Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021/09/13 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Study Session Official minutes City council study session St. Louis Park, Minnesota Sept. 13, 2021 The meeting convened at 6:30 p.m. Councilmembers present: Mayor Jake Spano, Tim Brausen, Lynette Dumalag, Rachel Harris, Larry Kraft, Nadia Mohamed and Margaret Rog Councilmembers absent: none Staff present: City Manager (Ms. Keller), City Clerk (Ms. Kennedy), Interim Deputy City Manager/Director of Operations and Recreation (Ms. Walsh), Volunteer and Wellness Coordinator (Ms. Smith), Communications Manager (Ms. Smith) Guests: JC Beckstrand, Jim Brimeyer (St. Louis Park Charter Commission members); Derek Reise, Executive Director of STEP 1. Charter commission update and future considerations Commissioner Beckstrand provided an overview of the duties and responsibilities of the charter commission and updated the council on the commission’s current work to review certain sections of the charter related to interference with administration and conflicts of interest . He explained the commission authorized the creation of a subcommittee to complete the review and provide a recommendation to the commission on proposed changes. He stated the commission’s obligations are to ensure good governance through transparency and accountability to the public. He noted the commission should review the charter periodically and suggest changes, as needed, with these tenets in mind. Commissioner Brimeyer reviewed the work of the commission and subcommittee. He stated the subcommittee and the commission have spent a lot of time discussing and debating the best way to clarify certain sections of the charter to achieve the desired outcomes of greater transparency and accountability in how alleged violations of the charter are handled and to provide greater clarity to elected officials on what constitutes a conflict of interest and when it should be disclosed. Ms. Kennedy clarified that no specific amendments or language are being proposed at this time. At the last meeting of the Charter Commission the group decided it would be a good idea to get feedback from council on the main topics identified in the staff report to help provide a framework for future discussions by the commission and determine next steps. Councilmember Brausen asked how many members were on the charter commission, noting that several members had left due to relocation. Ms. Kennedy stated the commission has 15- members and confirmed there are several vacancies. She noted members of the Charter Commission are appointed by the Chief Judge of the Hennepin County District Court. Councilmember Harris asked how the subcommittee members were recruited . Commissioner Beckstrand stated the members were nominated by the commission. DocuSign Envelope ID: 4170C448-18C6-4F3B-A4CF-8524455BA6F4 Study session minutes -2- Sept. 13, 2021 Councilmember Harris asked how the goal of promoting a highly engaged citizenry and community is connected to the review of the sections identified. Commissioner Beckstrand stated you will find this when looking broadly at the goals and general practices of charter commissions across the country. Commissioner Kraft asked if the areas of concern identified in the report arose out of the alleged violation by a former councilmember from last year or if there were some longstanding concerns. Commissioner Brimeyer stated the Charter Commission was not interested in discussing past allegation and was most concerned about the best way to handle things going forward. Commissioner Beckstrand added some of the concerns that came up reflected potential areas of weakness or lack of clarity in the charter, but the alleged violation from last year was not the sole driving factor behind initiative. Commissioner Brimeyer stated overall the commission wants to ensure that the city’s elected officials understand that they are accountable to the community and the perception of their actions matters. He noted it is important to have oversight so the public can have the ability to question if something isn’t right. Mayor Spano stated he supports the concept of third-party investigations as it relates to alleged violations of the charter, noting an extra set of eyes is not a bad thing. He explained his main concern was the potential to weaponize the charter, particularly in instances where it could be reactionary to an unpopular council decision. Commissioner Brimeyer stated the commission wanted to avoid that situation as well. Mr. Beckstrand added if a matter came in front of the charter commission for investigation, the item would still go back to council for review and adjudication. Councilmember Rog stated she is comfortable with voters being the outside body that ultimately determines who is elected and represents the city. She is uncomfortable with the idea or assumption that the city manager is not able to objectively handle alleged violations of the charter and disagrees that it is a conflict of interest for the city manager or city attorney to be involved in the process. Regarding specific conflicts of interest of council members, she stated many elected officials have expertise in various areas that intersect with their work, it does not mean that they personally benefit from that connection or have an inherent conflict. She noted background can also help them to have interest in public service and make them a better representative for the community and the initiatives they are most passionate about . Councilmember Kraft stated he will respond to the discussion questions in the packet, adding that the city manager and city attorney do not work for him or any of his council colleagues personally or solely, and he does not see an issue with conflict of interest from that perspective. Regarding the issue from 2020, he did not see a problem with that process or how it was handled. Councilmember Kraft stated he supports updating the conflict-of-interest disclosure requirements for public officials. He added he did not see an issue with conflict-of-interest definitions and scope for public officials and is open to proposals from the commission . He DocuSign Envelope ID: 4170C448-18C6-4F3B-A4CF-8524455BA6F4 Study session minutes -3- Sept. 13, 2021 stated he is not in favor of third-party investigations. He does not see anything wrong with how the investigation was handled last year and is not in favor of requiring a third-party investigation. He would like to know specifically where there was not transparency in the process or how the process did not work. Councilmember Kraft stated he does not see an issue with the question of the city attorney overseeing an investigation process for the city or with the council making the final determination about one of their colleagues. He stated he does not take an oath to any of his colleagues, a councilmember takes an oath to uphold the constitution. He stated he does not see an issue with this item. Councilmember Harris stated it would be beneficial to define what a conflict-of-interest is. She added for the disclosure requirements of conflict -of-interest, the timing should be as soon as possible. She asked for greater clarification on how a benefit is defined when determining if there is a conflict-of-interest. She stated regarding intent of section 2.08, she is uncomfortable with the charter commission having oversight of council but is comfortable with the charter commission having oversight of governance in general. She stated she is not in favor of automatic third-party investigations of alleged violations. Councilmember Mohamed stated these are all valid points and transparency and accountability are both very important for council, as well as disclosure of conflicts. She stated when the council sets up mechanisms, the concern is what will this look like in the future, and the charter will need to withstand the changes of time and not fall to human biases, especially if the commission does not represent the community racially, economically, or socially. She stated we need to make sure we ask who is in the room and who is making the decisions, and many times it is not black or brown folks making those decisions. Councilmember Dumalag stated disclosure of a conflict of interest should happen as soon as possible and she is in full support of making that as clear as possible. Related to transparency and accountability, she supports the concepts, but has concerns about who is on the charter commission, how decisions are made, and has discomfort around this in general because she would need more information to understand what the issue is that they are trying to address. Councilmember Brausen stated he is always in favor of increased transparency, however; he is not certain the current method addressing conflict-of-interest is inadequate. He stated there is no specific language in front of the council that they can react to, so he would like to see options and what other cities are doing before he could discuss this further. He would also like more discussion about councilmembers non-profit activity and conflict-of-interest before making decisions. Mayor Spano stated he has dealt with these issues over the past 10 years, especially considering his regular job. He noted discussing conflicts-of-interest is very vague, adding he agrees if there is a conflict, a councilmember does have an obligation to d isclose early. He noted the definitions and scope must be as clear as possible . Mayor Spano stated related to the first point about accountability, he does agree with having a third-party entity do an investigation if needed and pointed out other areas where this is done DocuSign Envelope ID: 4170C448-18C6-4F3B-A4CF-8524455BA6F4 Study session minutes -4- Sept. 13, 2021 within the city, such as the third-party yearly audit report. He added, however, the third-party entity should report to the city manager and city attorney and work with staff. Having the charter commission oversee this is not correct as they are not elected officials and there could be conflicts-of-interest within the charter commission as well. Commissioner Beckstrand stated the commission looked at statute when discussing what a conflict is, how it should be defined and how far down the chain of connection to an elected official the definition should be applied. Councilmember Kraft asked if Mayor Spano was saying that third-party investigations should be a requirement. Mayor Spano stated no. Councilmember Kraft stated he would support a third- party investigation if it was warranted. Commissioners Beckstrand and Brimeyer thanked council for their time and feedback. 2. STEP update: current state of food access and insecurity Mr. Reise presented the report, noting it will include trends on food insecurity and poverty, especially during the pandemic. He stated trends before the pandemic show the poverty rate has decreased since 2012 in St. Louis Park, but housing costs have increased and there are many residents who can no longer afford to live here and have had to move out of the community. Mr. Reise stated STEP has pivoted toward housing during the pandemic, noting they served 1 out of 100 families in St. Louis Park with rent assistance. With this financial support for housing, many families were limited out of poverty during the pandemic. Mr. Reise stated because of the uncertainty of food insecurity, STEP is needed and this in part has fostered STEP’s expansion at this time. He added this will help with a high standard food program for the community, that can adapt with fluctuations on what is going on in the larger world. Councilmember Mohamed stated when her family first moved to the community, they relied on STEP for food, clothing, and school supplies. She noted the impacts to families and women of color and asked if STEP has a system in place when temporary help is done. Mr. Reise stated the majority of households that STEP serves are female only led households. He stated STEP has enough access to food and were able to get food in place when the pandemic hit. Councilmember Mohamed asked if STEP has access to a healthy variety and nutritious food. Mr. Reise stated yes, and they have worked to expand this by increased refrigeration capacity, using local retail stores, and receiving not yet expired foods. Councilmember Mohamed thanked STEP for the rental assistance, adding she has referred many to them during the pandemic. She asked about evictions and noted at times the judicial discretion does not protect renters. Mr. Reise noted Minnesota is in a much stronger place than other states related to evictions, so he has not seen any increase or decrease during the pandemic related to evictions. DocuSign Envelope ID: 4170C448-18C6-4F3B-A4CF-8524455BA6F4 Study session minutes -5- Sept. 13, 2021 Councilmember Harris noted STEPs shifting emphasis during the pandemic with renter assistance and asked if this program will end this fall. Mr. Reise stated he is not aware of this, adding that many funds have not yet been distributed. Councilmember Harris asked how many have asked for housing assistance and if the funds stop down the road, what other type of assistance will be available through STEP . Mr. Reise stated this is an unknown at this time. He stated they are getting inquiries from 3-4 families per month, adding these federal funds are for pandemic related hardships only. Councilmember Harris asked if there any gaps in what STEP is able to provide. Mr. Reise stated the biggest gaps are related to specific emergencies related to housing and rent increases . He added transportation is another issue that STEP is not able to help with and can only provide temporary bus cards. Councilmember Rog stated she works for a non-profit that provides food and had noted food needs decline here as well. She noted undocumented families are not eligible for benefits and asked if Mr. Reise is seeing any issues related to this. Mr. Reise stated they do not ask for documentation, but noted these families are still receiving STEP services, and in deeper ways than others. Councilmember Rog asked how the council can be responsive and supportive here. Mr. Reise stated the city’s funding of the STEP housing program has helped in the past. He noted the federal government did loosen the requirements here for undocumented families, so STEP has been able to serve those families. He noted when there is great federal support for pandemic issues, there is an equity concern due to lack of funds. Councilmember Rog asked if MNSURE navigators are at STEP to help families get health insurance. Mr. Reise stated no, adding they do not have the capacity to do the training for this . He stated however they do point families to the insurance program and stated they have not seen a huge demand for this type of assistance at STEP . Councilmember Rog noted in the past, STEP has discussed the idea of having a multi-service center to be in partnership with the schools and city and asked if this is still being looked at . Mr. Reise stated STEP has pivoted from that approach and currently looking to expand providing the resources they do provide, by themselves. He added community partnerships are very valuable with the city and schools, but there are ways to do this without the physical requirements of a multi-service center. Councilmember Rog asked how much the city currently allocates to STEP annually. Mr. Reise stated STEP receives funds from the city in 3 ways: an annual amount of support at $47,000; a specific amount for family housing security at $65,000; and indirect funding with the housing authority. He added they also received federal funding through the housing authority. Councilmember Rog stated there are other federal funds available now and she wondered if STEP is looking at leveraging these funds for equipment or other items. Mr. Reise stated most DocuSign Envelope ID: 4170C448-18C6-4F3B-A4CF-8524455BA6F4 Study session minutes -6- Sept. 13, 2021 of the federal funds available are for programs, and ARPA funds can be used for some capital improvements such as HVAC. Councilmember Rog asked how the city can engage in discovery with STEP, such as childcare, transportation and jobs, and if this is an appropr iate relationship for the city and STEP to engage in. Mr. Reise stated STEP is very willing to partner with the city on these initiatives . Councilmember Rog stated the more data they have and awareness, the more help can be provided, and encouraged the conversations to be ongoing. Councilmember Kraft asked what STEPs biggest areas of concerns or risk are at this time. Mr. Reise stated that is housing and helping to make the city a place that can continue to provide housing for all. He added this a short- and long-term concern that continues to happen. Councilmember Kraft asked what the biggest areas of food insecurity in St. Louis Park are. Mr. Reise stated his concerns are that STEP is the largest entity doing this work in the cit y and he wants to be sure STEP continues to be accessible, adding there is always room for improvement. Councilmember Dumalag asked if there is any racial or age demographic information that can be shared. Mr. Reise stated 40% are under 18, 15% are over 65, and that has been consistent over the years. He added racially the numbers correspond with racial breakdowns of those living in poverty within the city. He stated 35-40% are African American, 20% identify as multiracial, and 20-25% are Hispanic. Councilmember Dumalag asked about household income or AMI. Mr. Reise stated about 91% of families served by STEP are under the poverty line and 100% are less than 185% of poverty. Councilmember Dumalag asked if STEP has an endowment. Mr. Reise stated they have a board- created endowment at $400,000 approximately. Councilmember Dumalag stated it can be exciting to do a capital campaign, but she is always concerned about operating and an entity being able to run in the future and she is glad there is support here. Councilmember Brausen asked if groceries are being delivered. Mr. Reise stated yes to about 50 families per month. He thanked Mr. Reise for all the work that STEP does. Councilmember Harris noted she has volunteered at STEP in the past and asked if f olks need to work with the social worker when coming in for food. Mr. Reise stated yes there is an appointment system, but on Tuesday or Thursday afternoons families can come to pick up a pre-packed bag of fruits, vegetables, frozen meats, milk, eggs, and bread. He stated this is publicized with folks already in the system and social media. Councilmember Harris asked for this information to be shared with the council so members can help with promotion . Mayor Spano thanked Mr. Reise for all the work STEP does. He noted STEP’s facilities are noted for future council discussions. He noted the earlier discussion on rent increases for low-income DocuSign Envelope ID: 4170C448-18C6-4F3B-A4CF-8524455BA6F4 Study session minutes -7- Sept. 13, 2021 families and stated there is a larger population that STEP serves that is deep and broad and the city is blessed to have STEP there to serve those needs. Councilmember Brausen asked for the timeline when the building will be completed. Mr. Reise stated the tenant in the building has now left, and STEP is working to raise funds to expand and remodel the building, adding it will take some time for this. Councilmember Rog stated there is a plan to discuss food security again but wanted to confirm STEP does not feel there is a shortage of healthy food in the community. Mr. Reise stated there is not a shortage of healthy food, but there might be some access issues. Councilmember Rog stated access continues to be a challenge and asked what the challenges are. Mr. Reise stated improvement of cultural competencies and engaging in racial equity work as a community and being responsive to all people’s needs. Councilmember Rog noted that Seeds Feeds is not competition for STEP and asked if there is synergy between the two organizations. Mr. Reise stated STEP has partnered with Seeds Feeds and connected clients with their cooking and nutrition programs and helped with food distribution. He stated these are areas they can complement each other and help folks with accessibility to both programs. Councilmember Harris stated some folks feel there is a stigma in signing up for STEP and noted the partnership with Seeds Feeds can help with residents reaching out for help, while addressing access needs. 3. Future study session agenda planning and prioritization Councilmember Harris referenced the Sept. 27 agenda and the topic “Transportation Commission.” Ms. Keller stated there was an error in timeline for this item and noted there are a number of upcoming study session items that will be combined. Staff will bring a proposal to council and look at a systems approach. Councilmember Harris asked if this topic will come up before the end of the year, since she will not be on council. Ms. Keller stated this would be taken into consideration . Councilmember Kraft asked if a prioritization can be done. Ms. Keller stated that would be helpful as well. Councilmember Rog asked if food security will be discussed again independent of STEP . Ms. Keller stated a discussion around food security, a potential task force and facilities will all be discussed at the same time. Councilmembers Kraft and Dumalag discussed a study session discussion proposal related to limiting outdoor smoking on patios and looking at a policy decision. Councilmember Kraft stated there is an equity issue in that employees do not have the option of leaving a very smoke-filled area. Councilmember Dumalag stated there is no distinction between smoking and non-smoking areas on these outdoor patios at this time within the city. DocuSign Envelope ID: 4170C448-18C6-4F3B-A4CF-8524455BA6F4 Study session minutes -8- Sept. 13, 2021 Councilmember Mohamed stated she is in support of this and would like more discussion. Mayor Spano stated he is not supportive of the discussion. Councilmember Brausen supports the discussion and asked for information on how many properties are involved. Councilmember Harris stated she hesitates restriction of the patio areas for smokers but is open to talking about this and would like to look at data points. Mayor Spano stated we have no restrictions currently, he is not clear on the discussion points yet, and is concerned about heading down another path of issues. He directed staff to prepare the discussion for a future council study session. Mayor Spano noted a discussion on land acknowledgement and if there was interest in this. He stated once this is more firm, council can look further at this for a study session discussion. Communications/meeting check-in (verbal) Discussion on written reports Councilmember Rog noted she prefers the sidewalk report be a discussion. Ms. Keller asked if this was a future study session topic. Mayor Spano stated it is on the list for discussion. Councilmember Rog stated she would like to spend more time on this with a discussion soon . Councilmember Kraft agreed there needs to be discussion on the sidewalk topic and asked if it could it be added to the Sept. 27, 2021, study session. Councilmember Brausen stated he would like robust community discussion on this topic. Mayor Spano stated he is not opposed to discussing this, but there are other priorities . Ms. Keller stated there appears to be a need to look at priorities and discussion process again, and staff will come back with a proposal to council. She stated she will discuss with staff to see if this discussion can come back to council at the Sept . 27, 2021, study session. Councilmember Harris asked about the MSA funds written report and asked if a discussion can happen around this topic. Ms. Keller stated if there is interest to discuss the scope, the timeline is close now. Councilmember Harris stated she is interested if there will be impacts on the scope that would affect the tax levy. She noted the price can go down from the maximum noted in the report, so therefore she is not interested in changing the scope. Councilmember Kraft agreed. Councilmember Rog added she is not interested in reducing cos ts either because she does not want more on-street buffered bike lanes. She stated she is supportive of the cycle tracks. Mayor Spano stated the report did not address anything that was not Louisiana Ave nue for the bike structure. He noted dedicated and separate makes sense but again, staff should be looking for options that are not on the busiest roads. DocuSign Envelope ID: 4170C448-18C6-4F3B-A4CF-8524455BA6F4 Study session minutes -9- Sept. 13, 2021 Councilmember Brausen stated option 2 might work and he is interested in hearing how the bollards work. He is also supportive of this as the best possible product for the community. Mayor Spano stated related to the American Recovery Plan report , he is not sure if staff works on grants and asked if there is a way for Minneapolis to support a regional effort on this . Councilmember Kraft stated the Just Deeds update is largely symbolic and should be linked to historical housing discrimination issues, within zoning, and so it can be tied into community support. Mayor Spano added he has discussed with the city attorney using his home as an educational piece related to Just Deeds. Councilmember Rog noted this Saturday is “Minnesothai” at Wat Prom temple and Mayor Spano will make a presentation. The event is from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. She encouraged folks to bike or park at Beth-El Synagogue and walk on the bridge. Ms. Keller stated Fire Station #1 is having an open house event on Friday from 4:30 -7:30 p.m. Mayor Spano stated on Friday there was a threat of violence against Beth -El and he wanted to thank police and the swift response from the Jewish community to make sure the word got out related to this anti-Semitic threat. He thanked all those involved. The meeting adjourned at 9:31 p.m. Written Reports provided and documented for recording purposes only: 4 Just Dees update 5. Neighborhood and community sidewalk designation 6. 2022 preliminary property tax levy certification 7. American Recovery Plan Act 8. Municipal State Aid road project scope ______________________________________ ______________________________________ Melissa Kennedy, city clerk Jake Spano, mayor DocuSign Envelope ID: 4170C448-18C6-4F3B-A4CF-8524455BA6F4