Monday, April 8, 2024
What happened
Council approved the agenda, minutes, and consent agenda; tabled two old-business resolutions (minor subdivision and MNDOT detour agreement); approved charitable gambling allocations totaling $3,000; and held extensive public discussion on the proposed fire station/city hall project before adjourning 4-1.
7 motions on the record.
M1MOTION MADE BY COUNCIL MEMBER WEST, SECOND BY COUNCIL MEMBER TRADEWELL TO APPROVE THE REGULAR AGENDA WITH THE REQUESTED CHANGE.
MOTION MADE BY COUNCIL MEMBER WEST, SECOND BY COUNCIL MEMBER TRADEWELL TO APPROVE THE REGULAR AGENDA WITH THE REQUESTED CHANGE.
moved by West, seconded by Tradewell
(5-0)
M2MOTION MADE BY COUNCIL MEMBER TRADEWELL, SECOND BY COUNCIL MEMBER BRAY JOHNSON TO APPROVE THE REGULAR MEETING MINUTES.
MOTION MADE BY COUNCIL MEMBER TRADEWELL, SECOND BY COUNCIL MEMBER BRAY JOHNSON TO APPROVE THE REGULAR MEETING MINUTES.
moved by Tradewell, seconded by Bray Johnson
(5-0)
M3MOTION MADE BY COUNCIL MEMBER WYLIE, SECOND BY COUNCIL MEMBER WEST TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA AS PRESENTED.
MOTION MADE BY COUNCIL MEMBER WYLIE, SECOND BY COUNCIL MEMBER WEST TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA AS PRESENTED.
moved by Wylie, seconded by West
(5-0)
M4MOTION MADE BY COUNCIL MEMBER WEST, SECOND BY COUNCIL MEMBER TRADEWELL TO TABLE RESOLUTION 24-033.
MOTION MADE BY COUNCIL MEMBER WEST, SECOND BY COUNCIL MEMBER TRADEWELL TO TABLE RESOLUTION 24-033.
moved by West, seconded by Tradewell
(5-0)
M5MOTION MADE BY COUNCIL MEMBER BRAY JOHNSON, SECOND BY COUNCIL MEMBER WEST TO TABLE RESOLUTION 24-040.
MOTION MADE BY COUNCIL MEMBER BRAY JOHNSON, SECOND BY COUNCIL MEMBER WEST TO TABLE RESOLUTION 24-040.
moved by Bray Johnson, seconded by West
(5-0)
M6MOTION MADE BY COUNCIL MEMBER WEST, SECOND BY COUNCIL MEMBER TRADEWELL TO APPROVE RESOLUTION 24-049 WITH $500 GOING TO ST. FRANCIS ALL NIGHT GRADUATION PARTY, $1,500 GOING TO ST. FRANCIS TRACK/CROSS COUNTRY, AND $1,000 GOING TO ST. FRANCIS FASTPITCH.
MOTION MADE BY COUNCIL MEMBER WEST, SECOND BY COUNCIL MEMBER TRADEWELL TO APPROVE RESOLUTION 24-049 WITH $500 GOING TO ST. FRANCIS ALL NIGHT GRADUATION PARTY, $1,500 GOING TO ST. FRANCIS TRACK/CROSS COUNTRY, AND $1,000 GOING TO ST. FRANCIS FASTPITCH.
moved by West, seconded by Tradewell
(5-0)
M7MOTION MADE BY COUNCIL MEMBER BRAY JOHNSON, SECOND BY COUNCIL MEMBER WYLIE TO ADJOURN.
MOTION MADE BY COUNCIL MEMBER BRAY JOHNSON, SECOND BY COUNCIL MEMBER WYLIE TO ADJOURN.
moved by Bray Johnson, seconded by Wylie
Amounts named in or tied to a motion that passed, each shown with the motion. A motion can approve an amount, cap it, or remove it from a list, so read the motion text. These links are AI-extracted, and the minutes control.
Charitable gambling allocation to St. Francis All Night Graduation Party.
$500
Charitable gambling allocation to St. Francis Track/Cross Country.
$1,500
Charitable gambling allocation to St. Francis Fastpitch.
$1,000
16 items as recorded in the agenda and minutes, each with a short summary of what was at issue.
1PUBLIC FORUM
Speakers are requested to come to the podium, state their name and address for the clerk's record, and limit their remarks to three minutes.
No public comments were made.
2ANNOUNCEMENTS
Mayor thanked attendees of the March 26 open house for the proposed City Hall/Fire Station project.
3SETTING OF REGULAR AGENDA
Opportunity to approve the regular agenda as presented or add/delete an agenda item by majority vote.
Approved with change to move item 9(B) Fire Station/City Hall Discussion to just after the Consent Agenda.
4APPROVAL OF COUNCIL MINUTES FOR MARCH 25, 2024
5SHERIFF'S REPORT MARCH 2024
Stats were presented and discussed; no motion recorded.
6AProsecuting Attorney, Scott Baumgartner
Annual criminal disposition statistics and 10-year offense comparison were presented.
7AClaims and Accounts
Approved as part of the consent agenda.
7BResolution 24-048 Approving Development Agreement for Timbers Hideaway
Approved as part of the consent agenda.
7CResolution 24-050 Approving Accounting Specialist
Approved as part of the consent agenda.
8AResolution 24-033 Oak Grove Conservation, LLC - Minor Subdivision
Council again considered Resolution 24-033 for Oak Grove Conservation, LLC (minor subdivision). Staff stated it had been on the March 11 and March 25 agendas and was tabled, and that there was no additional information and the applicant requested it remain tabled until further notice. Council voted to table the resolution.
Applicant requested it continue to be tabled until further notice.
8BResolution 24-040 MNDOT Detour Agreement
Council discussed Resolution 24-040 (MNDOT detour agreement). The city engineer raised safety concerns about pushing the detour to Lake George Blvd and stated traffic in the 4:00 p.m. hour would increase from 100 to 1,000 cars. Council decided to table the item for further discussion and voted to table the resolution.
Tabled to discuss further due to safety and traffic volume concerns.
9AResolution 24-049 Charitable Gambling Requests
Council reviewed three charitable gambling requests and discussed how gambling proceeds are distributed. After hearing input (including a suggestion to direct more funding toward the track jump pit), the council approved Resolution 24-049 allocating $500 to St. Francis All Night Graduation Party, $1,500 to St. Francis Track/Cross Country, and $1,000 to St. Francis Fastpitch, for a total of $3,000.
Approved with specified allocations to three St. Francis organizations.
9BFire Station/City Hall Discussion
Council held a public comment period and discussion on the proposed Fire Station/City Hall project, with multiple residents expressing concern about taxes and asking the council to consider alternatives such as modernizing the existing building and obtaining repair cost estimates (including mold/ventilation and addition remedies) to compare against building new. The mayor stated design/bidding/construction would not happen for at least a year and said the earliest tax impact would be 2026 if the council chose to proceed; no formal decision was made at this meeting.
Public comments and council discussion were held; no decision recorded.
9CAdministrator Updates
Included Spring Recycle Day notice.
10MAYOR/COUNCIL REQUESTS/UPDATES
The next Regular Meeting is scheduled for Monday, April 29, 2024, at 6:00 p.m.
During council requests/updates, Councilmember Bray Johnson reported complaints that Rum River Consultants was not returning citizen phone calls and asked that it be addressed. Administrator Wickham explained that enforcement is a slow process and that property owners are given time to respond (usually 30 days) before citations, and stated that Rum River Consultants asked to take calls on code enforcement issues; Councilmember Wylie said he would bring a list of complaints when Rum River comes to a council meeting.
Mayor Rolf reported talking with an election integrity group and said the council cannot go as far as hand counting ballots, but a post-election review that is essentially a hand count should be an option. He said he would like a precinct selected at random but was not getting county support, and encouraged residents to contact county commissioners; Councilmember Bray Johnson said she would like all races counted in the review instead of just one.
Discussed code enforcement communications, Rum River Consultants complaints, and post-election review ideas.
11ADJOURNMENT
Adjourned at 8:04 p.m. on a 4-1 vote (West no).
Options the council weighed, and what happened to them. The record of the road not taken.
Fire Station/City Hall project
mentioned onlyModernize/repair the existing building instead of building a new structure
Why: Resident asked whether modernizations would be possible instead of a new structure.
Raised by Lucas Rominger
Fire Station/City Hall project
under studyObtain repair cost estimates (mold/ventilation/Fire Department addition) to compare against building new
Why: Mayor stated the numbers had not been obtained yet and that council plans to discuss how to move forward.
Raised by Brent Johnson
Fire Station/City Hall project
mentioned onlyDetermine demolition costs for the current building
Why: Councilmember requested seeing demolition costs; no follow-up action recorded in these minutes.
Raised by Council member West
Charitable gambling allocations (Resolution 24-049)
rejectedGive $1,000 to each of the three requests
Cost comparison: Initial proposal would allocate $3,000 total as $1,000 to each request; later amended to $500/$1,500/$1,000 (still $3,000 total).
Why: Motion was amended after discussion, including urging more money toward the track pit.
Raised by Councilmember West
Election post-election review
rejectedHand counting ballots
Why: Mayor said the council can't go as far as hand counting ballots.
Raised by Mayor Rolf
Election post-election review
mentioned onlyAutomatic post-election review with a precinct selected at random
Why: Mayor said he was not getting support from the County and encouraged residents to contact County Commissioners.
Raised by Mayor Rolf
Documents and recordings archived for this meeting, when available.
Packet
Not in this archive
The supporting materials the board reviewed.
The summary on this page is AI-extracted and may need correction. The PDFs and the meeting recording are the official record. What do the trust labels mean?