Here is the transcribed townhall meeting with speaker names added based on the context of the roll call and dialogue. **[0:00] [Music]** **[0:41] Mayor Joshua Hoy:** We'll call the city council regular meeting to order for Tuesday, September 2nd, 2025. Would everyone please stand for the pledge of allegiance? **[1:02] Group:** 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. **[1:19] Mayor Joshua Hoy:** Call the roll, please. **[1:21] City Clerk Amy:** Council member Wilson. **[1:23] Council Member Jake Wilson:** Here. **[1:24] City Clerk Amy:** Council member Cortis. **[1:25] Council Member Nick Cortis:** Here. **[1:26] City Clerk Amy:** Mayor Hoy. **[1:27] Mayor Joshua Hoy:** Here. **[1:27] City Clerk Amy:** Council member Bernetts. **[1:28] Council Member Steve Bernetts:** Here. **[1:28] City Clerk Amy:** Council member Lean. **[1:29] Council Member Holly Lean:** Here. **[1:30] Mayor Joshua Hoy:** All right. Uh, any changes to the agenda? Amy, Nick, Holly... **[1:34] City Clerk Amy:** No. **[1:34] Council Member Nick Cortis:** None. **[1:35] Council Member Holly Lean:** None. **[1:36] Mayor Joshua Hoy:** Steve. **[1:36] Council Member Steve Bernetts:** None. **[1:37] Mayor Joshua Hoy:** All right. Seeing no changes, I would seek a motion to approve the agenda. **[1:42] Council Member Holly Lean:** Motion to approve. **[1:43] Council Member Steve Bernetts:** Second. **[1:45] Mayor Joshua Hoy:** Motion by Holly. Second by Steve. All in favor say I. **[1:47] Group:** I. **[1:49] Mayor Joshua Hoy:** All right. Start the iPad real quick. Mine's going weird. All right. Uh, next item is citizen comments. If there's anyone in attendance wishing to speak at this time. All right. Seeing none, we'll move on to the consent agenda. I would seek a motion to approve the consent agenda. **[2:04] Council Member Jake Wilson:** So moved. **[2:05] Council Member Steve Bernetts:** Second. **[2:06] Mayor Joshua Hoy:** Motion by Jake, second by Steve. All in favor say I. **[2:08] Group:** I. **[2:10] Mayor Joshua Hoy:** All right. Moving swiftly here on to new business. Item 121 is authorizing the issuance and awarding sale of general obligation bonds series 2025A. Kim. **[2:14] Kim (Finance Director):** Thank you, mayor and council members. At the July 21st council meeting, the city authorized Northland Securities, our financial advisor, to solicit competitive bids for the series 2025 general obligation bonds for financing the 2025 and 2026 street reconstruction projects. As part of this process, Standard & Poor's reaffirmed the city's strong double A+ bond rating, helping secure favorable interest rates. Earlier today, Northland Securities conducted the bond sale and received eight competitive bids. Tammy Yamal from Northland Securities is here this evening to present the results. Following Tammy's presentation, staff recommends adoption of the updated resolution awarding the sale of the bonds to the low bidder. **[2:58] Mayor Joshua Hoy:** Thank you. Welcome back. **[3:00] Tammy Yamal (Northland Securities):** Thank you, Mayor Council. Tammy Yamal with Northland Securities here to present results. And Kim did a nice summary, so I'll just touch on a few points. Um so yes, as part of this process, there was a rating sought and as Kim noted that um rating was affirmed by SNP at that double A+ and there was a full rating report. Um and I would also note there was a stable outlook with that rating assigned. So this morning as noted, Northland did take bids on behalf of the city and there were eight bids received, very um strong results. The low bid was from Piper Sandler out of Minneapolis at 3.28 and that got adjusted to 3.29 with final structure. And the cover bid was from RW Baird out of Milwaukee at 3.2953. High bid was from Brownstone at 3.39. So great results, all of it under 4%. With respect to the final par amount, the bonds were sized or the premium that was bid by the underwriter was used to reduce the par amount of the bonds, the principal and premiums have been very um—that is a normal um procedure with respect to where the market conditions have been for quite a few years consistent with um prior sales that the city has had as well. And that simply means that the underwriter and investors are seeking higher coupons on those bonds with the par bid and the premium. The yields are what get you to that low rate of that 3.29% is the final rate and the final par amount at 2,295,000. I would note that is different than your council packet because last week when your council packet went out, we had not taken bids. So that when you make your motion and you do have a final resolution that was provided to the city by your bond council Dorsey this afternoon as well. With that Mayor Council, I would be happy to answer any questions or go into more detail if you have those questions. Thank you. **[5:12] Mayor Joshua Hoy:** Thank you ma'am. Steve. **[5:13] Council Member Steve Bernetts:** I really appreciate the work and I'm very pleased with the number of—actually the tight bid um that we saw. So on the double A+ uh rating affirmation um for those that are watching at home and I'm not a bond expert so that's why I'm asking you: the difference, I mean to go from a double A+ to like a AAA for example which is kind of the gold standard that would be the the mark to achieve per se. I mean there's a lot of factors even including outside the city's control for example population um and I mean other factors that would just make it—that would just be really really difficult to achieve. And so the double A+ um you know for our city and our characteristics and the way we manage our finances so well um it is a pretty darn strong rating. Correct? **[6:10] Tammy Yamal:** That is absolutely correct. And the spread between the AAA and the double A+ is very narrow. So, as far as what would the difference be in interest, it would be um—it would not be material. I'll describe it that way. It's about five basis point spread. **[6:26] Council Member Steve Bernetts:** Okay. Thank you. **[6:27] Mayor Joshua Hoy:** Jake. **[6:28] Council Member Jake Wilson:** That was my same question. **[6:30] Mayor Joshua Hoy:** Holly. **[6:31] Council Member Holly Lean:** I have no questions. **[6:32] Mayor Joshua Hoy:** Nick. **[6:33] Council Member Nick Cortis:** Steve stole my annual talking point about this topic. So, I knew you were going to ask it. I grabbed it first. Next question is always, what do we need to do to get to the next? Well, I guess I could ask. Yeah. Right. Um, just as an example, um, if we were sitting at the highest possible rating, are we talking incremental changes here in what presumably was picked up uh for interest? I mean, would would we see any factor difference there? **[7:09] Tammy Yamal:** Um there would be and that goes back and when I say five basis points for the viewing public, that's .05%. So there would be some difference but it would be very small in that $15,000 range over the life of the bonds probably to give you an idea as reference. And the other thing with the double A+ again a very strong rating and to your point council member those factors and there's a full report that talks about this too is growth some of the economic growth in the community both in residential and commercial will help if that is a desire of that. The other piece is the city a number of years ago put into place the long-term financial planning and it's probably been four or five—I would have to look it up—since you had the bump up to the double A plus and that was a direct result of financial management. So you went from strong to very strong in that category for S&P. And I just note that because you might say, Tammy, what are things that we can do even if you know economic growth takes time? I would point to the things that you did that you get very high marks for your very strong financial management. So kudos to the city and prior council members and this council for taking those steps that got you to that double A+. **[8:32] Council Member Nick Cortis:** I I appreciate you saying that, especially, you know, um from the outside looking in. It's a testament to, you know, Kim and Chris and Tia and, you know, more than anything, I mean, I'm all for saving money, but when you look down and and the the first bullet point is uh long-term rating outlook is stable, right? It's just validation that we're continuing to do the right things and um best safeguard you know our investments and uh into the community. So it was favorable result today and it's uh it's always good to see you come in and give those reports. So we appreciate it. **[9:06] Tammy Yamal:** Yeah, excellent result. Eight bids was excellent and that that 3.29%—that will be less interest expense than what the city was planning prior to this morning. So congratulations to the city. **[9:16] Mayor Joshua Hoy:** Thank you ma'am. Uh with that, I would um seek a motion to adopt updated resolution 2025-059 authorizing issuance and awarding sale of general obligation bond series 2025A to the low bidder as presented by Northland Securities. **[9:35] Council Member Nick Cortis:** Motion. **[9:36] Council Member Steve Bernetts:** Second. **[9:37] Mayor Joshua Hoy:** Motion by Nick, second by Steve. Call the role, please. **[9:41] City Clerk Amy:** Council member Cortis. **[9:42] Council Member Nick Cortis:** Yes. **[9:43] City Clerk Amy:** Mayor Hoy. **[9:43] Mayor Joshua Hoy:** Yes. **[9:44] City Clerk Amy:** Council member Bernetts. **[9:45] Council Member Steve Bernetts:** Yes. **[9:46] City Clerk Amy:** Council member Lean. **[9:46] Council Member Holly Lean:** Yes. **[9:47] City Clerk Amy:** Council member Wilson. **[9:48] Council Member Jake Wilson:** Yes. **[9:49] Mayor Joshua Hoy:** All right. Thank you again. Uh, next item 122 is the joint powers agreement with Dakota County for communities for all grant funding. Kelly. **[9:56] Kelly Lynch (Parks & Recreation Director):** Thank you, mayor. Good evening, mayor and city council members. Dakota County recently launched the Communities for All CFA initiative dedicated to fostering more inclusive, welcoming spaces for residents of all abilities. The goal of this initiative is to support cities, businesses, and organizations in creating environments where everyone can fully participate, whether through consultation, education, or small modifications that make a big impact. In early April, staff met with the CFA program coordinator to learn more about the new initiative and explore opportunities for partnership. The program coordinator told staff there was no limit to the financial request for a project and all projects would be reviewed by a Dakota County panel. An identified need was the purchase and installation of an electric adult changing station at the Rambling River Center. Staff believe this project aligned strongly with the CFA initiative and reflected our shared commitment to inclusion, dignity, and equitable access. Carrie Kubachek, the city's regional funding manager, wrote and submitted a letter of interest to request funding for this project. I wanted to thank Carrie for her time and excellent work on this uh letter of interest. The submitted letter of interest requested $16,000 to cover the purchase and installation of an electric adult changing station and necessary electrical work to support it. The proposed location is the new restroom adjacent to the banquet room. Installation of an adult changing station directly promotes inclusivity and significantly benefits people with disabilities within Farmington and Dakota County by addressing a critical accessibility need that is often overlooked. Many individuals with mobility or developmental disabilities require assistance with toileting and personal care. Yet, most public restrooms are not equipped to support these needs in a safe, private, and dignified manner. We don't think there is an electric adult changing station within Farmington. I did check with the school district; they do not have one in their system. So, we don't believe that there is one currently in the community. By providing an electric adult changing station, public facilities like the Rambling River Center become more usable and welcoming to people with disabilities and their caregivers. This allows individuals to fully participate in community events, programs, and social gatherings without being limited by inadequate restroom accommodations. We know there are definitely members at the Rambling River Center who would benefit from an electric adult changing station. This could result in them being able to stay for the whole program or registering for a new program. Also, a potential of new members and additional facility rentals. In July, staff were notified the city had been awarded the full $16,000 in reimbursable funding through the CFA microgrant program for this project. The adult changing station we will be purchasing is a Koala Care. You have all seen their commercial baby changing stations in public restrooms, including here at city hall. So, a well-known commercial company. A little bit about the changing station: it has a working load up to 500 lbs. Has an emergency stop, backup battery in case of power outage. Table height adjusts from 12 in to 41 in from the floor. Height is easily adjusted using electronic control panels on the wall or front guard of the unit. It has a curve dip in front of the guard for easier caregiver access. It is designed specifically for public areas. It has a smooth surface that is easy to wipe down and disinfect. When the panel from Dakota County met, they had sent a few emails with follow-up questions. They wanted to know what our hours of operation were, what our membership was, what our membership costs were, what our daily costs were. Uh one of their questions to us was if somebody needed to use the station and they weren't a member, were we going to charge them? And we're like, absolutely not. Um we're a public facility. We are open; people come and use the restroom even if they're not members. So we would welcome them into our facility to use our adult changing station if they needed it. The action requested tonight is to approve the joint powers agreement with Dakota County for communities for all grant funding and accept the $16,000 grant for the electric adult changing station and associated electrical work to support it to be installed at the Rambling River Center. Be happy to answer any questions you have. **[14:26] Mayor Joshua Hoy:** Thank you, ma'am. Steve, we want to start with Nick? **[14:28] Council Member Nick Cortis:** Start with—you can start with... **[14:30] Council Member Steve Bernetts:** All right. Um, Kelly, this is obviously awesome. Um, you know, I don't I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable or weird, but um, I feel like I just need to say that you really have just a heart for recognizing people where they're at and identifying needs and gaps in the park um, and rec program, our senior center. Um, and I just couldn't be more proud that we're doing this. **[15:07] Kelly Lynch:** Yeah. And Missy too. It was a good conversation we had and we identified a couple things and we thought this was the top priority to go for. **[15:13] Council Member Steve Bernetts:** Yeah. So it's just—I mean I see this repeatedly um from your end, you know, you're just kind of identifying those gaps of you know, yeah we have a lot of people that are able to participate but what about the people that can't you know and kind of looking out for those whether it's you know disability or you know even our rambling river park with the you know the surface versus the chair it's just there's so many different things that you're thinking of and so I really just appreciate that about you. **[15:40] Kelly Lynch:** Thank you. **[15:42] Mayor Joshua Hoy:** Jake. **[15:43] Council Member Jake Wilson:** You know, I agree with Steve. I think this is—and Kelly, you mentioned it—an incredible way to increase the inclusivity at the Rambling River Center, and I know you and Missy do a lot to um ensure that seniors of all ages and abilities are able to use the facility. And I think this is only going to increase that um but also make it a destination for community members to use it outside of regular operating hours that maybe wouldn't have been on their priority list uh prior to the installation of this lift. So I appreciate this. **[16:15] Mayor Joshua Hoy:** Thank you. Holly. **[16:16] Council Member Holly Lean:** Uh, I don't know that I'm going to share a whole lot that hasn't been said. Uh, except that you know that something is a gap when you realize after you read this that I don't know that I've ever actually seen one. I've seen plenty of Koala stations; I don't know that I've ever seen—and and maybe I have and I just haven't recognized it to be what it is. But, um, it's a brilliant use of, um, just brain power to bring this forward and and knowing that there's a space here that isn't being served. And it it makes me really proud to be sitting in this spot and seeing something like this come forward and seeing that we have a grant for it. Um, which again, if you can't say it a million times over, makes our grant writer so incredibly valuable. Um, and uh, and I appreciate the the comment that you made about public use because that was the one question that I had is how do we make sure that the people that aren't members still know that this exists and it's still accessible to them because it it's not in your average spot, right? Um, but the fact that it's open to anyone that needs it just makes me all the happier. So, thanks for everybody involved. **[17:28] Mayor Joshua Hoy:** Nick. **[17:29] Council Member Nick Cortis:** This is gonna sound like a cop out, but Steve kind of did take my talking point. No, in a similar thing, you know, I it's one thing to to get the grant. That's all great. But it is a—it is sometimes a tough topic to talk about things like this and I I can't say enough about how I think Steve's comment about reaching out, meeting people where they're at, drawing them out into the community even, right? If we think about why the Rambling River Center is there in the first place, it's to get the seniors out of their house. This is right in line with that. We want people out of their house in the public where they need to be and helping them along the way and meeting them there is just—it takes a lot of courage and I appreciate it. **[18:22] Mayor Joshua Hoy:** Um, building a little off of Holly's comment, um, correct me if I'm wrong. If one were to look at the uh electronic adult changing station, it kind of looks like a chair on a crane, right? It's like an extension arm. Can you see that? **[18:31] Kelly Lynch:** Yep. **[18:32] Mayor Joshua Hoy:** Yeah. So, there's ways of increasing accessibility. And you said a word that um I think deserves more emphasis and that's dignity. You know, um, you know, going back to, you know, ADA implementation and, um, being inclusive looks different to everyone and mobility issues, physical limitations. Um, one of the first things that that goes away is is dignity. And when you can take a segment of the population and remove the obstacles and the barriers to um being involved with anything, just going downtown and spending time and knowing that there's a place to go um is absolutely a win. And even if it serves one person, if one person uses it, it is absolutely worth the time, the effort, and the energy to put it in place. So, um, an extension of all of my peers' comments, um, very much appreciate you, um, our entire team and the willingness to continue to look for other ways to make the community, um, specifically um our our buildings and our parks and our trails more inclusive um, is is nothing short of commendable. So, thank you very much. **[20:10] Kelly Lynch:** Thank you. **[20:11] Mayor Joshua Hoy:** Uh, with that, I would seek a motion to approve the attached joint powers agreement with Dakota County for the communities for all the CFA grant funding and accept the $16,000 um CFA grant for the electric adult changing station at the Rambling River Center. **[20:15] Council Member Jake Wilson:** So moved. **[20:16] Council Member Holly Lean:** Second. **[20:17] Mayor Joshua Hoy:** Motion by Jake, second by Holly. Call the role, please. **[20:20] City Clerk Amy:** Council member Bernetts. **[20:21] Council Member Steve Bernetts:** Yes. **[20:22] City Clerk Amy:** Council member Lean. **[20:23] Council Member Holly Lean:** Yes. **[20:23] City Clerk Amy:** Council member Wilson. **[20:24] Council Member Jake Wilson:** Yes. **[20:25] City Clerk Amy:** Council member Cortis. **[20:26] Council Member Nick Cortis:** Yes. **[20:26] City Clerk Amy:** Mayor Hoy. **[20:27] Mayor Joshua Hoy:** Yes. **[20:28] Mayor Joshua Hoy:** Thank you, ma'am. Amy, round table lead. **[20:31] City Clerk Amy:** No report from me this week, Mayor. **[20:34] Mayor Joshua Hoy:** All right, you take all seats. Dibs. **[20:36] Council Member Nick Cortis:** That's right. It's first day of school for a lot of people. So, um, of course, please watch out for buses. Stop for stop signs. Stop for red. Uh, please don't be that one person that always ends up on the news for blowing by a stopped bus at 30 miles an hour. We don't need that. **[20:53] Mayor Joshua Hoy:** Holly. **[20:54] Council Member Holly Lean:** Um, I don't really have a lot. I actually just want to come back to the topic that we were on and the way that it relates to another project that we have going on which is the police fencing um which is well underway for anybody that drives um around the 195th roundabout near Akin Road Elementary. You'll notice that there's lots of holes in the ground by the police station. Um and that is for a security fence. And the reason I'm bringing it up is because there has been a little bit of back and forth on uh the community feeds about whether or not this is something that is necessary. And I want to point two things out. Number one is that federal tax dollars have already been paid in, which means that we have a couple of options. And those options are: they either return to Farmington or they don't. And in this situation, we are immensely lucky and blessed to have that money coming back to provide something for our police department for things that we have invested in for our community to protect them and to keep them safe. Um, and I know that from the outside looking in, sometimes you wonder, well, why is that necessary? And if you're not a police officer or you're not looking at the tens of thousands of dollars worth of equipment that's sitting unprotected outside, um I can see where that might be a question that you would have. But consider yourself really, really lucky if you don't understand why it's necessary because that means you live in a community that hasn't dealt with some of the other things that other communities have dealt with. And we're being proactive in our approach to making sure that we've secured as much as we possibly can the people who take care of the people of this community. Um, and the same can be said for the grant for this adult changing station. If you're sitting here and you're listening to this and you're thinking, "Well, I don't understand why we would have to get a grant for $16,000 to put in an adult changing station." Consider yourself lucky that that's not a spot that you or a loved one is in right now and understand that we're trying to be proactive or or catch up in a sense um for maybe where we could be or where we should be. And these are great opportunities that we have the ability to take advantage of because of dollars that are sitting there. We either capture them or we don't. It's strategic. It's inventive. It's thinking outside of the box. And that's so much of what we have to do. That's all I have. **[23:24] Mayor Joshua Hoy:** Well said. Jake. **[23:26] Council Member Jake Wilson:** Um, like Nick mentioned, it is the back to school season. So, I will reiterate his message of safety. Watch out for the walkers and the bikers and the buses out there, but also to the students, the staff, and the parents of Farmington Area Schools: Good luck. Have a safe and successful school year. **[23:42] Mayor Joshua Hoy:** Steve. **[23:43] Council Member Steve Bernetts:** Um, I really appreciate what Holly just said about the uh value of the grants. Um you know, grant seeking grants, receiving federal money, receiving county money, receiving state money, but primarily federal really hasn't been part of the Farmington DNA. You know, we just kind of had a, you know, kind of go with it, see if we can find it in the budget. Um, and it—I mean, for the public's awareness, it cannot be stated loudly enough of how valuable it is that we have federal partners—forget the politics side of it—who really want to be ambassadors to our community and bring money back to us, as Holly pointed out, because the alternative of what Holly mentioned is why are we spending X amount of tax dollars from our pocket? No, this is actually money that we've already paid in to Washington or other other places that is coming back to us, which obviously was Holly's point. Um, I did make this comment last year and I'm gonna make it again. So, kind of rewinding 25 years ago, 30 years ago in my life, I drove a school bus. It was my job during college. And this is kind of back in the days before the stop arm violation was a big deal. In fact, I testified at the capital, if I recall correctly, about this issue. But I had my stop arm out. Was on a fairly busy road. And if I hadn't yelled stop to a first or second grader at the very bottom step, the car zipping by right by the door going 50 miles an hour, probably would have hit them—and obviously I'm I'm talking about it now, so it still left that much of an impression. But man, if that kid hadn't stopped um you know, obviously we we know what the outcome could have been. So, I'm pointing that out because I don't—I do see this every year. I'm assuming at some points in time, I've been guilty of this myself, but you know, with school starting up, that means kids' activities, all the things—it's really cranking into high gear. Um, us parents are kind of moving at warp speed to pick up our kids to bring them from school to a different place. And so, um, you know, just try to keep that safety top of mind. Um, you know, obviously we see the buses, they're big, bright, and yellow. Um, but, you know, try to keep at the speed limit. Um, be aware of, you know, cross country runners or others that are out there on the roads. Um, we want to keep our community as safe as we can and it does start with all of us behind the wheel. So, while I'm not telling you how to drive, I'm just kind of sharing my experience. So, that's all I have. **[26:37] Mayor Joshua Hoy:** [To Council Member Wilson] Sure. **[26:38] Council Member Jake Wilson:** I have nothing more to share. **[26:39] Mayor Joshua Hoy:** David. **[26:40] David (City Staff/Legal):** I don't really have anything this evening. **[26:41] Mayor Joshua Hoy:** John. **[26:42] John (Public Works):** Thank you, mayor and council members. A couple of items. The Spruce Street / Duchine Parkway intersection is open for traffic now. Uh the road is complete. It's been striped. Uh it looks very good. It's a nice rearrangement of the square belt that used to be there. And I think traffic will flow much better through that intersection. Uh second of all, uh earlier today, we experienced a water main leak on Pilot Knob Road uh in the vicinity of Euclid Path. So we have a lane shift and a lane closure in that area. The contractor is on site making the repairs. We have McNamara scheduled for repairing the pavement tomorrow. So, uh, we've isolated the leak to the point where we have a very limited outage of water service, but customers may notice a drop in water pressure, some incremental drop in water pressure. Uh, but we've got that located and I want to extend our appreciation to the police department. Uh, when we were just getting started out there, they had staff out there helping us with the traffic control and and, uh, now we've got the the postings, the cones out there. But, uh, we appreciate their follow through and assistance on a very busy road. **[27:54] Mayor Joshua Hoy:** Thank you. Kelly. **[27:55] Kelly Lynch:** Parks and Recreation has a few uh free family events this weekend. Uh, first of all, Saturday, Movie in the Park at Distad Park. At Dusk, we're showing *Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl*. Want to take a moment to thank the sponsors: Castle Rock Bank, Farmington Liquors, Farmington Youth Hockey Association, Hobo, Sierra Jewel State Farm, and the VFW Post 7662. Uh so come on out on Saturday night to see *Pirates of the Caribbean*. Saturday morning, uh "Who Done It Hike." This is a dog-friendly event, so if you want to bring your dogs, uh it's at Ritter Farm Park in Lakeville. It's a mystery hike where you get clues along the hike. Registration starts at 9:45 a.m. and the walk starts at 10:00 a.m. If you haven't been to the event or to Ritter Farm Park, it's a really beautiful park and um a great event. So, join us uh Saturday morning for that. You have one week left—well actually Monday—to buy your tickets for the Rambling River Center and Farmington Rotary Raffle. Uh $52 for a ticket, you get 56 chances to win. Um, as a reminder, that benefits uh the senior center and also the Rotary. And then uh new playground at Westview Acres Park. Uh we started uh demolition today. Um so you'll see that uh park changing here in the next week or two. Um new concrete border going in next week. So we will have a new 5 to 12 play structure and new swings there in the next couple weeks. **[29:25] Mayor Joshua Hoy:** Thank you. Kim. **[29:26] Kim (Finance Director):** I have nothing to report this evening. **[29:27] Mayor Joshua Hoy:** Chief. **[29:28] Fire Chief:** Uh this evening, our new candidates started their six-month academy. Uh so they start with their medical training uh twice a week for at least 30 days and then after that they'll start fire one, fire two, and then move into hazmat. Uh just a reminder, uh September 17th starting at 5:30, we have our open house. It's moved down to station one—a little bit bigger area, some more activities. We're going to do like a live burn demonstration, have our SCBA context for the kids to play around in and stuff. Uh so the goal is to move it back down to station one where it used to be uh just for the ability to have more area and then the parking. Uh we kind of take up the maintenance facility and the road up there during the open house. So we're trying to make it more conducive in in one area. **[30:13] Mayor Joshua Hoy:** Thank you, Chief. **[30:20] Police Chief:** Mayor Council, um our fence project is getting underway and it's exciting to see that moving forward. Um the footings were starting to get poured today and they'll be resuming that tomorrow and then the masonry work starts next week. Uh it's moving along very quickly. Um there have been some other comments online about access to the police department. I want to make sure that that's clear to everybody that the the police department will have the same access that it's always had. It's open 24 hours a day into our public parking lot and then into the after-hours lobby where the emergency phone is located. So you'll always have access there. There will be a gate that can be closed in emergencies, but we anticipate having that open 24 hours, 365. Um, other news personnel items: uh, we have Pete Ajax starting back in the school this year, uh, today. So, that's uh very excited to get him out there and I know he's very well-liked and I was excited to start the year. Um, also last week we had interviews for Sergeant promotion. Um, and I'd like to thank everybody that helped with that, including Mary Olsson with the fire department that sat in on the panel and helped us make that very difficult decision. There is a conditional out and we hope to have someone before you um for approval next month. Also, I want to um give some recognition to officer Kyle Miller and K9 Officer Moose after the incident last week at uh Annunciation School. Uh both of them traveled up to give some uh much-needed care to the first responders that responded to those incidences. So um they they traveled with the group from Soldier 6—so a bunch of officers and K9s—just to spend some time and make sure that those guys are doing well. So um they did a great job. That's it. **[32:11] Mayor Joshua Hoy:** Thank you, sir. Gary, you had your chance at public comment. Um, without it sounding too somber, um, I wanted to comment a little bit and and just say a piece about the uh the fragility of life. You know, there's—there's been a lot that's happened in the last couple of weeks, even the last couple of months, you know, and it really is a matter of perspective, right? It—it could be a house fire, it could be a burglary, a theft, could be a loss of life, could be a near critical incident, could be work-related mishap, whatever it looks like. Um, life is fragile and life is short in the grand scheme of things. And far too often you see something happen uh just in today's technological age, uh, you see it happening in real time and it's disturbing. Um, it's disturbing to learn about loss of life, uh, especially little ones. Um, it's disturbing to learn about, um, traumatic injury that affects someone or has a life-lasting um—a lifelong impact. Um, don't let that fall in deaf ears. Like, no matter where you're at in your life, no matter how your life sits today, that can change in a heartbeat. Um things start to happen a little bit closer to home and it starts to feel more real and then there's this compelling need to want to do something about it or to take action. When being a good human being is simply continuing to put out good into the world uh with no expectation of return. Um and when things happen in life that affect those who put a lot out, uh it's especially painful to watch. Um so just like—take time to enjoy life. Like if the worst thing that happens in your day is coming across a social media post about a fence at our police department and that's reason to like lash out about what's not right—be fortunate that you were born into a first-world country and you have the liberties that we have. Um, I'll be—I'll be the the staunchest proponent of the First Amendment and I love people being able to say what they want, when they want, how they want. Um, but people are watching and people see that and life has a weird way of working. So just continue to put good out in the world, make good decisions, do good by others with no expectation of return, and you will find yourself living a fruitful life beyond anything that you could have imagined. Um because there's—there's far too many—um, there's far too many crosses on roadsides. There are far too many funerals that get attended. There are far too many mishaps that turn into a life-changing situation for somebody and—and when it happens really really close all of a sudden the tone changes and it shouldn't take that happening for the tone to change. So again, not to make it sound somber, but like there's a lot of stuff that's happened recently that has affected a lot of people and um life's just fragile. Enjoy every minute of it. Um make the most of it. Um see the good in others, find good to do for others. Um and you will—you will live a very fruitful life um for as long as God will—will uh bless you to have air on this earth. So with that, I would seek a motion to adjourn. **[36:15] Council Member Steve Bernetts:** Motion. **[36:16] Council Member Jake Wilson:** Second. **[36:17] Mayor Joshua Hoy:** Motion by Steve. Second by Jake. All in favor say I. **[36:18] Group:** I. **[36:19] Mayor Joshua Hoy:** We're adjourned at 7:35. **[36:36] [Music]**