OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Shakopee City Council Meeting - April 7, 2026: MVTA Update, CUP Appeals, Franchise Amendment

City Council & Commissions — Tuesday, April 7, 2026
BodyShakopee, Minnesota
SessionCity Council & Commissions
DateTuesday, April 7, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 2:08:49

Transcript — Verbatim
0:19

Call the Shacopee City Council meeting for April 7th, 2026 to order.

0:24

And if you could please take the roll.

0:26

Councilmember Delini.

0:28

Here.

0:28

Councilmember waiting.

0:29

Here.

0:29

Councilmember Contreras?

0:31

Here.

0:31

Councilmember Lara?

0:32

Here.

0:32

Mayor Lima.

0:33

Here.

0:34

Item number three.

0:35

If you want to join us for the Pledge of Allegiance.

1:04

Item number four special presentation, Minnesota Valley Transit Authority annual update.

1:11

Mr.

1:11

Luther, sir.

1:16

You might have to pull that microphone closer.

1:21

Thank you, sir.

1:23

Just let me know if you guys can hear me.

1:24

Well, I can hear myself, so that's a good sign, I think.

1:28

Thank you very much for their time this evening.

1:31

I'll try to um make sure my comments are not necessarily brief but poignant.

1:37

So again, my name is Luther Weiner.

1:39

I'm the CEO for Minnesota Valley Transit Authority, been CEO now since 2016.

1:43

Just want to give obviously one of our yearly um transit updates.

1:48

First, let's talk about the agenda, some of the things that I have that we'll go over.

1:52

We'll talk about our fixed route, our connect service, service change schedule that we have, and some changes we're going to be doing in Shakapee, our event services, then we'll do a legislative update and round it out with a little bit about our community partner, um, talking about our South Metro Coalition and local forward.

2:10

It's important to note when I have these conversations by MVTI, we start off with the basis, not everyone understands obviously the breath of our services or what we do as an agency.

2:18

So I just want to make sure just everyone know we have 24 routes express as well as reverse commute.

2:24

We have local service on demand, which is connect, which I'll get into a little later exactly what that is.

2:29

Um we also have event services as well, too.

2:34

When it comes to our fixed route services, it's important to note that we do have some good services that we offer in Shacopee.

2:40

We have our express services that primarily transmit downtown to Minneapolis, the 490 and 493.

2:46

We also have our four fund bus, um, which is also combined now with the Route 495.

2:51

Um that service goes from all of America to Barnesville.

2:55

It has branches that go to Valley Fair when Valley Fair is operating.

2:58

Um it goes to Marshall Road Transit Station, Amazon, as well as Mystic Lake Casino, followed by Canterbury as well.

3:10

From ridership standpoint.

3:11

So when we look at ridership overall for um uh for um Shakapee, it's actually was pretty it was actually really strong.

3:18

Um there was over 18 percent increase in ridership from 2024 to 2025 for the city of Shakapee.

3:25

Important note that overall when it came to our last slide there, I wanted to fast forward this one.

3:30

Overall, ridership overall system wide for our service is about 7.8 percent.

3:35

So you guys were above um the average for um for the service for uh for our yearly service, which is very beneficial.

3:41

And we want to highlight a couple routes and why that was.

3:44

So as you see here, obviously state fair services up at 47 percent from um from 204 uh 2025, primarily driven by the fact that this was the the last year was the first year we opened up Alton all days for the fair.

3:56

We had service at South Bridge, um, followed by our Route 490.

4:00

Um, as you see, dramatic increase of ridership there, continuing to add service as well as meeting the needs of customers.

4:05

Our four fund bus continues to be um a great generator, obviously going to midst of the casino as well as services to Amazon as well.

4:14

Um we have a route 499, also 34 percent, and our route 497 up 12.3.

4:19

So, really across the board, we've seen increases from 2024 to 2025 when it comes to Shockabee service.

4:25

I think that's a testament, obviously, to um the amount of work that we put in in the city.

4:30

Um, I know Julia and her team spent a lot of time down in Shacopee, obviously meeting with the Shakapee High School, which serves on the restaurants on the 499, as well as obviously talking to Lab Nation and working with Canterbury, Valley Fair, and all the all the um and all the major employers as well as um hospitals that you guys have here in this community as well as the people here um with the city.

4:53

Fast forwarding to me look at our connect service and our connect services are on-demand service.

5:00

And the next slide I'll really key into exactly some parameters of the service, but just want to give the lay of the land for when it comes to our at-based Connect service.

5:06

That service overall, um, as you see here of the trend line for um eternal for um Shockup and Pirate Lake, which started back in um started in January 13th of 2025, continue to trend upward.

5:16

We had over 12,000 trips that were provided here in that year service.

5:20

Um overall, we've seen system-wide, we've seen Connect service up 33% year over year, and our average wait time for our prior lake and shock up services is 15 minutes, as you see, which that also is better than our um than our other two zones, which I'll show you um on the next slide.

5:37

But as we continue to see here, we do have our goal as an agency is to have service under 20 minutes.

5:44

Um anytime we see service as a wait time above 20 minutes, we try to look at some um whether we look at adding more vehicles, maybe look at some um different changes from a software efficiency standpoint in order to try to get that um wait time down.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Zoning And Land Use█████████████████████████25%
Transportation Safety██████████████████18%
Procedural██████████10%
Economic Development██████████10%
Pending Litigation████████8%
Technology and Innovation███████7%
Public Safety██████6%
Community Engagement█████5%
Public Engagement███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Shakopee City Council Meeting - April 7, 2026: MVTA Update, CUP Appeals, Franchise Amendment

The Shakopee City Council met in regular session on April 7, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. at City Hall, 485 Gorman Street. The meeting included an annual update from the Minnesota Valley Transit Authority (MVTA), approval of a modified consent agenda, three appeals of revoked conditional use permits, approval of a final plat, an amendment to the Shakopee Public Utilities franchise agreement for large power users, and liaison and announcement reports. All councilmembers and the mayor were present.

Special Presentation: Minnesota Valley Transit Authority Annual Update

  • MVTA CEO Luther Weiner reported that Shakopee ridership increased by more than 18% from 2024 to 2025, compared with a system-wide increase of about 7.8%.
  • He highlighted express routes 490 and 493, the 4-fund bus combined with Route 495, and strong ridership gains on State Fair services, Route 499, and Route 497.
  • Connect microtransit provided more than 12,000 trips in Shakopee and Prior Lake, with an average wait of 15 minutes. Rider demographics: 65% use Connect for work trips, 49% said they would otherwise use Uber/Lyft, 48% have annual incomes below $25,000, 47% are people of color, 60% are women, 25% have a disability or long-term health condition, and 46% are ages 35-54.
  • Planned 2026 service changes: weekend 497/499 local service replaced by Connect; Route 499 restructured for faster travel; Routes 495 and the 4-fund bus combined into hourly seven-day service; Eagle Creek parking reopens for Route 490; reduced Friday express schedules; and a possible merger of Routes 490 and 493.
  • Weiner discussed House File 5411, saying the report that preceded it omitted suburban provider feedback, used 2023-2024 high-subsidy data, and included the old Route 498 as if it still operated. He said the bill would remove local representation, could raise fares, and projected savings of $723,000 over two years.
  • Councilmembers responded favorably to the update and asked about advertising MVTA service to local residents on concert nights, connectivity between Canterbury and downtown Shakopee, and the role of other transit providers for amphitheater events. Councilmember Whiting praised MVTA's community partnerships.

Consent Calendar

  • Councilmember Whiting removed Items 6Q and 6R from the consent agenda for separate consideration.
  • The remaining consent items were approved by one motion and voice vote. These included the traffic enforcement ordinance, bituminous pavement project acceptance, delinquent assessment hearing, Chamber of Commerce liquor license, light pole purchase, downtown ADA/lighting/tree rehab contract, wetland sequencing, Safe Routes to School plans, concession agreements, donations, trail sealcoating, minutes, DNR cooperative agreement, Schleper Field modifications, Live Nation amphitheater agreement, and an Eagle Scout tree-planting project.

Public Comment

  • No members of the public addressed the Council during the public comment period.

Business Removed from Consent Agenda

  • Item 6Q - General Fund Transfers: Councilmember Whiting pulled the item to vote against it, saying he disagreed with transferring unused general levy dollars into the park fund. Resolution R2026-051 was adopted, approving transfers of $475,000 to the building fund and $1,850,000 to the parks development fund, with discussion noting the funds support riverbank stabilization matching requirements.
  • Item 6R - Riverbank Stabilization Local Funding Commitment: Adopted as Resolution R2026-047. Staff explained that total project funding includes a $3.5 million EPA grant, state bonding, and city CIP funds including park dedication, park assets, sanitary sewer, and storm drainage funds.

Recess for Economic Development Authority Meeting

  • The Council recessed and convened the Shakopee Economic Development Authority meeting. The EDA approved its agenda and consent business, then approved a one-year lease extension with Concrete Mobility at $19 per square foot from July 2026 through June 30, 2027, totaling $48,241, with the full year's rent paid upfront. The EDA adjourned to May 5, 2026, at 7:00 p.m.

Appeals of Board of Adjustment and Appeals Decisions

  • 8610 Hansen Avenue (KME Auto Repair): Staff reported the CUP for vehicle repair, approved June 8, 2023, was revoked after repeated violations of the condition requiring unlicensed/inoperable vehicles to be screened from view. Inspections on January 8, January 29, March 30, and April 2, 2026, found continuing violations. Property owner's attorney Raya Smiley said the site was in compliance as of April 7, and the property manager said he had suffered a heart attack and triple bypass surgery. The tenant did not appear. The Council adopted Resolution R2026-055 upholding the revocation.
  • 1555 Maras Street: The CUP for exterior storage, approved in 2024, was revoked after violations including unaffiliated semi-trailers, unlicensed/inoperable vehicles, and a dumpster outside its enclosure. Inspections on January 8, January 29, March 30, and April 2 found continued noncompliance. The property owner's attorney noted an eviction process was underway for a problem tenant and that other tenants were seeking their own CUPs. The Council adopted Resolution R2026-056 upholding the revocation.
  • 1515 Maras Street (PRS Towing): The CUP was revoked for noncompliance with six of nine conditions, including exceeding 20,000 square feet, storing more than 30 vehicles, failing a required towing license background check, maintaining an unpermitted fence, and residential use without a certificate of occupancy. The property owner's attorney asked the Council to reverse or stay the revocation until eviction proceedings concluded. The Council adopted Resolution R2026-059 upholding the revocation.

Final Plat - Southbridge Crossings Seventh Addition

  • The Council adopted Resolution R2026-057 approving the preliminary and final plat for a 4.63-acre B-1 mixed-use commercial site, subdividing it into four parcels. The plat supports a proposed McDonald's and multi-tenant commercial buildings, with access from existing/future private drives and connections to adjacent properties.

Amendment to Shakopee Public Utilities Franchise Agreement for Large Power Users

  • The Council considered an amendment to the franchise agreement to create a pilot rate for large power users, intended to make Shakopee Public Utilities competitive with Xcel Energy service areas. SPU General Manager Greg Drent said the utility currently has capacity for about three 25-megawatt users system-wide, with reserve capacity for normal growth, and not enough distribution capacity for very large data centers.
  • Council discussion included concerns about cost shifts to residential ratepayers, noise/air impacts of data centers, and the need for an all-of-the-above energy strategy. Supporters said the amendment is a fairness tool to attract businesses and fill existing buildings. A question was raised about Councilmember Delaney's potential conflict as a paid SPU liaison; the city attorney advised it was not a conflict.
  • The motion passed 3-2.

Reports, Liaisons, and Announcements

  • The 169 Coalition is winding down, with refunds expected mid-year and the website being preserved for 10 years.
  • MVTA board approved an Oracle ERP system and accepted Dakota County and Scott County grants for Southbridge station wayfinding signs with QR codes.
  • Shakopee Public Utilities elected officers and named new water and electric supervisors.
  • Housing trust/LAHA funds have funded two loans: $22,700 for windows/masonry and $26,900 for HVAC, doors, attic insulation, gutters, and related repairs; remaining balance is $609,094.
  • Phase 2 of the Marystown Road project begins April 13, 2026, closing the Highway 169 South Ramp and Vierling Drive intersections and the bridge over 169; the 169 North Ramp will remain open; completion expected by mid-August.
  • Household cleanup day is April 20, 2026, from 7:30 to 11:30 a.m. at Public Works, 400 Gorman Street.
  • Tree sale pickup is April 25, 2026, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. at Public Works.
  • The Council adjourned to April 21, 2026, at 7:00 p.m.

Meeting Transcript

Call the Shacopee City Council meeting for April 7th, 2026 to order. And if you could please take the roll. Councilmember Delini. Here. Councilmember waiting. Here. Councilmember Contreras? Here. Councilmember Lara? Here. Mayor Lima. Here. Item number three. If you want to join us for the Pledge of Allegiance. Item number four special presentation, Minnesota Valley Transit Authority annual update. Mr. Luther, sir. You might have to pull that microphone closer. Thank you, sir. Just let me know if you guys can hear me. Well, I can hear myself, so that's a good sign, I think. Thank you very much for their time this evening. I'll try to um make sure my comments are not necessarily brief but poignant. So again, my name is Luther Weiner. I'm the CEO for Minnesota Valley Transit Authority, been CEO now since 2016. Just want to give obviously one of our yearly um transit updates. First, let's talk about the agenda, some of the things that I have that we'll go over. We'll talk about our fixed route, our connect service, service change schedule that we have, and some changes we're going to be doing in Shakapee, our event services, then we'll do a legislative update and round it out with a little bit about our community partner, um, talking about our South Metro Coalition and local forward. It's important to note when I have these conversations by MVTI, we start off with the basis, not everyone understands obviously the breath of our services or what we do as an agency. So I just want to make sure just everyone know we have 24 routes express as well as reverse commute. We have local service on demand, which is connect, which I'll get into a little later exactly what that is. Um we also have event services as well, too. When it comes to our fixed route services, it's important to note that we do have some good services that we offer in Shacopee. We have our express services that primarily transmit downtown to Minneapolis, the 490 and 493. We also have our four fund bus, um, which is also combined now with the Route 495. Um that service goes from all of America to Barnesville. It has branches that go to Valley Fair when Valley Fair is operating. Um it goes to Marshall Road Transit Station, Amazon, as well as Mystic Lake Casino, followed by Canterbury as well. From ridership standpoint. So when we look at ridership overall for um uh for um Shakapee, it's actually was pretty it was actually really strong. Um there was over 18 percent increase in ridership from 2024 to 2025 for the city of Shakapee. Important note that overall when it came to our last slide there, I wanted to fast forward this one. Overall, ridership overall system wide for our service is about 7.8 percent. So you guys were above um the average for um for the service for uh for our yearly service, which is very beneficial. And we want to highlight a couple routes and why that was. So as you see here, obviously state fair services up at 47 percent from um from 204 uh 2025, primarily driven by the fact that this was the the last year was the first year we opened up Alton all days for the fair. We had service at South Bridge, um, followed by our Route 490. Um, as you see, dramatic increase of ridership there, continuing to add service as well as meeting the needs of customers. Our four fund bus continues to be um a great generator, obviously going to midst of the casino as well as services to Amazon as well. Um we have a route 499, also 34 percent, and our route 497 up 12.3.

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