City Council

City Hall and Court House City of Saint Paul 15 West Kellogg Boulevard Phone: 651-266-8560 Minutes - Final City Council Council President Kathy Lantry Councilmember Dan Bostrom Councilmember Amy Brendmoen Councilmember Russ Stark Councilmember Dai Thao Councilmember Dave Thune Councilmember Chris Tolbert Wednesday, August 27, 2014 3:30 PM Council Chambers - 3rd Floor ROLL CALL The meeting was called to order by Council President Lantry at 3:31 p.m. Councilmember Brendmoen excused Present 6 - Councilmember Dan Bostrom, City Council President Kathy Lantry, Councilmember Russ Stark, Councilmember Dai Thao, Councilmember Dave Thune and Councilmember Chris Tolbert Absent 1 - Councilmember Amy Brendmoen CONSENT AGENDA Note: Items listed under the Consent Agenda will be enacted by one motion with no separate discussion. If discussion on an item is desired, the item will be removed from the Consent Agenda for separate consideration. Approval of the Consent Agenda (Items 1 - 9) Item 6 was withdrawn. Item 2 was removed from the Consent Agenda for separate consideration. Councilmember Thune moved approval of the Consent Agenda as amended. Consent Agenda adopted as amended Yea: 6- Councilmember Bostrom, City Council President Lantry, Councilmember Stark, Councilmember Thao, Councilmember Thune and Councilmember Tolbert Nay: 0 Absent: 1- Councilmember Brendmoen 1 RES 14-1388 Approving the Settlement Agreement and Release between the City of St. Paul and Warajor Ojulu and his attorneys. Adopted City of Saint Paul Page 1 City Council Minutes - Final August 27, 2014 3 RES 14-1338 Preliminary Order setting the date of Public Hearing for September 17, 2014 to consider approval of the safety improvement of the sidewalk at 9 Seventh Place West (Wild Tymes Café) by filling in the areaway. (Project No. S1501, Assessment No. 155301) Adopted 4 RES 14-1401 Preliminary Order setting the date of City Council Public Hearing for September 17, 2014 to consider approval for a sidewalk reconstruction improvement along the south side of East Sixth Street from Wall Street to Broadway Street, and along Broadway Street from Sixth Street to 100 feet south of Sixth Street. (File No. S1404, Assessment No. 145304) Adopted 5 RES 14-1326 Authorizing the Fire Department to accept the donation of physical fitness equipment and rubber flooring from the Saint Paul Fire Foundation for three fire stations. Adopted 6 RES 14-1441 Approving adverse action against the Cigarette/Tobacco license held by Super KM 99 Cents Plus, Inc., d/b/a Dragon Dollar Plus at 315 University Avenue West, Unit C. (To be withdrawn.) Adopted 7 RES 14-1446 Approving adverse action against the Auto Repair Garage license held by Superior Auto Repair at 1324 Arcade Street. Adopted 8 RES 14-1442 Approving adverse action against the Auto Body Repair/Painting Shop license held by Duqueiro Cano, d/b/a Duke's Cars & Towing at 323 Maria Avenue. Adopted 9 RES 14-1443 Approving adverse action against the Cigarette/Tobacco license held by Walgreens #06995 at 1788 Old Hudson Road. Adopted FOR DISCUSSION City of Saint Paul Page 2 City Council Minutes - Final August 27, 2014 2 RES 14-1475 Approving the Settlement Agreement and Release between the City of St. Paul and Black Bear Crossings on the Lake, Inc., David Glass and Pamela Glass and their attorney Ryan W. Marth. Bostrom said that he is upset about this issue. Something of this magnitude needs a full discussion. He requests a staff report. Lantry asked did he ask Sara Grewing (City Attorney's Office) to come. Bostrom responded no. Lantry said she will ask Ellen Biales (Lantry's Legislative Aide) to get Grewing. (The Council discussed Item 10, then came back to Item 2.) (Sara Grewing arrived.) Bostrom asked how the City came up to this resolution. Grewing said she told the council members in separate conversations that it is in the City’s best legal interest to resolve this case at this time. Bostrom said he does not find this acceptable when talking about $800,000 of the taxpayers' money. The City is currently looking at a request from the administration for a $2.4 million tax increase. This settlement represents 1/3 of that increase. When reading the stories in the newspaper of how we got to this situation, it is unacceptable to pay out this kind of money on something like this with the citizens being in the dark of how we got there. He cannot accept this nor vote for it. One of the stories in the newspaper is that our colleague said she would not have to recuse herself unless the issues involves personal financial gain. Bostrom feels that she should be here to vote for it. For the Director of Parks and Recreation to get us involved in something like this is unacceptable. In all his years, he has not seen anything like this: council members getting involved in talking to vendors and the council members are supposed to vote and not say anything. He does not find this acceptable and cannot support it. Thune moved approval. Tolbert said he is voting yes on this. He agrees with some of the things Bostrom said. Because of some avoidable bad decisions made over the last year, the Council has been put in a bad situation. Because we breached a contract, we can settle this now or go forward. Despite what it looks like, the most fiscally responsible thing for the Council to do is to close this case and move on. He is not happy about it, does not like the results, and is disgusted by the facts. Bad decisions were made, and it could have been avoided. We cannot vote on this today, move on, and forget about it. He has met with the City Attorney’s Office and the Administration numerous times and expressed his frustrations and disgust on how we got in this situation. We need a full review of what happened, how we got here, why we got here, and who is responsible. The most frustrating thing about this settlement is accountability; there needs to be accountability on how we got here. We need to put in new protocals, contract training, litigation training, and checks and balances to ensure it does not happen again. There needs to be transparency to the public and the Council if any situation gets this way again. That is the minimum of what the taxpayers deserve. He is disappointed and frustrated. He has asked a lot of questions and asked for a lot of review. Based on those questions, his thoughts, and reading the cases, this is the best choice we have available today. We need to ensure this never happens again. He will vote yes with great hesitation. City of Saint Paul Page 3 City Council Minutes - Final August 27, 2014 Thao said there are certain things we are in control of or have impact on; then there are events we have no control over. The breach of the contract is a bonehead action. We need to be accountable to that and figure out what the incompetency is. We need to make sure we are working for the community and the public. We should do what we can to eliminate that. He is unhappy about where we are today, but he will work for what is best for the City and the taxpayer going forward. Bostrom said he can count and understands where this vote is going. There are no consequences for any of the actors involved in this. The people around this table have nothing to do with this settlement, are taking responsibility for paying $800,000, and the folks that got us into this are not even here. He is disgusted with the way it happened. Nobody has taken responsibility for this except us sitting here. Adopted Yea: 5- City Council President Lantry, Councilmember Stark, Councilmember Thao, Councilmember Thune and Councilmember Tolbert Nay: 1- Councilmember Bostrom Absent: 1- Councilmember Brendmoen 10 RES 14-1254 Adopting and approving the Saint Paul Residential Construction Management Acknowledgement Form. (Laid over from August 6) Councilmember Tolbert said that he has worked on this for almost a year with DSI (Department of Safety and Inspection) to take care of some of the less responsible contractors in the neighbor and bring some organization to them. This resolution is supported by the contractors and neighbors he has talked to. He moved approval. Adopted Yea: 6- Councilmember Bostrom, City Council President Lantry, Councilmember Stark, Councilmember Thao, Councilmember Thune and Councilmember Tolbert Nay: 0 Absent: 1- Councilmember Brendmoen ORDINANCES An ordinance is a city law enacted by the City Council. It is read at four separate council meetings and becomes effective after passage by the Council and 30 days after publication in the Saint Paul Legal Ledger. Public hearings on ordinances are held at the third reading. Final Adoption 11 Ord 14-31 Amending Chapter 357 of the Saint Paul Legislative Code pertaining to construction debris, haulers and related hazardous materials. Councilmember Tolbert moved approval. Adopted City of Saint Paul Page 4 City Council Minutes - Final August 27, 2014 Yea: 6- Councilmember Bostrom, City Council President Lantry, Councilmember Stark, Councilmember Thao, Councilmember Thune and Councilmember Tolbert Nay: 0 Absent: 1- Councilmember Brendmoen 12 Ord 14-32 Amending Chapter 33 of the Saint Paul Legislative Code creating a Residential Construction Management Acknowledgment Form and outlining the responsibilities associated with it. Councilmember Tolbert moved approval. Adopted Yea: 6- Councilmember Bostrom, City Council President Lantry, Councilmember Stark, Councilmember Thao, Councilmember Thune and Councilmember Tolbert Nay: 0 Absent: 1- Councilmember Brendmoen 13 Ord 14-33 Amending Chapter 310 of the Saint Paul Legislative Code to add a Microdistillery Cocktail Room license fee. Councilmember Thune moved approval. Adopted Yea: 6- Councilmember Bostrom, City Council President Lantry, Councilmember Stark, Councilmember Thao, Councilmember Thune and Councilmember Tolbert Nay: 0 Absent: 1- Councilmember Brendmoen 14 Ord 14-34 Amending Chapter 324 of the Saint Paul Legislative Code pertaining to single cigar packaging regulation. Councilmember Thao moved approval. Adopted Yea: 6- Councilmember Bostrom, City Council President Lantry, Councilmember Stark, Councilmember Thao, Councilmember Thune and Councilmember Tolbert Nay: 0 Absent: 1- Councilmember Brendmoen City of Saint Paul Page 5 City Council Minutes - Final August 27, 2014 ADJOURNMENT Councilmember Thune moved adjournment. The meeting was adjourned at 3:43 p.m. Yea: 6- Councilmember Bostrom, City Council President Lantry, Councilmember Stark, Councilmember Thao, Councilmember Thune and Councilmember Tolbert Nay: 0 Absent: 1- Councilmember Brendmoen Council Meeting Information The City Council is paperless which saves the environment and reduces expenses. The agendas and Council files are all available on the Web (see below). Councilmembers use iPads to review the files during the meeting. Using the iPad greatly reduces costs since most agendas, including the documents attached to files, are over 1000 pages when printed. Web Meetings are available on the Council's website. Email notification and web feeds (RSS) of newly released Minutes, Agendas and Meetings are available by subscription. Please visit www.stpaul.gov/council for meeting videos and updated copies of the Agendas, Minutes and supporting documents. Cable Meetings are live on St Paul Channel 18 and replayed on: Thursdays at 5:30 p.m., Saturdays at 12:30 p.m., and Sundays at 1:00 p.m. (Subject to change) City of Saint Paul Page 6