Rochester City Council Regular Session - February 19, 2025
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Rochester City Council Regular Session - February 19, 2025
The City Council met on February 19, 2025, at 6:00 p.m. in the Government Center Council Chamber. The meeting included a consent calendar, four public hearings, and several reports and recommendations. Key actions included approval of the Pill Hill Historic Landmark District, authorization of DMC funding for 2nd Street enhancements, and a 5-2 vote to allocate $175,000 for incremental Peace Plaza improvements.
Consent Calendar
- Approved the minutes of February 3, 2025.
- Approved accounts payable totaling $40,829,089.65.
- Approved appointments to the Mayo Civic Center/Convention and Visitors Bureau Board.
- Approved adult entertainment license for Justus Woods (Councilmember Doring abstained).
- Authorized purchase of 354 parking meter housings ($145,202.72).
- Authorized hiring a Full Time Equivalent Sanitary Sewer Engineer.
- Authorized transition of three airport fire trucks to fluorine-free foam and acceptance of MPCA grant.
- Executed airport terminal basement lease amendment.
- Set public hearing for March 17, 2025, for conduit bonds of $500,000,000 for Mayo Clinic renovations.
- Approved grant acceptance and design services agreement for GA apron reconstruction at RST.
- Authorized a 3-year license and services agreement with 8x8, Inc. ($237,528) for cloud-based telephone system.
- Authorized revocable permit with First Unitarian Universalist Church for a light pole easement.
- Authorized lease assignment for Oak Summit Golf Course.
- Approved Downtown Property Preservation Program funding ($22,500) for 224 1 Ave SW.
- Approved revised annexation by ordinance for a 1.03-acre site.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Paula Hardin urged the city to prioritize ADA compliance and assess deficiencies before spending.
- Ivan Idso spoke about the "great simplification" and encouraged facing systemic collapse.
- Wyatt Ryan highlighted private equity firms (e.g., Black Swan) buying properties, restricting affordable housing.
- Jay Smith (Ward 6, mobility challenges) requested immediate repair of Peace Plaza pavers for safety.
- Bethany Porter urged unified guidance on Peace Plaza’s purpose and making it safe for all.
- John Howey opposed marijuana sales, citing moral responsibility and drug gateway concerns.
- Russell Staver criticized DMC for tearing down his housing without providing affordable alternatives.
- Brad Tryon complained that Mayo Civic Center sidewalks were not cleared of snow despite city ordinances; he submitted a $1,000 invoice for his own shoveling.
- West Lund commented on nonprofit political influence and DEI programs.
- Linda Smith (downtown business owner) decried bricks, trees blocking storefronts, and parking meter changes.
- Barry Skolneck questioned Peace Plaza’s design and urged errors and omissions insurance for capital projects.
- Nora Anderson (business owner) urged phased repairs to maintain momentum and activation.
Discussion Items
- Pill Hill Historic Landmark District: Staff and applicants presented the district designation. Public testimony was overwhelmingly supportive, with one property owner (825 3rd St SW) requesting removal. Council debated the boundary; an amendment to exclude the property failed 3-4. The original motion passed unanimously.
- Reconstruction of 17½ St NW: Public works presented the project (total $1.15M) with a 25% assessment to property owners (approximately $141,000 total). School district will pay ~$91,000. Council approved ordering improvements, plans, assessment hearing for March 17, and preparation of assessment roll.
- Vacation Petition CD2024-010VAC: Staff recommended approval of vacating a 14-foot alley for future redevelopment. MnDOT had no objection. Council approved unanimously.
- Property Tax Abatements for Parks & Forestry Relocation: Financing plan uses $11.85M in general obligation tax abatement bonds over 15 years, saving $1.8M in interest. Council approved unanimously.
- Zero Emission Bus Assessment Report: Report presented as FTA requirement for future grants. Key findings: 69% of fixed-route blocks can transition to EV now; paratransit EVs less feasible. Full transition by 2050 estimated at $46.6M (80% federal). Council received and filed the report.
- DMC Strategic Redevelopment Funding for 2nd Street: Requested $2,372,500 for land acquisition ($1,442,672) and mid-block plaza ($929,828), plus workforce condos. Discussion of parking requirements and affordability. Council approved unanimously.
- Heart of the City/Peace Plaza Improvements: Five options presented. Staff recommended Option 2 ($175,000) to widen smooth pavement, add visual cues, and conduct geotechnical analysis. Council debate: some members (Palmer, Wall) favored a more permanent concrete solution, citing ongoing issues. Motion passed 5-2.
Key Outcomes
- Pill Hill Historic Landmark District: Designated as submitted; city attorney to prepare ordinance for first reading.
- 17½ St NW Reconstruction: Ordered; assessment hearing set for March 17, 2025.
- Alley Vacation: Approved (unanimous).
- Parks & Forestry Relocation Tax Abatement: Approved (unanimous).
- Zero Emission Bus Report: Received and filed.
- 2nd Street Public Realm: $2,372,500 in DMC funds authorized (unanimous).
- Peace Plaza Improvements: $175,000 approved (5-2; Palmer and Wall opposed). Staff to return by August 2025 with results.
- Ordinance First Readings: Annexation and zone changes for Bigelow Homes and correction annexation received and filed.
- Ordinance Second Reading: Zone change for Diamond Land Holdings (MX-S to MX-C) adopted.
Meeting Transcript
Thank you. Welcome to the uh February 19th, 2025 City Council meeting. We start every city council meeting with our open comment period. This is an opportunity for anyone from the public to speak on items that we will not be taking public testimony on during a public hearing later in the agenda. Each person has two minutes to speak for a total of 20 minutes. I will be keeping track of time through a variety of methods through this uh stop light here and the clock up there with the blue letters. Um because of limited time, we want to make sure that others have an opportunity to speak. So I encourage you to be concise and uh and also uh if you're speaking on the same topic, if uh uh if you want to take other approaches to to that topic rather than uh repeating what other uh public testifiers have said that will uh get us through quicker. Uh if you have materials to share with the council, you may give them to the city clerk over here to distribute. Uh please state your name clearly and make sure the clerk has your information if you need follow-up. Um with that, I am going to start with Paula Hardin. Thank you, Mayor Norton, for putting ADA compliance on the top of your strategic priorities list. There are multiple instances of noncompliance to be found in the city. Perhaps before money is spent on any one problem, the city uh should identify and prioritize deficiencies. This would include assessing the highest risk and discovering which are the most offensive problems the city may not yet be aware exists. A certified ADA permanent employee would be able to help with that as well as prevent even more mistakes being made in the future. I would like to know how much money has been spent making it accessible. I'm guessing not much. Please, council members. Assign someone on the staff to make that determination. Remember, too, that anything accessible is usable by the abled. The problem is it doesn't work the other way. Disabled people cannot easily walk or roll where there is a rough surface. Unfortunately, the ADA does not explicitly forbid the use of bricks or rough surfaces, just highly discourages them. The ADA is not intended to be comprehensive. After all, it forgot to include street parking for 35 years, but specified how many inches wide parking stalls and ramps must be, as well as access aisles. Several years ago, when I went downtown to check on the results of the construction for heart in this of the city, I was appalled to see bricks had been had replaced smooth concrete on First Avenue in front of the restaurant. I have photos showing that one and a half one and one half inch was not uncommon, and the maximum is supposed to be one half inch. Thank you, Ms. Hardin. Moving on, uh, we have Ivan Idso. My name is Ivan Heinzo. Three years ago, I organized an event titled Limits the Growth and the Great Simplification, featuring Nate Hagens. Nate shared that humanity will experience a great simplification in the coming decades, beginning with the onset of financial and economic turbulence, followed by significant economic contraction. I'm convinced that the great simplification has already begun and will play out in the coming decade. Author Dugald Hines states the collapse is already here. It's just not evenly distributed. But how can we begin to have a conversation about this? I'm distributing lapel pins with the black elephant and the words look down on it. The black elephant is a combination of a black swan, which is an unforeseeable event that has a large impact, and the elephant in the room. The black elephant, then, is an event such as the great simplification that when it happens, everyone will pretend was unforeseeable when all along it was the elephant in the room. The call to look down is from a passage in the Dark Mountain Manifesto that states, and so we find ourselves, all of us together, poised trembling on the edge of a change so massive that we have no way of gauging it. None of us knows where to look, but all of us know not to look down. Our question is, what would happen if we look down? Could it even be good for us? We believe it's time to look down. So it's time to face the realities of the unraveling of systems and structures that many of us grew up taking for granted. I encourage you to acknowledge and consider that the future that's coming may not simply be an extension of the past. So if a herd of black elephants are charging and you ignore them until they're upon you, it's too late to do anything about it. Thank you.
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