OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

St. Paul City Council Meeting - April 1, 2026

Budget Committee — Wednesday, April 1, 2026
BodySt Paul, Minnesota
SessionBudget Committee
DateWednesday, April 1, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 37:44

Transcript — Verbatim
0:02

Okay.

0:40

Yeah, we're here.

0:41

Call the meeting of the St.

0:42

Paul City Council to order.

0:43

Roll call, please.

0:44

Coleman.

0:45

Here.

0:46

Kim.

0:47

Here.

0:47

Yang.

0:48

Here.

0:48

Bowie?

0:49

Here.

0:49

Joast.

0:50

Here.

0:50

Johnson.

0:51

Council President Acre.

0:52

Here.

0:53

Six present, one absent, that being Councilmember Johnson, and she is expected shortly, I believe.

0:58

Um welcome everyone to our city council meeting.

1:02

Thank you for joining us.

1:02

We invite everyone to join us in standing for the Pledge of Allegiance.

1:07

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under guide.

1:16

Liberty and Justice to all.

1:20

Consent agenda items two through six are before you for your consideration.

1:24

And I'm gonna pull item five for separate consideration.

1:26

Is there anything else to come off of consent?

1:29

Seeing none, I'll take a motion from Vice President Yang to approve the balance of the consent agenda.

1:33

All in favor say aye.

1:35

Aye.

1:35

All opposed?

1:36

Six in favor, none opposed.

1:37

The consent agenda is adopted as amended.

1:40

Item number five is resolution 26-505, approving a liquor on sale, liquor on sale, Sunday, liquor on sale 2 a.m.

1:48

closing an entertainment B new location license application from Lux Event Planning and Decor LLC doing business as the Ivory for the Premises located at 1259 Street East Unit 127.

2:00

And I uh appreciate my colleagues being willing to consider this separately.

2:03

I just want to introduce a version two, which makes a technical correction as to the fact that um notice was actually not required for this.

2:10

It had previously said that notice was sent, but that was not the case because notice isn't required for this type of um use.

2:16

So um I would move version two.

2:18

Any discussion of the motion?

2:20

Seeing none, all in favor say aye.

2:22

Aye.

2:22

All opposed, six in favor, none opposed, the resolution is adopted as amended.

2:26

Take a motion from Councilmember Bowie to suspend the rules to consider resolution 26-535.

2:33

All in favor of suspending the rules, say aye.

2:35

Aye.

2:36

All posed.

2:36

Six in favor, none opposed, the rules are suspended.

2:39

Resolution 26-535, declaring April 7th as National Black Bookstore Day.

2:44

Miss Bowie.

2:45

Good afternoon, colleagues.

2:46

So today I am just so proud to introduce this resolution recognizing April 7th as the National Black Bookstore Day here in the city of St.

2:55

Paul.

2:56

And also wanna recognize my longtime uh mentor, scholar from Rondo, an author, entrepreneur, Dr.

3:04

Artica Tiner, who's the founder of Planting People Growing Justice Bookstore, who I had the pleasure of joining um during her opening of the new little free library right there at her home, and also have several of her books in Ward One's office and part of my library collection.

3:23

And we have also have shared some of her books with the Divine Nine on Fraternity and Sororities during our Black History Month resolution resolution.

3:33

So before I even move to the resolution, I would like to read the resolution and invite Dr.

3:38

Tiner here to share a couple brief remarks.

3:41

So the declaring April 7th as National Black Bookstore Day, whereas the rich cultural heritage of the United States is deeply shaped by black storytellers, scholars, publishers, and entrepreneurs who have preserved, published, and shared knowledge through literature and community institutions.

4:02

And whereas throughout history, African Americans have made significant contributions to the culture, economy, and social fabric of our country, and have played an integral role in shaping the independent bookstore industry, even though black owned bookstores represent less than eight percent of all booksellers in the United States.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Safety███████████████████████████27%
Procedural██████████████████████████26%
Community Engagement████████████████████████24%
Arts And Culture████████████████████20%
Housing███3%
Summary of Proceedings

St. Paul City Council Meeting - April 1, 2026

The City Council met on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, at 3:30 PM in Council Chambers. Six members were present at roll call (Councilmember Cheniqua Johnson was absent but arrived later). The meeting covered consent agenda items, a suspension resolution, public hearings on several ordinances and resolutions, and a legislative hearing consent agenda item. The meeting adjourned at 4:08 PM.

Consent Calendar

  • AO 26-16: Authorized the Department of Public Works to move $78,371 from a transfer account to an expense account for general professional services in the General Fund. Received and filed.
  • RES 26-310: Authorized the Department of Planning and Economic Development to apply to the Metropolitan Council for Livable Communities Act (LCA) grant proposals for round one of 2026 (site assessment, cleanup, predevelopment, construction, or redevelopment). Adopted.
  • RES 26-420: Authorized the City to enter into an agreement with MnDOT for work in the Trunk Highway 35E right of way as part of the University Avenue Project. Adopted.
  • RES 26-501: Accepted donation of conference registration from CNU for up to three City staff to attend CNU 34 in Northwest Arkansas from May 12-16, 2026. Adopted.
  • RES 26-530: Approved change of ownership of the Liquor Off Sale license for East 7th Liquor at 385 7th Street East. Adopted.
  • Item 5 (RES 26-505) was pulled for separate discussion (see below).

Public Comments & Testimony

  • On Ordinance 26-19 (Immigration Enforcement Training & Reporting): Several residents testified in favor. Kathy Quick (Ward 4, UNIDOS-Minnesota) expressed support for the ordinance, noting it strengthens accountability and public safety. She referenced the November 25, 2025, ICE incident on Rose Avenue and called for an independent investigation. Laurel St. Marie Jerusalem (Ward 7) described police use of force during the same incident, including chemical irritants and sponge bullets, and stated the police violated the city's sanctuary ordinance. Reverend Karen Herring (Ward 8) testified as a constitutional observer, describing the scene and urging passage of the ordinance. Jill Toll (Ward 6) read a letter from Caroline Hagen (Ward 5) who witnessed the Rose Avenue event and expressed disappointment in St. Paul Police actions.

Discussion Items

  • RES 26-505 (The Ivory Liquor License): Council President Noecker introduced a version 2 correcting a technical error regarding notice requirements. The resolution was adopted as amended with a 6-0 vote (Johnson absent).
  • RES 26-535 (National Black Bookstore Day): Councilmember Bowie presented the resolution declaring April 7th as National Black Bookstore Day. She noted that black-owned bookstores represent less than 8% of all booksellers in the U.S., declined from over 325 in 1999 to 54 in 2014, and now number nearly 300. Dr. Artica Tiner, founder of Planting People Growing Justice Bookstore in St. Paul, spoke about the role of black bookstores in literacy and community, highlighting that only 18% of Black students in St. Paul read at grade level. Councilmembers Johnson and Bowie gave additional remarks. The resolution was adopted 7-0.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent Agenda: Adopted as amended (6-0, Johnson absent).
  • RES 26-505: Adopted as amended (6-0).
  • RES 26-535: Adopted (7-0).
  • Ord 26-17 (Fire Chief Qualifications): Public hearing closed; laid over to April 15, 2026, for final adoption (7-0).
  • Ord 26-19 (Immigration Enforcement Training): Public hearing closed; laid over to April 15, 2026, for final adoption (7-0).
  • Ord 26-20 (Rental Application Fees): Public hearing closed; laid over to April 15, 2026, for final adoption (7-0).
  • Ord 26-21 (Department of Safety and Inspections): Public hearing closed; laid over to April 15, 2026, for final adoption (7-0).
  • RES PH 26-34 (Hamm’s Brewery West End TBRA Grant): Adopted (7-0).
  • RES PH 26-35 (Rondo Revitalize SEED Grant): Adopted (7-0).
  • RES PH 26-74 (Sound Variance for Get in Gear Event): Adopted (7-0).
  • RLH SAO 26-21 (Appeal of Mark Puchala II): Adopted (7-0).

Ward News & Announcements

  • Vice President Yang announced a Spring Holiday Carnival on April 4 at Arlington Hills Community Center.
  • Councilmember Kim recognized Trans Day of Visibility (March 31) and reiterated support for trans rights.
  • Councilmember Bowie announced the Black Authors Expo at George Latimer Central Library on April 18, a Hallie Q. Brown anniversary event on April 4, spring break programming at rec centers, a prom dress sale at Hazel Park Rec Center, and the opening of the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (applications April 1-2 at stpaul.gov/ERA).

The next meeting is scheduled for April 15, 2026, due to spring break.

Meeting Transcript

Okay. Yeah, we're here. Call the meeting of the St. Paul City Council to order. Roll call, please. Coleman. Here. Kim. Here. Yang. Here. Bowie? Here. Joast. Here. Johnson. Council President Acre. Here. Six present, one absent, that being Councilmember Johnson, and she is expected shortly, I believe. Um welcome everyone to our city council meeting. Thank you for joining us. We invite everyone to join us in standing for the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under guide. Liberty and Justice to all. Consent agenda items two through six are before you for your consideration. And I'm gonna pull item five for separate consideration. Is there anything else to come off of consent? Seeing none, I'll take a motion from Vice President Yang to approve the balance of the consent agenda. All in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed? Six in favor, none opposed. The consent agenda is adopted as amended. Item number five is resolution 26-505, approving a liquor on sale, liquor on sale, Sunday, liquor on sale 2 a.m. closing an entertainment B new location license application from Lux Event Planning and Decor LLC doing business as the Ivory for the Premises located at 1259 Street East Unit 127. And I uh appreciate my colleagues being willing to consider this separately. I just want to introduce a version two, which makes a technical correction as to the fact that um notice was actually not required for this. It had previously said that notice was sent, but that was not the case because notice isn't required for this type of um use. So um I would move version two. Any discussion of the motion? Seeing none, all in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed, six in favor, none opposed, the resolution is adopted as amended. Take a motion from Councilmember Bowie to suspend the rules to consider resolution 26-535. All in favor of suspending the rules, say aye. Aye. All posed. Six in favor, none opposed, the rules are suspended. Resolution 26-535, declaring April 7th as National Black Bookstore Day. Miss Bowie.

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