City Council - Regular Meeting

All right, good evening. We'll call this meeting to order for the May 14th, 2026 Apple Valley City Council meeting. Uh, welcome everyone. Uh, as uh, the item you would like to speak to this evening is announced, please come forward to the podium uh, so we can all hear you and those at home can hear you as well. Uh, the first item on our agenda is the pledge of allegiance. Please stand if you're able and join us in the pledge. 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.

Thank you everyone. The next item is our audience participation portion of the meeting. Uh this is for items that are not on our agenda otherwise. And we have a total of um 10 minutes for this item. Uh we have a handful of people who would like to speak about a group home and then we have uh someone who wants to speak about the bike sale results. I'm going to take these out of order just so we can get all the group home ones kind of in here at the same time if that would make sense. And so with that, I'm going to invite Randy Bailey forward to talk about the bike sale results. Where's your bike tonight? Sorry, wet out. It's very wet out.

Greetings, mayor, council members, city officials of note and repute. such I'm here with results from the 18th annual Rick's bike sale a couple weeks ago on May 2nd. We donated $61,000, a little more than that this year to Kids and Kinship and Darts to local Dakota County nonprofits. Our expense ratio this year was down to a record low of 3%. So 97% of the proceeds went straight to those two nonprofits. We donated 61,000 bucks. We are now up to $688,000 we've donated in total. and you as a city council, the city, the officials, the police and fire departments have always been very supportive of this event. I'm just here to say thanks. It was another great sale. Thank you, Randy. Thanks for all the work. [applause]

And I I am apparently so excited to get the meeting moving that I skipped the approval of the agenda. So, we're going to jump back to that one real quick. Um, understand that's important. I've only been, you know, up here 15 years or so. You think we'd figure it out by now. Um, Tom, anything we need to add or change to the Mr. Mayor? No changes to No changes. So, council members, do we have a motion to approve the agenda? Second. Motion from council member Melander. A second from council member Grenle. All those in favor indicate by saying I. I.

And opposed. All right. The agenda carries now. We can move on back to our ourh public participation. U. I'll just take these in order if that's okay. I have Fred up first. If you want to come forward and bring whoever else with you as well. I just ask you to come to the podium so we can all hear you and get you in the record and that good stuff. So, come on forward. All right. Thanks for Yeah. When whenever you're ready, please. We're ready. Yeah.

Thanks for taking the time. Um, you know, June of 2024 was the first time we met with you. So, it's going on over two years. Unfortunately, we're still dealing with the same violent client, over a 100 plus incidents reported. Um, and in addition to that, we've got over 20 already this year. Um, you know, the police have been very responsive and supportive. Uh John, Representative Hwitt is uh Hoy is actively working to support us as well, but we're still at the same place we were. You know, um they built a uh human cage in the back over a deck. They put an 8ft fence up. That's not the answer. You know, um occurrences are still violent. Um there's been attacks to the staff members, other clients in the home. And then also out in the street, you know, weekly almost where uh disruptive. They're out there fighting um out there with shields trying to protect the staff members. And you know, more importantly for today, it's gotten even more severe. And I'll let uh Adam and [clears throat] some of the others talk about that where there's been actual death threats and very vulgar language to the children and the residents

talking about the n-word, the F-word, the C-word. You anything you could imagine, it's just ridiculous. So, with that, I'm going to let Adam talk about the seriousness of these two events that happened just recently. Thanks, Fred.

Yeah, I'm Adam Hart Swanson. I live on the street um at 5991. And yeah, like you said, it's I mean, we this has been going on for years. that we've lived in the neighborhood for 18 plus years and this is it's just this latest climb has been the worst that we've seen and it's escalated even worse than it was the last time that we were here. It's now gotten to the point where he will actually actively scream at the children that are out, threaten to kill them, tell them to come over and that he's I mean he uses all kinds of different colorful language with him as well. He threatens the adults. Like he the other day we were out, they were playing and he started engaging with the kids. So I went over and tried to get the kids away and then he started trying to engage with me and um the neighbor who lives right next door to him. And during that exchange um he was just like the language and things he was using and we kind of like not chuckled but was like, "Oh my god, I can't believe what he's talking about." And in that specific instance, his response to it was, "Oh, do you think it's funny? I'll give you something to laugh about." And he started assaulting one of the group home employees in front of us. and they had to like tackle him to the ground and what have you. That one we did call and we call all the time for the police and that one specifically they were going to send someone but then they just decided with consulting with the group home that they didn't necessarily need to but then he started throwing rocks at us towards the end. And so it's gotten to the point like we said before we don't feel comfortable letting the kids outside but now it's to the point where we can't unless we're with them and then half the time even when we're with them we have to retreat back into our houses and try to let them resolve. So, we're not able to utilize our properties and things like that. Um um Carol I think will speak about the one where she was kind of like stuck in her house. Not to put you on the spot, but like and that was one where we even tried to like we were trying to go outside and we were just told to go back in and so you kind of have to like shelter in your house, but then this is my son London and I just wanted him to speak real quickly.

Please, London, thanks for coming. Like it takes a little courage to show up in front of this scary group. So,

hello. My name is London. I believe us kids and adults should not be yelled at, cursed at, threatened, etc. Some of my friends have been called names and threatened. At my friend's house, the resident attempts to throw rocks at them in their house. And he attempts to climb the fence they have installed. It also makes me feel unsafe and scared. I wish we could go outside without being threatened with we should not we should also not have our property damaged or broken. Thank you for listening to my speech. It's just and kind of the point I'd like to get ac he's been born and raised in that house and it's just something that unfortunately we have to have them used to which they shouldn't. We should be able to go outside and not worry about what's going to happen etc. So that was kind of what I had. Sorry to put you on the spot. [clears throat]

No, absolutely. Yeah. The um he wanted to represent the all the kids. No, thank No, but thank you for coming. I I I mean that genuinely. Thank you for for coming and sharing that. Um, Carol, I've got a couple just follow-ups and Carol, you're going to hear it twice because we chatted about it in the hallway, but um, anything you wanted to add? Um, just my point with Carol was like she was it it was in front of her house, one of the I think it was like, yeah, one of the more recent ones and recently it kind of circles with the weather like when it's really nice out. We'll have it two or three times a week where it happens and then other times it'll maybe skip a week or so, but usually it's multiple times a week. And one was right in front of her house and she tried to go out and they she was told just go back inside. And

I called the police cuz I looked out and he was beating [clears throat] the people he was with. They had their shields up and he was hitting him with a stick which we learned was actually from Adam's house. He had pulled up the Oh, yeah. One of our driveway markers for this

for the snow plows to keep from there. And he was hitting him with it. He broke my mailbox, which is annoying. But then then he took the stick after he was done hitting the people that were with him and started beating on my son's truck. It's a new truck. He worked hard to get that. And so he's standing there beating on it. So I called the police. They came and then my son needed to go to work, but he couldn't go to work because they were surrounding our house and he was outside and they were talking to him. So we were told not to come outside, to stay inside and to lock the doors and just wait. So, my son was late for work. We were locked in our house. It's extremely disturbing to see that kind of behavior and to deal with it. And he's smiling. I mean, it's not even just like he's unaware. He thinks it's funny and it's terrifying. And I don't go down to that end of the street anymore. And it's lovely. We have all these wonderful parks with trails. I won't go on them anymore. I won't walk my dog there. I won't go down there because I don't feel safe. And I'm an adult and I worry about the kids. These kids should be able to play outside by their home. We live in a lovely place with parks. We don't use them. It's too dangerous to put our kids there. And if we do, we're there.

It's just difficult. I don't understand how his rights are more than our rights. And

I will say I I think as a group, and I don't do this often, I can probably speak for everybody and say we don't either, right? We've had this kind, you know, like you know the spot we're in. I appreciate you sharing the story. Genuinely, I do. Um, we need some legislative help to get that done. I know John's going to drop some bills next year. Doesn't do anything for immediate help on that. Um, there's a really strong lobby though on the other side that kind of every time we propose one of these, the story they spin up is, well, you cities don't want those people at all. You any kind of disabled people in your community, that's why you want the law. And that's not the reality. Like the reality is 99 out of a 100red of these group homes, I joke about this, right? But my biggest danger is I get stuck in a 20-minute conversation with the person who lives there. That's the big most dangerous thing I have. But you get this oneish percent. Okay.

Right. In this case, it's a Henipin County placement in Dakota County home, which makes it even harder because we have a I can't we don't have a direct connection to the case manager who's placing them. We have better luck when it's Dakota County. Um, we're frustrated, too. A couple things I can tell you. The I looked this up this afternoon. the the license on this facility has a renewal date. Tom, what do we figure out? June 30th, I think of this year, right? So, this is useful because we'll share this, right? Uh with with um with the state. Um I'd encourage you to use that reporting system and get these reports in, right? You get we kind of got to build the case. Um I will just say we are equally frustrated. We have about one or two of these a year, right? And it's such a small percentage, but that does not take away from the the incredible impact. It's not just you guys, right? It's it's everybody in the neighborhood and it's everybody in the surrounding neighborhoods that gets the wrong end of this. And it's frustr It's frustrating when there are things that uh impact people who live here who we don't have the ability to control or and and help the way we want. Um two years ago, we actually got worse. The legislature made a change at the state level that cities who have rental licensing can't even regulate these in the same way they regulate a single family rental in their neighborhoods. So when I talk about local control on other issues, right, that's a broad statement, but that like we need some ability to regulate what happens when there's actual harm in the neighborhood and some trust that says we're not going to use it in a way to right impact those who aren't causing a problem.

And we know that you're working and John's helping legislation a year doesn't help you right now. Yeah, I get it. death threats. There's got to be something legal, right? Is there any action against group home owner

that so so there are two state law there's nothing we can do under state law to regulate or take action against the group home owner or the lency and that change in rental uh ordinance actually took away some of the only power cities had to be able to regulate that and that was done intentionally because the authors of the legislation felt that cities were using it to exclude disabled people from their comm communityities. ities. So, we've gone the wrong direction in the last couple three years to being able to do that. There's a Supreme Court case out there from how many years ago now, right, that grants the right for people with special needs to live in a community and that's the 99% that aren't bothering anybody, right? That we want to live in our neighborhoods. There's not a good mechanism when the care isn't right. And I will tell you there's no place else to move people to and that's slowing down the process. I hate sitting up here and telling stories that I can't do anything about and this is one of those. We're going to need some state legislative changes to make that happen.

So, what what do you what do make things? Um, I would do a couple things, right? The first thing I would do is make sure you're getting on the state system and logging the logging the complaints, right? And we make sure you have that. Um, you guys have the direct contact to it, right? Okay. So, you're the best one to get those in. They won't go anywhere fast, I will tell you, but they will start to build build a case. I don't have any way to force them to remove that person from the house.

I understand that, you know, Adam has done this before too complaints that's been kicked out of court. What about And what about a facility like St. Peters? that this person that would nothing we can do to to to implement right that's going to require whoever is managing this individual and whatever court case is there to place that person there. So right that's the challen you're talking to people who care and want to fix it but we don't have the ability to move the person kind of where he's going too though is like they won't even we can't even press charges or anything anymore or try to file restraining orders. we're told they won't can't do anything with it because he's been found mentally

incompetent. And that's kind of I think what his point is is I mean we get it and we get it the way the laws are written and stuff, but why then can't we do that even if they're going to kick it out every time? At least so there's something that's happen. I mean there's like no recourse whatsoever. I I we we hear you. I mean that's I tell you is we hear you. We're fighting the every time one of these comes up, we fight the same this same battle and the best hope is, right? Somebody figures out this person isn't getting the right care and they get moved elsewhere, which doesn't help the next neighborhood who gets them, right? Logan, you bud. I I don't I haven't Can you step up just so that we can all hear you on the microphone?

Um, thank you. I I think they've attempted to move him out of the house and then they just brought him back again. I don't know this specific case, but I will say you see that, right? If there is if there's not someplace else that will take them, they end up back. This is the there are how many licenses we count, Tom? There's 20 plus different license types, I think, at the state that deal with group home and those kind of facilities.

Mr. Mayor, the the Minnesota Department of Human Services, the agency that does licensing for these types of homes, if you go onto their website, you can search, there's probably at least two dozen different license types that they administer uh of the particular license that has been issued to the particular residential setting license. Uh, Apple Valley currently has 41 of those license issued in our community and obviously this is the house that uh, you know, most of these are operating without any type of incident. This one unfortunately is the exception. And the complaint like process you're talking about is that with the state then? Yeah, DHS.

They've done that and they find that he's getting the care that he needs and that our community needs are not factored into their decision. I will agree that that's what they're worried about safety. I I'm worried about building a s sort of a list of those complaints, right? Two different topic. I agree they're not going to immediately solve it. Carol, you had something. Do you mind just stepping up just so we can hear you?

So, one of the things that is really disturbing too is when we did meet with the group home with you guys. So, it was a while ago. One of the things that the group home said is we asked what kind of care he was getting. Was he getting like professional help? Did they have a psychiatrist come in help with, you know, monitoring and trying to figure out the best treatment for them? and they said they don't have anybody for with from a psychologist or anything else engaged. So they don't have anyone engaged with this person. Yeah. I was so this serious and they don't have a mental health expert helping. I mean even helping them nothing.

When when I ask those questions, right, we get into the now com competing rights thing, right? They have a right to some patient privacy and so they can't discuss what the care plans are with us. Um, again, this is easier to deal with when it's a Dakota County place person because I can then reach out to Dakota County and we can have that. But when you know the the owners of these facilities and let's just call them what they are, the owners of these businesses, right? We'll take whoever provider is going to pay them the most to put somebody in the house. So, we have a little bit of a systemic issue with the way these are structured that way, too. But, I would think that we could say that he's not getting the care he needs. this individual is violent, dangerous, has a huge police record.

Shouldn't they be getting some kind of mental health treatment from an expert at least at some level? The home should be providing that. And they told us point blank they're not. Yeah. I I'm honestly surprised that they they would share that information, right? Because that would be a pretty big violation, but also I believe you, right? I don't know. I'm not doubting you. I just council meeting when we had a meeting. Yep. I mean, we were Yep. Council members, do you have something? And I'll just kind of close this out. Can I start with Ruth? Go ahead. Somebody is declared mentally incompetent, they're exempt from the law. That's the bottom line here. I mean, that's what we're basically told. No matter what he does, I've tried a few times to do restraining orders or whatever he's damaged property and stuff like that.

And they won't say for damage to the property. They say they decline to press charges or declined to file because he's been found mentally incompetent. Stay on trial. So that's Dakota County is not won't press charges. ELI, please. Oh, we won't. Oh, we can't. Yeah, they just said they can't. I don't think they can. I I had one instance with I think it was with Was it with him with the mailbox? Like that made it through to the city prosecutor and then they found that he was mentally incompetent. That was a couple years ago. And then since then, I've asked a few times like when he threatened to kill me and stuff like that. I've been told they can't do anything. They they just won't they can't file. We We came here. We Yeah, you didn't have the answers. We know

we know you're supportive. We'll keep working with the police and he gets from DC. Yep. And it's it's painful to come share the stories and we get right. It's nobody wants to bad enough to live it. It's worse you have to come relive it again in front of a group that we get it. Council member Milander, did you have something before we wrap up? Yeah. Um Mr. you did a really nice job explaining uh the problem. There are things I've never wanted to be an expert on, right? And this is really near the top of that list for me. Um yeah,

when when this came up last year, it really struck a chord with me. I changed it around. I talked with uh um Mayor Han Roland. What could we do? I talked to some other folks. Um from what I understand, it's a uh it's a federal deal. It's not even a court case, right?

And and some guy I as I understand it years ago they used to take people like this and fill them full of thorazine and put them in St. Peter or other places and and that somebody had decided this was inhumane and made it his own crusade to let them be back out in the community. But what you're saying and what I've said is the rights of somebody, especially troublemaker, should not trump the rights of a regular citizen that they're in fear in their own house. That's just not right. But it's the way it is. And that's I've said this before. I mean, I hate stuff that I can't do anything about. You know, when I see a problem, I like to deal with it. And stuff like this is just not right. And nobody seems to want to touch it because oh my gosh, you know, this might hurt somebody's feelings and all of this stuff.

There's a there's a climate of the day is just not that way. It's, you know, I mean, there is a break my heart to see you guys suffer like this. It does. It and your your option is to move. Well, that's a swell option. Great option.

Who's going to want to buy your house with this kind of a history? I will say there is some what I'll call naive amongst some legislators and some of the folks lobbying hard on this. Like I will tell these stories and the response I will get is oh that doesn't happen that way. I'm like, "Well, you why don't you come look my you're right, my residents in the face." Like, you aren't the only neighborhood that's been impacted by this, right? And and I know real stories and I know made up stories, right? It's not my first day. I know your stories are real. Your experiences are real, which is just why it's so important to share them and to get them firsthand. Ruth, you take out your phones and do you tape them so that there is tape? Yeah, there's videos and it goes nowhere. Yeah, there's videos, pictures,

but I I think we can actually use that as we get to some legislative hearings to to do that. I I just hate we have to wait right that time. That's the doesn't solve anything. The fear something absolutely in police officer. She ended up in my front yard. Yeah. Yeah. They one of the clients before him that was finally removed had um injured a police a female police officer when they were trying to house or whatever. That was a year a few years ago. Yep. Do you have one last thing before we wrap up? I just appreciate you being here. So, I'm going to give you more time than I probably [laughter] normally would. So,

and uh I'm in sixth grade and in math class we've been learning about like real estate stuff and it for our neighborhood if we if one of us ends up moving then the like I think I believe the value of our house will go like or like one of our houses will go down because if you if they find like if someone if they don't include it in like the description of where you list it, it'll go down and then nobody will want to move there. So then you'll have an extra house you'll be stuck with. So then you still have to pay for it and you'll get in debt and stuff.

And I'll even take that one further. That will become the next group home based on our inability to regulate. Like that's what happens. Like we're seeing these clustering neighborhoods. We ask for some legislative help to not not [laughter] let them truly if you were trying to deinstitutionalize this, right? Putting six of these in a culde-sac is not deinstitutionalizing it. It's just changing the setting, right? and so that it's not being effective that way either. Thank you all for coming. Genuinely, thank you. Um we really wish we had a quick easy solution for this one as you know. Please stay in touch. Please keep us posted. Thank you for being respectful in the comments too because uh that matters. Thank you guys.

All right, that covers everybody on our list. I am going to move on to our uh consent agenda. These are items that are routine and they'll be enacted with a single motion unless a council member or a citizen request to pull an item. Council members, any items you would like to pull this evening? No. All right. Uh any anyone in the audience like to pull any items? All right. Seeing none, do I have a motion to approve the consent agenda? So moved. Second. Well, motion from council member Heert, a second from council member Grenall. All those in favor indicate by saying I. I

and opposed. All the consent items pass unanimously. We'll move on to 5A, which is a Memorial Day proclamation. And we have the American region first vice president, Jim Hoffman, here. Jim, come on forward. Good evening, mayor, council members. I have the proclamation for Memorial Day, May 25th, 2026. Whereas Memorial Day has been observed in the United States since General Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic issued General Order number 11 on May 5th, 1868. Setting aside May 30th, 1868 for the purpose of strewing flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of soldiers of the federal and Confederate troops who lost their lives in the Civil War that raged from 1861 to 1865. And whereas Memorial Day is a time to remember and honor the men and women in uniform in time of war who died for the freedoms of the United citizen, United States citizens and others around the world and deserve graves and memories decorated with the gratitude of a grateful nation. And whereas since the year 2000, our nation was called to reclaim Memorial Day as the sacred and noble event that the day is intended to be. We invited [clears throat] We invite everyone to take a full minute on Memorial Day at 3 PM to pause and remember all the men and women who died in service to our country as a national moment of silence. Now therefore, the city council of the city of Apple Valley, Dakota County, Minnesota, hereby acknowledges the federal proclamation of May 25th, 2026 as Memorial Day and asks that all citizens set aside May 25th, 2026 as a day of remembrance and invites all

citizens to attend a Memorial Day ceremony scheduled at 10:00 a.m. at the Apple Valley American Legion Post 1776. Further, citizens are reminded that flag etiquette provides that all flags be flown at half staff until noon in a special salute to set to the sacrifice of the casualties and injured in the various wars and police actions proclaimed this 14th day of May 2026. Thank you. Thank you, Jim. Don't run away yet, but I have this habit of forgetting to actually approve the proclamations after people read them. So, let's go ahead and get that done first. Do we have a motion for that proclamation?

I'll move second. Motion from council member Grandal, second from council member Mander. All those in favor indicate by saying I. Any opposed? That carries. Uh Jim, you guys have a great tradition of a Memorial Day remembrance and celebration. Probably one of the best ones I've ever seen. Um understand you're doing it indoors this year, so people don't need to worry about weather. Um I would just encourage everybody to come out if you haven't been there before. Um pretty laid-back group, right? Well, my experience is you all have people in suits and you have people in shorts and t-shirts and kind of all there for one purpose to uh remember those who served. And so, um that's just my encouragement. Come out. Thank you all for doing it. Um you're keeping this tradition and this service alive and it's appreciated.

Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. All right. We're going to move on to National Poppy Day and Month. And Gina, are you if you're ready, come on forward. Whenever you're ready, please go ahead.

Hi, I'm Gina Deerfelt. I'm the first vice president of the American Legion Auxiliary Unit 1776. I'm also the Poppy chair. Um and um so the poppy, just for those people who maybe don't aren't aware of what it represents, um we honor the fallen and we support the living. So all of the donations that we receive support veterans and their families and are greatly appreciated. Okay. So, I will and we will have um I'll be distributing them and we have a volunteer list for our auxiliary um where we'll be at the Von Hansen's um this weekend and next weekend and also at Ace Hardware in Apple Valley. So,

would you would you like to read the proclamation? I know we folks up here want to make sure they get some puppies. So, why don't we do the proclamation first and then we'll

Sure. I will be happy to read that. Whereas America is the land of freedom preserved and protected willingly and freely by its citizens and soldiers. And whereas millions who have answered the call to arms have died on the fields of battle. And whereas a nation and its citizens must be reminded of the price of war and the debt it owes to those who have died in war. And whereas the red poppy has been designated as as a symbol of the sacrifice of lives in all wars. And whereas the American Legion Auxiliary has pledged to remind Americans annually of the debt owed through the distribution of the memorial flower. Now therefore, the city council of the city of Apple Valley, Dakota County, Minnesota hereby proclaims May 26 um poppy month and um May 2026 as Poppy month and the 22nd of May 2026 as National Poppy Day and ask that all citizens wear the memorial poppy on these days to pay tribute to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the name of freedom. Perfect. Thank you. Do we have a motion for that proclamation? So moved.

Second. Motion from council member Grenall, second from council member Heert. All those in favor indicate by saying I. I. Opposed. That carries as well. Come on forward. Let's get some poppies. While you're doing that, I will say that although council member Bergman uh couldn't be here this evening, he did make sure to uh send some money with me because he wanted to make sure to get some poppies. So, and I also know he's watching, so I want to make sure that uh he knows that. One for me and one for John would be great. Wonderful. Can you get them apart? Your committee is too strong. Right. There you go. Thank you. Thank you so much.

Thank you. This one is fine. I

think you likely have a few others in the room who might want some poppies as well. So, I see some dollars waving over there. Gina, thank you.

We'll see you uh certainly in a couple weeks at the Memorial Day uh ceremony. So, thank you. So, have a great weekend. Thanks for being here. Um, I'm going to move on to 5C, which is our Valleywood Golf Course 50th anniversary cere ceremony or anniversary, I should say. And Jim and Jordan have are going to talk about this one. So, welcome guys. A tie. Have I ever seen this? [laughter] You had to borrow one for me. I own a tie in disguise.

Uh, Mr. Mayor, members of the council, I'm Jim Zinc, golf course manager. Jordan Johnson, our clubhouse coordinator and professional model with some of our 50th anniversary apparel here. Um, we are here to uh celebrate Valleywood's 50th year. Uh, so going way back uh course was uh uh studied to build the golf course back in 1972. uh voter approved uh referendum in 73 uh through the construction originally named Lebanon Hills Golf Club. Uh the back nine opened in 1976 uh $3 per round weekday and 350 on weekends. Uh March 1983, the course was renamed Valleywood and in 2012 uh we open uh new the new clubhouse. There is the original uh Lebanon Hills Golf Course scorecard. A little weathered, but uh and this is our current scorecard. This is the original clubhouse which was a refurbished parks building. It has been resided and reshingled about half a dozen times. We currently use it as our maintenance breakroom, so it still gets use. I uh I actually bought my first full set of golf clubs out of that building. And this is the then the clubhouse that was built by the Dakota County Vote which served us for about 20 years. And this is the current clubhouse. So some improvements over the years. Uh finding pictures from 1976 is not quite as easy as it is today. Uh we were asked to try to find some pictures and we

don't exactly know when they're from. I have, you know, 800 pictures of my 8-year-old grandson, but I don't have a picture from 1976. Uh but this is the sixth hole. Uh obviously the previous is on the left and uh current look. We went out and tried to get pictures from the same locations. Uh this is the 17th hole. Uh if we wish we would have had some better pictures from 1976 to use as a comparison. Um we are planning a couple of special events. Uh we have some commemorative uh well golfers use them as ball marks. They're kind of a poker chip, but they're commemorative 50th anniversary uh for the golf course. Um we're selling some apparel in the golf shop. Uh we will be having a nine-hole golf outing on Monday, June 29th and a little lunchon to kind of celebrate uh the golf course and to acknowledge some of those people that were involved. I don't know if any of you know Lauren Hegland who has been involved in everything Apple Valley, but I [clears throat] joke with Lauren that we are celebrating Valleywood's 50th year and somehow he's been involved for 53 years. So, he was actually on the search committee that helped pick out the land. Um, so we have a proclamation. Apparently, I'm going to read. Going to need the reading glasses for this. So, whereas Valleywood, you want to put it up or just use the small one there?

That's all there is. That's all there is. Whereas Valleywood Golf Course has been a cherished part of the community in Apple Valley since its founding in 1976. And whereas for 50 years, Valleywood Golf Course has provided residents and visitors with a welcoming place for recreation, relaxation, and connection through the game of golf. And whereas the course has contributed to the quality of life in Apple Valley by promoting outdoor activity, sportsmanship, and community engagement among generations of golfers. And whereas Valleywood Golf Course has also served as a gathering place for community members who are not golfers, offering a banquet and event facility that has hosted celebrations, meetings, and special occasions for countless individuals and organizations. And whereas the grounds of Valleywood Golf Course have been enjoyed year round, including by cross-country skiers and runners who utilize the scenic landscape for fitness, recreation, and connection with nature. And whereas these diverse uses have made Valleywood Golf Course an inclusive and multi-purpose community asset, welcoming people of all interests and backgrounds. And whereas the continued success of Valleywood Golf Course is a testament to the dedication of its staff, patrons, and the broader community who have supported it throughout the decades. Now, therefore, be it proclaimed that we do hereby recognize and celebrate the 50th anniversary of Valleywood Golf Course, honoring its rich history, its contributions to golfers and non-golfers alike, and its enduring legacy in Apple Valley. Be it further proclaimed that this milestone anniversary serves as an opportunity to reflect on the past, celebrate the present, and look forward to many more years of service to the entire community. Proclaim this 14th day of May, 2026.

Well done, Jim. Do we have a motion to approve the proclamation? So moved. Motion from Council Member Heert, second from Council Member Mander. All those in favor indicate by saying I. I. Opposed. That carries. Gentlemen, thank you. We look forward to celebrating this year with you and probably stopping out and picking up some cool uh 50th anniversary stuff along the way. Appreciate it. You bet. Take care, guys. 5D on our agenda is the 2026 special assessment role number 700, which is for delinquent utilities. And uh welcome Candy to what I think is your first special assessment role for delinquent utilities. So milestones, right? We got to celebrate milestones.

Um good evening mayor and city council. I'm here to present the 2026 delinquent utility billing for the spring special assessment role number 700. So for the 2026 special assessments, the city certifies delinquent accounts twice a year, both in the spring and in the fall. Finance sends out the statutes, the notices per the statute. The first letters for 2026 were sent on February 24th. There was 665 letters. The second set of letters went out on March 18th. The public hearing notices were mailed to each of the account holders and it was published in the paper. The goal of the special assessments is to collect the outstanding balances on the utility bills. And at this time, there's been no written objections for anyone that's on the list. Nothing's been received. So for the spring 2026 delinquency overview, we are higher in the spring of 26 versus 2025 by about 46 accounts. We are lower in in delinquent accounts from the fall of 2025 by 30 accounts and approximately $40,000. The reason for this is because the fall assessments include the irrigation accounts. So we've had that drop off over the winter. The 438 accounts that we need to assess equate to $152,322. And this is all for utility bills. So for the 2026 next steps after the public hearing and if the council approves the adoption of the assessment role, prepayments can still be accepted until Monday, June 15, 2026. After June 15th, the balance of these assessments of the outstanding accounts will be sent

to Dakota County and it'll be levied against the 2027 property tax statements along with an 8% interest fee. So, our requested council action is to hold the public hearing tonight and then afterwards, if the CA City Council approves, to adopt the resolution approving the 2026 special assessment roles number 700 for the delinquent utilities.

Thank you. Any questions for Candy before we start the public hearing? We'll go ahead and open the public hearing for the special assessment role. Is there anyone who would like to speak to the public hearing? Anyone who would like to speak to this public hearing on the special assessment role. One last opportunity. All right. Seeing no one, we'll go ahead and close the public hearing and we'll look for a motion to adopt the resolution loving the 2026 special assessment role number 700 for delinquent utility charges. Motion from council member Grenall. Second. Second from council member Heert. All those in favor indicate by saying I I

oppose. Thank you and thank you Candy for pulling that together for us. Um that ends our regular agenda items and let's move on to staff and council communications. And Tom, I know we've got a couple here teed up. Yes, Mr. Mayor. Uh first I'll just start and just uh thank you all for participating in the tree planting activity that we had earlier today at Fred Large and Park. Uh this is something that we do annually in celebration of Arbor Day and Arbor Month and we have a great partner in Dakota Electric and uh they provide the tree for us and our staff does a great job getting it ready for planting. So always happy to add another tree to the city's park system. Uh the next items we have both come from our police chief Nick Francis. Welcome Chief.

Good evening, Mr. mayor, members of the council, a right of passage every spring. Uh, two things. First one is police week. So, uh, this week, law enforcement across the US is um honoring police officers and honoring those who have died in the line of duty. Uh, through police week, a couple of things um are unique to our department. We have had um a very active participation in uh something called Law Enforcement United, which is a bike ride, memorial bike ride um from somewhere around Washington DC into Washington DC. uh that is about a 250 to 300 mile bike ride that people um make pedal bikes not to not uh to be confused with the ones I'm going to talk about shortly here, but uh they're pedaling their bikes for three days uh 80 to 100 miles a day in honor of uh law enforcement officers that have died in the line of duty in the past year. Uh we have eight members of our department that are out in some capacity out in Washington DC and they'll be trickling back um shortly. Um, tomorrow, well, starting tonight at 6 o'clock through tomorrow at 7 o'clock, uh, if anybody's interested to go to the law enforcement memorial up in St. Paul, right near the Capitol grounds there, there is a 24-hour vigil essentially. Um, so there are officers signing up that uh take one-hour shifts 24 hours a day to stand guard up there. And then tomorrow uh at 7 p.m. they have a candle light vigil for Minnesota officers lost in the line of duty. Um, it's a pretty quick in-n-out. So, if you're up there in St. Paul, it's a great opportunity just to stop by and uh pay some tributes. You kind of come and and go at your own uh at your own um pace. There's a changing of the guard every hour. It's it's um it's pretty easy and pretty moving. Um also want to mention that if anybody's around tomorrow in the morning, uh and wants a donut, uh there's going to be cop on a rooftop at Dunkin Donuts in Apple Valley from 6:00 a.m. to 10 a.m. Uh we'll be out there, um helping raise money with Special

Olympics. We'll have Special Olympic athletes out there and so uh we welcome the community to come out and visit us tomorrow morning. We'll have folks out there again starting at six o'clock uh up till 10 in the morning. So, uh it's been a great police week and we're looking forward to finishing that off. Uh secondly, I just want to hit on uh bikes. That's another right of uh of passage in the spring and um specifically ebikes. These are um newer devices um and and then and I'll kind of walk through the different kinds, but uh newer devices that we're seeing all over. And uh we are getting lots of um questions, lots of emails, lots of concerns about the use of these bikes and um potential conflicts between walkers and riders, vehicles and riders and so on. And there's all sorts of different um different types of devices. I just want to walk through some of our educational uh information that we're trying to get out there and uh bring you up to speed on some of the other things that we're working with the communications department to update the community on. Um so we developed um a kind of handout that we're able to give away at uh bicycling events through school events, any type of public outreach that just kind of breaks down what these these different uh devices are. Um what we are seeing a lot of is motorized bicycles. um and ebikes. Uh the motorized bicycles, however, um those are essentially like a scooter or a motorcycle. Um you must be 15 years and up. Uh you have to either have a valid driver's license or motor motorized bicycle permit. Uh I can talk anybody that wants to know the nuances of a moped license through it because both of my kids have them. Um and uh we I got them a uh a moped scooter that has to go on the road. It's got a driver's It's got a a license plate. It's we pay insurance on it. Uh but essentially, there's a lot of folks using motorized

bicycles on sidewalks u in in ways that are unregulated. Uh they are required to be on the road. Um and prohibited from being on the sidewalk. Uh helmets required if you're under 18. Uh and the specs are 30 miles per hour max. Uh with a 1500 watt motor, uh headlight, tail light. Uh passengers are prohibited. Um, we also see a lot of motorized foot scooters. Uh, these ones are you're seeing we're seeing a lot of the younger kids, the six, eight, 10 year old uh folks that have these motorized ones. Um, not that long ago they were pedal ones. So, you just kind of had to move your foot like Fred Flintstone to get the thing to go. And now you'll see them going up a huge hill at, you know, 15 miles an hour because they're battery powered. Um, so you have to be 12 up, 12 and up, um, to operate these. Um they're multi-use on paths and trails. These ones are are you know a little bit slower speed, smaller. Um they're illegal to ride on the sidewalk. Um and this is all uh according to state statute. Um the helmets are required again with all these helmets are required uh under 18. Um speed max is 15 miles an hour and passengers are prohibited. You will sometimes see two or three kids kind of all balancing on that just like we all did on the handlebars and the the rear rear pegs when we were kids.

Um the electric assisted bicycles are another category. Um that's age 15 and up. So these ones have pedals, but they also have um electric assist on them. Um they are uh allowed on paths and trails. Uh they're illegal to ride on the sidewalk. Um, and again, same same laws as motor vehicles with you have to come to a stop, you have to yield to pedestrians, you have to um, you know, just ride as you would as you were part of traffic. Um, again, the these are up to 28 miles an hour. Passengers are prohibited. And then we also see plenty of these uh, e-otos and dirt bikes. And and it's kind of hard to determine the difference between this this e-moto and dirt bike and the motorized bicycles. You have to inspect them. There's a lot of technical expertise with that, but essentially they are devices that you don't pedal. They just are, you know, self-propelled and can go through um go through just like a um combustion engine would. Uh these ones are again, this is like a it's electronic electric motorcycle. Um on public property, it's illegal unless it's registered as a motorcycle. So again, you got to have the license, the tabs, the helmet, all that thing, all that going on. Motorcycle licenses required. Um, on private property, you can drive them as you want. We don't have a ton of big lots in Apple Valley where it's realistic that you're going to see people riding these like you might o over in the country or, you know, up north on a 40acre plot or something like that. Um, what we are trying to do with all these is is educate. The people that we need most educated right now are parents who are going out and buying these things or grandparents or whoever else that that is going out and buying these things. And um they are much more reasonable uh in cost than they were a couple few years ago. Uh a couple few years ago they were in the thousand plus, you know, $2,000 to buy an ebike and now they're down into the couple hundred. Uh so they are much more affordable. Um so we are trying to get

the word out not just to the biking community, but to the parents, to the neighbors, to the relatives to say pay attention to what you're buying. uh because um just because you buy it and you can get it over the counter at one of the stores does not mean it's legal for uh grandson or son or daughter to just go out and ride through the the neighborhood. Um so our bike patrol unit is up and running. You saw uh some of them on the first page here. Uh we actually do have some ebikes uh e um some electric assisted bikes that u we got through a grant process and there there's a combination of folks riding on these and um our pedal bikes. But we're also trying to get the word out there through um uh many different ways here this spring. Uh we have a dedicated web page that's just getting up and running that'll be live here yet in May. Uh we'll send a news flash out um in May uh kind of directing people to some of the information directing them back to the website for more information. Um we're going to do regular social media posts throughout the summer. Uh we're going to have an educational video in June. Educational handouts will be going out similar to the one we have up here. And we also have at least a couple of bike rodeos uh planned that the police department is going to be hosting. So, we want folks to be aware of um of these um types of devices. What we recommend when we do get the complaints is that uh treat it like a traffic incident or traffic complaint. And what we what we tell people for those situations is call right away. Call the police department because we would like to know. We that's our best chance of getting out and and trying to identify someone. So, similar to if you had a car running stop lightss in your neighborhood or speeding up the road, if you can get a description of that car, the last location, a description of the driver, same type of thing. We have officers that can get in the neighborhood and if it's a little red minibike and three of them in a row or something like that, that'll help our officers try to pinpoint um who's responsible uh for for their unsafe driving and riding and and we can have a

chat with them. Uh for the most part it's chatting with them, chatting with parents, and uh right now just um spreading awareness as to um what's legal, what's not, and um and more importantly than that, just the safe riding skills that we need everybody to to exhibit no matter what type of device they're on. Uh whether it's a pedal bike, uh an e-oto, or a foot scooter, we want folks to just be safe when they're doing it. Thank you, Chief. Council member Grenol had a question. Madam Mayor, so um Chief, so what's involved in getting a motorized bicycle permit? Where do you do that?

So, uh there's online classes. Um it's Ride Safe, Ride Smart. So, it's a standardized statewide online class that you can go, you can sign up, you can take it at your own pace. Once you get that certificate of completion, it takes about four hours to take the class. Once you get that certificate of completion, then you can go uh into the local DVS and take the knowledge exam, uh which is similar to like your license permit. So, you have to be 15 um to get that to take that class and to get that permit. Uh and then you can go in take the knowledge exam and then you have a permit uh to ride uh a scooter or e-oto. Um and then after 30 days, you can go actually take a road test and uh and get u it's almost like a motorcycle endorsement. But the the class itself is probably what's most helpful. Think of like kind of like gun safety where you're going through modules, you're learning about things, you're watching videos, and um a lot of the kids these days, a lot of the the things they're learning in school is through that kind of remote or asynchronous method. Um and so uh it really clicks and and um the safety lessons there are are not just the rules of the road, but more so safe riding. So, of the 50 I see going by in a probably any day, how many do you guess might have one of these permits?

Very very few, if any. Yeah. Yeah. Most people equate it more with uh the combustion and the scooters like the old Vespas and the Spreeze, the the ones that are gas powered that go up to 30 miles an hour. Um people that ride those understand that there's licensing involved with that. I don't think many of the people that ride bikes and the the ebikes and the e-motos understand that they're actually motor vehicles and not toys. Member Heert.

Uh thanks, Chief. Um my question is so with the the scooters and the ebikes, so they're allowed on paths and trails but not on the sidewalks. And so I think one of the challenges that I think people is what is a path and a trail versus what is a sidewalk. And sometimes people are like, "Well, I need to get to the path and the trail, so I'm going to use the sidewalk." So, is there a piece that we can help educate people what is a path and a trail in Apple Valley versus the sidewalks in Apple Valley and or any advice that we can give to give to people to make sure that they're riding in the in the correct places?

Yep. Yes, that's a great point. We can add that on our our website that we're building and maybe have a picture of this is what a trail looks like. Here's the length of what a trail is. It typically runs, you know, maybe through a neighborhood, but through a park. And here's what a sidewalk is. But sidewalk lengths, we'll have to use our um our folks from public works to kind of help uh help us get some pictures and and identify what those uh what those differences are.

So, Chief, on that question, that was my question, too. So, thank you for getting to it. Um I think trail, so Macandrews is coming to mind, right? There's a trail of Mandrews that crosses over the bridge. I think we'd all rather have slower vehicles like these up on that trail than in the traffic lane, but would that be a trail on the south side of McAndrews or is that a sidewalk in this definition?

Um, I would say that's a trail. Yep. And it comes down to the distance where the width of it where you can kind of safely uh pass and interact without being forced to be in in close proximity with everybody else. And there's plenty of neighborhoods that don't have either. uh you know, so in those situations, typically they're neighborhoods where the the uh traffic volumes are less and slower speeds. Uh but we're still we still anytime you have vehicles moving at different uh speeds uh and different expectations, there's the opportunity for uh conflicts. Maybe in everybody's free time, we could figure out a map or something, right, that we could post that, right, these are the trails and these are the sidewalks and a GIS map or something like that with public works would be

great. The other message I heard you say though is just call, right? Like just call if you see something doesn't look right because the the call that comes in four days later doesn't do a whole lot of good to help us get to the bottom and talk to the people involved.

Yes. Yep. And that's what that's what we always recommend. And then um you know if there is other activity going on, kids want to ride these. They want to have fun. They want to find a place. So in their own defense, they may try to find a place where they're not on the road. So that then they end up in a park and they don't necessarily want to have uh new park trails and and bike trails and uh areas. So call us and and then uh if you see these riding through parks, whatever else, we can work with the parks department to get folks out there and make sure that uh we're putting a stop to kind of the the self-made off-road trails that are inevitably going to start showing up in our parks. Councilman Grenle, that was my question. So, do you have to dial 911, say non-emergency or what's the number you're suggesting people call?

Um, 911 is still um acceptable. They will um they don't they don't want everybody to call that all the time, but the non-emergency number uh is either 651 or 952 322323. 911 still works. They'll just ask is it an emergency? And if it's not, they'll put you on hold. But they're trying to direct things to the non-emergency. There's also um SparkCC online reporting. Our department uses that quite a bit. Uh, and you can go on the Dakota 911 website and, uh, it'll just say service request. If it's not an emergency, you can go right on there, type your information in, and it goes literally from your phone to the dispatch screen instantly. Uh, and so it's another way to avoid the the phone any type of the phone mess.

Great. Thank you,

my experience. I mean, I live by a park and a neighbor was concerned and called about it and I don't usually drive by at 4:30. When I went by at 4:30, kids were flying out of the woods. I mean, there were bikes everywhere. It was unbelievable. I know Eric came down and dealt with it right away and talked to them and we've gone down and said, "Hey, it's for your own benefit and your own safety that anyway." So, they still go flying through, but not like they did before it was reported. It's it's definitely a give and take what we are asking all of us are asking kids to do. Get outside, get off the screens, interact with your friends. They're doing that. Uh but that now it's it's kind of creating those guardrails and saying, "Yeah, we want you to do that, but we want you to do it safely. We want you to do it legally." And so, u to some it's it's a it's a it's it's it's a huge inconvenience. To to me, myself personally, our department, uh it's a good opportunity for us to interact and educate folks that are out riding. We certainly don't want a one of them to interact with the front bumper of somebody's vehicle right either. So,

Chief, thank you. Thank you, council members. Any other items uh this evening,

staff? Anything else? The one thing I will mention is on our consent agenda, we did have a proclamation for public works week. And I just want to pause briefly and recommend uh recommend um recognize all of our public works staff for everything they do to uh I think as most of them would tell you, right? Make sure everything runs really quietly and smoothly behind the scenes and that they don't get noticed. But uh we're going to notice them here for public works week at least for one week of the year and recognize the work they do. So thanks everybody. Um, with that I will move to our calendar of events and our next regular city council meeting is not on this sheet. So bear with me while I find a calendar. Believe we are May 28th um at 7 p.m. Uh, do we have a motion to approve the calendar of upcoming events?

So moved. Second. Motion from council member Grenle, second from council member Heert. All those in favor indicate by saying I. I. Opposed. And do we have a motion to adjurnn? So moved. Second. Motion from council member Heert, second from council member Grenall. All those in favor? I I opposed and we're adjourned. Thank you.