City Council - Regular Meeting

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Call the meeting of the St. Paul City Council to order. Roll call, please.

Yang. Here. Bowie. Coleman. Here. Johnson. Here. Jost.

Here.

Kim. Here. Council President Nacre. Here. Six present, one absent, that being Council Member Bui, who is excused.

Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to our St. Paul City Council meeting. We're thrilled that you could join us today. We invite everyone to join us in standing for the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Consent agenda items 4 through 12 are before you for your consideration.

We are going to need to pull item 11 for separate consideration. Is there anything else to be pulled from consent? Seeing none, I'll take a motion from Vice President Yang for the balance of the consent agenda. All in favor, say aye.

Aye.

All opposed?

Six in favor, none opposed. The consent agenda is adopted as amended. Item 11, resolution 26-1011, supporting the recommendations to the governor for ranking of eligible census tracts for designation as opportunity zones.

And we were just notified that there was a slight technical change that needed to be made. So I'm going to move a version two of this item, and then we will need to vote on it. So it needed to be pulled from consent for the version two. Any discussion of that motion? Seeing none, all in favor say aye.

Aye.

All opposed?

Six in favor, none opposed. The resolution is adopted as amended. Item 13, Resolution 26-1028, Recognizing the Life of Lieutenant Colonel Dr. Kaoblia Vang for His Contributions to St. Paul and Proclaiming July 11 through the 13th as Lieutenant Colonel Dr. Kaoblia Vang Memorial Days in the City of St. Paul. Vice President.

Thank you, Council President. I will be going to the podium. And so we do have a lot of special guests in the room here today for this resolution. So please join me at the podium. Thank you so much.

So we invite everyone to join us at the podium who's here for this item. If you try to stand in between the two golden columns, then you'll be on YouTube Live, which we're very excited about. Thank you for joining us today. Yeah, come on. Crowd in a little bit, because we can have a second row there. There we go.

You can see everybody. All right. Thank you so much, everybody, for this special time here. I will be bringing forward a resolution to honor the life of Lieutenant Colonel Dr. Koo Pleasa Vang. There's so much I want to say about what an incredible person he is. He is a very well-known and just a very significant leader in our Hmong community. Also a family dentist to so many of us. He was also my dentist, too. and you'll hear so much about his life in the resolution here. I want to say thank you to Dr. Kuving's family members for being here. We are joined by so many of his children, grandchildren, also many other community members as well, and his wife is here with me, Song, and so I'm so grateful to her for extending her time during a time of deep grieving to be here as well. And so what I'm going to do is I'm going to read about the resolution here, and then I will bring Pete to the stand to say a few words. I also want to extend a thank you to the entire family and also President Sean Banks. of the Vane Council for reaching out about the resolution here because I'm not able to attend the funeral. I made a personal invitation for them to come to City Hall so they can meet all of you and then accept this in person with us and get a photo as well. So for the resolution, whereas Lieutenant Colonel Dr. Ku Blesa Vane was born in 1955 in Nambu, Laos, to Song Ying and and grew up during a time of war, displacement, and great hardship. Whereas from a young age, Dr. Vang demonstrated courage, resilience, and a deep commitment to service, assisting the United States during the Vietnam War as a radio operator and air traffic controller in Laos. Whereas Dr. Vang endured extraordinary hardship as a prisoner of war, survived separation from his family, escaped danger, and later reunited with his wife, Song Lee, and their daughter after more than a month apart. Whereas after living in a refugee camp in Thailand, Dr. Vang and his family were sponsored by Zion Lutheran Church in Velveteer, Illinois, where he began rebuilding his life in the United States with determination, humility, and hope. Whereas Dr. Vang worked tirelessly in many fields while learning English and continuing his education eventually earning his general education diploma and becoming the first in the Hmong community to earn a Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from the University of Minnesota. Whereas in appreciation for his new country and with the continuing desire to serve the United States, Dr. Vang joined the 133rd Airlift Wing of the Minnesota Air National Guard in 1998 as a dentist, serving honorably for 20 years until his retirement in 2018, whereas during his military service, Lieutenant Colonel Vang provided dental care to more than 7,000 airmen helped strengthen dental readiness within the wing and contributed to record high individual medical readiness rates across the National Guard, whereas Lieutenant Colonel Vang never missed a regularly scheduled drill during his 20 years of service, exemplifying discipline dedication, and the Air Force value of service before self. Whereas beyond his military service, Dr. Vang was a respected dentist and business owner of Vang Dental Clinic in Ward 1, was a community leader and advocate who served more than 35,000 patients, many from low-income families and underserved communities, whereas Dr. Vang served as co-chair of the board for the Hmong American Education Foundation, a senior advisor to Special Guerrilla Units, SU Veterans, and Families of USA, Vang Council of Minnesota, and was an active member of the American Dental Association, Minnesota Dental Association, and St. Paul District Dental Society, and received the Minnesota Dental Association's Humanitarian Service Award in recognition of his devoted service to his patients and community Whereas the city of St. Paul previously recognized his dedication to community service by proclaiming October 13th, 2018 as Lieutenant Colonel Ku B. Vang Day. And whereas Lieutenant Colonel Dr. Ku B. Vang's life stands as a powerful example of courage, sacrifice, faith, perseverance, service, and love for family, community, country, and the people of St. Paul. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the St. Paul City Council hereby celebrates and honors the life, legacy, and lasting contributions of Lieutenant Colonel Dr. Ku Blesa Vang. And be it for the resolve that the St. Paul City Council hereby proclaims July 11th through 13th, 2026 as Lieutenant Colonel Dr. Ku Blesa Vang Memorial Days in the City of St. Paul.

Thank you all.

I would like to share a bit about why these dates were chosen by the family for Dr. Ku Vang's Memorial Days. That's when his funeral will take place. He passed away on April 15th, so just recently. And the funeral is a moment for people who he has impacted and who is just very inspired by him and his life and his commitment to community to come and pay respects to him, the family. have made this a public funeral, and so everyone is welcome to attend. I extend the invitation to all of you. As well, it'll be located at the Aldrich Arena in Maplewood. So it'll be a very grand funeral for somebody who has made such an impact in so many people's lives. And the last thing I want to say is that Dr. Kuving Anybody who knows him knows that he is just one of the most generous, welcoming, and kind individuals ever. And so he is so deeply missed to his entire family. I want you all to know that Dr. Kuving made such a huge difference in the impact in our community from our economics to really improving the lives of folks, especially those who were low income. Some of my favorite stories that shared was how whenever they came into his dental clinic and they couldn't afford the bill, he would just say, don't worry about it. I'll take care of it for you. And so you just don't often meet somebody who is so kind and passionate like that. And so he is somebody who, when I think about running businesses, he definitely puts people over profit. And so I will miss him so dearly. I know many people in the community will as well. And so I want you all to know you're not alone. in grieving Dr. Kuving, and we love him dearly. And so we have had such a great role model in your lives, and he's been a role model to so many of us, too. So thank you for being here. So what I would like to do is invite Pete to come to the microphone here, share a few words.

Thank You councilmember yang and Thank You City Council Just real quick our family came to Minnesota and we've been in st. Paul frog town since 86 so vang denna was established in 98 and in the the old Clark's property by the old Frogtown Diner, for some of you who are old enough to remember, things like that. And then eventually we bought the Saxon Ford property on University, and that is where we are located. We bought it, demoed it, renovated it, turn it into multi-use offices and with the restaurant. So thank you again to the City Council and Council Member Yang. Thank you again to the State of Minnesota and the City of St. Paul. You have been our home for quite a while, 40 years. So we appreciate that very much. My dad loved St. Paul. He loved coming to work. He loved going to Fort Snelly at the Air National Guard one week in a month. So we gave him to St. Paul. to the base one week a month every month for 20 years. And we are proud to do that, because that's what he loved. He's a workaholic. He was seven years old, but he was not ready to retire yet. He was still planning to at least work another three, four years. And we were open five days a week, unlike some dentists, maybe just four days. But we were a five-day-a-week operation. So yeah, definitely he's going to be missed. St. Paul will miss him as much as we do. And we definitely invite you all to attend his funeral on July 11, 12 and 13 at Aldrich. It's open for everyone, anyone who knew him, heard about him, patients, colleagues. military friends. There will be a lot of people coming, and we're planning for a lot of people to come. And we will feed you as well when you come. So we just hope to see you there to come and spend one last weekend with my father. Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Thank you so much, Pete. What I will do is invite to come up and take a photo of us. So council members, please come and join us if you are willing and able to. And we'll make sure that Pete, the photo, gets it to you. And also for the presentation, too.

Okay. There you go.

See, it's like, oh. It's like a cushion.

Over here.

Thank you so much.

We should probably take a vote. So thank you all so much to all of our guests for being here, our condolences to you and your family, and so grateful that we were able to honor the doctor in this way. So I think that's a motion from Ms. Yang for approval. All in favor say aye. All opposed?

Six in favor and unopposed. The resolution is adopted. Item 14, resolution 26-1010, celebrating the 91st birthday of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama and recognizing the contributions of St. Paul's Tibetan community.

I am honored to be bringing forward this resolution on behalf of the council. And I'd love to invite my two guests, who I believe are here from the Voluntary Tibet Advocacy Group and the president of the Tibetan American Foundation of Minnesota. Are Tenzin and Tenzin both here? All right.

Welcome.

Come on up. I want to thank both of you for bringing this idea forward. One of the things that we talked about was that this is an opportunity not only to honor the Dalai Lama's 91st birthday, but also to honor the contributions of the Tibetan community here in St. Paul and in Minnesota. So I'm not going to read the entire resolution. It is here and it is public for all of us to see, but I want to read a couple of the paragraphs because I think they really get at the heart of it. Whereas the Dalai Lama has traveled extensively throughout the world, including Minnesota, fostering greater understanding, tolerance, harmony, and compassion among people of all faiths and backgrounds. Whereas in 1989, His Holiness was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for advocating peaceful solutions based on tolerance and mutual respect. And whereas his teachings on secular ethics, compassion, and emotional resilience have influenced educators, spiritual practitioners, and leaders globally. And whereas over 5,000 Tibetans now call Minnesota home, contributing to the social, cultural, and economic fabric of our communities. And whereas July 6, 2026 marks the 91st birthday of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Council of the City of St. Paul designates July 6, 2026, as Day of Compassion, in recognition of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama's 91st birthday in the City of St. Paul, in recognition of his lifelong dedication to peace, compassion, and nonviolence. So, again, thank you so much for bringing this forward, and I would love to invite you to say a couple of words.

So I'll begin. My name is Tenzin Chosang. I'm the U.S. National Coordinator for VTAC, Voluntary Tibet Advocacy Group, and I'll be followed by our Tibetan American Foundation Minnesota President. Tashi Delek, which is our traditional Tibetan greeting. And good afternoon, Council President and members of the St. Paul City Council and community members. Like I mentioned, my name is Tenzin Chosung, a proud Tibetan American and lifelong Minnesotan, and the U.S. National Coordinator for the Voluntary Tibet Advocacy Group, the primary youth engagement and leadership initiative of the Central Tibetan Administration, Tibet's Government in Exile. Today, I am honored to stand before you as the Council considers a resolution recognizing July 6th as the day of compassion in honor of the 91st birthday of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. For Tibetans around the world, the Dalai Lama is our spiritual leader, but his message extends far beyond Tibet and Buddhism. For decades he has encouraged people of all backgrounds, faiths, and beliefs to practice compassion, kindness, and respect for our shared humanity. His lifelong commitment to nonviolence, dialogue, and understanding has inspired millions around the world. This resolution is especially meaningful to me as well personally. As a child, I attended the Tibetan language and cultural classes at Lungi Punsok Kang, the Tibetan community center here in St. Paul. For our community, the center is much more than just a building.

It is where children learn our language, traditions, and family because we very much appreciate and value the teachings and spiritual leadership of the Dalai Lama. I think my parents have had the opportunity to meet him at one point because he has come to Minnesota several times. So thank you so much for bringing this forward and for also uplifting our local Tibetan community here in St. Paul.

Thank you, Ms. Jost. Any further discussion, Ms. Kim?

Yeah, thank you so much for coming. I just wanted to emphasize how much I appreciate being grounded in the history of why you're here, that we currently are also a genocidal settler state. My ancestors have been occupied twice. We're experiencing a genocide right now in Palestine. So from Turtle Island to Korea to Tibet, I really appreciate you being here. Happy birthday to the Dalai Lama. But thank you so much for grounding us in this moment and why it's so important for us to be connected to your issues. So thank you for lifting up the event. I won't be able to make it, but we'll make sure it gets shared out. Thank you, Ms. Kim.

Any further discussion of the motion? Seeing none, thank you again for reminding us that compassion is not just a personal value, but a civic act. And I'm going to keep that with me as we move forward. All in favor, say aye. Aye. All opposed? Aye.

The resolution is adopted. Item 15, resolution 26-1022, celebrating the 2026 LGBTQIA2S Plus Pride Month.

Ms. Kim. Awesome. Thank you. I am going to read the resolution at the record, and I've got a few speakers with us today who I'll introduce. I'll sans the whereases to keep this moving. So we're celebrating the 2026 LGBTQIA2S Plus Pride Month here in St. Paul. The existence of LGBTQIA2S Plus people in Minnesota predates the arrival and establishment of Minnesota as a state by European settlers. whose colonization and assimilation policies have sought to force conformity to rigid and Western gender and sexual binaries. The month of June is recognized and observed as Pride Month in commemoration of the 1969 Stonewall uprising in New York. where black and brown LGBTQIA2S plus people resisted police violence and ignited a movement for human rights. The Stonewall uprising was the culmination of decades of discrimination and criminalization of our community, and black and brown trans activists, including Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, led the way for significant progress, including the legalization of same-sex marriage. And the LGBTQIA2S plus community has sadly long been faced with discrimination based on their identity and expression and continues to face efforts to erode their rights and quality of life with attacks on health care, education, civil rights, and more. Minnesota added protections for sexual orientation and gender identity in the Minnesota Human Rights Act in 1993, adopted the Marriage Equality Act in 2013, enacted a statewide ban on conversion therapy in 2023, and enacted protections ensuring access to gender-affirming care and safeguarding patients and providers from out-of-state interference, helping establish Minnesota as a refuge for transgender people seeking care. And St. Paul has been a leader in advancing LGBTQIA2S plus equality, including adopting one of the state's earliest ordinances, prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation in 1974, extending protections based on gender identity in 2012, and prohibiting conversion therapy for minors in 2020, something that I was very proud to carry as the former legislative aide to the office. LGBTQIA2S plus residents, workers, artists, educators, entrepreneurs, advocates, public servants, and community leaders contribute immeasurably to the cultural, civic, and economic vitality of St. Paul. Pride Month is a time of mourning and remembrance for the many lives lost to the AIDS epidemic and the increasing violence and hostility towards trans youth. Pride Month is also a time of community and connection and the joyous celebration of authenticity and visibility. Therefore, be it resolved, the St. Paul City Council encourages all our city departments to evaluate opportunities to establish or strengthen ongoing mechanisms for engagement with our LGBTQIA2S plus residents, including advisory bodies, community listening sessions, community surveys, and other formal channels for input. And be it further resolved that the St. Paul City Council encourages all city departments to continue efforts to ensure residents have access to inclusive and affirming facilities, including gender-inclusive restrooms and city-owned buildings. Be it further resolved that the St. Paul City Council reaffirms its commitment to maintaining inclusive employment policies and the workplace practices that support our LGBTQIA2S plus employees, And be it further resolved, there's only two more. The St. Paul City Council affirms that St. Paul is a city that welcomes, protects, and celebrates all residents, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, or expression. Therefore, be it resolved, the St. Paul City Council hereby recognizes June 2026 as Pride Month in St. Paul. So I would like to, did you decide on order? I'd like to invite two incredible community leaders and executive directors to speak a little bit. And I think the first will be Kat Rohn, the executive director from Minnesota.

Welcome.

Thank you. Thank you for bringing forward this resolution and for honoring Pride Month here in St. Paul, the city that I call home. My name is Kat Roane. I use they and she pronouns. I'm executive director of Outfront Minnesota, our state's largest LGBTQ advocacy organization, which has been serving the state since 1987. I drove to get here across the Wabasha Bridge in part just to see all of the pride flags as I crossed over the Mississippi to come here into downtown. And it's a reminder to me both of the visibility that our communities deserve during this month of June, but also the challenges that we face interspersed amongst American flags. This is a challenging time for LGBTQ communities. a time when our federal government has sought to reverse or erase or remove our mentions of identity and protections and care that we have worked for many decades to try and secure in this country. I'm proud to call Minnesota home, a state that has stood up and protected and recognized and celebrated our communities, and to call St. Paul home, a city that has done the work to speak up for our communities when we have been under threat, and to support community members who called this city home. Today, especially, our organization put out a statement in collaboration with the family of Gabriel Aritzola Perez, who was unfortunately murdered here in the city of St. Paul, and a beloved member of our Twin Cities community and a member of our LGBTQ community. And I want to take a moment to honor and remember him and his family and loved ones. And to recognize that when we talk about mourning here in the month of Pride, it is something that is very present and real for those of us here in Minnesota. It's not an abstract mourning. It's not about just those who we lost in the HIV AIDS crisis who we do remember, but it is about the very real threats of violence that our communities face every day and the way in which violence against LGBTQ people and bodies is intertwined with violence on race, violence on all sorts of issues of identity that we all experience here. As we remember him, as we remember others that we've lost, I think it's also important to recognize that pride is an act of defiance. that as much as we have become familiar and comfortable with the visibility and recognition of Pride Month, that it is still a radical and bold act to declare our support for our LGBTQ communities and to have LGBTQ voices, leaders, and elected officials speaking up and standing up for our communities. And I'm proud that St. Paul is a space in which we can do that. Our work is ongoing. LGBTQ rights will continue to be a hotly contested issue for the foreseeable future. But if there is one thing that Pride has taught me, both as a practice and as a lineage and a history in our communities, it's that we don't back down from a challenge. It's that no matter what the face of hatred and discrimination and repression looks like, our communities have found ways to create joy, to find one another, to build community, and to build durable power, not just for our own gains, but for the gains of everybody in our communities. because everybody deserves to live fully and authentically as themselves, to be able to move through the world free of discrimination, and to be able to celebrate who they are, how they choose to build a family or not, and where they want to call home. I know that there are a lot of LGBTQ folks, including myself, who call St. Paul home. I know that this recognition is very welcome this month of June, and I want to thank you all for considering it and bringing it forward.

Hi. Thank you so much. It's a pleasure to be with you today and to offer my support and appreciation. On behalf of this important resolution, my name is Megan Peterson. I use she, her pronouns. I'm the executive director of Gender Justice. We're a nonprofit legal and policy advocacy organization, and we work to advance gender equity through the law. As we consider this resolution today, I'm once again reminded of why Gender Justice is proud to have been founded in Minnesota and based in St. Paul. It's because Minnesotans don't just proclaim our values, we live them through our policies and our actions, and that makes our words and our communities truly powerful. Today's resolution is powerful and it is needed for many of the reasons Kat already touched on, and I just really appreciate you naming the loss of Gabrielle to the community very recently. But Anna Mid Constant federal attacks, in particular on trans rights and the LGBTQIA2S plus community's dignity, it's critical that St. Paul proudly declare so every community member knows that you belong here and you are welcome here. This resolution explicitly recognizes the deep connections between the fight for LGBTQIA2S plus liberation and the fights for racial justice, indigenous sovereignty, and economic equity, and the historic and current leadership of queer and trans and gender diverse people of color, especially black and brown trans women.

As Minnesotans have proven over and over this year,

When we say we stand with our neighbors, we really mean it. And as this resolution highlights, Minnesota and St. Paul both have a proud history of establishing concrete, meaningful protections and support for LGBTQIA2S plus community members. And today, this is an important opportunity to continue that legacy by adopting this resolution. I also want to name that another step Minnesota can take is to pass an Equal Rights Amendment, which ensures that our state's resources and laws are never weaponized against our own people, and to literally write our strong values of equity and inclusion into our state's highest governing document. We can continue to fight for every trans person's right to play sports with their friends without facing discrimination. And we can continue to foster a culture of LGBTQIA2S plus dignity, autonomy, and celebration through action and advocacy, through daily conversations in our communities, and through joyous gatherings like today's and those held throughout Pride season. Last but not least, I want to highlight a specific line from the resolution. Whereas LGBTQIA2S plus residents, workers, artists, educators, entrepreneurs, advocates, public servants, and community leaders contribute immeasurably to the cultural, civic, and economic vitality of St. Paul. This feels like just a truth at the heart of the resolution and a core of our communities. Minnesota is a better state because of our queer, trans, and gender expansive communities. leaders and neighbors. St. Paul is a better city because of our community. And today and every day through this resolution and our daily actions, we honor and recognize the immeasurable contributions of queer, trans, and gender expansive Minnesotans and commit to maintaining increasing the safety, dignity, and joy of our home and for all of our community. Thank you.

Thank you so much.

And with that, I move approval.

There's a motion on the table for approval. Is there any discussion of the motion? Vice President.

Thank you, Council President. Thank you, Council Member Kim, for bringing forward this resolution. I want to say thank you to our incredible EDs in the room here for coming and speaking and just really reaffirming the importance of pride and also protecting and fighting for our LGBTQ plus community. As you all were speaking, I was reflecting a bit about the wonderful moments that I've had going and speaking into youth classrooms, and also just even being in conversation with my own cousins, teenagers who identify as LGBTQ+. And I wanted to really speak to the profound generational change and cultural change that has happened from even just like 25 years ago when I was still a child to this day. I know for my cousins and their friends who I've been in conversation with, they feel so much safer about being able to come out and share about their experiences as LGBTQ plus folks. It really is because of that leadership and the community organizing, the fight, the resistance that folks have put in. I wanted to really take this moment to to share my solidarity with all of you and also to continue reaffirming that St. Paul is a place for everybody across race, across class, gender, sexuality. And so I want to say, again, thanks for your incredible work and keep up the amazing work. And I'm here with you.

Thank you, Vice President.

Ms. Kim.

Awesome, thank you. In truth, I don't even know if my comments are my thoughts, but they were written down in my phone, so if they're not original, please someone tell me that it's theirs. And this may come across as a bit sharp, but I know I'm with loved ones. Pride Month is a requirement of a society with narrow minds and closed hearts. Pride is a reminder that we need every day, that justice is unfinished, safety is situational, and inclusion is the bare minimum. Hatred doesn't require consent, and liberation loves company. So while this resolution is for St. Paul, I do want to extend this welcomeness and warmth to everyone across the state. There are many reasons why folks are in or out, or queerness takes so many different forms and ways of being. And so it doesn't matter where you live, if it's safe or not to be your full self. You are valid, and you are just a part of our community as anyone else. I'm looking forward to the support of my colleagues to pass the resolution today.

Thank you, Ms. Kim. And I will just say, echo my colleagues' thanks to you both incredible leaders for really honoring us with your presence here today, for your eloquence, and for being with us in the work, not just today, not just this month, but all the many days and months and years besides that. And Kat, I really appreciated what you said. I have the same experience, fortunately, every day to come across the Wabasha Bridge to work and see the pride flag and the American flag and the complications that you described of how those two interlap and overlap and intersect. It's There's a lot of layers there, and so that really resonated with me. So thank you for talking about that. So with that, I think there's a motion for approval. All in favor, say aye.

Aye.

All opposed.

Six in favor, none opposed. The resolution is adopted. Item 16, Ordinance 25-4, amending Title IV of the St. Paul Administrative Code to add Chapter 92, titled Tree Preservation for City-Sponsored Construction Projects.

I cannot tell you how happy I am to be reaching this moment. for I think the fifth time we'll have a first reading of this ordinance. Just kidding. So we will have a staff report. This is not actually the first reading of this ordinance, but because there has just been so much work that has happened over the last 18 months, it is essentially a new ordinance. And so we will have a staff report on the changes, on the work that has been done over the last 18 months. There will be a lot more to say about this at our public hearing and at final adoption. I know everyone has received... their novella describing the work and the process. But with that, I'm excited to welcome Director Rodriguez and team to give us a staff report.

Thank you, council president, council members. Glad you got a big, thick three-ring binder there to review. As you can likely guess, I hear a lot about a lot of things in my role as park director, but the most consistent topic I hear about is trees. St. Paul cares deeply about its tree canopy, and I believe that is recognized in the ordinance that we're going to discuss today. Very excited to be here. As you mentioned, this is 18 months of work. that has been a true cross-departmental effort along with public works and parks aligning technical standards navigating hard trade-offs and building something that we can all stand behind but i want to specifically recognize nick peterson steve dodge and sean kershaw from public works tom hagel alice messer and rachel jongward from the parks team for their expertise and persistence and committing to get this right but also the community input Ward 2 convened a public input group aptly named The Pig. And I have to say, for a group with that name, they were extraordinarily pleasant to work with. Their engagement was serious, thoughtful, generally shaped this ordinance. The residents and neighborhood voices really are embedded in this product. So I just wanted to note that and give a particular recognition to the Ward 2 office and Megan Jackett for helping to facilitate their partnership throughout this process. It's also notable that you made it to all 17 district council meetings to engage on this process. So thank you for that. But the tree canopy within St. Paul is one of our most valuable assets, and this ordinance gives us the tools to protect it thoughtfully Equitably and with communities trust so with that I'm gonna turn it over to Tom Hagel our operations manager and Sean Kershaw from Public Works to give a presentation welcome Good afternoon, I'm Tom Hagel the operations manager for Parks and Rec I'm ready to start if you guys are ready to start I

I'll be touching first on the tree preservation ordinance, just the overview in itself and what the purpose and goals of it are. And then Sean will be following up with the standard operating procedures from that. The purpose of the tree ordinance is to recognize that trees are a vital part of the city's infrastructure. It also establishes a city-wide framework to protect and manage trees during city-sponsored construction projects. This ordinance also aligns with the reconstruction efforts, with the goals and policies of the 2040 Comprehensive Plan, as well as the Climate Action and Resilience Plan, with the long-term goal of creating a proactive, accountable, and transparent system to protect and expand the St. Paul's urban tree canopy. Why does this matter? Over the last several years, we've been dealing with Emerald Ash Borer. Aside from Emerald Ash Borer, we've had a lot of construction and more to come with the sales tax projects that are in our future, as well as several climate impact issues, including storm and drought. Just as a note, over the last two weeks with the storms that we've had, we've experienced over 250 trees that have either been damaged or lost due to storms in itself. Trees as we all know are a public benefit they reduce heat They're a part of our stormwater management system as well as improving air quality and public health for the neighborhood is critical We do have a lot of spots that do have lower canopy in our neighborhoods, and it's important the critical issues that come with lower canopy sites mostly heat and pollution What the ordinance requires, again, this is back to city-sponsored construction, that tree inventories and sites have, we have tree inventories and site surveys, the intent of including a certified arborist throughout all these processes, a formal tree preservation plan, as well as early evaluation of alternative opportunities to protect trees where we can rather than having them lost due to construction. This also defines three protection zones, which is the fencing and other things that get put into place to protect trees throughout the construction process. and it also develops construction protection standards and inspections that Sean will talk about a little bit more. And it's also about putting preservation first in most instances where we can rather than going right to demolition through construction. So for the ordinance, the overall goals are to coordinate planning efforts to preserve existing healthy canopy, which is important to everyone, reduce avoidable tree loss, as well as establish mature canopy when preservation is not warranted or possible by setting minimum requirements for tree planting.

Thanks, Tom. Councilmembers, my name is Sean Kershaw, Operations Manager in Public Works. I want to echo the thanks. I'm going to go through some of the details. Nick Peterson and Steve Dodge from Public Works really did the work for this. I'm here because they had some unavoidable conflicts working really closely with parks, obviously, working with the public. I can't. I don't want to call it the pig. The public input group. Megan Jeckett is a sort of unnamed hero in this. To hold this process together was incredible because a lot needed to happen, and certainly, Council President, with your leadership. The key, there are four standard operating procedures. So the ordinance will live on, you know, as an ordinance. There are four standard operating procedures that are behind that, and I'll walk through them. I think they are in your booklets. The tree protection during construction. This is one of the biggest changes because it defines, it sets up third-party arborists to come in and do weekly inspections. immediate correction of violations, continuous coordination between contractors, public works, and forestry. It specifies the contractor responsibilities, and these will be in the agreements with the contractors, immediate reporting of tree damage, forestry permits required, and maintenance of tree protection throughout the process. This includes restitution for damages. So it establishes, as it says, financial accountability, and we use a consistent set of guidelines for how to determine those standards that are sort of accepted within the field. Restitution would apply to unauthorized tree removal, improper root cutting, soil compaction or excavation damage, damage from equipment or staging, and work performed without required permits or All of these are real-life examples that we've seen in projects that this sets up a remedy to address. It talks about replacement planning when trees cannot be preserved, that the replacement planning is required, focuses on long-term canopy restoration, and that it gives forestry the ability to determine species, planting locations, and minimum standards. So it keeps them central to this role. It also sets up a public input and transparency process. This is throughout the planning process. So it starts early when we begin the basic planning for a project. There'll be multiple public input opportunities, multilingual communication, and then annual reporting to the city council. And that's the end of the formal presentation. So there are four sets of standard operating procedures, tree planting and restoration, which is sort of the start of construction, and then after construction, construction tree protection, so critical root zones, defining those and how contractors should operate tree damage and restoration restitution that I mentioned and then there's an SOP the last one is on the transparency and engagement so I think we are I know we'd be happy to entertain questions this did go to the parks commission and received a unanimous vote in favor of it there's a lot of public input there and I know that that there'll be an opportunity for that at a later date

Thank you so much for the staff report. I see a question from Ms. Johnson.

Thank you, Council President, and thank you, Deputy Director Kershaw, for being here along with all the team that worked on just kind of what has been a lucrative process and honestly just truly great to see it all come together. I did at one point ask just a little bit more around the budget for this and kind of like trying to understand the grasp of year to year, what is this going to cost the city? How can we plan ahead for this? this ordinance to go into place and be more than just like an ordinance passed that is actualized. And I apologize if I missed it, but I don't think I've received kind of a fiscal note for this ordinance or really an understanding of the costs and estimations to keep up with the ordinance requirements and to implement what has been put in place so we can move on that plan with the intentions of, you know, actualizing whatever passes.

Thank you, Council Member, Council President. I'll speak to the public works side of that. So this will increase the cost of projects, but the projects themselves will pay for that. So hiring an outside arborist, there'll be more time, there'll be more process. The projects themselves will cover those costs. So in so much as it's a common-scent project or any public works project, the project budget would take on the cost for that. So it will increase costs, but there'll be all these public benefits that go along with it.

Thanks, Sean. Council President, Council Member, I'd also add just we have one urban forester that oversees construction projects citywide, and that is in its current form just not enough to keep up with all the various projects that we have. So just factoring in the overall forestry budget, you mentioned that it could be absorbed by a project, but we will have to look at the structural kind of setup of the forestry unit and how we can make it more sustainable in the future.

Ms. Johnson. And I think just as a quick nod and follow-up for it, you know, I really would continue to just encourage when we, this unanimously receives, Twin Canopy unanimously receives feedback as a pretty high priority, not only for all of us in this room, but, you know, as year after year, it has been some of the top priority as well for council and was again this year. And so just placing that into the understanding too from what I have seen and even heard from conversations in my community and in my ward too, it's really important I think if we can plan for certain things ahead of time just to know if it's realistic to have one individual doing that work or not within the Parks Department. And to the piece around absorbing the cost through the projects, I hear you on that. And if it adjusts the timeline of projects so we can do that, I think just whatever is learned in the first year from it, it'll be really welcomed as far as feedback, too, since I very much see this as something that is the right direction to go in and something that we have spent so much time with the planning, things that have... gathered a lot of community input, but also something that almost all of our constituencies care about. And so just genuinely wanting to see it be successful. And also, since we're placing these ordinances in place, just kind of knowing what we'd have to do to continue to keep up with the requirement itself. So just echoing both my support there and also just welcoming the feedback of what we learned from the first year of implementation.

Thank you, Ms. Johnson. And before Mr. Kershaw jumps in, just to say I fully appreciate and agree with your questions about cost over time. This ordinance uniquely, I think, builds in an annual review of the ordinance itself and its costs and its effectiveness. So that is actually exactly what you're asking is baked in, that that will come back to us for review. I would also encourage the departments to think about whether or not the cost of, say, additional forestry staff, much like a certified arborist, could also be amortized and accounted for sort of piecemeal over the cost of different projects, each of them sort of paying a share of whatever that cost ends up being to the city to have that additional staff who is working on those projects. So I think that there are creative ways to think about how to not add to the general fund burden, but make sure the projects are paying for the full cost of the work. With that, I think I saw Mr. Kershaw had a question.

Thanks, Council President. I was going to mention the annual review, that it's built into the ordinance. And the fact, I just want to endorse what Andy said, that public works can't do its work with inadequate staffing for the expectations within forestry. It's vital that they have, even if we hire an outside arborist, there still needs to be review internally. And so it's critical that the support from ongoing forestry staff is there.

I see a question from Ms. Jost. Thank you, Council President. Thank you all for the presentation. And also thank you to you and Megan Jackett for all of her work on this. I have a question about just the trees during construction. So I'm thinking about we have all these road projects coming up. And whether it's a road project or a building project, You often encounter unforeseen conditions, and I'm sure you do as it relates to trees. So during construction, in order to protect trees, will projects be required to, basically, are they going to locate those critical root zones prior to construction? And does that require non-destructive testing? I guess I'm just thinking about, I understand that they'll be taking on that cost, but I could see that being a pretty significant cost. cost to the project potentially if there's a lot of trees?

Council President, Council Member Jost, it's normal that we do a survey of where trees are in a project, but this adds a lot more depth to that so that there'll be a tree-by-tree determination of the critical root zone. There'll be a need to make sure that those are followed. So it's the combination of better work before the project begins, assessing it literally on a tree-by-tree basis, more careful construction expectations as well as monitoring and then penalties for when something happens that shouldn't have to. So it will get down to the individual tree, you know, and it accepts the fact that on some boulevards there's very, there's a wider boulevard and others, it's narrow. If you think about the work right now on Dale Street, it's a county project. That's a street with really narrow boulevards and trees that they're trying to work around. So it accommodates the fact that the situations for each project and each street are a little different.

Okay, thank you. Other questions?

Not seeing any. I want to thank you all again for your time. We'll say more about this when it comes back to us for public hearing on July 8th. But for now, I also do two things. One, I want to recognize the amount of immense work that you and your teams have put in. And I've been saying this to everyone, and I'll probably say it again during this process, but I want to say it to you while we're sort of... Well, it's just us here. The process really has been an outcome. And I'm not a typically very patient person. And so I know you've all experienced that over the last 18 months. And yet, I have come to appreciate how much your departments and your teams working together on this ordinance is actually what is going to be needed for this ordinance to work. Because ultimately, this stipulates the work happening between your two departments. And that's not something that we can just mandate on paper. It's something that has to be learned and built in. And that's exactly what you've been doing for 18 months now. So thank you for all the hard work that has gone into it. I know it's going to make it much more successful from day one. So I really appreciate that. And I also want to recognize that one of the members of the PIG, we love pigs in St. Paul. I think it's OK to say it. is here with us, Bridget Alice, and I really appreciate... Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't know you. And Noah are both here, and I'll have time to recognize you at the public hearing as well, but thank you for being here and for your hard work. With that, this will lay over until July 8th for public hearing.

The item is laid over to July 8th for a second reading public hearing. Item 17, resolution public hearing 26-141, approving the application of District Energy St. Paul for a sound level variance in order to present amplified sound for a district energy boiler testing event on June 29th through July 3rd and July 6th through July 10th with the potential addition of July 11th and 17th, 2026 at 125 Shepherd Road.

just to cover all our bases. This brings us to the public hearing section of our agenda. If you're here to testify on any of these items, when your item is called, we invite you to come up, stand between the two microphones, start with your name and where you're coming from, and you'll have two minutes to testify. When you're done, please sign in on either of the two sign-in sheets. This is a public hearing on item 17. Is there anyone here to speak on this item? Seeing none, I'll take a motion from Ms. Coleman to close the public hearing and approve. All in favor, say aye.

Aye.

All opposed? Six in favor, none opposed. The resolution is adopted. Item 18, resolution public hearing 26-142, authorizing the police department to amend the financing and spending plans in the police department grant fund.

This is a public hearing. Is there anyone here to speak to this item? Seeing none, I'll take a motion from Ms. Jost to close the public hearing and approve. All in favor, say aye. Aye.

Aye.

All opposed?

Six in favor, none opposed.

The resolution is adopted. Item 19, resolution public hearing 26-143, approving the application of Rondo Ave Inc. for a sound level variance in order to present amplified sound for Rondo Days Festival, Saturday, July 18, 2026 at 271 North Metcuban Street, outside Martin Luther King Rec Center.

This is a public hearing. Is there anyone here to speak to this item? Seeing none, I'll take a motion from Ms. Kim to close the public hearing and approve. All in favor say aye. All opposed.

Six in favor, none opposed. The resolution is adopted. Legislative hearing consent item 20 is before you for your consideration.

And we don't have a Ms. Mormont. Or a Ms. Or anybody. We have a Mr. Wilms. Mr. Wilms.

Council President and council members, we have no one here to testify today.

OK. So, well, we'll just do one more call just to make sure. We almost never have one legislative hearing agenda item, so that's why this has been weird. If you are here on item 20, this is your public hearing. Seeing none, I'll take a motion from Ms. Johnson to close the public hearing and approve the item with the recommendations.

We're grateful for our partnership with the Capital Region Watershed District in celebrating 10 years of the Adopt-a-Drain program. And a lot of people wonder what are things that they can do to have an impact on their community or to have an impact on the Mississippi River that's so important to St. Paul. And one of the things that's most helpful is to literally clean the storm drains in front of your house.

It started with what's called the Metro Watershed Partners. And I was a founding member of that. And we did a pilot project in the Como Lake area. And as more and more people heard about it, a lot of folks said, well, I already do that. And I said, if you're doing that, here's a great way to engage. And the city wants to know about this. And this makes a difference.

The watershed's mission is to improve, protect, and manage fresh water and water resources. And about 40% of our region is impervious, meaning that it's flat. So that water doesn't really have a lot of places to go. directly into the soil, and our storm drains play a vital role in the health of our watershed and keeping our streets protected from flooding.

People may not realize, but their street flows to the river. They own riverfront property. Now, you're not getting taxed like that, but you do have riverfront property.

Reaching out to the kids and the youth of today as a science specialist, I feel it's important to share the message of keeping this world clean because we have to keep it clean for the next generation. And they're the next one right now coming up, and they'll pass it on, hopefully, to their next generation. This after-school program, part of the LEGO Robotics program, the topic this year was submerged. So people think oceans and big water, but we live in Minnesota. So they came up with the idea, hey, we're a landlocked state. How can we fix and help and do something small that helps something big? And so by cleaning drains in Mississippi's headwaters in Minnesota. And so they're using this and they're passing their information along.

It's really easy to sign up on the Adopt-A-Drain website. When you get to the website, you'll see a map. And on that map, you'll see some drains in your local region. and you're able to choose that drain. You can see also who else has adopted a drain near you. People are able to name their own drains and help to steward it and sort of build a relationship with that storm drain.

99. Years ago, they found three fish that were alive in this river from the University of Minnesota down to Hastings. It was a dead river. Now you can go out there, there's tons of fish, and it is a river of regrowth. It's a corridor for wildlife, and that's a real movement of people, 15,000 people working on drains, and about 800,000 pounds of debris have been pulled out of the Minnesota waterways.