Summary of Shorewood City Council Meeting June 9, 2025

To increase transparency and resident education, SCA is providing a quick summary of Shorewood City Council meetings. Links to the meeting video are included with each item and where applicable, to the documentation in the council packet. (Note: due to technical changes on the LMCC website, readers will need to manually navigate to the time indicated by each video link)

Present: DiGruttolo, Gorham, Sanschagrin, Labadie, Maddy, Nevinski, City Attorney, Clerk/HR Thone, City Planner Griffith, Finance Schmuck, Engineer Budde,

Absent: Public Works Morreim, Parks Czech, Clerk Thone

1. CONVENE CITY COUNCIL MEETING

2. CONSENT AGENDA (p. 2)

The Consent Agenda is a series of actions which are being considered for adoption this evening under a single motion. These items have been reviewed by city council and city staff and there shall be no further discussion by the council tonight on the Consent Agenda items. Any council member or member of city staff may request that an item be removed from the Consent Agenda for separate consideration or discussion. If there are any brief concerns or questions by council, we can answer those now.

Motion to approve items on the Consent Agenda & Adopt Resolutions:

A. City Council Work Session Minutes of May 27, 2025 (p. 3)

B. City Council Regular Meeting Minutes of May 27, 2025 (p. 9)

C. Verified Claims List Claims List (p. 21)

D. Accept Resignation of Administrative Assistant (p. 35)

E. Cannabis Business Registration Authority (p. 36)

3. MATTERS FROM THE FLOOR : Speakers are limited to three minutes. This is an opportunity for members of the public to bring an item that is not on tonight’s agenda, but related to the governance of the City of Shorewood, to the attention of the City Council. SEE AGENDA for full rules for Matters From the Floor.

– Duane Laurila, Eureka Road North (video start at 00:03:28)

• • Restated his question asked on April 28, why some streets were not assessed for city water.
  • He has talked with Nevinski who, after some delay, could not provide an answer
  • Birch Bluff, Strawberry Lane and Peach Circle (approx. 75 homes) were not assessed at $10k each, which would be $750k that the council did no assess.
  • The mayor was here when the decision not to assess was made, how did this happen that it was not caught.
  • One council member voted for this and [s]he lived on Birch Bluff.
  • He is “floored” that there is a city ordinance that says there will be an assessment and it was not followed.
  • Laurila said he does not understand how there cannot be an answer to why there was no assessment.
  • 30 years ago, he was assessed for water on his street, now he feels mandatory hook-ups are coming and there will be a $5-10k assessment coming with the forced hook-up.
  • He persisted in asking why he cannot get an answer about the decision, what happened to the policy that was and why he could not get an answer.

Mayor response: She told Laurila he had come at the perfect time because later in the meeting these items will be discussed and it is time to look ahead. She invited him to stay to listen to the discussion. She said that some of his statements were correct and others were not 100% accurate. There will be no public comment. Some of his concerns might be addressed at this meeting. When he asked again for an answer to his original question, Labadie told him there would be no public comment and if he still had questions after listening to the meeting, he should contact Nevinski the next day.

– Greg Larson, Orchard Circle (video start at 00:09:40)

• • Asked for an explanation of Laurila’s comments that the mayor indicated were not accurate.

Mayor response: In her mind she was referring to the statutory language which she did not have in front of her, that matters from the floor was not a “back and forth,” and she encouraged him to stay for the full discussion later.

• • Larson asked for a guarantee that Laurila’s questions would be addressed later in the meeting because often promises are made and not kept.
  • He indicated that Riviera Lane was assessed-the mayor corrected him that it was not. Larson corrected his statement to the Glen Road project.
  • Larson said what is known is the approximate time frame when assessments stopped.
  • He said if the city would approach water like a business, it would know the benefits and features of the product being sold, and compare it to the competition which is well water.
  • The city needs to understand the marketing: “Who wants the product?”
  • No business is going to spend millions of dollars without understanding the market.
  • No survey has been done to ask residents if they want water on related projects.
  • To spend the money without knowing the market is “malfeasance”
  • This [in his opinion] is why residents get fed up with the government.

Mayor response: Stay for the full discussion.

4. REPORTS AND PRESENTATIONS (video start at 00:18:09)

A. Deborah Zorn, Lake Minnetonka Conservation District: Gave an overview of the history and mission of the LMCD, the city partners, and current activities and regulations being monitored by the LMCD. Read the handout provided by Ms. Zorn (p. 40)

B.Tom Tully reviewed the 2026 LMCD budget, as shared, with the council.

5. PARKS

– No report.

6. PLANNING

– No report.

7. ENGINEERING/PUBLIC WORKS

A. Water Infrastructure (video start at 00:39:21)

Note: Due to the importance of the full 3.5 hour discussion on the development of a city-wide municipal water policy and the potential cost, it will be summarized in a separate SCA article. SEE THE SUMMARY HERE.

Below are the linked documents provided to the council for review before their discussion on this topic:

• • 01-Study of the Support of Shorewood Property Owners for a Proposed City-Wide Water System-Nov 21_1991.pdf
  • 02-PC Meeting Minutes_20 Year Water Plan-Jan 16_1996.pdf
  • 03-Water Distribution System Improvement Implementation Plan Report-Jan_1996.pdf
  • 04-CC Work Session_Capital Bonding, Water Extension, Connection Policy, Water Main Survey Results-March 9_2006.pdf
  • 05-CC Work Session_Water Connection Policy-Jan 20_2010.pdf
  • 06-History of Water Connections, Fees_1999 CC Memo re City Water Discussion-Feb 4_2010.pdf
  • 07-CC Memo_Amendments to Water Ordinance-Feb 22_2010.pdf
  • 08-Municipal Water Brochure-July_2010.pdf
  • 09-2011 Survey Results re City Water-Dec_2011.pdf
  • 10-CC WS Agenda Packet_Water Plan Update-June 25_2012.pdf
  • 11-Shorewood Water Distribution Update-Sep 29_2012.pdf
  • 13-CC Reg Mtg Agenda Packet_Water Connection Utility Bill Insert-Sep 24_2018.pdf
  • 14-CC Retreat Agenda Packet_Water Treatment Options-Feb 27_2023.pdf
  • 18-Shorewood Water Connection Mailer 2025-April 22_2025.pdf
  • 20-Water Services Recent Home Sales Map-April_2025.pdf
  • 21-EXFD Water supply Memo-May 9_2025.pdf
  • 22-Private Well Testing Data from Rental License Program.pdf
  • 23-2025 Community Survey Results re Water-June_2025.pdf
  • 24-Mill Street Survey Results-June_2025.pdf
  • 25-Water Connections Summary Sheet-June_2025.pdf
  • CC Reg Mtg Agenda Item 7A_Water Discussion Memo-June 9_2025.pdf

B. Mill Street Trail Water Main Project (video 00:39:21 and 2:25:21)

• • 25 Shorewood households were surveyed about their interest in municipal water.
  • 8 responded, two were interested in hook-up, see Resident Survey Results.
  • Due to time constraints with Hennepin County, council must decide on the water main at this meeting.
  • Estimated cost of the project is approximately $730,000.
  • If the city chooses to do added connection from right-of-way into the houses it would be an additional $390,000 if everyone chose to do it. Further pursuit would mean more engagement to determine resident commitment.
  • These are large lots which increase the cost for service connection.
  • Estimated savings to the city by doing the project now with Hennepin County would be $200,000-$300,000.
  • Sanschagrin asked if the city needs to follow the code for assessment.
  • Budde said Shorewood does not have an assessment policy and because of that it does not need to follow a 429 policy,* according to the city administrator when Budde came on board.
  • DiGruttolo was in favor of doing the project with the $10,000 charge and encouraged the council to develop a way to make that charge more “affordable” by extending the period of time for the assessment, or some other method.

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* In Minnesota, a Chapter 429 assessment policy refers to a special assessment levied by local governments to pay for specific public improvements that directly benefit the property being assessed. These improvements can include streets, sidewalks, sewers, and other infrastructure.
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MOTION to approve authorization to prepare final plans and specifications for Mill Street trail watermain project taking into consideration the WAC policy discussed and agreed upon by the city council whereby we will charge the $10,000 water access fee. Connection will be encouraged through the city-led organized connection program.

Passed: 4-1 (Sanschagrin dissenting)

8. GENERAL/NEW BUSINESS

A. HVAC (Chiller) Replacement at Public Safety Building (video 02:30:28) Read packet materials (p. 85)

– The police and fire department will split the cost 50/50.

– The anticipated cost of replacement is $340,000

– Charge for an estimated cost was $36,000 due to the complexity of the system and development of a scope of work.

– The price increased 40% since October, 2024.

– The project was overseen by Bolton & Menk

– If the system fails before the arrival of the new chiller (anticipated to be 6-8 months), it will cost $17,000 to rent a temporary fix.

MOTION to approve purchase: Passed 5-0

9. STAFF AND COUNCIL REPORTS AND DISCUSSION

A. Staff

– Parks-Czech: Absent

– Public Works-Morreim: Absent

– Engineering-Budde: None

– Finance-Schmuck: Projection report coming at the next meeting

– Planning-Griffiths: Absent

– City Clerk-Thone: Absent

– Attorney: None

B. Mayor and City Council

– DiGruttolo-None

– Gorham-None

– Sanschagrin-None

– Maddy-None

– Labadie: None

Meeting adjourned at 12:25 a.m.

Additional Resources

View the meeting anytime at LMCC-TV.org
Watch all council meetings live on Zoom
Read the packet (the complete public background materials provided to the council)