00:00:23.567 --> 00:00:31.033

Let’s go ahead and call the meeting to order. Thank you. 00:00:31.033 --> 00:00:34.934

Ready? Montero if we can call the meeting to order. Council

00:00:34.934 --> 00:00:39.867

member Erickson. I think he just stepped out. OK, Council

00:00:39.867 --> 00:00:45.734

members young. Council member Klenowski. Mayor Winston, 00:00:45.734 --> 00:00:55.000

President. It Council member McGarvey. Remember Tran. Mayor 00:00:55.000 --> 00:00:58.367

Winston, you have a quorum. Am I right? Thank you. So I know

00:00:58.367 --> 00:01:02.266

the first item is going to be the animal control facility 00:01:02.266 --> 00:01:15.467

final decision. We have Chief Mark Brewley. Good evening, 00:01:15.467 --> 00:01:18.734

Mayor Winston, Council members, Police Chief Mark Rui, quick

00:01:18.734 --> 00:01:21.467

presentation to recap where we’re at and the request for 00:01:21.467 --> 00:01:25.500

action on, uh, the Brooklyn Park Animal Control facility.

00:01:25.500 --> 00:01:33.100

Uh, a recap. Let’s move this other way quick. Uh, recap how 00:01:33.100 --> 00:01:37.834

we got here is, uh, starting back in 1991, we joined a

00:01:37.834 --> 00:01:41.233

consortium under a joint powers agreement with uh a facility 00:01:41.233 --> 00:01:45.367

called PUPs. It’s owned by the city of Maple Grove. It’s, uh,

00:01:45.367 --> 00:01:48.367

my joint powers agreement with, uh, multiple other cities that

00:01:48.367 --> 00:01:52.734

you can see there, um, and we all of us use that facility 00:01:52.734 --> 00:01:57.000

under this agreement for our animals and part of that is we

00:01:57.000 --> 00:02:02.300

have a cost sharing, so we share based on our usage. 00:02:02.300 --> 00:02:06.100

Currently, the animal control facility, um, is overpopulated,

00:02:06.100 --> 00:02:11.000

no longer serves us and quite honestly needs significant 00:02:11.000 --> 00:02:14.100

improvement, um, quite a bit, uh, of the board members had

00:02:14.100 --> 00:02:16.834

discussions about this over the last 18 months and landed on

00:02:16.834 --> 00:02:19.634

the point that it needed to be rehabbed and expanded to keep

00:02:19.634 --> 00:02:24.467

up with the needs, uh, of the facility. Um, Brooklyn Park 00:02:24.467 --> 00:02:28.500

contributes 44% of all the animals who were almost 50% of

00:02:28.500 --> 00:02:32.834

the usage of the facility, um, and again, it needs an 00:02:32.834 --> 00:02:35.133

expansion and improvements because the building is very

00:02:35.133 --> 00:02:38.567

dated, has not been updated, and does not meet staffing

00:02:38.567 --> 00:02:44.467

needs. Uh, we, uh, had a, the board, uh, over the JPA had a 00:02:44.467 --> 00:02:48.734

facility study conducted. It came back in, um, talked about

00:02:48.734 --> 00:02:53.567

the needs of approximately between 5.5 and $7.5 million to 00:02:53.567 --> 00:02:57.834

get the facility where it needs to be. Um, we would, uh, under

00:02:57.834 --> 00:03:02.634

that JPA be responsible for 44% of that, which is about 3.2 00:03:02.634 --> 00:03:06.367

million, really close, um, also our operating costs would be

00:03:06.367 --> 00:03:10.734

going from about 106,000 to $195,000 a year. that we would 00:03:10.734 --> 00:03:14.500

have an increase, uh, in operating cost. Uh, just to

00:03:14.500 --> 00:03:19.233

back up one, bit. So, um, when we first had this conversation

00:03:19.233 --> 00:03:23.000

about the 3.2 million that Brooklyn Park would have to 00:03:23.000 --> 00:03:25.800

contribute to this improvement that did not include, um, what

00:03:25.800 --> 00:03:29.400

recently happened, which is Champlain exit out of the JPA,

00:03:29.400 --> 00:03:32.367

meaning we will have to share cost Champlain’s portion of 00:03:32.367 --> 00:03:36.834

that, so we know the number is, uh, larger than 3.2 million

00:03:36.834 --> 00:03:43.900

that Brooklyn Park is responsible for. Um The, uh, 00:03:43.900 --> 00:03:46.900

one of thing just to consider that this is a building this

00:03:46.900 --> 00:03:51.834

investment of funds would be um investment into uh a building 00:03:51.834 --> 00:03:54.533

owned by the city of Maple Grove, meaning it would be a

00:03:54.533 --> 00:03:57.100

capital improvement of a facility in Maple Grove if we

00:03:57.100 --> 00:04:00.300

choose to get out or if quite honestly Maple Grove chooses 00:04:00.300 --> 00:04:04.033

not to have us no longer as a partner, um, they could remove

00:04:04.033 --> 00:04:07.767

us from the GPA, um, through the agreement, and we would

00:04:07.767 --> 00:04:11.734

have lost that investment of 3 plus $3.2 million into their 00:04:11.734 --> 00:04:18.734

facility. That brought us to the city’s uh council’s

00:04:18.734 --> 00:04:21.367

interest, all of your interests to look at options to have it 00:04:21.367 --> 00:04:25.100

built in the city of Brooklyn Park. We had vetted many

00:04:25.100 --> 00:04:27.634

different options of buildings owned by the city owned by the

00:04:27.634 --> 00:04:31.300

EDA, uh, potential attached in the fire department and all of 00:04:31.300 --> 00:04:35.467

that landed on the city’s culture interest to have it at

00:04:35.467 --> 00:04:38.166

the police department, um, where people already

00:04:38.166 --> 00:04:41.500

continuously come to look for their dogs when we pick them up 00:04:41.500 --> 00:04:44.834

and we would attach this facility to the North building

00:04:44.834 --> 00:04:48.300

here on our city camp. And as this map would show, this was a

00:04:48.300 --> 00:04:51.266

part of a feasibility study, um, that the council’s already seen 00:04:51.266 --> 00:04:54.233

a work session, but it shows the community that it would be

00:04:54.233 --> 00:04:57.900

added on to the south half of our building, uh, the parking

00:04:57.900 --> 00:05:01.667

would be expanded out, which is also um a secondary concern 00:05:01.667 --> 00:05:05.367

that we have is we are out of parking for our staff and

00:05:05.367 --> 00:05:08.100

vehicles, um, and are having a real parking issue so this

00:05:08.100 --> 00:05:10.300

would expand the parking because the parking has to be 00:05:10.300 --> 00:05:13.467

moved anyway and then that area on the left is the visitor

00:05:13.467 --> 00:05:16.567

parking, um, and there’s the potential to not. necessarily

00:05:16.567 --> 00:05:21.533

need that if the CAC project, um, continues forward, we 00:05:21.533 --> 00:05:23.200

likely could need that space and we’ll save some money that

00:05:23.200 --> 00:05:27.533

way. So the cost projection again, this is a feasibility

00:05:27.533 --> 00:05:31.033

study so this was an architect that really gave us best guess 00:05:31.033 --> 00:05:33.834

based on real information on space, location, um, and what

00:05:33.834 --> 00:05:37.467

they knew at the time we uh encouraged them and they agreed

00:05:37.467 --> 00:05:41.800

based on this that we should really um shoot high so that uh 00:05:41.800 --> 00:05:44.033

the council knows that this is really worst case scenario.

00:05:44.033 --> 00:05:47.500

Again, we already identified if we could save that parking lot.

00:05:47.500 --> 00:05:51.000

Those are about $10,000 apiece for each parking space, um, so 00:05:51.000 --> 00:05:54.100

we will be looking to have cost but the truth is, uh, the worst

00:05:54.100 --> 00:05:55.567

case scenario on the low range.

00:05:55.567 --> 00:05:59.100

is 5.2 million to 6.3 million to add this facility onto the

00:05:59.100 --> 00:06:03.667

North Building. And again, just to recap uh right here that 00:06:03.667 --> 00:06:07.300

this is a, this is the feasibility we are now with

00:06:07.300 --> 00:06:10.033

this council’s uh approval would be moving to actual 00:06:10.033 --> 00:06:13.367

drafting and costing out the project and and looking at what

00:06:13.367 --> 00:06:15.900

the real heart cost would be.

00:06:15.900 --> 00:06:18.767

Uh, so we’re really the next steps we’re here requesting

00:06:18.767 --> 00:06:20.734

councils to vote on the withdrawal from the joint 00:06:20.734 --> 00:06:24.400

powers agreement. I’ve already spoken with Maple Grove that um

00:06:24.400 --> 00:06:27.634

they’re absolutely gonna allow us to stay as long as we need

00:06:27.634 --> 00:06:30.834

to under the current agreement to continue to house our 00:06:30.834 --> 00:06:33.000

animals there until our facility is up and running and

00:06:33.000 --> 00:06:36.734

we’re able to make the transfer, uh, but the, the vote would

00:06:36.734 --> 00:06:39.900

allow us to enter an agreement with them to exit the joint

00:06:39.900 --> 00:06:43.767

powers agreement and not be responsible for the 44% of the 00:06:43.767 --> 00:06:46.834

improvements and only to extend our lease uh as long as. We

00:06:46.834 --> 00:06:49.734

need to, to build our facility and get it ready. Uh, I also

00:06:49.734 --> 00:06:51.900

need you to vote on the approval of the North Precinct 00:06:51.900 --> 00:06:54.500

condition that we’re going to go ahead and move this on to,

00:06:54.500 --> 00:06:57.634

um, the next phase, which is the drafting and costing of the

00:06:57.634 --> 00:07:00.734

project, uh, and decisions on these are the reason we’re here 00:07:00.734 --> 00:07:05.500

tonight is the JP agreement is due on July 25th. The board is

00:07:05.500 --> 00:07:07.900

meeting on July 25th, and we need to have an answer whether

00:07:07.900 --> 00:07:11.033

we’re staying in the JPA or exit in the JPA with Maple 00:07:11.033 --> 00:07:14.734

Grove and all the other cities with that I will stand for any

00:07:14.734 --> 00:07:28.767

questions you might have. Any questions? From council members. 00:07:28.767 --> 00:07:31.734

I know we’ve discussed this extensively, so. There may not 00:07:31.734 --> 00:07:36.500

be a ton of questions, so.

00:07:36.500 --> 00:07:41.834

Maybe you’re just that convincing, Chief, really. Um, 00:07:41.834 --> 00:07:47.734

Does anybody care to make a motion? OK Johnsonembowski.

00:07:47.734 --> 00:07:50.467

Thank you, Mayor. And thank you, Chief Burley and team for all 00:07:50.467 --> 00:07:56.367

the work on this. Like to waive the reading and adopt

00:07:56.367 --> 00:07:59.400

resolution 2025 to approve the expansion of the Brooklyn Park

00:07:59.400 --> 00:08:03.100

Police Department, North Precinct to accommodate an 00:08:03.100 --> 00:08:04.800

animal control facility and withdraw from the joint powers

00:08:04.800 --> 00:08:07.367

agreement with the City of Maple Grove for pets under

00:08:07.367 --> 00:08:14.000

police security. All right, the motion was made by Commissioner 00:08:14.000 --> 00:08:17.300

Klinowski, seconded by Commissioner Zheng, uh, all

00:08:17.300 --> 00:08:25.734

those in favor say aye. I, any nas? OK. Any abstentions? All 00:08:25.734 --> 00:08:31.100

right, the eyes have it. All right. So next, we’re gonna go 00:08:31.100 --> 00:08:35.934

move to Uh, the request by myself to travel to Brooklyn

00:08:35.934 --> 00:08:40.033

Park’s sister cities in Liberia and Nigeria, August 17th 00:08:40.033 --> 00:08:56.033

through 25th, 2025. Good evening, Mayor Winston, members 00:08:56.033 --> 00:08:58.000

of council Jtro city manager here in the City of Brooklyn

00:08:58.000 --> 00:09:03.533

Park. Um, I’m here before you to continue the conversation 00:09:03.533 --> 00:09:06.734

that started last week at the city council meeting with

00:09:06.734 --> 00:09:12.734

regard to a potential uh sister city visits, um, in August. So 00:09:12.734 --> 00:09:18.033

just as a bit of background, um, well, walk through for folks um

00:09:18.033 --> 00:09:20.734

who may not have seen some of the background about our Sister 00:09:20.734 --> 00:09:24.033

C program just briefly walk through that. The opportunity

00:09:24.033 --> 00:09:28.100

that’s before the council this evening, uh, potential schedule,

00:09:28.100 --> 00:09:31.834

some cost considerations, some updates of um based on 00:09:31.834 --> 00:09:33.634

conversations that have taken place over the last week and

00:09:33.634 --> 00:09:38.400

then a little bit on the value of this uh type of trip and

00:09:38.400 --> 00:09:43.567

then questions that the council might have. Um, again, this is 00:09:43.567 --> 00:09:45.767

a repeat from last week, but for our community members that

00:09:45.767 --> 00:09:50.567

may not have seen it, um, we do have, um, a sister city of 00:09:50.567 --> 00:09:54.233

formal sort of process and approach that we use when we

00:09:54.233 --> 00:09:59.166

form Sister City relationships that started back in 2019, um,

00:09:59.166 --> 00:10:02.367

this is, uh, a presentation or pulled from a presentation that 00:10:02.367 --> 00:10:07.200

we, um, city staff made to city council back in 2023, really

00:10:07.200 --> 00:10:10.767

talking about some of the objectives around a sister city 00:10:10.767 --> 00:10:14.467

relationship in turn, in terms of economic development

00:10:14.467 --> 00:10:16.133

opportunities increasing community awareness of some of

00:10:16.133 --> 00:10:21.000

those, um, sister cities in the countries that they reside in, 00:10:21.000 --> 00:10:24.634

um, opportunities for residents, uh, sharing best practices

00:10:24.634 --> 00:10:28.367

among the local government and then developing education,

00:10:28.367 --> 00:10:31.634

cultural and people exchanges. 00:10:31.634 --> 00:10:36.000

In terms of the sister cities that um Brooklyn Park has has

00:10:36.000 --> 00:10:39.033

had or considered, uh, Brooklyn Park at one time, I don’t know

00:10:39.033 --> 00:10:41.934

the exact dates, used to have a sister city relationship with 00:10:41.934 --> 00:10:47.166

Maitland, Australia. Uh, the most, the longest serving or

00:10:47.166 --> 00:10:50.467

the longest um term sister city relationship is with Kakata, 00:10:50.467 --> 00:10:54.567

Liberia, um, established back in 2012. Um, the council did

00:10:54.567 --> 00:10:59.467

consider back in 2019, a sister city relationship with Garraway

00:10:59.467 --> 00:11:03.233

Somalia that was ultimately not consummated by both, uh, 00:11:03.233 --> 00:11:06.367

parties, um, and then more recently in the last few years

00:11:06.367 --> 00:11:09.734

have formed Sister City relationships with Banjoel in

00:11:09.734 --> 00:11:13.233

The Gambia and then Udu, the local government area in 00:11:13.233 --> 00:11:18.634

Nigeria. And as I mentioned previously, um, the city

00:11:18.634 --> 00:11:21.300

council sort of formalized the process and the criteria for 00:11:21.300 --> 00:11:27.734

establishing a sister city relationships back in 2019. In

00:11:27.734 --> 00:11:32.000

terms of the opportunity, um, the mayor and his wife will be 00:11:32.000 --> 00:11:35.400

traveling to Nigeria in the middle of August, um, these

00:11:35.400 --> 00:11:39.634

plans were solidified in late June. Um, there is, um, Part of

00:11:39.634 --> 00:11:44.767

the Situation here is that um the horrific murders of the 00:11:44.767 --> 00:11:46.900

Hortmans and the shootings of the Hoffmans was a factor in

00:11:46.900 --> 00:11:52.367

terms of Delaying in terms of exactly uh the finalizing those 00:11:52.367 --> 00:11:57.033

plans, um, the airfare from, uh, Minneapolis to Lagos, Nigeria

00:11:57.033 --> 00:12:01.300

is at the personal expense of of the of the mayor and his 00:12:01.300 --> 00:12:05.033

family. Um, and so the question that was posed to the city

00:12:05.033 --> 00:12:08.867

council was since the mayor’s going to be in West Africa.

00:12:08.867 --> 00:12:13.166

Could the city uh support any visits to our sister cities or 00:12:13.166 --> 00:12:16.767

perhaps um one of the questions that’s been posed to me has

00:12:16.767 --> 00:12:21.100

been, um, what if it was only a City trip uh within Nigeria. 00:12:21.100 --> 00:12:25.000

And again, please note we recognize that the time horizon

00:12:25.000 --> 00:12:29.100

for this trip has been compressed, um, and it was

00:12:29.100 --> 00:12:35.567

somewhat impacted by those tragedies in mid June. Um The 00:12:35.567 --> 00:12:38.734

original estimates from last week in terms of high range

00:12:38.734 --> 00:12:42.200

estimates from last week was about $9500 in travel expenses 00:12:42.200 --> 00:12:45.634

for the mayor and city manager to visit sister cities in

00:12:45.634 --> 00:12:48.300

Nigeria and Liberia, um, that does not include any

00:12:48.300 --> 00:12:51.233

consideration relative to, to gifts. Those are just travel 00:12:51.233 --> 00:12:55.400

expenses. Um, if we were to look at something more specific

00:12:55.400 --> 00:12:58.467

to Nigeria specifically, um, I have polled, uh, information in

00:12:58.467 --> 00:13:01.734

the next slide around that. Uh, my understanding is that the 00:13:01.734 --> 00:13:04.834

mayor, um, would still have an interest in. And visiting

00:13:04.834 --> 00:13:09.233

Liberia, um, but may, uh, but would not use sister would not

00:13:09.233 --> 00:13:12.934

use city resources if that were the case. So if we look at a 00:13:12.934 --> 00:13:19.834

potential schedule for Nigeria only. Um, from Lagos, uh, to a

00:13:19.834 --> 00:13:24.100

saba Aaba is the essentially the capital city of Delta State 00:13:24.100 --> 00:13:27.300

and uh Delta State is the state where our sister city is

00:13:27.300 --> 00:13:32.567

located, um, Udu. And um there would be meetings on Monday, 00:13:32.567 --> 00:13:37.000

August 18th, um, with Delta State governor and other

00:13:37.000 --> 00:13:39.567

officials, um, they’re in Asaba.

00:13:39.567 --> 00:13:43.000

There would be driving from Osaba to Udu, um, and then 00:13:43.000 --> 00:13:46.266

spending the rest of the day with Udu officials in our

00:13:46.266 --> 00:13:50.767

sister city. Um, and then finally flying back from Ware 00:13:50.767 --> 00:13:55.834

to Lagos, um, on Wednesday, August 20th, um, for this type

00:13:55.834 --> 00:14:03.734

of um reduced or this type of schedule in Nigeria, um, the 00:14:03.734 --> 00:14:08.367

potential costs specific to airfare would be about $200 for

00:14:08.367 --> 00:14:11.667

those two one-way flights from Lagos to Ossaba and then Ware 00:14:11.667 --> 00:14:16.934

back to Lagos, um, hotels for 3 nights, um, please know that,

00:14:16.934 --> 00:14:20.767

you know, potentially the hotel costs or the lodging costs, uh, 00:14:20.767 --> 00:14:25.033

may be reduced, um, depending on if, uh, the merit were to be

00:14:25.033 --> 00:14:28.166

hosted, so the, the potential cost for lodging. could be

00:14:28.166 --> 00:14:30.567

significantly reduced, we just don’t have that detail at this 00:14:30.567 --> 00:14:37.166

time. Uh, meal and travel per diem cost could be um for 4

00:14:37.166 --> 00:14:41.467

days would be approximately $145. 1 thing, as I mentioned 00:14:41.467 --> 00:14:44.200

last week, was that if the council did want to request it,

00:14:44.200 --> 00:14:50.000

that it could be, um. Meal expenses could be based on a 00:14:50.000 --> 00:14:54.233

receipt, uh, basis and so the cost per day could be less than

00:14:54.233 --> 00:14:58.233

$145 if requested. And then potential supplemental council

00:14:58.233 --> 00:15:03.300

pay if requested. Um, with council approval would be 00:15:03.300 --> 00:15:09.400

approximately $200 total for 4 days at $50 per day. Um, so for

00:15:09.400 --> 00:15:13.100

potential total of up to $1580. 00:15:13.100 --> 00:15:17.166

Again, um, The, the cost for the flights could fluctuate,

00:15:17.166 --> 00:15:20.467

but in looking at those a couple times here the last week, 00:15:20.467 --> 00:15:24.166

um, they’ve been fairly stable.

00:15:24.166 --> 00:15:28.667

Uh, in terms of additional cost considerations, um, for Sister

00:15:28.667 --> 00:15:31.867

City visits, we typically do have some small exchange of 00:15:31.867 --> 00:15:35.000

gifts, um, at times we’ve been given a really beautiful pieces

00:15:35.000 --> 00:15:39.767

of art, um, at times, you know, it’s more smaller trinkets, um,

00:15:39.767 --> 00:15:43.934

we have historically given things like our city flag, um, 00:15:43.934 --> 00:15:48.166

scarves and other branded small cost items, um, based on the

00:15:48.166 --> 00:15:50.500

the council conversation last week. Um, I think that that 00:15:50.500 --> 00:15:53.166

would probably be the path that I would recommend at this stage,

00:15:53.166 --> 00:15:55.100

something along those lines.

00:15:55.100 --> 00:16:00.500

and then as a reminder, there was uh $30,000 allocated in the 00:16:00.500 --> 00:16:05.367

2025 budget related to a sister city trade trip. Um, in terms

00:16:05.367 --> 00:16:08.533

of an update or a number of updates since our last meeting

00:16:08.533 --> 00:16:11.300

last Monday, there have been a number of continued 00:16:11.300 --> 00:16:15.500

conversations. As I mentioned previously, um, you know, we

00:16:15.500 --> 00:16:19.667

expect, uh, meetings with the Delta State governor and U do

00:16:19.667 --> 00:16:22.467

local government officials in Asaba, Nigeria, and then 00:16:22.467 --> 00:16:25.734

additional meetings and tour of the Udu local government area

00:16:25.734 --> 00:16:30.467

in Nigeria. Um, one of the conversations um that we had on 00:16:30.467 --> 00:16:36.800

Tuesday of this last week and then he followed up with a Uh,

00:16:36.800 --> 00:16:40.000

communication on Thursday was from, um, The executive 00:16:40.000 --> 00:16:46.100

director of Minnesota Africans United, uh, Basil Ajo, um, uh,

00:16:46.100 --> 00:16:49.567

that organization actually is involved in a specific project

00:16:49.567 --> 00:16:52.266

um called the Minnesota Africa Connection Commerce, Trade and 00:16:52.266 --> 00:16:57.266

Foreign Affairs. And they have received um financial

00:16:57.266 --> 00:17:01.300

assistance to really try to bridge some of the gaps between 00:17:01.300 --> 00:17:05.634

Minnesota and Africa and specifically Liberia and

00:17:05.634 --> 00:17:10.400

Nigeria or two of the countries, um, that he had highlighted of 00:17:10.400 --> 00:17:13.634

the countries within Africa that they’re focused on. And so,

00:17:13.634 --> 00:17:18.500

um, it’s a really good conversation with Brazil and he

00:17:18.500 --> 00:17:21.567

is also subsequently um reached out to the State Department. He 00:17:21.567 --> 00:17:26.467

has a contacts there. And has reached out to them in terms of

00:17:26.467 --> 00:17:30.734

uh potentially for setting up a business visits, um, with the 00:17:30.734 --> 00:17:34.533

ambassadors and consulate generals, um, in Nigeria and

00:17:34.533 --> 00:17:38.734

potentially Liberia as well, depending on where the

00:17:38.734 --> 00:17:42.100

conversation goes, um, last week, Council member Erickson 00:17:42.100 --> 00:17:45.634

mentioned this concept, this idea of a student exchange, um,

00:17:45.634 --> 00:17:49.634

so I did reach out to, uh, Northam Community College

00:17:49.634 --> 00:17:54.367

president, uh, Rolando Garcia, um, he talked about. when he 00:17:54.367 --> 00:18:00.033

was, uh, in a leadership role in the community college in 00:18:00.033 --> 00:18:05.367

South Florida that, um, he had his college then, Brown College,

00:18:05.367 --> 00:18:10.367

had a number of um, Relationships with outposts 00:18:10.367 --> 00:18:14.000

across the globe and really warmed up to this idea that was

00:18:14.000 --> 00:18:18.767

suggested in terms of some kind of um sister city. Uh, forming

00:18:18.767 --> 00:18:22.500

Sister City education partners, uh, potentially in the cities 00:18:22.500 --> 00:18:26.800

or in the countries that we’re highlighting, um. And then

00:18:26.800 --> 00:18:29.100

potentially offering online courses and our support for

00:18:29.100 --> 00:18:32.300

student visas kind of both directions, um, as a starting 00:18:32.300 --> 00:18:34.634

point, so I just want to provide an update based on that.

00:18:34.634 --> 00:18:40.033

Suggestion made by council member Eriksson, um, I also 00:18:40.033 --> 00:18:44.300

wanted to highlight, um, with regard to Liberia, we have been

00:18:44.300 --> 00:18:47.634

working closely with OLA, executive director Kamari Dion,

00:18:47.634 --> 00:18:50.233

uh, in terms of, uh, potential. 00:18:50.233 --> 00:18:56.033

Um, opportunities of connection there, and he, um, has been in

00:18:56.033 --> 00:19:00.934

contact with the Kakata Maoribo, um, and is expecting a formal 00:19:00.934 --> 00:19:03.634

invitation, possibly soon and providing some recommendations

00:19:03.634 --> 00:19:07.867

on lodging as well. Um, one note that I left off of here,

00:19:07.867 --> 00:19:13.233

um, is the Chief Brewley has also been in contact with the 00:19:13.233 --> 00:19:17.567

Liberian national police chief, um, and, um, if any type of

00:19:17.567 --> 00:19:21.400

excursion were to happen to Liberia, would be. Supporting 00:19:21.400 --> 00:19:25.533

both um from a security standpoint, but then also in

00:19:25.533 --> 00:19:27.667

terms of potential uh meetings with any federal officials as

00:19:27.667 --> 00:19:33.467

well. And then finally, I’d mentioned last week that we had 00:19:33.467 --> 00:19:36.166

previously had conversations, um, that Monday with the

00:19:36.166 --> 00:19:39.000

Minnesota Department of Employment Economic Development

00:19:39.000 --> 00:19:41.567

Trade Office and previously with the Minnesota Department 00:19:41.567 --> 00:19:44.800

of Agriculture, um, we still expect them to send the

00:19:44.800 --> 00:19:49.033

follow-up information that they, uh, we discussed. In terms of

00:19:49.033 --> 00:19:54.367

value, um. Uh, as it has been highlighted this evening. 00:19:54.367 --> 00:19:56.567

There’s clearly an educational, cultural, and relationship

00:19:56.567 --> 00:19:59.900

building component to a sister city relationships, um, but we

00:19:59.900 --> 00:20:02.300

also seek, and I know that this has been something that the 00:20:02.300 --> 00:20:05.500

council has been interested in and that we’ve heard from the

00:20:05.500 --> 00:20:08.834

community about in terms of what are some of those economic

00:20:08.834 --> 00:20:13.000

development opportunities for Brooklyn Park and our, um, 00:20:13.000 --> 00:20:16.233

sister cities cities and a host countries and so these are just

00:20:16.233 --> 00:20:20.000

a few of the things, um, that we’ve talked about the Nigerian 00:20:20.000 --> 00:20:22.734

delegation has been very interested in Trying to find

00:20:22.734 --> 00:20:25.900

synergies, uh, again in some of the fields around medical,

00:20:25.900 --> 00:20:29.734

energy, water, agriculture, industrial, um, Nigeria is home

00:20:29.734 --> 00:20:33.367

to a population of over 300 million, so a very large 00:20:33.367 --> 00:20:37.567

country and one of the largest, if not the largest economy in

00:20:37.567 --> 00:20:41.400

Africa. Um, and then we continue to work with our city 00:20:41.400 --> 00:20:45.634

staff does work with our sister city host organizations and

00:20:45.634 --> 00:20:48.367

Minnesota Africans United and other organizations around

00:20:48.367 --> 00:20:53.033

possible business connections, so wanna make sure that. Point, 00:20:53.033 --> 00:20:55.734

um, and then just to highlight, I shared this last week, but

00:20:55.734 --> 00:21:01.667

there was a previous visit to Sister City, um, by Mayor Mundy 00:21:01.667 --> 00:21:05.867

Council member Rich Gates, city manager Rugie and fire chief,

00:21:05.867 --> 00:21:11.233

uh, back in 2012, um, in terms of how that was paid for, um. 00:21:11.233 --> 00:21:14.634

The mayor and customer paid for their travel and other expenses

00:21:14.634 --> 00:21:17.567

were covered by the city and the city paid for all expenses

00:21:17.567 --> 00:21:20.467

for the city manager. Um, but at that time there was only one 00:21:20.467 --> 00:21:24.233

sister city, so there’s no travel outside of of Liberia at

00:21:24.233 --> 00:21:27.567

that time, so. With that having to take any questions that the

00:21:27.567 --> 00:21:38.200

council might have. Uh council member Kowski. Thank you, Mayor. 00:21:38.200 --> 00:21:42.800

Um, thank you to the community for speaking out. We’ve had a 00:21:42.800 --> 00:21:47.634

lot of Emails, people speaking, both sides, and I think it’s

00:21:47.634 --> 00:21:50.800

great to have an engaged community. people coming out to 00:21:50.800 --> 00:21:54.200

share their opinions and their thoughts. It will, however, say

00:21:54.200 --> 00:21:57.867

that I I don’t love the position that we find ourselves

00:21:57.867 --> 00:22:01.734

in and had we had proper planning and communication from 00:22:01.734 --> 00:22:04.634

the get-go could have alleviated a lot of this. It’s

00:22:04.634 --> 00:22:07.233

a lesson that’s painful, but we learn it when we’re up here

00:22:07.233 --> 00:22:10.500

sometimes that and also a prevention really does work. 00:22:10.500 --> 00:22:13.934

I’ll also go on the record and say that most of the people up

00:22:13.934 --> 00:22:17.200

here are very supportive of engaging in our sister city

00:22:17.200 --> 00:22:21.834

relationships. We find it to be impactful and meaningful. And I 00:22:21.834 --> 00:22:24.900

also want to say, For me personally, and I’m going to

00:22:24.900 --> 00:22:28.634

assume quite a few people up here too. It’s been really

00:22:28.634 --> 00:22:32.400

troubling to see the accusations against Um, 00:22:32.400 --> 00:22:37.166

neighbor against neighbor. Um, Neighbors against our mayor. Um,

00:22:37.166 --> 00:22:40.934

there’s been some really horrible Rhetoric around this, 00:22:40.934 --> 00:22:41.900

that’s really heartbreaking.

00:22:41.900 --> 00:22:44.133

Brooklyn Park deserves better than that. We’re better than

00:22:44.133 --> 00:22:51.500

that as a city. And I will say that I Thank you. OK. All right, 00:22:51.500 --> 00:22:53.800

I usually cut everybody else, I guess so I got to do the same

00:22:53.800 --> 00:22:59.033

with this one too, so. I don’t often get cheers up here, so

00:22:59.033 --> 00:23:05.100

thank you. Um, I do want to say that, um, You know, I chose 00:23:05.100 --> 00:23:07.100

Brooklyn Park because of our diversity. I think it’s one of

00:23:07.100 --> 00:23:09.266

the best cities on the planet.

00:23:09.266 --> 00:23:13.500

I, I choose to be here and I wanted to step up and run for 00:23:13.500 --> 00:23:17.300

city office to help us get some of the resources that we all

00:23:17.300 --> 00:23:21.500

need and deserve, Tony. We deserve some of them, um, and 00:23:21.500 --> 00:23:25.166

I’ve had a great opportunity to work with this mayor and this

00:23:25.166 --> 00:23:28.467

council, and A lot of the things that have been said are

00:23:28.467 --> 00:23:31.634

really nasty. Um, I don’t question anyone’s intention in 00:23:31.634 --> 00:23:35.100

how this went down. I think it’s an unfortunate set of

00:23:35.100 --> 00:23:38.634

circumstances. And missing communication and also a

00:23:38.634 --> 00:23:40.367

terrible tragedy that did happen right in the middle of 00:23:40.367 --> 00:23:47.100

this. That is one thing. The other thing is, when we do

00:23:47.100 --> 00:23:50.300

these international visits and focus on delegation. We do owe 00:23:50.300 --> 00:23:53.467

it to our community here and the communities we’re visiting

00:23:53.467 --> 00:23:56.000

to do it properly and with intention and good planning.

00:23:56.000 --> 00:24:00.000

And I think we can all agree on that. With the proposal in here 00:24:00.000 --> 00:24:04.934

to limit the The visits to Nigeria, I think that’s the

00:24:04.934 --> 00:24:08.467

right choice. That can be done properly in this shortened time

00:24:08.467 --> 00:24:10.634

frame to make sure that they’re meaningful trips and that our 00:24:10.634 --> 00:24:13.767

mayor is safe in his travels, which I know all of us were

00:24:13.767 --> 00:24:16.533

concerned about his safety traveling. And then I would

00:24:16.533 --> 00:24:20.200

also ask that If that’s what the council wants to do, that 00:24:20.200 --> 00:24:24.233

we also put on our agenda meaningful planning for 2026

00:24:24.233 --> 00:24:27.634

and what that looks like. So that we can do this the right

00:24:27.634 --> 00:24:30.467

way with our community leaders that are here in Brooklyn Park 00:24:30.467 --> 00:24:33.000

to make sure we’re doing this the right way too, and that it

00:24:33.000 --> 00:24:37.767

is engaging for both parties. I think that doing it with

00:24:37.767 --> 00:24:39.900

intention is always important.

00:24:39.900 --> 00:24:42.100

So that’s all I have to say and and that’s the proposal that I 00:24:42.100 --> 00:24:47.467

would make is to council. that we would approve the, the trip

00:24:47.467 --> 00:24:49.834

to Nigeria with the costs outlined here understanding

00:24:49.834 --> 00:24:54.367

that there would be some Potential changes, um, based on 00:24:54.367 --> 00:24:56.767

the agenda and also I would ask that the city would provide us

00:24:56.767 --> 00:24:59.667

with an agenda when it’s finalized, so we know what,

00:24:59.667 --> 00:25:01.900

what our mayor is doing and where he’s going to represent 00:25:01.900 --> 00:25:07.634

us. That’s not an official motion, but I can make it one.

00:25:07.634 --> 00:25:13.033

With the help of our attorney. 00:25:13.033 --> 00:25:16.934

Move to approve the travel limited to Nigeria as outlined

00:25:16.934 --> 00:25:25.400

in Council item packet 3.2 presented today. Uh, council 00:25:25.400 --> 00:25:29.533

member Glenal still has the floor. I believe I can make the

00:25:29.533 --> 00:25:33.000

motion and you can speak, um, it needs to get a second before 00:25:33.000 --> 00:25:38.100

it can be voted on. You, you can. Yep, you’ll be able to.

00:25:38.100 --> 00:25:41.266

We’ll make sure that you have a chance to speak to. Yes, if 00:25:41.266 --> 00:25:45.734

there were a second, there would still be an opportunity

00:25:45.734 --> 00:25:48.166

for debate amongst council members, so I put the motion on

00:25:48.166 --> 00:25:56.100

the floor if anyone cares to second it. OK. Made by Kaser 00:25:56.100 --> 00:25:59.300

Mkanowski, seconded by Council member Young. Because I’m

00:25:59.300 --> 00:26:15.467

trying. Thank you, Mayo. Um My, um, I have a question for uh 00:26:15.467 --> 00:26:27.900

City manager. If You are invited. Are you going to go on 00:26:27.900 --> 00:26:36.834

this trip. Mayor Winston, um, Councilor Tran under this 00:26:36.834 --> 00:26:41.634

proposal, you know, the, the support is specific to the 00:26:41.634 --> 00:26:47.467

mayor, um, so my plan is not to go, um, as part of this as part

00:26:47.467 --> 00:26:58.266

of this request. Um Yeah Just want to say that uh I believe 00:26:58.266 --> 00:27:07.133

that Uh This is not the good timing. Because, uh, the 00:27:07.133 --> 00:27:12.100

government have the physic. At on level and we just have a lot 00:27:12.100 --> 00:27:20.033

of uh disaster. A lot of people lose home. And um Even the 00:27:20.033 --> 00:27:27.000

insurance on go up, how insulin go up like 10 times. And I

00:27:27.000 --> 00:27:33.900

don’t think that we we have to prepare for the works. So, uh, 00:27:33.900 --> 00:27:40.767

On the budget very tightening, and recently, you see we have 00:27:40.767 --> 00:27:46.734

the um legislator being killed just because, you know, She

00:27:46.734 --> 00:27:48.233

wrote on the tightening budgets.

00:27:48.233 --> 00:27:56.834

Um It will come to the To the level We have to prepare for 00:27:56.834 --> 00:28:01.667

the works. Um, it’s not that I don’t support this because I 00:28:01.667 --> 00:28:05.900

believe that, you know, I want to support this by my personal

00:28:05.900 --> 00:28:10.867

fun, but not to you, the public fund. And I believe that, you 00:28:10.867 --> 00:28:19.467

know, I want to, um, I want to come for our resident whoever

00:28:19.467 --> 00:28:23.567

could please, um, you know, if you could donate something for 00:28:23.567 --> 00:28:30.000

my ya to bring to Africa. You could But not, I believe that 00:28:30.000 --> 00:28:37.467

not all of us can do that, but we appreciate because um. On

00:28:37.467 --> 00:28:41.200

the 3rd world country, we are not good here, but You know, 00:28:41.200 --> 00:28:46.467

over there, people even uh very terrible life. So if we could

00:28:46.467 --> 00:28:54.133

tell them, We should However, to this trip, I, I don’t 00:28:54.133 --> 00:28:58.367

support because I have to take up the uh Brooklyn Park

00:28:58.367 --> 00:28:59.834

resident first prioritize them.

00:28:59.834 --> 00:29:06.300

So I support by my personal fun, but not by the public fund. And 00:29:06.300 --> 00:29:11.266

uh that’s it. Um, I just want to say before I vote. Thank you. 00:29:11.266 --> 00:29:26.100

Councilor Page. Thank you, Mayor. Oh, here we are, right? 00:29:26.100 --> 00:29:29.400

Um, I don’t. Know how we got here that we thought it was

00:29:29.400 --> 00:29:34.033

this side against this side, um, the things that are being said 00:29:34.033 --> 00:29:37.367

online is not really how we should govern, um, but I want

00:29:37.367 --> 00:29:41.634

to address some of those statements. I think it is 00:29:41.634 --> 00:29:44.767

absolutely, um, awful, the things that are said about our

00:29:44.767 --> 00:29:48.467

mayor, I think that the trips are necessary. I think it’s

00:29:48.467 --> 00:29:53.867

been far too long. I think we do have to have um. More 00:29:53.867 --> 00:29:56.934

conversations about this. When we were voting last week, it

00:29:56.934 --> 00:30:00.767

wasn’t about going. It was, do you approve the trip and how 00:30:00.767 --> 00:30:03.900

much is it going to cost?

00:30:03.900 --> 00:30:07.867

What’s the policy? How much will it be? What’s going to

00:30:07.867 --> 00:30:10.367

happen? And now we hurried, hurried, hurried, and we didn’t 00:30:10.367 --> 00:30:12.533

have any of that information.

00:30:12.533 --> 00:30:17.266

So we basically last week had a blank check. I support

00:30:17.266 --> 00:30:22.166

everything, but we have no new information today than what we 00:30:22.166 --> 00:30:29.567

had last week. Our sister cities deserve. Proper planning

00:30:29.567 --> 00:30:32.767

A larger budget, and I think he should spend more time there 00:30:32.767 --> 00:30:35.767

with our sister cities. This time frame could have been

00:30:35.767 --> 00:30:40.233

solved. I know that the council members talk about this, and I 00:30:40.233 --> 00:30:43.467

know some of you didn’t talk to me at all, not at all, and I

00:30:43.467 --> 00:30:47.133

would have supported all of this, but we have different

00:30:47.133 --> 00:30:51.100

ways of going about things and that’s OK, but I have talked to 00:30:51.100 --> 00:30:56.834

everyone. Except for two people and we all agree how important

00:30:56.834 --> 00:30:59.667

this is. I also want to say I believe in the character of our

00:30:59.667 --> 00:31:04.233

mayor. I believe in his vision and I believe what he wants to 00:31:04.233 --> 00:31:09.100

do for Brooklyn Park, but the vote was for the travel and the

00:31:09.100 --> 00:31:11.634

expenses was last week, so I’m gonna say this just so I don’t 00:31:11.634 --> 00:31:15.367

miss anything. I want to first thank our city staff. The work

00:31:15.367 --> 00:31:18.734

you do is invaluable. It’s difficult, it’s often hurried,

00:31:18.734 --> 00:31:23.533

it’s overwhelming. We have tragedies happening. We have 00:31:23.533 --> 00:31:28.166

immediate needs. So for that, I think the city staff as council,

00:31:28.166 --> 00:31:31.900

we’re strongest when we lead with open communication. This 00:31:31.900 --> 00:31:36.166

is an example there was not open communication here. There

00:31:36.166 --> 00:31:40.200

was confusion, however, for the most part, I feel there’s 00:31:40.200 --> 00:31:43.834

mutual respect, and I think we all share in the responsibility

00:31:43.834 --> 00:31:49.000

for the people of Brooklyn Park to give clear. Explanations as

00:31:49.000 --> 00:31:52.233

to what we’re doing. These values are guiding our work and 00:31:52.233 --> 00:31:56.100

they build the trust for all of us, the minute somebody said

00:31:56.100 --> 00:31:59.900

that our mayor was shady, I was offended. Our mayor is not

00:31:59.900 --> 00:32:03.900

shady. But when we don’t have the full picture, no matter who 00:32:03.900 --> 00:32:07.767

you are, we start to question everything. That’s the problem

00:32:07.767 --> 00:32:11.033

that we have today. It’s not that anybody did anything wrong. 00:32:11.033 --> 00:32:15.200

It’s just we tried to do too much at once. So I’m not here

00:32:15.200 --> 00:32:20.467

to assign blame. I do not believe this is about race. I 00:32:20.467 --> 00:32:24.233

love this trip idea. I love everything about it except for

00:32:24.233 --> 00:32:26.567

the planning for the partnership and for the process.

00:32:26.567 --> 00:32:30.033

Again, I’m gonna say I believe in the mayor’s vision, his 00:32:30.033 --> 00:32:32.767

dedication to Brooklyn Park, absolutely. I recognize the

00:32:32.767 --> 00:32:36.033

value of building these relationships, but the

00:32:36.033 --> 00:32:40.266

relationships start here. A simple email or phone call 00:32:40.266 --> 00:32:43.133

would have solved a lot of these problems and we didn’t

00:32:43.133 --> 00:32:47.166

get that. So here we are assuming, trying to figure out

00:32:47.166 --> 00:32:51.200

who’s on what side, and I’ve seen us all actually on the 00:32:51.200 --> 00:32:56.834

same side. But in social media, we’ve got all these people who

00:32:56.834 --> 00:32:59.934

are keyboard warriors that are just gonna don’t let them bring

00:32:59.934 --> 00:33:02.667

you down. This is our city. 00:33:02.667 --> 00:33:05.300

This is our narrative and it’s the problem right now with

00:33:05.300 --> 00:33:07.634

Brooklyn Park is we’re looking at each other going, you think

00:33:07.634 --> 00:33:10.200

this because of the way you look, you think this because of 00:33:10.200 --> 00:33:14.367

the way you look, that’s not fair. Every single person in

00:33:14.367 --> 00:33:17.100

this room took time out of their life. It’s the most

00:33:17.100 --> 00:33:21.367

valuable thing you’ll ever have is your time and you’re here to 00:33:21.367 --> 00:33:24.033

talk about a serious issue, and for that I want to. think

00:33:24.033 --> 00:33:26.934

everyone, no matter what you believe. I think it’s essential

00:33:26.934 --> 00:33:31.100

for us to ask questions to offer input to walk along our 00:33:31.100 --> 00:33:34.667

mayor, not behind him. I want a phone call. I want an email. I

00:33:34.667 --> 00:33:37.300

want a brief conversation. I want a smile. I want kindness

00:33:37.300 --> 00:33:40.734

when I walk in the door. None of us want to feel excluded, 00:33:40.734 --> 00:33:44.934

and that’s what’s happening right here. People don’t feel

00:33:44.934 --> 00:33:47.634

heard and we’re changing that in Brooklyn Park. That’s what

00:33:47.634 --> 00:33:50.734

we’re doing tonight is we’re saying, we hear you. I don’t 00:33:50.734 --> 00:33:53.000

know anyone who doesn’t value the trip, but I think we all

00:33:53.000 --> 00:33:56.200

value. information and transparency, and I know that’s

00:33:56.200 --> 00:34:00.500

a tough word, but I want to say directly to the mayor, you have 00:34:00.500 --> 00:34:04.166

incredible ideas. You have passion, you have vision. This

00:34:04.166 --> 00:34:07.767

trip is inspiring to me and to my family, but there is a way

00:34:07.767 --> 00:34:11.467

to communicate it and we’re not there and because of that, 00:34:11.467 --> 00:34:14.166

that’s why people are questioning this, and I say

00:34:14.166 --> 00:34:17.667

again, I would, I would, we have a $30,000 budget we keep

00:34:17.667 --> 00:34:20.567

talking about should be used for this, this is exactly what 00:34:20.567 --> 00:34:24.300

it should be used for. But let’s plan, let’s prepare. and

00:34:24.300 --> 00:34:25.900

let’s have the most amazing.

00:34:25.900 --> 00:34:31.233

Bridging Um, experience that we possibly can and let’s do it 00:34:31.233 --> 00:34:33.934

more often. Let’s not wait.

00:34:33.934 --> 00:34:36.200

Let’s not have all of this conversation and all these

00:34:36.200 --> 00:34:39.800

feelings when we all want the same thing, so with that I

00:34:39.800 --> 00:34:43.533

wanna say this is something that we can and should and 00:34:43.533 --> 00:34:46.166

continuously revisit. I think with the right groundwork and

00:34:46.166 --> 00:34:49.900

engagement, I would support this effort on a yearly or

00:34:49.900 --> 00:34:52.734

every other yearly basis, but right now I have to listen to 00:34:52.734 --> 00:34:56.367

the residents and I have to say I can’t vote for an open check.

00:34:56.367 --> 00:34:58.467

I need details. I need process.

00:34:58.467 --> 00:35:01.467

and I respect the process of the council, so I appreciate 00:35:01.467 --> 00:35:15.033

your time. Council member McGarvey. Thank you, Mayor. 00:35:15.033 --> 00:35:22.467

I’ll be brief. I just We’ll say that I do believe that, 00:35:22.467 --> 00:35:25.166

absolutely, it would have been nice. I mean, this, this all.

00:35:25.166 --> 00:35:30.500

came because of the compressed time. Uh, line along the 00:35:30.500 --> 00:35:35.800

arrangements of the originally proposed trip. Um, but there

00:35:35.800 --> 00:35:42.300

again, we were in the midst of dealing with Uh A catastrophe 00:35:42.300 --> 00:35:49.233

of national level. Uh, which Which All of the oxygen out of

00:35:49.233 --> 00:35:57.734

the room and uh Kind of led us to this point, I believe. With 00:35:57.734 --> 00:36:03.634

that said, um, I would, yeah, I would absolutely like to have 00:36:03.634 --> 00:36:10.033

more. Time to consider these these types of things and, and 00:36:10.033 --> 00:36:13.166

not disagreeing with anyone’s statements so far. I just

00:36:13.166 --> 00:36:20.634

believe that This The consideration of of of Limiting 00:36:20.634 --> 00:36:25.500

the travel to a place that the mayor is already going to be

00:36:25.500 --> 00:36:33.000

Makes a lot of sense. Um, I think it would be Just I know 00:36:33.000 --> 00:36:36.834

that people are excited. For our mayor to finally connect

00:36:36.834 --> 00:36:44.233

with Uh People, uh, and, and the governments of our sister 00:36:44.233 --> 00:36:47.367

cities, especially when they come, when many, many of our

00:36:47.367 --> 00:36:49.000

residents come from near there.

00:36:49.000 --> 00:36:55.867

Um, I get that, I get that. And so I’m, again, concur with 00:36:55.867 --> 00:37:00.734

council member Page. I’m all for this, uh, and I do believe 00:37:00.734 --> 00:37:05.667

that this is a an acceptable compromise. And I will be

00:37:05.667 --> 00:37:12.000

voting for it. It’s just what I wanted to say. Thank you. 00:37:12.000 --> 00:37:24.767

Council member Erikson. I think I want to start by echoing. 00:37:24.767 --> 00:37:29.166

Some of what my colleagues have said that Some of the emails

00:37:29.166 --> 00:37:34.400

we’ve received. used atrocious language to speak about their 00:37:34.400 --> 00:37:39.734

neighbors. Some of the emails came from people who have a

00:37:39.734 --> 00:37:42.467

personal vendetta against the mayor. And said terrible things 00:37:42.467 --> 00:37:48.367

about him as a person. Some of the emails. We’re based in a

00:37:48.367 --> 00:37:52.567

lack of information. And that’s partly our fault. Our job is to 00:37:52.567 --> 00:37:57.233

deliver the information, and we need to own that. Um Next thing

00:37:57.233 --> 00:38:01.767

I want to say is that I appreciate my colleagues 00:38:01.767 --> 00:38:08.100

working together to come up with a compromise plan. Um And

00:38:08.100 --> 00:38:09.734

I’m sure that there’s some people that are still going to

00:38:09.734 --> 00:38:13.634

be mad about it, but I think it’s a pretty common practice 00:38:13.634 --> 00:38:17.767

in the world. For people to tack a business visit onto a

00:38:17.767 --> 00:38:21.367

vacation or to tack a vacation onto a business visit. I’ve 00:38:21.367 --> 00:38:22.467

done it. My wife has done it.

00:38:22.467 --> 00:38:27.266

My dad’s done it. Lots of people do it. This is not a

00:38:27.266 --> 00:38:29.934

moral failure. This is an efficiency of something that’s

00:38:29.934 --> 00:38:33.867

already happening. And so I also will be voting in favor of 00:38:33.867 --> 00:38:42.266

this evening. So I guess I’ll say a few things just to, to 00:38:42.266 --> 00:38:48.500

clarify, um, You know, after we took the trip to Japan and, and,

00:38:48.500 --> 00:38:51.467

and, uh, actually Japan was a success. One of the businesses 00:38:51.467 --> 00:38:54.000

that’s here is going to really expand quite a bit and a lot of

00:38:54.000 --> 00:38:57.634

that has to go to our, our business relationship with them,

00:38:57.634 --> 00:39:01.567

and then I know Malcolm Hicks may have left earlier, um, but 00:39:01.567 --> 00:39:05.467

he’s been instrumental in kind of building this relationship

00:39:05.467 --> 00:39:09.567

with Japanese, um. Uh, organizations and businesses to

00:39:09.567 --> 00:39:11.767

see what we can do in Brooklyn Park. But I think after that 00:39:11.767 --> 00:39:15.467

trip, we kind of said, well, what can we do, um, because we

00:39:15.467 --> 00:39:18.467

have a large African heritage population in Brooklyn Park. We

00:39:18.467 --> 00:39:21.834

have a number of, uh, sister cities that are important to us 00:39:21.834 --> 00:39:23.300

there and we shopped it around.

00:39:23.300 --> 00:39:26.634

We shopped it around to the state. Um, and the state said,

00:39:26.634 --> 00:39:30.300

well, let’s make it a cultural mission, and I think looking at 00:39:30.300 --> 00:39:36.100

some of the uh folks of African heritage, uh. I guess, I guess

00:39:36.100 --> 00:39:42.500

it gets all mixed up. So, folks in the most recent diaspora. 00:39:42.500 --> 00:39:47.634

They’re business folks. So yeah, they want culturallyan exchange,

00:39:47.634 --> 00:39:51.033

but in some ways it’s disrespectful to tell people 00:39:51.033 --> 00:39:56.367

that all we see Africa is about is a cultural exchange. There’s

00:39:56.367 --> 00:40:01.166

a business portion to this. And so part of this was saying look, 00:40:01.166 --> 00:40:04.900

we’re not getting the support we need from other places. So

00:40:04.900 --> 00:40:07.100

we will take a trip over there.

00:40:07.100 --> 00:40:09.767

And then people said, well, you need to bring your wife for

00:40:09.767 --> 00:40:10.867

your first trip over there. 00:40:10.867 --> 00:40:13.000

That was literally what you got to bring her over there if

00:40:13.000 --> 00:40:16.734

you’re going to start these conversations. And then from

00:40:16.734 --> 00:40:21.133

there it grew into um further efficiencies when I notified 00:40:21.133 --> 00:40:23.934

city manager Strobel that, hey, we’re going to be visiting this

00:40:23.934 --> 00:40:26.467

place and this place. So I want make that very clear that we’re

00:40:26.467 --> 00:40:29.500

paying for our ticket there and we’re paying for our, we’re

00:40:29.500 --> 00:40:33.233

paying for our tickets there and our tickets back. And no 00:40:33.233 --> 00:40:37.033

dollars are going towards my um wife, even though people

00:40:37.033 --> 00:40:39.266

consistently want to bring this up and act like I’m going to be

00:40:39.266 --> 00:40:42.500

reimbursed for my tickets there and my ticket back. I haven’t 00:40:42.500 --> 00:40:45.467

asked for that. And my assumption was not that getting

00:40:45.467 --> 00:40:50.000

into this. I want to make that extremely clear, um, but my 00:40:50.000 --> 00:40:53.133

bride does, you know, have the right to attend some of these

00:40:53.133 --> 00:40:55.100

trips with me. I will say that.

00:40:55.100 --> 00:41:05.467

um, I want to make this clear to um To LIB Uh I will be going 00:41:05.467 --> 00:41:11.734

to um To Liberia. Uh, I’m not gonna go to, OK, we, uh, you 00:41:11.734 --> 00:41:15.467

know, I gotta keep it even. Got to keep it even. But I think,

00:41:15.467 --> 00:41:19.634

you know, I, I made that clear when I got into early into when

00:41:19.634 --> 00:41:22.000

I got elected. So I’m going to keep that. I will be going and 00:41:22.000 --> 00:41:25.233

that will come out of pocket as well, but I will also visit the

00:41:25.233 --> 00:41:27.767

sister city as well, because that’s incredibly important to

00:41:27.767 --> 00:41:32.100

me. I just want to make that very clear to that particular 00:41:32.100 --> 00:41:35.734

community. Uh, and then I also want to thank, um, you know,

00:41:35.734 --> 00:41:37.734

majority of city council members for kind of seeing this.

00:41:37.734 --> 00:41:41.634

Um, seeing what was going on, seeing, understanding the 00:41:41.634 --> 00:41:44.734

nuances of what was happening in the community. I do want to

00:41:44.734 --> 00:41:47.533

say this. People have, you may have a personal vendetta with

00:41:47.533 --> 00:41:51.266

me. That is fine. But when you begin to make, when you begin 00:41:51.266 --> 00:41:56.033

to say you are an ally of African heritage or African

00:41:56.033 --> 00:41:59.533

American communities. But then you are coordinating with

00:41:59.533 --> 00:42:03.100

people who use some very ugly language about African heritage 00:42:03.100 --> 00:42:07.133

peoples. You were going down a path of no return, and there’s

00:42:07.133 --> 00:42:12.033

nothing I can do. about that because you have now slipped 00:42:12.033 --> 00:42:15.367

into an agreement with people who are criticizing the artwork

00:42:15.367 --> 00:42:20.567

on the Black Lives Matter mural at the library. They’re talking 00:42:20.567 --> 00:42:23.767

about Africa and saying it’s in the 6th century, right? They

00:42:23.767 --> 00:42:28.834

have some very ugly things to say about Uh The people that

00:42:28.834 --> 00:42:35.000

I’m descended from. Right? And the people and, and, and a a 00:42:35.000 --> 00:42:39.800

group of people that represents 30 to 35% of Brooklyn Park.

00:42:39.800 --> 00:42:43.500

There’s a large number of people of not just African 00:42:43.500 --> 00:42:47.767

descent, but specifically West African descent. So when you

00:42:47.767 --> 00:42:51.500

say nasty ugly things thinking that you’re just getting at me 00:42:51.500 --> 00:42:55.233

about these particular people, you are going after a group of

00:42:55.233 --> 00:42:59.000

people whose history is much, much, much older than the

00:42:59.000 --> 00:43:01.567

history of America. And my history does not begin with 00:43:01.567 --> 00:43:05.667

slavery. There is a history for me that began well before

00:43:05.667 --> 00:43:08.166

slavery, and I am a continuation of that. And so

00:43:08.166 --> 00:43:11.934

this is very much a part of that. So for there are for 00:43:11.934 --> 00:43:14.100

communities, for some communities, this is very much

00:43:14.100 --> 00:43:18.367

a healing moment as well, which is why we initially undertook

00:43:18.367 --> 00:43:20.934

the trip and then it became something else. So, you know, 00:43:20.934 --> 00:43:25.200

I’m not gonna go very long on this, but I, I understand, I,

00:43:25.200 --> 00:43:28.834

well I appreciate the majority of the council, um,

00:43:28.834 --> 00:43:33.200

understanding the nuances on this. I do not appreciate. Um, 00:43:33.200 --> 00:43:38.500

folks attacking, um, My motives on this when generally, not

00:43:38.500 --> 00:43:42.300

even generally, when I come up here and make decisions, I’m 00:43:42.300 --> 00:43:46.634

making decisions on behalf of the city and and building

00:43:46.634 --> 00:43:48.634

something that works for all of us, and people may not agree

00:43:48.634 --> 00:43:53.367

with it, they may disagree, but that is the assumption that All 00:43:53.367 --> 00:43:57.166

of us are making when we come up here is that we are doing

00:43:57.166 --> 00:43:59.233

something on behalf of the entire community and we’re

00:43:59.233 --> 00:44:03.500

doing the best that we can. So when you besmirch my reputation, 00:44:03.500 --> 00:44:08.400

um, And you want to make up lies about this or that, right?

00:44:08.400 --> 00:44:12.133

That does not build the world that people say they’re trying 00:44:12.133 --> 00:44:17.467

to build, just coming up with boldfaced lies, your word when

00:44:17.467 --> 00:44:21.734

it goes goes forth, even as weak as may, some people may 00:44:21.734 --> 00:44:27.567

feel. It produces fruit and so when you lie, bold faced lie.

00:44:27.567 --> 00:44:31.934

About a family or the council or anyone, that brings back 00:44:31.934 --> 00:44:35.500

rotten fruit. It does not allow the community to come together

00:44:35.500 --> 00:44:38.367

and heal and do the things that we need to do. So I’m not for

00:44:38.367 --> 00:44:40.634

everybody. I got a friend, I’ve got friends that have said, 00:44:40.634 --> 00:44:42.000

well, you ain’t for everybody.

00:44:42.000 --> 00:44:46.367

I’m very aware of that. But that doesn’t mean that it’s

00:44:46.367 --> 00:44:50.567

necessary to lie about my character or when I’m doing for 00:44:50.567 --> 00:44:54.233

the council or what the council is seeking to do. I think when

00:44:54.233 --> 00:44:58.500

you hear the council speak, I have a lot of respect because

00:44:58.500 --> 00:45:01.367

They’re coming from a place of wisdom that often I don’t 00:45:01.367 --> 00:45:06.500

possess. That’s why we have 7 instead of 1 or 2 or 3. So I

00:45:06.500 --> 00:45:12.100

just want to give a uh uh credit to, um, The Council for 00:45:12.100 --> 00:45:14.533

understanding that, I think going forward, we will have a

00:45:14.533 --> 00:45:20.467

more robust process as we talk about these trips, uh, move 00:45:20.467 --> 00:45:24.200

forward with these trips, but I also want to say to many in the

00:45:24.200 --> 00:45:28.467

council, you know, one of my concerns was, I don’t want to

00:45:28.467 --> 00:45:32.367

be treated different than a former mayor. I don’t, I don’t 00:45:32.367 --> 00:45:34.233

respond well when people treat me differently. And I don’t

00:45:34.233 --> 00:45:37.734

care if you say it’s because of this or it’s because of that.

00:45:37.734 --> 00:45:41.233

When I look and I’ve talked to the former mayor about his 00:45:41.233 --> 00:45:44.100

previous trip, and we’re using pretty much the same process,

00:45:44.100 --> 00:45:47.634

and I get treated differently, right? There’s a word for that.

00:45:47.634 --> 00:45:50.033

And those who haven’t figured that word out, maybe you got to 00:45:50.033 --> 00:45:54.567

look in the mirror and do some soul searching, but I don’t

00:45:54.567 --> 00:45:57.266

approve of being treated differently from other people.

00:45:57.266 --> 00:46:00.000

And I don’t respond well to that. And I don’t think my 00:46:00.000 --> 00:46:02.100

community responds well to that anymore. We are not our

00:46:02.100 --> 00:46:04.667

ancestors, not because our ancestors were weak, but

00:46:04.667 --> 00:46:07.367

because our ancestors were strong enough to give us the

00:46:07.367 --> 00:46:11.166

ability to make different decisions and to respond 00:46:11.166 --> 00:46:13.934

differently than those who came before. We are a progression of

00:46:13.934 --> 00:46:18.200

those who came before. So this is an important trip. Uh, to

00:46:18.200 --> 00:46:20.767

bring those things together. So I will leave it at that. I know 00:46:20.767 --> 00:46:25.667

that we have a um motion on the floor. So I will, um, Call, go

00:46:25.667 --> 00:46:28.266

ahead and call for the motion.

00:46:28.266 --> 00:46:32.500

Um, all those, it was, wait, the motion was made by council 00:46:32.500 --> 00:46:36.834

member Kanowski, seconded by council members young, um, all

00:46:36.834 --> 00:46:40.500

those in favor say aye. I, I got to recuse myself. I’m sorry. 00:46:40.500 --> 00:46:44.767

So forgive me, I got to recuse myself from this. All those in

00:46:44.767 --> 00:46:50.767

favor say aye. Any names? All right, so we have, uh, it looks 00:46:50.767 --> 00:46:56.000

like we have 4 eyes and 2 nays and no abstention. Well, I, I

00:46:56.000 --> 00:47:00.767

guess I abstained or recused myself. So the motion passes. I 00:47:00.767 --> 00:47:05.033

mean, Mary Winston was that those that voted no was council

00:47:05.033 --> 00:47:06.266

member and council member Page.

00:47:06.266 --> 00:47:12.033

Thank you. All right, Mayor. 00:47:12.033 --> 00:47:15.266

Just one quick note I know before you close the meeting,

00:47:15.266 --> 00:47:20.166

Chief really wanted to, to share some arts. Winston 00:47:20.166 --> 00:47:23.100

council members, I just have to make a point of clarification.

00:47:23.100 --> 00:47:27.166

What I heard council member Tran say when she was speaking

00:47:27.166 --> 00:47:30.133

is that Melissa Hortman was killed because Lance Bolter’s 00:47:30.133 --> 00:47:33.634

motive was, um, to address her voting for tightening of the

00:47:33.634 --> 00:47:37.634

budget. I want to be clear. The Brooklyn Park Police Department

00:47:37.634 --> 00:47:40.834

is in a joint, uh, investigation that is ongoing 00:47:40.834 --> 00:47:44.567

with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the Minnesota

00:47:44.567 --> 00:47:47.367

Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, there is no evidence of that

00:47:47.367 --> 00:47:52.634

has been released. That is the opinions of Maria Tran and not 00:47:52.634 --> 00:47:56.834

of the investigation that is ongoing, so that is not

00:47:56.834 --> 00:47:59.734

information that should be considered by the public or

00:47:59.734 --> 00:48:00.567

anybody watching to be true. 00:48:00.567 --> 00:48:17.200

Thank you. Get All right, so seeing that, um, There are no, 00:48:17.200 --> 00:48:18.467

let’s see, further items, the