As an expert transcriptionist, I have analyzed the context provided and the phonetic spellings in the draft to identify the speakers. I have corrected the names to match the official list provided (e.g., "Duoya" to Adama Youhn Doumbouya and "Vancou/Vance Slouch" to Peter van Sluis). [0:56] **Audience/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. [1:11] **Mayor Thomas J. Spooner:** Uh, we have no presentations or introductions. Approval of the minutes of October 14th. Oh, excuse me. I'm sorry. I skipped right over that one. Number two, uh, approval of the agenda, Mr. Ross. [1:26] **Royal Ross:** Yes. Thank you, Mayor. Um, I have heard that, uh, Representative Keith Allen is in the house tonight and he would like to provide some quick updates. So, I would propose adding that to uh, number... [1:43] **Mandy Barnes:** I'll second. [1:43] **Mayor Thomas J. Spooner:** Thank you very much. All those in favor of that motion say I. [1:43] **Council Members:** I. [1:43] **Mayor Thomas J. Spooner:** All opposed. That passes. Now number three, presentations and introductions. We have approval of the minutes of October 14th, 2025. [1:58] **Adama Youhn Doumbouya:** Spooner. [1:58] **Mayor Thomas J. Spooner:** Yes. [1:58] **Adama Youhn Doumbouya:** I make a motion to approve the minutes of October 14, 2025. [1:58] **Peter van Sluis:** Second. [2:13] **Mayor Thomas J. Spooner:** Go ahead. We have a motion by Doumbouya, seconded by van Sluis. All in favor? All opposed. Requests to be heard. We have two of them tonight. They are on the same subject of the data center. You are allowed three minutes to come to the podium. And I will state that uh this matter is presently under litigation and we are told by our legal council that we will not comment on this. Um so therefore, you can certainly state your piece for three minutes. Um, but you will not have any comments from us and state your name and address. But first up is Elizabeth Wright. [2:59] **Elizabeth Wright:** So, you won't be able to answer my questions, but that's okay. Um, I'm kind of coming late to the consideration here. um because I understand that the land was sold like here sometime and it's only been recently that I understood what was going on sort of and I just want to state that um I don't like the idea of a data center in the sense that it's taking productive farmland out of production. It's a really heavy burden for the aquifer and that affects everybody. I'm concerned about the uh electricity usage and what that might do to the grid and to people's insurance uh electric rates. So that's kind of a problem and I I don't really understand what a data center does for Faribault what the return on investment is. If I could understand that maybe I'd be enthused about it but AI seems to uh ultimately end in less jobs available for people not more. Now, it could change in the future, but presently Target's laying off people, Amazon's laying off people, and they're doing it because AI and robotics allows them to do stuff like that. And I I think we're kind of eating our own tail. Um, the other thing is Archer's primary customers are real estate insurance companies, big corporations, and I I don't see how it fits in here. If there was like a way Faribault were using this for something, but I don't want to just be a cheap place to set up a data center and the way technology is advancing so quickly 10 years from now. I don't know what kind of tax incentives they'd be getting or whatever, but who's to say that wouldn't just be a hulk of a building with nobody in it. Once once the construction is done, that's where most the employment comes from in my opinion and when it's actually up and running, it's not that many people. So, I don't understand the uh it just doesn't seem like a good employment value. So, that's my piece. [5:08] **Mayor Thomas J. Spooner:** Can we get your name and address? [5:08] **Elizabeth Wright:** Elizabeth Wright, 5351 Elkton Trail. [5:08] **Mayor Thomas J. Spooner:** Thank you. Vicky Olsen up next. [5:30] **Vicky Olsen:** Vicky Olsen, 1025 St. Paul Avenue. I brought props. I would like all of you guys to go back to your childhood back when the Faribault lakes were incredible in the summer and how it felt to swim in a Faribault lake. Then we have had farm runoff, zebra mussels, milfoil and Asian carp. Let's say I have Asian carp, milfoil, toxic waste, and I'm coming here tonight to want pristine lakes. I'm asking you your permission because you get to decide whether I do that or not. I need your permission. You are in control of my behavior in that manner. These data centers are worse than invasive species because you cannot control the damage once Archer Data has invaded. You will not be able to control the electricity they consume. You will not be able to control the water. You will not be able to control the pollutants. You will have lost your control. As much as you could stop me from dumping this into our lakes, you will no longer have that control. When it drains our aquifers, leaves us with a bill to purify our own water as they have done in other communities. You will get a bill that our water isn't pure enough for our machines. And when it leaves us with brownouts because it's using our electric grid and pollutes us with god knows what. Actually, you should know what if you're studying this. Your power to decide this or not is gone. It is invasive species and if you insist on building this, my suggestion is that you make them use their wastewater and recycle it or that they make their own power grid with their own windmills and their own solar panels and use their own electricity or you talk them into building it near their new high school. [8:05] **Mayor Thomas J. Spooner:** Moving on tonight, consent agenda items. We have 6A through 6L. Would anybody hold for clarification? I'm sorry, but you did not sign up. [8:24] **Unidentified Speaker:** [Inaudible] [8:24] **Mayor Thomas J. Spooner:** Yes. Were you looking to speak? [8:24] **Unidentified Speaker:** No. [8:24] **Mayor Thomas J. Spooner:** Oh, okay. I'm sorry. I thought you were going to come to the... 6A through 6L. Would anybody like anything pulled or—? [8:45] **Royal Ross:** Mayor Spooner? [8:45] **Mayor Thomas J. Spooner:** Yes. [8:45] **Royal Ross:** I'll make a motion to approve consent items 6A through 6L. [8:45] **Mandy Barnes:** Second. [8:45] **Mayor Thomas J. Spooner:** Motion by Ross, seconded by Barnes. All those in favor signify. I. [8:45] **Council Members:** I. [8:45] **Mayor Thomas J. Spooner:** All opposed. Motion passes. We're on to public hearings. Resolution 2025-72, special assessments. Mr. Mark DuChene, acting city... [9:02] **Mark DuChene:** Thank you, Mayor Spooner. Council members, I know it's been a while since we've had one of these special assessment hearings. So, um, I'll quickly go through it. We'll open the public hearing and take comments, but this is related to the Airport Street extension and regional storm water basin improvement projects. Um, this is actually a 2022 project that um, took a while to get to construction and then construction um, didn't finish up until this summer. So um this project was assessed against five parcels, one of which was the City of Faribault. So it's four businesses out there in Airtech Industrial Park. Um the assessment roll was included in your packet there. Uh these assessments are proposed to be spread out over 15 years at an interest rate of 4.98%. That is consistent with our policy on special assessments. Um these assessments were based on some old agreements when the Airtech Industrial Park was developed and that road was supposed to be extended back in the late 90s but wasn't put together. A bunch of agreements came to a consensus on what these assessments should be divided up as. And so that's the assessment roll that was included in your packet. Um reminder there are deferrals available for qualifying hardships. Um, being that these are all businesses, hardships don't apply. Pending approval of the assessment roll tonight, there is a 30-day prepayment period per statute for properties to pay off their assessments either partially or in full. Um, that brings us to around the end of November here. Anything that's left at the end of November on the assessment roll will then get certified to the county. Um, property owners can then pay off between the end of November and the end of the year um to the city um and they'll pay interest on that portion um pro-rated through the time period from the time it's certified once it rolls over to January 1st. So they can come in any time in the next year and pay off a portion um or all the assessment but the interest is accrued for that entire calendar year once it rolls. First 30 days is that interest-free period. So, oh, I got one bad deal. Um, the first installment would be May of 26. A reminder that in order to appeal a special assessment, you must file a written objection to the city administrator prior to the hearing or with the presiding officer, in this case, the mayor at the hearing. Not aware that we received any objections prior to the hearing here. So with that, we consider you to conduct the public hearing and ask you to then consider resolution 2025-272. [11:31] **Peter van Sluis:** Thank you, Mayor. Um I don't know where we're going with that. Substitute administrator... engineer. Well, we got to respect your new title for a week here. I'm sorry. Um, have any of the companies indicated whether they'll be paying it in full or are all four of them going to—? [11:31] **Mark DuChene:** I I I haven't had any recent conversation with any of them. Uh, certainly not since the letters went out here about a month ago. Um, I had had conversations over the last year to 18 months with some of them, you know, wanting to know when's this going to be levied because they're looking at their budgets and how they're going to finance it. So, I can't say for sure that anybody is, but I I assume they've budgeted for it and then some are going to at least pay off a good portion of it. [12:28] **Peter van Sluis:** And did I understand you correctly that um when January 1 rolls around, they'll accumulate a whole year's worth of interest at 4.98, even if they pay it in on January 3rd? [12:28] **Mark DuChene:** I I always tell folks once the calendar rolls over, you might as well just tuck that money away in a savings account or investment account and come in on December 30th. [12:28] **Peter van Sluis:** Tell them that. Don't tell them that. You know, cash on hand doesn't matter to a government until we're into budgetary times. And so, I'm trying to make us— [12:28] **Mark DuChene:** Yeah. Better for next year. So, but that's the way the statute's written. [13:06] **Peter van Sluis:** I understand. Thank you. [13:06] **Mark DuChene:** Once it's certified, it's the whole calendar year. [13:15] **Peter van Sluis:** So moved. I'll make a motion to open up public hearing. [13:15] **Adama Youhn Doumbouya:** Second. [13:30] **Mayor Thomas J. Spooner:** I have a motion by van Sluis, seconded by Doumbouya to open up public hearing. All those in favor. All opposed. Anybody wishing to speak on this matter, please come forward to the podium. State your name and address for the record. Seeing nobody jumping out of their chairs, I'll make a motion to close public hearing. [13:46] **Royal Ross:** So moved. [13:46] **Adama Youhn Doumbouya:** Seconded. [13:46] **Mayor Thomas J. Spooner:** Motion by Ross. Seconded by Doumbouya to close public hearing. All in favor? All opposed. I'm going to take a resolution. [14:02] **Royal Ross:** Mayor Spooner? [14:02] **Mayor Thomas J. Spooner:** Yes. You got what I wanted. [14:02] **Royal Ross:** I'll make a motion to approve resolution 2025-272. [14:02] **Mandy Barnes:** Second. [14:02] **Mayor Thomas J. Spooner:** A motion by Ross, seconded by Barnes to approve resolution 2025-272. All in favor? All opposed. Motion passes. Items for discussion. Resolution 2025-275. Establish a bid day for well projects. Travis Block. [14:18] **Travis Block:** Uh, thank you, Mayor Spooner, members of the council. Resolution 2025-275 is seeking approval of the construction documents and establish a bid date for the 2026 well sealing project. Uh this is a project as it stated in the memo that was initiated by the Minnesota Department of Health uh upon reviewing records of the well sealing or abandonment process that took place back in the 1940s through the 60s that they were not with 100% certainty that that was done to the you know the utmost ability to protect our groundwater supply system. So they requested or slash requiring us to reseal those. Uh so that's kind of how we're where we are uh with that process. We did apply for a grant. We were successful in that grant to get $250,000 for that. It's been prepaid half up front and then the rest of it will be paid when we uh do the work. The two wells are located at our old kind of near our old pumping station site down there on Seventh Street. One kind of around the generator there and one slightly to the north of it. Project's uh pretty straightforward. Consists of drilling out the casing, removing debris from the two abandoned wells, and pouring grout in to fully seal them to prevent potential for contamination to the groundwater. And I disregard the title of these next couple slides. When I borrowed my template and sent myself the wrong one, I sent the combined one, not the other one. Uh so it just lays out the funding there. The Bowser grant that received $250,000 and then the water fund looking to contribute about $125,000 because it's a $375,000 project. Kind of the reason why we're doing it now: we did the grant back uh in 2023 and into 2024 working with our consultant. It just at the time the consultant looked at the bid climate and just the—there's not an abundance of well drillers. So they just at that time didn't feel that we would probably get the best pricing. So that's why we delay until 2026 because the grant expires at the end of the year. So we we have plenty of time there. So kind of a little schedule laid out: tonight if we approve uh pending approval of those documents and getting bid date established. Receive the bids on the 25th, award a contract December 9th, and then start construction in the spring of 2026, and then need to be complete December 31st, 2026. With that, I'd make a recommendation to approve resolution. [17:07] **Mayor Thomas J. Spooner:** Any questions for staff? [17:23] **Mandy Barnes:** Mayor Spooner? [17:23] **Mayor Thomas J. Spooner:** Yes. [17:23] **Mandy Barnes:** I make a motion to approve resolution 2025-275. [17:23] **Peter van Sluis:** Second. [17:40] **Mayor Thomas J. Spooner:** Motion by Barnes. Seconded by van Sluis to approve resolution 2025-275. All in favor? All opposed. That motion passes. Bids. We have none tonight. Boards, commission reports, announcements. Anybody have anything? [17:56] **Mandy Barnes:** Just go ahead first. We'll call them up in a minute. So, this Friday is the Faribault downtown bar crawl. Um, it starts at the Paradise. We encourage costumes and there are prizes uh from 7 to 11:00 this Friday. This Saturday, the Paradise Center for the Arts is also hosting C. Willie Miles. He's a comedian. [18:22] **Mayor Thomas J. Spooner:** Seeing none at this time, Representative Keith Allen, would you please come forward? [18:38] **Representative Keith Allen:** Thank you, Mr. Mayor and uh city council and staff. Uh first off, I'd like to thank you guys. Thank you for uh your help and guidance in this last uh session. Uh I am a freshman at the capitol. Uh and uh it was greatly appreciated how uh how uh you guys were able to get up there on a regular basis, make sure your voices were heard and you were speaking on behalf of Faribault and some of the issues that you were dealing with uh right here uh in our great city. Um some of the things that we were able to get accomplished in this uh last session uh we were successfully able to navigate getting a uh getting our budget passed. It sounds uh easier than it really is [laughter] because we were dealing with a budgetary shortfall of approximately $6 million and then stacked on top of that you had a tied house. Uh so everybody had to work together and figure out how to be able to get something accomplished uh with two totally different views in terms of getting something to the final table and then getting it all the way through to the governor's signature. So uh the biggest thing we got accomplished was getting a budget passed. The next biggest thing we got taken care of is we were able to protect LGA. I heard from you along with several cities in our community loud and clear that this was something that needed to be protected at all cost because you really utilize that to do some pretty critical things specifically in your budgets. Uh so we were able to get that protected. We got a bonding bill passed for the first time in three years. Uh this was another uh huge feat. Uh but ultimately in the end after listening to a lot of the uh bonding requests, we got what we call a skinny bonding bill done which focused squarely on infrastructure uh specifically roads, bridges uh and state uh projects. So we didn't really get down into local stuff as much as we were hoping to, but it was focusing more on state needs. Uh and we had enough votes to be able to get that passed. Uh the other big thing we were able to do is stop a lot of the tax uh tax increase proposals that were coming down the pipeline. There was other mandates that were coming down the pipeline that we were able to—we were able to stop um just because we had to work together as a team to get things accomplished. Uh aside from that, uh within one of the committees that I—one of the committees I serve on uh which is commerce, we were able to get the uh reinsurance uh component passed. Um there was a fair amount of opposition from some certain groups, but uh if we didn't do something like get—or didn't get reinsurance passed, essentially what we would find is it would increase the cost of insurance for everybody in the need of your categories and a little bit of help. Uh aside from that, uh I guess uh thank you for your time. Thank you for letting me speak and uh if there's any questions I'm more than happy to entertain them. [21:25] **Mayor Thomas J. Spooner:** You and I would like to thank you and senators and answers. Thank you. This time I'd entertain a motion to adjourn. [21:42] **Mandy Barnes:** So moved. [21:42] **Peter van Sluis:** Second. [21:42] **Mayor Thomas J. Spooner:** Motion by Barnes, second by van Sluis. All those in favor say I. [21:42] **Council Members:** I. [21:42] **Mayor Thomas J. Spooner:** All oppose. We are adjourned. Thank you very much. [22:04] **Mayor Thomas J. Spooner:** Merry Christmas. All ties.