City Council - Regular Meeting

The Tuesday, February 10th, 2026 meeting of the Eden Prairie City Council is now called to order. Please rise for the pledge of allegiance. I aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all. It's um typical during this time of the meeting for me to read an open podium invitation to the public, which we just had right before this and had uh six very um uh effective and powerful speakers. Open podium is an opportunity for Eden Prairie residents to address the city council on issues related to Eden Prairie city government prior to each council meeting. The council meetings typically occur the 1st and third Tuesday of each month. These open podiums occur from 6:30 to 6:55 right here in the council chamber. If you wish to speak at open podium, please do contact the city manager's office at 952-9498412 by noon of the meeting date with your name, your phone number, and subject matter so we can be better prepared for you. Open podium is not recorded or televised. If you have questions about open podium, please do contact the city manager's office. So, Mr. Getro, we do have um a lot. It's pretty exciting going on this evening uh with proclamations and presentations. So, do you want to say something about the first proclamation?

Certainly, mayor. think um this would be I think it's been at least 15 or 16 years that um PROP has had an empty bowls event and um I know that I the executive director of PROP I also see you know a few people associated with Prop here um and I'm sure that uh Jennifer andor Prima is going to come up and talk about the event and I'm not we also have a proclamation so I'm not sure mayor if you're going to read the proclamation first. Sure. And then

is that okay if I read it and then you all come up and then um I don't know if we want a picture with it here or something. Is that good? Yeah. And then I'll also um on the day of the empty bowls I usually go around noon and around before dinner and present the proclamation again. So you have to hold on to this so you don't lose it. I guess we could make another copy. Proclamation City of Eden Prairie empty bowls day. Whereas Prop has provided food, support, and compassion to the residents of Eden Prairie and Chanhassen for 55 years. That's really amazing. And whereas Prop served 2,416 households totaling 8,178 individuals last year. Just a moment for those that might be listening that just aren't sure what PROP um is. It stands for people reaching out to people, but it's our food shop, but they also have rental assistance and financial assistance. And so, it's just an amazing organization here in town. I'll keep going with whereas statements. Whereas, Prop is considered an essential Did I read that? No. Organization by the city of Eden Prairie, local residents, the school district, the faith community, civic organizations, and businesses alike. And whereas the annual empty bowls event has served as a cherished community gettogether to raise funds for Prop since 2010. And whereas the 2026 empty bowls event will support Prop's mission to provide service to our neighbors in need. Now therefore, be it resolved, the city council of the city of Eden Prairie, Minnesota does hereby proclaim Tuesday, February 17th, next week, 2026, as empty bowls day in the city of Eden Prairie and urges all citizens to support Prop Ronald Case Mayor. On behalf of council members Kathy Nelson, Mark Fber, Peach, Orion, and Lisa Tumi, I just want to say it's a great excuse to get out and have a really good lunch and phenomenal uh soup that gets donated by restaurants and grocery stores that

have their delies from across the city. Uh really, really good stuff. So, uh come out for that. And there's entertainment. Am I stealing your show? I'll I'll come down and you you both come up and if you want us, you come up to Prima and I'll I'll come down. All right. Well, thank you very much, Mayor Casease and council members. Um, what an honor. This is becoming such a wonderful tradition to have this proclamation. And the tradition of empty bowls of course is 16 years this year and prop is 55 years old part of the community. So um it is a fundraiser but it is more than that. It is a community gathering and a reminder that there are people with empty bowls in our community, which many people find hard to believe in in Eden Prairie, but there are many people of need and and um we are seeing an increased need right now and the community has been pouring their hearts and their food and financial support into our programs to make sure that we're taking care of all of our neighbors. So, we are so very grateful. And there's 10,000 pounds. I just actually walked by it downstairs this evening. Downstairs yet to be delivered. Is that accurate that we've gathered on behalf of a partnership?

Yes. You have been um sponsoring a food drive and uh and helping us and the prop shop and uh senior community services. We are anxiously awaiting the delivery of all that food tomorrow. We have tomorrow morning. We have we have a crew lined up to bring it in and weigh it and and start the unpacking process. So, yes. Prima had a five minute speech or so. Keep it down to five. Yes. [laughter] Do you want Okay, you can. I'm okay right now. Sure. All right. Get some pictures out. Are you going to have the um Okay. Um silent auction. I will talk about that.

Yes, we'll have an amazing silent auction. We have um gathered an incredible amount of of donations for this year. Um I was just chatting with the volunteer who's running that. Um and she's really thrilled. Um we'll be previewing it tomorrow and it goes live on Wednesday. Um my top two pick items right now are a weekend in Duth um with some tickets to different activities there and a new mom um bag to go to the hospital. So some really fun things that you can see. No, no, no. [laughter] No, I think they're cute. I think they're really cute items. So, yes. So, those are some some of the highlights and then of course gift cards to different restaurants and towns supporting local business as well. Nice.

Let's turn around and get a picture and you get on either side of or wherever you want to get. That's perfect. Okay.

I get it. I get it. So, don't don't leave. Stay up there. Yes, you're up next. You're still up. Okay.

So, mayor, yeah, if I can I'll I'll start the next item if that's okay. Yes. So, stay up there because prop is part of the next item. Uh the Eden Prairie Liquor dollar drive for Prop is the next item. So, um this hasn't been happening since 2010, but it's been happening for a while. Uh Eden Prairie Liquor um is held the dollar drive and we have our liquor operations manager and one of our store man Himeme um Erbina and our store manager Tony Angelus has believe it or not we still have paper checks. City uses uh paper check still. We have a paper check and I believe Haime you're going to talk about the dollar drive and we have a presentation.

Yep. So, um, the liquor stores, uh, partnered with Prop in November to do a dollar to host a dollar drive and a happy hour for hunger event. Um, we asked customers during that time frame to make, uh, monetary donations and, uh, we were able to collect a total of $10,390.3 and that'll be presented to Prop today. Uh, I don't I thought they didn't use uh, pennies anymore. They'll round it up to five cents. Okay. [laughter] We want to get a picture. Oh yeah. So if we can get a picture. Can we see that? Yeah. Show. Oh.

Hey. [applause] All right. Do you want to introduce this? It's Black History Month words and action award winners or do we bring up the um HRDC? How do we do this? All of those things, mayor. Yes, all those things.

Uh yes, Black History Month words and action awards. As you know, in our workshop, we had our human rights and diversity commission provide their annual update to the council, and one of the major uh projects that they work on is words and action. We happen to have that tonight as well. We have a lot of people here uh tonight related to that. It's very exciting. And so, we have our chair, I believe, Greg Liieber, to kick off the festivities. We have uh many of our commissioners here. We have student commissioners here. Uh something that we're very excited about and and we'll get every it'd be great to have all the commissioners up too at the end with the picture. Is that we'll have a picture at the end. Yeah. With all the commissioners. So So

all the award winners. Yep. Absolutely. Absolutely.

All right. Thank you, Mr. Mayor, council members. My name is Greg Leaper and I am the Human Rights and Diversity Commission Chair. Uh the Black History Month Words in action contest is hosted by the city of Eden Prairie and the Eden Prairie Human Rights and Diversity Commission and it's an opportunity for us to recognize the legacy of black American civil rights era leaders and highlight some of the very best young people in our community. And uh this year, Eden prayer youth were asked to select a quote from a black American civil rights era leader and use art or writing to express their thoughts on the chosen quote as well as ways that they can carry forward the spirit of that quote in our community. We received 19 submissions and evaluated them for quality and relevance to the theme and the commission ultimately selected four winners and four additional honorable mentions. The four winners and their guests are join uh have joined us tonight to share their pieces with the council. And in addition to the rec recognition here tonight, we'll be highlighting the winners and those who received honorable mentions on the city's website and social media. So on behalf of the human rights and diversity commission like to thank city council members for taking the time to recognize the winners. Uh the community foundation for providing cash prizes to the winners and the HRDC commission members for taking time to score the entries. City staff for their work in coordinating and promoting the contest. Eden Prairie uh school staff for helping share the contest with the community and all the youth who participated in the contest. So, we have four winners that we'd like to highlight. We'll bring them up. Uh we'll have a student commissioner uh following me to share our our second and third and fourth winners. Uh but our first winner this year for the words and action contest is Anya Meta. She's a ninth grader from Eden Prairie High School. And I'd like to invite Ana to

the podium at this time to share her art. Anya. Hi, I'm Anna and I hope you you all are having a great week so far. My contest submission was a video and it it was inspired by a quote, "Never ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble, by John Lewis." I chose this quote because it shows how real change happens when people speak up against injustice, even when it's uncomfortable. My video focuses on who John Lewis is. Um, his role in the civil rights movement and how his message of good trouble still matters today. And it also reflects how his words inspire me to stand up for racial injustice in my own community. Thank you to everyone who is here today and I hope this inspires you in the future. Thank you.

Thank you, Anie. [applause] Make some notes and get in good trouble. Necessary trouble. John Lewis born in 1940 to 2020. [music] John Lewis was a black American civil rights leader who dedicated his life to fighting for equality, [music] justice, and human rights. He was one of the most influential figures of the [music] civil rights movement and later served as a US congressman. What made John Lewis stand [music] out was his courage to speak up even when doing so put his life in danger. John Lewis grew up in the segregated South where racism and inequality were a normal part of everyday life. As a child, he [music] saw how black Americans were denied basic rights and treated unfairly simply because of their race. These experiences shaped who he became. As a [music] young man, he joined the civil rights movement and committed himself to a nonviolent protest. He worked [music] closely with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other leaders to organize sitins, [music] marches, and demonstrations. During the Selma to Montgomery March, John Lewis was brutally attacked for peacefully protesting for voting rights. Even after being arrested and injured, [music] he never gave up his belief that change could happen through courage and nonviolence. The quote, [music] "Never ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble," means a lot to me because John Lewis isn't encouraging people to break rules or cause chaos for [music] attention. He's saying that when laws or situations are unfair, staying silent allows unjustice to continue. Good trouble means speaking up for what's right, even when it's

uncomfortable [music] or scary. It means choosing courage over comfort. This quote has changed the way I see my own responsibility in the world. [music] It reminds me that I don't have to be famous or powerful to make a difference. Small actions like standing up for someone being treated unfairly, calling out discrimination or using my voice respectfully can still create an impact. It's made me realize that silence can be just as harmful as doing nothing at all. John Lewis's words have had a lasting impact on the world. [music] His message has inspired generations of activists to protest peacefully, fight for voting rights, and demand equality. Because people were willing to make good trouble, [music] laws were changed, and awareness was raised, and the progress was made towards [music] justice. His legacy shows that real change happens when people are brave enough to challenge unfair systems. We can carry John Lewis's legacy forward in our own community by standing up for fairness and inclusion. This can look like speaking against [music] discrimination at schools, supporting classmates who feel unheard, educating ourselves about [music] social issues, and encouraging respectful conversations. Even simple acts of kindness and advocacy helps create a community where everyone feels valued. In the end, John Lewis's quote reminds us that progress is never easy, but it is always worth it. Making good trouble means caring enough to act even when it feels uncomfortable. By choosing courage, we can honor John Lewis's legacy and help build a more equal future for everyone.

[applause] [cheering] Anya, just a sec. Anya, that was really, really good. And the quote was fantastic. So, nice job.

Yeah, I had to look it up. John Lewis passed away now six years ago, 2020. Thank you for helping keep his memory alive and his and his legacy um here in the community. Anya, thank you so much. I actually have a presentation for you. Um, your certificate of achievement presented to Ana Meta, winner 2026 words and action contest. Can we show appreciation once again for Ana's work? [applause] [snorts] Hi, my name is Asa Shannon and [sighs and gasps] my quote is by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. [snorts] and um I'll just say it now. Darkness cannot drive out darkness. Only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate. Only love can do that.

That's

and I made a video to represent my quote quote. And I and in the video I say what it means to me where I'm from for some reason. and who it's by in the quote. Hope you like it. [applause] Some of you judges might have gone there might know me cuz it's official cuz this is itund second year alive and my quote is by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Darkness cannot drive out darkness. Only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate. Only love can do that. What it means to me is if there's only hate in the world, the only bad stuff will happen. But if there is love and light coming in against the darkness and hate, things won't be so dark in the end. Which is why I drew this picture to represent also for the competition. [laughter] what life [snorts] shouldn't have been like back when MLK Jr. was around. And so this is what I drew. Fire.

Nothing but that for right now because fire can't put out fire. It just makes it worse. and fighting. But there's a good side to it. What life should have been like back when MLK Jr. was around. So love in the world. It can get rid of the fire. Get rid of the fire. Get rid of the hate. It's It's basically that simple. So, don't be a hater. [laughter] [applause] [applause]

Nice job, Asa. Another really good quote. Thank you so much, Asa. I love that so much. And I have a certificate right here for you. [applause] [clears throat]

Mayor Casease and council members. My name is Ibrahim and I'm a student at in on the human rights and diversity commission. I'd like to introduce it a six a sixth grader in Eagle Ridge Academy from Would you like to come up? Um, pull pull that mic down if you want.

Um, good evening council members. Thank you for this opportunity to share my artwork with everyone. I am Isha and I'm 11 years old. I enjoy reading, playing viola, and playing soccer. I hope to be an author and write books someday. For my art piece, I chose the quote, "Freedom by definition is people realizing that they are their own leaders by Diane Nash." When I read this quote, it stood out to me because it talks about helping people realize their potential and giving them the confidence to be leaders. My artwork depicts that when people feel good about themselves and others, they feel stronger and can be better leaders for themselves and others. That gives them the freedom to be themselves and to choose to be kind. The freedom to be the best version of themselves, no matter how different they might be from others in their thoughts, their clothes, their looks, their language, or other things. When people reflect on their actions and words, they can be better human beings and lift others around them, irrespective of the differences. This year, a student at my school was making hurtful comments to me. I would feel mad and think how unfair it was. I kept wondering why she was picking on me. Later, I found out she had been bullied and made fun of for her accent. She was probably just continuing the chain and turning her hurt into mean comments towards others. When I spoke with my principal about the mean comments, she reminded me that those words don't define who I am. She reminded me that only I can decide what kind of person I want to be. Her words gave me the confidence and self-belief

to make the right choices and to remind myself that there are so many positive ways I could describe myself instead of focusing on the negative words said to me. That feeling of recognizing my qualities and believing in myself was very empowering. If everyone felt that way about themselves, the world would be a happier, kinder place to live in. If people felt good about themselves, they might be less likely to spread the negative words and hurt. People can be different and not just the way they look, but in the qualities they have. If more people realize that, they would be able to notice others for their different positive qualities rather than focus on the negative differences. This made me think of having a place at school that would help you think of the wonderful things you are and could be. Our school has a sensory path that kids use when they are feeling frustrated or upset. That made me come up with the idea of a kindness path. When people walk on this path, they would see they would see other people's accomplishments and how there isn't one perfect way to be good at something. Everyone can be good in their own way and feel confident about their uniqueness. The path would give people a chance to feel inspired by others who may or may not look like them. This would remind them that people can do great things no matter what they look like or sound like. The path would conclude with people seeing the best version in the me the best version of themselves in the mirror. The mirror would show them what they are capable of and how much their words and actions matter. The mirror would remind people that they can be a leader and make sure to spread kindness.

Reflecting on the positive qualities of role models will help them reflect on their own positive qualities when they reach the mirror. It will remind them that there's good in everyone and we should try to focus on the good. In her poem, The Hill We Climb, Amanda Gorman said, "There is always light. If only we're brave enough to see it. If only we're brave enough to be it." I truly believe if all of us would see the good within ourselves and others, we could build a happier, safer, kinder community. Walking on the kindness path will make sure we never lose sight of what is important. what is important within and around us. Thank you. [applause]

Thank you, Edisha. Yeah, your certificate. All right. [applause] Thank you, Ikra. And it mayor case council members, my name is Angela Guari. I'm a student on the human rights and diversity commission. I would like to introduce Ryan Alto, an 11th grader from Eden Perry High School.

Hello. Today I'm going to be dis Today I'm going to be sharing a quote from John Lewis about voting rights within the US and how it's still relative to today. My dear friends, your vote is precious, almost sacred. It is the most powerful non-violent tool we have to create a more perfect union. John Lewis said this at the Democratic National Convention on September 6th, 2012. The preceding quote from John Lewis not only has modern-day significance, but also highlights it cultural similarities between both the past and the present. Voting is the most non-violent tool that everyone has access to. It brings together society in ways that have power. Numbers are what hold power. Voting is a fundamental right for every citizen, and it is what makes America the land of the free. Voting knows no race, religion, or background, and every vote carries the same weight, reminding us that democracy belongs to everyone, no matter what. Voting unites society across differences and enables change through collective action. Throughout history, individuals have faced adversity and have fought against unfair literacy tests to gain the right to vote. Through participation in election, our country receives a more accurate reflection of the public opinion and what the c and what and what the public believes is the best candidate for our country's representation. John Lewis aimed at combating partisan gerrymandering and protecting minority voting rights across America. We protect our communities of fair voting by advocating for leaders in power who work to counter bias redistricting. We should continue to advocate for fair unrestricted voting. Encouraging members of our community to vote is a substantial is substantial to producing a vote that better reflects community as a whole. By staying informed and engaged, we help carry forward John Lewis's legacy of justice and voting equality. When we exercise our right to vote, we honor a struggle that John Lewis and fellow leaders endured to achieve a more inclusive society. John Lewis worked against voter suppression in various ways, and his legacy will be

upheld for will be upheld and built upon for generations to come. He has contributed greatly to reshaping modern-day voting and voting rights. From the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to the countless speeches he gave, John Lewis's work will forever have an impact. Thank you. Thanks, John. [applause]

[applause]

Thank you so much for that. I have a certificate here for you, Ryan. I think you should um [applause] Ryan, I think you should submit that. Um maybe even the Star Trek, but it's it's really good and it's so timely for what we're going through today in America. So, excellent.

So, thank you, uh, student awardees. I would like to invite you up at this point to take a m a picture with the mayor and our student commissioners can come on up. So people better.

Yeah.

[applause]

I love watching this. All right. Um, I don't think I'd want to be Eric Hansen right now having to follow that one, but [snorts] either. [clears throat] [laughter]

No, we're super happy to have you here. Um PG. No, let's see. No, it's Who is Lisa now? Lisa and Mark, you guys [clears throat] um want to do the introductions of the uh your executive with the commission. Well, here's our CEO for Southwest Transit, Eric Hansen. Seven commission members. Um two from Chan, two from Chesca, two from Eden Prairie, one writer, and Eden Prairie has our two right here. Greg Leaper actually is the uh is the other representative to this. You actually have three technically. Yeah. So, um thank you by the way, Council Member Tumi and Council Member Fryberg and Greg Leaper for representing Eden.

Whoa. That's that's a big deal. It is actually um representing um us Eden Prairie residents so well. And PG is a in um past a past former former alumni. I was trying to say I couldn't come up with the word and actually so am I. I everybody everybody that [laughter] Yes. All of you. Yeah. When when you built the So I replaced by three other people. Yeah. That's Oh, interesting. Um when when buildings get built, they have that little brass plaque thing and I think I just gotten on that commission when that plaque was then being formed or something. So I'm on it as a something. I think I'm I might be secretary. I don't know. Or Yeah. Eric, welcome.

Uh, thank you. And yes, that is a difficult act to follow. I had a presentation. Do you Oh, there it is. Okay, cool. Thanks. Um, and uh, you know, I actually I feel pretty [laughter] inadequate to be honest with you. You're not inadequate.

But, uh, but I I I do want to say this because because, you know, I am proud. You know, transit is an interest as an industry is interesting because of course, you know, what happened in Montgomery, Alabama, you know, is one of the things I think that spurred the the civil rights movement. And I I I do am pretty proud of an industry and an agency that seeks to serve everybody. It's public transit. Um, and uh, I think we've been doing some great things, particularly in Eden Prairie, and I'm going to talk a little bit about that, you know, first. Uh, so this is just kind of a year a little bit. I I promise I won't take a ton of time. Do I have control over here? Um, and Whoops, wrong way. Um, I think everybody knows what we do. Um, but just for the for the good of the order, we have bus routes. Uh we provide special event service to things like the state fair and sports and concerts and things and of course Southwest Prime which is our on demand ride share program. Um and just a few things that are interesting about us. Uh this is our 40th anniversary this year actually and we're going to make a little bit bigger deal out about it as the year goes on, but we were founded in 1986. Um, we are proudly, this is actually at least the second year in a row where we're the fastest growing transit agency in the state, growing 14% in writership the last year, 614,000 passengers roughly. Um, we do a couple of different kinds of surveys. We survey people who are riders uh on the bus and generally speaking anywhere from 96 to 98 depending on the service. Um, we get and we also do a community survey as well by Morris Leatherman. I think the same folks that do your survey too. Um, and our image in the community as a whole and all the communities that we serve, not specifically Eden Prairie, but Eden Prairie, Chanhassen, and Chesca, 61%

positive and 14% negative in our phone survey that we did last fall, which is really good. Not as good as Eden Prairie as a city. Um, because you're darn near perfect, but but 61 is pretty good for a trans recognizing that, by the way.

I I it's true. It's true. I wouldn't say anything less. Um, the other piece of information is actually really interesting too because we have a mandate, you know, in the original legislation that created us to be as efficient and effective as the as the Metro Transit or Met Council and our our bus service to downtown Minneapolis. When you compare us against Metro Transit, it's about 22% more efficient than what is provided by uh Metro Transit and our overhead costs are lower than Met Council. And so from our perspective, we think we're doing a pretty good job of meeting that mandate from four 40 years ago. Um this is the survey that I was talking about from Morris Leatherman that kind of shows our positives, you know, creeping up over the last three years. This is u our 2019, 2023, and 2025 survey. You can see our positives going from 35 to 53 if you add the strongly positive 61. Um, we ask [clears throat] people the question, what do you want to use Southwest Transit for? Um, state fairs and festivals, sporting events, concerts. I mean, those are the kinds of things that people really are interested in. And in fact, over the last two years, our writership for these kinds of events is up 90%. Because we've been spending a lot of time focusing on expanding that particular service. Um, speaking of expanding service, um, this is actually really cool because a lot of stuff has been happening in Eden Prairie in the last year. Uh, specifically two services in particular, um, in Southwest Transit. Um, I want to talk about Southwest Prime first. Uh, Eden Prairie is by far and away, you know, the largest, you know, source of our wrership. Um, 25,000 rides from the city. um 22,000 rides into the city and we have about 150,000 last year. So you get an idea of how big it is and within the city itself

another 23,000 plus another 20,000 plus in just the autonomous vehicle zone um for 44,000. So a good third is just Eden people getting around in Eden Prairie in terms of in terms of what we do. Um, and this is the really interesting part because we launched our autonomous vehicle service on April 15th of last year. I think I think everybody was there actually for that. Um, as a matter of fact, and we we looked at what was the service that we were providing last year at this time versus the autonomous vehicle service. And the numbers are about 144% growth. Uh, because people ask me all the time, well, how do people like that service? You know, you know, is it something that people want to do? and and um actually people like it more than they liked our previous service. Part of that probably has to do with was we're still offering it for free. Um but but I do think that a lot of it has to do with the service itself as well. The other cool thing that happened in Eden Prairie is we launched the 686 route. This is the route that goes along 494 to the airport and the Mall of America and parts in between. Um, uh, this is actually kind of interesting, too, because, you know, we used to have Southwest Prime where you could take a ride directly to the airport. You know, Council Member Nion is very was very fond of that service. Um, and and that was a great service, but it was also really expensive at the same time. And so what we found was that we could do this a little bit less expensively in a different way. Um, and if you compare that service versus what we were doing, um, with Southwest Prime, about 60% more people are using that service as well. Um, and in addition to that, um, we're saving about half a million dollars a year in operating cost by running that service versus what we were doing before. So, it's actually kind of a huge benefit. More people use

it and it costs less. That's kind of a win-win. And those are two services that originate and exist, you know, in in Eden Prairie. Um, and you should be very proud of that. We've been doing a lot of work to expanding transit in this city. Um, [clears throat] all right. Now, those are kind of the platitudes uh about the things that we're doing. And this is kind of the more serious moment. Um, last fall I want to say thank you for passing a resolution of support for Southwest Transit. Um, and you know, it's going to be an interesting legisl legisl legislative session this coming year. There's a couple of things that we have been talking about and pushing, you know, as an agency. The first one is really about uh funding equity. So, three years ago, there was a 3/4 cent tax sales tax that was passed. Um the suburban transit agencies, which there are fours of four of us, did not get a specific share of that. So, whatever we get is whatever Met Council decides that we should get. It's a little different than than how we're typically funded because we're typically funded by a sales tax on vehicles when you purchase a vehicle. And the state defines kind of what the formula is for that. But on the sales tax, that's not true. And so we had a had a a bill that we were promoting at the end of the last sess legislative session and we'll be promoting again to guarantee a certain percentage so that we can continue to get our fair share. So when your citizens pay into a tax, they get benefit back from that. The second thing that's actually really important as well, um, is that there are a handful of legislators, not any of your legislators, but there's a handful of legislators that are like, "Well, we don't think we like what we've been doing for the last 40 years. Maybe you should be part of Metro Transit again, and wouldn't that be a a good deal because then everybody has the same transit service?" Um, we don't think that's a good idea, uh, for a number of

reasons. You know, number one, because I think we're pretty efficient as it is anyway, and we want to keep our tax dollars local, spend your tax dollars here that we're getting. Um, and and at the end of the day, what would happen is what was happening 40 years ago, and that is is that they would say, well, you know, maybe we should be spending some of that money in the suburbs on the central city. Not to say that they don't need transit in Minneapolis, too, or maybe they even need more transit than we do. Um, but I don't think it's fair to suggest that we could save money in the suburbs and reduce our level of service here so that some other folks can get some. Um, so we launched actually last week a a page on our website which is at southswtransit.org. It's swtransit.org activate by the way action um about legislative action. And so what we're asking people to do is to go to our website and um go to that page and uh there'll be a link on there as well that'll allow you to send an email uh to your legislative delegation to say, "Yeah, we want Southwest Transit to continue to be your transit provider. We like Southwest Transit. They're doing a good thing." Um and and ultimately um that's that's kind of an important message that we're pushing here with this legislative session in 2026. Um with that, I'd be happy to answer any questions.

Is is other um [clears throat] metro transit like MVT and so on doing same thing or? Yeah, everybody's kind of doing the same thing. So, so we have a we have a uh uh you know, as you know, and an organization called the Suburban Transit Association and and all four of the transit agencies, Minnesota Valley, us and Plymouth and Maple Grove, you know, kind of work together on a lot of these kinds of issues. Um this information on our website is specific to Southwest Transit. doesn't it doesn't go into you know what what's happening in other agencies we're all a little bit different but we do have a separate effort you know we're as a coalition we're working together yes

the good news is our uh temporary local news is here and they could promote that they true in fact there was an article as a matter of fact in the paper this week so thank you for that as well but yes yeah absolutely thank you any other questions mayor no thank Thank you for um all you do. It is a really really wonderful service and an amenity for our We sure hate to see it um go away. So yeah, you don't want that. Thank you so much for your time. I appreciate it. Thank you. Have a good evening. Thank you.

All right, council. Um let's move through um a few of these things fairly quickly. We have to approve the agenda. But we wanted to add I wanted to add that one item that if you wish um any council members uh during council member reports to share anything uh relating back to our uh open podium. We could we don't have to. And do you want to add one more item too? And then a second item uh by council member Nan. Anything else? Um do you want to state what it is? Just the t topic just the title or no just respond to today's u open podium. Just Well, we're going to do that. Yeah. All of us. Oh, okay. Okay. So, one item. That was my item. Okay. We just We will get a chance to speak that item. Yeah, that's fine. Absolutely. That's all I

All four of us. All right. Great. Um, anything else to add? If not, is there a motion to approve the agenda? I'll move to approve the agenda. Is there a second? Second. All those in favor say I. I oppose. All right. Um, any uh concerns, questions, edits on our city council minutes from January 20th workshop or meeting? If not, can I have a motion? Move to approve the following city council minute. The city council workshop held Tuesday, January 20th, 2026. City council meeting held Tuesday, January 20th, 2026. Uh, is there a second? Second. Further discussion? All those in favor say I. I.

I. Opposed. All right. Moving on to consent calendar. Just want to point out it's exciting. We have four of us in groups of two because of open meeting law. Took a um a tour of the uh new police um station area um and and also um extension of some of our normal government activities. It's very impressive. I think our residents will be quite pleased. At any rate, item I is we are voting tonight to u purchase and install furniture in that new um addition. So that's exciting. Um, council, any um of the items A through there's quite a few tonight. A through L that you'd like to uh question or pull for a separate vote. If not, can I have a motion to approve the consent calendar?

I'll move to approve items A to L in the consent calendar. Second. Second. Any further discussion? All those in favor say I. I. I oppose. All right. We do have uh one public hearing uh this evening. Mr. GCO. Uh thank you, mayor and councel. We do we have and you've seen these many times before vacating uh drainage and utility easement. Um this was due to a lot line adjustment. So we have two properties on uh Island Road uh 801 and 802 Island Road worked out a lot line adjustment and uh actually that lot line adjustment's been filed already. So we don't have any contingencies. Do you um are you laughing because I said 80001 instead of 801?

Me? No. Okay. No, I'm watching Lisa and Tom there. But yeah, but we do we do we do expect them to to approach the podium at some point in time. No, it's okay. Short. Um the um so we do due to a lot line adjustment um pretty u minor change to uh the property here. We do need um a public hearing to uh vacate the drainage and utility easement associated with that property.

And before I open it up to the public, just a quick uh note or question, I guess comment. You can answer this, Mr. Gro, but when these lot line adjustments occur and that isolates the old easement, which we're vacating tonight, but we create a new one, I'm assuming, right on Yeah. So, it's just really sliding the vacation ease. No, sliding the easement [snorts] from one spot to another to adjust to the new lot line. Yes. And I think as I mentioned earlier, that's already been done.

Yep. Okay. Um C uh no, uh this is a public hearing. Is there anyone in the audience wishing to address the city council on the U resolution vacating lots one and two block four Timberlakes drainage utility easements? Not of public hearing and make the motion. If there's somebody that would do that, I'll move to close the public hearing and adopt a resolution vacating drainage and utility easements. Is there a second? Second. Any further discussion? All those in favor say I. I. I. Opposed. All right. We're done. You did it. Yay. You can sit through the rest of it if you wish, but [laughter] you you may go. [gasps] Nice to see you. Do you do you want to speak for a moment? No.

Okay. By the way, this is this this is the famous not infamous. This is the famous Tom Anderson as of Anderson Lakes and uh Anderson Road. Um and his great great grandparents settled here in the 1850s, the Andersons. Um and so his land was up where um and um St. Andrews was. Uh your your uncle's was up where um the bank was there by um Menard. Born on that hill. You were born on the hill. Right on the hill. Yeah. We'll talk about that later. [laughter] All right. Thanks for coming. So, you live right next door to him. You're very lucky. I'm the neighbor. Yeah, that's you're you're pretty fortunate.

We work together, so this went well. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Take care. Byebye. [snorts] Thanks for coming. All right. Uh moving on. We have payment of claims. Is there um are there any expenses uh any of the council members wish to uh question in our pages and pages of our expenses in the last since we've had our last meeting? If not, is there a motion to approve payment of claims as submitted? Move to approve the payment of claim as submitted. Um, is there a second? Second. This is a roll call vote. Council member Fyberg. I. Council member Nan I. Council member Tumi. I. Mayor Casease.

I. All right. I think the last is just our um council member report time. Is that correct, Mr. Gro? That's the only other outstanding item here.

That's correct, Mayor. Um, so I just wanted to give this opportunity that we as a council might uh respond. I did a little uh right before the meeting started for anyone um uh listening at home or on this recorded version later on this week. Uh open podium is a time before the council meeting that's um not recorded uh and no minutes are taken. It's an opportunity for residents to come to the council and share concerns about anything that's not on the agenda. It's not a super long time. It's about 25 minutes and so if a whole bunch of people come then we have to figure out how to make u maybe some future time for them to share but tonight six people came um they pretty much spoke u for the full time I I had a couple minutes at the end and I wanted to give uh council an opportunity to say anything back um I I'll just summarize maybe for the people um again watching from home uh that all six people spoke on on topics relating leading to the ice surge that's going on in Minnesota, but particularly as it relates to Eden Prairie. And several of them shared very um um heart-wrenching emotional anecdotal stories um that they've experienced or they've known people that have experienced and basically I think I can generalize. I'm not sure if all six mention it. I think so, but uh asking the council to maybe do something in an ordinance fashion that would um limit ISIS's ability to um be in our parks to stage their operations from any public piece of property. Um that's basically their request. Um we didn't get the chance to respond to that. Uh and um I thought I'd just give council a chance if they wish to share something. It's totally up to you. I'm not putting you on the spot if you want to. Um, anyone want to go first? If no one wants to speak at all, I can. But

no, I always go first. [snorts]

Well, I'll go first. Um, it is first I want to thank the six people came and spoke their mind. The stories are heartwarming especially the children's drama and how they affect things. It's almost remind me of like COVID and beyond that kids are terrified um in about the actions that ICE and the propaganda they're getting and the kids hearing it and they they're reacting to it and uh I'm really worried about the impact in the future for those kids that close friends um that happen to be immigrant. and and then how they feel later on. I heard a story that one of the [clears throat] mom um her husband taken away and the mom asking now what I'm going to do. Um I don't have a job. I have two kids. It is heartbreaking when you think about the people not the people that I taken away. The people are left behind. And one of the item that we we brought up in our strategy meeting is is anything city can do to help those people left behind. I know like I was talking to council um member Tumi about the southwest helping to deliver the food from Prop and we did that also when I was the uh Southwest uh commission. We did that on the uh co time same thing. Um so that's a good

good really good thing that prop doing and with the partnership with Southwest like that what else we can do to help those kids help those mom that left behind. Um and then the ordinance thing what I understand there is no effective way we can um do anything about it. We can create an ordinance but we cannot enforce it but if that helps in some form yeah I'm for it illegal to do it then I'm okay but I think also highlight all the thing that our mayor and the city manager and chief did with other 15 different cities and I don't know the the the residents aware of the work they have done I think that's more effective in terms of lobbying to the federal level, state level legislators to see we can have ICE back off a little bit and and not terrorize our city. Um it it is it is it really what's happening here is people they're afraid of driving. Many of my Indian friends walk around with a American passport. You know, I I refuse to do that. Some reason in my mind, I'm an American. I'm not going to do it. And I've been here 53 something years and never had to do it. And uh people are doing it being just different color that carrying passport around because being pulled over and and harassed. Um anyway I I just want to express my thought here and uh thank again uh those people came and and spoke. We don't know

what are the thing we can do for them but if anything legally we can do for them we'll try to do that. Thank you. Council member Fryberg or Timmy not at all or or should I come? Okay. Council member Jimmy,

I I just agree with Council Member Nion that um uh whatever we can do, we will do. And um thank you to the people that came and spoke at Open Podium. It's frustrating. It makes you angry. It's it's um unbelievable really. uh and and uh I just wish what you know things were different but yeah I totally thank you PG those are good words spoken okay um a couple thoughts here so we're living trying to live by the Constitution of the United States meaning we are and we feel um many people in America America feel that the current ICE surge is um illustrating um federal agents that are not abiding faithfully by our constitution. But as we respond to that, we have to be really careful that we do follow the constitution. And the courts are are weighing in as they um are um asked to do. And so you just read a couple days ago, California passed a no masking uh ordinance uh and um a judge uh ruled that that's illegal. Now whether that what happens in appeal to that whatever um I was talking to a mayor from Norfolk um Virginia when I was at in Washington a couple weeks ago and they just passed a no masking ordinance and they said I said how are you going to enforce that because that's the whole thing you can pass any ordinance you want if you can't enforce it then why'd you pass the ordinance so he said we'll send our cops in and we'll we'll force them with guns drawn I said no you're not I mean that's a constitutional crisis right there and the military would be down on in Virginia so fast. Um and of course then the judge rule in California which negated what happened in Virginia. So um

in incredibly complex and complicated the I I mentioned this um earlier before our meeting start tonight so I'll repeat it now that number one um most I'll be careful here because it's it's not necessarily a wide supermajority but the polls are showing that the majority of Americans and I'm assuming the majority of motans want the ice surge to stop. I'm not going to speak for all council members up here, but I'll speak for myself. That's what I want. I want it to stop yesterday. Um, but I want ICE agents to surge out of Minnesota. That that's number one. And we're not going to get that when we're dealing with a federal government that is more powerful than we are. We're not going to get that by um inflaming and escalating. We're just not. Um [snorts] things are moving right now. I mentioned this um before the meeting started. things and downstairs tonight too at our workshop in a public meeting. I things are moving we believe in the right direction and there's a lot of back channel work going on and there's things that um the city managers are privy to. There's things that I as mayor I'm meeting with a coalition group that's now more than 20 suburban mayors. There are things that I'm privy to. Um, so things are moving in the right direction that uh we're pretty optimistic within a I don't know what a short amount of time is, a week, two weeks. It's not going to be six months. Um that that this part of what we're looking for the ICE surge to end will occur. My concern as mayor now is what's happened then because there's the part two. There's the second shoe to drop and that is that we've damaged deeply um our relationships I guess you want to say with our immigrant community that they are terribly fearful. They're as was talked about tonight with several speakers are hurting and damaged schools. There

was a good article in the starter this morning about the damage to schools. The economy is going to take months if not years in Minnesota to recover from this and possibly because we I mean we've we've not heard a whole lot in the national spectrum about the debate about the value of our 10 million undocumented immigrants in America, but that number is not homogeneous. That's not all people that illegally snuck into the United States and committed a crime. In fact, that's a really small percentage. The vast majority of those immigrants have been here 10, 20, 30 years working hard, making money, paying social security, never receiving a dime of it, paying sales taxes, and never getting anything back. Um, and you take them out suddenly and our economy collapses literally. I mean, just read it, you know, check my my um my information on that. Um, so we have to, this is why bipartisan Congress, uh, right before the, uh, presidential election passed, the House passed a bill and the Senate did not based on the president's, um, influence, an immigration reform bill. We have to have an immigration reform bill that keeps pathways for our 10 million ille undocumented immigrants across the United States. And we have a 100,000 in Minnesota. And we have very few in Eden Prairie, but we're guessing under a,500. We need those people to work roofing, construction jobs, daycare, uh house cleaning, uh restaurant jobs. It just goes on and on. And if you pull out 20,000 immigrants out of Minnesota and there's no one to replace their jobs. I want you to think about that. Who's going to backfill those jobs? There there aren't bodies. There aren't people to do that. So, everyone, the Chamber of Commerce, um, as you know, very, um, wellrespected conservative, we might even say Republican group in the state of Minnesota. They are very concerned, um,

and and trying to do back channel talks really quick to get the search in because it's killing businesses in Minnesota. So, that's what I want. I think everyone that came tonight wants that, too. I think they would like also, the people that came to speak, maybe some a little bit more heavy-handed response. I get it. I'm angry too. I want though not to inflame and escalate because I want to get the surge to end. So, um, Eden Prairie, I don't think we have any plans to pass any kind of an ordinance like that. By the way, it is legal to pass it, but every single ICE agent legally according to the fourth amendment, 10th, let me get that straight. I'll look later. um can walk in any public space in the United States of America just like any other person living in America. In other words, you can't keep ice out of our parks. You can keep them from staging in theory, but who's going to enforce that? And I do not want our Eden Perry police officers driving into those parks with guns drawn against ICE agents with guns drawn. We will have the Alaskan military or the military presence up in Alaska down in Minnesota. We'll have a constitutional crisis. Okay, I'm I'm digressing, but I I do not want that. So, my my comments to everyone down at the workshop and then um before um our meeting tonight is we're working hard on this. It may not be exactly the pathway that every resident wants. And by the way, some residents don't want us to do anything, right? I mean, we we understand we're representing a lot of people here, but I've given you what I believe in and my pathway, but I we are working hard to get resolution on this. Uh, and my mayor group, I've I've spent 80 or 90 hours in the last two weeks on this. I'm retired, so I luckily can do that. Um, it's um it's it's very much a part I I call Mr. Geto daily. I mean on this issue um and there's a group of city managers that are talking regularly and again we're

trying to get the meeting with Tom Hman uh possibly later on this week. We're I met with the four Congre congressional offices in DC a week and a half ago. Uh we met with our congresswoman this week. We um she called me last Friday to check I mean we're talking all the time trying to problem solve this. So just if we need to communicate that uh uh differently and better I I will work on that with the people of Eden Prairie. We'll get a communication piece out I hope this week. Um so just know that we're not just sitting back going whoa this all these things are happening to us. We're really truly engaged in the trenches and we're working on this. Thank you to the six people that came this evening. Um deeply do appreciate the stories. We share them when we get together as mayors. We share what we heard from our residents. Um Columbia Heist is getting hit hard, really hard, as you've read in the paper. Uh Richfield's getting hit hard. Uh, Brooklyn Park had the incident with the police officer. I mean, we're all experiencing it. So, um, I just I'll end there. I'll let anyone else speak. And Lisa, go ahead.

And and we're working with our nonprofits in the community to help. Yes. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Um, thank you. The the the people right on the front lines, our our prop shop, the school district, and we're in regular communication with that. I called Josh Swanson, superintendent, 7:45 the other morning. Um so we're we're we're connecting with the people that are are directly addressing the need. We've also offered what we can some financial assistance to um Prop as they're trying to meet that need. Um as you know the LAAHA the local affordable housing assistance act. No. Did I get that right? Local affordable housing aid

aid act. Uh LAAHA the LAA funds. U we get 729,000 a year from the LAA funds. we have that budgeted out to help with various affordable housing initiatives. We can we can move some of that so we can help where we can. Um there's not a lot of government assistance that's in this. That's why we so appreciate Prop and Prop Shop um and all the volunteers and all the money that's donated to them um because we couldn't we couldn't do what they do. All right, [laughter and gasps] Rick. Anything else? Council member Fryberg, Council Member Nuran, Council Member Tumi. Well, just want to say Oh, I knew you I But you shook your head. No. Thank you. All the work you've done. Oh, thank you. Really appreciate it.

You can say thank you. You can say anything else, too, if you want. Council member Nan, I appreciate you too. Oh, I have one more thing to say. I know you do. Last item. Okay. Um, and by the way, our council member Nelson uh is not here tonight, but she is um keeping up with everything with us and we're in constant regular uh communication with her. What's the last item? Just journeying the meeting. Okay. Is there a motion to adjourn the meeting tonight? Move to adjourn the city council meeting tonight. Is there a second? Second. Is there any discussion other than council member Nion? I'm just teasing you. All right. This meeting is adjourned. No, we have to vote. Oh, do we have vote?