This transcript has been formatted and speaker names assigned based on the provided list of officials and contextual clues within the dialogue. *Note: In the original text, "Council Member Cole" and "Council Member Wong" appear to be transcription errors for **Council Member Troy Woods** and **Council Member Dave Mckenzie** based on the official list provided. These have been corrected below.* *** **[00:00:00] Mayor John Monge:** Roll call, please. **[00:00:03] City Clerk:** Council Member Woods? **[00:00:04] Council Member Troy Woods:** Here. **[00:00:05] City Clerk:** Council Member Schweer? **[00:00:06] Council Member Cassidy Schweer:** Here. **[00:00:07] City Clerk:** Council Member Nordby? **[00:00:08] Council Member Jason Nordby:** Here. **[00:00:09] City Clerk:** Council Member Mckenzie is absent. Mayor Monge? **[00:00:10] Mayor John Monge:** Here. All right, can I get a motion to adopt the agenda, please? **[00:00:12] Council Member Cassidy Schweer:** So moved. **[00:00:13] Council Member Jason Nordby:** Second. **[00:00:14] Mayor John Monge:** All those in favor say aye. **[00:00:15] Council Members:** Aye. **[00:00:16] Mayor John Monge:** Thank you much. Mr. Frandle, topics? **[00:00:18] Brian Frandle (City Manager):** Thank you, Mayor. We have a couple presentations—or one presentation tonight. First up will be with Andrew Spilt, and we’ve got Doug and Tracy here to discuss. Kick it off with you, Brandy? **[00:00:27] Brandy Howe (Community Development Director):** Sure. This presentation is on the recommendation of City Council from back in December. If you recall, we had a couple of developers that were interested in purchasing the site at 17th Avenue and Delaware, and you had asked that both of those developers present to the Planning Commission to get their recommendation. Planning Commission held that meeting on January 7th, I believe it was, and we only had one present at that point in time; the other developer has since pulled out. And so, we have Andrew here tonight to present, and the Planning Commission did recommend that we move forward with this developer. So, I would ask them to present if they would like, but they are here to answer any questions on their development project. **[00:01:05] Mayor John Monge:** That’d be great. Yes, please. We’ve got time. Welcome back, gentlemen. **[00:01:10] Andrew Spilt (Developer):** Yeah, thank you. Nothing's really changed since last time we were here. Has anything changed since the last time you were here? No. So instead of going through it again, do you have any questions for us? **[00:01:20] Mayor John Monge:** Same number of builds? **[00:01:22] Andrew Spilt:** Yeah, it'd be 10 units. Same five Twin Homes. Same three on 17th, two on Delaware. Exactly. **[00:01:28] Mayor John Monge:** Correct me if I'm wrong, but it's kind of like a roundabout—like Carey Lane? Carey Lane is a cul-de-sac? **[00:01:34] Andrew Spilt:** For the one on 17th and Delaware, we’re just using the existing roads. The driveways come off on 17th and Delaware. **[00:01:40] Council Member Troy Woods:** Fantastic. So there's two proposals in the packet. One is the 10 units facing between Delaware and 17th, and the other one was an older sketch that showed eight homes with a cul-de-sac. **[00:01:51] Andrew Spilt:** We did two or three other sketches to try to get this to work properly, and it just doesn't work doing it the other way. Putting a road in is just way too expensive for what you're getting. So that's where we're falling back on this design on the 10. You're only picking up two more homes, and putting in all the cost involved in doing a road like that is quite a bit. **[00:02:10] Mayor John Monge:** I like the drawings. They look similar to the ones you have already at Carey Lane? **[00:02:15] Andrew Spilt:** Yeah, they're going to be pretty similar, actually. They're just going to be a little narrower, maybe a little longer just because the lots are a little different, but basically the same layout inside. And again, we've had 18 of them there and we only have four left. We'll have no problem getting rid of these other four. **[00:02:32] Mayor John Monge:** And you had full basements in the ones over here, right? Which I like, because like you said at one of your other presentations, you have to dig anyway, you might as well finish up the basement. **[00:02:41] Andrew Spilt:** There really isn't a lot of savings when you go to a slab. You've got a whole different heating system and separate air conditioning system. People appreciate the storage; most people have a lot of junk like I do. They’re downsizing from a two-story home to single level. **[00:02:58] Council Member Troy Woods:** What are the plans with the big chunk of land in the back? Are we going to put in a community swimming pool for Council? **[00:03:04] Andrew Spilt:** Part of it will be a pond because we're over an acre. Even if you only develop a half acre, it's a 2.5-acre piece. Watershed gets involved, and they're going to want a pond for the drainage. That'll take up a pretty good chunk. The area back there will be HOA-maintained, so they can cut the grass, plant gardens, do whatever they want back there. **[00:03:26] Mayor John Monge:** Very nice. We're going to put you on the list, Tim. I think your plans look great. **[00:03:32] Andrew Spilt:** Yeah, thank you. I appreciate it. Like to start soon. **[00:03:36] Mayor John Monge:** Thanks, gentlemen. Thanks for your patience and your dedication to North St. Paul. We really do appreciate it. **[00:03:42] Brian Frandle:** All right, next up is the fee schedule Amendment. I'll turn that back over to Brandy Howe, our Community Development Director. **[00:03:49] Brandy Howe:** Thanks, Brian. I’d like you all to remember back to December when we adopted the 2024 fee schedule. At that time, the City Council approved a number of updates, including building permits. Since then, there have been some public comments that raised questions. Staff looked into it and concluded there was a communication error that resulted in higher fees than what was intended. In making our recommendation, staff utilized Rum River, our new consultant. Under our contract with Rum River, they collect 75% of permit fees while the City retains 25% for administrative costs. It was our assumption that the fees listed in their recommendation did not include the City's 25% share, and thus we raised those fees accordingly. We’ve since confirmed that was an error. We have provided an amendment that would reduce those costs by 25% to match the recommended fee schedule. Additionally, we were asked to provide an "Apples to Apples" comparison of 2023 versus 2024. We found that in most cases, the customer will pay less for building permits, with the exception being Residential Plumbing permits not associated with a specific new build. Lastly, regarding special event permits: the fee was raised from $0 to $80. This review requires police, fire, and public works staff for safety considerations. We recommend keeping that $80 fee. **[00:06:05] Council Member Troy Woods:** I had a couple... are these fees negotiable? The fee for water heaters is up considerably from what it was prior. **[00:06:15] Brandy Howe:** Our consultant with the building official is here; I would defer that question to her. **[00:06:20] Carrie Litzky (Rum River Consultants):** Good evening, Mr. Mayor, City Council. My name is Carrie Litzky, I’m the project administrator for Rum River. To answer your question, when it comes to permit fees, it's a big conversation. A lot of times, some fees are subsidized by others. The way we approach it is that development should pay for itself. Your previous contracted inspector was not covering their cost on a $55 permit; they were subsidizing it with extremely high costs on new construction mechanical permits. We do flat fees for replacement that reflect the actual cost to provide that service. **[00:07:30] Council Member Troy Woods:** I appreciate the side-by-side comparison. But looking at it, a furnace went from $80 to $125, air conditioner $80 to $125, garage heater $85 to $125. These look like excessive increases for existing homeowners. My fear is it will discourage people from doing the right thing. **[00:08:15] Carrie Litzky:** Understood. By the looks of that, it’s pretty much $125 to roll a truck for us. That is the actual cost. **[00:09:00] Council Member Troy Woods:** I still think some of them are excessive. **[00:09:05] Brandy Howe:** I could suggest an alternative. We keep 25% for administrative purposes. If we were to cut our portion down on over-the-counter permits, it might bring it down to about $94. **[00:09:20] Council Member Troy Woods:** I would suggest the provider bring their fees down, not the City. **[00:09:40] Mayor John Monge:** Can we even compare "Apples to Apples" with what we had before? It sounds like what was before was not under correct state statute? **[00:09:50] Carrie Litzky:** I’m not an attorney, but I can tell you from experience, cities like Corcoran and Dayton have gotten into trouble by running up costs on some permits to subsidize others. State statute indicates fees must be commensurate with the service provided to that individual permit. **[00:11:00] Council Member Troy Woods:** I look at the roofing and siding example. If a homeowner did that in 2023, it was value-based and could be $400. Under us, it’s a flat $125. So those residents are actually paying a lot less. **[00:12:00] Mayor John Monge:** This is a good learning experience for all of us. Brandy, maybe we can take a look at what they were talking about with the Corcoran case too? **[00:13:00] Brandy Howe:** I can do that. **[00:13:05] Brian Frandle:** Next item up is the EDA discussion. This was started a little while back, trying to bring the Authority—which has the ability to take loans and appropriate money—under the purview of the City Council. Right now, we want to change it so the City Council acts as the EDA, with a recommendation committee made up of citizens. **[00:13:30] Mayor John Monge:** Thank you. Our EDA was set up differently than any city around us; it was an appointed Authority with six-year terms. Other cities have the Council serve as the EDA. I talked to Joe and Terry Furlong, the two members left. They were in favor of the commission part of it and bringing the EDA back to the Council. **[00:14:45] Jack (City Attorney):** Mayor, members of Council, the City has a lot of flexibility here. We can't vote on this today because of notice requirements, but the City could certainly move the EDA from appointed commissioners to the City Council. **[00:15:30] Council Member Troy Woods:** I’ve sat on the EDA for two and a half years. I’m in favor of moving it to Council, but I’m curious who makes up the advisory commission. Who does the heavy lifting when meeting with developers? **[00:16:30] Mayor John Monge:** I’ve looked into Oakdale, Woodbury, and Maplewood. Their EDA is the Council, and then they have advisories. We’ll build up another great group. **[00:18:00] Mayor John Monge:** Anything else? All right, we’ll move on. Can I get a motion for adjournment? **[00:18:05] Council Member Troy Woods:** So moved. **[00:18:06] Council Member Jason Nordby:** Second. **[00:18:07] Mayor John Monge:** All those in favor say aye. **[00:18:08] Council Members:** Aye. *** **[00:18:30] Mayor John Monge:** [Post-Break] 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. Roll call, please. **[00:18:45] City Clerk:** Council Member Woods? Here. Council Member Schweer? Here. Council Member Nordby? Here. Council Member Mckenzie is absent. Mayor Monge? Here. **[00:18:55] Mayor John Monge:** Can I get a motion to adopt the agenda, please? **[00:18:57] Council Member Cassidy Schweer:** So moved. **[00:18:58] Council Member Troy Woods:** Second. **[00:18:59] Mayor John Monge:** All those in favor say aye. **[00:19:02] Mayor John Monge:** We’ll go on to presentations. First is for our outgoing EDA members, Tom Shippy and Robert Du. Can you please come up? **[00:19:15] Tom Shippy (Outgoing EDA):** Well, I’m just privileged that Robert Du could stop golfing in Florida to come back for this! **[00:19:20] Mayor John Monge:** Tom, seven years on the Economic Development Authority. We appreciate your service and thank you for being a business here in North St. Paul. And Robert, thank you for 14 years of dedication. Much appreciated. **[00:20:00] Mayor John Monge:** Next presentation is the Park and Recreation Commission annual report. **[00:20:15] Laura Greenley Carp (Vice Chair, Parks Commission):** Good evening. My name is Laura Greenley Carp, and I’m the Vice Chair. **[00:20:18] Lyle Graic (Chair, Parks Commission):** And I’m Lyle Graic, the Chairman of the Park and Rec Commission. **[00:20:25] Laura Greenley Carp:** One of the biggest highlights of 2023 was finally being able to move forward on Hause Park. We secured funding through the DNR Open Space Grant. We also installed beautiful new signs at entry points of all our local parks. We want to acknowledge that our relationship with the Southwood Task Force was carried forward by Kathy Trundle, who passed away before Christmas. Nature Preserve would not be here without her. **[00:21:40] Lyle Graic:** We also had Fire and Ice, Music in the Park, and the Starwatch with Mike Lynch, which had about 50 people. **[00:22:20] Laura Greenley Carp:** For 2024, our goals include the Hause Park reconstruction grand opening and working on the 10-year road map for maintenance. We’re also selecting a consultant for McKnight, a downtown park, and a passive park. **[00:24:00] Council Member Troy Woods:** We had a couple of line items pop up on the budget this year for about $2 million worth of park stuff that got moved to 2027. I’d love to make sure our priorities match. **[00:25:30] Mayor John Monge:** Next is the Arts and Culture Commission annual report. **[00:25:40] Tom Shippy (Arts Commission):** Mr. Mayor, Council members, thank you. I am here with Carrie Nettle and Lisa Richie. Our mission has been to inspire connection through public art. We’ve done utility box wrapping, the "Art Cart," and our mural project at Silver Lake Park by artist Taylor Burman. We also have "Project Snowy" launching this spring, where businesses can host decorated snowmen. **[00:28:00] Lisa Richie (Arts Commission):** I’ve had some requests for painting classes for those 16 and under, so we’re looking at adding those activities. **[00:30:00] Mayor John Monge:** Thank you. Consent agenda? **[00:30:15] Brian Frandle:** Item A: Minutes; Item B: General Claims of $1.6 million; Item C: HRA claims; Item D: Project Snowy purchase agreement; Item E: Building permit report; Item F: Resolution accepting donations. **[00:30:30] Council Member Cassidy Schweer:** So moved. **[00:30:31] Council Member Troy Woods:** Second. **[00:30:32] Mayor John Monge:** All in favor? Aye. **[00:30:45] Mayor John Monge:** Open to the public. John Schmal, you have the floor for three minutes. **[00:31:00] John Schmal:** John Schmal, 2750 Chisholm Avenue. Third time: LexisNexis. Where did it go? Is it coming back? I’m also referring to the charges for the water bill. The usage fees are wrong. [Hands document to Mayor]. **[00:32:15] Mayor John Monge:** Thank you, John. Next item: consideration of development proposal for 17th Avenue East. Directing staff to prepare a purchase agreement for the Delaware project. **[00:32:30] Council Member Troy Woods:** I’ll move to sell it. **[00:32:31] Council Member Cassidy Schweer:** Second. **[00:32:32] Mayor John Monge:** All in favor? Aye. **[00:32:45] Mayor John Monge:** Item B: Fire Relief funding benefit increase. Chief Mallinger? **[00:33:00] Jason Mallinger (Fire Chief):** Hello Mayor, Council members. I’d like to introduce our Fire Relief board: Tim Gangle, Chris Mellon, Ethan Johnson, and Jao Dejo. We are recommending an increase of the maximum benefit to the firefighters for their relief pension. **[00:34:00] Council Member Troy Woods:** So moved. **[00:34:01] Council Member Cassidy Schweer:** Second. **[00:34:02] Mayor John Monge:** All in favor? Aye. **[00:34:30] Brian Frandle:** Reports. Electric Department had some relighting. Regarding the power dip on the 11th: Excel Energy was working on a transformer and a grounding strap hit 115,000 volts. Everyone is lucky to be alive. **[00:35:45] Council Member Jason Nordby:** I have a question for Council Member Woods. At Fire and Ice last year, you invited the Fire Department to a three-on-three game. Since the rinks are cancelled, do you have a replacement? **[00:36:00] Council Member Troy Woods:** I sure don't remember that, but we can do dodgeball inside! **[00:36:30] Mayor John Monge:** Tomorrow at 9:00 AM, I’ll be meeting with legislators on a bus to talk about finishing the walking path around Silver Lake on the Century side. There being nothing else, I'll ask for adjournment. **[00:36:45] Council Member Cassidy Schweer:** So moved. **[00:36:46] Council Member Jason Nordby:** Second. **[00:36:47] Mayor John Monge:** All in favor? Aye. Good night.