Based on the context of this White Bear Lake City Council meeting, I have identified the speakers, including **Mayor Dan Grossinger**, City Manager **Lindy Crawford**, City Clerk **Kara Coustry**, City Engineer **Paul Kaspszak**, and Councilmembers **Jones, Edberg, Hughes,** and **Walsh**. *** **[00:00] Mayor Dan Grossinger:** Oh really? Oh, everybody kept coming up. There was only one person who signed up to speak and we had 12 public speakers conduct the second reading. We held the public notice; the public hearing was held here. We don't have a public hearing tonight. Ordinance isn't public hearing? You open the public hearing, second reading of the ordinance. **[00:15] Lindy Crawford:** No, it's for the ordinance, but I thought the hearing... [Laughter] **[00:20] Mayor Dan Grossinger:** With the exception of Councilmember Engstran who is excused. Thank you. Will you join me in the Pledge of Allegiance? I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. All right, moving on to Item 2: Approval of the minutes. I have one correction for the record on page seven. The roll call vote for the Rush Line vote—it notes that Councilmember Hughes voted nay and Councilmember Edberg voted aye. Those were reversed, so we'll get those corrected. Other than that, does anyone have any corrections to the minutes of research? Seeing none, I'd entertain a motion to approve the minutes. **[00:55] Councilmember Dan Jones:** Second. **[00:56] Mayor Dan Grossinger:** I have a motion and a second. All those in favor of approving the minutes say aye. Any opposed? Minutes are approved. Moving on to Item 3: Adoption of the agenda. I think there are a couple items we want to move from the consent agenda to new business: Item 4C and Item 4F at the request of various council members. So we'll move those under new business. Does anyone else have any corrections or amendments to the agenda? Seeing none, I’ll take a motion for approval as amended. **[01:15] Councilmember Kevin Edberg:** Second. **[01:17] Mayor Dan Grossinger:** All those in favor of adopting the agenda as amended, say aye. Any opposed? We have an agenda. All right, moving on to the consent agenda as amended. **[01:25] Councilmember Heidi Hughes:** Move approval. **[01:26] Mayor Dan Grossinger:** I have motion and a second. All those in favor of approving the consent agenda say aye. Any opposed? Consent agenda is approved. Item 5: Visitors and presentations—we have nothing scheduled. Item 6: Public hearings—nothing scheduled. So that gets us to Item 7: A second reading of an ordinance adopting a redistricting plan for the City of White Bear Lake. Ms. Coustry? **[01:50] Kara Coustry (City Clerk):** Thank you Mr. Mayor and Council. Tonight we are holding the second reading of a redistricting ordinance, something that is done every 10 years after new census populations are ascertained. The purpose of redistricting is to balance ward populations as nearly as possible in a compact and contiguous manner. The City Charter sets forth that the City Charter Commission serves as the Redistricting Commission. As such, the Redistricting Commission identified two small changes to better balance ward populations and filed their tentative redistricting plan with the City Clerk—me—on February 22nd. The Redistricting Commission held its public hearing on the tentative plan on Monday, March 7th, which was noticed in the official newspaper. The City Council followed up by holding the first reading of the redistricting ordinance on March 8th and will be holding a public hearing this evening, which was also noticed in the White Bear Press. Changes in state legislative districts allow for one precinct in Ward 3 where two existed before. Purple shading represents a shift of 117 residents at the Boatworks Commons apartment complex from Ward 2 to Ward 1, and the mustard shading represents a two-block shift of 93 residents from Ward 5 to Ward 4. That two-block area is between Spruce Place and Dorothy Avenue and between McKnight Road and Howard Avenue. Ramsey County will be sending polling place notifications to these residents that were affected by these ward changes. The redistricting ordinance before Council this evening consists of a written description of these changes along with a new boundary map. In addition to the ordinance, we ask Council to also consider adopting a summary resolution to facilitate final publication. And just as a matter of interest, we have a couple slides of other statistics. This one’s showing voter age in the city; about 80 percent of the city's population is of voting age. And the next slide shows a percentage of population in White Bear Lake with 19 percent of the overall population comprised of people of color. And with that, I’m happy to answer any questions you may have. **[03:52] Mayor Dan Grossinger:** Thank you, Ms. Coustry. At this time, I will open it up for public hearing. Anyone can speak at this time. Seeing none, I will close the public hearing and bring it back to the Council. **[04:02] Councilmember Heidi Hughes:** I have a question. Ms. Coustry, right along Lake Avenue there, past the Boatworks—the people that live in the apartment building—if you go slightly north there are a couple of businesses along Lake before you turn onto basically the southern trail. Does it stop before those businesses or after those businesses? Because there are a couple houses as well. It's hard to tell with the purple shading. **[04:26] Kara Coustry:** With that, I would like to invite up a member of the Charter Commission also serving as the Redistricting Commission to answer that question. I wasn't aware that there are residents in that location in the census block. Now, there may be residents today, but the census data collected from 2020 indicates that the population was 117 at that complex in the Boatworks Commons. **[04:47] Councilmember Heidi Hughes:** So it's north of the complex? I don't know if there's anybody here... **[04:51] Lindy Crawford (City Manager):** Paul, could you show that map again? Thank you. **[04:54] Kara Coustry:** There's a couple of houses right in the lakeshore area. We have census data by census block down here, so I can go look at that. **[05:00] Councilmember Heidi Hughes:** Does it cut off right at Lake then? At 96? **[05:03] Kara Coustry:** The ordinance lays out exactly the street. **[05:05] Councilmember Heidi Hughes:** That's all I was going to say. Well, I mean, that's good actually to get into Ward 1, I think. I mean, it's only like three houses. **[05:07] Lindy Crawford:** Highway 96 would include those houses. There's a couple of businesses, but there's a couple of houses there. Your neighbor, Mr. Sather, could maybe enlighten us? **[05:15] Paul Sather (Charter Commission):** Mr. Mayor, Council members. Mark Sather, whom I think you are fairly familiar with, actually carried the laboring oar on working through this process and I thought I'd bring him up here. He’s the one who spent a lot of his time looking at these maps. If I may, this map contains... since the only people that identified in the census were the folks living in the Boatworks Commons, these are showing zero population. It would be to the north; it would be the one to the north right here. **[05:40] Councilmember Heidi Hughes:** Yeah, there are a couple houses right there. **[05:41] Mayor Dan Grossinger:** Okay. Councilmember Jones? **[05:42] Councilmember Dan Jones:** The question is, are you talking about the lakeside houses on the east of 61? Correct? Is that where you're identifying? North of the Veterans Park? **[05:48] Councilmember Heidi Hughes:** Yep. Yeah, it's right between Veterans Park and then where the mercantile trail starts, basically. I mean, it's just a few people that shouldn't upset the apple cart at all, but we should just know and acknowledge it. **[05:58] Councilmember Dan Jones:** Do you have any idea whether or not those houses are still in Ward 2 or whether or not those houses now will be moved into Ward 1? **[06:05] Paul Sather:** Ward 1 will include everything... and actually, maybe it'd be easier to find Ward 2. Ward 2 will come down to the point in which Old White Bear Avenue (or Lake Avenue as it's sometimes described) intersects with Highway 61. So everything from north of the VFW would be in Ward 2. Everything south of the VFW that would be in Ward 1. So it basically takes the Boatworks Commons and those houses—most of them are businesses, but they could be converted in the future. The houses that are north of the VFW would be in Ward 2. **[06:40] Councilmember Heidi Hughes:** Still in two. Okay. **[06:42] Paul Sather:** Exactly. Does that give you the clarification? **[06:43] Councilmember Heidi Hughes:** Yes, it did. Thank you. **[06:44] Mayor Dan Grossinger:** Very good. Mr. Jones? **[06:45] Councilmember Dan Jones:** The City Manager pointed out the inside of the map really points it out that it's encompassing all of 61 going down. So if I lived on the west side of Lincoln, it doesn't matter anymore, right? They're all in that Ward. That verbal makes sense. **[07:00] Lindy Crawford:** It's this white area here. Now I see it. **[07:05] Paul Sather:** If you look at the detail map that the City Clerk presented, it shows the census counts. If you take these houses here, the line goes right down the middle of Manitou Island. At one point we thought it would be clearer to bring this up to the intersection of Highway 61, but then we took the first several houses on Lake Avenue that are on the lakeside, as well as half of Manitou Island, which wasn't the intention. That has to do with the boundary that's set by the Census Bureau. So by cutting it off here where Old White Bear Avenue intersects with Highway 61, we pick up just those houses or those units that are part of Boatworks Commons. **[07:45] Councilmember Dan Jones:** Very good. Thank you for clearing that up. **[07:47] Mayor Dan Grossinger:** Thank you. Anyone else on the Council? Would you like a motion? **[07:51] Councilmember Heidi Hughes:** Mr. Mayor, I would like to make a motion for approval of the ordinance. **[07:53] Councilmember Bill Walsh:** I'll second that. **[07:55] Mayor Dan Grossinger:** I have a motion and a second for approval of the ordinance. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor say aye. Any opposed? The ordinance passes. And now, accompanying the ordinance, we have a summary resolution. We would entertain a motion for approval on that resolution. **[08:12] Councilmember Dan Jones:** I would move for that resolution. **[08:14] Mayor Dan Grossinger:** I have a motion and a second. Any further discussion on the resolution? Seeing none, all those in favor say aye. Any opposed? Resolution passes. Moving on to Item 8A: Resolution reestablishing ward and precinct boundaries and designated polling places for elections. Ms. Crawford? **[08:35] Lindy Crawford:** Thank you, your Honor. So the City Council just recently adopted their 2022 polling places on November 9th of '21. We are required to do that again as part of the redistricting efforts. Generally, this is something that would be on the consent agenda; however, we wanted you to adopt the previous ordinance prior to this. There's one change: while Ward 3 was once divided into two precincts, changes to the state legislature now allow for a combination of those two precincts into one. And so on the screen, we have outlined where the ward precincts will be going forward. So we are looking for you to adopt a resolution re-establishing the ward and precinct boundaries and designating the 2022 polling places for elections in White Bear Lake. **[09:20] Mayor Dan Grossinger:** Thank you, Ms. Crawford. Council, a motion? **[09:25] Councilmember Kevin Edberg:** Move approval. **[09:26] Mayor Dan Grossinger:** Any further discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor say aye. Any opposed? Motion carries, resolution passes. Moving on to Item 8B (previously Item 4C). Mr. Kaspszak? **[09:40] Paul Kaspszak (City Engineer):** Thank you, Mayor and members of the Council. I'll go through a little history of the Bruce Vento Trail and what it's part of. I’m going to start at the very macro level and work our way down to get a bit of the history. The Bruce Vento Trail is part of US Bike Route 41. It is a national bike route that actually takes you from St. Paul up to the Canadian border, generally following Highway 61. It connects with US Bike Route 45, which takes you from St. Paul to the Gulf of Mexico. It's a national program to lay out these bike routes; the Bruce Vento Trail is one of those pieces. There are a number of others, like the Sunrise Trail through North Branch and Wyoming or the Munger Trail. If you look at the map that I have up on the screen here, the segments that are shown in green are actually designated, built trail systems. The segments shown in red generally follow an approved or at least a widened shoulder on a roadway—still a safe general route. In many areas, the goal is to get those "reds" to "greens." In the case of the Bruce Vento Trail, that would take you from St. Paul through Ramsey County. Currently, the Bruce Vento Trail through White Bear Lake is not fully connected. There's a segment that comes up to Berkley Road, but the US bike route actually truncates at the Gateway Trail because north of 694 and Berkley Road, where Bruce Vento currently ends, there's not a safe route for that trail to go on. Ultimately, if the Bruce Vento Trail is constructed, it would generally follow the rail line and Highway 61 north to County Road J. Now, getting down to our level: on the map, the south segment that you see in red is a constructed trail built on a vacated rail line that Ramsey County was able to acquire. The segments in orange and blue on that line are segments that were hopefully going to end up on that same vacated rail line. To date, that remains an active rail system, so putting the trail where the tracks are is not feasible at this time. The segment north of Berkley Road is set up in two separate phases. Back in 2016, Ramsey County did a study from Berkley Road up to County Road J. Generally speaking, the segment along Highway 61 and the rail line (shown in orange) was feasible to construct immediately adjacent to the rail line on the east side. On the south segment, it crosses and then follows generally between Hoffman Road and the rail line up to Whitaker Street, then follows Lincoln Avenue up to Highway 96. The second segment to the north—Ramsey County’s study showed there was not enough room to construct that segment because there wasn't enough cooperation by the railroad and there were more right-of-way constraints. In 2018, they did a second study on the blue area. Bruce Vento predated the Purple Line; if the Purple Line does not move forward, they would go back to the original plan. The 2018/2019 study looked at how to get that trail north to County Road J without following the active rail line. They looked at a number of options and decided the area with enough right-of-way was to follow Bald Eagle up to the lake, up to the Bald Eagle Regional Park. Circling back, what we have before us tonight is the segment from Berkley Road to Highway 96, not north of Highway 96. **[14:15] Lindy Crawford:** If I may add: tonight you're being asked to adopt a resolution allowing me to draft a letter of support for the County's solicitation for funding. We have done this several times, most recently last April. Generally, the Council has supported this in the past, and it is also in our comprehensive plan. **[14:35] Councilmember Heidi Hughes:** I just want to clarify one thing. You mentioned this started in 1994, so this predates any discussion of the Purple Line? Whether the Purple Line goes through or not, it's that little blue section that you're saying would be amended, but the broader yellow stripe we're seeing on the screen is what we're discussing tonight in terms of this letter for funding? **[14:55] Paul Kaspszak:** Correct. **[14:56] Councilmember Bill Walsh:** Thank you Mr. Mayor. Who is the letter to, and who is the funding source? We’re trying to help Ramsey County get funding, but it doesn't really say. Maybe I missed it. **[15:10] Lindy Crawford:** We have a draft letter in your packet and it is addressed to the Director of Planning and Development for Ramsey County Parks and Recreation. It is a nearly identical letter to what we sent last year. **[15:20] Councilmember Bill Walsh:** But who are they... do we need to convince them to fund their own trail? Are they looking for state funding? It’s not clear to me. **[15:30] Paul Kaspszak:** The funding source Ramsey County is pursuing is a regional solicitation through the Met Council. Like any other major transportation project, these are competitive federal monies. **[15:45] Councilmember Bill Walsh:** One other question: I know we're not talking about anything north of 96, but assuming we go there in the future, is that the bituminous trail already on the east side of Bald Eagle? Will that just be upgraded and run all the way up to the railroad tracks? **[16:05] Paul Kaspszak:** Generally, the sidewalk system on the east side would be upgraded to a wider multi-use trail. It will be wider and paved instead of just a sidewalk. **[16:15] Councilmember Heidi Hughes:** Do we have any sense of timeline for Phase 2? We're talking about a letter tonight to support a funding request that may or may not come to fruition. Do we have any sense of when Phase 2 would happen? **[16:30] Paul Kaspszak:** As far as Phase 2 goes, the study kicked off in February of 2021. They continue to work with their consultant and the City/Township. It’s fairly simple within White Bear Lake if Council supports it along Bald Eagle Avenue, but there's more contention on the Township side regarding converting the roadway to a one-way. They’ll work on that over the next year or two. **[17:00] Councilmember Heidi Hughes:** Okay, so it sounds like that's off in the distance. Any number of variables could affect it. It’s far from a *fait accompli* that it’s going up Bald Eagle Avenue. **[17:15] Councilmember Dan Jones:** Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Pre-COVID, I was at both meetings talking about the Vento Trail. I don't want to get too much into it because it's going to be fun north of 96—there’s no doubt about that. But to say that is the end result... everyone at that meeting, including neighbors and businesses, wanted to see it on the rail line. We asked the County to go back and ask the railroad one more time, and the railroad was just a "No." As far as this section is concerned, it's connecting Berkley to the north. We’re shaped like an hourglass; it’s tough to get that north-south connection. If this was a standalone trail before us and I had to pay for it with city funds, I would support it. It just makes sense. It’s using existing railroad tracks, the housing affected is pretty far away, and it might attract new residents who enjoy trails. This isn't going away, folks. This is the future of walking and biking. **[18:30] Councilmember Kevin Edberg:** Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I would only add that there has been extensive engagement. When we redesigned Highway 61, we attempted to find ways of facilitating bike lanes. We’ve had a number of these conversations. This is in our Comp Plan. The public has had full opportunities to make comments, and I don't recall ever receiving an objection. This portion makes complete sense to me. **[19:00] Mayor Dan Grossinger:** I would entertain a motion to approve the resolution. **[19:03] Councilmember Dan Jones:** I move to approve, Mr. Mayor. **[19:05] Councilmember Kevin Edberg:** Second. **[19:06] Mayor Dan Grossinger:** I have a motion and a second. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor say aye. Any opposed? Motion carries; the resolution passes. Moving on to Item 8C (formerly 4F): Resolution of support for a legislative solution for the lake level of White Bear Lake. Ms. Crawford? **[19:25] Lindy Crawford:** Thank you, Mr. Mayor. As identified in our 2022 legislative priorities is a solution for the lake level of White Bear Lake. Most recently, the DNR was required to analyze groundwater use permits within a five-mile radius of the lake and set a collective annual withdrawal limit. That analysis revealed a limit of 55 gallons per day per person based on 2020 census information. That would leave no water for schools, hospitals, medical offices, government buildings, restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores, hotels, or industrial uses. Senator Housley introduced a bill with bipartisan support from Senators Chamberlain and Wiger. The legislation is generally supported by affecting communities including Lake Elmo, Hugo, Lino Lakes, Oakdale, White Bear Township, Stillwater, Mahtomedi, Vadnais Heights, and North St. Paul. In your packet is a resolution of support which broadly encourages legislation to pass a bill to assist with this regional matter. **[20:45] Mayor Dan Grossinger:** Thank you, Ms. Crawford. I will just add that Ms. Crawford and I had a chance to attend the Senate hearing. We heard some really good testimony from neighboring communities. Bottom line is: we have a judge's order, and the DNR's interpretation leaves us with a water draw amount that just isn't workable. It’s not enough for our residents or businesses. It’s going to require a legislative solution for us to get some relief. **[21:10] Councilmember Dan Jones:** I believe our water usage in the city was already reduced by 20 percent. When this lake level lawsuit came up, it was like, "How much more can we do per capita?" Other communities are at 100 gallons; we were already at 80. It’s going to be tough. We're giving away free toilets because every drop counts. I support this wholeheartedly. I just wonder about the science behind the DNR's 55-gallon number. I'll take the plug to say: we use 75 to 90 gallons per day per person. Picture 90 gallons of water sitting in your living room—that’s what each person in your household averages. We can always do better. **[22:10] Councilmember Kevin Edberg:** Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I asked that this be pulled from the consent agenda because the conversation doesn't emphasize the other drastic, expensive consequences. The judge, in my opinion, may have gotten the law right, but I’m very unclear that the science is right. If the science isn't right, I don't trust the math. An implication of the ruling is a standing order that we protect a particular level of the lake. Long before we were pumping water at these rates, that lake had wild swings. If we have to cease usage to protect a specific level, the city might be forced to directly augment the lake via a pipeline from the Mississippi River, or cease pumping and convert to surface water via a new water plant yet to be built. Either one of those is tens and tens of millions of dollars. I want to express our thanks to Senators Housley, Chamberlain, and Wiger for buying time to do the analysis. This needs to pass. **[23:40] Councilmember Bill Walsh:** Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I’ll just add: I’m reading social media, and there’s an argument being made that we are going to the legislature because we "lost" in court, like it's a back-end way to do things. But actually, that’s the perfect balance between branches of government. There was a lawsuit over interpretation of a law. The judge said as the law is written, the DNR needs to do things differently. It’s okay for the legislature to react to that and say, "If we weren't clear enough, let us be perfectly clear now." The point of the legislation is to add clarity that wasn't there. That's perfectly natural. **[24:45] Mayor Dan Grossinger:** I would entertain a motion to approve the resolution. **[24:48] Councilmember Dan Jones:** I would move that. **[24:50] Councilmember Bill Walsh:** Second. **[24:51] Mayor Dan Grossinger:** Any further discussion? All those in favor say aye. Any opposed? Motion carries. Moving on to Item 10: Communications from the City Manager. **[25:05] Lindy Crawford:** In your packet is just an update from Ramsey County on smoke-free housing and updates from the Association of Minnesota Non-Smokers. Nothing to add to that, just a communication in your packet. I don't have anything else to share tonight. **[25:20] Councilmember Dan Jones:** I just want to say publicly: the Friday news connection, whatever it's called—awesome. Really appreciate that. **[25:28] Councilmember Bill Walsh:** I just want to say that after that long discussion of sidewalk maintenance, I thought the city staff reacted very well and the sidewalks are really looking good this week. Your team did a great job. **[25:40] Councilmember Kevin Edberg:** I still almost slipped on a stretch of public sidewalk four days ago. It was about five feet long and it was shaded. **[25:48] Councilmember Bill Walsh:** Then you were in St. Paul. [Laughter] **[25:50] Councilmember Kevin Edberg:** No, I was in White Bear Lake. **[25:52] Mayor Dan Grossinger:** Send us the address, he’ll send a crew out there. All right, I would entertain a motion to adjourn. **[25:58] Councilmember Dan Jones:** Adjourn. **[25:59] Councilmember Bill Walsh:** Second. **[26:00] Mayor Dan Grossinger:** Motion and second. All those in favor say aye. We are adjourned. A tight 45 minutes. Are we moving in the House at all on that bill? We gotta work on the House on that lake level bill. **[26:12] Lindy Crawford:** We might have to for House action. Is that something we could have a conversation about? **[26:15] Mayor Dan Grossinger:** We could have a conversation about lake level issues, period. I just... [End of Transcript]