Anoka City Council

September 29, 2025 (Special) Page 1 of 4 SPECIAL MEETING OF THE ANOKA CITY COUNCIL GREEN HAVEN GOLF COURSE AND EVENT CENTER EAST ROOM SEPTEMBER 29, 2025 1. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Skogquist called the special meeting of the City Council to order at 5:03 p.m. 2. ROLL CALL Present at roll call: Mayor Skogquist, Councilmembers Campbell, Rostad, Scott, and Weaver. Staff present: City Manager Greg Lee; Community Development Director Doug Borglund; Assistant City Engineer Ben Nelson; Police Chief Andy Youngquist; Police Captain Schneider; Enterprise Operations Director Kevin Morelli; Golf Pro Green Haven Ryan Wagner; Superintendent Green Haven Mike Brual; Assistant Superintendent Green Haven Brandon Howard; Utility Director Del Vancura; City Attorney Scott Baumgartner Absent at roll call: None. 3. ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS 3.1 ORD/Temporarily Suspending the Acceptance, Processing, or Approval of Lawful Gambling LG214 Premise Permit Applications. (1st Reading) City Manager Greg Lee shared a background report stating this item had been added to the agenda according to City policy. He said at the September 22 meeting, the Council discussed the need to review the charitable gambling section of the City code. Staff was directed to do research on what other cities have and to work with an attorney, other than BBG, LLC, on drafting proposed changes to that section and to bring it back to the City Council for consideration at a future meeting. The Council stated that they would like to move this forward as quickly as possible and stated that the process could potentially take at least 60 days. He shared the draft ordinance that would temporarily suspend the City’s acceptance, processing, or approval of lawful gambling LG214 Premise Permit applications while the review process is occurring. This suspension would include any applications currently pending. He noted the Council will need to determine when the suspension begins and expires, which is outlined in Section 6 of the proposed ordinance. Councilmember Campbell said that, given the fact that we are reviewing the ordinance, it makes sense to postpone any further approvals until the ordinance review is complete. September 29, 2025 (Special) Page 2 of 4 Councilmember Weaver agreed, stating this review needs to be comprehensive and complete, and focus on Anoka first, as well as everyone involved. Councilmember Rostad disagreed, stating that just because we want to review the ordinance, that shouldn’t result in penalizing a group, regardless of whether we like or dislike the potential outcome. She said we have due process in place and that process should be followed according to City code and State law, and that it is not the applicant’s fault that the City did something incorrectly. Councilmember Weaver said he agreed with following the rules but noted how that could be done in this instance when the code requires a two-year City operational requirement, and this most recent one was only in operation in the City for one day. Councilmember Rostad said if we apply the rules, we have to look at all involved, noting other charitable gambling associations may not be following the law either. She noted the next item was consideration of a temporary liquor license and how the applicant didn’t apply at the correct time, which has since caused a delay, and while they are an amazing group will approve their license regardless of the delay. This was just another example that we need to apply the rules fairly. Councilmember Weaver agreed that the rules need to apply to all, which is the reason for the pause. He noted the temporary liquor license application was received September 12 and should have been on the September 22 meeting and not this meeting, and questioned if staff may have made an error on this as well. Councilmember Rostad said errors will occur, but that doesn’t mean people have to fall victim to the error, and that there is a long history of gambling in Anoka, which results in huge impacts on many organizations. Alyssa Neidenfuer, Our Lady of the Epiphany Foundation, shared their background and the strong community ties to Anoka, and they know they were very present in the community. She referred to the City’s business location requirements, which result in less than 48% of revenue, and how three other Anoka organizations are in other cities, and how this seems contradictory. She said this review could reduce charitable proceeds in half and take 60 days to analyze how each organization has to report regarding their trade area, and that she doesn’t see how this could be a very time-consuming task since the City receives reports monthly now. She noted several cities in their trade area allow for waivers of business location requirements, including Ramsey, Rogers, Elk River, Fridley, and others. Jay Tomaszewski, Our Lady of Epiphany Foundation, referred to the September 22 worksession where City Attorney Scott Baumgartner shared his involvement in Anoka Ramsey Athletic Association (ARAA) by filing organizational paperwork 30 years ago and how his current involvement was limited to bylaws review. He September 29, 2025 (Special) Page 3 of 4 noted the Secretary of State’s Office had re-registered this organization six times, most recently in 2024, and that someone who has influence over the City’s ordinance and with dual representation over the largest gambling organization in the City, there appears to be a conflict of interest, whether actual or perceived. He said there have been leases since 2018 and bylaws review since 2024, and that their application has been on file since July. He noted they intend to contact the State Gambling Board regarding this incident, as they believe there were some inconsistencies occurring. Mayor Skogquist explained how the Council had required the City Attorney not to be involved in this discussion due to his relationship with ARAA, so that concern has been addressed. He said there appears to be a system failure on many fronts with this situation, but highlighted how all organizations do great things. He said he was concerned with the situation that resulted when an establishment wanted to change its organization and how the entity applied, then reapplied, which was frustrating. He said once he started to do his own research, he discovered a vast majority of organizations were out of compliance with their trade areas and felt the reporting was not being monitored very well. He said he could go either way with this proposal, but didn’t want the City to get involved between a business and its selection of a charitable organization. He said he’d like to get more information first before making any final decisions. Motion by Mayor Skogquist, seconded by Councilmember Scott, to table first reading of an ordinance temporarily suspending the acceptance, processing, or approval of lawful gambling LG214 Premise Permit applications. Councilmember Weaver clarified that if tabled, we can review everything before we look at this again. He said if so, he felt this was fair and hoped staff would bring forward the necessary corrections, get reports from everyone who was delinquent, and address all discrepancies. City Attorney Scott Baumgartner said he appreciated the conflict of interest point that was made and said that is why he brought it forward at the last worksession to make his involvement known. He said he agreed that the Council did the right thing by asking for his recusal, but wanted to clarify whether the current application moves forward or not if the ordinance is tabled. Mayor Skogquist said this action, if approved, would table consideration of the ordinance amendment only. Councilmember Weaver said he had no problem pausing the process and did not want to get in the way of any business choosing who they partner with, but that he just wants to make sure the ordinance is clear. Upon a roll call vote: Mayor Skogquist, Councilmembers Campbell, Scott, and Weaver voted in favor. Councilmember Rostad voted nay. Motion carried. September 29, 2025 (Special) Page 4 of 4 4. NEW BUSINESS 4.1 Issuance of a Temporary On-Sale Liquor License; Anoka Lions Club at Vintage Fest on October 4, 2025. Mr. Lee shared a background report stating Anoka Lions Club applied for a Temporary On-Sale Liquor License for the October 4, 2025, Vintage Fest event. Unfortunately, the application was not submitted in time for it to be considered by the City Council at the September 15, 2025; therefore, a Special City Council meeting has been called for tonight. This is per the request of Vicki Violet of Anoka Lions Club, which was received on September 24, 2025. He noted that moving forward, staff will be requiring 60-day application windows to ensure sufficient time is allowed for these types of items. Councilmember Weaver asked if the Council can add items to an agenda after publication. Mr. Baumgartner explained that while the Council is allowed to control its agendas, he stressed the importance of publishing an agenda to inform the public of items that will be discussed. Councilmember Weaver said that if this item had been added to the September 15 meeting, would it have been included on the Consent Agenda item? He said that if not, he’d place the onus on the staff that it should have been included on the September 22 agenda. Mayor Skogquist agreed the item could have been included on the September 22 agenda, but felt staff may have internal timelines that need to be followed, and suggested possibly publishing deadlines for applicants going forward. Motion by Councilmember Scott, seconded by Councilmember Rostad, to approve issuance of a Temporary On-Sale Liquor License; Anoka Lions Club at Vintage Fest on October 4, 2025. Vote taken. All ayes. Motion carried. 5. ADJOURNMENT Councilmember Campbell made a motion to adjourn the Special Council meeting. Councilmember Scott seconded the motion. Vote taken. All ayes. Motion carried. Time of adjournment: 5:31 p.m. Submitted by: Cathy Sorensen, TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc. Approval Attestation: Amy T. Oehlers, City Clerk