City Council Agendas & Packets

APPROVED MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION CITY OF EAST GRAND FORKS TUESDAY, AUGUST 26, 2025 – 5:00 PM CALL TO ORDER: The Work Session of the East Grand Forks City Council for Tuesday, August 26, 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, Dale Helms, Donald Casmey, 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. 1. Consider Approving Lieutenant Promotion & Request to Fill Police Investigator – Michael Hedlund Chief Hedlund said he needed to correct his comments from the previous week because the City Showcase event was going to be held from 5pm to 7pm on Wednesday, September 3rd, not 5:30pm to 7:30pm. He reminded the Council about the retirement of the Police Lieutenant in July, it created an opening in investigations, the position would now include some administrative tasks, there were three applicants that applied for the position, and Aeisso Schrage was selected to fill the position. He stated all three applicants did a good job and it was a difficult decision. He added how he was the current task force commander so he would be moving out of that position, this would open another investigative position, and it would be open to sergeants, corporals, and officers which could create an opening which would need to be filled. Mr. Galstad asked how the next task force commander would be selected. Chief Hedlund said the Board would have to decide on how to fill that vacancy. Council member Schumacher asked if this was an internal position. Chief Hedlund stated the process was completed with only internal candidates and it did not include an external process. There were no further questions. These items will be referred to a City Council Meeting for action. Work Session August 26, 2025 2. Results of Cannabis Retail Registration Drawing – Reid Huttunen Mr. Huttunen explained the random selection process was held and he thanked the staff that had helped throughout the process. He stated a primary and secondary or alternate was chosen for each zone, next week he would be asking for approval pending approval from the State issuing the full license, and then the City would be able to issue the business registration. He reminded everyone how there were many steps that would still need to be completed before the businesses would be ready to open. He said Red Iris LLC was a registered retail business that was picked for the downtown location, retailers were limited to 250, and Skol MN LLC was a microbusiness which was unlimited, and they would need to obtain the retail endorsement for the highway location. He asked for questions. Council member Pokrzywinski asked what would happen if both the primary and alternate opened and failed or were not able to open and if they would need to restart the process. Mr. Huttunen stated they would have to think about that along with a number of other questions and at some point, the current list should expire. Council member Pokrzywinski asked what would happen with ownership changes and if that would require another process. Mr. Huttunen informed the Council that the State would not allow an ownership change from the time someone was issued their preapproval through when the business opened. Council member Helms asked about them having to be licensed prior to City approval and what the process was. Mr. Huttunen said it was the original process but was changed to a preliminary process because businesses were not going to build out a space if they were not guaranteed registration and that change was made in the last legislation session. Discussion followed about how other cities did things differently than East Grand Forks, it was not known what all other cities were doing, or what their processes were going to be. There were no further questions. This item will be referred to a City Council Meeting for action. 3. Request to Move Forward with Ammonia-Based Refrigeration System & Discuss Addition & Refrigeration System Options – Jeremy King Mr. King stated that he and Mr. Huttunen had met with the steering committee about this item, JLG was available to answer questions, and after discussions it seemed that an ammonia plant was the best fit for the new ice plant for its overall performance, energy efficiency, and that it would not be phased out in the future. He told the Council the recommendation was to move forward with an ammonia system and there were three options to consider. He explained the first option was to use the existing space, Option 2 would add an addition to the building to help with the ice plant, and Option 3 would also include an addition along with an oversized system so it could run both the VFW Arena and the Blue Line Club Arena. He reminded the Council the Blue Line Arena was built in 2008, it was a synthetic system which would last around 20 to 30 years, the plant was commercially sized, and was not industrially sized. Mr. King continued saying each option had its own price point, Option 1 was estimated at $3.5 million, Option 2 was estimated at $3.6 million, and Option 3 was estimated at $4 million. He said after discussing the options with the steering committee, they would like to ask for Option 2 with Option 3 as an alternate and asked for questions. Council President Larson asked if they moved forward with Option 2 and completed Option 3 later. Mr. King said there was a difference in the size of the system, Option 2 was a 90-ton system and Option 3 was a 160-ton system. He added there was a lot to consider. Council member Helms asked where they received their information. Mr. King said it was from B32 consultants. 2|Page Work Session August 26, 2025 Council member Helms stated ammonia was one of the worst systems to move forward with because it was hazardous. He told the Council they should consider moving forward with a CO2 system which was the system that Thief River Falls just changed too. Mr. King stated the CO2 system was considered, there was a higher up-front cost, and because it was a rather new system so it was a proprietary system, and it would also require safeguards and were under higher pressures. He added how the University of Minnesota just changed their system over to ammonia and there were safety protocols in place for all systems. Council member Helms asked if they had talked to Cimco and they should really look at the systems closely before moving forward with an ammonia system. Mr. King told the Council a decision needed to be made soon because they were trying to keep the project on track. Council member Helms said he wanted to make sure they did the correct thing. Mr. Tanner Trosen from JLG commented on how they came to the conclusion for an ammonia plant, how synthetic plants were on their way out due to environmental concerns, CO2 was a good new option, but there were still some unknowns about it because it was new. He added they worked closely with consultants to ensure any plant would be as safe as it could be. He added how a CO2 system was more expensive and for a variety of reasons other places were going back to ammonia systems. Council member Peterson asked about the limitations with a CO2 system. Mr. King said the efficiency of the CO2 system dropped as the system aged and that was not the case with ammonia. Council member Pokrzywinski asked if a cost benefit analysis had been done between Options 2 and 3, how there could be more of an upfront cost, but they could save money over time. Mr. King said the information about the systems had been received on Thursday, they were still working through the information and suggested moving forward with Option 2 and include Option 3 as an alternate. Mr. Huttunen added how they needed to be able to get the bid information out and that process would allow time to look into this further. Discussion followed about the request was to set the option and type of system and including Option 3 should not add much to the design process. Council member Pokrzywinski said he was in favor of Option 3. Mayor Olstad stated after reviewing the information he would push for Option 3 for longevity of the system, and they needed to make sure they looked towards the future. He added how the ammonia system had the best benefits. Mr. Trosen told the Council that Option 3 was the best way to save funding, but the updates needed to be completed within five years or it would be a wash. Council member Helms said Cimco was the best there was, they had a lot of knowledge about these systems, and the City should be willing to talk with them. Mr. King said that Cimco did work with ammonia systems, so they were able to work on the project. Discussion followed about how the reliability and energy efficiency of the ammonia systems, how the City could reach out to Thief River Falls to see how they chose a CO2 system and how it worked, and all ice plant systems have lots of regulations. There were no further questions. This item will be referred to a City Council Meeting for action. 4. Legislative Update from Senator Mark Johnson and Representative Steve Gander State Representative Steve Gander reviewed how the regular legislative session wrapped up on May 19th, a one-day special session was held to vote on 14 items, and thanked State Senator Johnson and others that worked on the bills for the special session. He explained there have been concerns about an omnibus bill, the State required one bill for a single item, and they were able to follow having one bill for one item. He stated how 2023-2024 had a tight budget, there had been an $ 18-billion-dollar surplus in previous year, a $6 billon dollar deficit had been projected, and the State had raised taxes by $10 billion dollars. He said they were able to cut taxes for families, taxes were raised on cannabis, and they had the largest spending 3|Page Work Session August 26, 2025 cut during this last session in Minnesota history. Representative Gander said he had some bad news and some good news. He stated the bad news was the bonding for the south end water tower went nowhere because none of the local bonding dollars considered. He continued saying the sales tax exemption for the park facility improvement project was rejected along with all the other requests because the total amount being requested was too high. He added the cannabis tax was the only tax that was increased, and some fees were increased. He stated that Local Government Aid (LGA) was preserved, East Grand Forks needed that to help with the budget each year, and they were able to maintain $5 million in training funds for police departments statewide. He commented how they worked hard not to shift costs to cities and counties, they blocked an effort to override local zoning ordinances, it was a local issue, and he would not support it. He added the teacher retirement fund had been in a good place, that was no longer the case, and was something they would continue to work on. Representative Gander told the Council they were able to slow the growth of the social spending programs, the groups that were least able to care for themselves would still receive assistance, and they were able to find savings in other places along with the back to work requirement for welfare benefits would help as well. He added they cut the coverage to adults that were undocumented immigrants or illegal aliens, the kids would still be covered, but that would be a savings of $57 million over the next two years. He asked if Senator Johnson had anything else to add. State Senator Mark Johnson said those were the topics he was going to cover, he thanked the Council for the invitation to attend the meeting, and it gave them an opportunity to let people know about their experiences in St. Paul as well as answer questions or bring up issues that they might see in the next session. He commented how Representative Gander had done a great job summarizing the main points of the session and it was good to have him in St. Paul since he understood local government so well. He added he wanted to give a couple shout outs and started with Chief Hedlund and his staff, following the tragic assassination that happened in the Twin Cities, his first call was to the police department, they were on it making sure both he and Representative Gander were okay, and ensuring there was no trouble. He said it was really appreciated that and the work that was being done in town. He said there were some high-level items that did not affect the local governments and asked if there were any questions. Mayor Olstad mentioned that cannabis has been discussed earlier in the meeting and asked what was needed to get the local sales tax portion back. Representative Gander asked to see what the estimated costs were for putting the information together, forming the plan, getting it implemented, and what the costs would be following for compliance. He asked for costs so they could bring it back to the State, the tax was raised by 50%, and then taken away from the cities, so they could bring back that information to the State for further discussion. Mayor Olstad stated how the City was only having 2 places, but Moorhead was going to be unlimited, and he was not sure what the costs would be for compliance along with other things that came with it. He added it would be something the City would need to work on. Council member Helms asked if anything could be done with insurance because it was just going crazy and if something could be done was put a cap on it. Senator Johnson said one of the big issues across all insurances was rising costs for labor and materials, insurance companies profit and loss statements show they were going through some difficult times, and seemed to be putting that on the insurers. He stated he was not sure what the answer was to help reduce costs, public safety had been tied to insurance and could have increased especially because of all issues with property damage in the Twin Cities. Representative Gander explained that Minnesota had re-insurance which totaled around $500 million, where there were huge losses and high claim amounts, the State would use that funding to buy down the cost to help keep 4|Page Work Session August 26, 2025 costs down, and it was just approved again to help keep insurance premiums down. Council President Larson said availability and affordability of housing continue to be a big issue for many people, as the City tried to attract additional employers, there could be a struggle for employees to find housing. He asked if they had success stories or if there were programs the City should be trying to apply for. Senator Johnson said housing was one of the three legs of the stool, it was one of the issues that was holding back Minnesota, the other two were employees and childcare, and former Representative Dan Fabian had developed a program to help buy down infrastructure costs when trying to expand and make things more affordable, the amount of funds depended on the year, and it had been a good program. He added the State Department of Housing seemed to be more focused on homelessness in the Twin Cities and they needed to be reminded there was more to the State. He reminded everyone the next session was not a budget session and if the City had ideas, they needed to be shared. Representative Gander also brought up the forgivable loan program, it was not income based, that was in place following the flood that could help get people into homes and helped incentivize people to build and could be possible if funding was available. Council member Casmey stated that Senator Wellstone saw how well the prison system worked with communities and started the program called the Institution Community Work Group. He explained they rented space from county jails; they moved prisoners in that were ready on work release and had them build homes in communities. He said the program got shut down by the lobbyists because they were competing unfairly with contractors because the prisoners could make $1.50 per hour and they argued the prisoners were not building homes the same contractors, but the program was shut down because they could if they wanted to. He added the recidivism rate for the prison system went from 66% down to 17% for those that participated in the program and saved the State millions. He asked if they would take a look at the program again. Senator Johnson said he would and asked what kind of funding the City needed to get a sidewalk along 10th Street SE and said he was happy to help. He thanked the Council again for the invitation to the meeting. 5. 2026 Preliminary Budget Discussion – Reid Huttunen & Karla Anderson Mr. Huttunen stated that Ms. Anderson was handing out updated budget sheets, he reminded the Council the 3% levy increase was a placeholder, and with all of the revenues and expenditures the remaining deficit was $798,789 which was down from $862,000 from the previous discussion, and they were still around 15% or 14% for an increase for 2026. He said they were looking for directions on what the Council would like to see based on the information they received and that Ms. Anderson was going to be reviewing the enterprise information. Ms. Anderson started with storm water, the actuals for years 2023 and 2024, in 2025 there was small deficit budgeted, and a deficit of $19,456 budgeted for 2026. She reviewed how there were funds collected in 2024 for the flooding in 2022 and some of those funds were paid to the Water and Light Department for their flood costs. Council President Larson asked about the cash balance of $1.4 million and what the average was that was spent out of the account. Ms. Anderson said it was around $750,000. Council President Larson asked if the cash balance was the reserves for the account. Ms. Anderson said it was because they were at about 50% but not all equipment was accounted for under the fund because it was an asset that would lower the cash balance. Council President Larson asked if the cash balance was at an appropriate level. Ms. Anderson said to keep it at that level because of projects and repairs that come up. 5|Page Work Session August 26, 2025 Ms. Anderson moved on to sewer operations, how there was a deficit of $416,502 in 2023, a deficit of $916,450 in 2024, another deficit was budgeted for 2025 of $977,463, and currently a deficit of $859,973 for 2026. She stated they used to budget $300,000 but $700,000 was spent for COSA costs, that had to due with the biosolids that were being sent to Grand Forks, and staff was looking into it. She asked if they should consider implementing fines, how there used to be an issue with rainwater, but that was being addressed so this was due to biosolids. She said the cash balance was $1.7 million which was low, they should at least be at 35%, they needed to get a handle on the biosolids, and consider raising rates. Council President Larson asked if there were targeted rates for customers that were causing the cost increase. Ms. Anderson said that was something that needed to be done. Mr. Stordahl said previous years were due to the equalization basin and the biosolids from that, improvements have been made, they were targeting areas in the industrial park that could be sampled, and trying to find a solution including applying fees to those users. Ms. Anderson continued with refuse and reviewed the deficits of $23,263 in 2023, $140,489 in 2024, the budgeted deficit in 2025 of $248,383, and currently there was a deficit budgeted for 2026 totaling $161,412. She told the Council the 2026 budget did include the residential refuse increase, commercial rates still needed to be updated, and the cash balance needed to be increased. Mayor Olstad said the other two funds were at 50% and at 59% for a cash balance and the refuse fund was at a 2% cash balance. He asked what the trigger would be to bring this information to the Council to be discussed so increases could be planned for. Discussion followed about how the increase to rates has been discussed over the last couple years, the refuse fund should have been brought up years ago, it was losing money every month, and there would be payments for the garbage truck that would be coming out for the next nine years. Council member Pokrzywinski said they were looking at a 15% increase, there was a 3% increase the previous year, and asked what the increase was for the prior year. Mr. Huttunen said it was 5%. Ms. Anderson told the Council the overall average increase was 6.5% over the last 20 years. Council member Pokrzywinski asked what they would actually end at this year. Mr. Huttunen said with costs of personnel and health insurance being unknown at this time, it would be hard to say. He said the goal would be 6% to 8% and did not think he could recommend anything lower than that at this time. He said with 6.5% being the average, that could be the required increase to keep services each year, and anything lower than that could require a higher levy at some point to maintain where things were at. Council member Pokrzywinski said they needed to stop having the same conversation every August, there had to be a better way to going through the budgeting process, and have a way to project future budgets. He said he would much rather have done 5% last year instead of having a bigger spike this year. He asked when it came to next year’s budget, to have a projection for the next three to five years of what the levies would be, and keep things steady. He added this would help residents knowing to plan for 5% to 6% each year. ADJOURN: A MOTION WAS MADE BY COUNCIL MEMBER HELMS, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER RIOPELLE, TO ADJOURN THE AUGUST 26, 2025 WORK SESSION OF THE EAST GRAND FORKS, MINNESOTA CITY COUNCIL AT 6:21 P.M. Voting Aye: Riopelle, Helms, Casmey, Larson, Peterson, Schumacher, and Pokrzywinski. Voting Nay: None. _______________________________________________ Megan Nelson, City Clerk 6|Page  APPROVED MINUTE SUMMARY OF THE CLOSED MEETING CITY OF EAST GRAND FORKS TUESDAY, AUGUST 26, 2025 – FOLLOWING THE WORK SESSION CALL TO ORDER: The Closed Meeting of the East Grand Forks City Council for Tuesday, August 26, 2025 was called to order by Council President Larson at 6:23 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, Dale Helms, Donald Casmey, and Karen Peterson. Staff Present: Ron, Galstad, City Attorney; Reid Huttunen, City Administrator; and Megan Nelson, City Clerk. DETERMINATION OF A QUORUM: The Council President Determined a Quorum was present. 1. The meeting will be closed pursuant to MN Statute 13D.05 Subd. 3(C)(3) to develop or consider offers or counteroffers for the purchase of real or personal property identified as Parcels No. 83.02308.00 and No. 44-2213-00001-000. A MOTION WAS MADE BY COUNCIL MEMBER HELMS, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER POKRZYWINSKI, TO MOVE INTO CLOSED SESSION. Voting Aye: Riopelle, Helms, Casmey, Larson, Peterson, Schumacher, and Pokrzywinski. Voting Nay: None. Discussion followed in Closed Session. A MOTION WAS MADE BY COUNCIL MEMBER POKRZYWINSKI, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER RIOPELLE, TO MOVE INTO OPEN SESSION. Voting Aye: Riopelle, Helms, Casmey, Larson, Peterson, Schumacher, and Pokrzywinski. Voting Nay: None. ADJOURN: A MOTION WAS MADE BY COUNCIL MEMBER HELMS, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER RIOPELLE, TO ADJOURN THE AUGUST 26, 2025 CLOSED MEETING OF THE EAST GRAND FORKS, MINNESOTA CITY COUNCIL AT 6:42 P.M. Voting Aye: Riopelle, Helms, Casmey, Larson, Peterson, Schumacher, and Pokrzywinski. Voting Nay: None. _______________________________________________ Megan Nelson, City Clerk