City Council - Regular Meeting

Good evening. It's now 6:30 and I call the regular meeting of the Victoria City Council to order. Please join us in the pledge of allegiance.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. The first item on our agenda this evening is announcements. The city council will hold its next workshop on Monday, November 10th at 5:00 p.m. to review the budget discussion in preparation for the 2026 final budget and tax levy. Our annual truth in taxation budget hearing has been scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Monday, December 8th. During [snorts] this meeting, we'll be taking formal public input on our proposed 2026 budget and levy. We welcome and encourage your comments now as we are busy preparing for our 2026 budget. You can email your comments directly to the council or city manager. Join us for the skating spooktacular. Put on your favorite Halloween costume and come ice skating with us. will have a festival a festive photo booth for some hauntingly fun pictures and a costume contest where you can show off your Halloween best. The event will take place on Friday, October 31st from 10:00 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Victoria Rec Center. There's an $8 per person fee and more information about that can be found on the city's website. That concludes the announcements for this evening. The next item on our agenda is uh to adopt the final agenda. Council, can I get a motion to adopt the final agenda?

Motion to adopt final agenda. We have a motion. Can I get a second? Second. We have a motion and a second. All in favor signify by saying I. I. Any opposed? Motion carries. The next item on our agenda is open forum. This is the opportunity for anyone to address the council on an item that is not on the agenda and not an application form that will be coming to the council at a future date. We have Lori Kala in the in the audience with us this evening. Miss Kala, if you'd like to step forward to the podium. I'm the only one here. You are. [laughter] And we welcome you. Otherwise, it'd be awful lonely.

All right. I am going to try to do this this time with a little more decorum because the last time that we had the council meeting and then the planning commission meeting there was a lot of angry people over and I know you don't want to talk about it but the R1A zoning I know it's been approved it's all through but I guess we just wanted to as a neighborhood just address that we just did not feel like we were hurt I sent you know after the planning commission because Travis, he's not here right now, but he I mean, he lied to us. He said that if we didn't want this new resoning to go through that it wouldn't. And so I went out, I spoke to every resident I could. I spoke to 71 households uh that were affected in the blue area. And then I did speak to some others that were affected out of the area. And 94% of the people want it. So, we just feel like we were not being heard at all. And then I sent a letter. I did hear from one personally um to address the concerns amongst us, you know, because there was just a lot of frustration that um there was such short short notice and it just seemed like I know it was all because of the 8101 property, but you know, Travis also said, "Oh, we don't have any plans for that yet." Well, you guys had plans in June. So, I mean, it was pretty much a done deal. And it just felt like for one person, there just wasn't any communication with the people who have been here for 60 years, 50 years, 30, been here 30. Um, so it was it was just very frustrating. Um, felt like it wasn't a good experience. I think it would have been nice to have at least

somebody address the neighborhood or send out like a questionnaire. Are you for this? Are you not? So, you got input beforehand instead of making me spend 10 days running around speaking to everybody, you know, and it was just, you know, I met a lot of my neighbors that have been there forever, too, but they're two streets down or three streets. you see him in passing, but I spent a lot of time speaking with everybody and it was just really disheartening that it came about the way it did. So that's kind of I'm trying to be nice at this time. Thank you. Thank you for making the trip down too.

Yeah. So I'll let you So that's what I wanted to say. Thank you, Miss Ka. We appreciate it. Thank you. [clears throat]

All right. Um, no one else is in the audience this evening. So, we'll move on to the next agenda item on our agenda, which is the consent agenda. Items on the consent agenda are routine administrative and do not require deliberation or are housekeeping items that are required by law. They're approved with one vote unless someone requests an item to be considered separately. Miss Nelson, does staff wish to pull any items for separate discussion and vote this evening? Madame Mayor, staff would like to pull five one or 5.13. Got it. Council, any other items that you would like to pull for separate discussion and vote this evening? And there's no one in the audience this evening. So, um, if there is, um, a motion for the balance of the consent agenda, please. I'll make a motion for the balance of the October 27, 2025 concession.

Thank you. We have a motion. Can I get a second? Second. We have a motion and a second. All in favor signify by saying I. I. Any opposed? Motion carries. Uh clerk, please let the record reflect that item 5.13 has been pulled for further discussion. Um we are now moving on to that item. Miss Nelson, please. Thank you, mayor. Thank you, councel. Uh, this item was pulled for transparency purposes and I'm going to direct this over to our city engineer who's going to speak more to it. Very good, Miss Garren. Welcome.

Good evening, mayor and council. We just wanted to um highlight this agenda item since it relates to such a significant project that is happening in the city of Victoria that this group has discussed extensively at previous workshops. Um but specifically the approval tonight is um a resolution for the cooperative construction agreement with MIDOT and then a joint powers agreement with the county and waiver of municipal consent. So as I noted in the staff report, we've been at this since 2019 and the city has been an active participant and partner through the entire process. The most recent um public engagement activities and council activities for this project occurred with a environmental assessment public hearing and open house on June 12th and then a council workshop on July 14th. The documents included in the packet are consistent with all of the previous discussions that we've had with the council. There hasn't been any big changes on the project um from what we've seen previously. So, the city's long-term financial plan and capital improvement plan include funding for the city's share of the project. Um, based on the most recent estimates, and these estimates get updated as new information becomes available and as they're working through the process, the overall project cost as it sits today is $122 million. Um, the city's share based on policies would be about 12 million. Um, but with the funding that's been applied, we are just below three million. So, a remarkable bit of news that we talked about more at length at the last council workshop. Um, the city attorneys reviewed both draft agreements. He has provided comments on the joint powers agreement that have been shared with Carver County. Um, bid opening is upon

us. We are scheduled to open bids. The county is scheduled to open bids for the project in mid November. At that point, we'll get another round of updated cost estimates based on bids. Um the action tonight will allow staff to execute the agreements as they're ready and as they get approved by all parties. So Chanhassen approved them um last two weeks ago Monday. Uh the county board has theirs scheduled for approval after this, but we want to get these approvals in place just subject to final review by the city attorney so that they can get executed to meet the project schedule once the bids come in. Very good. Yeah. Um council, any questions for Miss Garren? Any comments?

Mayor, yes. Just comment, please. Comment comment on the city attorney's comments. Um lest you think they're like a big deal, they're not. They're they're sort of technical comments in the sense that we just want to be clear about between the multiple parties, who is the party that's entering the contract with the construction company, who's going to make the change orders to the extent the city of Victoria needs to approve a change order, how do we do that with the county? Because I think the county is going to be the lead contracting party. And so, we just want to make sure that we have all the ponds in the right order on the chessboard uh to make sure we are doing this right. So, it's technical stuff.

Very good. Thank you. All right. Council, any further comments? All right. Seeing none, I will entertain. We're going to take this in two separate motions. So, I will entertain the first motion, please. Motion to adopt a resolution authorizing a cooperative agreement with MDOT, City of Victoria, and Carver County related to the reconstruction of Trunk Highway 5, TH5, and associated infrastructure improvements. Thank you. We have a motion. Can I get a second? Second. We have a motion and a second. All in favor signify by saying I. I. Any opposed? Motion carries. Um I will entertain the second motion. Please

move to adopt a resolution approving a joint powers agreement with Carver County and waving municipal consent for trunk highway 5 project. We have a motion. Can I get a second? Second. We have a motion and a second. All in favor signify by saying I. I. Any opposed? Motion carries. We have no items on our regular agenda this evening. So, we'll move on to reports and emerging issues. Attorney Vos, anything from you this evening? Yeah. No, Mayor and Council, you were so kind, mayor, to point out that you remember that I might be out for a few minutes uh with a health thing. So, I just want to confirm that to the extent you need me. I'll be available either electronically or I'll get a human being in my seat, but I I have nothing to report. Very good. Thank you, M. Attorney Bose. Good luck with your

Thanks. Yeah, I appreciate that. Miss Nelson, anything from staff this evening? Nothing from staff. Mayor. All right. Anything from the council? No. All right. Seeing none, there are no more items to come before the body this evening. So, I will ask for a motion to adjurnn. Motion to adjurnn. Can I get a second? Second. We have a motion and a second. All in favor signify by saying I. I. Any opposed? Motion carries. We stand adjourned.