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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-09-26-WSApproved: April 13, 2026 CITY OF ARDEN HILLS, MINNESOTA CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MARCH 9, 2026 5:30 P.M. - ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, Mayor Grant called to order the City Council Work Session at 5:30 p.m. Present: Mayor David Grant; Councilmembers Brenda Holden, Tena Monson, Emily Rousseau and Kurt Weber Absent: None Also present: City Administrator Jessica Jagoe, Public Works Director/City Engineer David Swearingen, Assistant Public Works Director Lucas Miller, Parks and Recreation Manager Jess Skalicky, Assistant to the City Administrator/City Clerk Julie Hanson and Community Development Director Jake Reilly 1. PUBLIC INQUIRIES/INFORMATIONAL Greg Larson — 3377 North Snelling Avenue, Arden Hills — He wanted to speak about the franchise fee. He spoke out against the franchise fee at the time the city adopted the franchise fee on the City's electric and gas bills. His fear was that the franchise fee revenues would be used for purposes other than the construction of the City's new fire station for Lake Johanna Fire Department (LJFD). That's exactly what happened in December of 2025. Council approved a levy that shows up as 12.5%. He asked the City Administrator what that would have been if the $165,000 in excess revenue from the franchise fee were added to that. It was in there, but it's hidden. Residents saw an adopted levy that was 12.5%. The City Administrator told him that with that additional $165,000 the effective levy was 15.2%. Residents don't know that. He asked the city what the intent is for the use of excess franchise fees in the future. The City Administrator said it is the general indication that the city would use any excess fees towards the department's future expenditures. The final statement on the bond issue states, "for the purpose of financing the City's proportionate share of the cost of constructing ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — MARCH 9, 2026 2 a new fire station in the City." It doesn't outline the money can be used for anything else. He suggested excess revenue should be set aside so it can be used at some time in the future to pay off those bonds. The final statement makes it clear that beginning in 2036 there is a call provision. That is a provision in all municipal general obligation bonds. That means the City, at its discretion can say to the bond holders we want to pay it off early. We have two options. Create a fund that will set aside the excess revenue from the franchise fees to be used for the call provision that comes alive in 2036. Otherwise, we should adjust the franchise fees down so we don't continue to collect money that will be used for things other than what it was meant to be used for. Lynn Diaz — 1143 Ingerson Road, Arden Hills — She wanted to speak about housing. She supports having Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) in Arden Hills. She thinks there needs to be a qualifier that if you have a house and an ADU they can't both be rentals. One of them should be owner occupied. She wanted to respond to something from the February meeting regarding having affordable units in new housing developments. It has been emphasized that we have very little developable land left in Arden Hills. She thinks we should make an effort to make as much of that affordable as possible. She thinks 80% AMI is useless. It's very close to market rate. She said information was shared that stated workforce housing was at 80%. In her opinion that's not workforce housing. Workforce housing is supposed to be for a young worker, just starting out. They won't be able to afford an apartment here. Someone starting with a government job for example Ramsey County, can afford about $1,000 a month. They can't get there even if the AMI was 60%. A teacher starting out at Mounds View can only afford an apartment at 50% AMI. That would be workforce housing. Those are normal employees that need a place to live in Arden Hills. If someone is on social security you can forget it. There's no place you can find an affordable apartment. We have a unique opportunity in the section south of 694 between Lexington and Snelling. That's the only place in the city that is walkable. That's where affordable housing should be located. People can walk to the grocery store, pharmacy, bank and the Y. Everything is available and someone wouldn't need a car. That's where we should put affordable housing and it should be more than 10%. 2. RESPONSE TO PUBLIC INQUIRIES None. 3. AGENDA ITEMS A. 2027 Park Improvements Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky introduced the next park projects scheduled in the CIP for 2027 construction are Perry, Ingerson and Sampson Parks. The PTRC, Public Works Staff and Parks and Recreation Staff have completed site visits and conducted assessments to review CIP budgeted items, as well as wish list items. She is asking Council to consider the project scope for the proposed 2027 park improvement projects and consider requesting a proposal from an engineering consultant. Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky showed a map and outlined where each of the three parks are located. Perry Park has a full parking lot rehabilitation project that is budgeted for $485,000. There will also be grading improvements at the dog park and the ball fields along with ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — MARCH 9, 2026 3 irrigation improvements and fencing repairs for $35,000. That brings the total for Perry Park to $520,000. Sampson and Ingerson are both scheduled for new playground structures including swings and curb repairs or replacements. Those playgrounds will cost $260,000 each. Sampson has a basketball hardcourt, hoop and backstop for $55,000. Sampson's total cost is $315,000. Ingerson has a trail connection to connect the two cul-de-sacs at the west side of the park for $100,000. The total for Ingerson is $360,000. Councilmember Holden said Perry and Ingerson are heavily used parks. She asked if Staff knows the usage at Sampson. She said she goes past it a lot and never sees anybody there. Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky didn't know off the top of her head but she will find out and get back to Council. She said the total cost for all three park projects will be $1,195,000. Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky presented a slide that outlined the improvements included in the CIP for Perry Park. It includes parking lot rehabilitations and grading and irrigation work in the ball field. The parking lot upgrades includes getting dumpsters up to code. Councilmember Holden asked if we are looking to change the layout of the parking lot. She said that's one of our heavily used pavilions. It is a lot of work to get to the pavilion if someone is bring supplies in. It would be nice to reimagine the layout so it's easier for the pavilion users. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said that is great feedback to receive now. When we go into the design/scope discussions with the consultants, we can include that. Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky outlined some erosion near a retaining wall. She noted the retaining wall repairs aren't in the current CIP. She said the wall is stable, however, it could become unsafe if the erosion is not corrected. Another additional request has been to assess and remove all hazardous, dead or diseased trees. This can save on fence repairs in the future, especially near the ball field and the warming house. Suggested improvements to the dog park would be a water source, reinforced bottom fence to prevent smaller dogs from getting out and creating separate spaces for big dogs and little dogs. Councilmember Holden asked if the hockey rink is in good enough condition to last a couple more years. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said that is currently programmed into the 2030 CIP. At some point Staff will bring that back to discuss what has been budgeted and options for the rink. Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky presented a slide outlining the basketball court and playground improvements included in the CIP for Sampson Park. Additional requests include minor parking lot upgrades, tree pruning, trash can and bench upgrades and trail maintenance. Mayor Grant asked her to explain the parking lot upgrades. Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky said there is a post that is sideways and some curb that is falling apart. This would straighten and clean up all the edges. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — MARCH 9, 2026 4 Councilmember Monson said she uses Sampson Park a lot. She wondered about removing the parking lot and repurposing that area. She hasn't seen anyone park there to use the park and there is plenty of street parking. Councilmember Holden said she has had the opposite experience. People go to Sampson because it's perfect for little kids. Councilmember Rousseau said the Steering Committee discussed the Park Master Plan and there was individual feedback on what their priorities are. She asked if we have that information. Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky said not yet, but she anticipates it will come soon. Councilmember Rousseau asked if they are planning to create a mini master plan for each of the parks. Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky said that is not in the plan right now. They would like to explore doing mini master plans the next time they do park improvement projects. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said if Council would like to create mini master plans for these projects, we can do that. However, he suspects that would push these projects out a year. It is something that can be done; we just don't have the budget in place to do it at this time. Councilmember Holden said we could move one of them out to work on that. Councilmember Rousseau said if there is one particular park where we want to see bigger changes, we could consider it for that one. Mayor Grant agreed with the earlier comment that the Sampson parking lot is larger than it needs to be. He thinks if it were half of what it is now, it would be enough. Councilmember Weber asked for confirmation that parking lot improvements aren't included in the current CIP. So if we wanted to adjust that, that would be an additional cost. Staff confirmed. Councilmember Holden asked if the basketball court will be resurfaced or reconstructed. Assistant Public Works Director Miller said that is to be determined. We will assess the pavement and see if we can do an overlay or reclaim and decide at that point. The hoop needs to be replaced. Councilmember Holden said there are so many trees and the lack of sunlight causes damp conditions. Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky said one of the requested upgrades includes major pruning and possible selective tree removal to allow sunlight. Councilmember Rousseau asked if there is any TLC needed at Sampson on the plantings the Boy Scouts completed a couple years ago. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — MARCH 9, 2026 5 Assistant Public Works Director Miller said that isn't in the scope but we may be able to address that along with the other minor grading that is planned. Councilmember Rousseau said if we are retiring any of the park signs, it would be nice to have them at City Hall. Assistant Public Works Director Miller said Public Works Staff have been told to save all signs, as long as we have space. We have space right now. Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky said the Ingerson park improvements included in the CIP are the playground and the cul-de-sac trail connection. Additional requests include removal of dead and diseased trees and replanting, some drainage and grading work, a larger parking lot and upgrading benches and the pavilion. PTRC also requested a warming house because it is used so often in the winter for sledding. Mayor Grant asked about the larger parking lot. Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky said the PTRC had asked if that could be explored because the lot is often overflowing in the winter. Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky summarized the projects at each park and the cost of the items currently included in the CIP. She stated there are no dollar amounts associated with any of the additional requests for each park. They haven't been budgeted or submitted for engineering or design estimates. If we choose to move forward with any of the additional requests, those estimates will be approved later. Councilmember Holden asked how bad the drainage is at Ingerson that they need to re -grade the hill and the low areas. Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky said during the tour with Public Works they said the mowers get stuck at the bottom of the hill because of the drainage issues. Councilmember Holden asked what that would cost. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said if we could handle this internally we would. However, this is going to need a topo survey, real equipment and a contractor to do that grading work. Assistant Public Works Director Miller said there are drainage issues on the west end, and the pock marks and old tree root locations are all over. Councilmember Rousseau asked if Staff is requesting for us to get a proposal from an engineering consultant who would reach out to the neighborhoods for additional feedback. Staff confirmed. Councilmember Rousseau asked how that works with the recommendations from PTRC. Would the consultant take those into consideration? ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — MARCH 9, 2026 6 Assistant Public Works Director Miller said if we request a survey, that can be a question we ask. This may be a good candidate for one of the mini master park plans to explore what people want there. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said part of the process is the internal Public Works and PTRC additional requests. We are bringing them to this meeting so Council can sift through the items, so we don't have to re -explore items during the community engagement. We want to focus people on the improvements that are directed by Council. If we want to step back and do the mini master park plans, we would re -explore those items. Councilmember Rousseau thinks Perry Park needs the most attention, if we're looking at doing a mini master plan. Councilmember Monson said she thinks the Ingerson is too low of an investment on that playground set, based on what we saw at Arden Oaks and Freeway. Maybe there is a way to slide some money around from a different park. Perry Park is in need of dog park upgrades and people use that dog park a lot. She supports those improvements. She would like to see tree replacement included when talking about removing trees. She asked if Staff can speak to prioritization or tiering of the projects outlined. Councilmember Holden asked how much we pay for the warming house at Hazelnut. She doesn't think it's much for the season. Mayor Grant thought $5,000. Councilmember Holden said it doesn't have to be a permanent warming house up there. We can get an affordable one that comes and goes with the seasons, and we don't have to maintain it. Mayor Grant said we recently improved some other parks at a much higher cost. Arden Manor still isn't finished. As we look at the add-ons, we can probably add 50% to those numbers, easily. He said as was pointed out, Sampson isn't used as much as Ingerson. Maybe some dollars can be moved to support better improvements at Ingerson. He asked if the playground equipment will be replaced with the equivalent to what it has today or is it an upscale structure? Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky said that number is not for an upscale structure. Mayor Grant said we are replacing two playground structures at $260,000 each. Does that replace what is there today? Is it bigger or smaller? Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky said it will likely be about the same size as what is there today. Mayor Grant said when we purchase playground structures, we pay for removal and installation, as part of the contract. Is there any way to save money by using the O and M guys to remove it? Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen understands the appeal of that. He doesn't know if we would really save that much money that way. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — MARCH 9, 2026 7 Mayor Grant said Staff can look at it and let us know. If we can save $30,000440,000 then we could put that into a higher value structure. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said we explored what the Public Works Staff could do during the last Public Works park improvement project and the amount of coordination added into that process means you aren't saving as much as you think you are. Resources are just focused on something other than what they would be focused on. His opinion is he would rather not use our forces to do that. Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky said contractors generally do turnkey projects. Asking them to accommodate us wanting to do work that they generally do, would be a surprise to them. Mayor Grant said if we installed a playground structure where no structure existed before, that would also be a turnkey project. Councilmember Monson wanted to clarify her comments regarding Sampson. She didn't say it is because Sampson is used less than Ingerson. She knows Sampson does get a lot of activity. The people who use that park tend to have younger kids, like four and under. Her comment was if we want to do something with the playground, there could possibly be some shifting in money. She doesn't think Sampson us used less than Ingerson. Councilmember Holden said she received a couple of complaints about Arden Oak and Freeway. The comments were that those structures are oriented more towards little kids. If we do Ingerson, we need something geared toward the 10-12-year-old group. Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky said that can be accomplished through the RFP process. We can request age -appropriate equipment based on public engagement and Staff knowledge. Councilmember Weber said there was discussion of depressions in the ground at Ingerson because of old trees being removed. He supports replacing trees where possible. It would be a large increase in scope to re -grade the whole area. He thinks that may be out of range in the near term. He supports removing dead and diseased trees and replacing them where possible. He likes the temporary warming house, as opposed to a permanent structure. He always supports buckthorn removal but that comes with an issue of maintenance. We can pay to remove it all, but it will come back within a couple of years. He isn't sure that's a worthwhile investment unless we have a plan for controlling that regrowth. He supports the dog park improvements. He likes the idea of increasing access to the rental structure so users can easily drop off their supplies. Councilmember Holden said in the past it was recommended we used the same playground equipment at all parks for ease of replacement. She asked if that is still an issue. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen confirmed that was an advantage of using one provider. By selecting one vendor we were limited by the quality of products from that vendor. During the last park improvement project we reached out to other vendors and ended up going with a different vendor whose products had a lot of interest from the community. Staff believe having a larger vendor pool will allow us to get a better product in the long run. Councilmember Holden said we have enough money in the tree fund to fill all these parks with trees. So that shouldn't be an issue. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — MARCH 9, 2026 8 Councilmember Monson is concerned about the low amount budgeted for the Ingerson playground structure. She asked what we could do to find additional money or adjust the budget to accommodate a better structure there. City Administrator Jagoe said when Finance Director Yang is back in the office, she can talk with her and Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen about how those dollars could be redistributed. She will share an update with Council after that discussion with Staff. Mayor Grant said Public Works kind of like having fewer trees making it easier to mow, until they hit one of those pock marks. It was stated earlier that Ingerson gets heavy use in the winter because of the sledding hill. He agrees with replacing trees where we can, but we can't put trees on that hill and expect it to remain a sledding hill. Councilmember Rousseau wants to think about what happened with Floral and Cummings vs. the product we got at Arden Oaks and Freeway. She's heard positive feedback about Arden Oaks and Freeway. The comment she heard was that Floral and specifically Cummings didn't meet the size of the previous structure. Do we feel like the product we will get will be similar to Floral and Cummings or will it be closer to the Arden Oaks and Freeway structures? Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said we will be aiming to get the Arden Oaks and Freeway response. He thinks Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky's approach is a better way to handle this. We haven't done it that way in the past and he's looking forward to seeing how that goes. Parks and Recreation Manager Skalicky said she believes the best value approach will produce a playground that is well loved and functional. When we are very clear about what we want, it's incredible what these companies can come up with, within our parameters. When we tell them an amount and ask for their best, they will give you their best product because they know they are competing against other companies. Councilmember Holden said she thinks there may be grants available for the trail connection in Ingerson. She would rather have a really nice playground structure, which grants can't cover. Is it feasible to remove the trail connections and use that money for the park and play structure? Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said the trail connection is within the same PIR fund. If Council wants to eliminate the trail connection and move the programmed funding to the play structure, we can do that. He doesn't know of any grants that would apply to this specific trail connection. There is a sanitary sewer easement. We were going to install the trail over that easement. We have the space and this has been in the plan. Councilmember Holden asked when the Fernwood Channel is scheduled. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said 2028. He said that it is a good point that we could do these improvements later in the 2028 PMP. Mayor Grant asked if Staff needed any further information or feedback. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — MARCH 9, 2026 9 Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said yes. He wanted to reiterate the erosion to the retaining wall off the back side of the trail is undermining some of the block. It is in rough condition and needs to be addressed. B. Proposed Trails in Ramsey County ROW Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said this item will discuss proposed trails within Ramsey County Right of Way (ROW). Typically, Ramsey County does a solicitation request with its cities to propose City led projects. There is an upcoming change in cost participation policy. He said that change will benefit the city. In preparation for that change, and to get ahead of other requests that will likely come to the County he wanted to bring this forward now. He will bring it to Ramsey County and get it programmed into their 2028 and 2029 construction projects. He recommends some segments for Council consideration but asked Council to provide their thoughts on other options, as well. Councilmember Holden thinks we need one on County Road D on the Arden Hills side. It is heavily used by employees at Presbyterian Homes. That road is very busy and there are always people walking along it. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said Ramsey County is working with Roseville to add a trail on the south side of County Road D. It's scheduled for 2027 but will probably get pushed to 2028. It is ideal timing to request a segment from Cleveland to New Brighton Road on the north side. Councilmember Holden said that will help keep New Brighton Road open at that intersection, before the County closes it. She said Roseville wants a 4-way stop intersection, instead of the 5. Roseville wants it closed and the County has talked about closing New Brighton Road access to County Road D. Councilmember Weber asked if Staff knows anything about the cost share agreement with Ramsey County. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said he had hoped to have more information after the January JERC meeting. The next meeting is this week. He believes there is a lot of consensus from the cities. The agreement isn't finalized yet but it will be very much in favor of the cities. He, hopes to inform the Council after the meeting on Wednesday. Councilmember Weber asked if this will offer us an advantage for other trail projects or strengthen the argument for the cost share agreement. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said it is to the advantage of the city to get our projects in line. He anticipates a lot of cities will jump on this as soon as the cost participation policy changes. Councilmember Weber said the project that stands out the most is New Brighton Road, but we need the whole way. There is mostly a connection from County Road E2 to Perry Park to the other side of the creek. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — MARCH 9, 2026 10 Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said adding stubs on certain segments that create gaps, you can identify those through a grant process. Having stubs has advantages for grant purposes. Councilmember Rousseau thinks the list in the packet is her priority order. Ingerson stands out to her because during the summer there are so many kids walking down to Lake Josephine. They don't cross to use the sidewalk on the other side. They walk around that curve. Having that extend all the way down jumped out to her as a priority. Councilmember Holden said she would like to see County Road D before the 96 one. The County should have put a trail in when they did all of that. Councilmember Monson said 96 is also a low priority for her. She would like to have consideration on New Brighton Road from Stowe down to the 5-point intersection. There are a lot of people who use that road. If we are thinking about stubbing anything, that may be a good place. Ingerson sounds like a similar issue. There may be even fewer trails over there. Mayor Grant said we need to get our requests on the list early. If the cost share agreement is favorable it will give us an opportunity to get a jump on some needed trail segments. He agrees County Road D should be prioritized over 96. County Road D is a danger to walk and is a public safety issue. He said we shouldn't hesitate to submit a couple of segments that show New Brighton Road from County Road E all the way down to five corners. He has heard several comments from people who live north of the railroad trestle that they would like a trail on the side of the road just to get down to Perry Park. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said we can pursue that route. However, the coordination needed with the railroad may reduce the feasibility of constructing that by 2028 or 2029. Councilmember Monson said she had a long discussion with the County about this specific topic. The County said they aren't going to battle the railroad because they already have all of the connections in Perry Park. They basically said we will have to piece meal it. Mayor Grant said if we don't ask, we can't get it. We can put it in as two different segments and the County may realize there is a bigger issue for the southern segment. Councilmember Holden said the County feels the southern part of that area can take the Elmer Andersen to any of the parks. We have talked to the railroad five times and they turned us down. We aren't going to get a trail there but it doesn't hurt to ask. Councilmember Weber supports a stub on the south side. Discussion ensued regarding how far that south side segment would run. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said Ramsey County had additional funds to handle some of these projects but they will have to sift through our requests along with the requests from all of the other cities. We need to prioritize which ones we want to submit for 2028 and 2029 vs. our wish list. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — MARCH 9, 2026 11 Councilmember Holden said the money makes a difference. We'll have to come up with whatever they don't pay for. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said there was a County in the metro area that was at 12% for the city's portion. Discussion ensued that 96 is low priority and the ones that should be submitted to Ramsey County are New Brighton Road, County Road D and Ingerson. C. Met Council's Livable Communities Act Fund for Housing Planning and Policy Development Grant Discussion Community Development Director Reilly said Metropolitan Council Livable Communities Grant applications close April 15, 2026. The grant money is designed to support housing policies in the 2040 Comprehensive Plan. The benefit of implementing those policies is they are based in facts about the existing housing supply and Arden Hills resident demographics. That hasn't changed much recently, althoughthe argument can be made that people are older and making less in comparison to how much costs have increased. The outcomes remain achievable if we receive some financial support. That's what the Livable Communities Act was established to do. We have been working on policies associated with housing supply and setting the conditions for redevelopment and development, along with having conversations about potential small area planning. The Metropolitan Council puts money towards policy planning and implementation. We can ask for up to $100,000 in April and another $100,000 in October. Community Development Director Reilly said in order to be eligible to apply we first have to adopt a Fair Housing Policy Statement. He provided a sample in the agenda materials. He asked if Council would like to discuss the statement. Second we need to answer some questions about existing housing stock and housing choice.. Mayor Grant summarized that Council is being asked to approve that statement so that Arden Hills can be a part of the LCA and be able to apply for those two grants to help us with planning and zoning. Councilmember Rousseau asked if we would be competitive for this. She sees one of the criteria is that the city prioritizes racial equity when implementing a proposed policy or program. We would have to put together a description of a racial equity implementation approach. Is that doable for us by the April 15 deadline? Community Development Directory Reilly confirmed it is doable. It is possible to pull the answers from the 2040 Comprehensive Plan. Councilmember Weber said the statement is fine with him, for now. It might be worth revisiting later. Councilmember Rousseau suggested as part of the humanitarian subcommittee, from the immigration discussion. Councilmember Weber said Shoreview has one and he is interested in looking at that for Arden Hills. That is a good topic for discussion when there is time. ADUs should come first. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — MARCH 9, 2026 12 Councilmember Holden remembers voting on a Fair Housing Act statement. She asked if this might already exist somewhere. City Administrator Jagoe said we have done a Fair Housing proclamation but we haven't done a policy. We became a member of Livable Communities in order to participate in it. We have to adopt a policy before we can seek grant funds. Mayor Grant said we did seek grant funds in past years. Community Development Director Reilly said with the 2040 Comprehensive Plan Policy documents that led to this plan they have required all cities to adopt an official Fair Housing Policy statement. That wasn't a requirement in previous years. He said Staff has started doing background research of other surrounding communities. If there is an interest in bringing back a different format we can have that conversation. D. Immigration Enforcement Discussion City Administrator Jagoe said if Council wanted to give direction on the utility billing late fee discussion, to include removal or suspension of late fees, it will have to come back for a motion at a regular meeting. She could communicate with Council via email to find some consensus. That would allow Staff to prepare some draft resolutions at the April 13t' meeting. Council agreed with that approach. City Administrator Jagoe said Council can discuss becoming a full member of the Cities for Safe and Stable Communities Coalition. She has emailed the coalition to include us as an ally member. We receive updates and information on what the coalition is working on. The next tier would be to become a full member. That's a paid membership. Councilmember Weber wants to do this. Councilmember Monson isn't comfortable pushing this topic through so quickly. She would like to continue the conversation after the regular meeting where we can have the depth of conversation that this topic deserves. Councilmember Holden agrees with Councilmember Monson. Council recessed the Work Session at 6. 50 pm. Council reconvened the Work Session at 9:23 pm. Councilmember Holden asked if we wanted to have the utility discussion. She asked if everyone still wants to move forward with waiving late fees. Councilmember Rousseau said she supports it. It is about $5,000 quarterly. Council agreed. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — MARCH 9, 2026 13 City Administrator Jagoe said there are two fees; the late fee on utility bills and the delinquent fees. The late fees for the 4d` Quarter in 2025 were processed on February 1, 2026. If a utility bill was more than 30-days past due the account received a late fee. We can go back and remove the 4th Quarter late fees. Utility bills that are more than 90-days past due are from the 3rd Quarter in 2025. They are delinquent and will be certified to Ramsey County. She is seeking direction if we want to waive the late fees, the delinquent fees or both. The delinquent accounts could still be certified, the additional fee just wouldn't be added into the amount. Councilmember Holden thought earlier discussion was to waive both for January through March. City Administrator Jagoe said if Council would like to waive 1st Quarter in 2026, those would go on May 1, 2026. Mayor Grant is in favor of January, February and March. Councilmember Weber said this is the application of fees in January, February and March. Operation Metro Surge primarily happened at the end of December. That will still affect those delinquent bills because they aren't getting the late fee until January. City Administrator Jagoe said the billings that went out for the service dates of October, November and December, 2025 and are 30-days past due had the late fees applied on February 1, 2026. Those accounts that still remain 90-days past due from that same billing period will be brought to Council in April with a request to certify those accounts to Ramsey County. Councilmember Weber asked if the County's recent decision to defer property tax payments will effectively buy these residents more time. Mayor Grant said that is true for any residents who do not escrow taxes. Councilmember Weber said any fees that are added to taxes are not covered by escrow. City Administrator Jagoe said the amounts will be added to future collection as part of the next tax assessment year. The benefit of the City certifying quarterly is that if the property is sold before the next tax year, we are still able to collect those when the property is sold. To the point of the County extending payments for 2026 property taxes, nothing that we certify in April or later this year will be payable in 2027. Discussion ensued on what time frame and what amounts should be waived. Council considered Staff time of not having to go back to remove fees that have already been applied. Council wants to give residents relief but not at the expense of creating extra work for the billing department. Council agreed to waive the 90-day delinquent fee on the 4d' Quarter of 2025 and waive the 30-day late fee and 90-day delinquent fee for the I` Quarter of 2026. If Staff receives calls, the existing policy will be followed with Staff having discretion, depending on the situation. Council agreed that if a commercial property calls and has a high dollar amount in late fees, they would like to have a conversation on those individual cases. City Administrator Jagoe said the Cities for Safe and Stable Communities Coalition was established for a four month time frame. It originally included eight cities and the cost for the lobbyist and the coalition was quoted in the contract for $40,000. As more cities come on, the cost ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — MARCH 9, 2026 14 to each city has gone down. She heard it could be as low as $1,000 per city now. The contract goes through April. There is discussion that the coalition may exist beyond that and it is still to be determined what that looks like. If we join, we are members through the end of the current contract in April. It is still to be determined if we would continue to be members beyond April. Councilmember Weber said his goal since Metro Surge started has been to work with other cities. The goals of this coalition are admirable. He is willing to pay the cost to support this endeavor. He wants to stand with our neighbors lobbying the federal government for legislation. Councilmember Rousseau understands several dozen students were having to shelter at home during this event. This isn't just the City, it's the school district, too. She wants us to be at the table when discussions are happening to help with decision making and provide input. Mayor Grant said it is a relatively small price to pay to be in the communication loop with all of the other cities to know what's going on. Our residents expect us to know what's happening and to advocate for them. We may be a smaller fish in a larger pond but we will be in a position to learn what is going on and what's the most current information. That is valuable to us. ICE will be here for a while. We should put ourselves in the communication loop. Staff can share public and useful information on the website. Councilmember Monson supports Arden Hills joining the coalition. Councilmember Weber asked if the coalition requires a liaison from the City. City Administrator Jagoe said the communication from the coalition outlined specifically that City Managers and City Administrators be the ones to attend the coalition meetings. She will attend and summarize the information to Council. If there are prepared minutes, she will share those with Council, along with any other documents from the meetings. Mayor Grant doesn't know how many students sheltered in place. He knows of clubs, organizations and after school programs that were decimated. Council agreed to join the Cities for Safe and Stable Communities Coalition. Councilmember Holden said the request to send a letter to the Governor supporting an eviction moratorium has resulted in the Governor saying he isn't going to do it. Mayor Grant said it's pointless to push it, at this point. Councilmember Weber asked if there is information on an increase in evictions. City Administrator Jagoe hasn't seen any reports containing that data. Councilmember Weber said if statistics show a rise in evictions he would like Staff to let Council know. Councilmember Holden said as of February, there hasn't been any rise in foreclosures. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — MARCH 9, 2026 15 Mayor Grant thought the Safe and Stable Communities Coalition may be able to provide some of that data. City Administrator Jagoe said she is hearing Council say that the proclamation and other steps taken are satisfactory. She said the remaining topics to discuss on this agenda item are the Use of City Property Policy/Ordinance in regards to staging, Sharing of Data Policy, Human Rights Commission and Community Space/Building Civic Connections. Staff did not prepare anything for tonight's meeting. She is seeking direction if those should be brought back to another work session. Mayor Grant said the Human Rights Commission should be separated because it is different, relative to the other three. Staff has been given direction not to share data or space, short of legal warrants. He asked if we need something formal in order for Staff to follow that direction. City Administrator Jagoe said at the January 31 special work session Council asked Staff to draft a policy, even though this is our current procedure. She is asking if Council still wants Staff to bring that policy forward. Council agreed a Sharing of Data Policy should be written and brought back for adoption. Councilmember Monson requested that Staff draft something and bring it back on consent, rather that having another conversation about something everyone agrees on. She would like Staff to bring back information on the Community Space and Building Civic Connections would work and the challenges that may come with it. City Administrator Jagoe said it will take Staff some time to pull that information together. Staff was asked to look at creating additional community spaces for civic connections. Councilmember Rousseau said she asked Staff how often inquiries are received for use of the City Hall spaces. It didn't seem like there are very many asks. She doesn't know if that is because of the rental cost. Maybe we can look at that. A challenge is if we allow City Hall to be used for free for one group, we have to allow it for an opposing group. Councilmember Holden said City Hall is open to residents for next to nothing. Discussion ensued about which groups can use the space and recent changes to the fee schedule. Further discussion ensued that there are spaces in the community where large groups can gather. Council agreed not to pursue this item. City Administrator Jagoe asked if Council wanted the policy or ordinance regarding using City property for staging areas to come back to a work session. Councilmember Rousseau wondered if anything is being implemented at the State level. City Administrator Jago has not heard any discussion on that. Councilmember Holden said she was in support of that effort until she heard the argument that people start feeling safe even though they technically can still be arrested. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — MARCH 9, 2026 16 City Administrator Jagoe said the City Attorney stated that we can put a policy in place that outlines public and non-public spaces. The ordinance for the staging area would establish that a permit is required by any group wanting to stage on public property. Councilmember Rousseau said we are a military community. She has seen people in military uniforms exercising and doing drills at Cummings. She wondered if a staging policy would affect them. City Administrator Jagoe said we would have to define what staging is. Those logistics would have to be worked out in the ordinance. Mayor Grant noted if it's defined and there is a permitting process we would have to allow any group who goes through the process to be issued a permit. Community Development Director Reilly said the only municipality that has successfully passed such an ordinance in Minnesota is St. Paul. Their ordinance specifically bans federal immigration enforcement from using city owned property. It was noted at that City Council meeting that it may not be enforceable. They did it because their residents wanted it. He hasn't heard it makes people feel safer, but he has heard it makes people feel like they belong. St. Paul's ordinance may provide some framework for Staff, if we want to do something similar in Arden Hills. City Administrator Jagoe said the ordinance the City Attorney is recommending does not prohibit this because we can't do that. What Staff would do is create a process to permit those activities. What could we refuse to permit? Those logistics would have to be worked out. The City Attorney's opinion is that we can't outright prohibit the activity. Councilmember Rousseau likes the permit. She is interested in getting data on what groups are using the spaces. Councilmember Holden said if someone is going to stage for 20 minutes they're not going to get a permit. Councilmember Weber said the point is they were supposed to. It points out the fact that they broke the rules. Ultimately, we would have proof, for federal court, that they aren't following the rules. He likes the idea of having a permit process, even if it's issued to ICE. It would let us know when ICE was in our parks or other public spaces. We could take proactive actions to get the word out to our residents that they are expected to be there. Councilmember Holden said when the Boy Scouts meet at Perry Park before a camping trip and they drop off their gear, they will have to get a permit now. City Administrator Jagoe said we would have to define what staging is. That language will have to be worked out before we can answer that question. Councilmember Rousseau said we could possibly waive the permit process for groups that serve youth. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — MARCH 9, 2026 17 Discussion ensued that federal agents can stage on federal property and that ICE is staging in the streets and blocking them off, even if that's not allowed. Further discussion ensued that this would be sending a message. City Administrator Jagoe said we'd have to adopt an ordinance. It will have to come back. She is seeking direction if it should be brought back for further discussion or if it should come back to a regular meeting for adoption. Council agreed to bring it back for further defining discussion. City Administrator Jagoe asked about the final item which is forming a Human Rights Commission. Councilmember Holden said every time we try to start one, we only had one person volunteer. We may have better response in the current environment. Discussion ensued that Shoreview has a great model and Staff was directed to use their format. City Administrator Jagoe said she believes we may already have an ordinance that establishes a Human Rights Commission. She will confirm that. Council will need to determine what the membership and appointment language within the ordinance will be. She will provide information to Council via email. She is hearing that when everything is in place we can start advertising for recruitment. Councilmember Rousseau said we can reach out to residents who attended the special meeting and left their addresses. City Administrator Jagoe said there will need to be discussion regarding Council Liaison and Staff Liaison. E. Accessory Dwelling Unit Discussion Not Discussed. F. Volunteer Recognition Policy Not Discussed. G. Code of Conduct H. Rice Creek Commons/TCAAP Discussion Not Discussed. I. Agenda Planning Not Discussed. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — MARCH 9, 2026 18 4. COUNCIL/STAFF COMMENTS None. ADJOURN Mayor Grant adjourned the City Council Work Session at 10:00 p.m. gJstlking David Grant Deputy Clerk Ma or