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Major issues for Monday’s West St. Paul City Council meeting include management of the dome, emerald ash borer and tree replacement, and a potential Council salary increase.
Management of the Dome
During the Open Council Work Session (OCWS), Council will discuss the future management of the West St. Paul Regional Athletic Center, known colloquially as the Dome.
- Current state: The Dome has been under third-party management since it opened in 2012.
- Proposal: City staff propose bringing the management in-house and creating a new recreation facilities manager position to oversee the Dome and other facilities, including the ice arena, the pool, athletic fields, and park buildings.
- Why: The Dome currently has two maintenance issues that will cost approximately $100,000 and $1 million to fix. These are examples that could have been caught sooner with in-house management more focused on long-term issues. Also, by managing the Dome itself, the city can prioritize community needs and better serve the community.
- Cost: There’s not much of a financial difference between the two approaches, though in-house management has potential infrastructure savings.
Emerald Ash Borer
Ash trees in West St. Paul have been decimated by the emerald ash borer. The city has treated ash trees since 2015, though it’s becoming less effective and increasingly expensive. During the OCWS, Council will discuss options.
- Impact: The city has 1,041 ash trees on street boulevards and in parks.
- Options: Shifting to a long-term plan means focusing on removal and replacement of existing ash trees. The question is how quickly to do that. Staff has three proposals for how quickly to remove and replace: aggressive, moderate, or slow.
- Cost: The cost ranges from $1 million to $1.2 million, with faster being cheapest and slow being the most expensive.
- Timeline: The aggressive approach would be complete by 2030, the moderate by 2034, and the slow by 2040.
Council Salary Increase
By law, the city’s Charter Commission needs to consider a pay increase for City Council in even years.
- Increase: The Charter Commission met last month and proposed the following increases:
- 3% increase for 2027 and a 2.5% increase for 2028.
- That brings total salaries for the mayor to $14,935 for 2027 and $15,308 for 2028, and for Council members to $12,875 for 2027 and $13,197 for 2028.
- Process: As a Charter amendment, these salary increases need to be approved unanimously. There will be a public hearing and final reading on April 13.
Other Items on the Agenda
- Parking: Council will hold the final reading to restrict boat, trailer, and RV parking on city streets to 48 hours. This was approved unanimously during the first reading and no one spoke during the public hearing.
- Charter: Council will also consider updating the entire City Charter with gender neutral language.
Engage
- Watch: The public can watch the meeting live on Town Square TV or cable TV starting at 6:30 p.m. (5:45 p.m. for the OCWS) on Monday.
- Learn more: Guide to West St. Paul City Council.
These West St. Paul City Council previews happen with the support of our members. Local news is a group effort, and we couldn’t do it without them.