[00:00:00] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. It is 5:30 and I will call this regular meeting of the Burnsville City Council to order. It is our tradition to stand for a moment of silence followed by the pledge of allegiance and we invite you to join us. 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. [00:00:33] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: Welcome to members of our community who are here this evening. Also people may choose to watch us on Burnsvillemn.gov/meetings or Comcast channel 16 or 859. And the public can also participate through Zoom by joining us at zoom.us/join. More information is available on our meetings web page and in the council's agenda packet. The first item on the agenda is our announcements. Our announcements have to do with all of our upcoming meetings. Regular council meetings are scheduled for Tuesday, February 17th at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 3rd, 5:30 p.m. We have a work session that's scheduled for Tuesday, February 10th at 5:30 p.m. And we have our annual off-site work session that's scheduled for Friday, February 6th at 9:00 a.m. And that meeting will be held at the Ames Center. All meetings of the council are held here in the chambers unless I announce a different location. [00:01:41] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: The next item is citizens comments. This is the opportunity for anyone in the audience to address the council on an item that is not on the printed agenda and not an application form that will be coming before us at a future date. And we have one person who signed up for citizens comments and that is Miss Speck. And if you can come to the podium over here and just give us your name and where you live, just the city. You don't have to give us your address. Just the city. [00:02:11] Mitch: My name is Mitch. [00:02:13] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: And if you can remove your mask, that would help a great deal so that we can hear you and then it'll also transmit better. [00:02:22] Mitch: Okay. Uh my name is Mitch. I live here in Burnsville. Um I am here today to speak about the firsthand witnessing that I've seen of ICE in our neighborhoods, terrorizing our neighborhoods, terrorizing our bus stops. Um not anything that they've been claiming to do as far as enforcing immigration law. We've had to set up people to watch the bus stop because the kids are too afraid to go to school. Now, we have had to organize grocery runs because people are afraid to leave their homes. For the past probably week and a half straight, there has almost always been one or two ICE agents hanging outside around our apartment complex. And on Friday when about four or five of them showed up right around the time that kids are getting on the bus from 8:30—that's when, sorry, they showed up and realized that everybody knew that they were there. Um some of my neighbors made sure to follow them in cars and made sure to videotape them. One of my neighbors has dash cam footage of what they did. There was no law enforcement happening. All they did was circle the lot, taunt neighbors, blast their sirens, and just keep circling in attempts to intimidate us. And it's not just our apartment complex. We've seen it happen at the complex across the street from us. Uh, we've seen it happen at a complex that we've previously had issues with the property manager. Um, believe that one is called Elevate on Parkway now. Um, thankfully our property management is making sure to keep us informed and safe, but I was stunned to find out that the property manager over at Elevate on Parkway is allowing ICE agents in, calling people to tow vehicles so when they come out they can get arrested, and letting them sleep in the garages—letting ICE agents sleep in the garages that you have to pay extra for. So when people are trying to leave in the morning, they're getting picked up. They've had drones. They've had way too many vehicles. And they're just—they're not performing any kind of law enforcement. They're just terrorizing. And I'd implore the city of Burnsville, maybe we can do what Minneapolis did and have it where they're not allowed to operate on private property. So that way, you know, our property manager and whatnot can keep them from parking at our lots in front of school bus stops, watching the children showing up, stalking our neighbors. [00:04:47] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: I'm very sorry that you're experiencing all of that. This is something that we don't like to see in our community. And you're right, it is intimidation tactics. I commend you all for taking care of each other and making sure that you're safe. So, you're exercising your First Amendment rights and I just implore you: be safe and take good care of one another. We'll do the best that we can and at the end if you can—I would say that Mrs. Sanderson can take at least the apartment building that you're talking about because we don't want to have any addresses. So, we don't want that getting out, but we know who you are and that you are a resident of Burnsville and where you're having some of those activities just so that we know. Okay. But please be safe. [00:05:32] Mitch: Okay. And if any evidence is necessary, I can give you emails. I can— [00:05:36] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: And just email and our staff can help take care of all of that. Uh if there's any criminal activity that you witness, call 911. [00:05:46] Mitch: Okay. [00:05:47] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: On our web page, there is an immigration's information announcement on that page. So, go there as well. [00:05:54] Mitch: Okay. Okay. And is there anything that I can pass along to my neighbors who can't be here because they're either too afraid or because they don't speak English? Is there anything that I can pass along to them because they're all very scared right now? [00:06:06] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: Yeah. And we all know that everybody is afraid. But the thing is it's us taking care of one another and you're doing exactly what you need to do is go grocery shopping for them if they need groceries, being kind and respectful and all of that. We're all doing our best under difficult situations and circumstances. Um but thank you so much for coming in and sharing your experience. [00:06:33] Mitch: Okay. Thank you. [00:06:34] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: So we've—Mrs. Sanderson, if you can, so we understand where they are at. Okay. Thank you. All right. Now we move. Did I see a hand? Did you want to speak? [00:06:48] Ash Wetzel: I was just getting her attention. [00:06:49] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: Oh no. There's someone in the back. Did—huh? Yes. I apologize for that. Is this during citizens comments? If you can remove your mask so I can hear you properly. Okay. Uh come in and give us—yeah, cuz you did not sign up. Um so give us your name and the city that you're living in and then share your experience and you have three minutes. [00:07:12] Ash Wetzel: You got it. My name is Ash Wetzel. I live in the city of Burnsville near Nichollet and I just wanted to ask the city of Burnsville sort of going along what Mitch's comment was being done for the ICE agents here. I'm hearing about cases where they're in apartment complexes like at a story they shared, various residences like Ambush Estates in Arbor Vista, schools like Burnsville High School. I want to know what the city is planned on doing to protect our neighbors, especially those who don't feel safe going out. Like, will there be eviction moratoriums, fundraising to help make sure that people don't get evicted, law enforcement to help get ICE out, etc. Okay, that's it. Hopefully, it all makes sense. [00:08:00] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: Thank you. So, as I mentioned on our web page, you will have notices about immigration information and what is within our power and out of our power. You all hear the news and you all have seen lawsuits that have been issued and you have heard the governor make his pleas to the president. And so, and that's not getting anywhere. So what are we doing as a community? It's about all of us working together. So we do have our faith community who are helping with gathering food. I keep pushing all of that out on Facebook so people know where to donate, where to go and volunteer. So they need people to bring food, pack and distribute and drive. And then yes, there is GoFundMe helping people to pay their rent, mortgage or car loans. I know I'm contributing to some of those as well as to businesses that are closed and are not—you know, their people are not coming to work because they want their people to be safe. So, it's about all of us working together. Uh the city doesn't have any funds to do any of that. Okay? That is not where property taxes go to. But it's about the community. It's about all of us working together to take care of our neighbors, to take care of our residents and our businesses. So, it takes all of us to do that work. [00:09:23] Ash Wetzel: Now. And I agree with that. Thank you for letting me know that you've been highlighting some resources, too. Thank you very much. [00:09:30] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: You're very welcome. Thank you. Um, Council Member Schulz. [00:09:35] Council Member Cara Schulz: So, and I know some residents are asking questions, maybe getting a little frustrated. Um, but to be clear and to be really blunt about it because I think clear communication is better communication: um, government is not going to save you. So, if you are coming to government, like, that's not going to happen. There's a lot of constraints on government. Um government cannot fight government. Um so we're in an odd situation. So it's up to all of us as individuals to help one another. Um so that's what we need to continue doing. And the bright spot in this is we can do this longer than they can. We absolutely can do this longer than they can. So, keep hanging tough, keep looking out for one another, and find your place where you can help because you can do so much. So, that's my realistic look on this. [00:10:28] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: Yeah, it's the power of the people. Our constitution and our bill of rights is about the people and so it is all of us together. Okay. Very good. Thank you. And now we will move on to additions to the final agenda and that is for emergency items only. City Manager Lindberg, do we have any emergency items? [00:10:50] City Manager Gregg Lindberg: Nothing from staff, Mayor. [00:10:52] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: Members of the council? [00:10:53] Council Member Dan Kealey: Nothing. [00:10:54] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: Okay. Thank you. We are now at the consent agenda. The consent agenda is a group of items that's considered to be routine and will be enacted by one motion. However, an item on the consent agenda can be removed for a separate discussion and vote. Is there anyone in the audience who wishes an item on the consent agenda to be removed for a separate discussion and vote? Mrs. Collins, anyone online? [00:11:21] City Clerk Macheal Collins: Madame Mayor, no one online has asked to speak. [00:11:23] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: Okay, very good. Thank you. Um, City Manager Lindberg, does staff have anything to be pulled? [00:11:30] City Manager Gregg Lindberg: Nothing from staff, Mayor. [00:11:32] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: Members of the council. May I have a motion to adopt the consent agenda, please? [00:11:37] Council Member Vince Workman: Motion to approve. [00:11:38] Council Member Dan Gustafson: Second. [00:11:39] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: There's a motion and a second. All in favor, please say aye. [00:11:42] Council (unison): Aye. [00:11:43] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: Oppose, say nay. And the motion carries. The first item on the regular agenda is a public hearing and this is a resolution adopting the 2025 street improvement assessment project 25-102 Southwest Burnsville and presenting this evening is our Assistant City Engineer Charlie Gerk. Mr. Gerk, the floor is yours. [00:12:08] Assistant City Engineer Charlie Gerk: Madame Mayor, council members, members of the public that are here for the public hearing tonight. Thank you for your time. Again, my name is Charlie Gerk, the Assistant City Engineer, and I am responsible for implementing our street improvement program. Looking back at the previous council actions for this item, it's a little bit of an abnormal timeline for our projects. Uh Southwest Burnsville has its own special assessment policy which requires us to assess the actual cost which is why we're here a year later. It was probably about a year ago to this day where we approved the preliminary plans and project. Last time we met was April 8th. We approved the construction contract. As the council may recall, in 2024, the city completed a pavement management plan and the 2025 street improvement projects were consistent with that plan. Part of that plan is looking at the pavement condition. Uh the city uses what we call a PCI score or pavement condition index. If we look at it on a scale of 0 to 100, zero is a gravel road, 100 is a brand new road. Looking at the southwest side of the city down here, we can see that the roads were either in critical, poor, or fair condition, meeting the requirements for some sort of improvement. Uh, just kind of reminding ourselves of the timeline of how we got here. This started back in May of 2024. We held some open houses and talked to the public in September and October and November of 2024. Moving to 2025. We were here in February of last year around this time asking for the project to be approved. We awarded the contracts in April and then construction was September, October, November, that time frame of this year. Looking at our public engagement opportunities, we had multiple project area mailings, multiple open houses. We were at the party on the plaza in 2024 talking about these projects. We had multiple if not hundreds—well, hundreds throughout the project area, dozens in Southwest Burnsville—emails and phone call conversations about this project, met with people in person and individually on site, and we had a significant amount of construction notices and updates while construction was happening. Council may recall that in February of last year, they approved a 2 and a half inch mill and overlay construction strategy with significant repairs of the base and subgrade. As all plans go, it didn't work. When we went to go remove pavement, we found that the information we had wasn't quite adequate and that most of the pavement in the project area was less than two and a half inches. So, we essentially removed all the pavement on Alcana and on Valley View Road and we put back three inches of pavement there. And then on Crest Drive, we did have an adequate amount of existing pavement. So, we removed that pavement and put back two and a half inches. Looking at our funding source opportunities for these projects: of course, taxes or the Infrastructure Trust Fund (ITF), special assessments (which is why we're here tonight), and then there was a very marginal amount of utility funds from the storm water fund. Uh the special assessment methodology, city policy 5035, street and utility improvements in the southwest area, is its own assessment policy for Southwest Burnsville. Essentially, if the city initiates a project on their own accord—in this case we did; we initiated a pavement rehabilitation project—the city will pay 60% of the cost while the assessed property owners will pay 40% of the costs and that's based off the actual construction costs, administration and engineering costs. Those costs are then divided by essentially unit charges. We look at the properties in the area. Properties can be assigned one to three units depending on if they have the ability to develop more in the future or not. And then we come up with a unit cost there. Those properties that are larger that receive multiple units, those costs are deferred until the property is either subdivided or that additional unit is developed. So going back to February of last year, staff estimate was about $617,000 for this project area, about a $4,189 assessment. Due to some value engineering and a little bit better than expected weather conditions—we didn't have terrible subsoil conditions—the actual project cost was $423,000 or a final assessment of $2,869 per unit. [00:16:32] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: Nice. [00:16:33] Assistant City Engineer Charlie Gerk: Looking at the breakdown of those costs, we can see that the ITF takes the bulk of the cost there and basically 40% of the construction cost is then deferred to assessments. We do have those deferred assessments. Those assessments are eaten by the ITF if those properties aren't developed. So in 15 years, if those properties aren't developed, those assessments go away. We did have some marginal storm water utility funding. There's three catch basins in the project area that we improved for a total project cost of $426,000. Looking at other cities in the neighboring communities here, some communities charge no assessment for street projects. Others charge, as you can see, in Edina a reconstruction project was $7,500 last year. We fall pretty much right in the middle. It's hard to say what type of project this was. It's like a hybrid reclamation, mill and overlay hybrid. $2,869 is where we fell and that's right in the line with the pack there. Special assessments payments must be received in full by November 15th, 2026 without incurring any interest. If they are not paid in full, they'll roll over onto the property taxes for 2027. And since this assessment is over $2,000, it'll be levied over 15 years at an interest rate of 5 and a half percent. There are some special circumstances that exist that can affect those assessments. Minnesota does have a statute for disabled veterans that allows them to not pay property taxes on their homestead—the either disabled veteran or their spouse. That does not apply to special assessments. So, special assessments, regardless of that exclusion, are still levied against the property. The state does allow the city to defer assessments based on income and other needs. That would be done through our special assessment coordinator or technician. And those assessments, while they are deferred based on the income needs, while you still meet those needs, they do accrue interest during that time frame. So if you are able to pay them off, it's probably a better option to pay them off. There is a request for a policy deviation that was approved last February as well. Section 3E allows for the defer of multiple assessments on larger properties. Those are the properties that have three or two units. Uh those assessments are allowed to be deferred for 15 years. And if the property isn't developed, they're allowed to be basically forgiven. There are four properties within the project area that are their own individual PID. So they don't technically qualify for that exemption, but they're directly adjacent and owned by neighboring properties. So, it's the same thought that it's a larger parcel that's maybe developable in the future, but it's currently not developed. Staff is requesting that those properties have their second assessment be deferred. And you can kind of see what we're showing here. The green is the principal property with the structure and home on it and the red would be the adjacent properties that are potentially developable but are not yet. Staff recommendation: As of 4 p.m. today, there have been no objections to the assessment. We ask that you hold the public hearing, that you accept the policy deviations, and that you approve the resolution adopting the 2025 street improvement assessments for project 25102 Southwest Burnsville. And with that, I'll stand for any questions. [00:19:43] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: Questions for Mr. Gerk? Thank you so much. And now I will open a public hearing. Is there anyone who wishes to speak to this item? Anyone who wishes to speak to this item? Yes, please come to the podium and give us your name and address for the record. [00:20:00] Spencer Kaufman: Sure. My name is Spencer Kaufman. You want full address, street number, everything? [00:20:06] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: Uh, just the street. Not the street number, but just that you're in Burnsville, but you'll need to give it to the clerk so that we all know where you are. Yeah. Okay. [00:20:18] Spencer Kaufman: Because this is—yeah, I'm in Burnsville. Yes. [00:20:20] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: Southwest Burnsville where you're doing the street projects. [00:20:23] Spencer Kaufman: So, I have a couple of questions. On the brochure that we received, there was a line in there about having like sewer and water lines being replaced. Is that only on the street side or is that because it made a comment about like you guys would repair our lawns but not the landscaping. So, are you doing the sewer and water service lines as well to the houses? [00:20:44] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: Mr. Gerk. [00:20:45] Assistant City Engineer Charlie Gerk: Madame Mayor, thank you. Uh in Southwest Burnsville, there are no public utilities. It's all septic and well. So, there were no improvements to the water main because there is no water main and there were no improvements to the sanitary sewer because there is no sanitary sewer. [00:21:02] Spencer Kaufman: Okay. So, you're saying all the houses in this project area are on septic and well, they're not on city water. [00:21:07] Assistant City Engineer Charlie Gerk: Correct. So, the brochure you received is for future projects. The brochure you received is our boilerplate brochure for all city projects. Southwest Burnsville has its own unique circumstance going on. That's the one part of the community that still isn't fully developed into a modern state with sewer and water. So— [00:21:28] Spencer Kaufman: Okay. I'm— [00:21:29] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: Are you interested in getting services? [00:21:31] Spencer Kaufman: I'm confused because I'm pretty sure our house is on city water and sewer, but I must not be. [00:21:36] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: I'm going to have you talk to Mr. Gerk afterwards so that there's some clarity for you on your address and your property and where it's located. Because there are some parts of southwest Burnsville that have public utilities, but then there are a lot in that whole area that are on private. So Mr. Gerk, if you can share your card with him. [00:22:00] Assistant City Engineer Charlie Gerk: Absolutely Madame Mayor. Also City Engineer Vlasaty is out in the lobby there and he could speak to him right now as well. [00:22:07] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: Ah I see he just waved at me. Our City Engineer is out there and he can help you identify all of that. [00:22:15] Spencer Kaufman: Thank you. [00:22:16] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: You're very welcome. Yes. Okay. Anybody else who wishes to speak, please come to the podium and give us your name and we're trying to be very careful about your address because we don't—but we want to know that you're a Burnsville resident. [00:22:31] Christopher Scottyard: I'm a Burnsville resident in the Crystal Lake area. Uh, my name is Christopher Scottyard. Um my question is on the three Crystal Lake area projects. How much is related to the new apartment senior apartment complex over by Grace? [00:22:48] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: That's a different project. That's the next one. We're doing Southwest Burnsville. So you can come up when we get to that one. [00:22:56] Christopher Scottyard: Oh, not Crystal Lake is not Southwest. [00:22:59] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: This one is just Southwest Burnsville. [00:23:01] Christopher Scottyard: Okay. Hang by. [00:23:03] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: Yeah, we're almost there. Anybody else for Southwest Burnsville? Seeing no one. Is there anyone online, Mrs. Collins? [00:23:14] City Clerk Macheal Collins: Madame Mayor, no one online has asked to speak. [00:23:16] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: Okay, I will now close the public hearing. Members of the council, your pleasure. [00:23:22] Council Member Dan Kealey: Motion to approve. [00:23:23] Council Member Cara Schulz: Second. [00:23:24] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: There's a motion and a second. All in favor, please say aye. [00:23:27] Council (unison): Aye. [00:23:28] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: Oppose, say nay. And the motion carries. Now, the next public hearing. This is the resolution ordering the improvements, approving plans and specifications, and ordering the advertisements for bids for the 2026 street improvement project. Mr. Gerk, our Assistant City Engineer, is presenting. Floor is yours. [00:23:51] Assistant City Engineer Charlie Gerk: Thank you again, Madam Mayor. Again, my name is Charlie Gerk. I am the Assistant City Engineer and I'm responsible for our street improvement program. Tonight, we're going to talk about the 2026 street improvement program and the projects that are in it. Again, as a reminder, in 2024, the city did complete a pavement management plan. And in 2025, the city completed a horizontal infrastructure plan. The proposed 2026 street improvement projects are consistent with those plans. Looking at the project areas for the 2026 street improvement program, we'll kind of work our way from the northeast to the south. In the northeast, we have three identified project areas, two streets. So, River Hills Drive is a reclamation. The Raleigh area splits a reclamation and a reconstruction due to the age of the development. It was subdivided over multiple years. And so that's how it ended up happening there. Aldrich Avenue, Buck Hill Road, Crystal Lake—the main line there—that will be a rehabilitation project. And then Crystal Lake itself splits off with Eileen Circle. And then Crystal Lake East is also like a little frontage road that dead-ends into Eileen Circle there. That little frontage road will be a reconstruction project and the Eileen Circle area will be a rehabilitation. Again, going back to the pavement condition and looking at the pavement condition through the project areas, reminding ourselves that the city rates the pavement on a PCI score of 0 to 100. We can see that the project areas are again in critical to fair condition, warranting some sort of improvement. We can also see that some of these project areas such as the Raleigh River Hills Drive and that Crystal Lake segment, that small segment, align really well with utility improvements that are needed. [00:25:35] Assistant City Engineer Charlie Gerk: Thinking of our improvement strategies, we have a reconstruction, reclamation, and rehabilitation type of improvement. Reconstruction is the whole road. We're talking pavement, curb and gutter, lawns are getting ripped up. We're doing driveway aprons. This is mostly because we're doing some sort of water main or other substantial utility improvement. Then we'll look at the reclamation type of projects. This is where we're really focused on pavement where we can't continue to crack seal or chip seal. We don't find benefit in doing a mill and overlay. The pavement needs to be completely rehabilitated from the base up. And so those projects stay within the curb and gutter lines with some spot curb and gutter replacement, some strategic water main improvements or maintenance matters, and some sanitary sewer repairs. And then we have the rehabilitation project type which is a 1 and a half to 3 inch mill and overlay. That's really just to extend the pavement life cycle to get us that extra 20 years out of it so we don't have to do a full replacement of the pavement section. With all those, we're looking at not only just the road and the pavement. We're looking to see if we can find any improvements for the sanitary sewer or the water main or storm sewer. If there's signals nearby, we're looking to see if the signals need to be improved. If there's a multimodal known need there or easy win, we'll go after those. We also look at replacing street lights and tree health through these neighborhoods as well. [00:27:06] Assistant City Engineer Charlie Gerk: Looking at the project timeline for the 2026 street improvements, the council may recall that they ordered the preliminary report back on April 18th. Through the summer, we did some surveying. Uh we did topographical surveying of existing conditions out there. We did a condition assessment on the existing utilities and the roadway out there. We started to narrow down the scope of the projects in June, July, August. And then in September and October, we held some open houses. And then at the end of last year, the council received the preliminary report and ordered this public hearing. That brings us to today, February 2nd; we're at the public hearing. If council chooses to advance forward this project, we'll finalize plans and specs. We'll go up for bid probably in March with a hopeful award date of the first council meeting in April with an assessment hearing of May 5th. Construction May through October and then have a post-construction survey October through November. [00:28:02] Assistant City Engineer Charlie Gerk: Again, with the public engagement, we send out lots of letters for these projects. We send out postcards. We held multiple open houses for these projects. Back in the fall, we had email and phone call conversations with residents pretty much weekly after we send out those—or daily then turns into weekly after we send out those letters. We've met with individuals in person. Our field staff runs into individuals while we're doing our investigatory work and they initiate conversations. Moving on to our funding source opportunities. Property taxes, of course, again through the infrastructure trust fund. Uh good majority, I think every one of these projects except for Raleigh and the side roads on Crystal Lake, has some form of state aid involved with it. Uh special assessments and then of course the utility funds: water, sewer, storm. [00:28:49] Assistant City Engineer Charlie Gerk: Breaking down the cost of this project for this year, it's an estimated total project cost of $8.7 million with ITF and the water fund carrying the brunt of it. We are replacing the water main through most of Raleigh, that area on Crystal Lake, and on River Hills Drive. The River Hills Drive and Raleigh work will be quite expensive for the water utility fund. Special assessments come in at about $700,000. You'll notice if you do the math backwards that $700,000 doesn't get you to 40% which is the proposed assessment rate. And that's because these streets are all, for the most part, wider than 30 feet. So we look at a typical road when we come up with our assessment methodology. We're looking at 30 feet wide. If you live on, in this case, River Hills Drive, it's 40 to 44 feet wide. We're not charging a resident assessment on a 44-foot wide road. We're going to normalize it down to a 30-foot wide road and bring the assessment rate down to there. And we'll talk a little bit more about that here in a minute. [00:29:56] Assistant City Engineer Charlie Gerk: So looking at what we do, we do not assess for utility work that's public or private. So if CenterPoint Energy, for example, likes to come in and do a lot of improvements before we start our projects, that's not being assessed. The water main work, sanitary sewer work, and storm water improvements that we do, that's not assessed either. We don't assess for at least 60%; it can be less—in this case, if you do the math, it's like 14% of the assessments are funding the project this year. What we do assess for, though, is the street section, the driveway improvements that come about from that, and any restoration to lawns that's required. And so, like I said, in our assessment policy, we have multiple types of uses. We have single-family residential (attached and detached), multi-family residential, and then other uses. So for the bulk of the users and people being assessed, that's a single-family home. We normalize a street section down to 30 feet wide. That's curb and gutter back-to-back and then 27 feet of pavement with a 7-ton design. And a seven-ton roadway design is about 4 inches of pavement and 8 inches of aggregate below it. So we normalize that cost. We say, "What does a section like that look like cost to build?" We calculate that out and then we multiply it by an average rate that's averaged over the last three years of actual construction costs and that sets a rate that we then multiply across all the single-family homes in the area. [00:31:22] Assistant City Engineer Charlie Gerk: So looking at the street assessment rates for 2025 moving into the 2026 construction year, you'll see a varying amount of rates. It ranges from about $5,000 for the Raleigh reconstruction down to about $2,400 for the rehabilitation on Eileen Circle. Uh we'll make note here, especially for Crystal Lake Road 26F. You'll note that the cost differential is quite a bit there and that's because Crystal Lake Road is only 24 feet wide. So we shrink that assessment cost down to keep that road the same width. It doesn't need to be a 30-foot wide road. We'll keep it at that 24 feet wide and that reduces their assessment. Again, the special assessment payments: the payments must be received in full by November 15th, 2026 without incurring any interest. If they are not paid by then, they'll roll over onto the property taxes. I'm pretty sure all the assessments are over $2,000. So, for 2026 assessments, they would all be a 15-year repayment window at 5 and a half percent interest. The same special circumstances exist. Uh we already talked about the disabled veteran homestead valuation exclusion. Again, that's for property taxes. And in this case, this is not a property tax. It's a special assessment and so it would still be levied against a property that has those exclusions. There's also again hardship assessment deferrals based on current income and need. If you do defer your assessment, you do continue to incur interest until the deferral is paid or the property is sold. [00:32:51] Assistant City Engineer Charlie Gerk: There was one change from the preliminary report. River Hills Drive 26D, we had spent a lot of time going back and forth of whether or not we could get the water main completely within the roadway and within an excavatable limit. We have determined that we can do that, and by keeping the new water main alignment within the roadway completely and not having to remove that north curb line, we're able to change that construction type from a reconstruction to a reclamation which reduces the rate to $2,600 approximately. Staff recommendations are to hold the public hearing and then to adopt the resolution ordering improvements, approving plans and specifications, and ordering advertisement for bids for the 2026 street improvement projects. And with that, I'll stand for any questions. [00:33:38] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: Thank you. Any questions for Mr. Gerk? Council Member Kealey. [00:33:41] Council Member Dan Kealey: I just want to point out that the 5 and a half percent interest has been pretty steady for a long time. When interest rates on 30-year money were really low and auto loans and other things, we got a little pressure like five and a half seems high. In the last few years or so, I would say five and a half is one of the best deals out there because everything has moved very very very high and we're holding steady. And I think the statement is the city makes decisions that are sustainable over a long period of time. We're trying not to be volatile up and down with the market. And I think this is a great example of that five and a half percent being very stable regardless of sort of the market whiplash and interest rates. [00:34:31] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: Yeah. And that has been a good policy for us going forward making sure that it's sustainable throughout rather than those high peaks and valleys if we went with the market. Just a followup is that um based on our bonding lending etc. I mean what backs the five and a half percent up? Finance question. [00:34:55] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: I'm going to go to our Deputy City Manager CFO, Miss Rhode. [00:35:01] Deputy City Manager Jennifer Rhode: Mayor and council, the special assessment interest rate is based on the rate that the city is able to borrow with some admin—2% I think or one and a half percent—added to that to cover admin costs and the cost that the city incurs internally. [00:35:17] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: And that's the big value of our AAA bond rating. [00:35:19] Deputy City Manager Jennifer Rhode: Yes. [00:35:20] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: And that's why we need to continue to make sure that we hold that and not put that in a vulnerable position. [00:35:26] Council Member Dan Kealey: This is one of the dividends that AAA bond rating provides. [00:35:29] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: Yeah. Okay. Any other questions for Mr. Gerk? And this is a public hearing. Is there anyone who wishes to speak to this item? Yes, please. It's your turn now. Please come back to the podium. [00:35:46] Christopher Scottyard: I'm still Christopher Scottyard and I live in the Crystal Lake area and I would just ask for clarification as to whether any of the Crystal Lake area the three projects are related to the new senior apartments over by Grace Lutheran. [00:36:03] Assistant City Engineer Charlie Gerk: Madame Mayor, thank you. Uh, no. The projects are determined by the rating on the pavement primarily. All three areas—Crystal Lake mainline in particular—has a very poor pavement rating that's in need of rehabilitation. The Crystal Lake offshoot, for lack of words, because they're both Crystal Lake Road East or West, that's driven by pavement condition and the need to replace a cast iron pipe for the water main that's aging and nearing the end of its useful life. And then Eileen Circle has had zero maintenance done to it since its inception besides typical maintenance operations. So that's the driving force for all three of those projects. [00:36:47] Christopher Scottyard: Okay. Thank you. [00:36:48] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: Very good. Anyone else who wishes to speak? Yes. Please come to the podium and give us your name and I imagine that you are a Burnsville resident. [00:36:58] John Grryer: Yes. And later on if somebody can take my address. Okay. We're not wanting to put anybody's address out there. Sure. I'm John Grryer. I live in North River Hills. Um, two questions. One, did I understand you—did you say you are no longer going to replace the curb when you were talking about replacing the water main? [00:37:23] Assistant City Engineer Charlie Gerk: Are you on Raleigh or River Hills? [00:37:25] John Grryer: River Hills. [00:37:26] Assistant City Engineer Charlie Gerk: River Hills. The water main will not be affecting the curb gutter at this point. [00:37:31] John Grryer: Okay. So that cement will stay the old. Correct. Okay. Um second question is um if you could help me understand how assessments are done. Um let's say one person lives on a cul-de-sac and their curb is just a small piece of the property. Someone else lives on a corner lot and they've got two streets to deal with. So um how do you determine for each property how that's— [00:37:59] Assistant City Engineer Charlie Gerk: Madam Mayor, thank you. Uh it's not an individual assessment per property. It's an aggregate assessment for all the properties that is equal across the board. So in this case, the way that we come about with that per the policy is essentially we take all the single-family homes or that are attached or detached—so single-family homes or duplexes. I don't believe there's any duplexes in River Hills or Raleigh. We take their frontage, how much street frontage they have at 30 feet beyond the back of curb or the right-of-way line. We take that total amount. In this case, I'm going to make numbers up because I don't recall them off the top of my head. Let's say it's 1,000 feet. There's 1,000 feet and it's 10 homes just to make the math easy. [00:38:43] John Grryer: Sure. [00:38:44] Assistant City Engineer Charlie Gerk: We then have a rate that is set by the City Council and our fee schedule that's based off of our three-year average rate per construction per lineal foot. So, let's call it $100 to again make the math simple. So, $100 times 1,000 lineal feet is $100,000. We have 10 homes. That would be a $10,000 assessment, but we're not done there because that's the total cost. So then we reduce it by 40%. [00:39:12] John Grryer: Okay. Okay. [00:39:13] Assistant City Engineer Charlie Gerk: And actually that 40% is already in that lineal foot number. So it would be a $10,000 assessment in that scenario. [00:39:20] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: Yeah. [00:39:21] Assistant City Engineer Charlie Gerk: So everyone gets a fair shake at it within the project area. [00:39:24] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: Yeah. And the corner house— [00:39:26] Assistant City Engineer Charlie Gerk: They win. But yeah, in order to support the assessment, we have to be able to prove that there's a benefit from the assessment for the joining property owner. So this is the methodology that the council has chosen and that's seemed to work pretty well for the last 5 years or so. [00:39:41] John Grryer: Sounds fair to me. [00:39:42] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: It's an improvement. [00:39:43] John Grryer: Very good. Thank you. [00:39:45] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: Okay. Anybody else? Anybody else who wishes to speak to this item? Mrs. Collins, anyone online? [00:39:56] City Clerk Macheal Collins: Mayor, no one online has asked to speak. [00:39:58] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: Okay, very good. Thank you. I will now close the public hearing. Members of the council. [00:40:03] Council Member Dan Gustafson: Approve. [00:40:04] Council Member Dan Kealey: Second with comment. Um, that was a great question by the way because for a long time as the Mayor and I and Council Member Gustafson experienced, it was based on actual foot frontage. Corner lots were getting unfairly penalized. Cul-de-sac lots were being unfairly benefited. Large lots in southwest Burnsville were getting heavily penalized. And it just it didn't make any sense because everybody really kind of benefits from the street improvement equally. And so this new model we came up with 5 years ago has really placated all of the issues. And I think it's the most fair. And I appreciate your comment to the gentleman speaking that that sounds fair because it's really what our goal was and I'm glad it's still working that way. Thank you. [00:41:03] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: Okay, there is a motion and a second on the floor. All in favor, please say aye. [00:41:07] Council (unison): Aye. [00:41:08] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: Oppose, say nay. And the motion carries. Thank you, Mr. Gerk. [00:41:12] Assistant City Engineer Charlie Gerk: Thank you, Madam Mayor. Council members. [00:41:15] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: The next item is the adoption of the 2026 Parks and Natural Resource Commission annual work plan. And presenting this evening is our PNRC chair, Mr. Duck Hansel. Mr. Hansel, the floor is yours. [00:41:31] PNRC Chair Duck Hansel: Okay, very good. Madame Mayor and members of the council, thank you so much for the privilege of presenting our annual work plan to you at this time. Um our mission is to advise City Council and the staff on parks and natural resources issues. Uh we like to support guiding and developing the improvement, renovation and the management of our parks systems and we advocate for the responsible use, preservation and enhancement of our natural resources. Topics that come before us should fall into one of three categories: required updates based on approved plans, policies, and codes; studies or projects that require a recommendation to council or projects that create a change to the park experience; and items requested by the commission, approved by you, the council, and relevant to the nature of the commission. [00:42:25] PNRC Chair Duck Hansel: There are five items in the category of approved plans, policies, and codes. We receive annual updates on the deer management plan. We serve as a citizen panel and conduct a public hearing for the storm water pollution prevention program. We receive an update on the state of our lakes annually. Receive an update on the city's sustainability plan and we receive updates on the capital improvement plan which helps us to inform on continuing and upcoming park projects. Annually we review this work plan with the council which is what we're doing today. Um and there are two projects that have been carried over from the 2024 parks plan and that is the recreation services study and the wayfinding study. Our commissioners have requested several items and these four were requested by the commissioners and will be presented to us by city staff in upcoming meetings. One is input on seasonal articles such as keeping storm drains clear, appropriate and judicious use of road deicers or sidewalk deicers. Uh and we hope to be able to have some input as these are put in the monthly Burnsville newsletter. Uh there was a request for a report on city street lighting and building lighting codes and ensuring and having a dialogue to make sure that we're doing everything that we can to reduce the impact of lighting on birds that are migrating through our area. As you know, the Mississippi River flyway is a huge—one of the largest flyways—on the continent. [00:44:03] PNRC Chair Duck Hansel: Um, we've asked for a report on our drinking water, which as many of us know is probably among the best in the Twin Cities area, but how is that water quality maintained and what are we doing to make sure it stays that way? And then we've also requested a report on the Dakota Electric and the Great River Energy sustainability practices and their activities regarding solar, wind, and other energy resources. We've also requested a tour of the Kraemer Quarry. And as you all know or probably know, the Kraemer Quarry is responsible for a large amount of the water that the city of Burnsville uses. Um, and our tour was to find out exactly how the water levels in that quarry area actually impact our use of groundwaters. So, we've been able to set up a tour in June to go to the Kraemer Quarry. [00:45:00] PNRC Chair Duck Hansel: Now, recognizing that city staff aren't an unlimited resource, the commission this year decided to take on some of the things that we were asking the city staff to do. We're going to actually do our own research and study on these and we will be reporting these during roundtable discussions at some of our upcoming regular meetings. One of those will be the work that's going on with independent school districts 191 and 196 and using that to raise student awareness on sustainability activities and natural resources. Um, we're hoping that some of those students will want to make reports to the Parks and Natural Resources Commission. And a secondary goal of that, of course, is to have the students get an understanding of how local government actually works. One of our commissioners and others have been involved in looking at water restriction studies and how do we compare to other local communities. We know through some of our other visits that there is a balance between conserving water and using enough water to keep paying to have good water. So how do we balance that out? How do we compare with other communities? How do we find that sweet spot when it comes to maintaining both sides of that level? Um looking at adding a biodiversity index to the sustainability dashboard and this will recognize and promote having a diverse flora and fauna in the city that improves the quality of life for all of our citizens. And then an update on Terraceview Park. Uh, Terraceview Park has a long history of indigenous peoples in that area and we'd like to get a better feel for what that history looks like and how that has changed as the boundaries of the park have changed. [00:46:46] PNRC Chair Duck Hansel: As you all know and we all look forward to, we have our annual parks tour in August and it's a great time for us to all be together and see how the work in the park is progressing and how those park projects have progressed firsthand. This is our meeting schedule and as you can see we're already in February. And we do have a couple of open meetings that we will probably use to fill that time with our own members' reports and roundtable discussions and it also gives us some flexibility in case other things have come up. I'd be happy to entertain any questions or comments at this time. [00:47:28] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: Mr. Hansel, you all have done exemplary work because you've done some things that we've never heard of: the commission members wanting to do some work around the topics of assisting to raise student awareness and sustainability. I mean, you're diving into areas and getting a better understanding of our sustainability plan, and you're asking to have another portion of that dashboard to reflect what's going on with that area with the natural resources. I really am pleased with some of the things that you all are looking at and with Terraceview Park. I'm sure that staff will have you when you're doing it because I think if I understand you correctly you're all going to be doing this right—individual members, you're doing some of this work. [00:48:21] PNRC Chair Duck Hansel: Yes. So again, when we started laying out in our work planning the things that we were interested in doing, city staff were like, "Well, we can do these things, but we simply don't have the wherewithal, we don't have the time, we don't have the capacity to take on all these other projects." And I was really very pleased with the members of the commission because they all just basically went, "Okay, then we'll do it." Um and so it as you mentioned, madame mayor, they are getting very involved in trying to find these—you know, dig into these items and into these issues and take responsibility for it so that we can kind of be more than just a pass-through of information but actually collect our own information and maybe new things to bring back to the city council. [00:49:12] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: I'm also really impressed that you want to know more about our drinking water. You know, the groundwater as well as our surface water. [00:49:22] PNRC Chair Duck Hansel: Yes. Um the members of this commission have—we've talked about this a lot in our meetings and what are we doing to make sure that we stay ahead of the curve on this. You know, the whole idea of looking at what's going on with the quarry and what do we do if those levels start to drop and how's that going to impact groundwater? What are the things that we're—so this whole conservation looking at water quality? What are the things we need to be doing as our climate continues to change? How do we stay ahead of this? Um that's really where a lot of that's coming from. [00:49:55] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: Madam, and I'm sure that staff will tell you about our historian here in Burnsville, and you can all get to know Jack. [00:50:06] PNRC Chair Duck Hansel: Yes. [00:50:07] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: And JJ does a wonderful job of plugging us into those. And he can give you a lot of history around Terraceview. And also—and you all are really correct—this land, because you see all of the names like Sioux Trail, Pahasapa, all of these are because the Native Americans were the first settlers of Burnsville. So, it's nice that you're trying to understand deeper the history of all of that. And it'll be interesting to me how you will be working with the students to get them to understand our natural resources. But each one of these items really enhances the work that you're doing and I look forward to hearing about it as well. And I'm going on your tour. [00:51:00] PNRC Chair Duck Hansel: Very good. We'll look forward to having you with us. [00:51:02] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: Yeah, of course. Council Member Kealey. [00:51:04] Council Member Dan Kealey: Thank you, Madam Mayor. Well, a couple things. I want to build on what the Mayor said. This is one of the most robust parks and natural resource commission plans in my—this will be my 20th time seeing something like this. And your presentation was very comprehensive. I'm thrilled that we have commissioners because we go through every year and reappoint or appoint new that there's so much enthusiasm to take this stuff on themselves because the staff has a limit to what they can do, but the energy and enthusiasm coming from your presentation and the commission is really exciting. I'll be on that tour as well. Second thing is I always listen for new things. Um and you made a statement that I don't know that I've ever heard. Because water is always about conservation. We're always talking about how do we reduce use and the fact that you pointed out it's a balance. We want to conserve but we also recognize that usage is what creates the water bill which funds the funds that continue to reinvest in the capital assets to keep water clean and good etc. So, you know, it's not like there's going to be a 30% drop in usage if everybody just decides to suddenly conserve water. So, I don't think there's going to be a shock to the financial support of keeping it that way. But, it was just an interesting dynamic. I've never heard that before. And I think it's the reality, right? That's how we pay for the water treatment is through the water bill that everybody receives in the city that uses it. But, thanks very much. It was a great presentation. [00:52:50] PNRC Chair Duck Hansel: Well, I was going to say again, this came from our tour of the water treatment plant and um again the commission is going, "Well, what do we do to cut back? What do we do to cut back?" And the people who run the water treatment plant are going, "Well, if you cut it way down, then we won't have the funds to maintain the quality of water that you currently have." So it is this—how do we balance it out and how do we achieve both of those goals, which is not an easy thing sometimes. [00:53:23] Council Member Dan Kealey: No. And I don't want to imply that just go ahead and use as much water as you want. It's a good thing to use it and run the bill but um you know we all want to conserve because drinking water is a precious divine supply and uh we're fortunate to be in the upper Midwest. I have family that lives in Southern California in the desert and they don't have as good of a time as we do. [00:53:50] PNRC Chair Duck Hansel: And the other parts of this that come into it, council members, is that you know what are the other things—and this leads eventually into what are the other things we do by putting in native plants and encouraging those kinds of things, those plants that use less water. So how do we encourage those activities as well? But those are—we got more than enough on our plate right now. We'll work on those maybe next. [00:54:13] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: Great stuff because when I saw that, one of the things that we'll probably have to have a conversation in the future is data centers because they are a huge user of water and uh you know and we're we're already built out so I don't think we'll have those huge data centers that they're trying to locate in other areas but I'm really impressed that you want to look at the biodiversity and to make sure that we have a point in our dashboard that addresses the biodiversity aspect and what are the goals that we need to meet. [00:54:49] PNRC Chair Duck Hansel: Yes, ma'am. [00:54:50] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: Yeah. Very nicely done. [00:54:51] PNRC Chair Duck Hansel: Thank you. Thank you. [00:54:53] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: Thank you very much. Members of the council, I need a motion to approve the work plan for PNRC. [00:55:00] Council Member Cara Schulz: Motion to approve. [00:55:01] Council Member Dan Gustafson: Second. [00:55:02] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: There's a motion and a second. And all in favor, please say aye. [00:55:05] Council (unison): Aye. [00:55:06] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: Oppose. Say nay. And the motion carries. Members of the council, there are no other items to come before us this evening. And a motion to adjourn is in order. [00:55:18] Council Member Vince Workman: So moved. [00:55:19] Council Member Dan Kealey: Second. [00:55:20] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: There's a motion and a second. All in favor, please say aye. [00:55:23] Council (unison): Aye. [00:55:24] Mayor Elizabeth Kautz: Oppose, say nay. And the motion carries. Good night and thank you for being with us.