Thank you.

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 this space to share in these presentations before taking up our agenda.

First up is a resolution recognizing Child Safety and Protection Month presented by Councilmember Palmisano.

Thank you. Good morning, everybody, and welcome.

Our first honorary resolution today is to reaffirm the city's commitment to protecting the health of children and recognizing November as National Child Safety and Protection Month.

You'll see this theme a couple more times this morning.

I'll read the resolution and then I'm going to pass it off first to the person receiving that resolution, which is Caitlin from Hennepin Health Care.

We also have up here with us members, people from our health department and also our youth coordinating board.

So, whereas the month of November is recognized as National Child Safety and Protection Month,

dedicated to recognizing the unique potential dangers children face in their everyday lives

and taking tangible steps of prevention against those challenges.

And whereas the goal of National Child and Safety Protection Month is to teach caregivers,

friends, and families how to see the world from a child's perspective and make sure they stay safe.

And whereas children and toddlers explore the world by putting things in their mouths, they are especially vulnerable to accidental poisoning.

And whereas between 2018 and 2023, there was a 176% increase in reports of potential cannabis poisoning,

with the reported poisonings of children under 5 increasing from 7% to 24% of those reported poisonings in that time.

Whereas the state of Minnesota legalized adult use cannabis in 2023, creating new opportunities for health education, regulation, and responsible use, but also new challenges in protecting children from accidental exposure, access, and normalization of use.

and whereas legalization has led to wider availability of cannabis products,

including edibles and concentrates that may resemble candy, snacks, beverages,

increasing the risk of unintentional ingestion.

Whereas the city of Minneapolis is committed to advancing public health and safety

through education and prevention related to cannabis and other substances,

whereas the Minneapolis Health Department is taking steps to protect children from potential harm

by launching a Safe Storage of Cannabis and Other Substances campaign

to encourage caregivers to store cannabis and other substances safely out of reach.

And whereas by recognizing National Child Safety and Protection Month

in the context of Minnesota's evolving cannabis landscape,

the city reaffirms its dedication to safeguarding the health, safety, and well-being

of all children in Minneapolis.

Now, therefore, be it resolved that the mayor and council hereby affirm

our commitment to protecting the health of children and recognizing November as

National Child Safety and Protection Month. Thank you. We have Caitlin here

from Hennepin Healthcare who's going to describe her work and share a few words.

Thank you for being here. Thank you everyone. So as mentioned my name is

Caitlin Hanson and I work for Hennepin Healthcare and I'm the trauma prevention

specialist over there. So we are a level one pediatric center as well as a level

adult center so we're committed not only to treating traumatic injuries but also

trying to prevent them as well and so what I do is take a look at our data and

our patients coming in and then use education resources programming

legislative action to try to prevent these injuries from happening in the

first place because what we find is you know even if you do heal from your

physical injuries there's always that a little scar for what you have and you

and your family have had to go through from this trauma so thank you again for

reaffirming this it's super it's an honor to receive this and I'm very

excited to promote the safe cannabis storage through our events in the future

starting with our baby safety shower on Friday so very exciting thank you thank

you so much councilmember my name is Evelyn Carberry I'm cannabis and

substance use prevention coordinator at the Minneapolis Health Department and

just wanted to say that we have launched a safe storage campaign after seeing the

numbers of increases in accidental childhood poisonings over the last

several years so we are promoting safe cannabis use by storing cannabis and

other substances locked up tight and out of sight and we appreciate the city's

commitment to ensuring the safety of children as well

super thank you we're gonna get together for a photo commemorating this

and as I'm just excited to stand with you all because you guys are doing the

work on promoting safe storage so here we go

next up next up we are recognizing fraud awareness week there we go

Thank you.

Good morning and welcome.

I'm excited to have our city auditor joining me with our full audit team as we recognize

Fraud Awareness Week in the City of Minneapolis.

Whereas the City of Minneapolis is committed to ethical governance, transparency, and accountability

in the stewardship of public resources and the delivery of services to its residents

and whereas 2025 marks the 25th annual Observance of International Fraud Awareness Week, an

initiative led by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, ACFE, to raise a global awareness

about the impact of fraud in the importance of prevention and detection.

And, whereas the ACFE estimates that organizations lose approximately 5% of their annual revenue

to fraud, representing a significant threat to the effective use of public funds and the

trust placed in government institutions.

And, whereas fraud undermines public confidence, increases operational costs, and diverts resources

away from essential services making prevention and early detection vital to protecting the

public interest.

And whereas the Office of City Auditor plays a critical role in promoting integrity and

accountability across city operations through independent audits, advisory services, proactive

risk assessments and fraud investigations.

And whereas fraud prevention and detection are shared responsibilities across all city

departments and collaboration is essential to maintaining a culture of integrity and accountability

and whereas employee tips are the most common method of detecting fraud and the city of

Minneapolis encourages all employees to remain vigilant and informed about fraud risks and

reporting mechanisms and whereas the city of Minneapolis provides accessible and confidential

tools for reporting suspected fraud ensuring that all employees and residents can play a role in

protecting public resources and whereas Fraud Awareness Week provides an

opportunity to recognize the importance of ethical conduct in public service and

to reaffirm the city's commitment to a culture of integrity and accountability

and whereas Fraud Awareness Week the office of the Sea Auditor exhibits strong

leadership and fraud prevention detection and education with ongoing

efforts to safeguard public resources and promote ethical governance now

therefore be it resolved that the mayor and City Council recognize November 16th

through the 22nd 2025 as Fraud Awareness Week in the City of Minneapolis and

encourage all city employees and residents to support fraud awareness

efforts report suspected fraud and contribute to a transparent and

trustworthy local government thank you

mr. Timmerman would you like to share any words I would just like to thank our

partners across the city especially in finance and those who help in the city

attorney's office we we triage reports and there is easy reporting on the city

of Minneapolis's website so members of the public and city employees can all

report concerns or suspicions of fraud that can be investigated so thank you

very much to all of our partners really appreciate you being here today and

And thank you for recognizing Fraud Awareness Week.

Absolutely.

Let's all squeeze in for a photo.

We've got to squeeze in between these two black lines right here.

Next, we will welcome Councilmember Koski for World Children's Day.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Good morning, everyone.

Good morning.

Good morning, good morning.

My name is Andrea Jenkins, Ward 8 City Council Member,

and I'm so honored to bring forth this resolution

recognizing World Children's Day.

whereas november 20th 2025 marks the 36th anniversary of the united nations convention

on the rights of the child uncrc and whereas out of 196 eligible member nations of the united

nations. The United States is the only nation that has not yet ratified the UNCRC. And whereas

the Child Friendly Cities Initiative, CFCI, was launched globally in 1996 to actualize the rights

of children, recognizing the direct role of local governments and mayors play in supporting and

advocating for children and young people, and whereas on November 20, 2019, the Minneapolis

City Council passed a resolution to reaffirm the city's historic support, beginning with

Mayor Don Frazier in 1989 of the UNCRC, and pursue designation as a child-friendly city

through the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, UNICEF USA.

And whereas Mayor Jacob Fry signed the Memorandum of Understanding with UNICEF USA

on February 14, 2020, resulting in Minneapolis becoming the second child-friendly city in the United States.

And whereas the Minneapolis Youth Coordinating Board and the Minneapolis Health Department are leading Minneapolis's efforts to become the first city in the United States to be a redesignated, I'm sorry, to be redesignated as a child-friendly city in accordance with the four overall goals enshrined in UNCRC.

Number one, children should be free from discrimination.

Two, government policies should be based on the best interests of the child.

Three, children should survive and develop their full potential.

And number four, children's views and perspectives are important.

and whereas this effort undertaking in recognition of the diversity of experience, culture, perspective

and nationally represented in the youth of the city of Minneapolis

is guided by the framework set forth by the Convention on the Rights of the Child

which is celebrated on World Children's Day.

now therefore be it resolved that the mayor and city council do hereby recognize that thursday

november 20th 2025 is world children's day in minneapolis and that the residents of minneapolis

are invited to recognize world children's day by learning more about the united nations

convention on the rights of the child thank you

Thank you.

So I just want to offer an opportunity to say a few words,

particularly from Anne from the Youth Coordinating Board.

Thank you, Council Member Jenkins and members of the Minneapolis City Council.

Council Member Jenkins is our board chair from the Youth Coordinating Board,

and Councilmember Koski is a member of our board,

so I'm very pleased that I have been able to work with them the last several years.

So on behalf of the Child-Friendly Cities Executive Committee,

who you see represented here, some of us, I accept the resolution.

We'll take that back and have it framed and hung.

We're very proud of the work that we have been able to do in Minneapolis,

and we're very proud to be the second city designated child-friendly

and the first city going forward for our second designation.

in the United States.

There are about 3,000 cities in the world

who have the designation, but in the United States,

there's only two.

Well, there's three, actually.

But we're the first to do a second designation.

And I think at this time in our country,

it is very important to lift up our children and their rights.

It is really critical that we remember them

and that we understand and really work for them

and understand that our policies and our government

needs to be centered on them. And that is what we bring to the table. A reminder and some work

around our children and helping to center them because they are not remembered all the time

and they're not thought of always as valuable. They're sometimes thought of as disposable and

they are not. Someday they are going to be sitting here. So let us give them our best.

and that is the work that we are trying to do.

So on World Children's Day, let's remember that today,

but every single day.

And thank you to my colleagues

for all of the incredible work they're doing now

and some who have been doing this work for 30 or 40 years.

So thank you so much.

Thank you.

Is there anyone else who would like to share any words?

No?

Well, I guess we'll gather for a photo and I'll let Ann hold this lovely resolution.

Next up is the Transgender Day of Remembrance with Councilmember Jenkins.

Oh, boy.

Here they come.

Hey, sure.

How are you?

Good for you.

Got a resolution for you.

Thank you.

Hey.

Hello, everyone.

Hello.

Is that it?

All right.

All right.

So here we go once again with this resolution observing November 20th as Transgender Day of Remembrance.

And last night I had an opportunity to drive past the 35W Bridge and it was all lit up in pink and blue.

whereas sadly and inhumanely at least 55 transgender and gender expansive people

have already been killed in the United States in the past year including through gun and

interpersonal violence and I just want to stop and make a commentary because

the term at least 55 is an estimate.

We really don't know how many transgender or gender nonconforming people have been murdered

because the society doesn't always recognize people's gender identities as such.

Whereas we face an epidemic of violence against transgender women of color in the United States

with black and Latinx transgender women representing a vast majority of these fatalities

and experiencing violence at disproportionately higher rates.

And whereas too often murders and violent attacks go unreported or misreported,

transgender women of color face violence every day and fear turning to law enforcement for help

due to the furthering interactions of violence, victim-blaming, stigmatization, and harmful characterization.

And, Council Member, do you want to share?

Whereas, transgender and gender-nonconforming people, whom we've lost in the last year due to violence perpetrated against them,

were neighbors, students, co-workers, friends, and family members whose lives were taken from

their loved ones and from their communities. And whereas Transgender Day of Remembrance

is also observed as Transgender Day of Resilience to celebrate the resilience and the power of

trans and gender non-conforming people still living, still fighting for their safety, and still

protecting each other. And whereas transgender and gender non-conforming people deserve the

resources and protections necessary to be celebrated in life and not only in death.

now therefore be it resolved that the mayor and city council do hereby observe November 20th

2025 as transgender day of remembrance and acknowledging and mourning the lives of transgender

and gender expansive people we've lost this year due to the violence and recognize that there is

so much more work ahead in our duties to help create a safer, more equitable city for our

transgender and gender non-conforming community members. Thank you.

And if I might just take a moment, you know, this will be my last day of reading a resolution

honoring Transgender Day of Remembrance.

And, you know, as a transgender American, a black transgender American,

I'm an anomaly to be sitting here on this Minneapolis City Council.

This is not an everyday occurrence.

more of an everyday occurrence for black transgender women is facing violence, facing homelessness,

facing unemployment. And so I want to just encourage you all to lift up a transgender

person that you may know. Send them some love today. It's a very emotional day for this community.

And I'll just leave it at that.

And offer Shor Shulkis, our program manager,

to say a few words.

Thank you, Councilmember.

Hi, everybody.

Shor Shulkis.

I'm the Two-Spirit LGBTQIA equity manager

here at the city.

And following up Councilmember's remarks is impossible,

but what I will say is that

We will have a space this afternoon at four o'clock

at the Central Library to honor, to grieve,

to be in community and to honor this day

with some performances and some speakers.

So please feel free to join us four o'clock

at the Central Library this afternoon.

And have a great day.

move

Thank you very much.

I will keep this.

I will keep this.

Next up, we will be recognizing 2025 International Employee Resource Group Day with Councilmember

Vita.

Good morning.

Good morning.

Yes, let's not be afraid to get in.

Not at all.

You're fine.

We might need to let.

Because we're going to have.

Not yet.

We'll just line up back here.

Yeah, just line up back first.

And then when we take.

We're not making.

Okay.

Hello.

Good morning.

Good morning.

So we're going to recognize International Employee Resource Group Day.

I'm Latricia Vita, and I'm joined by lots of staff here at the city of Minneapolis.

Thank you for being here this morning.

Whereas employee resource group ERGs are voluntary employee led groups that foster a diverse inclusive workplace aligned with organizational mission values and goals.

And whereas ERGs create safe spaces for employees to connect around shared identities, experience, and interest, and promote greater awareness, understanding, and equity in the workplace.

And whereas ERGs serve as vital contributors to the personal and professional development of employees by supporting leadership opportunities, mentorship, education, and community engagement.

And whereas ERGs strengthen organizations by encouraging cross-cultural learning, improving recruitment and retention, and helping to build a more inclusive workplace culture.

and whereas the city of Minneapolis recognizes the value and impact of ERGs in advancing equity, inclusion, and belonging across all sectors,

including within the public workforce, and whereas International ERG Day, celebrated annually on the third Wednesday of November,

provides an opportunity to honor the important work of ERGs around the world and to recommit creating inclusive environments

where all employees feel seen heard and empowered now therefore be resolved that the mayor and city council do hereby recognize

International Employee Resource Group Day and commend the dedication

leadership and contributions of employee resource groups and their members within our city government and beyond. Thank you

Anybody want to say anything

Thank you for this resolution today.

ERGs really are a place where everyone can feel welcome, where everyone can feel a sense of belonging, where everyone can feel they have a voice.

And so for me, having been here for over 31 years, I was able to kind of see it grow from an idea to an actual reality.

And so that'll be one of the things that I always really appreciate over the course of my career.

So thank you.

Thank you, Chief.

Anybody else want to say?

No?

All right.

It's picture-taking time.

So this is where it gets tricky.

We're going to get in between these two black lines, maybe two rows.

Thank you.

Thank you.

City Department support.

Thank you.

Thank you.

All right.

All right.

Hello.

Good morning, everyone.

I'm Emily Kosky, Council Member Award 11.

and colleagues and members of our community.

Today, we bring forward a series of honorary resolutions

recognizing the coordinated response of the City of Minneapolis departments

following the tragic shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church and School on August 27, 2025.

These resolutions honor the extraordinary professionalism, compassion, and teamwork

demonstrated across our entire enterprise.

There are 25 departments, so we will not read every resolution.

You're welcome.

But I know Council Member Palmisano would love to read each department's name.

I have the documents.

I will read every word of these things later.

These resolutions recognize all of these departments.

the police department, the fire department, emergency management, the health department,

neighborhood and community relations, city communications, the city clerk's office,

intergovernmental relations, our 911 emergency center, Minneapolis 311, the mayor's office,

regulatory services, the incident support team, the city attorney's office, and the civil rights

department, the Minneapolis convention center, the community planning and economic development group,

Finance and Property Services, Human Resources, Information Technology, Neighborhood Safety,

the Office of Community Safety, the Office of Public Service, Performance Management and Innovation, and Public Works.

Each of these departments played a vital role in supporting the victims, families, and the broader community

during an unimaginable crisis.

These resolutions collectively express our deepest gratitude to all city staff whose commitment and compassion reflect the very best of public service.

And I'm honored to be standing up here today with so many of you who represent these departments.

And I'm just grateful that Councilmember Palmisano and I had the support with all of you to support family and the community from Annunciation that is also here with us today.

So I'd like to open it up if anybody would like to say a few words as well.

Hi, I'm Kristen Neville, and I'm a parent at Annunciation.

Between myself and Michael Burt, we had five children that were in that church that morning.

And what we saw that morning from the moment that I arrived at the church at 8.35 a.m.,

which was quite early, and what I have seen every single day since then.

And as I stand alongside of you, I am completely just with the utmost gratitude of what you were able to do that day.

Teamwork is an incredible word for us to hold on to because I think that it is not just what happened on that day that we have to focus on.

It's how we go forward together as a community that can be able to help stop that from happening ever again so that we can protect all of our children and all of you in our community at large.

And so thank you on behalf of Annunciation and our community and each of you.

Thank you.

All right.

Thank you.

Thank you, Council Members Kosky and Paul Masano, for authoring this very important resolution in that we need to be recognizing the incredible service that so many people throughout our city are doing every single day.

But during emergencies, it's all the more important.

The response at Annunciation, it didn't happen by accident.

It happened because the people who are up here with us and the hundreds and even thousands of others throughout the city, they prepared.

They did work.

They coordinated.

They made sure the channels of communication were set up, that first responders understood how incident command would function.

All of this work culminated in a trip out to Emmitsburg, Maryland, where we all ran simulations.

And those simulations and that practice helps us do better, and it quite literally saves lives.

They worked alongside the incredible people at Annunciation, and I cannot thank you enough.

We've heard stories that are flat out courageous about what students, teachers, parents did in those most difficult moments.

And I think the most beautiful part is in unity, our whole city really rose to a very difficult challenge.

I'm grateful to everybody, for council members, for recognizing all of this work, for our staff who stepped up.

And whether you were ensuring that communication got out in a timely fashion or you were running towards violence when so many of the rest of us would run in the other direction, the work you do matters. It matters. And in moments like this, it especially does. And so thank you.

Good morning, and thank you for having us here today.

And my name is Mike Moiske.

I'm Harper's dad, also the father of Quinn Moiske,

who made it out that day, thanks to all of you.

This is my wife, Jackie, and we're beyond humbled

and honored to be here amongst this room of heroes.

That's truly what you are.

So thank you for everything you do,

not just for our family and for getting Quinn out safely, but for what you did for our community and

what you continue to do. I remember that morning, sorry I'll get a little choked up, but I remember

that morning seeing all the families come together and when Jackie and I found out what happened to

Harper, we were obviously devastated, hardest moment of our life, but then there were people

in that room that I couldn't even recognize today probably because it was such a blur,

that all had a function that allowed us to continue moving forward beyond that awful moment.

And it's helped us out, and it continues to help us out.

And the outreach that we get from many of you here today is a big part of our recovery.

So thank you so much on behalf of Jackie and I and Quinn and our community for everything that you do.

We're honored.

Thank you, Mike.

All right, I don't know that we're going to be able to squish in for a photo here, but

we will do our very best.

Let's show them what Unity looks like here.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next, we will recognize Harper.

All right.

All right.

We are also here today recognizing the enduring light of Harper Lillian Moeske.

Whereas Harper Lillian Moeske was born November 3rd, 2014,

and from the very beginning radiated joy, curiosity, and courage that touched everyone who knew her.

Whereas Harper was a bright, funny, and deeply kind child who asked big questions, spoke

truth and conviction, and approached the world with her whole heart, a light entirely her

own.

Whereas Harper found joy and wonder in everything around her, the animals she adored, the trails

she explored, the games she invented, and the people she loved, especially her little

sister Quinn, her favorite playmate and forever friend. And whereas her community witnessed

extraordinary strength and unity in the days and weeks following her passing, as neighbors,

classmates, and families across Minneapolis came together in love, grief, and solidarity.

and whereas from the love has grown a movement of conscious and compassionate change,

a collective effort to carry forward her spirit of kindness, connection, and courage.

And whereas Harper's family continues to honor her through community healing, advocacy,

and creative acts of remembrance, reminding all of us that love is powerful and never leaves.

transforms. And whereas her short life has already changed hearts, policies, and

possibilities in Minneapolis and beyond, calling us to be brave, be bright, and be

loud with our love. Now therefore be it resolved that the mayor and City Council

of the City of Minneapolis do hereby honor and celebrate Harper Lillian

Moiske, whose radiant life continues to illuminate our city's path towards compassion, courage,

and community. That the mayor and city council do hereby declare November as Harper Lillian

Moiske Month in the city of Minneapolis, inviting all residents to carry forward her spirit of

kindness, connection, and joy. And be it further resolved that the mayor and city council hereby

extend their deepest condolences and gratitude to Harper's family, friends, teachers, and community

together with their commitment to uphold the light that she shared, a light that didn't go out.

It shifted. It moved into all the people who care and remains a light which continues to grow

when we share it. May Harper's light continue to remind us that the measure of a society

is found in how deeply it loves and protects its children.

Thank you.

Well, it's been an honor to get to know both of you

and for you to have shared Harper's Light with me.

And I'm grateful to be here with both of you today.

so that you can continue to share it across our entire city.

So thank you so much.

I felt it this weekend already at an event that you guys have started

because her favorite sport is volleyball,

and you could feel it in every movement, every action,

every time somebody spoke.

And I can't wait until when we continue to support Harper

and say that November next year is Harper's Month,

that there will be more that we talk about

because of the work that you guys have already started.

So thank you.

Thank you.

Yes, thank you.

Again, this is beyond meaningful.

I'm sorry.

I feel like it's such a special item.

I want to, like, hold it up here.

But this means the world to us.

And Emily, you've been incredible, as well as you, Mayor Fry,

and everybody else in our community, and Michelle and Rabbi Jason.

And, you know, we are just continued to be humbled and honored.

And the biggest thing that we want out of this and why we're so honored by having this platform right now is we just want to make sure that all of this had meaning behind it.

Right. If it doesn't, then I think it's a big miss on the community and our city and so on and so forth.

And it's just humbling to know.

And we're proud to be a part of Minneapolis where we know we're going to take meaningful action to keep our kids safe.

So thank you so much for honoring Harper in this way.

and it's extremely important to us and meaningful.

So thanks a lot.

All right.

We'll take a picture together.

I'll have you guys hold up.

Thank you.

Thank you.

At this time, I'm going to call this regular meeting of the City Council for November 20th

to order. The Clerk will call the roll.

Councilmember Jenkins.

Present.

Councilmember Palmasano.

Present.

Councilmember Chowdhury.

Present.

Councilmember Cashman.

Present.

Councilmember Osmond.

Present. Council member Raineble. Present. Council member Chavez. Present. Council member Vita. Present.

Council member Ellison. Here. Council member Kosky. Present. Council member Wansley. Present.

Vice President Chaghti. Present. President Payne. Present. There are 13 members present.

Let the record reflect we have a quorum. Before we begin the meeting I want to offer a friendly

reminder to all members and staff that this meeting is broadcast live to enable greater

public participation the broadcast includes real-time captioning as a further method to

increase the accessibility of our proceedings to the community therefore all speakers need to be

mindful of the rate of their speech so that our captioners can fully capture and transcribe

all comments for the broadcast we ask all speakers to moderate the speed and clarity of their

comments with that the agenda for today's meeting is before us are there any amendments

Councilmember Chowdhury.

Thank you, President Payne.

I have an amendment before the body.

I move to amend the agenda to include under the order of introduction and referral calendar

a motion to amend the prior introduction of an ordinance relating to humane encampment

response.

Is there a second?

Second.

May I have a, I'll ask the correct to call the roll.

Council member Jenkins.

Aye.

Council member Pomisano.

Aye.

Council member Chowdhury.

Aye.

Council member Cashman.

Aye.

Council member Osmond.

Aye.

Council member Rainville.

Aye.

Council member Chavez.

Aye.

Council member Vita.

Aye.

Council member Kosky.

Aye.

Council member Wansley.

Aye.

Vice President Chugtay.

Aye.

President Payne.

Aye.

There are 13 ayes.

That carries.

The clerk will call the roll.

I would entertain a motion to accept those minutes.

So moved. Second.

The clerk will call the roll.

Council Member Jenkins.

Aye.

Council Member Palmisano.

Aye.

Council Member Chowdhury.

Aye.

Council Member Cashman.

Aye.

Council Member Osmond.

Aye.

Council Member Rainville.

Aye.

Council Member Chavez.

Aye.

Council Member Ellison.

Aye.

Council Member Kosky.

Aye.

Council Member Wansley.

Aye.

Vice President Chukhtai.

Aye.

President Payne.

Aye.

petitions, communications, and reports to proper committees. May I have that motion, please?

So moved. Second. The clerk will call the roll.

Council Member Jenkins. Aye. Council Member Pomisano. Aye. Council Member Chowdhury. Aye.

Council Member Cashman. Aye. Council Member Osmond. Aye. Council Member Rainville. Aye.

Council Member Chavez. Aye. Council Member Vita. Aye. Council Member Ellison. Aye.

Council Member Kosky. Aye. Council Member Wansley. Aye. Vice President Chugtay. Aye.

President Payne. Aye. There are 13 ayes. That carries, and those matters have been referred.

The next order of business is presentations of reports from our standing committees.

Those are taken in alphabetical order beginning with the report of our administration and enterprise oversight committee, which will be presented by its chair.

Councilmember Wansley.

Thank you, President Payne.

The administration and enterprise oversight committee is bringing forward 22 items.

The first is a gift acceptance from Cities Today Institute for lodging and mill expenses, too.

is a bid for public sidewalk snow and ice removal.

Three is a bid for Target Center steam station improvements.

Four is a bid for Fridley softening plant

lime system replacement. Five is a bid for Lindale Avenue

North traffic control signal systems and storm sewer

slash pedestrian curb ramps improvements project.

Six is master contracts for eligible providers

of Workforce Development Services for 2026 through 2028.

Seven is a contract with Kodak Architectural Group

for Architecture and Engineering Services

for the carpenter and mechanic shop

on the Fridley Water Treatment Campus.

Eight is a contract amendment with Hagen Adams PLLC

for after action reviews and reports.

Nine is a contract amendment with Sheehy Construction Company

for lightning replacement

and Target Center Escalator Lobby.

Ten is contract amendment with Tyzac Concrete, Inc.

for the Phillips Traffic Safety Project.

Eleven is a contract amendment with Bolton and Mink, Inc.

for Engineering and Design Services for Bridge 9 Improvements Project.

Twelve is contract amendment with Certified Languages International, LLC

for Remote Interpreting Services.

13 is contract amendments with multiple vendors for community trauma response services.

14 is contract amendments with various immigration legal services providers.

15 is contracts with various organizations for partnership engagement fund projects.

16 is cooperative funding agreement with Minnesota Historical Society for the St. Anthony Falls Heritage Board.

17 is Minneapolis Advisory Committee on People with Disabilities Appointments.

18 is 2025 Property Tax Special Assessment of Delinquent Utility Charges.

19 is Illegal Settlement Workers' Compensation Claim of Jarrett Moore.

20 is Illegal Settlement MDCR Charge 23-09198.

21 is a legal settlement, Marion Lewis v. City of Minneapolis, and 22 is a gift acceptance from the public rights project for conference travel, lodging, and meal expenses.

With that, I will move approval of all items.

Councilmember Wansley has moved approval of the committee's report. Is there any discussion?

Seeing none, I'll ask the clerk to call the roll.

Councilmember Jenkins.

Council Member Palmisano.

Council Member Chowdhury.

Council Member Cashman.

Council Member Rainville.

Council Member Chavez.

Council Member Vita.

Council Member Ellison.

Council Member Kosky.

Council Member Wansley.

Vice President Chugtay.

There are 13 ayes.

That carries and the report is adopted.

Next we'll have the report from our budget committee given by that committee's chair,

Vice President Chugtai. Thank you, Mr. President. The Budget Committee is bringing forward one item for approval today, which is a passage of resolution approving the adjusted 20-year neighborhood park plan guaranteed minimum annual amounts for 2027 through 2031 due to inflation. I'll move approval of this item.

Vice President Chugtai has moved approval of the committee's report. Is there any discussion?

Seeing none, I will ask the clerk to call the roll.

our Business, Housing and Zoning Committee given by that committee's chair, Councilmember

Osman.

Thank you, President Payne.

The Business, Housing and Zoning Committee is bringing forward 22 items today.

Item 1 is approving ordinance related to the Heritage Preservation Regulation.

Item 2 is approving a liquor and sidewalk cafe license for pavi kajun.

Item 3 is approving an extended hour license for u tobacco.

4 is approving an extended hours license for zip of silk.

Item 5 is approving annual levies for special assessment.

Item 6 is considering an appeal from 1717 developers to demolish the John Cook house.

This item was forwarded without recommendation.

Item 7 is denying an appeal submitted by Marsha Hagenson for the property at 2821 Brookwood Terrace.

Item 8 is approving three liquor licenses.

Item 9 is approving seven liquor license renewals.

Item 10 is approving 13 gambling license renewals.

Item 11 is accepting a grant from the state for dislocated workers.

Item 12 is approving a decertification for three TIF districts.

Item 13 is approving a comprehensive plan amendment for River North development.

Item 14 is authorizing modification for the NOAA Preservation Fund.

Item 15 is amending the contract with KMA development for the property at 1200 West Broadway.

Item 16 is approving a new street name of Kirk Washington, Jr., submitted by Councilmember Allison.

Item 17 is also approving a new street name for Qingsong, submitted by Councilmember Allison.

Item 18 is approving appreciation for demolishing two properties for the city.

Item 19 is approving rested land sales to Homes for Homies for the Emergency Stabilization Pilot Program.

Item 20 is approving the Annual Affordable Housing Trust Fund Award Recommendation.

Item 21 is approving a reservation of 9% low-income housing tax credit.

And lastly, item 22 is approving as amended an ordinance related to the signage on premises.

This was approved as amended during the BIS Committee last Thursday.

With that, I will move all items for approvals and pull item 1 and 6 for separate discussion.

Thank you.

Councilmember Osmond has moved the approval of the report minus items 1 and 6.

Is there any discussion on the remainder of the items?

seeing none oh i'm sorry i can't i'd like to pull item on 22 for discussion please

22 oh i see i am not seeing the queue i got it councilmember cashman i was going to pull 22

for discussion all right uh councilmember ellison uh thank you just wanted to speak briefly on items

I believe 16 and 17. These are street renaming or commemorative street signs for Kirk Washington

and Chi Zhang. Both are people who contributed to the fabric of North Minneapolis. Kirk was

a beloved poet, father, community member, organizer. The community has been celebrating

Kirk Washington Day for a number of years and you guys have seen him evoked

here in in chambers and so to have a sign that really marks the fact that he

what embodied Harrison is is really important to the community and I want to

thank you all you hope you guys support it and Chi Zhang was really beloved I

took a plot of land that a lot of folks thought of is like desolate can't build

on it can't garden on it and she's really made the Jordan Area Community

Council garden into an oasis on the north side and is no longer with us.

But the legacy that she created on the north side really carries on.

So I want to thank you guys for supporting this.

And it's always beautiful to just see, to have the ability on this dais to celebrate

our elders and those who have moved on.

So thank you, guys.

Councilmember Palmisano.

Mr. Chair, I don't need to pull it for discussion, but I'd like to say a few words about item number seven

It was an appeal variance by Marsha Hagginson if I can just say that now

I wanted to point out that I really appreciate miss Hagginson's research and work

To present her appeal that she did to you on the committee last week

She clearly spent a great deal of time

Thinking about the impacts of development and the potential consequences to our environment at the end of this process

I cannot and you have not found any precedent to be able to support the appeal.

The shoreland overlay district is not a prohibition against development or encroachment.

Our shoreland overlay is very often missed.

It's talked about in strange ways because it really doesn't.

It applies differently to urban areas where you can see lots of structures from the water.

We're going to see that again here in a couple weeks.

The shoreland overlay district should be a process assurance that extra scrutiny is paid to development or land use and variance kinds of requests.

Staff reviewed, per Ms. Higginson's request, digital application databases and found 11 applications for development within 40 feet of a steep slope in a shoreland area.

One was withdrawn, but all the other 10 were approved, typically with conditions regarding construction activity.

I want to note that there are conditions placed on the approval around erosion control to protect Minnehaha Creek, which is important to all of us.

Based on that, I can't support this appeal.

But one other note, Ms. Higginson has some valid concerns about the process to testify and file an appeal.

And I know that staff have heard those concerns, and they're working to help make that process more clear and more explanatory.

So I hope that for that, Ms. Higginson can ultimately find her efforts here with the Zoning Board of Adjustments,

and then our City Council were not for naught.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Council Member Ellison.

Sorry, I forgot to mention that because I'm the author of the items of bringing forward the street, the commemorative signs, I cannot vote on them.

So just didn't want people to hear an abstention and be like, what? I thought he supported those.

But yeah, I do have to abstain from items 16 and 17.

Just wanted to let the community and the body know.

Sounds good.

Seeing no one else left in queue, I'll ask the clerk to call the roll on the biz report minus items 1, 6, and 22.

Council Member Jenkins.

Aye.

Council Member Palmisano.

Aye.

Council Member Chowdhury.

Aye.

Council Member Cashman.

Aye.

Council Member Osmond.

Aye.

Council Member Rainville.

Aye.

Council Member Chavez.

Aye.

Council Member Vitao.

Aye.

Council Member Ellison.

Aye on all except 16 and 17 abstain.

Council Member Kosky.

Aye.

Council Member Wansley.

Aye.

Vice President Chugtay.

Aye.

President Payne.

Aye.

There are 13 ayes on the report except for items 16 and 17 with 11 ayes and two abstentions

or one abstention, 11 ayes on both items.

Those items carry.

Next, we will take up item number one, the Heritage Preservation Regulations Ordinance.

I'm going to add myself to queue because I have an amendment.

I actually have two amendments on this that are related.

These are printed out in front of you, and the goal of this is to add some more clarity around what the responsibility of a property owner is

to provide interim protections so that we can maintain security and weather tightness of

buildings. So further down the agenda, we're going to be addressing a house that was on the

historical preservation list that deteriorated because of some of the inability to keep the

building weather tight. It's eroded over time, and this amendment to the ordinance should help

prevent that in the future. And I really appreciate my colleagues' support on this. Is there a

second to my motion to amend? Second. Any discussion? I will ask the clerk to call the roll.

Council Member Jenkins? Aye. Council Member Palmolstano? Aye. Council Member Chowdhury? Aye.

Council Member Cashman? Aye. Council Member Osmond? Aye. Council Member Rainville? Aye.

Councilmember Chavez. Aye. Councilmember Vita. Aye. Councilmember Ellison. Aye. Councilmember Kosky. Aye. Councilmember Wansley. Aye. Vice President Chugtay. Aye. President Payne. Aye. There are 13 ayes. That carries and that amendment is adopted. Next I will recognize Councilmember Wansley.

Thank you, President Payne.

I'm also bringing forward a motion that's in front of you all.

And I think many of you are also aware that I've had some significant time now on council of learning a lot about our heritage preservation process here at the city.

and the conversations around it is really around how we best preserve our city's heritage

and preserve our history, while also acknowledging that that history intersects with a lot of other

important and ongoing conversations about development, equity, arts and culture, and

infrastructure. And also recognizing that every potential proposed case of historic designation

is different, and every one of those cases represents the opportunity of meaningful conversation

about a piece of physical and cultural history and how to honor that history while also moving

forward with the city's future in an equitable way. With that in mind, I'm very excited to see

the updated Heritage Preservation Ordinances coming forward today, and also want to thank

city staff and the Heritage Preservation Commission, who put a tremendous amount of work

into revising this ordinance. There are five bodies that currently can nominate a building or

district for historic designation, and that includes the mayor, a council member, a member

of the Historic or Heritage Preservation Commission, the director of CPET, or the property

owner. And the ordinance proposed by staff creates a new early step in the process to allow the city

staff to review and research property to determine if they meet the criteria for designation.

before a public nomination or demolition request can enter the next step of the process.

Essentially, this is an early eligibility screening for potential nominations,

and the screening step only applies, again, to those five bodies.

Elected officials are not included in this step because they represent the public's interest.

That said, in reviewing the proposed ordinance,

the Heritage Preservation Commission suggested that the nominations from the HPC itself

should also be exempt from the eligibility screening for nominations, and I agree.

And that's what's reflected in the amendment before you today.

The HBC, again, the Heritage Preservation Commission, is a body of residents and subject matter experts.

And while they are not elected officials, they are a body of residents and subject matter experts

who bring important and diverse perspectives to our city's heritage preservation practices.

It's appropriate to maintain their current ability to nominate a property without adding additional pre-screenings.

The HPC also helps widen the public conversation about heritage preservation.

And we should want to honor and foster that role rather than create more administrative steps that could limit it.

It's also an important way to empower and support our appointed boards and commissions

who often raise these concerns of not feeling heard or feeling like their expertise is truly supported and uplifted by city leaders.

And this represents the opportunity for us to do exactly that in regards to the Heritage Preservation Commission.

So with that, I will ask for a second and we'll stand for any questions.

Second.

Council Member Wansley has moved an amendment.

It's been seconded.

Is there any discussion? I'll recognize Councilmember Cashman.

Thank you, President Payne.

It was my understanding that the amendment put forward by staff was intended to reduce administrative processes.

and I'm wondering if staff could actually come up

and explain the rationale behind

kind of taking away this ability

for the Heritage Preservation Commission

to put forward a nomination

in the same way that council and the mayor

will be able to.

And members of the city council,

my name is Andrea Burke and I'm the supervisor

of the historic preservation team in CPED.

So this amendment is a section of, well, this section of code, let me start there, says that only properties that have been determined eligible for designation may be nominated before the Heritage Preservation Commission, and elected officials are exempt from this requirement, as was stated by Council Member Wansley.

This step was added to ensure that nominations meet the significance and integrity criteria before beginning the public process.

And it was really modeled after the National Register system.

Staff prefers that only elected officials remain exempt since they represent the public interest.

Staff can accept this amendment, but to your question, Council Member Cashman,

the intent behind it was to provide a degree of research and vetting and really ensure that the significance criteria and the eligibility really met the city's ordinance and letter before it embarks, as I mentioned, on a lengthy public process where if nominated, interim protection gets put on the property owner, which is a pretty hefty, I wouldn't say restriction, but it's a hefty layer.

for them to endure.

And we wanted to make sure that before this happens

that we really have thoroughly looked through

and made sure that this property meets the criteria.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And then a follow-up question to that is,

is there anything precluding

the Heritage Preservation Commissioner

from just finding a council member

to sponsor their proposed nomination

to be able to waive this process?

Council President Payne and Council Member Cashman, no.

there is nothing. A Heritage Preservation Commissioner may go straight to a council

member to sponsor this nomination. A member of the public can do that.

Really, anybody can go and ask a council member to take forward a nomination.

That was put forth by design because, as we mentioned, because the council very much

listens to their constituents and their needs and is most familiar with their ward.

So that was part of the idea for exempting elected officials in this matter.

Thank you. I'm going to vote against this amendment and with staff on this. And I think it's important that the mayor and the city council have the exemption, but that the unelected officials on the Heritage Preservation Commission, which are important members of the community and do have subject to expertise, still have to go through the process that any other community member would go through. Thank you.

Councilmember Chowdry

Thank you Chair Payne

I really appreciate this amendment being brought forward

and I understand

Councilmember's thought process

and bringing it forward

I think I'm seeing it differently today

for me

I believe that historical preservation

should be pretty

judicious

I think it should be

something that doesn't happen with a lot of regularity because of the burden that it puts on

the property itself in terms of renovations, in terms of changes that can be made.

And I think the nomination process, specifically putting it under interim protection and having to

go through an entire process before it is actually found to be historically

significant for it to continue through the process makes me feel that I think

it should be just limited to a council member or the mayor pretty similar to

how we do street renaming I think with street renaming the public works

director also can be involved but I think there's ways for us to come

together and work with the HPC to get a nomination through. So for those reasons, I won't be able to

support this amendment today. Council Member Palmisano. Thank you, Mr. Chair. With all due

respect for this idea and broadening the net, so to speak, I also can't support this amendment from

Council Member Wansley. Staff have carefully considered who is best to represent the will

in the needs of residents and surrounding properties,

and that is elected officials, council members,

and the mayor.

We want to make sure that nominations are being vetted

per these new systems that were outlined in this ordinance.

There are good improvements in here,

and the piece from Council President Payne

is another good improvement.

The Heritage Preservation Commission members are appointed.

They do really good work for the public

with their expertise, which we value.

but they have not been elected to represent residents.

We are the ones that hear all of the issues and concerns or ideas from our community.

I don't see the community reaching out to specific heritage preservation members.

As Council Member Cashman suggested and Ms. Burke confirmed,

if a commissioner or resident wants to make a nomination,

they can pretty easily work with a council member, any council member, to do so on their behalf.

that council member can review the request and take into consideration not just the property but

the broader impacts of a designation that we've all wrestled with on this dais thank you

council member wansley thank you president pain i wanted staff to come forward again

just to answer a follow-up question

Welcome.

Can you give a little bit of insights?

Because from my understanding right now, again, the five bodies can do nominations prior to the enacting of this ordinance that would change that.

On average, how many nominations is the HPC bringing forward each year?

Council President Payne and Council Member Wansley.

In the past year, we've had one or two that have come through for definitely one, I think two actually, from the Heritage Preservation Commission.

Often that's a pretty average number that comes through.

So it is not a significant amount, to be quite honest.

That is my answer.

Thank you for that. Just clarity, because I think there is this understanding or misconception that HPC is just out here willy-nilly just wielding this responsibility that they currently have.

I think they have approached it with due diligence, and we don't see these often come forward through this body for consideration.

I think as a result of HPC also recognizing the significance of work that goes into a

nomination process.

They do work with staff just as a council member would on also reconciling just the

totality of what it would take to actually move application through the process.

So the fact that this is literally not happening at an abundant amount shows me, again, like

HPC recognizes this.

It should not be a privilege that's stripped of them.

And again, I stand on the premises that we should be empowering our appointed boards

and commissions, especially when they're doing their due diligence, and the HBC has demonstrated

that.

And also the fact that staff has also said this is a acceptable amendment in itself.

So with that, thank you for adding that clarity, and I still stand on the amendment.

Seeing no one else left in queue, I will ask the clerk to call the roll on the Wansley

Amendment.

Councilmember Jenkins?

Uh, nay.

Councilmember Pomisano?

Nay.

Councilmember Chowdhury?

Nay.

Councilmember Cashman?

Nay.

Councilmember Osmond?

Aye.

Councilmember Rainville?

Nay.

Councilmember Chavez?

Aye.

Councilmember Vita?

No.

Councilmember Ellison?

Aye.

Councilmember Kosky?

Council member Wansley. Aye. Vice President Chugtai. Nay. President Payne. Aye. There are five ayes and eight nays. That amendment fails, so we have the underlying ordinance as amended by me in front of us. Is there any discussion on the remainder of this ordinance? Seeing none, I'll ask the clerk to call the roll.

Council member Jenkins.

Council member Palmasano.

Council member Chowdhury.

Council member Cashman.

Council member Osmond.

Council member Chavez.

Council member Vita.

Council member Ellison.

Council member Kosky.

Council member Wansley.

Vice President Chugtay.

President Payne.

There are 15 ayes.

That carries and that ordinance is adopted.

Next, we will take up item number six, and I will recognize City Attorney Anderson.

Thank you, Council President, Council Members.

The City Attorney's Office recommends that the Council refer this item back to staff today.

Regulatory services with assistance from the City Attorney's Office is in the process of finalizing an agreement with the property owner,

which will facilitate the property being sold within the next six months.

The agreement will also require upkeep and maintenance of the property during that time frame.

We believe that this agreement will serve the interests of the city, the community, and the property owner

and provide a tangible path forward to seeing the property restored

so that its historic significance can be appreciated, realized, and continued.

In furtherance of this, the property owner and his attorney have provided a written agreement

to extend the city's decision-making period under Minnesota statute section 15.99 for an additional six months.

Thank you, Madam City Attorney.

This property is in my ward.

I will be happy to make that motion to refer this item back to staff.

Is there a second?

Second.

Is there any discussion?

Council Member Cashman.

Thank you, President Payne.

can you just clarify again what the process would be for the owner developer to attempt to

demolish the building in the future madam city attorney

mr fussy

council president council members i apologize i'm kind of multitasking there what was the question

The question was what the process would be, you know, if this referral back to staff passes, what would be the process for the current owner and developer to attempt to demolish the cook house in the future?

Thank you, Council Member Cashman and Council Members.

My understanding of the agreement is that this will not allow for demolition of the property.

and if the ends of this agreement weren't achieved in the timeframe contemplated, which is six months for a sale,

essentially because the request for a certificate of authorization to demolish has been put on pause or referred back to staff,

it would have to be brought back before this council and voted on again and obtained anew, for instance.

After, sorry, just to clarify, so it would be after six months if there's no sale?

That's correct.

And what would happen during the six months?

My understanding of the terms of the agreement is that during that six months, the property owner will be endeavoring to sell the property, even if it is at a loss, and has some, I guess, leads, for lack of a better term, to do that,

and is at least confident that he will be able to achieve that.

And I believe that staff is also confident that that is a realistic outcome.

However, obviously that needs to that needs to happen and nothing is assured.

But I think this the framework of this agreement does protect the city in terms of

he's not being provided with any right to demolish at any point of time.

It would still need to come back on this council.

Okay. That's what I wanted to clarify.

Thank you, Mr. Fussey. Thank you, President Payton.

Thank you.

Seeing no one else in queue, I will ask the clerk to call the roll on the referral of item number six back to staff.

Council Member Jenkins.

Aye.

Council Member Pomosano.

Aye.

Council Member Chowdhury.

Aye.

Council Member Cashman.

Aye.

Council Member Osmond.

Aye.

Council Member Randall.

Aye.

Council Member Chavez.

Aye.

Council Member Vitaugh.

Aye.

Council Member Ellison.

Aye.

Council Member Kosky.

Aye.

Council Member Wansley.

Aye.

Vice President Chugton.

Aye.

President Payne.

Aye.

There are 13 ayes.

That item carries, and that item is referred back to staff.

And next we will take up item number 22, and I will recognize Council Member Cashman.

Thank you, President Payne.

Before I speak on the ordinance in general, I just wanted to note that my staff is currently writing up an amendment

to bring forward, which Council Member Rainville and I had spoken about right before the committee,

so I'll just read generally what that amendment intends to do,

and it's to make sure to clarify that existing billboards benefiting from a conversion from static to digital

shall be subject to the terms of any vehicle approved for future revenue share or municipal tax.

So this is to clarify that in the future, as we go to the state legislature

and ask for the ability to create a revenue generation tool for digital billboards in the city

that all digital billboards in the city will be subject to that, even the ones that exist by that point.

And so this is a matter of fairness, so that all digital billboards in the city will be subject to the same terms.

So I would like to introduce that in a minute when you have the paper copy in front of you.

And in the meantime, I'll just speak briefly to the ordinance in general.

I'm really grateful to the staff, Sarah Roman, Meg McMahon, and Jason Wittenberg, who put a lot of time into this ordinance over the past year,

and also to my staff, John Misavich in particular, who worked really closely with a lot of building owners, business owners, stakeholders,

artists, and city staff on crafting a lot of really important changes to our signage code.

Some of those that I feel most excited about moving forward today is that painted wall signs will no longer be regulated citywide,

which offers an opportunity for small businesses to create more visibility and vibrancy on their buildings.

It also expands signage allowances in CM3 zoning areas.

It also creates the conditions that billboards will be no longer allowed to subsidize vacant properties.

Also, replacing signs with similar ones will no longer require a permit or cost small businesses a fee.

so this streamlines the processes for that.

We also have a provision whereby Skyway businesses will have a special sign allowance

to ensure that they can advertise their business to street-level pedestrians.

One of our biggest wayfinding challenges downtown is helping pedestrians identify their ways

in and out of the Skyway and the businesses that are at the Skyway level.

And then finally, another provision allows for new sign types like building wraps

and light projection signs to be experimented with within a specific area of the city.

With that, I will allow for others to speak on this item before bringing forward the amendment.

Thanks.

Mr. President, we're having some technical issues getting to the amendment,

and my advice would be that we put this aside and come back under the rules

so that the substantive amendment of this kind is in front of the body

and can be read and reviewed and then spoken to.

And so as we continue to work with the staff to get that amendment finalized and produced,

I think we could set that aside for now and move on with the rest of the agenda and come back to it at the end.

Yeah, without objection, let's set it aside.

And I don't know if I have to plug it in somewhere in the agenda.

Maybe the clerks can let me know once it pops up and we can.

Happy to do so.

all right uh all right without objection let's set that aside and move on to our next committee which

is the climate and infrastructure committee which will be presented by that committee's

chair councilmember cashman thank you mr president so the climate and infrastructure committee has

10 items today item one is a resolution honoring the staff and contractors that worked on the

the hennepin avenue south reconstruction item 2 is related to first avenue south reconstruction

from franklin to grant and has resolutions ordering work to proceed adopting special

assessments requesting the bet authorized issuance and sale of assessment bonds and

ordering the abandonment and removal of area ways in conflict with the project item 3 is related to

cedar avenue reconstruction from 24th street east to lake street east and has resolutions ordering

work to proceed adopting special assessments requesting the bet authorized issuance and sale

of assessment bonds and ordering the abandonment and removal of areaways in conflict with the

project and then item four is related to lowry avenue northeast street reconstruction phase two

from marshall street northeast to washington street northeast with similar resolutions to

the previous two items item five is authorizing a subordinate funding agreement with the met council

for local work design and administrative costs related to the metro blue line extension item six

is a resolution amending the 2025 capital improvement appropriation resolution to

authorize closure and appropriate appropriation adjustments for capital projects and programs as

well as reallocations and redistributions of excess funds item seven is authorizing

cooperative agreement with hennepin county for the cedar avenue reconstruction item eight is

is authorizing a utility easement with the minneapolis park and recreation board for storm

sewer and stormwater basins within columbia golf course and park item nine is authoring a joint

powers agreement with the minneapolis park board for parkway paving repair and reconstruction

and item 10 is a resolution updating the price structure and rates for charging electric vehicles

in the public right-of-way as part of the ev spot network pilot and i'll move approval of all items

Councilmember Cashman has moved approval of the committee's report. Is there any discussion?

Councilmember Cashman?

Thank you. I just wanted to briefly thank staff for item number nine, which is a joint powers agreement with the Park Board for Parkway Paving, Repair, and Reconstruction.

I'm not sure if other council members have this issue in their wards, but for me, in Ward 7, the parkways around the lakes have become an area where we had some lack of clarity around governance in terms of who was in charge of traffic calming and safety improvements and even the trimming of various greenery that have blocked sight lines and so on.

So I'm really grateful for those who have put the work in to make sure that those roles and responsibilities are clarified with the park board so that constituent services as it relates to parkways can improve in the future.

Thank you.

Seeing no one else left in queue, I'll ask the clerk to call the roll on the CNI report.

Council Member Jenkins.

Aye.

Council Member Pumasano.

Aye.

Council Member Chowdhury.

Aye.

Council Member Cashman.

Aye.

Council Member Osmond.

Aye.

Councilmember Rainville. Aye. Councilmember Chavez. Aye. Councilmember Vita. Aye. Councilmember Ellison. Aye. Councilmember Kosky. Aye. Councilmember Wansley. Aye. Vice President Chugtay. Aye. President Payne. Aye. There are 13 ayes. That carries and the report is adopted. Finally, we have the Public Health and Safety Committee, which will be presented by that committee's chair, Councilmember Chavez.

Thank you, Mr. President. The Public Health and Safety Committee will be bringing forward two items. Item number one is the opioid overdoses and possession of naloxone or their opioid antagonist. Item number two is towards your death grant from the state of Minnesota through the City of Cristo Police Department to prove the safety of Minneapolis roads. I'll move approval of these items.

Mr. Member Travis has moved approval of the committee's report. Is there any discussion?

Seeing none, I will ask the clerk to call the roll.

adopted and before we complete all of our reports i see that we have our amendment for item number

22 on the biz report uh our recognized councilmember cashman all right thank you president

payne so um this is an amendment to section 560.320 of the sign ordinance and in addition to the

amendment that i moved at biz committee there's also a new portion at the very bottom that says

and i'll read for the record existing billboards benefiting from a conversion from static to

digital shall be subject to the terms of any vehicle approved for future revenue share or

municipal tax and i would like to move this amendment for approval and just state that

it's you know there's work to be done through igr to allow uh to get statutory approval from

the state in order for us to set up a mechanism of this sort but we want to make sure that once

that's set up that there is fairness and how it is applied across the city and that no one would

benefit from an exemption from that in the future mr president mr quirk sorry to interrupt um just

in quick consultation with mr fussy from the state attorney's office my understanding and he can

explain it is that the written copy of this amendment in front of you is incorrect and is

not what the attorney's office had indicated should be included.

And so perhaps Mr. Fussey can walk us through the amendment as it exists in front of you now.

And to the extent that the clerks are able to capture that, we'll do our best to facilitate that process.

Mr. Fussey?

Thank you, Mr. President, Mr. Clerk, and council members.

Kind of doing some very last-minute drafting here along with your ABLE staff, Council Member Cashman.

And I think the gist of what is put, what is on the paper here was what we were working on,

but I believe that we agreed with your staff with some slightly different language.

I did provide that in the team's chat to Mr. Clerk, the clerk's office, and I can read it now.

I don't know if you want to have it reprinted, but it would,

Replacing the underlined language that's on the paper here, it would read, existing off-premises signs benefiting from a conversion from static to digital under this subsection shall be subject to the terms of any legislative mechanism approved providing for future revenue share or municipal tax to the extent permitted by law.

That's essentially the same gist of the intent as I understand it of the initial language

that was provided but it involved a little bit of tweaking from my office in consultation

with your staff and that would be the form I think that we would recommend.

Mr. Clerk, having the city attorney read that into the record, are we good to move forward?

I think we're good as long as council members understand what he said and if you want him

to read it again, he certainly can.

One more time, please.

Thank you.

So the amendment, which would be added to the end of Section 560.320, Subsection 1B,

would read, existing off-premises signs benefiting from a conversion from static to digital under

this subsection shall be subject to the terms of any legislative mechanism approved providing

for future revenue share or municipal tax to the extent permitted by law.

Okay.

Council Member Cashman, would you like to move that language?

Yes, I will move the language that Attorney Fussy just read,

and thank you so much for your comments and help.

Is there a second?

Second.

That's been moved and seconded.

I will recognize Council Member Chowdhury.

I'm in queue for Council Member Reanville.

Thank you, Council Member Chowdhury.

and thank you, Mr. President, and thank you, Councilmember Cashman, for letting me add to this clarification.

So this, I think, our attorney, Mr. Pusty, thank you for your help as well.

So I think this just clarifies what will happen and that no one will benefit unintentionally from this.

So thank you very much.

All right.

Seeing no one else left in queue, and without objection, let's take up the ordinance as amended.

Council Member Jenkins.

Aye.

Council Member Palmisano.

Aye.

Council Member Chowdhury.

Aye.

Council Member Cashman.

Aye.

Council Member Osmond.

Aye.

Council Member Rainville.

Aye.

Council Member Chavez.

Aye.

Council Member Vita.

Aye.

Council Member Ellison.

Aye.

Council Member Kosky.

Aye.

Council Member Wansley.

Aye.

Vice President Chugtide.

Aye.

President Payne.

Aye.

There are 13 ayes.

That carries and that ordinance is adopted,

which completes the reports of all of our standing committees.

Next, we have introduction and referral calendar.

We have one item today,

which was added to our agenda at the beginning of today's meeting.

May I have a motion to approve this amended introduction

and set a public hearing for the Committee of the Whole meeting

on December 9th?

we didn't do yeah

councilmember Chowdhury

I thought you had mistaken me for when my cue was stuck on the last item so

I'm sorry we've gotten a lot of paper in a really really fast amount of time

this is the referral to the committee yes I understand

AND I CAN'T EVEN FIND THAT REFERRAL.

THERE IT IS.

I KNEW IT WAS UNDER THERE SOMEWHERE.

OKAY.

SO, ME, COUNCILMEMBER CHAVEZ, COUNCIL VICE PRESIDENT CHUG TYE, IN THE BEGINNING OF THE TERM, NOTICED AN ORDINANCE RELATED TO HEALTH,

health, sanitation, humane encampment response.

And so today we're moving forward to bring language to the committee of the whole and

have a public hearing.

We have been working with our city attorney's office, our clerk's office, and are in conversations

with city staff.

The language is available for you in LIMS.

And just to kind of put a little bit more detail, while not going too far into it, it

subject matter around a pre-closure notice, some required public health approaches and tools that are necessary once an encampment at a certain size is formed,

requirement for storage, and then some provisions related to the encampment closure itself.

And so I will be moving that forward for approval.

Is there a second?

Second.

Is there any discussion?

councilmember Palmozano thank you mr. chair this ordinance was noticed in

January of 2024 and then it was introduced and referred in February of

that year I don't think and please correct me if I'm wrong that this came

back to PHS at all it's being pulled and sent directly to cow so can you help

explain why this isn't following a standard process and I certainly

understand and appreciate that if an ordinance gets stuck in committee that

there needs to be a mechanism to bring it forward a different way and for

everybody to weigh in on it but that's not the case we didn't get a chance to

review it in any amount of detail in Public Safety Committee I'm sure this is

about timing in the end of the term but this could also just be reintroduced in

January and scheduled immediately for a public hearing all of the people putting this forward will be here next term

Vice president Chuck tie

Thank You mr. President

yeah, I think a part of it is certainly the

timeline for the end of the term and

Wanting to to make sure that you know this work that has been now

now four years in the making and has included a pretty significant amount of community engagement

along with work with our city attorney's office in this term is seen through to its logical

end point. And then I think another portion or another part of the consideration for bringing

this to cow directly is that, you know, this is a body of work, homelessness response,

humane and infant response that I think is of interest to a lot of members.

And, you know, this is an issue that we have discussed in different iterations throughout

throughout this term and last.

So wanting to make sure that while it is at the level of public hearing,

presentation, and amendment that we're able to all collectively

participate in that process.

And I'd welcome if council members Chavez or Chowdhury have additional

context to share.

But the gist of it is I think this is something the entire body is really invested in, and I think we would all benefit from just doing the process of a public hearing and refinement together.

Mr. Chair, I do appreciate those comments.

I do hope that we also are able to give this the fulsome time and need for deliberation that it deserves.

It doesn't need to be in public safety committee, but it does need a lot of time and deliberation and

Just having finished agenda setting yesterday with the enormous number of items trying to get done by the end of the year

I'm concerned about that. Thank you

Seeing no one else in queue. I'll ask the clerk to call the roll

Council member Jenkins

Councilmember Palmasano. Aye.

Councilmember Chowdhury. Aye.

Councilmember Cashman. Aye.

Councilmember Osmond. Aye.

Councilmember Rainville. Aye.

Councilmember Chavez. Aye.

Councilmember Vita. Aye.

Councilmember Ellison. Aye.

Councilmember Kosky. Aye.

Councilmember Wansley. Aye.

Vice President Chugtay. Aye.

President Payne. Aye.

There are nine ayes and four nays.

That motion carries. The next order of business is resolutions. The resolutions that we received at the beginning of the meeting are in front of us. Are there any questions? Seeing none, may I have a motion to adopt those resolutions?

So moved.

Second.

The clerk will call. Councilmember Jenkins.

Thank you, President Payne.

I don't have any questions per se.

I just wanted to just acknowledge again the really critical importance of the Transgender Day of Remembrance Ordinance.

And, you know, and we also did the World Children's Day Honorary Resolution.

And so I wanted to try to tie those two together and really just acknowledge the deep attacks that have been placed on transgender children in our country, in our state, and really make sure that as we are recognizing World Children's Day,

And we also recognize the realization and the awareness around transgender children and the challenges that they face and that we include them in all of our work that we are doing to improve the lives of children in this city.

Thank you, sir.

The clerk will call the roll.

Council member Jenkins. Aye.

Council member Palisano. Aye.

Council member Chowdhury. Aye.

Council member Cashman. Aye.

Council member Osmond. Aye.

Council member Rainville. Aye.

Council member Chavez. Aye.

Council member Vita. Aye.

Council member Ellison. Aye.

Council member Kosky. Aye.

Council member Wansley. Aye.

Vice President Chugtai. Aye.

President Payne. Aye.

There are 13 ayes.

That carries and those resolutions are adopted.

The next order of business is motions.

Today we have a motion from Councilmember Jenkins,

who is moving to direct the City Clerk to return consideration

of the George Floyd Square Project concept layout and easement

to the City Council for further consideration.

This item was referred to the Clerk at our February 13th meeting

while the Council awaited further information on pedestrian mall option.

Councilmember Jenkins, would you like to speak to this motion?

Thank you, Mr. President.

I would like to speak to this motion.

And just to be clear, I wanted to bring this forward.

I know we are expecting to hear from public works staff regarding the pedestrian mall option.

You know, we're not sure what that report is going to give us.

But I wanted to bring this item back in case we learned that the pedestrian mall option is not an option.

We know that there are some challenges with the business community that don't necessarily support that option.

And so in the event that we learned that the pedestrian mall option is not going to be adopted, we would have an opportunity to vote on the flexible option, which in my communications with community and with some of the community leaders,

there seems to be a willingness to, I guess, be in favor of that option.

And so this would give us an opportunity to vote on that if necessary.

Thank you.

Council Member Jenkins has moved to direct the clerk to return consideration to City Council

consideration of the pending action item, LIMS file 2024-01336.

Is there a second to that motion?

Second.

That's been moved and seconded.

I will recognize Council Member Chavez.

Council President Payne, thank you.

I am speaking out against this motion.

On December 2, 2025, there is a GFS town hall regarding a united vision for George Floyd Square being presented by the Community Visioning Council, KANDU, among others.

And on December 4, 2025, the Community Visioning Council will be proposing its layout proposal for George Floyd Square at the Climate and Infrastructure Committee.

I was very clear with my position with the community that I represent.

I earned 77.27% of the vote in the precinct located at George Floyd Square in Ward 9.

election, elections, all referendums, and neighbors spoke loud and clear this election.

I do not support this proposal or this motion, although I am ready to find a compromise.

I just want to highlight a letter, a collective letter, regarding the People's Way we received

from P3 and Rights to Remember yesterday.

Because I think that when we talk about the future of George Floyd Square, we also need

to talk about the future of the People's Way.

We as the remaining candidates in the People's Way of Q process have united together to demand

that the City of Minneapolis make a decision on the People's Way by December 31st, 2025.

We have engaged in this process in good faith, but the City of Minneapolis has not delivered

on its commitment to provide us with an answer by May 2025.

The City has strung us along for month to month with revised and unmet deliverables.

The treatment throughout this process that we and by extension our supporting communities

have received feels inequitable and discriminatory.

On multiple occasions, we asked to merge plans and compromise our respective visions.

I joined the community on this call as well.

Council Member Cashman.

Thank you, President Payne.

I'll just start by sharing that I'm equally concerned about the letter that we received from P3 and Rise

and remember about the delays with regards to making decisions about the future of the People's Way.

and I really want to see the departments responsible for that project, you know, provide clarity to the organizations involved.

And at the same time, I believe that it's time for us to provide clarity ourselves on the future of the street infrastructure

and ensure that the neighborhood of the four neighborhoods that are involved in the George Floyd Square

can receive the benefits of the street reconstruction.

That has been in the works for many years now,

and the sooner that we can provide clarity on the concept layout for this street

is the sooner that construction can begin.

And so I'll be supporting Councilmember Jenkins' motion today

to put the open, flexible concept back on the table on December 11th

following the town hall that will be taking place on December 2nd

and the climate and infrastructure committee meeting that will be taking place on december 4th

council member osmond yeah just uh i just want a clarification for anyone uh what was the

what was the last decision that we made about this and where are we on that have we selected uh

a pedestrian option was that the decision that we made last time uh city clerk if you can

clarify where we are and what is the status is on this item mr carl uh mr president and to

council members there are uh two sort of competing visions if you will for the george floyd square

development the first one which has been many years in queue is currently represented in lim's file

20 24 0 1 3 3 6. what that proposal is as i think council member jenkins described it as a flexible

or mixed-use plan design. That plan in February of this year was referred to the city clerk and

placed on file, so it remains in its final stage. It was under many, many years of development and

had reached a final stage of ready to be approved in its final form. Before that vote was taken,

the council referred it to the city clerk, where it remains on file and active. The other action

that was then introduced was the proposal to develop a pedestrian mall at that intersection.

That's contained in LIMS file 2025-00226. The legislative directive issued by the council

with respect to that proposal was for staff to, within the bounds of the law, which specifically

apply to closing a street and creating a pedestrian mall, be evaluated and reported back to council.

There are a number of technical, very specific things that have to be met in order to create a pedestrian mall,

which were explained by Assistant City Attorney Tiffany Spohr at a meeting several months ago at this point.

But that pending legislative direction on a pedestrian mall is, in fact, the file that is on its way to coming back in the next cycle

through Climate and Infrastructure Committee that the chair, Council Member Cashman, just referenced.

So the evaluation on criteria set by state law in order to create a pedestrian plaza will be presented from staff at the next climate and infrastructure meeting in the next cycle.

The other option that staff had presented previously, which was the flexible mixed use option, remains on file.

What Council Member Jenkins' motion is doing is saying bring that back off the file so that at the meeting on December 11th, both of those proposals are in front of Council, and the option to pursue one or the other is available to the Council.

Wonderful. Thank you.

Council Member Jenkins.

Point of order.

Council Member Cashman.

Yeah. Thank you, Mr. President.

I do want to clarify, Mr. Clerk, that there is not a pedestrian mall concept layout coming forward for the body to vote on.

And I think that's a point of confusion in community is there's only one street concept layout that Public Works has presented and brought forward.

There will not necessarily be a vote on a pedestrian plaza concept coming before the body to deliberate next cycle.

Mr. President, to Council Member Cashman, if I misspoke, I apologize.

I thought I had said, and I'll reiterate, there is a proposal from the body to develop a pedestrian mall.

However, under state law, that requires an ordinance, as you know.

That ordinance has not been drafted.

It requires, first, a significant level of analysis and study to see about the specific statutory requirements to be met.

And on any of those points, I would defer to the city attorney.

But that was brought forward to this body for the information of the body before making a decision

that if this body wishes to pursue the proposal that was made orally to close the intersection

and make a pedestrian mall, there would have to be extensive study, certain statutory requirements

would have to be satisfied, and an ordinance enacted. The report from staff that is in queue

coming forward to the Climate and Infrastructure Committee in the next cycle is a report from staff,

not an ordinance and not a fully baked proposal, to be clear. It is the report from staff on those

statutory requirements that would have to be satisfied.

After that, council would have to introduce an ordinance to fully

pursue a pedestrian mall at that intersection.

And since that is our last meeting of the year, I think everyone is aware

that that proposal would have to be carried forward into the new term. There is no

time left for the pedestrian mall to advance in this current

term. Thank you, Mr. President. That's correct, and I just wanted to

clarify that at the CNI committee next on December 4th there will not be a

decision being made there will not be a vote because the report that we're

getting back from Public Works staff will be a receive-and-file item and the

presentations that we will hear from community will be receive-and-file

items there will not be a choice between two options being made. Councilmember

Jenkins. Thank You President Payne and you know I do want to congratulate

Council Member Chavez on his 77% of the vote in that precinct.

I do want to just note that there are three other neighborhoods that are at that intersection,

and they did not vote for you, sir.

And so it would be a disservice to the entire community to have one precinct determine the outcome for the entire intersection.

And so I just want to point out again and reiterate what the clerk mentioned and then Council Member Cashman just clarified,

is that this will only provide us an opportunity to consider this option if, in fact, the pedestrian mall option is not a viable solution.

Thank you.

Council Member Palmisano.

So I just acknowledged in a previous motion that maybe, just maybe, we can get all that encampment ordinance stuff done here before the term ends.

And I voted for it in good faith that we could all consider this and maybe close a chapter that Minneapolis has really struggled with.

Why can't we do that here?

I think this offers a compromise.

It offers an opportunity to maybe be able to bring this to some kind of conclusion.

It does not and never has been about erasure.

Not supporting this option to take a vote on this at the end of this term means continued delay on George Floyd Square development,

continued delay on the revival of George Floyd Square.

I'm surprised to learn that some of my colleagues have lost track of this.

It is an important issue to everyone in our city.

We know from multiple surveys and the most extensive and expensive engagement ever

that the vast majority of property owners do not support a pedestrian mall.

This non-support means there is no legal basis to continue supporting this option,

and it is a total waste of taxpayer dollars.

And everybody that has spent time on engagement through this process,

and people have spent a lot of time.

Residents in the community in wards 8 and 9 especially have spent incredible amounts of time on engagement.

Further, this means a delay into another city council.

It's a delay for the sake of politics.

It is not good governance and it is not reflecting the desires of the people or the businesses that literally live there.

Councilmember Wansley.

Thank you, President Payne.

I think there is actually shared agreement around all of us wants clarity around the future of GFS.

I think where we have where I thought there was alignment based off of the resolution that we also passed on December 5th of last year.

We said that the community would be in the driver's seat of defining what that vision would be.

And we said we would give the community time to come forward to this body with that plan,

which they are actually doing in the next C&I to say we did the hard work to work with business owners,

with different stakeholders, residential homeowners in the communities to figure out a concept layout proposal

that actually has our own backing.

Where there has been disagreement is the role in which the city or the Fry administration has played

in leading a concept layout that does actually include and has felt like it's included erasure,

considering it's coming from the very entity that basically took George Floyd's life.

And that has always been the piece of community should be leading this.

The folks who were there being occupied by military trucks for weeks

who saw also George Floyd be strangled by a Minneapolis officer

who have had to constantly see the city avoid responsibility and accountability

outside of just paying $27 million to George Floyd's family, they have looked at the city side

eye for saying, how dare you come forward and say you get to decide what the future of George Floyd

Square is. So I am excited and looking forward to the presentation from community members who

actually live there, business owners who also live there, who are actually united behind a proposal

to bring to this body for consideration and to take the time to do that.

It took how many years of inaction to let Derek Chauvin to run rampant and terrorize communities

up to the point of taking George Floyd's life.

We could take another cycle to make an actual clear decision on what is a restorative approach

that acknowledges the history of what happened at that intersection through a community-led vision

and a community-led orientation.

So I would rather take the time to see what that is and to then bring that forward

as opposed to adopting something that just feels convenient and easy right now.

So I just want to say thank you, Councilmember Chavez, for bringing this forward.

Also, I second the comments around we're detaching infrastructure decisions

from also how we're memorializing the city's responsibility in taking George Floyd's life

and also its continued divestment in that intersection for years.

And one piece of that was getting an outcome on the people's way.

And we had vendors or community partners who went through a very thorough process,

worked with staff diligently to bring their best proposal forward

with also having a community-led vision for how to re-envision that into a permanent memorial.

And that has not happened in nowhere have we ever seen delays like this when it comes to bids.

It should not have taken this long for us to know what's the outcome of the people's way.

And I don't think you can divorce that from decisions made by the intersection as well.

So I would like to see those both come forward.

But I just want to say thank you, Councilmember Chavez, for, again, continuously championing community should be driving this process,

should be providing the plan and thus the layout that this body moves forward with.

Councilmember Chowdry.

Thank you, President Payne.

I just, I want to get some clarity on, like, what are our options here.

So with this community proposal, is the plan, if that is a proposal that's going to be put together, would that come through in the next term?

Is that a next term proposal?

and then this concept layout, right now we're not voting to support it or not.

We're voting to discuss it, and we will have an option to vote it up or down.

So I would like to get clarity on both of those things.

One, like what's the pathway for this community proposal,

and then what does this vote do today?

Am I right in saying it moves it forward,

and then we take an up or down vote to say we support the concept plan

or we don't support the concept plan.

And whoever can answer that.

Councilmember Cashman.

Thank you, President Payne.

I can try to answer this.

The proposal brought forward by the Community Visioning Council

that will be presented at the CNI Committee on December 4th

is a recommendation from community,

but it won't necessarily be something that Public Works then adopts

and brings forward as a concept layout

because they would have to do a lot of work to reconcile what's brought forward by the CVC

into an engineered concept layout.

And I know that there's many elements of it with regards to the underground infrastructure

that would have to be reconciled.

And I don't know the extent to which the proposal put forward by the CVC would actually be possible.

and at the end of the day the only thing that this council can vote on as far as a street

reconstruction is something that our public works department puts forward for us to vote on and that

is due to government structure so that is what the cvc brings forward is not going to necessarily

translate into a street concept layout that the council will be able to vote on and then the

second part of your question is about what's before us today is a motion to put the open concept layout back on the table for the council to vote up or down on at the december 11th meeting

thank you um i think i'm gonna just take some time to absorb that a little bit

i just frankly i feel kind of frustrated and i feel kind of confused just really honest like with every single person up on the dais like

people that I feel more allied with, people maybe I'm not as allied with, however you want to put

it. I do just want to say like, we have to lean in to figure this out. And like, I would love,

I don't, I don't support the open flexible. I haven't supported the open flexible plan. I wanted

the pedestrian mall. And this community proposal, it sounds great. I don't know anything about it,

but we need a pathway that shows us how we're going to get there.

I'm struggling to see how we get there.

And I'm also struggling to understand, like,

is this charting a path for us to just wait another year before we do anything

if that's what council members want to move forward on?

That's frustrating.

That's confusing, not only for me,

but for people that are in the area waiting for something to happen.

And I think one thing that the incoming council member for the 8th Ward has shared with a number of people is that there isn't community consensus one way or another.

So I really am asking for leadership across the board from everyone to lean in and try to figure out what is our path forward.

If we're going to move towards compromise, is there a path where we can actually have a tangible compromise so we can give something to the community?

and if it's a path that's going to lead us into waiting another year

before it's charted out, can we be transparent about that?

Because that doesn't feel clear to me.

And I'm not the council member that represents this part,

and frankly it feels very uncomfortable to speak about this in this way

because I never wanted to see cars go down George Floyd Square.

I don't drive down George Floyd Square.

but it's just at a point where I'm like

what is the direction that we're going at as a council

so that's an open question for anyone

but I feel like I haven't been really vocal

in how I'm currently feeling about this

and how we're steering the ship on this together

because I think we all agree the community deserves to have nice things

and a good plan that's what i'll say council member paulmanzano um maybe i could ask the

clerk for clarification um and thank you council member chowdhury um thank you for leaning in

in case we've lost track of this i believe that this motion only does the opportunity of putting

this on an agenda on december 11th um city clerk is there any

vice president check how you're in queue for a point of order i'm so sorry as as the clerk

is getting ready to answer that question um i is is the public works director in the overflow room

or something i mean can we can we get him over here to be able to answer some basic questions

that are being asked over here and we're all attempting to like figure out a way to answer

i can answer that unfortunately he was in the overflow room but had to leave for another event

so as chair i'll do my best to speak for a chair of c and i'll do my best to speak for the department

sure and i'm not trying to ask a technical question or clarification i'm just asking from

our end procedurally i think all this does is put it on the agenda december 11th and so as council

member chowdhury is you know trying to get to she's not trying to get to yes or no she's saying

this is an opportunity but if we want to vote down even putting it on the next agenda then i think

that speaks volumes to the people living there

Councilmember Chowdhury?

One thing I'll just add, I don't know if we're going to figure this out on December 11th.

So I think that's something to be eyes wide open about.

This is a massive concept plan, and if that gets voted down on December 11th,

what happens after that to this concept plan, and what happens for future proposals?

Because that's a really likely scenario, that we still don't get anything done.

because we don't have public works staff here.

That's not their fault, right, scheduling.

But there's also this future proposal that's coming forward.

We're not clear on, like, what the path is for bringing that forward

or melding the things together if that's a part of forming compromise.

And we do have multiple community presentations coming at CNI.

I think there's the pedestrian mall presentation, the CVC presentation,

and then unity community.

They all have, like, ten minutes each.

So what happens December 11th if we don't have anything into this concept planned?

Mr. Carl, are you going to?

Mr. President, I can attempt to speak just generally to what are our options,

what are the timelines, and what happens after December 11th.

So as everyone hopefully is aware, December 11th is the last regular meeting of the City Council for this year.

It's also the last meeting of this term.

That has special implications. At the end of a year, things roll over into the next year. At the end of a term, things die. So anything that's in queue that is unresolved won't move forward. The council will have to reintroduce and re-refer in the next term through its next committee structure any items that are unresolved at the end of this year.

So, number one, there's one full cycle left in this term in which this body could make a decision.

I understand there are two proposals, what I'll call in queue.

I've heard today there's a potential for a third.

I'll put the third aside and deal again with the first two.

The first one that staff brought forward, and I'm not even going to venture a guess, it was before this two-year term, and I think it was before the prior two-year term.

There was a study done by Public Works about the underlying infrastructure that Councilmember Cashman mentioned that are beneath the paved roads at the intersection of George Floyd Square.

That ultimately came forward as a proposal for a flexible, open, mixed-use concept plan.

That plan worked its way through the Council's process ultimately until February of this year, at which point it was ready for a final vote of approval.

But this body intervened and said, no, we're not ready to make that final decision.

and they put that plan on file with the clerk, as I've already explained.

Meantime, a second proposal has been proposed to the body, by the body,

which was for a pedestrian mall design at that intersection.

As I mentioned, that is simply a conceptual idea.

It has not been studied.

There are very, very strict statutory requirements about when the city in its own local powers

can close an intersection and pursue a pedestrian mall, all of which the city attorney can speak

to, and I'm pretty positive Councilmember Cashman can explain for us as well. But those things

that are required have been under an evaluation process by the professional staff. The report

by the professional staff is set to come forward in the next cycle to the CNI committee.

So that proposal could come forward still this term to get, at best, a we like that, but there is not time in this term to pursue it further.

When you have everything lined up, as you all know, to get an ordinance done, to do a pedestrian mall requires an ordinance.

To do the concept plan of a mixed-use design does not.

So adding an ordinance to the pedestrian mall adds complexity.

To do an ordinance, and that's when you have at least seven council members fully in alignment, you have a written document already in front of you, and it's already been introduced, given its first reading and referred to committee, is going to take two months.

We don't have two months left this year, and we don't have an ordinance drafted on the pedestrian mall.

So if it is the will of the body after the CNI committee in the next cycle to continue to pursue, assuming we still have the authority under the state statute that all of those requirements have been met, that is a proposal that will have to be carried over the next term.

There is no way for that to advance this year.

And if the concept plan comes forward, so the motion that Jenkins has put forward, to be clear, does nothing today.

All it does, if approved, is tell me, put that on the agenda for December 11th so that you, the body, can decide.

That's literally the only effect of her motion.

Keeps it in play, if you will, for this term.

I explained the Jenkins motion.

I've explained the original mixed-use, flexible, open design from staff.

I've explained the pedestrian mall.

What I heard today is there is a proposal yet to be fleshed out from community groups.

If that proposal were to come forward and is being presented as an idea by one or more community groups at the community infrastructure committee meeting in the next cycle, the only way for that to move forward is for it to be introduced by a council member.

Basic legislative process.

So a council member would have to say, I like the idea, and I'm going to own it.

I'm going to have to work with the staff, as Council Member Cashman indicated.

There is no mechanism for the community to put that forward.

It has to be authored by a council member.

The council member working with professional staff would have to address all of the very technical and complex issues of infrastructure.

And if it were to be a proposal that involved a pedestrian model, it would further be subject to all of the statutory requirements.

So the idea of the community-based plan is certainly not going to happen this term and would have to come forward in the next term.

The part that I needed the answer for as well was what if the concept plan on December 11th, if this is taken off ICE, is voted down?

Through the chair, or through the president, I'll say if the plan is put on the December 11th and the will of the majority of the body is to vote it down, then it gets defeated, just like any other thing that comes forward before the body and is voted up or down.

In a new term, it could be brought back because the significant change is we have a new body.

Council member Chavez.

The last thing I'll say is that yes, I talked about the vote that I got at George Floyd

Square in the Ward 9 part, but we also just had a mayoral election.

The George Floyd Square community includes four different precincts, some in Ward 8,

one in Ward 9, and Senator Omar Fonte won all four precincts with supporting the pedestrian

plaza concept plan and not supporting the mayor's vision.

So if we just, if we want to be very clear, we just had an election where people voted

for the candidate that did not support the mayor's vision, which is what we're trying

to bring out of ICE today.

So yes, not only did I just talk about the Ward 9, but we had an election who someone

very clearly was against this proposal being brought forward and won all four precincts.

So I just want to be very clear on that elections.

People get to vote and go towards specific directions.

Seeing no further discussion, I'll ask the clerk to call the roll.

Councilmember Jenkins.

Aye.

Councilmember Palmasano.

Aye.

Councilmember Chowdhury.

Aye.

Councilmember Cashman.

Aye.

Councilmember Osmond.

Aye.

Councilmember Rainville.

Aye.

Councilmember Chavez.

No.

Councilmember Vita.

Aye.

Councilmember Ellison.

Councilmember Kosky. Aye. Councilmember Wansley. Nay. Vice President Chugtay. Nay. President Payne. Nay. There are eight ayes and five nays. That item carries and consideration of this item will return to us at a future meeting. The next order of business is unfinished business. We have one item today which is the consideration of 35th Street and 36th Street reconstruction project layout approval and variance requests.

I will see if CNI Chair Cashman has an update on this item or wants to make a motion.

Thank you, President Payne. I will move this item for approval.

We have had some conversations with Public Works, and both Councilmember Jenkins and Councilmember Chavez have been involved in trying to understand what the process will be for this street reconstruction project.

And the point that was unclear was that was about the bike facility in between Blaisdell and Third Avenue on 35th Street.

And the question that remains is about the public works going to the state to get a variance for our municipal state aid requirement.

And I do believe that it's best that we move this forward as is and rely on Public Works going through their process to get the variants that they'll be requesting to continue designing that bike facility portion of the street reconstruction project.

Thank you.

Council Member Jenkins.

Thank you, Mr. Chair and Council Member Cashman, Chair Cashman of the C&I Committee, for that explanation.

In conversations with community, you know, I think people are still concerned about those bike paths,

but also really deeply concerned about the bridges on 35th and 36th Street,

which represent a serious departure from ADA regulations for bridges,

as well as the lighting on those bridges are significantly underwhelming, if you will,

and creates a safety hazard for people trying to cross those bridges.

And so, you know, I've been advocating for those bridges to be replaced for a minimum of 20 years.

This would probably not replace those bridges,

but we really hope that we can convince MnDOT to redeck those bridges.

to create more safety for pedestrians, for people using wheelchairs, bikers, et cetera.

So, again, voting today allows the public works staff to submit a variance so that we can continue our work.

but really there are some design challenges that we hope that the community ideas can be incorporated

in the next phase of designing how we treat 35th and 36th Street.

Thank you.

Council Member Cashman has moved approval of this item.

Is there a second?

It's been moved and seconded.

Council Member Chavez.

Thank you, Council President Payne. My office received a lot of feedback on this issue from residents, and we've been in fairly contact with a number of them as well, along with Councilmember Jenkins.

I want to thank all of them for their thoughtful engagement on this project.

We've also had some meaningful conversations with public work staff, so I want to thank them all for their work and care on this issue.

I share with residents a lot of the concerns they've expressed about some of the stickier issues around this project, specifically around the shared use path.

I appreciate Polar Works and what they told us about their commitment to continuously work to make improvements as we move towards construction beginning.

My office is particularly committed to working with all stakeholders going forward to ensure this project makes streets safe as possible for everyone,

be it them walking, rolling, biking, or in a motor vehicle.

No matter the outcome of this, though, we know that 35th and 36th Street will be safer once this project is complete more than it is right now.

and i really look forward to making sure that uh improvements happen throughout this next phase to

make sure that we can actually keep our community members safe on this corridor

seeing no one else left in queue i will ask the clerk to call the roll

council member jenkins i council member palmasano i council member chowdhury i council member cashman

Aye. Councilmember Osmond. Aye. Councilmember Rainville. Aye. Councilmember Chavez. Aye.

Councilmember Vita. Aye. Councilmember Ellison. Aye. Councilmember Kosky. Aye. Councilmember Wansley. Aye.

Vice President Chugtay. Aye. President Payne. Aye. There are 13 ayes. That carries and the motion is adopted.

Our next order of business is a request for closed session. Before I recognize the city attorney and

recess for closed session, I'll ask if there are any announcements from council members.

Councilmember Wonsley.

Thank you, President Payne.

This is just related to some work that I definitely intend to work on next session.

But I think earlier this morning, all of us saw the media announcement about Waymo, which is a California-based corporation that offers self-driving or autonomous ride-sharing services.

We'll begin test rides here in Minneapolis.

shortly after the media broke around that story.

There was also an email sent out to counsel from the administration

that Waymo informed them last week that they would be testing downtown

and move through the rest of the city over a period of time.

I do want to know my frustration that the administration sat on this information

and essentially allowed the media to tell the public and the council

about this pursuit of automation and cars being tested in our streets.

there was a need for proactive communication with the public around this. And this is coming

from someone who has worked on a multitude of technological or AI initiatives. Even when I've

had reariness about them, I've moved them through a public legislative process so that we all could

receive feedback and for us to understand what regulations would be needed to be put in place

to make sure that the implementation of these services are being done so with the public's

well-being and interest in mind.

That did not happen in this case, and it should have happened.

So I at least wanted to assure the public that my office intends to make sure that we do have a formal legislative and engagement process,

as well as explore potential regulatory actions that we can take in regards to the testing of self-driving cars here in Minneapolis

that Waymo plans to do or enact with the support of Mayor Fry.

And I look forward to sharing more about those details in the coming weeks.

Councilmember Vita.

Thank you, Chair.

I just wanted to say happy birthday to Aaron on our tech team.

We can't see Aaron right now because he's running the camera.

I threatened him that somebody would probably embarrass him by singing.

So somebody can do it, not me.

Happy birthday, Aaron.

Who's singing?

Nope.

Who's singing?

Happy birthday to you.

Oh, that was nice.

Oh, oh, oh, oh.

All right.

With that, we've completed all items on our agenda

and will now consider a request for closed session,

which is to receive a briefing on the litigation matter

listed on the agenda.

Before I move to close the meeting,

I'll recognize the city attorney to provide the legal basis for the requested closed session.

Madam city attorney. Thank you, council president, council members. The next item on the agenda is

the case of Cheryl Frazier et al. versus City of Minneapolis. Your lawyers wish to provide a

briefing to the council on this litigation matter. Accordingly, under the Minnesota Open Meeting

Law, Minnesota statute section 13D.05, subdivision 3B, the council may upon a proper motion close the

meeting for the purposes of attorney-client communication as permitted by the attorney-client

privilege. In considering the motion, the council should weigh the right of the public to know what

its government is doing against the need of the city to preserve the confidentiality of its

discussions with its attorneys. Thank you, Madam City Attorney. I move to close our public meeting

as authorized under the open meeting law, specifically Minnesota statute section 13D.05,

for the purpose of receiving a briefing on the litigation matter of Cheryl Fraser et al.

versus City of Minneapolis. May I have a second to that motion? Second. The clerk will call the roll.

Council Member Jenkins? Aye. Council Member Palmisano? Aye. Council Member Chowdhury? Aye.

Council Member Cashman? Aye. Council Member Osmond? Aye. Council Member Rainville? Aye.

Council Member Chavez? Aye. Council Member Vita? Aye. Council Member Ellison? Aye.

Councilmember Kosky.

Aye.

Councilmember Wansley.

Aye.

Vice President Chagatine.

Aye.

President Payne.

Aye.

There are 12 ayes.

That carries.

For the viewing public, I will note that the broadcast for this meeting will continue,

and the council will reconvene in public after we've concluded the closed session.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

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Thank you.

Thank you.

The time is now 1223, and the City Council has reconvened an open session following our closed session.

I'll ask the Clerk to call the roll to prove the presence of a quorum.

Council Member Jenkins.

Aye.

Council Member Palmisano.

Present.

Council Member Chowdhury is absent.

Council Member Cashman.

Present.

Council Member Osmond is absent.

Council Member Rainville.

Present.

Council Member Chavez.

Present.

Council Member Vita.

Present.

Council Member Ellison.

Here.

Council Member Kosky.

Present.

Council Member Wansley.

Present.

Vice President Shegtay is absent.

President Payne.

Present.

There are 10 members present.

Let the record reflect.

We have a quorum, and I will recognize Council Member Vita.

Thank you, President Payne.

I'd like to move that all claims, including any claims for attorney's fees and costs asserted

in the litigation matter, Cheryl A. Frazier as treasurer for the next of kin of Laniel

Lamont Frazier, deceased, versus the City of Minneapolis, Hennepin County District Court

be settled in the amount of $475,000 payable to the next of kin for Laniel Lamont Frazier

and or their attorneys via persons and or entities as determined by the court's anticipated

distribution order and conditioned upon the court approval from Fund Org 06900-1500-100-145400.

The City Attorney's Office is authorized to execute any documents necessary to effectuate

this settlement and dismissal.

Second.

Council Member Vita has made a motion.

It's been properly seconded.

I'll ask the clerk to call the roll.

Councilmember Jenkins. Aye. Councilmember Palmasano. Aye. Councilmember Cashman. Aye. Councilmember

Reindill. Aye. Councilmember Chavez. Aye. Councilmember Vita. Aye. Councilmember Allison. Aye.

Councilmember Kosky. Aye. Councilmember Wansley. Aye. President Payne. Aye. There are 10 ayes.

That carries and the motion is adopted and with that we've completed our business today with

nothing further to come before the council and without objection this meeting is hereby adjourned

december 9th 2025 at 6 0 5 p.m for the purpose of conducting a public hearing and adopting

the 2026 city budget and tax levy the fiscal year 2026 consolidated plan and the proposed

water and sewer rates thank you everyone

Thank you.

Thank you.