All right, we will start our agenda session for the evening.

Uh first up is Councillor Randor.

Thank you so much, President Nephew.

Item two, resolution 61 is a resolution authorizing the city administrator to accept gifts on behalf of the city in the amount of ten thousand dollars or less.

This is a replacement, and if I may, yes.

I believe Director Salinas um is intending to uh untable this.

Uh they made some additions, including uh a report to the council uh on an annual basis, and so we can open that up for for additional questions if you have any more.

Thank you.

Are there any questions on resolution 61?

Um seeing none, we will move back over to Councilor Randorf with uh finance item number three.

Thank you so much, President uh nephew.

Item three, resolution one nineteen is a resolution authorizing an amendment to agreement two four eight eight six with the Greater Downtown Council for an increase of forty-four thousand of tourism tax funding for a new total amount of eight hundred and seventeen thousand.

Item four, resolution one twenty-three is a resolution authorizing an agreement with Great Lakes Aquarium in the amount of three hundred and ten thousand dollars, and if I may on this one as well.

Yes, go ahead.

Thank you so much, uh President.

Um on the Greater Downtown Council, we had already approved that additional 44,000 that was in the budget, and that is for their outreach worker uh to bridge the cost on that, and then that second number four um that again was in our uh in our budget for the tourism allocations.

Thank you.

All right, thank you, Councillor Randorf.

Do I have any questions on items number three or four?

Um seeing none, we'll move on to planning and economic development.

Item number five, resolution one hundred forty-eight resolution authorizing the execution of a First Amendment to a joint powers agreement with and accept a total amount not to exceed uh fifteen thousand seven hundred and fifty-seven dollars and twenty-seven cents from the state of Minnesota acting through its Department of Employment and Economic Development to provide weekly required reception and career lab duties for state services for the blind for the period of March first, 2024 through June 30th, 2028.

Uh resolution one sixty-four, resolution authorizing a grant agreement with the Duluth Economic Development Authority Dita for the Housing Trust Fund and approving DITA resolution twenty sixteen-three authorizing D to authorizing Dita expend an amount of up to one million two hundred and fifty thousand to support the housing trust fund.

Item number seven, resolution one sixty-eight, resolution authorizing the city to enter into a grant agreement with the United States Department of Transportation for the planning study of the I-35 corridor with the within the Duluth City limits for the reconnecting communities program in the amount of uh one million eight hundred thousand.

Um do I have any questions on item five through seven?

Uh counselor decital.

Thank you, President Nephew.

I just have one question.

It's mostly for my education on um item number uh one sixty-four.

Uh where does DITA get that one million two hundred and fifty thousand dollars?

Is it grant dollars or how do they how are they come from?

President nephew, counselor decital.

We have uh director Van Tassel here.

Welcome.

President Nephew, Counselor Desitel.

Uh that's a good question.

million two hundred and fifty thousand dollars is it grant dollars or how do they how are they does that come from President Nephew Counselor Desitel we have uh director Van Tassel here welcome President Nephew Counselor Desatel uh that's a good question my understanding is this is uh comes from uh this this specific amount comes from DITA's uh operating fund and this was a this uh the uh plan to uh send money to the housing trust fund has kind of been underway for the last nine to twelve months and um so this amount has kind of been earmarked towards that coming into this year um and uh and now now executing that given that we've also gotten some other state and um CDBG grants that also went into the housing trust fund so um really last summer at about uh last summer we started to really look at ways to recapitalize uh the housing trust fund uh because it is being utilized and we are seeing projects move forward because of it so this is one source among a few others that we've been working on may I thank you that's really helpful and I'm really excited about that money going into the housing trust fund but is it come through our where does the money come from yeah I'm still not clear on that is it our operating is it through the budget city budget President Nephew Counselor Destel and perhaps uh counselor forman can weigh in on that a little bit during city on Dita yeah um thank you President Nephew and Director Van Tassel and uh Counselor Randorf can correct me if I'm wrong because we were both at the last DITA meeting where this was talked about a little bit so this was in our DITA budget and my understanding from um Trisha Hobbes explanation of this funding was that some of it was ARPA dollars as well that had flown back through DITA.

Okay.

And now we're going to the housing trust fund I don't know the exact amounts but that was the explanation I believe we got on last week thank you.

It looks like we also have Counselor Kennedy with a question thank you President Nephew my question is regarding I'm flipping back and forth through my agenda and my video it's regarding item seven resolution 168 I did have an opportunity to look at the map um as far as the collecting communities uh the program and the work that's going to be done could you um give me a little more explanation on the the terminus end of the I-35 study uh as I'm looking at the um infographic that was in our packet um it looks like it terminates around Cody Street but am I just seeing that wrong um and so my question would be is is this the same study that's being done on the I-35 that will go through um down Thompson Hill to I uh down by Central Avenue and through I-35 or is this different President Nephew Counselor Kennedy um that that is the same grant that we're talking about so it's the whole I-35 corridor within the city of Duluth so um the the starting point is actually up up on Thompson Hill all the way through um all the way through to where I-35 ends on 26th Avenue east president nephew if I may uh follow up yes um will that include Cody Street because we know that Cody Street um actually is a part of the I-35 will that be part of the study as well President nephew counselor Kennedy yes um as I understand it so this study will be um really not looking at project specific improvements but looking at um the the whole corridor and connections to I-35 so I'd expect all the main connections um along the corridor Cody Street um you know as as we get closer to downtown here Fifth Avenue East uh Lake Avenue um 26th Avenue East all those connections will be part of the study okay thank you I'd like to be able to keep that close eye on that thank you I'll yield all right thank you counselor Kennedy um seeing uh counselor forman did you leave your light on or did you I put it back on okay thank you President Nephew so real quick Director Van Tessel so this was the 2023 application for this grant so it's been a minute but it's the same scope that we had voted on about two and a half years ago uh President Kennedy Counselor Forsman yep applied for in 2023 awarded in 2024 um worked its way through the federal government over the last year or two and um yeah same grant okay thank you all right seeing no other questions and item five through seven next we'll move on to counselor decitel with public works and utilities item number eight to resolution one fifty three resolution authorizing amendment number one to agreement L31230 with Northland Consulting Engineers LLP for engineering services for design of project 2324 lead service line replacement ending to increase the amount by 17,680 dollars for a new total of 327100 item number nine is resolution 157 awarding a contract to KH excavating inc for construction of the 2026 gas excess flow valve riser replacement meter relocation and bullard installations project

Item number nine is resolution 157 awarding a contract to KH Excavating Inc.

for construction of the 2026 gas excess flow valve, riser replacement, meter relocation, and bullard installations project at various locations in the amount of 594,873 and 23 cents.

Item number 159, item number 10, which is resolution 159, resolution authorizing the city to enter into a grant agreement with the United States Department of Transportation for the rehabilitation of the Aerial Lift Bridge in the amount of 11,200,000.

Item number 11, which is resolution 165, resolution awarding a professional services agreement to MSA Professional Services Inc.

for the Woodland West Reservoir Rehabilitation Project in the amount of $96,400.

Resolution 166 is a resolution awarding a professional services agreement to MSA Professional Services Inc.

for the Lakewood Pump House Roof Replacement Project in the amount of $87,600.

Item number 13 is resolution 167 authorizing a 10-year contract with St.

Louis County for a cooperative operations and maintenance agreement.

Item number 14 is resolution 173 amending the City Council standing rules to revise the order of business, create two separate public comment periods, document the most common motions and the rules of decorum, clarify the amendment of rules and update the use of electronic mail.

And may I, but I think I would like to start with an earlier resolution first.

I just wanted to let you know that I had asked Director Benning some questions about the aerial lift bridge.

And I uh I'm going to relay the information just for our information about it, so I can let you know what they said.

I wanted to know when the aerial lift bridge was last painted, how often that's needed, and what shutdowns would need to occur during this four-year period, and where the non-federal dollars were coming from.

Um and I got a nice response.

If I can here it is.

This came from Duncan Schwint Swanson.

Uh he said when the lift ridge was last painted, depends on what part of the bridge we're talking about.

Uh he believes that the top span of the bridge was not painted since the 70s.

Uh the towers and the lift span were repainted in 2009.

I actually thought it was yesterday, so that was longer ago than I thought.