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CITY OF FALCON HEIGHTS
Regular Meeting of the City Council
City Hall
2077 West Larpenteur Avenue
AGENDA
June 12, 2019 at 7:00 P.M.
A. CALL TO ORDER:
B. ROLL CALL: Vacant ___ LEEHY__X__ HARRIS_X___
MIAZGA _X__ GUSTAFSON_X__
STAFF PRESENT: THONGVANH_X___
C. PRESENTATION
1. Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office Requests:
A. Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs)
B. Body Cameras and Squad Cameras
C. Ballistic Shields
Jeff Ramacher, Undersheriff (Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)
In the last several years, the Sheriff’s Office has been planning to implement new body cameras
for the year 2020. Sheriff Bob Fletcher is the new Sheriff for Ramsey County, and one of his
major initiatives was to fast track the implementation of body cameras within the
department. On July 9th, Sheriff Fletcher will present at the county board for final approval for
our body camera project. It is a $1.4 million request for the entire sheriff’s department and is a
combination from the seven contract cities to fund ongoing support. It includes the license fees,
data usage, and body cameras that will be implement in our public safety services division that
serves seven cities including Falcon Heights. We would like to ask Falcon Heights to fund
$14,653.99 to the sheriff’s department.
In addition, the sheriff’s department is required to hold public forums for comments, questions,
and concerns. We will hold four public forms, which will be in St. Paul (2), Vadnais Heights (1),
and Falcon Heights (1). The location in Falcon Heights will be at City Hall on Thursday, June
13, from 7pm-8pm. On July 9th, the county board will vote on this program and it will be the
last public forum where we will accept comments from the public.
The cost proposal for the Automatic External Defibrillators (AED) for Falcon Heights is
$5,724.16. The combined total of all the contract seven cities is $41,600.00. The current AEDs
are 15 years old, outdated or near end-of-life, and are not serviceable anymore. The fund will
help replace 20 AEDs. They are used often and are the first responders on the scene.
The last proposal is ballistic shields for protection. The total cost for the seven contract cities is
$24,550 and the cost for Falcon Heights is $3,591.67. It is for the officer’s safety as we are
encountering more calls where there is a potential threat with a weapon at schools, places of
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worship, and retail establishments. The Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office wants our deputies to
be properly equipped to facilitate a rapid response and neutralize any threat within the contract
cities should an incident occur.
Mayor Gustafson
It does not affect me; however, I am going to abstain just for the fact that I work for Ramsey
County.
Council Member Harris Moved, Approved 3-0
D. APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
1. May 22, 2019 City Council Meeting Minutes
Approved 4-0
E. PUBLIC HEARINGS:
F. CONSENT AGENDA:
1. General Disbursements through: 5/16/19 $189,659.39
Payroll through: 5/15/19 $17,448.28
2. Approval of City License(s)
3. Donations for 2019 Parks Program Fund
4. Proclamation – Recognizing June as Immigrant Heritage Month
Mayor Gustafson
General Disbursements date should be 5/16/19 and 5/15/19 and not 1/16/19 and 1/15/19.
The city would like to thank Dick’s Sporting Goods for donating $250 to the parks program.
Council Member Miazga
I want to thank city staff for recognizing June as Immigrant Heritage Month. It is very
important to our city, residents, and guests to Falcon Heights. Everyone comes from a different
background, and we should accept one another.
Council Member Leehy
I thought we proclaimed June as Immigrant Heritage Month a few years ago. Is this one of the
ones that the city has to acknowledge publicly every year to make sure that it is spoken for?
City Administrator Thongvanh stated there are a number of proclamations that the city does
annually.
Mayor Gustafson Moved, Approved 4-0
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G: POLICY ITEMS:
1. Consider Rezoning Property Located at 1667 Snelling Ave (Amber Union) from B-3 to
PUD
City Administrator Thongvanh
The property located at 1667 Snelling Ave N is a prominent piece of the Falcon Heights
community. The building was sold in April 2019 to Buhl GTA, LP and they are proposing to
redevelop the property into a mixed-use. It will have of 106 apartment units plus a small retail
space on the first floor of the annex building. It will also have 114 parking spaces.
The Planning Commission held a public hearing on May 28 to consider the rezoning. Many of
the comments focused on the desire to have ample parking on site so that apartment residents
do not park on Hollywood Court. The Planning Commission recommended approval of the
rezoning with two conditions: details for a security plan and consideration of not expanding the
eastern parking lot. While the eastern parking lot is shown with three rows of parking, two
islands near the building with landscaping will be included and will have trees planted in them.
Pete Deanovic, Buhl Investors
We want to make sure the building can contribute to the whole community. We will expand
the parking in front of the bus stop because it will be beneficial and transit oriented. In
addition, we are looking to bring outdoor grilling and play areas to enhance the greenspace.
The building will be a high intensity residential unit and we would like to bring a 1,500 square
feet coffee shop where community can gather and socialize. The building will have many
changes to make it more efficient and space for nice amenities.
In terms of affordable housing, workforce housing is different from Section 8 and market rating
housing. It will be a good option for families, graduate students, teachers, firefighters, and
police officers. Under the affordable housing, it will be income restricted in terms of household
sizes. The building will have 106 unites and 80% of the units are designed with 2 plus beds, and
35 new parking surface stalls. As we turned this into a housing unit along with a coffee shop,
we are anticipating tax base on the PUD parcel is $180,000 year in taxes. We want to create
something that will fit and honor the architectural character of it.
At the May 28, public hearing, we received much feedback from residents. We decided to add
three new trees in the parking lot, electrical vehicle charging infrastructure, solar panels and
security cameras.
Council Member Harris Moved, Approved 4-0
H. INFORMATION/ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Council Member Miazga
• Environment Commission has been very busy. They are drafting a native plant
ordinance that will likely come to the workshop.
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• An environmental event is this Saturday, June 15 from 10am-noon at the front lawn of
Falcon Heights United Church of Christ. It is located on Garden Avenue and Holton
Street. It is a swap event and free.
Council Member Leehy
• Spring Together was well attended. I was pleased to see not only Falcon Heights
residents, but people from St. Paul and CTC. Always glad to have students and
residents from different cities participate in our activities.
• Park and Recreation Commission met on June 11. It was a great meeting, and we
brainstormed new ideas for city events and programming with the Park and Rec
Department.
• Tomorrow, Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office will hold an event here at Falcon Heights
City Hall from 7pm-8pm. It will be about body cameras, and it is open to the public.
Council Member Harris
• Planning Commission met on May 28th, and it went well. We had a public hearing and
had about 9-15 people. The majority of people were from Hollywood Court, and they
addressed their concerns and asked many questions. Peter did a great job answering all
the questions and was well prepared.
Mayor Gustafson
• Community Engagement Commission meeting is Monday, June 17, 7pm at City Hall.
We are going to recap about Spring Together and discuss potential future events.
• Spring Together went very well. There were games, prize drawings, bounce house,
informational table, and delicious food. Ryan Carlson from Parks and Recreation
Commission brought the game Kubb, and it was very fun.
• Coffee with a Cop will be at 1550 Larpenteur Ave on June 20, from 4:30pm - 6pm in the
community room. All are welcome to come.
• Ice Cream Social and Hotdog with a Deputy is on Thursday, July 18, from 5pm - 7pm at
Community Park.
• National Night to Unite is on Tuesday, August 6. The registration is now open and the
deadline is July 19. If you want to request the fire department, city council, barricades,
and playkit, please register at the city website. If you want to request the police
department, you will have to register at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NTU2019
• The last two week, City Administrator Thongvanh, Council Member Leehy and I met
with the firefighters. Each individual provided their input regarding improvements,
communications, leadership, and expectations. The next step is to create a plan.
• Cultivating a Caring Community - “Healing and Understanding is July 6, from 6:30pm -
8pm. Unity Day is on July 7 from 6pm-8pm at City Hall greenspace and we will do a
BBQ like last year.
City Administrator Thongvanh
• Mayor Gustafson, Council Member Leehy and I have met with the Assistant Fire Chief
and four captain a number of times, but this time we wanted to meet with all the
firefighters. We wanted to engage and give them the opportunity to voice any concerns
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or ask questions. We want to make sure that this is a thoughtful process and want to
hear from them.
• Public Works has been inspecting the ground at Curtiss Field. It is slowly drying and
we hope we will not have any more rain. Once it is dry, they will install the basketball
court.
• The Community Park building has three leaks, and Public Works has been trying to fix
it. The city of Roseville has been very gracious in helping us out. In addition, the
bonding proposal that Council Member Miazga and I have been working on was
submitted today. We are requesting $1 million to restore the park building
• It is the summer and there are many different events happening around the city. Please
remember to contact the appropriate authorities if you have any issues or concerns with
parking during events.
I. COMMUNITY FORUM:
J. ADJOURNMENT: 8:32 P.M.
________________________________
Randy Gustafson, Mayor
Dated this 12th day of June, 2019
_________________________________
Sack Thongvanh, City Administrator