City Council - Regular Meeting

What are you all dressed up for?

Dan up the bar a couple weeks ago.

I couldn't be the only guy. I felt comfortable and Dan dressed the same as me, but then he went and got a suit jacket.

Thomas.

Yeah.

He don't ever tell you how he feels or what he thinks.

No, he's kind of shy and backward like me.

A lot like you, Sean.

Please rise as you're able for the Pledge of Allegiance.

republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

WELCOME, EVERYBODY, TO OUR CITY COUNCIL MEETING FOR JULY 6, 2026. AND WE BEGIN EVERY COUNCIL MEETING WITH OUR OPEN COMMENT PERIOD. THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ANYONE FROM THE PUBLIC TO SPEAK ON ITEMS THAT WE WILL NOT BE TAKING SEPARATE PUBLIC TESTIMONY DURING A PUBLIC HEARING LATER IN THE AGENDA. Each person has up to two minutes to speak for a total of 20 minutes. I will keep track by two methods. One is the stoplight here at the dais, and one is the countdown clock on the wall. And so please know I may need to cut you off. if you go beyond the two minutes. I'd also request that each speaker be concise to allow more people to speak and participants are encouraged to limit comments generally to topics that are within the scope and jurisdiction of the council's ability to affect policy. Council members and staff do not respond directly to your comments during public comment period. BUT WILL INSTEAD FOLLOW UP ON ANY SPECIFIC REQUESTS SEPARATELY. IF YOU HAVE MATERIALS TO SHARE WITH THE COUNCIL, YOU CAN GIVE THEM TO THE CITY CLERK WHO IS SITTING TO MY RIGHT. WITH THAT, I WILL INVITE YOU UP ACCORDING TO HOW YOU SIGNED UP. PAULA HARDEN IS FIRST.

HI. You look perfectly fine to me as a common comment by ableds when people with disabilities explain that something creates a barrier for equitable participation in communities. For years, I felt ignored by city leadership because nothing was being done fast enough or optimally to meet my expectations of what local government could do if they really wanted to choose accessibility as a priority. Maybe some of you thought I was able. Did you think I didn't have a vested interest and desperate need for accessible housing. Having no-lip entrances would be the easiest way to make all housing visitable, meaning disabled people can at least get in the door to dwellings and visit family and friends. Back in the days, never occurred to Congress to even debate accessibility to mean more than being able to find some place to live. In reviewing some changes that the city has made, I find there has been progress, and I thank you for every single detail that shows thoughtfulness and consideration for the many types of disabilities people experience. MS will not kill me, but kidney failure will. The Mayo Clinic gave me two to three weeks to live in January, but my body stubbornly decided to give me more time. The doctors will not venture another guess at how long I have to live, so I wanted to take this opportunity to thank everyone that has supported my passion and hope that all your future votes will be yes to accessibility. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Hardin, and thank you for your advocacy. Next up, we have Rachel LaForge.

Good evening, council, city staff, and Rachel LaForge. I am speaking on my own behalf, not on behalf of any other entities or organizations to which I may belong. What I want to talk about is Elton Hills Drive. I don't live in Elton Hills Drive, but I know a lot of people who do, a fair number of whom live on the north side and have to drive to cross to the south side because it is unsafe. What I want to address specifically is, can we for once be proactive? And what I mean by that, I moved here almost exactly 16 years ago. And I thought to myself, who is this Arianna McNamara? She's a seven-year-old who was killed at a known dangerous intersection. Ten years later, Margaret Myland was killed at 19th Street, which is connected to Elton Hills Drive, at another known dangerous intersection. April of this year, two of our police officers were hit by a driver at another known dangerous intersection. You're in fact voting tonight on whether or not you're going to pay to replace that police car that was totaled. We know Elton Hills is dangerous. We know. We also know that we have a private school that elects not to use the bus system and that we have traffic backed up in both directions because there is no dedicated left turn lane. That happens every day, twice a day during the school year. We also know that we have two public schools, one of whom, Hoover, is home to the early childhood special education program. Let me remind you, that means three to five year olds with autism and other types of disabilities, some of whom have elopement issues. Some of them were my son and his classmates. You know that Elton Hills Drive is dangerous. You know it. Is it going to take a three-year-old getting run over in front of Hoover before you decide, you know, maybe actually we could put in bike lanes and traffic calming devices and a dedicated left turn lane and slow people down? So don't say we didn't know. Thank you.

Thank you. Next up we have Adam Busby.

My name is Adam Busby. I'm the union rep, ATU Local 1005, representing the transit workers of RPT. I want to recognize the people who make this system work every single day. The drivers, the dispatchers, the mechanics, the utility employees. These are the men and women who have kept Rochester moving through snowstorms, staffing shortages, construction, and countless daily challenges. They have shown up every day because this community depends on them. No matter the company name that has been on the side of the bus, the workers have always been the constant. I would also like to recognize Rachel for leading a transition of this magnitude. Throughout this process, Rachel has been willing to communicate, listen, and engage with the people who operate this system every day. We appreciate her professionalism and commitment to improving transit in Rochester. ATU has long believed that public transportation is the essential public service. Because of that, our union will never stop advocating for RPT to one day be publicly operated by the city. We believe the people of Rochester are best served when essential public services are directly accountable to the public they serve, rather than provided through private contracts that has been our position for many years and it remains our long-term vision. Tonight is about the recommendation before you. If VIA is awarded this contract, we are cautiously optimistic and hopeful that this transition marks the beginning of a more collaborative relationship. To VIA, welcome to Rochester. You are inheriting a workforce with years of experience, unmatched professionalism, and a genuine commitment to serving this community. Listen to them, respect them, work with them. If you do, you won't simply inherit employees, you'll gain partners. I'd like to leave you with one final thought. Years from now, very few people will remember the name of the contractor, but they will remember whether the bus arrived on time, the driver who greeted them with a smile, or whether or not they could depend on public transit. Because transit has never been about the name on the contract, it has always been about the people behind the wheel, behind the radio, under the bus, and behind the scenes who dedicate themselves to serving this community every single day. So whatever decision is made tonight, take care of Rochester transit workers, and they will continue to take care of Rochester. Thank you.

Thank you. Next up we have Jim Frost.

My name is Jim Frost, and I'm president of the Cusco Park Neighborhood Association. And I can't talk as fast as these other fellows, but I'll slow down and present what I'm presenting anyway. Mayo and the city staff had suggested that neighbors are happy with the current Ranger building and Granger design, Granger Park design. We see nothing to be happy about. Once the facility is operating, those living nearby will see their living environment take a decided turn for the worse. Nearby neighbors are unhappy. Others in our group are anxious to support them. But we're here not to talk about the building, but the park. But the two are very connected because the park was a sort of a consolation prize promised by Mayo for all the damage that the building is going to do. Mail also suggests that neighbors were informed. According to dictionary.net, informed implies comprehensive and current understanding. We have never, ever been told the whole story. There's little pieces that drobble in here and there, and people who come up to talk to us don't even know the answers. We ask them questions, they're ignored. for months, even for years. No organization as smart as Mayo designs a building without understanding their needs and expectations. So Mayo is just putting a cover over so we have less time to complain about the things we don't like. Yeah. We had a meeting a while back. Most questions remained unanswered. In park sketches, we were shown a structure containing just one artifact. Now, if I look at what's apparently coming, if I count them on my two hands, I've still got fingers left. Well, when they started, they promised a robust selection of artifacts and a preservation of the Lord's history. Thank you, Mr. Frost. Thank you.

Next up, we have Stephanie Podolke.

Hi. I'm Stephanie Podolke. I've lived in Kutzke Park for over 50 years. I'm here to share some things with you about the huge warehouse that's being built in our park. It's not fun or easy to feel bamboozled Our neighborhood has been bamboozled since the introduction of this project. Over the years, we've been misled, misinformed, under-informed, uninformed about how this project would affect our quality of life. I just want to focus on the park. When Mayo requested of the city council that they be allowed to tear down the school building, they promised, in a spirit of cooperation, that they would build a nice little park on the west side. They promised the council they would do that. Well, nothing happened. After months of yada, yada, yada, some representatives from Mayo attended a neighborhood meeting with the concepts of a plan. They told us they were not the decision makers, just the presenters. Thus, they could not answer our questions, such as, Where are the artifacts you promised? Will you bury the power lines so the park doesn't have lines running through it? What will the lighting be like? Is the chest-high wall that you show made from Kasota stone from the school building? They couldn't get out of that meeting quick enough. They were putting their backpacks on before they were done with their presentations. The neighborhood has never seen a final plan. The neighborhood has never voted on a final plan. So if you've been told that, you're misinformed. Let's see a park the size they promised without counting in the city boulevards. Let's see some artifacts. Let's see the power lines buried. Let's see the beautiful school sign that said Lourdes School. Let's call it Lourdes Park. After all, that's why it's there, to commemorate that there used to be a wonderful school building there. So please help our beleaguered neighborhood. Thank you for your attention.

Thanks, Ms. Padocchi. Next up, we have Ryan Stack.

Hello, City Council President Shubring, Mayor Norton, and the rest of the City Council. So I use Rochester Public Transit via Zips every single week because, you know, the regular bus routes are not really designed for people with larger wheelchairs. And with the current operator, I have experienced late pickup times. Some rides have never been fulfilled. And also, I have also incurred on one such ride where there was a maintenance issue with one of the ramps to get on and off the vehicle. And so I just wanna say, I would like to speak in support of Via Transportation as our next operator, because this will not only help with people with disabilities, but also those that can't drive and also our Mayo Clinic employees getting to and from work without any delays further. Thank you.

Thank you. Next up we have John Creasel.

John Creasel, Mr. President, members of the Council, Madam Mayor. My topic is going to circle around, I'll call it pavers, that debacle. All of you are elected officials and each one of you are to represent the citizens within each one of your precincts. then collectively you embrace the vision of the city. All of you are responsible for the decisions that take place in our city, not DMC. not other outside consultants that we continue to spend so much money on. And they do not provide a bond, so they therefore don't have any skin in the game for the outcome of such matters such as the pavers. I would suggest that if the citizens of Rochester were to be given the opportunity to take a vote, Where do we go next do we want to spend more sums of money on the pavers? You know what the outcome of that would be? It would be a definite no quit throwing good money after bad Just admit that a mistake was made and we could Mr. Creason on the consultants just a bit the mic is hitting your shirt.

Oh, I'm sorry. There we go I knew I shouldn't have got my shirt you got about 45 seconds

I MADE ANOTHER MISTAKE. I'M PRETTY GOOD AT IT. BUT THAT SAID, LET US ADMIT THE MISTAKE MADE. WE CAN BLAME IT ON THE CONSULTANTS AND PUT NO MORE MONEY INTO OBSTRUCTIONS FOR THE VISITORS THAT COME HERE THAT KEEP US ALL ALIVE WITHIN THIS COMMUNITY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

THANK YOU, MR. CRUSO. NEXT UP WE HAVE TOBY HOLIDAY.

Hi, Council. I'm Toby, Rochester resident and a member of Workers Strike Back. We've been in Pine Island recently fighting against the Google AI hyperscale data center that threatens the quality of life of all southeast Minnesota, and watching Mayor Freeze resign in disgrace, being thrown out of office by the working people of Pine Island after the council's disastrous decisions regarding Project Skyway. Suffice to say, no hyperscale data centers in Rochester. It will be a decision the council regrets, as many councils around the country are finding out when their residents fight back. You should, however, be ashamed by the fact that RPD is assisting ICE and letting them kidnap our neighbors from this very building, often after their family members have paid bond money, which is despicable. You are stealing money from our immigrant families while their loved ones are being ripped away from them. Shame. Anyway, tonight we are here to declare victory for the members of ATU 1005, who have shown great strength in their all-out struggle with Transdev, and we are thrilled to see a private union-busting company like Transdev finally leave town. It is clear evidence that the workers are the ones who run this city. Rochester's public transit only functions because of the hardworking employees on the ground, never because of a private for-profit company. This is why a public good like public transit should be publicly owned, and we will continue to fight for massive investments in public transit, which includes pushing for transit employees to work for the city and reap all the benefits and protections that public employees are granted. This commitment to building worker struggles is why I'm a member of Workers Strike Back, a national organization organizing on the streets and in our workplaces against the billionaires and their two parties. We recognize the power that working people have when we fight back collectively, and we will only continue to grow in strength and numbers. It's also why we're running our co-founder, Shama Sawant, for U.S. Congress. She will take this class struggle approach to D.C. and organize masses of working people to fight for free health care for all by taxing the rich, rent control, an end to all U.S. military aid to Israel, and much more. So I urge those listening to join our struggle in workers' strike back, because when we fight, we win. Solidarity and free Palestine.

Thank you. Next up, we have Barry Skolnick.

Hi. I just want to quickly mention that I support what other people have said about Kutzke Park. And I was at the meeting when the council voted to sort of have a park there. And they talked, and the theme of the meeting was that they should have robust artifacts, not just one or two, but many. 30, maybe 40. They have over 200, from what I understand, so they can certainly do a few more. And the other thing is, of course, Peace Plaza. I don't want to throw more bad money after good, and I just wish we would do something more permanent there. The main reason I'm here, though, right now has to do with the lack of signage desperately needed by St. Mary's Hospital. Second Street, I mean, St. Mary's Hospital on Second Street, when you want to walk downtown, essentially, What you see is both sides of the sidewalks on both sides of the street are unusable. They're blocked off and you can't go down the center. And then you can go up the hill or you can go to the left, but you can't go down second towards downtown. Why in the world do they have to have both sidewalks closed down? And I asked several people, nobody knew what to do. There was no signage. And then also on 2nd Street by 6th Avenue, it's the same thing. You can't find, there's no adequate signage. There's no clear direction. If you want to go to this building, go here or go there. They just say... Yeah, sometimes there's an arrow go this way, but it's that clearly spelled out. They desperately need signage, especially around St. Mary's Hospital. Like, they invited me to a meeting there. I didn't even want to go there because I don't even think I can get by all of the construction. So I really think there's got to be clearly labeled signage. Some people do walk. Not everybody takes a car. And if you really want to have a city that's really more for walkers and even for bikers, you've got to have clear signage. And it's not there. I know apparently staff is saying it's there. I have photographs, and I can share them with anyone who wants them. Look at yourself. Look at how inadequate it is, and please try to help. Thank you. Send me a letter or something.

Thank you, Mr. Skolnick. That is the end of my list of people who want to speak during open comment period. I will close open comment period and ask Clerk Kasel to please call the roll.

Good evening. Council Member Keene.

Here.

Council Member Miller.

Here.

Council Member Wall.

Here.

Council Member Fredericks.

Here.

Council Member Palmer.

Here.

Council Member Doering. Here. Council President Shubring.

Here.

Mayor Norton. Present.

Thank you. Next up, we have the City Administrators Report. Administrators, please take it away.

Thank you, Council President, Council Members, Mayor Norton, members of the public. I always start the City Administrators Report with thanking our teammates for acting with respect, integrity, safety, and excellence in mind. And tonight, I wanted to also take a moment to acknowledge the city's 4th Fest celebration. And in particular the fireworks display that did not go as we had planned. Um, we know that many families and residents and visitors came to soldiers field expecting the full fireworks show. And we understand the disappointment and frustration. We share that with you. And that the experience ended up being much much shorter than what we anticipated The city planned and paid for a full fireworks display and we share in that disappointment that we didn't receive that as expected Also, I wanted to clarify that the fireworks themselves and the funding for the fireworks were never in question in our budget the city had planned and funded and paid for the annual fireworks display What had not initially been planned was a broader pre-fireworks community event. Thankfully, Experienced Rochester stepped up to help create that experience for the community, and they did an outstanding job delivering a welcoming, well-attended 4th Fest celebration with music, activities, and opportunities for people to gather before the fireworks. I think that work deserves to be recognized separately from the disappointment with the fireworks display by our longtime pyrotechnic vendor and their inability to deliver on Saturday. 4th Fest included a great day of community gathering, entertainment, and celebration. Experienced Rochester put significant effort into organizing the event and creating a welcoming experience for residents and visitors throughout the day. I also want to thank the many city and partner teams who worked hard before, during, and after the event, including Rochester Police, Fire, Parks and Recreation, Emergency Management, Public Music, our permitting staff, communications, Mayo Ambulance and many others. We were also fortunate to have the National Weather Service on site with us helping to monitor conditions in real time and supporting decisions as weather approached the area and that decision was to move up the fireworks. That decision was made and agreed to by the fireworks vendor to move the fireworks display earlier in an effort to safely present as much of the full program as possible before weather conditions changed. That decision was made with safety in mind and with real-time weather information available to the team. So we are grateful that ultimately everyone was safe. Unfortunately, due to a combination of the severe weather conditions, technical issues, and crew-related challenges identified by the fireworks vendor, only a very short display was presented. J&M displays the fireworks vendor had acknowledged that the show was not delivered as planned and contracted. They have also committed to providing the city with a replacement fireworks display at no additional cost on a date selected by city officials. The city team is actively following up with the vendor to better understand the full sequence of events, confirm the appropriate next steps, and evaluate options for a potential rescheduled display, which of course won't replace July 4th, but can hopefully still honor the spirit of it at another event. While the safety decision making was appropriate, we also recognize that the communication process for spectators in the park needs to be improved. Once it became clear that no additional fireworks could be launched, information was shared through the city's social media channels. However, because of the event set up this year, we were not able to make a meaningful announcement within Soldiers Field Memorial Park itself. That created confusion for people who were on site and waiting for the show to continue, We need to improve that process going forward so that if circumstances change during a large public event, spectators receive clear and timely information in multiple ways. As we plan for future events, including any possible replacement display this year and July 4th fireworks in the future, we will review the fireworks program. vendor expectations, contingency planning, and onsite communications tools with the goal to preserve this important community tradition while improving the experience when weather, safety, and technical issues require decisions in real time. That will also help our onsite and support staff team who work so hard each year at each event. Again, we're grateful that everyone remains safe We're also grateful to the community members who came out to celebrate, to experience Rochester for organizing a strong 4th Fest, and to the many city teammates and partners who worked hard under challenging conditions. Again, the entire team understands the disappointment. They were all devastated that the fireworks failed and it was beyond their control and not the customer service they strive for every day. We will carry forward what worked well, strengthen the areas that need improvement, and deliver a better spectator communication experience for our OUR COMMUNITY GOING FORWARD AT EVENTS. SO THANK YOU FOR GIVING ME THE TIME TO ADDRESS THAT. AND AGAIN, JUST A THANK YOU TO OUR TEAMMATES. I KNOW THAT THEY WORKED AS HARD AS POSSIBLE TO DELIVER AND IT'S VERY UNFORTUNATE THAT THAT WASN'T A SUCCESS AT THE VERY END OF A GREAT DAY. THIS HAS ALREADY BEEN MENTIONED, BUT WE DO HAVE A LOT Upcoming closures, they started today. Many of you may have experienced them coming to the meeting out front. So we do have resources on our website and on the downtown construction website. We put out resources on our social media. So some of the maps can be the best way for you to see this. The closure that you see out front of the bridge is planned. from July 6th today through August 14th. They were really working hard on it today, so hopefully they get done on time more early. The trails beneath the 3rd Avenue Southeast Bridge will remain open throughout, so it's important to also look at those pedestrian routes. They are not what you're used to, but you are able to traverse that area as a pedestrian. It's just going to take you a little bit longer, as well as a little bit longer for the drivers. But we are trying to move forward with that as quickly as possible. If you were near Martin Luther King, Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Park today, also construction started today in a phased way for the many improvements that are happening there in partnership with a federal grant and some local parks referendum dollars. That should be exciting. And you can join us tomorrow, Tuesday, July 7th. THAT IS GOING TO BE 430 OUTSIDE PARKS AND REC OFFICE. THAT'S THE CITY HALL ROTUNDA, THE FRONT ENTRYWAY TO CITY HALL. WE'LL BE RECOGNIZING TWO WONDERFUL YOUNG PEOPLE, MATIAS BEGA AND OWEN PARADA FOR THEIR LIFESAVING ACTIONS. THEY'RE TWO OF OUR LIFEGUARDS. AND ALSO SAM, RED CROSS LIFEGUARD INSTRUCTOR AND A FORMER CITY OF ROCHESTER EMPLOYEE WITH THE PRESENTATION OF THE RED CROSS NATIONAL LIFESAVING AWARD. SO THAT IS EXCITING TO CELEBRATE THOSE TWO YOUNG PEOPLE. Also, coming up on July 12th, Sunday, 1 to 2 p.m., Rochester Arts Center will have a free activity at the Arts Center. You can enter at Door 23. It will be an outdoor public art walking tour, so be prepared for that. It's free and open to everyone. And July 18th, Saturday, 1 to 5 p.m. in the Public Library Auditorium. It will be game day at the library. So if you are interested in board games, card games, dice throwing, that is an opportunity for you to join with community at the Rochester Public Library. And that is all I have today.

Thank you, Administrator Zelms. Mayor Norton.

Thank you very much, Council President Schubring. I do want to say thank you to our administrator for her comprehensive explanation about what happened on the 4th. It was unfortunate, but I think part of the frustration was people not understanding, and I think you've given a very comprehensive explanation of what it was, and I appreciate the idea that we'll do better next time, because that's what it's all about. And I also want to call out Experience Rochester, as you did in RPD, for managing the event that started at 5 o'clock and went until 9.30ish. Lots of activities, lots of kids, lots of free fun for everybody out there. So it was very well attended, and I really appreciate that they made the day special, despite the little severe weather and little glitch there at the end. Couple things. First, I just wanted to share a picture here of our delegation visit to Germany. We did take 16 people from Rochester to Germany almost two weeks ago, about two weeks ago. Today we came home, I think. And it was excellent. We met with the mayor of Moosburg, Germany, which was the city that the very first sister city we had. Mayor Chuck Kazama founded that in 1983. And it has remained strong since then. You know, things slow down with the pandemic. So it's really nice to be able to reinvigorate that relationship. Very nice visit. And Then we went, and the top two pictures are from our final sister city visit, which was in Munster, which is our climate city. We had a really wonderful time there, and our two young people did us proud. At some point, we'll get that video if we can, and we'll have them come present. They just did such a special job talking about how you learn from experience attending an event like this, the things you read in the book about what happened in the war and what happened. You read about it, but until you're there, you're talking to people who have lived through, their towns have lived through these experiences and shared that it just makes history come to life. And they did a great job presenting that. It's National Park and Recreation Month in July. I posted about it a couple times, so please go out and enjoy your parks. We're very proud of our parks here in Rochester, and it's something to be proud of, so go visit one. I am taking off tomorrow evening for the Summer Board and Leadership Meeting. It's my second-to-last meeting as a member of the National League of Cities Board of Directors, so that will just be for basically the... a little bit of the 8th, the 9th, and the morning of the 10th. I'll be home on Friday. So Council President Shubring will be acting mayor while I'm gone. So just want to point that out to folks. A couple other comments. I'm going to hand out two reports. And then when they get to the end, any extras can be left for whomever might want them. and we may need to make extra copies. They look the same, but if you look on them, they are demographic information about our boards and commissions. And one is on the ones that I have appointment recommendations for. I make the appointments. And the other is for the four others. It includes the ones I do and the four others to show you a little bit about what our boards and commissions look like. We did a demographic survey in 2022. I was really proud of the results at that time. I will say during that time, right before that happened, we lost the Diversity Council here in Rochester. And we had the pandemic, of course, you know, at the beginning during 2020 and 2021. And we are not doing quite as well right now on having boards and commissions that represent the community. And part of that is really struggling despite the fact that we send out our notices publicly to the news media. We also send them to many organizations in the community. I feel like they're either two things are happening. Either they're not getting out to a broader audience. swath of the community, or they're getting out and people just aren't feeling comfortable serving on a board and commission right now, which is possible as well. So if you just briefly, I'm not going to go through the whole report. We have about 125 members. You can see here, most of our committees have roughly, you know, seven, eight, nine members on them. We did, we had, Quentin, how many? 72 results out of like say the hundred and twenty or so that we had so not as high as I had hoped Quentin is our city mayor's Office intern and he's been doing the work on this so I want to call him out and thank him for his help So you can see a little bit I will say some of, I can just tell from who filled out the applications, some of folks who are people in some of the underrepresented groups did not fill out the application and it is completely voluntary and I want you to know that as you look at it. But what we found is 12% of our board and commission members have a different race or ethnic background from the majority community. That's down probably about 10% from where we were before, which is somewhat concerning. And I'm hoping in my call to the community and my call to my colleagues here at the table is I ask you to encourage people and share the information about boards and commission openings to a wide swath of the community to try to help. and the diversity councils really missed because they were the ones that helped us get it out. The other groups we're still sending it to, they're not sharing it. You can see information on gender identity, we're a little heavy on male participants, the right word, and you can see we have listed religious identity, the age ranges, Is English your first language? 8% said no. Is the U.S. your country of origin? 12% said no, yes, sorry, no, no. U.S. was not their country of origin. And then it had a question about physical, mental, and emotional conditions that might affect their ability to work or serve, and 10% said they had such a condition and then we have the socioeconomic so we've done this two times for you one is just overall they're not terribly different but I wanted to look at that and the other is specific to the ones that come through me and that you you see here so just want to provide that information since we did it in 2022 that you're also getting in 2025 And the last two things are just really quick I want to let you know that we did receive that grant for the village co-op They are now out at Cascade Lake on Tuesdays And that's from 4 to 7 p.m. And the the second group is at MLK Park and as was just mentioned MLK Park is under construction so they're actually on AS YOU HEAD DOWN CENTER STREET TOWARD THE FEDERAL MEDICAL CENTER, THEY'RE IN THE PARKING LOT ON THE LEFT SIDE RIGHT NOW UNTIL MLK PARK IS COMPLETED. LASTLY, I WANTED TO THANK A COUPLE OF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS HERE AND THE COMMUNITY FOR SHOWING UP FOR THE AMERICA 250 BIKE RIDE. WE HAD A NICE TURNOUT. WE LEARNED A FEW THINGS BUT OVERALL I WOULD SAY IT WAS OVERALL I WOULD SAY IT WAS SUCCESSFUL. SUCCESSFUL. ONE DISAPPOINTMENT I HEARD FROM ONE DISAPPOINTMENT I HEARD FROM SOME FOLKS IS BECAUSE IT WAS SO SOME FOLKS IS BECAUSE IT WAS SO SEPARATE FROM THE PARADE ITSELF, SEPARATE FROM THE PARADE ITSELF, THERE WEREN'T PEOPLE ON THE THERE WEREN'T PEOPLE ON THE PARADE ROUTE TO CHEER THEM ON AND PARADE ROUTE TO CHEER THEM ON AND CLAP AND THEY WERE DISAPPOINTED CLAP AND THEY WERE DISAPPOINTED BECAUSE THEY DECORATED THEIR BECAUSE THEY DECORATED THEIR BIKES AND WANTED SOMEONE TO Hopefully next year we can work with Rochester Fest and make it closer to the actual time of the parade. At least I've heard from several of my colleagues there's an interest in continuing that in the coming years. We had 150 registrants. I don't know how many actually went in the parade, but that was a good turnout and their parents, of course, were there to cheer them on. So that's it.

Great. Thank you, Mayor Norton. And I also I want to thank first Council Member Wall for stepping in as acting council president when the mayor and I were away at our sister cities tour in Germany, which, as she said, was a very valuable and rewarding experience. And I do believe we will hear from her. the young people that attended the tour with us at a future council meeting. But Council Member Wall has a special presentation to give.

Thank you. During the time that I was acting mayor and acting council president, I had the great good pleasure to speak for the city in welcoming the Special Olympians at the 2026 Law Enforcement Torch Run Final Leg for the Special Olympics. And they give a little gift to the city, a medal, and I am pleased to pass that on to the mayor and to the city. Thank you.

All right, moving on to our order of the agenda. I have not received any changes to the agenda. Is there a motion to approve the agenda? Moved by Council Member Fredericks. Seconded by Council Member Wall. All in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed say nay. Motion passes. Moving on to our consent agenda. I have not received any pulled items. Is that correct? I do have one item. Council Member Doering plans to vote nay on item F18.

Yep, F18 is the resolution authorizing the sale of general obligation sales tax revenue bonds for the construction of the regional sports and recreational complex. I continue to hope that this project goes well, but in good faith, I can't vote for this item as I don't feel like it reflects the desires of the vast majority of our community.

Thank you, Council Member. With that, is there a motion to approve the entire consent agenda? Moved by Council Member Fredericks. Second. Seconded by Council Member Miller. Council Member Wall, you have a note on the consent agenda?

Yes, we're awarding two contracts tonight for $1.89 million. Unfortunately, the first time I have reported that it's actually over the engineer's estimate, the two projects come in about 6.8% over. I will say, however, that they are within the budgets that were presented for the projects. So we're in good shape. It's just the first time that the bidding process hasn't served us quite as well as it has for months. Thank you.

With that, all in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed say nay. Motion passes with Council Member Doering voting nay on item F18. Moving on to our public hearings, we have four public hearings on our agenda this evening. Before we begin the public hearings, a moment to clarify the process, which is a little different than our public comment period. First, staff will introduce or make a presentation on the item. And then if there is an applicant or an applicant representative, they will have up to 10 minutes to discuss the item. After that, I will open the public. hearing. Members of the public have up to five minutes each and are encouraged to be concise and also discuss the project, the item itself. I will close the public hearing and then after that the applicant will have up to five minutes to answer any questions that came up during the public hearing or add final comments AND AFTER THAT, I WILL INVITE MY COLLEAGUES TO ASK QUESTIONS OF BOTH STAFF AND THE APPLICANT. SO WITH THAT, WE HAVE ITEM G1, WHICH IS A FINAL PLAT BY PULLEY HOMES OF MINNESOTA LLC TO BE KNOWN AS DELL WEBB SOLE HOUSE. MR. ELLIOTT MOLLER.

Good evening, Council President, members of the Council, Mayor Elliot Muller with Rochester Community Development. So tonight for the applicant, Pulte Homes of Minnesota LLC is requesting approval of final plat number CD2026011 plat to be known as Del Webb Soul House for the subdivision of 69 residential lots on 29 acres of land. The site is located southwest of the intersection of Country Club Road Southwest and 45th Avenue Southwest. Previous approvals by council include the annexation of 120 acres on September 8th, 2025, and approval of the major land subdivision on December 10th, 2025. The approved major land subdivision proposes a subdivision of overall 140 acres of land into 300 residential single-family lots. So this is going to be a phased development. And then tonight, the development review team is recommending approval with five conditions of final plat, CD 2026-011 plat. That's it for your questions.

Thank you, Mr. Moeller. Is there a representative of Pulte Homes here? PLEASE STEP FORWARD AND STATE YOUR NAME, AND YOU HAVE UP TO TEN MINUTES.

CHAD ONSGARD, PULLEY HOMES. I REALLY DON'T HAVE A PRESENTATION, BUT I COULD JUST STAND FOR ANY QUESTIONS.

WE'LL INVITE YOU BACK UP AFTER THE PUBLIC HEARING.

THAT'S GOOD.

WITH THAT, I WILL OPEN THE PUBLIC HEARING, AND WE HAVE JACOB BOLDEN.

Good evening.

I just wanted to ask questions about the development going in. You know, my understanding is that there's over 300 homes going into this development. And my questions for the developers is whether or not there have been, well, my understanding is that there have been traffic analysis of how these will impact the residents currently living there. I think probably coming off of 45th there, off of Country Club. You know, the houses that currently use that road are probably numbered 40 to 50, and we're talking about adding 300 there. Right now, at that intersection, there's no dedicated left turn lane. The speed limit's 45 miles an hour. And if you're coming from the west, it's pretty much coming off of a pretty narrow blind turn there. And what people currently do is they speed around in the right-hand turn lane, which then immediately stops at that intersection. SO MY QUESTION IS WHETHER OR NOT A TRAFFIC ANALYSIS HAS BEEN DONE, WHAT ITS FINDINGS WERE, AND WHETHER OR NOT A DEDICATED LEFT HAND TURN LANE WILL NEED TO BE PLACED THERE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.

THANK YOU. THIS IS A PUBLIC HEARING. ANYONE ELSE WISHING TO BE HEARD ON THIS ITEM PLEASE STEP FORWARD. Anyone else wishing to be heard on this item, please step forward. Seeing no one, I will close the public hearing and invite our representative from Pulte to step forward and address the questions that came up during the public hearing.

Thank you. The city may have a better response on the traffic study.

I don't know if... Mr. Moeller?

Yeah, so again, it's phased with the first access being off of 45th Avenue Southwest. As they gradually add more and more homes, there will be secondary access off of 8th Avenue, or 8th Street. I guess I defer to Public Works on the outcome of that traffic study.

Mr. Demborowski?

Yeah, good evening, Mayor, President, members of the Council. So the consultant did need to perform a traffic study for this project. There are conditions that were attached to the traffic study related to pedestrian facilities, access points along the county's, County State 8, Highway 34, Country Club Road, and then 45th Avenue, and the longer-term design identified that as a local collector. The county is reconstructing 34 in phases so they would address any intersection improvements necessary at the intersection of 45th and 34 with their project Here in the very near term that isn't a requirement for this development And that project will happen Much sooner than the full build out the full phased build out of the del web project that you're seeing tonight

Thank you. Anything in addition to add in your closing? Nope. You can sit. Councilmembers, questions for staff or the applicant? Councilmember Keene.

Yeah, I just, again, I know we do a lot of these with conditions, but I note that recording the final plat will, stormwater management, civil and grading plans shall be approved prior to this, but can you just explain to me the idea of doing the final plat with the condition versus waiting for the grading plan to be done?

Yeah, so thank you, Council Member King. You are correct that typically we do have that as a record, or excuse me, a condition prior to submitting the final plat. In this instance, they've worked closely, the applicant has worked closely with our Public Works Department and they were amenable to changing this to be a condition of approval for the final plat as opposed to prior to recording the final plat as opposed to the normal way that we typically do that. So it's far enough along that our Public Works team is comfortable.

Can Public Works make a comment on this? Just because this was a big part when we were first looking at this and all the worries about the stormwater management. I just needed some comfort that this is going to be covered correctly, that there's going to be no impacts off of the property.

Yeah, correct. The applicant, the developer here, as part of the stormwater management, they're treating a number of offsite drainage through their site, making sure that they're providing the water quality treatment, not only for their development, but the abutting drainage that flows through here to that creek that will be improved with a DNR project in the future. So as part of the grading and stormwater management plan review, we've been through that. It's been reviewed and we're comfortable with this approach.

Okay, thank you. Any further questions? Is there a motion on this item?

I'll make a motion. Approving final plat number CD2026-011-PLAT by Pulte Homes and Minnesota LLC to be known as Del Webb Soul House. Adopting a resolution approving final plat number CD2026-0026. excuse me, 011PLAT by Pulte Homes of Minnesota LLC to be known as Del Webb Soul House, hopefully I'm pronouncing that right, with five conditions for the subdivision of 29 acres of land into 69 residential lots. Second.

A motion made by Council Member Fredericks, seconded by Council Member Palmer. Anything more to add, Council Member Fredericks?

No, happy to see the development going. Thank you for contributing to our city.

Council Member Palmer. All in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed say nay. Motion passes. Moving on to item G2, which is a final plat by Bildwald Minnesota Inc. to be known as London Brook Ponds. Mr. Moeller.

Thank You council president members of the council mayor Elliot Miller community development The applicant build wealth, Minnesota Inc is requesting approval final plat number CD 2026 0 1 2 plat to be known as London Brook ponds for the subdivision of six point two five acres of land Into 18 residential lots and four out lots the proposed out lots associated with the platter said it will be set aside for future phases and subdivision of land The proposed out lots, or excuse me, the site is located 250 feet south of 8 1⁄2 Street southeast and south of 16th Avenue southeast. And the major land subdivision for this project was approved by council on May 5th, 2025. And that whole major land subdivision proposes the subdivision of 6.25 acres of land into 50 residential lots and associated community uses. On October 20th, 2025, the council had adopted a resolution approving the contribution of funds to support the project through the home ownership creation program. And then tonight the development review team is recommending approval of final plat number CD2026012 plat with four conditions.

Thank you, Mr. Moeller. Is there a representative of the applicant here? Please step forward, state your name, and you have up to 10 minutes.

I won't need that. Mark Walter, G-Cubed Engineering. I'm here really to answer any questions the public may bring up or any questions you may have.

Thank you. This is a public hearing. Anyone wishing to be heard on this item, please step forward. Anyone wishing to be heard on this item, please step forward. Seeing no one, I will close the public hearing and invite our applicant back up to address any closing comments.

Sure, I'll start with the four conditions of approval are all acceptable, so we're ready to start checking those boxes off and move forward.

Great. Questions, council members? Is there a motion on this item?

I'll make a motion.

Go ahead, council member.

Final plat number CD2026-012PLAT by Build Wealth Minnesota Incorporated to be known as London Brook Ponds. Adopting a resolution approving the final plat number CD2026-012PLAT with four conditions by Build Wealth Minnesota Incorporated to be known as London Brook Ponds.

Motion made by council member Frederick, seconded by council member Palmer, Council Member Fredericks, any more to add? Council Member Palmer? Seeing none, all in favor say aye.

Aye.

Opposed say nay. Motion passes. Next up we have G3, which is a final plat by Mayo Woodlands LLC, Mr. Desmond McGill.

Thank you, President Shubring. Members of the Council, good evening. I'm Desmond McGill, Community Development. I'll be introducing this item for you. This is a request for final plot approval for the preserve at Mayo Wood, second edition. This site is located north of the intersection of Abigail Lane, southwest, and Mayo Wood Road, southwest. The applicant is Mayo Woodlands, LLC. This final plot consists of 21 lots on 7.3 acres. The preserve at Mayo Wood final plot was approved in November 23. This subject site is outlot C and D of that previously approved plat. The total number of lots on this final plat has been reduced from two two units from the approved preliminary plat major land subdivision all homes front onto rita drive southwest which is that east to west running street it is a private residential local road and the development review committee is recommending that council approve the subject final plat this concludes my introduction i'd be happy to answer any questions that the council may have

Thank you, Mr. McGill. Is there a representative of Mayo Woodlands here? Mr. Welch, come forward.

Mr. Welch, G-Cubed Engineering. I'm here to answer any questions the public may bring up or you may have on this one. This is just the next portion of a phase development. It's been going a little slower, but very successfully.

Thank you. This is a public hearing. I have Tiki Garcia, who would like to speak on this item.

Good evening, President Shubring, Mayor Norton, and Rochester City Council. We have a dire message from community members. The Mayawood Road north side bike path loop exists on previous active transit plans as a continuous loop on the north side of Mayawood Road. It has been partially completed for decades with a recent safe extension behind the stone wall at Preserve of Mayawood. Since pathway planning is required when city developments are proposed, we ask that President Carlson's previous recommendation to continue the north side bike path loop behind the stone barn, thereby safely separating pedestrian and traffic, be implemented. Instead, As been previously documented, the event center easement was privatized before the UDC meeting where the developer himself held the pen and created his own outsourced preserves pathway design. As the city council has been previously informed, The G-cubed engineering study for the pathway directing pedestrians and bikers across a busy Maywood Road County Highway 125 was flawed, inaccurate, and in direct contrast to a pre-existing engineering study that deemed a south side path was not feasible and dangerous. An obvious conflict of interest exists, since the G-Cubed engineering firm is a member of the preserve's development. The topography has not changed. There are earth-fed streams with a 100-year-old aqueduct to direct the water. In addition, there is a very steep, sharp, blind curve near the stone barn, which changes elevation abruptly in a blind, steep driveway. Cars miss the curve, rocketing across the route of the proposed pathway. Visibility is extremely limited, and as per CEMCIL, the proposed path is not ADA compliant. This is clearly not a city sidewalk. It is a path sending people across a dangerous highway. Pathway development is in perpetuity. We, the taxpayers, do not consent to paying the cost of maintenance and extreme cost of liability on this developer-designed pathway, which connects his same-side businesses, he is planning on developing the Biermann House into a restaurant, and for which the permitting has failed to pass at this time. Joe Powers and heirs must retain in perpetuity the cost for maintenance and responsibility for liability and not be allowed to quick claim deed it backed the taxpayers as per the precedent set with the green space in the preserve's development. The right-of-way needs to be maintained for future road traffic utilization as predicated by the size of this large development and impact on the road. The legacy of this popular bike path loop rests in the hands of the council. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Garcia.

This is... May I add for everyone here?

Actually, your time is up.

Thank you.

Thank you. This is a public hearing. Anyone wishing to be heard on this item, please step forward. Anyone wishing to be heard on this item, please step forward, state your name, and you have up to five minutes.

Thank you. I'm Molly Dennis, and I wasn't going to speak on this, but after hearing, I remember this when I was on the city council, and there was photos brought, and I walked that route, and I looked at the safety issues that were there, spent a lot of time on this issue when I was on the city council, and I hope all of you, if you're voting for these and all the things that you have been doing, to those sites and have looked at what possible dangers this could do to our community. Children would be in danger. You look at ADA, all the things that were just said. I wish that the previous speaker could have continued. This is really important. And if you have not been there, if you have not seen what is being done, I ask you to table this item so that you can come back and spend some time looking at what is going to happen if you vote to not have the safety on this area. OF ROCHESTER. I WANTED TO ALSO THROW IN I WANTED TO ALSO THROW IN PUBLIC OPEN COMMENT AND THINGS LIKE PUBLIC OPEN COMMENT AND THINGS LIKE THAT. THAT. PEOPLE NEED TO HAVE ABILITY TO PEOPLE NEED TO HAVE ABILITY TO SPEAK. SPEAK. MS. DENNIS, YOU HAVE TO MS. DENNIS, YOU HAVE TO I'M ON THIS TOPIC. I'M ON THIS TOPIC. What we're doing here is not allowing people to be informed and knowing what's happening by just having the staff and people coming in and not having the people who are making the policy walk and be part of this decision. So I just ask you for the safety of children, the safety of people with many different abilities, and just for the well-being of our community that you either know exactly what you're voting on and you have been there or you table it and find out.

Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Dennis. This is a public hearing. Anyone wishing to be heard on this item, please step forward, state your name, and you have up to five minutes.

John Creasel. I wasn't gonna speak on this topic, but I feel compelled. A good friend of mine was one of the first people that died on that dangerous road as relates to the stone barns, between the stone barns in the Bierman House. His name was David Dollaf. He wasn't real familiar with that road and was on a motorcycle and it wasn't speed related. It just came upon that abrupt turn. and was killed there. I wish the Mailwood family, some of them, were here tonight to reflect about that dangerous road, especially west of the stone barns. To be able to effectively deal with that as traffic will increase, will only create a very serious element for anybody walking, jogging, trying to ride a bicycle. You know, when I bring up riding a bicycle, I would expect maybe something for you to say, Nick. It needs to be public safety first. It goes beyond tax base. And on the north side of the road is the only element necessary to make it safely for people that live in that area. So I would encourage you to have restraint. If you have to table this until you get some other input as it relates to the increase in traffic and therefore addressing the safety of the people that live in that area, I would compliment you.

Thank you, Mr. Creasel. This is a public hearing. Anyone wishing to be heard on this item, please step forward. Anyone wishing to be heard on this item, please step forward. Seeing no one, I will close the public hearing and invite Mr. Welch back up to address issues.

The first Kiki had a lot of information that was incorrect. I've never heard of the Biermann House being proposed as a restaurant. The green space that was dedicated within the subdivision is public parkland. Anybody that's coming along and when they get to the southeast corner of the subdivision can take that pathway up to the parkland. The parkland has not been improved with playground equipment or anything, but there is, I think, funding in place for that to be taking place sometime real soon. Going back to when we did this general development plan, there has always been a want, a need to get a pathway extended across this property all the way down to the Olmstead County bridge. And one of the issues is this is an Olmstead County road, not a city road. So we had put together a plan and ran into a lot of obstructions. Some of them are the monoliths that if you drive along the road you'll find those old buffalo fencing I guess. Those monoliths are on the south side and that is a location where we would have to narrow up to a five foot sidewalk or the 10 foot pathway would likely mean those have to be removed. There hasn't been a discussion or any kind of an agreement that says that we can remove those. We've been trying to work around those. There's also electrical box, there's other ownership, and the developer's responsibility is outlined in the development agreement, and I know that it's going to be held to to get that constructed as soon as we possibly can once we get some agreements with Elmstead County, and we'll probably have to lean on the city also to come to the table to how do we work through some of those items. But we did construct the pathway across that first south portion that goes right to the driveway of the access to the stone barns. That crossing will go across the road to the south. That is a straightaway that has the best visibility. If we could put some kind of tabletop or something in there, that would slow traffic down, which is what really needs to happen out there. A lot of the motorcycles that come through there are racing. I've been out there before and they're doing wheelies once they get through the curves and the only way you'll slow that down is something that is pretty much unsafe for the motorcycles. I don't think the county will approve any kind of tabletop. The city staff might know more on that one too, but we do have a location that is a safe for sight distance on the straightaway to get everybody to the south side. From the south side, as we continue up past what we call the White Gables House, and through those curves, the pathway would be on the south side, continuing all the way across over to about the location of the Bierman House. That's another location where we thought, well, there's like three different options we put together. Two of them don't meet the ADA standards for a pathway. The third option would kick the traffic back out over to the actual edge of the road where we've actually proposed the possibility of doing a curb and then having it elevated like a sidewalk, except there'd be no space for a boulevard because there's no room between where there's stone wall and where the curb would be. And so those are some of the items that we have on the table. There's been a couple reviews by city staff, nothing within the last year, but we're going to need to take it back to city staff and the county. I actually had a meeting, it was tentatively scheduled in early June to meet with county staff, and I unfortunately had to reschedule it, and we haven't had a chance to get back to the table to discuss what can we do through this area. One update that Public Works might be aware of now, but there's one neighbor that we were asking if we could get more easement area. We finally did get a definitive response, which was hell no. So, we will have to work within the area right away that the county has on that. Anybody that thinks that the pathway can be built on the north side, if you go out there, you will see that there's these stone barns walls are in the way for that. In order to build a pathway along the road, it would require some type of retain wall and removing all of those stone walls that are out there. Other items that were discussed just want to make everybody aware again that the development agreement is clear that this pathway is required by the developer along their property that they have control of. There is property we do not have control of but we have talked to one nice neighbor to the south that has offered to grant the easement to get that pathway along that stretch as long as it's not to his cost and he is not in the City of Rochester and we've agreed to do whatever we can to get that easement from him. The other items will, again, like I said, work out with the county and the city. So, I don't think this is the location to hold up the project over the pathway. We are working on it, and there is a development agreement that they can hold up the next final plat until that is worked out and is constructed. So, I'm here to answer any questions you may have specific to the neighbor's questions or the project.

Thank you. Mr. Dombrowski, any more to add to that?

No, Mr. Welch has very accurately described the development agreement does obligate the developer to construct the path. And what we originally evaluated as part of the first phases of development was, as he described, you cross Millwood Road and run along the south side of Millwood Road towards the bridge at the dam.

Thank you. Council members, any questions? Council Member Keene.

Yeah, question just for city engineering. Just to clarify, just to clarify, the development agreement outlines the responsibility on the developer's property, not on the other private property? Or is there an agreement that something will connect on other people's property?

It obligates them to get it to the bridge.

Oh, it does obligate? Okay, and that could be on with the county or with private property?

Within county right-of-way or if they can negotiate easement to construct on private property. Okay, thank you.

Patrick, I'll add to that. We've been working with a couple of neighbors hoping to be able to find a location for that pathway so we don't have to be within the county right away because if we're in the county right away, there's areas that even though some of the old stone walls would have to come out to be removed. And so we had found an alignment on one of the adjacent neighbors that would help kind of provide more area, kind of keep it in the tree areas and not right up against the edge of the existing bituminous.

Thank you for that, but I think I heard you saying, though, that we've also been blocked on some of that private property.

Well, yeah, there's one location on the corner that, because of a driveway that's going up a hill and the curve is dropping, we're going to have a hard time making that perfectly ADA compliant unless we narrow that down, which is a possibility, narrow it down to like a five-foot more of a sidewalk with a 5% ramp for a stretch to tie back out.

Okay, thank you. Council Member Miller.

Just a question for Public Works. Mr. Welch brought up the idea of potentially a raised crossing a tabletop. Can you discuss what the county's policy is that would prevent that?

Yeah, the county, you know, within our team, we'd obviously support those sort of traffic calming efforts. But the county, the speed, the design speed, the posted speed out there, it's 40 miles per hour. That's not going to meet a 40 mile per hour design speed if you add the speed table. So they... I can't speak for the county, but I can tell you I don't think they're going to be supportive of that sort of improvement.

And is it true that the county does not have a complete streets policy that would consider non-motorized users?

That's true.

Okay. And so for a similar project, we are currently taking ownership of 18th Avenue Southwest and upgrading that street to city standards at great cost to accommodate other uses because the lack of the county policy. Is that correct?

Yeah, I mean, that's a coordination project that's going to be turned back, and we want to make sure before we take it on and the obligation to not only maintain it, but it needs to meet our standards. So that's why we're doing that project.

Thank you. And I guess a question for the city attorney. As far as this process, can you talk about the stage of the development process that we're in? I know there have been asks to hold this up. Would there be any finding to hold this up?

COUNCILMEMBER MILLER, I CAN ANSWER THAT. I'M NOT AWARE OF AN APPLICABLE FINDING. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN MORE APPROPRIATE AT THE GDP OR THE PRELIMINARY PLAT THAN IT IS AT THE FINAL PLAT STAGE.

THANK YOU.

I just have a quick question and it's really about one of the conditions and it's about the second condition which says building permit applications located within the special flood hazard area will not be approved until letter of map revision based on fill has been approved by FEMA. Is this type of condition usual that you wouldn't on a flood plain?

In this situation, yeah, so there's different processes to bring a property to show that it's high and dry when the houses are built. In this situation, it's best to actually plot the lots, then we write a legal description showing that we've graded those lots, specific locations within those lots high and dry for the houses to be built. So, after the plot is recorded, we will then file that with FEMA. FEMA will send a letter back saying that, okay, everything looks good, you're well above the flood elevation, and that way then, when they actually build the house, we can go out there and do a certification to show that the house was built high enough that it's not gonna be subject to any potential for flooding. And so with the grading that was previously done, that was compensatory storage, that was all done as part of the first phase, but we couldn't do that flood hazard checklist item of doing that described legal without being a meets and bounds that wouldn't tie back to these lots that are being created now. So it's just a sequencing, but it was exactly what we had to do for some of the lots in the first phase.

Any further discussion on this? Is there a motion on this item?

I'll make a motion. Adopting a resolution approving final plat number CD2026-013PLIT by Maywood Lands LLC to be known as Preserve of Maywood Second Edition with three conditions for the subdivision of 7.34 acres of land into 21 residential lots.

Motion made by Council Member Frederick. Second. Seconded by Council Member Keene. Any further comments? Council Member Keene.

No, I guess I'll just for historic, but we spent a lot of time on this back at the general development plan on how to get this to work and we could not come up with it. And what I remember, and again, this is from memory, was that we can hold the developer to responsibility on the land they're developing, but not pass that or not through their land. And that's where we looked for other options and hopefully we'll make some progress on those. Council Member Wall.

I used to live just off the southeast corner of the screen and used that road a lot. Walked to the bridge, walked to the mansion, walked to Maywood Stone Barn, biked it. I did motorcycle it quite a bit as well. Also drove it. And I can appreciate some of the difficulties. Sometimes cars would appear pretty fast around that sharp corner. But it sounds to me like it's more of a county problem. It's a county road. How can we work with the county to ensure greater safety on a road that probably never was built for pedestrians or bicyclists? That's a conundrum.

Councilmember Miller.

Yeah, and I guess just to add context here, one of the ways that we do work with the county is through ROCOG, and there are five seats at the ROCOG board, which is the largest number for any represented body, but not a majority of that board. And during last year's safety action plan process, I asked over and over, for a recommendation from that safety action plan that the county adopted complete streets policy exactly for these types of situations and there was not a majority in favor of that largely from other members of the board and Ultimately, that was not adopted. That wouldn't fix this situation because the road is already built, but it would have driven improvements and focus on it. I'm very sympathetic to the speakers tonight who are concerned about this. I'm concerned about it. I have ridden that many times and it's part of the Med City Meander bike ride, which has now had three years along that stretch with large numbers of users. My 11-year-old daughter has joined us on that ride. And I wish that we could fix this tonight. This is not the step of the development process that we can. And I'm committed to continuing to work on it with the county and to continue to elevate these issues. And I appreciate you all speaking tonight.

Thank you, Council Member. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all in favor say aye.

Aye.

Oppose say nay. Motion passes. Our final public hearing tonight, G4, is a vacation petition by Bigelow Homes. Mr. McGill.

Thank you, Council President Schubring, members of the Council, good evening again. I'll be introducing this item. This is a request for a vacation of a public utility and drainage easement within the Ridgeview 6 subdivision. The applicant is Bigelow Homes. The easement is located at 5476 and 5460 Ridgeway Drive. The existing easement is 20 feet in width and 120 feet long. It's located along the common property line of lot five and four of Ridge U6 subdivision. The final platform for this development was approved in 2017. When the residence of lot five was constructed in 2017, the development plans THE HOUSE THREE FEET INTO THE SUBJECT EASEMENT AND THE SUBJECT EASEMENT AND THE APPLICANT HAS RECENTLY REACHED OUT APPLICANT HAS RECENTLY REACHED OUT TO THE CITY TO DISCUSS THIS TO THE CITY TO DISCUSS THIS ENCROACHMENT. ENCROACHMENT. AT THAT TIME IT WAS DETERMINED AT THAT TIME IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THERE WERE NO UTILITIES IN THAT THERE WERE NO UTILITIES IN THE EASEMENT AND ACCESS TO THE THE EASEMENT AND ACCESS TO THE RETENTION POND TO THE SOUTH COULD RETENTION POND TO THE SOUTH COULD BE ADDRESSED AT OTHER LOCATIONS. Utility providers have not raised any concerns about the proposed removal of this easement and none have identified a need for this easement for future services. So as such, the easement is subject and eligible for vacation. And that concludes my presentation.

I'd be happy to answer any questions that the council may have thank you Thank You mr. Miguel is there a representative of Bigelow homes here? Please step forward identify yourself and you have up to ten minutes, but you do not have to use them all

Good evening. My name is Ryan Schoenfeld, WSC Engineering. We worked with Public Works on this. Whether the best route is a revocable permit or this vacation, they said the vacation would be the best route since it's not used by them for access. So happy to answer any questions that you guys have during the discussion. Thank you.

Thank you. This is a public hearing. Anyone wishing to be heard on this item, please step forward. This is a public hearing. Anyone wishing to be heard on this item, please step forward. Seeing no one, I will close the public hearing and invite Mr. Schoenfeller back up for any closing comments.

Just happy to answer questions if there are any.

Questions, council members? For the applicant or staff. Seeing none, you may sit down. Is there a motion on this item?

I'll move to adopt a resolution approving the vacation petition CD 2026-005VAC by Bigelow Homes to vacate a 20-foot wide public drainage and utility easement approximately located on 5476 and 5460 Ridgeway Drive Northwest. Second.

A motion made by Councilmember Keene, seconded by Councilmember Doering. Any further comments?

Makes perfect sense.

Thank you. All in favor, say aye. Aye. Opposed, say nay. Motion passes. Moving on to our reports and recommendations. H1, we have a contract award, Management and Operations of Transit Services. And I invite Ms. Rachel Faust to step forward and make your presentation.

Great. Good evening, Mayor and Council Members. Rachel Fouch, Transit and Parking Director for the City of Rochester. This evening we're seeking approval of our proposed contractor for the management of operations and transit services. But before we get started, I do want to issue a thank you to the Rochester public transit team on the work that they've done putting together this proposal and working with our proposed contractor as well, but also the evaluation committee and the interview team. that got us here. It's been quite a process, and I just wanted to send out some thank yous to everyone. So as a reminder, this contract will cover all of the modes of Rochester public transit, which are fixed route. We have around 21 routes right now that we use as we travel throughout the city, and that encompasses about 549 trips every day, Monday through Friday. Our paratransit service has an average of around 4,000 riders a month, and paratransit consists of any rider who is a physical or mental disability to prevent them from riding our traditional bus service. And our upcoming Link BRT, maybe you've heard of it, there's some construction right outside, maybe that bridge closure. So that is our high frequency service that will travel up and down the Second Street corridor, coming soon to a roadway near you in the summer of 2027. And in addition, we have the maintenance as a component of this contract. And that includes city equipment. City equipment is owned by the city. So the buses, the shop tools are all owned by the city. And so the maintenance component is for labor. Great. So let's talk about the selection process. We had the RFP went out in December. And that was open until February for individuals to be able, companies to be able to submit for the RFP. We had five companies submit for that. The evaluation process, we had six city teammates, diverse backgrounds throughout many departments within city, not just transit-related individuals, so we could have a well-rounded approach to the evaluation process. And that was composed of looking at the staffing plan, the transition approach, the operations and maintenance components, and the value-add portion of the submittals. And so value-add for us really looked and focused on that innovation. for what above and beyond could these potential proposing companies bring to the table that had them stand out. So that was a separate area of evaluation. Three of those companies that submitted did move on to interviews, so they scored within the competitive range. So you can see a delineation within the points that pushed them to the top and moved them on to interviews. And our interview group was much larger and encompassed not only additional city teammates, but some Mayo teammates as well, to really get a good perspective on what we're looking for in terms of operations, especially with our upcoming link project that is in collaboration and agreement with our Mayo partners. So after final review and final scoring and the interview process, Via Transit was selected. They really stood out with their level of high amount of innovation, strong use of technology and data, and something that I say to myself and to my team on a pretty regular basis is that we're a data-driven department that focuses on people. And so we have to make thought-out decisions that do still support the community needs, and so we're really excited about this approach that Via brought. Additionally, they're an incredibly passionate team that wants to be part of the city and wants to be part of our public engagement process. So all of those components really had them stand out in comparative to the other submitters for this process. And their initial term is five years with just under $78 million for that five-year term. But as a reminder, that's for the entirety of those five years and does include a new mode with LINC coming online. We do have the option for renewal for up to five years at the end of that initial five-year term. Upon evaluation and looking at the submittal, we did look at the opportunity to bring maintenance in-house and have it run entirely by the city or have the operator continue to manage our maintenance component of our contract as they do right now. And again, that labor for operator provides for maintenance is labor, but also warranty management. This is a component that FTA really looks at. Like, are we utilizing their resources wisely in our transit system? So we really need that warranty managed well. And in addition to that, just monthly reporting that is a requirement through their contract and for our MnDOT and FDA partners as well. So after all of that process, we did decide to maintain maintenance with our operator. There is a projected cost savings for the city of Rochester. If we were to bring these services in-house, our estimated annual cost for the first year of the contract would be just over a million dollars to run maintenance in-house, utilizing via transportation, it's around $600,000 to have them manage our maintenance operations. Additionally, having an operator that's in the field with over 175 locations is a great asset in terms of knowledge and industry contacts, and so that is considered a value add to me and my team as we evaluated that. And it will also help ease the transition. There's a lot of things that are going to be changing over the next couple of months, and maintaining operations of maintenance with our operator provides minimal transition fatigue with our maintenance staff. However, our contract does allow that any time within that initial five-year term, we can decide to bring maintenance in-house if the decision is made to do that. So what will this transition process look like? I'm sure a lot of people have been asking those questions. So when the agenda was released last Wednesday on July 1st, we did have VIA on site to be able to mitigate any questions that any of our current transit team might have. And we had two town halls that were available for the transit team to go and attend. We had pretty good attendance at those meetings, just around 40 of our transit team And we had members from maintenance and dispatch, paratransit and fixed route all come to that. So an opportunity for them to meet the faces of VIA and ask any initial questions before a formal decision was made. But I couldn't imagine waiting five days between when something becomes public and when council votes on it to know what's going on with the livelihood of your person. Over the next two months, actually within the next couple of weeks, VIA will start the hiring of the staff. And so any hourly or ATU employees that are currently hired and in good standing with Transdev will have the opportunity to have a short application. take a drug test and provide any necessary requirements of their job position. So if you are a driver, providing your licensor and those things. And so that process starts here in the next upcoming days. And so we haven't formally communicated that to the transit staff, but they were able to pick that information up at the town halls. And positions that aren't hourly or ATU members, they do have the opportunity to still apply through a more traditional process with VIA to maintain employment if that is their interest. So if approved this evening, VIA will begin our operator effective September 1st. And so the last day that Transdev will be over our operations would be August 31st. And that transition would happen. And then we anticipate minimal disruptions because the same drivers hopefully will be driving their same blocks with the same dispatch staff. And so with the transition, it should feel very similar, but with a different logo. on their shirts. Last week you might have heard some notice as part of a federal requirement all employees during this process had to receive what's called a WARN notice and that WARN notice does indicate they will be terminated as employees of Transdev effective August 31st. which is a truth. They will not be employed with TransDef after August 31st, but it is a federal requirement and a Minnesota requirement as well. And that on a federal level, it's with over 100 employees, but on the Minnesota level, it's over 50. So, all of the staff were notified of that, were noticed last week as well. Although scary, it is part of a requirement and provides additional employee protections. So at this time, I'd like to invite up our potential new partners in Via Transit. We have Matt Dias and also Justin Jelinek, who would be one of our on-site managers.

Welcome, gentlemen. Thank you.

Thank you.

Matt Dias, honorable mayor and council. It's a pleasure to be here. Thank you very much for having us. I'll introduce my partner in crime here, Justin Jelinek, as a director of operation and works all over the country and is a premier expert in implementing and transitioning from one vendor to another and running all sorts of mobility programs, but will be specialized here in particular. But it's an honor to be here today. We've spent the last probably year to year and a half actually being a participant in your community. Believe it or not, we've rode the buses. We've spoken with your drivers. We've experienced your snow, your wind, your rain. We've managed our way through some construction. But what all that means is we've really identified what we hope is a long-term partner for VIA. I'll give you a little bit of history on VIA. 14 years ago, we were founded by technology specialists that decided to pioneer a new way to provide public transit and transportation. There are multiple modes in transportation, as you are aware, school transportation, senior transportation, paratransit, microtransit, fixed route, and BRT. And VIA has come up with a new methodology that we're pioneering about integrating the modes on one technological platform. There are so many other parts of our lives that we experience today, whether it's online banking or riding in an airplane or renting a car. We have one sort of platform that can handle multiple trips and multiple aspects of your digital life. And so VIA has made huge strides throughout the country. We have over 900 partnerships globally. As Rachel mentioned, we have 175 in North America, and they run the gamut. Some entities we are operating and facilitating their software programs, and other entities we are marrying software and the operational component. And this is what makes Rochester a very unique opportunity for us because rarely do we see a community's values and vision, the innovation that you're bringing to Rochester, the redevelopment that's occurring, yet balancing quality of life and the needs of your residents and your small businesses. So for us, we're able to marry, I think, your technological renovation and the development plans of the community, but also the needs of your local residents to move around the community, to feel respected, and to feel served in a meaningful way. We also have some wonderful playbooks. Transitioning in this time period, it may sound daunting to you, but it's something that Justin specializes in and takes a lot of pride in working around the country. We also have a great partner right around the corner in Sioux Falls that you may or may not be aware of where we also operate multiple modes as well as the digital layer for their entire system. And so I'll just wrap up with this partnership is about commitment. VIA is incredibly honored to be here and we are committed. We are committed to bringing you a world-class transit system that's integrated for your visitors and residents alike. We are committed to continuing to improve the performance of the paratransit system, which has made some great strides lately. We're also committed to improving on-time performance, the health of your fleet. We're committed to bringing the BRT project online on time. And then VIA will bring a lot of value adds that you may or may not have heard before. We'll be heavily, heavily invested in your communications, in your marketing, in your advertising, in social media exploits, all to try to create and grow more ridership in this community, creating a more efficient system, a more cost-effective system long-term. And finally, I'll say again, marrying technological expertise with a commitment of culture and people and the individuals that operate the system every day. That's really sort of where the secret sauce is and why we're so honored to be here. Thank you very much. Justin, you want to add anything?

No, I just want to thank everyone for being here today. We're very excited at the opportunity to work with your wonderful city, again, your visitors, your residents, and especially the team at RPT as well. We definitely specialize on merging, I think, the entire rider experience, the employee experience, and tech together to make everyone's lives better on this side of this. So we're very excited to bring this to the operations here and very excited for the opportunity. Thank you all.

Thank you.

Thank you, Matt and Justin. And as they were just up here, let's talk a little bit about what we expect from the VIA team once they're on site. So no liquidated damages or incentives will be assessed in the first year to allow them an opportunity to really look at our system and make some changes. But there are some definite improvements that need to happen. And again, as a reminder, liquidated damage, which is not punitive, they're a way to kind of protect the city, but these things would not be assessed without a substantial conversation about what performance looks like before they would be even considered to be assessed. So for all of our modes, we have a consideration for 90% on time. And on time is something that will be evaluated. It's a time frame that's determined by RPT and the contractor in collaboration. 100% completed trips. As I noted, we have nearly 600 trips on a daily basis right now. And finally, for our paratransit service, we anticipate, we expect 2.4 passengers per hour. And as Matt informed me earlier today, that is the highest amount of passengers per hour that VIA would have at any of their facilities. And so we do have a higher level of expectation for what our paratransit service should be looking like. And at this time, I'll take any questions, discussions, or feedback.

Thank you, Ms. Faust. And congratulations on a very productive and successful process. I want to first just commend you on the communication and open houses that you provided starting last Wednesday. I thought that was very just showing a concern for the drivers. and uh people's livelihood so that was a a very important thing one of the questions that i have is about folding in the link brt service into this and one i i feel we're in a good place in that this new relationship is starting So we're able to get moving on our traditional service and then fold in the BRT. But I just want to hear you talk a little bit about how incorporating BRT was a part of the decision to go with VIA. Yeah.

Yeah. So, um, BRT is bus, private transit systems are relatively new across the country and via does have some experience in that realm, which definitely put them above some of our other, um, applicants in that space. Um, but one of the things that I'm sure we've seen as, as links been presented over the past, year and additional time is the high level of technology that Link will incorporate along the system. And so that's integration of tech within the pylon signs, so those digital signs that will be at the entrance, the digital signs within the centers, and the equine system, which is our cat AVL that will be on the buses. All of that is also what we utilize on the back end. And VIA obviously has a lot of experience in that tech space, but also the integration of multiple different apps. through one singular system which is really effective and has them stand out what's what's convenient about the timeline that's being presented is our buses will likely all be close to or near the end of their acceptance period for link by the time via comes online so that will get them ready to be able to evaluate those buses and be able to exercise them throughout our system and utilize them for the commissioning and testing phase of LINK that will start about six months before LINK starts and some of them that means you might see some buses rolling around the CAT AVL gets installed in the buses in October and so we we feel good about the timeline that LINK is having on bringing on this contractor so they're not coming in kind of middle of the game they're kind of coming in at the beginning as we enter commissioning and testing.

Thank you. Council members? Councilmember Miller.

Thank you. I really appreciate the presentation. I appreciate the focus on what we've talked about here at the Dyess, particularly innovation and making our transportation system, our public transit system, a service of choice, not a service of last resort. So I heard that loud and clear and I look forward to hearing that. over the implementation period, and I look forward to hearing it from community members and riders at some point. So my question is, how should we look for milestones of innovation? Obviously, integrating the new service, moving a new operator, we're not looking to redo everything all at once, but where should community members and where should we look for milestones where we measure that innovation, we start to see changes because VIA is operating the system and not Transtev?

Yeah, I think there are multiple modes of multiple modes within our modes that you could look at. And I'll start with our paratransit system. I think one of the heaviest adds to the community will be the utilization of the Via app for paratransit. It provides a really essential service. So right now our paratransit riders, as Ryan indicated, have to call in to schedule their ride. With the introduction of the app, they can be able to do that through the app. They can also apply for paratransit service through the app as well. We have made some strides in terms of like updating that app to be online and fillable, but this allows that. One of the things I think it's going to be the biggest asset to the community is actually the live vehicle tracker within the Via app. And so there is a level of HIPAA protection, but that does allow, I think it's two turns after the last pickup. If they're in a ride share situation for paratransit, it lets you track where the vehicle actually is. And that is, it's an area of a lot of confusion and nervousness when it comes to our paratransit riders and being able to provide that service is really important. But it also looks at a wide variety of accessibility skills. And so you can utilize the app, but it also can send like text message updates or even get a phone call to let you know how far away the paratransit vehicle is. So I think that is probably one of the first things that will roll out that our community will respond to. And then with our upcoming fall service change, we'll have the entire VIA team behind us. Matt did not mention this, but actually VIA does, under their umbrella is Remix, which is our transit planning app. So they already are familiar with our routes and our systems and have evaluated our current and help us when we're doing transit service changes. And so hopefully with our fall service changes, even more kind of aggressive looks at what it takes to improve our ridership throughout our our transit space, but also really improved communications, as they indicated, and public engagement.

Great. I'm really happy to hear about particularly the riders of Zips knowing more when the ride is coming and not having a window where they're expected to be out or miss their ride. I've waited with riders on very, very cold days, on awful conditions, and that is not the level of service that I would expect moving forward. So I'm really glad to hear that. Simple thing, I travel sometimes and I always try and take public transit when I'm in other cities. Might it be easier to pay for rides someday soon? Tap to pay, easier electronic payments. It feels like it's quite convoluted now. I know we have an electronic payment method, but it doesn't seem like it's as innovative as baseline for other cities.

Yeah, and I'll say that Via's app does have the ability to integrate with GenFair, which is our payment, like the boxes, the fare boxes that are on the bus are GenFair, and so the mobile payment app is through GenFair, but the Via app does have that possibility to integrate with GenFair as well.

Okay. And just to the Vita team, I'll say thank you for being here. I'm a Modeship podcast listener, and so I appreciate the way you tell stories about partnerships with communities, and I look forward to the partnership that we'll be able to build and hopefully one day hear about the story of Rochester on your podcast. Thanks.

Thank you. Council Member Doering.

I'll make the motion. to adopt a resolution awarding a contract and facilities lease with Via Transit Twin Cities LLC for operating Rochester's public transportation system. Second.

A motion made by Councilmember Doering and seconded by Councilmember Fredericks.

Yeah, I'm really excited about this opportunity doing a deep dive. I'm not nearly as nerdy as my colleague here about listening to pod shift podcasts, all that kind of stuff. But looking at records on the web, doing a deep dive, I'm really excited about this partnership. That being said, I do have high expectations that this will be a vast improvement to the ridership experience here in this community. So I wish nothing but the best, but no, we'll be paying attention.

Thank you. Council Member Wall. MS. FAUCH, YOU CONGRATULATED MANY PEOPLE FOR GETTING US TO WHERE WE ARE TONIGHT, BUT I JOIN PEOPLE ON THE DIAS IN CONGRATULATING YOU FOR YOUR GREAT LEADERSHIP AND ESPECIALLY FOR EXTENDING THE HAND OF KINDNESS THAT YOU HAVE TO THE CULTURE OF OUR ROCHESTER PUBLIC TRANSIT. THANK YOU.

THANK YOU.

THANK YOU.

COUNCIL MEMBER FREDERICKS.

I FIND IT FITTING WITH THE change of guard at the Transportation Department and you're doing a great job listening to the staff talk for the last two years and the riders. I think it's only fitting that we go a different direction and I'm glad that this is what we're doing tonight.

Mayor Norton.

There we go. So just to mirror and say I concur with the comments that have been shared here. It's been a difficult year or two or three, and we have finally, I think, moved in a direction that will make our employees happier that will make our riders happier and that will make all of us happier because we all hear the complaints. I also want to say I've had an opportunity to get to know VIA not knowing of course the process that was going on here over the past few years through some of the organizations that I'm involved in and I have found them to be innovative and creative and receptive and have done some really remarkable things in areas that we care about with the paratransit in particular we know they've done some some wonderful work and so i'm really looking forward to having them on board here in the city of rochester and and hope for good things in the year ahead so thank you and good luck in september during that transition thank you mayor

Council Member Keene.

Yeah, again, I've been watching this process for a while. I'm glad we're at the point, but I guess I just also want to call out for both, you know, for the public's thing is we're about to enter a major transition thing going on here too. This BRT is very disruptive to our fixed route. There's a lot of commotion that's going to happen in the next 18 months, both to form this and get it going, but then to have the impacts come out and what that's going to be. So I'm thinking we're getting the right people in place to deal with those kinds of problems, but I mean, I see it as a major transition over the next 18 months.

With that, all in favor say aye.

Aye.

Opposed say nay. Motion passes. Congratulations. We will take a seven-minute break. Folks, if you could please take your seats. We are at item H2, which is the DMC General State Infrastructure Aid Funds for Heart of the City Improvements and Bid Advertisement to Heart of the City First Avenue Southwest Tree Well Paver Improvements. Mr. Samson Brown.

Good evening, council president, mayor, council members. Tonight, we're here to request actions on approving use of $334,000 in DMC general state aid infrastructure funds for the heart of the city improvements, along with authorizing an advertisement for bids with a bid date bid opening date of July 28th, 2026 for the Heart of the City, First Avenue Southwest Tree Well Paver Improvement Project. This group of funding is broken up into two major efforts. One is an investigation of paver settlement and a potential leak with the snow melt system. We've requested a budget of $79,000 for that. We essentially need to do two things with that work. One, as previous paver work was happening in the summer of 2025, We identify two small diameter sinkholes in two distinct areas, indicating soil loss to a blow ground location. Our goal in the inspection of the utility pipes is to identify why we're having that soil material lost. And then the second part is, since the project has come online, it has been identified from the stone melt system, which is hydronic, that we are losing fluid. So we are looking to investigate why that is happening and eliminate that problem and stabilize the system. Second group of effort is the pedestrian surface improvements in the amount of $255,000. There are 64 tree wells located along First Avenue Southwest that are indicating uneven surfaces immediately adjacent to the tree well. So far in over a year, a test pilot of three tree wells for retrofit has been in place and has proven to show no identified settlement since they were installed. So we are confident that the method we are recommending to address the remaining tree wells will stand over time. And with that, we are requesting your approval on this item.

Thank you, Mr. Sampson-Brown. I've got a couple questions. One, this came before the DMC board on May 21st. The mayor and I sit on the DMC board and it was a difficult discussion then and one of my requests at that meeting was that we look at accountability for this issue, which is the second issue that we've addressed with the Peace Plaza, kind of looking at design and engineering and the building and maintenance. And so that was six weeks ago, and I had asked staff to look into that and hoped that we'd have more transparency on that accountability CAN YOU GIVE ME KIND OF AN ASSESSMENT OF WHAT YOU'VE LEARNED IN THE LAST SIX WEEKS?

Actually, Council President, I'll ask Deputy Administrator Steinhauser to answer that question.

Yes, thank you. Thank you for the question. It's a great question. It's something we've been asking ourselves internally. So just in order to answer that, I want to share some context. So this project, both from a design and construction perspective, involved over 16 different design engineering or construction or specialty consulting firms. as well as the project involved multiple private utilities all working within the corridor. So it's a very good question, but one that's not easy to answer. We have to go back and kind of recreate the story of decisions made along the way, given the number of entities, the complexity of the project, it's not really possible to determine in that six weeks since you asked the question who is really responsible and to understand was it a design situation, was it a material situation, was it construction means and methods, was it something involved with the way the inspection process was handled. If it was a design decision, who authorized it? Who signed off on it? If it was a material performance, what do we seek to mitigate? Was there a value engineering decision that made us alter our methodology around construction or design? IT IS A VERY COMPLEX PROJECT WITH, AS I SAID, OVER 16 FIRMS, AND THAT DOESN'T INCLUDE ALL THE SPECIALTY ONE-OFF FIRMS THAT WERE PULLED IN TO DO JUST A TIGHT COMPONENT OF A PROJECT. AND WE HAVE HAD MULTIPLE STAFF project manage it so there's been staff changes as well so we are it's going to take us some time to go back and pull everybody's file and trace back when key decisions were made and if those decisions were at all related to the situation that has been before us and that you're being asked for additional funding tonight so unfortunately that's a long way of saying no we don't have any more information than we did six months ago about is it a design issue, is it a materials issue, is it a construction issue? We just know that there are a lot of firms involved and a lot of paperwork to sort through.

I've got to follow up on that and in mentioning that there were 16 different entities, can you talk about when we have projects where there is a yes and yes with the DMC and the city council, the accountability and the lines of where does the buck stop really? and from a management of that project. And I get a sense that those projects, they need to be tighter. There needs to be tighter accountability when we do have projects with DMC, and so that would be one thing that I would really ask for going forward with, especially when we have $34 million worth of projects moving into the Kutzke Park neighborhood, that there is those lines of accountability, and they end here at this dais from my standpoint, so keep that in mind moving forward. Any, Council Member Palmer?

Well, I'm going to follow up with what you just said, Mr. Shubring. It's... It's just embarrassing what's going on here. In doing my research and going back to the June 16th at 25 meeting that, oh, we just need this. We're gonna get this taken care of. I go back to accountability. Mr. Shoebringer was talking about 16 different firms. Did you have a general contractor who's supposed to be overlooking this? It goes back to the BRT line when we go out to St. Mary's and $900,000, nobody knows whose fault it is that they don't know what the electrical line is. If you go back to the original of this, we had a poem that we paid for. And this is going to be great. This is going to be wonderful. And then we decide, well, it's not really the safest, so we're not going to have a poem anymore. But we're just going to flip them. It's still not successful. If I'm a small business owner that's on the plaza, I'm sitting there going, another summer of you throwing up signs and telling people that don't come down here. It's really not acceptable. WE NEED TO DO BETTER ON THIS, AND WE HAVE TO STOP DOING THIS, BECAUSE IT KEEPS REPEATING. I WILL GO BACK AS FAR AS RAMP 6. NO ONE HAS EVER SAID, WELL, GEEZ, THIS IS THE FAULT WITH RAMP 6. WE CONTINUE TO DO THIS, AND WITH DMC, IT'S ALMOST LIKE WE ARE PLAYING WITH PLAY MONEY, AND WE ARE NOT. THIS IS TAXPAYER DOLLARS. And so I'm not in favor of throwing more money down in this. I think that we need to redo the surface on this. It's obviously that it's getting worse. We now have snowmelt leaks that we really don't know where they are. We're losing soil, which we have leakages. We don't know what's going on there. We have a neighbor property owner that's so frustrated with it that if we wanted to, he would... pay up to $300,000 to have a flat surface put in because he doesn't want the small businesses to be suffering anymore. And that's telling you something that somebody wants to say, enough is enough, let's get this done right. So I am not in favor of doing this. And I think DMC is responsible for this, but it's sad that we have 16 different firms and nobody knows who's in charge.

Any further comments, Council Member Wall?

It will come as no surprise that I would argue for a more permanent solution as I did a year ago. I worry that this is going to get to be eight or nine years from now and this will become entirely our responsibility without DMC help or responsibility. I think safety is a huge issue, has been on the pavers. A flatter, more smooth surface is going to assist people in a very, very public venue. I think this was a good effort at trying to enhance the public realm. It really hasn't worked, and I would not be in favor of spending more money on this either, but instead looking for a permanent solution.

Council Member Miller.

Thank you. So I did attend the DMCC meeting in May and I appreciated the conversation. I appreciated the framing that Council President Shubring said Peace Plaza is the gift that continues to give. At the same time, I want to acknowledge that in this specific ask for tree well improvements, there have been three piloted improvements that have been studied over, I guess, question for staff. How many seasons, how many winters now?

Two winners, approximately 18 months, Councilmember Miller.

And so I appreciate that we're making a recommendation based on actual piloted work that has made an improvement. It also seems like the obvious only choice as far as the snowmelt system is to figure out where it's leaking. And so I appreciate the conversation of accountability. I agree with that. I also remember conversations along this line at our June 2025 meeting, and I'm guess a bit frustrated that we don't have more information at this point and i would love to continue to to go down that line of figuring out where there are potential warranties or other remedies for this substandard situation of a snowmelt system and sinking pavers but i'm not in favor of ripping out the entirety of our redesigned peace plaza to close another downtown space when we have construction, when we have a very successful Thursday's Downtown series, when we have a lot of activation of that space. And so I want us to make the improvements that we need. And I've also mentioned that I want to stage this for a long term design with the other side of Peace Plaza. Obviously, that is unreconstructed. Annenberg Plaza is in a temporary condition. We've had discussions about that. There is a connecting portion of Peace Plaza. that gets to the project area. And I don't think it makes sense for us to show that we are just gonna continue to iterate at the scale of the entire plaza when there are problems. So I'm in favor of this tonight. I am frustrated like many of my colleagues, but I am not supportive of an idea that we rip out all the pavers and pour concrete because that's an obvious, easy solution.

Council Member Fredericks.

Yeah, this is one of those issues that you fear as you sit on the dais because there's no great answer or maybe would you say everybody's going to love answer. But I do know this, when you do a project, any project, the first thing you look at is safety, the second thing you look at is cost, and then however everything falls in after that is debatable. But those two things... aren't being met right now. I mean, we keep throwing money down a hole. I don't like that. I don't like the idea of shutting down businesses and reconstructing the whole thing. I don't know how we missed the mark so much doing this. I wasn't sitting here to make the decisions on the first round, and we're stuck with trying to fix this. And that is the million dollar question. What is the right thing to do? I don't know. I know in all the situations I've been in the private world, when you just keep throwing money at a problem and it ain't being fixed, you just got to wipe the slate, start over, and just do it right. You just got to do it right. You just eat it. I like the long-term thinking. I don't want to leave it for the next 10 years down the road. I don't want them to be dealing with the same issues. What is the right way? Talk to people that have done some similar things, what's worked, what hasn't. It doesn't seem like it's a hard thing for me to figure out. Talk to people that have done it. Talk to people that do this type of stuff for a living. Stay away from this. Stay away from that. And it doesn't seem like a hard thing to figure out. It's just the decision of what we do now. And I don't think we keep throwing money down a hole that seems like it's gonna be bottomless.

Council Member Keene.

Yeah, again, I'm coming here with an open mind of trying to think what's going to happen. And I'm listening to this idea of, like, the project, a project. But I'm also remembering the relationship between what is DMC and what is the city and what is the yes and yes model. And DMC, to me, and again, oversimplified, I view them as economic development engine funding projects, but the projects are done by the city. And when we start talking about... you know, who is responsible. To me, it's always the city. We build things. DMC does not build things. The city built the Peace Plaza or City Center or whatever we call it. And that, going back to this yes and yes model, I cringe a little bit. I understand the need to try to say, let's do the root cause analysis, and where was it? But it sounds to me like trying to say, they did this to us, they need to pay. I have watched DMC, in my view, signaling that they've they they're not proud of what happened with uh the heart of the city but they're moving on with their funding model they're moving on to other projects and i think that's what has the city council concerned that we are going to be left with how are we going to pay for this um and i i um when we had this discussion in 2025 it was about like um where is the money going to come from? And, and then you've also got the other side of this is where are you really going to go back and say, we've completed one project and then say like, nope, we're going to tear it back up in 27 or 28. Those things are hard on me. Uh, right now, what I'm looking at in front of me right now are very, what I'll call more operational fixes that they are not tear the thing up. They're not, um, they they're, they could almost fall into maintenance, except they're a little too high for maintenance spending. So I want to sort of support these, but I think what we have going on is sort of a, are we, going to move on from a project that we're not all proud of and that we could have done better, but we're going to move on because we have other projects to do and other areas that should be taking our attention. And I think the other thing we have to work out is between how what Mayo is going to fund as they go forward and they look at this and this yes and yes model. Mayo can't decide to use, I'm sorry, I say Mayo, DMC cannot decide to use their money at something else without our approval. It's a yes and yes model. But I think what I've feel is happening right now on this dais as we're trying to say we're not going to let them walk away from this and to some extent that's reasonable because i think they were part of the design work with this but i'm still looking at this as much very operational uh do a couple of things to improve things and see where we're at because i'm not ready to say like on the list of projects that we're going to take this one that wasn't on the list a year ago and put it back on the list and now start saying where the funding going to come from the design work um I'M JUST NOT THERE AT THIS POINT.

THANK YOU. I APPRECIATE THE COMMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN MADE. YES, AT THE DMC MEETING WE WANT TO FIND OUT WHAT WENT WRONG. AND SO WHILE MAYBE YOU COULDN'T DO IT IN THE SHORT PERIOD OF TIME SINCE THE LAST MEETING BUT IT REALLY IS SOMETHING WE NEED TO SEARCH INTO. FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS. ONE IS IF IT'S A CONTRACTOR ISSUE WE DON'T MAYBE WANT TO HIRE THE SAME CONTRACTOR IN THE FUTURE. IF THERE'S ANOTHER ISSUE WE NEED TO THINK ABOUT THAT. We do need folks to dig in and find out where things went sideways. I also, I mean, we're all digging in here, but the fact is Peace Plaza is well used. If you go down there, there is joy happening every single day. The children love the water. People sit outside. People enjoy it. So it's not, yes, we've had some problems, yes, we're trying to fix them, but way yes, this is a well-loved and well-used spot. And let's keep that in mind and not just focus on the negatives here. While there are some, there's a whole lot of positives about what we have downtown. So I understand the frustration. Starting over will cost a fortune. I don't know how many millions it took to get where we are. It will take those millions to do it again. And I don't think that's what we want to be spending our money on here. So we are in this position of trying to fix and repair what is there so that we can move beyond that. the nitpicking and the problems that have popped up. So it's the finances of starting over, millions and millions of dollars. It's the effect on businesses, which several of you have mentioned, will hurt those businesses yet again. They already had to go through one whole construction cycle. They'll have to do it again. The fixes we're talking about right now are not starting over in a ton of construction. They're small fixes around the trees and finding the leaking, which absolutely has to happen no matter what. We have to find that. We talk about safety a lot. This tree fix, I'm assuming the one they've selected is the right one because they're the people who make those kinds of decisions. I've seen many tree fixes around the country. This is one of them. It has to be done. We cannot watch the bricks crumble and we cannot take the chance that someone will fall. We have to do this. So I guess I'm asking, I understand everyone's frustration. I understand the desire to just say scrap it all and start over. Our businesses can't handle it. Our pocketbook can't handle it. And I really think if we can fix this, WE CAN MOVE BEYOND THIS AND ONTO OTHER VERY IMPORTANT PROJECTS IN THE CITY. SO I HOPE WE CAN MOVE AHEAD WITH THIS. I DON'T THINK WE SHOULD SCRAP IT. I DON'T WANT ANYONE ELSE TO GET HURT TRIPPING ON A TREE TRUNK OR FALLING IN A LITTLE HOLE. I WANT PEACE PLAZA TO CONTINUE TO BE WELL LOVED AND TO BE ABLE TO LOVE IT SAFELY.

THANK YOU.

Yeah, I share a lot of the same sentiments of Mayor Norton and I really appreciate the framing of this issue as being an operational fix by Councilmember Keene, because I think that's what we're voting on tonight and I plan to support it. That being said, I have to say that I am very frustrated The response that I heard from city administration about the six-week timeframe was that this is a complex issue, and because of the complexity of the issue, we haven't made any progress on our investigation. And I wanna know if that's true or not, because if that's the case, I'm really disappointed by that. Even in complex issues, you can start pulling emails. You can start pulling contracts and start that investigative work. I didn't hear that in the response. So I want to know if I heard that incorrectly or if truly no progress has been made on the request to figure out what went wrong.

So it has been an ongoing thank you for the question. Sorry that I haven't been clear. It has been an ongoing item since we brought recommendations to you last year which were to widen the smooth portion to create a greater smoother route which has been successful. THERE, AND I APOLOGIZE IF IT SOUNDS LIKE WE HAVEN'T BEEN DOING ANYTHING, BUT WE HAVE. THERE IS INCOMPLETE RECORD KEEPING. THERE HAS BEEN AN incomplete information from firms that we have reached out to. Last year, we tried to negotiate with 10 or so of these firms and bring them in a room together and it quickly became a should we lawyer up, right? So that's not effective. Lawyer up and then you don't have any progress for years, right? And our goal was to how can we fix what we need to fix and move on. There's high utilization. So we still need to do a lot more pulling of the individual staff records. We need to do a Hopefully there are emails that are archived and didn't fall off because of the archiving policy that stuff drops off after a certain period of time. There's a lot of files to recreate, to be honest. There are holes. And I also want to just say it is... It is a team that consisted of city teammates from multiple departments, representatives from RDA and DMC that were involved in advancing decisions on this project. And how those decisions were advanced, to what extent was it informed by the design firm, or the construction management firm, or the sub-consultant advising the designer or that there's just a lot to try to of this story to re re-establish can i ask a follow-up question go ahead council member

So I view the heart of the city as one of the transformational projects that are part of our strategic plan that we promised to deliver on, right? So I appreciate the clarification that there's incomplete record keeping and incomplete information. What processes have we put into place to ensure that this does not happen in the future?

We have learned a lot from this, right? I would say we have done a better job of making sure that whether it's email communication or other kinds of paper trails that we're preserving those, not to say that we might not miss them. Discovery Walk is a perfect example of a project that was, I would say, very successfully executed and it was done so from lessons learned specifically from Heart of the City Peace Plaza. We're having a lot of conversations around what's additional language in the contracts. We've had really good contract language for your really typical city projects. These are very LAYERED COMPLEX PROJECTS. SORRY TO USE THAT AGAIN. IT MIGHT CALL FOR DIFFERENT KINDS OF CONTRACT LANGUAGE. THIS HAS INFORMED THAT, AND IT'S INFORMING THEN WHAT WE LOOK FOR WITH THE 38 MILLION, THE CONTRACTS THAT WE'LL BE DOING WITH THE 38 MILLION UNBOUND. I THINK FROM A HOW DO WE COMPILE INFORMATION AS IT LIVES ACROSS DEPARTMENTS, GOT SOME WORK TO DO IN THAT SPACE, BUT some more to come in that, but I think we've learned in terms of archiving and storing documents, how we're approaching contract language, and not, we've made it, but not to the point that, you know, this is included in our design contract, this is included in our, with our contractors, so, and then the construction manager that we bring on, right, so.

COULD I JUST ADD THAT ALSO AS ANOTHER PERSON WHO WASN'T HERE WHEN THIS STARTED BUT HAS THE GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING I WOULD JUST ALSO ADD FROM FROM CONTEXT WE'VE MADE PROGRESS BUT WE DON'T WE CAN'T HAVE THAT MADE THE LEVEL OF PROGRESS TO SAY WE'RE FOCUSING IN ON THESE THREE CONTRACTORS OR SOMETHING OF THAT NATURE I THINK SOMETHING THAT I WOULD RECOMMEND IS THAT WE NOT HAVE A PROJECT WITH A LEVEL OF EXPECTATION THAT REQUIRES 16 DIFFERENT DESIGN AND CONTRACTORS WE DID HAVE A GENERAL CONTRACTOR ON THIS PROJECT AND That doesn't mean that like we can have innovative great public spaces without a level of design that requires that many different designers and contractors. This project also started in a situation I believe before the project managers WE'RE CITY PROJECT MANAGERS. THAT WAS ALL CONTRACTED OUT WITH A CONTRACTOR AT THAT TIME. IT'S PART OF PROBABLY WHY WE HAVE IN-HOUSE LABOR NOW. SO THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS THAT WE PROBABLY WOULDN'T DO THE SAME WAY, AND YET I THINK AS HAS BEEN DESCRIBED HERE, OUR GOAL IS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE A PUBLIC SPACE THAT IS SAFE AND USABLE. and that we don't repeat some of those things. It's also part of what we've been doing with all of the departments to try to be more conjoined, less separated, make sure that when we're all making decisions that impact each other, that we don't unintentionally say yes to something or say no to something or not identify a piece of utility, regardless of what kind it is. And then the city council is always, and the mayor, the folks that sit up here, and take the credit and I appreciate a very robust discussion. We are recreating all of that and the reality is we probably shouldn't design something that requires 16 design firms and subcontractors in order to build. That's complex and we get to own that and maintain that. So I think those are things and discussions that we should have here when we're moving forward with other design with our partners and grateful for the partnership. Also appreciate sharing that we need to make sure that our partners at DMC complete the project with us. And I think that they heard that at the May DMCC board meeting that both mayor and council president attended and spoke to some of that. But we are partners and we need to have a type of relationship where we can keep working together, but in a way where there's an appreciation that this body gets to own the outcome in perpetuity and that the people that live in Rochester get to own the outcome in perpetuity. So that's what I'm hearing. I think staff is very aware of that. They have been working on recreating it. We aren't to the point where we can come here and put in writing and say, we're down to these three people because we have these three entities that really created most of this problem.

THANK YOU. AND THANK YOU FOR THE TRANSPARENCY ON THE ISSUE. AND THANK YOU FOR DIGGING DEEPER INTO THE QUESTIONS, COUNCIL MEMBER DORING. I DO LOOK AT THIS AS AN OPERATIONAL ISSUE. MY CONCERN IS MOVING FORWARD AND REALLY LOOKING AT THOSE ACCOUNTABILITIES. AND IF WE ARE GOING TO BE THE ULTIMATE OWNER OF THE PROJECT, WE NEED TO BE THERE UP FRONT WHEN THE INNOVATIVE IDEAS THAT COME OUT OF DMC ALL THE TIME ARE BEING INCUBATED. SO PLEASE MAKE SURE WE'RE THERE. SO WITH THAT, IS THERE A MOTION ON THIS ITEM?

I'LL MOVE TO A TWO-PART MOTION APPROVING USE OF $334,000 OF DMC GENERAL STATE INFRASTRUCTURE funds for the heart of the city improvements and authorize an advertisement for bids with a bid opening date of july twenty eighth for the heart of the city first avenue southwest tree well paper improvement project project number j

A MOTION MADE BY COUNCILMEMBER KEEN, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER MILLER. ANY MORE TO ADD? NO, I THINK WE HAD A GOOD DISCUSSION. COUNCILMEMBER MILLER?

I GUESS ONLY THE QUESTION TO ADD LOOKING FORWARD, OBVIOUSLY DMCC HAS ASKED FOR AN UPDATE ON ACCOUNTABILITY. WE HAVE ASKED FOR AN UPDATE ON ACCOUNTABILITY. WHAT DO CHECKPOINTS LOOK LIKE GOING FORWARD?

Sorry, can I just ask some clarification around this project or around projects in general? Around this project.

This specific ask about accountability, reconstructing the timeline, the documentation, all of the elements of Peace Plaza, as we make operational improvements with this, I don't suspect that this level of conversation that we've had tonight satisfies the conversation I heard at DMCC. And so I think that that remains and I'm curious, do we need to attend the DMCC meeting? What does it look like as a report back to this council? And how should the community expect to experience transparency in the future?

SURE. IN RESPONSE TO THE QUESTION RELATED TO THE DMCC BOARD, WE PROVIDE PROJECT STATUS UPDATES FOR THEIR BOARD PACKETS. WE PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION TO YOU IN ADVANCE OF THOSE BOARD MEETINGS. AT A MINIMUM, IT'S DURING THOSE QUARTERLY MEETINGS. BUT OUR INTENT IS AS WE hit some key piece of information or key milestone. I mean, we're happy to provide a monthly report if you would like, but at a minimum, it's at those quarterly intervals with the DMCC board that you'll also receive it. And as we hit key milestones or critical points that we think are important that you should be aware of. That would be the anticipation.

Thank you. And so for the tree wells portion, I think we've litigated that. It's been piloted. That seems straightforward in the approach. The other snow melt and sinkholes seem like they have quite a bit of exploration yet and information that will need to come back to us and the community. Does that come out as a press release, a report? How does that make publicly available? So we're telling the community what we found, how we're improving it.

Yeah, I think that one's going to be important to bring back to you, whether it's a likely report and recommendation. I will take the advice of the city administrator. You know, what did we discover? Is it two holes? Is it 78? Like, what's the magnitude of the problem? And what is our response to what's uncovered? So I think that would come back, but I will seek the guidance of the city administrator.

I'll look forward to hearing that. Thank you.

Council Member Palmer.

Back at our June 16, the 2025 meeting, there was no talk about melting, snow melt leaks. And so that's something new. We all wrung our hands and said, geez, we don't want this to happen. But I'm more curious, we have a large project, the BRT going on. Is that have more than two or three contractors? How do we know that we're not going to be ripping up Second Street again because something went wrong? So it's my understanding, listening to the city administrator, that we've changed our philosophy. We're keeping emails. We're doing good inspections. Is that a true statement on the BRT?

That we're keeping good records.

We're not going to let this happen at the BRT. This is going to run smoothly. And a year after it's open, we're not going to hear, oh, geez, we've got sinkholes and snow melts leaking. Oh, by the roof leaks. And oh, by the way, they had nine or 10 different contractors because that's what I've heard happened at St. Mary's. And that's not reassuring to me.

So we have multiple contractors. We can get your list of the generals and the subs that are involved with the project. We have them both on the design side and the construction side. Not 16, but we do have more than two or three. We can get you that list. We are doing our best to keep all of the records related to design decisions, meeting notes, there are literally half a dozen to a dozen meetings around BRT every single week. And so we are keeping the information from those meetings, keeping a better track of how decisions are made. And so hopefully nothing is, we don't have a big issue that we have to litigate, but if we do, we've got the paperwork and the paper trail to create a good case for it.

And it's not gonna go away after six months, the emails, we're saving those?

We can archive up to three years.

Okay, thank you.

Any further discussion on this? All in favor, say aye. Aye. Opposed, say nay.

Nay.

Clerk Keisel, can you please call the roll?

Councilmember Keene. Aye. Councilmember Miller.

Aye.

Councilmember Wall.

Nay.

Councilmember Fredericks.

Nay.

Council Member Palmer.

May.

Council Member Doering. Aye. Council President Schubring.

Aye.

Motion passes four to three.

Thank you. Moving on to H3, Bold Forward Unbound in Rochester, Granger Linear Park Update, Irene Woodward and Karen Finneyman-Killinger.

Good evening, council president, mayor, council members. We are going to be doing a bit of an update on the Granger Linear Park. There's been lots of questions and interest. There's been some council updates, but we thought there was a good opportunity to walk through the site development plan this evening since it has since been submitted and kind of walk through that process. Just to note, there is no action being requested tonight. This is really for information as well as we kind of go through this. Just as a reminder and kind of walking back through the process a little bit, there has been a couple key things that have been updated. We obviously, Mayo in terms of the medical institution campus has been updated every five years. There was an update in 2023 after their 2022 and that included incorporating both forward and bound into that five-year campus plan. Through that process we also, after the UDC was updated, we realized that we really needed to take a closer look at the language. And so the medical overlay district was officially created in 2024, really taking that language that had been in there previously and updating it with the help of Don Elliott to make it align with the UDC in terms of establishing what does that process look like, we increased some of the requirements that needed to be followed to go through that process as an overlay zone within the UDC. In addition, back in March 18, 2024, there was a request before council to remove Lourdes High School from the historic inventory. And there was a very clear motion made to remove the Lourdes High School from the historic inventory and to recognize Mayo Clinic's commitment to construct the 30-foot linear park with features honoring the site at the former location of Lord's School. On the right-hand side of the screen is actually the image that was shared at that meeting, which was showing the 30-foot linear park that was being proposed at that time, which also did include the Boulevard area. So that was incorporated into that 30-foot at the time. kind of going back to recognize what that initial, and this was obviously conceptual at that point, but recognizing that motion, really the intent was it needed the demolition of Lourdes to happen. It needed to be removed from the historic inventory, and there was a lot of discussion about what does that look like, and Mayo committing to honoring some of the presence of Lourdes, which we'll talk a little bit more about how that shows up. So I kind of also wanted to touch on the site development plan requirements because that is really where generally the landscaping plan takes place. The site development plan approval is also done at a staff level. It is quasi-judicial, so as long as there are criteria that are met and identified in the UDC, we generally need to approve that. There is an appeal process to the Zoning Board of Appeals if there's any concerns or have issues with the decision that is made by community development staff. The site development plan really is intended to look at some of those structures, utilities, streets, parking, circulation, and really provide that base information of how is all that coming together with the UD standards in mind. And so this is really, as part of the medical overlay district, this is kind of the next step is it identifies that those uses are approved and that it kind of allows for the site development plan to move forward. Also in the UDC, we start to define what landscaping really looks like in terms of it broadly defines some of these different things. I will note that the underlying zoning worth that downtown is MXD. So we don't necessarily qualify like how many trees that need to be in within that landscaping and we'll kind of talk about that. But the UDC does start to broadly include like what is considered elements of the landscaping that would need to be included. It does, however, under the underlying with some of the districts, it gets into very specific and prescriptive. And for example, like a certain district might say you need to have a certain number of trees. Overall, each of the districts do have a minimum percent that needs to be landscaping. So within the MXD, that is 8% that is required. So that is the underlying zoning. If you are taking into account THE OVERLAY DISTRICT, WE ACTUALLY INCREASE THAT PERCENT TO 10% LANDSCAPE AREA. AND THAT'S ALSO LOOKING AT THE ENTIRE AREA WITHIN THAT. SO THE MEDICAL OVERLAY DISTRICT REALLY LOOKS AT THE LANDSCAPING REQUIREMENTS ACROSS THE ENTIRE AREA. and through that five-year development plan of making sure that they're meeting that 10% and those areas are identified. But it does not prescribe that it has to be this many trees here or this many trees or this particular, which we do have in some other districts. There is some flexibility in these districts to allow for that to happen. The next piece that kind of adds on is why some of these have been shared. It's we kind of altered from our process to do the site development plan agreement. And why we did that was that we were kind of documenting change in process. Normally when the site development plan comes in, we are able to approve everything and then be able to move forward. As the site development plan to be able to help construction move along, some of the elements weren't ready. And so we kind of work through that site development plan agreement to identify what those things are and document them knowing that they still needed to be done and completed. But it allows to really align with our guiding principles of making sure that we're being efficient and effective with construction so that the building might be able to start to move forward, but recognizing some of these elements will still have to be finalized in terms of those design elements. The site development plan agreement for, at the time that it was West Logistics, now it's the Granger Building, was approved in January 2026. And as part of that agreement, the landscape plan needed to be submitted before June 30th, 2026, and there were a number of terms identified within that agreement. Including some of these documents, just as a reminder, it was really setting, here's the overall campus-wide approach, which is really part of that medical, the mod, the medical overlay district, and starting to recognize how are these different buildings and different spaces aligning with each other. On top of that, we kind of laid over where the pedestrian greenways, where are these pocket parks, where are these different elements taking place and documenting how these work together as part of that campus-wide plan. It also really starts to lead to where does that landscaping need to take place and where is it happening within current areas and then also the additional spaces that are being added. In addition, as Mayo was kind of working through, they identified their proposed planting and pallets. So really identifying start to what are these elements that are going to be part of the overall landscape. And so this was really part of an early process so that we as city staff could kind of understand that they've thought through additional elements and how we're going to kind of see those as the plan continues to evolve until it's fully submitted and approved. In addition to the plantings, there was the exterior elements identified through this of like here's what we're looking at in terms of Mayo's campus-wide approach to landscaping and how will these be incorporated along with other elements. The other piece that was not something we had traditionally done but we incorporated into the site development plan agreement was financial security. So all of the areas highlighted in black were identified. These are all the different areas that where there is going to be Mayo investment in terms of landscaping that weren't fully designed or approved at that time. And so we went through this process and identified all those areas. took estimates for what we thought that was going to be, and Mayo put up financial security for all of those improvements. And part of that was recognizing that we're allowing them to get a condition approval early on without some of the design having happened. And so if that design didn't happen or they weren't installed, there was an ability for us as the city to step in with those terms. The financial security stays in place until everything is constructed and the certificate of occupancy is issued. So until those are kind of fully completed to what those designs are and have been approved, we will maintain and hold that financial security. And that is something we haven't necessarily done in other cases, but it was another way for us to work with Mayo outside this normal process and also making sure that these things are going to move forward as we expect. So what the next step was the actual landscape plan was submitted in end of June. I'm going to turn it over to Karen shortly, and she's going to kind of walk through the different elements because I think it would be helpful to kind of hear how they have kind of approached it. This is kind of the overall that was submitted, and then it was, I will just note, an iterative process, I would say, between two organizations going back and forth. So I will turn it to the green one.

Hello, everyone. My name is Karen Finnaman-Killinger. I am a regional chair of facilities and support services for Mayo Clinic and a team member on the Unbound project. I want to thank the city staff who have been such great partners as we've worked through all of the things that Irene just highlighted and the fact that they have challenged us to make sure that we have improved our design. So first I want to highlight the process that we went through for the park at the Granger site. So we really worked hard to respond to our neighbors. And for us, the neighbors were not only the Kutzke neighborhood association, but also the Gift of Life Transplant House. We met with them and talked to them specifically about their Peds House, which is adjacent to this park. We talked to the Greek Orthodox Church, and we also talked to the dental office at Praski Orthodontics, which is adjacent to this site also. Beyond that, we also have our own internal users of the park, not only our patients and our visitors, but also our staff. So we see that this place is going to be used by many users, and we had to respond to that. So one of the things we heard very loud from all of our users is that this place could not be a pass-through. We really had to create place. So when you see the plan, I'll highlight the three different zones that we created in response to that. There was a real request to make sure that we had flexible gathering space, so you'll see areas that are more reflective, more playful, and they're more gathering for events. We really tried to respond to the need for shaded space that provided comfortable seating and also some sunny spots for those who want to get a little sunshine. Really interactive, we knew that this was going to be a place not only for our staff and patients and visitors, but families. So we wanted to make sure that we had green space that allowed for that. And then importantly, the fact that it was the Lord's site and we wanted to honor the history of that place. Really wanted to also consider the fact that it had to be layered. We know that some people have a strong desire to make sure that there was some buffering from the activities that are happening on the site and how we provided that. So going into this slide, there's a lot of information here, so bear with me. I'm gonna start on the lower left side, sorry, right side, where it says the vicinity map. I'm gonna highlight along First Street where we did hear something from all of our neighbors, which that they were requesting more of a buffer in that pedestrian way. So this is kind of outside the park. But I want I wanted to really highlight the fact that we heard that we weren't providing enough pedestrian buffer space. So we took parking out of that surface parking lot and expanded the greenway so we could allow for more trees and more buffer space between the roadway and the parking, the street, I'm sorry, the surface parking. Right above that, you're gonna see the legend of the architectural elements that we took from the Lourdes site. It's highlighted by the green dots, so as you're looking at the site plan, note that each of those elements are being represented in the site plan. So as we entered the park from the plan north, due north, the first thing you're going to come into is the commemorative wall location. We consider this a very reflective space. I want you to understand what's happening here. So on the right where you're seeing the two red dots, that's a bench. And the two red dots are also highlighting the fact that we took the banding stone from the building and are using them to construct the base of the bench. Right across from that, you're going to look at the commemorative wall, which highlights and honors the Lord's site. This wall is really a juxtaposition between the past and what is the future, which is why you're seeing the two materials. All of the material in the stone portion of the wall is taken from the original site. We have the quadfoil, which is a strong representative of Gothic architecture. And then in We don't have the quote highlighted yet because we're continuing to work with the Catholic schools to get agreement on what that quote will be to reflect the Lord's history and then the date of when it was built and when we removed it from the site. On the backside facing the street, we also did the banding of stone again from the building that reflects Gothic architecture. So again, this zone is very reflective. To the right you're seeing, I'll call it magenta-purple line. That's a raised planter bed, and there'll be evergreen trees that buffer the building from that side. So you're really going to feel like you're sitting in a room, a reflective room. As you continue to move to the center portion of the site plan, this is where we have to the right a green space. red dot with another bench, and the idea is that that's a green space that children can play in, people can sit, it's going to have gentle berms in the grass, very gentle raised areas so kids can play, roll, people can sit on those berms, and then people can also sit on the bench and engage with their children. In that same zone, the trees that are adjacent to the building are overstory, so they provide shade. The trees along the boulevard are ornamental and lower. Moving farther south, you're gonna see that we've created a plaza. So we heard a lot about wanting a space for people to gather, and this area is what we're hoping will provide that. To the left, towards the street, you're seeing those curves with the reds, that's more built-in benches that are bermed, so you have a little bit of buffer from the street again. You've got the plaza space. And then just to the right, there's a, I call it a green bean. That's a raised area that is actually turf, but it can be used as a stage. And the raised area around the south side of it is ramps, so people can, it's accessible so people can get up to the stage. It's only two feet high, but it does raise up for both play and for use as a stage. And then I wanted to highlight how we're using those elements in the benches in that image on the bottom to the left. The next is just to give you some clarity around dimension. I understand that this is a little fuzzy and I apologize for that, but the overall length of the wall is approximately 40 feet. It's five and a half feet, five feet four inches tall at its tallest. And again, it's trying to create that buffer, that room, that reflective space within the site.

So as we kind of started to review, and I believe the overall park has actually increased in terms of the width. Is it 43? 47 and a half.

So it is... Yes.

So it is 47 and a half and no longer the 30. There's also additional space that's more along Sixth Avenue and pushing that back. So we also kind of, it also helps with the other proposal along Sixth Avenue as well. And then to the north of the site along First, there's additional green space that will help pedestrian access that goes across as opposed to where some of the truck traffic may be. So we're kind of pushing to the north side there where Mayo is also adding additional elements to improve that landscaping as well. So overall as we kind of are looking at it, and you can kind of see that there is a lot of different elements taken into account, the overall landscape is meeting those and exceeding those UDC requirements. And I just wanted to kind of walk through that because I think that's pretty important in terms of the tree planting and the diverse ornamental vegetation, how it's incorporating the different feedback in terms of the pedestrian oriented spaces and the enhanced public realm. And so with that, we're happy to answer any questions.

Thank you. Council Member Miller.

Thank you. I have a variety of questions.

Excuse me, Council Member. Sir, this is not a public hearing, so you cannot speak. So you should lower your hand and listen to the Council Members. Thank you. Council Member Miller.

Thank you. Going back to the slide where you highlighted what you heard, I appreciate that you, Ms. Killinger, noted five honoring Lords visibly. And I think that when I hear from public feedback, particularly from neighbors, that really seems like the question of, is that expectation being met? And I wonder, too, then, as that point, could you say what percent of the recovered materials are being used in this space?

I'm not sure if I can give you an exact number of what percent is being used. But I can tell you that we had a lot of internal conversation. I personally went back and listened to the original council meeting and felt we felt that much of what was valued was the history of it being at the school and not the architecture itself.

I'm sorry, sir, we will have you removed if you interrupt, so please. I'm sorry, we did have a open comment period and we did hear from neighbors. Go ahead.

Yeah, so we really wanted to focus and be very intentional about honoring it as the high school location with the fact that it was a gothic revival building type.

I'm sorry, we will take a five minute recess. ITEM, THERE IS THE OPTION TO TABLE IT AND COME BACK TO FINISH THE DISCUSSION. SO WITH THAT, I'M GOING TO TURN IT BACK OVER TO COUNCILMEMBER MILLER TO CONTINUE HIS LINE OF QUESTIONING.

THANK YOU. SO WE WERE ON THE PERCENTAGE OF MATERIALS RECOVERED AND THEM BEING USED. AND YOU GAVE AN ANSWER THAT WE'RE REALLY, YOU ARE LOOKING AT honoring the presence of the school, but would you say under 25%, 25% to 75%, more than 75% of the recovered materials are being used here, just to ballpark?

I would say 25%, potentially less. And the reason I'm saying that is because you need to remember the base of the building, that's a lot of material. Sure. And we've used some of that and we've also used some of it in the utility building that is just to the south of the site. So we are trying to use the material in other projects on campus.

Perfect. You're previewing my next question. What happens to the unused material?

We're trying to find good purpose for it. Like I said, we have the utility building that was just to the south of this where we've used this. We'll continue to look for good opportunities. It is protected. We've had it removed, and it's being stored safely.

And so Mayo would retain custody of that material that's unused?

Yes.

Okay. So talking about the... Can I highlight one thing?

We did give the diocese opportunity for material before we even selected what we were going to use.

Okay. So I know we have a lot of public realm spaces around the building other than just the park area. And I would just be remiss to highlight that we've just approved a contract to contemplate the feeling of the public realm of all of this street level construction that's going to be done. Is there an opportunity to engage with the DMC? Is the gamble and tool design and other team aware of this? And are you in conversation with them directly?

Yes. So actually, Mayo is also part of that process as well. So it's DMC, Mayo, and the city have all been engaged in that public realm design as we're starting to work with David Gamble and his team in terms of the overall public realm, recognizing also Mayo has their landscape design, and then how do we coordinate these other areas as well. So they are participating, including Karen, as part of those discussions.

Okay. So, yes. So everybody is aware of there's a... Yes. POOL OF MATERIALS THAT ARE STORED IN A WAREHOUSE THAT ARE STORED IN A WAREHOUSE THAT ARE GREAT PLACEMAKING, CONTEXT GREAT PLACEMAKING, CONTEXT BUILDING. BUILDING. THERE HAS BEEN A SCHOOL HERE. THERE HAS BEEN A SCHOOL HERE. IT IS NOT ANY LONGER AND IT IS IT IS NOT ANY LONGER AND IT IS PART OF THE PUBLIC REALM MOVING PART OF THE PUBLIC REALM MOVING FORWARD. FORWARD. AND CAN YOU JUST CLARIFY THE AND CAN YOU JUST CLARIFY THE MATERIALS THAT YOU'RE SHOWING USED MATERIALS THAT YOU'RE SHOWING USED HERE ARE THE ACTUAL RECOVERED HERE ARE THE ACTUAL RECOVERED MATERIALS AND NOT RECREATIONS MATERIALS AND NOT RECREATION

Councilmember Miller, please continue.

Okay. So you addressed this a little bit, but the space of the reflective wall that says commemorative text to go here, you mentioned that you're in conversation with the diocese to refine that language. Who has final approving authority of that? And how might we hear about how that conversation has gone and

We reached out to the Catholic schools. It was towards the end of the school year. They were very busy with ending their school year, so we haven't had a chance to get back to them to finalize that, but it is our intent that it would be in collaboration with them.

Okay.

And I would just also note that from city staff, we've also kind of asked to make sure that there's some description so that there's also some understanding of what these materials and some of that narrative, and we are working with Mayo to do that as well.

Okay.

To make sure that people understand what these areas are.

Okay. So on these slides, and this is a good example of it, it seems like on the left that's generated from perhaps a rendering of the entire park. Is there a rendering of the park? I feel like every time I see Bold Forward Unbound, we see broad renderings, very shiny glass, everything.

so so this is directly taken from the site development plan we don't require renderings as part of that submittal um the elements in terms of the front of wall and back of wall were identified as part of the site development plan process so we could accurately document it um and understand as you can kind of see this is the this is what was actually submitted in those different elements and i don't mean to interrupt you i appreciate that miss woodward uh and i understand the city's process but i also recognize that you have a representative from mayo clinic here

And I am asking the question, does Mayo have a rendering of the space that can be shared with the community and the council? Because it is hard to interpret a site development plan instead of technical drawings, which are the requirement. And I'm guessing it's also not a requirement that you be here tonight. So I appreciate that you're here. And I'm asking if there is a way to build some transparency into this so we might appreciate more the feel of the park.

We do not have a high resolution rendering. And as you can probably assume or guess, we like to make sure we put out the best quality. So we do not have a high resolution. Even the rendering of the wall, we wouldn't call high resolution.

Is there a possibility of generating one?

I would have to get approval. It's a possibility. I'd have to get approval because there's costs associated with it.

I appreciate that. Could there be the consideration of putting out even a lower rendering, even a screenshot to see more than the contemporary contemplative wall? Just feel like you're describing a really excellent park. And I imagine that it's better in 3d.

I would have to get approval to put out a low resolution rendering.

Could you get back to us on that? I can try, yes. Okay.

I'M SORRY, COUNCILMEMBER MILLER, FURTHER QUESTIONS OR ARE YOU COMPLETED?

YES. SO I HAVE A QUESTION. ON SLIDE 15 THERE'S THE DISCUSSION OF THE SHADED AREAS OF FINANCIAL LIABILITY TO CONFIRM THAT THOSE ARE COMPLETED. I'M CURIOUS IN COMPARING THAT WITH THE SLIDE OF THE MAYO OWNED AND NON-MAYO OWNED POCKET PARKS. I DON'T SEE OVERLAP OF THE SHADING WITH THE MAYO OWNED POCKET PARKS. CAN YOU SPEAK, MS. WOODWARD, TO THE GUARANTEES THAT EXIST THAT MAYO WILL BUILD THOSE PARKS?

So some of them are already identified in existing parks. These are all, as relates to the black outline in the financial security, is directly related to all the bold forward unbound buildings that are being constructed. What we asked in terms of, I'm gonna, sorry, go back, is really identify what are, some of these are existing, many of them are, but also how does this whole network connect? And this will also likely inform as we're looking at the larger landscape area with, Kind of where our public realm of how these faces connect and how we get people through the different spaces And is there a minimum set of amenities that the UDC prescribes for what is a pocket park?

Is it a sidewalk? Is it a bench? Is it? Something more how do how should we understand how should the community understand what level of park that is?

So I think there isn't specific standards in terms of like what identifies a park in terms of the UDC requirements. There's a general landscaping plan that is required. And those are the elements that I kind of walk through in terms of those requirements. And then this was an addition for this I would say linear park through the discussion as the demolition of Lourdes was being requested of like how does this be incorporated. And this was kind of the commitment by Mayo to do this larger area.

And I appreciate that. But when we look at the other areas that we've talked about next to the East Logistics Building, next to the Anderson Building, those still remain fenced off, uncompleted areas of the public realm. And I worry that promise of a future public park ends up with fenced off or uncompleted areas and so when i look at the financial requirements that the city will build public realm areas if they're not completed to our expectations i'm just noting that i see these areas missing and i'm wondering what what commitments mayo dmc the city can provide to the community that these will not be fenced off gravel lots

So I would also note for East Logistics and the Anderson, as part of the discussion to build Anderson, there was a need for lay down space, which delayed the construction of the East Logistics. That was part of a council approval to do that. Both of those are actually, under construction starting now. They are expected to be completed I believe August as they need to be finalized. The Anderson has not yet received their certificate of occupancy. They're permanent and part of that is making sure that that park and those other improvements are finalized and constructed as was submitted.

Okay. Two quick questions. So I know that the building has now been named the Granger building. Is that correct? Does that naming right continue to the park? Is there a naming process that will be contemplated? Who names the park? I know Mayo owns the park. Who gets to name the park? And can you give us any sort of insight into how that name will be generated?

I can tell you we don't have a name for it right now, which is why I called it the park at the Granger site. Sure. I'm not sure if we have a process in place right now to... give it a name.

Okay. So I would just point out that I think looking at the campus and Mayo's history of having a site that was removed for building construction, the Downtown Methodist Church became Methodist Hospital, honoring in a way and name that site. And so I would strongly encourage you to consider how you might think of other ways including potentially just naming it Lord's Park, as many in the community are calling it, as a way to work with the neighborhood and honor that site.

Thank you, Councilmember Miller. It was pointed out to me by some of our colleagues that you have gone over eight minutes. Councilmember Keene.

Yeah, thanks for being here. And I think we're here based on requests from here. This is not a part of the process.

That is correct. This is not a typical part of the process, but I think there was many questions, and so we felt that it was important to provide this update.

So when we say there's a general development plan, is it specifically for the park or is it for the Granger site, including the park?

So the site development plan includes a number of sheets. One of them is a landscape plan, but then it also includes where the building lay out and the utilities and those other elements that are going to be.

Okay. And what I was going to go towards, our UDC calls out for a general development plan that before they come to staff for approvals, they have to have a neighborhood information meeting. But I guess I just want to be bluntly state that's input from the neighborhood. That's not like an agreement has to be formed. It's not a collaboration.

Yeah, let me just clarify that there wasn't a general development plan required because it was an existing site. So it would only require a site development plan. But as part of the site development plan process, a neighborhood information meeting is held along with a pre-development meeting with internal city staff to review.

So the approval is going to be administrative, which is the staff. But what I'm watching is sort of a disconnect between Mayo going to the neighbors and then we have this kind of disconnect of saying you're asking us our opinions and then not taking them. What does the city do with that?

I think the city has been aware of some of those conversations and we've had to continued conversations with Mayo is also like, what feedback are you hearing? Is there engaging the neighborhood around as part of, it started with the neighborhood information meeting and continuing to engage. Part of the discussion that we have had from city staff is like, what is the feedback? How's it being incorporated? How is that process going to make sure that we also have that awareness in terms of that overall process, but it is approved at administrative level within city staff.

So again, I want to state that when the staff is doing it, when you talk about that, we'd like the neighborhood's input to us versus to Mayo. Is that so that we can have that come to bear? Or are you just interested? Because it doesn't appear there's a certain standard that a thing has to work towards. It is sort of a judgment call. And the question is, is it going to be the owner's judgment on what it is, or is it the staff's judgment, or how does that work? Because it's not our vote. It's not a collaboration between the neighborhood and the developer, Mayo in this case. I'm still trying to understand the standard.

So I think as part of the neighborhood information, there is an opportunity for whoever's project to hear feedback and hear some of that in terms of like what is being proposed, what is the proposal, you know, like overall feedback. And then as well, The city staff and myself, we do get feedback as we hear people submit those comments. And then we turn around and also ask the applicant, OK, what are these different elements? Have you thought about that? There is a limitation, because it kind of goes back to being that quasi-judicial. If it meets the criteria within the site development plan, We can't just say like, well, it's not this. We have to kind of use that as that back. And so it really also becomes up to the applicant, in this case Mayo, of how much they also want to adapt that plan based on that feedback. And there have been numerous conversations back and forth of like, we know this is important to those groups. So how is this being incorporated? What can be done? There was discussion about different elements. Can you add additional things in terms throughout so that we're really reflecting the history of Lourdes at that site?

Okay. And I was going at it with the UDC there, but going back to the March of 2024 meeting where there was the approval for demolition, there is a motion there to remove Move Lord, but it's also then the commitment to construct that. Is there some legality there that we're trying to enforce in what this design is, going back to that statement? Or is that just like a rough statement of... a park that honors Lourdes or is there any sort of like legality there? It said, when I read that, I don't know if this park reaches that standard.

I don't think with the motion, there was a lot of discussion. There were specifics assigned to what that park needs to look like, but as city staff are reviewing it, we are taking into that motion into account because it was a layer of review that was done by the council in terms of both the commitment from the applicant, Mayo, as well as what there's that expectation of incorporating those elements. So as we're reviewing it, we're also taking into account that that motion took place and making sure that those elements are incorporated.

Okay, thank you. Council Member Wall.

Part of the discussion, city council members with staff, has been over artifacts, using that specific language, and we've asked about are there artifacts, is there an artifacts list, and we understand that we as a city don't have any kind of list, that if there's any kind of curated list, perhaps Mayo has a curated list of artifacts, Using that term alone, how many artifacts are incorporated into the linear park as currently designed?

I don't necessarily know the number that are incorporated. I would say a lot of the material in terms of the signage, which I'll bring back up. there's a number that are incorporated into what do those elements look like if it is 40 feet long and five feet tall. And so I think there's additional elements that were incorporated and part of the intentional design is how do they get incorporated into an overall park and so that they're not just kind of sitting within it, but they're integrated into an overall plan and proposal for this park that then meets the needs of all the different entities.

So if I read the legend correctly, the five red dots all use the upper piece of lured as part of the bench. That the blue dots indicate the wall is being, the lower, or the purple dot is... The stone from the lured walls. So every dot would indicate use of some artifact or building material from lured.

That is correct.

Okay, thank you.

My thoughts on this are, I mean, how many artifacts we use is subjective. And it's a subjective. And I think what I'm hearing both tonight and as I've followed this issue for the last two and a half years is I think that we may be meeting the the guidelines of the UDC. Mayo is certainly going to provide a beautiful park. I don't think there's any question there. I think what we saw today, it looks beautiful, and even if we had higher resolution images, that it would look nice. I think what we're missing is that There's the spirit of community engagement. I think what I heard earlier was that it was an iterative process, but it was an iterative process kind of in a black box. And so the neighbors didn't know what was happening. Those of us on this council didn't know what was happening. AS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR, MS. WOODWARD, YOU HAD A LOT OF CONTROL OVER THAT WORKING WITH MAIL, BUT WE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT WAS GOING ON AND OUR NEIGHBORS DID NOT KNOW WHAT WAS GOING ON. AND WHEN WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THE BUILDERS OF THE PARK, MAYO CLINIC, OUR ESTABLISHED EMPLOYER HERE IN TOWN IS DOING, THAT'S GOING TO FILL IN AND IT'S GOING TO CREATE FRUSTRATION AMONG NEIGHBORS. AND WE SAW SOME OF THAT TONIGHT HERE IN THIS ROOM. AND SO I WOULD SAY MOVING FORWARD, I WOULD REALLY ENCOURAGE OUR NEIGHBORS FROM MAYO CLINIC TO to really look at as we move into this $38 million worth of projects with DMC that is going to really have a great impact on Kutzke. and the Mayo employees because I know that they love to walk through that neighborhood. I did when I worked for Mayo Clinic. So really think of being more transparent with the neighbors as much as you can in that environment and really create the spirit of what we're looking at because we've had a lot of discussion on the UDC And with the UDC, we did get more efficiency in development, and there is some improvements there. But we really do need to work on ensuring that we're not losing the community engagement, that we're not losing that neighborhood input, and that we're valuing that neighborhood input when we hear it and asking for it. often during the process. It's the process that I think has the stain in this project, so take that to heart. With that, Council Member Palmer.

I just have a quick question, and I appreciate Mr. Miller bringing up the East Logistics Building. How do we prevent something sitting there as an empty lot with rock on it? Because I'm downtown three, four times a week, and I've not seen, probably in the last 16 months, anything on that site from logistics. And then you look across the street, they have a new building being built, and we've got First Avenue down to narrow lanes, basically construction workers can park their cars. That's not a good public use of our time. So the question is, how does the city council prevent that from happening? Do we put a timeline on that lot? Should we have said it should be immediate or you abandon the site for 10 days and we expect it to be a park or...

So I think for this linear park, that is part of why we've also established financial security as it relates to the certificate of occupancy, which is really important for any building to get that final certificate of occupancy. As it relates to the East Logistics and Anderson, again, there were stipulations in terms of needing that to complete that construction. And so we are right along that process in terms of finalizing the review and being able to finalize the construction so that The parking can be restored, and that opens up back along First Street.

Well, again, 16 months ago, I haven't seen any equipment. I haven't seen any staging going on there. Yes, they used it for staging prior to building the building. So how do we decide when it doesn't need to be done staging-wise? In the future, that's what I'm asking.

So I think partly what I generally have seen in the past as it relates to most of the construction, the last thing to be completed is the landscaping so that it doesn't get ruined. Is there anything else that happens? So as that Anderson building was still being finalized and being completed, then it was going to the next step of, okay, now we need to finalize the landscape and bid out that work now that everything else has been completed. And so we've been in discussion since January in terms of both of the East Logistics and Anderson in terms of what do those elements look like and continuing those conversations to make sure that the construction is happening and that there's alignment in terms of next steps. So we've continued to have conversations with Mayo on those projects to make sure that they are built to what was submitted as part of their site development plan.

Wow. And I understand the frustration for everybody, because basically you're putting a warehouse with trucks coming in, and we know there's not going to be many trucks, supposedly, but it's a warehouse in a neighborhood. And so I can understand why people are upset about that or how we handle that, but on the other side, we need to have a warehouse to have a business. I'm just frustrated with that east... corner. I mean, we brought it up last time that we had this discussion. I brought that up and Mr. Miller brought it up and there hasn't been a truck park there.

I will say that those plans have been submitted and they are planning to start construction and have it completed by August.

August 1st?

I'm not sure of the exact date. I'm not going to commit to August 1st, but it is going to be completed this year.

August 31st.

Council Member Doering.

I just have two quick questions. First, thank you both for coming this evening and providing some additional information. There are two quick questions that were asked during public comment that I'm just hoping that you can clarify for me. The first one is about power lines. In the landscape plan, is there currently plans to bury power lines?

The current plans do not include bearing the power lines.

Okay. And then question number two, there was a question brought forth about lighting elements included in the landscaping plan. Is there anywhere on this diagram where I can identify where those light sources are and how bright those light sources will be?

There is another sheet within the site development plan that lists the lighting, and I can share that out. And that is a public document because it has been submitted. And then we review to make sure that it aligns with our requirements in the UDC in terms of lighting and what goes across property lines. Okay. Thank you very much.

Council Member Miller has promised one more question, one short question. Go ahead.

And it's a follow-up on that. I appreciate Council President Shubring talking about the black box because I feel like the power lines have been the other thing happening in the black box. Are you saying definitively to the community, to us, there is zero possibility of burying the power lines in this park construction?

As part of this construction, there's not necessarily a requirement. There's also still an easement that is being requested by RPO that they can run conduit and not necessarily bury power lines. And if it becomes a project at a later date, it could be incorporated. But there is no requirement that Mayo bury the power lines on their property.

I GUESS I FEEL LIKE THAT DOESN'T EXACTLY ANSWER THE QUESTION OTHER THAN TO SAY NO, THAT PEOPLE SHOULD EXPECT WHEN THIS PARK IS BUILT THAT THERE WILL BE OVERHEAD POWER LINES. IT SEEMS LIKE DESPITE THE CORRIDOR STUDY THAT MS. TEINHAUSER GAVE US AN UPDATE ON, AGAIN, IT FEELS LIKE THE BLACK BOX HAS BEEN HAPPENING AFTER THE COUNCIL MEETING.

I'm seeing heads nod by both our present presenters, so I think the answer to your question is no.

Yes, there will be overhead power lines, which is why there was the different types of trees along that edge to accommodate.

Any more on this topic? Thank you both very much. Thank you for taking our questions. Thank you for listening to the neighbors and continue to listen to the neighbors as well. Moving on, we will move to our ordinance first readings. Mr. Spindler-Craig.

Thank you, Mr. President. Item J1, an ordinance amending Section 2-1-2 of Chapter 2-1 of Title II of the Rochester Code of Ordinances establishing fees and charges for licenses, permits, services, and other charges provided by the City of Rochester.

Thank you, Mr. Spindler. Craig, other business, we will recess and move into a Rochester Economic Development Authority meeting for July 6, 2026. First up is our consent agenda. There is one item, the EDA minutes of May 4th. Is there a motion for approval?

Approval.

Second motion made by councilmember Keene and seconded by councilmember during all in favor say aye aye Opposed say nay motion passes Moving on to reports and recommendations. We have one item on our business this evening Which is amendments to purchase and develop assistance agreements relating to the Civic Center North apartment project Mr. Brent Sven V

Good evening, EDA President Shubing, members of the EDA, and Mayor Norton. Brent Simby here with Community Development. So back in March of 2022, after going through an RFP process, the city selected Sherman & Associates to partner with them for the redevelopment of the Civic Center North site. At the end of 2024, the city established a tax increment financing district for the property, IN JUNE OF LAST YEAR, THE COUNCIL APPROVED PURCHASE AND DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE AGREEMENT IN RELATED TO THE PROJECT Since that time, city staff has worked closely with Sherman and Associates to maintain the project schedule and meet the existing requirements to close and commence construction by the end of June of this year. Significant work has occurred over the past several months to advance the project. The affordable housing component specifically closed on taxes and bonds. The market rate tower building has a partial phase permit issued, and the development team has secured commitments for a majority of the required project equity. In addition, Sherman & Associates has invested approximately $3.5 million into the pre-development and project cost, demonstrating a financial commitment and continued confidence in the project. On June 23rd of this year, Sherman Associates formally requested a 90-day extension to the closing date, citing continuing challenges in the capital markets and the need to finalize remaining equity commitments and permanent financing for the project. Staff recognizes the significance of the project and the substantial investment already made by Sherman and associates following the negotiation period between city staff and the Sherman team. Staff is recommending that a 70-day extension be granted instead of the requested 90 days. Staff believes that this timeframe provides significant opportunity to complete the financing while maintaining accountability and preserving the city's ability to pursue ultimate redevelopment opportunities if necessary. While a alternative Dilma Sarah is possible staff does not feel or believe that the city would be in a position to Meanfully advance another proposal within the next 70 days for the site It is unlikely that another developer could replicate the current development program with the same densities again. They are proposing a a 265-unit market rate building, and a 76-unit senior affordable housing project on this site. Again, given the competitive nature of the low-income housing tax credit and housing bond programs, replacing these financing resources and delivering a comparable mixed-income development would be challenging and could delay redevelopment of this important river site even further. As part of the negotiated of the terms of 70 days instead of the 90 days Sherman and Associates has agreed to a $200,000 non-performance fee basically if Sherman Associates do not close on the property within the 70 days They would owe the city $200,000 for non-conformance fee I do have Chris Sherman here with us this evening that would like to address the EDA in more detail in regards to the request, but I'm happy to report that Sherman Associates has been a wonderful team to work with these number of years on the project, and we feel that we can get a project closed and start construction within 70 days, which would put us at sometime before September 14th of this year, where they would have to close on the land and start construction on the project. So with this, I'll turn it over to Chris Sherman, if that's okay with the EDA members.

Come forward, Mr. Sherman. Thanks for being here this evening.

My pleasure. Mayor, Council President, Council Members, Chris Sherman, President, Sherman Associates, we really appreciate your time tonight. Brent, thank you very much for the remarks and it's been a pleasure working with city staff on this project for the last four and a half years. We recognize we're four and a half years into a process to deliver 349 homes. on this site over the last four and a half years we have gone through a lot of various considerations with the city as we looked at different iterations of the project we also have faced some macro conditions that the project has encountered along the way sherman associates is a developer owner operator that really takes pride in delivering generational housing the product we deliver and have been delivering for 48 years, we want to deliver product that generations from now people are going to look at and say that was done well. And part of our reason for really being such a massive focused effort right now on Rochester is we find alignment in all the great things the city of Rochester is doing. Our mission, building communities and enriching neighborhoods, really ties into what we want to be doing along the riverfront for decades to come. I will be here for decades to come. And the product that we look to deliver here to 349 families is one that we certainly are going to be able to stand behind long term. We are at the finish line of this process. $140 million of capital coming to closing here. Our targeted closing date that we're communicating to all parties is August 15th. It has been a road to move forward. housing production forward the last few years. There have been challenges, but we are a group that sees things to the finish line and do not take shortcuts along the way to make a deal work. We take the right road to deliver the quality product that you, the council, you, the mayor, city staff, and residents of the city can be proud of long-term. And as a developer, owner, and long-term operator, that's key for us. We want to build product, deliver product that is going to be well-served for the households living there generations from now. I'll keep my remarks brief because I'm happy to dive into any QUESTIONS IN DETAIL BUT I DON'T QUESTIONS IN DETAIL BUT I DON'T WANT TO GO TOO DEEP HERE. WANT TO GO TOO DEEP HERE. I KNOW YOU'VE BEEN UP HERE FOR I KNOW YOU'VE BEEN UP HERE FOR A COUPLE HOURS NOW AND I DO A COUPLE HOURS NOW AND I DO REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR TIME REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR TIME TONIGHT.

TONIGHT. THANK YOU, MR. SHERMAN. THANK YOU, MR. SHERMAN. COUNCILMEMBER, YOU CAN HAVE A COUNCILMEMBER, YOU CAN HAVE A SEAT. SEAT. I HAVE A QUESTION FOR HIM. I HAVE A QUESTION FOR HIM.

OH, WELL, I'M GOING TO GO TO OH, WELL, I'M GOING TO GO TO COUNCILMEMBER FREDERICKS FIRST AND COUNCILMEMBER FREDERICKS FIRST AND THEN IF YOU

Okay. That's your question? Okay. Council Member Palmer.

Well, that's interesting because in June 16th of 2025, your office said that you would be starting early next year, which would have been probably January or February of this year. So we're sitting here now with an expired agreement that you want to extend it for 70 days but you're gonna close on August 15th with all your cash. What am I missing here?

Council Member Palmer, thank you for the question. Over the last year, we did and often have the last five or six years pursued outside equity. What we've determined over the last six months REALLY GOING BACK TO EARLY THIS YEAR, LATE LAST YEAR, IS A NEED TO BRING FORWARD OUR OWN CAPITAL. SO WE SHERMAN ASSOCIATES ARE BRINGING FORWARD A MAJORITY OF THE OWNER EQUITY. AND IT HAS BEEN CHALLENGING IN THE MARKETPLACE TO BRING IN THIRD-PARTY EQUITY FOR GROUND UP NEW DEVELOPMENT OVER THE LAST COUPLE YEARS. HIGHER INTEREST RATES AND REALLY THE ABILITY TO BUY EXISTING MULTI-FAMILY AT DISCOUNTS COMPARED TO BUILDING NEW HAVE MADE IT MORE ATTRACTIVE FOR OUTSIDE EQUITY TO GO INTO ACQUISITIONS. We have made the decision over the last six to nine months to bring in our own equity. That does take some time. We are bringing about 13 million of owner equity to the table for this closing. We recognize that as we sat here a year ago and laid out our closing timeline for this $140 million project, that we were being accurate in the moment. I think as a developer, we always try to put dates out there that are both reasonable, but also get all of our trains to the finish line. We have nine financial partners on these two deals between our banks, our tax credit syndicator, pref equity partner, and ourselves. And key for us is making sure each of those parties is working towards those aligned dates. And at times, these closings do get delayed. We are a group that consistently for 48 years has closed our deal. Sometimes it takes longer than others. And when we can't find the outside source, we find an alternative. In this case, we're bringing forward our own capital, internal capital. to get this project closed and that's what's allowed us to make more of this firm commitment here to get to an august 15 closing is we now are going to be a majority almost all of the equity so that's different than where it was at before when we were working to try to find an outside equity group

Well, First and Bank on the old site is a market rate apartment that was built without any assistance. You're getting 25 years of TIF, so the city's helping out with that. The city's giving you the land. Where I'm having my difficulty on this is in 2021, we needed apartments. We really don't need more apartments at this moment. We're doing pretty good on apartments. And so you're getting how much in developer fees? $13 million developer fee? In developer fee?

No, our developer fee on the market rate deal is about $3 million of paid fee. And the affordable deals, currently we're deferring all of our fee on the affordable deal.

Deferring or eliminating it?

We're deferring it. On affordable housing, we generate tax credits based on basis. So our developer fee is basis eligible, and that's allowing us to qualify for more federal low-income housing tax credits to build the project. But all of our fees deferred permanently. So it'll ultimately, from a structure standpoint, get paid out of cash flow. But we get none of it paid during the development period. on the affordable. So our total development fee that we're getting paid during the development period is about $3.5 million total for the $140 million project.

And you understand my questions? I do, absolutely, Councilmember.

I understand the questions. Certainly, on both the affordable and the market rate deal, there are gaps. The affordable really is driven by delivering housing at 30% AMI and 50% AMI for seniors, and that does deliver a gap that the federal low-income housing tax credits can't fill on their own. A majority of the tax increment is going to the affordable. We are using some of it on the market rate deal. The market rate deal is a concrete product, 15 stories, and we view that as a product type that certainly has a longer useful life than stick frame. So I think that is a key consideration here for kind of what is allowing that market rate deal to be considered for the tax increment source is the fact that it is a concrete product that is going to have a longer, long-term useful life for the city of Rochester.

YOUR PERMITS HAVE BEEN ISSUED AND YOU PAID FOR YOUR PERMITS AND YOU PAID FOR YOUR PERMITS ALREADY? ALREADY?

THE PERMITS ARE READY TO BE THE PERMITS ARE READY TO BE PICKED UP BY US. PICKED UP BY US. WE HAVE NOT PAID FOR OUR PERMITS WE HAVE NOT PAID FOR OUR PERMITS YET BUT WE HAVE INCURRED YET BUT WE HAVE INCURRED 3.5 MILLION OF COSTS ON DESIGN 3.5 MILLION OF COSTS ON DESIGN AND OTHER PREDEVELOPMENT AND OTHER PREDEVELOPMENT EXPENSES. EXPENSES.

OVER THE LAST FOUR YEARS.

OVER THE LAST FOUR YEARS. YES. YES.

THANK YOU FOR THOSE QUESTIONS, THANK YOU FOR THOSE QUESTIONS, COUNCILMEMBER. COUNC

I guess I do have a quick question, just since this is, other things have advanced since this project was last before us, and I'm just looking at this elevation for looking east on Center Street. Does this site development plan integrate with the two-way bike network on the north side of the block that we're actively constructing from the river to 11th Avenue East? And we've also seen these site development plans for Mayo buildings along West Center Street. guess maybe this is a question for staff maybe for miss woodward are are we causing a problem here because i'm looking at this rendering and it just shows trees where likely that path would be continuous i'm sorry to disrupt this process with that question but i just don't necessarily see how this integrates with that i just want to make sure that we're not creating a block for

No, I think while it's not being shown on the rendering, it is intentioned that the bike lanes are going in. It's also out in front of where the proposed Granger building, there will be bike lanes in front of there as well.

And I saw that and I appreciate that. I just am not seeing it in the renderings here and I just want to make sure that we're not doing different projects at different times and approvals and creating conflicts in a continuous network.

There shouldn't be a conflict. I think the rendering might just be a little bit older and it didn't incorporate that, but that design is moving forward and there shouldn't be any conflicts.

And then a question for you, Mr. Sherman, that you addressed before the meeting, but could you just say on the record how this delay to August impacts your overall construction timeline and lease out?

Thank you for the question, Councilmember Miller. We have been working with our general contractor, Franta Companies, to tighten up the construction schedule. On the multifamily construction front, housing production is down a lot across the state. Up in the Twin Cities, it's down about 75%. So as we've been working with Franta Companies on getting to the same set delivery date of April 30th. Previously, that was based on a June start. We're now looking at an August start. And we've asked them to tighten up the construction schedule by two months so we can still get to an April 30th, 2028 delivery date, build it two months faster. And that's driven by more multifamily labor availability that is gonna, in certain cases, be here in the Rochester Metro, in other cases, be driving down from the Twin Cities. So we're now looking at the exact same opening date, April 30th, spring of 2028. Great, thank you.

Council Member Fredericks. I'll make a motion.

Adopting a resolution approving amendments to the Purchase and Development Assistance Agreement between the Rochester Economic Development Authority and the Rochester Civic Lot Limited Partnership and the Purchase and Development Assistance Agreement between the...

I better put these on.

Rochester Economic Development Authority and Rochester Tower LLC regarding the Civic Center North Apartments project associated with tax increment financing district hashtag 82-1. Second. Motion made by councilmember Fredericks and seconded by councilmember Miller any further I'm looking forward to this project It's gonna add some needed affordable housing in the downtown area as well as market rate and the senior housing I like the project your three and a half million dollar investment up front before even know you're gonna get it home is quite substantial I'd hate to pull that away from you Councilmember wall

YOU KNOW, AND THIS IS FOR MR. SHERMAN AND DAN, YOU KNOW FROM PREVIOUS DISCUSSIONS THAT I'M UNCOMFORTABLE WITH EXTENSIONS, OF COURSE. I DO LIKE THE PROJECT. I AM PROUD OF THE FACT FROM THE MAX FIELD STUDIES THAT WE'VE REDUCED AFFORDABLE HOUSING NEED BY 26% BETWEEN 20 AND 25. And I think that's something that we can continue to lift up as a city council and city staff and the community that's really trying to make a dent in the needs for the community. I would love you to come to the microphone and August 15th is 40 days away. On day 41, you got heavy machinery moving.

Day 42 usually takes us two days. I will accept 42. Thank you. Okay. Got to get title out there to take some photos and appreciate that question, Council Member. Thank you, council member.

I just want to say, even though it's four and a half years and I have been in several different positions in that four and a half years, both seeing this project from a Planning and Zoning Commission standpoint and here on the council, I really respect your tenacity and your stick-to-it-ness with this project. I do think that with a rental housing rate, occupancy rate of more than 95%, I think this community can use some more rental units and affordable units. I'm very excited to hear about this being a real premier project. FOR SHERMAN GOING FORWARD AND THAT YOU HAVE A COMMITMENT TO ROCHESTER GOING BEYOND THIS. I THINK AS I'VE SAID ON THIS DIAS MANY TIMES, I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR US IN THIS COMMUNITY TO SEE THE DIVERSITY OF DEVELOPERS COMING INTO ROCHESTER AND BUILDING AND BEING NEIGHBORS WITH US. SO I APPRECIATE THAT. WITH THAT, ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE. Opposed say nay. Motion passes unanimously. Thank you.

Is there a motion to adjourn the EDA? So moved. Second.

All in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed say nay. Motion passes. We are reconvening the City Council. Is there a motion to approve the findings of the EDA? So moved. Second. Motion made by Councilmember Keene, seconded by Councilmember Miller. All in favor say aye.

Aye.

Opposed say nay. Motion passes. Is there a motion to adjourn?

I'll make a motion. Second.

Okay. Motion to adjourn by Council Member Frederick, seconded by Council Member Palmer. All in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed say nay. We are adjourned.

Good job, Randall.