City Council - Regular Meeting

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. It is now 5.30, and I call this regular meeting of the Burnsville City Council to order. We will begin our meeting with a moment of silence, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance, and we invite you to join us.

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.

The clerk will note that Mayor Kautz is absent and Councilmember Schultz is attending electronically via Zoom this evening. Members of the public are welcome to attend in person. They may also choose to watch our meeting at burnsvillemin.gov backslash meetings or Comcast channel 16 or 859. The public can also participate through Zoom by joining us at zoom.us backslash join. More information is available on our meetings webpage and in the council agenda packets. We will start with announcements and proclamations Schedule of upcoming meetings. We have regular council meetings scheduled for Tuesday, June 16th at 5 30 p.m Tuesday July 7th at 5 30 p.m. And a work session Tuesday, June 9th also at 5 30 p.m Unless noted all meetings are in the council chambers This evening we have some guests for I love Burnsville essay contest and And I will go from over here. And I'll invite our friends from Truestone. So every year, there's a I Love Burnsville essay contest where we invite third graders from around the school district to write an essay and talk about why they love Burnsville, and then representatives from Truestone and the mayor get together and read those essays and pick three honorable mentions and then three winning essays. So we want to give a special thanks to Mitchell Byers and Kim Gregg with Truestone Financial for their ongoing and generous support of this program, and we also want to thank the teachers and the third graders for committing to this program every year. It's a very fun program.

Excuse me.

For this contest this year, students were asked, as Burnsville celebrates America's 250th birthday, we invite you to share what makes Burnsville a place you love. So with the support from Truestone Financial, we have three honorable mentions, as I mentioned, who will receive awards with each student and their teacher receiving $50. I will ask each student... to come up with their teacher to receive their award for honorable mentions. So our first honorable mention is Vienna Miller from Gideon Pond and Mrs. Susan Zuccolo. Where's the awards? You got the cash, JJ? It's right behind me. Good job.

We enjoyed your story so well. Oops, sorry about that.

Our next honorable mention is Azar Abdi from Gideon Pond with Ms. Andrea Tretow. And he is not here yet. Our third honorable mention is James Bailey of William Byrne with Mrs. Sarah Kirsten.

Are you James?

Congratulations.

All right, so we have our three winners with each student and their teacher receiving $100. I will ask each student to come up individually and read their essay and then receive their award. So in no specific order, we have Marlo Nelson, also of William Byrne, with Ms. Sarah Kirsten.

Do you want a stool? Can you reach this?

Can you imagine a city with nice people who help you out, places to meet up with family and friends, and playgrounds that are all accessible? That's Burnsville, and it is a wonderful place to be. First is the beautiful River Hills Park. Anyone can join the fun because parts of the ground are made of rubber. So if you ride in a wheelchair, wheeling around won't be a problem. And if you're tired of being dragged by your crazy dog, let them run wild in a large fenced area. Next up are amazing community helpers in stores, offices, and more. You can always count on your local helpers. So in summary, beautiful parks and our great helpers are only part of what makes Burnsville an amazing place. So if you're in the mood, come and see the wonder of our fantastic city.

Our next winner is Olivia Ward from Gideon Pond and her teacher, Mrs. Susan Zuccolo.

Burnsville is a great place to live. Here are a few reasons why. Burnsville has a good mayor. She stands up for others and herself. Burnsville has great houses. They are built correctly and they are clean. People donate to help others and people volunteer. Feed my starving children. They help people who really need it and can't afford things like food, water, and clothing. When they help, they are not mean, they are nice. And that's why I love Brentsville.

And our third winner is Charlotte Simmons, also of Gideon Pond, and also in Mrs. Susan Zucola's class.

Burnsville is a great place to live. First, Burnsville has great libraries. They have funny, scary, and other nice books to read. The library also has nice places to sit, read, or just rest. And if you need help, there are workers. They're really nice and helpful. Burnsville has great schools. They have really nice teachers to help. The math level is really nice for kids that need a certain level. The lunch they make us is also really nice. Burnsville is a great community. They did Earth Day where you pick up garbage. They also have activities for the city. And lastly, they set up sport fundraisers for anybody like football, soccer, and volleyball. And that's why I think Burnsville is great.

Hi, we'd just like to say thank you for letting us be a part of this great event. The students did an amazing job. When we read the letters, we were just floored by all the words, all the comments, the truth and believing behind their whole essay. You could just read it. I actually want to move to Burnsville, and I live in Eagan. And it was just a really wonderful event. We don't do something like that in any other district, so it really means a lot to be a part of it, and we hope to continue to do this every year. So thank you from Truestone.

So now we will have all of our honorable mentions and award winners come up to the front, and we'll take a group picture with the council here. Someone can stand in front of the set over there.

Yeah, stand in front of the screen.

One, two, three.

All right. Our next item this evening is citizen comments. This is an opportunity for anyone who would like to address the council on an item that is not on the printed agenda and not coming before us at a future meeting. We had one person sign up in the lobby to speak tonight. Aside from that, is there anyone else here that would like to speak? Seeing nobody, I will invite Ishika Jane to the front. If you could just give us your name and address for the record, please.

Hello, members of the Burnsville City Council. My name is Ishika Jane, and I live in South Burnsville with my family behind the Buck-Hilski Resort. Thank you for the opportunity to let me speak today. As a member of the Burnsville community, an incoming medical student at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, and a concerned sister of a middle schooler, I am speaking to you today to respectfully urge the Burnsville City Council to place stronger restrictions on the sale of flavored tobacco products. Recently, my 13-year-old brother came home from school asking whether vapes were harmful to one's health after attending a lecture about the dangers of cigarette smoking. During our conversation, he shared how peers of his secretly used flavored vape products in the middle school locker room. As our father is an oncologist, my brother innocently asked whether or not that meant his friends, 13-year-old children, are at higher risk of dying from cancer. Children this young should not have to worry about topics like these nor should their peers have to deal with the lifelong consequences associated with nicotine and tobacco addiction. I respect the Burnsville City Council's continued interest in investing in businesses in our community. However, flavored tobacco usage is not an innocent consumer choice, especially for children as young as my brother. The CDC reports that the vast majority of youth tobacco users Users begin with flavored products, and the tobacco industry has made deliberate efforts to make tobacco products more appealing to younger users through flavoring and youth-oriented marketing. In addition, the economic costs of tobacco affect everyone, contributing to a $4.7 billion excess cost in Minnesota and an estimated $983 tax burden per household, including here in Burnsville. Neighboring cities of ours such as Lillydale, Medota Heights, Richfield, and Bloomington have made restrictions on the sale of flavored tobacco products. So today I urge the Burnsville City Council to follow suit and create restrictions on the sale of flavored nicotine and tobacco products here in Burnsville. Thank you for the opportunity to let me speak today, and I hope you consider my request. Thank you so much.

Thank you. Any comments on that? All right. Seeing as no one else is here to speak for citizen comments, uh, we'll move on to item number three additions to the final agenda. This is for emergency items only. Does staff have any other additions to the final agenda this evening? This council have any other additions to the final agenda? Seeing none, we will move on. Um, item number four is the consent agenda. All items listed on the consent agenda are considered to be routine and will be enacted by one motion However, an item may be removed from the consent agenda for a separate discussion and vote Is there anyone from the public who wishes an item to be removed from the consent agenda for a separate discussion and vote? Seeing none does staff wish to remove an item nothing from staff back anywhere nothing from staff members of the council They have a motion to adopt the consent agenda second Motion in a second and because we are digital we have to roll call. Oh Miss Collins Yes Yes Yes Moving on to our regular agenda We have one item this evening appointments to advisory commissions the City Council conducted interviews on May 26th and May 28th We had 28 applications this year. Council Member Gustafson, can you please make a motion to appoint for the Economic Development Commission?

Thank you, Acting Mayor. For the Economic Development Commission, I nominate Vicki Anderson as a regular member with the term ending 6-20-29. John Sweeney as a regular member, term ending 6-20-29. Molly's here from alternate to regular member term ending 6-2029. Ali Awad is a regular member term ending 6-2029. And Faisal Farah, the alternate member term ending 6-2027.

Thank you for that. All those in favor, please say roll call. Did you make a motion, Dan? I'll second the motion. We have a motion and a second. Sorry. Roll call. Gustafson aye Keely aye Schultz yeah workmen aye And the motion carries Councilmember Keely, can you please make a motion to appoint for parks and natural resources Commission?

Thank you acting mayor workmen I am speaking on behalf of the the mayor who is the liaison to the parks and natural resources, but it's currently out of town so I'd like to make a motion to appoint Cody mats as a regular member ending on 6 of 2029 Alpa Goswami as a regular member term ending 6 of 29 and Aliyah McNeil our youth member term ending 6 of 2027 We have a motion and a second and a second Gustafson.

All right, Keely.

All right Schultz Yes workmen.

All right and the motion carries and Finally, I will make a motion to appoint the following members to the Planning Commission. Al Anderson, alternate member, term ending in June, 2029, and Alexander Ramnarine, regular member, term ending June, 2029. Second. We have a motion and a second.

Gustafson?

Aye.

Keiley?

Aye.

Schultz? Yes. Workman?

Aye. And the motion carries. Members of the council, there are no other additional items to come before us at this regular council meeting, and a motion to adjourn is in order. So moved. Second. We have a motion and a second. Do we have to roll call?

Esteson?

Aye.

Keeley?

Aye. Schultz?

Aye.

Thank you for being with us this evening. I hope you have a wonderful night, and we'll see you next Tuesday.