10-08-2025 Closed Council Minutes

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MINUTES OF THE CLOSED SESSION CITY COUNCIL LITTLE CANADA, MINNESOTA Pursuant to Minnesota Statute 13D.05, subds. 1(d), 3(a) and due call and notice thereof, a closed meeting of the City Council of Little Canada, Minnesota, was convened on October 8th, 2025, in the Conference Room of the City Center located at 515 Little Canada Road in Little Canada for the purpose of discussing final written offers for Little Canada Road project easement acquisitions. Mayor Tom Fischer called the closed session to order at 6:00 p.m. and the following members of the City Council were present at roll call: ROLL CALL: In attendance were Mayor Fischer, City Council Members Miller, Gutierrez, Malone, and Kwapick. Absent: none. ALSO PRESENT: City Attorney Amanda Johnson, City Administrator Bryce Shearen, Public Works Director Bill Dircks, City Engineer Eric Seaburg, and City Clerk/HR Manager Heidi Heller. CLOSED SESSION TO DISCUSS LAST WRITTEN OFFERS FOR LITTLE CANADA ROAD EASEMENT ACQUISITIONS City Attorney Amanda Johnson led a closed -session discussion about the next steps in the process of acquiring temporary and permanent easements for the Little Canada Road improvement project. A list of the affected parcels was distributed to the City Council, showing the appraised easement amounts and the last written offer proposed amounts. She explained that all the property owners where the city needs to get either temporary or permanent easements have received an offer letter with the appraised amount as the offered amount. She reported that four owners have settled or are in the process of settling, while others are still willing to negotiate. The Council will review the last written offer list tonight to decide on the maximum amounts that could be offered. She explained that the appraiser has some limitations by law, which is why there is a large discrepancy between the appraisal amount and the last written offer. She stated that any property owners who do not settle soon will go to the next step, and she has to file those with the court by October 31, 2025. She reviewed the current status of the offer amounts within the original acquisition budget. The City Attorney reviewed the claim from Porterhouse Restaurant about their loss of income during the road access restrictions. She noted that their last written offer takes some loss of income into consideration, but the negotiator noted that their assumed loss of income is much higher than would actually occur since their access would only be restricted for a few months each year, not as long as Porterhouse calculated. She explained that if this goes to court, the cost for payout and lawyers will be at least $200,000. Fischer stated that he prefers to let the negotiator and city attorney figure out the final amounts offered within the determined budget. The City Attorney noted that if any property owner wants to get their own appraisal, the city is responsible for reimbursing the owner for that cost. The City Administrator stated that access must be maintained to all properties at all times during construction.