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CC VER 2020 06 22CHANHASSEN CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING JUNE 22, 2020 Mayor Ryan called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. The meeting was opened with the Pledge to the Flag. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: Mayor Ryan, Councilwoman Tjornhom, Councilman McDonald, Councilman Campion, and Councilwoman Coleman STAFF PRESENT: Todd Gerhardt, Jake Foster, Kate Aanenson, Charlie Howley, Todd Hoffman, Greg Sticha, Jerry Ruegemer, Roger Knutson, Richard Rice, Matt Kerr, Chief Don Johnson, and Lt. Lance Pearce PUBLIC PRESENT: Harold Worrell 3835 Meadow View Terrace, St. Bonifacius Mayor Ryan: Well good evening. Again everybody thank you all for joining us tonight. We have a very full council chambers and so before we get to the main event I would again like to remind everyone that we are still operating under an open meeting statute even though, well actually now that you’re here we’ll go back to the normal way which will be a treat. For the record we have all of our members present tonight and our first action is our agenda approval so council members are there any modifications to the agenda as printed? I’m so used to going through everybody’s name. This is happening so much quicker. Alright. Alright we will move forward with the published agenda. PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT: TODD GERHARDT RETIREMENT PROCLAMATION. Mayor Ryan: So the big event tonight is our public announcement and it is for Todd Gerhardt. Mr. Gerhardt are you ready for this? Todd Gerhardt: Yes. Mayor Ryan: Alright. For those of you, trying to make a run for it a few times. For those of you who may not know our City Manager Todd Gerhardt who after 34 remarkable years with the City of Chanhassen is retiring and this is his last council meeting. He is still onboard until June 30th but this is his last official council meeting and even though his remarkable career is ending his legacy will forever be tied to the City of Chanhassen. So tonight we are going to take a little bit of time to honor, to recognize and to thank you for all that you have done for Chanhassen. We’ve invited a few of your friends and colleagues who would like to say a few words so you just get to sit back, sit in the hot seat and listen to all of us make some remarks and show our Chanhassen City Council – June 22, 2020 2 appreciation for you Todd and wish you well as you move forward. So Mr. Callister, I see you in the back, if you would like to come forward. Dave Callister: Thank you Mayor, council members, Dave Callister, 7541 Windmill Drive, Chanhassen. I met Mr. Gerhardt mid 80’s. Both similar ages. He’s retiring and I’m not and good for you Todd. Met him in graduate school at Mankato State so I’ve known Todd a long time and we’ve gone through some of the up’s and down’s of city management for all of those years. Todd’s been in one place. I think I’ve been in five places so he is your guy right here. But I’ve been fortunate to be able to know Todd as a good friend and as a colleague, as a fellow city manager and as a 30 year resident of Chanhassen because the reason I moved to this community is because of the quality of life and Todd and his staff and as past mayors and councils have done nothing enhance that in the 30 years that I’ve lived here and a lot of that is due to the leadership of Mr. Gerhardt. He’s an economic development wizard. He knows more about tax increment financing than most people. He knows a lot about redevelopment. He got a lot of things done. He kept the tax rate low and again the quality of life, the infrastructure, the parks and rec programs that you all have here, that was done under his leadership. He had lots of help but you need somebody to guide that and so like I said I’ve been fortunate to know Todd and to be able to share a lot of good times with Todd and even a few complaints about city stuff once in a while. He’s not going to miss that. Todd I got a pothole in my neighborhood. Fix it so, but anyway I just want to. So I feel very fortunate as a resident to the community for 34 years of great service to the community that Todd has provided and I think the citizens of Chanhassen should be very fortunate as well because he’s done a great job. He is Mr. Chanhassen. Who else has been here for 34 years? Right. Todd Gerhardt: I don’t think you can take that away from Al Klingelhutz. Dave Callister: But Todd I want to thank you for all the years and I know we’ll be still doing things but I know you’ll get a chance to do more golf and more fishing and hanging out with some of us hopefully but thank you for your service to our community here and thanks for the service to the profession as well so, and enjoy your retirement. Thanks Todd. Mayor Ryan: Thank you Mr. Callister. Todd Gerhardt: I feel Dave stayed here because of me. He’s been in 5 different places but he’s only lived in Chanhassen. Mayor Ryan: Todd do you want to swivel around so you can see everybody when they’re coming and talking. Next I would like to invite County Commissioner Tom Workman. Tom Workman: I was shoveling river rock earlier. I thought when you moved into a townhouse you didn’t have to do that anymore. I have a wife and have you told your’s that you’re quitting Todd? Have you told her you’re going to be around the house a lot more? Chanhassen City Council – June 22, 2020 3 Todd Gerhardt: We had a 2 week stint a couple months ago so I think she’s, I think she’s ready for it and we’re, we have a big house. We can go in different corners. Tom Workman: Well I hope to be over there a lot more. Todd Gerhardt: You’re a referee. You know if we need help we’ll just give you a call. Tom Workman: Like I say call your county commissioner. He can probably fix just about nothing for you but anyway. Todd Gerhardt: I can always go to the library. Tom Workman: And hats off to the other Todd. I didn’t make it to his big announcement. He announced it like 9 months ago or something. But there was always too many Todd’s at this city hall and I’m happy to see there’s not going to be any…but a Jerry and a, you have to be named City Manager. Todd was here 34, I was trying to remember. 34 years Madam Mayor and City Council and so I ran for City Council in 1988 and the City was coming off some big tax increment stuff. The redoing of all of downtown Chanhassen and there was conspiracy in the air and so I was at the right place at the right time for all of that and, so that was 32 years ago and so I think I have a little reminder in my phone that Al Klingelhutz, his birthday was just recently here in June and he would have been 99 so subtract your 34 from that, even Al Klingelhutz was a pretty young man just beginning to cause trouble and Al Klingelhutz was a trouble maker, in the good sense. But so you were a pretty young guy. Younger than me. Still are. Todd Gerhardt: They don’t change it. Tom Workman: On the scene when I was a pretty young guy and you were a really young guy and so we got to know you fast and, but of course Don Ashworth was here a long time and I don’t know if he made it 34 years. He’s still doing well. He’s probably healthier than ever living down in Texas. But I kind of like that continuity that we’ve had here. I know there was a little blip inbetween you and Don. I did not approve of that blip. I wasn’t on the City Council but the City Council chose somebody else for I don’t know about 8 days and then came to their senses and got you on board and here you’ve been so the City really has had two city managers over the last 60 plus, maybe 70 years. If I can think of it and it’s a fantastic town and all the City Councils have been absolutely fantastic. This is the latest. Todd Gerhardt: Haven’t met a bad one yet. Tom Workman: As a whole. But I kind of like that and I did, I was a kid who grew up over in Chaska and always liked Chanhassen and decided to move here way back then in the 80’s and it was all really good and fun and Todd you and I have had a lot of fun. We’ve golfed together. We’re really good sometimes and we’re really bad sometimes but it usually takes about one beer with Callister to start smarting off to each other and so let me say this, if I had a beer. Nobody Chanhassen City Council – June 22, 2020 4 likes a quitter Todd. Really. And that’s what you’re doing. You’re leaving us high and dry and but congratulations. We love you. Todd Gerhardt: Thank you. Appreciate it. Did you know a rubber band can come from there all the way over here and hit you? Mayor Ryan: Mayor Laufenburger. Denny Laufenburger: Hey Todd. What a privilege to be here with all of you. Mayor Ryan, council members. I thank you for the invitation to share my thoughts and tribute to the retiring City Manager Todd Gerhardt. I was privileged to work under the guidance and leadership or and in partnership with Mr. Gerhardt for 11 years. During that time I observed and learned from an amazing public servant. Highly respected leader amongst his peers in city and municipal leadership circles around the state. I consider myself very fortunate to have worked with such a leader of great vision, character, integrity and humility. Todd’s 34 plus years in the City of Chanhassen will be measured by far more than time served. Mayor Furlong will talk about some of the great accomplishments and markers that will continue to shout the contribution of Todd Gerhardt in our community. Todd’s leadership provided the Chanhassen library, and I’m so glad we’re represented by the library tonight. As part of the county library system he guided the development of the first time park system plan in cooperation with Mr. Hoffman and his staff to serve as a guideline for the future park and recreation resources for the citizens of Chanhassen. There’s many other visible and long lasting testimonies to Todd’s leadership for the people of Chanhassen. Both now and in the future. Todd has worked very hard to build strong and lasting relationships with the civic organizations in the community. The Rotary Club. The Lions Club. The Chamber of Commerce. Buy Chanhassen. The school district and the business community as well. As Mr. Callister mentioned Todd worked hard in the redevelopment of the downtown area by helping to find locations for some of the businesses that were inside, outside the downtown area to make room for downtown retail space. Todd your experience and wisdom continue to guide the development of the downtown area. Todd’s exceptional support of the senior citizen community cannot be over stated. Our senior center is a high priority for Todd. Has been for a long time. As are the high quality senior citizen housing options that continue to expand in Chanhassen. There are also some less noticeable elements of Todd’s contribution as city manager. Todd was a skilled and professional recruiter. As with all city offices there will always be turnover but Todd showed us that he is an excellent judge of talent and wonderful mentor as well. Both Justin Miller and Laurie Hokkanen, Assistant City Managers under Todd moved to city manager roles after leaving Chanhassen. When our previous Finance Director left Greg Sticha was recruited and continues to serve as a high capacity leader. There’s many more examples as well. Todd knows how to find good people and he nurtures them in their careers to their benefit and to the benefit of the people of Chanhassen. Now Todd was also a manager with great character and integrity as it related to some difficult personnel decisions. On occasion Todd dealt with very delicate situations with employees and each time Todd weighed all the facts and made the best decision for the individual and the people of Chanhassen. Todd you were often openly criticized unfairly for some of these decisions. You could have made it easy Chanhassen City Council – June 22, 2020 5 on yourself by revealing confidential information that would have supported your decision but could also have been devastating for the employee or for their family. Todd remained calm, resolute, and a true professional. You kept the facts and information as confidential. A true measure of your character and your integrity. Now Todd we all know that change is a constant in today’s world. With your experience, judgment and wisdom you’ve adopted to change exceptionally well over the last 3 decades and I’m quite certain that you’ll adapt to a fulfilling life in retirement as well. Plus there’s Diane and of course Reese to keep you active and on your toes. Wishing you the very best old friend. May God be with you as you go. Mayor Ryan: Mayor Furlong. Todd Gerhardt: Here we go. Tom Furlong: Here we go once again. Good evening Mayor, council members and members of the city staff, guests, it’s great to be back here. Different view from this side but a really good view at this point in my life too. Tom Furlong, my wife and family, we live at 1405 Knob Hill Lane in Chanhassen. I had the honor and privilege of serving the Chanhassen residents as their Mayor beginning in 2003 through 2014 and over those 12 years I had just a wonderful relationship developed Todd, between you and me and I am very grateful for that. When I was first elected I leaned on Todd a lot for his organizational knowledge and history and relationships. It was mentioned earlier over the time while he was in the planning department and as Assistant City Manager he was involved in the downtown redevelopment, did a number of other projects so he developed relationships that I just simply didn’t have coming to the City Council as a Mayor without previous experience in city government. And he helped me do a better job. I recall one instance, there are many stories. We don’t have time for all of them and some of them don’t belong in the public forum anyway but early on in my first term we were at a meet and greet with the Chamber of Commerce. With the Chanhassen Chamber of Commerce and I was talking, I was introduced to one of the local business owners and they had just built a, it used to be the BP. It’s now the SA out there with, at Century Boulevard and Highway 5 and I had just gone through the car wash and I said you’ve got the best car wash in town and Todd was right next to me and he goes, one of the best Tom. One of the best. And I looked at him and he goes we’ve got a lot of great car washes in this town and from that point forward I knew whether it was a development, whether it was a project, it was one of the best always came to Chanhassen. Early on I don’t know if this was a test or if he was deferring to my position but I was meeting with Todd in his office and I don’t remember what the issue was. It doesn’t matter but we were sitting down at the end of the day and he presented a situation to me and he leaned back in his chair, what do you want to do? And of course being the thoughtful leader and also the panic attack that I had no idea what to do I turned it around and said what would you recommend. I have no idea what the issue was. I don’t know what his recommendation was but I will tell you for the next 12 years that I was mayor I always asked what would you recommend of Todd. His ideas and thoughts were always thoughtful. They were worthy of consideration. We didn’t always agree. More often than not we did but I never, I never missed the opportunity to ask Todd what he would recommend. Todd’s goal and objective, his vision is for good Chanhassen City Council – June 22, 2020 6 government. Good public policy knowing that cities are forever and when we look around this town and the elements of Chanhassen, the quality of life that we see that many people just take for granted have Todd’s finger prints all over them. Whether it’s the library that is just an outstanding asset to this city. The street improvement project program that has developed and I notice you have some more projects on your agenda this evening. That continues. Two water treatment facilities. Public works building. The Chanhassen Station by the Dinner Theater. That was an easy project wasn’t it Todd? Working with Clay. Len and Clay. No, no, that was easy. That would not have happened very clearly and those of you who were involved at the time know, that would not be here if it wasn’t for Todd and he deserves the credit for getting that done. Other areas, the Veterans Monument, City Center Park, the list goes on. Our park and trail system has always been supported by Todd and it’s a vision of moving forward with a long term vision and getting things done. We have some of the best residential developments and industrial developments and commercial developments in town and Kate you’ve been a part of that and you know how much support Todd has given the entire time. Todd is extremely knowledgeable. He’s innovative. He’s opportunistic with the long term vision. There’s probably no better example than this than the Highway 101 project that leaves from Highway 5 south to Shakopee. In 2005 when the State of Minnesota approved the 212 project, they had funding to come part way from 212 up to Highway 5. Those of you who remember Highway 101 at that time was a two lane shoulderless road that bopped and weaved inbetween various properties. Had the project gone forward as it was designed we would have had 4 lanes from Highway 5 down to about the Lake Susan trail. We would have had 4 lanes a little bit north of 212 and then we would have still had 2 lanes inbetween. The 101 gap project was the first project of completing 101 the way it should be done all the way down to Shakopee. Todd got that done through his innovation and working with MnDOT. We then moved forward with Phase 1 of 101 from Lyman Boulevard down to Pioneer Trail with the idea being if we start getting money into this we’re going to push MnDOT to move the rest of it forward. We got money from Met Council there. We had to stick our necks out a little bit on that one but fortunately the axe didn’t come down on top of us. The 101 bridge was the next step in that phase of long term vision and opportunistic growth and now we’re in the final phase and the work that Todd did and others but especially Todd to push through the bonding, the funding for the last phase here through the bonding bill which all of you were a part of is just tremendous. And there will be thousands of people that use that road everyday that will benefit from it. Whose lives will be improved in large part because of the work that Todd Gerhardt did and that’s just one example as I said, we can’t go through all of them. Throughout all this the financial success of the City has been something that Todd deserves a substantial credit for. He was the leader that helped moved this City forward to financial success. In 2001 when he became the City Manager we had a bond rating as a city of a A-. You’re shaking your head. That’s not good. In 2004 we had reached AA- and in 2009 we reached AAA, the highest bond rating that you can obtain. We were at that time one of less than 15 cities in the State of Minnesota to have a AAA bond rating. We still have it. Congratulations to all the members of the council and Todd and the department heads for maintaining that. That’s exceptional. It really is. For a city that’s been growing as much as we have during that period to obtain and maintain that bond rating is really an outward sign of the outward agencies looking at us saying you guys are doing Chanhassen City Council – June 22, 2020 7 a great job. And to Todd’s leadership and to the council and everybody else that’s really exceptional. The City’s been recognized and rewarded many other ways during Todd’s tenure as City Manager and going back to Money Magazine in the early 2000, I guess it was 2007 when we were ranked as one of the best places to live in the country and that ranking has been renewed continuously since then. Family Circle at the same time came out and said we were the best, one of the top 10 cities to raise a family is. It still is in my opinion. The Business Journal, others have come out with recognitions for our city and those are things that all of us can be proud of. But Todd was also recognized personally as his role as City Manager. In 2013 he received the Dr. Robert A. Barrett Award from the Minnesota County, City and County Managers Association. And this is the award that’s presented annually to a City or County Manager who is a exemplary role model, a leader, a mentor in the profession of local government management. The MCMA award was named in honor of Dr. Robert A. Barrett who was one of your professors. He led the urban and regional studies down in Minnesota State University. That’s the second time tonight that that wonderful establishment has been brought up. I heard that earlier too. Todd Gerhardt: You do not want to under estimate that. Tom Furlong: And we have another alum who’s back here in Dave that we heard earlier tonight. It’s amazing. But Dr. Barrett was your professor, mentor and I know you were honored to receive the award named after him and we were all very pleased and grateful that the MCMA awarded you with that award too. It was very well deserved. Because I will tell you they recognized that you’re not one of the best Todd but you are the best City Manager in my opinion and in their opinion and many others and for that we’re proud of you. You should be proud of yourself. Your accomplishments. Especially given the mayors and City Council members you had to work with. I really don’t know how you did it. But we are grateful for your leadership and your service and personally I just want to thank you because you made me a better mayor than I would have been otherwise and for that I will be eternally grateful. So congratulations on your outstanding career Todd. It’s been a wonderful success. Be proud of everything you’ve done. Know that you have made an incredible positive difference for so many people in this city and around the region and we thank you for it. Well done. Todd Gerhardt: Thank you. I’d like to thank Mayor Furlong for beating that up a lot. I give a lot of credit to Tom. You know truly my longest term mayor. He taught me to be very transparent to all my mayor and council members. You could not pull a number on that guy and I wasn’t going to try and so I gave him all the numbers and he’s phenomenal with numbers. It’s unbelievable. You need a business appraisal call…and just a short little story. Somebody set a plan in my office. It was a $2.5 million dollar home and I said Tom, you’ve got to see this house and I laid it out and he goes this is unbelievable. Who could afford something like this? I said I don’t know he does business appraisals for a living. First comment, not even a second, he goes he must be damn good at it. So I think we still have the same down to earth not looking for credit. He mentioned a lot of things. Denny, we spent a lot of time over in St. Paul and we ran around that Capitol all over the place. Katie Senn was dragging us here and dragging us there. Chanhassen City Council – June 22, 2020 8 Denny’s given the unbelievable speeches and somehow we convinced the Democrat Governor to give us some money and to put a bridge in and the only reason was, was because it was needed and that’s the kind of government we need is to do projects that are needed. So very proud of that and thank you Denny. Mayor Ryan: Council I’d like to turn it over to you now as well to make a few words or say a few words. I’ll start with you Councilman Campion. Councilman Campion: Alright, it’s difficult to follow those speeches. I wasn’t privileged enough to spend as many years with Todd but I’ve known Todd from, since my first days in the Park and Rec Commission back in 2007 so it’s been a few years for me as well. Todd’s been someone that’s always acted with integrity and shared his vast expanse of knowledge and really did a fabulous job of guiding this City. It’s been a pleasure working with you and I’ll definitely miss you around here. Mayor Ryan: Thank you. Councilman McDonald. Councilman McDonald: Well it’s kind of difficult to follow in all these footsteps and such but yeah I’ve been around for a while myself and I learned a lot about city government from Todd. You know he was always there whenever I had a question I could call him up and sometimes he would even anticipate my questions and call me up. It was always good to have someone that I always trusted. One of the things I learned early on is that you can trust Todd. You know he doesn’t try to BS you or dance you around or anything. If he says something is important it’s important and you know that was a matter of, and I learned that lesson very early on in my tenure on City Council so for all of that you know I just want to say thank you. I really appreciate all the help you gave me. I hope in some small respect I maybe helped you along the way too to complete with your job but I’ve really enjoyed serving with you and I wish you the best of luck going forward. Have fun. Hit them straight and remember to throttle back every now and then. Todd Gerhardt: Well I can appreciate your strength earlier this evening when somebody was trying to define what opt out bus service was because this is Mr. Opt Out right here and anybody can tell you what an Opt Out bus service is, is Jerry McDonald. Jerry I’m not even going to guess how many years you served on Southwest Transit but you made sure that Chanhassen got it’s share of bus service as a part of our opt out so we got our money’s worth. Thank you. Mayor Ryan: Councilwoman Coleman. Councilwoman Coleman: Well Todd I will never forget our first meeting after I was elected. I thought it was a small talk question. I asked you how long you’d been working with the City of Chanhassen and gulped when I learned it was as long as I’ve been alive. So that was a bit intimidating but it ended up being the best resource that I could have never imagined that I would get during my first term. I would call you with what I thought was a simple question. I’ve learned very quickly to not budget 5 minutes but 50 and you always had history to give me. Chanhassen City Council – June 22, 2020 9 The back story. The key players and to help me understand the city even better. Help me navigate complex issues and are the reason I’m getting through my first term. So I just want to thank you for all of your service. I can tell that every decision you make, every conversation you have the best interest of the City is what is on your heart in the fore front of your mind and I’m going to miss seeing you around here. Thank you. Todd Gerhardt: Thank you. Good luck with that new baby. Councilwoman Coleman: Oh thank you. Todd Gerhardt: Don’t even remember John…he was such an easy baby. He never spit up. He ate everything. Mayor Ryan: Councilwoman Tjornhom? Councilwoman Tjornhom: Well after all has been said I think Todd all I can say is thank you for your investment. If I think about what you’ve done in your career it’s really been an investment and so tonight I want to thank you for your investment in the City of Chanhassen, which is obvious. I think we’ve had several examples tonight of that investment. That knowledge. That time. That effort that you’ve put into success and making us all proud to say we’re from Chanhassen obviously. I also want to thank you for your investment and your leadership. You know your, what you bring every day to work and what you teach your employees and how you lead them and the trust you have with them and the respect that they give you is exceptional and so that also is an investment because you make it look easy. It’s not so thank you for that investment. Thank you for your investment in making the City Council be leaders. Councilwoman Coleman talked about the phone calls she had with you when newly elected. All of us have had those phone calls with you. Newly elected. Still elected. Whatever process we might be in. Todd Gerhardt: Do you remember that? Councilwoman Tjornhom: You know all I remember is, I was on the Planning Commission and got elected and I asked Kate do I still have to go to the Planning Commission meetings so I remember that but yes, I do remember those conversations and I mean your investment in just educating us and your investment in making us better City Council members is also, because you make it look easy but it’s not. Having to relate to 5 different individuals. Helping them to understand issues. Helping them understand how to think about issues. All of that. I appreciate it so much what you did for me in my time that I’ve been here. And then also thank you for your success. I want to thank you for your investment in setting the city up for future success because that’s also what you’ve done. With everything that you put your footprint on, your handprints on, you know that’s all going to be with us for a very long time and you know I look forward to one day going yep, Todd Gerhardt did that or I love going down the 101 bridge and seeing what’s happening now with the new 101 project. I mean it’s amazing what’s happening and Chanhassen City Council – June 22, 2020 10 that’s you and so thank you so much for setting us up for success for the future and I wish you all the happiness in your new chapter. Whatever that may be so thank you. Todd Gerhardt: Thank you. And Bethany one of the things that really stands out, and you taught me as city manager it’s, it’s not the numbers. It’s not the personnel issues. It’s not the hiring. It’s not the budget. It’s not the accolades you get. It’s, you have to get in to some people’s personal lives and if you don’t then you’re not doing your job. And you know you have to be there for people. As much as you want to, it’s not your bailiwick. You want to try to shy away from it, you’ve got to absorb that and be there for them and if the Mayor needs a tree cut down, you go cut down that tree for them. Councilwoman Tjornhom: Yes you do. Todd Gerhardt: And if a council member newly had a baby you make accommodations for those people that had a baby. And if a council member needs a fence because she happens to live with somebody that wants a fence, you get a fence. And Dan if you want to build a treehouse 5 stories, build a treehouse 5 stories and put it on Airbnb so we can get an Airbnb ordinance. I’m going to miss your texts Dan. You always bring up some good ones. Usually on the weekend and I swear you’re having more fun than I am but I enjoy responding to those and giving you that perspective. It’s fun to be good… You’re challenging me but you know you guys have all given me annual reviews and I take credit for all of it because I’m doing it all. And Kate don’t get mad, I’m doing it all. You haven’t done anything yet. The day’s coming. I don’t know when. Same thing with you Don Johnson and your duty crew. You know we’re at our fire 5 minutes earlier. We saved 5 lives this year already. And I’ll tell you that I got a phone call from Don Ashworth and he says that City Council must be impressed that you put that duty crew thing together. That’s unbelievable. You know that’s thinking really outside the box and, and I said Don, I said it wasn’t me and there’s a lot of models in the Twin Cities but we have a bulldog for a Chief and once he’s got a bone you’re not taking it away from him and he almost…plan to leave us. Love him or hate him he’s dedicated to this city and our community is safer which is a big part of that. And you know Kate you’ve been by my side you know. You made everything beautiful in this town. Sometimes I come up with wild ideas and you go no, go back to bed and think about it. That one didn’t turn out. I get all my ideas when I’m sleeping so. Kate Aanenson: Give it another night Todd. Todd Gerhardt: Yeah, but you know Jake, Roger, you know you guys are on opposite ends. Roger should be sitting here. He’s got more years than I do and Roger always calms me down. Sends one sentence letters. Did they teach you that at St. Olaf one letter sentences? So I think…but Roger has kept this city out of court many, many times and he’s our rudder and he keeps us going. And Jake is an up and comer and I try to challenge him to be better. To go that extra mile and because people are going to appreciate it. And then you know not to have too many Todd’s is not having enough Todd’s. And I don’t know why after 1962. ’61, ’60. Chanhassen City Council – June 22, 2020 11 Todd Hoffman: 63. Todd Gerhardt: 63, you know I’d miss one. And why they stopped naming kids Todd I have no idea. But you know this City is better because of Todd Hoffman. He’s a great leader. He’s a great decision maker. I need a decision I bring Todd in. He’s got a decision within a minute and it’s the right decision. Sometimes it makes you mad that it’s the right decision you know but 99.9 percent it is the right decision. I don’t know how you do it. I think it’s from Big Al and he’s looking down on us today. Mayor Ryan: Well a few more words Todd. Todd Gerhardt: Big Al and I go way back so. And I went to school with Big Al and but he’s a special man and he’s taught Todd a lot and Todd’s taught me a lot so thank you. Mayor Ryan: First of all I’d like to thank both mayors for being here tonight, Carver County Commissioner and Mr. Callister, thank you for coming and sharing your stories and history with, about Todd and with Todd and council thank you for all the words that you’ve shared and the stories. It’s much appreciated. I’d like to share a few of my own with you as well. Passionate, devoted, humorous, mentor, friend and leader, respected by all and someone who will always be remembered, I know I saw Todd tearing up. Okay. For your incredible service and commitment to the City of Chanhassen. Todd you have served the City of Chanhassen with distinction for the past 34 years. Your leadership helped build this city into one of the best cities in the United States. Your dedication had you on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to answer calls, emails, and texts from residents, staff, council members and mayors and you always did so with a smile on your face and without any hesitation. You proudly mentored the people that you hired and those of us who are elected. You wanted to make sure that those of you around you were not only successful but understood the importance of serving the City proudly. You are respected by colleagues and residents alike as you led with integrity and you held yourself to the highest of standards. You maintained a great sense of humor over the years as you knew it was a way to make tough conversations end on a positive note but it was also a way that you found to connect and strengthen a relationship knowing humor could put everyone at ease. You are a city manager and a friend to all. You took the time to learn about families and what was important to them as you deeply cared about both your colleagues and your employees. You always put the people around you first. Your job is not easy. It comes with a tremendous amount of sacrifice and time away from family. You are a magician finding ways to balance the needs of residents, council and staff. You carried the burden when things did not go well but gave credit to those around you when they did. You wanted nothing but the very best for the City of Chanhassen. You continue to give your time and talent for 34 years and that is truly an amazing accomplishment. I am honored to have had the opportunity to learn from you and work with you. I will miss the many laughs and the many jokes but I look forward to seeing you around town. Todd thank you for your years of service to Chanhassen. You will be missed and we will be forever grateful so congratulations on your retirement. I would now like to read and present you with a proclamation along with a key to the City. The City of Chanhassen proclamation, Chanhassen City Council – June 22, 2020 12 Monday, June 22, 2020 is celebrated as Todd Gerhardt Day. Congratulations Todd. We have one more thing and it’s great that the library is here. We also had this photo framed for you and it’s a picture with the library in the background and the fountain because you were instrumental in the library and the fountain. Congratulations. I’d also like to bring Diane up here. On behalf of the City of Chanhassen Diane thank you for coming around here. I know we’re supposed to be standing on X’s and, but these are for you on behalf of Chanhassen. We thank you for your 34 years of service and the unending support and time you gave for Todd to be serving all of us. The community at large and for being such a wonderful companion to Todd and just amazing woman in his life so thank you very much. So now we’ll take a short recess and if you would all stay and have some cake, we’d love to have you join us. The City Council took a short recess at this point in the meeting. CONSENT AGENDA: Councilman Campion moved, Councilwoman Tjornhom seconded to approve the following consent agenda items pursuant to the City Manager’s recommendations: 1. Approve City Council Minutes dated June 8, 2020 2. Receive Planning Commission Minutes dated June 2, 2020 3. Approve a Request for Setback Variances to Install a Septic System in the NW Corner of Property Located at 565 Lakota Lane 4. Approve Amendment to Chanhassen City Code Chapter 20 to Remove Residential Restrictions for Regional/Lifestyle Center Planned Unit Developments (PUDs) 5. Approve Final Plat, Development Contract and Construction Plans and Specifications with Variances for Boylan Shores 6. Resolution #2020-40: Authorize Entering into a Cooperative Agreement with MnDOT for the Chanhassen Crossroads Boulevard Planting Project 7. Resolution #2020-41: Establish Two New Polling Place Locations for the 2020 Elections 8. 2020 4th of July Fireworks Display – Closure of Greenwood Shores Park All voted in favor and the motion carried unanimously with a vote of 5 to 0. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS: STATE OF THE LIBRARY – HEIDI HOKS AND PATRICK JONES. Chanhassen City Council – June 22, 2020 13 Mayor Ryan: Thank you for being here tonight. Patrick Jones: Hi, thank you. Patrick Jones from the Carver County Library. The Chanhassen branch manager. What I want to do is just very, very briefly discuss a couple things with you. First, this first slide is we talk about last year we checked out one million items all together in Carver County Library and I heard about being, you want to make an impression on people’s lives but sometimes numbers matter a lot and we do that because we have a great library collection. Specifically I want to talk about Chanhassen. This is not a posed photo. This actually happened. So we circulate about one-third of the books that go out of Carver County Library and we do about as many volunteer hours as the other libraries combined. We do a lot of story times and other library programs. This is from our New Year’s Eve, or New Year’s Day celebration. New Year’s Eve. We’re still picking the confetti out of the Wilder Room because of that one. This is the Chanhassen library is a great place to study. That is from a cold day in February where every study table was full. It’s a great place to volunteer for adults. For teenagers. It’s also we have several work study groups of teenagers who come to work with us. It’s a place to sing. That’s our annual Prince celebration and it’s a place to dance when the Minnesota Ballet showed up and visited with us. We do a winter reading program for adults which is fairly new. Of course we do a summer reading program for kids where we have performers and other incentives for kids to participate. For adults we do crafts and other programs. We do craft programs for children as well. One of our big programs for adults is our Music in March program where every Saturday or Sunday we have a music performer coming in and then we do Arts in April which is normally a smaller 10 to 12 people doing a craft or arts project together. During the summer we pack, where’s the Fire Marshal? We pack a lot of people into the Wilder Room. Just the right amount for summer programs and we’ve been focusing recently on STEM programming. The picture you see of the little girl in the box is for a drive in story time where they made their own boxes and then watched the book flix on the big screen and that’s our pumpkin contest for the year. For adults the big thing we do our author visits where again we put just the right amount, number of people in the Wilder Room. Had Leif Enger, Norm McGerney and Jay Ryan Strondel this year and then you also see in the corner our book club which meets once a month on the 4th Tuesday of the month. All of this would not be possible without the Friends of the Chanhassen Library which is a very active group which supports us with two big book sales a year. It is duly a place to be for all seasons. But things have changed a little bit. In March we closed the library. I believe March 16th is when we closed the doors. About 10 days later we started a curb side pick up service. Recently just at the beginning of the month we started computer access and we’re in the planning stages for the next phase which will be to get the library open for people to come in. Look through the collection. Get books for their kids. Pick up reserves and other tasks such as that but not set and spend the rest, the whole day in the library. The idea is to walk through. Grab what they need. So that is 2020 and half, all of 2019 and half of 2020 in about 3 minutes. Questions. Comments. Mayor Ryan: Council any questions or comments? Chanhassen City Council – June 22, 2020 14 Councilwoman Tjornhom: I just want to thank you for your diligence and your passion for the library. Patrick Jones: Thank you. Councilwoman Tjornhom: And all your work of keeping it going. It is you know the center of our town and our community and it’s so important and vital that we keep that healthy and available to our residents so thank you so much for everything you do. Patrick Jones: Thank you. Mayor Ryan: And I’d also like to say thank you for coming tonight and for being part of Todd’s retirement. I appreciate your being a part of that. I know it’s been really challenging for you to figure out a way to make it work for our residents with COVID-19 and I just want you to know how much you’re appreciated for doing that and making books available. You know we get a lot of emails from residents about a variety of questions and concerns and the one consistent question that I had is when will the library open and yet they were so appreciative that they still had the ability to get books and so thank you for you making it work and to having employees run out the books to cars and having that table outside and making it, and just making it work in a really difficult time so it really is at the heart and soul of our community and it’s something that is truly loved not only by our residents but you know even people coming in from neighboring communities. It’s just a fantastic library and the people that work there are just amazing so thank you for all that you do for our community. We really appreciate it. Patrick Jones: Thank you. Mayor Ryan: Alright thank you very much. Thanks for being here tonight. Patrick Jones: Thanks. Todd Gerhardt: Mayor we also have to thank Jill Shipley. She was the driving force behind this library. It was not me. Jill and I worked together but Jill was the leader and I think there’s a plaque over there and if it wasn’t for her that library would not be here today so. I remember that. Mayor Ryan: Thank you. Councilwoman Tjornhom: And thank you Heidi for coming. Heidi Hoks: Well thank you. FIRE DEPARTMENT/LAW ENFORCEMENT UPDATE. Chanhassen City Council – June 22, 2020 15 Mayor Ryan: Next we have the fire and law enforcement update and tonight we’re just going to do the fire department update. Chief. Chief Don Johnson: Thank you Mayor and council. I’ll keep this exceptionally brief. I did file a narrative and a graph report so just the one tidbit. We’re off of our COVID shifts so for March 20th through the end of May we were actually a 24/7 fire department. In that timeframe we responded to 181 different incidents. 162 of those were with a crew of 3 so we had 18 general alarms during that timeframe which kept all of our crews safe from interacting with each other. The big piece of that we had an average of 5 minutes and 42 seconds with a fire engine to any, to the addresses that we served during that time so it was again from my staff it’s an exceptional stand up again. They continue to just amaze me with the abilities that they have to kind of bend to what the needs are in the community so I’ll leave the rest to that. If there’s any questions off my report submit me an email and I’ll get back to you. If I could take a couple of seconds, Mr. Gerhardt from the fire department standpoint there’s a couple of things that we do and when I, I’m probably new to the organization in regards to some of my other department heads. Not as of recently so when I first got here 6 years ago my first meeting with City Manager Gerhardt is he handed me a study. The fire staffing study and I don’t think he quite understood what he meant when he handed that to me because I think it was supposed to go on a shelf but he later admitted to saying that that wasn’t a shopping list. It wasn’t the things, he threatened to buy me a t-shirt that says I didn’t hire you to buy things. So but, now in a perspective thing I’m in my 30th year of full time public safety this year. I’ve worked in a few different larger organizations. For someone that has decades of experience in one place, sometimes it’s really hard to make that shift for people to understand that there’s a different way of looking at things so with Todd’s partnership I think over 6 years there’s been a lot of cheese moved in this community based on the fire service and I won’t bother you with some of the draw the line in the sand comments that Todd made but it culminated in 2017 to Todd actually making the presentation for the key financial strategies in regards to the expansion of the duty crew which was one of the last things on our, on the list within that fire study that the City commissioned back in 2012 and 2013 so the fleet is in much better shape because of the things that Todd and city leadership has done. Our building just went through some significant renovations for what we did to expand this and I think the direct service that the community’s developed from that and our experience from that are a direct response to Todd because I know the decision makers were there but Todd has to sponsor these things and again for someone in his, his capacity and that many decades to be that open minded and actually listen because again I won’t tell you some of the draw the line in the sand statements that he made so from the fire service standpoint Todd I thank you. One of the things that we have in the fire service on the fire ground is kind of a helmet color that designates who we are on the fire ground and because once you put your stuff it’s really hard to tell who people are so if I can get some help. Todd black helmets are firefighters so they’re the workers. Red helmets are captains and they’re our first line supervisors. White helmets are chiefs and usually we have gray hair and round bellies so I’m starting to get that. I think you fit right in with this whole thing so we did, so we know what Todd does, try to show up we know who he is. And I also created a special thing so he doesn’t get too big of a head. We didn’t put Fire Chief on this but we did put City Manager so on behalf of the fire department thank you for what Chanhassen City Council – June 22, 2020 16 you’ve done for our community. Also I’d like to bring up the fire relief. They have one presentation. Present is Matt Kutz if you could join up here. Matt Kutz: Ladies and gentlemen of the council, Todd. I’ve had the pleasure to know Todd for many years. 15 if I’ve got them counted right and I just want to say as long as I’ve known him he’s always, one thing we’ve always had from him is support and that’s all we can ask and he’s always done that to the best of his ability and we so appreciate it and for that we are grateful. So I was going to give this to your wife but since she kind of left we have a gift for her to enjoy and you to enjoy and hopefully you’ll enjoy your retirement and we look forward to seeing you at events like the pancake breakfast or open houses when we can do those things so we’re really going to miss you but we’re really happy for you as well. Todd Gerhardt: Thank you. Chief Don Johnson: Thank you Mayor. Mayor Ryan: Thank you Chief. Mayor Ryan: Chief did you want Todd to wear that the rest of the meeting too? No I take that as a no, alright. And the law enforcement update was submitted as well so we will now move on to old business. CALL FOR PUBLIC HEARING ON PROPOSED ASSESSMENTS FOR LAKE LUCY ROAD REHABILITATION PROJECT. Charlie Howley: Madam Mayor, council, thank you very much. I’ve got a power point here to kick these two, next two items off. They’re both identical. They’re just for two different projects and I will preface these very brief presentations that normally these action items are on the consent agenda and probably have always been on a consent agenda but in the risk of over communicating to the public and hearing certain comments are residents not knowing about assessment hearings I thought it best to advertise on the broadcast that we’re taking this action so the first one is Lake Lucy Road Rehabilitation Project. A reminder of what the project area is, is Lake Lucy Road between Trunk Highway 41 and Galpin. It’s a mill and overlay of the street. We are reclaiming the sidewalk, or sorry the trail. We’re doing some curb replacements. Some minor utility repairs. Adding a couple storm sewer structures. But it’s not a full reconstruction. The project was bid last Thursday. We received 6 bids which is great news. The low bid came in 2.3 percent below our estimate which is great news. The assessment summary is the preliminary, I’m still calling it preliminary because the project team is crossing the T’s and dotting the I’s on the assessment formula but it’s right now $3,645 per unit. The final design our estimate was at $3,800 per unit so it went down a little bit. The map shows the blue parcels that are assessed. Here is the project schedule. Tonight we’re calling for the assessment hearing. We have a scheduled public info meeting on July 8th. We then on our next council meeting July 13th will hold the assessment hearing. Potentially award the construction contract and then we’ll Chanhassen City Council – June 22, 2020 17 start construction and end construction in September. So the proposed motion in front of you is the City Council adopts a resolution calling for the assessment hearing to be held on July 13, 2020 for the Lake Lucy Road Rehabilitation Project. Mayor Ryan: Thank you Mr. Howley. Council are there any questions? Alright thank you for, before I ask for a motion. Thank you for doing this and will you also send out reminders then via mail or will it just be posted in the paper? Charlie Howley: Madam Mayor the draft letters are in my inbox to review. They’re going to go out tomorrow or the next day to the affected residents. Mayor Ryan: Perfect, thank you. With that any motion? Councilwoman Coleman: Sure. The City Council adopts a resolution calling for the assessment hearing for the Lake Lucy Road Rehabilitation Project, City Project 20-03 on Monday, July 13, 2020. Mayor Ryan: We have a valid motion. Is there a second? Councilman McDonald: Second. Mayor Ryan: Thank you Councilman McDonald with a valid motion and second. Resolution #2020-42: Councilwoman Coleman moved, Councilman McDonald seconded that the City Council adopts a resolution calling for the assessment hearing to be held on Monday July 13, 2020 for the Lake Lucy Road Rehabilitation Project (City Project 20-03). Mayor Ryan: That motion carries 5-0. Mr. Howley number two. CALL FOR PUBLIC HEARING ON PROPOSED ASSESSMENTS FOR 2020 STREET IMPROVEMENT PROJECT. Charlie Howley: Thank you Madam Mayor. Council members. Wait for the power point to come up on the screen. There we go. Exact same action but for a different project. As I mentioned this is for the 2020 Street Rehabilitation Project. Here’s an overall map of the 6 different neighborhoods that were included in the final plans. The bids, the bid opening was last Friday and we received 3 bids. The low bid was 1.3 percent below the estimate which is great news. Each neighborhood was planned to be assessed individually and the, again these are estimates. Pretty sure they’re pretty close for the 6 neighborhoods and you can see the majority of them went down. A couple of them went up just a hair. But they’re all well in line with what we were thinking. Again this is pretty much the exact same project schedule other than the public open house meeting will be July 8th. And we’ll start construction if awarded and this project would get substantially complete in November of 2020. However we did extend the wear Chanhassen City Council – June 22, 2020 18 course paving of the full depth reclaims into next spring. So similar motion as to the last one just with the different title project. The City Council adopts a resolution calling for the assessment hearing to be held on July 13, 2020 for the 2020 Street Improvement Project. Mayor Ryan: Thank you Mr. Howley. Council any questions or motion? Councilman McDonald: Madam Mayor, I have a question. I need a legal opinion. Am I allowed to vote on this or do I need to recuse myself because I am in one of the affected neighborhoods? Roger Knutson: You’re going to be specially assessed? Councilman McDonald: Yes. Roger Knutson: I would suggest you not vote. Councilman McDonald: Thank you. Then Madam Mayor I will recuse myself from the vote on this particular item. Councilman Campion: And Madam Mayor I’m in the same situation. I will also recuse myself. Mayor Ryan: Okay ladies. With that any further questions or a motion? Councilwoman Tjornhom: I’ll make the motion if it can be pulled up on the screen again. I’d like to make a motion that the City Council adopts a resolution calling for the assessment hearing to be held on July 13, 2020 for the 2020 Street Improvement Project, City Project number 20-05. Mayor Ryan: Alright. We have a valid motion. Is there a second? Councilwoman Coleman: I’ll second the motion. Mayor Ryan: Alright with a valid motion and second. Resolution #2020-43: Councilwoman Tjornhom moved, Councilwoman Coleman seconded that the City Council adopts a resolution calling for the assessment hearing for the 2020 Street Improvement Project (City Project 20-05) on Monday, July 13, 2020. All voted in favor, except for Councilman McDonald and Councilman Campion who recused themselves from the vote. The motion carried with a vote of 3 to 0. Mayor Ryan: That motion carries 3-0 with two, I can’t say that word. Recusals. There we go. Todd Gerhardt: Mayor, council. On this item we’re going to have a work session item prior to our meeting on the 8th? Chanhassen City Council – June 22, 2020 19 Charlie Howley: 13th. Todd Gerhardt: The 13th and that meeting will be to discuss financing options for this project. As you know we did get some big bids but it still wasn’t enough to get us over the hump so to accomplish all 6 neighborhoods we have to look at potentially doing some internal loans to accomplish all the projects. We’re going to lay out several alternatives for you to accomplish that and present that to you on the 13th during work session. Mayor Ryan: Alright. Todd Gerhardt: Just wanted to give you the heads up on that. Mayor Ryan: Alright thank you for that. COUNCIL PRESENTATION: APPOINT INTERIM CITY MANAGER. Mayor Ryan: Next we have no public hearings or new business. Council presentation. Tonight we will be appointing an Interim City Manager. We’d like to, as we obviously celebrated tonight Todd’s retirement. The council is now in the process of doing a couple things. First we, tonight we will appoint an Interim City Manager. We have also put out an RFP to hire an executive search firm. Once we receive those, the responses we will review. Do an interview process to hire the executive search firm and then we will move forward with the search so it will be an extensive process. This Interim City Manager, right now the one that we appoint will be in place until we find somebody to be our full time city manager so we’d like to thank both candidates. First I’d like to say thank you to Todd for finding two excellent candidates for us to interview. They both came with a breadth of experience and passion for the job and we really appreciate you putting forward two outstanding candidates so I’d like to thank both Heather Johnston and Frank Boyles for your interest in this position and coming here tonight to interview with City Council and answering our questions and giving us a sense of what you see this job being and how you’ll be working effectively with both council, staff as well as the residents. So as I said they both had great backgrounds. Extensive experience and have served their communities and the companies that they’ve worked for very well so both fantastic candidates. However we did tonight choose one and we have selected Heather Johnston as our next interim city manager so again Frank thank you for your interest and Heather, both council and staff are looking forward to working with you going forward so thank you for that. Are there any other council presentations? No? ADMINISTRATIVE PRESENTATIONS. Todd Gerhardt: I just want to extend my appreciation. This wasn’t the way I wanted to be sent off but you know heaven forbid I ever get what I want. But I do appreciate it. It will be a memory I’ll never forget and I’ll never forget any of you. You know we spend so much time, Chanhassen City Council – June 22, 2020 20 personal time and professional time together and I was blessed to have great leaders as a part of my term here with the City and my department heads, you know are the greatest. I’ve said it time and time again. You know you want to hire people that are passionate about serving the public and if you don’t have that passion I don’t think you’re really going to be successful in this field and I think I have that in everybody here. And whoever my successor is they can’t fail as long as those department heads still have that burning passion to serve this community and make it better so thank you again. More than what the Gerhardt family was expecting so thank you. Mayor Ryan: You will be missed Todd. CORRESPONDENCE DISCUSSION. None. Councilwoman Tjornhom moved, Councilman McDonald 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 8:35 p.m. Submitted by Todd Gerhardt City Manager Prepared by Nann Opheim