St. Paul City Council — Transcript
Wednesday, May 27, 2026
Master Legal Service Agreement Approval
Ramsey County Economic Development Authority (EDA) Opt-In
Full Stack St. Paul Program Update
Votes (3)
Resolution 26-883 resolution approving and authorizing the execution of a master legal service agreement with Barnes and Thornberg LLP citywide.
Moved by Commissioner Buoie [00:02:00]
This item was presented as a resolution from the city attorney's office. There were no staff reports or questions from the commissioners regarding the agreement.
Resolution 26-889, resolution of the Housing and Redevelopment Authority, HRA, of the City of St. Paul exercising the HA's authority to opt into and support the Ramsey County Economic Development Authority, EDA.
Moved by Commissioner Naker [00:29:57]
The discussion revolved around St. Paul's proposed addition of a 'be it resolved' clause to the resolution, which would require the HRA to approve the spending plan for the St. Paul portion of EDA funds. Ramsey County, represented by Mr. Olsson, requested a delay to ensure uniformity of resolutions across all participating jurisdictions. St. Paul leadership argued for their right to local control, citing a history of distinction in HRA matters and a desire for a proactive spending plan approval rather than piecemeal project approvals. Questions were raised about the 50% allocation of EDA funds to St. Paul and the operationalization of the approval process.
Staff report SR26-107 full stack St. Paul update.
Mary Rick presented an update on the Full Stack St. Paul initiative, outlining its history since 2017, current focus areas (inclusive tech culture, agile tech workforce, tech-powered startups), and recent activities including event sponsorships, storytelling, and employer engagement. The presentation emphasized successes like supporting 16 organizations for 41 events and connecting companies like Flow Environmental. Commissioners requested more concrete, outcome-based goals for the $350,000 allocation, particularly for tech training scholarships and internships, and clearer reporting on how funds are spent amidst a rapidly changing tech landscape. The 180K for scholarships/internships was noted as unspent from the previous year.
Notable Quotes (7)
council leadership as well so as the HRA leadership piece have talked about is just wanting to ensure that this body has the ability to approve the spending plan that is implemented for the St. Paul um portion of the EDA.
the resolution that um was put forth in your packet is different than what the rest of the the cities across the county have approved um including 15. And so we just wanted to take a pause and and just reflect and and understand how that deviates and changes um the others um just so that we have consistency.
It seems that rather than having each item come one at a time to be approved by resolution peace meal, it makes more sense as long as this body needs to approve all the spending anyway to have a proactive conversation about how we're going to spend the entirety of these dollars at the outset.
I'm not aware of other examples where we've been approving how the county spends county dollars or conversely where the county is approving how we spend city dollars or city H dollars. So I I think I'm having some misunderstandings here, but it would be helpful to understand what that process was, how it was envisioned by the county and again how other cities that have already opted in might be planning to operationalize that if not through a similar clause, the one that's currently included in here.
Our mission at Fullstack St. Paul is to leverage the power of tech and innovation to drive sustainable equitable economic development in the city of St. Paul.
In the very first slide, you talked about how there were original the original three-year goals from 2017 to 2020 were these four. And I really like these goals because they're they're very outcomes based... Now that it's 2026, what are our new goals?
I think it's really important for folks to also understand like your tech training scholarships, like the internships, the intern opportunities that have come from that item if there's spending or what challenges are being faced... I think is going to be really important because um as I kind of share openly in the meetings you know it's like my background isn't in tech and so being able to be a part of the the board has been in informative in many ways
Ordinances & Resolutions (6)
Resolution approving and authorizing a master legal service agreement with Barnes and Thornberg LLP citywide.
Agreement with Barnes and Thornberg LLP for citywide legal services.
Resolution for the Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) to opt into and support the Ramsey County Economic Development Authority (EDA).
Proposed plan for allocating EDA dollars, specifically for St. Paul's portion, subject to HRA approval.
Staff report providing an update on the Full Stack St. Paul program.
Community Development Block Grant, mentioned in context of federal allocations.