Based on the context provided and the dialogue within the transcript, here is the formatted version with speaker names assigned. [0:00] **Wayne Boucher:** Let's uh stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Roll call, please. [0:21] **Alissa McClure:** Councilor Jones? [Jones: Here] Geissler? [Geissler: Here] Hjelle? [Hjelle: Here] LeBlanc? [LeBlanc: Here] Mayor Boucher? [Boucher: Here] [0:31] **Wayne Boucher:** Announcements. Do any councilors have announcements this evening? Not tonight. Um, I would like to congratulate The Mirage on their Section 7A championship and their trip to State. [0:46] **Wayne Boucher:** Uh, they left about a half an hour ago to head to St. Paul and wish them the best of luck. They play on Saturday afternoon. Um, we have no public hearings—oh yes we do, we have a public comment period on revisions to the use of body-worn camera policy. Mr. Mulder? [1:02] **John Mulder:** So we are revising the body-worn camera policy. Statutes require that we have a public comment period. We've had it up on our website and we've advertised that so um, now is the time for the citizens to comment on our revised body-worn policy. We instituted this back in May of last year when we first had the cops wear cameras, and so now— [1:34] **John Mulder:** —we instituted a policy at that point in time. Now that we've had it for eight months and we've seen how it worked and the different changes we've made, we've made some revisions for that to make it work better. [1:47] **Wayne Boucher:** Thank you. Is there any public input on the city's changes in the revisions for the use of body-worn cameras? If so, please state your name and address. Any public comments on the revisions to the use of body-worn camera policy by the police department? [2:13] **Wayne Boucher:** And last opportunity for public comment on revisions to the use of body-worn cameras. We will close the public comment period and move to Communications, none of which have been highlighted this evening. We do have a presentation under item seven: Proposed Spongy Moth Treatment Outreach. Joe, someone is online for that presentation? [2:41] **Joe Wicklund:** Well, let me get Danielle DeVito set up here and she can share her screen. [2:46] **Wayne Boucher:** Sounds good. [2:48] **Danielle DeVito:** Hello Council, thanks for having me. Sorry I wasn't able to be there in person tonight, but I've been under the weather from a hockey tournament this past weekend and uh, good thing— [2:58] **Danielle DeVito:** —because the weather down here is not so great so good luck to your team getting down south to the cities because it's crazy. We already canceled school the next two days. But anyways, let me share my screen here um about our proposed spongy moth treatments. Can you see my screen? [3:25] **Wayne Boucher:** Not yet. [3:27] **Danielle DeVito:** Not yet? We're waiting for the man behind the curtain to change things. Sure. There we are. [3:35] **Wayne Boucher:** We're getting it. There we are. [3:39] **Danielle DeVito:** See my presentation or my face? [3:41] **Wayne Boucher:** Your face. [3:42] **Danielle DeVito:** Oh, I told it to share my screen. Um, oh let me click over to another website. I don't typically use—how about now? [3:53] **Wayne Boucher:** I don't typically use Zoom, I'm more of a... there we go. Now we have a... looks like a PowerPoint presentation. [3:58] **Danielle DeVito:** Yeah, absolutely it is. So my name is Danielle and I am the human coordinator and regulatory coordinator for the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. I oversee a lot of our logging, our invasive pests, our firewood projects, and so I wanted to present to the Council today a proposed spongy moth treatment for this coming year. Um, I'm going to cover a couple items on this presentation here real quick. I want some spongy moth background, our management... and oh, that did not get updated, I apologize. I have Carlton County on there but it's Carlton and St. Louis County that are kind of overlapping with their treatments, so that's my error. Let's start with the spongy moth. This is the spongy moth; the female— [4:32] **Danielle DeVito:** —is the white one, the brown one is the male. Scientific name is *Lymantria dispar*. The reason we care about this pest is it is a tree defoliator that is federally regulated and over the lifespan, when these are caterpillars, they can eat a cubic foot of leaves. Take a square box, and one caterpillar can eat that many leaves. So that's one of the reasons we're so concerned about this pest. The egg masses multiply by the thousand, so each egg mass can have up to a thousand caterpillars and this is when they're just hatching out. I like to put in reference: they would be about the size of if you were trimming your pinky fingernail—that's how small they are. And they get up to the size of like your pointer finger. So they grow up really fast and eat a lot, so they're eating a lot of leaves and cause a lot of defoliation. [5:18] **Danielle DeVito:** So other parts of the nuisance, not only are they stressing trees because they're eating the leaves off of them, is health concerns. So we have a picture of a deck and there's frass. So if you have a beautiful tree hanging over your deck and there's spongy moth in there, the caterpillars are feeding, well they're going to produce a lot of frass—leaf debris—all over. Property values: there's some caterpillars right there, lots of stress on trees year after year could cause death to trees. Also a nuisance: you look at the little garden gnome, when we have outbreaks and high populations, there's going to be caterpillars everywhere. And then also quarantines impact the tax industry as well. So those are some of our main concerns with this pest. The spongy moth— [6:04] **Danielle DeVito:** —is also regulated um it's by the federal level. If we look at this map, everything in the blue color is areas that are quarantined and then we have that light green kind of along that western edge, that's our action area. So this project, when we work on spongy moth, is a federal thing. We work in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, each individual Department of Ag for all of these states, we work with the DNR. It's this huge big project that we all cooperatively work together and so the action area—that green area—is where we actively are trying to slow down the spread of this pest across the United States. Um, one of the things that we use to find that is our early detection survey. You— [6:50] **Danielle DeVito:** —may have seen that little brown triangle picture; that is one of our detection traps. We place approximately 20,000 of them across Minnesota. If you could draw the border of Minnesota and draw a line north to south, that whole eastern half of Minnesota is trapped on a grid. So you may have seen them; it's about every mile and a half or so as a grid that you would see these. There's a pheromone strip in there and it only is going to attract the males. Those are set in your area about June, they're checked in the middle of the summer, and then they're again removed about October. And we check these and count how many moths we catch across the state. And that whole zone on that former map, the green one is our milk carton trap. Those are trapped in really high density areas or— [7:35] **Danielle DeVito:** —high populations of the insect, not people. Uh, you might see those in Lake or Cook County with some higher numbers up in that area. Here is a quick grab of our trapping results from last year. On the left-hand side you can see the map; the colors, the brighter they are, the more insects we caught. There's some light gray down in the central part of the state, those would be areas that were trapped and we did not detect any moths in those. But you can really see Lake and Cook and St. Louis County and into Carlton County um some bright red dots. On the right-hand side I kind of zoomed in; I have Carlton County and you can see St. Louis County. So last year in those 20,000 traps we got about a hundred thousand moths. We had a really high— [8:20] **Danielle DeVito:** —increase in St. Louis County, just shy of 20,000 moths that were caught in that area. So when all of these are caught, we start to evaluate specific areas and propose some projects and some outreach and some treatments for these areas, and some areas are going to be higher tracks the following year as well. For this year, for 2023, the Department of Ag is proposing four different treatment blocks. You can see that we have Duluth East, Duluth West, Midway, and Holyoke. Duluth West is a treatment block that is over your city. So we have roughly 7,300 acres that are being proposed. I'm going to zoom in on that map too. [9:06] **Danielle DeVito:** Um, zoomed in a little bit farther and you see that, and then we're going to zoom in on each of those areas as well. Uh, this is the Duluth East block, it's all very urban, covers over the university in St. Scholastica. And then here's where you're probably curious as it goes over Hermantown. If we look at this, there is 8,800 parcels—now that's not mailing addresses, um, that's how many parcels it is—and that 7,300 acres. It has Duluth, Proctor, and Hermantown. So I've presented to all groups that are interested, any of the foresters as well as the county people. So you can see that map in that area of where we're proposing these treatments. [9:51] **Danielle DeVito:** Um, and there's the other one that's quite a bit more rural, we're naming that Midway. So what you can do and see if you're in some of these proposed areas is the Department of Ag, we operate on an interactive map. You can go onto this webpage, punch in your address, and you'll know how far out or if you are within one of these proposed areas as well. So that's on there, it'll zoom you right in; you can zoom out and move around as well. So with our Slow the Spread plan and this mating disruption treatment that I discussed we're proposing here, it occurs with these aircraft. There's a picture of one on there, that's an Air Tractor. There's one application; it's 26,000 acres for all of those four blocks. These applications occur during the— [10:37] **Danielle DeVito:** —daylight and we're looking at mid-July right now. I can't propose an exact date as these treatments start all the way down in North Carolina and they follow that map I showed of the United States all the way up. We also... they're very weather dependent and depend on how the insect is developing. So if we have a cold spring it's going to be a little later; if we have a warm spring there's a potential for earlier. So we really just put that mid-July time frame on this. Uh, the product that we use is proposed under... is SPLAT GM-O. This is a certified organic product; it's made with all food-grade things. It's non-toxic, it has no non-target species either, and it's not something that actually um kills an insect. We use it—it's a— [11:23] **Danielle DeVito:** —synthetic pheromone. So basically when we apply it, it puts a scent over the area that smells like the female moth, which in turn confuses the male moths. Because it's the end of their life cycle then they will die um before they can mate. So that really suppresses that population, so that's why we call that a mating disruption treatment. Um, what we do to notify all the public and inform everybody that this is going to occur: in your packet there's a one-page... you can see postage in the top corner, that's the front and the back of our postcard. So we mail out an informational postcard to everybody that lives within these treatment areas and those citizens might start getting those in the mailbox today; they were starting— [12:08] **Danielle DeVito:** —to be sent last week. So everyone's going to get that postcard that lives within us and hey, this is what we're proposing um this is a little bit about spongy moth and then also invite the public to an informational meeting. This year we're doing one in-person meeting, it's going to be in Duluth at the City Council—or the City Hall—on the 7th. And then also I'm going to host two virtual meetings, and I'm doing one at 10:00 AM and one at 6:30 PM. So whatever works with people, I try to give two timeframes so people have multiple ways to attend these informational meetings. Legal notice is going to be in the paper. Along with this, you probably should have received an email from me that, in red, might have said "Internal Use"— [12:55] **Danielle DeVito:** —um I work with all our hospitals, our law enforcement, and I keep a really long email list. So I notify all local government units of all the steps along the way during this process. Something else for our citizens is there's email and text notifications. You can go right onto our webpage and put in your phone number or your email if you want texts that say "Hey, there's going to be a meeting," "Hey, treatments are going to start on Monday," "They started," and then "We're done." So you can get those kind of notifications. The Department of Ag also has a "Report a Pest" hotline and um while we are during operations and doing those treatments, we actually have that staffed with a person, so if somebody calls that they immediately get somebody to talk to as well. Um, all of these projects are done with— [13:42] **Danielle DeVito:** —the Forest Service and USDA. We're currently undergoing a review and writing the environmental assessment, so these all fall under the EIS. So there is a public comment period once we put that draft out um before that is signed, and so people do have time to comment on that. So with that, I quickly tried to run through it. They told me 10 minutes and I don't want to take up too much of your time but um I did want to share all that information with you. Now if I can figure out how to stop sharing my screen... does anyone have any questions for me? [14:24] **Wayne Boucher:** Any questions from Council? Danielle, thank you for your presentation and your time. [14:26] **Danielle DeVito:** Yeah, thank you. [14:27] **Joe Wicklund:** Danielle, give me the host ability back before you leave. [14:29] **Danielle DeVito:** Oh, all right let's see. Share screen... one participant... I apologize I don't normally use this. How do... maybe "More" on the... [14:48] **Joe Wicklund:** On the little ellipse yeah that you'll see on either one of the City of Hermantown folks. You can kind of click in the upper right-hand corner. [14:57] **Danielle DeVito:** Oh, I see it. Yep. "Make Host." Oh, there we go. Perfect. [15:02] **Joe Wicklund:** Host. Thank you. [15:04] **Danielle DeVito:** Yeah, welcome. Thanks for your time. Um, if you don't want to receive any more of those emails or anything or you want to contact me, feel free to reach out. Thank you. [15:13] **Wayne Boucher:** Mr. Mulder, at our pre-agenda meeting we had a preliminary fourth-quarter Financial presentation by the Finance Director. You have a short synopsis of that? [15:23] **John Mulder:** Sure. It just showed um where each of the general fund uh budgets were at um at the year-end. And there's, as every quarter, we show um how much money we have in the bank at various investments, um cash things like that, how they're separated by funds and then where they're being held and how they're being invested. [15:47] **Wayne Boucher:** Thank you. And next is public discussion. Does anyone have anything they wish to discuss with the Council? If so, please state your name and address. [16:00] **Wayne Boucher:** Is there anyone that wishes to discuss anything with the Council? Public input or questions, comments, or concerns? [16:14] **Wayne Boucher:** Last opportunity for general public discussion. Uh, we'll close public discussion and move to motions. A motion to approve the following new massage licenses effective February 22nd, 2023, through December 31st, 2023, contingent upon complete applications being received, successful background checks, and licenses paid in full: The Well—Todd Grondahl, and The Well—Grace Leader. Do we have a motion? [16:47] **Andy Hjelle:** Make a motion to approve. [16:48] **Wayne Boucher:** Motion by Councilor Hjelle. Do we have a second? [16:49] **Councilor Jones:** Second. [16:50] **Wayne Boucher:** Second by Councilor Jones. Mr. Mulder? [16:51] **John Mulder:** Um, as you recall um we license both the establishment, The Well, which we have previously approved, and then we also subsequently license every massage therapist. Um, so these are two new ones that we have not previously licensed so we're adding that to the list. [17:21] **Wayne Boucher:** Thank you. Any questions or comments from Council? I think not. Is there any public input on this motion? [17:27] **Wayne Boucher:** Anyone from the public wishes to address this motion, please state your name and address. And last opportunity for public input on this motion. Roll call please. [17:59] **Alissa McClure:** Councilor Jones? [Jones: Aye] Geisler? [Geisler: Aye] Hjelle? [Hjelle: Aye] LeBlanc? [LeBlanc: Aye] Mayor Boucher? [Boucher: Aye] [18:05] **Wayne Boucher:** Consent agenda, which includes the minutes from the previous city council meeting and accounts payable. Do I have a motion? [18:10] **Brian LeBlanc:** Motion to approve. [18:11] **John Geisler:** Second. [18:12] **Wayne Boucher:** Motion by Councilor LeBlanc, second by Councilor Geisler. Roll call please. [18:17] **Alissa McClure:** Councilor Geisler? [Geisler: Aye] Hjelle? [Hjelle: Aye] LeBlanc? [LeBlanc: Aye] Jones? [Jones: Aye] Mayor? [Boucher: Aye] [18:24] **Wayne Boucher:** You have no ordinances this evening. And resolutions: Resolution 2023-19, Resolution approving modification to the City's use of body-worn cameras policy. Do we have a motion? [18:36] **John Geisler:** Motion to approve. [18:37] **Brian LeBlanc:** Seconded. [18:38] **Wayne Boucher:** Motion by Councilor Geisler, second by Councilor LeBlanc. Mr. Mulder? [18:41] **John Mulder:** As I said previously um we had a body-worn camera policy um take effect back in May when we um deployed the body-worn cameras for our police officers and since then we've made some changes to that, so that's the revised policy here. [18:59] **Wayne Boucher:** Thank you. Any questions or comments from Council? Hearing none. Is there any public input on this resolution? [19:09] **Wayne Boucher:** Is there any public input on Resolution 2023-19? [19:20] **Wayne Boucher:** Is there any public input on the resolution approving modifications to the use of body-worn cameras policy? Roll call please. [19:28] **Alissa McClure:** Councilor Hjelle? [Hjelle: Aye] LeBlanc? [LeBlanc: Aye] Jones? [Jones: Aye] Geisler? [Geisler: Aye] Mayor Boucher? [Boucher: Aye] [19:35] **Wayne Boucher:** Resolution 2023-20, Resolution approving modifications to the citizen complaint policy and procedures regarding officer misconduct for the Hermantown Police Department. Do we have a motion? [19:47] **Andy Hjelle:** Make motion to approve. [19:48] **John Geisler:** I'll second. [19:49] **Wayne Boucher:** Motion by Councilor Hjelle, second by Councilor Geisler. Mr. Mulder? [19:54] **John Mulder:** So we've had the citizen complaint policy dating back to 2004 um and so we've updated that to just how we accept complaints, um the procedures for doing the investigation and getting back to the residents, and then just how we process those. So we're just updating that policy from almost 20 years ago. [20:18] **Wayne Boucher:** Thank you. Do we have any questions or comments from Council? Is there any public input on Resolution 2023-20? [20:37] **Wayne Boucher:** Is there any public input on this resolution? Last opportunity for public input on the modifications to the citizen complaint policy for the Hermantown Police Department. Roll call please. [20:53] **Alissa McClure:** Jones? [Jones: Aye] Geisler? [Geisler: Aye] Hjelle? [Hjelle: Aye] Mayor Boucher? [Boucher: Aye] [21:00] **Wayne Boucher:** Resolution 2023-21, Resolution authorizing and directing Mayor and City Clerk to execute an acceptance of easement agreement to the City of Hermantown from Gordon S. Halverson. Do we have a motion? [21:13] **Brian LeBlanc:** Motion to approve. [21:14] **Andy Hjelle:** Second. [21:15] **Wayne Boucher:** Motion by Councilor LeBlanc, second by Councilor Hjelle. Mr. Mulder? [21:16] **John Mulder:** These are two easements um on either side of the current Lindahl Road bridge, which we'll be removing this summer. And these easements allow for um turn around—they'll become a dead end, but this will allow for a place for automobiles and trucks to turn around on those dead ends. [21:49] **Wayne Boucher:** Thank you. Any questions or comments from Council? Is there any public input on Resolution 2023-21? [22:00] **Wayne Boucher:** Do you have any public input on the easement agreement acceptance between the City of Hermantown and Gordon Halverson? [22:13] **Wayne Boucher:** Is there any public input on this resolution? Roll call please. [22:18] **Alissa McClure:** Councilor Jones? [Jones: Aye] Geisler? [Geisler: Aye] Hjelle? [Hjelle: Aye] Mayor Boucher? [Boucher: Aye] [22:25] **Wayne Boucher:** Uh, next and probably the most important of the evening is a motion to recess. Do we have a motion? [22:31] **Andy Hjelle:** Make a motion to recess. [22:33] **Wayne Boucher:** Motion by Councilor Hjelle. Do we have a second? [22:35] **Councilor Jones:** Second. [22:36] **Wayne Boucher:** Second by Councilor Jones. All in favor say aye. [Council: Aye] Opposed same sign.