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City of Gem Lake City Council Meeting Minutes February 21, 2023 1 | Page City of Gem Lake City Council Meeting – February 21, 2023 Meeting Minutes Mayor Gretchen Artig-Swomley called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Councilmembers Jim Lindner, Laurel Amlee and Ben Johnson were present. Councilmember Len Cacioppo was remote from his home on Labore Road. Also present: City Attorney Kevin Beck, City Treasurer Tom Kelly, City Engineer Justin Gese, Acting City Clerk Melissa Lawrence, Local Initiatives Support Corporation Gretchen Nicholls, Commission Member Don Cummings, Commission Chair Joshua Patrick, and residents Rick Bosak, Tom Bolfing, Steve Varley and Business Owner John Birkeland and Mike Birkeland. February 21, 2023 Agenda A motion was introduced by Councilmember Linder to accept the agenda, seconded by Councilmember Johnson. Voice vote taken, all voted yes, motion passes, agenda accepted. Minutes A motion was introduced by Councilmember Lindner, seconded by Councilmember Amlee to approve the January 17, 2023, City Council Meeting Minutes. Voice vote taken, all voted yes, motion passes, agenda accepted. Special Presentation Guest Speakers from Corridor Project – Gretchen Nicholls (LISC Consultant Team), Ben Johnson (Staff Team), Don Cummings (Project Team), Rick Bosak (Community Advisory Group) LISC Gretchen Nicholls gave an overview of the Corridor Project that involved the Cities of Vadnais Heights, White Bear Lake and Gem Lake. Each City shared places along the corridor that they thought were opportunity areas. The goal of this project is to create a community driven vision that transforms the County Road E corridor into a place that fosters a sense of community & connects people to economic opportunities. The objectives of this project are to gain perspective on community needs and wants along the corridor, improve understanding of what is viable and realistic, attract investment to the corridor to maintain and improve vitality, and to improve quality of life for County Road E Residents & Stakeholders. There were four workshops held, the first one on September 14, 2022 was to gather information, the second one that was a 3-part block exercise series that took place on September 28, 2022 in Vadnais Heights, September 29, 2022 in White Bear Lake and October 5, 2022 in Gem Lake. The third one was on October 12, 2022 for a developer panel and the final one was held on October 26, 2022 for framing the recommendations. The project team involved many agencies and different members of each City. Some themes from community input included: 1. Explore ways to create an overall identity and sense of place throughout the corridor to encourage travelers to frequent local shops and businesses 2. Strong desire for more comfortable, safer crossings of County Road E along the corridor 3. Implement traffic calming measures 4. Continuous connections and enhancements to the active transportation network along the corridor that promote walkability, safety, livability, and pedestrian and bicycle access 5. Residential development (a mix of housing formats that meets the needs of the community) 6. Commercial development 7. Mixed-use development 8. Site anchors 9. Compatibility 10. Family-friendly gathering places that help to foster a sense of community 11. A mix of residential and commercial uses that enhance the vitality and market strength of the area 12. Industrial buildings that serve businesses that want to be closer to the metro 13. The partner cities and county to coordinate efforts to attract private and public investments that will benefit the broader community