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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025.11.10 CCM STUDY11/10/25 -1- DRAFT MINUTES OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BROOKLYN CENTER IN THE COUNTY OF HENNEPIN AND THE STATE OF MINNESOTA STUDY SESSION NOVEMBER 10, 2025 CITY HALL – COUNCIL CHAMBERS CALL TO ORDER The Brooklyn Center City Council met in Study Session called to order by Mayor April Graves at 6:00 p.m. ROLL CALL Mayor April Graves, Councilmembers Teneshia Kragness, Dan Jerzak, and Laurie Ann Moore. Also present were City Manager Reggie Edwards, Planning Manager Ginny McIntosh, and City Attorney Siobhan Tolar. Councilmember Kris Lawrence-Anderson was absent and excused. CITY COUNCIL MISCELLANEOUS DISCUSSION ITEMS Dr. Edwards suggested removing item 7b. The NorthStar Youth Academy presentation from the regular session agenda, and replacing it with a presentation on Random Acts of Kindness. Councilmember Moore said that nominees were informed they needed to attend tonight's meeting to be recognized by the Council and asked if Mayor Graves or Councilmembers would be reading the names of the nominees. Dr. Edwards answered that there are over 50 names, and either Staff members can read through them and acknowledge them. Mayor Graves asked if the Staff had provided the Council with the list. Dr. Edwards answered that the Staff had prepared a PowerPoint with the list of names. Mayor Graves asked if the Council is reading the nomination, or just the names. Dr. Edward suggested reading the names of the nominator and the nominee. Mayor Graves said she would like to read all of them, as they have done in the past, and asked if her fellow Councilmembers had a problem with that, since tonight's meeting had a fairly light agenda. Councilmember Moore said that all the nominators and nominees were informed, and if they so chose, they were present at tonight's meeting. She said that if the Council is asking the nominees and nominators to attend the meeting, then the Council should read the names. Mayor Graves asked whether the Council was reading the nomination with the name included. Councilmember Jerzak said he was open to honoring the recognition, and Saturday is the scheduled presentation for the Random Acts of Kindness, but unfortunately, he cannot attend due to a 11/10/25 -2- DRAFT scheduling conflict. He said that for the people who showed up at tonight's meeting, it is very important that they are recognized. Dr. Edwards noted that an example was displayed on the screen before the Council, which featured Kids For A Better World, nominated by Adopt-a-Park, along with additional information. He said that there were 61 nominations, which is more than the City has ever had before. Councilmember Jerzak said he would like to acknowledge that there are more than the City has ever had, but he does not know how realistic it would be to read all the information if it is also going to be read on Saturday. Mayor Graves understood his point and said the nominations would be listed on the screen during the meeting, so residents could read them themselves. She noted that she would also be attending the Random Acts of Kindness event on Saturday. Dr. Edwards said the only other issue to add was the Storm Water rates to the 8a. Resolutions Approving 2026 Public Utility Rates Utilities, with information listed for the Council in their packets. He explained that the Council would make a motion for each of the Utility rates individually. Councilmember Moore asked Dr. Edwards if that changed the original plan to get presentations from each Utility fund. Dr. Edwards said the presentations would remain the same, but there would not be five different Public Hearings; instead, all Utility rates would be covered under one Public Hearing. Mayor Graves said on the original agenda that there was no Storm Sewer rate; it just stated the 2026 Sewer Utility rate, and she guessed that the Council needed to have a separate Sanitary Sewer and a separate Storm Sewer. Dr. Edwards confirmed that it was correct. City Attorney Siobhan Tolar said there would be one Public Hearing, but the Council still had to make motions for each of the Utility rates separately, so the record is clear. Mayor Graves stated she understood. CITY MANAGER MISCELLANEOUS DISCUSSION ITEMS LEGISLATIVE DISCUSSION Dr. Edwards said this was a continuation of a previous conversation with the Council regarding legislative issues. He introduced Ann Lenczewski, Kate Wagner, and Alex Hassel to present the top five legislative priorities for 2026, providing clear direction to the legislative consultants. Ms. Lenczewski said she was there to present on the last session, as well as to gather feedback from the Council on the direction they would like to take as a City for legislative issues in the future. She thanked Community Development Director Jesse Anderson for all the work that he put in with them to get the Tax Increment Finance bill through legislation. She noted that several 11/10/25 -3- DRAFT issues are much bigger than the community, and she said she needs to be the Council's eyes and ears at the Capitol with their legislative delegation. Ms. Hassel said that as the Council looks ahead, she wants to hear what the Council would like her to focus on. She said she knows that bonding remains a big priority for the Council, and that she has made headway with. She noted that she was very proud that Brooklyn Center was invited to participate in the Senate Bonding Tour a few weeks ago to highlight the need for the Capital investment request. She said at the last legislative session, there was a bonding bill that passed, but it was for funding state assets, and there were no local earmarks that are traditionally part of a bonding bill. She said she is hopeful that, as Brooklyn Center continues to move up in the queue process for Capital investment, Brooklyn Center should be part of a bill this year. She said she is working on new tax legislation for the Economic Development proposals that the Council is reviewing and collaborating with the City Staff on those proposals. She noted that there is local government aid that she will continue to watch for next year, and does not believe that Brooklyn Center will face LGA cuts this upcoming session. She said that looking forward a year from now, the state will still be contending with a budgetary deficit and will seek ways to correct it. She noted that one way it will be corrected is to cut LGA funding, but she will continue to defend against that for Brooklyn Center. Ms. Hassel said she is also keeping an eye on all transportation- related matters for Brooklyn Center, including county and City cost-sharing, as well as legislative proposals for road work. Ms. Hassel said it has been an honor working with the Council, and she looks forward to hearing what else the Council would like her to focus on. Councilmember Moore said she knew the Senate had conducted a bonding tour and had heard that the House was also doing one. She asked if the House would be coming to Brooklyn Center for a bonding tour as well. Ms. Lenczewski said Brooklyn Center is not on the Minnesota House of Representatives' bonding tour and that they had previously visited the Public Works Garage last year. She said there is heavy competition for bonding, so she felt fortunate that one body came to Brooklyn Center this year. Councilmember Moore expressed concern that the Minnesota House of Representatives is not interested in visiting Brooklyn Center, despite choosing to spend $234,000 on the state office building, and will not come to the most economically disadvantaged suburb in their jurisdiction. She said she would be reaching out individually to legislators with her concerns. Councilmember Moore inquired about the delivery fees and all the taxes and fees imposed by the Democratic-controlled legislature on residents, as well as the state's expenditure of the $18 billion surplus. Ms. Lenczewski said what Councilmember Moore is referring to happened two years ago, and, indeed, the Democrats who were in charge of the House, Senate, and the Governor's office that year did increase the delivery fee in the tax component, so when residents order goods on Amazon, fees were charged that would be put towards the roads. She said she and her colleagues were not directly involved in that process and only worked on the local cashier issue. She said that most of the money received goes to MnDOT, so a state agency determines where that revenue is allocated, and there is no earmark process for the new tax. 11/10/25 -4- DRAFT Councilmember Moore said she knows there is a long list of priorities that Brooklyn Center has had for a very long time, but asked if Ms. Lenczewski had any other feedback as far as where Brooklyn Center is at now in regards to receiving bonding and any other ideas that are not on the list. Ms. Lenczewski said the Council should prioritize and direct her and Ms. Hassel's work so that their delegation knows what the Council's top priority is, along with a list of other priorities. She said the legislature has a lot more players to get things moving, so the City's best chance to move their agenda forward is to develop strong relationships with their legislators to carry the bill. She said the Council has made a lot of progress there, and the idea that the City is working on regarding taxes this year is completely new, which came from Economic Development Director Ian Alexander, but she and Ms. Hassel are on standby to do what is needed for the legislature with guidance from the Council. She noted that this will be a short legislative session, and she will take a targeted approach to spend time on the number one focus. Councilmember Moore asked Ms. Lenczewski and Ms. Hassel to lobby for work for other suburbs, such as Plymouth, which wanted a $26 million Public Works facility, as well as Robbinsdale, which asked for $20 million for a new facility. Ms. Hassel said she represents several communities seeking funding across the state, but it is essential not to view these communities as competitors, as each has its own legislative delegation to bring state resources back to their cities. She noted that she and Ms. Lenczewski are the ones carrying the message to the legislature about Brooklyn Center's priorities and facilitating the process. Councilmember Jerzak thanked Ms. Hassel and Ms. Lenczewski for their work and acknowledged the importance of establishing relationships with legislators. He said when meeting with legislators, it is not about the money but about conveying the importance of the needs of the community. He said his biggest disappointment was that no one sent a handmade thank-you card signed by all the Councilmembers to anyone on the Senate Bonding tour, thanking them for visiting Brooklyn Center, as that is part of building relationships. He told Dr. Edwards he hoped the Council could still send out that card. He continued that he thought the Senators really heard the Councilmembers on the Bonding Tour, and he was glad that there was a limited and condensed amount of priorities presented to the Senators so that they could leave Brooklyn Center with a simple memory. Mayor Graves thanked Ms. Lenczewski and Ms. Hassel for all their hard work at and outside the Capitol. She asked if the Council wanted to come back to this discussion at the end of the Council meeting. Dr. Edwards said the Council has all the information in their packet, and if the Council is comfortable with it, the issues of top priority could be determined at the next Council meeting on November 24, when they get adopted. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Graves adjourned the Study Session at 6:58 p.m.