[0:18] Mayor Mary Fasbender: Very loud in the room tonight. [0:26] Mayor Mary Fasbender: I have never hit that that hard. So, [laughter] Welcome all. It is a couple minutes past 7 o'clock, so I would like to [clears throat] start the city council meeting. And if you'd please stand for the pledge of allegiance. [0:42] 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. [0:59] Mayor Mary Fasbender: Welcome and let the role reflect. We do have a full council tonight with many guests in the audience. Tonight's always a special night because we get to recognize the milestones of our city employees along with our commissioners that have served for our residential side of our commissions. So with that, Dan Wietecha, looks like Dan's gonna start. [1:27] City Administrator Dan Wietecha: [clears throat] [snorts] 2025 milestone anniversaries. I am pleased to recognize the employees of the city of Hastings who have celebrated milestone anniversaries this year. The combined service of these employees is 295 years. We are fortunate to have their service and expertise on staff and are happy we could recognize some of them in person this evening. We understand not all could be here tonight. Thank you to those of us who are here with us this evening. Please stand when your name is mentioned. The following employees have been with the city of Hastings for five years. Ben Bannet, public works operator, has solidified his role [snorts] of sanitary sewer maintenance guru. The department relies heavily on his knowledge and experience in all sanitary sewer maintenance operations. His knowledge and skills operating the televising van, vac, roer machine, and lift stations are all examples of how he helps our department daily. Ben will tell you that working with the sanitary sewer is not his favorite task, but he approaches each day with a positive outlook. Ben also plays a big role in our snow plowing efforts and is part of the on call duty rotation, which requires a great amount of dependability. [snorts] Ben acquired the class B water and sewer licenses and completed the road scholar program this past year. We [snorts] are very proud of those accomplishments. In his spare time, Ben enjoys spending time with his son and teaching him to play hockey. We look forward to him continuing to be a great asset to our department for years to come. Thanks for your great effort over the last five years. Ben, finance manager Chris Eitemiller joined us in 2020. In addition to the city's day-to-day financial oversight, he has been involved in two particularly noteworthy projects. From late 2022 to early 2024, so a year and a half, we converted to a new accounting software system, which took lots of coordination to map and switch over data and train staff on the new software. In May 2023, Standard and POR's global ratings upgraded Hastings bond rating to double A+ due to our financial management, long-term financial modeling, and [snorts] new developments expanding our tax base. Prior to Hastings, Chris worked for the city of St. Paul for 13 years on budgets and then as accounting manager. He has also previously served as the budget manager for Washington County and in financial roles for the Federal Reserve Bank and the District Court. In his free time, Chris enjoys golf and has coached his son's baseball and basketball teams for many years. Congratulations, Chris, on your five years with the city. Thank you. [4:43] [applause] [4:53] City Administrator Dan Wietecha: Investigator Ryan Haedt grew up in Savage, Minnesota and graduated from Prior Lake Savage High School. Ryan obtained his bachelor's degree in law enforcement from Mano State University in 2019. Ryan [snorts] started with Hastings PD in January of 2020 and has been very busy these past five years. Ryan worked in the patrol division for several years, became a drug recognition officer, and is certified to teach standardized field sobriety testing. Ryan became an investigator in 2025, has been extremely successful in that role. Ryan enjoys motorcycleycling, fishing, hiking, and spending time with his fiance when not at work. Congratulations on your 5-year anniversary, Ryan. [5:41] [applause] [5:48] City Administrator Dan Wietecha: Kayla Jader began with the department as a paid on call firefighter in 2020. Kayla has since achieved her paramedic certification and serves as a paid on call firefighter paramedic. She is very active serving the community and works several duty crew shifts alongside her PC response. Thank you, Kayla, for your service to the community. [6:12] [applause] [6:17] City Administrator Dan Wietecha: Investigator Zachary Nakamura grew up in Lakeville, Minnesota and completed his bachelor's degree from Mano State University in 2019. Zach began with the Hastings PD in January 2020 and became immediately evident that he would be a strong member of the team. Zach worked in the patrol division for years and has been part of the Dakota County SWAT team for a number of years as an operator. Zach is also an instructor for the Hastings PD defensive tactics team and has a passion for instruction. During his off time, Zach enjoys spending time with his family and spending time outside. Congratulations, Zach, on your 5-year anniversary. [7:03] [applause] [7:08] City Administrator Dan Wietecha: TJ Lucas, city forester, is a Baiji, Minnesota native, earning his bachelor's, excuse me, entering his associates degree from Vermillion Community College and his bachelor's degree from the University of Minnesota in 2006. Before joining Hastings, he worked in many different jobs in both the private and public sectors in parks, forestry, and arboriculture and as an integrated pest management technician, climber, and consulting arborist with Rainbow Tree Care. Since joining our team 5 years ago, TJ has been tasked with managing our urban forest and has been doing an excellent job. Not only does he work to protect current trees, but he is also working hard to plant new trees within our parks and public spaces. Of special note is his extensive work focused on emerald ash bore here in town. He spends many hours evaluating trees, protecting ash trees, sharing important information with our residents, and coordinating with the removal and replacement of diseased trees. While forestry is TJ's priority focus, he is also involved with general park maintenance and snow removal. TJ also recently received his certified playground safety inspector credentials and will be one of our staff working to evaluate our play equipment, ensuring our parks are as safe as they can be [snorts] and get the attention they need. TJ is a great member of our team at parks and we are happy to have you. Thank you, TJ. [applause] Blaine Rawe began with the department as a paid on call firefighter EMT in 2020. Blaine participates in a variety of department activities including response. Thank you to Blaine for your years of service to the community. [9:05] [applause] [9:10] City Administrator Dan Wietecha: Dawn Skelly, communications coordinator, is celebrating five years with with the city, ensuring that our messages are clear and well-received. As a one-person operation, [snorts] Dawn skillfully balances the urgent messaging that occurs daily with the ongoing and strategic communication tasks that keep the residents, employees, and other interested parties informed. Dawn has been a great support to each of the departments in communicating about the topics most pressing or challenging. Dawn has [snorts] cultivated great relationships with local and regional media to support getting key messages out to the community. We appreciate Dawn's continuous improvement approach to her work. The weekly city update and quarterly Rivertown News are two popular products that have evolved and matured under Dawn's time with the city. Dawn has accomplished two very significant projects that have been on her want-to-do list since she started here. Website improvement and the strategic communications plan. The city's new website launched last week, December 11th. The strategic communications plan is the big picture roadmap for ongoing strength in citywide internal and external communications and is a guide much like the comprehensive plan for the city. Congratulations, Dawn, on your first five years with the city. [applause] [10:54] City Administrator Dan Wietecha: 295 years. Come on. [snorts] The following employees have been with the city for 10 years. Alan Gayler began with the department in 2015. Allan has been bo been very active in both response training and many department activities. He always brings a good attitude and willingness to serve. Thank you, Alan, for your service to the community. [applause] [11:30] City Administrator Dan Wietecha: Paige Marshall-Bigler has been our recreation programming specialist for 10 years. When Paige first joined us, she did far more than just programming. She was front desk staff, administrative support, community waste abatement coordinator, also known as garbage and recycling, and recreation programmer. Thankfully, over the years, we have been able to transition her to almost exclusively programming, and we are all seeing the benefits of that. Paige's primary task now is to keep programming. She has singlehandedly built community programming at Levy Park over the last 10 years. Music, movies, comedy, fitness, storytime, our annual summer kickoff, party in the park every July, pause in the park, biking, ice fishing, and snowshoeing programs. [snorts] It truly is impressive what she has accomplished over the last 10 years. Along with the programming, she works hard every year to bring in thousands of dollars in scholarships and sponsorships for these programs. She is out in the community making connections and getting people and businesses involved and engaged with these programs. We are lucky and thankful to have Paige on our team and sincerely appreciate her dedication and work each and every day. Thank you, Paige. [applause] [13:07] City Administrator Dan Wietecha: We are thrilled to celebrate 10 years at the city with IT specialist Quinton Nelson. Quinton is the IT department's first line of defense when an issue arises. [snorts] Most of the time, he resolves the issue in less time than it took us to report it. Quinton is deeply committed to serving employees as his customers while working his normal hours and well beyond in many cases. He is a problem solver who is not content with putting a temporary solution in place. In the past few years, the IT department has rolled out many new projects and has paid a lot of attention to security. This has offered Quinton opportunities to stretch his knowledge bank and he has stepped up willingly to each challenge. While much of his day is addressing problems we lay at his feet, he is an integral part of a well functioning team that is continuously looking for secure, efficient means to help us get our tasks accomplished. If Quinton is not responding to an IT distress call from one of us, you might be able to find him on the pickle ball court even in the winter. Congratulations on your 10-year anniversary Quinton. [applause] The following employee has been with the city of Hastings for 15 years. [14:36] City Administrator Dan Wietecha: Chad Jensen began with the fire department in 2007 as a paid on call firefighter and was promoted to full-time in 2010. Chad currently serves as the B-shift captain and also has administrative captain duties. These duties most recently included working on the city website to update and expand fire department content. Chad brings a great attitude to the department. Thank you, Chad, for your years of service to the community. [applause] The following employees have been with the city of Hastings for 20 years. [15:19] City Administrator Dan Wietecha: Tina Gibson began her career with the Hastings Police Department in April 2005, working part-time in the records division, moving to full-time the next year in 2006. In 2011, Tina transferred to the Dakota County Drug Task Force on a contract with the DTF as the task force's full-time administrative support. As the DTF records supervisor, Tina's duties include, but are not limited to, providing administrative support, data entry, and records management, and grant reporting. Her skills and abilities are the reason the drug task force is an efficient and high-performing organization. In her free time, Tina enjoys motorcycleycling, completing puzzles, being outside, and traveling with family. [snorts] [applause] [16:21] City Administrator Dan Wietecha: Noella Joy Schroeder began with the fire department in 2005 as a paid on call firefighter. Her current role is firefighter paramedic. Joy is always willing to step up when the department needs a paramedic and come in with great experience. Thank you, Joy, for your years of service to the community. [applause] Dawn West has served as code enforcement officer for 20 years. She ensures code compliance on a variety of issues from including tall grass, junk vehicles, property maintenance, and snow shoveling. Responding daily to complaints and ensuring city code compliance can be stressful, requiring high level of tact and patience. Dawn does a great job balancing the requests of those who seek code compliance with a professional approach to those who are out of compliance. She is a strong supporter of the green and gold and is quick to point that out after a Vikings game, especially this year. Thank you, Dawn. [applause] [17:41] City Administrator Dan Wietecha: The following employees have been with the city of Hastings for 25 years. Officer Jeremy Jacobson began his career with Hastings PD in March 2000. Jeremy was the lead defensive tactics instructor for the majority of his career and only recently stepped down from that role. Jake also served in the investigative division and on the Dakota County Drug Task Force. Jake currently works in the patrol division and during his time off, he enjoys hunting, spending time with his family, and participating in CrossFit training. Congratulations, Jeremy, on your 25-year anniversary, [applause] and your contributions to the city of Hastings Department. [applause] For 25 years, Natalie Judge has been the backbone of public works operations with steady, knowledgeable, and unwavering commitment to our community. As the administrative assistant, she is often the first voice residents hear and the friendly face they rely on. Her positivity sets the tone for every interaction and her ability to make every person feel heard and supported is unmatched. [19:03] City Administrator Dan Wietecha: Natalie has developed an exceptional understanding of water, sewer, streets, storm systems, and hydro operations. Natalie assists with budgeting, managing invoices, and provides essential support to all of our crews with any office related needs. She is always ready to lend a hand with skill and a smile. In addition to all this, she plays a vital role in completing and managing our regulatory permitting. Her attention to detail and commitment to accuracy ensures that our operations run smoothly, stay compliant, and remain well organized. Her dedication, professionalism, and genuine care for our community have shaped the quality of service we're proud to provide. We proudly celebrate her remarkable 25 years of service. [applause] Brenda McGrath began her career with the Hastings Police Department's records division in [snorts] November 2000, working part-time, then moving to a full-time position in 2006. [20:13] City Administrator Dan Wietecha: As a police administrative specialist with 25 years experience in the record division, Brenda possesses a wealth of law enforcement knowledge that's made her a valuable resource to officers and record staff alike. Brenda has a great sense of humor and her laughter can often be heard throughout the PD. Brenda enjoys spending time with her family, attending car shows, gardening, and is an active member in her church. Thank you for 25 years. Brenda [applause] [20:50] City Administrator Dan Wietecha: Terry Meyer, parkskeeper, is a flood master, welding and fabrication guru, a skilled equipment operator, and mechanic. Terry spent almost 10 years working in the public works department as an operator. And then in 2010, Terry made a great decision and joined the parks department as a parkskeeper. Terry is an integral part of the team at parks. He has so many nuggets of knowledge about the city, how it operates, who does what, and who can help us out in a pinch. [snorts] He also knows so many residents and businesses in town, which can also be very helpful. Terry's technical expertise, skills, and talents with his depth of knowledge of the city helps the department continue to get things done. Thank you, Terry, for your 25 years of service to the city, especially the past 15 at the parks department. [applause] [21:50] City Administrator Dan Wietecha: Somewhere back there, Officer Chris Wy began his career with Hastings PD in February 2000. [snorts] And currently serves. That's not right. The math is [clears throat] wrong. How about February 2000? Typo. Sorry about that. Officer Chris Wy began his career with Hastings PD in February 2000 and currently has the distinction of senior patrol officer. Chris spent time in the investigative division and is now in the patrol division. Chris is known for his calm demeanor on the street, especially when someone is very animated. Chris keeps in contact with retired officers and often spends time on the lake fishing and reminiscing. Chris enjoys spending time with his family when he is not at work. Thank you, Chris, for your 25 years of service to HPD and the city of Hastings. [applause] [22:54] City Administrator Dan Wietecha: [snorts] Last but not least this evening, Justin Wolf has been a model of consistency for the public works department over the past 25 years. He is always to support the needs of the department as one of our engineering technicians. Justin does many things to assist in achieving our goals each year. AutoCAD design, GIS mapping, inspections and ratings of our pavements and storm water system, surveying of new building permits, traffic counting, data collection, and right-of-way permit processing to name a few. Justin is critical of our day-to-day operations and makes normal happen. He is always very pleasant to work with and brings a positive attitude every day to balance out the highs and the lows. Justin is frequently assisted when called upon during major snow events or when our crew is short. Thank you for your 25 years of dedicated service contribution to the department. Justin, and for your willingness to continue to learn new things in the industry to make us better. This concludes our—probably clap. [applause] [24:13] City Administrator Dan Wietecha: Thank you. This concludes our milestone recognition. We are grateful for the dedication of these public servants and congratulate all of them on their milestone anniversaries. One more round. [applause] [24:33] Mayor Mary Fasbender: Do photo. You will photo do a photo real quick. Milestone. Oh yeah. All of our milestones come up for a photo please. I can't do [laughter] that. [laughter] Very nice. All right, here we go. Three, two, one. Best smiles. Publications. [applause] Congratulations. [26:01] Mayor Mary Fasbender: We're all free to go now. Okay, see you later. Thank you. Till they leave and don't eat all the pizza. Hey, save me a slice. Don't drink all. That's right. Congratulations. [27:29] Mayor Mary Fasbender: All right. always very exciting. Tonight we will also have recognitions of outgoing commissioners and for this we will have several residents that have served on commissions throughout the last few years and our economic development director John Hinzman will start out. [27:50] Community Development Director John Hinzman: Thank you mayor, city council members, for the public. There's a lot of individuals that assist the city in a variety of roles that help the city council making decisions. You see a lot of things on the agenda tonight and on other meetings that take a lot of time and a lot of effort and consideration by various commissions throughout the city. Now, these commissioners kind of serve in the shadows, but they're an integral part of how the council operates and how the city operates. And tonight, we have a few outgoing commissioners that we want to recognize. And I'll go through a few of them here. I'll start with our Heritage Preservation Commission. HPC is an organization that really strives to keep the historic part of Hastings special. When you look at Hastings and why Hastings stands out, it's really because of the history, our downtown or historic neighborhoods. The reason why those places stay the way that they are is in large part to the work of these individuals serving on this commission. They serve to review different modifications that people would like to do to historic homes within the district and other infrastructure improvements that occur there. So really thankful for the work that they put in. And tonight we've got a couple of outgoing commissioners we want to recognize, Rick Smith and Mark Borchard. Both Rick and Mark have served on the commission for I think about 10 years or more on this tonight and they are both leaving us. Their institutional knowledge is something I know that we're going to miss on the HPC and they've made the city a better place with them in it. So want to round of applause for those two. [applause] And then we also have a couple of planning commissioners. Our planning commission serves as sort of the land use advisory board to the city council. They hold a lot of public hearings. They look at items related to zoning, new subdivisions, new buildings that are constructed. An integral part of the decision making of the council. And tonight we've got two individuals that have maxed out their six years of service and are moving off of the commission. One of them is Gino Messina who is our current planning commission chair serving there for six years as well as Rob Hallberg who served six years and was recently our vice chair. So we have a lot of institutional knowledge from the planning commission that will be going away but they've left the commission in a very good place under their tutelage. So want to thank them tonight as well. [applause] [30:38] Police Chief Kyle Linscheid: Hello, mayor. Hello, council. Um, I am fortunate to follow John. I'm not as eloquent as he is. Um, but, fortunately, I also get to introduce our outgoing public safety advisory commissioner, Gary Stevens. Um Gary has served three terms on the public safety advisory commission. Um during his time there, he's advised on several hot topics including ebikes, UTVs, and things like that. Um he's also participated in many of our events, National Night Out, Police Week, Fire Prevention Week. Um and we really appreciate his service on our advisory commission. Um, the other thing that I think is important to state about Gary is we usually just call him Jeep. and and he has a longstanding history of serving this community that I think really needs to be recognized. Um, I know it's been recognized in the past, but I thought it was a good opportunity to recognize it again tonight. But he did serve as a firefighter paramedic for 38 years for our city. Um, and he was also on the planning commission. So, he is an individual who's not new to serving this community and really stepping up and helping us out. So, with that, I'll introduce Gary and thank you for your service and commitment to the community. Come on, Gary. [applause] [32:06] Mayor Mary Fasbender: Thanks, Chief. Thanks, John. I'm sorry. photo. Oh, we can do a photo. Yes. Pack, you want to come with a photo? Photo. Of course. Oh, be quiet. Three, two, one. Best smiles. Thank you. [applause] [33:23] Dakota County Commissioner Mike Slavic: All right. As always, this time of year, we also have a Dakota County update from our commissioner, Mike Slavic. Welcome, Mike. Uh, good evening, mayor, council members, city administrator Wietecha and staff. Uh, it's always good to be here. This is number 13 at the for the very last meeting of the year to be able to give just a county update of a reflection on what has happened over 2025, but also a little bit of a teaser on what we hope to achieve in 2026. Uh I do also want to just go and give my congratulations to the city staff and their recognition. It's a there's getting to be less and less that were here back in the days when I was on the city council. So as as as we see that I get I think that's a sign of the gray hair. And if you see the picture over there from my first elected office with the really dark hair, you could see that. Um, so I just want to go in and thank you very much for the great year of partnership that we've had between the city of Hastings and Dakota County. Couple highlights that I think are of value of note. Um, in 2025, we were able to complete the Vermillion River Greenway Hastings part the section in Hastings, which does now make roughly 8 miles of the 10-mi loop of the Hastings City Loop. about eight miles of that are actually Dakota County Greenway and I think it's been a great partnership with our with the city of Hastings parks and Dakota County within that. So I just want to go and thank you for that. Hear a lot of great comments actually. It's one of our first segments in the entire county that has the appropriate wayfinding. Uh so we were able to at least on the part that's the Vermillion to kind of tell you where you're supposed to go. And I also want to thank the city for their work on being able to kind of close those loops on the wayfinding that I think you were all part of an email chain, but I had some out of town visitors at state of the confluence and they came with their bikes and then they got lost somewhere around fourth street and had no clue where they were and had to say how do I get back on a trail again? So those are very much be able to explain where the where to go on that 10-mi loop is very valuable. Uh second thing wanted to make note still staying on the greenway message. Uh you may or may not be aware that the county received a RAISE grant from Hastings to South St. Paul. That is a federal grant that we received for wayfinding and um information along the Mississippi River Greenway. Uh the entire corridor on that. And at your next meeting, a little teaser, I will not be here. I'll actually be at the city of Farmington giving their update. Uh but you'll be hearing a presentation from the parks related to kind of a information educational area um on the river using parts of the former blue Hastings Bridge as part of a plaza that they're working on at the parks commission. I was there earlier in the year. We actually went through some designs and it does need final approval by the city council and I have been notified that they invited me to show up to that meeting on the 5th of January. But as I said, I will be in Farmington for that day. So, I do apologize for that. But it it does look pretty good. I think you'll very much like what shows up on that part there. Um just kind of moving a little bit forward on the the big project that I think has had lots of conversation in the last couple weeks is related to the um safety improvements, pedestrian safety, and road safety on County Road 42, Nininger, Second Street. It has many names, but from the bridge all the way to city limits. Um, the greenway portion of that is actually separate. It's in the same project, but that's the greenway portion paid 100% by Dakota County. And that is addressing some of the ADA and the poor asphalt as you're kind of doing the switch back and forth to get from the high bluffs of Second Street, County Road 42, all the way down to Lock and Dam. And that project is scheduled to be 2027 for construction. right-of-way next year and final design in early first quarter of next year as well. Um there is still conversations. The design is mostly complete. Uh um and I just want to say that Hastings is kind of unique in the fact that it doesn't have many miles of county road. If you look at the 400 plus miles of county road throughout all of Dakota County, there's only a few miles that are actually in the city limits. So, we don't exactly know what as a community what are the county standards and why you have pedestrian trails on both sides of the roads, why you have had some measures, especially when you're in a rural or when going from rural to residential to commercial. Some of the engineering designs that actually go in and can help maintain the speed that's posted. Uh there's always conversations about is that the right and correct speed for the neighborhood for the buildings, but the fact is that there are many things that engineers are able to do to actually go in and address some of those. And um I've frankly have been—no offense, but I've been Ryan—a skeptic of some of those. But you know what? Nine times out of 10, they actually are exactly what does to make the difference to actually make roads safer for pedestrians and for drivers. So that project is scheduled for construction 2027 and almost fully designed. One of the other things that we have been working on as a county board and it does relate to partially to cities especially the city of Hastings and that has been some of the conversation related to transit. Uh, as we know, there's a lot of um there's a lot of monies from the last couple years that went to transit, but very little of it goes into the suburbs and some of that the measurements and the benchmarks go and say that you know what, we're we're going to focus more on the core cities with that. Even though frankly all of us in those ring counties are paying and putting it money into the pot, we are not have not been seeing the benefit of that. So, as a county board, we've been very vocal saying if we're all getting taxed on this, we should also be able to see some of the the benefits of that. And frankly, our transit doesn't need to go to Minneapolis, go to St. Paul, but it's really how do we serve individuals within the community. So, two points of note. Um well, actually three I'll say. The first one is that, you know, a chunk a portion of the Just Friends program through Hastings Family Service is paid for with county dollars that we we do that part there—the volunteer program. Uh there are resources that go from county dollars to that and that is going to be maintained for 2026. Secondly, the county will be in first quarter looking at a discussion or actually a request for proposals on kind of enhancing the intercity in—not just in Hastings but throughout all of our cities. So you go from Lakeville to Farmington to Burnsville, West St. Paul, South St. Paul on how you address kind of with a provider to serve some of the things very similar to our half a day a week loop bus—a service like that. So we are actually soliciting proposals using some of our sales and use tax that we all pay. Um it's that Dakota County transit tax that you see on anything you spend in Dakota County, but actually to be using that for locally. and we are working with a couple proposals that will be countywide with a provider to be able to maybe get enhanced loop or something of that sort. I don't know if you are aware or not but it's somewhat off the presses but one of the things that has been successful Met Council has announced that they are going to do in 2026 I believe starting February similar to the old and well-adored Hastings TRAC bus, they are going to do an on-demand pilot on Mondays and on Wednesdays from 10 to 2 where a person can call—where they will keep a bus in Hastings—you can call from 10 to 2 and say I'd like to go to the grocery store or I want to go see my friend Esther and you'll be able to go in and they will pick you up at your home and then take you for a $3 ride where you need to go. So, Met Council is using some of those sales tax dollars that we have said, use them locally, use them since we are all paying. And they are trying a pilot knowing that when the TRAC bus was around in the city of Hastings, it was the number one most used transit bus in the entire state of Minnesota. At that time when it went away, there was 30 plus,000 rides a year just in the city of Hastings going around the city of Hastings. But at that time, Met Council said it wasn't cost-effective to do. I think as they've looked at other ways of transit, um it was far more cost-effective than they chose to do. But that's what we deal with today. Uh and now we're trying all over again. Uh so I just thought that um these are some things realizing it is a need that I continue to hear as commissioner and I know many of you as council members and mayor hear that Hastings is kind of an island in itself and it's hard to even to get around in the community. So, we're trying to go and use some of those resources at a metro, county, and state level to be able to improve the that quality of life within Hastings. I want to just share briefly a little bit on our budget. As you know, you passed your budget at your last meeting. We at the county board will pass ours tomorrow. Um, and our county, this was probably in all of my years of elected office, the most difficult budget that I have had to deal with and work with. And it started, frankly, when the governor went and his proposed budget had pretty dramatic shifts of almost $300 million that counties would then have to pay for with local property taxes with the services not adapted, not changed. Nothing was going to be different other than the fact that it was going to be counties paying for it instead of the state of Minnesota. That in itself would have been a double-digit on its own regardless of any other expenses, a double-digit increase to us. I will say that the um many of that was put on a two-year reprieve to try to figure out ways to become more efficient in in that partnership rather than just go and do a direct shift, but to try to find a way to do something better. But that's kind of started the trend for what has happened in county budgets. About 70% of our county budget is mandated by either the state or federal government. That we have no say how it's done. We just have to pay for it. That leaves 30% which is the things that we can do—our parks, our libraries, with that—4H, the county fair, even frankly parts of the patrol division of the Dakota County Sheriff's are not mandated. Uh the jail is though and the jail is the expensive part of that but we have 70% of our property taxes are a scenario where that is mandated and we are not able to do much with that. So that makes a lot of strain when we can contribute just a matter of three or four% just to go for the mandates and shifts. Um so as a county board we had to make some tough choices this year and went through the entire budget, eliminated 44 positions. We did about 8.5 million reduction of levy and a very large levy increase which was very difficult to do but all of that had to be able to do just to be able to go and manage our budget. And I know as being up there at one time that you made very tough decisions as well. And when we know that public safety is first and foremost what we must do in local government. Water is another one of them for cities. It's very tough choices that we all have to make in there. So I thank you for that. It's tough time. We all get beat up at this time of year in that um we have gone as a county board and had a very positive truth in taxation where we had a large number of people and but we did a public open house before—they were not happy—they said you know we came in pretty hot but at the same time you were able to kind of explain things better to the point where we will now we're going to actually start our public engagement earlier on our budget process and try to get more citizens and businesses involved because I can tell you next year is going to be harder for many levels of local government with inflation, with mandates and shifts. The federal impact of the bill that passed in July actually has not hit counties yet. Uh I I will use I use this perspective. Um one of the things in there is that I think most people in this room and most people would admit that if you are receiving health care, public assistance healthcare, Medicaid, and you are able-bodied, you should work or you should volunteer. Most people would agree with that. What they don't understand though is that that is almost 70 positions that Dakota County needs to hire to implement that, to verify that they are working, that they are volunteering, and those are coming with no funding. So in a year where we had no hires, eliminated 44 positions, addressing the federal mandates and shifts that will be happening to us will be 70 new employees just for that one aspect. So that things will be tough for us but I know that what I can tell you and I'm going to actually say go to some positive things. We do have some hope in the future here. And I think that that's where I would like to say as challenging as they have been, we have great staff. We have a great new county manager. We have city administrator and they have worked together. And what we've been able to do in Dakota County, the city of Hastings and all of our communities is has been the partnerships that we've been able to get us to where we are—that we are a place that is a county that's still growing. People are choosing to move to Dakota County. They're choosing to move to Hastings. And that is because of the partnerships that we've been able to do as we partner in our roads and our greenways. As we've said, that is a driver to our economy. Uh our 911, you know, both council member Pemble, myself serve as elected officials on the Dakota 911 board. Uh your and our city administrator Wietecha serve as the executive committee chair this year. And that's a partnership between the cities, the county, our police, our fire, our EMT, and it's an essential service, but that is just something that we've been able to do in a much more cost-effective way than many other communities. And we're seeing some great examples of that. I believe you're going to hear from the executive director coming up in the first quarter with she goes on some tours. She was telling me to talk about some of the great ways that they are finding innovation and saving money. You know, another last one we have is, you know, the garbage and recycling on consent item number 10. That's a partnership that we do. We give a little bit of money. We probably have more mandates that go with that, but those mandates are at some of our level. But what I will just want to conclude with mayor, council, and those watching is how we have been able to work together as cities, as county, as school districts. And that is what makes this such a great place to live. Uh, and I'm will always be thankful for the partnership we we've had in 2025 and I look forward to 2026. And with that, madame mayor, if there's anything anyone wishes to say. [48:01] Mayor Mary Fasbender: Thank you, Commissioner. Questions? Okay, council member Haus. [48:10] Councilmember Angie Haus: Thank you, honor. Thank you, Commissioner Slavic. I always appreciate your updates and coming every year. I also appreciate your work on working on transportation for our town. Um I think that's a really good ongoing issue and I'm grateful for the partnership that we can hopefully create with that as well. Thank you. [48:21] Mayor Mary Fasbender: Thank you. Thank you, Council Member Haus. And again, Mike, always wonderful to see you. Yeah. And to listen to what we've done together and what our future is. So, I too will say just had this conversation on Saturday with a bunch of veterans and um we need some transportation for them in our community along with a lot of the aging community that we have that is struggling at this point trying to get rides. So appreciate it. [48:50] Dakota County Commissioner Mike Slavic: I hope it's well used and the pilot becomes the gold standard. [48:53] Mayor Mary Fasbender: I agree. Thank you. Thank you, council members. Are there any corrections to the minutes from December 1st meeting? All right. Comments from the audience at this time. We would hear comments from the audience. Anyone wish to speak to the council at this time, please step to the podium, state your name and your address and where you're from. [49:19] Farmington Police Chief Nate Seam: All right. Thank you, uh, mayor and council for having me today. I'm Nate Seam. I'm the chief of police for the city of Farmington. Um, on a, you know, slightly more significantly more somber note, I'm sorry. We're going to transition a little bit. Um, I'm here today because about a month and a half ago, I received the call in the middle of the night that officer Pete Zjac died by suicide. Um, needless to say, the worst day of my life and I could say the same for many of our people, but Officer Zjac wasn't just a member of our family at the police department. Um, he's also a member of your community here in Hastings. uh his children attend your schools. He coaches coach your sports teams. Um he was a great man and he's dearly missed. The reason I'm here today is to publicly thank Hastings Police Chief David Wilsky and Commander Kyle Linscheid for their extraordinary support and leadership following the loss of officer Pete Zjac. With Chief Wilsky's full support, Commander Linscheid served as the incident commander for Officer Zjac's law enforcement funeral on November 6, 2025. Commander Linscheid coordinated the planning, preparation, and execution of the service with professionalism, compassion, and attention to detail that honored Officer Zjac, his family, and the law enforcement profession in a truly meaningful way. Law enforcement funerals are complex events and they are even more challenging when emotions are high and communities are grieving. Commander Linscheid's steady leadership made a difficult day run seamlessly. And that would not have been possible without Chief Wilski's willingness to support our department during a time of great need. It's difficult to describe uh what it was like in that week after Pete passed. Um, most of it is still a fog to me and and to many of us. I don't know how we would have gotten through it without Commander Linscheid there by our sides. Uh, the amount of logistics that go into planning a funeral, let alone a police law enforcement funeral, are incredible. and um I can't thank him enough or Chief Wilsky for dealing with everything else that is going on back in Hastings without his assistance or your support and all of that as well. In the days following Pete's death, a 24-hour honor guard was maintained. This guard remained with him from the moments he arrived at the medical examiner's office throughout his transfer to Starkson funeral home until he was escorted to the church of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. Several of your officers stood watch with Pete during this time and deserve recognition for their commitment to supporting and honoring the brotherhood of law enforcement. Um it's a great honor to the family and to us that your officers stood guard with him. uh often times throughout the wee hours of the morning, the middle of the night on late notice when there wasn't an officer that was signed up for a shift, often times your officers that were working that night would go and stand guard with Pete. And I can't tell you how much I appreciate that. On [snorts] behalf of the Farmington Police Department, our city leadership, and officer Zjac's family, I want to say thank you. Thank you for allowing me to be here this evening. [52:51] Mayor Mary Fasbender: Thank you, Chief. We are all so sorry for your loss and um he will be deeply missed for sure. Thank you. [53:12] Mayor Mary Fasbender: Okay. Council items to be considered. Council, I'd like to add to the agenda to the um consent agenda, please. An amendment to the state contract grant agreement for the city hall project. This takes a full... Okay. Council member Pemble and a second by Council Member Haus. All those in favor of the motion state by saying I. [53:35] All: I. [53:36] Mayor Mary Fasbender: Opposed to that motion state by saying nay. And that will be added. Thank you. Consent agenda. At this time, I would ask for a motion for the consent agenda. Council member Leifeld. Second. Council member Lawrence. Any discussion? Council. All those in favor of the motion state by saying I. [53:57] All: I. [53:58] Mayor Mary Fasbender: Opposed that motion. State by saying nay. [clears throat] And that motion prevails. Tonight under awarding of contracts, we have a vacation of public easement at the central water treatment plant, 1292 North Frontage Road. And for this item, we will have an introduction by community development director John Hinzman, followed by a public hearing and a potential action by city council. Welcome John. [54:22] Community Development Director John Hinzman: Thank you, mayor, city council members. The action that we're looking at tonight may look familiar to you. We did a couple similar actions a couple of weeks ago. Background on this is we're looking at the new Central Water Treatment Plant at 1292 North Frontage Road, formerly the home of Carbones Pizza. In demolition and reconstruction of the property, we're replatting it, which means we are taking away all the old property lines and easement areas, wiping it away, starting anew. We thought we had all of those at the last meeting, but uh we did find one more easement that we're looking to vacate. So, that is what's located here in the in the little red area on the drawing, and this is a sidewalk, street, and utility easement. The action we're requesting tonight is that you hold a public hearing and adopt the resolution to vacate this. Upon the vacation of this, we will record the plat and then move forward with the construction of the facility. So, you may open the public hearing at this time or I can answer any questions. [55:23] Mayor Mary Fasbender: Thanks, John. At this time, I will open the public hearing. Anyone wish to speak to this easement at this time? [55:30] Joe Morouser: Question. Um, sir, could you please stand to the podium, state your name and address. Okay. Um, my name is Joe Morouser. Um, and I have the Flegal building in Hastings. So, B1278 North Frontage Road. Um, so I got your map. I'm so small I can't couldn't read it all. Um, my question is this on the red that you have highlighted there? What's going to be done with that? Is there going to be a sidewalk put in or... [56:06] Community Development Director John Hinzman: Sidewalk is going to remain? Is that correct? Because there's not really one there right now. They're a sidewalk will be brought through there. [56:13] Joe Morouser: Okay. So, it'll be a solid sidewalk all the way through. Okay. And then you're going to take down the sign as well, too. Yeah. Okay. So, just be a continuous sidewalk all the way down. That is perfect. All right. Thanks, Joe. [56:18] Mayor Mary Fasbender: Anyone else wish to speak to the council at this time? Okay. At this time, then I will close the public hearing. Council discussion. Any discussion, council? Okay. Then I would accept a motion to approve the resolution vacating certain easement recorded by document number 1059470. Sidewalk street drainage and utility easement. I need a motion. Council member Leifeld with a second by council member Haus. All those in favor of the motion state by saying I. [57:12] All: I. [57:13] Mayor Mary Fasbender: Opposed to that motion state by saying nay. And that motion prevails. Thank you. Thanks, John. Tonight we will have discussion on the disposal of the hydro electric plant. And for this introduction, we will hear from our public works director, Ryan Stempski. Welcome, Ryan. We will also have a public hearing and council discussion after. Sorry about that. Thank you. [57:33] Public Works Director Ryan Stempski: Thank you, mayor, members of the city council. Um, sorry I have to bring business tonight when we all want to get into the next part of our evening, but we we do have an important issue to cover tonight and it is the hydro electric facility that we have here in Hastings. Um if we can see in the picture on the screen, this is lock and dam number two. We have had um a few workshops and utility committee meetings on this. So, several council members are probably familiar with this facility and its location, but just for those watching at home, um this is the Army Corps of Engineers building off of the Mississippi River. This is the lock the lock system on the left side of the screen. And then we see the dam on the right side of the screen in the middle of the Mississippi River. Our facility sits kind of right in between the lock and dam with the orange or terracotta roof there. So that's the facility we're talking about here tonight. The facility was built—started construction in 1985 and it's a 4.4 megawatt power producing facility. So what we are diving into is we wanted to take a comprehensive look of this facility and so over the past couple years we've done that. Uh we first started to ask the question of how much revenue is this facility bringing into the city of Hastings. So that's where we started with the facility and we compiled the numbers over the past couple decades of what revenues were coming in and that's where our story or our comprehensive look started and what we noticed was trend line over those two decades. The facility was losing the revenues on an annual basis from the years prior. Right? So we were trending downwards. Um 20 years ago we were making close to a million dollars a year. More recent times we're down at 700,000–750,000 per year in the last five years. So trend line down on the revenues coming in and we'll talk about the reasons why some of that is in future slides here. The other part that we did, we looked at the revenues but then we looked at the expense side. So we hired an industry expert, Barr Engineering, they took a look at the hydro electric facility. They ran some maintenance simulations. This facility is nearing 40 years old. So, a lot of components in the facility and there are a lot of them are at that point of end of life or needing to be refurbished or replaced or upgraded. And so, this took a look at what expenses can we expect over the next 25 years. So, this is a forward projection. We didn't want to run this facility reactive. We we wanted to have a proactive look and try to anticipate what big costs might be coming our way. So when we put that together, when we put the cash flow chart together, we added our normal expenses every year plus the maintenance needs that this facility is going to have coming its way. Unfortunately, when we put those together, the cash flow ended in a negative $14 million evaluation or cash flow projection over the next 25 years. So, this was alarming to us and we knew we needed to do something about that position um to be fiscally responsible to our community. Some of the notable annual costs are listed here. One cost is our dewatering. So, we kind of talk about this in the industry as a $500,000 or a half a million dollar oil change for the facility. For us to get down and look at the components under the water, we need to dewater the entire facility. So, that's a costly project for us to do. Our insurance requires us to do that every 5 years, no matter if the system's working fine or not. Plus, if we have an issue and one of our turbine units are down and we need to go investigate, we have to do dewatering. So sometimes that can even be more frequent as needed out on the facility. The other thing is insurance. There's not many people—there's actually only one insurance provider that we can find um to provide insurance to the city. And so as you can imagine those insurance costs keep going up for the facility. We projected that at about $200,000 this upcoming year. So another costly annual expense. We do lease the facility. So we don't we don't own that concrete land between the lock and dam system out in the middle of the Mississippi River. That's owned by the Army Corps of Engineers. And so we lease the space, the building on top of that that that slab of concrete per se. That's a rent payment owed in an agreement to them where we pay for the power out at that facility. And that equates to about $100,000 a year to keep their lights on and keep the lock and dam systems operating. Um, we also have several licensing fees. So, when you add up all of the inspections that we have to do with FERC, the federal commission that regulates the facility, um, that's about $50,000 a year in licenses and fees. Plus, in a couple years, the facility, just things as we look ahead, has a $1 million relicensing fee coming its way, too. So, a lot of daunting notable annual expenses and costs—one-time expenses or um less that happens every—I believe five years. So, we we've got these expenses coming and we've got these annual notable expenses. Our routine repairs are nearing about $50,000 just parts and changes that that have to be done each and every year. So those those are things that that uh we have to budget and plan for as well. Plus, we're down at the facility. There's a public works operator there every single day. Um we do visits to make sure our operations are going smoothly out there. And we also are connected to our SCADA system. So if we get an alarm, we have to go and react to it. So if if something shuts down, overheats or whatnot, we're alerted to that and we have to maintain that facility. Obviously, some of the specifics of the plant too. We might ask ourselves, you know, why that $14 million loss. Well, those are some of the notable expenses, but our facility also has some unique things about it. Our maintenance costs just because of our location and the system that we have, it's very expensive. So, if you can imagine coming in by barge to access our facility to do projects or by a little cart way through the lock system that we have to weave in and out of—being in the middle of the Mississippi River comes with its challenges. So, we evaluated ourselves against the US Energy Information Administration and our costs are about four times greater for a hydro facility than others because of its locale. Also, we're not a large facility as far as power production goes. 4.4 megawatts is not one of the big boys. We are a smaller facility but all the licensing and access and maintenance and checking and repairs—the same efforts are needed as a large plant, right? So we we can't bury those costs as easy as the bigger power producing plants. We already talked about accessibility—being in the middle of the river comes with its problems. Power production, this is a big one for us. The lock and dam system is put in place for river navigation. It's the way it's always been. It's the way it's always going to be. It's not put out there for hydro power production. So, what that means is we're regulated by the Corps. If the Corps—because of their upper pool and lower pool levels for river navigation—tells us to throttle down or shut off, that's our orders. That's what we do. Even if the heads are such that we could be maximizing our power production, we we have to go with the orders and the river navigation sequencing. Our machine is very complex. So to be on a lock and dam system, just the type of turbine and generator units we have, they have tight tolerances. So imagine the Mississippi River water, you can imagine what gets in our components with tight tolerances. We get a lot of breakdowns. We get a lot of unique parts and and we need to fabricate those and they come from across the country and their expertise comes from across the country. So it's a complex machine to run. And then power costs. We saw how that trend line was going over the last 20 years. Well, that rate that we get power for comes from Xcel. It's the avoided cost of power and plant capability. So, Xcel sets that rate with us and we get a rate proposed to us each year from Xcel. It's also based on our seasonal performance. So, we get something called a capability payment. Well, if we have a season where we're down fixing something or we're throttled down from the Corps, that capability payment, as you can imagine, over the years has been less and less and less. So, those couple things um impact that overall number significantly. So, like I said, we've been to our committee, we've worked through our committee structure on this over the past couple years. Um and and really where we were heading is working with the Corps, the underlying owner to transfer or surrender the facility to the Corps. That's what we were set out to do and what we've been trying to do over the last year plus. Well, working with the Corps and the federal government proved to be kind of an unfamiliar process to transfer a facility. It hadn't been done since the time of Henry Ford. Um and and they really couldn't set us on a process by follow these steps and this transfer could happen to the Corps. Um we also ran into several challenges, political challenges, change in administration, staffing issues. So it kind of was the issue of the month every time I came back with an update. And so that proved very challenging. Um and they really looked at us and said, "Well, we recommend you go to the private industry. Go find a private industry partner that that might happen a little more succinctly or or in a better time period." The other piece was surrendering of the FERC license as we looked into that. That's a process you can go down, but surrendering the FERC license comes with a high study cost. Um it's it's something that takes a long time to go through all the federal paperwork. And the worst part about it is unpredictable outcome. So we can go through a process, an environmental study, which takes millions of dollars and multiple years to do, and at the end of it, they can say, "Well, we want you to put it back to the original condition, or we want you to put a buffer unit in," so we wouldn't know what that outcome is and what that capital cost would be on top of an asset that we're projected to lose money on over the next 25 years. So that didn't seem very favorable for our next steps. More recently, we hired another hydro expert to come and look at that private industry, bring us somebody that might be interested in in transferring the facility to them. And really based on the last slide that I just went through, transferring the facility is a lot more timely for the city and cost effective. It's a process—we know the start and end date. Um and so it's the preferred pathway if you can find a buyer. Uh the end result for us, really the key here is the elimination of the financial and operational liability. That's what we're striving towards with this facility. This transfer can be done in 90 days. So, it's a pretty quick process in the regulation world. The transfer can be in an "as-is" condition, right? So, we don't have to do any improvements to it. We can turn it over as-is. Um this does result in no payment to the city, but because of those other benefits and where we're headed with this facility, it's why it's favorable in the staff evaluation. The value is truly in saving money in an aging facility that's very expensive to maintain. And the other part of this—this would keep the hydro plant in operation producing clean energy in the future to come. Um we we've just went through the challenges of a municipal organization trying to run a facility. Others in the private industry won't have those same challenges to keep the hydro plant operational. So, our action tonight is first to conduct a public hearing. That's required in our city charter section 7.04. Um, we've set that up by publishing this public hearing in the Hastings Journal on November 27th. The second piece is in your packets—we have a resolution to consider. This resolution is set up per Minnesota State Statutes 462.356, and that's to dispense of the requirement that the planning commission review the disposal of the plant as there is—in our evaluation—no relationship to the comprehensive plan. So if you scour the comprehensive plan there's no land use or other ties to the comprehensive plan um in its review. So that's the action tonight. The next steps as we look forward in this process after the action tonight is we would come back to the city council and have your consideration of an approval of the Letter of Intent and that's really the terms of the deal with this private entity and then a Resolution of Sale which is required in our charter as well to actually have a resolution of sale. This would come back—it's planned to come back in our schedule at the January 5th meeting to kind of finalize the disposition. Um, as we carry the process out from there, the private entity would do their due diligence um and schedule closing with the city on the facility. We have several agreements tied up with the facility and licenses. The first would be that FERC license that we already talked about. The transfer process could be done in 90 days. So that's something we would initiate after council action in January. Uh we also have an agreement with Xcel but we do in that agreement have the ability to assign that agreement to another entity. So we would exercise that clause. And then we also have with our agreement to pay the power at the Corps—we have a Memorandum of Agreement with the Corps of Engineers. And so that is an agreement that would also be worked with to transfer over to the private entity for them to keep that relationship going um and and have the city exit out of it. So with that, those are the action steps for tonight and a little bit of future look ahead of how this transfer would fully go. And I'll turn it back for any questions or for the mayor to facilitate the public hearing. [1:13:39] Mayor Mary Fasbender: Thank you Ryan. At this time, I will open the public hearing for the disposal of the hydroelectric plant. Anyone wish to speak to the council on Zoom? No one on Zoom. One more time. Anyone wish to speak to this issue at this time? Okay, I will close the public hearing. Council, any discussion? Council member Leifeld. [1:14:04] Councilmember Lisa Leifeld: Thanks, your honor. Thank you, Ryan. Every time you speak, I've said it for years, I learn more and more stuff that I never knew I needed to know. So, in 1985 when this was built, I was in 11th grade. Some of you weren't even born yet, looking around. Um, and I knew nothing about this plant. I had no idea what it did sitting out there. And I'd been to—my father when I was young worked at the Lock and Dam, so I was familiar with the area. I never knew what this was until I finally went on a trip with you guys and checked this out. And mind-blowing to be on the bottom of the Mississippi River inside this facility, right, without a life jacket on, right? Um, and to hear the explanation of what it's doing and to understand that the Army Corps of Engineer is regulating what we put through it, right? If the water's too high, we have to shut down or slow down. If the water's too low, we have to shut down or slow down. There were so many things and to me it's like water runs through it. And then to be out there and see all these logs and thinking, boy, this is probably something that is of great impact. you know, the amount of debris and logs and stuff that are floating down the river into the facility. Um, I think whoever was sitting on council at that time, this was a great idea. I think we were... you know, this is kind of us five, six years ago talking about the solar gardens, right? So, these people I feel like, wow, what a great idea on a different river, right? maybe not on a river that flows as fast as the Mississippi that has the barge traffic. So, I want to compliment everybody who came up with this idea in the 70s, I'm sure, and then took it into the 80s to make it happen and sort of apologize that we can't make it work—but we can't. um you know doing a little bit of research on it. Uh facilities can last between what 50 to 100 years but there's so many factors involved and we're seeing those factors. Um we've had... is it a turbine that was out? I mean when something goes wrong and it's out the cost of getting someone out there to repair. So, I think the city and you as well as the rest of your team have done an excellent job in the research and the background and looking to see what can we do? Can we make this work? And when we're looking long-term, it doesn't work. We're not in the electric, you know, and we're not making enough electricity to, you know, to say, "let's stick with it. It's going to if we get to the other side." So, I want to say thank you for putting all of this together. For anyone who is listening and has no idea what we're talking about, don't panic. I've lived here for 57 years and just now realized what that little building out there was doing. And if you have questions, um don't call me. Um, but you know, it it was a good run and I really think it's an excellent idea to hand it over to somebody who can continue to take that vision and take that and make some clean energy out of it. So, thanks for your presentation, Ryan. I really appreciate all the time and effort. [1:17:24] Mayor Mary Fasbender: Thank you, Council Member Leifeld. Council member Vihrachoff. [1:17:29] Councilmember DawnMarie Vihrachoff: Thank you, your honor. Thank you, Council Member Leifeld. I could not agree more with all of your comments. Thank you, Ryan. Thanking staff that took us out there for that visit. It did feel like we were in the middle of like a Mission Impossible movie as you were teaching all those things to us and you know doing just a little bit of reading on my own as well. One of the things that I'm particularly grateful for is the mindfulness about the savings for city dollars of course going forward. This entity, this body has talked quite a bit about making sure that we are good fiscal stewards going into the future as well, even when this is not necessarily the group that's sitting up here and how that impacts our community for years to come. So, I feel like this decision does that. The other thing that I particularly appreciate is that I know that there's only about 2,200–2,300 hydroelectric plants that are actually active in the United States and with some of those closing down at a smaller rate over the years. I like that this is not necessarily that... that this is another option that a private entity can then pursue in case maybe there is some kind of you know great renaissance of the ability of hydroelectric plants. So I like that as an option too. again very much appreciate this information. You've taught me so much and I strongly encourage neighbors and residents to call on you if they have questions and not me or Council Member Leifeld. [1:18:50] Mayor Mary Fasbender: Thank you, Council Member Vihrachoff. Okay, no other questions and I would accept a motion to approve a resolution to the city council of city of Hastings of dispensing of the requirement of Minnesota statute 462.356 for the disposal of the hydro electric plant. Council member Pemble and a Council Member Leifeld second. Any new discussion council? All those in favor of the motion state by saying I. [1:19:25] All: I. [1:19:26] Mayor Mary Fasbender: Oppose that motion state by saying nay. And that motion prevails. Thank you, Ryan. We'll see you in the future. [1:19:33] Public Works Director Ryan Stempski: Future's coming real quick. [1:19:35] Mayor Mary Fasbender: Of course. Okay. Accept proposal and authorize work for the utility design on the highway 61 project. [1:19:49] Public Works Director Ryan Stempski: Yes. Uh thank you again mayor and members of the council. Next item jumping into another fun area of public works, trunk highways, right? Um so this is sort of the next piece that we've been discussing in Trunk Highway 61 reconstruction. We had lobbied for our utilities to be included with the MnDOT design early on in the process. I just think projects go better when you think of the entire corridor. Um, and you know, this is a 100-year old road in some sections. Our utilities are not far behind that, right? So, we have some aging facilities that need to be addressed in the corridor. In public works, it's always been if we have a problem in 61, don't worry, we'll get that when they reconstruct it. Right. So, we really have tried to hang on until MnDOT can bring in the majority of that restoration cost of a highway such as 61. So, this is the time we've asked those questions. Um, really those are our facilities. Uh our sanitary sewer system and our water system is underneath and crossing in several locations on 61. And so, MnDOT is not including those in the design. They don't do that. Um, we're told pretty strongly. And so we now are faced with reconstructing our utilities under 61 in coordination with the 61 project led by MnDOT. So what this is is a proposal from WSB in your packets that includes the preliminary design, alternatives analysis. It also includes the final design that works into the MnDOT standards that are required in a plan set and bidding packages. And then the last piece is the CMGC. So kind of a unique process in that MnDOT is currently this week actually interviewing contractors to bring on the team—hire that contractor now in the middle of design so that those decisions can be vetted through. So, it adds another step, another piece of coordination, but I think it's a good one for our Trunk Highway 61 project, trying to anticipate some of those problems that might happen in the field now and trying to make the project go a little more efficiently, think about things differently, challenge each other, and just when we're out there constructing um have an overall better project. So the utility design also will have to work into that CMGC process in my opinion probably more impactful because the utilities are 8 to 15 ft deep. So think of those trench systems that need to go in on design. Need to get that collaboration and those iterations back and forth um to get it right with that. Um all those fees together... the proposal is a $471,737 contract over the next few years to deliver in coordination with MnDOT's schedule. Um so our recommendation is to move forward with the proposed work so we can begin in January coordinating those efforts with MnDOT. With that, I'll stand for any questions. [1:23:09] Mayor Mary Fasbender: Thank you, Ryan. Council, any... Council member Beck? [1:23:11] Councilmember Mya Beck: I guess my only question is going to be—we can assume that MnDOT is going to start construction on Trunk Highway 61 in 2027? [1:23:21] Public Works Director Ryan Stempski: The bringing the CMGC contractor on board... the year that is planned in that process is 2028 for the mainline work. So 2028 for the mainline work. The challenge mostly to the contractor is what smaller bid packages could we let with the project? Maybe some of that's utilities, maybe that's Todd Field wall, um other location efforts—what smaller packages could be let in 2027 that might help the 2028 project go quicker and tie in accordingly? And so that's why it's kind of a tricky question, right? Like we don't know yet. We want to challenge the project and if we can get some work done that year in advance and we're ready, yes, there will be work in action in 2027, but the bulk of the mainline work again scheduled for 2028. Good question. [1:24:22] Councilmember Mya Beck: Thank you. [1:24:23] Mayor Mary Fasbender: Thank you, Council Member Beck. Council member Leifeld. [1:24:25] Councilmember Lisa Leifeld: Clarifying question to Council Member Beck. When you talk about the brunt of the mainline work, we're talking about the impact to the community and the actual construction of the project? [1:24:38] Public Works Director Ryan Stempski: I think that's a good way to put it. Yeah. The the the main corridor, so our regional traffic or those that use the trunk highway system, they'll feel the brunt of it in 2028. That's not to say if I'm the school district, I might feel the brunt of it when they're doing Todd Field wall if it's chosen to be done in 2027. If there's a frontage or a backage road system that we end up doing, um those business owners right around that system might feel that brunt a little bit earlier, right? If we do—if we pick off those sections just off mainline, but in those areas. So, it depends. [1:25:21] Councilmember Lisa Leifeld: But we won't see any construction happening prior to spring of 2027. [1:25:27] Public Works Director Ryan Stempski: Correct. [1:25:29] Councilmember Lisa Leifeld: Okay. Thank you, Ryan. [1:25:31] Mayor Mary Fasbender: Thank you, Council Member Leifeld. Council member Haus. [1:25:33] Councilmember Angie Haus: Thank you, your honor. Other question I have is whether if we start this contract now with WSB um and say that it gets pushed back say another two years by MnDOT does that affect us with this contract that we've already started with WSB and how does it affect us? [1:25:52] Public Works Director Ryan Stempski: I would say right now everything MnDOT is pushing for is the 2028 mainline construction work. So, this is us getting on on board and getting ready to deliver a complete project at that time. If the project did get delayed or pushed back for other reasons unknown at this time, um, if that were to occur, I would say it doesn't impact this contract because those plans would go on the shelf and they would be deployed when construction is decided upon. So, yep. [1:26:22] Councilmember Angie Haus: Thank you. [1:26:24] Mayor Mary Fasbender: Thank you, Council Member Haus. Any other discussion, council? If not, I would accept a motion to accept the proposal and authorize work by WSB for municipal utility design service on the Trunk Highway 61 reconstruction project. Council member Pemble and Council Member Lawrence a second. Any new discussion? All those in favor of the motion state by saying I. [1:26:52] All: I. [1:26:53] Mayor Mary Fasbender: Oppose that motion. State by saying nay. And that motion prevails. Council member, any announcements do you have? Okay, I do have a few. Visit this year's Hastings Holiday Lights Map on city website to take a tour of homes and businesses with outdoor lights and decorations. City offices will be closed December 25th and 26 in observance of Christmas and January 1 and 2nd for New Year's. Ever want to ice fish but don't have the equipment or the knowhow? Join in the Lake Rebecca on Saturday, January 10th. No license is needed under our DNR waiver for this event, but registration is required. Thank you to the support from Carpenter Nature Center, Dirt Bullies Landscaping, VFW Post 1210, Straken Hudson Fleet Farm, Hometown Ace Hardware, Get the Lead Out, and Volunteer Instructors. Recycle your old lights with the Hastings Holiday Lights Dropoff Collection. Residents can drop off their unwanted light strands at the joints maintenance facility, 920 10th Street West, during the holiday season from November 15th to January 31st. Meetings coming up: Tuesday, December 16th, the Heritage Preservation Commission meeting has been cancelled. Wednesday, December 17th, the Parks and Recreation Commission meeting has been cancelled. Thursday, December 18th, public safety advisory commission has been cancelled. Monday, December 22nd, the administration committee has been cancelled and the planning commission meeting has been cancelled. Parks and Recreation has been cancelled on Monday, December 29th. Monday, January 5th, city council workshop for art installation and 7 pm city council regular meeting. I'd like you to take note at the two photos in front of the dais. This was an Arts Heroes award that the city received last night—the city of Hastings along with the city of Prescott for our continuing development of arts in our community. So that was wonderful to be able to accept that. And the photo is from Andy Evanson with the photo of the city hall from Will Fritch and those were donated by those two artists. At this time I would ask for an adjournment. Motion for the adjournment. Council member Pemble and Council Member Vihrachoff is a second. No discussion. All those in favor of the motion state by saying I. [1:30:04] All: I. [1:30:05] Mayor Mary Fasbender: Oppose to that motion state by saying nay.