Based on the context provided, here is the formatted transcript with speaker names identified. Note: I have corrected several phonetic misspellings from the original transcript (e.g., "Jelly" to Hjelle, "Leblah" to LeBlanc, "Bull" to Bolf) to match the official names provided in your list. *** [0:00] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** I would like to call the meeting to order this evening. We'd like to start with the pledge of allegiance, please. 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. [0:26] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Thank you. Thank you. Can we get a roll call, please? [0:26] **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Councilor LeBlanc? [0:26] **Councilor Brian LeBlanc:** Here. [0:26] **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Councilor Hjelle? [0:26] **Councilor Andy Hjelle:** Here. [0:26] **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** And Councilor Peterson? [0:26] **Councilor Joe Peterson:** Here. [0:46] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Fourth up this evening is announcements. Uh, do any of the city councilors have any announcements this evening? Not hearing any. We'll move on to number five, communications. Joe, what do you have for us on this? [0:46] **Joe Wicklund (Assistant City Administrator):** Uh, correspondences 2619 through 2637 have been placed on file. [1:08] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Thank you for that. Number six is this is our time for public comment this evening. Uh, you get three minutes. Our first person up is Joanne Bates. Please come on up. State your name and address for the record. Welcome. Um, hey, great use of the mic. [1:08] **Joanne Bates:** Thank you. [1:08] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Hear you really well. [1:08] **Joanne Bates:** I'm trying. All right. Joanne Bates, 5369 Morris Thomas Road. Um, Hermantown City Council. As you know, the Hermantown Hyperscale data center is using city water to run the plant—or at least that will be the plan. I guess it hasn't happened yet and I hope it doesn't. That allows the data center to avoid limits that were set to give residential users first draw on our limited aquifers. Another issue is that by choosing air cooling, it will lead to increased electrical use and much more noise. As we now know, the Hermantown Data Center, where it's planned, will likely destroy a trout stream that is considered by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to be one of the region's best trout streams. I heard recently about the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency that started four years ago on the Midway River watershed. Let me quote. Several brook trout streams flow through the watershed including West Rocky Run Creek, which is close to the data center and keeps a trout friendly 60° in summer months. A healthy creek fed by groundwater springs. There's a pretty prominent cold water protection zone near the data center, he said. Note the data center likely to destroy streams that were unmapped and unknown to the state and full of brook trout. It's unbelievable the size of the fish you can catch there and it's right in the middle of that residential area. Brook trout, the state's only native stream trout, are a flagship species in Minnesota. Cold and clean water is critical to their health. Elsewhere in the report, it reminds us that impervious surfaces like pavement will change how water moves through the area. And removal of the forest canopy—another thing that's likely to happen—and other wooded areas would eliminate needed shade and could affect groundwater. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency wrote along with increasing pollutants generated by the development. So, let's not forget the size of Google is not a positive. Consider the difficulty in holding them accountable if there's environmental damage or potential cleanup needed and the use of raw earth minerals that pollute the earth when released. And what about mega corporations like Google and BlackRock and power joining together to use their joint influence to obfuscate, confuse, and divide the public? Does that not expand the risk to all of us? [4:21] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Three minutes. [4:21] **Joanne Bates:** Thank you very much. [4:21] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Next up, Karen Harmon, please come on up. State your name and address for the record. [4:21] **Karen Harmon:** Good afternoon, Karen Harmon, 5279 West Arrowhead Road. Um, I would like to bring the question to the council again about accommodations for those of us that are hearing impaired, if anything has been um, looked at and what the consideration for um, us being able to hear and participate in your conversations will be. [5:06] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** I can talk to you a little bit after the meeting about some of the things that we're exploring. [5:06] **Karen Harmon:** I'll look forward to it. [5:06] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Thank you very much. I'd like to see Sarah Loeld. Please come on up. State your name and address for the record. [5:30] **Sarah Loeld:** Uh, my name is Sarah Loeld and I live at 5502 Hermantown Road. Uh, it has been a long almost seven months since Project Lon was forced into the public eye by media. Uh, and as I and many of my neighbors have made very clear to everyone here, uh, I have a variety of concerns regarding this project and the timeline leading up to public release and subsequent responses. Uh, but I will leave that for another day. Instead, I want to discuss the difference between the first AUAR and the new scoping document that the city just announced last month. Uh, back in June of 2025, the city council discussed multiple different uh, ordinances and resolutions regarding things that were later identified uh, as being directly related to Google's hyperscale data center campus. Uh, this included uh, an ordinance amending land use regulations to include communication services facilities for BLM zoning. Uh, an ordinance amending special use permit specifically related to the duration of permits for BLM zoning in section 535. Uh, a resolution for a draft AUAR by Kimley-Horn. This was after uh, the public comment period for the scoping document had expired uh, with only two public comments. Uh, a resolution approving uh, consulting services for the AUAR from Braun Intertec. A resolution authorizing a reimbursement agreement with Mortenson for water sewer extensions, and a resolution authorizing an agreement for services with Kimley-Horn regarding right-of-way uh, and easement for these extended facilities. All of this was in one single meeting. All of the ordinances and resolutions were passed unanimously by the council with no public comment. Have you ever wondered why no public comment was made in regards to many of these ordinances and resolutions from early uh, to mid 2025? I would assume probably not uh, because at least to me it's glaringly obvious. Uh, the public can't comment on changes if they are not made aware of the reason for the changes. Uh, for this updated uh, AUAR, the public is very aware of what project is driving anything related to the southwest corner of Hermantown. Uh, this AUAR does not have the same ambiguity uh, that the first AUAR had and I believe it will follow a very different path. [7:30] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** 30 seconds. [8:17] **Sarah Loeld:** ...when it comes to public comment. And I'm sure you're noticing that now as public comment will continue to come through to you. So I will ask you again: if the residents of Hermantown show up to a city council meeting to oppose the development of a massive data center complex by Google, a multi-trillion dollar company... Will you listen? Thank you. [8:33] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Thank you very much. Up next is Barbara Opel. Please come on out. State your name and address for the record. [8:33] **Barbara Opel:** Hi, my name is Barbara Opel. I live at 328 North 53rd Avenue West in Duluth. When I first learned about the plans to build a hyperscale data center in Hermantown, my concerns were primarily about the environmental ramifications. The water and power use, the light, noise and air pollution, and the loss of wetlands. And I'm still very concerned about these things. But as I've seen the process unfold, I am equally worried for the residents of Hermantown. I'm appalled that you can hear their voices loud and clear week after week and still not listen to them. It also seems that you're not looking into the potential costs of these hyperscale data centers to the communities where they're built. It feels like you're listening to Google and Minnesota Power and BlackRock exclusively when even a one-hour internet search should be enough to make you cautious about these plans. I'm sure that when you were approached by Minnesota Power, this seemed like a great opportunity. But now that you've had time to see the costs of this project to the community, there's no shame in changing your minds. There is, however, great shame in not listening to the people who elected you to serve them. Thank you. [10:05] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Thank you very much. Up next is Emma Rickman. Good evening, Emma. Please state your name and address for the record. [10:15] **Emma Rickman:** Uh, good evening. Emma Rickman, 5215 Chris Drive. Um, Google's code of conduct signs off with, "And remember, don't be evil, and if you see something that isn't right, speak up." Uh, Gen Z is slated to be the first generation in modern history that is dumber than its predecessors. And things look even worse for Generation Alpha, the first generation born in a digital era. The cognitive decline can be attributed to an over-reliance on tech and screens, reduced attention spans with an appetite for short rapid content like Reels or TikTok, and integrating technology too early in education systems replacing the tangible learning necessary to develop executive functioning skills. This is not right. Google became Google by building an empire on which human attention and data is monetized. They and other big tech companies like them have quietly created a dependency on a digital world. A self-fulfilling prophecy creating younger and younger user profiles, more and more dependence. This is not right. We are being told a story, a narrative authored by big tech and big power and not the people themselves. We are being told that we need this, that this is the future. The aesthetics of strength as a substitute for the evidence of it. This is not right. There is an overinvestment in concepts users are not asking for but being funneled by Fortune 5s that this is the way of life. But they are building infrastructure for a future that has not yet arrived. When we protest this hyperscale data center and others like them, we are given a guilt trip that we all use the internet and phones. Data centers store our information. This is not right. We are being made to feel personally responsible. So when this bubble bursts and they fail at what they are existing to do, it shifts to the consumer. It requires no accountability for what was spent, no reckoning for what was built and abandoned, and no acknowledgement that small communities like ours were failed. When you court a small community with big promises and require a city's comprehensive plan and zoning maps to be changed to fit your project, this is not right. When shareholders come first and neighbors come last, this is not right. Don't be evil, Google. What you are doing is not right, and I will continue to speak up. [12:45] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Thank you very much. Next up, Bob Colemire. Good evening, sir. Please state your name and address for the record. [13:03] **Bob Colemire:** Bob Colemire, 5757 St. Louis River Road, Hermantown. Uh, I spoke with or emailed Councilor Geissler a week ago Friday and he told me in a response, "Uh, we're starting over with the AUAR, PNZ applications, etc." The question, however, is: does the data center project belong in a residential district or not? That is the question we all must face. The EIS, in my opinion, is the only study that can answer this question. If you look at the uh, definition of city ordinance M2, it is of a heavy industrial nature. And if you read that whole definition, you will see that an EIS is the required tool that will answer the question of location. Thank you. [14:15] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Thank you very much, sir. Mr. Tom Bates, you're up next. Good evening and please state your name and address for the record. [14:15] **Tom Bates:** Who I am and where I live. I've been up here before. Tom Bates, 5369 Morris Thomas Road, Hermantown, Minnesota. Um, several concerns. One is um, the difference between uh, the AUAR and the environmental impact statement. It would really be good to take some time while we still have time. I'm an old fart. I've lived a long time. It's better to go a little slower. I have blown into stuff and blown stuff up and made horrible mistakes, some of which I never recovered from, really. And we don't want to do that here. This is a big, big, big deal, guys. While we have time, I would say do the environmental impact statement. Really take a look at this thing. They're promising you the sun, moon, and stars. I know they are. It's what they do. And they're very, very good at it. And while we have time, just take a step back. Take a step back. Really assess the thing. Um, nobody that I know would jump into building a building before they've really looked at the ground, made sure it would support the building, make sure that, you know, it's all about location, location, location, right? I mean, seriously, even for a house. I mean, we were just driving around today and we saw two properties where we'd go, "Man, that'd make a nice house." Well, it was where a house used to be maybe 50 years ago. Nice spots. Could probably build them there again. But we got to take—we just got to take—not saying, just saying. Just take a minute. 6 months. Really look at it. Really look at what they're offering you and then make a decision. People will have a lot better feeling about this thing if you do. They really will. All right, I'm done. [16:44] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Thank you, sir. [16:44] **Tom Bates:** So painful, right? I didn't pound on the podium or yell and throw things and... [17:04] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** 30 seconds, Tom. [17:04] **Tom Bates:** Pull my hat down and, you know, chew on it. [17:04] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Mr. Bates, you're all good. Uh, next up is Nate Rickard. Please come on up. State your name and address for the record. [17:04] **Nate Rickard:** Yeah, Nate Rickard. Uh, 4878 Trails End Drive, Hermantown. Uh, no, I want to talk about what Tom's saying. Uh, I want to thank you guys for opening up that uh, the web page for public comments. I think that's—that was good. I do support the data center. Um, that being said, I think that the developer is dropping the ball on this thing. Um, I think the only way this project goes successfully is if it has a lot of comments from all sides and I think the opposition has some good points. You know, like Joanne's talking about the trout stream. I think that's a something. What are they going to do with that? You know, there's there's a lot of things that developer needs to come here to these meetings and say what their plans are. And I think that they're dropping the ball in my opinion, because there's so many things that are out there that we just don't know and I'm not in support of it in detriment to Hermantown. I think there is a way of doing it successfully, but it takes the community. It takes some involvement from the public. But uh, that's all I got. Thank you guys. [18:26] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Thank you. Thank you very much. I'm sorry if I don't get the last name right, but Peter Haftton. Did I get it? Thank you very much. Please come on up. State your name and address for the record. [18:38] **Peter Haftton:** Peter Haftton, 5971 St. Louis River Road. Um, I kind of have two points to make. Um, two bullet points. First has to do with empathy. So, I actually have empathy for all of you on the Hermantown City Council and the planning commissions. I can't imagine the immense pressure that you're feeling from Minnesota Power, from Google, from the county, and even from the state. So, I just tried to kind of wrap my head around what would it be like to be in your shoes? And if you were deep down thinking, gosh, yeah, they bring up a lot of good points, this maybe isn't in a great location or maybe this isn't great for Hermantown or you know maybe we need to step back and think about more environmental studies. What is it like to do that in your position? It's probably really, really hard. So I just wanted to say that I have empathy for that. Um, the second one is legacy. And again I tried to think about okay, you've been elected to these positions or you're standing in a position of power. What do you want your legacy to be? Do you want your legacy to be, "Yep, I was the one who brought the data center to Hermantown. The vast majority of the public is against it, but I got it here." Whoop-de-doo. I really want you to think about that because what is your legacy? Would you be somebody who says, "You know what? I do think we have to take a step back. I actually have learned a lot over the last year and I'm not for it anymore. I think it's not in the right place. Um, I think it's going to be negative to the residents and to the various environmental concerns that people have brought up." You have a chance. You could actually flip. You could join us. You could be opposed to it. Believe it or not, I look at these reports from Iowa and Illinois and Texas where these small towns, including a lot of elected officials, are like, "We stopped it. We got them to leave." I mean, you could be with us. You could join us and say, "Yeah, you know what, Google? You can build it somewhere else, but it's not here." So I invite you to join us. So thank you very much. [20:39] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Thank you very much. That's everybody who has signed up for public comment this evening. Uh, we'll move on to number seven which is the consent agenda. It's A, minutes approval or correction of the March 16, 2026 city council continuation minutes; and B, the accounts payable approved general city warrants from March 16th, 2026 through March 31st, 2026 in the amount of $925,530.76. Joe, what do you have for us on this one? [21:09] **Joe Wicklund:** Uh, everything's outlined in the uh, packet uh, for both the minutes and the accounts payable. [21:26] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Thank you for that. Council members, any questions or comments on this one before we look for a motion? Not seeing any, I look for a motion on the consent agenda. [21:26] **Councilor Brian LeBlanc:** I'll make a motion to approve. [21:26] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Thank you for that. Can we get a second? [21:26] **Councilor Andy Hjelle:** Second. [21:41] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Thank you for that. All in favor? [21:41] **Councilors (All):** Aye. [21:41] **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** You want to do a roll call? [21:41] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** We can do roll call on the fun resolutions coming. [21:41] **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Okay. [21:41] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Motion passes. Number eight is resolutions. Resolution 2026-39, resolution receiving bids and awarding a contract to Gardner Refrigeration Company for the Hermantown City Hall HVAC upgrade project in the amount of $35,331. Can I get a motion, please? [22:05] **Councilor Brian LeBlanc:** Move to approve. [22:05] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Can I get a second? [22:05] **Councilor Joe Peterson:** I'll second. [22:05] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Let's talk about it first. [22:05] **Councilor Joe Peterson:** No, I don't like talking about it. [22:05] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** We should talk about it. So, and we appreciate folks bearing with us today. So, on this particular on 2026-39, we've been looking at an upgrade possibility for some of the pieces that need to happen here in City Hall. And this is the HVAC piece. Um, we took a run out with a couple different bids and uh, the winning bid through Gartner came in at 305,000. This was just a little bit above what um, was originally speced out, but several hundred thousand less than uh, the other appropriate bid. So, staff is recommending that Gartner Refrigeration Company be selected for this bid. Councilors, any questions? [22:53] **Councilor Joe Peterson:** Might be worth noting. It's not an upgrade. It's a repair. [22:53] **Joe Wicklund:** It is a repair. It is actively not working. [22:53] **Councilor Joe Peterson:** Um, and then second, we don't feel like we're missing out on anything or getting subpar equipment because this bid is so much lesser than the rest of the— [23:21] **Joe Wicklund:** We think it's just a case of this is the right project at the right time for the right company to be able to land at this amount. And we've been through the due diligence phase to make sure that it'll line up for the city hall's needs. Any other questions? Chief, did anybody sign up to speak on this one? [23:21] **Police Chief Jim Crace:** [Gestures no]. [23:21] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Thank you very much. We'll move for a roll call. [23:39] **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Councilor Hjelle? [23:39] **Councilor Andy Hjelle:** Aye. [23:39] **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Councilor LeBlanc? [23:39] **Councilor Brian LeBlanc:** Aye. [23:39] **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** And Councilor Peterson? [23:39] **Councilor Joe Peterson:** Aye. [23:39] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** 8B is 2026-40. It's a resolution authorizing and directing the mayor and city clerk to execute amendment number one to the agreement for geotechnical services for street improvement district number 547 not to exceed 29,894. This is at Lightning Drive and Thunder Chief Lane, including sanitary sewer extensions and other infrastructure improvements in section 14. Can I get a motion? [23:56] **Councilor Andy Hjelle:** Make a motion to approve. [23:56] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Thank you for that. Joe, what do you have for us on this one? I'll second it first. [24:12] **Councilor Brian LeBlanc:** Second. [24:12] **Joe Wicklund:** I'm actually going to turn over to City Engineer David Bolf for this. [24:12] **David Bolf (City Engineer):** Thank you. Yeah. Thank you, acting mayor and council members. So, this um, resolution is for work associated with the um, section 14 project, which includes Lightning Drive, Thunder Chief, Getchell, new trail, and uh, elimination of some lift stations and a new pipe for sanitary sewer. So, the request here in this resolution and recommendation from myself is we get some additional soil borings on the off-road section um, because of the presence of ledge rock. So, our original proposal for $53,000 included the 38 soil borings. So, this amendment is for 20 additional borings at $29,000. This is off-road work. Um, there's tree clearing involved in it. And the the goal is to identify the rock that we need to go through for the sanitary sewer. So we can paint a better picture when we prepare the plan set and the bidders have a better information when they bid on our plans. So that's why we're asking for this resolution. [25:39] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Thank you for that, David. Councilors, any questions so far? [25:39] **Councilor Joe Peterson:** Do we feel that this has the potential to save us more than $30,000 on the bids we're going to receive? [25:39] **David Bolf:** Yes. So the original soil borings we did were spaced about 300 feet apart, and when we hit rock we don't know what's happening between those 300-foot borings. So these extra 20 are going to isolate and better define that. So the hope is during the design phase we're going to dial in that number, get a better estimate, and then when a contractor sees this, the more information they have, the more um, confident and accurate their bid will be. So, yes, we feel that there will be that $20,000 or almost $30,000 in savings. [26:43] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Thank you. Thank you for that. Any other questions? Chief, did anybody sign up for this one? [26:43] **Police Chief Jim Crace:** [Gestures no]. [26:43] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Thank you very much. I don't have any questions. Can we have a roll call? [26:59] **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Councilor LeBlanc? [26:59] **Councilor Brian LeBlanc:** Aye. [26:59] **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Councilor Hjelle? [26:59] **Councilor Andy Hjelle:** Aye. [26:59] **City Clerk Alissa McClure:** Councilor Peterson? [26:59] **Councilor Joe Peterson:** Aye. [27:14] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Not seeing anything else, we'll move on to number nine, which is the recess for the evening. [27:14] **Councilor Brian LeBlanc:** Move to recess. [27:14] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Can we get a second? [27:14] **Councilor Andy Hjelle:** I second. [27:14] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Thank you for that. All in favor? [27:14] **Councilors (All):** Aye. [27:14] **Mayor Wayne Boucher:** Thank you very much, everybody. Have a great evening.