##VIDEO ID:KjPj9-nq6y4## [Music] [Music] [Music] we'll call the city council regular meeting to order for Monday October 7th 2024 would everyone please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the rep for it stands Nation God indivisible with liy and justice for all call the RO please mayor Hoy here council member lean here council member Wilson here all right any changes to the agenda Leah or Nick Steve none no anybody else seeing no changes I'd seek a motion to approve the agenda motion second by Steve second by Nick all in favor say I hi we have no announcements let's move on to item six which are our citizen comments if there's anyone attendance wishing to speak please come up and do so at this time uh citizen comments is a time for anyone to address the city council on matters not on the agenda those speaking should State their name and address and limit their comment to 5 minutes the city council will not engage in discussion on your topic but those issues requiring response will be responded to by the next city council meeting city council ask that anyone speaking at the meeting please be respectful and you're up uh mayor and Council thank you for having me my name is Nathan Ryan I live on Cambrian way here in the great city of Farmington I'd like to discuss three topics with you this evening the first one being the centure of the mayor um I've requested this on more than one occasion I've emailed Lynn about it on more than one occasion and I recently sent Lynn an email letting her know that the city of lyl lakes has figured out a process a process which Lynn says that doesn't exist in the city of Farmington clearly there's a proc that exist for censoring city council people there's censoring of the mayor what I'm specifically talking about is the mayor's gestures double middle fingers and saying that he does not give an f about the citizens of Castle Rock or what the f that they think and you can imagine what the word f stands for when I brought this up initially to the city council um Kate council person Katie thought that I was saying that to you all those are not my words that's not what I'm saying to you all and that's not what I'm suggesting that um that or what I think of you or any of those gestures in fact Katie went on to privately Center me she said that there's no reason to be disrespectful or vulgar which your comments Mr Mayor were vulgar and disrespectful um and towards the mayor or any the staff and honestly these are Katie's words honestly it's very off-putting and unnecessary when making your point I found the same to be true in the situation that you found yourself in Mr Mayor I'd encourage you to find Katie's words again and I quote I encourage you to find a better more productive way to articulate yourself in the future it seems that Katie has figured out a very simple way to get her point acrost and be articulate and centure me AKA slap my hand in an email but she refuses to do that publicly just as the city of Farmington refuses to do that to the mayor I think during this election process it's very important that the citizens of Farmington understand exactly what they're getting in a mayor a mayor or candidate and I again will ask the city to censure the mayor and I ask all of you on the city council there is a formal process to censure a city and council person it is not legal right it is a slap on the wrist but is a very formal and public um response may even end up in the Star Tribune just like the the council person of liono lakad the second thing I'd like to talk about is the rezoning of the golf course I'd like to just mention how we got here we got here because Tony quietly tried to have the playing commission reson the golf course property owned by the Olsens back in May of 2024 of this year 5 months later we're here today and why are we here today because he quietly tried to do it Mr Ryan Yes um I do appreci appreciate you speaking and I know that this is your time and we'll give your time back but I would respectfully ask you to not direct comments towards our staff we are the elected officials and staff serves Us in that capacity so I understand that you might have a personal concern with certain members of our staff I think very highly of all of our staff and the information that staff provides to us is based on their professional expertise thank you so again Tony quietly tried to have the Planning Commission recommend to the council the resoning to the golf course property the Olson back in 2004 5 months later we're here today and mostly that's because of concerned citizens and those concerned citizens brought up things that should have been done like you you like updating the uh the city code so like updating the comprehensive land use plan those things should have be done done and you all stated that that process was already taking place over a year and a half ago uh the mayor called it a midcycle update which started a year and a half ago but there has not been any transparency before the resoning was scheduled to happen so there's no news articles prior to this or there's nothing there may have been something in a city work session I haven't read through all of them yet but I'll get to them U but so far what I've read is there's nothing a year or 18 months ago 16 months ago 14 months ago that were you all were talking about and being transparent about a mid a midcycle update um for a comp plan that was only at the time when you allegedly restarted tried to redo it was allegedly less than two years old so also what the reason that we're here one of the reasons that we're here is that either staff or the city council uh told staff not to to put the actual applicant on the applications the application to rezone um or the application to acquire the Castle Rock property so that original applicant that was on there was kimbley horn we all know and today we know uh that that is in fact track was the original applicant for those so just that's another reason that we're here today it's constant it's not when the when the mayor originally ran he talked about trans transparency and many of you talked about transparency as well in government having an applicant not be an applicant is not transparency So based on Steve's comment it must be you all who are telling City staff to do that doesn't want me to disparage City staff so I'll disparage you all must be you all giving them instructions it's someone somehow kimley Dorne ended up on that rezoning application and obviously we know it's tracked today um trct has been very good at trying to make this about a data center that is categorically false this rezoning application is about rezoning and nothing more and nothing less it's not about a data center it is specifically about rezoning the golf course property which which I'm curious if you've done so much research and you're very interested what does that mean that means that a commercial recreational indoor business could be placed there on the golf course property a child Care Facility could be placed there a health club could be placed there a hotel could be placed there offices could be placed there a research laboratory a restaurant a class one traditional retail sales and service or a warehousing facility could be placed there as well that's what you're doing you are not approving a a data center you are approving all of those uses that I just read tracked I'm going to not Point directly to City staff but a planning person who is here um wants you to think that you're approving a Data Center and that's just not accurate this brings me to my third point is what are you actually basing your criteria upon for approval because what you're set to approve or at least what the city planning decided that you should approve or that gave you the green light to have it to be a good idea to approve this uh was a PO and I'm curious what criteria did they use and will you be transparent in the criteria that you're using to approve this project this is taken directly out of the city cold code and this is approval criteria for a HUD or excuse me for a PUD a PUD number one consistent with the comprehensive plan the development shall be planned so that it's consistent with the Farmington comprehensive plan we know that this is not accurate we know that this does not meet the very first thing that it says it should meet we know that because you're having to redo the comprehensive plan if it was already the comprehensive plan was already allowing of this there would be no issue here and it would meet that criteria that P would meet that criteria right away we're batting a th we're batting zero right now compatibility with existing development the planned unit development proposal must harmonize with existing development in the area surrounding the project architectural side of building shall not be solely based for denial or approval of a plan however overall appearance and compatibility of an IND individual building to other site elements or to surrounding development may may be primary considerations in the review stages of the Planning Commission and Council there's some lawyers speaking here I really want to point out a very very very important word lawyers and people who write these comprehensive plans excuse me write these CD codes don't use this word very often and that word is must the plan unit development proposal must harmonize with existing development must doesn't say should it doesn't say could it doesn't say would it doesn't say we would like it to it says must and if this isn't part of your criteria for approving this look to your city attorneys don't look to the person who's profiting off of this for guidance look to your City attorney read this to them and ask them what that word must means number three preservation of natural amenities the primary function of a PUD overlay is to encourage development which will preserve and enhance a worthwhile natural terrain characteristics and not force intense development to utilize portions in a given site in order to arrive at the maximum density allowed in evaluating individual proposal the recognition of the objective will be basic consideration and granting approval or denial open space uses land for private or public spaces are protected by covenants running with the land or conveyances are dedicated as the Planning Commission May specify shall in shall be an integral excuse me part of the plan such Open Spaces areas shall conform to the land area requirements of the subdivision ordinance shall not include land developed to be to streets parking or pave yards so specifically talking about parks and this goes on I'm not going to read the next eight steps Mr Ryan at this time because citizen comments are limited to five minutes and I've allowed you twice the aot of time I'm going to ask you to finish it up here so I'm not going to read all all the rest of them but what your what this is basically saying is that you they should have to build parks and what the City Planning Commission said is rather than that we'll take money and that's actually what the staff suggested as well is that they would you would take money versus actually keeping an open park right now it's designed for a 7 acre park that's the way it's zoned you are going against what's in your code I highly encourage you to read it and I highly encourage you to be transparent about your approval process what criteria does this project meet or doesn't meet and my guess is you're not going to be transparent because you haven't been so far thank you thank you anyone else wishing to speak at this time yes please good evening thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak to you this evening my name is Denise may I live at 22265 bearing Avenue and I want to talk about my opposition to the the resoning of the Fountain Valley Golf Course in the school district property I visited the same three data center sites in Iowa in Altuna walki and West Mo that the council and the Planning Commission visited and I did not see or hear the same thing that was described in the article that appeared in the Dakota County Tribune on September 20th the buildings are huge the buildings for The Meta Meta Aluna site look to be 50 50 to 60 ft tall about 30 F feet for Apple site about 60 ft for the Microsoft West Mo site it will take burms of a much higher greater height than the 21t BMS proposed in the track renderings to make a technology park inconspicuous and unobtrusive as track has said data centers want to be as we would want them to be track added rendering number 12 to their website this additional rendering was done for the benefit of my husband and me it is the view from our deck our house is 150 ft from the property line we share with the golf course according to track it will take 5 to 10 years for the Trees and Landscaping to reach the heights shown in the rendering and even then the buildings will still be seen above the burms and not offer much for noise mitigation in the article in the Tribune it was mentioned how surprisingly quiet it was outside of the data centers I could not get close enough to the buildings in order to hear if there was noise or not coming from the buildings because the setbacks are much greater than what is proposed by track I could not get any closer than right next to a busy road I could not get as close to those buildings as they would be from my house I live on a very quiet street in a very quiet neighborhood the maximum sound level as required by the Minnesota Pollution Control control agency is significantly higher than what we experience every day in our neighborhood I noticed very few homes around the data centers The Meta site has some homes down the road and the Apple site has one home and the homes near both sites are much farther away than the buildings would be to my house the two homes on the Gravel Road next to the Microsoft site have a very significant natural buffer between them and the data center and the data center as a result of the natural buffer I also did not hear much noise coming from the buildings on that side of the center but on the road between the buildings and the golf course next door I did hear a low hum coming from the buildings the distance the Microsoft buildings are from the road is what I believe we will experience with the proposed setbacks I have pictures of the sites along with videos and screenshots of the sound levels from my sound level meter also in the article it was mentioned that all of the land around the Iowa Data Centers is platted up to those boundaries of that property with residential development I did not see any residential development at all around the data centers right now certainly no homes up but the data center properties anyone who purchases a new home in those proposed residential areas will have a choice of whether or not to live near a data center our neighborhood has been there excuse me for as long as the golf course has been there if you rezone the golf course in the school district properties and they become a data center or for any other industrial purpose you have taken away our choice you will change the quality of life for hundreds of people living that close to a data center will interfere with our right to the quiet enjoyment of our home where we have lived for 38 years and for some even longer thank you thank you good evening I'm Kathy Johnson excuse me I live at 22280 bearing Avenue firming the sun this week posted in an article regarding data centers from Farmington elected officials several officials visited West deoy and walki where the new data center has just one building operational and Altuna one official official said in reference to the microft site in West De Moine they only heard crickets what was not mentioned is that that site was 408,000 Square ft Total Space and the proposed Farmington site is 2.5 million square fet the Farmington site is six times bigger than what was observed in De Moine the buildings appeared to be about 60 feet tall I I can't verify that but that was an appearance by the people in our group that visited but the site originated lower than street level the city of Farmington is applying for a variance to local ordinance which restricts Building height to 40 ft and proposing building Heights of 50 to 80 ft a burm with Landscaping will not mask the view of these buildings from the long established res residences nearby as the natural buffering does in the west De Moine site a 250t setback is very far from quate in accomplishing the quiet which leaders of Farmington said they observed in Iowa as a matter of fact research reveals over and over again that the Insidious hum basically cannot be masked Kristen Dean emphasized in the late August public meeting that there would be noise but pledges to stay within stain ordinance so don't expect us to believe that it's just going to be quiet one member of the environmental Coalition of Farmington who also visited the the de moin said site said the noise could not be heard in the two residences next door but the I at the ironically the golf course of buing Microsoft yes the home home hum in the air conditioner could be heard there major Hoy said in an in the article that the plans for the data center were happening one year ago but that does not alter the fact that this is spot zoning he stated that West and north of executive States is a zoned IND industrial upon studying the comp plan it is obvious that his statement is erroneous the only areas zoned Industrial in Farmington are on Highway 50 between Flagstaff and Denmark and two other tiny dots which appear to be the C uh plant and one other I can't quite figure out what it is but it is not north and east of um Flagstaff the mentioned areas are Zone commercial in the open hearing regarding the data center Dirk Rod stated that Northern Virginia home values continue to rise despite the presidence presence of many data centers what is omitted in is that Northern Virginia is one of the most if not the most competitive housing markets in the United States being near government military and related businesses around Washington DC drives that housing market not data centers one way or the other what the leaders of Farmington claim to be due diligence is in fact is in need of factchecking and and is far from a comparison of similar situations not nearly due diligence in an article from the Washington posts Montana developer Buck who builds higher-end houses states that residents located near New Industrial Development are harder to sell the same article also states that due to AI companies like Google Microsoft and Amazon are in a power grab for land but also for water and electricity they target the smaller towns because and this is not my quote this is from the article they think the people there are stupid or just need the money I think that the people of Farmington are not stupid and I think that Revenue can be brought into town by appropriate placed data centers like the Bengal project it it's already zoned industrial or by reaching out with generous offers to some of the 45% of Farmington land which is not developed nor near residential developments I ask that the council vote no to rezoning what is being promised by the city is not what is happening in other towns and cities where data centers are built or are proposed and there's no reason to believe that the reality is any different here in Farmington again to quote the Post article data center developers use predatory business tactics to promote the construction of centers like the one proposed in the southeast of Farmington open your eyes and see it given the proximity to the election I would ask that the vote be postponed until after the November election and when that vote does occur vote no to the illegal spot zoning the residents of Farmington are not beholding to the whims of the mayor who tells his cons constituents just to move if they don't like the way the city is run vote no to resoning thank you good evening uh council members um everyone mayor I'm Esther Varga two uh 3094 225th Street I'm addressing the resoning into industrial use of the Fountain Valley Golf Course and the school district Farm properties people decided to live here because of the location the the serenity of the neighborhoods one of the factors people use to determine where to live is adjoining properties and potential future developments yes many do look at the city's comprehensive plan and surrounding zonings we didn't know that one day there could be a school it did not happen or there could be new residential developments these are facts we accepted more people more sounds sides of daily life that come with the process kids laughing playing lawnmowers four-wheelers you know who you are dogs barking these sounds are part of life and transitional not continuous like an industrial facility can be 24/7 365 days a year I know that the Planning Commission visited data centers they deemed not noisy However the fact that track stood right here and said the noise will be within legal limits is in fact an admission that there will be noise if there is no noise there it could be not within legal limits right if you choose to vote to reson these properties How can any Resident and voter ever have confidence and Trust again in our local government if you choose to vote to the zone you are retrofitting the comp plan to fit into your schema of spot zoning which is not legal in Minnesota people who bought homes on the edges of Farmington should be very concerned about a similar resoning next to them are you paying attention are you next you could be next having to deal with a resoning consequences for most of us a home is the largest investment we ever make in our lives we all want to be assured that what was planned for a neighborhood is honored and not changed for the promise of money to the city and the school district the tax revenue is just as a promise you cannot take it to the bank what it comes down to the school district wanting to make a windfall on the farm sale at the cost of spot zoning negatively impacting existing residential neighborhoods and adjoining municipalities the city of Farmington wants the promised tax revenue at a huge cost Peace of Mind quality of life and the future home values of several hundreds of people being smashed so that the city and the the school district can rea the monetary benefit anyone remember how quickly technology changes remember real toore floppy disc CD rum all obsolete technology changes very quickly and when it does what will these 2.5 million square fet buildings be replaced with once resed just about any industrial segment can replace them what could be next in our future Foundry paper meal anyone metal stamping facility tenary it feels like Farmington is flopping down Industrial areas amongst us without any consideration for the residents living next to and around the properties I heard many people address the Planning Commission and the city council the past several month and no one validated any of our concerns we were told our fear is perceived we all moved here in good faith none of us is opposed to progress nor to these facilities we only oppose to building them in an area right next where people barbecue children play sleep you know just living their normal lives children teenagers parents grandparents none of our daily quality of life will benefit from this resoning please do not vote reone to these properties to commercial industrial it's a slippery slope it allows other disruptive uses of these properties to adversely affect our lives and once it's resed it's very difficult to be undone thank you so much thank you anyone else wishing to speak at this time last call all right seeing none we will move on to item seven which is our consent agenda i' seek a motion to approve the consent agenda motion motion by Nick second by Steve all in favor say I I I next item is 12 Tac one under new business which is resolution 202 4 Tac 83 adopting the final alternative Urban areawide review AAR for the Farmington West Industrial project Deana thank you mayor and city council start yes so tonight we're asking the city council to consider resolution 2024 -83 which is the adoption of the final AAR for the Farmington West Industrial project again the far the AAR is an environmental review process it looks at those potential impacts of anticipated development within a geographically defined area it's regulated by Minnesota rules and it's a planning tool this does not approve or deny a project but again it's a planning tool what I have on here is directly from um Minnesota rules and it shows the process and you can see where we are tonight the study area included six Parcels approximately 329 Acres at the corner the northwest corner of Pilot Knob and County Road 50 and this AAR analyzed the potential impacts associated with a technology park or other industrial uses tonight we've asked Ellison hardwood who is the director of Natural Resources with WSB to walk walk through the a the final a talk about what it is that process some of the findings that came from it and also how the AAR is used um we hired WSB to be the city's consultant the actual AAR was completed by kimley horn and we felt it was super important for the city to have an expert working on our behalf to review all the information to make sure that the process was followed and that the information was accurate so with that I'll turn it over to Alison all right thank you again I'm Allison Harwood I'm director of Natural Resources with WSB and I am my team worked with the city with City staff um as well as the consultant that developed the a to as de said make sure that it was um complete and had the most accurate information available at this time I'm going to Quick go over some terms and definitions that are involved in these reviews um just because there's a lot of acronyms so Environmental Quality board is the eqb that is the state um board that oversees the environmental review process and the environmental rule 4410 uh AAR is the alternative Urban areawide review which is what we were talking about tonight um and it is a hybrid of two other types of environmental documents the environmental assessment worksheet or eaw which is a form of review that uh many many cities are very familiar with and the environmental impact statement or Eis which is a type of review that is typically reserved for um very large impactful projects that don't have um other processes available for evaluating impacts responsible government unit which is the city of Farmington in this case and is also referred to as the rgu and and another term that is often associated with environmental reviews is the term significant um which in this case means cannot be undone and or addressed through other formal review or permitting processes so what is a um again it's a State Environmental review document it's a hybrid of an eaw and an Eis the difference in those three types of reviews is that an EA an eaw typically is a review of a specific development project a 250 home residential development or a 300,000 foot Industrial Development a very specific concept plan has been developed um that is being reviewed for a particular area an Eis again is a very typically very large projects think um Viking Stadium or uh a large mining project um the eaw is a or AAR is a combination of those two and it involves studying land uses versus specific development plans and it can study the effect that the different types of development scenarios or land uses may have on the environment um and Associated Community infrastructure another difference between an aoar and the other types of environmental review is that an AO is updated so again it's typically completed on a a larger review area that may involve multiple types of in development projects and so it's required to be updated every 5 years until development in that particular area um has been completed the purpose of it is a planning tool it is not meant to approve or deny any projects that are associated with that study area it's simply meant to help identify and help City staff and developers identify the potential for impacts and mitigation measures or other studies or permitting that may need to come through the development process for development that occurs within that study area it's really meant to again inform not only cities um and City staff but also the developers on those future permitting Planning and Zoning decisions so this is the timeline that this particular a um a Farmington West has has been associated with so this project in addition to the normal AO process also required what's called a scoping AO and a scoping aoar is required for specific types of development um either one of two things either study areas that have a land use that's proposed that exceeds 50% of the study area or has a land use proposed that exceeds an Eis criteria and so that was the case with this project with the um the two plus million square foot data center that scoping process is really meant to just lay out not only the study area that's involved with the AO that's being evaluated but also the different types of um uh resources that the aoar will evaluate and the scenarios and it gives it gives the public and agencies the opportunity to review what is going to be reviewed in the upcoming a AAR and provide some early feedback on maybe additional scenarios that should be developed or um an ex expanded or different study area those scoping documents are distributed for a 30day comment period which was completed back in April and May of 2024 following the that scoping document the city ordered the preparation of an AO and that occurred in June um the comments that came out of that scoping document were then used to develop the draft aoar which was again distributed for a 30-day comment period in July um basically in July of 2024 the comments that were came out of that document which we'll talk about a little bit later in this presentation were reviewed and considered and the final a was developed based on um the information that was came out of that comment period that final AAR was distributed for what's referred to as a 10-day objection period um and that that objection period applies to State agencies and the Metropolitan Council that was completed in December and today we are at um the last piece the last phase of the AAR process which is AO adoption um again this process will then be a portion of this process will then be repeated in five years when the AO is adopted if it needs to be there are several types of resources that are evaluated in an aoar um I won't go through this entire list where you know Point by Point um but everything from natural resources to City infrastructure to historic prop properties um to the potential for impacts from uh to greenhouse gas emissions and how that might impact the climate another important piece of the AAR is the mitigation plan and the mitigation plan um is developed both through uh the city staff review as well as commitments from um any potential developers that come into that Development Area for this particular a there were several um mitigation measures identified for various types of resources um what I have here is just a few bullet points um for each resource but there's a more complete list in the final a itself so some of the resources that um had mitigation identified were land use and the need for rezoning of that agricultural current agricultural zoning there was a large of required local state and federal permits or approvals identified that would need to be um would need to be reviewed as each individual a applicant or developer comes in to make sure that they're getting all of the various types of reviews and approvals that they need to get there were there was a commitment for some geotechnical investigations and then compliance with storm water and PDS permits upgrading of water and sanitary infrastructure and the associated permitting that goes with that other types of Water Resource commitments were treating storm water runoff again the compliance with the storm water permits and then impact avoidance um for wetlands and impact minim minimization to um not only to improve habitat and and preserve the habitat that is on site other types of um habitat or Wildlife related mitigation we're using Wildlife friendly erosion control blanket having some tree clean restrictions surrounding um bats and migratory birds and then incorporating native pollinator species into Landscaping mitigation for potential for contamination or hazardous waste was for um complying with the existing solid and hazardous waste management requirements through the mpca there were various um evaluations of the visual impacts air and noise and mitigation identified for each of those including some lighting design that would minimize impacts to insects and Wildlife dust control during construction and then timing construction to minimize impacts to noise and many of those um commitments will also be defined in development agreements that City staff um complete with individual developers mitigation for potential for climate impacts that was outlined included using um infrastructure design that was green or sustainable including energy efficient appliances um electric vehicle ready charging and then um simple things like Recycling and composting when available there were various intersections that were evaluated in the transportation plan and um some were noted for needing Improvement and some were noted for just needing some additional monitoring as future development occurred and again as I mentioned the full list of mitigation measures is is included in the final AO so the final AAR um so these many many of these mitigation measures were included in the draft a some of them were added following re following receipt to the comments from um the the agencies that that commented and these were incorporated into the final AAR comments that were received were from just mainly State agencies and then um one local agency so Dakota County um or two local agencies Dakota County for Millian River Watershed jpo Department of Natural Resources the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council which their comment was just an acknowledgement um that there were no resources in that area and Metropolitan Council the comments primarily focused on um the potential for unidentified Wells and properly sealing those um if they were found within the site as I mentioned the traffic and the transportation mitigation um potential for Habitat Improvement specifically connections to the Middle Creek Conservation Focus area as well as the use of of those native and drought tolerant plants um the opt the options for potentially using the aggregate resources within the site prior to development um was noted the need for continued evaluation and permitting for water demands including opt options for water reuse and the need for continued evaluation and planning for Waste Water needs including the needs for future Wastewater infrastructure improvements so again all of these comments were considered um the final a was updated was distributed back out for the 10-day objection period in September um and no objections were received from any of the agencies and objections um are very uncommon uh I have been involved with only one project that has had an objection in my career and um it was very quickly resolved and typically the objections only occur if there is not if there's not um an additional approval or permitting process established for a particular resource yet so what follows adoption as I've mentioned the aoar remains valid for 5 years for any of the development scenarios studied um meaning that any development that comes in that fits within the scenarios or fits within the types of land use that were studied are covered for environmental review they would not need to go through a separate environmental review process developers and the city and City staff review and Implement mitigation measures as necessary so as development plans come in the city staff can use the mitigation document and the aoar um to cross check can make sure that developers are um adhering to the commitments that were um made within the a again it must be updated every 5 years until development is complete within the study area or it may also be updated if a proposed development comes in that differs from the land uses that were evaluated or um is within the same land use but more dense or impactful than what was studied under the a with that I'm happy to answer any questions before handing to back over to VI thank you ma'am Steve questions yeah I do um so let's talk about the water the groundwater portion of it we know that the Vermillion river is critical to this area and even though there weren't objections there were noted concerns so maybe as a broad comment or question how how are concerns looked at from a developer standpoint are they like okay duly noted but we're going to proceed or or what is that look like as it relates I I and I'm primarily thinking about the ground groundwater the water part of it sure so for for that comment in particular um the the response to those is that there would be a need for a water appropriate ation permit for any project that would come in that would need to um take groundwater um for the for the use of the project and so there would be a review through both the DNR and the Department of Health um for those Appropriations permits that would take and and those review agencies would have a much more robust review process for potential impacts to resources like the Vermilion River sure so and then kind of more of a a big picture question as well when you have larger you know based on your experience when you have larger developments that are going to impact groundwater and Wetland areas what tends to happen with the water I mean we see in like larger housing developments for example that we have dewatering so we move it from the project area to a different area is it similar in this and is more sensitive groundwater moved in a different way what does that look like um I I don't know that I can answer the question related to groundwater um that is not my particular area of expertise but in terms of the wetlands or any other surface waters um again it goes through a a permiting process U many times through multiple agencies local state and in some cases federal um that evaluate the the need for those types of impacts um what the ultimate um result of the Imp impacts would be in the case of surface waters that maybe removal of that resource Al together in the S um in the uh with groundwater it may be the um evaluation of whether that impact again would be significant or not and and if so to what degree they would need to um adjust their plans to make that not significant um for surface waters there's typically a um a mitigation process that involves either providing on-site mitigation so you know maybe creating a wetland in a different place or um what's called purchasing credits from off-site Wetland mitigation bakes but the surface water itself then um goes through the storm water management bmps and so that's Again part of the the site design um and City Review process to make sure that whatever surface water is being removed around a site um can be adequate adequately handled got it um before it enters any other Downstream resources got it and then one other question this might be a question for you Deana so let's say we get um five and a half years down the road and project Bengal is not moving as quickly or maybe it's you know decided that they don't want to develop there but they want to move somewhere different so hypothetical scenario um so we know that the Au is focused on two types of projects that were evaluated so would a new a I mean does a new a depend on the amount of difference for a future development so let's say for example there's there's a retail development propos or something a little bit different commercial you know commercial for example um you know does there have to be an AAR that specifies that specific use or even housing for example I mean any use that's not identified requires a new a AAR correct um it would not necessarily require an entirely new AAR if through the update process you can you can add scenarios you can eliminate scenarios that are no longer relevant and in some um in some cases there may be some resources um that don't need to be re-evaluated because the impact to them would be the same regardless of the development um in other cases for example traffic there may be a need for an updated traffic study if the the new scenario would be U would result in a a greater impact um or more traffic generation from that site so you know for example a Housing Development may have more traffic generated than um than what's currently proposed now all right thank you yeah Steve touched on a the water ones I think I would talk but just as a as a general understanding of the process I mean Loosely speaking you have these impacts and mitigations and a lot of the language seems very common is that when there is a mitigation required the process is to wait for the appropriate body to kind of see a development plan is that a kind of a correct way of putting it correct yes and again especially with the AO they're really um they're intended to to evaluate land uses and so um in terms of actual approvals or mitting you know those local or state or um federal agencies need to be able to see the the the plans before them before they can really evaluate what impacts actually will be so often in the AA aars the most impactful scenario is what is studied um and the actual development often is much less impactful than that sure I guess the way of saying it is they're this is just the way of putting the highlighter on what they believe the most impactful areas will be when a development plan comes along but not actually identifying or speculating on what this actually looks like at the moment right correct y okay thank you I don't have any questions on Nick's point though um they use the terminology in the report uh worst case scenario right so they talk about worst case so when they're when you submit the two uses in this case it's technology park or I I they believe is light industrial and 3 million 2.9 Million Square ft when they're talking about proposed numbers it's worst case scenario and that's what they're essentially setting the mitigation efforts and requirements uh for is that worst case scenario um especially appreciate the traffic component of it the 2026 they call current and then monitor certain areas and 2040 um to Steve's Point yeah if if a large development comes in let's say a thousand homes right something similar to what happened up in Rosemont and all the multif family and and whatnot it's going to dramatically change the water usage dramatically change the transportation but the um the wildlife impact the natural um setting the topography that stuff doesn't change that that part of the report is retained but they update the applicable portions of the report respective to whatever that new proposal is right yep yep that'd be accurate there's a lot in a 470 page doent to take in but I I just I appreciate our team's time to go through and um getting all of the feedback from or all of the um requirements from the U state agencies and um I didn't realize that monarch butterflies were uh as prevalent in that area as the report States so it's interesting to learn some of that stuff um but no I just I appreciate the thoroughness of it if there's no other comments then I would seek a motion um excuse me I'd seek a motion to approve resolution 2024 Tac 83 adopting the final alternative Urban areawide review AAR for the Farmington West Industrial project motion to approve motion by Steve second by Nick call a rooll please council member lean yes council member Wilson yes mayor Hoy yes thank you ma'am next it on the an item on the agenda is 12.2 plans and specifications and authorize the advertisement for bids for the ramling River Center project Kelly good evening mayor and Council we are very excited to be here this evening for the next step in the Rambling River Center renovation project uh tonight with me I have uh Recreation supervisor Misty colbeck and Rambling River Center Advisory Board chair current chair Mary garlett thank you for being here tonight the plans and spec specifications for the project are complete thus it is time to authorize the advertisements for bids as a reminder an agreement with JG Architects for schematic design through construction phases for the Rambling River Center project was approved by City Council on May 6th 20124 since then the architect and engineering team uh JLG Architects contracted with pson and Clark engineer engineering for electrical mechanical and Structural Engineering um have been working on schematic design design development and plans and specifications were developed based on the agreement that was approved by City Council on May 6th this includes the full scope of propo proposed renovation work as identified in the planning study um approved by City Council on January 14th 2024 as a reminder it will be a single phase project it also includes Carl Anderson facility condition assessments including this uh switch gear from 1969 I think it was this will be replaced as part of the project um a authorization for bids is the next uh step in the process and why we are here tonight Renovations this is just a few of the renovations included converting part of the existing garage to the fitness room relocating the main entry two new gender neutral restrooms constructing a new outdoor patio off the banquet room replacing the roof and all exterior doors and windows installing new rooftop mechanical units duct work and zoning and as mentioned earlier new switch gear new interior finishes include flooring painting and ceiling tile this is uh What uh JG Architects used as their inspiration themes for the new paint schemes uh carpet um other uh finishes in the building we had a a meeting with the jlg's interior designer um with the building maintenance staff in at the end of July we thought it was important to have staff there who was going to do the maintenance on the on the finishes whether it be the tile the carpet uh the painting to be there and talk to the jilg team about their concerns what with what they have picked out um one one important story I'd like to to share is uh two of the building maintenance staff members had um some concerns with the carpet tile that JLG had picked out um we had the carpet tile there they looked at it they were concerned um if you can imagine with coffee spills we have quite a few coffee spills at the senior center and often not we don't hear about the coffee spills at the senior center so when uh Gregor Robert find them it's it's far too late so we asked the JG if we could keep the two carpet uh tiles so we did a coffee spill test um we took coffee and dumped three spots on one of the tiles uh one of the building maintenance members uh cleaned it after two days took a picture after a week after he cleaned it and after two weeks after he cleaned it um it passed their test so we are going to go with this carpet as as shown here um when we told the architect architect she's like love that you're giving this the full-on test and that the results have been good so far so to our knowledge they didn't have anybody uh do a coffee spill test but that just talks about the staff we have and their concern for City resources and money and that we're going to pick out a carpet that will will last a long time and if we're we miss a carpet uh or a spill on the carpet it it will be okay so just wanted to share that story with you so this is the the uh finishes in the lobby the reception area in the coffee bar similar interior finishes in the fitness room as a reminder the fitness room will be moving to the garage and take the three uh most uh Eastern uh stalls um we will have a uh finish there that is flooring resilient for a fitness center a little bit more cushy on on joint joints and knees we do have seven project alternates these are added add alternates if the base bid comes in where funds will will allow us to add them they are in no particular order as shown on this screen staff would decide at that time if funds allow removal of fin tube radiation um this was abandoned in place years ago um there's some offices that we still have it that we'd like to have it removed Arbor at the outdoor patio arbor outside the fitness room on current garage apron on Oak Street acoustic ceiling baffles in the banquet room replacing the acoustic wall baffles in the banquet room ceiling fans in the banquet room and a folding partition in the Empire Room so the Empire Room will become one large room and we'd like to have a folding partition down the middle um so we could divide the room into two spaces as mentioned these will be added if uh funds allowed here is the current project schedule we are here tonight October 7th um to ask for approval of the plans and specs and authorize the advertisement for bids um if approved tonight bidding will begin tomorrow October 8th through November 5th 2024 advertisement for bids will happen on October 11th and 18th in the Dakota County Tribune it will also be on the city's website and in the plan rooms um that JG um adds it on to uh October 21st we will have a required pre-bid conference and site tour so any uh firm Construction Company interested in bidding on it is required to be there um the engineers and Architects will go through the the project um have time to walk around and show the different uh improvements November 5th bids are due at 2 p.m bid opening at 3 3 p.m. November 18th we hope to be back in front of City Council to accept the bids and award a contract week of December 2nd preconstruction meeting um it may move up into November but that's the week of Thanksgiving so we weren't sure so we're setting it tentatively the week of December 2nd and then March 31st 2025 substantial completion of the project one thing before I go to the the funding sources I do want to say the building official reviewed the construction documents and issued a plan review letter to JG Architects the comments are being addressed by JLG Architects with responses provided back to the building official the City attorney reviewed the front-end documents for the spec specifications several times and found them to be acceptable thank you Leo it was several times as of the final construction documents the estimated total construction is cost is 1,000 or 1, 96133 the estimated total project cost is 2,314 $137 the estimated total project includes Construction Plus design contingency of 5% and soft costs soft costs include architect engineering fees permits testing inspections and FF Furniture fixtures and equipment funding the project will be funded by the $740,000 remaining in the community uh Project funding Grant if you remember we spent $3,000 on the environmental review um completed by Dakota County and then $7,000 for the facility master plan so right now we have $740,000 remaining in the community uh Project funding Grant the donation of $50,000 from in West Bank for the outdoor patio and then the tax abatement bonds of $1,758 th000 so right now uh it's looking good for us so hopefully uh construction costs come in um favorably um the alternate total costs were just over 137,000 so if we come in where it's shown right now we would be able to add some alternates um as long as we don't have other change orders the action requested tonight is approve the plans and spe specifications and authorize the advertisement for bids for the Rambling River Center project thank you ma'am Nick any questions uh just a comment first that I'm very excited for this obviously it's been a long time coming um my one question I guess on and I'm sorry if it's getting into the Weeds about coffee spilling but with the carpet will there be purchase of any say extra to store around you know in the event that you damage the carpet and can replace it you know just so we don't I'm always afraid of the scenario you're running down you know five years on the road where you have to replace all the carpet because some of it's damaged you know right and they said we'll get whatever's left over okay so they'll open a case or what however they come and whatever's left is our to to keep okay so and if there's not enough we can definitely look into that obviously that's a minor point but other than that I'm really happy um are we still going to have coffee on Fridays at the fire station then we are going to have coffee at the fire station and we might actually get some firefighters now too all right thank you very much Steve yeah this excuse me this is um this is really exciting and I think you know if we go back um and I know the mayor has commented about this a number of times and we've done a lot of analysis of so many different components of City operations and one of the most critical I think was going back to cross Anderson analyzing all of our facilities and what are the needs and you know this building rose up to the top with um all the different needs and the um The Advisory Board Mary and the whole team have been so instrumental in bringing us good information you know information about what they want what they can use I'm a member and by the way if you're 50 and over you can become a member it's um awesome benefits you know you got coffee Bingo uh cribbage Fitness socialization Fitness it's awesome um but I do have a couple questions Kelly going back to the alternate bid so can you pull that part of it up so you said the totality of those items is 13 137 100 so I mean if we're leaving that on the table in the scheme of bidding of 1.82 1.81 million that I mean leaving these out kind of concerned me a little bit um and you know Kim might have some thoughts on the the financing part of it but I mean I it would be nice to figure out a way to add these in but it's also reasonable to kind of see how the bids and things come in so I mean I think about something like the partition in the Empire Room at a minimum you'd want to have that set up to potentially allow that as opposed to like completely retrofitting if you do have enough money yep I mean so I I can see where you're going to essentially create problems by not putting these in here from the GetGo they're actually going to get it ready so they're going to put the steel beams in the in the ceiling so it's ready to go okay yep that was a concern for us too let's have it ready in case we we can but if we can't maybe we can get it um down the road and actually that was I think the most expensive on that list at 40,000 okay the folding partition I mean is our problem with potentially adding these in the fact that we are essentially tapped out in the the the abatement bonds that we can reach I mean I think any comments on that or well right now we we have a a $233,000 to play with that doesn't sound like a lot but hopefully they'll still come change orders that could be wi way pretty yeah I I think with selling the bonds we're we're set right there aren't we cam yeah okay and depending on the bids we may be able to do them all but this is just a little you know save these aside so if they are favorable we have the things that we're going to do so the The Advisory Board also had fundraising dollars if there was something on that list that they really wanted they could we could spend some fundraising dollars towards it too yeah okay thank you and Missy said they're going to keep fundraising right yeah I heard that I don't have any questions Kelly i i a huge thank you to The Advisory Board and and the team over there I mean um you know Steve said it very well that the Rambling River Center is a huge part of our community and although it's you know really for 50 and over as membership it's used through Park and rack and so many other youth groups right they have um firearm safety classes there the Boy Scouts meet there there's so many different groups that utilize that facility um so being able to secure the 750,000 through the Congressional directed spending was a way for us to take something that we've talked about for a long time and just say let's go um and and I'm I'm going to Echo what both my peers well what most of the council has said in in this process is that let's do it once right that's why we ultimately gave the direction to do it in one phase and not break it up over you know two three four five years um fingers crossed that the bids are favorable and we have it in the budget to take care of the alternate items um that way when we turn it over in late March early April it's it's all there for you so that'd be that'd be be fantastic best outcome possible right well with that uh I would seek a motion to approve the plans and specifications and authorize the advertisements for bids for the Rambling River Center project I will make a motion to approve motion by Steve second second by Nick call the RO please council member Wilson yes mayor Hoy yes council member lean yes all right thank you Kelly All Right Round Table Leah you start great thank you mayor um just a Judicial update I suppose judicial elections are on the same ballot as the other elections you might have to turn over the ballot um but for those of you that don't know that uh you should go on to the Secretary of State's website see a sample of your ballot and take a gander and those are courts from the Dakota County courts all the way up to the Supreme Court and there's some contested cases so or some contested cases classic attorney speak some uh contested races um so thanks thank you Nick I just got back from Colorado so I'm G to use that as my excuse that I didn't have enough time to write a round table tonight that's fair Steve all right so um couple items actually I'm going to start with something a little bit different um you know we complain about the winter and occasional severe weather but of course if you live or have family in the East Coast or down in Florida you know I just ask that you think about them say a prayer for them um you know and of course we're in directly impacted if not families being impacted because you know our food costs go up uh Transportation maybe gets limited and there's so many direct impacts of a of a hurricane that hits a different part of the country so I want to point that out I don't want to steal Gary's Thunder but I might um I don't think I was the first but I I was one of the first 15 or 20 to get one of these I mean this is awesome so um I'm sure everybody in here and watching on TV we know this is the most popular um show in the city of Farmington everybody watches the City Council meetings so make sure that you take time to stop up to the police station I mean Police Department hit it out of the park with these I mean they always have the pink patches but all joking aside um many of us have been negatively impacted by the terrible effects of breast cancer uh family loved ones neighbors um and this is an awesome campaign during the month of October maybe it'll extend beyond that depending on demand all the proceeds go to the American Cancer Society um and just really appreciate the department uh for coordinating that so that's what I have Lyn well um we have a guest in the audience tonight and Jim I just wanted to thank you for your 25 years of service here in Farmington but also your years of service in LA enforcement period law enforcement is a very difficult career and you've done it very well not only do you have passion for the career of law enforcement and the profession but you have passion for this community and we will not forget it we thank you for your service above self and we will miss seeing you around here all the time please don't be a stranger so thank you sure next Wednesday October 16 is actually national bosses day so I want to give a shout out to Lynn for creating and maintaining the culture we have here that makes it such a wonderful place to work so thank you I appreciate you di thank you mayor and Council one quick announcement tomorrow starting at 10:30 will be the EM Open House Down on the Corner this is a super exciting project and I think a great example of what progress in this community can look like and what change can look like and they'll be opening up their doors they'll be tours of um the public spaces including the upper level Lookout deck patio areas and you'll be able to see some of the units so the public is welcome it's from 10 starts at 10:30 and we'll do a ribbon cutting and I know mayor you'll be seeing a couple words so thank you for that thank you John thank you Mar and council members last week uh Public Works held their snow day uh we don't want to wait until there could be snow before we start thinking about it we've updated all of our plow routes we checked out all the equipment we drove the routes to see if there are any obstacles or iron gate vals manholes that need to be adjusted before we actually do get snow uh it's also a great opportunity to have a ms4 discussion about salting and and how to Smart salt as well as a few words from the police department and then overall stressing safety uh when they're out there and how to interact with the residents and and stay safe uh additionally we have an open house uh tomorrow night for the 2025 Street Improvement project that's our second open house it's in the atrium area from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. and the mid and overlay project uh which had until October 31st for final completion is done uh that's including with the additional 20% or so of work that we added to the contract that was all finished and something big started today hydrant flushing H hydrant flushing did start today uh it's generally about a twoe process we do provide daily updates on the web page because if something comes up it consumes a lot of our staff time so if something comes up we may have to shift and we always finish off with um a day when the high school is not active so we'll finish run mea so when we're flushing in in that area we're not adversely impacting the high school appreciate the reminder I got you thank you sir Kelly uh since the Rambling River Center will continue to fundraise uh the silent auction and breakfast fundraiser is Saturday this coming Saturday breakfast is from 8:30 to 10:30 uh $12 per person egg bake cinnamon rolls coffee juice and milk and then the silent auction ends at 11:00 a.m. you can buy your tickets at the door Halloween Havoc tour starts Monday the map of houses will be out on the city web website and social media on Monday uh last year we had 16 houses on the tour this year 25 um several collecting per non- perishable food for the food shelf and one collecting hats and mittens so be sure to check out the houses on tour and then just want to congratulate Jimmy and and tell you miss you I think we've got to work um for the last for 17 years together and it was definitely my pleasure and I'm going to miss you seeing you around here so I'm glad that you're yeah thank you Kim uh excuse me last month the finance department sent out letters to property owners who had delinquent balances for any sort of services provided by the city so Utility Billing mowing weeds that sort of thing um and in that letter it stated that those amounts would need to be paid by next Thursday 10:17 October 17th before 2:30 PM so I just wanted to send out that reminder thank you Chief so this week is National FL Prevention Week um I have a little bit of data here from the uh nfpa's website uh so this year's official theme is smoke alarms make them work for you this year's focus is working on smoke alarms comes from the national from the response from the National Fire Protection Association data which shows that the majority of us home fire deaths continue to occur in homes with no smoke alarms no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms uh this year's Fire Prevention Week campaign reinforces the critical importance of smoke alarms and What needs uh what needs to install tests and maintain them properly having working smoke alarms in the home reduces the risk of dying in a home fire by more than 54% however roughly three out of five fire deaths occur in homes with either no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms and more than 38% of Home Fire deaths result from fires in which no smoke alarms were present fire prevention week is celebrated throughout North America every October and is the oldest US public health observance on record for more than over 100 years again fire prevention week has worked to educate people on the risk of Home Fires and ways to minimize them uh so check out our websites all of our social media will be having things throughout the whole entire week of how to check your smoke alarms change your batteries out um here in the city of Farmington over this entire year we have seen a huge rise in false alarm calls that we've been going to homes because our batteries are dead or they're over 10 years old and we have to get replaced thanks thank you sir Chief I have so much to say uh why are you laughing at me um but I won't uh if it's all the same to you Mr Mayor I'm going to defer my time on the open mic here to deputy chief Constantino and let him address coun absolutely Mr Mayor members of the council administrator department heads thank you four 19 6 3 6 3 12,000 1 those numbers might not make much sense to you but they do to me in the 25 years I've been in Farmington there have been four Mayors there have been 19 different council members there have been six different city administrators there have been three different HR directors six different Finance directors and three different police Chiefs and I've had to train them all in it's been exhausting 12,000 signifies the approximate growth of the city during my tenure here so the population is pretty much doubled the final one uh and the most important to me refers to my wife Lori she has been my rock throughout my time here and without her love and support I wouldn't be here tonight it's been quite a ride especially the last four and a half bumpy years but things have been smooth here the sport from our Council our Administration and our citizens has been overwhelming at times but in a good way I'd like to thank Chief Rutherford for seeing something in me that I didn't even see in myself making me the first deputy chief in Farmington Police history I'd like to thank my co-workers who are among the best cops in the country I pray for their safety throughout these tumultuous times thank you and God bless thank you sir [Applause] so the last six years um that's the time frame that I've had the opportunity to really work with you and time and time again um I have only seen a true professional show up um you're steadfast you are just you are reliable in every way and you are a consumate professional um I love your enthusiasm I I love your drive um I only get to see Snippets I mean just little micro pictures of of the things that you've done in your very distinguished career um but they say in the book 21 year refutable leadership John C Maxwell they talk about the law of the Legacy and it says the highest level of leadership is the one the very few ever achieve and that's putting themselves in a POS that's putting their organization in a position to succeed in their absence there is no doubt that the men and women that you have served with over your tenure are better because of your impact and I know that from the very little time that I get to spend with you um you will be dearly missed in our department you be dearly missed in our community um but your wife gets you back and for for that time um ma'am we thank you I mean you you have made as many sacrifices as Jimmy has um the nights the weekends the holidays all the things you both are in this retirement go enjoy it and as much as I I'm I'm going to hold you to it when we break ground on the expansion you're coming back but other than that in enjoy your retirement sir you have you have earned it and thank you for everything you've done for us we appreciate you with that I'd look for a motion to adjourn motion motion by Nick second by Steve all in favor say I I I I we're adjourned at 8:20 [Music]