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Lake Elmo council approves consent items, $25,000 wall-art project, short-term-rental publication and Sept. 12 city celebration
Summary
The council approved the consent agenda, authorized up to $25,000 for City Center wall art, rescinded a prior failed motion and adopted a resolution to publish a short-term rental ordinance summary (with a hyperlink to the full ordinance), and approved a Sept. 12 city celebration 5–10 p.m. with a budget cap of $30,000.
The Lake Elmo City Council approved several administrative and event measures at its May 19 meeting.
Consent agenda and routine items: The council approved the consent agenda, which included payments and disbursements; a massage-therapy premises license; a lease extension for a temporary AT&T cell tower at 3303 Langley Court; designation of an official depository of funds; a public-art policy; and setting a date for the annual review of the city administrator. The motion to approve the consent agenda passed on a voice vote; the record did not include a roll-call tally.
City Center wall art: Staff presented a proposal to install historical photos and other artwork in City Center spaces. The council approved a motion “to approve the city center wall art proposal provided by Art Resources Gallery not to exceed $25,000.” Council members discussed options for the number of images and directed staff to work with the professionals and public works on layout and installation.
Short-term rental ordinance publication: The council revisited a short-term rental ordinance that failed to obtain a four-fifths vote at the previous meeting. Council members moved to rescind the failed motion and adopted resolution 20 26-029 to publish the summary of ordinance 20 26-006. Council directed staff to hyperlink the full ordinance on the city’s short-term rental webpage to reduce publication expense (council noted an estimated publication cost of roughly $1,100 compared with the legal-publication budget of $1,800).
2026 City celebration: Council approved a motion to hold the 2026 fall city celebration on Sept. 12, 2026, with hours from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., featuring live music, food and beverage vendors and youth activities, and a project budget not to exceed $30,000. Council members discussed band timing, vendor minimums and public-safety presence; they specifically decided there would be no fireworks this year.
Votes at a glance: agenda approval (voice vote, motion passed); consent agenda (voice vote, passed); City Center wall art (motion passed; cap $25,000); rescind and adopt resolution 20 26-029 to publish short-term rental ordinance summary (motion passed); city celebration on Sept. 12, 2026 (motion passed; budget cap $30,000). Where the meeting recorded only a voice vote, exact roll-call tallies were not provided in the transcript.
Next steps: Staff will implement the wall-art contract within the approved budget, add the ordinance hyperlink to the short-term-rental page, and make logistical preparations for the Sept. 12 celebration including coordination with the Washington County Sheriff and fire department for public-safety presence.
