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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 01/20/2026 - WorkshopEden Prairie City Council Workshop Minutes – Approved 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026 City Center Heritage Rooms, Council Chambers 8080 Mitchell Road Eden Prairie, MN 55344 ATTENDEES City Council Members: Mayor Ron Case, Council Members Kathy Nelson, Mark Freiberg, PG Narayanan, and Lisa Toomey City Staff: City Manager Rick Getschow, Public Works Director Robert Ellis, Community Development Director Julie Klima, Parks and Recreation Director Amy Markle, Police Chief Matt Sackett, Fire Chief Scott Gerber, Administrative Services/HR Director Alecia Rose, Communications Manager Joyce Lorenz, City Attorney Maggie Neuville, and Recorder Sara Potter Guest Speakers: Flying Cloud Airport Advisory Commission Chair Dan Dorson, Flying Cloud Airport Advisory Commission Vice Chair Marc Morhack, Heritage Preservation Commission Chair Steve Schumacher, Heritage Preservation Commission Staff Liaison Beth Novak-Krebs WORKSHOP AGENDA Heritage Rooms Case detailed the efforts of a group of surrounding city mayors to strategize a response to the recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement surge in the metro area. The group met last week with City Managers, Police Chiefs, Hennepin County Commissioner Debbie Goettel, and representatives from the League of Minnesota Cities and Representative Kelly Morrison’s office. The mayoral group is dedicated to formalizing an action plan. Toomey noted constituents’ approval for Mayor Case’s efforts. Case noted recent events should not be a partisan issue, and his hope that residents know their elected officials are working toward a solution. Case lauded the involved mayors, city managers, and police chiefs for their efforts. Several area restaurants are suffering from critical employees being taken or too afraid to go to work. There is worry that families are sheltered in place, unable to work and facing possible eviction. Toomey asked if People Reaching Out to People (PROP) is delivering meals. Case noted his belief PROP is delivering meals, and is looking for additional rental assistance funding. Nelson thanked Case, staff, Police, Fire, and all others working on this issue. 1. Flying Cloud Airport Advisory Commission Work Plan Getschow introduced Flying Cloud Airport Advisory Commission (FCAAC) Chair Dan Dorson. Dorson explained one of the FCAAC’s highlights of 2025 was touring the Minneapolis-St. Paul and Flying Cloud Airports. Flying Cloud Airport underwent renovations in 2025. The Minneapolis-St. Paul airspace is extremely connected with the Flying Cloud Airport airspace. The FCAAC is working to create a video for new flight instructors explaining Flying Cloud Airport’s proximity to residential neighborhoods and the importance of minimizing noise disruption. Three key points will be outlined in the video: limit multiple pattern operations, depart over the south, and avoid flying at night. Case asked if the FCAAC is finding success relaying that message to flight schools. Gerber stated progress has been made, some flight schools have adopted the requested behaviors and are traveling to more rural airports for drills. Dorson added one of the flight schools is moving nearly all flight training to Crystal. Morhack stated non-resident aircrafts drive many notable complaints. A federal aircraft was flying around 10 p.m. that generated complaints. Additional communication to visiting aircrafts is needed. Nelson noted her proximity to the airport and appreciation for FCAAC efforts to keep noise down, especially at night. Morhack noted the historic lows of nighttime flight complaints. Nighttime flights are down 16 percent. A possible explanation could be less organ transplant flights, which are often done at night. Morhack discussed 2025 operations by airplane type, which were similar to last year. There wasn’t an individual category of airplane type drawing unusual complaints. Case asked if the FCAAC receives helicopter logs from the flight schools. Morhack confirmed helicopter logs are not received from flight schools. Nelson noted she noticed an increase in helicopter noise and theorized the frozen air and ground might make the sound travel further. Narayanan stated at the end of the day the goal is to reduce complaints. Complaint data should be viewed by hour and by day to determine patterns. Case pointed out it’s interesting to see when traffic and complaint spikes occur, but there is only so much the City can do as anyone is entitled to fly at anytime they want. Dorson stated 80 percent of complaints occur between 10 p.m. to midnight and 5:30 to 7 a.m. Complaints are also high between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. when there is a high traffic volume. Morhack stated Flying Cloud Airport will break ground on a new control tower this spring. Narayanan asked if the control tower will be taller and if that will drive complaints from residents. Gerber noted the new control tower will be placed in a way to allow for better operations and safer aircraft arrival and exit. Case added the control tower will be placed in the middle of the airport, far from residential homes. Case thanked the FCAAC members for their efforts. Luckily the Council has not heard many airport complaints over the past year. Getschow added the FCAAC is made up of a good mix of resident and pilot voices. 2. Heritage Preservation Commission Work Plan Schumacher noted 2025 was a strong year for the Heritage Preservation Commission (HPC). The HPC has extremely dedicated commission members and City staff. The Native American research project has been going well. Thanks are due to the Council for helping fund the project. The HPC reviewed a Certificate of Appropriateness for a small addition to the Dorenkemper House to accommodate a bookstore. The HPC presented the heritage preservation award to Eden Prairie Schools. Emergency plans were discussed to determine how to account for and preserve historical artifacts during a disaster. Schumacher stated the new HPC commission members have passion and a wealth of knowledge. Each year the HPC student commissioners create a video about a historical Eden Prairie site. Last year’s video was played at the Board and Commission banquet. Next year’s video will be on the Dorenkemper house. The HPC has a close partnership with the Eden Prairie Historical Society. Schumacher explained the Native American history/outreach subcommittee is resubmitting a legacy grant application for writing the manuscript of a book about the history of Native people in the Eden Prairie area. This book is meant to be in layman’s terms, not just for academics. Ideally it will be 150 pages with photos. The Native American history/outreach subcommittee is also preparing an interpretive panel describing the Native American cultural features in the Birch Island Lake area. Schumacher noted the new heritage preservation site designations subcommittee is continuing to pursue Heritage Preservation Site designation of the old depot site and nominating the Smith Douglas More house for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Novak-Krebs explained the subcommittee is pursuing a different direction in registering the Smith Douglas More house. Originally the subcommittee was focusing on how the house was constructed, but it was difficult getting the information needed to prove the house is special. Instead, they’re looking at the family and their role in the community. Toomey asked if there are any drawbacks to being on the national register. Novak-Krebs noted a certificate of appropriateness would be needed if any modifications were made to the house. Narayanan asked if the HPC does a publication similar to the Parks, Recreation, and Natural Resources Guide. Schumacher noted the HPC is in the process of getting more historical property information on the website by partnering with the EP Historical Society and using social media. the HPC is always thinking of ways to promote history inexpensively. Toomey asked if the Holasek House is vacant. Schumacher confirmed the Holasek House is vacant. The house was originally located where Lifetime Fitness is, and was moved to Camp Eden Wood. It previously housed camp staff. There has been discussion of rehabbing the house to make it usable and functional again. Camp Eden Wood is currently focusing on rehabbing Birch Hall, and the City is focused on rehabbing the Dorenkemper House. It’s a cool building, but it’s not in a good location and doesn’t have a kitchen for event rentals. The Council thanked Schumacher and Novak-Krebs for their time and efforts. Case commented the HPC is critically important as it’s the personality of the City. Council Chambers 3. Open Podium • Kathryn Keeler, Immigration and Customs Enforcement Kathryn Keeler, 12425 Crowfoot Court, stated Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are creating chaos rather than safety, entering homes without warrants, obstructing their identities, and using force inappropriately. Their actions are terrorizing residents. Keeler requested the Council to pass a resolution requiring federal agents in Eden Prairie to follow the law, have visible IDs, obtain warrants, and disallow ICE from entering city owned spaces, schools, and medical facilities. Case thanked Keeler for speaking up. Case summarized conversations at a recent US Conference of Mayors meeting and a meeting with 15 surrounding city mayors to discuss what can be done and next steps as a community. A letter to the editor in the Star Tribune signed by a group of suburban mayors requesting ICE stop terrorizing the community. Case invited Keeler to contact him directly to discuss further. 4. Adjournment