OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

City Council Meeting Summary: May 20, 2026

City Council — Wednesday, May 20, 2026
BodySt Paul, Minnesota
SessionCity Council
DateWednesday, May 20, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 33:21
Transcript — Verbatim
1:11

Some people made it out of the question.

1:15

All right.

1:16

Call the meeting of the St.

1:16

Paul City Council to order.

1:18

Roll call, please.

1:19

Kim.

1:20

Here.

1:20

Yang.

1:21

Here.

1:21

Bowie.

1:22

Here.

1:22

Coleman.

1:23

Here, Johnson.

1:24

Here, Jose.

1:25

And Council President Naker.

1:26

Here.

1:27

That is seven present, none absent.

1:30

Welcome everyone, and thank you so much for joining us for our city council meeting today.

1:33

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

1:38

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

1:46

Indivisible liberty and justice for all.

1:52

Consent agenda items four through 23 are before you for your consideration.

1:57

I know we are pulling number 17 from consent.

2:00

Is there anything else to be taken from the consent agenda?

2:03

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

2:07

All in favor say aye.

2:08

Aye.

2:09

All opposed?

2:09

Seven in favor, none opposed.

2:11

The consent agenda is adopted as amended.

2:13

Item 17, resolution 26-837, finding that the Class A Valet Inc.

2:20

violated St.

2:20

Paul Legislative Code, Chapter 224 and imposing restitution in the amount of 21,658 dollars.

2:27

And I wanted to pull this item off of consent because this is a really important action that the city is taking.

2:31

It's not one that often comes to the city council, normally because we have employers who are more responsive to our human rights and equal economic opportunity department.

2:40

And in this case, that did not happen.

2:42

So wanted to welcome folks from our uh human rights department to say a little bit more about uh what we are seeing here and why this is in front of us.

2:52

Thanks, Council President Andrea Ledger, uh, the interim director of the Hero Department, joined by our assistant city attorney, Libby uh Cantner, who's going to do the bulk of the presentation, but I'm happy to answer any policy questions that you have.

3:07

Welcome, Ms.

3:08

Kenner.

3:08

Thank you, Council President, Council members.

3:10

Uh, Libby Cantner, as uh Director Ledger said with the City Attorney's Office.

3:15

Um, so today we are bringing to you the first uh minimum wage violation that's been before the city council.

3:22

As you may know or remember, the minimum wage ordinance was adopted in 2018.

3:27

Um but the majority of the complaints that the department receives are resolved through predetermination settlement agreements with the employer.

3:35

Um these are agreements where the employer, hero and the complainants work together to correct their wage violations and issue back pay to employees.

3:46

They sometimes even enter into monitoring and compliance agreements with these employers to make sure that the employers continue following the rules going forward.

3:56

But in this case, we have a situation where the employer has not been willing to work with Hero, and we are hoping to bring this to a council vote today to increase uh procedural protections, transparency, and council oversight.

4:10

Uh, to be clear, the role of hero is to investigate the complaints and make findings on whether the ordinance was violated, and then the role of the city council is to adopt those findings or not, and impose or not impose the restitution amount.

4:26

So class A valet is the contracted valet parking services company that previously operated out with a restaurant in the city of St.

4:36

Paul.

4:37

They had a contract with the restaurant from February 2024 to March 2025.

4:42

In February of 2025, the department received a complaint alleging that class A had violated the minimum wage ordinance, specifically that they are underpaying their employees and failed to provide required notice of rights to employees.

4:57

The complainant, who was a former employee, submitted a pay stub to the department showing that he was only compensated $12 an hour during a two-week period in 2025, when the pay at that time for the business should have been $14 an hour at a minimum.

5:13

He also submitted screenshots of text message exchanges with the owner of Class A, where the employer lied to him about how much you'd be paying.

5:22

So on January 10th of 2025, the complainant texted the owner and said, Today is $14 an hour, right?

5:29

And the employer said yes.

5:31

But then after the complainant received his pay stub that showed $12 an hour, he sent that back to the employer along with a screenshot of the text exchange and said, This was my first shift at the restaurant.

5:44

You never told me it was $12 an hour.

5:46

The respondent said that's what it is.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Personnel Matters█████████████████████████████████████████████58%
Community Engagement████████████15%
Procedural███████████14%
Environmental Protection█████7%
Parks and Recreation█████6%
Summary of Proceedings

City Council Meeting Summary: May 20, 2026

The Saint Paul City Council met on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, at 3:33 PM in the Council Chambers. The meeting was called to order by Council President Rebecca Noecker, with all seven council members present. The agenda included consent items, a contested minimum wage violation, an ordinance on tree preservation for city projects, several public hearings on budget amendments and grants, and a legislative hearing consent agenda.

Consent Calendar

  • The consent agenda (items 4–16, 18–23) was adopted with a 7-0 vote. Items included:
    • RES 26-651: Approving a Class B Entertainment license for The Commodore (The University Club of St Paul) with modified conditions.
    • RES 26-820: Memorandum of Agreement with the Saint Paul Police Federation (laid over to May 27, 2026).
    • RES 26-782, 26-811, 26-649, 26-696, 26-759, 26-784: 2026 Wage and Fringe Adjustments for multiple unions (some laid over, most adopted).
    • RES 26-761, 26-762: Professional services contracts with Poul Haas P.A. and Primacy Strategy Group.
    • RES 26-780: Accepting travel donation from Vera Institute for Office of Neighborhood Safety.
    • RES 26-788: Accepting Active Transportation grant from Metropolitan Council for West Side Safe Routes to School.
    • RES 26-803: Accepting $1,000 donation from Mechanic Arts High School M Club for youth programming.
    • RES 26-814: Approving Project Labor Agreement for McMurray Fields.
    • RES 26-819, 26-821: Accepting donations for Fire Department (power load stretchers valued at $46,000; green roof maintenance valued at $2,000).
    • RES 26-823: Authorizing grant application to MPCA for energy efficiency upgrades.
    • RES 26-839: Authorizing issuance of Taxable Grant Anticipation Notes for Lead Pipe Replacement.
    • RES 26-851: Recognizing Tswv Mas Donald Yang and proclaiming May 31, 2026, as Tswv Mas Donald Yang Day.
  • Item 17 (RES 26-837) was pulled from consent for discussion.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No members of the public testified on any items. No public comments were recorded.

Discussion Items

  • Item 17 – RES 26-837: Minimum Wage Violation by Class A Valet, Inc.

    • Council President Noecker introduced the item, noting that the City is taking action against Class A Valet, a contracted valet parking service that violated the minimum wage ordinance and refused to cooperate with the Department of Human Rights and Equal Economic Opportunity (HERO).
    • Andrea Ledger, Interim Director of HERO, and Libby Cantner, Assistant City Attorney, presented. Cantner explained that Class A Valet paid employees $12/hour when the required minimum wage for small businesses was either $13/hour or $14/hour during the contract period (February 2024–March 2025). The employer admitted the violation in writing. HERO estimated $10,829 in back pay for approximately seven employees (about $1,500 per employee) and recommended liquidated damages of equal amount, for total restitution of $21,658.
    • Council members discussed enforcement mechanisms. Councilmember Jost asked about administrative citations; Ledger noted such citations could provide additional penalties and leverage. Councilmember Johnson highlighted the role of administrative citations in strengthening enforcement for wage theft and tenant protections. Councilmember Bowie asked about enforcement after the resolution; Cantner said the order can be used by employees in small claims court, and the city is exploring further options.
    • Council members expressed strong support, with Council President Noecker stating that transparency and accountability are critical, and Councilmember Coleman calling the action a “huge step” for workers’ rights enforcement. Councilmember Bowie noted the company is no longer operating in St. Paul but could theoretically return.
    • The resolution was adopted 7-0.

  • Item 24 – Ordinance 25-4: Tree Preservation for City Sponsored Projects

    • Council President Noecker moved to lay the ordinance over to June 24, 2026, for final adoption. She explained the delay is due to extensive citywide work with Parks and Recreation and Public Works departments, engagement with district councils, and ongoing public input to ensure the ordinance is ready for implementation without a separate rule-setting process.
    • Councilmembers Kim and Bowie affirmed support, with Kim noting Ward 5 has one of the worst tree equity scores in the city and Bowie highlighting community input from the Frogtown Neighborhood Association.
    • The layover was approved 7-0.

  • Public Hearings (Items 25–30)

    • RES PH 26-81: Amending Public Works Capital Budget for Wheelock Grotto Phase II Street Reconstruction – Adopted 7-0.
    • RES PH 26-82: Accepting Local Road Improvement funding for pedestrian improvements – Adopted 7-0.
    • RES PH 26-106: Establishing $100,000 for youth baseball/softball from Minnesota Twins – Adopted 7-0.
    • RES PH 26-107: Transferring Municipal State Aid funding into projects – Adopted 7-0.
    • RES PH 26-108: Amending budget for 2026 Sidewalk Reconstruction Program – Adopted 7-0.
    • RES PH 26-117: Accepting $10,000 gift and in-kind travel from Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund – Adopted 7-0.
    • No public testimony was offered on any of these items.

  • Legislative Hearing Consent Agenda (Items 31–38)

    • Items included orders for rehabilitation/razing of structures and assessments for demolition, securing, and emergency boarding. All were adopted as amended via a single 7-0 vote, with no public testimony.

Key Outcomes

  • RES 26-837 adopted unanimously: Class A Valet found in violation of minimum wage ordinance; $21,658 restitution imposed (7-0).
  • Ordinance 25-4 laid over to June 24, 2026, for further refinement and public input.
  • All six public hearing resolutions (items 25–30) adopted unanimously (7-0 each).
  • Consent agenda and legislative hearing consent agenda adopted as amended (7-0 each).
  • The meeting adjourned at 4:05 PM.

Meeting Transcript

Some people made it out of the question. All right. Call the meeting of the St. Paul City Council to order. Roll call, please. Kim. Here. Yang. Here. Bowie. Here. Coleman. Here, Johnson. Here, Jose. And Council President Naker. Here. That is seven present, none absent. Welcome everyone, and thank you so much for joining us for our city council meeting today. We invite everyone to join us in standing for the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God. Indivisible liberty and justice for all. Consent agenda items four through 23 are before you for your consideration. I know we are pulling number 17 from consent. Is there anything else to be taken from the consent agenda? Seeing none, I'll take a motion from Vice President Yang for the balance of the consent agenda. All in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed? Seven in favor, none opposed. The consent agenda is adopted as amended. Item 17, resolution 26-837, finding that the Class A Valet Inc. violated St. Paul Legislative Code, Chapter 224 and imposing restitution in the amount of 21,658 dollars. And I wanted to pull this item off of consent because this is a really important action that the city is taking. It's not one that often comes to the city council, normally because we have employers who are more responsive to our human rights and equal economic opportunity department. And in this case, that did not happen. So wanted to welcome folks from our uh human rights department to say a little bit more about uh what we are seeing here and why this is in front of us. Thanks, Council President Andrea Ledger, uh, the interim director of the Hero Department, joined by our assistant city attorney, Libby uh Cantner, who's going to do the bulk of the presentation, but I'm happy to answer any policy questions that you have. Welcome, Ms. Kenner. Thank you, Council President, Council members. Uh, Libby Cantner, as uh Director Ledger said with the City Attorney's Office. Um, so today we are bringing to you the first uh minimum wage violation that's been before the city council. As you may know or remember, the minimum wage ordinance was adopted in 2018. Um but the majority of the complaints that the department receives are resolved through predetermination settlement agreements with the employer. Um these are agreements where the employer, hero and the complainants work together to correct their wage violations and issue back pay to employees. They sometimes even enter into monitoring and compliance agreements with these employers to make sure that the employers continue following the rules going forward. But in this case, we have a situation where the employer has not been willing to work with Hero, and we are hoping to bring this to a council vote today to increase uh procedural protections, transparency, and council oversight. Uh, to be clear, the role of hero is to investigate the complaints and make findings on whether the ordinance was violated, and then the role of the city council is to adopt those findings or not, and impose or not impose the restitution amount. So class A valet is the contracted valet parking services company that previously operated out with a restaurant in the city of St.

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