Council outlines municipal campus oversight plan, seeks balanced resident representation

The Mendota Heights City Council reviewed a communications and engagement plan for a proposed Municipal Campus Project and discussed forming a Project Oversight Committee (POC) to guide design and public engagement.

City Administrator Cheryl Jacobson and Assistant City Administrator Kelly Torkelson presented the proposed communications approach and POC responsibilities, highlighting multiple ways residents could provide input. "The goal is to identify different opportunities for the public to provide input," Torkelson said, explaining digital, open-house and other remote participation options.

Consultant Chris Ziemer (ICS) described the POC structure and recommended keeping the committee size manageable. Councilors debated resident representation: Councilor Maczko urged wider representation and suggested three resident members with varied skill sets (construction, finance, younger perspectives), while others favored starting with one or two residents and assessing applications before finalizing the number. Mayor Levine nominated Councilor Maczko to serve on the POC with Councilor Lorberbaum as alternate. The Council agreed to solicit applications for resident members and to keep POC meetings subject to open-meeting rules.

Staff said the architectural services request for qualifications (RFQ) would move forward under the schedule presented and that meeting minutes and communications would be provided to maintain transparency.

Next steps: staff will solicit POC applications using the City's standard advisory-commission process, review applicants and return to the Council to finalize resident appointments; an RFQ for architectural services will be issued per the project schedule.