**[7:01 PM] Michelle Friedrich (City Clerk):** Hey Carol, how's it going? **[7:01 PM] Carol Kelly (Human Rights Commission):** Good, thanks for coming. **[7:01 PM] Michelle Friedrich (City Clerk):** Chris, I don't think we have a sign-in sheet for open forum unless you just put one down, correct? Hearing just for right... I’m taking that. 7:01. Why, here’s the—oh sorry, usurping you. **[7:02 PM] Simon Troutman (Mayor Pro Tem):** Good evening everybody. This is Simon Troutman, Mayor Pro Tem, and we're calling this regular City Council meeting of Richfield to order at 7:02 on February 13th. And for those that are able, we'll rise to say the Pledge of Allegiance. **[7:02 PM] 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. **[7:03 PM] Simon Troutman (Mayor Pro Tem):** Thank you. And now we will have an open forum. This is an opportunity for residents to come and share. They have the opportunity to speak for up to three minutes, and we ask that folks use this opportunity to speak their mind but to do so respectfully. It's not an opportunity for dialogue, so if you see staff or Council not responding, it's nothing personal. But if you do have questions, we have a practice that staff will respond to that and respond at the next council meeting. City Manager, do we have anybody that's filled out a card to speak this evening? **[7:04 PM] Katie Rodriguez (City Manager):** Mayor and Council, we do not have any residents who have filled out to speak at the open forum this evening. **[7:04 PM] Simon Troutman (Mayor Pro Tem):** Very good. I see we have folks online. Do we have anybody that's called in? **[7:04 PM] Katie Rodriguez (City Manager):** Mayor and Council, we do not appear to have anybody who's called in at this time. **[7:04 PM] Simon Troutman (Mayor Pro Tem):** All right. Do we normally read the number out or...? **[7:05 PM] Katie Rodriguez (City Manager):** Yes, yep. So folks who would want to call in, the number is 1-415-655-0001. **[7:05 PM] Simon Troutman (Mayor Pro Tem):** And do we read all the meeting ID numbers? **[7:05 PM] Katie Rodriguez (City Manager):** Yeah, so the meeting ID number is 2634 514 7716. Again, that's 2634 514 7716. And the password looks easy enough to remember: 1 2 3 4. It's 1-2-3-4. **[7:06 PM] Simon Troutman (Mayor Pro Tem):** And we'll just give folks a second. And we just ask folks here in the audience: is there anybody here in the audience that maybe didn't fill out a card but wants to utilize the open forum? Great. Then we confirm... Senior Analyst Swanson? **[7:06 PM] Senior Analyst Swanson:** Mayor and Council, there does not appear to be anybody still on the line, so I do not think there are any speakers at the open forum at this time. **[7:06 PM] Simon Troutman (Mayor Pro Tem):** Very good. Well, with that, the next item on our agenda is the approval of the minutes. Would somebody— **[7:07 PM] Sharon Christensen (Council Member):** I move approval of the minutes. **[7:07 PM] Simon Troutman (Mayor Pro Tem):** Thank you. Do we have a second? **[7:07 PM] Sean Hayford Oleary (Council Member):** Second. **[7:07 PM] Simon Troutman (Mayor Pro Tem):** All right. The moving of our minutes for the last city council work session of January 23rd, 2024, has been moved and seconded. All in favor? Aye. All right... oh, actually, do we have any discussion? **[7:07 PM] Sharon Christensen (Council Member):** Well, just to be clear, I was moving both of the minutes, and I'm assuming that was what was seconded. **[7:07 PM] Sean Hayford Oleary (Council Member):** Yes. **[7:07 PM] Simon Troutman (Mayor Pro Tem):** Okay, thank you. Yes. So we'll try that one more time. It's been moved and seconded. Any discussion? Seeing no discussion, all in favor please say aye. **[7:08 PM] Council Members:** Aye. **[7:08 PM] Simon Troutman (Mayor Pro Tem):** Any opposed? All right, the motion passes. Then, next we’ll move the approval for this week's agenda. **[7:08 PM] Sean Hayford Oleary (Council Member):** I move approval of the agenda. **[7:08 PM] Sharon Christensen (Council Member):** Second. **[7:08 PM] Simon Troutman (Mayor Pro Tem):** Seconded. Any discussion? No discussion. All in favor of the agenda, please say aye. **[7:08 PM] Council Members:** Aye. **[7:08 PM] Simon Troutman (Mayor Pro Tem):** Any opposed? We have an agenda. Our next item on the agenda: our proclamation celebrating Black History Month. And one of my colleagues on the commission is Carol Kelly here, and so I think I will read the proclamation and we'd love to hear from her. And so this is the proclamation of the city of Richfield. Whereas each February during Black History Month, the United States honors the contributions and sacrifices of African-Americans who have helped shape the nation; whereas the city of Richfield, Minnesota, also takes pride in recognizing February 2024 as Black History Month. We want to honor the many notable contributions that people of African descent have made to our community and celebrate the rich cultural heritage, triumphs, and adversities that are an indelible part of our country's history... (reads remainder of proclamation). And now I, therefore—Mary Supple, who we hope is feeling better, and the Mayor of Richfield—and on behalf of the city of Richfield and the Richfield City Council, do hereby proclaim February 2024 as Black History Month in the city of Richfield. We call the people of Richfield to observe this month with appropriate programs, activities, ceremonies, and to continue to honor the contributions of black Americans throughout the year. And so with that, Commissioner Kelly, it's great to see you and thank you for coming. **[7:12 PM] Carol Kelly (Human Rights Commission):** I am happy to be here. I'm happy to accept this proclamation on behalf of the Human Rights Commission and also as a citizen of Richfield. Our family has been here for seven years. We were in Southwest Minneapolis, and when we knew we had to move, one of the reasons we picked Richfield was because, in all of the surrounding suburbs, it is a lot more diverse than you would imagine. So we're really, really proud to be part of this community, proud to contribute to things that African-American—well, Afro-Caribbean on my part—contribute to this community, and also making it a welcoming space for other people of color. So I'm really grateful to the city council for adopting this proclamation. **[7:13 PM] Simon Troutman (Mayor Pro Tem):** Well, thank you, Commissioner. Colleagues, any comments? All right. Well, thank you very much. Thanks. It's great to see you. **[7:14 PM] Carol Kelly (Human Rights Commission):** Good to see you all. **[7:14 PM] Simon Troutman (Mayor Pro Tem):** All right, thank you. Now we have the consent calendar, which contains several separate items which are acted upon by the City Council in one motion. Once the consent calendar has been approved, the individual items and recommended actions have also been approved. No further Council action on these items is necessary; however, any council member may request that an item be removed from the consent calendar and placed on the regular agenda for Council discussion and action. All items listed on the consent calendar are recommended for approval. And with that, we would turn that over to our City Manager. **[7:15 PM] Katie Rodriguez (City Manager):** Yes, thank you. On tonight's consent calendar, we have: Item A, consider to approve the renewal of the 2024 licenses for off-sale 3.2% malt liquor... Item B, consider approval of a construction and maintenance agreement with Link 65 LLC... Item C, consider adoption of a resolution authorizing the city of Richfield to accept grant funds in the amount of $27,800 and enter into a cost-share agreement with 9 Mile Creek Watershed District... Item D, consider the approval of the first reading of an ordinance amending section 925 nuisance to include a new provision relating to flexible dumpsters... Item E, consider the acceptance of a quote from Northland Recreation in the amount of $100,000 for the replacement of play equipment at Fairwood Park... Item F, consider the adoption of a resolution appointing election judges and establishing an absentee ballot board for the presidential nomination primary election of March 5th, 2024. And I present all these items for your consideration as part of the consent calendar. **[7:17 PM] Simon Troutman (Mayor Pro Tem):** Thank you, City Manager. Does anybody— **[7:17 PM] Sean Hayford Oleary (Council Member):** I would move to approve the consent calendar. **[7:17 PM] Simon Troutman (Mayor Pro Tem):** Thank you. **[7:17 PM] Sharon Christensen (Council Member):** Second. **[7:17 PM] Simon Troutman (Mayor Pro Tem):** Any discussion? I'd just say a couple of brief things and reflections. One, folks notice the grant for the 9 Mile Creek Watershed District, and I just had a question: is this related to the Richfield-Bloomington Watershed District, or what is the connection? **[7:18 PM] Katie Rodriguez (City Manager):** It's a separate Watershed district and it touches... but it still touches on Richfield, correct. **[7:18 PM] Simon Troutman (Mayor Pro Tem):** Oh, that's great. Well, thank you. And then I also just wanted to say a thank you and early hats off to our election judges. People hopefully don't take it for granted—it's easy to take for granted how our democracy runs on people that work for very little to do something incredibly important. So with that, and there being no further discussion, the motion's been moved and seconded. All in favor? **[7:18 PM] Council Members:** Aye. **[7:19 PM] Simon Troutman (Mayor Pro Tem):** Any opposed? Right, the motion passes. Next, we have Item 5, the violation hearing and considering a resolution regarding civil enforcement of establishments that recently underwent alcohol compliance checks by Richfield Public Safety staff. And that goes to Council Member Coleman-Woods, I believe. **[7:19 PM] Rori A. Coleman-Woods (Council Member):** Thank you, Mayor Pro Tem. Alcohol compliance checks were conducted by Richfield Public Safety staff on November 21st of 2023. Compliance checks are done to determine the availability of alcohol to people under 21 and meet state statutes. There are currently 32 establishments in Richfield that hold licenses to sell alcohol. Compliance checks were attempted at all but four establishments, which were closed at the time the checks were conducted. Two of the 28 establishments checked sold alcohol to an underage person. The action being taken today is for civil enforcement and penalties against these establishments. Both establishments have failed two or more alcohol compliance checks in the past. Resolution number 9511 states that if a second offense occurs outside of one year of the first offense, it will be considered a first offense. The following establishment previously failed on November 9th, 2021, making this a first offense: Lindale Smokehouse LLC, doing business as Lindale Smokehouse at 7745 Lindale Avenue South. Resolution number 9511 states if the second offense occurs within one year of the first offense, it will be considered a second offense. The following establishment previously failed on December 17th, 2022, making this a second offense: Los Sanchez Taqueria 2 LLC, doing business as Los Sanchez Taqueria, located at 2 West 66th Street. Establishments will be given an opportunity to admit they made an unlawful sale to an underage person and agree to the penalties imposed by the City Council, or deny the allegations and request a contested case hearing. (Reads recommended penalties for both establishments). And I'm confirming with our City Attorney at this point: do we need to ask both establishments if they are here to admit or deny the allegations? **[7:23 PM] Mary Tietjen (City Attorney):** Mayor Pro Tem, Council Member Coleman-Woods, that is correct. And if I could just—Council Member Coleman-Woods has already addressed this in the staff report, but just to clarify for those present: the purpose of tonight is to allow the licensees to either admit the violations, in which case the Council will adopt the resolution imposing the penalties, or to deny the allegations and let Council and staff know that they wish to request a hearing. If they wish to contest the violations and request a hearing, then staff will put that process into motion to get the hearing scheduled for them. So this is not a situation where the Council will be amending the penalties or anything like that tonight; it's either an admit or deny and request a hearing. So that's just to clarify the process. And given this, I would hold off on making a motion until we've heard from the licensees and know which way they wish to go. **[7:24 PM] Simon Troutman (Mayor Pro Tem):** Thank you. As well, then I would believe we have representatives here. If the folks from Lindale Smokehouse LLC would like to either admit to the violation or request that hearing. And yes, you can come up to the microphone. If you'd be so kind as to just come a little closer to the microphone, tell us who you are. **[7:25 PM] Tony Lawler (Lindale Smokehouse):** My name is Tony Lawler. I work with the ownership of Lindale Smokehouse LLC, so I'm here representing them, and we are admitting fault—or not denying. **[7:25 PM] Simon Troutman (Mayor Pro Tem):** Thank you. And then I would call up the representatives from Los Sanchez Taqueria. **[7:26 PM] Sergio Andrade (Counsel for Los Sanchez):** Good evening, honorable Council. My name is Sergio Andrade. I am here with Santiago Sanchez, owner of Los Sanchez, and we would admit and would like to give information on mitigation as well. **[7:26 PM] Santiago Sanchez (Owner, Los Sanchez):** Hello, my name is Santiago Sanchez. I apologize, my English isn't that well. I am here to apologize for what happened. We are working so that this does not happen again. In some previous years, we've had various compliance checks and we've been able to pass some, and we are working now to correct all situations so that this does not happen again. Well, I apologize again, and I expect that this will not happen again. **[7:27 PM] Sergio Andrade:** Your honors, we have actually taken measures so that this does not happen again. And one of the first things that was done immediately on December 4th of 2023, Los Sanchez staff participated in a training. This training was with respect to alcohol compliance, and so we have provided—or will provide—the training materials and the certificate of training that the staff complied with. This is before any consequence was imposed by anybody. In addition to that, we have read that the best practices would be to adopt a policy; we have adopted a policy at Los Sanchez as well with regards to alcohol and the selling of alcohol. I believe to the public safety officer that's here as well, I provided a copy of that and I have copies for the Council as well if necessary. Part of the problem—we were addressing symptoms previously, but now we're addressing what the real problem is, which was that a lot of the staff, their primary language is not English. So part of the problem was not understanding the policies. The policies that we adopted, I actually translated into the Spanish language, and we're going to reinforce with training. We're going to have pop-up quizzes for staff; we're going to have managers go in and do compliance checks in-house so that this does not happen again. In addition to that, we have provided both the Spanish version and the English version of those compliance checks. We're asking this body to give us an opportunity. We know it's a second offense, but give us this opportunity. We hope that we have a higher fine as opposed to a seven-day suspension. We would welcome any type of training, additional training, of course paid for by Los Sanchez. We understand that this is a critical situation. We're asking—we hope that we won't be here before this again in the future. Thank you very much for your attention. **[7:31 PM] Simon Troutman (Mayor Pro Tem):** I do have a question for our attorney. Do we actually have any discretion with regards to the—if they've admitted liability, do we actually have any discretion with regards to the penalties, or are those set up by statute or ordinance? **[7:31 PM] Mary Tietjen (City Attorney):** The penalties are established by City resolution which has been in place for some time. You know, if the Council wants to revisit those penalties... I don't have that resolution in front of me here, but those have been established by City resolution. **[7:32 PM] Sergio Andrade:** If I may, your honors, I do have resolution 9511 here, and it does allow for discretion within the resolution, and I can provide that to the City Attorney or to the City Council. **[7:32 PM] Jay Henthorne (Police Chief):** Mayor Pro Tem and Council Members, I just wanted to share that Los Sanchez passed their liquor compliance check in 2019. They failed it November of '21. They failed it December of '22, which was outside that one year, so it was considered a first offense. And then they have recently failed it this past fall again. So if you're counting failures, this is their third, but outside of that one year. Just sharing that. **[7:33 PM] Simon Troutman (Mayor Pro Tem):** I think that's helpful. I'm just asking our City Attorney, in terms of the process: if there's a request and we would want to address that, would it make more sense administratively to have a discussion before we make the motion or after we make the motion? **[7:33 PM] Mary Tietjen (City Attorney):** I would have a discussion prior to making the motion here. I mean, ultimately legally the discretion of the penalties does lie with the Council. They have been established by resolution. Strictly legally speaking, it is within your discretion to decide what the penalties are, but I think staff has provided some information for the Council to consider in that regard. **[7:34 PM] Katie Rodriguez (City Manager):** And the similar request from Los Sanchez was made last year—that they would be happy to pay a larger fine and not be suspended for five days—which we did not grant, or you did not grant. **[7:34 PM] Sean Hayford Oleary (Council Member):** I guess if Public Safety could just clarify: do you consider the loss of sale days like an effective deterrent compared to penalties? **[7:35 PM] Jay Henthorne (Police Chief):** Council Member Hayford Oleary, it tends to create an environment where every ID is checked. The other thing I want to state is when somebody is underage, their ID is vertical; over 21 is horizontal. So there's not even any math to be done. You just have to—if it's a vertical ID and it plainly says under 21, then you don't make a sale. **[7:35 PM] Sean Hayford Oleary (Council Member):** And just to clarify how these work, it is an actual underage person and they're not coming in with like a crafty fake ID or something? They literally just, if they show their ID, it shows their age? There's nothing tricky about this, right? **[7:36 PM] Jay Henthorne (Police Chief):** There is no trickery involved. **[7:36 PM] Rori A. Coleman-Woods (Council Member):** I would say I appreciate the City Attorney clarifying that we may change this, but given the information from Public Safety and the fact that even if we were to call this a first-time offense, it would still be a five-day suspension, I think we should just go with the recommended suspension. I am grateful for the restaurant owner coming here and doing better on this, but this is what these rules are for. So I support the recommended suspension. **[7:37 PM] Sharon Christensen (Council Member):** Yes, I do agree with the suspension process. Unfortunately, it's one of those things that—I have family members that do work at various business locations and they have issues with this also, and it's just something... it's a learning curve and that we hope that your employees will learn from it. Absolutely. **[7:37 PM] Simon Troutman (Mayor Pro Tem):** I would only add with respect that I would agree with my colleagues. There are other restaurants that have been in a similar situation, yourself included, where we haven't shown that discretion. I think we have an obligation out of fairness to treat everybody equally. And so for that reason, I appreciate how you've approached the Council, but I would support the resolution and the recommended penalty. And so with that, if there's no further discussion... **[7:38 PM] Rori A. Coleman-Woods (Council Member):** I would then make the motion to approve the attached resolutions regarding civil enforcement for establishments that failed alcohol compliance checks by selling alcohol to an underage person. **[7:38 PM] Sharon Christensen (Council Member):** Second. **[7:38 PM] Simon Troutman (Mayor Pro Tem):** The motion has been made and seconded. Is there any further discussion? Seeing no further discussion, all in favor say aye. **[7:39 PM] Council Members:** Aye. **[7:39 PM] Simon Troutman (Mayor Pro Tem):** Opposed? The motion passes. We appreciate your consideration. Thank you. All right, with that we have Item number 6, and that goes to Council Member Hayford Oleary. **[7:39 PM] Sean Hayford Oleary (Council Member):** Thank you. This item is to consider our approval of the mayor's appointment to the Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA). (Reads background on HRA/EDA composition). On January 4th, 2024, three members of the HRA and EDA interviewed four residents that applied for the seat. Gordon Hansen is seeking reappointment... his reappointment would be for the standard five-year term. And I will add, since I served on that group of three that did the interviews, we were impressed by some of the new candidates. We've also been really impressed by Gordon's dedication to this community and particularly having a lot of direct connections with small businesses. So I will make the motion that we approve the mayor's appointment of Gordon Hansen as a Housing and Redevelopment Authority commissioner for a five-year term expiring February 28th, 2029. **[7:41 PM] Sharon Christensen (Council Member):** Second. **[7:41 PM] Simon Troutman (Mayor Pro Tem):** The motion has been made and seconded. Is there any discussion? **[7:41 PM] Rori A. Coleman-Woods (Council Member):** Yes, I will just say I agree with everything that Council Member Hayford Oleary has said. I think it is great that Gordon wanted to be reappointed. That being said, I'm just happy to see that we had more applicants than there were... for anyone listening that is curious or interested, the HRA and EDA is more—not that this is the only reason people serve—but is more powerful than our other commissions. It makes decisions about hundreds of thousands of dollars at times and is a big deal. We went a few rounds where hardly anyone was applying, and so would encourage folks to keep an eye out for the next time there's openings. **[7:42 PM] Simon Troutman (Mayor Pro Tem):** Any further discussion? Seeing none, all in favor of the motion please say aye. **[7:42 PM] Council Members:** Aye. **[7:42 PM] Simon Troutman (Mayor Pro Tem):** All opposed? The motion passes. Next, Item number 7 goes to Council Member Christensen. **[7:43 PM] Sharon Christensen (Council Member):** Thank you. The item for Council consideration tonight is to consider the Charter Commission's recommendations for amendments to the current City Charter by ordinance and publish a notice of a public hearing. (Reads background on Charter review process). The Charter Commission formally acted on December 5, 2023, to recommend the amendments. I make a motion to: 1) accept the letter from Charter Commission transmitting the recommendations, and 2) adopt the resolution authorizing notice of a public hearing including a summary of the proposed City Charter amendments. **[7:45 PM] Sean Hayford Oleary (Council Member):** Second. **[7:45 PM] Simon Troutman (Mayor Pro Tem):** Motion's been made and seconded. Any anything to add? **[7:45 PM] Rori A. Coleman-Woods (Council Member):** I'll just say briefly that for anyone who is looking at the document, it looks like a lot of edits—redline cross-outs, blue new words. I would say there are some substantive changes... the vast majority of these changes are technical or grammatical really. And so if you're feeling like we're making a huge overhaul and hardly commenting on it, it's not that major and this is maybe the fifth or sixth conversation about it. **[7:46 PM] Simon Troutman (Mayor Pro Tem):** Those are great clarifications, and this will also be voted on—this is not the voting on of the charter change. Without any further comments, it’s been moved and seconded. All in favor say aye. **[7:47 PM] Council Members:** Aye. **[7:47 PM] Simon Troutman (Mayor Pro Tem):** All opposed? The motion passes. Next, we have the City Manager's report. **[7:47 PM] Katie Rodriguez (City Manager):** Nothing to report tonight, Mayor Pro Tem and Council. **[7:47 PM] Simon Troutman (Mayor Pro Tem):** Thank you. We're moving on to number 9: claims and payroll. **[7:47 PM] Sean Hayford Oleary (Council Member):** I will move claims and payroll. **[7:48 PM] Sharon Christensen (Council Member):** Second. **[7:48 PM] Simon Troutman (Mayor Pro Tem):** Any discussion? Thank you, staff. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion passes. And finally, we have hats off to the hometown. We’ll start with... I see that finger, Council Member Christensen. **[7:48 PM] Sharon Christensen (Council Member):** Thank you. I just wanted to give a shout out to actually Wood Lake Nature Center. I received a piece of mail the other day... it told a lot of fabulous programs that will be coming up in the spring for both kids and adults. So I urge people to check it out and see what you can come up with for some fun activities this winter. **[7:49 PM] Rori A. Coleman-Woods (Council Member):** Just one item: I got to join the Sustainability Commission for their meeting recently and that included the new youth commissioner. I know we have a few commissions now that have youth commissioners; just want to give a shout out to them. **[7:49 PM] Sean Hayford Oleary (Council Member):** I will just give a quick thank you to Public Works. A Sam's Club cart was abandoned in my neighborhood... I called Public Works and they dealt with it. Thank you to Public Works for dealing with that because it's not a great look when we have roaming shopping carts. **[7:50 PM] Simon Troutman (Mayor Pro Tem):** And I just have two quick shout outs. One is to our Mayor, Mary Supple, who's feeling under the weather. Mayor, we hope you're feeling better soon. And also, I just want to give a quick shout out to our colleagues and friends at Richfield Public Schools and Richfield High School. I took our oldest son with my wife, Justice Troutman, to do the high school preview and we just had such a great experience there. It’s just really exciting as somebody who's attended Richfield High School to go back a generation later and see the improvements. So I just want to say thank you to everybody, including Mrs. Wayan, who makes Richfield High School great. And so with that, I would entertain a motion to adjourn the meeting. **[7:52 PM] Sean Hayford Oleary (Council Member):** So moved. **[7:52 PM] Sharon Christensen (Council Member):** Second. **[7:52 PM] Simon Troutman (Mayor Pro Tem):** It's been moved and seconded. Any discussion? No discussion folks? Okay, we have to vote. All in favor of adjourning? **[7:52 PM] Council Members:** Aye. **[7:52 PM] Simon Troutman (Mayor Pro Tem):** Any opposed? No? We're adjourned.