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2025-04-07 City Council MinutesALBERTVILLE CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MINUTES April 7, 2025 – 7 pm Council Chambers Albertville City Hall 1. Call to Order Acting Mayor Olson called the meeting to order at 7 pm. 2. Pledge of Allegiance – Roll Call Present: Mayor Hendrickson, Councilmembers Cocking, Hayden, Olson and Zagorski. Mayor Hendrickson arrived at 7:03 pm Staff Present: City Administrator Nafstad, Fire Chief Bullen, City Attorney Couri, City Planner Faulkner, Utilities Superintendent Middendorf, Finance Director Lannes, and City Clerk Luedke. 3. Recognitions – Presentations – Introductions – None 4. Public Forum Ms. Jennae Hoffman, from Property Solution LLC, who represents several Homeowner Associations (HOA) within the City, provided an update on legislation being discussed at the Capital. She said certain items of concern to HOA’s were no longer moving forward but added she was concerned that the bill still included language not allowing unpaid fines to be part of a lien on a property. She reported currently if somebody violated HOA rules, they could be assessed fines which if not paid could be a lien on the property but if the bill were approved this would no longer be allowed. Ms. Hoffman said if approved they may need assistance from the City to enforce violations such as cars on blocks in the driveway or the yards not mowed because the City could assess the property through taxes if not paid. Wright County Commissioner Holland said she has been following the HOA bill also and provided costly examples of companies foreclosing or putting a lien on property without proper notice. She also reported that the Wright County Assessor’s Office has a new feature on their website that would show the homes sold in an area that could be used when looking at market values. She answered questions from Council. 5. Amendments to the Agenda There were no amendments to the agenda. MOTION made by Councilmember Zagorski, seconded by Councilmember Cocking to approve the April 7, 2025, agenda as submitted. Ayes: Cocking, Hayden, Hendrickson, Olson and Zagorski. Nays: None. The motion carried. City Council Meeting Minutes Page 2 Regular Meeting of April 7, 2025 6. Consent Agenda All items under the Consent Agenda are considered to be routine by the City staff and will be enacted by one motion. In the event an item is pulled, it will be discussed in the order it is listed on the Consent Agenda following the approval of the remaining Consent items. Items pulled will be approved by a separate motion. A.Approve the March 17, 2025, regular City Council Meeting minutes as presented. B.Authorize the Monday, April 7, 2025, payment of claims as presented, except bills specifically pulled which are passed by separate motion. The claims listing has been provided to City Council as a separate document and is available for public view at City Hall upon request. C.Approve a Temporary On-Sale Liquor License for the Albertville Lions for June 13 through June 15, 2025, for the 2025 Annual Albertville Friendly City Days Festival event. D.Approve street closures as requested for Albertville Friendly City Days and extended hours for Central Park from June 11 through June 15, 2025. MOTION made by Councilmember Cocking, seconded by Councilmember Hayden to approve the April 7, 2025, consent agenda as submitted. Ayes: Cocking, Hayden, Hendrickson, Olson and Zagorski. Nays: None. The motion carried. 7. Public Hearing – None 8. Wright County Sheriff’s Office – Updates, reports, etc. There were no updates from the Wright County Sheriff’s Office. 9. Department Business A. City Council 1. Committee Updates (STMA Ice Arena, Planning, JPWB, Parks, Fire Board, FYCC, etc.) Councilmember Cocking provided an update from the STMA Arena Board meeting which included a discussion on the advertising revenues and said the Arena Board would be discussing next year’s budget at the next meeting. Councilmember Hayden provided additional information from the Arena Board meeting. They answered questions from the other Councilmembers. City Administrator Nafstad reported that the STMA Ice Arena ended the year in black and was very busy last year. B. Building – None C. City Clerk – None D. Finance – None E. Fire – None City Council Meeting Minutes Page 3 Regular Meeting of April 7, 2025 F. Planning and Zoning 1. Backyard Chicken Discussion City Planner Faulkner presented the staff report which included information on previous discussions the City Council has had on backyard chickens, what surrounding communities were allowing and possible zoning options for consideration. City Administrator Nafstad provided additional information on the previous conversations and added that City staff was not looking for action on the item tonight but for direction as to whether the Council would like to move forward with the item and have the Planning Commission discuss it. There was Council discussion regarding backyard chickens, the pros, and cons of allowing chickens, HOA’s not allowing chickens and the eligible parcel maps for both .5 acre and 1 acre lots. There was concern around neighbors of the backyard chickens and enforcement issues. Mayor Hendrickson recognized citizens in the audience and said they were welcome to speak on the item. Ms. Kaitlin Lougiu, 10671 Karston Ave, Albertville, reported she has been talking with coworkers who live in Albertville, and they are also interested in this item. She said she understands there may be concerns regarding chickens but added as in her previous speech she recommends there be restrictions placed on those who get chickens. Ms. Lougiu provided information on the current price and age of egg purchased in stores and added she would like to show her children where their food comes from. She answered questions from Council. Mr. Mike Aasen, 10508 62nd Str, Albertville, reported he agreed with the items that Ms. Lougiu said and added that people says that they want chickens because the eggs would be cheaper but said it was very expensive to get started. He said he was not really interested in getting chickens himself but has met other residents that are. He suggested that the Council look at other cities’ ordinances and decide what would work best for our City. He said the same noise nuisance problems could happen with dogs. He answered questions from Council. Mr. Gabe Davis, 6689 Packard Ave, Otsego, reported he had chickens and said it was expensive to get started because you needed to build the coop, purchase equipment and food along with the fence and netting to keep predators out. He added he thought a couple of chickens was not worth the money because he has about 20 chickens and gets about a dozen eggs a day but from October until March his chickens do not lay any eggs, but he still need to feed and take care of them. City Attorney Couri answered questions from Council regarding enforcement issues of an ordinance allowing backyard chickens. City Administrator Nafstad provided additional information about restrictions that could be part of a licensing process for backyard chickens. Wright County Commissioner Holland provided information on a bill going through the House and Senate regarding feed lot rules and answered questions from Council. City Council Meeting Minutes Page 4 Regular Meeting of April 7, 2025 There was further Council discussion regarding allowing backyard chickens in City and the Council tabled the item. City Administrator Nafstad stated no changes will be made at this time. G.Public Works/Engineering – None H.Legal – None I.Administration 1.Authorize Hiring of Utility Worker Position City Administrator Nafstad presented the staff report and provided background information on Ms. Geraets past employment with the City. Utilities Superintendent Middendorf answered questions from Council regarding position. MOTION made by Councilmember Cocking, seconded by Councilmember Zagorski to appoint Micheyla Geraets to the full-time position of Utility Maintenance Worker (Wastewater and Utilities), at a starting wage of $33.57 per hour, conditioned on successful completion of a background check. Ayes: Cocking, Hayden, Hendrickson, Olson and Zagorski. Nays: None. The motion carried. 2. City Administrator’s Update City Administrator Nafstad presented the City Administrator’s Update which included information on upcoming projects and events within the City. Announcements and/or Upcoming Meetings April 8 Planning Commission, 7 pm April 14 STMA Arena Board, 6 pm April 21 City Council, 7 pm April 28 Joint Power Water Board, 6 pm Parks Committee, 7 pm May 5 City Council, 7 pm 10.Adjournment MOTION made by Councilmember Cocking, second by Councilmember Zagorski to adjourn the meeting at 8:11 pm. Ayes: Cocking, Hayden, Hendrickson, Olson and Zagorski. Nays: None. The motion carried. Respectfully submitted, _____________________________ Kristine A. Luedke, City Clerk