ryan. Council, any questions? No questions. Okay, then I would look for a motion. Council member Lawrence. [12:14] Tim Lawrence: a motion to uh authorize staff signature on the LSL replacement agreements necessary on phase one. [12:22] Mary Fasbender: Okay. A motion with council member Lawrence and a second with council member Pemble. Any discussion council? All right. All those in favor of the motion state by saying I. [12:33] City Council: I. [12:34] Mary Fasbender: oppose that motion state by saying nay. And that motion prevails. Tonight we are also going to discuss the hydroelectric plant and the asset purchase agreement and FERC transfer which is federal energy regulations commission. And for this item, we will have an introduction or a presentation by our city administrator, Dan Wietecha. Dan. [12:57] Dan Wietecha: thank you, mayor. Uh, as point of, uh, quick recap, uh, back in December, uh, city council held a public hearing and then in January, uh, city council passed a resolution determining that sale of the hydroelectric plant was in the public interest. Um, sale of the plant was in the public interest uh largely because of projected operation and maintenance costs greatly exceeding revenues uh resulting in a negative cash flow. [14:44] Dan Wietecha: The purchase agreement uh which is intended for essentially facilitating a smooth transition uh ensuring continuity of operations uh leading up to the sale maintaining regulatory compliance throughout the transaction. [15:00] Dan Wietecha: The second one uh is uh technical and important. It is the FERC license, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Uh but a matter of transferring our uh license from the city to Hastings Hydro. Uh and with that, we are requesting an expedited approval uh by the uh federal commission. Uh Hastings Hydro uh under the terms is legally, technically, financially qualified to assume the license. Uh and it would uh accept all terms and conditions of the existing license and operate the facility in accordance with federal regulations and the federal power act. Uh but really just want to give you guys an update. [15:46] Dan Wietecha: These are no action tonight. Uh it's uh something that was previously approved. Uh but uh certainly a significant step and wanted to make sure that you guys are and the the public are apprised of where we're at and how it's progressing. Uh but with that, I can certainly stand for any questions. Thank you. [16:05] Mary Fasbender: Thank you, Dan. Council, any questions for Dan as stated, no movement tonight. So, thank you. under community development, uh, Sunset Hills. And for this item, we will have a presentation by city administrator, Dan Wietecha. [16:30] Dan Wietecha: We're switching. We have some technical difficulties this evening. John Hinzman was supposed to join us remotely. I need to change this. there. [16:51] Mary Fasbender: Hey, look at that. [16:53] Dan Wietecha: I know, right? Uh the Sunset Hills uh development. Uh there's three actions that are recommended before you this evening. I do believe you could do those uh assuming you you choose to as a single motion. Uh but the first one is uh rezoning of a portion of this property from a agricultural to R3 medium high-density planned residential development. Uh the second action is the preliminary plat for the development uh which would consist of 26 single family home sites as well as a couple of outlots. Uh and the third action is actually the final plat uh for the first phase of the the development. So, 14 of those 26 single family lots as well as a [17:40] Dan Wietecha: couple of uh associated outlots. Um would note that the first reading of the rezoning uh occurred April 6 uh two weeks ago. Uh other quick pieces to update, the planning commission uh in March on the 23rd held a public hearing. Uh I did have comments from a few of the uh neighboring residents with uh comments and questions about the number and type of housing units, impacts on traffic, uh some questions about water pressure, water quality, uh and uh uh potential for park amenities in the area. Um uh in in the end, the planning commission did vote 5-0 to recommend approval. Uh I would note uh in terms of the question about water pressure um uh that there was a question of would this impact 26 single family lots uh diminish uh water pressure in the neighborhood and we consulted with our public works department uh and that would not uh have [18:48] Dan Wietecha: that sort of negative impact. really it's more a matter of uh uh the height uh difference between the water tower and uh the individual home as well as uh distance from the water tower. The bigger factors there. Um real quick uh with the slides here, it's this uh property uh generally north of 15th Street and a block half block west of O’Connell Drive. Uh and actually what we're talking about in terms of the uh plat is sort of the north two-thirds of it. Um uh you have to to bear with me here. [19:26] Dan Wietecha: This one tilts it on its side in order to fit it onto a single screen. North is to the left uh and south to the right. Uh but essentially it would be an extension of uh 14th Street West uh and uh future continuation further west as other development or annexations may occur in the future. Uh and a cul-de-sac off of Sunset Drive. Uh between those that comprises 26 single family lots. Uh outlot A on this map is a storm water uh retention basin and outlot B uh is not being re proposed to be rezoned this evening. Uh it is uh potential future uh development uh to be [20:12] Dan Wietecha: determined. Uh whether that may be uh some small multifamily housing uh some sort of uh senior housing or potentially additional uh single family lots coming off of 15th Street. But uh developer uh reserving uh to to see how the market looks as as time may go forward. Uh the specific first phase is the um cul-de-sac off of Sunset Drive. Uh so uh the mentioned the preliminary plat is the whole thing, but the final plat is just this this cul-de-sac for Sunset Drive uh with 14 single family lots. Uh the remainder is being uh kept in separate outlots. [21:01] Dan Wietecha: Uh much more detailed version of the plat showing uh some of the utility connections and landscaping that'd be associated with it as well as uh you see the storm water pond in between the the two streets. More uh layouts. Uh this one you can kind of see the uh footprints of the homes on the individual lots. Uh these are being described as villa homes. Uh similar to what we saw off of uh Pleasant Street, uh Pleasant Drive over the last couple of years. Um different developer, but similar smaller homes on a smaller lot. Um and a couple of architectural renderings of what those homes may look like. Uh but with that I can stand for some questions. Uh our community development director John Hinzman indirectly is available. We can type him some questions and he can respond. Uh I do believe that we [22:03] Dan Wietecha: are in a position that if council is comfortable you could act tonight. Uh also understanding the the technical difficulties we ran into if you needed to hold it two weeks. Uh that's certainly an option also. [22:07] Mary Fasbender: Okay. Thank you Dan. Council, any questions? Any discussion? Okay. Nothing council. I mean, I will add I did watch the commission meeting and it was very well-received. I I do think this development is um going to take hold pretty quickly as we know that the 33 lots at Villas Pleasant went very fast and these types of homes for our seniors are being looked at and um I'm I'm very excited for the actual development. With that council, I would accept Oh, council member Beck. [23:05] Mya Beck: Just one question. Um, in the commission, it said they had a couple concerns and you only addressed water pressure. Were the other concerns also addressed to those commissioners? [23:14] Dan Wietecha: I believe that the only help me out if if you've got the memo in front of you. I believe that the only uh condition that they had placed on their recommendation was confirming with the public works department that uh this would not cause uh water pressure issues. I believe that was the only piece that that was conditioned on. Uh there were other uh pieces of conversation from comments from the public as well as uh with with the planning commission that evening uh about um uh impact on traffic. This is not at a size that would uh warrant a uh traffic impact analysis or study. Uh there were questions about uh park amenities. Uh and uh the parks [24:03] Dan Wietecha: commission had uh previously felt that this uh development in itself did not uh need to have a a park dedication with it. Uh the thought being that additional development further west could have greater land ability to have a larger park that would serve this entire area uh not just a single development. So there there were a couple of other pieces that came up during the meeting but um uh I I I believe that those were pretty much resolved at that that meeting. Was there a specific question? [24:40] Mya Beck: No. [24:41] Dan Wietecha: Okay. Thank you. [24:42] Mary Fasbender: Thank you, Council Member Beck. I do think there was some confusion too with the discussion of the other property owner next to it. [24:51] Dan Wietecha: Yeah. And the two close I I do think there was uh two different properties that people were thinking that larger property. [24:58] Mary Fasbender: yeah, it makes sense. [24:59] Dan Wietecha: A a couple of years ago, the property directly west had approached us about uh potentially annexing and developing. So there had been some earlier uh conceptual sites that were seen out there and that might have added some question about the size of the development or locations of parks or thinking something had changed. [25:20] Mary Fasbender: Again, I just I think it's a great development. I think it's just that type of uh housing that is being sought out. So anyone willing to make a motion to accept it? [25:34] Dan Wietecha: It would assuming that by accept it you mean to approve the resolution or the the second reading of the ordinance and both resolutions and the plat. Yep. [25:47] Mary Fasbender: Council member Vihrachoff. [25:49] DawnMarie Vihrachoff: Thank you, your honor. Dan or um Mr. Jenkins, just for clarification. So because there's other parks that are close by, I'm guessing the developer is then whatever our our our ruling is in terms of dedicating that funding back to some. Okay. [26:09] Dan Wietecha: The city's uh general policy is to have a park within a half mile of uh every development. Uh so I I'm not sure I I'm not familiar enough on the specifics of this if there's a park directly within within a half or or if it was the thought that uh an additional development immediately west would pick that up in the in the near future. [26:34] DawnMarie Vihrachoff: Mayor, may I ask another question? [26:37] Mary Fasbender: You can. [26:38] DawnMarie Vihrachoff: Sorry. My specific question was if the developer is not contributing funding for a new park and the parks commission has voted not to, what's happening to that funding? Don't we in a pool? [26:50] Dan Wietecha: Our ordinance requires uh uh with city approval and direction uh either the dedication of land for a park or equivalent funding uh to be used for park development. So without this having land dedicated for park uh the development would require I think it's 3,000 or low 3,000s per lot uh to contribute towards future park development. [27:14] Mary Fasbender: So there is a financial—thank you council member—and assistant city administrator Kelly Murtaugh to have an addition per remote John Hinzman. [27:42] Kelly Murtaugh: Dan has hit on these things, but I just want to make it crystal clear from John's perspective. A future park is planned west of the development in the comp plan and of course the city will accept cash in lieu of land. [27:51] Mary Fasbender: Thank you, Kelly. Now any other council member Lawrence? [27:56] Tim Lawrence: just specify it says it's going to be about $50,400 that's going to go into that fund and then it's in there and also I'll make a motion to what was just said: the second reading, the preliminary plat, and the final plat. All three things included. Yep. [28:13] Dan Wietecha: So it's the second reading amend city code chapter, it's a resolution of the preliminary plat and it's the resolution of the final plat. [28:22] Angie Haus: Second. [28:24] Mary Fasbender: There is a first and there is a second. Any new discussion council? Council member Haus. [28:28] Angie Haus: I do apologize for my late question. Um, just quickly, um, it is a heavily wooded area from what it appears in the photos that's going to be redone. Uh, for tree removal and replanting, um, is it still every tree that's removed has to be one replanted, correct? Just wanted to confirm. [28:48] Dan Wietecha: I don't think that's accurate. I know it's very specific and I just I just I just thought—it is in the tree preservation plan. [29:05] Angie Haus: I was looking at that plan. So, thank you for that. I appreciate it. Okay. [29:12] Mary Fasbender: Thank you so much. Thank you, Council Member Haus. There is a first and a second. Any other discussion, council? Okay. All those in favor of the motion state by saying I. [29:27] City Council: I. [29:28] Mary Fasbender: Opposed to that motion state by saying nay. And that motion prevails. Thank you, Dan. Looking forward to it. Thank you. Okay. Any reports from council members? Any announcements or anything? All right. I do have a couple announcements. We recognize next week as National Library Week. We thank the staff of Pleasant Hill Library for their service in our community. On Friday, April 24th, we will recognize Arbor Day and Tree Planting at Pleasant Park. Carpenters Nature Center, Earth Day Birding Festival is Saturday, April 25th. The Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Business Association, and MnDOT will be hosting a business information meeting about Highway 61 reconstruction on Tuesday, April 28th. [30:19] Mary Fasbender: Upcoming meetings. Tuesday, April 21st, 7 PM Heritage Preservation Commission. Monday, April 27th, 7:00 p.m. Public Safety Committee, 7:00 p.m. Planning Commission. Monday, May 4th, 5:30 p.m. City Council workshop. And that'll be a community development department update, and 7:00 p.m. city council regular meeting. With that, I would stand for a motion to adjourn. [30:53] Mary Fasbender: Council member Pemble and Council Member Lawrence. All those in favor of the discussion state by saying I. [30:58] City Council: I. [30:59] Mary Fasbender: opposed to that motion state by saying nay. And we are adjourned.