00:00:07.000 --> 00:00:11.634 All right, so we can go ahead and um. call the meeting to 00:00:11.634 --> 00:00:16.200 order. Actually, I don’t, I guess. I’ll go ahead and read 00:00:16.200 --> 00:00:22.500 it, but, um, and then we can go ahead and do roll call. Do we 00:00:22.500 --> 00:00:26.300 have a council member Tran. OK, well, I’ll read it anyways. As 00:00:26.300 --> 00:00:32.166 previously noted, council members. OK As noted council 00:00:32.166 --> 00:00:34.767 member Maria Tran of the city council may be participating in 00:00:34.767 --> 00:00:39.634 this special, you know, in the she’s here in person. Oh, OK, 00:00:39.634 --> 00:00:41.166 we don’t need to read this. 00:00:41.166 --> 00:00:47.000 person All right. I guess we can go ahead and head into roll 00:00:47.000 --> 00:00:50.166 call. Council member Erikson. 00:00:50.166 --> 00:00:57.800 He Memory’s young. Council member Klianowski. Mayor 00:00:57.800 --> 00:01:02.567 Winston. Council member Page. 00:01:02.567 --> 00:01:06.400 Council member McGarvey. And Councilmember Tran. Mayor 00:01:06.400 --> 00:01:10.033 Winston, you have a quorum. All right, so we can all stand for 00:01:10.033 --> 00:01:41.500 the Pledge of Allegiance. All right, so we can go ahead and 00:01:41.500 --> 00:01:44.634 head into public comment. First we start with the response to 00:01:44.634 --> 00:01:49.000 prior public comment. After that, we will have public 00:01:49.000 --> 00:01:55.900 comment, um, in which, uh, um, Well ask folks to limit remarks 00:01:55.900 --> 00:01:59.634 to 3 minutes for a regular standard, uh, but if we can go 00:01:59.634 --> 00:02:03.033 ahead and go to response to prior public comment. Yeah, 00:02:03.033 --> 00:02:06.200 thanks, Mayor. um, there’s one public comment at the last city 00:02:06.200 --> 00:02:11.467 council meeting, uh, that public comment was really, uh, 00:02:11.467 --> 00:02:13.567 um, some words of appreciation for the police chief and the 00:02:13.567 --> 00:02:18.467 police department and their response to tragic homicides of 00:02:18.467 --> 00:02:24.300 the Hortmans and the shootings of the Hoffmans. Thank you. All 00:02:24.300 --> 00:02:29.133 right, so we’ll go ahead and head into public comment. Uh, 00:02:29.133 --> 00:02:33.467 so again, if folks can go up there, state your name, uh, 00:02:33.467 --> 00:02:37.033 your address and then limit it to 3 minutes, again, limited to 00:02:37.033 --> 00:02:39.734 3 minutes. Uh, I know there’s some folks that want to speak 00:02:39.734 --> 00:02:46.133 directly to Let’s see, there’s an item regarding the trip to, 00:02:46.133 --> 00:02:50.900 uh, to Africa, uh, any folks who wanna push that off till 00:02:50.900 --> 00:02:54.233 the actual item just uh let me know and then we, you can speak 00:02:54.233 --> 00:02:56.233 during that piece, uh, but I know there’s some folks that 00:02:56.233 --> 00:02:58.900 want to speak a little bit earlier as well. So I’ll go 00:02:58.900 --> 00:03:02.200 ahead and call folks’ names off and again 3 minutes, name, 00:03:02.200 --> 00:03:10.233 address. So we’ll go ahead and we will start with uh And go uh 00:03:10.233 --> 00:03:18.734 we start with a Shartina Shields. Right there. Yeah, so 00:03:18.734 --> 00:03:29.900 if you want to speak, I step up there and speak. Thank you. OK. 00:03:29.900 --> 00:03:33.734 Good evening, Mayor Winston and esteemed city council members. 00:03:33.734 --> 00:03:38.900 My name is Chartina Sharie Shields. I reside at 3641 00:03:38.900 --> 00:03:42.166 Brookdale Drive North in Brooklyn Park. I am here today 00:03:42.166 --> 00:03:47.033 as a concerned resident and a voice for my neighbors in 00:03:47.033 --> 00:03:50.233 Parkwood Terrace, Homeowners Association community. Our 00:03:50.233 --> 00:03:55.000 community struggles. We are proud to call Brooklyn Park our 00:03:55.000 --> 00:04:01.100 home. We work hard, we care for our families, we And we want to 00:04:01.100 --> 00:04:05.834 contribute positively to our city. However, we are facing 00:04:05.834 --> 00:04:07.934 serious challenges that threaten our safety, our 00:04:07.934 --> 00:04:12.033 well-being, and the value of our homes. Our ACT management 00:04:12.033 --> 00:04:18.000 company. Continues to collect payments for residents, but in 00:04:18.000 --> 00:04:21.166 return we are not seeing the basic services and maintenances 00:04:21.166 --> 00:04:27.133 that we are promised and expected. Many of us have 00:04:27.133 --> 00:04:31.367 experienced water damage to our homes that goes unaddressed 00:04:31.367 --> 00:04:34.500 dete deteriorating, I’m sorry, conditions including failing 00:04:34.500 --> 00:04:40.400 decks, roofs, and sidings that put our families at risk, 00:04:40.400 --> 00:04:44.634 neglect of basic needs such as snow removal which is either 00:04:44.634 --> 00:04:48.834 delayed or non-existent during the winter months. The impact 00:04:48.834 --> 00:04:53.734 on residents, these issues are not just inconveniences, they 00:04:53.734 --> 00:04:57.500 are hazards. Our homes are becoming unsafe, and we are 00:04:57.500 --> 00:05:01.800 left to shoulder the burden or mismanagement, many residents 00:05:01.800 --> 00:05:06.100 simply cannot afford to pay for repairs that should be handled 00:05:06.100 --> 00:05:10.300 by the management company. We feel unheard, overlooked and 00:05:10.300 --> 00:05:16.166 alone in our struggle. Our request here for our help. We 00:05:16.166 --> 00:05:18.300 are here tonight because we believe in the power of 00:05:18.300 --> 00:05:21.500 community. And the responsibility of our city 00:05:21.500 --> 00:05:25.900 leaders to ensure that all residents are treated fairly 00:05:25.900 --> 00:05:29.100 and with dignity. We respectfully ask for your help 00:05:29.100 --> 00:05:31.567 in the following ways. 00:05:31.567 --> 00:05:34.834 Investigate the practices of ACT management company and hold 00:05:34.834 --> 00:05:37.100 them accountable for their responsibilities to our 00:05:37.100 --> 00:05:41.233 community. Supporting us in finding solutions that will 00:05:41.233 --> 00:05:46.133 restore safety, dignity, and pride to Parkwood Terrace. Help 00:05:46.133 --> 00:05:49.033 amplify our voices so that we are no longer ignored or 00:05:49.033 --> 00:05:54.500 dismissed. Clothing. We love Brooklyn Park and we want to 00:05:54.500 --> 00:05:58.033 continue building our lives here. We are not asking for 00:05:58.033 --> 00:06:03.266 special treatment. Just for the basic respect and support that 00:06:03.266 --> 00:06:06.000 every resident deserves. We look forward to working with 00:06:06.000 --> 00:06:10.133 you and your staff to resolve these urgent issues and to make 00:06:10.133 --> 00:06:14.367 Parkwood Terrace a safe place, welcoming place for all. Thank 00:06:14.367 --> 00:06:21.300 you for your time and your commitment to our community. 00:06:21.300 --> 00:06:26.033 All right, thank you. So just so folks know, we, we generally 00:06:26.033 --> 00:06:28.867 unless absolutely necessary, we don’t apply, we’ll apply that 00:06:28.867 --> 00:06:32.033 day, uh, to public comments, but we will have a response and 00:06:32.033 --> 00:06:34.567 then often our staff will follow up or sometimes our 00:06:34.567 --> 00:06:41.166 staff will follow up with you even sooner than that, uh, 00:06:41.166 --> 00:06:47.000 right now, so all right. So next we have um Uh, it’s 00:06:47.000 --> 00:07:09.500 Coletteaet Hempel. Good evening, Mayor and city council members 00:07:09.500 --> 00:07:13.800 of the public. I live here in Brooklyn Park. I want to read 00:07:13.800 --> 00:07:19.667 to you what I sent to the state legislature today in order to 00:07:19.667 --> 00:07:29.100 honor Mr. and Mrs. Hortman and Mr. and Mrs. Hoffman. Good day 00:07:29.100 --> 00:07:32.533 legislative members. I am sending all of you the same 00:07:32.533 --> 00:07:37.934 email. As Republicans and Democrats, senators and 00:07:37.934 --> 00:07:44.634 representatives. I am a Republican. Who resides in 00:07:44.634 --> 00:07:50.533 Brooklyn Park for over 20 years, I was of the 32 years, my home 00:07:50.533 --> 00:07:57.367 was considered represented by the state. Senator Hoffman and 00:07:57.367 --> 00:08:04.467 Representative Hartman’s district. I have respectfully 00:08:04.467 --> 00:08:09.634 emailed them and, and then, um, I’m changing the wording a 00:08:09.634 --> 00:08:15.000 little bit, but regarding, regardless of political 00:08:15.000 --> 00:08:18.734 opinions, sharing and, and talking on the other side of 00:08:18.734 --> 00:08:26.166 the aisle is important. I’m walking. I am asking that you 00:08:26.166 --> 00:08:31.567 consider honoring them by passing house file 971 and 00:08:31.567 --> 00:08:40.033 Senate file 1186. This was asking for 9.4 million for the 00:08:40.033 --> 00:08:43.834 Northwest Regional Athletic Center to be added on to our 00:08:43.834 --> 00:08:49.634 current community center in Brooklyn Park. These bills were 00:08:49.634 --> 00:08:54.500 co-authored and supported by both Representative Hotman and 00:08:54.500 --> 00:08:59.500 Senator Hoffman as well as all of the other Brooklyn Park 00:08:59.500 --> 00:09:06.734 Legislative members. This would be the big community um bring 00:09:06.734 --> 00:09:13.166 together area that the Hortman children asked us to do To 00:09:13.166 --> 00:09:17.467 honor the both Mark and Melissa, along with John and Yvette 00:09:17.467 --> 00:09:24.133 Hoffman. This would allow for the community event center for 00:09:24.133 --> 00:09:31.834 cultural. Sporting, educational and community activities for 00:09:31.834 --> 00:09:35.367 socializing as a diverse community to learn about each 00:09:35.367 --> 00:09:41.000 other. And, and, uh, and to be around people that weren’t the 00:09:41.000 --> 00:09:49.000 same. As us. This is to me, I’m gonna go and skip to the end 00:09:49.000 --> 00:09:56.900 because I’m sure I’m running out of time. Um, Brooklyn Park 00:09:56.900 --> 00:10:00.634 residents and council members want to remember both families 00:10:00.634 --> 00:10:06.567 in a positive manner, a family, friends, and community. May God 00:10:06.567 --> 00:10:11.500 bless these families for their sacrifices and may they always 00:10:11.500 --> 00:10:15.100 feel our love and friendship. 00:10:15.100 --> 00:10:22.000 Thank you for consideration of this idea, or others as we 00:10:22.000 --> 00:10:28.533 learn to show more respect for those with different life 00:10:28.533 --> 00:10:34.834 experiences and cultures. Maybe we work together instead of a 00:10:34.834 --> 00:10:40.166 part to collaborate and compromise for the best 00:10:40.166 --> 00:10:43.133 interests of all Minnesotans from all districts and all 00:10:43.133 --> 00:10:45.500 political parties. parties. 00:10:45.500 --> 00:10:51.500 Poet guy at Hempel, Brooklyn Park. So, and like I asked, uh, 00:10:51.500 --> 00:10:58.300 a garden and a pavilion and plaques. At these gyms would be 00:10:58.300 --> 00:11:03.734 the city’s part. So again, thank you. So rarely do I speak 00:11:03.734 --> 00:11:05.800 on these diseases. Thank you for bringing that up. I will 00:11:05.800 --> 00:11:09.567 say this, um, because you have a number of people in the room 00:11:09.567 --> 00:11:14.834 who knew um the Homans very closely. I think we want to be 00:11:14.834 --> 00:11:17.734 uh extremely careful as we go down any path in terms of how 00:11:17.734 --> 00:11:20.734 we remember them and we’re taking, we’re taking into 00:11:20.734 --> 00:11:25.033 account the wishes of the children, uh, and the family, 00:11:25.033 --> 00:11:28.767 uh, and the community at large, I think I’m very much in in 00:11:28.767 --> 00:11:32.000 support of the uh CAC, but I just want to throw that out 00:11:32.000 --> 00:11:33.266 there that there’s been a number of ideas that came 00:11:33.266 --> 00:11:35.834 forward, so this is one of the ideas. There’s been a number. I 00:11:35.834 --> 00:11:40.100 think we need to make sure that we are moving in lockstep with 00:11:40.100 --> 00:11:44.867 uh the family, uh, as we Uh, honor that, uh, honor those 00:11:44.867 --> 00:11:49.033 legacies. So I, I’ll leave it at that, on that one, Thank you. 00:11:49.033 --> 00:12:02.567 Next we have Cindy Hill. Good evening, Mayor Winston. City 00:12:02.567 --> 00:12:05.667 council members, excuse me, I have a cold that I’m working 00:12:05.667 --> 00:12:12.567 through. I’m a Brooklyn Park resident. My name is Cindy Hill. 00:12:12.567 --> 00:12:18.000 I stand before you. Not just as a concerned citizen, but as 00:12:18.000 --> 00:12:21.734 someone who lives, breathes, and builds in Brooklyn Park 00:12:21.734 --> 00:12:27.000 every single day. Today, we are not just mourning, we are 00:12:27.000 --> 00:12:34.033 standing in a gap to protect a legacy. Melissa Hortman. Didn’t 00:12:34.033 --> 00:12:40.233 just hold a seat. She held a standard. A standard for 00:12:40.233 --> 00:12:44.567 leadership, for progress, for community first thinking. She 00:12:44.567 --> 00:12:49.000 was a force for progress. Her commitment to justice, 00:12:49.000 --> 00:12:55.734 education, Public safety, equality shapes policies. That 00:12:55.734 --> 00:12:57.900 move our communities forward. 00:12:57.900 --> 00:13:03.300 And that legacy doesn’t end with her passing. It lives on 00:13:03.300 --> 00:13:06.767 In the work, she championed, and then the people she 00:13:06.767 --> 00:13:13.100 inspired. Whoever fills that seat must be ready to continue 00:13:13.100 --> 00:13:20.467 her mission, but bring new ideas. In perspectives. We 00:13:20.467 --> 00:13:24.834 can’t afford to go backwards, not with our students, not with 00:13:24.834 --> 00:13:27.767 our seniors, not with our small businesses and not in our 00:13:27.767 --> 00:13:32.100 community. Not with our future. 00:13:32.100 --> 00:13:36.467 We need someone who knows this city. Not by name, but by the 00:13:36.467 --> 00:13:41.867 neighborhood. Someone who has been present, not just in 00:13:41.867 --> 00:13:44.367 pictures, but in policylicies. 00:13:44.367 --> 00:13:50.767 In people’s lives. Ask yourself, What have they already done for 00:13:50.767 --> 00:13:54.467 Brooklyn Park? What’s the track record? Are they solution 00:13:54.467 --> 00:14:00.467 forced? Do they amplify Working instead of tearing it down. We 00:14:00.467 --> 00:14:12.266 need Policies That continue what we are doing here. We need 00:14:12.266 --> 00:14:16.900 someone who’s ready to serve, who understands the climate, 00:14:16.900 --> 00:14:22.233 but um. I, I, I understand the sentiment, but to make 00:14:22.233 --> 00:14:24.934 political endorsements or for political campaigns. I know 00:14:24.934 --> 00:14:27.900 you’re not. Um. But just, you know, I don’t think you’re 00:14:27.900 --> 00:14:30.834 going to do that, but I just want to point out that we try 00:14:30.834 --> 00:14:34.567 to keep it as kind of apolitical as we can. Thank you. 00:14:34.567 --> 00:14:38.367 And it’s Brooklyn Park deserves leadership that listens, 00:14:38.367 --> 00:14:42.200 leadership that shows up, leadership that executes. Let’s 00:14:42.200 --> 00:14:47.367 be loud about what we want, let’s be clear. What we need 00:14:47.367 --> 00:14:52.900 This is about our future. And I just want to say, Melissa was 00:14:52.900 --> 00:14:58.734 my friend. I felt compelled to do something to honor her for 00:14:58.734 --> 00:15:01.300 what she did for Brooklyn Park. 00:15:01.300 --> 00:15:06.634 Because she was ours first before she was the state. I 00:15:06.634 --> 00:15:13.033 wanted to honor her with An honor signed salute. So the day 00:15:13.033 --> 00:15:17.800 when they had the visual at the state Capitol. I was the one 00:15:17.800 --> 00:15:23.166 with my group that put those 200 signs. Because I wanted 00:15:23.166 --> 00:15:26.467 people that came in and out of our community that day that we 00:15:26.467 --> 00:15:31.166 all were feeling the same thing that this was a way to uplift 00:15:31.166 --> 00:15:34.467 us and know we feel what you’re feeling. And I just want to say 00:15:34.467 --> 00:15:36.667 I did that. She was my friend. 00:15:36.667 --> 00:15:43.467 Thank you. All right. Thank you. 00:15:43.467 --> 00:15:49.634 Next we have um Godfrey, I’m not gonna attempt the last name. 00:15:49.634 --> 00:15:57.467 Uh, Not because I can’t say it, it’s how it’s written, so, um, 00:15:57.467 --> 00:16:01.734 but 3, yeah, 3 minutes and then uh stayed. Neighborhood or 00:16:01.734 --> 00:16:08.567 where you’re from. Thank you. 00:16:08.567 --> 00:16:14.467 the mayor. Good evening, uh, council members and uh fellow 00:16:14.467 --> 00:16:19.233 community members, uh. I, my name is Gottfried Ferrari. I 00:16:19.233 --> 00:16:24.033 lived in, uh, I live in, uh, 3807 Globe Flower Circle, North. 00:16:24.033 --> 00:16:32.734 I’ve been in Brooklyn Park for 30. 6 years now. Of uh visited 00:16:32.734 --> 00:16:36.800 this hall before it was renovated and, and, and being 00:16:36.800 --> 00:16:40.100 You know, be what it looks like right now. So I’ve been here 00:16:40.100 --> 00:16:49.100 for a very long time. Uh, I rise in support of The travel 00:16:49.100 --> 00:16:52.634 of our mail and I probably did some of the council members 00:16:52.634 --> 00:16:56.634 going to because So I may I just can’t pronounce my name, 00:16:56.634 --> 00:16:59.734 my last name. Maybe if he had gone to this travel I would be 00:16:59.734 --> 00:17:04.734 able to pronounce the name. So, I’m in support of that for 00:17:04.734 --> 00:17:12.634 several reasons. And uh first. 00:17:12.634 --> 00:17:16.900 A mirror or the council attending living in Brooklyn 00:17:16.900 --> 00:17:22.233 Park to attend to visit Africa is not new. Uh, we’ve had 00:17:22.233 --> 00:17:27.100 Mayors from big, you know, larger cities like LA, Atlanta, 00:17:27.100 --> 00:17:32.467 you name it, they’ve gone and does, you know, do those kind 00:17:32.467 --> 00:17:39.567 of visits and there’s a benefit for doing it. Yes, some of the 00:17:39.567 --> 00:17:54.166 compelling Benefits. Warned Leaders visiting Africa helped 00:17:54.166 --> 00:17:58.533 bridge the gaps between the continent and its diasporas, 00:17:58.533 --> 00:18:03.467 people like us that came to this country. Over 40 something 00:18:03.467 --> 00:18:08.166 years ago served in this country. You know, put our life 00:18:08.166 --> 00:18:16.634 at risk for this country. As a veteran Collaboration. And 00:18:16.634 --> 00:18:19.400 share goals like education, public health, business, and 00:18:19.400 --> 00:18:27.834 youth empowerment. Has when leaders. Go and visit Where 00:18:27.834 --> 00:18:31.033 there are large communities or the community people around 00:18:31.033 --> 00:18:34.767 them are from. If I come to your house today, I’ll know 00:18:34.767 --> 00:18:38.500 more about you than you gonna know about me. Because coming 00:18:38.500 --> 00:18:42.767 to your house make me understand you more. So I want 00:18:42.767 --> 00:18:47.567 the mayor and the council, uh, people like city manager or 00:18:47.567 --> 00:18:51.867 people that can go and try and see what it looks like over 00:18:51.867 --> 00:18:57.166 there. So that’s one thing. And I understand as a retired, I’m 00:18:57.166 --> 00:19:02.033 retired now. I’m retired from the school district, then in 00:19:02.033 --> 00:19:05.767 the education for forty-something years. Just 00:19:05.767 --> 00:19:09.667 retired last June and knowing I was. Administrator or as a 00:19:09.667 --> 00:19:15.367 teacher. They do send me. To attain some staff development. 00:19:15.367 --> 00:19:18.934 You know, I just said the mayor could not even pronounce my 00:19:18.934 --> 00:19:21.767 last name. You didn’t attempt to, but I guarantee you when he 00:19:21.767 --> 00:19:25.500 comes back, you’ll be pronouncing that name very 00:19:25.500 --> 00:19:28.767 fluently, but, so, um, thank you. I’m gonna have to ask you 00:19:28.767 --> 00:19:32.500 to um finish in like 1015 seconds because we ran over. I 00:19:32.500 --> 00:19:36.734 rise in support of the mayor. 00:19:36.734 --> 00:19:41.567 Visiting Africa and any of the council, uh, city manager or 00:19:41.567 --> 00:19:45.233 the council, uh, men or women that wants to do that, we 00:19:45.233 --> 00:19:49.100 should all support them because that this is gonna bring good 00:19:49.100 --> 00:19:52.233 development. To me, in my community and my community will 00:19:52.233 --> 00:19:54.734 applauded. I’m talking about the African community. Thank 00:19:54.734 --> 00:20:27.367 you very much. All right, so next we have Marvin D Ralph. 00:20:27.367 --> 00:20:31.367 They, there Hollis and the Brook Park City Council. I’m 00:20:31.367 --> 00:20:36.100 Marvin Roth. I live down on 3,0704th Avenue North, and I’m 00:20:36.100 --> 00:20:41.300 here to gripe about our franchise fee that we pay to 00:20:41.300 --> 00:20:48.266 the city, we pay $168 a year between the gas and electric, 00:20:48.266 --> 00:20:54.767 and then I still pay an additional $6 a month for the 00:20:54.767 --> 00:20:58.900 underground line coming to. my house. I think it’s, I think 00:20:58.900 --> 00:21:02.166 it’s a little outrageous. I think we’ve, the city should 00:21:02.166 --> 00:21:05.900 think about quitting nickel and diming us to death so we can 00:21:05.900 --> 00:21:10.767 afford to live here. I’ve been here in Brooklyn Park now 42 00:21:10.767 --> 00:21:14.567 years, and I feel I live in the best area of Brooklyn Park 00:21:14.567 --> 00:21:23.000 House. And I’m really happy with my area where I live. Uh 00:21:23.000 --> 00:21:27.900 And then the other thing is, is, uh, their Hollis was talking 00:21:27.900 --> 00:21:33.634 about going on a trip to get some artwork or whatever it is,, 00:21:33.634 --> 00:21:39.500 $30,000 I think we could find plenty of artwork right here in 00:21:39.500 --> 00:21:41.767 the metropolitan area without having to go out of the country 00:21:41.767 --> 00:21:47.000 to get it. I’ll do it. 00:21:47.000 --> 00:21:51.367 Fortunately, when I built my house, I did a lot of extra 00:21:51.367 --> 00:21:55.100 thinking on it, so I use very little air conditioning, which 00:21:55.100 --> 00:21:59.467 I couldn’t afford it if I didn’t have it. Uh, a friend of 00:21:59.467 --> 00:22:02.100 mine gave me the air conditioning unit, and I don’t 00:22:02.100 --> 00:22:11.033 use it, but maybe 1 or 2 hours a year. They, in my gas bill is 00:22:11.033 --> 00:22:14.767 $78 a month and my electric runs me about $40 a month, and 00:22:14.767 --> 00:22:21.266 I don’t think anybody here can live under that expense. With 00:22:21.266 --> 00:22:26.000 our franchise fee, I don’t know what you charge the 100 unit 00:22:26.000 --> 00:22:32.000 apartment buildings, but they should have to pay you $16,800 00:22:32.000 --> 00:22:36.634 a year for franchise fee compared to what we do as an 00:22:36.634 --> 00:22:40.900 individual persons. I’ve talked to a few people about this 00:22:40.900 --> 00:22:46.233 franchise fee and I can’t seem to get an answer on any of it. 00:22:46.233 --> 00:22:50.634 I guess that’s just about the part that I’m, I’m really 00:22:50.634 --> 00:22:53.166 concerned about us. My grandmother taught, taught me 00:22:53.166 --> 00:22:56.367 you, you say, you watch the pennies and the dollars will 00:22:56.367 --> 00:23:00.133 take care of yourself, and I’ve been doing it my whole life, 00:23:00.133 --> 00:23:11.900 and that’s why I can afford to live like I do now. Thank you. 00:23:11.900 --> 00:23:22.734 All right, thank you. So next we have um. Uh, Chuck. Or is it 00:23:22.734 --> 00:23:34.500 OK OK. Forgive me. Could have been the Western and uh members 00:23:34.500 --> 00:23:42.300 of the council. Uh, my name is Chuck OTP. I live here in 00:23:42.300 --> 00:23:48.133 Brooklyn Park, 7100, 14th Avenue North. That’s Brooklyn 00:23:48.133 --> 00:23:54.567 Park, uh, when I, uh, heard that the mayor and the city 00:23:54.567 --> 00:23:59.567 manager will be uh Going to Africa to see the uh sister 00:23:59.567 --> 00:24:03.734 cities. I was so excited. And I mention this in my community. 00:24:03.734 --> 00:24:07.634 They were all going, wow, that’s great, you know, because 00:24:07.634 --> 00:24:12.467 if you look at the city and the way it’s set up, you’ll notice 00:24:12.467 --> 00:24:15.467 that uh it’s really diverse. 00:24:15.467 --> 00:24:20.867 And uh there is no way you can mention 5 cities in the whole 00:24:20.867 --> 00:24:25.233 of the US, uh, being diverse cities without polling the city 00:24:25.233 --> 00:24:31.033 of Brooklyn Park. And uh I told them I was coming for this 00:24:31.033 --> 00:24:35.166 meeting. I had about 10 people volunteering to come. I said, 00:24:35.166 --> 00:24:38.900 no, no, no, no, this is not that kind of meeting where you 00:24:38.900 --> 00:24:44.233 come stay uh uh protest somewhere, you know, where here 00:24:44.233 --> 00:24:50.033 to uh make it clear that uh we do appreciate the fact that the 00:24:50.033 --> 00:24:56.533 mayor is considering this. And uh it’s uh willing to go. Uh, 00:24:56.533 --> 00:25:00.367 Mayor Weston, I salute your courage for taking this bold 00:25:00.367 --> 00:25:06.233 step. Uh, I don’t think you’ve been to Africa before. But uh 00:25:06.233 --> 00:25:11.567 this visit will kind of help to open your perspective. And uh 00:25:11.567 --> 00:25:15.734 my understanding is that uh the sister cities reps, who is the 00:25:15.734 --> 00:25:21.233 mayor from the other side, I visited. And uh from my record, 00:25:21.233 --> 00:25:22.634 they visited sometime last year. 00:25:22.634 --> 00:25:26.467 I’m not too sure of the date now. But the fact of the matter 00:25:26.467 --> 00:25:30.934 is, once you are in a sister city arrangement. There’s the 00:25:30.934 --> 00:25:37.100 fact and the need for you to go see your other sister city. And 00:25:37.100 --> 00:25:39.767 get a clearer understanding of where they’re coming from, so 00:25:39.767 --> 00:25:43.634 that you guys can bridge the gap. You know, and I think this 00:25:43.634 --> 00:25:49.900 visit. should be well applauded and should be well encouraged 00:25:49.900 --> 00:25:54.133 so that uh we can uh have it on file that uh mayor have been to 00:25:54.133 --> 00:25:58.500 Africa. The other aspect I want to talk about about this old 00:25:58.500 --> 00:26:01.734 sister city arrangement is the benefit that the city of 00:26:01.734 --> 00:26:05.533 Brooklyn Park would derive from it. Uh, the that’s what is 00:26:05.533 --> 00:26:08.100 called the cultural exchange. 00:26:08.100 --> 00:26:12.500 Uh taking part of this visit will mean seeing what is 00:26:12.500 --> 00:26:16.567 obtainable in Africa. And comparing it to what you have 00:26:16.567 --> 00:26:20.367 here. We give you a broader idea of how to bridge the two. 00:26:20.367 --> 00:26:25.734 So that they can be intercommunication between the 00:26:25.734 --> 00:26:28.000 governments of the city of Brooklyn Park, and of course 00:26:28.000 --> 00:26:33.834 your sister city. Then 2, the case. There are a lot of things 00:26:33.834 --> 00:26:37.467 that the kids can benefit from this visit. These are issues 00:26:37.467 --> 00:26:41.367 that you bring back home and used to mentor the children 00:26:41.367 --> 00:26:42.900 here, so that they can grow. 00:26:42.900 --> 00:26:47.033 Whether I like it or not, we do have African case here. Oh, I 00:26:47.033 --> 00:26:51.867 haven’t been to Africa, but will benefit from your visit. 00:26:51.867 --> 00:26:56.100 So I’m encouraging you to uh embark on this trip. So that 00:26:56.100 --> 00:26:59.800 when you come back, you have a bigger perspective and uh be 00:26:59.800 --> 00:27:01.200 ready to move this city forward. 00:27:01.200 --> 00:27:19.734 Thank you. All right, next we have uh Ray, uh Memene. Good 00:27:19.734 --> 00:27:26.567 evening, uh, Mayor and our council members and uh you know, 00:27:26.567 --> 00:27:33.000 everybody uh got here this evening. Um, the last time I 00:27:33.000 --> 00:27:38.533 remember standing here, uh, was to, uh, Have, uh, make a 00:27:38.533 --> 00:27:48.467 presentation on Why we have uh white Brooklyn Park and the Udu 00:27:48.467 --> 00:27:52.634 uh uh city of Vodu uh uh the relationship. I remember 00:27:52.634 --> 00:27:55.634 because I don’t want to go. You know, so many speakers about 00:27:55.634 --> 00:28:00.266 the benefits. I just want to touch on, uh, some of the Very 00:28:00.266 --> 00:28:03.467 important that questions that were asked at that time. Which 00:28:03.467 --> 00:28:09.367 was what had the benefits? Why is the city going to sister 00:28:09.367 --> 00:28:15.233 city relationship. And one of the real uh uh. question then 00:28:15.233 --> 00:28:20.467 from one of the council members, uh, I forgot her name, but. She 00:28:20.467 --> 00:28:24.300 was more particular about how does that benefit the small 00:28:24.300 --> 00:28:26.834 businesses in Brooklyn Park. 00:28:26.834 --> 00:28:32.734 And I’ll tell you this, uh, reading about the mayor’s visit 00:28:32.734 --> 00:28:34.834 to, to Africa, I can tell you. 00:28:34.834 --> 00:28:40.166 Yeah So many opportunities. 00:28:40.166 --> 00:28:43.900 Within the small business community in Brooklyn Park. 00:28:43.900 --> 00:28:47.367 That you, you will see the business relationship that will 00:28:47.367 --> 00:28:49.734 be developed. Just on one visit. 00:28:49.734 --> 00:28:55.734 Because they are hungry for this, the opportunities are 00:28:55.734 --> 00:29:01.066 there. We need to go beyond just having a lip service about 00:29:01.066 --> 00:29:05.367 sister cities and get into the the the economic aspect of it. 00:29:05.367 --> 00:29:08.133 So I only have 3 minutes. I won’t have enough time to 00:29:08.133 --> 00:29:10.800 really go into the technicalities of what I’m 00:29:10.800 --> 00:29:19.166 saying here, but The bridge Have to be made. We have to 00:29:19.166 --> 00:29:24.467 bridge the gap here, bridge, the relationship between this 00:29:24.467 --> 00:29:26.900 sister cities from Africa and Brooklyn Park. Thank you so 00:29:26.900 --> 00:29:38.867 much. All right. Seeing that there is no further. Public 00:29:38.867 --> 00:29:44.467 comment. Let’s see, we can go ahead and move to approval of 00:29:44.467 --> 00:29:49.734 the agenda. I know that. Uh, we need to add item. 4 points 00:29:49.734 --> 00:30:04.233 Winston, excuse me, we have one more. Oh, OK. Hello, Mayor and 00:30:04.233 --> 00:30:06.734 council. My name is Ashley Riddle, and I live in the East 00:30:06.734 --> 00:30:12.100 District. I am here to ask for consideration of a humane pet 00:30:12.100 --> 00:30:15.867 store ordinance. This ordinance prohibits stores from selling 00:30:15.867 --> 00:30:20.634 puppies and kittens from commercial breeders who despite 00:30:20.634 --> 00:30:24.867 having USDA licensure, um, are often really horrible places. 00:30:24.867 --> 00:30:28.033 Instead, stores would partner with local shelters and rescues 00:30:28.033 --> 00:30:32.367 and host adoption days. Um, to my knowledge, there are no 00:30:32.367 --> 00:30:34.567 current stores in Brooklyn Park that are selling puppies and 00:30:34.567 --> 00:30:37.634 kittens, so this would be really easy legislation to pass. 00:30:37.634 --> 00:30:41.300 It would be a preventative measure to protect animals as 00:30:41.300 --> 00:30:45.100 well as protect consumers. Um, I’ve emailed everybody an 00:30:45.100 --> 00:30:47.867 example of the Roseville ordinance language and would 00:30:47.867 --> 00:30:51.100 love to see us join several neighboring cities and passing 00:30:51.100 --> 00:30:52.200 the humane pet store ordinance. 00:30:52.200 --> 00:31:03.300 Thank you. All right, so we can go ahead and thank you for that. 00:31:03.300 --> 00:31:05.233 Um, and also thank you for keeping it brief. Appreciate it. 00:31:05.233 --> 00:31:09.734 Uh, so, uh, we can go ahead and approve the agenda so I know 00:31:09.734 --> 00:31:13.900 we’re gonna have, we wanted to prove the agenda, but, but also 00:31:13.900 --> 00:31:19.867 add 4.9 to that agenda and pull 4.4 and have that push back to, 00:31:19.867 --> 00:31:20.900 uh, next week for consideration. 00:31:20.900 --> 00:31:26.233 I think there’s some, some, um, The 28. So having that push 00:31:26.233 --> 00:31:28.567 back to the 28th because there’s some outstanding 00:31:28.567 --> 00:31:33.166 questions around that. Is there a motion? Um, to approve the 00:31:33.166 --> 00:31:37.767 agenda. Right, the motion was made by Councilman McCanowski, 00:31:37.767 --> 00:31:41.634 seconded by Councilmember McGarvey. All those in favor 00:31:41.634 --> 00:31:46.500 say aye. Aye. Are there any, uh, nas, any abstentions. All right, 00:31:46.500 --> 00:31:52.900 the eyes have it. All right, so next. We will move to the 00:31:52.900 --> 00:31:54.533 public presentations proclamations portion. Uh, so 00:31:54.533 --> 00:32:36.734 let’s head down and uh for introduction of new employees. 00:32:36.734 --> 00:32:41.100 Thank you so much. Um, I want to introduce, uh, Mahmoud Ahmed. 00:32:41.100 --> 00:32:46.233 Um, he was recently hired on May 19th as a program assistant 00:32:46.233 --> 00:32:48.800 one in the administration department, human resources 00:32:48.800 --> 00:32:53.467 division. He recently earned his bachelor’s degree in 00:32:53.467 --> 00:32:58.567 business administration. With the concentration in HR, human 00:32:58.567 --> 00:33:00.467 resources management from southern New Hampshire 00:33:00.467 --> 00:33:05.500 University. He brings valuable experience from his ongoing 00:33:05.500 --> 00:33:07.934 role as a human resources specialist in the US Army 00:33:07.934 --> 00:33:13.266 Reserves. Where he has been responsible for managing 00:33:13.266 --> 00:33:17.300 personnel records, ensuring data accuracy in HR systems and 00:33:17.300 --> 00:33:20.634 supporting both soldiers and leadership with HR matters. In 00:33:20.634 --> 00:33:23.734 the two months that he has been with the city of Brooklyn Park. 00:33:23.734 --> 00:33:28.533 He has exemplified our customer service excellent standards, 00:33:28.533 --> 00:33:32.266 providing exceptional customer service to fellow employees, 00:33:32.266 --> 00:33:34.634 candidates, candidates and the public. We’re looking forward 00:33:34.634 --> 00:33:39.467 to. Um, to have the skills and perspective that he brings from 00:33:39.467 --> 00:33:42.900 his time in the army reserves and are excited to have him 00:33:42.900 --> 00:34:07.200 join the HR team. Um, please welcome Amud. OK Mayor Winston 00:34:07.200 --> 00:34:10.100 calls members, good evening, Mark Brui, police chief. Uh, 00:34:10.100 --> 00:34:13.367 it’s my pleasure to introduce Keaton Sandberg. He was hired 00:34:13.367 --> 00:34:17.166 as a cadet intern in August of 2024 and recently was hired as 00:34:17.166 --> 00:34:22.467 a police cadet on May 28th. He graduated from spring, uh, this 00:34:22.467 --> 00:34:25.100 spring from University of Minnesota with a bachelor’s 00:34:25.100 --> 00:34:28.834 degree in criminal justice for the last 6 years, Keon has also 00:34:28.834 --> 00:34:32.000 worked at Rush Creek Golf Club and Maintenance. Keen enjoys 00:34:32.000 --> 00:34:34.667 fishing, hockey, hiking, watching crime documentaries 00:34:34.667 --> 00:34:36.467 and spending time with his friends and family. Please 00:34:36.467 --> 00:34:59.367 welcome Caden. Thank you and congratulations to our new 00:34:59.367 --> 00:35:33.500 employees. We’re happy to have you on board. That Alright. So 00:35:33.500 --> 00:35:39.300 we have a special proclamation proclaiming July 26, 2025 as 00:35:39.300 --> 00:35:43.567 Liberian independence Day and Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, and 00:35:43.567 --> 00:35:47.400 celebrating the 178th anniversary of Liberia’s 00:35:47.400 --> 00:35:51.667 declaration of independence, whereas July 26, 2025 marks the 00:35:51.667 --> 00:35:55.634 178th anniversary of Liberia’s declaration of independence and 00:35:55.634 --> 00:35:58.000 whereas Liberia, which means the land of the free, was the 00:35:58.000 --> 00:36:01.734 first African nation on the African continent to gain its 00:36:01.734 --> 00:36:02.934 independence on July 26th, 1847. 00:36:02.934 --> 00:36:06.734 And whereas Liberians living in the city of Brooklyn Park and 00:36:06.734 --> 00:36:09.400 in Minnesota are making enormous contributions to the 00:36:09.400 --> 00:36:12.033 development of the workforce, cultural diversity, arts, and 00:36:12.033 --> 00:36:14.100 economic growth, and whereas Brooklyn Park is proud to be 00:36:14.100 --> 00:36:17.767 called home by one of the largest populations of 00:36:17.767 --> 00:36:20.467 Liberians outside of the Republic of Liberia and has 00:36:20.467 --> 00:36:22.667 greatly benefited from many residents who have taken an 00:36:22.667 --> 00:36:26.834 active role in local organizations, city commissions, 00:36:26.834 --> 00:36:29.500 and city government and whereas Brooklyn Park recognizes the 00:36:29.500 --> 00:36:31.734 rich and strong Liberian community that is making our 00:36:31.734 --> 00:36:34.834 city a thriving, vibrant, and diverse community. And whereas 00:36:34.834 --> 00:36:38.567 Liberia’s independence Day is a day to honor and highlight the 00:36:38.567 --> 00:36:40.834 current and historical relationship between the United 00:36:40.834 --> 00:36:43.467 States and Liberia, and the vital contributions Liberians 00:36:43.467 --> 00:36:46.634 make to the United States, to Minnesota and to Brooklyn Park, 00:36:46.634 --> 00:36:50.900 and whereas the organization of Liberians in Minnesota is 00:36:50.900 --> 00:36:54.100 organizing community events uh for the July 26th weekend to 00:36:54.100 --> 00:36:57.233 celebrate the holiday. Now, therefore, I hollis once in 00:36:57.233 --> 00:37:01.066 mayor of the city of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, do hereby 00:37:01.066 --> 00:37:04.734 proclaimed July 26, 2025 shall be observed as Liberian 00:37:04.734 --> 00:37:13.300 Independence Day in the city of Brooklyn Park. So I’m gonna say 00:37:13.300 --> 00:37:20.266 a few words. I mean, um, You know, the African heritage 00:37:20.266 --> 00:37:22.934 community is large in uh Brooklyn Park, Brooklyn Center. 00:37:22.934 --> 00:37:25.834 It’s growing throughout the state, uh, but the Liberian 00:37:25.834 --> 00:37:29.367 community has also been extremely key within that, uh, 00:37:29.367 --> 00:37:32.734 diaspora, and I think in terms of uh the number of businesses, 00:37:32.734 --> 00:37:37.266 the homes, the contributions that have been made. I think In 00:37:37.266 --> 00:37:40.266 many ways, the community has helped stabilize, uh, Brooklyn 00:37:40.266 --> 00:37:42.634 Park. I know we went through some difficult times even 00:37:42.634 --> 00:37:45.300 through the housing crisis. And I think a number of the people 00:37:45.300 --> 00:37:49.100 who are buying those homes were from uh the Liberian community. 00:37:49.100 --> 00:37:52.567 And they’re also building businesses, uh, quickly in 00:37:52.567 --> 00:37:55.467 Brooklyn Park. So I think when we look at it from that angle, 00:37:55.467 --> 00:37:58.734 um, it is true that the Liberian community has made 00:37:58.734 --> 00:38:02.367 some enormous contributions, uh, to our city. I also think if we 00:38:02.367 --> 00:38:06.367 look at it from uh a historical perspective. I know Liberia, uh, 00:38:06.367 --> 00:38:11.000 was in the news. because there’s a a a comment made at 00:38:11.000 --> 00:38:13.100 the White House, uh, to them. 00:38:13.100 --> 00:38:18.867 Uh, I will say this, um, uh, the history of Liberia is very 00:38:18.867 --> 00:38:23.100 much of Liberia is in many ways intertwined um with what we 00:38:23.100 --> 00:38:26.900 have experienced as African Americans in Minnesota, and I 00:38:26.900 --> 00:38:30.300 think many people overlook that particular uh connection that 00:38:30.300 --> 00:38:36.100 we have if folks don’t know, um, many of the former slaves went 00:38:36.100 --> 00:38:39.367 back to Liberia, um. And helped to found that country of 00:38:39.367 --> 00:38:43.533 Liberia. So there’s a lot of history between not only 00:38:43.533 --> 00:38:46.467 America, but between our particular uh communities so 00:38:46.467 --> 00:38:50.467 when we talk about Liberian independence Day, I think 00:38:50.467 --> 00:38:52.500 that’s incredibly important because when you look at the 00:38:52.500 --> 00:38:55.867 history of what Africa dealt with or the African diaspora, 00:38:55.867 --> 00:38:58.900 uh, even. You can talk about Haiti, Jamaica, you talk about 00:38:58.900 --> 00:39:01.767 Nigeria, other countries. I think it was very much a 00:39:01.767 --> 00:39:05.367 struggle for people to get any form of independence and the 00:39:05.367 --> 00:39:08.100 fact that Liberia did it so early, and I know it has not 00:39:08.100 --> 00:39:12.300 been an easy ride, but it’s never an easy ride, uh, when 00:39:12.300 --> 00:39:14.634 you are actively fighting for and declaring your independence. 00:39:14.634 --> 00:39:18.533 So I think in terms of uh persistence and a beacon to the 00:39:18.533 --> 00:39:23.734 world of what it looks like, uh, to take responsibility for your 00:39:23.734 --> 00:39:28.467 own future. I think people need to look beyond just to 00:39:28.467 --> 00:39:31.100 celebration of Liberian Independence Day, but realized 00:39:31.100 --> 00:39:34.000 that historically, they made a statement when it was unpopular 00:39:34.000 --> 00:39:36.634 for them to be making that statement, uh, and all the 00:39:36.634 --> 00:39:40.667 honor has to be be given for that along with the myriad 00:39:40.667 --> 00:40:07.367 contributions they have made as a community. So thank you. All 00:40:07.367 --> 00:40:14.900 right. Next we have an update uh from CCX, uh. Oh, a couple 00:40:14.900 --> 00:40:18.100 of folks that I recognize. So if you guys could uh introduce 00:40:18.100 --> 00:40:20.800 yourselves and head into the presentation. Thank you. 00:40:20.800 --> 00:40:21.867 Absolutely. Thank you, Mr. 00:40:21.867 --> 00:40:24.000 Mayor and council, city staff. 00:40:24.000 --> 00:40:27.166 My name is Shannon Slatten Schwartz. I’m the executive 00:40:27.166 --> 00:40:29.834 director of CCX Media. It’s a position I’ve been in for about 00:40:29.834 --> 00:40:33.634 2.5 years, but I’ve been with the organization for almost 18, 00:40:33.634 --> 00:40:37.233 primarily working in the news department and joining me, Dave 00:40:37.233 --> 00:40:40.100 Kaiser, our government and community affairs liaison, 00:40:40.100 --> 00:40:43.233 familiar face as well, Dave, how many years have you been 00:40:43.233 --> 00:40:47.533 with our organization? About 40, so he’s been covering Brooklyn 00:40:47.533 --> 00:40:50.266 Park for that long, very thankful to be here. I hope 00:40:50.266 --> 00:40:53.834 today just to give you a brief overview of some of the 00:40:53.834 --> 00:40:56.533 different ways CCX Media serves our community and to tell you a 00:40:56.533 --> 00:41:03.033 little bit about some of the challenges that we face. All 00:41:03.033 --> 00:41:07.100 right, first, the map on your screen, CCX Media’s coverage 00:41:07.100 --> 00:41:10.500 area includes the nine cities north of 394 and west of 00:41:10.500 --> 00:41:14.233 Highway 100. It’s an area that has about 350,000 people. So if 00:41:14.233 --> 00:41:17.934 you compare that to other peg channels across the state. 00:41:17.934 --> 00:41:21.667 We’re #2. We’re right between Minneapolis and Saint Paul. Um, 00:41:21.667 --> 00:41:25.266 we were founded, we were called Northwest Community Television, 00:41:25.266 --> 00:41:29.634 and now we’re called CCX Media, which stands for Connected 00:41:29.634 --> 00:41:32.367 Community Experience, and the story goes that 40 years ago, 00:41:32.367 --> 00:41:33.100 our 9 communities came together. 00:41:33.100 --> 00:41:36.567 because there were local stories to tell that were not 00:41:36.567 --> 00:41:40.367 being told. And so we continue to tell those stories today and 00:41:40.367 --> 00:41:43.533 speaking of stories, our news department is a department that 00:41:43.533 --> 00:41:45.133 you’re probably familiar with. 00:41:45.133 --> 00:41:48.300 We have a traditional news department that puts out 00:41:48.300 --> 00:41:51.133 stories every day online and on our channel, and you might be 00:41:51.133 --> 00:41:55.300 surprised to learn that some of our most uh viewed stories are 00:41:55.300 --> 00:41:56.867 actually development related. 00:41:56.867 --> 00:41:59.533 People are very interested to know what’s going on at the end 00:41:59.533 --> 00:42:02.233 of their street, what developments coming in and 00:42:02.233 --> 00:42:05.033 bonus points if it’s a restaurant. Um, because those 00:42:05.033 --> 00:42:08.233 stories do really well. Uh, here’s two examples of popular 00:42:08.233 --> 00:42:10.500 stories in Brooklyn Park that generated a high number of 00:42:10.500 --> 00:42:14.467 views. Uh, one was the golf course at Edinburgh USA 00:42:14.467 --> 00:42:16.233 transitioning over, that story was at the beginning of the 00:42:16.233 --> 00:42:20.266 year, and the other was on Highway 252 freeway conversion 00:42:20.266 --> 00:42:24.100 plan. We’ve done many stories on that project over the past 00:42:24.100 --> 00:42:28.100 few years. We have a sports department. We’re very 00:42:28.100 --> 00:42:30.500 fortunate there, and we cover high school sports. Not only do 00:42:30.500 --> 00:42:33.900 we get out and broadcast live events, but we do features 00:42:33.900 --> 00:42:37.533 which do pretty well. Here is a feature that generated over 00:42:37.533 --> 00:42:40.767 10,000 views on Park Center Spring sports, featuring the 00:42:40.767 --> 00:42:43.934 boys volleyball team. First year for that sport and Park 00:42:43.934 --> 00:42:45.667 Center’s team did really well, making it to the state 00:42:45.667 --> 00:42:49.834 tournament. Uh, for cities, Dave’s worked in that, uh, 00:42:49.834 --> 00:42:54.000 department quite a bit, so I’m gonna let him talk about that. 00:42:54.000 --> 00:42:57.200 Thank you, Shannon. Good evening everyone, and it is a 00:42:57.200 --> 00:43:00.900 pleasure to speak to you today to talk a little bit about CCX 00:43:00.900 --> 00:43:05.233 Media and one of the big reasons we exist is for you 00:43:05.233 --> 00:43:08.000 right here and transparency of government meetings. And not 00:43:08.000 --> 00:43:10.800 only on the channels, which again you see some of the views 00:43:10.800 --> 00:43:13.367 that we see at the different meetings and we’re covering 00:43:13.367 --> 00:43:16.567 about a meeting a week on average here in the city of 00:43:16.567 --> 00:43:19.300 Brooklyn Park, but also streaming meetings, able to 00:43:19.300 --> 00:43:23.367 view meetings, video on demand at a later point as well. Some 00:43:23.367 --> 00:43:26.567 of the other stories you see that we work with cities very 00:43:26.567 --> 00:43:29.300 closely on Shannon mentioned restaurants and you see some of 00:43:29.300 --> 00:43:32.467 our restaurant features of some of the cultural restaurants 00:43:32.467 --> 00:43:35.767 here in town again, very favorable response and getting 00:43:35.767 --> 00:43:38.100 people to go to those businesses and try them out. 00:43:38.100 --> 00:43:41.500 And I get the pleasure of meeting with the mayor on every 00:43:41.500 --> 00:43:43.800 two month basis to conduct the mayor’s minutes, a chat to find 00:43:43.800 --> 00:43:47.900 out what’s new in the city and give people a reason to stay in 00:43:47.900 --> 00:43:51.233 touch. Other things that we do as well are the history special 00:43:51.233 --> 00:43:54.300 we have done for the city. And again, candidate forums. 00:43:54.300 --> 00:43:57.734 partnering with the League of Women voters, so our city work 00:43:57.734 --> 00:44:01.367 for the city of Brooklyn Park and the other 8 cities is 00:44:01.367 --> 00:44:07.166 ongoing effort. Thanks Dave, you might not be familiar. One 00:44:07.166 --> 00:44:10.934 of the best kept secrets that we have is we still operate a 00:44:10.934 --> 00:44:13.767 traditional public access, uh, department, and so if you are a 00:44:13.767 --> 00:44:15.867 resident in the city of Brooklyn Park, you can come to 00:44:15.867 --> 00:44:18.900 our station, we’ll teach you how to make television or a 00:44:18.900 --> 00:44:21.734 podcast, which is really popular right now, and then you 00:44:21.734 --> 00:44:25.300 can create it and it goes out on our channel. Um, one of the 00:44:25.300 --> 00:44:27.834 podcasts in the corner, she speaks to ladies that come in 00:44:27.834 --> 00:44:32.200 and do what I would call a mom podcast. Um, we also have 00:44:32.200 --> 00:44:34.300 Northwest City Politics, you can see there in the corner and 00:44:34.300 --> 00:44:37.000 Three Rivers Park. district move their podcast production 00:44:37.000 --> 00:44:39.667 to our studios, and they produced The Wondering 00:44:39.667 --> 00:44:46.100 Naturalist. Uh, so residents created 595 programs in 2024. 00:44:46.100 --> 00:44:49.300 We also have a creative services, finally, and this was 00:44:49.300 --> 00:44:52.100 our last department, that was kind of founded because uh we 00:44:52.100 --> 00:44:54.667 would get requests that really didn’t fit in anywhere else, 00:44:54.667 --> 00:44:56.867 and that’s where we would have cities and nonprofits that 00:44:56.867 --> 00:45:00.567 would come to us with a video need and we said that’s 00:45:00.567 --> 00:45:03.367 something we can do. So our state of the cities falls under 00:45:03.367 --> 00:45:07.500 this umbrella. Sometimes the city will come to us and have 00:45:07.500 --> 00:45:10.634 um need for something to be recorded, to be used only 00:45:10.634 --> 00:45:12.800 internally, somewhat video on demand, so we’ve done that as 00:45:12.800 --> 00:45:15.800 well, so we’ve worked with school districts and nonprofits 00:45:15.800 --> 00:45:22.033 in our creative. ’ s arm. And I think one thing that uh the 00:45:22.033 --> 00:45:25.467 folks before me were really, really smart on is that we are 00:45:25.467 --> 00:45:26.533 available just about anywhere. 00:45:26.533 --> 00:45:29.867 We were not content just to be a cable television station. It 00:45:29.867 --> 00:45:33.567 was more important to be relevant, and so we are out um 00:45:33.567 --> 00:45:36.367 on websites on over the top apps, so if you don’t have 00:45:36.367 --> 00:45:39.400 cable, and we know most of you don’t, um, you can still 00:45:39.400 --> 00:45:42.166 download our app and stay just as relevant as before. We have 00:45:42.166 --> 00:45:45.667 email marketing, so our purpose is really just to get the 00:45:45.667 --> 00:45:49.467 information out and be relevant to the people at home. And 00:45:49.467 --> 00:45:53.133 finally, in your packet tonight, you have a one page handout 00:45:53.133 --> 00:45:56.367 that we’ve been um showing to cities that’s titled Funding 00:45:56.367 --> 00:46:00.300 and Policy needed to save Community media. Our funding is 00:46:00.300 --> 00:46:03.900 going away. We are founded off of cable franchise fees, so 00:46:03.900 --> 00:46:07.100 which each person that cuts the cord on traditional cable 00:46:07.100 --> 00:46:10.834 television, we lose that revenue. We’ve lost about 35% 00:46:10.834 --> 00:46:15.767 of our revenue since 2017, and we have absorbed those losses 00:46:15.767 --> 00:46:18.500 by eliminating positions, trying to um have a few 00:46:18.500 --> 00:46:19.367 channels of sustainable. 00:46:19.367 --> 00:46:23.266 revenue, and we’ve developed a strategic plan to help guide us 00:46:23.266 --> 00:46:26.867 as um as we shrink and as we plan for the declining revenue. 00:46:26.867 --> 00:46:30.533 We’ve also been very active with the state legislature, 00:46:30.533 --> 00:46:32.867 working legislatively on a solution as well. We’ve 00:46:32.867 --> 00:46:36.000 testified several times, um, on behalf of peg channels. I think 00:46:36.000 --> 00:46:40.767 Dave’s gonna lean into that just a little bit more. If 00:46:40.767 --> 00:46:43.634 you’re interested to find more information, we have contact 00:46:43.634 --> 00:46:46.667 with the League of Minnesota cities that has been a great 00:46:46.667 --> 00:46:50.834 partner, especially on the broadband and and franchising 00:46:50.834 --> 00:46:54.000 broadband, so that is obviously what is replacing cable TV for 00:46:54.000 --> 00:46:57.800 a lot of people, but they’re streaming their programming, 00:46:57.800 --> 00:47:00.500 but those broadband companies do not pay a franchise fee to 00:47:00.500 --> 00:47:04.266 use that right of way in your city. And in fact this is 00:47:04.266 --> 00:47:08.500 something that’s coming up at other commissions and cities 00:47:08.500 --> 00:47:12.300 right now in the end of July, the city of Woodbury will be 00:47:12.300 --> 00:47:16.000 hearing some discussion about franchising broadband companies, 00:47:16.000 --> 00:47:18.634 so Shannon will keep you informed about that and 00:47:18.634 --> 00:47:22.367 certainly the city of Brooklyn Park has 2 members on our cable 00:47:22.367 --> 00:47:26.100 commission, so they can keep you informed as well. There is 00:47:26.100 --> 00:47:28.266 an organization called MACTA. 00:47:28.266 --> 00:47:31.533 It is a Minnesota-based organization of both city 00:47:31.533 --> 00:47:34.367 communications people and community. te le vision systems 00:47:34.367 --> 00:47:37.033 like ours and a great part about the city of Brooklyn Park 00:47:37.033 --> 00:47:41.033 is you have a fine facility like CCX Media, and at the end 00:47:41.033 --> 00:47:44.934 of the month, we will be hosting the statewide 00:47:44.934 --> 00:47:49.533 conference here at our facility at 6900 Winnetka Avenue North. 00:47:49.533 --> 00:47:52.767 So certainly you are all welcome to attend and there 00:47:52.767 --> 00:47:58.100 will be some specific workshops to talk about the future of 00:47:58.100 --> 00:48:00.734 franchising and also some of our work at the state capitol. 00:48:00.734 --> 00:48:03.567 Shannon and I have spent many hours down at the State capital 00:48:03.567 --> 00:48:08.767 over the past few years to look at some state efforts around 00:48:08.767 --> 00:48:11.567 getting this funding modernized, and again, we have not been 00:48:11.567 --> 00:48:14.634 fortunate the past couple of years in those efforts, but we 00:48:14.634 --> 00:48:17.567 know it takes time, but we think a key to the effort is 00:48:17.567 --> 00:48:22.734 cities. And again, we encourage cities to look at franchising 00:48:22.734 --> 00:48:25.000 as an opportunity because broadband companies are coming 00:48:25.000 --> 00:48:28.667 in, and they are building in your community under no 00:48:28.667 --> 00:48:31.233 franchise, which means they can pick where they would like to 00:48:31.233 --> 00:48:34.467 serve, so if they would like to serve a certain portion of the 00:48:34.467 --> 00:48:37.667 city and not the other portion of the city that is something 00:48:37.667 --> 00:48:41.300 they can do without a franchise, so we encourage the city to 00:48:41.300 --> 00:48:44.500 learn more about that. Please ask us questions. We’d be happy 00:48:44.500 --> 00:48:47.734 to answer them and join us at the conference right here in 00:48:47.734 --> 00:48:53.133 your hometown, end of July. And thank you for your support. 00:48:53.133 --> 00:48:55.734 We’re happy to answer any questions now or at a later 00:48:55.734 --> 00:49:03.233 time. Thank you. Are there any particular questions or? 00:49:03.233 --> 00:49:10.133 Councilor McGarvey. Thank you, Mayor, and thank you folks for 00:49:10.133 --> 00:49:13.100 that. fine presentation. Um, Just a couple of questions. One, 00:49:13.100 --> 00:49:18.200 Uh, what are the numbers when you look at them for folks 00:49:18.200 --> 00:49:22.467 downloading the app and participating that way with CCX. 00:49:22.467 --> 00:49:25.767 We have all of those numbers in our annual report, which I’m 00:49:25.767 --> 00:49:28.367 happy to pass along to you. I can’t tell you off the top of 00:49:28.367 --> 00:49:32.200 my head because we’re on 5 different apps. So I, I don’t 00:49:32.200 --> 00:49:35.166 know that directly, um, but, but we do try the best we can 00:49:35.166 --> 00:49:39.000 to keep up with our analytics from not only YouTube and 00:49:39.000 --> 00:49:41.634 Facebook and website and over the top apps, so I can tell you 00:49:41.634 --> 00:49:45.467 our website gets over a million views every year. Um, so we are 00:49:45.467 --> 00:49:49.634 relevant. We’ve worked really hard on that. So it’s not a 00:49:49.634 --> 00:49:52.834 separate CCX app you’re available on the other 00:49:52.834 --> 00:49:55.734 streaming apps. You have to download the app on those apps, 00:49:55.734 --> 00:49:58.834 and then you can go there and scroll through city council 00:49:58.834 --> 00:50:02.734 meetings to watch which one you want or stories or sports as 00:50:02.734 --> 00:50:07.834 well. I’m gonna do that, um, second question, are you 00:50:07.834 --> 00:50:12.634 legally prohibited then from running ads or providing 00:50:12.634 --> 00:50:15.233 advertisements for are you able to do that? Question, we, we 00:50:15.233 --> 00:50:19.100 don’t, um, run ads on our community access channels. We, 00:50:19.100 --> 00:50:22.367 um, those aren’t, we can’t run ads on those, but we can on CCX 00:50:22.367 --> 00:50:26.634 one, which we have over the years. people cutting cable in 00:50:26.634 --> 00:50:29.233 that audience shrinking. It’s not as much as we would like. 00:50:29.233 --> 00:50:32.367 Uh, we’ve also done some work in sponsorships, trying to go 00:50:32.367 --> 00:50:35.567 out and find community businesses to sponsor our 00:50:35.567 --> 00:50:39.834 content. And what we found is that we resonate with the same 00:50:39.834 --> 00:50:42.734 types of small businesses that might support your, your hockey 00:50:42.734 --> 00:50:45.233 teams or your sports teams or people that believe in 00:50:45.233 --> 00:50:47.834 supporting the community and attaching their name to a 00:50:47.834 --> 00:50:50.567 community product, so that’s good. Unfortunately, it’s not 00:50:50.567 --> 00:50:53.634 tipping the scales on sustainability. Yet, but we 00:50:53.634 --> 00:51:01.767 have hope. And then finally one, Oh, do you have any way of 00:51:01.767 --> 00:51:06.033 tracking how many of those 500+ podcasts are actually listened 00:51:06.033 --> 00:51:12.033 to. When people create a podcast on, on, um, in our 00:51:12.033 --> 00:51:15.100 studio, we, we put it on our channel, but as far as 00:51:15.100 --> 00:51:17.367 dissemination on other platforms, that’s kind of up to 00:51:17.367 --> 00:51:21.000 them. So they’re the ones that can market and do whatever they 00:51:21.000 --> 00:51:25.834 want to with that product. So, short answer, no. Thank you 00:51:25.834 --> 00:51:29.500 very much. You’re welcome. 00:51:29.500 --> 00:51:34.834 Council member Kowski. Thank you, Mayor. No questions. I 00:51:34.834 --> 00:51:38.567 just want to say thank you, um, in a time where media is under 00:51:38.567 --> 00:51:42.400 attack sometimes. It’s really great to have local 00:51:42.400 --> 00:51:44.100 community-based news to keep us informed. So thank you for what 00:51:44.100 --> 00:51:48.867 you do. Thank you. So, yeah, I’m going to second that, I 00:51:48.867 --> 00:51:53.000 think, um. You know, I don’t always get along with the media, 00:51:53.000 --> 00:51:56.734 which means the media is probably doing their job, but, 00:51:56.734 --> 00:51:59.834 um, thank you for, uh, you know, the local stories that you do, 00:51:59.834 --> 00:52:01.734 I think often you’re getting facts out there that other 00:52:01.734 --> 00:52:05.300 people are just not getting out there, uh, from that local 00:52:05.300 --> 00:52:10.166 perspective. So I think that’s important. I do, um, feel, uh, 00:52:10.166 --> 00:52:14.900 for you in terms of the, the diminishing revenue sources. So 00:52:14.900 --> 00:52:17.166 I think maybe uh I, I don’t make any promises on this 00:52:17.166 --> 00:52:20.166 because this all has to fit within our larger approach as a 00:52:20.166 --> 00:52:24.000 city, but I’ll see. If anything does make sense with us, um, if 00:52:24.000 --> 00:52:26.200 there’s anything that we can do, but again, we’ve got to put 00:52:26.200 --> 00:52:28.800 that in with all of our priorities and, you know, as a 00:52:28.800 --> 00:52:33.634 city, we’re not the uh it seems like a Northwest region thing. 00:52:33.634 --> 00:52:36.467 We’re not as flush as perhaps we should be, uh, and we’re 00:52:36.467 --> 00:52:39.634 working on that. So, um, but thank you again for that 00:52:39.634 --> 00:52:42.200 coverage, um, and if we can do more with you to get the word 00:52:42.200 --> 00:52:45.300 out about what we’re doing, uh, in Brooklyn Park. We’re looking 00:52:45.300 --> 00:52:47.900 forward to that. It’s, you know, the more we can educate 00:52:47.900 --> 00:52:50.567 residents in terms of what we’re actually doing, uh, you 00:52:50.567 --> 00:52:54.400 know. versus the conspiracy theories that seem to abound, 00:52:54.400 --> 00:52:57.634 that would be uh, I think it’s a, it’s a good public service. 00:52:57.634 --> 00:53:10.033 So thank you very much. All right, so next, it looks like 00:53:10.033 --> 00:53:15.367 uh. Going to have a presentation on Minneapolis 00:53:15.367 --> 00:53:18.033 Northwest Tourism, uh, with director Gladhill and Leslie 00:53:18.033 --> 00:53:21.100 Wright, president and CEO of Minneapolis Northwest, uh, 00:53:21.100 --> 00:53:25.000 tourism. Thank you, Mr. Mayor, members of the council. I’ll do 00:53:25.000 --> 00:53:29.100 a very brief intro and then turn things over to Ms. Wright, 00:53:29.100 --> 00:53:32.300 um, whose team does an amazing work, uh, marketing Brooklyn 00:53:32.300 --> 00:53:36.133 Park and Brooklyn Center, and the tourism and recreation 00:53:36.133 --> 00:53:38.900 opportunities we have from our perspective, the foundation 00:53:38.900 --> 00:53:45.100 that allows us to do this is a lodging tax, 3% lodging tax tax 00:53:45.100 --> 00:53:48.467 that gets applied to each hotel stay in the cities of Brooklyn 00:53:48.467 --> 00:53:52.567 Park and Brooklyn Center. Uh, this is a tool that’s enabled 00:53:52.567 --> 00:53:56.533 through the state’s economic development chapter, um, local 00:53:56.533 --> 00:54:00.266 lodging taxes and allows us to fund a convention and visitors 00:54:00.266 --> 00:54:03.734 bureau, often known as a destination marketing 00:54:03.734 --> 00:54:06.500 organization, and the intent here is to promote the city as 00:54:06.500 --> 00:54:10.233 a tourist or convention center, um, and more importantly, this 00:54:10.233 --> 00:54:13.934 has a secondary effect of, uh, economic boost to our 00:54:13.934 --> 00:54:17.634 restaurants and shops. So that’s why it exists in the 00:54:17.634 --> 00:54:19.133 economic development lens, and it’s something a lot of 00:54:19.133 --> 00:54:22.367 different cities. throughout the state, um, are able to 00:54:22.367 --> 00:54:25.166 employ. One thing I just want to frame up as we have good 00:54:25.166 --> 00:54:28.867 ideas in terms of what can this lodging tax be used for? How 00:54:28.867 --> 00:54:32.800 can we support as the city, um, this work, um, really, it’s 00:54:32.800 --> 00:54:36.400 about marketing, so marketing visitor’s guide, social media, 00:54:36.400 --> 00:54:39.000 um, they do have staff that goes out and tracks events to 00:54:39.000 --> 00:54:42.567 come here, such as Gus Macker, um, but also more importantly, 00:54:42.567 --> 00:54:46.500 one thing, there are things that we cannot use this for our 00:54:46.500 --> 00:54:48.867 our standard capital improvement plan. We can’t use 00:54:48.867 --> 00:54:52.367 these dollars to be. by the area. There is a little bit of 00:54:52.367 --> 00:54:55.567 flexibility in terms of public art, if you can make that tie 00:54:55.567 --> 00:54:58.734 directly to marketing and tourism, and then some 00:54:58.734 --> 00:55:01.100 communities have done special legislation similar to what 00:55:01.100 --> 00:55:04.767 we’ve done with tax income and financing to expand that use as 00:55:04.767 --> 00:55:07.567 well. So I just put that disclaimer out as well. So with 00:55:07.567 --> 00:55:10.567 that lens, I’m gonna turn things over to Leslie to talk a 00:55:10.567 --> 00:55:17.100 little bit about Minneapolis Northwest itself. I just Just 00:55:17.100 --> 00:55:21.634 these arrows back. Good evening, good evening, uh, Mayor Winston. 00:55:21.634 --> 00:55:28.367 And City council members, thank you for having me. My name is 00:55:28.367 --> 00:55:32.500 Leslie Wright, and I’m the president and CEO of 00:55:32.500 --> 00:55:35.667 Minneapolis Northwest Tourism, which represents the cities of 00:55:35.667 --> 00:55:43.667 Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center. Thank you, um, Mr. 00:55:43.667 --> 00:55:47.367 Gladhill for talking about some of the things of what how we’re 00:55:47.367 --> 00:55:50.033 funded, but I just wanna tell you a little bit about who we 00:55:50.033 --> 00:55:53.767 are. We’re destination marketing organization that 00:55:53.767 --> 00:55:58.033 focuses on the promotion, management, and development of 00:55:58.033 --> 00:56:03.467 a specific travel or tourism destination, so a DMO as he 00:56:03.467 --> 00:56:08.233 talked about their primary role is to attract visitors, improve 00:56:08.233 --> 00:56:10.367 the visitor experience and ensure sustainable. Tourism 00:56:10.367 --> 00:56:16.800 growth. DMOs typically represent a city or a region we 00:56:16.800 --> 00:56:20.000 represent Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center, and they work 00:56:20.000 --> 00:56:24.233 in collaboration with local businesses, governments, and 00:56:24.233 --> 00:56:27.634 other stakeholders to foster tourism and drive economic 00:56:27.634 --> 00:56:34.467 development. When we think about All that we do, we have a 00:56:34.467 --> 00:56:41.300 small and mighty team. Um, I’m on that team. Jin Dirda Johnson 00:56:41.300 --> 00:56:45.033 is our destination sales director and community 00:56:45.033 --> 00:56:48.767 engagement coordinator, Emily, Emily Kanakua is our 00:56:48.767 --> 00:56:51.000 administrative assistant and honestly the person that holds 00:56:51.000 --> 00:56:55.166 the glue together and does pretty much everything. And 00:56:55.166 --> 00:57:00.000 Mary Louer is our marketing consultant, so it’s 4 of us. We 00:57:00.000 --> 00:57:05.900 have actually 3 full-time staff that manage the organization. 00:57:05.900 --> 00:57:09.634 We’ve already talked about how we are funded, so I won’t go 00:57:09.634 --> 00:57:15.000 into this. This is just so you will know. That it is not paid 00:57:15.000 --> 00:57:19.233 by residents. Many people feel that this tax, the lodging tax 00:57:19.233 --> 00:57:23.133 is paid by residents. It is actually paid by the visitors 00:57:23.133 --> 00:57:26.734 in the hotel, so that’s an important note when we look at 00:57:26.734 --> 00:57:35.767 what we can and cannot do. What we measure We measure occupancy 00:57:35.767 --> 00:57:40.033 and average daily rates of hotels, because that’s where we 00:57:40.033 --> 00:57:45.367 get our funding from, so that’s an important thing to note, but 00:57:45.367 --> 00:57:49.033 we also analyze the spending in Brooklyn Center in Brooklyn 00:57:49.033 --> 00:57:53.467 Park, so that we can know if we’ve made an impact, um, these 00:57:53.467 --> 00:57:59.767 days, a cell phone can tell you pretty much. Anything, and 00:57:59.767 --> 00:58:04.567 there are many companies that give us data, and we have one 00:58:04.567 --> 00:58:08.533 company’s article that gives us data on how much spending is 00:58:08.533 --> 00:58:12.500 taking place, we can look at it this year versus last year, we 00:58:12.500 --> 00:58:16.367 can compare to determine if we’re making strides and 00:58:16.367 --> 00:58:19.734 getting people to come to the area as well as to spend in the 00:58:19.734 --> 00:58:25.900 area. What we’re doing now, we do a lot of marketing and we do 00:58:25.900 --> 00:58:31.367 a lot of promoting of events, so we focus on media, um, I 00:58:31.367 --> 00:58:37.033 have been in CCX a few times, um, media specifically for 00:58:37.033 --> 00:58:42.500 events in both cities, pedal jam, Ebel Fest, Liberian day 00:58:42.500 --> 00:58:47.767 and Gus Macker. Newsletters and blogs to make sure that our 00:58:47.767 --> 00:58:52.100 constituents and our residents know what’s going on. Community 00:58:52.100 --> 00:58:54.734 engagement and communication with both cities, we meet 00:58:54.734 --> 00:58:58.000 regularly with the city so that we can have an understanding of 00:58:58.000 --> 00:59:02.867 what we’re doing and what needs to be done. Quarterly hotel 00:59:02.867 --> 00:59:05.467 sales directors meetings so that we can keep updated on 00:59:05.467 --> 00:59:09.033 what’s happening in our hotels, social activities with our 00:59:09.033 --> 00:59:12.533 board members and our stakeholders, proactive selling 00:59:12.533 --> 00:59:17.166 is what Mr. Gladhill talked about. We go out and try to get 00:59:17.166 --> 00:59:22.000 conventions to come here, albeit small, we work closely 00:59:22.000 --> 00:59:25.166 with the Heritage Center so that we can try to bring 00:59:25.166 --> 00:59:29.467 business to this area. lead qualification and distribution 00:59:29.467 --> 00:59:31.634 to make sure our hotels in Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn 00:59:31.634 --> 00:59:35.834 Center. I don’t know what just clicked, maybe you all are 00:59:35.834 --> 00:59:39.634 telling me to keep, OK, I’m going back to what we’re doing. 00:59:39.634 --> 00:59:43.834 Um, so lead qualification and distribution to make sure that 00:59:43.834 --> 00:59:47.567 our hotels are getting those leads that want to and are 00:59:47.567 --> 00:59:50.467 interested in our area, and then Gus Maer. Gus Macker takes 00:59:50.467 --> 00:59:54.100 up quite a bit of our time, and I’ll talk about that in just a 00:59:54.100 --> 01:00:00.467 few minutes. What’s upcoming a potential board retreats so 01:00:00.467 --> 01:00:06.300 that our board will be fully aware of how they can be more 01:00:06.300 --> 01:00:10.100 engaged, a rebranding of M&W is just something that we are 01:00:10.100 --> 01:00:14.834 talking about now, and we’ll look at for next year, as you 01:00:14.834 --> 01:00:19.166 know, Minneapolis Northwest tourism is our name, and many 01:00:19.166 --> 01:00:22.834 people will say, think we’re Minneapolis because we have 01:00:22.834 --> 01:00:26.634 Minneapolis in our name, so I’m not saying that that’s not an 01:00:26.634 --> 01:00:30.767 attraction that is, but what I am saying is how do we elevate 01:00:30.767 --> 01:00:33.567 Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center, as Minneapolis 01:00:33.567 --> 01:00:38.300 Northwest tourism. And thank you publicly to um. I don’t 01:00:38.300 --> 01:00:44.367 want to say to Mr. Gladhill about um how he’s champion 01:00:44.367 --> 01:00:49.467 championing some of this with us, so we can do something like 01:00:49.467 --> 01:00:54.000 Two Brooklyn’s one visit, one vision, how can we really work 01:00:54.000 --> 01:00:55.900 together to make sure that people know that we are 01:00:55.900 --> 01:01:01.367 Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center. We’re also looking at a 01:01:01.367 --> 01:01:04.734 familiarization tour we call that in the industry a fam tour 01:01:04.734 --> 01:01:07.166 and bringing Event planners. 01:01:07.166 --> 01:01:13.100 Sorry 2 Brooklyn Park or Brooklyn Center and showing 01:01:13.100 --> 01:01:16.767 them the area, showing them what we have, so that they can 01:01:16.767 --> 01:01:20.533 know how far we are from the cities, from the airports, etc. 01:01:20.533 --> 01:01:24.500 so they can bring meetings here, updating our insider’s guide, 01:01:24.500 --> 01:01:28.734 which is what we send to meeting planners, implementing 01:01:28.734 --> 01:01:31.300 a board newsletter so that the board in between meetings since 01:01:31.300 --> 01:01:36.500 we only meet 4 times a year, we’ll know what’s going on, and 01:01:36.500 --> 01:01:39.900 then after Gus Macker leaves August 4th, we’re going to 01:01:39.900 --> 01:01:43.934 start working. on an ROI board got smacker to make sure that 01:01:43.934 --> 01:01:50.900 it is something that we can continue moving forward. 01:01:50.900 --> 01:01:56.233 Promoting tourism, we do that through. Excuse me, our social 01:01:56.233 --> 01:01:59.000 media, Google ads, we do advertise on Google so that we 01:01:59.000 --> 01:02:03.800 can drive people to our website, newsletters and blogs, 01:02:03.800 --> 01:02:07.100 conferences and events, communicating with event 01:02:07.100 --> 01:02:13.900 planners, and then we also offer As limited as um 01:02:13.900 --> 01:02:19.233 Sometimes we have to be free marketing and promotion of 01:02:19.233 --> 01:02:25.634 events for our area events in our restaurants. We have worked 01:02:25.634 --> 01:02:29.367 with CCS again on bringing many of the restaurants to the 01:02:29.367 --> 01:02:32.100 forefront and bringing many of those things so that people can 01:02:32.100 --> 01:02:37.900 know what we’re doing. And what they’re doing specifically. 01:02:37.900 --> 01:02:42.233 Engaging council members. And I have to give a shout out to 01:02:42.233 --> 01:02:48.033 council member Page, who met with me just to get to know me. 01:02:48.033 --> 01:02:52.300 Not for anything on an agenda, so thank you. But how can we 01:02:52.300 --> 01:02:57.734 engage council members in what we do. Attending events. People 01:02:57.734 --> 01:03:04.100 don’t want to see me. They love to see you, so attending events 01:03:04.100 --> 01:03:08.367 that are specially um attended by many of our residents. Tell 01:03:08.367 --> 01:03:12.367 us what you’re hearing. I will be attending the town hall 01:03:12.367 --> 01:03:16.900 meetings, but it is important if you hear something that is 01:03:16.900 --> 01:03:19.100 outside of those, let us know. 01:03:19.100 --> 01:03:25.467 Continue to learn about what we do. This is just continuous. 01:03:25.467 --> 01:03:28.100 Gus Macker sponsorship Shameless sponsorships and 01:03:28.100 --> 01:03:31.367 contacts if you have any, we certainly would love them so 01:03:31.367 --> 01:03:37.734 that we can carry on um the success of Gus Macker. 01:03:37.734 --> 01:03:41.100 Understanding the state statute and Mr. Gladhill talked about 01:03:41.100 --> 01:03:44.233 that earlier, but that’s a really important thing about 01:03:44.233 --> 01:03:50.500 what we do. You all are giving me more hints. And then 01:03:50.500 --> 01:03:53.166 subscribing to our monthly newsletters and following us on 01:03:53.166 --> 01:03:59.233 social media, so you will know what’s happening. A quick gusm 01:03:59.233 --> 01:04:03.367 Macker update. Many of you know Gus Macker is going to be here 01:04:03.367 --> 01:04:08.166 August 2nd and 3rd. It’s a 3 on 3 outdoor basketball tournament, 01:04:08.166 --> 01:04:11.934 even though it says 3 on 3, we need 4 people just in case 1 01:04:11.934 --> 01:04:14.567 person has to be subbed in. 01:04:14.567 --> 01:04:18.300 It’s a national event held throughout the country, and 01:04:18.300 --> 01:04:23.634 this is the 51st year and the 50th year was the first year it 01:04:23.634 --> 01:04:27.533 was back in Minneapolis, um, Brooklyn Park, Minneapolis 01:04:27.533 --> 01:04:32.200 Northwest sponsored it for Brooklyn Park. Um, last year, 01:04:32.200 --> 01:04:38.567 we had many local partnerships, we can still use more, and we 01:04:38.567 --> 01:04:41.800 gave $37,500 to 6 nonprofits. 01:04:41.800 --> 01:04:44.467 Last year, and we need additional sponsorship. So we 01:04:44.467 --> 01:04:49.834 will be able to support those nonprofits again this year and 01:04:49.834 --> 01:04:54.100 volunteers. We are doing very well on our volunteers, but we 01:04:54.100 --> 01:04:58.300 do need more. It’s a tournament that will be all day, it’s 01:04:58.300 --> 01:05:01.567 right down the street at North Hennepin Community College, and 01:05:01.567 --> 01:05:06.000 it will be a great event for family fun and a little 01:05:06.000 --> 01:05:11.734 basketball. Any questions, and I don’t know, I didn’t tie 01:05:11.734 --> 01:05:20.734 myself, but I’ve tried to be quick. Any questions from 01:05:20.734 --> 01:05:27.767 council? No, I just say thank you for um. Uh, you know, for 01:05:27.767 --> 01:05:30.367 for stepping into this role, moving it forward. I think it 01:05:30.367 --> 01:05:33.667 is important, uh, that I think a lot of times people think 01:05:33.667 --> 01:05:37.300 that business just comes to the city, right? And so I think you 01:05:37.300 --> 01:05:41.100 are helping to highlight what makes us unique as a city is 01:05:41.100 --> 01:05:43.667 incredibly important, uh, to filling up those hotel rooms 01:05:43.667 --> 01:05:45.934 and helping people understand what we do, but also just folks 01:05:45.934 --> 01:05:48.500 coming in and understanding what we do, whether it’s the 01:05:48.500 --> 01:05:50.567 farmers’ market or some of the other programming that I have, 01:05:50.567 --> 01:05:53.767 we have. So I want to thank you, um, for that piece. I’ll leave 01:05:53.767 --> 01:05:57.100 it at that for now. I I see that, uh, Councilor Page. Uh, 01:05:57.100 --> 01:06:03.533 I’ll make a statement or a question. Thank you, Mayor, and 01:06:03.533 --> 01:06:08.367 thank you for um coming to see us and explaining to us. How 01:06:08.367 --> 01:06:11.000 you’re helping get some attention to our city or more. 01:06:11.000 --> 01:06:15.400 Um, just a really basic question only because I don’t 01:06:15.400 --> 01:06:19.533 know this question when you do your tax, um, for the room tax. 01:06:19.533 --> 01:06:22.734 Is there any difference in a single night stay versus a 01:06:22.734 --> 01:06:25.467 length of a lengthier stay. Is it the same tax per night? Is 01:06:25.467 --> 01:06:28.634 that how that works? It’s the same tax per night, and we 01:06:28.634 --> 01:06:32.834 don’t do it to be very honest with you. That is done by the 01:06:32.834 --> 01:06:37.634 hotels, sit directly to the cities and then the city sends. 01:06:37.634 --> 01:06:39.734 The appropriate amount to us. 01:06:39.734 --> 01:06:41.934 So then how do we audit that or? 01:06:41.934 --> 01:06:50.467 We are looking at that. That’s a very, right now there is not 01:06:50.467 --> 01:06:53.100 an audit process in place. OK. 01:06:53.100 --> 01:06:59.033 So something you’re working on to see. Yeah, and from the 01:06:59.033 --> 01:07:01.266 city’s perspective, and I know a lot of cities that have 01:07:01.266 --> 01:07:04.100 lodging taxes are looking into this. There’s great software 01:07:04.100 --> 01:07:05.667 that can track some of this too. 01:07:05.667 --> 01:07:08.200 I still think it’s a partnership on, you know, we 01:07:08.200 --> 01:07:10.300 wanna make sure we’re collecting the right things. 01:07:10.300 --> 01:07:14.033 And then to your other question in terms of is there any 01:07:14.033 --> 01:07:17.634 difference in night or length of day statutorial, it’s kept 01:07:17.634 --> 01:07:20.867 at 3%, and that’s what we collect. So it’s just 3% on 01:07:20.867 --> 01:07:24.200 your receipt, um, if you go into any area, some states have 01:07:24.200 --> 01:07:27.266 larger, um, caps, you’ll see that local tax on there, that 01:07:27.266 --> 01:07:30.500 lodging tax. There Some communities in Minnesota 01:07:30.500 --> 01:07:33.200 they’ve gotten special legislation to do more than 3%. 01:07:33.200 --> 01:07:38.000 So, um, but the baseline statue is 3% of your overall bill. 01:07:38.000 --> 01:07:40.367 Just, if you don’t mind me or if I could just ask one more 01:07:40.367 --> 01:07:45.033 question. So do we engage in conversations with those, I 01:07:45.033 --> 01:07:49.767 know a lot of those hotel groups or restauranters. It’s 01:07:49.767 --> 01:07:53.000 an entity rate. Do we have conversation or open 01:07:53.000 --> 01:07:57.233 communication on like, hey, we would love to put You know, a 01:07:57.233 --> 01:08:02.533 short term rental or a short term, like a Express Hotel, 01:08:02.533 --> 01:08:06.767 motel, whatever, um, up to some of the living hotels. I’m going 01:08:06.767 --> 01:08:08.367 to say Martta only because my daughter works there, but so 01:08:08.367 --> 01:08:11.634 like you have a Spring Hill and you have a town place and you 01:08:11.634 --> 01:08:15.300 have a whatever, um, to say, hey, we really for our criteria 01:08:15.300 --> 01:08:18.467 to be in your city, we need to have this type of restaurant, 01:08:18.467 --> 01:08:21.166 this type of activity or whatever, those conversations 01:08:21.166 --> 01:08:25.000 that were actively having with those groups, and is that 01:08:25.000 --> 01:08:29.734 something we can work together on. Yes, we are having those 01:08:29.734 --> 01:08:33.467 conversations and we talk with the hotel specifically and then 01:08:33.467 --> 01:08:36.100 they take that information back to their ownership group. The 01:08:36.100 --> 01:08:40.834 one thing that comes across loud and clear here recently is 01:08:40.834 --> 01:08:41.533 around sit-down restaurants. 01:08:41.533 --> 01:08:45.200 People that stay in, that’s not something new you all have all 01:08:45.200 --> 01:08:48.367 heard that people stay in hotels, and when we think about 01:08:48.367 --> 01:08:53.634 when we go and stay in a hotel, you want things that are easily 01:08:53.634 --> 01:08:56.500 accessible to get to and enjoy when you’re not in your meeting. 01:08:56.500 --> 01:09:01.200 So they talk about. That a lot around what is there to do if 01:09:01.200 --> 01:09:05.500 people are to come here, how easily it is, is it to get 01:09:05.500 --> 01:09:11.400 there? Are things walkable? I think it’s very, um, Acceptable 01:09:11.400 --> 01:09:14.567 right now to not have everything walkable because in 01:09:14.567 --> 01:09:18.300 some cities you’re walkable and in some cities you’re not. 01:09:18.300 --> 01:09:22.166 However, how easily is it and how far do people have to go? A 01:09:22.166 --> 01:09:27.367 resident. can be a visitor can become a resident, a resident 01:09:27.367 --> 01:09:33.166 can welcome a visitor and it’s a vicious circle and a very 01:09:33.166 --> 01:09:36.634 weird just a weird circle around who influences what and 01:09:36.634 --> 01:09:40.133 what comes first, the chicken or the egg, but it’s critical, 01:09:40.133 --> 01:09:44.900 which is why I go to the town hall meetings for residents to 01:09:44.900 --> 01:09:49.767 know how the important role that they play. Of making 01:09:49.767 --> 01:09:53.000 visitors feel welcome, and we’ve all gone places and when 01:09:53.000 --> 01:09:56.300 you don’t feel welcome, you don’t have to go back. There 01:09:56.300 --> 01:09:58.300 are other options for you to do. 01:09:58.300 --> 01:10:02.634 So we want them to feel welcome and to come back here, and I 01:10:02.634 --> 01:10:07.467 just attended a convention and got back on Saturday, and it 01:10:07.467 --> 01:10:10.100 was really centered around. 01:10:10.100 --> 01:10:13.000 destinations, and we talked a lot about welcome programs and 01:10:13.000 --> 01:10:17.033 many people are working on welcome programs with their 01:10:17.033 --> 01:10:19.867 businesses and residents to make sure that they recognize 01:10:19.867 --> 01:10:24.533 the importance of tourism. And did you learn from that, that, 01:10:24.533 --> 01:10:27.734 um, event, what’s really driving a lot of cities. What, 01:10:27.734 --> 01:10:32.533 what is the destination? What is the, what is the thing? Um, 01:10:32.533 --> 01:10:36.767 it’s attractions and things to do. Um, it’s really what can 01:10:36.767 --> 01:10:41.634 you do outside the convention was in Chicago, and there were 01:10:41.634 --> 01:10:44.767 over 2000 destination marketing professionals from all over the 01:10:44.767 --> 01:10:48.300 country that were there, but it’s things to do when you’re 01:10:48.300 --> 01:10:54.400 not meeting. That drives people to come back. The diversity, 01:10:54.400 --> 01:10:56.634 the different cultural restaurants, so we have a lot 01:10:56.634 --> 01:11:06.166 to offer. For that group of people. Thank you. Thank you. 01:11:06.166 --> 01:11:19.634 Council member Tran. Thank you for coming in, uh, you know, uh, 01:11:19.634 --> 01:11:24.900 do the representation. Um, my question is that, um, Do you 01:11:24.900 --> 01:11:31.233 have like, uh, do you use the Mediear system for advertise. 01:11:31.233 --> 01:11:35.667 globally or I’m sorry, could you say that again, which 01:11:35.667 --> 01:11:41.900 system do you use the media system for advertisement. 01:11:41.900 --> 01:11:47.767 nationally and globally. So I wouldn’t say globally, but we 01:11:47.767 --> 01:11:52.567 do use it regionally, and we advertise in those cities that 01:11:52.567 --> 01:11:57.467 frequent our area the most, so Chicago, Nebraska. North and 01:11:57.467 --> 01:12:03.400 South Dakota, so we do some targeted media. In those areas 01:12:03.400 --> 01:12:08.634 so that we can show them what we have to offer. We also give 01:12:08.634 --> 01:12:10.767 that newsletter to meeting planners throughout the country 01:12:10.767 --> 01:12:16.100 that are on our list, and it’s about 6000, so that they can be 01:12:16.100 --> 01:12:19.900 continually updated on what we are doing and what we have. We 01:12:19.900 --> 01:12:24.634 don’t have a budget that’s so large that we can do nationally. 01:12:24.634 --> 01:12:27.834 We also advertise in some publications so that we can 01:12:27.834 --> 01:12:30.500 make sure that we’re doing. 01:12:30.500 --> 01:12:33.834 That due diligence, and then we do apply for grants from time 01:12:33.834 --> 01:12:38.500 to time that allow us to increase our visibility and one 01:12:38.500 --> 01:12:44.867 was for Gus Macker we were able to advertise, and if you try to 01:12:44.867 --> 01:12:49.233 If you went into it actually on social media, you started to 01:12:49.233 --> 01:12:52.367 appear, um, and see ads, so we’re trying to do that a 01:12:52.367 --> 01:12:58.233 little bit more of targeting for specific events. I saw that 01:12:58.233 --> 01:13:01.634 um like tourists in other countries, they just use 01:13:01.634 --> 01:13:05.767 Facebook and they make very good successful, uh, you know, 01:13:05.767 --> 01:13:10.533 Uh, with victory. So why don’t we because Facebook is not 01:13:10.533 --> 01:13:15.634 expensive. Facebook isn’t expensive, and we do advertise 01:13:15.634 --> 01:13:20.734 on Facebook, um. But your frequency could be very 01:13:20.734 --> 01:13:23.634 expensive, so the, it’s, it’s not the actual ad, it’s how 01:13:23.634 --> 01:13:29.233 frequent. It is, and that’s why I’m saying if we are having an 01:13:29.233 --> 01:13:30.834 event or having something. 01:13:30.834 --> 01:13:35.100 That’s when you push that out to Facebook, but just to drive 01:13:35.100 --> 01:13:39.900 people to our website and then what? So we’re really trying to 01:13:39.900 --> 01:13:43.634 focus on events or partnerships with our hotels or businesses 01:13:43.634 --> 01:13:50.634 to say what can we Start doing so. And, and how is the um The 01:13:50.634 --> 01:14:02.900 benefit Um, accounting. To compare 2023, 2024. So we are 01:14:02.900 --> 01:14:07.734 working with our board, treasurer. On how we’re 01:14:07.734 --> 01:14:11.500 comparing 2023 to 2024 from an occupancy in an average rate 01:14:11.500 --> 01:14:15.500 perspective from a visitor spend and also visitor 01:14:15.500 --> 01:14:19.467 frequency, and we look at that data on a monthly basis to 01:14:19.467 --> 01:14:21.000 determine how we’re doing. 01:14:21.000 --> 01:14:26.000 There are reports that indicate Um, how we did last year 01:14:26.000 --> 01:14:30.200 compared to this year in the variances in then working with 01:14:30.200 --> 01:14:34.900 the hotel specifically. On their budget so that we can 01:14:34.900 --> 01:14:37.734 budget correctly on what they are anticipating occurring in 01:14:37.734 --> 01:14:50.934 the city. Yeah, can, so can you tell us Up or down or just what 01:14:50.934 --> 01:14:52.667 do you, what are you comparing? 01:14:52.667 --> 01:14:57.900 You mean an average rate and occupancy, the profit. The 01:14:57.900 --> 01:15:03.767 profit we’re we’re a nonprofit so we don’t make a profit, um. 01:15:03.767 --> 01:15:09.634 So hotel people, the tourists don’t pay. Yes, the tourists 01:15:09.634 --> 01:15:15.734 pay, but in terms of annually, do we make a profit, we don’t, 01:15:15.734 --> 01:15:19.834 however, we. Have to make sure that we control our spending so 01:15:19.834 --> 01:15:23.567 that we don’t have a deficit, um, from the revenue that are 01:15:23.567 --> 01:15:31.000 in. So in 2023 and in 2024, we did not operate at a deficit, 01:15:31.000 --> 01:15:35.900 even though we did not make the anticipated lodging tax revenue 01:15:35.900 --> 01:15:40.133 in those years, but we then had to control expenses so that 01:15:40.133 --> 01:15:44.834 they would not be higher than the revenue that we brought in 01:15:44.834 --> 01:15:49.834 2025 is on track to be slightly down. In terms of the lodging 01:15:49.834 --> 01:15:52.900 tax received, but we will manage expenses accordingly so 01:15:52.900 --> 01:15:58.200 that we will be OK. for me to Is hard to compare. So it’s 01:15:58.200 --> 01:16:04.033 hard to compare in those cities and Probably over 10 years ago, 01:16:04.033 --> 01:16:07.033 we had 11 cities that participated in Minneapolis 01:16:07.033 --> 01:16:13.734 Northwest tourism. So it truly was a Minneapolis Northwest, 01:16:13.734 --> 01:16:16.734 and then those cities started getting and developing their 01:16:16.734 --> 01:16:21.266 own. destination marketing organization, and it was left 01:16:21.266 --> 01:16:26.567 with Maple Grove, Brooklyn Park in Brooklyn Center. And then in 01:16:26.567 --> 01:16:32.533 2020, right before the pandemic, Maple Grove started their own 01:16:32.533 --> 01:16:35.634 DMO, and it was solely just Brooklyn Park in Brooklyn 01:16:35.634 --> 01:16:39.867 Center. So when you’re looking at revenue from even 5 years 01:16:39.867 --> 01:16:45.166 ago, it’s going to be different because not only was there a 01:16:45.166 --> 01:16:49.367 pandemic, which caused a deep Change in revenue. It was also 01:16:49.367 --> 01:16:54.800 a change in the cities that participated. Thank you. And, 01:16:54.800 --> 01:17:00.100 um, like you said from the beginning, um, You want a 01:17:00.100 --> 01:17:04.166 council members city and one more. So whenever you need help, 01:17:04.166 --> 01:17:07.133 you need us, just let us know. 01:17:07.133 --> 01:17:08.367 Excellent. Thank you so much. 01:17:08.367 --> 01:17:17.800 Thank you. All right. Again, thank you for the work you do. 01:17:17.800 --> 01:17:21.500 I know that you’re beginning to focus more and more on um some 01:17:21.500 --> 01:17:23.000 of the different cultural institutions we have in 01:17:23.000 --> 01:17:27.367 Brooklyn Park. We wanted, uh, We wanted you to play that out 01:17:27.367 --> 01:17:30.200 more so, um, thank you for leaning more and more into our 01:17:30.200 --> 01:17:34.834 strength. I think that’s gonna be, uh, Differentiator that 01:17:34.834 --> 01:17:36.634 helps us long term be competitive, so we very much 01:17:36.634 --> 01:17:43.834 appreciate it. All Um, so next we are going to move to the 01:17:43.834 --> 01:17:48.367 legislative debrief presentation? Uh, we have our 01:17:48.367 --> 01:17:52.567 state lobbyists, uh, Melissa Reed is going to be, uh, 01:17:52.567 --> 01:17:55.634 leading this from collective efforts and I know we had Troy 01:17:55.634 --> 01:18:00.133 Olson on, but uh he was unable to make it. Due to something 01:18:00.133 --> 01:18:06.867 with his uh personal manner. So thank you. Thank you, ma’am. 01:18:06.867 --> 01:18:09.667 Thank you and uh good evening, council members and mayor. I’m 01:18:09.667 --> 01:18:13.834 thrilled to be here. My name is Melissa Reed. I’m a founding 01:18:13.834 --> 01:18:16.467 partner with Resolve Strategies, and with me today is my partner, 01:18:16.467 --> 01:18:22.300 uh, Ian Marsh. And we’re gonna be walking through a recap of 01:18:22.300 --> 01:18:25.000 the 2025 legislative session or sessions, I should probably say 01:18:25.000 --> 01:18:29.767 plural. Um, we have a lot of information included in this 01:18:29.767 --> 01:18:33.133 presentation. Um, there’s a lot of written content, and that’s 01:18:33.133 --> 01:18:36.233 really there then for uh for council members, mayor, for the 01:18:36.233 --> 01:18:39.400 community to really have as a reference and a leave behind, 01:18:39.400 --> 01:18:41.634 we’re not gonna be um reading through all of this. We just 01:18:41.634 --> 01:18:44.867 want you to have it, and then for documentation and for 01:18:44.867 --> 01:18:50.567 reference going forward. Um, so first we would like to start by 01:18:50.567 --> 01:18:54.000 thanking the, the members of the Brooklyn Park Legislative 01:18:54.000 --> 01:18:58.033 delegation that is, of course, Speaker emerita Melissa Hortman, 01:18:58.033 --> 01:19:00.767 uh, Senator John Hoffman, Senator Susan Pa, 01:19:00.767 --> 01:19:04.500 Representative Samantha Vang, and Representative Holda Mamani 01:19:04.500 --> 01:19:09.300 Hilsley, um, the, the city and its residents are, are greatly 01:19:09.300 --> 01:19:13.567 served by this delegation. Um, we, uh, work with them on a 01:19:13.567 --> 01:19:16.634 daily, sometimes hourly basis and I think it’s important for 01:19:16.634 --> 01:19:19.667 um. Uh, the city’s elected officials and for the community 01:19:19.667 --> 01:19:23.233 to know how hard you’re elected officials work on behalf of the 01:19:23.233 --> 01:19:26.533 city every day, um, they take our calls, they interrupt 01:19:26.533 --> 01:19:29.133 everything. If I say it’s for Brooklyn Park, they, they come 01:19:29.133 --> 01:19:33.834 running, um, and so, um, it is, uh, we really thank the 01:19:33.834 --> 01:19:37.567 community for sharing them with us, particularly Speaker 01:19:37.567 --> 01:19:41.000 Hortman and Senator Hoffman. Um, we are both very close with 01:19:41.000 --> 01:19:45.567 them, uh, friends with their spouses and um it’s, it’s been 01:19:45.567 --> 01:19:48.767 a really uh difficult month, uh, but we really appreciated the 01:19:48.767 --> 01:19:51.634 support of the city, um, and just know everyone at the state 01:19:51.634 --> 01:19:55.367 capitol, um, is there with you, um, that this, uh, we 01:19:55.367 --> 01:19:58.000 appreciate you sharing her with us. I appreciated Ms. Hill’s 01:19:58.000 --> 01:20:01.367 comments, um, and just know our, our hearts are here, um, with 01:20:01.367 --> 01:20:04.300 you in Brooklyn Park and, and we thank you for your 01:20:04.300 --> 01:20:09.300 leadership as a community. So with that, um what were our 01:20:09.300 --> 01:20:12.367 legislative priorities going into this session. We have a 01:20:12.367 --> 01:20:15.000 detailed legislative agenda that I would point everyone to, 01:20:15.000 --> 01:20:18.834 um, online. We have fact sheets, we have lots of information 01:20:18.834 --> 01:20:23.233 that are issues specific to the city, um, but our, our overall 01:20:23.233 --> 01:20:25.834 um priorities in a legislative session are these buckets you 01:20:25.834 --> 01:20:30.100 see in front of you around public safety, significant key 01:20:30.100 --> 01:20:34.867 community investments, um, development, um, housing 01:20:34.867 --> 01:20:37.033 investment and reinvestment, uh, financial stability of the Uh, 01:20:37.033 --> 01:20:40.634 excuse me, of the city, uh, critical infrastructure 01:20:40.634 --> 01:20:46.100 projects and other local government issues. So one image 01:20:46.100 --> 01:20:49.100 that we like to show a lot, we probably need to go back and 01:20:49.100 --> 01:20:53.900 update this, but I bring this to every meeting. This is what 01:20:53.900 --> 01:20:57.266 we are focused on every single day when we go to the state 01:20:57.266 --> 01:21:00.834 capitol. What is the revenue that is coming back to the city 01:21:00.834 --> 01:21:04.634 of Brooklyn Park from the state of Minnesota, and what is it 01:21:04.634 --> 01:21:07.467 that that we’re contributing and where is that balance and 01:21:07.467 --> 01:21:11.133 that imbalance, and when we look at um this is going back 01:21:11.133 --> 01:21:13.467 to 2024 and there are lots of revenue streams that kind of go 01:21:13.467 --> 01:21:16.367 in and out between the city and the state, but the biggest one 01:21:16.367 --> 01:21:19.767 that we really like to look at is local government aid and 01:21:19.767 --> 01:21:23.300 local government aid in 2024, you can see the orange dot. 01:21:23.300 --> 01:21:27.500 There being Brooklyn Park that um that we were uh bringing in 01:21:27.500 --> 01:21:32.000 um for local government aid uh per capita versus the taxable 01:21:32.000 --> 01:21:35.734 net tax capacity per capita that the city is not um 01:21:35.734 --> 01:21:38.300 collecting as much in local government aid as we think that 01:21:38.300 --> 01:21:41.033 we should. We think that there should be some larger 01:21:41.033 --> 01:21:44.734 conversations about how that formula, um, how those dollars 01:21:44.734 --> 01:21:48.400 are allocated. The goal of the formula is to create an even 01:21:48.400 --> 01:21:51.567 distribution of services around Minnesota and to help 01:21:51.567 --> 01:21:53.767 communities with their commercial property. taxes and 01:21:53.767 --> 01:21:57.000 what we see in Brooklyn Park is that we’re really trying to 01:21:57.000 --> 01:22:00.834 work to raise our commercial property values here, um, in 01:22:00.834 --> 01:22:05.033 our community, um, to then offset some of the potential um 01:22:05.033 --> 01:22:10.367 property tax increases that could hit residents. So our big 01:22:10.367 --> 01:22:13.000 legislative issues, number one top priority that we love 01:22:13.000 --> 01:22:16.233 talking about all the time is, of course, the Northwest Metro 01:22:16.233 --> 01:22:19.834 Regional. It should be an O in there, um, athletic facility, 01:22:19.834 --> 01:22:22.567 um, as many of the people in this room have worked very hard 01:22:22.567 --> 01:22:26.300 for. We secured $5 million a couple of years ago for the 01:22:26.300 --> 01:22:29.467 initial round of improvements to the, to the building, and we 01:22:29.467 --> 01:22:34.300 are now pursuing the additional 9.5 million to truly create a 01:22:34.300 --> 01:22:37.100 community activity center, um, in the Northwest Metro, um, 01:22:37.100 --> 01:22:41.266 that can be the epicenter of activity. um national 01:22:41.266 --> 01:22:44.467 basketball tournaments, hockey tournaments, community events, 01:22:44.467 --> 01:22:49.266 um, space for our, um, our, uh, elderly and elder community, uh, 01:22:49.266 --> 01:22:54.033 for everyone to congregate and come together. Um, 2026 that we 01:22:54.033 --> 01:22:57.233 are approaching the legislative session, those even numbered 01:22:57.233 --> 01:22:59.900 years are traditionally considered bonding years at the 01:22:59.900 --> 01:23:01.567 state capitol. We do bond. 01:23:01.567 --> 01:23:05.400 Pretty much every year, but the big bonding bills come in even 01:23:05.400 --> 01:23:08.533 numbered years. And because this year, and we’ll cover it, 01:23:08.533 --> 01:23:12.233 uh, at the end, the bonding bill that was passed at the 01:23:12.233 --> 01:23:16.500 Capitol in 2025 was relatively small, um, for the state, it 01:23:16.500 --> 01:23:19.100 was only 700 million and for local projects it was almost 01:23:19.100 --> 01:23:24.500 nothing. So there’s gonna be a tremendous demand next year for 01:23:24.500 --> 01:23:27.100 local government projects like the Northwest Regional Athletic 01:23:27.100 --> 01:23:32.000 Facility. Our second bonding priority, uh, are there two 01:23:32.000 --> 01:23:35.133 items, one, and they’re both having to do with water and 01:23:35.133 --> 01:23:38.400 water infrastructure, um, water infrastructure funding of 4.5 01:23:38.400 --> 01:23:41.634 million, we’re seeking to support the expansion of the 01:23:41.634 --> 01:23:43.800 biotech innovation District and the water that’s going to be 01:23:43.800 --> 01:23:48.500 needed there. Um, that’s a water connector that would go 01:23:48.500 --> 01:23:50.867 um under 169, and then a water tower that would also be needed 01:23:50.867 --> 01:23:54.634 in that area, both for drinking water and for fire suppression 01:23:54.634 --> 01:23:56.767 and safety issues if we’re gonna be um expanding there, 01:23:56.767 --> 01:24:00.834 we’re gonna just need more water access. One item that we 01:24:00.834 --> 01:24:06.166 are working on in collaboration with um many other cities in 01:24:06.166 --> 01:24:08.900 the Northwest Metro is the concentration of congregate 01:24:08.900 --> 01:24:12.100 care facilities here in our community, um, the city of 01:24:12.100 --> 01:24:15.500 Brooklyn Park faces an overconcentration of congregate 01:24:15.500 --> 01:24:18.634 care facilities, and this has placed a tremendous strain, um, 01:24:18.634 --> 01:24:22.166 on all of our emergency services and our local 01:24:22.166 --> 01:24:25.367 infrastructure. It’s a significant portion of the 01:24:25.367 --> 01:24:28.033 city’s responses in emergency situations and it really is 01:24:28.033 --> 01:24:30.233 putting the city in the place of sub. subsidizing some of the 01:24:30.233 --> 01:24:33.400 work that that these providers should be, should be offering. 01:24:33.400 --> 01:24:36.667 So we’re very pleased to be working alongside of the other 01:24:36.667 --> 01:24:39.367 cities in the, in the Northwest Metro to try to address this at 01:24:39.367 --> 01:24:45.233 the state level. Um, so our, our primary goal, um, when we 01:24:45.233 --> 01:24:49.367 are looking at all of these investments both in terms of 01:24:49.367 --> 01:24:52.567 capital investment, um, local government aid, um, all of the 01:24:52.567 --> 01:24:55.367 different uh economic tools that we’re gonna be talking 01:24:55.367 --> 01:25:01.200 through is really to establish Brooklyn Park as a vibrant, 01:25:01.200 --> 01:25:05.533 healthy community that can take trips and plan these types of 01:25:05.533 --> 01:25:09.634 exchanges and bring those back um to our small businesses and 01:25:09.634 --> 01:25:11.900 build our own here and have our workforce development pipelines. 01:25:11.900 --> 01:25:15.634 Um, and really grow a vibrant ecosystem where young people in 01:25:15.634 --> 01:25:19.300 Brooklyn Park can grow up here, live here, see a workforce 01:25:19.300 --> 01:25:20.900 development pipeline for themselves, have all of the 01:25:20.900 --> 01:25:24.200 bells and whistles around them that they want and that we have 01:25:24.200 --> 01:25:26.166 that economic foundation um that’s needed to build on that. 01:25:26.166 --> 01:25:29.467 So we’re looking at that foundation of um local tax 01:25:29.467 --> 01:25:32.634 authority talking about the lodging tax, sales tax, um, and 01:25:32.634 --> 01:25:35.900 tools to catalyze development and build local wealth through 01:25:35.900 --> 01:25:38.000 community infrastructure, tax increment financing, and 01:25:38.000 --> 01:25:43.300 special taxes. So just a quick check of where we’ve been the 01:25:43.300 --> 01:25:47.133 last couple of years, um, all of those real foundation pieces, 01:25:47.133 --> 01:25:49.900 um, that, that we’re looking at to not all of them but a lot of 01:25:49.900 --> 01:25:52.900 them that we’re looking at to really build the foundation of 01:25:52.900 --> 01:25:55.100 the next economic development chapters for Brooklyn Park. 01:25:55.100 --> 01:25:58.767 We’ve checked a lot of them in the last couple of years in 01:25:58.767 --> 01:26:02.634 2024 and the jobs bill, we passed statutory language that 01:26:02.634 --> 01:26:05.467 established the Brooklyn Park Biotech Innovation District in 01:26:05.467 --> 01:26:09.166 law. So it is a geographically established location, and when 01:26:09.166 --> 01:26:13.233 we have that, that allows then to direct funding and projects 01:26:13.233 --> 01:26:16.533 and actually use that as a site reference. So we established 01:26:16.533 --> 01:26:20.233 that in law last year. Um, also, last year we were able to 01:26:20.233 --> 01:26:23.367 secure a million dollars in the jobs bill, um, and it was $2 01:26:23.367 --> 01:26:27.767 million the year before that and 23 and then in 2025, um, 01:26:27.767 --> 01:26:31.400 again thank you to the Brooklyn Park legislative delegation, 01:26:31.400 --> 01:26:34.634 the jobs bill this year was very, very skinny, and our 01:26:34.634 --> 01:26:37.266 ability to spend out of the workforce development fund, 01:26:37.266 --> 01:26:41.500 which is the traditional uh funding mechanism for our work. 01:26:41.500 --> 01:26:43.400 development initiatives with significantly constrained. The 01:26:43.400 --> 01:26:45.934 state was tapping that for other resources. So the fact 01:26:45.934 --> 01:26:48.634 that we are able to secure a million dollars out of that 01:26:48.634 --> 01:26:51.233 fund for our workforce development programming, um, 01:26:51.233 --> 01:26:53.900 the small business center, our youth entrepreneur programs, 01:26:53.900 --> 01:26:56.467 that’s a a real testament to the city’s work. So thank you 01:26:56.467 --> 01:26:58.634 to the staff for giving us something so easy to talk about 01:26:58.634 --> 01:27:02.367 because it’s a great success and to our delegation for, for 01:27:02.367 --> 01:27:06.634 saying this has to happen. Um, and then finally, um, in this 01:27:06.634 --> 01:27:10.467 tax bill in 2025, we’re thrilled that we were able to 01:27:10.467 --> 01:27:14.867 establish um the three separate TIFF districts that will really 01:27:14.867 --> 01:27:18.000 catalyze development and allow the city um special funding 01:27:18.000 --> 01:27:21.033 mechanisms to help offset the cost of those public 01:27:21.033 --> 01:27:22.567 infrastructure investments that go along with private 01:27:22.567 --> 01:27:33.467 development. So the timeline of a 2025 session. or 2 sessions 01:27:33.467 --> 01:27:36.634 or 3 sessions. We’ve lived many cat lives this legislative 01:27:36.634 --> 01:27:39.800 session. It feels like it was 10 sessions rolled into one. We 01:27:39.800 --> 01:27:43.467 have this history here just for your review. Um, I don’t know, 01:27:43.467 --> 01:27:47.166 but I’ll stop talking. I knows the history tremendously uh in 01:27:47.166 --> 01:27:49.834 detail and all the, all the. 01:27:49.834 --> 01:27:52.500 All the round stuff you go through the timeline. Well, it 01:27:52.500 --> 01:27:54.667 was a very wild start to the legislative session, as you 01:27:54.667 --> 01:27:58.634 know, there’s lawsuits over the majorities and with the tide 01:27:58.634 --> 01:28:02.100 house and the very closely aligned Senate with uh the 01:28:02.100 --> 01:28:05.400 death of Carrie Dizik that left the Senate tide, and so there’s 01:28:05.400 --> 01:28:09.634 power sharing in both bodies that really led to a a messy 01:28:09.634 --> 01:28:12.900 start to session, um, it ended up with, uh, power sharing 01:28:12.900 --> 01:28:15.166 agreement between the House Republicans, Senate Republicans. 01:28:15.166 --> 01:28:20.200 And they were able to eventually pass uh the budget 01:28:20.200 --> 01:28:24.500 and, and get things and get things done. There’s also 01:28:24.500 --> 01:28:26.567 election challenges that resulted from very close 01:28:26.567 --> 01:28:30.500 elections in Saint Cloud and the Southwest Metro. And, um, 01:28:30.500 --> 01:28:33.133 but they were able to eventually get those resolved 01:28:33.133 --> 01:28:34.634 through the court, and, uh. 01:28:34.634 --> 01:28:40.500 Pass a budget, so. Never seen a majority change so many times 01:28:40.500 --> 01:28:43.867 in one legislative session. So as everyone knows, we did not 01:28:43.867 --> 01:28:48.100 end on time at the end of May, um, because of the late start 01:28:48.100 --> 01:28:51.266 and because it’s a budget year, um, the legislature did not 01:28:51.266 --> 01:28:54.033 have to end on that constitutional adjournment 01:28:54.033 --> 01:28:57.033 deadline, they’re able to go into a special session and the 01:28:57.033 --> 01:29:00.200 governor waited until there was a budget agreement to call 01:29:00.200 --> 01:29:04.567 everyone back. So we had that special session on June 9th. It 01:29:04.567 --> 01:29:08.300 was a marathon 21 hour special session with the House and 01:29:08.300 --> 01:29:11.667 Senate passing the 15 bills, um, that are needed to fund 01:29:11.667 --> 01:29:15.467 government. for the next biennium. This was by and large 01:29:15.467 --> 01:29:20.033 a lights on budget. No new big exciting spending whatsoever, 01:29:20.033 --> 01:29:22.400 um, some cuts that will take effect in the out years because 01:29:22.400 --> 01:29:26.467 we are looking at a $5 to $6 billion dollar deficit in the 01:29:26.467 --> 01:29:30.867 next biennium, uh, but for, for this session at least, um, it 01:29:30.867 --> 01:29:32.867 was uh fairly lights on budget. 01:29:32.867 --> 01:29:36.567 So these are all the budget bills that were passed, um, in 01:29:36.567 --> 01:29:40.900 that one day special session on June 9th. We have slides on all 01:29:40.900 --> 01:29:43.734 of them. We’re not gonna run through. all of them, um, but 01:29:43.734 --> 01:29:46.767 just a few of the top highlights, all of these do 01:29:46.767 --> 01:29:50.634 have notes on them about the impact on the city of Brooklyn 01:29:50.634 --> 01:29:53.133 Park in particular. So I would encourage you to take some time 01:29:53.133 --> 01:29:55.367 and, um, and go back and take a look, but a few of the 01:29:55.367 --> 01:29:59.000 highlights, of course, the big linchpin for session, um, ended 01:29:59.000 --> 01:30:04.900 up being house file one in the special session, which stripped 01:30:04.900 --> 01:30:07.734 undocumented adults from Minnesota cover it. Minnesota 01:30:07.734 --> 01:30:11.467 Care coverage. That coverage was preserved for children. Um, 01:30:11.467 --> 01:30:14.634 so because of That action by the state. We know that the 01:30:14.634 --> 01:30:17.734 city, of course, does not directly provide healthcare. We 01:30:17.734 --> 01:30:20.900 know, however, that many, many of our residents are 01:30:20.900 --> 01:30:24.100 undocumented residents in Brooklyn Park will lose 01:30:24.100 --> 01:30:27.467 Minnesota care coverage, um, and that might increase 01:30:27.467 --> 01:30:30.000 uncompensated care needs at our local hospitals and clinics. 01:30:30.000 --> 01:30:32.400 The hospitals were very concerned about this provision 01:30:32.400 --> 01:30:39.100 and non-compensated care. Um, Health and Human Ser excuse me, 01:30:39.100 --> 01:30:42.467 the health and Children and Families Finance bill, um, very 01:30:42.467 --> 01:30:46.533 much lights on, very minimal spending. Um, there were some 01:30:46.533 --> 01:30:50.166 improvements here in mental health services and the 01:30:50.166 --> 01:30:52.367 emergency medical services, um, is continuing to receive 01:30:52.367 --> 01:30:57.000 additional funds for their grants. Um, the human services 01:30:57.000 --> 01:31:01.567 bill, um, this is where we try to uh make some progress on the 01:31:01.567 --> 01:31:02.800 congregate care facilities. 01:31:02.800 --> 01:31:07.367 There are, um, changes in the human services bill again, that 01:31:07.367 --> 01:31:10.033 could impact our residents, um, local nursing homes and group 01:31:10.033 --> 01:31:14.867 homes are gonna see um a lower, um, uh, their rate increase, 01:31:14.867 --> 01:31:17.500 their planned rate increase will be curtailed to save those 01:31:17.500 --> 01:31:20.300 dollars in the out years, and so we just want to make sure 01:31:20.300 --> 01:31:23.467 that we are in touch with any of our um partners who are 01:31:23.467 --> 01:31:27.667 providing those services for residents in the city. Um, in 01:31:27.667 --> 01:31:30.467 the commerce bill, one thing I wanted to point out, um, a 01:31:30.467 --> 01:31:33.634 couple of things. The Office of Medical, uh, excuse me, the 01:31:33.634 --> 01:31:36.166 cannabis Management Office is finally up and running. I think 01:31:36.166 --> 01:31:39.500 we have an interim executive director right now. It’s been a 01:31:39.500 --> 01:31:43.200 revolving door there, but I think we have someone there, um, 01:31:43.200 --> 01:31:46.867 the conversation earlier tonight about the um the HOAs, 01:31:46.867 --> 01:31:49.500 uh, the homeowners associations, uh, I think, uh, we’ll connect 01:31:49.500 --> 01:31:55.367 with, um, uh, Mr. Gladhill on this, but um there’s a new 01:31:55.367 --> 01:31:57.033 homeowners association ombudsperson. Who is now in 01:31:57.033 --> 01:32:00.233 place at the Department of Commerce to help residents 01:32:00.233 --> 01:32:03.467 address problems and challenges with their HOAs. This is a 01:32:03.467 --> 01:32:07.133 statewide issue, so we’re happy to um connect you and residents 01:32:07.133 --> 01:32:15.934 to um to that need. um, K-12, um, again, kind of a, uh, uh, 01:32:15.934 --> 01:32:20.500 increase going along with inflation at the 4.8%, um, and 01:32:20.500 --> 01:32:23.800 some very small cuts um for the out years, but that will have 01:32:23.800 --> 01:32:27.033 to be coming back to, um, education at some point in the 01:32:27.033 --> 01:32:31.266 future. One thing that’s significant here, um, is that 01:32:31.266 --> 01:32:35.400 our districts here that we have ASIO and Anoka Hennepin, um, 01:32:35.400 --> 01:32:38.233 will, will see, we’ll see some sta stability in their funding 01:32:38.233 --> 01:32:41.300 numbers for the next couple of years. They should not be. any 01:32:41.300 --> 01:32:45.000 drastic cuts, um, as we were able to preserve the um 01:32:45.000 --> 01:32:47.367 inflationary factor on the education formula. There was 01:32:47.367 --> 01:32:50.033 some discussion about taking inflation out, but that was 01:32:50.033 --> 01:32:54.133 kept and so that, uh, funding should be stable for them. Um, 01:32:54.133 --> 01:32:57.400 Hiera just to call out to North Hennepin Community College, of 01:32:57.400 --> 01:33:02.300 course. Um, they were able to avoid any significant cuts, um, 01:33:02.300 --> 01:33:05.367 and some some funding for student support, um, increased 01:33:05.367 --> 01:33:08.567 funding for student support, um, and the student grant program. 01:33:08.567 --> 01:33:11.900 The energy bill was largely lights on, just funding the 01:33:11.900 --> 01:33:14.133 state regulators, uh, Department of Commerce and 01:33:14.133 --> 01:33:18.166 Public Utilities Commission, the main policy change was 01:33:18.166 --> 01:33:22.467 allowing natural gas utilities to securitize debts in case of 01:33:22.467 --> 01:33:25.634 a price spike caused by an unexpected natural disaster, 01:33:25.634 --> 01:33:28.867 act of terrorism. So it, it would allow them to, to sell 01:33:28.867 --> 01:33:31.667 bonds to secure ties and spread those costs over a longer 01:33:31.667 --> 01:33:36.033 period of time to try to avoid major, uh, ratepayer price 01:33:36.033 --> 01:33:39.533 impacts and that was pushed by Centerpoint Energy and, uh, 01:33:39.533 --> 01:33:46.033 Brooklyn Park is a Center Point Energy, uh, community. Natural 01:33:46.033 --> 01:33:49.033 resources was largely a lights on bill with the closely 01:33:49.033 --> 01:33:52.300 divided legislature, not a lot of controversial things were 01:33:52.300 --> 01:33:55.000 included. The main, uh, provision that got the most 01:33:55.000 --> 01:33:57.100 discussion was permitting reform that was pushed by the 01:33:57.100 --> 01:33:59.667 Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, primarily the business 01:33:59.667 --> 01:34:04.166 community, although it will impact and hopefully streamline 01:34:04.166 --> 01:34:06.767 permits when municipalities need to go to the Department of 01:34:06.767 --> 01:34:09.900 Natural Resources or pollution Control Agency to get permits 01:34:09.900 --> 01:34:13.166 for water or air projects. 01:34:13.166 --> 01:34:17.367 Finally, we have a tax bill has file 9. This is the bill that 01:34:17.367 --> 01:34:20.133 carried Brooklyn Parks tiff provisions, so we are thrilled 01:34:20.133 --> 01:34:23.300 that this got over the finish line. Our TIFF provisions were 01:34:23.300 --> 01:34:27.133 included in the 2024 bill, but that bill did not pass the full 01:34:27.133 --> 01:34:30.900 legislature. So included in here are TIFF districts, um, 01:34:30.900 --> 01:34:33.467 and the Brooklyn Boulevard corridor, um, 6, 10 and Zane, 01:34:33.467 --> 01:34:37.166 and then up north at the Biotech Innovation District. Um, 01:34:37.166 --> 01:34:39.834 big change in here that’s covered in the next slide is 01:34:39.834 --> 01:34:42.734 around data centers. They are no longer gonna be tax exempt. 01:34:42.734 --> 01:34:47.834 They’re not gonna have to pay tax. On their energy uses. And 01:34:47.834 --> 01:34:52.634 just a quick map of um the TIF districts that we proposed and 01:34:52.634 --> 01:34:54.266 that we’re successfully included in the tax bill, 01:34:54.266 --> 01:34:59.166 geographically, you can see where they are. And then, uh, 01:34:59.166 --> 01:35:04.634 the biotech district. Right, revisor’s technical bill, we 01:35:04.634 --> 01:35:06.100 always have a clean up bill. 01:35:06.100 --> 01:35:08.634 Everybody makes mistakes. 01:35:08.634 --> 01:35:12.467 Nothing interesting in there, um, transportation, um, an 01:35:12.467 --> 01:35:14.567 important um item in transportation is that the 01:35:14.567 --> 01:35:18.367 municipal state aid, uh, funding, um, did remain stable. 01:35:18.367 --> 01:35:22.033 There are some questions about MSA funding, um, and because 01:35:22.033 --> 01:35:24.800 there are lower gas tax receipts coming in, that is 01:35:24.800 --> 01:35:28.000 gonna be an ongoing trend, um, that the state is just going to 01:35:28.000 --> 01:35:32.300 need to figure out how we’re gonna pay for roads and bridges 01:35:32.300 --> 01:35:35.133 going forward as gas tax receipts continue, um, continue 01:35:35.133 --> 01:35:40.734 to drop. Um, let’s see, there was some discussion, um, that 01:35:40.734 --> 01:35:46.100 was uh taken off the table at the end of session about um 01:35:46.100 --> 01:35:48.734 shifting the regional transit text and directing all of that 01:35:48.734 --> 01:35:53.834 to the Met council that did not move forward. The counties went 01:35:53.834 --> 01:35:57.734 bananas about that. proposed provision. It impacted all the 01:35:57.734 --> 01:36:01.533 counties, but it hadn’t been, so it’s very, very messy. Um, 01:36:01.533 --> 01:36:05.400 another one of our favorites, the workforce and labor um 01:36:05.400 --> 01:36:07.934 omnibus bill, um, key highlight in the workforce bill, of 01:36:07.934 --> 01:36:11.834 course, is the million dollars invested into Brooklink, um, 01:36:11.834 --> 01:36:14.834 the city’s successful workforce development program. Um, there 01:36:14.834 --> 01:36:18.200 are a whole host of competitive workforce development programs 01:36:18.200 --> 01:36:21.934 at Deed, um, that the city can also be and has pursued in 01:36:21.934 --> 01:36:26.300 addition to our, our uh direct appropriation, um, as an 01:36:26.300 --> 01:36:30.367 employer for the city. there were some changes made to the 01:36:30.367 --> 01:36:33.133 um uh paid leave and earned sick and safe, um, that just 01:36:33.133 --> 01:36:37.300 changed the rates of accrual of wages, um, and things about 01:36:37.300 --> 01:36:41.100 reasonable absences and some technical things in that space, 01:36:41.100 --> 01:36:44.266 but no real uh large changes in those two categories this year. 01:36:44.266 --> 01:36:46.634 We mentioned the data center regulation and if you wanna add 01:36:46.634 --> 01:36:51.767 anything to. Um, to the energy tech companies love Minnesota 01:36:51.767 --> 01:36:55.133 for data centers, deployment because we have colder than 01:36:55.133 --> 01:36:57.500 normal weather, uh, than the rest of the country and so 01:36:57.500 --> 01:37:01.467 that’s, uh, less cooling costs for them, um, data centers use 01:37:01.467 --> 01:37:03.734 an incredible amount of electricity and water, so this 01:37:03.734 --> 01:37:07.300 bill just put a regulatory framework around how you’re 01:37:07.300 --> 01:37:13.100 gonna, uh, recover costs for, for those uh large projects. 01:37:13.100 --> 01:37:15.900 And then another favorite, the capital investment bill. We 01:37:15.900 --> 01:37:19.467 like building things, um, so we frequently will have two 01:37:19.467 --> 01:37:23.233 capital investment bills, one is cash. General fund cash and 01:37:23.233 --> 01:37:27.500 the other is a geo bond, general obligation bonds. The 01:37:27.500 --> 01:37:30.734 differences cash is cash, um, and general obligation bonds 01:37:30.734 --> 01:37:35.000 have a whole host of statutory, um, and constitutional 01:37:35.000 --> 01:37:36.634 requirements attached to them and they’re backed by the full 01:37:36.634 --> 01:37:38.734 faith and credit of the state. 01:37:38.734 --> 01:37:41.900 So they, they, they’re much harder to actually 01:37:41.900 --> 01:37:44.100 operationalize. They’re there for cities, um, but therefore 01:37:44.100 --> 01:37:48.300 they’re, they’re very very specific projects. Um, this 01:37:48.300 --> 01:37:50.900 last session in 2025, um, as we mentioned before, the state 01:37:50.900 --> 01:37:55.233 only ed to authorize 700 million in general obligation 01:37:55.233 --> 01:37:57.000 bonds really for state projects. 01:37:57.000 --> 01:38:01.100 So those are your state bridges, your correctional facilities, 01:38:01.100 --> 01:38:05.000 higher education, um, local projects like like the um the 01:38:05.000 --> 01:38:08.233 CAC and our water projects and really every other city’s local 01:38:08.233 --> 01:38:12.300 projects did not make the cut in 2025, so we expect a very 01:38:12.300 --> 01:38:17.100 large local government focused funding bill in 2026. And so 01:38:17.100 --> 01:38:20.467 then that will be the, the, the geo part. The cash bill and the 01:38:20.467 --> 01:38:25.100 in previous years, uh in 2023 was used to fund a lot of 01:38:25.100 --> 01:38:27.033 nonprofit organizations in Minnesota and their capital 01:38:27.033 --> 01:38:29.467 investment needs because they don’t qualify for GEO, but we 01:38:29.467 --> 01:38:37.500 don’t have the cash that we used to have. All right. We’re 01:38:37.500 --> 01:38:42.734 gonna whip through this one real quick, uh, summary of the 01:38:42.734 --> 01:38:46.533 one big beautiful bill that passed Washington, um, I think 01:38:46.533 --> 01:38:49.233 the biggest, there’s a lot of takeaways um from this, but I 01:38:49.233 --> 01:38:52.834 think one that we for sure wanna make sure is on the 01:38:52.834 --> 01:38:58.166 cities’ radar is that that, you know, with, with the shifts in 01:38:58.166 --> 01:39:02.567 eligibility for um Medicaid and some Medicare shifts that those 01:39:02.567 --> 01:39:05.266 will eventually make those costs and that care does make 01:39:05.266 --> 01:39:10.500 its way down to the county level and we and our residents 01:39:10.500 --> 01:39:13.133 should be preparing for potential property tax 01:39:13.133 --> 01:39:17.467 increases on the parts of our counties to cover this care. Um, 01:39:17.467 --> 01:39:19.734 the association of Minnesota Counties, the National 01:39:19.734 --> 01:39:22.934 Associate of Counties has been very clear of that, uh, on that 01:39:22.934 --> 01:39:24.400 point, the bill comes due. 01:39:24.400 --> 01:39:27.533 Someone will have to pay the bill. Um, and so that is a 01:39:27.533 --> 01:39:30.767 conversation that we want to be having, um, in an ongoing 01:39:30.767 --> 01:39:34.567 manner with our partners at Hennepin County, um, because 01:39:34.567 --> 01:39:40.367 that, these changes are, are on their way. Um, and then Pause 01:39:40.367 --> 01:39:51.033 there for questions and discussion. And thank you for 01:39:51.033 --> 01:39:59.033 the presentation, um, council member Page. Thank you, Mayor. 01:39:59.033 --> 01:40:04.000 So this is the first time that I’m seeing you guys, so bear 01:40:04.000 --> 01:40:06.100 with me because I have some questions that may not make 01:40:06.100 --> 01:40:09.867 sense to you, but they do to me, so maybe we can sort it out 01:40:09.867 --> 01:40:14.166 together. So, You went really fast. So there’s a lot of 01:40:14.166 --> 01:40:18.300 information. It sounds like you do a great job and I’m not 01:40:18.300 --> 01:40:21.467 questioning that. I just don’t understand where I see all 01:40:21.467 --> 01:40:24.634 these millions of dollars and why can’t we get $9 million for 01:40:24.634 --> 01:40:28.533 our kiddos. I don’t get it. I don’t understand it, and I see 01:40:28.533 --> 01:40:33.767 stuff on here where we talk about rehabilitation of housing, 01:40:33.767 --> 01:40:37.500 and we have water, we have wetlands, we have all of that. 01:40:37.500 --> 01:40:41.200 Oh, but is it clear that we have to have things for kids to 01:40:41.200 --> 01:40:45.000 do and for people to do and for families to do so we can raise 01:40:45.000 --> 01:40:47.567 really good humans to put more money into our economy. Do we 01:40:47.567 --> 01:40:50.467 have that? I just don’t see. 01:40:50.467 --> 01:40:54.166 Where someone heard we meet, it’s nothing compared to all 01:40:54.166 --> 01:40:56.266 these dollars you’re saying. So why do we struggle so hard to 01:40:56.266 --> 01:40:59.734 get this money? Thank you, Councilor. It’s a great 01:40:59.734 --> 01:41:03.367 question. Um, I would say it is our that project is our top 01:41:03.367 --> 01:41:06.100 priority, um, and we are successful in securing the 01:41:06.100 --> 01:41:09.800 original 5 million a couple of years ago. Um, that project, 01:41:09.800 --> 01:41:12.367 it’s not about the project itself whatsoever. It’s about 01:41:12.367 --> 01:41:15.767 the politics of a bonding bill, um, a general obligation 01:41:15.767 --> 01:41:18.767 bonding bill takes a supermajority in the 01:41:18.767 --> 01:41:20.500 legislature to pass. Hold on just a second. I just need you 01:41:20.500 --> 01:41:25.166 to slow down just a little bit for me to understand, OK? So 01:41:25.166 --> 01:41:27.400 you start with the bonding where you said that I just, I 01:41:27.400 --> 01:41:32.166 just want to understand, let me go back here. So if we’re 01:41:32.166 --> 01:41:39.100 talking about the 2nd. Grouping down here of general obligation 01:41:39.100 --> 01:41:43.467 bonds and infrastructure in Minnesota, um, is frequently 01:41:43.467 --> 01:41:48.100 paid for with various types of bonds. Um, and there are ways 01:41:48.100 --> 01:41:51.300 that the city could issue its own bonds to pay for 01:41:51.300 --> 01:41:54.567 infrastructure in the city and we, and we do frequently. Um, a 01:41:54.567 --> 01:42:01.467 project like this. Um, is Um, historically the about bonding 01:42:01.467 --> 01:42:04.867 bill um is really only for regional projects. So they have 01:42:04.867 --> 01:42:10.000 to have a regional significance and not just be like a local 01:42:10.000 --> 01:42:13.367 community center. So that is also why you’ve seen us start 01:42:13.367 --> 01:42:16.867 to talk about the regional, the Northwest Regional Athletic 01:42:16.867 --> 01:42:19.200 Facility and all of the amenities that go with it, and 01:42:19.200 --> 01:42:21.834 we’ve been working with the departments to track the data 01:42:21.834 --> 01:42:24.634 about where visitors are coming from and all the different 01:42:24.634 --> 01:42:29.233 teams from the region to show how regional this is. Um, we’ve 01:42:29.233 --> 01:42:31.867 had very positive reactions for the project. We have 01:42:31.867 --> 01:42:33.500 legislators supporting the project from all across the 01:42:33.500 --> 01:42:37.033 region, because They know that their communities utilize this 01:42:37.033 --> 01:42:40.467 facility. Um, our community members have done a tremendous 01:42:40.467 --> 01:42:43.100 job organizing. So it’s, it’s absolutely nothing to do with 01:42:43.100 --> 01:42:46.834 the validity or strength of the project. It’s that it is to be 01:42:46.834 --> 01:42:49.533 funded with general obligation bonds, and we haven’t had a 01:42:49.533 --> 01:42:53.767 bonding bill in 2 years, in 2 years. There hasn’t been a 01:42:53.767 --> 01:42:56.400 bonding bill. So we’re very confident that when there is, 01:42:56.400 --> 01:42:57.300 there hasn’t been a bonding. 01:42:57.300 --> 01:43:00.734 There was one this session, but it was only for state projects. 01:43:00.734 --> 01:43:03.767 So we’re very confident that in 2026, when there’s another 01:43:03.767 --> 01:43:07.166 bonding bill. It will be very heavy and local projects, and 01:43:07.166 --> 01:43:13.634 that’s where this would That’s where this would be funded. OK, 01:43:13.634 --> 01:43:18.367 so then what can we do to support that. Thank you for 01:43:18.367 --> 01:43:23.734 that. um, I, I think, you know, working with us on um uh the 01:43:23.734 --> 01:43:27.734 outreach plan and getting, you know, your residence in your 01:43:27.734 --> 01:43:32.266 ward, um, to submit, you know, letters of support, um, to our 01:43:32.266 --> 01:43:37.033 delegation, to the committee chairs, um, capital investment 01:43:37.033 --> 01:43:40.233 is not really like any other type of legislation. Nobody 01:43:40.233 --> 01:43:43.934 really supports each other’s projects very often because 01:43:43.934 --> 01:43:46.900 it’s a small pie and very hyper parochial. We are very 01:43:46.900 --> 01:43:50.100 fortunate that a lot of people use our facility. from around 01:43:50.100 --> 01:43:53.233 the region. So we’ve had great success in getting the hockey 01:43:53.233 --> 01:43:56.834 teams basketball teams, the figure skating clubs, um, to be 01:43:56.834 --> 01:44:01.667 submitting, um, you know, letters of support, testifying, 01:44:01.667 --> 01:44:05.000 um, um, op-eds, um, talking about the importance of, of the 01:44:05.000 --> 01:44:08.033 project. So we just need there to be a bonding bill that funds 01:44:08.033 --> 01:44:09.867 local projects and we’re very confident this will be included. 01:44:09.867 --> 01:44:12.367 So we did that before, right? 01:44:12.367 --> 01:44:17.634 There were, there was a lot of community input. So is there 01:44:17.634 --> 01:44:20.400 something different or just more of the same. There’s 01:44:20.400 --> 01:44:23.467 always new and different for sure. Um, we’re always looking 01:44:23.467 --> 01:44:27.767 at, you know, new and creative ways to communicate and and 01:44:27.767 --> 01:44:30.567 engage and we welcome kind of all that input if it’s through 01:44:30.567 --> 01:44:34.367 your newsletters or Facebook or whatever it might be, um, you 01:44:34.367 --> 01:44:38.900 know, it’s really just around there being a local government. 01:44:38.900 --> 01:44:41.834 oriented bonding bill. So when you say we a lot, I, I haven’t 01:44:41.834 --> 01:44:45.900 met you guys before, so then do we go through city manager for. 01:44:45.900 --> 01:44:49.467 questions or is that how we communicate, we communicate or 01:44:49.467 --> 01:44:53.400 how do, how do we do that? We, we, we meet weekly with the 01:44:53.400 --> 01:44:57.667 city manager, the mayor, and some city staff. OK, got it. 01:44:57.667 --> 01:45:02.734 Thank you for sharing that with me. Appreciate it. City manager 01:45:02.734 --> 01:45:05.200 trouble and then I’m gonna say a few words quickly. Yeah, 01:45:05.200 --> 01:45:10.200 thank you, Mayor Winston, just for a reminder of, of counsel’s 01:45:10.200 --> 01:45:14.266 benefit and folks who might be watching, um, each year, the, 01:45:14.266 --> 01:45:17.900 the city council adopts a legislative agenda with 01:45:17.900 --> 01:45:21.734 priorities in that agenda. The city council also identifies 01:45:21.734 --> 01:45:24.300 legislative liaisons in this case, Mayor Winston and 01:45:24.300 --> 01:45:27.033 Klonowski are the two legislative liaisons 01:45:27.033 --> 01:45:30.367 representing the city council, um, and then there’s additional 01:45:30.367 --> 01:45:35.033 city staff. So, um, have, um, moved to sort of a weekly 01:45:35.033 --> 01:45:38.767 cadence in terms of our focus and energy and attention around 01:45:38.767 --> 01:45:43.033 this work. And so that’s, uh, we’re basing our work based on 01:45:43.033 --> 01:45:45.634 the council approved legislative agenda, and then 01:45:45.634 --> 01:45:50.100 the council, uh, legislative liaisons which are Mayor 01:45:50.100 --> 01:45:52.800 Winston and Coleowski. So just a little bit of filling 01:45:52.800 --> 01:45:56.533 everybody in up for some of the new folks on council. to Yeah, 01:45:56.533 --> 01:46:00.100 I’ll just reiterate that really quickly because I, I heard a 01:46:00.100 --> 01:46:02.867 few things, um, none of which I disagree with Councilor Page, 01:46:02.867 --> 01:46:05.634 but I would say, you know, we have the two liaisons and that 01:46:05.634 --> 01:46:08.133 two meets on a regular just to kind of keep things moving 01:46:08.133 --> 01:46:11.634 along just like we have maybe our liaisons to the different 01:46:11.634 --> 01:46:17.233 commissions. Uh, what I would also say, however, is, um, And 01:46:17.233 --> 01:46:19.100 uh I don’t know if you need to speak to this at all, Melissa, 01:46:19.100 --> 01:46:23.200 but a lot of times, you know, a bill is not most of these bills 01:46:23.200 --> 01:46:27.900 are not accepted on the first, uh, try, uh. I mean, rarely, I 01:46:27.900 --> 01:46:30.634 think when you have a decent sized *** or they accepted on 01:46:30.634 --> 01:46:33.233 the first try, I think often you have to kind of build the 01:46:33.233 --> 01:46:35.934 coalition, plug away at it. I think the other piece is this, 01:46:35.934 --> 01:46:38.634 is that we did create a task force and we asked folks to be 01:46:38.634 --> 01:46:44.033 involved in this, and part of my um Part of my concern, I 01:46:44.033 --> 01:46:47.300 think, is that when I’ve talked to other legislators about 01:46:47.300 --> 01:46:50.300 Brooklyn Park. They have said, this is the first time that you 01:46:50.300 --> 01:46:53.500 guys have really asked for anything the last 2 to 3 years, 01:46:53.500 --> 01:46:56.233 they’ve said, well, you guys didn’t used to really ask for 01:46:56.233 --> 01:47:01.066 much and not a lot was brought to us, uh, and so influence was 01:47:01.066 --> 01:47:03.233 built off that because Brooklyn Park was not always asking for 01:47:03.233 --> 01:47:07.100 theirs. So I think the state has to get used to Brooklyn 01:47:07.100 --> 01:47:12.300 Park, um, leadership, uh, and You know, I’m not the one up 01:47:12.300 --> 01:47:13.367 there making those laws, right? 01:47:13.367 --> 01:47:16.266 So I’m not referring to myself at the, at the municipal level, 01:47:16.266 --> 01:47:20.367 yes, we are leadership at the council, but I think at that 01:47:20.367 --> 01:47:25.000 legislative level, our local electeds have to go uh and make 01:47:25.000 --> 01:47:26.934 sure these things happen and you know, we give them grace 01:47:26.934 --> 01:47:28.934 knowing that it’s not going to always happen that first year, 01:47:28.934 --> 01:47:33.100 but it has to be an extreme uh priority, especially when it 01:47:33.100 --> 01:47:36.367 comes to this. But I also think um when legislators are telling 01:47:36.367 --> 01:47:38.900 you they’re not used to Brooklyn Park asking for things. 01:47:38.900 --> 01:47:41.166 I think what legislators are used to is Brooklyn. part kind 01:47:41.166 --> 01:47:43.367 of eating itself when it wants something, we will go to war 01:47:43.367 --> 01:47:46.634 internally. Saying, well, we should have this and we must 01:47:46.634 --> 01:47:48.634 have this and why don’t you deliver on this, and we’re 01:47:48.634 --> 01:47:52.367 looking at the budget saying, well, we just did $10 million 01:47:52.367 --> 01:47:56.033 for a teen center. Now we have to do 12 million so we can uh 01:47:56.033 --> 01:47:59.734 13 million so we can accommodate everybody and we 01:47:59.734 --> 01:48:03.567 need the remaining 9.5 million of that or 14, 9.5 million of 01:48:03.567 --> 01:48:09.400 that to make that 14.5 or $15 million. Work and I think 01:48:09.400 --> 01:48:13.033 instead of internalizing that which Bloomington and some of 01:48:13.033 --> 01:48:15.800 these other cities do not, their residents literally will 01:48:15.800 --> 01:48:20.000 write the letters, go visit, build a coalition and say we 01:48:20.000 --> 01:48:23.166 deserve this, and I, and I cannot tell you how tired I get 01:48:23.166 --> 01:48:29.033 of going up there and um Uh, Minneapolis is, you know, it’s 01:48:29.033 --> 01:48:31.734 another Minnesota city, so, uh. 01:48:31.734 --> 01:48:36.000 I love them as as neighbors, but I get tired of going up 01:48:36.000 --> 01:48:40.367 there and seeing so many residents up there going to war 01:48:40.367 --> 01:48:44.000 for these particular issues, uh, Saint Paul to a lesser extent, 01:48:44.000 --> 01:48:46.634 but Bloomington and Prairieman talk, they have something, they 01:48:46.634 --> 01:48:50.467 are there, uh, but in Brooklyn Park, we seem to have folks who 01:48:50.467 --> 01:48:53.033 make up stories and this and that and go to war with one 01:48:53.033 --> 01:48:55.734 another and say, well, I’ve talked to the mayor or I’ve 01:48:55.734 --> 01:48:58.934 talked to this person, and they haven’t, right? But I didn’t 01:48:58.934 --> 01:49:02.867 get X, Y, and Z. That needs to be focused. Outward because I 01:49:02.867 --> 01:49:06.467 think some of those graphs are telling you that it isn’t that 01:49:06.467 --> 01:49:10.767 the city isn’t delivering because I don’t recall $10 01:49:10.767 --> 01:49:12.900 million being set aside for youth in the past the way it is 01:49:12.900 --> 01:49:17.634 now. It is that historically, people have not delivered, the 01:49:17.634 --> 01:49:20.467 state has not delivered to the Northwest region. It’s not just 01:49:20.467 --> 01:49:25.100 Brooklyn Park, it’s the entire Northwest region that has been 01:49:25.100 --> 01:49:27.567 underinvested in Maple Grove just found some leadership that 01:49:27.567 --> 01:49:30.266 was able to help develop them economically. So now some of 01:49:30.266 --> 01:49:32.634 these things, they just say, Yeah, we’ll go to legislate, 01:49:32.634 --> 01:49:35.767 but other stuff, they just come out of pocket. But Brooklyn 01:49:35.767 --> 01:49:39.500 Park has developed the economic portion, but this portion that 01:49:39.500 --> 01:49:42.200 we’ve been underserved in, we have to get that piece too. So 01:49:42.200 --> 01:49:47.133 I think it’s, it’s, it’s, uh, I think we have to continue 01:49:47.133 --> 01:49:49.567 tweaking that approach, but I think that as a council, we 01:49:49.567 --> 01:49:52.467 need to be aggressive. I also think residents need to be 01:49:52.467 --> 01:49:55.200 aggressive, and they need to say, hey, listen, you’re 01:49:55.200 --> 01:49:58.734 elected for X, Y, and Z. This is one of our top priorities. 01:49:58.734 --> 01:50:03.800 Don’t just go have a relationship with the, uh, um, 01:50:03.800 --> 01:50:05.834 with the state senator or state house rep, and then when you 01:50:05.834 --> 01:50:08.500 meet them in person, you’re, you’re, you’re having a great 01:50:08.500 --> 01:50:11.567 time. You need to make, bring it up and say, hey, this is a 01:50:11.567 --> 01:50:13.200 top priority for my city. 01:50:13.200 --> 01:50:15.467 What’s going to happen about this? What do you need? for me 01:50:15.467 --> 01:50:19.200 to do that. That is something that has been missing um from 01:50:19.200 --> 01:50:23.467 our city, and I know that, um, you know, as our lab being, uh, 01:50:23.467 --> 01:50:27.100 as a lobbyist, that’s not always going to be pointed out, 01:50:27.100 --> 01:50:31.400 um, but that is more so uh at a, at a council level, right? We 01:50:31.400 --> 01:50:37.166 have to continue to get the community to say this is what 01:50:37.166 --> 01:50:39.834 uh what Brooklyn Park needs uh to, to use council member 01:50:39.834 --> 01:50:43.033 McGarvey’s language. This is a need. This is what we’re 01:50:43.033 --> 01:50:45.734 requesting because it serves a specific need within our city. 01:50:45.734 --> 01:50:48.567 So I think that’s part of the gap that we have seen with 01:50:48.567 --> 01:50:52.200 Brooklyn Park. I think that LGA formula is a component of that, 01:50:52.200 --> 01:50:56.834 right? The formula that they use for that. Puts it puts us 01:50:56.834 --> 01:51:01.233 at a disadvantage. We’ve got I don’t know if Hibbing still 01:51:01.233 --> 01:51:05.000 gets $10 million right? But hitting, there’s a formula in 01:51:05.000 --> 01:51:09.367 place where Hibbing gets $10 million a year. I know Hibbing 01:51:09.367 --> 01:51:13.533 is not doing $10 million of anything to need $10 million a 01:51:13.533 --> 01:51:17.266 year for LGA and if they got a problem, give me a call, right? 01:51:17.266 --> 01:51:21.000 Brooklyn Park is maybe getting $900,000. So when people are 01:51:21.000 --> 01:51:24.233 looking and saying, I, the $10 million check you wrote isn’t 01:51:24.233 --> 01:51:27.567 good enough. I want another $10 million. I need a $20 million 01:51:27.567 --> 01:51:29.500 check. Look at the legislator. 01:51:29.500 --> 01:51:34.533 That has a formula that has said Hibbing gets $10 million a 01:51:34.533 --> 01:51:37.000 year Duluth, which is not growing, I believe the way 01:51:37.000 --> 01:51:40.834 Brooklyn Park is growing. I think they get 30 or 40. They 01:51:40.834 --> 01:51:46.100 get $40 million a year. Deluth gets 40. Hibbing gets 10 01:51:46.100 --> 01:51:51.300 million. Brooklyn Park gets $900,000. That tells you a lot 01:51:51.300 --> 01:51:54.000 of what’s happening here. Uh, and so if we take that economic 01:51:54.000 --> 01:51:57.467 burden and we just start paying for all these other things, we 01:51:57.467 --> 01:51:59.367 aren’t necessarily in the situation of other people who 01:51:59.367 --> 01:52:04.266 are getting a $10 million check from the state. Right Uh, 01:52:04.266 --> 01:52:06.000 disproportionately from Minneapolis, Saint Paul, 01:52:06.000 --> 01:52:09.000 Brooklyn Park, and some of these other surrounding suburbs, 01:52:09.000 --> 01:52:11.166 right? We’re paying for hibbing. 01:52:11.166 --> 01:52:14.900 We’re paying for Duluth. Those dollars are not returning back 01:52:14.900 --> 01:52:18.233 to Brooklyn Park. Um, the other piece I want to point out, um, 01:52:18.233 --> 01:52:23.367 quickly. Uh, uh, is that, uh, you know, people have been 01:52:23.367 --> 01:52:26.233 saying youth, youth, youth, and I understand that it’s 01:52:26.233 --> 01:52:31.033 incredibly important, uh, I have 3 of my own. What I, what 01:52:31.033 --> 01:52:33.734 I will say is that we have gone to the Capitol and this wasn’t 01:52:33.734 --> 01:52:36.467 necessarily covered here because we, uh, I think that 01:52:36.467 --> 01:52:40.000 this was the greatest hits version, but we went and we 01:52:40.000 --> 01:52:42.166 actually had some legislation that asked for some dollars on 01:52:42.166 --> 01:52:45.934 a number of things. One was for some technology, um that would 01:52:45.934 --> 01:52:50.033 help us push down crime in uh we built a coalition with some 01:52:50.033 --> 01:52:52.367 surrounding cities and they were on board with that. And 01:52:52.367 --> 01:52:57.033 the state said, Wasn’t a priority this year. Again, talk 01:52:57.033 --> 01:52:58.033 to your state legislators. 01:52:58.033 --> 01:53:01.934 We’re happy to, we’re happy to support those conversations. 01:53:01.934 --> 01:53:06.734 The second piece was, uh, and, um, I’m tired of our chief of 01:53:06.734 --> 01:53:09.467 police Mark Bruley shining like this, but he made a good point. 01:53:09.467 --> 01:53:15.367 He kept saying, hey, listen, These dollars for public safety 01:53:15.367 --> 01:53:18.400 should be allocated according to needs, the needs of the 01:53:18.400 --> 01:53:21.734 particular cities and and that should be also a little bit 01:53:21.734 --> 01:53:23.800 aligned with the size as well. 01:53:23.800 --> 01:53:27.000 Uh, and we wrote some language and we talked to some people 01:53:27.000 --> 01:53:30.133 about that and they said, that’s a great idea. Nothing 01:53:30.133 --> 01:53:32.634 happened with it. The reason that that money is important is 01:53:32.634 --> 01:53:35.634 not that it would just go to law enforcement. When we talk 01:53:35.634 --> 01:53:39.233 about, I’ve heard a lot of folks talking about violence 01:53:39.233 --> 01:53:41.500 intervention and these best practices and we have found a 01:53:41.500 --> 01:53:44.033 way. to fund that long term within our city. We had to 01:53:44.033 --> 01:53:46.900 bring it in-house. Had we not, we’d have been relying on 01:53:46.900 --> 01:53:50.533 grants from outside of the city, brought it in-house. Still, 01:53:50.533 --> 01:53:54.734 that is something that is on our budget now. So if we get 01:53:54.734 --> 01:53:58.000 something that goes according to size and need, that means 01:53:58.000 --> 01:54:01.734 they’ll serve that violence intervention money that we have, 01:54:01.734 --> 01:54:05.233 we can expand that to serve more youth or our alternative 01:54:05.233 --> 01:54:09.166 response team. We can expand that to serve more youth. That 01:54:09.166 --> 01:54:11.834 was all voted down as a sideshow at the legislature. 01:54:11.834 --> 01:54:15.266 Right? So when we’re talking about the basic blocking and 01:54:15.266 --> 01:54:18.834 tackling of what we deal with as a city. We’ve been going up 01:54:18.834 --> 01:54:23.634 there, um, but people are not necessarily used to our voice, 01:54:23.634 --> 01:54:26.767 so, uh, I didn’t mean to go on this long about it, but people 01:54:26.767 --> 01:54:29.467 are not necessarily used to hearing our voice. So we have 01:54:29.467 --> 01:54:31.100 to build that political muscle. 01:54:31.100 --> 01:54:34.900 That muscle will be a lot stronger, um, when residents 01:54:34.900 --> 01:54:39.033 start saying no, I get, I get this legislative agenda. It 01:54:39.033 --> 01:54:41.200 makes sense. I’m going to go up there as well and I’m gonna 01:54:41.200 --> 01:54:43.934 start visiting with my legislators and some of these 01:54:43.934 --> 01:54:47.166 folks that maybe don’t even live in Brooklyn Park that I’ve 01:54:47.166 --> 01:54:50.200 written a donation to or this and that. I need them to get 01:54:50.200 --> 01:54:52.900 behind and have a meeting with me and they need to understand 01:54:52.900 --> 01:54:55.634 what’s important to Brooklyn Park as well. That’s kind of 01:54:55.634 --> 01:54:59.400 how this works. And I think that’s just the reality of what 01:54:59.400 --> 01:55:00.834 we’re dealing with as a city. 01:55:00.834 --> 01:55:03.634 So, you know, a lot of the things that uh people are 01:55:03.634 --> 01:55:06.800 saying we want X, Y, and Z. We have written that legislation. 01:55:06.800 --> 01:55:10.634 If we put that on our budget, Um, I don’t even want to think 01:55:10.634 --> 01:55:14.834 about what taxes would look like next year, uh, and I think 01:55:14.834 --> 01:55:19.767 it would be regressive, uh, tax because in Brooklyn Park, um, 01:55:19.767 --> 01:55:22.367 we’re not really working with the sales tax that we can get 01:55:22.367 --> 01:55:26.634 money from other folks on. So I, I will leave it at that, um, 01:55:26.634 --> 01:55:30.300 but we need more involvement, uh, from, from residents on 01:55:30.300 --> 01:55:34.667 this as well, because as a council, they know uh they know 01:55:34.667 --> 01:55:37.467 our faces, they know our lobbyist faces, they know that 01:55:37.467 --> 01:55:39.667 we really care about this. Now they need to start seeing 01:55:39.667 --> 01:55:42.000 residents go up there. And once they start seeing residents, 01:55:42.000 --> 01:55:43.900 there’s a whole different force that they’re going to have to 01:55:43.900 --> 01:56:00.166 deal with. Conran. Right. Um, I, I have a question like how the 01:56:00.166 --> 01:56:04.233 Homeowners association Ombudsperson. Um, how resident 01:56:04.233 --> 01:56:12.166 rezone. This bill. So how is this relate to Individual 01:56:12.166 --> 01:56:19.033 health insurance market. The I’m sorry, individual health 01:56:19.033 --> 01:56:23.800 insurance market. Yeah, they’re not related. Yeah, the, the 01:56:23.800 --> 01:56:27.567 ombudsperson is for the homeowners association, they 01:56:27.567 --> 01:56:31.033 were probably both included in the commerce omnibus 01:56:31.033 --> 01:56:34.300 appropriations bill. So they, they moved in the same piece of 01:56:34.300 --> 01:56:38.634 legislation, but they’re not related. Let’s see, here we go. 01:56:38.634 --> 01:56:44.000 Um, yeah, so there’s the, the new homeowners association on 01:56:44.000 --> 01:56:48.233 Bud’s Person’s office. Um, so that is gonna be a new position 01:56:48.233 --> 01:56:51.467 um at the Department of Commerce. So if someone like 01:56:51.467 --> 01:56:54.567 our resident who spoke earlier was having challenges with 01:56:54.567 --> 01:56:57.467 their HOA. This is very new, but I think this is probably 01:56:57.467 --> 01:56:59.734 where the first place I, I would maybe suggest that we 01:56:59.734 --> 01:57:06.467 look. So when, when do they start to Um, probably, well, I 01:57:06.467 --> 01:57:10.200 mean it went it went into law August 1st, I’d have to look at 01:57:10.200 --> 01:57:13.467 the statute to see, you know, by what day they need to be up 01:57:13.467 --> 01:57:17.100 and running and what they’re hiring timeline is, but fairly 01:57:17.100 --> 01:57:23.000 quickly, I would think. And so you will inform us like Yes, 01:57:23.000 --> 01:57:26.100 yeah, yes, cos we can definitely follow up, um, and 01:57:26.100 --> 01:57:29.000 do a little background on that and and let the team know, uh, 01:57:29.000 --> 01:57:31.000 the status of that office. 01:57:31.000 --> 01:57:37.500 Thank you, because there’s a lot of uh um Homeowner in our 01:57:37.500 --> 01:57:40.033 neighborhood, you know, um. 01:57:40.033 --> 01:57:46.367 They have uh damage. Storm them 23 years like what the damage, 01:57:46.367 --> 01:57:54.000 uh, roof, uh, damaging lied and still no fixing. Yeah. Yeah. 01:57:54.000 --> 01:58:00.467 And the, the free keep increasing, uh. Yeah, this 01:58:00.467 --> 01:58:03.233 would probably be a good, yeah, I’d be happy to follow up 01:58:03.233 --> 01:58:17.000 certainly. Thank you. Gossamer page. Thank you, Mayor. We went 01:58:17.000 --> 01:58:19.734 on a lot of different directions there with that last, 01:58:19.734 --> 01:58:23.266 um, section. So I just, this may be a city manager question, 01:58:23.266 --> 01:58:25.867 it might be, um, our representatives, it might be 01:58:25.867 --> 01:58:29.800 you, so I’ve got a couple more questions. Um, The first 01:58:29.800 --> 01:58:33.367 question is, how often do we hear from you as a council as a 01:58:33.367 --> 01:58:36.734 whole is that yearly or quarterly or what is the What’s 01:58:36.734 --> 01:58:41.900 the Um, I think probably twice a year, maybe beginning of 01:58:41.900 --> 01:58:44.567 session and then after session. 01:58:44.567 --> 01:58:51.467 Sounds good. And then For, for what are their cities have you, 01:58:51.467 --> 01:58:55.767 you’re from. Are they like cities like ours or what other 01:58:55.767 --> 01:58:57.133 cities have you worked with? 01:58:57.133 --> 01:59:01.233 Certainly, thank you. Um, I spent 11 years in house at the 01:59:01.233 --> 01:59:04.634 city of Minneapolis as their senior lobbyist for the city 01:59:04.634 --> 01:59:08.200 there, um, I’ve represented also the cities of Saint Louis 01:59:08.200 --> 01:59:15.100 Park and Cologne. I’m super familiar with Cologne. Um, OK, 01:59:15.100 --> 01:59:18.000 so my last question is, and again, this, this is me 01:59:18.000 --> 01:59:22.100 learning, so it’s a learning curve here. What is in those 01:59:22.100 --> 01:59:26.400 cities the benefit of having a stronger foundation for other 01:59:26.400 --> 01:59:31.033 resources, is that something you have seen work well with 01:59:31.033 --> 01:59:35.834 other cities for those dollars that aren’t through the bonding 01:59:35.834 --> 01:59:37.634 or what’s your experience with that? Could you share a little 01:59:37.634 --> 01:59:39.800 bit about that? And if not, maybe a follow up later. I 01:59:39.800 --> 01:59:42.100 don’t want to put you on the spot with that it’s a great, 01:59:42.100 --> 01:59:46.000 great question. I, I always just really go back to the 01:59:46.000 --> 01:59:49.300 diver diversification of funding sources. You should 01:59:49.300 --> 01:59:52.367 always be having a bonding, having bonding projects, always 01:59:52.367 --> 01:59:57.166 have something in the pipeline for a bonding project. Um, it’s 01:59:57.166 --> 02:00:02.100 important to stay um in the, in the lane of sight to lawmakers, 02:00:02.100 --> 02:00:06.367 um, kind of to the mayor’s point about constantly asking 02:00:06.367 --> 02:00:09.533 for whatever that regional project may be, even if it’s 8 02:00:09.533 --> 02:00:12.467 years down the road, is there predesign and design we should 02:00:12.467 --> 02:00:16.233 be asking for. And so you always have that bonding cycle 02:00:16.233 --> 02:00:19.467 churning, um, whether it’s now or looking at projects down the 02:00:19.467 --> 02:00:22.867 road, um, but then you also wanna have those local funding 02:00:22.867 --> 02:00:25.934 mechanisms that that you guys can control, um, whether that’s 02:00:25.934 --> 02:00:29.400 that, uh, a lodging tax, um, we’ve talked about a sales tax 02:00:29.400 --> 02:00:31.900 for that’s might not really work for Brooklyn Park right 02:00:31.900 --> 02:00:33.000 now. Different TIFF districts. 02:00:33.000 --> 02:00:34.734 I was surprised that there weren’t when we started working 02:00:34.734 --> 02:00:37.767 with the team that there really weren’t those tiff districts in 02:00:37.767 --> 02:00:41.500 place to give you some of that flexibility, um, as part of the 02:00:41.500 --> 02:00:44.767 establishment of the biotech innovation District. We also um 02:00:44.767 --> 02:00:49.000 got Port Authority for the city, um, because we are on, on a 02:00:49.000 --> 02:00:51.734 waterway and they’re landlocked cities in Minnesota that get 02:00:51.734 --> 02:00:54.300 Port Authority. And that comes with some, some extra authority 02:00:54.300 --> 02:00:57.467 when it comes to property tax abatements and, and things like 02:00:57.467 --> 02:01:01.367 that. So all those real basic foundation blocks. I think we 02:01:01.367 --> 02:01:05.567 need to go back and look at the LGA formula. There are 02:01:05.567 --> 02:01:08.734 different formulas depending on the population size of the city, 02:01:08.734 --> 02:01:11.634 there isn’t one for like medium sized cities, and we’re all 02:01:11.634 --> 02:01:15.734 kind of in one big bucket. So, um, there are factors in there 02:01:15.734 --> 02:01:18.400 that don’t necessarily help the city of Brooklyn Park. They 02:01:18.400 --> 02:01:19.500 might steer money other places. 02:01:19.500 --> 02:01:22.634 Maybe there are new factors that we should be suggesting 02:01:22.634 --> 02:01:27.934 that could tilt that formula more in our direction and who 02:01:27.934 --> 02:01:29.834 makes that decision lawmakers lawmakers do. And so it’s up to 02:01:29.834 --> 02:01:33.767 us then to, you know, to bring them the data and you know, 02:01:33.767 --> 02:01:36.000 really advocate for why we should, you know, push this 02:01:36.000 --> 02:01:39.734 button and pull that lever and make these changes and why this 02:01:39.734 --> 02:01:42.300 formula is really not modern enough to be reflective of the 02:01:42.300 --> 02:01:48.266 needs of Of a of a community, um. It has the things we do. In 02:01:48.266 --> 02:01:52.000 a little uh binding, uh, contexts in a normal 02:01:52.000 --> 02:01:56.767 legislative session, excuse me, be between 5 and $7 billion of 02:01:56.767 --> 02:01:59.467 local projects introduced for various cities, counties around 02:01:59.467 --> 02:02:04.367 the around the state and, uh, they will probably do a billion 02:02:04.367 --> 02:02:07.500 dollar-ish um bonding bill for local projects. So there’s just 02:02:07.500 --> 02:02:13.367 a lot of uh pressure for those, for those dollars. That’s all I 02:02:13.367 --> 02:02:15.000 have for right now. Thank you. 02:02:15.000 --> 02:02:19.767 Thanks for your patience. 02:02:19.767 --> 02:02:31.667 Councilman McGarvey. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you. Guys for this 02:02:31.667 --> 02:02:35.867 great report. And to follow up, I mean, it kind of segued into 02:02:35.867 --> 02:02:40.033 my question, which was, I know that at least a portion of the 02:02:40.033 --> 02:02:45.900 formula for LGA has to do with the age of public buildings or 02:02:45.900 --> 02:02:50.734 just house housing in general or housing pre 19948, looking 02:02:50.734 --> 02:03:02.000 at I don’t have 194878. 378 She’s Thank you. It’s 48 Ti 02:03:02.000 --> 02:03:05.867 discs they’re pre 78s. Yes, thank you, the year is, I’m 02:03:05.867 --> 02:03:08.367 sure we’re not the only city. 02:03:08.367 --> 02:03:14.233 That is kind of brushing up against aging, yet not aged 02:03:14.233 --> 02:03:19.033 enough. housing stock, and is there, do we know if there’s a 02:03:19.033 --> 02:03:23.300 coalition forming of other cities like us. That are 02:03:23.300 --> 02:03:27.166 pushing to have that, at least that part of the formula 02:03:27.166 --> 02:03:29.233 addressed because that’s a big piece of why we don’t get any 02:03:29.233 --> 02:03:33.467 money, right? I mean, we don’t have old buildings. I mean, 02:03:33.467 --> 02:03:35.800 really old buildings here in Brooklyn Park, not too many of 02:03:35.800 --> 02:03:39.233 them anyway. Thank you, Councilor. Another., another 02:03:39.233 --> 02:03:44.367 great question. Yes, we, we are historically the coalition that 02:03:44.367 --> 02:03:47.300 Brooklyn Park would be aligned with when it comes to local 02:03:47.300 --> 02:03:49.467 government aid is Metro cities. 02:03:49.467 --> 02:03:53.166 Typically, the kind of the 1st and 2nd rank suburban cities 02:03:53.166 --> 02:03:55.834 have gone up and down and on the formula and off the formula, 02:03:55.834 --> 02:03:59.734 they have the most kind of change and and and ebb and flow 02:03:59.734 --> 02:04:02.367 when, when we’ve changed the factors on the formula. 02:04:02.367 --> 02:04:05.634 Typically, the iron range does quite well. They have specific 02:04:05.634 --> 02:04:09.367 set asides. Um, so yes, there is very much when you look at 02:04:09.367 --> 02:04:11.900 the numbers and again kind of going back to that chart that 02:04:11.900 --> 02:04:16.166 we were looking at, um, where our funding per capita is that 02:04:16.166 --> 02:04:19.500 we can generate locally versus what we’re then supplemented 02:04:19.500 --> 02:04:21.233 from the state. We have other cities that are in the same 02:04:21.233 --> 02:04:25.033 bucket. Um That I, I think would, would come together with 02:04:25.033 --> 02:04:29.500 us. So when like the mayor mentions hibbing or Duluth. I 02:04:29.500 --> 02:04:33.734 mean, they’re very old cities with very old housing stock, 02:04:33.734 --> 02:04:37.100 and we’re just simply not that, and so, great, good to know 02:04:37.100 --> 02:04:40.100 that other people are facing this, and we can maybe all get 02:04:40.100 --> 02:04:45.000 together and go down there and Convince some people. I was 02:04:45.000 --> 02:04:51.467 gonna say bash heads, but the more the merrier. And the one 02:04:51.467 --> 02:04:54.634 thing I will add also on local government aid, there was a 02:04:54.634 --> 02:04:57.300 proposed reduction to the overall local government aid 02:04:57.300 --> 02:05:00.467 formula, um, that was held off in the tax bill, so that was, 02:05:00.467 --> 02:05:03.634 that would have impacted all cities overall reduction in the 02:05:03.634 --> 02:05:07.100 formula allocation, so I’m happy about that. Uh, Council 02:05:07.100 --> 02:05:12.800 member Klinowski. Thank you, Mayor. I am no expert on this, 02:05:12.800 --> 02:05:14.900 but from the time that we’ve been working together, one of 02:05:14.900 --> 02:05:17.634 the things I’ve come to understand with the LGA formula 02:05:17.634 --> 02:05:22.100 and the housing stock is the years that LGA was set into 02:05:22.100 --> 02:05:27.734 place in the first place, which I think was the 70s. That 02:05:27.734 --> 02:05:30.000 number though for 19408 has stayed static. It has not 02:05:30.000 --> 02:05:33.634 adjusted this time, it’s moved on. So cities like ours that 02:05:33.634 --> 02:05:37.867 developed in the way they developed with a lot of 1950s, 02:05:37.867 --> 02:05:41.634 1970s, 1990s, 2000s were left out of the equation because we 02:05:41.634 --> 02:05:44.233 were farmland. That doesn’t mean we don’t have aging 02:05:44.233 --> 02:05:45.367 infrastructure and other needs. 02:05:45.367 --> 02:05:49.233 It just means this formula is a problem for a lot of cities 02:05:49.233 --> 02:05:53.233 like ours. And it’s gonna be one hell of a challenge because 02:05:53.233 --> 02:05:56.266 there’s a lot of cities that get. A good chunk of change 02:05:56.266 --> 02:05:59.200 from it, they’re not going to want to see it change, but it, 02:05:59.200 --> 02:06:02.500 it’s been a passion in this committee. I think it’s 02:06:02.500 --> 02:06:05.166 something we’re all ready to to really dig in and fight for and 02:06:05.166 --> 02:06:07.767 maybe it’s something we can have a work session on in the 02:06:07.767 --> 02:06:10.533 future with counsel to and maybe some of the other North 02:06:10.533 --> 02:06:13.634 metro cities also being harmed by the formula. Because it’s 02:06:13.634 --> 02:06:16.233 shocking that such a diverse city like ours and Brooklyn 02:06:16.233 --> 02:06:19.467 Center, two of the most diverse cities serving large immigrant 02:06:19.467 --> 02:06:23.300 populations that have high congregate care populations get 02:06:23.300 --> 02:06:27.000 so little. We get no financial resources for the congregate 02:06:27.000 --> 02:06:29.734 care facilities and the increased needs for the police 02:06:29.734 --> 02:06:33.367 and fire either so there’s room to change this formula. And I 02:06:33.367 --> 02:06:36.033 just wanted to say thank you to the team for all the work you 02:06:36.033 --> 02:06:39.233 guys have done. It’s not an easy and glamorous job, and it 02:06:39.233 --> 02:06:42.500 takes just an incredible amount of work from so many people to 02:06:42.500 --> 02:06:47.834 our city staff. Thank you, but I also just want to say to It’s 02:06:47.834 --> 02:06:51.634 because of our current mayor and city manager that were 02:06:51.634 --> 02:06:54.233 doing this work in the first place. This is a new initiative 02:06:54.233 --> 02:06:56.934 that the city has put forward and it’s because we have 02:06:56.934 --> 02:06:59.166 leaders that understand, we’re not at the table, other people 02:06:59.166 --> 02:07:02.934 are at the table asking for that money. And we have a duty 02:07:02.934 --> 02:07:05.500 to our residents and to our city to be there and to 02:07:05.500 --> 02:07:09.166 advocate, so. I do want to acknowledge um the mayor and 02:07:09.166 --> 02:07:14.000 Jay and that it’s been instrumental. Well, thank, 02:07:14.000 --> 02:07:16.634 thank you. I, I appreciate that. 02:07:16.634 --> 02:07:21.634 Um, um. Yeah, I think to, to your point on the, on the LGA, 02:07:21.634 --> 02:07:24.634 right? I think there, there is this notion of people always 02:07:24.634 --> 02:07:27.834 want to roll out fiscal responsibility, but then all of 02:07:27.834 --> 02:07:31.033 a sudden when you get to cities like Brooklyn Park or you get 02:07:31.033 --> 02:07:34.367 to diversity, people. I, I don’t know. The fiscal 02:07:34.367 --> 02:07:37.100 diversity goes out, I mean, uh, responsibility goes out the 02:07:37.100 --> 02:07:40.233 window and it’s like if you have created a formula for 02:07:40.233 --> 02:07:46.000 aging infrastructure. How long do you continue to revamp that 02:07:46.000 --> 02:07:48.634 aging infrastructure, or are you using those dollars 02:07:48.634 --> 02:07:51.834 inefficiently for something else, right? Then the next wave 02:07:51.834 --> 02:07:55.133 should come in, and they should be revamping that aging 02:07:55.133 --> 02:07:58.233 infrastructure as well. So I think there’s uh an important 02:07:58.233 --> 02:08:01.900 argument to make there. The, the other piece, um, I think is 02:08:01.900 --> 02:08:04.834 I, I am happy that we got our tax increment financing or TIFF. 02:08:04.834 --> 02:08:10.734 I think we, I, you know, um, we want, of course, um, uh, 02:08:10.734 --> 02:08:13.734 Director Gladhill will make a, make sure we do this. Correctly, 02:08:13.734 --> 02:08:17.734 uh, Director Green as well with finance, but Whatever best 02:08:17.734 --> 02:08:19.734 practices we need to use for that tip because in the past, I 02:08:19.734 --> 02:08:24.367 think we have. Kind of rolled that out and we haven’t seen 02:08:24.367 --> 02:08:27.500 the return on investment, uh, that we would have liked from 02:08:27.500 --> 02:08:29.734 different folks, and I know there’s some rules and I’m not 02:08:29.734 --> 02:08:32.000 a subject matter expert on that, but I do think it’s gonna be 02:08:32.000 --> 02:08:35.033 incredibly important when we talk about our biotech district. 02:08:35.033 --> 02:08:37.233 I also want to for folks who are saying, well, you’re 02:08:37.233 --> 02:08:39.834 focusing on the Northwest, focusing on the Northwest 02:08:39.834 --> 02:08:42.000 upright. There’s also some other areas, and I think one of 02:08:42.000 --> 02:08:44.367 those is Brooklyn Boulevard where we’re able to get some 02:08:44.367 --> 02:08:46.900 tiff, um, exceptions or carveouts there as well. So 02:08:46.900 --> 02:08:50.567 that’s gonna be important for kind of how we address that 02:08:50.567 --> 02:08:55.300 area. as well, which I know is um which is uh a priority as 02:08:55.300 --> 02:09:01.467 well, but I think, you know, doubling down on this economic 02:09:01.467 --> 02:09:04.533 development piece. I just, I want to caution people from 02:09:04.533 --> 02:09:06.634 thinking of Brook that thinking that the Brooklyn Park you see 02:09:06.634 --> 02:09:09.767 in front of you now is going to be the Brooklyn Park that’s 02:09:09.767 --> 02:09:14.634 going to be here in 5 to 10 years. That for one is 02:09:14.634 --> 02:09:18.467 unsustainable. 2, I think when it comes to communities that 02:09:18.467 --> 02:09:23.100 are um, you know, more, uh. 02:09:23.100 --> 02:09:25.834 stereotypically working class or diverse, people often think, 02:09:25.834 --> 02:09:28.667 well, we’re not going to see that level of economic 02:09:28.667 --> 02:09:31.266 development. Well, I think the TIFF and some of the other 02:09:31.266 --> 02:09:35.367 things we’ve gotten in terms of a biotech district. Uh, I would 02:09:35.367 --> 02:09:38.033 encourage people to think what that looks like 5 to 10 years 02:09:38.033 --> 02:09:40.900 and you have another 10,000 jobs and you have some new 02:09:40.900 --> 02:09:45.000 housing units, right? All sorts of housing units. And that 02:09:45.000 --> 02:09:48.166 takes care long term of some of the issues that we are seeing 02:09:48.166 --> 02:09:51.900 um within our community in terms of, um, poverty, uh. 02:09:51.900 --> 02:09:55.133 youth not necessarily having opportunities to move forward, 02:09:55.133 --> 02:09:58.400 small businesses struggling to get into a real network. Uh, so 02:09:58.400 --> 02:10:01.634 I think we have to look at it from that perspective of 02:10:01.634 --> 02:10:05.767 bringing the opportunities, um, to Brooklyn Parker or 02:10:05.767 --> 02:10:06.634 attracting those opportunities. 02:10:06.634 --> 02:10:09.233 So thank you for your work on the TIFF. I think you guys know 02:10:09.233 --> 02:10:12.734 that last year when we didn’t get it, I, I, I blew a gasket. 02:10:12.734 --> 02:10:16.500 I didn’t show it in front of the residents, but I was, I was, 02:10:16.500 --> 02:10:20.233 I don’t not gonna use that word, but I was upset, we’ll say that. 02:10:20.233 --> 02:10:22.100 I was upset, um, but I’m glad that it got through. this year 02:10:22.100 --> 02:10:24.500 because I think that’s going to be one of the linchpins in 02:10:24.500 --> 02:10:28.734 terms of that biotech district and giving that next generation 02:10:28.734 --> 02:10:32.100 the opportunities that they need and then making our city 02:10:32.100 --> 02:10:35.200 um sustainable. So that going through, I think was incredibly 02:10:35.200 --> 02:10:38.367 important. And now I think it turns to what are the next 02:10:38.367 --> 02:10:42.100 steps to to continue to build that area and make sure we get 02:10:42.100 --> 02:10:46.000 people um here for that. Um, so thank you for that. Council 02:10:46.000 --> 02:10:49.100 member, um, oh, and the other pieces, I’m sorry, um, but I 02:10:49.100 --> 02:10:51.500 will say this in terms of the development, in terms of the 02:10:51.500 --> 02:10:55.467 vision for the biotech and in a lot of that, I will say that 02:10:55.467 --> 02:10:58.634 that is not possible, um, without the overall council 02:10:58.634 --> 02:11:02.467 having that vision, but also, um, Councilman McCanowski has 02:11:02.467 --> 02:11:05.634 been incredibly important in those conversations in terms of 02:11:05.634 --> 02:11:07.834 helping us envision what that would look like. I don’t come 02:11:07.834 --> 02:11:13.634 from that world. Uh, I come from, uh, different med tech, 02:11:13.634 --> 02:11:14.734 uh, insurance background, right? 02:11:14.734 --> 02:11:19.200 Um, so I don’t necessarily see it the same way, uh, and 02:11:19.200 --> 02:11:21.300 sometimes I think, um, Councilor Merman Kanowski says, 02:11:21.300 --> 02:11:23.900 well, that’s but that’s not really how it works. Let’s, 02:11:23.900 --> 02:11:27.033 let’s kind of dial it back and bring it back to reality and 02:11:27.033 --> 02:11:30.800 then we can build the dream. So thank you for that. I, I very 02:11:30.800 --> 02:11:35.500 much appreciate that. Uh, council member Erickson. Not 02:11:35.500 --> 02:11:38.634 sure if this is a question for you folks or maybe for the 02:11:38.634 --> 02:11:43.500 Mayor Jay, but Is there a place to find the counter proposals 02:11:43.500 --> 02:11:47.033 that have been shared for local government aid formulas or are 02:11:47.033 --> 02:11:55.233 we mostly at the stage of the one we have is wrong. And Um So, 02:11:55.233 --> 02:11:56.467 so what proposals are out there? 02:11:56.467 --> 02:11:57.500 What suggestions have been made? 02:11:57.500 --> 02:12:08.634 So that is not a mere city manager question, uh, you know. 02:12:08.634 --> 02:12:12.900 Oh, Councilor Mayor Erickson, thank you, um, there, there 02:12:12.900 --> 02:12:16.133 have been different proposals, um, over the years, um, that, 02:12:16.133 --> 02:12:19.767 you know, we’d be happy to share with you. I mean, 02:12:19.767 --> 02:12:24.734 everything from, you know, creating a, a, a new category 02:12:24.734 --> 02:12:30.000 of population bracket, um, with different formulas we’ve used, 02:12:30.000 --> 02:12:34.300 um, uh, traffic accidents as a proxy for public safety for 02:12:34.300 --> 02:12:37.100 years, um, cause that’s supposed to, you know, kind of 02:12:37.100 --> 02:12:41.166 take density or something. So there are, and we can, we can 02:12:41.166 --> 02:12:43.934 certainly share with you, um, some of the different ones that 02:12:43.934 --> 02:12:54.567 have have moved around over the years. All right. uh, thank you. 02:12:54.567 --> 02:12:59.300 I know we went a little long on that, but you know, I think uh 02:12:59.300 --> 02:13:02.033 There’s just a lot to learn and a lot to do in this space. So I 02:13:02.033 --> 02:13:05.200 very much appreciate your, your efforts and your successes in 02:13:05.200 --> 02:13:06.500 this as well. So thank you. 02:13:06.500 --> 02:13:12.467 Thank you. And one second before we move on to the next 02:13:12.467 --> 02:13:33.000 item. That All right, so let’s see. Uh, next, we’ll go ahead 02:13:33.000 --> 02:13:39.500 and move to the consent agenda again, um, we removed 4.4, and 02:13:39.500 --> 02:13:41.467 that’s going to be on July 28th. 02:13:41.467 --> 02:13:49.734 And then we added 4.9 to it. Is there a motion to approve the 02:13:49.734 --> 02:13:54.834 consent agenda. All right, so the motion was made by council 02:13:54.834 --> 02:13:58.033 member Erickson, seconded by Councilman McCannowski. All 02:13:58.033 --> 02:14:06.734 those in favor say aye. Right Any names? Any abstentions? All 02:14:06.734 --> 02:14:14.634 right. All right, so, um, uh, Consent agenda passes. Looks 02:14:14.634 --> 02:14:24.233 like 7 to 0. All right, so next we will move to. Let’s see, 7.1 02:14:24.233 --> 02:14:29.734 appointments to the Brooklyn Park. One second. It’s 1000 02:14:29.734 --> 02:14:35.133 pieces of paper. So we’re gonna move to simple one appointments 02:14:35.133 --> 02:14:38.133 to the Brooklyn Park Development Corporation board, 02:14:38.133 --> 02:14:44.000 uh, and then after that there’s 7.2. Uh, and then, um, We 02:14:44.000 --> 02:14:47.367 entertain emotion for 8.1 and 8.2 to see if we want to move 02:14:47.367 --> 02:14:50.634 those back, uh, since we’ve kind of had a long agenda. Uh, 02:14:50.634 --> 02:15:01.634 but for now we’re going to 7.1, um. So let’s see. Did you have 02:15:01.634 --> 02:15:04.934 any words on this, uh? City manager stroll or did you want 02:15:04.934 --> 02:15:09.166 me to just, OK. So, again, this is going to be to appoint two 02:15:09.166 --> 02:15:14.467 board members to serve on the Brooklyn Park, um Development 02:15:14.467 --> 02:15:16.634 Corporation board of directors, one representative affiliate 02:15:16.634 --> 02:15:18.734 with the financial institution working with businesses in 02:15:18.734 --> 02:15:20.634 Brooklyn Park and one representative affiliated with 02:15:20.634 --> 02:15:23.133 the small business located in Brooklyn Park, so we took the 02:15:23.133 --> 02:15:27.033 votes, got the votes together, and so, um, I’m just gonna go 02:15:27.033 --> 02:15:29.000 ahead and read these in if somebody wants a second, then 02:15:29.000 --> 02:15:33.634 we can go ahead and vote them in. So the first one is a 02:15:33.634 --> 02:15:36.000 motion to appoint Jeffrey A to the Brooklyn Park Development 02:15:36.000 --> 02:15:39.000 Corporation. ation as the financial representative for a 02:15:39.000 --> 02:15:41.767 two-year term effective immediately through June 30th, 02:15:41.767 --> 02:15:45.367 2027. All right, so the motion was made by myself, Mayor 02:15:45.367 --> 02:15:48.567 Winston, seconded by council member Kanowski. All those in 02:15:48.567 --> 02:15:56.033 favor say aye, I. Any nays, any abstentions? So one abstention. 02:15:56.033 --> 02:16:02.000 Uh, the abstention, um, council member Page. All right, so, uh, 02:16:02.000 --> 02:16:06.233 Next, we will go to motion to appoint Edna McKenzie to the 02:16:06.233 --> 02:16:08.300 Brooklyn Park Development Corporation as a small business 02:16:08.300 --> 02:16:10.533 representative for a two-year term effective immediately 02:16:10.533 --> 02:16:13.166 through June 30th, 2027. 02:16:13.166 --> 02:16:18.000 Alright, motion was made by myself, Hollis Winston, 02:16:18.000 --> 02:16:18.767 seconded by Councilman Kanowski. 02:16:18.767 --> 02:16:26.000 Um, all those in favor say aye, a, any nas. Any abstentions? 02:16:26.000 --> 02:16:29.734 All right, so 6 eyes, uh, 1 abstention from Councilman Page. 02:16:29.734 --> 02:16:33.367 The motion passes. All right, so next we will go ahead and 02:16:33.367 --> 02:16:39.567 move to Item 7.2. Uh, which is a request by Mary Winston to 02:16:39.567 --> 02:16:42.467 travel to Brooklyn Park’s sister cities in Liberia and 02:16:42.467 --> 02:16:48.367 Nigeria August 12th through 25th, 2025. I know that uh Uh 02:16:48.367 --> 02:16:50.467 City manager struggle was going to go ahead and open up and 02:16:50.467 --> 02:16:52.734 talk about what this is and maybe fill in some of the 02:16:52.734 --> 02:16:57.467 questions that people had around it. Good evening. Thank 02:16:57.467 --> 02:17:00.900 you, Mayor Winston, members of council, uh, Jaro city manager 02:17:00.900 --> 02:17:05.000 here in Brooklyn Park. I have a, a presentation for you this 02:17:05.000 --> 02:17:08.734 evening, also provided copies to the city council members if 02:17:08.734 --> 02:17:12.900 you need to refer to those. So just a little bit of background, 02:17:12.900 --> 02:17:16.166 this particular item has has raised some questions, uh, with 02:17:16.166 --> 02:17:19.900 regard to kind of. What is, what is the sister city, what 02:17:19.900 --> 02:17:21.634 is that relationship look like? 02:17:21.634 --> 02:17:26.300 Um, and so I wanna start out with that, um, provide a little 02:17:26.300 --> 02:17:29.000 bit of additional information in regard to this specific 02:17:29.000 --> 02:17:32.300 opportunity, um, talk about a potential schedule for the 02:17:32.300 --> 02:17:35.367 mayor, some of the cost considerations related to this 02:17:35.367 --> 02:17:38.266 request, uh, some of the value related to this request and 02:17:38.266 --> 02:17:41.233 then take any questions that the council might have. So 02:17:41.233 --> 02:17:44.934 first I wanted to start out in, and I pulled this from a 02:17:44.934 --> 02:17:49.867 presentation from back in June 2023, uh, in terms of this 02:17:49.867 --> 02:17:51.900 conversation around, uh, you know, what do we want out of 02:17:51.900 --> 02:17:55.667 these sister city relationships has been a conversation. Uh, 02:17:55.667 --> 02:18:01.000 you know, for quite some time back in 2019, we, uh, the city 02:18:01.000 --> 02:18:04.834 council sort of firmed up the policies and approach around um 02:18:04.834 --> 02:18:09.000 what, what it means, um, and what the process is to become a 02:18:09.000 --> 02:18:10.567 sister city with another city. 02:18:10.567 --> 02:18:14.834 And, but these are really highlighting some of those core 02:18:14.834 --> 02:18:18.033 relationship or the objectives around uh Sister city 02:18:18.033 --> 02:18:21.734 relationship might be in a few of the highlights, economic 02:18:21.734 --> 02:18:24.767 development synergies, um, increasing community awareness, 02:18:24.767 --> 02:18:29.000 um. provide more options for residents experience, 02:18:29.000 --> 02:18:32.500 understand and appreciate other cultures, share best practices 02:18:32.500 --> 02:18:36.166 with the government and then develop and support educational 02:18:36.166 --> 02:18:37.734 cultural and people exchanges. 02:18:37.734 --> 02:18:41.567 So again, um, this particular slide was, uh, from June of 02:18:41.567 --> 02:18:45.367 2023 that I thought was relevant today. In addition, um, 02:18:45.367 --> 02:18:49.634 this slide was also used in 2023. There’s a little bit of 02:18:49.634 --> 02:18:52.734 background, the city of Brooklyn Park has had a number 02:18:52.734 --> 02:18:54.767 of different sister city relationships over the course 02:18:54.767 --> 02:18:59.100 of history. I don’t know exactly when our relationship 02:18:59.100 --> 02:19:02.900 with Maitland Australia began and ended, um, but that was one, 02:19:02.900 --> 02:19:05.900 that’s been identified as a, as a previous sister city 02:19:05.900 --> 02:19:09.800 relationship. We’ve had a long relationship with Kakata, 02:19:09.800 --> 02:19:18.367 Liberia, um, I believe going back to 2012. Uh, there was 02:19:18.367 --> 02:19:20.634 conversation about Garraway Somalia being a sister city, 02:19:20.634 --> 02:19:24.800 our relationship. Uh, that was approved by the city council in 02:19:24.800 --> 02:19:30.266 2019, but never formally executed um by the community of 02:19:30.266 --> 02:19:32.867 Garraway and then ultimately by the community of Brooklyn Park. 02:19:32.867 --> 02:19:37.567 So, uh, that was the first city to to use that new process and 02:19:37.567 --> 02:19:41.400 criteria that was established back in 2019. And then the most 02:19:41.400 --> 02:19:45.033 recent to um that have uh Brooklyn Park has joined in 02:19:45.033 --> 02:19:49.467 terms of sister cities is a banjoel and The Gambia, uh, 02:19:49.467 --> 02:19:53.667 back in the fall of 2022 and then more recently Udu, the 02:19:53.667 --> 02:19:56.800 local government area in Nigeria, which is approved and 02:19:56.800 --> 02:20:01.100 executed in the winter of 2023. 02:20:01.100 --> 02:20:05.500 So the um the process of becoming a sister city has, um, 02:20:05.500 --> 02:20:09.233 you know, we, the city council did step up the rigor with 02:20:09.233 --> 02:20:14.100 regard to how that process looks like and uh that includes 02:20:14.100 --> 02:20:18.200 sign agreements, um, supported by um the city council with a 02:20:18.200 --> 02:20:21.000 local sponsor organization and also with the sister city 02:20:21.000 --> 02:20:25.100 itself, I did provide the city council example of those two 02:20:25.100 --> 02:20:29.467 agreements that were approved by the council, um, back in 02:20:29.467 --> 02:20:35.400 2023, February 2023. um related to the Udu, um, Nigeria sister 02:20:35.400 --> 02:20:40.033 city relationship. Our relationship with Kakata 02:20:40.033 --> 02:20:45.367 preceded this new process, um, but we have a, had a long 02:20:45.367 --> 02:20:49.100 history um with Liberian um country as a whole and Kakata 02:20:49.100 --> 02:20:51.767 specifically. The other thing to note about these 02:20:51.767 --> 02:20:56.033 relationships is that oftentimes these are um are 02:20:56.033 --> 02:20:58.233 initiated with a grassroots group of community members. In 02:20:58.233 --> 02:21:02.533 fact, that’s part of the process is to have a group of 02:21:02.533 --> 02:21:05.166 community members come forward and really express their 02:21:05.166 --> 02:21:09.000 interests. I believe that there is a requirement of Uh, I think 02:21:09.000 --> 02:21:15.300 25 signatures as well as the uh formation of a 501c3 or some 02:21:15.300 --> 02:21:19.133 sort of formal nonprofit organization to support this 02:21:19.133 --> 02:21:22.767 relationship. Um, during my tenure, we’ve probably had 5 to 02:21:22.767 --> 02:21:27.000 7 delegations from Liberia, maybe more, um, and then in the 02:21:27.000 --> 02:21:30.867 last couple of years, we’ve had a visitors from uh Banjul, the 02:21:30.867 --> 02:21:33.567 mayor has come a couple times, and then the last couple of 02:21:33.567 --> 02:21:38.767 years, we’ve had um at least 2 delegations from in Nigeria 02:21:38.767 --> 02:21:45.166 come to visit us here in Brooklyn Park. Um For this 02:21:45.166 --> 02:21:48.367 particular opportunity, uh, Mayor Winston and his wife are 02:21:48.367 --> 02:21:51.100 planning to travel to Nigeria from August 12th through the 02:21:51.100 --> 02:21:55.400 25th. Uh, these plans were sort of solidified in terms of those 02:21:55.400 --> 02:22:00.200 specific dates in late June, um, and the mayor and his wife are 02:22:00.200 --> 02:22:03.467 paying at their personal expense, their airfare from 02:22:03.467 --> 02:22:05.166 Minneapolis to Lagos, Nigeria. 02:22:05.166 --> 02:22:08.800 So that, that is sort of set in stone that is happening. Uh, so 02:22:08.800 --> 02:22:11.900 the, the question before the council tonight, are one of the 02:22:11.900 --> 02:22:15.166 key questions for the council is, since Mayor Winston will be 02:22:15.166 --> 02:22:19.367 in West Africa, specifically Nigeria, um, could the city 02:22:19.367 --> 02:22:21.767 support visits to our sister cities in Liberia and Nigeria, 02:22:21.767 --> 02:22:26.934 um. There was a consideration of, of visiting Banjo in The 02:22:26.934 --> 02:22:32.100 Gambia, um, but given sort of the relatively tight time frame 02:22:32.100 --> 02:22:35.900 and um that that was not an option, so, uh, the other 02:22:35.900 --> 02:22:39.834 recognition here is that we are working on a relatively 02:22:39.834 --> 02:22:42.467 compressed time frame and so things are moving pretty quick 02:22:42.467 --> 02:22:46.033 with regard to this specific request, you know, in the 02:22:46.033 --> 02:22:49.300 perfect world, um, we would have some additional time to 02:22:49.300 --> 02:22:50.834 consider this opportunity, um. 02:22:50.834 --> 02:22:55.634 Uh, but we’re doing the best we can in terms of of uh seeing if 02:22:55.634 --> 02:22:59.500 this is a possibility, uh, for, for a visit to these uh two 02:22:59.500 --> 02:23:02.800 sister city communities. In terms of a potential schedule, 02:23:02.800 --> 02:23:05.767 uh, this is a little bit more specific. Some of these are, 02:23:05.767 --> 02:23:10.233 are details, a lot of details are still being worked out, um, 02:23:10.233 --> 02:23:15.400 or specifically, um, And Sunday, August 17th, uh, there would be 02:23:15.400 --> 02:23:19.166 traveling from Lagos to Ossaba to visit with the governor of 02:23:19.166 --> 02:23:22.467 Delta State, um, Delta State is sort of like Minnesota in a 02:23:22.467 --> 02:23:25.533 sense, that’s sort of the equivalent. And so visiting the 02:23:25.533 --> 02:23:30.834 governor, um, there in Delta State in Asaba, um, in addition, 02:23:30.834 --> 02:23:33.734 our understanding is that, uh, the local government officials 02:23:33.734 --> 02:23:38.467 from Udu would also be part of that gathering in Asaba, and 02:23:38.467 --> 02:23:43.800 then there’d be uh travel to Udu by car. And to have 02:23:43.800 --> 02:23:46.900 additional conversation specifically with the local 02:23:46.900 --> 02:23:52.767 government officials in Udu, um, and then returning back to 02:23:52.767 --> 02:23:58.100 Lagos on August 20th and uh traveled to Monrovia, Liberia 02:23:58.100 --> 02:24:03.000 on the 21st and then, um, planning visits in Monrovia and 02:24:03.000 --> 02:24:06.300 Kakata. Again, a lot of details still to be worked out and 02:24:06.300 --> 02:24:10.467 especially um Uh, with this potential trip here to, to 02:24:10.467 --> 02:24:13.100 Liberia. We’ve begun conversations with a number of 02:24:13.100 --> 02:24:16.400 the librarians, um, but in terms of providing exact 02:24:16.400 --> 02:24:19.467 details, uh, this evening aren’t able to do that. And 02:24:19.467 --> 02:24:25.900 then flying back to Lagos and flying back to Minneapolis. So 02:24:25.900 --> 02:24:30.400 potential costs related to to the mayor’s. trip and again, um, 02:24:30.400 --> 02:24:34.667 Mr. Oser and I, uh, ended up, uh, You know, identifying sort 02:24:34.667 --> 02:24:38.200 of what we see as potentially the highest range costs related 02:24:38.200 --> 02:24:42.467 to these, we have been working with the travel agent to 02:24:42.467 --> 02:24:47.367 provide some specifics around the passable, uh, costs related 02:24:47.367 --> 02:24:51.634 to the intracontinental airfare, again, traveling towards uh the 02:24:51.634 --> 02:24:58.500 Delta State and the Uru region and then traveling to um. To 02:24:58.500 --> 02:25:02.166 Liberia and back to Nigeria, so the, the specific cost related 02:25:02.166 --> 02:25:08.567 to. The intercontinental air is, is a little less than $1200. 02:25:08.567 --> 02:25:12.367 The cost for hotels for 8 nights is um at the high end is 02:25:12.367 --> 02:25:17.834 estimated at $200 per night. Um, I would note that there is a 02:25:17.834 --> 02:25:23.033 conversations um that we’ve had with, um, potentially some of 02:25:23.033 --> 02:25:27.767 our host uh partners, um, that in some cases lodging might be 02:25:27.767 --> 02:25:31.567 covered without any expense, um, and specifically I, I can note 02:25:31.567 --> 02:25:36.000 that um we had conversations with Ah, leaders from OLM 02:25:36.000 --> 02:25:39.033 whoever um you know having conversations in terms of 02:25:39.033 --> 02:25:42.367 trying to get lodging accommodated for um without um 02:25:42.367 --> 02:25:47.133 cost. And that is also a possibility in Nigeria, um, but 02:25:47.133 --> 02:25:51.834 we want to put Um, this particular cost amount in here 02:25:51.834 --> 02:25:53.800 just for council’s awareness that this is could, could be 02:25:53.800 --> 02:26:02.000 what it, what it is. In terms of um per diem, uh, there are, 02:26:02.000 --> 02:26:04.734 um, the federal government outlines, uh, for cities in the 02:26:04.734 --> 02:26:08.000 United States and for cities internationally specific per 02:26:08.000 --> 02:26:12.166 diem amounts, um, for 6 days. 02:26:12.166 --> 02:26:17.000 In the Nigerian area, um, the per diem amount is in the Lagos 02:26:17.000 --> 02:26:24.467 area is $145 and then in the days in Liberia, um, it’s more 02:26:24.467 --> 02:26:27.634 uh more specifically, it’s about $110 so a little bit less. 02:26:27.634 --> 02:26:36.166 One option here if there’s some, um, Uh, one option. In lieu of 02:26:36.166 --> 02:26:39.500 the daily per diem is to get reimbursed up to the per diem 02:26:39.500 --> 02:26:45.266 amount, but on the actual expenses. So if there’s $15 02:26:45.266 --> 02:26:50.634 paid for breakfast,,, $20 paid for lunch, an additional $25 02:26:50.634 --> 02:26:54.467 paid for, for dinner, um, on a particular day rather than 02:26:54.467 --> 02:26:59.800 taking the per diem of $145 or $110 with receipts that that 02:26:59.800 --> 02:27:04.734 could be a $60 expense to the city versus 145 or 110. So that 02:27:04.734 --> 02:27:06.800 is something that, that we could do if council had an 02:27:06.800 --> 02:27:12.000 interest in that. Um, we did also identify a potential for 02:27:12.000 --> 02:27:15.300 $450 supplemental council pay with council approval for the 9 02:27:15.300 --> 02:27:19.000 days that it would have a focus around the sister city 02:27:19.000 --> 02:27:21.667 relationships, um, not sure ultimately if the, if the mayor 02:27:21.667 --> 02:27:24.867 would request that or not, but that has been identified again 02:27:24.867 --> 02:27:29.033 as a potential as we think about the high range. And 02:27:29.033 --> 02:27:33.500 potential trip cost in total um with these expenses estimated 02:27:33.500 --> 02:27:39.767 at over $4400. Um, as part of this process, um, during the 02:27:39.767 --> 02:27:44.166 way, um, there was an invitation extended to myself 02:27:44.166 --> 02:27:48.233 to participate, um, by the Nigerian folks who have been 02:27:48.233 --> 02:27:52.500 helping organize the trip, um, and I would highlight that, um. 02:27:52.500 --> 02:27:55.734 Over my tenure as city manager, um, and in the visits that 02:27:55.734 --> 02:27:59.000 we’ve had from Liberians, there’s frequently been 02:27:59.000 --> 02:28:02.767 requests, um, for me to come visit Liberia, so. But this is 02:28:02.767 --> 02:28:06.834 completely at the discretion of the council, um, if, if they 02:28:06.834 --> 02:28:10.100 were to uh approve the marriage’s expenses if they 02:28:10.100 --> 02:28:14.300 would want me to join as well, um. Just leave that out there 02:28:14.300 --> 02:28:18.100 in terms of my expenses, a little bit higher, a little bit 02:28:18.100 --> 02:28:21.834 shorter time frame, um, but a little bit higher because of 02:28:21.834 --> 02:28:26.634 the international travel costs related to um to my expenses. 02:28:26.634 --> 02:28:31.033 Uh, additional cost considerations, um, Many times 02:28:31.033 --> 02:28:34.667 sister city visits often include an exchange of gifts, 02:28:34.667 --> 02:28:38.367 um, an example, actually 3 here over to the right of me are 02:28:38.367 --> 02:28:41.266 some examples of some of the artwork that we’ve received 02:28:41.266 --> 02:28:45.300 from some of our relationships in Nigeria and in Liberia and 02:28:45.300 --> 02:28:49.567 so wanted to bring those in person just as an example. 02:28:49.567 --> 02:28:54.934 Typically, um, we’ve provided, um, You know, gifts have 02:28:54.934 --> 02:28:59.767 included things like our city flag, uh Brooklyn Park, um, 02:28:59.767 --> 02:29:03.634 scarves, other branded small cost items. We did in this, uh, 02:29:03.634 --> 02:29:08.834 in this particular case, um, Uh, consider the idea of, uh, one 02:29:08.834 --> 02:29:13.133 of our local mulist muralists and artists, um, Chino Oku, 02:29:13.133 --> 02:29:17.367 who’s done a number of murals in town, tech College, lived in 02:29:17.367 --> 02:29:20.634 Brooklyn Park for many years, uh, currently resides in Saint 02:29:20.634 --> 02:29:26.000 Paul. And was formerly for, from Nigeria did have a, a 02:29:26.000 --> 02:29:30.734 conversation with him about um if we were to potentially 02:29:30.734 --> 02:29:33.467 commission any art for this type of trip, um, what would be 02:29:33.467 --> 02:29:37.100 a potential price. Again, uh, we have this particular quote 02:29:37.100 --> 02:29:41.900 of about $1000 per piece, that could be an opportunity uh 02:29:41.900 --> 02:29:45.166 related to this trip if the, if the council were in support of 02:29:45.166 --> 02:29:49.467 that, um, alternatively, we could um go the direction that 02:29:49.467 --> 02:29:51.500 we’ve continued, that we’ve been uh doing historically. 02:29:51.500 --> 02:29:54.734 with uh a little bit smaller cost items, um, which also 02:29:54.734 --> 02:29:58.533 would be an item. And then I would note that the city 02:29:58.533 --> 02:30:01.734 council did allocate, there was some conversation about this 02:30:01.734 --> 02:30:06.567 type of trip, um, as part of the 2025 budget process, um, 02:30:06.567 --> 02:30:10.767 and so there were some resources set aside um for this 02:30:10.767 --> 02:30:16.734 type of trip and uh Of approximately $30,000. Terms of 02:30:16.734 --> 02:30:21.734 value, um, Uh, as highlighted earlier in some of the comments 02:30:21.734 --> 02:30:25.734 made, uh, at the beginning of the meeting, uh, obviously 02:30:25.734 --> 02:30:27.567 educational, cultural relationship building are some 02:30:27.567 --> 02:30:32.100 of the key values of a potential trip like this. Uh, 02:30:32.100 --> 02:30:35.467 the additional opportunities, uh, we’re really around 02:30:35.467 --> 02:30:40.266 economic development and We have, um, The Nigerian 02:30:40.266 --> 02:30:43.867 delegation in particular has expressed interest in exploring 02:30:43.867 --> 02:30:45.734 synergies around some particular sectors around 02:30:45.734 --> 02:30:48.734 medical, industrial, agricultural, energy, and water. 02:30:48.734 --> 02:30:53.100 Um, we have had conversations on Friday and then again this 02:30:53.100 --> 02:30:55.033 morning with some of our. 02:30:55.033 --> 02:30:58.734 Colleagues from the state of Minnesota, um, in particular, 02:30:58.734 --> 02:31:01.100 uh, this morning I had a great conversation with the folks 02:31:01.100 --> 02:31:04.200 from Deed or the Department of Employment and Economic 02:31:04.200 --> 02:31:07.634 Development, um, 3 of those folks were part of the uh Japan 02:31:07.634 --> 02:31:12.166 trip. That, uh, Brooklyn Park was invited to participate in 02:31:12.166 --> 02:31:17.634 in terms of the uh governor’s trade mission there and um they, 02:31:17.634 --> 02:31:22.834 it was a great conversation this morning, strongly support 02:31:22.834 --> 02:31:27.100 this work and um, are providing some technical support and some 02:31:27.100 --> 02:31:29.767 additional ideas and suggestions to make the trip 02:31:29.767 --> 02:31:35.100 successful, um, if we’re able to, to make this happen. Um, uh, 02:31:35.100 --> 02:31:39.467 Mr. Director Gladhill and others from our community 02:31:39.467 --> 02:31:43.100 development department or uh doing currently doing some 02:31:43.100 --> 02:31:44.834 additional work around engagement of our local 02:31:44.834 --> 02:31:50.000 chambers, local businesses. Um, and then some other 02:31:50.000 --> 02:31:53.800 organizations within, uh, the community and within the state, 02:31:53.800 --> 02:31:57.533 um, to also get their input as we consider this trip again, 02:31:57.533 --> 02:32:01.367 pretty fast moving. Um, timeline here, so and a lot of 02:32:01.367 --> 02:32:04.567 that work is still underway, but, um, if this trip were to 02:32:04.567 --> 02:32:07.467 go forward, um, we would continue to work with these 02:32:07.467 --> 02:32:10.767 organizations to, to see, um, How we could maximize the 02:32:10.767 --> 02:32:15.634 opportunity. And then lastly, um, uh, for folks awareness, I 02:32:15.634 --> 02:32:21.033 think it, um, in particular of note, Nigeria is home to 02:32:21.033 --> 02:32:24.233 roughly 300 million people and is one of the largest economies 02:32:24.233 --> 02:32:27.734 in Africa, potentially the largest, um, depending on, I 02:32:27.734 --> 02:32:31.800 was reading the other day, it’s part of it’s really dependent 02:32:31.800 --> 02:32:35.100 on the exchange rates at any given time, um, but it’s among 02:32:35.100 --> 02:32:42.834 the largest. And then lastly, um, in terms of, um, previous 02:32:42.834 --> 02:32:46.100 visits to sister cities, uh, there was a delegation of the 02:32:46.100 --> 02:32:49.233 mayor or a council member, city manager, fire chief that went 02:32:49.233 --> 02:32:52.500 to Liberia back in 2012, I believe, to sort of commence 02:32:52.500 --> 02:32:55.734 the original sister city agreement with Kakata. Uh, the 02:32:55.734 --> 02:32:58.467 mayor and council member at that time paid for their own 02:32:58.467 --> 02:33:03.767 air travel. In expenses once they were in country, uh, I 02:33:03.767 --> 02:33:05.934 believe for my understanding and talking with with 02:33:05.934 --> 02:33:09.300 Commissioner L Lundy we’re covered by the city, um, in 02:33:09.300 --> 02:33:12.367 this particular trip, the city did pay for expenses related to 02:33:12.367 --> 02:33:16.100 the city manager, um, and they did not venture outside of 02:33:16.100 --> 02:33:18.900 Liberia because at that time there was only one sister city, 02:33:18.900 --> 02:33:25.367 so. Without having to take any questions. Um, Turn it back 02:33:25.367 --> 02:33:31.033 over to the mayor. Yeah, I’ll say a few brief words. So I 02:33:31.033 --> 02:33:34.734 think, you know, this kind of grew out of initially my wife 02:33:34.734 --> 02:33:41.634 and I, uh, we’re just going to take a trip to um Uh, Nigeria, 02:33:41.634 --> 02:33:48.634 uh, Just to kind of the history and to reconnect, um, and I 02:33:48.634 --> 02:33:52.834 think we eventually. Um, well, I eventually brought up to Jay 02:33:52.834 --> 02:33:55.634 and I just said, hey, you know, to our city manager, and I said, 02:33:55.634 --> 02:33:58.166 is there in terms of reaching out to embassies or anything 02:33:58.166 --> 02:34:00.767 else, is there, is there something we should be doing 02:34:00.767 --> 02:34:04.233 because we’ve been overseas, not really used to this, um, 02:34:04.233 --> 02:34:06.934 and then it kind of grew from there was saying, well, maybe 02:34:06.934 --> 02:34:09.400 you should also consider doing this, and maybe you should 02:34:09.400 --> 02:34:11.567 consider doing some of these other pieces that occurred, so 02:34:11.567 --> 02:34:13.133 I, I wanna put that out there. 02:34:13.133 --> 02:34:17.000 I think there was some misnomers going around that 02:34:17.000 --> 02:34:21.734 this was 100% paid for by the city and the reality is the the 02:34:21.734 --> 02:34:26.000 Its to Nigeria, um, have already been purchased by the 02:34:26.000 --> 02:34:30.367 family, uh, and, um, uh, and, and quite a few other costs 02:34:30.367 --> 02:34:34.100 that we’re we’re coming out of pocket for, uh, but I did, as I 02:34:34.100 --> 02:34:35.266 was talking through it, I think. 02:34:35.266 --> 02:34:42.033 You know, I think we’ve had a number of cities come to 02:34:42.033 --> 02:34:44.367 Brooklyn Park numerous times, and I understand that, um, 02:34:44.367 --> 02:34:46.400 there’s a number of people who say, well, yeah, they should, 02:34:46.400 --> 02:34:49.467 they should pay us homage and this and that, and there’s that 02:34:49.467 --> 02:34:52.834 perspective out there. But I also think that sometimes 02:34:52.834 --> 02:34:57.100 that’s important for us to, to um move in good faith, uh, to 02:34:57.100 --> 02:34:59.734 reach out to other folks, uh, and let them know that, you 02:34:59.734 --> 02:35:01.367 know, we’re interested as well. 02:35:01.367 --> 02:35:05.033 Again, it didn’t start out that way, but I think that’s kind of 02:35:05.033 --> 02:35:08.200 what this um grew into in terms of just building good faith 02:35:08.200 --> 02:35:11.634 with some of our Sister cities uh building along those 02:35:11.634 --> 02:35:14.567 cultural lines and then as we’ve been talking to Deed and 02:35:14.567 --> 02:35:18.800 other folks uh and folks within the um different delegations, 02:35:18.800 --> 02:35:22.367 right? I think we continue talking about um economic 02:35:22.367 --> 02:35:25.367 opportunities, and I’m not gonna go too far into this, but 02:35:25.367 --> 02:35:30.000 there are some real economic opportunities and as we were 02:35:30.000 --> 02:35:31.734 talking to Deed uh and I know we’ll be talking to the 02:35:31.734 --> 02:35:35.934 Department of Agriculture. I think Brooklyn Park kind of 02:35:35.934 --> 02:35:39.100 being the, the tip of the spear or the leader on this, there’s 02:35:39.100 --> 02:35:42.300 some real opportunities for us to bring those opportunities 02:35:42.300 --> 02:35:46.200 back to Brooklyn Park for our residents to build businesses 02:35:46.200 --> 02:35:49.367 off of, build success off of, I, I think that’s really what 02:35:49.367 --> 02:35:53.000 we’re, we are trying to make those connections and help lead. 02:35:53.000 --> 02:35:56.367 And I think the, uh, had some encouraging words and thoughts 02:35:56.367 --> 02:35:59.400 around that. They thought it made sense themselves, 02:35:59.400 --> 02:36:02.133 especially given the demographic makeup of of 02:36:02.133 --> 02:36:04.033 Brooklyn Park. I’ll leave it at that. I know. there’ll be other 02:36:04.033 --> 02:36:06.900 questions and I have some other, you know, there probably be 02:36:06.900 --> 02:36:11.734 other thoughts, but I will, uh, I will leave it at that, uh. 02:36:11.734 --> 02:36:20.834 Can’t remember Mugabe. Thank you, Mayor. Um So I have a few 02:36:20.834 --> 02:36:28.233 questions. One, not my own. And then a point of Maybe I need to 02:36:28.233 --> 02:36:32.500 take umbrage with something, uh, but we obviously received 02:36:32.500 --> 02:36:37.934 several emails on this, all of us. Um With some good questions. 02:36:37.934 --> 02:36:44.934 So the questions of my own are first and foremost, um, number 02:36:44.934 --> 02:36:48.567 one, why, why is this timeline compressed to make this 02:36:48.567 --> 02:36:55.033 decision, which you mentioned, city manager struel. Um, Mayor 02:36:55.033 --> 02:36:58.634 Winston, uh, Councilor McGarvey, part of the compression of the 02:36:58.634 --> 02:37:02.467 timeline in this case is, is the fact that the, that the 02:37:02.467 --> 02:37:04.033 mayor has purchased the tickets. 02:37:04.033 --> 02:37:12.033 We know the beginning and the end, um, and Uh. If those time 02:37:12.033 --> 02:37:14.300 frames were moved out 2 or 3 months or if a decision had 02:37:14.300 --> 02:37:18.000 been made 2 or 3 months ago to to do this, but the decision 02:37:18.000 --> 02:37:22.300 was largely sort of finalized at the end of June, but perhaps 02:37:22.300 --> 02:37:25.000 Mayor Winston can speak more specific, but, but that, that’s 02:37:25.000 --> 02:37:29.734 why we didn’t have certainty that this trip was gonna happen 02:37:29.734 --> 02:37:37.634 until later in June was based around a trip. Not I mean Based 02:37:37.634 --> 02:37:40.367 around a personal trip that was, that was gonna be added on to, 02:37:40.367 --> 02:37:44.133 to do. So yeah I would ask folks in the audience, I know 02:37:44.133 --> 02:37:48.867 you have opinions and bias some some. Reasonable on that, but I 02:37:48.867 --> 02:37:52.000 would ask that, uh, if you want to speak, maybe run for office 02:37:52.000 --> 02:37:55.767 and you can come up here or during the personal public time 02:37:55.767 --> 02:37:59.000 you had ample time to speak, but I get it. That can be a 02:37:59.000 --> 02:38:02.900 little stressful. Um, but to your point, uh, Councilor 02:38:02.900 --> 02:38:08.533 McGarry, um, yes, so what this came out of initially was, um, 02:38:08.533 --> 02:38:12.233 I don’t want to have to talk over people, so. If I have to 02:38:12.233 --> 02:38:18.233 disinvite. So what I’ll say is, um, Yes, when I first was 02:38:18.233 --> 02:38:20.834 talking to the Nigerian delegation about this. It was 02:38:20.834 --> 02:38:24.100 basically, hey, you know, we’re going to do this trip, right? 02:38:24.100 --> 02:38:27.533 And go back and rebuild some relationships and then reaching 02:38:27.533 --> 02:38:30.367 out to our city manager, then it became, well, maybe consider 02:38:30.367 --> 02:38:33.200 this, this and this, and it grew into that, right? So that 02:38:33.200 --> 02:38:36.500 was kind of what it came out of, and it was like there there’s 02:38:36.500 --> 02:38:39.567 the state isn’t necessarily funding this thing, um, and 02:38:39.567 --> 02:38:43.767 even with, uh, when, um, We talk about precedence because I 02:38:43.767 --> 02:38:46.033 think people are forgetting that when it came to Mayor 02:38:46.033 --> 02:38:49.734 Lundy, right? It was like a lot of those expenses came out of 02:38:49.734 --> 02:38:52.233 pocket with that trip, and then the city assumed some. So I 02:38:52.233 --> 02:38:55.000 think it was kind of about that same mindset, like you’re gonna 02:38:55.000 --> 02:38:57.800 pay for X, Y, and Z. Maybe the city can assist with these 02:38:57.800 --> 02:39:00.834 things in the same way they did with that former trip. And I 02:39:00.834 --> 02:39:03.634 said, well, if it, if it, if it works, it works. If it doesn’t, 02:39:03.634 --> 02:39:05.800 it doesn’t, right? But the trip is still gonna happen. So 02:39:05.800 --> 02:39:08.400 that’s kind of the approach that I was thinking. Yeah, no, 02:39:08.400 --> 02:39:11.166 that makes sense to me, and I was just, that, that’s why my 02:39:11.166 --> 02:39:18.000 question was why the timeline, and that makes sense, um. The 02:39:18.000 --> 02:39:23.467 second question that I have, uh, Is In the information presented 02:39:23.467 --> 02:39:26.266 to us that says Nigeria is one of the largest economies in 02:39:26.266 --> 02:39:29.834 Africa and just out of curiosity, what is that economy 02:39:29.834 --> 02:39:33.467 based on? And then that bleeds into one of the questions from 02:39:33.467 --> 02:39:37.166 one of the emails, which is what deliverables are expected. 02:39:37.166 --> 02:39:46.266 From this Yeah, yeah, Mayor Winston, Conor McGarvey. Uh, my 02:39:46.266 --> 02:39:51.033 understanding is that Nigeria’s got a very diverse and robust 02:39:51.033 --> 02:39:55.867 economy, um, I think it’s largely based on Raw materials, 02:39:55.867 --> 02:40:00.667 oil, industry, um, they’ve got some very, very large cities, 02:40:00.667 --> 02:40:05.500 um, some modern nature, uh, we do have some representatives 02:40:05.500 --> 02:40:08.233 here that are from or have close connections to Nigeria 02:40:08.233 --> 02:40:10.300 that maybe could speak more. 02:40:10.300 --> 02:40:14.133 Specifically than I could, um, I just in my research, I know 02:40:14.133 --> 02:40:19.900 that um, It, it is one of the largest economies in Africa. Um, 02:40:19.900 --> 02:40:24.300 if not the largest, it’s a population of 300 million 02:40:24.300 --> 02:40:29.500 people, and in talking to uh the representatives from the 02:40:29.500 --> 02:40:31.200 Department of Agriculture and Department of Employment and 02:40:31.200 --> 02:40:38.233 Economic Development. They to see opportunity, um, for 02:40:38.233 --> 02:40:43.900 further, um, expansion of economic development 02:40:43.900 --> 02:40:48.200 opportunities between Minnesota and um Nigeria, and Liberia for 02:40:48.200 --> 02:40:53.100 that matter. Thank you. Yeah, I just didn’t know if they were 02:40:53.100 --> 02:40:56.367 like medical device uh heavy like some of the other places 02:40:56.367 --> 02:41:02.567 we’ve we’ve got relationships with here within the city, but 02:41:02.567 --> 02:41:06.467 fair enough, it’s a very broad question. I understand that. So 02:41:06.467 --> 02:41:11.867 thank you. Um. Then one more question and then I’ll, I’ll 02:41:11.867 --> 02:41:16.533 make my statement. uh. But then why uh so my question is why, 02:41:16.533 --> 02:41:22.300 what, what value do we get from the city manager going on this. 02:41:22.300 --> 02:41:24.500 Yeah, Mayor Winston, uh, Councilor McGarvey, members of 02:41:24.500 --> 02:41:26.667 council, I, I don’t have to go. 02:41:26.667 --> 02:41:32.634 I mean, this was an invitation that was extended to me, um, 02:41:32.634 --> 02:41:35.867 relative to the to the visit to Nigeria, as I mentioned 02:41:35.867 --> 02:41:39.000 previously, um, during my nearly 10 years here at the 02:41:39.000 --> 02:41:43.767 city. Um, I’ve been part of hosting a number of Liberian 02:41:43.767 --> 02:41:46.900 delegations. Um, I always thought one day if there’s an 02:41:46.900 --> 02:41:50.100 opportunity to visit Liberia, um, that would be a, a great 02:41:50.100 --> 02:41:56.467 privilege. Um, I think, you know. Personally for um Me, um. 02:41:56.467 --> 02:42:02.100 You know, being able to when these Trips and I saw this in 02:42:02.100 --> 02:42:05.100 Japan and I’ve heard it from the folks at Department of 02:42:05.100 --> 02:42:08.834 Employment and Economic Development, the trade office. 02:42:08.834 --> 02:42:13.100 Um, typically in these international trips, um, having 02:42:13.100 --> 02:42:15.734 somebody to support like the mayor or the governor, I mean 02:42:15.734 --> 02:42:19.000 the governor travels with the larger entourage, um, but 02:42:19.000 --> 02:42:21.367 having a a staff person to support the mayor in this type 02:42:21.367 --> 02:42:25.667 of thing, I think could be a benefit for the mayor, um, and 02:42:25.667 --> 02:42:28.867 also would help with not only the on-site relationship 02:42:28.867 --> 02:42:32.834 building, but then the follow up of whatever the expectations 02:42:32.834 --> 02:42:36.867 are, um, you know, once we return back to, to Brooklyn 02:42:36.867 --> 02:42:40.300 Park. So, uh, because I think the opportunity is not only 02:42:40.300 --> 02:42:46.100 about Uh during the trip days, but also really how we can sort 02:42:46.100 --> 02:42:50.200 of further uh the opportunities for the Brooklyn Park community, 02:42:50.200 --> 02:42:53.033 business park businesses, and this relationship among our 02:42:53.033 --> 02:42:58.367 sister cities as well. Thank you. And then finally I had to 02:42:58.367 --> 02:42:59.500 write all over the place here. 02:42:59.500 --> 02:43:02.734 I think this is the last of my questions, but I just, I wanted 02:43:02.734 --> 02:43:06.834 to take, so like I said, we, we did receive several emails on 02:43:06.834 --> 02:43:11.100 this. Some of them had good questions in them. Uh, but I do 02:43:11.100 --> 02:43:14.266 want to take umbrage with one of them that said, please 02:43:14.266 --> 02:43:18.200 understand my intent is not to discredit the value of cultural 02:43:18.200 --> 02:43:19.200 and international relationships. 02:43:19.200 --> 02:43:28.133 However, in a time where many feel our local needs are unmet. 02:43:28.133 --> 02:43:31.266 I, we’re always going to feel like our local needs are unmet, 02:43:31.266 --> 02:43:35.367 but, um, particularly around youth safety, community 02:43:35.367 --> 02:43:39.367 wellness, and concerned city leadership not being present. 02:43:39.367 --> 02:43:42.133 And I would just like to say if that person is listening 02:43:42.133 --> 02:43:44.734 because they said, I appreciate your time and look forward to 02:43:44.734 --> 02:43:47.500 hearing thoughtful discussion and answers to these questions 02:43:47.500 --> 02:43:54.266 in tonight’s meeting. Uh We got as many, if not more emails 02:43:54.266 --> 02:43:59.667 than on this subject. When we committed $10 million. To 02:43:59.667 --> 02:44:05.033 developing a youth. Center at Zanewood. And so I take umbrage 02:44:05.033 --> 02:44:07.934 with this statement that the leadership, city leadership is 02:44:07.934 --> 02:44:10.100 not present. We’re not investing in our community or 02:44:10.100 --> 02:44:15.834 our youth. Um I do believe I do agree with the final sentence 02:44:15.834 --> 02:44:20.467 of that. paragraph, which says, I believe this financial 02:44:20.467 --> 02:44:24.767 investment deserves, which is a word I hate. Needs rigorous 02:44:24.767 --> 02:44:28.200 scrutiny. And clear justification. I don’t disagree 02:44:28.200 --> 02:44:30.934 with that, but I do take umbrage with the accusation 02:44:30.934 --> 02:44:34.367 that we are not present, not. 02:44:34.367 --> 02:44:37.033 Investing in our community or our youth, and I’ll leave it at 02:44:37.033 --> 02:44:43.934 that. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, City manager Strubel. Uh 02:44:43.934 --> 02:44:47.266 Yeah, and I’ll just say quickly to, to Jay’s point, I think, 02:44:47.266 --> 02:44:50.867 you know, if I’m going to have these different meetings, um, 02:44:50.867 --> 02:44:54.634 Yes, it would be very helpful to have Jay there in terms of 02:44:54.634 --> 02:44:58.367 when we do meetings here and when we conduct business in 02:44:58.367 --> 02:45:02.233 Brooklyn Park. I think having someone that can give me input 02:45:02.233 --> 02:45:05.367 in terms of how our city works, how we’re going to follow up, 02:45:05.367 --> 02:45:07.100 how we’re going to aberrationalize these things 02:45:07.100 --> 02:45:10.133 and then just making sure that when we’re done, we have more 02:45:10.133 --> 02:45:12.800 than one person who understands it. They can keep us honest in 02:45:12.800 --> 02:45:16.500 terms of the discussion. I always think that’s important, 02:45:16.500 --> 02:45:19.266 especially when you’re dealing with um uh international 02:45:19.266 --> 02:45:23.400 opportunities. I think one of the questions you asked. Um, 02:45:23.400 --> 02:45:26.166 council member, um, McGarvey was kind of what they have, 02:45:26.166 --> 02:45:29.900 right? And they’re asking for stuff, uh, you know, 02:45:29.900 --> 02:45:33.533 agriculture products or people here who can help with um 02:45:33.533 --> 02:45:36.800 figuring out different staffing models, you know, how can they 02:45:36.800 --> 02:45:39.133 work with our particular colleges North Hennepin or 02:45:39.133 --> 02:45:42.867 Hennepin Tech, right? So there’s different industries 02:45:42.867 --> 02:45:46.567 where it’s agricultural, um, or other industries that they’re 02:45:46.567 --> 02:45:48.767 trying to stand up, and it can’t even be like clean water, 02:45:48.767 --> 02:45:53.800 right? Some of those things that we kind of say, ah. Right, 02:45:53.800 --> 02:45:57.634 I think it’s moving those to another level and having it the 02:45:57.634 --> 02:45:59.800 expertise is what I’m kind of hearing is what folks are 02:45:59.800 --> 02:46:13.667 looking for. Um, council member, uh, Erikson. My comments are In 02:46:13.667 --> 02:46:15.100 general, more about sister city. 02:46:15.100 --> 02:46:20.767 Programming and the $30,000 we’ve budgeted for them. But 02:46:20.767 --> 02:46:24.934 I’m gonna start out with saying that If we’re going to 02:46:24.934 --> 02:46:28.166 interrupt the mayor’s already planned vacation. With a visit 02:46:28.166 --> 02:46:33.400 to some place that he’s already near. Then I think we should. 02:46:33.400 --> 02:46:38.200 Pay the expenses related to that. Um, do I agree with 02:46:38.200 --> 02:46:45.200 expanding the trip, um. I’m Honestly, not sure if I do or 02:46:45.200 --> 02:46:53.734 not. Um, but If we do I think it should have a clear Um, 02:46:53.734 --> 02:46:59.567 deliverable. And In thinking about what kind of deliverables 02:46:59.567 --> 02:47:05.000 I would like to see from our sister city relationships and, 02:47:05.000 --> 02:47:07.300 um, obviously I’m not the arbiter of what we should or 02:47:07.300 --> 02:47:17.200 shouldn’t see. Um. I’m thinking about Several people have 02:47:17.200 --> 02:47:24.367 Juxtaposed Sister City spending and youth. And I’m going to 02:47:24.367 --> 02:47:30.000 suggest that the delivery will be, will be combining them. Can 02:47:30.000 --> 02:47:33.367 we develop a robust youth exchange program with our 02:47:33.367 --> 02:47:41.200 sister cities. Um I think $30,000 annual fund would go a 02:47:41.200 --> 02:47:47.166 long way towards building a Strong representation of kids 02:47:47.166 --> 02:47:51.800 either going there or coming here, um, I realize that’s 02:47:51.800 --> 02:47:54.367 incredibly complex. There’s State Department travel 02:47:54.367 --> 02:47:58.233 advisories. There’s the current Environment in Washington where 02:47:58.233 --> 02:48:02.533 kids are less and less likely to get visas. I mean, this is 02:48:02.533 --> 02:48:05.367 Terribly complicated and we would have to lean on our um 02:48:05.367 --> 02:48:06.800 federal legislators to help us. 02:48:06.800 --> 02:48:12.133 pull this off probably. Um, but I think that there are a lot of 02:48:12.133 --> 02:48:15.033 existing organizations in Brooklyn Park that have 02:48:15.033 --> 02:48:19.634 relationships in these places that might help us support such 02:48:19.634 --> 02:48:24.934 an effort, um, organizations of Liberians in Minnesota, Ibofest, 02:48:24.934 --> 02:48:27.767 um, the Lutheran churches in Minneapolis have relationships 02:48:27.767 --> 02:48:30.266 with Lutheran churches in Nigeria that go back a long way. 02:48:30.266 --> 02:48:33.533 Maybe they would want to participate in some way. But 02:48:33.533 --> 02:48:38.266 can we identify young people from Brooklyn Park. Um. Whether 02:48:38.266 --> 02:48:43.166 it be through coaches or teachers who identify these 02:48:43.166 --> 02:48:48.934 kids as leaders in their own community and as As good 02:48:48.934 --> 02:48:50.100 diplomats for Brooklyn Park. 02:48:50.100 --> 02:48:54.367 And can we send a diverse group of Brooklyn Park kids to meet 02:48:54.367 --> 02:48:57.133 their peers in our sister cities, and can we support 02:48:57.133 --> 02:49:01.367 bringing a group of kids to Brooklyn Park to do the same 02:49:01.367 --> 02:49:08.200 thing. Um, host family exchanges, etc. etc. So That 02:49:08.200 --> 02:49:11.400 would, if we’re going to have a deliverable, which I think we 02:49:11.400 --> 02:49:15.200 should whenever we engage in travel. That would be my 02:49:15.200 --> 02:49:17.266 suggestion for deliverable, and that I think would be a 02:49:17.266 --> 02:49:22.100 worthwhile use of $30,000 here. 02:49:22.100 --> 02:49:25.100 So just quickly, just to make clear, the trip isn’t 30 300, 02:49:25.100 --> 02:49:29.000 um. But I, I hear what you’re, yeah, yeah, I hear what you, I 02:49:29.000 --> 02:49:31.233 hear what you’re saying. I just want to clarify that for some 02:49:31.233 --> 02:49:35.400 folks because some people have been misrepresenting the number, 02:49:35.400 --> 02:49:39.200 um, but, uh, I will also say this, so I have talked to uh 02:49:39.200 --> 02:49:42.800 some of the delegation, not not just Nigerian, but Liberian in 02:49:42.800 --> 02:49:46.200 terms of saying it may, it could be a component of sending 02:49:46.200 --> 02:49:49.200 kids over that would be expensive and we’d have to, you 02:49:49.200 --> 02:49:51.734 know, folks would have to come together, but also with Zoom 02:49:51.734 --> 02:49:54.634 and some of the other technologies we have, right? Go 02:49:54.634 --> 02:49:56.834 over there and establishing a regular program. I know. that 02:49:56.834 --> 02:50:02.900 we had um Uh, uh, R&D who came from a Nigerian health youth 02:50:02.900 --> 02:50:06.367 understand what it looks like to get into that entertainment 02:50:06.367 --> 02:50:09.567 space, right? So we’ve already done some of that. Um, but I 02:50:09.567 --> 02:50:12.867 also think that there’s a component that we can do 02:50:12.867 --> 02:50:14.367 relatively inexpensively with Zoom and other things, so I 02:50:14.367 --> 02:50:17.734 think we got to work that piece out, um, as well, but I 02:50:17.734 --> 02:50:20.200 completely hear what you’re saying. I would say other thing 02:50:20.200 --> 02:50:24.133 and then um I’m gonna call on cos Iran after I say this, uh, 02:50:24.133 --> 02:50:27.300 I think one of the deliverables makes sense if it’s youth, but 02:50:27.300 --> 02:50:30.567 I also think that When we went to Japan, I think people said 02:50:30.567 --> 02:50:32.900 what it delivers what deliverable was deliverable. 02:50:32.900 --> 02:50:36.266 And one of the things that came back out of Japan, it didn’t 02:50:36.266 --> 02:50:40.033 happen right away, but Takeda is going to expand. They’re 02:50:40.033 --> 02:50:42.166 going to do a large expansion. 02:50:42.166 --> 02:50:44.367 And we’ve also built relationships with some other 02:50:44.367 --> 02:50:46.934 Japanese companies and with some Japanese institutions that 02:50:46.934 --> 02:50:50.233 help bring business. So part of this is that, and you don’t get 02:50:50.233 --> 02:50:54.000 a 2 to 3 month turnaround necessarily from that. Those 02:50:54.000 --> 02:50:58.266 are sometimes you have to begin to implement those, uh, 02:50:58.266 --> 02:51:01.367 relationships is one way that I would look at it. So, um, I 02:51:01.367 --> 02:51:04.634 agree with that, but I also agree that there’s this other 02:51:04.634 --> 02:51:07.800 component that takes up diplomacy and some time as well. 02:51:07.800 --> 02:51:20.100 Uh council member Tran. Um I have one question for you, the, 02:51:20.100 --> 02:51:31.467 um, I saw here the Somalia Garoi. Um A bro but never a 02:51:31.467 --> 02:51:40.900 sigh. Executive. So Can you explain about this one? Uh, 02:51:40.900 --> 02:51:45.266 Mayor Winston, Councilor Tran, members of council, um, 02:51:45.266 --> 02:51:49.934 Garraway was a city in Somalia that we had begun the process 02:51:49.934 --> 02:51:53.266 of forming a sister city relationship with, uh, the 02:51:53.266 --> 02:51:57.400 initial stages of that, um, were approved by the city 02:51:57.400 --> 02:52:03.867 council on September 2019. Um, Garraway did, did not finish 02:52:03.867 --> 02:52:07.867 the process to formalize that relationship on their side they 02:52:07.867 --> 02:52:17.867 quit. Yeah, they quit. And then another one. Um No longer 02:52:17.867 --> 02:52:19.867 active, so that means expire. 02:52:19.867 --> 02:52:26.200 Yes. So how many years? one term Yeah, um, Mayor Winston 02:52:26.200 --> 02:52:29.533 council member and members of council. I don’t know a lot of 02:52:29.533 --> 02:52:34.266 history about the the Maitland, Australia, sister city 02:52:34.266 --> 02:52:37.100 relationship, um, uh, that’s something that we could try to 02:52:37.100 --> 02:52:42.867 find out. No, like this one right now, we have active uh 02:52:42.867 --> 02:52:53.467 Nigeria, Gambia. And uh So how, how many years to be expired. 02:52:53.467 --> 02:52:58.467 Right now, we have a Contract with them. Yeah, I understand 02:52:58.467 --> 02:53:01.133 your question, um, Mayor Winston, customer train members 02:53:01.133 --> 02:53:05.266 of council. I, I understand your question. Um, there is not 02:53:05.266 --> 02:53:09.667 necessarily an end date to these uh relationships, uh, 02:53:09.667 --> 02:53:11.400 when, when they’re initiated. 02:53:11.400 --> 02:53:15.934 As long as they’re active. As long as there are those, you 02:53:15.934 --> 02:53:20.200 know, local engagement and then engagement from the sister city, 02:53:20.200 --> 02:53:25.100 um, that is, uh, essentially it continues on and as long as 02:53:25.100 --> 02:53:27.634 there’s a commitment on behalf of Brooklyn Park and a 02:53:27.634 --> 02:53:31.400 commitment on behalf of the other city. So for how long 02:53:31.400 --> 02:53:36.734 that that’s uh you can see, you can see the no active like 3 02:53:36.734 --> 02:53:39.934 months, sick man, no contact. 02:53:39.934 --> 02:53:44.734 Yeah, um. Uh, Mayor Winston, customer Tran, members of 02:53:44.734 --> 02:53:48.500 council, I’d have to go back and look at the original 02:53:48.500 --> 02:53:51.300 process that was established by the city council to identify 02:53:51.300 --> 02:53:58.634 what that time frame is. Um Next, um, I have some part that 02:53:58.634 --> 02:54:07.734 I want to share with um resident and Kaho College. Um, 02:54:07.734 --> 02:54:12.533 As the members of the Brooklyn Park City Council, I 02:54:12.533 --> 02:54:17.867 respectfully have some thoughts to use of the public fund for 02:54:17.867 --> 02:54:25.867 the proposed travel by my young Winston and CT manager. Um, to 02:54:25.867 --> 02:54:30.634 Brooklyn Park City C sister city in Liberia and Nigeria and 02:54:30.634 --> 02:54:37.634 Gambia. Um, why I acknowledge the symbolic and cultural value 02:54:37.634 --> 02:54:42.400 of maintaining sister city relationship. This proposed 02:54:42.400 --> 02:54:47.734 trip raised several serious concerns regarding fiscal 02:54:47.734 --> 02:54:51.934 responsibility, equity and accountability to the resident 02:54:51.934 --> 02:54:56.800 of Brooklyn Park, uh, number one is the lack of direct 02:54:56.800 --> 02:54:57.467 measurable benefit to residents. 02:54:57.467 --> 02:55:05.400 The travel lack of a clearly articulated strategy or outcome 02:55:05.400 --> 02:55:09.634 that would deliver measurable benefit to the people of 02:55:09.634 --> 02:55:16.100 Brooklyn Park. In the absence of specific goals, partnership 02:55:16.100 --> 02:55:24.634 or deliverables such as Um Educational exchange program or 02:55:24.634 --> 02:55:29.400 development initiative this trip appear largely ceremonial. 02:55:29.400 --> 02:55:35.266 City fund must be prioritized for wrestling this. That 02:55:35.266 --> 02:55:39.567 directly serve our residents, including public safety, 02:55:39.567 --> 02:55:44.367 affordable housing, youth service infrastructure repair 02:55:44.367 --> 02:55:49.133 and community development. Uh, this trip doesn’t meet that 02:55:49.133 --> 02:55:53.467 standard. Uh number 2, excessive and and justified 02:55:53.467 --> 02:56:00.867 cost. The estimate cost for the trip up the trip over 10,000 02:56:00.867 --> 02:56:10.533 including airfare, hotel, but allowance and 4500 gift, does 02:56:10.533 --> 02:56:21.800 rere like good and stewardship of taxpayer dollars. Um Um The 02:56:21.800 --> 02:56:31.367 number 3 Uh Another And number 2, I want to add more, is that 02:56:31.367 --> 02:56:36.133 given the city manager full time administrative 02:56:36.133 --> 02:56:39.867 responsibility. There is no compelling over operational 02:56:39.867 --> 02:56:45.734 need for both Mayor and city manager to travel together. 02:56:45.734 --> 02:56:52.634 Number 3, violation of spirit of travel policy. See, they 02:56:52.634 --> 02:56:56.634 travel policy establish 2500 guidelines for our upstate 02:56:56.634 --> 02:57:04.467 travel. By elected official to ensure that the expenditure 02:57:04.467 --> 02:57:08.734 remained within reason. So why did this trip may be 02:57:08.734 --> 02:57:13.000 categorized as international or special circumstance, is 02:57:13.000 --> 02:57:17.467 grossly exceed that limit and risk setting an unsustainable 02:57:17.467 --> 02:57:24.200 resilient. Number 4, timing and public perception. In the 02:57:24.200 --> 02:57:30.000 current climate of economic uncertainty and increasing the 02:57:30.000 --> 02:57:34.867 demand on local service resident rightfully expect that 02:57:34.867 --> 02:57:39.734 public official exercise restraint and lead by example. 02:57:39.734 --> 02:57:44.467 This trip, especially in the absence of transparency and 02:57:44.467 --> 02:57:48.734 community engagement may be perceived as self-serving or 02:57:48.734 --> 02:57:49.634 disconnected from the challenge. 02:57:49.634 --> 02:57:54.100 our residents face daily. 02:57:54.100 --> 02:58:01.533 Number 5, alternative solution available. Shoot the Mayor and 02:58:01.533 --> 02:58:05.567 city manager believe strongly in the value of this engagement, 02:58:05.567 --> 02:58:14.367 um, They are encouraged to seek external funding or grant 02:58:14.367 --> 02:58:19.667 opportunities, collaborate collaborate with nonprofits or 02:58:19.667 --> 02:58:23.467 cultural foundations personally covers a greater portion of the 02:58:23.467 --> 02:58:29.800 cost. Postpone the trip until a more strategic purpose. It 02:58:29.800 --> 02:58:30.467 developed and publicly reviewed. 02:58:30.467 --> 02:58:38.367 Conclusion that you are public resource for this city, the 02:58:38.367 --> 02:58:41.767 city travel is neither justified nor responsible at 02:58:41.767 --> 02:58:50.100 this time. I urge. And I want to make a motion to table and I 02:58:50.100 --> 02:58:57.634 urge my cultural college and my and city manager to To take 02:58:57.634 --> 02:59:01.500 that because we want to see this trip, but maybe another 02:59:01.500 --> 02:59:07.266 time, and I wish that You, your family have a wonderful trip 02:59:07.266 --> 02:59:18.367 this summer. But uh, can we make the motion to table. I 02:59:18.367 --> 02:59:20.900 would just say going forward, please leave my family out of 02:59:20.900 --> 02:59:24.000 you. Don’t mention my family. 02:59:24.000 --> 02:59:33.367 Um, council member. Kleanowski. 02:59:33.367 --> 02:59:39.233 Thank you, Mayor. Um, I want to thank Councilman McGarvey for 02:59:39.233 --> 02:59:42.400 some good points. Council member Erickson always has 02:59:42.400 --> 02:59:44.634 interesting ideas and appreciated. I love them. Mr. 02:59:44.634 --> 02:59:48.500 Mayor There’s a motion on the floor that has not been 02:59:48.500 --> 02:59:53.667 seconded. It hasn’t been seconded, no. OK, so dies for 02:59:53.667 --> 02:59:59.033 failure to be seconded. Thank you. It’s OK. It’s a point of 02:59:59.033 --> 03:00:06.000 order. That’s how those go. um, um, yeah. Gangy man was my 03:00:06.000 --> 03:00:09.667 train of thought. Thanking you, thanking him and thank Maria 03:00:09.667 --> 03:00:11.934 Tran, Council member Tran, for some of her thoughts as well. 03:00:11.934 --> 03:00:15.100 And I also want to say thank you to the residents that sent 03:00:15.100 --> 03:00:17.166 emails and also to the gentleman that came up and 03:00:17.166 --> 03:00:21.900 spoke to you in favor of the trip. That’s democracy. 03:00:21.900 --> 03:00:24.100 Democracy is incredibly important and I also want to 03:00:24.100 --> 03:00:28.166 say that I feel like this kind of trip is great is great. It’s 03:00:28.166 --> 03:00:30.634 good to be building these relationships with our sister 03:00:30.634 --> 03:00:34.500 cities, and I Really believe in doing that, but I do believe in 03:00:34.500 --> 03:00:37.900 doing it in a thoughtful and planned way. And I think 03:00:37.900 --> 03:00:42.100 democracy has to be at the heart of that as well. I, I 03:00:42.100 --> 03:00:44.266 recognize that the mayor was already planning to travel 03:00:44.266 --> 03:00:48.467 there and was willing to interrupt his vacation with his 03:00:48.467 --> 03:00:51.667 family to bring value to the city, and I think that’s noble, 03:00:51.667 --> 03:00:55.400 but I also think that to plan this and spend the money on it, 03:00:55.400 --> 03:00:59.634 we should do it in a thoughtful way that brings in those 03:00:59.634 --> 03:01:01.533 grassroots community members who wanted these sister cities, 03:01:01.533 --> 03:01:04.667 we should invite them. back and have a conversation, have a 03:01:04.667 --> 03:01:07.834 conversation with us as council because we’ve never discussed 03:01:07.834 --> 03:01:10.500 this. And Jay, you’d mentioned that this was budgeted 03:01:10.500 --> 03:01:13.634 specifically for a trip in mind if that was important or 03:01:13.634 --> 03:01:15.834 something we wanted to do, it should have shown up on an 03:01:15.834 --> 03:01:20.000 agenda. It should have been a work session. It should have 03:01:20.000 --> 03:01:21.567 been discussed and planned. Um. 03:01:21.567 --> 03:01:25.934 And while I, I do honor and recognize the flexibility that 03:01:25.934 --> 03:01:28.100 you are willing to take. I think it’s not in the best 03:01:28.100 --> 03:01:32.367 interest of our city to do something like that, typically 03:01:32.367 --> 03:01:36.100 we spend time as a group planning, hearing each other 03:01:36.100 --> 03:01:39.100 out and doing things the right way and, and asking our 03:01:39.100 --> 03:01:40.800 community to come in as well. 03:01:40.800 --> 03:01:43.567 Um, and I, and I do think that for something is important as 03:01:43.567 --> 03:01:47.634 this, we should be planning it properly. I do also think there 03:01:47.634 --> 03:01:50.533 should be other people brought into the conversation to 03:01:50.533 --> 03:01:52.500 perhaps go on a trip like that. 03:01:52.500 --> 03:01:55.834 Um, broader than just two representatives. And I also 03:01:55.834 --> 03:02:00.100 feel We should have been building some of these 03:02:00.100 --> 03:02:03.233 relationships over Zoom, we should be engaging with these 03:02:03.233 --> 03:02:06.000 people and these communities and these leaders more 03:02:06.000 --> 03:02:08.200 regularly, and that is something that we haven’t done 03:02:08.200 --> 03:02:11.734 is really formalized a plan for what it means to be Brooklyn 03:02:11.734 --> 03:02:16.000 Park as a sister city to these groups. We should do it with 03:02:16.000 --> 03:02:20.900 meaning and intent. Um I also take crazy notes. Council 03:02:20.900 --> 03:02:24.100 member McGarvey, they’re kind of all over, so bear with me 03:02:24.100 --> 03:02:29.500 for a second, um. Actually I think I might be caught all my 03:02:29.500 --> 03:02:35.767 points, um. I also do think that um it’s important to have 03:02:35.767 --> 03:02:39.166 as many of us here, including the city manager right now 03:02:39.166 --> 03:02:42.734 following some of the tragedy that happened in our community. 03:02:42.734 --> 03:02:47.000 We as a council haven’t sat down to discuss and work 03:02:47.000 --> 03:02:50.100 through, um, what had happened here in our community. It’s 03:02:50.100 --> 03:02:53.467 something we’ve asked for to have a meeting with us in our 03:02:53.467 --> 03:02:55.500 broader delegation to discuss what went wrong, what went 03:02:55.500 --> 03:02:59.367 right, how to recognize the staff involved. I think those 03:02:59.367 --> 03:03:01.634 are things that as a council and as a city manager take 03:03:01.634 --> 03:03:07.300 priority. Right now and this time than this, um. And if 03:03:07.300 --> 03:03:10.533 there were a broad council support to enhance the mayor’s 03:03:10.533 --> 03:03:15.834 trip. I also don’t think this is a gross, uh, amount of money. 03:03:15.834 --> 03:03:19.033 I think it’s reasonable. I just don’t think the planning 03:03:19.033 --> 03:03:20.767 process is reasonable and I don’t think it’s done in a 03:03:20.767 --> 03:03:25.100 democratic way. But in a democracy here we vote. If the 03:03:25.100 --> 03:03:29.166 council votes to send the mayor, I’m not in support of sending. 03:03:29.166 --> 03:03:32.300 Uh, the city manager, even though he is. Really an 03:03:32.300 --> 03:03:35.166 important piece of it. I think we need to do things more 03:03:35.166 --> 03:03:38.367 thoughtfully, um. And I, and I really do want to, again, just 03:03:38.367 --> 03:03:42.000 say I believe that we should be starting off planning and how 03:03:42.000 --> 03:03:46.233 we get youth connected youth here, youth there, and start 03:03:46.233 --> 03:03:48.000 building long-term relationship and bridges between our our 03:03:48.000 --> 03:03:52.166 cities, our sister cities, and us. And I also want to say, If 03:03:52.166 --> 03:03:56.367 Deed supports this, I’d like to see Deed cut a check. They have 03:03:56.367 --> 03:03:59.033 money too. We don’t have to shoulder the costs for 03:03:59.033 --> 03:04:02.367 everything if other people feel it’s really meaningful. Um, I 03:04:02.367 --> 03:04:05.500 don’t think support means giving us literature. It means 03:04:05.500 --> 03:04:09.233 giving us money, so it’d be great to see them supported 03:04:09.233 --> 03:04:12.634 financially. And also, good people who work well together 03:04:12.634 --> 03:04:15.300 can disagree, and I, I do want to say I’m really honored to be 03:04:15.300 --> 03:04:20.100 up here and to have these discussions, we can disagree 03:04:20.100 --> 03:04:23.634 tactfully and with respect, and I think that’s a great. of the 03:04:23.634 --> 03:04:24.634 functionality of this council. 03:04:24.634 --> 03:04:35.367 So thank you. So next we have uh. You know what, I’m going to 03:04:35.367 --> 03:04:39.734 make a, I’ll make the motion if we can um. I, I still want to 03:04:39.734 --> 03:04:42.767 hear your thoughts, council member page, but I want to make 03:04:42.767 --> 03:04:49.233 the motion to maybe table this to next week, um. Because I do 03:04:49.233 --> 03:04:52.467 think there is some work that needs to be done around maybe 03:04:52.467 --> 03:04:58.233 some of these deliverables. I will say that, uh, um. rush 03:04:58.233 --> 03:05:03.800 came more so from me initially just planning a vacation with 03:05:03.800 --> 03:05:06.900 the family to, to kind of go back home in some regards. And 03:05:06.900 --> 03:05:10.033 then this idea coming out of it, but I think maybe there’s some 03:05:10.033 --> 03:05:13.867 work to limit what we can do in terms of scope. I, I don’t 03:05:13.867 --> 03:05:19.800 necessarily wanna um. Go over there and not Uh, visit, you 03:05:19.800 --> 03:05:22.467 know, Liberia just because they have visited us a number of 03:05:22.467 --> 03:05:26.734 times, but I do think that if we just a motion to table this 03:05:26.734 --> 03:05:30.900 to, uh, next week, um, makes sense, so that maybe if 03:05:30.900 --> 03:05:32.900 possible, we can, and if we can’t work through it, you know, 03:05:32.900 --> 03:05:36.934 for me it’s no hard feelings, right? Cause I think I realized 03:05:36.934 --> 03:05:39.000 that I realized before, I think I was telling Jay I said if we 03:05:39.000 --> 03:05:40.100 make it work, we make it work. 03:05:40.100 --> 03:05:43.367 If not, I’m still going. I got my ticket, right? Um, but I 03:05:43.367 --> 03:05:46.533 think we can put in some, see if we can put in some work to 03:05:46.533 --> 03:05:47.934 talk about those deliverables. 03:05:47.934 --> 03:05:50.767 I do want people to, um, and I’m not disagreeing with what 03:05:50.767 --> 03:05:55.467 you’re saying, what other folks saying on this regard, but I do 03:05:55.467 --> 03:05:59.734 want to think beyond um. The liberals just being, you know, 03:05:59.734 --> 03:06:03.400 youth program or this or that, and I think sometimes um and I 03:06:03.400 --> 03:06:05.767 don’t think you’re doing this council my Mary so but people 03:06:05.767 --> 03:06:09.000 pimp out youth for a certain reason, right? Uh, they want to 03:06:09.000 --> 03:06:12.500 insert them in certain things and you don’t need to be 03:06:12.500 --> 03:06:15.400 inserted in everything that occurs, right? Like sometimes 03:06:15.400 --> 03:06:19.000 you just need to grow up in a family that knows who they are 03:06:19.000 --> 03:06:21.100 and there’s some prosperity there. So I just, I want to 03:06:21.100 --> 03:06:24.367 make that clear. That’s kind of how I, I, I grew up, but I 03:06:24.367 --> 03:06:26.567 think there’s some work. I think there needs to be an 03:06:26.567 --> 03:06:30.734 understanding that just like with uh Japan, right? You’re 03:06:30.734 --> 03:06:33.667 not gonna always come back with a deal. The deal sometimes 03:06:33.667 --> 03:06:36.834 comes on the back end where they say, listen, uh, we’re 03:06:36.834 --> 03:06:39.233 gonna be dealing with this Brooklyn Park company, that 03:06:39.233 --> 03:06:41.000 Brooklyn Park Company, this business or that business that 03:06:41.000 --> 03:06:43.500 we built out those relationships, right? So I want 03:06:43.500 --> 03:06:45.800 to encourage people to think of it that way, uh, in terms of 03:06:45.800 --> 03:06:50.000 leading that. I agree with you on the deed component, um. But 03:06:50.000 --> 03:06:54.266 you know, I, I’ll be honest, uh, and the African American in the 03:06:54.266 --> 03:06:56.100 African community has dealing with, been dealing with this 03:06:56.100 --> 03:07:00.533 for quite some time, and this is, this precedes me, um, 03:07:00.533 --> 03:07:04.467 Nigerian delegation, Liberian, Gambian, so many Ghana, Sierra 03:07:04.467 --> 03:07:09.166 Leone I can tell you that they have brought up to the state 03:07:09.166 --> 03:07:12.367 and many other people, we would like to have a official trade 03:07:12.367 --> 03:07:16.634 mission, go back to Africa. And um even some of the people out 03:07:16.634 --> 03:07:18.533 here who have criticized in the audience, right? They kind of 03:07:18.533 --> 03:07:21.634 say, well, there’s nothing over there. And reality situation is 03:07:21.634 --> 03:07:25.233 there’s a lot over there, but they often get put in and I see 03:07:25.233 --> 03:07:28.900 someone in the back of the ring, right? They are, that community 03:07:28.900 --> 03:07:32.667 often gets put into the perspective of it’s got to be a 03:07:32.667 --> 03:07:35.400 cultural exchange, not a business exchange. Right? So 03:07:35.400 --> 03:07:39.100 it’s not as if people have not tried this before, but there’s 03:07:39.100 --> 03:07:43.233 some very real prejudice out there in terms of what people 03:07:43.233 --> 03:07:47.634 think can occur in in Africa and what people think can be 03:07:47.634 --> 03:07:51.300 built in Africa. And so when people are saying, well, it 03:07:51.300 --> 03:07:53.500 hasn’t happened or this this organization do this and do 03:07:53.500 --> 03:07:56.200 that. It’s been brought. Maybe there has to be some 03:07:56.200 --> 03:07:59.634 discussions in terms of what they think are actual 03:07:59.634 --> 03:08:01.467 possibilities. And I think some of the people, there needs to 03:08:01.467 --> 03:08:06.767 be some soul searching from folks as well in terms of um 03:08:06.767 --> 03:08:09.634 When criticizing, uh, and I’m not, I said I’m not going after 03:08:09.634 --> 03:08:14.200 counsel, but I have heard some feedback, right, from folks. 03:08:14.200 --> 03:08:15.867 When criticizing and saying there’s nothing over there, 03:08:15.867 --> 03:08:22.767 there needs to be some soul searching in terms of Uh, and 03:08:22.767 --> 03:08:26.100 I’m discussing the trip. You made a motion and then you went 03:08:26.100 --> 03:08:28.800 right into discussion. OK, well, I’m discussing my motions. I’ll 03:08:28.800 --> 03:08:30.367 tie it up. I’ll tie it up then. 03:08:30.367 --> 03:08:34.500 But I think there needs to be some soul searching in terms of 03:08:34.500 --> 03:08:37.233 how you look at particular communities and what they bring 03:08:37.233 --> 03:08:38.800 back. So I’ll leave it at that. 03:08:38.800 --> 03:08:44.233 I made the motion to push it back to consideration for, uh, 03:08:44.233 --> 03:08:47.467 at the next, in next week’s meeting. Another point of order. 03:08:47.467 --> 03:08:52.100 Uh postponement till next week would be better than 2 people 03:08:52.100 --> 03:09:05.000 don’t have to take it off the table. I Uh, yes, Mr. Mayor, uh, 03:09:05.000 --> 03:09:07.300 uh, when you, uh, tailoring it to a certain date, that’s 03:09:07.300 --> 03:09:10.000 actually a motion to postpone it until that day. So that, 03:09:10.000 --> 03:09:12.467 that would be the proper motion, but it would be need to be 03:09:12.467 --> 03:09:17.834 seconded and voted upon. So I hear you can remember page, I 03:09:17.834 --> 03:09:20.100 mean, but there, there’s a motion, so I just put a motion 03:09:20.100 --> 03:09:23.734 on the tape to postpone it to next week. That’s all. OK point 03:09:23.734 --> 03:09:30.634 of order. After that If we vote on this motion, does council 03:09:30.634 --> 03:09:33.367 member Page, if we vote to postpone it to next week, is 03:09:33.367 --> 03:09:38.100 she still able to speak? I’m because this is not a motion to 03:09:38.100 --> 03:09:40.767 table, it’s motion postponed council members can speak on 03:09:40.767 --> 03:09:48.367 the motion. Excellent. Thank you. Did you want to speak on 03:09:48.367 --> 03:09:56.166 this motion or? OK. So motion was there. I can’t speak on the 03:09:56.166 --> 03:10:08.467 motion. Yeah, thanks, Mayor. 03:10:08.467 --> 03:10:14.467 What I’m talking about, so I’m just going to talk. Um. I, I, I 03:10:14.467 --> 03:10:17.634 just, I’m, I’m not understanding when we have a 03:10:17.634 --> 03:10:20.300 person involved and that person is directing the meeting and 03:10:20.300 --> 03:10:23.467 directing the conversation. So I’m struggling with that and I 03:10:23.467 --> 03:10:27.200 am learning. So, um, I’m just going to say my thoughts and, 03:10:27.200 --> 03:10:29.867 and we can see where that goes. 03:10:29.867 --> 03:10:34.634 So I absolutely think that this travel is important. I 03:10:34.634 --> 03:10:39.000 absolutely think that going is important. The concern I have 03:10:39.000 --> 03:10:42.133 is council member Tran said to everyone said things that I 03:10:42.133 --> 03:10:46.033 agree with, um, the transparency. Um, the, the need 03:10:46.033 --> 03:10:50.367 to rush. It, it’s all very strange. I never heard anything 03:10:50.367 --> 03:10:54.367 about this until we got the agenda and then it was, you 03:10:54.367 --> 03:10:58.567 know, communicated to me that it was a family vacation and 03:10:58.567 --> 03:11:00.834 again respectfully, that it was a vacation and that this was a 03:11:00.834 --> 03:11:03.634 good idea. I love cutting costs. 03:11:03.634 --> 03:11:08.367 I love, I mean, He’s paying for his own ticket. I love that. 03:11:08.367 --> 03:11:11.867 However, perception is important, and there’s emails 03:11:11.867 --> 03:11:14.867 here to deed as well as from one of our directors, Malcolm 03:11:14.867 --> 03:11:20.033 Hicks, about how this was a delegation trip, not about a 03:11:20.033 --> 03:11:23.834 vacation. So I, the minute you start questioning those things, 03:11:23.834 --> 03:11:27.567 I think it’s fair for all of those emails to come in for, I, 03:11:27.567 --> 03:11:31.934 I’m prepared to vote. I am a procedure person. Not enough 03:11:31.934 --> 03:11:37.634 time. It’s not thought out or planned. It looks like from the 03:11:37.634 --> 03:11:41.367 first of July until present, city staff has been Working 03:11:41.367 --> 03:11:45.100 very hard to get this done when we have so many other things we 03:11:45.100 --> 03:11:48.000 should be doing. So I don’t want to discount anyone’s 03:11:48.000 --> 03:11:51.500 purpose. I don’t want to discount anyone’s work. I think 03:11:51.500 --> 03:11:54.734 it’s all really important thing for us to do. But the way this 03:11:54.734 --> 03:11:59.000 is handled was hurry up and let’s go and, and I just don’t 03:11:59.000 --> 03:12:02.767 think that’s the way to go. If I look at the policy, it talks 03:12:02.767 --> 03:12:05.033 about, I’m only reading out of state, not about a country. So 03:12:05.033 --> 03:12:08.767 if you guys want to direct me to the right place. It’s 2500. 03:12:08.767 --> 03:12:10.200 We’re not dealing with that. 03:12:10.200 --> 03:12:12.634 The time frame. is different than what we talked about. So 03:12:12.634 --> 03:12:16.200 it’s not exactly what we’re dealing with. So I don’t think 03:12:16.200 --> 03:12:19.834 that there’s anything in my mind this week or next week 03:12:19.834 --> 03:12:23.100 that’s going to um sway my decision and at the end of the 03:12:23.100 --> 03:12:26.734 day, it doesn’t matter what I think, because I’ve had the 03:12:26.734 --> 03:12:30.000 residents come and tell us that this is something they’re not 03:12:30.000 --> 03:12:33.734 supporting, so as a council person, I just want to do my 03:12:33.734 --> 03:12:37.467 job and I just want to support the residents that have reached 03:12:37.467 --> 03:12:40.367 out, um, and then also look at the information that I agree 03:12:40.367 --> 03:12:45.467 more. planning needs to be done, um. It’s just a, it’s a tough 03:12:45.467 --> 03:12:51.300 situation, but I do support. 03:12:51.300 --> 03:12:54.734 And I do support the cultural exchanges. I don’t know if it’s 03:12:54.734 --> 03:12:57.800 art pieces from someone who doesn’t live in BP. That’s 03:12:57.800 --> 03:13:01.734 another conversation I’m sure for another time, but I do 03:13:01.734 --> 03:13:08.467 support, um, This effort, I just don’t I just don’t support 03:13:08.467 --> 03:13:12.734 it right now. So I just want to say that and I appreciate your 03:13:12.734 --> 03:13:20.400 time and your additional explanation. Uh, Council 03:13:20.400 --> 03:13:24.467 members young. Thank you Mayor. 03:13:24.467 --> 03:13:29.233 um, actually a question as we are putting on the table to 03:13:29.233 --> 03:13:33.000 postpone it, um. If within the next meeting, can we expect to 03:13:33.000 --> 03:13:37.400 see a more narrow down itinerary. So that we could 03:13:37.400 --> 03:13:43.667 have a more. You know Yeah. Is that it me, or, I mean, 03:13:43.667 --> 03:13:48.400 depending on who I think it would be more uh you know, more 03:13:48.400 --> 03:13:52.800 narrowed down, and I think, uh, the lodging and stuff would 03:13:52.800 --> 03:13:56.467 probably be more narrowed down as well, right, uh. I mean, 03:13:56.467 --> 03:13:58.400 that would be why we would take the extra time and then I think 03:13:58.400 --> 03:14:01.834 some of the the liberals that uh council member Eric Semer 03:14:01.834 --> 03:14:02.900 was referring to as well, so. 03:14:02.900 --> 03:14:12.533 You. So I know there’s a, there’s a motion on the table, 03:14:12.533 --> 03:14:17.300 uh, it was, uh, Made by myself, Mary Winston, and second, it 03:14:17.300 --> 03:14:21.567 was at uh council member McGarvey, uh, to postpone till 03:14:21.567 --> 03:14:26.300 next week, uh, with more information. So I guess all 03:14:26.300 --> 03:14:32.233 those in favor, say I. I, are there any names? Any 03:14:32.233 --> 03:14:35.367 abstentions? All right, the ayes have it 6 to 1. Uh, so I 03:14:35.367 --> 03:14:39.100 think, uh, Jay, there’s, there’s work to be done in 03:14:39.100 --> 03:14:44.133 terms of narrowing down, um, getting uh a better hold of the 03:14:44.133 --> 03:14:49.266 costs, uh, as well as, um, the itinerary. And I just want to 03:14:49.266 --> 03:14:52.100 make clear that, uh, um, yeah, I’ll, I’ll leave it at that 03:14:52.100 --> 03:14:53.567 particular piece, so. All right. 03:14:53.567 --> 03:14:57.300 So I think we were talking about for the next one, 03:14:57.300 --> 03:15:05.367 Councilman said, can we move 8.1 and 8.2. Uh, to what, in 2 03:15:05.367 --> 03:15:10.867 weeks, the 28th. Yeah, can we, can we have a motion to table 03:15:10.867 --> 03:15:14.367 those 22 weeks from now, the 28th, because this meeting kind 03:15:14.367 --> 03:15:18.200 of went along. All right, so motion was made by myself. Oh 03:15:18.200 --> 03:15:22.033 wait, did I make, you made the motion. So I’ll second it. So 03:15:22.033 --> 03:15:26.734 the motion was made by council member Klodowski, seconded by 03:15:26.734 --> 03:15:31.000 myself, Mayor Winston, all those in favor say aye. I. 03:15:31.000 --> 03:15:36.800 Innes Uh, any abstentions? So it sounds like the eyes have it 03:15:36.800 --> 03:15:41.634 7 to 0. Uh, and then we have Council member reports? Are 03:15:41.634 --> 03:15:48.400 there any council member reports? I have council member 03:15:48.400 --> 03:15:54.467 McGarvey. And I apologize to add to the length of this 03:15:54.467 --> 03:15:58.266 meeting. However, this is a short one compared to what 03:15:58.266 --> 03:16:04.266 we’ve had in the past. um This is Grandpa Tony’s, uh, pet 03:16:04.266 --> 03:16:09.400 peeve time. And I would just like to point out that I’ve 03:16:09.400 --> 03:16:13.166 noticed a proliferation, at least in Southwest Brooklyn 03:16:13.166 --> 03:16:19.567 Park of yard signs. Advertising businesses. I noticed 3 03:16:19.567 --> 03:16:22.800 different junk removal companies, to pay 2 different 03:16:22.800 --> 03:16:26.467 painting companies, buildings for rent, military recruitment, 03:16:26.467 --> 03:16:30.767 to pest control companies, Tree Care and Landscaping. Now 03:16:30.767 --> 03:16:33.467 hiring signs, moving companies. 03:16:33.467 --> 03:16:38.867 And power washing, a power washing company. If Last 03:16:38.867 --> 03:16:44.100 Tuesday night, my neighborhood was inundated. With, uh Lawn 03:16:44.100 --> 03:16:48.000 service and snow removal signs for a lawn service and snow 03:16:48.000 --> 03:16:52.166 removal company. Every other yard had signs placed in it. I 03:16:52.166 --> 03:16:55.834 went to 11 of those houses and no one had given anyone 03:16:55.834 --> 03:16:59.567 permission to put those signs in their yards. So I want to 03:16:59.567 --> 03:17:02.300 encourage residents that if the sign shows up in your yard in 03:17:02.300 --> 03:17:05.266 the morning or in the public right away between the sidewalk 03:17:05.266 --> 03:17:08.934 and the road that’s not allowed, that’s against city ordinance, 03:17:08.934 --> 03:17:14.100 us. Political candidates can’t put them there. If these are 03:17:14.100 --> 03:17:18.800 legitimate businesses, they can advertise legitimate I mean 03:17:18.800 --> 03:17:21.000 legitimately is my uh concern. 03:17:21.000 --> 03:17:24.367 And uh also it’s disrespectful to just put your sign in 03:17:24.367 --> 03:17:30.033 someone’s yard. So if you see a sign in your yard, I, I advise 03:17:30.033 --> 03:17:35.367 you to throw it away. Secondly, This is the last time I’ll say 03:17:35.367 --> 03:17:39.367 this, the uh wheelchair Olympics are this week here in 03:17:39.367 --> 03:17:44.667 Minnesota. And the bowling is at our own bolero. I have been 03:17:44.667 --> 03:17:49.767 announcing that it was July 17th, that’s when the whole 03:17:49.767 --> 03:17:52.767 event starts citywide, but the bowling is actually Saturday 03:17:52.767 --> 03:17:56.233 and Sunday, and I’ll be volunteering both Saturday and 03:17:56.233 --> 03:18:00.500 Sunday at Bowleo with the uh disabled veterans wheelchair 03:18:00.500 --> 03:18:04.734 Olympics. Thank you, Mayor. 03:18:04.734 --> 03:18:10.634 Tonsil member Kowski. Thank you, Mayor. We finally get the 03:18:10.634 --> 03:18:14.834 elusive dates from council member McGarvey on the bolero 03:18:14.834 --> 03:18:17.634 event, um, I just want to say thank you to the staff and the 03:18:17.634 --> 03:18:20.734 community that showed up for the Central District cleanup, 03:18:20.734 --> 03:18:25.133 and then the arts, um, activities at the, the business 03:18:25.133 --> 03:18:30.834 park, um, well, well thought out, it turns out a couple 03:18:30.834 --> 03:18:33.467 really amazing Brooklyn Park staff had a great idea. They 03:18:33.467 --> 03:18:36.166 wanted to do something for the community with arts and 03:18:36.166 --> 03:18:39.000 entertainment for kids and get people. and they took 03:18:39.000 --> 03:18:40.634 initiative and started working on it. So I’m going to 03:18:40.634 --> 03:18:44.100 encourage everyone to look for those dates, bring your kids, 03:18:44.100 --> 03:18:46.000 bring people out there. I don’t know if Brad, you know what the 03:18:46.000 --> 03:18:49.533 dates are off the top of your head all the way back there. 03:18:49.533 --> 03:18:54.400 There’s 2 more coming, um. But show up and give these women 03:18:54.400 --> 03:18:59.200 some support they believe in Brooklyn Park and wanted to, um, 03:18:59.200 --> 03:19:02.000 provide something meaningful for our youth too, so it’s a 03:19:02.000 --> 03:19:05.166 great free activity and the food trucks were there and ice 03:19:05.166 --> 03:19:08.900 cream truck, who doesn’t want that? Um, also, again, just 03:19:08.900 --> 03:19:11.567 wanted to say thank you specifically to Cindy, who’s 03:19:11.567 --> 03:19:15.200 not here, Devenish for her work on the Central District cleanup. 03:19:15.200 --> 03:19:19.000 She was out there, helped clean the whole time, engage with the 03:19:19.000 --> 03:19:21.834 community out there, um, and is working to establish a longer 03:19:21.834 --> 03:19:24.767 relationship. to help keep Central Park clean. So well 03:19:24.767 --> 03:19:32.233 done to our city staff. 03:19:32.233 --> 03:19:41.900 Councilman Tran. Thank you, Mayo. Um, I just want to He 03:19:41.900 --> 03:19:52.000 called the uh. Tony, just say because um A lot of resident 03:19:52.000 --> 03:19:54.133 homeowner in Brooklyn Park. 03:19:54.133 --> 03:19:58.634 There was a view from on the right. At the time I was 03:19:58.634 --> 03:20:03.233 running, I find out a lot of people like put the sign not 03:20:03.233 --> 03:20:06.533 just political, but you know, on kind of side onto people, 03:20:06.533 --> 03:20:11.233 yeah, I never asked their permission and they talk the 03:20:11.233 --> 03:20:16.567 city did that CT did that. So that’s why, you know, we 03:20:16.567 --> 03:20:19.467 encourage uh movement pack resident to practice your right. 03:20:19.467 --> 03:20:26.233 Um, you have the right to be a homeowner and whoever put the 03:20:26.233 --> 03:20:35.233 anything onto your, I have to ask your permission. Thank you. 03:20:35.233 --> 03:20:38.233 All right. Next we have city manager reports and 03:20:38.233 --> 03:20:41.100 announcements. Thanks, Mayor Winston. Uh, Mayor Winston, 03:20:41.100 --> 03:20:44.834 members of council, just a few things this evening. Um, first 03:20:44.834 --> 03:20:51.000 of all, there is gonna be a special election for District 03:20:51.000 --> 03:20:56.834 34B for um Representative Portman’s seat, um, it’s gonna 03:20:56.834 --> 03:21:00.834 move fast and so folks are aware there will be a 03:21:00.834 --> 03:21:05.200 Potentially a primary August 12th and then a general on 03:21:05.200 --> 03:21:09.000 September 16th, so, um, I know our city clerk is scrambling 03:21:09.000 --> 03:21:11.100 trying to trying to make that work, but just so folks are 03:21:11.100 --> 03:21:14.834 aware that that is going to be happening soon. And then we do 03:21:14.834 --> 03:21:17.467 have 3 town hall meetings coming up here in the next week. 03:21:17.467 --> 03:21:21.667 We can have, uh, the first one is. Here in the council 03:21:21.667 --> 03:21:26.100 chambers this Thursday evening starting at 5:30. And um the 03:21:26.100 --> 03:21:29.166 mayor and Councilor Klowski, Council Page will be there, and 03:21:29.166 --> 03:21:33.467 then we’ve got the West District meeting next Tuesday 03:21:33.467 --> 03:21:36.634 at 6 o’clock at Technical College in the auditorium and 03:21:36.634 --> 03:21:40.934 the next Wednesday, the following day, East District, 03:21:40.934 --> 03:21:44.667 um, town hall meeting will be held at 5:30 at Edinburgh, USA, 03:21:44.667 --> 03:21:48.367 so hopefully people can come out that’d be great. Thank you. 03:21:48.367 --> 03:21:53.367 All right, and then we will recess to room 8203. Discussion 03:21:53.367 --> 03:21:56.100 in Brooklyn Park alternatives, the pets under police security, 03:21:56.100 --> 03:21:56.900 so meet up there in a few