Based on the context provided and the dialogue within the transcript, here is the formatted version with speaker identifications. **Note on Officials:** The transcript dates to September 2021. While your provided list identifies Matt Montgomery as Mayor, in this specific meeting, **John Althoff** is the Mayor and **Matt Montgomery** is serving as a Council Member. **Neil Jensen** (Community Development/EDA) is the "Neil" referred to by staff. *** **[4:06] Mayor John Althoff:** Good evening everyone. Uh, before we get in the meeting, I want to thank everybody for all the cards and emails that I got while I was in recovery. Really appreciate it. And thanks to Steve, our Mayor Pro Tem, for taking over the last two meetings; he did an excellent job. Okay, that being said, I’d like to call the September 21st City Council meeting for the City of Cannon Falls to order. Could we have roll call please? **[4:06] Sara Peer (City Clerk):** Ringgold? (Here). Duncan? (Here). Gessme? (Here). Kronenberger? (Here). Lundell? (Here). Montgomery? (Here). Althoff? (Here). **[4:06] Mayor John Althoff:** Would you rise for the Pledge of Allegiance? **[4:51] Everyone:** 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. **[5:38] Mayor John Althoff:** Okay, the agenda. Does anybody have any additions or corrections for the agenda? If not, a motion to approve the agenda. (Second). Motion by Gessme, a second by Duncan to approve the agenda. Any other discussion? All in favor? (Aye). Opposed? Carried. Okay, we'll get right into the consent agenda. Consent agenda items may be adapted under one motion as presented or may be removed for discussion and resolution as council business. For you at home and in the audience, I'll go through the consent agenda: Item A, just and correct claims for the accounting period ending September 17th, 2021; Item B, minutes for the September 7th, 2021 City Council special meeting; Item C, minutes for the September 7th, 2021 City Council meeting; Item D, Resolution 2575 authorizing budget transfers for the funding of a fire truck; Item E, approve the disposal of the 1991 Ford pumper truck; Item F, approve the Public Works employee maintenance one hire; Item G, Resolution 2576 in support of Goodhue County ARPA funds being utilized for Fire Department first responder and EMS mobile and portable radio purchases; Item H, introduction and first reading of Ordinance 378 amending City Code Chapter 152 relating to sexually oriented uses. Is there anything that any of the council would like to pull down? **[7:11] Mayor John Althoff:** Hearing none, is there a motion to approve the consent agenda? (Second). Motion by Ringgold, second by Montgomery to approve the consent agenda. Any other discussion? All in favor? (Aye). Opposed? Carried. Okay, we'll get right into council business. Item A is Greensmith Builders LLC request for lot split. Neil, you want to take that? **[7:56] Neil Jensen (EDA/Staff):** Aaron Smith is here today; he is the owner/CEO of Greensmith Builders. If you remember back a few months ago, we approved a lot split for the Hayes development to break off that part of that 12 acres. One of the concerns that we had was now we have eight acres sitting out there—a beautiful site—somebody coming in and buying the eight acres and building one home on it. So what we said back then was when the time came and we get a developer like Greensmith Builders, that we would come up with an idea that prevents them from building just one home. In your packet, you'll see a letter from Greensmith Builder's attorney that says, "Hey, we're going to plat this and we'll agree to no building permits issued until it's platted with I believe it's 24 lots or more." And Aaron is here tonight maybe to explain a little bit on what he's got going and make an introduction to you guys. **[8:42] Aaron Smith (Greensmith Builders):** Thank you, Mr. Jensen. Thank you city staff, thank you council members, and thank you Mayor Althoff—and I'm glad you're in good shape. Councilmember Gessme said you're tougher than tough, so I didn't want to add that, but it's my pleasure to be here in front of the City of Cannon Falls. I absolutely adore the city and what it has to offer and we were excited to find an opportunity here. We've done some other development in La Verne and we typically invest in small-town America. Our goal is to be the greenest builder in Minnesota, so that's kind of fun and exciting for all of us. We try to build a very energy-efficient house where the homeowners have next to nothing on utility bills, and we hope that that money is invested in economic development in the community. I think that your great school district attracted us here as well, and of course the beautiful property. If you've had a chance to walk parcel A of the Hayes addition and see the beautiful bluffs behind, it's just phenomenal. We want to do something that's very respectful to the community. Even with the zoning of R3, we've chosen all single-family homes. You might be familiar with the "New Urbanism" concept; it's generally large front porches, and I think we added sidewalks on both sides even though Neil said we could just do the sidewalks on one side, but we want to make it a very walkable, livable community. In our view, it's young families wanting to move back to rural small towns. I think that Cannon Falls has a unique opportunity being situated equidistant between the Mayo expansion that's happening and Minneapolis-St. Paul—40 minutes each side. And hey, with the brewery and winery in town, what's not to love? Any questions? **[10:58] Council Member Matt Montgomery:** Do you have a timeframe in mind? **[11:43] Aaron Smith:** We'd like to as soon as possible. I know one thing we talked with city staff about was that we kind of had a "cart before the horse" problem because we can't technically close on a lot until it’s split off, but we understood that you didn't want to split till you knew somebody was doing it. So we've tried to provide assurances to the City Attorney and Mr. Jensen to such, but that is 100% our intention. Once we close, we have to do our topographical on-site survey and an ALTA survey, but we don't think it's going to change an awful lot. The images used were from LIDAR topography. **[12:28] Mayor John Althoff:** Okay, welcome to town. **[12:28] Aaron Smith:** Yeah, thanks. **[12:28] Mayor John Althoff:** Okay, before we get into the next two items, we gotta do something with it. **[12:28] Council Member Bill Duncan:** I'll make a motion to approve the lot split. (Second). **[12:28] Mayor John Althoff:** Motion by Duncan and a second by Montgomery to approve the lot split on the Hayes property. Any other discussion? **[12:28] Council Member Laura Kronenberger:** Can I just ask a question quick? Do you have an idea of value price? The value of the houses? **[12:28] Aaron Smith:** Well, you're asking a question in a crazy market. Absolutely—no, our goal is to be as affordable as possible. I think $499,000 to $599,000 would be the perfect range to get in. A year ago I would have told you less, but things are crazy right now. So we'll try to stay in that range. **[12:28] Council Member Laura Kronenberger:** Thank you, curious. **[13:14] Mayor John Althoff:** Okay, motions are made and seconded. Any more discussion? All in favor? (Aye). Opposed? Carried. Okay, before we get in the next two items, the Planning Commission Chairman dropped off some questions that we might have before we get a discussion on the Keller Bartman. You've all got a copy of this in front of you. If there's any questions you've got on it, now's the time. The only thing that I see there is Doug Rexella and Steve Powers' letters were not in the agenda packet and they will be put in there now. Okay, hearing none, we'll get to Item B, Resolution 2577. It's approving business subsidies in the form of tax increment financing for the Keller Bartman Properties 14 LLC housing project. Laura, you want to take that? **[14:00] Laura Qualey (Community and Business Development Specialist):** Thank you, Mayor and Council. In regard to the Keller Bartman project, the EDA had convened on July 1st and had reviewed the business subsidy application. In that, there were a few terms that were discussed by the EDA, and then the EDA made a recommendation to the Finance Committee. Finance Committee met on July 8th and July 9th and reviewed the subsidies that were requested. The subsidies requested were waiving the WAC and SAC fees of an estimated $128,000, an interfund loan of up to $70,000 to be used for miscellaneous expenses, and then also covering the building permit fee of up to $40,000. Now, with the building permit fee, Neil and I and the County Administrator did speak about the possibility of the County waiving or covering those building permit fees. They had some funds available that they've been using for new construction. So that's where we're hoping that there's still money in the bucket by the time this project were to come to fruition. If not, then that would be an additional $40,000 for an interfund loan. So it would actually be in the form of a grant to Keller Bartman, but then the funds would be repaid through the TIF administrative fee over time. So with that, if you have any questions, I'll try to answer that; otherwise, we would be looking for a motion to approve those business subsidies. **[16:36] Mayor John Althoff:** Any questions from the Council? Hearing none, is there a motion? Now, this is just to approve the TIF, correct? **[17:05] Laura Qualey:** Yes, this is approving the business subsidies and the potential $40,000. The Finance Committee did make a recommendation to bring this to you back in July. We're bringing it forward tonight because we're partnering with the other item for the project that Diane will be discussing soon. **[17:05] Council Member Matt Montgomery:** I'll make a motion to approve Resolution 2577, the business subsidies, and the TIF. (Second). **[17:52] Mayor John Althoff:** Motion by Montgomery, second by Bringgold to approve the business subsidies in the form of tax increment financing. Is there any other discussion? All in favor? (Aye). Opposed? Motion passes 5 to 1. Okay, we'll get into Keller Bartman Properties. Item number one is Resolution 2578 approving the rezone and development stage for the Keller Bartman 79-unit apartment complex. Diane, you going to take that? **[18:37] Council Member Diane Johnson:** This lot is currently zoned B2. The apartment complex will include 79 units with a mix of efficiency units. Code requires a minimum of 500 square feet; Keller Bartman will be building efficiency apartments between 480 and 534 square feet. Third would be height: they will be building an apartment building of approximately four stories; ordinance is three stories. Fourth is parking: ordinance requires 2.25 parking stalls per unit; Keller Bartman will be providing 1.81 spaces per unit. And the final one would be development density: multi-family dwellings by code are required to be 2,500 square feet per unit. Keller Bartman is proposing 79 units, so what we're asking City Council to do tonight is to adopt a resolution to approve the rezone and planned unit development stage with the exceptions listed. The attached ordinance is on the agenda for the first reading only. Does anybody have any questions on that? **[20:16] Council Member Bill Duncan:** Yeah, I had a question. We wanted to go from market rate to low-to-moderate income? Laura, that would be a question for you. **[21:02] Laura Qualey:** As far as using the term market rate, that really refers to it not being subsidized—the rents are not subsidized. As far as the "low income" part, there’s poverty, middle class, low-moderate. The 40% of the units that will be reserved for the low income are for people earning $40,000 or less. So the "subsidy" thing that everybody's saying is not true; the rents are not subsidized. You either qualify for the unit or you don't. **[21:49] Mayor John Althoff:** Okay, I just want to make that clear to a lot of people. **[22:35] Laura Qualey:** I know that has been a misconception—that it's subsidized housing. But the fact that it's not subsidized does disqualify some people from being able to afford it. People would have to come up for the difference if they were receiving housing subsidies. This development is not involved in any of that. **[23:20] Council Member Bill Duncan:** The question I have is a more general question for Neil. At the Planning Commission meeting last week, at least two of the members said, "This doesn't follow our comprehensive plan," as though that ended the matter. But my reading of the comprehensive plan says these are the "desired uses," however, if the city feels there's a better use for it, they should rezone it. Am I wrong? It's not the end of the matter to say it doesn't follow an almost 20-year-old document, am I correct? **[24:54] Neil Jensen:** That's correct. The comprehensive plan is a big-picture planning document, and especially as it gets older, it becomes less effective. In addition, there are sections specifically for affordable housing that talk about how this can "trump" the proposed plan because there are certain things the city needs. The City Council has the authority to make that zoning change. **[25:42] Council Member Mary Jill Ringgold:** Can you convince the rest of us about parking issues? Now, Laura, you and I talked about that. How can you address that to soothe the nerves? **[25:42] Laura Qualey:** That's a fair question. There are 79 units and 143 parking spots. 56 will be in the covered first-floor underground parking. 54 of the units are studio or one-bedroom. Most likely, a studio is one person, maybe a couple. There’s only three three-bedroom apartments. I think that knowing the unit mix is heavily weighted toward studios, I would hope that would alleviate some of that stress. I think there would be enough spaces for someone coming to visit. As far as the concern about McDonald's parking—that lot is wide open now, so people pull in there for convenience. Once there's a building there, they'll have to use McDonald's own spaces. Bob, could you speak to assigned parking? **[28:46] Bob Keller (Developer):** Hi, Bob Keller. Everyone has one parking stall in the basement; they are assigned. In Red Wing, we have a 112-unit building, and what happened is the older people love the two and three bedrooms. They have one car and took the biggest units. I don’t think those three bedrooms will have kids; it’s likely a retired person selling their house. That really makes a big difference. Even the 61-unit building we have, there’s plenty of parking and we actually have a lower ratio than you guys are asking for. People go to work in the morning; they aren't all home at the same time. **[30:17] Council Member (Question):** As long as you're on that subject, do you think we have enough green space? It’s a little bit tight there. **[30:17] Bob Keller:** Correct. This is a stepping stone to get places for teachers to live, people to sell their houses. You’re seeing this in the cities where people actually like living in these areas; they like the action and convenience. Demographic have changed; younger people aren't into cutting grass. We actually have storage in the basement for bikes and kayaks. It feels more like home. Most of our buildings have 22% common space. It's nice to have wider hallways and big areas; it makes it feel like an apartment hotel. **[33:21] Council Member (Question):** You mentioned common space; that was a criticism from the letter we got. It says there's no mention of the 20%... **[33:21] Bob Keller:** It’s between 17% and 22%. We have a community room, patios, a fire pit, a fireplace in the entrance. Even through COVID, people would meet insurance agents in the common areas instead of their apartments. It’s not just a closed little area. **[33:21] Council Member (Question):** Is there laundry on-site? **[34:08] Bob Keller:** Every unit has its own. Everybody gets their own laundry. **[34:08] Council Member Matt Montgomery:** Oh, that’s nice. I’ll move there. **[34:08] Council Member Mary Jill Ringgold:** Going back to the apartments allocated for lower income—what happens if they don't get filled? **[34:08] Bob Keller:** They sit empty. 40% are reserved. What’s neat about it is, say my mom and dad worked their whole life and now they're in their 80s and making $40,000 a year retired—this is perfect for them. It leaves it open for that group of people who have no place to go because nothing is available. **[34:08] Laura Qualey:** And Bob, didn't you say you have a large waiting list in Red Wing? **[34:08] Bob Keller:** Today, 23 families are waiting to get into the 112-unit building. It helps people through divorces or income changes so they have a stable place. **[36:32] Mayor John Althoff:** Okay, anything else? Would there be a motion on Resolution 2578? (So moved. Second). Motion by Ringgold, second by Duncan to approve Resolution 2578. All in favor? (Aye). Opposed? (Nay). Passes 5 to 1. Okay, second part is the introduction and first reading of Ordinance 379, rezoning property from B2 to R4 PUD. Diane, to you, Neil, Sarah? **[37:19] Sara Peer:** You’re seeing this tonight because the city requires two readings of every ordinance. This is just asking the Council to do a first reading so we can do the second reading and final approval later. **[38:51] Council Member Bill Duncan:** I’ll make a motion to approve the first reading of Ordinance 379. (Second). **[38:51] Mayor John Althoff:** Motion by Duncan, second by Lundell to approve Ordinance 379. All in favor? (Aye). Opposed? Passes 5 to 1. Okay, we'll get into reports. Kyle? **[39:37] Kyle Paulson (Chamber of Commerce):** Thank you council members and good evening. We are currently at 184 Chamber members, which ties our highest number. Coming out of COVID, that is still strong support. For 2022, the board recommends two open-air fairs and two Fun Fests. This coming weekend, October 2nd and 3rd, there are six events happening: Ferndale’s customer appreciation, the Education Foundation poker run, Twin Cities horse sale, Harvest Fiber Festival, the Sogan Valley Art Fair, and Oktoberfest at Tilion Brewing. Also, people are wondering about the dirt piles at Lake Byllesby. They are working on putting a buffer between the highway and the park to reduce noise. Bidding for the pavilion should happen this fall. **[42:43] Council Member Mary Jill Ringgold:** Were you involved with the citywide garage sale? Do you know how many there ended up being? **[42:43] Kyle Paulson:** 32. It’s an O’Rourke/Beacon project, but we help publicize it. Usually, they have 50. **[43:31] Mayor John Althoff:** Thanks, Kyle. Finance Committee? **[43:31] Council Member Matt Montgomery:** We met on September 13th; the only item was the Public Works hire on our agenda tonight. **[44:17] Council Member Bill Duncan:** Okay, this is going to take a while. The Planning Commission meeting that happened a week ago Monday was probably the single worst run meeting I have seen in the history of Cannon Falls. We had a Planning Commission that went rogue—one could almost say a coup attempt. They thought they could override the agenda format this Council set. They were wrong to do so. What I am proposing is that the Council adopt an ordinance where staff or Council sets all agenda formats for all committees. Second, I’d like to see an ordinance reducing the Planning Commission from seven to five members, adding a second Council member as a regular part of those five, and a third as an alternate. What happened was absolutely horrible. Nobody on staff or from Keller Bartman was even able to talk. Anyone involved in that fiasco should resign. That’s all I have. **[46:38] Mayor John Althoff:** Okay. Library Board? I didn't go. **[47:24] Council Member Mary Jill Ringgold:** I went. They did some long-range planning. They did a survey of the community and staff. I was very impressed with the strategic planning group from SELCO. **[48:55] Mayor John Althoff:** Good. Danny, you got anything tonight? **[48:55] Council Member Dan Lundell:** Were they digging on Colville today? **[48:55] Jed Petersen (Public Works Director):** We're tentatively planning to do the Colville dig next week. They were filling potholes today. **[49:40] Laura Qualey:** I’m working on the John Burch Park bonding bill. I'm also helping businesses navigate the Minnesota DEED relief grants. Also, Goodhue County is having a housing summit webinar series starting next Wednesday. It’s free and very informational. **[52:43] Mayor John Althoff:** I should mention these SEMPRA letters for plumbing repairs—that’s a good deal. Diane, you got anything? **[52:43] Council Member Diane Johnson:** I don't. **[53:28] Council Member Mary Jill Ringgold:** Here I go. I have a few things about what happened last Monday night because I was observing. I am kind of without words. The Chair, Mike, essentially proclaimed things and changed things—that’s not how that works. It was so unprofessional. Secondly, at the risk of sounding like I’m defending my ex-husband—I’m about to defend my ex-husband, Bill [Duncan], who was essentially hung out to dry. When he said the complaints were "coded racism," they *were* coded racism. You don’t have 30 people saying "we love the project, just not in this location" about an apartment building. It just boggles the mind. I’ve seen comments talking about "immigrants from below the southern border"—they aren't talking about Des Moines, they’re talking about Mexico. And the crime comments? There was no outcry when the senior apartments were built. It’s tiring. And Bill, I’m so sorry someone called you a Democrat—that’s what really hurt! We were married 20 years and spent the whole time canceling each other's votes out. I’m glad the Council is going forward. **[57:23] Council Member Steve Gessme:** I don't have anything. **[58:08] Council Member Matt Montgomery:** Could we add the public input discussion to our work session? It’s created a division between us and the public. I think we should have a sign-up sheet where people state what they will talk about. If they attack a council member or go off-topic, the Mayor can use the gavel. We have work to do. Right now, it’s been "us against them." **[1:00:25] Council Member Bill Duncan:** One other thing—at the Planning Commission hearing, the person who wanted the sexually oriented business at Artisan Plaza didn’t even show up. They treated it as a joke. I was very disappointed. **[1:01:11] Mayor John Althoff:** There is a work session Monday at 6:30. The only other meeting is the Joint Powers Board on September 28th. Motion to adjourn? (Second). All in favor? (Aye). Carried.