Agenda - Council Work Session - 09/14/2021

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As a practical matter, the attorneys in this practice have developed extensive experience in specific venues - particularly municipal and land use law. Mr. Knaak, for example, had been the City Attorney for the City of Newport, Minnesota, since 1982, providing both civil and prosecutorial legal services. In that capacity, he was directly involved in the financial and bonding matters involved in the creation of the tax increment financing district in that City related to the construction of the RDF plant and the ongoing industrial redevelopment of that City. He had represented the City of Newport in the full range of services that relate to municipal practice. He is also currently the City Attorney for Afton, Minnesota, having represented that City in all civil matters and prosecutions for more than ten (10) years. Mr. Knaak was the City Attorney of Fridley, Minnesota, a suburban community of about 30,000 residents in Anoka County, Minnesota, where he served for sixteen years on civil matters and prosecution of zoning code enforcement. He has also served as City Attorney for the City of Lake Elmo from 1985 to 1990 on civil matters, where he was involved in a wide range of matters related to development and represented that City in a particularly difficult period in its development history. He has also served as City Attorney for Maplewood, Minnesota, as well as the White Bear Lake Conservation District. Mr. Knaak and our other attorneys in the firm have been involved in all levels and areas of municipal practice, from arbitration of labor disputes to zoning matters, including civil litigation practice (involving trials and appeals in both State and Federal courts), ordinance drafting, as well as code and criminal prosecutions. Mr. Knaak, specifically, has been involved in labor negotiations with employees, large and small project tax increment financing and development issues, assessments and assessment hearings, as well as fielding everyday inquiries and complaints from citizens. The strength of the firm's experience in these areas Ile in the fact that its municipal clients have been smaller cities and other local units of government who are dependent on a high level of service from their legal counsel, and Mr. Knaak and the firm are well aware of the difficulties and pressures that cities of this size, as well as their councils and staff, can face. In addition, Mr. Knaak's ten-year tenure in the Minnesota legislature, including a major leadership role, has given him a considerable background in many areas of law, including municipal finance and data privacy - two areas of particular legislative and statutory expertise acquired by him in that period. His familiarity with the legislative process has come into play for municipal clients on several occasions when he has been called upon to assist in lobbying specific proposals on their behalf. Mr. Knaak is the former Chairman of the Minnesota Bar Association Technology Committee and Co -Chair of the Minnesota Electronic Real Estate Recording Task Force. He is currently a board member for LCL, Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers, a nationally recognized organization of support for lawyers and judges in Minnesota. He is a frequent lecturer on matters of municipal law for attorneys in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Mr. Donald Kohler currently assists on matters for the Cities of Newport and Afton, Minnesota. Mr. Kohler has extensive experience in district court, as well as extensive appellate experience. He has argued cases before the Minnesota Court of Appeals, Minnesota Supreme Court, and the Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals. He is 3