City Council

City Hall and Court House City of Saint Paul 15 West Kellogg Boulevard Council Chambers - 3rd Floor Minutes - Final Katie Burger, Executive Assistant, 651-266-8560 City Council Council President Russ Stark Councilmember Dan Bostrom Councilmember Amy Brendmoen Councilmember Rebecca Noecker Councilmember Jane L. Prince Councilmember Dai Thao Councilmember Chris Tolbert Wednesday, March 23, 2016 3:30 PM Council Chambers - 3rd Floor There will be no meeting on March 30, the fifth Wednesday of the month. ROLL CALL The meeting was called to order by Council President Stark at 3:31 p.m. Present 7 - Councilmember Dan Bostrom, Councilmember Amy Brendmoen, Councilmember Dai Thao, Councilmember Chris Tolbert, City Council President Russ Stark, Councilmember Rebecca Noecker and Councilmember Jane L. Prince COMMUNICATIONS & RECEIVE/FILE 1 AO 16-32 Amending the CDBG AC budget for Frogtown Flexible Fund program and adding funds for Willow Reserve project. Received and Filed 2 AO 16-34 Amending the STAR Pay Go Economic Development spending budget for the 2016 Commercial Vitality Zone program implementation. Received and Filed City of Saint Paul Page 1 City Council Minutes - Final March 23, 2016 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 Item 8 was removed from the Consent Agenda for separate consideration. Councilmember Tolbert moved approval of the Consent Agenda as amended. Consent Agenda adopted as amended Yea: 7- Councilmember Bostrom, Councilmember Brendmoen, Councilmember Thao, Councilmember Tolbert, City Council President Stark, Councilmember Noecker and Councilmember Prince Nay: 0 3 RES 16-546 Approving and authorizing the execution of Legal Services Agreements with bond counsel law firms, Citywide. Adopted 4 Min 16-13 Approving the minutes of the December 2, 9, and 16, 2015 City Council meetings. Adopted 5 RES 16-489 Approving the release of utility easements in Block 26, Rice & Irvine's Addition, near West Seventh Street and Chestnut Street. Adopted 6 RES 16-491 Approving assessment costs and setting date of City Council public hearing to ratify the assessment for above-standard single globe street lights on Cedar Avenue from Fourth Street to Fifth Street. (File No. 19148, Assessment No. 135100) Adopted 7 RES 16-521 Approving the Memorandum of Agreement (2016 - 2017) between the City of Saint Paul and the Saint Paul Police Federation, Fire Fighters Local 21; Professional Employees Association; and Tri-Council Laborers LIUNA Local 363; General Drivers, Local 120; and Operating Engineers, Local 49 for the purpose of continuing Council Resolution 14-1068 concerning military pay salary differential for City employees who are called to active service in the Reserve and National Guard. Laid over to April 6 for adoption City of Saint Paul Page 2 City Council Minutes - Final March 23, 2016 9 RES 16-500 Authorizing the Department of Parks and Recreation to use grant funds dedicated to Sprockets and Sprockets-sponsored projects for required out of town travel for non-city Sprockets employees up to an amount of $15,000. Adopted 10 RES 16-520 Accepting the gift of travel, food, and lodging expenses for Anne Hunt to attend the City Energy Project convening hosted by the Institute for Market Transformation and the Natural Resources Defense Council. Adopted 11 RES 16-518 Approving submission of an Invest Health proposal to the Reinvestment Fund and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Adopted 12 RES 16-522 Authorizing the execution of the agreement between Ramsey County and the City of Saint Paul for recording, cablecasting, and web streaming services of Ramsey County Meetings. Adopted 13 RES 16-488 Approving and adopting the Amended Lead Water Service Replacement Assessment Program. Adopted City of Saint Paul Page 3 City Council Minutes - Final March 23, 2016 FOR DISCUSSION 8 RES 16-460 Authorizing the Department of Parks and Recreation, on behalf of Right Track, to accept the donations of up to $3500 from Comcast, Ecolab, Travelers, Xcel Energy, and U.S. Bank to support the 2016 Right Track employer breakfast, and thanking each of them for the generous gifts. Councilmember Tolbert thanked donors and employers that had participated in the Right Track breakfast. Councilmember Noecker added her thanks, and amended the resolution to add Comcast as a sponsor. Council President Stark added his thanks. Councilmember Noecker moved approval. Adopted as amended Yea: 7- Councilmember Bostrom, Councilmember Brendmoen, Councilmember Thao, Councilmember Tolbert, City Council President Stark, Councilmember Noecker and Councilmember Prince Nay: 0 14 RES 16-523 Awarding the sale of General Obligation Capital Improvement Bonds, Series 2016A in order to finance certain capital improvements in the City; fixing the form and specifications of the Series 2016A Bonds; directing the execution and delivery of the Series 2016A Bonds; and providing for the payment of, and levying a tax for the Series 2016A Bonds. Mike Solomon, Office of Financial Services, gave a staff report on the bond sales, and recommended approval of the award. Councilmember Brendmoen moved approval of the resolution as amended with the sale results. Adopted as amended Yea: 7- Councilmember Bostrom, Councilmember Brendmoen, Councilmember Thao, Councilmember Tolbert, City Council President Stark, Councilmember Noecker and Councilmember Prince Nay: 0 City of Saint Paul Page 4 City Council Minutes - Final March 23, 2016 15 RES 16-527 Supplementing the General Resolution (CF 88-835) Relating to Sewer Revenue Bonds and Providing for the Issuance of Sewer Revenue Bonds, Series 2016B (Green Bonds); Awarding the Sale of the Series 2016B Bonds; and Fixing the Form and Specifications of the Series 2016B Bonds. Mike Solomon, Office of Financial Services (OFS), gave a staff report on the results of the bond sale, and recommended approval of the resolution. He thanked OFS staff, PED staff, and especially Public Works. Councilmember Tolbert commended Mr. Solomon and OFS Director Todd Hurley for their work in keeping the City's high ratings. Council President Stark reiterated the thanks to Mr. Solomon and staff. Councilmember Tolbert moved approval of the resolution as amended with the sale results. Adopted as amended Yea: 7- Councilmember Bostrom, Councilmember Brendmoen, Councilmember Thao, Councilmember Tolbert, City Council President Stark, Councilmember Noecker and Councilmember Prince Nay: 0 City of Saint Paul Page 5 City Council Minutes - Final March 23, 2016 16 SR 16-23 Report from the Administration on efforts to identify revenues and offer alternative options for providing super medic services at both Station 5 and Station 9. Kristin Beckmann, Deputy Mayor, provided some context. She said Chief Butler had brought forward the need for increased services at Station 5 for for EMS for the two budget cycles she had been working for the City and previous budgets. She reviewed the costs and said the administration did not see $700,000 in ongoing revenues when they were still trying to balance a $10 million deficit. She said when Chief Butler came to the administration after the budget process to again point out the need at Station 5, the administration suggested reallocating existing resources. She said based on input from labor management committees, a recommendation was was made to move resources from Station 9 to Station 5. Ms. Beckmann said she asked Chief Butler solicit input from the Council members from the East Side, who indicated they would not support having the resources reallocated. She said described other options explored by the administration, and said there was no line of site on new revenue, and options for cutting services elsewhere were not acceptable. She said she hope the discussion at the upcoming Council working session would inform the Mayor's budget proposal and Council budget discussion. Councilmember Prince thanked Ms. Beckmann for the background information and said it was helpful to have the clarification that the super medic services had been part of the budget request this year and in previous years. Council President Stark said thanked Ms. Beckmann and Chief Butler for coming, and said he understood the difficulty in reallocation resources once budget were set. He reiterated his point made the previous week that if they were willing collectively to raise the levy enough the following year to raise the $700,000 per year or if they had ideas for other options, they should communicate that specifically. Councilmember Bostrom said it was unacceptable to leave Station 9 without the super medic, and the frustration for him was that the Fire Department asked for the resources but that need was never brought before the Council and was decided administratively. He said critical services should be provided and funded, and not taken from another area. He said the Council had a right to know. Chief Butler said he had a long record of asking for super medics to fill gaps, including the super medic at Station 5, and the budget presentation in 2015 included that information. He said he had felt certain the communication was clear and he would be happy to provide tracking of the request. Councilmember Bostrom said if it had been communicated that super medic staffing would be moved from one place to another, the Council would have discussed and addressed the need. Chief Butler said the report indicated that super medic funding was a need, and when the need was not met, he looked for alternatives. He said reallocation was taking place every day, in that when a medic call came from Station 5's neighborhood, that medic was coming from another neighborhood which was then left without a medic asset during that time. Council President Stark said he appreciated the conversation and they would get more in depth in the policy session toward the end of April. He said during budget sessions in the fall they had talked about ongoing unmet needs in the department and about developing a plan to phase new needed resources and staff in over time. He said, if nothing else, this situation and discussion had elevated the issue. Councilmember Bostrom asked for assurance that resources would not be moved from Station 9; Ms. Beckmann said the resources would not be moved. City of Saint Paul Page 6 City Council Minutes - Final March 23, 2016 Councilmember Bostrom said the Council would continue to work to find a way to address the problem. He said if it was a critical issue it should be dealt with. Received and Filed City of Saint Paul Page 7 City Council Minutes - Final March 23, 2016 17 RES 16-552 Opposing the creation of a new TIF district to be used to fund private development at the 25-acre Midway Shopping area. Councilmember Noecker said this was not about TIF in general but about whether development at this site would take place without TIF. She said public investment had already been made at this site through investment in the Green Line and A Line, and by potentially giving up all tax revenue forever tax revenue on the $150 million stadium on the site. She said she believed the stadium would catalyze private development on the northern part of the site, and that was why the Council agreed to invest $18 million and forgo tax revenue forever. She said she didn't think it made sense to say now that additional development wouldn't take place without a new TIF district. She said setting up a TIF district resulted in a loss of tax revenue which was needed to fund other things in the City. Councilmember Prince said it was clear that every time TIF was used for private development, taxpayers were being asked to pay for City services for the development until the bonds were paid off. She said with 12 acres of the site already tax-exempt, the Council had to trust the promises already made to taxpayers that the site would be a magnet for private development. Councilmember Brendmoen said they all shared the goal of limiting public dollars used for private development, and the points being brought forward were worth debating thoughtfully. She said planning for the Midway shopping site was in the very early stages, and it was inappropriate and premature to remove any financing tools from the table. Councilmember Noecker said if the option wasn't appropriate, it should be taken off the table right away so developers and the City could plan appropriately. She said this was being proactive and not premature. She said if they waited and allowed six more months of discussions and planning to take place, she would not be surprised to see a TIF-shaped gap in the plan. Council President Stark said the appropriate use of TIF was an important conversation. He said there were only things TIF could be used, for including public infrastructure and affordable housing. He said he did personally believe including affordable housing would be appropriate at a site like this one where things were likely to become more expensive. He said he appreciated the sentiment of sending a message early if that was the Council's position, but it wasn't his position at this point. Councilmember Bostrom said he agreed with sending a message that the City had invested so much already and didn't want to give the impression there was an open checkbook. He said there were other resources for affordable housing. He said if this was that great an intersection and investment, the City should see to it that the private market had the opportunity to see what they could do on their own dime. He said developers should have a chance to demonstrate that this site was the magnet for private development the Council had been told it was. Councilmember Thao passed around map of the poverty rate in areas of St. Paul. He compared the Midway and downtown, and said a tool that could create economic opportunity was being taken from a community that needed it the most. He said the resolution continued to perpetuate inequality, and he asked whether the motivation was to score political points or bring more investment downtown. He said the City should be thinking about reinvesting in every area of the City and using every available tool. He said he understood what TIF could and could not do, but at the end of the day, the Council was in a position to create policy that made St. Paul more livable for everyone. He said if they were going to oppose TIF they should have City of Saint Paul Page 8 City Council Minutes - Final March 23, 2016 oppose it for downtown and for the Ford site. He said he was against the resolution, it was premature, and the Council needed to wait until they had a deal. He said he respected the position of those Council members supporting the resolution but felt they were not doing it for the people but for themselves. Councilmember Bostrom said he wasn't not doing it for himself. He said the East Side had plenty of areas that needed help, and he wanted other neighborhoods to have the opportunity to use TIF when it was an absolute necessity to get a critical project done. He said TIF should be targeted in areas of greatest need, and he didn't feel Snelling and University was an area of greatest need at that moment. Councilmember Noecker said there were a number of ways for the City to think about approaching equity, and she also was an outspoken proponent of efforts to increase equity in the City. She said one of the ways the Council had the power to do anything about the City's great disparities was to have funds in our general funds to provide services to those in need. She said that provided the Council with a greater capacity to improve people's outcomes than dictating to the private sector on one particular site what the use of that land should be. She said they were more powerful when they had more property tax revenue in the general fund to spend to improve equity. Council President Stark said he understood the underlying sentiment in terms of TIF district or not, but he clarified that not having a TIF district did not increase the City's revenue. He said if there was more property tax-paying property that was not in a TIF district, it would spread the pain around, but in order to raise revenue, the levy would have to be increased. In response to Councilmember Bostrom's point, Councilmember Thao said he would not support a measure prohibiting the use of TIF for a project in Ward 6. Councilmember Noecker moved approval. Failed Yea: 3- Councilmember Bostrom, Councilmember Noecker and Councilmember Prince Nay: 4- Councilmember Brendmoen, Councilmember Thao, Councilmember Tolbert and City Council President Stark City of Saint Paul Page 9 City Council Minutes - Final March 23, 2016 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. Second Reading 18 Ord 16-4 Granting authority to the Port Authority of the City of Saint Paul to issue and sell bonds in the aggregate principal amount of approximately $6,000,000,and to use the proceeds derived from the sale of such bonds for the acquisition, remediation and improvement of blighted and marginal lands located in the City, pursuant to the provisions and by authority of said Minnesota Statutes, 2015, Chapter 469, as amended; and prescribing the amount and form of such bonds and the manner for establishing the rate of interest which shall attach to the same. Laid over to April 6 for third reading/public hearing 19 Ord 16-5 Amending Legislative Code Chapters 60, 61, 63, 65, & 66 pertaining to congregate living facilities. Laid over to April 6 for third reading/public hearing 20 Ord 16-6 Granting the application of WRA 1276 LLC & WRA 1256 LLC to rezone the property at 1254, 1256, & 1276 Wilson Avenue from RT1 Two-Family Residential and RM2 Multiple-Family Residential to RM3 Multiple-Family; and amending Chapter 60 of the Legislative Code pertaining to the Saint Paul zoning map. Laid over to April 6 for third reading/public hearing 21 Ord 16-7 Amending Chapter 366A of the Saint Paul Legislative Code pertaining to Parades, Races, and Public Assemblies. Laid over to April 6 for third reading/public hearing 22 Ord 16-9 Amending Chapters 157 and 165 of the Saint Paul Legislative Code pertaining to permitting agricultural vehicles to park on city streets. Laid over to April 6 for third reading/public hearing Council members shared good news from their wards. City of Saint Paul Page 10 City Council Minutes - Final March 23, 2016 ADJOURNMENT Councilmember Brendmoen moved adjournment. Meeting adjourned at 4:18 p.m. Yea: 7- Councilmember Bostrom, Councilmember Brendmoen, Councilmember Thao, Councilmember Tolbert, City Council President Stark, Councilmember Noecker and Councilmember Prince Nay: 0 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 11