The November 3, 2025 City Council meeting addressed three primary public hearings regarding the removal of historic landmark status for three downtown properties, the reconstruction of Center Street East involving special assessments, and the adoption of the 2026 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) action plan. The meeting featured significant public testimony concerning economic hardship claims, historic preservation values, tree canopy loss, and emergency food security needs due to a federal government shutdown. Key council actions included the denial of historic landmark removal, the reconsideration and approval of the Center Street project, and the allocation of city funds to supplement food assistance for residents affected by federal benefit disruptions.
Note on Discrepancy: The initial vote count for the Center Street improvement order was recorded as 5-2, which is insufficient for the required 4/5 supermajority. This was resolved via a motion to reconsider, after which the item passed with all seven members voting in favor. The summary reflects the final successful outcome of the reconsidered vote.
Clerk Caseel, do you have the sign-in sheets? Please rise as you're able for the Pledge of Allegiance. I find it allegiance to the United States of America. And you're public relations and for all. Welcome everybody to our November 3rd, 2025 City Council meeting. This is an opportunity for anyone from the public to speak on items that we will not be taking public testimony during a public hearing later this evening. Each person has up to two minutes to speak for a total of 20 minutes. I will be keeping track of time through two methods. One the red uh timer up on uh to my left, and then the stoplight here. When it reaches yellow, you have one minute left. Um I'd also request that each speaker be concise to allow more people to speak during the time period. Uh participants are also encouraged to limit comments generally to topics that are within the scope and jurisdiction of the account the council's ability to affect policy. Council members and staff do not respond to your comments during public comment, but will instead follow up on any specific requests uh separately. If you have materials for the council, please give them to the city clerk who is to my right to distribute. You will be invited up in the order in which you signed up. Please state your name clearly and make sure the clerk has your information if you need follow-up. We'll start with Grace Pesh. Hello, Council members. My name is Grace Pesh. I live at 1436, 13th Avenue Northwest in Rochester. Thank you for the leadership that you provide both during times of visible and invisible crises. I serve as the Vice President of Community Impact at United Way of Southeast Minnesota, and I have the privilege to serve at an organization that has dedicated the last 100 years to responding to the greatest needs across our community. Since 2001, 211 has been a critical resource for your constituents to get connected to the help they need. At United Way, we have been remaining engaged in the latest updates related to the shutdown, and now more than ever, our community needs to know about 211. With the ability to call or text 24-7 and talk with someone in your native language 365 days a year. In our area alone, 5,000 callers are connected to critical resources each year. And I ask that you tell your constituents about how 211 can help them. While today people are preparing to lose access to food resources, tomorrow our community may need something different. And your staff along with staff at other nonprofits in our community are working hard to keep their information up to date in our database. And without that up-to-date information, people can get defeated and lost in the system. She talks to a two-on-one staff member to find and they uncover a few other resources that may help her, from child care assistance to mental health care. While she called for food, she ended that call with several new opportunities for her and her children. When we invest in two one-one, we invest in the future of our community. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Next up we have Barry Skullnick. Hi all. Nice to see everybody. I'm really talking about two things, but the most important one right now is the Big Sky North Coast Railroad Road, which is I too on the agenda. And I think it's a shame that Mayo Clinic, which is one of the major institutions for health care in this country doesn't have a railroad where patients can come in. A railroad usually has a restroom facilities and has a more comfortable ride. And not everyone can come in by plane. Some people do want to come in, you know, by train. And I just think it's extremely important that we have a railroad here because again, we're one of the only major facilities that doesn't have a railroad around. And it's more comfortable, I think it's more usable. Also, the Amtrak ridership has gone up not only nationally, but also in Minnesota, both the people getting on the train and off the train at Amtrak has gone up each of the last fiscal years, both in Minnesota and nationally. So it's a an improving trend, and I I think it's something we should seriously consider doing. I think it's very, very important to have that. And even the city of Duluth is trying to get a train up there. I was researching that too, and they're ahead of us, so I think we should catch up with us.