This transcript has been edited to identify speakers based on the provided context of the Rosemount City Council and staff. Please note that some names in the original text were phonetic misspellings (e.g., "Tyson" for Theisen, "esler" for Essler, "presy" for Freske, and "clle" for Klimpel), which have been corrected in the speaker tags. [0:04] [Music] [0:27] [Music] [0:37] [Music] [0:52] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** I'd like to call the regular city council meeting for Tuesday, November 21 to order. Please rise and 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. All right, welcome everyone, those in the audience and online this evening. [1:39] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** First item up is our agenda. Is there any additions or corrections to the agenda? **Logan Martin (City Administrator):** No, sir. **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Seeing none, I'll move for approval in the agenda. **Councilmember Paul Theisen:** So moved. **Councilmember Paul Essler:** I'll second. **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** All in favor signify by saying Aye. (Council: Aye). Your agenda is approved. First item up is presentations, proclamations, and acknowledgments. Seeing none this evening, we'll move on to item number four: response to public comment. We have responded, as I understand, to all previous public comments, including a town meeting/open hall that was held last Wednesday the 15th. That is posted, is that correct? **Logan Martin (City Administrator):** So all those things are posted currently on the website and so that'll complete response to public comment. [2:24] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Item number five this evening: the floor is open to anyone wishing to speak to the Council on subjects not on the agenda this evening. Please come forward, state your name and address, and please limit your comments to 3 minutes. The podium is open once. [3:04] **Kathy Pritchard:** Welcome. Hello, my name is Kathy Pritchard, I live at 15703 Crystal Path in Rosemount. Is there a way I can ask a question? **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Yeah, just ask it. **Kathy Pritchard:** Okay, so I was just curious on that Project Mercury—is there six different properties that they're proposing or is it just one? **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Six different, yep. It's the properties from the FedEx facility over to where 42 connects with 55, generally speaking. **Kathy Pritchard:** So is it like six properties that are connected together? **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Six parcels, yeah. It’s a development. **Kathy Pritchard:** Understand. Thank you. [3:52] On page 31, figure 12 of Project Mercury LLC's proposal, it is located very close to a Wellhead protection area and drinking water management area. Since this 2.3 million square foot data center is so close to our protected water area, is this a concern to the Department of Health or to the city council? I see Rosemount removed the Detention Facility section from the newly passed title 10 Water Resources. I don't understand why it was removed, I don't understand who benefits from it being removed. What steps are being planned to assure that area will continue to be protected? Will it now be without the detention facilities? I mean, don't detention facilities help prevent soil erosion and settlement control? Since the U of M inspects their own land, I would expect that the city of Rosemount would hire a separate consulting firm with better credentials who specialize in erosion and sediment control to compare the results with the University of Minnesota findings. Is that something Rosemount plans to do? Once the land has been sold, there are signs that concern me in UMore Park property right now and they read "Danger of Asbestos." Are those signs placed there because the asbestos concentrations are currently so high above the maximum contamination level already? The Safe Water Act requires the states to protect underground resources of drinking water from contaminants that may adversely affect human health, and since asbestos fibers don't dissolve in water, it has me a little concerned there. So I was kind of wondering what plans does Rosemount have to assure that this asbestos does not get into our Wellhead and protected Drinking Water Management areas that seem pretty close to that area? So those are some of my concerns—just kind of what your plans are for water, and I don't know how to find that information. And I've noticed that the city keeps saying "it's not about the who, it's about the what" quite a bit, and I understand kind of what point you're trying to make there, but my opinion is in just two lawsuits against Meta alone, over 700 million citizens' rights were proven in court to be illegally violated. Meta paid out a combined $6.3 billion for their crimes and you want us to just welcome and celebrate them into our community? Senator Amy Klobuchar had this to say: "I believe Facebook harms children, stokes division, and weakens our democracy." Amy told me she is working hard on legislation right now to protect us from Meta. Keith Ellison is also on the same page with this to say: "Meta's efforts to addict our young people and sacrifice their well-being for engagement is disgraceful, predatory, and illegal." So that's kind of why I feel like the "who" might be somewhat important here. I just hope you understand that data centers will consume much of our water and electricity and add exposure to harmful EMF radiation and possible environmental contamination. Artificial intelligence and data storage should be with a company that is trusted, not companies currently violating citizens' rights. Project Mercury's LLC data center proposal and project Bigfoot's application I feel should be denied, especially since the public dockets are so heavily redacted with their plans of secrecy. The public cannot even read them anyhow. It is so secret in fact that we cannot even evaluate how this will impact our city with what the projected statistics are all blacked out—we can't see what their projected electricity consumption is going to be or their water consumption. It's kind of like you're throwing a fox into the chicken coop, only thing is the chickens are paying you taxes for you to protect them and let you let the fox in anyhow knowing it has already hurt over 700 million chickens in the past. When the chickens find out and ask you why you let the fox into their chicken coop, you say we signed a non-disclosure with the fox. That's how I feel right now. Thank you. [9:20] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Thank you for your comments. What I heard was a response will be needed regarding the Mercury project. **Kathy Pritchard:** Thank you, I am concerned about the water. On my drive here, I was really proud to be in Rosemount seeing all those Christmas decorations up on the light post, it was very cheerful. **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Thank you, that's awesome. Anyone else wishing to speak before Council? [10:06] **Linda Naro:** Hello, Linda Naro, 15039 Derby Circle, Rosemount. I went to the open house and thank you for having it. The only problem I had was: why didn't you send postcards out to the community? Because nobody really looks at your website, especially the older people in our community. The other thing too is one of the gentlemen that represented Xcel Energy was explaining to me that they're going to build a new project up by Becker and all the power will be coming from up there. Lo and behold, the next day I see a project Xcel’s green energy project skyrockets to $1.14 billion for customers to pay for it. So this is another thing that's over budget and I'm concerned that these projects will be over budget and it'll have to come back to us. And the other thing that was an eye-opener was how big this Amber Fields project is. The traffic is going to be horrendous, people are complaining already how bad it is. Those are my concerns. Thank you. [11:39] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Thank you. Is there anyone else regarding public comment? [12:24] **Pat Matthews:** Hello, I just had a comment. Can we get your name and your address? Pat Matthews, and we're in Mendota Heights and we've looked at this area and I keep hearing about the building and how bad the traffic is. So I'm not really sure this development we want to come down to this area. I'm trying to find out more information. I'm very concerned. Thank you. [13:11] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Thank you for sharing your comments. You're certainly welcome to move to Rosemount, we have that information available on our website. Anyone else? With that I'll close public comments. We'll move on to the consent agenda. We have items A through K. Does anyone wish to pull any item? **Councilmember Paul Essler:** Yeah, I wanted to pull item I. **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Item I. Anyone else? **Councilmember Heidi Freske:** Not me. **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Would anyone like to move the consent agenda in the affirmative for items A through K with item I pulled? [13:59] **Councilmember Paul Theisen:** So moved. **Councilmember Tami Klimpel:** Second. **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Roll please. **Paul Essler:** Aye. **Tami Klimpel:** Aye. **Jeff Weisensel:** Aye. **Paul Theisen:** Aye. **Heidi Freske:** Aye. **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** That consent agenda is approved. We will pull up item I for further comments. Councilmember Essler? [14:45] **Councilmember Paul Essler:** Yep, so I pulled this just to get an understanding—how common is this with other communities that we are opening ourselves up to financing of these types of costs that normally would be borne by residents? I think it's a worthy endeavor. My understanding is we kind of took it out of maybe Hastings? But I wanted to really understand how many other communities do something like this or is this unusual? [15:31] **Nick Egger (Public Works Director):** Thanks, Mayor, Councilmembers. I'll just explain a little bit of the background. With utility services to individual homes, residents have some responsibility for their service lines. Within the city's policy, if a service has a failure, there's a cost that a homeowner might end up having to bear. The program that's being proposed is meant to just give a homeowner another tool to utilize in order to help take the initial sting out of a cost like that. A repair for a water service or sewer service for instance could be between $5,000 and $10,000. We have the option of someone to request that the city initially cover that expense but then bill back the resident by way of a special assessment that's payable over a length of time. I am familiar with the city of Hastings doing this some time ago. It wasn't very frequently used, maybe five times a year, so I don't think that the uptake is going to be very high but it was meant to be kind of a backstop additional option for a homeowner by request. [18:35] **Councilmember Paul Essler:** Thank you, appreciate it. I'd like to move that the Council approves the implementation of the utility service repair financing program. **Councilmember Paul Theisen:** Second. **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Roll please. **Tami Klimpel:** Aye. **Jeff Weisensel:** Aye. **Paul Theisen:** Aye. **Heidi Freske:** Aye. **Paul Essler:** Aye. [19:21] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Item 9: Donation acceptance from the Rosemount Seniors. Mr. Schultz. **Dan Schultz (Parks and Recreation Director):** Thank you Mr. Mayor and Councilmembers. This evening before you is a request to receive a donation from the Rosemount Area Senior Club. The Rosemount Area Seniors have been in existence for well over 30 years. They are currently looking to dissolve their board. They recently voted to do that and also voted to actually make a donation to the city with their funds. They currently coordinate three different programs: a monthly luncheon, a mystery trip, and a membership drive. They've come to us asking us to take over those three programs, which we have no problem doing. One other issue was that they didn't carry any sort of liability insurance, and by coming under the Parks and Recreation Department, we carry the proper insurance. So the recommended action is to approve the acceptance and the expenditure of $18,861.72 from the Rosemount Area Seniors. [22:28] **Councilmember Tami Klimpel:** I have a question. So just to clarify, they have voted to dissolve so this is kind of a one-time donation and then moving forward everything will go through the city? **Dan Schultz:** Yes, and we're looking at creating a senior advisory committee board group to help give us input. [24:02] **Councilmember Paul Essler:** So just a question from a funding perspective—it sounds like currently there are membership dues? **Dan Schultz:** They do pay a membership due. We're debating on what to do with that. Most programs are fee-based, so if you want to go on a trip you pay the cost. That’s why they are carrying almost $19,000—they collected fees and didn't really spend them. We might use that money for scholarships for seniors who can't afford a program. [26:20] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Just one question regarding what constitutes a senior? **Dan Schultz:** I think their number was age 55 and over you're eligible. **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Mayor, you're eligible! (Laughter). **Dan Schultz:** Yeah, coming up. Just thought you might like to know that. [27:51] **Councilmember Paul Theisen:** I'll move a motion to adopt the resolution receiving the donation from the Rosemount Area Seniors in the amount of $18,861.72. **Councilmember Paul Essler:** Second. **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Roll please. **Jeff Weisensel:** Aye. **Paul Theisen:** Aye. **Heidi Freske:** Aye. **Paul Essler:** Aye. **Tami Klimpel:** Aye. [28:37] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Next up is receiving bids and award contract for landscaping, Public Works and Police Department. Mr. Egger. **Nick Egger (Public Works Director):** Thank you Mayor. This is the last contract for the Public Works and Police campus project. We re-bid this in September/October and received six bids. The low bidder happened to submit incomplete paperwork. However, the second lowest bidder was just a few thousand more and had all documentation. We are recommending a contract be awarded to the second-place bidder: Autumn Ridge Landscaping. This price is about half a million dollars less than what we estimated. [30:59] **Councilmember Paul Theisen:** One recognition I think that I learned tonight was that the reason that they're quite a bit lower is because they have their own nursery. **Nick Egger:** That's my understanding too, there's a little bit of vertical integration there. **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Helpful to find out that Kraus-Anderson has worked with this vendor in the past. [31:45] **Councilmember Paul Essler:** I'll make a motion to adopt a resolution receiving bids and awarding the contract for the Landscaping scope of the Public Works and Police campus project. **Councilmember Tami Klimpel:** Second. **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Roll please. **Paul Theisen:** Aye. **Heidi Freske:** Aye. **Paul Essler:** Aye. **Tami Klimpel:** Aye. **Jeff Weisensel:** Aye. [33:17] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Item 10: City Staff Updates. Mr. Martin. **Logan Martin (City Administrator):** Thank you Mayor. City Council had a chance to tour the PD/PW campus site tonight. It's going well, the roof is over structured areas. Also, the Project Bigfoot page is up on the city's website for those interested. We had about 70 people at the open house. We're also taking submissions on the website for the Winter Wonderland Tour of Lights. [34:50] **Carson Thomas (Police Chief):** Thank you Mr. Martin. Just want to give an update on activities coming up. We had our Heroes and Helpers fundraiser today grocery bagging at Cub Foods—we brought in $2,374.90. That helps take upwards of 30 kids shopping. Also, the Santa Parade is on December 9th. [35:37] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** And let's see, who owns GIS? Adam or Nick? **Nick Egger (Public Works Director):** Well, I guess Nick. We’re doing a similar thing to the Halloween tour with the holiday lights. We'll take requests to be featured on that map. **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Thanks to the Public Works team for starting that transition. [37:09] **Councilmember Heidi Freske:** We also want to mention the tree lighting on Saturday. **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Yes, City Hall will be closed this Thursday and Friday for Thanksgiving. On the 25th, we will have our tree lighting ceremony sponsored by Parks and Rec and our Youth Commission at the Steeple Center at 6:00. Next council work session is December 5th. If there's no other business, I'll move to adjourn. **Councilmember Paul Essler:** Second. **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** All in favor signify by saying Aye. (Council: Aye). We are adjourned. Thank you, happy holidays. [38:46] [Music]