This transcript has been formatted with speaker names based on the provided context and the verbal introductions made during the meeting. [0:05] [Music] [0:17] [Music] [0:28] [Ambient Noise] [0:36] **Mayor Luke Hellier:** Good evening and welcome to our March 4th City Council meeting. If you would join me for a moment of silence and the Pledge of Allegiance. [1:17] **All:** 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. [1:23] **Mayor Luke Hellier:** All right, Ms. Orlofsky, roll call please. [1:27] **City Clerk Ann Orlofsky:** Michelle Volk? [1:30] **Councilmember Michelle Volk:** Here. [1:31] **City Clerk Ann Orlofsky:** Luke Hellier? [1:33] **Mayor Luke Hellier:** Here. [1:34] **City Clerk Ann Orlofsky:** John Bermel? [1:36] **Councilmember John Bermel:** Here. [1:37] **City Clerk Ann Orlofsky:** Dan Wolter? [1:39] **Councilmember Dan Wolter:** Here. [1:40] **City Clerk Ann Orlofsky:** Joshua Lee? [1:42] **Councilmember Joshua Lee:** Here. [1:43] **Mayor Luke Hellier:** Okay, we'll now move on to Citizens’ Comments. This is an opportunity for anybody to share thoughts or concerns with the Council for up to three minutes. Okay, seeing none. Um, any additional agenda information, Mr. Miller? [2:02] **City Administrator Justin Miller:** Nothing tonight, Mayor. [2:04] **Mayor Luke Hellier:** Okay, and we will now turn it over to our Fire Chief, Mike Meyer, for retirement recognition. [2:22] **Fire Chief Mike Meyer:** [Laughter] Thank you, Mayor, Councilmembers. Tonight we're going to recognize Walt Brands for his 31 years of service with the Lakeville Fire Department in our community. A little bit about Walt—and I'll let him tell his story—but he started with the Fire Department in March of '93, served his entire 31 years at Station 2. He's held all the positions: firefighter, engineer, lieutenant, and captain. And just a little bit of context: in '93, the Fire Department responded to 490 incidents compared to 2023, which was 3,286 incidents. So, just a small change in his time. Saturday was Walt's last duty crew shift that he worked, so he worked almost right up to the day of retirement. And I'm sure on Saturday they probably visited, as he calls it, the "union shop" or Caribou Coffee. One thing about Walt is, with his 31 years, even though at that time he was always willing to work, always willing to share his knowledge, train other firefighters of whatever they might have asked—whether that was just learning how to drive or pump the truck—or anything along that line. And I'll say, before I turn it over to Walt, one of the little chives between Walt and I would be duty crew shorts. So my joke with Walt is that tomorrow we'll institute that policy of duty crew shorts. But without further ado, Walt. [4:13] **Captain Walt Brands:** Thank you for the kind words. I do... I need to get them? Okay. Looks like a lot, but it's just big font size so it won't take too long. So, good evening Mayor, City Council members, and Chief Meyer. It has been an honor and a privilege to serve the community of Lakeville as a firefighter, and I will always be grateful for the opportunity to have made a difference in the lives of those we serve. Chief Meyer, I would like to thank you for your support and the opportunities you have provided me with during my time with the department. From firefighter to engineer, lieutenant, and finally captain, it has been an amazing ride and I thank you. As stated numerous times by the retirees who have come before me, this journey of 31 years would not have been possible if not for the unwavering support of my family and friends. To my daughter Sydney, who is here with me tonight, my son Alexander, mother, and sister who are watching in New York City: you have been a constant source of support and my biggest cheerleaders throughout my time with the Fire Department, regardless of the interruptions from the pager going off during our family functions. To my father, who is no longer with us but never turned a blind eye when it came to helping others in their time of need and was my inspiration for being a part of something bigger than yourself. To my wife Beth, who is now advancing her career in North Carolina: it is now my turn to step back and support you as you've supported my career with the Fire Department for all these years. Just a few more days to go and we will be reunited as a family once again. To my best friends Mike and Charlie: this life of public service all started with you guys working together at the Middle Village Volunteer Ambulance Corps in the 1980s and '90s. Who would have ever thought that as a young 16-year-old kid, you guys would have ignited a passion within me to continue this life of public service for all these years? I thank you all, as none of this would have been possible without your continued support and encouragement. A special thanks to Terry and Tori—you ladies are the unsung heroes of the Fire Department that keep things in order and moving right along. Thank you for your support, especially during my tenure at Station 2. Finally, to my fellow firefighters past and present: it has been my privilege and honor to serve with you. The experiences we have shared is something that few people will ever understand, but I am thankful to have shared them with you. When asked why I never retired at 20 years of service, I simply blame you guys for keeping me around this long. We have worked hard, shared our frustrations, and enjoyed many laughs along the way. It is that spirit of camaraderie that has kept me going for this long. Getting to know everyone has enriched my life and I am a better person for it. Thank you for putting up with my outspoken opinions and humoring me when I've gone off on some silly tangent—I'm not sure I will have that same luxury with my wife. It has been said that true wealth is not measured in terms of money or power; it is measured in the legacy we leave behind for those we love and those that we inspire. I hope that in some small way I, too, have been an inspiration in your lives just like you have been in mine. This has been an experience of a lifetime that will never be forgotten. May you find the same happiness and joy in your career with the Fire Department as I have experienced in mine, and may the good Lord watch over you and keep you out of harm's way as you respond to make a difference in someone else's time of need. Thank you. [8:28] [Applause] [8:43] **Mayor Luke Hellier:** Is there anything you wanted to tell us about your box? [8:48] **Captain Walt Brands:** This shadow box is a compilation of my life in public service. On the left-hand side, it has all of my badges with the Lakeville Fire Department starting out: firefighter, engineer, lieutenant, captain. My badge number from the original helmets is in the lower right-hand corner. I have two badges that I had from the Middle Village Volunteer Ambulance Corps; that's where I got my start in New York City growing up at 16 years old and getting the bug. There we ran ambulance and worked as an EMT for many years until I moved up here to Minnesota and traded an ambulance for a fire truck. And so it contains my achievements with years of service and commendations for bringing a boy and a girl into this world while on duty here with the department. So it's a nice memory. Thank you. [10:04] **Councilmember:** Well, you have to be one of the most tenured folks that we have at 31 years. So I don't think words can really express our gratitude for your service for that many decades to Lakeville. So, just an incredible career. Thank you so much for dedicating it to our city and it sounds like you've got a fun next chapter coming up. [10:35] **Captain Walt Brands:** Correct, moving down to North Carolina, leaving Saturday morning. My wife—she had a wonderful job opportunity and so we talked about it and she decided to take it. And so yes, not that this winter would have been any reason to leave, but yes, things are always changing. And again, thank you all for the opportunity and your support as well. [10:56] **Mayor Luke Hellier:** Absolutely. Over 30 years you saw a lot of City Council members and Mayors come and go, but you were always there for us. So thank you for your service to our community. [11:15] **Captain Walt Brands:** Thank you. It's been my pleasure and my honor. [11:18] **Fire Chief Mike Meyer:** Thanks, Walt. [11:24] **Mayor Luke Hellier:** We'll take a brief break for these guys to exit and then keep moving. [To Council] I was still in college... [11:34] **Mayor Luke Hellier:** Okay, moving on, we'll have our Parks and Rec quarterly report with Mr. John Hennon. This isn't your last report, is it? [11:45] **John Hennon (Parks & Rec):** No, one more. One more. [11:48] **Mayor Luke Hellier:** Okay, just making sure. I didn't know what your date was, so I don't want to... [11:53] **John Hennon (Parks & Rec):** Thank you, Mayor and Council. This is the Parks and Recreation report for the months of November, December, January, and February. Starting off with Antlers Park: the vast majority of the construction of the park was completed before freeze-up, but over the last couple months we're doing a little work inside the Pavilion with the HVAC, plumbing, and electrical. And as you know, the grand opening of the park will be May 22nd. That's Shelter A, which is closest to the parking lot, and that's one of three open-air shelters. I'll show you a picture of a couple other ones later in the presentation here. Also, staff is working on the Avonlea Community Park project. We opened up bids for the three buildings about 10 days ago: the field support building, the building down by the playground and splash pad, and then the grandstand over at the baseball complex. So the second bid package is out right now for the earthwork (parking lots, dirt work, trails, etc.). That will open on March 19th and we'll bring that contract before you in the first week of April. But as you know, you've seen this before—we're going to have pickleball courts, athletic decks, a splash pad, a challenge course, and a baseball complex. That will be constructed here in 2024 and completed in 2025. Also extended some planks out to the boat launch. Obviously, three years of drought has created a little issue there, so we extended that in November of last year. So the ramp will be ready to roll come this spring. Ice rink season was short—it was about 13 days. They gave her heck for about a week when it was really cold, opened it up for about 13 days, and shortly after that we were putting up pickleball nets. We also did a lot of tree trimming, especially out at Ritter Farm Park, and building maintenance, interior and exterior. That's what the gentlemen have been working on here the last couple months. Also getting ready for the summer, working on repairs on fishing piers and boardwalks. And again, we did put up the nets for the pickleball courts here a couple weeks back. Under Recreation: a number of projects and programs occurred at the Heritage Center. One was cookie decorating with Santa. I think we had Santa’s Secret Store with about 200 kids. 350 people participated in the Illumination Walk, and then there was a parent-child dance with about 80 couples. So that was a kind of fun program. Working hard to get programming out at the Environmental Learning Center (ELC). Casey's done a wonderful job; we have 22 new programs that will be happening this summer at the ELC. Summer registration opened February 12th. There have been 577 folks that have enrolled so far. Some of the more popular ones are RevSports Golf and, of course, some programming out at the ELC. As I mentioned, the skating season was short, but in those 13 days, we figured there were about 4,900 skaters. Then we opened up reservations for the shelters in our park system. The picture to your right is the second open-air shelter we have closer to the lake, and there's one right behind it as well. You can see we have about 110 reservations so far between Antlers and Casperson. Over at the Arts Center: a lot of programming at the new Fine Arts building, which kicked off in mid-November. You can see some pottery open studio. The holiday art sale was, I think, record-breaking; I think we beat 2019's record sales. And then the Art Center Advisory Board met for some strategic planning on the five-year strategic plan. You can see one session was out at the ELC and the second one was at the Fine Arts building. Also, a number of performances over the holiday season at the Art Center: Christmas Bells, Old-Fashioned Christmas, and "You Can't Take It With You." There were about 1,600 tickets that were sold over a six-week period over the holiday season. Staff also took applications for the Live at the Lake summer concert series. They're reviewing those proposals, and within probably the next three or four weeks we'll have that list published and ready to go. There will be 12 performances this year at the performance stage. Summer art staff also developed and published a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for some community art pieces. This piece on your lower left is the piece that you'll see from Lake Marion, and the upper right is the piece that you'll have in the roundabout in the interior of the Art Center. These will be some terrific pieces as you enter the park and from the lakeside as well. Over at the Heritage Center coming up, we had a holiday social, a Mardi Gras event luncheon, and then something that's pretty popular now the last couple years is Puzzle-Palooza, where they have the competition of putting puzzles together and they get timed. That's an exciting little program over at the active adults area. Also at the Heritage Center, a couple programs coming up such as DrumFit, Spring Tea, and an open house that'll occur here in the next couple weeks as well. Just looking ahead: the last First Thursday Pub Night with Marvin Cat will be this Thursday. As I mentioned, there's an open house at the Active Adult Center on April 30th. And then right around the corner, we have the Puppet Wagon starting on June 10th. I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have. [18:07] **Mayor Luke Hellier:** Council, any questions? Yeah, Joshua. [18:12] **Councilmember Joshua Lee:** I'm thinking about the outdoor ice rink in a season like we've had this year. What's the ability of that rink to keep up with 70-degree temperatures in February? [18:23] **John Hennon (Parks & Rec):** Yeah, 70 might be a challenge, but if it's a normal year, we should have that open November through March. That's what I'm hearing. [18:32] **Councilmember Joshua Lee:** Thank you. [18:33] **Mayor Luke Hellier:** Good. Thanks, John. [18:35] **John Hennon (Parks & Rec):** Thank you. [18:37] **Mayor Luke Hellier:** All right, moving on to the consent agenda. Is there anything you'd like to highlight, Mr. Miller? [18:41] **City Administrator Justin Miller:** Mayor, just one item. Item 6G is a first amendment to the Fiscal Agent agreement with Dakota 911; that's the countywide dispatching center. The City of Lakeville has, since its inception, acted as its fiscal agent handling its finances and payroll. This is an amendment to that agreement reflecting some of the increased costs that we have, which we are then sharing with all the member agencies. [19:02] **Mayor Luke Hellier:** Okay. Is there any other item Council wanted to discuss or pull? If not, I'll take a motion to approve the consent agenda. [19:10] **Councilmember:** So moved. [19:12] **Councilmember:** Second. [19:13] **Mayor Luke Hellier:** Further discussion about the consent agenda? [Silence] All in favor say "aye." [19:21] **Councilmembers:** Aye. [19:22] **Mayor Luke Hellier:** Opposed? [Silence] Consent agenda is passed. Moving on to item seven, a public hearing on the application for Crystal Lake Golf Club LLC for an on-sale and Sunday liquor license. I believe the applicant is here. I don't know if you have a quick presentation or if we have a staff report? [19:54] **City Administrator Justin Miller:** No staff report. [19:56] **Mayor Luke Hellier:** Any presentation from—did you want to talk about what you're doing? Okay, hold on, just wait until you get up here just because of the recording. [20:00] **Applicant (Crystal Lake Golf Club LLC):** Thank you. Not a whole lot going on, just a new group of owners basically is what is coming in. The existing ownership group has been there, as you all know, for quite some time; they are getting a little bit older and they are not local anymore. I am a long-time Lakeville resident, been here for almost 20 years, and have been playing at that course for a long, long time. I know the management there, and so I put together a group to acquire the course. We are not anticipating any changes—basically, it's going to be hands-off. My attitude is, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Especially right now—knock on wood we're not getting snowstorms in March that we didn't get in January and February—we're going to be rolling right into a season anyway. It would be idiotic of us to come in and try to make any type of changes at this point. So, really just carrying forward. The acquisition has not closed; we anticipate it closing approximately the end of the month here. Hopefully, we want to get it done as soon as possible, obviously with the season coming up. So we just hope to roll right forward with basically no changes perceptible to the general public. [21:05] **Mayor Luke Hellier:** Okay. So this is a public hearing. I will open the public hearing. Is there any comment about the liquor license? [Silence] Seeing none, I'll take a motion to close the public hearing. [21:18] **Councilmember:** I'll make a motion to close the public hearing. [21:20] **Councilmember:** Second. [21:22] **Mayor Luke Hellier:** All in favor of closing the public hearing say "aye." [21:26] **Councilmembers:** Aye. [21:28] **Mayor Luke Hellier:** Okay, with that I will take a motion. [21:31] **Councilmember:** Mayor, I would like to move to grant an on-sale and Sunday liquor license to Crystal Lake Golf Club LLC at 16725 Innisfree Drive. [21:40] **Councilmember:** Second. [21:41] **Mayor Luke Hellier:** Any further discussion about the liquor license? Okay, seeing none. Roll call please. [21:46] **City Clerk Ann Orlofsky:** Michelle Volk? [21:48] **Councilmember Michelle Volk:** Hi. [21:49] **City Clerk Ann Orlofsky:** Luke Hellier? [21:50] **Mayor Luke Hellier:** Hi. [21:51] **City Clerk Ann Orlofsky:** John Bermel? [21:52] **Councilmember John Bermel:** Hi. [21:53] **City Clerk Ann Orlofsky:** Dan Wolter? [21:54] **Councilmember Dan Wolter:** Aye. [21:55] **City Clerk Ann Orlofsky:** Joshua Lee? [21:56] **Councilmember Joshua Lee:** Hi. [21:57] **Mayor Luke Hellier:** Okay, congratulations. Good luck. [22:01] **Applicant (Crystal Lake Golf Club LLC):** Thank you very much. Yep, you bet. [22:03] **Mayor Luke Hellier:** Moving on to unfinished new business. Anything Council needed to bring up? Okay. Announcements: our next regular City Council meeting is March 18th. Good job everybody getting here at six o'clock today. And our next work session is March 25th at the Water Treatment Plant. And with that, I'll take a motion to adjourn. [22:36] **Councilmember:** Moved. [22:37] **Councilmember:** Second. [22:39] **Mayor Luke Hellier:** All in favor say "aye." [22:42] **Councilmembers:** Aye. [22:43] **Mayor Luke Hellier:** Opposed? We're adjourned. [22:46] **Police Reserve Officer:** ...their thanks for us being able to help assist them in whatever situation that it may be. As a Lakeville Police Reserve, I understand the importance of helping out the community and I am also part of the face of the Lakeville Police Department. We are very fortunate to be in a community that respects and appreciates their local police department. The Reserve Department helps connect the community and citizens of Lakeville with the internal Police Department. They get to see the inside workings of the Police Department and interact with all the officers.