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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL — JULY 24, 2023 5 10. PUBLIC HEARINGS None. 11. NEW BUSINESS A. State of the City Planning City Administrator Perrault stated Council discussed the State of the City event at its previous worksession. He stated Council will need to decide on the timing of the event, and that it has been held in the September the last number of years. Should Council want to hold the event in the fall, Staff will need that direction this evening to prepare and have a draft presentation ready for the August worksession. He reviewed topics Councilmember Rosseau relayed at the previous worksession regarding topics for the State of the City. He requested the Council further discuss the timing and provide staff with direction on how to proceed. Mayor Grant asked when the JDA would be hosting a public engagement event. City Administrator Perrault explained the JDA hoped to hold this event in October. Councilmember Fabel stated several weeks ago Gregg Larson made a compelling argument that the State of the City should occur after the first of the year, when the City would be able to review its accomplishments from the preceding year and what would be accomplished in the coming year. He noted the State of the Union always occurs at the beginning of the year, along with the State of the State. He strongly recommended the City hold the State of the City in the same manner, and that it be held after the first of the year. He suggested this meeting be held on a Saturday morning in January at City Hall. MOTION: Councilmember Fabel moved and Councilmember Monson seconded a motion to recommend the State of the City be held in January of 2024 on a Saturday morning at City Hall. Mayor Grant stated he did not believe Arden Hills could be compared to the State or Federal governments, or the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. He noted he called around to several other communities and learned many cities were not happy about attendance at their State of the City event. He reported he did not have any problem with holding the State of the City on a Saturday. However, he feared that this recommendation was being made based on one data point, which was that last year, the City tried to engage its businesses. He then reviewed the dates for the State of the City events since 2011. He asked how many State of the City events Councilmember Monson and Councilmember Fabel had attended in the past. He commented further on why he believed September was a good month for this event, noting residents were back from vacations and explained this may be a good time for the City to launch interest in TCAAP. He believed the September timeline also aligned well with the City budget and levy timeline. He feared that waiting until January would create an after the fact event rather than trying to gain input from residents. He encouraged the slate members to be transparent when it comes to the State of the City and not push it back to January.