Minutes - Council - 02/11/2025 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Hagen and the rest of the Council have been able to put pressure on the County to help with this matter. She explained that Ames Construction has chosen to ignore threats and fines from the County. She added that Ames Construction is who will be doing the Ramsey Boulevard connection this summer which could put more homes in danger of damages similar to what she has experienced. She said that after months of fighting with Ames Construction's general insurance company, they brought in a biohazard insurance company. She noted that they were told once the biohazard insurance company stepped in, things would be much smoother. She shared that they were offered a ridiculously low settlement amount,which they declined, and were then threatened that since they did not accept the offer, things would be made a lot more difficult. She said that they have had to pay out of pocket to have their basement cleaned and rebuilt after this incident which has caused a huge financial burden. She stated she has been emailing Ames three times a day trying to get answers from them. She shared that she is scared that this is the company that will be working on the Ramsey Boulevard connection project. She explained that they have a mediation date set for March but they are not expecting Ames to step up and take responsibility for this incident. She asked the Council to help them put pressure on the County to help her and the other affected homeowners. Councilmember Specht said this is completely unacceptable and he will keep doing whatever he can to help in this situation. City Administrator Hagen shared that County Staff is continuing to focus on this and they are continuing to put pressure on Ames. He noted that the legal challenges are outside of the City's hands as the contract for the Highway 10 project and the upcoming Ramsey Boulevard connection project are between Ames and the County. Ms. Schumacher shared her appreciation for the City working so graciously with them as they reconstructed their basement and needed permits and inspections done quickly. She stated her home is one of the only ones that have begun reconstruction. Mayor Heineman asked if they are able to provide a paper trail of communication with the County to these residents for their records. City Administrator Hagen said yes, as all of this communication would fall under the Public Data Practices Act. Derick Lind, 15230 Geranium Street, came forward and shared that he is a part of the Anoka County Election Integrity Team(ACEIT.)He explained that Anoka County is set to buy some new poll pads on February 25. He said that ACEIT does not think this is the right idea because they do not believe they are worth the money and they are a security risk. He shared that these poll pads will only last for five to seven years and they are costing a large amount of taxpayers dollars. He explained that these poll pads are iPads with cellular service that use third-parry software. He said he does not see how this can be more secure than a paper poll pad at a local precinct. He noted that all 21 cities in Anoka County had service agreements and these agreements were handled by Staff and never seen by the Council. He stated this was a major change to the election system and there should be a political process involved with Council vote, not just Staff. He thanked Ramsey for being a supporter of ACEIT. City Council/February 11, 2025 Page 3 of 8