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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025/12/08 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Study SessionOfficial minutes Study session meeting St. Louis Park, Minnesota Dec. 8, 2025 The meeting convened at 8:06 p.m. Council members present: Margaret Rog, Lynette Dumalag, Sue Budd, Tim Brausen, Yolanda Farris, Mayor pro tem Paul Baudhuin Council members absent: Mayor Nadia Mohamed Staff present: City manager (Ms. Keller), administrative services director (Ms. Brodeen), community engagement coordinator (Mr. Coleman), planning manager/deputy community development director (Mr. Walther) Guests: Ebony Dumas and Candida Gonzalez, Forecast Public Art; Marcell Walker, Bolton & Menk Discussion item 1. Vision 4.0 final report Ms. Brodeen introduced the Vision 4.0 final report, describing it as the culmination of a year- long community engagement effort that represents the voices, priorities and aspirations of the St. Louis Park community for the next ten years. She thanked the consultant team from Forecast Public Art and Bolton & Menk, staff members Mr. Coleman and Mr. Walther, the community committee members, and the thousands of residents who participated. Ms. Brodeen noted that the report would serve as a foundation to help inform future council strategic decisions beginning in early 2026. Ms. Dumas, Director of Planning and Engagement at Forecast Public Art, introduced herself, Mx. Gonzalez and Mr. Walker from Bolton & Menk, a multi-regional engineering and planning firm. She explained that their team developed and executed a human-centered and comprehensive engagement strategy, collecting qualitative and quantitative data from over 3,000 comments and pieces of feedback. Ms. Dumas emphasized that their approach was distinct from previous visions because they worked with local artists throughout the entire process to meet people where they were. Ms. Dumas provided a high-level overview of the key findings, which included safety, infrastructure, sustainability, investment in community and belonging, and a balance of attainable and affordable housing. She explained that the goals of the community involvement plan included providing clear information about the process, exploring the community's evolving identity, identifying aspirations and recommendations, gathering information from diverse voices with a focus on underrepresented groups, providing various ways for community members to share views, utilizing cost-effective methods and employing diverse methods with targeted outreach. Mx. Gonzalez, community engagement lead with Forecast Public Arts, presented the engagement timeline and methods. The process began in fall 2024 with the executive Docusign Envelope ID: F221114C-6D9C-4E79-B184-1F438C8D561D Study session minutes -2- Dec. 8, 2025 committee visioning sessions. The community engagement phase followed in February 2025 with ambassador cohort sessions. The ambassador cohort consisted of 35 participants who met three times to develop the questions that would be asked throughout the community engagement phase. Mx. Gonzalez emphasized that it was important for St. Louis Park residents and stakeholders to create these questions rather than the consultants. The resulting questions ranged from youth-oriented prompts like "2040 SLP in-and-out list" to broader questions about supporting the next generation. Mx. Gonzalez detailed the various engagement methods and their results. The online community survey asked three questions and received 633 individual responses, which exceeded expectations. Community conversations were facilitated discussions held in homes or places of worship, reaching 96 participants and focusing on quality of responses rather than quantity. Mobile pop-up engagements included four artist pop-ups and 15 additional staff tabling events throughout summer and fall. The artist pop-ups featured Jess Bergman Knight doing enameling at the July 3rd fireworks at Aquila Park, Street Corner Letterpress at Skatepalooza and back-to-school events, and Peter Haakon Thompson's mobile sign shop at Movies in the Park. Mx. Gonzalez noted that the July 3rd event was particularly hot and muggy, and the art fair pop-up was unfortunately rained out. At all artist pop-ups, engagement tables were set up to collect additional feedback through questions and post-it notes. Three open houses were conducted: a virtual open house in August 2025, a Welcoming Week open house at Aquila Park, and tabling at St. Louis Park High School's back-to-school night. At these events, preliminary data from previous input was presented to gather feedback on emerging themes. Mr. Walker presented the engagement statistics, showing that mobile engagement comprised 69% of total outreach, with 2,336 total touchpoints. The online survey accounted for 27% of outreach and provided quantitative data, while community conversations represented 4.1%. He noted that mobile pop-ups yielded primarily qualitative feedback about community desires for St. Louis Park's future. Demographic data from 729 combined survey and community conversation responses showed age distribution with 26-27% under 34 years old, and even distribution between 45-54 and 55- 64 age groups. Mr. Walker noted that not all participants provided age information as it was self-determining. Ethnicity data showed participation from BIPOC community members that aligned well with St. Louis Park's demographics, including African American, Latino, Asian and Jewish residents. Some participants chose not to provide ethnicity information as it was a write- in field. Gender data showed 83% female participation, which Mr. Walker acknowledged was unusually high compared to his 16-17 years of experience in community engagement. Ms. Dumas clarified that demographic data was only consistently collected from online surveys and community Docusign Envelope ID: F221114C-6D9C-4E79-B184-1F438C8D561D Study session minutes -3- Dec. 8, 2025 conversations, representing 724 of the total 2,000+ touchpoints, as mobile pop-ups did not systematically collect demographic information. Mr. Walker then presented the five key themes and recommendations, categorized as aspirational (‘north star’ goals), dynamic (flexible to changing demographics and information), and responsive (nuanced, human-centered aspects specific to disaggregated feedback). Theme 1 - Safety: Creating a community where all people are and feel safe. Mr. Walker noted that safety feedback existed on a spectrum from those feeling very safe to those wanting increased safety. The aspirational goal was to foster a holistic community-wide ecosystem of safety rooted in trust, prevention and well-being for all. Dynamic recommendations included continuously adapting the city's public safety model to include and fund non-officer responses for mental health, social services, and non-emergency calls. Responsive recommendations focused on investing in systemic strategies to build and rebuild trust between public safety and the community and prioritizing ongoing investment in safe infrastructure through traffic calming measures and protected bike lanes. Theme 2 - Infrastructure: Elevating systems that connect and move the city. The aspirational goal was to design city systems prioritizing accessibility, safety, mobility, and the needs of bike riders, pedestrians and transit users, not just vehicle speeds. Feedback indicated that infrastructure often prioritized vehicles over pedestrians, particularly concerning given the city's walkable amenities and parks. Dynamic recommendations included accelerating implementation of the city's bike and pedestrian network plan. Responsive recommendations focused on prioritizing systemic traffic calming and pedestrian safety improvements in all neighborhoods, responding to community-identified hotspots, ensuring equal distribution of sidewalk and crossing investments, and continuously investing in invisible infrastructure including high-speed broadband, water systems and sewer maintenance. Theme 3 - Sustainability: Leading as a responsible steward of natural and financial environments. Mr. Walker explained that stewardship discussions encompassed both environmental and fiscal considerations. The aspirational goal positioned St. Louis Park as a bold and recognized leader in climate action and environmental sustainability. Council Member Rog interjected to emphasize "continue to be a leader," which Mr. Walker acknowledged. Dynamic recommendations included accelerating climate action plan implementation through renewable energy adoption, green infrastructure expansion and citywide waste reduction. Responsive recommendations focused on actively protecting, enhancing, and expanding the city's natural assets including tree canopy, parks and waterways while ensuring equitable access to green space. Mr. Walker noted strong support for maintaining and building out existing green spaces and recreational facilities as a key reason people remain in the community. A dynamic fiscal recommendation emphasized maintaining balanced, transparent financial stewardship for long-term fiscal health. Theme 4 - Community and Belonging: Fostering a vibrant, connected, and inclusive community where everyone belongs. The aspirational goal was to cultivate a city rich in social infrastructure through investment in vibrant, accessible, active public spaces, events and cultural programming that bring people together and foster belonging. Dynamic recommendations included fostering a thriving, diverse local economy by supporting small Docusign Envelope ID: F221114C-6D9C-4E79-B184-1F438C8D561D Study session minutes -4- Dec. 8, 2025 businesses, simplifying processes for entrepreneurs, and actively recruiting restaurants, retail and arts organizations that create third spaces for community connections. Responsive recommendations focused on systematically embedding diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging principles into all city operations. Theme 5 - Housing and Affordability: Ensuring a diverse and attainable range of housing options for all. The aspirational goal ensured St. Louis Park as a community where people of all income levels and life stages can find and maintain affordable homes. Mr. Walker noted that housing feedback varied by demographics, with some seeking affordable elderly housing while newer families looked for suitable housing options. Affordable housing didn't always mean the lowest price but rather housing suitable for community needs across a wide range. Dynamic recommendations included systematically increasing housing supply diversity, particularly the "missing middle" housing by encouraging diverse housing types. Responsive recommendations addressed systemic barriers to building wealth through developing and promoting accessible, equitable homeownership programs. Mr. Walker shared an anecdote about a resident who praised the city's home improvement loan program that allowed them to stay in St. Louis Park and build equity through low-interest loans. Additional dynamic recommendations focused on expanding and promoting programs protecting existing affordable units, both market-rate and subsidized. Ms. Dumas concluded the presentation by introducing "Vision 4.0: Leading with Love, a Vision of Connection for St. Louis Park." She explained that after analyzing data with the executive committee, community committee and reaching over 2,000 people, they added a "Leading with Love" section to capture feedback that might fall outside the city's direct purview but represented important resident perspectives. This section invites the council to make commitments based on resident feedback, acknowledging that while not everything is within city control, each response and perspective is important and captured in the full report. Ms. Brodeen outlined next steps, including a request for proposals currently out for the next phase of strategic priority adoption. Facilitated discussions with council will occur in early 2026, potentially utilizing part of the annual council retreat. Strategic priorities are targeted for adoption around March 2026, followed by development of a strategic plan to be rolled out by June or July 2026. Mayor pro tem Baudhuin read a statement from Mayor Mohamed, who wished she could attend. The mayor's statement thanked staff and community participants, noted that Vision 4.0 reflects clear priorities around expanding housing options, improving transportation safety and mobility, strengthening climate resilience, supporting small businesses and economic vitality, and continuing investment in neighborhoods, parks and infrastructure. The statement emphasized the importance of access, belonging and trust in service delivery and decision- making, and expressed support for the report as providing long-term direction, stronger accountability and consistent standards for future decisions. Council Member Farris expressed appreciation for the engagement team's work, particularly highlighting connections made with young children who were excited to be asked their opinions about St. Louis Park. She shared an anecdote about a neighborhood child who attended basketball in the park and met Patrick, wanting to beat him at basketball and even expressing a desire to "buy St. Louis Park" and make anyone taller than him unable to live there. Council Docusign Envelope ID: F221114C-6D9C-4E79-B184-1F438C8D561D Study session minutes -5- Dec. 8, 2025 Member Farris thanked the team for the hot summer days of engagement at Aquila Park and noted how nice it was to connect with people walking through the park. Council Member Budd commended the creativity of engagement methods and locations, noting they reflected recommendations from council and other sources used in creative ways. She expressed puzzlement about the skewed female-male participation ratio but appreciated efforts to reach underrepresented communities. Council Member Budd looked forward to work-shopping the recommendations. Council Member Brausen thanked the team for their hard work identifying themes and directions, noting that all five themes align with current city work while acknowledging room for improvement and increased focus. He appreciated the detailed report. Council Member Rog expressed appreciation for the report, particularly the "Leading with Love" section and its ideas for future councils. She was initially surprised by safety ranking first but understood after hearing how it encompassed both those feeling safe and wanting to maintain safety, those viewing surrounding areas as dangerous, and underrepresented communities not feeling the same safety. She asked about public availability of the report. Ms. Brodeen confirmed the report is now public and will be posted on the Vision 4.0 webpage the following day, with stories planned for Park Perspective and distribution through social media and regular communication channels. Council Member Rog reiterated her surprise at safety's prominence given current circumstances but recognized its relevance. Having participated in Vision 3.0, she recalled feedback that BIPOC people did not feel seen and found it interesting that current themes now focus on safety and ownership over where people live, showing progress while acknowledging work remains. Ms. Dumas noted that the report addresses representation, with 41.4% of BIPOC respondents saying it was most important to see representation in staff, compared to only 14% of other respondents. Mr. Walker added that trust and rebuilding trust were key themes in disaggregated BIPOC data. Mayor pro tem Baudhuin praised the report's writing, flow and design. He found the five themes both exciting and humbling, recognizing the work required for implementation and anticipating challenges. He looked forward to reading every word of the report. Council Member Budd noted that themes were broadened significantly, with safety meaning more than just police, and housing affordability extending beyond just housing to utility costs, groceries, and property taxes. She emphasized the importance of retaining the affordability theme broadly. Mayor pro tem Baudhuin was not surprised that safety ranked first based on conversations with residents and door-knocking experiences two years prior. He distinguished between being safe and feeling safe, noting that regardless of actual safety, if residents do not feel safe, there is an issue requiring attention. Council Member Farris elaborated on safety concerns, describing situations where people of color walking in neighborhoods prompted police calls, and incidents during COVID when police Docusign Envelope ID: F221114C-6D9C-4E79-B184-1F438C8D561D Study session minutes -6- Dec. 8, 2025 were called on kids playing basketball. She emphasized the disconnect between saying everyone should be able to live and do things in St. Louis Park versus showing it through actions. Ms. Dumas encouraged reviewing the appendix which breaks down responses by neighborhood, showing how different neighborhoods have vastly different perspectives on safety. Mayor pro tem Baudhuin expressed appreciation for the neighborhood breakdown, emphasizing St. Louis Park as a city of neighborhoods with strong identity connections. Council Member Budd asked about varying questions across neighborhoods. Ms. Dumas explained that three questions were asked consistently, but quotes chosen to exemplify each neighborhood's responses could come from any of the three questions. Mr. Walker provided an example from the question "What keeps you in St. Louis Park?" with the response "Our parks and trails, friendly neighbors, and our shared values" representing that neighborhood's overall feedback. Council Member Rog suggested strengthening connections between Vision 4.0 themes and legislative priorities, particularly for revenue, policy support and missing middle housing initiatives at the state level. Staff confirmed that priorities are being infused through policy committee participation to determine legislative positions, with ability to verify alignment afterward. With no further discussion and acknowledging the quality of the report as evidenced by minimal need for robust conversation, Mayor pro tem Baudhuin thanked the consultants for their work. The meeting adjourned at 8:53 p.m. ______________________________________ ______________________________________ Melissa Kennedy, city clerk Nadia Mohamed, mayor These minutes were created with the assistance of a generative AI transcript service, then edited and finalized by a city staff person. Docusign Envelope ID: F221114C-6D9C-4E79-B184-1F438C8D561D