Are we ready? Okay. Well, good evening everybody and welcome to the Edina City Council meeting. It is Tuesday, April 7th, 2026, 7:01 p.m. Uh almost right on time. Uh Director Benroth, thanks for uh your uh assistance with the with the audience both here and listening to us virtually. Uh as Director Benroth said, we've been doing these meetings in a hybrid sort of fashion since the start of uh COVID and continuing on. People are listening and watching remotely. They have a chance to call in tonight only during community comment. We don't have any public hearings this evening. Otherwise, they'd be able to participate in public hearings as well. But as Director Benroth mentioned, uh even community comment, if it's something that's on the agenda this evening or otherwise scheduled for a future public hearing, uh that would be those would be two off-limits topics for um any community comment. So, uh having provided that information, uh and we'll we'll also talk to folks uh and let people on the uh that are residents or other others that want to speak to the council in chambers speak first and then we'll go to the online folks if there are any uh here that want to talk to us. So, having provided that information, I'm going to call the meeting to order and ask our clerk, Cheron Allison, to call the roll. Councilmember Bragni. Here. Councilmember Jackson. Here. Councilmember Piers. Here. Councilmember Risser. Here. Mayor Hovland. Here. Uh next is 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. Thanks for participating in that pledge. Uh we've got a meeting agenda that's and published both for the benefit of the council and for residents of our community to see if they're interested in anything on the agenda uh for this meeting and uh is there anyone on the council wishes to modify the agenda or any from anyone from staff? Okay. Hearing nothing, uh is there a motion to approve the meeting agenda as published? >> So moved. Second. A member Piers moves, member Jackson seconds the approval of the meeting agenda for this April 7th, 2026 2026 meeting of the Edina City Council. Any further discussion? All those in favor of approving the agenda for the meeting at hand, say aye. Aye. Aye. Opposed? Carried. The meeting agenda is approved. We've got something to work from here uh in terms of our guide and we will next go uh to community comment and you know, we talked about this since um over after the end of the last quarter, I think, and and continuing on to the into the new year, this notion of uh let's try to treat each other with civility here in chambers and everywhere in life. Uh let's keep kindness as our guide uh for our neighbors and our friends and people in this uh chambers uh especially this evening. And uh just you know, provide that information again just as a reminder that um we want to always be as civil as possible to each other and respectful. So, um I'm going to now uh turn to people in the audience that might want wish to address the council on matters of concern to them and uh 3 minutes, of course, is the time that you'll have. You'll get a yellow light when you got 30 seconds left and you should be wrapping up your comments. Um All right. Welcome. Mayor, councilmembers, my name is Ralph Siekert. Mayor Hovland, I'm here to reflect on the comments you made during the mayor and council comments portion of the March 3rd City Council meeting at the 2-hour, 25-minute mark. In particular, your assertion that my comments made earlier that evening during community comment regarding the 2026 budget and Mr. Neil's moonlighting were, and I quote, "inappropriate, disrespectful, and lack civility." End quote. I'll leave it to others to listen to our comments from that night, but for my part, it's your statements, Mayor, that were disrespectful and inappropriate. Mayor, you acknowledge knowing about Mr. Neil's moonlighting, but what you chose not to say was the extent of oversight exercised by the entire council. Nothing about dates or hours worked. Nor did you speak to the use of city resources, evidence of which appears to have occurred at least at some level. Nor did you choose to address the millions of dollars on top of the general levy picked from taxpayers' wallets via other taxes or the millions in spending pushed out to future years. To use a phrase you're familiar with, I too consider myself a shareholder of Edina, and for that reason I'm pushing back on your decision to rebuff a legitimate concern regarding a fiscally unsound and unsustainable budget, which, short of evidence to the contrary, only darkens the cloud reasonably hanging above Mr. Neil and this council. Mayor, contrary to your March 3rd statement, Mr. Neil's employment agreement does not call out by name Neil Family Consulting. So, while I acknowledge that Manager Neil's contract does allow paid work outside his role as city manager, in my opinion, there is a world of difference between an occasional stipend for a speaking engagement and a website promoting a 9-to-5 business venture, especially for a public employee whose base salary is some $260,000. Finally, your repeated attacks on community comment represent a more disturbing behavior, a behavior not calling for decorum, but rather an attempt to intimidate and quiet constituents, much like we've seen recently from other administrations. And yes, there are unanswered questions, but respect is earned. Neither Mr. Neil nor this council has earned it. One, who other than member Piers was aware that Mr. Neil had established a consulting practice with his son? What reporting did Mr. Neil share real time with the entire council with respect to dates and hours worked? What resources, including staff time and documents, were used by Mr. Neil to further his website and consulting practice? Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Siekert. Good evening. Good evening. All right, I'm going to start my time. Good evening. My name is Rick Fining. My address is 6617 Westshore Drive. I believe it was 7 years since speaking here at City Council. When I ask AI things that nearly everyone could agree is beautiful, sunrises, sunsets, a calm reflective body of water, and a path along a riverbank or shoreline are among the most common human experiences that evoke awe, peace, and sense of wonder. Some of these universals are currently under threat. There are 91 flags representing trees on the shoreline of Lake Cornelia. 91 trees along the shoreline creates a forest and forever changes this land. On July 16th, 2019, City Council minutes show resolution was passed that stipulated the buffer, height of plantings, and supporting approved plans. These plans and actions had a significant cost of both time and money for designing and execution. Quotes and findings from planning and execution include the council stressing the importance of lake access and the ability to enjoy the park. Per Doug Mensing, senior ecologist with the Applied Ecological Services, savanna plants of 3 feet or less would enhance the emergent zone and improve habitats for fish and frogs. The council stressed the importance of lake access and the ability to enjoy the park. We have witnessed hundreds of people, and I'm not even home all the time, mind you, since 2019 take pictures down on the shoreline. Family pictures, pictures of wildlife and sunsets, my personal family pictures were down those down there. Those would not occur if the 91 large trees are planted as shown in the diagram shared. July 4th fireworks would be hidden from those who enjoy sitting at a blanket on the shoreline. This project needs to be halted and the proper community consultation process needs to occur. I want to stress, we are not against trees. They are beautiful and literally give us life. We are opposed to trees not strategically plants planted in arbitra- arbitrarily in placement. It's like the city has a budget for trees, needs to plant 91 trees, they just throw them in the small park and get the funds as marked. The objective of being to spend the budget and not beautification or enjoyment. This area is exceedingly sunny and not as is not exceedingly sunny as enjoyed as it is. There is one proposal also discussed in 2019 that the City Council minutes have and that over the last 7 years has shown as more favorable. Facts, this proposal allows the city to never have to maintain the land again. It increases city's tax base. It also keeps the buffer, which we already maintain the land by completing both fall leaf cleanup and as well as mowing. Uh at the City Council brought up in 2019, sell land to us, sell it at market value, tax us for shoreline, and have stipulations such as buffer maintenance and fertilizer restrictions. Even though phosphorus is illegal in Minnesota yard fertilizer. In fact, the leaves from these 91 new trees would harm the lake even more. Leaves falling into lake significantly harm water quality by releasing excess nutrients, particularly phosphorus, during decomposition, which triggers algae blooms and reduces oxygen. It is clear the City of Edina Parks Department's end goal is to not have to maintain the land. Let the community that treasures the space to care of it. At a minimum, please visit the park, walk the shoreline, compare the flags and the tree planting positions. Look at this diagram. Why does it feel like the city of Edina does not consider the people who view, maintain, and use this every day? This is not just city land, it is public's land. Thank you. Yeah, thanks. I think we've also seen some correspondence from you and your and your spouse. So, appreciate that um input on this issue. Thank you. Good evening. Good evening. Peter Frederick. And all we need is your name. Peter Frederick. Thank you. Edina is cited by name in a resolution currently moving through the Minnesota State Legislature, SF 4115 in the Senate and HF 4098 in the House, as [snorts] evidence for why it should pass. And I am here because this council should understand what [snorts] that resolution would do to your city's institutions before your name advances it any further. The resolution directs state and local agencies, meaning Edina's police, schools, and city employees, to incorporate a concept called Hinduphobia into anti-bias training. And it calls on the attorney attorney general and every state employee to enforce laws against discrimination using that concept. What the resolution does not tell you is that the definition it uses was coined by a member of the authoring organization's advisory council council who meets personally with India's Prime Minister Modi, the leader of India's Hindu nationalist movement, and a government whose operatives were indicted by federal prosecutors for plotting to assassinate an American citizen on US soil, and who boasted at a rally, "This new India comes into your home to kill you." A Jewish Currents investigation found that the definition was used uh 75% of the time to catalog not bigotry, but journalism, academic research, and political criticism. The organization that wrote this resolution is the Coalition of Hindus of North America, COHNA. COHNA presents itself as a civil rights group, but its record tells a different story. COHNA draws its leadership from India's Hindu nationalist network, and 71% of its advisory council has verified ties to organizations linked to Modi's ruling party. COHNA opposed every caste discrimination protection introduced in this country, and when asked about coverage of caste-based lynchings, a board member called it a sob story. Four members of Congress signed a letter pressuring a university not to host a conference on Hindu nationalism. Everyone had taken money from COHNA's political action committee. COHNA defeated California bill protecting Americans from foreign assassination plots after it passed both chambers unanimously. And the US Holocaust Memorial Museum ranks India under Modi as the top country at risk for a new mass atrocity event. That is the government whose associate coined the definition this resolution what would direct Edina's institutions to enforce. Last night I spoke in Maple Grove, where COHNA built an operation from nothing in 13 months and secured the police chief, deputy chief, and a council member at the Capitol with COHNA's leadership 3 weeks ago. That is the playbook, and Edina is already in the legislative record. In Georgia, where COHNA started, a resolution identical to this one has already escalated into a bill writing Hinduphobia into the state penal code. Anti-Hindu bigotry in this city is real and demands a real response, but not from an an organization whose definition of bigotry was designed to capture political speech on behalf of a foreign government. Edina's institutions deserve better than that. If COHNA comes to your police department or your council asking for a relationship, you now know what you'd be associating this city with. And I have an information sheet on COHNA and this issue for every member of the council. All right, Mr. Frederick, if you want to give that to our clerk, we'll make that part of the record. Thank you. I'll take it Thank you. Anyone else? Okay. Yes. Good evening. In a way, I should lower the temperature a little bit. My name is Marilyn Allen, and I am a resident of uh Edina. And I intended tonight to speak to you on behalf of support for a crosswalk at Cooper's Avenue on Interlachen Boulevard. And my 14-year-old grandson, William, was supposed to come and speak as well. He's abandoned me, but he's asked me to read out his speech. And since it's better than mine, and I only have 3 minutes, I will read his speech if that's acceptable to you. Uh in early October last year, I'm speaking as William Allen now, my golden retriever, Deacon, and I were walking across Interlachen Boulevard toward Todd Park when a vehicle failed to see us. We were halfway across the road when we were struck. Deacon was thrown about 10 ft, tearing his nails as he tried to hold on, and he sprinted all the way home. I collided with the bumper, the driver's mirror, and my left foot was run over. My injuries were extensive, a fractured hip, internal bleeding, bruised organs, and a damaged foot. But the lasting injury was the trauma this incident inflicted on me and my dog. Deacon is now scared to walk on that side of the street, and flinched for months at the sound of cars. All because the driver didn't expect someone to be crossing. What I want you to take away is that this was preventable. If there had been a crosswalk, drivers would know to look for pedestrians, bikers, children, and people walking their dogs. Even as the police officer took my statement after the accident, we saw several people cross the road with their dogs just a few feet from where I had been hit. Our house faces Interlachen Boulevard, and I witness people walking every day. Always a few, but many of all ages when the weather is as beautiful as it was on October 9th. The activity of the neighborhood surrounding Interlachen are not bound by the confines of the boulevard. People cross back and forth for many reasons. Kids, teens, families, walkers, runners, and bikers. The list goes on. All cross Interlachen Boulevard to reach the tennis courts, Todd Park, and Highland area, the country club for treats at the Holiday Station, or Caribou, or to visit friends. Adding something on my own, if I may. I know that you are aware that Interlachen Boulevard, whatever its name, runs all the way from Highway 7 in almost straight as an arrow to the other end at Vernon or 50th Street West. It's over 2 miles. The growth of vehicles and population at both ends has been phenomenal. And I know that this council is aware of this and is trying to manage this for the safety of drivers by in putting in all of the work at on Vernon, the new bridge, the enlarged intersection, all of the roundabouts that you have put in. But for over 2 miles, there still remains no way to cross Interlachen Boulevard safely. There is a crosswalk at Ver- Vervarkin, which is almost at 50th Street, and then there's nothing until you reach the stoplight at Excelsior. There's no way City Council can stop neighbors crossing Interlachen Boulevard, but it is possible to make it safer for them. Please vote in favor of the development of a crosswalk at Cooper's Avenue. We are not asking for a change in the speed limit, a stoplight, or stop sign, but only a bit of paint and a few signs for a crosswalk to help both pedestrians and drivers avoid another needless, and I believe inevitable, injury or death. It's a small step to nudge nudge the future, but to someone, it may turn out to be priceless. >> [snorts] >> Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Allen. Thanks for coming in. Anyone else? Any audience? Let's turn now to the virtual world, see if we have anything there. I do not have anyone online. Okay. Um Well, let's uh let's then turn to the next portion of the agenda, part of community comment, but where the city manager responds to a community comments that were made at the prior meeting. It's been a while since we've had a meeting, but I think there were some comments made that you wanted to respond to. >> our last meeting was March 17th. Uh we had one uh question that evening and that question was around how the city recognizes and implements lowering our flags when we have a governor's order. We have a protocol about how we do that. Jennifer is our is our key person in that process. She's the one that gets that that order directly from the governor's office and then distributes it to the various facility managers and and folks in in the various facilities around our city where we have flag poles. Um we there is no no intention of being disrespectful about not getting a flag lowered. I think in this case it was just a human error in terms of the communication. Uh sometimes it's a it's a mechanical error. The flag as you as you may know there's a chains and apparatus that that sometimes get frozen or literally frozen and we can't make them go up and down. I don't think that was the case here but that has happened before. Um we are doing a a check uh process check uh later this week on Thursday I believe. We have a meeting with all of our uh flag um folks who take care of this and also the facilities managers where we talk about how we can make this better and and kind of reduce the human error piece of it. So we think that's important and we we want to do it right. That was it. Okay. Thank you. That prompt any questions or comments from council members? All right. Uh next on the agenda is the um consent agenda. There are several items on the consent agenda. Is there anyone on the council that wishes to remove an item from the consent agenda? All right. Hearing nothing is there a motion to adopt the items on the consent agenda in a single motion? So moved. Second. Member Pierce moves, member Jackson seconds the adoption of the items on the consent agenda in a single motion. Uh any further discussion? All those in favor of adopting the items on the consent agenda in a single motion say I. I. Opposed? Carried. Those items 6.1 through 6.16 are all adopted uh and approved. So thanks for that. And then uh we are moving on to special recognitions and presentations. And we've got some of our residents with us tonight for some of these uh matters and the first one is something that Edina has done for many many years. We We may Mr. Nemeroff will remind me but I think we might have missed last year. Uh but we were years ago they started this Days of Remembrance. The notion came out of Washington D.C. and I remember Edina was an early adopter through its Human Rights and Relations Commission uh of recognizing that day and having an event usually on a Sunday here in City Hall and we did it for over a decade I think and and Mr. Nemeroff is making sure that we continue this uh the this work through his efforts as a volunteer in our city and um I'm going to read a proclamation about Days of Remembrance and I'm going to give it to Mr. Nemeroff and then we're he's we're going to have him talk a little bit about when the event is going to occur and [snorts] some of the things that we can expect as part of that presentation. The proclamation for Days of Remembrance uh involves a a period of time April 13th through the 20th, 2026. And the resolution the proclamation reads as follows. Whereas the Holocaust was the state-sponsored systematic persecution and annihilation of European Jewry by Nazi Germany and its collaborators between 1933 and 1945. And whereas an estimated 6 million Jewish people along with millions of Romani, disabled, LGBTQ+, and political dissidents among other marginalized groups suffered grievously and were murdered under Nazi tyranny. And whereas the history of the Holocaust offers an opportunity to reflect on the moral responsibilities of individuals, societies, and governments. And whereas in 1979 the United States Congress established Days of Remembrance of the victims of the Holocaust to coincide with the dates of liberation by American troops of the Dachau concentration camp. >> [snorts] >> And whereas the Days of Remembrance have been set aside as a time for all to remember the victims of the Holocaust as well as to reflect on the need for respect of all people to strive to overcome intolerance and indifference through learning and remembrance. And whereas the community of Edina is dedicated to the principles of individual freedom and a just society. And whereas the Edina community honors the memory of the victims, survivors, descendants, rescuers, and liberators of the Holocaust victims. And whereas the people of the city of Edina remember the terrible events of the Holocaust including the deaths of more than a million children and remain vigilant against hatred, persecution, and tyranny. Now therefore the City Council of the city of Edina hereby proclaims the week of April 13th through the 20th, 2026 including the Day of Remembrance known as Yom Hashoah Hashoah Hashoah Hashoah as Days of Remembrance in the city of Edina and calls upon the people of Edina to join their neighbors in recognizing this week and are invited to the Days of Holocaust uh Days of Remembrance uh event titled The Cello Still Sings Courage and Conscience One Conversation at a Time by author and speaker Janet Horvath to be held Tuesday, April 14th, 2026 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. at Edina Fire Station number two. Uh those in favor of adopting the proclamation say I. Is there a motion to that effect? So moved. Second. Member Jackson moves, member Pierce seconds the adoption of the proclamation involving uh Days of Remembrance and the week of April 13th through 20, 2026 recognizing Days of Remembrance and the Holocaust. Any further discussion? All those in favor of adoption of the proclamation say I. I. I. Opposed? Carried. The proclamation is adopted. I'm going to walk down and hand it to our resident uh Ian Nemeroff and then I'm going to have Mr. Nemeroff comment a little bit about in depth more in depth about what's happening uh that evening. Thank you very much, Mr. There'll be a photo involved here too if I know you want to be. Thank you very much, Mr. Mayor. Um I have actually lit quite little to add to what you said. I mean first I'd like to issue a few thanks. First of all to Mayor Hovland and to the city of Edina because uh the city under his leadership has been a leader in recognizing Days of Remembrance and it's actually um quite a good statement about how the city honors and remembers things like Days of Remembrance and other dates of significance to members of our community. It's it's a very um it's a very honorable thing that the city does. Uh second I want to thank Council member Jackson who uh found our speaker this year, Ms. Horvath from the retired member of the Minnesota Orchestra and she'll be speaking about the experiences of her parents who were professional musicians were interned at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp and and her experiences as a second generation survivor. I think it's a very it's a wonderful program and I wish to thank Ms. Ms. member Jackson for bringing it to our attention. And then finally I wish to thank city staff member Thomas Brooks who I've been working with on this program. Thomas has been a a wonderful partner just thoughtful and persistent in helping just very helpful on creating this program. So I think I I do want to reiterate that the program will be next week next Tuesday evening at 6:30 at the new Fire Station number two. We hope we get some turnout and I I just again I thank you. Thank you for the proclamation and for the work of the city on this event. Yeah, you're welcome and thanks thanks for reinvigorating it. I think it's real it's been an important part of the fabric of our town for well over a decade as we mentioned and it's something that we should be continuing I think year after year after year. Let's go down for a group photo. You in the middle there, Mr. Nemeroff. All right. Everybody come closer. Ian wants to display your proclamation. Before we excuse [clears throat] me, before we read the next proclamation um I want to turn to Manager Neil. We've got a new fellow that he wants to introduce us bringing at the city of Edina and uh I'll turn it over to Manager Neil. Thank you, Your Honor. I I want to introduce our new uh Edina City Management Fellow. His name is Assad Masood. Uh he just started with us uh uh last week and I wanted him to come and just introduce himself to you and tell a little bit about where he's from and how he got here. Yeah, good evening. Uh nice to meet you all. Um I was privileged enough to work with you a little bit earlier in the work session. Um I started last week um finding my way around the building, but uh a little bit about me. I was a I was in the Master's of Public Administration program at Hamline until last spring. Um >> [clears throat] >> I was working at Saint Paul Academy as their auxiliary programs coordinator for the last 3 years before that. And uh I've been looking to get into public administration, really public service uh since I started undergrad at the U of M doing political science, but I started that in 2015 and midway through uh my undergrad, the political landscape shifted a bit and I wanted to really make an impact. So, getting that Master of Public Administration really put me in a position to be around great people like Scott and Ari. And uh I'm really excited to get started with you all. Thank you. Yeah, we're pleased to have you here. When we were upstairs in the work session, I wanted to take the time to find out I thought well, maybe it's a new tech person and they must have sure who it was and didn't think about the internship, but uh Yeah, welcome. We're sure pleased to have you here. >> I appreciate that. Thank you. All right. Um the next proclamation we have this evening is uh involving public safety telecommunicator week. And Janelle Harris, I think is with us this evening. Here's the proclamation. And uh this would recognize uh 911 public safety telecommunicator week as April 12th through the 18th, 2026. Whereas emergencies can occur at any time that require police, fire, or emergency medical services. And whereas an emergency occurs, the res public prompt response of police officers, firefighters, and paramedics is critical to the protection of life and the preservation of property. And whereas the safety of our police officers, firefighters, and paramedics is dependent upon the quality and accuracy of the information obtained from residents who telephone or text the Edina Communications Center. And whereas public safety telecommunicators are the first and most critical contact our residents have with emergencies emergency services. And whereas public safety telecommunicators are the single vital link for our police officers, firefighters, and paramedics by monitoring their activities by radio, providing them with information, and assuring their safety. And whereas public safety telecommunicators of the Edina Communications Center have contributed substantially to the apprehension of the criminals, suppression of fires, and treatment of patients. And whereas each public safety telecommunicator has exhibited compassion, understanding, and professionalism during the performance of their job in the past year. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the City Council of the City of Edina does hereby proclaim the week of April 12th through the 18th, 2026 as National Public Safety Telecommunicator Week in the City of Edina in honor of the men and women whose diligence and professionalism keep our residents and our city safe. Uh is there a motion to adopt that proclamation as read? So moved. I second. Member Pierce moves, Member Regan seconds the adoption of the uh proclamation involving telecommunicator week uh designated telecommunicator telecommunicator week as April 12th through the 18th, 2026. Any further discussion? Those in favor of adoption of the proclamation as read, say I. I. >> I. Opposed? Carried. And we've got the uh here uh thanks for being down here with us tonight. And uh always look forward to your comments because uh you are such a critical component of how we how we keep people safe uh in our community. And you you guys are always so calm, cool, and collected upstairs. And uh so it's good to have you down here with us. I appreciate that. Uh brought along uh dispatcher Ingram with me. Uh she's here to on behalf of the other dispatchers to hear the comments of the proclamation and some of the words that I have to say tonight, but I really do appreciate you um voting in this upcoming week as um National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week as recognized by the City of Edina. I'm honored to stand before you today as we recognize uh a group of professionals whose work is absolutely, as you said, critical to the safety and well-being of our community, our 911 dispatchers. Uh just a little background. Dispatchers are the first point of contact in emergencies. They remain calm while handling multiple calls at once, coordinating police, fire, and medical responders while updating them with critical information. They must extract accurate information from panicked or distressed callers, all while managing the stress of high call volumes and the emotional weight of hearing traumatic events that they cannot physically and intervene in. Decisions must be made in seconds, often with incomplete or unclear information, where hesitation can have serious consequences. They navigate complex and highly technic technological systems like our CAD, our radios, our telephone and and various emergency databases. Their dedication is unmatched. They work irregular and very long hours uh reporting to their shifts in all weather. We've had some wild weather this year. Truly understanding the 24/7 nature of the profession. Um in fact, we've even had recently dispatchers stay the night in town at the fire station to make sure they can make it in during this last snowstorm um for their early morning 6:00 a.m. shift. So, they've given up time at home with their families on multiple occasions to do that and be there for um the public that we serve. So, today uh as I accept this proclamation recognizing National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, we not only honor the their incredible dedication, we acknowledge these challenges they face, the resilience they show, and the lives that they save. This week is a reminder to our community that these professionals are more than voices on a phone. They are lifelines and an indispensable part of the public safety chain of survival. National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week is our opportunity to say what often goes unsaid. Thank you. Thank you for your patience, your time, your professionalism, and your empathy. Your work matters. Every call matters. Every second matters. And next week we celebrate you and your peers um and the profound impact you have on our city every single day. So, thank you. Yeah, thank you. I think we're going to do a Yeah, thanks for that. >> [applause] >> I'm going to walk this down and I want to ask the council to come with me so we can do another photo with uh all of you. >> [laughter] >> Next couple matters we have coming up on the agenda involve a proclamation on Earth Day and then we're going to get an annual sustainability and climate action update uh from Marissa Beyer, our sustainability manager, and that's always interesting information. Uh but first, let me turn to the proclamation involving Earth Day. And we've got uh several of our residents here that are keenly interested in uh in in Earth Day and everything environmental. I think any day and have been uh involved and engaged uh in protecting Mother Earth for decades. So, here's the proclamation. Whereas Earth Day is commemorated annually on April 22nd to demonstrate support for environmental protection, advance sustainability initiatives, and raise awareness about climate change. And whereas Earth Day serves as a reminder of our responsibility to climate action, stewardship of our resources, and our future generations to live uh leave a livable world, live live and leave a livable world. And whereas the City of Edina is committed to addressing climate change and has taken steps to reduce its carbon footprint, conserve natural resources, and foster a culture of environmental stewardship. And whereas in 2021, the City of Edina adopted a climate action plan outlining our community's commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions 45% by 2030 and achieve net zero emissions by 2050. And whereas Edina residents and businesses are actively supporting climate action by participating in the Community Climate Action Fund, diverting waste from landfills by participating in organics recycling, and choosing to walk, bike, and bus as alternative ways to move through our community. Now, therefore, the City Council of the City of Edina hereby proclaims April 22nd, 2026 as Earth Day in the City of Edina and encourages all residents and businesses to acknowledge their role in protecting our environment and combating climate change. Is there a motion to adopt that proclamation? So moved. Member Jackson moves, member Pierce seconds the adoption of the Earth Day proclamation designating April 22nd, 2026 as Earth Day in the city of Edina. Any further discussion? All those in favor of adoption of the proclamation say I. I. >> I. Opposed? Carried. Proclamation's adopted. Uh Director Berry, you have anything you want to say relative to the proclamation? Are we Come down and take a photo now or look for some remarks? Okay, good. You got it. Look at that schedule of events. There you go. >> it. Yeah, so thank you, Mayor Council members. So as noted, April Day commemorate or sorry, Earth Day on April 22nd commemorates environmental protection. We're looking at advancing sustainability initiatives as well as raising awareness about climate change. What this proclamation does is not only highlights Earth Day, but also continues to elevate our commitment as a city and for our community to achieving our climate action plan goals. To foster that environmental stewardship, uh we are looking and supporting several events this month. Uh first, all month long, the city will be providing 100% discounted visits for the Home Energy Squad program. Those are in-home visits for residents in the community to help them understand what is their home's energy use, what are opportunities for increasing efficiency, and then providing direct one-on-one support um so they can sign up for that online. A lot of events as well. We have educational workshops around planning for clean water. One tomorrow or one sorry, one tomorrow night at the South Metro Public Safety Training Facility, as well as one next week online. We're hosting a clothing swap at the Senior Center on April 18th. There's an open house for the Safe and Equitable Mobility Action Plan at the new fire station on the 22nd, and then towards the end of the month there will be an Arbor Day tree planting at Creek Valley School Park on April 21st. And then on April 26th at Weber Park will be the Earth Day Community Festival. So we encourage residents to participate in these events, sign up for a Home Energy Squad visit, and continue to celebrate Earth and and also support our climate action plan. And we have several folks in the audience tonight, not only from our Energy and Environment Commission, but also just members of the community that support sustainability, and we also like them to be part of the the photo that we'll do. All right. I'm willing to come down and take a photo, I think, with all the folks that are here. But first, let me have Mr. Thompson come up and tell us a little bit about the Earth Day Festival. If you feel comfortable doing that on Sunday, the 26th of April. Never give up an opportunity. Well, you can come to hear Mayor Loveland is one of our speakers. Uh right back at you. Uh also Larry Craft from St. Louis Park, uh and we'll have a number of students, and Julie Green, our state representative. But the big reason to come is because people are showing up for the climate. Uh we have Tom Tesman here with the Energy Commission. Alicia's on the Morningside Neighborhood Association steering team. And what I found in my decades of doing this work, and ever since this what we've gone through these last few months, people need to come together. So our focus is really getting people out of their homes, down to the park, enjoying the music, enjoying the food, listening to people, and learning from the 17 different organizations that are going to be having information there. So on behalf of all of us, thank you, city, for helping us. Thank you, Jennifer, for helping to blast out the information. We're hoping for good weather and a large crowd, but do come and hear Mr. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That'll be That would not be the reason to show up there. >> [laughter] >> Um let's kind of have a photo with everybody here that's involved in Earth Day. Have a [clears throat] talk with them down there. Oh. Yeah. There we go. >> [laughter] >> Can we smile? Yay. Thank you. Yay. Thank you. Well, as I mentioned earlier, we're going to be able to hear our annual sustainability action climate action climate action plan update as well from Marissa Berry, our sustainability manager. And look forward to hearing the information you have to share with us. I'm sure the public will be uh very interested in it as well. Great. All right, thank you, Mayor Council members. So tonight, as as noted, I'll be giving the division update for the sustainability group here. Um it is a mighty division of two, myself, Marissa Berry, sustainability manager, and then Matthew Gabb, our sustainability specialist. So tonight I'll walk through progress towards our climate action plan goals, uh give update on funding related to our conservation sustainability fund as well as well as grant funding that we've secured, and then highlight some of the implementation activities that happened last year. As a reminder of the climate action plan, so this is the guiding document for the sustainability division's work. We're working and achieving our city budget value of sustainability. Our climate vision is to help those who live and work in Edina imagine and achieve a future where the Earth and all who live on it thrive. Our goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 45% by 2030 and achieve net zero emissions by 2050. Where we're seeing emission reductions and measuring those are in the transportation and land use sector, buildings and energy sector, waste management, and then water and waste water sectors of the climate action plan. We have several other sectors related to green space, climate health, climate safety, um and food systems that contribute towards climate resiliency as well as help mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. As we think look at our progress towards goals, so based on our 2023 greenhouse gas inventory, we've achieved a 17% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. This is on track with where we expect to be, but that emissions reduction is primarily due to grid decarbonization. So Xcel Energy is investing in carbon-free generation that is contributing towards our electricity consumption and our emissions reduction. Later this year we'll be completing our 2025 greenhouse gas inventory, which will give us a better update on where we're at, and are we maintaining that reduction in progress or has there been a change, and help us understand how we should move forward. As we look towards 2030, we do need to maintain our current reductions as well as reduce additional emissions approximately 197,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide. And most of those reductions need to happen in the transportation and building sectors. So moving on to funding, the Conservation Sustainability Fund, also known as the CAS Fund, supports implementation of the climate action plan. In 2025, revenue was higher than 2024 with approximately 1.5 million in franchise fee and other revenue sources. The primary driver for that increase was an increase in franchise fee revenue than budgeted, as well as elective pay tax credits that we received for EV purchases, um and then as well as some interest payment for a delayed payment on our tax credits. Um for expenses, we expended about 1.3 million dollars last year. Uh a lot of that money went towards capital investment, so we provided funding for efficiency improvements, two new solar systems, one here at City Hall, one at Fire Station 2, buying new electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles, supporting sustainability program and policy implementation, and then also providing some uh matching grant funding um requirements that we had to meet to secure grant funding. And moving on to grant funding, so we are very fortunate in the sustainability division to have a staff member Matthew Gabb dedicated towards pursuing these grants. So to date last year, we secured 1.96 million dollar in federal, state, and other funding. To date, the sustainability division has secured 4.5 million dollars in funding, and that has made a significant improvement and significant impact in us being able to implement our climate action plan. To highlight some of the the funding secured last year, so for electric vehicles related to elective pay tax credits, we received 88,406 dollars. Um we also received funding for a lot of capital investment, new shade structures at Fred Richards Park, the York Avenue pond lift station, um and then the new uh the updated aquatic center boiler room. We're expanding the canopy there. There will be solar on that canopy providing power to the site, and then also expanding our public property ash tree removal and replacement program. So thinking about the future of funding, the new percent franchise fee model should maintain similar revenue to prior years, but could be affected by weather, utility rates, just by changes in consumption. Um we are assuming all new federal grant opportunities are going to be limited based on the current administration guidance around climate and sustainability initiatives. Uh we also saw last year elective pay was essentially eviscerated by HR1. EV credits ended last year in September. There will be no new credits for EV purchases made by the city or other organizations. The remaining solar and wind credits are incredibly hard to comply with and make it essentially difficult to achieve any re- receive any credit related to those projects and geothermal was relatively left untouched. However, we do don't anticipate any new geothermal going in at City sites. So we're just anticipating no new elective pay tax credits coming in after this year. And the remaining state grant funding is for natural resources. We're seeing a lot of funding for storm water, trees, planting, which is great. We love that work, but funding expired for energy related programs and we don't anticipate any new opportunities there unless a funding is reinstated. [snorts] And so we did include a legislative priority just elevating the importance of refunding those expired programs. We as a community benefited with some of that funding and I would like to see that come back. So this slide highlights accomplishments. I'm not going to walk through all of it. Big takeaway is a lot was accomplished last year. We're really excited at the work that's been done, but just to highlight a few things. The first thing I just want to note the community climate action fund which provides incentives for efficiency projects, e-bikes, renewable energy, other home electrification. We expanded that to include matching funds for sustainable deconstruction. So as we look at teardown, residential redevelopment, other commercial demolition, rather than let having that that building demolished, that waste going straight to a landfill, incentivizing deconstruction where that material can be salvaged. And so we're really excited about being able to do that here in our community. We also commissioned the the new solar here at City Hall and at fire station. So that's increasing our ability to generate renewable energy on site, reduce utility bills, provide some resiliency to our buildings. We updated the climate action plan work plan as I presented late last year to really refocus our efforts between 2026 and 2030 and that's guiding staff's work plans as well as commission work plans. And then we were able to showcase Edina programs and policies at a regional conference as well as participate in some statewide case studies just to highlight the best practices that we have implemented here in Edina. So to dive a little bit deeper, I'm going to highlight impacts by programs, policies, and capital investment. First to just start with our programs. So the first item here, the community climate action fund which is I noted provides matching funds for energy efficiency, electrification, renewable energy projects, provided funding to 60 projects with $109,000 of city funds dispersed. That city funding leveraged almost 900,000 of private investment in Edina, which we're really excited about to see of city funding. We were really able to leverage that make further investment in our community. We also buy down energy audits for residents and businesses. In 2025, we saw 250 residential assessments and 11 business assessments that were supported by city funds. And then finally the electrify everything Minnesota program outreach. That's an opportunity for us to provide education and resources to residents about home electrification. We hosted three online webinars. We hosted one in-person tabling event and then we also helped create a new online incentive calculator that information to folks based on their household income, size, tax filing status, and zip code. You enter that information, what pops up on the screen is a list list of different savings programs across different projects that that person can take advantage of based on their inputs. And so we're really excited about that because it also now integrates the city of Edina climate action fund as well. For capital investments at City Hall, we have completed our City Hall energy management program. One highlight is the new solar PV is anticipated to generate about 200,000 kilowatt hours a year and that's approximately 20% of this building's electricity use that we're now generating on site. We also installed one new EV charger for police EV fleet. At fire station two, a lot of sustainability elements. That building is B3 certified meaning that it is a more sustainable building than otherwise would be built. Highlighted there, we have 28 geothermal wells, 150 kilowatt solar system on the roof, and then also three level two EV chargers that provide charging for fleet as well as for public access as well. And then we're also continuing with our fleet conversion for green fleet with four new electric vehicles and two new hybrid electric vehicles in our fleet for folks to drive. And that replaced traditional combustion engine vehicles. As we look at policy, our efficient buildings ordinance so we that ordinance was updated last year to align with the state program. So that ordinance now only focuses on smaller buildings, 25,000 to 499,000 49,999 square feet buildings. Approximately 75 buildings are applied for this policy and 82% submitted their reports. That's about 5 to 7% lower than prior years. However, if we look at just that smaller building set, it's consistent with how they complied with previous years policies. For the sustainable building policy which is for projects that receive city funding or plan unit development or is a city project, they have to meet certain sustainability standards. So we reviewed two city projects as well as two private projects in the community that are working towards sustainability certification like LEED or B3 as well as installing EV chargers and meeting the sustainable building 2030 energy standard. The carryout bag fee ordinance, we now have two years of reporting done which means we have about 18 months worth of data available to us. In 2025, 60 businesses reported distributing 2.49 million carryout bags. There one thing will I'll note here is 60 is much lower than what we would expect to receive in terms of expectation of who might have to report. This is self-reported data. There's no penalty for not reporting. What we have noticed that several large retailers like Target and Walgreens as well as several smaller retails at the Southdale Mall, Galleria Mall, and 50th and France did not submit reporting. The other item I want to highlight that our division is really proud of is extreme heat heat report completed in Edina or sorry, extreme heat report completed that focuses on Edina. So what this report does is it evaluates extreme heat in our community and identifying those locations with higher than average temperatures than others. What we saw with the data is we were able to see vulnerable information on vulnerable populations, health impacts, and economic impacts in our community. And then what this report also does is identify mitigation and adaptation strategies that are currently being implemented as well as the new opportunities we should be looking at as we think about mitigating and adapting to extreme heat. Focusing a little bit more on the data. So the highest daytime temperatures are in commercial industrial areas with the lowest tree canopy and a lot of impervious surface. We also see really high temperatures in residential neighborhoods where a high number of residential redevelopment projects have occurred and tree canopy has been reduced. Looking at the screen on the map as well in the report, those higher those hotter areas are represented with red shading primarily concentrated in the southeast quadrant of the city. What the data also tells us is where the lowest daytime temperatures occur which can be upwards of 8° cooler than the region and those are in areas with high tree canopy or adjacent to parks and other green spaces so able to mitigate that extreme heat that's occurring. So looking ahead again, we have to maintain those current reductions as well as reduce an additional 196,865 metric tons of carbon dioxide. As noted, significant reductions will be needed in the transportation and building sectors. With that updated 2026-2030 work plan, we're really able to leverage that as we move forward. We're looking towards the comprehensive plan, capital improvement plan, expanding on lessons learned, and then also working to secure additional funding as well as staffing to complete and initiate those projects. With that completed anticipated completed updated greenhouse gas inventory which is going to have 2025 data, it will help us better understand where we at. Are we continuing a reduction on path with where we thought we would be or are we higher than expected and that can help us focus our efforts and understand where we need to to really put our staff time, funding to continue those emissions reductions. And with that, I am happy to answer any questions. Thank you. Questions, comments from colleagues? Council members? Council member Jackson? Yes, thank you. This is a as always a lot of information in a short amount of time and you you handled it beautifully. Um seeing Mr. Gab in the audience, how how are we doing with the soil soy diesel conversion? I know I've been watching oil prices go up and I'm thinking, "Hey, maybe we're saving some money here in Edina." And I apologize I didn't get you this question ahead of time, but can you give us an update on the soy diesel project? >> Yep, yes. So the the project that Council member Jackson's referencing is upfitting 10 snow plow dump trucks in the public works fleet to run on 100% biodiesel. The that project is we received a lot of federal and state funding to to implement this project. We have installed the tank. It's substantially complete. We have upfitted all the trucks and I believe this week that the the technology provider Optimus Solutions is coming on site to turn the computer on, train our maintenance and mechanics staff to be able to run it. So we'll know here within the next few weeks making sure everything runs smoothly and then by the end of the year we'll understand the the removal of petroleum diesel to that biodiesel as part of our reporting on fuel consumption. So let me go I I think I missed it. When are the trucks going to be going out with the soy diesel in it? Will it be 2027? >> This week. Okay. So so all right, it's not just learning, it's actually going out. >> Correct. Yeah, the system will be turned on. It's a computer system within the engine to turn when the engine starts, start on petroleum diesel, warm it up, at a certain point essentially flips a switch to start running on the B100 tank that's also been installed. So it'll be this week that we'll be turning that computer system on and then training the mechanics and staff on using the vehicles. Wonderful. That's super exciting. Can you Do you have a mechanism for gauging how much money we save by running the soy diesel instead of petroleum base given the price of gasoline and diesel going up so high? Is that part of your metrics that you're going to be looking at? So we and I might ask Director of Public Works Chad Miller to chime in here. So we pre-purchase fuel at a agreed contracted rate. So we're able to we're able to look at that as we forecast out. It's not a weekly or or daily or monthly purchase that we're making. So it's a little less volatile than your average consumer. But it will be something we'll be able to track forward both on dollar savings, fuel savings, GHG savings that we can include in future reporting. Terrific. Thank you. And then we've got two commercial buildings going online. We've got the Opus building here and the one down at 7250 France, the Craftsman. If you have the opportunity to talk to either Manager Neuendorf or or Mr. Teague and get contact information from them, I would love to hear how many of those people live in Edina will be working in Edina as opposed to commuting to another community. Um I I've heard that that there's a lot of local interest in these buildings. And if it's possible, it may may not be, but I would love to see if that's going to help reduce the amount of transportation costs and our try to meet our transportation goals cuz it's really hard to measure you know what those miles are. But if you anecdotally could get some stories, I think that'd be really interesting. Thank you. Thanks for your good work. Thank you. Council Member Agnew. Thank you. And I just want to echo thank you so much for all the work you do in the community and for working with the commission as well and and just all of the organizing that you're doing. So thank you first off. I'm really excited to see the kind of continued data collection that we're having on the single use bag ordinance cuz I know that that was something that was really important to us as we were thinking about this is not only like do we want to do it, but then how can we measure the impact that we're having? So some just additional data points that I think would be good if you could maybe come back to us at a later meeting. Being able to understand having some of those initial data points that we had used when we were first reviewing the ordinance of like how many bags were being distributed by specific retailers as like a before data point to understand how has the ordinance potentially impacted or correlation causation not really sure, but just some more storytelling on the impacts that we're seeing. And I know that we didn't have like extensive pre data, but just kind of the best that we can. And then I also think it'd be helpful to to see to start to see like year over year as well because I I think some like the initial data maybe not as directional, but as we start to layer on year by year, we might get more Got it. understand. It's really hard when we you said, right? Like even some of our biggest retailers aren't providing us that information. And maybe even like I'll offer maybe I don't know the best way to do this, but like if we had pre data from some and those happen to be the institutions that aren't providing us like now follow on reporting, maybe there's an opportunity for us to help influence and just like ask really nicely for them to participate in the reporting because I think that would be even more meaningful to have the before and after where we can. I would appreciate any support in encouraging businesses to comply with reporting. Council Member [clears throat] Risser. Thank you for this report. The images that you show showing the extreme heat are really compelling and I really do hope that they are visuals that accompany decisions that are being made for the comprehensive plan and the CIP. And I don't know if you were thinking along those lines or not, but I think it really should inform some of the things that we the choices we make and how we allocate funds. And I know I've been trying to push for Lewis Park for a new rec building there and just seeing this heat map and knowing that the current structure does not have an HVAC system and we can't have summer programming and it is so hard to think about that. And especially thinking about the lower income housing. And so I hope your work guides our investments more. So you you know, toss this out and I think we do need to really reflect on that. The other question I had was um the land behind fire station number two. If there's any potential and I I hear the cutbacks to federal grants, but are is there still money for microgrids or perhaps another form of use that could lend itself to sustainability? A little solar garden, I don't know. Um Pretty limited from the federal administration. There's as noted essentially eliminated for any funding that's been available for sustainability as we think about either internal funding or other opportunities especially in the the site you had noted on the outlot behind fire station two. Um A lot of goals I think that which we think about that site with a microgrid that's a little bit more difficult. It's often an interconnected system across a lot of private buildings. But what my goal in my goal for anything that would go there would be to ensure that there's a sustainability element integrated. If it's a building is can it be net zero? Can it be all electric? Can it have onsite renewable energy generation? If it has to comply with our sustainable building policy, that stuff can be ensured versus just encouraged. So um in terms of is there funding available for a solar garden or for a microgrid, pretty limited. We'd have to likely invest our own capital to do that. But if it were to go to a private developer putting in a separate site, we could either require it or strongly encourage that activity. Okay. Thank you. And I do want to underscore in my neighborhood, I'm not in the red, the hot hot part, but I do walk along the Southdale area. When it's August and when you are walking down those the sidewalk, it is just miserable. And we need to figure out what we can do to really bump up our tree canopy and try to reverse this. So again, thank you. Your work really shows what we need to do. Thank you. Member Pierce. Thanks, Mr. Mayor. So again, thank you for the presentation. Member Agnew kind of is cheating on my sheet here. She's covered everything that I had. >> [laughter] >> We're good partners on this side. It is going to be harder and harder to get wins in this space until you've kind of talked through a lot of the grants going away. So it's it's not going to get any easier. And so I just wanted to underscore the importance of data as Member Agnew described. And we need to be able to compare against something. And I think you do have some comparative data. I'm sure you do. And so it would be good moving forward that we can kind of see both so that we can tell not that our efforts are achieving the goals that we set cuz that's what your presentation shows. But we need to show that not only is that true, but that achieving those goals is having the right impact on the climate that we're we're expecting. And so we need to see all three of those data points moving forward because as you said again, it's it's going to be tougher and tougher especially in some of these cases to get some of this work done. So thank you. Thank you. For me on the positive side of my observations, I join Member Risser in thinking about the portion of your report that dealt with the Edina extreme heat and then the advisory communication that we received as well that would support mitigation strategies and adaptation solutions. I thought that was a well-done document and added some real value to this whole extreme heat issue. And so I look forward to seeing what what you and your department and our city does in that regard. Um The bag fee thing continues to bother me. I think um we didn't have adequate data last year, but we had from your data, we had 57 businesses report that they dispersed uh like 1.49 million bags in 2024. So the purpose of the whole ordinance was to try to discourage people from taking a bag from the store instead bringing their own bag. And they charged a nickel. And then 2024 the effect of that was that 73,610 dollars was collected and went to the merchants that dispersed the bags. In 2025, the bag dispersal went up by a million bags to 2.49 million if I'm reading the data right. So you know I think a critical analysis needs to be done here. Is this this is even coming close to accomplishing what And there was 125,000 dollars and there's uptick in the businesses was three. We went from 57 business businesses to 60 reporting and reporting that there was a million more bags dispersed to consumers that generated 125,000 dollars in revenue. And so, um I opposed the bag fee. Uh and I continue to have concerns about the bag fee and it what it's what it's actually accomplishing. Uh other than putting $125,000 worth of revenue into the into the into the hands of our merchants. And I don't know what our costs are internally in terms of what what it cost to run that program, who we have employed to help run that program, but I I'd like to know more, I think. Our residents deserve to know more, too. I can quickly answer the the last comment. So, the policy's managed by myself, sustainability manager. Uh so, I am the as well as with support um from Matthew Gabb, sustainability specialist. So, it's internally managed. We just don't have the capacity to enforce. We don't have capacity to go to businesses um checking to see if they're implementing the policy, comply with reporting. Um and then we have used some conservation sustainability funds to that funds the the outreach that was done. We sent letters, postcards, emails, uh connections with the chamber um as well as the 50th and France Business Association. But I'm and I you know, hearing the comments from member Agnew and and member Pierce as well, definitely can come back with some more uh data and information. >> Yeah. I'm willing to give it one more year to see to member Agnew's point that we have a little bit more of a data stream to look at and I think it's important. But, um Mr. Mayor. Yes, member Jackson. It was my understanding, thank you. Um that the 2024 numbers were for 6 months and the 2025 numbers were for 12 months. So, that's why it's doubled. Yeah, all right. >> But, if you look at if you take the 2024 numbers and double them, it is a reduction in the number of bags that were put out. >> be a seasonality aspect to it, too, too. And so, that's why I thought one more one more year of data was worthwhile. Yeah, but it is, you know, 6 months data versus 12 months. So, it didn't we didn't double in the amount of bags that we put out. We doubled the amount of time we counted the bags. Um so, that's it's a little I want to make that clear that if you double the 2024 numbers, the the 2025 numbers is a reduction. So, if you look at it per month basis, it would you'd see the numbers go down. >> Yeah, thanks for that. Let's look at it another year and we'll see. Thank you. Um Okay, thank you. Thank you. But I think uh with respect to I think the whole council is interested in the heat the heat mapping and the strategies around extreme heat reduction strategies. You know, strategies around that would be very valuable. So, uh all right, good. We've got one other matter remaining on the agenda. And that is uh further conversation about potentially amending section 4-9-9, which would repeal or replace chapter 6, article 3 regarding lawful gambling in the in the city of Edina. That's a code citation. Uh we've been talking about charitable gaming uh pull tabs in particular. We passed an ordinance on a first reading basis and uh I think maybe Manager Neil and certainly our clerk Sharon Allison has gathered more information since the first reading and I know that with the input I've had from residents, um I've caused uh it's caused me to shift some of my thinking here um especially on the ratio. So, anyway, let me get to have the conversation and hear what our clerk has learned from other communities and Manager Neil, get your observations and the current staff recommendation and then we can have a conversation about it, right? Thank you. I think from a from a staff perspective, uh first of all, we just want to remind you where we where we have come from and where we are tonight and and uh our clerk Allison can do that for you in a second. I think from our perspective as a greater staff, uh we really are are hoping that we can move forward with this proposal. We've had interest in it. We have researched it. I think we've answered uh as many questions as we can about it. We haven't made um really much of the moral piece of this. I think that is something that should be should be uh determined by the council, but not by staff. Um I think we we are really advocates for uh trying to develop a clean, easy system um when it comes to lawful gambling. A kind of system where the council really just opens the door and allows the organizations and the venues uh to kind of make relationships and and move forward like they would um like they would in a market situation. So, that's what we want to talk to you about tonight. Um we're also going to recommend the that the council approve the 3% um uh the the 3% tax, we'll call it, in order to support the the administrative uh costs associated with uh using the lawful gambling and also the 10% uh piece the city is allowed to uh use of the of the total revenues. Uh we can talk about this tonight or we could talk about it in the future, uh but we would suggest earmarking that money and and keeping it in a special revenue fund so that we have uh separate financials for it and we can share with with council and uh with the nonprofits and with the community about how it is spent. Uh my recommendation would be that we retain that money for a community events, uh special community events that currently right now uh require us to uh either go out and ask for money, ask for donations, or ask for sponsorships. If we had a regular source of revenue, we could uh make those make those large community events, which people like, uh even more feasible in the city. So, I just wanted to give that little preamble and um and clerk Allison can can walk you through where we are today. Okay, thank you. Manager Neil, Clerk Allison, go ahead. Mayor, members of the council, uh just a reminder that on February 4th, you did approve first reading of the ordinance. And um there was consensus from the council to have a cap of six premise permits with one permit per location. Um you may recall that I did ask for only three premise permits. That is totally uh not something that you really need to consider. You're totally free to do whatever you feel, however many permits that you believe would be um okay. Uh staff is absolutely fine with that. Um and in addition to what um City Manager Neil has just stated um with the 3% gambling tax and the 10%, um we're also asking that you approve the um net gambling proceed to be spent in the trade area would be 70% and then um additionally, the ordinance in if you approve the the ordinance as it stands before you tonight, it would also eliminate the uh tax-exempt gambling of limiting um those to two um exempt events annually and that would move to five year uh five um events annually, falling more in line with what is allowed by the state gambling board. And we would no longer do a background check on um those uh nonprofit agencies treasurers and um presidents that would be pulling those permits because they would be pulling that permit directly with the state gambling board and the city would be simply signing off on those permits. And uh lastly, there would be an amendment to the liquor ordinance allowing lawful gambling. And with that, I can stand for any questions that you may have. Questions for Clerk Allison from council members? Council member Agnew. Thank you. Um in the staff report, we received a lot of data points, which are really great on some other cities and uh what specific locations have seen both in terms of total gross receipts as well as the net profits after state tax for those entities. Um the numbers that I'm seeing here now feel I would say drastically smaller as the potential opportunity for these nonprofits than I think I initially understood from some of the first presentations. So, can you maybe summarize cuz I know we didn't like update a staff report or the um presentation, which I think is okay, but can you just summarize for me kind of like what your interpretation of what some of these numbers mean for us to hypothesize what the nonprofit institutions within Edina might see in terms of net profits? So, I I don't think I can do that. However, I was shocked, too, at the amount of money that um were raised and then at the end of the day, what the nonprofit um organization had to then put towards their community events. Um but so, I don't know what will happen in Edina. Um it did seem a little bit top-heavy in terms of expenses and I could be speaking out of turn with um what their expenses are to actually run an event um of this magnitude. Um so, I was just as shocked as you are in terms of how much they're left with at the end of the day. So. Thank you. Yeah, cuz I I mean, I think one of the the selling points was it feels like so much money, right? And it felt like um I think maybe some of the the sentiment was it would be crazy not to do this. Um but seeing these numbers, I think really make me kind of re like double down on calling to question, like is does this make it worth it and is this the best way that we can raise funds for these organizations? Um so I really appreciate some of the legwork that you put into um pulling all of this information. Um the other part and I think this is based off of um some of the engagement that we had had from community members. There was a a public comment a couple of um meetings ago. Uh can you just help clarify? It sounds like um even like religious institutions within the city of Edina would also be eligible. Speak a little bit more about the analysis that you conducted on um how many nonprofits would be avail- uh eligible for this and how you're thinking about um who might actually then use it. So any nonprofit, anyone that is a 501c3, um would be eligible to apply for a premises permit. In terms of how they would use it, that is totally up to them. Um they would need to have a uh relationship with a liquor licensed establishment. That is one requirement. And so um that would be those are the only ground rules in order for them to get a premises permit. And um the next thing that they would take into consideration is what type of gaming would they provide at these establishments. And again, that is totally up to them which games they would like to provide. What gaming does this ordinance as it's in front of us tonight allow? Pull tabs uh both um paper and electronic um as well as uh paddle wheel um electronic and paper bingo uh tip boards and I believe those are the only ones and raffles. Okay, and so in the the staff report we see that there are 391 nonprofits that are associated with Edina. Um but I also see in here that we're um hypothesizing maybe that uh the ones that would likely leverage these uh this opportunity to do lawful gambling would be education-related organizations and then athletic associations and booster clubs. Can you tell me more about why we're making that assumption for this? Only because those are the ones who have shown interest so far, but that does not mean that it would be limited only to those um associations. Okay. And I did speak with one church, for example, who did ask a couple questions regarding premises permits. They felt that they didn't have the manpower or um enough staffing to be able to do premises permits. Um from what I understand is that it is quite an undertaking for an organization to be able to apply for a premises permit and be able to carry out um what is required. And so um from what I've learned, it takes a certain size organization in order to apply for a premises permit and then actually make it work. So within the list of um organizations that are in Edina, I would imagine, I'm not speaking from experience, uh would imagine that there are some nonprofits that are probably too small to be able to apply and actually implement a premises permit as required by state statute. Okay. Did we do an analysis of the 391 to understand Okay. And the reason that I ask is cuz I went and I looked at um some other locations just to kind of see, okay, what are the what's the nonprofit then that's working out of this establishment? Um and so if you go to Bloomington to I think it's Smack Shack, it's The Aliveness Project is the one that's there. Um and so it just kind of made me curious to understand, you know, if if what we're saying is is important for us that this is going to education-related events, athletic associations, and booster clubs um again, there's nothing in this ordinance as it's currently written that ensures that that is what is happening. Um it really could be any nonprofit, right, that's in this 391 list that establishes these relationships with the premises. To be clear the ordinance is not stating that it is only for these associations, the education or the athletic um associations that are raising funds. It's for any organization. And if you were to approve specifically that they are in Edina, then it would be for any organization that is in Edina that feels that they qualify to implement a premises permit, they would be able to apply for a premises permit. So maybe we did get off track in associating certain organizations as being the only ones that um would be able to get a premises permit, but that is not the case at all. That's not what our ordinance proposal is and that's not what our staff recommendation is either. Right. Is it If we wanted to, would it be possible for us to? Is there like legal grounds for us to do that or is it not an option? I would have Attorney Kendall Pine on that, but I believe that we could not limit it to certain organizations. That it would be open to any any uh nonprofit um that would like to apply, including any that is not in the city of Edina if you do not put that restriction on. Yeah, I'm not aware of of cities that have put a restriction on the particular type of nonprofit that may apply as long as they meet state legal requirements and they're 501c3 um they're generally allowed to apply. Member Washa, did you have some questions? Um one comment and this is based on communication with a resident about the 10% that we would be collecting. Do we have a ballpark figure of how much that might be? No. Okay. Um a concern I have is just um you know, an entity trying to get this up and running, 10% could really be a hit and make it hard for them to succeed. The other thing is um on the flip side it might not be that much money and then we spend time trying to deal with that and making sure that we're going by the book and I I did look up the guide for cities on what you can spend um your 10% on. Uh it does and I did think of Member Agnew on this because one of the points is to a program for the education, prevention, or treatment of problem gambling. And I thought that was kind of an interesting thing if we were to earmark it for that. So I'm kind of rambling a little bit, but I I guess my concerns at this particular point is is that 10% going to make it harder for this to succeed and also what is going to be the cost in terms of overseeing this and really ensuring that we're using it in a way that is in line with state statute. So I just I guess it's not a question, but I put that out there for my colleagues. Thank you. Thank you. Councilmember Jackson. Yes, thank you. So I will have some comments. Um the question is the way I read the ordinance as is currently written in our packet, we don't have the limitation on one um charity per site, correct? >> correct. We took that out. And we took out the limit on the number of organizations that could do this or licenses we issue, correct? >> Correct. It was never in the ordinance to begin with. It was something that staff recommended. >> Okay. And then um you know, the well, I have comments, but those were my questions. And just to clarify most of the work on qualification and everything is done by the state gambling board, correct? That we we will, you know, you'll be doing your part everything, but but the heavy lifting of qualifying organizations and everything is done through the state and we just kind of give the blessing once the state has established all this. That's correct, right? >> Well, they the process is that they will make a copy of the application that they'll be submitting to the state to the city. I'll come back to the city the council for a resolution approving their application. That will then be given to the state board before they will even consider um reviewing and approving the um organizations' >> [laughter] >> gambling application. Now, what the city what you will be looking for when we are reviewing that application is do they have a lease agreement with a liquor establishment that is at least a year long lease and is that um establishment has that establishment um been compliant with their liquor license? Those are actually the only two things that we're looking for. And if they meet those two, then you will approve the uh resolution um giving permission for the state to issue them a premises permit. So we're basically saying they're stable and they're law-abiding. Okay, and then they go and say, do you have the staff to do this? Do you have the accounting to do it? Do you have a process for keeping the funds safe and everything? That's all done by the state, but we're saying you're stable and you're law-abiding. >> Yes, correct. >> Okay. Good. Thank you. That's a good clarification. Okay. Council member Pierce. Uh thanks, Mr. Mayor. So, just a question, um just clarifying. Uh so, the question, uh one of the questions member Agnew asked, um that was geared towards ensuring where these funds um can be utilized. That's not what she said, but that was how I was interpreting it. And you I thought you said a nonprofit that was not in Edina could also do pull tabs under this ordinance. Provided you do not put in place that only Edina nonprofits would be able to do that. Yeah, that's it. And so, I I I that doesn't that doesn't sit right with me. But but I don't know if I should have this kind of reaction to it. Um but it feels like for me, everything that we've talked about for months has been using these funds to benefit organizations in Edina. So, that's what we're suggesting, too. Yeah. There there is an option to require these organizations to spend the money that they raise within the city's trade area. So, that's how you can ensure that the money stays in the Edina area. But it's just not in the ordinance. The So, I'm just confused. >> the 70% spending 70% of the money raised in Edina is in the ordinance. Okay. Who will get a premise permit is not stated in the ordinance. Oh, I see what you were saying. Okay. >> get a premise permit is not stated in the ordinance. So, then if an organization who's not in Edina applies and then gets the license and they earn dollars with pull tabs, then they have to use those for organizations in Edina. Spend 70% of their Yes. >> in Edina, contribute 3%, Yes. >> um and then 10% if you approve that. Yes. Okay, so that I so, logically, I get what you're saying. I but that doesn't make sense that we would do that. I think they should be organizations that are in Edina. And those funds should be earmarked for organizations in Edina, as well. And that's the reason why from the very beginning we did recommend that you consider that these nonprofits would be in Edina. Yeah. I would expect the venues to uh not enforce that, but I mean but to to ensure that happens. Well, there'd also be kind of some self-selection because nonprofits that have no connection to Edina would not have a way to spend 70% of the money raised in Edina's trade area. So, I think you would mostly I mean, I don't know how it play out exactly, but likely you would get nonprofits that are somehow associated with Edina groups because that's the only way they could realistically spend 70% of the money they raise in Edina's trade area. Yeah, I would think the information that you're pointing out that you gathered from all these different neighboring communities that show the revenue streams, they that money stayed in those towns in which it was raised. I would imagine because I do believe that all cities would have some expectation that um some of the money be spent in their trade areas. Right. I'm so, my question is just making sure that the ordinance covers both of those scenarios, but what you're saying is in practice um that it's unlikely that that would occur. So, there's a lot there is kind of a lot of speculation, right? We don't know for sure how this will all play out. >> Yeah. And I I I do feel like they there have been so many questions and so many scenarios, um but until we start, we really won't know how this will happen. And then we can always come back and adjust the ordinance based on what we're seeing. I do know that one thing that I learned recently from the city clerk in Bloomington is that she's having a difficult time getting some of those um premise permit holders to submit their paperwork. So, now that's going through my mind, how much time will we spend getting the uh paperwork from the um premise permit holders. So, setting the expectation right away um is going to be very important um with these organizations when they apply for a premise permit to make sure that we don't have to chase them down in order to get the paperwork and to get those funds um that we're asking them to provide. I think member Jackson wanted to respond to you. >> I had a question to you, member Jackson. I was looking at the the language of the ordinance so far really vague. So, where is that city trade area language? It's on uh yeah. It's in the definitions and then so that the trade area is defined and that I think it's vague it because it's I mean, a geographic area comprised of the city of Edina and each city contiguous to the city. And so, 70% needs to be spent in either Edina, Bloomington, Minneapolis, St. Louis Park, Hopkins, or Minnetonka. Or Eden Prairie and Richfield. Yeah, so there eight communities where it could be spent. So, I I actually So, I've got two amendments that I'd like to propose. One is that we do limit it to Edina-based organizations um because it's very broad because it includes Minneapolis, which is not a small city, right? And then secondly, um member Risser touched on this is section 6.70 um where the 10% goes to the city. I'm disturbed by this that we would have charities going to a lot of work and my understanding is that this is a big deal to do this and then give 10% to another charity that hasn't done any work at all to to get the um tab fees. And so, you know, one of my standards is is it fair to all concerned? And if the charities are going to Everybody I've talked to about this says it's a big deal. I just talked to a guy from the Rotary Club in Excelsior today. They do this, but it's a lot of work. They have a whole committee that works on it. Um so, it's not a a small thing to do pull tabs and then to turn around give 10% of the profits to someone who is deserving, but hasn't worked for it. Um the little red hen in me says cluck, cluck. >> [laughter] >> It's um uh so, I I would like to remove that, but I'd also like to limit it to um Edina organizations cuz this is very broad. So, the one of one of one potential member would be limiting it to Edina-based organizations. What was the other one? To eliminate the 10%. So, that's staying in the pool. It stays the the charity who does the work for the pull tabs gets to the proceeds of their work. >> Yeah, I agree with that. >> Um it just it doesn't seem fair to turn around and give it to another charitable organization unless it was an anti-gambling um you know, uh mental health thing, which is not what we're anticipating cuz we don't have those services. Yeah. Let's go to member Agnew before we entertain language on amendments. Thank you. And yeah, I just wanted to respond to um to that part of the the 10%. Um there was a really good point made in the values assessment portion and I think member Risser quoted this as well, but there was actually the recommendation to set aside that 10% into a fund that we could then determine how can it do problem gambling prevention, mental health services, or addiction recovery programs were the three that were actually recommended. Um and so, my amendment would be a little bit different. I would say, let's not use it for just general community events like the 4th of July fireworks, but I would say, let's take that 10% and put it into a fund and I'm not saying we need to determine tonight, but to say, let's earmark it towards um things that will counteract the negative health impacts. Um so, specifically, problem gambling prevention, mental health services, and addiction recovery programs would be my ask. Okay. Member Risser, did you have another follow one? I do. I um see the logic of both keeping the 10% and dedicating it to um problem gambling. I kind of want to split the difference and say we could always come back, but these first few years when things are getting set up, I really do see the logic of member Jackson's points about um not taking that 10% and getting things up and running is very challenging and, um, I did talk to somebody who used to run a pull tab, um, operation out of a bar that she managed, former council woman Linda Masica. Um, but it it's really really hard to do and, uh, I I really do think this is a point, the beginning of it, where we really need to ensure that we're not, um, undermining all of the work that is going into this. So, I I too really join member, um, Jackson in saying we should not take the 10%. Thank you. Mhm. Thanks for that. Go to Manager Neil and I'm going to go back to Member Pierce. >> I just want to advise you it's that if you don't, uh, establish this now, you the chances of establishing it in the future are very low, uh, because in the future then you would be taking money out of the pockets of people that have been expecting it and and, uh, generating it over the time period. So, that's where I am in terms of creating the 10%. Uh, we can, if we if the council approves, uh, incorporating that into the ordinance, you can always make it smaller, you could always give it a you could always reduce it to to some other percentage below 10%, but, uh, but if you don't take it now, you probably won't get to take it in the future or your successors won't get to take it in the future. Member Pierce. Uh, thanks, Mr. Mayor. So, I had a, um, a different maybe slightly different take on the 10%. I agree with, um, what Member Jackson recommended in not taking the 10%. Um, but my reason behind that, I think was far more pragmatic. If the intent of the ordinance was that the funds collected served the needs of the nonprofit, it seemed odd to me that we would earmark a part of it and then the city would use it unless the city was using it for the same purpose. And so, if if we're not doing it for the same purpose, then I would just leave it in the construct, um, that the ordinance was originally intended for. So, that's kind of how I thought about it. Um, I I am also, uh, I I don't know. I also feel differently about the, um, gambling. And so, it it also seems odd to me that we would even talk about setting up a fund for this. We don't do that for alcoholism. We don't do that for domestic violence. We don't do it for anything else. And so, I I don't know why we would do it in this case. Um, and then just by definition, I think pull tabs and meat raffles, all of those, the ordinance is is this is called legalized gambling, but these games are more like raffles than they are casino games, right? They're not orchestrated mathematically to get you to buy more and when you get behind, gamble more, right? They're they're not designed that way. They're finite games, there's finite number of tabs. Um, when the event's over, it's over. Now, they can have multiple events, sure, but once that it once it's over, it's over. Um, and I bet you everybody up here, I would dare say everybody in the room, may have purchased a raffle at a school festival or even at the last, um, uh, we had our community event to recognize police and firemen. Um, we had a raffle there. Right? And so, I think it is more akin to that than it is, um, sports betting, casino gambling, any of that. Um, and so, the other thing I would say is if if we don't if we don't do this, I don't think anybody has disagreed that the need of understanding what the need is. In terms of quantifying how much of this is going to get after that need is a legitimate question. Um, but that but I also think this is just like any other, um, market opportunity, there's growth involved in it. We haven't done it before. Um, like you can't compare to what is that, uh, or Hopkins or Bunny's that's been doing it for I don't know how many years. Um, and so, there is that element to it, um, that, um, once it gets going, the intent would be that it would, uh, continue to grow and we'd be able to provide more more needs, uh, for the community. Um, so, I think the profit here is also additive was the other point I wanted to make. Um, Edina Given Go is going to continue to do what they do. Um, and so, this would be additive to any philanthropic, um, activity that we have in the community today. Um, and so, that's kind of how I I view that piece. Can I also add that to with the 10%, um, if it were to be used for mental health or gambling, that is not currently a program that we have in place. So, it is we should also think about, um, putting a program like that in place, staffing and how would that where that money be distributed to, how would the money be spent? Um, whereas there are programs in place right now where that 10% could be spent without any additional staffing or any additional work, um, to use that money within the community. No, thank you. Member Agnew. Thank you. I just want to react to one thing that you said, um, Member Pierce, in that I would completely agree with your assessment on regarding pull tabs and meat raffles and kind of the the overall nature of this if we were excluding the electronic pull tabs and electronic bingo. Cuz if you haven't gone, like they give you an iPad, you load up, you know, your money and it is it feels like you're at a casino, it feels like you're playing a slot machine. So, I don't know if it's possible for us to add that restriction, but that might be something of only the paper, the paddle wheel, you know, those the things that aren't more akin to a slot machine. We're we're not allowed to decide what gaming they have. That is laid out in state statute. For example, um, an establishment could not only or nonprofit, I should say, could not only do paper pull tabs or electronic because that's the cleaner, um, and not having, um, the paper. They are required to have both electronic as well as paper pull tabs. I see records in here that show there are some sites that only or at least one, the American Legion Post 320 in Hopkins, has just paper pull tabs and paddle wheel listed as the available games. >> That may have been just a typo on my [music] part, but the state statute does require both E and paper. Okay. >> Together. It It requires that you have to have them or they'd be available? Both, right. You need to have both available. So, if I'm >> [laughter] >> So, if I'm if I'm running a game, my establishment can't decide only to do pull tabs. Yes. Yes, you can decide only to do pull tabs. But I can't decide >> have E pull tabs as well as paper pull tabs together. >> did not. Okay, I don't know that. I don't know. Not really. I don't I'm not a gambler, either. I'm just reading the statute. I have no idea no idea what E pull tab is. Yeah. Um, but they are required to have both. Okay. Really interesting discussion. Um, That could be for access accessibility reasons. Again? It could be for accessibility reasons. If you're blind, you wouldn't be able to use the tablet to play. I'm not I'm not sure what those reasons are, but that it could be a reason. Okay. So, when I look at the ordinance, um, you know, I think about it in the context of I've been around here so long. I was here when we first started issuing liquor licenses to places other than Edina Country Club and Interlachen Country Club. We were always wondering why we didn't have any decent restaurants in Edina. And they couldn't serve any alcohol. So, um, it doesn't matter whether it's a building permit or it's a liquor license, I just use that by way of example. Could be wine and beer, spirits, full liquor license. The cost of that license has to equate to the cost of administration of that particular area that we're regulating. And um I don't see that here. You know, I I see the 3% and in a way I feel like the 3% is it's going to be fairly generous because it's in the language of the ordinance, it's based on gross receipts, not net receipts. So, if it's based on gross receipts when I look at some of the numbers from these other organizations from other nearby communities, there's a huge difference in the net versus the gross. So, I think we're going to get more than enough that we need for regulatory purposes off that 3% of the gross. And I come to the conclusion I'm going to join you know, I thought Mayor Mayor O'Neal had some good arguments, but I think there've been some other more effective arguments advanced as to why the 10% uh ought to be stricken from the ordinance and we ought to be able to um just just um regulate the industry that we're establishing here with that 3% per year uh on the gross receipts of a licensed organization uh doing that lawful gambling. I also would uh join member Jackson and and I think the rest of us as well would as that would be our thinking that it should be an Edina-based organization. That should be clear in the ordinance. So, eliminate the 10% eliminate uh or have it have it be an Edina-based organization. And um so, Mayor let's see, Mayor O'Neal, any comment before I go to member Jackson to ask about her amendments? No. Okay. I know that you thought this was a pure council decision. Yep. So, uh member Jackson, do you want to you want to indicate what you'd like to amend or or pull out of the ordinance? So, it would be two motions, I think. We amend the definition of the licensed organization means an organization uh Edina-based organization licensed by the board. What section's that in? >> That's in the definition section 6.63. Um or you know, a an a organization with a mailing license in Edina. If you want to be more precise. Is there a second to that uh motion to in the definition section make sure that that definition section characterizes that the applicant has to be an Edina-based organization that's a 501c3. Boom. I think we got a motion by member Jackson, second by member Pierce. Uh further discussion on that potential amendment? Hearing none, is there a motion to adopt that amendment as stated? All say I. I. >> I. All those opposed to that amendment, say nay. Meant to say I, but I didn't get unmuted fast enough, but I am >> [laughter] >> I like this specific amendment. All [snorts] right. All right, that uh that amendment's adopted. Next amendment is to eliminate section 6.70 contribution of net profits to fund administered by the city and renumber the other sections accordingly. All right. So, this would be the elimination of the 10% fee. Second. We got a motion by member Jackson, second by member Pierce to delete that section from the ordinance that deals with the 10% fee going to the city. Any further discussion? All those in favor of adoption of that amendment eliminating the 10% to the city, say I. I. >> I. Opposed? Nay. The motion carries, that that is adopted. And then let's talk about adopting the ordinance itself in its amended state. All right? Uh all those any further amendments attempted? Okay. All right. Uh all those in favor of adopting the ordinance in its amended form, say I. What? You got a motion? >> probably move it. We got Okay, yeah, we should Somebody should move it. >> make the motion to pass this this ordinance as amended. >> All right. Move that move the main ordinance in its amended state. Uh member Pierce seconds. We've got a motion and second on the adoption of the motion in its amended state. Uh any further discussion? All those in favor of adoption of the motion involving uh lawful gambling in the city of Edina in its amended form, say I. I. >> I. Opposed? Nay. Motion carries. The um ordinance is adopted in its amended form. All right. For clarification, are you also granting second reading or would you like me to bring that back for second reading? I'd probably recommend bringing it back for second reading. And it could be >> This is the second reading. >> reading. Right. And since you're amending it, are you okay with granting second reading? >> Yeah, I think we we all I think we all came to the meeting thinking we were dealing with second reading. We would waive second could add that to your motion. Yeah, so we would waive Yeah, we can make that clear. I'll move that we waive any potential second reading needed. I'll second. All right. We got a motion and second on waiver of second reading if if necessary uh on the adoption of the motion in its amended form. Any further discussion? All those in favor of the motion as stated, say I. I. >> I. Opposed? Carried. Yeah, we got that. The uh the motion carries and to the extent that we have to waive second reading, it's considered waived. And now, approval of the summary publication, please. All right. Is there a motion to approve summary publication of the ordinance 202602 in its amended form? So moved. Second. We got a motion by member Jackson, second by member Pierce to adopt or to approve the summary publication of ordinance 202602 in its amended form as previously passed. Any further discussion? All those in favor, say I. I. >> I. Opposed? Carried. The publication is of ordinance 202602 in its amended form is approved. All right. Thank you. Thank you, Clerk Allison, for all that good work. It was really helpful to get that information from the other cities. I think between first reading and second reading you did a tremendous amount of work to uh help get us better prepared for this conversation. And thanks to all my council members for really clearly vetting this uh issue and for the nonprofits that met with all of us, we say thank you. Um for your input and your guidance, I think it was helpful between first and second reading to understand better the lay of the land in terms of what was going to be required to be involved in in charitable gaming and you were you were all great guides on this issue, so thanks. Here we go. Good luck. All right, we've got some commission correspondence. We we talked a little bit earlier about some advisory communications, particularly the one that supports the mitigation adaptation solutions listed in Edina's extreme heat report. Uh I don't know if Mayor O'Neal if you had anything you wanted to add there. None nothing to add neither one. >> Okay. And then we had that advisory communication on e-bike regulation. And then we're on to manager comments. Manager O'Neal. >> I don't have any comments for tonight. Thank you. Um Council comments? Member Urseth, you want to lead us off and tell us all about going to DC and what I do. I have a couple other announcements I want to make as well. Um April is distracted driver awareness month and uh I just want to underscore that Minnesota is supposed to be a hands-free state. I'm reading from an article from the Star Tribune. But the law enacted in 2019 has not stopped drivers from holding devices and making calls, sending texts, watching videos, or engaging in social media behind the wheel. "The behavior has become second nature for drivers," said Lisa Kons, traffic safety advocacy director for the Minnesota Safety Council. "We've made it socially acceptable to break the law. This is the month to break that habit." As a result, distracted drivers are a top menace on the roads. Last year, 21 people died on Minnesota roads in crashes attributed to distracted driving and 159 others were seriously injured according to the Department of Public Safety. So, um I just really want people when you're behind the wheel, you're behind the wheel, you're driving, just drive. Um the other announcement I wanted to make is that um this week we are kicking off the Minneapolis St. Paul Film Festival. Um thank you, Director Bernerot, for having this website up and uh at 50th and France, you can go watch movies. I have purchased We're going to do two rounds of tickets um of films on Sunday. My husband and I are kind of doing a little mini marathon, if you will, for us, but um it really is a wonderful opportunity to see work um about all different places in the world and I'm just very excited that the festival is here. And you you don't have to you can do it in a very sustainable way. Um walk to 50th and France, bike. Anyway, it's a wonderful program. Uh but I do want to thank the taxpayers of Edina um for supporting the trip to Washington, DC and I want people to know that I used my time very wisely and it is wonderful to be in an environment where you can go down to breakfast and um sit across from somebody you've never met and say, "Hey, do you have TIF in your community?" And um start your day off with a dialogue that way. And so learning about different types of programs was particularly helpful. The sessions I thought were very good. The highlight or the big moment that I really do appreciate having is we were able to meet with Ilhan Omar in her meeting area space and sit at the table right next to her and I was able to articulate my concerns about the new ADA digital access rules and make the point that it's really challenging when I'm looking at the packet and I see so many items that are board portal and I know that residents can't just click on those and see those and they have to make a special request in order to get that information and sometimes it's material that is really critical for understanding why a developer is making the case that the economic climate is changing and it would make sense for the city to invest in a parking ramp, something like that. And so being able to be there and share my concerns and you know, to have the conversation and to hear her really you know, totally get it that yeah, this is supposed to make things more available but it's actually making things less available to more people. That was incredibly important to me. We did have an opportunity to have breakfast and hear from lawmakers and that was wonderful. So and I do want to mention I was so proud to be with my colleague member Jackson who spoke up and you have these moments where the elected officials Senator Klobuchar saying well are there any questions? And I couldn't believe it cuz there's a room full of people and it was like silence and I had no this cannot be and member Jackson got up and asked very good question so that was really great. Um I do think that some of the big takeaways I had though although ADA digital access remained a real concern for me and still does it was hearing the panel [clears throat] on artificial intelligence AI and what could be done with that. I heard from entity where their DMV is using it to set up kiosks so that when people show up and they want to get a passport or other documentation they can go to the kiosk instead of waiting for an hour and a half to get to the counter and find out that they have missed a document and I mean who among us has not done that, right? So being able to use AI in that way I thought thought was incredibly interesting. The other thing is I did talk to a city where one of the problems they were trying to solve was reducing the amount of cases where they were in violation of policy or code and one gentleman came up to me and he said you know, we downloaded everything into Google notebook and then we interface with it as a very critical council person and I thought that was really good cuz if you interface in a certain way you're not going to get that sort of obsequious sort of response but you could get something really useful and actually as I was sitting up here because I saw members from Edina public schools shaking their heads strongly when we were talking about the requirement to have paper as well as electronic games and they were shaking their heads just paper and I could read their lips and so I typed into my computer does Minnesota require charitable gambling organizations to have both paper and electronic games and it says no, it does not. But okay, the other thing we need to be cautious about is they were saying and this was a little warning people are using AI in the workplace everywhere and that can bring serious consequences, liabilities. I don't totally understand those but it is something that we need to keep in mind and it's something that I think I need to learn more about and you know, something we as a city probably want to explore and the the message was if you think the staff is not using AI you are wrong and it is once you start using it it it really is sort of an interesting tool. So I do really appreciate having that opportunity, learned a lot and I'm still following up on things. One bill that sort of caught my attention um Representative Stauber spoke to us as well as Klobuchar and Tina Smith but we had excuse me she she is not but he has a bill that would eliminate capital gains for home sales of $500,000 or less which I thought was kind of an interesting thing and I don't know if that's going to move forward or not. So that is my report and again thank you taxpayers of Edina. Yep. Thanks member Risor. Member Jackson. Thank you Mr. Mayor. So thank you also for sending me and and for sending staff. We really split up so we went through the agenda and what member Risor went to I went to a different one. The kickoff though was about America's 250th birthday and they said that the National League of Cities has resources for cities that want to celebrate and want ideas and things to do and the question they asked is what is the most American thing about your city and I I can come up with a number of things but I I wanted to pose that to other people but I hopefully we will have both through the 4th of July celebrations and other things a chance to celebrate our 250th um anniversary of being America and that was a a great way to start the conversation. There was a lot of talk about civility and and and several of the plenary sessions. Um the breakout sessions I went to one on public safety and technology and that ended up about having redundancy in your 911 system which I believe we have. We have the backup of Hennepin County and I was very proud of our city in the advance that we've done with our 911 system and yay for the celebration this week of our dispatchers. I went to one on rail safety. There are two bills currently before Congress that are very rare for the rail reauthorization act and so we talked about making sure that we you know, is support that to have two staff members on every train and things because we continue to be concerned about what's going to be coming through on the Dan Patch line and we want to make sure that we're not having a dangerous situation in people's backyards. I went to a breakout session on the transportation bill which has bipartisan support so I'm hoping that that will be passed. I went to a breakout session on the recent immigration surges around the country and we had a lawyer from California talking about their legislative response to that. A law professor from North Carolina talking about various legal remedies and the takeaway from that and then Chief O'Hara talked about his experience in trying to walk the line between protesters and federal agents and and how difficult that was and how they were thankful for the community work they had done prior to this to really help but it you could hear a pin drop when he was speaking. The takeaway from especially from the law professor though is that it's all very complicated and it's going to the legal system is going to have to um work its way through a lot of the things that happened but it was nice to be in a room of people thinking about the same things in the same odd place we found ourselves as local officials and and local police departments. Um One quote I took which I just loved and this said to me a lot about my job as a city council member nothing stays the same. We either get it make it better, we either help it get better or we watch it get get worse. And so we deal with a lot of change in Edina and I want to say that again, nothing stays the same. We either help it get better or we watch it get worse and I think that really encapsulated what we do here on the city council. In other news thank you for for mentioning the film festival. I'm excited about that. And then I had the opportunity to sit down with Clerk Allison and talk about election security and I want voters in our city to know that she's working very very hard to ensure that this is going to be a safe process for everybody involved and she's got a tremendous amount of detail that she's gone through but it's important that voters know they will be safe coming here to city hall hall to vote early to go to their polling places on election day. You only get a vote once. You can't get to do both. >> [laughter] >> And then the process of of making sure that our votes once they're cast are also safe and I was very proud to to hear her process in that and I want to thank you for the time that that you put into that. So those are my comments. Yep, good. Thanks to both of you for taking the time out of your lives to go to DC too. It's a good experience and it helps us all helps us all helps us even though we didn't go. You make us better council members too. Um Council member Piers. Thank you Mr. Mayor. So the one that I had has been covered twice already. So [clears throat and laughter] just another plug for the film festival if you weren't able to attend last year. So it runs April 9th through the 19th. And the tickets kind of go fast. So if there's something that you're interested in definitely go out there and and take a peek. I just love that theater. So, as much as we can, just making a plug for all of the businesses in Edina. My wife and I have started to just explore even more, just staying in the city. Going to get sushi or going to the new Hi-Fi bar or what have you. Going to get ice cream from Edina Creamery. And it's starting to get warm out. But at some point it'll stay that way. So, just encourage residents to support our business community. That's it. Yeah. Thank you. Council member Agnew. Thank you. I think it was the last meeting-ish that we had a community comment with pictures of him with his daughters and one of our commission members, Taylor, with his daughters on his e-bike. And I saw them in the wild the other day and I like I was like almost honked. I was like, wait no, that's inappropriate and I shouldn't honk at them. They're just bike But it would have been like a friendly honk. Anyway, it just it made me think about I'm really excited to get out on my bike and enjoy some of the amazing bike trails that we have around the community and and continue just exploring kind of all that we've invested in from a pedestrian focus over the last couple of years, which has been amazing. I signed up for a triathlon with my daughter and so I'm also like trying to get her into the spirit of biking. We're still working on getting past the training wheels, but I'm just I'm really excited about the summer of biking. So, that's all for me. Great. Thanks. Um Do you have that Jennifer Do you have that uh certificate copy? Thank you. Well, sometimes my morning office is over there at the Hilltop and I got uh buttonholed over there the other day by Bill Davies and showed me this service award and I asked if I could share it with the city council and share it with the residents of Edina. I'm sure many of you seen Bill over the years. He's been involved in scouting, I think, in Edina for over four decades. And he was a uh uh airborne He was in the airborne ranger with the 101st Airborne Division, served in Vietnam in from May of '68 to May of '69. Uh in an administrative company, got the Bronze Star for meritorious service and an Army Commendation Medal for meritorious service. And then has continued that sort of dedication in other ways in his life. When I see him over at the Hilltop, uh you can count on him. He's there every morning. I'm not there every morning, but he goes to uh morning mass over at Our Lady of Grace and then he comes over and he's got a bunch of buddies that he meets with that are from Edina and St. Louis Park. And so when he I saw this award, I thought, yeah, I want to talk a little bit about him and and uh he's he's got he's dealing with cancer right now. He's carrying oxygen and getting treatment. Doing the best he can under the circumstances, but the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund put together this award and he's in the first class of people to get this award. There were I think just under 50 former combat veterans that received this Service Beyond Service Award for how they've lived their lives since they were in the military way back in their teens and early 20s. And I just thought it was a nice opportunity to recognize Bill Davies and think not only of him as a as a veteran and having served our country in Vietnam, but also to think about him as a as a local resident who has done so much for the particularly scouting in our community and and Rotary up in St. Louis Park over the years as well. So, congratulations to Bill Davies for that award. I asked him if this was the original. He said, no, it was a copy. So, we don't have to worry about getting it back to him in good shape, but I'll nonetheless return it to him. Only one other thing I wanted to cover. Uh Two of our colleagues has they discussed with the DC. I was there on the 9th and 10th of March. I got invited out by Yale. Yale has a mayors college every year. They invited 50 mayors. They pay for everything. Flight, hotel, food, and it was two days. It's two days that you go out on Sunday. On March 9th was I think Monday. We had 10-hour session on Monday. But the first session was on immigration enforcement. And um So, the the first thing that that There's a guy named Jeff Sonnenfeld who's a administrative He's a assistant dean at Yale School of Management. He runs the thing. He do a They did a little survey, electronic survey. Um And they have a division of the mayors, you know, by by political persuasion. They might not all be designated party officials, but some are more conservative and some are more liberal. And it's about a 50/50 split. And the the first two questions were uh How do you do you strongly disagree or strongly agree with the enforcement policies of ICE? Shortening up the question, but I think 90% of the mayors in the room strongly disagreed with ICE enforcement policies around the country. And then the same question was asked with respect to the Trump administration oversight and it was about 85%. And that led to a conversation then with Jay Johnson, J. E. H. Johnson, who was a lawyer in the in the Defense Department who was Obama's President Obama's first head of Homeland Security. Introducing Tom Homan. And we had Tom Homan live for an hour and a half. He was supposed to be there half an hour. He came and sat with the mayors for an hour and a half, took a lot of notes. Heard from mayors all over the country about experiences their residents had. And left committed to writing a new policy on immigration enforcement. So, we'll see what happens with that. And the rest of the the time was well spent, too. And then on Tuesday morning for it only was a half a day and they put us in with all these CEOs and they talked about more business-related matters. And then we had I think for about a half an hour we had the president of Israel on remotely, virtually from Jerusalem. And then a lot of the business people had questions for him. So, um Yeah, pretty fascinating day and a half and and thanks to Yale for including me on that and uh There were a couple of us from Minnesota that were there and so that uh It was fun to represent or nice to represent our state there. Uh So, those are the two things I kind of wanted to cover and it's been a long time since we've been together. Feels like more than a Feels like a month, but it is it is almost a month since our last meeting. It's good to see all of you and to hear about what's been going on. Mr. Vining, if you stick around for a minute, I want to talk to you about this little map you drew here. Um So, anything else for the good of the order? Okay. Is there a motion to adjourn? So moved. We got a motion by member Jackson, second by member appears to adjourn the meeting of the Edina City Council this Tuesday, April 7th, 2026 at 9:18 p.m. Any further discussion? All those in favor of adjournment say I. I. Opposed? Carried. City Council of Edina stands adjourned.