This transcript features **Mayor Kevin Zabel**, City Administrator **Christina Volkers**, City Engineer **Brian Bachmeyer**, and Council Members **Andy Morcomb**, **Jake Ingridson**, **Jake Olson**, and **Noah Her**. Note: Some names in the audio (like Ingridson and Olson) vary slightly from your provided list, likely due to the specific composition of the council on May 9, 2023. [00:00:00] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Okay there, I didn't cough one time when I was in California and I got back and—go alright. Let's go ahead and call to order the regular meeting for the Oakdale City Council, May 9, 2023. Sarah, will you take the roll? [00:00:15] **City Staff (Sarah):** Council member [unintelligible]? [00:00:16] **Council Member Jake Ingridson:** Here. [00:00:17] **Council Member Andy Morcomb:** Here. [00:00:18] **Council Member Jake Olson:** Here. [00:00:19] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Here. Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. First up on our agenda tonight is the approval of the agenda. Council members, we have a slightly amended version in front of us adding a set of regular meeting minutes as well as removing an item from the consent agenda. Can I have a motion to approve the amended agenda? [00:00:45] **Council Member Andy Morcomb:** So moved. [00:00:46] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** The motion is there. Is there a second? [00:00:47] **Council Member Jake Ingridson:** Second. [00:00:48] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Motion and a second. Any conversation? All those in favor say aye. [00:00:52] **Council Members:** Aye. [00:00:53] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Opposed? And the agenda is adopted. Moving right along to the approval of minutes. First, we have a set from the workshop April 25th, 2023. Council members, are there any corrections? Seeing none, I'll look for a motion. [00:01:05] **Council Member Andy Morcomb:** So moved. [00:01:06] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** There's a motion. Is there a second? [00:01:07] **Council Member Noah Her:** Second. [00:01:08] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Motion and a second. Final comments? All those in favor say aye. [00:01:10] **Council Members:** Aye. [00:01:11] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Opposed? And I will abstain as I was absent. Next up is minutes from the regular meeting April 25th, 2023. Council members, any corrections? I'll look for a motion. [00:01:21] **Council Member Jake Ingridson:** So moved. [00:01:22] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** There's a motion. Is there a second? [00:01:23] **Council Member Andy Morcomb:** Second. [00:01:24] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Motion and a second. Final comments? All those in favor say aye. [00:01:26] **Council Members:** Aye. [00:01:27] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Opposed? And I will abstain because I was absent as well. Finally, regular meeting minutes from April 11th, 2023. Any corrections? I'll look for a motion. [00:01:34] **Council Member Noah Her:** So moved. [00:01:35] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** There's a motion. Is there a second? [00:01:36] **Council Member Jake Olson:** Second. [00:01:37] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Motion and a second. Final comments? All those in favor say aye. [00:01:40] **Council Members:** Aye. [00:01:41] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Oppose? And those minutes are approved as well. Next up, we have a public hearing for the stormwater pollution prevention plan. It is our annual report. I think I'm looking towards our contract city engineer, Brian Bachmeyer. Welcome. [00:01:54] **Brian Bachmeyer (City Engineer):** Good evening Mayor, council members. As the mayor indicated, we are required to do an annual hearing to give an update on our stormwater pollution prevention program for the community to make sure it's in compliance with the general permit that's issued by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and then also to give the community an opportunity to present any concerns they may have regarding our surface waters in our community. [00:02:18] So with that, I do have just a three-page PowerPoint to kind of talk about our progress regarding our compliance with the general permit. The MPCA does issue two permits. The first one is the construction stormwater permit. That is on a project-by-project basis and it's issued to project owners and contractors. So when we do City projects, we are required to apply for the permit. Generally, the conditions of that permit apply to monitoring requirements and erosion control practices during the course of constructing that project. The current construction permit was issued by the MPCA in 2018 and we anticipate that there will be an updated permit coming out sometime later this fall and so we'll be looking for that and being aware of the new construction requirements. [00:03:04] The second permit is the MS4—that's the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System General Permit. That one was adopted in November. We received our coverage under the general permit in October of 2021. That includes five minimum control measures as part of that and that really applies to all agencies that discharge into surface waters of the state, agencies such as MnDOT, the county, and City. So Washington County and the City of Oakdale fall under that MS4 permit and we have been doing things to bring our program into compliance with the new general permit. [00:03:36] As an example, recently we've updated our educational requirements through the partnership we have with the Washington County Watershed Districts and the Soil Conservation Service to include educational components regarding management of pet waste and also de-icing salts. Most recently, the council did adopt an ordinance regarding the storage of ice control materials on private property, so that has been completed. Currently working with the City Attorney and staff on updating our policies to make sure we're current on the other things relating to checklists, illicit discharge, and management housekeeping practices. So that's still a work in progress. You'll probably be seeing some ordinance amendments and policy changes over several months. We have completed our requirement for illicit discharge with all field staff including the police and fire and Public Works staff, so that has been completed. We have also drafted a map identifying areas of high risk or more risks that may require more frequent inspections. City staff is working on a program to develop that schedule. [00:04:40] With that, that's kind of an update on our stormwater pollution prevention program. I'm happy to answer any questions the council may have regarding that. Once that's completed, then it's an opportunity for the community to present any concerns. [00:04:54] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Thank you, Brian. Council members, any questions for Brian right off the bat? Seeing none, we will move on to the public hearing portion of this part of the agenda. So as Mr. Bachmeyer mentioned, we are required under state law to host a public hearing. Before I open the public hearing, just a few reminders about house rules. Individuals are welcome to step up to the podium and speak on this topic and share their thoughts. We ask everybody to state their name and address for the record, and house rule is respect applies—it's the Golden Rule. Even if you disagree with somebody, please follow that Golden Rule. So we're going to go ahead and open the public hearing. Members of the public, if you'd like to discuss this, please step on up. Seeing none, we're going to go ahead and close the public hearing. Do we have to adopt anything or is it just public hearing and presentation? [00:05:46] **Brian Bachmeyer (City Engineer):** Just the public hearing, yes. Just conducting it. [00:05:48] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Good deal. All right, public hearing is done. Next up on the agenda is open forum. This is an opportunity for members of the public to step up and share anything that's on their mind. Before we get to that, we have a few proclamations and recognition to do. So first up, we have a proclamation recognizing Public Works Week. [00:06:05] The proclamation goes as follows: Whereas Public Works services provided in our community are an integral part of our citizens' everyday lives; and whereas the support of an understanding and informed citizenry is vital to the efficient operation of the Public Works system and programs such as water, sewer, streets, parks, forestry, environmental services, public buildings, and fleet services; and whereas the health, safety, and comfort of this community greatly depends on these services; and whereas the quality and effectiveness of these facilities as well as their planning, design, and construction are vitally dependent upon the efforts and skill of Public Works staff; and whereas the efficiency of the qualified and dedicated personnel who staff the Public Works departments is materially influenced by the people's attitude and understanding of the importance of the work they perform; and whereas the third week of May is nationally recognized as an appropriate opportunity to take time and thank those that serve in our local Public Works Department. [00:07:02] Therefore, I, Kevin Zabel, Mayor of Oakdale, do hereby proclaim the week of May 21st through the 27th as Public Works Week and acknowledge the important contributions that the Public Works Department makes every day to our health, safety, comfort, and quality of life in the City of Oakdale. I know I speak for my city council colleagues when I say that Public Works does an absolutely tremendous job in our community regardless of the season and, by far, it is the department that our residents see the most, appreciate the most, and compliment the most. They do a tremendous job every single day for our residents. So thank you, Cory. [00:07:44] Next, we have a proclamation recognizing National Police Week. Whereas in 1962, President Kennedy proclaimed May 15 as National Peace Officers Memorial Day and the week in which it falls as National Police Week to pay special recognition to law enforcement officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty for the safety and the protection of others; and whereas the International Association Chiefs of Police has declared police officer safety and wellness a top priority; and whereas it is important that all citizens know and understand the problems, duties, and responsibilities of their local police department and that members of our police department recognize their duty to serve the people by safeguarding life and property, by protecting them against violence or disorder, and by protecting the innocent against deception and the weak against oppression or intimidation; and whereas the City of Oakdale commends the brave men and women of our law enforcement community for continually summoning the courage to fulfill their solemn oath to protect and serve. [00:08:44] Therefore, I, Kevin Zabel, Mayor of Oakdale, do hereby proclaim May 14th through the 20th as National Police Week to commemorate police officers past and present who, by their faithful and loyal devotion to their responsibilities, have rendered a dedicated service to their communities and in doing so have established for themselves an enduring reputation for preserving the rights and security of all of Oakdale's residents. I think we would all agree that the last month has been incredibly difficult for the law enforcement community as we've seen a lot of very profound losses in that community. When we look at the police department we have here in the City of Oakdale, we have some of the best there is. Every single day they handle whatever is thrown at them with dignity and grace and utmost professionalism. I would stack our police department up against any city's. They do the work that needs to be done; it's often a thankless job, but we couldn't have the city without them. So Chief Newton, please convey our thanks to your department for everything that they do for our community. [00:09:50] Finally, before we get to open forum, we have a certificate of recognition for a tree board member who resigned even though we didn't want him to. Mr. Stan Karwaski. A little bit about Stan and his service on the Tree Board: the Oakdale Tree Board is one of our five City commissions and anything having to do with the canopy, these individuals are involved. They do a tremendous job keeping our community beautiful. Stan's service began as a founding member of that tree board in 1996. While he was a City Council member, he served as liaison for that board from 2002 through 2014, serving as a bridge between their important work and city government. He served again as a Tree Board Commissioner from 2017 through 2023, and we reluctantly accept his resignation that he tendered in January. So anytime you look around our community at the trees or the plantings or any of the tremendous work that that tree board has done—Buckthorn removal, can't forget to mention that—Stan has been right there in the middle of all of it, volunteering, lending his opinion on where our city should move forward. So on behalf of our city, we are incredibly grateful for your service. We appreciate it. And if you'd like to say anything, I know you always have something to say, Stan. [00:11:04] **Stan Karwaski (Former Council Member/Tree Board):** [Laughter] Well thanks for the recognition. I think I'm the last founding member—27 years. I think we planted during that time over 2,000 trees, a lot of shrubs. I was always an advocate for planting the trees, they don't take as much maintenance. Even though I'm resigning, I still showed up Saturday for the tree planting program. In the future, I plan to come to the planting projects and the Buckthorn when I can. But all good things must come to an end. It was—even though there's not that many meetings, I can still participate as a citizen. [00:11:45] The highlights for me is one of the projects we did for about four years. I initiated a project working with MnDOT and we planted probably five or six hundred trees along Interstate 694. Virtually any tree within the boundaries of the fence line was done by the Tree Board. We would get over a hundred volunteers and actually during that time we got recognized by the National Arbor Day Foundation for a national award for collectively getting volunteers. I was on City Council at the time; we were happy to have someone from the Tree Board go, no one stepped forward, so I did go down for that ceremony. Each year the National Arbor Day only gives out about eight awards or so and this was in the Lady Bird Johnson Award category, so that was quite a recognition. So there's a great Tree Board right now, they do good things. I'm glad you support it. I think it sends a message to the community about beautifying. I was happy to serve all these years, but I'll still be around. Thanks. [00:12:45] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Well thank you, Stan. We have a certificate of appreciation for you. I'm gonna ask my colleagues to come down with me, we can snap a quick picture and present the certificate. In the early years of the city council, I was called the "E-Tree." [00:13:10] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Council members, let's scroll up a little bit and tackle open forum. As I mentioned before, open forum is an opportunity for any members of the public joining us here tonight to step up to the podium, share anything on their mind. All we ask is that you state your name and address for the record and share your comments with us. Seeing none, we'll keep this moving to consensus motions. Council members tonight we have A through C. Are there any of them that council members would like to pull for individual consideration? Seeing none, I'll look for a motion. [00:13:40] **Council Member Jake Olson:** Make a motion to approve consensus motions A through C as presented. [00:13:43] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** There's a motion. Is there a second? [00:13:44] **Council Member Jake Ingridson:** Second. [00:13:45] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** There is a motion and a second. Final comments? All those in favor say aye. [00:13:48] **Council Members:** Aye. [00:13:49] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Oppose? And consensus motions A through C are adopted. Next section up is our checking in with our advisory boards and commissions. It looks like the only one that met was the Economic Development Commission and council member Herr is the liaison to that group. Noah, any update from the group? [00:14:04] **Council Member Noah Her:** You know, we had our first meeting last week Wednesday. It was the first meeting that I had, I introduced myself to everyone. I also got an update on the business retention program and how that's coming along. I think that should be ramping up after a few more visits and then there'll be a report done on just kind of the feedback from the business community. So I'm just kind of excited to see what that report will show, and yeah, I'm happy to serve on that commission. [00:14:32] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Great, thank you Noah. Next up, Award of Bid. Who's taking this one? Brian? Mr. Bachmeyer, welcome back. [00:14:38] **Brian Bachmeyer (City Engineer):** One last item if I may. We did open bids on April 20th. Five contractors submitted bids for our annual Street Reconstruction Program. Miller Excavating was the low bidder. They did our work last year and did a fine job, so we're comfortable making a recommendation that the contract be awarded. It was slightly higher than the engineering estimate, so we are showing a proposed revised budget to accommodate that. I can tell you that historically our street reconstruction program typically comes in under the contract amount when it's all said and done, so I'm sure you'll see another budget amendment at the finish of the project, probably bringing it more in line with what the original CIP was. Also, as part of the recommendation is to authorize the administrator and mayor to sign the engineering contract for the construction management and inspections with SEH. With that, I stand for any questions the council may have. [00:15:33] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Council members, any questions? I just have one comment. You know, we all know that costs are going up. The costs associated with this project—the cost increases—were an item of concern of mine. Specifically, the use of GO bonds, or General Obligation bonds, being used to cover that amount. We all know interest rates are climbing; it was, in my opinion, a substantial amount. In talking with City Administrator Volkers, I'd asked the question whether we could take that piece about amending the 2023 budget out, still keep the project moving forward, but look at other ways to internally fund that shortfall. Whether it's using other Enterprise reserve funds, unallocated budget reserves—if there's a project in the Capital Improvement Program that we could delay a year and use that funding towards this project. We don't have any—or staff doesn't have any recommendations yet—but I would like to ask my colleagues for permission to keep those budget amendments off to the side for now and see if we can figure out a way to avoid $200,000-plus in additional bonds. I would welcome feedback on that. I don't think it would delay the project at all, and I don't think it would delay the bond sale at all because that's not until August anyway. [00:16:50] **Council Member Andy Morcomb:** My comment would be, I would assume that staff has already done all that research and came up with the best solution. That's my assumption, and maybe this is what they came up with on how to fund the shortfall. [00:17:05] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** To that point, I asked the same question. The challenge is, if we wanted to look at delaying a project that Council has already approved, that is staff's guidance—to move forward with that project. So they couldn't really look at that; that would probably just be the one area that they have to go with what we already voted on. I think we understand that. Questions about the special revenue fund or unallocated reserve—historically we've never tapped those really for budget shortfall, so I'm not quite sure if they looked at those or if those options were on the table either. [00:17:40] **Christina Volkers (City Administrator):** Mr. Mayor, council, we did look at it from the staff perspective. We did not want to recommend that for all kinds of reasons, specifically our cash on hand, and we don't know what's happening in the future. We have a very small special project fund, but you guys can certainly override us. But our recommendation was the bond increase based on what we know. We did not recommend any delaying of projects, but that could be your call if you want to delay that discussion. [00:18:10] **Council Member Andy Morcomb:** I'll make the additional comment as well that in light of the fact that if we were to set aside that extra money or that portion of the bill and look for other ways to fund it, that would likely create a chain effect of other projects that were in our CIP that, if they were not going to be done, would have to be reallocated as well. It may be a larger conversation if there's more projects that are going to run into higher bids than we're expecting, but for this specific project, in order to keep everything moving on track with what we're doing in the city, I would recommend myself to stay with the GO bonds and continue with what the staff recommended. [00:18:48] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Jake, any thoughts? [00:18:50] **Council Member Jake Ingridson:** I agree with Andy. I just think using the GO bonds—it's not ideal from a financial standpoint, but I think it creates the least amount of disruption. [00:19:00] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** You're advocating for debt? I never thought you'd advocate for it. [00:19:03] **Council Member Jake Ingridson:** Never advocate for it, but I think one of the reasons debt is an option is to handle unforeseen circumstances whether it's in business or government, and I think this is a good situation where it might actually be appropriate. [00:19:15] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Noah, do you have any thoughts? [00:19:16] **Council Member Noah Her:** You know, I would be in support of moving forward with how it is presented. [00:19:22] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Okay. Council members, any final questions for Brian or staff? If not, I'll look for a motion. [00:19:30] **Council Member Andy Morcomb:** I will make a motion to waive reading and adopt Resolution 2023-5-2 awarding the bid for City Project R 2023-01, 2023 Street Improvements, to Miller Excavating Inc. in the amount of $4,505,933.33, and amending the 2023 budget as well as authorizing the mayor and City Administrator to sign an engineering service contract with SEH for construction-related engineering services in an amount not to exceed $385,000. [00:20:00] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** There is a motion. Is there a second? [00:20:01] **Council Member Noah Her:** Second. [00:20:02] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Motion, a second. Final comments? All those in favor say aye. [00:20:05] **Council Members:** Aye. [00:20:06] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Opposed? And the bid is awarded. Thank you. Brian, where'd he go? Oh, there he is. Staff reports—it's under engineering but I see Mr. Gitzlaff up here. Chris and Andy, I'm going to look to you. I think we're taking action on this; do we want to wait on the presentation until we have final language? [00:20:25] **Christina Volkers (City Administrator):** Mr. Mayor, city council, you could do it either way. There is a request for consideration to table this at this point so we can work on the language a little bit more, but we certainly can do the discussion/presentation overview and then you can decide to do that or just do that—whatever you want to do. [00:20:45] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Council members, I'd suggest waiting on the staff presentation until we have the final terms of the contract set. [00:20:50] **Council Member Andy Morcomb:** I would agree. [00:20:52] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Okay. So I'm going to go ahead and make a motion to table Resolution 2023-5-3 amending a site plan condition for Impact Apartments... because we're not authorizing anything. There's a motion to table, is there a second? [00:21:05] **Council Member Jake Ingridson:** Second. [00:21:06] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Motion to table indefinitely. Is there a second? Second. Motion and a second. Final comments? All those in favor say aye. [00:21:10] **Council Members:** Aye. [00:21:11] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Opposed? And that is tabled. Let's go back to Mr. Thompson. Checking in with our City Attorney. Jim, anything? [00:21:18] **Jim Thompson (City Attorney):** No, Mr. Mayor, members of council. Nothing specific, but happy to answer any questions. [00:21:22] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Council members, any questions for Mr. Thompson? All right, let's turn the other direction and check in with our City Administrator, Ms. Volkers. [00:21:30] **Christina Volkers (City Administrator):** Mayor, city council, I don't have anything other than what's on the agenda and this is a big item for us and I'm very excited to present it tonight. It's a compilation of a lot of time and effort that went into the process for our new Public Works facility. If you vote to support the motion tonight, that means we are headed in the right direction and we've started the Public Works project. [00:21:55] What's before you is we went out for bid for a new construction manager. We're doing the "at-risk" model and really what that means is the construction manager is a partner with the architect and the City, who's the owner. I will represent you, but you're the City as the owner of the project. We went out for bid, we received eight bids. We had a lot of competition for this project for the construction manager. It is the first capital building project we've done in 20-some years—the rest of our buildings are all 40 or 50 years old. It's been a really long time for Oakdale; this is very exciting. We budgeted about 2.5% for a construction manager for the project. The total fee, the cost of construction, is $25.5 million. With competition, maybe we'll get it less—hopefully it won't be more, but that's our estimate. We budgeted 2.5% and we're requesting an award of the bid at 1.6% to Kraus-Anderson tonight. That's a significant savings, a great way to start this project. [00:23:05] The motion in front of you is to authorize the Mayor and the City Administrator to enter into the agreement with Kraus-Anderson for the construction manager at risk services. There are some terms we've been working with our attorneys on. One thing that is the same is they will be paid a fee of $18,500 for pre-construction services. That phase includes Kraus-Anderson providing ongoing construction estimates and assisting the City with the bidding process for all construction and materials. Another term: the council tonight will award the construction contracts pursuant to the competitive bidding process. Kraus-Anderson will be responsible for overseeing the performance of all work during the construction phase. For the construction phase, Kraus-Anderson will be paid the 1.6% of the cost of the work, which is currently estimated at 25.5 million dollars. After the city council awards the various components, there will be a guaranteed maximum price that we will come back to you with. If there is savings from the guaranteed maximum price, the city receives 100% of the savings back. [00:24:40] I will be the City's designated representative to keep this project moving. I will have the ability to make decisions on behalf of the city during construction. I will also be responsible for obtaining approval from you for anything beyond my purchasing power, which is $25,000 for change orders. Lastly, final payment to Kraus-Anderson will be made no later than 30 days after all the work is completed and—this is really important—the punch list items are done. We will be holding until that punch list is finished. Jim, our City Attorney, worked really hard on this agreement. Did I miss anything, Jim? Okay, so that's what's before you tonight. [00:25:35] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Thank you, Chris. Council members, any questions for Chris? [00:25:39] **Council Member Andy Morcomb:** Not questions, Mayor, but I just want to say we've been working on getting this project going. I joined the council in November of 2018 and this was already being worked on. I just want to give a huge thank you to everybody—City staff present and past—who had a part in making this happen. Our public works department employees deserve this; they've been working with some pretty mediocre facilities for a while now and it's just run its useful life. I also want to thank the residents of Oakdale for making this exponentially easier with the local option sales tax. I know it's not ideal for our residents, but it was the best option. [00:26:25] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Council members, any other comments or questions for Chris? [00:26:28] **Council Member Jake Olson:** I have a question. What role does Kraus-Anderson play in the cleanup or the determination that the site is clean? [00:26:35] **Christina Volkers (City Administrator):** Council member Olson, they will be our partner along with that. We are hiring our own environmental person to make sure our interests are met. 3M has their own person. The whole thing is subject to Minnesota Pollution Control Agency approval every step of the way, but we will have our own representative. Most importantly, remember the MPCA won't sign off until everything is to the legal standard. We're relying on them, but we have our own person to make sure that happens on our behalf. [00:27:10] **Council Member Jake Olson:** One final comment is that, as you guys know, I do not support building on this piece of land. But I support the project and I think Public Works and our residents deserve a new building. I just don't support it on this piece of land. [00:27:25] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Council members, I'll look for a motion. [00:27:28] **Council Member Andy Morcomb:** I will make a motion to authorize the mayor and City Administrator to enter into an agreement with Kraus-Anderson Construction Company for construction management at risk services for City Project B 2024-01, construction of a new Public Works building, in accordance with their proposal dated April 3rd, 2023. [00:27:45] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** There is a motion. Is there a second? [00:27:46] **Council Member Jake Ingridson:** Second. [00:27:47] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Motion and second. Final comments? All those in favor say aye. [00:27:50] **Council Members:** Aye. [00:27:51] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Opposed? Contract is awarded. Council presentations—who would like to go first? Everybody calm down. Noah, anything? [00:28:02] **Council Member Noah Her:** Nothing for me. [00:28:03] **Council Member Andy Morcomb:** Nothing for me. [00:28:04] **Council Member Jake Ingridson:** Nothing for me. [00:28:05] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** All right, just a few for me. Public Works began flushing out fire hydrants yesterday and the process is expected to take one week to complete. For residents, while flushing occurs, you may occasionally see discolored water. It is safe to drink, but if you do notice it, just let your tap run for a little bit. There is an interactive map on the city's website. Throughout the month of May, the City of Oakdale is looking the other way on the grass height ordinance for "No Mow May." Residents are welcome to continue mowing as normal, but if you want to participate, you can. [00:28:45] Our Oakdale Spring Photo Contest is now open. We are encouraging residents to snap beautiful spring pictures and submit those by May 31st. Only Oakdale residents are eligible. Finally, every summer the city recognizes eye-catching properties with the Oakdale Acorn Award. You can nominate as many properties as you'd like by June 30th. We break it into three categories: business/commercial, public, and residential. Please go ahead and nominate them on our website. That's all I have. Council members, should we pay some bills? [00:29:20] **Council Member Andy Morcomb:** Let's do it. [00:29:21] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** In front of us, we have the claims roster for April 26, 2023 through May 9th, 2023. Council members, can I have a motion? [00:29:28] **Council Member Andy Morcomb:** I would like to motion to approve claims for the period April 26, 2023 to May 9, 2023, in the amount of $2,069,387.98. [00:29:40] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** There's a motion. Is there a second? [00:29:41] **Council Member Noah Her:** Second. [00:29:42] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Motion and a second. Any final thoughts? All those in favor say aye. [00:29:45] **Council Members:** Aye. [00:29:46] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Opposed? Bills are paid. Motion to adjourn? [00:29:48] **Council Member Jake Ingridson:** Motion. [00:29:49] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** There's a motion. Is there a second? [00:29:50] **Council Member Jake Olson:** Second. [00:29:51] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** All those in favor say aye. [00:29:52] **Council Members:** Aye. [00:29:53] **Mayor Kevin Zabel:** Opposed? And we are adjourned. Thank you and good night.