Um you gotta run any more skin.

We've all been sent to the ultimate room.

Yeah, I think so.

Call the meeting of the St.

Paul City Council to order.

Roll call, please.

Yang.

Bowie.

Coleman here.

Johnson.

Here.

Joast.

Here.

Kim.

Here.

Council President Naker.

Here.

Six present one absent, that being Councilmember Bowie, who is excused.

Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to our St.

Paul City Council meeting.

We're thrilled that you could join us today.

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

Liberty and Justice for all.

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

We are gonna need to pull item eleven for separate consideration.

Is there anything else to be pulled from consent?

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

All in favor say aye.

Aye.

All opposed?

Six in favor, none opposed.

The consent agenda is adopted as amended.

Item 11, resolution 26-1011, supporting the recommendations to the governor for ranking of eligible census tracts for designation as opportunity zones.

And we were just notified that there was a slight technical change that needed to be made.

So I'm gonna move a version two of this item, and then we will need to vote on it, so it needed to be pulled from consent for the version two.

Any discussion of that motion.

Seeing none, all in favor say aye.

Aye.

All opposed?

Six in favor, none opposed.

The resolution is adopted as amended.

Item 13, resolution 26-1028, recognizing the life of Lieutenant Colonel Dr.

Galbler Vang for his contributions to St.

Paul and proclaiming July 11th through the 13th as Lieutenant Colonel Dr.

Calbia Bang Memorial Days in the City of St.

Paul.

Vice President.

Thank you, Calvin President.

I will be going to the podium and so I uh we do have a lot of special guests in the room here today for this resolution, so please join me at the podium.

Thank you so much.

So we invite everyone to join us at the podium who's here for this item.

Um if you try to stand in between the two golden columns, then you'll be on YouTube live.

Which we're very excited about.

Thank you for joining us today.

Well um thank you so much everybody um for this special time here.

I will be bringing forward a resolution to honor their life of Lieutenant uh Lieutenant Colonel Dr.

Ku Bliasa Bain.

Um he there's so much I would want to say about um what an incredible person he is.

He is a very well-known and just um very significant leader in our own community, um also a family dentist to so many of us.

He's all who is also my dentist too, and you'll hear uh so much about his life and the resolution here.

I want to say thank you to uh Dr.

Kooting's family uh members for being here.

We are joined by so many of his his children, grandchildren, also many other um community members as well, and his wife is here with me.

Song.

Um, and so I'm so grateful to her for extending her time um during our time with deep grieving to be here as well.

And so um what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna read about the resolution here and then I will bring Pete to the stand to say a few words.

I also want to extend a thank you to the entire family and also President Sean Bain of the Vane Council for um for reaching out about the resolution here because I'm not able to attend the funeral.

I made a personal invitation for them to come to City Hall so they can meet all of you and then accept this um in person with us and get a photo as well.

So for the resolution, whereas Lieutenant Colonel Dr.

Ku Bleesa Veng was born in 1955 in Nambu Laos to Song Ying and Blea Sa Vang and grew up during a time of war, displacement, and great hardship.

Whereas from a young age, Dr.

Vang demonstrated courage, resilience, and a deep commitment to service, assisting the United States during the Vietnam War as a radio operator and air traffic controller in Laos.

Whereas Dr.

Vang endured extraordinary hardship as a prisoner of war, survived separation from his family, escaped danger, and later reunited with his wife, Song Li, and their daughter after more than a month apart.

Whereas after living in a refugee camp in Thailand, Dr.

Vang and his family were sponsored by Zion Lutheran Church in Velvetere, Illinois, where he began rebuilding his life in the United States with determination, humility, and hope.

Whereas Dr.

Vang worked tirelessly in many fields while learning English and continuing his education, eventually earning his general education diploma and becoming the first in the Hmong community to earn a doctor of dental surgery degree from the University of Minnesota.

Whereas an appreciation for his new country and with the continuing desire to serve the United States, Dr.

Vang joined the 133rd Airlift Wing of the Minnesota Air National Guard in 1998 as a dentist, serving honorably for 20 years until his retirement in 2018.

Whereas during his military service, Lieutenant Colonel Vang provided dental care to more than 7,000 airmen, helped strengthen dental readiness within the wing and contributed to record high individual medical readiness rates across the National Guard.

Whereas Lieutenant Colonel Vang never missed a regularly scheduled drill during his 20 years of service, exemplifying discipline, dedication, and the Air Force value of service before itself.

Whereas beyond his military service, Dr.

Vang was a respected dentist and business owner of Vang Dental Clinic in Ward 1, was a community leader and advocate who served more than 35,000 patients, many from low-income families and underserved communities.

Whereas Dr.

Vang served as co-chair of the board for the Hmong American Education Foundation, a senior advisor to special guerrilla units, SGU veterans, and families of USA, Vane Council of Minnesota, and was an active member of the American Dental Association, Minnesota Dental Association, and St.

Paul District Dental Society, and received the Minnesota Dental Association's Humanitarian Service Award in recognition of his devoted service to his patients and community.

Whereas the City of St.

Paul previously recognized his dedication to community service by proclaiming October 13th, 2018 as Lieutenant Colonel Ku B.

Vang Day, and whereas Lieutenant Colonel Dr.

Ku Blaesa Vang's life stands as a powerful example of courage, sacrifice, faith, perseverance, service, and love for family, community, country, and the people of St.

Paul.

Now, therefore, be it resolved that the St.

Paul City Council hereby celebrates and honors the life, legacy, and lasting contributions of Lieutenant Colonel Dr.

Ku Bliesa Ving.

And be it for the resolve that the St.

Paul City Council hereby proclaims July 11th through 13th, 2026 as Lieutenant Colonel Dr.

Ku Blesa Vang Memorial Days in the City of St.

Paul.

Thank you.

I would like to share a bit about why these dates were chosen by the family for Dr.

Ku Vang's memorial days.

That's when his funeral will take place.

He passed away on April 15th, so just recently, and the funeral is a moment for people who he has impacted, and who is just very inspired by him and his life and his commitment to community to come and pay respects to him.

The family, you know, have made this a public funeral, and so everyone is welcome to ex uh attend.

I extend the invitation to all of you um as well.

It'll be located at the Aldrich Arena in Maplewood.

So it would be it'll be a very grand funeral for somebody who has made such an impact in so many people's lives.

And the last thing I want to say is that Dr.

Ku Vang, anybody who knows him knows that he is just one of the most generous, welcoming and kind individuals ever.

And so he is so deeply missed to his entire family I want you all to know that Dr.

Kuvane made such a huge difference in the impact um in in our community from our economics um to really improving the lives of folks especially those who were low income some of my favorite stories that folks shared was how whenever they came into his dental clinic and they couldn't afford the bill he would just say don't worry about it I'll take care of it for you and so you just don't often meet somebody who is so kind and passionate like that and so he is somebody who when I think about uh you know running businesses he definitely puts people um over profit and so I will miss him so dearly I know many people in the community will as well and so I want you all to know you're not alone in grieving Dr.

Kuvang and um I we we love him dearly and so we have um such had such a great role model in your lives and he's been a real modest of so many of us too so thank you for being here so what I would like to do is invite Pete to come to the microphone here a few words.

Our family came to Minnesota and we've been in St.

Paul Frogtown since 86 so uh Van Denno was established in ninety eight and um in the um the old Clarks property by the old frogtown diner for some of you who are old enough to remember things like that.

And then uh eventually we bought the Saxon Ford property on university and that is where we uh are located um we bought it uh demoed it renovated it and um turned it into multi-use uh offices and with a restaurant so um uh thank you again to city the city council and councilmember yang uh thank you again to the state of Minnesota and the city of St.

Paul uh you have been our home for uh quite a while 40 years uh so we appreciate that very much um my dad loved St.

Paul uh he loved coming to work uh he loved going to uh uh Fort Snelling at the Air National Guard um one one week in a month so we we we gave him to uh to the base one week at a month uh every month for 20 years and we are proud to do that because that's what he loved uh he's a workaholic uh he was seven years old but he was not ready to retire yet uh he he was still planning to at least work another three four years and we weren't open five days a week uh unlike some dentists maybe just four days but we were uh five day week operation so um yeah definitely is gonna be missed um same paul will miss him as you know as much as we do and uh we definitely invite uh you all to to attend his funeral on July 11 uh 12 and 13 at Aldrich um it's open for everyone uh anyone who knew him heard about him uh patients colleagues uh military friends uh there will be a lot of people coming and we're planning for a lot of people to come and uh we will feed you as well when you come so uh we just hope to see you there to come and uh spend one last weekend with uh my father thank you thank you very much thank you so much Pete um what I will do is invite Plo to come up and take a photo of us so council members please come and join us if if you are willing and able to and uh we'll make sure that Pete the photo gets to you and also too much of it We should probably take a vote.

Um so thank you all so much to all of our guests for being here.

Our condolences to you and your family, and so grateful um that we were we were able to honor um the doctor in this way.

Um so I think that's a motion from Ms.

Yang for approval.

All in favor say aye.

Aye, all opposed?

Six in favor, none opposed.

The resolution is adopted.

Item 14, resolution 26-1010, celebrating the 91st birthday of his holiness the 14th Dalai Lama and recognizing the contributions of St.

Paul's Tibetan community.

I am honored to be bringing forward this resolution on behalf of the council, and I'd love to invite um my two guests, who I believe are here from the Voluntary Tibet Advocacy Group and the president of the Tibetan American Foundation of Minnesota.

All right, welcome.

Come on up.

Uh I want to thank both of you for uh bringing this idea forward.

Um, one of the things that we talked about was that this is an opportunity not only to honor the Dalai Lama's 91st birthday, but also to honor the contributions of the Tibetan community here in St.

Paul and in Minnesota.

So I'm not going to read the entire resolution.

Um, it is here and it is public for all of us to see, but I want to read a couple of the paragraphs because I think they really get um at the at the heart of it.

Uh whereas the Dalai Lama has traveled extensively throughout the world, including Minnesota, fostering greater understanding, tolerance, harmony, and compassion among people of all faiths and backgrounds.

Whereas in 1989, his holiness was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for advocating peaceful solutions based on tolerance and mutual respect.

And whereas his teachings on secular ethics, compassion, and emotional resilience have influenced educators, spiritual practitioners, and leaders globally, and whereas over 5,000 Tibetans now call Minnesota home, contributing to the social, cultural, and economic fabric of our communities.

And whereas July 6, 2026 marks the 91st birthday of his holiness the Dalai Lama, now therefore be it resolved that the Council of the City of St.

Paul designates July 6, 2026 as Day of Compassion in recognition of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama's 91st birthday in the city of St.

Paul, in recognition of his lifelong dedication to peace, compassion, and nonviolence.

So again, thank you so much for bringing this forward, and I would love to invite you to say a couple of words.

Our shared humanity.

His lifelong commitment to nonviolence, dialogue, and understanding has inspired millions around the world.

This resolution is especially meaningful to me as well personally.

As a child, I attended the Tibetan language and cultural classes at Lung Khan, the Tibetan Community Center here in St.

Paul.

For our community, the center is much more than just a building.

It is where children learn our language traditions and family because we very much uh appreciate and value the teachings and spiritual leadership of the Daliwama.

I think my parents have had the opportunity to meet him at one point because he has come to Minnesota several times.

So thank you so much for bringing this forward and for also uplifting our, you know, local Tibetan community here in St.

Paul.

Thank you, Ms.

Jost.

Any further discussion, Ms.

Kim.

Yeah, thank you so much for coming.

I just wanted to emphasize how much I appreciate being grounded in the history of why you're here.

Um, that, you know, we currently are also a genocidal settler state.

My ancestors have been occupied twice.

Um, we have experienced, we're experiencing a genocide right now in Palestine.

So from Turtle Island to Korea to Tibet, you know, I really appreciate you being here.

Um, and happy birthday to the Dalai Lama, but thank you so much for grinding us in this moment and why, why it's so important for us to be connected to your issues.

So thank you for lifting up the event.

I won't be able to make it, but we'll make sure it gets shared out.

Thank you, Ms.

Kim.

Any further discussion of the motion.

Seeing none, thank you again for reminding us that compassion is not just a personal value but a civic act.

And I'm gonna keep that with me as we move forward.

Um, all in favor say aye.

Aye.

All opposed.

Six in favor, none opposed.

The resolution is adopted.

Item 15, resolution 26-1022, celebrating the 2026 LGBTQIA 2s plus Pride Month.

Ms.

Kemp.

Awesome.

Thank you.

Um, I am going to read the resolution into the record, and I've got a few speakers with us today who I'll introduce.

I'll sans the whereas to keep this moving.

Um, so we're celebrating the 2026 LGBTQIA 2S Plus Pride Month here in St.

Paul.

The existence of LGBTQIA 2S Plus people in Minnesota predates the arrival and establishment of Minnesota as a state by European settlers whose colonization and assimiles assimilation policies have sought to force conformity to rigid, rigid and western gender and sexual binaries.

The month of June is recognized and observed as Pride Month in commemoration of the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in New York, where black and brown LGBTQIA 2S plus people resisted police violence and ignited a movement for human rights.

The Stonewall Uprising was the culmination of decades of discrimination and criminalization of our community, and black and brown trans activists, including Marcia P.

Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, led the way for significant progress, including the legalization of same-sex marriage.

And the LGBTQIA 2S Plus community has sadly long been faced with discrimination based on their identity and expression and continues to face efforts to erode their rights and quality of life with the tax on health care, education, civil rights, and more.

Minnesota added protections for sexual orientation and gender identity in the Minnesota Human Rights Act in 1993, adopted the Marriage Equality Act in 2013, enacted a statewide ban on conversion therapy in 2023, and enacted protections ensuring access to gender-affirming care and safeguarding patients and providers from out-of-state interference, helping establish Minnesota as a refuge for transgender people seeking care.

And St.

Paul has been a leader in advancing LGBTQ IA2S Plus equality, including adopting one of the state's earliest ordinances, prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation in 1974, extending protections based on gender identity in 2012, and prohibiting conversion therapy for minors in 2020, something that I was very proud to carry as the former legislative aide to the office.

LGBTQIA2S Plus residents, workers, artists, educators, entrepreneurs, advocates, public servants, and community leaders contributed immeasurably to the cultural, civic, and economic vitality of St.

Paul.

Pride Month is a time of mourning and remembrance for the many lives lost to the AIDS epidemic and the increasing violence and hostility towards trans youth.

Prime month is also a time of community and connection and the joyous celebration of authenticity and visibility.

Therefore, be it resolved, the St.

Paul City Council encourages all our city departments to evaluate opportunities to establish or strengthen ongoing mechanisms for engagement with our LGBTQIA 2S Plus residents, including advisory bodies, community listening sessions, community surveys, and other formal channels for input.

And be it further resolved that the St.

Paul City Council encourages all city departments to continue efforts to ensure residents have access to inclusive and affirming facilities, including gender-inclusive restrooms and city-owned buildings.

Be it further resolved that the St.

Paul City Council reaffirms its commitment to maintaining inclusive employment policies and the workplace practices that support our LGBTQIA to S employees, and be it further involved resolved, there's only two more.

The St.

Paul City Council affirms that the St.

Paul that St.

Paul is a city that welcomes, protects, and celebrates all residents, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or expression.

Therefore, be it resolved, the St.

Paul City Council hereby recognizes June 2026 as Pride Month in St.

Paul.

So I would like to.

Did you decide on order?

I'd like to invite uh two incredible community leaders and executive directors to speak a little bit.

And I think the first will be Cat Round, the executive director of Almin at Front Minnesota.

Welcome.

Thank you.

Thank you for bringing forward this resolution, and for honoring Pride Month here in St.

Paul, the city that I call home.

My name is Kat Roan.

I use they and she pronouns.

I'm executive director of Outfront Minnesota, our state's largest LGBTQ advocacy organization, which has been serving the state since 1987.

I drove to get here across the Wabasha Bridge, in part just to see all of the Pride flags as I crossed over the Mississippi to come here into downtown.

And it's a reminder to me, both of the visibility that our communities deserve during this month of June, but also the challenges that we face interspersed amongst American flags.

This is a challenging time for LGBTQ communities, a time when our federal government has sought to reverse or erase or remove our mentions of identity and protections and care that we have worked for many decades to try and secure in this country.

I'm proud to call Minnesota home, a state that has stood up and protected and recognized and celebrated our communities, and to call St.

Paul home, a city that has done the work to speak up for our communities when we have been under threat, and to support community members who called this city home.

Today, especially, our organization put out a statement in collaboration with the family of Gabrielle Arezola Perez, who was unfortunately murdered here in the city of St.

Paul and a beloved member of our twin cities community and a member of our LGBTQ community.

And I want to take a moment to honor and remember him and his family and loved ones, and to recognize that when we talk about mourning here in the month of pride, it is something that is very present and real for those of us here in Minnesota.

It's not an abstract mourning, it's not about just those who we lost in the HIV AIDS crisis who we do remember, but it is about the very real threats of violence that our communities face every day and the way in which violence against LGBTQ people and bodies is intertwined with violence on race, violence on all sorts of issues of identity that we all experience here.

As we remember him, as we remember others that we've lost, I think it's also important to recognize that pride is an act of defiance, that as much as we have become familiar and comfortable with the visibility and recognition of Pride Month, that it is still a radical and bold act to declare our support for our LGBTQ communities and to have LGBTQ voices, leaders, and elected officials speaking up and standing up for our communities.

And I'm proud that St.

Paul is a space in which we can do that.

LGBTQ rights will continue to be a hotly contested issue for the foreseeable future.

But if there is one thing that pride has taught me, both as a practice and as a lineage and a history in our communities, it's that we don't back down from a challenge.

It's that no matter what the face of hatred and discrimination and repression looks like, our communities have found ways to create joy, to find one another, to build community, and to build durable power, not just for our own gains, but for the gains of everybody in our communities.

Because everybody deserves to live fully and authentically as themselves, to be able to move through the world free of discrimination, and to be able to celebrate who they are, how they choose to build a family or not, and where they want to call home.

I know that there are a lot of LGBTQ folks, including myself who call St.

Paul home.

I know that this recognition is very welcome this month of June, and I want to thank you all for considering it and bringing it forward.

Okay, thank you so much.

Um it's a pleasure to be with you today and to offer my support and appreciation.

Uh, on behalf of this important resolution, my name is Megan Peterson.

I use she her pronouns.

I'm the executive director of gender justice.

We're a nonprofit legal and policy advocacy organization.

Um, and we work to advance gender equity through the law.

Um as we consider this resolution today, I'm once again reminded of why gender justice is proud to have been founded uh in Minnesota and based in St.

Paul.

It's because Minnesotans don't just proclaim our values, we live them through our policies and our actions, and that makes our words and our communities truly powerful.

Today's resolution is powerful and it is needed for many of the reasons Kat already touched on, and I just really appreciate you naming the loss of uh Gabrielle to the community very recently.

Um, but and amid you know constant attack, federal attacks, in particular on trans rights and the LGBTQIA 2 plus 2S plus uh communities' dignity.

It's critical that St.

Paul proudly declare so every community member knows that you belong here and you are welcome here.

This resolution explicitly recognizes the deep connections between the fight for LGBTQ IA2S plus liberation and the fights for racial justice, indigenous sovereignty, and economic equity, and the historic and current leadership of queer and trans and gender diverse people of color, especially black and brown trans women.

As Minnesotans have proven over and over this year, when we say we stand with our neighbors, we really mean it.

And as this resolution highlights, Minnesota and St.

Paul both have a proud history of establishing concrete, meaningful protections and support for LGBTQIA to us plus community members.

And today, this is an important opportunity to continue that legacy by adopting this resolution.

I also want to name that another step Minnesota can take is to pass an Equal Rights Amendment, which ensures that our state's resources and laws are never weaponized against our own people, and to literally write our strong values of equity and inclusion into our state's highest governing document.

We can continue to fight for every trans person's right to play right to play sports with their friends without facing discrimination, and we can continue to foster a culture of LGBTQIA to S dignity, autonomy, and celebration through action and advocacy, through daily conversations in our communities and through joyous gatherings like today's and those held throughout pride season.

Last but not least, I want to highlight a specific line from the resolution, whereas LGBTQIA to us plus residents, workers, artists, educators, entrepreneurs, advocates, public servants, and community leaders contribute immeasurably to the cultural, civic, and economic vitality of St.

Paul.

This feels like just a truth at the heart of the resolution and a core of our communities.

Minnesota is a better state because of our queer trans and gender expansive leaders and neighbors.

Paul is a better city because of our community.

And today and every day, through this resolution and our daily actions, we honor and recognize the immeasurable contributions of queer trans and gender expansive Minnesotans and commit to maintaining increasing the safety, dignity, and joy of our home and for all of our community.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

And with that, I move approval.

Uh, there's a motion on the table for approval.

Um, is there any discussion of the motion?

Thank you.

Thank you, Council President.

Thank you, Councilmember Kim, for bringing forward this resolution.

I want to say thank you to our incredible ETs in the room here for coming and speaking and just really reaffirming the importance of pride and also protecting and fighting for our LGBTQ community.

As you all were speaking, I was reflecting a bit about the wonderful moments that I've had going and speaking into youth classrooms and also just even being in conversation with my own cousins, you know, teenagers who identify as LGBTQ.

And I wanted to really speak to the profound generational change and cultural change that has happened from even just up like 20 25 years ago when I was still, you know, a child to this day.

And it, you know, it really is because of that leadership and the community organizing, the fight, the resistance that folks have put in.

And so I wanted to really take this moment to share my solidarity with all of you and also to continue reaffirming that St.

Paul is a place for everybody across race, across class, gender, sexuality.

And so I want to say again, thanks for your incredible work and keep up the amazing work.

And I'm here with you.

Thank you, Vice President.

Ms.

Kim.

Awesome, thank you.

In truth, I don't even know if my comments are my thoughts, but they were written down in my phone.

So if they're not original, please someone tell me that it's theirs.

Um this may come across as a bit sharp, but I know I'm with loved loved ones.

Um Pride Month is a requirement of a society with narrow minds and closed hearts.

Pride is a reminder that we need every day, that justice is unfinished, safety is situational, and inclusion is the bare minimum.

Hatred doesn't require consent, and liberation loves company.

So while this resolution is for St.

Paul, I do want to extend this welcomeness and warmth to everyone across the state.

There are many reasons why folks are in or out, or queerness takes so many different uh forms and and ways of being.

And so it doesn't matter, you know, where you live, if it's safe enough to be your full self, you are valid and you are just a part of our community as anyone else.

So I'm looking forward to the support of my colleagues to pass the resolution today.

Thank you, Ms.

Kim.

And I will just say uh echo my colleagues' um thanks to you both incredible leaders for really honoring us with your presence here today um for your eloquence and for being with us in the work, um, not just today, not just this month, but all the many days and months and years besides that.

Um, and Kat, I I really appreciated what you said.

I have the same experience, fortunately, every day to come across the Wabasha Bridge to work and see the pride flag and the American flag and the complications that you described of how those two interlap and overlap and intersect.

Um, it's it there's a lot of layers there, and so that really resonated with me.

So thank you for talking about that.

Um, so with that, I think there's motion for approval.

All in favor say aye.

Aye.

All opposed.

Six in favor, none opposed.

The resolution is adopted.

Item 16, ordinance 25-4, amending title four of the St.

Paul Administrative Code to add chapter 92 titled Tree Preservation for a City Sponsored Construction Projects.

I cannot tell you how happy I am to be reaching this moment.

Um, for I think the fifth time we'll have a first reading of this ordinance.

Just kidding.

Um, so I we will have a staff report.

This is not actually the first reading of this ordinance, but because there has just been so much work that has happened over the last 18 months, it is essentially a new ordinance.

Um, and so we will have a staff report on the changes on the work that has been done over the last 18 months.

There will be a lot more to say about this at our public hearing and at final adoption.

Um I know everyone has received um their novella uh describing the work and the uh the process.

Um, but with that, I'm excited to welcome Director Rodriguez and team to give us a staff report.

Thank you, Council President, Council members.

Glad you got a big thick three-ring binder there to review.

Um, as you can likely guess, I hear a lot about a lot of things in my role as a park director, but the most consistent topic I hear about is trees.

St.

Paul cares deeply about its tree canopy, and I believe that is recognized in the ordinance that we're going to discuss today.

As you mentioned, this is 18 months of work.

That has been a true cross-departmental effort along with uh public works and parks, aligning technical standards, navigating hard trade-offs, and building something that we can all stand behind.

But I want to specifically recognize Nick Peterson, Steve Dodge, and Sean Kershaw from Public Works, Tom Hagel, Alice Messer, and Rachel Johnward from the parks team for their expertise and persistence and committing to get this right.

But also the community input.

And I have to say, for a group with that name, they were in start extraordinarily present to work pleasant to work with.

The residents and neighborhood voices really are embedded in this product.

So just wanted to note that and give a particular recognition to the Ward 2 office and Megan Jeckett for helping to facilitate their partnership throughout this process.

It's also notable that you made it to all 17 district council meetings to engage on this process.

So thank you for that.

But the tree canopy within St.

Paul is one of our most valuable assets, and this ordinance gives us the tools to protect it thoughtfully, equitably, and with communities trust.

So with that, I'm going to turn it over to Tom Hagel, our operations manager, and Sean Kershaw from Public Works to give a presentation.

Welcome.

Good afternoon.

I'm Tom Hagel, the operations manager for Parks and Rec.

I'm ready to start if you guys are ready to start.

I'll be touching first on the tree preservation ordinance, just the overview in itself and what the purpose and goals of it are.

And then Sean will be following up with the standard operating procedures from that.

The purpose of the tree ordinance is to recognize that trees are a vital part of the city's uh infrastructure.

It also establishes a citywide framework to protect and manage trees during city sponsored construction projects.

This ordinance also aligns with the reconstruction efforts with the goals and policies of the 2040 comprehensive plan as well as the climate action and resilience plan with a long-term goal of creating a proactive, accountable and transparent system to protect and expand the St.

Paul's urban tree canopy.

Why does this matter?

Over the last several years, we've been dealing with Emerald Ashbore.

Aside from ML Ashbore, we've had a lot of construction and more to come with the sales packs projects that are in our future, as well as uh several climate impact issues, including storm and drought.

Uh just as a note, over the last two weeks with the storms that we've had.

We've experienced over 250 trees that have either been damaged or lost due to storms in itself.

Trees, as we all know, are uh a public benefit.

They reduce heat.

They're uh a part of our stormwater management system, as well as improving air quality and public health for the neighborhood is uh critical.

We do have a lot of spots that do have lower canopy in our neighborhoods, and it's important.

Uh, the critical issues that come with lower canopy sites, mostly heat and pollution.

What the ordinance requires, uh again, this is back to city-sponsored uh construction.

The tree inventories and sites have we have tree inventories and site surveys, the intent of including a certified arborist throughout all these processes, a formal tree preservation plan, as well as uh early evaluation of alternative opportunities to protect trees where we can rather than having them lost due to uh construction.

This also defines tree protection zones, which is uh the fencing and other things that get put into place to protect trees throughout the construction process, and it also develops construction protection standards and inspections that Sean will talk about a little bit more.

And it's also about putting preservation first in most instances where we can rather than going right to demolition through construction.

So for the ordinance, the overall goals are to coordinate planning efforts to preserve existing healthy canopy, which is important to everyone, reduce avoidable tree loss as well as establish mature canopy when preservation is not warranted or possible by setting minimum requirements for tree planting.

Thanks, Tom Council members.

My name is Sean Kershaw, operations manager and public works.

I want to echo the thanks.

I'm gonna go through some of the details.

Um Nick Peterson and Steve Dodge from Public Works really did the work for this.

I'm here because they had some unavoidable conflicts, working really closely with parks, obviously, working with the public.

Um I can't I don't want to call it the pig, the public input group.

Um Megan Jeckett is a sort of unnamed hero in this to hold this process together was incredible because it a lot needed to happen, and certainly, Council President with your leadership.

Um the key, there are four standard operating procedures.

So the ordinance will live on, you know, as an ordinance.

There are four standard operating procedures that are behind that, and I'll walk through them.

I think they are in your booklets.

Uh, the tree preservation pre-tip tree protection during construction.

This is one of the biggest changes because it defines, it sets up third-party arborists to come in and do weekly inspections, uh, immediate correction of violations, continuous coordination between contractors, public works, and forestry.

Um, it lay it specifies the contractor responsibilities, and these will be in the agreements with the contractors, immediate reporting of tree damage, forestry permits required, and maintenance of tree protection throughout the process.

This includes restitution for damages.

So it establishes, as it says, financial accountability, and we use uh consistent set of guidelines for how to determine those standards that are sort of um accepted within the field.

Uh restitution would apply to unauthorized tree removal, improper root cutting, soil compaction or excavation damage, damage from equipment or staging, and work performed without required permits.

All of these are real-life examples that we've seen in projects that this sets up a remedy to address.

Um, it talks about replacement planning when trees cannot be preserved, that it is the replacement planning is required, focuses on long-term canopy restoration, and that it gives forestry the ability to determine species, planting locations, and minimum standards.

So it keeps them central to this role.

It also sets up a public input and transparency process.

This is throughout the planning process.

Um, so it starts early when we begin the basic planning for a project.

There'll be uh multiple public input opportunities, multilingual communication, and then annual reporting to the city council.

Um, and that's the end of the formal presentation.

So there are four sets of standard operating procedures: tree planting and restoration, which is sort of the start of construction, and then after construction, construction tree uh protections, so critical root zones defining those and how contractors should operate.

Uh, tree damage and restoration restitution that I mentioned, and then there's an SOP.

The last one is on the transparency and engagement.

Um, so I think we are.

I know we'd be happy to entertain questions.

This did go to the um uh parks commission and received uh unanimous vote in favor of it.

There's a lot of public input there, and I know that that there'll be an opportunity for that at a later date.

Thank you so much for the staff report.

Um, I see a question from Ms.

Johnson.

Thank you.

Um, Council President, and thank you, uh Deputy Director Kirchhoffer being here along with all the team that worked on just kind of what has been a lucrative process, and I'll and honestly, just uh truly great to see it all come together.

I did at one point ask just a little bit more on the budget for this and kind of like trying to understand the grass of year to year, what is this gonna cost the city?

How can we plan ahead for this ordinance to go into place and be more than just like an ordinance pass that is actualized?

And I and I apologize if I missed it, but I don't think I've received kind of a fiscal note for this ordinance or really an understanding of the costs and estimations to keep up with the ordinance requirements and to implement what has been put in place so we can move on that plan with the intentions of you know actionalizing whatever passes.

Um thank you, Councilmember Council President.

I'll speak to the public work side of that.

So this will increase the cost of projects, but the projects themselves will pay for that.

So hiring an outside arborist, um, there'll be more time, there'll be more process.

The projects themselves will cover those costs.

So, in so much as it's a common sense project or any public works project, the project budget would take on the cost for that.

So it will increase cost, but there'll be all these public benefits that go along with it.

Thanks, Sean.

Uh, Council President, Councilmember, and also add just we have one urban forester that oversees construction projects citywide.

Um, and that is in its current form, just not enough to keep up with all the various in projects that we have.

So just factoring in the overall forestry budget.

Um, you mentioned that it could be absorbed by project, but we will have to look at the structural kind of setup of the forestry unit and how we can make it more sustainable in the future.

Ms.

Johnson.

And I think just as a quick nod and follow-up for it, you know, I really wouldn't continue to just encourage when we um this unanimously receives Pink Canopy, unanimously receives um feedback as a pretty high priority, not only for all of us in this room, but you know, as year after year, it has been some of the top priority as well for council and um was again this year, and so just placing that into uh uh the understanding too from what I have seen and even heard from conversations uh in my community and in my ward, too.

Um, you know, it's really important, I think, if we can plan for certain things ahead of time, just to know if it's you know, if it if it's realistic to have one individual doing that work or not um within the parks department, and to the piece around absorbing the costs through the projects.

I hear you on that.

Um, and if it adjusts the timeline of projects, so we can do that.

I think just whatever is learned in the first year from it, it'll be really welcomed as far as like feedback too, since I very much see this as something that is the right direction to go in, and something that we have spent so much time with the planning, things that have um gathered a lot of community input, but also something that uh most all of our constituencies care about, and so just genuinely wanting to see it be successful, and um also since we're placing these ordinances in place, just kind of knowing what we'd have to do to continue to keep up with the requirement itself.

Um, so just echoing both my support there and also just welcoming the feedback of like what we learned from the first year of implementation.

Thank you, Ms.

Johnson.

And before uh Mr.

Kershaw jumps in just to say I fully appreciate and agree with your questions about cost over time.

Um, this ordinance uniquely I think builds in an annual review of the ordinance itself and its cost and its effectiveness.

So that is actually what exactly what you're asking is baked in that that will come back to us for review.

Um I would also encourage the departments to think about whether or not um the cost of say additional forestry staff, much like a certified arborist, could also be amortized and accounted for sort of piecemeal over the cost of different projects, each of them sort of paying a share of whatever that cost ends up being to the city to have that additional staff who is working on those projects.

So I think that there are creative ways to think about how to not add to the general fund burden, but make sure the projects are paying for the full cost of the work.

Um with that, I think it's not Mr.

Kirsha had a.

Thanks, Council President.

I was gonna mention the annual review uh that it's built into the ordinance and the fact I just want to endorse, what Andy said that public works can't do its work with inadequate staffing for the expectations within forestry.

It's vital that they have, um, even if we hire an outside arborist, there still needs to be review internally.

Um, and so it's critical that the support from um ongoing forestry staff is there.

Thank you.

I see a question from Ms.

Just.

Uh, thank you, Council President.

Thank you all for um the presentation, and also thank you to you and um Megan Jeggett for all of her work on this.

Uh I have a question about um just the trees during construction.

So I'm thinking about, you know, we have all these uh road projects coming up, and you know, whether it's a road project or a building project, you often encounter like unforeseen conditions, and I'm sure you do as it relates to trees.

So during construction, in order to protect trees, will projects be required to um basically are they going to locate those critical root zones prior to construction and and does that require non-destructive testing?

Um I guess I'm just thinking about I understand that they'll be taking on that cost, but I could see that being a pretty significant uh cost to the project potentially if there's a lot of trees.

Um, Council President, Councilmember Joast.

Um, it's normal that we do a survey of where trees are in a project, but this adds a lot more depth to that, so that there'll be a tree by tree determination of the critical root zone.

There'll be a need, you know, to make sure that those are followed.

So it's the combination of better work before the project begins, assessing it literally on a tree by tree basis, more careful construction expectations, as well as monitoring, and then penalties for when something happens that shouldn't have to.

So it will get down to the individual tree, you know.

Um, and it accepts the fact that on some boulevards there's very, there's a wider boulevard and others that it's narrow.

If you think about the work right now on Dale Street, it's a county project.

That's a street with really narrow boulevards and trees that they're trying to work around.

So it accommodates the fact that the situations for each project and each street are a little different.

Okay, thank you.

Other questions.

Not seeing any.

Um, I want to thank you all again for your time.

Um, we'll say more about this when it comes back to us for public hearing on July 8th.

Um, but for now, I also do uh, well, two things.

One, I want to recognize the amount of immense work that you and your teams have put in.

And I I've been saying this to everyone, and I'll probably say it again during this process, but I want to say it to you while we're sort of well, it's just us here.

Um that the process really has been an outcome.

Um, and I'm not a typically very patient person, and so I know you've all experienced that over the last 18 months, and um, and yet I have come to appreciate how much your departments and your teams working together on this ordinance is actually what is going to be needed for this ordinance to work because ultimately this stipulates the work happening between your two departments, and that's not something that we can just mandate on paper.

It's something that has to be learned and built in, and that's exactly what you've been doing for 18 months now.

So thank you for all the all the hard work that has gone into it.

I know it's gonna make it um much more successful from day one.

So I really appreciate that.

Um, and I also want to recognize that one of the members of the pig, we love pigs in St.

Paul.

I think it's okay to say it.

Is here with us, Bridget Alice.

Um, and I really appreciate.

Oh, I'm so sorry, and no, I didn't know you.

And Noah um are both here, and we'll take a lot of time to recognize you uh at the public hearing as well, but thank you for being here for your hard work.

Um, with that, this will lay over till July 8th for public hearing.

Thank you.

Uh, item is laid over to Delayus for second reading public hearing.

Item 17, resolution public hearing 26-141, approving the application of district energy St.

Paul for a sound level variance in order to present amplified sound for a district energy boiler testing event on June 29th through July 3rd and July 6th through July 10, with the potential addition of July 11 and 17th, 2026 at 125 Shepherd Road.

Just to cover all our bases.

Uh, this brings us to the public hearing section of our agenda.

If you're here to testify on any of these items when your item is called, we invite you to come up, stand between the two microphones, start with your name and where you're coming from, and you'll have two minutes to testify.

When you're done, please sign in on either of the two sign in sheets.

This is a public hearing on item 17.

Is there anyone here to speak on this item?

Seeing none, I'll take a motion from Ms.

Coleman to close the public hearing and approve.

All in favor say aye.

Aye.

All opposed.

Six in favor, none opposed.

The resolution is adopted.

Item 18, resolution public hearing 26 142, authorizing the police department to amend the financing and spending plans in the police department grant fund.

This is a public hearing.

Is there anyone here to speak to this item?

Seeing none, I'll take a motion for Ms.

Joost to close the public hearing and approve.

All in favor say aye.

Aye.

All opposed.

Six in favor, none opposed.

The resolution is adopted.

Item 19, resolution public hearing 26-143.

Approving the application of Rondo Av Inc.

for a sound level variance in order to present amplified sound for Rondo Days Festival, Saturday, July 18th, 2026 at two seventy-one North McCubin Street, outside Martin Luther King Rec Center.

This is a public hearing.

Is there anyone here to speak to this item?

Seeing none, I'll take a motion from Ms.

Kim to close the public hearing and approve.

All in favor say aye.

Aye.

All opposed.

Six in favor, none opposed.

The resolution is adopted.

Legislative hearing consent item twenty is before you for your consideration.

And we don't have a Ms.

Marmond or a Miss or anybody.

We have a Mr.

Wilms.

Mr.

Wilms.

Council President and Council members, we have no uh no one here to testify today.

Okay.

Um so well, we'll just do one more call just to make sure we almost never have one legislative hearing agenda item, so that's why this has been weird.

Um if you are here on item 20, this is your public hearing.

Seeing none, I'll take a motion from Ms.

Johnson to close the public hearing and approve the item with the amendations and recommendations.

We're grateful for our partnership with the Capital Region watershed district in celebrating 10 years of the adopted drain program.

And a lot of people wonder what are things that they can do that have an impact on their community or to have an impact on the Mississippi River that's so important to St.

Paul.

And one of the things that's most helpful is to literally clean the storm drains in front of your house.

It started with what's called the Metro Watershed Partners, and I was a founding member of that.

And uh we did a pilot project uh in the Como Lake area, and as more and more people heard about it, a lot of folks said, Well, I already do that.

And I said, if you're doing that, here's a great way to uh engage.

And the city wants to know about this, and this makes it different.

The watershed's mission is to improve, protect, and manage freshwater and water resources, and about forty percent of our region is impervious, meaning that it's flat, so that water doesn't really have a lot of places to go directly into the soil.

And our storm drains play a vital role in the health of our watershed and keeping our streets protected from flooding.

They own riverfront property.

Now, we're not getting taxed like that, but you do have riverfront property.

Reaching out to the kids and the youth of today as a science specialist, I feel it's important to to share the message of keeping this world clean.

Because we have to clean keep it clean for the next generation.

And they're the next one right now coming up, and they'll pass it on, hopefully to their next generation.

This after school program, part of the Lego Robotics uh program.

The topic this year was submerged.

So people think oceans and big water.

And so by cleaning drains, Mississippi's headwaters in Minnesota.

Um and so they've used they're using this and they're passing their information along.

It's really easy to sign up on the adoptive drain website.

When you get to the website, you'll see a map, and on that map you'll see uh some drains in your local region, and you're able to choose that drain.

You can see also who else has adopted a drain near you.

People are able to name their own drains and uh help to steward it and sort of build a relationship with that storm drain.

From the University of Minnesota down to Hastings.

It was a dead river.

Now you can go out there, there's tons of fish, and it is uh a river of regrowth.

It's a corridor for wildlife, and that's a real movement of people.

Fifteen thousand people working on drains, and about eight hundred thousand pounds of debris have been pulled out of the Minnesota waterways.

All right, we're not allowed to get all right.