City Council Worksession

South St. Paul WORKSESSION AGENDA SSP City Hall 125 3rd Avenue North Training room Monday, September 11, 2023 7:00 pm AGENDA: 1. Street Renaming Inquiry from Friends of Dale Schenian 2. Krueger REA – Economic Development Services (No Attachment) 3. Council Comments & Questions A CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION REPORT DATE: SEPTEMBER 11, 2023 1 DEPARTMENTS: Planning Prepared By: Michael Healy, Planning Manager ADMINISTRATOR: RG AGENDA ITEM: Street Renaming Inquiry from Friends of Dale Schenian DESIRED OUTCOMES: • Review the City’s policy regarding street renaming requests. • Provide direction to City Staff and the community members who have inquired about renaming a street in South St. Paul after local businessman and philanthropist Dale Schenian who passed away on August 25, 2023. OVERVIEW: Background In July of 2014, the City Council approved an official policy that governs street renaming requests. The policy was developed after a longstanding local business, Mathias Die, requested that a short street near their property be renamed “Mathias Avenue” to honor the company’s financial investment in the community. The full street naming policy is included as ATTACHMENT B, but these are the key provisions that pertain to street renaming requests: 1. A street can be renamed to honor an individual or organization that contributed a significant portion of the cost of renovating the public street or adjacent developable land. OR A street can be renamed to honor an individual who has significantly served the community for a period of at least 10 years. 2. When a street is being renamed to honor someone who has served the community, the renaming should not occur until 12 months after their death or the end of their service. 3. A street that has business addresses or residential addresses on it can only be renamed if the majority of the properties whose addresses will be affected support the renaming. 4. Renaming requests are reviewed by the Planning Commission which will hold a public hearing and make a recommendation. The City Council has the final say regarding whether a street will be renamed or not. 5. The entity requesting the renaming is responsible for all costs (new signs, notices, etc.) The City Council has total authority to approve or deny a street renaming request. The City Council did ultimately approve Mathias Die’s Street renaming request in 2014. There have been no other street renaming requests since 2014. City Council Worksession Report- Dale Schenian Street Renaming Inquiry September 11, 2023 Inquiry Regarding Renaming a Street After Dale Schenian Dale Schenian was the founder of City Auto Glass at 116 Concord Exchange South and was also the co-founder of the Canterbury Park racetrack. He grew up in South St. Paul and made significant philanthropic contributions to the community, supporting organizations such as the South St. Paul Open Foundation. He was also involved in the effort to rename the Wakota Arena and covered the cost of renaming it “Doug Woog Arena.” Mr. Schenian passed away on August 25th. His former colleagues at City Auto Glass contacted City Staff and Mayor Francis and expressed an interest in getting a street renamed in his honor. They do not have a specific street that they want renamed but would prefer a renaming that “makes sense” because it is either near City Auto Glass or near a school district property since much of Mr. Schenian’s philanthropy was focused on the schools and their athletic programs. Potential Options for Renaming a Street If the City Council is open to the idea of naming a street after Dale Schenian, there are a few options that his colleagues could pursue: 1. Getting a major street officially renamed after Mr. Schenian. This would require approval by the City Council and the support of the majority of the properties whose addresses would be affected by the street name change. It could present some logistical challenges with recordkeeping since many records are tied to the property address. 2. Getting a minor street with no addresses on it officially renamed after Mr. Schenian. Renaming a street with no addresses on it would simply require the City Council’s approval. An example of this type of street would be Kaposia Boulevard which runs alongside the school district’s practice fields and does not have any businesses or houses located on it. 3. Getting an “honorary street name” approved that honors Mr. Schenian but leaves the official street name unchanged. This would mean that a white street sign with the honorary street name is placed near the official green street sign. This is something that Minneapolis and Falcon Heights have both done in recent years. Saint Paul previously approved many honorary street names but their City Council discontinued the practice in 2017 because of concerns that it could be confusing for residents and first responders. South St. Paul does not currently have any honorary street names. Direction Needed Staff and Mr. Schenian’s colleagues are looking for direction regarding whether the City Council is supportive of exploring renaming a street after Mr. Schenian. If the City Council is supportive, which of the three options listed above should be pursued? ATTACHMENTS A- CITY AUTO GLASS SITE LOCATION MAP B- STREET NAMING POLICY C- DALE SCHENIAN OBITUARY D- EXAMPLES OF HONORARY STREET SIGNS  ATTACHMENT A CITY AUTO GLASS SITE LOCATION MAP  ATTACHMENT B STREET NAMING POLICY  ATTACHMENT C DALE SCHENIAN OBITUARY  ATTACHMENT D EXAMPLES OF HONORARY STREET SIGNS Part of Larpenteur Avenue in Falcon Heights has the Honorary Name of “Philando Castille Memorial Avenue” Part of First Avenue in Downtown Minneapolis has the Honorary Name of “Prince Rogers Nelson Way”  Downtown Saint Paul had a large number of honorary street names before their City Council discontinued the practice in 2017. This photograph taken in 2016 shows that part of Main Street had the honorary name of “William Mahoney Street.” This street has since been officially renamed to Dorothy Day Place.