Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.
The Red Wing City Council held a workshop on May 26, 2026, to discuss two primary topics: the establishment of a permanent dog park and updates to the city's weed ordinance. The Council received presentations from Public Works staff and provided direction on both items.
Public Works Director Shawn Blaney, Deputy Director Patrick Ramaker, and Public Information Officer Michelle Leise presented an overview of the dog park situation. The previous park at Upper AP Anderson was removed in late 2023 due to burial mound concerns from the Prairie Island Indian Community. A temporary solution exists at the athletic field ice rinks. Michelle Leise presented survey results showing 471 responses, with 428 supporting a permanent park. A majority of respondents (288) preferred a mix of fundraising and tax dollars. Patrick Ramaker presented several potential permanent locations, detailing pros and cons for each: Bench Street South, Spring Creek Park, the current athletic field location, Pottery Pond, Sandhill, and Med Tech Park.
Council Member Norton questioned why replacing the dog park was not already in the staff work plan, given the city's commitment to the community after removing the previous park. Council President Farrar advocated for a community group to guide the process, similar to the pickleball court effort. Mayor Iocco noted a community member willing to help raise funds and offered to act as the point person for organizing a community group. Council Member Lambert requested dedicated staff time to move the project forward. Council Member Kliewer expressed support for the Bench Street South and Pottery Pond locations. Council Member Goggin expressed interest in discontinuing the relocation efforts (Option 3).
Director Blaney reviewed the challenges of the current weed ordinance, including overlapping regulations, enforcement difficulties on private property, and significant staff time spent on complaints. The proposal includes repealing and replacing sections of the code to separate regulations for public right-of-way and private property. Key proposed changes include adopting a new state-mandated eight-inch vegetation standard (up from six inches) and moving to a progressive fine structure for private property to avoid the legal complications of sending contractors onto private land.
Council Member Goggin expressed concern about the increase from six to eight inches. Council Member Norton supported separating public and private lots and requested the item be sent to the Sustainability Commission for further study, specifically looking at permitting processes used by other communities like Northfield.
All right, I'll call us to order for our city council workshop on Tuesday, May twenty sixth. And we do have two items on here. I did want to start. I know the mayor is remote and Kim Bise is out of town. Um and I do we have two items, so I think our plan is to try to do each one for 30 minutes, but we'll see how we do with that. So first one is two A with our dog park discussion, and our wonderful public works director will lead us in that. And our is it a deputy, Patrick? Yes. Yes. No, it's not. Yes. Okay. It's on. Okay. Um good even good afternoon, actually. Um, Council President Fair, Council and Mayor. So first thing on the uh the uh workshop agenda here is the dog park conversation. This has been going on for well, a long time. And I just kind of want to frame the conversation a little bit. Patrick and Michelle have spent a lot of time on this. They can give you all the background and everything. But the bottom line is it took in the report. We have the staff report. Now that doesn't, of course, box you into any of those three options. But what we really need from the body here tonight is direction on what to do. None of this, the dog park is not in anybody's work plan, it is not in the strategic plan. So we just need some direction what to do, whether it's do nothing, do something, what it is. We just need some direction from you folks. So I'm gonna turn it over to the experts in the room. Thank you. Thank you. Thanks for having me today. Um, so dog park again, yeah. Um, I'll give you a quick uh overview of or some background information. So we've been talking about dog park since about two thousand. Um obviously it was up at Upper AP Anderson Park. Um, the original construction was funded by a community community fundraising effort. So um, we had a hundred by well, I think it's later, but um obviously it was removed because of the burial mounds and the concerns raised by Prairie Island Indian community. Um, the dog park we had was a single unit, so there's just one space for large breed and small breed. A lot of what you'll see out in different communities will be separate spaces for those those sized dogs. Um served the community well for 14 years. Um removed it in late summer twenty twenty-three due to the Prairie Island concerns. Um those mounds are still visible, so it's pretty apparent that that's you know, that's what was there. Um we removed those.