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2026-02-24 CC Meeting MinutesMOUND CITY COUNCIL MINUTES February 24, 2026 The City Council of the City of Mound, Hennepin County, Minnesota, met in regular session on Tuesday, February 24, 2026, 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, Deputy City Manager Laila Imihy, City Clerk Kevin Kelly, City Attorney Scott Landsman, Community Development Director Sarah Smith, Public Works Director Ryan Prich, Sean O'Brien, Jonathan Schmieg, Russ Towers, Jeff Gilbertson, Andrew Daly, Greg Haage, Catherine Siebert, Mark Kelly and Helen Canning, Call to Order 2. Pledge of Allegiance 3. Adopt Agenda MOTION by Herrick, seconded by Pugh, to approve the consent agenda. Upon roll call vote, all voted in favor. Motion carried. 4. Public Comments No one came forward. 5. Presentations a. Fitness Challenge 2026, Michael Cripps, Herrick Herrick said that Michael Cripps is at the meeting to promote the parks in Mound and the health and well-being of children and seniors through a fitness challenge. Cripps said he is a Certified Personal Trainer who owns the Total Fitness and Anytime Fitness locations in Mound. Cripps said he proposes a June -August fitness challenge which residents can participate in. Cripps listed the following benefits of the fitness challenge: • Access and Engagement as a way to encourage residents to be engaged • Everyone involved will receive a Passport and Map of City Parks • The program will act as a fitness scavenger hunt in City parks • At first there will be easy activities with an end of summer participation celebration • Encourage Activity and promote Civic identity Try to turn the program into an annual tradition • Looking for partnership with the City and local businesses in marketing support • Approval of use of parks and the Surfside pavilion for award ceremony event • Primarily self -guided workouts with map or passport Work out days led by a trainer at bigger parks • Activate city infrastructure to create fitness identity in Mound McEnaney asked who will facilitate the program. Cripps said he has led these kinds of activities previously. Discussion ensued about the role of City staff and how to integrate ideas with City staff. The Council discussed to which entity would residents will go to with questions and liability waivers. Pugh said there is a Parks Passport which has been used to promote parks. Dickson said the City could provide information to help promote the program but a larger recreation program would need to be discussed. Holt asked for staff to assist with the Park Passport design and get the project moving forward. b. Council Introduction 1801 Commerce Blvd. Smith introduced the informal presentation concept of Scott O'Brien from Trident Development of a 55+ Apartment project at the present Huber Funeral Home property. Smith said the concept is as a companion project to the Harrison Bay Senior Living site. Smith said she has noticed residents who are within 350 feet of the project area. of this concept. Scott O'Brien, 777 Vista Ridge Lane, Shakopee, Trident Development, said he worked on the project which developed the Harrison Bay Senior Living campus. O'Brien provided the following information: • Current Harrison Bay building serves people in the areas of Memory care and assisted living but is not an independent living unit • Trident has completed 24 similar buildings in MN • 82 is the average age of a resident in Assistant Living • 84 is the average age of a resident in a 55+ setting • A 55+ resident generally doesn't want a home but would like to live with services provided which are not offered in a regular apartment building O'Brien discussed the following regarding the development concept: • Campus will enhance long-term housing and care needs of the Mound community • The Senior Living site is zoned R3-PUD and wraps around the Huber Funeral Home property which is currently zoned C-1 which would need to be addressed • One vehicle access will be at the current Senior Living lot with one entrance from the 55+ apartment site • Surface parking and underground parking will be available • Design concept of the new building to mirror Harrison Bay • The 55+ concept is for a 72-unit apartment which when added to the 72-unit Senior Living will allow the combined lot to hold 12.8 units per acre total • LifeSpark manages the Senior Living and will manage the proposed 55+ building Pugh asked about access to Dutch Lake as part of the development. O'Brien said he will look into adding this amenity. McEnaney asked if there has been research done to support the demand for this project. O'Brien said Trident hires a demographer to study the demand for the product and added the Senior Living is at full residency currently. O'Brien said there are the right demographic of people who are looking to get into these buildings as construction of 55+ units has slowed down after Covid-19. Pugh brought up past City Council discussions regarding storm water runoff complaints from the townhome neighbors across Commerce Blvd. O'Brien said there is a natural pond on the Huber site which may need to be enhanced. Council Members expressed concerns about the demand on emergency services with lift assists in the 55+ apartments and at Harrison Bay. O'Brien said there has been a dramatic decrease in ambulance service at Harrison Bay due to LifeSpark programs, intervention and protocols. Smith said there will be a zoning technical review, rezone Comprehensive Plan amendment to the PUD and a CUP amendment. Smith said Harrison Bay was built before the Comprehensive Plan amendment and the 8-15 units per acre at Harrison Bay which was the standard prior to Comprehensive Plan amendment. O'Brien said the units at the 55+ apartment would primarily be about 40% one -bedroom (BR) units with a Den, 10-15% Studio apartments and the balance would be 2 or 3 BR. Castellano asked about parking on the site which O'Brien said there is 1:1 underground parking with almost two parking spaces per unit. Castellano liked the removal of one of the accesses to the site. O'Brien said there will be an outdoor patio feature with a third -floor space overlooking Harrison Bay on the east side of the building. Pugh said if the Huber funeral service will be gone and where will those services be done. Paul Huber, 520 Second Street, Excelsior, said there is a possibility for Huber Funeral Services to have an office and a small amount of space in the apartment development. Huber added that churches in Mound can take care of any funeral business. Huber added he would like to stay in business in Mound. Cathy Siebert, 1766 Commerce Blvd., said she lives in a townhome across the street from the proposed building. Siebert said she is concerned about the campus extension which is a doubling of the density on the site and the amount of traffic activity increase due to the project. Siebert said she wants to know how the development plan would impact the run off. Joe Krumm, 5975 Ridgewood Road said is concerned about a possible increase in the number of City Emergency lift response. Krumm is wondering what the market rate is for rent and can Mound residents afford to live there and is there a subsidy for residents who could not afford to live there. O'Brien said Trident is looking to invest $21.6 Million to build the proposed 55+ building. O'Brien said the building will be traditionally financed and isn't seeking TIF financing. O'Brien said Trident has never had a building which was Section 8 in order to fill a building if there aren't enough tenants. McEnaney said she is not in favor of the project as it is too big with too much density. Pugh said given the demand out there from the Baby Boom generation the reality is there is a lack of units available to older Minnesotans. Pugh said she would like to see that rents are kept down and is happy Mound will not lose the funeral business. Pugh said it is worth exploring the concept and didn't believe the density will be too noticeable if the building is setback from the street. Castellano said the project is worth exploring Herrick said she is concerned about the combined PUD with high density and is worried about not selling out the units and then what? Herrick added that the market rate thing scares me. Holt said his opinion would be to change the shape of the building plan to pull it away from the street and farther to the west, the better. Holt said he likes the look of the plan and the investment in the community and the stormwater issue will have to be looked into. Holt said the density will need to be looked into but he would like the concept explored further. Consent Agenda a. Approve Minutes of the February 10, 2026 City Council Regular Meeting b. Approve payment of claims in the amount of $1,404,369.99 c. Public Lands Permits for 6125/6139 Evergreen Road d. PULLED MOTION by Castellano, seconded by Pugh, to approve the amended consent agenda. Upon roll call vote, all voted in favor. Motion carried. 6d. Ordinance 02-2026 amending Section 50-20 and Section 10-21 of the Mound City Code McEnaney said she would like to see the number of people at a gathering be reduced from 50 for any organized or sponsored events. McEnaney is concerned about businesses hording parks especially the picnic tables at Surfside. McEnaney said she would like to see two categories of public gatherings for individuals and families and one for organizations. Dickson said the Public Gathering Permits are a housekeeping nightmare for staff and is the driver behind the change and allow for larger gatherings without the need for a permit. MOTION by Castellano, seconded by McEnaney to adopt Ordinance 02-2026 removing Section 1 of the memo. All voted in favor. Motion carried. 7. Public Hearings 8. Old Business 9. New Business a. Avon Park Equipment Replacement Prich presented the Avon Park playground equipment replacement project which includes removal of the existing play structure which is made of wood and was installed in 1998 and the swing set which has been in place since 1977. Prich listed the current Avon Park amenities which include green space, a basketball court, a back stop and playground. Prich said the wood structure is rotting and the playground is now not ADA compliant. Prich added the playground surface will most likely be a fiber mulch with a pedestrian path to the playground which is ADA compliant. Prich said staff would like to send out a survey to surrounding neighbors to get their input and some demographic information. Prich said the survey would include: Number of children in household and their ages Frequency of use • Desired playground equipment by age group • Play features desired • Is the backstop used and still a priority in the park? Pugh said after the survey there might be an event where kids can give their input on the features in the park. Prich said he sought out vendors to provide options and allow kids to look at the different options. Castellano said he likes the idea of the survey and hopes for a big response. The Council said they would like to see the survey results. Prich said Public Works will conduct the bid award in house in order to keep expenses lower Prich said after the bid award it will take about 8-12 weeks before delivery of the equipment with installation most likely occurring in the fall. b. Lakeside Networks City Hall Internet Repeater Lease Dickson presented the Internet Repeater Lease agreement which would provide space on the City Hall building to house internet infrastructure. Dickson said the Lakeside Networks is an Internet Service provider which is seeking space for their service and a franchise agreement is not needed for internet. Andrew Dailey, one of the owners of Lakeside Network in Excelsior, said he would like to bring their service to Mound. Daly said the internet repeater infrastructure would not be installed onto the City Hall building but will be held in place with cinder block. Daly said Lakeside Network is a line of sight -based internet service. Daly said internet access to the west Minnetonka area has been spotty and they are trying to enhance internet service in the area. Daly listed the following: • Competitors offer less residential latency than Lakeside Networks • Clients come first — locally owned • 100% client retention in Excelsior • 99% client retention overall • Multi -tenant property specialization • Provide Internet Service to Lakewinds Condo and Big Island Daly said Lakeside Networks will provide better service than the large corporations serving Mound currently. McEnaney said she is thrilled to have Lakeside Networks in Mound. MOTION by McEnaney, seconded by Herrick, to approve the Lakeside Networks City Hall Internet Repeater Lease Agreement. All voted in favor. Motion carried 10. Announcements a. Comments/Reports from Council Members: Council Member Pugh — Pugh said the POSC has identified a grant to support a bike path around the Andrew Sisters Trail which would connect Surfside Park to the downtown. Pugh said the grant would leverage County funds. Pugh attended the Fire Commission meeting which discussed the pension differences with the St. Bonifacius relief association. Pugh said the Mound Fire Department is starting the hiring process to find a new Fire Chief. Pugh went to a meeting of a group of volunteers who are Mound residents who are providing help to immigrants living in Mound. Pugh added there are 40 Churches in the area which are providing support to families who are afraid to go out in the community. Council Member McEnaney — McEnaney reminded residents to attend the Water Treatment Presentation next Thursday at the Gillespie Center and the Beat Hunger Bash on March 7th at the Gillespie Center. Council Member Castellano — Nothing Council Member Herrick — Herrick asked about the State of the City presentation. Dickson said he is working with staff on getting the project moving along. Herrick asked about the Community Development Committee to which Dickson said can be restarted via a Council resolution. Mayor Holt — Holt and the Council discussed ways for residents reach out to Mound's MN Rep and MN Senator regarding the water treatment plant funding legislation. b. Comments/Reports from City Manager: c. Next City Council Regular Meeting: Tuesday, March 10, 2026 at 6:00 p.m. 11. Adiourn MOTION by McEnaney, seconded by Herrick, to adjourn the meeting at 8:23. All voted in favor. Meeting adjourned. Mayor Jason R. Holt l Attest: evin Kelly, Cler