9.g City Admin Report for 07 18 23 City Council Meeting1
Staff Report
Date of Meeting: July 18, 2023, City Council Meeting
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Kyle Morell, City Administrator
Re: City Administrator Report
______________________________________________________________________________
Parks Plan Update
The Plan was presented to Council at their July 5 Work Session. The Planning Commission will
hold a public hearing for the Plan at their September meeting. I am working with Met Council to
put the Comp Plan Amendment together that will be sent out for the Adjacent and Affected
Jurisdiction review.
Gateway Trail Project
City Engineer Ryan Goodman and I met with Nathan Moe and Kent Skaar from the Minnesota
Department of Natural Resources (DNR) on Monday, July 10, 2023. We discussed the next
steps in the work plan, including the environmental review, soil borings, and topographical
survey. Ryan and the DNR are working to complete these items before the end of the year. This
group plans to meet monthly to ensure the project stays on schedule.
Kent explained that the LCCMR funding has a hard deadline of June 30, 2027. All spending
must be completed before that date. The City would need to plan for 2026 construction to
complete the project before the grant funding disappears. Our DNR Grant Administrator has
also contacted me. LCCMR administers the project. The funding comes from the DNR.
I spoke with Washington County Public Works Director Wayne Sandberg on Thursday. He and
his department will work with County Administration to navigate the City’s request for County
support through the Board process. I plan to meet with the County and the DNR in the next
week or two to discuss the County’s role as fiscal agent for the project.
Water Tower Barn Project
I attended a DEED Capital Projects Information Session on Monday, July 10. DEED and MMB
will be administering the Water Tower Barn project and funds. DEED received 8 times more
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funding this year than in previous years but did not receive 8 times the staffing. They are slowly
reaching out to all grant recipients.
Trash and Recycling Services
At the July 5 work session meeting, the Council extended the 60-day exclusive negotiation
period with Waste Management (WM) by 30 days (to August 7, 2023.) The City has an
Agreement with Waste Management on an Organized Collection contract. On Wednesday, June
14, I meet with Washington County to discuss updating Chapter 52—Garbage of the City Code.
The County and its consultant will work to provide the City with a draft ordinance modeled on
the County Solid Waste and Recycling ordinance. The plan is still to have the revised ordinance
language before Council for approval in September.