Thanks to Block Portrait Studios for their support.
A budget update and an easement issue related to the Smith/Dodd intersection project were the big issues for the West St. Paul City Council this week.
Budget Updates
During the Open Council Work Session (OCWS), the council reviewed two elements of the 2025 city budget.
- Licensing and Fees: Council reviewed several proposed changes to city fees and licenses. Many of them had not been updated for 10 years or more, and city staff set a goal of reviewing and updating these fees every three to five years going forward. Proposed changes include increasing business license fees by roughly 10% (as opposed to the 44% increase in inflation since their last update), increasing sewer fees by 5%, increasing user fees and damage deposits on city park facilities, and increasing environmental inspection fees to comply with the cost of new state inspection requirements. New laws require the city to re-inspect construction sites for proper runoff control after every rainfall of one inch or more. Council also discussed changes to the fees for unclaimed property specifically to address the issue of abandoned shopping carts on city property. No changes were made to those fees at this time, but staff and Council suggested that they have new changes coming to deal with this issue.
- Property Tax Levy: City Manager Nate Burkett reviewed the city’s proposed 2025 budget, which is currently projected to include a 7.22% property tax increase. This works out to roughly $125 per year for the average West St. Paul homeowner and $1,869 per year for the average business, though Burkett noted that the average for businesses is heavily skewed by larger retail businesses on Robert Street, and that smaller businesses (which is most of them) would see smaller increases. This property tax increase would still mean that West St. Paul has the second-lowest property tax burden in Dakota County. Mayor Dave Napier and Council Member Pat Armon both expressed an interest in getting the property tax increase below 7%, potentially by investing less in neighborhood streets. Council Members Wendy Berry, Robyn Gulley, and John Justen expressed reluctance to lower the levy increase, since getting the increase below 7% would only save the average homeowner $22 per year and potentially leave the city in financial trouble in the event of a recession. A vote on the preliminary budget will come at the next meeting to lock in the maximum levy increase. The official budget will be approved in December.
- Budget Increases: The city’s budget increase is being driven largely by an increase in wages and benefits for city employees, though this budget would still see smaller raises for public employees than the statewide average of 8%. Other sources of the increase include higher fees from Dakota County’s 911 services, higher contracting prices for things like IT services, and the city’s commitment to spend more on streets and parks.
- Lobbying: City Manager Nate Burkett proposed spending $40,000 per year, which would not cause a levy increase, to pay a lobbying firm to work at the capital on behalf of the city. Council and the mayor generally supported this move, noting that lobbying would help to protect the city’s sales tax and also help to secure state funding for future improvement projects, more than paying for the lobbyist’s salary in the long run.
Smith/Dodd Condemnation
In order to complete the Smith/Dodd realignment project, the city needs access to five parcels of property around the intersection for temporary construction easements. They have negotiated with the property owners and received temporary easements from three of the five parcels. The remaining two parcels are owned by Montessori One LLC and Clover Montessori School is located there. The city and Montessori One have been unable to successfully negotiate an agreement up to this point.
- This motion would use eminent domain to force the issue. Montessori One would still be compensated for access to their property, and get the property back, fully restored, at the end of the construction project. Today’s motion would not immediately enact the condemnation, but it would allow the city to proceed with a lawsuit if necessary to get the easements they need for the project. Their goal is still to negotiate with Montessori One. If they don’t get the easements, it may delay the project and jeopardize grant funding, which could jeopardize the whole project.
- Staci Hedlund, the co-owner of Montessori One, was present at the meeting and shared several concerns with the realignment project:
- Construction noise will disrupt nap time for students at the school, and have asked the city to either schedule construction breaks from 1 to 2:30 p.m. on weekdays or install temporary sound barriers to mitigate this issue.
- The height of the fence around their playground will not provide adequate protection to children during the project.
- Access to their parking lot could be complicated by the project, and that part of their property will be used to create an access driveway to Zak’s Auto Service. (A representative from Zak’s Auto spoke earlier in support of Montessori One’s concerns during the meeting.)
- Plans for public park space adjacent to their property and how this might impact the safety of their students.
- Hedlund outlined numerous attempts to contact the city to resolve these issues, and said that multiple city employees failed to contact her over the course of several months to resolve these concerns. She stated Montessori One’s intention to oppose the city’s easements until these concerns have been addressed.
- Mayor Napier reassured Hedlund that there is still time to work these issues out, and promised to meet with Hedlund and Montessori One’s lawyer to resolve this situation. The motion passed unanimously.
“We appreciated the chance to share with our elected officials our support for the Smith/Dodd realignment project as a whole, the concessions we have made to the City’s requests, and the difficulties we are working to mitigate in the interest of the families we serve,” Hedlund said in a statement after the meeting. “We are hopeful that our plea for cooperation was heard and we will see progress toward a peaceful agreement that protects children’s health and safety, without increasing the cost of childcare for working families.”
Other Items on the Agenda
- Hispanic Heritage Month: The Council unanimously passed a proclamation in honor of Hispanic Heritage month, which runs from September 15 through October 15. Edgar Herrera, a local community leader, read the proclamation.
- Citywide cleanup: Council Member Pat Armon announced a city cleanup on Saturday, September 21 from 9:30 to 11. Several local businesses have stepped up to offer prizes for people who bring back bags of trash.
- Charter amendment: Council had a first reading of a charter amendment that would allow the mayor and City Council members to serve as election judges and get compensated for their services. This was allowed before 2020, when a change to a state law made it illegal for people who hold government office to also serve as city employees. The charter amendment would create an exception to allow it again. Mayor Napier had some unresolved questions about the wording of the amendment, but agreed to vote in favor of the first reading and bring up his questions at the public hearing at the next council meeting. The reading passed unanimously.
- Eagle Pointe: Council heard an update on licensing for Eagle Pointe apartments, which received a provisional license in 2023 due to an excessive number of police nuisance calls, fire code violations, and additional code compliance problems. City staff reported that the property owners have largely complied with the city’s provisions in the 2023 license. While there has been a slight uptick in police calls, property owners were very cooperative in resolving these issues. They have also addressed most of the outstanding code violations with the exception of some issues with apartment balconies. City staff recommended that Eagle Pointe’s 2024 license be approved on the conditions that they fully repair all of the apartment balconies with proper permits and continue to cooperate with police and city staff. The property managers from Eagle Pointe were in attendance, and spoke in favor of the city staff’s recommendation. The recommendation passed unanimously.
- Public hearing: Council held a public hearing to vacate unused right of way in relation to the Thompson Square East townhome project. No one from the public spoke, and Council voted unanimously to approve the motion.
- Closed session: The Economic Development Authority (EDA) held a closed session to discuss the purchase of 424 Butler Avenue East.
- Public comments: There were two public comments, one requesting a crosswalk at the intersection of Oakdale and Lothenbach (an improvement scheduled for 2027) and another asking when Wendy’s will open and what business will be moving into the former Dunham’s property.
Engage
- Watch: City Council and OCWS meetings are archived online.
- Learn more: Guide to West St. Paul City Council.
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