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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-11-26-WSApproved: June 8, 2026 CITY OF ARDEN HILLS, MINNESOTA CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MAY 11, 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 Tena Monson, Emily Rousseau and Kurt Weber Absent: Councilmember Brenda Holden (excused) Also present: City Administrator Jessica Jagoe, Public Works Director/City Engineer David Swearingen, Assistant to the City Administrator/City Clerk Julie Hanson and Community Development Director Jake Reilly Councilmember Monson requested that Item F, Public Hearing Agenda Format be moved to Item B. She would like to address that one with the possibility of ADUs being brought forth soon. 1. PUBLIC INQUIRIES/INFORMATIONAL None. 2. RESPONSE TO PUBLIC INQUIRIES None. 3. AGENDA ITEMS A. State of the City Policy City Administrator Jagoe said this discussion follows the April 13 Work Session where Staff asked Council to review the draft policy. Council requested that Staff send the three questions regarding next steps on policy language via email. The questions surrounded date/time, location ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — MAY 11, 2026 2 and topics. The packet outlined the responses received. Staff is seeking direction to move forward with majority or discuss the questions tonight, as there were some varying answers. Mayor Grant said he would read through the questions. Does Council wants the event to be held annually? He noted there are four votes for yes. Does Council want to set a permanent date and time for the event? The responses were split with one maybe and one no. Councilmember Rousseau said we should go with the majority. Discussion ensued about not choosing a specific date, rather the draft policy outlines that the event would be held on the third or fourth Saturday. Further discussion ensued that the majority want the event to be held in the spring. Discussion was that a new member of the City Council may not be up to speed with everything, if it is held in the spring. If the event is held in the fall, it will back up to elections. Council agreed the State of the City event will be held in the spring. Mayor Grant noted the majority want the location to be City Hall. Councilmember Monson suggested that other committee specialty topics could be presented by someone that is on that specific committee or commission. Councilmember Rousseau disagreed and said some of these are already specialty topics. Council agreed to option #2 in the packet which states "All topics, except for the introduction which would be presented by the Mayor, would be rotated annually for Councilmembers to present." Mayor Grant asked if there was anything else Staff needed. City Administrator Jagoe asked what Council would like to do with the 2026 State of the City. Councilmember Rousseau would like a specific section for Parks to be added to the topics list. Council agreed that Parks will be separated from Public Works and will be its own topic. Council also agreed to not hold an event in 2026 and schedule the next State of the City in the spring of 2027. B. Public Hearing Agenda Format (Item 3F on published agenda) City Administrator Jagoe said this discussion is follow up to Council direction at the April 13 work session to look at the agenda format of public hearings and new business. The current format was established in 2018. Before that change, the City Council held the public hearing and the motion for that public hearing as one action item. Staff reached out to other cities. We received 10 responses. All of those responders indicated that they handle that business as one action under the public hearing agenda item. Councilmember Rousseau would like to close out the action at the same time it is presented, under the public hearing section. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — MAY 11, 2026 3 Councilmember Weber said we would have the presentation, public hearing, discussion and vote all on one agenda item. Council agreed the new format will be implemented. C. Overnight Parking Regulations (Item 3B on published agenda) City Administrator Jagoe said this is a follow up from the April 13 regular meeting direction. Council asked Staff to collect additional information from the Ramsey County Sheriff Office (RCSO) on parking citations. She outlined the current language. 1) Winter parking regulations say in the event of a snowfall of two inches or more, no parking is allowed on city streets until snow removal has occurred. 2) In residential districts we currently don't allow more than four vehicles to be parked on a driveway. 3) No vehicle is allowed to park on the street for more than six hours. 4) No vehicle is allowed to park on any street between the hours of 2:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m., year- round. City Administrator Jagoe said we do allow residents to apply for and receive temporary parking permits. We require 24 hour's notice because Staff has to process that. We work with the Public Works Director and then we have to get notice to the RCSO to prevent ticketing. RCSO has confirmed the citations are administrative fines ranging from $15430 for the city portion of the fine. That wouldn't include court or processing fees. As an example, violation of the 2:00-6:00 a.m. restriction results in a $15 administrative fine from the City. After court and processing fees it can be up to $31. For the city -portion of the administrative fine, 50% goes to the City and 50% goes to the State General Fund. Staff is seeking direction on any changes to these restrictions. We can have seasonal restrictions. Some cities restrict parking on the street from November 1 through April 30. We can install additional signage to communicate the no parking from 2:00-6:00 a.m. The Public Works Director said they could be placed in the same location where the 25 mph speed limit signs are. Councilmember Rousseau asked when RCSO gives administrative tickets, are they counting how many calls and tracking activity when we negotiate with them. City Administrator Jagoe said they are not. We are only billed for calls for service that originate as a 911 call and a deputy is dispatched. Mayor Grant said these are coded as "parking complaint". There isn't an actual complaint, it's just the officer writing a citation. Councilmember Weber said the only complaints he has seen have been in the winter. Is this a problem for our plows? Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen confirmed there are certain locations in the city where that becomes an issue. Councilmember Weber can't see any reason why we wouldn't allow overnight parking on the street during the summer. Maybe the fine should be bigger if someone blocks a plow. The issue is our plows having to go back to clean up. The city needs to be able to recoup that. He thinks it should be allowed in the summer. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — MAY 11, 2026 4 Councilmember Monson said these regulations, stacked together, are a problem for her. No winter parking, but you can only have four cars in the driveway and you can't be on the road for more than six hours. It can penalize large families and multi -generational households. It will become more complicated if/when we allow Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs). She asked Staff what recommendations they had, as this is code based. Community Development Director Reilly said he hasn't surveyed surrounding communities. He knows of other communities that have winter parking bans and allow up to six vehicles per driveway. We can survey surrounding communities. Councilmember Monson would be good with increasing the number of cars allowed on a driveway. She thinks the 6 hours feels short. She agrees we should have winter parking restrictions in place. Mayor Grant said a standard shift of patrol officers isn't going to time check all of the cars on the road. He said RCSO will not enforce violations of more than four cars on a driveway. Staff confirmed. That would be a code violation and code enforcement would be involved. Mayor Grant is okay with seasonal winter parking restrictions. We don't have sidewalks, so people walk in the streets. The restrictions were intended to encourage people to park on their driveways, not on the street. If this changes, more residents may choose to park on the street and in many cases that's a safety concern for other residents who walk on the street. Councilmember Rousseau said she is not concerned with people parking on the street overnight, with the exception of the winter months. She's more concerned about the safety aspect. She suggested there still be a time restriction of maybe 10 hours. She doesn't know that it makes a difference if someone parks four large vehicles vs. eight small cars on a driveway. Councilmember Weber said he could fit 15 cars in his driveway. He thinks 6 is a good number. He said it won't be enforced. What is the penalty if someone has more than what is allowed? City Administrator Jagoe said through the code enforcement process we have notified a resident. She is not aware of anyone who didn't get into compliance after that notification. If they did not comply, we can issue a citation. We would start that process through RCSO but the city would initiate a citation. Councilmember Weber said it would be code enforcement, not law enforcement. Staff confirmed. Councilmember Rousseau said our current code restricts parking on lawns. Staff confirmed. Councilmember Weber thinks allowing parking for up to 12 hours is acceptable. Mayor Grant is against allowing more than four vehicles in a driveway. We leave ourselves open to residents storing inoperable vehicles. He hasn't heard that this is a problem. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — MAY 11, 2026 5 Councilmember Monson believes the code restricts inoperable vehicles. She said if someone has four cars and two are inoperable, a complaint can be filed against the inoperable vehicles, even though the household in within the number allowed by code. Staff confirmed. Councilmember Weber said we could leave the number as is, for now, and revisit it when discussing ADUs. Councilmember Monson is fine with that approach. She wants to see the winter parking regulations put in place. Discussion ensued that winter parking restrictions will be put in place from November through April. Further discussion ensued regarding the 6 hour limit. Council decided a vehicle may be parked on the street for up to 10 hours. The number of vehicles allowed to park in a single driveway will be explored during upcoming ADU discussions. D. Twin Cities Gateway Funding (Item 3C on published agenda) City Administrator Jagoe said the Twin Cities Gateway Visitor Bureau awarded Arden Hills $15,800 for 2026. We had 2025 carry over dollars in the amount of $3,682.25. The total that we have is $19,482.25. Council gave some of those dollars to the Minnesota Braille Challenge which occurred in February. The remaining amount is $19,022. Council is being asked to discuss how to disperse that money. Staff received a request from Rib Fest. Council has expressed interest in allocating dollars to the 75t' Anniversary Event. City Administrator Jagoe said starting in 2026, the visitor bureau will no longer allow money to be carried over into a new year. Any unused funds at the end of the year will go back into the pool of money to be allocated to everyone the following year. Mayor Grant said Rib Fest is an annual event, where the 75t' Anniversary is a one time event. He would lean toward giving more money to the 75t'. He doesn't have a recommended amount but believes the bulk should be for the 75t'. Councilmember Rousseau asked what the budgeting for the 75 b Anniversary looks like. Assistant to the City Administrator/City Clerk Hanson said we have about $20,000 in private sponsorship dollars. We used $12,500 last year from Twin Cities Gateway. We just upped the number of drones at a cost of an additional $2,500. Other budget needs include marketing of about $5,000, swag of about $6,000-$7,000. She would love to see an additional $12,000 towards marketing and swag. We could use sponsorship dollars but the $21,000 we have raised will be used for the bands, beer and other expenses for the celebration. Mayor Grant asked what Rib Fest got last year. City Administrator Jagoe said it was $4,000 last year. Councilmember Monson said if we used $14,500 to the 75', that would leave almost $5,000 for Rib Fest. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — MAY 11, 2026 6 Councilmember Weber said in future years he would like to see some of the money go to Northeast Youth & Family Services (NYFS) for their events. They are a multi -city organization. He isn't sure how they will fit in, but he would like to find a way to support them. Councilmember Rousseau said this is a unique year because it's the 50 Anniversary for NYFS. They will be doing a special event in November. She isn't sure if they are looking to expand outside of the region to draw people in. She said the goal of the Gateway funds is to get people to spend the night in a local hotel. Mayor Grant said there are guidelines on how the funds can be spent. NYFS could apply to receive dollars, however, their outreach would need to meet the requirements of the visitor bureau. Councilmember Weber said the National Guard are putting on an event that could draw people into our city. NYSF could do the same thing. He doesn't want us to limit ourselves to just supporting Rib Fest. Expanding the funds to other entities, like NYFS is a target for him. Councilmember Rousseau said when we first learned of the Gateway funds, Staff reached out to the school district to see if any groups could benefit from these dollars. She has talked to the American Indian parent group who put on a pow -wow every other year. They didn't hear anything from the school about this being an option. They have a lot of people from out of the area who attend those events. She noted there may be other groups who could benefit from the funds. She would like to see us attempt to reach out to the school again. Discussion ensued that the Army hasn't received any funds for the Norwegian Foot March. They aren't allowed to accept these funds. The event is being organized by a different entity, now. They will reach out to us in the future, if the organizer is authorized to request funds. Council agreed that $5,000 will go to Rib Fest and the balance will go to the 75 h Anniversary. E. Parks, Trails and Recreation Committee (PTRC) Composition (Item 3D on published agenda) Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said the current composition of the Parks, Trails and Recreation Committee (PTRC) is twelve members with one youth member. The PTRC recommended that Council approve a reduction in membership to be seven regular members and two youth members. He noted the packet outlines the composition of surrounding cities' similar committees. Mayor Grant asked why we would reduce the number of members, if we have people wanting to serve. Councilmember Rousseau said we have been tending to have fewer committee members. One of the challenges, if the committee is full, is having time for everyone to speak at the meetings. It is difficult to get work done without extending the meeting length. Councilmember Weber said quorum can become difficult to achieve, as well. If there are 13 members, you need 7 for a quorum. We are larger than most surrounding cities. He supports seven regular and two youth members. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — MAY 11, 2026 7 Mayor Grant said we are a city that values its parks and we seem to have residents willing to serve. He thinks we've had 13 members for a long time. He wouldn't want to limit involvement of residents who have an interest in parks. Councilmember Monson said the PTRC is proposing this recommendation. They feel there is an opportunity to be more productive while being respectful of people's time. Even if we have 12 people that want to serve, the group can struggle to get things done due to how many people are involved in the conversation. This change could facilitate a clearer pathway to action. She defers to the PTRC's recommendation. City Administrator Jagoe clarified the language included is "...at no time shall there be more than two members that meet the criteria of a youth committee member." Currently if a high school student applies and the youth committee position is already taken, that applicant could be placed in a regular member slot. If that language stays as it is, all regular members will be required to be out of high school to participate. Discussion ensued that the two youth that are currently serving will placed in the youth committee member slots. One of those committee members was brought on as a full committee member last month. That youth can be reappointed in August for another one year term. Councilmember Rousseau said there is a youth member on the Economic Development Commission (EDC) who is thriving in that group. It can take youth a little bit of time to get to know the people they are serving with and gain a comfort level. She would like to see the terms of that EDC member and the recent PTRC member extended for another year. Councilmember Weber is not opposed to opening the Planning Commission to a youth position. He is impressed with how the youth on our committees are doing and their involvement. He isn't trying to have that discussion right now, but he is open to having it in the future. Councilmember Monson said the Planning Commission is a statutory commission. Because of that, no youth positions are allowed. The PTRC will consist of seven regular members and two youth members F. Volunteer Recognition Policy (Item 3E on published agenda) Assistant to the City Administrator/City Clerk Hanson said Personnel discussed a volunteer recognition policy for the City. Currently there is nothing formal. Staff surveyed surrounding communities and found that no other city had a policy. They have procedures and practices that they follow. Staff consulted with the City Attorney about criteria for public expenditures and what options we have for recognition. The draft policy is attached in the agenda packet and Staff is seeking feedback on how to proceed. Mayor Grant asked if we can include recognizing sports coaches. Council agreed to add specific language to include coaches. Councilmember Rousseau was disappointed to learn that small items, like a reusable mug, are not allowed public expenditures. She knows New Brighton gives you a street sign with the volunteer's ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — MAY 11, 2026 g last name on it. She isn't sure how they pay for those. She did try to look into ways to give long term volunteers a small token of appreciation. Mayor Grant said state statute determine what the City can gift to people. It is quite a low amount. Councilmember Weber asked if anyone asked other cities how they pay for these items. Assistant to the City Administrator/City Clerk Hanson said one city told her they have never run it by the City Attorney. Councilmember Weber said this is a big deal and he thinks we could have a discussion with the Arden Hills Foundation. He thinks there is no higher service than serving your city as a volunteer. This fits right in with what the Arden Hills Foundation does. Mayor Grant sits on the Arden Hills Foundation board, as President. He can take this item to them and see what they say. He needs to have a specific request. Maybe there are different levels. Is it 10 people a year? Is it 100? Councilmember Weber said Staff can calculate what that is. Turnover on our commissions and committees isn't very high. He doesn't think it will be a huge number every year. It will be minor but this may be the only way we would be able to offer something to outgoing volunteers. He asked Mayor Grant to bring it to the foundation and come back to discuss what the board needs. Mayor Grant asked Staff to project what that may look like. Councilmember Rousseau said she would like to accept the draft as presented, with the added language about coaches. We can modify it once we hear what the Arden Hills Foundation says. Mayor Grant said whatever the Arden Hills Foundation does would be above and beyond what is in our policy. Councilmember Weber said the Arden Hills Foundation could make it their own policy. For example "Upon recommendation from City Council, resigning committee/commission members or coaches can be presented with a gift on behalf of the Arden Hills Foundation." Mayor Grant said he will work with Staff to see what they can come up with G. Alternative Funding Sources Discussion Finance Director Yang said as part of the City's three-year strategic plan, the City is evaluating its long-term fiscal strategy with a specific focus on alternative revenue sources. She provided a list of various funding opportunities that were compiled for this discussion. Some of the opportunities would require state legislative action and others would require Council action. She is seeking Council direction on where to focus Staff efforts. Secondly, as part of the broader strategic planning initiative, Staff is also seeking direction on reengaging the Financial Planning and Analysis Committee (FPAC). Councilmember Weber said the local option sales tax would require state action. He is curious what action is required, for Cannabis. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — MAY 11, 2026 9 Discussion ensued regarding which surrounding cities have a cannabis retail operation. Finance Director Yang said she would have to look into it more. This discussion is a high-level overview of the different options. If Council feels we should pursue something like that, she can find out more information. Mayor Grant said St. Anthony had a unique approach. The city is not involved on a day to day basis but are more of a silent partner. That takes the burden off of the city. He said Mounds View is discussing operating the store. Councilmember Weber said that would be the second part to his question. What would the structure be? He isn't familiar with the structure of a municipal liquor store. He assumes it's a manager, under the City Administrator or Finance Director, with some employees under the manager. He is interested to learn more about cities working with partners. He thinks that's probably the better way to go. These retailers are coming. Every city has to issue this type of license. He can't see a better option then to have the city be in control over enforcement. City Administrator Jagoe said Staff can bring back more information on cannabis, especially if it is the city partnering with another entity and it's not a municipal store. If we were to have a municipal store, it would not satisfy the requirement to allow at least one retail license. Working in partnership with another entity may look different. Community Development Director Reilly said the state is enabling legislation that allows for cannabis, but requires a city interested in opening a municipal cannabis store to already operate a liquor store. You are not allowed to have a stand-alone cannabis operation. You have to already have an established municipal liquor program. We would have to have both. It is correct that a municipal cannabis license, if a city chooses to have one, can't take away the opportunity for other options. He said Anoka and Elk River started building their store before the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) figured out how it would work. There was a study in Wayzata that showed that if they entered a municipal cannabis enterprise, the cash receipts would be in excess of $2 million in year one, eventually flattening out to be revenue positive, regardless of the market. Councilmember Rousseau asked if the income data on municipal liquor and cannabis stores is public data. Community Development Director Reilly said there is a sub -group of the Minnesota Municipal Beverage Association. He can get that information to the City Administrator. Councilmember Monson said in the memo Staff recommends forming a committee with the intent to dive into these topics in a way that gets vetted and comes back to Council with some choices. She said Council can't create an effective strategy with the time we have. She would support a committee that can sort through the information and bring options. She would volunteer to be the Council Liaison. Councilmember Weber said considering how much time this Council spends on the budget and the work that it produces for Finance Director Yang, if we can get a committee to parse the information, it would go a long way in helping this Council with getting things done. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — MAY 11, 2026 10 Mayor Grant is good with forming a committee. I can probably be a staff -operated committee. The committee can do the financial analysis. He said other considerations are a licensing center. It may be unlikely since both Roseville and New Brighton have one. It could be quite lucrative. Councilmember Rousseau supports creating a committee. We have community members with expertise. She would like to suggest the old City Hall site for consideration. Can we make any money off of that location? Years ago the Planning Commission unanimously approved a business units in that location. It never moved forward, due to resident's concerns. We have that space and maybe in the long term we could use that for a public works space. In the short term there may be an opportunity to look at ball fields or something else that wouldn't include constructing a building. Organizations pay an hourly rate for a grass field, more if it's turf. We could make income over the next eight or so years, while Rice Creek Commons is being developed. Mayor Grant said that land has the size and geographic constraints to house a maintenance facility. He thinks creating fields would take a lot of work due to the sloping grade toward 96. The City has no interest in selling that property until we know what we are doing for equipment storage for TCAAP. He noted a pilot program on page 2 of 3 in the packet. He encouraged Staff to cross that off the list because they don't work. There is no permanence. He would like to see something with an ongoing revenue stream. Councilmember Weber asked if Mayor Grant is giving direction to Staff to strike something, without Council discussion. Mayor Grant said historically those don't work. He wouldn't want Staff spinning their wheels if they determine it isn't going to work. He said we need to be establishing ongoing revenue. Councilmember Weber said he generally agrees. However, he doesn't know enough about the program Staff is presenting to just scratch it without learning more. If there is an opportunity for the city to get a diversified revenue stream, he would like to learn more information. He understands it is voluntary. He understands that may not work. It is certainly worth exploring. He asked Staff what amount of work would be required to explore that option. Finance Director Yang said she would look at other cities. She knows St. Paul and Minneapolis have programs. She knows that includes Staff and Council to work with those organizations to try to get a voluntary payment. It will require some time and agreement from both sides. Organizations recognize they are utilizing City roads and the City would ask if they are willing to provide a voluntary payment. Councilmember Monson asked if that is something we can tie into a permit. If a non-profit comes in we tell them they need to do a pilot with us. She isn't sure of the legal statutes. She is comfortable leaving it on the list. It can be at the bottom of the list. Councilmember Weber said he strongly supports having a liaison. Especially for this. But even for Karth Lake. They want a liaison. He doesn't think there is much coordination between a liaison and Staff that would impede that. Mayor Grant said he is offering to be the liaison. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — MAY 11, 2026 11 City Administrator Jagoe said we would bring this item forward with an ordinance to bring that back in to our list of committees and commissions. At that time, we can bring forward the liaison appointment discussion. City Administrator Jagoe said we will bring back the old City Hall site topic as part of the city - owned land discussion as part of the strategic planning. She will task Community Development Director Reilly with that so we can do the comprehensive look at all of the city properties and have Finance Director Yang work on the funding. Council recessed the Work Session at 6: SS pm. Council reconvened the Work Session at 8:32 pm. H. H1 Human Rights Commission And H2 Immigration Enforcement Discussion City Administrator Jagoe said this is follow up to the February 9 work session discussion about resuming the Human Rights Commission and soliciting for volunteers. Staff found the Human Rights Commission was established under Ordinance 169 in 1973. The language within the ordinance outlines that it is a 10 member commission with commissioners being appointed to 1 or 3 year terms. Regular commission members need to be over 21 years old with options for youth commissioners under 21. The ordinance discusses ad -hoc members that could be appointed for 1 year terms. The members are appointed by the Mayor with the advice and consent of the Council. City Administrator Jagoe said Shoreview's Human Rights Commission is comprised of 9 to 11 members and they allow 2 to 3 youth representatives, who have full voting privileges. She shared some language in the packet from Shoreview's duties and responsibilities for their Human Rights Commission. Staff is seeking direction from Council on potential language updates to the ordinance. Staff would bring that forward at a future meeting for adoption and will begin recruitment for members. Council is also being asked to provide direction on whether or not there should be a Council and/or Staff liaison appointed to the commission. Councilmember Rousseau said Shoreview recently reviewed their ordinance. They're governing document doesn't call themselves "The Village." She asked if we looked at that to make sure everything aligns. City Administrator Jagoe said she looked at their city ordinances. She could do a side by side comparison to make sure we align with their language, if Council wants us to mirror Shoreview. Councilmember Rousseau said she is interested in moving forward with the Human Rights Commission. Her preference would be to have 9 members with 2 youth. She would like to get some feedback from residents about what it looks like. Councilmember Weber would like 7 regular members and 2 youth members. He noted the staggered years, starting with a full term than a partial term and a less partial term. That may help to avoid turn over all at once but he isn't sure how that works logistically. He would like to see a liaison appointed for this commission. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — MAY 11, 2026 12 Mayor Grant said sometime between 1973 and 2000 the Human Rights Commission disbanded. He isn't aware of the reason. He said this commission should have a liaison. They will have to operate under whatever is in city code and from there it will grow and expand as bylaws are written. Councilmember Monson asked which Staff would support this commission. City Administrator Jagoe she would have to look back to see. She thinks it would be the City Administrator. Councilmember Monson would like this to be consistent with what the other committees and commissions do. She likes the 7 regular and 2 youth members. She would like to change the part where it outlines the Mayor appoints with Council's advice and consent. She would like it to state the full Council will approve appointments, as is done with other commissions, with the exception of the EDA which is outlined in state statute. She said yes to a liaison. She likes the idea of ad -hoc members being allowed for one-year terms. Depending on the topic, we might want to bring in additional members to help support a narrow topic. She already received a note from a resident that is interested. Councilmember Rousseau would like there to be a liaison. She thought the "over 2 1 " language is not consistent with other groups. City Administrator Jagoe said we would align the language with how youth membership is presented in our other commissions. Councilmember Rousseau said she would also like the language to say the full council will approve appointments. City Administrator Jagoe said Staff will verify if there is anything in state statute. If not, appointments will mirror other committees and commissions. Discussion ensued that appointing a liaison can wait until a later date when the full Council is present. Councilmember Monson asked if anyone had specific topics that this commission will address. Discussion ensued that Metro Surge is over but immigration enforcement is not. Protecting election integrity is another topic for this commission. Further discussion ensued that Ramsey County facilitates the elections in Arden Hills. Council agreed we don't have to decide topics tonight. Once the commission is restored, the commission will set their own priorities. Staff will prepare an amendment to the Human Rights ordinance and bring it to a future meeting. City Administrator Jagoe said the Use of City Property policy, to define what a staging area is and a Sharing of Data Policy remain to be discussed. She doesn't have any additional information prepared for tonight's meeting. She wanted Council direction to confirm that Council still wants Staff to bring these items forward. Councilmember Weber said he lumps them in with Immigration Enforcement because it's relative. He spoke to a resident about Shoreview's support for Quincy House. They provide ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — MAY 11, 2026 13 resources for folks who are unable to work. He said the Shoreview Foundation, so not the City of Shoreview, provided $5,000 to the Quincy House. That has gone a long way. He thought Mayor Grant, who serves as president of the board, could bring something similar to the Arden Hills Foundation. Donating to a local agency that provides support to those who find themselves in a difficult situation. Discussion ensued about who Quincy House serves. It is the Mounds View School District area. Mayor Grant said he will bring it to the Arden Hills Foundation but pointed out the foundation doesn't have unlimited resources. Discussion ensued that residents are able to dedicate their donations to the Arden Hills Foundation for a specific purpose. We could set up a Quincy House fund so people can donate directly to them. Further discussion ensued that this is a clear goal and a foundation that bears the name of our City should be able to help. Mayor Grant said the foundation will be presenting 8 scholarships this year. The Arden Hills Foundation's focus is clearly on Arden Hills Residents. If Staff provides some information on the Quincy House he will bring the information to the foundation board. Mayor Grant said City Administrator Jagoe asked if Council would like Staff to continue working on the policies for City Property use and Sharing of Data. Does Council want her to finish those tasks? Council agreed that Staff should continue working on the Sharing of Data and Use of City Property policies and bring the information back to Council when ready for discussion. I. Code of Conduct Not Discussed. J. Rice Creek Commons/TCAAP Discussion Not Discussed. K. Agenda Planning Not Discussed. 4. COUNCIL/STAFF COMMENTS City Administrator Jagoe asked Council to discuss changing the work session start time to be 5:00 p.m. She received a request from Councilmember Holden that, if we make the change, that it begins on the second meeting in June. She said those would be special meetings and any agenda can't be changed once posted. Mayor Grant said we tend to have more items on the agenda than we are able to get to. If items aren't on the agenda, we can't discuss them at a special meeting. If we agree to 5:00 start times we may see long agendas and we may not always be able to get to all of those items. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — MAY 11, 2026 14 Councilmember Weber asked how long the earlier start time would be in place. Discussion ensued that it is typically through the August meetings. Councilmember Weber said he'd be open to changing the ordinance to have the meetings start at 5:00 permanently. Councilmember Rousseau supports that. If the start time is 5:00 we can avoid reconvening after the regular meeting and staying so late. Councilmember Monson said she is okay with work sessions permanently starting at 5:00 pm. Mayor Grant is opposed to changing the ordinance. There are three who want to move forward with that. He asked what happens after August when Councilmember Holden can't make it at 5:00 pm. Councilmember Rousseau said we were here until midnight for a recent meeting. We need to be mindful of how late we stay. One person's schedule challenges shouldn't mean we should let that impede city business. Councilmember Weber said he has kids and obligations, as well. Councilmember Rousseau said remote participation is an option. Mayor Grant said we shouldn't make this decision in Councilmember Holden's absence. Councilmember Weber said we aren't deciding today. She will have the opportunity to vote on a proposed ordinance change. ADJOURN Mayor Grant adjourned the City Council Work Session at 9:02 p.m. f Je tling David Grant Deputy Clerk Mayor