Meeting colors

OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Personnel Committee Interview and City Council Agenda Session - February 20, 2025

City Council — Thursday, February 20, 2025

BodyDuluth, Minnesota

SessionCity Council

DateThursday, February 20, 2025

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 45:32

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

3:06

Hello, folks.

3:07

We're gonna get started with the personnel com uh uh interview of Anna Bailey.

3:12

If Anna Baile uh one Anna Bailey would like to come to the podium which one?

3:19

Oh the lecture's great.

3:24

Yeah.

3:25

We just got this new setup, which is pretty cool.

3:31

Uh hello, Anna.

3:33

Um, if it's okay if I'm addressing you as um uh uh Miss how would you like me to address you?

3:40

Thank you, Anna.

3:40

My name is Azreen.

3:41

I am a counselor awall.

3:43

I will be conducting the um interview um as the personnel chair for your um interest and application to the DITA board.

3:53

Um before we get started, I'm wondering if you would like to introduce yourself and just um why you're interested in serving on this particular board.

4:01

Yeah, yeah.

4:01

Hi, everybody, good evening.

4:03

My name is Anna Bailey.

4:04

I'm a longtime resident of Duluth, Minnesota.

4:07

I came um in nineteen ninety-five to attend the University of Minnesota Duluth.

4:12

Um I graduated in ninety-nine, uh, met my husband, got married in two thousand, and we really wanted to stay put in Duluth because um we just fell in love with it.

4:23

So we really do call ourselves um Duluthans now, even though we weren't born here.

4:28

Um, I have had a few different roles here.

4:31

Um, you know, in my time in Duluth.

4:33

I was um a student here.

4:36

Um I graduated with an education and music degree.

4:39

I was a teacher for two and a half years.

4:41

Then I decided to stay home with my children, and I raised uh four children um at home for about eight years until they went off to school.

4:50

Um, and then I decided to step into a ministry role at my local church, and I was a worship minister for about eight years at a local church.

5:00

And then surprisingly and shockingly, stepped away from that, wasn't planning on it, but and I started a career as an artist.

5:07

That was about 10 years, nine and a half, 10 years ago.

5:11

And over the course of those years, I have successfully grown in art business in town with the help of my husband.

5:20

Also, we're co-owners.

5:21

We have two properties here in Spirit Valley that we have purchased and renovated.

5:27

Our vision is to inspire community through art.

5:30

And we're very, very passionate about the entrepreneurial growth of the city of Duluth.

5:37

Also how arts can change and affect culture.

5:42

I see that as one thing that I'm very, very passionate about for the city of Duluth.

5:48

And also supporting other local small businesses, artists and makers in town.

5:54

I also have had opportunity not only to have local involvement, but over the past years, I actually have worked with a lot of national brands, which has given me crazy opportunities I never saw coming for my business, but also to bring recognition to the city that I love, to be quite honest, and to represent Duluth not only in the state of Minnesota, but also across the country.

6:22

Thank you so much, Mrs.

6:23

Bailey.

6:24

Really appreciate you outlining your educational and work experience.

6:28

That was my going to be my next question.

6:31

But how do you and to expand on that?

6:33

How will your background experience and personal strengths be a benefit to this board?

6:37

Yeah.

6:38

Commission.

6:39

Yeah.

6:40

Well, having gone through as a small business owner and gone through purchasing and renovating two businesses in Duluth.

6:47

I see the need for there to be a bridge between understanding.

6:53

When I first started, you know, I I would just, I was like, I'm just gonna renovate this building and do whatever the heck I want with it.

7:01

Well, no, that there are you know zoning rules, and I I was not familiar with any of that.

7:07

Um, and so over the course of the last it's been about six years for um developing those um buildings, I've learned a lot about that.

7:18

Um, and so I really want to be a small business voice for the community, um, encouraging other small businesses to start in Duluth and to possibly even purchase and renovate property if they feel called and led to do that.

7:34

Okay, thank you.

7:37

And can you expand?

7:39

Uh you already expanded beautifully already as to why this specific authority and board what else interests you about this board and that you can bring to you to the board.

7:52

Yeah, absolutely.

7:54

Um I'm just gonna look at my notes, just give me a second.

7:57

Umly uh as an advocate for small business and creative businesses.

8:05

Um I understand firsthand the barriers that we can have when we're trying to invest back into our community.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Personnel Matters███████████████████████████27%

Procedural███████████████████19%

Boards And Commissions█████████████13%

Tourism Management████████8%

Land Use Planning███████7%

Parks and Recreation██████6%

Public Safety█████5%

Arts And Culture████4%

Economic Development████4%

Summary of Proceedings

Personnel Committee Interview and City Council Agenda Session - February 20, 2025

The meeting began with a personnel committee interview of Anna Bailey for a position on the DITA (Duluth Investment and Technology Authority) board, followed by a city council agenda session that discussed multiple resolutions and administrative items.

Personnel Committee Interview – Anna Bailey

Anna Bailey, a longtime Duluth resident and co-owner of an art business, was interviewed for a seat on the DITA board. She described her background in education, ministry, and as an entrepreneur with two renovated properties in Spirit Valley. She emphasized her passion for small business development, arts, and community growth.
Bailey stated she had no conflicts of interest and could attend Wednesday meetings without scheduling issues. She discussed her experience hiring a diverse workforce and expressed a desire to be a voice for small businesses on the commission.
Councilors praised her application and asked about diversity, equity, inclusion, and her vision for the board. Bailey noted she is still learning about current DITA projects but is passionate about empowering small businesses.
No vote was taken; the appointment resolution will be placed on a future council agenda.

Consent Calendar & Agenda Discussion – Resolution 123

Resolution 123: Authorizing an amendment to Agreement 2486 with the Greater Downtown Council, increasing tourism tax funding by $65,000 (new total $773,000) for the downtown safety officer position. Councilors asked for clarification on whether the funding was previously allocated; staff explained this is a paperwork function to match a prior tourism tax allocation. Councilor Kennedy requested background documentation.

Resolution 132 – Downtown Skywalk System Evaluation

Resolution 132: A resolution requesting evaluation of the long-term future of the downtown public skywalk system. Discussion clarified this will be a working group (not a task force) involving stakeholders, property owners, and community groups. No dollar amount is attached. The study is open-ended with no preconceived outcomes. Councilor Owell moved to pull this from consent for further discussion with the absent author (Councilor Foresman). Councilor Mayo asked about public accessibility of the group’s work; Attorney Lair confirmed meetings will be open to the public.

Purchasing and Licensing Items (Items 4–9)

Items 4–9 included software license renewals (Polaris Library Systems, Laserfiche), liquor license transfers/issuances (Warrior Brewing, Falestine LLC, Just Take Action Inc.), and temporary liquor license approvals. Councilor Mayo asked about the wording on Item 5 (Warrior Brewing); Clerk Denham indicated it likely involves a transfer of responsibility rather than a full license transfer. Staff will follow up.

Personnel Appointment – Special Board of Review

Resolution 122: Confirming the reappointment of Frank Messina to the Special Board of Review. Councilors asked about the board’s future, noting potential merger with St. Louis County. Clerk Denham mentioned previous discussions about the county taking over next year, but the status is unclear. Term ends March 31, 2029. Councilors requested follow-up on whether the board is dissolving and how vacancies will be handled.

Public Works and Utilities Items (Items 12–16)

Items 12–16 covered sole source purchases (Primex terminals, cold mix asphalt), engineering service amendments (lead service line project, Northwest Passage Bridge repairs), and extension of a professional services agreement with Green Espel. Councilor Mayo asked about city responsibility for the Northwest Passage Bridge (Item 15); staff will provide information on the maintenance agreement.

Recreational Facilities Agreements (Items 17–18)

Resolution 126: Authorizing a use, operation, and maintenance agreement between the City and Duluth Friends of Tennis Inc. for Longview Tennis Courts. Councilor Mayo asked about the partnership model; Mr. Fielding Williams (Parks) noted this is a common arrangement where nonprofit partners help maintain facilities, and these relationships have kept many athletic facilities operational.
Resolution 129: Authorizing an agreement with Johnson Wilson Constructors Inc. for structural improvements at Wade Stadium for $712,407. No further questions.

Second Reading – Ordinance 25-001

Ordinance 25-001: Authorizing conveyance of certain real property in the Gary New Duluth neighborhood to Johto LLC for $4,620. No questions were raised.

Key Outcomes

Anna Bailey’s appointment to the DITA board will be presented at a future council meeting.
Resolution 132 (skywalk evaluation) was pulled from consent for additional discussion when the primary author is present.
Staff will provide follow-up documentation on Resolution 123 (Greater Downtown Council funding), Item 5 (Warrior Brewing license transfer), the future of the Special Board of Review, and the city’s responsibility for the Northwest Passage Bridge.
No formal votes were taken on agenda items; this session functioned as a discussion and preview of upcoming business.

Meeting Transcript

Hello, folks. We're gonna get started with the personnel com uh uh interview of Anna Bailey. If Anna Baile uh one Anna Bailey would like to come to the podium which one? Oh the lecture's great. Yeah. We just got this new setup, which is pretty cool. Uh hello, Anna. Um, if it's okay if I'm addressing you as um uh uh Miss how would you like me to address you? Thank you, Anna. My name is Azreen. I am a counselor awall. I will be conducting the um interview um as the personnel chair for your um interest and application to the DITA board. Um before we get started, I'm wondering if you would like to introduce yourself and just um why you're interested in serving on this particular board. Yeah, yeah. Hi, everybody, good evening. My name is Anna Bailey. I'm a longtime resident of Duluth, Minnesota. I came um in nineteen ninety-five to attend the University of Minnesota Duluth. Um I graduated in ninety-nine, uh, met my husband, got married in two thousand, and we really wanted to stay put in Duluth because um we just fell in love with it. So we really do call ourselves um Duluthans now, even though we weren't born here. Um, I have had a few different roles here. Um, you know, in my time in Duluth. I was um a student here. Um I graduated with an education and music degree. I was a teacher for two and a half years. Then I decided to stay home with my children, and I raised uh four children um at home for about eight years until they went off to school. Um, and then I decided to step into a ministry role at my local church, and I was a worship minister for about eight years at a local church. And then surprisingly and shockingly, stepped away from that, wasn't planning on it, but and I started a career as an artist. That was about 10 years, nine and a half, 10 years ago. And over the course of those years, I have successfully grown in art business in town with the help of my husband. Also, we're co-owners. We have two properties here in Spirit Valley that we have purchased and renovated. Our vision is to inspire community through art. And we're very, very passionate about the entrepreneurial growth of the city of Duluth. Also how arts can change and affect culture. I see that as one thing that I'm very, very passionate about for the city of Duluth. And also supporting other local small businesses, artists and makers in town. I also have had opportunity not only to have local involvement, but over the past years, I actually have worked with a lot of national brands, which has given me crazy opportunities I never saw coming for my business, but also to bring recognition to the city that I love, to be quite honest, and to represent Duluth not only in the state of Minnesota, but also across the country. Thank you so much, Mrs. Bailey. Really appreciate you outlining your educational and work experience. That was my going to be my next question. But how do you and to expand on that? How will your background experience and personal strengths be a benefit to this board? Yeah. Commission. Yeah. Well, having gone through as a small business owner and gone through purchasing and renovating two businesses in Duluth. I see the need for there to be a bridge between understanding. When I first started, you know, I I would just, I was like, I'm just gonna renovate this building and do whatever the heck I want with it.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI

TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com