This transcript is from a **White Bear Lake City Council** meeting. Based on the context of the dialogue, the names of the participants are **Mayor Dan Swenson**, City Manager **Lindy Crawford**, Council Members **Bill Walsh, Kevin Edberg, Steven Hughes,** and **Heidi West**, along with guest speakers **Scott Yonke** (Ramsey County Parks), **Christina Vang** (Applicant), and **Justin Carlson** (Business Owner). [2:46] **Council Member:** That does yeah yeah okay yeah [3:41] **Council Member Walsh:** I feel like since the district guys are here we should pull it off consent and ask a bunch of questions you know I mean make make it worth their time you know I got I got I can come up with lots of questions you know tell me you want to see how the basketball Arenas I I went over those plans you know last night just you know just reading the SP [4:15] **Council Member:** Like I got to work on a parliamentary procedure thing for for them so I was like I hope they don't get one of those [4:28] **Council Member West:** Question yeah that's just good to know because different cities seem to have different processes for that [4:58] **[Silence/Background Noise]** [5:10] **[Music]** [5:23] **Council Member:** CL what you want what's that CL don't you no cuz you never know when the rest of us might need a little moment of Grace but an knowing smile perhaps VES to a Jour hi this here now we can start to Jour w w two is here represented [5:45] **Mayor Swenson:** All right we will call the meeting to order will the clerk please note those in attendance I will be noted will you please stand before we say the Pledge of Allegiance I just want to take a minute to recognize the sacrifice of the two fallen officers and fallen firefighter for the city of Burnsville on behalf of the city of Whitebear Lake our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of those fallen officers and the firefighter and our thoughts and prayers go out to the city of Burnsville and at this time if you'd bow your heads and join me in a moment of silence in honor of their memory. [6:44] **Mayor Swenson:** Thank you please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge to the flag of the United States of America to the republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all. [7:10] **Mayor Swenson:** All right on to item 2A the minutes of the regular city council meeting from February 13 2024 I to entertain a motion to approve the minutes. **Council Member:** So moved. **Council Member:** Second. **Mayor Swenson:** A motion a second all those in favor say I. **Council Members:** I. **Mayor Swenson:** Any oppose? Motion carries minutes are approved. Item 2B minutes of the city council work session from February 13 I'd entertain a motion to approve those minutes. **Council Member:** Move to approve. **Council Member:** Second. **Mayor Swenson:** I have a motion a second all those in favor say I. **Council Members:** I. **Mayor Swenson:** Any opposed? The motion carries the minutes are approved. Item 2C minutes of the city council work session on February 20 I'd entertain a motion to approve those minutes. **Council Member:** Move to approve. **Council Member:** Second. **Mayor Swenson:** Motion a second all those in favor say I. **Council Members:** I. **Mayor Swenson:** Any oppose? That motion carries the minutes are approved. Item three adoption of the agenda does anybody have any corrections or amendments to the agenda? Seeing none I'd entertain a motion to adopt the agenda. **Council Member:** Approved. **Council Member:** Second. **Mayor Swenson:** I have a motion a second all those in favor of approving and adopting the agenda say I. **Council Members:** I. **Mayor Swenson:** Any opposed? We have an agenda. Item four consent agenda before I'd entertain a motion to approve that I just want to make one note to the item 4E resolution approving the salary adjustment for the city manager um if you recall at our closed session we spoke in terms of a percentage increase for the city manager there's a slight tweak to that for administrative purposes instead of a percentage increase we'll just be moving her to as reflected in the resolution step three grade AA which is about a $250 $278 difference per anom so it's small but I did want to draw everyone's attention to that and if there are no issues with that I'd entertain a motion to approve the consent agenda. **Council Member:** Move to approve. **Council Member:** Second. **Mayor Swenson:** I have a motion a second all those in favor say I. **Council Members:** I. **Mayor Swenson:** Any opposed? Consent agenda is adopted. All right item five visitors and presentations the Bruce vento Trail Phase One update. Mr. Copie whenever you're ready. [8:55] **City Staff:** Thank you mayor members of the council uh tonight we have Scott Yonke he is the director of planning and development for Ramsey County Parks uh he'll be with us uh presenting tonight on the Bruce Vento Trail phase one project to give uh Council an update on it um just is a reminder over the years since 2018 council's uh highly supported this project um offering uh five different letters of support over the period of time for uh solicitation of funding so um Scott is going to come up here present give you an update on where we're at with funding and moving forward with the project so Scott if you want to come up. [9:52] **Scott Yonke:** I get the presentation? Yep it's in there. Dan? There we go we got it. Um mayor council members uh City staff uh my name is Scott Yonke I'm a landscape architect and I'm the planning and development director at Ramsey County Parks and I I'd like to just say thank you for allowing me to be here tonight to provide uh an overview for the phase one section for Bruce Vento Regional Trail. [11:10] **Scott Yonke:** [Continues presentation regarding project benefits, funding of $10 million, and the timeline for construction starting October/November 2024.] [12:45] **Scott Yonke:** [Provides background on the trail history since 1993 and the long-range plan amendment.] [14:20] **Scott Yonke:** [Dives into phase one specifics: 2.7 miles from Berkeley Road to Hoffman Road/Highway 61, including trailheads and amenities.] [15:55] **Scott Yonke:** [Recaps public engagement from 2014 to 2020.] [17:40] **Scott Yonke:** [Walks through the corridor graphics, explaining the Willow Marsh area, the benching of the trail on slopes to preserve views, and the underpass at County Road E.] [21:13] **Scott Yonke:** [Explains the section from Hoffman Road to Goose Lake, including no-parking zones and landscape restoration.] [23:25] **Scott Yonke:** [Outlines next steps: MnDOT state aid process, permitting, and finalizing construction plans.] At this point uh my presentation is ended and I would like to answer questions thank you for that presentation. [23:38] **Mayor Swenson:** Thank you for that presentation. Council any questions? Council member West? [23:45] **Council Member West:** Um I'm I really appreciate um having working on this and and um getting it closer to being done. We care about trees here so I want to ask about trees. I see the natural landscape and buffer screening that you have listed here. Do you know like are you thinking about how many trees are being removed and how many will be like put up as part of the natural landscape buffer or kind of what does that look like for you? [24:45] **Scott Yonke:** Absolutely uh uh great question. We are very sensitive in all of our projects; we are a natural based resource Park system. There will be some tree removal as part of the project but we're going to be very selective. We’re looking throughout the corridor for planting additional trees to provide buffer and canopy. We want to be sensitive with our neighbors along the corridor. [26:15] **Mayor Swenson:** Council member Walsh. [26:17] **Council Member Walsh:** Thank you Mr Mayor. You had a slide on uh public input and public uh uh feedback. Can you characterize—I mean is it mostly positive? We get some good participation—what are people saying? I haven't heard anything really negative on phase one, I'm not getting emails on it. [26:43] **Scott Yonke:** That's another great question. Feedback on the phase one section has always been fairly positive. It's a fairly straightforward section. We try to connect with residents at several stages. [27:35] **Council Member Walsh:** So then the natural followup then to that is and just future planning because phase two is freaking people out a little bit on Bald Eagle Avenue especially. So what's the schedule? When would we think we'll kind of get to those things? [28:00] **Scott Yonke:** Phase two we are looking at starting that project up again this year. We are following recommendations from the preliminary design study. We’re looking at having a very large engagement component again because we really want to hear feedback from residents. [28:40] **Council Member Walsh:** One final question Mr Mayor then. Does phase one involve negotiations with the railroad? Did you have to work with them? Are we free and clear in terms of phase one getting up here without having to deal with the railroad? [29:03] **Scott Yonke:** The county has been actively engaged with the railway throughout this project. We’re still engaged with them. There is active communication going on currently. [29:28] **Mayor Swenson:** Anyone else on the council? All right thank you for the report. I just want to clarify when you say phase two starting up this year you're not talking about construction right? [29:43] **Scott Yonke:** Absolutely not. I just want to clarify for everyone as of right now construction is only planned for phase one. We are so early in the phase two project it's still at project infancy at this point. [30:15] **Mayor Swenson:** Just to get a little sense of the timeline I'm seeing phase one preliminary design study 2014 to 2016. Is that what we're talking about starting up this year or we already past that? [30:36] **Scott Yonke:** The questions were regarding the phase 2 section. We started phase one in 2014 and now we'll finally be putting shovels in the ground in late 2024. [31:05] **Mayor Swenson:** Do you anticipate a similar timeline for infancy to shovels in the ground for phase two? Put another way we're like 6 to 8 years out from Phase 2 actually being constructed? [31:18] **Scott Yonke:** I would agree with that because it is going to take quite a bit of time to get through all the planning and design stages as well as securing construction funding. [31:38] **Mayor Swenson:** That's very helpful thank you. All right thank you for the report we appreciate your time. Item 6A we have a request for an appealed denied massage license. Ms. Crawford are you taking this? [31:55] **Lindy Crawford:** I am thank you mayor members of the council. The city regulates massage businesses and practitioner licenses in chapter 1127 of the city code. On January 15th Christina Vang submitted a massage therapist license application. In the application Vang stated that she has an active massage license with the city of Brooklyn Center however the police department found no such license. City code states that it shall be grounds for denial if the applicant provides false information. Therefore staff issued the denial letter on February 1st. Vang filed a statement to appeal and is here tonight. Staff does recommend the city council adopt the resolution upholding the massage therapist license application denial. [34:00] **Mayor Swenson:** Thank you Ms. Crawford. This being a public hearing I will open the public hearing at this time. I do have one name on my list and it appears to be Miss Vang. If you have anything to say on that matter please step up to the podium state your name and address for the record please. [34:25] **Christina Vang:** Christina Vang... address is 1908 Red Oak Lane, Lino Lakes. So I did make the mistake saying that my license was active which I misunderstood. I used to work for the city of Brooklyn Center but my license is still active now but not in that City. So I made the mistake of putting active on that. [35:10] **Mayor Swenson:** Is there anything else you'd like to council to know before we deliberate? [Vang signals she is done]. Mr. Carlson just for the record if you could state your name and address. [35:30] **Justin Carlson:** Justin Carlson... 255 Lake Avenue White Bear Lake. I've known Miss Vang for 15 years. She worked for me in Brooklyn Center. She made a simple mistake on the application. She hasn't worked there since 2014. It’s hard for me to find a qualified massage therapist. We asked right away if we could just resubmit but city employees said absolutely not. We’re asking for an exception because the background check was all good. [37:55] **Mayor Swenson:** Thank you. Council what we like to do with this? Council member Edberg? [38:15] **Council Member Edberg:** Ms. Crawford, I don't remember our ordinance. Is there a provision for a resubmission after a certain point in time after a denial? [38:35] **Lindy Crawford:** Mayor council member Edberg you are correct there is an opportunity for re submittal after denial and it is one year. [39:10] **Council Member Walsh:** Well thank you Mr Mayor. These are tough. We've been very consistent and very stringent. Any mistake on that application we have denied appeals—even a woman who put her birthday down wrong by one digit. We want to be known as a city that is strict following the rules in this area of business. I'm a little torn because I trust Mr. Carlson, but if we say yes because we know someone in town, we're not being consistent anymore. I'm going to support the resolution on the appeal. [41:15] **Mayor Swenson:** If not we have a resolution before us would someone like to make a motion to approve the resolution upholding the denial? **Council Member Walsh:** Yeah I'll move the approval. **Mayor Swenson:** I have a motion do I have a second? **Council Member:** Second. **Mayor Swenson:** Any further discussion? Council member Hughes. [41:40] **Council Member Hughes:** Yeah I'm struggling. I understand why we want to be strict. This license is different than other licenses, but it's still a license. I guess I'm saying do we treat others like this? If someone were coming in for a liquor license is it this strict? [43:08] **Lindy Crawford:** Mayor council member Hughes yes we are fairly strict on all of the licenses. If we do find an error we do make a recommendation for denial regardless of whatever application comes before you. [43:35] **Council Member Edberg:** Ms. Crawford for the infractions that we recommend denial... are they also in abeyance for one year before they can reapply for a liquor license or is there variability? [44:10] **Lindy Crawford:** Mayor council member Edberg that's a great question I don't have that off the top of my head. [44:20] **Council Member Edberg:** There's a part of me that says I'm not quite so sure that a year for given some of the changes that we've seen that a year is necessarily the right length but it is the length that we have in our ordinance right now. If there are other council members that would be interested in considering whether we have the right regulatory approach I think that could be a future conversation. [46:55] **Mayor Swenson:** I agree and I think we should. What’s before us tonight is being fair and being consistent. If I'm hearing council member Walsh correct that we've denied an applicant for something as seemingly innocuous as a birthday typo then certainly this would be on a spectrum more severe than that. I'll ask our City attorney who's pinch hitting for Troy tonight—does the word "shall" appear in our ordinance? [49:15] **City Attorney:** Mayor members of the council yes it does. The ordinance does say that you shall deny the application if you receive false information. [49:45] **Mayor Swenson:** I appreciate that. That's helpful because as an attorney that's where my mind immediately goes. It says "shall" so really it's not even a discretionary thing. We need to follow the law. Maybe it shouldn't say "shall" but for tonight it does. Is there further discussion? [51:00] **Council Member Edberg:** I'd be interested in data on how we treat other licenses and how long that denial is. [51:15] **Council Member West:** Another data point that I'd just be interested in is what other cities do. [51:40] **Lindy Crawford:** Mayor council members our Massage ordinance was last reviewed and updated in 2017. I believe it is not far off at all from other cities. [52:20] **Mayor Swenson:** All those in favor of approving the resolution upholding the denial say I. **Council Members:** I. **Mayor Swenson:** Any opposed? [None]. Then the resolution carries. All right item 10 Communications from the city manager Ms. Crawford. [52:44] **Lindy Crawford:** Thank you mayor. I wanted to note Terry Vades who served the White Bear Lake Fire Department for 51 years passed away on February 18th. He was a Captain and EMT and was meticulous when it came to caring for the fire trucks. [Also notes Bill Fard received the tourism industry leader award from Explore Minnesota]. Upcoming events: we have our downtown mobility and parking study Community open house scheduled for March 7th. Lastly thank you for the moment of silence for Burnsville. Our representatives from police and fire attended the joint memorial service today. Fire Chief Peterson actually responded in Burnsville on the day of the incident to help. It's nice to see our community of city people come together. That's what I have tonight thank you. [57:25] **Mayor Swenson:** Thank you Ms. Crawford. Any questions? With that I would entertain a motion to adjourn. **Council Member:** So moved. **Council Member:** Second. **Mayor Swenson:** All those in favor say I. **Council Members:** I. **Mayor Swenson:** We're adjourned.