HomeMy WebLinkAboutMarch 11, 2026 City Council Workshop Meeting MinutesA
B.
CALL TO ORDER: 6:01PM
ROLL CALL:
STAFF PRESENT: LINEHAN X
POLICY ITEMS:
1.. RebuildingTogether
CITY OF FALCON HEIGHTS
City Council Workshop
City Hall
2077 W est Larpenteur Avenue
MINUTES
Wednesday, March 1-1., 2026
6:00 P.M.
GUSTAFSON-X- MAY_X-
MIELKE X MOGEN X WASSENBERG X
C.
Mielke explains she brought this item forward, to leam more from Tom about the
work Rebuilding Together does. Tom Pfannenstiel, the Program Director of
Rebuilding Together Minnesota, provides an overview of the organization and how
they help people stay in their homes independently. They are a non-profit serving
senior individuals with disabilities, veterans, and families in need. They have a
critical home repair program and a safe at home program. They receive funding
from several sources, through federal and state programs and donations. They have
a building contractor license and hire sub-contractors but also work with numerous
volunteers. They also get sponsored by private organizations such as Wells Fargo
and Home Depot. They also try to work with municipalities and counties on
funding. He provides examples of the projects the organization completes and the
impact it has on individuals. Both the Home Repair and Safe at Home Programs
require an application.
Mielke wonders if Pfannenstiel can provide more information about their
partnership with St. Catherine University. Pfannenstiel explains that they collaborate
with students in their occupational therapy department. They parbrer students with
homeovmers to write a report on updates needed in their homes. They also have
occupational therapists who assist with this.
May wonders how Falcon Heights can parbrer with Rebuilding Together.
Pfannenstiel provides the example of Carver County. They have the funding
available, and Rebuilding Together provides the services to homeowners.
Mogen wonders if there is a sliding scale for people receiving assistance.
Pfannenstiel explains thaf depending on the grant funding source, it's between 50%
and 80% AMI. He also wonders if there are volunteer opportunities.
2. Community Advisory Committee Selection Process
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May explains the council should discuss what to do if more applicants are needed,
and if there is a con{lict of interest. She suggests scoring all applicants using an
assessment tool. Following this, they should decide on an interview process before
reviewing applications to ensure if s transparent and equitable. She is looking for
directions from the council. Suggests using a 0 to 3-scale, unaggregated. Wassenberg
wonders if this would be a mechanism used to determine which applicants to
interview. Wassenberg thinks a more detailed rubric would be useful for the
interviews.
Linehan wonders if the subcommittee reviews all applications, or if the staff liaison
to each commission should review the applications for commission representatives
and interview them.
Mielke asked who would review applications; May responded that ideally all
Councilmembers would participate. Councilmember Mogen expressed concern
about overcomplicating the process and proposed that all Councilmembers review
and score applications using a standardized template, with results submitted to a
subcommittee for primary review. The subcommittee would then determine which
applicants to interview, have interviews and refurn recommendations to the full
Council. Wassenberg supported a pre-screening approactv and Councilmember
Mielke noted this would still allow for Council input.
Discussion also addressed desired applicant qualities. Mielke emphasized the
importance of community connection and engagement. Mogen highlighted the
importance of applicants being able to represent the broader community perspective
Wassenberg suggested prioritizing demonstrated community involvement over
leadership experience. Council consensus indicated that the CAC's primary role is to
represent the community as a whole.
Regarding conflicts of interest, Mogen stated that financial conflicts, if disclosed,
would not necessarily be disqualifying. Gustafson raised concems about potential
conflicts involving close relationships, such as spouses, and the challenges this may
present. May emphasized the need for unbiased review and interviews. Mielke
expressed discomfort with appointirg u Councilmember's spouse due to public
perception concems, while Wassenberg cautioned against excluding individuals
from public service. Mogen supported leaving such determinations to the discretion
of the subcommittee.
Linehan raised concems about compliance with Open Meeting Law requirements
and recommended using a standardized scoring system distributed via
SurveyMonkey. Individual Councilmember responses would be compiled by staff
and shared as raw data. He noted that applications are public data and suggested
aggregating scores for ease of review, while May reiterated the value of maintaining
unaggregated results to reflect the range of opinions.
Linehan confirmed that applications would close on Monday, March L6, at midnight
with materials distributed to the Council on Tuesday. Staff will develop and
distribute the scoring survey, and Councilmembers agreed to include their names
with submissions. May and Wassenberg will finalize the scoring template and
develop interview questions.
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D. ADJOURNMENT:7:06PM
Mayor Gustafson motions to adjoum the meeting;
Approved
DISCLAIMER: City Council Workshops are held monthly as an opportunity for Council Members to
discuss policy topics in greater detail prior to a formal meeting where a publichearing may be held and/or
action may be taken. Members of the public thnt would like to make a comment or ask questions about an
item on the agenda for an upcoming workshop should send them to mail@falconheights.org prior to the
meeting. Alternatiaely, time is regularly allottedfor public comment during Regular City Council
Meetings (typtcally 2nd and 4thWednesdays) duing the Community Forum
Randall C.Mayor
Dated this 25tt'day of 2026
Iack Administrator
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