Based on the context provided and the details within the transcript, here is the formatted version with speaker names identified: [0:02] **Unknown Speaker:** Ready Counselor? I’m ready. Please have to make sure the important people are ready, I know. [Music] [0:25] **Mayor Mary Fasbender:** Okay ready. Time being 7:05, I call the Hastings City Council meeting to order. Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. 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. Welcome, and this is always one of our favorite nights here because we get to welcome new employees, we get to watch people be promoted, and our audience is full of family and friends. So thank you all for being here. And tonight we will start with swearing in our newest council member, Dawn. [1:28] **Mayor Mary Fasbender:** Okay, after me. I, state your name... **Councilmember DawnMarie Vihrachoff:** I, DawnMarie Vihrachoff, do solemnly affirm... **Mayor Mary Fasbender:** That I will support the Constitution of the United States of America... **Councilmember DawnMarie Vihrachoff:** That I will support the Constitution of the United States of America... **Mayor Mary Fasbender:** The Constitution of the state of Minnesota... **Councilmember DawnMarie Vihrachoff:** The Constitution of the state of Minnesota... **Mayor Mary Fasbender:** And the ordinances of the city of Hastings... **Councilmember DawnMarie Vihrachoff:** And the ordinances of the city of Hastings... **Mayor Mary Fasbender:** That I will faithfully discharge the duties of Ward One Councilmember... **Councilmember DawnMarie Vihrachoff:** And that I will faithfully discharge the duties of Ward One Councilmember... **Mayor Mary Fasbender:** For the city of Hastings... **Councilmember DawnMarie Vihrachoff:** For the city of Hastings... **Mayor Mary Fasbender:** Counties of Dakota and Washington... **Councilmember DawnMarie Vihrachoff:** Counties of Dakota and Washington... **Mayor Mary Fasbender:** And the state of Minnesota... **Councilmember DawnMarie Vihrachoff:** And the state of Minnesota... **Mayor Mary Fasbender:** According to the best of my ability and understanding. **Councilmember DawnMarie Vihrachoff:** According to the best of my ability and understanding. Thank you so much. [2:28] **Mayor Mary Fasbender:** [Applause] Welcome, Dawn. Yes. And I'm going to thank your husband, Dan, and daughter, Mari, at this point for allowing her to do this, because we have to have family members behind us, right? So tonight is, as I said, a special night for our promotions and our new employees. So with that, fire I think is going first with Assistant Paulson. [3:08] **Assistant Fire Chief Chris Paulson:** Good evening. Happy to be here tonight and recognize our newest employee, Joe Newman, who recently transitioned from being a paid-on-call firefighter to a full-time firefighter. Joe started with the department in 2019, went to paramedic school, and worked for Hennepin County Medical Center for a year before coming to us full-time. So, Joe's got some good experience. He's a great employee, always been a great person. We're really happy to have him. [Applause] [3:56] **Assistant City Administrator Kelly Murtaugh:** Mayor and council members, this evening I am welcoming JoJo Jang, who is serving as our communications intern this spring working alongside Communications Coordinator Don Skelly. Unfortunately, JoJo couldn't join us this evening as she is in class. She has a Capstone class; she's in her senior year at Macalester College and she is studying Environmental Studies, Media, and Culture Studies. Through honing her skills in marketing and communications, she's gained a lot of valuable experience in marketing and social media management, and she's focusing on social media management with us. She's already making meaningful contributions to the City of Hastings communications efforts, ensuring that our messages resonate effectively with our community. In her spare time, she loves to go climbing, refine her photography skills—which hopefully we can take advantage of—and taking care of her guinea pigs. So welcome, JoJo, in your class, and thank you for choosing Hastings. [5:10] **Police Chief Kyle Linscheid:** Mayor Fasbender, council members, and city leaders. Tonight I do have the pleasure and honor of introducing to Hastings new Police Investigator Zack Nakinis, otherwise known as "Moose." Now, we did not give him that name; that is from high school. Zach started with Hastings PD in January of 2020 and served in the Patrol Division on night shift. He also has been part of the South Metro SWAT team as an operator for the past three years. Zach will compliment Investigator Chad Schlick, and we continue to look for quality hires to add a third investigator. Although Zach does not golf on a regular basis, we look forward to working with him daily as a new investigator and have the utmost confidence that he will do a fantastic job. Please assist me in congratulating Officer Nakinis and we wish him the best of luck in his new role. [6:06] **Mayor Mary Fasbender:** Mayor, would you like me to keep going? You can. [6:18] **Police Chief Kyle Linscheid:** All right. Officer Mike Running, you can stand there, thanks. Also tonight I have the honor of introducing to you Hastings' new Police Officer, Michael Running, for the administration of the oath of office. Mike comes from a family of law enforcement; his father, Mike Running Sr., is a Commander with South St. Paul PD. His sister, Erica Running, is an officer with Inver Grove Heights PD. Mike grew up in South St. Paul and attended South St. Paul High School. Mike furthered his education at Inver Hills Community College, earning his associate's degree in Criminal Justice. Mike recently worked as a Cook County Deputy where he served since 2017 until we recruited him down to Hastings. So for the oath of office, I'm going to give you a copy as well. Raise your right hand, repeat after me. I, Michael Running... **Officer Michael Running:** I, Michael Running... **Police Chief Kyle Linscheid:** Do solemnly affirm that I will support the Constitution of the United States of America... **Officer Michael Running:** Do solemnly affirm that I will support the Constitution of the United States of America... **Police Chief Kyle Linscheid:** The Constitution of the state of Minnesota and the ordinances of the city of Hastings... **Officer Michael Running:** The Constitution of the state of Minnesota and the ordinances of the city of Hastings... **Police Chief Kyle Linscheid:** And that I will faithfully discharge the duties of a police officer for the city of Hastings... **Officer Michael Running:** And that I will faithfully discharge the duties of a police officer for the city of Hastings... **Police Chief Kyle Linscheid:** Counties of Dakota and Washington... **Officer Michael Running:** Counties of Dakota and Washington... **Police Chief Kyle Linscheid:** And state of Minnesota... **Officer Michael Running:** In the state of Minnesota... **Police Chief Kyle Linscheid:** According to the best of my judgment and ability... **Officer Michael Running:** According to the best of my judgment and ability... **Police Chief Kyle Linscheid:** On my honor, I will never betray my badge... **Officer Michael Running:** On my honor, I will never betray my badge... **Police Chief Kyle Linscheid:** My integrity, my character, or the public trust... **Officer Michael Running:** My integrity, my character, or the public trust... **Police Chief Kyle Linscheid:** I will always have the courage to hold myself and others accountable for their actions... **Officer Michael Running:** I will always have the courage to hold myself and others accountable for their actions... **Police Chief Kyle Linscheid:** I will also uphold the Constitution, my community, and the agency I serve. **Officer Michael Running:** I will also... or I will always uphold the Constitution, my community, and the agency I serve. [Applause] [8:35] **Police Chief Kyle Linscheid:** Excellent. In addition, one of the most well-known symbols of policing is the badge. Although the badge's actual weight is minimal, the responsibilities that come with wearing the badge are enormous. Those who wear it carry responsibility to do what is right and just for the people and visitors of the city of Hastings. This symbol is one that every officer for the Hastings Police Department wears with pride. Tonight the badge will be pinned on Officer Mike Running by his wife, Emily. So Emily, if you could come forward. I'm going to make you turn so we can get a good picture too. [9:20] **Police Chief Kyle Linscheid:** And on a personal note, from the first day we met Mike, we've done everything in our power to bring him down to Hastings. He's a great addition and he's been doing a great job in the first month of employment. So please assist me in welcoming Officer Mike Running. Employees and staff or Council, if we’d step forward for a photo, please. [10:58] **Unknown Speaker (Background chatter during photo):** I like it when it's full. Put them in front of life. Why are you... will you eat him? Hey, she's my... are partners together. [12:06] **Mayor Mary Fasbender:** Okay. Council, are there any corrections to the minutes from the March 4th meeting or Workshop? No? Okay. Comments from the audience at this time. I will allow anyone who wishes to speak to the Council at this time to please step up to the podium, state your name and address, and your comments. [12:44] **Bruce Carnik:** Just wait, I'm pulling double duty tonight. You know, I'll stand over here. I'm Bruce Carnik, I am from 1908 Pine Street. I'm here on behalf of the Hastings Hawks. Just a quick presentation, more for my memories as well as to give you guys some visual stuff. Veterans Park really is what I like to call Hastings' "Hidden Gem" because it does back out where not a lot of people go just by driving by. Normal uses of the park every year—we have about 100 different events out there from April to October. I'm not going to run down the full list of what that is there, but you can see that I've got five years of data: 503 events in 5 years just at the baseball field. That doesn't include anything at the soccer field or anything else; it's the full-size baseball field. We are about 18% of those games, but we put all of our money back into the park, and that's why what we're really here to talk about. We spearhead a lot of the improvements there. We get HYAA to join us, we've got the Hastings High School baseball players that want to help, we've got a number of key people in town that are just baseball fans that want to help as well. The park opened in '83, we built the concession stand in '99, installed the scoreboard in 2000, the dugouts were rebuilt early in the 2000s. We helped with a Twins fund to get new infield turf in 2010, built the Press Box in '16, added a fence topper for safety—so that yellow you'll see that in a later picture—that was with the assistance of the City of Hastings. In 2022, because of the new Community Investment Fund, is when we did the scoreboard and that was when the batting cages were approved. The batting cages went in in '23. So we've done well over $250,000 worth of improvements to the park since the late 90s with minimal cost to the City. That's the Press Box you can see on the left that we built. The concession stand is what we're going to be talking about here in a little bit, and that's the end that we want to expand. So we want to knock that wall mostly down and head north out to the right field fence. A couple of issues that are big issues with Veterans Park is we have no ADA-compliant access to our stands; that's a problem. No controlled entrance—we can work with that, but if we had a controlled entrance we could host state tournaments, we could even be a host site for high school regional tournaments. Some of the amenities are failing; a safety issue—I had the scoreboard on there but we just replaced that and it adds a ton to it. The backstop itself was repaired, but it is the original backstop, we believe, since '83. It's really thick chain-link and when they repaired it, it made the sightlines significantly worse from the stands. The dugouts themselves need to be replaced and the fencing in foul territory could use some TLC. I bring that up because this is the money that we want to put toward these things. The ADA accessibility—you can see down here where the stands are, there is no path other than the walking trail out there. We need to do something about that. There's no real true ADA parking because out here, this is actually where people park and it's dirt. What we do currently is if we see someone with a wheelchair, we literally get them as close as we can to that spot here weaving through the trees. Aging components: the dugouts, the backstop, the lights are a huge one—big safety issue. And then again, the scoreboard replaced in '22 thanks to the Community Investment Funds. Lights were put in the mid-80s; they take about half an hour to turn on and cost-wise they're ridiculously expensive to run. LED technology now is 70-80% less expensive but they cost $130,000 to install. Again, that's part of the money that we want to work toward raising. Dugouts—it's just too small for 15 guys on the team. Fences were replaced, but you can see the type of things that we watch out for as an organization to bring to the Parks Department, who have been incredible to deal with. I need to point that out, that Chris Jenkins and all of his staff, I cannot ask for better partners out there. Missing components: we put the batting cages in, that was another thing we did with the Community Investment Funds. We do eventually want to get some shade to cover fans. We also want to put a deck in right field that is hopefully going to be an ask at the end of the summer. The concession stand: so tonight you guys are going to be voting on a concession stand Community Investment Fund request. This spot here highlighted in yellow is the existing stand. As you can see, the extension is a little bit bigger than what we currently have. We would like to sell beer this summer; that will be another ask of you guys coming up in the next month or so. So the expansion is definitely needed. What does this do for money and why invest City money into this? Again, tournaments. We have the opportunity this year with Cannon Falls doing a million-dollar renovation on their field starting in June; they will not host the Cannon Valley League tournament. That's a two-week tournament that brings teams from all over the region. This year it's Red Wing and Hastings. We have to be able to sell beer to do that and we need the space to be able to do that as well. We will have full-size restaurant triple sinks instead of these tiny little things. It adds functionality, it adds food safety, it adds just safety overall for us working as well as our fans. It's just an awesome opportunity for us to be able to turn around, make more money, and put that money right back into the field. There’s five of us board members and we’ve accomplished all that. We need that partnership with the City of Hastings to continue. I hope tonight when you guys have a chance to vote on the Community Investment Fund that you approve it so we get to work. Any questions? [21:55] **Mayor Mary Fasbender:** No. Thank you, Bruce. Yeah, thank you. You want to turn this off now? Anyone else like to wish wish to speak to the Council at this time? Oh, John? Okay, come on up. [22:07] **John [Last Name Unknown]:** Ni 902 36th Street West here in Hastings. Tonight we have Cub Scouts from Troop 9444. We are one of three Cub Scout Troops within the City of Hastings limits. These particular young boys all go to either Kennedy or Pine Harbor Elementary School. Tonight we're here to support the boys in fulfilling one of their Adventures. So tonight first we want to present popcorn. As part of our popcorn sales, whenever we get a cash donation we use that towards what's called the Hometown Heroes fund, and so we'd like to present that to the City. If you as public servants would like to take some home and share with your families, you're certainly welcome to. I'm going to give the boys an opportunity to introduce themselves. Boys, go ahead and send that on up, please. [23:57] **Mayor Mary Fasbender:** Look at the popcorn! How are you, by the way? Again, it's good to see you again. And we have a familiar face too with us. Harrison was one of our selections. [24:43] **Josiah:** My name is Josiah and I like Scouts because my dad's there. **Kaden:** My name is Kaden. What's your favorite movie? **Councilmember Lisa Leifeld:** What's our favorite movie? I'd have to say "Up" because the kid is adorable in his little uniform, so reminds me of these guys. **Councilmember Jen Fox:** I really like any Marvel movie. **Harrison:** Hello, my name is Harrison and my favorite thing about Cub Scouts is we learn a lot of skills. **Patrick:** Hello, my name is Patrick, and my favorite thing about Scouts is that we go camping. [26:10] **Mayor Mary Fasbender:** Well, thank you all for coming and thanks for the popcorn. I'm sure it won't go to waste. Anyone else wish to speak to the Council at this time? No one on Zoom? Okay. Council items, are there any items to be considered? And before the consent agenda, may we just state that there's a correction to number 11, Dan? [26:45] **City Administrator Dan Wietecha:** Yeah, this was some last-minute language change for item 11 in the consent agenda, the Joint Powers Agreement with Dakota County regarding some funds from the opioid settlement. It really is some clarification language that makes the process easier in the future. [27:14] **Mayor Mary Fasbender:** Thank you. With that change, Council, I would accept a motion to approve the consent agenda with the change. **Councilmember Tim Lawrence:** So moved. **Councilmember Lisa Leifeld:** Second. **Mayor Mary Fasbender:** Discussion Council? All those in favor of the motion state by saying Aye. **Council:** Aye. **Mayor Mary Fasbender:** Opposed to that motion state by saying Nay. And that motion prevails. Under awarding of contracts, we have a resolution to an issuance of the sale of the GO Charter Bonds Series 2024A, and tonight with us we have Tammy Amdall. Welcome, Tammy. [27:41] **Tammy Amdall:** Good evening Mayor, City Council Members. Tammy Amdall with Northland Securities here to present on the results. This morning on the City's behalf, Northland accepted bids for the sale of the General Obligation Charter Bond Series 2024A. The bonds are being issued to finance facility improvements including to the arena and street and utility improvements, as well as improvements to City Hall. It was recommended that the City seek a rating on these bonds from S&P Global, and that rating was affirmed at the Double A+. There were 12 bids received this morning. That may have been a record for Hastings. Hastings was the highest rating of that bond sold today across the country. The final result on the rate was under 3% at 2.86%. In February, we were estimating 3.15% based upon market conditions. The principal amount of the bonds being issued is $9,330,000. Great results for the City; that means lower debt service payments. [30:42] **Councilmember Jen Fox:** Thank you, your honor. Thank you for being here, Tammy. I have two questions. The last year we had a rating of Triple Plus, right? **Tammy Amdall:** It was the same rating last year, Double A+. **Councilmember Jen Fox:** Thank you for confirming. What makes a bond have strong interest from buyers? Why is Hastings something to seek right now? **Tammy Amdall:** That Double A+ rating provides the purchasers of your bonds that there's less risk of your ability to repay those bonds in full. That helps with getting that lower interest rate. **Councilmember Jen Fox:** Excellent, thank you. I think that this is excellent news for Hastings. [31:55] **Mayor Mary Fasbender:** I would accept a motion to approve. **Councilmember Dave Pemble:** So moved. **Councilmember Angie Haus:** Second. **Mayor Mary Fasbender:** All those in favor of that motion state by saying Aye. **Council:** Aye. [32:17] **Mayor Mary Fasbender:** Under reports from City staff, we have under Community Development a resolution for a site plan for a Storage Works at 2489 Spiral Boulevard. We are going to have an introduction by John Hinzman, our Community Development Director. [32:17] **Community Development Director John Hinzman:** Thank you, Mayor, City Council Members. Tonight I've got an action for you on a property at the northwest corner of Spiral Boulevard and Glendale Road. The adjoining property owner platted out two lots for development. One of the lots is before us tonight on a project called Storage Works. This is a mini-storage facility requiring site plan approval. He's proposing for this to be constructed over about a three-year period. Our Planning Commission reviewed this last Monday, March 11th. They did ultimately recommend approval on a 6-to-1 vote with conditions pertaining to the driveway entrance and the elimination of outdoor storage. [38:08] **Councilmember Dave Pemble:** John, when you look at the Spiral Boulevard drop from the top of the hill, that's a pretty substantial drop in elevation. During the spring and the fall, that intersection turns out to be very icy because the sunlight doesn't get into that spot. Could not the entrance be put along Glendale somehow to alleviate that chance of traffic coming and going? I'm just asking because I think it's a safety hazard. [39:26] **Chad Smava:** Thank you council members. Glendale Avenue is kind of an interesting animal. The site is very unique. This is the hill—an engineered hill that keeps the houses on the top. The whole site has a natural slope to the north. As a result, we really can't touch that engineered hill because it would be an engineering situation we wouldn't be able to work through. Between our different engineers, it brings us right back to here for the entrance. [42:33] **Councilmember Dave Pemble:** Can we not have that entrance a little higher up the hill so you drive down into the lower end of it? **Chad Smava:** It would put us on the curve. Water-wise, engineering-wise, it doesn't work. **Joe Holbeck:** We did speak with our civil engineers about that, and the further uphill we go, we're creating a "teeter-totter" point. Your entrance will have to crest somewhere in your property and that creates a storm water issue. We average about 9.6 entries per window—it's a very minimal amount of visits. **Councilmember Dave Pemble:** And my understanding is this has been run by the fire department? **John Hinzman:** That was part of the planning committee, yes. [50:29] **Councilmember Angie Haus:** Thank you, honor. Will this affect the walking path on Spiral Boulevard at all? **John Hinzman:** It will not affect the trail along Spiral Boulevard. [51:47] **Councilmember Jen Fox:** Thank you, your honor. I was able to get a tour of the last site that Chad opened and it is fantastic. I truly appreciate all of those thoughtful questions. I would like to move to approve the site plan and the attached resolution. **Councilmember Lisa Leifeld:** Second. **Mayor Mary Fasbender:** All those in favor of the motion state by saying Aye. **Council:** Aye. [53:08] **Mayor Mary Fasbender:** Under Administration tonight, we'll be having an introduction by our City Administrator Dan Wietecha on the Community Investment Fund. [53:08] **City Administrator Dan Wietecha:** Thank you. The City created the Community Investment Fund three years ago to encourage community-driven projects. The finance committee reviewed applications and unanimously recommended funding for five projects: Barb Hollenbeck (mural), Downtown Business Association (lighting), Hastings Hawks (concession building expansion), Hastings Environmental Protectors (signs), and Hastings Pickleball Association. In total, those are almost $51,000, which is within budget. [55:54] **Councilmember Jen Fox:** Thank you, your honor. This is always one of the most joyful finance committee meetings. I’m very proud of this program and I would like to move to approve this proposal. **Councilmember DawnMarie Vihrachoff:** Thank you, Mayor. I just wanted to second what Councilmember Fox mentioned. I especially wanted to thank the Hastings Hawks for their exceptional presentation. I would love to make a second to that motion. **Mayor Mary Fasbender:** All those in favor of the motion state by saying Aye. **Council:** Aye. [58:13] **Mayor Mary Fasbender:** Council, any announcements? Okay, I have a few. Coffee with a Cop is tomorrow, Tuesday, March 19th, from 10 to noon at Froth and Cork. The Friends of Pleasant Hill Library Used Book Sale is March 21st through the 24th. Hastings Tastings is March 25th. All proceeds are matched by Minnesota FoodShare. Regarding meetings: the Parks and Rec Commission meeting for Wednesday, March 20th, has been cancelled. Thursday, March 21st, there is a Public Safety Advisory Commission meeting at 6:30. Monday, April 1st, is a City Council meeting at 7:00 PM. With that, I would accept a motion to adjourn. [59:49] **Councilmember Dave Pemble:** So moved. **Councilmember Lisa Leifeld:** Second. **Mayor Mary Fasbender:** All those in favor state by saying Aye. **Council:** Aye. **Mayor Mary Fasbender:** We are adjourned.