City Council Agendas & Packets

APPROVED MINTUES OF THE CITY COUNCIL CITY OF EAST GRAND FORKS TUESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2025 – 5:00 PM CALL TO ORDER: The Council Meeting of the East Grand Forks City Council for Tuesday, August 19, 2025 was called to order by Council President Larson at 5:00 P.M. CALL OF ROLL: On a Call of Roll the following members of the East Grand Forks City Council were present: Mayor Mark Olstad, Council President Brian Larson, Council Vice-President Tim Riopelle, Council members Tami Schumacher, Ben Pokrzywinski, and Karen Peterson. Staff Present: Karla Anderson, Finance Director; Jeff Boushee, Fire Chief; Maggie Brockling, Economic Development Director; Nancy Ellis, City Planner; Steve Emery, City Engineer; Ron Galstad, City Attorney; Michael Hedlund, Police Chief, Charlotte Helgeson, Library Director; Reid Huttunen, City Administrator; Jeremy King, Parks and Recreation Superintendent; Megan Nelson, City Clerk; and Jason Stordahl, Public Works Director. DETERMINATION OF A QUORUM: The Council President Determined a Quorum was present. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: OPEN FORUM: Council President Larson stated the open form was an opportunity for members of the public to address the City Council on items not on the current agenda and items requiring Council action maybe deferred to staff or Boards and Commissions for research and future Council Agendas if appropriate. He asked if anyone would like to address the City Council, please come up to the podium to do so. No one came forward. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: 1. Consider approving the minutes of the “Council Meeting” for the East Grand Forks, Minnesota City Council of August 5, 2025. 2. Consider approving the minute summary of the “Closed Meeting” for the East Grand Forks, Minnesota City Council of August 5, 2025. 3. Consider approving the minutes of the “Work Session” for the East Grand Forks, Minnesota City Council of August 12, 2025. 4. Council approving the minutes of the “Special Meeting” for the East Grand Forks, Minnesota City Council of August 12, 2025. City Council Meeting August 19, 2025 A MOTION WAS MADE BY COUNCIL MEMBER POKRZYWINSKI, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER RIOPELLE, TO APPROVE ITEMS ONE (1) THROUGH FOUR (4). Voting Aye: Pokrzywinski, Riopelle, Larson, Peterson, and Schumacher. Voting Nay: None. Absent: Helms and Casmey. SCHEDULED BID LETTINGS: NONE. SCHEDULED PUBLIC HEARINGS: NONE CONSENT AGENDA: Items under the “Consent Agenda” will be adopted with one motion; however, council members may request individual items to be pulled from the consent agenda for discussion and action if they choose. 5. Consider approving the Exempt Gambling Permit application for the Knights of Columbus Christ the King Council 5341 to hold raffles from November 1, 2025 through June 6, 2026 at Sacred Heart located at 200 3rd St NW East Grand Forks, MN 56721 and waive the 30-day waiting period. 6. Consider adopting Resolution No. 25-08-62 approving the summary of the City Administrator’s evaluation which states he generally exceeds the performance standard with his job performance. A MOTION WAS MADE BY COUNCIL MEMBER PETERSON, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER SCHUMACHER, TO APPROVE ITEMS FIVE (5) AND SIX (6). Voting Aye: Pokrzywinski, Riopelle, Larson, Peterson, and Schumacher. Voting Nay: None. Absent: Helms and Casmey. ACKNOWLEDGE RECEIPT OF REPORTS OF OFFICERS, BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS: 7. Regular meeting minutes of the Water, Light, Power, and Building Commission for July 16, 2025 and the minute summary from the July 16, 2025 closed meeting. COMMUNICATIONS: 8. A resignation letter has been received from Erika Perez who is stepping down as the Public Works Supervisor as of August 8, 2025. 9. A retirement letter has been received from Kevin Hanson who is retiring as a Mechanic from the Public Works Department as of August 15, 2025. 10. A resignation letter has been received from Joshua Jackson who is stepping down as a Truck Driver from the Public Works Department as of August 22, 2025. 11. The two items that were tabled from the special meeting on August 12th have not been included on this agenda because the Public Works Director is working through a process on staffing for his department. 2|Page City Council Meeting August 19, 2025 OLD BUSINESS: 12. Consider adopting Ordinance No. 48, 4th Series granting to Northern States Power Company permission to erect a gas distribution system for the purposes of constructing, operating, repairing, and maintaining in the City of East Grand Forks, the necessary gas pipes, mains, and appurtenances for the transmission or distribution of gas to the city and its inhabitants and others and transmitting gas into and through the city and to use the public grounds and public ways of the city for such purposes. (2nd Reading). A MOTION WAS MADE BY COUNCIL MEMBER POKRZYWINSKI, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER RIOPELLE, TO ADOPT ORDINANCE NO. 48, 4TH SERIES GRANTING TO NORTHERN STATES POWER COMPANY PERMISSION TO ERECT A GAS DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM FOR THE PURPOSES OF CONSTRUCTING, OPERATING, REPAIRING, AND MAINTAINING IN THE CITY OF EAST GRAND FORKS, THE NECESSARY GAS PIPES, MAINS, AND APPURTENANCES FOR THE TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF GAS TO THE CITY AND ITS INHABITANTS AND OTHERS AND TRANSMITTING GAS INTO AND THROUGH THE CITY AND TO USE THE PUBLIC GROUNDS AND PUBLIC WAYS OF THE CITY FOR SUCH PURPOSES. (2ND READING). Mr. Huttunen reminded the Council staff had been working to finalize a few items in the ordinance, it had been finalized that day, and the updated ordinance was in the packet. He explained there were three minor changes that included Section 3.1 dealt with how abandoned gas facilities were handled, Section 5 dealt with tree trimming and how the City needed to be notified if they would be trimming trees in the right-of- way, and Section 6.1 dealt with the indemnity of the City for projects when the City requested it. He said those had been changed since the first reading and were not major or changed the purpose of the ordinance so this could still be the second reading and be publicized. Mr. Galstad said all modifications were made in the favor of the City, the issues were resolved, and thanked Xcel for working through the process. Voting Aye: Pokrzywinski, Riopelle, Larson, Peterson, and Schumacher. Voting Nay: None. Absent: Helms and Casmey. 13. Consider adopting Ordinance No. 49, 4th Series implementing a gas service franchise fee on Northern States Power Company for providing gas service within the City of East Grand Forks (2nd Reading). A MOTION WAS MADE BY COUNCIL MEMBER RIOPELLE, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER PETERSON, TO ADOPT ORDINANCE NO. 49, 4TH SERIES IMPLEMENTING A GAS SERVICE FRANCHISE FEE ON NORTHERN STATES POWER COMPANY FOR PROVIDING GAS SERVICE WITHIN THE CITY OF EAST GRAND FORKS (2ND READING). Voting Aye: Riopelle, Larson, Peterson, and Schumacher. Voting Nay: Pokrzywinski. Absent: Helms and Casmey. NEW BUSINESS: 14. Consider approving the ordinance summary for Ordinance No. 48, 4th Series to be used for publication in place of the full ordinance. 3|Page City Council Meeting August 19, 2025 A MOTION WAS MADE BY COUNCIL MEMBER RIOPELLE, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER POKRZYWINSKI, TO APPROVE THE ORDINANCE SUMMARY FOR ORDINANCE NO. 48, 4TH SERIES TO BE USED FOR PUBLICATION IN PLACE OF THE FULL ORDINANCE. Voting Aye: Pokrzywinski, Riopelle, Larson, Peterson, and Schumacher. Voting Nay: None. Absent: Helms and Casmey. 15. Consider authorizing the purchase of six new mobile radios from Stone’s Mobile Radio for a total of $46,055.52 for the East Grand Forks Police Department. A MOTION WAS MADE BY COUNCIL MEMBER PETERSON, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER SCHUMACHER, TO AUTHORIZE THE PURCHASE OF SIX NEW MOBILE RADIOS FROM STONE’S MOBILE RADIO FOR A TOTAL OF $46,055.52 FOR THE EAST GRAND FORKS POLICE DEPARTMENT. Voting Aye: Pokrzywinski, Riopelle, Larson, Peterson, and Schumacher. Voting Nay: None. Absent: Helms and Casmey. 16. Consider approving the 2025 update to the Title VI and Limited English Proficiency (LEP) Plan which is a joint plan between the City of East Grand Forks and Cities Area Transit. A MOTION WAS MADE BY COUNCIL MEMBER PETERSON, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER POKRZYWINSKI, TO APPROVE THE 2025 UPDATE TO THE TITLE VI AND LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY (LEP) PLAN WHICH IS A JOINT PLAN BETWEEN THE CITY OF EAST GRAND FORKS AND CITIES AREA TRANSIT. Voting Aye: Pokrzywinski, Riopelle, Larson, Peterson, and Schumacher. Voting Nay: None. Absent: Helms and Casmey. 17. Consider approving the Solid Waste Disposal and Management Agreement between the City of East Grand Forks and the City of Grand Forks for use of the Grand Forks landfill. A MOTION WAS MADE BY COUNCIL MEMBER PETERSON, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER RIOPELLE, TO APPROVE THE SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL AND MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF EAST GRAND FORKS AND THE CITY OF GRAND FORKS FOR USE OF THE GRAND FORKS LANDFILL. Voting Aye: Pokrzywinski, Riopelle, Larson, Peterson, and Schumacher. Voting Nay: None. Absent: Helms and Casmey. 18. Consider adopting Resolution No. 25-08-63 approving the hiring of Ivan Hagen as a Mechanic for the Public Works Department at a salary of $30.29 per hour. 4|Page City Council Meeting August 19, 2025 A MOTION WAS MADE BY COUNCIL MEMBER SCHUMACHER, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER RIOPELLE, TO ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 25-08-63 APPROVING THE HIRING OF IVAN HAGEN AS A MECHANIC FOR THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT AT A SALARY OF $30.29 PER HOUR. Voting Aye: Pokrzywinski, Riopelle, Larson, Peterson, and Schumacher. Voting Nay: None. Absent: Helms and Casmey. CLAIMS: 19. Consider adopting Resolution No. 25-08-64 authorizing the City of East Grand Forks to approve purchases from Border States Trophy the goods referenced in check number 44899 for a total of $43.00 whereas Council member Riopelle is personally interested financially in the contract. A MOTION WAS MADE BY COUNCIL MEMBER PETERSON, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER SCHUMACHER, TO ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 25-08-64 AUTHORIZING THE CITY OF EAST GRAND FORKS TO APPROVE PURCHASES FROM BORDER STATES TROPHY THE GOODS REFERENCED IN CHECK NUMBER 44899 FOR A TOTAL OF $43.00 WHEREAS COUNCIL MEMBER RIOPELLE IS PERSONALLY INTERESTED FINANCIALLY IN THE CONTRACT. Voting Aye: Pokrzywinski, Larson, Peterson, and Schumacher. Voting Nay: None. Abstain: Riopelle. Absent: Helms and Casmey. 20. Consider authorizing the City Administrator/Clerk-Treasurer to issue payment of recommended bills and payroll. A MOTION WAS MADE BY COUNCIL MEMBER PETERSON, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER RIOPELLE, TO AUTHORIZE THE CITY ADMINISTRATOR/CLERK- TREASURER TO ISSUE PAYMENT OF RECOMMENDED BILLS AND PAYROLL. Voting Aye: Pokrzywinski, Riopelle, Larson, Peterson, and Schumacher. Voting Nay: None. Absent: Helms and Casmey. COUNCIL/STAFF REPORTS: Mayor Olstad stated Heritage Days had been held, there was a great turnout, the parade was great, and the hotdish contest was wonderful and had eight contestants. He said the Polish Ruben Hotdish won first prize this year and it was first time the contestant entering the contest. Mr. Huttunen told the Council the cannabis registration closed a couple weeks ago, the drawing for the two registrations was going to be held on Thursday, and it was rescheduled to 2pm which would be taking place in Council Chambers so anyone interested could attend and watch the process. He added there were around 74 entries for both locations. 5|Page City Council Meeting August 19, 2025 Mr. Emery stated Zavorals had started the day before on the sidewalk project on 17th Ave SE and it would be completed by the time school started. He added ICS had been working on the Lift Station 13 rehab project, they had been focused on the control building, and things had been going well. Chief Hedlund stated in 2 weeks it would be the City’s Showcase, it would be the biggest and best yet, there were many agencies and organizations that would be participating, and it would be held from 5:30pm to 7:30pm on September 3rd. Mr. Galstad asked where it would be held. Chief Hedlund said it would be in the parking lot area by restaurant row. Mayor Olstad said they could come out and try to dunk him in the dunk tank. Chief Hedlund said the dunk tank was going to be a fundraiser and food raiser for the East Grand Forks Food Shelf and along with Mayor Olstad, Representative Gander would be participating along with others. Council member Pokrzywinski said he had a follow up question and asked if there would be two applicants per zone regarding cannabis. Mr. Huttunen said it would be one for each zone, an alternate would also be drawn, and just because someone was drawn, it did not mean they would be opening their doors the next day. He explained applicants only had preliminary approval from the State and there were additional steps they needed to complete for both the State and local levels to make sure they were compliant. He added there was one primary for each zone and one alternate for each zone in the case the first applicant was not able to complete the steps and open a business. Council member Pokrzywinski asked if the downtown district was for retail and industrial was for cultivation. Mr. Huttunen explained the lottery was for two retail locations and the application process was open and available for anyone that wanted to apply for manufacturing or cultivating because there was no limit on those types of businesses and they could apply at any time. ADJOURN: A MOTION WAS MADE BY COUNCIL MEMBER RIOPELLE, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER POKRZYWINSKI, TO ADJOURN THE AUGUST 19, 2025 REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING OF THE EAST GRAND FORKS, MINNESOTA CITY COUNCIL AT 5:16 P.M. Voting Aye: Pokrzywinski, Riopelle, Larson, Peterson, and Schumacher. Voting Nay: None. Absent: Helms and Casmey. _______________________________________________ Megan Nelson, City Clerk 6|Page  APPROVED MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING CITY OF EAST GRAND FORKS TUESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2025 – FOLLOWING THE COUNCIL MEETING CALL TO ORDER: The Special Meeting of the East Grand Forks City Council for Tuesday, August 19, 2025 was called to order by Council President Larson at 5:24 P.M. CALL OF ROLL: On a Call of Roll the following members of the East Grand Forks City Council were present: Mayor Mark Olstad, Council President Brian Larson, Council Vice-President Tim Riopelle, Council members Tami Schumacher, Ben Pokrzywinski, and Karen Peterson. Staff Present: Karla Anderson, Finance Director; Jeff Boushee, Fire Chief; Maggie Brockling, Economic Development Director; Nancy Ellis, City Planner; Michael Hedlund, Police Chief, Charlotte Helgeson, Library Director; Reid Huttunen, City Administrator; Jeremy King, Parks and Recreation Superintendent; Megan Nelson, City Clerk; and Jason Stordahl, Public Works Director. DETERMINATION OF A QUORUM: The Council President Determined a Quorum was present. 1. Discussion on the 2026 Budget. – The budget information will be brought to and presented at the special meeting. Mr. Huttunen said they would be going through a presentation, at any time it could be stopped to answer questions, and there would be time for discussion at the end. He explained this included a snapshot of how 2024 ended, what had been budgeted for 2025, and a high-level overview of the preliminary budget for 2026. He stated that Ms. Anderson was putting finishing touches on the preliminary budget and it would be sent out after the meeting or first thing the next day so they would have time to review the budget before the next meeting. Mr. Huttunen explained in 2024 the City collected a lot of back taxes from previous years, some expenditures were lower than expected, due to a lack of snowfall there was less overtime, and utilities were lower due to a milder winter. He stated that because of those factors the general fund reserve balance increased by $943,000 to close out the 2024-year end. He added how they did talk a lot about the percentage of reserves available; it was usually a percent of the revenues, the goal was to stay between 35% and 50%, and the estimate at the 2024 year end to be at 62% of revenues. Mr. Huttunen continued with 2025, projected revenues were estimated to be $13,711,000, total expenditures were $14,091,000, the property tax levy was sent at 3% higher than it was in 2024, and the dollar value of the property taxes was $7,137,984. He reminded the Council that in order to balance the budget, they planned to use $478,318 from reserves, and he noted that the value of 1% of the levy in 2024 Special Meeting August 19, 2025 was approximately $69,000, and the $478,000 represented a 7% tax levy. He said they would be starting with about a 10% levy increase from 2024 with the combination of tax levy increase and reserve expenditure. He reviewed the tax levy history back to 2002, it showed the ups and downs of tax levies over the years which included a 0% and -1%, and how there were substantial increases in 2016 and 2017. He said it would be important to talk about the best way to use the reserves because they have increased over the years, how they could use the reserves to buy down the levy, but make sure they did not use reserves to the point where another large increase would be needed. Council member Pokrzywinski asked if they had not done the 0% and -1% and maintained an average amount, if they knew what that average number would be. Mr. Huttunen said he had not done that calculation but estimated it might be around 5% or 6% average. Council member Pokrzywinski said that it could help with future planning and how the off years affected budgeting in the years that followed so they were able to avoid that scenario again because that was not sustainable. Mr. Huttunen moved on to 2026 the estimates that had been prepared up to this point. He stated they started with proposed 3% levy increase which was an increase of $214,139 so 1% of the levy would be $71,379. He stated there was a slight increase in local government aid in 2026 so the City would be receiving $2,468,772 which was not quite $6,000 more than the previous year. He reminded everyone that the City’s Local Government Aid (LGA) received in 2026 was still lower than what was received in 2014 by about $50,000. He stated in 2014 LGA represented about 27% of the City’s overall budget, that was now around 16%, so it continued to be an uphill battle for the City. Council member Pokrzywinski said LGA was a talking point regarding the State’s budget and asked where that ended up. Mr. Huttunen said there was no reduction made to LGA so going into 2026 it was left untouched. He added the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities thought it would be brought up again while the State is trying to address the budget deficit. Mr. Huttunen moved on to revenues, there was going to be a loss to in what was collected, more work was needed on that, and one of the areas that would be reduced was in ice rentals with the facility improvements that were going to be done. He stated they were still working through the expense side as well with a reduction in utilities and contingency plans while they were working through the schedule for the upgrades to the park facilities. He said the other area of reduction included funding received for staffing from the Drug Task Force. He stated the total increase of proposed expenditures was $638,000 over 2025, there were still variables because they still needed to negotiate with all four labor unions which have not started but would be over the next coming weeks, there was an increase included in the budget totaling $322,000 for both full and part time positions, steps and a cost of living increase, an increase for health insurance which was still an unknown, and that information usually becomes available in October of each year. He added how there would be an increase due to everyone getting older because the plans were based on age and there was a proposed 16% increase to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota plans. He stated the start of 2026 also included the start of paid family leave which they were estimating $56,000. Mr. Huttunen reminded the Council they had included a 3% increase to the levy, with everything else included, there was an $862,301 deficit, and to balance it, there would be a 15% levy increase if it was all property tax. He asked for questions, there were none, so he continued with the proposed purchases for 2026, and included a new pickup for $60,000 for the Fire Department, a $65,000 for a pickup for the Parks Department, $9,000 for drones that would be used by the Police Department, and continued down the list of other proposed items. He added the list included a new SUV for the Police Department which would replace the pickup which would be used as the School Resource Officer’s vehicle. He said the top six items were not items that were regularly budgeted, the City would need to plan and budget when the Federal Government required the purchase for a new bus for transit services, and the remainder of the list 2|Page Special Meeting August 19, 2025 was annual items which included $290,000 for the annual street maintenance. He told the Council that line item had been increased by $10,000 over the last few years, next year they would plan for $300,000, and pause at that point to see how much work that could get done. He added how they had been successful utilizing those funds over the last couple years. Mr. Huttunen moved on to the Capital Financing fund, it had been brought up when they discussed the purchase of a motorgrader or payloader, and how information showed the payments that would be made in the coming years and was usually paid back over a nine-year period. He said usually the payments come from the general fund, from time to time they did come from enterprise funds, and there were two items that were scheduled to be purchased in 2026 that include the fuel island and a mower with a broom for the Parks Department. Council President Larson asked if this was the fund where the City borrowed from itself and paid it back. Ms. Anderson said that was correct but if they purchased something like radios, that was usually paid back within five years because technology could change so much. Mr. Huttunen told the Council the listed payments were already committed payments going back to that fund, the two proposed purchases were still up for discussion, and the amount coming from the general fund was listed for each year. Mr. Huttunen started in on the Building Maintenance Fund, he reminded the Council that this fund was not specifically tied to the General Fund, Water and Light transfer funds to the City, the first year they transferred $400,000 was in 2025, and the year-end balance would be around $409,000. He explained they were planning to exceed the balance amount if all projects moved forward in 2026, if that was the case they would need to discuss the long-term plans for this fund, and knowing there was a healthy reserve balance as well as knowing the Building Maintenance Fund could be rebuilt after a couple of years. He stated this was a high-level overview, this would be brought back to the next work session to review the information further, and there would also be a discussion on enterprise funds. He said they would need to set the preliminary levy before September 30th and the final budget did not need to be set until the end of December. He reminded the Council how once the preliminary levy was set, they could not go up from there, but they could reduce it. He asked for questions. Mayor Olstad asked if $71,739 was 1% of the levy for 2025. Mr. Huttunen said that was 1% for 2026 based on the levy from 2025. Council President Larson asked if there were questions and there were none. He thanked staff for putting the information together and walking through it in a clear manner. ADJOURN: A MOTION WAS MADE BY COUNCIL MEMBER RIOPELLE, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER POKRZYWINSKI, TO ADJOURN THE AUGUST 19, 2025 SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING OF THE EAST GRAND FORKS, MINNESOTA CITY COUNCIL AT 5:47 P.M. Voting Aye: Pokrzywinski, Riopelle, Larson, Peterson, and Schumacher. Voting Nay: None. Absent: Helms and Casmey. _______________________________________________ Megan Nelson, City Clerk 3|Page