Here. Joce? Here. Provotsky? Here. Yang? Here. Buoy? Here. Kim? Council President Nakers? Here. Sixth president, one absent, being council member Kim, who is, excused. Welcome, everyone, to our city council meeting. Thanks for joining us 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, with liberty and justice for all. Consent agenda items four through 18 are before you for your consideration. I know we are taking item 18 for separate consideration.
Is there anything else to be pulled from consent? Seeing none, I'll take a motion from miss Buie to approve the balance of the consent agenda. All in favor, say aye. Aye. All opposed? Six in favor. No one opposed. The consent agenda is adopted as amended. Item 18 is resolution 20 five-thirteen oh seven celebrating the one year anniversary of the Minnesota Toy Library in the city of Saint Paul. Chair Johnson. Hello. Good afternoon, everyone. I am really excited to take the time to acknowledge and have a little fun. So you came up to the council chambers after an exciting event,
to some toys that are in front of you. This is actually, from the Minnesota Toy Library, which is housed at Progressive Baptist Church in Ward 7. It's in the, basement of the building. And And I think it's really important to uplift the resources and spaces that we have to address access in our city, and to support our families here on the East Side. I don't wanna spend the entire time reading the resolution, but I will read a few lines and talk about my visit to the toy library on the East Side. Whereas the Minnesota Toy Library was founded in 2014 with the purpose to provide age appropriate learning materials for children that continuously change and grow well,
acknowledging the challenges and barriers to keep up, and whereas in its creation, eco conscious local mothers came together with the thought that there had to be a better way to do this, that was not always buying toys every time, and whereas they have three locations, Richford Lutheran Church in Northeast Minneapolis, inside Northeast United Methodist Church, and finally their third location, as mentioned, in Saint Paul inside Progressive Baptist Church. And whereas they serve close to 1,700 members since its creation and have a current membership of about five fifty with about
10,000 toys between three locations, and whereas we uplift the work of Rebecca Nutter, the executive director and founder, Theresa Eisenberg's Northeast director, Carl oh, sorry. Excuse me. Carrie Carlson, Saint Paul director and member since 2004 and '17, and the current treasurer, Annette Sandegeier, that have made this work amazing. And whereas the St. Paul City Council believes it's important to uplift the everyday work of organizations and community leaders that make a difference in the lives of St. Paul families and children. And so therefore be it resolved that the Saint Paul City Council uplifts the one
year anniversary of the Minnesota Toy Library as they continue to expand locations, toy resources, and joy across the city of Saint Paul for all children and families. I will take this time as well to welcome up some of our leaders and our young folks that came out today for the tour library. I had a wonderful time of just being walked around the whole site from in Progressive Baptist Church by, Rebecca Nutter and her team. It was really, really fun. They have a lot of toys. And, again, they provide them to members of the community. And there's, like, a membership that once you become a member, you literally have access to toys to be able to provide for your family.
And and these aren't just, like, you know, non name brand or knockoff toys. These are, like, the fancy toys. Okay? Some things names and brands that I cannot even announce, pronounce. But I'm super, super excited to introduce you all to it and to have a chance for her to just talk a little bit about its work. Welcome. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you for having us. I'm Rebecca Nutter. I'm the executive director of the Toy Library. This is Teresa Eisenbys. She's the director of the Northeast location. So we wrote up what we're gonna say so we didn't forget anything. Oh, yeah. And this is this is my daughter Emily.
My dog, daughter Zoe. And this is Tayto and Eddie. Yeah. So we had to bring our kiddos. Yeah. Yeah. There are only five cameras on you live right now. So No pressure. Don't be nervous. We're glad you guys are here. Alright. So just telling you a little bit about how the toy library works. So the toy library operates much like a book library except with toys. Our mission is to reduce waste associated with playtime, foster child development, and build a community of members who care about kids and the environment. Anybody caring for young children can become a member and borrow up to five toys
at a time. We have grant we have parents, grandparents, nannies, educators, therapists use our services. It's a great way for them to meet the needs of young kids in their care while saving money, wasting less, and storing less at home. So how it works? You come in. You fill out a simple membership form and pay a yearly fee. Memberships are on a sliding scale, so you can pay anywhere from 40 to a $100 for the whole year. You decide what to pay. And we also offer scholarships, for those where a free or reduced waste. Reduced I always think reduced waste.
Reduced rate would be appropriate. We also have shorter borrowing times. So if somebody's coming in from out of town and they just need toys for a little bit, we provide those. We have three locations, as mentioned before, Northeast Minneapolis, South Minneapolis, and Saint Paul, and our hours are online. They all vary because, it's three moms running the ship. So it's, whenever we can make it happen. So I'll let Teresa take over. Yeah. Hi. I'll touch base a little bit about our inventory. It's mostly donations from the public, so it's kind of ties into the reducing the waste.
We accept donations of toys appropriate for children ages zero to five. And, you know, we try to keep them in great condition. And you can donate anytime we're open. We are always looking for volunteers to help when we are open. Volunteers help reshell the toys and check numbers in and out. It's a great way for high school students to attain membership or volunteer hours, for school and whatnot. The toys in front of you are examples of what we have in our inventory. We have over 10,000
toys in our inventory circulating between the three branches. Our toy categories cover all areas of early childhood development. At this time, I wonder if the council might have a story about a favorite toy they had of a child or, or would like to share. Oh, gosh. I'm happy to share because Thank you. First of all, I think this is the best idea ever. So thank you so much for your hard work and your creativity in creating this. I especially someone who is a mom of two and is constantly going through and trying to make sure that we are recycling through our toys and not buying new
ones, all the time. I think this is just the best idea. I remember my parents got me when they came back from a trip sort of as, like, an apology to me for having been gone. Sort of a four foot tall Raggedy Ann doll that when I was little towered over me. I named her Emily. And I had her even though she was bleeding out all of her stuffing all over our house, I wouldn't get rid of her until about a year ago. Oh. So very sweet to me. Anyone else wanna share? Mr. Perpatsky and then Ms. Jones. Sure. Thanks, President Maker. Well, I don't have any very interesting stories.
I've been getting a lot of hand me downs from, like, older cousins. I remember giant boxes of just mishmash piles of Legos and just playing with them non stop. I will say this is a great idea for a number of reasons. I think it's fantastic for a number of reasons, but my as the self professed climate nerd at the table, the fact that this is funded through a waste reduction grant at the PCA is absurdly cool on top of all of it aside from the financial benefits for families and the cool community building you all do. That's just so so so cool.
So, yeah. That is I'm so happy you all are in St. Paul. And, you know, hopefully, you get some volunteers from this very public video stream you do. Ms. Chest. Thank you, Council President. And this is such a fun question. I was actually just talking earlier today with my with my legislative aide, Tom, about Power Rangers. And so I was a big Power Rangers fan when I was younger, and I had all the Zords. And, so that was one of one of my favorite toys. And, eventually, they ended up in a garage sale, you know, when I was older and went went to somebody else. But I also am really excited about the toy library and your mission,
to make, you know, toys more accessible to kids and then also reduce waste. Yeah. I'm also a mom. I have a six year old. And, so many times we're going through toys and we sometimes barely use them. And then, you know, like a lot of other families are buying the exact same toy. And and I think just especially from a waste reduction standpoint and in terms of how much these toys cost, which is a lot, it certainly is more, more, efficient for for everyone and just makes it so much easier for kids to be able to play with these toys,
by the work that you all do. And so I'm excited that, I'm excited that y'all are here. And hopefully, you know, you will get lots of volunteers, and maybe you can open more locations in St. Paul one day. That would be great. So thank you. Others? Ms. Bui and then Ms. Yang. Yes. I just want to say thank you again for coming in. Thank you, Councilmember Johnson, for just recognizing this amazing organization. I think the idea is very innovative. As you were talking, I was just thinking, like, wow. This will be, like, a really cool business model to bring in front of Shark Tank. You know, I was leaving we aren't as intimidating as Shark Tank,
and the stakes aren't that high. But I think it is really innovative. I think, it's something that could be modeled across the nation. And it's, it it brings up, like, a lot of different models from, like, cooperative economic development, and just community building, like, that was mentioned earlier. I I was I grew up as the only daughter, so I was very spoiled with a lot of toys. And, and I wish I woulda had or my parents woulda had something like this to give the toys away, because a lot of my toys are in my mom's basement, which is currently turning into a museum at this point.
But I see an an avenue for her to to volunteer. And now I'm having opportunity to bring some of these toys. But my favorite toys, I I really love Barbies. I really love Bratz. I, I feel like I probably did, like, the inaugural Bratz and Barbie, like, get together ever in history. My aunt gifted me my favorite, favorite toy, I would say, was a life size, Barbie. And, I was six years old at this time, and I have this picture of, like, this Christmas in front of Christmas tree, and the Barbie is, like, right there. And that was,
like, my sister for, like, the longest. So, I cried. That was my pretend sister for a while, so I won't share the name This is this is so much fun. Thank you for bringing all this joy I think we all can circle around like our stories around toys. And like I mentioned before, I think this is a great opportunity to share with people for outreach opportunities and volunteering. So thank you. Thanks, Ms. Boulley. Ms. Yang? Thanks, Council President. Well, my favorite toy growing up, it was a wooden dog. It had wheels and a leash, and I would always just wheel it around with me.
And I really loved it because I loved puppies growing up, but my parents, it was a big no no to have dogs in the house. And so that was my basically my favorite dog. And I just want to share, like, it's so special to have you all in the East Side. So thank you so much for your mission and for your commitment to our communities, in the East Side community. And I know this what I say here is really reflective of our other words, too. We still have many families who are living in poverty, who are low income families, and who would greatly benefit from something like this. And as we know, toys right now, it is really,
really expensive. So to be able to borrow that, and to be able to pass it on to other households is really important. So I want to say, keep up the amazing work that you are doing. The dog that I talked about, I my parents, they bought it from me when we went to a thrift store. And so the story of the families who benefit from a resource like this is really personal to me growing up in a low income household, too. So again, thank you so much for what you are doing. And, you have so many advocates in the community already. Ramsey County Commissioner, she actually shared with me about the Minnesota Toy Library this morning because she had
a bike toy that her son outgrew, and I asked if my son could have it. He's only three years old, and she mentioned, hey, there's many other toys that you can also get from here too. And so I will definitely be passing on the resource to many families that I know. Thank you for sharing. Thank you all so much. I have I'm like oh, I, I will just simply say that it's important to know we particularly decided to bring this up because it is their almost their year anniversary to date. And so, with that, colleagues, thank you so much for, entertaining this and for bringing forth the excitement that you all have around your toys
as well. I smiled because I'm a huge I was a huge doll person and then also a huge, like, car person. So I had a lot of, like, hot wheel cars as the same time as Brat dolls. And, like, we used to do all the things to the hair and, like, try to figure out how to do something. Obviously, that didn't pan out well because instead of doing hair and racing cars, I ended up being a politician. Go figure. But, with that, I move approval. That's a motion for approval. Any further discussion of the motion? All in favor, say aye. Aye. All opposed? Six in favor, no one opposed. The resolution is adopted. Congratulations. Thanks again. Thank you. Item 19 is final adoption of ordinance 25 dash 46,
approving the application of Ramsey County Regional Railroad Authority, St. Paul Housing and Redevelopment Authority, and St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church to rezone properties at 694 Minnehaha Avenue East et al. From I-two general industrial to H-two residential, T-three traditional neighborhood, RM-two medium density multiple family residential district, and then manage Chapter 60 of the legislative code pertaining to the zoning map. And I would look to Tara Johnson for a motion here. Well, I,
appreciate having the item back to back. Yes. No. But I, give me one second. Take your time. Sorry. Sitting back. Okay. Essentially, you know, one of the things that I will say at the beginning of all of this, you know, I've been pretty transparent about what I wanted to see and what I thought could be of the future of this site. I see this as an opportunity to both reiterate that and to bring back some of the importance. So I will just simply say, I think one of the reasons why I am supportive of this redevelopment and will be moving forward for the approval today is that it will create the needed affordable
housing in our city. It will redevelop the use of the land that has sat vacant for thirty years. It will convert the HRA owned land into taxable private property. It will remedy the current light condition of the site. And it will create a walkable and transit oriented neighborhood. And that has continued to be the vision that the Housing and Redevelopment Authority had when they first acquired, as well as our vision as we can continue to work on things that we need to see on the Ham site. This redevelopment is a part of doing that. And so with that, I move approval.
Great. There's a motion for approval. Any discussion of that motion? All right. Seeing none, all in favor, say aye. Aye. All opposed? Six in favor. No and opposed. The ordinance is adopted. Item 20 is final adoption of ordinance 25 dash 47, approving an interim ordinance pursuant to Minnesota statute four hundred and sixty two point three five five subdivision four, depending the completion of a zoning study on sober houses and supportive housing facilities. This is also before us for final adoption for those joining who haven't been to a meeting before or don't follow our meetings very closely. All of our ordinances get three readings.
First reading we have a staff report. Second reading is a public hearing. And third reading is final adoption. So these items that we're going through rather quickly, that's because we've already heard them a couple of times before. So this is another one for final adoption. I would look to miss Bowie for a motion. Thank you. I just wanted to share, thank you for that context as well. I saw it really important to be here to speak to this because I have heard, a lot of questions, and thoughts, particularly around why we're doing this. And one of the things I want to uplift by pausing this zoning appeal, or by pausing this, interim ordinance is just pausing zoning approvals or disapprovals or decisions,
particularly to ensure that we have update with our policy, ensuring that we're being more thoughtful and inclusive. One of the values that really means a lot to me is ensuring that we're not functioning from a reactionary place, right, to where we make, certain decisions that we don't have to come back and clean it up. But we want to make sure that our housing ecosystem is inclusive of sober housing or sober homes as well. And I'm taking this time to study it to ensure that, the experts here at the city, of Saint Paul, our staff, has community input and that we have a process that's inclusive of the future of
housing. So, in short, just wanted to say, I appreciate everyone's support on this. Also, any of your concerns or things that you wanna see in a study, Our staff at PED have been very, supportive, of this initiative. So just want to make sure we're making our long term equity goals when it comes to our decisions when it includes housing. Ms. Bouie, I really appreciate your clarifying your thinking behind this, and I'm going to be supporting your motion. I also think that it's very responsive to what we've heard from our district councils, who are sort of the first lines of defense getting these applications, really not knowing what to do because of the conflict that the state statute changes
have thrown us into. And I think all of us would agree that we want a range of housing types, including sober houses, supportive houses. We also need to make sure that we have the right categorization for each of those things, which may have changed over time. And so it's good to have another look at this. So thank you for your leadership in giving us the pause that we need to be thoughtful, as you said. Any other discussion of the motion? For approval? All right. All in favor, say aye. Aye. All opposed? Six in favor. No one opposed. The ordinance is adopted. Item 21 is a public hearing of ordinance 25 45,
changing one block of Margaret Street between Arcade Street and East Seventh Street from a one way street westbound to a two way street in accordance with chapter 147 of the legislative code. So this brings us to the public hearing section of our agenda. The next few items will all be public hearings. So if you're here to testify on a public hearing matter when you hear your item read out as our clerk just did, you'll come to the front, stand between the two microphones. You'll have two minutes to testify. Start by saying your name and where you're coming from. And then two minutes do go by pretty quickly,
and it's my job to make sure everyone has the same amount of time. So I will, gently stop you at two minutes. Just know that there's lots of other ways to give testimony to us in writing, calling our offices, meeting with us, and anything that you've submitted in advance, we already have in the public record in front of us. So with that, this is a public hearing on, number 21. Is there anyone here to speak on this item? Seeing none, I'll take a motion from Mr. Provodzinski to or Ms. Johnson to close the public hearing and lay the matter over till August 27 for final adoption. All in favor, say aye. Aye. All opposed?
Six in favor, no one opposed. The public hearing is closed and the ordinance is laid over till August 27 for final adoption. Item 22 is resolution public hearing twenty five-one hundred and sixty three, amending the financing and spending plan in the Department of Parks and Recreation in the amount of $105,242.36 to utilize parkland dedication funds for the Linwood Park Improvements Project. This is a public hearing. Is there anyone here to speak on this item? Seeing none, I will move to close the public hearing and approve. And I would just say I'm so excited about the improvements that are coming to
Linwood Park and so grateful for staff's good work on this, and noting that we're using our parkland dedication funds that we've set aside whenever there's new planning done, to help fund these projects. And so this is, I think, really good city policy at work. Any discussion of the motion? All in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed? Six in favor. No one opposed. The public hearing is closed and the resolution is adopted. Item 23 is resolution public hearing 20 five-one 171, accepting grant funds, authorizing execution of a grant agreement, and amending the operating budget with respect to the city's sponsorship of a Metropolitan Council
Livable Communities Act pre development grant program for the benefit of Hams Brewery Redevelopment at 68694 Minnehaha Avenue East. This is a public hearing. Is there anyone here to speak on this item? Seeing none, I'll take a motion from Chair Johnson to close the public hearing and approve. All in favor, say aye. Aye. All opposed? Six in favor, no one opposed. The public hearing is closed and the resolution is adopted. Item 24 is resolution public hearing 20 five-one 172 approving the three applications of University of St.
Thomas for a welcome day's pep rally on eighttwenty seven, a football game on eighttwenty eight, welcome days Tommy get together event on 08/29 for three sound look variances in order to present live amplified sound at the University of Saint Thomas Stadium, 2115 Summit Avenue. This is a public hearing. Is there anyone here to speak on this item? Come on up. Again, you'll have two minutes. And one thing I forgot to say beforehand is when you're done testifying, please sign in at either sign in sheet. Welcome. Thank you. Council members,
I'm Daniel Kennedy at 2259 Summit Avenue. I speak on behalf of Advocates for Responsible Development, a 300 strong member group of neighbors of St. Thomas. We oppose these variances and the reason is that this is three days in a row of music in about the worst possible setting in Saint Paul. It is directly across the street from residences. A row of houses followed by another row of houses and another and another. There is no reason for this variance. McAllister, Concordia, Hamlin, they don't ask for variances for their football games.
There's no reason you need a variance above 65 decibels to be heard as a loudspeaker. The only reason is to pump up the music to distract the opposing teams, the offense if they're if it's third down or fourth down, to try and create crowd noise. That may be fine if you're inside a a domed stadium, but when you're in this setting with residences all around, you really do have to strike some balance between your needs and the needs of the neighborhood and this strikes no balance at all. This is an extremely loud event 80 to 90 decibels would cause hearing damage and
with prolonged exposure and this is even higher than that. And it's just not necessary compared to the other schools that manage to do their events just fine without this kind of a variance. So we're asking that you deny this and restore some balance to the relationship between St. Thomas and the university, which has been getting pretty much everything that they've been asking for. And we just want to limit their impacts to their campus. Thank you. Thank you very much, and make sure to sign in. Is there anyone else here to speak on this item?
Seeing none, I'll take a motion from Mr. Provostky to close the public hearing. All in favor, say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Six in favor, no one opposed. The public hearing is closed. Mr. Perovatsky. Thank you, Council President Acre. Well, I I definitely appreciate the concerns. I do, honestly, the volume itself wasn't what stuck out to me most. It is the three days in a row. So I I appreciate that this is an, you know, extended period of time, that folks will be dealing with the sound. However, I do I do think in particular, you know, at any time, but particularly now, I think we we should be supportive of events like this.
I want our neighborhoods to be vibrant. I want our neighborhoods to be, busy. I appreciate that this is bringing thousands of fans into our neighborhoods to support local businesses. So I move approval. Okay. There's a motion for approval. Is there any discussion of the motion? Seeing none, all in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed? Six in favor. No one opposed. The resolution is adopted. Legislative hearing consent agenda items 25 through 61 are before you for your consideration. Welcome, miss Hormand. Thank you, council president. If item number 26 could be read into the record,
please. Item 26 is RLHTA 25 dash three zero six, ratifying the appeal special tax assessment for property at 992 Arcade Street. Miss Mormon. Thank you, counsel president. Just trying to there we go. And, it will take just a moment for a staff report, so you can both stay seated for now. Good. So, 992 Arcade Street, what we're looking at is a boarding and securing of a building. The, building required, securement following a fire, and that fire occurred, on, excuse me here,
January. It's I I will pull it up here. The work was done 02/21/2025. Both the police and fire departments were on scene. It is suspected arson. It was the police, who contacted the boarding contractor, as well as the Department of Safety and Inspections. The owner did arrive at the property and talked to, the fire inspection manager from the Department of Safety and Inspections after the building had already been secured on the First Level. Just to give you an idea of,
what we're talking about here, this is the fire scene. You can see in the photograph that the, building was, of course, already a vacant building. The fire had occurred a year and a half previously, and the first level was boarded. Here's another photo of the other street. This is at Jenksen Arcade. So, what the what the contractor had to do, the city's contractor was where there were doors they needed to be screwed shut. And, what this is the cost from the contractor. It's an emergency call out plus securing four doors.
And the total assessment in this case is $654. Thanks, miss Mormont. Any questions for miss Mormont? Alright. Doesn't look like it. Thanks so much. Don't go too far away. This is a public hearing. Please come on up. Make sure to start with your name, where you're coming from, and we will give extra time. We'll only use the two minutes for, your comments, sir, not for the interpreter's comments. My name is Neng Hu Neng Hu Moi. I, I thank you for allowing me to talk today. I am looking for fairness, and I hope that you'll give me some justice. So, on February 21,
the officer AJ called me and says my building was on fire, that the Second Floor was on fire. So I went over to the building and saw saw that they have board board it or asked them about that. It's going to be boarder, how much it was gonna cost me to have it boarded. Okay. So, AJ said that if I had boarded the building myself, then it was not going to cost me anything. But if I had somebody else to board it, then it was going to cost me money. And he instructed me that I have to get it boarded by 4PM.
So that's why I did it myself. So I don't understand why AJ is the one that had this conversation with me, but in the report, it didn't mention anything about him. In the report, it says that they were the one that boarded it, my building. Today? He said he just doesn't want to pay the fees because he's the one that put up the boarding. Great. Anything else? No, that's it. Okay. Thank you very much for your testimony. We'll have a discussion, and then we'll come back to you. And make sure to sign in. Is there anyone else here to testify on this item? Seeing none, I'll take a motion from Ms. Yang to close the public hearing. All in favor, say aye.
Aye. All opposed? Six in favor. No one opposed. Public hearing is closed. Ms. Yang? Thanks, Council President. Well, first, I want to say hello. I speak Hmong as well. But for the sake of communication at this in the chambers today, I will be speaking English. I'll have you help interpret. Yes. I want to say thank you for coming and testifying. I'm really glad to meet you. I have met the previous property owner. That was probably about sometime last year already, so it's really great to meet who is now the new owner. And I first want to say, I do look forward to hearing what your plans are for the property.
It is a well it was previously a well loved business, the Checkerboard Pizza place, but it had experienced a lot of tragic fires in the past few years. So I know that myself and many neighbors are looking forward to seeing that property be vibrant and to get many investments. And I'm sorry to hear about the fire you experienced back in February. I'm wondering, Marcia, if you would be able to speak to the details that the property owner testified
about, which is that they did the boarding of the property on their own and was told that they wouldn't be charged a fee, but then now is getting assessed for it. Can you explain that a bit? Yes. Two two things. The order of events, to be clear, is the fire department arriving unseen, then the police department arriving unseen, fighting the fire, doing an investigation, pulling materials from there. They, when they went to close out the scene, called the Department of Safety and Inspections and the board of crew together.
By the time, mister Moua arrived, the doors had been secured. They weren't boarded. They were secured with screws. The windows of the structure on the First Level had previously been boarded by the owner. And looking at the photograph, you can see that it is particle board in the photo or chipboard, I should say, rather than the gray painted boards with a date on them that you see when the city has boarded a structure. With respect to communication by AJ Nees,
I did actually connect with him to find out, how he talks about these things. And I'm not clear if there was a conversation about securing the openings on the Second Floor, or not. But, the securement of the doors had already occurred by the time he was on-site. Okay. Thank you. I'm just wanting to make sure I have the details correctly. So basically, there was work already done prior to the property owner getting there, and that is what is being assessed. Is that correct? That's correct. Okay.
I just want to see if there's any questions or if any of my colleagues, you all, have any comments to make about this situation. Well, I'm thanks, I'm grateful to you for asking it, too. I guess I'm normally, we have photographic evidence of work that's been done, and, there isn't this kind of time question. I guess, do we have seems like a strange discrepancy of understanding for someone to say, I did the boarding, and for us to say, we did the boarding on the exact same part of the building. So either it's not clear which part of the building we're talking about,
or I think it would be helpful for us to be able to have some sort of evidence that we had completed the boarding that you're talking about when the property owner arrived. Do we have those photos or the things that we would normally see timestamps, that kind of thing? Yes. When we say boarding, and certainly the assessment rules say boarding and securing, sometimes putting a board up is the correct way to secure an opening in the building. Sometimes the correct way is to screw the door shut if it's a solid door.
In this particular case, it was simply the doors that needed securing, and they were screwed shut. No boards involved at all. So I think there's a communication issue there. I'm not clear, what the conversation was between mister Neece and the owner about moving forward and securing the structure. I when we had our hearing, we talked especially about the second level. The fire was actually set in the staircase between the first and the second levels,
and there was, significant damage on both levels. Here's a photo of the staircase where the fire was, ignited. Evidently, gas was gasoline. And here you can see the ground level with a fair bit of damage in it. So clearly, a fire had been there, and there's water. And then, here we have, I believe, the other level where we have windows pulled. So it's it's a mess. No question. The work was done on an emergency basis. That right there is required.
They cannot leave the scene, particularly in the case of an arson, with anything open at all. When these things are done like this in the night, or after an emergency, the Department of Safety and Inspections deploys its contract manager to go to the site and review that the work was actually done before they send a letter out to the owner saying these things were done and connecting it to the invoice. So I would have notes from an inspection that would have occurred the following day or the same day in this case,
but I don't have photos of the screws. I would not be able to provide you any notes until the city's systems are up again. Thank you, miss Vormont. That's really helpful. And then just and then to go to mister Paretsky, just one follow-up. So the what is being charged for is just the screwing closed of the doors, not boarding? Correct. Okay. Thank you. Mr. Provatsky. Thanks, President Aker. I I appreciate, miss Mormon, the way you're describing some of the either missed expectation or miscommunication. And those happen in situations like this even without the language barrier.
And I'm just particularly sensitive to the added layer on top of that. You know, as someone who has the privilege of interacting with all these systems in, you know, my native language, I just when we have situations like this, I'm just very cognizant of and talking to multiple people, talking to AJ, talking to someone else, I'm just cognizant of the opportunities for misconnections there. So, I would at least be open to some lessening only for that alone. But I I also just know these situations are hard. The work got done, and there's never a perfect answer to these.
But to your question earlier, Councilmember Yang, it's just it's a tough even the difference, like, for example, the difference between using particle board and using plywood, I understand the difference of which one is more secure and and why once you say it. But only once it was raised is it something where I realized, like, oh, one might be easier to break into versus not, or even screwing the door versus boarding the door? These are things where I understand them when you explain them. But to a person who's never dealt with it before, it's just such a tough situation. Thanks, Mr. Provensky. Other comments? Yes.
I appreciate that. I'm looking at the invoice on the that's here on the note, and it does note that it's just for the doors. So I don't think per the testimony there was any confusion on the doors. It sounded like there was maybe confusion on the boarding of the windows. Yeah. I think it's a tough situation, but I I think the the piece that I would hope that is being relayed as far as, like, translation purposes would be that the invoice itself is for the door and the securing for the door. As a result of the work being done, I think I'd vote against any moderations because I don't think that,
in this case, there was, like, an issue regarding that. But, the work has been done. And I think that, like, the it's clear that maybe, like, even in the communication pieces, maybe for staff, there might have been space. But to me, the record seems pretty clear. Thanks, Ms. Johnson. Thanks, Council President. Well, I do want to make sure I, due diligence into just handling this more. And so I would ask for a one week layover. However, I'm still on maternity leave and may need some more time with my limited schedule. So I would like to move a two weekly over and then also have Ploah
just be the one in communication with Marcia about this. And hopefully, we can get it figured out then. Mr. Moorman? Council President, if you'll indulge me, when I did talk to, mister Neece at the Department of Safety and Inspections, he did indicate that they were actively working, with the fire department to create materials to provide people after fires. And then the thing that happens is that we have a lot of contractors out there who will listen to the radio to find out where fires are happening, what the callouts are, and they will descend upon people immediately and say that they will provide services,
put contracts in front of people to sign them, and so on. They are working on a new information packet, an updated one, to provide people that just pretty much says don't sign anything. But I think that's a part of this too, is just that basic information upfront. But so they're very cognizant of our contractors doing the work and distinguishing that. But I will do the follow-up of first council member. Thank you. That's good. So, appreciating the thoughtful discussion here. It sounds like the motion is for a two week layover to September 3. Any further discussion of the motion? Seeing none, all in favor,
say aye. Aye. All opposed? Six in favor. No one opposed. The resolution is laid over to September 3. Thank you, counsel president. The next item is I believe number 50 regarding 815 University Avenue West. Item 50 is RLH TA 25Dash296, ratifying the appealed special tax assessment for property at 815 University Avenue West. Miss Mormons. Council president, lacking, a mapping system that we would normally use. I can provide a Google street view, I believe.
Let's see here. Yes. This is the Ryan Plumbing building here and this green section, and I believe that's on the west side of the building, is, the area in question. So now that you are centered on that, what I'd like to show you is here's the summary abatement order. And what this is dated April 14, indicating that the site needs to be cleaned up, removed, properly disposed of trailers, their contents, trash bags, other miscellaneous trash scattered throughout the property.
Here's, a follow-up, or the original photo, excuse me, that was in the orders and another angle of the property, from the orders. Clearly, there was a homeless encampment at this site. At the very April, the city, the Department of Safety and Inspections and its contractors, did remove the homeless from this location after doing a lot of work to, handle the relocation aspects that need to be dealt with. They also cleared the site of,
a lot of the bedding materials and tents and so on. And these are the materials that were left. Originally, at the very April, and this order went out mid April, but at the very April when this happened, the owner did mention and discuss in hearing that he had an opportunity to talk with a police officer on the site. The police officer indicated that the city would be covering the cost of the cleanup. And the police officer, in reviewing his video of the, conversation, said it was in his mind he was talking about the cleanup that was happening
right away, the big one with removing people from the site and so on. The order we're looking at was mailed the following week. So and it was not appealed. So it was for the items remaining on the parcel after all of the cleanup, the big the major stuff that happened the prior week. The owner, Mr. Ryan, thought that it was one and the same per his testimony in the hearing. It was not. The orders were not appealed. And the city's contractor did do a cleanup. The cost was $10.30
dollars with a service charge of $164 totaling $11.94 dollars to clean up the remainder of the site. This occurred the big cleanup occurred on April 21. So if you have any questions, happy to field them. Thanks, Ms. Worman. So just to make sure I understand, there was a major cleanup that happened at the April that the city paid for and did. There was another there were items that were still there the following week. Orders were sent to remove those. The property owner thought that that was about the previous mess,
didn't do anything, and didn't appeal, the city then came in and cleaned that up and charged the property owner? Correct. And that's what's being appealed? Correct. And what, were the remaining items from the original? Did the entire thing get cleaned up in the April and the new things were deposited, or were these left behind after the first clean? These were things that were left behind. My understanding is that the original crew and this was from a conversation with the department, and I don't have access to the photos at that time was that some items were removed from the site at the same time as people at the very April.
The following week, these items remained, that there were conversations with Mr. Ryan that he would need to take care of these items. Sounds like there was some misunderstanding between what the department was saying and what he was hearing. The written order is crystal clear. It was not appealed. The city went and cleaned up the remaining items. Okay. Thank you. Questions, Ms. Berthia? Thank you so much, President Nieker, for that clarifying question. I do have a question around that point. And, also, thank you for Marsha for the context. I just wanna make sure that crystal clear too before we're hearing from,
mister Ryan here. So when you say the department, is it DSI or the police? Because I believe, like, are you talking about, like, Hart had issued a order? Which entity was the one that issued the order to remove the encampment? And was is the encampment of just, like, individuals, or does that also include, like, the tents, the bedding, all those things that are, you know, present for encampment? My assumption is, without access to the computer system, that the encamp was ordered vacated, and that that would have been by the Department of Safety and Inspections.
I don't believe that that is the HEART team themselves that do that. I believe they're more service oriented. But, again, I don't have those records in front of me right now. What we're dealing with is something from a couple of weeks after that had occurred. Okay. And it's the same department, still DSI? Yeah. When the when they go about doing a cleanup of this scope and nature, When they are there, they will often have, for the first trip there, the different parts of the Hart team as well as neighborhood police officers and so
on, which is the, officer with whom Mr. Ryan spoke. The, subsequent cleanup, they will have other people there depending on what is going on at the site. And I don't know who all was present for the cleanup. Okay. Great. Any other questions for Ms. Moorman before we open up the public hearing? Doesn't look like it. Okay. Thanks, Ms. Moorman. Don't go too far. This is a public hearing. So anyone here to speak on this item? Come on up, sir. Good afternoon. My name is Greg Ryan. I'm the owner of Ryan Plumbing and Heating. And I've been the owner for the last forty one years.
It's a family owned business since 1951, so we're celebrating our seventy fifth year in Saint Paul. It's kind of a rarity. We've owned this property for, forever, this empty lot. And the conversation with an officer that so I understand the rules of the city and their cleanup methods and their charges. So I've been dealing with it. We are a dump spot on University Avenue. The light rail is a dump area for University Avenue. There was a homeless encampment there for a long time,
much longer than what she was saying. I was talking to some of the, with some of the community people that could take care of the homeless people. I'm compassionate about the homeless people. I believe they need a place. So I wasn't executing a vacate order. I've had communications with, mister Robert Humphreys about this way prior to this. He said, call the police. They can start the process. So so then mister Vu showed up, officer Vu, and said, we're gonna get it cleaned up and take care of it.
And I said, are you sure you're gonna clean it up? I said, who's paying for it? Because I know the ways we've had stuff dumped, refrigerators, couches, mattresses, everything, everything. And it's daily. It's daily. So I'm cleaning up every morning. Now you can see what that local picture was. I devote a lot of time to maintain that. It's daily. I work almost seven days a week. So I'm at that property at my business almost seven days a week. The mail didn't get to me until two days after this thing got cleaned up.
The mail came after, and I was watching these guys clean it up. And I said, we should be covered. So I called, mister, you know, Robert Humphreys, and he says, well, it should be. I said, you are already over time. I know it goes by quickly. I need you to well, just wrap up with your ask for a second. Well, I'm just kind of, frustrated because I have I tried my best. And I get, notice after the fact that this thing was cleaned up. And then I realized that, so I thought, okay. I'm gonna have to appeal the charges.
Or you know? So it's just frustrating for me that we're not relying on a good, communication system. We're still relying on the snail mail to inform me that you guys will be charging me 1,100. I got a dumpster that gets full before you know, it's just crazy, you know, being on University Avenue for the last fifty. I don't know if anybody understands, but my father was shot and killed at our store in 1984. So but I'm still here. So that's when I took over the company. But Thank you for your time. Hearing me. Yes.
Thank you. Of me. Let's see. We're gonna move to close the public hearing first, and then we'll let you know if we have questions for you. I'm very sorry for your loss as well, and I appreciate you telling us more about your background in St. Paul. Is there anyone else here to testify on this item? Not seeing any. I'll take a motion from Ms. Buie to close the public hearing. All in favor, say aye. Aye. All opposed? Six in favor. No one opposed. The public hearing is closed. I do have one question. I'm wondering, Mr. Brian, is I heard different two different things, and I just wanna make sure I'm clear. You said that the letter reached you too late Yes.
After the cleanup had already occurred. What we heard from our legislative hearing officer was that you had not done the cleanup because you assumed that that was the letter was referencing the earlier cleanup, and you assumed that you didn't need to do anything, that the city was gonna take care of it and and pay for it. Can you help clarify which of those is accurate? They had not And just come back up to the microphones. Yeah. They had not removed the homeless people, and the officers spoke to me prior to any work being done. And we do have some feeds from my,
eight cameras on my building, when they were there and when they how long they worked and what they did. But it was Mr. Vu informed me before anything was done. And by the time the city had cleaned it out, then I got the notice. So I thought everything was the same. I didn't notice a partial removal of debris or people. I and I'm not watching this constantly, this property. It's a property I own just west of my building.
And, so it was I thought it was all done in one. I didn't know there was two phases of it. That's all. Because I wasn't paying really, really close attention. Because I do have to work. So there were items that were left on the property from the first cleaning that you weren't aware of because you weren't there, and the letter came to that address that you didn't see until too late, and that referenced the second cleanup that needed to be done. Right. I thought there was just one cleanup. Okay. I didn't realize there were two two different cleanups. Thank you,
sir. I saw miss Bowie. Yeah. I had a question too, from when was your conversation with, the inspector? You mentioned mister Robert Humphrey. Was this after you received the letter, or was this It was through well, this whole syncedent existed for about three or four months. And I was just talking to him what a good remedy to get them out or find some social workers where they can find them a home. And he said, yeah. We'll just call the officers. And, you know, he says, when you want to, you know, just go over there. And I was talking to some of the neighbors in 815 or,
825 Arts over there, and, some of those people were helpful. But, it seemed to be mister Vu or officer Vu that got things taken care of because he came and talked to me, and then it seemed to be everything got taken care of after that. So Okay. And I have a question for, the hearing officer, Marsha Mormon. Excuse me. Excuse me. I I can't hear what she's saying. She has a question. Yep. I I was just trying to understand here because it seems like there's two different phases. One phase that was led by, the inspector that prompt the officers to get involved,
and then there was a cleanup or the evacuation of the encampment. And then there's was like, was there any notice that was sent out to mister Ryan, informing him of this encampment evacuation is going to include this, but you still are on the hook, particularly for the cleanup for the items that were remaining? I don't have documentation of the previous cleanup. That has not come forward as an assessment. All I have is documentation related to this cleanup. I did go back and discuss with the inspectors and the police,
the order of events and their thinking about it. And they believed that in conversation and that in writing, they were clear about the expectations. I could get you more. It would be helpful if the systems were back up again. But I think you have everything regarding this particular case, not the one from the April. Well, I I really appreciate, you know, us trying to just dig in and just get clarity. I think, really similar to the other case where there could've been a miscommunication, right, around who's coming to,
clean up, who's responsible. I can imagine that if I'm owner and I'm being told the officer's telling me that this is gonna be taken care of, However accurate that was, I do think that is something for us to ensure through paperwork. And with our systems being down, I think, you know, a a two week layover would be would be helpful for us to just get that clarification from particularly that officer that was on-site, just because I want to make sure, like, our services are clear, and understandable. I do I would say, you know, with the if we was to have that communication,
I felt very prepared to, approve the recommendation, because I think this site, have had a lot of issues. I know the community is wrapping their arms around, you know, bringing more vitality, bringing more events, to this area. But we need, ownership and leadership that is, like, you know, very focused and very present, there and is looking to actually, invest in growing that area. But I think with the lack of information that we have on our part, particularly from the police officer and also from DSI around these different phases of cleanups,
I will ask for counsel to approve a two week layover, please. Thanks, Ms. Buie. So the motion is for a two week layover to get some of this additional information. By the way, for those who are listening and wondering why we don't have all this information at our fingertips, as you probably know from the media, we were the victims of a cyber incident, and that has affected some of the systems we would normally be able to access right here. So we apologize for that. I will support your motion, Ms. Buie. And one of the questions that I would have that I think we would benefit from knowing the answer to is the history of orders on this property and the property owner's record of addressing them on his own,
rather than the city having to address them. I I ask that because if there is indeed a record of the property owner being, diligent, and I I don't disagree with you at all, miss Boomi. It seems like this is a, this this lot is an attractive nuisance, and maybe there are things that could be done about that. But if the owner has been responsible at doing pickup before, it seems more likely, the story that in this case, this was pure misunderstanding, not just negligence. So I would appreciate having the extra time to get that information, too. Any further discussion of the motion, Chair Johnson? And I think just as we do the two weeks,
one thing that's sticking out to me that I'm curious about more so for both, like, informational purposes but for clarity, when the city is cleaning or proceeds to close, close an encampment and there are things left from the first visit, I'd really love to know why. Like, are there certain things that we do deem in the city, like, as the owner's responsibility? I'm just trying to understand why, like, when the city cleared off the first, went to the encampment, cleared off everything, why were there things remaining that would need to be disposed of or still further
taken out. And so it would be just helpful to get this clarity on, like, specifically what was left and why. Thanks, Chair Johnson. I have the same question. One more thought, unsolicited piece of interest from me, is that it seems like in both of the cases we've dealt with today, the issue at hand has been communication or miscommunication from city staff. And I think it's just worth noting and to the extent, miss Worman, that you're speaking with the Department of Safety and Inspections or police or others, I understand that sometimes communication is happening in the moment and is very rushed and may not have an interpreter on hand or may not,
I can understand why miscommunications happen. But I think we should do everything we can to prevent it. And if that means getting an email address and sending a follow-up email to say, just to clarify, this is what we talked about on scene, that would be a really helpful record, I think, in situations like this, where we where we just don't know what was said. And, so putting that there as well. Any other discussion of the motion? All right. Seeing none, all in favor, say aye. Aye. All opposed? Six in favor and none opposed. The resolution is laid over to September 3. Is there anything else for separate consideration, Ms. Mormon, that you're aware of? I'm not aware of anyone else here to testify on the hearing item.
Okay. Then we will hold a public hearing on all of the remaining items. So if you are here for a legislative hearing from item 25 to 61, this is your public hearing. Going once, going twice. Alright. Looks like there's no one else here. So I will take a motion from Mr. Provatsky. His final motion to approve the close the public hearings and approve the balance of legislative hearing agenda items with modifications made by the legislative hearing officer. All in favor, say aye. Aye. All opposed? Six in favor. No one opposed. The public hearings are closed, and the consent agenda is adopted as amended.
That brings us to the end of our agenda. I think we all know what the good news are actually not the good news. The big news is around the table today. It's our last meeting with council member Perotzky. So we, will have an opportunity to to say things, to him about, his time with us, for him to say some things to us as well. And I think we also have, our mayor has just entered the room. Mister mayor, would you like to go first? Sure. Okay. So for the record, council madam, council president, council members, I wasn't coming in to sit to speak, so I didn't prepare It's never stopped you before. What'd you say? It's never stopped you before.
That's right. But I'm willing. Thank you for your service. Congratulations on your work. I know that you are someone whose service did not start when you sat in this chair and will not end when you get up from this chair. For better or for worse. I know we'll continue to hear from you, on all the same stuff City Hall has heard from you on for twenty years now, and just, we appreciate, the service. Your willingness to step into this space, has been, was incredible, and was needed. The capacity with it you came into this space and operated, right from the beginning,
was critical and needed, and, you, have seen us through, in this space in a way that is, more than just a caretaker of this seat, but has been a leader and a champion, for Ward 4, and for our whole city. We are indebted to you, and I am confident that you will be calling us to pay those debts. Thank you so much for your time and your service, sir. Thank you, mayor. Congratulations. You're welcome. Thank you, mayor. Sorry to put you on the spot. That's right. Any other comments? I see Ms. Yang and then Ms. Joost. Thanks, Council President. I said this earlier at our HRA board meeting,
but I, again, just want to say how rewarding it's been, Councilmember Paparsky, to see you continue your work that you started as a legislative aide. It's honestly been really incredible to see the pathway that a lot of our legislative aides have taken. They go off and work at the capital just like how you are doing. They are in elected office just like how you are in right now, serving in Ward 4 here and just even doing other things that continue to make an impact in our city. I'm so honored to have been able to work with you in this capacity and
will really miss how detail oriented you are, how you are such a transit nerd and geek at the table here and so unapologetic about it and always striving to make sure that people in our city are able to travel and get to where they need to without any sort of struggle. And so the work that you're doing in bringing more density, more housing, more transit and just more investments into not only workforce but across our city has been deeply felt. So I will miss working with you. I know that you will always continue to do really great things to make deep
systemic changes in our city here, in our society overall and in our government overall to continue making it work for people. Thanks, Ms. Yang. Ms. Dress? Thank you, Council President. I will also add I want to thank Councilmember Poratsky for his service and for stepping up, to this seat for this short summer internship. I I wanna echo what council member Yang said about our our legislative aids and the the experience and, and of the the expertise that they bring. They're so essential to to our work.
And having that experience, and then also bring at Workforce and then bringing that here, really, really was essential to the, you know, transition of that office through through quite a bit this year. I also wanna thank thank Jenny and Kristen, who are here, the Ward four staff, who has also who who has also really, really, you know, helped with that transition. They're on council number two of three for the year. And and it's been so much so much work, and and, council member Perotzky stepped into that in such a big way,
whether it was about, you know, housing or about any of the developments in our city, you know, transit or or climate or bike paths. There were just so many ways that he provided really great input, to issues in in all of our wards and helped us to move our council priorities forward that we've been working on, you know, for the last for the last year or so. And he also provided, continuity in the Ward 4 office of really, really great service, and representation and advocacy for the residents award for I heard a lot of you
know, we share McAllister Groveland, and we got to do a annual meeting together. And there and just throughout, you know, the community, I heard really great positive feedback and how grateful that residents were to have you as their interim council member. So I really enjoyed enjoyed partnering with you and appreciate just all of your efforts and work, especially on a lot of the the climate work that, you know, I care so much about. And I know that kind of I know in addition to what mayor Carter said, I know that this isn't really goodbye. But, I appreciate your work, and I know that it'll serve our city and our council,
you know, beyond today. So thank you. Thanks, miss Chest. Ms. Booey. Well, Council Member Probatzky, you've just been, like, a really, cool partner to work with. No. Honestly, I just think about, like, how we tag team on so much, regarding Allianz Field And Midway and our and our lovely businesses, our small business on on, university and Snelling and just how a lot of our work, interconnected, and you've always just been a listening ear. I was just thinking also too just, you know, during this our last council meeting together,
I'm like, well, I'm gonna lose someone who could laugh at some of my jokes in the council. So I always know he always has that chuckle in the background that just gets me going. So, but, but, yeah, your advocacy for what you were passionate about has just been undeniable, and I just really appreciate just, like, the for fourthness that you have when it comes to transportation justice and climate justice and, like, all those collective things that we we care about, but you really, like, truly, truly champion and have, like, use your microphone to to to share that.
I I came off of the occasion just because this is the last, you know, council meeting. I just felt like it was meaningful. You've been really supportive on a lot of, housing issues, public safety issues. I know it's like everything everyone said earlier. It's not a goodbye. It's, see you later. And, yeah, thank you for tag teaming and being a cool partner for Ward 1 and Ward 4. Miss Johnson? Yeah. I just I echo so many of the same sentiments. You know, I will I will share that so often, some of my, like, little things at the council, table or the dais was caught by you,
and we would laugh because it was just really, fun to also have a person who kind of just gets this work. I know one of the things that really weighed into even just being able to talk about, what I was looking for when it came to someone who could carry on the work, especially at that time where I was really deep into tenant protections. And I definitely wanted to have an individual that, kind of understood the work, and who better than to have folks that were a part of the start of the work, at that. And so, you know, we were being able to do an event with you kind of on your,
I think, week two or something. I was just like, We're going to go we're going to have a whole community event. Welcome, interim council member Perovatsky. I think it was just really great that you took it and took the ball, you know, took the baton and went running with it. I think that that's kind of gonna be the same, transition as we head into once again, you know, I think you're wonderful, council member Probatzky, but I'm looking forward to being an all woman council again. You know, I think that in so many different ways, you've been able to ask questions. You know, you've been curious, and you're not shy to do so. And I think that that's really important for folks,
especially when it comes to being able to get the information that we need. So sometimes your questions have both been either in my head or even just things that I hadn't thought about. And so it's been really, really great to see a friend and this work and to also know that I'm sure that all of us will still, for a lot of us, will still call you. Whenever I'm looking as we head into some of the important climate workspaces, I'll still be reaching out. So I just have really appreciated the last several weeks that we've had with you. And I know that this is something that you've fully shared,
like, is, like, a temporary thing, but I think you've made quite the dent in what is a temporary role from some really cool work, engagement efforts, and just overall, like, commitment to it. So I genuinely appreciated that from you as a colleague and a friend. Thanks, sir Johnson. I would agree with everything that everyone has said. And I would just add, Mr. Provostky, that I have been grateful for the way I think you've been kind of like a Goldilocks interim council member, if I can put it that way. Because I think there are interim council members who either downplay the amount of time they're gonna have and don't really feel like they can get anything done and just,
you know, they're kind of here to fill the seat while they wait for the next person. And then there are those who really kind of get inflated about it and a little bit both ego and also, like, how much they'll be able to do in four months, and buy that more than they can chew. And you have really remained very self aware and aware of the amount of time that you had and the and you and you got those things done, and you maintained this self deprecating, air. We're gonna miss our transit and our climate nerd. I think miss Joest will pick up just fine. But, but I really appreciated your humility and your humanity through kind of trying four months.
So thank you. And as everyone has said, you will not be a stranger. Mr. Profaci. Thanks, President Maker. Yeah, I definitely went into this, I think, probably more eyes wide open than a typical interim too. I just was fully aware what the job would be like and, the all the silly and serious and tough things that this job brings that you all have to deal with every single day. And especially coming in, I think I had a very different relationship with each individual one of you coming in. Nelsie was a brand new council member when I was an aide and tried to be helpful,
you know, getting you up to speed. Rebecca dealt with me for years as a silly active advocate, you know, bowling and midway bowling with your sons were absolutely tiny, and now they're Forgot them. Huge and way too old. And, honestly, most most of you, I knew only either casually or by thanking you for running or knowing similar people that haven't spent a ton of time with you. So it's been, really rewarding. I mean, I I'm crazy enough that I love doing this work. You all are crazy enough that you love doing this work. I really want to thank all of the all of the,
you know, department staff and city staff who I'm just such a huge champion for, who drive our city every single day, to, you know, Mayor Carter and you all for allowing me to do this in this seat, my wife, Rochelle, for continuing to put up with, you know, one of the most absurd people on Earth, every single day, to, obviously, to meet to meet to meet excuse me. Obviously, Demetra, who I'm so fiercely proud to have worked for, and very ill equipped to fill in for, to Stacy, who was such a good partner for me as our original EA to Dua who
replaced me. And I'm not gonna look at them because it'll make it worse, to Jenny and Kristen, who were just such fantastic, team members this summer. Yeah. I'm I'm gonna try and stop talking because I'm just gonna it's only gonna get worse. But, Let's all cry together. Well, Jenny and Kristen just went through so much, with me just stepping down and then dealing with the election. And, and they are just the two absolute best, people I've worked with. And so I'm very excited for you all to get a fantastic upgrade next week, and for her to come in with just the two absolute best staff,
to have working for her. So thank you all. All. Thank you. We will have more time to, talk and celebrate very soon. And your passion for this work is so, so admirable. So, all right with that, any further comments? Ms. Yang? Oh, sorry. Yes. And there's other good news around the table. This is not good news. Council member Buie, we are so excited for you. Congratulations. Literally, honestly, just came in to to just, say how much I appreciate, mister Provatsky and his term. But but, yes, I did get married, last week. I was like,
who's supposed to be on my honeymoon? Check. I'm still doing I'm crazy enough to be spending my honeymoon at council. You know? But, but, yeah, no. It was phenomenal. We actually made history as the first couple ever authorized on the steps of, the state capital to get married. There's been marriages or weddings inside of the rotunda. My, fiance or husband now, as you know, he worked at the at the house for about ten years as a as a LA. Apoorvazquez, I think he could work with alongside with him. But he was very,
very, very determined to have the wedding at the capitol. If anyone who has done wedding planning, you know, going through vendors is very tedious. As soon as they had any hesitation, they had said that they they don't normally do it. I was like, well, let's look elsewhere. I don't want to, you know, have to pass a policy to be at a location, but he saw otherwise. So he wrote a seven page brief, seven page letter brief around the definition of public rallies and weddings and was able
to experience. Yes. As he should. It was very beautiful. It was solidified because when I was coming down the steps of the Capitol, he was crying from both eyes. So I was like, perfect. So he he did the job. He accomplished the job. But it was beautiful. Thank you so much. I wanna say thank you to my staff, Bifu, she's out on vacation this week. But she'll be back, tomorrow, actually. And also my intern, Ronde, and my executive assistant, Polly, has been phenomenal. I did have one constituent in sight. Our text message or email go through on my wedding day.
That's all I asked. So they were able to, like, the guard, guard the emails really well. So but, yeah, it was it was phenomenal. And also thank you for everyone who, received the cupcakes, the cake cups. So I was just excited. Yeah. Yeah. They're they're very good. You know, after the wedding, I definitely, like, cleared out of my diet, so I've just been eating. I won't even say what I'd be eating. I don't want I don't want that to be public news. But, but I've been no dieting and just eating all of my heart desires. So Yeah. Love it.
Yeah. Thank you so much. Congratulations again. Thank you, miss for catching up. It's a great day. I wasn't prepared, but Yeah. Is there any other good news? I don't know if we're gonna burst. Around the table? Last thing Miss Bowie. Well, the get down so I'll be at the get down. Saint Paul's hosting it. Saint Paul, Parks and Rec, is hosting. Mario Stokes, was here, I believe, a couple weeks ago, sharing information. But, but I won't be performing at the get down, but I will be, introducing one of the, artists, Juice Lord, who was here with us. His inaugural, Black Music Month.
He's been here multiple times. He'll be, headlining alongside with brother Ali. So but it's gonna be at Harrod Island from 03:30 to 09:30 on Friday. I'll see you there. Yeah. Perfect. Miss Anne? Thank you. Well, I know, Councilor Johnson, you have been getting emails or have been hearing about this too, but I wanted to share about the Earl Street reconstruction project. It's in both of our wards, Wards 6 And 7. So the City of St. Paul Public Works Department is, reconstructing doing a phase one reconstruction of approximately one mile of Earl Street between Avenue
and Maryland Avenue. This is the bid for a meeting tomorrow, August 21 at the Eastside YMCA. It's located at 875 Arcade Street, Saint Paul, Minnesota 55106. And you can go there to learn about the project and voice your concerns. Great. Thank you. Any other good news? Alright. Seeing none, thanks for a great meeting. We are adjourned.