OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Eagan City Council Meeting - August 4, 2025

City Council — Monday, August 4, 2025
BodyEagan, Minnesota
SessionCity Council
DateMonday, August 4, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Transcript — Verbatim
16:07

To the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands.

16:13

One nation under God.

16:27

We are uh uh meeting on a Monday night tonight, uh, because tomorrow night I want to remind folks is national night out.

16:34

Uh so we uh try to move our meetings to Monday night so that uh council can if they wish uh attend a national matter events.

16:41

Uh we have a fairly short agenda tonight.

16:43

Should point out Councilman Bakan isn't gonna be able to make it to the meeting tonight.

16:46

Um, but I think we should be able to get through this uh rather hefty, not really, uh agenda um uh just fine without him.

16:55

So uh with that, um uh Ms.

16:58

Miller, they need to change the agenda.

17:00

No, Mr.

17:00

Mayor.

17:01

Uh council, and you changes the agenda.

17:02

Yes, sir.

17:03

Yep, councilman.

17:04

To adopt the agenda is presented.

17:06

Second.

17:06

That's moved and seconded.

17:08

Uh any further discussion on the agenda.

17:10

Seeing none, all in favor single saying aye.

17:13

Opposed nay.

17:14

That motion carries, and we've adopted an agenda.

17:16

We have no recognitions and presentations tonight, so I'll go right to our consent agenda.

17:20

I want to check and see if there are any members of the public who are here on an item that appears in the consent agenda and then wanted to address that item separately or have separate action taken on it.

17:30

Which item.

17:31

Uh 20512, uh storm lining.

17:41

Uh any others.

17:44

Uh council.

17:45

Uh same question to you.

17:46

Any other items you want to pull up?

17:48

No, sir.

17:48

Uh all right.

17:49

Uh why don't we pull item M for separate action?

17:53

Uh and um I'll take a motion on the balance of the consent agenda.

17:57

For the balance of the consent agenda.

17:59

Second.

17:59

That's moved and seconded.

18:01

Any further discussion on the consent agenda?

18:03

Uh save item M.

18:05

Seeing none.

18:06

All in favor aye.

18:07

And opposed, nay, that motion carries and the balance of the consent agenda is approved.

18:11

Uh let me go now to item M.

18:13

Um, maybe if you want to uh Ross, do you want to uh lead us into what item M is and then uh the gentleman can uh address his concerns or questions.

18:21

Yes, Mr.

18:22

Mayor, members of the council and audience.

18:24

So um a week ago I was anticipating that item M would be a recommendation or uh uh an opportunity for the council to approve uh a bid for contract twenty-five twelve and um so that we would be authorized to proceed with the construction for this project.

18:43

Uh the project is a rehabilitation of both sanitary sewer and storm sewer, so it's a lining of uh larger sanitary and storm sewer pipe.

18:53

And it's also a lining of um storm sewer and sanitary sewer manhole.

18:58

So uh oftentimes uh those types of pipes will be in uh condition where they need some repair, but they may be uh it may be more cost effective for us to line it rather than tearing up the road or or depending upon where these are located.

19:14

And so in this case, these are located in uh underneath some busy roads or in some areas of some larger roadways and stuff like that.

19:21

So um when we received the bids last week, uh we only got one bid and it was quite a bit higher than uh almost twice as high as what the engineer's estimate was.

19:33

So um the folks that have bid on it, uh the contractors that on it are respectful contractors uh that uh have we've had success with uh past projects that they worked on.

19:45

Uh but it was still significantly higher, and we only had the one bid, so I did not feel comfortable um uh presenting it to the council and providing the council an opportunity to actually approve it without bringing to their attention the concerns that staff have.

20:00

uh almost twice as high as what the engineer's estimate was so um the folks that have bid on it uh the contractors that we want it are respectable contractors uh that uh have we've had success with uh past projects that they've worked on uh but it was still significantly higher and we only had the one bid so I did not feel comfortable um uh presenting it to the council and providing the council an opportunity to actually approve it without bringing to their attention the concerns that staff have okay you want to address that yep hello um yeah Grant I uh am here as a representative of hyperline or a contractor based on the west side of the metro and Cocaido and more or less here to acknowledge uh the city's process and that and agreeing with Russ on his um uh decision making process but also to um support a quote and recognize that um it's a unique unique opportunity to um partner with uh local and uh arguably um one of the most uh qualified contractors for the project in this area so um the timeline is tight um especially in the last few years the uh prices especially in this market have fluctuated quite a bit um so that might be some of the um explanation behind the engineer's estimate being on the low end of the side so um I don't want to take too much time but that's kind of the short version of what I came here to say.

21:23

So uh thank you I appreciate that um Russ what's the plan going forward are you I are you um by rejecting these bids are you abandoning the uh I I'm asking this because I'm pretty sure I know the answer.

21:37

Uh are you abandoning the same the sanitary and storm structure lining uh or are you gonna be rebidding this and I assume that uh anybody who's bid the job previously is still able to bid on a rebid yes Mr.

21:49

Mayor uh we need the work to be done the city needs the work to be completed and so the plan would be to rebid it and uh I think uh I'll I'll just maybe clarify because I have had some discussions with Grant um Grant's concern both for their company and the and the contractor that they're partnering with is that just the delay in the timing of uh the contract award is they would not be able to uh schedule the work and complete the work this year as I think I don't want to speak for grant but that was based on our previous conversations.

22:21

So do you anticipate that you're gonna be rebidding it and and doing the work in a delayed fashion?

22:27

Most likely I ideally we'd re we rebid the work and the council would may see it as far as uh um another bid to consider within the next month um but that may not provide enough time to complete that work yet this year so the work may need to be delayed until 2026.

22:47

Okay and so to be clear the rejection of the bids is not a reflection of the actual bid that we got as much as it is that um we're going back to the drawing board a little bit on how we put together that request proposal and on our timing for it is that right those those two items Mr.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Zoning And Land Use█████████████████████████████████████████████49%
Procedural██████████████████████24%
Water And Wastewater Management████████████████17%
Energy Policy██████7%
Pending Litigation███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Eagan City Council Meeting - August 4, 2025

The Eagan City Council met on Monday, August 4, 2025 at 6:30 p.m. at the Eagan Municipal Center. The meeting was moved from Tuesday due to National Night Out. Councilmember Bakan was absent. The council approved a consent agenda (with one item pulled for discussion), rejected a bid for sanitary manhole lining after debate, and approved a variance for a home rebuild following a fire. Public comments were heard on both the bid rejection and the variance.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved minutes from June 10 and June 17, 2025 meetings.
  • Approved personnel items, including a resolution and memorandum of agreement.
  • Approved check registers for July 11, 18, and 25, 2025.
  • Approved contracts as listed.
  • Accepted donations.
  • Amended change order and approved final payment for Sky Hill Athletic Courts Rehabilitation.
  • Scheduled a public hearing for September 2, 2025 to certify delinquent utility bills.
  • Scheduled a public hearing for September 2, 2025 to certify delinquent nuisance abatement bills.
  • Approved a resolution to temporarily extend the licensed premises of Bald Man Brewing, Inc.'s on-sale taproom license.
  • Approved a temporary on-sale liquor license for Church of St. Thomas Becket.
  • Approved the 2nd quarter 2025 financial report.
  • Awarded Contract 24-09 for Pond AP-8 Expansion and amended the Public Works 5-Year Capital Improvement Plan (2026-2030).
  • Approved encroachment agreement for L1, B1 Thomas Lake School Addition.
  • Approved water meter surcharge rebates.
  • Approved conduit space license agreement with Gigapower, LLC.
  • Awarded Contract 25-15 for LeMay Lake Fishing Pier.
  • Approved software agreement with KPA Services, LLC and a budget amendment.
  • Approved Change Order No. 5 for the Eagan Community Center Reinvestment Project (#1576).
  • Approved an opioid settlement with Purdue and authorized the Finance Director to execute the settlement agreement.
  • Directed staff to prepare an ordinance amending Chapter 11: Land Use Regulations for minor housekeeping updates.
  • Amended the contract with Finding Human Institute for Community Conversations Facilitation Services.
  • Approved a resolution finding the parcel at 1500 Towerview Road meets requirements for a redevelopment TIF district.
  • Waived the right-of-way event permit fee for Glacier Hills Elementary School Husky Hustle 5K Family Fun Run.
  • Approved Contract 25-16 for Bituminous Pavement Surface Treatment.
  • Approved a resolution to temporarily extend the licensed premises of Ansari's Mediterranean Grill and Bar.

Item M (Contract 25-12, 2025 Sanitary Manhole Lining) was pulled for separate discussion.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Grant (representing Hyperline): Addressed the council on item M, acknowledging the city's process and agreeing with staff's decision to reject the high bid. He expressed support for his company's qualifications and noted that market price fluctuations may explain the engineer's estimate being low. He voiced concern about the tight timeline and potential delay of the work to 2026.
  • Craig Ridlinger (neighbor at 4743 Oak Cliff Drive): Spoke in favor of the variance for 4742 Oak Cliff Drive. He expressed support for the Sheehan family, who have been neighbors for 30 years, and noted that the rebuild would improve neighborhood appearance. He cautioned that if the variance were not approved, the lot might remain vacant for years, as similar odd-shaped lots in the area have taken decades to sell.

Public Hearings

  • Variance - 4742 Oak Cliff Drive: The council held a public hearing on a request from property owners Nancy and Pat Sheehan (represented by Melissa Waudby of Lindstrom Restoration) for a variance to exceed the maximum building coverage of 20% to 24% for a home rebuild after a September 2024 fire. The proposed footprint includes a 228-square-foot single-family home addition and a 652-square-foot attached garage (expanded by 5 feet). City Planner Schultz explained that the lot is constrained by a pond at the rear, reducing the buildable area. The existing building coverage was 13.9% (1,677 sq ft); the proposed coverage is 23.9%, an increase of about 466 sq ft over the 20% limit. Staff noted that two existing retaining walls encroach on a utility easement and recommended a condition requiring an encroachment agreement before a building permit is issued. The applicant stated that the redesign was needed for aging-in-place, and a similar variance (to 25% coverage) was granted by the council in December 2024 at 1574 Rustic Hills Drive.

Discussion Items

  • Item M - Reject Bids for Contract 25-12 (2025 Sanitary Manhole Lining): Public Works Director Ross reported that the project involves lining larger sanitary and storm sewer pipes and manholes. Only one bid was received, which was nearly double the engineer's estimate. Ross did not feel comfortable recommending award. Council Member Hanson asked about time sensitivity; Ross noted that one manhole requires urgent attention and that staff may rebid a smaller component for this year, with the full project likely delayed to 2026. Grant (Hyperline) addressed the council in support of the contractor but acknowledged the city's process. The council voted to reject all bids and authorize re-advertisement.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent Agenda: Approved by voice vote (item M pulled).
  • Bid Rejection (Item M): Motion by Council Member Hanson, seconded, to reject all bids for Contract 25-12 and authorize re-advertisement. Passed by voice vote (all aye).
  • Variance Approval: Motion by Council Member Sabina, seconded, to approve the variance with the condition that the applicant seek an encroachment agreement prior to building permit issuance. Passed by voice vote (all aye).
  • Closed Session: The council recessed into closed session to discuss two litigation matters: City of Eagan v. Gopher Resource LLC (condemnation for Opperman Drive extension) and Wynn Arvinson and Michael Damron v. City of Eagan (restitution judgments from 2017). The meeting was to adjourn after the closed session.
  • Council Comments: Council Member Sabina announced participation in a League of Minnesota Cities work group on electric vehicle infrastructure. Mayor noted his 30th wedding anniversary and thanked staff and community for National Night Out (August 5, 2025), which he would not attend. The mayor clarified that the closed session regarding Gopher Resource was a separate issue from the MPCA matter in the media.
  • Next Steps: The bid for sanitary manhole lining will be re-advertised. The variance applicant must obtain an encroachment agreement with Public Works before building permit issuance.

Meeting Transcript

To the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God. We are uh uh meeting on a Monday night tonight, uh, because tomorrow night I want to remind folks is national night out. Uh so we uh try to move our meetings to Monday night so that uh council can if they wish uh attend a national matter events. Uh we have a fairly short agenda tonight. Should point out Councilman Bakan isn't gonna be able to make it to the meeting tonight. Um, but I think we should be able to get through this uh rather hefty, not really, uh agenda um uh just fine without him. So uh with that, um uh Ms. Miller, they need to change the agenda. No, Mr. Mayor. Uh council, and you changes the agenda. Yes, sir. Yep, councilman. To adopt the agenda is presented. Second. That's moved and seconded. Uh any further discussion on the agenda. Seeing none, all in favor single saying aye. Opposed nay. That motion carries, and we've adopted an agenda. We have no recognitions and presentations tonight, so I'll go right to our consent agenda. I want to check and see if there are any members of the public who are here on an item that appears in the consent agenda and then wanted to address that item separately or have separate action taken on it. Which item. Uh 20512, uh storm lining. Uh any others. Uh council. Uh same question to you. Any other items you want to pull up? No, sir. Uh all right. Uh why don't we pull item M for separate action? Uh and um I'll take a motion on the balance of the consent agenda. For the balance of the consent agenda. Second. That's moved and seconded. Any further discussion on the consent agenda? Uh save item M. Seeing none. All in favor aye. And opposed, nay, that motion carries and the balance of the consent agenda is approved. Uh let me go now to item M. Um, maybe if you want to uh Ross, do you want to uh lead us into what item M is and then uh the gentleman can uh address his concerns or questions. Yes, Mr. Mayor, members of the council and audience. So um a week ago I was anticipating that item M would be a recommendation or uh uh an opportunity for the council to approve uh a bid for contract twenty-five twelve and um so that we would be authorized to proceed with the construction for this project. Uh the project is a rehabilitation of both sanitary sewer and storm sewer, so it's a lining of uh larger sanitary and storm sewer pipe. And it's also a lining of um storm sewer and sanitary sewer manhole. So uh oftentimes uh those types of pipes will be in uh condition where they need some repair, but they may be uh it may be more cost effective for us to line it rather than tearing up the road or or depending upon where these are located. And so in this case, these are located in uh underneath some busy roads or in some areas of some larger roadways and stuff like that.

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