CC 2015 10 26Chanhassen City Council – October 26, 2015
CHANHASSEN CITY COUNCIL
REGULAR MEETING
OCTOBER 26, 2015
Mayor Laufenburger called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. The meeting was opened
with the Pledge to the Flag.
COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT:
Mayor Laufenburger, Councilman McDonald,
Councilwoman Tjornhom, Councilwoman Ryan, and Councilman Campion
STAFF PRESENT:
Todd Gerhardt, Chelsea Petersen, Paul Oehme, Todd Hoffman, Greg
Sticha, Bob Generous, Chief Don Johnson, Lt. Eric Kittelson, and Roger Knutson
PUBLIC PRESENT:
Marty Schutrop Chanhassen
Jack & Cindy Pugh 260 Mountain View Court
Mayor Laufenburger: Good evening and welcome to this council meeting. To those that are
present in the chamber with us this evening as well as those watching on Mediacom Cable
Channel 8 or 107.2 at home and also for the record note that all members of the council are
present this evening. Our first action tonight is to approve the agenda. If there are any
modifications to the agenda. If not we will proceed with the agenda as printed.
PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS:
None.
CONSENT AGENDA: Councilwoman Tjornhom moved, Councilman McDonald
seconded to approve the following consent agenda items pursuant to the City Manager’s
recommendations:
1. Approve City Council Minutes dated October 12, 2015
2. Receive Planning Commission Minutes dated October 6, 2015
3. Receive Park and Recreation Commission Minutes dated September 22, 2015
Resolution #2015-64:
4. Award of Bid, Extractor Washing Machine for the Fire
Department; and Authorization to Participate in a Grant Application from the Minnesota
Department of Public Safety
5. Award of Bid, Toro Groundsmaster 7210 Mower/Polar Trac
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Chanhassen City Council – October 26, 2015
Resolution #2015-65:
6. 2016 Street Resurfacing Project 16-05: Authorize Preparation of
a Feasibility Study
All voted in favor and the motion carried unanimously with a vote of 5 to 0.
VISITOR PRESENTATIONS.
None.
LAW ENFORCEMENT/FIRE DEPARTMENT UPDATE.
Mayor Laufenburger: Lieutenant Kittelson, are you here this evening? Alright.
Lt. Eric Kittelson: Good evening council, Mr. Mayor.
Mayor Laufenburger: Good evening.
Lt. Eric Kittelson: Law enforcement update for September. The Towards Zero Death initiative
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that I announced last month just ended and from October 9 to October 26 we had 45 citations
in Carver County for folks not wearing their seatbelts. 7 of those citations were in Chanhassen.
And just as a reminder, half of the people killed in motor vehicle crashes in the state in the last 3
years were not wearing their seatbelts. I was the Towards Zero Death grant coordinator back in
the early 2000’s and our county average was 82 percent of the people were buckled up. Sergeant
Moline who’s with me here tonight is now the Towards Zero Death coordinator for the county
and we’re at 97 percent on the county wide average so.
Mayor Laufenburger: We’ve learned.
Lt. Eric Kittelson: We’ve learned and we’re saving lives and we’re happy for that. Special
events response for the month. We had the Chanhassen High School homecoming and parade
which went off without a hitch and we got a number of compliments on the parade. That it went
very smoothly this year and we had a number of local folks who were attending that said it went
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very well and we were happy and pleased with that. We also had Eckankar’s 25 anniversary.
We welcomed 6,000 to 8,000 visitors from around the world to Chanhassen and I think the
theme continues to repeat itself. No incidents and this is a fun and safe place to come and visit
and like I said we had 6,000 to 8,000 people from all over the world visiting Eckankar during
their open house and their celebration so we’re happy to report that as well. Sergeant Moline for
a staffing update will attend the Towards Zero Death conference this week in St. Cloud with
engineers, emergency managers, emergency medical personnel and lawmakers from throughout
the state to discuss traffic safety issues so we’ll be sending him up there for that. Calls for
service for the month, we had 68 citations for traffic violations. 264 warnings for violations.
Total calls for service was 1,241. We had 20 Part I crimes. 55 Part II crimes and 834 non-
criminal traffic, alarms, medicals, accidents, etc. Also happy to report that these numbers
continue to represent a decrease from year to date numbers and when we compare numbers from
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September, 2014. With that in mind though we did have 5 burglaries from September 15 to
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Chanhassen City Council – October 26, 2015
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October 15. We put a news release out on that. There were 3 forced entry burglaries into
locked, unoccupied homes and we had one entry into an open garage and one entry into an
unlocked garage so just a reminder for the public to report suspicious activity in progress. Call
911 immediately. Don’t wait. Don’t talk to a neighbor. Don’t call someone and ask should I
report this. One of the things we teach and we train our new officers on is that you have to know
what’s ordinary to know what’s out of the ordinary before you can take action and no one knows
your neighborhood and your streets better than the folks that live there so if you see something
that doesn’t belong or something that’s out of the ordinary give us a call and we’ll go check it
out. With that in mind remember to keep your lights on timers. To lock your doors and
windows when they’re not in use. Remove your valuables from your vehicles and keep them
locked. Keep garage doors shut and exterior buildings shut and locked up. Stop your newspaper
and mail when out of town and keep your doors and windows locked when not in use. I do have
a presentation with Sergeant Moline and a little show and tell but before we do that I’ll stand for
any questions.
Mayor Laufenburger: Alright, any questions for Lieutenant Kittelson? Comments. You have a
big holiday coming up.
Lt. Eric Kittelson: Yes.
Mayor Laufenburger: Later this week. Any suggestions for parents or families or
neighborhoods?
Lt. Eric Kittelson: You know I always recommend having parents go with any children
regardless of age. If they’re trick or treat age I say it’s always best to have a parent nearby. You
know use flashlights or light sticks and remove your mast when you’re going from house to
house if you’re going to navigate in the street instead of trying to, to walk with that on and I’m
not sure how Sergeant Moline does it but when I patrolled the city I carried a bag of candy in my
car and would stop and hand that out so I would suggest that the officers continue that tradition
in Chanhassen.
Mayor Laufenburger: Well I just would personally ask that you would carry Tootsie Rolls. That
happens to be my favorite Lieutenant Kittelson so.
Lt. Eric Kittelson: Okay. Alright. Alright well I’m going to bring Sergeant Moline up and some
of our items here. So we recently put out a press release and we have began the approval of
external load bearing vest carriers. So the duty belt, the traditional duty belt is here. It weighs
25 to 30 pounds. This belt does not have a Taser, Taser holster, cartridges, cell phone, or Narcan
on it and officers work, most officers work 12 hour shifts and the compression of the vest on the
external organs, the vibration of being in the car and the repetitive motion of getting in and out of
the car 30 to 60 times per shift with 25 to 30 pounds around your waist, officers get out on their
left leg and have to twist to get out of the car so bearing all that weight around your waist causes
a lot of stress on the lower back, particularly the L5, 6 and 7 vertebrae so as part of the Labor
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Chanhassen City Council – October 26, 2015
Management Committee we approached Risk Management, and employee relations about a year
ago and we looked at a number of research studies from medical doctors, chiropractors, and
people that you know do time motion studies and we found a number of options that would
reduce the, working with Risk Management we saw the number of back injuries for officers in
the last 10 years and work comp claims and nationally this has been kind of the way to go.
Mayor Laufenburger: So this is, this looks like a fashion show is what you’re showing us here
Lieutenant Kittelson.
Lt. Eric Kittelson: Well, and here’s the thing. When we did the research and we looked at
officer safety and preventing workplace injuries and back injuries, there’s absolutely no reason
not to do this and the only negative we could find in looking at other departments that had went
with it was public perception. We want to maintain a friendly approachable image and some
people suggested this looks more like a SWAT or attack vest and what not and so we just wanted
to come and demonstrate and show why we’re carrying it. What it is and so Mayor basically the
ballistic, so there’s, we’re all just wearing ballistic panels. They’re bullet proof. I have one on
right now. It’s under my shirt. It’s just like this so this is a carrier of 2 ballistic panels. Now this
is what we had for many years when these uniform shirt types came out and you’ll see a lot of
police departments that wear this and you really can’t even tell they have it on because it’s blue
on blue. The tan is a little harder to match so tan on white or tan on tan you can usually tell so if
we, it was designed to look like a uniform shirt and the only difference between this and this is
this is more of an under garment and this is an outer garment and this allows the officer to take it
off during the summer months when they’re doing extended period of time in the office or
writing reports.
Mayor Laufenburger: But this has, what you’re showing right now has the same protection, if
not more than that.
Lt. Eric Kittelson: Yes. Yeah inside here are just ballistic panels and so these ballistic panels
come out of here and they slide into here.
Mayor Laufenburger: Cool.
Lt. Eric Kittelson: So this is a carrier. This is an external carrier. This is an external load
bearing carrier so it’s taking all this weight off of your waist and distributing it amongst your
shoulders and torso. So I brought this with as a demonstration. Chelsea would you like to
volunteer?
Chelsea Petersen: Sure.
Lt. Eric Kittelson: So I did place a training gun in here. No it’s just rubber.
Mayor Laufenburger: This is for Chelsea to wear, okay.
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Chanhassen City Council – October 26, 2015
Lt. Eric Kittelson: Our aerosol air projector. This is the actual empty…version so that’s
reducing the weight. Keep in mind this does not have a Taser, Taser holster.
Mayor Laufenburger: Don’t give her a Taser.
Lt. Eric Kittelson: Cell phone. Narcan or wireless mic pack that we carry now for SWAT so.
Chelsea Petersen: I don’t have any idea how…carry it like this all day.
Mayor Laufenburger: Rambo.
Lt. Eric Kittelson: And that weighs 25 to 30 pounds so anyone else want to? Just think you’re
wearing that around your waist for 12 hours in a squad car and they’ve been making the squad
cars smaller.
Mayor Laufenburger: So are you, are you in the process of.
Lt. Eric Kittelson: Anyone else want to? Grab it.
Mayor Laufenburger: We’ve got a great item on the agenda tonight that somebody would
probably love to have one of those but are you in the process of essentially exchanging the belt
with the loadable.
Lt. Eric Kittelson: Yes.
Mayor Laufenburger: What did you call that again?
Lt. Eric Kittelson: External load bearing vest carrier.
Mayor Laufenburger: External load bearing vest, okay.
Lt. Eric Kittelson: Yep.
Mayor Laufenburger: So how, how soon will you have everybody wearing?
Lt. Eric Kittelson: It’s actually approved now. It was just approved and we actually approved
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them. We wanted to get them out for 4 of July but they were on back order so you’ll see the
first few officers just received them in the last week or two so we just put out a press release and
then I wanted to have Sergeant Moline come down and show off the vest and also on Monday
nights when I’m not here Sergeant Moline will be here as my replacement so I wanted to
introduce him and have him say hi to you folks too.
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Chanhassen City Council – October 26, 2015
Mayor Laufenburger: Now will these be, these are deployed right now in Chanhassen?
Lt. Eric Kittelson: Yes. Yep.
Mayor Laufenburger: So what efforts do you have to make this load bearing vest visible to
school children and out and about in the community?
Lt. Eric Kittelson: Well there are just a few officers wearing them. It’s an option. It’s not part
of our initial issue and it’s nothing that we’re purchasing after the fact for the officers. The
officers get a uniform allowance each year and it’s just an option for them if they.
Mayor Laufenburger: It they choose to do it.
Lt. Eric Kittelson: If they choose to do it, yep. And then I think we have 3 officers in
Chanhassen right now and so they’ll be out and about doing their traditional duties, just like
everyone else and they’re the same people under the uniform. They’re just a little more
comfortable.
Mayor Laufenburger: Is it still easy to deploy whatever tools you need to quickly?
Lt. Eric Kittelson: Yeah a lot of it is actually easier because everything is up front and when we
do our defensive tactics training and we teach of weaponry tension and things like that, you’re
always stronger when you have things closer to you. So for instance if you were going to lift up
a milk can you wouldn’t do it like this. You would do it like this and so with everything here
when we do our, when someone tries to take a weapon from us, all of our techniques and tactics
are meant to bring your arms in close to your body where you’re strongest so it’s actually easier
to go like this and protect all your weapons than it is around here.
Mayor Laufenburger: So Sergeant Moline there are some things that you have on your belt. Are
you wearing both of them at this time or?
Sergeant Moline: Yes sir I am. Currently we have to still carry our side arm on our belt and for
me just there are a few things. I had the Taser holster on this side. It’s kind of a balance look as
well as just my lighter, lighter things that were on the belt. A key ring. My pouch for our squad
camera so just the much lighter items that were much smaller and that weren’t also able to fit in
through the amount of hoops.
Mayor Laufenburger: Okay. How widely deployed are these around the county Lieutenant
Kittelson?
Lt. Eric Kittelson: You know they were just, they were just approved so I would say maybe 10-
15 percent of the officers have them and some officers probably will never go it and other
officers will find that it’s much more comfortable. Then the other option is, now when Sergeant
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Chanhassen City Council – October 26, 2015
Moline has a report that’s going to take an hour or two when he gets in the office he can take that
off and then like I said the biggest thing, at least from my personal experience is the compression
on the organs. These vests are actually very tight. Like I said you probably can’t even tell that
I’m wearing one so they’re pretty snug and so to be able to get that off even just for an hour or
two during a 12 hour shift is a big relief for the officers. And another thing to keep in mind is,
Sergeant Moline and I are both over 6 feet tall and 200 pounds. Now this, all this gear.
Mayor Laufenburger: Are you counting the weight of the ballistic too?
Lt. Eric Kittelson: No. Unfortunately not but this is 30 pounds. Our officers are representative
of our community and so we have officers of considerably less stature that are still required to
wear all of this and quite frankly they run out of room on their belt and for a 150 pound person to
30 pound person this is considerably more weight ratio than some of the larger framed officers.
Mayor Laufenburger: Very cool. Nice to see you’re making some optional improvements for
the sergeants and the deputies.
Lt. Eric Kittelson: Absolutely.
Mayor Laufenburger: Thank you.
Lt. Eric Kittelson: Alright thank you.
Mayor Laufenburger: Anyone have questions or comments?
Lt. Eric Kittelson: Alright.
Mayor Laufenburger: Thank you Lieutenant.
Lt. Eric Kittelson: Thank you.
Mayor Laufenburger: And we’ll look forward to seeing you Sergeant Moline in the future.
Sergeant Moline: Thank you.
Mayor Laufenburger: Our monthly fire update. Chief Johnson, are you here with us tonight?
Chief Don Johnson: I am Mayor.
Mayor Laufenburger: Alright, good evening.
Chief Don Johnson: Good evening Mayor and council. This is my report for the activities of the
fire department in September. Staffing remains at 43 of 47 paid on call fire fighters. We
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Chanhassen City Council – October 26, 2015
currently have 2 fire fighters on medical leave not related to work injuries. We have started a
fire department process to rehire new captains that actually the application process closes tonight
and we’ll be starting the panels for those over the next 2 months with anticipated hiring date of
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January 1. In September we responded to 52 calls for service. That’s a little lower than our
average for the year of 58 per month. We’re still projecting that our numbers will be over 700
for the year. Of significant value, we had 25 calls for rescue including 3 motor vehicle accidents
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with injuries. On September 1 we responded to smoke in the building at IWCO which did
result in the evacuation of a few hundred employees. We were able to assist with finding that the
smoke was caused by an electrical piece of equipment on the second floor that actually dumped
smoke into one of the lower areas so it took us about an hour to help work through that process
and get everybody back to work. Significant of training we, I’d like to thank our partners at
Westwood. We did do an unannounced drill for the fire department last Monday night at
Westwood Church involving a mock structure fire. We worked with the management of
Westwood Church as well as their security and response team there. It was a valuable exercise
for both the fire department and Westwood to work through that. It’s a large facility. We had
access concerns. Obviously the front of the building got pretty loaded up with people and fire
trucks so we learned a lot from it. We’re still debriefing from it but it’s going to improve our
response in the future to our large commercial structures, and we do significantly appreciate the
partnership in the community. Other activities. We continue to assist with the homecoming
activities, including the parade, fireworks and the football game. And then Chief Van Asten and
I, my training chief just came back from the annual fire chiefs conference that was held in Duluth
this year so we did some networking and got some fine training while we were up there. Fire
inspections, you can see we’re very busy. There’s a lot of projects going on here in town and the
Fire Marshal and myself are on different phases of inspecting most of those facilities. As well as
we’re working on a full fire prevention week report out for you for the next council report. I’ve
included some graphs and tables for some of the more mundane numbers for our call response.
If you have any questions I can answer those otherwise I can stand for questions.
Mayor Laufenburger: Any questions or comments for the Chief? Thank you Chief.
Chief Don Johnson: Thank you.
Mayor Laufenburger: Hope we have a safe Halloween.
Chief Don Johnson: I hope so as well Mayor.
PUBLIC HEARINGS: CERTIFICATION OF DELINQUENT WATER AND SEWER
ACCOUNTS AND CERTIFICATION OF DELINQUENT CODE ENFORCEMENT
VIOLATIONS.
Greg Sticha: Thank you Mayor, council.
Mayor Laufenburger: Mr. Sticha, welcome.
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Chanhassen City Council – October 26, 2015
Greg Sticha: Thank you. On an annual basis staff provides to council the delinquent water and
sewer and code enforcement accounts the City has had or currently has as delinquent at this time
of the year. State statute allows for those delinquent accounts to be certified to the property taxes
of the parcel related to the delinquency. This is a process that staff goes through with council on
an annual basis. Several notifications have gone out to the delinquent accounts over the last
several months. Many notifications. In most cases 3 or more notifications have been sent to
these property owners. If you take a look at the account as they compare to last year, we saw
about a 7 to 8 percent decrease in number of accounts and total dollars that we are intending to
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certify. People still have until November 1 to pay their delinquent, either sewer and water,
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water bill or their code enforcement account. November 1 falls on a Sunday I believe so we
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will accept payment Monday the 2 as well for the delinquency of those accounts. At that point
in time in December the information or data will be sent to the County for certification. It’s
important to note that the amount that you see that we’re suggesting for certification between
now and next week, usually we get a few stragglers that ask for payment after that date. We see
about a fourth to a third that will pay within the next week and a half or so, so the amount that
we actually will end up certifying will be lower than what you see presented this evening but the
resolution authorizes us to certify those that are remaining delinquent at that point in time. So I
would certainly take any questions. Otherwise I would ask council to open a public hearing
allowing any delinquent accounts to discuss the delinquency of those accounts with council and
pass resolutions authorizing the certification of delinquent water and sewer and code violation
accounts.
Mayor Laufenburger: Alright, thank you Mr. Sticha. Any questions or comments of council for
Mr. Sticha? Alright then at this time I would like to open the public hearing. This is the time
where anybody who would like to either dispute or make comment about their inclusion on the,
either the code enforcement or the delinquent utility billing, now would be a time to do that.
And by the way Mr. Sticha, have you had any comment from anybody?
Greg Sticha: No we have not.
Mayor Laufenburger: And that’s quite common right?
Greg Sticha: Yep.
Mayor Laufenburger: That’s very typical, alright. So if there is nobody that would like to come
forward at this time, then I will close the public hearing and bring it back to council. Any
comments or would anyone like to make a motion covering both items?
Councilman McDonald: Mr. Mayor.
Mayor Laufenburger: Councilman McDonald.
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Chanhassen City Council – October 26, 2015
Councilman McDonald: I’d like to make a motion that the City Council adopts the resolution
certifying delinquent utility accounts to the County Auditor.
Mayor Laufenburger: And the delinquent code violations as well? Code enforcement accounts.
Councilman McDonald: And also that the City Council adopts the resolution certifying
delinquent code enforcement accounts to the County Auditor.
Mayor Laufenburger: Okay, the motion is that the City Council adopts the resolutions certifying
both delinquent code enforcement accounts and delinquent utility accounts to the County
Auditor. Is there a second?
Councilman Campion: Second.
Mayor Laufenburger: Thank you Mr. Campion. Is there any discussion?
Resolution #2015-66: Councilman McDonald moved, Councilman Campion seconded that
the City Council adopts the Resolution Certifying Delinquent Water and Sewer Accounts
to the County Auditor. All voted in favor and the motion carried unanimously with a vote
of 5 to 0.
Resolution #2015-67: Councilman McDonald moved, Councilman Campion seconded that
the City Council adopts the Resolution Certifying Delinquent Code Enforcement Accounts
to the County Auditor. All voted in favor and the motion carried unanimously with a vote
of 5 to 0.
REQUEST FOR A CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT TO ALLOW A 15,000 SQUARE
FOOT INDOOR GUN RANGE (STOCK AND BARREL) ON PROPERTY LOCATED
AT 18832 LAKE DRIVE EAST; LOT 1, BLOCK 1, CHANHASSEN EAST BUSINESS
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CENTER 2 ADDITION; APPLICANT: JEFF BERENDS, GRINDSTONE
CONSTRUCTION SERVICES/PROPERTY OWNER: CSM INVESTORS, INC.
Mayor Laufenburger: Do we have a staff report this evening?
Bob Generous: Thank you Mayor, council members.
Mayor Laufenburger: Mr. Generous, good evening to you.
Bob Generous: This is weird. It doesn’t look like that on my screen. The applicant, well it was
originally Grindstone Construction Services. They modified their application. There you go,
thank you. To note that Midwest Armory, Limited Liability Company will be the actual entity
running this operation and so they filled out the, re-filed the application for that. CSM Investors
are the property owners and management company for this development. The Planning
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Chanhassen City Council – October 26, 2015
Commission held a public hearing on October 6, 2015 to review the proposed development. At
that time the applicant presented an extensive review of how the actual construction activity and
the safety and sound proofing of the facility would be done. The Planning Commission voted 5
to 0, 5 for and zero against a motion to recommend approval of the conditional use permit.
Property is located at 18832 Lake Drive East. This is on the east side of town just off of Dell
Road and Highway 5. It’s the third building in on the, in the CSM development out there and
it’s actually the corner, northeast corner unit within the building. This is located within
Hennepin County. It’s one of the few areas of the community that are in Hennepin County. The
property is zoned industrial office park and conditional, indoor gun ranges are a conditional use
permits within the IOP District. In 2011 the City did amend our city code to make it a
conditional use in this district. At that time we had someone that was interested but they never
came forward so it’s been dormant until recently. Again the proposed location of this facility
would be in the northeast corner of an existing building. The total building square footage is
64,000 square feet. They’re taking about 15,000 square feet. Currently there’s 34,000 square
feet of this building that’s vacant so there’s additional vacant space just to the south of where
they’re proposing to go in. Again this is a breakdown. The existing users on the west end of the
building. They’re going in the northeast corner and there would be additional space for tenants
south of this unit. As part of their construction they will be required to sound proof it and make
it safe so that all the ammunition that would be fired in there and all the noise would be
contained to the unit. One of the things we looked at in reviewing this was the amount of
parking that was existing out there. Staff went to the site when, one afternoon in there were 11
vehicles parked and they have over 140 around the building so. This is a generalized schematic
layout of the facility that they’re proposing. The majority of the unit, about a third of it would be
in the gun range itself and then they would have classrooms, common area. Some retail space
within the middle of the place and then membership. Seating and lounge areas. The commercial
or retail area that they’re proposing would be in the store front area and it represents less than 20
percent of their total space so really it’s the services that they’re providing. The training and the
gun range are the primary use of this facility. Staff is recommending approval of the CUP for
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Lot 1, Block 1, Chanhassen East Business Center 2 Addition subject to conditions of approval
in the Planning Commission staff report and adoption of the Findings of Fact that the Planning
Commission had done before. With that I’d be happy to answer any questions.
Mayor Laufenburger: Alright, thank you Mr. Generous. Just as, for the record there was a, this
item came before the Planning Commission, was it last month?
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Bob Generous: October 6.
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Mayor Laufenburger: October 6 and at that time there was discussion. There was also a public
hearing at that time is that correct?
Bob Generous: That’s correct.
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Chanhassen City Council – October 26, 2015
Mayor Laufenburger: Let’s see, before I have the applicant come forward is there any questions
of staff by council?
Councilman Campion: Not at this time.
Mayor Laufenburger: Well prepared Mr. Generous. I just have the one. If we give approval to
this, will this come back before the council again?
Bob Generous: Only if we’re trying to void it.
Mayor Laufenburger: But the assumption is that all of the findings, all of the conditions will be
met by the applicant is that correct?
Bob Generous: Oh yes. Yes.
Mayor Laufenburger: And who’s responsible for insuring that the applicant meets all of those
conditions?
Bob Generous: The staff will review it as part of the building permit application. That they
have, meet all those standards. Additionally we will rely on any complaint that we receive out
there and then work with the applicant to address any of that.
Mayor Laufenburger: Okay. Bob would you do me a favor and would you bring back, there.
That one right there. What is north?
Bob Generous: North would be to the right.
Mayor Laufenburger: Okay, so in fact the gun range is in an interior portion of the building as
opposed to against an exterior portion of the building, is that correct?
Bob Generous: That’s correct.
Mayor Laufenburger: Okay. Alright. Thank you for that clarification. Is the applicant with us
tonight? And if so would you like to address the council? Not required but I welcome you to do
so if you’d like. Please state your name and your address.
Jeff Berends: Mayor, council, Jeff Berends from Chaska, Minnesota representing Grindstone
Construction.
Mayor Laufenburger: So you are the, you are the builder of the.
Jeff Berends: Correct.
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Chanhassen City Council – October 26, 2015
Mayor Laufenburger: The inside, is that correct?
Jeff Berends: That’s correct.
Mayor Laufenburger: Okay, and who’s that with you?
Chris Schutrop: Sure. My name is Chris Schutrop from Eden Prairie, Minnesota.
Mayor Laufenburger: And you are, you will be the manager or the proprietor the space, is that
correct?
Chris Schutrop: Correct. I’m one of the partners. I’m one of the owners of the facility, yes.
Mayor Laufenburger: Great. Grindstone, is that correct? So talk a little bit about, can you help
us with the, answering the question how are you going to keep the sound out?
Jeff Berends: Well there’s a couple different parameters that we’re required to do. Sound being
one of them. Also controlling the lead vapors that’s required from the EPA, the County, that’s
all registered through all that. Thirdly the actual sound is deaden by certain, certain insulation
panels that the system that we’re using has enforced. I can show a couple different.
Mayor Laufenburger: Yeah there’s a camera right above you if you just, if you want to place it
right over that. Right down there, exactly. So there are panels that the, whoever is on the range
they’ve very close to proximity to where the weapon is shot, is that correct?
Jeff Berends: Exactly. There’s sound panels on the side. There’s also sound panels
approximately 10 feet down the range which will absorb the sound and then the actual, we’re
actually build, construct a building within a building. The masonry walls are surrounding the
actual range and so they’re all solid filled, core filled masonry walls and then within that there’s
steel panels that help guide the actual bullet down to a containment system which is steel plate
and then it funnels down into a containment where the actual lead is in essence harvested and
then recycled.
Mayor Laufenburger: Wonderful, wonderful. Mr. Schutrop, can I ask you a couple questions?
Chris Schutrop: Absolutely.
Mayor Laufenburger: This is a, Mr. Generous made mention of somebody who was thinking
about this back in 2011. Was that you?
Chris Schutrop: That was not us, no.
Mayor Laufenburger: It was not you, okay.
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Chanhassen City Council – October 26, 2015
Chris Schutrop: It must have been another.
Mayor Laufenburger: So can you talk a little bit about, I know there’s a, there seems to be kind
of a pent up demand for this. Can you talk a little bit about why you chose Chanhassen for this
and how will it be used besides just individual recreational people that will want to use it?
Chris Schutrop: Sure, absolutely. That’s a fantastic question. So to address a little bit about the
geographic area is that if you look at the Twin Cities area on a map there’s only a handful of
ranges in the United States and inside Minnesota we’re only looking at about 5 public facilities
and what that’s done is it’s created sort of a bottle neck and specifically when we look at the
actual overlay onto a, like a Twin Cities area map, there’s this large voided region and that’s the
entire southwest metro and as a result the residents who want to go out there and practice and go
somewhere safe to do this, or you’re forced to go out into some farm field you know way outside
city limits or they’re forced to drive across town. So simply what we’re doing is we’re just
looking at the market overall and saying people want to have this. We want to go out there and
provide a place so that they can safely go out there and shoot. Where they can go out there and
get educated in a workplace that they can go out there and train from that. Really when we’re
talking about who’s going to be using this facility, it’s a number of different organizations so it’s
everything from private individuals who are gun owners. Just want to do this for fun. To the
other side of the spectrum which would be other businesses. So there’s a number of private
security organizations that want to utilize this as well as some very high level conversations at
this point with organizations like the U.S. Marshal service and a couple other law enforcement
agencies who are looking at potentially finding a place where they can go out there and get an
adequate heated facility, especially during the winter months inside of that.
Mayor Laufenburger: Of course.
Chris Schutrop: Yeah one of them being Hennepin County Sheriff. Talking to Sheriff Stanek
about that and we’ve had very brief conversations with Sheriff Jim Olson as well so yes. Did
that answer your question sir?
Mayor Laufenburger: It does.
Chris Schutrop: Alright.
Mayor Laufenburger: Just one more question. As with anything of this nature I would think that
there are competitions where a rifle club or a team of people may gather and become a team so
will you have a team at, what will the name of this place be called?
Chris Schutrop: Sure so the actual legal entity itself is Midwest Armory Shooting Center. The
trade name, the DBA is Stock and Barrel.
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Chanhassen City Council – October 26, 2015
Mayor Laufenburger: Okay. So will there be a Stock and Barrel shooting team that may
compete with other shooting teams around the metropolitan area or even the region or the
nation?
Chris Schutrop: Sure so we won’t actually have our own organization if you will inside that but
what we’ll do is we’ll host a number of other organizations. The NRA has a number of
competitions around there as well as organizations of the USPSA or IBPA which are groups of
individuals who are just dedicated to having fun shooting and doing it safely so our facility’s
going to be open for individuals and groups like that to basically give them a facility where they
can come. They can do it in a safe environment and really accommodate those needs so it will
be a good hub for everyone around.
Mayor Laufenburger: Now training. Will you also offer, will somebody be able to use your
facility for gun safety training for young people that want to, families want to make sure their
kids are learning the proper use of firearms. Will you do that as well?
Chris Schutrop: Yep, absolutely. So really our, my background is firearms education. I had a
large national firearms training organization. That’s how I got started in the industry then
branched out from there to a couple other ventures but the first thing we’ll start out with is the
basic Minnesota Firearms Safety Course that the DNR requires and that we encourage for really
anyone out there to go out and take, and it’s all 100 percent centered around safety. So not
learning anything as far as how do you become an excellent marksman but really that base level
of safety, right. Additionally on top of that we’ll have third party organizations that want to go
out there and teach their particular curriculum. Maybe they do conceal and carry classes and
we’ll have classrooms and obviously the range for their use on top of that, and we’ll also have
some in-houses courses available for our customers as well.
Mayor Laufenburger: Great. Well thank you Mr. Schutrop for coming forward with this idea
and Jeff, supporting him with your construction. Thank you very much. Any questions for
either or them? Councilwoman Ryan.
Councilwoman Ryan: Yes Mayor, Actually I have a few questions for you. I know there was
the public hearing and you went, had a long discussion with the Planning Commission. However
I don’t know how much that was followed because I have received a number of questions for
excuse the redundancy from the Planning Commission but just to let people know what this, you
know what your facility is going to be about. Mayor asked about some of the noise concerns as
well as you know the sound proofing. How do you go about the sound proofing from not only
when the bullets, you know when you capture the bullet traps I think is what it’s called as well as
the sound of the firearm. What are you doing for the sound proofing there?
Chris Schutrop: Sure, absolutely. That’s a fantastic question so first off we’re lucky enough to
be partnered with Grindstone who’s actually built 3 ranges here in Minnesota in the past couple
of years and basically you know when you look over the past 40 years of range development. It
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Chanhassen City Council – October 26, 2015
started out from a basically a pile of dirt in a field to sort of what it is today and what we’re
building and that’s essentially the first thing we were looking at containing the noise is, like Jeff
was saying. We’re building a building within the building so we have our normal structure and
then on top of that we are actually putting essentially a sarcophagus. A concrete and steel
sarcophagus that really does two things. It first contains the projectiles completely 100 percent
and it also contains the noise. So the entire right to sell inside the actual building has 8 inch
thick concrete walls that are steel reinforced so 8 inches is a lot of medium, especially something
hard like concrete for noise to escape. On top of that what we go up there and do is apply a lot of
sound proofing materials that industry wide. So back in the shooting area where people actually
stand in the lanes and they shoot from it’s all encapsulated with acoustic foam. Somewhat like
what you would see in recording studio and basically what the end result is that outside
sarcophagus still indoors. You’re looking at about 40 to 50 decibels so right now we’re probably
talking close to 65 and 70 decibels. It does an excellent job of containing the noise. When you
go actually outside the building I would be shocked if there was actually anyway to actually hear
it coming out there and that’s sort of based off of a recent range they built up in Ramsey called
Toe the Fence where you know the law enforcement got the same concerns about, and when they
went out there they ironically next to them about 2 yards away with a child care facility and
when the law enforcement officers actually brought the decibel readers, the child care facility
was putting off more noise than the actual range was.
Mayor Laufenburger: Those kids.
Chris Schutrop: Those kids right. Those darn kids so really just the advancements in technology
around building ranges and then sort of taking care of noise and really trying to contain that has
been perfected over the years. The standard stereotype, I mean I grew up in Chanhassen right by
Moon Valley and you could hear people going out there and shooting because it’s an outdoor
range but that, the nice thing is that the way that we’re constructing it it’s completely contained
inside that and there’s a conditional use permit that basically keeps us accountable to that. So if
there is an issue we’re required to go out there and address that issue but we don’t anticipate
doing that from the way that we’re engineering that and the organization which is SRI. They’ve
built hundreds of ranges around the world. They’re the ones who actually engineered the range
for us. Had the plans that we were talking about in our planning meeting last time. They were
masters of that.
Councilwoman Ryan: Okay.
Chris Schutrop: Yep.
Councilwoman Ryan: I’m going to keep going if you don’t here. Then also noted that you have
a range safety officer who is certified. Do they work the range? Are they in the building? How
does that work and what’s that process like.
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Chanhassen City Council – October 26, 2015
Chris Schutrop: Sure so one thing that we want to be very, very mindful of is safety. That’s the
most important thing out there so what we have in our standard operating procedures is that
actually every single one of our employees, whether they’re sitting at the front desk. Whether
they’re you know scrubbing toilets at the end of the day, which will probably end up being me,
or whether you know it’s a person who’s actually in the range keeping an eye on people, they’re
all certified range safety officers through the National Rifle Association which is a certification
process and a curriculum they go through so that range safety officer is sort of an open ended
question to a degree because everyone that is going to be staff is going to have that certification.
Additionally we have a number of volunteers who basically in exchange for range time can go
out there and sort of hang out in the range bay and you know part of it’s to keep safety within
that but every single person who goes into that range is required to watch a safety training video.
That’s about 15 minutes long and it briefs them on how our procedures are.
Councilwoman Ryan: Required by law or required by your facility?
Chris Schutrop: Required by us. By our policy. There’s no law that but it doesn’t mean that
you shouldn’t go out there and do it obviously it’s just common sense. So on top of that we’ll
actually have individuals in there keeping a mind on safety but also to go out there and there’s a
lot of people who shoot but maybe haven’t shot in a while and they’re sort of there to lend a hand
in any way possible from that so.
Councilwoman Ryan: And then in terms of the monitoring with, obviously people could bring in
their own guns and ammunition so who checks the guns and the ammunition to make sure that,
I’m sure that the bullet traps are certified for certain caliber of the…so who’s monitoring that to
make sure they’re within the range?
Chris Schutrop: Sure. There’s a specific check in area that we have. We call it the range desk
and basically they’re the gate keepers to the actual range.
Councilwoman Ryan: So that goes, they’re there before they go into the range?
Chris Schutrop: Yep. So they go in there and that also happens to be a point of sale as well so
basically when someone brings in their own ammunition, the types of traps we’re using, a lot of
ranges actually use rubber berm traps that basically chunked up tires in the back. The problem is
is that those can start on fire so our range traps are actually solid steel which obviously steel
doesn’t start on fire. It’s what everyone is going to and a majority of all law enforcement ranges
are switching over to. So because they’re steel we’re very cautious about what kind of
ammunition in there because we don’t want steel core ammunition which can dent it up so
basically every single round that comes in there gets inspected and it’s a very complex system.
We have a magnet and basically you wipe over it and if it sticks you can’t bring that in there and
we have ammunition varies calibers for individual.
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Chanhassen City Council – October 26, 2015
Councilwoman Ryan: So if it’s not right do you have them put it in their car? Do they, I mean
they don’t bring it into the range right?
Chris Schutrop: Yeah they’re not allowed to bring it in so basically we’ll take them, and we
could hold onto it for them or they can bring it to their car but we’re not going to let them take
that in.
Councilwoman Ryan: Take it in.
Chris Schutrop: Under the oh yeah, I won’t shoot it kind of a premise so we’re very mindful.
We want to protect our couple hundred thousand dollar investment in our bullet traps so yeah.
Councilwoman Ryan: Okay. I’m still going here. I’m not familiar, I’ve not been to an indoor
gun range before.
Chris Schutrop: That’s quite alright.
Councilwoman Ryan: So what is the policy for people staying within their lane? Are they, once
they’re in the gun range are they free to move about? Do they stay in the, their specific lane?
How is that monitored or managed?
Chris Schutrop: Sure, so basically when a person goes in they’re renting a lane right? So you
have bays which is sort of a group or a, there we go. That’s perfect. So this is like a bay for
example and each bay have multiple lanes inside of there. Now once someone goes out there
and they shoot they might be by themselves and they be with 2 or 3 other friends. 3 is the
maximum that we allow per lane right. So what we want to go out there and do is that they can
move about. They can hop out and go to the bathroom or what have you but that gun can’t be
unattended and also once that gun goes there and it’s taken out of the case, which is only done at
the actual firing point, they don’t get to walk around with that and stroll about right. If they want
to change out to do a different gun or leave or what have you, it gets put back in it’s case up at
the firing line and then whatever else is done at that point so people can move about inside of
there and stuff.
Councilwoman Ryan: Alright.
Chris Schutrop: Our main concern is what, where are the guns at right now so that’s why we
have that strict policy that they stay sort of on that firing line or they’re basically cased and
closed off.
Councilwoman Ryan: Okay. And then the, thank you for the explanation on all of this. The
biggest area of concern for me really is the retail area. I just wanted to familiarize myself with
some of the safety protocols that you had within the range. But in terms of the retail element of
your business, when people want to rent guns, what information do they need to provide you? If
20
Chanhassen City Council – October 26, 2015
people want to purchase guns or ammunition, what type of documentation and background
checks, what is that process from your end and then Mr. Generous I’d ask the same. I read
somewhere that the City also can provide documentation for providing permits to shoot guns so
I, if someone could just familiarize me with that please.
Chris Schutrop: Sure, great question. So for buying guns the, there’s obviously a very strict set
of laws that is governed by the ATF. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. If you
want to go out there and buy a gun in Minnesota, there’s sort of a couple different classifications
but we’ll generalize it and we’ll say a long gun which means you have to be above 18 years old
and you have to go through an FBI background check called the 4473. That’s issued by the
ATF. Basically you fill out an extensive form. Sign it and then we go out there and we call the
Nick’s Background Check Center in West Virginia and they run an instant background check on
that individual. Standard operating procedure, Gander Mountain, Cabela’s, you name it. That’s
what they have to do by law, right. If someone wants to go out there and purchase a handgun for
example, Minnesota law dictates that they have to go out there and get one of two things. Either
a permit to purchase, which is issued by for example Carver County Sheriff or a permit to carry
which is also issued by law enforcement, the sheriff’s department. Basically what that is is the
same background check in essence and basically certified to do that so it’s sort of double dipping
with the background check process but everyone who goes through and buys a gun is going to be
going through the federal law and state law on how we go about going and doing that and that
insures that there are zero incidences where things can fall between the cracks right. To answer
your second question about, or first off did that answer your question?
Councilwoman Ryan: Yes.
Chris Schutrop: Okay. Yep to answer your second question about gun rentals which we will do
because a lot of people want to go out there and buy a gun and they don’t know where to start
and it’s kind of like brand new luxury cars when you buy it and then you take it off the lot. It
drops in value so you want to try it out first right. We go out there and require people to go
ahead and get a permit to purchase or a permit to carry and that way when they put that down
they’ll be able to see okay well they have this. They currently hold this which means that they
got the sign off from law enforcement to be able to go out there and own a gun so we can let
them go ahead and rent said gun inside of that.
Councilwoman Ryan: So they’re going to go through, is it Carver County or will it be the City
to get?
Chris Schutrop: They can go through any law enforcement agency. For example like
Bloomington police department will issue permit to purchases.
Councilwoman Ryan: Okay.
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Chanhassen City Council – October 26, 2015
Chris Schutrop: Permits to carry are always issued by the County in which you reside so like
Hennepin County or Carver County and once you have those permits they’re usually good
between 1 and 5 years so permit to purchase is 1 year. Permit to carry are good for 5 years.
Councilwoman Ryan: So the permit to purchase is then, you’ll require that in order for them to
rent a gun to shoot at your range.
Chris Schutrop: Yep, correct and they keep that in their wallet. It’s essentially like a card with
their name on it.
Councilwoman Ryan: Okay.
Chris Schutrop: And then we just go out there and we compare that to the ID piece there and
then that sort of satisfies us as far as you know alright some individual, we know that they have
been vetted already.
Councilwoman Ryan: Okay.
Chris Schutrop: So yes.
Councilwoman Ryan: Thank you. No more putting you in the hot seat but I appreciate all your
information and answers. You’re very knowledgeable so I appreciate it.
Chris Schutrop: Well thank you. Thank you.
Mayor Laufenburger: Any other questions of either Mr. Schutrop or Jeff? Okay, thank you very
much. We did have a, you’re welcome to sit down if you like. Thank you very much. There
was a public hearing but I see some people in attendance tonight that may choose to speak either
for or against this. I would like to invite Representative Cindy Pugh with us tonight. Is there
some things that you wanted to say Representative? State your name and address please.
Representative Cindy Pugh: Thank you Mr. Mayor and council members. My name is Cindy
Pugh and my husband Jack and I live at 260 Mountain View Court.
Mayor Laufenburger: Here in Chanhassen.
Representative Cindy Pugh: In Chanhassen.
Mayor Laufenburger: Thank you Cindy.
Representative Cindy Pugh: So yes. Yes, thank you Mr. Mayor and council members. I’m just
really appreciative of this opportunity to address you. I’m just so pleased to be here in support of
this brand new, modern indoor shooting range right here in Chanhassen. I know I don’t have to
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Chanhassen City Council – October 26, 2015
tell you of the economic benefits to such a business growing our City’s tax base. For over 28
years and counting my husband Jack and I have been proud to live in Chanhassen and are
delighted by how business friendly our community has always been. I’m excited about the
possibility of our neighbors and friends spending more of their time and entertainment dollars
right here in our city as a result of business opportunities like the one before you tonight so just
really, really grateful. But even more importantly I’m thrilled that we’re seeing a training and
practice venue for Carver County’s almost 4,000 carry permit holders. I was just really so
pleased to hear that this entity will fill a significant void not only in the Twin Cities but in
Minnesota and I know that there is I think a growing need so I think this is just really a fabulous
opportunity for us as a city. These law abiding citizens take the responsibility of carrying a
firearm very seriously so having a conveniently located site where they can safely learn and
practice their skill is vital. Safe responsible shooting is a part of our Minnesota heritage but
without a place to go and shoot together as a family how can our mom and dads pass down that
heritage, that respect and that responsibility to their sons and daughters. So I’m looking forward
to personally participating in the future success of this business right here in Chanhassen. I did
receive my permit a year before last and so I’m really looking forward to practicing here and just
wanted more than anything to convey my really enthusiastic support for this project so I decided
to take that opportunity to do so tonight so. So thank you Mr. Mayor and council members.
Mayor Laufenburger: Thank you Representative Pugh.
Representative Cindy Pugh: Appreciate the opportunity.
Mayor Laufenburger: Any question of Representative Pugh from the council? Okay, thank you
very much.
Representative Cindy Pugh: Okay thank you.
Mayor Laufenburger: I had, I gave an opportunity for somebody to speak in favor of this. Is
there anybody present in the council chambers tonight who would like to speak against this
application? Alright so I know many others here would like to say something as well but I’m
going to restrict that at this time so thank you very much Representative Pugh for conveying
your view and I’m sure it’s shared by many others that are here tonight. Let’s bring this back to
the council. Any questions, comments or motion?
Councilman McDonald: Mr. Mayor, if you’re ready for a motion I’d like to make one.
Mayor Laufenburger: Please do.
Councilman McDonald: I make the following motion that the Chanhassen City Council
approves the conditional use permit for an indoor gun range on Lot 1, Block 1, Chanhassen East
nd
Business Center 2 Addition subject to the conditions of approval and adopts the Findings of
Fact.
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Chanhassen City Council – October 26, 2015
Mayor Laufenburger: We have a valid motion. Thank you Councilman McDonald. Is there a
second?
Councilman Campion: Second.
Councilwoman Tjornhom: Second.
Mayor Laufenburger: I think I heard Councilman Campion just a moment before you
Councilwoman Tjornhom.
Councilwoman Tjornhom: What?
Mayor Laufenburger: Let’s give that one to Councilman Campion okay. Is there any
discussion?
Councilwoman Ryan: Mr. Mayor?
Mayor Laufenburger: Councilwoman Ryan.
Councilwoman Ryan: I prepared a couple comments and I wanted to think about before, before
reading them but I know, I am going to support the motion but this is a serious, a serious
business to me and I gave it a lot of thought when I saw it on the agenda and talked to some folks
to get their feedback so I just, it’s important for me to express my feelings here.
Mayor Laufenburger: Please do.
Councilwoman Ryan: Just because I’m not as familiar with going to gun ranges or a lot of the
legalities around gun ranges in general, I decided to do some reading and it was very
informational. The first thing that I came across was the law that Governor Pawlenty signed in
2005 called the Shooting Range Protection Act. I had no idea that that law existed and it gave
me a great deal of information and helped me understand the expectations put forth by the State
which I think are very important for us to understand. Tonight’s conversation which I really
appreciate all your information that you provided me helps me better understand what this
business is as well as this particular site. My main concern has not been the range itself because
I know you had addressed some of the noise and the bullet traps, etc. but it was really the retail
or the rental side of the operation. And I know there’s a lot of conversation right now in our
communities and no matter what side of the whole gun debate you’re on, this is an important
conversation for all of us to have and be having at council. At the State level as well as at the
national level and you know and I believe that as City Council members it is our job to ask the
questions and really understand what this gun range is going to mean to the people within our
community. I was very pleased to read and learn that the law enforcement has been involved
with this application as well as having people, you know having them support it and I’m glad
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Chanhassen City Council – October 26, 2015
that Stock and Barrel is putting the, you know the time and the energy into the education and the
training aspect of this business as well because as Representative Pugh expressed it is important
for us to be training people with the use of guns and safety. But and I believe you mentioned
we’re not out in the farmlands or you know shooting on outdoor ranges. We’re talking about a
gun range here in Chanhassen right outside of our downtown area near child care. Near schools
and our businesses and I think it’s very important that you know we understand the implication
of that business, thus the many questions that I asked you tonight. So it’s a big decision. One
that I am going to support but I ask that the, you know the City and the County continues to do
their due diligence and safety of the facility as well as the business owners to make sure that
they’re doing everything that they can to keep it safe and secure within the confines of your
building and you know the parking lot and the surrounding areas so with that I will support this
motion but I felt it important to express my thoughts tonight so thank you for the time.
Mayor Laufenburger: Yep, thank you Councilwoman Ryan and I know that the people of
Chanhassen appreciate the manner in which you represent them by finding answers to questions
that you don’t know so I applaud your efforts in that area. I would also say that this is a, this will
be a very welcomed addition but we as citizens of Chanhassen and the surrounding communities,
we have a responsibility to use this in a proper way. In a responsible way and the fact that it will
be convenient, hopefully people will not replace the convenience with lack of discipline. It’s
important that, and Representative Pugh mentioned this. It’s important that the children that
grow accustomed to using firearms understand that there is a responsibility that they take on by
using that firearm in a responsible way and in a safe way so I am, I too am pleased that this Stock
and Barrel will be here and I think it will be a very welcomed addition to the community but in
no way does it relieve the citizens of Chanhassen the responsibility to behave safely with and
around firearms at all times. So Mr. Schutrop you have a, you have a big responsibility in being
the overseer of this and whether you like it or not we’re going to look to you for, for the results
that we see and we just hope that it will be always good results so just, that’s a burden that comes
with leadership in some cases so nice to have you with us in that regard. Any other comments or
questions?
Councilman McDonald moved, Councilman Campion seconded that the Chanhassen City
Council approves the conditional use permit for an indoor gun range on Lot 1, Block 1,
nd
Chanhassen East Business Center 2 Addition, subject to the following conditions and
adopts the Findings of Fact:
1.Permits must be obtained for the construction of, alteration of, or occupancy use changes to
any buildings on the site.
2.The use, occupancy and construction of the building shall conform to the Minnesota State
Building Code.
3.The building and method of operation shall comply with M.S. Chapter 87A.
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Chanhassen City Council – October 26, 2015
4.The design and construction of the gun range shall completely confine all ammunition rounds
within the building and in a controlled manner. The design and construction of the gun range
shall be certified by a registered engineer in the State of Minnesota. The certified plans shall
include the specifications and construction of the bullet trap(s), ceilings, exterior and interior
walls and floors. The certified plans shall state what type and caliber of ammunition the
range is designed to totally confine.
5.No ammunition shall be used in the range that exceeds the certified design and construction
specifications of the gun range.
6.Firearms shall not be stored on the premises when the range is closed for business, unless
they are stored in an acceptable gun safe or other secure locking device.
7.On-site supervision shall be supplied at all times by an adult who is an experienced range
operator. The range operator shall be responsible for the conduct of their place of business
and the conditions of safety and order in the place of business and on the premises.
8.Each range shall have a clear and concise safety plan. The plan must be signed, published,
and reviewed at specific intervals and distributed to all range users to study and use.
9.The range operator shall provide and maintain proof of liability insurance which shall require
the insurer notify the city manager in writing of cancellation of the policy, a change in the
limit of the policy, and/or a change in policy ownership. Said policy shall be available for
inspection by the city manager and/or his/her assigns at all times.
10.On-site instruction shall be given only by firearms instructors certified within the prior five
years by an organization or government entity that has been approved by the Minnesota
Department of Public Safety. Current certificates for firearms instructors shall be on display
in a conspicuous location in the premises and available for public inspection.
11.An outside security plan for the general grounds shall be submitted to the city for review and
approval.
12.The transport of firearms on the premises, to the premises, and from the premises shall
conform to state law.
13.Minors shall not be allowed in the range unless accompanied by an adult at all times. This
provision shall not be interpreted to prohibit minors from participating in a firearm safety
class which is supervised by an adult instructor.
14.In the industrial office park district, retail sales and rental shall be limited to gun-related
material and equipment with a maximum display area of 20 percent of the floor area.
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Chanhassen City Council – October 26, 2015
15.The gun range shall be soundproofed to prevent the sound from being heard by persons in
adjoining units.
16.If additional parking is required, a plan must be submitted showing the proposed parking
expansion, including the existing and proposed grading and any necessary storm sewer
improvements. This plan would also be subject to review and approval from the Riley
Purgatory Bluff Creek Watershed District.
All voted in favor and the motion carried unanimously with a vote of 5 to 0.
Mayor Laufenburger: That motion carries 5-0. Thank you very much. Wish you the best of
luck Mr. Schutrop and Mr. Berends in your construction and to all of the other present, thank you
for being with us this evening.
ADMINISTRATIVE PRESENTATIONS.
Mayor Laufenburger: Mr. Gerhardt, any administrative presentations?
Todd Gerhardt: Just one update. The pedestrian crossing down at Pioneer Pass is installed.
There’s a little landscaping that needs to be completed so there’s safe pedestrian access to the
park to the west of Pioneer Pass now so credit goes to Paul. His staff and the contractor for
getting that work done as soon as possible before those little white flakes start coming down so.
Mayor Laufenburger: Very good. Very good. Anything else Mr. Gerhardt?
Todd Gerhardt: That’s all I have for now.
COUNCIL PRESENTATIONS.
Mayor Laufenburger: Any council presentations at this time? I have just one. There was a
notice in the newspaper yesterday. Long time Chanhassen has passed away. Mr. Dick Mingo
who has been a fixture in our community for more than 50 years and he passed away on
Thursday and the funeral is tomorrow morning at St. Hubert’s. I have personally known Mr.
Mingo for over 50 years. He was my high school athletic director, football coach and my first
Little League coach in 1958 and over the last many, many years Dick, Dick and his wife
Rosemary, former Rosemary Pauly. Rosemary Mingo is, the two of them, when they were
married they made a commitment to one another that baseball would be part of their marriage
and Dick Mingo pretty much personified that. For the last 30 years he has been a scout. Excuse
me, a clinic, a clinician for the Minnesota Twins means, which means the Minnesota Twins have
sent him all over the state and the region to conduct clinics. Additionally 42 years ago he
initiated the high school all start baseball series which we now call the Play Ball Minnesota
Series and he was very instrumental in contributing more than $150,000 to the University of
Minnesota Eye Clinic through the donations that came along with that. With that all star
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Chanhassen City Council – October 26, 2015
baseball game. He was a Chanhassen Red Bird back in the 50’s and he also is a member of the
Minnesota State High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Very well regarded
and perhaps his biggest commitment to this community for the last, I don’t know how many
years. Probably 25 or 30 years he’s a member of the American Legion and was actually a
member of the American Legion Color Guard. Served in the Korean War in 1952 and was
awarded a Purple Heart so I personally will miss my good friend Dick Mingo and though he and
Rosemary had no kids of their own, he had thousands and thousands of kids that followed him in
learning baseball so we will miss Dick Mingo.
CORRESPONDENCE DISCUSSION.
None.
Mayor Laufenburger: The council will reconvene in the Fountain Conference Room following
the council meeting tonight. We have some more work session agenda. Is there a motion to
adjourn?
Councilwoman Tjornhom moved, Councilwoman Ryan seconded to adjourn the meeting.
All voted in favor and the motion carried unanimously with a vote of 5 to 0. The City
Council meeting was adjourned at 8:05 p.m.
Submitted by Todd Gerhardt
City Manager
Prepared by Nann Opheim
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