City Manager Bridal Havelock (reported by staff) briefed the council on multiple operational and capital items, including generator installations, the animal control and senior center projects, a failed emergency notification, habitat conservation plan delays and stalled parkland dedication committee work.

Havelock said emergency generator installation work is nearing completion and several capital projects — the animal control facility, senior center, municipal court renovation and Fire Station No. 3 expansion — are expected to reach substantial completion between October and early December. The municipal court remaining work was recently awarded and parking concrete poured at the senior center, the manager said.

On emergency notifications, Havelock reported that the system formerly branded CodeRed (now OnSolve) failed to deliver a boil‑water notice to all residents on one occasion. The city is investigating with the vendor (Citcog and the vendor) to determine why the distribution did not reach everyone; subsequent notifications have been sent successfully, he said.

Havelock reported delays in the Belcourt regional habitat conservation plan. He said Phase 3 of the consultant’s work was not complete on schedule due to a consultant acquisition and disagreements between committee members and the consultant about Phase 3 scope and timing. As a result, Havelock said staff were negotiating contract language with the consultant and indicated he was not yet convinced moving to Phase 4 was in the city’s best interest until Phase 3 is delivered.

On parkland dedication, the manager said the subdivision technical advisory committee and the quality-of-life committee met three times but did not reach a compromise; staff intervened and later progress was set back when additional committee members attended. He said the committees will not meet the previously set six‑month deadline and staff is working to prepare a recommendation for council.

Havelock also said a statistically random citizen survey concluded with more than 500 respondents; staff plan to present full results in October and use them during the council’s strategic development retreat. He reminded the council that staff recommended November 14 as the retreat date and that the city had scheduled street‑maintenance utility town halls for Sept. 7 (10 a.m.) focused on commercial customers and Sept. 8 and Sept. 10 (6 p.m.) focused on residential customers.

The manager reported on several grants and studies: the EDA-funded roadway on Mashburn Drive nearing bid, the OLDCC rail/road truck-rail study progressing toward year-end completion, a DCIP grant of approximately $10.3 million pending, and a draft RFQ prepared to study railroad crossing elimination.