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2025-11-12 City Council Meeting MinutesMOUND CITY COUNCIL MINUTES November 12, 2025 The City Council of the City of Mound, Hennepin County, Minnesota, met in regular session on Tuesday, November 12, 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, Laila Imihy Deputy City Manager, Kevin Kelly, City Clerk, Finance Director Noah Iverson, Public Works Director, City Attorney Scott Landsman, Stacy Kvilvang, Ehlers and Associates, Lisa and Scott Read, Helen Canning, Kim Blievernicht. 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 has one item, the Orono Police Department Activity Report amended into the agenda. 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 Herrick, to approve the amended consent agenda. Upon roll call vote, all voted in favor. Motion carried. A. PULLED B. Approve Minutes: October 28, 2025 City Council Regular Meeting C. Pay Request No. 1 in the amount of $232,845 .79 to Widmer Construction for the 2025 Lift Station Improvement Project; PW-25-03 D. Pay Request No. 3 in the amount of $371,856.58 to GMH Asphalt for the 2025 Street And Utility Improvements Project; PW-25-01, PW-25-02 & PW-25-05 4A. PULLED ITEM Approve payment of claims in the amount of $474,298.77 Pugh said she would like the claims presented in a different format that is more high level. Pugh said this could be done in 2026. Pugh said she would like to see how the claims relate to the overall budget. McEnaney said she likes the itemized reports. The Council said they would like to see the itemized reports but would also like to see a report which presents how the claims relate to year-to-date totals of each fund and to the overall budget. Landsman said approval of claims is a statutory duty of the Council though the Council can ask for more information from staff. MOTION by Pugh, seconded by Herrick, to approve Item 4A approval of the claims in the amount of $474,298.77, all voted in favor. Motion carried 5. Comments and suggestions from citizens present on any item not on the agenda. Lisa Anderson & Scott Read, 4754 Manchester Road, said they have concerns about the activity and accumulated materials at 4762 Manchester Road. Anderson said the owner of 4762 Manchester has been allowed by the City to build a fourth driveway. Anderson said she has concerns about the property which has junk in the yard and the amount of storage in the yard. Anderson said she read the City Code which states "excessive amounts of storage" and accumulation of construction materials though she doesn't know what these terms means. Anderson said her voice as a resident is not being heard. Anderson said she is also worried about the driveway being put in and how it would impact mature trees near to the property line. McEnaney said the City needs to do a better job of keeping complainants informed of activity being conducted by the City in response to complaints. Scott Read said he couldn't enjoy his deck because of all the items accumulated in the yard at 4762 Manchester Road. 6. Resolution No 25-88 Appointing Laila Imihy as Acting City Manager Dickson introduced Laila Imihy as the City's new Deputy City Manager. Imihy said she is very excited about starting at the City. Imihy said she worked at Hopkins, Shakopee and as a Planner with WSB a planning and engineering firm. MOTION by Castellano, seconded by McEnaney, to approve the following resolution. All voted in favor. Motion carried. Resolution No. 25-88 Appointing Laila Imihy as Acting City Manager 7. Public Hearings = Dickson said there are two required public hearings tonight regarding the following capital projects scheduled over the next five years. Dickson said the following projects are listed in the Financial Management Plan with the bond issuance which will pay for street, sewer and Phase II of Lost Lake Commons Park. Holt opened the public hearing at 6:32 Holt closed the public hearing at 6:32. McEnaney said she thought these projects have come out of the blue. Iverson said the City is issuing debt for phase 2 of the Lost Lake Commons Park Project. Iverson said the funds from the sale of the Artessa property paid for the first phase of Lost Lake Commons project. Iverson added the utility and street projects had been previously approved and the Council didn't want those projects to be paid through special assessments. Iverson said debt for projects are going to be paid through the issuance of bonds. McEnaney thought the City would be at its limit for taking on debt and asked if the issuance of debt will affect the City's bond rating. Stacy Kvilvang, Ehlers and Associates, said the issuance of debt will not affect the City bond rating. Kvilvang said the projects before the Council are projects which have been in the Capital Plan and Financial Management Plan. Kvilvang said the 2025 and 2026 projects are part of the bonding issue before the Council. Castellano said these projects aren't new but have been part of the Long -Term Financial Management Plan (FMLP). Council discussion ensued about the City Financial Management Plan and planning each year for new debt for future projects. Kvilvang said plans can change as the bonding being issued is an estimate of future costs. Kvilvang said each year the Council will determine which projects have been planned and which will be done as situations can change. Holt said if the City stays with the FLMP and the City Utility Rate Plan this will allow the City to eventually be out of debt. Holt said these items are separate from the water treatment plan funding. Kvilvang said utility debt isn't subject to the City debt limit which is 100% for street and other projects including any large equipment purchases. Iverson said the goal for the vacuum truck purchase is to pay for it with cash in 2027 and not to issue debt. Herrick said she didn't give herself enough time to study the bonding projects prior to the meeting and was concerned about all the taxation from other governmental jurisdictions. McEnaney said she is concerned about the amount of debt the City is creating and not taking into account the costs for a water treatment plant. Iverson said this debt issuance has been taken into account to fund 2025 and 2026 projects. Iverson said the Park and street projects cannot be completed without issuing debt. Kvilvang said the statutory debt limit for the City is $67Million. Holt said the other option to bonding would be to push off or delay street projects. Bauman said the proposed Mill and Overlay is 20-25% of the cost of a full street reconstruction and staff will default to mill and overlay, when possible, to maintain costs. Bauman said the Feasibility Study of the 2026 projects are ongoing and staff will come back with recommendations to the Council. Castellano said he is comfortable approving the plan because it was presented in the LFMP presentation. McEnaney said she would like to receive more information to refresh her memory of what the Council decided previously. Herrick said she needed more time to study the bonding issuance and wasn't ready to support the resolution. Pugh said she remembers the Council's commitment from the past and the Council did set up a good plan. Landsman said there needs to be a super majority to approve the bond issuance. Iverson said if this item is tabled then all bond issuance up for a vote tonight will also need to be tabled. MOTION by Pugh, seconded by Herrick, to table the following resolution No. 25-89. All voted in favor. Motion carried A. Action on Resolution 25-89 Adopting a Street Reconstruction and Overlay Plan and Approving the Issuance of General Obligation Street Reconstruction Bonds Resolution No. 25-89 Holt opened the public hearing at 7:13 Holt closed the public hearing at 7:14 MOTION by Pugh, seconded by McEnaney, to table the following resolution No. 25-90. All voted in favor. Motion carried B. Action on Resolution 25-90 Approving Property Tax Abatements related to financing Phase II Improvements to Lost Lake Commons 8. 2026 Bond Issuance — Resolution 25-91 Providing for the Issuance and Sale of $7,240 000 General Obligation Bonds, Series 2026A MOTION by Herrick, seconded by McEnaney, to table the following resolution, No. 25-91. All voted in favor. Motion carried. Resolution No. 25-91: Approval of 2026 Bond Issuance — Resolution 25-91 Providing for the Issuance and Sale of $7,240,000 General Obligation Bonds, Series 2026A 8.5 Orono Police Department with the October 2025 Activity Report Sergeant Ryan Spencer was not available to give the Activity Report. 9. Comments/Reports from Council members Council Member Pugh — Pugh said she attended the Fire Partnership Meeting and there are still items which need to be resolved including compromises regarding the St. Bonifacius and Mound Fire Relief retirement plans. Holt said there are two different pension plans which need to be approved by each fire relief associations. Holt said the process has been long and negotiating the two pensions is the big sticking point. Holt said there are retirees who are part of the negation and the issue is a lump sum payout versus on -going pension payments. Holt said there is a January date for the next meeting to hopefully have the pension question ironed out. Holt said another question is revenue and whether to establish a Joint Powers Agreement (JPA). Holt said the cities want an agreement. Holt said the questions are the pension, the budget and the governance of the JPA. Council Member McEnaney — McEnaney said the Tree Lighting Ceremony is scheduled for Thursday, November 20th. McEnaney said there is a Wandermore in MN social media account in which Wandermore and took pictures of the Mound area. McEnaney said she would send out a link to the accounts. Council Member Castellano — Castellano had no comment Council Member Herrick — Herrick mentioned the Westonka Food Shelf and DECA are putting on a free Thanksgiving Dinner at the American Legion. McEnaney said it's the 5th annual meal on Thursday the 27th from Noon-4:OOp.m. and is being held to support the food shelf. Mayor Holt — Holt said the code enforcement issue needs to be reimagined with a different system/work process in order to inform neighbors and the public of the City code compliance process. Castellano said he wanted to budget in a PT code compliance person as there is not enough staff hours to do the work. Herrick said there needs to be a better tracking mechanism to trigger a response of the City. Herrick said the City Ordinances are loose and definitive ordinances need to be put in place. Pugh said the Planning Commission (PC) gave the Council a plan three years ago and the Council did not accept the PC recommendation. Pugh said the Council members at the time had a number of vehicles on their property. Pugh said City residents need to take care of their toys. Pugh said the Fire Department gets a lot of calls which take up a lot of staff time. Pugh said the City needs to prioritize code enforcement and to create a new position. Holt said there has been poor communication with residents. Holt said Dickson needs to create a new system or process. Dickson said setting up new process creates a new level of data which includes private complainant issues. McEnaney said she would like a system to communicate back with residents on progress on specific code enforcement issues. Castellano asked for Dickson to look into neighboring cities best practices on code compliance. 13. Information/Miscellaneous A. Comments/reports from City Manager: Dickson said there is Turkey Bingo at the Fire Department to benefit the Mound Fire Auxiliary on Thursday. B. Reports: Liquor— October 2025 Finance — September 2025 C. Minutes: D. Correspondence: 15. Adjourn MOTION by Castellano, seconded by Herrick, to adjourn at 7:44 p.m. All voted in favor. Motion carried. Mayor Jason R. Holt l Attest: Kevin Kelly, CI rk