Thanks to Dakota County for their support.
An economic development update and conversation about potentially moving work sessions back to the conference room were the main items covered, as well as swearing in two new police officers, approving an Xcel franchise agreement, declaring No Mow May, and a closed session for labor negotiation strategy.
Economic Development Update
As part of continued strategic planning during the Open Council Work Sessions (OCWS), staff gave an update on economic development, including:
- 150 Thompson: An update on the 150 Thompson project (former YMCA/Hy-Vee), where the city expects to finalize financial terms with the developer this week and is currently going through environmental approvals. The next step is to finalize plans for public spaces using public input from a previous open house. If plans stay on track, there would be a second open house later this summer and the city review process potentially in August or September.
- Business networking group: The city is talking with South Robert Street Business Association (SRSBA) about partnering to create a business networking group. The city is currently conducting surveys and will discuss plans with SRSBA and bring proposals back to Council.
- Redevelopment: Staff shared a map of targeted redevelopment sites that shows active and potential project locations. Some are sites where the property owner is actively working with the city to redevelop and others are locations the city is keeping an eye on for potential opportunities if the property owner were interested:
Council Rules
Back in January the Council discussed potential changes to their Rules of Council and Code of Ethics, though City Manager Nate Burkett forgot to bring the rules back for official approval. In this meeting the Council approved the rules with slight tweaks to clarify abstention rules and add guidelines around citizen comments that allow for time limits, if equally applied to all commenters (provisions that were already in practice but now codified in the rules).
The Council discussed additional changes around phone-in comments and moving OCWS back to the conference room, but did not have consensus among members.
OCWS: Most of the discussion centered on whether or not to move the OCWS meetings back to the conference room where they used to be held.
- History: The meetings moved to the Council chambers during COVID-19 to allow for safe distancing and to televise the meetings to ensure transparency and access.
- Rationale: Several Council members have said the formality of the Council chambers hinders the free flowing discussion of a work session, despite efforts to relax the rules.
- Obstacle: But the conference room isn’t equipped for a Town Square TV broadcast. Properly equipping the room would cost $50,000, which no one supports. Not broadcasting the meeting raises transparency issues that several members were concerned with.
- Compromise: There are a couple options to solve the formality and transparency issues, including moving to the conference room and doing a low-budget, online-only livestream or setting up tables in the Council chambers and having to do a reset between meetings.
- What’s next: This discussion will come back at a future OCWS, likely in late May or June due to a packed schedule.
Other Items on the Agenda:
- Closed session: The OCWS included a closed session to discuss labor negotiation strategy.
- New officers: Mayor Dave Napier swore in two new police officers, John Belfanz and Aidan McMaster, bringing the West St. Paul Police Department to full strength.
- Xcel agreement: Council approved a franchise agreement with Xcel Energy, which was last adopted in 2004 and updated in 2019. It expires in May and needed to be re-adopted, though changes were minor.
- No Mow May: Council declared May to be No Mow May again, a practice to protect pollinators first started in 2021. However, recent research shows that infrequent mowing instead of pausing mowing entirely might be a better practice. The city is relaxing their language accordingly and looking to re-brand the initiative in the future to “Low Mow Spring,” and generally encouraging converting traditional turf lawn to prairie-style pollinator lawns.
Engage
- Watch: City Council and OCWS meetings are archived online.
- Learn more: Guide to West St. Paul City Council.
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