[I. CALL TO ORDER]
          [00:00:09]
          THIS TIME, I'LL CALL TO ORDER THE STILLWATER CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF APRIL 7TH, 2026. 
          WITH THAT ROLL CALL, PLEASE. COUNCIL MEMBER COMMENTS. COUNCIL MEMBER ALBRECHT HERE. 
          [1. Washington County Highway 5, 55, 96 Intersection Improvement Project]
COUNCIL MEMBER PAULINA HERE, MAYOR KOZLOWSKI HERE. AND WITH THAT, THE FIRST ITEM ON OUR AGENDA IS THE COUNTY HIGHWAY FIVE, 55 AND 96 INTERSECTION IMPROVEMENT PROJECT. TAKE HER AWAY. HOW ARE WE DOING? GOOD. HEY, ANDREW. GOOD TO SEE YOU. GOOD TO GREAT. GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR COUNCIL MEMBERS. MY NAME IS ANDREW GIESEN. I'M A PROJECT MANAGER FOR WASHINGTON COUNTY PUBLIC WORKS. AND TODAY I WILL BE PROVIDING A PRETTY QUICK UPDATE ON THE COUNTY HIGHWAY FIVE, 55 AND 96 INTERSECTION IMPROVEMENT PROJECT. I DO HAVE A PRESENTATION. YOU DID YOU PUT IT IN THERE? IT'S IN THE PACKET. YEAH, I MEAN, I CAN I CAN JUST SCROLL THROUGH IT. YEAH. SO, SO DURING MY PRESENTATION, I WILL DISCUSS JUST SOME BACKGROUND ON THE PROJECT, SHARE A HIGH LEVEL SCHEDULE, SUMMARIZE THE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT AND ALTERNATIVE EVALUATION COMPLETED FOR THE PROJECT. RIGHT? AN OVERVIEW OF THE PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE AND CLOSE BY RUNNING THROUGH NEXT STEPS IN JUST OPENING UP FOR ANY QUESTIONS. OKAY, SO THIS PROJECT IS LOCATED MOSTLY WITHIN STILLWATER TOWNSHIP, BUT THERE ARE PORTIONS OF THE PROJECT THAT SPAN INTO THE NORTHERN PART OF THE CITY OF STILLWATER, THE COUNTY. WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON THIS PROJECT REALLY OVER THE LAST YEAR, BOTH IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY AND THE TOWNSHIP. AND THEN THIS PROJECT AIMS TO REALLY ADDRESS THE AWKWARD JUNCTION OF INTERSECTIONS THAT SOME FOLKS CALL THE TRIANGLE OF INTERSECTIONS, KIND OF IN THE NORTHERN PART OF THIS CITY AND SOUTHERN PART OF STILLWATER TOWNSHIP. THAT'S WHERE THERE'S NOT A LOT OF THOSE AROUND. YEAH, YEAH. SO INITIAL PUBLIC OUTREACH FOR THIS PROJECT KICKED OFF ABOUT A YEAR AGO, AND WE'RE GETTING READY TO MOVE INTO THE FINAL DESIGN PHASE AND BEGIN ACQUISITION OF NECESSARY RIGHT OF WAY FOR THIS IMPROVEMENT PROJECT. AND CONSTRUCTION OF THIS PROJECT IS PROGRAMED TO BEGIN NEXT YEAR. SO OVER THE LAST YEAR, THE PROJECT TEAM, WE HOSTED THREE PUBLIC OPEN HOUSES IN ONE POP UP EVENT FOR THE PROJECT. THROUGH THESE ENGAGEMENT EVENTS, THE PROJECT TEAM WAS ABLE TO INTRODUCE THE PROJECT TO THE COMMUNITY, SHARE AND GATHER FEEDBACK ON SEVERAL POSSIBLE DESIGN ALTERNATIVES, AND THEN ULTIMATELY IDENTIFY A DESIGN THAT THE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED. SO LOOKING AT OR SO BASED ON A COMBINATION OF FEEDBACK FROM THE COMMUNITY, INPUT FROM STAFF AT THE CITY AND TOWNSHIP, AND THEN THE PROJECT TEAM'S TECHNICAL ANALYSIS. SO ONE PREFERRED DESIGN ALTERNATIVE FOR THIS AREA WAS IDENTIFIED. 
          AND SO THIS DESIGN CONVERTS THE THREE EXISTING INTERSECTIONS, WHICH ALL INCLUDE EITHER ALWAYS STOPS OR SIDE STREET STOP SIGNS TO TWO INTERSECTIONS THAT ARE CONTROLLED WITH A ROUNDABOUTS. 
          SO THIS DESIGN INCLUDES SOME REALIGNMENT OF SOME EXISTING ROADS, AND THEN ALSO SOME REMOVAL OF SOME EXISTING ROAD ALIGNMENTS. AND THEN THIS DESIGN ALSO INCLUDES TRAILS THAT WOULD BE SEPARATED FROM THE ROADWAY. AND THEN ALSO ALLOW THE OPPORTUNITY TO EXPAND THE SIZE OF OTTERBURN PARK. SO ON THE WEST SIDE OF OTTERBERG, WE'RE REMOVING THAT ROAD AND REALIGNING THAT ROAD. SO THAT ALLOWS FOR THAT POTENTIAL EXPANSION OF OTTERBURN PARK. 
          AND SO A FEW DIRECT BENEFITS TO THE CITY FOR THIS PROJECT ARE THAT THIS PROJECT BRINGS IS THE CONNECTION OF THE OAK GLEN NEIGHBORHOOD TO THE OFF STREET TRAIL SYSTEM THAT WOULD CONNECT RESIDENTS TO THE PARK, AS WELL AS THE TRAIL SYSTEM SOUTH OF THIS AREA ALONG STONEBRIDGE TRAIL AND THEN ROLAND STREET. THIS PROJECT WOULD BRING THE REDUCTION OF ANTICIPATED CRASHES IN THE AREA, AND ESPECIALLY REDUCING THE RISK OF SEVERE OR FATAL CRASHES, WHICH REALLY BENEFIT EVERYONE. THIS DESIGN WILL. CAN I STOP YOU THERE? THE INTERSECTION HAS LIKE JUST THE CROSSOVER TODAY HAS, I GUESS THE EAST SIDE OF THE INTERSECTION HAS A SURPRISING NUMBER OF CRASHES. I MEAN, I SEE THEM ALL THE TIME. I CANNOT DO YOU HAVE ANY THEORY AS TO WHY THAT'S HAPPENING AS PART OF THIS? BECAUSE THERE'S LIKE CLEAR SIGHT LINES BOTH WAYS AND DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE TO ME. YEAH. MAYOR. COUNCIL MEMBER. YEAH. SO WE SEE MORE CRASHES AT THAT EASTERN INTERSECTION, WHICH IS A KIND OF SIDE STREET STOP CONTROL. SO 96 HAS THE THROUGH MOVEMENT AND THEN STONEBRIDGE TRAIL, YOU HAVE TO STOP KIND OF. I THINK WE ANTICIPATE FOLKS APPROACH THAT INTERSECTION BELIEVING THAT IT'S AN ALWAYS STOPPED 
          [00:05:05]
INTERSECTION. SO THEN THEY THIS IS GOING TO JUST FIX THAT. YEP. FLAT OUT. OKAY, GOOD. WE SEE LESS CRASHES ACTUALLY AT THE KIND OF THE LARGER ALL WAY STOP INTERSECTION, BUT JUST, YOU KNOW, DURING KIND OF RUSH HOUR AS MULTIPLE, MULTIPLE VEHICLES ARE APPROACHING THAT INTERSECTION, IT'S JUST WHO, WHO'S NEXT, WHO HAS THE RIGHT OF WAY. IT'S JUST AN AWKWARD INTERSECTION TO TRAVEL THROUGH. SO YEAH, BY INTRODUCING THE, THE ROUNDABOUTS, YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST IT'S A SIMPLER DESIGN FOLKS ARE FAMILIAR WITH. AND IT REALLY JUST KIND OF SLOWS EVERYONE DOWN AS THEY'RE APPROACHING THOSE INTERSECTIONS. LIVING BY ONE OF THE ROUNDABOUT. 
          SO I WILL ARGUE THAT NOT EVERYBODY'S USED TO THEM, BUT WE'RE GETTING THERE. YEAH. SO OTHER BENEFITS, THIS DESIGN WILL PROVIDE SAFE AND EFFICIENT ACCESS TO ALL PARCELS. SO ONE THING TO NOTE IS JUST ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE PROJECT. YOU KNOW, SOMEDAY THAT PARCEL MAY DEVELOP AND THEN THIS PROJECT WOULD PROVIDE THAT A CLEAR ESTABLISHED ACCESS POINT FOR A FUTURE STREET CONNECTION OFF OF 96 HERE. THAT WOULD BE A POTENTIAL LIKE FOR SOUTH LEG OF THAT WESTERLY ROUNDABOUT. AND THEN LASTLY, KIND OF SHOWN BY THAT RED TRIANGLE ON THE VERY WEST PART OF THE PROJECT. THE CITY DOES HAVE AN ESTIMATED $5,000 COST SHARE FOR THIS PROJECT, AND THAT'S TO COVER 50% OF THE SHORT SEGMENT OF NEW TRAIL THAT'S LOCATED WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS. SO BEFORE I CLOSE, I JUST HAVE ONE MORE SLIDE. I JUST WANTED TO SEE IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS ON THE THE PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE OR THAT DESIGN $7 MILLION WIN FOR $5,000. I'LL TAKE IT. GOOD DEAL. YOU COULD BRING MORE OF THOSE. IT DOESN'T SEEM WEIRD HAVING THE TRAFFIC GO TO THE RIGHT AND THEN TURN LEFT TO GO. YOUR MAIN ROADS GOING FIVE, GOING NORTH THERE 55. DOESN'T IT SEEM KIND OF WEIRD OR AWKWARD TO BE GOING THERE INSTEAD OF STONEBRIDGE? STONEBRIDGE IS NOT A RIGHT ROAD TO DRIVE ON. IT JUST SEEMS AWKWARD. YEAH. SO, MAYOR, COUNCIL MEMBER, THE TRAFFIC VOLUMES, I DON'T I DON'T HAVE IT RIGHT OFFHAND, BUT THE VOLUMES ON NORAHL AND THEN VERSUS STONEBRIDGE, THEY'RE THEY'RE PRETTY SIMILAR NORTH OF THAT INTERSECTION. SO THAT WAS ONE OF THE DRAWBACKS WITH THIS ALTERNATIVE. YOU KNOW, ANYONE COMING FROM STILLWATER GOING NORTH ON NORAHL, THEY DO HAVE TO NAVIGATE THROUGH NOW TWO INTERSECTIONS VERSUS ONE THAT THEY USED TO. BUT AGAIN, WE SEE A LOT OF BENEFITS FOR REDUCING KIND OF CRASH RATES COMING THROUGH THIS AREA. AND THEN THOSE, THOSE ROUNDABOUTS WILL BE JUST MORE EFFICIENT, BETTER KIND OF HAVE BETTER CAPACITY TO HANDLE THE TRAFFIC. SO KIND OF LESS DELAY DURING, DURING RUSH HOUR, MAYBE, MAYBE THIS IS A GOOD QUESTION RIGHT NOW BECAUSE YOU PROBABLY DON'T KNOW. BUT THIS NEIGHBORHOOD, THE PEOPLE, THESE PEOPLE UP IN HERE HAVE GONE THROUGH HELL THE LAST YEAR OR SO WITH THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE BRIDGE. YEAH. HOW ARE YOU DOING THIS? AND YOU'RE DOING IT TO THEM AGAIN? IS THERE A WAY TO ALLEVIATE SOME OF THAT? YEAH, WE'RE GETTING INTO THAT DETAILS RIGHT NOW KIND OF WORKING THROUGH HOW. GOOD QUESTION. HOW THIS WILL BE STAGED. YEAH. LIKE TO YOUR POINT WITH THE BRIDGE CLOSURE LAST YEAR AND THAT REPLACEMENT, YOU KNOW, FOLKS REALLY TRAVELING, YOU KNOW, LIKE NORTH AND SOUTH IN THIS AREA, YOU KNOW, THEY GOT THE BRUNT OF THE, THE IMPACTS. AND SO WE'RE, WE'RE WORKING THROUGH OPTIONS NOW. BUT I WOULD SAY A PRIORITY IS TRYING TO MAINTAIN THAT THAT NORTH SOUTH MOVEMENT AND THEN POTENTIALLY HAVE A DETOUR ON THE EAST WEST MOVEMENT. I GUESS ANOTHER PIECE OF THAT TOO IS MYRTLE STREET IS PLANNED FOR RECONSTRUCTION NEXT YEAR. THAT WOULD BE AN EAST WEST IMPACT. SO IT'S SOMETHING WE'LL HAVE TO KEEP IN MIND AS WE'RE CONSIDERING CONSTRUCTION, STAGING. WE'RE ALSO CONSIDERING, YOU KNOW, COULD WE BUILD LIKE TEMPORARY BYPASSES AS PART OF THIS CONSTRUCTION? JUST THINKING. YEAH. SO WE'RE WORKING FOR THE WE DON'T HAVE ANY ANSWER NOW, BUT WORKING THROUGH THOSE DETAILS AS WE KIND OF MOVE, MOVE INTO FINAL DESIGN PHASE, I'M SURE WAYNE WILL COME UP WITH A GOOD PLAN. YEAH. NO, JOE. ALL RIGHT. SO TO CLOSE. SO IF WE RECEIVE POSITIVE SUPPORT FROM THE COUNCIL TODAY, THE COUNTY WILL BE SEEKING FORMAL CITY COUNCIL SUPPORT OF THE PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE. AND THAT WOULD BE DONE THROUGH A FUTURE RESOLUTION. REALLY IN THE NEAR TERM. I THINK WE'RE TARGETING APRIL 21ST, THE PROCESS TO ACQUIRE THE NECESSARY EASEMENTS FOR THE PROJECT THAT HAS BEGUN. 
          AND THEN FOR THE END OF THIS YEAR, WE'LL COMPLETE THE REQUIRED ENVIRONMENTAL DOCUMENTATION, COMPLETE FINAL PLAN DOCUMENTS. YOU KNOW, ONCE WE HAVE PLANS FINALIZED, WE 
          [00:10:04]
WILL PREPARE COOPERATIVE COSTS AND MAINTENANCE AGREEMENTS FOR THE CITY TO REVIEW AND ULTIMATELY SIGN. AND THEN OVER THIS COMING UP WINTER, WE'RE GOING TO ADVERTISE THE BID PACKAGE FOR CONTRACTORS TO BID ON. AND THEN WE WOULD SEEK CITY CONCURRENCE OF THAT LOW BID PRIOR TO CONTRACT AWARD, AND THEN WE WOULD HOST A PRE-CONSTRUCTION OPEN HOUSE IN THE SPRING OF NEXT YEAR, PRIOR TO CONSTRUCTION, TO HELP INFORM AND KIND OF SHARE WHAT TO EXPECT DURING CONSTRUCTION. SO SHARING THOSE CONSTRUCTION, STAGING AND PHASING EXHIBITS, IF THERE'S CLOSURES, ANTICIPATED TIMING OF THAT, THAT WOULD BE SHARED WITH THAT, THAT PRE-CONSTRUCTION OPEN HOUSE NEXT SPRING. SO WITH THAT, I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS. SOUNDS GREAT. APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE. THANKS, ANDREW. YEAH, I DEFINITELY THINK MOVE FORWARD. YES. YEAH. IN AGREEMENT. WE'RE GOOD. YEP. ALL RIGHT. SOUNDS 
          [2. Steam Engine 328 Discussion]
GOOD. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. MOVING ON TO TRAINS. STEAM ENGINE. 328 COREY VERY QUICKLY, SURPRISINGLY. SO I REACHED OUT TO THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE MINNESOTA TRANSPORTATION MUSEUM AND TOOK A COUPLE DAYS TO GET BACK TO ME. I WAS EXPECTING A COUPLE OF YEARS BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT IT FEELS LIKE. AND IN THE COURSE OF THE CONVERSATION, I SAID, YOU KNOW, WE'RE STILL TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO DEAL LONG TERM WITH THE TRAIN. WE OWN A TRAIN. YOU'RE USING THE TRAIN. WE HAVE THIS REALLY LONG TERM LEASE. YOU WANT THE TRAIN, HOW DO WE UNLOAD IT TO YOU AND BE RESPECTFUL OF THE CITY'S ASSET AS WELL? AND HE SAID, WELL, MY BOARD SAID WE WOULDN'T PAY MORE THAN $30,000 FOR IT SOLD, I MEAN, PENDING COUNCIL APPROVAL. 
          SO THAT'S THE OFFER ON THE TABLE. IF THEY HAVE TIME TO PAY THROUGH THE REST OF THE LEASE, WHICH EXPIRES IN 2031, THEY WOULD PAY SUBJECT TO THEIR BOARD'S APPROVAL AS WELL, BUT THEY WOULD BE WILLING TO PAY $30,000 FOR IT. SO THAT'S THE OFFER ON THE TABLE IF YOU WANT TO TAKE IT ANY KIND OF RESTRICTIONS, WE WANT TO PUT ON THAT ABOUT WHERE IT LIVES OR ANYTHING. IT'S A IT'S IT'S PART OF OUR HISTORY. IS THERE ANY AM I GOING TO MOVE THAT MUSEUM OR ANYTHING? BUT, YOU KNOW, MAKE SURE IT'S DISPLAYED OR TRYING TO THINK THROUGH WHAT WE WOULD DO BEYOND, YOU KNOW, IT'S LIKE SELLING MY KID A CAR FOR A DEAL AND THEN TURN AROUND AND SELL IT FOR, YOU KNOW. HUM. RIGHT. YEAH. I THINK THEY'VE BEEN GOOD STEWARDS OF IT. IT SEEMS LIKE FOR THE LAST 50 YEARS, I FEEL LIKE WE CAN MAKE THIS THING WORK AGAIN THOUGH. ONCE THAT THING'S GOT LEGS, THEY CAN SHIP HER OUT. THEY THEY DO WANT TO MAKE IT WORK. WORRIED ABOUT IT FOR THEIR OWN BENEFIT. THIS IS THE ONE OF THEIR SHOW PIECES THAT THEY USE. SANTA CLAUS IS IN IT EVERY YEAR FOR PHOTOS. I MEAN, THIS IS NOT SOMETHING I THINK THEY'D BE WILLING TO GET RID OF. PUT A CAVEAT IN THERE OF COUNCIL APPROVAL BEFORE PENDING SALE IN THE NEXT 20 YEARS OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. SURE. I THINK THEY'D BE WILLING TO LOOK AT THAT BECAUSE I DON'T THINK THEY HAVE IT IF THEY'RE GOING TO PUT THE RESOURCES IN TO FIX IT, THEY'RE GOING TO KEEP IT. THEY'RE GOING TO KEEP IT RIGHT. I'M FINE WITH THAT. I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW WE OWNED A TRAIN UNTIL YOU SHOWED UP. KIND OF NEWS TO ME. LAST TIME THIS CAME UP, I GOT QUOTED IN THE PAPER AND I THINK WE USED TO OWN IT, RIGHT. A TUGBOAT AND ALL KINDS OF STUFF. SO. RIGHT. 
          ALL RIGHT. I'LL COME BACK HOPEFULLY WITH WITH AN AGREEMENT. IT'S REALLY COOL. I DO THEY DO NEED TO ARRANGE SOME KIND OF, YOU KNOW, THING. WE GOT TO COME SEE IT. WE NEED A FIELD TRIP. I DO I AGREE SCENARIO. I'VE BEEN TO THIS MUSEUM, BUT NOT SINCE I KNEW THAT THAT WAS OUR TRAIN. SO I DON'T REMEMBER LOOKING AT THIS THING. IT'S PROBABLY THE BEST PICTURE I'VE SEEN OF IT. IT'S ONE OF OUR PACKAGE. SO CAN YOU TALK ABOUT TUNNEL? DO WE RISK ANYTHING OF THE COMMUNITY GETTING UPSET ABOUT THIS? I CAN'T IMAGINE, I DON'T KNOW, I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW WE OWNED A TRAIN. THAT'S A THING. YEAH, VERY LITTLE NOISE LAST TIME. 
          YOU'RE BETTER OFF TO SELL IT TO THEM, THOUGH, THAN TO SOME PRIVATE. OH, ABSOLUTELY. 
          ABSOLUTELY. YES. THE MINNESOTA TRAIN MUSEUM, IT'S THEIR SHOWPIECE. I LOVE THAT WE HAVE A PIECE OF HISTORY THERE. I MEAN IF IT WAS THE MINNESOTA HISTORY MUSEUM IT WOULD BE HAPPY TO DONATE. I KNOW WE'VE DONATED THINGS TO THEM IN WASHINGTON COUNTY, WORKS WITH THEM AND STUFF. SO YEAH, I DON'T HAVE ANY PROBLEM WITH IT, ESPECIALLY IF THEY WANT TO PUT $1 MILLION INTO THIS THING. SO I THINK IT'S I THINK IT'S GREAT. I'M ALL FOR IT. GREAT. AND THEN IT'S ONE LESS THING WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH. I CAN CROSS ONE MORE THING OFF THE LIST. I LOVE FIRST. FIRST JOB FOR YOU IS TO FIND ALL THE WEIRD LEASES I WAS THINKING, NOT TRAINS. WHEN WHEN THAT REQUEST FIRST CAME THROUGH. SO THANK YOU FOR FINDING THIS AND THEN CLEANING THIS UP. BUT ANYBODY HAVE ANY ISSUE WITH THAT? NOT AT ALL. GREAT. AWESOME. THANK YOU. OKAY, EASY. 
          YOU MIGHT NOT MIGHT NO LONGER ON THE TRAIN. THAT IS A LITTLE SAD, BUT I'M OKAY WITH CONSIDERING HOW MUCH TIME WE SPEND TRYING TO GET ONE TRAIN OUT OF THIS PLACE. YOU KNOW, I'M OVER. I'M OVER OVER TRAINS. AT THIS POINT. WE'RE GOOD. ALL RIGHT. WASTE MANAGEMENT 
          [3. Waste Management Contract Proposal]
          [00:15:02]
CONTRACT WITHOUT YOU. YEAH. IT IS. THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING, MAYOR AND COUNCIL. SO LAST JULY, COUNCIL AUTHORIZED US TO NEGOTIATE WITH A NEW CONTRACT WITH WASTE MANAGEMENT. THE CURRENT CONTRACT EXPIRES THIS JUNE 30TH. SINCE THEN, STAFF HAS WORKED CLOSELY WITH WITH VANESSA HERE AT WASTE MANAGEMENT TO REFINE OUR CONTRACT AND ADD SOME SERVICE ENHANCEMENTS, SUCH AS INCREASING BULK AND APPLIANCE PICKUPS, CONTINUING TO PROVIDE YARD WASTE CARTS FOR FREE, AND WASTE MANAGEMENT MANAGEMENT IS GOING TO IMPLEMENT ROUTE OPTIMIZATION TO IMPROVE EFFICIENCY AND REDUCE WEAR ON OUR STREETS ARE JUST SO YOU KNOW, OUR CURRENT AGREEMENT WAS NEGOTIATED PRE-COVID, SO THE PROPOSED RATES REFLECTED IT INCLUDE INCREASED COSTS AND THE CHANGING MARKET CONDITIONS. THERE ARE ALSO SOME PRICING CHANGES FOR EXTRA TRASH AND ALSO ADDITIONAL BULK ITEMS. HOWEVER, THE RATES FOR MULTI-UNITS WILL REMAIN THE SAME AS THEY ARE RIGHT NOW, AND THEY WILL WON'T BE CHANGED UNTIL JANUARY 1ST. SO THOSE ARE OUR PROPOSED PRICES. THEY WERE IN YOUR PACKET AS WELL. I DID SOME INVESTIGATION OR RESEARCH WITH OTHER CITIES SO THAT YOU COULD JUST GIVE YOU SOME COMPARISONS. STILLWATER STILL REMAINS COMPETITIVE WITH OTHER COMMUNITIES AND CONTINUES TO OFFER A HIGH LEVEL OF SERVICE TO ITS RESIDENTS. AS YOU CAN SEE, OUR YARD WASTE AND BULK ITEM SERVICES ARE VERY WELL PRICED, AND PROVIDING THESE SERVICES HELP KEEP OUR CITY CLEAN AND REDUCE DEBRIS IN OUR RAVINES AND RIVER, WHICH IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT. MANY CITIES ON THEIR YARD WASTE CAN'T EVEN COMPARE TO WHAT WE HAVE. AND FOR BULK ITEMS, YOU KNOW. LOOKS GOOD TO ME. SO ONE MORE. THE PROPOSED CONTRACT IS FOR A FIVE YEAR TERM. WE ARE SEEKING COUNCIL DIRECTION ON TWO ITEMS. FIRST IS A PREFERRED METHOD FOR THE ANNUAL RATE ADJUSTMENTS. SO WE COULD USE THE CPI CONSUMER PRICE INDEX FOR WATER, SEWER AND TRASH. AND I'VE GIVEN YOU A BREAKDOWN OF THE LAST FIVE YEARS. WHAT IT WAS THE RATES AND OR SECOND, WE HAVE A CHOICE TO GO WITH A 5% FIXED RATE EACH YEAR. SECONDLY, THE OTHER ITEM I'D LIKE YOU TO DECIDE IS WHETHER THERE ARE ANY OTHER CONTRACT TERMS OR RATES THAT YOU WOULD LIKE ME TO FURTHER NEGOTIATE. AND THEN BASED ON THAT DIRECTION, WE CAN FINALIZE NEGOTIATIONS AND RETURN WITH A FINAL AGREEMENT AT A FUTURE COUNCIL MEETING FOLLOWING LEGAL REVIEW. SO AND VANESSA IS HERE TO ANSWER ANY OF YOUR QUESTIONS. AND CPI NUMBERS. WHERE'S THAT SET? THAT IS A FEDERAL INDEX. AND I'M SORRY BECAUSE MY VOICE SOUNDS TERRIBLE, BUT IT IS A FEDERAL INDEX ESTABLISHED EVERY YEAR THAT DEEPLY ANALYZES OUR INDUSTRY, THE WASTE INDUSTRY. 
          IN THIS CASE, WE SHARE IT WITH WATER, SEWER AND TRASH. TRASH BEING US. AND IT REFLECTS FUEL ADJUSTMENTS, EQUIPMENT INFRASTRUCTURE CHANGES, LABOR SHORTAGES, THAT KIND OF THING. 
          SO THAT'S THE THAT'S WHAT FOLKS HIGHLIGHT ABOUT IT, THAT IT ACTUALLY REFLECTS THE ECONOMY AND THE CHANGES TO THE INDUSTRY. I LOVE THAT YOU'RE DOING SOME ROUTE OPTIMIZATION STUFF. 
          THAT'S FANTASTIC. YOU'RE EASILY THE HEAVIEST TRUCKS. AND SADLY, WE FOUND OUT A COUPLE YEARS AGO ALSO DANGEROUS. AND, AND I APPRECIATE HOW YOU HANDLED THAT SITUATION. FROM WHAT I KNOW OF IT, WHEN I'M LOOKING AT THE PRICE INCREASES, THE 96 GALLON ONE IS A 5% INCREASE AND THEN IT GOES UP INVERSELY PROPORTIONAL TO THE SIZE OF THE CONTAINER TO THE THE 35 GALLON IS A BASICALLY 35% INCREASE, CORRECT? YEAH. WE KNOW IT SOUNDS LIKE BETWEEN THAT AND THERE'S A BIG LIFT AND THE, YOU KNOW, EXTRA PACKAGES IS THE GOAL HERE JUST TO GET AS MUCH AUTOMATION IN AS POSSIBLE. AND THAT'S KIND OF HOW YOU'RE TRYING TO DRIVE OUR OVERALL RATES DOWN. IS THAT THE I THINK IT'S A MULTI-PRONGED APPROACH. THE FIRST CHALLENGE THAT WE HAD AND THAT WE DISCUSSED DEEPLY WAS THE YARD WASTE CONVERSATION. WE WERE NOT CHARGING A REASONABLE RATE TO KEEP UP WITH THE MARKET CONDITIONS WHEN IT COMES TO YARD WASTE, EVEN TO THE CITY, LIKE WE CONTRIBUTED LIKE NEW CARTS WITHOUT CHARGING ANYTHING FOR THEM WHEN THEY RANGE ANYWHERE BETWEEN $30 TO UP TO $80. RIGHT. BUT WE WERE TRYING TO BE GOOD PARTNERS AND THAT'S WHAT WE DID, RIGHT? WE ABSORBED THE COSTS. AND NOW WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS TO BALANCE ALL THOSE, ALL THOSE DIFFERENT CONTRIBUTIONS THAT WE HAVE MADE, WHILE ALSO BEING MINDFUL OF AUTOMATION. AS YOU MENTIONED, THE REROUTES THAT WE'RE TRYING TO IMPLEMENT, THE TECHNOLOGY THAT WE OFFER THAT NO ONE ELSE WILL OFFER YOU THOSE RATES. AND I WOULD ALSO SAY THE COMPLETE PACKAGE THAT THE CITY OF STILLWATER HAS, BECAUSE AS YOU SAW, LIKE NO OTHER CITY HAS IT, AND WE ARE INCLUDING BULK PICKUPS, WE ARE INCREASING THE NUMBER BECAUSE 
          [00:20:03]
WE DO REALIZE THAT THIS IS A CHANGE. NOBODY IS HAPPY RIGHT NOW WITH THE ECONOMY, AND WE ALL WANT TO CONTRIBUTE TO PROCESSING HOW THIS GOES, RIGHT? WE WANT TO MAKE YOUR RESIDENTS HAPPY. SO THAT'S WHY WE WERE LIKE, OKAY, LET'S LOWER THE RATES A LITTLE BIT. THEN LET'S NEGOTIATE THIS A LITTLE BIT. AND THE REASON FOR YOUR QUESTION IN PARTICULAR IS BECAUSE WE HAVE MORE RESIDENTS USING THE LARGER CARTS. SO THAT'S WHY WE ARE TRYING TO INCREASE FOR THEM TO HAVE THE LESS IMPACT BECAUSE THAT'S A HIGHER NUMBER OF RESIDENTS. SO THAT'S WHY THEY'RE GETTING NO, I GET THAT. I JUST WORRY IT'S REGRESSIVE BECAUSE OUR, OUR MOST PRICE SENSITIVE FOLKS ARE GOING TO USE THE SMALLEST BINS AND TAKE THEM OUT A FEW TIMES AS POSSIBLE. SO AND WE'RE STILL, YOU KNOW, LIKE WE'RE STILL OPEN TO REVISITING SOME OF THOSE RATES AS NEEDED. OBVIOUSLY, I THINK THAT THE MAIN CONCERN RIGHT NOW IS IN TERMS OF THE ANNUAL ADJUSTMENT, BECAUSE WE WANT TO GET TO MATCH AT LEAST MARKET CONDITIONS, RIGHT? BUT WE'RE MORE THAN HAPPY TO EVEN TAKE THE CONVERSATION FURTHER. AND I CAN BRING THIS TO MY AREA LEADERSHIP AND SAY, HEY, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE NOT AFFECTING THOSE THAT ARE IN MORE NEED OF THE SERVICES AND THAT WILL MAKE MORE ACCESSIBLE RATES. SO I'LL STOP MONOPOLIZING THIS IN A SECOND. SORRY GUYS, BUT I DO APPRECIATE THE SWEETENERS. THERE'S AN, YOU KNOW, YOU GET AN EXTRA APPLIANCE OUT AND SOME OF THE OTHER STUFF, BUT IF I WERE TO PUSH ON ANYTHING, IT'D BE THAT 5% NUMBER, BECAUSE I THINK THAT'S JUST WHAT'S GOING TO IMPACT US THE MOST ON THAT. I LOVE THAT I CAN TAKE A BUNCH OF APPLIANCES OUT. I LOVE THAT I DON'T HAVE TO MESS WITH ELECTRONICS. THAT'S GREAT, BUT I WOULD GIVE THOSE AWAY TO GET THAT RATE DOWN LOWER PERSONALLY. YEAH, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE DATA IS ON HOW MUCH. I MEAN, I LOVE THE FACT THAT WE HAVE A COUPLE OF THOSE, BUT I DON'T KNOW THAT I'VE EVER NEEDED MORE THAN TWO BULK ITEMS A YEAR. I'M NEVER GOING TO THROW OUT FOUR APPLIANCES IN A YEAR. RIGHT. 
          IT'S GREAT TO KNOW THAT I CAN. BUT YOU KNOW, IT SEEMS LIKE A LOT. I KNOW YOU GOT A COUPLE HOUSES THAT COULD USE LIKE, CAN WE JUST DO THAT FOR EVERY HOUSE AND ADD THEM ALL UP? ONE ALTHOUGH I DID BUY SAMSUNG TRADE THOSE LAST TIME. SO MAYBE CAN I, CAN I TRADE THAT TO COREY FOR A PROBLEM PROPERTY? IF I DON'T USE IT, I JUST TAKE MY APPLIANCES AND THROW THEM IN TED'S YARD. RIGHT? FINE. DALE WILL LET US KNOW. AS FAR AS THE. HOW DO YOU HOW ARE YOU FEELING ABOUT THE FIXED RATE OR THE RATE THAT'S ATTACHED TO MORE OR LESS INFLATION? I AGAIN, NOT BEING AN ECONOMIST, LOOKING AT THE HISTORY OF THIS AND TRYING TO IN THE FUTURE, I DON'T SEE LIKE I KIND OF THINK A FIXED RATE MIGHT BE MORE BENEFICIAL OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS OF THIS CONTRACT THAN TYING THIS TO INFLATION. BUT AGAIN, I THINK IT'S PROBABLY SPLITTING HAIRS. BUT I KIND OF LIKE THE THE CERTAINTY OF THAT. I DON'T, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, THEY TIED SOMETHING TO THE GAS CHARGES LAST TIME AND THAT DIDN'T WORK OUT RIGHT. I CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT IT WAS NOW. OH THE DIESEL PRICES AND WE DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THAT. WE HAVEN'T. 
          WELL THAT WAS LAST TIME THEY HAD. I'M SO GLAD WE DON'T HAVE TO DEAL WITH THAT RIGHT NOW. NO, I DON'T WANT PRICES ARE SHOOTING DOWN, SO THAT'S GOOD NEWS. THE ONLY THING I DON'T LIKE ABOUT WHAT WE HAVE NOW IS I DON'T THINK IT'S I DON'T THINK IT'S OUR PLACE TO GET INVOLVED IN CONTRACT AREA. YOU KNOW, IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH WITH THE TENANT OR RESIDENT OR WHATEVER, IT SHOULDN'T BE UP TO US TO NEGOTIATE THAT SOMEONE DOESN'T PAY THEIR BILL. RIGHT. AND I HAD A PROBLEM WITH THAT SINCE DAY ONE, THERE'S NO WAY WE SHOULD BE NEGOTIATING WHAT WAS GOING ON WITH THE TENANT AND THE GARBAGE, THE MULTIFAMILY STUFF. YEP. I DON'T I DON'T WANT TO GET INVOLVED IN THAT ANYMORE. IT'S MY PERSONAL OPINION. YEAH. I DON'T KNOW HOW WE GET OUT OF THAT, BUT I'M WITH YOU. I MEAN, I GET IT WHEN SOMEONE DOESN'T LIKE A PROPERTY OWNER DOESN'T PAY THEM, JUST ADD IT TO THEIR TAXES. THAT'S EASY ENOUGH FOR US TO, TO MANAGE. BUT I KNOW WE'VE BEEN IN THE MIDDLE OF SOME OF THE MULTI TENANT THINGS IN THE PAST. YEAH, I DON'T REALLY HAVE AN ANSWER TO THAT ONE, ALTHOUGH WE CAN DEFINITELY ASK IF THERE ARE ANY OTHER SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT IT. YEAH, YEAH. BY AND LARGE I THINK IT'S FINE, BUT I'M KIND OF WITH LARRY. I DON'T KNOW THAT THE I MEAN, IF WE COULD KEEP THE THE BULK PICKUP TO ME, I THINK THE BULK PICKUP HOW IT WAS, WAS FINE IF WE COULD, YOU KNOW, KEEP THAT UNCHANGED AND YOU KNOW, THE, YOU KNOW, WE'VE ALWAYS HAD THE ABILITY TO HAVE YOU TAKE AWAY ADDITIONAL BULK ITEMS AND IT WAS 15 BUCKS AND NOW THAT'S 25. 
          THAT SEEMS REASONABLE. BUT IF WE COULD KEEP KIND OF BULK ITEMS THE SAME AND, AND DROP OUR OVERALL RATES JUST A LITTLE BIT, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT DOES TO RATES. IF IT DOES ANYTHING FOR YOU GUYS OR NOT, BUT I DON'T KNOW THAT WE NEED MORE BULK ITEMS, PICKUPS AND STILLWATER, BUT. IF ANYONE ELSE HAS ANY. I'VE HEARD OF PEOPLE BRINGING STUFF IN FROM THEIR MOTHER IN LAWS. AND YEAH, I KNOW PEOPLE USE IT LIKE, OH, I CAN GET RID OF THAT WATER 
          [00:25:03]
HEATER FOR YOU. GET RID OF IT OFF. RIGHT? YEAH, GET RID OF THAT FOR YOU. YEAH. SO YEAH, I DON'T KNOW, I DIDN'T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THE 15 BUCKS OR WHATEVER. AT LEAST YOU'RE CHARGING SOMETHING, RIGHT? YEAH. AND YOU GOT 25 BUCKS TO HAUL AWAY A WATER HEATER. SEEMS FINE TO ME TOO. SO YEAH, THOSE WOULD BE MY ONLY NOTES, BUT OVERALL, IT STILL LOOKS GOOD CONSIDERING THAT THIS WAS, YOU KNOW, PRE COVID AND DONE FIVE YEARS AGO. I WAS PLEASED TO SEE THE RATES HAVEN'T CHANGED THAT MUCH. I WAS KIND OF EXPECTING A LITTLE MORE STICKER SHOCK WHEN I FIRST OPENED THIS UP. SO I APPRECIATE YOUR WORK ON IT. AND AGAIN, AS PRESENTED, I'M PERSONALLY FINE WITH IT. BUT IF THERE'S ANYTHING ELSE WE COULD DO, THAT WOULD BE GREAT. BUT I DO THINK WE STICK WITH THE 5%, RIGHT? VERSUS BETTING ON INFLATION. I WILL SAY I'VE GOT A LOT OF RESIDENTS WHO GET THEIR PENS REAL SHARP WHEN THESE NUMBERS COME OUT. SO IT'S A BIG IT'S A BIG DEAL FOR SEVERAL PEOPLE. YEAH, THAT MAKES SENSE. MANAGEMENT HAS BEEN GREAT CONTRACTOR. I MEAN, THEY'VE THEY'VE BEEN ON SINCE I'VE BEEN ON THE COUNCIL AND THEY'VE BEEN GREAT. YOUR DRIVERS ARE AWESOME. YEAH. THEY'RE THE I MEAN I HURT MY SHOULDER AND I COULDN'T LIFT MY GARBAGE AND THEY HELPED ME GET IT OUT AND EVERYTHING ELSE. YEAH. THEY'RE NICE GUYS. YEAH. 
          REALLY NICE GUYS. IN ALL SINCERITY. I KNOW WE HAD SOME TRAGEDY THAT HAPPENED A COUPLE YEARS AGO. THEY WERE GREAT ABOUT THAT. THEY'VE BEEN GREAT ABOUT OTHER STUFF. AND THE REASON THAT HAPPENED WAS BECAUSE POOR GAL WAS TAKING OUT COOKIES BECAUSE SHE'S GOT SUCH A GOOD RELATIONSHIP TO HIM. SO, YOU KNOW, IT'S TRAGIC, BUT IT ALSO SPEAKS TO OUR COMMUNITY'S VERY CLOSE TO YOURS IN A LOT OF WAYS. AND I LOVE THE ADDITION OF VANESSA, BY THE WAY, THAT HAS BEEN CONSISTENT. EVERY STAFF PERSON I'VE TALKED TO HAS SAID YOU'VE BEEN LOVELY TO WORK WITH. OH THANK YOU. IT'S SO GOOD TO HEAR. OKAY, AWESOME. THANK YOU. ANYTHING ELSE? NOPE. 
          THAT'S GREAT DIRECTION. COOL. THANK YOU ALL. AND THANK YOU FOR COMING IN. SO THANK YOU. 
          [4. Assistant City Administrator]
ALL RIGHT. LET'S DO STAFF REPORTS. ARE WE DOING SHAWN? GOOD. MAYOR, A FEW ITEMS FOR YOU. ABOUT TEN DAYS AGO, WE WERE NOTIFIED BY THE METRO STATE AID THAT WE RECEIVED $1.5 MILLION LOCAL ROAD IMPROVEMENT GRANT FOR MYRTLE STREET, WHICH WAS A HUGE BONUS FOR US. SO WE'RE ON SCHEDULE NOW TO OPEN THAT PROJECT IN 2027. FINALLY FIXED MYRTLE STREET. YES, LAST WEEK OR MAYBE TEN DAYS AGO OR SO. THE VESSELS FOR THE TREATMENT PLANT WERE BROUGHT IN AND PUT IN INTO OUR NEW TREATMENT SITE, AND WE'RE STILL ON SCHEDULE TO HAVE THIS NEW PLANT OPERATING BY THE 1ST OF MAY. PLEASE SEE THIS AT ALL. I HAVEN'T SEEN IT RECENTLY. YEAH. 
          DID YOU SEE? AND SHAWN, JO AND I WENT A LITTLE BEHIND THE SCENES TOUR. OKAY. YEAH, A BIG FIELD TRIP EXERCISE. I'D LIKE TO GET A LITTLE BIT CLOSER TO IT. THANK YOU. HAVE YOU BEEN GETTING THE INFORMATION OUT TO THE PUBLIC? I SAW IT ON NEXT DOOR NEIGHBOR. WHATEVER. WHAT'S GOING ON OUT THERE WITH THESE BIG. YOU'RE READING NEXT DOOR, YOU'RE GOING TO GET. OH, GOD. 
          YEAH, IT WAS JUST ON MY FRIEND. IT WAS JUST ON MY. IT WAS JUST ON MY COMPUTER ONE DAY. WITH PERIODIC UPDATES ON THE BODY UNDER THIS BRIDGE. 25 MILE AN HOUR SPEED LIMIT SIGNS ARE STILL ONGOING. NOW WE'RE WORKING ON INSTALLATION IN NEW LOCATIONS, AND WE THINK WE SHOULD HAVE ALL THE WORK DONE IN THE CITY BY MID-MAY. COOL. TEDDY BEAR PARK IS OPEN FOR THE SEASON OPENED UP YESTERDAY. IT'S OPEN. I SAW THAT SEAN. LOVE THAT. MY FAVORITE DAY OF THE YEAR. AND LASTLY, LAST FALL OR SO, MAYBE LATE SUMMER, WE HIRED HCG-R TO WORK ON OUR PARKS MASTER PLAN. IT'S GETTING TO THE POINT NOW TO WHERE THE PLAN IS OUT FOR PUBLIC COMMENT, AND I THINK FOR ANOTHER WEEK OR SO, ONCE THOSE ONCE THAT REVIEW PERIOD IS OVER, THEY'LL PUT THOSE COMMENTS OR REVIEW THEM. AND THEN IN APRIL, WE'LL GO INTO PARKS COMMISSION AND JUNE, THEY WILL BE GOING TO CITY COUNCIL FOR FINAL APPROVAL. ALL RIGHT. THAT'S ALL I HAVE. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, SEAN, ARE WE STILL PLANNING ON PAINTING THE WATER TOWER ON TOWER DRIVE THIS SUMMER? YES, THE WATER TOWER PAINTING SCHEDULE. I THINK THEY'RE PLANNING ON BEING HERE MID-MAY. AND WE'LL GO TILL, I BELIEVE, MID-JULY. ROUGHLY THE SAME RATE. 
          YES. YEAH, WE GOT THE INITIAL COLORS. WE ARE. NO. WANTS A RACING. ALL RIGHT. COOL. THANK 
          [5. Police Chief]
YOU SEAN. YOU'RE WELCOME. HEY, POLICE CHIEF. THIS TIME OF YEAR, I COME UP BEHIND SEAN. HE'S TALKING ABOUT THE FLOOD, BUT NOTHING. WE DON'T SAY THAT RIGHT NOW. HOW ABOUT THIS WEEKEND? FORECAST, MAN? HE GUARANTEED IT. IT'S GOOD. JUST A COUPLE OF QUICK UPDATES. I MENTIONED TWO NEW OFFICERS THAT HAVE STARTED. SO TROY, EDMUND AND SEAN ARE ON FTO AND THEY'RE JUST DOING OUTSTANDING IN THE FIRST COUPLE OF DAYS. TODAY WAS A GREAT DAY FOR THEM, A LOT OF REPS AND A LOT OF CALLS FOR SERVICE, AND THEY'RE DOING AWESOME. SO REALLY HAPPY TO 
          [00:30:01]
HAVE THEM ON BOARD. I'M GOING TO JUST HIT ON REAL QUICKLY BECAUSE I'M SURE THAT JASON'S GOING TO TALK A LOT ABOUT IT, BUT PARKING ENFORCEMENT, HERE WE GO. SO THANKS TO TEAGAN AND DANNY, THEY'VE BEEN DOING A GREAT JOB. AND THIS IS JUST KIND OF A CULMINATION OF STEPPING IN. AFTER ALL THE WORK THAT JASON AND HIS TEAM DID WITH THE SIGNAGE AND JUST KIND OF REALLY ORGANIZING THE WHOLE PROCESS. AND IT'S MADE IT REALLY EASY FOR US TO STEP IN AND SAY, OKAY, NOW WE FEEL REALLY COMFORTABLE ENFORCING SOMETHING THAT'S UNDERSTANDABLE IN THE PUBLIC. AND WE'VE HAD VERY, VERY, VERY LITTLE CONTACT. THERE'S BEEN A COUPLE OF BUSINESS OWNERS THAT ARE FRUSTRATED THAT THEIR, THEIR, THEIR, YOU KNOW, THEIR, THEIR OWN PARKING SPOT THAT THEY HAVE VIEWED OVER THE YEARS IS NOT THEIRS. AND NOW THEY MIGHT HAVE TO PAY FOR IT. BUT OTHER THAN THAT, VERY, VERY LITTLE NEGATIVE FEEDBACK AT ALL FROM THE COMMUNITY. SO WE TAKE THAT AS A GREAT SIGN THAT THEY UNDERSTAND THE THE COMMUNICATION FROM OUR GROUP AND OUR TEAM. ELIZABETH PUT STUFF OUT. AND SO WE THINK THAT THIS WHOLE PROJECT THAT'S BEEN HEADED BY JASON HAS BEEN AWESOME AND HAS ALLOWED US TO DO WHAT WE NEED TO DO. IT'S PROBABLY BEEN ONE OF THE MOST POSITIVE CITY POSTS. LIKE I JUST RESHARE IT AND SHARE EVERYBODY. IT WASN'T AN APRIL FOOL'S JOKE, BUT YOU COULD POST A PICTURE OF A PUPPY AND A KITTEN AND HALF THE PEOPLE WOULD YELL AT YOU. THAT WAS REALLY POSITIVE WHEN WE POSTED THAT, WE MADE THOSE CHANGES. SO THANK YOU, ELIZABETH, AND THANK YOU GUYS. IT'S BEEN GREAT. AND THE WORK THAT TEGAN AND DANNY ARE DOING IS AWESOME. AND YOU KNOW, REALLY THE GOAL IS JUST TO CHANGE BEHAVIOR. AND SO THERE'S BEEN KIND OF THAT SPIKE. 
          AND THEN WE THINK THAT THAT'LL DIP DOWN IN THE FUTURE. AND IT'S KIND OF, YOU KNOW, THE CULMINATION OF WHAT THE PARKING SYSTEM SHOULD BE DOWN THERE. SO WE'RE REALLY HAPPY WITH THAT. 
          AND THEN LASTLY, I JUST WANT TO BRING TO LIGHT EVERY YEAR, WE DO AN INTERNAL EVIDENCE ROOM AUDIT. AND TYPICALLY AN EXTERNAL AUDIT COMES A CHANGE OF LEADERSHIP. WE DID ONE WHEN I CAME IN HERE. AND THEN THIS WAS INTERNAL. AND SO WE WERE ABLE TO FUND AND WORK WITH ROB AND HIS TEAM AND GET INTERNAL SOFTWARE FOR OUR EVIDENCE ROOM LAST YEAR. AND WHAT THAT HAS DONE IS JUST STREAMLINED EVERYTHING IN OUR EVIDENCE ROOM. IT'S CUT OUR AUDIT TIME IN HALF. 
          AND SO THE GROUP OF, YOU KNOW, DAVE WOLFINGER, OUR DETECTIVE SERGEANT BRAD JUNKER, AND TEGAN AGAIN, YOU KNOW, KIND OF WEARS A BUNCH OF DIFFERENT HATS. AND PART OF IT WAS THIS EVIDENCE ROOM AUDIT WE PASSED WITH 100% ZERO FINDINGS IN THAT AUDIT. AND SO WE'RE REALLY PROUD OF THAT. AND AGAIN, A LOT OF IT'S BECAUSE OF THE SUPPORT FROM COUNCIL AND APPROVING THE BUDGET TO IMPLEMENT SOME OF THAT SOFTWARE. THAT REALLY STREAMLINES AN IMPORTANT PROCESS IN OUR ORGANIZATION. WELL, NOW WE ACTUALLY HAVE AN EVIDENCE ROOM, LIKE BEFORE IT WAS WHERE IT WAS DIFFERENT. SO IT WAS IT WAS DIFFERENT. I ENDED THAT INVESTIGATION FROM THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE. AND SO IT WAS A GREAT WAY TO PUT IT, BUT THAT'LL STAND FOR ANY QUESTIONS. 
          AWESOME. THANK YOU. AWESOME. THANKS, STEVE. ALL RIGHT. LIBRARIES MARK HERE. HEY 
          [6. Library Director]
THERE'S MARK. GOOD EVENING MAYOR COUNCIL. I JUST WANTED TO SHARE. I'VE GOT THREE THINGS I WANT TO SHARE. BRIEF UPDATE ABOUT THE LIBRARY FOUNDATION'S LATEST SPARK EVENT. THE FOUNDATION, WHICH IS A SEPARATE 500 1C3 THAT SUPPORTS THE LIBRARY THROUGH PRIVATE FUNDRAISING, HAS DECIDED TO PAUSE THE EVENT FOR 2026. IT'S A STRATEGIC DECISION TO EVALUATE HOW THEIR FUNDRAISING EFFORTS CAN HAVE THE MOST LONG TERM IMPACT. THEY'RE DOING A STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS THIS YEAR, AND THE SLIGHTEST SPARK EVENT TAKES HUNDREDS OF HOURS TO GET READY FOR AND PLAN. AND SO WITH NEXT YEAR BEING THE LIBRARY'S 130TH ANNIVERSARY AND THE FOUNDATION'S 20TH ANNIVERSARY, THEY WANT TO TAKE THIS TIME TO BUILD A STRATEGY FOR THAT MILESTONE YEAR AND GOING FORWARD. SO I JUST WANT TO MAKE YOU AWARE OF THIS. SO YOU'RE NOT SURPRISED IF YOU HEAR ABOUT THIS, BECAUSE THE FOUNDATION HAS BEGUN COMMUNICATING THIS MORE BROADLY. SO YOU WON'T NEED TO. I'M TRYING TO I'M WORKING ON TRYING TO GET IT THROUGH A RADIO STATION. SO WE'RE SET. SOUNDS GOOD. ALSO, THE FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY WILL BE COLLECTING USED BOOKS IN THE LIBRARY'S PARKING RAMP ON SATURDAY, APRIL 18TH FROM 1030 TO 3 FOR THE SPRING BOOK SALE, WHICH WILL RUN APRIL 22ND THROUGH THE 25TH. AND THEN. 
          THIS IS KIND OF AN UNUSUAL PROGRAM AT THE LIBRARY. BUT ON SATURDAY, APRIL 18TH, FROM 11 TO 3, THE STILLWATER AMATEUR RADIO ASSOCIATION IS GOING TO HOST A DROP IN EVENT AT THE LIBRARY, ALLOWING THE PUBLIC TO SEE AND TRY DIFFERENT TYPES OF EQUIPMENT THEY USE, AND THEN THEY'RE GOING TO SHARE DETAILS ABOUT BUILDING AND LAUNCHING A RADIO BALLOON THAT WILL RISE TO AN ALTITUDE OF 80,000FT AND CIRCLED THE GLOBE. SO I THINK THAT'S PRETTY COOL. THAT'S REALLY COOL. LET'S SEE. YEAH. WELL, I'M JUST GOING TO THEY'RE GOING TO DESCRIBE HOW TO DO THIS OR THEY'RE ACTUALLY GOING TO THEY'RE JUST GOING TO LAUNCH A BALLOON. THEY'RE NOT. I HAVE THE SAME QUESTION. THEY'RE NOT GOING TO LAUNCH THE BALLOON THAT DAY, BUT THEY WILL SHARE DETAILS ABOUT IT AND TALK ABOUT IT AND TALK ABOUT THE TIMELINE AND WHAT'S INVOLVED AND ALL THAT. SO WOW. YEAH. VERY COOL. AWESOME. THANK YOU, THANK YOU. I T ROB, HOW ARE WE DOING? GOOD. 
          [7. IT Manager]
          [00:35:03]
HAPPY TO BE HERE. A LITTLE EASTER GOUDA FOR LUNCH AND I FEEL A LITTLE QUEASY AFTERWARDS. 
          I WASN'T SURE I'D MAKE IT, BUT THE IRON STOMACH PREVAILED. HAPPY TO BE HERE. SO WITH THAT INFORMATION, IT'S INFORMATION OVERLOAD AT THE END OF YOUR REPORT. YEAH. WHAT'S FRONT AND CENTER OF THE IT DEPARTMENT RIGHT NOW IS WORKING HAND IN HAND WITH THE DATA INTEGRATORS. 
          WE GOT THOSE SERVERS BUILT RIGHT NOW. THEY'RE CONFIGURING THEM AND WE'RE MAKING SURE THEY'RE DESIGNED IN A WAY THAT'S SECURE AND MEETS OUR STANDARDS. AND I BELIEVE WE'RE READY FOR TESTING IN THE NEXT COUPLE WEEKS TO SEE WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE. AND THAT GOES TIES INTO THE WATER TREATMENT FACILITY AND ALL THAT. ALSO TODAY, THE REC CENTER PARKING LOT CAMERAS WERE INSTALLED AND INSTALLATION WILL COMPLETE TOMORROW. I'M ASSUMING SOME OF THE ICE IN THE HANDHELDS GETS CLEARED OUT OF THERE. ALSO, WE'RE CONTINUING TO PREP OUR NETWORK FOR OUR BACKUP HYPERVISORS. KEEP THAT, KEEP OUR SYSTEMS HUMMING IN THE EVENT OF A CATASTROPHIC FAILURE OF SOME SORT. ALSO, OUR TRIENNIAL POLICE DEPARTMENT TECHNICAL AUDIT WAS INITIATED TODAY, SO WE'LL BE SHARPENING OUR PENCILS FOR THAT. OH, DID EVERYONE GET MY EMAIL ABOUT THE IT TECHNOLOGY POLICY WHO CLICKED ON IT? I DID NOT. JOB OF RECORDING TRICKS. TRICKSTER WAS CALLING, YOU KNOW, I CALLED HIM OUT. YEP. MIKE POLLINA DID A GREAT EXAMPLE BY SEEING A SUSPICIOUS EMAIL THAT LOOKED LIKE IT MAY HAVE CAME FROM ME, BUT CALLED AND VERIFIED AND SAID EMAILING ME BACK AND SAYING, IS THIS LEGITIMATE? SO EXCELLENT JOB. NOW WITH THAT, YEAH, EVERYONE IS DOING REAL WELL IN IDENTIFYING THE PHISHING SIMULATION EMAILS WE HAVE GOING OUT. STARTED TO MODIFY THAT A LITTLE BIT. SO THEY'RE MORE CHALLENGING BECAUSE THE ONE THING WE HEAR IS, WELL, THEY'VE SENT ME EMAILS BEFORE, YOU KNOW, AND IF AN EMAIL ACCOUNT GETS COMPROMISED AND STARTS SENDING MALICIOUS THINGS, THAT'S LIKE THE NUMBER WAY ATTACK TO, TO GET IN. SO JUST TRYING TO KEEP EVERYONE ON THEIR TOES. YEAH. QUESTIONS. I THINK THAT'LL DO IT. HOW'S YOUR STOMACH? GREAT. 
          GREAT. OKAY, GOOD. EVERYTHING'S HUMMING. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. HR, DO YOU HAVE ANY COMMENTS 
          [8. Human Resources Manager]
ABOUT THE PREVIOUS PRESENTATION? OH. GOOD EVENING. UPDATES ON MY END. THE WELLNESS EVENTS CONTINUE TO BE VERY SUCCESSFUL. WE'RE SEEING KIND OF RECORD HIGH PARTICIPATION COMPARED TO PRIOR YEARS. I CONTRIBUTE THAT A LOT TO OUR WELLNESS COMMITTEE. WE HAVE SEVERAL PEOPLE FROM DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS CONTRIBUTING THIS YEAR, AND WHAT WE PUT TOGETHER FOR OPTIONS FOR EVENTS. SO THAT'S GOING WELL. RECRUITMENTS CONTINUE TO KEEP US BUSY. YOU MAY HAVE SEEN WE HAVE HAD FOUR NEW HIRES IN THE MONTH OF MARCH. SEVERAL. SEVERAL MORE ARE IN THE PROCESS. WE HAVE SEVERAL SEVERAL ADDITIONAL NEW HIRES COMING UP, PROBABLY IN APRIL MAY. SO EXCITING TO HAVE NEW FACES FOR YOU ALL, AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO SHARE THOSE UPDATES. 
          AND THEN OTHER THAN THAT, EVERYONE'S FAVORITE TIME OF YEAR ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REVIEWS ARE COMING UP HERE IN MAY. SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO EDUCATE SUPERVISORS ON THE PROCESS AND HELP THEM THROUGH THAT PROCESS AND WITH EMPLOYEES, CONTINUE TO ENGAGE THEM IN THAT. OFTENTIMES, YOUR PERFORMANCE REVIEW AND THE THE PROCESS ITSELF IS TIED TO RETENTION AS WELL WITH OUR WITH OUR STAFF. SO WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO HIRE PEOPLE AND RETAIN THEM TO SET US UP FOR SUCCESS. ANY QUESTIONS? SOUNDS GREAT. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. FIRE CHIEF. THIS GUY. GOOD 
          [9. Fire Chief – Stillwater Fire Department 2025 Annual Report]
AFTERNOON MAYOR COUNCIL GREW UP. I HOPE NOT. SORRY. YOU HEARD THIS ONCE ALREADY, RIGHT? I HEARD IT ALREADY. WE'RE GOING TO GO OVER THE ANNUAL REPORT A LITTLE BIT. WE'LL MAKE IT SHORT AND SWEET. OBVIOUSLY, I HAVE THE FULL PACKET, AND WE'LL PUBLISH THE ENTIRE REPORT ON OUR WEBSITE TOMORROW AS WELL. JUST SOME OF THE KEY HIGHLIGHTS YOU'LL SEE FOR 2025, OUR CALL VOLUME WAS UP ABOUT 18.5% SEEMS EXTREMELY HIGH. BUT I DID CHECK WITH ALL OUR NEIGHBORING DEPARTMENTS, AND IT'S ABOUT 15% ACROSS THE BOARD IN WASHINGTON COUNTY. SO NOTHING NEW TO US. 
          [00:40:05]
THE BULK OF THAT WAS IN THE CITY OF STILLWATER, WASN'T IN ANY OF OUR CONTRACT AREAS. THEY STAYED PRETTY FLAT. THE. PROTOCOLS WENT UP AS WELL IN THE CITY, AND THAT TOOK 10% INCREASE. AND THAT WAS ALL IN THE CITY OF STILLWATER ITSELF. NO, NOTHING NEW IS THE BUSIEST TIMES. WE TRACK IT BY DAY, A WEEK AND BY MONTH ALL VOLUME IS AND IT'S THE SUMMER MONTHS. MAY THROUGH. OCTOBER IS ALWAYS THE BUSIEST, WITH JULY USUALLY 100 CALLS MORE THAN ANY OTHER MONTH. 
          AND THAT'S WHY WE HAVE 4TH OF JULY. THERE'S A LOT OF SPECIAL EVENTS, THE RUNS. IS THERE ANY THEME TO THE FIRES WE'RE HAVING IN THE CITY RIGHT NOW, OR I GUESS IN THE CONTRACTED AREA AS WELL? IS THERE ANY NO, NO SPECIFIC THEME TO THEM. I MEAN, NOTHING OUTRAGEOUS. I MEAN, WE'F IT'S ARSON OF SOME SORT THAT'S RUNNING AROUND WHERE, YOU KNOW, WE'VE HAD NOW OR NOTHING INTENTIONAL. JUST KEEP DOING WHAT WE'RE DOING. DON'T BE CAREFUL WITH YOUR WHERE YOU PARK THE CAR, GET YOUR SMOKE ALARMS UP TO DATE. WERE YOU USING YOUR DEEP FRYER, THINGS LIKE THAT FRYER TURKEY IN YOUR KITCHEN? YES. USE IT OUTSIDE PLEASE. FAR FROM THE HOUSE. THE OTHER ONE IS WE KIND OF TALK ABOUT THE DOLLAR LOSS FOR FIRES. AND THERE IS A GOOD ONE I LIKE TO TALK ABOUT IS WE TRACK OUR PROPERTY AND CONTENTS SAVED VERSUS CONTENTS LOST FOR STRUCTURE FIRES. ONLY IN 2023 IT WAS 65 6.5 MILLION SAVED 2.3 LOST, WHICH IS TO ME PRETTY SIGNIFICANT LOSS. PAGE 62. ON OUR PACKET, BY THE WAY, BECAUSE I THOUGHT THAT WAS A SUPER INTERESTING SLIDE THAT YOU SHARED. YES. AND SO, I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY A PRETTY SIGNIFICANT DOLLAR LOSS 2024, WE HAD 20 MILLION WORTH OF PROPERTY SAVED AND ONLY LOST 316,000, 20, 25, ALMOST 30 MILLION SAVED AND ONLY 243,000 LOST. AND I THINK WHAT COUPLE THINGS THAT CORRELATE TO THIS IS OBVIOUSLY OUR FIRE PREVENTION EDUCATION SIGNIFICANTLY HELPS BEING IN THE SCHOOLS AND DOING ALL OF OUR COMMUNITY EVENTS TO GET THE WORD OUT, THE CODE ENFORCEMENT PIECE. AND THEN IN 2023, WE WERE A THREE PERSON ENGINE COMPANY, 2024, WE STARTED TO WORK ON OUR FOUR PERSON ENGINE COMPANY. AND IN 2025 WE HAD A FOUR PERSON ENGINE COMPANY. SO LOOK AT THAT SPLIT RIGHT FROM, YOU KNOW, 6.6 MILLION AND 30 MILLION SAVED, RIGHT TO 30 MILLION SAVED, AND THEN 2.5 MILLION BASICALLY TO RIGHT, 50,000 LOST, RIGHT. AND THE LOSS NUMBER DOWN IT IS AND I CAN'T. SO WE'LL MONITOR IT AND SEE WHERE IT GOES. BUT IT SEEMS WE'RE HEADING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION ON THAT ASPECT BY BEING ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, I WILL CONTRIBUTE SOME OF IT TO HAVING THAT EXTRA PERSON ON BOARD TO GET THE TASK DONE THAT NEED TO BE DONE RIGHT AWAY. AND SO OBVIOUSLY, ONE EXPENSIVE FIRE CAN KIND OF RUIN THAT. BUT I THINK THE CODING FROM THE COUNTY AND HOW THEY CHANGE THEIR 911 CALLS MAY HAVE HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH THAT TO SAY MORE ABOUT THAT. YEAH. SO THE COUNTY, THEY AS THEY UPDATE THEIR CODES, WE DECIDE WHICH ONES ARE, I'LL SAY ALL CALLS OR STATION CALLS, BUT I THINK SOME OF OUR DEPLOYMENT RIGHT NOW, WE ROLL. IF IT'S A FIRE ALARM, WE WILL ROLL THE RESCUE AND THE ENGINE TOGETHER TWO AND TWO. AND THAT WAY, IF IT'S A FALSE ALARM, WE CAN STILL BREAK ONE FREE. IF IT'S A CONFIRMED STRUCTURE FIRE, WE'LL ROLL ALL FOUR IMMEDIATELY. OR IF IT'S IN THE TOWNSHIP, POTENTIALLY THE ENGINE AND THE TENDER TOGETHER. SO WE HAVE THAT WATER SUPPLY. 
          SO THOSE ARE JUST THINGS WE COULDN'T DO NECESSARILY BEFORE WITH ONE PERSON LEAVING BEHIND TO DO SOMETHING. SO WE'LL SEE WHERE IT GOES. BUT THE CODING, YOU KNOW, AS THEY CODE THEM, WE KIND OF DETERMINE WHAT'S THAT GOING TO TONE OUT. IS IT GOING TO BE EVERYBODY OR IS IT JUST GOING TO BE THE DUTY CREW. SO AND WE MEET WITH THEM MONTHLY TO GO OVER THOSE. AND AS THOSE UPDATES COME, WE ADJUST ON THE CODE ENFORCEMENT PIECE. LAST YEAR WE DID 430 PLAN REVIEWS, INSPECTIONS AND PRE PLANS THROUGHOUT THE CITY. THE CREWS WERE VERY BUSY GETTING THAT THAT COMES RIGHT THROUGH OUR CAD SYSTEM AS WELL. SO WE HAVE ALL THAT BUILDING INFORMATION, STANDPIPE SPRINKLERS, YOU NAME IT AT OUR FINGERTIPS. EXCUSE ME. I THINK ANOTHER IMPORTANT ONE IS THE TRAINING. SO LAST YEAR WE DID ALMOST 4000 HOURS OF TRAINING FOR THE FIRE DEPARTMENT STAFF. THAT IS SIGNIFICANT. OBVIOUSLY, THERE'S REQUIREMENTS FOR LICENSING THAT HAS TO BE MET ABOVE AND BEYOND THAT THOUGH, WE HAVE OUR TECHNICAL RESCUE TEAMS, WHICH IS OUR DIVE TEAM, OUR ROPES, ROPE TECHS AND OUR MOBILE FIELD FORCE STAFF. THOSE HOURS ARE NOT ACCOUNTED FOR IN HERE. SO SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF TRAINING GOES IN AND THE DEDICATION OF THOSE STAFF TO DO THOSE EXTRA RESOURCES TO HELP OUT WITH THAT, NOT ONLY IN OUR CITY BUT WITHIN THE COUNTY. AND THEN LAST KIND OF IS A COUPLE HIGHLIGHTS FROM LAST YEAR. OBVIOUSLY, RESCUE 
          [00:45:05]
TWO WE TOOK POSSESSION OF IN 2025. WE ORDERED THAT. I WANT TO SAY 2023 TOOK ABOUT 18 MONTHS TO BUILD, BUT THAT ONE WILL BE OUR COMMAND CENTER. IT IS. OUR REHAB FACILITY CARRIES ALL OUR EXTRA TANKS AS WELL AS OUR DIVE GEAR, AND THEN OUR INSURANCE SERVICE OFFICE, WHICH IS OUR ISO RATING FOR INSURANCE, HAS GONE DOWN FROM A FOUR TO A THREE. SO THAT IS PRETTY SIGNIFICANT. THAT IS WHAT EVERYTHING IS BASED ON FOR INSURANCE. AND THAT IS WITHIN FIVE MILES OF THE CITY OR FIVE MILES OF OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT WITH THAT RANKING. AND THEN THE STATE OF MINNESOTA THAT IS IN THE TOP 7% IN THE COUNTRY, IT'S THE TOP 17% OF THAT. SO WE'LL KEEP PLUGGING AWAY TO TRY TO KEEP THAT GOING DOWN. GARBAGE WENT UP A LITTLE BIT. IF YOU'RE WITHIN FIVE MILES OF THE FIRE DEPARTMENT COULD SAVE A LITTLE. THAT IS THAT IS THE HARD PART TO CALCULATE IS WHAT IS THAT INSURANCE SAVINGS COST, RIGHT? BUT THAT'S A GOOD INFORMATION TO GET OUT TO PEOPLE THAT THEY UNDERSTAND. IT IS. I MEAN, THEY TALK ABOUT THE STUFF COSTING MONEY. THERE'S A REASON FOR IT. CORRECT. AND DO YOU THINK THAT RATING, DOES IT HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH OUR PROPERTY SAVED AND LOST NUMBERS LIKE CHANGING SO DRAMATICALLY? I MEAN, DO THEY LOOK AT THAT WITH THIS RATING OR WHAT IS THAT. DO NOT LOOK AT THAT. OKAY. PRETTY LOST NECESSARILY. THEY THEY WERE THEIR INSURANCE COMPANIES. THEY LOOK AT WHAT IS YOUR STAFFING AND TURNOUT DO YOU GET FOR EVERY STRUT THEY LOOK AT STRUCTURE FIRES IS WHAT THEY'RE LOOKING AT. AND THEN IT'S THE EQUIPMENT ON YOUR TRUCK. THEY RANK YOU AND GET POINTS FOR EVERY PIECE OF EQUIPMENT THAT'S REQUIRED ON THE TRUCK TO HAVE. THAT'S WHERE WHEN WE TALK ABOUT HAVING A LADDER TRUCK, THAT IS A KEY PIECE THAT IS REQUIRED WITHIN A MILE AND A HALF OF, SO TO SPEAK, DOWNTOWN IN THAT AREA. SO THEY RATED ON YOUR APPARATUS, YOUR WATER SUPPLY, THE DISPATCH CENTER. SO IT'S A COMBINATION ONLY OF THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, BUT ALSO THE WATER DEPARTMENT AND THE COMMUNICATION CENTER INTO THAT FOR THE OVERALL OVERALL SCORE OF WHAT YOU'RE AT. 
          SO THEY WERE OUT LAST YEAR AND UPDATED IT AGAIN. AND WE WENT FROM A FOUR TO A THREE. DID THEY LOOK AT THAT? IS THAT ANNUAL THAT THEY LOOK AT THAT IT'S PROBABLY I THINK I'M GONNA SAY 5 TO 10 YEARS. AND HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN AT A THREE FOR. WE WENT TO A THREE LAST, LAST FALL. WE WENT TO A THREE. AND THEN PRIOR TO THAT WE WERE FOUR. AND I WANT TO SAY MAYBE 15 YEARS AGO, WE WERE AT A THREE. OKAY. AND THEN IT WENT UP TO A FOUR. OKAY. VARIABLES IN THERE ALL DEPEND JUST ON A DIFFERENT DISPATCH CENTER THAN WATER. SO I MEAN, THERE'S SOME VARIABLES THAT GO IN, BUT OBVIOUSLY THE WHEN WE WENT FROM TWO PERSON STAFFING TO THREE PERSON TO FOUR PERSON STAFFING IS A SIGNIFICANT POINT SCALE ON THERE THAT HELPS THOSE NUMBERS TO, TO FALL INTO A THREE AND THEN HAD SOME OTHER IMPROVEMENTS IN GRANTS. BUT ONE OF THE BIG ONES, I THINK OUR FIRE PREVENTION HOUSE THAT WE USE FOR OUR K THROUGH 12, WE USED TO HAVE, I SAY, A WOOD HOUSE THAT WE WOULD SET UP FOR PEOPLE TO DO THE CRAWL THROUGH THE WINDOW, GO THROUGH THE DOOR MEETING, PLACE. OUR FIRE PREVENTION COMMITTEE WORKED HARD AND FOUND A INFLATABLE HOUSE, KIND OF A BLOWUP HOUSE THAT HAS THREE ROOMS. IT IS EXTREMELY LARGE. AND HAVE YOU SEEN THIS HUGE? I SAW A PICTURE OF IT. IT'S LIKE. IT'S LIKE THE SIZE OF MY OLD HOUSE. IT IS NICE. IT'S SMALL HOUSE LIVING, BUT IT IS ADA ACCESSIBLE. SO WE'RE NOW ABLE TO GET SOME OF THOSE KIDS THROUGH THE SAFETY HOUSES AND TEACH THEM AS WELL, WHERE THEY DIDN'T HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY BEFORE. AND THAT HAS GONE OVER VERY WELL. AND THAT IS KIND OF OUR ANNUAL REPORT. I'LL STAND FOR ANY QUESTIONS. NICE WORK. THANK YOU. 
          [10. Finance Director]
THANK YOU. AWESOME. THANK YOU CHIEF. ALL RIGHT. FINANCE. GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR AND COUNCIL. 
          JUST A QUICK UPDATE. SO AS WE ARE FINALIZING ALL THE PREPARATIONS FOR THE 2025 AUDIT, WE ONCE AGAIN FOR THE 2024 AUDIT RECEIVED THE CERTIFICATE FOR ACHIEVEMENT FOR EXCELLENCE IN FINANCIAL REPORTING. AND KUDOS FOR THAT. I'D LIKE TO THANK MY STAFF FOR A JOB WELL DONE. THEY'RE BEHIND THE SCENES A LOT. KIND OF, YOU KNOW, DON'T ALWAYS GET A LOT OF RECOGNITION OR KUDOS, BUT THEIR CONTINUED DEDICATION FOR EXCELLENT SHOWS THROUGH. AWESOME. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANKS TO YOUR STAFF, WONDERFUL STAFF. YOU SHOULD PRESENT THAT COUNCIL MEETING. 
          OR DID THE WORD COME YET? YEAH. I MEAN, YEAH, I'M DONE. LIKE TV PEOPLE KNOW YOU'RE DOING A GOOD JOB MANAGING THE MONEY. WHAT DOES EVERYBODY ALWAYS WANT TO KNOW? RIGHT? YEAH. CAN WE SEND A COPY OF THAT TO WHOMEVER KEEPS ASKING US WHAT OUR FINDINGS. FRAME FEDEX. ALL 
          [11. Community Development Director]
RIGHT. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT. HOW ARE WE DOING? GOOD. MAYOR. COUNCIL CHIEF STOLE A LITTLE BIT OF THE THUNDER TALKING ABOUT PARKING. BUT LET'S ADD A FEW THINGS. WE HAVE BEEN MAKING THAT PUSH FOR BETTER PARKING ENFORCEMENT DUE TO UPDATED SOFTWARE AND SOME OF THE 
          [00:50:02]
HARDWARE. SO TEAGAN AND DANNY HAVE BEEN DOING A GREAT JOB. AND IT'S NOT JUST THEIR EFFORTS TO KIND OF PROGRAM THOSE AND REVIEW THE SOFTWARE AND THE TICKETS, BUT IN BEST OFFICE TO AYSHA AND JEN HAVE BEEN HELPING CONTRIBUTE AND ALSO IN OUR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT OFFICE. 
          SO AS YOU MENTIONED, THERE'S SOME SHORT TERM PAIN WITH SOME TICKETS GOING OUT. BUT I'D LIKE TO TELL PEOPLE THE HOPE IS THAT THAT WILL LEAD TO LONG TERM CORRECTIONS AND BEHAVIOR, AND THEN THEY'LL BE FREEING UP PARKING SPACES FOR PEOPLE, VISITORS, CUSTOMERS IN FRONT OF BUSINESSES, ALONG WITH THE ENFORCEMENT. ALSO, OBVIOUSLY THE CHANGES ON MAIN STREET, THE 90 MINUTE PARKING, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, WE'RE TAKING SOMETHING HERE, BUT GIVING THEM SOME MORE TIME THERE. HOPEFULLY THAT IS GOING WELL. TODAY WAS ALSO THE FIRST FREE PARKING TUESDAY. THERE WERE SOME HICCUPS THIS MORNING AS WE ROLLED THAT OUT. PEOPLE NEED TO REMEMBER NOT TO ISSUE TICKETS ON FREE PARKING TUESDAY, BUT WE GOT THOSE CORRECTED. IT'LL BECOME A HABIT GOING FORWARD. SO SOME GOOD THINGS GOING INTO OUR OUR PARKING WILL JUST ANOTHER QUICK UPDATE. PEOPLE HAVE ASKED ME WHERE THIS IS. THE CHICK FIL A, IT IS COMING. 
          STILL COMING. AS THEY DID THEIR WORK. IT TURNS OUT THAT'S A SITE OF AN OLD SWAMP. AND SO THEY'RE HAVING TO REDO SOME FOUNDATION PLANS TO MAKE SURE THE BUILDING IS STABLE. BUT CHICK FIL A IS STILL COMMITTED TO COMING, AND THAT WILL BE STARTING UP LATER THIS, THIS SUMMER. AND THEN JUST WE'VE BEEN MAKING THE ROUNDS TO SOME OF THE COMMISSIONS, TALKING ABOUT THE COMP PLAN AND GETTING PEOPLE INTERESTED IN OUR ADVISORY COMMITTEE. HAVE A HANDFUL OF PEOPLE HAVE ALREADY SUBMITTED INTEREST BASED ON THE NEWSLETTER. WE'LL BE COLLECTING THAT. AND HOW MANY PEOPLE WE MAY HAVE TO PARE THAT DOWN. BUT THERE'S INTEREST RISING AND TAKING PART IN THAT EFFORT. SO A LOT OF STUFF ON THE AGENDA TONIGHT BECAUSE WE HAD THAT SPRING BREAK MEETING THE LAST ONE. BUT SO HOPEFULLY WE'LL GET THROUGH THAT. BUT HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS. AWESOME. THANK YOU. APPRECIATE IT. ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES. GOOD 
          [12. Administrative Services Director]
AFTERNOON MAYOR AND COUNCIL. PLENTY OF STUFF GOING ON, BUT I'LL PICK TWO TO UPDATE YOU ON. 
          SO AS WE ALL KNOW, EVENTS CONTINUE TO GROW IN BOTH SIZE AND NUMBER. AND COUNCIL MEMBER BELEN, I THOUGHT SHE WAS GOING TO BE HERE TONIGHT TO HELP ME TALK ABOUT THIS, BUT WE'LL GET THROUGH IT. WE TALKED ABOUT WHAT CAN WE DO TO CREATE SOME BALANCE IN OUR CITY AROUND THAT. 
          AND I KNOW SHE'S TALKED TO SOME STAFF. WE HAVE LOVINGLY, LOVINGLY CALLED THIS EFFORT THE NO EVENT EVENT. SO WE LOOKED AT DIFFERENT DAYS, MAYBE ONE DAY A MONTH WHERE WE WOULD NOT APPROVE EVENT PERMITS. SO FOR SUNDAY IS WHAT WE WERE THINKING, JUST TO CREATE SOME SPACE WHERE THERE WOULD NOT BE A BIG EVENT THERE FOR ANYBODY TO GO DOWNTOWN AND ENJOY THE DOWNTOWN AREA. SO PLANNING TO WRITE UP A PROPOSAL AND GIVE YOU MORE INFORMATION ON THAT. ALSO PROBABLY NEED TO APPROVE THAT. AND THEN IF AN EVENT WOULD COME THROUGH, WE COULD BRING THAT TO COUNCIL AND COUNTERACT THAT TOO. SO IT'S KIND OF THE IDEA JUST TO CREATE SOME MORE ROOM IN AN OFFICIAL WAY FOR, FOR NOT ALL THESE EVENTS COMING THROUGH. SO LOVE THAT IDEA. YEAH. SO JUST MAKE EXCEPTIONS TO IT ALL THE TIME. I GUARANTEE YOU THERE'S. GOING TO BE SOME TURN THEM DOWN. 
          COME OUT HERE. WE'VE TRIED ALL THAT STUFF OVER THE YEARS. RIGHT. THERE'LL BE SOME MEMORIAL WALK AT 5 A.M. AND WE'LL BE LIKE, WELL, IT'S 5 A.M. THERE, JUST WALKING AROUND WITH CANDLES LIKE WE'RE GONNA, YOU KNOW, JUST. YEAH. GO AHEAD. I THINK THERE'S OTHER WAYS WE CAN LOOK AT THE BIGGER PICTURE AS WE, YOU KNOW, LEARN MORE ABOUT EVENTS, GATHER MORE DATA AND KIND OF LOOK AT THAT COMPREHENSIVE. I THINK WE DID WE A WHILE AGO WHEN WE WROTE A BUNCH OF RULES THAT WE'VE NOT REALLY ADHERED TO. WE DID A PRETTY GOOD EVENT STUDY AND WE REALLY HAVEN'T GROWN EVENTS REALLY. I MEAN, THAT WAS KIND OF BALANCED OUT, RIGHT? LIKE IT'S, YOU KNOW, WE, WE ADDED, YOU KNOW, SOME STUFF IN THE WINTER, BUT IN THE SUMMER, REALLY THE, THE, I THINK THE PERCEPTION IS THAT IT'S CHANGED. BUT THE REALITY IS, IS THE LUMBERJACK DAYS HAS BEEN HERE FOREVER. THE CAR SHOW'S BEEN HERE FOREVER. YOU KNOW, SUMMER TUESDAYS HAS BEEN HERE MORE OR LESS FOREVER. I MEAN, HARVEST FEST IS, YOU KNOW, 15 YEARS OLD AT THIS POINT TOO. BUT I MEAN, KIND OF THOSE BIG RACES, LIKE REALLY, WE HAVEN'T ADDED A WHOLE LOT. SOME YEAH, SOME FOOT RACES AND STUFF. BUT A COUPLE YEARS AGO, WE DID HAVE A DOWNTOWN BUSINESS OWNER ASKED FOR AN EVENT 56 WEEKENDS OUT OF THE YEAR. RIGHT. WE HAD TO KIND OF REMIND HIM THAT'S NOT HOW THE GREGORIAN CALENDAR WORKS. BUT YEAH, I THINK A LOT OF THOSE SMALLER ONES HAVE BEEN POPPING UP TO THE RACES THAT WILL MAKE IT SEEM BUSIER DOWNTOWN, THAT KIND OF THING. I THINK WE HAVE SEEN AN INCREASE IN THOSE AND I CAN PULL. YOU KNOW, ANOTHER THING THAT COUNCILMEMBER BELEN ASKED IS LIKE, PULL A RECORD OF THOSE EVENTS, WHICH IT'S KIND OF A. I WOULD LIKE TO LOOK AT THE SCALE OF IT IN THE SCOPE, BECAUSE AGAIN, IT SEEMS LIKE THE KIND OF THE MARQUEE THINGS THAT WE'VE ALWAYS DONE HAVE BEEN THE SAME AND JUST KIND OF HAVING A PACE OF WHAT THE SMALLER ONES ARE AND, AND WHAT THAT IS. I MEAN, I KNOW WE'RE DYING HERE. DANCE HERE IS A NEW ONE THAT'S ABOUT THE ONLY NEW KIND OF MAJOR EVENT, RIGHT? YEAH. AND IT'S KIND OF A MOVING TARGET, RIGHT? BECAUSE WE KNOW SOME EVENTS ARE HAPPENING. WE HAVE THEM ON THE CALENDAR, BUT ANYBODY CAN APPLY EACH DAY. SO IT, IT UPDATES AS WE DO THAT. BUT YEAH, I'M HAPPY TO BRING SOME MORE DATA AS WE BRING THAT 
          [00:55:04]
PROPOSAL AS WELL. MIGHT, IT MIGHT BE A GOOD TIME TO LOOK AT THE EVENT POLICY BECAUSE WE SPENT A LOT I MEAN, COUNCILMAN GARG WAS STILL ON THE COUNCIL WHEN WE DID IT. YEAH. AND THAT'S A THAT'S A A WHILE AGO. THAT'S SOMETHING THAT SHE BROUGHT UP AS WELL, IS THAT THE APPLICATION IS STILL WHAT IT WAS MANY YEARS AGO. AND THERE'S PROBABLY SOME ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT THERE WITH THE PARK COMMISSION AND EVERYTHING ELSE AND DREW THAT WHOLE POLICY UP. 
          SO IT MIGHT BE TIME TO REVISIT THAT. YEAH, YEAH, I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT WAYS WE CAN LOOK AT IT. THIS WAS JUST, YOU KNOW, ONE IDEA THAT WE COULD DO FAIRLY EASILY JUST, YOU KNOW, BLOCK THAT DAY OFF FROM APPROVING. I LIKE ANY PERMANENT EVENTS. I MEAN, I'M FINE. I MEAN, I THOUGHT WE KIND OF I KNOW IN SOME FORMER CONVERSATIONS WE'VE HAD AS A COUNCIL, I MEAN, WE'VE ALL KIND OF BEEN LIKE, I THINK WE'RE AT THE MAX AT THIS POINT. SO IF WE NEED TO MEMORIALIZE THAT ON SOME FRONT, YEAH, I THINK IT'S A GOOD CONVERSATION TO HAVE. 
          BUT YEAH, THAT'S GREAT. SO I DON'T THINK WE NEED MORE BODIES DOWNTOWN STILLWATER AT THIS POINT. SO I THINK EVERYONE WOULD TEND TO AGREE WITH THAT. RIGHT. AND THEN JUST THE SECOND ITEM ON YOUR CONSENT AGENDA TONIGHT THERE'S THE ONLINE PERMITTING WEBSITE AGREEMENT. 
          THIS IS A HUGE WIN FOR BOTH PERMITTING AND FROM THE COMMUNICATION STANDPOINT. SO, YOU KNOW, ONE OF MY FIRST DAY, I THINK WE TALKED ABOUT THE WEBSITE AND SOME IMPROVEMENTS YOU ALL WOULD LIKE TO SEE ON THAT. AND I WANTED TO TAKE A STEP BACK AND NOT JUST DO THAT IMMEDIATELY AND LOOK AT OUR SOFTWARE AS A CITY COMPREHENSIVELY AND THE NEEDS OF THAT AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BUDGETED FOR PERMITTING SOFTWARE, THAT WAS ONE OF JASON'S MAIN GOALS, WAS TO GET THAT OFF THE GROUND AT EFFICIENCY AND GET THAT ONLINE. 
          SO AS WE WERE TALKING TO DIFFERENT VENDORS, THEY ASKED WHAT, YOU KNOW, OUR COMPREHENSIVE NEEDS WERE AND THE WEBSITE GOT BROUGHT UP. SO THE VENDOR THAT THE AGREEMENT THAT'S BEFORE YOU TONIGHT WAS ABLE TO OFFER EVERYTHING THAT PERMITTING STAFF NEEDED. AND AN UPDATED WEBSITE IS UNDER THE BUDGET THAT WE BUDGETED FOR JUST THE PERMITTING SOFTWARE. 
          SO HUGE WIN FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND FOR IMPROVING THAT PROCESS AND EFFICIENCY AND HUGE WIN ON THE COMMUNICATION SIDE FOR COMMUNICATION ACCESS, ALL THAT KIND OF STUFF. SO THAT WORKED OUT REALLY GREAT. AWESOME. THANK YOU. I JUST WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT THAT TOO. 
          GREAT GRANDMOTHER THAT I JUST WANT TO THANK YOU FOR THE WORK ON THE ENERGY ACTION COALITION. 
          WE'VE SEEN A REAL DRAMATIC INCREASE IN THE THROUGHPUT THERE. WE GOT OUR SOLAR STUDY BACK THAT WAS FUNDED BY GRANT MONEY. WE'RE HOPING TO GET EEK OUT. THEY'VE GOT SOME GOOD RECOMMENDATIONS THAT I THINK WE NEED TO JUMP ON, BECAUSE I THINK THERE'S MORE FREE MONEY WE CAN GET. SO WE CAN TURN FREE MONEY INTO FREE ELECTRONS FOR LOWER TAXES, WHICH IS GOOD, I LIKE IT, AND FREE MONEY. I'M GOING TO GET HIT BY SOMEBODY. IF I DON'T CORRECT THIS, SOMEONE'S GOING TO SAY, IT'S NOT FREE MONEY, IT'S NOT FREE MONEY. IT'S FEDERAL DOLLARS THAT WOULD GO SOMEPLACE ELSE OTHERWISE. SO LET'S ROUTE THEM HERE AND, YOU KNOW, USE THAT GREAT GROUP, GREAT DIRECTION. YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY YOU'RE WELCOME. ANY MORE WORD FROM THE AIR FORCE? NO. I CAN SEND ANOTHER FOLLOW UP. THEY SAID WE'LL LOOK AT IT. DO YOU WANT ME TO GET INVOLVED? I WILL, IT MAY BE TIME I WENT TO HIGH SCHOOL WITH TED AND MAYBE TOM. 
          YOU KNOW I DON'T HAVE YOUR FULL. I DON'T HAVE THAT FULL. TED DOES. THE BLACKHAWKS ARE THE COOLEST THING YOU SET UP. YEAH, THEY WERE HERE. YEAH. THEY SAID THEY WERE GOING TO LOOK AT THE APPLICATION. BUT THERE'S A LOT GOING ON IN OUR COUNTRY THAT THIS PARTICULAR ONE. RIGHT. SO THERE WAS NO PROMISES MADE OF WHAT WOULD BE AVAILABLE. AND THE OTHERS, YOU KNOW, WERE GOT A COUPLE OF THINGS GOING ON. BY THE WAY, MOST OF THE SIGNING HAPPENED ON THE. SO MAYBE THEY CAN PUSH THOSE OTHER THINGS ON. YEAH. RIGHT. IF WE COULD, YOU KNOW, CONVINCE THEM TO MAYBE LIKE, WELL, WE WON'T GET INTO THAT DISCUSSION. YEAH. NO THANK YOU. DID THEY DID THEY EVER GET BACK TO YOU ON THE AMOUNT OF FIREWORKS WE'RE GETTING? DID YOU EVER GET BACK TO YOU? ALL RIGHT, I'LL MAKE A PHONE CALL. CAN YOU TELL THEM THAT THE PEOPLE THAT ARE DOING OUR TWINKLE PARADE FIREWORKS ARE KIND OF COMING UP? I MEAN, FOR WHAT? WE PAY FOR THOSE, THAT'S THE SAME CONTRACTOR, IS IT? YEAH, THAT WAS A DIFFERENT PERSON. ALL RIGHT. VERY GOOD. 
          [13. City Clerk]
AWESOME. CITY CLERK. YES, I HAVE A FEW ITEMS. JUST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW. THE DEPUTY CLERK AND I ATTENDED OUR STATE CONFERENCE LAST WEEK. WE HAD SOME REFRESHERS ON CANNABIS AND GAMBLING LICENSE. GOT TO SEE GAMBLING AND WEED. YEAH. I'M FRIENDS. SOUNDS LIKE A FUN ONE. 
          YES. WE ALSO LEARN A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT AI USE AND DIGITAL FILING, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, THE NOT SO EXCITING. BUT JENNA ALSO RECEIVED HER CERTIFIED MUNICIPAL CLERK BANQUET. VERY COOL. YES, IT WAS. AND WE GOT TO SEE COREY AS WELL AT THE VENDOR SHOW. A PAIR OF SUNGLASSES. SAME THING. INTERVIEWS HAVE WERE CONCLUDED ON THE FRONT DESK, ADMIN ASSISTANT. SO WE'RE WAITING TO SEE AN ACCEPTANCE OF THAT. WE ALSO FINISHED CHARTER AND UTILITIES COMMISSION, THE LEAGUE OF MINNESOTA CITIES ANNUAL CONFERENCE IS COMING UP ON JUNE 24TH THE 26TH. PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN ATTENDING. COUPLE EMPLOYEE EVENTS GOING ON, OR ONE THAT JUST FINISHED WAS OUR MASCOT MASCOT MADNESS EVENT THAT OCCURRED ALL THROUGH THE MONTH OF MARCH. AND CHAD ROGNESS WON THAT. HE'S EXCITED. 
          [01:00:09]
I THINK JASON TOOK THIRD. YEAH. AND CURRENTLY WE ARE DOING BUNNY BINGO. IT'S A VERY POPULAR EVENT, SO THAT'LL BE ANOTHER MONTH LONG THING GOING ON. AND LASTLY, SINCE WE NO LONGER HAVE A PRIMARY FOR THE CITY OF STILLWATER FOR JUST OUR CANDIDATES, CANDIDATE FILING NOW WILL TAKE PLACE JULY 14TH THROUGH THE 28TH INSTEAD OF IN MAY. SO THIS WILL GIVE EVERYBODY MORE TIME COMPARED TO WHAT WE USED TO DO. GOTCHA. ALL RIGHT. JUST WANTED TO GIVE YOU A HEADS UP. AND THAT'S IT. THAT'S A GOOD THING OR A BAD THING. WELL WE'LL SEE. ALL 
          [14. City Attorney]
RIGHT, CITY ATTORNEY, JUST QUICK. YOU'LL NOTICE THE CONSENT AGENDA IS PACKED FULL OF LOTS OF GREAT NUGGETS OF THINGS. I WORKED ON AT LEAST SIX OF THOSE. SO THAT'S KIND OF SO MANY OF THEM. THREE OF THEM ARE ORDINANCE AMENDMENTS, BUT THEY'RE REALLY JUST INTENDED TO MAKE STAFF'S LIFE EASIER. THERE WERE SOME, YOU KNOW, FEW HITCHES AND GLITCHES IN WORDING. 
          AND SO WE'RE WE JUST KIND OF CLEANED IT UP. SO THAT WAS KIND OF FUN TO WORK WITH STAFF ON THOSE THINGS. AND THEN I'M GOING TO SAVE THE REST OF THE EXCITEMENT FOR THE CLOSED SESSIONS. WE HAVE THREE CLOSED SESSIONS COMING UP. AFTER THIS WORK SESSION. WE'LL GO UPSTAIRS 
          [15. City Administrator]
TO THE CONFERENCE ROOM. I'LL JUST LEAVE YOU IN ANTICIPATION. WONDERFUL. ALL RIGHT. AND CITY ADMINISTRATOR, MAYOR AND COUNCIL, WE WERE ABLE TO THREAD THE NEEDLE IN MAY. WE HAVE OUR STRATEGIC PLANNING SCHEDULED FOR MAY 6TH. SO WHEN STAFF GAVE ME ALL THE VACATION SCHEDULES, THERE WAS TWO DAYS IN MAY THAT WE'RE GOING TO WORK. MAY 6TH AND MAY 7TH, AND WE WERE ABLE TO PUT IT TOGETHER. I THOUGHT FOR SURE IT WAS GOING TO BE IN JUNE, SO I HELD OFF ON THE LONG RANGE FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT PLANNING, BUT I'D LOVE TO DO THAT BEFORE STRATEGIC PLANNING. 
          SO IF YOU GUYS CAN JUST PENCIL IN THE 421 COUNCIL MEETING, HAVING A WORKSHOP AT 430, WE'LL SEND A NOTE TO MAKE SURE EVERYBODY'S AVAILABLE. OUTLOOK CALENDAR INVITES ARE SUPER HELPFUL. YEP. ONCE WE GET CONFIRMATION, WE'LL SEND OUT AN OUTLOOK CALENDAR INVITE. AND THEN JUST A HEADS UP EVERYBODY. A VERY WELL KNOWN RETAINING WALL TO THE CITY COUNCIL HAD SOME ISSUES THIS PAST WEEKEND WHERE IT FELL ONTO THE SIDEWALK. IF YOU GET CONTACTED BY THE GENTLEMAN THAT OWNS THAT RETAINING WALL AND IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THAT, THE CITY'S POSITION HAS NOT CHANGED. AND OUR FINAL POSITION IS THAT THAT IS NOT OUR RETAINING WALL OR OUR RESPONSIBILITY GOING FORWARD. SO AWESOME. GOOD TO KNOW. PERFECT. SOUNDS GOOD. ALL 
          [V. CLOSED SESSION]
RIGHT. WITH THAT WE'LL MOVE UPSTAIRS INTO CLOSED SESSION. DO I HAVE TO DO ANYTHING? NO. 
          YOU'RE ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU EVERYBODY. GREAT REPOR
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.