Minneapolis City Council Meeting Summary - October 23, 2025
Minneapolis City Council Meeting - October 23, 2025
The Minneapolis City Council convened on October 23, 2025, for a regular meeting that began with a series of honorary resolution presentations and public testimony regarding domestic violence victims. Following these ceremonies, the Council adopted the agenda, accepted minutes, and proceeded through reports from five standing committees covering administration, business, climate, legislative structure, and public health. The meeting concluded with the consideration of new ordinances focusing on enterprise risk management and a closed session regarding active litigation.
Consent Calendar
- The minutes from the regular meeting of October 9th were accepted unanimously (13 ayes).
- Petitions, communications, and reports were referred to the proper committees unanimously (13 ayes).
- Resolutions adopted include: Recognition of the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) Professional Fellows Program; designation of November 4th as Election Judge Appreciation Day; recognition of the 80th anniversary of National Disability Employment Awareness Month and Invisible Disabilities Awareness Week; and designation of October 2025 as Domestic Violence Awareness Month with October 23rd as a day of remembrance.
- Gift acceptances from the Metropolitan Police Department and the Urban Institute for travel expenses were approved.
- The 16 items from the Administration and Enterprise Oversight Committee were approved, with Item 1 (Professional Services Ordinance) pulled for separate discussion and vote.
- The nine items from the Business, Housing, and Zoning Committee were approved, excluding the Item 3 (noon restaurant revocation) which was deleted from the agenda upon receiving a clearance letter.
- The Climate and Infrastructure Committee items were approved, with Item 1 (University Avenue Northeast Improvement Project) receiving a separate vote (10 ayes, 3 noes).
- The Committee of the Whole items regarding the 2026 transition calendar and the placement of the Board of Estimate and Taxation Executive Secretary position were approved (13 ayes).
- The Public Health and Safety Committee items, including a grant for maternal and child health and a contract for bomb detection services, were approved (13 ayes).
Public Comments & Testimony
- YSEALI Fellows: Multiple fellows expressed deep gratitude for the hospitality in Minneapolis. Rita (Indonesia) stated that every encounter had been filled with "warmth, kindness, a lot of foods, love, events, concert, hockey games" that they did not experience at home. Joey (Malaysia) expressed gratitude for the city's commitment to inclusivity, stating they would bring back "the heart of Minneapolis itself." Aliana (Philippines) thanked Councilmember Palmasano for showing them around and called Minneapolis the "North Star." James (Philippines) expressed "separation anxiety" and stated Minneapolis has become a "second home."
- Domestic Violence Survivors and Advocates:
- Jana Williams (representing the family of Alison Lucher) expressed that Minneapolis PD should have investigated Alison's case as a homicide immediately and argued that state statutes are "barbaric" and need change.
- Simone Samuels (sister of Mariah Samuels) stated that the Minneapolis Police Department "got priorities mixed up" and criticized the allocation of resources, noting that residents in specific areas like Little Earth felt the city "leave the north side by itself" and did not protect citizens who sought help. She argued the tragedy could have been prevented with a simple arrest.
- A family member of Sarah Patrick expressed disbelief that investigators undermined Sarah's humanity by speculating suicide and framing her addiction as reasoning for her murder, stating officers need more understanding of how abuse cycles perpetrate.
- Alicia Robles (Amor Propio) advocated for survivors, noting that in Mexico, Dia de los Muertos is celebrated to remember loved ones. She stated, "One out of every three men goes through abuse and one out of every three women goes through abuse."
- Jess Pallian (Violence Free Minnesota) listed numerous community-based organizations available to assist victims, emphasizing that a network of services exists for all communities.
Discussion Items
- Professional Services Ordinance (Admin/Enterprise Oversight Item 1): Councilmember Wandsley moved to lower the council approval threshold for contracts from $175,000 to ensure greater transparency. Councilmember Koskey noted that a lack of oversight previously allowed questionable contracts, including those involving personal relationships and vendors with controversial pasts (e.g., a rescue nonprofit under federal investigation). Councilmember Koskey stated he was previously left in the dark regarding health department contract work related to carbon fees. Councilmember Wandsley expressed support, noting the ordinance balances transparency with reducing barriers for small businesses.
- Resolution: Councilmember Wandsley and Councilmember Koskey co-authored the ordinance. It passed unanimously (13 ayes).
- University Avenue Northeast Improvement Project (Climate/Infrastructure Item 1): Councilmember Rainville stated she would not vote for this item because the state and county failed to provide a plan to stage the roadwork in conjunction with other major projects, which she argued would cause severe damage to businesses and residents. She described the service from state and county entities as "very poor." The item passed with 10 ayes and 3 noes (Councilmembers Rainville, Palmasono, and Vita voted no).
- Salary and Compensation Study (Committee of the Whole Item 2):
- Councilmember Koskey argued that the Council has a legal right under the city charter to the full study, not a summary, and stated that refusing to release it is a "violation of the city charter." He noted the workforce compensation is "almost half our general fund."
- Councilmember Palmasano countered that the data is "private" and "sensitive," noting that the COO apologized for a previous error regarding closed sessions. She argued the administration's decision to not print 13 copies was reasonable.
- Vice President Shuktai clarified the motion to confirm that non-public data is only requested for Council members, not for public release.
- Resolution: The legislative directive requesting the study passed unanimously (13 ayes).
- Office of Enterprise Risk Management (Introduction Calendar Item 4): Councilmember Wandsley introduced an ordinance to authorize an Office of Enterprise Risk Management. She stated the position is a response to "systemic issues" and "lack of oversight" revealed in the City Auditor's report on the Helix Health and Housing Services contract, which identified overpayments and duplicate payments. Councilmember Travis co-authored the item, citing the audit findings of "fraud" and the need to hold the mayor accountable.
- Resolution: The introduction passed unanimously (13 ayes).
Key Outcomes
- Adopted 16 resolutions recognizing honorary programs (YSEALI, Election Judges, Disability Awareness, Domestic Violence Awareness) and designating specific dates (Nov 4, Oct 19-25, Oct 23) for public observance.
- Approved the agenda as amended (12 ayes) and accepted minutes from Oct 9 (13 ayes).
- Passed the Professional Services Ordinance to lower the contract approval threshold, co-authored by Councilmembers Wandsley and Koskey.
- Passed the University Avenue Project resolution despite opposition from Councilmembers Rainville, Palmasono, and Vita (10 ayes, 3 noes).
- Approved the Legislative Directive for the full salary/compensation study (13 ayes).
- Introduced and referred four ordinances to committees:
- Amending the Administration Code to move committee referral (Chavez, Shuktai, Chowdhury).
- Amending the Liquor and Beer Code regarding public safety (Rainville).
- Amending the Administration Code regarding government structure (Wandsley, Payne).
- Amending the Administration Code to create the Office of Enterprise Risk Management (Wandsley, Payne, Travis, Chavez).
- Approved a motion to hold a closed session regarding the litigation matter City of Chicago et al. vs. Nome et al. (12 ayes, 1 absent).
- Approved a gift acceptance for Councilmember Jenkins to attend the Vision Zero Cities conference.
Meeting Transcript
Good morning, everyone. My name is Elliot Payne. I'm the president of Minneapolis City Council. And before we convene our meeting, we have presentations of honorary resolutions. We are pleased to welcome guests to the space to share in these presentations before taking up our agenda. First up is a resolution recognizing young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative Professional Fellows Program, presented by Councilmember Palmasano. Morning, good morning, everybody. We're here with the first resolution of the day honoring the fellows of the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative, the Professional Fellows Program. And we have an alumnus of this program with us too. I learned how to do this from my friend and Councilmember Latricia Vita. Thank you. So Margaret Anderson Kelleher and I were both hosts here in City Hall of this program, as were others across the street with the county, and you'll you'll learn a little bit more. I'll read about half of this. You get a second. Here, you start. Thank you. Thank you. Honoring the fellows of the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative Professional Fellows Program, whereas the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative Professional Fellows Program is sponsored by the U the U.S. State Department Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs. And whereas Y Selly Program begins emerging brings emerging leaders to the United States for intensive fellowships designed to broaden their professional expertise. And the Y Selly program affords promising young professionals the opportunity to have firsthand experiences in and exposure to United States offices working on a variety of issues related to innovation, entrepreneurship, and economic empowerment, society and governance, civic engagement and sustainability and the environment. And whereas the Y Selly program builds the leadership capabilities of young professionals in 10 member countries and promotes cross-border cooperation to solve regional and global challenges, and whereas fellows will gain additional exposure to U.S. communities through enhancement activities, community service, and a host of hospitality experience. And whereas the YCLE program promotes the following broad goals to promote mutual understanding and lasting partnerships between emerging leaders from the 10 member and United States, uh provide opportunities for participants, ages 25 to 35 to collaborate, share ideas, approaches, and strategies to develop solutions to pressing local and global challenges, increase Americans' global competitiveness through new and expanded partnerships with professionals from Southeast Asia, create resilient communities and more. Whereas the current cohort of YC Lee Fellows in Minneapolis have been assigned to the City of Minneapolis, Hennepin County, the Downtown Improvement District in topic areas of judicial processes, economic development, communications, public planning and infrastructure, and legislative systems. Whereas the fellows have immersed themselves in American and Minneapolis culture by volunteering at the food bank at the community emergency assistant program, visiting the Minnesota Sioux, Target Field, the Minnesota Supreme Court, and many others going to concerts at the Armory and Grand Casino Arena, eating at many local restaurants, and experiencing the joy of a juicy Lucy. And whereas the hosts of the eight fellows in Minneapolis are Chief Judge Carrie Meyer, Assistant Chief Judge Mark Kappelhoff, Judge Annual Angelo Wilms, Hennepin County Commissioner Marion Green, Hennepin County Director of Broadband Phil Essington, Downtown Improvement District Director Adam Dunnock, Minneapolis City Operations Officer Margaret Anderson Kelleher, and myself. Thank you. So just briefly, I um I engaged in this program because I got a call from Mike who said they needed one more host. And um, you know, I I agreed to it in part because my friend and colleague Letricia Vita has hosted one and I got to sort of be a part of that process a little bit and and learn about the amazing experience that that she um and Maina had together. And um I just I could not have uh thought of how much joy it would bring me to see Minneapolis through the eyes of the fellows again and to introduce them to a couple of things. Um Ali is is my fellow, and I have so enjoyed learning about the Philippines from her. I have so enjoyed bringing her to um exciting competitive high school soccer games in my community, um, and and and trying out restaurants, none of which are spicy enough for her, um, and more. Um so I I have learned a lot through this program, and I I hope you've enjoyed fall in the Midwest here. So I'm gonna have Margaret say a couple words and then we're gonna try to introduce all of the fellows and have a couple of words from you. Thank you, Council members, and thank you to the council for having our guests here today. Um, James was our fellow in the COO's office and focused on sustainability and health-related issues and climate. I do want to thank staff as well. I want to thank Anna as well as Ruth and Molly for really helping everyone get around. But uh the the reason I have participated over and over again in many different roles of hosting a fellow is that I think the exchange of ideas is so important in the world. Um you come to learn here, but we are also learning from you. And I know James did over 30 meetings with city staff over the last four weeks, spent sort of a residency and health and climate, and did all of those things. And I just know also that we are looking at a group of people who there's a future prime minister in here, there's a future chief judge in here. We know that you are all going to continue to excel, and we hope you remember your time here in Minneapolis and Minnesota fondly. So thank you for being here. And I will pass the mic down so everyone can introduce themselves, and then I think we have a couple speakers from the group that have been designated. So let's do the introductions and then come back and do the comments. Um good morning, everyone. I'm Trum from Vietnam. I'm a fellow at uh Minneapolis Dao Tao Council with Edam Dunik.
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