07-23-2024 Work SessionCITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
Richfield, Minnesota
City Council Work Session
July 23, 2024
CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Supple called the work session to order at 5:45 p.m. in the Bartholomew Room.
Council Members
Present:
Mary Supple, Mayor; Simon Trautmann, Sharon Christensen; Sean Hayford
Oleary, Ben Whalen
Staff Present:
Guests:
Katie Rodriguez, City Manager; Karl Huemiller, Recreation Services
Director; Courtney Miller, Senior Analyst; and Michelle Friedrich, City Clerk.
Noah Exum, Glen Waguespack, Andrew Holmgren, HGA
ITEM #1 WOOD LAKE BUILDING PROJECT UPDATE WITH PRESENTATION BY HGA AND
LOCAL OPTION SALES TAX BALLOT LANGUAGE DISCUSSION.
City Manager Rodriguez introduced the new Senior Analyst to the Council. She reviewed the
agenda with the Council and turned it over to Director Huemiller.
Director Huemiller reviewed the plans for tonight's presentation. He shared the previous
projects they have been working on in the past months and discussed the planned upcoming projects
for the coming year.
Glen Waguespack, HGA, presented the process they are going through in the design stage.
He reviewed the criteria, grading principles, budget, and schedule they have for this project. He
discussed the timeline the project has; they are about halfway through the project schedule.
Noah Exum, HGA, briefed the Council on the engagement strategy they are using for this
project. He shared that they are looking to get feedback from the whole City of Richfield through
surveys and open houses, then will do smaller focus groups, and finally through a project team for
final decision making. He recapped the data collected through the surveys and studies. He reviewed
the plans for balancing the desires of the community.
Glen Waguespack presented the building planning updates and reviewed the site constraints
they have run into. He also gave an overview of the site plans.
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Andrew Holgren, HGA, went into a more detailed overview of the site’s plans. He discussed
the nature spaces surrounding the building and presented detailed plans for the different buildings
and the purposes they will serve.
Council Member Hayford Oleary asked if they will need to staff the whole building since it is so
open.
Glen Waguespack shared that their plans are to staff at least one person when an event is
taking place.
Council Member Hayford Oleary shared his concern for the lowest point of the room being too
low and not leaving room to maximize the available space.
Glen Waguespack noted that the rooms are all about 9 feet tall, but they can study to change
that.
Andrew Holgren noted that they must find a good middle to where the doors are tall enough for
functionality but not too heavy for staff to open and close.
Council Member Hayford Oleary asked about the reason for the shape of the deck space and
why they decided on that shape. He shared that he would like to make that deck slightly larger to
better allow for event use.
Andrew Holgren noted that they are still in the schematic design stage, and they have decided
to shape it like this to show people that there are bigger places of congregating for people.
Council Member Christensen asked if the different designs for glass windows and observation
decks will be incorporated into the building.
Glen Waguespack shared that the way the building will be designed is to maximize the
outdoor views in many ways.
Mayor Supple asked if they have glass that will minimize bird strikes installed in the building.
Glen Waguespack noted that they are featured in the early part of the schematic design and
are required as a part of B3.
Mayor Supple asked if they are planning to expand the programing so they have raptors.
Director Huemiller shared that yes, they are planning on developing a volunteer team to help
maintain the raptors.
Mayor Supple asked to clarify if they plan to remove the fence at the north side of the site.
Director Huemiller shared that they have been discussing removing parts of the fence. He
also shared that they are trying to have better access points to the park.
Council Member Hayford Oleary noted that he feels it is very important to make the parks very
accessible to the community.
Council Member Whalen agreed that they should remove some of the fences to make the park
more accessible. He noted that they should picture the connection to the trail in the plan, so the public
is not confused. He also agreed that the deck space should be increased. He shared his concern
about the main entrance not being noticeable enough.
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Andrew Holgren discussed the reasons for the placement of the main entrance. He noted that
not all people will use the same entrance and usually different groups of people will enter the building
on a different side depending on their reason for visiting.
Mayor Supple asked if the gray area on the plan is a public space.
Andrew Holgren reported that that area would be private and considered back of house.
Council Member Trautmann discussed his agreement for rotating the main entrance and the
reception area. He noted a different design thought for expanding the deck area. He also noted that
he would not advise them to view the coffee shop as a huge revenue generator but would add a huge
sense of community to the area.
Noah Exum reviewed that they have been looking into making a snack and coffee area located
behind reception instead of a full coffee shop to save some money but still allow people to get a cup
of coffee at the center.
Council Member Trautmann commented that he feels it is important to have a good hospitality
space as well as a storage area.
Andrew Holgren presented the exterior plans for the building. He shared the planned views
from different areas of the site. He also presented the planned views from the interior of the building.
Director Huemiller presented the sample ballot language.
Mayor Supple shared that the reason for this is to make sure it is clear for residents to
understand and make choices.
Council Member Whalen noted that he thinks it should be made clearer that the 20-year
maximum will fund all three buildings.
Council Member Hayford Oleary noted his concern that it is not made clear that it will not be
20 years maximum for each of the three buildings and a total of 60 years, but instead to make it clear
that it will be a total of 20 years maximum.
City Manager Rodriguez shared that they would work on making it clearer to residents about
the timeline.
Council Member Christensen noted that she is concerned that the questions are being worded
in a manner that is too difficult to understand and should be made clearer.
The group discussed the ways they could reword the question to make it more clear to
residents.
City Manager Rodriquez reported that she will create a summary of the discussion and get it
back to the Council.
ADJOURNMENT
Mayor Supple adjourned the work session at 7:00 pm.
City Council Work Session Minutes -4-July 23, 2024
Date Approved: August 14, 2024
Mary B. Supple
Mayor
Michelle Friedrich Katie Rodriguez
City Clerk City Manager