City Council

REGULAR ANDOVER CITY COUNCIL MEETING – JUNE 4, 2024 MINUTES The Regular Bi-Monthly Meeting of the Andover City Council was called to order by Mayor Bukkila, June 4, 2024, 7:00 p.m., at the Andover City Hall, 1685 Crosstown Boulevard NW, Andover, Minnesota. Councilmembers present: Jamie Barthel, Ted Butler, and Rick Engelhardt Councilmembers absent: Randy Nelson Also present: City Administrator, Jim Dickinson City Attorney, Scott Baumgartner Others PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE RESIDENT FORUM No one came forward to address the Council. AGENDA APPROVAL Mayor Bukkila requested the addition of two agenda items: Item #5A – Approve a Temporary Intoxicating Liquor License Item #5B – Approve Planning and Zoning Commissioner Resignation and Appoint an Alternate Motion by Barthel, Seconded by Engelhardt, to approve the Agenda as amended. Motion carried unanimously. APPROVAL OF MINUTES May 21, 2024, Regular Meeting: Correct as written. Motion by Butler, Seconded by Barthel, to approve the May 21, 2024, Regular meeting minutes as presented. Motion carried unanimously. CONSENT ITEMS Regular Andover City Council Meeting Minutes – June 4, 2024 Page 2 Item 2 Approve Payment of Claims Item 3 Approve Plans & Specs/Order Ad for Bids/23-13/WM Improvements - Crosstown Blvd. NW (RR Tracks to 158th Ave. NW) - Andover Blvd. NW (Vale St. NW to Prairie Rd. NW) - Prairie Rd. NW (Andover Blvd. NW to 157th Ave. NW) (See Resolution R056-24) Item 4 Approve Lease Agreement with Anoka-Hennepin School District/2024 Andover Family Fun Fest Item 5 Approve Andover Firefighters Relief Association Contribution Formula/Process Item 5A Approve a Temporary Intoxicating Liquor License Item 5B Approve Planning and Zoning Commission Resignation and Appoint an Alternate Motion by Butler, Seconded by Barthel, to approve the Consent Agenda as read. Motion carried unanimously. Mayor Bukkila shared that a group of firefighters were present this evening. She thanked them for attending the meeting and for everything that they do for the City. She explained one of the items on the Consent Agenda was a new formula for the Fire Relief Association, which includes the firefighter’s retirement fund. She shared this was a very long-standing tradition based on little data. The Council and staff have produced a predictable process. She stated going forward there will be an established process and formula for these retirement contributions. HEARING/CONSIDER CLASSIFYING DANGEROUS DOG/4268 141st LANE NW The City Council is requested to receive a presentation, hear testimony and to consider adopting a resolution declaring a German Shepherd named Lexi owned by Kylene Knoblauch a dangerous dog. City Administrator Dickinson reviewed the information with the Council concerning a potentially dangerous dog, Lexi, at 4268 141st Lane NW. He reviewed the police report from an event that took place on May 12, 2024. Councilmember Butler asked if there were witnesses to the incident. Mr. Dickinson stated the dog owner’s daughter was present at the time of the incident. Ms. Knoblauch, 4268 141st Lane NW, came forward to address the Council. She shared she was not physically outside with her dog when the event occurred; however, her daughter was. She stated her daughter is nervous and does not feel comfortable addressing the Council so she will address them on her behalf. She shared that Lexi was off leash because her daughter was throwing a ball with her to play. She noted she is not sure how Lexi got distracted and managed to grab the one-year-old girl. She shared her daughter told her that the one-year-old was outside unattended and her daughter never saw Lexi drag the child anywhere. She explained when she went outside to retrieve Lexi after this event occurred, she went over to ask her neighbor to see the injuries on the child and the neighbor said no and slammed their door in her face. She stated her dog had never done anything like this before. She added that Lexi is hers and her daughter’s emotional support animal. Regular Andover City Council Meeting Minutes – June 4, 2024 Page 3 Mayor Bukkila asked for clarification on where the daughter saw the dog. Ms. Knoblauch showed from an aerial view where her daughter was located and where she saw the dog, which was on the edge of their cement slab. She stated her daughter could see the neighbor’s patio area. Mayor Bukkila asked if the daughter saw the dog attached to the child. Ms. Knoblauch said no. Mayor Bukkila asked Ms. Knoblauch how she knew something had happened since she did not witness it. Ms. Knoblauch stated she was inside the house and her daughter came up to the door to tell her that the neighbors are claiming that Lexi bit their child. She said when she went out their back patio door Lexi was standing right there and she immediately went into the house when she was called. Councilmember Butler asked how Ms. Knoblauch’s dogs are normally contained. Ms. Knoblauch said the dogs are normally on leashes. She noted the only reason Lexi was off of her leash was because they were playing fetch. Councilmember Butler asked if she has made any changes with how she handles her dogs since this incident occurred. Ms. Knoblauch shared she has purchased a muzzle, and they are always keeping their dogs on a leash, and they do not leave her or her daughter’s side. She added if they want to play fetch with their dogs, they are taking them somewhere outside the neighborhood to do so. Mayor Bukkila asked Ms. Knoblauch if she is denying that the dog bit the child. Ms. Knoblauch said she cannot say whether or not Lexi did bite the child because she did not physically see the incident happen. She said Lexi has never done anything like this before. Mayor Bukkila asked how old the dog is. Ms. Knoblauch said Lexi is two years old. Councilmember Barthel noted that Ms. Knoblauch is claiming that her daughter saw the neighbor's child outside; however, she did not see Lexi bite the child. He asked where her daughter was when the incident occurred. Ms. Knoblauch shared her daughter said that there was no adult outside with the child on the patio and her daughter could see onto their patio to see the child. Councilmember Barthel asked if her daughter could see the child unattended on the patio and how she did not see whether or not the dog bit the child. Ms. Knoblauch stated her daughter saw the child outside unattended prior to playing fetch with the dog. Councilmember Engelhardt asked if Lexi has any history of problematic behavior. Ms. Knoblauch said no and explained she takes Lexi to PetSmart and other places with both humans and other animals and has never had any issues. She added their other neighbors provided statements that they have never had any issues with Lexi before. Councilmember Butler stated there was a statement made earlier which said the dog may have entered the home and dragged the child outside. He asked if Ms. Knoblauch is disputing this claim. Regular Andover City Council Meeting Minutes – June 4, 2024 Page 4 Ms. Knoblauch said yes, she is disputing this as her daughter said there would not have been enough time for Lexi to go inside and grab the child. Councilmember Butler asked if the neighbor’s door was open at this time. Ms. Knoblauch said that her daughter could not remember if it was open or not. City Attorney Baumgartner asked if Lexi wears a shock collar and if she was wearing it at the time of the incident. Ms. Knoblauch said yes. Mr. Baumgartner asked to confirm that when Lexi took off running, that her daughter hit the shock collar. Ms. Knoblauch said yes. Mr. Baumgartner noted this would likely mean that her daughter observed Lexi leaving their properties and going onto the neighbor’s property. He asked if she sent a shock to the collar or just a noise tone. Ms. Knoblauch said her daughter does not remember. Mr. Baumgartner stated it is in the police report that she only sent the noise tone to the collar. He asked if her daughter had observed the dog running to leave the property and that made her hit the shock collar, at what point did she lose sight of the dog. He asked how she did not see the incident occur. He also asked if her daughter ran after Lexi. Ms. Knoblauch explained when her daughter saw Lexi leave the property she froze and was farther back in the yard so she could not directly see exactly what happened. Mr. Baumgartner asked if the dog went around a corner and if her daughter did not have sight lines to see what happened because of this. Ms. Knoblauch said yes. Mr. Baumgartner asked how long her daughter did not have eyes on the dog. Ms. Knoblauch said her daughter does not know; however, she does not believe it could have been longer than 30 seconds. Mr. Baumgartner asked if her daughter began yelling for her to come outside when she lost sight of the dog. Ms. Knoblauch explained when she was on the way to tell her mother to come outside, the child’s mother came outside yelling at her daughter that Lexi had bitten her child. Mr. Baumgartner asked where Lexi was located when Ms. Knoblauch went outside to call her inside. Ms. Knoblauch said she was right at the corner of their patio. Mr. Baumgartner asked if there is no disputing the fact that Lexi did leave their property and enter the neighbor’s property. Ms. Knoblauch explained it is hard to determine where the property lines are. Mayor Bukkila asked if the dog cleared the corner of the house that was outside of the daughter’s sight, if it is reasonable to say that the dog had entered the neighbor’s property. Ms. Knoblauch said yes; however, it is hard to say whose yard it was because of how close the houses are to each Regular Andover City Council Meeting Minutes – June 4, 2024 Page 5 other. Mayor Bukkila explained there is about five feet of side yard on these properties as the Council made a PUD adjustment for this development. Ms. Knoblauch shared she has every intention of putting Lexi into obedience training to make sure that nothing like this never happens again. She added she has no problems keeping a muzzle on her. She said she knows Lexi is a good dog and she just made a mistake. Councilmember Butler stated in the past when they have had these types of hearings come forward to the Council, there have been multiple instances of aggression by dogs before moving to declaring the dog as dangerous. Mayor Bukkila explained in past practices, the situations have to do with a dog attacking another animal with minor injuries. She said this situation has to do with a severe human bite. Mr. Baumgartner explained this situation is set apart from hearings in the past because of the severe attack on a human. Councilmember Butler explained he served on a jury in the past where the jury had to interpret what substantial bodily harm truly was. He noted this situation is similar as they have to determine the severity of the injuries to the child. He stated substantial bodily harm is defined in the City’s ordinance. Mayor Bukkila stated they do not have any information on the recovery of the child after the incident occurred. Mr. Baumgartner explained sometimes statutory definitions are not the most helpful and they have to find their answers in case law, which has interpreted the statute and its language. He said he looked into case law on this situation today and he found many cases that dealt with substantial bodily harm. He noted he was looking to find a number of different cases that he could use as a ‘measuring stick’ to compare this situation to. He explained the statute provides that if there is a designation of a dangerous dog, there is an opportunity for rehabilitation. He stated Ms. Knoblauch seems to be responsible enough to take this step. He shared in the staff packet there were emails from family and friends who knew the dog and a few of the letters reference provocation. He asked if there is anything that Ms. Knoblauch is aware of that would have constituted provocation in this case. Ms. Knoblauch said her daughter does not know. Mayor Bukkila stated if they look at the definition of a dangerous dog, then Lexi would fit the criteria. She said that regardless of whether or not Lexi entered the neighbor’s house or not, it is irrelevant. She noted it is reasonable to say that if a German Shepherd bites a child that the child is going to fall to the ground. She added she has no reason to doubt that these events occurred in any other way than what was consistent with the police report that were provided. Regular Andover City Council Meeting Minutes – June 4, 2024 Page 6 Councilmember Engelhardt said this is an unfortunate circumstance, but it does meet the criteria of a dangerous dog. He stated that no one is really at fault in this situation. Mayor Bukkila said she disagrees that no one is at fault in this situation as someone is at fault. Councilmember Barthel said he is still confused on exactly what happened in this situation; however, it is known that Lexi left her property and went onto someone else’s property and bit a child. He explained this is what they look at when it comes to dangerous dogs. Councilmember Butler shared he is struggling to make a determination on this situation as there are a lot of unknowns; however, it is very reasonable to believe that the dog did bite the child and so he has to agree with his fellow Councilmembers that this meets the requirements of the dangerous dog designation. He said this is a very unfortunate situation as you just never know how dogs will respond and act. He shared he hopes there is redemption for this situation after the dog gets some training. Mayor Bukkila said the injuries caused to the child could have been so much worse and she is grateful that it was not any worse. She added she likes that redemption is a potential option for the dog; however, she does not want to see another incident like this occur again in the future. Motion by Barthel, Seconded by Engelhart, to approve resolution R057-24, declaring a German Shepherd named Lexi owned by Kylene Knoblauch 4268 141st Lane a dangerous dog. Motion carried unanimously. Mayor Bukkila encouraged Ms. Knoblauch to speak to staff about the next steps for compliance. She wished Ms. Knoblauch the best of luck and hoped that the neighborhood is able to recover from this incident. ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT City Staff updated the Council on the administration and city department activities, legislative updates, updates on development/CIP projects, and meeting reminders/community events. (Administrative Staff Report) Mr. Dickinson reviewed the administrative staff report. He shared the recent rain has been causing some issues for construction activity, including the Red Oaks project. He noted the pipe work is primarily finished on the Phase 1 area and curb is in place. He added they anticipate blacktop to be laid in the next few weeks. He said they also anticipate being able to connect water to the homes from the water system in the fourth week of June. He shared this is about three months ahead of their original schedule. He added there are a total of 47 new home permits for the year, most of which are custom homes and require more review than a standard home. He shared he has been busy with budget items, law enforcement contract negotiations, working on CIP items, and having development meetings. Regular Andover City Council Meeting Minutes – June 4, 2024 Page 7 MAYOR/COUNCIL INPUT None. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Barthel, Seconded by Butler, to adjourn. Motion carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 7:49 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Ava Major, Recording Secretary Regular Andover City Council Meeting Minutes – June 4, 2024 Page 8 REGULAR ANDOVER CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES – JUNE 4, 2024 TABLE OF CONTENTS TOC \h \u \z \t "Heading 1,1,Heading 2,2,Heading 3,3," RESIDENT FORUM ..................................................................................................................1 AGENDA APPROVAL ............................................................................................................. 1 APPROVAL OF MINUTES ...................................................................................................... 1 CONSENT ITEMS .....................................................................................................................1 Item 2 Approve Payment of Claims .......................................................................................2 Item 3 Approve Plans & Specs/Order Ad for Bids/23-13/WM Improvements - Crosstown Blvd. NW (RR Tracks to 158th Ave. NW) - Andover Blvd. NW (Vale St. NW to Prairie Rd. NW) - Prairie Rd. NW (Andover Blvd. NW to 157th Ave. NW) (R056-24) ............................. 2 Item 4 Approve Lease Agreement with Anoka-Hennepin School District/2024 Andover Family Fun Fest ..........................................................................................................................2 Item 5 Approve Andover Firefighters Relief Association Contribution Formula/Process ....2 Item 5A Approve a Temporary Intoxicating Liquor License .................................................... 2 Item 5B Approve Planning and Zoning Commissioner Resignation and Appoint an Alternate 2 HEARING/CONSIDER CLASSIFYING DANGEROUS DOG/4268 141st LANE NW (R057- 24) ...................................................................................................................................... 2 ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT ............................................................................................... 6 MAYOR/COUNCIL INPUT ......................................................................................................7 ADJOURNMENT ...................................................................................................................... 7