City Council Highlights from the April 21 meeting.
Visitor Presentation - Southwest Community Park Master Plan Update
Parks and Recreation Director, Marshall Grange, presented the survey results for the future SW Chaska Park.
Staff have been going through phase 1 of the community engagement process.
- Boards were displayed at the CCC Carnival Event
- Project website was launched with an online survey and idea board
- Focus group meetings
- Market study
Marshall shared the survey and idea board results with the Council and the next steps which includes:
- Tours of destination parks
- Park-A-Palooza
- Narrow down to 3 concepts
- High level cost estimation Review with staff
- Phase 2 of community engagement
Visitor Presentation - Communications Update
Community Engagement Manager, Kevin Wright, shared an update on the City’s communications efforts.
A main focus of the communications department in 2025 is consistency across all platforms. A few things to look forward to:
- Relaunch of Chaska Today - a newsletter mailed out to Chaska residents every other month covering City news and initiatives
- New video projects
- Website refresh
- Community engagement trailer
Approved Preliminary Plat and Rezoning for Fultonwood
After taking direction from the Council, the developer added a second access to the development, reduced the lot count, added two single-story options to be offered to future residents.
Approved Preliminary Site & Building Plan for Beckman Coulter
Current Chaska business, Beckman Coulter is looking to expand their capabilities for manufacturing and warehousing new products. To do this, they will need to add a two story building addition. The parking lot will also need to be expanded.
Transient Accommodation License - TownSquare Place
As part of a transient accommodation license, one of three levels is assigned. These levels correspond to special requirements that need to be met to address public safety, nuisances and deter crime. Currently, Townsquare Place is at level three, which places additional requirements on the facility including continued check ins and discussions with Chaska Police Department.
Their license was renewed at a level three.
Public Hearing: Liquor License Fee Adjustment
A survey of liquor licenses fees was completed of several area cities. Chaska was found to be considerably lower than comparable surrounding communities. The last time Chaska liquor license fees were raised was 2013.
An increase will help offset administrative services and police services regarding background checks, underage consumption issues, compliance check and education/training of liquor establishment owners and employees.
The Council approved an increase in liquor license fees to bring Chaska more inline with surrounding communities.