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2021-04-27 CC Meeting MinutesMOUND CITY COUNCIL MINUTES April 27, 2021 The City Council of the City of Mound, Hennepin County, Minnesota, met in regular session on Tuesday, April 27, 2021 at 7:00 p.m. in the Westonka Schools Performing Arts Center in Minnetrista. Members present: Mayor Ray Salazar; Council members Phil Velsor, Paula Larson, Sherrie Pugh, and Jason Holt Members absent: None Others present: City Manager Eric Hoversten, City Clerk Kevin Kelly, City Engineer Brian Simmons, Tim Sonnek, Kyle Kirschner, Kevin Borg, Pam Myers, Christopher Anderson, Jane Cox, BJ Johnson, Terry & Linda Olson, Jeff Magnuson, R Maas, Kelly Jaworski, Pat and Karen Buffington, Kellie Gillispie-Coen, Betsy Brady, Irene Knutt and Nate Olson. 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 Salazar called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m. 2 Pledge of Allegiance 3. Approve agenda Hoversten added item 8.1 to the agenda, the Mound Police Activity Report for March. MOTION by Velsor, seconded by Larson, to approve the agenda as amended. All voted in favor. Motion carried. 4. Consent agenda MOTION by Velsor, seconded by Larson, to approve the consent agenda. Upon roll call vote, all voted in favor. Motion carried. A. Approve payment of claims in the amount of $352,898.40. B. Approve minutes: 4-13-21 Regular Meeting 4-20-21 Special Meeting Workshop C. RESOLUTION NO. 21-41: APPROVE MUSICAL CONCERT PERMIT FOR WALKING WEDNESDAYS SEASDOAL EVENT WITH REDUCED FEE 5. Comments and suggestions from citizens present on any item not on the agenda. None were offered. 6. Westonka School District Superintendent Kevin Borg presenting the 2021 Ann Bremer Whitehawks Award to the City of Mound Mound City Council Minutes — April 27, 2021 Kevin Borg presented the Council with the Ann Bremer 2021 Whitehawks Award. Borg said the Ann Bremer 2021 Whitehawks Award is the highest award the Westonka School Districts gives to a person or organization which provides incredible service to the Westonka community. Borg said that Ann Bremer was a Westonka School Board Member from 2004-2017 who served the community with honor and integrity to the best of her ability. Borg said the City of Mound is receiving the award due to its benevolence in sending Federal CARES Act funds to the School District to ensure students and staff could safely return to class. Borg thanked the City for the spirit of collaboration and was appreciative of the $500,000 the City and community directed to the district. Borg added that the incident at Plymouth Middle School this week shows that the safety of our kids is so important. Borg commended the City and Orono Police Department (OPD) for the continued strong School Resource Officers who have been and are currently working at Westonka Schools. Borg said the there is a culture in the Police Department which focuses on service and relationships and has been successful in reaching out to families and has helped to keep the community safe and kids in school. Borg said he looks forward to a regular school year in 2021-22. Salazar stated it is his honor and pleasure to help the district and get kids back to school. Salazar wanted to acknowledge the community business owners and the Executive Director of WeCan who sat on the CARES funding task force which looked to allocate money to the community. Salazar thanked Chris Anderson, Kellie Gillispie and Colin Charleston who were the members of the task force who were 100% committed to the benefit of the community and recognized the value of Westonka Schools. Salazar also thanked City staff, especially Catherine Pausche and Eric Hoversten, who helped throughout the funds award process. 7. Westonka Historical Society Board Members presenting the Council with appreciation for museum space and inviting them to the grand reopening Westonka Historical Society President Jeff Magnuson and longtime board member Dr. Pam Myers thanked the Council for the additional space in the Centennial Building which allowed for additional archives to be displayed. Magnuson said the WHS created and updated displays over the down time during the pandemic. Magnuson said the WHS museum will reopen in May and invited the City Council and Staff to visit. 8. Orono Officer Kyle Kirschner and Canine Community Service Dog Xerces highlighting the benefits their innovative program brings to their communities and staff Officer Kirschner introduced himself and Xerxes the Orono Police Community Service Dog who has been in service for the past three years. Kirschner said Xerxes is not the typical canine unit dog but is used to exemplify the highest quality policing and foster partnerships with the communities served. Kirschner said Xerxes adds a better approach to mental health calls as Xerxes adds a different approach to meeting residents' emotional needs when they follow up on previous mental health calls. Kirschner said that Xerxes is from a therapy dog's non-profit who was initially trained by inmates in correctional facilities. Kirschner said he tries for Xerxes to have three contacts each day at places such as City parks or the skate park in Mound. Kirschner added that Xerxes draws in kids and their parents follow and then he often has more in depth conversations with those parents. Mound City Council Minutes — April 27, 2021 8.1 Sergeant Sonnek March Police Activity Report Sergeant Sonnek gave the Council the March Activity Report for Mound and congratulated the City on winning the Ann Bremer award. Sonnek said the Orono PD is installing new software with a new database system to draw statistics so the report looks a little different. Sonnek summarized Mound activity in March which included 290 incidents, six crashes, 10 alarms, seven animal complaints, four assaults, 22 medical and eight fire related calls, six disturbances, eight domestic related calls, 26 parking citations, 16 welfare checks, 70 traffic stops, nine thefts and seven mental health calls. Sonnek said in comparison there were 238 calls in 2020. Pugh asked if the parking citations were in regards to enforcing winter parking restrictions and Sonnek responded yes. Sonnek added there were two officers assigned to assist in responding to the unrest in Brooklyn Center with the two officers now on call if future assistance is needed. 9. City Engineer Brian Simmons presenting discussion of and requesting approval for Resolution authorizing application for funding consideration for Water Treatment Improvements Simmons said this is a follow-up to the discussion at the March 23rd meeting regarding the state of the City's water and the Manganese found in the City water following Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) testing in December and subsequent tests by the City. Simmons said there had been no MDH Manganese testing of the City wells prior to December of 2020. Simmons said the Manganese content in the water exceeded health based levels which can have health risks over the long term. Simmons added there are some remedies such as bottled water for infants who are formula fed though a long-term solution is municipal treatment of the water. Simmons said other solutions for the manganese levels are home filtering or the use of water softeners which can remove manganese. Simmons said the Council directed him to do a feasibility study to explore different engineering scenarios for adding two filtration plants to the two City wells and bring back the results to the Council in May. Simmons noted he is continuing to work on the study. Simmons said he is addressing the Council at this meeting to get the Council to approve the application for Minnesota Public Facilitates Authority (MPUA) before the deadline in the next couple of weeks. Simmons stated the MPUA application has a priority scale based on need and preliminary cost estimates included to be in line for the funding. Simons presented information in which the City may have to have only one treatment plant which would be a financially responsible solution for Mound. Simmons said the wooded area behind the Sorbo Park play structure is an ideal place for a water treatment plant but the single treatment plant solution needs an engineering study to determine the full details. Simmons said the one treatment plant plan would include a new additional well needing to be drilled and the well at Chateau would be transitioned to an emergency use as it is aging. Simmons added it would be very expensive in infrastructure costs to pipe water to Chateau from the treatment plant. Holt asked Simmons if the MDH has a list of other communities with a Manganese issue. Simons said other communities are experiencing the same problem as there are three aquafers in the metro area and other cities pulling from same aquafer are having the same issue. Mound City Council Minutes —April 27, 2021 Pugh said she has been contacted by companies selling home water filtration and Simmons said the City is investigating a community wide solution. Hoversten said residents can and have been calling him and he said it is a goal of the City to educate residents to make the best choice for their household. Hoversten said the MDH has reported that Manganese should be lowered to a safe level by use of a water softener and residents can use bottled water as water treatment through a water softener might make the water taste different. Hoversten said there will be businesses trying to take advantage of the Manganese situation but Hoversten said he will talk to residents to work out what is right for the resident regarding consumption of water and cost to resident. Hoversten said the City is working to educate residents on the Manganese problem and the MPUA application the first step in alleviating the water treatment cost burden on the City. Simons said there are not as many resources to treat Manganese as it is a new problem/concern compared with other established issues such like lead which has a long history and which the profession knows how to respond. Velsor asked if there is information for residents to find a reputable water test. Hoversten said there is no list but there are testing services available through the MN Valley Testing Laboratories. Velsor said the City should notify residents of testing agencies. Salazar opened up the meeting for public comment on the Manganese issue. Karen Buffington, 4456 Radnor Road, said there is a Bloomington location which will test your water sample for $26 a test with results returned within 24 hours. Buffington said she gave samples from different sources including a house in the Highlands and another on the Island. Buffington noted the results of Manganese concentration were different at the two homes based on if filtering or softening was used. Velsor and Salazar asked Hoversten and Staff to look into testing companies to determine if they are appropriate and put the resource on the City website. Hoversten said another thing residents can do is to seek out opportunities to advocate for infrastructure spending and engage with U.S. Congressman Dean Phillips to advocate for City water treatment solutions. Hoversten said the funds for these types of projects begin in the US House of Representatives and residents and the City need to make sure the Congressman is advocating for Community Project Funds to be allocated to local projects. Velsor and Pugh asked residents from Mound to reach out to their representatives to point out the City's need in this area. Salazar stated there are some conversations in the wider community which that are not accurate. Salazar said the City is leading the charge to respond to the situation by notifying and educating residents of the Manganese problem as well as advocating with elected officials. MOTION by Holt, seconded by Pugh, to approve the following resolution. All voted in favor. Motion carried. Pugh asked if these applications will make the city eligible for other funds and Hoversten responded yes. Mound City Council Minutes — April 27, 2021 RESOLUTION NO. 21-42: RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING APPLICATION FOR FUNDING CONSIDERATION FOR WATER TREATMENT IMPROVEMENTS 10. City Engineer Brian Simmons presenting bid results and requesting approval for Resolution Accepting Bid for Lift Station Improvements City Proiect No. PW-21-03 Simons presented bid results for the Highlands area Twin Park lift station improvements. Simmons said four bids came in and the low bidder was R & R Excavating which has not done work for the City. Simmons said he has worked with R & R on other Bolton and Menk projects and recommends approval. MOTION by Velsor, seconded by Larson, to approve the following resolution. All voted in favor. Motion carried. RESOLUTION NO. 21-43: ACCEPTING BIDS FOR 2021 LIFT STATION IMPROVEMENTS CITY PROJECT NO. PW-21-03 11. Information/Miscellaneous A. Comments/reports from Council members/City Manager: Pugh gave an update on the work of the Parks Commission. Pugh stated a resident is going to plant a butterfly, native plant garden at Belmont Park and that the City Parks crew will remove grass at the park to make room for the native garden which should begin in May. Pugh added that each POSC member will go visit and report back to the Commission on four parks. Hoversten said the park survey for the Harbor District Study had 790 respondents and this data will be presented at the May POSC meeting, which will also include the feedback from POSC commissioner park visits. B. Reports: Finance — March 2021 C. Minutes: Parks and Open Spaces Commission Meeting: 03-11-21 D. Correspondence: 2021 Recycle Day Flyer 10. Adjourn MOTION by Velsor, seconded by Holt, to adjourn at 8:42 p.m. All voted in favor. Motion carried. Mayor Raymond J. Salazar Attest: Qvin Kelly, Clty Cler