This transcript features the Hastings City Council meeting. Based on the context provided, here is the identified speaker list. Note: **Councilmember Jen Fox** is addressed several times by the Mayor in the transcript; while she was not on your provided list, she is a current member of the Hastings City Council and her name has been included for accuracy. [0:00] **Mayor Mary Fasbender**: Please stand for 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. Welcome, and let the roll reflect that we have a quorum. Tonight we have a couple presentations. First off, we will have a presentation from the Dakota County Historical Society LeDuc Historic Estate, and we have with us Matt Carter. Welcome, Matt. [0:46] **Matt Carter (Executive Director, Dakota County Historical Society)**: All right, thank you Mayor Fasbender and city council and staff. As mentioned, my name is Matt Carter, I'm executive director at the Dakota County Historical Society and just kind of doing our annual update on the site. Um, so for those of you that don't know, Dakota County Historical Society has three historic sites that we operate within the county itself. We operate the Lawshe Museum in South St. Paul, which is where my office is normally located, the Sibley site in partnership with the Minnesota Historical Society which is at Mendota, and then we operate the LeDuc Estate here in Hastings. We've been operating that site in partnership with the city since 2005 when it was turned over from the Minnesota Historical Society to the City of Hastings. A few things that we just want to go over from this past year... [continues details on tours and education]. [3:05] **Matt Carter**: ...William LeDuc’s connection to them. So those are some of the things we've done in the past year. Looking forward to the next year, we also want to thank the city for CIF funds that we have been able to utilize over the past two years... [continues details on fencing and new exhibits]. [5:23] **Matt Carter**: ...George Daniels, if you're not familiar, was a former slave and he and his wife who was also a former slave ended up marrying... [continues details on the Carriage Barn exhibit and the Black Heritage Trail project]. [7:34] **Matt Carter**: ...If there's any questions, feel free to let me know, but again I thank you all for your support for not only the LeDuc Estate but the Dakota County Historical Society. [7:39] **Mayor Mary Fasbender**: Thank you, Matt. Council, any questions? Okay, Councilmember Haus. [7:42] **Councilmember Angie Haus**: Thank you so much for coming and speaking today and giving us these updates. I really appreciate learning about what the LeDuc and Dakota County Historical Society do and how much it strengthens our town with its education towards children and towards adults. I'm really grateful to see all these new artifacts coming in as well and these proposed trails as well, so it'll be very exciting. [8:15] **Mayor Mary Fasbender**: Thank you, Councilmember Haus. Councilmember Vihrachoff? [8:19] **Councilmember DawnMarie Vihrachoff**: I echo, thank you Mayor, I echo Councilmember Haus's comments here. I loved hearing the number of school children that are coming through for that—pardon me, I'm getting over a cold—how many annual visitors would you say, outside of the school children, does LeDuc see? [8:28] **Matt Carter**: Yeah, and that was a question I knew would be asked, so I appreciate the question. Unfortunately, I don't have that answer right now. What I'll be doing is going through the files... normally we have anywhere between 7,000 and 10,000 site use visitors... [discusses upcoming event in South St. Paul on April 27th]. If you have not received that invite, let me know and we'll get you that invite again. [10:43] **Mayor Mary Fasbender**: Great, thank you Matt. Thank you, Councilmember. All right, thank you very much, the LeDuc, right? Yes, thank you. Tonight we also have an update from our Arts and Culture Commission by Barb Hollenbeck, and this is going to be the first annual report from our new commission. Welcome, Barb. [11:15] **Barb Hollenbeck (Chair, Arts and Culture Commission)**: Thank you Mayor and City Council. I am both honored and privileged to be giving the first inaugural annual report of the Arts and Culture Commission. We had an interesting year, as you know we just completed our first year in this March, so a lot of it we kind of crafted as we went. We're still learning, we have a long way to go, but we did accomplish a few things... [discusses themes of visual arts, performing arts, and cultural activities]. [14:39] **Barb Hollenbeck**: ...As for our accomplishments, even though we kind of stumbled a few times, we had a pretty successful year. Some of our activities were like small, some were pretty big. One of them that we did was we crafted a brochure for self-guided tours for the public to come through City Hall... [discusses Dale Lewis sculptures, the Pioneer Room tour, and Lake Rebecca master plan recommendations]. [17:43] **Barb Hollenbeck**: ...Our Creative Convergence is coming up on May 8th. This will be our third one. This will be at the studio downtown, which we are going to roll out—I'm waiting for a drum roll—the Google Calendar for the art community... [discusses Shakespeare in the Park on June 30th and the mural project for the Civic Arena]. [21:40] **Barb Hollenbeck**: ...I just want to thank the City Council and all the staff for the support of the Arts and Culture Commission. We have had a lot of people express gratitude that the Arts and Culture Commission is here and we hope to continue making Hastings a really cool, beautiful place. I can answer any questions. [22:15] **Mayor Mary Fasbender**: Okay, thank you Barb very much. Council, any? Councilmember Haus. [22:20] **Councilmember Angie Haus**: Thank you, your honor. I just want to say thank you so much to you and all the commissioners who put on so much work towards all of this. I'm really excited to hear about possible murals and also that art calendar... and Shakespeare in the Park, I think it'll be very fun. Please keep us up to date. [22:36] **Mayor Mary Fasbender**: Certainly will, thank you. Thank you, Councilmember Haus. Anyone else? Okay, Barb, I would extend my thank you too. Love hearing everything that's going on, looking forward to everything that's in your future too. I understand how you try to put people together and you all want to do the same thing but everybody wants to do different, right? So thank you for being the chair of that committee and that commission and leading as much as you can. I appreciate all the commissioners that are on there as well. [23:41] **Barb Hollenbeck**: The commissioners work very hard, and I have to say my time being spent on the Planning Commission and City Council has helped me tremendously lead this new commission. [23:55] **Mayor Mary Fasbender**: Well, thank you. Councilmembers, are there any items to be considered? Okay, approval of minutes... oop sorry, I don't know if there is any... yes, skip the audience? I did. I didn't want to skip the audience or on Zoom. Is there anyone that wishes to speak to the audience at this time or the Council at this time? In the audience? Anyone on Zoom? Okay, I see nothing, and I see no one in the audience. Thank you, Dan. Council, I would accept a motion for the consent agenda. [24:43] **Councilmember Dave Pemble**: So moved. [24:44] **Councilmember Tim Lawrence**: Second. [24:45] **Mayor Mary Fasbender**: Councilmember Pemble and Councilmember Lawrence. Any discussion, Council? All those in favor of the motion state by saying Aye. (Council: Aye). Opposed to that motion state by saying Nay. And that motion prevails. Tonight we have a resolution for receiving bids and awarding contracts for the 2024 Neighborhood Project, and this item we will have an introduction by Public Works Director Ryan Stempski. Welcome, Ryan. [24:48] **Ryan Stempski (Public Works Director)**: Thanks, Mayor, members of the Council. We did open bids for the 2024 Neighborhood Infrastructure Improvement Project on April 5th. Got good competitive bids by eight qualified contractors. The low bidder was A1 Excavating, and they came in nearly 19% under our engineer's estimate... Staff does recommend the low bid in the amount of $2,797,216.00. The resolution for approval is in your packets. [26:11] **Mayor Mary Fasbender**: Thank you, Ryan. Council, questions? Councilmember Fox. [26:15] **Councilmember Jen Fox**: Your honor, I move to approve the resolution as in the packet as it is stated. [26:20] **Councilmember Angie Haus**: Second. [26:21] **Mayor Mary Fasbender**: Member Haus, a second. Any discussion, Council? All those in favor of the motion state by saying Aye. (Council: Aye). Opposed to that motion state by saying Nay. And that motion prevails. Ryan, you may continue with the resolution for receiving bids and awarding contract for the 2024 Mill and Overlay. [26:40] **Ryan Stempski (Public Works Director)**: Thank you, Mayor, members of the Council as well. We took bids on the Mill and Overlay program this year on March 21st... we went to the second bidder, Minger Contracting. They're a tried and true contractor in town. Their bid at $1,263,312.00 is within our budget... so therefore we recommend approval of the resolution in your packet. [28:43] **Councilmember Lisa Leifeld**: Thank you, honor. I would like to make a motion to approve the resolution awarding the contract to the lowest responsible bidder of Minger Contracting as presented. [28:55] **Councilmember Tim Lawrence**: Second. [28:56] **Mayor Mary Fasbender**: Thank you, Councilmember Leifeld and a second from Councilmember Lawrence. Any discussion, Council? All those in favor of the motion state by saying Aye. (Council: Aye). Opposed to that motion state by saying Nay. And that motion prevails. Thank you, Ryan. Tonight under Public Works, we have a County Road 42 pedestrian study. For this item, we have an introduction from Dakota County Transportation Project Manager Bryce LeBrun. Welcome, Bryce. [29:43] **Bryce LeBrun (Dakota County Transportation Project Manager)**: Good evening, Mayor and Council, thanks for having me. I'm here tonight in support of the Second Street West and Niagra Road corridor study... I'm the project manager for this effort for Dakota County. Basically, I’m going to walk you through some project background... [discusses the 2021 safety assessment and the specific findings at Madison Street]. [34:10] **Bryce LeBrun**: ...We're looking to provide alternatives for some short-term and long-term improvements. We had an open house on January 23rd... we heard that vehicle speeds through the area are a common concern. Existing intersections and crossings are not very straightforward... [explains four engineering alternatives ranging from low-end narrowing to medians and potential roundabouts]. [41:09] **Bryce LeBrun**: ...We're also taking a look at this segment of the Mississippi River Greenway. We're looking at potential construction in 2025. We'll have a second round of public engagement at an open house on May 6th from 4:30 to 6:30. [44:57] **Mayor Mary Fasbender**: Thank you, Bryce. One question: May 6th, is that at the YMCA again? (Bryce: Yes). Councilmember Beck. [45:00] **Councilmember Mya Beck**: Hi, yes, thank you for this presentation. It's incredibly helpful. I especially appreciated the specific numbers that you had. One specific question: when we're looking at all four different alternatives, each one comes with eliminating the bypass lane. Is the elimination of the bypass lanes based on the public feedback or is there crash record data? [46:17] **Bryce LeBrun**: So, I think it's more of a design issue. The bypass lane isn't really something that is a common practice in an urbanized area like this. It can create a multi-lane threat where if one vehicle stops, another car swings out and surprises a pedestrian. It wasn't really a public feedback thing; it was an engineering assumption we checked against intersection counts. [48:33] **Mayor Mary Fasbender**: Thank you. Councilmember Leifeld. [48:34] **Councilmember Lisa Leifeld**: Thank you, honor. Bryce, nice to see you here. What is the time frame for the Dakota County expansion of the Lower Spring Lake Park Trail? (Bryce: It's already started). I'm amazed at the number of people who come in on their bikes, it is insane. I'm still concerned about crossing at Riverdale because of the curve. I love the raised crosswalk thing and the bump outs. I don't like the idea of the two roundabouts only because I just don't see the traffic coming off those streets. But this is exciting. [51:50] **Mayor Mary Fasbender**: Thank you, Councilmember Leifeld. Councilmember Fox. [51:52] **Councilmember Jen Fox**: Thank you, your honor. Hi, Bryce. John, thank you as well for the public hearings. It was a really great turnout. One thing I'm a little concerned about: the city will be responsible for 15% of the costs. These costs maybe wouldn't be incurred until '28? [53:29] **Bryce LeBrun**: Generally, it wouldn't be until the project year. We're also looking at outside funding opportunities which helps everyone out. [55:00] **Councilmember Jen Fox**: Thank you. I just want to make sure that we acknowledge that 15% would come from the city. I love all the potential fixes and I look forward to more community engagement. [56:39] **Mayor Mary Fasbender**: Thank you, Councilmember Fox. Councilmember Pemble. [56:41] **Councilmember Dave Pemble**: Bryce, thanks for the information. I also live in the neighborhood. Constituents have told me they don't want to see any speed increase. Make sure we hold the speed down. And also, I'm on the board at Lakeside; we are very concerned about the right-turn/left-turn access there into our entrance. [57:51] **Mayor Mary Fasbender**: Thank you, Councilmember Pemble. Councilmember Haus. [57:52] **Councilmember Angie Haus**: Bryce, thank you so much for coming out. I'm so happy to see the safety used in this. How wide would the lanes be for traffic? [58:36] **Bryce LeBrun**: Probably a little too early for specific dimensioning, but we would look at narrowing at intervals to get real results in vehicle speed control. [59:41] **Mayor Mary Fasbender**: Bryce, as Councilmember Fox said, we heard the major complaint of speed and safety. I appreciate the four alternative sites. I'm concerned about the cost; we have a lot on our plate. I'd be asking for what's safest and most impactful but cost-effective too. There's no action tonight, so we appreciate your update. [1:02:01] **Councilmember DawnMarie Vihrachoff**: May I just ask one thing? Ryan, could you come up here please? Just want to touch base on the crossing at the Confluence and where that works in the County's priorities? [1:02:37] **Bryce LeBrun**: That's something our traffic department will go through on a rolling basis. I haven't heard an update on it yet, but I'll check in on that. [1:03:33] **Councilmember DawnMarie Vihrachoff**: Thank you. I also have a student I'm driving to the high school. It can be a little scary for pedestrians, so I look forward to hearing the recommendations. [1:03:59] **Mayor Mary Fasbender**: Thank you, Bryce. Tonight under Parks and Recreation, we have a first reading for Chapter 94. Introduction by our Parks and Recreation Director, Chris Jenkins. Welcome, Chris. [1:04:19] **Chris Jenkins (Parks Director)**: Thank you, Mayor and Council. This is Ordinance 94, a first reading. This is the rules and regulations of our parks and trail system. It tackles smoking, vaping, and cannabis in parks, and cleans up our nuisance ordinances specifically with a leash law. [1:06:14] **Councilmember Jen Fox**: Thank you, honor. This is a very specific question... you just mentioned the leash update, can you tell us about that please? [1:06:40] **Chris Jenkins**: Animals in parks must be on a leash or must be under control as if on a leash. So if an animal has good recall and behaves as if they were on a leash, they don't actually have to be on one. [1:07:26] **Councilmember Jen Fox**: Thank you for the clarification. I move the first reading. [1:07:56] **Mayor Mary Fasbender**: Thank you, and Councilmember Vihrachoff, any discussion? (No response). All those in favor of the motion state by saying Aye. (Council: Aye). Opposed, Nay. That motion prevails. Second reading May 6th. Thank you, Chris. Tonight we have an IT strategic plan update. Introduction by City Administrator Dan Wietecha. Welcome, Dan. [1:08:35] **Dan Wietecha (City Administrator)**: Thank you. I want to highlight that we've done some refining of the report format. I personally struggle with the percentage reporting; it can be deceptive. For example, it says we're 35% complete on water system expansion, but that's just because we checked off a hearing step, not because we're building yet. Our next meeting, May 6th, we have a workshop about the Strategic Plan. [1:12:20] **Councilmember Jen Fox**: Dan, thank you. This is super helpful to keep track of goals, but I agree the percentages are kind of skewed. While I agree it isn't quite accurate, it's helpful to see any kind of forward motion. [1:13:38] **Mayor Mary Fasbender**: Thank you, Councilmember Fox. No action tonight. Council, we are going to have a PFAS update with Dan. You may continue. [1:13:51] **Dan Wietecha (City Administrator)**: Thank you. The EPA officially released its final maximum contaminant levels for PFOA and PFOS last Wednesday at four parts per trillion. This includes five of the city's six wells. We believe we are shovel-ready to begin construction as soon as this summer, but even then, it's about a 3.5-year timeline to get to compliance. We have a neighborhood meeting scheduled for 6:00 PM on Thursday, May 9th, at the High School Auditorium. [1:18:35] **Mayor Mary Fasbender**: Thank you, Dan. Council, any questions? Okay, Council, any announcements? [Lists community events including Arbor Day, Birding Festival, and Organics crash course]. The Arts and Culture Commission hosts the annual Creative Convergence on Thursday, May 9th. Please join us May 9th in the High School Auditorium for the PFAS presentation. [Lists upcoming commission meetings]. With that, I would accept a motion to adjourn. [1:22:18] **Councilmember Dave Pemble**: So moved. [1:22:19] **Councilmember Angie Haus**: Second. [1:22:20] **Mayor Mary Fasbender**: Councilmember Pemble, Councilmember Haus. All those in favor state by saying Aye. (Council: Aye). Opposed, Nay. And we are adjourned.