04-24-2024 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES CITY COUNCIL APRIL 24, 2024 the work that would need to be done to support the alternatives. He asked if these alternatives would be consistent with how the community envisions its needs for the next ten to 20 years. Kwapick referenced the potential folded diamond at Snelling, and asked if that would make every turn a left turn for people to access the businesses. Mr. Elvin confirmed that to be true. Kwapick asked if that would cause backups onto Highway 36. Mr. Elvin acknowledged that is a real concern and through their modeling it has shown that people not on the mainline would have a degradation of Service. Kwapick commented that the bottleneck is near Snelling and expressed concern that would make the bottleneck worse for those traveling from Minneapolis to Little Canada. T. Miller commented that the area of Snelling is already congested and if Hamline were closed, that would add to the congestion. Gutierrez provided input on parent drop off for the high school and the congestion that occurs. Mr. Elvin commented that they have included the school district in discussions, and it was clear that the school did not have a great transportation plan or plan for parents to follow when picking up or dropping off students. Gutierrez asked for more input on the railroad bridge and whether the railroad has provided any input. Mr. Elvin acknowledged that it will be a difficult issue to resolve, most likely the most difficult within the corridor. Mayor Fischer asked the next steps. Mr. Elvin stated that the study report will be wrapped up and shared with the cities as well as posted on the website. He noted that the report will also include the implementation plan and identify other issues. CONDUIT FINANCING FOR SAINT PAUL ACADEMY AND SUMMIT SCHOOL PROJECT The City Administrator stated that at the March 24th meeting he brought forward the request for this public hearing. He stated that the Council is asked to hold the public hearing and consider the conduit financing request for the Saint Paul Academy and Summit School project. He explained that the City would use its statutory capacity to issue debt to assist with this project. Catherine Courtney, Attorney with Taft Law, explained that tax-exempt organizations are allowed to borrow tax-exempt bonds, but cannot issue those bonds. She explained that only governmental entities are allowed to issue bonds and can in turn loan those to the school as a passthrough. She explained that the City would not have any liability as the debt would be paid directly by the school. Mayor Fischer acknowledged that the City has done this before with other organizations. He asked for more details on the amendment listed. Ms. Courtney stated that Bremer Bank agreed to make amendments to the financing issued in 2017 that would provide a benefit to the school. She explained that while the amendments would not require a public hearing, they are just considering both items at the same time. She explained that the actions would still be completed separately. 2