What happened
- Special meeting called to order at 6:00 pm by Mayor Don Kirchmann; adjourned 7:45 pm.
- Northland Securities recommended $800,000 in TIF assistance for the Sunset Homes redevelopment.
- Rebound requested $1.855 million in TIF assistance.
- Council approved Rebound's proposed TIF amount of $1.855 million for 26 years, 5-0-0.
- A June 9 public hearing was scheduled where official action may take place.
- Brett Reese reviewed the timeline since purchase of the Sunset property in 2024.
- Alex Baraniak said construction of the new housing would be completed in 2027.
- Resolution 2026-17 declaring a vacancy in the office of City Council adopted 5-0-0.
- Attorney Riggs advised Bailey resign immediately and be reappointed until the November special election.
- Bailey's resignation letter cited career and family changes and her remaining 2 years of term.
What was asked 22 raised · 13 settled
Every question, assignment, pending figure and unsourced claim from this meeting, quoted from the record, each checked against the county, census, listing, bid and budget data we hold.
Administrator Lehner recapped and summarized what was presented and why we were here tonight. Northland is recommending $800,000 in TIF assistance.
Recap of the gap between the consultant's TIF analysis and the developer's request.
At the meetingCouncil nevertheless approved the developer's $1.855 million figure.
Northland Securities recommended $800,000 and the council approved $1,855,000, which is 2.32 times the consultant's figure and $1,055,000 more. Our records hold the two figures and the council's choice but not Northland's written basis for the $800,000.
factbook, Development, TIF and land (KENYON_INCENTIVES.md)
Summer Kick-Off Event in Cannon Falls, MN • June 11th
List of upcoming TZD outreach events shared with council.
The council packet itself lists the events with times: Summer Kick-Off in Cannon Falls and PIIC Public Safety Day in Red Wing both June 11, Adult Detention Center presentations June 22, a PBT event at the Guilty Goose in Zumbrota July 24 from 4 to 7 pm, and a PBT event at Haycreek Campground in Red Wing July 31 from 4 to 7 pm.
6.9.26 Council Packet & Agenda, TZD presentation slides
Total Cash and Investments $ 12,345,392 $ 12,930,995 $ (585,603)
Compiled unaudited quarterly financial report as of March 31, 2026.
The $585,603 decline reconciles exactly. Checking fell $225,138 from $823,185 to $598,047 and investments fell $360,465 from $12,101,810 to $11,741,345, while petty cash and the ATM held at $3,000 each, summing to $12,345,392 at March 31 2026 against $12,930,995 at December 31 2025.
6.9.26 Council Packet & Agenda, Abdo 1st Quarter Report
Northland is recommending $800,000 in TIF assistance. Rebound was looking for $1.855 million in TIF assistance.
Special meeting presentation and discussion of tax increment financing for the Sunset Homes redevelopment.
At the meetingMotion by Sjolander seconded by Helgeson to approve Rebound's proposed TIF amount of $1.855 million for 26 years carried 5-0-0.
The council approved the developer's full $1,855,000 over 26 years, more than double the $800,000 Northland Securities recommended. On June 30 2026 the city adopted Resolution 2026-18 creating Municipal Development District No. 2 and TIF District No. 2-1 Apartment Building as a redevelopment district, plus Resolution 2026-20 for an interfund loan. The September 8 2026 packet carries the development agreement text defining that TIF district.
factbook, Development, TIF and land (KENYON_INCENTIVES.md); 9-8-26 Council Packet · taken up again 2026-09-08
Rebound was looking for $1.855 million in TIF assistance. A June 9 public hearing will be held where official action may take place.
TIF process timeline described after the presentation by Northland Securities and the developer.
The TIF was not settled on June 9. The council adopted Resolution 2026-18 creating the development district and TIF District No. 2-1 on June 30 2026, and the establishment public hearing appears again in the July 14 2026 packet.
Our record places the district-creating action on June 30 2026 and the establishment hearing in the July 14 2026 packet, not at a June 9 hearing.
factbook, Development, TIF and land; 7.14.26 Council Packet Updated · taken up again 2026-06-30
Other Project-Related Matters None Council Member Bailey Resignation Resolution 2026-17: Declaring a Vacancy to Exist in the Office of City Council and Providing for the Appointment Thereof Attorney Riggs stated that to put this vacancy on the November ballot, Bailey should resign effective immediately and be reappointed to the council until the special election is held in November.
Resolution 2026-17 declaring a vacancy in the office of city council and providing for the appointment thereof.
At the meetingMotion by Sjolander seconded by Kirchmann to adopt Resolution 2026-17 carried 5-0-0.
Resolution 2026-17 declaring the vacancy was adopted 5-0-0 on the attorney's recommended path of immediate resignation and reappointment. We hold no signed resignation letter and no separate reappointment record.
6.9.26 Council Packet & Agenda · taken up again 2026-06-09
Other Project-Related Matters None Council Member Bailey Resignation Resolution 2026-17: Declaring a Vacancy to Exist in the Office of City Council and Providing for the Appointment Thereof Attorney Riggs stated that to put this vacancy on the November ballot, Bailey should resign effective immediately and be reappointed to the council until the special election is held in November.
Handling of Council Member Bailey's resignation.
The seat went on the 2026 ballot as planned. Affidavits of candidacy for open council positions could be filed July 14 to July 28 2026, the primary was set for August 11 2026, and Resolution 2026-21 adopted election judges for both the August 11 primary and the November 3 2026 general election.
8-6-26 Council Packet Updated; 7.14.26 Council Packet Updated · taken up again 2026-08-06
1. KMU Bank Account Closure 2. Police Department Staffing Update
Administrator Update section of the June 9 council agenda.
Both updates were delivered. The KMU checking account was officially closed the week before the July 14 2026 meeting, and as of September 8 2026 the police officer position remained posted until filled with no applicants, the chief and full-time officer both on vacation and part-time officers filling in. The posted entry wage is $33.54 per hour, rising to $38.57 at three to five years and $42.61 at five to ten.
7.14.26 Council Packet Updated; 9-8-26 Council Packet; factbook data/jobs.csv · taken up again 2026-09-08
We expect sewer lining work to start within a week or so.
Status report on the 2025 Street & Utility Improvements project.
Lining did not start within a week. The same one-week forecast was repeated in the July 14 2026 packet, and by August 6 2026 crews had installed the liner system but still needed manhole liners, casting adjustments and grouted service connections. The September 8 2026 pay estimate covers sanitary sewer lining, grouting and manhole rehabilitation.
The one-week sewer-lining start was restated unchanged at the following meeting, so the May forecast did not hold.
8-6-26 Council Packet Updated; 9-8-26 Council Packet · taken up again 2026-08-06
Pavement is scheduled for later in June.
Construction status of Langford Avenue street structure work.
Most Langford Avenue reconstruction was complete and sod laid by August 6 2026. Eighth Street paving was deferred to late October 2026 to let the street settle.
8-6-26 Council Packet Updated; 7.14.26 Council Packet Updated · taken up again 2026-08-06
Motion approving Pay Estimate #6 for the 2025 Street & Utility Improvements
Contractor's Application for Payment No. 6 covering work through 5/29/2026.
Pay Application No. 6 for work through May 29 2026 was moved and approved at the June 9 2026 meeting. The $302,822.76 reconciles exactly as the period's $318,760.80 of work less 5 percent retainage, since work completed to date rose from $1,160,415.47 to $1,479,176.27.
6.9.26 Council Packet & Agenda; 7.14.26 Council Packet Updated · taken up again 2026-06-09
The project is 66% complete, with $1,479,176.27 of work completed to date against a current contract price of $2,256,815.25.
The figures check out and the project advanced. $1,479,176.27 against $2,256,815.25 is 65.5 percent with $777,638.98 remaining, and by work through July 3 2026 the total reached $1,964,638.53, or 87 percent, leaving $292,176.72.
6.9.26 Council Packet & Agenda; 7.14.26 Council Packet Updated · taken up again 2026-07-14
Tax settlements not recieved until later in the year.
Explanation of General Fund revenue variances at March 31, 2026.
Both revenues arrived as forecast. The August 6 2026 quarterly report records that the first half of the tax settlement and the first half of Local Government Aid were both received in July 2026.
8-6-26 Council Packet Updated, Abdo quarterly report · taken up again 2026-08-06
Alex Baraniak reviewed the housing development project that is being planned to replace the sections to be demolished and stated the advantages of adding this new housing to the community. The plan would be to have construction completed in 2027.
Review of the planned housing development project replacing the sections to be demolished.
No construction schedule exists in our records. The September 8 2026 agreement states only that the purpose is removing the structurally substandard structures and replacing them with new market-rate housing, and at the August 6 2026 meeting Rebound reported seeking $3,000,000 from investors. The development agreement's milestone dates would settle whether 2027 completion is binding.
9-8-26 Council Packet; factbook, Development, TIF and land
There have been a number of delays caused by private utility conflicts with the new work, but Fitzgerald is doing a nice job of keeping the project moving.
Explanation of progress on Langford Avenue utility and street work.
The private-utility-conflict language repeats verbatim in the May and July 2026 packets with no field reports behind it. The measurable schedule effect in our data is that completion moved from 66 percent at May 29 2026 to 87 percent at July 3 2026 while 8th Street paving slipped to late October. Daily construction reports naming each conflict are what is missing.
6.9.26 Council Packet & Agenda; 7.14.26 Council Packet Updated
Variance due to higher health insurance premiums for police officers, more wages paid, and legal services performed.
General Fund budget-to-actual variance explanations for the quarter ended March 31, 2026.
The stated cause is in the record but the police expenditure ledger is not. By the following quarterly report on August 6 2026 the police variance no longer appears in the comment list, which instead notes less legal service used than budgeted, so the legal-services piece reversed. The Q1 2026 detailed police ledger is what would settle the 141.60 percent figure.
6.9.26 Council Packet & Agenda; 8-6-26 Council Packet Updated
Sale of lot 551 Engel Drive to Falcon Investments.
Explanation of an unbudgeted General Fund revenue item in Q1 2026.
The sale is corroborated but the closing documents are not held. The August 6 2026 quarterly report records an increase in cash due to sale of a land parcel, and the September 2026 Zillow snapshot shows only three Engel Drive lots still listed, LOT 550 at $187,778, LOT 451 at $252,230 and LOT 450 at $201,457, all at 657 days on market, with 551 gone from the market.
8-6-26 Council Packet Updated; factbook dashboard/data/zillow.json
Decrease in cash due to interfund transfer to the general fund and expenses paid for the liquor store remodel project.
Explanation of fund cash balance changes greater than $50,000 and 20%.
Both stated causes recur in the next quarterly report, which separately lists expenses paid for the liquor store remodel project and a budgeted transfer to the general fund. The remodel cost-to-date report and the liquor fund ledger are still missing. For scale, liquor store card processing alone ran $18,515 in 2024 and $22,956 in 2025.
8-6-26 Council Packet Updated; factbook KENYON_IT_SPEND.md
How can YOU get involved? • SE TZD Steering Committee • TZD Safe Roads Coalitions
Closing ask of the Toward Zero Deaths presentation.
Whether the city joins the SE TZD Steering Committee or a Safe Roads Coalition is a decision for the council and the police chief, not a fact. Our records hold no membership roster or meeting schedule for either body.
363 people never made it home / Nearly 30,000 were injured
Toward Zero Deaths presentation slides for the June 9 council meeting.
We hold no Minnesota traffic crash or fatality data of any kind. The MnDOT and Department of Public Safety annual crash statistics report for the year in question would settle both the 363 deaths and the nearly 30,000 injuries.
would settle it: MnDOT/DPS annual crash statistics report
As of June 8, 2026, there have been 135 traffic-related deaths on Minnesota roads.
Year-to-date traffic death figure in the TZD presentation.
We hold no year-to-date Minnesota fatality counts. The state Department of Public Safety year-to-date fatality dashboard as of June 8 2026 would settle it.
would settle it: The state DPS year-to-date fatality dashboard
174 crashes / 65 injuries / 1 person dies – every day
TZD presentation on why traffic safety matters.
We hold no state crash data behind the daily averages. The figures are at least internally consistent with the same presentation's annual claims, since 174 crashes, 65 injuries and 1 death per day annualize to 63,510 crashes, 23,725 injuries and 365 deaths. The underlying state crash database would settle it.
would settle it: State crash data source behind the daily averages
Decisions 3 motions
| Motion | Moved / seconded | Vote |
|---|---|---|
| Approve Rebound's proposed TIF amount of $1.855 million for 26 years | Sjolander / Helgeson | 5-0-0 |
| Adopt Resolution 2026-17 | Sjolander / Kirchmann | 5-0-0 |
| Adjourn the special Council meeting at 7:45 pm. Motion | Helgeson / Bailey | 5-0-0 |
Who did what
| Person | At this meeting |
|---|---|
| Don Kirchmann Mayor | Called the special meeting to order and seconded the motion to adopt Resolution 2026-17 |
| Lee Sjolander Council member | Moved approval of the $1.855 million TIF for 26 years and moved adoption of Resolution 2026-17 |
| Kim Helgeson Council member | Seconded the TIF motion and moved to adjourn |
| Deanna Gard Council member | Present and voted with the 5-0-0 majorities |
| Mary Bailey Council member | Subject of the resignation and vacancy resolution; seconded the motion to adjourn |
| Scott Lehner City Administrator | Recapped and summarized the TIF presentation and explained why the meeting was held |
| Holli Gudknecht Administrative Assistant / Deputy City Clerk | Recorded and signed the minutes |
| Scott Riggs Attorney | Advised on resignation timing to place the vacancy on the November ballot |
| Brett Reese Developer representative | Reviewed the timeline since purchase of the Sunset property in 2024 |
| Alex Baraniak Project representative | Reviewed the planned housing development and its community advantages |
| Tammy Northland Securities (via Zoom) | Reviewed how the proposed tax increment financing works and the difference between Northland's proposal and Rebound's request |
| George Eilertson Attended via Zoom | Participated remotely |
Organizations named: City of Kenyon, Kenyon Real Estate 2 LLC, Rebound, Northland Securities
Figures
| Amount | What |
|---|---|
| $800,000 | TIF assistance recommended by Northland Securities for the Sunset Homes redevelopment |
| $1.855 million | TIF assistance requested by Rebound and approved by Council for 26 years |
Said at the meeting
Northland is recommending $800,000 in TIF assistance.
Minutes (record) · minutes, verbatim
Motion by Sjolander seconded by Helgeson to approve Rebound's proposed TIF amount of $1.855 million for 26 years.
Minutes (record) · minutes, verbatim
Attorney Riggs stated that to put this vacancy on the November ballot, Bailey should resign effective immediately and be reappointed to the council until the special election is held in November.
Attorney Scott Riggs · minutes, verbatim
There are coming changes to my career and in my family and I will be unable to fulfill my responsibilities as a council member for my remaining 2 years.
Mary Bailey, Council Member (resignation letter) · packet, verbatim
I am so grateful for the knowledge and friendships I have acquired while being able to serve my community.
Mary Bailey, Council Member (resignation letter) · packet, verbatim
Resolutions and ordinances
- Declaring a Vacancy to Exist in the Office of City Council and Providing for the Appointment Thereof Attorney Riggs stated that to put this vRes. 2026-17
Full packet text (4k characters)
The minutes
Official minutes as adopted, from 6.9.26 Council Packet Agenda; text extracted from the PDF.
Council meeting was duly held in the City Council chambers at 6:00 p.m. on the 18th day of May 2026. The following were present: Mayor Don Kirchmann, Council members, Kim Helgeson, Deanna Gard, and Lee Sjolander, Mary Bailey
- Also present
- City Administrator Scott Lehner, Administrative Assistant Holli Gudknecht, Attorney Scott Riggs, Brett Reese, Alex Baraniak
- Via Zoom
- George Eilertson, Tammy with Northland Securities
Mayor Kirchmann called the special meeting to order at 6:00 pm.
Presentation, review and discussion of tax increment and financing issues for the Kenyon Real Estate 2 LLC "Sunset Homes" redevelopment project. Tammy with Northland Securities reviewed the process of how proposed tax increment financing works and what the difference was between what the Northland TIF proposal and Rebounds TIF request to the city. Administrator Lehner recapped and summarized what was presented and why we were here tonight. Northland is recommending $800,000 in TIF assistance. Rebound was looking for $1.855 million in TIF assistance. A June 9 public hearing will be held where official action may take place. Brett Reese reviewed the timeline since they purchased the Sunset property in 2024. Alex Baraniak reviewed the housing development project that is being planned to replace the sections to be demolished and stated the advantages of adding this new housing to the community. The plan would be to have construction completed in 2027.
Motion by Sjolander seconded by Helgeson to approve Rebound's proposed TIF amount of $1.855 million for 26 years. Motion carried 5-0-0.
Other Project-Related Matters
None
Council Member Bailey Resignation
Resolution 2026-17: Declaring a Vacancy to Exist in the Office of City Council and Providing for the Appointment Thereof Attorney Riggs stated that to put this vacancy on the November ballot, Bailey should resign effective immediately and be reappointed to the council until the special election is held in November.
Motion by Sjolander seconded by Kirchmann to adopt Resolution 2026-17. Motion carried 5-0-0.
Motion by Helgeson second by Bailey to adjourn the special Council meeting at 7:45 pm.
Motion Carried 5-0-0