This transcript appears to be from a **White Bear Lake City Council** meeting (specifically April 27, 2021). I have corrected phonetic misspellings of names (e.g., "Mr. Copy" is Paul Kauppi, "Bean/Dean" is Councilmember Bill Hanley, "Jackios" is Jack Yost) and assigned speaker names based on the context of the dialogue. As the source text did not include timestamps, placeholders have been used to denote the start of each dialogue block. *** **[00:00:00] Mayor Jo Emerson:** Well, please take the roll. **[00:00:02] Clerk/Mayor Emerson:** Councilmembers: Edberg? **[00:00:03] Councilmember Kevin Edberg:** Here. **[00:00:04] Councilmember Bill Walsh:** Unmuting—here. **[00:00:05] Councilmember Steven Angstran:** Here. **[00:00:06] Councilmember Dan Jones:** I thought Dan was here... oh yeah, here. **[00:00:08] Mayor Jo Emerson:** So Mr. Jones isn’t in yet? Right here we go, he’s coming in. Okay, perfect. All right, well then let’s move on to approval of the minutes of the April 13, 2021 meeting. Are there any corrections to the minutes? **[00:00:15] Councilmember Bill Hanley:** Move approval. **[00:00:16] Councilmember Dan Jones:** I'll second. **[00:00:17] Mayor Jo Emerson:** Thank you. I have a motion and a second. Clerk will call the roll. **[00:00:20] Clerk:** Councilmembers: Hanley? **[00:00:21] Councilmember Bill Hanley:** Aye. **[00:00:22] Councilmember Bill Walsh:** Aye. **[00:00:23] Councilmember Steven Angstran:** Aye. **[00:00:24] Councilmember Kevin Edberg:** Aye. **[00:00:25] Councilmember Dan Jones:** Aye. **[00:00:26] Mayor Jo Emerson:** Thank you. Moving on to minutes of the council work session on April 20th, 2021. Again, any corrections? **[00:00:30] Councilmember Bill Walsh:** Move approval. **[00:00:31] Councilmember Dan Jones:** Second. **[00:00:32] Mayor Jo Emerson:** I have a motion and a second. The clerk will call the roll. **[00:00:34] Clerk:** Councilmembers: Walsh? **[00:00:35] Councilmember Bill Walsh:** Aye. **[00:00:36] Councilmember Steven Angstran:** Aye. **[00:00:37] Councilmember Kevin Edberg:** Aye. **[00:00:38] Councilmember Dan Jones:** Aye. **[00:00:39] Councilmember Bill Hanley:** Aye. **[00:00:40] Mayor Jo Emerson:** Thank you. Next is the approval of the agenda. Any additions or deletions to the agenda? **[00:00:45] Councilmember Kevin Edberg:** Madam Mayor? **[00:00:46] Mayor Jo Emerson:** Yes, Councilmember Edberg. **[00:00:47] Councilmember Kevin Edberg:** Thank you. Um, if the first item on the consent agenda includes approval of the audit as a part of the comprehensive plan, I would like to remove it from the consent agenda and make it its own special item, please. **[00:00:55] Mayor Jo Emerson:** Okay. All right. Anybody—everybody okay with that? **[00:01:00] Councilmembers:** Yes. Yes. **[00:01:02] Mayor Jo Emerson:** Okay. We will make that... I guess we’ll make it under new business. We’ll make it 9c. All right, so do I have a motion to accept the agenda? **[00:01:08] Councilmember Kevin Edberg:** Edberg moves. **[00:01:10] Mayor Jo Emerson:** I have a motion and a second. Clerk will call the roll. **[00:01:12] Clerk:** Councilmembers: Edberg? **[00:01:13] Councilmember Kevin Edberg:** Aye. **[00:01:14] Councilmember Steven Angstran:** Aye. **[00:01:15] Councilmember Bill Hanley:** Aye. **[00:01:16] Councilmember Dan Jones:** Aye. **[00:01:17] Councilmember Bill Walsh:** Aye. **[00:01:18] Mayor Jo Emerson:** Thank you. Moving on to visitors and presentations. 4a is the Friends of Jack Yost Park and the Adopt-a-Park program. And before we start: who was Jack Yost? So, I found out that he's a 30-year veteran of the White Bear Lake Fire Department. He served from 1941 to 1971. He's best remembered for his work that led the department to include a rescue squad or an EMT unit. His impact on the department was significant. He created many tools and methods to improve the department's ability to save lives. He was a well-respected authority on the issues related to EMS and was often asked to speak on this, and one of the early versions of the Jaws of Life was crafted by him. I thought that was an interesting piece, and I can take no credit for this information—Sarah Hansen from the Historical Society provided me with these details, which I thought we should talk about him before we talk about the park. And now, moving into the... there's an Adopt-a-Park program, and for the last two years the YMCA Youth and Government has adopted Lakewood Hills Park. And this year we have a young man from Lincoln School; he's in fourth grade over there and he’s in their exploration program. His name is Henrik. And he decided—he was concerned when the trees were gone that he should... so they called to find out what was going on, and Andy Wotecki from the Parks Department talked to him about this. And this young man adopted Yost Park. I suspect he's got a little help from the parents, but I could be wrong. So anyway, I'd like to introduce him. I have a couple of questions if I can ask you. Is that okay? So, you know, I understand you created a spreadsheet to track the work you're doing, is that correct? **[00:02:40] Henrik:** Yes. **[00:02:41] Mayor Jo Emerson:** Wow, now this is dedication! And so, why did you want to adopt a park? **[00:02:45] Henrik:** It was mostly because we wanted to help out with the trees being replanted and just general... oh, we spent a lot of time in that place. **[00:02:50] Parent (Henrik's Mother):** Yeah, we can see the park from our house. We spend a lot of time there. We skate there in the winter. We are over there... yeah, it's our park and we feel a real connection to it. And we know it's well-loved and well-used and we want to do something to contribute. **[00:03:05] Mayor Jo Emerson:** Yeah, well I noticed one thing. I know because Serenity Care Center sits across the street from the park, it's well-used by the residents and their families; they have picnics, they take walks there, etc. So the fact that you want to make it even better is really appreciated. That's a great thing. Would you recommend that other people adopt some of our parks in the city? Do you think this is a good program? **[00:03:20] Henrik:** Yeah, I think it's really helpful to the community and it's just fun. **[00:03:25] Mayor Jo Emerson:** Good, I love it. I just want to thank you for doing that. I want to highlight what some of our citizens are doing in town—some of our younger citizens. And here's some pictures of what they've been doing. So, Serenity was part of the reason we picked... Henrik can tell you what the first two projects we did, but it was chosen partially because of Serenity. We know people walk over there and sometimes are pushed in wheelchairs. What can you tell them what we did? **[00:03:45] Henrik:** Yeah, the first project we removed sand and dirt from the side on one of the paths and kind of cleaned that up. And our second cleanup was towards the back of the part. We brushed off some sticks, dirt, or a bit of sand and kind of cleaned that back area up a little bit too. **[00:04:00] Parent (Henrik's Mother):** So we want one beautiful year for people to walk and push wheelchairs and strollers on the pathway. **[00:04:05] Mayor Jo Emerson:** Yeah, that’s wonderful that you’ve done that. I mean, and you know, and as I'm sure you've been told, eventually we will get trees into the ones we took out because those trees were diseased. And so we will be planting new trees, so you'll be a part of that when we're ready to put the trees in. So we sure for sure want you there. So is there anything else you'd like to tell me, or does the Council have any questions for this nice young man? **[00:04:25] Councilmember Kevin Edberg:** Yes, I just would like to send my note of appreciation also. I don't have any questions, but my note of appreciation is very sincere. It's amazing what young people can do when they set their mind to it, isn't it? This is pretty nice. **[00:04:35] Mayor Jo Emerson:** So Henrik, we thank you so much and we thank your parents for helping you achieve this and we look forward to talking to you again on another date. And thanks again. Thanks for inviting us. Bye! **[00:04:45] Mayor Jo Emerson:** So, regarding that program, if anybody wants to do it, all you have to do is go to the City's website and search for the Adopt-a-Park program. The application is on there and I would encourage people to take a look at it because it's a good program and we'd love to have your help. So with that, we will move on to item 4b on our agenda. This is the Auditor's Report of 2020. So we have Brad Falck here to talk to us about that. So Brad, are you here? **[00:05:15] Brad Falck (Auditor):** There we go, I am. I was trying to unmute. **[00:05:17] Mayor Jo Emerson:** Hello! Kerri, did you want to say anything ahead of time? **[00:05:20] Kerri Kindsvater (Finance Director):** No. **[00:05:21] Mayor Jo Emerson:** Okay, you're good. **[00:05:22] Brad Falck:** Well, that’s quite a headliner that I get to follow up! I don’t think I’ll be quite as exciting—that was pretty cool. But so is the audit, so here we go. So I am here to present the audit of 2020 financial statements... *(Presentation of Audit Details follows regarding unmodified opinion, internal controls, Single Audit of federal funds/CARES Act, and state statutes).* Any questions on any of those or on the Single Audit? It's something new that you don't typically see. **[00:07:30] Councilmember Kevin Edberg:** Yes. Mr. Falck, would you prefer questions on those reports now or later after you've made the larger audit presentation? **[00:07:35] Brad Falck:** Sure, on the reports themselves we certainly can take those now. **[00:07:40] Councilmember Kevin Edberg:** All right, so I do have a question from the Single Audit report. We handled approximately 1.9—well, 1.9 in CARES and then some CDBG and some HUD funding and so forth. It's something over 2 million. I noticed one line in there that said that the City opted not to take its the de minimis 10% indirect cost charge that the federal government allows for grant administration. Do I interpret that to say we could have taken about another $200,000, which would have reduced our program expenditures but would have compensated the City for our time in administration, but we chose not to do that? Am I reading that correctly? **[00:08:15] Brad Falck:** You used all your money for direct expenses. Yes. **[00:08:20] Councilmember Kevin Edberg:** Thank you. **[00:08:22] Brad Falck:** Anyone else? *(Continues presentation through financial results, general fund balances, enterprise funds, water and sewer receipts, and peer city comparisons).* Well, that’s all I had. I’ll take any more questions. **[00:15:30] Councilmember Bill Walsh:** Thank you, Madam Mayor. Just a general question, not even about our audit. So our audit is great—no issues, congratulations, good for us. What as I sit here as a City Councilmember... you read the paper, you know that some city ended up with a huge problem that they didn't know about... if I was a council member, what did I miss? I mean, do you have other clients, or a city that went wrong? Where did it go wrong? What antenna should we have up? **[00:16:00] Brad Falck:** Yeah, I think one of the things that is going to bring you to your debt. I think some cities don't realize when they're approving and issuing debt what the long-term effects of that are going to be. I think a lot of cities—well, all cities are presented how debt is going to affect their tax rates, but I don't think it always resonates with Council until it's time to increase that levy to support that debt. Pay attention to if you see your enterprise funds, like your water and sewer funds especially, if you see year-after-year declines in your cash balances. Sometimes those aren't corrected soon enough. **[00:17:30] Councilmember Kevin Edberg:** Thank you, Madam Mayor. I have one comment, three questions, and then just one response to Mr. Walsh. So, a nearby North Ramsey County community got in trouble because they borrowed money and issued bonds and didn't realize that the City was obligated to take on the debt when that project—which is a very large recreational facility—went under. I would call that incompetence, but that would be one place where not paying attention to who is obligated to pay debt would be one example. Mr. Falck, it seems that in my reading that there's a slightly different format this year... I actually appreciated the older format. Could you give us just a quick summary—are the fund balances sufficient in all cases? **[00:18:30] Brad Falck:** I wouldn't say probably in all cases... but we did change the presentation more to the graphical format. Your cash balances are fairly stable in these funds. These funds are doing well at the moment. **[00:19:30] Councilmember Kevin Edberg:** Thank you, that gives me what I need to know. Then talking about debt financing—we had about $16 million in borrowed funds a year ago. We added three, which brings us to 19. I wasn't clear on there was a statement about a state limit... could you clarify where our debt stands relative to state-mandated caps? **[00:19:55] Brad Falck:** Sure. The state says you can't issue more debt than 3% of the market value within the city. That 3% limit only applies if your debt is paid entirely from a tax levy. That’s where that $98 million limit comes from. You only have $3 million of your $18-19 million that's not being supported by another source. **[00:20:30] Councilmember Kevin Edberg:** So then the interpretation is we don't have any issues with any state-mandated caps. We are way, way, way below. Thank you very much. **[00:20:45] Mayor Jo Emerson:** Any of the other Council have questions? If not, I think we can owe a great debt of gratitude to our finance department once again. Thank you so much for being with us tonight, Brad. **[00:21:05] Brad Falck:** I just like to say thanks to Kerri and her staff too. Thank you. Have a good night. **[00:21:15] Mayor Jo Emerson:** All right. We will move on to 4c. Connie Tarrant from our Engineering Department is going to bring up the Storm Water Pollution Prevention Program. **[00:21:25] Connie Tarrant (Engineer):** Thank you, Madam Mayor and Councilmembers. *(Presents overview of MS4 general permit, impaired waters, and phosphorus loading targets for East Goose Lake).* Are there any questions? **[00:28:10] Councilmember Kevin Edberg:** Thank you, Connie. When will Council—let me ask it this way—we have a range of control options we could initiate. When will we be seeing those, and are those staff decisions or Council decisions? **[00:28:30] Connie Tarrant:** Madam Mayor, Councilmember Edberg, are you talking specifically about East Goose Lake? Vlamo and the City are partnering right now on the adaptive management plan. Currently, the only step we're taking is community engagement. You will be hearing a report from Vlamo soon on that. **[00:29:10] Mayor Jo Emerson:** Council, any other questions? Well, if not, once again, thank you for presenting this tonight. With that, thank you, Connie. **[00:29:20] Connie Tarrant:** Yes, thank you. Have a good evening. **[00:29:25] Mayor Jo Emerson:** All right. We’ll be moving on to Land Use, 6a, the consent agenda. **[00:29:30] Councilmember Dan Jones:** Move to approve, Madam Mayor. **[00:029:32] Councilmember Bill Walsh:** Second. **[00:29:34] Mayor Jo Emerson:** Motion and a second. Clerk will call the roll. **[00:29:36] Clerk:** Councilmembers: Hanley? Aye. Jones? Aye. Angstran? Aye. Walsh? Aye. Edberg? Aye. **[00:29:45] Mayor Jo Emerson:** Thank you. Moving on to ordinances, second reading of the Critical Water Deficiency Ordinance. Mr. Kauppi, I guess this one's yours. **[00:29:55] Paul Kauppi (Public Works Director):** Yes, Madam Mayor, members of the Council. This is the final requirement for our water supply plan to be approved by the DNR... *(Explains the state mandate for water conservation and deficiency ordinances).* I'd be happy to answer any questions. **[00:31:30] Councilmember Bill Hanley:** Madam Mayor, I do have a question. I don't know if it'd be for Mr. Kauppi or for the Attorney, but item one mentions "non-agricultural land." I wanted to confirm that if a resident of ours was growing food for their personal consumption, that would be considered agricultural? **[00:31:50] Troy Gilchrist (City Attorney):** Madam Mayor, if you're talking about a backyard garden, that wouldn't in my mind constitute agricultural land. I think the idea of this is truly meant to be farmland. **[00:32:05] Councilmember Bill Hanley:** Then I must say that I would have a problem with this ordinance then, because I think if someone is growing their own food, we should not be able to restrict them from maintaining that. **[00:32:15] Paul Kauppi:** Madam Mayor, members of the Council, as we had stated at the first reading, this would take a Governor's order and would be an extremely dire case. It’s really looking at life safety and sanitary conditions. **[00:32:30] Councilmember Dan Jones:** My question is, do we have a choice? Is it really a state thing? The smell of state regulation is that it doesn't matter anyway. **[00:32:45] Councilmember Bill Hanley:** I agree with Councilmember Jones. I mean, if it's that dire and I'm trying to grow my own food, I've got other problems. **[00:33:05] Mayor Jo Emerson:** But this would have to be like the Dust Bowl, wouldn't it? **[00:33:15] Ellen Heineker (City Manager):** Madam Mayor, I'd like to also add that in such a circumstance we would be looking at our ability to have certain pressures just for water to drink and also water for fire safety. **[00:33:40] Troy Gilchrist:** Madam Mayor and Council, looking at the statute, this is a mandate. But looking at the language, it says the restrictions must limit lawn sprinkling and other "non-essential uses." We could look at adding language to carve out food gardens as an essential use. **[00:34:30] Councilmember Bill Hanley:** I would prefer to do that. **[00:34:45] Paul Kauppi:** We are under the guideline to adopt this by the end of April. **[00:35:10] Troy Gilchrist:** I'm scrambling here to come up with some language. On subdivision 5a, we could add: "This prohibition does not apply to vegetable gardens used primarily to provide food for personal use." **[00:35:50] Councilmember Bill Walsh:** What's a garden? If I grow some carrots and tomatoes, that's my garden. I don't agree with the amendment. If there’s a water emergency, everybody’s got to stop. **[00:36:20] Councilmember Bill Hanley:** I would like to leave the language as is with an exception for the growing of fruits and vegetables. That's my amendment. **[00:36:30] Councilmember Dan Jones:** Second. **[00:36:40] Mayor Jo Emerson:** Clerk will call the roll on the amendment. *(Amendment passes 4-1 with Walsh dissenting).* Now, do I have a motion to approve the ordinance as amended? **[00:37:10] Councilmember Steven Angstran:** So moved. **[00:37:12] Councilmember Kevin Edberg:** Second. **[00:37:20] Councilmember Dan Jones:** Let’s add this to our legislative list and investigate it. This is dumb. **[00:37:45] Mayor Jo Emerson:** Clerk will call the roll. *(Ordinance passes).* **[00:38:30] Mayor Jo Emerson:** Moving on to New Business 9a. Resolution accepting bids for the 2021 Water Meter Replacement Project. Mr. Kauppi. **[00:38:40] Paul Kauppi:** The City began this in 2016. S.L. Serco told us they are getting out of the meter reading business. Bids came in much lower than our original estimates—about $1.7 million. We have $2.5 million budgeted. **[00:40:00] Ellen Heineker:** We recommend providing the opportunity for businesses to pay off commercial meters over a longer period by rolling that into the bond. We recommend moving forward with the issuance of a $2.5 million bond. **[00:41:00] Councilmember Bill Walsh:** Why the heck don’t we pay for the water meter project with the federal CARES/ARPA money? Water infrastructure was allowed. Why wouldn't we just wait? **[00:42:30] Ellen Heineker:** I would caution us to make a decision to use those funds at this time. We don’t have the final guidelines from the Treasury yet. **[00:43:30] Paul Kauppi:** S.L. Serco really wants to get out of the business by the end of 2021. The quicker we can get moving, the better. **[00:44:20] Councilmember Kevin Edberg:** Give me a range—what are we talking about for a likely interest rate? **[00:44:30] Kerri Kindsvater:** About 1.5%. **[00:44:45] Councilmember Kevin Edberg:** My sense is keep the same amount, issue it, and let’s go forward. **[00:45:30] Councilmember Bill Walsh:** My point is if we don't have to borrow, let's do cash. Are we committing by Friday? **[00:46:50] Mayor Jo Emerson:** We’ve awarded the bid, we’re going to go forward with the bonding, and then we will have a discussion when the federal money comes in. Does that work for everybody? *(Council agrees).* **[00:47:30] Mayor Jo Emerson:** Moving on to item 9b, demolition of the de-liming facility. Mr. Kauppi. **[00:47:40] Paul Kauppi:** For many years the City used a de-liming lagoon. We now truck that lime to St. Paul. This building is too short to be usable for storage. Staff recommends a contract to CMBR in the amount of $33,800 for demolition. **[00:49:15] Councilmember Bill Walsh:** Move approval. I’m glad we’re getting rid of that. It’s not a proud building. **[00:49:30] Councilmember Kevin Edberg:** Second. *(Motion passes).* **[00:50:00] Mayor Jo Emerson:** New 9c, the 2020 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report. Mr. Edberg. **[00:50:15] Councilmember Kevin Edberg:** I am not a fan of combining an independent audit with a city-issued comprehensive report. They have two different authors. Also, the independent auditor's report should be acted on separately. **[00:51:30] Mayor Jo Emerson:** Clerk will call the roll on the resolution accepting the City’s comprehensive report. *(Motion passes).* Now, Councilmember Edberg, you want a separate resolution for the Auditor's Report? **[00:52:15] Councilmember Kevin Edberg:** Yes. I’ll move the resolution accepting the independent auditor's report. **[00:52:20] Councilmember Bill Walsh:** Second. *(Motion passes).* **[00:53:00] Mayor Jo Emerson:** Moving on to the consent agenda. **[00:53:10] Councilmember Dan Jones:** Move to approve. **[00:53:15] Councilmember Bill Hanley:** Second. *(Motion passes).* **[00:54:00] Mayor Jo Emerson:** Discussion on in-person meetings. Ms. Heineker. **[00:54:15] Ellen Heineker:** This is our first attempt to play with the mixed media in our chambers. We could do a hybrid format. With the mask requirement in place, Council would be asked to wear masks unless speaking. **[00:55:10] Troy Gilchrist:** Right now you're operating pursuant to the Mayor's written statement on electronic meetings. You can come back to chambers and still remain in an electronic format. But if you revoke that statement, you all have to be in chambers. **[00:56:00] Councilmember Dan Jones:** Until Walz lifts the restrictions, I don't want to wear a mask. I want to see the reaction when Councilmember Edberg gets frustrated with me. Those are my points for staying with Zoom. **[00:57:00] Councilmember Bill Hanley:** I know I brought this up, but I was not considering the mask issue. I probably would personally choose to Zoom in myself. **[00:57:30] Councilmember Kevin Edberg:** My vaccination kicked in Saturday, but I can feel good about that in my basement or in the chambers. I'll go with the majority. **[00:58:15] Mayor Jo Emerson:** I think we’ll just continue to watch the trends and be ready to change if it works. **[00:59:30] Ellen Heineker:** *(Provides updates on Welcoming and Inclusive Community task force, Housing task force, and the Autonomous Vehicle pilot project shuttle).* **[01:03:00] Paul Kauppi:** One last thing, we had several Earth Day cleanups. Rotary, Lions, and other groups picked up dozens of bags of trash. Also, the boat sculpture should be reinstalled along Highway 61 tomorrow. **[01:04:15] Councilmember Dan Jones:** Move to adjourn. **[01:04:17] Councilmember Bill Walsh:** Second. **[01:04:20] Mayor Jo Emerson:** Clerk will call the roll. We are adjourned. Thank you all very much. Good night.