Here.

Coleman.

Here.

Johnson.

Joast.

Kim.

Here.

Yang.

Council President Acre.

Here.

Six present, one absent, that being Councilmember Joe, and she's exc or Councilmember Johnson, and she's excused.

Welcome to everyone to our first City Council meeting of the new year.

Thank you all for joining us today.

We invite everyone to stand and join us in the Pledge of Allegiance.

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

Just before we begin our regular business today, I want to take a moment to acknowledge that all of our hearts today are heavy.

We saw one of our neighbors in Minneapolis be shot and killed this morning by ICE.

There aren't really words adequate to express how well I know we're all feeling in this situation.

I know I speak for all of us when I say that our hearts and prayers are with the family and all of those who witnessed this traumatic incident.

We as a council, I know will never back down from our values and from our sacred duty to protect our community.

And we are standing with the people of St.

Paul, of Minneapolis, and our entire region against anyone who would do us harm or demonize us or divide us.

And I'd like to ask us all to take a moment of silence in honor of the person who was killed this morning.

Thank you.

Okay.

Consent agenda items three through 24 before you for your consideration.

I know that we'll be taking item 24 for separate consideration.

Is there anything else to come off of consent?

See none.

I'll take a motion for the balance of the consent agenda from Council Vice President Kim.

All in favor say aye.

Aye.

All opposed.

Six in favor, none opposed.

The consent agenda is adopted as amended.

Item number 24 is resolution 26-50, celebrating St.

Paul Family Medical Center's 25 plus years of service and milestones in the East Side St.

Paul community and declaring Saturday, January 10th, 2026 as Dr.

Fuajong Day in the City of St.

Paul.

And I believe Ms.

Yang is moving a version two of this item.

Just that we're very excited for this anniversary for the clinic of the East Side, and I will be presenting this flag and so down with them over here.

Very grateful for their business and also their commitment to our city chair.

Thank you, Ms.

Yang.

Any further 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.

Item number 25 is resolution 26-38, approving the appointment of the city attorney.

All right.

Well, this is a big day in the city of St.

Paul.

This is, I think, the first of several uh appointments that we will be um considering and uh I suspect approving.

Um really excited to welcome Ms.

Gao to the position of uh city attorney and at this point um would welcome you up to do the official um swearing in, unless we do the resolution first.

We'll do resolution first.

Come on up while we do the resolution as amended.

Sorry, I'm gonna move a version two.

Um I'm so excited, I don't even remember our process.

Um but I I do before we um I will move this resolution and just by way of discussion say that I've already had a chance to sit down with Ms.

Gao.

I think that that shows a great deal of um commitment to partnership, not just talking the talk but walking the walk and actually taking time to meet with me even before um we had this swearing in and on a very busy day uh for all of us, and I know that that's true for many of my colleagues as well.

So really looking forward to working with you.

Um further discussion of the motion.

Seeing none, all in favor say aye.

Aye, aye.

All opposed.

Six in favor, none opposed.

The resolution is adopted as amended.

Welcome up, and I think Mr.

Wilms is gonna do the honors.

And yeah, you're welcome to be joined by anyone else who's here with you who would like to come up.

And I think they should stand on this side.

I think that's better for the kids.

Okay.

Uh please raise your right hand and repeat after me.

I state your name.

I Irene Gao.

You solemnly swear do solemnly swear to support the constitution.

I support the constitutions of the United States.

Of the United States, and of the state of Minnesota, and of the state of Minnesota, and to discharge faithfully, and to discharge faithfully.

The duties devolving upon me.

The duties devolving upon me.

As the city attorney of the city of St.

Paul.

As a city attorney of the city of St.

Paul.

To the best of my judgment and ability.

To the best of my judgment and ability.

Congratulations.

And as you're sitting down or before, if you if you want to say anything, you're welcome to.

Otherwise, no need.

I don't want to put you on the spot.

Or Ms.

Schumacher, welcome.

Thank you.

Uh Council President and members.

We just wanted to say on behalf of Mayor Her how excited we are to have Irene as part of our team.

She's got a really warm welcome from all of our city attorney's office.

And we're just really excited to officially have her own board.

So thank you so much.

Yes, thank you very much for the opportunity.

I feel honored.

I really love the city of St.

Paul, both living and working here.

So I look forward to serving all of the residents as well as the city.

Thank you, Ms.

Gal.

I don't mean to have rid of these questions.

Okay, bye.

All right.

Item number 26 is resolution 26-42, approving the mayor's appointments of senior assistant mayor, executive assistant to the mayor, assistant mayor's assistant to the mayor six, and executive director of public affairs and communications assistant to the mayor six, effective January 2nd, 2026.

And I will take a motion from Ms.

Bowie for version two of this, which uh actually inserts the names of these positions, which is kind of important.

Um, those folks will also all be sworn in but separately.

So today we'll just be um adopting the motion.

Um, once again, just by way of discussion, I can say I've had the opportunity now to um work talk with, meet with, and work with um most of the assistant mayors and really excited both about the individuals and about this new organizational structure.

So um, any further discussion of the motion.

Uh seeing none, all in favor of version two, please say aye.

Aye.

All opposed.

Six in favor, non opposed, the resolution is adopted as amended.

Item number 27 is resolution 26-43.

Approving the mayor's appointment of blank to serve as acting mayor in the absence of mayor Khaliha.

Once again, we feel the need for a version two here.

I'll take a motion as such from Ms.

Coleman.

Um, 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.

Congratulations and looking forward to working together.

Um, sorry.

Before we keep going, um, I'm gonna take a motion from Ms.

Yang to recall, reconsider item 24.

Um, can we just do that by vote?

Yeah, to vote.

Okay.

All in favor say aye.

Aye.

All opposed.

Uh six in favor, none opposed.

The item is reconsidered.

Item number 24 is resolution 26 50, celebrating St.

Paul Family Medical Center's 25 plus years of service and milestones in the East Side St.

Paul community and declaring Saturday, January 10th, 2026 is Dr.

Fuajong Day in the city of St.

Paul.

Ms.

Yang.

Thanks, Council President, and to my colleagues for the reconsideration.

As I was looking out into the crowd, I actually saw Dr.

Puajang here with us today.

And so I just wanted to make sure that they had a chance to come and address the council for this really big celebration for their clinic.

And so what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna step up to the front of the podium there um to say a few more remarks.

And uh Dr.

Pojong, I invite you and your guests to join me at the podium as well.

That's good.

It's always better when we can do it here.

So this is great.

Great.

Okay.

Well, hi everybody.

This is Dr.

Puajang, and I have had the honor of knowing them through a wonderful festival that they host every year in the east side during the summer, and they invite all community members, neighbors, far and near to come and join us for a wonderful celebration where there's a lot of organizations and um especially clinics that come and provide a lot of health resources.

Um, also um the our late school board member Marnie Zhong, who was the chair of the school board um many years ago, she um was a client of Dr.

Puijong's too.

And so to me, it's very special um to uh to note that you are somebody who has served our communities and also many of our um wonderful elected officials for so long now.

Um, I am really excited to present this.

I was planning on going on Saturday, and so I had it on the consent agenda, but again, very grateful to have you here.

Um, and what uh what I really want to um emphasize is the contributions that Dr.

Puajong has had to our east side communities, also a community of color, especially our Hmong community, and I will just read this that way folks can really um hear a lot about her bio and give you a chance to share a few remarks.

This is a resolution celebrating the St.

Paul Family Medical Center's 25 plus years of service and milestones in the East Side of St.

Paul community and declaring Saturday, January 10th, 2026 as Dr.

Puajong Day in the City of St.

Paul.

And I believe this is your first time ever having a day dedicated to you.

Is that right?

Yes.

Whereas Dr.

Puajong is one of the first Hmong Women physicians in the United States and a trailblazer in culturally responsive care and community commitment, and she has earned her medical degree from the University of Minnesota Medical School in Minneapolis in 1996 and completed her residency at the University of Minnesota's St.

Joseph's program in 1999, and whereas Dr.

Puajong served at Open Cities Medical Center in 1999 and is one of the first among American female physicians who opened her solo practice, St.

Paul Family Medical Center in St.

Paul in 2002 to realize her vision of serving all families.

And under her leadership, the clinic has become a trusted medical home for compassionate personalized care for many people.

And whereas in 2005, St.

Paul Family Medical Center moved to the east side of St.

Paul and served 20 years as a dedicated community-rooted health provider and has overall served 25 plus years of service to the Mmong community and communities of color in the Twin Cities.

Whereas St.

Paul Family Medical Center has since flourished, offering a full range of family practice service, and Dr.

Puajang's dedicated care includes having personally delivered over 500 babies in the clinic's first 18 years and seeing three generations of patients since the clinic's inception, whereas Dr.

Puajhong has had a deep commitment to promoting, elevating, and helping advance the status of Hmong women and girls culturally, socially, economically, politically, mentally, and spiritually, and advocates for Mmmong women to pursue roles that make them more than a wife, mother, daughter, and daughter-in-law, encouraging them to become professionals, business leaders, politicians, and agents of change.

She desires to see Mmong people live healthy lives, advance in the world, and be recognized and respected by others.

And whereas Dr.

Puojang significantly invests in the training and development of the next generation of clinicians and has committed over 25 years of clinical service and mentorship to medical students, medical assistants, pre-medical students, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and family medicine residents.

Be it resolved that the St.

Paul City Council celebrates St.

Paul Family Medical Center's 25 plus years of service and milestones in the East Side St.

Paul community and be a further result.

The St.

Paul City Council hereby declares Saturday, January 10th, 2026, as Dr.

Puajong Day in the City of St.

Paul.

Congratulations.

Thank you.

So I just wanted to note quickly, this is a business that used to be in Ward 6, and after redistricting is now in Ward 5.

So Council Vice President, you're very lucky to have Dr.

Pojong in your ward.

I am.

We'll give you the mic to say a few words.

Thank you.

What a wonderful honor to be here with the city council and to be given this resolution.

I've always had a dream of serving people with a loving heart and caring hands.

And I've believed that I've done that over the last 25 years, and I love St.

Paul.

It's a wonderful place, and all my children grew up here.

I've been here for the last 30 years, and it's my home.

And I continue to uh serve and I continue to uh promote our community and I hope that we all will build a better, greater, uh safer future for everyone.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Congratulations.

Sarah, are you okay?

Grab me a quick photo for us.

And then I also welcome the council members to join me on the stage here for a photo and council vice president, if you would do the honors too with this being in your word.

So their event is this Saturday.

I'm wondering, Dr.

Pojong, would you like to say a few words because it's uh an event open to the public?

Yes.

Um, this Saturday, the 10th of January, we're having the celebration.

And if any of you are able to come, it's from 12 to 5.

And uh we'll have food, we'll have um some of our political leaders, uh, senators coming, Senator Fong and uh Senator uh Tu Xiong will be there also, and the mayor.

So I hope that you can all come and join us.

Uh we're just gonna have food and fun and uh have a great time celebrating together.

So come.

It's gonna be a hap Mong American partnership on our cave on O'Cain Street.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Congratulations.

Oh, yeah.

So we uh we did reconsider it, so we do need to take a vote.

I'll take that as a motion for approval from Ms.

Yang.

Any discussion?

All in favor say aye.

Aye.

All opposed.

Six in favor, non-opposed the resolution is adopted as amended.

Item number 28 is final adoption of ordinance 25-79, amending chapter 107 of the administrative code pertaining to improvements to the planning commission process.

So, for those of you who are new to our chambers or don't watch diligently every week uh online, we have three different stages by which we adopt ordinances.

Um the first week they receive a first hearing or first reading, and that is when we have a staff report on what's being considered.

The second week they have a public hearing when we hear from the public about their thoughts on what's being proposed.

Um, and then the third reading, which might be the next week or might be some time later if we have amendments, is the final adoption of the ordinance.

Um the items that you're seeing in front of you in this section, final adoption have already been heard, reviewed, and discussed at least twice before today.

Um so even though they might seem to be very big changes, and often they are, they are not just coming in front of us and being adopted with little discussion.

This is the end of a lengthy process.

Uh so this is in front of us for final adoption.

Um, is there any discussion?

Uh I'll take a motion from Ms.

Yang.

Is there any discussion?

See none.

I'll just say quickly that I'm really grateful to our planning and economic development staff for, and especially Director McMahon for the hard work on bringing this forward and to Ms.

Robinson as well with our planning department.

Um I think this is gonna make our as a former planning commissioner, and I know uh Ms.

Kim joins me in this, um, it's important for these bodies to be able to do their work effectively, and it's important for our entire community and especially for development in our community, housing in our community to know that those processes are gonna move forward um on track and on schedule.

I think this is gonna help with that.

So looking forward to these changes taking effect.

Any further discussion?

All in favor say aye.

Aye, all opposed?

Six in favor, none opposed.

The resolution is adopted.

Item number 29 is first reading of ordinance 26-1, modifying and establishing certain city council staff positions in chapter 16 of the administrative code.

And because this is a first reading, as I mentioned, we will have a brief staff report on what we're looking at.

Welcome, Council Director Wells.

Thank you, Council President and Council members.

Uh I'm here today before you to provide an update uh and a report on ordinance 26.1.

Uh it's not quite J Day uh in that regard, uh, but it codifies the position that I'm currently in.

Uh and uh turns out that a plaque is not quite enough.

And so um, you know, the the proposal before you outlines the work of the director of operations.

And and the key thing that I want to say about this codification is that um this role or this work is already occurring as it exists in this codification.

Um essentially this formalizes work that has already been assigned to this position, um, but it puts it within the administrative code.

Um so uh already centralized staff supervision is is occurring, establishing department policy, workflows and process design, resource allocations, budget decision, and cross uh uh branch and interdepartmental coordination.

Uh however, uh the authority of the role is somewhat ambiguous.

And what I've learned in doing this work now for um almost a year, and in talking with HR and also the city attorney, that these sort of ambiguity challenges are nothing new to this role or this council, but actually have persisted throughout the years with this specific role.

And so formalizing it allows um you know some more clarity and some more accountability into operations.

And so essentially, as the last sentence frames, um, it turns the de facto authority into accountable authority for not only this council but future councils.

So trying to solve and wrestle with some of the past challenges of this role existing within the office of the city council.

So the key things that the codification clarifies is operational decision making authority, administrative policy authority, and then budget contracting and resource authority.

And and it's also important to note what's not included in that, and that's policy making authority broadly for the city, uh, no political authority, no override of council member legislative judgment, and no reduction in council member ability to set priorities or direct legislative work.

Uh and importantly, um, this acknowledges that this is an appointed position and serves at the will of council and sets for supervision for the position under the um council president.

Um another thing that I would say too at this point is um this mirrors the approach within the administrative code for other departments.

So all the other department directors within the city have their powers and duties defined uh and their scope and authority and then the duties.

Um for many years, council has lacked that definition.

And actually, one bit of trivia that uh Kyle uh de Ref in uh city attorney's office uncovered was at one point this position reported to the mayor's office.

Um that lack of formal authority and codification you know fluctuated over the years.

So this establishes a key administrative contact and a single point of responsibility for operations within the council, sets forth clear expectations and performance standards, and then it keeps council members focused on on policy, the political work, representation, and oversight, and allows this work to clearly land, the personnel work to clearly land with the director of operations.

And so finally, you know, any time we we make changes to the administrative code, the goal is to make things you know more resilient, more clear, and to have you know an institutional longevity with regard to outlining the operation of the city and how certain things function.

So this moves away from a more person dependent uh how a person engages in the work and actually sets forth the clear expectations within code.

Um I will uh end the staff report there, um, stand for any questions and also give a special thanks to Teresa Scarda, Kyle Dereff, uh Tim Greenfield, and uh departing HR departed HR director Tony Newborn who assisted in this work and getting this uh before you today.

Right.

Uh thank you so much, Mr.

Wilms.

Are there any questions about what's being proposed?

Ms.

Bowie.

Thank you, Council President.

Thank you, Director Jay.

Um, I did get a chance to look at it.

I do want to say I do appreciate giving all of us a heads up.

Um, you know, I you know during my vacation, did not have the chance to actually review it.

So um I'll also just uh follow up with you, particularly with some of the questions that I have.

But since um I have had some of the conversations with other council members, if you could speak a little bit particularly around um the legislative aid personal administration, I believe it's um item C.

Um, if you could talk particularly around like how would you define or codify the process and approve?

I think process is you know, like very self-explanatory, like processing of uh of a hiring or a separation or compensation.

Um but what do you what is your um definition of like approval um in does that approval actually opens up the door of you know eligibility for things that you may not approve.

I'm just trying to get a full scope of what um makes something uh eligible to of approval.

Thank you.

Council president and council member Bowie, it's a great question.

And you know, the way that the language is written allows some you know flexibility, it doesn't set forth the conditions for you know certain aspects of the approval, but you know, like referring back to what I I think was the intent is to clarify I think a lot of the the work that's actually already happening.

So in terms of when someone receives an offer, um, you know, it's typically the council member who will appoint and decide on the person, and then it shifts to me in terms of providing conditional offer, going through paperwork with HR, background check, etc.

Um, and then you know, basically making sure that those steps and those final approval, you know, as it relates to you know, keeping within budget and certain requirements that we have.

Um that's the extent of the approval.

Um, and but I think it it sets forth the lane where uh or or doesn't change the lane where really the council member does appoint their legislative aid and and still retains that authority, but tries to bring you know a little more process in terms of my role and the human resources department.

Okay, thank you.

So what I'm hearing is like is an approval process, not uh is not separate.

The processing and the approval goes hand in hand.

Correct, yeah.

So essentially, you know, there are certain aspects that will need to be signed off, need you know, my signature on that, and that that actually already is happening.

So essentially, you know, it allows it ensures that there is the process that occurs from start to to finish.

Thank you.

Thanks for the good questions.

Other questions or comments?

All right, seeing none, this will lay over for second reading.

The item is laid over to January 14th for second reading public hearing.

And then are we doing 31 first?

Item number 31 is resolution public hearing 26-8 approving the petition of the Department of Parks and Recreation on behalf of the city to vacate public right-of-way in and around Miriam Park.

So just uh anyone who's paying close attention, we just went to item 31 instead of item 30.

Um, this is a we anticipate to be a relatively brief public hearing, and we have staff here for this item, so we wanted to hold this first before we anticipate to be a lengthier public hearing.

Uh so this is a public hearing.

Is there anyone here to speak to this item?

Seeing that, I'll take a motion for Ms.

Jose to close the public hearing and approve.

All in favor say aye.

Aye.

All opposed.

Six in favor, non opposed.

The resolution is adopted.

Item number 30 is public hearing 26-1.

Public hearing on grievances about federal immigration operations.

Uh, Ms.

Yang.

You can go in.

Okay, yeah.

Uh so this is a public hearing on grievances about federal immigration operations as we have held in the past.

Um, and so this is open to folks who want to speak to the council on this topic.

We um for all public hearings, ask that folks come and stand in between the two microphones.

You'll have two minutes to testify, which do go by quickly, and my very unfortunate role is to keep everyone to two minutes out of fairness and to make sure that you have full attention, whether you're the first speaker or the last speaker from this council.

Um, we do uh ask you to start with your name and where you're coming from, and then when you're done speaking, you can sign in on either of the two sign-in sheets to the left and right of the podium.

Uh and we can feel free to line up on both sides of the podium.

So, with that, if you're here to speak on this item, please come on up.

This is your public hearing.

Welcome.

All right.

Hello.

Good afternoon, everybody.

Um, my name is Heather C.

Liu.

I live in Ward 6.

Hello.

Um, very nice to see you.

Um, I have been a Ward 6 resident since 2018.

I moved here from California.

I have served in this community as an educator and artist, as well as the one who is an ethnic studies faculty member and expert on critical race theory here in the state.

Um, I am a one and a half generation immigrant here from Tishan from Southern Southern China, and I am a direct descendant of the Page Act and uh Chinese exclusion acts.

The continued violence of colonization, white supremacy, xenophobia, xenophobia, and other aspects of oppression have continued to impact my family and other people around us.

I am asking for city council to continue to condemn the presence and the force of DHS in ICE in our community.

The racial profiling suppression of our First Amendment rights, as well as excessive force are not new, and we continue to see them here in our community.

The people in my community are afraid of these domestic terrorist acts, as well as are afraid to leave our homes to talk to each other for support, to find different ways of getting community resources and mutual aid.

This is not acceptable here in the city, in this state as well as in this country.

Um I will say that ICE and DHS must go home.

They are not welcome here in our communities.

The people around me are afraid.

They're shaking, they're terror, they're terrorized, they're traumatized, and there is no way that we can allow this.

And I'm looking to our city uh St.

Paul Council members to do something and to act.

The last thing I will say is that as of today, my community members have told me that ICE has been knocking on the doors of many different people's homes, asking for the names of Hmong as well as other Asian folks in our community.

This is unacceptable.

This is Gestapo behavior.

We must stop this.

As someone who is racially ambiguous, who is proudly Chinese and Southeast Asian, I will not allow this to happen to our community, and this must stop.

This is terrorism.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

And make sure to sign in.

Please welcome up.

Hello, um, I'm Guillaume.

I'm a resident of St.

Paul since 2010.

And it's a place I chose to come to because of its uh diversity and welcomes, and it's something that I would like to do, but I can to continue this city being such a welcoming place to all of us.

Um I'll make my comments brief.

I know two minutes go by quickly, but I have some specific asks, which is I would like you, uh council members to consider that no use of say property or other resources.

Data is one area that hasn't been discussed, but please look at the aspects of data sharing with other agencies, with federal agencies and stuff uh around the um not only knocking on doors, but knowing who is behind a door.

It's something that the cities should not be sharing with federal authorities for the purpose.

Okay, right.

Uh two, uh noise PD, uh SPPD involvement and crowd control to facilitate ICE activities for civil immigration enforcement.

Uh three, no activities by law enforcement or ICE in St.

Paul, in which officers are wearing masks and or are not personally identifiable.

Uh for requiring the mayor or someone beyond a police chief to authorize any deployment of SPPD in Riot Gear for these types of activities or other related activities.

Basically, that is my ask.

I just want to reiterate that I want to resident of this wonderful city to make and state, you know, to continue making it a welcoming and safe space for many of us.

Anyway, thank you very much.

Thank you very much.

Make sure to sign in.

And to my to my timers, let's make sure to uh start the timer after folks have introduced themselves and said where they're where they're coming from.

Welcome up.

Hi, my name's Barbara Sibley.

I saw UA's last uh last meeting on uh Grand and Victoria, but I'm here on another for another reason.

What a day today is, and thank you for recognizing uh the uh actions today and how hard how heavy our hearts are.

I know they yours are too.

So, how long ago this seems now, but um, based on what occurred on Rose Street on 1125 in November, I strongly recommend that you do take swift action to upgrade the separation ordinance.

And the city is waiting, your citizens are waiting for you to do that swift action with the mayor to make that happen.

Uh and we want to prohibit St.

Paul uh police department from providing security or crowd control during immigration and enforcement actions.

Um egregiously chose to use chemical agents during that action.

As their leaders, it's up to you to ask why.

It's up to us to ask you to ask why, and understand their answers and correct them where their answers are wrong for the city.

The time has come to decide on a more stringent and clear separation ordinance, and it's swiftness is of the essence.

Do not let yourselves be paralyzed by fear by the actions of ICE today.

We need courage, we need resolve, and we need action, swift action.

Thank you very much.

Good luck.

Thank you very much.

Make sure to sign in.

Welcome up, whoever's next.

Don't be shy.

Hello, my name is Nancy Kafka, and I live on the West Side.

I participate in the West Coommingbird Initiative.

This is more informational than grievance specifically, but sometime between 9 30 and 10 a.m.

today, there were two helicopters, one Coast Guard plane, and two what would appear to be private planes behind the Minnesota Army National Guard Station on South Airport Road at Holman Field.

South of that location, a convoy with people in tactical gear moving into unmarked SUVs that were stationary in the road.

Coming up from behind the convoy, I was waved forward to pass, which I did.

I continued and turned west and stopped out of any potential traffic until the convoy passed.

I counted 10 unmarked vehicles plus two private service vehicles that somehow were between the cars and the convoy.

All vehicles went north on 52.

The questions I have for you and for the city is has the National Guard been deployed in Minnesota to assist ICE?

Is home and field being used for ICE deployments?

What, if any authority does the city have with respect to home and field?

Thank you.

Thanks so much.

Make sure to sign in.

Welcome up.

Thank you.

Hello, Council President.

Hello, Council members.

Thank you for having us.

My name is Jamie Daniels.

I live in Lowertown, and I wasn't present on November 25th for the events that happened that day.

But I have something I need to say.

Right now, federal agents are out in our communities endangering us, breaking and breaking our laws in blatant ways.

Our police forces should be out there not helping them carry out their mostly illegal and definitely a moral acts, but rather holding them to account when they break our laws and put St.

Paul's residents in danger.

Lately I've been thinking a lot about Anne Frank and how her existence in the attic of an industrial building was dependent on the help of safe members in her community in the Dutch in Amsterdam.

And when I hear stories like that and I hear stories about the Underground Railroad, I like to imagine myself as being one of those people who stepped up from their position of safety and helped out even when it didn't feel it felt risky to do so, and I imagine a lot of us have had that same fantasy.

I don't know what levers of power this body has that it could access that could help hold our police force accountable and protect all residents of St.

Paul.

But if this council is not pulling all those route levers as quickly as possible, if you are delaying action for the results of an investigation, then it is that is an act on the side of fascism and all that is morally reprehensible in this world.

I hate the phrase right side of history because it implies that there's this fogginess in the moment.

But if we can look, but if you can't look with your own eyes and see what's going on and say this is wrong and stand up and do everything you can to stop it, then I hope your grandchildren never look back and see what it was you were failing to do during this dark time in our lives.

I urge this council to pull those levers and pull them now, no matter how risky it is for your political careers.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Make sure to sign in.

Welcome up.

Thank you.

And I'm just really grateful that you're talking about this.

Um, and I was not planning to talk, but everything that's happened today.

And I have a son who works at um with in neighborhoods uh at Rex Center High School that uh has lots of immigrant families, and they're terrified.

He's terrified for them, and he's having a very difficult time doing his job because of it.

And so that kind of was what spurred me to come.

I wasn't necessarily gonna talk, but just going over what happened in Minneapolis today.

I just wanted to hear from my city.

Um, what are what are we gonna do to protect people in the city from what's going on?

Because that was ICE that did it did that in Minneapolis, and then my understanding is there wasn't police there, and I understand the police not saying they shouldn't do crowd control, but what are we gonna actively do to protect people from what's going on?

So this doesn't happen.

Um people are out there observing, and I was you know, intending myself to try and get involved in that because I think it's really important to bear witness, like he said, we've got fascism coming into our country, and we need to do whatever it is we can.

So that's that's I guess all I wanted to say.

Everybody else has said the other things.

So thank you.

Would you just mind saying your name and oh sorry, my I'm Rebecca Church.

I live in uh I think it's called Summit Hill, um, over on Holly, near the Obama school.

So thank you very much.

Make sure to sign in.

Thanks for being here.

Come on up.

Hi, Councilmember Yang, thank you for providing this opportunity for us to speak.

Um my name's Betsy Werwine, and I've lived in St.

Paul for most of my life.

I have four adult sons, and they grew up with at least two members that are sitting on the city council right now.

I'm also an awarded community organizer from our beloved West Side.

My name hangs on a plaque in the hall of this building.

So I have some history, and I know some things.

And I am going to submit this in writing, and I hope you all read it.

But the point I want to really bring through right now is I've been trained as an observer out there on the streets, non-violent observer.

On Friday, January 2nd, which was last Friday.

Um, before during and after two o'clock in the afternoon, I was on site and witnessed a Mazda CX90 vehicle with a specific license plate number at a St.

Paul police activity incident on the east side at the intersection of Stillwater and Nekomas in St.

Paul.

During this activity, I was notified that this vehicle and plate number had also been seen at the Brotex raid in St.

Paul on November 18th.

As a result of this, I wanted to know why this vehicle was at a St.

Paul activity.

So three of us got out of the car, we approached people.

Um, we saw a white male in tactical gear accessing this vehicle.

He would not talk to me or the others.

He was wearing a vest with HSI on it.

There's documentation to support what I'm saying.

Um we had a St.

Paul police officer come out to talk to us.

We were around the corner, away from the building where the incident was happening, and he said that we were impeding a violent situation, and he made false statements up to me and to the other observers about our behavior.

So here's the questions.

Why is St.

Paul?

What is St.

Paul doing with Homeland Security investigation agents?

How is it that a vehicle involved with an ICE activity is also involved with the St.

Paul Police Department?

On January 2nd, that's like a month and a half after these things started happening.

You guys became aware of these things.

I'm so sorry I'm gonna have to ask you to end it there.

But I know you have do you have copies for us to read?

I have one copy, and you can make you can make copies.

We'll make more.

Thank you very much for your testimony.

Make sure to sign in.

Welcome up.

Afternoon, City Council President, Council members.

Uh, just have a really quick uh rundown of uh actions that uh I had listed here that uh I don't know some of these steps may have already been taken.

I'm not a resident of St.

Paul.

I'm from West St.

Paul, but um can you just tell us your name?

Uh Steve Smith, I'm sorry.

Steve Smith is my name.

Um so uh I'll just go list them really quick here.

Um go through all here.

Uh I appreciate all the city's earlier attempts to uh separate local police from civil immigration enforcement and limit cooperation, but the problem persists and we need stronger city action.

I asked the city council to adopt municipal protections that go further, including prohibiting any city cooperation with civil immigration enforcement, absent a judicial warrant, banning task force participation, passing an ordinance banning massed or unidentified enforcement actions requiring clear identification for any arrest or detention within city limits, preventing ICE from using city property or facilities without judicial authorization, cutting city contracts and funding that support detention, transport, or surveillance, enacting strong data privacy rules barring warrantless data use for enforcement, directing the city attorney to investigate and enforce applicable city laws regardless of the actor, holding public oversight hearings to document federal enforcement activity here.

These are tools St.

Paul already controls.

I urge swift action.

Thank you.

Thank you very much and make sure to sign in.

Welcome up if you're here to testify.

This is uh item 30, uh federal immigration operations.

Welcome up.

And if there's anyone else here to testify on this item, please stand now just so we have a sense of who's here to testify because this otherwise looks like our last speaker.

I'm sorry, I was watching online and they were past number 27 pretty quickly.

So I'm a little bit late here.

Um perfectly on time, actually.

So my name is Mark Schneider.

I live in Ward 3 with Sarah Jose area.

Um I'm a member of the UNidos uh civic organization and the Sanctuary City Committee.

Um we've been working to protect and defend our immigrant friends and neighbors.

We've had several meetings with St.

Paul City officials over the last four months talking about the separation agreement.

Um members of of our group have been in conversation this week with Molly Coleman and Edmar Mundal Lee Hall.

Coleman said that she's coordinating with council members from two other St.

Paul wards to push for an update of the city's separation ordinance.

She's also been connecting with Minneapolis Councilmember Chowdery, who we've been talking with as well.

You may be aware that the Minneapolis City Council passed an update to their separation ordinance on the December 11th.

Um these folks have been looking at uh Chicago and Evanston and other cities to help inform what they're proposing for St.

Paul.

There are four things that uh they're pushing for in the revision.

No use of city property or other resources, data, etc.

for civil and immigration enforcement.

No St.

Paul Police Department involvement in crowd control to facilitate ICE activities for civil immigration enforcement.

No activities by law enforcement or ICE in St.

Paul in which officers are wearing masks and were not personally identified.

They should wear a badge with name and or number requiring the mayor or someone beyond the police chief to authorize any deployment of St.

Paul Police Department in riot gear.

Speaking for Unidos and myself, we are reaching out to city council members.

I've already uh sent a message to your offices, uh Marveline got back to me and said we'd be in touch at some point.

Um we're reaching out in order to protect our neighbors, uh immigrants, citizens, protesters.

Uh, and the things we're asking for include the need for strengthening this separation ordinance in the interest of public safety.

We've seen today how bad it can get, right?

I'm sorry, I'm gonna have to ask you to leave it there at the two-minute mark.

Thank you so much though.

Appreciate it.

Make sure to sign in.

Anyone else, last call uh who's here to testify on this item?

All right, I'll take a motion from Ms.

Coleman to close the public hearing and then we can have some discussion.

All in favor say aye.

Aye.

All opposed?

Six in favor, none opposed.

The public hearing is closed.

Uh, I just want to start by thanking everyone for being here today uh again on a very difficult day.

Um, and although the public hearing format doesn't really give us an opportunity to talk back, um I did hear loud and clear the questions and the expectations that you asked of us.

As you probably know, we have been um not just talking about but doing a lot of work um on our separation ordinance and on firming up anything that we can do, pulling all the levers, um, as Jamie so eloquently said to act in this time.

And I want to give an opportunity to some of my colleagues who have been really leading on this work to talk a bit about what's been going on.

I also want to let folks know that next Wednesday, January 14th at 10 a.m., we will have a policy committee discussion of changes to our separation ordinance.

That won't be a public hearing.

It'll be a conversation, but it's a conversation amongst us held in public that we welcome people to come to.

Of course, as and when we would actually make those changes to our ordinance, there would be a public hearing as part of that.

But I now look to my colleagues who want to add uh any additional comments.

Ms.

Yang and then Council Vice President.

Thank you, Council President.

I first want to say thank you to everybody who came and testified today.

You showed such deep bravery and courage and love for community members, especially those in our communities who are hurting most as the result of the mass deportations that are happening and the raids as well.

I uh also want to say thank you to you, Council President, for allowing this public hearing to stay on the agenda today.

I acknowledge that my actions in putting this public hearing on the agenda is unconventional, and it's something that even I haven't seen um other council members do before during my five years here.

But I want to name that I felt it was my calling to do it.

It is a power that we have as council members, and for me, it has always been important to create spaces for people, especially those engraving and hurting most in our communities to be able to be here and share with us what it is that they are witnessing and seeing out in the community because sometimes we can't be there.

Um we have to be in meetings, we have other obligations as well, and uh every set of eyes out there um witnessing what ICE is doing is very important, and um, this is a way for us to be able to get that information and also take action on it.

And I just wanted to let everybody know for those who have been coming and testifying, whether it's been here or emailing phone, making phone calls to us, the work that you're doing, the input you're sharing is not done in vain at all.

Um this is I I know a council that cares deeply about this issue, and um I in a bit here I um uh want to yield to our council vice president to share about the work that has been happening uh within the council here to strengthen our separation ordinance.

I do want to say thank you to my legislative aide, Sarah Ying, who has been doing a lot of great work on my behalf to work with council vice president of your office, council member Coleman, your office as well, on the language for this.

I my heart is very heavy.

My heart is really heavy.

Um it's been heavy for a very long time now, ever since we've seen these raids happen over and over again in our communities.

It's especially heavy today with the life that was lost.

Um, the community member who was shot and killed by ice yesterday on Payne Avenue.

I woke up to news of ICE being there, um, the raids that were happening, uh, our um many commu small businesses on Pay Avenue having a close down for the day.

There is a huge impact to that.

Uh, I want to be really frank that the things coming out of Trump's mouth are complete lies.

Like this, these are actions being done under the guise of safety, and it is not safety at all.

Our communities are literally tearing apart, and families having to children having to live without their parents, being scared to go to school, our businesses closing down.

That is an impact to the city as a whole.

We have a huge stake in this.

Their staff members are not coming into work.

This is a huge loss of income for our business community.

Um, and uh even yesterday when I was out with Mayor Kelly Hur, taking her on a tour in Ward 6, we were at the Dullick and Case Rec Center and had to step outside because we received an image that there was a vehicle right outside the building, and we had to verify is that correct?

And what is this vehicle and who's sitting in it?

Also, um we received um a message that even our own city staff who were out in the streets doing their work were targeted by ICE, being asked whether they are citizens or not.

This is so unacceptable, and I cannot believe that we are living in a time like this.

But I also want to name that right now is such an important time for us to stay united, for us to be hopeful and for us to be courageous and brave, and for everybody who has continued to show up over and over again for our communities, especially those who are immigrants, refugees, and undocumented your work does not go unnoticed, and uh, we must continue to fight, and that I am in solidarity with all of you.

And I welcome you to continue sharing information to my office to give us a call, to send us emails.

Um, and uh I uh want to share too that um while it was my intention to keep putting the public hearings here onto the the agenda every single week.

I do feel comfortable with the work that's been happening in the council to strengthen our separation ordinance.

Therefore, I won't be doing that.

However, I want to urge everybody to continue paying close attention to the work that we're doing even next Wednesday at 10 a.m.

during our policy committee.

There will be a presentation and an update about the work that's been happening around our separation ordinance and ultimately getting it in front in front of the council for a vote as well.

Thank you so much, Ms.

Yang.

Ms.

President.

I'll just um speak kind of briefly about the separation ordinance that we're proposing.

So the lead offices have been Ward 6, Ward 5 and Ward 4, and it's been a really great space to collaborate and really push some good policy forward.

So a lot of what was brought forward today is included, thankfully.

So I think the best part the one of the goals from Councilmember Coleman was to hear all the feedback at the truth and taxation and all the feedback that we've received by email and telephone.

And it's really great to hear this feedback today and knowing that a lot of it already rests in the proposal that we're bringing forward.

We've had brief conversations with Mayor Herr about it, and our colleagues are very supportive of the draft form right now.

We're gonna move it forward to the process.

We're going to be looking to engage in with organizations like UNIDOS and the immigrant defense network and making sure that it's meeting this moment.

And I think for a lot of folks, it's also good to see that Minneapolis passed a very strong strong language in their ordinance, and we're using a lot of what they've offered up similar to other cities.

So I think it's very reassuring to hear the concerns in a way because what we're bringing forward, I feel at this moment is meeting the moment, um, meeting the need.

Um and please provide feedback when you see it get posted to Legistar.

Um I think just to have an opportunity to speak freely as well.

I've been a constitutional observer since August 8th this year.

And um incidents like the one that we saw this morning, the videotape of the altercation, dare we say, um, is actually very common right now for observers on the street.

There's a whole signal chat that's reporting the agents assaulting and violating um constitutional observers.

And so it's to name that the what I'm going to describe as a murder of our constitutional observer this morning is actually not an incident that if you're out on patrol and you're out in community that you've experienced.

This happens multiple times a day in our city right now.

And so it's to name that this person, our victim could have been any one of us responding to a call for patrol.

Um my office has helped train hundreds of constitutional observers in St.

Paul.

Our council president is prepared to train folks and onboard them into this movement, this resistance that we're building.

And it is I have a lot of conflicted feelings today, um, asking a lot of our residents of St.

Paul now fearing as we have for our immigrant families, but fearing for the lives of the residents that are stepping up to the plate in this moment.

Um there is no one coming to save us, and I think that's just also really scary, but it's the silver lining in this moment.

There are mutual aid things that you can do.

There's grocery runs you can do, you can provide a safe ride to school, you can be a bus stop person, you can donate money to uh legal funds or even directly to a family to help them pay their mortgage.

There are so many ways to plug in.

Um, and so I just I'm really proud of St.

Paul and the way that we continue to respond.

And we are only weeks from December 21st when HSI opened fired on a ward five resident.

And so the escalation that we're seeing across the Twin Cities is terrifying, and um all of us are here and all of us are in this fight.

Uh truthfully, I feel a little bit numb about it.

Um but it was the best of the worst case scenario.

There is an active DOJ investigation for the shooting that happened in my ward by an HSI agent.

And I know that we'll be seeing um probably a very robust investigation over the murder that happened this morning.

But just extending a deep gratitude to my colleagues for the work for continually onboarding um really concerned and wonderful neighbors to to the resistance.

Um I'm also really proud of the collective work of this council, and I'm I'm really grateful to my colleagues that kind of locked in and helped help lead this.

So my deep gratitude to you, Councilmember Coleman, and to Councilmember Yang for your partnership and in landing the plane and looking forward to earning the support of our colleagues.

Thanks, Ms.

President.

Other comments?

Ms.

Bowie.

Thank you, Council President.

Um I'll be brief just because I just want to just say I I echo all the the remarks made earlier.

Um Chair Yang, thank you so much for allowing this public hearing and this space for people to um be courageous enough and take time out of their lives to be here and ensure that there's a continuity of this conversation that you know the the vote alone on our resolution um is not the end, but there's still a an avenue to um talk about what is starting to feel inevitable in our in our society or in our city.

Um I also just want to say I appreciate um getting a chance to brief the ordinance language with um council member Coleman, and we had a really um really fruitful conversation around how we can really meet the moment and um where there's areas of gaps and there's areas of um expanding.

Um, you know, I uh also just want to share with um some of the community uh organizations that have like really been doing boots on the ground work and training um everyday civilians to like basically uh resist military it um it's a really scary reality and it feels very unfair and it often you know um I think depresses um it it's really depressing, particularly around the the position that we are in and creates a lot of sense of hopelessness.

Um I'm in a place where I really just have more questions than I have answers.

Um, and especially just listening to some of the uh residents and I anticipate on listening to some of the um community members at the event that we'll be at.

Um, taking down like notes and informations that I think we really should be considering bringing to the governor's office.

Um, you know, at this level, it is an executive needs to come up with a plan.

Um, and I I think uh that's the level of leadership that we need to expect in terms of what is a strong safety plan.

Um and in terms of what my office has been dedicated to on the 28th um of January will be inviting the coordinator of the PC Arc um to do a review of um what are the roles and responsibilities and encouraging um people to um participate and join in with the uh the vehicle that we do have to ensure police accountability and stronger police oversight.

Uh we also will be inviting the executive director from the post board from the Minnesota Post Board to come give a general overview around their powers and authorities, and also inviting um a research policy organization, Minnesota Justice Research Um Center and Representative Cedric Frazier who uh who authored and passed the um police oversight uh uh state statute.

So uh I think a lot of uh in terms of a lot of the um the work that you know I'm invested in is understanding the policy and being able to review that policy and you know tech take this moment to strengthen the policy, but the reality is you know policy alone is not gonna protect the the the reality that we're in.

Um but again I just want to say thank you for everyone who has showed up, and um that is you know, you know, we just are committing every single day to making sure we are doing more and showing up for our community.

Thanks, Ms.

Bowie.

Ms.

Just.

Thank you, Council President.

Thank you to all my colleagues.

I um I mean I'll just I'll just say that I really appreciate everyone's everyone's work on this.

Uh I know that we're all united on this.

Um I I feel that more I've reflected on today in the last few weeks um and what's been happening with ICE is that ICE's presence and federal agents' presence in our community um is a solution from the federal government without an actual problem that they're trying to solve.

Uh we all the chaos and the the violence that they're creating in our communities or trying to say has been happening in our communities um is all being created by them.

Um and that has been escalating uh especially today with someone in Minneapolis that was murdered.

And so I just want to be clear that you know we've we've all said that ICE is not welcome in our community.

They're not adding to our community, they're not supporting our community, and they don't belong here.

Um I I know that we're working very hard on our separation ordinance.

I really appreciate your work on that, Councilmember Coleman and all of our colleagues, and we're working on that as quickly as we can.

I appreciated the briefings I received today from Council Vice President Kim and Councilmember Coleman.

So really looking forward to to that work.

Um, and we also, you know, really need to recognize what all of our powers are and we actually have and what they'll do.

I know that a lot of our um there there are things we can do, but realistically we are talking about the federal government here, and so there's only so much we can do.

But we should do everything that we can, and I think that a lot of our neighbors, our residents, I've already had people reach out to me today about what happened in Minneapolis, are feeling terrified, hopeless, scared.

And I think what I mean, I I share those feelings, um, even in my position as an elected official.

And I think what gives me hope is that um we are all coming together around this, and the more that we can continue to stick together and not let this divide us and continue this work and be there to support each other in whatever way we can, whatever that looks like.

I think council member Yang by having the public hearing here today was a way to want to so show support for one another.

And um, so I'm looking forward to the ways that we can do that for people in in their time of need and make sure that they know that our values in St.

Paul have not changed.

So really, really difficult day today, but I appreciate everyone's work.

Thank you, Ms.

Jost.

Ms.

Coleman.

Thank you.

I I will similarly keep this brief.

I am sitting with the fact that on what has been such a horrible day in our community and what is such a heavy moment as we are under this federal occupation that we are currently experiencing, the amount of gratitude that's been expressed at this table, gratitude for everybody who came out to testify today, who's testified in other forums in front of this council related to what happened on November 25th, what continues to happen with ISIS presence in our community, the gratitude for everybody in this body, all of our city staff, everybody who has worked so diligently on the separation ordinance that we are working to strengthen all the work that I know is to come around the additional steps that we will need to take because the separation ordinance, you know, we did the resolution that was step zero separation ordinance is step one, and it is not going to do everything that we want it to do.

Some there are some things that I know we want to do that we can't.

There are many more things that I know we want to do and I believe we can do in the city in terms of supporting our immigrant community members, supporting our small businesses, our immigrant-owned businesses, supporting everybody who is living in fear under this current administration.

So I just I am I the contrast between the heaviness of the day and the gratitude that has been expressed and the commitments that have been that are shared in this room, and I know throughout St.

Paul, throughout the city, as people are doing every single thing that they can to resist, to protect our neighbors, to show that we are a community that truly believes that we are better and stronger when we are together and united.

Um it is it is just very impactful.

And so again, thank you.

Thank you to everybody um who came out today.

Thank you to my fellow council members, thank you to our city staff.

I know that we have a lot of work ahead.

And I will maybe just end on one of our um one of our speakers today said called on us to work with a sense of urgency.

Several of our speakers did, and to move as swiftly as possible and to not allow to not slow things down and to not say we'll do things eventually, but to do things now.

And I share that urgency.

I know we all share that urgency.

I know that we are constantly thinking about what are we doing right now, this week, next week, and also next month, and how are we going to continue to do everything possible until this horrible moment passes?

So thank you to everybody.

Thank you, Miss Coleman.

Um, and to to just paint a picture of that.

I know that at least one of our staffers, while sick on New Year's Eve late into the night was working on some of the drafting of the separation ordinance that we're talking about, and you and your staff and and all of our colleagues who are leading, we're literally doing this every moment during the break.

So this is that this is not just talk.

Um, thank you to everyone for your words.

It really is helpful, I think, to say these things out loud, to call things out as we're seeing them and to express what we're feeling.

I think it's very lonely in our own heads sometimes, especially in these moments.

So hearing from all of you who came to testify, hearing from ourselves around this table is really powerful.

So thank you to everyone.

We will be keeping this conversation going.

And again, really invite people to join us uh next Wednesday at 10 a.m.

for that policy session.

And I see Ms.

Yeah.

Thanks, Council President.

I just have a couple of things I want to add.

And yes, I do want to give a huge shout out to Tim, our chief policy officer.

I mean, I'm just so proud of the investments that this council has made.

That's a position that we haven't had before, and that it's added capacity to us so that we can actually operationalize the things that we want to do in the council here to keep protecting and fighting for our residents.

And so, Tim has been phenomenal.

I uh also want to make sure that people know if you didn't get a chance to come to the public hearing today.

I urge you to join our community hearing tomorrow.

It is another chance for you to engage with council members, and that community hearing is really focused on the concerns we've heard over and over about our separation ordinance and really addressing them.

And so people can come ready with stories with suggestions they'd like to share.

It is going to be tomorrow, Thursday, January 8th, 6 p.m.

to 8 p.m.

at Indigenous Roots Cultural Center.

That's 788 7th Street in the east side of St.

Paul.

I the last thing I will say is Council Rabui, I really love what you mentioned about the just the collective work and really needing to communicate our desires and really advocating for our residents to higher levels of government, like our governor.

I absolutely agree with that.

I mean, show me a playbook on how we fight against fascism.

Show me a playbook on how we fight against white supremacy.

I mean that is literally what we are up against right now.

And there is no playbook for that.

But what I do know is that it really is about the power of community coming together and including all of us, you know, those who are in elective positions to be working together collectively and really fighting for each other.

And sometimes that looks like you know being unconventional.

And so what I what I'm saying here is that I welcome all of us to really step into that place of courage and um bravery and to be bold, and that for any of my colleagues, if there's anything that you would like to do and you want to share about it, you want to partner in it, or you just really want a co-conspirator in it, I I want you to know that I am there for you, and uh that I want to partner with you on that.

And so I would love to hear any other ideas that you have and really look forward to our work together.

Thanks, Mazine.

All right, with that, thank you all again for joining us.

We'll move on to our legislative hearing consent agenda.

Legislative hearing consent agenda items 32 through 53 are before you for your consideration.

Welcome, Ms.

Mormons.

Good afternoon, Council members, Council President.

Uh, if number 44 on 810 Maryland could be read into the record.

Item number 44 is RLHRR25-33, ordering the rehabilitation or raising and removal of the structures at 810 Maryland Avenue East within 15 days after the January 7, 2026 City Council public hearing.

Ms.

Mormond.

I will ask the council's indulgence while I bring up the computer.

810 Maryland Avenue East, this case is in order to remove or repair the building on this parcel.

I have an aerial map up on screen where you can see that the 810 um Maryland parcel is really almost half the city block that we're looking at.

It is on the north side we have Maryland, on the east, arcade, to the south it's Rose, and to the uh west, it's wide.

So this is a big piece of land with entrances on three different streets.

So it is very impactful in the neighborhood.

It has a very large footprint.

Not too long ago, the council had in front of it the uh case of a remover repair order for the CVS at university and snelling.

This similar, this this case is pretty similar to that one, with a couple of differences.

We are certainly looking at um the building conditions being problematic.

We are looking at a history of property maintenance problems.

We are looking at a history of behavioral problems.

What is different between the two of them, I I would venture is that uh university and snelling is located on the rail line.

You know, and so there's a lot of commuters who pass by there.

There's a little bit more foot traffic, and so problems associated with that might be larger.

On the other hand, the property at 810 Maryland is surrounded much more densely by residential areas, and so the problems that are there are more impactful for people right there because they are immediately on top of it.

So I would say those kind of characteristics differentiate between the two.

This building has been vacant since mid-2023 or in the vacant building program since then.

There is no intention of the current owner, uh, Mr.

John Hugo to rehabilitate the current structure.

The Less C who's in control of the building is CVS.

There is not an intention on the part of CVS to rehabilitate.

And um the the plan is for Mr.

Hugel, who owns the property to work with CVS, cancel that lease, and he would enter into a new lease with a new user who is likely McDonald's, but of course he would be able to enter into a lease with anybody he chooses.

What we're looking at here is a case that has brought a lot of community interest, a lot obviously a lot of business interest.

And I would when you read through the testimony, you have read through the testimony and the attachments to the record, you'll see that a lot of it is related to the dreams and hopes for the future use of this half block.

But what is in front of you today relates to the nuisance condition that is in the present moment.

So it's not at all about whatever happens in the future.

There's planning processes, there's zoning, there's other things that will deal with that.

We are just talking about a nuisance condition that necessitates an order.

All of that being said, um right now the um representation for CVS is asking for the order to not be a 15-day order, which is my recommendation, but rather a four-month or 120-day order.

And um that would be smoothing the elements of the transaction to make it easier for the parties.

And uh they would then undertake the demolition on their own.

It's not clear to me if the order is issued with 15 days if they would undertake it on their own, or if the city would do the removal.

If the city initiates the removal as ever, um the costs for removing the building would become an assessment onto the property, and it would be recouped through that means.

Finally, um, I am not recommending more time for this to be removed.

Privately, uh, I have though, and want to note that I regularly come to you and ask for delays when people want to rehabilitate a building, when there is um financing that's in play to get the money, the permits pulled, and so on.

That we we do slow those down in those instances every time and almost every time.

In this case, there's not a shared understanding about rehab, but a shared understanding about demolition.

And it's it's a question of when, not a question of if uh the removal.

So that being said, I can stand for any questions.

Um the attorney for CVS is here, neighbors are here.

So thank you.

Thanks so much, Ms.

Mormon.

Any questions before we open up the public hearing?

Doesn't look like it.

All right, thanks so much.

We might have you back, Ms.

Mormon, but right now this is a public hearing.

Um we normally go first to the property owner representative, so we'll have them come up first.

Um give you five minutes, and then everyone else will have two minutes to testify.

Welcome up.

Good afternoon, council, President Naker, Council members.

Uh, my name is Adam Nibblick.

I'm with the TAF law firm in Minneapolis, and I'm here on behalf of CDS.

As you already know, CVS, the tenant under a commercial lease with respect to the subject property, and that lease is set to expire in 2030.

As disclosed during the legislative hearing process and the legislative hearing officer today, uh, the property owner who is CVS's landlord has found a new tenant that plans to redevelop the property and put it to a higher and better use.

Notably, the property owner's transaction with a new tenant contemplates one, the existing lease with CVS being terminated, and two, the structure that is the subject of this hearing being raised and removed.

The termination of CVS's lease, though, will not be fully effective until there are certain matters that are satisfied as between the property owner and the new tenant.

CVS does not have control over those matters, but CVS is cooperating with the property owner and the new tenant and is extremely confident that all matters will be easily satisfied.

CVS has prepared, and as of this morning, the landlord has signed a lease termination agreement in anticipation of those matters being satisfied.

The lease termination agreement does permit CVS to raise or remove the structure.

Importantly, the necessary sequencing and coordination of the parties will be frustrated if the city first raises the building on its own.

For example, if the city raises the building, additional parties will be introduced to the transaction and the transition, and uncertain and uncontrollable contracting timing and economic issues will be introduced.

All of which may affect the feasibility of the property being transitioned and the parties being able to perform their respective actions.

As requested during the legislative hearing process, CBS simply asks that the parties be given 120 days, which would put make it May 7th, 2026, to raise and remove this structure.

This will allow the parties to execute on their coordinated actions and ability to raise and remove the structure without the need of additional city interjection or additional city resources.

Consistent with representations made today, CBS is committing to its continued increased property and security monitoring until the building is first raised and its lease is terminated.

Thank you.

I appreciate your consideration and I'm happy to answer any questions.

Great.

Thanks so much.

Any questions?

Ms.

Yay.

Thank you, Council President.

Thank you for coming and testifying today.

Can you explain why you need four months?

That is an outside date simply because there are a number of legal agreements already in place that have to be unwound, and then there are a number of legal agreements that have to be put together to make sure that the demolition and the new construction are sequenced well.

Just another question.

So since the building, ever since the building has been uh vacant up until basically when the agreement was signed, you said as of this morning.

What has happened in between all of that?

Can you explain a bit?

Yeah, well, CVS made it a business decision to stop operating at that location.

Uh they had a lease with the current property owner that required them to uh you know continue to make sure the structure is there.

It did not have the ability to raise or remove the structure under the lease, uh, and that's kind of what the parties are working through now.

Okay, thank you.

Any other questions?

Thanks so much for your testimony.

Make sure to sign in.

Excellent.

We'll do thanks.

Welcome up.

Thank you, Council members.

Start with your name and where you're coming from, and you'll have enough two minutes.

My name is Marity Kiantla, and I am here representing face-to-face health and counseling in collaboration with Face to Face Academy.

We're located just south of the property on Rose Street and Arcade there.

We are two organizations located next to CVS, and we work with young people in health and human services, including education.

Our questions today are about the demolition, the timeline, who will be responsible, and will they be able to safely remove the structure without causing disturbances to our students, our clients, and our employees.

We also want to know what happens next.

What will come after demolition?

And if there will be community input on who the next developer is, when do we raise our concerns about the tentative McDonald's that could be going in, and when will there be a better opportunity?

Um might we be able to advocate on behalf of our community on behalf of the students and clients that we have across the street during this process.

We just want you to please consider our questions and keep this on record.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Thanks for to sign in.

Welcome up.

Good afternoon, council members and council member president.

Um, my name is Vivian Tran.

I am the community organizer for the Payne Failing Community Council.

Um, I also wrote the letter that is one of the attachments of what the position of the community council is.

So we had a public uh like public meeting, and it was uh the board made an action um in favor of the demolition.

Um it's been noted in some of the previous comments that this building has been vacant, unused, and also not maintained in this process.

Um, and although there is a difference between this property and the um property on university, um, it also has a very high traffic area because of how many like children move through it.

Um, students pass by it every single day, on top of um what um face-to-face clients have.

Um so there's numerous schools around it, and uh it's been a very pressing concern, and the delay has happened again and again, and when is it enough?

At this point, like nothing has happened, and the community has been very vocal about um what this has caused, and also uh when will anything change.

There's been a lot of promises made, but nothing has been fulfilled.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Make sure to sign in and welcome up.

Hi, Council President, Council members.

My name is Jack Byers, 567 Payne Avenue.

I'm the executive director of the Payne Failing Community Council, and as my colleague Vivian mentioned, um, our council has taken a position.

And as my colleague Vivian mentioned, our council has taken a position.

That letter is in your packet.

I want to say that in the course of our engagement over uh a number of years now on Arcade Avenue, community members have a very granular knowledge about the street, about the businesses, about the opportunity sites.

They understand that every square foot of property that is currently parking lot could be affordable housing.

Five spaces equal a unit of housing.

So community members do see more opportunity for that site.

We understand that those opportunities are not specifically in front of you today.

In addition, however, in addition to the physical everyday nuisances for people walking by that site, the condition of the site is a financial nuisance for all of the other businesses, local businesses in particular, on Arcade Street, who are struggling to do business and who are looking to find investments.

There are also other small developers like face-to-face that are trying to develop Arcade Street.

And when they seek opportunity to get financial investment and potential investors see CVS, that is a nuisance for all of the other businesses that are trying to raise funds.

So I think that's important to keep in mind as well.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Make sure to sign in.

Anyone else here to testify on this item?

All right.

I'll take a motion for Ms.

Yang to close the public hearing.

All in favor say aye.

Aye.

All opposed?

Oh six in favor, not opposed the public hearing is or five in favor, none opposed the public hearing is closed.

Um Ms.

Yang.

Thank you, Council President.

I do have a question for Marcia.

I appreciate your briefing, and I know it's um been a long process for it to get in front of the council.

Can you just explain to me a bit whether the property owner has received any sort of extensions at all from when you first received this until now, or when this was first basically like put into the system until now?

Right.

Uh there have been no extensions within the council procedures, but it's a bureaucratic thing to go from the administration wanting to force the hand of the owner to write you know the corrupt the problems.

So from that perspective, I can tell you that it was September 25th when the Department of Safety and Inspections first sent a letter to the owner saying you need to fix this up within 30 days, or we're going to schedule hearings on it.

I conducted um my legislative hearing on it on November 25th, and that's the time period that's that's a usual time period for the 30 days to elapse, there to be proper notice of the hearings.

And with the holidays to go from uh hearing on November 25th to now.

We like to usually have three to four weeks, but we went with having the hearing today because of the holiday schedule and how that worked out.

Um moving forward, so that does feel like a long time.

I just want to affirm that that does feel like a long time from a neighborhood perspective.

Absolutely.

What is in front of you now is that vote you could choose to delay it, you could act today.

If the order goes forward with a 15 days or with 120 days, at the end of that time, the city will take control of the property and with its bids, award them, go through the you know, hazardous materials mitigation process and so on.

Typically, it's in the 45 to 55 day range for a demolition to be ordered, the 15 days to elapse, and then the building to actually be down.

So it is not fast to go from September 25th for an original order all the way through March, even maybe April.

But it that's yeah.

Okay, thank you.

Um I really appreciate the the input that's been uh received by the uh that we've gotten from the community members.

Um it's been attached to the record here, and I um must say that you know this is really a property that I've been hearing over and over again from a community members about just being not only an ISOR, but this is there's a huge loss of opportunity for our communities when a business like this is vacant.

Um, not only that, but when CBS was there, it was really an essential um uh service that people were able to get like with that being there being a pharmacy there.

Um, so there is a really great loss there.

I you know, from the the um testimony, I just want to name that for me.

I didn't hear anything that really justified there being a four-month extension um for um the raisin removal, but what I'm willing to do is I'm willing to give this uh more time um to give me a second here to look at my calendar.

I would like to extend it so that it is till the end of February, and if it comes back before us again, um then there won't be there will not be another chance for an extension in time.

Um and so it um that would be my recommendation and uh if there's any sort of feedback or comments from colleagues or even Marcia, uh I welcome it.

And I just want to name that for me, like I think that um it's really helpful to know that there was some sort of agreement um from um from the property owner here and they have a tenant.

Um but at the same time I think that it's really important for us to be to be trying to expedite the process as soon as possible.

Ms.

Mormont.

Uh my I would ask um is the with the council would your motion be to amend the resolution granting to March 1st for the building to be removed, or are you thinking to lay the matter over and revisit it at that time?

If you put in March 1st in the order and be done with it today, that's very simple.

And if something dramatic changes, the council always has it within its authority to reconsider an item.

Uh, and that may be uh also a tool that you could use if you want.

It would be the first option, so just amending it for the uh raising a removal to happen on um, I said the end of February, uh end of February, but March 1st would be an appropriate date.

Uh so we'll take that as a motion, and I I'll just say, Ms.

Yang, I I support that motion.

I appreciate the fact that we always want to think about what the future use can be and hearing from the representative of CDS that there's a there's a real path.

Um I think having the extra time to try to get to that path um and have a productive use as soon as possible is in the long run shorter and a shorter time frame for the community to see a better use than um taking swift action on the raise and remove and then potentially having a much longer time frame before something that really brings neighborhood vitality can come in.

So um, so I support the idea of of giving the time for that to happen.

And I I seem to hear the CBS representative say that the four months was sort of the outer window.

Um, and I think that giving a little bit less time um maybe increases the sense of urgency there to get those uh processes moving.

The other question I was just going to ask, and in the past, Ms.

Mormon, we've had nuisance abatement plans that we've requested be put in place, especially when we're giving additional time before a raise and remove.

I wasn't completely clear from the testimony, but um would something like a nuisance abatement plan in this case make sense in the interim to try to do ameliorate some of the conditions that the neighborhood is experiencing in that extra time.

Council President, the council could definitely ask for it that um to be brought up in terms of the history of physical code violations um and behavioral violations of the property.

One thing that is helping moving forward is the the site is fenced now.

And I believe I have a photo if you can indulge me uh that will show you there.

Um so on the overhead, you can see the building as it stands, and you can see the chain link fence that goes around it.

So, in terms of getting into the secured building that has been diminished.

Other things though, um are let me let me start that up again.

So that is a behavioral issue, and that is the worst possible behavioral issue that you can associate with vacant commercial space is to have it be broken into and people be inside of it.

In terms of maintaining the property, we have seen it maintained for the last month.

Uh it was a very very pointed conversation in both legislative hearings.

Uh we don't have great information on the history of enforcement actions because uh that data simply is not available right now.

What I can tell you is there have been violations August through the present, not in an ordinate level.

Uh but the one notewardly one I would say is there was an order for snow to be removed.

Uh and I conducted a hearing, a follow-up hearing on December 9th.

And you know, you're saying you're maintaining it, but the snow isn't shoveled.

You know, there's an order on it.

And I think this is a left-hand right hand kind of a thing.

And um a clarion call.

It the the city did not have to shovel and it's not had orders on the property since that time.

So my concern has diminished.

I've been steady contact with the vacant building supervisor who monitors the case.

Okay.

So it sounds like perhaps there has been work done to abate the nuisance at this point.

I would represent that there has been.

Okay.

Um great.

So the motion on the table is to uh amend this item to require the raising removal uh by March 1st, 2026.

Ms.

Bowie and then Ms.

Coleman.

Thank you, Council President.

And thank you, Marcia, um, for that that briefing on it.

I I just had some questions, literally, just out of curiosity.

Um, what's in the spirit of you know wanting to remain consistent.

Um, when I you know hear this um hearing item, it reminds me a lot of the CVS that we voted on to raise and remove, I believe some months ago, um, that was located on Snelling University.

And I'm just um curious to just know like what are some of the factors that are going into your decision to grant them more time.

Um, especially when you know this is a very similar situation.

Um, last time a representative had came and provided plans, you know, to the to the council or to the council.

Uh we had you know a large amount of um residents share, you know, how this area is a nuisance.

Um, and I'm just you know just curious around like what are some of the factors that's going to your thinking that you know different with this vote.

Thanks, Council Ruby.

I appreciate your question there.

I don't remember clearly the details or what was what the testimony was for the CBS on Snelly, but for me, I mean, and I also want to name too that I think you know, for council members, we each have our own different experiences and our thoughts and opinions, and so the sort of interactions that um maybe Councilmember Coleman has had on the CBS and Snelling is you know probably different from the ones that I've had on um with the CBS on Maryland.

But I think for me, more so what's what I heard clearly from the testimony was that there is a plan to move forward, and and uh it seems like there has been a sense of urgency um based on the the testimony from the attorney, and so I do you know for me I'm sort of balancing this um belief and motto that I know we've also we've mentioned a lot in the council here, which is that we want our city to be a city that's open for business.

And when I think about um the a situation in which there was maybe there's maybe a small business owner in front of us sharing the same testimony, um, and they have a plan that you know basically they're they're close to um uh basically having a new tenant and there being a transfer of the property, then I would want to give them this that same sort of flexibility and that time to be able to complete that transaction too.

And so that's um that's the the spirit that I'm bringing into this conversation here.

And I think you know, sometimes things are always different, it's a case-by-case basis.

Thank you.

All right, thanks, Ms.

Coleman.

Thank you, Vice President.

Um, I I was just gonna say I'll be supporting council member Yang's motion and appreciate the thought and intentionality that's gone into this.

And and to that point, I think trust that you know this case the best.

I will also say that I have been a member of this body for four months, and this is the second time that we are dealing with a CVS property that is a nuisance property that is causing immense harm in our community.

This is a large corporation that is I think repeatedly now being shown to have caused harm to the city of St.

Paul.

So I am I am immensely frustrated that this is yet another CVS that we are having this conversation about, and so to our representative who is here today on behalf of the company.

I would just um hope that you are communicating to your client that the city of St.

Paul has now devoted significant time and resources to attempt to mitigate the harm that has been caused.

I think that is unacceptable.

I hope that that is understood as something that is unacceptable.

Um, and that this is the last time that we will have to deal with a CVS that is a nuisance property causing harm throughout our city.

Thanks, Ms.

Coleman.

Ms.

Yang.

Also, just one thing that I I'll note is that we heard clearly through a few of the testimonies that there are questions from community members from nearby organizations, and I would really urge um the representative who came today to um get in contact with the people with the questions.

I mean, if you're wanting to, if you're invested in our city and want to make sure that even you know the next business uh coming in is going to be successful, it really is going to require you to be building um building that bridge so that we can continue having success here and that ultimately you are successful in your transaction as well.

Thanks, Matang.

All right, um, there's no further discussion.

Um there's a motion on the table.

All in favor say aye.

Aye.

All opposed.

Six in favor, none opposed.

The resolution is adopted as amended.

There are other items for separate consideration, Ms.

Mormon.

I'm not aware of anyone to testify on another item.

All right, we'll hold a public hearing then on the balance of the legislative hearing items.

All right, we'll hold a public hearing that on the balance of the legislative hearing items if you are here for any item from 32 till 53.

This is your public hearing.

Not seeing anyone, I will take a motion from Ms.

Joe's to close the public hearing and adopt these items with the recommendations and amendations of the legislative hearing officer.

All in favor say aye.

Aye.

All opposed.

Five in favor, non-opposed.

The legislative hearing consent agenda is adopted as amended.

That brings us to the end of our agenda and to the good news section.

Our first good news of 2026.

Um looking to my colleagues to see if we can find any.

Uh from ward one, I believe uh council or chair uh uh Jills will be joining um as well.

But we had a great meeting uh with Director Marine.

Well, we'll be uh celebrating or doing the ribbon cutting at the Hallecue Brown of the temporary Rondell Community Library location.

Uh mayor her will also be there giving uh brief remarks, and if you are interested, there's I believe like a hour or two-hour chunk of time where you can get a tour of the temporary space.

So um, and I also look forward to the library meeting where we have some really great announcements moving forward.

Great.

Thanks, Ms.

Billy.

Oh, I didn't give the time.

It's Friday from three to five.

We're all prepared to just show up to the other all day.

Uh other good news.

Um yeah, thank you, Consumer Blue, for sharing that.

Looking forward to going to that with you.

Uh the St.

Paul Public Library did open the temporary location.

Soft opening on January 3rd.

This is like the more official opening, so we're really looking forward to that.

Um, I'll also share the uh I guess this isn't Ward 3, but it's very close to Ward 3.

The Grovel and Ice Rink opened this past weekend.

But and it was really wonderful, and then it got warm and slushy, and now it's closed, but I look forward to opening again.

Um it's operated by by volunteers.

Um, it's a really wonderful ice rink.

There's you know, hockey skate or ice skates, there are hockey skates, but ice skates for everyone to rent for free when they're open.

So hopefully they will reopen again and the weather gets better, but um it's a great way to uh to try out ice skating or just come out and and skate.

Um there would have been normally more events and parties at the skating rink coming up soon, but there aren't now since they're closed.

Um, and then I'll just say that um I I know that we have a lot going on right now, and a lot of folks in the community are very concerned, and so just always feel free to reach out to our office um if you have any questions or concerns or need any assistance in any way.

Thanks, Ms.

Joast.

Ms.

Coleman.

Thank you.

I would uh like to very excitedly share that the ward for ice rink at Groveland is open.

Um just kidding.

But it did remind me that Denoria Park is having their uh fire and ice celebration this Friday evening.

Um I believe it's still happening despite the slushy situation, uh, but celebrating one of the many many beautiful ice rinks in ward four.

Um it sounds like it's gonna be a really wonderful event, so people can make it out.

Uh any other good news?

All right, seeing none, thanks so much for a great first meeting of the year.

We are drunk.