On the agenda: North Oaks meeting — Flock camera (Feb 12)

CITY OF NORTH OAKS
Regular City Council Meeting City Council Meeting
Thursday, February 12, 2026
7:00 PM, City Council Chambers are at 100 Village Center Drive, Room 150, North Oaks, MN
55127

MEETING AGENDA

Remote Access - One or more members of the City Council may attend the meeting via interactive technology
and others will participate in person in Council Chambers (Community Room, 100 Village Center Drive,
Suite 150, North Oaks, MN) during the meeting. Members of the public are welcome to attend. Any person
wishing to monitor the meeting electronically from a remote location may do so by calling the following
Zoom meeting videoconference number: 1-312-626-6799, Webinar ID: 838 6931 8462 or by joining the
meeting via the following link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83869318462.

1.

Call to Order

2.

Roll Call

3.

Pledge of Allegiance

4.

Citizen Comments - Members of the public are invited to make comments to the Council during the public
comments section. Up to four minutes shall be allowed for each speaker. No action will be taken by the
Council on items raised during the public comment period unless the item appears as an agenda item for
action.

5.

Approval of Agenda

6.

Consent Agenda - These are items that are considered routine and can be acted upon with one vote.

6a.

Licenses for Approval:
Arborist: A Tree Service, Inc.; Alliance Tree Care Inc.; Central MN Tree Service; Forest Stump Tree Service,
LLC; Hugo's Tree Care, Inc.; Morgan's Tree Service; Rainbow Tree Care; The Davey Tree Expert Company
Mechanical: Academy Heating and Air Inc.; Ares Holdings LLC DBA CMS/Nextech; Bonfe's Plumbing
Heating & Air Service Inc; Centerpoint Energy Resource Corp DBA Centerpoint Energy Minnesota Gas;
Glowing Hearth & Home; Heating & Cooling Two, Inc.; Hero Home Services LLC; Home Energy Center;
Hurlburt Heating, Kirt's Mechanical; Cooling & Plumbing; Kramer Mechanical; Logan Companies; Ron's
Mechanical; Schulties Plumbing, Inc.; Standard Heating & Air Conditioning; Swift Heating & Air
Conditioning; Team Mechanical, Inc.

6b.

Approval of Minutes of Regular City Council 1.15.2026 Meeting
1.15.2026 Council minutes Draft.pdf
City Council February 12, 2026

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6c.

Approval of City Financials

7.

Petitions, Requests & Communications - Deputy Craig Lydon Report

7a.

Legislative Update from Senator Heather Gustafson

8.

Unfinished Business

9.

New Business

9a.

Discussion and possible action on amending the City's annual calendar

9b.

Closed session pursuant to Minnesota Statutes Section 13D.05, subd. 3(b) and attorney-client privilege
regarding Knute Development, LLC v. White Bear Township, City of North Oaks.

10.

Council Member Reports

11.

City Administrator Reports

12.

City Attorney Reports

13.

Miscellaneous

13a. City Forester Monthly Report
January in Review.pdf

14.

Adjournment - The next meeting of the City Council is Thursday, March 12th, 2026 at 7:00 p.m.

City Council February 12, 2026

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North Oaks City Council
Meeting Minutes
North Oaks City Council Chambers
January 15, 2026
1. CALL TO ORDER
Councilor Wolter called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m.
2. ROLL CALL
Present: Mayor Krista Wolter, Councilors Sara Shah, Andrew Gaspard, Grover Sayre, Mark
Azman
Staff Present: Administrator Kevin Kress, Attorney Bridget Nason, and City Engineer Jupe Hale,
Others Present: NineNorth Videographer Kenny Ronnan
A quorum was declared present.
3. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Mayor Wolter led the Council in the Pledge of Allegiance.
4. CITIZEN COMMENTS
•

Art Andrews, 26 Summit Heights, resident in Summit Heights since 2000. He just wanted
to emphasize that he is still engaged in interested in the quiet railroad zone project and
will follow the railroad project presentation later in the meeting.

•

George Lance, 1488 White Street, spoke on citizens right to free speech and feels lately
free speech has been under attack by others. Restricting public comments being shut is
illegal viewpoint. He was concerned about making sure that differing viewpoints were
not being restricted and cited court rulings that political speech is protected and public
has the right to air its viewpoints. He noted he was speaking calmly within time and
without threats.

•

Christopher Nolan, 148 Winfer Street, stated there’s a lot going on in community and
wanted to comment on that. Wanted to express immense gratitude to men & women to
ICE and appreciated their work in protecting our rule of law. Thanked them for standing
on front lines and protecting community.

•

Levi Joelstein, 1 Hill Farm Road, addressed Council to praise heroism of ICE and
customs agent. Asks the government to step up arrests.

•

Attorney Nason noted that per established Citizen comment policy, citizens can make any
comments within the specified period and Council does not need to respond on anything
which is not on the published agenda.

•

Phillip Hassler, 2148 Region Drive, proud resident and shared American identity. Upset
about Somali fraud and impact on other programs. He feels multi-culturalism brings
cultural corruption and impact on other programs.

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Minutes of the City Council Meeting

January 15, 2026

**Note: The public comment from Mr. Andrews was from a North Oaks Resident. No
other names or addresses can be verified.
5. APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Motion by Sayre, seconded by Shah, to approve the agenda as presented.
Motion approved unanimously by roll call vote.
6. CONSENT AGENDA
6. Consent Agenda - These are items that are considered routine and can be acted upon with
one vote.
6a. Approval of Licenses:
Arborist: A1 Tree & Stump Removal; Alex's Lawn and Turf, LLC; Arboreal Tree Care; Budget
Tree Service, Inc.; Cameron Tree Service Inc.; Langers Tree Service; Northland Landscape &
Construction Inc.; Pioneer Tree Service; Raml Tree Service, LLC; Renstrom Tree LLC; Tervo
Tree and Landscaping; TLG Outdoor Services LLC; Twin City Tree Authority; Vineland Tree
Care; Woodchuck Tree Care; Woodland Restorations
Mechanical: Aquarius Home Services; Ares Holdings LLC DBA CMS/Nextech; Beyond
Heating & Air; Groff's Heating & Air Conditioning; Hearth & Home Technologies LLC dba
Fireside Hearth & Home; Krinkies Heating & Air Conditioning; Midwest Maintenance &
Mechanical Inc;
General: Kraus-Anderson Construction Company
6b. Approval of City Council Meeting minutes of 12.11.2025
6c. Approval of City Financials EFT: 001159 -001169, 1171e-1182 and Checks 016042 016087
6d. Approval of City Meeting Schedule
6e. Approval of City Hall Holiday Schedule
MOTION by Gaspard, seconded by Azman, to approve the Consent agenda. Motion
carried unanimously by roll call vote.

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Minutes of the City Council Meeting

January 15, 2026

7. PETITIONS, REQUESTS & COMMUNICATIONS
7a. Deputy Craig Lydon Report
• For the month of December 2025, Deputy Lydon noted there were 154 calls, which
include 66 medical calls, 8 fire calls, 9 traffic stops and 9 accidents.
• They’ve seen theft from autos from contractors. Encourages residents and contractors to
continue to call 911 for unusual vehicles or suspicious activity. It may be delivery
drivers, but they will check it out. He asks residents to call 911 to start the record keeping
process.
• For security, shut Garage door and lock vehicles overnight.
• Deputy Lydon mentioned the speed cart is currently over on North Oaks Road due to the
resident complaints. He will work with Mel’s to get it shifted to new location.
• He noted that Flock cameras have led to recent arrest and prevented a future crime. The
flock system triggered and they were able to stop the activity.
• Ilya Berchenko asked if the NOHOA camera has been able to capture data. Deputy
Lydon will follow up on the issue.
8. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
8a. Presentation and discussion on Quiet Railroad Zone
• Morgan Dawley from WSB Engineering appeared to present on the quiet railroad zone
request. He thanked Mr. Andrews for his prior work researching this project. He has been
through the process with another City and would like to provide a summary of what that
looked like.
•

Highlights include:
o Worked with City of Rosemont and it took 3 years from the time of Notice of
intent to the final designation as a quiet zone.
o Agrees that East Oaks and Centerville Road crossings both appear eligible for a
quiet zone designation.
o Jurisdiction coordination is needed with this one since it involves not only the
City, but HOA with roads, White Bear Township on the west side of tracks, and
Ramsey County at the Centerville Crossing. May need interparty agreements
before a formal request or notice of intent is presented to Railroad authority.
o The crossings on the south side of the City located on Highway 96 / McNenemy
both already have designations, to the north there is also a crossing which could
be heard. He feels it is worth considering as part of the scope.
o There could also be the option of providing a partial crossing, as well as an audio
device on the crossing itself instead of on the train horn. If going down that path,
might as well go for full quiet zone within same process.
o From a cost perspective, the in-road delineators are less expensive options and are
typically better suited to warmer climates. In Minnesota it is more likely they may
require concrete barrier due to the weather but can look at various options.
o The tracks are owned by KCPC who must agree not to blow their horns. They
typically take the most conservative approach for safety and may ask for
additional items or upgrades in place of the horns, at the cost of the City.

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Minutes of the City Council Meeting

January 15, 2026

o There are specific construction requirements on who is allowed to do work on
their crossing. The City contractor may be able to do work on the road, but
railroad typically has formal agreements, insurance requirements, and other
upgrades needed they require for those working on crossings.
o Timeline to get it implemented could be 2-3 years to get approval on designation
request.
o Staff recommendation: it is a possibility, but there is a lot of staff and agency
input required. Next steps would be meeting with other agencies such as White
Bear Township, Ramsey County and NOHOA to discuss different roles and
responsibilities, develop joint powers agreements, decide who is taking lead, and
how costs will be divided. He noted it could be $30,000 - $60,000 per crossing for
upgrades, plus engineering coordination fees.
o Mr. Dawley clarified that they could have staff level meeting to share intent with
other agencies and assess feedback to see if all parties are on board. Until the
letter of intent is sent to the Federal Railroad committee, the project can end
anytime as get more information and determine if going to be too costly. A
feasibility effort could be $10-20,000 to get to point of whether this could move
forward.
o Mayor Wolter inquired if there is anything preventing a train engineer from
blowing the horn, even if it has been designated as quiet zone. It was thought that
in an emergency they still had the capability to sound alarm.
o In the Rosemont area, the train horns still sound in remote area, and quiet down in
residential areas, then return when back into rural. They used state aid dollars to
help fund road and crossing improvements. They had to agree to the upgrades to
mitigate the safety concerns.
o Kress noted that staff could reach out to township and County to gauge interest.
o Art Andrews noted that the Federal Railroad and MN DOT does not charge
anything for this process, however they may require upgrades to the controllers at
the crossings. Feels can meet with KPCP and Railroad administrator to advance it
a bit quicker. NOHOA is on board but not interested in paying for anything at this
time.
o It was decided to meet internally, meet with WBT, and County and then come
back to Council in February.
o Art confirmed that they are receptive but do not want to pay for it. Shah noted
that there could be ongoing maintenance for repairing roads.
o The general consensus was that council in agreement to move forward with
investigative research with other key parties.
9. NEW BUSINESS
9a. Consider Planning Commission Appointment Resolution 1588 followed by 2026 Annual
Appointment Resolution 1589
•

Kress noted that in Resolution 1588, item B should state Rick Kingston, not Rick
Anderson.

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Minutes of the City Council Meeting

January 15, 2026

Motion by Azman, seconded by Gaspard, to approve Resolution 1588 as amended. Motion
carried unanimously by roll call vote.
•
•

Kress noted the minor changes in appointments which include the updated Planning
Commissioners, Community Foundation members, and added Kress and Shah as the
Beach Committee members.
NEC has been updated to reflect Gaspard is the primary, with Mayor Wolter as
secondary.

Motion by Azman, seconded by Gaspard, to approve Resolution 1589 as presented. Motion
carried unanimously by roll call vote.
9b. Public Hearing - Consider Ordinance 157 amending 2026 City Fee Schedule and Water and
Sewer Rates
Administrator Kress reviewed the highlights of what has been revised in the 2026 Fee Schedule.
They include:
• At the last Council meeting, there was discussion was to remove the animal licensing
requirement. Recommends moving licensing fee to $0 until the Animal Ordinance is
updated. At that time might update the fee. The fee schedule has been revised to include
detail on the fee from Companion Animal Control to reflect reimbursement of costs
incurred.
• The Contractor and Mechanical license fees required by other cities is $70-80. Ours has
been at $40 for 10 years. Recommended moving it to $70.
• Temporary Certificate of Occupancy line item fee has been added. $25 for Temporary
C/O with $10,000 escrow, along with more detail in the agreement. This requires the
builder to put down escrow to finish the project.
• Azman suggested it is merit based on valuation. Attorney Nason stated that the
outstanding issue could merit based on issue. Kress noted that $10,000 has been
sufficient to get those done. Any fees incurred by the City would come out of the escrow
with the remainder back to the contractor upon resolution of outstanding items.
• Temporary 1 day liquor license added to fee schedule. It is not new, line just missed on
prior fee schedule.
• Added Administrative Variance $450 fee and $1,250 escrow to accommodate this new
process for review of excess height applications.
• No change to water and sewer rates at this time. Working with Ehlers and will be coming
back to Council in spring to propose new rates consistent across both sides of the
community.
• Septic permit application fees were increased to be in line with other communities at the
request of the septic inspectors.
• Kress noted that the City has not had a Waste Hauler fee before, but many do to manage
the amount of heavy trucks on the roads and associated road wear and tear. This is a good
discussion with NOHOA and possibly City collect fee and turn it over to NOHOA. This
will be removed from current fee schedule and discussed further with NOHOA.
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Minutes of the City Council Meeting

January 15, 2026

MOTION by Azman, seconded by Shah, to open the Public Hearing at 8:18 p.m. Motion
carried unanimously by roll call vote.
• No public comments.
MOTION by Azman, seconded by Gaspard, to close the Public Hearing at 8:19 p.m.
Motion carried unanimously by roll call vote.
•

No further discussion by Council.

Motion by Azman, seconded by Sayre, to approve ordinance 157 amending the 2026 City
Fee Schedule as amended.
•

Kress noted that Attorney Nason will draft the associated Summary Fee Schedule
Resolution 1590 to be published in the paper. This reduces cost to the City by shrinking
the verbiage to reference Ordinance 157 for full detail.

Motion by Azman, seconded by Shah, to approve Resolution 1590 Summary publication of
ordinance 157 2026 Fee Schedule.
9c. Public Hearing re: 4 Oriole Lane Diseased Tree Removal Assessment
MOTION by Azman, seconded by Sayre, to open the Public Hearing at 9:23 p.m. Motion
carried unanimously by roll call vote.
•
•
•
•
•
•

Administrator Kress noted that the City Forester originally notified property owner of the
diseased hazardous tree situation in fall of 2024. Multiple notices went out without
response. Woodland Restoration was then hired by City to remove the dangerous trees.
The invoice was sent to owners to pay contractor via multiple letters with no response.
City paid Woodland Restoration in August 2025. Owner notified to reimburse City,
which has not happened.
It was noted the same residents had a prior similar issue and they had worked well with
Forester and paid for the removal. Unfortunately, there has been no response in this
instance.
Staff recommend placing the $3,134.50 on City Assessment Roll in order to reimburse
City for costs incurred. The will be reflected on the homeowners’ 2027 taxes.
There were no public comments.

MOTION by Sayre, seconded by Shah, to close the Public Hearing at 9:24 p.m. Motion
carried unanimously by roll call vote.
•

No additional comments.

MOTION by Azman, seconded by Gaspard, to approve Resolution 1591 to add the amount
to the City assessment roll.
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Minutes of the City Council Meeting

January 15, 2026

Motion carried unanimously.
10. COUNCIL MEMBER REPORTS
•
•

•
•

•
•

Azman noted there was a follow-up meeting at Fire Board to adjust capital spending. The
capital spending is going down, the budget is on track, and the station is targeted at being
done late July 2026.
Shah mentioned the Pleasant Lake Task force met with consultant Barr Engineering and
the data gathering is in progress. Group found that we need to pursue a more
comprehensive lake management plan, as it is ineffective to focus just on the beach.
Pursuing Memorandum of Understanding with Consultant to be brought to Council and
other entities involved such as City, NOHOA, VLAWMO, and St. Paul Regional. Then
the engineers will hit the ground running in May / June.
Gaspard -nothing to report.
Sayre noted the City Hall group met this week and noted that we need to notify landlord
if we wish to renew by the fall of this year. Our realtor consultant has advised that our
current rent and renewal is a reasonable rate. He also noted the North Oaks Foundation is
gaining strong interest, and they are waiting to hear from the IRS that they can move
forward.
Mayor Wolter stated the City Administrator, Attorney and herself met with White Bear
Township regarding the Water Joint Powers Agreement. Kress asked any interested
parties to call him to discuss status in more detail.
Kress provided update on deer management program. He noted that atleast 10 deer have
been taken across the community on private property and by landfill area. Residents
should let the City know of any concerning sites.

11. CITY ADMINISTRATOR REPORTS
•
•

Administrator Kress nothing further to report.
Wolter noted would like to have a Council strategy session in February to discuss 2026
City goals and strategic priorities. City staff to send out doodle poll to gauge availability.

12. CITY ATTORNEY REPORTS
•

Attorney Nason nothing to report.

13. MISCELLANEOUS
•
•
•
•

The City Forester monthly report for December 2025 was included in the packet.
The Septic Inspection Report Year of 2025 was included in the packet.
The Building Official Report Year of 2025 was included in the packet.
The Ramsey County Sheriff's Flock data report was included in the packet.

15. ADJOURNMENT

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Minutes of the City Council Meeting

January 15, 2026

The next regular meeting of the City Council will be February 12, 2026.
MOTION by Gaspard, seconded by Azman, to adjourn at 8:36 p.m. Motion carried
unanimously.
____________________________
Kevin Kress, City Administrator

_____________________________
Krista Wolter, Mayor

Date approved___________

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January Month in Review
January 2026

•
•

•

•

We responded to homeowner calls with regards to tree concerns and provided tree care
advice at 38 Catbird, 10 Black Oak, and 68 W Pleasant Lake Rd.
The second round of oak wilt re-inspections is complete. There are some delinquent
removals and we are following up with residents and tree care companies to see who is
still on their lists for removals. All diseased oaks should be out before road restrictions
go into effect.
Ash tree inspections are in full effect, and we are working with residents to educate and
inform on their options as Emerald Ash Borer continues to impact the community. A few
diseased ash tree removals are now in the final notice state. We have been working with
local tree care companies to get bids. If necessary, we will remove the trees for the
resident and assess their taxes, but only as a last resort when we feel we are no longer
making progress.
We provided a make-up Arborist Workshop for 5 tree care companies that were unable
to attend in December. We have a lot more tree care companies in town mostly due to
the high volume of Emerald Ash Borer.

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