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Home My WebLink About2025 04-15 City Council Meeting MinutesCity of Gem Lake City Council Meeting Minutes April 15, 2025 1 City of Gem Lake City Council Meeting – April 15, 2025 Meeting Minutes Mayor Gretchen Artig-Swomley called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Councilmembers Jim Lindner, Len Cacioppo, Ben Johnson and Joshua Patrick were present. Also present: City Attorney Martin Norder, City Engineer Justin Gese, SEH PE Lily Hock, City Treasurer Tom Kelly, Phillps Architects & Contractors President David Phillips, Barnett Kia General Manager Michael Barnett, Planning Commission Chair Don Cummings, Acting City Clerk Melissa Lawrence, and high school students and residents Lilah Davis, Jim Wilson, Carol Schacht, Rick Bosak, Thomas Young, Jacob Furlong and Elise Dieterle. April 15, 2025, Agenda A motion was introduced by Councilmember Linder to accept the agenda, seconded by Councilmember Cacioppo. Motion carried 5-0. Minutes A motion was introduced by Councilmember Lindner, seconded by Councilmember Cacioppo to approve the March 18, 2025, City Council Meeting minutes. Motion carried 5-0. Special Presentations/Public Hearings MS4 Presentation – SEH Representative Lily Hock SEH Representative Lily Hock gave a presentation on the NPDES Phase II Stormwater Permit Program for the City of Gem Lake. NPDES is an acronym for “National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System” and MS4 is an acronym for “Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System”. Gem Lake is in phase II small MS4, which is general permit coverage. There are six (6) minimum control measures (MCM) that are looked at for meeting requirements: 1. Public Education and Outreach 2. Public Participation and Involvement 3. Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination 4. Construction Site Run-Off Control 5. Post-Construction Run-Off Control 6. Pollution Prevention/Good Housekeeping for Municipal Activities Some new things the permit is requiring for 2023 and beyond of the six (6) MCM’s are: • MCM 1: Public Education and Outreach o Annual Public Education & Outreach  Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination  De-icing Salt Use  Pet Waste o Intermittingly – High Priority Topics  Yard Waste and Construction Activities • MCM 2: Public Participation / Involvement o The City must provide (at least) one (1) public involvement activity that includes pollution prevention or water quality theme  Possible partnership with VLAWMO The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) mandates the MPCA to evaluate MS4 permittees. The city was notified on September 12, 2023, that it would be part of a routine audit which occurred on January 5, 2024. One Notice of Violation (NOV) was issued on February 15, 2024, that did not carry a penalty, but the City of Gem Lake was required to take action to bring the SWPPP into compliance and resubmit. This was completed in April 2024. City of Gem Lake City Council Meeting Minutes April 15, 2025 2 Consent Agenda Resolution #2025-011 April 2025 Donation to White Bear Lake Area Food Shelf Monthly Financial Report(s) Claims All items on the consent agenda were reviewed by the Council. Councilmember Lindner introduced a motion to approve all the items listed on the consent agenda, seconded by Councilmember Cacioppo. Motion carried 5-0. Committee Reports No Planning Commission meeting was held in April. Mayor Artig-Swomley would like to see the Planning Commission assign an alternate to the group in the case that no quorum is able to be met with the main five (5) commissioners assigned or think about expanding the commission from five (5) to seven (7) members. Commission Chair Don Cummings was in attendance at the meeting and shared that it might be best to expand the Commission and will propose something at the next meeting. Old Business Newsletter Updates / Topics / Suggestions Some topics for the next newsletter would include the MPCA presentation, news on the work the golf course and KIA dealership are doing, the MS4 Presentation, City Clean-up Day results, Corridor information, scholarship recipients and the 2nd stormwater article written by Councilmember Jim Lindner. Code Enforcement Issues Discussion The initial rental inspection and reinspection both took place for the rental property located on Scheuneman Road. It all comes down to the non-permitted structure built on the back on the property, all other violations were corrected. That violation is still uncorrected at this time. Potential Water System Funding The City of Gem Lake was awarded close to one million dollars from the federal government in 2024/2025 for the construction of a municipal water system. All earmarked funds the 2024/2025 funding cycle that remain unspent were recently revoked by the federal government from projects throughout the country. With the assistance of congresswoman Betty McCollum’s office, Gem Lake recently re-applied for this money for the current 2025/2026 funding cycle and awaits a decision. With the help of the City’s engineering firm, Gem Lake is also applying for everything available at the state level. The city retains its 2023/2024 federal funding award of $959,757 and is currently working with the Environmental Protection Agency to begin the engineering work necessary to begin a full or partial municipal water system. Comprehensive Plan Hoffman’s Corner is in the City’s Gateway Zoning District with a suggested development of mixed-use commercial/residential development. Mayor Artig-Swomley stated that this does not reflect 100% of the developer’s inquiries that are currently being fielded by the city. These calls are overwhelmingly slated towards commercial ideas. She suggests that the Planning Commission takes a look at this zoning and see if language changes and updates might make development more likely. She also stated that she will be meeting with the Metropolitan Council to discuss this area on April 16 and will report back next month. Councilmember Lindner introduced a motion to call for a public hearing on the matter at the appropriate time, seconded by Councilmember Cacioppo. Motion carried 5-0. Barnett KIA Developers Agreement Draft From an engineering standpoint the city is very close to finalizing the developer’s agreement. Road access to Highway 61 is the main concern holding up the agreement. City of Gem Lake City Council Meeting Minutes April 15, 2025 3 New Business Archery Turkey Hunting Applications 5 Daniels Farm Road A permit request for an archery turkey hunt on private property located at 5 Daniels Farm Road was received. The requested dates of the hunt will be April 16, 18, 19, 25, 26, 27 and May 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, 16, 17, 18, 23, 24, 25. The hunting party consists of seven (7) hunters, all of which have obtained their Bow Hunters Certification and a MN DNR Hunting License. Turkey stand locations were given and consent of neighbor’s was obtained. Councilmember Lindner introduced a motion to approve the Archery Turkey Hunting application at 7 Daniels Farm Road, seconded by Councilmember Cacioppo. Motion carried 5-0. 7 Daniels Farm Road A permit request for an archery turkey hunt on private property located at 7 Daniels Farm Road was received. The requested dates of the hunt will be April 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 27 and May 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, 16, 17, 18. The hunting party consists of three (3) hunters, all of which have obtained their Bow Hunters Certification and a MN DNR Hunting License. Turkey stand locations were given and consent of neighbor’s was obtained. Councilmember Lindner introduced a motion to approve the Archery Turkey Hunting application at 5 Daniels Farm Road, seconded by Councilmember Cacioppo. Councilmember Patrick abstained due to being part of the hunting party. Motion carried 4-0. Resolution #2025-012 2025 Joint Recycling Day Event with White Bear Township A resolution authorizing the City of Gem Lake to enter into a joint recycling event agreement with White Bear Township for the event beginning for fiscal year 2025 is being presented to the Council for adoption. Councilmember Lindner introduced a motion to approve Resolution #2025-012, seconded by Councilmember Cacioppo. Motion carried 5-0. Future Charitable Gambling Donations White Bear Lake Emergency Food Shelf Mayor Artig-Swomley suggested that the Council make a donation in May 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 $1500.00 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 the city is in very initial discussions with Vadnais Heights about possible joint water infrastructure projects, due to the five-story apartment building being constructed next year on LaBore Road in Vadnais Heights. The two cities are still seeking resolution of water billing concerns regarding Gem Lake Villas. Presentations from the Public, 2 Minutes Maximum Planning Commission Chair Don Cummings shared that he loves the communication efforts but would like to see more communication on the website itself as not everyone has Facebook. City Engineer Justin Gese shared that the city could look into a service called govdelivery to help get communications out to residents. Open Items for Council Members to Bring Up None City of Gem Lake City Council Meeting Minutes April 15, 2025 4 Future Council Meetings City Council, Tuesday, May 20, 2024. City Council Workshop, Monday, May 12, 2024, is CANCELED. Attendance Inquiry At this time all Councilmembers in attendance will be at the May meeting. Adjournment Being there no further business, following a motion from Councilmember Lindner, seconded by Councilmember Johnson, the meeting adjourned at 7:58 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Melissa Lawrence