Legislative and Ordinance Committee

CITY OF MARSHALL LEGISLATIVE & ORDINANCE COMMITTEE MINUTES Tuesday, June 10, 2025 MEMBERS PRESENT: James Lozinski, See Moua-Leske and Amanda Schwartz MEMBERS ABSENT: None. STAFF PRESENT: Sharon Hanson, City Administrator; Pamela Whitmore, City Attorney; Jason Anderson, Director of Public Works/ City Engineer; Ilya Gutman, Plans Examiner; and Steven Anderson, City Clerk. OTHERS PRESENT: Nathan Anderson, Executive Director of Reunited. At 9:30 AM Chair Lozinski called the meeting to order. Consider Approval of the Minutes Motion made by Moua-Leske, seconded by Schwartz to approve the minutes as presented. All voted in favor. Ordinance Amending Section 86-1 Definitions to Address Sober Houses Chair Lozinski introduced Nathan Anderson, Executive Director of Reunited. Nathan explained that Reunited was created to help individuals in early recovery by providing recovery support services such transitional housing, peer support, life skills training, and community reintegration. Southwest Minnesota Health and Human Services (SWHHS) helped to facilitate the recovery program by acting as an agent to obtain funding for the first ninety-days of transitional housing before residents can obtain jobs and find a more stable income. Reunited worked closely with Project Turnabout to find residents who want to stay in Marshall and work through their recovery. Reunited leased two homes in Marshall. One on Sunrise Lane that has six beds and one on East Main Street that has eight beds. Reunited was a non-licensed treatment program/facility but does have a housing support agreement with SWHHS and requires that residents be sober for at least three months before moving into their facility. Each resident signs their own lease and works with SWHHS to obtain funding. Certified Peer Recovery Specialists visit the homes to be role models, mentors, advocates and motivators for residents. A Certified Peer Recovery Specialist must receive forty-six hours of training, live or work in Minnesota at least 51% of the time, have personal lived experience related to substance use and pass an exam from the Minnesota Certification Board. Hanson questioned why none of the homes were owned by Reunited. Nathan said that someday he hoped that Reunited could own some of the buildings. Lozinski added that many businesses or organizations don’t own property such as The Mentor Network. Director Anderson explained that in a R-1 residential district under the rental code that a house could only house at most six people, but other zoning districts would allow more. Whitmore mentioned that she worked with six other cities and from what she had seen the City of Marshall was the most welcoming regarding sober homes and residential treatment facilities. Whitmore continued that the ordinance was intended to treat all residential treatment facilities the same in the R-1 zoning district so there were less barriers. Motion made by Lozinski, seconded by Moua-Leske to recommend the amendments to Section 86-1 to address sober houses be considered by the Planning Commission and be brought to full council. All voted in favor. Adjournment Motion by Schwartz, seconded by Moua-Leske to adjourn the meeting. All voted in favor. Respectfully submitted, Steven Anderson City Clerk