Good morning. Welcome to the regular meeting of the super committee of the whole. My name is Orin Chowry and I am the chair of this committee. Before we begin, I'd like to reiterate that council has temporary temporarily restructured into a single committee of the whole which is consolidating all standing committees into a single body. During this temporary restructuring, regular committee work, which includes reviewing, revising, refining, and making recommendations on all matters will be done by this committee of the whole. All items from today's meeting will be forwarded to the full council for its consideration on Thursday, February 19th at 9:30 a.m. As usual, these meetings are broadcast and live livereamed from our public access channels in the city's website to enhance public accessibility. With that, I'll call this meeting to order and ask the clerk to call the role to verify a presence of a quorum. Council member Payne, >> present. >> Wonsley, >> present. >> Rainville, >> present. >> Vita, >> present. >> Warren, >> present. >> Osman, >> present. >> Schaefer, >> present. Stevenson, >> present. >> Chavez, >> present. >> Whiting, >> present. >> Palmo, >> present. >> Vice Chair Chip is absent. And Chair Chowry, >> present. >> There are 12 members present. Let the record reflect that we have a quorum. Before we begin the meeting, I want to offer a friendly reminder to all members, staff, and the public that these meetings are broadcast live to enable greater public participation. Those meeting broadcasts include real-time captioning to increase the accessibility of our proceedings to the community. Therefore, all speakers need to be mindful of the rate of their speech so that our captioners can fully capture and transcribe all comments for the broadcast. We'll ask all speakers to please moderate the speed and clarity of their comments. And then colleagues, we will also be using speaker management today. Uh we will also be having um some time limits that we usually have at our full council uh on speaking. So you can get in twice. The first one I believe is 7 minutes and the second one is 5 minutes. Um just because we have a lot to get through and a lot to talk about today. And so before we move ahead to the consent agenda, are there any amendments to the agenda? Oh, >> thank you chair. Um, I would like to amend the agenda to include a legislative directive that asked the administration to overview their data retention policies as well as share how the city is documenting incidents and violations of constitutional rights, violations of state law, and violations of any city ordinances made by ICE and other federal uh agents. So, with that, I will ask for a second. >> Second. >> Okay, that has been seconded. And for members, you have a printed copy of the motions to amend before you. Next, I will recognize council member Vita. >> Thank you, Chair Chowry. I'd like to um move to amend the agenda to include um as item 68, a consideration for a lease non-disturbance and consent agreement at 1500 44th Avenue North, please. >> Great. Is there a second for that? >> Second. >> Second. >> Okay, great. We will take that up together then. So with the amendments to the agenda, all those in favor say I. I. >> I. >> Those opposed say nay. Abstensions. That carries. And the agenda has been amended. Colleagues, as reflected on our agenda, we have a significant number of items to take up today, including three quasi judicial hearings, a public comment period tied to a request for renewed liquor licenses. I'm going to take up the 53 items that on the list that's listed on our consent agenda first so we can release any staff who are waiting to address questions or concerns about those items and then we will take up the three quasi judicial hearings, the public comment for the liquor license requests after. And then if we if um if it comes to time at noon um it's my intention actually after we finish the public comment period and the discussion on the liquor license renewals that we will break for lunch and then reconvene to take up the rest of the items on our discussion agenda. For those in the audience, let me know. Let me know. Um, let me know that we'll Sorry, my apologies. Uh, we'll be taking comments on the hearings for each of the three quasi judicial matters and the public comment period tied to the two license renewals in the order that folks are registered. If you wish to address the committee during any of these three hearings or public comment periods, you'll need to register with the clerks at the registration table in the corridor outside the chamber. So, if you want to speak today on any of those agenda items, please take time now to register with the clerks at the registration tables. Also, if you have any materials to submit to the record on those matters, please give those materials at the registration table as well. All right. Thank you. Is there any questions from members on the flow of the agenda? It doesn't seem like it. So, with that, I'll summarize the items. >> Council member Chow. Um I would like to pull two items for discussion on the consent just so you're aware of that. >> Okay, great. And then when I will read through the um consent agenda and then you can share which items you would like to pull at the end. Okay, thank you for letting me know, council member. And then are folks able to get on uh speaker management right now? >> It's fixed. >> It's fixed. Okay, great. With that, I'll summarize the items on the consent agenda, which include items listed 4 through 56 on the posted agenda. Items four through 7 are legal sentiments related to workers compensation claims. Items 8 through 10 are various contract amendments, and item 11 is a gift acceptance. Items 12 through 14 are liquor and gambling license approvals and renewals. Item 15 reflects two appointments to the Heritage Preservation Commission. Item 16 through 18 are contract amendments and gift acceptance. Item 19 is an amendment to our comprehensive plan and item 20 grants a waiver and authorizes an agreement for Parkland dedication fee. Item 21 is revising program guideline lines for the city's 2% loan program. Item 22 is accepting our livable communities grants. Item 23 and 24 approve extensions and additional funding for development projects. And item 25 is an eviction moratorum ordinance that was introduced at the last city council meeting which is being referred to staff. Then items 26 to 32 are various contract amendments and various gift acceptances. Item 33 is accepting a grant for health education. Item 34 is accepting a bid for yard services. Item 35 is related to street the street resurfacing program. Item 36 is a gift acceptance and item 37 accepts federal grant dollars for the highway safety program. Items 38 through 43 are various bids and contracts for projects. Items 44 through 51 are appointments to various special service district boards. Items 52 and 53 are for rescheduling public hearings for street and alley reconstruction projects. I will also note item 53 is listed as being rescheduled for March 17th. However, that meeting is also being rescheduled so that uh partic so that particular hearing will be reset to March 24th. The clerks will note that the correction that correction for the council's meeting agenda that it is planned for Thursday. Item 54 is a budget amendment for training services for Amy Moser Consulting. Item 55 and 56 formally adopt our 2027 to 2029 calendars and ratify the appointments of council members to various external boards and commissions. These items were holdovers from our organizational meeting in January and were explained by the city clerk in an email on February 11th. I'll also note that item number 56, the boards and commissions appointments for us is being moved without recommendation um to the full council. And that completes my summary of the consent agenda. Uh before I move to approve the consent agenda, are there any items that council members would like to pull for discussion? We'll go to uh council member Schaefer first. >> Yes, I would like to pull number 21 and 25 for discussion. Right. Number 21 and 25 for the clerks. Next, I'll recognize Council President Payne. >> Uh, thank you, Chair Chowry. I am I made the recommendation to move the outside boards and appointments uh without recommendation because I want everybody on the DES to take a look at it. Uh, I did my best to either reappoint returning members to their existing boards or to understand where members would land best. But we've been through a lot over the last few weeks and I'm sure uh people did not have it at the top of their mind on what boards out outside boards they'd want to be a participant of. So please review that and uh give me your feedback before uh the end of day either today or at least by noon tomorrow so that we can accommodate those appointments and amendments for the full council on Thursday. >> Thank you, President Payne. Next, I'll recognize council member Wanley. Thank you, chair. I would like to pull item 49, which is the Stadium Village Special Service District Advisory Board appointments. >> All right, item number 49 and then council member Chavez. >> Uh, thank you, Chair Chowry. I want to make sure number four, five, and six are pulled for a separate vote. >> Four, five, and six for a separate vote. And then just for my understanding, um, this is to all the council members that pulled items for items 21 and 25. You want it pulled for discussion to talk to ask some questions about it, council member Schaefer, or is it for a separate vote? >> Uh, separate vote. >> Separate vote. >> I mean, I'm new to this, so we'll just go that that round. >> Okay. >> Thank you. >> Great. And then, um, would you same for 49, Council Member Wanley, or is there questions and discussion? discussion and a separate vote. >> Excellent. >> I've just clarified discussion and a se both both. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Great. Thank you so much. >> All right. We've pulled those items. With that, I'll move approval of the consent agenda minus 21254945 and six. Okay. All those in favor say I. >> I. >> All those opposed say nay. And then abstensions. That motion carries. And then I will also note that uh Vice Chair Chug Thai has joined us. Um and I believe you voted on the consent agenda as you were walking in. So we're we're good to go. Okay. Next we will go to those discussion items. Four, five, and six. will take up the vote on four, five, and six. All right. I will ask the clerk to call the role on those items. >> Council member Payne, >> I. >> Wsley, >> I for non five and six. >> Rainville. >> Council member Rainville. >> Hi, >> I >> Warren. I >> Osman. >> I >> Schaefer. >> I >> Stevenson. >> I >> Chavez. >> I am four. No. Five and six. >> Whiting. >> I >> Palmisano. >> I vice chair Chai. >> I on four no five and six. >> And chair Chowry. >> I. There are 13 eyes on four, 10 eyes on five and six. >> All right, those items carry and then is forwarded to full counsel. All right, for the clerks, just want your assist here. Are we moving on to item 21, 25, and 49? I'm not seeing it queue up for me on speaker management. Madam Chair, normally if we've pulled it from discussion, those would fall to the end of the agenda when we get to discussion. If you want to take them up now, we can, but you said we'd be doing the three quasi, so I would suggest we put them on the discussion at the end of the agenda. >> Okay. >> I I'm just I'm going to look towards my members. I have a feeling that these are quick questions. Unless, council member Schaefer, unless you're expecting like a longer discussion with staff, I think that would be helpful to just get some clarity on if we're going to move forward on the quasi judicial hearings or we should have it at the bottom of our agenda. >> Um, I'm happy to take up number 21 right now. That that is fairly quick for me. Um, 25 I don't know what to anticipate. >> Okay, then we will put 25 at the bottom of the agenda and then we will take up 21 and 49 right now. Let's start with item number 21. I will recognize council member Schaefer. >> Yes. I just had a question um if someone from CPED could give us Oh, director Hansen is coming in. I was really thrilled to see these changes come forward and to see the increase in the 2% loan amounts that we can be offering our small businesses. Could you speak to what I was having difficulty finding in the documents on online is kind of an overview of what have we committed to funds to this program currently? um either you know where we are currently. I found some references to 2018 and the number of about 7 million for 271 businesses, but I really would like a current update >> on where we sit and maybe some of the brief highlights, you know, two-minute highlights of what you're changing here. >> Welcome, >> Chair Chowry, uh members of the committee, uh Council Member Schaefer, my name is Eric Hansen. I am the director of CPED and I think we'll be spending some time together today. Um on this action uh we're basically ex ex extending the cap for about 20 years. The cap has been $75,000. The 2% loan program is a participation loan program where the city will will match up to $75,000. A private lender into uh for small businesses to purchase capital their buildings um and other things to keep their businesses going. uh we've been this pro program has been around since 1984. This would now uh bringing up to more modern uh business subsidy act requirements so that we can put more money into businesses. I believe it's uh the lowest now will go from 50 to 75 and I think the highest is like 125. I can look in the report. We have been we have $2.2 million ongoing in this loan program and and then when the loans come back they go back into the general fund. We get it re renewed. Uh we don't always use that $2.2 million every year, but um in some years we'll we'll get to that gap. I will need to do an administrative response memo with the updates on how many loans we have out and kind of the program highlights because it's voluminous since we've done this since 1984, but I can get that back to the council uh hopefully before Thursday. And the highlights is uh more small businesses, especially businesses of color, entrepreneurs, and of color are getting the funding they need to stay, grow, and um do business in the city of Minneapolis. >> Thank you so much. One follow-up question. Can you tell me that 2.2 million, how is that increased over the last 5 to 10 years roughly? >> Uh Chair Chowry, Council Member Schaefer, uh it's been $2.2 million annually since, um I would say it's at least 15 years. uh but we don't necessarily have an issue with that amount each year. >> So it's it's sufficient for us to maintain demand. >> Okay. Um and why do you think can you can you speak to that any further about why that has met the demand for 15 years? >> Uh Chair Chowry, Council Member Schaefer, uh small businesses have to need to they want to borrow money because these are loans. we are um uh they'll they'll go through you know standard underwriting and and then participate with the with with the city in when when interest rates are lower uh business or banks don't usually come to us. It's only when the interest rates go up that's when they see this because since our loan will be at 2% uh it brings down the cost of borrowing. So when the interest rates are going up like they are kind of right now a little higher historically not high but but from the recent times are pretty high. We'll see more use of it. It's very rare that we hit that $2.2 million cap and and this will test it because now we'll be able to do more loan funds per loan. So maybe we we need it, but we'll we'll evaluate that. We do that every year when we when we make recommendations to the mayor for his budget proposal. >> Thank you very much. >> Yeah. >> Thank you so much, director. We will be seeing you. >> Yep. Thank you. All right. Um, with that, I will have the clerk call the role. >> Council member Payne, >> I. Wanssley >> I >> Rainville >> I >> Vita >> I >> Warren >> I >> Osman >> I >> Schaefer >> I >> Stevenson >> I >> Chavez >> I >> Whiting >> I >> Palmisano >> I >> vice chair Chuck >> I >> and Chair Chowry >> I >> there are 13 eyes. >> That item carries. Next, we'll go to item number 49, and I will recognize council member Wanley. >> Thank you, uh, chair. So, again, item 49 is the Stadium Village Special Service, uh, district advisory board's appointments. Um, and there's two being recommended, uh, one of which impacts my ward number one or 49.1. Um, so I just want to share just straight out, I will not be supporting Mr. Beck for the appointment and I ask my colleagues to do the same. Mr. Beck has applied for this role because of his work as the general manager of the graduate hotel and I am incredibly concerned at the way the graduate hotel has conducted itself in relation to the community concerns about them allegedly housing ICE agents. Um, these concerns come from workers at the hotels, alum alumni who often stay there when they are in town to even students who live in the area who feel unsafe knowing that federal agents who have no regard for the law or life could be living right in their community. The graduate has had the opportunity to be responsive to these concerns um by publicly committing to not house ICE agents. Instead, they responded by criminalizing protesters, leading to dozens of avoidable arrests, including many undergraduate students who were nonviolently protesting. The Graduate Hotel has also failed to respond proactively to community concerns, have also failed to use deescalation and restorative justice um options and measures to respond to criticisms and concerns from their neighbors. um for those reasons I don't feel that this individual is the right uh choice for this particular uh appointment board or advisory board and also don't believe they should have a advisory role on on any uh matter regarding how to foster a safer community um amongst those uh living, working and playing in Stadium Village. So with that, I will motion to deny this item uh which would be the appointment of Michael Burke and then approve item 49.2 uh for the appointment of Amy Cable or Campbell. >> With that, I'll ask for a second. >> Second. So, we have a motion to deny 49.1 and then uh a motion to approve 49.2. Should we take that up together? >> So, would it be an I across the board with that? How would members vote? Uh, Madame Chair, an I vote is to deny the appointment of Michael Burke and approve the appointment of Amy Campbell. A nay vote would be to deny both of them. So, if you want to take them up separately for clarity, can do that for sure. >> I think we can just take it up together. Thank you for the clarification. >> All right. I will have the clerk call the role. >> Thank you. >> Oh, my apologies. >> Why are we doing this? >> Council member Rainville. >> So, When we call a role, we're going to do it separately or you going to do >> Would you like it separately? >> Thank you. >> Yes. >> I'm just wondering if the city attorney could uh give us some advice. Do we have the ability to deny someone an appointment because of uh who they allow in their business? I mean, clearly a hotel cannot refuse uh service to a federal agent. >> We will go to Attorney O'Reilly. Good morning. Thank you, Chair Todder and Council Member Rainville. I I think the the body has the ability to deny appointments for a variety of reasons. Um, generally speaking, I would urge caution against uh denying someone for um views they may have expressed or um things of that nature. And but again there is broad discretion for appointing to uh boards and commissions. Uh and so I would encourage the body to consider u the application of the individual for this particular board and um if if they meet those qualifications. >> Thank you. >> Thank you Council Member Osman or Council Vice President Osman. Uh >> thank you. Uh is Michael Burke here in the audience? No. Okay. Well, I am concerned uh as what council member Wansley stated, I think when we appoint advisory individuals, uh one of the things they advise us to keep the community safe and if this is um he's someone who's representing on this board um could not you know I guess keep the uh community safe and then I will definitely uh consider someone else to advise us how to approach in our community and be safe. So I will be supporting the motion for council member Wsley. >> Yes. And we we will take them up separately and then I'll note for everyone this is not our final vote either. This is us re making a recommendation to the full council. So we'll have to take this item up there as well. Council member Wanssley. >> Thank you. So um I just would like to reference a president where this by the last term also v voted uh down on appointment of a individual who worked on behalf of Greyar considering Greyar has um also been one of the most problematic landlords in my ward also across the country as we were taking up rent algorithms and had found that they have been using price fixing to um artificially inflate rents that priced out my students are made um their everyday living much more harder because they had to struggle to pay rent because of Grey Star's usage of these type of technologies. And with that in consideration, this body actually did vote down the appointment of that particular individual representing an organization. There is the same logic that applies here. This is not targeted to the individual. tied to the graduate as a business and particularly their really questionable response and also problematic response that as I noted has led to aggressive criminalization of protesters and have led to undergraduate students now having a petty misdemeanor on their records for exercising their first amendment rights. There were a multitude of other ways in which the business could have engaged community members who raised concerns about what was happening in their hotel. they opted to not do that. Um, and this is within our right and our authority to be able to say, okay, go do better. Um, but I needed to provide clarification. We have exercised a similar uh response before regarding to special uh service or special service advisory boards like this. And the logic basically transfers over in into how we're making sure that people who are representing on these boards actually have the best interests of our communities and minds and those who live in the communities that they also aim to represent. >> Thank you. And we will be taking up those motions separately. The first one is a motion to deny 49.1. And with that, I will have the clerk call the role. Council member Payne. >> I. >> Wsley. >> Nay. Wait. >> You want to vote? I >> Oh, sorry. I My bad. Yes. I. >> Council member Rainville. >> No. >> Vita. >> No. >> Warren. >> No. >> Osman. >> I. >> Schaefer. >> I. >> Stevenson. >> I. >> Chavez. >> I. >> Whiting. >> Abstain. >> Palmisano. >> Nay. Vice Chair Chuktai >> I >> and Chair Chowry >> I >> there are eight I's four Naz and one abstension that motion carries and is forwarded next we'll take up 49.2 I'll have the clerk call the role. Council member Payne. >> Hi, >> Wanssley. >> I >> Rainville. >> Hi, >> Vita. >> I >> Warren. >> Hi, >> Osman. >> I >> Schaefer. >> I >> Stevenson, >> I >> Chavez, >> I >> Whiting, >> abstain. >> Palmisano. >> I, >> Vice Chair Chip, >> I >> and Chair Chowy, >> I. >> There are 12 eyes's and one abstension. >> That motion carries. Great. Now we will take up three quasi judicial hearings reflected as items one, two, and three on our posted agenda. Again, let me reiterate that an individual who wishes to address this committee on any of these quasi judicial hearings should register with the clerks at the registration table located in the corridor outside the chamber. We will take testimony in the order of folks registered after giving time for the applicant in each case. If you have any materials to submit for the record on any of these matters, please give those m materials to the clerk at the registration table. For everyone in attendance and especially those who may participate in our hearings or comment period, let me offer this notice. This public meeting is being recorded and broadcast. Um, the broadcast of this meeting is livereamed and uh and the recording is deemed public data under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act. By attending this meeting and participating in these proceedings, your image, any testimony or information you provide will also be sub subject to disclosure under that law. That includes but is not limited to your attendance, your name, other personal details you provide, as well as any testimony or comments you provide, which includes any written submissions you make, which are included in the record of this meeting. With that, our first quasi judicial hearing relates to an interim use permit application that was submitted by Tocali. I'll ask city planner Andrew France to provide a brief on this item. Welcome, Mr. France. Good morning, Chair Chattery, and council members. I'm Andrew Friends, a planner with the land use team in CPED Planning, here to present an interim use permit application to allow a principal parking facility at 1901 East Lake Street for up to 5 years. I thought that would go to the Sorry, I did not expect that to scroll side to side rather than to the next slide. So, we'll just do it like this. Um, the subject property is a vacant lot located at the southeast corner of the intersection of 19th Avenue South and East Lake. That's the property shown here, um, near the center of the screen. Um, this property has been vacant for 22 years since the demolition of a former gas station at the site in 2004. The applicant is proposing to establish a 19 space surface parking lot on the property. The parking lot would serve uh Albera Market located immediately across 19th Avenue from the property. The applicants are seeking to establish the parking lot via an interim use permit um and have requested the maximum period of 5 years. The applicants have stated that in the long term they plan to propose a commercial or mixeduse uh redevelopment of the property. Establishing the parking lot via an interim use permit uh supports the acquisition and the cleanup of the property and the operation of this existing uh small business in the neighborhood without cementing the property's long-term use as surface parking. I'm happy to go into uh detail on any of the required findings if there are any questions. Um but at a high level Sorry about that. >> Um, but at a high level, staff has found that the application does meet all of the required findings and we are recommending approval subject uh to a few basic conditions related to landscaping and um reiterating uh the expiration of the permit. I'm happy to answer any questions. Thank you. >> Thank you. And I think we will take up questions after we hear from the applicant and those that are uh here for public comment. But before we do that, I did want to ask our city attorney, attorney shut, to just uh give a brief to the members on how uh we should address quasi judicial proceedings and make decisions. I'll go to attorney shut. Thank you, chair. Uh hello, council members. My name is Amy Shut. I'm an assistant city attorney in the city attorney's office and I staff the biz committee. Um so you are currently hearing before you three quasi judicial hearings which are a special type of hearing for you. Um quasi judicial hearings occur when you are applying existing laws and rules to a particular land use request. In those cases, you have a bit less discretion than you normally do in your decision-making. And um a court is in reviewing what you've done is going to examine whether you applied the rules already in place to the facts before you. So in order for your decision on quasi judicial matters to stand, what we look for is um that you should be able to affirmatively answer the following questions. Was there a complete record of the proceedings? Was fair notice and hearing of fair notice of the hearing and an opportunity to be heard provided to the applicant or the appellant if there is an appellant in the case? Um did you avoid exparte exparte contacts with the applicant appellant and others on the matter? And did you avoid prejudgment bias? And so as the chair noted um for these reasons the procedure of a quasi judicial hearing is very specific. We hear from staff on the background of the issue and then we go directly into the public hearing to hear from the applicant and the appellant if there is one and then only after the public hearing has been closed um and the record is set do you debate the facts of the issue. >> Thank you so much attorney shut. Now I will open the hearing on this application. If the applicant is here to address the committee, we'll allocate five minutes for their comments. After that, anybody else signed up will have two minutes to address the committee. And then I will welcome up the applicant. So, welcome. Please uh state your name. Yeah. Hi everyone. My name is Sides Salgado and I'm the applicant for this parking lot. >> Wonderful. You have five minutes and the timer's right there. >> Okay, perfect. Yeah. So, we're very excited uh to bring this project to Lake Street. Uh we started this process way before all the all the chaos that were living in the city um happened, but we've been wanting to improve that area. We've been wanting to improve um our neighborhood for a really long time. And uh when my business partner and I bought Lorada Market, we really thought that um having that vacant lot there just didn't really do much for our community. It's a place where people can do all kinds of use of illegal substances. Um, it just obviously looks like our neighborhood is abandoned. And so when the opportunity came up to buy it, we really wanted to jump on it. But then we realized that with uh the current uh highdensity plan for the city of Minneapolis, especially the Lake Street corridor, this was way above our pay grade, this is something that we would never be able to uh come up with a capital structure and the funds in uh such a short period of time. And thankfully, when we reached out to the city of Minneapolis, they explained to us our different options, and we thought that this one would be a great option to move forward with. Um it would give us the opportunity to acquire that um lot and give it some sort of use, transition it into something that is part of the community that actually serves the community and it would give us the time to actually uh figure out how we're going to bring a bigger better project to our neighborhood. And that's exactly what we want to do. Um again, we're very excited. We really think that this is something that is nothing but good news to an area that has been so heavily affected, especially over the last few months where we did have moments where we thought maybe we should back out of this like because is our grocery store even going to survive everything that's happening right now? We've been closed for so long. We've lost so much revenue. But we kept like going back and forth on it and ultimately decided that our commitment to Lake Street is for the long term. It has been my home for over 30 years. I I went to South High School a couple years like so we're we want to move forward with it and again we're just very excited and I'm just here to answer any questions or address any concerns that anyone else may have because we really believe that this is something positive for everyone. >> Thank you so much for your testimony. Really appreciate it. >> Thank you. Am I allowed to answer questions if people have? We are going to take up uh to see if there's anyone that's here to give any public testimony first and then we'll open it up for questions for our staff and if there is something pertaining to you, we'll have you up as well. Thank you so much for coming. >> All right. Is there anyone that would like to speak to this? We don't have anyone else signed up. So, I will just ask one more time before we close the public hearing. Okay, with no one else wishing to speak, I will close the public hearing and I will um go to council members for discussion. Recognize council vice president Osman. >> Uh thank you so much for uh doing business with city of Minneapolis and also being creative, a land that has been sitting there for a while. Uh Mike, I have a question. Uh we are seeing um especially on legree area where a bait parking um like a plate reader uh where folks are um without a gate people are coming in um maybe going somewhere else but they are um pulling in and as soon as they get out uh the plate reader um picks up and sends them a large bill because they didn't somehow pay. So will will this be a paid parking service or um is it open to your customers or businesses? How will this uh work? >> I welcome back up the applicant. Thank you. >> Yes. Uh well for uh our current vision is that we want to have it available for our customers um where we want them to have free um free parking space. We do have to work out what that would look like in the future because the reality is that right now Lake Street experiences a lot of congestion and we do think that there's going to be a learning curve where there are going to be things that we probably didn't think or address in advance and they will come up as people's needs shift and as people want to maybe misuse our parking lot. But for the time being um all we want to do is have parking space available to our customers that is free of charge. >> Okay. Wonderful. If that's the case, I definitely support it. If there's ever a time where parking will make a revenue or or pay parking, I think there are certain conditions we might have to think about, which is uh having a a gate that opens and people are able to easily pay instead of uh some kind of uh scan here. Not every every, you know, elderly person knows how to scan and pay it online. We're seeing more parkings that are sending large bills in the mail by blade readers, which is I'm super cautious about that. But um thank you so much. >> And again, we are also trying to be very cost effective. So I imagine installing something of that sort, some mechanism of that sort would also rise up our expenses and for a project that's only bound to last 5 years. We really don't want to get into that. >> Thank you. Thank you so much. Next, I'll go to Vice Chair Chug Tai. >> Thank you, Madame Chair. Um, you know, I feel like as far as quasi judicials go in this case, um, the our staff are recommending approval of this item. Um, you know, we've heard from the applicant. I appreciate that this is a temporary solution to, um, to to this problem and that you're hoping to activate the space for the long haul and have that 5-year period of time to envision that and and figure out um, how to how to pay for whatever that that future for this this parcel looks like. Um, I plan to approve um I I plan to support the approval of this item or of this application and uh want to thank the applicant for coming in and making yourself available to answer questions as well. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. Next, we'll go to Council Member Chavez. >> Thank you, Chair Chowy. I was just going to move this item for approval. >> All right. Second. Okay. If I may, may I suggest that you amend that to also adopt the findings of fact in the staff report that is in the record? Thank you. >> Yes, Council Member Chavez, will you add that to your motion? >> Excellent. Okay. I am not seeing any other further discussion. Thank you so much for all you're doing right now and for doing business in the city of Minneapolis. We know that it is a very, very difficult time and so we're excited to be able to hear from you today. Thank you. Yeah. With that, I'll ask the clerk to call the role. >> Council member Payne, >> I. >> Wsley, >> I >> Rainville. >> I >> Vita. >> I >> Warren. >> I >> Osman. >> I >> Schaefer. >> I >> Stevenson. >> I >> Chavez. >> Hi. >> Whiting. >> I >> Palmisano. >> I >> vice chair Chai. >> I >> And chair Chowdery. I >> there are 13 eyes. >> That the motion carries and passes. The next quasi judicial hearing is for an appeal on a certificate of appropriateness that was submitted by Nicholas Bates. I'll ask city planner Aaron K to provide a brief on this matter. Welcome up K. Good morning, Chair Chowry and council members. My name is Aaron Kay and I am a senior city planner in the Historic Preservation subsection of the Department of Community Planning and Economic Development or CPED. I'm here today to present an appeal of the Heritage Preservation Commission's HPC decision on a certificate of appropriateness application for the property located at 2011 Franklin Avenue East in the Washurn Fair Oaks Historic District. I will first summarize the application, then the HPC's decision, and finally the appeal request. Here is an aerial view of the property's location at the corner of Franklin Avenue East and Second Avenue South in Ward 10. Because this property is located in a historic district, exterior alterations are subject to preservation review by city staff. This project came to staff via a 311 inquiry in late October 2025 to report unpermitted work, which was verified by a city inspector. The siding was in the process of being replaced and had not received preservation approval or a permit. Based on the nature of the project, staff informed the property owner that they needed to prepare a certificate of appropriateness application that would go before the HPC in a public hearing. The project also included replacing the roof, which had received prior permit approval, and installing new gutters, which have not yet been installed. The house was built in 1885 during the district's period of significance from 1863 to 1939. Staff believe that the original sighting would have been wood based on what was typical for this area. In 1964, the house was resided. This is likely when aluminum sighting was installed, as shown in these photos. The property owner in their application noted that the aluminum sighting had experienced significant weathering and deterioration over time due to moisture, pests, and climate exposure. as well as denting from the August 2023 hail storm. The applicant selected vinyl sighting as the replacement to reduce risks of dents and surface damage and more closely resemble the likely original wood sighting in their opinion. Here are two photos of the house with the vinyl siding installed as proposed. Uh and then in the bottom left corner, a screenshot from the product sheet. Um at the public hearing with the HBC, the property owner shared that the work was nearly complete at the time they were notified a permit was needed. Staff review for this type of application involves determining whether or not the project meets the design guidelines for this historic district. And the Secretary of the Interior standards for rehabilitation, which are federal preservation standards. For this historic district, design guidelines indicate that vinyl siding is not considered an appropriate substitute material for a house that would have originally had wood siding. This is because it has a very different finish, texture, and appearance from wood. Additionally, when non-historic materials need to be replaced, the design guidelines encourage restoration of historic wall cladding, which would be wood, or incind replacement, which would be aluminum. In this case, staff recommended two conditions of approval to select a more suitable replacement than vinyl siding, which would require the vinyl to be removed and then replaced with a different material. At the HPC meeting on December 2nd, 2025, the property owner shared that they were not aware of the property's historic status when they bought the property in 2022. I'll note that our team worked to add this type of information to all truth in sale of housing or tish reports in 2023, which could explain why they weren't aware of the historic status and the requirements for preservation review. The property owner also shared that the contractor did not tell them that a permit was needed to replace the sighting. At that hearing, they asked the HBC to strike the conditions of approval in order to keep the sighting as it was installed due to concerns about the cost to redo the project. The HBC discussed the project at length before making their decision. Uh, one member expressed concern about the potential waste from removing new sighting that had just been installed. Another acknowledged economic hardship, uh, which does not fall within the HBC's purview for consideration. Others identified possible negligence by the contractor for conducting unpermitted work. Ultimately, the HBC adopted staff findings and recommendations and approved the applications subject to three conditions as shown on this slide. The property owner submitted an appeal to strike two conditions of approval from the HBC's decision. The first being number one, the replacement sighting shall be fiber cement, composite wood, or other similar material. Vinyl siding is not permitted. And the second, number two, the applicant shall work with staff to determine the compatible direction and dimensions of the replacement sighting. It shall be compatible but different from historic sighting remaining on similar properties in the historic district. At a high level, they are making this request for several reasons. Technological advancements in materials, identification of other nearby properties with vinyl siding, lack of objections from neighbors and tenants, economic hardship, reduction of waste, and overall improvement to this property. Granting the appeal would allow the property owner to complete the project and secure permit approval. staff have not received any public comments pertaining to this project. This concludes my presentation. I'm happy to answer any questions and then the property owner who's also the appellant is here and would like to speak. >> Thank you so much Miss K. Um with that I will open up the public hearing and then we can have discussion after. If the applicant is here, you'll be given five minutes to speak. And then after that, if there is anyone else registered, you'll have two minutes to speak. And I will welcome up the applicant. >> Welcome. >> Good morning. My name is Nicholas Bates. I'm the uh founder and owner of Concepts 26. We provide uh housing for people in transition facing barriers like uh poor credit, criminal background, um those type of situations uh to allow them to obtain housing. We started in 2019 serving just three people. Now today we serve 247. Um this building that we're discussing today is uh designed to be a long-term part of our portfolio. Um, it's not like a a flip type of situation. Typically, we obtain houses or buildings that are distressed, fix them up, place candidates that are in need of housing. Um, Aaron basically covered everything that I was going to say, which is written down. Excuse me. I'm kind of a little bit sick and a little bit nervous. Um, I'm pleading with the with the city council to overturn uh the HBC's uh decision and strike conditions one and two. Um because taking off the siding that was recently installed would be a detrimental cost to my organization and potentially lead to the closure of closure of that building and maybe even the displacement of the of the people within. Um yep. We're we're we're branded in Minneapolis. We stay there. We uh we take care of the the people within our community. And and I I really hope that you would consider this appeal. >> Any questions? Thank you so much. >> Okay. >> Yeah. We'll let you know if there's any further questions. >> Is there anyone else that would like to testify on this? >> Okay. Seeing no one else, I will close the public hearing and then I will ask if there is any discussion um from committee members. Council Vice President Osman. Uh, thank you so much. Uh, staff, can you say more about because we continue to hear that we're not aware of if this is a designated historic site or um, can you talk about a little bit more when did they find that out? This building requires special look before you get a permit. >> Chair Towry, Council Member Osman, thank you for the question. Um, I'm understanding you're wanting a little more information just about kind of the confusion related to the historic status of the property. Um, so the the applicant, the owner, Nick, uh, shared with us that he was not aware of it when he purchased the property in in 2022. You know, I can't confirm or or deny that in that moment, but um, the piece of information that may have influenced that is that we weren't able to get that into Tish reports until 2023. So, we understand that um this this may be a widespread problem that people aren't aware of the status and so this has been a way to address that. However, you only know it when you've bought the property after it got added into the reports. Um my understanding from our applicant uh and the appellant is that um he became aware of the historic status in the fall when he was contacted about um unpermitted work being done uh or contacted that the work being done at his property was unpermitted. Um and so we spoke and he immediately wanted to know the steps to go through the process. Um and that has taken us to today. And so one more time uh the conditions that we you forward that requires the owner to basically undo the work he did. >> Chair Chowy, uh council member Osman, if you were to uphold the HPC's decision and conditions of approval, it would require the property owner to redo the work that has been done. >> Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Um I put myself in queue through uh vice chair chug tai. I'm having some speaker management issues myself up here. Um I had uh a question for staff. So, if we uh wanted to if the body wanted to move forward on a motion to um strike the first and second conditions, uh what kind of findings would we need to prepare? >> Chair Chowry. Um because the HBC has already adopted findings and have voted on approval to if the council decides to strike the conditions of approval that will not require new findings of fact um for this application. Okay, that's really helpful to know and I'll just speak uh my position on the matter. Obviously, um there are rules around historic preservation that come up and uh once it is appealed to this body, it's up to us to make decisions on what's best suited uh for the applicant, but also the city as a whole. And I I I share in the perspective that it would be very arduous for this applicant to have to remove every single piece of sighting that they've already put forward and then replace it. Uh, personally, I think the new vinyl sighting looks pretty good and is a big improvement. And so, um, I'll be looking forward to having further co conversations about what we want to do at full council. But that's my current position. And I'll go to Vice Chair Tug Tai. >> Yeah. Thank you, Madam Chair. Um, you know, just just continuing off of uh what you stated and and what um our staff from the historic preservation work um have have also added as further context here. I think I would like to make a motion now um to uh consider in in consideration of the appeal that has been submitted by the applicant um uh strike conditions number one and two from the Historic Preservation Commission. Um and um in essence approve the appeal. Um, I will ask for a second on that. >> Second. >> Wonderful. Thank you, >> Council Member Chavez. >> No. Okay. That you were trying to get into Cuke. Council President Payne. >> Uh, thank you, Madam Chair. Just out of clarification, was it uh there was three conditions. Was it one and two that the applicant wanted to change or was it one and three? >> One and two. >> Chair Chowry, Council President Payne. Uh, that is correct. There were three conditions of approval. Uh the third one is related to gutters. Uh the applicant has no issues with the gutters. They're only asking you to consider striking number one and number two. >> Okay. All right. Yep. >> Great. Is there any further discussion? >> With that, we have the motion from Vice Chair Chugai U to move this forward striking conditions one and two. Uh, I will ask the clerk to call the role. >> Council member Payne, >> I. >> Wsley, >> I. >> Rainville, >> I >> Vita, >> I >> Warren, >> I >> Osman, >> I >> Schaefer, >> I >> Stevenson, >> I >> Chavez, >> I >> Palmisano, >> I, >> Vice Chair Chuktai, >> I. >> And Chair Chowry, >> I. There are 13 eyes. With that, that motion passes. The third and final quasi judicial hearing today is a variance appeal that was submitted by Patrick Hagertton. I'll ask city planner Fatimat uh Ulucoa to provide a brief on this matter. Welcome. Good morning, Chair Chowry, council members. I am Fatima Olukoga, city planner with CPED. This item is an appeal of a board of ad adjustment denial for a variance to increase the maximum height of a privacy fence in a corner sideyard from 4t to 6 ft at 3906 York Avenue South. The property is a corner lot in the UN1 urban neighborhood district developed with a single family home. Zoning code enforcement issued an order to correct in October 2024 related to the fence height. The applicant was advised to either comply with the ordinance or apply for a variance. There have been no ordinance changes since that time. The proposal includes a six-foot solid fence which runs along 39th Street and along the front of the house on York Avenue. While portions comply with the ordinance um by enclosing an entrance approximately 30 ft exceed the 4ft maximum allow for opaque fencing in a corner side yard. staff finds that unique circumstances do not exist that prevent compliance with the ordinance such as grading or safety constraints and that the proposal is not consistent with the spirit and intent which seeks to balance privacy with visibility light and air and public facing yards. Although the request would not alter neighborhood character or be detrimental to public health, safety or welfare, not all required variance findings are met. For these reasons, staff recommended denial. I'll stand for question. >> Thank you so much. I will now open up the hearing. If the applicant is here to address the committee, you are welcome to join and you will have five minutes to speak. Thank you. Welcome. Uh, is there a way to show something on the >> What are you hoping to do, sir? We could potentially assist you. >> Sorry, I'm I'm good. I just have to plug this. >> It will come up, I think. screen computer. Madame Chair and uh committee members, thank you for taking time to hear our appeal this morning about um the fence height variance request we have before the city. Uh specifically uh what we're requesting as >> Could you introduce yourself for the record? >> Oh, sorry. My name is Patrick Harartton and I'm the owner of the property at 3906 York Avenue South. And with me here is my fiance and co-owner of the property, Dory Nyiver. And we're um just coming to request your your uh help on this. So um as I said, we we're appreciate your time. We're here asking for a variance uh to add a 6-ft fence about 20 ft along West 39th Street and about 40 ft back to the house. As Fatima mentioned, we uh the application process requires that we meet these conditions. I think we're both in agreement that two and three are met. Whereas the zoning administration position is that we do not meet condition one uh I've asked multiple times for very specific information why we don't meet it and have not received that. But our position is that we um do meet those conditions. This is a overhead view of our property. Um, it was built in 1952 on a double lot. The house was shifted towards the south and west of the lot, leaving a rather small back garden area and a rather large sideyard area with the intent that the sideyard be the outdoor space for this property. Um to further uh give you a further context to that, the previous owners had a swimming pool and a a trampoline and etc. on the side lot and that was their outdoor space. They had it surrounded by a pool fence and about a 7 foot high very dense hedge um that created that private space on that sideyard. Um and you might note that the hedge went to the corner of the lot creating a somewhat of a visibility issue for uh pedestrian and vehicle traffic. Um what we are asking is that um as Fatima said, we are able to build a six-foot fence where the blue line shows, but we are asking to have a variance to build an additional 20 ft along 39th and 40t tying back to the front of the house. uh some additional uh data points here to support the fact that we have a unique situation in our yard. There uh are 44 homes from France to Richmondfield Road on 39th. I measured all the sideyards. Um the largest one next to ours is 25 ft. The average is about 14 ft. Ours is 50 feet. So it's clearly a a different animal. It's intended to be our outdoor space. Um, we know, and you probably know, 39th is a very busy street, so there's a lot of vehicle traffic and a lot of pedestrian traffic, which creates noise and a lot of onlookers that tend to look into our property, and we're trying to create some privacy there. As you also know probably the non corner lot people are able to put a six-foot fence in their backyard which is their outdoor space and we're simply asking for the same consideration to be able to put a sixft fence in our sideyard to create that same privacy. I think uh you may be aware that there is a proposal in the in somewhere in the mix here that has not yet been heard by the city council, but in recognition that sideyard people are somewhat disadvantaged by the ordinance, there's a a proposal to change the ordinance, giving us more leeway to u build fences in our sideyard. The last uh comments I'll make is that there are numerous properties in Lynen Hills that have 6-ft fences in their sideyards. There's at 39th and Zenith, there's a 6ft fence that extends 18 ft into the front yard and it's solid. At the corner of 39th and Sheridan, there's a solid 6ft fence that extends to the front of the house. At the other end of our block on York, there are two homes with six foot fences in their sideyards. One semi-transparent and one more mostly solid. Um, just a little further away on Sheridan, more houses and I'll just conclude by saying please wrap up your comments. >> There are numerous houses in the neighborhood and we're just asking for the same consideration and so we ask that you please approve our request. Thank you so much for coming before us today. I will see if there's anyone else that wishes to speak during this public hearing. We allowed two minutes. Okay. I'm not seeing anyone else, so we will close the public hearing and then go to discussion. I'll recognize council member Vita. >> Thank you, chair. Um, thank you for your uh presentation on this. I have been working with staff last year on this very issue, the corner lots and um the disadvantage of corner lots. So, um I'm I'm kind of siding with you, sir, on having the corner lot and the ability to have the same fence that the person next door to you get to have. That might be because I live on the end of a block, too. And so, I know like how difficult it is when folks um just walk in your yard because you're on the corner or there is no privacy. And it's and it's actually a big issue in North Minneapolis. That's why I started working on it. A lot of the properties on very busy streets and corner lots. Not only do they want privacy, but they also want the um there there's some traffic concerns with corner lots and cars slipping off the side of the roads and going into people's private space. And um uh people I mean there's just a lot of things that have been happening a couple years ago that were brought to my attention. and it was primarily people who had corner lots and wanted the higher fencing. And so we have been working on that. Maybe uh uh council vice president Osman just sent me a text and said maybe we'll bring that back up here real soon uh to kind of talk through how we do make some ordinance changes around uh corner lots not having a disadvantage. So, I appreciate the presentation and I'm supportive of of what you're trying to do here because um I understand that it it might be a little different on a corner lot, especially when you don't have a backyard. Thank you. >> Thank you, Council Member Vita. Next, I'll go to Council Member Whiting. >> Thank you, Chair Chowry. And this might just be a question for staff. It sounds like Council Member Vita might have answered my question as well. Do we have any uh semblance of of where kind of this ordinance change is in the process or are we going to have to bring this back up um for corner lots to kind of fit with the foot? >> Thank you. Um Chair Towry, Council Member Whiting. Um so I'm Mike McMahon. I'm the planning director in CPAD. I have not had the opportunity to meet all of you yet. Um so uh Council Member Vita had brought forward an amendment last year. Staff um had begun some preparation. we have some options for how to proceed with that. My understanding is that um all of those legislative uh actions essentially died at the end of the year and so that item would need to be picked back up uh and receive an author uh in this new term. Um and then I think staff is in the point where we would need some direction from policy makers on on kind of what those options are and how you'd want to proceed. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. So, it's in the beginning part of the ordinance. That's great to know. Um, next we'll go to Council Vice Chair Chugai. Thank you, Madam Chair. Um, also a question for for staff. Um, I appreciate that the applicant um picked out some examples of other um properties within uh within the neighborhood um where where similar conditions exist with with respect to fencing. I'm wondering if staff can speak to what the distinction is between properties that have that 6 foot um and extended extended um fencing versus this specific property um and why that might be an acceptable um thing for those other properties versus from staff staff's perspective why it isn't in this case. >> Thank you uh chair chowry member chai. Uh so when we are doing zoning enforcement in the city that's a uh we don't do proactive zoning enforcement, right? We don't have the staff or capacity to go out and kind of look for complaints. A lot of those um photos were photos of fences that were maybe older. You could kind of tell from the picture. It's not not probably exclusively. Um but we are complaint-based system. In this case, um my understanding is the fence was was under construction and an inspector saw that and so raised it at that moment. But we we have not received complaints officially about the other fences in the neighborhood and so we have not proactively gone out and and addressed those. But my understanding is those those are fences are likely in violation. >> Understood. Okay, that is helpful. So, um, and can you speak to the the underlying status quo policy around I I appreciate that there's there's been work in the previous term around um changing some of the regulations around fencing. I appreciate that that's work that is at the very very beginning stages right now. Um, and can't I I don't have any um insight into nor can I speak to what those changes would look like. I'm certain that you will have uh extensive involvement in that. But can you speak to status quo policy um that prevents such fencing as as the applicant has brought before us today? >> Sure. Sure. >> Just in in like simple people terms. Chair chai. Yes. Or I can attempt to. So essentially um when you have a corner lot um sixoot fences are allowed in rear and sidey yards and anything forward of the required setback um front yard setback is required to be 4 feet. Um and in corner sideyards you obviously is an awkward situation because it's fronting on a a street front edge. And so the provision allows for a 6-ft fence along that front or I'm sorry along that sideyard that's facing the secondary um public right of way up to if there's a a side door on that house. Um that fence can be six feet up to the side door. And the thinking behind that is like if you're using your side door to access your back door, it makes sense to have like that sixoot fence that's sort of a continuation into your backyard and create that privacy. but forward of that door um it has to drop back down to the four feet um and then and then continue around to what would be allowed in the front yard. So the proposed amendment that we're looking at would allow um a 6ft fence for the duration of that sideyard up to where the the you know essentially where the front of the house is or where that required yard would begin. Um so it's it you know would kind of a slight extension of where the the six foot would be allowed. Um I think you know there's some options around that because um in a lot of situations you have some grade change between where the house is and the the road. And so you'll see retaining walls um in a lot of areas in Minneapolis um that are kind of holding up those front yards. And so you can envision like a sixoot fence on top of that retaining wall could be quite um you know oppressive. It kind of create this blank wall. um it really disrupts the, you know, kind of pedestrian experience. It, um, makes it difficult for snow removal. If you've got, you know, you're shoveling that sidewalk and you got to put that snow somewhere, you know, getting it up and over a sixoot fence is less likely than, you know, a shorter fence. So, there's there are some, you know, considerations and and and unique situations. It's not, you know, a completely cut and dry amendment. We'll have to look through and and kind of see in different neighborhoods. There's there's places where it makes perfect sense and then there's other places where it could create some difficulty for pedestrians. And I would imagine with a corner lot, a part of that that 4-foot reduction requirement um it has to do with with obstruction um of of like line of sight as as as people are navigating that that block. Is that kind of is that a fair assessment? >> Um yep. Chility. Yeah, that's correct. So I think there's visibility is a component of that and safety is generally too. I mean, I think the sense of like a six-foot privacy fence generally are not considered to be as safe. Even though while you're on the inside of it, you feel maybe safer. Um, from a septed, a crime prevention through environmental design, opaque fences are generally not considered um uh effective safety features. >> For sure. Um, well, I mean, I I I'm not sure how other colleagues are thinking about it, and I would imagine there's someone else who's hoping to make a a motion, but generally, um, I am, um, I I I don't think that, um, this appeal, um, meets the the requirements for for approval, but um, you know, I appreciate that there are policy changes that are being considered. I mean, we can't approve an appeal based on hypothetical changes that may happen in the future. Um, we have to consider based on the laws that exist right now. And and really appreciate the context from staff that there are others um examples that the applicant um picked out that that are also people that are that are in violation of the law. And unfortunately um the applicant ended up in a position where uh where that was they were stopped from doing so on the front end. Um so I I think that's how I'm thinking about it and and uh thank you madam chair. >> Thank you vice chair. I put myself in quue. Um I am inclined to agree with your comments. uh with quasi judicial hearings and matters, we have to look at what are uh the laws and policies that we currently have in place. It's not a place for us to legislate um and change the rules. That's what the ordinance and legislative process is for and that's where it seems like to address this greater issue, that's where we'll need to make the changes. So, I am not inclined um to uh approve this appeal. Um if there are council members that would like to bring forward uh a motion for approval, um you'd have to work with our city attorneys to create findings of fact. Um with respect to the fact that there is uh council members that have different positions. I'm going to put the motion forward to recommend this without approval. So there's time for uh discussion with city attorneys. I I will advise have conversations only with the city attorneys. This is a quasi judicial matter. So no exparte communication. And uh that's the the motion that I'll put forward. So there's time for discussion in this matter >> uh on Thursday. And then if there's a second on my motion. >> Second. >> Second. Okay. Council member Palmasano. I think there were others in queue before. Oh, not anymore. Um, >> I'll defer to others. >> Would you like to go next >> first? Yeah. >> Yeah. I'm going to I'm going to call on Council Member Warren. >> Thank you. Um Um Am I trying to throw them to scramble? There was a fence here previously, correct? as there was a pool and a trampoline and can the property owner provide some clarity around that? >> What happened to the fence that was there when there was a pool and a trampoline there? >> I'm going to actually ask staff maybe to come up >> or staff >> to for that one for the prior property. I would actually defer to the applicant appellant on that because I don't know if it was removed prior to their purchase of the home or not. >> Okay. Welcome back up. Um, we removed the pool and the trampoline and the fence and the 7 foot hedge um because we we are not pool people and we didn't want to maintain a pool and we just thought it was kind of unsightly on on top of it. So, we removed that so that we could have um the space reconfigured. >> Can I make one other comment? If it's only if it's only directed to this question, you had your moment for your presentation. >> You guys said something that you know there is a variance process and it does have a variance pro process and that's why I'm here and I understand that there's rules but there was a request process. So >> thank you ask consideration. >> Thank you. Thank you sir. Uh Council Member Warren, you still have some time. I was just wondering what had happened to the previous arrangement and why it was removed and if it was acceptable then why it wasn't acceptable now. >> Welcome up. >> This is a different configuration. Before there was a 4ft fence that surrounded the pool with hedges that provided um 7 foot hedges that provided that privacy where now the um applicant is proposing um a six-foot fence completely opaque so it's a different setup. >> Thank you for that clarification. >> Thank you Council Member Warren. Next, we'll go to Council Member Palmisano. >> Thank you, Madam Chair. Um, Mr. Hergarten and his fiance bought a beautiful older house. They've made it even more beautiful. They've completely redone their yard. Um, and that older hedge that used to be there, I would see it almost every day. Uh, really kind of functioned as a full-on screen to the property. Um, you know, like myself, like council member Vita, he and his fiance have what's called a double front lot. And what that means is that we as property owners have to comply with front yard rules on both sides. Um, in different parts of the city, there are different concerns that give us these kinds of rules. Um, council member Vita has been working on updates to these fence regulations and has been for some time. So, I want to um give, you know, give that some credit. I probably need some time until Thursday to to kind of speak with her and understand where that's going. I didn't think that that was actually going to get to the point of something that would make the fence that he is at this point built or at least mostly built um that would make that within ordinance. Um but I but I don't know. Um, I can understand the argument that other corner properties have a six-foot fence as Miss McMahon stated. Um, those are also probably out of compliance, but just not complained about or caught. Um, but rules are rules and I think we have to work really hard to apply those fairly across the whole city. Um, the fencing ordinance that we have are for orderliness and public safety and it has to apply to every neighborhood across the city. So, I'm not sure I can get to the point of findings of fact based on this situation. So, a couple more days to discuss it with my colleagues would be welcome. Thank you. >> Thank you so much, Council Member Palmisano. I see council member Warren and Q. Okay, wonderful. And then I would just remind council members to check if your mics are on and if you intend for them to be on just in case. Um seeing no further discussion, we have the motion in front of us which is a motion >> for you. Madam Madam Chair, uh I believe Warren was in queue accidentally and then >> was in queue a second time when you recognized her. >> Oh, okay. I Council Member Chavez. Were you in queue for Council Member Chavez >> before Council member? Yeah. >> Oh, okay. Welcome, welcome back. >> I have no idea what's going on. This thing just keeps putting me in. I only had one question, Madam Chair, and that was just about the fencing. It just keeps my name just keeps I haven't touched anything. It just keeps popping up. I had so many speaker management issues on my end, too. >> So, I'm I don't know what's happening. It's just I'm here and then I'm hearing here. I don't know. >> I haven't touched anything. >> You just let me know when you want to speak and if it's not showing up, I will call on you. >> Exactly. And your colleagues over there will help out. Okay. Perfect. >> All right. We got that squared away. Uh with that, I don't think there's any other discussion. And we have the motion before us that's been seconded to uh move uh recommend without move without recommendation. There we are. I will ask uh the clerk to call the role. >> Council member Payne >> I >> Monsley >> I >> Rainville >> I >> Vita >> I >> Warren >> I >> Osman is absent. Schaefer. >> Hi, >> Stevenson. >> Hi, >> Chavez. >> I >> Whiting. >> Hi, >> Palmasano. >> I, >> Vice Chair Chai, >> I. >> And Chair Chowry, >> I. >> And Vice President Osman, >> I. >> There are 13 eyes. >> Great. That motion carries. It's been recommended without approval to full counsel. All right, colleagues, we've dispensed with all of our quasi judicial hearings on our agenda. >> Congratulations for dispensing of the first uh quasi judicials of the year. We'll now move to the discussion agenda beginning with the public comment period on two liquor license renewals that were postponed from our last meeting. Those are reflected on the agenda as item number 57. Before we take up those items, let me reiterate to any individuals who wish to address this committee on these items as a part of public comment period. Um, they will need to register with the clerks at the registration table in the corridor outside this chamber. I will restate that this meeting is being recorded and broadcast. This broadcast of this meeting is a live stream of these proceedings and the broadcast and recording are deemed public data under Minnesota government data practices act. By attending this meeting and participating in these proceedings, your image, any comment or information you provide will be subject to disclosure under the law. That includes but is not limited to your attendance, your name, and other personal details that you provide, your comments, as well as any written submissions you make, which are included in the record of this meeting. We'll be accepting comments from speakers in the order that they have registered. Each speaker will be given a total of two minutes to address the committee. We have a timer to help speakers monitor the use of their time right over there. We ask all speakers to wrap up their comments when the time has expired. We also ask everyone to be respectful of all speakers and all opinions offered. If you do go over the twin two minutes, I'm going to just respectfully interject. Uh, with that, we're ready to open up the floor for public comment. I don't have the current uh list before me. >> Madam Chair, it should be at the bottom of the stack. >> Got what? All right. One moment, please. There we are. We so far have a total of 10 speakers registered for this period. Uh I will be calling speakers in groups of five by their name and registered numbers. And if you are not signed up, please again go to the registration table. Um so we will be doing one two three four and five. The first speaker is uh I believe it's J Sohol in W 11. Welcome up. >> Thank you. >> Good morning, council members. My name is Joan Sohold, and I'm a 23-year hotel banquet server and a Unite Local 17 member. My co-workers are not just colleagues. They are our friends and our neighbors, the backbone of our local hospitality industry. It has been heartbreaking to watch what has unfolded in our city. I'm proud of how our work community has rallied to support one another. But I've also witnessed firsthand the fear, uncertainty, and destructive behavior directed toward one of the hotels identified on social media as housing ICE. The atmosphere of aggression and misinformation has created real anxiety. I want to be clear, ICE activity is not limited to one or two facilities. And I know you know this as well. Yet, a narrative is formed that unfairly targets specific hotels and the people who work there. Claims that these facilities are contracting with ICE or overpouring liquor to agents are false and deeply damaging. When a hotel is targeted, the impact is felt by cooks, banquet servers, housekeepers, bartenders, dishwashers, and their families. Using liquor licenses as leverage without a valid legal complaint sends a chilling message. It suggests that long-standing compliant businesses can lose their livelihoods because of political pressure or public controversies. That kind of uncertainty discourages investment, harms workers, and weakens our city's recovery. Pulling or threatening liquor licenses without clear cause would be reckless and devastating to working people. I want to thank the council members who have carefully supported the renewal of these licenses, and I respectfully urge those who have not to reconsider. This is about economic stability. It is about protecting workers and we should be doing everything we legally can to support the hotel, restaurants and industries that employ so many members of our community, especially those already adversely affected by Operation Metro Surge and ongoing instability. Please stand with workers. Please stand with economic fairness and please unite behind these businesses to continue operating without fear of punitive action even when no legal violation exists. Thank you. Thank you for your consideration. >> Yes. >> Next, we'll go to speaker number two, John Eric Haynes. Good morning, Chair Chowry and uh city council members. My name is John Eric Haynes. I am an attorney at Cumins and Cumins Law Firm, and I'm here on behalf of uh Unite Here Local 17, a union of hotel workers. thousands of hotel and restaurant workers in Minneapolis and the surrounding area. I'm here to lay out the relevant law as to the city council's broad discretion uh in determining the manner in which liquor license are renewed and regulated in the city. Uh first and foremost, I want to emphasize that there is no right to the renewal of a liquor license in the city of Minneapolis or in the state of Minnesota. The Minnesota Supreme Court has been clear. Selling liquor in the city of Minneapolis is a privilege and not a right. Additionally, the city's police power to promote the general welfare is extremely broad. Uh thus, the Minnesota Supreme Court has long held that a city properly uses its police power not to renew a liquor license when non-renewal promotes the general welfare of the city. So under that broad police power, the city council's legal authority uh regarding liquor license is lawful. A decision regarding liquor license is lawful unless that decision is unreasonable, arbitrary, capriccious or fraudulent. uh we'll hear more about the relevant facts as to these two particular uh uh hotels but uh merely speaking hypothetically uh my legal opinion is that it is not unreasonable, it is not arbitrary, it is not capriccious, it is not fraudulent for the city council to determine that if a hotel is housing a violent and armed paramilitary that it should not be permitted to sell liquor in the city or that it should be invested investigated as to how it is selling liquor in the city or it should be restricted in its ability to sell liquor in the city. Um, I'm available to answer questions as the hearing progresses as well. Thank you. >> Thank you. Next, we'll go to speaker number three, Shay Freeberg. Yeah, we can Okay, we can go to the next one. Next is speaker number four, Jeffrey Packett. Thank you, council members and madam chair. Uh my name is Jeffrey Pquette. I'm the internal organizing director of Unite Here Local 17. I'll be speaking and reading a statement from an anonymous worker at the Depot Hotel, one of the hotels that has their liquid license up for renewal. So I'll be reading the statement from this worker. I first noticed that ICE was staying in the hotel on or about the f uh January 5th of 2026. I was entering the parking lot and noticed a larger group of men standing in the parking lot. As we were walking through the parking lot, I noticed several cars with out ofstate license plates and bars on the inside of the cars. When I came into work, I told my co-worker what I had seen in the parking lot and said I believe that they were ICE agents. My coworker told me that the manager had previously told them that the hotel management did not tell us that Ice was staying in the hotel because they did not want to create a sense of panic. Within the first week of staying in our hotel, the manager covered up a window from the breakfast buffet area of the restaurant, which is a public area, and the window looked into uh the the kitchen. They covered the window with paper so that no one could see the workers who were working in the back of the house as a safety measure. My manager said it was for our safety. Additionally, normally one part of my job is to bring glassware plates and silverware to areas of the hotel where an event, a banquet event was to be uh catered. The depot is very big and does many many events. So, bringing these materials to the event rooms is is a substantial part of my job. Since I started staying in the hotel, my manager told me that we would no longer be required to bring these items to the event rooms because it wasn't safe for us to be in the public area of the hotel. other banquet staff have begun to come into the kitchen to take the items that they were that they need. Lastly, I since I have begun staying in the hotel, which I really appreciate u from the management, we've been staying in a part of the hotel where there aren't so many guests. The area where we could do our laundry was on the other side of the hotel. My manager told me that it was not safe to go to the other side of the hotel because that is where the ICE agents were staying and and they were concerned with my safety. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. Next, we'll go to speaker number five, Uriel Perez Espinosa. Welcome. Good morning, uh, Madame Chair, council members, thank you for letting me be here. My name is Yuriel Perez Pinosa. I'm with Unite here, Local 17 Hotel Workers Union. I'm here to speak against the renewal of the liquor license for the hotels that are hosting some of the ICE agents. I have never seen any ICE agents in this hotels but I spoke with few workers and after the conversation I concluded that there are ice in the hotels. This these are some of the conversations. I asked worker X. He does not want to keep or he say her name public for personal reasons. And have you seen any ICE agents staying in the hotels? Yes, I have. Many of us have seen ICE agents staying in our hotels. They park their their cars in the ramp. They wear camouflage clothing. Sometimes they're wearing their civilians clothing. They're wearing mask. They come at 10 at the hotel every day for the past two months. They leave as early as 5:30 in the morning and they return around 3:30 p.m. They go and eat in the restaurant. So here they're here every day at the Renaissance and the depot hotel. How do you feel about their presence at the hotel? Have you run into any of them? Have you encountered any face-toface interaction? In December when they first came in, we all workers were afraid and concerned of being picked up by ICE. We didn't know. I guess it's my time. >> Thank you. And if you uh want to give the rest of your comments to our clerks for anyone that wasn't able to finish, they can submit it into the public record. >> Yes, I I would like to because it's a lot. >> Okay. Yes. Yeah, please bring it over to our clerks. Um they have their hand up right there, Amber and Michael. >> Great. We will now go to speaker number six, Wade Lunberg. Chair Chowry, uh, council members, my name is Wade Lunterberg. I'm a resident of the third ward. I live at First and Henipin near the, uh, properties that are in question today. Uh, Unite here has 22 union hotels. We're in our major sports facilities, our convention centers, craft brewing, and restaurants. First, we request that if you are a hotel operator, you choose not to grant Immigration and Customs Enforcement or other immigration enforcement agencies lodging at your facilities in Minneapolis. This is an issue concerning the safety and well-being of workers. Immigration enforcement can escalate tensions, increase confrontations, and place workers in unsafe situations that they are not trained for or paid to manage. The presence of ICE can deter people from accessing food and necessities while also placing the workers in the impossible position of navigating frightened customers and aggressive immigration enforcement. There is also a danger to guests. The customers that are staying in the hotel uh ICE has proven that they are not focused on criminals or even just immigrants without proper to undock with without proper documentation. but on numerous occasions have taken action against US citizens in custody and worse. We believe that a liquor license is a privilege and that that privilege should be reserved for businesses who keep the public safety in mind. Our union has been in contact with workers at hotels that ICE has been staying at, reporting harassment, unsecured firearms, and abductions. Adding liquor to this mix is a terrible potential. For those reasons stated by the various witnesses and based on the other evidence here, we are extremely concerned about the safety and well-being of hotel employees, customers, and people that lived near hotels where ICE and CBP agents have been served liquor and otherwise hosted and housed in the hotels. All right. Thank you. If you have additional comments, you can please submit them to the public record. Next, we have number seven, Shelly. >> Good morning, council. Um, my name is Shelley Stein. I live in Ward 9. I work in Ward 10. I'm the director of the Restaurant Opportunity Center in Minnesota. We are a workers center who works with restaurant and food service workers across the Twin Cities. Over the last two months, I have talked with workers in uh both of these properties, uh restaurant workers who uh have expressed um an immense amount of fear. I've spoken with workers and business owners who have made the commitment to not serve ice in their restaurants because of the public safety for workers, customers, and their businesses. I've also talked to workers who didn't return to work uh the day after ICE was in the vicinity, not even in their workplaces. Uh the health of our industry is about protecting our workers who are the backbone and doing so is about ensuring that uh violent and criminal force isn't allowed into our workplaces and businesses do have the right to refuse service to ICE and to DHS. Uh and they should for the safety of our industry. Um, I believe that serving them is irresponsible and workers and business owners every day are signing on to pledges uh to not serve them. And it is uh a call to you all to take the same pledge uh in support of workers that uh ICE agents um who are terrorizing our community and making it impossible for workers to do their job uh not be served in our establishments. Um, thank you. >> Thank you. Next, we'll go to speaker number eight A in Ward 10. >> Uh, hi everyone. I want to start by talking about a news story I read about journalist journalist uh Laura Jedid who was hired by ICE uh as an individual with anti-ICE opinions plainly available on the internet for all who are willing to do a 30 secondond search following being hired by ICE uh Jaded was um interviewed and uh given a job and then was told to complete the onboarding. During this onboarding, she failed to complete the domestic violence affidavit, the background check, uh, authorization, and a litany of other paperwork. Despite not filling this out, she was still hired. Now, you might ask, okay, so maybe she wouldn't move on to the next stage. Um, but that brings us to reporting that came out in January where um where per uh CBC Radio Canada um or no that's that's the wrong site here uh uh oh essentially essentially in January there was a mistake that was made that allowed a number of ICE recruits to go through and skip portions of the training based on the false assumption by AI that they were prior law enforcement. Also, in conjunction with this, they are specifically targeting white supremacists, also with reporting that came out in January saying that they're using references to non-fiction books popular with white with uh neo-Nazis and with uh and some songs that were uh popular with the KKK. These in conjunction mean that we have a pipeline of intense white supremacists coming down the line with essentially no checks. We have no idea who's staying these hospitals or these hotels. In addition to this uh I would mention that the shooting on 12825 Hampton and wrap up your comments where uh where an ICE agent fired a gun on accident. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Next we will go to speaker number 10. I have Sha Alea. Apologies if I pronounced your name incorrectly. >> Hello, I'm uh Marco Ayala. I'm speaking on behalf of Arizona Taco Company for a liquor permit. And so just wanted to not take up too much of your time, but just wanted to let you guys know that uh we are a restaurant and not a nightclub, you know, uh coming into the area there uh in the uptown location. So you guys have any questions? >> Oh, thank you. This is a public comment period for the re renewals, liquor license renewals for Canopy Hilton and uh Depot Renaissance Hotel. Oh, okay. Well, we were told we were on the docket for our liquor license today. >> No, that's not the case, but thank you for coming. >> Okay. Okay. >> Thank you, sir. Uh, next we'll go back to speaker number three, Shay Freeberg. All good. Okay. Um, I will ask if there is anyone else that would like to testify that did not sign up and I'll look to the clerks to see if there's anyone else that registered at the table. Madame Chair, I don't think there's anyone else registered, but just a reminder that the clerks at the registration table do have forms for written submissions. So, for those who may have had comments but didn't get through them in time, there are forms that can be filled out and submitted as part of the record as well. >> Okay. Thank you so much, Mr. Clerk. All right. Well, with that, I will close the public comment period. Thanks to everyone that came today. Um, I have myself in Q to just kick off discussion and then I do see that we have um Amy Lingo here and I'm going to cue just to CPAD staff as they're listening that I'm going to ask uh for them to come up for a couple questions um when they're available. So obviously there were both in our um outreach to us by email in community and then also in this public testimony several community members have stated uh their concerns about ICE presence at the hotels that are that we're looking at and the concerns about um them having an ice presence that creates a public safety and general welfare concern. We heard that from the testifiers today, just uplifting that. And a testifier also shared the concerns about putting liquor into the mix of that. Um shared a lot of worker concerns of unsecured weapons at uh these hotels specifically. And just generally, I think we have all seen um the disruptions across the metro that has occurred as ICE agents have um blocked hotels in several several parts of Minneapolis and then outside of Minneapolis. Uh and so I've had some initial discussions with our city staff in terms of like what are potential next steps. I think it's really important that there is some due process here that there is um some work that can be done uh with business licensing to do some further investigating to figure out what's going on here and to see if there are some conditions or restrictions that could be put on these licenses depending on what they might find. I I think it's important to defer to our expert staff on this. Um, I did want to see if there is anyone available from CPED uh to answer a question about that. And I I'm not seeing anyone, but I will I will say that the the motion that I'm interested in putting forward and I'll put it forward is that we take these licenses. We have a due process by referring this to staff to do that investigative work. Um, I see Amy Lingo. I'll just finish up my comments about what the motion is to do that investigative work. We've done this um as a common practice as council when we have seen different issues um at certain businesses whether it's safety general welfare where we'll have our business licensing staff um do some more due diligence work talk to the businesses see if there is a potential for conditions and then I wanted to ask um well I'll put forward that motion and ask for a second if there is one >> second >> okay there's a second Um, I wanted to ask CPED and Miss Lingo specifically if you could kind of share uh what uh a refer to staff would mean and what steps you and your team would take. >> Thank you chair or chowdering. Uh my name is Amy Lingo. I am the manager for business licensing for CPED. the way that the process works. If this item is to be referred to staff, we will um take a look at the documentation that we received. 301 911 complaints conversations that were held today. We will review um the license and what the items are required to do and what we can hold them to. We will look and see if there are any um conditions that can be held on to the license that we can impose. We will also have conversations with the property and the license holders to see what kind of um security andor conditions andor procedures that we can go we can agree upon. Once that we have an agreement then we can bring it back to to council for vote for a dispensation. >> Thank you so much. And I I just wanted to note to the public and just state that this is this is a practice that we have used on several business licenses as a council. Right. This is something that we are allowed to do, that we are legally allowed to do, that we have past precedents for. And what has been brought forward to us by community members both today and to us directly by phone call or email. That's certainly how I've gotten outreach is that there is a present public safety and general welfare concern that they have and it is extremely unique. we've never been through this as a city and that's what they testified towards and I think it it makes a lot of sense if we are going to do extra investigative work for much less of safety concerns that we should do it for this one and so I just wanted to state for the record that what we are doing today with this motion is completely in line with what we have done in the past it's legal and I will uh I will actually ask our city attorney what the remaining remaining time that we have about the legality of us asking um for our staff to do further investigation and a refer to staff if uh >> additional yes the public comment is closed but you can submit anything that's printed over there to the clerks >> evidence >> thank you uh with that I will go use my remaining time and go to uh attorney O'Reilly >> thank you chair Chowdery my recommendation would be uh you know certainly CPED can look into it but my recommendation would be to move this forward today perhaps have CPED u you know before Thursday's meeting take a look at the records available uh and then have this on u council meeting on Thursday uh you know having heard the public comment there are certainly concerns uh but I did not hear anything specifically related >> attorney I I appreciate your recommendation but I asked if it is if it's within our legal right to refer this to staff. >> It is certainly within the legal right to refer it to staff as um the at city attorney's office has advised. Uh there is a risk in delaying >> and that is >> Thank you. >> I appreciate it. >> Uh next we will recognize council president. Thank you, Madam Chair. Yeah, I support your motion to refer this back to staff. I think uh this has been such an unprecedented event for our city. Uh and one thing that really comes to light given the unprecedented activities of the federal government is their total disregard for the concept of due process. And I think that we can be an antidote to that by creating an actual formal due process um opportunity for these applicants. Uh we've heard testimony around certain activity. Uh I have seen and witnessed a lot of violations of people's due process. Um, and I think that giving our professional staff the time to actually do a thorough investigation on some of the allegations will allow us to use our discretion in in the best way possible because, you know, our ordinances do ultimately suggest that this is up to the discretion of council. And I'd like to use my discretion on a basis of fact, not on a basis of rumor. And I think that this uh motion in front of us allows us to have a much more factual basis for that decision. Thank you, President Payne. Next, I will go to Council Member Whiting. >> Thank you, Chair Chowry. And I think uh this might be for uh Manager Lingo or or City City attorney O'Reilly. Um just kind of a question around the processes about with this uh investigation refer back to um staff. So if after we kind of go through the investigative process, if this moves forward, um if if the findings come back, if the if the investigation goes forward, uh and there is not a nothing is found uh with a legal basis to remove or revoke um a license, uh do we as a city have any legal basis uh to remove or revoke these licenses >> through the chair, council member Whiting? So the legal basis I will defer to the uh city attorney but as far as our process goes when we look through the evidence what we find we will make our recommendation I will make my recommendation based off what we find in the conversations that we have and if we do not find any evidence to even oppose conditions or to increase the security or if we don't find any recommendations for denial then I would make my recommendation to approve as far as the process that goes from there I will defer to the attorney for that answer. >> Thank you. Yeah, >> Mr. Attorney. >> Thank you, Chair, Council Member Whiting. Uh, right. We based on what staff has found, we would make that determination. Again, um, you know, the council has been advised of the legal legal standards here in in approving the renewals um or not approving the renewals of uh the liquor licenses and so we would use that standard based on the facts uh that staff has put together to come up with a recommendation. >> Thank you. And then just to kind of I guess ask another question further on that. So if we do refer this back to staff uh and an investigation happens u within our sounds like the licensing area of this work uh and it comes back uh with a with again kind of an absence of of findings uh particular as it relates to uh the administration of these liquor licenses. Would the city have any legal basis if nothing comes back uh related to the revocation of these liquor licenses? >> Most likely no. Uh again, it would depend on what the findings are, but uh we again as as we've advised, we need a rational basis to make a decision uh on the liquor license and we generally would rely on the recommendation of staff and and the factual findings that staff has done uh to make a determination on that. >> Thank you. Uh and then kind of just just last point here and not a questions. I think kind of as council president um just mentioned that I I believe that there is a a due process a standard here and I think it is something that we can look into. Um but I'd also like and urge uh my colleagues to know um that if we do go through this process, we do have a um an obligation to to go through the process um that requires us to follow the legal basis uh set forward by the city. uh if things come back uh with with zero uh ability to actually remove a legal standard, I think we as a city council uh have a duty to not just the body here um but our constituents as well um to communicate that hey, we went through the process um this process was followed uh and nothing was found. Uh and if we do find nothing, I think that is an ability here um that this investigation uh currently has no impact on the current liquor operations of the depot or canopy. they are still able to have uh their liquor liquor licenses in this process. Uh I would like also like to point out that if this investigation does identify any lapse in those uh standards um that would be I think it sounds like we would be able to have some basis of conversation around that. Um but if not uh I think we need to be very clear um that there was no legal basis and understanding to actually remove uh these liquor licenses. And so I appreciate uh all of our public comment here in uh particular uh around those that have uh mentioned not just the I think the the business impact but the personal impact um from everybody that works in our hospitality industry. And so understanding that this does take a place and the revocation of a liquor license would also have impacts not just for uh our our our hotels and the industry there but the people working uh the dishwashers, the bartenders and above. So thank you so much. Thank you. Next, we'll go to Council Member Wanssley. >> Thank you, Chair. Um, I just wanted to make sure I had clarification around this basis. This might be for uh CPS staff Amy Lingo or to the authors. Just clarification. The liquor license as is will remain status quo in terms of not experiencing interruption while we go about this investigation process. Correct, >> Chair Chery. Council member Wley, that is correct. while we go through this process, the liquor license is still in good standing. They are certified with the state and they may continue operating as usual. >> Thank you. So, I think that's important to draw out and just reiterate that there is actually no immediate impact to the businesses as um it relates to us taking this action to do our due diligence to you know see if there's ways to um using the investigations if there is ways to to to make findings that will warrant additional conditions. um just to make sure that we're being responsive to the very things that the testifiers who came today and the many u comments that we've received on council um and and via email and all other forms of uh different channels highlighting the varied public safety risk and concerns that um are attached to uh the potential of ICE being present at hotels and in our communities. Um, so it's justifiable that our residents are, you know, saying we're bearing the risk to go and and and act and make sure that we're keeping residents and workers safe. We want to see city officials also do what they can to make sure that residents are being safe. Um, customers are being safe. Um, our whole communities are being uh protected. Um, if there is a presence of ICE at establishments in our community such as hotels. So, um I just want to say thank you to Council Member uh and Chair Chowry for bringing this motion forward. Um I will be supporting it. Um I'm also going to be taking additional legislative actions related to this matter um in response to the concerns that I've heard from both workers and constituents and I'll be sharing details about that relatively soon. Um and yeah, just really grateful that we are approaching this this matter. as Council President Payne articulated, it's unprecedented and also gives um kind of a playbook to other cities who will be and have already experienced this dynamic of how do you um make sure you're you're holding high standards and expectations for establishments um when ICE is occupying your communities and how as elected officials you use your authority to make sure that you're doing everything you can to protect the well-being and welfare of your communities of workers and also businesses themselves too. Um, so I just want to say thank you for that and yeah, look forward to supporting this motion. >> Next, we'll go to Council Member Stevenson. >> Thank you. Um, yeah, I want to start off by thanking those who came for public testimony. Um, I I learned something today, so I appreciate uh you coming to speak. Um, yeah, it's clear that ice presence in these hotels has caused a significant public safety risk. I have a question for the attorney. Um, this is I'm asking for your opinion. Uh, in your opinion, is it legal for hotels to deny ICE agents to stay uh there? >> Attorney O'Reilly, >> thank you for that question. Um, Chair Chattering, Council Member Stevenson, uh, I think ultimately, um, hotels could decline service, uh, to, uh, for any non-discriminatory reason. Uh, and so generally speaking, uh, employment uh, by a certain entity is not, uh, a protected class. Uh and so I would imagine a hotel could decline uh to uh serve um individuals from who have uh certain employers. >> Okay. Thank you. That I have heard the opposite. Uh I've heard everything about whether that's legal or not in the last few days. So I just wanted to make sure that that was clear. Um yeah, I will leave my comments there. Thank you. >> Thank you, Council Member. Next, we'll go to Council Member Rainville. Uh, thank you. I'd like to give my time uh to the attorney so you could finish your recommendation that you were cut off from. >> Well, it was my time respectfully. So, I'm going to say that I didn't cut anyone off. Um, if you're talking about me, it was my time. I asked a very specific question and I reclaimed it and I will do as such as necessary. So, if you would like to ask the attorney what your question is, please ask what your question is directly to him. Please don't involve me in it. Council member, >> please attorney finish your statement, >> your recommendation. >> Okay. So, you're asking for his recommendation. Okay. Go ahead, attorney. >> Thank you, Chair Chery. Council member Rainville. Um, at this point, and again, deferring uh to the council. It's my understanding uh that staff will be able to do uh a lot of the review very quickly. Uh and and I've I've been messaging with uh director Hansen and I know uh direct uh manager Lingo can also speak to this. Um looking at uh the comments today as as well as um you know the like someone mentioned the 911 call history, 311 uh concerns and things of that nature that have not already I again recognize there's a time lag that have not already been reviewed uh as part of the renewal recommendation. And given uh that these have already been held for a cycle, I would encourage uh and recommend the council um if it is so inclined to ask uh CPAD staff to to look at some details, perhaps come to the council, meet with council members uh as necessary over the next two days and then uh come to Thursday's council meeting uh to present so then the uh council can take action on these liquor licenses because uh while it is true uh the council has discretion uh in the granting or not granting of licenses. Um, at at some point uh action needs to be taken and and given uh the facts in front of us today and and what we've heard in the public comment, I I imagine that the review would be um relatively timely uh and so we can uh move these forward uh hopefully uh in a short amount of time. And uh I would like your opinion uh attorney O'Reilly that the longer we delays this vote uh perhaps the larger the liability of the city gets for a lawsuit from these hotels as they're facing cancellations of business. Chair Chowy, Council Member Rainville, uh yes, there is uh some risk in in how long uh the decision takes. uh we have heard uh from the impacted licences that they have concerns uh on on the potential impact and and so for that reason um you know absent a compelling need to take more time uh to look at these in in significant detail uh I I would recommend uh moving these forward even at this point today my recommendation would be to move forward if if the body so chooses without recommendation uh in order for CPED uh to provide further information to the council uh with action set to be taken uh at the next council meeting. >> Thank you. And I I'd just like to end with uh with these cancellations comes a loss of jobs to the workers that we profuse to help. So uh we we should really get quick resolution to this one way or the other. Thank you. >> Thank you. Next we will go to Council Member Schaefer. >> Yes. Thank you, city attorney, for that uh uh informative information about the time frame around Thursday. I have um just a couple more questions and the need to get that work done by Thursday. Um director or director Lingo, could you give me a couple more answers to questions around what are examples of conditions that the city has typically put on liquor licenses, >> if any? >> Welcome. Do you need the question repeated? Chair Ched. Yes, please. >> Yes. Thank you for coming forward. What are some examples that the city has in previously in the past put conditions on liquor licenses? >> Um, >> is that common or uncommon? >> Thank you for the question, Council Member Schaefer. Uh, it is quite common. Um, we have varying levels of interaction that we do with uh establishments based on uh either previous history of a location or incidents that occurred with a specific location. So it is not an uncommon practice for us to have conditions on a license. Um I would say 95% of the time they are agreed upon in advance. So we don't necessarily impose conditions without there being agreements from the entities but we do meet with the establishments to discuss the concerns and the issues and we agree upon a series of uh items that can be used to help the business thrive as well as make the community >> and those items or conditions would be around the selling of liquor in your most of the cases or what would be those conditions examples of those >> sure >> remember I'm new >> through the chair The examples can vary depends on the situation. It can be based off of time, closing time, starting time. It can be about uh number of security, whether they're licensed security. It really does depend on the specific uh business. I I'm more than happy to send over some examples so that you can see and to any of the other council members, we can share some examples of different conditions that have been imposed. >> Thank you. Um that's all the questions that I had for you. I guess I would just say um I would be willing to consider this uh delay till Thursday um if possible or as a final call. But in my mind generally any potential of delay in approving this beyond Thursday is about something much bigger and broader than liquor licenses. We are saying to all of our small businesses, restaurants and the hospitality industry that Minneapolis is an a a an unsafe a safe pl is not a safe place to do business. And why we are not a stable regulatory environment. To continue to let this play out and spend staff time on this is disappointing. Our city attorney has made this clear and I respect their input around the final decision that needs to be made. Not respecting staff's input and opinion here could have tremendous legal and financial impact. So that's kind of where I am finding myself and um look forward to these being um approved as soon as possible. >> Thank you, Council Member. Next, we'll go to Council Member Warren. Thank you, Chair um Chowry. I I have a question. Who's is for the attorney? Are people who operate the guest list and attendance list for hotels? Are they legally allowed to disclose um the names and occupations of guests within these hotels? through the chair. Um, council member Warren, I am not I do not know about the specifics about hotel uh privacy laws, but that's private information of who is staying there and what's going on with those individuals in in hotels. You just can't walk up to a hotel and say, "I believe Joe Blow is staying here." And they're going to tell you yes or no. Correct. >> Again, I'm I apologize. I'm just not sure about the legal requirements for hotels in terms of that type of privacy. >> Does anyone here know anything about any of that? In my experience, that's not the case. You can't get information on individuals just like you're not when I've in in my history of checking into hotels, and I was just at a hotel this past weekend with about 14 kids. I checked in, I checked out. No one asked me what I was doing, where I worked, who I was with, or any of those, you know, different instances. So, that would be quite discriminatory, just like if I went to go and check into a hotel, and I stated this before at our last committee of the whole meeting, and even disclosed the fact that I was a black woman or whatever the case is, and they decided to be racist and not want to serve me or whatever, that's still discriminatory. And no one is no one should be discriminated against in that respect of of what's going on with them in their, you know, personal lives or the jobs or the professions that they take up. I mean, we all work a lot of different jobs across, you know, the United States here and we just hope that they all line up the duties as assigned with our moral values and our moral compass. And I mean, we can take that into account with a multiple um different things. That doesn't say that we can't consume alcohol or whatever else the case is. If you're of legal age, I think you should make that judgment call if it lines up with whatever is going on with your own mental focus. But I don't I'm I'm really struggling and having a hard time here with why we keep lingering in this um in this area. With all due respect, if we were given information from the attorneys at the committee of the whole meeting two weeks ago, is that correct, attorney? Um that there had not been anything that was presented um at that time to, you know, hold on to uh the liquor licensing and not move forward. So, I'm just going to recommend that we move forward and and stop playing in the face of of our our businesses that are already suffering. We heard from a young lady here in the in the audience today who stated that there are a number of employees across the diaspora who are gravely being affected with their incomes and needing to sustain their families showing up and going to work and needing to have, you know, these things put in place. So, it's it's it's affecting us all in a multitude of different ways. And there's going to be, you know, white supremist stand at hotels. There's going to be, you know, all kinds of things. Prostitutes, drug addicts, whatever the case is. You know, North Minneapolis showed up in droves here down at the city council and complained about our liquor store that's right there in Fifth Ward on Broadway in Lindale and said, "Hey, there's been murders there. There's been all kinds of things there." And still, council didn't approve the closure of that, nor did they approve the closure of the murder station that's right on Broadway in Penn. So, I mean, on Broadway and and Lindale. So, I mean, what are we doing here with these businesses? It's it's it's unsettling and it's not making any kind of sense at all whatsoever. You can't go into people's information and find out who stand where and what they do for a living because that I don't I don't even think that they're legally supposed to disclose that information. and attorney. I challenge if you could find out that information before our council meeting next of what that privacy factor covers. >> Thanks. Next, we'll go to council vice president Osman. >> Thank you, Madam Chair. as the BIS BIS committee uh chair I have seen many items that came through uh the committee that uh we were able to you know have a condition um mainly to I remember that I don't want to name the business but there was a business not that long ago where we were was opening in downtown and we had a you know president that had a concern about you know having some kind uh violence or some kind of uh uh you know concern having this business near their neighborhood. Uh we were able to uh you know get together have the businesses interview the business talk to each other and come up uh business you know our department our uh license departments come up with uh with a plan and then bring it forward. I I don't see uh any problem going this route. Uh at the same time um you know also I really want to see tangible things that we can touch that is a violation um within the license you know um so my question my question is uh manager lingo is is from now until Thursday is that enough time for you to interview the uh business owner ers um go through the 311, go through the 911. Um do your I guess investigation until Thursday. So we don't really have to go with uh sending back to the staff. But if we're if if that gives you enough time until Thursday, will that be or is it you know is that too much for a few days? through the chair, council vice president Osman, we will be able to do the review of the incidences, today's testimony, and the 311 911s in time for Thursday if that will if that suits the needs of the body. Um whether or not I can have the conversation with the hotels, that is a different entity. The odds are probably very high, but as far as the rest of the investigation goes, we will be able to get you feedback on Thursday if that is the will of the body. >> Perfect. Thank you. >> I put myself on quue. um that I've had several conversations with the CPED department and I don't know if director Hansen is also around Miss Lingo. I think like you're you're you're doing your best to respect the wishes of this body, but in those conversations the director had said that there might be a need for additional time beyond a cycle to do a proper investigation. So I would like to reconcile this conversation. I'd also like to just state for the fact that there is public testimony that has not been read out into the record today that was handd delivered that has not been reviewed. Um I don't I don't understand how we could reasonably be able to do a proper due process and investigation in a single day. I certainly haven't seen it with the other licenses that um we have asked for a refer to staff. So, >> Director Hansen, >> uh, Chair Chadri, I was walking in between two rooms, but I think you want to know if we can perform the review between now and Thursday based on what we heard today. Is that the question? >> And I and just reconciling our past conversations, there was a conversation you and I had had about >> this might need even beyond a cycle. And so, my intent would be to refer it until you were ready to come back to this body. >> Yep. Uh uh, Chair Chowry. So, what we've heard so far today, we we didn't know what was going to come up, and we wanted to hear things that were specific to a a specific eyewitness testimony about things that happened in a one of the two hotels um that was related to the liquor license. Um, what we heard today was not necessarily though as direct as we were expecting. I have not we have not read what's in writing, so we'd have to take a look at that. But we have the business licensing team monitoring this um uh public comment hearing right now. We've got, you know, of course we have um Amy Lingo here to answer all your questions, but we have people back at the office watching this stuff and monitoring so that we can immediately start investigating tomorrow. And it was b based on the depth and the breadth of the testimony that we would see how complex that would be. So based on what I can see today, we could probably get that done in a in a few days. Um and it's possible uh based on what we see and again we have to see what's in the written that would be the thing that hold us back. Uh most likely if it's not um in the few days it would be by the by the next cycle. >> Okay. Thank you so much. That's my question and then I will continue on with my comments. >> Thank you. I think I think putting this motion forward after this council meeting concludes having one full day before we go to full counsel as the director said a full day to a cycle. I just I don't think that is going to lead to proper due process or an actual investigation. Um, the things that I will also state is what this vote is about. This motion that I'm putting before this body is do we want to take a moment to do due process and investigate the situation that our constituents throughout the city have raised up as a grave concern or not? Right? That's what this is about. Do we want to take this step that we are afforded that we can do as a council or not? In the past, we have had several small businesses come before us. nightclubs. I believe we had uh a northeast business, Mrs. Desserts, that sells desserts overnight. They were delayed a cycle. We had a business in my ward, Cedar Inn. They had to be It took several cycles for us to go through that. And and none of the things that community members brought into testimony reached the level of a a community member sharing that workers felt unsafe and that there were weapons that were unsecured. We did not hear that in those testimonies. And so I don't think it's fair for us to have a due diligence process for a mom and pop shop, a local business over multiple cycles. And we can't say we can't even do a single cycle of due process for a multi-million dollar corporation, Hilton and Marriott. That makes no sense to me. And also to assert that this council over two council meetings has anything to do with the hits on local business is illogical. We know why business isn't doing well in the city of Minneapolis as evidenced by the impact assessment given by our emergency services department. It's due to this ICE occupation and surge and any hits on reputation that any business may have are due to the decisions that they've made and how consumers have decided to use their dollar. That's not on this body. What this body is supposed to do is to hear from our constituents and take steps. And I'm asking council members. It's very clear we're not going to get a proper investigation done within a day. If it makes council members more comfortable, we can take it up next cycle. We can ask staff to come back next cycle instead of having it un undefined. Um I'm at my time. Thank you, Council Member Vita. Um that's that's my comments. We'll go to council vice chair. >> Uh thank you, Madame Chair. I'm going to invite uh Miss Lingo back up. Give me a second. >> Yep, I got it. Um, hi Miss Lingo. Can you start by just telling me how long you've worked here at the city of Minneapolis? >> Through the chair, Vice Chair Chel, I have worked in the city of Minneapolis for 20 plus years. >> 20 plus years. That's a long time. Um, I would imagine you have worked on literally thousands of liquor licenses over the course of your career. Would that be a fair assessment? >> That is correct. >> Excellent. Do we have a process around the lensure of liquor because we enjoy bureaucracy or do we have it because selling and cons the sale and consumption of liquor is a highly regulated thing in this country? >> Uh vice ch that is correct. Uh alcohol is one of the most regulated industries in both the city the state and in the nation. That is why we our all of our licenses whether it be liquor license or any other licenses are licensed due to being public safety mindset. So we are here to regulate whether it is um alcohol, tobacco, dry cleaning, uh taxi, it is because it is for the impact of the community. >> Right. So to summarize what you're saying, um, alcohol is a highly regulated thing because it can have significant public safety impacts and that's why it's so highly regulated in this city, state, and country. Is that fair? >> That is fair to say. Yes. >> Excellent. So in the in the process of deliberation, in the process of providing the applicant with due process to properly consider the information that is before the body, before the city, um is there a negative economic impact right now um to the to the b the the two impacted businesses related to their liquor license? As in, do they have a liquor license right now? Can they sell liquor right now? >> Thank you, Vice uh Vice Chair Chagai. So, they do have a liquor license. They can continue. As far as the full scope of the economic impact, I cannot answer that question. I can only answer that they do indeed still have a viable liquor license as well. >> Right. That's excellent. So, because they do have both of these impacted businesses have a current liquor license, they're not losing any revenue as a result of not being a able to make liquor sales. Am I understanding that correctly? any revenue that they have based off of their license is not currently being impacted as far as the lensure goes. >> Excellent. Thank you. That's very helpful. Um I think my next at- my next question here is is for the attorney. Can you help me understand what the negative impact is of uh properly considering due process for these two impacted businesses and completing a thorough investigation? on these two businesses. What's what's the negative impact that they're afforded due process? >> Thank you. Uh through the chair, um council member, um first of all, I just want to emphasize we're not starting from scratch here. As as you all know, uh these licenses went through the renewal process as all the licenses do. Uh and and now some questions were raised about these two particular licenses. uh and and the staff um as Miss Lingo has indicated uh has looked into those concerns and is prepared to look into those concerns. Uh where the legal risk comes from as as uh the council has been advised uh is the potential cloud on the license. Uh the longer the process takes, the greater the risk there is as as these businesses are are as they've explained to us as the businesses are attempting to do business. uh uh you know future there are future concerns about when the liquor license will be confirmed what the status will be uh and things of that nature and so that's where I think the risk >> but they have the ability to sell liquor right now right >> yes that is accurate >> and and and like our occupation is not something that's considered a pro protected class in this country is that correct >> excuse me >> your occupation is not a protected class right like my occupation is not a protected class for me the occupation of someone who works for the federal government is not is not a protected class for them. Owning a hotel is not a protected class either. >> Generally speaking, no, although you do actually as an elected official, you actually got two and a half minutes. I'm just trying to get my questions answered. Um, so so affording someone due process by properly considering all of the different pieces of information that are in front of staff and then in front of the body. Is there a negative impact of considering due process because these two businesses, as you have said, are currently able to operate and have a current liquor license affording them due process. What's the negative impact of that? 1 minute 50 seconds. That's what I have left on the clock. >> Like I said, depending on how long the process takes, there is a a risk of the impact on the license um that they have expressed to us uh and and we have advised you of uh of that potential risk. Uh and and again process >> how would they quantify such a risk, right? Like what what are they going to sue us? Like what's what how how do you quantify a risk that there's no there's no negative sales to point to that are attached to the liquor license? I'm I'm just not getting it. >> Respectfully, I I do not want to lay out the legal case for uh the hotels u in a public form. So I will >> just leave it at what we've already advised. >> Awesome. So, I'm not hearing I'm not hearing what the negative impact of affording someone due process is yet from you. If you if you change your mind on that, please go ahead and contact us and let us know. Um, with that, I'm going to continue with Q and I'll go to Council Member Whiting next. >> Thank you, Vice Chair. Uh, question for for for man manager Lingo again. uh thank you for it sounds like your 20 years of service in this space. Uh if you can kind of just I'm trying to get an understanding of kind of the the liquor license process broadly. Uh and so when you kind of look at the the beginning when when these uh organizations uh establishments kind of submit their process, what do they go through from the moment that they submit their license to when it comes up to to our body to approve or deny >> through the vice chair? Council member Whiting. Um, do you mean a new license or renewal license? >> Renewals. >> Renewals. So, for a renewal license, it comes up um during their time period. Each license type has a specific time when they are renewed. They renew at least 30 days, sometimes 60 days in advance. When we get that renewal, we make sure that they have all of their paperwork in line, proper insurance, proper certification with the state. And then we also review for any incidences or concerns. Um, whether their complaints, we are complaint driven. Um, so we have we gotten any complaints, 3 in1's, 911s, and we and we look at that. And as far as the liquor license codes, we make sure we don't have any issues with them following the ordinances of the code, whether it's uh ownership, youth alcohol compliance check failures, um, and what have you. >> Thank you. Um, and in that process thus far, u, with both of kind of the two that we're considering now, have you received, uh, any 911 complaints, 311 complaints, uh, anything that relates directly to these businesses? Um, thank you for that question, Council Member Whiting. So, we do have the run the report of the 911s and the 311s. We do not have anything super tangental. Um, especially when we made the initial approval. It was your standard like snow and ice. Um, we did receive more complaints beginning in the month of January. Um, but nothing that really pinpointed to being the nexus of the establishments at this point. So, it sounds like you've already done kind of this process, particularly as it relates to kind of the housing and presence of of ICE within at least the last month or so. >> We have done the review for based off of the liquor license and the complaints that we have received versus 911s as well, not necessarily the hotel aspect. That hotel license was already renewed and approved in November. The liquor license, we were looking at the liquor license process. >> Okay, perfect. Thank you. And so, it sounds like, right, this isn't just a single day investigation that you have are undertaking. It's been something that you've done for an extended period of time, particularly with your your 20 plus years, and I'm sure you could do it in a day, but it's not something you've done um in a day thus far. >> When we get complaints um we can address them basically of what they are and we look we do a deeper dive. We have begun as these conversations started recently in the first um delay and the first postponement, we did begin pulling the reports. Once we realized that this was the path that was going forward, we started looking deeper in and started gathering in more data. >> Okay. And in your this is probably an opinion piece and if if it's not a question that's relevant, please throw it away. Uh and in your professional opinion, your 20 years opinion, um within the last as you've kind of received these complaints, has there been anything that has raised to the level of of denial of a of a liquor license? >> At this time, I have not seen anything related to the liquor license. Okay. >> Thank you. >> That cause of concern or denial. >> Thank you. And then a question uh here for our I know I have a minute and a half left. Uh but for our city attorneys uh and this again sounds like an opinion piece and if it doesn't fit doesn't fit. Uh is the the the presence of ice alone the housing of ICE alone uh at these establishments uh by itself a reason to deny uh a liquor license their liquor licenses >> through the chair. Council member Whiting. Uh no, as as we've advised previously, there there needs to be a connection uh between the licensed activity and and the identified concerns. And so who stays at the hotel is not there's no nexus between the liquor the the licensed activity which is the serving of alcohol uh and and the the activity that which we're concerned. >> Okay, perfect. So it it's my understanding that we have to have some level of evidence that the stay or the presence of ice is particularly connected to the liquor licenses and the distribution consumption etc of the liquor itself. >> Yes. Thank you. Uh last question uh and I'll go quickly here. Is this something so let's say we we do this investigation and the last the next couple of days a continued investigation uh and we get to the point on on Thursday is this something this is probably a clerk question is this something that we could then delay if it's not up to the standards of what the body is is looking for. >> Yes. Correct. >> Okay. Thank you so much. >> Council member Chavez. >> Uh thank you Chair Chadri. I would just like to clarify some of the comments that were made on the day today. I did personally vote against the renewal of the TXT Wine and Spirits LLC, the Merwin's liquor license, which included findings by the community. Uh, and council members across the political spectrum have in the past voted against the renewal of liquor licenses. And none of us up here said it was political, and none of us up here said that you hated small businesses. And yes, there are documentations across the country where hotels have given guest lists to ICE and immigration authorities. I will be supporting the motion to delay and investigate. Thank you. >> Thank you, Council Member, Council Vice President Osman. >> Oh, uh, thank you. I think that, um, I don't want to call the question because I'm not going to get the nine votes. I would love would love to, you know, um, end this discussion to just vote on it. I think that, uh, what I wanted to hear from the staff, I heard, uh, they can they can finish it uh, one day. they can finish it in two in two weeks. Uh it can go both ways. So I do have one more question. Uh uh council member uh Chowry suggested that instead of uh returning to the staff >> you calling the question or asking a question? >> Asking a question. >> Okay. >> You going to support me if I call? >> Go ahead. Council member Osman. >> All right. Um so uh council member Chowry mentioned that uh she is open to delaying one cycle. Uh clerk if you can kind of define what is sending the staff this item back to the staff and then coming back in two weeks. What is that? >> Clarify. Council member Osman. It's to refer it to staff to bring back in one cycle. >> Okay. So we put an end date on their investigation to come back to the next committee of the whole. >> Okay. Wonderful. That's it for me. Thank you. >> Council member Rainville. >> Thank you. So thank you. So the truth is there has been loss of business at these hotels. People have canled because of the threat of losing their license. So that has happened. reduction of hours has happened as well as layoffs are planned. So that's that's just the truth. And I would have a question again for the city attorney if uh would the city be found liable if we're interfere if the loss of for the loss of business from these hotels as well as individual council members for denying this license? city attorney >> through the chair uh council member Rainville. Um that's something I think it depends very much on the specifics uh and and so I think I'll defer to what we've advised uh through attorney client privilege uh our previous guidance and then we can certainly discuss uh other concerns uh that are specific related to uh those legal risks outside of a public forum. Thank you, Council Member Vita. >> Thank you, Chair. Um, so I I guess I'm a little confused about what you're proposing, Chair. We've delayed this a cycle. We delayed this a cycle with the intent on getting information back um regarding the license. So, are you saying now you want to potentially delay it to whenever because you you stated you don't think the investigation can be done in one cycle um that it might take several cycles. So, now are you proposing an additional uh delay to whenever staff can come forward and tell us um when they can have this investigation done? >> I just want to make sure I'm answering your questions. Do you have you have a question about like what is the intent of my motion? Is there a question about >> not not the intent? I understand what um I mean I understand that we're doing what Trump did to Jimmy Kimmel here. I don't need clarification on that. We don't like what they've done. So, we're going to do the exact same thing. I get that piece in. Um but I guess I'm trying to understand the timeline. I mean, the president did it swiftly and then, you know, people stepped in and fixed it, but I'm trying to understand what we're doing here. What is the delay? What is the potential timeline for this delay? My my motion is a refer to staff for this investigation that is routine that we've done for lesser safety concerns in the past for one cycle. >> Okay. I mean, you said something different and I I think council member Warren brought up a great point and it's my time. Thank you. Um that council member Warren brought up a great point. I literally voted against the TXT license because people from North Minneapolis came here and said my family member was murdered there. Like I literally heard people tell me people were murdered. I watched someone be shot and like brutalized. A entire community came together to say how terrifying and horrible it was for this corridor in North Minneapolis to be functioning. And this body, yes, some people voted against the liquor license, but this body used the very excuse that we're hearing right now today. The legal opinion was, "We don't have a right to deny them the license." This body did that. There were some of us who said, "If you're going to ever stand up for the community, this is the time when you do it." And I thank you for that, Council Member Chavez. Some of us believed that if we were going to be creative in fighting that Merwin Liquor was who we should be fighting for. That people came here and said, "My child was murdered. Every time I drive past there, I stop in my tracks and just cry like I can't go. I never drive by that part of North Minneapolis or um police officers talked about horrific scenes they went to over there." and I pleaded with some council members on this is the right thing. This is who we this is when and how we fight a liquor license. And so to have us sit here and like talk about some whatifs like there are actually verified murders and crimes that happened at this place and a lot of you were not willing to fight for that. These people show up in numbers like I've never seen before from North Minneapolis to say, "Pull this license." And the excuse was used over and over and over again. Now, our lawyers don't matter. Yeah, he's a different person than who was sitting here before, but it was a legal opinion that we used to dangle over North Minneapolis's head and say, "We can't help you, North Side. You can't change this. We have a legal opinion that there's no reason for and we knew ahead of like we had been working with staff beforehand. We had the attorney general was involved in this liquor store. This wasn't some I think I stayed there or maybe I whatever. Again, like I said, this feels like exactly what the president did to Jimmy Kimmel to me. I don't like it. I I don't like it. I don't like it. So, I'm going to use whatever power I have to get rid of it. It does not feel legit. If it was legit, I would love to explore legitimate reasons for these things. This came up after the fact this renewal was going to happen like it did last year and then this came up. Yes, I've received emails and I said this the last time. Yes, I received emails from people. It's my job as a council member to then reply back to those people or call those people, however we communicate and say there is no legal basis for this or whatever reasoning you have. I don't get it. I don't know why we would prolong this anymore than Thursday. And I get that people are saying, you know, we're living in some tough times where businesses are hit. But we're having a very public conversation about two businesses. If you don't understand that that gets businesses hit in a very different way than those same those businesses there were licenses that got renewed this last cycle that was not affected by this conversation. What we say up here on this dis, what we say in the media, what we say on our social media pages definitely affects businesses and we've been having conversations about this for about a month now as individuals and as a body. And so I believe that, you know, the words we say up here, the things we do, the action we take can impact businesses. I care about the folks who work here. I care about the people who have made um a point to reach out and say that they had these experiences, but dragging this conversation on for I don't know how long is not going to help that. It's not going to make it any better than uh what we've been going through for the last couple of weeks. Actually, this has been going on for a month. I think I've been receiving emails about this for a month now. So, this has been going on for a month. I can't support us dragging this on. I mean, this is a tough decision clearly for some of us, but I think now is the time to make that decision. >> Council member Stevenson. >> Um, I appreciate uh all the the discussion we've had and the the debate that we've had and I agree uh with my my colleague that now is the time and I'd like to call the question. >> There's a motion to call the question. Can the clerk call the role? Second. Second. >> Second. >> Council member Payne. >> Hi. >> Wsley. >> Hi. >> Rainville. >> Hi. >> It >> No. >> Warren. >> No. >> Osman. >> Hi. >> Schaefer. >> No. >> Stevenson. >> I. >> Chavez. >> I. >> Whiting. >> I. >> Palmisano. >> No. >> Vice chair Chugai. >> I. And chair Chowry. >> Abstain. There are eight eyes and four nazs and one abstension. Damn, >> that does not carry. We'll go to council member Chugai. >> Thank you. First, I'd like to note that this is not the fir I know in our previous committee of the whole, there was a council member, council member Vita, who brought up that she was the person that kept getting the question called before her. I've now been the victim of this as well. Just putting it out there. Um, I just want to speak to a couple of things that have been brought up during discussion. And the first is the example of Merwin's liquor um and and the liquor license. And I I remember that came up uh and it was a monthsl long process just around the liquor lensure itself. Right. And from the time it first came before uh biz agenda item for approval to the time that the liquor license was ultimately approved, months passed between that time. And the purpose of that was bringing in the attorney general and the county attorney and the Minneapolis city attorney's office to together work on addressing this problem that the community members had lifted up. And we did have we had dozens of people come to um come to our chambers to testify just like right now we're getting dozens of emails, hundreds of emails. we were getting that that that type of inquiry um and level of interest from residents of our city at that time. Um and and the reason that liquor license was ultimately approved by this body and some voted against it and and some didn't. I I don't recall it right off the top of my head, but the reason we were ultimately able to approve that liquor license was because there were conditions put on that liquor license to address the very problems, which is exactly what we're trying to work with CPED on identifying if this is one of those cases where it meets a certain threshold where we can put certain types of conditions on these two liquor licenses to make it possible to approve them. It's a part of the due process. It takes time sometimes and right now we're asking for another cycle worth of time. The next piece I want to talk about is actually madam chair I'm wondering if uh if council member Rainville would answer a couple of questions. I know he both of these liquor licenses reside in in the third ward and there have been a couple things he's brought up in discussion um that I'm hoping to seek some further clarity on. >> Council member Rainville, are you open to answering some questions? >> I'd be delighted. >> Wonderful. Excellent. So, I've heard you say now twice um both in this committee of the whole and the previous one that the cancellations that these uh hotels are experiencing are a direct result of of the council considering these liquor licenses. How do you happen to know that information? >> Because as a very good council member, I go over to these hotels and engage them. I went over there when they were damaged uh during the the protesters, the physical damage, >> and all their employees were were scared to death. And I also uh talk to them because they're concerned about the cancellations. >> Excellent. >> About of from the threat of losing their liquor license. >> I was hoping you would say this exact thing. Now, um in the conversations you've had about the cancellations, I'm assuming you're talking to hotel ownership, right? Or hotel leadership. Yes. >> Okay. And you have not talked to any of the individuals that have physically canled their their cancel their um reservation at the hotel. Do you know if the hotel itself is asking uh customers who are cancelling what the purpose of that cancellation may be? >> Yes. It's because of the threat of the liquor license. >> No. Are they are is the hotel asking people who are calling to cancel their their reservation? Why are you cancelling? the people who call tell the hotel why they're cancelling. >> So, this is just based on some anecdotes, not like a a a survey of every single person that's canceled their their reservation. >> No, it's not based on anecdotes, you know, and in fact, uh I'm probably not the right person to ask. Would you like the hotel ownership to call you? >> I would be so thrilled to discuss this with the hotel ownership. >> I'll I'll pass that on. >> Excellent. Thank you, sir. Thank you, Madam Chair. Council member Warren. >> Thank you, Madame Chair. Um I'm I'm just really um frustrated with this process here because I um thought at our last committee of the whole we were going to take this time, hear from public comment, make a decision, move forward. Now we're pushing towards all of these investigations or what have you and people are just throwing confetti up in the air to see what sticks to a static balloon. This is ridiculous. Our our downtown business district is suffering enough. We do not have any reason to discriminate against these businesses. They have we've heard everything. All of this is hearsay, speculation or what have you. I get angry when I see, you know, um, you know, racist or prejudice or disrespectful behavior from people and and people are who they are. I can't just not do something because it this is this is just ridiculous. It's absolutely ridiculous. It's a wasted conversation. Now, we've done all of the due diligence. We've held on to it. We've got thousands. Each one of us on this dis have thousands of emails from people with the same message over and over and over again and again. Um the comment was made about you know law enforcement knowing who was staying in hotels. Law enforcement can subpoena for information on hotel registry and what have you. The only people who know who stay up in the hotels are the individuals who work there. and they are not even supposed to share that information with the general public about who's in their hotel for the safety of the individuals who are in there. So, how that information got leaked out is beyond me. That's another safety concern for the individuals there. I mean, you bringing things onto yourselves that are completely unnecessary. We cannot discriminate. We cannot treat people regardless to whatever like this and and cause our businesses to suffer. These are major event venues in our city that bring a lot of revenue for gaylas and all kinds of other things. Like we are really shooting ourselves in the foot here with this whole, you know, fiasco of things. It's just really not making a lot of sense to me and I'm I'm just very disappointed. >> All right. I don't think there's anyone else in for discussion. So the motion before us is a refer to staff until the next committee of the whole. I will ask the clerk to call the role. >> Chair Chowry, can we clarify that motion quickly? Is it a refer to staff or is it continuing one cycle? >> It's a refer to staff. Staff said that they can come back. >> We're asking staff to come back to the next committee of the whole. The next committee of the whole is March 24th 3rd. Madam Chair, the next committee the whole the next one cycle is March 3rd and 5th. And so this would be a matter that you're referring to staff requesting that they report back to the committee the whole meeting on March 3rd. >> Yes. My apologies. I'm already in the month of March obviously. So this is referring to staff to the next committee of the whole on March 3rd, 2026. Any other clarifications needed? Okay, great. I will ask the clerk to call the role. >> Council member Payne, >> I. >> Wsley, >> I. Rainfelt, >> no. >> VTO, >> no. >> Warren, >> no. >> Osman, >> no. >> Schaefer, >> no. >> Stevenson, >> I >> Chavez, >> I >> Whiting, >> no. >> Palmisano, >> no. >> Vice Chair Chuktai, >> I. >> And Chair Chowy, >> yes. >> There are six eyes and seven Naz. Okay, that motion fails. We'll go to Council Member Osman. >> Uh, thank you. I would like to make the motion to uh without recommendation uh on Thursday uh to move it forward on Thursday without recommendation and the staff to come back with any findings. Thank you. >> I can second that. >> Second. >> The clerk, please call the role. Yes sir. >> Council member Payne. >> I >> Wsley. >> I >> Rainville. >> I >> Vita. >> I >> Warren. >> I >> Osman. >> I >> Schaefer. >> I Stevenson. >> I >> Chavez. >> No. >> Whiting. >> I >> Palmisano. >> I. >> Vice Chair Chictai. >> I. >> And Chair Chadri. >> No. >> There are 11 eyes and two Nazs. That motion carries. Uh we have concluded and dispensed that item. I am now going to recess us for lunch for 1 hour. I will have us back here at 1:23 p.m. >> Actually 1:24 p.m. >> If I may. >> Oh, Council Member Chavez. >> Uh thanks, Chair Chow. Before we break, I just had a few comments to make. >> On what item? >> On what item? >> I just there's members that are not going to be able to come back because we're taking a lunch break and I want to make sure that I acknowledge them. >> Okay. Go ahead, council member. >> If we're going to take this break without objection, chair, I just wanted to make sure that I let the public know that Meo Central League Council NDC were in the room today. They're here for items that are going to be voted on after that we come back from break. and I want to make sure that if they're not able to be here that we at least acknowledge them because we're going on break. Thank you. >> Thank you so much, Council Member. With that, we will recess for an hour. Tech team. One minute. Can I have one? Can you open it? Thank you. The time is now 1:28. The council has reconvened following its lunch break. At this time, I'll ask the clerk to call the role to prove the presence of a quorum. >> Council member Payne, >> present. >> Wonsley, >> present. >> Rainville, >> present. >> Vita, >> present. >> Warren, >> present. Osman is absent. Is present. >> Schaefer >> present. >> Stevenson >> present. >> Chavez >> present. >> Whiting >> present. >> Palmisano >> present. >> Vice chair Chai is absent and chair Chry >> present. >> There are 12 members present. >> Let the record reflect that we have a quorum. Colleagues, we have items 58 through 67 remaining on our discussion agenda today. We will begin with item 58, which is a proposal to suspend the city's procurement related policies to expedite a response to operation metro surge. This request was submitted by the city's emergency operations center through director sir. I'll recognize her and ask director Seir to give a brief presentation on this request for us. Good afternoon, Chair Chowy. My name is Rachel Ser. I am the director of the emergency management department. In my more than 15 years of experience in emergency and humanitarian response, there is frequently a need for emergency procurement authority even near the end of an emergency. We began pursuing this authority about one month ago. The use of this would be a worst case scenario and we would use all existing authorities before this one. Thankfully, we have come close but not yet needed this authority for this current situation. I am still requesting this authority today because we are not yet past the current situation and the end of a response is an is often the time of the highest risk as exhaustion sets in and can contribute to impaired judgment. Urgent needs remain for the next two months before we can move into recovery. Under city procurement rules, there is sufficient flexibility for all but the most catastrophic situations. Specifically, the ability to procure professional services over 175,000. At that level, if it's a new service, review by the director of procurement and potentially review by the permanent review committee is still required even for a sole source contract which may result in too slow of an action. Again, we have not yet needed this for this current situation as of today. But again, it's come close and that's why I'm here. This is a failsafe mechanism. Best case, one I very much hope is the situation here is that it will not be needed at all. And in that case, um, if it is needed, of course, I'd come back and report. However, I recommend being safe rather than sorry because it will be too late if this authority is needed and we don't have it. Cost will necessarily be much higher and damage greater if we are unable to move at the speed of the emergency and take immediate action. Thank you. Thank you so much, Director Ser. Next, we'll open up for discussion. I will recognize Council Member Wanley. >> Thank you, Chair Chadgerie. Uh, Director Ser, um, I'm looking at the RCA and also the resolution itself and it's very unclear what department is experiencing limitations or challenges that's due to our current procurement policies and procedures. um and doesn't identify what types of goods and services are um experiencing some some difficulty in being acquired. So can you specify what departments um is this applying to? >> Yep. So when we are in a response situation and have activated the NIMS components, the national incident management system components like we currently have, the way things work is incident command uh is the initiator of many requests. So in this point it could have been MPD or it could have been NCR for example. Um they say this is a situation and in order to meet the urgent need here's the broad outlines of the thing we need. We in the emergency operations center receive that request and we work through how to meet that need urgently. So um it is my department that procures at the request at the need on the ground from the entity that is in charge of the situation on the ground. >> No I get that. Thank you director Sarah. I'm saying which specific departments are in need of this at this moment? >> So this is a request from my department. >> So just the office of emergency management. >> Emergency management. What are you experiencing challenges with that warrants a expedited or waiver process from our traditional procurement processes? >> Yes, thank you um Chair Chowdery, Council Member. So, as I noted, we have been fortunate in that nothing has come specifically to pass so far. This is a failsafe request. Um and you know, in my profession, we really focus heavily on preparedness. As I said, there's a few more months to go here. So, this is a preparedness measure. >> Um, no additional questions for you, Director Sarah. Thank you. Just a brief comment on this. I am a bit confused as to why this is actually needed. Um, Mayor Fry has not declared a state of emergency. And I think typically we've seen in the past measures like this where you're talking about suspending rules to be able to move, you know, contracts outside of a traditional procure procurement process or even um outside the scope of oversight authority of council. It's usually tied to a state of emergency being declared. I think a number of us would have been interested in seeing that happen at the beginning of the operation occupation, but nevertheless, we're not there. Um the RCA also and even in the the comments that you just shared it still is around this hypothetical if when um as opposed to if there were urg urgent requests right now from specific departments. So that gives me concerns and and moment to pause to say I'm still not understanding why things could not move through our traditional processes because the resolution would have this start relatively what starting April 1st of 2026. So at least that's the date that I'm seeing here in the resolution. So that's that's a little bit confusing for me. Um so that said I I just don't this feels like a unnecessary maneuver at this current moment. Um especially when it means us conceding the oversight that we have um over these procurement you know contracts and we have lots of debate and conversations around them as is um without occupation being in place. So for those reasons, I'm going to be a no on this and just, you know, would like if this is something that's brought forward in the future again for more specificity around which departments are in most need, actually quantifying what are those services and goods that they're experiencing challenges with. Like even to say proactively, what is the baseline of a a department that did request something? They didn't get it in time to respond to emergency um through our current procurement channels. that was not even provided as an example. So, uh, for that, I can't support this measure today, but thank you for answering the questions. >> Thank you. Next, we'll go to Council Member Stevenson. >> Yeah, thank you. I just have a couple of questions. Um, can you, and please educate me on this, can you tell me a little bit about our role in financial oversight? Um, when it comes to the suspension of procurement, >> we might want to get uh, yeah, >> someone from our finance department up here. >> Welcome. >> Thank you, Chair Chel, Council Member Stevenson. Um, so the question is like what is the role of finance? >> Introduce yourself. >> So, what was I? >> Would you introduce yourself for the record? >> I'm sorry. I'm the direct director of procurement for the city, Pam Fernandez. Thank you. >> Um, so if the question is like you know uh what is the role of finance in the procurement? Is that correct? >> I guess I was wondering what's the role if if we suspend procurement? >> Yes. >> Uh it like if we grant this what is going to be the council's role in financial oversight? >> So the council will not have a role if the contract goes over 175,000. Um, you will get a report on April 30th as it says in the resolution. >> Okay. >> Is there an upper limit to like if we're suspending the uh the limit of 150,000 is there a new upper limit like a million 2 million something or is it unlimited? >> There is no limit in the resolution at this time. >> Okay. >> Yeah. >> Um Okay. And then one other question when it comes to these contracts uh suspending procurement means what well let let me know it means there's like no rules just whatever contract is needed in order to meet the need at the time. Okay, chair chowi u council member Stevenson it means that the all city ordinances related to procurement will be set aside I mean like it won't be followed but we will follow any federal or state requirements for purchases >> okay are there any federal or state requirements around labor law that would come into effect here >> um there will be like prevailing wage you know which is also ours um those kind of things will we haven't looked at that one yet because if it goes over a 100,000 with then we need to make sure there's affirmative action plan uh there is prevailing wage on certain contracts those things will be working with civil rights if it comes up you know for the EOC use which we never had any in the past so >> okay thank you um just a quick comment I I'm not sure how to vote on this. I feel a little queasy about giving a blank check, but I understand that, you know, it's an emergency and it might be needed. That's my thoughts. Thank you. >> Thank you. Next, we'll go to Council Member Whiting. >> Thank you, Chair Chowry. I think I have a question for Director Ser if you have a second. >> Thank you. Um just kind of a you mentioned kind of in your presentation that there are uh like things that we've come close on uh we kind of using something or needing to use uh this process. Are you able to kind of give us any insight to what those things might be? I think it's just helpful for all of us to be like okay what are these things in these emergent situations that could possibly come up or that we have looked at doing. >> Yeah. Thank you chair chowdery council member. So, um I would say the the days that we all witnessed of the most um severe and difficult days of this crisis so far um in which there was significant uncertainty and unfolding situations across wide swaths of our city. um if those situations had continued to build, it could have put us in a situation in which we needed um emergency services that we did not already have a contract for. I I understand the difficulty in this is the lack of specific examples and I will say that is the part of emergency management and response that is the hardest to explain because we cannot plan for every single situation because every complex crisis looks different. So until we get to that moment, it's really exceptionally difficult to say this is what it looks like because it's never exactly what we imagine or plan for. >> And is it my sorry I'm kind of just confused a little bit about this process. I think it to to I think council member Stevenson's point of like confused about the not necessarily the need but the particulars for right it sounds like it won't be like a need for emergency services that are that we already contracted with like right I know we don't contract with MPD but fire MPD those are things that we would not have to use these procurement services for but things outside of our traditional law enforcement um emergency service response is that correct so it would be something outside of police, fire, public works, other things along those lines. >> Yep. Chair Chattery, council member. So, like I said, this is an absolute last resort. It means we've gone through everything else before we get to it. So, of course, city departments number one. It means that we've gone through what current contracts and grants we have that we could just top up if we need to. It means we've gone through mutual aid and we've exhausted mutual aid. Mutual aid is when we say, "Hey, Henipin County, we need X number of fences," for example, um, and they provide that or they say, "Hey, actually, we don't have that. You're going to have to go somewhere else." Then we'll go to the state and the state says no, too. That's how exhaustive getting to this point is. And again, it's a fail safe. >> That's extremely helpful. Thank you, >> Council President Payne. >> Thank you, Chair Chowry. Uh I'm I'm hearing the need here is like nimleness essentially. Uh and I'm wondering if um you know to council member Wanley's point if something really is so severe and so emergent. I mean I think that the mayor's ability to declare an emergency does also unlock some streamlining of various procurement processes. So in that instance that's a remedy. But I think another remedy that's not being discussed here is our ability as a body to be nimble. So, you know, we've shifted our council calendar in response to this occupation. Uh this is our first day back in the chamber since uh the, you know, announcement by homeman that they're ending the operation. I have not had any further conversations with the clerk about whether or not like we're we've already made a decision about when we're going to get back to our normal calendar and we made that based on our best guess of when it might be feasible to do that. Um, but we still have the ability to meet pretty much um within a week would be the like longest timeline for meeting and I'm sure uh Chair Chowry would agree with this. We have the ability to um adjourn this meeting to tomorrow. We could adjourn the council meeting on this Thursday to next week Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. we would just need to have one of these on weeks to be able to adjourn, meaning to a following week. And I feel like between our ability to adjourn to a next cycle so that we could actually, hey, there is an actual thing that we need to be responsive to right now that the procurement process is not going to allow us to get through it. I think that this body could be responsive to that. And if we didn't have, you know, this week's cycle to be able to adjourn to the day that we think we'll need it, I think it would be such an urgent thing that the mayor could declare our state of emergency. We would have to ratify that after the fact. But um I I I feel like we do have mechanisms and I don't Mr. Clerk, am I getting this correct as far as like our ability to adjourn versus the ability for the mayor or not even to declare an an emergency to call a special meeting? So even outside of this body's authority, the mayor could call a special meeting. We could take up whatever contracts or whatever set aides we want to do as far as waiverss of procurement process. I feel like we have governance processes that would allow us the nimleness that is being sought after here, don't we? >> Through the chair, uh, council president, you're correct. The mayor has the ability to call special meetings of the city council at any time provided there's adequate notice. Usually that's three days in advance. So, a three-day notice and the council could be convened and it could focus on any number of issues that the mayor wished the council to take up and consider. This body also, as you pointed out, has the ability to make adjustments to its calendar, too. So I I think that solving the problem of the uh nimleness is something that we can do without necessarily doing such a big a set aside of some of our controls, especially in light of commentary about controls within government procurement being pretty top of- mind for a bunch of folks. So that's just something I'm considering right now. >> Thank you. We'll go to Council Member Rainville. >> Uh thank you, Madam Chair. Uh, Director Sales, could you excuse me, I don't mean to impose upon you, but could you be a little more specific as to if we did not approve of this, what would the downside be if we don't suspend this uh rule for your request? >> Yeah. Uh, Chair Chattery, Council Member Rainville. Um, so when we're in a situation, again, this is a catastrophic fail safe, every minute is going to matter. If we are not able to immediately procure the thing that is needed for the emerent situation that requires it, we are putting our whole response behind however long it takes then to complete the action. So for example, if there was a need for um largecale uh something like uh deescalation services that are outside of the current contracts um to to send folks into different parts of the city. Um and that's something we don't have right away and the situation continues to escalate. We're putting ourselves back however long that situation runs and the severity of the situation runs. So this is another one that is really difficult to say specifically how bad could it get because it depends on what's happening and what the situation is. The idea in emergency management is as soon as you prepare. That's the number one thing you do. You prepare. You prepare. you prepare for the worstc case catastrophic scenario because then if it happens you can respond right away and catch it before it goes all the way to that actual worst case scenario. So that's what we're trying to do here is be prepared for that worst case scenario. >> Okay. Thank you. Uh you've answered I'm I'm going to vote for this. I do think we need to give our professional staff the tools to respond immediately and I would hate to have to wait three days or longer in order to give you the resources you need to solve a problem. Thank you. >> Thank you, council member. Next, we'll recognize council member Schaefer. >> Yes. I had a question for the city attorney around the language in this. Um we as council members are bringing forward many um potential actions that are related to you know um the emergency that we're in. I'm assuming the this would not apply to those more recent council language lang does this language could that apply to those scenarios as well? We'll see if there is a staff member that could >> I was asking the city attorney if this language um would apply to council actions um avoiding procurement process in this emergency many of the emergency resolutions that we're considering. >> Okay. Attorney O'Reilly. >> Thank you, Madam Chair. Uh council member. No, this this would apply to the administration uh procurement process, right? not not um expenditures set by uh the city council. >> Okay. Thank you for clarifying that. >> Council vice president Osman. >> Okay. Thank you. I think I think we have learned um a lot from 2020 how we were not prepared and um anything that gives us tools to uh to be prepared and not make the same mistakes we have we have made uh especially this department has been um you know um gave the we gave them the tools we got a new doctor we have a different vision and I think it makes sense for us to approve this Uh but is there an expiration date on on this? >> Yes. Uh Chair Chow, Council Member Osman, April 30th is the date. >> April 30th. Yes. Well, my point is that April 30 is around the corner. It's not a it's not a big deal, but we don't really know what our president can do. We have seen him uh threat us to that he's going to uh send the military here. uh and we are in a in a in a place that we have no idea what's going on. So uh I trust your judgment doctor. I appreciate your work for last few uh few weeks, month and a half. Uh I know you had a lot you and your team uh had a lot in your in your hand and we could have you know things could have got could have gone wrong but uh I I I will support this motion. Thank you. >> Next I'll recognize council member Palmisano. Um to me I hear director Ser isn't referring to procuring routine matters or to execute contracts for normal supplies. Um she's attempting to streamline procurement uh for essential services and supplies that relate to the safety and preservation of life and property. And I just sorry I I I do want you to maybe share a little bit about that. Can you confirm that? Is this about the worst cases that involve life and property of our city? Um because in your previous hypothetical example, it sounds like you are still going to be stepping through the ideas in your fence example of do we have it? Does a partner have it? Does another partner have it? Okay, here we are. And the end result could be that we go out and buy it in this moment. Is am I right in assuming that this is that catastrophic solution only? >> Chair Chattery, uh, Council Member Palisano, that is correct. It is the absolute cat catastrophic situation after we've gone through all of those other steps. >> I see. And um and this was, you know, you were getting this into the queue um before we got the news about a likely draw down of ICE agents in our vicinity and other kinds of things. Um thank you. >> Thank you, Council Member, Vice Chair Chug Tai. >> Thank you, Madame Chair. Um, I think I want to start by thanking staff for bringing this um item forward and um doing everything in your power to respond to this emergency crisis that that not only you but but in reality the real people that live in this real city um are experiencing day after day. I am strongly in opposition to this item and I want to talk a little bit about why. In 2020, um, our city experienced a a catastrophic emergency that affected every resident that lived in this city. And not every single one of us was here during that time. I wasn't here. I experienced um that emergency as a resident of the city, not as a policy maker or decision maker. That is true for nearly every single person sitting on this dis maybe with the exception of council member Palmisano. Um the rest of us have come after. I was here though when the city settled several lawsuits related to misuses around procurement that came as a result of that lack of oversight. The city council is one of the last places where that oversight happens. And so when when I'm asked as a as a member of this council, as a member of this body to consider something like this, knowing that we have settled pretty significant lawsuits um from the misuse of it, right? I am inclined to say no, absolutely not. We don't want to give up any last authority we have because in the end, we're going to be saddled with the impacts. It's not going to be any individual sitting in these chambers that's going to have to deal with the impacts. the institution and we are one of the leaders of the institution. This body is a co-equal leader of this institution in settling such lawsuits. I I think that there are there of the examples that have been provided to me because I've asked about this several times and the examples that have been brought up here. I don't see a single reason as to why we must approve this when there are so many tools that have been made available to this administration whether it is soul source contracting or the deep desire from this body to say we'll we'll adjourn our meeting to the following day to meet your requirements of getting a contract in place. Um, I I don't see a reason for us to approve and and wave every single um check that exists in place to to make sure we're in compliance with law. Right. At the end of the day, a lot of the same actors um are are within the administration and and I want to make sure that I am doing everything in my power to make sure we are not liable for misuses of such power being given away. And I would urge my colleagues to to not support this this action for for such a reason. Thank you. Thank you. Next, we'll recognize Council Member Wanley. >> Thank you, Chair, and thank you, Council Member Chuck Tai, for ra uh raising some of the concerns that we had to deal with um as a council um as a result of the misuse of prior uh waiverss tied to procurement policies and the litigation that came forward as a uh consequence of that. Um but I also just wanted to have a question around the resolution itself. you named the the pretext for this as needing to respond to, you know, urgent demands right now. And again, it sounds like potentially undefined requests coming from various departments that may be in need of more expedited services um in the current moment as we don't know when is the definitive end of the occupation, but I don't understand if it was so urgently needed. Can you express why did you set a date of April 1st for this to be in effect and then to expire on April 30th and it's February 17th chair council member Wley the April 1 date is actually a mistake uh because it should have been May 1st So it is a date for reporting back to you and it should be May 1st instead of April 1. Sorry about that. >> So we wouldn't get a report. So this was essentially noting the typo would go into effect if this was approved immediately and then it wouldn't expired until April 30th and then council would not get a report back until May 1st. Um if you would like to chair chair uh council member Wley if you would like to get a report like a mid you know midterm report we can do that. Well, I'm not supporting the measure. I just wanted clarification on which good to know because there was a typo in this of when council will even get a a full accounting or basically what this cover immediate kind of needs right now that still remains to be undefined. Even a scope of services like naming does MPD need equipment X, does CPED need Y, that still has not come forward. So, and why that would be of concern from today's date all the way through April 30th, which this is tensibly would be the expiration date. >> Correct. I would ask director Sire too. >> Thank you. >> Welcome back, >> Ch Chattery. Council member Wansley. So the April 30th date was chosen as the most reasonable assumption date given we don't know when Operation Metro Surge will end. Um I think we're all waiting to see um beyond the date that it ends. As I've briefed council in separate uh meetings, I expect urgent needs to remain at least two months after that given the long tale of this kind of complex emergency. So that is why we selected as a best date April 30th. Once again, just clarity, there is not even a quantity of requests that you can share right now for certain departments that would be applicable during this deadline or this time period. >> Currently, there is not a specific pending request because we are not at a catastrophic moment in which a specific thing is needed that we have exhausted all other avenues for procurement for. That is correct. And is this something that can't be taken up? And I already know we're anticipating having to redo some budget amendments that's going to be impacted already by um constraints of our general cash fund and things of that nature which also will tie to even this is that something that can't be done in a mid year which we were going to do like a council review which I think happens relatively soon in a couple weeks around the budget. Chair Chattery, Council Member Wanley. Um I would have to defer to my colleagues on the budget cycle question. My again I for my department this is an operational need to be able in the most catastrophic situation in which there is no other option. We have exhausted all options for a specific need that does not already fit into existing city contracts or mechanisms that we need in order to resolve an immediate life-threatening situation. That is the ask for this >> in very raw terms. And it seems like we have budget director here. >> Council member Wanley, your time has expired. >> Nothing for you. Never mind. >> Uh we will go to council member Chavez. Uh, thank you, Chair Chattery. I just have a quick question for staff. If there, let's just say there was an emergency that occurred and staff decided to allocate $10 million to hire city workers to stop observers from observing illegal actions committed by ICE as an example. Where would the money come from? Who would pay for it? Is there allocated budget for this one? I'm I'm asking that because my concern with this is that we would be targeting observers that are observing the illegal actions by ICE, which is not something I would want to unintentionally do by supporting this. And my question is where is the money going to come from if you were to then have this power that we were strip from ourselves as a council to then give staff the power to allocate a specific contract for a specific issue. Where would that money come from? Chair Chowdery, Council Member Chavez, I think there's a distinction we need to draw between budget authority and the procurement rules. So, this action would not increase anyone's budget or ability to spend >> for Yes. But let's just say that you get this authority, right? And you contract with an organization for a specific issue through this authority >> directly. >> Where would the money come from? >> Why don't you introduce yourself as well? >> Sure. >> Um, I'm Jane Dunza. the deputy CFO and I'm serving as the budget director. Um the city is still bound by the annual budget process. And so again, I I think there's not a situation where anyone on city staff would recommend a $10 million expenditure that's not planned for in the budget. >> I guess I'll ask my question again, chair. These I assume would be unexpected expenses should an emergency occur. If there was an unexpected expense, an emergency, where would the money come from? Would it be targeting council members budget proposals that we passed this past cycle? I guess that's my question. My my fear is that council members budget amendments would be on the chopping block should this get approved without us having a say >> through the chair. Council member, um I think what director Sarah is asking for here is not again uh authority to exceed the budget. its authority to to move through procurement processes slightly quicker in the event that that happens. I think whenever we exceed a budgetary appropriations, that's what our fund balance is for. That's why we have the the contingency account that that you all get to vote on when such um incidences occur. Would this proposal allow staff to pick and choose specific funding that was approved in this last budget cycle and say now we have the authority to cut a program without talking to the city council to allocate it for a specific purpose. >> Through the chair, no. >> Can you give me an example of how this would work? So, let's just say there was an action that became an emergency in the city of Minneapolis. staff sees a reason to expedite the procurement process, bypass city council, what would be the next step for staff and let's just say it cost half a million dollars to a million dollars to contract with whoever >> through the chair. I I think it's, you know, often the case that the city has to find ways to to pay for things that weren't strictly speaking budgeted for, right? Um I know you know my department is paying for a fee study that we didn't plan for right um and so whenever those things happen um you know city staff as professionals have to figure out how we accommodate those expenses within existing budgets. And so it could be you know given that the EOC the emergency operations center is um pretty much every single city department participates in it. It could be that many departments pull together resources from vacancy savings or what have you to make it work, but that is always the the goal is that we figure out how to do things in a budget neutral way so that we're not dipping into reserves or exceeding our budgets. >> And does staff have a list of some of the in preparation if something would happen as an emergency? Does staff have a list of departments budgetary impacts? Who would we be cutting or redirecting funding towards? Like is there a plan in case that is happening? What programs might be impacted >> through the chair? There's no such list. >> Is the administration planning to create such a list so we would know who would be impacted? Should this authority be given away? >> Through the chair, I am not aware of any plans for such a list. >> Uh if the clerk, if you can try to ask administration to provide us more details ahead of the vote on Thursday, that would be super helpful. I think for us, we want to be transparent about what this action means. Should we give away our authority, what would be the impact in our community? So, I just want to make sure that we have everything ahead of a final vote on Thursday. Thank you. >> Thank you. I have myself in Q next. Um I just have some questions to just better understand um the the current situation and then how we're planning on moving forward. I think I just share in a little bit of like the the confusion around like the nebulousness of this ask. And I know it's contingent on like this catastrophic incident occurring. So my first question is um could you walk me through the current barriers in the procurement process that you're trying to overcome should there be a catastrophic incident. Thank you, Chair Chattery. Um, so I am not a procurement um, uh, specialist, so I might need to turn over to my colleague at some moment. So as I said um if there is a need identified in a moment what we do is we first go to all mechanisms available. We look through with the EOC finance director what current contracts exist in the city is there already budget that can be put towards that that's already been slated. is there um if if there's no contract in the city and it is um for some reason then at a certain level of spending we're going to mutual aid Henipin County are you able to meet this need um uh state are you able to meet this need so if we have exhausted all of those options and it o is over $175,000 right because under $175,000 we have all of the abilities to procure um services as have been discussed and again I will defer to my colleagues for more information on that but this is an over 175,000 catastrophic request after which everything that already exists has been exhausted >> okay maybe I have a question that is more in your specialty emergency services so you keep on naming this catastrophic event as the the trigger for needing the spending. Do you have a policy, internal policy or definition for what this exactly is that would trigger this type of spending? >> Yeah. Um, Chair Chowy, and I again I recognize how difficult this is. The challenge in me explaining it is I cannot predict exactly what every emergency is going to look like. So, I cannot predict what the intervention required will be. That is the challenge. >> I understand. I think what I'm looking for just so there are some internal controls on when you switch off spending or not is like what what governs what a catastrophic incident is because without that definition it could be anything and without us knowing okay like this is this is the thing that leads to the fail safe that's going to lead to 175,000 to 2 million to whatever type of spending. it's kind of difficult to say, okay, I feel good knowing that we're going to take these these steps away. So, >> an internal definition of even I know we've done emergency planning years ago uh as a council where emergencies were defined as like a disaster, uh civil civil unrest, disease, all of these different things. So, I'm kind of just looking for what your control is >> to make that decision. >> Yeah. Thank you, Council Member uh Chair Chowy. It is life safety related or property. There are three standard priorities in emergency response. One is life safety, one is prior uh property because property is what people need in order to habitate. And third is environmental. Environmental in this case would be unlikely. I would imagine to the best of my ability without being able to predict what happens. That would be something like a spill that contaminates our water supply for example. That then would be an emergency life safety situation in which some item might need that we don't currently have availability available. We cannot procure with given contracts because we don't have it. Again, that is unlikely in this scenario, but that is an example of how we categorize whether or not we pull this lever. It's again immediate life safety. It is not a if we could wait for two weeks to come to council, absolutely we will. This is the must act now otherwise people's lives will be lost. >> Okay. I think I think it would be helpful to have like an internal definition that you're operating out of that the enterprise is operating out of. Um I think we're defining it here in real time and that's okay. Um the the question and I'll try to clarify more for procurement to help. So currently we have a status quo right when it comes to 150,000 that are spent there are certain steps that need to go forward. Those are barriers to this moving forward. One of the barriers is council approval. What are the other barriers that slow things down to get something a contract put out to address a a life safety emergency? >> Okay. Chair Chadri, um members of the committee, I wanted to uh just let you know that learning from the events of 2020, procurement has many citywide contracts put in place. Okay? So anyone in an emergency or otherwise can use it quickly. Um some of the examples you know related to an event like an emergency event would be like hazardous material chemical cleanup right. Um we have a contract for that one. Um so just like that you know like barricades um you know traffic signals uh you know I mean traffic uh signs um things of that nature are already under a contract and we are continually keeping that one going on. so that if there is an emergency we have something to fall back on immediately. Uh the the threshold for like um formal bidding or formal contracts is like 175,000 which is set by the state statute for lo local governments. State has a higher informal threshold. Um so we have to stay at 175,000 and >> I apologize my time has expired. Okay, I'll go to council member Ward. >> Um, this means stay ready so we don't have to get ready. And I think um although we haven't seen anything, we've seen some catastrophic things, but not as catastrophic as they could have been, especially during this operation metro surge. So to procure a situation means to identify it and then source it and then you're going to define what the needs are in there and negotiate and navigate how we get through it into the end. So if it is, you know, go time and you need your go bag, you don't have time to be messing around. I don't know if anyone has ever been in a an extremely catastrophic situation. Um, but when it's when it's go time, you have to have all of your tools in action when it means the safety and security of people whose lives are at danger or at risk. And you don't have time to stop and turn around and go and ask others, are they coming with you or what's happening at this moment. you got to move into action because life- saving measures have to jump into in into play and you can apologize and figure it out later. I don't even think we should be paying attention to the the dollar amount that they would have to, you know, need to get to in order to if it's life saving and it's, you know, and you're procuring an actual situation and that I think this is even what the council was asking for as a whole body throughout this whole situation was what is the city doing? Why aren't they just jumping in? Why aren't they just jumping in? This is a situation that could be catastrophic. I think it's better for us to stay ready so we don't have to get ready instead of trying to figure out how to get ready at the last minute unless people are just that control hungry or something. I don't even know. But I'm going to vote for it because it seems like the most logical thing to do when there is an a situation that is of crisis and this is not something that would be utilized against us as a people to to bring about harm to us. It's to bring about safety to us. So, if I'm looking at my se city to provide me with some safety and security here in this place, then yes, I would vote for something like this. >> Thank you. Next, I will call on Vice Chair Chug Tai. >> Thank you, Madam Chair. Um, I think I want to talk about uh a few examples as this item caught my eye as soon as the draft agenda was published last week and um I've had the opportunity to talk with staff at agenda setting and then in in follow-up conversation. So, I want to reflect back some of what I've learned and some of that has made its way into the conversation today. So um my first question was can you give me some examples of authority that you've needed um that was not available to you through other sources. Now I'll say on the front end I never got a clear answer to that but I've been given three different examples of types of authority or types of examples where this this authority would have made a difference. Now, the first of those is immigration legal services, right? And followed by um chemical cleanup after the use of chemical irritants, followed by deescalation um for um for for first amendment related activity in happening in our city. So, I'll start with the first one, immigration legal services. Um, I want to thank the city attorney's office for bringing this to my attention, but actually the this body on February 5th of this year. So, just at our our previous meeting did um authorize the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs to increase um its its amounts for existing contracts uh related to immigration legal services. And so that's one of the only three examples I've yet to have brought before me or before this body um for the justification for this type of authority that that we've actually already found a solve to. The second example, chemical cleanup. I want to just mention first the irony that I see as a person that has been teargassed and pepper-sprayed many times by my government um over the last five years more times now than I ever was in 2020. I'll just say that. Um and is the reason why I'm sick all of the time right now. Um, I the irony of hearing that there is actually a process for chemical cleanup and knowing that my government, my city government that I'm a leader of has been a perpetrator of this exact type of violence that is that that that like we've never before bothered to mention there's actually a process for chemical cleanup. It just escapes me just how angry it makes me. Like I can't I can't begin to put into words the next time you've been tear gas five times in a row like please come and talk to me about how annoying it is that there's actually a process for chemical cleanup that we've never bothered to undertake before. The third example is deescalation services that are needed um for first amendment activities that are lawfully protected by this the bill of rights and the states or this country's constitution. I would just like to bring as an example to um to my colleagues that there are current providers for this city through um the neighborhood safety department that are having their contracts canled or significantly reduced because of the lack of um money that is available to pay for such things. And so at a time when we don't have money to pay for existing status quo safety services that we are talking about hypothetical services that we could need at some point in the future is insane. It's insane. I I I want to talk about then I'll end with this with the minute that I have left talking about what the city is currently doing right now and over the course of this emergency that has brought me to my community more than it has to city hall. Right? Like I'm a person who is working at city hall way less than I ever have before. And I'll just say the city's only role right now is in tearing down barricades. That's what we're doing. That's all we're doing. There is no other emergency service I've seen go out into the community and I like I'm living in an impacted community that I am in day in day out talking to constituents 24/7. And I like I don't mean that as an exaggeration. I literally mean that. And I don't have not seen once the city play out a a role in responding in a quote unquote emergency beyond tearing down community barricades. And I actually do not feel a reason to give further authority to tear down said barricades faster when the only emergency response I've seen is that I I I cannot more strongly urge you to deny this. And if not that, then let's rein uh the the the options for this by >> Thank you, C. Madam Chair, >> Council Member Whiting. >> Yes. Thank you, Chair Chowy. And this is probably a question for director Denza if you have a few moments to spare. Thank you. And I don't mean to ask a hypothetical so give me a little bit of grace here. I'm trying to figure out kind of this to to council member Chavez's question. I think it's a fair question. Um I think you know just trying to point the question in the right way. And so uh when we are talking about uh these suspending of pro procurement provisions uh and then when those things are sus suspended and if we have an expense let's use a fire for example uh and we see a massive fire that the fire department doesn't have enough hoses because we need them right now and there's lots of fires. If these procurement um policies are suspended, that would allow for uh the city to go about and do that instantly without having to come to council, I think, is my understanding. And then from that budget, right, fire had to purchase those hoses. Uh and then would they have to use their 2026 fiscal year allocated budget to pull from somewhere within their department. So, it's not citywide. It would be the department that would spend the money >> through the chair, council member Whiting. Yes. In that case, that would be a fire department expense that they're incurring. So, in most cases, departments individually would be incurring those costs from their 26 appropriations. >> Okay. So, in an example where we we have an unidentified expense or whatever department would need those uh services uh and whatever department that is in, that is where the the expense would go. would not be just to an amorphous kind of city budget broadly, but it would be within the department's fiscal year 2026 allocated budget >> through the chair. That's correct. >> Okay. Thank you. That is very helpful to know. >> Council Vice President Osman. >> Thank you. Um looks like people have very strong opinion about this item. um thought was just straightforward but as I listen to the conversation um I'm open having a different deadline uh if folks are willing to to do that and also uh I think unlimited amount might be an also uh could be a problem we we can limit I don't know how much is how much is needed but if we can just move forward and and and just uh take ite and voted on it. That would be great. If you have a motion to bring a different deadline than March 30th, then bring it forward so we can get this done. Thank you, >> Council President Payne. >> Uh, thank you, Madam Chair. I just wanted to put a finer point on some of my previous comments and I talked about our controls. The other side of our of not having controls is fraud and that's a thing that's been raised on this dis and it's been a frustration to me when it is raised on this dis because we have a really robust set of controls within the city of Minneapolis. When people are reading about headlines about fraud, they're not reading about headlines about fraud that happened in the city of Minneapolis. They're hearing about it happening in other levels of government. One of the reason you don't read about those headlines in the city of Minneapolis is because of our rigorous procurement policies and our rigorous audit policies. And I am hesitant to weaken those controls right now partly because um if we needed this type of response, we needed this about a month ago, maybe two months ago. Uh, that's a and b, like I said, I think between the mayor's ability to declare a state of emergency because like life is like really literally on the line, the mayor's ability to call a special meeting, our ability to adjourn to another date, our desire to be responsive in this moment, which I think we've demonstrated everybody up here is responding to this moment in a very responsive way. um this this this feels like there's a lot of concerns and questions more so than it solving a problem. And like I said, um I already talked about controls, but the other side of controls is fraud, waste, and abuse. When you lack those types of controls, that's when you find yourself in those headlines. And I think that uh I'm very much open to streamlining procurement process. I've been actually working on streamlining our procurement process since 201 I don't know 18 or something like that. So, um that's definitely a bigger conversation I'm willing to have especially as it relates to our emergency preparedness as a structural and systemic response. Um so I'm going to probably not be supporting this today under its current structure. >> Vice Chair, you have a priority motion. Yeah, Madame Chair, I um actually have had the opportunity to talk with clerks around um adding in some um controls on this motion as provided by uh by staff and I am happy to wait until you are ready to call on me to make such a motion so that you're able to complete your comments. >> Okay. Thank you. Um, I think first and foremost, this body is not a rubber stamp body and I hear like the urgent need that's being presented and I appreciate all the work the emergency services department has done, the EOC has done. You guys are doing day in dayout work and at the same time we're weighing an extraordinary shift, right? one of our largest authorities is this this oversight over our budget. It's a really important thing to me. It's a really important thing as far as it comes to past contracts, the settlements that were brought up. Those are the things that have been circling around in my my head. Um we're very clearly in a committee because we're doing committee work. Uh council vice president brought up this discussion about a different deadline. Um there's conversations about okay one 175,000 what's the top amount uh vice chair has a a priority motion I think there's a way for us to put our heads together to come up with a path that works for us um I just I think I when this was brought forward in consent I also was surprised because it doesn't feel like an item we can just move through so quickly with such big questions ahead in terms of what it means and what it looks like and I think it's important that we set that forward. I was going to make a motion to forward without recommendation so there's more time um for uh discussion. I mean, our staff is doing an investigation now in between Wednesday to Thursday at this point. And I would recommend a conversation between emergency services, procurement, audit, our city leadership, and the budget chair to find a path forward that works because we don't want it to be a blanket. know we I personally see a need but there is just so much nebulousness and concern around this for us to just move forward and rubber stamp this doesn't seem it doesn't seem wise and it doesn't feel comfortable for me to do. So those are my comments and I I know that vice chair potentially has a motion so I will recognize you for that priority motion. >> Thank you madam chair. Um, so I I would I think I would I would uh have otherwise made a motion to continue this to Thursday without recommendation, but I think something that I personally could live with more and I think um provides a level of scrutiny that is necessary while ensuring that um a level of emergency response is made available for whatever the need may be. Um, from the perspective of e emergency management, um, I, um, would like to make a motion to forward to the city council, um, with the following changes to resolving clauses on this resolution. 1st that a report showing any authorization of purchases and contracts pursuant to the provisions of this resolution be filed with the city council at each of its regular meetings during the period when the city's procurement rules and regulations are suspended which shall be added to the public record of those meetings. So that what that means is if if the city and any of its uh relevant departments chooses to exercise this authority to approve contracts without council approval at each of the council meetings as in we don't have to wait a couple months to find out the ways in which you use this authority. At every meeting, you must uh come before us and and file the information about contracts that were approved using this authority. That this authority be temporarily suspending the city's procurement rules becoming effective on the upon publication of the city's legal newspaper. Um that's the standard way in which we approve all acts of the council. Um and absent any further action by the council, it shall expire on March 26th. So um today we are on February 17th. Um want to make sure that as the height of this urgency is is is exceeding or is is is reducing that we are being thoughtful about that. So expiring this on March 26th which is a date of a city council meeting. So if you come to us and tell us, "Oh my gosh, the sky is falling for x y or z reason," um that you can make that case and we have the opportunity to to revisit it then. But absent that, this authority is expired on March 26th, just over a month from today. And finally, that the finance department is um required to file a final report of all purchases made and contracts entered pursuant to this additional authority um by April 1st. So, in addition to every check at every council meeting between now and the expiration of this date, all the way at the end, just like you had already planned to, that you are bringing us forward a comprehensive list of every single thing that you have entered into contracts for. Um and we're we're narrowing the scope of this authority given the moment that we're in right now and that the height of this um this repression from the federal government um this occupation of our city from the federal government um was was not before today um that we are we are being conscientious of that. So with that I'll move these changes for approval and ask for a second. Second. Next we have on discussion council member Schaer. Yes. I would just like uh if city staff would like to respond to this amendment and have any comments where they feel like this is uh feasible from your perspective. >> Thank you, Chair Shery. Council member, yes, this works for us. Thank you. Uh Joshi Dai, CFO, uh Chair Chowry. Um one question I have is if there are no um suspensions that we do uh for procurement rules, do you still want to report back? >> I I'm seeing nods from everybody. Yes, we would like a report back. Okay. Thank you so much, CFO. >> Uh next, I will recognize Council Member Palmisano. Thank you, Madame Chair. Um, I think I am speaking in support of this modification. Um, but I I do have a couple questions. One is that are we adding then some extra reporting about all of the expenditures made that were done through regular processes, not through this catastrophic mechanism? Is that a new ad then to what we're doing here? Vice Chair. >> Um, thank you, Madame Chair, um, and to Council Member Pomosano for raising a very important question. Um, based on the language of of this, um, alone, this is this is specific to the action that is before us. So from here on out um at a cycle by cycle basis any um any um procurement contract that is entered into using this authority is reported on um at every council meeting and I would happily defer to the clerks if I have misspoken at all um to to to have the final word of truth. >> Thank you. I I think >> I see a thumbs up. >> Yeah. Um it so this is only for when we are waving these procurement and contracting requirements. That makes sense to me. The other thing that I might um suggest or caution and this comes more from the experience um after the enunciation mass shooting and seeing how long we had to stay in that emergency setup um is that in the event I just think this timeline is maybe too short. Um, and I might recommend extending it by, I don't know, another month. Um, so I guess I can bring that into conversation and bring it back on Thursday. But I do think that these changes are positive ones. So, thank you. >> Um, Madame Chair, if I may. >> If it if it's all right with Council Member Palmisano, it's her time or I guess you're in quue. >> Yeah. I if I didn't want you to council member I would love to have conversations between with you between now and Thursday morning um just to talk about any further modifications that would be appropriate that meet both of both of our needs and the needs that are reflected to us by our colleagues. >> Sounds good. Thank you. >> Uh Council Member Stevenson. Yeah, forgive me if this isn't the way that it normally goes, but I would love if we could add a cap of like $500,000 onto this as well. I'm just uncomfortable with an unlimited amount. Um, the reporting is great. The limited time is great. I I like that. I I would I think a cap would be helpful for me. >> I I heard the vice chair say that she's happy to discuss that and we won't conclude on this item until Thursday. Okay. So, there is time to work on this on Thursday. So, I encourage those conversations. Um, I I put myself in Q. Um, I think I I like this amendment. I see I understand the conversation about the timeline. I think the part that I'll lift up that the vice chair said in her comments is that should uh should the authority automatically expire on you said March 26th, there's still an opportunity at that council meeting for us to have a discussion to extend it. Um I think it just becomes a a stop gap, a place for us to check in if we need that opportunity. So it's not entirely set in stone. It gives us that flexibility if we need to extend and continue the conversation. And I also think um having having this time a shorter time to discuss what this means and kind of get those questions answered. I really encourage leadership to meet with emergency services. That's my personal request to get a better understanding of how this is going to move forward. And also I would love I loved I can't remember which council member brought up the point of how much uh money is going to be spent. I think it was council member Chavez like if there is a even just a contingency plan on like yep we're we're going to plan to set aside like $6 million um and this is where it's going to come from if there is a catastrophic need and just kind of have that defined out as like the first phase of where funding would come from. I think that would be very helpful for us to understand. It's like if something's triggered, this is where the money is going to come from and like this is what we can tell you without having to know in its entirety what the catastrophic need is. >> I will ask if there is any further discussion. Oh, I see clerk Carl. >> I'm I'm sorry. Just because we were moving very quickly with the amendments, I thought maybe it would be helpful to summarize what the body is doing right now with the motion that's in front of you. So the resolution drafted with the amendment that is pending is that there are the changes that were read into the record by uh vice chair Shug Tai saying that without further action by the council this temporary suspension of city-only procurement policies and rules would expire automatically at March 26th. Um it would become effective upon legal publication which means as early as February 21. So, if this comes to council on Thursday this week and is approved and signed by the mayor, it could become effective as soon as Saturday the 21st. It would extend then automatically until at least March 26th. If at any time between then and on March 26th, the staff identified further need, it would be to this body to to consider extending that. Meanwhile, there would be regular reports filed by the staff at the full council meetings on the 3rd of March and the 24th of March identifying any possible contracts or expenditures or purchases made under this uh this authority by this resolution. Um, and if there were none, we'd still get a report saying nothing was done. Uh, if there were purchases or contracts, then those would be put on the file uh for council's notification. There are two outstanding issues that might come forward Thursday outside of what I just summarized. one identified by council member Palmisano as the timeline for the uh automatic expiration and the one by council member Stevenson adding a potential cap on the expenditure of money up to $500,000. Those two things to be decided between now and Thursday. But right now, what you have is the resolution with the changes that uh vice chair Shug Thai outlined with the changes from what was printed showing that in the second bold resolve clause, it's not April 30th, it's March 26th. And the final resolve clause, it's not May 1st, it's April 1st. >> Thank you, Clerk Carl. Is there any further discussion? Okay, seeing none, we have the motion before us. Uh, may I have the clerk call the role, please? >> Council member Payne, >> I. Wanley. >> Hi, >> Rainville. >> Hi, >> Vita. >> Hi, >> Warren. >> Hi, >> Osman. >> Hi, >> Schaefer. >> I >> Stevenson, >> I >> Chavez, >> I >> Whiting, >> I >> Palmisano, >> I, >> Vice Chair Chiptai. >> I, >> and Chair Chowy, >> I. >> There are 13 eyes. >> That motion carries and it is forwarded to the full council. All right. Next is a resolution that amends the budget to redistribute downtown assets funds to support small businesses impacted by immigration enforcement and operation metro surge. Um, Council Member Chavez, would you like to begin with remarks? >> Uh, thank you, Chair Chardy. I'm excited to bring forward the Mappa Small Business Resilency Fund with many of our colleagues here on the Das today. Since December, small businesses across the city have had to adapt to the occupation by the federal government. We know that pre-existing disparities have only increased drastically, impacting our black, brown, indigenous, and immigrant-owned businesses across Minneapolis. Many of them having to temporarily close, losing up to 80 to 100% of their revenue. Many have to have their doors locked to keep staff and customers safe. Since the beginning of this occupation, I have met with small businesses across the city. have helped create safety plans, have driven workers at these small businesses home when ISIS is staging on their lots or on the public right away, have been on watch, and have heard the impact from them directly. These owners and workers often come up to me with tears on their eyes, asking and telling me that they are afraid that their culture is being erased and wiped out of Minneapolis and that their hard work will no longer be worth it in the city of Minneapolis. They tell me that it is sad that working is now considered a crime by the federal government. And what we know is that if they were to shut down for good, these jobs and our businesses will only go away and that our culture, something that we care very much about, will only be erased. I've also heard from many of you colleagues that small businesses in your wards have been decimated. This is happening in every ward across Minneapolis. There's an estimated $47 million per month in lost wages or people afraid to leave their homes. Restaurant and small business revenue losses are as high as $81 million in the month of January. I think that our community has been very clear. We know that working is not a crime. Owning a small business is not a crime. And wanting to see your culture reflected in the city of Minneapolis and the local economy is not a crime. I think it is our responsibility as a city to keep the culture and our bike park businesses alive and our communities afloat. Our neighbors will continue to shop at our small businesses. They will continue to patrol and observe, but they are also asking the city of Minneapolis to do its part to sustain the local economy. This uh proposal today is a drop in the bucket compared to the actual need that our communities are facing today, but they are asking the city of Minneapolis to be a leader in this moment. This fund would be citywide. It's coming from the downtown assets fund because if the rest of the city fails, so will downtown. and it will help keep many of our small businesses afloat during these terrible times. Um, with that chair, I would like to move this for approval, but would also like to recognize that we have folks here from Elkado Central in the audience today, which are some of the small businesses across Minneapolis, across our multiple cultural corridors that are in danger of permanent closing today. >> Thank you so much, Chair Chavez and myself and Q. Um, I think your remarks set the stage really well. I just, um, I just want to thank all of the small business owners, local business owners in our city, especially our bipac immigrant businesses who have been just really devastated by this o ICE occupation and invasion. It's been heartbreaking to see um so many of our different corridors not buzzing with the regular activity of our neighbors and community members just enjoying their daily life, but buzzing with ICE agents roaming around um and our community having to step up and do patrol. Um, I know many businesses have had to keep their doors locked, have had to shutter down. Workers have not been able to go to work out of fear of racial profiling and detention. Uh, some workers having to sleep at their workplace because they are so afraid to even step outside to go to the parking lot and drive home, a basic freedom to move around. Uh, the impact of this is wide and deep. It is citywide. And that economic impact assessment that showed a conservative $23 million impact on our city um will be felt for years. The memory of this occupation will be felt for generations. And I think it's really timely that we step up today and move forward this uh small business resiliency fund and along with a later resolution we'll take up calling on different levels of government to also take similar actions. I know the state legislature today is in session and there are several legislators that want to champion uh relief funding and they are looking at what the city of Minneapolis is doing and other cities are as well. So, I appreciate the leadership that we're seeing in this moment from our community to ask for us to take this step. Um, I did I did want to uh take a second to ask Director Hansen um if you could kind of speak to um should this item pass, what are the next steps and how we will work together uh to support small businesses and just have programming that can do immediate relief but also have grant not grants forgivable loans and things like that to support businesses in need. >> Uh, Chair Chowry, just since it's the afternoon, I'm Eric Hansen, the CPAD director. Um, and what I believe is in front of us is some funding to help uh the business community after um from the impacts of Operation Metro Surge. as both you and and council member Chavez have articulated um the impact to small businesses in Minneapolis has been very brutal over the last number of weeks and there is while there are certain businesses that have been affected to a point where they've had to close there is not one business in the city of Minneapolis that hasn't been impacted. Uh so that comes brings up the conversation about how to most efficiently use the funding to get to generate business activity across the city. Uh the advice that we have from CPED is to um uh establish a fund and then uh come back with specifics about how to use the fund. Uh there is some interest in getting the money out as quickly as possible. uh we have uh regulatory and um pro procurement uh uh constraints around how we get money out. I know you've just discussed procurement so I won't get into that part. And um uh so in order for us to get money for like a direct uh loan to a business that will take a period of weeks to months before the money would be available. And there might be some other strategies that you guys might want to consider that could get money out in addition to potentially having some money for um direct business assistance. But we'd need program guidelines. We'd look at first we'd look at existing programs. What are what are things that the city already does that we could just um potentially use as a as a a vessel to get funding out as fast as possible and then uh figure out if there's any like good idea that's out there that needs program guidelines. we could come up with some program guidelines that would come through the city council. The city council would approve those and then we would administer those programs. So if it's a like events that we would do with with community, we would um put that out through a competitive process. If it's direct loans, forgivable loans to businesses, we would have an application process um based on criteria in a program guidelines and then from there um administer that program. >> Thank you. >> Does that answer your question? >> Yeah, that answers it. Great. And I just I want to just share with the body. We've been having discussions uh with the with the CPED department about just this nimleness, right? We need to move really quickly. We know that like businesses need support now. The next few months are critical and then just getting money out the door, too. Um over the summer into the fall. This is we're in in it for the long haul. Um and we've discussed a workg group forming. So, these program guidelines with the purpose of this funding being more detailed out for everyone can come back to this body quickly, which I've appreciated. Um, one thing that I really got out of the conversation um in the last few days is that $5 million is really, really small. It's a very small drop in the bucket. And this is one of the moments where we really need to step up and understand if we're going to do a suite of different programs to help businesses, whether it's that relief funding directly or bringing back customer bases by bringing um community members to key corridors throughout the city, we're going to need to have as much as we can work with. Um, and so that is why I'm bringing forward uh a substitute motion uh amendment uh uh to add an additional $2 million um from the downtown assets fund that's authored by myself, council uh council member Chugtai, Council Vice President Osman, and then um I believe uh council member Whiting and Chavez asked to be co-authors on this. Okay, great. I'm getting nods. And so I will put that before us um as amendment to this motion. >> Great. Next, I will call on council member Rainville. >> Thank you. So I have I have some questions about the downtown Anson fund and I don't know director Dashani or director Denza which would be best perhaps if you both came forward. So I I'm going to ask you some questions that I know the answer to, but I want the public to know and I know we have new council members as well. So I think before we make this decision, we should have all the information we need. So, the downtown asset fund, that's the money that Minneapolis uh collects with its entertainment taxes. Correct. >> Uh through the chair, um the downtown assets fund is uh mostly with sales tax. So, it's not just um entertainment tax. So, it's uh restaurants, liquor, uh general sales tax, and entertainment tax as well. Uh, thank you for that correction. But that's dollars that but that we are able to spend in Minneapolis whe whether it's for the small business fund or some other other purpose >> through the chair. That would be correct. >> Okay, great. And then how are those assets funds typically spent and and what venues? Let's start with what venues they're spent on. >> Sure. um through the chair, council member uh Rainville. Uh the downtown assets fund contains the uh convention center, target center. Uh we also pay for the PV Plaza maintenance along with the coal center. Uh that's a new asset to the downtown assets fund. Um, we also make debt payments from the sales taxes uh to the US Bank Stadium debt um uh to the uh state of Minnesota. Um we also uh paid off the convention center debt. There was a uh renovation uh several years ago and we just made our last payment uh in December. Um and then just general operating maintenance uh at the Target Center as well as the convention center. So the assets that the city owns like the you mentioned the Target center but uh the convention center as well and Kohl's uh and recently we just uh authorized some money to do some renovations at the convention center. So those type of planned expenses >> uh through the chair that would be correct. >> Okay. So how much is in the downtown as fund right now? through the chair. Council member Rainville, we can get you a more precise number, but the um projection at the end of last year when we adopted the budget um was that it we would end 2026 with about 81 million in funding. >> 81 million. And then do we have uh plans for any of that 81 million? So you said debt service. Are there any repair plans? Uh what is there any of this spoken for? So, what I'm trying to get to is if we took $7 million, is that hurting something or or what does that mean? >> Uh, through the chair, Council Member Rainville, uh, we would need to get a a repair plan for the convention center. I don't have that information, but um, they're constantly doing repairs at the convention center and trying to upgrade their facilities. That's part of their normal operations. Um, I should mention the target center debt. Uh we have payments going all the way through 2035 for the target center uh debt payments. >> So is that 5 million a year 10 million 20 how much do we spend on debt repayment? >> Um you know like I said uh through the chair council member Rainville we just paid the last uh debt payment for the convention center. So that debt is paid off. Um, however, for the Target Center, uh, we pay it. It's in varying amounts, but we do have a $15.3 million payment that's due in 2030. So, that's coming up, but we pay about 5 million a year um until 2030 uh for the target center debt. >> Okay. So, thank you for the answers. What? Before I I can vote on this, I I would really like to know exactly what are the um asks of this fund, whether it's debt repayments or if it's some type of planned repairs. In fact, uh someone should be doing that on a regular basis. council. I don't know who it should be, but I would think if the people who manage these facilities or who depend on them want our support, they would keep in touch with us about their financial needs. Uh because there's also a general fund. Some some of this money goes to the general fund. Is that true, too? >> Uh through the chair, council member Rainville, each year we do budget a certain dollar amount to transfer from the downtown assets fund to the general fund to keep our uh overall levy down. >> Okay. So, we have this limited amount of money that and we don't we have uh an unlimited demand and we don't even know what the demand is. You can't tell us today what the demand is. So, I I'm I'm going to vote no on this because I don't have enough information and I I would hope we could get something uh soon. Thank you, >> Chair Trey. Uh Council Member Rainville, may I make a statement? Um >> yes, please. So, uh, we do get monthly, uh, revenue reports for sales taxes. So, we just received the December update for sales tax revenues. Um, and those revenues are always reported about two months after they're collected. So, what we're seeing now is October spend, and it's about $2 million less than what we collected in December of 2024. So, we're seeing a trend downward. Um, and I don't know what December and January will look like. I suspect it'll be much less than what we collected last year. >> And and I appreciate that. I'm just I'm just trying to understand. It's great to know that the downward trend is going, but what are the demands on that fund as far as debt repayment and planned improvements, physical repairs? That's that's why I'm not able to vote on this today because I don't have enough information. Thank you. >> Thank you, Council Member. Next, I'll recognize Council Member Schaefer. Uh, yeah, I had a couple more questions, finance questions. Thank you. That were related. Um, can you give me a sense of what is the total unallocated amount that's left? You mentioned 81 million, but obviously there's debt service and stuff in that number. From my understanding of what you just told to us, I could have been misinterpreted that right, but please, if you could give any um dollar amount for total unallocated in the downtown asset fund. >> Um through the chair, council member Schaer, I don't know that I have unallocated balances for you. Of course, when we're building the budget, we look at a long range financial projection. Um and I think, as you all know, we've been transferring quite a lot more into the general fund from downtown assets. So, um, in last year's budget, we wound up transferring 48 or $49.8 million from >> downtown assets into the general fund to support, um, economic development work. Um, that's one of the few uses for these dollars in addition to maintaining those downtown assets. So, if we're on the on that current trajectory, if we were to um uh play that out for over six years, we would be dipping down into uh a pretty low fund balance of around 40 million. So, we have to look at the revenues that are anticipated as well as those expenses, including capital needs. Um well, Chair Chowry, thank you for the information you gave me earlier. um what was forwarded to me said total unallocated of 1819 million and that might be wrong um but this is what I was given this morning um so this is really important to me that's probably I I don't know where I got this but I have it here I can show it to you afterwards but um I would like to understand that number and maybe it's difficult to find but this is a really important question to making this decision and so I would appreciate followup on that um and then secondly can you Tell me when did we start the process of using downtown asset fund to support the general fund? What did did that start 5 years ago? Did that start in 2024? Um through the chair, council member Schaefer, that's happened for as long as I've been at the city to varying degrees. We dropped the transfer down drastically during 2020 and since that time have ramped it up quite a bit. um we were able to recover sales tax revenue more quickly than we thought after the pandemic and so we were able to be a little bit more aggressive with those transfers, but we have to evaluate it every year to make sure we're meeting our obligations and that that fund remains healthy. >> Okay. Thank you. I appreciate that. Um and I'm not sure was that the original intent when the downtown asset fund was set up is to support the general fund for the city. um through the chair, council member Schaefer. I think the original, if you go way back to the mid 80s, um those taxes were authorized originally for the for the convention center support, I believe. Um I'd have to go look back and look at the legislation, but it's been in financial policy that they can be used as well for economic development for the last three to five years. Okay, that's really helpful. Um and then I had a few more questions for Director Hansen around the programming. Um, ideally, you know, when we're not in emergency, I would love to be able to st understand exactly what are we allocating money towards >> before we give the money. Y >> I think that that is proper process for any municipal body that shows thoughtfulness to the taxpayer um in understanding in these fiscal uh difficult times with rising property taxes and you know budget constraints that we have a really clear understanding of what we're allocating this money for. And so can you please speak to I mean I heard programming I heard you know we would have proper procurement processes that it would take a while >> I guess I'm trying to understand with like what we just passed is the procurement process then out the window I I mean I can you speak a little bit to have number one have you done a program like this before and number two would there be a better place to direct these funds that maybe doesn't have to um do all the building blocks but might be more of a quicker liftoff whether it's the 2% load pro program or another entity within CPED. Um could you speak a little bit both both to both those two things? >> Chair Chowry, Council Member Schaefer, a lot of questions. Let's see if I get them all right. Um first is uh we would look at this as as a budget appropriation typical to what you do when you do the markup and uh the council will set it set funds up for a particular use that goes to staff. Then staff takes it and and builds a program around it or puts money into an existing program. In this case, it's uncertain. Uh we do not have a program that is the small business relief program right now. So what we would be doing is taking this >> and evaluating it through a work working team about what to come back to the city council with and that would have we would put this much money into this use under these guidelines and then we would be able to implement it based on the program that the council would approve. So that's how we would look at this. We have had programs like this in the past where we have done uh in the in the recent past where we have done um uh we did one program during emergency when there was a declared emergency when the uh right out beginning of the pandemic. We we set us so we took our 2% loan program and we put it into direct financing to businesses. Um and then we did another one that was um for uh support for businesses in in George Floyd Square. Uh the I will tell you when we do these programs there is always and you've already stated the impact of Operation Metro there's always more demand than there are resources. So that's the reason why it takes takes a bit of time because we have to have open process for people to apply and then we usually go to a lottery and then from the lottery we would then um work through a loan document. So this would be a loan this would be an executed contract between the city and the business. So we'd have to sit and we'd sit with each business and make sure that they qualify and they can show the the some sort of economic injury based on on the impact of operation metro surge. we we'd complete that contracting period and then and then we'd be able to disperse the funds and then there's a public purpose component to it. So we'd have to be managing that public purpose. So there's a compliance period after that and then and then if they meet the compliance period then the business would be subject to the approved uh forgiveness if that's the direction we go. Are there other programs that CPAD has? That's one of the questions that we have raised with the authors and uh as a way to like maybe we can get more activity because if this is about supporting businesses uh that have been impacted, can we get generate like demand? Are there other strategies to get things going faster? Because that process I talked to you about with a uh forgivable loan >> takes a long time. It take a lot longer than anybody wants. We heard this uh on Friday businesses saying if it's not out in two weeks, it's not worth it. Y >> I'm going to tell you right now it's not going to be out in two weeks any any way we do it unfortunately. >> And I would support something that's more streamlined either licensing you know waving licensing fees if that's not against state regulation or you know increasing the 2% and making it you know increasing those amounts even further to make it more attractive or however or forgivable component. But I I would be very supportive of doing something that you already have in process because I'm not sure if we have the staffing. If you could speak to what staffing resources would be compromised, what programs would be compromised if we took this on? >> Council member Schaefer, your time is expired. >> Sorry. >> Okay. Next, we'll recognize Council Member Stevenson. >> Thank you. Um I have um I have one question. It was mentioned that the the asset fund is generated through um sales taxes. Is that sales taxes simply downtown or citywide? >> Uh through the chair, uh the liquor and restaurant tax are just downtown. The rest are throughout the city. >> Okay. So businesses the sales or the proceeds from their sales or the taxes from their sales around the city have gone into this specific fund. >> That's correct. >> Okay. Thank you. That feels very important to me. Um small businesses have been paying into this fund for a while now. They should get something out of it. Um I just want to highlight that a loss of sales taxes from losing a lot of these businesses would be catastrophic for this fund re uh replenishing itself. So any worries about uh spending too hard on this fund, we should um also be concerned about whether this fund will be able to replenish itself if we lose a bunch of our uh small business small businesses. Um yeah, and lastly, I just wanted to reiterate that uh the small businesses on Lake Street, 38th, and in my ward, um Lindale, all these different places, they are the backbone of our city. We we simply cannot go on without them. They're they are why we live here in Minneapolis. and my uh my constituents have been super clear with me that uh protecting our small businesses in this time is a top priority. So, I encourage my colleagues to vote for this. Um yeah, I encourage my colleagues to vote for this because we need to be supporting these businesses so we don't we don't lose them. Marcotta Central is just one of the you know precious assets. Plaza Mexico and other uh Carmel Mall other places that we just can't live without. So, um, I encourage my colleagues, uh, to vote in favor of this. Thank you. >> Thank you. I'll recognize Council Member Wanley. >> Thank you, Chair Chowri. And also, thank you, uh, Council Member Chavez for bringing this forward. Council member Chowry for bringing a subsequent uh, motion that will increase this funding. And as Council Member Stevenson highlighted, I absolutely urge all of my colleagues to support this. As was just emphasized, small businesses are the backbone of our communities and they're critical to maintaining vibrant and safe neighborhood corridors. And this funding provides a way for the city to protect our small businesses and support a equitable recovery in our cultural corridors as well as to support recovery citywide. um and in action, not doing anything will result in devastating long-term damage to the livability of our city and push the burden of the cost of recovery that has been highlighted now is already estimated to be over $200 million. It will push the cost of that recovery of 200 plus million dollars to workingclass residents property taxes who have already given so much throughout this occupation. If ICE agents leave Minneapolis, but hundreds or even thousands of small businesses close, then we did fail to protect our communities from Operation Metro Surge and the attacks of the Trump administration. Small businesses citywide are literally deciding on what their future holds. And we as a city lead or as city leaders, we have the opportunity to support a equitable recovery and contribute to the massive traumas and economic damages that has happened as a result of this occupation. And this now $7 million appropriation won't save every business, but um it will save some and hopefully a lot more, but we are looking at losing um a substantial number of businesses again if we fail to act today and move this funding forward. Um, I absolutely believe that our small businesses are worth investing in if we believe as city leaders, it's our duty to bring forward actions that help create a more equitable, vibrant, and diverse city. As small businesses, as already has been highlighted, they provide immeasurable benefits to our city. They keep our neighborhoods commercial corridors vibrant. They enhance safety. that provide jobs to our neighbors and regularly demonstrate generosity in supporting our communities especially during this time of occupation where we've heard businesses donate, do food deliveries, all those sorts of things. Patrol um literally showed up in the absence of leadership from their government and in addition to the collective ways in which they support our city um as was highlighted they are also businesses that contribute and are critical to our tax base. The downtown assets fund is partially funded by citywide sale taxes that comes from our small businesses. So the reality is if we let these businesses close and take no action, we are without question fueling the economic pressures our city is already walking into and that's we're already feeling. Recovery from Operation Metro Surge and quite frankly the Trump presidency overall will take years. This proposal is just one of many that will be asking the city to make investments um to mitigate the harm that has already been done to Minneapolis. And again, thousands of residents were out on the street showing the world how they were willing to do what was needed to protect Minneapolis residents because they love their neighbors and they love our city. And the 13 of us have the opportunity to demonstrate that we are willing to do the same and do what it takes to protect our city. And today that looks like helping the small businesses who were impacted and have been impacted by this federal occupation not close their doors. And this is the work that will continue to lie in front of us. This this pushing for equitable recovery. We're going to have to take this on for the coming weeks, months, and years. But at least we have the opportunity today to make a bold investment and what we know will work and help preserve our vibrant and critical small businesses. That's all. >> Thank you. Next, I'll recognize Council Member Whiting. >> Thank you, Council Member Chair Chowry. Um, just kind of a question. I I share similar I think concerns of of several member of members uh of my colleagues here uh particularly around the programmatic needs and I think it's something this is and appreciate uh council member Chavez for bringing this forward. think all of us here understand the gravity of of the the weight that our small businesses are feeling and I appreciate the effort that all of you have put in to to make sure we're got have gotten to this point. Um I know we I've had conversations with Director Hansen and others about the programmatic needs and I think our hope is to bring uh a resolution um Thursday that kind of spells out more of the the options and processes of which uh to kind of go through that. And so uh I think just a note there uh that we are hoping to address some of those council member Schaefer and others uh so that we have kind of a understanding of what those options might be. I think you know the way is explained to me is kind of a buffet that might be because I'm just hungry at the moment but like a buffet of of options uh that these businesses can can kind of take and take advantage of and I think not just for our own edification but for the uh information of these small businesses that will take uh part in these programs who I think is helpful. uh as the process kind of goes out. Uh and then just another note on this as well. I know we've kind of talked about this is a small drop in the bucket for these small businesses, which it is, but I don't think it's a small drop in the bucket for the city of Minneapolis. Uh you know, I think as we are seeing a an emergent need, and we've had conversations deeply um uh both with city staff and others about the uh the issues that our city is under at the moment, I think uh this is a is an urgent need and something that we should do as a council. Um but it is not lost in me that this is uh it is getting smaller and smaller at the moment uh and will continue to do so. And I think there is a lot of tough conversations that all of us will be having um not just in the the months to come but in the years to come as well. And so having that understanding I'm excited to support it and and hope this gets into the hands as fast as we can to businesses that need it. >> Thank you. Next we'll go to Council Member Vita. >> Thank you Chair. Um my question is for Director Hansen. Um, and can you be as direct as possible, director? Uh, the the question is really around timing. My struggle with this is like what is realistically the time frame for folks to get this money in their hand? Please don't give me the long just like realistically how many months, a year, or what is the timeline you're thinking we can get this out to people? >> Okay. Chair Chowry, um, Council Member Vita, based on previous programs, it's to be a few months. >> Three, five, >> a few months. Um, three to six. >> Three to six. Okay. So, we're saying three to six months, you can have a program developed, but we don't know what that program is yet. >> Chair Chowry, uh, Council Member Vita to, uh, that would be money. If you did a um, uh, forgivable loan program, that'd be money dispersed to businesses. But that's if we did a forgivable loan program. >> That's that's Yes. Yeah. >> And you're not saying that that's what we're going to do. The goal here is to develop some sort of a program or programs for the $7 million. >> Chair Chadri, Council Member Vita, it's my understanding that the the authors do have an interest in some component of this funding be forgivable loans to businesses, direct direct service to businesses. >> So we have forgivable loan programs right now. Uh, Council Member Shadri and Council Member Vita, we do not We have um we have a 2% loan program. That's the one that's that's the one we talked about earlier. >> Okay. Yes. 2% the match. Okay. So, what how how does that look though for like a citywide thing? So, it it's not that I'm not supportive of this, but I've just got a lot of concerns from the north side around this being heavily talked about as like a southside thing. So like how do we make sure that we develop this program and it's equitably distributed that um that it gets you you kind of you just equitably distributed. >> Council member Shri Council member Vita the program guidelines are not written if if the body wants to move that way. Um, CPED would not be proposing a geographic specific to just one area of the city because all all businesses have been impacted in in Minneapolis, but we would be looking at um we were probably looking at criteria for the business like how how big it is, does it have employees? Um, what can they show impact? Are they consumerf facing examples like that? Maybe we look at areas like areas of concentrated poverty or cultural districts or or some of those other things, maybe great streets areas, but we wouldn't just say it's a southside only thing or a north side only thing. >> Okay. Um and then where is this $7 million number coming from? Like how did we come up with 7 million as the number? Is that the number of businesses? Is that like where's the number coming from? >> Uh Chair Chowry, uh Council Member Vita, uh it's from the authors. So authors, can anybody speak to like how we came up with the Well, it was five and then two got added on. So just kind of how we came up with that number, please. >> Yes. Uh, Director Hansen, I I think it would be helpful for me to ask you a question to answer uh, Council Member Vita's question a little bit. With $1 million, what's the estimate of how many businesses we could support with a forgivable loan program if it was like, let's say, a 5,000? Um, it depends how much money you give them, but if you give them $5,000, you're looking at um, do the math. 20 businesses. No. Am I right? No, I'm wrong. >> Uh, help me with the math here. What's that? >> You got it. >> 200. >> 200 business. >> 200. >> $5,000. 200 businesses. Um, if you do 5 million, I did I was ready for five million. Five million is a,000 businesses at 5,000. It's a 100 business at $50,000 is somewhere in that range. So if you think about that with $5 million for if you were to do that and that's without any costs to the city to administer the program. So if we brought in a community- based organization help administer the loan program we have some cost that brings it down. So you're talking about a couple hundred to to potentially a thousand businesses. That would be that would be if you took the whole whole amount to help uh community based business or to help businesses and um uh that that that far uh is far below the number of businesses that have been impacted. Right. So in any case, you're going to have more applicants than you will have funding available. So, so you're saying that we could potentially give these businesses $5,000 to maximize. Now, I'm not saying people don't want $5,000, but I just know as somebody who was a grantee of $10,000 that it took me five years to get from the city of Minneapolis many years ago, $5,000 is not it. I'm not going to use my time and resources to get $5,000 um from the city of Minneapolis. And it's definitely not going to make or break my business 3 months down the road from now after this program is developed. I I mean like I I know where we're going. It feels good to help, but like realistically $5,000 3 months down the road is not going to make or break a business in the city of Minneapolis. I do believe there are ways in which we could use this $7 million to actually help businesses in a solid way that is not about developing a program over the next few months. And and I think we're doing this backwards. I really do wish we would have had a conversation about um pulling together a coalition of people on the front end and saying, "How can we help you all as small businesses in Minneapolis?" And then allocated money. Me personally, I've been hosting meetings for businesses in North Minneapolis, faith leaders, um you know, some of the nonprofit organizations in the Latino community in particular. And our big thing is we always feel left out on the north side. People don't really know we have a huge uh population of immigrants in North Minneapolis. Unless you're in North Minneapolis, we have a lot of businesses in North Minneapolis that are new and that are trying to stay afloat. And and the fear here is is that we're developing this program or we're spending this money backwards. We're not asking them what they need. And what they need is for the city to actually help them with things that might not even cost money. They need to understand like proper protocols for businesses in Minneapolis. Sometimes it's not really associated with a dollar amount. So I would like to figure out how we use this money to get technical assistance to these. I mean, there are just so many things that I think we're missing the opportunity with here. >> Thank you. Next, we'll go to Vice Chair Chugai. >> Uh, thank you, Madame Chair. Um, I think I want to start with um talking about the projected year end balance that um, Deputy CFO Desenza talked about, $68 million projected at the end of 2026 per the adopted budget and that is inclusive of expenditures that are coming out including debt service of of that fund. Um, and the like five-year projections that are always included in the budget book about transfers out of this fund, any other fund are always inclusive of costs we know right now like death debt service that are for sure going to be coming out of these accounts. Um, so um I I know that it can be kind of a a scary thing to be like I don't know about exactly how much debt service is coming out. I don't know about exactly how much other types of planned expenses. um like uh renovations and whatnot are coming out of this account, but uh to the extent that those are known at this time, those are planned for at this time. Things that we don't know about at this time, like uh you know, a ceiling or starting to leak because of a pipe burst. Obviously, that's not built into projected spending for 2026, 2027, and beyond. But things that we know right now that we can quantify right now are built into those projected transfers and uh projected year-end balances for this year and any future years. Um I think I want to talk next about uh just conversations I've been a part of with CPAD staff. Um Director Hansen was generous. He came himself to meet with me and um a couple dozen business owners um around uh Eat Street and 26th um the site where Alex Prey was uh murdered a a few weeks three weeks ago now and um you know we talked with businesses about what they're seeing happening in real time. I know the Lake Street Council um who's in the room today um has been in conversations with businesses including businesses outside of their geographic boundary uh about what the needs are right now, where the gaps are and how different entities including the government and foundations and other philanthropic partners can fill in. Um just on Friday, the last business day before today, um I was in in a conversation with CPAD and businesses along the Lin Lake corridor um about what they're experiencing. So, I I just I say all of that to say I'm just one of 13 council members and I've been in several conversations with CPAD um with directly impacted businesses and with um other council members about what the needs are and how we best respond. What are the tools that are available? How do we get businesses connected with the existing tools that are available like technical assistance, like the 2% loan program? And these needs have been identified as an addition to what is currently available, right? Um, and I would say that anytime I have been in the community with CPAD, like they have a backwards and forwards knowledge of every single program and um and and do in real time connect people with the resources that are available. It's just that the need far exceeds um the resources that that we have available. I think uh uh an analogy that I I heard Director Hansen say on Friday that really struck me is um we have a $100 problem in Minneapolis right now and local government and state government's ability to respond to that exists um at the at the we're we're meeting that $100 problem with nickels and dimes and quarters. That that's the very best we have the ability to do. Um and and I think that's where these numbers are coming from. And I think on Friday um the council members or chair chry council member Chavez and I had the opportunity to meet with CPAD to talk about um their preparedness in in being ready to get this money out the door. I think we all share the authors do with every member of this council. Uh a deep desire to get this money out to residents of our community who are impacted who this money is is is intended for as fast as humanly possible. Um, I think I can be a person that that like at least in my experiences with other city departments that urgency is so shared with our city staff, we are so deeply on the same page. Um, I'll also say in conversations in community with businesses, um, on Friday again, uh, you know, was attended by the Chamber of Commerce and by Meet Minneapolis and and we heard both of those partners say how deeply supportive they were, um, of of of this action from the council. I don't I know they're working on preparing that and writing and sharing that with us, but just want you to know like you know the very people that you would think would be opposed to using money out of downtown assets are expressing their strong support in us doing so. And that should tell us something about the moment that we're in. The deep need that every partner who touches this this issue is seeing and their their desire to to see local government. the only place we have any control over, the only place that is sympathetic to these needs and isn't causing the very problems that we're trying to address. Um, we all share that desire. Um, I I think I will will now move to um the next person in queue, which is council member Palmisano, followed by Council Member Schaefer. Madame Chair, um I'm generally in favor of small business support. Um and I agree that our small businesses need a lot of support right now. Um and this was just increased by another $2 million. That was news to me. Um this is our money maker. This is a mechanism. This fund is a mechanism we use to keep our downtown up to date. well-maintained and drive our downtown economy. Importantly, we also transfer money from this fund to defay property tax increases citywide. So, from what was just said earlier by staff, almost $50 million defayed from what we would have otherwise needed to fulfill in the 2026 budget. That would have been in the levy increase last year. Earlier, Council Member Chavez stated a concern about how suspending procurement requirements for Operation Metro Surge could impact future budgets and amendments. This action will impact future budget decisions. We have to be honest about that. The small business of Minneapolis need help. How we distribute this equitably is really fraught, backwards, as council member Vita just said. Um, honestly, I feel like we're getting to the point that maybe our whole city budget, if we're making these kinds of choices in isolation, meeting after meeting, needs a mid-year budget adjustment. Maybe we need to consider what we can tolerate in terms of core city services. Maybe we need to cut back other kinds of programming. Or we need to acknowledge a massive increased property tax levy coming up next year. I'm just keeping it real here. What we do today will impact every resident of our city. I'm not saying this is bad. Our businesses need help. But I am being honest. We are ironically making another choice and it's a risk. Will this help us to recover and drive our economy? Well, it depends how this is going to be implemented. Um, how this is going to get implemented is what is most important to businesses quite frankly, the ones that I've been hearing from. and we are in the naent parts of that right now in this moment. I'll leave it there. >> Uh thank you, council member. As you're very well aware, conversations about potential mid-year budget adjustments are already underway and very much so likely um a possibility. I'll next go to Council Member Schaefer, followed by Council Member Rainville. >> Yes. Um I I would echo Council Member Pomisano's words and concerns about the downtown asset fund. I was speaking with um Jeff Johnson yesterday or the day before and this cycle of continually taking it to the general fund will eventually no longer be an option for us if we want to continue to have a downtown asset fund um to the level of um distribution to the general fund that we have had um ongoing the last few years from his perspective. Um so it is a crisis point. It is a crisis point both for the downtown asset fund and for us to be fiscally responsible. I want to go back to the question that um director Hansen was speaking to when I got my time ran out and that was related to the you know how would this if we do go the full program route um that some people prefer. How would this impact uh your current staff's work and what would be compromised or sidelined >> through the chair? I don't know who the chair chug tai uh council member Schaefer. Uh so we would look first to see if we could get a community based organization to help us administer it. We've done that in the past. Um that would come with a cost of course that would a help us expand. If not, we would have to detail folks within the economic development division to be to oversee um to kind of be like loan processors for this for the through this program. That's what we did in the past when we had something of substance. And what percentage would of the seven I mean of a seven million number what percentage usually goes to a third party contractor? >> Uh council member 10% >> Chai council member Schaefer. It depends on what we're asking them to do. Um it would be a negotiation. >> Okay. >> It's not a flat fee. >> Great. Well I I really thought um council member Vita brought up an interesting idea too about um you know assisting people in applying for this some aid. And we do know that the state, you know, the big other question is what will the state do? >> And I would hope that our monies would be spent complimentary and not um you know conflicting with those in any ways. But maybe one option is to have some of this funding be set aside to help people apply for state aid if that is going to be a bigger pot than what they have previously stated. Um, so I think there are a lot of creative ideas that we could think about for structures and and processes that might be quicker to take off. Um, and and that would be my preference. I would love to work with council member Whiting if you're working on this and get some ideas going around that. But and then also I do want to reiterate that I would like to know the you know as a follow-up the unallocated amount that's left in the downtown asset fund and um actually to understand you know what has the percentage to the general fund increased over the last you know I know it was 50 some odd million you said last year um that seems significantly higher than in previous years but I could be wrong. >> Thank you for your time. >> Yeah. Next is Council Member Rainbow Bell. Uh >> thank you. So I just want to say again I don't have enough information uh to vote yes on this today. I would love to vote yes. I am a big supporter of the business community as I'm accused of all the time. Uh but until I get the answers and hopefully by Thursday just what is the impact on the 27 budget? What is the the status of the downtown asset fund? And how will this $7 million be administered? I I'm very hesitant when I hear that we would farm uh this out to uh nonprofits. Uh this is a lot of money that we should have more control over and have our staff be doing this or other ways to do so. >> You want me to clarify that? >> Okay. wanted to address the farm money to nonprofits. >> I'm I'm sorry. Did you Did you want a staff member to address any of your comments? >> No, I'm just saying. >> Okay. >> No, I'm I'm trying to explain my no vote because I don't have enough answers and I hope to have them by Thursday because I do want to support helping our business community, but I also want to be fiduciary responsible. I want I I'm sorry uh if I want to watch the budget controls, but I don't want our residents impacted by this in a negative way through next year's property taxes because right now uh we are stressing out every lowincome and fixed income person in the city with these continuous 8% increases in our property taxes and it has to stop. Our cities getting hollowed out. >> Thank you. Next we'll go to Council Member Warren. Thank you, Madame Chair. Um, I'm listening here to all of my council colleagues and the concern. I'm also concerned about um the downtown business fund. as much as I am in support of supporting small business and definitely want to ensure that the businesses within um my community and in North Minneapolis as well as in um South Minneapolis are able to have a plan for sustainability. If we are um withholding liquor licenses from businesses in downtown Minneapolis, if there are lots of events and concerts and things like that that are being cancelled here in the city of Minneapolis due to all of the insurgent things that we've had with ICE. I'm worried about how the downtown um you know budget is going to be able to replenish itself as we are in a pivotal point of repair. like there's got to be another means to an end with this. I also do understand that Governor Waltz stated that he was going to um denote $10 million to businesses. I'm just really trying to understand where all of these random numbers are coming from because I don't even believe that there have been accurate and true profit and loss statements that have come forth from businesses because they would have to look at their Q3 reports from last year to determine what was lost in Q4 and then also in Q1 because there's only been two and a half months of ICE insurgent. So, who's had time to do that? Because everybody's been finning for their lives to just say all of these tens and millions of dollars have been misplaced. What did you have in reserves? And if you haven't been spending money, where did it go? I don't know. But this doesn't is I'm struggling with a lot of things to make sense. And I'm a very very logical and practical person. if there is about um in my conversation with um I sent an email to you um Director Hansen that there is about $49.3 million on the block right now for business and economic development. There are a lot of barriers that are preventing individuals to accessing those funding because of the fact that they don't have their paperwork and their books in order. Am I accurate? So those are some of the things that we have to be very cautious of of ensuring that people know exactly what documentation is needed that their tax documents need to be in order that profit and loss statements are real. We can't just throw random numbers out into the air and say we've lost hundreds and millions of dollars because that does not make logical sense. We have to be logical in this and I want to help businesses and I definitely want to help businesses sustain because that definitely balances the tax burdens within our city. But I think that we have to come together with complete minds and concrete numbers to actually articulate what the need is and what fulfilling that need realistically looks like without depleting something that is going to bring more harm to our communities than it will good. So, this is like this is a real place and I don't think taking money from the downtown um um business fund is, you know, that's like that's not the the wisest choice to make because we're getting ready to lose a lot in that respect and I'm worried about the replenishment of that fund. Um, but I would like to know what the state is doing, what um, CPED is doing, if there's something that is going to be done in order to soften the requirements or expectations or to support those businesses in that magnitude. Um, same thing as my council colleague, um, Latricia Vita was saying, how can we, you know, support these businesses in other ways to help build up their infrastructure because in 2 and 1/2 months time period, you know, I know that there have been significant losses, but I want to ensure that we're able to help build real solid sustainability plans for our economic system here in Minneapolis. Yes, sir. Chair Chowry, Council Member Warren. Yes, the city of Minneapolis has programs in place right now to help businesses. So, technical assistance through our business technical assistance program. We've been doing that the last few months. The main things we are hearing is people are having trouble paying for payroll, pay for their um uh their rent, and pay for um their uh loans. And so the advice that we're giving either through technical assistance or through um uh direct legal assistance is to help kind of manage those three costs. We do know that the the amount of of impact to businesses will not fully be quantified. We just will not have that number. But we're pretty confident based on talking to businesses, talking to community- based organizations like a couple that are in the crowd today and um our understanding of of the economy in Minneapolis that you know businesses in the first month lost between you know 40 to 50% of their revenues because of slow economic activity in January that that accelerated to 80 to 100% because some businesses just shut down. So, we were able to make some assessments uh to to figure that it's about 10 to million 10 to $20 million a week. The assessment that the emergency management department put out is 20 it's $20 million a week. We we're confident in that number in the month of January. So, it's about 80 million and those are businesses facing customers. So, we're we know that the the amount of money that the city can provide is not going to fill the the the true need. the money you were referring to the $49 million I don't know the precise number but that's the Minnesota promise act that is a state program that goes to two in entities within the city directly to those groups the city has a like a lobbying uh role in that um program but the legislature would have to make changes that um program is very um prescriptive through that legislation and you raised it and we're bringing in our IGR uh chair director Topinka to see what we can do with the legis legislator and they're now in session about those rules. But the state is going to have to have a role. We're hopeful the federal government has a role. When I talk about that $100 problem, we come with dime nickels, dimes, and quarters. The the state comes with like ones and fives, and the federal government has a printing press at the at the US mint. So, in past when we've had these economic impacts, we have had federal resources in order for us to help get out of this. Um I'm I'm optim I'm not optimistic but hopeful that we can get the calmer heads to prevail and we get some federal resources as well. We are looking >> time has expired >> potential resources from the small business administration. So hopefully get that. >> Thank you. Go to council member Wansley. >> Thank you uh chair. I just want to put out an invitation for those who are concerned and I think the one place of shared agreement is we all know financially we are walking into some very precarious times. Also, we won't be able to just keep relying on taxpayers to get us, you know, through this process. But I will note taking no action on this, the buck will still be passed to property taxes regardless. Nevertheless, uh, one of the ways and opportunities we have to actually talk about in, you know, not just relying on working-class people to, um, help float us through this crisis is looking at what are other additional streams of progressive revenue we can be exploring to come in and supplement our budget. That conversation alone could help unlock some opportunities in conversation with state leaders along with collaboration with our board of estimates and taxation leaders. These conversations have already been happening for quite some time, but in the next coming weeks and months, a number of us are going to go to the state capital to say we need to actually unlock some new taxation tools that will bring in additional dollars so we're not constantly putting the burden of this financial crisis that was already in route to happen even prior to the occupation taking place. So if you want to be part of those conversations again invitation for you all to connect with my office around how we actually are pursuing that uh forward and then I just want to clarify some some comments related to the state's um efforts and how they're complementing this. Governor Walls made an announcement of $10 million that would largely go towards uh in his intended recommended uh proposal uh small forgiveness loans or small business forgiveness loans. But that money is not guaranteed. That now has to be decided by the state legislature which just started meeting today and they don't wrap up things until May. So I think the small business community already knows any government assistance is not happening immediately when the state concludes their budget in May. It will take time for those dollars to go out the door. And just so you also know his press release, their recommended amounts actually closely aligns with what we're talking about appropriating. They're looking at giving grants out or uh appropriations out ranging from 2500 to $25,000. So we're actually complimenting in how we're talking about administration of our programs. Um but that's for the entire state. We there that is a problem alone and we already just heard the figure amount for Minneapolis is at $20 million. So, we're going to have to be trying to lobby for 10 million that hopefully state leaders will increase over the time that they're in session um to actually get a larger piece of the funding that's been uh settled through their own process. But I at least wanted to name that like people know this is going to take time. Small businesses are just asking government leaders to step up and actually they rang these bells. We hear we have the Lake Street Council here. They talked about this and noted during the first like days of the occupation back in December during our budgetary process. They said you all need to move uh with expedition on this cuz we're struggling. They did the surveys. They already did the reports on revenue losses. Our businesses are very familiar with how they've been impacted by this occupation. They've been very transparent in relaying those impacts to all of us up here. So this is the opportunity that we have a 60% to 100% revenue loss and the potential closure of dozens if not hundreds of businesses. That is what we're looking at without taking any action today. You can, you know, try to web a no vote on this with programmatic concerns or anything anything but you are okay with allowing businesses to close and allowing the buck to be passed on working-class people without any action today. that is where we will land. So I would hope colleagues would support this and I see we got more folks in queue so I'll wrap up there. >> Thank you Council Member Wanley. We will go to Council Member Warren. And I will note we have uh captioning until 5:00 p.m. And following this item, want to guess how many we have left? We have nine. So that is important for all of us to keep in mind. Council member Warren. Thank you, Madam Chair. Um, I just wanted to complete that conversation with Director Hansen. I was not um speaking directly of utilizing um Promise Act funding. I understand the notion and have spoken at length to Senator Champion about what the purpose of those Promise Act funds were um designed for and how they were designed to support businesses. Specifically, I was um strategically talking about money that lives lives within CPED Ma and within the neighborhood development center for businesses. Um so I just wanted to correct that. I didn't need you to say anything. I just wanted to make sure that I'm addressing you directly. Um, with that, um, I also wanted to state that within, um, the use and the loss of of things that are happening with our small businesses, um, I'm a small business owner. I know what it means to lose revenue and was greatly impacted by things that happened during COVID and during the civil uprising and all of these different things that happened throughout our city. So, I know what it means to lose revenue and things of that nature, but I also know that when you do have a small business, you also have business insurance. And business insurance helps to um protect you against losses and perils of loss too that also support individuals around loss of revenue or payroll or things like that, especially when there are extreme detriment or perils that are happening in the city around you. And is CPED doing something to help educate individuals on that to help them to be able to apply for those fundings because that's immediate like you could get that like next day like right away. You can get it right away. >> Yeah. Through through the chair uh council member Warren. Yeah. That's one of the technical assistance we do is what what kind of insurance do you have? >> Right. >> Um if there is a you know if there's an act of god of some sort, you know, there's a hurricane or or civil unrest, then they potentially have it. This one has been a little bit more complicated because this is a police action by a level of government that has caused a chilling effect in the economy and not all insuranceances will uh pay out for for a claim on on under that um situation. So, Operation Metro Surge has been a little bit more complex when it comes to insurance. The other thing that we try and encourage folks to do is to make sure their insurance is up to date through their technical assistance program. But that's one of the first questions that we ask is do you have insurance? what what resources do you have at an individual business um uh to sustain through this through through this because it's going to take a while. I respect that. Um, director Hansen and all of this stuff is going to take a while. Whether it is funding that's coming from the governor, which like U. Minority Leader Winsley said, we don't know how much he's going to give to the city of Minneapolis, what he's going to give over there, what's going to happen. We don't we don't know, you know, and that's those are things that still have to be decided. But then program also has to be developed around the funding that comes out and how we use it and pivot it and move it in order to put proper you know parameters around ensuring what someone receives this funding looks like. And I just want us to be very very equitable in our ideas about making sure that we are able to touch and impact all businesses not just to some and a few. I know that our Lake Street corridors are far more vast than the corridors that we have in North Minneapolis, but I do not want my community left out of the pie in any of this because as my council colleague stated, we do have a very significant amount of businesses in North Minneapolis that have been greatly impacted and I do not want our community left out under any circumstances. So, um, if it's for all and not just for a few, then it is something that I can support. But if it's only just for one or two and doesn't include the many, then I will not support it. >> Understood. >> Thank you, Council Member Warren. And then we have Council Member Chug Tai. >> Uh, thank you, Madame Chair. Um, you know, I I'll just I'll end discussion on this item with this. uh as as our city estimates just in the month of January um we've lost over $200 million worth of revenue and that's uh something where um that number is so large it has a quantifiable impact on every single person in our city every single business in our city. Um the real one of the real life impacts is is there are countless businesses in our city today that are having conversations about whether they will ever open their doors again, whether they are going to lay off their workforce. That sometimes includes a handful of people and sometimes includes dozens or if not hundreds of people. Um this this is a real life impact on our community and certainly uh the the potential pinky promise of $10 million from the state. We have no idea what that's actually going to look like. We have no idea how much of that is going to come to our city. One thing I I do know to be true though is our city is thinking about our city enterprise is thinking about the fastest ways to disperse money to those who need it the most to prevent people from closing their doors to keep um our our local economy as stable as is within our control which is very small in the first place. And um you know I'll I'll say like it it is it is abundantly clear that no matter what amount of resources we put forward to address this problem the need is going to far outweigh the resources that we have available to it. And when that comes to be true for an application process. The way these resources will be distributed is through a lottery system and not from um picking and choosing relationships that people may have within the city itself or not. It's it's it is going to um be held to a high standard. And with that, Madam Chair, I would ask that we um continue with this item so we can get to our remaining agenda. >> Great. So, the motion is before us as amended. May I please have the clerk call the role? >> Council member Payne, >> I. >> Wsley, >> I. >> Rainville, >> no. >> Vita, >> I. Warren >> I >> Osman >> I >> Schaefer >> no >> Stevenson >> I >> Chavez >> I >> Whiting >> I >> Palmisano >> I >> vice chair Chai >> I >> and chair Chadri >> I >> there are 11 eyes's and two nays. >> All right that motion carries forwarded on to full counsel. Great work everybody. Um, okay. So, this is what we're going to do here to move us along. We have several resolutions. Item 60, 61, 62, 63, we're going to take it up um as one big discussion. If there is a separate vote when it comes to voting that you would like to take, uh, please note it and our clerks will pull it so we can take separate votes. but we're going to do one big discussion to it. I believe uh the lead author for all of these is council member Chavez. Um and so I'm going to offer up the floor to him to go through and give us a summary of the resolutions before us and then we can go into a big discussion. So starting with 58 >> support small business resolution opposing immigrant enforcement funding and asking Congress to take action electric and gas shut off moratorum and then finally denouncing the Trump administration's attack on gender affirming care for youth. >> Thank you church Hardy. So, I'll speak on items 58 through 61 if that's okay. >> Item 6. >> I think there's confusion because on our in the agenda before us, it's uh listed as items 60 through 63, >> but I think we're on the same page. >> Okay. >> Okay. >> Yes. Go ahead, council member. >> Thank you, Chair Chery. Um the first item is titled support small business resolution. Uh chair chry uh I I'll go through it quickly. The occupation of the federal government has devastated our families, loved ones in Minnesota's economy. This resolution counts on the Henipin County Board of Commissioners, the state of Minnesota and the federal government to provide funding to support small businesses in Minneapolis negatively impacted by Operation Metro Surge. We know that the recovery of Minneapolis needs the support of all levels of government. We also know that the recovery of the state of Minnesota needs support from all levels of government. And we ask our neighbors to not only ask the city to do more, but also other levels of government to do more. And I'll move this item for approval. But I'm going to go through the list actually and then I'll make myself available to questions. The other item is opposing immigration enforcement funding and asking Congress to take action. This resolution is asking Congress for action. Over the coming weeks and months, we will be proposing ordinances that will support our community from the ongoing occupation of our city and state. But we also have the opportunity to ask Congress and they have the ability to push Congress for meaningful policy change. Uh a recent Starbune, K1, and NBC News decision desk poll found that 46% of Minneapolis and St. Paul residents support the abolition of ICE. More specifically, this resolution opposes any funding for immigration and customs enforcement, customs and border protection, immigration enforcement, and border militarization. It calls on Congress to repeal the Lake and Riley Act, a law that ignores due process by mandating detention based solely on an arrest or charge for theft related crimes. It calls on Congress to adopt the Melt ICE Act to end the Department of Homeland Security's funding to detain and monitor immigrants. We know that this has been used to put ankle monitors on many of our undocumented immigrants here in Minneapolis. It calls for terminating all existing immigration detention contracts within two years and redirects funding used for ICE operations to be redirected towards community based services. It also calls on Congress to adopt the Bolish ICE Act that would dismantle the US Immigration Customs Enforcement and in its current enforcement authority. This is the same agency that has torn our neighbors apart here in Minneapolis and in this state. It also talks about reform. So supporting comprehensive immigration reform that values the respect and dignity of all immigrant people. It is clear that our neighbors deserve the pathway to citizenship. And it opposes the SAFE Act which would require citizenship documentation to register to vote even though it is already illegal under federal law for non-citizens to register and vote in federal elections. And I'll go on to the next item which is an election electric and gas shut off moratorum. This resolution calls on Governor Walls to take steps that would allow the public utilities commission to put in place utility shut off protections and calls on the PUC to put in place protections that were in place during the height of the CO9 pandemic for residential utility customers which include the suspension of disconnections, suspension of negative reporting to all credit agencies and waiver of reconnection service deposits and late fees interest and penalties. And lastly, and then I'll stand for questions. Uh, the last resolution is denouncing the Trump administration's attack on gender affirming care for youth. On January 28th, 2025, Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the health and human services to prevent the provision of gender affirming care for minors and has engaged in numerous steps to end this care nationwide through its regulatory authority. Uh this resolution is condemning uh the actions by the federal government. >> Thank you so much, Council Member Chavez. Next, we'll go to Council Member Whiting. >> Thank you, Chair Chowry. And just a few quick questions. I know we've had a long day. Um particularly too, I I know I kind of maybe just a first statement. I I appreciate the the effort in drafting u these resolutions. So I think it's really helpful especially pertinent at this time. Uh I think it just will hopefully be amending just a short piece uh in the uh opposing immigration enforcement funding and asking Congress to take action just moving I think some of the uh more guiding phrases to the top to kind of note um certain things uh that our city is kind of feeling right now as well. So I appreciate that. And then only question on there is um just wondering why the the um the only like named call out um when we were talking about Congress are senators Clolobashar and Smith and so just kind of curious to that >> and uh thank you for pointing that out that out council writing. I was going to move a minute version adding Congresswoman Omar's name on this. >> Okay, great. U and then other questions since we're all doing all of them um and in particular just maybe a noting as well. I was just kind of reading through uh some of my emails, but an understanding at least XL Energy um has suspended disconnections for residents and commercial customers effective January, I think 27th through February for all the seven metro counties. Um it looks like similar things across the the the the board here for other levels of of uh utility services as well. So just noting that it sounds like our utilities are on on board of what we're trying to do as well. So, thank you. >> Thank you. I'll recognize council member Rainville. >> Uh, thank you. So, uh, I one of my questions was about the gas and electric utilities. Could you repeat that that you said they're on board with doing this? >> Council member Whiting. >> Yes. I'm just kind of reading an email here. It looks like XL Energy uh I got this email February 9th uh that XL Energy suspended disconnections uh for residential and commercial customers in Minneapolis and St. Paul effective January 27th through the end of February. So they're extending that suspension uh for all residential customers and uh business customers through February. >> Great. Thank you. And then uh I have a question on 61 um maybe author. So, so this resolution would call for no immigration enforcement at all. >> Council member Chavez, >> uh, Council Rainville, I believe you're talking about 61 from the line that I have, and again, the numbers all over the place was denouncing the Trump administration's attack on gender firming care. Are you talking about Well, that's the number. >> No, not that. Uh, on my agenda, it's item 61, >> opposing immigration enforcement funding. >> Yes. I I don't support immigration enforcement. It separates families. So, yes, that is correct. It is asking on that. >> So, no border enforcement, no nothing. Zero. >> Correct. >> Okay. >> Yeah. >> Thank you, >> Council Member Rainville. And anyone else, is this one that needs a separate vote or are we taking it together? I would love to get that noted at some point. It doesn't have to be right now, but if members want to call it out for our clerks, that'll be helpful. Okay. Um, I put myself in quue. Um, I'm a co-author on these resolutions. I, uh, just touching on all of them briefly. The small business resolution is really a companion to the package that we move forward. The the thing that I will state is um there are representatives and uh senators that are already looking at moving forward various packages. Um we're are in some preliminary conversations with them about that. And I think with the $10 million that Governor Walls proposed, I think it's really incumbent to share that he does not have the power of the purse. Uh the legislature has to do that work, right? And one thing that I have a strong opinion on and as do many other legislators is that people looked at the $10 million and they said we need another zero on that. And so I think it's really important that we make this call. I also think it's really important as we have conversations with our county commissioners. We reach out to them. We know that we are slicing into our city budget and giving whatever nickel and dime that we can. I think it's really important that the county steps up both in small business recovery but also rental assistance and I know that that's a priority for several members on this body across the board. We need the county to step up and I think it's pertinent that we make those asks. Um I uh I think in in terms of the uh two that is made to the federal government um to our representatives there I think it's really important that we convey over a statement as at city council um clearly as we've had members from our community educators health care officials people who have been doing patrols people who have been doing mutual aid routinely going to Washington DC to talked to our uh federal legislators as they are discussing the budget for DHS and because of their work. We have seen that they have not voted for funding. It is because motans are showing up and stating clearly the violence that we have experienced that has cost lives and torn apart families. I absolutely believe that there was a time before the agency of ICE existed so there can be a time after it. I am proud to support this call. Um, and I look forward uh at the National League of Cities um to bring this and have a conversation with our uh federal leaders about it and also about the attack on gender affirming care for our youth. Right now, our trans and non-binary and gender expansive community feels very very much left out. Um there's been a major culture shift uh for even any ground that the the trans non-binary and gender expansive community has won over the years for them to feel in complete silence and without advocates even on on on the side of the Democratic party. And I think this is a moment where we do show progress and we continue to stand up for those community members because if we don't show up for them, they suffer in silence and they experience and will continue to experience um an unprecedented level of disproportionate violence. And that's what this is about. We have seen several trans community members lose their lives um in the city of Minneapolis alone. And we are a we are considered a safe place, a a state of refuge and it is still happening here. So, this is very real and really apparent and um I'm really grateful that this action is here. I think the electric gas shut off moratorum speaks for itself. Um I have talked to several several community members that are that are sharing about their rent bills, but they're also sharing that they have different utility bills that they are unable to pay. Um it's not just electric. There are other utilities that uh they're worried worried about, gas in particular. And so I think this is really forward thinking and it's a part of our recovery effort. So I'm excited to support this. I'm excited to bring this to the capital and uh bring it to Washington DC and I'm proud of this body for us sitting through this time and working through all of all of the items and taking this up. Um, we're all being called to do more than we should ever be asked to do and I think with these resolutions are really stepping up and so I thank Council Member Chavez for taking the initiative on them. Those are my comments. I will go to Council Member Schaefer. >> Thank you, Madam Chair. Um, I would just like to comment on number 61 and and again, uh, Council Member Chavis Chavez, thank you for bringing these forward. I really appreciate your work on these. Um, the first resolved statement in number 61 says that the Minneapolis City Council opposes any funding of ICE. And what ICE has done in our streets has been a violation of constitutional rights and Congress needs to figure out what is the next right step for ICE and funding ICE. And it could be that it is a complete defunding of ICE. But at the same time, this resolution goes on to say that it opposes no funding, a complete defunding of immigration enforcement. Period. That is the phrase that I have difficulty with, immigration enforcement completely. All recognized sovereign countries have immigration laws and regulations. We have immigration laws. And if you need a law, you need some type of enforcement. I am not sure the value of immigration laws if you don't support some type of funding for immigration enforcement whatever that might be in a reformed way. Mayor Fry agreed with this position in the New York Times on January 31st. Senator Clolobachar also stated we are going to need some kind of immigration enforcement in this country in a recent Meet the Press per the Star Tribune this morning. So, I am very supportive of all of these resolutions and would like to support number 61 as well. If you'd be willing to take a friendly amendment just to strike the two words, immigration enforcement. >> Thank you. Council member Chavez, did you want to respond? >> I could if that's a question for me. No, I won't be striking opposing immigration enforcement from this resolution. I don't know how anybody can look at me and ask me that. >> Okay. Next, we will go to Council Member Warren. Um, so that's that's part of my issue is um all the immigration enforcement has not been as um disruptive and vulgar as what ICE has done within our city. And there are still some individuals who carry out heinous acts against other people who still need to be um removed in with respect to whatever is happening. Um like I said, it's a beautiful thing to sit on this body with individuals from all across the diaspora. But if either one of our lives were in danger and there was someone who was from wherever, I wouldn't care where they were from. Um, the land of oneeyed people eaters, you know, and they had three hairs on top of their head. If they're doing something crazy that's not okay and doesn't, you know, promote them being a healthy and contributing citizen to society, I'm going to protect you all from it, too. So, I can't say no. I can't say no to that in that in depth. I also want to say that with um the electric and gas shut off uh moratorum, I um I'm glad that Excel Energy and Centerpoint stepped up and took initiative throughout the month of February. I do also want to remind everyone that we still in Minnesota are underneath the cold weather rule until April. Um and I believe that is like midappril or something like that. So if individuals are struggling with funding sources, tell your community members they still will be eligible for um for you know cold weather rule in order to be able to have some um support in in making sure their utilities are being taken care of. But um that's where I'm at. >> Thank you. I'll go to council member or vice chair chug tai next. >> Thank you madame chair. Um I want to speak to item number 61 the the opposition uh opposition to immigration enforcement funding and and asking of Congress to take action here specifically about um opposing funding for immigration enforcement and repealing the Lake and Riley Act. So, we'll start with the Lake and Riley Act because I don't think questions about that have really come up, but I just want to explain the gravity of the situation and why a part of the reason that we are where we are today is is a result, a direct result of the passage of the Lake and Riley Act, supported by certain members, of the Minnesota Democrat delegation to um to the federal government as well. The Lake and Riley Act strips people that they deem uh to be less American, but who may be just as American as I am, from due process. meaning that children um as as little as as 2-year-old baby Chloe, as little as 5-year-old baby um >> Liam, >> baby Liam, um and and others whose faces and names we do not know, um to be taken without any right to due process, without the right to legal representation that every other American is afforded or should be at least um and to to to detain them indefinitely. something that something that is also in in our country supposed to be illegal in detained indefinitely without being charged until they are like until they are forcibly removed from this country again without any legal representation without any type of due process that's messed up. Um I'll tell you as the youngest person that's sitting on this dis um and uh that and someone who lived in a community that was one of the first targets of ICE after they were first created in the early years of my life. Um the ICE that we experience on the streets of Minneapolis is just as the agency showed up when it was first created in 2003. This agency is no different today on the streets of Minneapolis as what it was intended to do when it was first created in 2003. Just because we see it more now today, just because it's recorded more now today by the brave heroes that we come to call legal observers or what the federal government calls domestic terrorists, just because of their work, we come to like really see the brutality of of what these agencies carry out. But they have acted in this way towards residents of this country towards US citizens and non-citizens alike. This agency behaves in this exact way. And so if what you think if you think what's happening in the streets of Minneapolis and what has been happening over the last two months is wrong in any way, you oppose the agency altogether because that's exact they're doing exactly what they were intended to do. The people who killed Alex Prey, they were they were agents who had been trainers in the agency. There were people who had up over a decade of experience um one of them over a combined of working for these agencies. If you have a problem with what's happening in Minneapolis right now, you have a problem with immigration enforcement in this country. Unfortunately or fortunately, you may not want to accept that right now, but that's a fact. This agency is acting exactly as it was intended. And so I strongly believe in in the language in this resolution exactly as it's written without any amendment that that we absolutely must oppose the the use of our tax dollars that are not going towards recovery of of our local economy, not going towards addressing dire problems like homelessness and lack of health care and lack of whatever. uh that but instead are going towards towards con committing violence on our own soil by our own federal government. Thank you. >> Thank you. I'll recognize council member Wanley. >> Thank you uh Chair Chowdery and thank you for your comments. Uh, Council Member Chuck Thai. Um, cuz I I wanted to also name that the Lake and Raleigh Act was basically used as a well has been weaponized to go and frame immigrants as criminals and that has given the basis for just a complete waiver of uh adherence to constitutional rights to people's due or rights to due process. Um, and we're seeing detention centers now be filled with not just criminals because there's actually an overwhelming percentage of those that's being detained and arrested by ICE who actually do not have non-violent offenses. Um, what that has then led to is we're seeing 5-year-olds grandmothers in detention centers. Um, so to uh continue like supporting that measure, it just doesn't make sense. And I think that's tied to also the overall funding. Right now there's a conversation by Congress to give ICE or DHS over $70 billion. And we just sat up here and for the past couple weeks now have had many conversations about the plight of our city financially and how we're going to make do with all the needs of of of advancing a equitable recovery. Um with also the need for federal assistance. the money that we're moving to ICE or that's being proposed to be moved towards ICE to continue terrorizing communities not only here in Minneapolis but then to take it to the next city or to occupy another city and kill and brutalize many of their residents. That that is exactly what that money will go and do. And that is money that could be going to cities like Minneapolis, like Chicago or Los Angeles who are going to have to grapple for years to come with the effects, the devastating effects of this occupation. So on a tangible, if you want to get fiscally conservative, it would just make sense to even say 70 billion should go back to the cities that's been impacted. That's our stimulus package right there to make sure that your downtown, our small business corridors, commercial spaces, uh NPS, our public schools that's facing also tens of millions of dollars in deficits. HCMC, our county partners are looking at a 1.6 six minimum billion dollar deficit to save our local hospital as a result of these financial uh retalatory actions taken by the Trump administration. Like that is our stimulus package right there that we would say, "Oh, we could redirect if ICE did not actually need to exist." Um, and so those are the things that I consider. I would love to see that 75 billion actually be not moved to body cameras u to more officers or administrators to make sure that paperwork is being completed before a ICE agent go out on the street and go brutalize someone. I would love to see that be mobilized to city so that they can make investments and preserve their public assets like housing, like you mentioned, healthc care where immigrants were written off even here in Minnesota where we had largely democratic bipartisan action to kick immigrants off of our own local healthcare. I would love to see that money go towards that. So to me there those are the tangible opportunities we could be seeking with the absence of this agency. we can move that money to the places where it's most needed and where it would matter most. >> Thank you, Council Member Wanley. Next, we will go to Council Member Chavez. >> Okay. Next, we'll go to Council Member Stevenson. >> Yeah. Thank you, uh, Chair. Um, I just want to highlight that uh in this country right now, we're not talking about when we're talking about immigration enforcement, we're not talking about enforcing our immigration laws. We're talking about a secret police force uh that is used by Trump to uh brutalize our neighbors, brutalize our city. We're not having a reason debate about how we should enforce our immigration laws. We're having uh a debate about whether we want democracy in the future. Um, and so yes, I think we should keep the wording just as it is because I want democracy in the future. Uh, and so we we at a later date can talk about what comprehensive immigration reform looks like in this country, but what we need to do right now is make sure that we have democracy uh in this election and and in uh future elections. And so, uh, yes, we should keep this exactly as it is because the euphemism immigration enforcement is really the the Trump administration's designs to be in power forever. >> Thank you, Council Member Rainbow. >> Thank you. I I just would like to call for a separate vote on item 61, please. >> Thank you. The clerks will note that. And we'll go to Council Member Warren. Uh, Council Ray, you took the words out of my mouth. I was just going to ask, are we going to vote separately on each one of these? Um, >> did you do you want a separate vote on every single one of them? >> Yeah. >> Okay, we can do that. >> I want to >> Yep, we can do that. >> Great. Next, we'll go to Council Member Vita. >> Thank you, Chair. Um I you know I just wanted to say I don't think any of us agree with what ICE has done to our city or in the country at all. And that's not where I'm coming from on this um on this item about the language. You know, I the the issue that I have with it is I've talked to folks and I mean, I just hosted a meeting with probably 30 immigrants in my ward just last week and I think almost everyone in there said that they understand the immigration laws and aversion of immigr immigration enforcement. No one wants ICE in knocking in people's doors, terrorizing neighbors. That's not what that's not the only thing we're talking about in this resolution here. We're talking about we're saying in this resolution that we want all of this taken away. I mean, I personally, my office over a month ago, I sent letters to Tina Smith and um Representative Omar's and Clolobashar asking them to not further fund ICE. I sent I sent official letters from out of my office before they took votes in Congress and asked them to not fund more not give more money to ICE to come and terrorize our communities. So there's like individual action we can take and then there's also the realistic things here like to me sending this resolution out in this way is it's not realistic. We know that there are uh laws on the books in the country in the state around immigration enforcement and to say this is just performative. It's just like saying something. It's not a real thing to say do this and then and it's like these resolutions. I mean it's starting to be so bothersome that people generate resolutions without even considering that there's 13 of us here. It's just like a version of a resolution gets put in your face and you get told vote for it or not. And if you don't vote for it, that means you don't like this or you don't like that. I think it's reasonable for a council member to say, "Hey, would you consider changing two words when you've given us a resolution with 2,000 words on it?" I mean, it's not like it's not about not liking immigrants or not caring about your neighbor. It's really about being realistic and having to show up in communities and tell people the truth about what's going on until the federal government changes immigration laws or the state or whomever. Like we don't this is not even a real option. This is so performative to me and like a reason to not fight. Nobody wants ICE here attacking folks. No one is okay with them just having a open checkbook to do whatever they want. But like there are people who believe that, you know, there's there's people in their community. I've heard from people in my community who have said and they're immigrants who have said the people that I've seen on some of these lists or on the news or whatever. I didn't even know they live next door to me or down the block or whatever. I was shocked to see them come and take this person out of um my neighborhood, not even knowing that this person was there. So there's a level of things that are realistic and there are things that we need to fix and we need to work on. But like the ability to compromise should always be there. Two words um just asking for something to be a little bit different. That's not going to change. I don't think those two words would compromise the integrity of the resolution at all for what's realistic here. I mean it it really is about us using our voice collectively. We're stronger when we're together. We're It's It's weak for us to fight over two words um for something that like I mean it's a resolution. So I I I really would like us to consider, you know, how we how we face the public when we're doing things like this. There's 13 of us. We represent different parts of this community. I don't see I don't see those two words compromising anything. I don't feel like they make this resolution less of a resolution. They actually um it it act for me it actually shows how we think collectively and not just one person or uh the majority of the B whatever this is going to shake out to be um opinion of of like what a a resolution around uh immigration should look like. And again I just want to end this by saying I really wish there was a more collective way of working on these resolutions. I've kind of grown tired over the four years of just being faced with a resolution and then having to pick and pull out what I like or don't like or you know I mean and that and that's like symbolic things like Black History Month or whatever. It it's just like it's a thing with resolutions where there's no uh there there's no coalition building or there's no talking around how these things um shake out. I mean, I I can use again an example is I had a breast cancer resolution and somebody decided that they just wanted to change it and put what they wanted to put in it. I had a more happy vibe and this person had a more morbid vibe and and it's just the difference in who we are as people. As a cancer survivor, I want to I want to generate a more positivity, a more positive you're going to make it. You're on the other side of this thing where somebody else just want to talk about the sadness of everything. And so I think it really matters how we present these resolutions to this community that's looking for us to be leaders and and work on I mean it's it's a resolution saying we're together and we support. It shouldn't be something that has to be divided in votes and divided in talking points. It really is like the basic thing we can do as a body and come together on it. >> Thank you Council Member Vita. We'll go to council vice president Osman next. >> Um, thank you. I didn't really want to say anything. We spent last hour and a half talking about foreign policy. We are still city council members. I agree with your point, Council Member Vita. I think that we should definitely come together and kind of especially if we're sending a letter to the Congress or anybody, we should always um work together and figure out a way. But at the same time, we're all individuals. We all have different background. Everyone has a different experience. Uh people are you know different. They are immigrant. Uh someone like me who you know represent large immigrant who have an um you know ICE might not affect you but this folks here ice affecting them every day. So they do want to see a way to get rid of ice or reform ice or figure out a way the corona ice is not working. And um I think it's just performance as we as you mentioned uh but at the same time be staying silent is definitely not an answer to um we have to say something as a city council members uh in that represent large 450,000 people in in city of Minneapolis. We have to have a voice in the federal government. we there are people that we elect that we send them over there to do uh uh policy that works for our residents. Uh but I'm hoping that um you know we can figure out a way to come together and and and listen to each other, everyone's experience uh and and work on the background and then bring it forward if we want to vote or not. But discussing it here, spend an hour and a half talking about foreign policy and if you agree with ICE or not, if you're defending ICE or not, it's just just not a good look at all. But uh thank you. >> Yeah, thank you. I'll recognize Council Member Whiting. >> Thank you, Chair Chowy. And I think it sounds like we are the vast majority I think of this body is is consistent uh and unanimous in the in the fact that we disavow all actions of ICE in our city. U and it sounds like we're all pretty close. I don't I don't know that the technical process of this and so clerks this might be helpful but is there a way sounds like to like forward without recommendation does that allow for more conversation? Is that like the process of what that is or >> Yes. correct. >> Okay. I don't know if folks would be open to that. It sounds like we're going to be making some slight amendments anyway. I don't know if if this process allows for like more of that, but uh I know hopefully in the next day or two u we can have some more conversations. I think all 13 of us coming together um uh sends a large signal uh that is is greater as the whole of the body than is a few of us. And so, uh, I don't know if that is a motion or what we do, but that is something that folks are open to, but sounds like we're going to do it regardless of having these conversations. So, I appreciate that. >> Is that a motion? Second. >> Sure. Yep. A motion to forward without recommendation >> for item number 61. >> Okay. >> Right. >> Yeah. >> Okay. Um, we'll take that motion up when we get to it. I see council member Chavez. >> Uh, yeah. I mean the reality is if people are going to bring amendments on Thursday they can do so. This resolution was brought forward with seven authors. So I would disrespectly ask that we vote with recommendation because I don't want to give a false sense of urgenc a false sense that this is going to fail on Thursday which I expect it does it will not. So I would ask that we vote against that motion but a conver council member Whiting as me and you talked over teams we're going to have a conversation ahead of Thursday. >> Uh council member Whiting would you be willing to withdraw that motion? Sure. >> Great. So, we'll just we'll take a separate vote on 61. >> Oh, yes. We'll take a vote separate vote on each and then we will have final discussion on Thursday. >> Yep. On all all on items. Okay. I'm not seeing any further discussion. So I will have the clerk call the role on each of those resolutions. >> We'll start with item 60. Mhm. >> Council member Payne. >> I >> Wanssley. >> Hi >> Rainville. >> I >> Vita. >> I >> Warren. >> I >> Osman. >> I >> Schaefer. >> I >> Stevenson. >> I >> Chavez. >> I >> Whiting. >> I >> Palmisano. >> I. >> Vice Chair Chai. >> I. >> And Chair Chowry. >> I. >> There are 13 eyes. >> All right. I'll have the clerk call the role on item number 61. Council member Payne. >> Hi. >> Wsley. >> Hi. >> Rainville. >> No. >> Vita. >> No. >> Warren. >> No. >> Osman. >> I >> Schaefer. >> No. >> Stevenson. >> I. >> Chavez. >> I. >> Whiting. >> Abstain. >> Palmisano. >> I. >> Vice chair Chuktai. >> I. >> And chair Chowry. >> I. There are eight eyes, four Naz, and one abstension. That carries. We'll go to uh item number 62. Will you please call the role? >> Council member P. >> I. >> Wsley. >> I. >> Rainville. >> I. >> Beta. >> I. >> Warren. >> Warren. >> This is for the electric. >> Oh, I >> Osman. >> I >> Schaefer. I >> Stevenson. >> Hi >> Chavez. >> I >> Whiting. >> I >> Palmisano. >> I vice chair Chai. >> I >> and Chair Chowry. >> I. >> There are 13 eyes. >> That motion carries. And then I will have the clerks call the role on item number 63 denouncing the Trump administration's attack on gender affirming care for youth. >> Council member Payne. >> I. >> Wsley. I >> Rainville. >> I >> Vita. >> I >> Warren. >> I >> Osman. >> I >> Schaefer. >> I >> Stevenson. >> I >> Chavez. >> I >> Whiting. >> I >> Palmisano. >> I >> vice chair Chuktai. >> I >> and Chair Chowry. >> I. >> There are 13 eyes. There are 13 eyes. And that carries. Could have taken three of them all together. Just saying. Um, next we will go to item number 64 and that is uh city auditor. >> Yeah, I'm looking for where it is in the script. That is a appointed position in the office of the city auditor for a director of special review and advisory services. I'll note this item was included as a direction from city council in the adopted 2026 budget. I'll invite Brenda Miller from human resources department to provide an overview of this classification request. Welcome Miss Miller and thank you so much for your patience. Wake up the computer. >> Thank you for your patience as I we woke up the computer. Um I'm here today um to present to you the director of special review and advisory services um for your review and approval. The director of special review and advisory services is part of the city auditor's office and plans and directs and coordinates the special um review and advisory services strategy for the city of Minneapolis. The director special review and advisory services has been evaluated at 590 points grade 13. The salary schedule for 2026 ranges from $135,000 to $160,000. And as mentioned, the cost was approved by council during the 2026 budget process. Changes are effective February 19th of 2026. So, we're asking you to um verify that the job um complies with section 20110 of the code of ordinances. Um it reports to the city auditor. It's a member of the city auditor's executive management team. It leads the development and implementation of city policy goals and strategic planning for the city auditor. It requires leadership vision, team building and strategy implementation and establishes policy goals and strategies that are consistent with the goals and priorities established by the mayor, city council, and the city auditor. So, our request is that you find that the director of special review and advisory services meets the appointed criteria as defined in section 20110 of the Minneapolis Code of Ordinances and forward it on to council for final approval. Thank you. >> Thank you so much, Miss Miller. I will now recognize Council President Payne. >> Thank you, Chair Chowry. I'm just sharing uh broader context here. So, if you recall when uh Robert Timberman became our city auditor, he put forward a plan to build out the capability within that office uh and going before that we had to move the oversight and evaluation teams out of the auditor's office and moved that underneath the direction of the city clerk. Um and as part of the longerterm roadmap for the audit office, uh Mr. Timberman recommended the creation of this division uh the special review division. Uh if you recall his very first day on the job and his public hearing the community came demanding justice for Allison Lucer and um he also took up the Davis Murray case. Uh he took up the afteraction review for the um Lake Street raid uh and has had a spirit of saying yes to requests from council within his capacity. Um and he quickly met that capacity uh given the number of uh incidents that were of interest to this body. Uh he has an independent ability to take those cases on. One of the criteria is his capacity to take those cases on and so this is the buildout formally of his capacity of that special review division so that he can be that much more responsive uh as an office. So just wanted to share that broader context and uh Mr. Puall if I missed anything or got anything wrong feel free to uh add. >> Welcome up Mr. Po. Thank you. >> Good afternoon, Chair Chauri and the members of the committee. My name is Darth Vodel and I'm the director of internal audit at the office of city auditor. I'd like to provide a brief information regarding the division of special review and advisory services and about the proposed position of the director special review and advisory services. So the office of city auditor provides independent and objective services to support transparency, accountability and good governance across the city of Minneapolis. Our core responsibilities include assessing internal controls to ensure systems are functioning as intended, evaluating compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and policies, reporting on program efficiencies and effectiveness to support continuous improvement, investigating allegations of fraud, waste, and abuse. Conducting assurance audit to provide confidence in city operations. Our office directly reports to the audit committee of which majority me members are the residents of Minneapolis. Uh with the available staffing resources, we provide our services to both city administration as well as city council. Currently majority of our work are being provided under internal audit and assurance services division. We also contract with external consultant and law firms when needed. With the goal of rightsizing our office, we received six additional staff from the city council to expand this work. As a result, we're in process of formalizing the special review and advisory services division. I'll discuss about this division in the next slide. Uh and in addition to that, we recently hired quality assurance and training manager and office support specialist two positions as well to provide the administrative services such as quality reviews and training. Special Review and Advisory Services Division will perform program evaluation such as shot spotter performance audit that we're currently performing. Commun community safety audits. These audits are specifically related to departments that are under the office of community safety which are MPD, fire, neighborhood safety department, emergency management, and 911. special reviews including afteraction review reviews such as shooting of Davis Maturi and death of Alishian Lucer which we're currently performing as well any fraud waste and abuse allegations that are reported to our office as well as any other ad hoc advisory services. The plan is is that these services will be conducted with the same level of independence and rigor as our internal audit division. The director of special review and advisory services is one of the two additional positions requested by the city auditor timberman and was approved by the city council during the 2026 budget cycle. This position will directly report to the city auditor timberman. The position is responsible for managing overseeing special review and advisory service activities within the city of uh auditor's office. This includes leading and overseeing special reviews, investigations and advisory engagements that address high-risisk sensitive or emerging issues across the city departments. This position will plan, coordinate, and oversee these projects from initiation through completion, ensuring work complies with professional auditing standards and office policies. The position will oversee assigned audit staff and may supervise temporary staff, interns, or contract employees engaged in special reviews or advisory work. And the responsibilities include assigning work, monitoring progress, providing technical guidance, reviewing work products, and ensuring quality and timeliness of the deliverable bills. This position as you can see in the work chart, this position will directly oversee four internal auditor two positions with one internal auditor 3, which is considered lead work role shared with the internal audit assurance and services division. So that was the end of the presentation. I stand for any questions. >> Thank you so much Mr. Pudiel and thank you for your patience throughout the day as well. Um I'll ask members if there are any questions on this position. Um I'll just say thank you for the presentation. I know that this the buildout of the independent auditors department was a major priority for for the last council and um just really appreciate this update and we will be continuing to stay in touch for other updates as the audit department grows. So thank you. Uh with that may I have a motion for approval? So moved. >> Second. >> Thank you. Um all those in favor say I. >> I. Those opposed say nay. Seven. Great. That motion carries and passes. All right. Thank you. All right. Next, we will be hearing from our city clerk. We have a list of expired actions from Oh, actually, do you mind, Mr. Clerk? I It just came back to me. We'll take all of your items in a package. We do have the discussion item number 25 from council member Schaefer on the eviction moratorum referral to staff. So we will take that up next before we take up the Casey Carl package. Um, and then I will remind colleagues that we have to get out of here at 5:00 p.m. and we have the Casey Carl package and a few one other item after that. So, I will recognize council member Schaefer as she is the one that pulled this for discussion. >> Yes. Thank you, Madame Chair. I'm just scrolling to my notes. um in on February 5th I this was introduced with the language subject matter of an ordinance um without any attaching language and it moved forward. And so today I was anticipating that in this um in this um limbs file that I would be able to see what that was what the language would be around that ordinance and it still stated subject matter of an ordinance and not ordinance with the attaching language different than what we saw with a 30 to 60day ordinance um that was introduced at the same time. So me as a new person, I'm trying to understand why we would want this lack of transparency for the public in moving something forward uh without having that information there on what that means and is there what the language is around that eviction moratorum. So if anyone can speak to that, we will. Yeah, we can go to the author if that works for you. >> Sure. Council member Wanley. >> Thank you, Chair. Uh, council member Schaefer, as you indicated, you are new. So, this is actually following our standard legislator process. Um, so as you can see in the file, it says referring to staff. That's typically you notice and then a subse subsequent council member you or meeting. Then you refer the ordinance for its legislative development to its respective committee where it's supposed to be signed. So, it's already been referred to its appropriate committee. Now, it's saying this is going to be put in the hands of our staff to work with appointed council member, the person who authors it to then develop the language. And then once you decide that you need a hearing and a public um uh presentation on it, then it comes back for consideration at the committee level and then you get to weigh and do amendments. So, this is following our standard process. There is not a lack of transparency. This is the transparent process. So, I would love if our clerk uh Carl can further add to anything that I missed, but just wanted to make sure since our colleague is new that they are very much assured that this is the process that we follow for ordinances. >> Mr. Carl. >> Uh, Madame Chair, Council Member Wanley, uh, and council members, you'll recall at the last council meeting, I was very complimentary of the fact that there was a full draft, uh, in the limbs file on one item and that I explained or attempted to explain carefully the distinction between introducing an ordinance and introducing the subject matter. In the case of introducing a subject matter, a manner ordinance, it means there is no draft available. And so, as council member Wanley just explained, the action is to forward that to staff for the drafting. uh both are within the legislative process. The introduction of an ordinance would follow rules. The introduction of a subject matter is a deviation from that. Uh it means that there is not a draft available for the first reading. Uh which I've said publicly before is often difficult because we're asked to vote at a first reading and neither the public nor members have a copy of that. So, it's one of those matters that the council has a long-standing practice of allowing for a subject matter introduction um not technically under the rules but as an accepted practice. >> Okay. Thank you. Um so we will have a regular cycle process around it once we get the language >> through the chair. Council member, the the draft would come forward to committee. We're referring that to committee. Once it gets to committee, committee refers it to staff. It's sort of a a dual action. And then when the committee uh is ready, when staff has a draft, it will come back to the committee for its public hearing and any further consideration through the regular process, which would be then subject to perfection through amendment and final report to the full council for its consideration. >> Okay. Well, I appreciate that clarification and um the earlier we can get language around it, the better we have transparency and uh a following of the rules. >> Thank you. >> Okay, Council President Payne. >> Uh thank you, Madam Chair. I was just going to add a little bit of clarity to this uh because I think there's a little bit of confusion because you know this is one of the earliest ordinance introductions we have this term and in this particular instance we were trying to expedite that process. So that was the other one. >> Okay. >> All right. I won't add to the confusion. This is just going through the standard legislative process where we introduce, refer to staff, the work is developed, and it comes back through committee. It's all public. It's all transparent. It's all very rigorous. It's all very formal, and this is just the normal process. >> Yeah. Thank you so much, Council President P. I put myself into Q. I would just state like council member can have an ordinance that they notice and refer to staff and it could take the entire term before it comes back and that is absolutely fine. That's why we're going to have these expired ordinances come back to us. They did not get they weren't completed. So that is transparency that is within the rules and I just all ask all of our colleagues to the best of our ability to assume best intent in one another. Um, and I think when there's items like this one that's before us, it's a good opportunity to check in with the the colleague that's a lead on it so they can answer those questions to you directly. That's my offering. Um, so seeing no further discussion, I will ask for a motion. We'll move approval. >> Some moved. Second. >> Great. All those in favor say I. >> I. >> Those opposed say nay. That motion carries. Um, now that actually ended up being a part of the package, so it works out really well. Uh, we'll have the list of expired actions from 2024 and 2025 term. And we'll welcome up again uh Casey Carl. >> Thank you. Uh, madame chair and members of the committee. In light of the hour, I will try and abbreviate the prepared comments that I had. As you know, under council rule 8.9, all acts that remain undisposed or without a final dispositive action at the conclusion of one elected term are set to expire automatically. The clerk is charged with providing a list of all those expiring actions and the council may then reintroduce items in the new term so that work on those proposals may continue if that's the desire of the body. The report was included in your agenda packet. that identifies a total of uh 21 ordinance proposals, 15 legislative directives to the administration and eight staff directives to the legislative department that will automatically expire if not reintroduced. That's a total of 44 actions in total. I have heard from some council members prior to today's meeting that they wish to uh reauthor and reintroduce items. There are six ordinances now that have been claimed, seven legislative directives and two staff directives. That's a total of 15. I can go through those items if you wish. However, in the interest of time, I'll just say I have 15 right now. If there are council members who have not responded to my previous emails and there are items they wish to claim, please notify me between now and Thursday uh at the council meeting on Thursday. Items that are not claimed will then automatically expire. Those items that are claimed, we will bring forward in the next cycle a full report to have those items reintroduced and referred to committees. Happy to stand for any questions if there are some. Are there any questions colleagues? Okay, great. We are going to try to make it through here in the next 10 minutes. Um, so, uh, may I get a a motion to approve? >> So, move. >> Second. >> Excellent. All those in favor say I. >> I. Oppose say nay. >> All right, that passes. Okay. Next, we will have Mr. Carl present on the council tracking report for 2024 2025. >> Thank you, Madam Chair. Committee members here to present a final report that summarizes council's work across the previous two years encompassing the 2024 2025 term. I'll note that this report ties to the prior uh agenda item we just discussed. uh items that were highlighted in gray in the attached report are those that uh were undisposed in the end of the term. Uh so just wanted to highlight that. Also uh the genesis of these reports for new members was the enterprise policy on informal requests and legislative directives that was adopted by the city council in December 2022 as part of the larger body of work to implement the voter approved uh government structure that was approved at the 2021 general municipal election. For those members who want more information, there's clearly a full report in your packet. I'm happy to discuss that in the interests of time. I'm going to jump forward a little bit and focus here on this slide as a starting point. This slide captures the total number of official acts of the council during the 2-year 24-25 term. Altogether, you can see there were a combined total of 2,940 actions or official acts of the council during that term. Those are reflected in the top row showing ordinances enacted, resolutions adopted, and actions approved. At this highest level, for purposes of comparison, I'll note that there were a total of 2,667 official acts from the previous 2-year term covering 2022 and 2023. That means that there were about 273 more actions that were done in 2024 and 2025 than there were in the 2022 2023 term. The shorthand there is that since government structure was approved by voters, council has increased, I would say significantly, its output both in the 2022 and 2023 term as well as then doubling down on the 2024 2025 term. So the next slides I'll quickly try and summarize the ordinances, resolutions or enterprise policies and uh legislative directives that were done. So here you can see the total number of ordinances for the 2024 2025 term. Again, ordinances are the highest form of action a municipal government can take. They are local laws. So in the last 2-year term, council introduced a total of 92 ordinance proposals. Of that total, 65 ordinances were then later enacted, which is a successful passage rate of about 71%. We've provided the breakdown here of those 65 enacted ordinances. you'd have to remove from that total count those ordinances that are non-codified. Those are administrative actions that we don't codify. Uh also two ordinances that were preempted by the state, those that are not yet codified, leaving a total of 20 of 34, I'm sorry, local laws or ordinances that were enacted by the city through the entire legislative process in the 2024 2025 term. And then here at the end of the slide, the clerks have indicated that during the 2022 2023 term, a total of 126 ordinances were enacted, 47 of which were then codified. So you can see the comparative data. There were seven ordinances introduced in the last 2-year term that remained undisposed at the conclusion of the term. Again, those are highlighted in gray in the tables in your report. And as indicated, those are included as part of the previous item. Uh some of which have already been reclaimed by authors. and if there are others that need to be claimed uh would ask that you let me know before Thursday. Here you can see similar data for enterprise policies which are adopted in the form of resolutions. You can see there were 30 uh two proposals that were introduced and of that 31 were adopted in the total. So a quite high success rate for adopting enterprise policies. These are policies that regulate the operation of the city enterprise. Um as indicated here below, one was vetoed by the mayor which was sustained by the council and then one was vetoed by the mayor and overridden by the council. Again, there is comparative data for the 2022 2023 term showing 37 enterprise policies and then for the previous four-year term covering 2018 through 2021, 70 enterprise policies. So obviously keeping good pace in two back-to-back two-year terms with what was adopted in a whole four-year term in terms of enterprise policies. In terms of legislative directives, these are pursuant to the city charter requests by the city council to the mayor for information assistance or support by the administration for the council's official functions. Many of these legislative directives directly connect to ordinances and enterprise policies that are later than passed as official acts or which set the foundation for the development of future policies and ordinances. So, some of those are also included uh in the work that you see on this slide. A total of 68 legislative directives were brought forward and were approved in the last two-year term covering 2024 and 2025. As you can see uh from the breakdown here, 59 of those directives were approved by the mayor, which is a successful collaboration rate of about 87%. Another eight of those directives were allowed to advance without mayoral action, what we uh refer to as deemed approved when the mayor neither approves nor disapproves of the action of council. So that increases the overall successful collaboration rate between council and administration of about 99%. Um only one legislative directive was brought forward in 2025 that was vetoed by the mayor and then subsequently was overridden by the council. So for the council, that's a successful 100% rate. Uh in the 2024 2025 term, of the 68 legislative directives that were approved in the last two-year term, 52 were also closed with reports being submitted. So from the administration side, I'd say 76% of all of the requests that were given were answered and closed in the last two-year term. And again, on the data table for uh in your report, it highlights in gray those directives where no final action or dispositive action was taken. and some of those may been be reclaimed uh and reintroduced for the council on Thursday. Same type of information on this chart for staff directives. Staff directives are directives to your own staff in the legislative department for assistance with official functions. You can see there were a total of 53 directives that were introduced in the last two-year term. Of that, 52 directives were approved. One was withdrawn by the author. This included four requests to the office of city auditor. And I'd have to note that because the city auditor is independent under the city charter, those are not actually legislative directives. We sort of discovered that during the last two-year process. We do not currently have in our uh tables that we track uh requests to the city auditor. So, one thing we'll start this term is uh tracking the number of requests to the city auditor in addition to those that are directives to the legislative staff. But uh for purposes of this report summarizing the last two years, there were a total of four requests given to the office of city auditor, those happen to all be identified on the final page of your report. And then again, the clerks have provided a summary view of how that compares to staff directives done in the previous two-year term 2022 to 2023. Um looking forward uh covered this in the last presentation. There were a total number of items that were undisposed at the end of the term. Those will come forward for council's consideration uh on Thursday. And then going forward, we are required to provide quarterly reports on the status of these actions, ordinances, enterprise policies, legislative directives, and staff directives. This uh chart shows you that we are presenting this first initial report in February which summarizes all of the last two-year term and would anticipate bringing forward a first quarter report early April and then regular quarter reports in June and December or September and December to wrap up the year. Um, I noted also previously that we've talked about different uh improvements to making this and I'm very pleased to say that with the council's creation of our new legislative research and oversight division headed by uh director Andrew Hawkins, uh I plan to transfer this this report to him and his team. I think that they have a lot of creative ideas about how to make this data more useful than a sort of point in time report that the clerk is presenting like I am today. Uh, and so with your indulgence, I'd like to give just a little bit of time to Mr. Hawkins, who has sat waiting patiently for this to share with you at least a teaser of things that he and the LRO or legislative research division would like to do. >> I will note we have a little bit of a extra buffer with captioning, >> so we're okay on time. >> Yes. >> And I'm excited for you to catch your breath. >> Didn't take too long. >> I'll welcome up Mr. Hawkins and say hello to the two additional guests that he's brought to the chambers today. Hi. >> Hi. >> No school today and like juggling some childc care issues. So, I've got some unpaid turns. I know we frowned upon that type of thing, but uh I'm I'm sure they'd be happy if there was a some kind of a siphon for they've been good sports today. But, uh anyways, um Chair Chowry, Vice Chair Shukai, members of the committee, my name is Andrew Hawkins. I'm the director of legislative research and oversight. Um I'll keep this brief. I know you've all been here for quite some time. Um, as Cler Carl noted, we'll be um, legislative research and oversight, LRO, uh, will be stepping in to take over the management of the legislative tracking uh, system. Um, as I think a lot of you are probably familiar with our dashboards, uh, they as they currently exist to track um, requests that we've received from council and the status of everything as um, as projects are moving along. Um, we did that um, a a just to be transparent, but also um, solves a lot of problems as far as people, you know, like wondering, you know, making sure everybody's getting the same information. um you know ensuring that everybody has a single source of truth including the uh members of the public. Um so it's in that vein that I think we want to look at the tracking system um you know but having some kind of a portal or dashboard where we can break this down by um in a variety of ways that I don't think we've had the ability to previously. Uh that includes um breakdown by um what what committee did the request come out of? Um what departments are involved in the request? Um did the request stem from a report, a discussion, public comment um you know things of that nature. um through all these different data points. I think there definitely is an expanded ability um for our staff to identify um any patterns or trends and make sure that we're um like staying on top of those to help um like guide the work of council um as it relates to this area. Um additionally, I think as most of you know um we're currently working on as we're staffing up um there'll be committee leazison from legislative research and oversight that are assigned to each of the council committees. Um I think that there's a natural um marriage between that role and this council tracking um to ensure that you have a single point of contact that's tracking all of these things as they're moving through council um and then that person will serve as leaison on between uh both the council and the respective departments that are impacted um by any one of these and I think just even even in addition to the with the collaboration um it's an opportunity for Lor to continue kind of serving as that bridge between the legislative and um like side of the enterprise and the administration. Um there's there have been a couple of these where we've done similar work. We're happy to provide staff support um if it helps kind of move some of these along um in whatever capacity we can. But with that um I'll happy to answer any questions if there are any. But um certainly if anybody has any notes or anything they'd like to see um added to this report as we're um putting in this work, I mean now we're certainly more than happy to. >> Um >> thank you so much. Really appreciate it. Uh I don't think there are any questions. I think we're all looking forward to the day where we have our committees. Uh it's been quite the super committee, extra super today. Um so with that, I'll direct the clerk to receive and file that report. There's no further action necessary. And so we actually have one last item. Uh we wanted to have this as a good way to close out our meeting. It is a resolution. I have a walk. >> Forgot. >> Okay. Thank you so much. We've been here since 9:30 a.m. So, the assist is appreciated. Um, let's take up Council Member Wanley's walk-on legislative directive. Council member Wanley and >> Oh, and and Council Member Vas. We'll do Wanley and then Vita. >> Yep. Uh, Council Member Wanley. >> Yeah, I'm just making the motion to um approve this item as for a second. Just brief context and I can share a little bit more on Thursday. Um, and you have a copy in front of you. Uh this is coming in response to a number of our uh constituents reaching out asking how is the city preserving um data or evidence related to uh unlawful behavior committed by federal ICE agents and what are our data retention policies that could support um and making sure that those agents are ultimately held accountable. Um so this legislative directive asked that the administration gives us details on what processes exist or what they are looking to develop um to make sure that such evidence is being preserved. So that's it with it. I'll ask for a second. >> Second. >> Great. Is there any discussion? >> Okay. Seeing none, all those in favor say I. >> I. Those opposed say nay. That motion carries and is forwarded to full counsel. Next, I will call on council member Vita. >> Thank you, Chair Chowry. Um this uh this agreement is just between the city of Minneapolis and Houston White who owns the property at 1500 44th Avenue North and is authorizing a lease non-disturbance agreement and consent with um the business uh to go into agreement for um the pro he's at phase three of a property on at this site. And so it's really nothing different than what we've done before. Um I was hoping it could have got on consent, but staff didn't get it in fast enough. So it's it's a renovation and phase three of the coffee and barber shop. And the new name is going to be Blue and Green and it's a Beastro Cafe in Ward 4. >> That's wonderful. So that motion is before us. Seconded. >> All those in favor say I. I. Those oppose say nay. That motion carries. Now, for real, our last order of business, we have a resolution from the city of Elserto, California to receive and file. I will ask clerk Carl to summarize that resolution to us. >> I won't take a lot of time doing that. El Crito City Council adopted a resolution, a policy statement much like we do, as we've done today, that expresses their city's support for this city, for the things that we are experiencing here on the ground with the occupation by uh federal agents from ICE. Uh and we wanted to bring that forward, spoke to council leadership to officially put it into the public record through the files. Um I know that there are other cities that are taking similar actions and other agencies. My request to council is as you receive those, it would be great to forward those to the clerk's office so that we can create a public file where we can track all of these actions and keep them permanently for the archive of the city. And so, uh, receiving the El Cerrito resolution today would be the first I would anticipate of others that will come. >> Thank you so much. And just for the record, uh the resolution is titer titled the city of Elserto expressing solidarity with the city of Minneapolis, Minnesota, and its residents in the aftermath of recent United States immigration and customs customs enforcement related shootings and affirming the city of Elserto's commitment to human rights, public safety, and accountability. Really recommend that colleagues take a look at it. It's very heartfelt. Um, are there any other members that want to get in discussion, make any comments? Okay, great. Thank you. >> Seeing none, I'll direct the clerk to receive and file that resolution. There's no further action required. And with that, we are adjourned. >> All right. Guess I got to get it. You're right. Mom's mom traveling right now. My sister's going to watch a super ready. >> There we go. Sorry, guys. Guys, come back. >> All right, come back. We'll go around.