[0:55] [Music] [Music] We'll call the city council. regular meeting to order for Monday, September 15th, 2025. Would everyone please stand for the pledge of allegiance? I 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. [1:27] Call the roll, please. Council member Lean, here. Council member Bernats, here. Mayor Hoy, here. Council member Cortis, here. Council member Wilson, here. All right. Unless there's any changes to the agenda. Nick, Holly, no. Amy. All right. Seeing no changes, I would seek a motion to approve the agenda. Motion to approve. Second. Motion by Holly, second by Steve. All in favor say I. I. I. All right. First item on our agenda under announcements is 51, the pinning and oats of office for police captains Bob Solder and Andrew Van Dorne. [2:06] Thank you, Mayor, Council members. Thank you for allowing me a moment to recognize two outstanding members of our department. Tonight, we officially swear in Captain Bob Solder and Captain Andrew Van Dorne. Earlier this summer, after my promotion to chief, I evaluated the needs of the department with your approval, reclassified our deputy chief and administrative sergeant positions into two captain positions. This change allows us to strengthen leadership, create better balance in oversight, and position our department for the future. [2:43] The process to fill these positions was rigorous. Four strong candidates applied, each highly qualified, and the decision was not easy. Ultimately, I recommended Bob and Andrew, both of whom bring decades of service, leadership, and commitment to Farmington. [3:01] Bob Captain Bob Solder began his service with Farmington in 1997. Over nearly three decades, he has served as a field training officer, a member of the Dakota County Drug Task Force, and since 2005, as a patrol sergeant. He has continued to lead our arrest and control training program, and has enhanced officer safety and preparedness. Bob is also a graduate of the Northwestern University's School of Police Staff and Command, further endorsing, underscoring his commitment to professional growth. A characteristic that stands above all when I think of Bob is his unquestionable integrity. Bob has been a friend and mentor for me since I joined the [3:49] police department in 2006. Through the hundreds of calls we've been on together, I have rarely seen a slightest escalation in his demeanor. He is truly a as stoic a man as I have ever met. I have complete confidence that his performance will always be of the highest level. He is incredibly humble and exemplifies the qualities of a peaceful warrior. Capable, discerning, and principled. [4:20] Come up for his badge. Paying his badge will be his wife Shonda. [5:01] Hey Andrew. [5:14] Captain Andrew Vanderorn started with us in 2006. Over the past 19 years, he has worn many hats. School resource officer, field training officer, patrol sergeant, firearms, and tactics instructor, and member of the South Metro SWAT team where he served as an assistant commander. Beyond his operational work, he has helped build our employee recognition program, mentored new officers, and represented our department as training director for the special operations training association. [5:45] He's also nearing completion of his master's degree in criminal justice leadership. When I think of Andrew, what stands out most is his unwavering dedication to growth, both his own and that of those around him. He has spent his career investing in others, whether through training, mentoring, or leading by example. Andrew is a thoughtful and steady leader. Someone who brings both experience and humility to every role he has taken on. He embodies the balance of strength and service. Capable, committed, and deeply invested in the success of our department and community. [6:24] As accomplished as Andrew is at this point in his career, I am truly excited about the tremendous potential he still carries. Pinning his badge will be his wife, Dedra Van Dorne. [7:10] Sorry. And collar brass as well. The girls want to come up and do the collar brass. [8:28] That's one. [8:50] Now for the alt [Music] your name. I, Bob Sar, do solemnly swear domly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America and the State of Minnesota of America and the State of Minnesota against all enemies, foreign and domestic against all enemies, foreign and domestic. That I will bear true faith [9:35] and allegiance to the same. that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same. That I take this obligation freely that I take this obligation freely without mental reservation or purpose of evasion without mental reservation or purpose of evasion and that I will faithfully discharge the duties as police captain and that I will faithfully discharge the duties as police captain upon which I'm about to enter on which I'm about to enter. So help me God. Congratulations. [10:34] [Applause] I state your name. by Andrew Vandor. Do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America and the state of Minnesota. that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America and the state of Minnesota. against all enemies, foreign and domestic against all enemies, foreign and domestic. that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same. That I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same. that I take this obligation freely. that I take this obligation freely without mental reservation or purpose of evasion. without mental reservation or purpose of evasion and that I will faithfully discharge the duties as police captain and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of police captain upon which I'm about to [11:22] enter the which I'm about to enter. So help me God. So help me God. Congratulations. [Applause] [11:39] Both of these leaders have grown their careers here in Farmington. They embody the values of our department and they have earned the respect of their peers, our community, and now this new responsibility. It is an honor tonight to welcome Captains Van Dorne and Solder into these roles. I don't think I can adequately express how excited I am for the future of the Farmington Police Department under their leadership. Thank you. Thank you. [12:12] It's a hot mic if either one of you want it. [12:23] Thank you. Um, it is a true honor to stand before you today as a captain of the Farmington Police Department. I look forward to not only to serving the residents of Farmington, but also ser I'm sorry, supporting the dedicated officers who serve on the front lines every day. [12:43] I am excited to see how this department will develop under the leadership of Chief Seam and look forward to assisting him with that. To my wife Shondaanda and my family, thank you for your patience and sacrifice through the long hours, missed holidays and shift work over the years. To my fellow officers, thank you for your encouragement and support as I pursued this position. And above all, I thank God for guiding my steps throughout my career and granting me peace when I needed it most. I am humbled by this opportunity and am committed to serving with integrity, dedication, and respect. Thank you. [Applause] [13:42] Well, I wish I would have gone first because I don't have I don't have a speech to pull out of my pocket. Um, first and foremost, I want to thank my family, my wife Ded, our girls, Josie and Jillian. Um, like Bob said, uh, shift work is is tough more probably on the families than it is on us. So, thank you very much for supporting me uh in my dreams to be a police officer and getting me here today. Um to my peers, I'm I'm honored to have your guys' trust um that you guys believe that I'm the right guy for this position. I'm I'm truly humbled and I'm excited about the opportunity. Um that's all I got. Thank you very much. Appreciate it. [14:29] Steve, comments to add? I mean, the only comments I would add, Bob and uh uh Bob and Andrew, is you know, thank you for your long service to the community and congratulations to both of you. Uh similarly, congratulations captains Solder and Van Dorne on this well-deserved promotion. [14:49] Um, I look forward to watching you guys grow into this leadership position and continue to serve our shared community. Nick, me, she started complain about me. Oh, yeah. Go ahead. Uh, three things, I guess. The first one would be to achieve seam. I uh I really appreciate the initiative at making it your vision and uh what you wanted and not just following the status quo and looking at what we needed and executing on that. I really appreciate your your two choices here. Um the other piece is and I said this when when we pinned Nate too is one of the coolest and unique things that we get to do sitting up here is watch your family where nobody else out there can see what what the pride and the happiness and the satisfaction that they get to put on you. So [15:36] thank you for sharing that with us. It's it's such a cool thing. I saw you sniping pictures. So I did. I'm ashamed we never got that with with Nate's kids, but it really is like a like a core memory that burns on you. How cool that is to see that. So, you guys got to see it, too. And it's it's it says everything about what this is, what this moment is. That's great, Holly. Uh, yeah. Lesson learned with uh Chief Seamus pinning was that I I had this moment of his children and uh I will keep it as a memory of mine forever and ever. But the fact that I didn't think quickly enough to capture it um is a is a small regret I have. So, none of those anymore. Um we're just wildly blessed as a community. We are wildly blessed to have the men and women that serve us in this capacity and to have you all as leaders um at the helm. Um it I don't have much more than [16:29] that to say. Thank you. Just a little bit to add on what my peers have said. Um one of the greatest joys that one gets to witness in my opinion is through any type of promotion. And not only is it for the gratification that both you and your families feel for, you know, um, time and service and duty to the job, but also to your peers. It continues to show them that there's a path to work into higher levels of leadership and the burden of the responsibility that comes with that. Um, Chief used a couple of words to describe Bob that I I believe describe both of you very well, and Stoic was one of them. Um, you both have very different assignments and TADs. Um, I've been [17:16] privileged to work alongside you in a very minimal capacity for the last six or seven years. And, um, this is a great day. It's a It's a great day for the two of you and your families. It's a great day for the department. It's a great day for the community. And I'm I'm very eager to see what the two of you will continue to accomplish in your distinguished careers. um and also continue to pave the path for those of you that are are in trail and working towards. Um congratulations to all of you, you and your families. [Applause] Now you got to hang out for the rest of the meeting. [17:59] See you. [18:18] All right. The next item on our agenda is 52, which is fire prevention week 2025 proclamation. Heath, you're going to take this. I got it. Beautiful. Good evening, mayor, council members. This year's fire prevention week campaign is charging into fire safety lithium ion batteries in your house. Fire prevention week this year will be October 5th through the 11th. Fire prevention week works to educate everyone about using these batteries safely. The capa the campaign stresses how important it is to buy, charge, and recycle safely when it comes to lithium ion batteries. The Farmington Fire Department is teaming up with the National Fire Protection Association, who's been the official sponsor of the Fire Prevention Week and has been more has been for more than 100 years, to educate the [19:07] public on the importance of the safe handling of lithium ion batteries. I would like to ask you, mayor and council members, for a proclamation to make the week of October 5th through the 11th, 2025 fire prevention week in the city of Farmington. Thank you. Thank you, sir. With that, I would seek a motion to proclaim October 5th through the 11th of 2025 as fire prevention week in Farmington. Motion. Second. Motion by Steve, second by Jake. All in favor say I. I. [19:35] I. At this time, we'll read the proclamation. All right. Proclamation Fire Prevention Week 2025. Whereas the city of Farmington and the Farmington Fire Rescue Department are committed to ensuring the safety and security of all those living in Farmington and visiting. And whereas fire remains a serious public health concern both locally and nationally. And the presence of lithium ion batteries and many household devices introduces unique fire risks. And whereas most of the electronics used in homes daily, including smartphones, tablets, laptops, power tools, ebikes, ecooters, and toys are powered by lithium ion batteries, which if misused, damaged, or improperly charged can overheat, start a fire, or explode. hand. Whereas the [20:24] National Fire Protection Association, NFPA, reports an increase in battery related fires, underscoring the need for public education on a safe use of lithium ion batteries. And whereas res residents should follow three key calls to action. Buy only listed products, charge batteries safely, and recycle them responsibly to prevent battery related fires. And whereas lithium ion batteries store a large amount of energy in a small space and improper use such as overcharging, using off-brand chargers without safety certification or exposing batteries to damage can result in fire or explosion. And whereas the proper disposal and recycling of lithium ion batteries help prevent environmental hazards and reduce fire risks in the home and community. And whereas Farmington [21:12] first responders are dedicated to reducing the occurrence of fires through prevention, safety education, and community outreach. And whereas the 2025 fire prevention week theme, charge into fire safety, lithium-ion batteries in your home, serves to remind us of the importance of using, charging, and recycling lithium-ion batteries safely to reduce the risk of fires in homes and communities. [21:33] Now therefore, I, Joshua Hoy, mayor, on behalf of the Farmington City Council, do hereby proclaim October 5th through the 11th, 2025 as fire prevention week throughout the city of Farmington. In witness whereof, I have here unto set my hand and caused the seal of the city of Farmington, Minnesota, to be affixed on this 15th day of September, 2025. [21:56] Thank you, sir. Thank you. [22:04] The next item on our agenda is citizen comments. If there's anyone in attendance wishing to speak, please come up and do so at this time. And citizen comments are a time for anyone to address the city council on matters not on the agenda. Those speaking should state their name and address and limit their comments to 5 minutes. The city council will not engage in discussion on your topic, but those issues requiring a response will be responded to by the next city council meeting. [22:28] The city council ask that anyone speaking at the meeting please be respectful. I'd just like to first uh Nate Ryan uh Farmington resident just like to say congratulations to officer Captain Solder and Captain Van Dorne. And uh next I would just like to I just like to bring something to uh primarily Josh's attention. And uh I watch every council meeting. I'm you know I try to stay as informed as I possibly can. And I found it very impactful of your words of of last week or last council meeting. Um, you know, you talked about you talked about, you know, people are watching and and people see that and life uh has a weird way of working out. So, just continue to put good into the world. And then you also mentioned that enjoy [23:16] every minute of it. Make the most of it. See the good in others. Find good to do to others. and you will live a very fruitful uh life as long as God blesses you with the air to breathe on this earth. I just like to really bring that home for you, Josh. [23:36] Because citizens are opposed to something doesn't mean that we're not finding the good. Doesn't mean that we don't uh like or live and enjoy living in Farmington. It means that we're opposed to it and that's it. There's no more, there's no less. were opposed to something. I'm personally opposed to the zoning changes. It doesn't make me a bad person because I don't want that. Doesn't make me um doesn't make me uh not want to live in Farmington. Doesn't mean that I should get out of Farmington. Doesn't mean that I should just move. Means that I simply oppose that thing. And something else that you mentioned is do good without any expectations. But all of you bringing this in, bringing these zoning changes, putting in a data center, and Holly mentioned it. [24:24] The only reason you're doing that is money. The only reason that you're doing that is revenue to the city. That's it. That's not doing good to your neighbor. It's not doing good to the people who are most impacted by it. people who you knew shouldn't do that just because you have a loophole that says well we can put this there because it's um you know commercial industrial everyone here knows that it's industrial if it wasn't any form of industrial we wouldn't find ourselves in a lawsuit and I think it's really just frustrating that you can say these words to the city you can say these words out loud do good to your neighbors people are watching ing. Your actions do not follow those words, Josh. They do not follow those words. Paulie, [25:16] you are not doing good to your neighbors. You're not taking the mayor's advice. Neither are you. You didn't vote on it. Steve voted no. Steve took your advice. You are about to enter a negotiation stage. I know it. I know that you're going to enter a negotiation stage. You're you're going to be sequestered in a judge's chambers and you're say, "Can we work on this thing? Can we get this thing done without having to truly go to court and litigate this? Can we get this settled out of court?" You have an opportunity to do good, Josh. Most likely it's either going to be you or it's going to be the person as you do as that you set aside as promp to go there and negotiate on behalf of the city. And if you're if you haven't been deposed yet, [26:04] you haven't done discovery yet, those things are coming too. You have an opportunity to do good. Not not for people in Colorado, but for your own citizens, for your people of Farmington. You have the opportunity to change your actions. You have that opportunity before you. Don't make empty things. That that's that's all that's all that I see right now is that your words last last meeting were empty. They were empty. Do good by others with zero expectations. You have an expectation by changing the zoning by bringing in a industrial project of revenue and money and you're putting money and revenue over your own citizens. How is that doing good? How's that doing [26:55] good with the error that God gave us? Right? How is that doing good? It's not doing good. When you were elected, did you run and say, "I'm going to bring no matter what it does to the other citizens of Farmington, I'm going to bring as much revenue as I possibly can to the city." No. He said, "I'm going to fight for the little guy. I'm going to fight for our residents. I'm going to do good for others with without any expectations. [27:27] When you go and you are sequestered in that judge's chambers, probably a judge magistrate, and you're sitting there and you have tracked in the back of your mind and your lawyer is saying, "Hey, well, you guys told track this. They're going to sue you if you don't do this. You're going to be in a bigger lawsuit." I want you to say, "I don't care. [27:48] I care because I'm going to do the right thing for the citizens of Farmington and because I know that this is an industrial project. I'm going to ask you two questions and you don't have to don't worry about getting back to me, but I'm going to ask you two questions. [28:03] At what point did you know this was an industrial project? At what point did you ever say to that man sitting over there, when have we ever updated the definition of a data center? And why are we doing this? Why are we putting in commercial industrial? Why are we changing that zoning and not just pure industrial? Two questions. The third question is what defines in this city what an industrial project is. When you have the true answers to those questions, there's I truly believe that you will do the right thing and you will make the decision to make this project and to move it somewhere else. I want it in Farmington. [28:44] I can't wait for that revenue, but it doesn't deserve to go there. And the reasoning doesn't deserve to go there. You reszone property because of a loophole because of a definition that hasn't been updated went into the city code in 2015 in 10 years. [29:04] Be impactful to others. Be impactful to your citizens in Farmington. Stand up for them, not for a company that's in Colorado. Not for a company that's out to make billions more dollars every year. Not just a little bit of money, but billions. Thank you for your time. It has been a crazy time in this country. [29:33] And at no point do I want any of you to ever think that I don't care about you or simply because we have a difference of opinion on politics that I hate you. I'm standing up. I'm doing the next right thing by being here. Not just for me, but for my children and my neighbors. Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else wishing to speak? [30:06] Seeing none, we'll move on to item seven, which is our consent agenda. I'd seek a motion to approve the consent agenda. Motion to approve. Second. Motion by Holly, second by Nick. All in favor say I. I. Right. Item 101 is the waiver of pladding application 5275 190th Street West. Tony. [30:36] All right. I've I do. Thank you. Uh good evening, mayor, council members. Uh before you this evening is a waiver of plat application uh for the property at 527590th Street West. Uh Heert Homes is the uh applicant requesting that uh lot split uh or approval of the split of the property. [31:00] Uh this just shows the uh property in question. Section 115 of the code does allow for a virtually a lot split or a subdivision of a single parcel of land into no more than two parcels through a waiver plat uh process. Uh this waiver plat can be granted administratively. Uh generally they are um if uh a couple things uh do exist uh conditions exist. One being the property is part of a recorded plat or both both parcels are created by a subdivision are located outside of the urban service area as identified within our comprehensive plan. and two, the lots created by the subdivision meet the minimum lot requirements, those being lot width and lot area of the underlying zoning district. Section 1115D also states if in the [31:54] opinion of the zoning officer, the proposed subdivision of the property would adversely affect the future development of the property or adjacent property or if it lies within the urban service areas, the waiver may be forwarded to the city council for its consideration. [32:09] The council shall wave the platting requirements unless it determines the proposed subdivision would adversely affect the orderly development of the property or adjacent property. This is the survey that was submitted as part of the uh waiver plat application. [32:27] Uh the proposed split uh splits the 2.9 acre 2.09 09 acre parcel into two residential lots with one of those having an existing house on it. Each lot would be approximately 1 acre in size. The property is zoned R1 which is our low density residential and that zoning district requires a minimum lot width of 75 ft and a min minimum lot area of 10,000 square ft. Both uh proposed lots as shown on the survey meet um actually exceed uh those requirements. [33:01] The property is unplatted and located within the urban service area. Therefore, the waiver has been forwarded to the city council for uh your consideration. Uh due to the location of the property uh as shown on that aerial, it is located on the curve of 190th Street/Aken Road. uh staff's perspective on that uh being adding a second access directly onto 190th Street uh really wouldn't be appropriate just from a safety standpoint. The applicant has agreed to utilize the existing access uh to 190 90th Street uh and branch off of that with a new driveway uh to the home that would be constructed on the the newly created lot. [33:48] uh an easement would be required uh for the portion of the existing driveway that would be located on the newly created lot. So if you go back to the survey, you can see the driveway uh if I can show it here. This is the existing driveway here into the existing home. They are proposing to branch off a driveway up on the property up to the proposed uh newly created home. So the easement would be for this portion of driveway here. So the action that is requested this evening the waiver plat is being brought forward to city council being is unplatted and within the urban service area. Staff recommends that [34:35] the city council approved the waiver of plat as presented. Thank you sir. Steve, any questions? Sort of. I I think this is great. Um, the only question I have, Tony, is and I know the the folks are here representing the property with that driveway, you know, at some future point there might be different occupants, different owners of the property that would, you know, whatever time period in the future that would be. Could there be an issue with who actually owns the main access point to it or is it always going to be considered the ownership of the original the current property and the and the new I mean I could see that if there would be [35:20] you know neighbor B which is the new neighbor is complaining about neighbor A who didn't plow the driveway and I'm familiar with that property. It's a very long driveway. So that could be that's kind of the only right that's kind of really the only thing I can possibly think of. [35:36] You would probably want that access likely would remain ownership of the existing. We could cover that as part of that easement agreement. I think that should be defined just to make sure we don't have any issues that come up. Absolutely. And whatever it looks like is fine by me, but just you know have a definition. Absolutely. Jake, nothing additional. Nick, Steve's question was the exact one that I was going to ask is who fights about shoveling? [36:10] I Yeah, I if that um is the only question that we all seem to have that that was the same thing that I was wondering is from a maintenance perspective, from a um you know, a turning over of property perspective, you can cover that with easement and the maintenance agreement. Yeah. as as long as those are things that are handled and you know we're we're being mindful of what it takes to to get in and out of the property when it comes to you know all of our safety equipment and stuff like that too. I the the biggest question is when you've got that duality um how do we make sure that our decision today doesn't cause problems between neighbors. Um, beyond that, I I didn't have anything that stuck out to me either. Yeah, I won't add anything beyond what my peers have said. [36:59] That was my only question I was going to have is to resolve that within the easement because absolutely everything's fine now. But it'll, you know, inevitably there will be one pissed-off neighbor that will be barking and making an improvement and a disagreement and just, you know, get the verbiage in within the easement so that absolutely doesn't turn into a bigger issue down the line as much as we reasonably can. Um, excuse me. With that, uh, I would seek a motion to approve the waiver of plat as presented. Motion to approve. Second. Motion by Steve. Second by Jake. [37:32] Call the role, please. Council member Wilson, yes. Council member Gordis, yes. Mayor Hoy, yes. Council member Bernetts, yes. Council member Lean, yes. Thank you very much. Thank you, sir. Our next item on the agenda under new business is 121, which is the preliminary 2026 general fund budget and tax levy. Kim [38:22] Good evening, mayor and council members. Tonight, we're presenting the city's 2026 preliminary budget and property tax levy. As required by state law, we must certify the preliminary levy to Dakota County by September 30th. This is a standard part of the annual budget process. The city council is being asked to approve this preliminary amount. Tonight, it's important to note that this number will appear on the proposed property tax statements that residents receive in November. One key point to remember, the final levy, which will be adopted in December, cannot be higher than the preliminary levy we set tonight. So, this is a critical step in the process. It sets the maximum amount that we can levy for 2026 and it gives us time to continue refining the budget before final adoption. [39:14] This slide outlines the key steps in the city's annual budget and levy process. So, we begin the process in May through July when city management teams submit their department budgets. During this time, we review and revise those budgets internally. In August, staff meets with city council to review the draft budgets and receive their input. Then in September, we reach a mile major milestone. The council adopts a preliminary tax levy, which is what we're doing here tonight. In October and November, we continue refining the budget. During this time, residents will receive their truth and taxation statements, which show the estimated impact of the proposed levy approved in September on their property taxes. Finally, in December, we hold a public hearing to receive input from residents, and council adopts the final budget and tax levy. This timeline ensures transparency, accountability, and time for thoughtful [40:05] decision-making. By setting a preliminary maximum levy, we give ourselves financial flexibility. It allows us to plan proactively without locking in final numbers. As we continue refining the budget in the months ahead, we'll be looking for opportunities to adjust and respond to new information. potentially reducing the levy before the final levy is adopted in December. [40:30] The city's proposed 2026 general fund budget is 20.3 million. About 73% as shown in this pigraph is funded by a property tax levy. The remaining 27% comes from non- tax revenues, things like building permits, state aid, service fees, and transfers from other funds. Compared to 2025, the operating levy has decreased slightly from 15.32 million to 14.87 million. This change though is only as a reflection of how we allocate the levy. So, previously we would levy everything in the general fund and transfer it out to other funds. On the non- tax revenue side, we're projecting increases in several categories accounting for 5% of the revenue. Licenses and [41:17] permits are expected to rise by about 140,000 largely due to anticipated development activity. Intergovernmental revenue is up roughly by 243,000 reflecting increases in state aid. [41:32] This category also accounts for about 5% of the total. Charges for services representing 6% of the total are projected to grow by about 340,000 primarily from contracted public safety services. We're also seeing modest increases in miscellaneous revenue and transfers in while investment income and fines and forecures remain relatively stable in comparison to 2025. [42:04] This slide shows how the general fund budget is allocated across departments comparing 2025 to the proposed 2026 budget. While most departments see modest changes, there are a few areas with more noticeable increases, and I'd like to highlight those. First, in administration, the increase is due to an addition of a new staff position and some internal shifts between departments. It also reflects higher costs for the 2026 election year. The fire department shows one of the most significant increases. This is tied to the city's planned transition to a full-time fire department, which includes hiring six full-time firefighters and the related costs to support that change. More specific information on this initiative will be shared later in the presentation. In engineering, [42:52] the increase reflects new staff positions and funding for transportation studies. Finally, you'll notice a decrease in transfers, which I mentioned briefly in the last slide. In 2025, we levied for nearly all purposes within the general fund, and then transfer dollars to other areas as needed. So, for 2026, we're making a shift towards greater transparency by showing the levy directly in the specific funds where it will be used rather than routing it through the general fund. This change itself does not increase the overall levy, but it does make it easier to see how and where those tax dollars are being used. [43:30] These pie charts show how the city's general fund is allocated by category in both 2025 and 2026. So, you can see how things are changing year-toear. As you can see, the largest portion, nearly 74% in 2026 goes to salaries and benefits. This represents the people who provide services every day like police officers, firefighters, parks and public work crews, and our administrative staff. The increase in this category for 2026 is largely due to the addition of 10 new positions, including the full-time firefighters mentioned previously. Purchase services and other charges make up about 20% of the budget. This includes things like contracted services, professional support, and maintenance agreements. The slight increase here is tied [44:18] primarily to added needs in police, fire, and engineering. Materials and supplies, they account for just about 4% covering day-to-day operational needs and is comparable to 2025. There's just a small amount in there for capital outlay. And the reason for that small amount is usually capital projects are budgeted in separate capital project funds. And finally, other financing uses, which includes the transfers to other funds, which we've talked about, has decreased significantly from 2025, just reflecting the shift that we're doing. Overall, this breakdown shows that the majority of our budget is invested in people and services, the core what keeps the city running. [45:03] The next two slides summarize some of the major initiatives included in the 2026 budget across all funds, so not just the general fund. First, as previously noted, we're proposing the addition of 10 new staff positions to support growing operational demands. Six full-time firefighters as part of the transition to a full-time fire department, one position in administration, one in finance, and two in public works. Also included in the 2026 budget is funding for two transportation studies. The first is a citywide speed limit study added at the direction of city council to evaluate and recommend changes based on safety and traffic patterns. The second is a corridor study of Flagstaff Avenue. This is a key north south route serving Farmington High [45:50] School and growing neighborhoods. The study will assess future traffic needs, access, and roadway design. costs will be shared between Dakota County and the city with MSA funds covering the city's portion. We're also investing approximately 1.35 million in fleet and equipment replacements across departments. The list shown here accounts for about 75% of the total equipment proposed for 2026. It includes 186,000 for police fleet replacement, 556,000 in parks and recreation, including a larger John Deere tractor for snow removal and brush clearing and a third skid steer. There's also 608,000 in public works, [46:38] including the replacement of a 2001 dump truck and a new compact wheel loader for salt handling. We're also making significant investments in parks, facilities, infrastructure, and natural resources. The budget includes 1.675 million for park and trail improvements funded through park dedication fees, liquor store community investment funds, and trail maintenance levy. One of the most notable projects is a new skate park, which will also be partially funded by federal grants. [47:12] In facilities, we've allocated about 914,000 for planning and deferred maintenance. This includes scope and design work for a potential police building expansion and high priority maintenance needs. Major maintenance proposed for 2026 includes 311,000 in HVAC improvements at the central maintenance facility and 55,000 in mechanical upgrades at city hall. [47:37] On the infrastructure side, we're investing 13.1 million in street improvements and utilities. This includes replacing aging streets and extending water and sewer trunk lines to support future development. We're also planning for additional water storage and the design of a new municipal well. And finally, we're continuing our commitment to emerald ashbor mitigation with 600,000 allocated for tree removal and replacement, which will enter its third year and funded through residual solid waste funds. [48:15] While not everything in the budget is paid for through the levy, it does fund a large share of our core services. This slide breaks down the levy amount proposed for 2026 and how those dollars are distributed. The proposed property tax levy for 2026 totals 19.49 million. This represents an increase of 2.24 million or 12.98% over the 2025 levy. We recognize that this is a significant change and we want to be transparent about why that is needed and how it will be used. [48:46] The pie chart here shows how the proposed levy is allocated against the AC across the different areas. The largest portion nearly 14.9 million supports general operations which includes staffing, public safety, parks and other core services. We're also investing in capital equipment and infrastructure projects including trail and pavement management, building upkeep, and long-term facility needs. About 2 million is dedicated to debt service which helps us responsibly manage past investments in roads, buildings, and community assets. The pro the proposed levy supports the services and infrastructure our community relies on every day and positions us to meet the grows the needs of a growing city. [49:39] So what's driving the the increase? Why is the levy increasing? The most significant factor is the planned transition to the fulltime fire department. This is a major investment in public safety and long-term service reliability. This change alone represents approximately 35% of the proposed levy increase. In addition, rising wages and personnel costs across the organization are contributing to the increase. This includes both general wage adjustments and the addition of new staff positions. Outside of those already mentioned in the fire department, these new positions account for about 22% of the projected lift increase. These additions are driven by several key factors, including the need to support a growing community, plan for future retirements [50:28] through succession planning, and ensure we have the capacity to continue delivering highquality services. In addition, like many city cities, we're facing inflationary pressures, most notably in materials and contracted services. We also must continue to invest in capital equipment, both to support new service demands and replace aging vehicles and machinery that are no longer reliable or cost-effective to maintain. In addition, we're increasing funding for trail maintenance and building maintenance. When it comes to our city buildings, these investments are largely guided by the 2023 Krauss Anderson facility condition assessment which identified critical upgrades needed to keep our facility safe, functional, and up to standard. The assessment outlined [51:18] about 17 million in recommended improvements over a 10-year period. So far, only a portion of that work has been completed with approximately 15 million in upgrades still outstanding. [51:35] As noted with the previous slide, a major part of the proposed levy increase is tied to the city's transition to a full-time fire department. Given the scale and long-term impact of the transition, we want to take a few minutes to focus on the reasons behind it. I'll now turn it over to Chief Price, who will walk through how this investment will improve emergency response, address staffing challenges, ensure we're prepared for the future. [52:07] Good evening, mayor and councel. This evening, I've been asked to speak a little on why for the full-time firefighters. Uh we truly believe that paid on call firefighting is one of America's most heroic and iconic traditions. and has the first insurance program designed specifically for volunteer to pay down call firefighters. We understand the value they bring to our society and the risk they face every day as they help protect our communities. Despite their value, we can't ignore the fact that volunteer rates have steadily declined since the 1990s. Urbanization is leaving small towns in fewer prospects and recruitment and retention remains a major struggle for most emergency services organizations and our department feels this. call for service increases, events and activity increases, NFPA standards and requirements, and the complexity of firefighting. [52:53] This leaves many departments, including ours, with no other option than to consider moving uh from a volunteer paid on call operation to a combination or a full career model. The transition from paid on call to full-time fire departments is driven by several factors. Some of these factors include the increase in demands of emergency services, the decline in volunteer numbers, and the need for a more stable and efficient response to emergencies. I'll kind of break each one of these down as we go. So, under the increased demand of emergency services, our community grows and develops, our demand for emergency services also increase, the necessity and a more permanent workforce to meet the needs of this community. In the last 10 years, our call volume has grown from responding to 6 to 800 calls of service to 12-500 calls for service for the year. I want you to understand [53:41] when I say calls for service, that's paged calls. Currently, this year in 2025, if we were to respond to all calls of service, we'd be at 1,690 right now. We have currently responded to 896, which leads 794 that we did not respond to. 794 are medical calls. They're light medical calls, but they're medical calls nonetheless that we're not able to respond to. I don't have the personnel to be able to respond currently to 1,690 calls for service. Again, declining uh volunteer numbers. [54:14] The number of volunteer firefighters has been declining, which again is leading to a shortage of trained personnel responding to emergencies. It takes approximately 9 months before our new members can even begin to respond to calls. again due to all the training requirements and the academy that they must attend. In the last 10 years, we've gone from 40 members to 60 members and I'm still not able to fill 60 members. Um we we continue to struggle with these uh filling of these positions and the struggle again is getting the appropriate number of members to respond 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Again, the complexity of firefighting, the role of the firefighters become more complex, requiring a higher level of training expertise. full-time positions can provide the necessary resources and support uh support to meet these demands such as structural [55:01] collapse, confined space rescue, trench rescue, high and low angle rescue which none of that we provide as a service because to try to train 60 members currently 50 members. The cost would be the cost versus the reward is is is not there to pay 50 people because again we don't know who's going to respond to these calls. you have to train everybody to the same level. With full-time staffing, you have those six members who are trained to that level. You know, they're on 247. [55:30] You know who's going to be showing up. Were able to respond to those core services. This is another big one, the need for stability. Again, full-time positions offer a more stable and predictable work environment, which can be beneficial for both firefighters and the community. Currently, the only thing that's stable in our organization is their training shifts that our members currently attend. With a constant unknown, it is becoming more difficult to retain and keep members. [55:55] Not knowing who is responding or if anyone is responding, it's a very stressful position to be in. With the unknowns weigh heavily on our firefighters when they are gone on weekends, out with family, or at their full-time employment, and they're always worried about who's going to be available for the next call. Uh just for some numbers to keep in perspective, on Friday evenings if I do not have a duty crew on, the average response is three people. On a Saturday evening, if I do not have a duty crew on, the average response is four people. And that is including our duty officer rotation. It's not a number that I'm excited to be with. We do rely on mutual aid, but again, you can't always rely on mutual aid with your neighbors because if they're out on a call, they may not have the resources to send to your city. When we get into training and development, [56:41] full-time positions provide opportunities for continuous training and development, which can enhance the skills and capabilities of firefighters. These factors contribute to the growing trend of transitioning from paid on call or volunteer fire departments to full-time fire departments, ensuring that communities have access to reliable and professional emergency service. As I was saying earlier, we don't train for structural collapse. We don't train for uh confined space. Um, one of the things that happen almost on a monthly basis is we're called by many of the um, businesses here in town is they have confined space and they want to know what our protocols are is if they go in and something happens. Our protocols currently are we can monitor the situation and we have to wait for SAT to show up. We're not trained to go into confined space. We're not trained to rescue anybody who potentially might be trapped into a confined space [57:29] area. There is a special operations team that Dakota County has that we do rely on, but again, there's a lot of things that we can do with our full-time firefighters that can bridge that gap until they can actually get on scene to assist with whether it's a recovery or whether it's a a save. Um, as I was saying earlier, to try to get currently we're at 50 members to get 50 members trained in this capacity. Um, it's such a low frequency of calls. they do exist. Unfortunately, it's just not cost-effective to train them, maintain their certification um at that level. [58:06] Uh we're mostly trained to awareness in a lot of aspects. Um but they would be the full-time staffing would be trained to technician level. So there's a lot more stuff that they would be able to do. Last thing is time. NFPA has time requirements for us to meet. They are a challenge regardless if you're a full-time organization or a paid on call organization. All departments truly try to get as close to the standard as we possibly can. Um I've shown the data through all the work sessions to to all of you. We've discussed our our time. Again, when I do not have a staff on on the duty shifts, you're looking at an average between 11 12 to 13 minutes of response time. [58:47] When I have a shift on, you're down almost 6 and a half to eight minutes for response time. And truly when we talk about um time it counts especially with new construction when uh fully involved all those kind of things that come into play. Time is of the essence. I've shown all the data when we do have shifts on compared to when I don't. And last I'll finish with it's getting harder and harder to fill all of our duty crew positions with the requirements. We used to do maybe 15 events a year. We're at almost 55 events in a year that we have that we attend to. all the contractual services that we provide not only for the city but for our surrounding neighbors and to the fairgrounds when we um have those different activities that happen. We provide contractual services for that. The growth is continuing to go and unfortunately our department is just it's very [59:38] very difficult to maintain these services and I'll stand for any questions or comments before I turn it back over to Kell. Thank you sir. Steve. Um, I guess I would say Matt, I I know that um you put in so much more work to coming to this than than we could adequately adequately describe here. Um, and you brought a tough ask to us. And you know, I appreciate it. I appreciate all the work that you put into the data and the rationale behind it. And so I just really want to thank you for your leadership. Jake, I will echo what Steve said. I do have one question though. Um, and I think I [1:00:28] remember the answer. It's about a million dollars to hire the six full-time staff members. That is a rough estimate that we came up with. Again, we're still waiting on the safer grant. Hopefully, it'll be published here by the end of the week or beginning of next week. Okay. That was with full benefits and all of that. call in. Um, yeah, other than that, thank you for your extensive time you've spent with us going over the details of this and and explaining to us why this is the important next step for Farmington. I I truly appreciate your time and your dedication to detail and I'm excited to see this as the next step in in Farmington Fire's future. Nick. Uh, I mean, I don't we don't need to drag out a budget meeting terribly long with fire questions, but I just, [1:01:15] uh, this just on the topic in general, I mean, this has always been a non-negotiable. Uh, all of our neighbors have been doing this. We should have arguably been doing been doing this years ago, and I think this is just the manifestation. So, I appreciate you finally bringing this forward and getting it started. I know it's not fun. Like Steve said, it's a hard ask, but it is it's a necessary one and it's one we have to address and let's just do it the smartest and most efficient way we can. I think you're doing that. So, thank you. Um, nothing that hasn't already been said it. Thank you for all of the work that was put in and I agree with other statements. Yeah, this has loosely been on the table for a couple of years and we've been having the conversation about [1:02:00] when is the right time to transition and we know that it it can't be when it's too late. And as we start to look at the the volume and the frequency of calls specifically to your point, the medicals, it's a whole another conversation about you know why the supporting agencies aren't responding and why that burden is being placed locally. But the net net of it is we have to staff accordingly, train in anticipation of and deliver within NFP standards as much as we reasonably can. And we're not meeting that standard. And the only way to fix that is to put full-time people in place. Um, train them appropriately. Um, but also, you know, there's a little irony to the comment that I made about our two captains tonight, right? When we go paid on call, forgive me on the facts, but [1:02:51] it's five to seven minutes. They have to be within the the duty station, right? For medical and fire, 90 seconds out the door to 60 seconds and within the appropriate amount of resources on scene with a medical between four to 5 minutes and for a fire, it's within six minutes. And the and the paid on call firefighter has to live within like 5 to seven minutes of the station. So when we go full, we can now go outside and recruit and it's limitless. We could be pulling from Rochester. [1:03:19] And I think about the amount of talent that is out there in paid on call positions, even maybe some full-time positions that now can look at coming here and bring that experience and bring that that level higher level of certification and training and help continue to work with our paid on call team to support the overall operation of our fire department. Um, it's a tall ask, but it's a it's regardless of where our neighbors are at and and their evolution, like we're at a point where we have to do this. We cannot wait any longer on it. Um, the standards have slipped a little bit too far. So, I I appreciate all of your time, um, everything you've put into bringing us sufficient information to make an educated decision, and I appreciate it. So, thank you. Okay. [1:04:13] Sorry, just a few more slides. So, as we consider the proposed budget, it's also important to consider the risks of not making the proposed investments, public safety, underfunding can lead to slower fire and emergency response times, difficulty attracting and retaining qualified staff, and increased burnout among our personnel, all which Matt talked about. When it comes to infrastructure, delaying maintenance on roads, parks, and trails often results in higher costs later, whether through emergency repairs or full replacements. It also affects residents experience and value city services. Operationally, underfunding can delay equipment replacements and limit our ability to respond to growth or changing service needs. Short-term cuts often lead to higher long-term costs. Strategically, [1:05:03] it can erode public trust, cause us to miss opportunities to modernize and leave us lagging behind pure cities in safety, staffing, and service delivery. Delaying investments in staffing, equipment, or infra infrastructure may seem like a short-term savings, but it often leads to greater costs down the road. This budget aims to strike a balance, addressing today's needs while planning responsibly for tomorrow. [1:05:31] So, what does this mean for our residents? The proposed levy increase will result in a property tax increase for most homeowners. For a home valued at the city's average of $354,400, the estimated annual city property tax would be about $1,737, an increase of $172 per year, or roughly $14 per month. The exact impact will vary depending on each property's value and classification. Truth and taxation statements will be mailed in November and will show the estimated impact for individual properties based on the preliminary levy. [1:06:10] To wrap up, the slide shows the full summary of the proposed 2026 budget and levy. It includes the general fund revenues and expenditures, the various special levies, and the total gross and net levy amounts. You'll also see the city's net tax capacity and tax rates along with the percentage changes from 2025. Again, this is the preliminary levy. It sets the maximum, but we'll continue to refine the budget over the next few months before a final adoption in December. [1:06:43] To conclude tonight's presentation, we're asking the city council to take two actions. first to approve resolution 2025 tag 061 which adopts the preliminary 2026 budget and sets the preliminary property tax levy collectible in 2026. Second, we're asking the council to set the public input meeting for the final 2026 budget and tax levy on Monday, December 1st, 2025 at 7 p.m. [1:07:11] That concludes the presentation. I'll take any questions at this time. Thank you, ma'am. Steve, where we're just kind of starting with me today, keeping it easy on the uh media crew. So, the first thing I want to say is um you know, Kim, incredible work with the team. And I do want to kind of highlight David just a little bit because you you know, we were kind of mid-budget and we had an administration change. Uh, and obviously we're we kind of wrapped up that part of it, but I just want to thank you for kind of working with Kim and the rest of the team to make a coordinated effort and, you know, make it easy for council to kind of figure out what kind of what direction to go. Um, Kim, one question on the it's a terminology thing, but other special [1:08:02] levies I think for the average resident might seem confusing. Now, on the positive side, I know you were a big advocate for the taking away the transfers, and the transfer part was legitimately confusing. I've worked with that for so many years, and the fact that we're not transferring is a huge huge thing. Um, is there something else we can call it except for other special levies? [1:08:28] It just feels like I don't know. I just I I feel like if you're the average resident looking at it, you're like, well, this what's an other special levy, you know, and I don't know using that term is common for other cities and this is not special to the city of Farmington and several other cities use that. Um certainly open to other ideas. Okay. But overall, I just appreciate the effort and and uh everything that we did here to get this together, Jake. Yeah. Thank you, Kim, and everyone else who's been involved in this process. Um, you know, we've met a few times now throughout the last six, eight months, and it's been an incredibly transparent process for us to see start to v uh finish uh how you've built this budget. Um 12.98%'s not an easy number to digest, [1:09:21] but it's at this point the the right thing to do. I mean, you you laid it out really well that uh a huge chunk of this is driven from the full-time fire department and and we're well past the point where we need to do that and other chunks of it are just cost of living increases and a few additions here and there. It's a no frills budget. Um so, thank you for for all your time uh put together on the budget. Um and thank you uh for stating at the beginning of your presentation and then recapping at the end with this is just a preliminary budget. It could change. It could go down between now and December 1st. So, thank you for including that. Here, Holly. I'm getting confused that you're ordering. Okay. Uh, to kind of echo Steve a little bit, I really appreciate [1:10:08] the advocacy for getting out of the transfers and getting things into direct line items. I think that, you know, whether you're talking about the city or the school or any other taxing district, anytime you get those kind of arbitrary fund names, people like to invent what they think it's doing as opposed to when you have it right on the line item, it's much more transparent. So, I want to give you kudos for that. It's it's it's a very big um I already spoke to the fire department piece of it. I guess the one question I have maybe for Kelly, what is our total trail mileage this year? We're at about 52 miles, but that also does include county trails. So, the county would be uh responsible for any of their replacement maintenance on their on the county trails. And our current maintenance budget allows for the replacement of how much each year [1:10:56] is? Not much. Not much. We're looking at less than half mile. Uh probably maybe a little bit more than that. So, all that is the point I'm gonna make there is that it's easy to look at that spreadsheet and see a lot of big numbers, especially a $ 1.6 $6 million number and it looks you can like I said make some some pain points why do you need that right but when you do the math on that you realize that half mile a year for 50 or 50 miles doesn't exactly keep you up to a standard so I've never seen I think this is my fourth one of these now and every year you guys get a little bit better at it but everything I've seen you guys ever present is data driven good capital management policies avoiding the high maintenance cost avoiding the, you know, kicking the can down [1:11:42] a road. So, yes, to Jake's point, it's it's a painful number. It is, but I really appreciate how you guys come forward with the ask that you need to to not cost us more money down the road. Um, I don't know that I have a lot to add except to say that through this process, one of the things that I was most impressed by was the collaboration between all of the departments. [1:12:06] Uh it would be very easy to have infighting in this situation where I need money, my department needs this, my my area needs this and all that I really see in these situations is support and collaboration and give and take. And not every department gets everything they need, not every department gets everything that they want, but at the end of the year, we put forward um what we truly believe to be the best thing for the entire community. and I'm I'm deeply appreciative toward that level of collaboration and that level of professionalism. So, thank you for that. Um, the only thing that I wanted to touch on that actually hasn't been spoken on yet is the uh 186,000. I think that was the police um department equipment. Uh, and we had talked a little bit in that process [1:12:55] about looking over what the ex existing situation looked like for some of our vehicles and whatnot. Um, and I I don't know that there's so much a question here again as there is a statement of a constant appreciation for review of the process that we take. Um, while that again might look like a big number, it's a number that ultimately to my understanding in the long term and correct me if I'm wrong saves us money and that is again just a level of appreciation. And so I don't know if you have anything to add on that or if I've you know pretty much just stated it without No, nothing to add other than we are continuously evaluating what uh we're looking at for vehicles in the years to come and um something that uh we're going through right now. So uh continue to change but one of the [1:13:41] things that we learned in that process is just what it takes to outfit a police vehicle and and whether that makes sense um continuously. And so when you for the average resident, I think sometimes we have this opportunity to look at numbers and I know I was guilty of this before. I don't understand the complexities of the numbers. And so then when they get that high, uh, you know, the question becomes, well, is this thing, you know, needed? And I would encourage every resident to take it and break it down in the same way that you would your own home maintenance. [1:14:08] There are certain things that you cannot defer. If you defer them, you're going to end up with more problems and more trouble in the long run. There are other things that you do preemptively to prevent bigger problems from existing. And those complexities that exist at whatever level in your own home also exist on a much larger level when it comes to the city. And that ultimately is how we get to numbers and percentages like the ones that we look at. And to Nick's point, it's not there. It's not frilly. There's there's not a lot in here that's really shiny and pretty. [1:14:43] Um, it's basically this is what we need to do to take care of everybody and and here we are. There's a lot that we could talk about right now and that's part of the I guess that's one of the things with the budget process is between now setting the preliminary and the final um in December even though through multiple work sessions and um conversations that we've had over the years um it's difficult to say this without having it take being taken like your pointing a finger at somebody and that's absolutely what it is not. But our city found itself in a position [1:15:29] coming out of CO with far more needs and demands on infrastructure and core services than what our budget was prepared for. Um when you have here it's it's a law of unintended consequences. It's amazing to have long tenure. It's great to have people that are with your organization for decades, but with that comes a higher wage. With that comes greater investment in benefits. [1:15:58] It's just a byproduct of the math. And if we wanted to chop the budget down to zero, we could. We absolutely could. There would be unintended consequences that nobody would would want. We would have the elimination of paths, the elimination of services. We'd have the reduction of positions. And none of that feeds into a community that's thriving that people want to move to, invest in, um, be a part of. But that's the position that we found ourselves in. We, since 2019, we have been talking about trail maintenance and how we have 48 to now 52 miles of paths. We were funding.3 to 6 miles per year. They're on a 20-year replacement schedule. The [1:16:43] math doesn't add up. You either have to eliminate or you have to spend the proper amount of funds to maintain and build accordingly. It's that's just how it works. Um full-time fire, we can go through every department. We can talk about all the things. You know, we showed the slide of the the larger purchases that are being made with the dump trucks, right? We're not replacing 2015 or 2020 vehicles. We're not replacing equipment that it's like, well, how do we spend the money this year? We're legitimately looking at things that we are forcing to stay together for long past their usable life to deliver the highest level of core services. That's why 3, four years ago, we said our pillars were going to meet industry standards for capital improvement planning. It [1:17:34] was an acknowledgement that we were below the standard and we needed to at minimum meet the standard. And that's what we've been doing. Um the 2023 Krauss Anderson study, I'm gonna I'm gonna like fact check your your number because I swear it was closer to 60 million over a decade, not 17. Either way, it's it's an astronomical number and I talked about it earlier this year at my state of the city. Nobody wants 12%, nobody wants 1%. But what we do want is the benefit that the community receives by having a higher standard of core service delivery. And this is just year one. It is going to look like this. If there's anything that you're going to clip or you're going to record, record this. And I'll say it again for my state of the city. This is year one of 10. [1:18:23] We have over $120 million of deferred interest and capital improvement projects that have to get done or buildings come offline, services get reduced, trails get removed, you start taking things away and that is a slide that nobody wants to be on. So, as unpleasant as it is, I know that the the impact per resident is going to differ. Um, but at 172 that's palatable. at 100 for a lesser valued property. We hope that that's palatable in the grand scheme of things. Um, but we as a team, we as as the representatives for the core services, we have to continue to deliver at the highest possible level of our core services. We have to if we continue to go out and [1:19:12] ask the residents um to fund us appropriately, we have to continue to deliver at the highest level. And I believe that that's something that every member of our team from top to bottom understands. and accepts the responsibility of um to a few of the points that were made. Thank you to everyone for your continuous input, your willingness to pull back in areas that you may consider discretional or we can wait another year. I will just always leave it with be careful with moving that needle too far because we cannot repeat the actions that have led us to the last few years in this incremental increase. Um the tax com or the tax rate getting over 50% is the one that really bothers me the most and we will fix that through new development and um being as tight [1:20:05] to our budget as we possibly can. Kim, thank you for everything. you continue to um operate at the highest level and I know that there's there's a lot that you've taken on and one of the asks in there is support directly to you and your department um practically a department of one. [1:20:23] I know you have a few others but um that support will be um that's a long time coming. So thank you for everything. Thank you. Amy, do you want this by two separate motions or by two? Okay. So, we'd seek a motion to approve resolution 2025 tax 061 adopting the preliminary 2026 budget and setting the preliminary tax levy collectible in 2026. So moved. Second. Uh motion by Nick, second by Holly. [1:20:53] Call the role, please. Council member Gordes, yes. Mayor Hoy, yes. Council member Bernetts, yes. Council member Lean, yes. Council member Wilson, yes. And I would seek a motion to set the public input hearing for the final 2026 budget and the tax levy to be held on Monday, December 1st, 2025 at 7 p.m. Motion to approve. Second. Motion by Jake. Second by Steve. Call the role, please. [1:21:17] Council member, yes. Council member Lean, yes. Council member Wilson, yes. Council member Gordes, yes. Mayor Hoy, yes. Thank you again, Kim. Next item on our agenda is 122, ordinance 2025, tax 007 amending title 6, chapter 9 of the Farmington City Code as it relates to park regulations. [1:21:40] Kelly, good evening, mayor and city council member. The city has an ordinance, chapter 9, title 6, that pertains to park regulations. The current park regulations doesn't address smoking, vaporizing, or otherwise consuming any tobacco or cannabis in any public park. One of the parks and recreations commission's work plan goals for 2025 is to develop a smoke-free parks ordinance. [1:22:02] This was also a work plan goal in 2024 as the commission started the discussion of what should be included in a city ordinance. The discussion included a presentation from Dakota County Public Health and tobaccof free alliance on a tobaccof free parks overview. The commission wanted to keep the ordinance simple, not tens of exceptions and enforcement mechanism be voluntary compliance. [1:22:25] The commission did look at other ordinances. Some of the exceptions that they seen included no ban on smoking with the exception of adult leagues on the field and within 30 ft of youth activities. No person shall use any form of tobacco product within 100 ft of any beach, athletic field or play playground contained with any public site or open space. This is what they didn't want was tons of ex exceptions and hard to understand. Voluntary or self-compliance is the preferred method for of enforcement for the public health law center who developed a model ordinance. [1:23:00] Following legislation of adult use cannabis, city council at its July 21st, 2025 meeting passed ordinance 2025 TAC 004 amending title 3 business regulations by adding chapter 17 or 27, excuse me, cannabis and hemp retail registr registration. This ordinance prohibits use of cannabis products in public spaces as defined as publicly owned property and outdoor and indoor areas of public recreation center or public park, trail, street or sidewalk, including but not limited to a public playground, swimming pool or other recreational areas and gymnasiums. This specifically includes but is not limited to the Ramland River Center, Schmidzmack Arena and City Park properties. Thus, [1:23:45] use of cannabis products, including cannabis flour, lower potency hemp edibles, and hemp derived consumer products, is currently prohibited within the city of Farmington's park system and facilities. I consulted with the city attorney on adding a smoke-free park ordinance, and we both agreed it made more sense to add it to the current park regulations ordinance under six, TAC 9, tact 6, prohibited activities. The city attorney then drafted the attached ordinance amending title six chapter 9 of the Farmington city code as it relates to park regulations. A summary of the ordinance amendment includes definition of a public park or parks now includes a structure or improvement owned or leased by the city for the use of the public for active or passive recreation [1:24:35] and any improved or unimproved trails, sidewalks, and parking lots or areas. It adds section 6 t9 tax 6 prohibitive activities letter I establishing a prohibit prohibitation on smoking vaporizing or otherwise consuming any tobacco or cannabis in any public park. This includes any improved or unimproved trails, sidewalks and parking lots or areas or inside motor vehicles within the public park. It also provides definitions for electronic delivery device, smoking and tobacco products. It cleans up the language in park rules and regulations. It adds language for violation of 6 TAC 9 tax 6 I, which shall be a request for voluntary compliance made by a city employee or [1:25:24] law enforcement officer. If any person refuses to voluntarily comply or commits a secondary violation, such person may be issued a citation for a fine up to $300 and may be excluded from use of the park. The police chief has reviewed the ordinance amendment, specifically the violations, enforcement, and penalties, and found it to be acceptable. The parks and recreation commission reviewed the attached draft ordinance at their meeting last week, September 10th. The reed recommended city council approve ordinance 2025 tech 007 amending title 6 chapter 9 of the Farmington city code regarding park regulations as presented with a vote of 4 to zero. The commission thought it was a more comprehensive ordinance by including cannabis, chewing tobacco and smoking. [1:26:10] It promotes healthy behavior and lifestyle system. Healthy behavior and lifestyles in park system and keeps the park clean from littering, tobacco, and spitting. Dakota County Public Health will support the city on both design and signage for the parks. The action requested tonight is to approve and pass ordinance 2025 tax 007 amending title 6, chapter 9 of the Farmington City Code as it relates to park regulations. happy to answer any questions you may have. Thank you, ma'am. Nick. Well, now he starts to uh I am honestly and unapologetically very excited about this. Uh I think it's a long time coming. I'm kind of actually happy that I think cannabis spurred the secondary discussion to address the topic as a whole. Um what a person does [1:26:59] with their own body puts into it, that's their business. But, you know, it's it's not fair to our youngest and most vulnerable to have to be exposed to it through no choice of their own. Um, I appreciate the parks commission that trying to find something that wasn't overly complicated. [1:27:14] And I also appreciate the understanding that this is a difficult thing to enforce from like a law enforcement perspective. So, I hope that we as the collective Farmington can do a good job of holding each other accountable and recognizing personal responsibility uh and helping enforce this thing and using some common sense about what we should be exposing our youngest kids to. So, thank you for doing this. Holly uh everything he said and um I what I appreciated about uh the presentation was probably the very last statement that you made which was the question that I had which is how do we now make sure that Farmington knows um and so uh knowing that we're going to have assistance in park signage um to me that that was the important last step in this right is anytime we're going to [1:28:04] do something um regardless of whether or not everyone is excited or no one is excited about it if if we've collectively make that decision, it's how do we make sure that people understand and know uh know about it. So, hearing that um sealed the deal for me and and much like Nick, I uh I'm personally and unapologetically uh excited for this opportunity to, you know, have a little bit of a better experience in the park system. So, y commission did have a good discussion last week about where this signage should be located. So, we have a good idea where it should be. Jake, um, thank you, Kelly, for presenting tonight. Uh, you and I have talked about this a few times. Um, tonight's kind of a full circle moment for me. My first city council meeting I ever attended was in [1:28:55] 2007 2008 somewhere around there where I spoke uh with the Tiger fan club at the high school with uh several of my classmates and Jody Pier who used to be at the county um in favor of such a a ban of smoking in public parks. Um so I'm glad here we are 15 16 17 years later finally uh moving on this. Um, it's an exciting night and I agree with everything that my colleagues have already said. Steve, so I'm probably going to have a little bit of a different opinion, maybe not on the final vote, per se, but how was the $300 arrived at for the fine? Kelly, I worked with Amy on the dollar amount, and she probably can speak better to that than myself. [1:29:42] Um, mayor, members of the council, uh, $300 is the maximum possible penalty for a petty misdemeanor under the criminal code. Okay. Generally, so that seems like a fair number. It's consistent with how a lot of other cities enforce uh, an ordinance like this. So then from an enforcement, let's, you know, you've got Joe resident is at a park um, smoking, vaping, what have you. Um, and you know, officer Seam happens upon the individual says, "Did you know that this is prohibited in our in Daisy Park or pick the park?" Um, well, I didn't know that, but it's my right as an American to [1:30:27] and I pay taxes for this park. Is that kind of the failure to comply where the citation could occur? I mean, I guess what I'm trying to figure out is, and I and I know we talked about this at a work session, but I want the public to hear about this, too. The police is not going to be driving around looking for um who can we who can we bust today because we're in need of $300 bills. No, absolutely not. And that's why it was the self-compliance and and education, you know, that's going to be key to this is educating the public. And uh our the goal is not to be busting people smoking or chewing tobacco. um police probably will never be called on it. I hope. [1:31:07] Um hopefully people will just self-comply. Okay. I guess the only other comment I would make and I I will be supporting this but I do think it's worth noting that you know in this country freedom to make choices and do things um with your money and and choose your behaviors um that has personal consequences oftentimes you make a choice a you know it can pose as a health risk if you don't choose you know that option theoretically doesn't um I would almost prefer kind of more of a uh and I think this is where the policing is going to end up. I think it's going to look like this [1:31:53] from a policing standpoint. I would almost rather see us um go a softer direction on this. I just I get really worried that, you know, we talk about this so much at at the national level. there's so much discourse, you know, are freedoms being taken away, are the rights of the average citizen being taken away that they can't make a choice. But on the other hand, you're talking about a community park, a neighborhood park, a public space where it should be every resident's ability to use it without refrain from, you know, smoke or other, you know, tobacco products. in this case that would you know pose to deter them from using our parks. So I think the goal is [1:32:43] um I think the goal is um you know worth advocating for. I just want to point out that I I just I do get nervous that even though if the the stated outcome is good that you know it is just a small little teeny bit of freedom erosion. So I just that I think that is worth pointing out. [1:33:07] Kelly, I appreciate um not only you and the park and wreck commission from um for going through and one bringing this forward, right? I I know to Nick's point that we we talked about it a little bit with you know cannabis and you know there was early talks two years ago when the state initially uh embarked on the um the whole cannabis department and how the legislation was going to be put in place and how it was going to affect us locally and we started the conversation there and we initially put a moratorium in place and we we had waited just trying to kind of see where everything was going to sort itself out. Um, I may be wrong here, but I'm think I'm the only smoker in the room for the most part. I think [1:33:56] I'm the only smoker in the room. And I couldn't welcome this anymore. Like we there was a time years ago when every restaurant you could sit in smoking or non-smoking and the seats were back to back. you were doing it on buses and airplanes and you know the Clean Air Act came out and then um years ago I remember Bloomington was one of the first cities um that banned it within 30 ft of um any entrance to a public or private building and they did take a very hard line on it. Um, we have to find a way to incorporate not only our communication but our outreach initiatives within public safety and we talk often about our community policing. This is not something [1:34:42] that's going to just be solved overnight. Um, however, there was a time when I think people a lot of people were spending time at on school district property and they could do it and then legislation was put in place and you cannot smoke on school property, but people don't think twice about it. This is going to take some time. It's going to take smokers like me in public spaces, seeing others, saying something, educating, and over time, whatever time that may be, we will get to a point where it is predominantly self-p policed. And because you're right, Steve. I mean, I don't I don't want officers to, you know, there's enough things to do besides [1:35:30] respond for every single phone call about what is somebody threw a butt. Like there's education first. There's awareness that we need to raise. This is a this is a long play here. But the netn net I believe is um you know to Nick's point was create a public space that is ultimately safer for everyone to enjoy and um I believe we can achieve that and and do it without the the forceful hand and the $300 fine. But we we'll get there. It's a great step in the right direction. So thank you for all of your work and everything you and your team have put together to bring this forward. [1:36:12] With that, I would seek a motion to approve and pass ordinance 2025 tax 007 amending title 6, chapter 9 of the Farmington City Code as it relates to park regulations. So moved. Second. Motion by Jake, second by Holly. Call the role, please. Council Council Member Lane, yes. Council member Wilson, yes. Council member Gordes, yes. Mayor Hoy, yes. Council member Bernett, yes. Thank you again. Round table, Amy. Uh, good evening, Mayor, members of the council. I just um have a couple of little comments to make um in sort of in followup to the um comments that Mr. Ryan made during the public comment section just for the public's awareness of the the litigation that the [1:37:01] city is engaged in um related to the data center. Um just kind of some timeline issues. I mean, I'm not lead litigation council, but I am part of the litigation team overall. Um, just so the public is aware, um, if they haven't been following it blowby-blow, the there was a motion hearing, um, on July 31st of this year that, um, where the the court heard the city's motion to dismiss the township's claims. Um, and the matter is still under advisement with the court. the judge has 90 days from the date that she took it under advisement, which was that day of July 31st. So, we're still waiting for the judge's decision on um on that issue. In the meantime, the there has been [1:37:46] some written discovery that has been uh served in exchange. The city um the city staff has been working with Justin Templan, who is the lead litigation attorney appointed by the League of Minnesota City's Insurance Trust um to answer that discovery. But in the at the same time on August 15th, based on a stipulation that the parties in both the the coalition lawsuit and the township lawsuit, which have been consolidated by the court, um the court ordered that um any further discovery be stayed be basically put on hold until the court makes her decision on the city's motion. [1:38:26] So, we're kind of in a holding pattern on that. Um Mr. Shyan is correct that eventually there will be a time where there'll be some mediation that will occur. Um since we're in state court, not in federal court, there won't be it won't be with a magistrate judge. It'll be with a mediator that um is agreed upon by the parties. Um so we're we're kind of in a holding pattern on that right now, but just for the public's benefit, I thought I'd fill in that information just um so so we don't so it doesn't so it's clear that we're not just kind of spinning our wheels. We're following the court's direction and um waiting for her to make her decision. Thank you. Other than that, I have no report. Thank you, Nick. Uh I will try to say this kind of cryptically, I guess, but if anyone noticed uh consent item agenda number 7.7, you'd see why I'm very happy tonight. That's all. [1:39:17] Holly, uh, just another round of congratulations to our new captains, uh, to Kelly and Derek, um, who are part of the IC Poet program for their promotions. That was all on consent agenda. Um, and I too am excited, um, that we have come to a an agreement for our city administrator. And then from a community standpoint, um, before we meet next, the homecoming parade is going to happen. [1:39:44] Uh so if you want to get out and see what is happening in your community and happening with our youth and are looking for a fun opportunity on the 24th um there will be a parade and it's a lot of organizations and clubs and things that your kids um or your neighbors kids are involved in and really excited about and it's a way to come out and support them. So if you don't have anything going on hopefully it'll be great weather and I'd recommend it. Thank you, Jake. Um, just like Nick and Holly, I'm excited about the news that was approved under consent agenda tonight. And, uh, to reiterate, homecoming is coming up quick. Not only is the parade a great opportunity to get out and see your community, but the football game on Friday should be a fun game. Football [1:40:32] game. There is a mediumsized deal. Homecoming equals football game at home generally like it starts there and extends unfortunately. It's just it's all the things you focus on, right? Unfortunately, I will be out of town for a family wedding the day of the football game. So, uh hopefully everyone else will be able to cheer for the Tigers while I'm out of town. Steve, I didn't have anything until Nick made a really, really good comment during the levy referendum and I just want to highlight this. Um, I don't So, Nick asked a question about the trail maintenance budget, what have you, and that's obviously a really high priority for the city and a priority [1:41:18] for all of us. And I get this question every now and then because it's almost impossible not to see it, but if you drive by Apple Valley, you'll see all kinds of park related construction going on. If you drive through it, what have you. Lakeville, same kind of deal. So, Apple Valley a couple years ago passed a $73 million separate referendum that they sent to their voters. Lakeville recently passed a $38 million referendum. We, as a council, and I'm not looking to pat ourselves in the back by by pointing this out, we have up to this point refrained from bringing a park referendum to the community. I do think especially with all the work that the park and recck commission is doing, the [1:42:05] good work you're doing, um I think the way we're doing budgeting, I really think in the near future that is something that the city should talk about. Um I think a parks referendum, again, am I sitting up here saying, "Boy, we need to figure out 10 different ways to raise your taxes." Absolutely not. Um, but Nick bringing up that point about how much we're trying to do with a limited amount of funds reminded me of this very point about our neighboring cities doing this. So, I do think um, you know, trails is something that we routinely hear is in our top one, two, or three favorite amenities in the community for obvious reasons. Um, and I just wanted to point out that, you know, thanks to Kelly, her team, our maintenance staff, you know, John's team, you know, there's a lot of [1:42:57] really good maintenance going on with our exist existing asset, and hopefully at some point we have an opportunity to expand that. Thank you, Shirley. Um, congratulations to Captains Solder and and Dorne. I just want to say it was great to see a full house here tonight to support them. [1:43:17] David. So, I do have a few things this evening. Uh, first, on behalf of Chief Price, he had a run. They have a full department training this evening, which includes training on some new equipment. So, on his behalf, I just want to uh remind everyone that the fire department o annual openhouse is this Wednesday, the 17th, starting at 5:30 at Fire Station 1. So, that is a change from previous years. You can go to fire station 2, but you might be a little lonely. So, fire station one, Wednesday at 5:30. On to my items. So, I won't be cryptic and maybe that's if HR says it, everyone will be a little more chill. I don't know. Um, yes, this evening you approved an employment agreement with Lorski to return as city administrator. I think uh throughout the organization, there's excitement to have her back. I know for myself, [1:44:04] I'm looking forward to going back to wearing one hat in just a few weeks. She should be back with us and in that chair on October 6th. I also want to again say uh congratulations to uh captains uh Van Dorn and Solder. Um I had the privilege of being a part of their selection process. Um as Chief Seam said um four fantastic candidates, very hard decision, no wrong decision. Um but it's been really cool to see them jump into their their new roles both to them and to the organization and really try to feel out what those roles look like within the department over their last month. [1:44:40] Uh lastly, um I just want to touch on the preliminary budget really quick and again just first of all thank uh you as the council um for adopting that and um showing your trust in us as your your staff in developing that and making recommendations that we did. I want to say thank you to my colleagues in the collaborative process and especially to Kim and her very hard work and I would say it's not an understatement to say hundreds of hours that she has put into this budget over the last six months. It's been a big undertaking um um in implementing the new um uh financial management plan and all the different capital changes and things that are going into the budget. Obviously, we still have some more work to do over the next couple months, but I think we have um we're great foundation and I think we're going to be in a very good spot for [1:45:29] our final um budget. Just two other things I wanted to say on that. Um first of all, um I know I've only been here for 7 months, but whenever outside of these walls, when someone asks me like, "What do I enjoy about working for the city of Farmington?" One of the things I consistently say to people is what I enjoy and I'm proud about with the city of Farmington is that we do in generally we do good governance and we stick to core our our our core principles and core um service provision items. You know, we don't do a lot of the fluff stuff. We we focus on providing the highest level of core values uh to our residents. And I think that shows in this budget and with my colleagues and I what we um put into it. Also, um just want to give a little context. [1:46:19] Um 12.98% um it is an increase obviously. Um but when Kim talked about some of the factors that resulted beyond fire in those increases, those are things that we aren't the only entity facing. Um I just want to share kind of where some of our our neighbors are at. Um these are numbers as of the last Dakota County managers meeting which just a few weeks ago. Um at that time Dakota County was looking at roughly about an 8% increase. Apple Valley at a 15.58% increase. Hastings at 18 8.38 Egan at 8.9. Rosemont at 12.9. Lakeville at 7, and Burnsville at 7.4. So, I think we're really um really in in the ballpark with where all of our neighbors and and where they're experiencing [1:47:09] um on the stresses on on their budgets as well. Um and that's all I have for this evening. Thank you. Thank you, Deanna. Thank you, Mayor and Council. I think David said it all, so I have nothing to add, John. Thank you, Mayor and Council. For those residents on Second Street that are not attending the fire station openhouse, there is a open house for the 2026 street improvement project Wednesday evening from 5 to 6:30 here in the city hall atrium. Thank you, Kelly. The playground equipment for Westview Acres Park was uh supposed to be delivered today at noon. I believe they're going to start the install uh tomorrow. Um, good news. Uh, I talked to the principal at Bachmann Middle School and invited his, uh, student to help select the equipment to come to the ribbon cutting. So, [1:47:55] once we have a date and a time, we'll let you know as well. But, we're really excited to be able to have the students actually come to a ribbon cutting. It'll probably be mid to uh, end of October by the time we get the site uh, uh, restoration done. Um, so I'll let you guys know. Uh, tomorrow's open door uh, food pantry 3 to 4:30 at the Rambling River Center. And then following the homecoming parade is the Tiger Cub Pepfest. So, hope you attend that as well. Thank you, Kim. Well, I think I used up my air time already, so I don't have nothing else to report. Thank you, Chief. Mayor and Council. Um, first, uh, Council Member Bernance already mentioned it, but on the consent agenda was Kelly Huntington, uh, for appointment to the position of police [1:48:41] officer, and that's been our our second ICPO candidate, and we're really excited to have her start tomorrow on FTO. Uh, she's going to be a great addition to patrol. The second position was Derek Palantin. He's our third ICO candidate, that $50,000 grant position. Um, he was approved to start school in October. So October 6th, he starts school at Henipin Tech and we'll hopefully have him here in a uniform for you in February of next year. Um, also want to mention before our next meeting, we will be starting Toys for Town preparations. It's that season again. Just to get it on your on your radar, it's right around the corner. Wow. I mean, yay. Yay. [1:49:23] And then the obvious um the promotions of of Captain Van Dornne and Captain Solder. Thank you so much for um approving those. Uh they're going to be great additions to the department. Thank you very much. And lastly, I I wanted to mention um a great friend to Farmington Police Department, Pam McCarthy, and offer my condolences to her um on the passing of her husband. Well, thank you for adding that at the end. Um, that was a little bit of what I was referencing last week. And obviously there is a very high-profile event that happened and um this this country as a whole is is in my opinion is really at a tipping point. [1:50:09] There's been there's been a lot of political discourse for the better part of the last we'll say 10 years or so at least in recent memory. And when it elevates to that level, it completely turns the page on what we think normal is. And as you have more conversations with your friends, your social circles, whatever it may be, um it's tough because we're starting to get desensitized to the severity of all of it. Like when you hear about a school shooting, I have noticed that people make comments like how many this time? Where was it at? It's beyond the [1:50:56] fact that it happened. It it's now like we're me somehow measuring what the severity of the thing is. And it's it's heartbreaking that that's our current reality that we have as a nation gotten to a point where we walk with our phones stuck in our hands and things happen and we're quick to take video of it and it and the information's out before people are even not or not notified. Um, and it's especially disturbing when it happens in in front of a large crowd of of young adults and the spouse and children of the slain. Um, it's disturbing and it's a harsh reminder of it's a harsh reminder for all of us to to really dig deep and look at our core values and look at our moral compass and what we think is important and what we want to put our energy and effort into. Um, but [1:51:48] it's also the reason why we need to continue to have people across this nation engage in dialogue, stand up, have conversations. Um, even in the face of adversity, the face of disagreement, just having the conversations isn't enough. Just listening isn't enough. It's a two-way street. [1:52:17] Nate Ryan and I can have conversations all day long. Nate and I can talk about what we believe or don't believe to be true, what we want or what we don't want to happen with any number of topics. But if Nate and I can't have a conversation where we're willing to listen to the other side and respect the difference of opinion, insert any topic you want, it doesn't matter. No one wins. [1:52:43] One person may win an argument. One person may win a disagreement. Um, but the totality of society comes down to our ability to have constructive dialogue in the face of disagreement. And without pivoting too far, I'm going to pivot right into the school's referendum for this fall. [1:53:08] Community growth starts in our schools. community, culture, identity, the strength of our our nation is in the hands of our kiddos. Like there the the future president of the United States is sitting in a classroom somewhere. The future chief of police is sitting in a classroom somewhere. The future executive of Fortune 500 companies is sitting in a classroom somewhere. The leader of the nonprofits is sitting in a classroom somewhere right now. [1:53:43] Much has been said over the last few years in the failed referendums within our school district, but let's not be mistaken. Our school district is our number one employer. They have over a thousand employees. Insert any name you want. When your number one employer has to have a significant reduction in staffing, there is a loss to those in the schools. It directly impacts the level of education, the classroom sizes, the program offerings, everything. It's not something you're going to feel in year one. You're going to feel it in year five, year 10, year 15. It's a long play. And I appreciate what the district is doing trying to overcommunicate and putting out all of the information. The net net of it is they have too many unfunded mandates. [1:54:30] There are too many things that our school district has to continue to fund because of our state legislature and at the end of the day they need more money. Now you say yes this fall it means that they're going to revoke the existing and they're going to implement new and your taxes will go up for two years. Then they're going to go down because of the long-term capital debt that is being paid. Say no. Yeah, your taxes will not go up and they will go down over time, but so will the education opportunities for all of the children and it doesn't matter what house they live in, what development they live in. It doesn't matter. Everyone is going to be affected. So, I will I usually don't like to cross lines when it comes to city or when it comes to city council [1:55:19] and city government and school district, but we're going to feel the impact of a no vote. Everybody in this community is going to feel the impact of a no vote. So, please educate yourself, find the resources that are out there, talk to other individuals, but please vote. Like, it please vote. Support the referendum. Support the growth of this community. And it's going to be uncomfortable for a little bit, but I I I promise you the alternative is far more uncomfortable. And that is not a reality that I know a lot of people want to be any part of. [1:55:55] So please vote yes this fall for the school's referendum. With that I would seek a motion to adjourn. Motion second by Holly second by Jake. All in favor say I. I. I. We're adjourned at 855. [1:56:12] [Music] Hey. Hey. Hey. [1:56:44] [Music]