[00:00] **Kevin Zabel**: Right, I don't know. Alrighty, let's go ahead and call the February 28th, 2023 City Council meeting to order. Uh, the clerk will take the roll. Councilmember Morcomb? [00:10] **Andy Morcomb**: Present. [00:11] **Kevin Zabel**: Councilmember Wrich? [00:12] **Katie Wrich**: Here. [00:13] **Kevin Zabel**: Councilmember Moore? [00:14] **Kari Moore**: Here. [00:15] **Kevin Zabel**: Mayor Zabel? Here. Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. [00:20] **All**: 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. [00:35] **Kevin Zabel**: Alrighty, Council members. Uh, first item on the agenda is approval of the agenda. Are there any changes we need to make? City Administrator Volkers, are we good? [00:45] **Christina Volkers**: I think we're good. [00:46] **Kevin Zabel**: I will look for a motion. [00:47] **Andy Morcomb**: So moved. [00:48] **Kevin Zabel**: There's a motion. Is there a second? [00:49] **Katie Wrich**: Second. [00:50] **Kevin Zabel**: All those in favor say aye. [00:51] **Council Members**: Aye. [00:52] **Kevin Zabel**: Oppose? And the agenda is adopted. Next up is the approval of minutes. First set is Workshop from February 14, 2023. Council members, any changes you need to make? Seeing none, I'll look for motion. [01:05] **Andy Morcomb**: So moved. [01:06] **Kevin Zabel**: There's a motion. Is there a second? [01:07] **Katie Wrich**: Second. [01:08] **Kevin Zabel**: Motion and a second. Any conversation? All those in favor say aye. [01:12] **Council Members**: Aye. [01:13] **Kevin Zabel**: Those opposed? And those are adopted. Next up we have the regular meeting minutes from February 14th, 2023. Council members, any changes? Nope. I look for a motion. [01:25] **Andy Morcomb**: [Motion] [01:26] **Kevin Zabel**: There's a motion. Can I have a second? [01:27] **Katie Wrich**: Second. [01:28] **Kevin Zabel**: Motion and a second. Any conversation? Hearing none, all those in favor say aye. [01:32] **Council Members**: Aye. [01:33] **Kevin Zabel**: And opposed? And those are approved as well. Next up we have a public hearing uh for vacating a water main easement. Staff presentation? [01:42] **Luke McClanahan**: Yes, good evening Mayor and Council. Luke McClanahan, City Planner. Um, so the location of this request, it's in the Willowbrook neighborhood, so uh, just north of 40th Street. The purpose of this vacation request is to vacate a 20-foot wide water main easement through the Willowbrook area. It was originally platted by 3M back in 2016 with the intent to connect a water main from 40th Street to a—an existing stub at the Olsen Lake Estates Third Edition neighborhood. However, the water main was installed as part of the Helmo Avenue alignment project. So this is essentially a placeholder easement that's no longer needed. So vacating the—the easement would eliminate the encumbrance on this property. Uh, in reviewing this request, it does comply with the state statute and if you also recall from the Willowbrook 8th Subdivision plat that one of the conditions of approval was to vacate this—this easement as well. So staff finds that this request, again, complies with state requirements and recommends approval. I know that this is a public hearing. I don't believe that the applicant was able to make it this evening, but I'd be happy to answer any questions. [03:02] **Kevin Zabel**: Thank you, Luke. Any questions from Council for the City Planner? No questions? Okay, uh, I'm gonna read my little script that they taped to my—my seat here. Um, so we are required to hold a public hearing for this portion of the agenda. Um, in a minute I will open up uh the public hearing to comments from the audience. If anybody wishes to speak on this item, please feel free to step up to the podium, state your name and address for the record, and share your comments with the City Council. As soon as everybody who's had a chance to speak does so, I will go ahead and close the public hearing. We'll bring it back up to the City Council for uh discussion and possible action. Uh, just a reminder, house rules apply on all public hearings. We ask everybody that—uh, we ask everybody to treat one another with courtesy and respect. Uh, it is perfectly fine to not agree on all issues, but in this building, the Golden Rule applies. So uh, at this moment, I will go ahead and open the public hearing on vacating a water main easement to the public. Nobody? Alright, seeing no speakers, I'm going to go ahead and close the public hearing and bring it back up to the dais for Council discussion. Council members, any thoughts? Alrighty, seeing none, I will look for a motion. [04:22] **Andy Morcomb**: I'll make a motion to waive reading and adopt resolution 2023-2-4 approving the vacation of a water main easement as described in document number 406-9917 for the office of the County Recorder, Washington County, Minnesota. [04:38] **Kevin Zabel**: There's a motion. Is there a second? [04:39] **Katie Wrich**: Second. [04:40] **Kevin Zabel**: Motion on the second. Any final conversation? Hearing none, all those in favor say aye. [04:45] **Council Members**: Aye. [04:46] **Kevin Zabel**: Opposed? And that easement is vacated. Uh, next up on the agenda is open forum. This is an opportunity for members of the public to come and share comments with the City Council. Before I turn things over to the public, we have one item on our agenda and it was a proclamation that we were able to issue—what was the date on there? February 18th. Um, some representatives from the City Council and the Oakdale Area Chamber of Commerce and the business community were on hand to celebrate Little Inspirations—or to recognize Little Inspirations Child Care here in Oakdale on their 10th anniversary. So they have been in this community serving a lot of families for a very long time and we were very honored to—to be on site recognizing their role in the—in this community as well as the—the positive impact they make on—on families. Um, and it was my first proclamation as Mayor, so that was kind of cool. Oh, there's some photos of it. So we had a great turnout. Um, yeah, it was a great—great time to—to be there. Um, this is actually their second location that they've been operating here in Oakdale. They moved a few years ago so they were here, they chose to stay here, which was great. So congratulations to Little Inspirations um on their 10th anniversary. Up next is the consensus motions part of the agenda. Uh, council members, are there any consensus motions you would like to remove for individual consideration? I am going to elect to remove Item A. Council members, are there any others you would like to remove? No? I will look for a motion to approve B and C. [06:30] **Andy Morcomb**: Point of order, did we miss the rest of the open forum? [06:32] **Kevin Zabel**: You are absolutely right. Thank you, thank you Councilmember Morcomb. Uh, open forum. So if there's anybody in the audience that would like to uh address the City Council on any topic on your mind, please feel free to step up to the podium, share your name and address and your thoughts. [06:51] **Becca Lee**: Hi, my name is Becca Lee and I'm a member of troop 57875 at Girl Scouts and I am a Junior Girl Scout and I am selling cookies here in Oakdale. [07:03] **Kevin Zabel**: Welcome, Becca. [07:05] **Andy Morcomb**: Mayor, I know we're not supposed to ask questions normally, but can I ask one? [07:09] **Kevin Zabel**: Oh, if you must. [07:10] **Andy Morcomb**: Do you have any Caramel deLites? [07:12] **Becca Lee**: [Inaudible] [07:13] **Andy Morcomb**: If you wait till the end of the meeting, I'll buy some. Thank you. [07:15] **Kevin Zabel**: Yeah. Oh, any other uh comments for open forum? Alright, now we will move on to consensus motions. Thank you, Councilmember Morcomb, for reminding me. Uh, I'm gonna remove A. Um, does anybody want to take a crack at B or C, or I will look for a motion to approve. [07:35] **Andy Morcomb**: I'll make a motion to uh waive reading and approve uh consensus motions B and C as presented. [07:42] **Kevin Zabel**: First motion. Is there a second? [07:43] **Katie Wrich**: Second. [07:44] **Kevin Zabel**: Motion and a second. Any conversation? All those in favor say aye. [07:48] **Council Members**: Aye. [07:49] **Kevin Zabel**: And those opposed? And B and C are approved. I am requesting to remove consensus motion A. I want to talk about this one for a little bit. So um, for anybody watching this item on the agenda—I don't know if we can pull up the motions or not—but um, this is a Cooperative Agreement between Washington County and the City of Oakdale for some um trail and sidewalk improvement as part of the Gold Line BRT. Um, this—the reason I am pulling this is to express my dissatisfaction and my opposition to this request to have the City of Oakdale provide funding for improvements that I feel are only being proposed um as part of this Bus Rapid Transit line. In my time here, you know, the—the prevailing thought has always been that, you know, the City of Oakdale and by way of the City, our taxpayers, would not be responsible for funding associated with this project unless it was something that the City felt very strongly needed to be included in the project. And the simple fact in my mind is that these trails are required by this project and our Federal Transit Authority application—or the County's application—therefore it should not be—there should not be a cost share responsible to the City of Oakdale. So I will be voting no. I understand if this moves forward, but from a philosophical perspective, I don't think this is a cost that our—our residents should have to share in. So if any of my colleagues want to share thoughts, please feel free. Otherwise, somebody can make a motion if they like. [09:28] **Andy Morcomb**: I'll make a motion to approve consensus motion A as presented. [09:32] **Kevin Zabel**: There's motion. Is there a second? [09:33] **Katie Wrich**: Second. [09:34] **Kevin Zabel**: Motion and a second. Final conversation, anybody? Hearing none, all those in favor say aye. [09:40] **Council Members**: Aye. [09:41] **Kevin Zabel**: And opposed? [09:42] **Kevin Zabel**: Nay. And that is approved. Next up, Advisory Boards and Commissions. Economic Development Commission: the Council Liaison is Councilmember Moore. They did not meet. Environmental Management Commission: that I am the liaison for. They did not meet. Planning Commission: Councilmember Wrich is their liaison. They did not meet. Parks and Rec: they did meet. Councilmember Morcomb, you're the liaison to that group. [10:11] **Andy Morcomb**: Yeah, I was able to attend their meeting and uh, first of all, thank you to Paul Lockhart who served as the Chair for the past year. They did elect a new Chair at that meeting, Steve Meyer, so that was fun to witness. Also, we had a presentation from Monica Stiglich, who was an Oakdale resident, about the 3M settlement priority two in particular, in which there's $20 million revenue between a number of different cities/municipalities that they have access to, specifically towards rehabilitating the environment, access to fish and wildlife, trails. So it was a very informational presentation and uh, it was a good meeting overall. [10:50] **Kevin Zabel**: Thank you, Councilmember Morcomb. Uh, finally Tree Board. I'm liaison for that group for the time being and they did not meet either. Uh, nothing under award of bid tonight, so we will move on to staff reports. Uh, Community Development has an item, so I believe City Planner McClanahan will be joining us again. Please take it away. [11:10] **Luke McClanahan**: Thank you. So uh, if we can bring this up on the screen, the location of this site is near Interstate 94 and more specifically this site is on the east side of Helmo Avenue. This is a site plan amendment. So if we go back in terms of the timeline for this the site, this is Norhart Apartments. The initial site plan was approved back in March of last year. The site plan was then amended in June of last year. So this site is currently under construction—it's hard to miss the construction that's going on if you've been anywhere near this area. It's for a 328-unit apartment with first-floor commercial uses. And the purpose for this site plan amendment is to obtain the Council's approval for several deviations from the site plan. These deviations include encroachments into the right-of-way for patios that will serve the coffee shop and the restaurant there, as well as stairs and a ramp. The removal of one tree from the southwest corner for the proposed patio—the restaurant patio—and to also improve the visibility of signage for the site. Reduce the number of parking—of underground spaces by six due to necessary mechanical equipment and—and also for access reasons. Additional signage, which is essentially a signage package for this site, and there is some redesign of exterior amenities for this apartment multi—multi-family mixed-use development, mainly that is relocating the rooftop pool to the third floor due to structural constraints. So I mentioned a little bit about the—the timeline of events that have occurred. So the most recent amendment back in June of last year was for a reduction in the—or excuse me, an increase in the number of dwelling units to bring it from 321 to 328. They reduced some parking spaces and removed a proposed underground tunnel. So as the building plans have been prepared for this site, there have been modifications and again, the rooftop pool that was modified before construction continues to progress. Staff wants to ensure that the City Council is comfortable with the proposed changes. So here's a look at the updated site plan. Apologize, it is very difficult to see on the screen here, but again, we're on the east side of Helmo Avenue. You will see that there are encroachments, and the next image really shows those encroachments a lot better, but several encroachments into the right-of-way. The applicant is proposing to utilize the—the city-owned outlot to the north for staging of construction materials and equipment, and also you'll see that there's temporary surface parking for about 118 spaces and that was previously approved. So this is a look at the updated rendering of the site. So this is looking west—at the west side of the building—so along Helmo Avenue. And again, this is helpful in terms of understanding what the—the encroachments will look like, what—what this overall site will look like. So on the—the left-hand side of the screen is the proposed patio for the—the coffee shop. You can see the stairs and then the ramp here towards the center, and then on the right side is the patio for the restaurant. Um, the signage for this site, so you'll see that the Norhart letter or the name on the—the top area here, where previously they proposed a rooftop pool. The Norhart logo here in the bottom right, and also numbers for the address and also the Coffee Lab name here. Blade signage, which our ordinance doesn't contemplate either, is something that the applicant is seeking approval for. Um, now I can get into the dimensions of those proposed encroachments if—if needed, but just a few more renderings here to show—just to give you an idea of what this will look like. So this is a look at the courtyard from the east roof, and this is an overhead look at the pool again on the third floor. Here's another look at the pool—this is a nighttime visual—and this is the rooftop garden, and so in lieu of having the pool there. So in closing, staff finds that the deviations, they are appropriate for the reasons listed in the staff report subject to certain conditions, and those conditions are listed in the resolution. I'll just summarize them here: so no staging of construction equipment and materials on the city-owned outlot to the north; the developer obtain a permit for right-of-way encroachments; and the development—excuse me—the developer plant one tree elsewhere on the site to account for the tree not being planted in the southwest corner. The developer is here in attendance if you have any questions, otherwise staff is happy to answer any questions. [16:03] **Kevin Zabel**: Thank you. Council members, any questions for Luke right off the bat? [16:07] **Andy Morcomb**: Well, actually, I had one. Just, I know I'm new to the Council here, but these are substantial changes and from what I understand, the architect had changed midway through this process. This is partly why these changes came about? [16:21] **Luke McClanahan**: So yes, and the developer could speak to that a little bit more, but they're on their third architect at this point. [16:27] **Andy Morcomb**: Third architect. Okay, I just think it'd be helpful to understand why that is if this is going to bring more uh changes forward to the Council over [the project]. [16:35] **Norheart Representative**: I work with Norheart as Chief Development Officer. Addresses 1081 4th Street Southwest in Forest Lake. Um, so we—we changed architects just due to like, mostly culture clash. So we changed from the first—from the first one to the second one for that reason. We do have, like, the—the changes to design were not really based on that shift in architecture, but more of, I guess, the—the signage is based on like—um branding strategy from our marketing folks. [17:05] **Andy Morcomb**: Okay, thank you. [17:06] **Kevin Zabel**: Any other questions? No other questions. I have a question for Luke. So with this change in parking—uh, or available parking—um, I go back to a concern I had when we first talked about this project. I'm not—not entirely sure how—how it got resolved. So in order to meet the—correct me if I'm wrong—in order to meet the required parking minimums, you know, a credit essentially is being given on the R6 parcel to the south and it's being viewed as temporary parking. Mechanism do we have in place to ensure that, you know, that will remain? I mean, or could the developer sell that parcel and there be no parking? I mean, what—what backstops does the City have in place to ensure that when R6, that parcel, gets developed, there's going to be enough parking at that site to meet the minimums on the parcel to the north as well as support whatever development is at that parcel? Because currently we're nowhere close. [18:05] **Luke McClanahan**: Well, it's a good question and uh, there's actually language in the development agreement for this—uh, this site that is recorded with the county. I wish I could take uh credit for who—for writing that, but I didn't. Um, and it essentially says that that parking on the R6 parcel—the—so the—the parcel to the south—has to be preserved uh unless if that—if that site ever develops, then the parking will have to be accounted for at that time. If that makes sense. [18:35] **Kevin Zabel**: So yeah—yes, we do have a protection in place through the development agreement. Got it. So if a building goes up on R6, there has to be enough additional parking in that structure to support the deficit from R5 as well as the units on R6. [18:49] **Luke McClanahan**: That's correct. [18:50] **Kevin Zabel**: Got it. Okay. Council members, any other questions? I will look for a motion. [18:56] **Andy Morcomb**: I'm trying to find it... I can make a motion to waive reading and adopt resolution 2023-29 approving the amended site plan for Norheart Apartments with conditions included in the attached resolution. [19:10] **Kevin Zabel**: There's a motion. Is there a second? [19:11] **Katie Wrich**: Second. [19:12] **Kevin Zabel**: A motion and a second. Any final thoughts? Seeing none, all those in favor say aye. [19:17] **Council Members**: Aye. [19:18] **Kevin Zabel**: Those opposed? And that site plan amendment is approved. Next up, let's do a little check-in with our City Attorney, Jim Thompson. [19:26] **Jim Thompson**: Nothing specific to report, but happy to answer questions today. [19:30] **Kevin Zabel**: Questions for the City Attorney? None. Alright. Administrator's report. Good evening, Chris. [19:35] **Christina Volkers**: Good evening. Um, I just have one item on the agenda but two actions. I'm requesting two resolutions. The first one is about um—this is a year-end process that we—we do and—um and it results from GASB 54, which is a Government Accounting Standards Practice 54, which says if you have extra money at the end of the year from your current budget, you can commit funds that haven't been spent but were planned to be spent, or alternatively, you can commit funds that you need if it goes through the approval process of the Council. In summary, the idea behind this for us in Oakdale is these are either projects or expenses that were committed in '22, just didn't get done, or there's a couple that um we are trying to alleviate that we knew we were going to request next year in the '24 budget. So if we do it early, we don't have to request saving the levy and the increase for next year. And so we're proposing that we use the current funds—some of the current, not all of the current funds available—to take those actions. And you've got two resolutions in front of you. One is to amend the budgets for the uncompleted '22 projects, right? And then the other one is to commit the fund balances for the '22—the list of '22 expenses there. So all the balance sheets and the financial statements will match. So that is what is before you. [21:10] **Kevin Zabel**: Council members, any questions for City Administrator Volkers? Let's take those separately. Um, I'll look for motion. [21:18] **Andy Morcomb**: I'll make a motion to waive reading and adopt resolution 2023-30 amending the 2022 and 2023 budgets for uncompleted 2022 projects and specific items. [21:30] **Kevin Zabel**: There's motion. Is there a second? [21:31] **Katie Wrich**: Second. [21:32] **Kevin Zabel**: Motion and a second. Any conversation? All those in favor say aye. [21:36] **Council Members**: Aye. [21:37] **Kevin Zabel**: Opposed? And that is adopted. I will look for a second motion. [21:42] **Andy Morcomb**: I'll make a motion to waive reading and adopt resolution 2023-31 committing fund balances for 2022 financial statement purposes. [21:51] **Kevin Zabel**: There's motion. Is there second? [21:52] **Katie Wrich**: Second. [21:53] **Kevin Zabel**: Motion of the second. Conversation? All those in favor say aye. [21:56] **Council Members**: Aye. [21:57] **Kevin Zabel**: Opposed? And that is adopted as well. Council presentations. Does anybody want to go first? Nothing for me? [22:05] **Andy Morcomb**: All right, nothing for me. [22:07] **Katie Wrich**: Well, I'm just gonna say that as a scoutmaster, I believe in the scouting program—Girl Scouts and Scouts BSA—and they are an asset to our community. So I want to thank our resident Becca who came in to speak to the Council to let her know that she's engaged in her community. Thank you. [22:21] **Andy Morcomb**: And I like the shirts too. [22:23] **Kevin Zabel**: Alrighty. Uh, I got a few—quite a few from staff, so I will just rattle right through these. Uh, our second to last indoor market of the season will be held at the Discovery Center uh this Saturday, March 4th from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM. Um, I was up there at the last one and I bought way too much, so um, lots of great stuff up there. Um, also some local businesses that you can stop by and chat with. So um, please pop on up to 4444 Hadley and visit with them and buy some stuff this Saturday. Uh, an announcement for residents: beginning on Tuesday, March 7th, a portion of 4th Street North will be closed for utility work from Hayward Avenue to 4th Street Lane. Uh, this is just west of Helmo Avenue in the southern part of the city. This closure is expected to last for two to three weeks. Utility companies will be relocating some gas mains as part of the Gold Line BRT project. So there's more information on the City website as well as our social media indicating the closure as well as the detour. So please feel free to check that out. Metro Transit will be hosting a Gold Line BRT Construction Open House on Thursday, March 16th from 5:00 to 7:00 PM at Grace of God Lutheran Church at 420 Hayward Avenue North. There won't be a formal presentation—it is an open house style type event—but it's a good opportunity to chat with Metro Transit about the project as well as how it'll be interacting with the community. So for more information about that, visit Metro Transit's website, metrotransit.org. Uh, with the recent snowfall, there is plenty of material for the Recreation Department's snow sculpture contest. The theme this year is "Upside Down Snowman" and sculptures will be judged based on appearance relative to the theme. So get those creative juices flowing and go play in the snow and get those submissions in um by March 31st. You can submit a photo of your sculpture. More information on OakdaleMN.gov. A really cool piece of recognition: one of our very own uh Police Detectives, Wayne Hager, was honored by the Minnesota Wild last week as their Community Hero of the Game. Um, Detective Hager does so much for this community and—and the region, you know, partnering with—with neighboring jurisdictions. So this was a very well-deserved honor for Detective Hager. Um, so congratulations. Finally, um thank you to our Public Works Department. They were incredibly busy last week with the 15-and-a-half inches of snowfall. Um, and I've—and I'm sure my colleagues also got compliments from our residents who are nothing but positive things. So you know, we know it is not easy when you have snow events that are multiple—multiple days, it can be very challenging. But um, a tremendous thank you to Public Works Manager Jim Romanek and his crews on keeping our streets and our trails clear um in really what felt like record time. So we know that is not easy. That's all I got. Um, let's pay the bills. Claims—claims period February 15th through February 28th. Uh, Council members, can I have a motion? [26:08] **Andy Morcomb**: Make a motion to approve claims as presented. [26:11] **Kevin Zabel**: There's motion. Is there a second? [26:12] **Katie Wrich**: Second. [26:13] **Kevin Zabel**: Motion and a second. Conversation? All those in favor say aye. [26:16] **Council Members**: Aye. [26:17] **Kevin Zabel**: Opposed? Bills are paid. Motion to adjourn? [26:20] **Andy Morcomb**: So moved. [26:21] **Katie Wrich**: Second. [26:22] **Kevin Zabel**: Motion of the second. All those in favor say aye. [26:24] **Council Members**: Aye. [26:25] **Kevin Zabel**: And those opposed? And we are adjourned for the evening. Thank you and good night.