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Record of Proceedings

Saint Paul HRA Board Meeting - January 28, 2026: Tenant Protection Funding Approved and Episcopal Homes Conduit Bonds Introduced

City Council — Wednesday, January 28, 2026
BodySt Paul, Minnesota
SessionCity Council
DateWednesday, January 28, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 55:51

Transcript — Verbatim
2:40

Can you hear me?

3:15

I can hear you.

3:17

Okay.

3:34

Roll call, please.

3:36

Bowie.

3:37

Here.

3:38

Coleman.

3:38

Here.

3:39

Jose.

3:40

Here.

3:40

Kim.

3:43

Yang.

3:44

Here.

3:45

There are five present, two absent, that being Commissioners Johnson.

3:49

Oh, I'm sorry.

3:51

Forgive me.

3:52

Chair Chiniqua Johnson.

3:54

Um, so I before we start, um, Chair Johnson is supposed to be up on the screen on video.

4:00

There she is.

4:01

And I think, is she supposed to be on the screen in front of us?

4:04

I don't know if someone with OTC can fix that, please.

4:13

And then just making sure we can hear Chair Johnson sound.

4:21

Can you hear me now?

4:22

Yes, we can hear you.

4:23

Perfect.

4:24

Okay, wonderful.

4:25

Okay, great.

4:26

So Chair Johnson is present.

4:27

I think we can get started.

4:29

Yeah, there are six present and one absent, that being Commissioner Camp.

4:33

Item one number one for discussion is resolution REST twenty-six dash one five six resolution amending the twenty twenty-six housing trust fund project budgets to reflect the twenty twenty-six adopted budget, including contingencies citywide.

4:51

So um, this is a resolution that is basically uh a it is for response from the contingencies regarding the tenant protections, and we have a few folks to present us to us here today.

5:03

I guess I can turn it over to Director McFan, and she can turn it over to our presenters.

5:17

There we go.

5:18

Apologies, Vice Chair Joe's.

5:20

Um, the action before you today actually is things that require HRA board approval or transferring budget amounts between projects in excess of 100,000.

5:27

So sort of the traditional annual cleanup of that.

5:30

In this case, it also includes the tenant protections item of 380,000.

5:35

And so the presentation before you today will be um mostly about that.

5:38

We've got Lynn Firkenhoff and Faith Dietz here to present and be available to answer questions.

5:43

Wonderful.

5:44

So with that, I will turn it over to Lynn and Faith for the presentation.

5:56

Hello.

6:00

Can you see the can you see the um yes?

6:04

Presentation is up on okay.

6:06

Perfect little screens.

6:08

Uh Chair Johnson, I know I can't see you, but you can see me, I'm guessing.

6:14

And uh Vice Chair Jost, Commissioners, uh, my name is Faith Deeds, and I am presenting from OFE, which is the Office of Financial Empowerment, and uh Lynn Ferkinoff is from uh the Department of Safety Inspections, and we're here to give uh significant update as to what's been going on with tenant protections uh to the HRA.

6:42

Um just a quick um so for the do you see this second slide?

6:50

Yes.

6:50

I just want to make sure technology is working today.

6:53

Uh so what we're gonna do is just go through a brief history uh for people who are listening or uh uh watching for the first time and don't know like what is temp protection, what does this mean?

7:05

Uh we'll give a significant uh response to the HRA memo that was sent in 2025.

7:13

Then we'll talk about next steps and we'll have times for questions.

7:18

And I'm guessing that we'll pause, we possibly may pause with it throughout the presentation for questions.

7:27

So um in 2025, um the tenant protections ordinance was back brought back by the council.

7:35

It was on 2020, it was passed, it was rescinded in 2021, and the council last last year wanted to bring it back.

7:43

So they did and passed it on May 7th, 2025.

7:48

Um DSI was which is Department of Safety and Inspections, they were designated as the administrator of the ordinance, and OFB Office of Financial Empowerment was given the role of putting together rights and responsibilities, and I'll talk about this a little bit later, but we've added resources to that as well.

8:15

Um DSI is the administrator and the funding at the time.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Housing██████████████████████████████████34%
Conduit Revenue Bonds████████████████████20%
Procedural█████████████████17%
Tenant Protections███████7%
Community Engagement██████6%
Nonprofit Organizations████4%
Personnel Matters███3%
Technology and Innovation███3%
Administrative Citations███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Saint Paul HRA Board Meeting - January 28, 2026

The Saint Paul Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) Board met on January 28, 2026, with seven members present (Chair Johnson via video, Vice Chair Jost, Commissioners Bowie, Coleman, Kim, Yang, and Naker) and one absent (Commissioner Camp). The board considered two main items: a resolution amending 2026 Housing Trust Fund budgets to fund tenant protections, and an introduction to a conduit bond request for Episcopal Homes' acquisition of a memory care facility.

Discussion Items

1. Resolution REST26-156: Amendment to 2026 Housing Trust Fund Budgets (Tenant Protections)

  • Faith Deeds (Office of Financial Empowerment) and Lynn Firkenhoff (Department of Safety and Inspections) presented an update on implementing the tenant protections ordinance, which launches May 14, 2026.
  • The $380,000 contingency request covers three new positions: two customer service representatives and one management assistant to handle inquiries and investigations. The timeline for hiring was outlined, with positions expected to be filled by late February 2026.
  • Discussion included plans for community engagement, staff training, and website development. Chair Johnson requested quarterly updates in 2026.
  • A motion to approve the resolution passed unanimously (7-0).

2. Staff Report SR26-13: Introduction to Conduit Bonds for Episcopal Homes Project

  • Jenny Wolf (Planning and Economic Development) introduced a request from Episcopal Homes of Minnesota for up to $18 million in HRA-issued conduit revenue bonds to acquire the 58-unit Willows of Ramsey Hill memory care facility at 80 McCovin Street, Ward 1.
  • The bonds will be unrated, and a waiver of the minimum bond denomination from $100,000 to $25,000 was approved by the PED Credit Committee to lower costs and allow community supporters to invest.
  • Episcopal Homes CEO Tom Henry noted a waiting list of about 100 people for memory care services and stressed the need to expand capacity in St. Paul.
  • A public hearing on the bond issuance is scheduled for the HRA meeting on February 4, 2026; the City Council will also consider a consent resolution.

Key Outcomes

  • Resolution REST26-156 was adopted unanimously (7-0), approving the transfer of $380,000 from contingency to fund tenant protection staffing and implementation.
  • Staff report SR26-13 was received; a public hearing will be held on February 4, 2026, with anticipated action on the conduit bond resolution.

Meeting Transcript

Can you hear me? I can hear you. Okay. Roll call, please. Bowie. Here. Coleman. Here. Jose. Here. Kim. Yang. Here. There are five present, two absent, that being Commissioners Johnson. Oh, I'm sorry. Forgive me. Chair Chiniqua Johnson. Um, so I before we start, um, Chair Johnson is supposed to be up on the screen on video. There she is. And I think, is she supposed to be on the screen in front of us? I don't know if someone with OTC can fix that, please. And then just making sure we can hear Chair Johnson sound. Can you hear me now? Yes, we can hear you. Perfect. Okay, wonderful. Okay, great. So Chair Johnson is present. I think we can get started. Yeah, there are six present and one absent, that being Commissioner Camp. Item one number one for discussion is resolution REST twenty-six dash one five six resolution amending the twenty twenty-six housing trust fund project budgets to reflect the twenty twenty-six adopted budget, including contingencies citywide. So um, this is a resolution that is basically uh a it is for response from the contingencies regarding the tenant protections, and we have a few folks to present us to us here today. I guess I can turn it over to Director McFan, and she can turn it over to our presenters. There we go. Apologies, Vice Chair Joe's. Um, the action before you today actually is things that require HRA board approval or transferring budget amounts between projects in excess of 100,000. So sort of the traditional annual cleanup of that. In this case, it also includes the tenant protections item of 380,000. And so the presentation before you today will be um mostly about that. We've got Lynn Firkenhoff and Faith Dietz here to present and be available to answer questions. Wonderful. So with that, I will turn it over to Lynn and Faith for the presentation. Hello. Can you see the can you see the um yes? Presentation is up on okay. Perfect little screens. Uh Chair Johnson, I know I can't see you, but you can see me, I'm guessing. And uh Vice Chair Jost, Commissioners, uh, my name is Faith Deeds, and I am presenting from OFE, which is the Office of Financial Empowerment, and uh Lynn Ferkinoff is from uh the Department of Safety Inspections, and we're here to give uh significant update as to what's been going on with tenant protections uh to the HRA. Um just a quick um so for the do you see this second slide? Yes.

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