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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025/03/17 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - RegularOfficial minutes City council meeting St. Louis Park, Minnesota March 17, 2025 1. Call to order. Mayor Mohamed called the meeting to order at 6:19 p.m. a. Pledge of allegiance b. Roll call Council members present: Mayor Nadia Mohamed, Paul Baudhuin, Tim Brausen, Lynette Dumalag, Yolanda Farris, Margaret Rog Council members absent: Sue Budd Staff present: City manager (Ms. Keller), city attorney (Ms. Asani), deputy city manager (Ms. Walsh), recreation supervisor (Ms. Abernathy), recreation superintendent (Ms. Friederich), engineering director (Ms. Heiser), utilities superintendent (Mr. Holm), deputy city clerk (Ms. Scott Lerdal), parks and recreation director (Mr. West) Guests: Human Rights Commission Chair Lawler Turnball, Human Rights Commission Vice Chair Alvarez; Becky Bakken, President and CEO of Westopolis 2. Approve agenda. It was moved by Council Member Rog, seconded by Council Member Baudhuin, to approve the agenda as presented. The motion passed 6-0 (Council Member Budd absent). 3. Presentations. a. Presentation of Human Rights Award Chair Lawler Turnball and Vice Chair Alvarez presented the 2024 human rights awards to Dana Strahnson. Ms. Strahnson is a youth services librarian at the St. Louis Park Library. They thanked her for her dedicated service to the city and human rights efforts. Ms. Strahnson thanked the city council and all her city partners for the award and for their support of her work. Mayor Mohamed stated this award honors those who support human rights and thanked Ms. Strahnson for her work in this area. She stated this is a great opportunity to keep contributing to the community. Council Member Rog added her gratitude also for Ms. Strahnson making a difference in the community and stated she looks forward to meeting with her one-on-one someday soon. Council Member Farris added that during her work with Perspectives, she heard a lot about Ms. Strahnson’s work and congratulated her. Docusign Envelope ID: 3CFD916A-E6DA-42FD-9B21-E6E531577BF7 City council meeting -2- March 17, 2025 b. Recognition of donations Ms. Abernathy, parks supervisor, accepted a donation of $4,345.68 from the St. Louis Park Rotary for music in the parks. c. Westopolis annual update Ms. Bakken presented the annual update. She noted she is also a member of the St. Louis Park Rotary, which just presented a donation to the parks for the music in the park program. She noted that 2024 has been Westopolis’ best performance year since 2020 with a strong hotel market. Council Member Rog asked how the Westopolis organization is funded. Ms. Bakken stated it is funded by a lodging tax. Cities may collect up to 3% on lodging and short-term facilities such as hotels by ordinance. St. Louis Park and Golden Valley are the fiscal agents and actually collect this tax. From this 3% lodging tax, Westopolis directs 5% to administrative fees. The other 95% of the tax must go to a non-profit whose sole mission is to market and promote the area, which is where Westopolis comes in. Council Member Rog asked if there is an approximate amount of lodging tax collected by the city last year. Ms. Keller stated she would research that and get back to council. Council Member Rog asked if the funds go into the general fund. Ms. Keller stated the money is earmarked for specific purposes and council in the past has made policy direction such as public art. Ms. Keller stated she will get back to council on this question as well. Council Member Rog asked about feedback received by Westopolis upon the organization’s recent change of name from Discover St. Louis Park. Ms. Bakken shared that there was some initial confusion, and they heard questions about whether St. Louis Park and Golden Valley were becoming one city, or how the organization is related to the City of St. Louis Park. She noted much of this confusion has been cleared up, and there is more opportunity to explain what Westopolis is now. Ms. Bakken stated the work Westopolis does is not new, but noted this area offers a wide market for greater Minnesota to come visit. Council Member Rog asked if there are increased public safety costs when big events take place in St. Louis Park. Ms. Bakken stated it is not a big factor in this market and is generally similar to any other day or time. If it is a very large event such as the Super Bowl, then there are public service increases, but she stated she did not have a monetary figure related to this. Council Member Rog stated there were concerns during the Super Bowl about human trafficking and increased public safety measures across the whole metro area. Ms. Bakken stated the National Football League was helpful in providing information and training for police, hotels, and restaurants in the area during the Superbowl related to public safety issues. Docusign Envelope ID: 3CFD916A-E6DA-42FD-9B21-E6E531577BF7 City council meeting -3- March 17, 2025 Council Member Rog asked for an example of a sports tourism event in St. Louis Park. Ms. Bakken referenced the American Broomball Association, a national group who recently hosted an event at the Outdoor Recreation Center. She reflected that it was a good collaboration and took a lot of work. She stated it was a very successful event in 2024, involving collaboration with the parks and recreation department to put city constituents first. Council Member Rog noted the city’s historical society has information on the community and she would like to see some walking tours provided by Westopolis about the city’s great history. Ms. Bakken stated this is a good idea and something that would be a great service. Council Member Brausen added he is happy to see the increase in revenues and asked if the amount for 2024 was $1.6 million in lodging tax. Ms. Bakken confirmed the amount. Council Member Brausen remarked that the city collected over $60,000 for reimbursement of administrative costs for Westopolis, which is fantastic to see. He referenced the downsizing that occurred in 2020 and stated that it is great news to see the market rebounding now after four years. Council Member Dumalag thanked Ms. Bakken for the presentation and stated she is happy to see the uptick in visitors and revenue. She asked about future bookings at the Minneapolis Convention Center and whether there are needs for hotel space in St. Louis Park. Ms. Bakken stated Westopolis is aware of future bookings for the convention center in 2025, and up to 2029. Though there are big events coming, she noted that 2025 is projected to be somewhat down from 2024. She stated St. Louis Park hotel bookings are predicted to be somewhat flat in 2025 because of this, , adding the convention center bookings are projected to increase in 2026. She stated that Westopolis has heard from groups that they are not planning to host events in St. Louis Park because the light rail is not yet in service. Council Member Dumalag asked if any corporations on the west side of the metro are responsible for bookings. Ms. Bakken stated yes, and that there is much better business and visitors to St. Louis Park versus Minneapolis. Council Member Dumalag noted St. Louis Park’s hospital system, which may have needs for long-term stays within the city’s hotel systems. Ms. Bakken agreed that this is an important consideration. Council Member Baudhuin brought up the recent world cup cross-country ski race, noting that an international event put the host location - Theodore Wirth Park - on the map. He asked if there is any push to get that event back here in 2026. Ms. Bakken stated yes and noted this took place in February 2023. She stated the challenges in hosting include planning for whether there will be sufficient snow, whether Minneapolis can host the event, and how often. She noted that World Juniors Hockey is coming to St. Paul and will be a major event with spill-over into other communities as well. 4. Minutes. a. Minutes of Feb. 18, 2025 city council meeting Docusign Envelope ID: 3CFD916A-E6DA-42FD-9B21-E6E531577BF7 City council meeting -4- March 17, 2025 It was moved by Council Member Rog, seconded by Council Member Farris, to approve the Feb. 18, 2025 city council meeting minutes as presented. The motion passed 6-0 (Council Member Budd absent). 5. Consent items. a. Resolution No. 25-041 accepting donation from the Rotary Club of St. Louis Park for the Parks and Recreation summer concert series b. Second reading and adoption of zoning Ordinance No. 2692-25 for planned unit development - Minnetonka Boulevard Twin Homes - Ward 1 c. Approve Beltline Station plat extension - Ward 1 d. Second reading of Ordinance No. 2693 -25 amending city code chapter 8 establishing cannabis and lower-potency hemp retail registration and appendix A fees e. Second reading of Ordinance No. 2694-25 amending city code chapters 8 and 18 regarding tobacco licensing and paraphernalia f. Resolution No. 25-042 approving Wellhead Protection Plan Part 1 and continued work with the Multi-Community Wellhead Protection Plan Pilot study group work for Part 2 It was moved by Council Member Brausen, seconded by Council Member Baudhuin, to approve the consent items as listed; and to waive reading of all resolutions and ordinances. The motion passed 6-0 (Council Member Budd absent). 6. Public hearings – none. 7. Regular business – none. 8. Communications and announcements. Ms. Keller stated Minnetonka Boulevard by city hall will close on March 31. She noted there are maps online to find the entrance to city hall. Council Member Baudhuin noted that Benilde-St. Margaret’s High School won the girl's state basketball tournament for the third straight year. He congratulated them for their win. Council Member Rog noted she watched St. Louis Park Pee Wee boys hockey at the Plymouth Arena recently. They made it to the state tournament, to the championship, and there was a great turnout. She congratulated the team on its success. 9. Adjournment. The meeting adjourned at 7:13 p.m. ______________________________________ ______________________________________ Melissa Kennedy, city clerk Nadia Mohamed, mayor Docusign Envelope ID: 3CFD916A-E6DA-42FD-9B21-E6E531577BF7