Special City Council Meeting - Public Hearing on Mayor's Encampment Plans (August 4, 2026)
Special City Council Meeting - Public Hearing on Mayor's Encampment Plans (August 4, 2026)
This was a continued public hearing on the mayor's plan to clear the Pig's Eye encampment. The meeting ran from noon to 1:00 PM, with four council members present (Yang, Kim, Johnson, Coleman, Bowie later arrived) and three absent (Bowie initially, Jost and Naker excused). Council Vice President Elsie Yang chaired. The hearing featured testimony from 23 individuals, nearly all opposed to the eviction scheduled for the following day (August 5). The council heard from residents, nonprofit leaders, faith community representatives, and encampment residents. After testimony, the council closed the public hearing and adjourned.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Jim Seaman (New Freedom Store) opposed the sweep, citing residents dying of cancer and noting the high cost of inaction ($35,000 per homeless person per year). He advocated for permanent housing solutions, not temporary beds.
- Mary Manning (Bloomington resident, formerly homeless) described the encampment as a space of autonomy and freedom, arguing shelters are unsafe. She opposed the sweep and urged use of funds for rental assistance.
- Jordan (volunteer) yielded time to Jim Seaman, who proposed giving residents keys to efficiency apartments ($900/month) as a cheaper alternative.
- Catherine Card (St. Paul resident, retired Lutheran pastor) questioned the mayor's absence and lack of compassion, urging council to visit the camp and consider Wilder Foundation studies.
- Joshua Fuss (executive director of a homeless nonprofit) stated the decision was already made, criticized cuts to chemical dependency treatment beds (from 10,000 down to 1,400), and said $1 million is insufficient. He noted most homeless are seniors and working poor, not drug addicts.
- Melissa O'Connell (formerly homeless in Los Angeles) described trauma from sweeps and shelter conditions, calling for solutions that address genetics and systemic issues.
- Justin Lewendusky (Open Hands Midway, representing 94 faith leaders) called for a 30-60 day delay, saying the 28-day timeline is negligent. He criticized Mayor Hur's claim that solutions were missing, stating faith communities have been doing the work.
- David Menickee (St. Paul Outreach Center) emphasized the humanity of encampment residents and the volunteer resources available, asking for more time to coordinate.
- Adam Beers (public health professional) presented data: Minneapolis spends ~$1,375.38 per person on police for encampment sweeps, which could instead fund housing, IDs, cell phones, and work tools. He called sweeps akin to supporting ICE.
- Violet (resident) expressed confusion over no emergency moratorium, noted unanimous opposition, and accused council of inaction. She urged members to be present at the sweep.
- Tom Evanstad (gubernatorial candidate) said he faces homelessness, called out Mayor Hur and Police Chief Axel Henry, and demanded a 60-day moratorium. He proposed $250 million to house all homeless in the state.
- David (no affiliation) used poetic language to criticize the council's anodyne attitude and called for passion in decision-making.
- Rebecca Homard (Ward 7 resident) noted the mayor's absence from public meetings, over 200 public comments opposing the eviction, and urged council to stop it to prevent harm from overdose, police brutality, and property loss.
- Kelsey Fire (no affiliation) shared positive experiences at encampments, criticized fear-based policy, and quoted Carl Jung on restoring humanity.
- Scout (We Are Zine) critiqued Mayor Hur's leadership, referencing a reported call where officials pushed back on her plan. She questioned whether council members are mere
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon, everyone. Arises is over. I'm calling our special city council meeting to order. I'm Council of Vice President Elsie Yang. I'm chairing our special meeting for today. I want to thank everybody for being here. Just so you all know today's special meeting, it's a continuation of our public hearing about the mayor's encampment plans. And we had our first public hearing on July 22nd. So this meeting is from noon until 1 p.m. So today's topic you will be able to come and testify. It's a chance for the council here to hear from uh each and every one of you who are interested interested in speaking on the topic. You do have uh uh two minutes to speak, and as the chair of our meeting, my role will be to make sure that we keep to the time so that we can get to everybody. Also, um I do want to make a big ask that we prioritize folks who haven't had a chance to testify yet. Also, if you are an individual from the encampments or an elder or have a little one with you, um, uh make sure that when we line up that you come your way to the front, that way we can get to you. And um for public testimonies, because we are ending at one. I do want to make sure that we wrap up the testimonies right at twelve fifty-five. That way um I can make a couple of quick comments at the end, and then we can also get everybody here out on time at two o'clock. So if you are here to testify. Okay. Okay. Council members Kim. Here. Joe Johnson here. Coleman. Here. Bowie. Yang here. Uh and Naker. And so that is four present, three absent councilmember Bowie is expected shortly, and Councilmember Jost and Naker are excused. Okay, thank you so much to our city clerk. Um before we get right into the public hearings, I do want to give a shout-out to my colleagues on the council here. As we know, homelessness is um truly a collect a collective work that requires partnership from our public and private partners in terms of public partners, that's the city, county, state, um legislators coming together, and I um am really proud of the work that we did recently to invest over a million dollars in our in additional emergency shelter beds. Um and so I um also want to um let folks know like today. I'm grateful, Assistant Mayors Schumacher and Baker, thank you for joining us uh in the room today too. Um, if folks here are interested um in continuing to give testimony to your city officials, just know that you can email us, um, call into our offices as well, and this isn't the only chance for you to um share your thoughts to us. Okay, so um I know that um you know we want to be efficient with time, so I do ask in terms of like the if to make sure that we get through everybody, if folks can just refrain from the clapping and the chanting or any side comments that'd be really helpful. Um so if you are here to testify, please make your way to the microphones. You can line up on both sides of the microphone, and then make sure to sign in after you're done testifying. You don't have to move the mics, that'll pick you up perfectly fine. So come on up to the front if you're here to testify. You'll see your two minutes. All right, you may begin. Thank you. And please share your name and where you're coming from too. My name is Jim Seaman from the New Freedom Store. Um we've been working in Pig's Eye Lake for about the last year and a half, maybe two. We've been working uh with the homeless and those incarcerated who have been uh um getting out and needing a place to live for the past 20 years. I hate to say this, but I know this population well, and I know their problems. I speak today because I want to offer you, each and every one of you council members and your assistance, our services to help seize control of the conversation that's going on. There are people in that camp who are dying of cancer.
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