This transcript has been updated with the names of the Mayor, Councilmembers, and City Staff based on the context provided and the procedural flow of the meeting. [0:03] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [0:57] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** All right, I'd like to call the regular city council meeting for Tuesday, April 2nd, 2024, 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. Welcome, everyone—those in the audience and online. Any additions or corrections to the agenda? [1:43] **Logan Martin (City Administrator):** Just the Fair Housing Proclamation was added in the last day or so, Mayor, so we'll do that one here in a moment. [1:43] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** All righty. With that addition, I'll move the agenda. Is there a second? [1:43] **Councilmember Paul Essler:** Second. [1:43] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** All in favor signify by saying Aye. **All Councilmembers:** Aye. [1:43] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** We have an agenda. First item up are proclamations, presentations, and acknowledgments. This month we start with several proclamations. Proclamations from the city are generally in support of community-wide actions, not necessarily to go for political statements or anything like that. So we’ve got three this evening. The first one up is the Mo Less May Proclamation, and I'll turn that over to our stormwater specialist, Ms. Byron. [2:32] **Ms. Byron (Stormwater Specialist):** Hi, nice to be here tonight. Just a quick—going to try and be really quick with this. I'm going to give a quick recap of what we've done in previous years, kind of the transition from No Mow May, which the program was before, to Mo Less May, and then talk about some other city pollinator programs that we do. So if you recall in 2022 and 2023, we participated in No Mow May, which is a program of Bee City USA which encourages people to reduce their mowing in May so that they have more things like lawn flowers—like dandelions and clover—grow at this time of year when resources can be scarce for pollinators. [3:17] **Ms. Byron:** You know, Rosemount is home to some endangered pollinators, in particular the Rusty Patched Bumblebee, and that's part of the reason it's kind of—pollinators have been a focus for the Environment and Sustainability Commission. You know, it's been a pretty popular program since we had it. We had about 274 participants in 2022. It went down a bit in 2023 to 212 participants, so that's between 1 and 3% of households in the city. We've had relatively few complaints. It's something that is easy for people to understand and do. [4:05] **Ms. Byron:** But in 2023, right around this period of time, there were some concerns expressed by turf care professionals about the impact of not mowing for an entire month—if you took that concept literally—and how that would affect your turf. So that's why we're pivoting to this concept of Mo Less May. We just think it'll be a little bit easier for people to, you know, not take that literal meaning. We did have some education that we put out last year about how to best care for your turf, but we think this will nail it home a little bit more, and then it allows us to maybe expand or focus a little bit so we can include more sort of starting-up-the-season low-input, low-impact things you can do for your lawn—not just for pollinators, but for other environmental issues. [4:53] **Ms. Byron:** So these are kind of the big top subtopic areas that we're looking at addressing. So again, mowing practices are in there; things like "Leave the Leaves" (how you take care of your debris/yard waste); planting natives; and then just how and when in amounts to water and fertilize. The plan, should you guys approve the resolution, would be to still suspend enforcement of lawn height ordinances throughout May. As a reminder, we only do that on occupied residential properties that are in good standing—so if they have an enforcement issue going into the season, they don't get to say, "Oh, I'm doing No Mow now." [6:29] **Ms. Byron:** And you know, we're still going to have voluntary registration, we're still going to provide tips on the website and updates on social media, and we'll still have signage, but it'll be rebranded to Mo Less May. Lee is helping me out with that and those education components and website updates; we're kind of just waiting for approval and we should have those completed by mid-month to start getting the word out. So before we went and did the transition, we did check with some other communities to make sure other communities are still on that Mo Less May or No Mow May, and you'll see we did find some communities—a lot of them are like us, they've been using a different name. You know, and then in addition to these communities, we found several other communities that have a pollinator focus in May or throughout the summer, or they're working on natural managed lands updates to their ordinances. So we're not out of step by continuing the program. [8:03] **Ms. Byron:** And just a really quick reminder of some of the other things that we've done in the past. The Council approved a pollinator resolution in January of 2022, and that basically says we're going to avoid neonicotinoid pesticides, which are sort of a problem; they persist in the soil and they get taken up by plants. And so pollinators have a hard time with them. We're going to plant favorable plants for pollinators; we're going to use native plants and native spaces. We do have these regulations whose primary focus is not necessarily pollinators, but they do provide habitat. So we're doing a lot of great work there. And then we have a lot of lands that we manage. And so, you know, the city has discontinued using pesticides in the boulevards. We have these quality standards that say how and when we're going to mow and apply chemicals to different lawn and turf areas based on the uses so that we're not doing inputs that we don't need to for the use. We do have properties—about seven—including some of our boulevard areas where we do mow less in May, and we do have at least 11 properties in the city where we have natural lands management. And then, of course, we have information on our website about the other programs, including grant and cost-share programs where residents can install native plants and plantings on their properties. [9:37] **Ms. Byron:** So this is just a slide of the properties. The ones in blue are where we're practicing Mo Less May and the ones in red are where we do natural lands management. There's no change this year from last year. And then as a reminder, the Public Works and Police campus that's being built—that I believe you guys toured earlier today—about 90% of the green space, so everything in green here, is going to be native plantings or preserve the native natural spaces that are there, which is definitely very cool. So that's all I've got. Are there any questions that anybody else had? [10:28] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** The only thing I was going to add is that I think Mo Less May sounds better than Less Mow May. So, yeah, I'm glad you chose that one. [11:15] **Councilmember Paul Essler:** So just one question—I saw that there was one city that did have it in their ordinances. I was surprised who it was, but what is their ordinance? Like, they require it or what do they say? [11:15] **Ms. Byron:** They suspend—I haven't read the actual ordinance—but essentially they suspend enforcement of their lawn height ordinance in May. I believe they put that in last year. Last year they had a registration and sign-up; this year they're like, "Well, we're not doing a registration, we just put it in our ordinance." [11:15] **Councilmember Paul Essler:** Interesting. And is that the only one you found? [11:15] **Ms. Byron:** I believe so. There was another community I found where, based on their timing of when they start doing that sort of enforcement, it doesn't start until like the last week of May. That wasn't an intentional No Mow thing; it's just kind of how their program starts. So they're like, "Yeah, we think we're kind of doing it." And that was Winona. [12:01] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Okay, all right. Thank you. Any other questions or comments? All right, so before we proceed on the motion, bear with me as I go through the proclamation. So, Resolution 2024, Proclaiming Mo Less May in Rosemount: Whereas taller lawns shade out weed seeds, have cooler soils, and grow longer roots requiring less inputs such as mowing, watering, fertilizers, and pesticides; and whereas pollinators such as bees, butterflies, moths, and other insects, birds, and other animals are integral parts to our wide diversity of essential food production and are being threatened due to habitat loss, pesticide use, pathogens, and parasites; and whereas research suggests that bee pollinators make use of less frequently mowed and no-mow spaces as key floral resources during early spring in the Upper Midwest of the United States; and whereas the formative period for establishment of pollinators and the many songbirds and wildlife species that depend upon them occurs in late spring and early summer in Minnesota as they emerge from dormancy and require flowering plants as crucial foraging habitat; and whereas the City of Rosemount would like to encourage residents to increase pollinator habitat, decrease water use, and decrease chemical use by encouraging pollinator-friendly and low-input lawn care practices on their own properties for the month of May during the formative period; and whereas the City of Rosemount sets the example for residents and businesses within the community for pollinator-friendly and low-input lawn care practices through employment of best practices such as limited mowing in select areas and integrated pest management on city lands; and whereas Mo Less May is a voluntary community initiative that encourages property owners to limit lawn mowing during the month of May to provide early season foraging resources for pollinators that emerge in the spring and to reduce lawn inputs such as water, fertilizers, and pesticides; now and therefore be it resolved that the Mayor and City Council of Rosemount recognizes Mo Less May to actively educate the community about the critical period of pollinator emergence, crucial pollinator habitat, early spring foraging opportunities, and low-input lawn care. Be it further resolved that the City of Rosemount City Council directs staff not to issue corrective notices for lawn height weed violations for the month of May on occupied properties in good standing, allowing residents to voluntarily delay lawn care until June, allowing pollinator species to emerge, early flowering plants to establish, and less lawn inputs, which may result in ground cover exceeding established ordinance height restrictions. Adopted the second day of April 2024. Can I have a motion to approve? [15:06] **Councilmember Tami Klimpel:** I'll move to approve the attached resolution proclaiming May 2024 as Mo Less May in the City of Rosemount. [15:06] **Councilmember Paul Essler:** Second. [15:30] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Roll please. [15:30] **Logan Martin (City Administrator):** Essler? **Councilmember Paul Essler:** Aye. **Logan Martin:** Klimpel? **Councilmember Tami Klimpel:** Aye. **Logan Martin:** Weisensel? **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Aye. **Logan Martin:** Theisen? **Councilmember Paul Theisen:** Aye. **Logan Martin:** Freske? **Councilmember Heidi Freske:** Aye. [15:30] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** We have Mo Less May in Rosemount. Thank you. That completes 3A. We'll move on to 3B, Arbor Day Proclamation. Mr. Schultz. [15:53] **Tom Schultz (Parks and Recreation):** Thank you, Mr. Mayor, council members. This evening before you is a proclamation to consider that would name April 27th as Arbor Day 2024. This is Rosemount's 32nd year being recognized as a Tree City USA, and part of the requirement for that is that you do observe Arbor Day. This year, we like in past years, we would propose to have a tree giveaway. This year we're identifying April 27th to give away trees starting at 10:00 a.m. We would give away 150 bare-root trees, anywhere from 6 to 8 feet in height. They would be free to residents who live in Rosemount. We would ask people to bring their driver's license or a water bill with them. We do ask that people go ahead and get these trees buried 24 hours after getting them, and then we also definitely want people calling into the Gopher State One Service to have their yard marked just so they're being safe as they dig in their yards. We do have a program sponsor—it is Dakota Electric; they've been with us for many years and provide some of the funding that we spend on the trees. And so, I think this year, like in past years, we have a variety of trees—you know, usually, we have a flowering crab, we'll have a maple, and I think last year we did coffee trees; we have something similar this year. All very nice. The maples usually are the first to go, so if you want one of those, get here early. People do line up at about 8:00; we do start at 10:00, so it is a bit of a wait, but we do have a line and we will give away all 150 trees. And so we do recommend that people get there early if they are interested in getting a tree and that they might have to wait a bit in line. I think in past years, Mayor, we've started just a little bit early once we know we have 100 or so people in line to get people going, get them through the line. But with that, I will stand for questions. [17:46] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Okay. Could you speak to preparation—a resident wanting to get a tree? These are basically bare-root, so how they should be prepared before coming and getting them? [18:31] **Tom Schultz:** Yep. These are bare-root trees, so our Public Works staff does a great job with getting these prepared. We keep them in a moistened mulch bed in the back of a truck to keep them safe. When you come to the event, you will get a bag; there will be wood chips that will be something you can scoop into your bag along with a little bit of water to keep the tree moist. But what you should do is you should have that hole dug before you get home. So you're going to want to probably dig a hole that's probably anywhere from two feet wide to maybe two and a half feet deep, being prepared to fill that back in right away and then water it on a regular basis. And so I think every year we have people that come and show us pictures of trees that they've gotten 10, 15 years ago, and these things have grown to be beautiful trees on their property. And so these are definitely—if you take care of them, they will live for quite a while and add to the natural resources in your neighborhood. [19:17] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** And again, the size was approximately...? [19:17] **Tom Schultz:** They're usually about an inch and a half, maybe two, depending on which tree you get. And again, they're 6 to 8 feet in height, so keep that in mind as you need to transport them. If you have a minivan or a pickup truck, it's a little bit easier. [19:17] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Any other questions or comments from Council? So with that then, I'll go ahead and read the proclamation. Whereas trees and forests brighten Minnesota's future by creating jobs, providing recreational settings, increasing property values, and making cities more livable; and whereas trees and forests brighten society by building strong community ties, reducing crime, and providing common meeting places; and whereas trees and forests brighten our lives by providing lumber for building homes, fiber for producing paper, foliage for decorating, and food for eating; and whereas trees and forests brighten the environment by moderating climate, improving air and water quality, conserving water and energy, and sheltering wildlife; and whereas each year on the last Friday in April and throughout the month of May, Minnesota pays special tribute to the trees and all the natural resources they represent and dedicate themselves to the continued health of our state's community and rural forests; now therefore I, Jeffrey Weisensel, Mayor of Rosemount, Minnesota, do hereby proclaim April 27th, 2024, as Arbor Day in the City of Rosemount. Dated the second day of April. So with that, we'd like to move a motion to approve the proclamation. [20:49] **Councilmember Paul Theisen:** I move a motion to approve the attached proclamation naming April 27th, 2024, as Arbor Day. [20:49] **Councilmember Heidi Freske:** I'll second. [20:49] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Roll please. [20:49] **Logan Martin:** Klimpel? Aye. Weisensel? Aye. Theisen? Aye. Freske? Aye. Essler? Aye. [21:13] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** That completes 3B. We have an Arbor Day. Move on to item 3C, our Fair Housing Proclamation. Mr. Martin. [21:13] **Logan Martin (City Administrator):** Thank you, Mayor, members of the Council. April is Proclamation Month, so we'll wrap it up with Fair Housing Month, something that we've done the last few Aprils. So as Council and residents are aware, the 1968 passage of the Fair Housing Act was a pinnacle of the Civil Rights era, really prohibiting discrimination concerning housing—both for sale and rental of housing—and financing of housing. We've heard of redlining and things of that nature. And so, the Association of Realtors and other housing advocates have requested municipalities across the Metro to declare April as Fair Housing Month, and as we've done in the past, we're asking Rosemount to be a part of that again. And so the attached resolution, we would ask you to proclaim that, Mayor, and ask residents to remember the Civil Rights victory of the Fair Housing Act of 1968 and that we all have a role to play in ensuring that fair housing exists in our communities going forward. So with that, I can turn it back to you, Mayor. [22:23] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Okay. Any questions from Council as I move forward with the proclamation? Whereas the Fair Housing Act, enacted on April 11th, 1968, enshrined into federal law the goal of eliminating racial segregation and ending housing discrimination in the United States; and whereas the Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin, and disability and commits recipients of federal funding to affirmatively further fair housing in their communities; and whereas the City of Rosemount is committed to the mission and intent of Congress to provide fair and equal housing opportunities for all; and whereas our social fabric, the economy, health, and environment are strengthened in diverse, inclusive communities; and whereas more than 50 years after the passage of the Fair Housing Act, discrimination persists and many communities remain marginalized; and whereas acts of housing discrimination and barriers to equal housing opportunity do not foster a common sense of decency and fairness; now therefore I, Jeffrey Weisensel, Mayor of Rosemount, Minnesota, do hereby proclaim that the City Council of Rosemount does hereby declare the month of April 2024 as the Fair Housing Month in Rosemount as an inclusive community committed to fair housing and to promoting appropriate activities by private and public entities to provide and advocate for equal housing opportunities for all residents and prospective residents of Rosemount. Dated the second day of April 2024. And would someone like to move the motion for the proclamation? [23:09] **Councilmember Paul Essler:** I'll make a motion to approve the proclamation. [23:09] **Councilmember Tami Klimpel:** I will second. [23:58] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Roll please. Weisensel: Aye. Theisen: Aye. Freske: Aye. Essler: Aye. Klimpel: Aye. And we have a Fair Housing Proclamation. That completes item 3C. Now look to item 4, response to public comment. I understand we do not have anything this evening to respond to. We'll open up item number 5, public comment. Anyone wishing to address the City Council on subjects not a part of our meeting agenda may typically do so now at this time. You may do so by stepping forward to the podium, state your name and address and your comments for Council. Typical responses would be either by letter, phone call, or within a week of the following council meeting. The floor is open. Going once, going twice. Seeing no one at this time, we'll close the public comment and move on to Consent Agenda items 6A through G. Does anyone wish to pull an item for further discussion, recognition, or other cause? [25:29] **Councilmember Paul Essler:** Nothing here. [25:29] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** See no one. Give me a second here. All right, the Consent Agenda this evening includes bill listings; minutes of the March 19th and 21st regular and special meeting proceedings; a donation acceptance from the Scott Loefer family; commissioner appointments; approval of Council travel; and approval of the pre-application of the ESO agreement with Independent School District 196. None being pulled, can I have someone move the Consent Agenda? [25:29] **Councilmember Paul Essler:** So moved. [25:29] **Councilmember Tami Klimpel:** Second. [25:29] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Roll please. Theisen: Aye. Freske: Aye. Essler: Aye. Klimpel: Aye. Weisensel: Aye. That is 5-0. Consent Agenda is approved. Move on to public hearings this evening. The request for Maplewood Development for the vacation of a portion of Ashtown Lane located within Amberfields 12th Edition. Mr. Kienberger, we'll just wait for the presentation to get pulled up here. [26:14] **Adam Kienberger (Community Development Director):** All right, Mr. Mayor, members of the Council. Before you this evening, a summary of a request from the applicant, Maplewood Development, requesting the City of Rosemount vacate a portion of right-of-way along Ashtown Lane. This is within Amberfields 12th Edition. And the reason for this—it's a pretty common procedure; this is kind of what you typically hear me talk about as we move through different development stages within some of our larger master-planned communities. This is being done to match the necessary 60-foot roadway right-of-way to accommodate the Amberfield 16th Edition plat. A couple things I'll run through: of course, the specifics of this request. It is a public hearing, so Mayor, at the conclusion of that, barring any questions, I request that you open it up for public comment as part of the public hearing, close it, and then take action. Staff recommendation will be at the end. I also have a brief update just on the Amberfields development as a whole. It's something that we talk about fairly frequently—we bring a lot of actions before the Planning Commission and City Council—so I'll just spend about 30 seconds or so going over the evolution of that and kind of where we're at today in terms of how that project is proceeding. [27:47] **Adam Kienberger:** For the right-of-way vacation request, this is showing the area generally consisting of Amberfield 16th Edition as well as the 12th Edition because these are the two plats that are intermingled as part of the request before you this evening. I have a couple other images that will help orient yourselves as well as the public. Here is the plat in its entirety of Amberfield—so again, just west of DCTC, south of County Road 42. And then the highlighted area there is a segment of Amberfield 16th Edition. Again, here's a zoomed-in portion of that. The road that is in is a part of the memo, or Ashtown Lane, right here as it connects the two plats between the 12th and the 16th Edition. And then here's just the details part of your packet that shows the requested Ashtown Lane right-of-way vacation. Again, the point of this is to line up with Amberfield 16th Edition, which is adjacent to that plat—basically a cleanup component of those two plats. [28:35] **Adam Kienberger:** I can certainly take any questions on that, but a bit of an update on where Amberfields is in terms of its overall development. Back in September of 2021, the City Council approved the Amberfields master plan, and that showed all the different stages, density types, as well as total units that would likely be built across the entirety of the 435 acres that Maplewood Development purchased from the University of Minnesota in the UMore area. Various additions were approved to accommodate a variety of residential products from a number of builders including Lennar, Pulte, MI Homes, David Weekley, Garrett Companies, and then Real Estate Equities is the developer for the apartment complex that is currently under construction at the southwest corner of Akron and 42. And most recently, we're already up to Amberfield 17th Edition; that was recommended for approval by Planning Commission on March 19th, so that will be before City Council at your next meeting here in April. Again, this is just showing where the 17th Edition is, so you can kind of see as—this is a somewhat recent aerial, but you can see where the roads are graded in, the lots that have been platted so far, as well as a pretty up-to-date depiction of how that development is proceeding in this area. [30:53] **Adam Kienberger:** This is the original Master PUD; this is the plan that was adopted. I like this one because just from it being colorized, it shows the different densities, the locations, the approximate layouts, the real configuration of how this entire development will come together. So again, for the public: 42 is running east-west along the top of this image, and then Akron Avenue is running north-south, with DCTC being just to the east of the development. Again, you can see the common areas, the amenities, the parks, and the storm water ponds in the middle, as well as the proposed developments that would occur throughout the entirety of the development. Back to the public hearing as well as the request for the right-of-way vacation—the recommendation before you this evening is to make a motion to adopt a resolution approving the vacation of the requested portion of Ashtown Lane located within Amberfields 12th Edition. I can stand for any questions, and a reminder that this is a public hearing. [31:46] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Floor is open to Council. Any questions? All right, with that then, we'll open up the public hearing. Anyone wishing to speak on this matter may do so. Please present yourself at the podium, state your name and address and your comments. Anyone? Going once, two, two and a half. All right. Motion to close the public hearing. All in favor signify by saying Aye. **All Councilmembers:** Aye. [31:46] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** The hearing is closed. Anyone wish to move the recommended action? [31:46] **Councilmember Paul Theisen:** I'll make a motion to adopt a resolution approving the vacation of the requested portion of Ashtown Lane located within Amberfields 12th Edition. [31:46] **Councilmember Heidi Freske:** I'll second. [31:46] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Roll please. Freske: Aye. Essler: Aye. Klimpel: Aye. Weisensel: Aye. Theisen: Aye. 7A is completed, 5-0 approved. That completes 7A. We'll move to 8—we have no unfinished business. We'll move to 9, new business. First item up is—let's try this. There we go. All right, acceptance of bids, award contracts, declaring costs for Street Improvement Project 2024. Mr. Egger. [33:17] **Nick Egger (Public Works Director):** Thanks, Mayor Weisensel. Good evening, council members. Tonight you have two resolutions related to the 2024 Street Improvements program for consideration. The first is to receive bids and award contract on that work. We did get two bids back on March 21st, with a range that went from just shy of 1.5 million to almost exactly 1.6 million. The engineer's estimate on the project was 1.73 million, so that was good to see; it was competitive. The low bid came in at $1,497,000 from McNamara Contracting, who we've worked with quite a number of times in the past and I've got extensive experience working with them in my past employer as well. They're capable of doing the project, we've received good results from them, so no concerns there. So we are recommending that the contract be awarded to McNamara for the amount of $1,497,140. This does include that parking area bump-out that we discussed during the public hearing for the project, both because of the cost pertaining to that by itself came in competitively within that bid structure, as well as the overall number. We're recommending including that in the package. So that amount that I cited a moment ago reflects that. That's the first resolution. I'll pause there for questions if there are any. [34:49] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Council, anything? The second resolution would be to set the amount of cost to be special assessed to adjacent property owners, as well as setting the assessment hearing dates. With those good bid results, we do have the ability now to see how things kind of reflect in and affect each of the categorical funds that will go towards this project. Happy to say it's going to be some good news on the assessment front—approximately 20% less than what we had quoted earlier on. I'm hoping that property owners are welcoming that news. But the total amount that then would be assessed in this case is $494,900. And we are calling for that hearing on May 7th, so a month out from now. That’s resolution number two. Any questions or comments for staff? [35:37] **Councilmember Paul Essler:** Great to see. Residents should be happy with that. Happy surprise. [35:37] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Yeah, that's good news. All right, so we'll take the first one: accepting the bids and awarding a contract. Motion to adopt? [36:40] **Councilmember Tami Klimpel:** I'll move to adopt a resolution related to the 2024 Street Improvement Project, City Project 2024-1, accepting the bids and awarding a contract. [36:40] **Councilmember Paul Essler:** Second. [36:40] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Roll please. Essler: Aye. Klimpel: Aye. Weisensel: Aye. Theisen: Aye. Freske: Aye. And the second recommended action? [36:40] **Councilmember Paul Essler:** I'll move to adopt a resolution related to the 2024 Street Improvement Project, City Project 2024-1, declaring the cost to be assessed and calling the assessment hearing on May 7th, 2024. [36:40] **Councilmember Tami Klimpel:** Second. [36:40] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Roll please. Klimpel: Aye. Weisensel: Aye. Theisen: Aye. Freske: Aye. Essler: Aye. That completes both recommended actions for 9A, 5-0. Next item up, approval of the 2024-2029 Strategic Plan. Mr. Martin. [37:26] **Logan Martin (City Administrator):** Thank you, Mayor, members of the Council. Excited to be here tonight with your next item, which is a really critical action of the City Council and city staff and reflective of a lot of work over the winter months here with the City Council and staff to land on the next five-year look-ahead, the five-year Strategic Plan for the city. It really serves as our guiding document both as we communicate out to the community and then also as we develop and planfully engage. And so I just wanted to take some time tonight to kind of go back a little bit, look at what we did as we met with Council twice this winter in some lengthy half or three-quarter day sessions, and what landed on the five-year plan. [38:14] **Logan Martin:** Here's what we did: back in January, over two meetings with Council and staff, we celebrated the successes of 2017 to 2023. We looked back at the previous five-year plan that was sunsetting and needed to be refreshed. We reflected on what we learned through that time and kind of how our landscape has changed as a city. You can see 2017 to 2023, a lot changed in our city and in society in those times. We spent a lot of time visualizing what Rosemount could be in 2029, which is a really fun process. And then it was a really nice time to galvanize us as a team collectively. One of those things we did on our first day is we brought in an organizational theorist and a consultant from the Twin Cities to process this insights profile with us. This is a chart—with names redacted—of where we all landed, the City Council and city staff, on our personality profiles. Each of us, staff and Council, got a 25-30 page analysis of our personality profile—what energies we lead with, what energies might be a bit more submissive in our persona—and then showed how we really balance each other out across the organization. Really a cool mix of people here. It shows how folks need to be communicated with, how folks have different skill sets, different things they enjoy, or things that maybe don't energize them. [39:47] **Logan Martin:** This is the 2017 Strategic Plan—so great memories there and some faces from the past and faces from the present. But we talked about what we did in 2017 and ultimately what were our key target areas of 2017 to 2023. You're not going to see a whole lot of change from where we were on these four bucket areas—a little refinement and a little confirmation because I think the Council affirmed that the direction of the city is the right one and we've seen a lot of successes. We looked at outcomes in each of these buckets: the renovation and redevelopment of the Kenrose Mall into the Morrison, things like Home Depot, FedEx, Omni Project, Bigfoot, CA Gear expansion, Frattalone headquarters relocation—significant accomplishments in "Growing Rosemount." We talked about our new housing and our new neighborhoods and affirming that goal of life-cycle housing throughout the community. [41:20] **Logan Martin:** We looked at some metrics: significant housing growth, I mean 25% growth in the city's housing in those previous five years; market value, 85% increase in our taxable market value. "Quality of Life" had a lot of successes: Lifetime, all the park and trail enhancements that we've done in that period. We looked back at the annual survey of 2021 and how that reflected our progress during the previous Strategic Plan, the Money Magazine recognition. "Connection"—how we've become a leader in citizen engagement in that time, how we've significantly grown our social media presence and our followership. "Brand recognition"—our new Communications Manager from the last couple of years has really nailed home how our brand can become what we're known for, and we launched a new website. Another continuation of that support has been the Council's approval of the administration reorganization to an Admin Services Department that supports the second engagement person. We'll roll that out here in the summer so we can really double down on our engagement efforts as we grow and expand to the east. How do we keep our hometown feel and keep folks engaged? [43:38] **Logan Martin:** And then "High-Performing Organization"—big one here, obviously our public facilities to meet our growing needs. The PD/PW campus is the big achievement there, and then all the internal things that we've done to really support a culture of high performance and teamwork. Some of this driven out of COVID, others driven out of just the need to innovate to be an employer of choice and to be a place where we can both recruit and retain the top-level skill and talent that we have. As we looked back at that, then we asked the Council and staff the question: "In 2029, Rosemount will..." and then we all crafted headlines in these four buckets. We broke up into teams, we threw some ideas up on the wall what these headlines could look like. Ultimately, we formed a little internal word-smithing committee to drill down those sheets into three to four headlines under each of these buckets. [44:24] **Logan Martin:** First bucket: "Grow and Enhance Rosemount." First one talks about a vibrant and welcoming downtown that attracts visitors and residents—an expansion of that previous conversation in the previous Strategic Plan that looked at redevelopment. How can we keep the downtown energy going and make it a draw for the region? Our business parks that can showcase a varied and resilient local economy that can handle pandemics and things of that nature. And again, this goes back to the idea of—we're hoping that these headlines could get written about Rosemount in 2029. "Rosemount redevelops its key corridors intentionally to foster functionality and visual appeal," connecting back to our "Connect with Your Future" campaign. How do we look at our target quadrants for redevelopment? How do we do that intentionally to be maybe not just a carbon-copied suburb but have a suburb with some character that has waited a while for its development to come? And then on housing: "We have well-rounded neighborhoods and housing for residents in all stages of life." Very critical task there as we grow and develop that we don't just build one type of housing. Questions on the "Grow and Enhance" bucket? [45:11] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Okay, I'll keep rolling. [45:11] **Logan Martin:** Next one is "Create Community Connections"—kind of a rebranding of a couple of the previous buckets we had. "Rosemount is well-connected via sidewalks, trails, and regional greenways"—that again talks to our park system, our greenway system, safety to get out in your community. We've heard a lot from residents in surveys that that "hometown feel" happens on interactions on the sidewalk, interaction on the trails. "Rosemount is a destination for recreation and athletics"—Council has a vision for how could Rosemount be an athletic destination where there's folks that travel here for athletic tournaments. We know that happens; how can we get them to stay here, spend their money here, etc.? And then on the connections front and the engagement front, that "the Rosemount city government is a trusted source for local news and community updates." We can only control our own messaging; how do we message what we'd like to be the news and the information that our residents need to know about what we're up to? [46:44] **Logan Martin:** Third one is "Preserve Our Hometown Feel." Council talked about this at length. I'm very proud of our hometown feel and, again, how do we ensure that this doesn't get diluted as we expand wider? "Rosemount is a hometown to everyone with active participation and engagement from all." That's the idea of having engagement folks embedded in the community, being proactive about finding our neighborhoods and our residents that might be harder to find. "Rosemount is home to regular and highly anticipated community activities"—Council vision consistently. How do we make sure that there's things monthly that folks look forward to? Leprechaun Days, food truck festival, Public Safety in the Park. "Rosemount celebrates and fosters key partnerships within education, arts, and the athletics"—kind of an homage to 196 there with their title of arts, athletics, and academics. How do we connect to all three to both foster those relationships with all of our groups that really keep our community connected? And then "Rosemount's neighborhoods are connected and engaged with strong representation and regular gatherings." Night to Unite doesn't need to be one month in August—could it happen consistently? [48:16] **Councilmember Paul Essler:** I just want to call out—I like all four of them, but this one I just want to call out because I love the fact that we've purposely changed it to "Preserve Our Hometown Feel." I think it's the one that we hear over and over and over again. I think it's the one where all five of us are most passionate about because that's what we hear from our residents. And I'm just super excited that this now clearly states "Preserve Our Hometown Feel." It's one of the four primary pillars and we've called it out. And I think what's exciting about it is that is what makes Rosemount unique compared to some of our neighbors that we often get compared to. I think this is one area where I just think we knock it out of the park and I think we need to work really hard to keep knocking it out of the park. It is going to be harder to do as we get larger and keep growing, but I think it's important that residents know that all five of us are lockstep—this is really critical. It's part of every decision we make: how does this really foster the hometown feel? We're pretty passionate about it. [49:49] **Councilmember Tami Klimpel:** And just to add on to that, what's great about that is with all the growth and the development that's going on the east side, that we put this as one of our priorities. I think it is really important to that whole point to have that nice balance, you know what I mean? To have the "Grow and Enhance" as the first one states, but then still while maintaining that feel. Like seeing the floral arts building take over again—you know what I mean? Just that kind of thing. So I'm glad that it's a priority as well. [49:49] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** It's a great challenge for us. That's right. Fabulously well said. Thank you all. [50:36] **Logan Martin:** And then lastly, to get these things done, we continue to say "Support a Culture of High Performance." In that bucket: "Rosemount is an employer of choice with a culture of growth, teamwork, and innovation that attracts and retains top candidates." That should be as an employer—that's our marching drum. And then this was one that was really interesting and driven out of Council—"Rosemount city government welcomes creativity that creates efficiency and drives value for residents." Not that we buy every software package that we find, but how do we find the ones that drive value for residents and then create efficiency, allowing our most important asset—which is our humans—to use their brains for something different than things that could be potentially automated? [51:21] **Logan Martin:** We'll post this on our website with Council approval tonight as just kind of a talking point and a guidepost for us as staff and Council as we kind of use this almost as a filter. So with that, the action item before you tonight is to adopt the Strategic Plan tonight, and I would be happy to receive any comments. [52:07] **Councilmember Paul Essler:** On the last one—"Support a Culture of High Performance"—I think just a recognition of you and your team, the staff. I mean, you're just a joy to work with. You guys do great work; you're creative, you're efficient, you're always looking out for residents and how do we give them a better experience. It's just fun to see you guys coming up with the ideas—we're just here to support you and get things out of your way, right? [52:53] **Logan Martin:** Well, we appreciate that and that's very kind of you, and I agree. I get to work with these folks every day and they are a high-performing organization. There's no doubt about it. You should be proud and residents should be proud of the city staff that they have. But not to turn it back on you, but we couldn't do what we do without you guys letting us do our work and supporting the ideas that we bring to you. So we appreciate that as well. [53:40] **Councilmember Heidi Freske:** I'll make a motion to approve the 2024 to 2029 Strategic Plan for the City of Rosemount. [53:40] **Councilmember Paul Theisen:** Second. [53:40] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Roll please. Weisensel: Aye. Theisen: Aye. Freske: Aye. Essler: Aye. Klimpel: Aye. We have a 2024-2029 Strategic Plan in place. Thank you. With that, we'll move on to announcements. First one's up for staff updates. Mr. Martin. [54:26] **Logan Martin:** Thank you, Mayor and Council. I don't have a whole lot to add tonight, partially because we just ran from our work session where we got to tour the Public Works/Police campus, and so maybe I will just reflect on that a little bit and ask Council to share what they saw. The building is flying by, and I don't know if folks wanted to share the look inside that you all just got? [54:26] **Councilmember Paul Essler:** There are two sides to it. The police side is just—it's a little overwhelming because there's just a lot to it, and just comparing it to their current to what their future state is, it's pretty breathtaking, frankly. On the Public Works side, it's just massive. I mean, you walk in and your mouth just drops. So it's coming together; it looks fantastic. I'm so excited to see that it's on time and maybe ahead of schedule a little bit. I think it'll be a great holiday gift to our employees. [54:26] **Councilmember Tami Klimpel:** And I would just add, one of the things that I took away from it—it was all big and impressive—but one of the things that I thought was interesting was we talk about the staff and how well they work together. What I saw is an opportunity to keep that high retention rate from the quality staff that we have, but then also in recruiting—specifically with our police force—to recruit places to be. That this is a place to be where you're going to get really good training; we have a gun range, we have the facilities that are going to foster that training and education to bring some of the best police force to this community. So I was really excited about what that means to Rosemount as well. [56:00] **Councilmember Heidi Freske:** And I was going to say, you know, we often hear about the "spirit of pride and progress" here in Rosemount, and I feel like this facility embodies that. So just the leaps forward that it does for our staff—particularly on the police side, but also Public Works, right? So it's just amazing to see it all come together, and I think this is a really proud moment for the city, and I can't wait for our residents to see and enjoy it going forward as well. [56:45] **Councilmember Paul Theisen:** I think the thought that both the design team and you guys—the staff who created this masterpiece—it's impressive. As we walked through it today and you guys were pointing out all the different areas, I love the fact that we've got as many training areas for the police. I love all the space for the Public Works. It's great to have everything; I think there's going to be great efficiencies gained by having everything in one place. These guys have mentioned it from employee satisfaction—it's got to be exciting for the staff that are going to get to work in this facility. And now I worry about the City Hall staff that they've got this new shiny building! But we'll see what comes next. No, I'm super excited; it's impressive and well done. Like I said, it's not just the external team—it's you guys that have spent a lot of time. Nick, Chief [Thomas], I mean, you guys have spent a substantial amount of time designing your areas for your departments and it's quite impressive. [57:33] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Very cool. I would just simply offer—having that background in construction and seeing a well-planned and well-executed project happening here in the city—the residents should be proud of where we are with this and recognizing that this is a facility that's going to last us into the future. You know, sometimes it's kind of hard to take that step forward in this and instead of nickel-and-diming and trying to fix things that maybe aren't fixable, is to go out there and bite it off. I think staff did a great job in being able to do that. Thank you. [57:33] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** So with that, that completes 10A City Staff updates. We have 10B, the Community Calendar coming up here. The State of the City is April 8th—that's next Monday from 11:30 to 1:00 at the Steeple Center. Environment and Sustainability Commission meeting is April 9th on Tuesday from 6:00 to 7:00. The Port Authority meeting the following week on April 16th, 6:00 to 7:00 here in the City Hall Chambers. And Council will reconvene on April 16th, 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. here in Council Chambers. So with that, is there any other additions? Council will be retiring to their work session following adjournment. Motion to adjourn? [58:21] **Councilmember Paul Essler:** So moved. [58:21] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** All in favor signify by saying Aye. **All Councilmembers:** Aye. [58:21] **Mayor Jeff Weisensel:** Opposed? We are adjourned. Thank you. [Music] [Music]