City Council 10/1/2024

1. Call to Order, Roll Call and Pledge of Allegiance

3.1 Appearances: Police Chief Stephanie Revering will introduce Officer Amara Murphy, who has completed probation.

4.1 Approval of the minutes from the following meetings: a. The City Council work session on Sept. 12, 2024. b. The City Council work session on Sept. 17, 2024. c. The City Council meeting on Sept. 17, 2024.

4.3 Acceptance of Mary Cameron’s resignation from the Inclusion and Diversity Commission for a term to expire Dec. 31, 2024.

4.5 Approval of the appointment of Octavia Treadway to the Inclusion and Diversity Commission for a term to expire Dec. 31, 2025.

4.7 Approval of an amended joint powers agreement with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

6.1 Public Hearing: The Mayor will open a public hearing to receive comment, and the Council will consider a motion to approve or disapprove water shutoff at 4533 Welcome Ave. N. The house at 4533 Welcome Ave. N. is owned by the estate of Mary Judge who died in March 2021. The city utility bill and property taxes were last paid in 2019. One of Ms. Judge’s two adult children, Brett Judge, had been living in the home and continued to do so after her death. In January 2024, Public Works and Police responded to a 9-1-1 call about a burst, frozen pipe, and staff learned that CenterPoint Energy had red-tagged and shut off the furnace in March 2023. Because a house with burst plumbing and no working furnace is clearly uninhabitable, staff posted the house as such. Staff acceded to Mr. Judge’s request to leave the water on at the curb based on his commitment to keep the meter valve off inside the house until he got the plumbing repaired and the furnace replaced. During the past eight months, staff has repeatedly attempted to connect Mr. Judge with resources, but no progress has been made on the house. Because the house remains uninhabitable and there is no prospect of that changing before winter, staff recommends shutting off the water at the curb stop to prevent the meter valve in the basement or the water service from there to the curb stop from freezing and bursting. In accordance with Crystal City Code Section 715.67, Mr. Judge has requested a City Council hearing to forestall the water shutoff. After conducting the hearing, City Council action is requested on a motion to approve or disapprove the water shutoff.

7.2 Regular Agenda: The Council will receive a presentation on the 2025 budget and levies as well as provide an opportunity for public input.

7.4 New Business: The Council will consider a resolution regarding municipal consent for the Blue Line Extension. On Sep. 17, staff presented a disapproval resolution listing several outstanding issues with the preliminary design plans. The Council continued this item to Oct. 1 due to ongoing efforts by the project office and Hennepin County to resolve the issues described in the proposed disapproval resolution. On Sep. 23, staff received a letter from the project director making several commitments: The project will include the pavement needed for a potential future choice lane to southbound Hwy 100; Metro Transit will be responsible for snow removal on Lakeland between Wilshire and the park and ride; the project will modify the southeast corner of the Sherburne and Bass Lake Road intersection to more comfortably accommodate u-turns; and the project will provide adequate protections for the Joint Water Commission water main under 42nd Avenue. Staff opinion is that these commitments adequately address the items listed in the Sep. 17 proposed disapproval resolution, except for West Broadway. Regarding West Broadway, staff received a letter from the Hennepin County engineer that addressed several important items that previously had been ignored or dismissed by the county: Acknowledgement of the condition of the roadway, especially the lack of multimodal facilities and the railroad crossing; acknowledgment of the relationship between these conditions and the Blue Line project; commitment to a feasibility study within the next twelve months for near-term multimodal improvements; and commitment to evaluating West Broadway for reconstruction consideration. City staff's opinion is that this letter is as strong of a commitment as Hennepin County staff can make. Based on these commitments, staff is comfortable recommending the Council adopt the resolution approving the preliminary design plans, which includes these commitments as exhibits. An alternate resolution disapproving the preliminary design plans as requested by Mayor Adams is also provided for Council consideration.

7.6 The Council will consider a 2025 wage adjustment and insurance contribution for non- represented employees. The City Council has a longstanding policy of maintaining equity across all employee groups for annual wage adjustments and health insurance premiums. In 2022, the City Council approved an agreement with LELS, Local 44 (police officers), that addressed 2023, 2024, and 2025 wages and 2023 health insurance contributions and included an annual re-opener for health insurance contributions. Last year, the Council approved an agreement with the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE), Local 49 (public works), for the same annual wage adjustments in 2024 and 2025 and an annual re-opener for 2025 health insurance contributions. Recommend approval of the same 2025 wage adjustment (3.25%) and 2025 health insurance contributions (in the previous agenda item) for non-represented employees.

8b. Announcements: The City Council will hold a work session on Thursday, Oct. 10 at 6:30 p.m. in Conference Room A at City Hall and via Zoom.

8c. Announcements: City Council meetings and work sessions are open to the public. Current and previous meetings are available for viewing and listening at www.crystalmn.gov.