This transcript appears to be from a **White Bear Lake City Council** meeting. I have identified the speakers based on the context of the dialogue, the names mentioned by the Mayor, and the specific roles of city staff. [00:00:00] **Councilmember Edberg:** confident that's not our intention so we need to do something with that that's my case okay [00:00:05] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** that's a fair point um I think it'd be fitting to allow staff to maybe respond because I think we didn't pull this out of a hat we probably borrowed it from other cities so what are other cities done what was the Genesis behind this language [00:00:15] **Jason Coffee (Community Development Director):** uh mayor members of the council again as you pointed out that that basically is a as a common standard that was included in other ordinances that we chose to apply for to White Bear Lake and uh we may want to have some discussion amongst the council and other staff as to um what is the appropriate standard within White Bear Lake in the context of that I I think the intent I I would think most people agree with that there should be some um standard of wanting to keep these areas clean because it is public space being used for a private purpose and I think councilmember edberg's point about defining that appropriate area based on White Bear Lake could certainly be discussed [00:00:50] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** sure you know let me maybe offer my comment on this the point is well taken that's not the goal is to have them you know be street sweepers for the city that's well beyond their business however I think the 100 gives us a little bit of flexibility so that if for example a business has a lot of debris that gets blown away from their area and we kind of can trace it back to where it came from it gives us some flexibility this is outdoors there is wind I mean I think I'll put it this way I'm not worried that City staff is is going to somehow try and point the finger at a restaurant when it's clearly not their garbage and I have confidence in them to say okay this is clearly coming from this area and we were able to separate the two so whether or not this language gives everyone the council the warm fuzzy feelings to make sure that that's not abused I don't know I I really couldn't care less I think the goal we all agree on is that's basically if you create a mess you need to pick it up whether it's 100 feet away or 50 feet away if you're the cause of it so I'm open to amending the language but I won't pretend to know exactly what it should look like councilmember Hughes we want to continue talking about that point or just bring up questions and then talk about them one by one [00:01:55] **Councilmember Hughes:** what we can stay on this point that works um I I would be in favor of like a 10-foot border around the entire thing and my intention of that my my picturing that that would mean it would be swept but I wouldn't think somebody would need to sweep a hundred feet 100 foot border around the around their area and I'm not saying that it needs to say they sweep it I'm simply saying that's the kind of thing I could see going on there so the old French fries are picked up but maybe my child through [00:02:25] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** so let me just throw something out there as I'm just word smithing it as we go if we were to strike 100 feet of and it just says permittee shall keep the sidewalk cafe and the adjacent public space surrounding it clean that gives the flexibility I mean then we don't have a hard and fast brightline rule [00:02:45] **Councilmember Hughes:** so moved [00:02:46] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** I have a motion to amend on that point I have a second all those in favor say aye [00:02:50] **Council:** aye [00:02:51] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** sorry I should ask for further discussion but I think it was pretty clear which way we're going so um all right so we have one amendment to that anybody want to have any other thoughts or maybe want to comment on glass wanted to discuss the plastic Furniture did we talk about that last time and I was spacing it only because I've seen people use plastic furniture and are we demanding they purchase all new furniture or what does it mean you can't be plastic or wood or fake and what are you what kind of furniture can you then have [00:03:15] **Jason Coffee:** mayor members of the council I'll take a shot at this and let others chime in as needed the intent of that portion of the ordinance is to keep furniture that is generally heavy enough that will not be blown around by the wind you know typically the lighter plastic you know lawn furniture style can easily get blown around during any kind of heavy winds and then some of the other materials such as you know treated wood whatnot has the ability to stay in the sidewalk and in public space so something that's not that's durable that's not going to blow around that fits into the character as was approved in the contender we're doing the downtown study so we're not sure what that you know the whole overall look and feel of that downtown area is going to be look like this gives kind of that flexibility to allow staff to end the city manager to approve furniture that fits in with the decor of the downtown area and and fits the part [00:04:05] **Councilmember Jones:** Thank you Mr Mayor thank you Mr Coffee I would want to see I'm afraid I don't want to get into the furniture police but I I'm not comfortable with the pressure treated wood I get the unfinished wood but the pressure treated wood but I get it I know where it's stemming from we want it to look good I'm looking at a cost thing so if there's anybody that's doing it right now providing I would say grandfather them a year because if we are going to require composite material which is what we're looking at arguably it's 250 to 350 dollars per chair that's not inexpensive so someone who has been doing it all these years and all of a sudden boom we're coming into season I would say you have one year too switch over um so there's my point on that [00:04:55] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** okay council member Hughes did we hear from anybody about the furniture [00:05:00] **Jason Coffee:** mayor members of the council no there were no additional comments and since the first reading [00:05:05] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** okay would that require an amendment then because I don't see any language about grandfathering and I just apply to that furniture line item we'll probably have to say that in this resolution you know we can't assume it for I can't assume so that is um so it's 1128.060 subdivision seven on page seven no Page Six [00:05:30] **City Attorney (Lindmeyer):** if the council is inclined to allow that one year grace period I I would recommend that we put that near the bottom and one of the sections almost like an enactment Clause because you don't want it forever in the code so I I would suggest we would the effective day things like that yeah right so we would create a new article that they just would refer specifically that provision and give one year in order to come into compliance [00:05:55] **Councilmember Jones:** I would move that if we could we can make that motion I don't know if we need to spell it out now but I think when we say we're a one-year um so what was whatever that Source was 100 I lost it already one one two eight point zero six zero subdivision seven would be grandfathered or whatever the language would be you know a one-year um allowance to get to get that furniture right to get that for that subdivision [00:06:25] **City Attorney:** and Mr Mayor if if I can ask is the idea that this would go into effect then for the 2024 season so then I would suggest we should have language effective dedicating that that I would refer to that specific abbreviation and say compliance with that uh is is required starting in 2024. season [00:06:45] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** so councilman—councilmember Edberg [00:06:46] **Councilmember Edberg:** no I want to be respectful you have a motion on the floor [00:06:48] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** well if you want to speak first we can we can go you know let's let's talk [00:06:50] **Councilmember Edberg:** so I'm just okay I wasn't aware that this uh the the cost of this furniture is if it's 250 and 350 a chair it's like I don't know how many folks have got that kind of uh replacement capital in their budgets and I'm asking is one year grandfather enough should we provide two years one year and having to reach turn over all of your equipment um strikes me as uh being a lot of capital in investment in one year and giving them more time to plan it strikes me as a better option [00:07:35] **Councilmember Walsh:** so well we're really I'm sorry Mr Mayor we're really in the nitty-gritty here but I mean there are other types of furniture that may not cost that much I'm going to ride our wrought iron chair That's Heavy enough that meets the meets the code that might not be that expensive but I I I'll just my my general view of this of this ordinance is Staff did a great job oh really great job I think and I'm saying that a little bit facetiously there's a lot of new regulations here we went from no regulations have added it worked pretty great now we're really perspective here so I'm looking for any way to lower the number the specifics of regulations in this in this code so two years or take take F out although I'm I don't want plastic chairs blown around town I think that's a good reason but there's a lot of rules in here [00:08:25] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** so yeah you know to that point I mean upon looking at this further I won't speak for the council but I don't really care if it's unfinished wood or if it's pressure treated wood I I just don't if it's I mean I'll just call Cobblestone they've had the relatively inexpensive plastic chairs I don't recall it being an issue seeing them blown down the street so I'd be amenable to just simply striking that whole second that whole last sentence so that it would only read the furniture used for The Sidewalk Cafe must be made of durable material and not to track from the character of the surrounding environment that makes good sense to me it's basically saying you can't have a ugly piece of crap out there and we've got a little bit of discretion to see what that looks like but that's really what it comes down to I don't want to force some of these local businesses to go and spend eight thousand dollars on on patio equipment patio furniture I don't think that was our goal when we set out to do this [00:09:25] **Councilmember Jones:** well it's coming from but as a patron of Cobblestone I have not seen and that's who we're honestly that's what I'm talking about there's a lot of tables there's a lot of chairs that's a big expense and they're the ones that have been doing it over these years I have not pulled up on a Saturday morning and see them scattered around Washington Square um and I think this is where we've you know as I said last time this is going to take some tweaking bill you know this is going to take so I'm I'm a middle of that in a year from now if we're like okay it didn't work out we need to go back and add it [00:09:55] **Councilmember Hughes:** council member Hughes don't we use those chairs at Market Fest I have a plastic chair I mean ever a plastic chair in the in Railroad Park can be set up for I don't know that we do it but [00:10:05] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** so I would entertain emotional men's subdivision seven that strikes no plastic unfinished wood or pressure treated wood furniture is allowed [00:10:15] **Councilmember Jones:** I'll make that motion [00:10:17] **Councilmember Walsh:** second the motion [00:10:18] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** second any further discussion all those in favor say aye [00:10:20] **Council:** aye [00:10:21] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** any opposed it is so amended all right I'm gonna go back to Glass because this one bothers me under straight glass just to get the conversation going I appreciate it and just so we tee up the motion properly I have a motion to amend section 1128.070 subdivision 10 f strike use of glass bottles other similar breakable items within the Sidewalk Cafe area not allowed I have motion do I have a second [00:10:45] **Councilmember:** second the motion [00:10:46] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** a second all those in favor say aye [00:10:48] **Council:** aye [00:10:49] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** any opposed is so amended all right the last thing that that I mentioned was I don't have a problem with it not being contiguous with the adjacent to the building if they're not serving alcohol um anybody have an appetite to amend that I would have I'd make that motion but there's somebody else that wants to weigh in someone wanted to make it so I'm okay so just to just to phrase this properly I believe and the City attorney can correct me if I'm wrong I'm looking at section 1128.060 subdivision one the language that says the Sidewalk Cafe must be direct was most directly abut the building in which the eligible business operates and shall not extend beyond the boundaries of budding the eligible businesses so it's a striking between the okay so the motion would be to amend that section to strike the language it says directly about the building in which the eligible business operates and shell I have a motion a second on that any further discussion seeing none all those in favor say aye [00:11:55] **Council:** aye [00:11:56] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** any opposed it is amended all right those are the big ones that I had anybody got anything else we're wordsmithing up here in the resolution as amended as amended ordinance ordinance I'm sorry it's an ordinance I have a motion do I have a second [00:12:10] **Councilmember:** second [00:12:11] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** any further discussion all those in favor say aye [00:12:13] **Council:** aye [00:12:14] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** any opposed the ordinance is adopted as amended it's a fun little exercise enjoyed that maybe I'm the only one all right okay and then we have to pass the summary resolution that accompanies that that entertain emotions do I have a second [00:12:30] **Councilmember:** second [00:12:31] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** any further discussion all those in favor say aye [00:12:33] **Council:** aye [00:12:34] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** any opposed the summary resolution passes new business dog beach operation I believe Mr Coffee is going to take this thank you [00:12:45] **Jason Coffee:** mayor members of the council so to start things off we will have a brief presentation by our Park advisory commission tonight we have Bill ganslin and Mike Shepard who will be coming up to the podium and doing a brief presentation similar to what we had seen at the January workshop I'll turn it over to Bill and Mike to kick us off welcome [00:13:05] **Bill Ganslin (Park Advisory Commission Chair):** thanks for inviting us to uh give a brief presentation on the dog beach located in metasca park White Bear Lake I'm Bill ganslin chair and Mike Shepard Vice chair we plan to provide you with a brief timeline outlining the park advisory commission activities over the summer and early fall of 2022 Where We Gather input from Neighbors and dog beach users during this time frame Pac members made over 70 site visits to the dog beach to collect data about our about user numbers and user Behavior at the site through this process we found a lot of support for the dog beach by users and citizens we also found some concerns was used to better inform our recommendations for continued use of the area as well as a number of improvements to the site perk advisory commission voted 7-0 in favor of keeping the dog beach open at its existing location at September 15th advisory commission meeting I'd like now to move on to the timeline and recommendations of the PAC Paul at the July 21 22 Pac meeting we met with the concerned resident regarding the dog beach some of the issues the resident noted were that dogs were crossing along the shoreline to adjacent private property owners were allowing their dogs to go on the swim dock owners not having control of their dogs and having them off leash dogs fighting and being aggressive toward other dogs and pet waste left in the area and not picked up following that meeting commission members determined that they would like to visit the dog beach as often as possible before the August meeting and Report their findings at the August meeting so the August 18th Pac meeting commission members presented their findings from the past months and again to remind you the commission members seven of us made over 70 visits to the site and saw a lot of people using the beach we heard from additional residents both in favor and opposed to the dog beach and at that meeting the commission was asked to consider alternative locations after September 15th meeting the commission reviewed the following um the kind of the cumulative information that the commissioner dog beach reports indicated we reviewed the input from residents both positive and concerns and we reviewed other suggested locations and found that the current location was definitely the best site for a dog beach and at that at the end of the meeting the commission voted 7-0 in favor of keeping the dog beach open in the existing location and we made some additional recommendations to address some of the concerns we had a lot of positive feedback where actually some of the things that we're recommending for additions to the site will be reflected in both positive and concerns so I'd like to turn it over to Mike Shepard to share the pack recommended improvements to the dog beach Mike [00:16:15] **Mike Shepard (Park Advisory Commission Vice Chair):** all right um yeah so we found a few things that I thought could be better um some of the signage down there is let's say a little cluttered the words are a little small people really aren't reading them so we're thinking of getting more signage down there easier to read so people actually look at them and we'll read the one sentence sign instead of four or five um also doing a permanent fence between the dog beach and the swimming beach this fence would be moved as the water goes up and down so park staff would have to go and every few days maybe move it up and down you know a foot or a few inches also we thought putting gates up on top of the stairs so if somebody's dog gets loose they can't get up onto the trail they'll get to that gate and they'll have to come back down um also looked into a better buoy system the buoys along there in the past have been small they can get through them so it's bigger buoys that are always floating across there that's going to keep the dogs in the water from going over to the swimming beach um we looked into the leash Rule and we talked about that a lot if we really do want to still have it or not and we decided yes we should continue with the leash rules we have now um we know there are some dogs not being contained on the leash but I think some of the users that are down there a lot have been educating those people that are off leash and telling them and just reminding them that we need to be on leashes um and yeah maintaining the pet waste stations um I know the city staff they've been down there testing the water every week or so and there's not been any high amounts of waste it's actually been lower than most places um and one other thing where um advising is to change the swim dock to be no fishing just because if you have people out there fishing you're getting some lures dropping on the sand getting some hooks dropping on the sand we don't want that for the kids so we're thinking put an efficient sign on there people are going over by the bridge and fishing there anyways so those are the recommendations that we think will improve it and allow it to uh keep going as a valuable asset to the community and thank you [00:18:25] **Jason Coffee:** Mr Coffee god um just one last thing uh just showing some of the improvements that Mike had mentioned um kind of in real life where they would go on the dog beach um like Mike said you know simpler signage it's you know right now if you've been down there it's a big sign with you know 10 different rules on it and people just aren't reading it seeing it but there's a lot of kind of nice signs out there that you know that we would look at making our own is remember to lease your dog or things like that that would be kind of those you know I'm not going to read the third sentence down in a in a big paragraph So and generally just showing kind of where the buoys and permanent fencing would be that permanent fencing that would go between the dog beach and swim area would extend just enough up the hill it's a pretty steep hill so it would extend into the hillside not necessarily all the way up to the Lake Avenue Trail but enough into the hillside that a dog couldn't reasonably run up and over it because it is so Steep and then like Mike said the gates up on on the Lake Avenue Trail to prevent both dogs that may be on the trail from getting down in the swim area as well as them getting up out of the dog Beach area so with that staff and commission members would be happy to answer any questions you have thank you [00:19:40] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** so Council I'm going to open this up for public comment in a minute but if we want to have any specific specific questions for the park commission members right now now is a good opportunity if we have any questions for councilmember Walsh [00:19:55] **Councilmember Walsh:** thank you Mr Mayor how do people get to the you you're putting the gate at the top of the of Up On Top of the Lake Avenue Trail sort of by the fishing or the I'm Sorry by the swim dock that's on that side right so people would come in and park probably or walk and then come in from the other side from the would be the bottom of the screen here right and then that's how people would access it is that is that sort of the travel pattern [00:20:25] **Mike Shepard:** no there's a lot that come up from Lake Avenue straight down the stairs and so the gate would be now would be a top of the gate to go through and get through one thing I will note is there is a stair to both the swim Dock and the dog beach so there's two separate stairs and it would be separated by that fencing [00:20:45] **Councilmember Walsh:** I'm just wondering if we if we fence that side which is good it still sort of opens up as you go I guess that's sort of South right if you go south um it sort of just opens up to the to the wide Dock and everything else I guess the question would be where's the problem where where's the the problem is dogs leaving the beach I mean that's the that's the problem and then hitting the neighborhood Unleashed so are they my I'm just trying to get at is that going to be a good solution or are they going south and then up into the neighborhood that way I mean that's kind of the that's what I'm just I don't know if we have an answer for that unless we had a camera out there [00:21:25] **Mike Shepard:** I did uh most of those visits I did probably half of the visits and I did not see any time that the dogs were going to the South and going anywhere past where the um why doc laws are actually really passed where the canoes are or canoes and kayaks [00:21:40] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** okay any other questions for the park commission members councilmember Hughes [00:21:45] **Councilmember Hughes:** so you said you looked at alternative locations there at matasco what did you guys think of um what would that be east of the launch [00:21:55] **Bill Ganslin:** yeah um east of the launch we we noticed that there is a an area that was cleared several years ago when the water levels were low stumps it's very um I guess Mucky and not very amenable to dog owners walking in it I mean dogs probably wouldn't care but the thing that we heard a lot from users was that they really enjoyed the fact that they could wait in the in the lake with their dog and the the bottom the Sandy Bottom was really amenable to using that site the area on the East was really uh difficult to manage from a standpoint of a user walking in that area it would really require a significant amount of change to the bottom structure to do that [00:22:45] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** thank you gentlemen appreciate it okay thank you at this time I will open it up for public comment if anybody wants to speak to this issue now is your opportunity please step up to the podium state your name and address [00:23:05] **Cheryl (Public Speaker):** Cheryl 23 34th Street right near 4th and Johnson so just a few blocks from the dog beach I don't actually use the dog beach I don't have a I have a dog but my dog doesn't swim I just want to say I think the dog beach in this location is a really terrific asset to the community I enjoy walking and looking at dogs watching the people I've gone down there and talked to the people and I think it's a really wonderful asset and and I really appreciate having there and I think these changes are you're suggesting are all really positive and would help other people enjoy the beach and it's a nice asset so thank you for considering this thank you [00:23:50] **Terry Hans (Public Speaker):** I'm Terry Hans I live at 2522 Cedar Avenue and I've been here before a few new faces but most mostly the same the only thing that we had talked about because I was at the parks committee meeting last fall that we were huddling under the gazebo in the pouring rain was a fence on that South Side on the other side of the Y dock that people would have to go through the buoy thing I think is great because what it was now the dogs could easily go through there I have used the dog beach a lot I had two dogs unfortunately I just lost one I walk there every day I have never seen a dog come up that hill never you give a dog between water and that Hill they're going to stay in the water I taught obedience for seven years I know my dogs they're gonna go water unless they're like Cheryl's dog and they don't like water but I appreciate your time I'm sorry this is before you again I like these improvements I think I don't know that I feel that the gates are necessary because if the dog really wanted to run are they really going to take the stairs I mean a human's going to take the stairs but as a dog so I'm not sure that you need to go through the expense of putting Gates on there and I guess it's the one further on that has a gate on it beyond the human Beach there but anyway thank you for your time thank you [00:25:25] **Josh Sermick (Public Speaker):** hi my name is Josh cermick I live at 4152 White Bear Avenue I am a current user of the dog beach I have three golden retrievers two of those golden retrievers are Senior Dogs so they deal with arthritis and just mobility issues so during the summer it's great to utilize the water it's a absolutely phenomenal area if you know anyone that has a dog that hasn't only used the dog parked or they use the dog beach it brings people together the community loves it like one lady was saying people love just staying up there and watching and they'll come up the hill with your dogs and the last few questions and it's just good to know people and it's a and it's a great environment and you know what people and like who have dogs and care about them they work together to be you know hey if someone doesn't see their dog pooping or doesn't see their dog behaving they'll be like hey look at your dog can you like and people are really receptive and they actually do a really great job I use it about one to two times a week during the summer during the hot months obviously and it's great on the dogs that exercise can keeps them healthy it keeps them like energetic and it's just a great thing for the environment side or the community so I really recommend that we do keep it so just like any other things yes there is dogs that bark from time to time they're playing it's just like you know when kids playing in a playground you're going to have a little bit of noise but it works out really well so I really recommend that we do keep this so thanks thank you thank you [00:26:55] **Kyle Weiberg (Public Speaker):** and would anyone else like to speak to this issue hi there I'm Kyle weiberg I live on 2619 Cedar Avenue my wife and I have had a dog for a couple of years we've never been dog owners before so we're kind of learning all of it we're having a whole lot of fun we started using the dog beach quite a bit last year and we saw a lot of positives and some negatives I would say the positives greatly outweighed the negatives we talked to many community members who enjoy the dog beach you know on a daily basis and members from outside of the community coming to White Bear to use the dog beach and pairing that with restaurant visits and whatnot I will say I think it's kind of a shame I looked into this topic and you know year after year there's been complaints from one person in particular so I I would encourage that person to move if you don't like moving in across a dog beach dog across the street from dog beach gosh aside from that I think it's a great asset and I hope to continue to use it for a lot of time to come thank you thank you [00:28:05] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** would anyone else like to speak to this issue seeing none will bring it back here to the council for discussion well let me let me kick things off with some of my thoughts um so this is now I would call a saga because it's six years old seven years old I mean I first touched this issue when I was on the park commission with Bill and with Mike and at the time we voted 6-0 in favor of closing the dog beach I mean it just it goes back and forth and I testified before this Council and we reported the many issues that had been going on so that I believe was in 2017. and then the council said we're going to keep it open but we're going to impose these rules these leash laws and these other rules and give it a year and then it came back to the council and it seemed to me that there were still some issues going on and it was a close vote then in 2018 three to two to vote to keep the dog park open so now that we've got a little historical context and fast forward five years from them from then and we're still dealing with it um I just want to take stock of the facts I think one fact is 90 90 five percent of the dog beach users are good dog owners responsible dog owners clean up after their dog abiding by the leash law so we're talking about the five percent I don't think that's really in dispute it's a it's a small group but the problem is we have several homeowners and I'll push back on what one of the testifiers said I don't think it's one I think it's several that have complained directly to me through texts and emails and phone calls so it's a balancing act on one hand we have a relatively small group of people that aren't making this up it's there actually are complaints and then we have a very large group of people that are saying by and large what we're seeing is pretty good conduct and pretty good behavior so when you balance that you know which side do you favor here's how I come down I think while I appreciate everything that the park commission has done and it sounds like you've spent hours making visits the problem with that is an hour at a time a few hours a week isn't there the entire time so I have to give a little bit of difference to the homeowners that live there 24 7 that are seeing what's going on not only on the peak times but on the off-peak times and then I ask myself well is there a right to be able to bring your dog to a lake no it's nice if we can do it it's nice if we can have that public amenity and if it works great if it doesn't well then we have to weigh that against another right a right to someone for someone to be able to freely and lawfully use and enjoy their private property and that's really what we're talking about a relative few so I don't claim to have the solution I don't know if this will work quite frankly I'm a little skeptical because we've tried things before and I think everything that we're putting in place the people that we're going to abide by it we're going to do it whether you put these things in place or not and I'm not convinced that the people that are the Bad actors that this will actually change anything so I struggle with this one but on balance I feel like you have to defer to those homeowners that live there and deal with it every single day and I think you have to put a lot of weight into that so I know it's unpopular and a lot of people like this dog beach and use it but if it's time to close it down then it's time to close it down and I wouldn't lose any sleep if we had to do that because again I defer to those people that live there and have to live with whatever these issues are however infrequent they may be it still causes A disruption if you're sitting on your front porch and and dogs stroll up or defecating your lawn so that's where I land on that as the non-voting guy on the council so with that I'll bring it back to the council for your thoughts and opinions councilmember Hughes [00:32:45] **Councilmember Hughes:** cat's out of the bag here's the concerned resident that has gone to many of these meetings on behalf of not only my neighbors but other people in my ward when you're known for the person who has concerns with the park the other people who have concerns with the park do speak to you and I seem to be the storehouse for many complaints it's not just the private property owners that live adjacent to the park who entertain out of town dogs on a weekly basis and frequently on those days they want to be out in their own yard you know um they're having a barbecue and some stranger is yelling after a Rover in their yard and that doesn't happen anywhere else so it's not that's not a common problem the other issue that my people around talk about is the use of the swim Dock and well I think some of these things would go to mitigating the problem the problem is dogs on the swim Dock and In The Swim Beach and I'm not certain that the buoys are going to be enough to stop the dogs from jumping over the buoys and going into that area you're talking about parents with children who are concerned for their kids there have also been other incidents of people on the beach and dogs who are highly exercised because they're down there at the beach having a good time we're running after barking and scaring kids who don't have a dog at home and concerned parents and that's a that's a also a big Park area that that swim dock but I've beat the same drum the entire time I've talked about this I'd like to see the whole thing moved to the other side of the ramp there is more there's space over there it's not quite as large but it is large it could be easily fenced in on three sides so that would include toward the parking lot side people can get in and out of there I'm not sure why they floor of the lake right there is different than in any other section of the lake what we've done I guess as a city to change the lake bed in different areas but I guess that could be something we could talk about but that's an area that could be fenced and people could enjoy it it would be away from not only private property but real property because right now the dogs are around canoes and the other parts of the park that people pay to use you know there's um rental I don't know what you call it slips for the canoes is it a slip thank you and this would then keep those two areas separate as well and at that point then we could have the dogs off leash which is what they want um by and large when you walk down there there are sometimes a couple of dogs that are released but for the most part they are off leash and of course they want to swim you've got a big dog a 30-foot leash gets you nowhere people want to throw dogs they want to throw their balls in they want the dogs to chase after the balls it's a great use of it's a great exercise area but people aren't keeping their dogs leashed and I don't think that a couple of fences are going to keep that it's just going to make it even easier for people to keep their dogs off leash so if we move it we can fence it they can throw balls for their dogs the dogs can get exercised and then they're nowhere near the swim dock or the private property but I don't want it where it is [00:36:25] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** anyone else on the council ever thought council member Jones [00:36:30] **Councilmember Jones:** so I agree this is a problem it's not clean cut but I'm going to look at it and say 95 of my people don't speed on my road five percent do should we shut down the road that's ridiculous no we're not gonna I have a sidewalk in front of my dogs come by and defecate my lawn I'm not going to ask to shut down the sidewalk people use Parks first and foremost their dogs just happen to be with them dogs are like children I'm not going to prohibit children from Parks and I will say this the human Beach I think is really the dumbest thing that we have period what gets more use tell me how many people what our community is saying how many people go to that 7th Street beach humans and how many humans which have dogs go to the dog park what's the best use what do our residents want anecdotally I don't even know what downtown is I gotta believe it's an asset to downtown coming in walking the dog along the trail coming in all the patios have you know I believe applied for their licenses to allow dogs on their patios in the summertime I do get hey I don't want other dogs we can make it worse from other communities we could say we're not going to advertise that we have a dog beach they can't find out about it um it is just strictly you walk by you know about it we don't have to publish publicize it um I'd be open to see that but I I've been supporting it all along I think it's a good thing understandable um it's it's kind of like well we're going to hear it when the school district comes knocking on our door saying hey let's move White Bear Stadium to the new High School location and let's talk about lights let's talk about what the people at South Campus what I have to hear every Friday night every Tuesday night every whatever night what do I have to hear I don't you know should we shut down that I think that's a lot more interfering with my life that I can hear those loudspeakers what are we doing about it Mr Mayor what are we doing about a council there's just things that happen in our community and they are good but my main argument is who uses that and how many count the bodies of how and I'd argue against normal Parks I'm not even going to count the beach there how many people go to Spruce Park every day how many people go to podman park every day and you look at a dog park whether it's a beach or not and you see how many people go to that dog park every day that's where we should be putting our money so anyways I think it I would want to see it open I like the changes I I'm open to the fence thing listening going should we spend that money if we do decide it but let's I think that's a big one is do we keep it or do we not then we'll worry about the details after that thank you Mr Mayor [00:39:45] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** yes councilmember Jones you brought up a couple of good points that I'd like to address so I like your analogy of the speeder you're right most people don't speed I see this as a little bit different and here's why it comes down to the ability and resources to enforce rules and laws that are already on the books and if money were No Object I'd say keep the dog beach open have it be off leash we'll assign a CSO to sit down there 10 hours a day all summer long and that takes care of it but we don't we do however have a robust police force that is watching out for Speeders so we have an enforcement mechanism so we do have an ability to to prosecute and crack down on those Bad actors so I understand your point I don't think it has quite the same application as the minority of people that speed the second thing that I think about and I think this is critical you mentioned schools and Loud football games and parking there is a legal concept called coming to the nuisance and what that means is at least with a nuisance cause of action and in the eyes of the law we look at what got there first so we're building a remodeled high school or expanding on it but that school has been there for a long long long time decades same with South Campus so the people that move there new that that was going to be part of it you moved next to a school or near a school and there's going to be traffic and kids and Noise We historically haven't had a dog beach there and there are homeowners that have been there for decades so I do see the distinction between those two to use your analogy and well what are we doing about that what are we doing about the people that complain about a loud football game those are people that I have no problem looking in the eye and saying you moved next to a high school it's going to be loud but there there are many people that I've gotten complaints from that predate this relatively recent dog beach and therefore I do give some Credence to that because I do think the timeline is a key distinction so those are my thoughts to a couple of Fair points that you made councilmember Hughes [00:41:55] **Councilmember Hughes:** is there a way to unadvertise the park so that nobody knows about it any longer [00:42:00] **Jason Coffee:** mayor members of the council there there is a odd little Google pin that has been dropped I've been trying to get rid of it we're going to uh see if our new IT personnel can work some magic on that that's one way to I'll call it unadvertise there's obviously informal advertisement between people who you know maybe have a friend in town that come to visit that we can't control but we are working on the Google Map thing and hopefully we can get rid of that it's actually not even on the dog beach it's up on even on the other side of Lake Avenue if you ever look at Google Maps so but we are working on trying to get that removed [00:42:35] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** okay any other thoughts on this well we have a memorandum a resolution before us what we would like to do Council councilmember Walsh [00:42:45] **Councilmember Walsh:** mayor um I'm really conflicted on this I I don't even remember how I voted the last time we had this in front of the council but I remember thinking I'll give it one more chance and if it doesn't work I'm a no I might even gonna know that day but but but uh so here I am and it's back and we that was my last chance but I'm I find myself in the same position again maybe I'm weak but it's like okay we'll give it one more chance you know with a fence and a gate the way I look at it if we if we there's three there's three states of being there's the status quo which is not working because because I'm seeing the complaints we're getting the emails the photos you know in the emails of dogs in yards so you know the problem is real like I agree it's probably 95.5 but it's real so doing nothing's not not a good option because if we go through another summer we're gonna have the same issues um this is option b uh this resolution fence fence in the water I'm not thrilled about spending fifteen thousand dollars I mean I don't know if we we take that out of the park budget if we're going to use that you know so we're going to do something less than another park because we're going to use Park money to do that um but you know this is a park and this is it gets used um so it's it's not completely unreasonable to spend some money here um option C would be would be you know voting I would be a different resolution or a different motion I think because I think if we vote this resolution down we have a status quo if we vote this resolution up it's a little better than the status quo because now we've got a fence and some better signage um and then hopefully some communication I I say a lot we communicate when we act so when we here we are in front of the council again you know assuming the newspaper writes about it more communication there's troubles with this park it's not working 100 right people need to be more responsible or it's going to get shut down um so that might help too but the third option would be to shut it down and it'll be a different resolution so I'm rambling a little bit but I'm inclined for option b to give it one more chance but I'm I sympathetic to to pulling the plug on it today too so [00:45:25] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** any other thoughts or comments otherwise we have a resolution before us [00:45:30] **Councilmember Jones:** Mr Mayor I'll move to approve resolution continued operations from the public dog beach [00:45:40] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** I have a motion to approve the resolution do I have a second [00:45:42] **Councilmember Walsh:** I'll second it [00:45:43] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** any further discussion on this [00:45:45] **Councilmember Hughes:** Mr Mayor so if this gets voted down what happens [00:45:50] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** well I want to infer to staff I think I think councilmember Walsh is right we have the status quo so we're going to have to address it I don't know what maneuvering we have our ability to go beyond this resolution tonight so we couldn't open sorry no maybe that's the question hypothetically if it was if it was the appetite of the council to close the dog beach and I'll look at the City attorney on this how would we accomplish that [00:46:15] **City Attorney:** Mr Marion Council what I'd recommend if if that was the inclination of a majority of the council it would be a motion to continue this matter to the next meeting with the direction of for staff to bring back a resolution to close the park [00:46:30] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** okay okay so I have a motion a second any further discussion on this all those in favor say aye [00:46:35] **Council:** aye [00:46:36] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** any opposed the resolution carries the dog park will remain open under these new rules [00:46:40] **Councilmember Hughes:** I'd like to make a motion too I don't even know how to go back and do this now can I [00:46:45] **Councilmember Walsh:** so I want to be sympathetic to councilmember Hughes and her predicament I have a suspicion there was a misunderstanding about the nature of the vote that was being taken I'm not opposed I defer to your judgment you're you're our presiding officer I would not be opposed to an action that would allow us to have that vote again and allow further discussion tonight I don't I'll leave it to you and and whether they're what the appropriate pathway is [00:47:15] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** why don't we do this so councilmember Hughes what is your objective here and we'll we'll let's back in [00:47:20] **Councilmember Hughes:** I would like a vote on um closing the dog beach [00:47:25] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** so that is not currently before this body right now but we can that can certainly be a subject of a future agenda [00:47:30] **Councilmember Hughes:** so I guess I would like to go back and figure out how to put the resolution how how to have a vote on a continuing resolution until next week to bring this up [00:47:45] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** okay so let's just let's just talk through the facts we did have a motion a second before resolution like we've had many times before and we had a vote on it and it passed and I don't like the precedent of unwinding things after we've after we've held the vote that's that's my issue am I incorrect In in that [00:48:05] **City Attorney:** uh well Mr Mayor no I mean there's certainly there is that that motions available to reconsider I guess a legitimate question is uh is it likely to achieve a different outcome uh at the next meeting so so it's kind of the Practical so to clarify it would be appropriate for council member Hughes to make a motion to reconsider yeah uh no it would have to be somebody on the prevailing side right it would have to be a majority [00:48:35] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** okay is anyone willing to make that motion councilmember Jones for Mr City attorney [00:48:40] **Councilmember Jones:** Mr Mayor on the Advent of a 3-1 vote where is it where the mayor could vetoed the approval of continuing the beach operation [00:48:50] **City Attorney:** so Mr Marin and Council the mayor does have the authority to veto a resolution but in this case The veto would just maintain status quo [00:48:55] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** with that Mr Mayor I would say to be there I'll open that back up so you're making a motion [00:49:00] **Councilmember Jones:** I made the motion to so you're making a motion to reconsider the vote by which we approve this resolution okay so I I I have a motion a second any further discussion all those in favor of granting the motion to reconsider say aye [00:49:15] **Council:** aye [00:49:16] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** any opposed all right so we now have a fresh we now have it's now up for reconsideration correct resolutions before this would be the opportunity for anyone on the on the council if they so chose to make a motion to table this until the next meeting am I correcting that again [00:49:35] **City Attorney:** correct [00:49:36] **Councilmember Edberg:** okay councilmember edberg point of order my understanding is that while we are reconsidering our previously past action stands until it is reversed so we are having a discussion about whether or not we should have more discussion and an alternative motion but because we did legally pass and adopt and the chair announced a previous action my understanding is that that the action stands until differently modified [00:50:05] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** Mr attorney does that [00:50:07] **City Attorney:** so Mr Marion Council I'm inclined to say it is now back before you as though it was not approved because there was essentially a motion to bring it back for consideration by the council you may I mean technically there there may be something that suggests you're correct in that but that's why I said with the consent of the council it needs to be I mean I could spend the next 20 minutes researching this if you'd like or you can just be with the consensus of the council that the effect of that motion was to bring it back before you and then it's open for consideration for continuance to the next meeting and then it would be open for further action at that time whether that's ultimately to reverse it by adopting a resolution to close the park or by reaffirming it by having a motion to to re-adopt the resolution [00:50:55] **Councilmember Jones:** councilmember Jones just for those who support the dog park that are here tonight I mean I'm not walking back my support but I also believe it's fair I want this to stay open on two reasons or at least one one I don't want it to be a parliamentary procedure that keeps it open or shut that that's just and two you know what I don't want I don't think any of you want it hanging over your head any longer let's just get it over with rip the Band-Aid off closed or open you know where I feel stand on that but this has been before and I don't know I mean we should just pick a Direction and just stick with it um is it closed is it open is it closes it open if we modify things all day long but I don't think it's fair to the folks that use it just right [00:51:35] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** no no I understand that so I'm just like that's why I'm okay with let's make a decision move on one way or another so Council mayor Jones I I understand what you're saying but you made a motion to to reconsider so that's why we're understanding and I'm supporting that too okay let's do this okay now can we table and and get the full com Council here hang on councilmember Hughes your intention and goal is to have a straight up or down vote as to close do I have that correct [00:52:05] **Councilmember Hughes:** yes I would thank you [00:52:10] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** okay so would it be appropriate Mr City attorney to make a motion to amend the resolution to say strike everything I would like to close the dog park is that is that a fair motion to amend the resolution [00:52:25] **City Attorney:** so Mr Mayor uh yes I mean it's a bit awkward because then we're left with uh really not a resolution format uh but certainly that that could be the the where the resolved line could be changed amended to um talk about closing uh the park uh and so yes that could be a motion to amend the resolve line to close the park [00:52:45] **Councilmember Hughes:** councilmember Hughes would you like to make that motion yes I would thank you [00:52:50] **Councilmember Walsh:** and I I'll second the motion for purposes of discussion [00:52:55] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** is there any further discussion [00:53:00] **Councilmember Jones:** councilmember Jones one added line for Miss Hughes bring it bring it back saying on the agenda what was going to happen I mean that that's what needs to be done in my opinion this is I mean I respect that you're like this is one section of this I can argue we're going to take the slide away from X Park but I think this is a bigger deal than that this should be stand on loan it should be on the agenda out there in front of the public so that people are aware of what is being taken away [00:53:25] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** so you'd prefer to table the motion I think it's the fair thing to do I have a motion a second to amend I'm going to call the vote all those in favor say aye I'm calling the vote all those in favor of amending the resolution to close the dog park say aye [00:53:40] **Councilmember Hughes:** aye [00:53:41] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** any opposed [00:53:42] **Council:** aye aye [00:53:43] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** the motion fails for lack of a vote now we have the memorandum and the resolution before us as we started this meeting I would entertain a motion to reapprove this or table it it's in front of us no we we don't have we don't have a motion we're well we do I'm done I'm it's we have the resolution in front of us I would entertain a motion to approve the resolution or a resolution do I have a second [00:54:10] **Councilmember:** second [00:54:11] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** any further discussion all those in favor say aye [00:54:13] **Council:** aye [00:54:14] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** any opposed the motion carries the resolution passes moving on to item 8B the sale of the 2023 a general obligation bonds the dog beach will remain open pursuant to these new rules that we've just approved including modifications to the to the park the dog beach is going to stay open very good thank you Miss kinsfire [00:54:35] **Kerri Kinsfather (Finance Director):** Dr mayor members of the council tonight we are here to authorize the issuance of 10 million dollars of General obligation Capital Improvement bonds to complete our funding for the public safety buildings renovation and Expansion Project that was approved by the Council on January 10 2023. since that time staff has been working with ehlers to prepare for this bond issue and we worked with s p Global ratings to have a bond rating during this process s p evaluated all of our information and they affirmed the city's Bond rating the double A Plus Bond rating for this current issue and for all outstanding Bond issues based on their review their outlook for the city's Financial State is stable and with the simple affirmation it really reflects their view of the city that we have very strong economy with access to the broad and diverse Minneapolis and St Paul area we have strong budgetary performance and we have strong management with Good Financial policies and in that they notice our long-term Financial Planning and our Capital Improvement planning that we've been doing so as we go through the process that when you looked at this information at January 10th there was a preliminary Debt Service work that was put together to show you what the bond could look like in that we used an estimated true interest cost for the bond how that was figured was they took the where the market rate was at the beginning of January and we added 75 basis points to it just to have a cushion if the market changed between when those were run and today when we're having the bond sale so at that point the true interest cost that we used was 4.489 percent um it is very exciting to we had eight investment firms bid on the city's Bond sale today the bids were very competitive and the difference between the highest bid and the lowest bid was less than a quarter of a percent so it was all competitive in there the lowest bid came back from Northland Securities in Minneapolis and the true interest cost was 3.72 percent so when we look at that difference there's a 0.765 basis point so that's just over three-fourths of a percent less than what we had anticipated when we were looking at those numbers in January so by having this lower interest rate it's going to save the city seven and seven hundred and four thousand dollars in principle and interest over the life of the bond so very exciting to to have that come in lower and as we move forward with this so the bid that we received from Northland Securities did include a premium 326 692 dollars so when there is a premium on the the bid the city can choose to keep the premium and hold the bond issue at that 10 million dollars or you can reduce the bond issue by the premium amount to stay closer to that true interest cost in this staff chose to retain the the premium and hold the bond issue at the 10 million dollars this is consistent with the direction we received from Council when we issued that last Bond for the public safety facility because as we were looking through this there were two parts of the project that we delayed and there was a transfer in from the community and reinvestment fund that was part of our financing issue so with both Bond issues by us retaining that premium we were able to eliminate the need to transfer in from the Community reinvestment Fund and we are we have the funds then to do the monument and the roof replacement that needed to be done through those Bond proceeds so when we kept the first premium at that issue the 2022 B the first part of that premium was eliminating that transfer in and then we knew that we would have some of the project for the roof and the monument covered by keeping this premium then we have the second part so that that can all be handled as we look at this so the tax levy for the bonds life when we were looking at the pre-sale report in January 10th of 2023 the levy over the life of the bond ranged from 630 000 to 842 000. in today's Bond run when we use the actual data the actual Levy will range between 361 thousand to 805 thousand so on average there's going to be an annual decrease of 17 876 dollars when you look at it that first initial one where it was three when we went down from 630 000 to the 361 thousand the 630 000 was the first payment and that included capitalized interest but because we have the city council approve the tax levy for 2023 to put towards this payment we're we're going to be collecting that tax taxes through the year so we could eliminate the capitalized interest if we would have capitalized it then we would have had to pay interest on the interest so by putting that Levy in place then that helped us reduce that Levy that we need at the beginning so that 361 000 would be the levy that we need for the first year and then over the life of it it will go up so after looking at all of that staff recommends the city of council adopt the resolution awarding the bond sale of the general obligation bond series 20 20 3A in the aggregate principal amount of 10 million dollars we do have Dan tintner from ehlers with us this evening to answer any questions so please you can let us know and either Dan and I will help you with your answers thank you [01:00:20] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** thank you Miss kinswanger so it sounds like it's a lot of good news it's a lot of good news it was very exciting very good very good thank you for that Council what we would like to do a second before somebody changes their mind so was that someone making a motion did I didn't hear you councilmember Jones [01:00:40] **Councilmember Jones:** I I was seconding his but I'll make a motion I'll move [01:00:43] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** I know we fumbled the rules of parliament but someone still does have to say emotion make a motion you are correct I have I have a motion a second any further discussion seeing none all those in favor say aye [01:00:55] **Council:** aye [01:00:56] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** any opposed uh motion carries okay thank you [01:01:00] **Councilmember Edberg:** if I might sure continues to do a super fine job in financial planning evidenced by our the maintenance of our double A Plus and I just think that needs to continuously be called out I know that we've I've said it before I know this Council has recognized that it's just plain good news and it should bolster all of our communities confidence in the the work of Ms kinspotter our advisors city manager and the whole the whole works it's good stuff [01:01:25] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** well said and I will Echo that thank you all right moving on to item 8C law enforcement labor Services union labor agreement the police sergeants Mr Juba [01:01:35] **Rick Juba (Assistant City Manager):** thank you Marion council members I'm pausing here for another awkward clap for the finance department but [Laughter] yes please uh thank you again Mr Mayor and council members so tonight before you we have two of our four labor union contracts we've come to agreements on between staff and the unions and have them here for your consideration tonight for approval first of which as the mayor mentioned is the lels police Sergeant's contract and highlights of this this contract include amendments for 2023 and 24 so a two-year contract again I'll just hit the highlights here for insurance health insurance premiums we're holding contributions City contributions study as we have for non-bargaining employees for 2023 and uh and I think you'll see that consistent as we move forward here and then an opener for the second year where we will come back and discuss that once we have our renewal numbers for insurance premiums for 2024 increases for uniform allowance for both years of the contract those include things for for police and sergeants here in particular holsters flashlights boots belts all of the equipment that they carry on them other than their vest basically is included in that that allowance then we get to wages of course we had the the classification and compensation study that the council approved in September which is why we're have been a little prolonged here with this process it's a little bit different there's more information and kind of a reset with our wages as we did with non-bargaining as carrying into the unions now as as you I think we preemptively talked about that a little bit as we approve that for the the non-bargaining staff so for the sergeants in 2023 how this is structured is on 1-1 2023 they'd get a three percent Cola which is is consistent with the rest of the city up to this point for non-bargaining staff and then on 7-1 they would be placed into what has been negotiated now for their new pay range and that pay range is consistent within the parameters of what was laid out in that classification and compensation study so they switch to that on 7 123 and if you recall we did again I'm repeating myself here on the non-bargaining side but it's very similar we did that on September 1st 2022 for non-bargaining so that switch into their new schedule will take place on 7-1 2023 and then we have some changes for longevity language which is in their contract which will be removed because that's accounted for in in their new wage schedule and then in 2024 we have a three percent Cola on one one and then they'll see step movement within their new schedule on their anniversary dates um and then the last item of note is a new language currently our police sergeants do not get fto pay for being field training officers they do perform those duties they do help train officers as they come on they currently just aren't compensated for that this is bringing that into the contract and it will be it will mirror language that I believe you will see in the future with uh with a patrol contract as far as how that's handled uh between the uh the two groups when they're designated as a field training officer so those are the highlights of the contract again it's a two-year contract and we are recommending it for approval [01:05:00] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** thank you Mr Juba Council questions comments seeing none councilmember edberg [01:05:10] **Councilmember Edberg:** thank you Mr Mayor Mr Juba I understand the uh have the unions voted on these and uh what was what's the result of that [01:05:20] **Rick Juba:** uh correct so the the two contracts we do not bring them to you until the unions themselves have voted to approve the the negotiated amendments and so the two you're seeing tonight have been voted on and approved by their membership thank you [01:05:35] **Councilmember Walsh:** oh council member Walsh just a question on the field training thing that the memo says the employer shall receive sergeants that are signed shall receive one hour of overtime pay based on their current rate of I don't quite understand that if a field training would take more than an hour wouldn't it so is it like it's just like spiff like a bonus like we're going to give you one hour of overtime for performing this task but it occurs over the course of a shift or something [01:06:05] **Rick Juba:** correct yep so they're designated usually for either a partial shift or a full so if they serve in that capacity they get that one hour that one hour correct and that's very that's very consistent with how that's done in in uh within that business [01:06:20] **Councilmember Walsh:** okay thank you [01:06:21] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** so just to clarify the language in the CBA actually spells out that they get one hour of overtime per shift or something accurate of that effect oh Chris got it thank you thank you I would entertain a motion I have a motion to have a second [01:06:40] **Councilmember:** second [01:06:41] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** any further discussion seeing none all those in favor say aye [01:06:43] **Council:** aye [01:06:44] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** any opposed motion carries the resolution passes item 8D that's to you again Mr Juba Local 49 union labor agreement for public works [01:06:55] **Rick Juba:** thank you Mr American council members I will try and speed this up a lot of it is very similar so this is for our Public Works group and this is a three-year contract uh so again we'll we will hold premium contributions at 2022 levels and then reopen in 2024 and 2025 and then a change for severance pay for this group in particular it's very consistent amongst the city uh Severance language both in our our policy handbook for non-bargaining employees and then within our Union contract since we do have sick time that a cruise for the city after 10 years of of straight 10 years of employment you're then eligible for severance pay which is half of your sick time up to a certain amount and right now public works is up to half of their sick time up to 500 hours and that's being bumped up to 600 hours which is consistent with our other three bargaining contract tax so it is it is consistent amongst the other groups with that change um standby pay right now currently so Public Works receive standby pay when they're designated to be the to take home the on-call phone so when things come up uh it might be a water main break it might be a need for a road barricade might be a number of things that come up during non-business hours and so right now we compensate them to do that and they're designated by the week and as a group they have been lobbying for this change to go to by the day because that makes it easier for them to have flexibility trade shifts that sort of thing right now it's very difficult when it's designated by the week we have been working on that amount of the the weekly stipend for several years to get it to a point where it would be Equitable to switch to this model and not have a a real noticeable budget impact so we've we have been doing that so by making this switch the the budget impact is is pretty negligible and so it's uh it something that we're very comfortable making a change on uh with wages again I won't repeat that whole thing the structure is very very similar to what you just approved with sergeants um and those changes so they'll do a cola on 1-1 2023 and then move into the new schedule on 7 123 and then on this as we did with sergeants 2024 is a three percent Cola and then step movement on their anniversaries and then we repeat that in 2025 so it's nice to have a three-year contract in front of you for your consideration and we recommend it for approval [01:09:40] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** thank you quick question on standby pay so if if an employee does get called to some job and it takes three hours for example do they get whatever their actual time spent is plus this one hour of overtime or is that sort of like a draw on if they actually get called in [01:10:00] **Rick Juba:** correct so they they it's they do not get paid their their hourly rate correct that's they they get that's why they're being paid the standby pay is to respond to those calls [01:10:10] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** okay okay Council questions approval of the resolution what the motion do I have a second [01:10:20] **Councilmember:** second [01:10:21] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** any further discussion seeing none all those in favor say aye [01:10:23] **Council:** aye [01:10:24] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** any opposed motion carries resolution passes thank you Mr Juba nice work let's uh laborious to slog through the contract negotiation so glad we have contracts in place nine discussion nothing scheduled item 10 Communications from the city manager Ms Crawford [01:10:45] **Lindy Crawford (City Manager):** first just want to Echo Brad edberg's part of and and be part of in White Bear Lake here our staff is Top Notch and then I also want to again just say thank you to Mr Juba for all of his work on the labor negotiations it's been a an exceptionally challenging year with the class and compensation study so we have two done and hopefully we'll have at least one more before you shortly so thank you Mr Juba for that um just one upcoming event um is the wiper Area Chamber of Commerce 2023 legislative reception which is a Tuesday March 7th from 4 30 to 7 p.m and I'm second guessing that's a Tuesday actually um at Tria but registration is required and it has suggested that the city council do attend this if you are available I will be there and hope to see some of some of you there so that's all I have for tonight questions or comments for Ms Crawford [01:11:45] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** being none I would entertain a motion to adjourn [01:11:50] **Councilmember:** second [01:11:51] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** all those in favor say aye [01:11:53] **Council:** aye [01:11:54] **Mayor Dan Biederman:** we're adjourned