The Duluth City Council met on June 29, 2026, at 6:00 PM in Council Chambers, with Councilor Clanaugh joining remotely. The meeting included public hearings, public comment periods, approval of a consent agenda, consideration of several resolutions and ordinances, and a vote on the police chief’s contract. The meeting adjourned at 7:58 PM.
Welcome everyone. We will get the city council meeting for this evening. Um starting? Councilor Forzman. Councillor Johnson. Councillor Randor. Vice President Kennedy. President Nephew. Here, please stand for the pledge. I pledge admittions to the flag of the United States of America. And to the republic. One nation under God. Good evening. I'd like to welcome everyone to a regular meeting of the Duluth City Council. Tonight, the council will conduct its official business and vote on several matters on the agenda. There will be an opportunity for public comment before we move on to the consent agenda. If you wish to speak, please sign up with the clerk. And one thing you should know is that we do have two public comment periods. The first public comment period will be for agenda items, and the second public comment period will be for things that are not on our agenda. Duluth City Council meetings are conducted in accordance with the council's standing rules and Roberts Rules of Order. These rules are established to ensure that our meetings are fair, efficient, orderly, and provide a clear process for decision making. So as a reminder, if you'd like to speak, please sign up with the clerk. You'll be given three minutes to speak. There's a timer on the lectrand, so you can track your three minutes. Please finish your comments with the unlotted time. When your three minutes are up, I will interrupt you and call in the next person. This evening we do still we do have two public um hearings that I will be calling as well. So if you would like to speak with those, please speak, please sign up with the clerk as well. Um first thing we will open up the public hearing for the Lincoln Park Special Services District. Do I have anyone that would like to speak for the public hearing for the Lincoln Park Special Services District? That's a lot to say. Yes, the first speaker is Cameron Krueger. Welcome. If you could please state your name and your precinct or zip code. Cameron Kruger, 55812. And thank you, President Nephew and Counselors. Uh again, my name is Cameron Kruger. I am the administrator for the Lincoln Park Business Group, and I want to thank you all and city staff for bringing us to tonight's vote. Lincoln Park needs a special services district because it is the best tool that is available to us to ensure that our neighborhood continues to thrive far into the future. The business group helps keep Lincoln Park clean and supports over 200 businesses in the district by being scrappy. And through the generosity of our members and hundreds of volunteer hours. But West Superior Street reconstruction has already made some challenges and some impacts on our businesses, and they're gonna hit the middle of our district next year. We need to invest in better wayfinding and more marketing to support our businesses, but we don't have the resources. And on the other side of this project, we have 26 new trash cans to empty, 47 benches and 65 bike loops to maintain, hundreds of new trees, uh, which are all exciting new additions that we want for our neighborhood, but we can't care for them on a shoestring budget. That's all in addition to our clean sweep team's work, walking over four miles of the district to pick up trash, serve as goodwill ambassadors to our visitors, and to help guide struggling neighbors to social services. The special services district allows property owners to pool their resources to address all of these issues and more with every dollar contributed staying in Lincoln Park. And when it comes time for you to make decisions about tourism tax, I know the council will consider that over 2.5 million dollars our businesses contribute to that fund each year and reinvest that back in a level that supports the ongoing work to make sure that Lincoln Park thrives. Thank you. Thank you. Um our next speaker is Karen Kramer.