It was just Monday, Feb. 12, when the Forest Lake City Council approved management consultant Bart Fischer of DDA HR to begin the search process for the city’s next administrator after the council parted ways with Patrick Casey. The decision was made on Monday, Feb. 12 after hearing from representatives from Baker-Tilly, Forest Lake-based Express Employment, and GovHR USA, in addition to DDA, whom the city had already contracted with late last year to consider the city’s positions and staffing needs.
But as interim City Administrator Kristina Handt is in the pipeline to be considered for administrator positions in more than one city, the council decided to expedite an interview with Handt for the consideration of Forest Lake’s administrator role, as Handt has expressed a desire to be considered for the Forest Lake position. The interview process with Handt would be the same for other candidates, with Fischer and DDA, but if the city moves forward with the permanent employment of Handt, the role would be filled without a further search.
The council approved a tentative expedited timeline, which would start on Thursday, March 14, with an open interview including the council and Handt, along with a town hall-style question-and-answer session with submitted questions by the public. An informal social gathering would happen after the interview. The tentative time for the public interview would be at 4 p.m.
The council will then hold a special meeting to make their decision on Handt’s permanent employment status within the city of Forest Lake, tentatively scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on Monday. The dates and times of both the public interview and the special meeting are still being finalized; the Forest Lake Times will have updated times when they become available, and the schedule will be posted on the city’s website, as well.
ATV, golf carts on roads?
The council is also considering the allowance of the use of golf carts and ATVs/UTVs on Forest Lake roads. The vehicles would not be allowed to be driven by someone without a license, and though drivers could cross state highways and county roads, drivers must drive on city roads.
The consideration came by Capt. Greg Weiss at the Tuesday, Feb. 20 workshop, just days before his retirement. Weiss said he had received a request to allow golf carts and ATVs on roads a handful of times throughout the past several years and did some research about other cities with those ordinances. He said it’s a common ordinance in northern Minnesota cities where recreational ATVs are popular, but said it’s becoming more common in the seven-county metro area. But he added that very few people “take advantage” of the ordinance, which would require licensing through the city. Chaska, he said, created an ordinance on a trial basis and renewed it permanently the next year because “they didn’t have any problem with it.”
Handt also added that Lake Elmo recently added an ordinance allowing golf carts on the roads, largely due to new developments in the area.
The council generally had very few issues with a potential ordinance allowing those vehicles on roads, but Mayor Mara Bain did list noise levels a consideration.
“I’m a little less enthusiastic about ATVs just because of the noise factor,” Bain said.
But council member Blake Roberts was excited about how the vehicles would make downtown more easily accessible, especially to those around the lakes area, and pushed the consideration for both golf carts and ATVs/UTVs.
Safety did come up in conversation, as well, with Bain saying, “My concern is the distracted driver in the vehicle that isn’t seeing the golf cart,” adding that requirements for making vehicles more visible or putting daylight restrictions on their use would help.
“I came here a little skeptical. … I still have some safety concerns, but, again, I have safety concerns with bikes and other things we do allow. I’m open to hearing it and learning more,” she said, later adding, “I like the idea of us being bale to be both urban and rural.”
It will be at least another month before the council hears more on this topic.
Other news
The council approved the Westlake preliminary planned unit development, a new retail space slotted to be adjacent to Northern Tool and expected to house discount retailer Five Below. The council could approve the final PUD when it is expected to come through next month, allowing the site build.
The council also approved three new members to its commissions. Eric Langness will serve on the Economic Development Authority. Langness previously served on the Planning Commission and on the Comprehensive Plan Committee before a failed bid to City Council in 2020. Langness will serve a six-year term, typical for EDA members. Newcomers Tim Stender and Jesse Wagner will both serve on the Planning Commission for three-year terms.
Capt. Greg Weiss of the Forest Lake Police Department retired; Sgt. Luke Hanegraaf was promoted to captain. Sgt. Bruce Peterson also will be retiring at the end of March and will be replaced by current officer Nick Kent.
The council approved spending $18,870 to rehab the pickleball courts at Fenway Park by sealing the cracks in the pavement. The project is expected to take place this spring.
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