This transcript features the Rosemount City Council meeting from March 18, 2025. Based on the context provided and the dialogue, here is the formatted transcript with speaker names. ***Note on Phonetic Corrections:*** *The raw transcript contains phonetic misspellings of Councilmembers' names during roll calls (e.g., "Tyson" for Theisen, "Cle" for Klimpel, and "Fresy" for Freske). These have been corrected to their proper names as provided in your official list.* [0:04] [Music] [1:37] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Scrambling, there we go. Good evening, welcome to the Rosemount City Council for Tuesday, March 18th, 2025. This evening we have a scout in the audience who's working on an Eagle Scout. I've asked him to come forward, so Dylan Leang, if you'd come forward and lead us in the pledge. Please rise and join. [1:57] **Dylan Leang:** 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. [2:11] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Thank you. Thanks. All right, the agenda for this evening—are there any additions or corrections? Seeing none, I'll move the agenda. Is there a second? [2:29] **Councilmember Tami Klimpel:** Second. [2:31] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** All in favor signify by saying aye. (Council: Aye). Opposed? We have an agenda. And this evening the first item up: presentations, proclamations, and acknowledgments. We have with us tonight two Dakota County Commissioners representing Rosemount. I'll turn this over to Mr. Martin. [2:50] **Logan Martin (City Administrator):** Thank you, Mayor, members of the Council. Yeah, no further ado. I just—we wanted to invite Commissioner Droste and Commissioner Hamann-Roland up to the podium. I think they’re hoping to get a more routine visit with us and a chance to give kind of a county update both to the City Council and then the public at home. So with that, folks, turn it over to you. Welcome. [3:14] **Commissioner Bill Droste:** Thank you, Mayor, Councilmembers, staff. It's an honor to be here. And I know you know why there's two of us, but for the public as was stated, Commissioner Mary Hamann-Roland has the Apple Valley and parts of Rosemount from Shannon Park to the west, and then I have the remainder. So with that, we'll briefly go over some accomplishments, talk about roads, and then some future plans. And with that, Commissioner? [3:46] **Commissioner Mary Hamann-Roland:** Well, good evening Mayor and Councilmembers. What an exciting city to be in. I just listened to your Port Authority meeting and you have lots of great stuff continuing to happen in Rosemount, and we do too in the county. We are expanding our library services. I think Mayor, you may already know this, but we have self-service hours in all of our libraries. Can we move that forward? Okay, where are we pushing... are you helping on the—oh, there we go. There it goes. I mean, look at all that, that's pretty exciting, including a bison. Do I just roll it forward? Yes. [4:51] **Commissioner Mary Hamann-Roland:** Our libraries—every one of our libraries, which we have 10, have self-service hours. It is open from 6:00 to 11:00 for registered customers. It provides the customer with meeting space, computer use, Wi-Fi, and also you can do checkout books and you can register with a QR code. So I saw the Chief walk in and I don't see him anymore, but public safety and mental health are on lots of people's minds these days. We opened this year a Crisis and Recovery Center. It is a place that really welcomes people, adults—anyone going through trauma or mental health experiences would feel very welcome. It's trauma-informed; it's a much-needed resource for Dakota County. Social Services handles the crisis response and assessment and The Guild Incorporated operates a 16-bed residential facility at that site, and that is in West St. Paul at the Northern Service Center. [6:15] **Commissioner Mary Hamann-Roland:** We also opened just a couple weeks ago, in our jail, an Integrative Health Unit, and it serves inmates with crisis needs. Why is that important? Well, we want to have a successful experience for the people who are customers who unfortunately end up in the jail, and sometimes it's because of a health issue, sometimes it's because of a mental health issue. And so this provides us an opportunity to be able to help those individuals and to help them move back and transition into the community successfully. And that is important for all of our residents. And I'm going to turn it over to you, Commissioner. [6:57] **Commissioner Bill Droste:** So growing the Greenway system—this past fall many of you were there, but this took, I think it was approximately 30 years to complete the last two-mile section on the Mississippi River Greenway. We have completed 57 miles of our Greenway system in the county with the goal of a 200-mile network. [7:23] **Commissioner Mary Hamann-Roland:** Can I just add something? He becomes a Commissioner and it's done! I look to have many, many plans as Mayor, I must say. [7:34] **Commissioner Bill Droste:** Whoops, yeah, the other way there. You also—late last fall, we just completed the Byllesby Dam. That dam was built—it's ironic—the same year Mankato was built, 1923. Mankato failed last spring; we were fortunate to have the spillway in on this one. That just maxed this out and it protects Cannon Falls and the farms around there. We've installed two turbines, a generator. Later this year when Xcel completes the substation, it'll generate power for approximately 8,000 homes and it'll produce approximately a little over a million dollars of revenue with the power we'll be putting on the network starting next year. [8:27] **Commissioner Bill Droste:** Also, as you noticed last year at the library, we've done a lot with solar and green energy. So Rosemount, the North Service Center, Apple Valley Library, and Galaxy and our Hastings center—we put in solar. This one produces 96% of the energy that the library uses. So we'll be continuing that, but the carport would fit well here in this particular lot. We also—you have two people here that worked at the city level and now at the county. We are working on strong partnerships and improving them in any way we can with our townships and our school districts. Just some of the partnerships you all know: the 911 public safety, elections, embedded social workers. In the last five years: parks, environmental protection, crisis resources, transportation, just to name a few of the things that we partner on. [9:36] **Commissioner Bill Droste:** But I would like to highlight especially on elections. The past year and a half we added staff and one of the problems the county had four years ago and three years ago with results is the increasing absentee ballots. I can't say how important it is working through that process today. The county takes all those ballots in and it just eliminates a roadblock. But especially to your City Clerk that sits here to my right—you have an A-1 City Clerk. I know you all know that. What a wonderful job, many years on the job, and what an important role in the elections that they play. [10:28] **Commissioner Bill Droste:** Okay, what did I do... whoops. One other thing on housing. You're all aware you see a lot of housing in Rosemount of various types, but it is a key issue. Last fall we completed Nichols Point; it's at the end of the outlet mall right next to Cedar. 24 units, one-bedrooms. It was affordable for seniors with a preference for military veterans. We had over 600 people apply. It just shows the high, high demand of those that were in there. 80% are veterans, but it is immediately occupied. We'll have a formal open house later this year. Secondly, we had a groundbreaking last summer: Workforce housing. You don't have to look around Rosemount with all the construction and it's that entry-level housing—there's a strong need. We broke ground in Farmington with the second project down there that'll be opening later this year and we'll also be stepping into most likely senior housing later this year and we're working with your staff and all staffs at the city. [11:58] **Commissioner Bill Droste:** Now I'd like to just move on to road projects in Rosemount. So, County Road 42 and Biscane—you saw the temporary blockage of that corner. It's been an issue since at least last fall, last summer. Working with City staff and County on what to do on an interim basis, especially since the school is building a new middle school there until the light goes in. So there will be a more permanent barrier put in there shortly. Initially, from what I can understand talking to County engineers and I think City here, it's working the way with it blocked off. [12:35] **Commissioner Bill Droste:** County Road 42 on Business Parkway—two weeks ago we just initiated a contract. So from Business Parkway/145th all the way to Auburn, SEH is the engineer; they'll be studying it to look at all four intersections. The county did a study 10 years ago. They're projected to put a light at Biscane and Auburn and some other things at the other two intersections. It'll just reaffirm. Notice: open house in the summer of 2025. So hopefully it'll be announced, we'll work with the city and inform as many people as possible. [13:14] **Commissioner Bill Droste:** 117th Street construction—technically that's in Inver Grove Heights right on your northern border. It will be a two-lane road, probably the most expensive one in the county because of two landfills, two railroads, a refinery tank farm, various gas companies there. But the reason I put this on here—notice it's a two-year construction. Anytime a road around your city is closed, it'll affect traffic. So Rich Valley Road... most of it will be on 52 but you may see more, and it sort of justifies the temporary light that was put at 42 also. [14:12] **Commissioner Bill Droste:** Highway 3 and 142nd Street—right after school's out this year, MnDOT has a project. I can remember sitting in the library with Senator Clausen and the transportation chair probably eight years ago, and finally that'll be constructed. However, even though it's a MnDOT project, when you close off the main highway through your town—McAndrews Road/Pilot Knob is the detour—but I'm sure you will see things occurring throughout your community as roads are closed this summer. [14:48] **Commissioner Bill Droste:** Next: Highway 3 study from I-494 to County Road 42. This will be led—kicked off later this spring. It's a 12-mile corridor going through three cities: Inver Grove Heights, Eagan, Rosemount, all the way down to 42. MnDOT has been talking about this and they got delayed a year, but there's choke points all the way up and down that corridor. So the study, as I said, was kicked off this year. It'll probably be a year, but hopefully as they get some details we'll have public meetings in various communities along the way. [15:26] **Commissioner Bill Droste:** County Road or Highway 52 and County Road 42 interchange—funding was received two years ago. Notice there's an open house this summer with construction next year. That'll be on the northeast quadrant of 52 and 42. Highway 52 and County Road 46 study—that's all the way from Highway 3, also known as 160th Street. That'll be kicked off, open house later this fall with preliminary design in the winter of 2025-26. But what a key component. In fact, we have a meeting next week with the mayor at Coates—the 52 interchange with 160th. There might be an interim smaller project there. And then last, I'll just mention Connemara and Akron Avenues—it's a city-led project. It'll be a roundabout and the construction in 2026. That one you have control since you're leading it, right? If you accelerate it... [16:34] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** No! Yes, it's considered accelerated. [16:41] **Commissioner Bill Droste:** Next, I'll just mention here some state and federal priorities. Our number one priority from the state is Interstate 35 and County Road 50. That's out in front of Fleet Farm in Lakeville. It's a choke point. There's a lot of construction that needs to be done on that interstate, but it's number one for us. The Recycling Zone—for you in Rosemount/Eagan, the Recycling Zone, I think most people here know where it is, but as you get to the southern part of the county, we have no recycling zones. So we're looking at building another one in partnership with Scott County. It'll be in the Lakeville Business Park if we can get the funding for it. And then park and energy projects—we're looking at doing a lot of improvements in our libraries, etc. The last thing I'll mention is Health and Human Services, and that's an extremely broad category. We're looking at various elements of funding. We just mentioned here two facilities we opened, but the county more or less is the health and human services safety net for counties throughout the United States, and it's a key issue for us especially. It's approximately half of our employees. Some of the mental health issues, support for children—the programs are quite vast, but the funding needs are significant and we just have a lot of concerns if things are cut, it would impact your residents along with everyone throughout the county. With that, I'll turn it over for the last two slides. [18:50] **Commissioner Mary Hamann-Roland:** So let's see, we're going this way. So you've heard public safety, you've heard public health, transportation, housing, recycling, energy—the county is doing a lot of investment in really important infrastructure. And so the surveys will be going out to 7,000 randomly selected households, and that will help us to hear what the public is saying and also to focus our priorities for the future. The last survey that the county did from the residents' feedback is that the county operations were something that they felt were extraordinary and that the value that they got for their taxes that they paid were exceptional. The survey is conducted every three years. We have a partner with four other counties that helps offset those costs, reduce those costs, and the results will be available this summer. [19:48] **Commissioner Mary Hamann-Roland:** So there's a lot going on and how do you make sure that you know what's happening? You can sign up for e-news at www.dakotacounty.us. You can volunteer your time and your skills. I'm talking to your residents right now—it's amazing when you get involved and the impact that you can make in your county and what a wonderful feeling that is. And I know that your volunteers in the city of Rosemount are exceptional volunteers. I've witnessed your—when the Mayor did the recognitions for the volunteers, you do a great job here. You can serve on an advisory committee, you can take county surveys, you can follow us on social media. And I also like to make sure that you do this because I started doing this very early on—you can get your property taxes statements online and that saves you time, it saves you paper, and it also saves the county not having to produce the paper. Also, you can subscribe to property watch to combat property fraud. This is a new service that we have in Dakota County. [21:13] **Commissioner Mary Hamann-Roland:** And we want to thank our partners. So we have Commissioner Slavic, you remember, Commissioner Atkins who also used to serve in this role before your esteemed Commissioner, Commissioner Halverson, Commissioner Workman, and Commissioner Holberg. And so we thank you and we hope that you have an opportunity to be able to ask us questions and we want to come back because there's so much going on. So we look forward to maybe in the holidays, you know, maybe December something like that, we talked about that we could come back and share more update with you. So, questions? [21:58] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Well, we'd like to have you back before there's other holidays, sooner than that! [22:04] **Commissioner Mary Hamann-Roland:** Well, if we can, that would be great. We just didn't want to overwhelm you with too many visits. So Mayor, what would you like? Would you like to see us come back this summer? [22:15] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Quarterly is nice. [22:16] **Commissioner Mary Hamann-Roland:** Quarterly, okay. [22:19] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Think yeah. I'll open it up to Councilmembers. Any questions? [22:23] **Councilmember Tami Klimpel:** Well, thank you for the update on the roads. That's always a hot topic with our community growing. I have a couple questions, though. Any update on a future study for County Road 42 and Highway 3? I know that was something that we talked about by the railroad tracks at one point for a flyover. [22:45] **Commissioner Bill Droste:** I think the city was initiating part of that, correct? With the—you're talking with the railroad flyover study, right? That's a three-way partnership: County, City, MnDOT Railroad Authority. So I believe that's starting to get kicked off. You're right, Nick [Egger], I don't have a lot to add there other than I understood that that would be sometime this year. Obviously, there are a lot of different partnership projects highlighted in your presentation, so we can add that one to the list as well. [23:22] **Councilmember Tami Klimpel:** Do we know if the county or the state is leading that charge or are you looking at the city to run that? Do you know who the lead is? [23:31] **Commissioner Bill Droste:** I thought last I heard from County staff that it would be MnDOT and County, but I believe it's MnDOT. Yeah, that's a fair statement. Federal funding permeates for that too on the Highway 3 part because that's the main road. [23:44] **Councilmember Tami Klimpel:** And then the other one too, I just want to ask—I know you've been asked before, but I get asked this constantly—is there any update of paving Akron Avenue from the Rosemount border up to Cliff Road? [24:01] **Commissioner Bill Droste:** Um, no. And all I'll say is that's a city issue with Inver Grove Heights. And if you would contact them and explain the importance to you to have that paved, although it's a county road, we don't force cities. And Inver Grove Heights does not have that as a priority. Plus, there's a large neighborhood up there that is organized and does not want to see it paved. I had—and I appreciate your persistence, because five years ago that was something that you brought to our attention. I will mention one other thing that's important especially out on the east side is the tunnel under 42. We're working with the city on the right-of-way, but the intent is to put an underpass underneath 42 along Akron on the east side of the road to DCTC there, and it'll be trails down to eventually trails down to Whitetail and Greenway system along the Athletic Complex south. And there's another underpass on the south side of Amber Fields. So the connections are underground. [25:10] **Councilmember Heidi Freske:** And you know, it was great to get the updates on a lot of these newer roads, but I have a teen driver in my house, and so some of the intersections I also get questions about are actually kind of some of our legacy intersections. A lot around like 42 and Chippendale, like those blinking yellow lights. And so I get asked if there's consideration by the county on how to address maybe some of those intersections where it does seem like the teenagers get into the high-speed crashes and things. So can you talk a little bit about the county's process for like continuing to evaluate those kinds of legacy intersections? [25:52] **Commissioner Bill Droste:** I can tell you we just today had a meeting with the County Engineers on the top 10 intersections—actually it was 12 crash rates. Biscane was one on there, and also Diamond Path and 151st Street, Apple Valley/Rosemount. So they're in there. Biscane is being corrected in 2027, but they're continually analyzing all intersections on all our county roads yearly. We look back three years and prioritize based on the accident rate, and then the other thing that trumps it is severity. So our most severe accidents quite often are out in the country because of the speed at their intersections where sometimes you might even have a death because of the high speed. Severity isn't as high in the urban core. [26:44] **Councilmember Heidi Freske:** Could you share a little bit about the process? I know when you're talking about Biscane, so it's a known problem, yet the finalization of this lighting and everything is out until 2027, hopefully right before they open up the middle school there. So some of our residents don't realize the process. I was wondering if you could share the county process and how we get from today with that temporary [barrier] to the lights operating in '27. [27:18] **Commissioner Bill Droste:** Similar to Connemara/Akron Avenue, it's a three-year process especially when you have to acquire right-of-way. So the engineering's being done this year, right-of-way next year, with hopefully contracts let end of next year with construction in early '27. But generally it's a three-year. If it was just putting a light in, it could be moved forward without right-of-way. But the reason the accidents on that particular section [happen] is the sight lines are poor because you have to look over your shoulder from the south side and the corner there also. So they want to realign that intersection, but also they want to make certain especially at Business Parkway and 145th—the earlier study was 3-4 intersections. Just re-analyze all the traffic patterns how they've changed in recent years. You know, a middle school's going in there, the housing development that wasn't certain 10 years ago at all. So now things have changed, and again, generally I know it sounds like a long time, but three years quite often. [28:43] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Thank you. One other question. You had a slide that was up about partnerships—there was probably at least a half a dozen. I know chairing our 911 board is on top of my mind at least for some of our partner cities. Can you speak a little bit about what the county's doing regarding those partnerships now, and when our cities will have a little more information about how that partnership is evolving? [28:59] **Commissioner Bill Droste:** That's interesting that you asked. In fact, we had an agenda item a week ago and it got tabled. Our meeting was a little long, but we do a lot of partnerships—even road construction where we delay those shared costs. Quite often if we're the lead, you're not paying those. So some are very apparent like the 911, but there's a lot that aren't. So we're stepping back looking at all those partnerships and we'll probably be reaching out to the cities later on down the road looking at what we could do to make things work better. And the best example especially here in Rosemount is the temporary light. It took at least six months to work through the process on 42 and Pine Bend. That's an example—that's an inordinate amount of time I'd say to work through the questions on that particular site. [29:56] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Yeah, we certainly appreciate—we mentioned earlier—the election partnership that we have and things like that. Would we be seeing something probably by mid-year where we'd be getting some feedback on what the county is considering? [30:17] **Commissioner Mary Hamann-Roland:** Commissioners, on Dakota 911? [30:25] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Well, all the partnerships, because I understand that the 911 is being kind of held up a little bit because of the other partnerships that you're looking at and how those are being funded. [30:33] **Commissioner Mary Hamann-Roland:** It's a conversation that we're having in April. [30:35] **Commissioner Bill Droste:** Yes. And one thing I'll mention to you, sitting in your seat, you have a lot more power than I do today! There's a seven-member board and we operate a little different. Yeah, five of us operate faster... so it might take us a little while. Hopefully, we can come back to you soon though with what we're thinking or what we can improve. [30:58] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** I appreciate you letting me poke the bear a little bit. Well, and do you have any suggestions for us? [31:07] **Commissioner Bill Droste:** Yeah, absolutely! [31:10] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** What's your county fund? [31:12] **Commissioner Bill Droste:** It's real simple: County funding 100%, City zero. [31:16] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Yeah, I figured that that would be the case on everything! Partnerships. Well, we appreciate you coming out this evening and we look forward to seeing you probably in about three to four months. [31:26] **Commissioner Mary Hamann-Roland:** Yes, thank you so much for giving us your very valuable time. Thank you. [31:32] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Thank you. Take care, good to see you. And with that, that completes item 3A for this evening. We'll move on to 3B and we'll have a little fun here with this: it was a proclamation of support for the Monarch butterfly habitat restoration. Mr. Schultz. [31:49] **Dan Schultz (Parks and Recreation Director):** Thank you, Mr. Mayor and Councilmembers. This evening before you is a request from staff for the City Council to adopt a proclamation supporting the restoration of Monarch butterfly habitat, and then for the Mayor to submit the online Mayor's Monarch Pledge. And so just kind of to back up a little bit, the proclamation is actually part of the work plan that goes along with the pledge that we're asking the Mayor to take part in. There's been over 600 mayors and tribal and other government leaders that have joined this pledge, and so we're asking Mayor Weisensel to also join the pledge. [32:32] **Dan Schultz:** There's quite the work plan that comes along with being part of this program. Many of the activities in the work plan we're already doing, and we're well on our way to meeting a majority of these things, which for many smaller communities it takes a number of years to do. But it's just things like, like I said earlier, it's the proclamation that we hope to adopt tonight; it's engaging with our community gardening groups to have them plant milkweed in the community gardens; it's things like creating a community-driven educational conservation strategy, which we do online—we have some information on our website that our ESC has put together. We also—it also calls for us to maintain pollinator-friendly demonstration areas, which we've done at Talamore Park, Greystone Park, and the UMore ball fields. And so we're well on our way to meeting a lot of the areas in that work plan that need to be met, and then we'll be back to give an annual update on this activity. And with that, I would ask that you consider adopting that proclamation and then also approving the Mayor to submit that online Monarch Pledge. And I will stand for questions. [34:03] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Any questions for staff? All right, we will proceed with the proclamation reading first and then the motion. So, please go ahead and start. [34:10] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Whereas the Monarch butterfly is an iconic North American species that—whose multi-generational migration and metamorphosis from the caterpillar to the butterfly has captured the imagination of millions of Americans; and whereas we are deeply concerned about the decline of the Monarch butterfly population—both the Western and Eastern Monarch populations have experienced significant declines. Less than 1% of the Western Monarch population remains, while the Eastern population has fallen by as much as 90%. Monarch scientists attribute the population decline to degradation and loss of summer breeding habitat in the U.S. and loss of winter habitat in south-central Mexico and coastal California. [34:55] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** And whereas cities, towns, counties, and communities have a critical role to play to help save the Monarch butterfly. Municipalities can provide habitat at public parks, median strips, community gardens, schools, and municipal buildings like recreation centers and libraries. Events such as community workshops, native plant giveaways, and Monarch festivals can educate residents about the cultural significance of Monarchs and how to create habitat. Simple changes in landscaping ordinances or other policies can make a big difference for the Monarch too. [35:36] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** And whereas we recognize the importance of creating Monarch and pollinator habitat at parks, gardens, and other green spaces that every member of our community can equally enjoy. Our work to help save the Monarch butterfly intentionally engages all parts of our communities, ensuring that historically marginalized communities are not left out of the work or that any benefits of this work will create. And now, therefore, I, Jeffrey D. Weisensel, Mayor of Rosemount, Minnesota, do hereby commit to help restore habitat for the Monarch and encourage our residents to do the same so that our magnificent butterflies will once again flourish across the continent. Dated this 18th day of March 2025. Signed, Mayor. [36:20] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** With that, would someone like to move the motion in the affirmative? [36:23] **Councilmember Paul Theisen:** So moved. [36:24] **Councilmember Heidi Freske:** Second. [36:26] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** I have a motion by Theisen, second by Freske, to adopt a proclamation just read supporting the restoration of Monarch butterfly habitat and for myself to submit the online Mayor's Monarch Pledge. Roll please. [36:44] **Erin Fasbender (City Clerk):** Weisensel. [36:44] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Aye. [36:45] **Erin Fasbender (City Clerk):** Theisen. [36:45] **Councilmember Paul Theisen:** Aye. [36:46] **Erin Fasbender (City Clerk):** Freske. [36:46] **Councilmember Heidi Freske:** Aye. [36:47] **Erin Fasbender (City Clerk):** Klimpel. [36:47] **Councilmember Tami Klimpel:** Aye. [36:48] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** And the proclamation motion is carried 4-0. And with that, that completes item 3B. And the Monarchs are pretty butterflies. Item 4: response to the public comment—this evening we do not have any to respond to. And we'll go to item 5 for public comment. Anyone wishing to come before Council and address the Council on subjects that are not part of the meeting agenda may do so at this time. Please state your name and address, and the podium is open. Seeing no one at this time, we will close the public comment and move on to consent agenda. Is any Councilmember wishing to pull any items? [37:41] **Councilmember Paul Theisen:** Yeah, D and F. [37:44] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** D and F, okay. [37:46] **Councilmember Heidi Freske:** And I'm also going to pull E and G. [37:49] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Okay, so I'll skip those. So what we have this evening for the consent agenda with items D, E, F, and G pulled for further discussion or comment—or in this case I think recognition—we have bill listings; the minutes of the March 4th regular and work session; the declaration of surplus property from the Fire Department that has been—to meet the NFPA 10-year standards—that equipment will be donated to the Minnesota Fire Exploring Association; the liquor license amendment for Omni Orchard LLC, it's basically an owner name change; the temporary on-sale liquor license for the VFW for an outdoor event; authorization creating a recreation program assistant for expanded program work; the City of Rosemount and Dakota County CDA LAHA agreement, which stands for the Local Affordable Housing Agreement—last year we received $85,000 that was our 2024 allocation and we work with the County CDA related to housing, that was from the sales tax from the imposed state tax from last year; and then the award of contract for Municipal Well number 17 Phase 2, $2.2 million for Rice Lake Construction. With that, I'll move the consent agenda those items. Is there a second? [39:27] **Councilmember Tami Klimpel:** Second. [39:29] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** I have a motion by Weisensel, second by Klimpel. Roll please. [39:34] **Erin Fasbender (City Clerk):** Weisensel. [39:35] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Aye. [39:35] **Erin Fasbender (City Clerk):** Theisen. [39:36] **Councilmember Paul Theisen:** Aye. [39:36] **Erin Fasbender (City Clerk):** Freske. [39:37] **Councilmember Heidi Freske:** Aye. [39:38] **Erin Fasbender (City Clerk):** Klimpel. [39:38] **Councilmember Tami Klimpel:** Aye. [39:39] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** And consent agenda items noted completed 4-0. We will pull up—I'm going to do these a little strangely—but items D and F, and have our Police Chief come forward. It is a donation acceptance for the Officer Wellness programming and the donation acceptance for the K9 program. [40:02] **Carson Thomas (Police Chief):** Sure, thank you Mayor, members of the Council. I got to be a little cautious with this because both donors asked me to keep their name anonymous, but I think it's worth celebrating. I asked them multiple times and—but I need to respect their wishes as I've been advised by not only by them but by our legal staff in the past. [40:24] **Carson Thomas (Police Chief):** The first donor, I got to meet with him for a while at his residence, and he's a Vietnam veteran and been a longtime Rosemount resident, active in the community, and decided that he wanted to support our staff following a recent case investigation where he became victim of a scam. Unfortunately, as we've seen this continue to grow, and it's something that's on our minds, it's on our federal partners' minds, is how do we prevent some of these scams that are plaguing our community. They seem to change daily, weekly. In this particular case, there was a scammer posing as his bank, then explained to him that his accounts were compromised; they needed to be emptied, money deposited to a different location. Thankfully, our Detective Casey Murphy was on the case, and there was about $24,000 in funds that had been sent, and our detective was able to retrieve about half of them, $13,000. [41:19] **Carson Thomas (Police Chief):** In speaking to this individual, I said—you know, I pleaded with him—I said, "You don't need to do this. You've already—you're already out $11,000. There's no sense giving away more." And he just—he's a gem of a guy. Sat there, State Hockey Tournament was playing in the background, got to visit with him for a little bit, and he wants to put it towards officer wellness. So that's where that donation's going. [41:48] **Carson Thomas (Police Chief):** The second one is for $10,000, and that is a lady in our community, again longtime resident, been a supporter. I met her about five years ago and got to spend some time with her at her residence as well. She has a very nice piano that we got to play for a little bit. That was a good change in my day to the normal routine. And she wants to support the first-ever K9 program. So I let her know that we finally selected a trainer for our K9, and that's a goal to jump off that program this year. So she jumped on the cause, got me in touch with her family who helps organize some of her finances, and that check should be incoming any day now. So we're asking for the Council to support the generosity of our community. It ceases to amaze me the people that step up to support us and it's really nice to have that, and we're just looking to accept those donations. [42:43] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Questions or comments? [42:45] **Councilmember Paul Theisen:** Yeah, so thanks Chief, I appreciate that. And one of the reasons why I wanted these two things pulled is I just—I respect the wishes of the people that donated, but I just think I wanted to recognize that even after some of the things that, you know, the first person went through, the willingness and the commitment to volunteer back to something like that—I mean, you see all kinds of negative things that happen in the community from time to time. To witness some of that, I mean, I can only imagine that had to be kind of cool. [43:08] **Carson Thomas (Police Chief):** Yeah, very cool. [43:10] **Councilmember Paul Theisen:** You know what I mean? And then the second one, once again, a very large donation for the K9—something that we've been trying to do for quite a while, you and your team, and now we're progressing. It's a mission to get that kind of volunteerism. I just think it speaks volumes. And even that they are not disclosing their name, I think that's just even more reason to just celebrate it a little bit. So hopefully, without giving any recognition, they're seeing some of this because I just think it's important and also makes kind of the atmosphere of what Rosemount truly is, I believe. [43:39] **Carson Thomas (Police Chief):** So and it's great that you got to play the little piano with a nice standard up! [43:42] **Councilmember Paul Theisen:** It was in tune, so... [43:43] **Carson Thomas (Police Chief):** Oh, that's great. Yeah, awesome. [43:45] **Councilmember Paul Theisen:** If you want me to... yeah, I'd like to make a motion to approve the donation acceptance of Officer Wellness, item D, and then item F, donation acceptance of the K9 program. [43:56] **Councilmember Heidi Freske:** I'll second. [44:00] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** I have a motion by Theisen, second by Freske, for items 6D and 6F, donations acceptance. Roll please. [44:08] **Erin Fasbender (City Clerk):** Theisen. [44:09] **Councilmember Paul Theisen:** Aye. [44:10] **Erin Fasbender (City Clerk):** Freske. [44:10] **Councilmember Heidi Freske:** Aye. [44:11] **Erin Fasbender (City Clerk):** Klimpel. [44:11] **Councilmember Tami Klimpel:** Aye. [44:12] **Erin Fasbender (City Clerk):** Weisensel. [44:12] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Aye. [44:14] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** And they complete and approved 4-0. And then the other two items are 6E and 6G. These are donation acceptance from Minnesota Energy Resources for $500 and a donation acceptance from First State Bank of Rosemount for $1,000. Both of these are for Safety Camp. I'd like to have Director Schultz come up and speak a little bit about Safety Camp, and I think these are actually pretty regular donators to our city. [44:46] **Dan Schultz (Parks and Recreation Director):** Yes, Mr. Mayor and Councilmembers. For several years now, both Minnesota Energy Resources and First State Bank of Rosemount have been contacting us to see what programs we would need support with. And one of them every year we ask for a donation is Safety Camp. Safety Camp is an all-day activity; this year it's on Friday, June 13th. It's from 8:30 a.m. till 3:30 p.m. and it costs $15 for a child to sign up. They get lunch, they get a t-shirt, and it's one of those programs where we rely heavily on the rest of our departments within the community to help us put this event on. [45:28] **Dan Schultz:** The Police Department plays a huge role in this program. We have the Junior SWAT program that we run during that day, so they get to try on gear, the Bearcat comes out. We have our police officers there working with kids on safety and things like that. We have bike safety which is run by our Police Department, and then we also have fire safety. Then we also have some household safety things where we bring in different organizations to help with 911 safety. We usually have an ambulance come out and kind of give kids the ins and outs of an ambulance. And we can do this all for $15 a child because of the donations that we do get. And so we do take about 100 kids, which is kind of our cap. Every year we have a little bit on the waiting list, but it's a great program. We've been doing it now for 26 years and it fills up every year. We wish we could add more spaces, we just don't have the ability to do that because of some of the space constraints that we have. But it's a wonderful program and we look forward to it every year. [46:38] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** And is signup open now, or when does that open? [46:40] **Dan Schultz (Parks and Recreation Director):** Signup opened up a couple weeks ago and so it closes on May 30th. [46:46] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Yeah, and what are the age ranges that you...? [46:48] **Dan Schultz (Parks and Recreation Director):** The age ranges are kids in grades two through five. [46:53] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Pretty nice age group there. All right, any other questions, comments? Thank you very much. And with that, I will move the motion to approve the acceptance and expenditure of $500 from Minnesota Energy Resources and the $1,000 from First State Bank of Rosemount to be used for Safety Camp. [47:19] **Councilmember Tami Klimpel:** Second. [47:21] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Motion by Weisensel, second by Klimpel. Roll please. [47:25] **Erin Fasbender (City Clerk):** Freske. [47:25] **Councilmember Heidi Freske:** Aye. [47:26] **Erin Fasbender (City Clerk):** Klimpel. [47:26] **Councilmember Tami Klimpel:** Aye. [47:27] **Erin Fasbender (City Clerk):** Weisensel. [47:27] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Aye. [47:28] **Erin Fasbender (City Clerk):** Theisen. [47:28] **Councilmember Paul Theisen:** Aye. [47:29] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** And that passes 4-0 and completes all of the items with the consent agenda. And we'll move on to item 7: public hearings, which we have none this evening. Item 8: unfinished business, which we have none. And on to item 9A: Request by Riveter Real Estate LLC for a Major Amendment to the Omni Orchards Farm Winery PUD agreement. Mr. Nemcek. [48:02] **Anthony Nemcek (Senior Planner):** Thank you, Mayor. This item relates to an expansion of the current operation by Omni Orchards at their location on Biscane Avenue. They are looking to expand to the parcel immediately north of their current location and construct a building that would house wine production and event space and a tasting room. [48:29] **Anthony Nemcek (Senior Planner):** So a little bit of a background or summary on this: The Planning Commission reviewed the final site and building plan, found it to be in conformance with the city's zoning code, and approved that for the applicants at its meeting in February. The Planning Commission also recommended approval of expanding the PUD area to include the subject property, which is again immediately north of the current operation. The planned unit development agreement contains two deviations from the code that the applicant is hoping to apply to the new facility—the new building that they will be constructing. Those are related to the exterior materials. [49:15] **Anthony Nemcek (Senior Planner):** The Council may be familiar with the building that is currently out there—it has a kind of agricultural feel to it with the metal paneling for its exterior walls, and then vinyl decal for the signage on that wall. So the Planning Commission recommended expanding the PUD area to include the subject property so that there can be a cohesive feel amongst all of the site. So the actual action, well, is functionally amending the PUD. Based on advice from the city's attorney, the actual action by the Council will be to repeal and replace the existing planned unit development agreement so that the legal description of the properties that would be under that planned unit development agreement contains both parcels. [50:18] **Anthony Nemcek (Senior Planner):** So as I said, the subject property is immediately north of Omni's existing operation on Biscane Avenue. You can see on the map before you: On the east side of Biscane is Dakota Aggregates' ongoing mineral extraction operation; the remainder of the site is surrounded by undeveloped land within the Rosemount Business Park area. The site plan for the expansion includes the new building near the northern portion of the site. The site currently contains a dwelling and a metal pole barn; those will be demolished and removed. I do believe that there's some collaboration on the removal of the existing residential structure with the City's Fire Department to allow for some training exercises with that. [51:10] **Anthony Nemcek (Senior Planner):** But you can see on the site plan before you here, access into the site will come from the existing driveway into there with some parking immediately adjacent to the building, and then a new parking lot to the south of that new building connected via a sidewalk. Also note that with this project there will be paving of the overflow parking or expanded parking on the current Omni site south of this one. [51:41] **Anthony Nemcek (Senior Planner):** Here's some exterior elevations showing what the buildings will look like—very, very consistent with the existing building that's out there now. Corrugated metal paneling with a little bit of brick or stone wainscoting on the side facing Biscane Avenue. The loading area would be in the rear, and there is also a covered porch area on the south side of the building. The applicant did provide us with some floor plans to give you an idea of how things will be laid out. You can see the largest space being the event room; there's a smaller tasting room with some bar seating and smaller tables; and the wine production area in the back. And then just so the Council can see the landscape plan: There will be some vineyards planted near the front of the new building, some orchard trees placed here. There's a number of heritage trees that are anticipated to be retained as well as much as possible. The applicant's also proposing some outdoor areas for small-scale wedding ceremonies on the site as well. [52:58] **Anthony Nemcek (Senior Planner):** So as I said, the action before the Council, since the Planning Commission did approve the site plan, is simply to adopt a resolution that would repeal the existing planned unit development agreement and replace it with a similar agreement containing the exact same provisions related to exterior materials and signage, but encompassing both properties on Biscane Avenue. I can take any questions that the Council may have. I do know Zach and Justin from Omni are here, and I'm sure they are more enthusiastic about speaking about their project than I would be, although I am very excited and enthusiastic! [53:40] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** You're excited too, yes. Yeah, very much so. Open up the floor to the council members. Any questions for staff? All right, we'll take the opportunity to have the applicants come forward. And again, please state your name, address. [54:11] **Zach Ward:** Zach Ward, co-founder of Omni. 8859 Comstock Court, Maple Grove, Minnesota. Council and Mayor, thank you for having us. [54:21] **Justin Walsh:** And Justin Walsh, the other founder of Omni. 14962 64th Avenue North, Maple Grove, Minnesota. [54:27] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** And again, welcome. I was just going to ask—just kind of take a little history lesson here. So you came to the city back in 2021? So shortly, well, kind of through COVID a little bit there. And seems like you're doing well if you want to expand. [54:49] **Zach Ward:** Yep, the opportunity presented itself probably one year too early, but we're going to make it work. [54:55] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** I know there's a lot of both residents from Rosemount and residents from the greater Rosemount area that spend time there and enjoy it very much so. Certainly, money is being spent there and it's looking forward to more and better. I'll open up to Council here and questions or comments. [55:12] **Councilmember Heidi Freske:** I would just like to say thank you for investing in Rosemount. And just to point out to our residents, I think one thing that was really cool to me as I looked at the plans was I was really excited by that capacity for 252—like, that is a new amenity in town to have that size of an event facility. So that is really fantastic. Really love what you guys are doing with your space, and thank you for bringing this forward to us. [55:40] **Zach Ward:** Thank you for having us. It's really been a dream come true. I don't think we could have asked for more in this expansion. So yeah, and thank you to City staff; they have been super helpful helping us wander through this once again a couple years later. [55:58] **Councilmember Paul Theisen:** Yeah, I guess I was just there twice this week and literally one of the things I'm always surprised about... [56:06] **Councilmember Heidi Freske:** No, it's St. Patrick's weekend! She's trying to get out in the community! [56:12] **Councilmember Paul Theisen:** No, but one of the things we were talking about is just how many different people are coming from Farmington and Lakeville and other areas too. So we talk about building—you know, our bringing in businesses that bring destinations into Rosemount. This is a perfect example. And so this addition is not only something that I'm strongly in favor of, but we're just appreciative that you guys are also—you both said your addresses are Maple Grove—investing here in Rosemount. So it's just well noted and it's definitely bringing people from other communities to this community and sharing one of the things that we love about it. So thank you. [56:52] **Zach Ward:** Certainly. Good beer, good wine. [56:56] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Like the wine, I go for the pizza. [56:58] **Councilmember Paul Theisen:** Or beer! I mean, a good variety across the board, so just really enjoy that. Now for our residents, what are you looking at for timing of some of the different phases of this project? [57:12] **Zach Ward:** Yeah, we're hoping to have the wine production facility up and running by this year's harvest, right around October 1st. We're not going to take any event reservations this year, but we'll start booking for next year. And assuming things go according to plan, you know, we might sneak in a few at the end of the year that maybe are more of a friends and family or help us sort of shake off the rust on this kind of new venture for us. [57:42] **Councilmember Paul Theisen:** Test drive that facility. [57:43] **Zach Ward:** Yes. [57:44] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Awesome. All right, anything else? All right, thank you very much. [57:47] **Justin Walsh:** Thanks. [57:48] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Thanks. I look forward to a positive recommended action. [57:51] **Councilmember Heidi Freske:** Can I make a motion? That's what I asked! I'll make a motion to adopt a resolution repealing the existing Omni Farm Winery planned unit development agreement and replacing it with a similar agreement that encompasses both 15675 Biscane Avenue and 15701 Biscane Avenue. [58:12] **Councilmember Paul Theisen:** Second. [58:15] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** I have a motion by Freske, second by Theisen. Roll please. [58:19] **Erin Fasbender (City Clerk):** Klimpel. [58:19] **Councilmember Tami Klimpel:** Aye. [58:20] **Erin Fasbender (City Clerk):** Weisensel. [58:20] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Yes. [58:21] **Erin Fasbender (City Clerk):** Theisen. [58:21] **Councilmember Paul Theisen:** Aye. [58:22] **Erin Fasbender (City Clerk):** Freske. [58:22] **Councilmember Heidi Freske:** Aye. [58:23] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** And that approves 4-0. Thank you very much, gentlemen. Look forward to the expansion. That completes 9A and we'll move on to 9B: Accepting bids, award contract, and declare cost to be assessed and set the assessment hearing for the 2025 Street Improvement project. Mr. Erickson. [58:45] **Brian Erickson (City Engineer):** Thank you, Mayor, members of the Council. We have two actions in front of you tonight. One is for the accepting the bids and awarding the contract for the 2025 street project. We got three bids on the project and I want to just make a comment that we did do a little bit of adjustment to our contract to make sure that the contractors had some qualifying information. I did a review on the two low bidders on that and they both—they met our qualification requirements. [59:16] **Brian Erickson (City Engineer):** So, want to just touch base. The low bidder has done work in the city in the past—it's been a few years since we've worked with them. But Minnesota Paving Materials had the low bid, and we're estimating for that total project cost to be about $2.6 million. That is about 11% below the engineer's estimate and just about 12% below the next low bid. And that also includes—there were two alternate items. Alternate number one is the sealing the sewer lateral; these are—we're going to line the sewer for several of the streets and this would line a portion of that lateral up toward the home, so just to make sure that's—we've got a good seal there. And Alternate two is for the 145th Street intersections. There's two of those: Canada and Cameo, that currently have bump-outs there, and I know that we want to just improve that—have had some issues with maintenance in the past and the plow drivers, just how they're designed. So this will improve that in those two areas. [1:00:43] **Brian Erickson (City Engineer):** So that said, so it will be funded via a few different methods: We have the street CIP; we'll have assessments, and that assessment hearing is coming in a month—and I'll touch on that in just a moment—then we also have water, sewer, and storm water will be funded that as well. And again, like I mentioned, it's about 11% below the engineer's estimate. The second item that we have on there is just declaring those costs to be assessed as well as calling the assessment hearing. So that would be for April 15th, and so there will be notices that will be in the paper as well as individual mailed notices to all the properties being assessed at that point in time. And I'm happy to answer any questions that Council may have at this point. [1:01:31] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Floor is open to Council. Any questions? [1:01:35] **Councilmember Tami Klimpel:** Questions? No, great presentation. Thank you. [1:01:37] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** All right. Can I have a move the recommended action motion? [1:01:41] **Councilmember Tami Klimpel:** I'll move to adopt the resolutions related to the 2025 Street Improvement project, City project 2025-02. Item one: accepting the bids and awarding a contract. Item two: declaring the cost to be assessed and calling the assessment hearing, and again, that hearing is April 15th, 2025. [1:02:02] **Councilmember Heidi Freske:** I'll second. [1:02:04] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** I have a motion by Klimpel, second by Freske. Roll please. [1:02:09] **Erin Fasbender (City Clerk):** Weisensel. [1:02:09] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Aye. [1:02:10] **Erin Fasbender (City Clerk):** Theisen. [1:02:10] **Councilmember Paul Theisen:** Aye. [1:02:11] **Erin Fasbender (City Clerk):** Freske. [1:02:11] **Councilmember Heidi Freske:** Aye. [1:02:12] **Erin Fasbender (City Clerk):** Klimpel. [1:02:12] **Councilmember Tami Klimpel:** Aye. [1:02:13] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** And that passes 4-0 and completes item 9B. Thank you very much. We'll move on to item 10: Announcements, City Staff updates. Mr. Martin. [1:02:24] **Logan Martin (City Administrator):** Mayor and Council, I think I don't have anything for you tonight, so I can throw it right back to you. [1:02:30] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** All right, completing 10A, we'll move to 10B: upcoming community calendar events. First off, let's see if we get the right one. So we have a Youth Commission meeting tomorrow, March 19th, 2025, from 3:45 to 4:45. The Fire Department Recruitment Night, March 19th, so tomorrow evening, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., Fire Station Number One. Park and Rec Commission meeting, March 24th, next Monday, 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. The Utility Commission meeting the following Monday, March 31st, from 5:30 to 7:00. Both those are at the City Hall here. And then the next City Council work session and council meeting: the work session from 5:00 to 7:00 on April 1st, and City Council meeting at 7:00 to 8:00 also on April 1st. And I'll just jump a little bit ahead and recognize our 2025 Rosemount Expo will be that following Saturday, April 5th, from 9:30 to 2:30 at the Rosemount High School. Anything we want to add there? Oh, and that I believe that evening is Guns and Hoses, correct? [1:03:55] **Councilmember Heidi Freske:** Yeah. [1:03:57] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** So and that starts at—I don't have a note here, but it's roughly... [1:04:02] **Councilmember Paul Theisen:** 5:30 doors open, but the game starts at 6:00. [1:04:06] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Okay, so the doors open at 5:30, game's at 6:00, and that is at the Community Center ice rink. And so with that, there's no other business to come before Council this evening. I'll move to adjourn. Is there a second? [1:04:22] **Councilmember Tami Klimpel:** Second. [1:04:23] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** I have a motion and second on the floor to adjourn. All in favor signify by saying aye. (Council: Aye). Opposed? We are adjourned. Thank you. [1:04:36] [Music]