Um California, we'll start with this map shows the uh Capital Park in Sacramento. Uh it extends uh um 40 it's 40 acres. It extends from 9th Street on the the west side uh to 15th.

I have a note here, and again, Mr. Turva put this together, but, uh, there's a legislative operating account that reimbures the Oregon Department of Parks and Recreation for a share of ground for for their for its share of ground maintenance and utilities.

I would say that there's already a mechanism which the way that we fund regional parks here in our state that in 1985 state Minnesota promised like the metro regional agencies that like they would pay for 40% of the operating cost of these parks. These are regional parks and right now though the state only pays 10% of that cost and so I don't know if there's something already in statute around state parks versus but I know there is already something on regional parks and so I don't know if it's necessarily something we would create brand new or if it was something that would be similar we could look at it from there but I will say as a as a city that has a very large regional park it is very costly for us to manage that on our own and with this being in the in St. Paul here. I would want to make sure that if that whatever funding source comes through that that actually is allocated so that um the responsibility doesn't just fall back in the city of St. Paul. I I want this park and I love it idea of it. I just want to make sure that St. Paul's tax uh payers aren't the ones who end up paying for the cost of managing the park because right now we only get 10% of the 40% promised to us and that's in state statute right now for regional parks.

What I'm reading here in the presentation is that uh, there really wasn't a whole lot of additional programming provided. I just wanted to confirm that with Mr. George. You know, we've talked a lot about activation of spaces here uh, for our state capital. And is it true that across these three states that there isn't a whole lot of additional activation of station uh of spaces beyond the public tours of the capital building? That's the only thing that I saw throughout this presentation. If you could just confirm that for me.

My goal is to show how the 2040 comprehensive plan, the capital mall design framework, and the cultural landscape report already established a long-term vision for this place and how that work can help inform this state park conversation. In particular, I want to show how the mall is envisioned not as an isolated government campus, but as Minnesota's civic heart, connected to St. Paul, connected to the park system, and welcoming motans from across the state.

The message from the engagement was remarkably consistent. People want more things to do. They want more trees and shade, better accessibility, places for children, more amenities, stronger representation of Minnesota, and better connections and a strong sense that the mall is is actually a public place.

I just want to reiterate that the idea is that the Capitol Mall design framework is just that it's a framework and that the decisions that are yet to be made belong to the community and to the legislature to do this work in um in a collaborative way with all of the entities. Um it's a 30-year plan. It's not an overnight plan.

I think that as neighbors and people who live in the Frog Town in the Rondo in these areas, we see the construction happening, but we have no idea that it is part of a larger plan such as this. And it makes so much more sense now that I see everything that you've laid out here. And I want to just say thank you for the intentionality of it and just seeing the nodes and the different things that you've all put in here. I've watched, you know, University Avenue as a kid coming to visit my family who lived in the area from boarded up um buildings to, you know, there used to be strip clubs and prostitution and around Rice Street and around University Avenue and the intentionality of what we're doing to say that our capital is worth that investment and what has been happening. It not only is good for the capital, but it's good for the neighborhood and it's good for the businesses and the people around here and that investment had been sorely lacking for many, many decades.

Um the parking we have continually ask for funding to make parking uh more like user friendly. The folks can come and go, employees could come and go, visitors can come and go. We just don't have that infrastructure. uh we compare it to like the U of M or the downtown ramps where you can just get a ticket pay as you leave versus a contract. And so I until we have that flexibility, we have kind of um advocating to maintain our current parking facilities so we can to your point um have enough spaces especially during the session months uh to accommodate employees and visitors um that need parking on the complex.