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City of Gem Lake City Council Meeting Minutes September 17, 2024 7 Wednesday, October 30, 2024, - Otter Lake Technology – AV Equipment Needed – 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Councilmember Johnson volunteered to be the staff coverage for this meeting. White Bear Lake Police and Fire Contract Discussion The City of White Bear Lake sent over the 2025 Fire and Police contracts. Gem Lake is being hit with both depreciation and the interest for the new fire house building. Up until August 2024 Gem Lake was not paying the principal or interest for the new build because the City Council, City Treasurer, and City Attorney did not agree that the City could be charged interest on the new build. Gem Lake has since begun paying the principal amount due but is still holding off on paying the interest. City Attorney Kevin Beck and Mayor Artig-Swomley had a meeting with White Bear Lake recently. Letters have been received threatening cancelation of the Police and Fire contract through White Bear Lake for non-payment. City Attorney Kevin Beck was asked to prepare a response to the recent letter received. There is other routes Gem Lake can take such as litigation. White Bear Township is also dealing with the same concerns. If White Bear Township decides to pull out of the contract there is the possibility that their portion of the fees could then be spread to all the other cities contracted with White Bear Lake for fire services. The Mayor and several other cities serviced by White Bear Lake plan to attend the White Bear Township Executive meeting on Friday, September 27 to discuss this topic further. Future Charitable Gambling Donations White Bear Lake Emergency Food Shelf Mayor Artig-Swomley suggested that the Council donate in October in the amount of $1,500.00 to the White Bear Lake Emergency Food Shelf. Councilmember Lindner introduced a motion to request a donation in the amount of $1,500.00 for the White Bear Lake Emergency Food Shelf, seconded by Councilmember Cacioppo. Motion carried 5-0. Community Outreach to Other Cities and Government Bodies Mayor Artig-Swomley shared that a special meeting would need to take place on Thursday, November 7, 2024, to canvass the election results. Canvassing is due to the County by Tuesday, November 12. Mayor Artig-Swomley shared that Goose Lake Road was closed all weekend because of a large, downed tree that took a power line with it when it fell. Mayor Artig-Swomley shared that the City of Maplewood recently pulled their support of the Purple Line for both options. The Mayor plans to attend the next Maplewood City Council meeting on Monday, September 23. Presentations from the Public, 2 minutes maximum Planning Commission Member Don Cummings spoke about the Barnett Kia meeting that the Planning Commission had on Tuesday, September 10. The Commission was thrilled with the lighting plan. Mr. Cummings also brought up the water bills in the Villas. He presented some research he did to City Treasurer Tom Kelly regarding his current bill which shows that Villa’s residents are overpaying by four (4) times the price of water because of the feed taxed on by Vadnais Heights. Open Items for Council Members to Bring Up None