August 26, 2024 West St. Paul City Council meeting

West St. Paul City Council Recap: Aug. 26, 2024

Thanks to our members for making coverage of West St. Paul City Council meetings possible.

The work session for the West St. Paul City Council included an early look at a data dashboard to track performance and the regular meeting included approval of the annual plan for sidewalk snow clearing on Robert Street.

Performance Indicators

A lengthy Open Council Work Session (OCWS) reviewed staff work to create a digital dashboard to track data and chart progress in the city.

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  • The dashboard with community performance indicators shows data and survey results across eight areas: demographics, economy, housing, health, environment, safety, mobility, and community. The wealth of stats gives City Council insight into both perceptions and realities, helping them make better decisions.
  • Another dashboard charts operational performance indicators, showing stats on what city departments have accomplished. This data is less complete and Council reviewed a draft dashboard for public works. Other departments should be finished this fall.

“This is one of the biggest mysteries we’ve had up until now,” said Council Member John Justen. “We can do a community survey, but that’s perception—having that hard data is something we haven’t had available to us. For me, this seems like an incredibly useful tool.”

Other Items on the Agenda:

  • Snow removal: City Council approved the annual sidewalk snow clearing plan for Robert Street between Butler and Mendota. No one spoke during the public hearing. Sidewalk clearing north of Butler will continue to be up to individual properties, though enforcement will increase this year.
  • Smith/Dodd: In a win for pedestrians, the consent agenda included a contract amendment for the Smith/Dodd intersection realignment with some sort of flashing crosswalk assistance at Smith and Bernard.

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We believe in government transparency and provide these West St. Paul City Council recaps with the support of our members.

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