City of Shoreview, MN City Council

Yeah, sure My point of order, I was the 1 minute warning over there. Yeah,

I was watching I think. This man is. Yeah Hey, hit me with one. Oh, thank you very much.

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Seems to be. Supposed to. 715 resetting the WiFi here. I did too. I good to go. I finally

Took a screenshot of my This meeting shall come to order. Welcome to the Shoreview City

Council meeting of Monday, AUGUST 3rd, 20206, the first thing we do is ask you to join

Us in the Pledge of Allegiance. I ledge allegiance to the flag the United States of America.

Invisible with liberty and justice for all. Mm Uh, the records should show. For our

Third item, which is roll call, that all members of the council are present tonight. And uh The

Fourth item is approval of the agenda, so I look to council to see if anyone has any addition

Or changes to the agenda, otherwise, I ll look for a

Motion to approve. So moved. 1 2nd. Ok, we have motion by Council member Don with a

Second by Council member Springhorn to approve tonight s

Agenda. All in favor, please say aye aye, I ll oppose same

Sign motion passes 5 to 0 and the agenda is approved. We do have. Uh, 2 proclamations and

Recognitions, uh, for tonight. And the first one, is regarding the night to unite proclamation,

Uh, the night to unite is tomorrow being held tomorrow night at various Um, Groups

Throughout Shoreview and other communities. So I will read the proclamation, um, and this

Comes out from the Ramsey County Sheriff s Office. City

Of Shoreview proclamation recognizing night to unite for AUGUST 4th, 2026, whereas the

Minnesota Crime Prevention Association along with local law enforcement agencies are

Sponsoring a statewide program called Night to Unite on AUGUST 4, 2026, and whereas Night to

Unite is designed to get to know one another in the city of Shoreview, build neighborhood

Involvement by bringing police and communities together and to bring an awareness to crime

Prevention and Local law enforcement efforts, and whereas night to unite supports

The idea that crime prevention is an inexpensive, effective tool in strengthening police

And community partnerships, and whereas Night to Unite provides opportunities to celebrate the ongoing work of law enforcement and neighborhoods in Shoreview by working together to fight crime and victimization and increased public safety for the community, and whereas the residents of Shoreview play An important role in assisting the Ramsey County Sheriff s Office through Joint Crime, Drug, and Violence Prevention efforts. Now therefore, I, Mayor Sue Dankinger, and we, council members, John Doan, Paul Gardner, Shelly Meerland, and Corey Springhorn do hereby call upon all residents of Shoreview Ramsey County to participate in Night to Unite on Tuesday, AUGUST 4th, 2026. Further, let it be resolved that I mayor Sue Denigger, and we council members John Doan, Paul Gardner, Shelly Meerland, and Corey Springhorn do hereby proclaim Tuesday, AUGUST 4th, 2026 as night to unite in Shoreview, Ramsey County, Minnesota. And I don t know how many. Community or how many events we have this year. I believe the number was 69, but we lost 2, so we re the 67, I think, which is still about the max we ve had for the last 5 years.

Ok. Which is a, a great number of community events to be held, so hopefully your neighborhood has one, and if it doesn t have one, you can always start one of your own, uh, by reaching out to the Ramsey County Sheriff s Department for this annual event, so. Anyway, all right, and we have 1 more proclamation tonight, so I d like to have our assistant city manager, Renee Eisenbeis come up and talk to the Minnesota Association of Government Communicators Northern Lights Award that was won by the City of Shoreview. Welcome. Thank you, Mayor and City Council, uh, tonight I am honored to present the Silver Northern Lights Award at the city of Shoreby received from the Minnesota Association of Government Communicators last month. This group has been around for nearly 50 years and has been hosting the Northern Lights Award for just over 40 years, and it s a way to recognize the outstanding communications work that governments, nonprofits, and educational organizations do.

So for the last several years, our communications team has been hard at work to build our social media presence and has done a great job of creating a reputation built on transparency and trust as well as sharing city information, which is often mundane, and they engaging and fun way, so this award recognizes that work and it s for the community engagement category. So if you recall last year, they created a post to remind their residents, but our overnight parking restrictions in shockingly, it went viral. And it reached over 149,000 people, many of whom were outside of Shoreview with a 10% engagement rate. Recognizing that we needed to respond, the team put together a funny and informative post that a few days later, that answered many of the questions that we received in the hundreds of comments that were on the original post, so that post, although it didn t reach as many, it reached 2700 people, primarily Shoreview residents and had a uh higher engagement rate of 11%.

So this award serves as a well-deserved recognition of the team s commitment to effective community-focused communications and incredibly proud of the work they ve done and I always look forward to seeing what they come up with. So thank you and we ll have this in our display case out in the lobby. Ok. Council, any comments or compliments? Ok. Thank you, Renee. Well done. It was a good recovery. The whole effort. Um, So the next item that we have on our Um Agenda is. Our public comments, and this is the part of our. Um, council meeting where people who want to have something that they want to talk to that is not on the agenda, not one of the business items can come up, um, and for those of you who are here, there are agendas in the back of the room if you don t have one already, you can feel free to take one.

So, um, when you re addressing the council about any item. Um, We, what we ask you to do is come up, give your name and address for the record, we won t necessarily resolve any issues here tonight, but if follow-up is required, someone from city staff will, um, follow up with you, so if there is anyone here that, uh, has a public comment on an item not and as part of the regular agenda, you can feel free to come up now and please keep your comments to 3 minutes. Yeah. Seeing we don t have any public comments tonight, um, I will look to the council, i ll look to council member Maryland, do you have any anything you d like to share? Yeah, I just wanted to, um. Uh, have people or remind people that the fall 2026, um, City news and recreation catalog has been mailed out and you should have received one in the mail.

If you did not, they are available. There s a ton of them available here at the community center, but, um, not only are there a lot of recreation programs in here for kids, there s also information in here, um, and recreation programs for adults as well. And one thing I wanted to point out is because, um, right now, um, there s a lot of people in Shoreview experiencing some utility, um, uh, construction going on in their neighborhoods and their yards, and, um, on page 10 in the catalog, it talks about, um, what an easement is and, um, how far, um, utility companies can come up into your yard, um, public drainage, utility easements, and right of ways and So there s actually a map in there that shows you, um, um, approximately how far they can come in, um, right away is typically 10 to 15 ft into the lawn behind the curb, so, um, I know in our neighborhood, we ve been experiencing a lot of utility maintenance, um, and contractors in and out of our neighborhood, but, um.

Um, they do have, um, some right away easements to do that. And hopefully, they re cleaning up after themselves and, um, um, getting on their way when they re finished, so I know it can be painful, um, while they re there and they do make a mess, but um, they re just doing their job for, um, what, whether it be Excel or Comcast or, um, whatever utility they re working with, um, they do have the right to do that, so. Thank you. Very timely. Ok, Council member Springhorn. Mayor, uh, we have the, um, Eton Hills Shoreview Rotary Hops and vine, taste of hops and Vines event coming up again later this month. It ll be on Thursday, AUGUST 27th at Snail Lake Park. From 5 to 8 P. M., uh, that is a 21 plus event, and, um, so if you are 21 or over, I d like to, uh, participate in that. Tickets are $35 if you purchase them in advance or $40 at the door.

Um The, uh, place you would go to get those online, I, I I m not even sure where I went to, I m not sure if it s the, to go to a taste of Taof the hops. Com, and that s where you can find those advanced tickets, um. And then also did want to remind people that, uh, we re coming close to the end of uh primary election voting, uh, the last day of, uh, Minnesota s primary election will be next Tuesday, um, AUGUST 11th, so if you have not voted yet, make sure. You do that sometime between now and then. Thank you. Council member Da. Yes, thank you, Mayor, um, wanted to recognize, um, our city staff for a couple of things first, that, uh, last week, many, uh, folks might have read in the news that, uh, there was a number of cyber attacks on municipal water systems. And wanna, uh, recognize that, those are definitely things that we, uh, prepare for, but at the same time, you can never prevent 100%, uh, but that, uh, our city staff has been on top of it and that, um, based on information from our city manager, I m very confident that our city water systems are secure and just make sure that everybody knows that, uh, we have folks who are actively managing those cybersecurity threats.

Um, so appreciate the work of staff to try to stay a step ahead of, uh, those. Bad global actors across The globe in this case. Um, and then secondly, want to recognize, uh, the great work of not only city staff but also of the slice of shore view steering committee, and it s, uh, fearless leader for over, I believe, 3 plus decades, uh, Jackie Krebsbach, who this is her last year chairing and leading the slice of Shoreview, uh, committee to make that happen, so just a big thanks to the slice of Shoreview Steering Committee and to Jackie Kresbach. In particular, and we are so thankful for her leadership over the last decades, uh, for making this slice of shore view an amazing community gathering event for everybody in the city and beyond, um, and then third, I wanna reiterate that, uh, uh, AUGUST 10th as council member Springhorn said is primary election day, you can still vote early up until next Tuesday, but just encourage everybody to, um Exercise your civic duty and democratic right to vote, and so primary elections are just as important as the general election day themselves, so please, uh, go and exercise your freedoms, uh, to vote, and then, um, last but not least, uh, uh, is, well, I guess it might be last because it s our last concert in the commons of the summer, which is this Wednesday, um, Meador, uh, presents Delhi.

Parton, so if you like Dolly Parton, uh, and country music, um, and grew up with 9 to 5, make sure to come out on Wednesday night at 7 o clock, um, at, uh, the Hoffman p Pavilion to enjoy some great music, uh, and hopefully some great weather with, uh, your neighbors, so with that, Mayor, thank you, we ve got a busy week or so ahead of us here with Night to Unite and our concert and the election, so just hoping everybody stays safe out there and stay cool. Thank you. Councilor Gardner. Uh, thanks, I have a couple of things. Uh, first, I just want to thank everyone who, uh, serves as an election judge, um, both the primary and general election, um, I can attest since my wife is an election judge in another city, not sure of you that uh. the hours, uh, for some go from 6 A. M. To about 10 P.

M. By the time you get home, um, and those people are really, uh, on the ball, we also have excellent people helping out at the Shoreview Library. Uh, I did my early voting there and it was just really convenient and it was like watching a well-oiled machine with everybody checking their boxes and doing their signatures and Printing labels and, um, it just gives you a lot of faith in the system. Uh, second, I wanted to, uh, thank the city staff for, um We re keeping the Rice Creek fields up for the monster, um, softball tournament that just happened over the weekend as a former traveling softball dad, I can tell you the Rice Creek fields are the nicest softball fields in the state of Minnesota. Uh, because it s true, uh, it s just a, a nice facilities, the shade is great, the seating is good, uh, and it s just laid out very well, uh, so I appreciate all of the, the work to get it ready and to keep it going.

I know those fields are in use just constantly during the day, and then people have to come at odd hours to keep things up, so I appreciate that. Uh, let Let s see, um, I also wanted to mention that, um This is called getting in on the ground floor. So Minot, uh, with no plans to do anything until 2035, uh, is seeking people s input on the future of Interstate 694 for the 9 mile stretch from Lexington Avenue to Brooklyn Boulevard, they have no specific idea, but they want to Find out what people think, so Minot will host a virtual meeting at 5:30 P. M. On AUGUST 12th, and they have an online survey open through AUGUST 18th. Seems like a short timeline when you think that 2035 is not gonna do anything. Uh, but they really want to hear from people and what, uh, what they think ought to happen, um, the Star Tribune has a good article on this, and you can find the links to that or go to Minat s uh website for more information.

And Gal, I think that s it. Ok, thank you. That would be. Project, I can t even imagine wow, I don t even know what the traffic will be like in, in that 23, just across my feed, Ramsey County is hosting 2 opportunities to learn about the upcoming Race Creek Boulevard project, that s the spine road that would go up through the Race Creek Commons, uh, Wednesday, AUGUST 19th from 5 to 7 in an open house at. Ramsey County Public Works in Arden Hills, that s obviously not, not in Shoreview, but It will have impacts on shoreview, so, uh, and then a live webinar Wednesday, AUGUST 26th. Uh, from noon to 1, boy, that s not convenient, but um, anyway, um. More opportunities to give your, input. Thank you. Um, I had read in, I think one of the reports we had for this meeting that we had quite a few, um, city staff helping out with a slice of Shoreview too with that helping to set up the slip and slide.

It did, and I think we had, there were some public works folks involved in that as well, so involved working weekends and, um, want to thank him very much for that. I didn t even know we didn t go in the ride section because I spent enough, but I, well, I don t know that I would have gone on that to a little intimidated. Dating, but, but I mean, that it s really good of city staff to, to set this up and to break it down in addition to the other things they have to do, so it s, that s appreciated. We talked a little bit about Night to Unite. I did also want to mention that last Thursday we had, uh, the grand opening of the Lake Johanna, our new fire department headquarters, which is located in Arden Hills on Pine Tree Drive. So right off County Road e. So we had an event where, um.

With the chief and the assistant chiefs all spoke and quite a few people actually showed up, council member Springhorn, who is PRESIDENT-elect who who is PRESIDENT-elect Johanna Fireb, uh, spoke, the mayors spoke, um, but it was really an exciting event because I, I was thinking as a taxpayer, how often do you get to actually see before anybody else sees the results of your tax dollars, and we really did need this station, it s got, um, rooms where the fire when the firefighters. They get in can remove their contaminated equipment and then go in and shower where the, at the stations now, there isn t really a place to, uh, separate that equipment, and it truly is contaminated after they ve been involved in, in an event, so, um. They did invite people in for a tour and the firefighters actually led the tours, and there will be another open house, I believe, this fall for the public, so you could keep an eye out for that, but, um, people could go through, make comments, ask questions, and again, how often do you get to do that with a big investment like that, so.

Um, I think, yeah. The, um The event that did attract about 2 or 300 people, I think, um, hopefully we ll get a good crowd in the fall too, because I think the firefighters were really also, um. Wanted to engage with residents and so residents could tell them how much we appreciate them, and then they could also thank residents for supporting them, so, um, and that brings me to the next item, which is the fire station that was vacated as they re all moved into the news station now, um, is Station 140, that s right next to Island Lake Park, and that actually is city owned, so we ve been working with, uh, real estate, um, consultant to sell that, so we ll be looking. At some offers that have come in just the city council will be doing that and because it s a real estate property transaction, it s not an open meeting, but we aren t going to actually take action, but we ll hear who has bid on the property, so, um, you ll hear more about that to come, but that station will be sold.

For someone to purchase and use. And let s see if I had anything else, um. Our city manager, Brad Martins and I have been meeting with our city legislators, um. Kelly Moeller, who is not running for office again, but, um, and David Gottfried, and we re meeting this week with John Marty, and we just wanted to talk with them, that when we have, um. Is that the city needs or actions that we need taken. We wanted to know how best to work with them. So when they go to the state legislature If if there s something that needs to be dealt with. I mean, we re talking about rising public safety costs, which have been a big part of our tax levy, so we just said, you know, it s, it s a challenge for cities to be able to manage those costs as well as, um, other items that we need to do. So what they might, um, look to help us with that, also housing and e-bikes, which is a Kind of a hot, hot topic right now, the use of e-bikes and motor scooters, so we ve been meeting with them to talk about what concerns we have and then just say how can we best work with you, which I think is important, um.

And the last item is there s a tree sale going on in the fall right now until AUGUST 25th if you did need a tree, I think there s about 5 varieties. The trees are, uh, $50 a piece, and I think because there is a big, bigger spring tree sale at this point, you can order just 1, I think, in the fall, correct? But if you want to know what tree species are available for purchase, you can go out to the city website and $50 for a great quality tree is really a bargain. So if you re looking for something like Like that. Um, take a look and then AUGUST 25th, as I said, is the deadline. Gee whiz, that s a lot of stuff going on, I know i m sure of you, everybody, it is, it s good. So, um, With that, that ends our council comments, so the next item on our agenda is the consent agenda, which consists of 9 items tonight, um, and these are items that are considered routine, so, uh, they can be enacted by 1 motion, um, we wouldn t.

We won t discuss these separately unless someone on the council wanted to pull one of these items out for discussion. So I will look to council to see if they want to draw out anything on the consent agenda for discussion, otherwise, I ll look for a motion to approve. Mayor, I ll need to abstain from, um, items a and b because I was absent for that meeting, thank you, that s a great reminder. So we will vote separately on that because those are meeting minutes. Thank you. So, um, Mayor, I d like to make a motion to approve a consent agenda items 8c. Through 8 I, ok, well, maybe we ll do it, can we do 8, a and b first, and then have her abstain and. That way I don t get confused Mayor, I d like to, uh, uh, retract my motion and make a new motion, which is to approve consent agenda items 8a and 8b.

Second that we have a motion by Council member Donna and a seconded by Council member Springhorn to, um, approve items 8a and 8b. All in favor, please say aye. Aye, all oppose same sign motion passes 4 to 0. Right. Mayor, I d like to make a motion to approve consent agenda items 8c through 8 I. ll second. Ok, we have a motion by Council Member Daan and a second by Council member Maryland to approve the remaining items 8c through 8I of the consent agenda. All in favor, please say aye, aye, all oppose same sign and that motion passes 5 to 0. Uh, the next item is public hearings and we do not have any public hearings tonight, so the next item, um, is general business. We have 3 items on general business and the first one is 10a, a nuisance abatement 44835 Nottingham Place and our assistant community development director Nikki Hill will present. Thank you, Mayor.

Members of the council. Uh, this nuisance abatement is a continuation of the nuisance abatement hearing that we heard at the JULY 20th meeting. And so again, this is for 4835 Nottingham Place. And The council is being asked to order an abatement of the public nuisance for the property. And I m not gonna go through all the details because we did review that last time, but just for a high level, the property has too much accessory structure, square footage with failing to convert the attached garage to a livable space after construction of a new detached garage. And this item was originally heard at that JULY 20th meeting and the council asked staff to return with more specific information in the resolution as to exactly what we were abating cause it wasn t super clear. As well as try to see if there was a way to offer a timeline or some sort of relief for the property owner.

Well, also Making sure that this is addressed. And so in the report, staff did Come up with language that is more clear that the abatement would be of the detached garage, specifically if they fail to convert the attached garage that is the Item that It was contingent on the conversion of that attached garage and we re also not going to try and design any conversion and it would probably get a little legally messy to enter the home versus the detached garage. So the language is clear as to what we re abating should that need to occur. And then staff also looked at ways to Give the property owner some relief, and we landed on Allowing 30-day increments, excuse me. Um, where the Homeowner would work towards satisfactory. Um, completion of the project in 30-day increments. And if they make satisfactory progress for the city manager or their designee. Then we would extend it for an additional 30 days, and so that way it keeps the bar moving, but it also helps ensure that.

We don t have another 180 days that go by with a permit being pulled, and then you don t know if anything s going to occur, and then You know, it still persists, so we thought that this was a good compromise as far as. A way to give the homeowner an opportunity to convert the garage one final time as well as go through that abatement hearing so if it does not get converted, staff has the ability to address that as well. So our recommendation is to adopt resolution 2658, approving the abatement of the nuisance at 4835 Nottingham Place and provide the property owner with an initial 30-day period to demonstrate satisfactory progress toward completing that required conversion of the existing attached garage. And as part of that motion, The city manager, their designee is authorized to grant successive 30-day extensions upon determining that satisfactory progress is being made toward bringing the property into compliance. And if that it is determined that satisfactory progress has not been made during any 30-day period, no additional extension shall be granted and staff shall proceed with the implementation of the adopted abatement order.

Ok. So what questions do you have? Um, Anyone have questions? Ok, I think my, oh, Council Mayor Springhorn, I, I guess I would just because we were just here a couple of weeks ago, do we, are we aware of any, any progress that, that has come up a building permit has been submitted. Um, I know that it was. Nearing, I don t know if it was pulled yet, but I know that our building staff has Gotten towards the completion of that, so I know that there has been progress on that front. Right, that s encouraging. And then what might the check in at the 30 day period, is that something that s and is just, um, is the homeowner work, uh, being asked to initiate that update or how would that work? Um, really, like if there s progress being made, you know, such as framing inspections or different inspections through the building department, then we would deem that as progress that s being made, um, otherwise, our code enforcement staff would check in if we re not hearing from, and, you know, at least see if there s progress being made, because depending on where it is in the building permit process, they might not be at a, an inspection phase, but maybe they re putting up the drywall after the insulation and So it ll be a combination, but if there s.

Inspections, it s that route, but if we need to check in, then there would be that road as well. Ok, all right. Ok. There, ok, thank Thank you very much. And then i ll ask the homeowner if you have any questions or Wanna make any comments I got, I got we waiting for that I stopped in Jersey. They said they got 6 more to go before they get the money so. Ok to come in. Ok. Sorry, and I, we have an audience or people that are streaming this to, that s all right, but, um, well, if you want to come up and just, if you wouldn t mind saying it in the mic because, um, just, just so we know for the record that, you know, because no one could hear you except we, us, I talked to Brad, he explained to me what, what s on the, on that sheet that s going on.

And, uh, right now I have a contractor. He s got materials, he said. And, uh, I m just waiting for the permit. I stopped back in here Thursday, they said it ll be, uh, they re on 6, they ll be, you know, we ll You ll have it within a week or so or something like that, and then hopefully we can get started then. Ok, so that, and your you re clear about what, how you ll be indirect 30 days they could come and check should everything should be working great, and then would you mind for the record just stating your name and address. Jeff, 4, 48, 3595 Place, ok, which is a homeowner, so, well, I m glad we were able to come up with something where you re able to move forward with your work versus tearing down a, a garage, so, and I m, I m also glad that you were able to, um, you know, that your Clear about what needs to happen and, and who you ll be working with, and yeah, all right.

Thank you very much. Um. Yes, I d like to make a motion, ok, to adopt resolution number 2658 approving the abatement of a public nuisance to remove the noncompliant detached garage at the property located at 4835 Nottingham Place, and to provide the property owner with initial 30-day period to demonstrate satisfactory progress towards completing the required conversion of the existing attached garage. The city manager or designee is authorized to grant successive 30-day extensions upon determining that satisfactory progress is being made toward bringing the property into compliance. If the city manager or designee determines that satisfactory progress has not been made during any 30-day period, no additional extension shall be granted and staff shall proceed with implementation of the adopted abatement order. I ll second the motion. We have a motion by Council member Don and a second by Council member Maryland to adopt this resolution number 26-58, approving the abatement around the. Terms as explained, um, all in favor, please say aye.

Aye, I ll oppose same sign. Motion passes 5 to 0. So. Um, and I wanna thank. Um, MS. Hill and also the property owner for. coming to a resolution that I think will work out for all if, if we can move in the ter use the terms that are set out in this, so. All right, thank you. Uh, our next item of general business is approving artwork for the Highway 96 tunnel mural and our director of Public Public Public Works, Tom Wesolowski, is Um, here to go over this project. Exciting project, Mayor, uh, council members, um. Just to provide a little bit of background, um, starting in around, uh, 2025, the Bike and Trails Committee, uh, incorporation. With Gallery 96 heard to discuss the potential of obtaining a mural in the pedestrian tunnel that s located under Highway 96 near the community center. That s kind of this red. Highlighted area, uh, here on the map.

And, uh, you know, part of the big reason they wanted to do that is they, is they felt this, uh, mural could, you know, ah, provide kind of a vibrant, attractive, and inviting space to some area that s kind of Just concrete now, um, and cultivate a sense of community and draw attention to local natural resources, and so they continue to move through that by then having discussions with city, city staff and after discussing with them, it was determined that the project was kind of feasible to continue to move through to the next process. Uh, they started to, uh, look for some grant opportunities, and they were able to secure grant funding from the Shoreview Community Foundation and the Ramsey Washington Metro Watershed district. And then, um, just recently here when the bike and trails Committee, um. With the workshop they touched, uh, on this, um, mural project that they ve been working on. Um, as far as the project, uh, they put out a call for artists, um, I got by Gallery 96 and 41 applicants were received, so pretty popular.

2 local artists, Lily Lennox and Sarah Herman were selected. Uh, together they have 20 years of experience painting together and they ve completed projects throughout Minnesota and I Iowa with additional projects in Chicago and Niagara Falls, so quite a bit of experience between them. And when they looked at the artwork design, they were kinda looking to transform the the tunnel into a living corridor and then give it a depiction of a journey through the habitats that sustain Minnesota pollinators and the plants they depend on. Um, this is the, uh, mural that they came up with, and here s the concept design. And, uh, with it there s a list of 19 plants, uh, so I can list those all, there s quite a few of them, but they re from 3 distinct habitats in Minnesota, prairies, woodlands, and wetlands, and they re also 6 insects that are included in there all pollinators. Um, what I thought was just interesting about this mural is if you look up at the corner, we ve got Kind of a person to scale, and you can kinda see how big the bees and some of these other things are gonna be there, so be a fairly impressive, um, uh, mural as you, as you, uh, go through on your, on your bicycle or if you re walking through.

Um, as well as the vibrant colors. Uh, befored project timeline for this project would be, uh, starting here in AUGUST, they, uh, will be power washing and priming and kind of filling any of the holes in the tunnel, and that ll be, uh, done, completed, um, kind of a cooperation between park staff and contractor that they ll be bringing in. Um, that ll be followed up by a community paint event. And then in mid AUGUST to early SEPTEMBER, the, uh, artist Lisa and Sarah will be working with community volunteers to actually paint the mural. That will then be followed by the application of an anti-graffiti coating. Again, uh, with cooperation of parks, uh, staff and contractor. Um, I just wanted to kind of give a a couple of shouts out here to some, some individuals and also, uh, groups, so the bike and trails Committee in Gallery 96 worked pretty hard to bring this concept.

All the way to, through to reality as far as working together to come up with this plan and then going out to find artists and going after, uh, grants and so forth. Um, David Yang, our, uh, senior staff engineer at, at the city as a liaison to the bike and Trails Committee, and he did a lot of, uh, uh, working between city staff and, and Getting this information out and talking to other individuals. Uh Rodney Sherros, our park superintendent. He was kind of the main parks contacts, uh, for this project and, and is working with Uh, this project to go ahead and get some of this, you know, prep work done and then the graffiti work. Um, and then thank you to the Shoreview Community Foundation in Ramsey, Washington Metro Watershed for both, uh, um. Awarding grants to the project. And, um, with this, I would recommend that the city council approve resolution 2665 approving the artwork for the Highway 96 pedestrian tunnel.

We also have, um, Jeff Cooper here from Gallery 96 so Jeff and I have never met, so I apologize, we only talked by, uh, email, so, uh, today, so Jeff, um, had offered to come up and say a few words and, um, then if you have any questions for, for Jeff or myself, we can. Respond to those? So. Ok. Welcome and thanks for coming today Jeff Cooper Gallery 96, Shoreview resident. And, um, grant writer, I guess. Um, so if anybody has any questions, please let me know, but a project like this is a lot of people. A lot of effort and and a lot of things that have to kind of come together or surprising number of things that need to come together. And so there are tons of acknowledgments, uh, first and foremost is, is Shoreview legend Mark Stenga, uh, who brought this to me and to other Gallery 96 board members, probably starting 5 years ago.

And it just kind of has snowballed and, and taken this much time to kind of get things lined up and in place. Um, the, uh, Shoreview Community Foundation, uh, was wonderful and, and giving us a, a very generous grant, uh, and the, uh Ramsey, Washington Metro Watershed district came through with the other half to make this. Project a reality for us, City of Shoreview has stepped in with in-kind donations and, work with the contractors, so, um. Altogether, you know, it makes this go, um, to where we are today. Um, a couple of the Members of the Watershed District, Ashley and Paige, um. They provided us with a very exhaustive list of species of plants that are native to the Snail Lake, uh, watershed area. And our artists were able to kind of go through. And kind of pick things that worked both artistically and, um, for the, area that we re trying to represent here.

And, and so I think that came together really well. Um, there s a, there s a prairie area, uh, uh, a kind of a marsh region and a, woodland region. And, um, so we kind of have different representation from all of those. We did make a couple of changes to the, to the mural that you saw here. Uh, we found out that Uh, honey bees are not native to Minnesota, um. News to me, it makes sense. They were, they were brought in, um, so we re swapping the honey bees out for carpenter bees and bumblebees and some other native, uh, bees, and then, um, we added a hummingbird and an owl just because we really like the owl. Um, so, um Uh, we have a community paint opportunity coming up on Thursday, AUGUST 13th. If people are interested in that, I ve got flyers, uh, there s some flyers around the community center, but you can email info@gallery96.

Org and ask for more information, we ll have about 25 people that can paint. Portion of the mural. Um, and that ll be out here and back, um, at Hoffman, uh, Pavilion. And if there s any other questions, happy to. So are there 2? Wouldn t, um, are there 2? Community paints are because they it sounded like that was 2 different steps. Um, so, so I think maybe that was a slight misinterpretation of the community pain event will be on the 13th, and then the muralists themselves will take to the tunnel and, and do the lion s share of the painting there. They MAY have a couple of Gallery 96 folks stop in to help out, uh, but the community painting will be done on AUGUST 13th. Ok. That makes sense, ok a little easier to manage and, you can, they re actually painting on a mural cloth, so we ll be able to paint on picnic tables, and, um, and then those will get adhered to the tunnel walls and become part of the mural.

Ok. The murals, gorgeous. I really liked it. It s gonna be very cool, right, and big 9 ft. I loved it, so did you, Council member Don is on the Shoreview Foundation, so, uh, definitely familiar with this project and an advocate. Thank you, Mayor, uh, thank you, Jeff, um, and to Tom and staff for this, this is a long time in coming, and I m super excited for it. I ve got a number of questions here, so bear with me, uh, the first is for the community paint event on AUGUST 13th. I know that there will be more than 25 people who MAY be interested in this. I know that just in talking with members of the Shoreview Community Foundation Board, that there are a number of people who are excited from that group, uh, and so what s the process, but aside from getting deluge with volunteers, uh, for. 96 to make this really a community event where it can be inclusives that info at Gallery 96.

Org. If we do get more people than we anticipate we might need, we can try and Put people together in teams, um, we can, we can, there will be some people that say, I m, I m busy that night, so we ll have some cancellations, but, um, uh, Tom Rainan, our PRESIDENT, will kind of manage those, those requests. We have, yeah, probably 25 slots available, but those could be teams of 2, teams of 3, to try and maximize the number of people that we can, we can engage. And can you share what the time frame is you said in the evening, uh, yeah, 66 to 8 o clock. Great, thank you, and then, uh, also, uh, love the artwork. I think that s, uh, the theme is so, uh, kind of representative of what we value in our community. Um, and was wondering, will there be an opportunity, I didn t see in the artwork that was in our packet, uh, recognition for all of the folks that were involved, particularly the Shore v.

Community Foundation, Ramsey Washington, Watershed District, and etc. Um, so as you enter the tunnel, there will be a plaque or a Thing on the wall now. Funding And supporting Yes. And then on the other side, we ll probably have people that help out with the. Painting, uh, sign their name and that ll, that ll be installed on me, yeah. Great. Uh, third question, uh, getting a lot of questions about lighting in the tunnel. That, you know, this is an amazing piece of artwork that will live on for years to come, but that at times, the tunnel can be a bit dark, and if there will be additional lighting or enhancements to lighting in the tunnel to 1, feature the artwork, but also make it more inviting space for people to come in. To use. Um, uh, that is something we can take a look at, um, we, we was not originally in this original plan, but, uh, that s something we can certainly look at, um.

See if we can get that done. And then, uh, following up on that one also, uh, understanding that there is going to be a coating of graffiti resistance, um. Something uh to protect the artwork, um, will there also be any sort of surveillance or cameras or anything, or is there already in the tunnel there are cameras at both ends of the tunnel so that that adds a level of security, and it is lit. I mean, it could be Better lit, but it s, it s actually pretty well lit. Great. Final question, Mayor. Sure, um, which is, um. Super exciting for this, I ve also gotten questions about, will there be more opportunities for, uh Artwork and public art in whether it s along our trail system in the tunnels in particular, but also, um, artwork in our parks and in other community spaces, so public art, and actually after that I ve got 1 more to follow up from there.

Um, so there are 3 additional tunnels in the Snail Lake, tunnel or Snail Lake Trail System. Um, so we are definitely looking at, now that we ve kind of got the model figured out. It will be a little less labor to go through and propose um To get funding for some of those other tunnels, um, and I am not directly involved, but I know that there have been Several discussions between the city and confusion, Art Trust about a kind of sculpture. In the park, sort of, sculpture trail, if you will. Um, and That s all I know about that. Right. And Mayor, I guess this is the final, final question, uh, which is, uh. Public art is an investment in our community. And we re lucky to have the Shore v. Community Foundation as well as the Watershed Districts. Up for this investment. Can you share a little bit, uh, public art.

Is not cheap, uh, and especially when done really well, like what we re seeing here, um, can you share with us what the budget was? How did you come about to, uh, get the funding for it and what are the opportunities for future funding. Um, as you re seeing it from, you know, from a community organization perspective, um, so the budget that we have, uh, for this, uh, project is $25,000. Um, The, um The artists will receive $16,000. Um, and then, uh, the remaining portion goes for the anti-graffiti coding. Um, the, uh, materials, um, some of the Unexpected expenses, and then the city is. Is doing the power washing and helping to support the priming and, and some of those steps, so. And, um The, um, You know, in the future we have. There are other funding sources, um. Um, so we ll probably look into Some Minnesota arts grants and, and different things to try and get some of, of, of that.

Money, but those are Long-term grant writing opportunities, uh, so that might be a year or 2 in the, in the future. Thank you, sure. COUNCILMAN Gardner, do you, do you have a question? Sure, I mean, I love everything about it, I. Open the packet on Saturday and just leapt out of my chair and went, 00, look, and made my wife check it out, she maintains the plants in our rain garden, which many of them are represented here. Um, Nice to see that the monarch doesn t get all the, the love that we ve got a meadow for the Larry in the swallowtail, and that s good. Um, we ve got some of the unsung, um. Bugs like the um. Uh, damsel fly love those bluets. Um, I just think it s great. My only worry is that it s going to be so popular initially that people are gonna stand in the tunnel. With people coming around the curve.

And so a sign might be in order like slow. Um, and also glad to see our public works director how well rounded you are. It s not just uh pipes and. And water and stuff, you re very cultured here, we re working on this, on the art thing, uh, no, I think this is wonderful, um, I think this is. I talked 2 weeks ago in our climate plan discussion about the changing of norms, and I think 15 years ago, no one would have thought to do this or thought it would be pretty weird, and now that more people are Doing this sort of thing, it fits right in and. With so many other restoration efforts that are going on in the shoe like the wetland Day. On the other side of Snail Lake, so, um, more of this, please. Beautiful. Any other comments, and I think also Gallery 96, um, I love that you re involved with something that the public can see more of if you go in the community center, of of course, you can always see these art displays and in the library, and I just marvel at the talent being a very unaric person, um, it s beautiful but i m really loving this partnership with the city in a, much more direct way than sometimes, um, you know, then displaying the art, so thank you and Yeah, I m sorry, I had one other thing.

Yes, I mean, you know, for centuries, governments have patronized the arts, sometimes with a tight leash and sometimes with more freedom, and it just feels odd as elected officials that we re voting on. Art because it is a. form of expression. Um, And I hope we ll think about that, I hope government doesn t get in the business of Judging art, because that isn t something we do well, so. You weren t gonna add other plants to this. Well, what time is it? No, it s, it s great, we can, we can use those in the other tunnels. Ok, um, Council Member Dawn, you had 1 final, final, final question, that s correct. Uh, before I d, I d love to, uh I have the honor to make this motion, but before I do that. Um, I did want to, um Let me make sure I just lost my thought after making that whole, um.

Oh, I know what it is, so it is, will there be an opportunity to celebrate. Uh, the Completion of this project and how can we, how can I and the Shoreby Community Foundation, and i imagine we as a council want to be a part of, uh, that recognition of all the, all the Creative work and blood, sweat, and tears that have gone into this in this multi-year project that I think is Really reflective of the things that we value in our community, and, this is one of those bright spots, uh, that I really think, um, is engaging the community, getting people, residents. Involved in. Public creation of something that s gonna last for a generation, and so I just really want to celebrate that, and so would like to Um, ask that, uh, we figure out somehow, uh, to do that. Yeah, absolutely, at the end of the whole process once we re, once we re complete, uh, we have plan to do a ribbon cutting with the artists, the community foundation, the Watershed District.

Uh, members of city staff, all of that, I think it s a thing to celebrate. It really will be. Yeah. Good, thank you. Thanks very much. Thank you, MR. Wesolowski for staying late tonight. So we have, uh, 1 more item of general business. Oh, I m sorry, I d like to make a motion. Oh, I m sorry, well, that s right, we have to make a motion. I d like to make a motion to approve resolution 26-65 approving the artwork for the Highway 96 tunnel mural. Second. Ok, we have a motion, uh, by Council member Ronna and a second by Councilor m Gardner, um, to approve the Highway 96 tunnel mural artwork, all in favor, please say aye. I ll oppose same sign motion passes 5 to 0, and thank you, that was a very important thing I might have missed. Uh, now we will move to the last item on our, uh, general business, which is 10c, an appointment to the Public Safety Committee and I look to our city manager, Brad Martins, who is the liaison not only to the sheriff s department, but to this committee as well.

Thank you, Mayor Council, um, as you know, the Public Safety Committee advises the city council on matters pertaining to public safety and the welfare in the city of Shoreview, and the committee has a vacancy due to a member resigning as they moved actually out of the state, um, out of the region actually. So, uh, we fortunately we were able to have 2 applications presented to the city. I worked with both applicants, um, only 1 choose, chose to interview. We are the Public Safety Committee interviewed that person at their JULY 16th meeting, uh, the name is Amy Joe Lynch and committee members were impressed with their past experiences with emergency planning, and unanimously passed a motion recommending their appointment. Ok. Questions from council. She looked like, uh, yeah, she had some really good experience and we once again are, um Lucky to or fortunate to have people, uh, volunteer for, for these positions, sometimes more than we have openings for, but, um, definitely qualified people that look, are committed to helping the community, so this was good to see. So I ll look