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2025-10-28 City Council Meeting MinutesMOUND CITY COUNCIL MINUTES October 28, 2025 The City Council of the City of Mound, Hennepin County, Minnesota, met in regular session on Tuesday, October 28, 2025, at 6:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers in the Centennial Building. Members present: Mayor Jason Holt, Council Members Sherrie Pugh, Kathy McEnaney, Kevin Castellano, and Michelle Herrick. Members absent: Others present: City Manager Jesse Dickson, Kevin Kelly, City Clerk, City Consulting Engineer Brian Simmons, Community Development Director, City Attorney Scott Landsman, Marge Beard, Rita Trapp, Gene and Becky Hill, Helen Canning, Becky Hill, Tyler Pieper, Scott Erickson, Pauline Krebs. Consent agenda: All items listed under the Consent Agenda are considered to be routine in nature by the Council. There will be no separate discussion on these items unless a Councilmember or citizen so requests, in which event it will be removed from the Consent Agenda and considered in normal sequence. 1. Open meeting Mayor Holt called the meeting to order at 6:01 p.m. 2. Pledge of Allegiance 3. Approve agenda Dickson said there are two amendments, Item 4E removed from the Consent Agenda and Item 7 amended to include two letters of feedback from neighbors. MOTION by Castellano, seconded by McEnaney, to approve the amended agenda. All voted in favor. Motion carried. 4. Consent agenda MOTION by McEnaney, seconded by Pugh, to approve the consent agenda. Upon roll call vote, all voted in favor. Motion carried. A. Approve payment of claims B. Approve Minutes: October 14, 2025 City Council Regular Meeting C. Approve Resolution 25-86: approving permits for 2025 Mound Tree Lighting on Thursday, November 20, 2025 and waive fees due to public purpose of gathering D. Pay Request No. 1 in the amount of $128,224.45 to Pember Companies for the for the Lost Lake Commons Phase 2 Improvement; City Project No. PW-25-10 E. REMOVED F. Pay Request No. 3 and Final in the amount of $3,340.99 to Create Construction for the 2025 Downtown Sidewalks Project Group 3, PW-25-08 G. Pay Request No. 6 and Final in the amount of $3,320.85 to Create Construction for the 2025 Downtown Sidewalks Project Group 2, PW-24-08 5. Comments and suggestions from citizens present on any item not on the agenda. No one came forward. 6. Presentation by Marge Beard, Three Rivers Park District 1 Commissioner Beard presented a Three Rivers Park District (TRPD) update and provided the following information. The TRPD was established by legislature in 1957 • Seven Commissioners make up the Board with five being elected and two are appointed • Encompasses suburban Hennepin County • Partnership with Scott County for many years • 25 Parks • 27,000 acres of land • 175 miles of regional trails • 300 miles of trails within Three Rivers Parks • 16 million visits a year Natural Resources • 100 AIS trained inspectors • Crow Hassan Park Reserve largest restored prairie in the metro area • Recreation opportunities include; Golf, Swimming, Biking, highland Hills ski area and cross- country skiing at Baker Park Welcoming everyone to nature • Try It Program - Ice Fishing Event in 2026 • Mississippi Gateway Regional Park ribbon cutting recently includes classrooms, access to the Mississippi River, water feature to get kids to interact with the River, elevated Tree Tops trail Improving Water Quality at Whaletail Lake • Adjacent to Gale Woods Park which includes a partnership to conduct alum treatments to clean up phosphorous in the water Chronolog Citizen Science Monitoring Project • 25 stations to send photos to natural resources team to create a time sequence of those areaa Dakota Rail Trail • Great amenity Moving Forward • continuing partnerships with cities in order to do an even better job serving residents McEnaney asked about trail plowing to which Beard said there are winter maintenance agreements with cities to maintain the Dakota Trail. Pugh asked about strategic planning with Three Rivers. Beard -said these strategies start with the City Comprehensive Plan. Beard said the TRPD recently purchased property to expand Gale Woods Farm and is pending the City of Minnetrista approval of the land sale. Holt thanked Beard for the collaboration with the City and County on the Dakota Trail crossing of Shoreline Blvd. 7. Council Introduction - Presentation of concept plan from Max Bitterman, on behalf of The Dog Wellness Club, for reuse of the building and property at 4851 Shoreline Drive to develop a facility to provide dog day care, boarding, and training with indoor and outdoor spaces Trapp, City Planning Consultant, said the applicant is here to meet with the Council. Trapp said applicant is looking for Council input on the proposed Dog Day Care and Boarding facility. Trapp said the use is not specifically listed in the City Code as an allowed use. Trapp said, the applicant, if the project moves forward, would need to request a zoning code amendment and Conditional Use Permit. Trapp said property is mixed use and a use change would affect all of the mixed - use commercial districts in the City. Trapp said staff are her to provide background on the proposal. Trapp said if the Council approves the use the Council would need to approve a zoning code amendment to the City Code. Trapp added that the applicant is here for Council questions and consideration. Max Bitterman, said he lives in Orono and his business address is 221 Border Ave. in Minneapolis. Bitterman said his day care has provided training since 2019 with a dog centric approach through studying dog behavior. Bitterman said the training includes pairing older dogs with puppies and training of adult dogs which is specific to creating a cohesive group dynamic. Bitterman said the current business is near the Farmers Market in Minneapolis and is next to a Child Day Care. Bitterman said his business employs impervious turf with products which reduce odor and his regularly rinsed off. Bitterman said he wanted to address noise concerns which include noise reducing fencing and arbor vitae planting and tree hedge as well as the dogs not being unattended while outside the building. Castellano asked what are the proposed operating hours would be especially considering barking. Bitterman said the dogs are typically outside and attended to between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. and would be open on the weekend. Bitterman said the Minneapolis location has been open since March of 2018. Holt asked about complaints at his Minneapolis location. Bitterman said the neighbors have not complained and there is a bar and neighboring residential units. Bitterman said staff pick up feces right away and will rinse the surface if needed. Bitterman said the average number of 40-50 dogs a day during the week and 25-30 on the weekend. Bitterman said they have lower numbers as they run their business differently from the typical Day Care/Boarding business. McEnaney said she is concerned about the zoning impact as the area is residential. Scott Erickson,1940 Shadywood Road, Orono, said he is a dog lover and owns the properties on both sides of the proposed business. Erickson said he is concerned about running a business and the noise created by 50 dogs a day at the neighboring business. Erickson said this location on Shoreline is going to be less noisy than the location in Minneapolis. Becky Hill, 4835 Bartlett Blvd., said she lives across the proposed employee parking area. Hill asked how big is the space at the back of the building for the dogs to congregate. Bitterman said the drawing is a concept plan and the dog run is about 60 feet from the curb. Hill and Bitterman spoke of the number of employee parking spaces at the back to the building. Hill said a renter nearby owns a large St. Bernard with a booming bark which is triggered by any activity in the area and will be a disruption. Bitterman and the Council discussed the parking plan at the location. Bitterman said there are seven employee parking spots with four employees working on each shift. McEnaney asked if there will be 40-50 dogs with 40 to 50 cars daily at the site? Bitterman said during the week 80% of the dogs are daily visits and on the weekend the dogs are 80% boarding. Bitterman said the parking usually is in the a.m. and then in the late afternoon for pick up. Bitterman said his team uses a behavioral response to keep dogs calm and social in and out of the building. Trapp said if the Council would like the need to identify a use as a dog care or dog boarding kennel is not listed on the use table and then identify in the code where to allow in zoning districts. Trapp added this in not a pet hospital or clinic which is allowed without boarding. Trapp said a zoning amendment would allow the use across a zoning district. Pugh said the zoning amendment would occur in any area of the City to which Trapp said yes in four different zoning areas. Trapp said there can be considerations which the Council would put on the specific business. Trapp said the mixed use corridors are from Bartlett Blvd to the downtown area and on Shoreline Blvd. from Chateau to Caribou Coffee and the Post Office. Trapp said a text amendment would be considered if approved and at that time staff will present the amendment to the Planning Commission and then go to the City Council for discussion and approval. The Council and Trapp discussed the Veterinary Clinic in Mound is not a commercial boarding facility and is being cared for due to health reasons. Castellano said he is in favor of approval but he needs to understand the issue more fully. Pugh in favor of the business concept but is not sure about the site. Herrick said she likes the concept and is a homeowner could be concerned about the noise and this is a viable business with a valuable service/resource which is needed. Herrick said she wants to support the businesses. McEnaney said she likes the business model though is concerned about the local residents. Holt said he would love another business but is nervous about the barking. Holt suggested doing a noise study and Shoreline Blvd. is noisy and is concerned about the noise. Holt suggested a video. Bitterman said he can take a video and do noise testing at his Minneapolis facility. Holt said if noise and parking are not a problem he would be in favor of approving. 8. Mound Business Pole Concepts . Pauline Krebs, owner of Minuteman Press at 2361 Wilshire Blvd., Suite A, said she has been running the print shop for four years. Krebs said she talked to McEnaney about banner concepts and is here to answer any questions from the Council. Krebs said the size of the banners is 30" by 80" and is printed on black vinyl with an area for business logos. Krebs said the banners would stay up for 12 months and the cost is based on businesses and people sponsoring a banner with specific areas targeted to start placing banners in the center and work outward to help with business buy -in. Krebs said she has led the Spring Park banner program for the past three years which has been successful. Krebs said she looks to businesses and put in a lot of thought in to the concepts. Krebs then handed out visuals to the Council of the three concepts she has proposed. Krebs said the people in Mound are amazing, down to earth, creative and business orientated. Krebs' three concepts are the following: Community Family Fun Banner idea The concept panel included; kids running and playing, young adults sitting down and enjoying themselves, a group of business owners and a retired couple walking their dog. The Concept is about family and fun and Mound being a warm and welcoming area. • Lake Life This banner would be a repeated banner concept to represent the lake and have different businesses using their logo. • Lake Life - Seasons Krebs said this concept adds more color to the basic Lake Life banner Krebs said she is looking to the Council to get feedback and to help plan out a concept for Mound Pugh asked how many Mound businesses have banners in Spring Park. Krebs said because Mound have banners because Mound didn't have a banner program and because of the traffic through Spring Park. Castellano said he liked the Seasons banner concept and liked the business logo on the bottom of the banner. Krebs discussed the use of the City Logo on the banners. McEnaney said she liked the Seasons concept and didn't like how the Mound named was portrayed on the proposed banner. McEnaney liked the larger business logo at the bottom of the banner as it takes up 1/3 of the banner. Krebs said her process is to give the business owner a proof of the banner for their approval. Pugh asked if Mound businesses will move their banners back to Mound from Spring Park. The Council discussed the area of banner placement which will be in the commercial areas of Shoreline Drive and Commerce Blvd. Pugh said the Seasons concept is too busy though she likes the business logo on the bottom. Herrick said she is concerned about the Seasons concept as it does get a little busy which won't be changed with the seasons. Herrick liked the Community Family Fun concept with the business logo on the bottom. McEnaney said she likes Community Family Fun but not the line drawing. Krebs discussed color and concepts with the Council and the ideas behind the two years of banners in Spring Park. Holt and Castellano liked the Seasons concepts and Herrick, McEnaney and Pugh liked the Community Family Fun concept. Krebs recapped the direction from the Council which is to go forward with the Community Family Fun concept and color choices. Krebs said it would take six months to launch the banners after a concept is chosen. Krebs presented Spring Parks approved logos which that City will go forward with next. Holt said he would like banners sponsored by Mound businesses only. Krebs said she will reach out to Mound businesses. Krebs reiterated the direction the Council gave to her which is the use of primary colors and a depiction of a boat on the lake, the Farmers Market, bikes & trail, and fireworks themes. 9. MS4 Presentation Brian Simmons, City Senior Engineer said the purpose of the MS4 (Municipal separate storm sewer system) presentation is to inform the public about the impacts of stormwater discharge on local water resources and the actions which have and will take place to reduce potential discharge of pollutants. Simmons said there will also be a public hearing to get public input on the City MS4 permit. Simmons listed the following areas of the MS4: SWPP — Storm Water Pollution Prevention Program to reduce or eliminate pollution in local waterways • Listen to the Public — Receive input • Newsletter articles • Public participation and involvement • Illicit discharge detection and elimination • Construction site stormwater runoff control • Post construction stormwater management • Pollution prevention good housekeeping for municipal operations Simmons mentioned that the City May Clean-up Day is an example of the SWPP work as well as the rain barrel program which included education on storm water effects on local waters Simmons mentioned BMP's — which are Best Management Practices to be a better steward and collaborate with Watershed District. Simmons added the City has a MPCA designation as an urbanized area which allows the City to obtain a NPDES stormwater permit Simmons said the City has 141 outfalls in 18 separate sub watersheds which lead to 14 different lakes and bays. Simmons added the City has emplaced 60 sump structures since 2007 and there have been two illicit discharges detected and responded to in 2025. The Council asked Simmons for a map of the City Storm Water Infrastructure. Simmons listed program highlights in 2024-2025 Inspection and maintenance on all stormwater BMP's Inspected a residential development — Artessa • Participated in Adopt -a -storm drain • Installed stormwater management infrastructure at Enchanted Lane • City cost share to support Harrison Bay Association in the 2024 & 2025 rain barrel programs • Worked with local organization on potential stormwater treatment improvements at street ends • Installed stormwater filtration basin at Surfside Park • Coordinated a programmatic maintenance agreement between City and MCWD for BMP management • Storm water pipes separation repairs • Storm water outfall/holding pond cleanout excavations • Clogged inlet/outflow pipes cleaned out Simmons listed the following City Infrastructure in place from 2007 - 2025 • Nine Hydrodynamic separators • Two pervious pavement lots • Two water quality vaults • Seven bioretention basins • Two dry retention basins • Cleaned 10 drainage swales/ravines Plans for 2026 — Commitment to be good stewards of the lake and future program needs: • Implement pond assessment plan • Continue to improve efficiencies and inspection documentation and reporting • Provide training for staff involved in the SEWPP • Inspect all ponds and outfalls • Partner with local organizations on potential stormwater treatment improvement/street ends Mayor Holt opened the public hearing at 8:07 Tyler Pieper, 5504 Church Road, said he lives on the corner of Belmont and Church and he asked about apartment complexes gravel driveways and heavy rain which carries sediment out to the storm drain. Simmons said Pieper should contact City Hall with these concerns for staff to look into. Pieper said he would like to see the stormwater map to look for opportunities for neighbors to help out with projects in many ways. Pieper said he would like to see a study of the stormwater benefits of rain gardens which have been put in place. Mayor Holt closed the public hearing at 8:11. 10. Centennial Building Facility Study Simmons said Bolton & Menk (BM) were tasked with an investigation into the costs of maintaining the Centennial Building. Simmons said there is $280K in deferred maintenance needed. Simmons said BM staff scanned City Hall rooms with the idea to reconfigure the building to reuse the space in the basement of City Hall if Centennial is no longer owned by the City. Simmons listed the most important use of the Centennial Building is the Council Chambers and how could the use be recreated if the Chamber were moved to City Hall and what would be the cost to make the move. Simmons said there is a plan in place for maintenance of the Centennial Building if it is retained. Simmons said if Centennial Building is sold to a private entity there is a $15K cost to do the survey and plat work to put Centennial on its own lot. Simmons said the zoning of the parcel needs to be sorted out as well. Simmons said the Facility Study determined a $500K minimum to move all functions from the Centennial Building to City Hall. Holt said the idea of selling the Centennial Building was his and former Council Member Larson to try to make extra money for the water treatment plant from a building which is underused. Holt said he reimagines the building being bulldozed and made into townhomes or something else. McEnaney said she is not interested in the project and the sale of the Centennial Building is a low priority with all the other needs of the City. Herrick said what is the cost of current and future maintenance of both the Centennial Building and City Hall and the best use of City Hall space. Holt said there is more room at City Hall than the City will ever need. Castellano said without knowing the value of the Centennial building land the Council doesn't know what the City will be getting. Castellano said her would rather spend the $280K to maintain the Centennial Building and keep the asset of the land. Herrick wondered what the future maintenance costs of City Hall as the building is also aging. Herrick said what is the City vision for the building and what is the best use of City Hall space. Pugh said the Council has not created expectations for what the Centennial site would become if the building is sold. Holt said he would like to sell the land for a housing development like townhomes or condos. Holt and Pugh discussed what the expectations of the site and the value of the land and building to the community for a small amount of money. Landsman said the City has control of the property and can dictate what future use of the property. Herrick said the Centennial Building is not benefitting the community and the current tenants can move to other areas of the City. Pugh said the Council should be really thoughtful to the parameters of the sale of the building. Castellano said the land is an asset which will go up in value and if it sells for $500k currently it wouldn't be worth it. Castellano said the budget for maintenance for the Centennial Building is in the CIP. Pugh said she isn't ready to sell the building either. McEnaney said she is interested in leaving the building as is and the land is an asset and is not in a big rush to sell it. 11. Review/discussion/action on Resolution'No. 25-87 amending a policy on appointments reappointments to advisory commissions Dickson said this proposed new policy was discussed at the workshop meeting. Dickson said if the Council approves the policy he will put out notice in the City newsletter and make plans to do interviews by the end of November. Landsman said the appointment policy can be modified going forward. Motion by McEnaney, seconded by Herrick, to approve the following resolution. All voted in favor. Motion carried. RESOLUTION NO. 25-87: RESOLUTION AMENDING A POLICY ON APPOINTMENTS AND REAPPOINTMENTS TO ADVISORY COMMISSIONS 12. Comments/Reports from Council members Council Member Pugh — Pugh said went to the Gillespie Center 25th Anniversary event and it was a great evening. Pugh said the event emphasized the strong voluntarism in the City. Pugh also attend ed the Hennepin County Library ground breaking which will give the City a state of the art library in Mound. Pugh said Trees on the site were saved. Pugh asked if staff have talked to the businesses on Commerce to make them aware of the 2026 construction of water treatment infrastructure. Dickson said communication and public outreach will be part of the process. Council and staff discussed different avenues to communicate with the public regarding the 2026 construction of the water treatment plant infrastructure. Council Member McEnaney — Citizen of the Year applications are due in three more days. Council Member Castellano — Castellano had no comment. Council Member Herrick — Herrick was wondering about the letter to the Met Council which the Council was looking to send from the City. Mayor Holt — Holt said LMCD Open House tomorrow. Holt said Landsman determined that there are three Park lots which are not encumbered. Holt said the Council needs to come up with a game plan and give the City something to go forward. The Council discussed the plan to sell the lots and workshop ideas and direction to hand to the Park Commission in early 2026. Holt said other decisions need to be made regarding Lost Lake Commons Park. Holt said the Tree Lighting Ceremony will have seating brought in for residents by the Parks staff for use for the event and through the winter. Holt said he was working with Dickson on a "one pager" for the water treatment plant for the State Legislature bonding group. Holt said State Senator Ann Johnson Stewart said the City should ask for $15Million with a City match as a more productive approach to bonding funding. 13. Information/Miscellaneous A. Comments/reports from City Manager: Dickson mentioned the next meeting is on November 12th due to Veterans Day. Dickson said water tower design meeting on November 12th will be at 4:00 p.m. B. Reports: Fire — September 2025 C. Minutes: D. Correspondence 15. Adlourn MOTION by McEnaney, seconded by Pugh, to adjourn at 9:01 p.m. All voted in favor. Motion carried. Attest: evin Kelly, Clerk Mayor Jason R. Holt 10