OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

St. Paul City Council Meeting: Ballot Initiative Fails, Multiple Ordinances Adopted (August 5, 2026)

Budget Committee — Wednesday, August 5, 2026
BodySt Paul, Minnesota
SessionBudget Committee
DateWednesday, August 5, 2026
StatusNEW · FILED
Video Record
0:00 / 40:31
Transcript — Verbatim
6:20

Call the meeting of the St.

6:21

Paul City Council to order.

6:23

Roll call, please.

6:24

Bowie.

6:24

Coleman.

6:25

Here.

6:26

Johnson.

6:26

Here.

6:27

Joast.

6:28

Here.

6:28

Kim.

6:28

Here.

6:29

Yang.

6:29

Here.

6:30

Council President Naker.

6:31

Here.

6:31

Six present, one absent who is expected shortly.

6:34

Thanks to everyone for joining us for our city council meeting today.

6:37

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

6:41

Pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States America and to the Republic for which it stands.

6:48

One nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

6:55

Consent items seven through thirty are before you for your consideration.

6:59

I know we are pulling item 30 for separate consideration.

7:01

Is there anything else to come off of consent?

7:05

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

7:09

All in favor say aye.

7:10

Aye.

7:10

All opposed?

7:11

Six in favor, none opposed.

7:13

The consent agenda is adopted as amended.

7:15

Thirty item thirty res resolution twenty-six dash one-two five three directing the city clerk to notify the county auditor to place a ballot question on the November third, twenty twenty-six ballot regarding allowing tenants to make repairs to their building and approving the title and language for that ballot question.

7:29

And this is an item on which we recently received some advice from the city attorney's office regarding conflicts between the language of the ordinance and state law that could create some risk to the city.

7:41

Um so I think it's important for us to have conversation about this item.

7:45

Um I guess looking to you, Mr.

7:47

Staley, if there's anything that you can add or or confirm about it.

8:06

Um the city attorney's memo um also opined that if there's a case where there's that conflict that the council does not is not required to put the item on the ballot and um has the option to have discussion about that.

8:21

Um so I wanted to open this up for conversation to my colleagues and also see if there's a motion.

8:29

Thanks, Council President.

8:30

I um just want to say overall, um I'm at the end of my comments here.

8:36

I'm gonna move um for an approval of the resolution here.

8:39

I do want to first say thank you to our city attorneys for the work that you did in providing a memo to us to me it being elect an elected official, it's really important for me to be making informed decisions.

8:49

Um that's inclusive of what I hear from you all, also from community members and advocates who are you know putting these sort of items in front of us um for discussion and for a vote to and you know, the the list goes on and on about who gets involved um as part of that equation there.

9:05

Um I do want to say overall I'm very supportive of of um this resolution here and um wanted to just share that you know, as I think about the past few years on the council here, we've had ballot initiatives come up in our city and overall for me, like no matter what the topic is, it's always been very exciting to see uh that level of of engagement and like the organization, the connection in our communities and and most importantly, like the organic conversations that happen um as part of our democracy, you know, for a city that does have a ballot, this sort of system where folks can um petition and and put an item on the ballot.

9:42

And uh you know, I think a lot about family members, friends that I have who live in third world countries where they don't have this sort of option in front of them, and actually if they were to voice their opinion at all about anything political, they are their lives could be put at risk.

10:00

And so it's very grounding to me, you know, as I um any time I take up um a vote like this and um just have a lot of deep gratitude for all of the folks involved in even putting this in front of the council here, and so I do want to give credit to Safe Home St.

10:07

Paul for the work that they have done, the incredible work they've done to really engage with community members to make sure that they are getting ha having a sufficient number of petition signatures to even um get this in front of us, and um, you know, just the ways in which they've really connected with tenants, especially in our city, knowing that we are a city of more than half where more than half of our residents are our renters.

10:29

And so um I uh wanted to share overall that like you know, in addition to the comments I made that this is while I understand that our city attorneys they do have concerns.

10:39

I also want to point out that in Duluth this is the exact same language that was passed in their city, and uh Duluth Tenants Union was the group that had organized for um the initiative in their city, they were successful.

10:52

Um I also learned in conversations I've had with uh members and leaders of Safe Home St.

10:57

Paul that um Duluth tenants have been very content and pleased with their uh with their ordinance, and I want to take a very wild guess that it's probably because the ordinance is working the way that it was meant to.

11:09

Um and so in the also recognizing that Safe Home St.

11:13

Paul has met the legal requirements to get this in front of us and put it on the ball uh put it on the ballot.

11:19

Um, you know, just again, um, really justifies why I am very confident in in um a vote to support this and wanted to um just overall say to my colleagues too like I really urge you to leave it to our voters.

11:32

I hold our St.

11:33

Paul voters capable of being able to cast a vote, letting us know where they stand on this initiative.

11:38

And so looking forward to hearing thoughts from the rest of my colleagues here.

11:41

Thanks, Vice President.

11:42

I'll take that as a motion for approval.

11:44

Um I saw Ms.

11:45

Johnson.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Tenant Protections█████████████████████████25%
Procedural████████████████████████24%
Personnel Matters████████████████████20%
Public Engagement███████████████████19%
Cannabis Regulation███████7%
Parks and Recreation█████5%
Summary of Proceedings

St. Paul City Council Meeting - August 5, 2026

The St. Paul City Council met on August 5, 2026, beginning at 3:30 PM. Six of seven council members were present (Councilmember Bowie absent initially but expected). The meeting covered a consent agenda, a separated ballot resolution, final adoption of ordinances, several public hearings, and a legislative hearing consent agenda. Key outcomes included the failure of a ballot initiative on tenant right to repair, unanimous adoption of golf course ordinance amendments, and approval of numerous financial and administrative resolutions.

Consent Calendar

  • Items 7–29 were approved en masse without discussion, including: authorizing police department grant applications, approving a project labor agreement for the Merriam Park Skate Park, accepting donations, settling a lawsuit (Joseph Washington vs. City), approving collective bargaining agreements, license transfers, and various financial adjustments.
  • Item 30 (ballot question on tenant right to repair) was pulled for separate consideration and is discussed below.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Item 33 (Deputy City Clerk Classification): Multiple union representatives testified in opposition to making the Deputy City Clerk an appointed (non-union) position. Speakers included Chelsea Berry (AFSME Local 2508 treasurer), Kristen Kojel (AFSME board member, 13-year city employee), Paul Tischler (AFSME e-board), and Tom Bashin (resident). They argued the change would eliminate a union job, was unnecessary for signing authority, and constituted union busting. They urged the council to reject the ordinance and keep the position in the classified service.
  • Item 48 (Vacant Building Appeal – 1047 Arcade Street): Angela Dawson, representative of ACMN Properties LLC and a licensed realtor, testified in support of the appeal, noting complications with the city's permitting system (Polly) and expressing a desire to complete renovations for a cannabis business. She agreed with the legislative hearing officer's recommendation for a 90-day fee waiver.
  • No public testimony was given on other public hearing items (34–47).

Discussion Items

  • Item 30 – Ballot Question on Tenant Right to Repair: Council President Noecker noted the city attorney's memo identifying conflicts between the proposed ordinance and state law, creating legal risk. Vice President Yang moved approval, arguing the initiative met legal requirements and that Duluth had passed similar language without issue. Councilmembers Johnson and Jost opposed, citing legal concerns (unlawful, unconstitutional vagueness, unenforceability), noting differences between Duluth and St. Paul, and emphasizing that the council could not amend the language post-passage. Councilmember Kim supported, stating ballot initiatives are fundamental to democracy and she was willing to take the risk. Councilmember Coleman also opposed, noting that shared values on tenant rights did not justify flawed language and that organizers could pursue alternative legislation. The motion failed on a roll call vote: 2 in favor (Kim, Yang), 5 opposed (Bowie, Coleman, Johnson, Jost, Noecker).
  • Item 31 – Golf Course Ordinance (Final Adoption): Councilmember Jost moved adoption, explaining the amendment removes prohibitions on miniature golf and allows lighted golf courses (specifically Highland National Driving Range) to operate until 10 PM, expanding programming and potential revenue. Unanimously adopted.
  • Item 32 – Solid Waste Contracts Ordinance (Final Adoption): Council President Noecker moved adoption, adding Chapter 86.13 to require council approval of mixed municipal solid waste contracts. Unanimously adopted.
  • Item 33 – Deputy City Clerk Classification (Public Hearing): A public hearing was held with testimony from union representatives opposing the creation of an appointed, non-union position. The hearing was closed, and the ordinance was laid over for final adoption on August 12, 2026.
  • Item 34 – Youth Minimum Wage Elimination (Public Hearing): No testimony; the ordinance was laid over for final adoption on August 12, 2026.
  • Item 35–47 – Public Hearings on Financial and Grant Resolutions: All items were adopted unanimously with no public testimony. Key approvals included: $400,000 transfer for commercial corridors (Item 35), $250,000 DNR trail grant (Item 36), $2,285,000 donation from Como Friends (Item 37), $35,000 police foundation donation (Item 38), $25,000 port security grant (Item 39), council office renovation internal loan (Item 40), $50,000 EV charger grant (Item 41), $202.88 fire explorers donation (Item 42), $360,000 hazmat team JPA (Item 43), $500,000 air rescue team (Item 44), $21,131.47 Edina reimbursement (Item 45), sound variance for IndiaFest (Item 46), and sound variance for Wabasha Brewing (Item 47).
  • Legislative Hearing Consent Agenda (Items 48–58): After a separate public hearing on Item 48 (vacant building appeal at 1047 Arcade Street), the council adopted the legislative hearing officer's recommendation to deny the appeal but grant a 90-day waiver of the vacant building registration fee. The remaining items were approved en masse with no further testimony.

Key Outcomes

  • Ballot Initiative Rejected (Item 30): The resolution to place the tenant right to repair ballot question on the November 3, 2026 ballot failed by a vote of 2–5.
  • Golf Course Ordinance Adopted (Item 31): Unanimous final adoption.
  • Solid Waste Contract Ordinance Adopted (Item 32): Unanimous final adoption.
  • Deputy City Clerk Ordinance Laid Over (Item 33): Public hearing closed; ordinance will be considered for final adoption on August 12, 2026.
  • Youth Minimum Wage Elimination Laid Over (Item 34): Public hearing closed; ordinance will be considered for final adoption on August 12, 2026.
  • Financial Resolutions Approved (Items 35–47): All passed unanimously.
  • Legislative Hearing Consent Agenda Approved (Items 48–58): Item 48 appeal denied with 90-day waiver; remaining items approved as recommended.

Meeting Transcript

Call the meeting of the St. Paul City Council to order. Roll call, please. Bowie. Coleman. Here. Johnson. Here. Joast. Here. Kim. Here. Yang. Here. Council President Naker. Here. Six present, one absent who is expected shortly. Thanks to everyone for joining us for our city council meeting today. We invite everyone to join us in standing for the Pledge of Allegiance. Pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States America and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Consent items seven through thirty are before you for your consideration. I know we are pulling item 30 for separate consideration. Is there anything else to come off of consent? Seeing none, I'll take a motion from Vice President Yang for 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. Thirty item thirty res resolution twenty-six dash one-two five three directing the city clerk to notify the county auditor to place a ballot question on the November third, twenty twenty-six ballot regarding allowing tenants to make repairs to their building and approving the title and language for that ballot question. And this is an item on which we recently received some advice from the city attorney's office regarding conflicts between the language of the ordinance and state law that could create some risk to the city. Um so I think it's important for us to have conversation about this item. Um I guess looking to you, Mr. Staley, if there's anything that you can add or or confirm about it. Um the city attorney's memo um also opined that if there's a case where there's that conflict that the council does not is not required to put the item on the ballot and um has the option to have discussion about that. Um so I wanted to open this up for conversation to my colleagues and also see if there's a motion. Thanks, Council President. I um just want to say overall, um I'm at the end of my comments here. I'm gonna move um for an approval of the resolution here. I do want to first say thank you to our city attorneys for the work that you did in providing a memo to us to me it being elect an elected official, it's really important for me to be making informed decisions. Um that's inclusive of what I hear from you all, also from community members and advocates who are you know putting these sort of items in front of us um for discussion and for a vote to and you know, the the list goes on and on about who gets involved um as part of that equation there. Um I do want to say overall I'm very supportive of of um this resolution here and um wanted to just share that you know, as I think about the past few years on the council here, we've had ballot initiatives come up in our city and overall for me, like no matter what the topic is, it's always been very exciting to see uh that level of of engagement and like the organization, the connection in our communities and and most importantly, like the organic conversations that happen um as part of our democracy, you know, for a city that does have a ballot, this sort of system where folks can um petition and and put an item on the ballot. And uh you know, I think a lot about family members, friends that I have who live in third world countries where they don't have this sort of option in front of them, and actually if they were to voice their opinion at all about anything political, they are their lives could be put at risk. And so it's very grounding to me, you know, as I um any time I take up um a vote like this and um just have a lot of deep gratitude for all of the folks involved in even putting this in front of the council here, and so I do want to give credit to Safe Home St. Paul for the work that they have done, the incredible work they've done to really engage with community members to make sure that they are getting ha having a sufficient number of petition signatures to even um get this in front of us, and um, you know, just the ways in which they've really connected with tenants, especially in our city, knowing that we are a city of more than half where more than half of our residents are our renters. And so um I uh wanted to share overall that like you know, in addition to the comments I made that this is while I understand that our city attorneys they do have concerns. I also want to point out that in Duluth this is the exact same language that was passed in their city, and uh Duluth Tenants Union was the group that had organized for um the initiative in their city, they were successful. Um I also learned in conversations I've had with uh members and leaders of Safe Home St. Paul that um Duluth tenants have been very content and pleased with their uh with their ordinance, and I want to take a very wild guess that it's probably because the ordinance is working the way that it was meant to.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI
TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com