City Council - Regular Meeting

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. It is 530, and I will call our work session to order. So members of the public are always welcome to attend in person, and we enjoy seeing all of you here. Welcome. And the public can also choose to watch our meetings at burnsvillemin.gov slash meetings or Comcast channel 16 or 859. The public can also participate through Zoom by joining us at zoom.us slash join. And more information is available on our meeting webpage and in the council agenda packet. Our work sessions are... informal and we go directly to the items that's on the agenda. So the first item on the agenda is the Burnsville Festival and Fire Master Security. And Chief Jungman is presenting.

The floor is yours. Good evening, Madam Mayor, members of the council. Thanks for having us. This presentation is going to be split into a couple of pieces. So we'll talk first about kind of festival security, and then we'll turn it over to the members of the festival board that are here to talk about the financial piece and requests that they have. So that's kind of where we're at. Just as a quick reminder, IS THE COUNCIL REQUESTED US TO COME BACK WITH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION BASED ON THE REQUEST OF THE FESTIVAL WITH THEIR FINANCIALS AND ABOUT A LITTLE MORE INFORMATION ON HOW WE COME UP WITH WHAT WE DO FOR THE FESTIVAL SECURITY. SO I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO CHIEF SMITH TO COVER THE FIRST COUPLE OF SLIDES, AND THEN I'LL ROUND IT OUT TALKING A LITTLE BIT MORE SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THE FESTIVAL.

OKAY. ALL RIGHT, MADAM MAYOR.

CHIEF SMITH, YOU'RE RECOGNIZED. thank you madam mayor members of council i'm going to start with the sort of how we looked at the risk assessment we we look at this nationally regionally and then we're going to talk about some of our local trends best practices our own experiences here in burnsville criminal intelligence that we gather while we look at these community events and at the end of the day this is all about community and staff safety that's that's the goal of everything we're talking about Unfortunately, over the years, different types of events that we've been concerned about have ultimately led to violence, which is what has us concerned as we move forward into this community event. So nationally, there's an average of over 20 active shooter incidents per year. Over half of those are in open spaces, which would be similar to the Burnsville Festival and Firemuster again. That's why we have a concern over this particular type of event. And the incidents of community events have become more common. We're gonna go more nationally here. Not all of these were firearm related, but to show, sort of paint the picture of in Waukesha, you may recall in 2021, there was the parade where someone drove a car through and there were five killed and 40 injured. 2024 in Kansas City was the Super Bowl Parade. That was a shooting incident that left one killed and 22 injured. And then more recently in New Orleans was 14 killed and 57 injured last year. More regionally, last summer in June in Minneapolis, there was a shooting up at Boom Island. Also in Minneapolis in August of 2025, one killed and seven injured on 3rd Avenue. Just this past month, there were four people shot in Martin Luther King Park in Minneapolis. Metro State's graduation had multiple shots fired up in St. Paul. And just, I believe it was two weeks ago now, at the Eid celebration in Shakopee, there was a homicide. I will also add, we are on an email list that we get emails daily, and unfortunately, it seems there's a headline that there is another incident, I think, was it Tulsa had a shooting in the last couple days, so... unfortunate things that are happening out in the community. Regionally, we know that we have rival gangs in the metro area, and that includes here in Burnsville. And other communities are also looking to increase their security profile at community events, including graduations, which of course we're in or just coming out of graduation season now. And we have had, across the metro, increased security presence. And I can say that there have been some incidents where firearms have been located in close proximity to graduations here this year. Locally, here in Burnsville, we've had our own incidents, right? In 2024, we had the shooting at Red Oak Park. In 2025, we had the shooting outside of graduation. A lot of this criminal activity is known to be tied to gangs. We've also heard of retaliation and threats, and we have located firearms at some of these funerals as well. Specific to the festival in Firemuster, in the last five years we've had 130 police-related incidents. There's been fights, assaults, drugs, most commonly related to young adults, older children. In 2023 there was one particular incident where we had to call mutual aid from our neighboring agencies. And we have over the last two years gained even more criminal intelligence from our analysts of gang at least showing up to the festival in Fire Mustard. One question that had been asked was how does this compare to party on the plaza calls for service, and we looked that up over the last several years. We've had 11 calls for service. They were actually just officers calling out as a community-oriented policing or detail. So we haven't actually had any actual police calls for service. Some of that may be related to time of day and just the activities that are happening there versus at the Firehouse.

Any on the International Festival?

I don't have that information, but you can certainly find that for you.

Gangs love arts and crafts.

Speaking specifically about our special events process within the city is Police Department and Fire Department review all special event permit applications and the Festival and Fire Monster also goes through that same process that all other special events do. When we look at those we consider trends, history, again that criminal intelligence piece and the risk assessment to determine recommendations. We try the least invasive approaches for community safety factors to determine the the greater need in in the festival's case for a number of years we've had significant police presence on those grounds and really prior to implementing uh the screening at the At the gates, we really have maximized the use of A, our internal resources, but B, the approaches without any type of invasive screening tools. We've maximized all those tactics that we could, and we were still seeing those criminal activity calls on the festival and fire muster grounds. The festival board as well as city staff agreed and the festival board adopted that they wanted a family-friendly environment and to provide for the safety and security of all participants. Those were their two goals. Staff recommended to the festival board last year to fence and have private security control access to the event. Eliminate the carnival, replace it with a family-friendly area, implement a non-supervised minor policy after 7 p.m., ban weapons and face coverings, and end the parade route at Civic Center. The festival board did adopt the majority of those. They adopted the fencing and private security to control access. They kept the carnival but shut it down at 8, did a non-supervised minor policy at 8 p.m., banned weapons and face coverings, and then ended the parade route at Civic Center. So last year was the first year of that enhanced security presence. From a staff perspective, we did see a decrease in criminal activity, fights and assaults. We were also able to enforce those that were trespassed. They weren't able to return. One of the recurring problems we had with a more open environment is we weren't able to necessarily keep those folks out. It was so porous, they could come back in pretty easily. Attendees also commented they appreciated the security, but the long lines were definitely a concern. As far as considerations, if the council were to direct staff to fund the additional security, funding options would include the economic development fund or the general fund for that. Should the council direct staff to do this in consultation with the attorney's office, we believe that the contract should be managed by staff as a matter of operations and maintain the appropriate public purpose expenditures. So if the council directs staff to fund this, we believe that the agreement for the private securities and screening should be held by the city versus making it a donation to the festival nonprofit. So that's what I have. With that, I'm going to turn it over to, I know many from the festival are here, to present the request and talk about their financials.

Okay. Just a quick question. What was the reason for not adopting all the recommendations of staff for public safety for the festival?

Madam Mayor, Council Member Gustafson, that was just what we presented. There was discussion on it, and that's what they... amongst the discussion with the board, that's what they came up with. They were.

Okay. If the members of the board can come to the table, please, there. And tell us what you're requesting, because it appears that you're requesting money that is not budgeted for us.

Madam Mayor, council members.

So that people know who's speaking from our public. Sure. So your name and that you're on the member of the Burnsville Festival and Fire Minister Board.

Sure. I'm Jason Lowell. I'm an executive vice chair on the Burnsville Festival Board here. I've got a couple other members here. John Hamilton.

And I'm on the board. I'm Adam Decnotto, the treasurer for the festival.

Welcome, all of you. Okay. Who's speaking on behalf of the board? The executive vice president?

Yes, I will. Yep. Please. So I know from the last request, it was to bring some of the financials to the table to you guys to kind of get a better understanding of how we've been performing over the last several years. Adam's going to speak a little bit to that. And then the next piece is really kind of around what the policy says when it comes to these legacy events and kind of how things are are funded and maintained like that. I do want to visit that a little bit. That kind of sets the basis for kind of why we're here and to talk about like, is the policy in line with what we want? These are anything different we may want to do with it as it pertains to this. So with that, uh, turn over to Adam for the financials.

I believe included in your packet is the balance sheet and P and L history of our festival. Um, we are a nonprofit organization that tries to, fund and spend money according to what our mission is, to provide a good and safe festival for the community. You can see that our bottom line P&L ebbs and flows due to various factors, but it is noted on the financials that we are a cash basis. So the timing of things, I will note that you will see in the fiscal year April 1st to March 31st of 26th, There's a line item for security for almost $14,000. That is for the prior year calendar year 25 event, just so everybody's aware to clear that up. That's a piece that was unexpected as requested by the city that we felt it was necessary to take on that expense for the safety of the community. and all members, and that's the primary reason why we're here. The other significant line item relevant to this conversation is the entertainment line item, where we bring on entertainment, staging, audio, fireworks, things like that to make it an enjoyable experience for all. And part of that is

bonded or reimbursed by the city. Since we have the background, can it be put up so we're transparent with all of this with what we're talking about? Yeah. Because you're talking to people who are elected to be the stewards of the public's money. That's our role. And it's our fiduciary responsibility. So if we're doing this, and you're asking for the public's money, and you're presenting your financials, I think the public needs to see it. They see our budget. It's on our website. And we talk to them, and everything we do is transparent. So I want this to be that as well.

We understand as a nonprofit, our financials are open.

But you're asking money from the people.

Correct.

Yeah. Yes. That's where that sticky point comes in. Okay.

One of my major roles with the festival is the fundraising component, and we are supported heavily by the business community. So... Fundraising is not necessarily a very glamorous or easy task, but we understand that our responsibility is not only to put on a festival where everyone feels welcome, but now you add on to that a festival where everyone feels safe, thus the extra security. And heaven forbid, that something happens at the festival, not only is it going to reflect poorly on the festival itself, but people don't draw a distinction between festival and city. They view it all as in one bucket. So if something does go wrong, does go bad, It's also reflective upon the city and we are going to do everything possible to keep our guests, our vendors and our volunteers safe. That's our responsibility. And you know, whether this council proves it or not, we're going to have the security and the impact on that is it leaves less for us to give back to three 60 communities and the other nonprofits that we support.

Okay, so in your statement of activity...

Yes, that would be the next page, yes. Here's where you can see our detail. Adam, you want to walk us through because... As I was speaking to you before, you can see in alpha order the security line item, as I was speaking before, is towards the bottom of what you're seeing right there. And... Um, we do have the support of the city in, um, relation to some of the costs of our entertainment. You can see, uh, probably eight to 10 items above that. Uh, the entertainment cost. Um, we are in partnership with the city and in the previous year we received reimbursement, uh, to the tune of $50,000 from the city and in support of our festival. And if you look at a comparative numbers from 23 at 48,000 to 24 to 55, and then the drop to 4,900, um, that is offset by the 50,000 from the city. Um, and then for 26, the, Reimbursement from the city is included in there we for transparency sake we've prepaid $14,000 for fireworks for our upcoming 26 event that's why that looks high, but those are the significant light items as to the discussion today If there's any other questions I can answer to the best of my ability did you say fireworks were included in your entertainment, but right yeah

And that reflects the $50,000 the city donated to the muster?

Correct. So $24,000, that's, so $10,000 of that is fireworks?

For the 26th fiscal year, $14,000 of that is for fireworks for the 26th event that has not yet happened. just for comparability.

So it was the actual budget like 74 then and you're assuming the $50,000 off of the 24?

These are the actual, these are the actual, it's not necessarily the budgeted, but where I'm going with that is the amount that we spent in the fiscal year on March 31st of 26 for the 25 event or related primarily to the 25 event is actually 10,000, not 24,000. 14 of it is related to the 26 event upcoming. We prepaid that.

So you've got two years in there then?

There's multiple, yes. It's an overlap of each year just for comparative.

What's your fiscal year then?

March 31st.

Okay. So this brings you to the end of your fiscal year then? Correct. All right.

And what are you renting for 60,000 since you're in a park in civic center park? What are your rent use? Your rental expenses at 60,981.

I don't know if Jason knows specifically more in detail, but there is, so that's all the stuff we'd get from crown.

I can ask a question. I'm sorry to interrupt. I do not care to go through your budget line item by line item. The city does not own this project. This is not ours to go through the budget line item by line item. The only line item that we are concerned with to talk about here tonight is about security. And I would hope that we can get back into this because otherwise we're going to be here for several more hours. So we rope it back to the security cost and focus in on that, please.

I will be happy to do that. I was just looking because they're asking for money. And if that's the case, you can, John, you said you can raise the money for that.

We are trying to. It's a challenge. So right now, we are behind target.

I'm looking and you have a lot of expenses. And what we do here is, you know, if you're asking for more money, what can you cut so that you can provide the finances for your security.

That is not the conversation we are having. The conversation is not about what can you cut from your budget. The conversation is what are their security costs and is council going to fund that or not fund that. That is the discussion.

Okay. If that's the case, then yes.

All due respect, Council Member Schultz, this festival gets $50,000 in cash of taxpayer money plus another $118,000 in services. And I think it's our duty to find out if that money is being spent properly. And so asking those questions, like I asked about the entertainment, I think that's where the money goes. We need to know that. We have a duty to do it.

No, that really is not the discussion here. If you want to have a wider discussion about if they should get a dime from this city for anything and if they should have to go over their budget with council and have us micromanage them, we can have that discussion. That is not this discussion. This discussion is about security.

I am going to take this back and we're not going to have A match of people yelling at each other. So if we want to go to are we going to fund this, then that's a very easy conversation. Do we want to fund now because we are already funding it at $50,000 and then the overhead... on all of this for this festival is over $100,000 and more. $168,000. $168,000 in costs that the people of Burnsville is paying for. And you're asking for more. Members of the council. We're not going to have the discussion and the answer is no.

We can have a discussion about the security and in fact I believe they would like to present on the security and I would like to hear that portion of it. We were able to hear that from our police and that was very helpful to hear. I would like to hear specifically about the security from the festival and I believe you have some information that would be helpful to us in our discussion.

You have information that's going to be helpful for us to either decide to fund it or not fund it. It wasn't in the budget.

Understood, yeah. No, I understand. I mean, the chiefs did a fine job of kind of why we did it last year to really give the proof of why this is necessary. We obviously funded it through the festival last year because we needed to, and it definitely worked. Part of this is going back to the policy to say how does this fit within it. Or is this going to be a separate line item, kind of to BJ's point of do we want to have the city then take this on versus doing a third party?

It's your festival. You're a 501c3. You're responsible for the security of your festival.

Do we have information on the legacy policy? Could we get a refresher on the legacy policy and what it is as regards to regards to funding these festivals and issues like security.

The policy is very clear. Bethany, can you pull it up, please? Because it's very straightforward. We fund the festival at $50,000. We reimburse you for $50,000. But to have public safety, public works, and parks, all of that personnel is over and above the $50,000.

Jason, what is your understanding of the legacy policy as it relates to your festival while they're pulling that up for us?

Yeah, there's really two sections within here. One is definitely addressing the $50,000 or not to exceed $50,000, right, for entertainment, for the fireworks and the bands and stuff like that. There is another section, a paragraph in there, should be on page one, that talks about for all legacy events, the city will appoint a staff liaison, but then it talks about the city will also contribute to the cost of basic city services that will support these police, fire, public works, parks, equipment, labor supplies, all of those things. So this does fall under the umbrella of, of police. And that's why we're, we're coming to the table of asking like, this is what the policy says, whether it's right or wrong. Um, but this is a security matter for us that we know that we've got a very good partnership with fire and police on this that have supported us over the years. So it's really that paragraph that really is the point of discussion.

Is the word contribute? Excuse me? Is the word contribute? Yes. Okay, not fully fund?

No, it says contribute. Okay, thank you. It's ambiguous, right? Thank you. It's a little open-ended.

And we are contributing $118,000 in services already.

That's per festival to this point. And you want more?

Actually, we're coming here for clarity, really, as well as, hey, we've got these added costs. We'd like to bring it to the council to talk about it and how it applies to the policies. And what does that look like going forward?

Okay. Members of the council.

Well, I'll go first so I don't have to go last. This is the people's money. I don't know if there's some misunderstanding of what this is for. This is a community event for people of Burnsville and the surrounding area. This festival has been around for over 40 years. Obviously, these are things that they didn't really probably even think about in the 1980s when they were doing this. And it would be a shame to see this festival go away. Because in my mind, then that means that the bad guys kind of win, that it would have folded to the intimidation of crime and gang activity and so on. Because that's really why we're here. I've been in John's role as a fundraiser for this festival years ago, and it was hard then and it's probably even harder today with the way the economy is. the challenges today are much different than they were in 2017. And so to just say go find more money, go fundraise more, I think kind of oversimplifies the uphill task of what that is. As somebody that operates a business in Burnsville, I get asked for money very, very frequently from different community groups. And so there's usually a line of people asking for money, and the bigger you are, probably the longer that line is. And so I don't know what the tolerance is for some of our larger businesses in town to just pony up more money. So I do want to be sympathetic to the fact that the city does spend quite a bit of money on this festival. But if we're going to contrast it to the other festivals, it's kind of in a different category. It's a different type of festival. It draws a uniquely larger type of people from kids to the people that are still hanging around at 11 that are there to drink beer and play bingo, and there's just a wide swath of people. So I'm maybe rambling now, but I'm not totally opposed to at least doing this on a one-year trial and see how it goes, and then maybe we revisit this in a year and see if John can make headway in finding a security sponsor. I don't know.

The other thing is we've also made on the suggestion of public safety. We've made, we've shifted, we've pivoted, we took out the carnival. We've gone with a family fun zone with a ninja course and more inflatables. We've got the area fenced in. So we are trying to do things as it relates to cost containments and crowd control. So we aren't running the festival as normal and saying, okay, now we need more money. We've made adjustments to try to enhance the safety and security of the festival. And there are people who may not be happy with some of the changes we've made. But we're doing it for the betterment of the community, of our guests, of our vendors, of our volunteers. So we are doing everything we can as it relates to cost containments and to create a safe environment.

Well, and that's going to make a big difference with the carnival gone. I mean, I know, speaking for myself, that's one thing my kids look forward to more than anything is the carnival.

And I'm hearing it from my son constantly of no carnival this year and try to explain that we're doing, we took out the carnival from a public safety perspective. So we'll see what happens.

Okay. Anyone else? Kara?

I am happy about zero of this, as probably everyone can tell. I think if the city is going to put conditions on, and I realize that they were meant as suggestions, but it's It's never a suggestion when you're told you need to beef up your security. It stops being a suggestion then. When the city starts to put those parameters on these festivals and on these organizations, there are also consequences not just to the organization, not just to our residents and visitors, but to the city and and how our residents fund this as well. I'm amenable to this year. I'm amenable to this year helping with this and using the ensuing time to try to figure out a better solution because my concern is some of our other festivals are going to, even though they're much smaller, may start to see some of these parameters happening with them. Maybe not. I don't know. But then we're looking at multiple escalating costs, which I am not interested in. So for this year, I'm interested in this. But what I would like for council to take up is the ambiguous language of the city will also contribute the cost of basic city services. Because that is the problem that we're having right now is we have vague language in our document on how to do this. And that's why we're having this discussion, because there was a suggestion of what we had to do, cost, rights. But we don't have in the policy clear language of how to do that. So my suggestion to council, like our work, would be that we take this up and maybe clean that language up. And then it's not a, well, what do we do? It's like we have clear-cut policies then. But maybe I'm alone in feeling that our policy in that section is vague, or maybe we do want it to be vague, to have latitude. I'm open to that discussion as well.

Okay. Yes, Council Member Gustafson.

We're not talking about ending the festival funding. We're talking about $18,000. The rest of your funding is there. The services are there. The festival has known since last year that you needed additional security. I would assume the board would have taken that up to make arrangements to make that happen without coming to the city for more money. And that's really what we're talking about here. You get a fair amount of money from us already. And I think you already had to do it last year, so you knew it was coming. This is not a surprise to any of you. And I think your board, before they voted to do this, should have voted to make plans for adding the security. Because you're talking about private security here. You're not talking about adding more police officers and things like that. You're bringing in machines the city doesn't own either. So I mean, there are different things that are happening in that respect. And so it's your responsibility, just like it is. Any business out here like Buck Hill and that that does concerts in that, public service tells them the same thing. They have certain things they have to do to do these things, and they do it. They have to pick up the cost, and they figure it in, and they plan accordingly according to what they have in their budget. And so for me, it's an additional $18,000 at this point. No. No.

Council Member Keeley, according to February 12, 2024, legal counsel to us, and this has to do with the City Council conflict of interest limitations. So I think At this point, you are the chair of an organization because the question was asked, can a council member who serve on the board of an organization that would gain financial benefit from the council approval of an item bring the item to the council for discussion while abstaining from voting or discussing the item themselves? The question was also put forward that can a council member who serves on the board of an organization that would gain financial benefit from the council approve of an item, discuss, and vote on the item? Both answers from the attorney is no, and he cites state statute along with that, and also legal. OPINIONS ON ALL OF THAT. SO ON BOTH OF THAT, I'M NOT GOING TO ASK YOU TO COMMENT IF YOU AGREE WITH THAT.

I DON'T. I HAVE A COMMENT TO MAKE. I WILL NOT BE RECUSING MYSELF FROM THIS VOTE BECAUSE THERE IS NO CONFLICT OF INTEREST IN MY OPINION. FIRST, I SERVE ON THE BURNSVILLE FESTIVAL STRICTLY AS A 100% UNPAID VOLUNTEER, MEANING I HAVE NO PERSONAL FINANCIAL STAKE WHATSOEVER IN THIS DECISION. SECOND, THE ADDITIONAL SECURITY WAS NOT REQUESTED BY OUR BOARD. It was recommended by the city's public safety representatives. Under the city's established legacy policy event, the city is responsible for public safety and public works costs for approved community legacy events. Buck Hill is not a legacy event. Because the Burnsville Festival is designated as a legacy event and by far the largest with the lowest cost per attendee funding compared to the only remaining festival, the International Festival, it aligns with our standard policy and My participation is entirely consistent with past practice City Council members who volunteer their time on boards or legacy festivals have not recused themselves 100% of the time when THIS KIND OF THING COMES BEFORE US, INCLUDING YOU, MADAM MAYOR, WITH THE INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL. I THINK IT'S ONLY FAIR GIVEN THAT NO INTEREST IN THE VOLUNTEER, NO INTEREST IN THE NONPROFIT EITHER, YOU DON'T, DAN DIDN'T IN HIS LEGACY FESTIVAL, OTHER THAN A DESIRE TO GIVE OUR OWN PERSONAL TIME TO HELP, JUST LIKE EVERY OTHER VOLUNTEER DOES, FOR THESE COMMUNITY EVENTS. I will be voting on this.

Okay.

And I will comment more if necessary, but I'm good with what's been said.

Okay. I don't serve on the board of the International Festival, but I do help raise money for them. But I don't come here and ask for money. I voted against the legacy amount, $50,000 to the Burnsville Festival. and 10,000 to the International Festival. And the arts and all that jazz was not active anymore. And I voted against that. So for me, because it is about the people's money. It is a 501 and it is a wonderful event for our community. And I hope that it continues and that There is money from the people. This is the people's money. It's not a bank account that comes out of the air somewhere.

Mayor, we are very, very aware that this is the people's money that we're asking for. That is not lost on this board or my partners up here. And so we will continue to work post-festival, during festival, with public safety any adjustments that we need to make to make the festival safe and secure but we do not take this request for granted and we had a lot of discussions about it but it's it's an expense that didn't exist three or four years ago this is new and maybe the threat is maybe a little bit greater but we do take it that we are asking for the people's money, and we will be proper guardians of that money.

You need to be proper guardians of the safety of the festival. Our public safety personnel have done an assessment risk. And that, even though things change, in our society, in our country, things change. People make adjustments. This is part of the festival's responsibility. And it's like anything else. But the thing is, this is not... There is not an approval on a budget for this, which means it has to have an amendment to the budget.

Understood.

Yeah. And this is... For me, I voted against it, and I'm going to also do the same thing. Because for me, it's statutorily our fiduciary responsibility is public safety. It's what our police and fire do each and every day to keep the community safe. Public works. Make sure that every infrastructure above and below the ground, all those assets, That's what the people are expecting us to take care of. Our 76 parks, that's what the people expect of us to take care of. That's what they're making their taxes pay for. All of our economic development and community development aspects, everything that we need to do.

Madam Mayor, call the question.

Okay, I will call the question. Yes, and I think, so the question is, do we fund this? But I want the people to understand where this is coming from. So the question is called, do we want to fund the $18,000 that the festival is asking for? And with that, is the recommendation from staff that it is, if we're going to find the money for it, because we don't know where the money is coming from, it's not budgeted. We're going to have to find that $18,000. So, the question is, do we fund it? Then we have to come back with an amendment to the budget as to what then are we going to take away to fund the $18,000. So, Nobody wants the festival to go away. But there are some expenses that in putting on a festival like this that you have to then own. So the question is, do we want to fund it? And with that is Chief Jungmann, your recommendation was that the city takes control of that contract with the security.

Madam Mayor, members of the council, staff does not have a recommendation. Staff would just say for consideration, if the city is going to fund it, the best practice in this situation would be for the city to execute the contract and pay for that directly if the city is funding it.

Madam Mayor, when someone calls to question, there is no more discussion. I get it. You have proceeded to lead the discussion that should not be taking place. I'm going to ask for the second time. I called the question.

The question is called. There's a motion to fund it. Has there been a motion to fund it? I did not hear.

There might have been if you had an opportunity. I haven't heard a motion yet.

I just called the question. The question isn't, you can call the question if a motion is made.

However, the presiding chair of the meeting has not respected that and continued the dialogue.

Don't you need a motion and a second to call the question?

So who is making the motion?

The motion stops the discussion.

Who is making the motion so that then the question can be called? I will make the motion.

No. No. I will make the motion. The motion that I will make, although this is not a formal vote because we are in a work session, so this is a this or this.

No, we can vote formally in this. It is. It's already been out there. We're televised.

But we still need to do the vote. later to amend the budget, correct?

That's correct.

Is that correct, city manager? Yes.

Or no? Council Member Schultz, Madam Mayor, members of the council, it would be my recommendation, and this would be similar to what we've done in past legacy event conversations, that we would bring back a budget amendment to memorialize the council's direction from tonight's discussion.

Perfect, thank you. Okay, so the motion I will make is that we fund the $18,000 for security for this legacy event for one year, and that is the motion that is on the table. I will need a second.

MS. Does that include that staff provide, if it's funded, that it's staff that will execute the contract?

MR.

The contract is currently executed. We'll cancel it, and the City will take it over. MS.

Does that work? That will not create a problem with the contract?

MR.

Okay, I accept that amendment.

Okay, and who's... I'll second that. There's a motion and a second. All in favor, please say aye.

Aye.

Opposed, say nay. Nay. And so does the clerk have the division of the house?

I do, Madam Mayor.

Okay. But this isn't done because we have to find the money, because we have to amend the budget.

Half of it's covered by the Ardenall at Jazz allocation of $10,000. That's not going to be used. You haven't used it for years? No. for two years. And it's all covered. So it's not there?

Just because it's not used doesn't mean that it was budgeted. Okay. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, Council, for listening to us.

THE NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS VIOLENT CRIME REDUCTION UNIT. PRESENTING IS CHIEF MATT SCHMIDT. YOU'RE RECOGNIZED, AND THE FLOOR IS YOURS.

ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU, MADAM MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL. I AM GOING TO TALK ABOUT THE VIOLENT CRIME REDUCTION UNIT. THE MINNESOTA STATE BUREAU OF CRIMINAL APPREHENSION HAS HAD THIS UNIT RUNNING FOR THE PAST THREE, THREE AND A HALF YEARS. It's a statewide task force that investigates violent crime, illegal firearms, and organized criminal activity. And it really supports the city's broader violent crime reduction strategy. I think, as we've just been talking about, we are concerned about violent crime and This is an opportunity for us to be part of a proactive unit. We know that violent crime and criminals, there are no borders for that. And so this would allow us to be an investigator to the BCA's task force and really, again, proactively get after some of this violent crime. Like I mentioned, the V-Crew, as they call it, was created in 2023 using state legislative funding. It's a multi-agency task force that combines local, county, and state law enforcement resources, and it would support regional investigations, and an added benefit is information sharing. Our participation, if approved, would be we would assign one investigator full-time to the BCA's V-Crew. It's a three-year commitment through a joint powers agreement. And this investigator would support these regional investigations involving violent crime, narcotics, trafficking, homicide, and more. The benefits of joining this program, it strengthens Burnsville's ability to address violent crime. Should we have an incident here in Burnsville, this unit would be able to dispatch investigators out to assist us also. At the same time, our investigator would also take on Burnsville cases while part of this unit. So in that way, it expands our investigative capacity and gives us access to more regional resources. Again, working that closely with local county and state partners, it improves our coordination with them. And once again, it supports the ongoing city council priorities related to community safety and violent crime reduction. The BCA, the state is offering to pay salary and benefits for this person, including overtime reimbursement of up to $21,000 annually. They will also pay for the vehicle, computer, phone, any travel that would be necessary as part of this endeavor, and any training. If we were approved to do this, we recognize the importance of this proactive opportunity. We also don't want to rob Peter to pay Paul. We would like to provide an investigator to this without having to take from one of our other divisions, being patrol or investigations. So our request would be to backfill that assigned investigator position within the department by adding an FTE. If state funding were to end in the future, we would, staffing impacts would be managed through attrition we are fairly confident that it will be funded again. So the consideration for council is, does the city council wish to participate in the Violent Crime Reduction Unit through a joint powers agreement? And if so, does the council wish to approve a state-funded, budget-neutral FTE with a budget amendment? With that, I will take any questions.

ANY QUESTIONS? YES.

MADAM MAYOR, I LOVE IT. I THINK IT'S A GREAT IDEA GIVEN THE CIRCUMSTANCES THAT WERE LAID OUT IN OUR PRIOR ISSUE ABOUT THE TRENDS IN MINNESOTA AND OUR COMMUNITY AND OTHERS. THE CITY HAS TO BEEF UP LIKE WE HAVE FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS BY ADDING 15 ADDITIONAL POLICE OFFICERS. WE HAVE TO BEEF UP OUR MEN AND WOMEN ON THE STREET IN THE BOOTS ON THE GROUND AND PARTICIPATE IN joint efforts like this that can help continue to keep our city safe and thwart the trends that are sweeping the nation, unfortunately.

Okay. Any other comments?

I think that's a great idea.

Okay.

I agree. I'm happy that it's with the BCA. I think they're doing a very good job in the state right now, and it's a solid group to partner with on something like this.

This is a great idea because we also are part of another joint powers agreement with the county where we're looking at all of the other criminal activity. But with this one, the BCA is paying for the person. This is the big difference between the two, but they're both going to help us a great deal. This one, they're going to pay the salary and benefits, and that's what I want our residents to understand about this. It's a great idea. It's good for all of us, but they're also funding that position. And then what we need to do is backfill while that individual is out. But because we're not funding this individual because the BCA is funding it, we can backfill.

Madam Mayor, members of the council, that's correct. And we do appreciate all of the support we've had over the last several years. Yes. And like you said, this will add to that. Yeah. I didn't mention we would be the only agency represented from Dakota County on this task force as well.

I know. Congratulations. Out of all of the cities that they talked to, they chose Burnsville. Well, that says something about the quality and the expertise of our officers and the work that we do and how we deliver it. So congratulations. Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Madam Mayor, I think it also speaks to how crappy the other cities are and how wonderful we are. So we should always just put that out there. Ha, ha, ha.

No, the other cities do very well as well. But we are heads and shoulders above. So thank you. What we're going to do then is that this will come back then for formal approval at a council meeting.

Madam Mayor, members of the council, this would come back next Tuesday, the 16th council meeting.

Okay, very good. I'm glad that we put this on work session so the community can learn about it because this will be on the consent agenda.

Madam Mayor, I would agree. We did want people to hear about this because it is such a great opportunity for us to supply this investigator to the BCA and be part of this proactive, I think that's the important word here too, this proactive unit to go after violent crime.

And that's what we're doing with everything is really understanding because all of us want violent crime off the streets. And so this is good. Thank you. Thank you. Okay.

Madam Mayor, members of the council, so I'm clear on direction. I think that I'm hearing the council is unanimously supportive of participation and the state-funded FTE budget amendments. Yes. Is the council agreeable to that as a consent agenda item?

Yes.

Next Tuesday.

Because the background was very clear that BCA is going to fund our Our officer, salary and benefits. Madam Mayor, members of the council, that is correct.

The budget amendment will reflect. I, as city manager, don't have the authority to add an FTE to the budget, so it will reflect an amendment for an FTE. It will also reflect an amendment to the budget for the expenditures that would be associated with that FTE. and then the reimbursement revenues in the budget. So to make sure that we're dotting our I's and crossing our T's from a finance perspective.

Well done. Okay. Very good. Thank you for bringing it to work session so our community can learn about it. Madam Mayor, thank you. Thank you. The next item is the civility pledge. Bethany.

Good evening, Madam Mayor and members of the Council. I am here to talk to you about the Civility Pledge. If you recall just a few short months ago on April 14th at your roundtable discussion, the City Council directed staff to schedule this work session discussion so you could talk about the possibility of moving forward with the Civility Pledge. That is, of course, some resources the National League of Cities shares these resources and encourages cities to adopt local pledges aimed at strengthening respectful public discourse. And in your packet tonight, and I have some extra copies here if anyone needs, there's a couple resources that the NLC provides for these. There's a template proclamation that, you know, it's to lead with civility, dignity, and respect. So there's a template that cities can use as a suggestion. And then there's also both a poster and like a handout placard for I mean, the Dignity Index, which is an eight-point scale that measures what we do when we disagree. So that was the resources that Council Member Keeley shared and that we're bringing back to you tonight for really your discussion. So just, again, bringing this back based on your direction and asking if the City Council would like to adopt a civility pledge for its meetings and interactions. Discussion.

Discussion.

I didn't really have an issue with this the last time we talked about it.

Yes. I'll go, so. Do you have a cough drop?

I have one in my mouth. Sorry, man. It's not working. No, it's not working.

I do think we should adopt this. I think all cities should adopt this. I do believe that civility is not a sign of weakness. It's a foundation for effective leadership, and I think we exemplify that even when we disagree and have a healthy debate. We don't need to see eye to eye on every issue and every vote. Clearly we don't, but that also is a sign of a healthy debate. So we can still work hand in hand as we do almost all the time. To me, this pledge is very simple. It puts public service back ahead of political theater. And I think at the municipal level, this is where the rubber meets the road in civility. I'm in support of this.

I just want to know that we're going to live by it if we do this.

So I think all of us agree that we all need to be civil. And we have lived in Burnsville and have really nurtured a culture of civility and values, not only on the council values that are in this chambers, but also the values within the organization, and then how our people exemplify that in our community and how our residents experience that. Civil, compassionate, and kindness in the way that our staff works with people. So if we're going to do this proclamation, I would ask my colleagues on the council that we acknowledge the work that Burnsville has done in the whereases. That it's not, we're just not doing this just because this came about because of all of the activities on political violence across the country. Burnsville has been working on this. I want that to be acknowledged as the first whereas. The second whereas need to acknowledge the work that this organization has been doing all along to create a culture of civility and values that deal with truth and compromise and so forth. Takes a long time to do that. The things that we do, whether it's the festivals or what we do in our parks, how we engage with our people, we've been doing that. I want a whereas that acknowledges all of that. And then we can say, now, therefore, because the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Councilmember Keeley, back in March of... of last year adopted a declaration that reaffirms commitment to American values of pluralism, compromise, truth, and civility. So we signed all of that. So I would like for the now therefore, the city of Burnsville supports the civility pledge. Because we've been doing all of that. And so we're saying that fits. But I would like the different whereas as Bethany and but city manager.

Madam Mayor, I think this was made, a comment was made I think by me the last time when I brought this up. I think this is building upon what we already have. And so I agree 100% with your comments.

Yeah. And that's, so city manager Lindberg. in terms of the proclamation and the different whereases. And then the now therefore, we...

I think we could... Maybe staff should work on some language draft and then bring it back to the council.

On the proclamation. Everybody agrees with that?

On the now therefore? How you added to that, yes.

Yeah, because I think... I don't want to lose what we... Just because we have done a lot. Yeah, okay. Yeah, so everybody's thumbs up. City Manager, are we okay with putting together a proclamation?

Madam Mayor, members of the council, yes, we can absolutely put together a proclamation to reflect the council's conversation and commitment to civility and our unique past history related to the conversation. That is not a problem at all. For the council's information, we do have a policy that says that staff and the mayor coordinate proclamations. I could bring a proclamation back to the council at a work session for further discussion. I don't know if the city clerk has... Just one small point.

I believe it's a resolution.

A resolution, not a proclamation. Okay. So we can figure out those.

Which tool are we using? A resolution tool or a proclamation tool?

Is that correct?

Yeah. Whatever is the correct tool for us to use. Okay. But the now, therefore. But don't ever miss the things that we're doing. I don't want that.

And really, at the end of the day, Madam Mayor, Council, it's your choice, be it a proclamation or a resolution. We can approach it either way.

Well, how about if we take a look and see which is the appropriate tool?

Mac, just so I'm understanding, were you suggesting that the From your perspective, the more appropriate course of action would be a resolution?

Isn't, and I was just double checking, what we have in the agenda packet is a proposed resolution, correct?

It's actually, sorry, there is a, no, it's. There's neither in the packet.

It doesn't matter. I'll look up to see how this is handled. So let's do this. In other cities and we'll bring it back.

Yeah, sure. Staff, if the council is comfortable and agreeable, staff will look at the appropriate mechanism. and draft some language, and I'll come back to you with a proposed path forward that is most efficient and effective, whether that be another work session conversation or we bring that to a regular agenda conversation of the council. We can make that determination and communicate in the future.

All right. Very good.

Is that agreeable?

Yep. Yep. It's a good path forward. I like it.

Thank you.

All right. Thank you so much. All right. And now the next item is roundtable. There's nothing on the round table, so reports. Vince.

I got nothing.

Kara.

Nothing.

Okay. And I have nothing. Quick question.

When will that come back to the council roughly? I'm leaving for the NLC leadership in early June, and I'm just curious if this will be done before then or after then.

It will probably be a work session in July.

Would it come back to a work session?

Because the next work session is July.

Is that likely how it would come back as a work session or a finished product ready for a regular council meeting? That's fine. Whichever way, I just want to get an idea.

If there's a timing, we can...

I don't think there's a timing.

Not so much. I just want to be able to represent the city of Burnsville that we have adopted or will be adopting, right? Either way.

I think you can say that already. We're putting it together. We discussed it and...

I do think there is a very efficient path forward here, Mayor, Council. I don't think this is complicated. Okay.

Thank you. That's good to know. And there are a lot of eyes watching. There are a lot of cities taking this discussion up around the country, and many know that we are talking about it tonight. So I just wanted to get a sense as to when we would bring it back for that final PROC or RES discussion.

Yeah, because, you know, it's something that everybody's talking about, Dan. I mean, we took this up at the U.S. Conference of Mayors last March. So, you know, and we all signed the declaration, but it continues to move forward. Okay. If there's nothing else, Michelle, do you have anything? Okay. If there's nothing else to come before us, we stand adjourned by acclamation.