This transcript appears to be from a Hermantown City Council meeting taking place in late December 2020. Based on the context provided and the dialogue within the transcript, I have identified the speakers (including Councilors Natalie Nelson and Grant Hauschild, who were serving at that time but were not included in your initial list). [0:00] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Okay, we will start tonight's meeting. Call the meeting to order. We will forego the Pledge of Allegiance since there's not a flag to say it to. Let's have the roll call. [0:15] **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Geissler? **Councilor John Geissler:** Here. **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Hauschild? **Councilor Grant Hauschild:** Here. **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Nelson? **Councilor Natalie Nelson:** Here. **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Peterson? **Councilor Joe Peterson:** Here. **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** I'm here too. Thank you. Announcements—are there any councilors that have any announcements at this time? Councilor Geissler? [0:41] **Councilor John Geissler:** Just Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all. [0:47] **Councilor Natalie Nelson:** Yeah, Merry Christmas and good health to all. [0:53] **Councilor Joe Peterson:** Same thing. Just safe and happy and healthy holiday to everyone. [0:59] **Councilor Grant Hauschild:** Yes, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and bring on 2021, please. Let's get rid of 2020. [1:07] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** We have no public hearings tonight. The only other announcement I would make is if there is anyone present at the meeting that wants to have public discussion, we will have a section for public discussion about items not on the agenda, and then when we have an item on the agenda, there will be a separate section for public comment on that item. Communications, Mr. Mulder? [1:36] **City Administrator John Mulder:** We have two items there. One is from Brian Pritzinger, the St. Louis County Deputy Administrator, just thanking us for allowing them to use the Training Center for a COVID testing spot for the public safety people—police, fire, 9-1-1 emergency responders. And then the second one is just from the Duluth Airport regarding asking for support for the flights to Denver, and we included that as a resolution later on in the agenda. [2:06] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Thank you. We have no department head presentations. We now have time for public discussion. Does anyone have any public discussion on any item not on the agenda? This is for people present in the meeting that would like to discuss things with Council. [2:34] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Second call for public discussion. Do we have any public discussion present at this time? And we will then move on to the Consent Agenda. It's a fairly long Consent Agenda with several items on it that are in the agenda. Do we have a motion for the Consent Agenda? [2:59] **Councilor Natalie Nelson:** Motion to approve. [3:01] **Councilor John Geissler:** Second. [3:02] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Motion by Nelson, second by Geissler. Roll call, please. [3:06] **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Nelson? **Councilor Natalie Nelson:** Aye. **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Peterson? **Councilor Joe Peterson:** Aye. **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Geissler? **Councilor John Geissler:** Aye. **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Mayor Boucher? **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Aye. [3:25] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Ordinances. This is a single reading Ordinance 2020-08, an ordinance declaring a temporary moratorium on certain Planned Unit Developments in an R3 zoning district within the City of Hermantown. Do we have a motion? [3:46] **Councilor Joe Peterson:** Motion to approve. Sorry about the timing here. [3:50] **Councilor Natalie Nelson:** Second. [3:51] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Second, Nelson. Mr. Mulder, would you give the explanation? [3:58] **City Administrator John Mulder:** Well, I'm going to let Eric Johnson present on this issue. [4:07] **Community Development Director Eric Johnson:** Thank you, Mr. Mulder, and City Council members and Mr. Mayor. Before us this evening is a six-month moratorium for new Planned Unit Development applications for residential developments having greater than three units per acre density, which also could have up to four dwelling units per building within an R3 zoning district. In the past 18 months, the City has received three or four different applications that had to do with larger Planned Unit Developments—whether they be small-lot single-family residential, senior-type housing, or apartment-type dwellings—in the R3 zoning district. During the process review, both at Planning and Zoning as well as City Council, as well as members of the community, there have been a number of questions asked: How do these type of structures and developments fit within your standard R3 zoning? In an effort to provide better clarification of these requirements and goals and thoughts of the City, as well as different boards and Council, the staff is recommending that there be a six-month moratorium that we can study how other communities handle these type of developments within a standard residential neighborhood. It would be the thought that the City would engage a consultant that would pursue this work, and working alongside City staff as well as different board members or City Councilors, would be able to study this and provide some guidelines so the City can review these projects with some different set of information moving forward. The goal is really to provide guidance for these future developments coming into the future and trying to provide a better streamlined process going forward both for the City as well as for developers in the future. Thank you. [5:47] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Any Council questions? [5:49] **Councilor Natalie Nelson:** Oh yeah, I'm sorry, Mayor, if I cut you off. Um, just I'm going to repeat this in in the public format in this meeting, but that following the outcome of this tonight, that we do some form of communication—and I'm gonna let the staff determine what the best way forward is on that—to our developers and commercial real estate agents that we work with and have worked with, just to make sure that they understand what this is, why we're doing it, and what it means. Just so that information is coming directly from the City to that group. We have always prided ourselves in being very business friendly and good to work with from a development standpoint; we want to continue that relationship, and I would just would never want rumor to take control of that message. So that's very important that we stay that way and keeping good communication and transparent. [7:16] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Thank you. Councilor Geissler? [7:18] **Councilor John Geissler:** No questions. [7:20] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Nelson? [7:21] **Councilor Natalie Nelson:** No. [7:22] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Hauschild? [7:23] **Councilor Grant Hauschild:** Yeah, I would just concur with what Natalie said and just add, you know, I think this is important and I'm glad the City and Eric specifically, as a staff member, thought of this. I think we should be thoughtful as a city with our future development. And you know, my only comment in addition to that is I hope we can find ways to address, you know, affordable housing in our community, and hopefully through this process we'll come up with some standards that are more objective and understanding for developers. So I appreciate it and I'm looking forward to seeing how this goes. Thank you. [7:59] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** And I'd like to comment that staff has made this recommendation intentionally short compared to the one-year moratoriums that were in place for other items over the years, and we also have the option of ending the moratorium early or extending in a short period if staff has not completed their work. Right now, we will open the matter up for public discussion. Is there any member of the public that wishes to comment on this matter at this time? [8:34] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Another call for public discussion on Ordinance 2020-08. [8:40] **James Tolego (Public):** Yeah, hi Mr. Mayor. James Tolego. I'd like to comment. I imagine that this ordinance is partially related to our developments that we proposed on Levaic and Maple Grove and, you know, it's been a long process. And going through this process we selected our sites—it took a while to select them—and you know, we always thought that corridor on Maple Grove and Levaic was more of a higher density area. The public didn't agree. But recently we did some calculations and we found that there's about 120 acres of raw land surrounding that development and it's not much of a residential area I would say, but because of the raw land surrounding—I mean there's 60 acres behind us and 60 acres across the street from us and minimal neighbors. But I could understand where the ordinance is coming through being as there hasn't been a comprehensive plan since '01; it does leave the public confused as to what the steps should be in development and where the future development should be. I really think a future land use should be put in place to give us developers direction on where we should be investing. So I just wanted to say I don't think it's a bad idea. I think getting some consultants could be a good thing. You know, it's tough that we have to wait to propose another project on there after we've invested hundreds of thousands. My biggest disappointment is that when we leave these planning meetings we have no direction when we get voted down because we follow the PUD process to a T, and there's no direction when we get the "no." So that's all I wanted to say. Thank you, sir. [11:03] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** And I believe this is meant to answer your concerns. Is there any other member of the public that wishes to speak to this matter? If so, please state your name and address. [11:27] **Jess Belfai (Public):** My name's Jess Belfai. I'm actually a real estate agent as well as an owner for Triple J Holdings. My partner and I currently have several properties listed in Hermantown and they're all commercial. And it is difficult to know what with the current layout and planning—I wasn't prepared for this part of the meeting—what people can actually do with the property. It seems to me there's a lot of different hoops and things, and Eric's always very, very helpful in any way possible, but it would be nice to have more guidance to be able to market properties properly as a real estate agent and help customers and business owners and all these people that are looking to develop in Hermantown. Because Hermantown seems to be very business friendly compared to some neighboring cities, and I see a lot of people specifically looking in Hermantown for business opportunities, whether it be residential or commercial. And I think that's only going to continue to grow as we have the neighboring cities with taxes that are going up and all the other things that are happening. So it is good, I think, that you're doing this and taking the time. It does stink for some people that have been in the process; however, it is a good thing. I'm in agreement with James that it's something that needs to be done. Thank you. [13:28] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Is there any more public input on Ordinance 2020-08? [13:31] **James Tolego (Public):** Can I just add a comment? Sure. And you know, if you look at Hermantown as far as where mileage is, it's a relatively big city and I think something that should be considered is that I know we have that New Market District which is meant for higher density development, but to just have that area for higher density development I think is going to do a disservice to a lot of people considering the improvements in the utilities aren't even there. As our site, for instance, we have a utility line on the property already; it costs the City nothing for us to develop it, it's all at our expense. So there's several areas in the City that I think would be good for higher density development, and you know, that's where that Comprehensive Plan is going to come into play in the future land use and maybe drafting some additional residential zoning platforms like an R2 or an R4 or something. I know Duluth has several more than Hermantown does, so it could be something to consider. Thank you. [14:48] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Thank you. Is there any more public input on Ordinance 2020-08? Any other input from Council or staff? [14:58] **City Administrator John Mulder:** Mayor, if I could just kind of clarify though, one thing is just to make sure everybody understands: this is a very limited moratorium in the sense of not just time, which is six months, but also it's in multi-family in R3 zones. So it's not dealing with any moratorium issues in a Commercial district. I mean, we want to make sure that we want to look at this issue on how we can provide better guidance to developers and landowners in the R3 zone for multi-family housing. So this should not be perceived as being anti-development or trying to dissuade that, but rather to try to again, just in that very limited area, provide guidance to developers so that they're making the proper investment and they can expect a good return on their investment in that R3 zone when they're looking at multi-family housing. I mean, this is not a situation where they want to do multi-family housing in a Commercial zone or if they want to do other commercial work, but how do we provide that guidance for this very specific set of circumstances? Thank you. [16:21] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Anything else from staff or Council? Hearing none, roll call, please. [16:25] **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Nelson? **Councilor Natalie Nelson:** Aye. **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Peterson? **Councilor Joe Peterson:** Aye. **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Geissler? **Councilor John Geissler:** Aye. **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Hauschild? **Councilor Grant Hauschild:** Aye. **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Mayor Boucher? **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Aye. [16:46] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** We'll move to resolutions. Resolution 2020-171, resolution requesting a free conveyance of a tax forfeit parcel for public right-of-way. [17:01] **Councilor Joe Peterson:** Motion to approve. [17:03] **Councilor Grant Hauschild:** Second. [17:05] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** I'll speak to this first and then maybe Eric can jump in later, but this is for 33 feet along right-of-way along Stebner Road near the Lake's 10 and the Harley-Davidson facility. That property was held privately and it has now gone tax forfeiture, so we're going to ask the County to convey that to us for free. I don't know, Eric, if you need to add anything to that or not? [17:35] **Community Development Director Eric Johnson:** Just like you said, that this 33 feet would complete our 66-foot right-of-way that we try to obtain for all of our roadways. Thank you. [17:49] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Thank you. Any questions or comments from Council? Councilor Geissler? [17:53] **Councilor John Geissler:** No questions. [17:55] **Councilor Joe Peterson:** Nope. [17:56] **Councilor Natalie Nelson:** No. [17:57] **Councilor Grant Hauschild:** No. [17:58] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** And the only thing I'd like to comment on is it's 33 feet that the City needs for the road maintenance of the Stebner Road that we should have had all along, and this is trying to correct a situation from the past. Is there any public input on this matter? Is there anyone present in the meeting that would like to comment? Any public comment? [18:35] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** With no public comment, we'll have a roll call. [18:41] **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Peterson? **Councilor Joe Peterson:** Aye. **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Geissler? **Councilor John Geissler:** Aye. **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Hauschild? **Councilor Grant Hauschild:** Aye. **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Nelson? **Councilor Natalie Nelson:** Aye. **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Mayor Boucher? **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Aye. [18:59] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Resolution 2020-172, resolution approving a change from Communications and Community Engagement Manager to Communications and Community Engagement Director. [19:10] **Councilor Joe Peterson:** Motion. [19:12] **Councilor John Geissler:** I'll second that. [19:15] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Motion by Peterson, second by Geissler. Mr. Mulder? [19:19] **City Administrator John Mulder:** We're changing the position held by Joe Wicklund up to a department head level. And he'll be taking on the oversight committee for the Central Wellness Center, kind of leading our legislative efforts and being the lead contact person for the Greater Minnesota Cities. Thank you. [19:35] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Any comments from Council? Councilor Geissler? [19:38] **Councilor John Geissler:** Just to thank Joe for being with us and in a relatively short amount of time has proven a very, very valuable asset, and I strongly support this change. Thank you. [19:54] **Councilor Joe Peterson:** I second that. I think the fact that we were fighting to get our first "Director" in says a lot. Joe, we think the world of you, and your timing couldn't have been better at the City with a really crazy year, but you've made a huge impact, huge difference to the City and to the community. And I thank you; I'm excited for you. [20:14] **Councilor Natalie Nelson:** Oh, I concur. Joe, thank you for all your help with me. [20:18] **Councilor Grant Hauschild:** Nothing to add, just excited. So thanks. [20:25] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** And I'd like to say, Joe, you make a great addition to the team. Thank you. Any public input on this motion? Another call for public input. With no public input, I'd call for a roll call vote. [20:47] **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Geissler? **Councilor John Geissler:** Aye. **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Hauschild? **Councilor Grant Hauschild:** Aye. **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Nelson? **Councilor Natalie Nelson:** Aye. **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Peterson? **Councilor Joe Peterson:** Aye. **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Mayor Boucher? **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Aye. [21:00] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Resolution 2020-173, resolution supporting Duluth Airport efforts for direct flights to Denver, Colorado. And I've been informed that Councilor Peterson will be abstaining from this. [21:18] **Councilor Natalie Nelson:** Motion to approve. [21:20] **Councilor Grant Hauschild:** Second. [21:23] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Mr. Mulder? [21:25] **City Administrator John Mulder:** So this is similar to a resolution we did back in 2017 when the airport was working to get flights to Phoenix at that point in time. At this point, they're working on having direct flights to Denver and we want to support that effort. Thank you. [21:42] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Any questions or comments from Council? Councilor Geissler? [21:45] **Councilor John Geissler:** No comments. [21:48] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** We'll pass Councilor Peterson. Councilor Nelson? [21:51] **Councilor Natalie Nelson:** I'm looking forward to this. I hope it passes for the airport in the community. [21:57] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Councilor Peterson, did you want to make a comment? [21:59] **Councilor Joe Peterson:** Just, I mean, you know, obviously I work for the Authority, but just to thank you for the support for this project. This would be a great addition for this region and for the City of Hermantown overall from a business and leisure perspective. So thank you. [22:14] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Thank you. Councilor Hauschild? [22:15] **Councilor Grant Hauschild:** No comment. [22:16] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Yeah, and I think this is a great initiative for us to take. Anytime we can support the airport and the promotion of our local economy, we should take the opportunity to do that. Is there anyone present in the meeting from the public that wishes to comment on this motion? Any public comments on this motion? Roll call, please. [22:50] **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Hauschild? **Councilor Grant Hauschild:** Aye. **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Nelson? **Councilor Natalie Nelson:** Aye. **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Geissler? **Councilor John Geissler:** Aye. **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Mayor Boucher? **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Aye. [23:07] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Resolution 2020-174, resolution approving a special use permit for the grading and filling within a shoreland overlaid district. [23:19] **Councilor John Geissler:** Motion to approve. [23:21] **Councilor Grant Hauschild:** Second. [23:23] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** We have a motion and a second. Mr. Mulder? [23:25] **City Administrator John Mulder:** I'll let Mr. Johnson speak to this item. [23:29] **Community Development Director Eric Johnson:** Great, thank you. Again, on this property, it's located at 4703 Hermantown Road. Back in 2016, the applicant had purchased that property and received a Commercial Industrial Development Permit, or a CIDP, for their operation of their auto repair store. At that time, as part of the approval, there were requirements for some landscape plantings both along Haynes Road as well as a small bed along Hermantown Road. Those have been installed at the time and they continue to be in place as of right now. In addition, staff had also looked at parking for this project; they had identified three employee parking spaces as well as up to 14 spaces for the vehicles that were going to be serviced as part of this building. This building has been—this applicant has been extremely successful at this location and hence they are looking to expand their parking lot area for their business. In 2020, earlier this summer, they were able to purchase the home next door at 4709 Hermantown Road. That property actually does have a commercial zoning with it. The thought of the applicant is that they were going to remove the existing garage and breezeway associated with the house, which they have now done, and then expand their parking lot to the west so it's within 10 to 15 feet of that building. They would be meeting setbacks for that. Likewise, they'd be doing some rock and boulder work on the north side of the property that would be able to retain that hillside that exists in order to create some drivable surface behind the building, as well as to create a detention pond associated with this. Since the size of this project does fall under the City's 1060 and 1080 stormwater requirements, as part of this review for this, there is an unmapped tributary to Keene Creek that exists on the north part of the property and what that does then is it affects the 300-foot shoreland area associated with that. And hence, they're in front of the City Council this evening looking for the special use permit moving forward for the building and the site design that would be handled from a staff level from a zoning certificate. Staff would be working with them quite a bit with potential some traffic movement within that site as well as once again the stormwater requirements for this. So thank you. [26:01] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Thank you. Any comments from councilors? Councilor Geissler? [26:05] **Councilor John Geissler:** No comments. [26:07] **Councilor Joe Peterson:** Nope. [26:08] **Councilor Natalie Nelson:** Nope. No comment. [26:10] **Councilor Grant Hauschild:** No. [26:22] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Moving on to public comment. Do we have any members of the public that wish to comment on this at this time? If so, state your name and address for the record. Any public comment on this resolution? [26:36] **Jess Belfai (Public):** Hi, I mean again, Jess Belfai. My husband and I are the owners of Accurate Auto Repair and Triple J Holdings and we have moved, obviously a few years ago, and we do have success in that location which is awesome and we've been able to grow more than we ever thought. Eric has been excellent every time we come up with a new plan; he's there to help us. And we're really excited to continue to grow in Hermantown and make everything a little better for aesthetics and when you drive by so we don't have cars stacked everywhere, and really hope that this all pans out the way it's supposed to. So we thank you for hearing this and hopefully approving it. Thank you. [27:36] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Thank you. Is there any other public input on this resolution? With no additional public input, we will move to a roll call. [27:44] **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Nelson? **Councilor Natalie Nelson:** Aye. **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Peterson? **Councilor Joe Peterson:** Aye. **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Geissler? **Councilor John Geissler:** Aye. **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Hauschild? **Councilor Grant Hauschild:** Aye. **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Aye. [28:00] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Moving on to Resolution 2020-175, resolution authorizing the City of Hermantown to sponsor a grant funding request associated with the construction of an accessible trail from Hermantown Road (Pangwalls) to Morris Thomas Road and the Keene Creek trail segment. [28:13] **Councilor Joe Peterson:** Motion to approve. [28:16] **Councilor Natalie Nelson:** Second. [28:17] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Motion by Councilor Peterson, second by Councilor Nelson. Mr. Mulder? [28:20] **City Administrator John Mulder:** Eric, speak to that as well. [28:23] **Community Development Director Eric Johnson:** Great, thank you. This is a Northeast Minnesota Transportation Alternatives grant. The City has pursued this in the past; we are now looking at a trail section—this is that 0.85 mile section connecting the Pangwalls development to the future Keene Creek trail. Assuming a successful grant application, this would receive funding in 2025. The result of this section would be the completion of essentially 3.8 miles of trail that would connect the Stebner Road/Maple Grove intersection all the way down to Keene Creek Park and likewise provide a spur over to the Hermantown Marketplace. So this would take care of a good eastern portion of our City from a trail standpoint. Thank you. [29:20] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Thank you. Any comments from Council? Councilor Geissler? [29:25] **Councilor John Geissler:** No comments. [29:26] **Councilor Joe Peterson:** No, just hoping that this one's our goal. [29:30] **Councilor Natalie Nelson:** No comment. [29:33] **Councilor Grant Hauschild:** No comment. [29:38] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** And we'll move now to public comment. Is there any member of the public present at the meeting that wishes to comment on this matter? Any public comment? With no comment, roll call, please. [29:54] **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Peterson? **Councilor Joe Peterson:** Aye. **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Geissler? **Councilor John Geissler:** Aye. **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Hauschild? **Councilor Grant Hauschild:** Aye. **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Nelson? **Councilor Natalie Nelson:** Aye. **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Aye. [30:11] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Resolution 2020-176, resolution accepting traffic study and directing preparation of preliminary engineering feasibility report for Road Improvement District number 534, Ugstead Road. Do we have a motion? [30:28] **Councilor John Geissler:** I'll make the motion. [30:30] **Councilor Grant Hauschild:** Second. [30:32] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Councilor Geissler got in with the motion. Councilor Hauschild with the second. Mr. Mulder? [30:38] **City Administrator John Mulder:** Within the last month or so, we went through the traffic study detail and the traffic study was finalized now with a recommendation of some turn lanes and a four-way stop at Arrowhead and Ugstead. It does not include a recommendation for a roundabout at that intersection at this point in time. We're ready to have you accept that and then also to direct the City Engineer to prepare that feasibility report. That feasibility report is part of the overall road improvement process which allows the City to assess the landowners that benefit from that improvement. So that's the first step in that process. If you have more specific questions about the traffic study, David Bolf can answer those. Thank you. [31:25] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Any questions from Council? Councilor Geissler? [31:28] **Councilor John Geissler:** No questions. [31:29] **Councilor Joe Peterson:** Just really want to thank the process, but also to David and the crew to reach out and work with the school district on this and the partnership and everything. So thank you. [31:54] **Councilor Natalie Nelson:** No comment. [31:57] **Councilor Grant Hauschild:** I just think this area is so important to our community; it's kind of the heart. And there's a lot of kids that will be crossing the streets in this area to go to the Wellness Center, and just trying to make that area connected. And so I look forward to seeing how this road can be developed for the best use of that. Thank you. [32:32] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Is there any public input on this matter? Any public input? Roll call, please. [32:41] **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Geissler? **Councilor John Geissler:** Aye. **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Hauschild? **Councilor Grant Hauschild:** Aye. **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Nelson? **Councilor Natalie Nelson:** Aye. **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Peterson? **Councilor Joe Peterson:** Aye. **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Aye. [32:55] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Resolution 2020-177, resolution approving a request for proposals for design and construction engineering for Road Improvement District number 534, Ugstead Road. Do we have a motion? [33:07] **Councilor Joe Peterson:** Motion to approve. [33:10] **Councilor Natalie Nelson:** Second. [33:11] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Motion by Councilor Peterson, second by Councilor Nelson. Mr. Mulder? [33:14] **City Administrator John Mulder:** So what we're asking you here is to approve this request for proposals so that we can get an engineer on board to do the design work for this project from Ugstead from Highway 53 to Maple Grove, and then that section of Arrowhead from Hawk Circle to Field Key Circle. So this is just a process where we'll go out and get a proposal from the engineering firms and we'll make a recommendation to you on February 1st. Thank you. [33:43] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Any questions from Council? Councilor Geissler? [33:47] **Councilor John Geissler:** No questions. [33:48] **Councilor Joe Peterson:** Nope. [33:49] **Councilor Natalie Nelson:** No. [33:50] **Councilor Grant Hauschild:** No questions. [34:03] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Is there any public input on this matter? Any questions or comments from the public? Any public input on this motion? Roll call, please. [34:13] **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Hauschild? **Councilor Grant Hauschild:** Aye. **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Nelson? **Councilor Natalie Nelson:** Aye. **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Peterson? **Councilor Joe Peterson:** Aye. **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Geissler? **Councilor John Geissler:** Aye. **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Aye. [34:32] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Resolution 2020-178, resolution approving authorization for professional services for geotechnical evaluation services by Braun Intertec Corporation. [34:42] **Councilor John Geissler:** Motion to approve. [34:45] **Councilor Natalie Nelson:** Second. [34:47] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** This motion was by Geissler, second was by Nelson. Mr. Mulder? [34:48] **City Administrator John Mulder:** So this is, again, on the same project—is hiring Braun to do the geotech evaluation and basically get soil borings to find out what are we dealing with under that road, so that the engineers when they get on board to do the design will have better information. Thank you. [35:19] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Any questions or comments from Council? Councilor Geissler? [35:23] **Councilor John Geissler:** No questions. [35:24] **Councilor Joe Peterson:** No questions. [35:25] **Councilor Natalie Nelson:** No. [35:26] **Councilor Grant Hauschild:** Nothing for me. [35:38] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Is there any public input on this matter? Are there any members of the public present at the meeting that wish to comment on this matter? Roll call, please. [35:46] **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Nelson? **Councilor Natalie Nelson:** Aye. **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Peterson? **Councilor Joe Peterson:** Aye. **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Geissler? **Councilor John Geissler:** Aye. **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Hauschild? **Councilor Grant Hauschild:** Aye. **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Aye. [36:03] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Resolution 2020-179, resolution approving final plans and specifications and ordering advertisement for bids for 2021 Road Improvement Plan, Old Highway 2. [36:18] **Councilor Joe Peterson:** Motion to approve. [36:23] **Councilor Natalie Nelson:** Second. [36:26] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Councilor Peterson made it, Nelson second. Mr. Mulder? [36:30] **City Administrator John Mulder:** One of the road improvement projects in 2021 is we're going to take Old Highway 2 from Highway 2 to Midway, and then from Midway to Highway 2 by Morris Thomas. We will take out the pavement there and return that road to a gravel road. We will have new culverts, new mailbox, and new 911 signs for all the residents, but this will not be a project that will be assessed. Thank you. [36:59] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Any questions or comments from Council? Councilor Geissler? [37:04] **Councilor John Geissler:** No questions. [37:05] **Councilor Joe Peterson:** No questions. [37:06] **Councilor Natalie Nelson:** No. [37:07] **Councilor Grant Hauschild:** No. [37:15] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Is there any public input on this matter? Is there anyone present that wishes to comment on the Old Highway 2 reconstruction? Roll call, please. [37:33] **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Hauschild? **Councilor Grant Hauschild:** Aye. **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Peterson? **Councilor Joe Peterson:** Aye. **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Geissler? **Councilor John Geissler:** Aye. **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Nelson? **Councilor Natalie Nelson:** Aye. **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Aye. [37:51] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Resolution 2020-180, resolution receiving preliminary engineering report and ordering improvement and directing preparation of final plans and specifications for Keene Creek Trail. [38:04] **Councilor Joe Peterson:** Motion to approve. [38:06] **Councilor Grant Hauschild:** Second. [38:08] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Motion by Councilor Peterson, second by Hauschild. Mr. Mulder? [38:11] **City Administrator John Mulder:** So what we're asking you to do here is accept the report and then have the City Engineer prepare final plans and specs for the section of trail from Morris Thomas south to the parking lot in the Keene Creek area. This is funded in part by the grant that we received that is covering part of the Section 24 trail and from Park Dedication funds. And we'll need to get this work done by June 30th under the grant requirements, but having said that, we're also going to be asking the Legislature to extend that deadline just in case we're not able to get that work done in time. Thank you. This is a 10-foot wide path or trail similar to what we're doing in Section 24; it'll be non-motorized per the grant and we will have the same types of barriers and entry points on this trail to kind of minimize and prevent the motorized traffic. Thank you. [39:31] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Councilor Geissler? [39:33] **Councilor John Geissler:** I guess we've heard about the tight timeline and I guess I'm just wondering, David, how you'll prepare the specifications. Will it be the June 30th deadline, or will there be some—you know, John just mentioned perhaps we would get an extension on that. Are you going to give the contractors a couple of options, or how are you going to get that coordinated with the bidders? [40:11] **David Bolf (City Engineer):** That's a good question. We'll discuss it more at staff level, but my initial thought on that would be if we do not have the extension at the time that we have to advertise, we will put in a June 30th hard deadline and during the bidding process or beyond that, if we successfully get an extension, then we would do either an addendum to the bid or we'd do a change order if we've already awarded it. That's kind of how I see that playing out, John. [40:32] **Councilor John Geissler:** Okay, thank you. [40:34] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Thank you. Councilor Peterson? [40:37] **Councilor Joe Peterson:** No questions. [40:38] **Councilor Natalie Nelson:** No question. [40:39] **Councilor Grant Hauschild:** Just a comment. You know, I think it's exciting to see these different components of this larger trail project coming together, and I look forward to us as a city really promoting this once it gets going and once it's done. I think there's a lot of community members that would be excited to hear about this that may not even know. So as we complete these different components, I think it'd be fun to kind of give updates to the City; I think people will be excited. So thanks to the staff for their work. [41:14] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Thank you. Is there anyone from the public that wishes to comment on this matter? Any public comment? Roll call, please. [41:21] **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Geissler? **Councilor John Geissler:** Aye. **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Hauschild? **Councilor Grant Hauschild:** Aye. **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Nelson? **Councilor Natalie Nelson:** Aye. **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Peterson? **Councilor Joe Peterson:** Aye. **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Aye. [41:43] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Resolution 2020-181, resolution authorizing and directing the Mayor and City Clerk to execute deliver a cooperative agreement between St. Louis County and the City of Hermantown for 2021 Road Striping, CP 0000-9585. [41:59] **Councilor Natalie Nelson:** Motion to approve. [42:01] **Councilor Joe Peterson:** Second. [42:03] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Motion by Councilor Nelson, second by Councilor Peterson. Mr. Mulder? [42:06] **City Administrator John Mulder:** This is an agreement with St. Louis County to do—we can buy road striping at the same time and then coordinate that work with the contractor so all that work is done kind of at the same time, just for the efficiencies of economies of scale. Thank you. [42:31] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Any comments from Council? Councilor Geissler? [42:34] **Councilor John Geissler:** No questions. [42:36] **Councilor Joe Peterson:** No. [42:37] **Councilor Natalie Nelson:** No comment. [42:38] **Councilor Grant Hauschild:** No questions for me. [42:41] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** And I'd just like to comment that it was great to see that in practice this year when we got some striping fairly early in the year and we got a little more time out of it this year than we normally do. It's nice to see it earlier in the season. Is there any member of the public that wishes to comment on this? Any public input? Roll call, please. [43:12] **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Geissler? **Councilor John Geissler:** Aye. **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Hauschild? **Councilor Grant Hauschild:** Aye. **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Nelson? **Councilor Natalie Nelson:** Aye. **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Peterson? **Councilor Joe Peterson:** Aye. **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Aye. [43:30] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Resolution 2020-182, resolution awarding contract for 2021 Ford F-550 chassis to Ford of Hibbing in the amount of $54,775 plus applicable taxes and fees. [43:45] **Councilor John Geissler:** Motion to approve. [43:48] **Councilor Joe Peterson:** Second. [43:51] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Motion by Councilor Geissler, second by Councilor Peterson. Mr. Mulder? [43:56] **City Administrator John Mulder:** Since Paul's been sitting so patiently in the meeting, I'll let him speak to this. Go ahead, Paul. [44:02] **Public Works Director Paul Senst:** This is part of our 2021 capital improvement plan to replace our 1997 service truck that we have that's reached the end of its useful life. So this is the chassis portion of the build; further coming later will be the actual body and crane that will go on the truck. Thank you. [44:26] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Any questions or comments from Council? Councilor Geissler? [44:31] **Councilor John Geissler:** No questions. [44:33] **Councilor Joe Peterson:** No questions. [44:35] **Councilor Natalie Nelson:** No questions. [44:36] **Councilor Grant Hauschild:** No comment. I thought Paul was going to add something, so I apologize. [44:49] **Public Works Director Paul Senst:** No, that's okay. [44:52] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Any member of the public wishes to comment on this? Anyone out there wants to see the City hang on to the old truck? I know Paul doesn't. Any public input on this resolution? Roll call, please. [45:11] **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Hauschild? **Councilor Grant Hauschild:** Aye. **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Nelson? **Councilor Natalie Nelson:** Aye. **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Peterson? **Councilor Joe Peterson:** Aye. **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Geissler? **Councilor John Geissler:** Aye. **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Aye. [45:29] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Resolution 2020-183, resolution approving final pay request for 2020 Road Improvement District number 531 and 532 to Ulland Brothers Incorporated in the amount of $30,000. Do you have a motion? [45:44] **Councilor Grant Hauschild:** So moved. [45:47] **Councilor John Geissler:** I'll second. [45:51] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Councilor Hauschild got in first and Councilor Geissler got in for the second. Mr. Mulder? [45:51] **City Administrator John Mulder:** This is the final pay request for 531 and 532 road improvement districts. And this is just paying the retainage to Ulland in the amount of thirty thousand dollars. We will wait until we get the IC-134s before we issue the check. Thank you. [46:21] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Any comment? Councilor Geissler? [46:25] **Councilor John Geissler:** No comments. [46:27] **Councilor Joe Peterson:** Just happy Grant got a chance to get in there. [46:31] **Councilor Natalie Nelson:** No comment. [46:34] **Councilor Grant Hauschild:** It's hard as the new guy. No comment—just have to get faster internet. [46:44] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Is there any public comment on this final piece of city business officially voted on by the Council for the year? Wow. Roll call, please. [46:51] **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Hauschild? **Councilor Grant Hauschild:** Aye. **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Nelson? **Councilor Natalie Nelson:** Aye. **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Peterson? **Councilor Joe Peterson:** Aye. **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Geissler? **Councilor John Geissler:** Aye. **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Aye. [47:18] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** And I suppose we should now entertain a motion to recess. [47:20] **Councilor Grant Hauschild:** I'll make that move. [47:22] **Councilor Joe Peterson:** Second. [47:25] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** All in favor? **Council:** Aye. **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Opposed? Have a Happy New Year and a Merry Christmas. **John Mulder:** Happy New Year everyone. **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Yes, Merry Christmas everybody. Thanks everybody. Very quickly. Well, bye-bye 2020. Bye.