City Council - Regular Meeting

No, my screen isn't.

All right. Good evening, everyone. We'll go ahead and call this meeting to order of the August 13th, 2026 Apple Valley city council meeting. Welcome everyone. If you have an item on the agenda this evening or have signed up to speak when your name is called, please approach the podium to address the council. The first item on our agenda is the pledge of allegiance. And I would ask all to rise and join us in the pledge.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.

Thank you, everyone. Next item on our agenda is to approve the agenda. And Charles, are there any changes or additions this evening? There are none. Thank you. With that, do we have a motion to approve the agenda as published?

So moved. Second.

Motion from Council Member Grendall, second from Council Member Bergman. All those in favor indicate by saying aye.

Aye.

Opposed? All right, the agenda carries. The next item is our audience participation portion of the meeting. Christina, I was socializing and did not check the sign-up sheet. Do we have anyone signed up to speak?

Mayor, there are no sign-ups.

All right. We will still offer for anyone in the room, if anyone who would like to speak to the audience participation portion. This is for items that are not on the agenda. Please come forward now. all right seeing none we will move on to our consent agenda these items are considered routine and will be enacted with a single motion unless a council member or a citizen requests to pull an item to be discussed separately council members are there any items you would like to pull this evening all right for our citizens any items to pull all right seeing none we do we have a motion to approve the consent agenda second Motion from Council Member Millander and a second from Council Member Grendel. All those in favor indicate by saying aye.

Aye.

And opposed. All right, the consent items all passed unanimously and we will move on to our regular agenda and I'd like to invite Chief Francis up for our introduction and oath of office.

Good evening, Mr. Mayor, members of the council. I want to introduce one of our newest officers. I'll have Officer Jackson Stauffacher come on up with me here for an introduction. Another exciting day. We usually try to get these lined up. We have a couple swearing-ins that are due, but because of vacations and schedules, we couldn't get them both today, so we're having one today and one in two weeks. So we'll be in front of you with a couple exciting new introductions. So Officer Jackson Stoffaker is with us. He grew up in Belle Plaine. Belle Plaine, Minnesota, went to Belle Plaine High School. He's a state champion wrestler. In high school, went on to wrestle in college, so already value added to our use of force program and our training. Anytime he works and there's muffins or cookies or whatever, they're just in the garbage as soon as he leaves the briefing room, so a great influence on us already. He has a bachelor's degree in criminal justice and psychology from Southwest State, Minnesota. Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall, Minnesota. That's where he was a student athlete as well. After finishing college, he began his law enforcement career in Marshall with the Marshall Police Department in 2024. Worked as a police officer there for a couple years until coming to join us here in Apple Valley this year. Outside of work, he enjoys golfing with his dad and brother, playing cards with mom and sister, playing pickleball. We are getting a good number of pickleball players, so we might be tournament-bound here pretty soon. And also hanging out with his dog. And I'll ask Jackson to introduce anybody here that's with you that you want to point out tonight.

I have my mother, father, Gerald and Kathy, Grandma Gretchen, Aunt and Uncle, Carrie and Tim.

Perfect. So I'll invite Officer Stauffacher over to take his oath with the city clerk. Well, she'll come over by us.

Please raise your right hand. Please state your name.

Jackson Sofker.

Repeat after me. Do solemnly swear.

Do solemnly swear.

That I will support the Constitution of the United States.

That I will support the Constitution of the United States.

And of the state of Minnesota.

And of the state of Minnesota.

And faithfully discharge the duties.

and faithfully discharge the duties of the Office of Police Officer, of the Office of Police Officer, of the City of Apple Valley, of the City of Apple Valley, in the County of Dakota, in the County of Dakota, and State of Minnesota, and State of Minnesota, to the best of my judgment and ability, to the best of my judgment and ability.

So help me God.

So help me God.

Congratulations.

We will invite, he's got a family member, I think, going to come up and pin his badge on.

Told you it was harder under pressure, right?

So yeah, with that, we're just happy to welcome a new member to our police department. You go to the post board website for the state of Minnesota, there's well over 100 agencies that are hiring every single day. And so we're just thankful when people come and choose us for department. And that is much to your thanks and to your credit to be running a great city and giving us all the resources and the equipment and the culture we want here. So they're working for us day and night, but they're working for you 24-7 behind the scenes. And we welcome Jackson here and we'll be back in front of you in another two weeks with a new officer.

You can bring them in as much as you want, right? We'll always give you the time. Jackson, welcome. And just to you and everyone here, I say this every time, but I'll think of something new sometime. You guys make us proud every day. It's been great these last few weeks, right, to get to spend a little time with you guys around with Casting with the Cops and then Night to Unite here just recently. And, you know, when you get to spend personal time with people, you just realize the quality of the people behind the uniform and that do the job. And thank you all for doing it very well every day. And, Jackson, welcome and stay safe. Thank you. Thank you. We'll step out for some pictures. Absolutely. We'll give everybody a minute to kind of make their way to the door before we jump to the next item here. Hey Chief, do you mind grabbing the door on your way out? Thank you. We can still hear Council Member Bergman even though he's in the hallway at the moment. Alright, thanks for indulging that little break. We will move on to item 5B, which is to proclaim August of 2026 as Overdose Awareness Month. JJ, I think you were going to come forward and you had the proclamation and I think a few brief words to say.

Mr. Mayor, council members, chief, new officer, I'm James Johnson Jr., again JJ from Dakota County Public Health. Thanking you for being a part of Overdose Awareness Month, joining other Dakota County communities, communities across Minnesota, across the US, and across the globe to recognize Overdose Awareness Month. This year's theme internationally is many voices, one family, a collective end to end overdose. The Dakota County theme is be ready to help your neighbor, your friend, your family, a stranger. Learn how to recognize an overdose and be prepared. In 2025, Dakota County had 39 reported opioid-related overdose deaths, the youngest of which was 16 and the oldest was 78. Naloxone, known as Narcan, could have helped. We want to help our neighbors, so we recognize the power of community, of family. Remember the loved ones who have died from the overdose and acknowledge the grief of those left behind. So we want to end or seek out to end overdose by sharing prevention strategies and we appreciate Apple Valley joining us in that effort. Thank you. Thank you.

Do we have the proclamation we can put up? Thank you. I can go ahead and read this one if you would like. It says, whereas August is International Overdose Awareness Month, a global initiative aimed at raising awareness about overdose prevention and honoring those impacted by substance use disorder. and whereas communities across the united states including the city of apple valley continue to be impacted by opioid overdose and fentanyl poisoning resulting in the tragic loss of life and lasting effects on families friends and community and whereas fentanyl a powerful synthetic opioid is involved in the majority of opioid overdose deaths and is often found in counterfeit pills and other substances without a person's knowledge, and whereas education, prevention, harm reduction, timely access to treatment, and recovery support are essential to saving lives and addressing the ongoing opioid crisis. And whereas, the City of Apple Valley recognizes the importance of reducing stigma, supporting individuals and families affected by substance use disorders, and honoring the lives of those lost to overdose. And whereas, the City also recognizes the dedication of healthcare professionals, first responders, public health agencies, educators, community organizations, and recovery advocates who work every day to prevent overdose and support recovery. Now, therefore, be it proclaimed by the City Council of the City of Apple Valley, Dakota County, Minnesota, that August 2026 is Overdose Awareness Month, and be it further proclaimed that the City Council encourages all residents to observe this month by increasing awareness, supporting prevention and recovery efforts, remembering those whose lives have been lost, and helping build a community of compassion, hope, and healing, proclaimed this 13th day of August 2026. Do I have a motion to approve? So moved.

Second.

Motion from Council Member Millander, second from Council Member Hebert. All those in favor indicate by saying aye.

Aye.

And all opposed? That item carries. JJ, thank you. All right, we will move on to staff and council communications. Charles, do we have anything from staff this evening?

Mr. Mayor, we do have one update. Christina has an election recap for us.

Yes, Merritt City Council, as we know, Tuesday was our statewide primary election day. And it's pretty exciting for us election nerds out there. This was one of the highest turnouts for a primary that we've ever experienced. In Apple Valley, the turnout was 30.86. I can't say 31. Election people can't round, right? We want exact. So... 30.86%. Statewide, it was about 25%. So we did even better than the statewide average. We had 11,840 voters in Apple Valley cast ballots in our 16 different precincts. And thank you to our 168 election judges that we hired for the primary election. one whom is in the room right with us right now. We certainly appreciate all of the service that they provided to our voters on election day. And we appreciate our partnership with Dakota County as well. And we appreciate all the support from the council. It's really because of you guys, we can do such a nice job here in Apple Valley, making sure our voters have good experiences at the polls. So on to November 3rd, we're looking forward to it.

Christina, thank you for the update. You're never going to pat yourself on the back, so we'll do it for you. But thank you for the efforts to lead the team. We had a really nice email from one of the election judges who I think said you made election training fun and exciting. And I don't think I've ever heard those words come out of election judge training. Thank you. Thank you for making it a good experience for those who I know they get paid for this job, but let's just be real. This is volunteer service, right? And in furtherance of fair and free elections and all that good stuff. So Kevin, thank you for service as well. Thanks. Any other items? Council members. I was going to mention the election. I don't think I need to anymore. So council members, any items from you?

I think we should talk about Night to Unite. Yep.

We should talk about Night to Unite. That's a good one. And thank all the neighborhood parties. I don't know if we had 100, and all the city council went out, our police officers went out, our staff all went out. Fire. Fire everybody wants the fire truck anyway, so I said I had the north eastern part parts of the cities and The only negative I heard everybody was happy somebody said it's fabulous except we don't have a brewery That's the only thing so if that's the worst that happens in this town.

I guess we're pretty well It's about a hundred and ten other places to go grab a cocktail, but yeah Anyone else agree it's always a good night. It's always fun to be out so anyone else for council items I All right, seeing none, we'll move on to our calendar of events. And our next City Council informal meeting is Thursday, August 27th at 5.30. And our next City Council regular meeting is Thursday, August 27th at 7 p.m. And I would look for a motion to approve our calendar of upcoming events.

So moved. Second.

Motion from Council Member Grendel, second from Council Member Hebert. All those in favor indicate by saying aye.

Aye.

Opposed? The calendar is approved. And do we have a motion to adjourn? So moved. Motion from Council Member Hebert, second from Council Member Grendel. All those in favor, indicate by saying aye.

Aye.

Opposed? Thank you. We're adjourned, everybody. Have a great night.