Based on the context provided and the phonetic cues in the transcript (e.g., "Teal" for Thiele, "Benus" for Barnes, "Vanc" for van Sluis), here is the corrected transcript with speaker names assigned. **[0:00] Mayor Thomas J. Spooner:** I will call the Tuesday, February 24th Faribault City Council meeting to order. First item is roll call. **[0:00] City Clerk Heather Slechta:** Council member Rowan? **[0:00] John Rowan:** Here. **[0:00] City Clerk Heather Slechta:** Doumbouya? **[0:00] Adama Youhn Doumbouya:** Here. **[0:00] City Clerk Heather Slechta:** Ross? **[0:00] Royal Ross:** Here. **[0:00] City Clerk Heather Slechta:** Barnes? **[0:00] Mandy Barnes:** Here. **[0:16] City Clerk Heather Slechta:** Thiele? **[0:16] Chuck Thiele:** Here. **[0:16] City Clerk Heather Slechta:** Mayor Spooner? **[0:16] Mayor Thomas J. Spooner:** Here. **[0:16] Mayor Thomas J. Spooner:** Pledge of Allegiance. **[0:16] All:** 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. **[0:40] Mayor Thomas J. Spooner:** Item number two is approval of the agenda. **[0:40] Royal Ross:** So moved. **[0:40] Mandy Barnes:** Second. **[0:40] Mayor Thomas J. Spooner:** Motion by Ross, second by Barnes. All in favor? Aye. All opposed? Motion passes. Presentations and introductions—we have none. Approval of the minutes of February 10th. **[1:02] Mandy Barnes:** So moved. **[1:02] Peter van Sluis:** Second. **[1:02] Mayor Thomas J. Spooner:** Second by Barnes. Second by van Sluis. All in favor? Aye. All oppose? Motion passes. Number five: request to be heard. I believe we have one that just signed up. **[1:19] Mayor Thomas J. Spooner:** Hey, would you please step forward? State your name and address for the record. You have three minutes. **[1:19] Matt Cavalier:** Thanks, Tom. Matt Cavalier, 1000 Shumway Avenue, Shattuck-St. Mary's. First, I'd like to thank Mandy and Tom for opportunities to speak with them over the last couple weeks. And while I don't agree with the decision that was made last week, I’d like to talk a little further about it. Number one, because I'm not quite sure that everybody on the council understands for that bucket of money what it's supposed to do. Jessica gave you a nice read-ahead two weeks ago for you to take and look at where those fundings were supposed to go. The first bullet point is actually for this type of specific use—that first bullet point. Now, it doesn't say it's number one, there's no priority, but it is listed as the first point. To talk about it not being part of what fits there, that's just wrong. Second thing that I really want to talk about, though, is that the CAC continues to do work with rent assistance throughout the year. And the problem is that CAC—we're in February right now—CAC has already extended all of its money for the rest of the year. So we're in a little bit of a challenge here because anybody who might need rent assistance is going to have to be turned down. There's a lot of normal reasons why people need rent assistance. It's not simply an acute emergency. It could be a single mom who has to stay home with her children for an extended illness and is unable to work. Could be a variety of reasons. And yet there's no funding for us to do that. And so to turn down the CAC's request, I think is foolhardy on the part of this council. I understand the vote has been taken and you're past this point, but I think we need to understand that as a community, our job is to help support each other and move forward in these processes. When people are struggling or challenged, that's when it's time as community members to help. What I've seen is through GoFundMes, I've seen over $30,000 raised in this community. So my question is, if we have $100,000 that is expiring at the end of December and we would still have another $250,000 in a fund dedicated to this after that, why there is not more impetus to move forward with this project. I think that some of the decision-making is shortsighted and I'm really concerned about that. As a CEO of a major corporation, a town that brings you in visitors that fill the hotels, that fills the restaurants of this town... hate to say it, but there's not a lot of other organizations that are causing people to come to this town weekend after weekend. Shattuck-St. Mary's does. Right now, some of the decisions that are being made in the City of Faribault are causing challenges to my business, our livelihood. I tried to say that two weeks ago, and I didn't get that through. I need to be heard as a CEO of a major company in this town. And I would appreciate Peter, I would appreciate Adama, and John, who's not here... I would appreciate you getting back to me so we could talk. **[5:01] Matt Cavalier:** I'm done. Thank you very much. I appreciate it. Um, Mayor? **[5:01] Mayor Thomas J. Spooner:** Yes. **[5:01] Adama Youhn Doumbouya:** May I just say, Mr. Cavalier, I didn't receive... if it went out by email, I didn't receive it. **[5:01] Matt Cavalier:** I sent it to you because you were here two weeks out. **[5:01] Adama Youhn Doumbouya:** Okay. Thank you. **[5:17] Mayor Thomas J. Spooner:** Thank you. Okay. There was no one else on the list. Since there's no one else here, thank you, Matt. We are on to consent agenda items 6A through 6E. I believe we have a question. **[5:17] Chuck Thiele:** Mayor Spooner, yeah, I have a question on 6E, Resolution 2026-055. Just needed clarification if the hourly rate is for the crew of 10 people or less, or if it's per person. It was not stated. **[5:17] Jessica Kinser:** That is an item that belongs to Public Works Director Travis Block, who would be best to answer that. **[5:58] Travis Block:** Thank you, Mayor, members of the council, the public. Yes, I believe that is my understanding—that is for the crew. It's not per individual. **[6:24] Mandy Barnes:** Mayor Spooner, I make a motion then to approve consent agenda 6A through 6E. **[6:24] Royal Ross:** Seconded. **[6:24] Mayor Thomas J. Spooner:** Motion by Barnes, second by Ross on 6A through 6E. All in favor? Aye. All opposed? Motion passes. Public hearings. We have one tonight. Resolution 2026-053 street improvements. Mark DuChene, Director of Engineering. **[6:24] Mark DuChene:** Thank you, Mayor Spooner, members of the council and the public. Before you tonight is our second 2026 street improvement project: our 2026 street reconstruction project. This includes the road Second Street Northwest from 4th Avenue Northwest to 1st Avenue Northwest, as well as a block of 1st Avenue Northwest between Third Street Northwest and Fourth. These are full reconstruction improvements, so it's replacing all of the pavement, curb and gutters, sidewalk, and public utilities. Second Street, which is just right outside City Hall here and by the fire station, is proposed to be reconstructed in generally the same configuration. It'll be a 40-foot wide street with two through lanes and a parking lane on each side of the road. New bituminous pavement, curb and gutter, driveway approaches, sidewalk, and public utilities. The diagram here is just a graphical representation. There are some challenges with the topography between the north and the south sides of the road that we're working through in final design, but generally, it'll look like it does now. Because the fire station is fronting on the proposed streets, we've been working with the fire chief to talk about access during construction and how we maintain ingress and egress for the fire station since that south-facing garage door is their primary exit. The fire chief has indicated that through a combination of them moving some of their trucks around, if they need to put some of their primary vehicles on the north side so they can exit the north side, they'll do that. But I think we're also looking at adding a second driveway onto Second Avenue. Right now, the plan is to have that driveway constructed up to a gravel surface prior to any construction happening outside of the fire station, but then that would likely become a permanent driveway. Right now, when the vehicles come back from a service call—you've all seen it, I'm sure—they stop in Second Street Northwest, and they back into the fire station. We're looking at designing this driveway so that they could come down Second Avenue, pull into the main driveway, nose up to the street, and then back in. The biggest vehicles are probably going to get out into the drive lane a little bit, but most of their vehicles will be able to maneuver without blocking Second Street anymore. So this is a huge safety improvement both in the short term to accommodate access and in the long term. The other block on this improvement project is 1st Avenue Northwest, again from Third Street to Fourth Street. This would be between the police station and where the private lot development is happening. We are looking at widening this street to accommodate angled parking on both sides of the street. By doing that, we pick up about 10 stalls along that segment of roadway. Again, all new pavement, curb and gutter, and sidewalk. Here are preliminary drawings showing those improvements and those parking changes, going to angled parking on the east side and west side. We're also looking at the intersection of First and Third, doing some bumpouts to control traffic speeds as well as make the intersection ADA compliant, as the southwest quadrant currently is not. By providing some bumpouts, we can extend some sidewalks and get the slopes correct. We anticipate with the on-street parking and the businesses on Central Avenue that this parking will be pretty popular, especially in the off-hours. Total project cost for both these projects is just under $2.2 million. The majority of that is the $1.3 million street fund. Various utility funds pick up their portions. Pending approval of ordering the plans and specifications tonight, we anticipate being back in two weeks with final plans to set a bid date. We're looking at a bid opening of April 1st to come back on the 14th, and construction will likely start in May with final completion by the end of the year. I will stand for any questions. We ask you to conduct a public hearing and then consider Resolution 2026-053. **[11:22] Chuck Thiele:** Thank you, Mayor, Director DuChene. I know during the budgeting process you give us this nice little map, color-coded for the years 26, 27, 28. This was on there, right? **[11:38] Mark DuChene:** Correct. **[11:38] Chuck Thiele:** Okay. I just want for transparency, since a lot of these improvements run along city property, to note that this was planned years ago. **[11:38] Mark DuChene:** Yeah. The First Avenue block has slid three years in a row because we were waiting for final plans for that Rice County block redevelopment to see if we needed to put in driveways or not. So now that we finally have a solid plan for that block and the public parking lot that will be constructed on that county block, we are moving forward. **[12:22] Mayor Thomas J. Spooner:** Thank you. **[12:22] Peter van Sluis:** Out of curiosity, on First Avenue Northwest, I'm assuming the angled parking will be standard? **[12:22] Mark DuChene:** Correct. **[12:22] Peter van Sluis:** Um, what—I know there's different widths. You can do eight, nine, or 10 feet wide. What does the City of Faribault usually use? **[12:22] Mark DuChene:** The way it's laid out right now, I believe it's 60-degree angle parking with 9-foot stalls. What our code of ordinance says if you were looking at a private development is 9 feet. Certain design codes allow you to go down to 8.5, and if you go to some larger retailers, they'll go to 10. But 9 is our standard. **[13:16] Mayor Thomas J. Spooner:** Any other questions? I'll entertain a motion to open it up. **[13:16] Royal Ross:** I'll make a motion to open the public hearing. **[13:16] Mayor Thomas J. Spooner:** Do you need to open it up for public hearing? Yes. **[13:16] Peter van Sluis:** Second. **[13:16] Mayor Thomas J. Spooner:** Motion by Ross, second by van Sluis. All those in favor of opening the public hearing? Aye. All opposed? We're now in public hearing. Anybody wishing to state anything? Seeing none, I'll take a motion to close the public hearing. **[13:51] Chuck Thiele:** So moved. **[13:51] Peter van Sluis:** Second. **[13:51] Mayor Thomas J. Spooner:** Motion by Thiele, second by van Sluis to close public hearing. All those in favor? Aye. **[14:17] Royal Ross:** Mayor Spooner, I'll make a motion to approve Resolution 2026-053. **[14:17] Mandy Barnes:** Second. **[14:17] Mayor Thomas J. Spooner:** Second by Barnes to approve resolution 2026-053. All in favor? Aye. All opposed? That motion passes. We're on items for discussion. Resolution 2026-054. Once again, Mark DuChene. **[14:33] Mark DuChene:** Thank you, Mayor Spooner, Council, and members of the public. This is the next phase in the process for the other project we talked about a couple weeks ago: our 2026 Municipal State Aid street overlay and improvements contract. This project occurs on Lincoln Avenue from Trunk Highway 60 or Fourth Street to 7th Street, as well as 30th Street Northwest from Highway 20 south on Western Avenue. A reminder: this is our mill and overlay project. So we are going to mill off a portion of the pavement and cast a new bituminous overlay. Project costs here are estimated just under $560,000. Again, most of the costs are coming from the municipal portion of the gas taxes. I was here two weeks ago asking you to order the improvements and preparation of the plans. We are back tonight asking you to approve plans and specifications. We anticipate we will open bids on March 18th and we anticipate this construction will start in May. Final cleanup is scheduled for shortly thereafter. With that, we are asking you to consider Resolution 2026-054. **[16:16] Mayor Thomas J. Spooner:** Any questions for staff? **[16:16] Mandy Barnes:** Just one quick one, Director. When was 30th Street Northwest put in? For some reason, in my mind, it feels like that road is so bad right now and it hasn't been there that long. **[16:41] Mark DuChene:** It's about 20 years old. It's due. It has some challenges with trench settlements and stuff that we need to fix. It was '05 or '06. **[16:56] Mandy Barnes:** Okay. Yeah, it's really bad. It needs it. Thank you. **[17:03] Royal Ross:** I make a motion to approve Resolution 2026-054. **[17:03] Chuck Thiele:** Second. **[17:03] Mayor Thomas J. Spooner:** Second by Thiele to approve. All in favor? Aye. All opposed? That passes. On to Ordinance 2026-02 amending Chapter 17. The City Administrator, Jessica. **[17:20] Jessica Kinser:** Yes. We discussed this at our last work session where we are trying to provide some consistency in how late fees and penalties are applied across all of our ordinances. The amendments presented here tonight are in Chapter 17 and are basically removing all reference to any type of penalty in the code and moving it to the fee schedule. The intention would be that tonight is your first reading. At the March 10th meeting, assuming this is approved tonight, we would be doing the second reading and then there would be an approval of a revised fee schedule to state the late fees as 10%, which is our standard that we apply to utility bills and outstanding accounts receivable. This is just trying to leave fewer things to chance and error while making it easier to apply penalties in our financial system moving forward. **[18:37] Peter van Sluis:** Mayor Spooner, I make a motion to approve Ordinance 2026-02. **[18:37] Royal Ross:** Second. **[18:37] Mayor Thomas J. Spooner:** Motion by van Sluis, seconded by Ross on Ordinance 2026-02. **[18:52] City Clerk Heather Slechta:** Council member Rowan? **[18:52] John Rowan:** Aye. **[18:52] City Clerk Heather Slechta:** Doumbouya? **[18:52] Adama Youhn Doumbouya:** Aye. **[18:52] City Clerk Heather Slechta:** Ross? **[18:52] Royal Ross:** Aye. **[18:52] City Clerk Heather Slechta:** Barnes? **[18:52] Mandy Barnes:** Aye. **[18:52] City Clerk Heather Slechta:** Thiele? **[18:52] Chuck Thiele:** Aye. **[18:52] City Clerk Heather Slechta:** Mayor Spooner? **[18:52] Mayor Thomas J. Spooner:** Aye. That ordinance passes. Item C, Ordinance 2026-03, amending Chapter 14. Once again, Jessica. **[19:11] Jessica Kinser:** Yes. After working with City Attorney Scott Riggs, we've come to some agreement on language, which was talked about in our last work session as well. This really brings the regulation side of short-term rentals to ensuring lodging tax is paid and life safety matters are addressed. There would be an inspection for this. You will note the ordinance does not set a fee; that is something that will be discussed at our March 3rd work session and then would be on the fee schedule amendment for March 10th. Ultimately, I never heard back from Scott about any concerns regarding regulations of this type. The language that we discussed at our work session last week is what stands, with the million dollars of insurance that's been added in there per Scott Riggs' recommendation. **[20:13] Royal Ross:** Mayor Spooner, I'll make a motion to approve Ordinance 2026-03. **[20:13] Mandy Barnes:** Second. **[20:37] City Clerk Heather Slechta:** Council member Barnes? **[20:37] Mandy Barnes:** Aye. **[20:37] City Clerk Heather Slechta:** Doumbouya? **[20:37] Adama Youhn Doumbouya:** Aye. **[20:37] City Clerk Heather Slechta:** Ross? **[20:37] Royal Ross:** Aye. **[20:37] City Clerk Heather Slechta:** Rowan? **[20:37] John Rowan:** Aye. **[20:37] City Clerk Heather Slechta:** Thiele? **[20:37] Chuck Thiele:** Aye. **[20:37] City Clerk Heather Slechta:** Mayor Spooner? **[20:37] Mayor Thomas J. Spooner:** Aye. That passes. Bids tonight? We have nothing. Boards and commissions reports and announcements. **[20:37] Jessica Kinser:** I have a few things. One is just to remind you—I sent out an email and we'll publicly post it—that there will be a tour prior to the council work session on March 3rd starting at 4:45 PM at the Hillblock buildings, which are addresses 217, 219, and 223 Central. EDA and HPC are also being invited as well. We're posting this as a public gathering, so no need to RSVP; you can just show up and then we'll have the work session here afterwards. **[21:22] Mayor Thomas J. Spooner:** Administrator, would you please make sure you send out an email on where we're meeting? I don't know which of those three addresses. **[21:22] Jessica Kinser:** Yeah, as we get closer. It'll probably be Jake who will send that out. So, yep, we'll get something out as that detail gets refined. And then the other thing: March 11th is when we're going to have our next Council Chat at 5:00 PM at Viaduct Park. The individuals from Maxfield Group who did the housing study will be there to do a public presentation about the housing study and answer any questions. So if you know anybody who has questions about housing, that'll be a good one to come to. **[22:09] Mayor Thomas J. Spooner:** Time is at? **[22:09] Jessica Kinser:** 5:00 PM. **[22:09] Mandy Barnes:** Mayor Spooner, the Paradise Center for the Arts is hosting their gallery opening reception this Friday from 5:00 till 7:00 PM, and you can make an evening of it if you'd like by staying to watch *Deadly*, which is at 7:30 PM. **[22:34] Mayor Thomas J. Spooner:** I will entertain a motion to adjourn. **[22:34] Royal Ross:** So moved. **[22:34] Peter van Sluis:** Second. **[22:34] Mayor Thomas J. Spooner:** Motion by Ross, second by van Sluis to adjourn. All those in favor? Aye. We are adjourned.