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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025/07/07 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - RegularOfficial minutes City council meeting St. Louis Park, Minnesota July 7, 2025 1. Call to order. Mayor Mohamed called the meeting to order at 6:17 p.m. a. Pledge of allegiance b. Roll call Council members present: Paul Baudhuin, Tim Brausen, Sue Budd, Yolanda Farris, Margaret Rog, Mayor Nadia Mohamed Council members absent: Lynette Dumalag Staff present: City manager (Ms. Keller), city attorney (Mr. Mattick), administrative services director (Ms. Brodeen), community engagement coordinator (Mr. Coleman), city clerk (Ms. Kennedy), HR director (Ms. Vorpahl) Guest: Aneta Toporowska Lennartson, Executive Director of Slavic Experience 2. Approve agenda. It was moved by Council Member Budd, seconded by Council Member Farris, to approve the agenda as presented. The motion passed 6-0 (Council Member Dumalag absent). 3. Presentations a. Proclamation observing Slavic Experience Weekend Mayor Mohamed read the proclamation declaring Aug. 2-3, 2025 as Slavic Experience Weekend in St. Louis Park. Ms. Toporowska Lennartson, Executive Director of Slavic Experience, expressed her gratitude to the mayor and city council for the proclamation, stating she appreciates the support and looks forward to the event. Council Member Rog stated she feels her “Polish heart full of pride” with this proclamation. She shared that her father was a Polish immigrant and the Polish culture was a large part of her childhood. She expressed her pleasure and pride, stating that she will attend the event and looks forward to it. b. Recognition of donations Mayor Mohamed noted the following donations: Docusign Envelope ID: A3091E19-C2BD-45B6-AF08-EA33F682B17F City council meeting -2- July 7, 2025 • Jane Hagstrom donated $50 to Westwood Hills Nature Center program enhancements in memory of Zetta Zog • Bill and Claudia England donated $500 to the park enhancements and programs at Westwood Hills Nature Center • Jenny Sheen, care of Alpha Phi Sorority, donated $300 to the park and recreation department for a tree at Pennsylvania Park honoring Wayne Anderson 4. Minutes a. Minutes of June 9, 2025, study session b. Minutes of June 16, 2025, city council meeting It was moved by Council Member Brausen, seconded by Council Member Farris, to approve the June 9, 2025, study session meeting minutes and the June 16, 2025, city council meeting minutes as presented. The motion passed 6-0 (Council Member Dumalag absent). 5. Consent items a. Approve city disbursements b. Resolution No. 25-073 accepting donations to Parks and Recreation Department c. Resolution No. 25-074 providing for the issuance and sale of bonds d. Resolution No. 25-075 electing not to waive the statutory tort limits for liability insurance e. Reject bids for management of the wood and yard waste transfer site f. Resolution No. 25-076 authorizing final payment for 2024 Concrete Replacement Project (4024-0003) Council Member Rog asked to comment on consent item 5e and noted she is pleased the city is moving forward with the wood and yard waste transfer site in a more economical way. She stated staff will explore further options by revisiting the Request for Proposal (RFP) to revise and put it back out for bid. Council Member Rog stated that when putting together the new RFP, she hopes staff will seek to preserve the services that residents currently enjoy; convenient, quality-of-life services such as free compost, discounted wood chips, and free brush drop-off sites. She noted that with budget constraints, sometimes services are removed. In this case, the end-user is important and she is hopeful that the RFP will still include yard waste services made available to residents in the future. It was moved by Council Member Budd, 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 Dumalag absent). 6. Public hearings – none. Docusign Envelope ID: A3091E19-C2BD-45B6-AF08-EA33F682B17F City council meeting -3- July 7, 2025 7. Regular business a. First reading of ordinance amending city code chapter 2 regarding school board member seats on boards and commissions Mr. Coleman presented the staff report. He noted the policy consideration: Does the council wish to proceed with the ordinance amendments proposed to the city code chapter 2 regarding boards and commissions? He explained the amendments proposed reflect the transition of school board-appointed positions to regular member positions on boards and commissions. Mr. Coleman noted the following commissions have current school board-appointed positions: • Community Technology Advisory Commission has one position • Human Rights Commission has one position • Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission has three positions • Planning Commission has one position Mr. Coleman explained the new approach and proposed amendments. He noted that the school district leadership proposed transitioning away from having designated, voting school board members serving in appointed seats on city advisory boards and commissions. Instead, school board representatives would attend commission meetings as needed or as appropriate. Mr. Coleman presented the proposed amendments: • Eliminate existing provisions specifying that a set number of positions on the affected boards are to be appointed by the school board. • Reassign those seats as city council-appointed positions, aligning them with the standard terms and conditions applicable to other regular members. • Update member qualification criteria for the affected boards, reflecting that the school board will no longer be responsible for determining the eligibility of appointees. Mr. Coleman stated that all current members appointed by the school board will have the option to continue their service and be officially appointed by the city council through the established application and appointment process. Official appointments will be made at or before the city council meeting on Sept. 2, 2025. Council Member Rog asked what information motivated the timeline. Mr. Coleman stated that the bulk of the work will happen from late July through August, 2025. Appointments will need to be finalized by the end of August 2025, with recommendations made to the city council. Council Member Rog asked if those currently serving will be terminated immediately. Mr. Coleman stated all who are currently serving in these positions have been notified of the entire transition plan and staff would begin working with members interested in continuing their service. Council Member Rog stated she is not comfortable with terminating those serving immediately, especially if they had been working on projects or ad hoc committees. She asked if the proposed liaisons would be district staff and not residents. Mr. Coleman confirmed that liaisons would be members of the administrative staff of the school district Docusign Envelope ID: A3091E19-C2BD-45B6-AF08-EA33F682B17F City council meeting -4- July 7, 2025 Mayor Mohamed asked if anyone currently in one of these positions is actively working on projects. Mr. Coleman stated yes, noting he is aware of those who are currently working on projects. Ms. Brodeen clarified that there will be a transition period for those who are currently serving. Mr. Coleman noted that those currently serving in one of these positions do have the opportunity to reapply for the seats they are currently serving in. Council Member Budd asked how the new term limits affect the eligibility of those currently serving, and in the case of the one appointee who has served for over 20 years, whether they would be ineligible to reapply due to the term limits. Mr. Coleman said they would not be considered ineligible. The term limits apply to city council-appointed positions. Council Member Rog asked for clarification on those currently serving. She asked if they will be rotated out by Sept. 2, 2025, or if they have the option to stay on and would only vacate their position if they choose. Ms. Brodeen stated that is correct. They have the option to reapply through the city’s application and appointment process. Council Member Rog asked if those appointed in 2024 for a term that began in 2022 would be eligible for a four-year term. Ms. Brodeen stated yes, adding they would be eligible for two more full terms as well. Council Member Budd asked if the language in the codes can be standardized. Council Member Baudhuin asked for clarification on the inconsistencies Council Member Budd is referring to. Council Member Budd pointed out that the inconsistencies involve Community Technology Advisory Committee (CTAC) youth members being listed as a single member, while in other sections, it refers to two seats. She also mentioned that the term “expiration dates” is used inconsistently, and some parts refer to articles that specify the process will be filled by individuals who show interest by submitting city forms, whereas other sections do not. Additionally, she noted that the Planning Commission did not exclude all of the school board appointment procedures, and she identified these as the areas of inconsistency within the policy. Council Member Rog stated that in the code, there is no mention of the school liaison board model, and that is recommended by staff within the code. Mr. Coleman agreed that is correct. Council Member Rog stated she would like to make a motion to proceed with the proposed ordinance amendments and to further revise the code to include language that shows school involvement as a preferred criterion for one seat on each of the following commissions: Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission (PRAC), CTAC, Human Rights Commission (HRC) and Planning Commission. Council Member Rog explained that city school partnerships are long-standing and important in this community, as evidenced by referendums that have passed by over 70% related to recreation spaces that are shared. She noted that about 20% of households have school-aged Docusign Envelope ID: A3091E19-C2BD-45B6-AF08-EA33F682B17F City council meeting -5- July 7, 2025 children. In her view, that is an important factor in what has made St. Louis Park a welcoming place to live, work and go to school. Council Member Rog stated that being at the table when ideas come up is important in how things are planned and unfold. Sometimes, this occurs in ways that are hard to identify. The St. Louis Park school community has been formally engaged on our boards and commissions since 1956, and added there was an intention in that, and it has resulted in good things over the years. Recently, factors have caused this partnership to be diminished, including staffing changes and COVID-19. She noted that the school district and school leadership are stressed and overburdened right now because of all they have to deal with. Council Member Rog stated she understands board members and leadership not having the bandwidth to find and appoint people. She added it does not feel prudent to completely abandon this decades-old commitment, especially with such a short timeframe to review the potential impacts. The council can preserve the original intention and make it even better by having criteria for school involvement and engagement with the community through parents, teachers, volunteers, administrators and early childhood professionals. Council Member Rog stated that the pool of potential candidates could be considered members of the four commissions under discussion, thereby elevating the importance of school committee partnerships by having that voice be at the table for every meeting. Council Member Rog stated her motion is to revise the code to include language that school involvement be a preferred criterion for one seat on each of the commissions. Council Member Rog thanked the council and staff for continuing to work together to make the city’s boards and commissions the most relevant and impactful they can be. Council Member Baudhuin stated he is in favor of this intention, but asked if this is the job of the ordinance and should staff set this as a precedent. Mr. Coleman stated this criteria does not currently exist in the city code. The council could create criteria related to selection policy that has not existed before. Ms. Brodeen added that typically, criteria of this nature is not included in the city code, and recommended the council consider this with the board and commissions selection processes that are already in place. Mayor Mohamed stated she appreciates Council Member Rog’s rationale here, understands the importance of the city’s relationship with the school board and school district, and stated the community is better for it. However, she does not believe this needs to be written into city code. She stated it would better serve as part of the selection criteria, as with other boards and commissions. Therefore, she will not support the motion presented by Council Member Rog. Council Member Baudhuin thanked Council Member Rog for bringing this forward, but stated he wants the code to be as flexible as possible. He stated he understands but is not sure that city code is the place for this intention and he will also vote no on this motion. Docusign Envelope ID: A3091E19-C2BD-45B6-AF08-EA33F682B17F City council meeting -6- July 7, 2025 Council Member Budd stated she is in favor of Council Member Rog’s motion, noting that the criteria is so important that it should be codified. The proposed approach gives flexibility and is a good compromise. Council Member Brausen added that it is an important criterion, but should not be codified so that theoretically, someone could sue the city and say they had school involvement, but that the council appointed someone else. He stated this issue could trigger litigation, as opposed to informing the criteria for selection. Council Member Farris stated she agrees with Council Member Brausen and noted the council does a good job with the selection criteria, and she will not support the motion. It was moved by Council Member Rog, seconded by Council Member Brausen, to include language that states school involvement as a preferred criterion for the four seats in question. The motion failed 2-4 (Mayor Mohamed, Council Members Baudhuin, Brausen, Farris opposed; Council Member Dumalag absent). It was moved by Council Member Budd, seconded by Council Member Brausen, to approve the first reading of an ordinance amending various sections of Ch. 2 of the city code to reflect the transition of school board-appointed members to regular members and to direct staff to address specific areas of inconsistency and verbiage around members and any other general inconsistencies throughout the code where any underlying intention is the same, and to set the second reading for July 21, 2025. The motion passed 6-0 (Council Member Dumalag absent). 8. Communications and announcements. Ms. Keller noted upcoming events that can be found on the city website, including the Bossa Soul concert series which will be held on July 9 and 11, 2025, from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. at the Veterans Memorial Amphitheater; Rollin' @ the Roc to be held on July 10, 2025, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.; and Basketball in the Park on July 10, 2025, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Ainsworth Park. Council Member Budd added she was involved in setting up at the Westwood Nature Center for the Trail of Small Wonders event, and added it was a great event for all. 9. Adjournment. The meeting adjourned at 7:06 p.m. ______________________________________ ______________________________________ Melissa Kennedy, city clerk Nadia Mohamed, mayor Docusign Envelope ID: A3091E19-C2BD-45B6-AF08-EA33F682B17F