[1:51] Mayor: I want to say this right. Reforestation. Yes. Perfect. All right. I got you. I got you. It's all good. All right. Gaveling in call to order for the city council meeting for Tuesday, April 1st, 2025. If I could get a roll call, please. [2:08] Council Members: Here. Here. [2:20] Mayor: Uh, please rise for the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. [2:40] Mayor: If I could get a motion to approve tonight's agenda. Council Member Ryan: So moved. Council Member Diane: Second. Mayor: Motion from Ryan, second from Diane. All those in favor say I. Council Members: I. Mayor: Opposed? Nay. Carries. Gets us to our public input. Public input is intended to afford the public an opportunity to address concerns to the city council. The public input will be no longer than 30 minutes in total length and each speaker will have no more than three minutes to speak. Speakers may address topics relevant to the governance of the city. [3:05] Mayor: Speakers must sign up in advance and must provide their name, address, and the topic they intend to address. Comments must be on topic, respectful, pertinent to city business, and adhere to the applicable data privacy rules. Any speaker that violates these rules will be asked to sit down, and if the speaker refuses to comply, they may be removed from the meeting. Speakers shall not address topics that are the subject of a public hearing. All such comments shall be made at the public hearing. The city council will not generally act on issues raised by the public input, but may choose to schedule consideration of the item on a future agenda. Tonight, we've got Avery Evans, reforestation of Cannon Falls. [3:44] Avery Evans: Thank you for having me here tonight. Mayor: You're welcome. Avery Evans: Um, I prepared a little something that I wrote about my concern. So, I'm going to read it. [4:00] Avery Evans: I grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota for most of my life. I have fond memories from my childhood there. Growing up, there were elm trees lining the tight city roads. They were big and beautiful. One day, I remember being in the car and seeing X's marked on all of the elm trees. My mother told me they were to be cut down. [4:25] Avery Evans: Now I am 19 living in Cannon Falls, Minnesota. And yet again I see the same X's marked on the trees, but this time they're ash trees. The emerald ash borer, an invasive beetle from Asia, traveled outward from the big city, infecting the beloved ash in its path. Although the spread was inevitable, it makes me indescribably upset to see the ash trees become sick and needing to be cut down. Over a 100 ash trees were removed along Highway 19 already. What is your point, you may be asking? The majority of the tree canopy in Cannon Falls consists of ash trees. We will unfortunately be losing nearly all [5:10] Avery Evans: of our ash trees in the city. Although this is devastating, the cycle of life is unending and I believe we can start anew if the city contributes in reforestation efforts. Looking at the situation from the bright side, I believe this is an opportunity to rebuild our forest for future generations to come and ensure the stability of our ecosystem. [5:36] Avery Evans: Reforestation matters in Cannon Falls most definitely because we live in a rural community where agriculture is one of the main driving economic factors. Trees play a crucial role in a sustainable agricultural system by supporting soil health, increasing water infiltration, recycling nutrients, and preventing soil erosion. [6:01] Avery Evans: Soil erosion alone is a big threat to this riverside community where flooding becomes a risk every single wet season. In my opinion, reforestation is undeniably important for the vitality of our community. So I guess on that note, I kind of wanted to see if you guys like had any sort of plan to reforest this community. I don't know if you guys do or if you don't. I just wanted to see. [6:36] Mayor: All right. So, normally public input is not question and answer. You just bring up the issue, but be happy to talk to you after the meeting's over. Avery Evans: Okay. Sounds good. Mayor: Maybe even in the later time when we go around the horn, we'll answer this question. Avery Evans: Sure. Okay. Thank you. Mayor: Thanks, Avery. [6:49] Mayor: All right. That brings us to consent agenda tonight. The consent agenda items may be adopted under one motion as presented or may be removed for discussion and resolution as council business. Item A, adjust and correct claims for the accounting period ending on March 27th, 2025. Item B, meeting minutes for March 18th, 2025 council meeting. And Item C, approve professional services agreement with WHKS for PFAS source identification and reduction grant. Is there anything the council would like removed for discussion? Hearing none, I would seek a [7:23] Mayor: motion to approve. Council Member Lisa: Motion to approve. Mayor: Motion from Lisa. Council Member Chris: Second. Mayor: Second from Chris. All those in favor? Council Members: I. Mayor: Opposed? That carries. Gets us to reports. Uh, library board met on March 24th. [7:38] Council Member: No update. Mayor: No updates. All right. Uh, Joint Powers Trail Board. Lisa. Council Member Lisa: Uh, there's a lot of progress going on for the new bridges being built on the trail and bridges being um restructured. Mayor: Awesome. Thank you. Uh and then the upcoming meeting schedule, uh finance committee is going to meet on April 7th instead of the 14th. Correct? John (City Administrator): Correct. Mayor: Perfect. [8:00] Mayor: All right. With that, we will go around the horn. Lieutenant Berg. Lieutenant Berg: So, as we know, it is spring. We just ended our winter parking restrictions. However, we would ask people that if we continue to get snow, please keep your vehicles off the streets so that we can keep them clear because they clear out pretty easily this time of year. And let's hope we don't have to talk about this again. Mayor: So yeah, could be the last measurable snowfall. I'm hoping. John? [8:31] John (City Administrator): Um, and one thing that I definitely wanted to kind of engage with the council on their input. So, I've been in conversation with historical—was out there a couple months ago—excuse me, sorry, couple months ago to see the facility. It definitely has some needs related to the windows and the roof. And I think I mentioned this in past updates with the council. Um, the museum board actually has the opportunity to fundraise or has the dollars available to do the window project. And I just want to get kind of a nod or one way or the other if that's okay if they move forward if they pay for 100% of the windows. [9:06] John (City Administrator): The conversation we will bring up in the finance committee will be regarding the project related to the roof because they don't have the funds to do that. But that is a city-owned facility. Um, I have in my past communities worked with nonprofits that operate out of city-owned facilities. We do have a draft of a management agreement that we'd like to bring forward for discussion and work on a project plan for how to do the roof replacement and come up with the funds to cover that cost. [9:32] John (City Administrator): So, and then additionally met today with the um with the senior center. Um they have their—they have now been um directed or told from the school that they will need to pay rent for the use of the facility that they have uh in the community center. Um so they wanted to have a conversation. So that will be coming up as well as part of the finance committee and then um at an upcoming council meeting. So I just wanted to give you guys an update on that. And then uh staff met today at another meeting to kind of get the update on where that is in the process. So um the scoping [10:20] John (City Administrator): side comment period for the scoping document ends this Thursday. Um then we'll get that reviewed and that will be coming forward to the next council meeting to order in the actual AUAR. So then that process will start. Mayor: All right. Thank you, John. Uh, would you like to take any time—is Avery's concern—is it state law that if you take a tree down, you have to plant a tree? [10:43] Council Member: It doesn't have to be the same spot. It just has to be somewhere. Am I correct with that? John (City Administrator): I'm not familiar with that. If Jed were here, he would certainly be able to speak more to the process. I know with the grants that we—a lot of the trees are being cut down and that was a grant-funded um piece that we have. And there is, you know, definitely efforts to replant um trees that hopefully aren't going to suffer the same fate. Um, you know, in every community I've been in, we've had programs about as we've cut down trees, especially those um related to disease. [11:17] John (City Administrator): Um, there's been funding to to replace them some way. Um, others have been uh damages from storms. We've created programs to help property owners even replant in their own property, creating programs like that. So, there are systems out there. I don't know exactly if this specific grant what we have. I'm just not familiar enough with it. Um, but I can certainly provide more input. Council Member: I thought that's what the plan was, right? Council Member: Yeah, I thought that was too. Mayor: Jed would be the one to answer. Council Member: Yeah. Too bad he's... John (City Administrator): But he—Yeah, I wanted to respect the weather and allow him to to go home since he didn't really have much on the agenda tonight. [11:53] Council Member: Right. Just got back from a—No, that makes sense. And were those—Was that in mind right away? Did MnDOT have anything to do with 19 or was that all city related? Everything cut along... John (City Administrator): Um, I'm not sure. Council Member: 19 I thought was MnDOT. John (City Administrator): Yeah. Um, I know they did a lot of work right here on the city hall property too. Lot of trees around here. Mayor: We did um—Yeah. All the city property trees, that was us. John (City Administrator): Yep. I know that for sure. Council Member: Okay. [12:19] Mayor: All right. We'll uh go around the horn. Laura, anything? Council Member Laura: I'm good. Mayor: Chris? Council Member Chris: I'm good. Mayor: Ryan? Council Member Ryan: I'm good. Mayor: Diane? Council Member Diane: I'm good. Mayor: Lisa? Council Member Lisa: Good. Mayor: All right, I'm good, too. Very good questions. I wish that Jed was here because he would be able to to answer those. Within the last few years, uh, I've lost four trees myself. Uh, three because when we put the sidewalks in, they were too close to the sidewalk, so they got cut down. And then one now the ash due to the emerald ash borer. But, uh, I know that we had talked about that. I can't remember if it's state law or if MnDOT—if one gets taken, one is supposed to be replanted in some way, shape, or form. Uh, we'll look further into that. [12:51] Mayor: It's a valid concern. So, uh, hearing nothing else, I would accept a motion to adjourn. Council Member Lisa: Motion. Mayor: Motion from Lisa. Council Member Diane: Second. Mayor: Second from Diane. All those in favor? Council Members: I. Mayor: Opposed? We're adjourned. Thank you, everybody.