e e e e e e all right okay let's call the council me order please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance iedge Al to the flag of the United States of America stand thank you very much roll call please council member Cole here council member schweer here council member Wong here council member nordby here mayor mongi here can I get a motion to adopt the agenda please so moved so moved council member swe second second council member Norby all those in favor say I I I thank you very much presentation thank you mayor uh consent item a July 2nd 2024 Workshop minutes Item B July 2nd 2024 city council meeting minutes item C General claims of 1,743 31 item d H claims of $124 item e 2024 to 2026 Metropolitan Council clean energy water efficiency fund Grant item F Public Works Surplus items item G approve fee schedule update item H application for a temporary onsale liquor license and an application for a charitable gambling for exempt perit for the Church of St Peters North St Paul September 21st 2nd of 2024 item I application for a special event from for the Church of St Peter for 2600 Margaret Street uh September 21st and 22nd 2024 item J resolution accepting donations for June of 2024 and item K June building permit report informational okay thank you anybody want to pull anything I'd like to pull item a just to add a clarification item a a okay thank you pull item a please if that's nothing else can we get a motion to adopt so moved so moved council member Cole second second council member Norby all those in favor say I I I thank you so next is open to the public we have uh oh thank you we have three three minutes and uh just want to thank everybody for showing up it's good to see the faces in the crowd so thank you so much and just uh as I call your name you could come up give your name and address in 3 minutes and let's just uh let's be very considerate and uh we'll go from there thank you very much John Schall mayor council um let's see it was my lucky day today it's the third note ification that I had won the Publishers Clearing House competition and the prize is $2.5 million as soon as I get it I'm going to share it with all of you up here oh good thank you anyway uh the uh thing I want to talk about is July 4th quite a change quite a change on Casey Lake Park 10 years I was coming up and speaking about Casey Lake and the chaos that went on there nothing was ever done but this time we have a new chief of police we have a new chief that whose interest isn't to uh uh worry about his retirement or the other the most recent one how to pad his resume so I very appreciative of the action that he took and again to thank council member nordby for saying we can do something something temporarily can't we and you did so there's no there uh there was nothing that I could say was out of the ordinary it was back to the days when I was a kid and just firecrackers so say good thanks to the chief y thank you thank you all right David Nelson sorry David Nelson 2574 East 4th Avenue I was at uh arts and culture uh meeting that they had and it was brought up about uh Gardens pollinator Gardens there's a big difference between a pollinator Garden and a weed Garden if the city's driving around they need to take a look at there's bircks uh you got uh bull thistle uh nodding thistle you got ash trees under ash trees growing right on um third and West Charles the alley that goes through there got nothing's been done there or over the years if the guy's got a he's got got flowers on the end if he's going to have a pollinator Garden DNR says you do not have thistles you do not have berock you do not have uh garlic mustard you go a little bit down farther down I spoke to the homeowner on the corner of the tea he's got garlic mustard berock and all that and he's got ash trees you wouldn't believe growing in there I says you should not have those he told me to go H so City been down there they took pictures they sent them letters before they just go out the window nothing's being done I can see a pollinator Garden because the rusty patch bumblebee is on the endangered uh list it's just been moved up one more level right now between Minnesota has the largest colony of Rusty patch bumblebees and Pennsylvania Ohio and some of the other states around we are capture I'm a master natural so they capture them and they pull off a little part of the leg and they're doing a DNA sample because the B colony is getting thin the DNA is getting thinner and so we're we're swapping bees back and forth trying to take and uh make them more healthy and everything that's what we're doing right now with the DNR and that but we need to take and get rid of the weeds and workers going by or somebody going by especially right at the right up there that guy's been four years he's still got the same weed garden and both of them have look in their backyard you see the bird ox okay thank Youk you thanks David thank you David all righty Stacy I'm not great with names so if I try to just do first names so I don't butcher hi I'm Stacy Maher I'm at 2467 15th Avenue East um I'm here today to speak with you about funding the community center and accepting the grant money um I know this has been a topic of contention but and I know that many of you weren't here when decisions were made to seek support from the state and from the federal government as a mom and as a resident of this city boy that Community Center could have done myself and my son so much benefit had this decision happened years ago and here we are we have this money we have this opportunity to create Community for everyone in our town there's going to be costs with it that is that's true right but it's a cost that's invaluable it is worth it it is it's more valuable to keep this community center in our community and actually improve it for Access than it is to take other choices or other paths um I sent an email to council earlier today that highlighted financial responsibility Community benefit economic impact honoring commitments and leveraging this investment um I would be remissed if the decision was made to send this money back this is a one-time opportunity and a huge gift so I hope you vote to keep this funding and support our community thank you thank you thank you thank you Mark low my name is Mark low I live at 2360 Beam Avenue and uh I'm here to address the same issue with from an opposing standpoint um I don't know I wish I knew more about how this is going to play out out but um I am not one to uh lecture anyone about financial decisions throughout my life and I and I know that uh when you make bad ones it affects in our case yourself and your family in this case an entire community and I I'm I'm approaching it from a financial standpoint I I I don't think it's a wise decision to take this money um I would like to know if it's going to from what I understand it's going to cost more money to get the you know the structure up to Snuff and then an ongoing amount of money to staff it Etc uh maintain it um so I'm coming at it from a different standpoint I I'm all for having a strong community and strong community base but I would uh I would caution that um we need to weigh things from more than just that particular perspective thank you thank you can you help me here see Yang welcome good evening members of the council my name is cang I'm at 2790 Chipawa and I'm here to support the provided ization of our community center the vision statement from the North St Paul 240 comp plan says North St Paul is your favorite small town we promote Community stewardship through an involved and informed citizenry we preserve neighborhood value with diverse and maintained housing and active neighbors the city engages in Creative placemaking that Fosters an environment of economic employment opportunity North St Paul build systems that connect people to places and promote active Lifestyles and I I believe that a community center aligns perfectly with this I recognize that uh opinions on the community center varies for some it was an iconic place to meet friends and take jazzer siiz classes uh for others it might seem unnecessary compared to the comfort of their homes uh however the way we treat the community center reflects our commitment to our community are we ignoring it or striving for something greater I'd like to ask everyone what do you want our community to be like this summer I saw a group of kids on their bikes in my neighborhood reminding me of my own childhood it's heartening to see kids socializing being active and making memories outside of screen time a businesswoman I know described her neighborhood in Cottage Grove where kids visit different neighbors and everyone looks out for each other and I I want that sense of community for myself uh feeling connected safe and engaged uh that's the Vibrant Community that I want to build building a strong Community is just good business too it attracts visitors new residents and economic opportunities knowing and looking out for each other reduces crime rates the community center should not be seen as a money pit but as a Strategic investment in our future consider the percentage of City funds spent on Public Safety it's a majority and while Public Safety is crucial absolutely it primarily responds to events and circumstances we also need the flip side to that prevention a community center can be a hub for building strong Community ties educating youths and instilling good values community centers are not meant to be a source of Revenue but a long-term investment in Social cohesion Youth Development and Community Health we should be asking how can we make this work we've learned from past challenges we can ensure it's managed more efficiently this time around we can pull best practices from Neighbors operating successful community centers and let's leverage Community Partners and private Public Partnerships for Revenue generating activities and opportunities we have an unprecedented amount of grant funding available to us with public leaders who are eager to see us succeed with this project and if the council decides to vote otherwise today please help lay out all the Alternatives that you will put in place to build community Foster connectivity and promote good citizenship too thank you thank you you carer B I am Carrie B I live at 2887 Lake Boulevard and first of all I just want to say thank you to the council I appreciate it when I send you an email and you write me back I love that um I'm excited about North St Paul because I love the volunteers that are here and I'm going to salute volunteers tonight from the VFW and the legion the North St Paul Historical Society the food shelf the toy shelf the history Cruisers people that are on commissions and park volunteers school and faith-based communities we've got the Lions we got rotary we got police Reserve we've got neighbors helping neighbors it's really a great place to be when you've got people that act that care people that show up to a meeting and voice their opinion and I that really makes me proud to be in North St Paul you know how I feel about the community center I feel that there was not a specific plan in place when the legislation was sought and um buzzwords were used to to get get funding it was a great time to get funding there's extra covid money let's get it the State Surplus but I think that we need a really solid plan we need we only had one public meeting about the community center with um Mr Craig what was his name Waldren and that's not enough we need more than that to have a really solid plan of what is going to work for North St Paul because obviously what we had before didn't work work I was a member most people in North St Paul were not members most people did not use it couple of kids in our neighborhood they would pay the $3 fee and go shoot hoops but it was not you know how do we how do we ensure that it whatever we do it's utilized because this is what the community wants so anyway thank you appreciate it thank you thank you Noah Mony Noah go sit by your mother way to go John wow well I got to keep his therapist busy so pick on him Miranda quick please hi my name is uh Mariah quick and I no it's okay 2213 7th Street north um I'm here to talk about the community center as well um um I think that we should continue to gather information about accepting the grant funding and establishing uh North St Paul Community Center the community center is an important existing resource for North St Paul and identifying how to revitalize it and make it a better um resource for residents will make our city a better place to live there are very few public places for people to socialize outside of their home or workplace these are also known as third places and as a result about half of adults in the United States were report feeling lonely and isolated loneliness negatively impacts our physical health our well-being and is associated with increased risk of heart disease dementia premature death poor mental health decreased productivity and poor workplace performance community centers are shown to reduce isolation increase Civic engagement boost property values and improve the overall health and well-being of residents I don't think there's been adequate Community engagement on this topic and to just decline the significant funding without talking to Residents would be disheartening I spoken with other residents in North St Paul and they were aware of this resolution or the grant funding and many of them would like to see the community center saved personally I have a lot of ideas of how the space could be used uh a drop in place for toddlers to play bringing back classes like Zumba and yoga mommy and me music classes for babies art classes we could have a tool lending library educational presentations day camps for elementary school students trunk retreat at Halloween meeting the Easter Bunny Story Time with Princess K of the Milky Way Board Game Nights movie screenings winter clothing drives and I have a lot of other ideas too and I think that we could think of even more ideas that would be um identified with the feasibility study I've heard a lot of concerns um that the community center did not generate a profit in the past wealth generation isn't an inherit determination of value especially when it comes to Services provided by the government to its people potential solutions for generating funds could include having a rental space for parties meetings and events hosting fundraisers like silent auctions and then finding corporate sponsors I think it's really easy to tear something down and it's a lot harder to build community up but I think it'll be worth our effort stronger communities are more resilient they are safer and they are happier and with time and planning I think the community center could strengthen our city and the city already has the building so I think it'd be silly to um bulldo it we should find a way to use it with this study I hope you reconsider declining the funding thank you thank you thank you Ruthie Olstead good evening my name is Ruthie Olmstead I live at 2677 2 Avenue East thank you mayor and council members for the opportunity to share some of my concerns about the community center as I reflect on this project thought lots of thoughts come to my mind first and foremost I loved the community center I used it all the time but I will say that it is very small the exercise area is small I know it has a track for running in a gym but and and a library but again where would we have the opportunity to do some of the things like um plays or musicals or anything like that there's no place for a stage second of all um that brings me to my concerns about parking if we're so wanting to do some kind of a community center I think we need places for people to park and already we're struggling with uh the senior living plac around there and a new building going up and with that new building going up it's going to create issues for parking as well third there's no outside space for community activities if we want to use a community center where is there a park for um people to go and play and do things my um fourth point is Senior Living does not necessarily need a community center and that was one of the things that was brought up I used to work at a senior living place and they have their own exercise rooms and they have people that teach them exercise classes so they don't necessarily need that nor will they probably come and the fifth part is my my fifth point is the price on this refurbishing is at a cost not just in dollars but in policing in upkeep and in taxation to a community that is not very wealthy we're not like Woodberry we don't have High um we have I'm sure we have wealthy people here but for the most part I believe that the taxation that this would cause on our residents here who a lot of them are on a a fixed income I think it's a very unwise move I do love the idea of having community so I'm agreeing with what a lot of people are saying that Community is really important but is it wise to utilize our money in this regard that the out that the cost of it to run it is going to outweigh the actual money that we're going to get and with Inc with incomes not as high as they should be and people being taxed already in so many areas I just don't know if that's the wisest for us to spend our money in that but I do like the idea of finding a way to create Community thank you thank you you Ethan Johnson hello Ethan Johnson 2538 1 Avenue East uh more of a statement um just first and foremost want to thank you all I know this has been a lot of work you're all making a decision that is going to affect taxpayers our kids in this city for potentially 20 30 years with the strings attached to this Grant from what I understand from the documents that were put out um and the additional uh funding that would be needed uh from Finance director uh Dan so I I want to applaud you all for the work that you've already done and uh trust that you all will make the best decision tonight for the community thank you thank you thank [Music] you Sharon Clark Williams welcome thank you good evening I'm Sharon Clark Williams and I at 2309 mckenny way and I would like the city council to proceed with a feasibility study and accept the funds to remodel the community center I'd like to talk for a moment about the importance of community centers if there ever was a public building that explained its importance through its name it is a community center everyone wants a sense of community there are so many people that feel they are living in a time and a space that has lost the idea of community a community center can help provide and fill that Gap and give people a sense of community and togetherness for the local citizens it something many people long for and why now obviously it's because of this onetime opportunity we are getting to proceed with the feasibility stud and to have the money to fix up this building before it deteriorates and I just like to talk a little bit more about why we need a community center a wellth thought out and a well planned Center will enhance the quality of life by offering programs and events for residents that contribute to the well-being of the community some may object to a community center because they feel like their lives are already filled with Community but they don't realize how much Community they are missing out on community centers promote social interaction it helps members of the community come together that would not ordinarily cross path thus enhancing their lives beyond their own Silo that they are calling community community centers can be a place where everyone in North St actually belongs it becomes a part of the local identity just as many other things have become a part of our identity such as those of us who went to North High the polar bear and the snowman out there it's they're all a great thing that we all take ownership in a community center can provide educational and Outreach opportunities for citizens of all ages there are many other things that are too numerous to list that a community center can be used for and I am not suggesting for a moment that this would be easy and that we should go forward on a wing in a prayer we should know what it is we want from the community center and have a plan as to how this will happen I'm not suggesting just jumping off a cliff but just because it seems daunting doesn't mean we shouldn't do it it just means means we need to move forward in a thoughtful Mindful and intelligent way thank you thank you thank you I'm Sonic hi all Tom Sonic 25396 um know it's a hard uh vote in front of you and the whole the whole Community Center issue has been uh uh difficult to to wrestle with um but if I understand correctly the vote to accept or deny the funds isn't a rush it doesn't need to be done this week right um so I would I would just ask that you you table this vote um and take some more time to understand I've seen some of the estimates or at least that first estimate that came back on you know what it would cost to repair and maintain the building and it kind of it it it reminded me of a a a situation that came up when I was on Council in the past it was like the proposal was put forth to say yeah we just don't want to do it we're going to make the proposal so high that you nobody would want to do that because it seemed like a worst case scenario proposal and that's why I think if you do an RFP which is also in your packet that you can look at other options and we wouldn't take the worst case scenario for the cost to uh to fix and maintain the uh Community Center um a couple other things on the cost First of all it would be kind of almost unprecedented to for a council to take this vote to deny that money I mean that's a lot of grant money that's being offered by the state and federal government um the second thing when we when we think of this cost like I mentioned I think we have to be more realistic about what it will actually cost um and we have to think about as some of the people who have been up here before have already mentioned what that cost that offsets I mean if you consider the annual cost of one police officer what it takes for us to have one cop in North St Paul versus the annual cost of maintaining the community center you know I think you can get more reasonable comparisons there and I think the benefits that we get from that one cop I could argue would be not unlike the benefits that we could get from having the community center the community center may give us even further benefits it's also mentioned here too that you know this is not a wealthy community we you know taxes it's tough with taxes and but I see all the time people say why doesn't the city bring more businesses in town the city doesn't open businesses right you guys hear this all the time I'm sure why doesn't the city open another restaurant we're not in the business of opening restaurants but if somebody would like to open a restaurant they're more than welcome to do that in North St Paul right so but why would you open a business in North St Paul because you find that it's a vibrant engaged Community who are when there's people who are there so some of the best things have been happening we have more people downtown that can support businesses downtown we get more businesses that's going to help lower the residential taxes right now we have very low uh prop uh business Commercial taxes because we don't have a big commercial base so the residents are stuck with the majority of the tax tab if we can start to shift that more to the businesses that's going to do better for the residents and businesses like to see a community that's on the move and nor St Paul has been doing that for a while now and I think we should keep it going thanks thank you Laura hi didn't know if she was coming with me so esteemed members of the city council thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today my name is Laura Strang I'm a North St Paul resident at 2618 19th Avenue arts and culture commission member single mother and Senior Living administrator I stand before you to advocate for a vital investment in our community the renovation of our community center this project is not just about bricks and mortar it's about building a stronger more connected Community for all of our residents from our youngest members to our most senior community centers serve as the heartbeat of our neighborhoods they are places where children can learn play and grow in a safe environment they offer educational programs that Inspire curiosity and creativity helping to bridge the gap for those who may not have access to such resources at home for our youth especially these centers can be sanctuaries safe spaces where they can engage in positive activities build friendships and receive mentorship in a world for many young people face numerous challenges having a reliable welcoming place to go can make a significant difference in their lives but community centers are not just for the young they are essential for our senior citizens as well the covid-19 pandemic has shown us more starkly than ever the devastating effects of isolation many of our elderly residents experienced increased depression and anxiety during the lockdowns exacerbated by a lack of social interaction ction senior living communities like mine and the one down the street from here provide some opportunities for engagement but they cannot replace the vibrancy and diversity of interactions that a community center offers a renovated Community Center would provide our seniors with a place to gather participate in activities and connect with others it would offer programs tailored to their interests and needs fostering a sense of belonging and purpose socialization is crucial for mental and emotional well-being at any age and for our seniors it can significantly enhance their quality of life more over a community center that caters to all ages encourages intergenerational interaction which benefits everyone younger Generations can learn from the wisdom and experience of older ones while seniors often find joy and A Renewed sense of Vitality in engaging with the youth this exchange can help break down stereotypes and build Mutual resp respect and understanding across age groups investing in the renovation of our community center is an investment in the future of our city a city I did not have the pleasure of growing up in but a city that I've have absolutely fallen in love with and look forward to my daughter growing up in it is an acknowledgement that we value the well-being of our residents and that we are committed to providing them with the resources they need to thrive the benefits of such a project are manifold I promise I'm almost done reduced crime rates improved mental health increased Community cohesion and enhanced opportunities for lifelong Learning and Development I urge you to approve the necessary funding for this project please choose now to make this part of your legacy as City servants let us work together to create a space where all members of our community can feel safe supported and inspired let us show our children our seniors and every age in between that they matter and that we are committed to their well-being by doing so we not only improve their lives but also strengthen the fabric of our entire Community a small But Mighty Community I implore you vote Yes to renovate the community center thank you for your time thank you thank you thank you Josh oh I'm sorry did I say it wrong win y Josh win there you go okay I gave you a cheat so you got it uh joshan uh 26778 Avenue East I want to just uh take a quick moment and thank you guys for your work on this but more specifically thank you to concert member Wong I know you've been a champion for this so I appreciate the work and effort that you put into this I come to you today as a a person that has observations from many parts of my life um I grew up in Frogtown in St Paul I'd be classified as an at risk youth and I don't know where I would be if it wasn't for the Sheffer rec center now the Frogtown rec center in St Paul but I'll get to a little bit more on that in a little bit uh I also come to you as a new dad I've got a toddler and I find myself uh finding places uh like many of the parents here uh places to entertain him that are cost effective and then finally I come to you as a state employee for Minnesota housing as a Communications and Storyteller as I've traveled the state I've locked thousands of miles already this summer and I've driven Past Dead communities and I've driven past growing communities and there's one common denominator in all of those that I see so let's start with a few terms that I think you guys would understand as you guys or council members I think this community center comes in three parts it's about money it's about investing in infrastructure and it's about safety the first thing is money uh I think I can speak for any of the parents here I leave this community every Saturday to find a community center that my son can play in I go to lunch I hang out I shop at the Target that's by there every Saturday I leave this community and I spend money other places because we don't have a place where I can hang out with my kid I'm going to St Louis Park that or a Golden Valley that has a great Community Center I'm going to New Brighton that has a great Community Center I'm going to Woodburry that's investing in a new community center and that's where I spend my money so I think that we need to continue to invest because we are growing and we are changing we have a lot of families that do it and so I understand the benefits of a young family but I think the second part of this is about infrastructure and as I look around the room and I look at many of the council members you guys are aging and the biggest complaint that I see when I travel around the state is seniors lose their sense of community and they lose that when you don't Foster it you don't harness it and so where are our seniors going to age gracefully in place you do that at community centers by volunteering like we heard earlier you do that by having cooking classes or doing jazzer sides whatever the heck that is you do that at community centers uh and so investing in that is important and then finally safety as an at risk youth I know the importance of having space is for Idle Hands and ways to stay out of trouble also I know the importance of interacting with police officers and fire members and city council members who uh can show you how things work in a non-hostile environment you can do those at community centers and I'll close with this I love this place in the summer but we turn into a ghost town when the summer is over it's because we don't have this place p uh space to gather to congregate to hang out to really Foster our community 10 more 20 more seconds um I think if we had a place like that where Fort unfortunately we're going into a political cycle that is going to be challenging and there's a lot of people that don't feel seen they don't feel safe and there is a way that we can continue to grow this community it's by fostering spaces where we can have Community where we can have conversations and where we can learn from one another and break bread and do those kind of things and a community center is so vibrant to communities that are adapting and if we don't continue to adapt I know the old one didn't work we're going to be dead and people are going to continue to fly past 120 and just go to still water or they're going to go to Maplewood and they're going to spend their time there so thank you for your effort on this and I would be um very excited if uh if we voted today uh to continue to uh to explore it and take this money from the state thanks thank you thank you with four joint Replacements I can't argue with an aging Council so I'll let that one slide [Music] Rob good evening mayor and Council my name is Rob southernland I'm at 320 mcnight Road um I am with Ashlin Productions and I am so inspired by the passion for this community center that people have I agree North St Paul can be just as amazing or better than still water and people should stop and I think ashin Productions is an organization that could run the community center and I think that's what's missing we would like to be offer to be a partner and help run that space to provide opportunities for the community and an opportunity for people to get off the highway we bring in about 18,000 tickets a year we have about 1,500 participants in our programming and I think with an expansion of what it is that that looks like we could provide a space that is great for this community I would like to Echo what Tom said and ask you to consider tbling this decision and doing some more research before you vote it down I think you owe it to this community to do that research and to come up with a plan and I think an investment in your community the youth um which is one of the great things that Ashlin provides but it also provides um mentoring and an opportunity for all ages to be involved in the theater that we do and the community that we create so I think it would be something that we could be a great partner to help you run the space which is the thing I think is missing the most most thank you thank you thank you Caleb hi Council uh Caleb Bryan I live at 2066 Margaret Street so it's a super easy shot to get here you know we live in a house that is from like the 1930s 1935 it's one of the oldest houses in North St Paul we don't have to deal with the split level which is kind of fantastic but if somebody came to us and said hey here's $7 million or whatever it ends up being to renovate your space my wife would say hey we're not moving to still water and getting a $7 million mansion we're going to invest in that building in that space because we love North St Paul because it's a walkable City we moved here we live right across the street from cower we had hoped to have kids we don't have kids now uh but we didn't leave the city because of the beautiful space that it offers and I know you've heard a lot of stories tonight I don't want to overwhelm with a ton more stories but I find one thing interesting about your meeting ahead of time whatever that time and space looked like was a church came to you and not only am I a scientist but I'm also a minister in this community our church has been here 50 years and we continue to invest here and renovate our building rather than move but I find it interesting that a church came to you and asked for a temporary gambling and liquor license and it makes me think if we had had a community center where that church could have come and we already have some sort of liquor license agreement with the community center they could have chosen in that space instead of kind of siphoning themselves off away from the rest of the city offering something that more and more people could come to you know we're we're all ramping up for National Night Out here in a little bit because we value the space of community and bringing our neighborhoods together the other thought was just last week I think it was maybe it was a couple weeks ago social media timing is weird um we were recognized with a some sort of green city award and I don't totally understand what that means but but now we're talking about potentially ripping up a building which doesn't necessarily look good when we're we're trying to tap being in a green City and I already struggle with how many trees we cut down um but we have this great and decent building that we could refurbish and we have some potential money to refurbish so that we could continue to be some sort of snowman Beacon for this for the Twin Cities to say like hey we had the opportunity to tear down this building and and go somewhere else or we could you know say you know what we took the really hard choice of deciding not to contribute to more construction waste in this area which is undergoing massive Renovations and and such and sending tons of waste to landfill and we said you know what we're going to reinvest in this building we're going to meaningfully update it and keep it in this space my wife and I moved to this town 10 years ago because of kind of the unique space that it holds here in the Twin Cities as you heard we're not going anywhere at least not yet unless people chase us out of here tonight um this is a chance to keep it rolling like why why would younger families move to this city uh it was already mentioned tonight too that that 2040 City Planning was so intentional and so amazing and you could go to any one of like the little park spaces around town for 3 months 6 months however long that ran to hear people talking about what they wanted for the future of the city I would say let's table this vote let's do something like that 2040 City Planning and and let's get more voices of uh community members who didn't even know this was happening thanks thank you thank you Jody oh it's been a long time since I've had my civics class this is kind of scary um I'm Jody Barry I live at 2486 16th Avenue East um I'm here to ask you to table this vote tonight I like so many people have said had no idea this was going on I missed the Lily newspaper I'm not going to lie that's where I got my information for the city but um I'll be better about checking the website I do believe that a community center is important for our city I hate going to the Maplewood Community Center I would rather ride my bike to my own Community Center than to have to go over there uh I mean I went to Tartan you know so um yeah I know I know come on um I just I have you ever tried to get a reservation for the Casey Lake Pavilion it's impossible which I think is amazing cuz I love that Pavilion you guys did a great job whoever did that do you do that okay um I think it's a great place and I would love to have another option like that you know um I and the one of the things that I love most about living in North St Paul is the small town feel you know and I love that we can be here as a community and we don't all agree and we aren't getting nasty good job everybody let's leave that for the big cities all right but I just please table this it seems I mean I'm not a rich person either but I'm telling you if I had 7 million bucks I don't think I'd give it back so thank you I'm sorry there's two jodies Jody Barry that was that was what was the other one I'm sorry what did I just say it wrong here mcferson oh okay good evening my name is jod mcferson I live in Woodbury actually and you may Wonder while I'm here but I'm a staunch advocate for Youth Development we've had a conversation prior in the past not via email because those have gone unanswered however I'm here again tonight to have the same caution for you not to rush to make a decision that is made in a time of temporary discomfort that will have a long-term effect on your community I'm advocate for co-creating spaces with the communities that we live in I've got three decades in Youth Development and that space co-creating it with young people has made the world a difference your community is crying out for time and more information about how to go about this and what's best there are not a lot of people who turn away the type of money that you already have to invest in this so the feasibility study should have come before this resolution to deny it all those uh conversations about research and investment have to come upfront the conversations about Community Partnerships people stepping in to run the community so uh organizations like mine and others I've spoke with about coming in to help out in terms of programming in it those conversations have to be had before you decide I don't want this money there's not a person in here who would turn away that money if it was their own deal so there's a lot of advice towards you but that doesn't work it so let's talk about the econ of it because the economy of it is it's an investment the benefits is improved educational outcomes job opportunities Youth Development transports to more prosperous Community because those people are going to grow up and spend the money here like he was talking about they're not going to leave your community and spend money in other places I I helped when they were building a community center in Scottdale and they moved it to Glendale and now all of a sudden Glendale was making the money so there's an opportunity here to do more than just the thing about one quick financial decision is about the totality right she spoke about your legacy the totality of what your community wants and needs I would I would caution you to invest in having more conversation with your community around it in college I worked for a man we built a $27 million rec center and there were only two sidewalks one in the front one in the back the one to the front went towards the dorms the one in the back went towards the classrooms and that was it and I said not really a lot of sidewalks for the amount of people who are going to use the center and he said I I'll show you later end of the summer comes he shows me and we go outside and there's a wooded area between the dorms and the rec center there's a worn pathway where the kids are cutting through he said I'm going to put a sidewalk there we go to the front where the classes are there's another warm path he said I'm going to put a sidewalk there never build sidewalks before the people tell you where they need them don't make this decision without the people being involved in this conversation thank you for your time thank you thank you through the list thank you all all right s any business action items thank you mayor uh first up is approval of rezoning property and I'm going to turn that over to Riley our community development director thank you uh mayor and Council um so this evening we are looking to adopt an ordinance amending uh chapter 154 uh resoning property located at 2329 17th Avenue East from R1 single family residential district to R2 mixed residential district in support of the Delaware Place development which is the next item um in uh back in May May of this year the Planning Commission and city council um did approve a rezoning uh of this property via resolution uh but actually by State Statute uh cities are required to rezone property via ordinance Amendment and not a resolution so this is just a simple cleanup item uh for you this evening um the city did meet all the legal notifications um back in May and so the council should consider adopting the attached resolution to properly rezone the property from R1 single family to R2 mixed residential [Music] questions looking for a motion yep so moved so moved council member second second council member Norby all those in favor say I I I thank you all right and then the uh next item is to approve the Delaware Place final plat uh final PUD storm water management agreement and contract for devel development so this is an item that uh We've uh had on the hopper here for quite some time uh and tonight uh looking for the final approval on this project um by way of background information uh the subject property again is located 23291 17th Avenue which is located on the corners of 17th Avenue and Delaware Avenues uh about a 2.4 acre parcel that is uh uh the location of a former Church which was demolished in 2009 and the city recently went through an RFP process uh for redevelopment of the site in uh the spring of 2023 and ultimately uh the city uh accepted a concept plan from Andre bill LLC to construct 10 town home units in a total of five buildings so it's two Town Homes per building uh with the uh approximately 1.5 Acres remaining uh space left for storm water retention and recreational purposes for the residents of that development the Planning Commission and city council initially approved the preliminary plot and uh PUD in uh for the development project in May of this year like I mentioned earlier um after a very thorough review we do find that the proposed development meets the required development standards Landscaping standards and planned unit development standards and requirements laid out in the city's um uh development approval process city engineer uh from WSB also uh provided a comprehensive review um and submitted the of the submitted application materials and included the memo findings in your packet here this evening um the Planning Commission uh then held a special planning meeting uh Council or special Planning Commission meeting excuse me on July 10th and ultimately recommended approval of the final plot and final PUD to to the city council by a unanimous 5 to Zer vote um so with that based on the submitted application uh and plans uh this evening staff has recommended that the uh city council approve the Delaware Place final plat the final uh planned unit development the storm water management agreement and the contract for development with Andress buildt LLC subject to the conditions of approval from the city's engineer report I have a motion so moved so moved council member Cole second second council member Sher all those in favor say I I I opposed thank you can I break ground for you well we'll we'll we'll we'll schedule a ground break in for sure all right item C is to accept and approve the tennis sanitation LLC agreement extension through August 31st of 2026 which was part of the contract to do a two-year extension keeping the contract the same um with the potential of a 3% increase over the each year of the extension I a motion I have a question can you speak to a little bit of the context of of the extension versus um kind of renegotiation because when the process was started there was probably what was it maybe eight months or so and or less and talking with them they were talking about an RFP going out or we were talking about RFP going out and they were talking that the process could take potentially up to a year and a half so we were looking at just doing a two-year extension um and then get out early on an RFP before the end of this twoyear extension contract okay thank you no other questions I get a motion some moved moved council member schwe second second council member Norby all those in favor say I I I against he all right item uh this is the resolution to not accept the state and federal Grant related to the North St Paul Community Center I turn that over to you Dan if you had anything further to add to that uh mayor uh City Council Members um our city manager already um told what the resolution is about um if the city uh Council votes to approve this resolution the city council will be passing a resolution to not accept the grants um and discontinue gathering information on esta Nur St Paul Community Multicultural Outreach Center if the city um Council votes to not approve this resolution the city council will leave the possibility for the city council to accept the grants at a future time and more information needs to be gathered for city council to make a final decision on the grants clear as mud so if you vote y you voting not to accept if you vote nay you're voting to go right we if it's if you vote no you have not accepted or denied the grants at this point in time and we'll move forward and there's an item that comes after this um to issue an RFP for a feasibility study and so then if that gets approved tonight then we would move forward with that step any questions not all those in favor not hold slow on well thank you uh you ask for questions I have comments so my comment is I will vote nay on this and the reason why is the people that are sitting out here I think we heard from several people that ask that we either pause and take a look at it or vote it down um I I firmly believe in my opinion this is a rush to know um I have had the opportunity for almost three and a half years to sit on some way shape or form of of um Community Center subcommittees whether it be to Garner of lease agreement from the tenant that was there to work with an outside agency who presented earlier tonight um to take a look at the costs of renovating it to work with lobbyists through the city hired for both state and federal and work with the prior Council who 4 to one voted to move forward with this P this with the community center early on in this process after receiving the funding there was a quick in my opinion rush to a scare tactic and that was to gather information to put what the potential cost of the community center would be to operate it if the city ran it taking a look at those numbers a lot of those numbers were unsubstantiated based on the fact we didn't know what we were doing and Dan not saying you didn't pull good numbers it's we don't know what the community center is going to look like we just had an organization say right here they'd be willing to run run the community center that's $500,000 numbers that were also in there were um things that are already currently in our budget if I take a look and I break it down 80% of what those numbers were we don't know either already paid for or we don't know what they're going to cover so I believe that there was a a a scare tactic for lack of a better word what we haven't discussed publicly what hasn't been printed in any communication the cost of not accepting the money if we vote down no if we how do we if we vote Yes to say no is that how we're working it um we had to tear down the community center um three options were presented the least expensive option was roughly $1.5 million to tear it down that would move mean losing the losing the library or moving the library moving City infrastructure moving City generator that's a 20% Levy to every homeowner in the city we haven't talked through the cost of not accepting the money so for those reasons I am not in favor how do I say this I am voting nay anybody else sure yeah I'd like to go as well and um you know one thing about this um agenda item is is that I did feel that it was rushed and um that to me um really threw me off um we were told that it might come in late August at our workshop and so um that alone threw me off um I also wanted to talk largely about how much Community is needed um Community Gathering is needed in this community there are 40% people of color in this community and this Multicultural Center could be an a Vue for that and those are the considerations we have not even discussed um or even had studied um also I think if we deny the this funding and we need funding for anything else whether that be a water tower or roads or other things um that's going to be really hard for us to get funding from the legislature in the future so that's a consideration for us to think about um but at the end of the day uh this was a hasty move and I don't think that um it's yeah I I don't think that it needs to be rushed we have four years until we have to you know be shovel ready there are plenty of other um community centers that also received similar funding from the legislature and they also are still working out the details and have not signed anything either so we have time and let's use it let's study it let's explore it let's try to make it a viable thing for our community because that's what I heard tonight okay that's itse I will be voting yay tonight the reason being is I'm for Community if we can somehow Advance a community for or St Paul I'm all for it I don't think the current building is a good spot location or investment for it so if you know me ple please come talk to me but know that just because I'm voting yay doesn't mean I'm against our community I think we have a great Community I love living here um I just think we're building on not on Sand rather than Rock by making the current Community Center um they're putting that investment where it currently is um is and it's not that I don't want to offer programs it's not that I don't want to um give the things that people are asking for I I think I want to build our house upon Rock not upon sand I think the current Community Center where it's located and how it's situated is building upon sand thank you as far as myself I will be voting yay as well um we grew up here with our kids we're in our St Paul we um as far as the the gym and the amenities that was being talked about all the different things the building's just not designed correctly for that it's just not as far as um the location and what it has to offer for that that kind of money and that kind of commitment for the number of years is just uh not feasible as far as people that have reached out to me and uh talked about it and myself as [Music] well if not anybody else I'll call for a vote Mr Mayor there needs to be a motion in a second for anything to vote on yep so read the motion again we already did before someone's really if someone's ready to make a motion that gets a second certainly is anybody willing to make a motion thank you what happens if nobody does okay the question was presented if if no one uh makes a motion uh candidly at some point Mr Mayor we need to move on to other item so if uh if there's a desire to lay it over or think about it or table it we can certainly do that um I think one of the hard Parts about this topic as as an observer on this this is candidly purely a policy decision in my opinion um has been some to some degree the lack of Direction and so I think uh and some form of an action even if it's to lay it over tonight would would would help um or or to vote it up or down certainly but staff is looking for some form of Direction at this point and when it was asked at the legislature was you know that's where I was looking for where was the plan when because we weren't on here us three where was the the setup for this asking for the money um we had that brought forward that I don't have in front of me apologize but that was brought forward earlier on just the high points of the just that Sizzle sheet that was presented to it there's no anything else deeper than that as far as a regular plan because that's one thing I talked to Victoria Reinhardt because when we were going through this I've done about a half dozen tours of the community center I was with the gentleman back there from the from the um theater and about four other ones and there was some concerns of that and when I talked to uh Victoria Reinhardt she's you know said where is the plan and I said well we we got the money now we're doing the plan so it was a little backwards so that's where that's where we were left here so anybody want a motion I'd like to comment because I haven't commented oh sure please do I knew how people felt about this community center I also knew how the council felt about the community center it put me in a hard position I weighed this position on my shoulders for months I consulted with many people I consulted with my children I spent SP a day on Sunday at Silver Lake that place was beautiful it was filled with so many people enjoying the sun I talked with people and I asked people how do you feel about the community center after talking to my neighbors talking to my children talking to people at Silver Lake I will be voting nay tonight so I'm ready to make a motion okay second pardon me she made a motion I uh second a second okay do we have to read again are we good to go with that no I believe pardon me so as presented uh to council right now the requested action is um sorry the resolution to not accept the state and federal grants related to the North St Paul Community Center as I understand your motion council member schwe it is to not accept that motion which is we're doing it kind of in the negative not accept and we're saying no to that okay we're not necessarily as I understand the motion you're not necessarily saying yes to accept it we're just saying no to this resolution as is that correct I thought you just made a motion oh my gosh you guys the way it was worded here yes means you're you're not accepting the funds N means you're you're moving on to the next level comes kind of a double negative yeah way it's word I'm voting to accept the funds okay so you want to reject this so I do not want to make a motion correct well no you can make the most Lord have mercy it's it's hard Pray For Me Yeah it it's hard so the no I want to make sure we get this right you guys have put in a lot of time on this um the the motion right before you in item D to make sure we're clear is it's a resolution to not accept the state and federal grants related to the North St Paul Community Center in my opinion if you support that motion to not accept the money you would make a motion to approve the attached resolution if you are opposed to that position such that you want to keep open to accept the money then in essence we are making a motion to deny this resolution we are taking it off the table um so again it's kind of a double negative you're saying deny the motion to not accept the money if we want to clear that up and make a different motion we could simply State I am moving uh to either um are you looking is the group looking to actually accept the money tonight or is the group looking you have time to make that decision which you're about to talk about potentially um authorizing an RFP I mean do you want to make the decision on actually accepting the money after the RFP how there's some order on that so you you may want to just simply deny this resolution which keeps options open in my opinion so if you deny this resolution and I'm sorry I'm going on and on here but make sure we're clear If you deny the resolution then then it's simply off the table you have not accepted the money you haven't committed yourself to it and candidly if after the study comes back you say look this isn't satisfactory I don't like what we've learned you could come back and still deny the the money so candidly in my opinion a motion to deny the resolution simply keeps all options open if that's what the council wishes to do but I what I heard was accept the money what I heard was accept the money which is why I I went on it's worded it's not worded very well in this I do not believe yeah there was one option with this which was to deny the money there wasn't the option of accept the money there wasn't the option of saying hey let's just lay this decision over I I think we can work with that though um to me what I hear three people saying is we want we do not accept this path forward at this point in time which is to deny the money so if what we wanted to Simply do is to say a motion to deny the resolution as proposed if there's a second to that assuming that passes on a 3 to2 vote in my opinion you have L all options open going going forward I apologize I wasn't trying to rush I just thought your motion was to vote so so I wasn't trying to rush B seconding you I just thought the motion was to vote well that's kind of what I I thought we were motioning to vote and then all favor say I I all those opposed Nay n what I what I heard you say was a motion to accept the money and I that's different than just voting no on the resolution and if I misheard you I apologize I want to move forward with the feasible study and accept the money because right now what it states right here is to not accept the states and the state and federal Grant to the community center I want to accept that and then move forward with the feasible study so it's sorry mouth is really dry that may take more discussion mhm yeah so the first one if you if we I hear you yeah and then the second one just keeps it all open so so since mud we were good till the lawyer talked I appreciate you sain love you appreciate you s well honestly council member col long what I heard you say is we're not necessarily ready to accept the money what I thought I heard you say was we're not ready to say no we're not ready to say no but we're not ready to say yes what we'd like to do is spend some money and study it what I heard the money what I heard the motion was we're ready to accept the money and so candidly that puts you in the 221 conundrum so we can table 10 or table Ed excuse me I that is an option I'd like to propose tbling D and moving on to E and that's okay to do promote then absolutely you can table it I mean what you have to yes because right now we don't have anybody that said they wanted move it correct I have not heard a motion to accept the resolution and as it stands there's a motion to table it without a second I'd like to motion to deny the resolution I I from a matter of procedural oper ation we would have to say that council member swe's motion fails for a lack of second M and then your motion would be appropriate so if if we're if the group is accepting that the motion to table has failed for lack of a second then we're we're able to take your motion to deny the motion mayor you'd have to say that so that's the new one going to be now is to to deny it so you vote Yes to deny it is that first well you have to well the way that question sounds like to me it sounds like you're saying you're going to that's what it would be a yes nobody motion he can my motion to table it so mayor if you can just simply acknowledge that council member scher's motion has failed for lack of a second yep so that's acknowledged yep now the table is clear to make a motion as I understand council member Wong's motion it is to deny the resolution to deny the funds is I correct on that so then is that a yay vote no I he can't so so maybe we need to back up I in all seriousness maybe we seriously back up if what we want to do is keep all of our options open and neither accept nor deny the funding at this point perhaps that is just simply the motion I think that that expresses the staff where we're at if there is a motion to neither accept or deny the funding at this point in time um I think that gives us the clarity Dan if you disagree with me now would be a great time to chime in absolutely not I agree with you perfect so council member Wong maybe so that we understand what we're doing if there's a motion to neither accept nor deny the funding at this point in time I believe that clarifies this item I would like to do that yes to neither deny or accept the funding motion that's the motion what second but can I make sure how I want to vote sure so if I understand council member Wong's motion correctly yep it's a positive version of what was originally presented so a an I vote would mean to neither accept accept or deny and continue to move forward correct a nay vote would mean we would like to not take the funds potentially I think you're reading too much into the Nay vote but yeah a a a yes vote on this does not do I don't know if it's fair to call this a staff recommendation but it does not do what that resolution says the resolution says to deny the funding you are not doing that at this point in time you're saying we're leaving that open and that's a yes yes if you want if you want to leave the funding option open you will vote Yes on this motion which I heard three of at least up until now yeah yes a yes vote keeps the option open to get the funding in the future okay and Lisa you were the do I have a second then I second second council member swe all those in favor of keeping the funding open say yay I I sorry all those in favor of not say Nay Nay n so that passes three to2 a lot of work yeah well and we can we can work on other ways to bring this forward so it's not the double negative or whatever but I I get the point of the current resolution or proposal um so at that point that item in my opinion has been acted upon I believe the next item to consider is the the study itself or the RS P if you will thank you sain yep thank you thank you yeah so item e is authorized the issuance of an RFP for a multi-purpose Community Center feasibility study looking for a motion on that please so moved so move council member Scher I would like a little bit of discussion or comment period traditionally that would be done after a second or okay we have historically we haven't that was I think why Robert's Rule state after the second I understand that we haven't necessarily followed so I'll second it and then we'll open it for discussion second council member Cole than gu discussion discussion um similarly to the um uh the former item on the agenda where it was to deny the funding um this feasibility study comes after that decision um I found that to be uh odd to say the least um and not follow a whole lot of um process so in terms of um the our RFP I do think that we need an RFP and really a project manager around that as well um I would also say that um we would I would like a little bit more time with looking at the um scope of services with RFP given um some of the things we've heard today um and I think that it not um robust enough for Community engagement especially after what I've heard from our community today so I would like for us to take a little bit more time to um consider or um yeah consider um uh working on it a little bit more I also agree with you council member Wang um I think that the mindset of the past Community Center has been around the basketball courts the um workout facilities and the fees minimal fees that people paid in there we haven't looked at the Grand scope of everything could it be we have a full-size Kitchen in there could we do cooking classes could we build and have an indoor playground for our children to go in the winter we don't have a downtown park and the downtown park that we are looking at there's small it's a small piece of land in the city that we're looking for this would be a great opportunity to exercise I understand that our community center is small I understand where the parking is I understand that there's a new we have article seven coming up but there is underground parking with that facility I think it's time that we look at the Grand scope of what we could have and potentially have in this facility and not just a basketball court and a workout facility because it's more than just those two things all right any more comments we have a ton of people here that are passionate about the community center which is awesome um I'm curious on how we can leverage that for Success um in moving forward it it is now the right time to talk about truly forming a subcommittee to present to the council in 6 to 8 months or whatever here here's our plan this is what we think will work um let's go with it um in my opinion opinion is wrong word um it doesn't matter um it like I say we we have a ton of people here that are in favor of it um it is what is the path forward that has the best chance of success and least resistance is talking about it in a uh a council setting every single time is that the Right Way Forward is is doing something smaller the Right Way Forward um does that question makes sense or I mean like how do we set ourselves up for success for discussion if if we have to talk about every single item in a council before the presentation that's a lot of uh not roadblocks but a lot of legal procedures we have to follow so is a smaller subcommittee the right way to figure out what a good proposal for the city is and is that most respectful of you know staff time and stuff I certainly am picking up what you're putting down thank you um we know that change Management's coming very soon our council's changing two people three of us were brought on prior to um or after a lot the past Council and this and like Tim said there were four to one for a vote and it didn't go through and then we were brought in some of us were lost with it I'm not going to speak for everybody up here it's not my place to do that what I can say is that I like the idea of a subcommittee we don't know who we are going to elect but we need one of us on a committee like that to continue this process moving forward otherwise it's going to be going down a dead end road we need to continue to move this forward where we can decide this I don't know that's based on conversations with Brian that's based on conversation with saurin and those that are sitting out here that are huge advocates for it you all are here tonight we need your help to continue moving forward with us um we I I'm not going to speak for these guys I appreciate you guys coming here tonight and voicing your opinions Jody coming in from Woodberry thank you so much I appreciate you being here and being an advocate for our youth and also advocating for a city that you don't live in um moving forward with that we need to keep that in consideration especially I'm not I don't know what you guys are going to do for um running but what I'm speaking for is the three of us right here in order to make anything successful we need to be sure that one of us sit on that subcommittee Mr Mayor yeah so I I I have a question on that so the the motion and second was for the RFP and now you're discussing it in the council members packet is a proposed RFP the the subcommittee is that to develop a different RFP or is that to grade the r the responses to the RFP initially when they come in or what is the thought of the and I don't know if there's uh majority support for the subcommittee but what is is the RFP that is a motion and seconded is that not the RFP you want to send out we haven't gotten that far into it okay so we had it in workshop and we were told that it would come back to us again so um I don't think we've had you I haven't had enough time to analyze it and see and and as I said the community um engagement component is embedded already in the um scope of services however again I think it's really limited it's only like a survey and maybe a few meetings and I think what I'm hearing from the public today is that they want a little bit more um engagement so that's part ly why I would like to take a little bit more time to make sure that the scope of services um is what we actually need um to move to yeah what we actually need for this RFP but I agree with the RFP and feasibility study so the motion is more along the lines of to develop an RFP not to necessarily issue the one in your packet is that I don't want to put words in your mouth but is that what I'm hearing yes okay that I mean the maker of the motion agree with that um so moved yep no no I'm sorry you said make a motion no no no no no no I wasn't asking no I'm trying to clarify I I follow the lawyer there's an RFP in your packet the the motion was to issue an RFP I just want to clarify because in here are timelines yep on on their are timelines and so we we aren't issuing this particular RFP the the motion is to do an RFP but what the discussion is leading us to say is we want to form a subcommittee or a group uh to further refine the RFP which so it's not tomorrow this is going out the door with those timelines in it I that is we're not doing that so moved no I you guys can be let me yeah so so RF the the RFP we've been working on it in Workshop so um my understanding is that it was going to come back to Workshop um so I'm not necessarily suggesting a subcommittee um there's a lot of time that that that it takes to be on one um and then not knowing the function all the functions of it so um again I think that this would be appropriate for us to think about it work on it a little bit in workshop and then move forward with um this vote with an adjusted an edited version of the RFP that seems like what we need to um yeah what we need or don't need let's go back to the motion itself so the correct table this then for crawl under here can we do do you want to table this until we get more information th do you want to just table this would that be EAS yeah I honestly I just want you to tell us what you want I mean we want to study we need to vote Yes to do this is what we're at right just for a moment forget about the motion in a second okay what do you want staff to do as it relates to the RFP I would like yeah I would like for the RFP to go back to Workshop as previously um mentioned and for us to make sure that the scope of services is something that is what we want and has all the components to figure out or explore um the feasibility of it okay and so in terms of the motion and the second that have been made is that the intention of the motion and the second what council member Wong just said is that the understanding of the underlying motion that's currently on the table my recollection is there was a motion to do an RFP I encourage you to make a second you did and we're discussing it council member Wong just discussed what she would like to see happen is the current Motion in the second reflective of her intention on there do people agree with that yes yes perfect okay so then I think if you're ready for a vote or more discussion I think we have our Direction Dan do you feel like you have your direction on the RFP sure if there's confusion please ask I I I don't know there's also two that voted not to do that I understand get that's why we need to have a yes or no yeah I just I'm trying to get there and I'm getting I I just want to make sure that what I'm saying is right so I just the head nod or no would help y So currently the way I understand it a yes vote is sending this RFP to Workshop to come back to the council yes is that correct yes that's the way I understand it okay okay and for record that was already voted on motion a second I know I know just okay motion a second then all those in favor say i i i y nay okay thank you thanks saurin thanks saurin I give you a lot of crap but I love you man just as a point on that the on these issues where we know that they're complicated and where we may have to do some Coalition building amongst our discussion it so we don't get bogged down on procedure of what's the motion is there a second and stuff I Robert's rues strictly says you should make a motion second it and then discuss it I I think that's a horrible way to do it and so what I strongly encourage you to do is talk about the issue and once you feel like you have a consensus three votes or or you get to where you have five votes discuss what it is you want to do in plain language with W worrying about motions and get us to a point where we can get clear staff Direction and once it seems like we've got the majority of the votes on that that's a great time to make a motion at that point in time it's it's a lot easier than trying to reframe a motion or was that the intent of it so that's that would help us sure thank you you thank you thanks t uh item F Municipal separate storm sewer the ms4 ordinance Amendment motion toour I heard that uh thank you Mr Mayor members of the council uh these next two items are relatively straightforward um the item before you next on the agenda is to consider adopting uh ordinance updates amending chapters of the code uh pertaining to uh different things that are on the radar of the Minnesota Pollution Control a agency with respect to uh ms4 which you may have heard me speak to the council before about that those are regulations at a state level that govern cities with uh storm sewer systems such as North St Paul generally they're uh interested in protecting the water quality of our lakes and rivers uh and wetlands and uh other water bodies throughout the community from pollution um as a part of uh those regulations cities with those systems are required to hold what is referred to as an ms4 permit which has a fiveyear cycle with the state North St Paul is no exception when that permit is renewed every five years sometimes the state does uh communicate additional requirements that they would like cities to uh comply with or that they require I'm sorry require cities to comply with with respect to ordinances uh and other controls within the community again with the interest of protecting our water bodies from pollution so um as a part of the current permit cycle the mpca has uh indicated mandated that North St Paul adopt these ordinance updates with there's some latitude for uh individual enforcement of things um but generally the three ordinances uh in front of you uh and that is uh and the recommended action let me just go back the recommended action in front of you is to approve ordinances number 828 829 and 830 each one of those amending chapters 95 94 I'm sorry 95 and 154 of the municipal code um just a broad overview those three sections uh discuss animal waste uh so that's a pollution item that can uh contaminate our water bodies uh snow and ice removal mostly pertaining to uh salt storage and being able to protect our water bodies from salt salt and chloride runoff uh and the final one um is generally referring to um erosion control and uh construction activities plan review uh and requiring people that may bring forth development requirements and also the city itself to abide by current rules and regulations which we current do currently do on our street and utility projects certainly but just kind of memorializing that in the code as well too to align with the state's requirements for that ms4 permit that we hold with the state of Minnesota um so with that I'll stand for any questions just a review of the recommended action it would be to approve ordinances 828 829 and 830 amending chapters 94 95 and 154 of the municipal code uh I'll stand for any questions any questions if not can I get a motion so moved so moved council member Wong second second council member all those in favor say I I all right thank you Mr Mayor members of the council the next item on your agenda is uh to approve a final payment for the mcnight water main improvements that city project 22-04 and accept that project uh the project has been completed um accepted by the city uh uh leads prior to council action and this pay voucher the final pay voucher is in the amount of $2,896 70 uh you may recall this was replacing some water man at risk along mcnight road which is a county roadway in advance of the uh County's overlay efforts which are actually going to be commencing here within the next month or so um on mcnight road which is a county road so we do have waterm uh underneath that road and so the water main has been completed it's been operating just fine for uh almost uh an entire year here now and so contractors finally conf um complied with our requirements to submit the appropriate paperwork uh review of the contract completion is that the final total contract amount payment through this final payment is $891,000 75 which is approximately 11.8% below the total contract amount of 1,1,1 70 so uh we did complete the project under budget um the recommended action in front of you is to adopt a resolution approving construction pay voucher number four and final for binus roadways in the amount of $2,896 70 for the MC knite waterm improvements project city project number 22-04 I'll stand for any questions no questions I have an otion so mov so moved council member Cole second council member Wong all those in favor say I hi hi all right I have nothing further thank you thank you thank you thanks Morgan all right reports of city manager and departments update go ahead I'm sorry I apologize Brian I thought councilman Wong removed item a apologize you're at uh so next item is item H uh which is the meeting the July 2nd 2024 Workshop minutes yeah I just wanted to clarify and sorry I didn't get to this earlier but um I wanted to clarify in the meeting minutes it says um that I had concern with the economic and Community impact which I wanted to clarify that I've I wanted to express concern that the economic and Community impact is not measured in the existing information and needs to be sought out as part of the study that's it thank you still need a motion then for that because it was pulled or not still moved y second cool long all those in favor say I hi all right so reports from city manager and departments um so it's already been a year since we had uh Jim lval here in front of us just to discuss the Lily building or article 7 um during that time he had agreed to work on trying to get work live units on the first floor um there were nine of those units um they had three you know serious inquiries anyway um Unfortunately they have fallen through that year is up now that they have agreed to post that as strictly the work live units um they do now have the option of opening that up to residential units so I just wanted to put that out there for everybody we will also um work on getting something on our website to try to promote that as business or work live as well um through the Eda and the city um aa's done a good job we got uh the housy ribbon cutting coming up on August 22nd uh still a little bit left there a lot of the contractors are pretty far behind with all the wet weather we've been having this year so I talked to Ron they have delivered the paint out there but they have not painted that yet so hopefully with this dry weather this week that we can get that done taken care of then also in the fall we haven't determined a date yet but we'll have a movie night out there so yeah more to come on that yeah um Electric's been busy uh we got our easement over there at the Weber building to put our switch gear now so they'll be busy working on that getting rid of the overhead lines that run down sepa um there that was a really big job um up on Hazel that they're working on like I said there was over 2 miles of wire that they're putting in for just primary uh they're getting close to that we had a sizable outage over the weekend uh several actually just due to the high lightning strikes um the guys were good coming in getting it on they had to take a little break because the lightning was just too rampant that they had to hold off so nobody got hurt uh but everybody was back on within three hours um Lily project is moving along uh they're looking by mid August to set the Transformer over there and actually start setting meters in early September so project moved along well uh Safety Committee is going to be getting trained here on fire extinguishers so that should be good training form um Finance has been we got collected the CIP from the department heads now we'll be getting together together and uh going over all that and then meeting with them individually on the CIP um Community development's been working on uh with Rum River on potentially taking over the permeating process that uh also been doing a lot of work with the new student buil house lot that we have over there uh across from Webster School Public Works course been busy patching roads we had about 80 stumps that they had just ground and uh getting that all back filled and ready to go a lot of work with the removal of the ash trees uh got a couple benches set out at Casey one at Casey and one at Southwood uh we did have a contractor out to take a look at the Snowman um seeing a little wear on the back side of his hat there so um get that patched and then probably be looking at uh repainting it's probably been over 10 years since that's been done so it be nice to freshen them up a little bit um Fire's been busy with training um training with active uh threats uh EMS and CPR Refresher they've been doing inspections in the Lily building with their uh new systems that they got going in there um that's all I got I have a question do you know how um what the um o has any of the apartments been occupied um in article 7 or has have been like not occupied but leased or will be that's a good question I do not know that off the top of my head if they people signed upe a time for yeah that's what I mean yeah I I will find that out that's a good question actually we have I have a meeting with him Thursday so can you hold off on the first floor to see if we give us some more time because I think the way we thought the year started and the way he started the year started I think is two different things so about a year off or me I think they were about a year off yeah because we're just getting wrapped up with the Eda to get started and we didn't know the clock started during that time I'll talk to him thank you thank you all right have nothing else we'll go to reports Council commissions committees council member Norby um I unfortunately had to work so I was unable to make the special meeting um for the Planning Commission but basically we voted on the result of that today um and the next Planning Commission will be on Thursday August 1st thank you remember one um as for the artarts and culture commission um they wanted to consider um expanding a little bit on um the snowies and making it a little bit more interactive so they're looking into what what that might look like right now um additionally they are working on a utility box in which um uh some members were out taking photos of of hands of people making a heart out at um this car show I think they had over 400 people come up and so they've sorted through a lot of hands but right now they're putting that together to um get digitalized and and um set for a utility box around Casey Lake and um right now they're looking into uh next year's plan and um what that might look like so they're in those works in the works for that and the next meeting is the first Wednesday of next month at 6:30 thank you very much Cil parks and recck is tomorrow night here in council chambers at 6:30 I don't have an update Brian gave the housy so we should we're just kind of waiting on housy thank you counc check on that I was talking to Sarah and she thought it was next week um oh yes I apologize next week it's the 24th yes thank you okay the July Eda meeting was canceled so there's no report from that uh the next Eda meeting is scheduled for Tuesday August the 13th at 4:00 here in Chambers um I don't know why July was canceled but I'm hoping that uh we can make sure that August worked because I think we've got a growing list of of things to discuss so uh I look forward to I look forward to that we still have one open spot on the Eda for anybody that uh like to join that I know we've been reaching out to people so just I think all the rest of our commissions and everything's full I don't think we're we have one open on the arts and culture commission um we I mean we have a student commissioner who could go into that role um if if they wanted to but um otherwise it's it's there's one open okay thank you for the update all right General business council member Norby um there is no city council meeting on the first Tuesday of August it is National Night Out I would encourage you to all um go meet your neighbor or if you're having a outing you can sign up to have um uh fire department or police service come visit you if you want um and then I would also just like to say how proud I am to serve with all of you I know today was a difficult um conversation but I I felt we all did in a manner where it was a safe space for all of us who share our opinions um and just want to say thank you this was a great discussion thank you jasonk you um yeah I just wanted to ask a little bit about the zoom option I'm not sure when that went away or is that something that we can get back for for meetings did I miss something um we in talking with Council and with some of council not all of council excuse me uh we had a conversation about the cost of zoom and to look at it in possible ways of it's not requirement anymore like it was going through the pandemic um it was a savings of what like $3500 that's the total year cost we were looking at cutting it back to what we have for when we have zoom meetings for uh employees of the city um but with the uh cable company that we have here um I didn't know that we necessarily needed the zoom anymore what the costs of what they were I'm just thinking of it in terms of like uh participation sometime like prior we would ask if there's anybody online sometimes there were sometimes most of the time there weren't but um I'm just thinking also about people who might be homebound or you know have different reasons that they cannot get here um physically and so just wondering if that was uh still an option but just because I didn't see it gotcha um I will make sure everybody gets their input on that yeah so right now you can watch it online you just can't participate as that's the only difference right in can you can you chat on I don't know I mean I've only viewed it on YouTube you can't just watch yep um Plus on public access yep 16 yeah if you're on cable 15 16 um and then I'd also like to say that there are a couple new businesses in town um there's the mahart grocery store um and that's next to uh polar nutrition and that kind of uh strip mall and um it's an Asian grocery store um and it's fairly new I think they're still stocking up and I would say that there's also a new business downtown um and it's called hand to mouth and it's a African uh grocery store um primarily West African so they're starting to build up their business as well so yeah maybe an opportunity to connect with new business um businesses in our community and patronize them I mean not Patron Patron them thank youon okay just don't just don't patronize them you're not supposed to patronize them got it got it there you go spend money yeah thank you sure um I have a few things I want to discuss I agree with Jason tonight was tough um I enjoy working with all of you guys I know we all uh can agree to disagree um but we do a good job work I find that we do a good job working together I also want to thank the bces Carrie you're up here very often Thanking us for our service thanking you you know that we don't have an easy job um and I see you both as agreeing to disagree with us as well but you have kind hearts and you're always here when we have something negative you're always by our sides regardless so thank you thank you so much for that and yeah thank you um I also in lie of what happened on Saturday night uh with or Saturday yeah Saturday evening not here in the city but nationally with um our presidential candidate um we are in times that are extremely difficult nationally and as we are citizens of a small city um we've seen some issues in our city and in our parks and we know how hard it's getting uh I give a lot of kudos to our fire department our police department the city staff who are continuously being pulled from every direction to make sure our city continues to remain safe um I know as a public official up here and being newly elected this isn't easy and some of the decisions that we all need we all make can also be scary we don't know what's going to happen our addresses are public um I appreciate everyone that respects and our decision that we make and then um it's times are hard uh and we hear you we listen to you there's a reason why you've elected us um we hope that we're making the right decisions for everyone here as well uh but what what is happening negatively right now inside our nation and inside our city we need to become a community please keep that in the back of your guys' minds thank you thanks for bringing that up thank you uh I got a bunch of stuff here real quick but one I want to uh thank council member Norby for his comments um and thank everyone who I don't blame him boogied out of here as soon as we were done talking about the community center but thank you for showing up thank you for your passion um not only did we hear it from from the the people who attended tonight one side or the other I think our our passions were on display up here as well um to to touch back on on what Jason mentioned the beauty of it is we all walk out of here we have a good Council we all walk out of here you're entitled your opinion that doesn't mean I you know I don't I may disagree but that doesn't mean I don't like people and that's you know that's a that's a change from what we had and that's that's a very plus positive change to to um you know what what we've developed over the last year and a half um so again I just want to thank thank everybody for that and and Jason thank you for bringing that up um positive accolades go out to the electrical department uh yeah it got a little loud in uh in in North St Paul well we hear a lot of times the grumbling of our utility prices may be high we're pretty dang fortunate I think my power was out for about a minute and a half um I mean I know of others who were had experienced much longer delays so accolades to everybody there um North St Paul got some great press on the snow again congrats congrats for everyone who who worked on that if you haven't seen it I don't know if we posted it on the city page or not uh but CBS did an awesome job covering it uh very Whimsical they did a very nice job okay thanks a awesome job you it was on Saturday as well yeah um Anna on a council note I would like to suggest the potential of a special Workshop to discuss um the feasibility studies just we're not here until what August 20th we're we're I mean it's another month before we're back here I would love to find find some time where we can collectively get together um come up come up with what that feasibility study Works would look like so that we can bring it to council at the end of August to vote on um it's it's it's my opinion but that would be something I would like to um to recommend and uh council member Wong to to build on um the continuing opening of new businesses we got a new bakery it's going to open up man I'm down there every weekend waiting for the thing to open it says opening soon on the sign but by God I'm there I am there every Friday and Saturday morning right next to the old knick-knack yeah the old knickknack it's been sign's been there I don't know if it's still moving forward so if if the if the owners are listening I'm ready I got money to spend and Taco Bell uh drove over to Target today and that's moved along all of a sudden boom there's a shell up so with that I'll be done you very much I also want to thank um what about mayor hey knock it off turn it down back there maybe you gotta let mayor go ahead geez you got family members I know well but I think she I think she started it to be honest with you this is what happens at home too he deserves you deserve that though you did call out your son I did he's probably not going to talk to me for a while um but I want to thank the police department for um for for for um Casey Park and finding that uh the police thing that goes out there for the for the cameras and everything else I know that was a scramble we couldn't get it from Maplewood so you try we were able to get it from uh from um Ramsey County so that's great it we appreciate it because we really wanted to make sure that uh that Park is is a gem in our area that in Silver Lake and all these Parks we have so we want to make sure that uh that was covered so I'm glad it went well on that that and I want to thank everybody tonight for our work and if there's nothing else thank you sain I was going to say than you thank you sain we're here to thank everyone else but you walked through us through everything so thank you you're welcome we appreciate you this is going to be an expensive Bill isn't it I can see it there a provision in the contract for hazard pay well I think you ate enough candy to cover your your your uh your there over here I can slide all right thank you sain all right well thanks everybody hope everybody has a great uh great rest of the July and August for National Night Out And if nothing else a motion to adjourn please so move so move council member Cole second second council member Wong I got everybody's names right today everybody cheer for that yay all those in favor I adjourned