We provide these West St. Paul City Council previews with your support.
The West St. Paul City Council will consider future street improvements, unpaid assessments, alcohol and tobacco compliance checks, and a plan to refinance some bonds. Also look for updates on homelessness, the art park, and the coming election.
Standard COVID-19 disclaimer: Limited audience, wear a mask, overflow crowd can watch in the lobby. All meetings are broadcast online and on cable TV. Public comments will be in-person and via call-in.
What’s on the Agenda?
- Election: It’s the last City Council meeting before the election, so look for an update on voting information and safety precautions. An additional 10 election judges are also being appointed to replace judges.
- Responding to homelessness: During the Open Council Work Session (OCWS), Council will hear a report on how police approach homelessness and two organizations they work with.
- Art Park: Donations for the art park project will be accepted and an announcement made about the installation of the sculpture and a community event to celebrate.
- Public hearings: There will be public hearings for administrative citations (nearly $50,000 worth—about half from the vacant Burger King), unpaid assessments (mostly police false alarms and snow/weed abatement), and street improvement projects.
- Alcohol and tobacco compliance: The police conduct checks a couple times per year to make sure businesses aren’t selling alcohol or tobacco to underage buyers. This time around Beirut, Chipotle, and FoodSmith failed the alcohol check and Speedway failed the tobacco check.
- Thompson turnback: Dakota County is looking to give jurisdictional control of Thompson Avenue back to West St. Paul (known as a “turnback”). That means we’d have to pay for future improvements. There’s a plan in place for the county to pay for upcoming improvements and give partial payments for improvements down the road. The Council will consider the request during the OCWS and it will be officially approved by the county and city in January or February.
- Reducing debt: The city plans to refinance some bonds, saving about $350,000.
The public can watch the meeting live on Town Square TV or cable channel 18 starting at 6:30 p.m. on Monday (5:45 p.m. for the OCWS meeting).
If you’re not able to attend the meeting in person, you can always use our coloring pages to imagine you’re there.
Keep City Council previews and recaps coming by supporting West St. Paul Reader.
West St. Paul Reader 