North St. Paul City Council — Transcript
Saturday, March 15, 2025
Project Snowy Status and Maintenance
Update on Public Art Initiatives
Arts and Culture Events Planning
2025 Budget Proposal and Project Prioritization
Project Snowy Trading Cards Initiative
City and Community Updates from Council Liaison
Votes (3)
Project Snowy Sculpture Maintenance
Commissioners discussed missing noses on two Project Snowy sculptures, one at City Hall and another at Burwell's. The discussion centered on identifying who is responsible for repairs, with city-donated sculptures falling under city maintenance. Ideas for repair and a future 'Snow's Nose' event were floated, involving Public Works.
2025 Preliminary Budget Proposal
The commission reviewed and adjusted its preliminary budget request for 2025, aiming for a flat overall budget compared to the previous year's request to aid Council approval. Key adjustments included increasing funds for the Autumn Arts Festival and Art Classes, proposing $5,000 for a new Asian Night event, and consolidating various smaller art projects under a 'Public Art' line item. The Community Engagement budget request was removed as it was cut by Council previously. The final proposal included $18,000 for events and $26,000 for projects.
Project Snowy Trading Cards Initiative
The commission discussed the logistics and budget for creating Project Snowy trading cards, aiming to foster community engagement and capitalize on the project's success. Details such as print quantity (500 per design for all 8 snowmen), cost, card quality (considering holographic for the original snowman), and distribution methods (e.g., at parades) were considered. The need for rapid design development was highlighted due to an impending parade on August 19th.
Notable Quotes (8)
it's based off on what the contract said and if it's owned by the business then it's the business's responsibility to maintain it and for the other one that is donated to the city um it would be the city's responsibility to maintain it so we could take a look at that and see what we can do
we could make a big thing and then have it to be like right around Christmas time or something his nose reappears I know Medallion hunt right there you go we'll bury it somewhere with a $25 gift card to Max right
I don't want to be like a bummer on this too but what when I'm going through this too one of the things I'm trying to balance is that budget ask cuz when it comes time to um trying to justify the budget and whatever that increase will be to all of us um you have to make choices and one thing I want to look at here too is look how much money did we ask for for this year and of all that how much did we even use and not even half of it so far and so when we ask for that budget if it get if it all gets approved that does mean a certain percentage increase in taxes for the taxpayers that we have to be mindful of
I also think that you know like when we later on decide what projects we do we also assess like the impact of it like there are some you know that are maybe not as impactful as others and I feel like we could prioritize some that are you know like would be more impactful like for instance what are we trying to achieve right are we trying to achieve you know drawing people into the city are we trying to yeah um have you know create a better space for people to enjoy you know like so then that I think yeah
so and as we did this year we can always move money around as needed so if we say well we don't need as much from utility box wraps we need more in the art cart or whatever we can do that and I think we're certifying our maximum in September so whatever like next month right
so it's $43 plus tax for 250 and that only includes one type of design so I don't know if you wanted to include all different eight designs that we had or can I ask a question so is it so like if you had a a trading card yep of all eight of the snow's MH um is there a minimum for each picture uh yep so the quantity is 250 per each picture so you would have to have at least 250 of of every one of them so then you get to two 2,000 yep you would have to have as a minimum and so it's $43 per 250 yep so we're looking at about 344 including taxes around that ballpark for all eight
I think this is a really great idea I think this is a fun way to capitalize on the thing and keep it going and would there have would it have information on the back like a baseball card or something like sponsor and the artist St oh that'd be cool on the stats I I almost feel traded to bwal Roofing 2025 I almost feel like we should do sp two seasons over at Premier Banks before being drafted 500 instead of 250 I really I feel like we're going to zip out of these before we know it I think there's that are there that many I do kids at the Sharon I run out of candy every parade it's ter I know I mean granted you're throwing out a lot of candy at a time and I think these you really have to hand them to kids but I I'm I'm with you I don't know if 2000 would be enough yeah I mean 400 bucks for because I think that you're going to have them Beyond just a parade right
I will before I order anything I need to make sure that the commission approves it because I don't want to refund anything return to the vendor right well but then also so the the problem is the parade is the 19th yeah we'll need them by then how long does it take to print them um you know so this vendor is the one that we use for the utility wrap box and they're very responsive oh good so I'm not worried about the turnaround rate at all okay good deal but nevertheless it's still only month and 10 days away before we would need him so we need the design fast yes we need the design fast
Ordinances & Resolutions (5)
Request for Proposals being prepared to identify a firm for a feasibility study to reimagine and assess the functionality of the Community Center space.
Request for Proposals being prepared for a mixed-use commercial and residential development project across from City Hall.
A plan from previous consultants that informed preliminary community engagement for the Community Center.
A plan being revisited by the Parks Commission and Community Development to address park needs, including the blighted McNight tennis courts and potential new parks.
An assessment of all public buildings in the city to determine their condition.