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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — DECEMBER 9, 2024 15 Mayor Grant said our people could install it, they have the skills to do that. He is basing that on the fact that he put in his own. That could bring down the cost. Councilmember Monson asked if it has to be six feet tall or would a four -foot fence create enough of a barrier. She said that could make the project cheaper. Councilmember Holden said it's for the little kids running. She wondered if the correctional people could install the fence. That would save money. Mayor Grant agreed. He thinks an upgrade to vinyl is appropriate. Chain link gets rusty. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen asked if the Council prefers vinyl over chain link. Councilmember Rousseau said get rid of the split rail fence and look at what a vinyl fence would cost vs. chain link. Mayor Grant stated when he talks about vinyl, he means a vinyl coated chain link fence. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said he has what he needs. D. JDA Chair Discussion Assistant to the City Administrator/City Clerk Hanson stated that Jonathan Wicklund is the current JDA Chair. His term expires at the end of this year. She asked if Council would like to go through a formal recruitment process to fill the two-year term or would they like to reappoint Jonathan Wicklund. He has expressed interest in continuing in that role. Councilmember Fabel said Jonathan Wicklund does an excellent job. He is reliable, steady and well organized. He runs a nice meeting. Keeping him in his role offers some continuity for the JDA that will be losing three members. His experience will be very useful and he recommends reappointment. Councilmember Holden said she was disappointed about how many meetings he missed this year. We've had big change over before. Even with missing three people. She thinks it is nice to have a new point of view. There has been a different chair every two years and each of those people brought something unique to the position. It would be her preference to recruit to fill the position with a new person. Councilmember Monson doesn't have any complaints about him. She agrees with Councilmember Holden it is nice to have new people come in with new ideas. She said that Chair Wicklund won't be on the Planning Commission anymore, so he'll have more time. She thinks he is attuned to the value he brings. If he didn't believe he can bring value to the role, she thinks he would step down. She supports him continuing. Mayor Grant said the turnover on JDA could be looked at one of two ways. Either it's an advantage to maintain consistency or it's an advantage to bring in new blood. He knows Chair Wicklund missed several meetings. He would be in favor of opening it up to applications.