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Home My WebLink AboutCity Council - 06/16/2026 - WorkshopApproved Minutes Eden Prairie City Council Workshop Tuesday, June 16, 2026 4 p.m. Police Department Ribbon Cutting City Center – Police Department 8080 Mitchell Road Eden Prairie, MN 55344 5:30 p.m. Workshop 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 WORKSHOP AGENDA 4 p.m. Police Department Ribbon Cutting 5:30 p.m. Heritage Rooms 1. Capital Improvement Plan 2027 to 2036 Getschow explained tonight’s discussion will focus on the 2027 to 2036 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) and a potential Local Option Sales Tax (LOST). Getschow introduced Finance Manager Tammy Wilson to give an overview of the CIP. Wilson explained the CIP is a planning and ﬁnancial management tool to coordinate upcoming projects and funding sources. One key policy is to maintain a debt level of between ten and 15 percent of the General Fund budget. The City is currently at ﬁve percent, well under the policy recommendation. Wilson provided a summary of CIP projects by department. The total of all CIP projects between 2027 and 2036, excluding projects that could potentially be funded with LOST, is $357 million. This is a decrease from the last CIP total of $367 due to the police remodel. Wilson explained tonight’s focus will be on projects scheduled for 2027 and 2028. Wilson explained one of the project funding sources is the Capital Maintenance and Reinvestment Fund (CMRF). The CMRF fund is used for projects without a dedicated funding source. Revenue sources for this fund include Eden Prairie Liquor proﬁts, antenna rent revenue, leases, and Smith House rent. Narayanan asked if money from Comcast funds the CMRF. Wilson explained cable franchise fees are a General Fund revenue source. Case asked if money from the CMRF funds Smith House projects. Wilson conﬁrmed the CMRF funds projects at Smith House. Freiberg asked for the revenue amount for antenna rent. Wilson conﬁrmed its $460 thousand annually. There is also a $400 thousand tax levy that funds the CMRF, which the City did not levy last year due to positive General Fund performance. Case asked if foregoing the levy is noticeable to the taxpayer. Getschow conﬁrmed it lowered the levy by approximately one percentage point. Wilson explained the remaining CMRF funding sources including any one time revenues and a transfer from the General Fund. Wilson displayed a chart showing the projected CMRF balance, revenues, and expenses between 2027 and 2036. The fund balance is projected to decrease over the ten year CIP, which is the nature of the fund. One time revenue is not budgeted as its not a guarantee. Expenses vary year to year due to project timing. Narayanan asked why the balance is starting so high and then decreases quickly. Wilson conﬁrmed there are many large projects scheduled for 2027 including a $2.4 million ﬁre truck purchase and $720 thousand of turnout gear. Case asked how the starting CMRF fund balance became so high. Wilson conﬁrmed it is due to multiple one time revenues received. Getschow added the CMRF has historically had a starting balance between eight and 18 million. The starting balance is high due to positive general fund performance in the past few years. Wilson next described capital projects scheduled for the next two years. Community Development has two projects scheduled, light rail transit station area maintenance and bridge railing replacement. Engineering’s projects include Purgatory Creek Bridge and annual right of way maintenance. Facilities projects include furnace and air conditioning at ﬁve park shelters and installing additional EV charging stations. Fire’s projects include purchase of a tower 41 ﬁre truck, turn out gear, and replacement of radios and a ﬁre boat. Toomey asked for more details on the ﬁre boat. Gerber conﬁrmed the City currently has two boats to aid in emergency event response, the current plan is to replace the two boats with one. Case asked for information on how often turn out gear is replaced. Gerber noted each ﬁreﬁghter has two sets of turnout gear replaced in ﬁve year increments. Wilson stated Fleet’s projects over the next few years include a vehicle lift replacement and a monitoring system to manage fuel storage tanks. Park’s projects are mainly maintenance and equipment replacement at parks and shelters. Police’s projects include an additional patrol squad car and equipment for day-to-day operations. Case asked if all new squad cars are electric. Sackett conﬁrmed the new squad car is electric. Most new patrol cars are where practical. There are three Chevrolet Blazers in service, with three more waiting for build. Investigation cars are also electric. Wilson explained the Public Works projects include light rail transit plaza equipment and a hydro excavator trailer. Toomey asked if the Metropolitan Council pays for light rail transit equipment. Getschow conﬁrmed all the major equipment related to the transit system is paid for by the Metropolitan Council. Klima added Community Development budgets dollars for auxiliary items such as bike racks. Wilson stated the Park Improvement Fund is funded by new development park fees, approximately $250 thousand annually. This fund can only be used for new parks or park equipment. It will fund approximately $5.6 million of park projects in the next ten years. Nelson commented on how many compliments she receives on Eden Prairie’s parks. Wilson explained the Transportation Fund is funded by a new State dedicated sales tax on auto parts, of which Eden Prairie is allocated approximately $112 thousand annually. Approximately $5.9 million of projects will be funded over the next ten years. One of the Transportation Fund’s larger funding projects is Willow Creek Road. Narayanan asked if the signal at Costco will be replaced. Ellis conﬁrmed the temporary signal will be replaced with funding almost entirely by Costco. Wilson explained the Pavement Management Fund is funded by approximately $5.4 million of franchise fees per year. Over the next ten years approximately $67 million of projects will be funded, mainly annual pavement management. Municipal State Aid funds any road projects that are State eligible, such as Dell Road and Riverview Road. Wilson next described Internal Service Funds (ISF) including facilities, information technology (IT), and ﬂeet. When funds complete projects, the costs are allocated back to departments. The Facilities ISF’s projects include City Center and Fire Station 1 parking lot and replacing the Maintenance Facility roof. The Fleet ISF is funding approximately $4 million of vehicles and equipment over the next two years mainly for Police, Parks, and Utilities. Wilson summarized funding sources and projects for the Water, Wastewater, and Stormwater funds. Wilson explained projects in the early stages of planning that do not have an identiﬁed funding source are labeled with “Funding Under Review” including a drone ﬁrst responder, the Valley View Road and Highway 169 interchange, and the Highway 4 and 5 intersection. Most of the projects within other funding sources will be partially funded by the County, State, Federal government, other entities, or grants. Wilson displayed a chart summarizing outstanding debt through 2045. Getschow added previous CIPs have included debt as a funding source. In the current CIP, there is no debt planned for the next ten years. Markle explained there are several projects included in the CIP that could be eligible for funding via Local Option Sales Tax (LOST). These include: converting the rink 1 ice to ammonia and redoing the ﬂooring, redoing the Eden Prairie Community Center (EPCC) ﬁtness ﬂoor, remodel the EPCC lobby, and installing artiﬁcial turf at Miller Park. Any project funded by LOST would have to be regionally signiﬁcant. The typical LOST rate is 0.5% for 20 years. The University of Minnesota was commissioned to complete a LOST study. Their ﬁndings determined 44 percent of taxable sales in the City are from non-residents. LOST could conservatively generate $120 million for the City. Markle described LOST in the political landscape. Nine communities requested LOST authorization in the past legislative session without approval. Many cities will try again in 2027. The legislative landscape is diﬀerent this year with a diﬀerent tax chair. Some legislators think the State should be helping more. Narayanan asked if LOST would be collected on utility bills. Markle conﬁrmed LOST would only be collected on taxable goods excluding utility bills, food, and medication. Markle described projects identiﬁed based on need in the next few decades. A Miller Park renovation including regraded ﬁelds, irrigation, ﬁeld lighting, bathrooms, concessions, and an inclusive playground would be a high priority. Another identiﬁed project would be improvements to the EPCC including an outdoor aquatics center, rink 1 upgrades, EPCC lobby remodel, and ﬁtness ﬂoor expansion. A third project option is a year-round ﬁeld house including indoor turf ﬁelds, a walking track, a play space, and multi-purpose rooms. The ﬁnal project proposal is an environmental education and event center, including a multi-purpose gathering space. Nelson commented on the importance of keeping the amenity quality high for those saving to buy a home in Eden Prairie. Getschow agreed everything in the CIP is planned to maintain a high amenity quality for the next ten years. Markle outlined next steps including work sessions to discuss direction and projects, working with legislators and lobbyists, adopting a resolution, and obtaining legislative approval. Voting on each project would likely not occur until 2028, and the tax would start being collected in 2029. Council Chambers 2. Open Podium A. John Mallo, Peace Flags and Dedicating Gazebo at Purgatory Creek Park John Mallo, 14000 Forest Hills Road, requested two extensions to the Veterans Park memorial: adding four peace ﬂags and dedicating the eight supports of the Purgatory Creek Park Lambert Pavilion to eight veterans. Case stated Mallo’s request would follow established City processes to determine feasibility. 3. Adjournment