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<br /> <br /> Staff Report <br /> <br /> <br />To: Mayor Fischer and Members of the City Council <br /> <br />From: Laura Linehan, Assistant City Administrator <br /> <br />Date: July 22, 2026 <br /> <br />Re: Legislative Committee Structure and Formalization <br /> Action To Be Considered: <br />Motions to approve, table, or deny the following: <br />1. Resolution formalizing the structure of the existing City of Little Canada Legislative <br />Committee <br />2. Appoint Mayor Tom Fischer and Council Member Chris Kwapick to the Legislative <br />Committee for the remainder of 2026 <br /> <br />(2 separate motions) <br />Background: <br />Over the last three years, the City of Little Canada has increased engagement at the state <br />and federal legislative level through the submission of two projects to the Minnesota Office <br />of Management and Budget (MMB) and Federal Congressionally Directed Spending. Those <br />two projects included: <br />• Little Canada Road MMB (2024 submission) <br />• Pedestrian Bridge MMB (2024/2025 submission) <br />• Little Canada Road CDS (2024/2025 submission) <br />• Pedestrian Bridge CDS (2024/2025/2026 submission) <br /> <br />Additionally, the Council began participating in an annual legislative priorities workshop, <br />first held in 2025 and again in 2026. <br /> <br />Both projects were unsuccessful in federal and state funding attempts. However, Little <br />Canada Road was heard in 2025 at the Capital Investment Committee, and the Pedestrian <br />Bridge was on the 2025 House Capital Investment Bonding Tour. <br /> <br />In 2025, to prepare for the Capital Investment Committee, an information Legislative <br />subcommittee was formed consisting of Mayor Fischer, Councilmember Kwapick, and <br />Assistant City Administrator Linehan. Since that time, this team, in addition to <br />Administrator Shearen, has been preparing legislative strategy as needed. <br /> <br />It has been a staff goal to develop a more formalized approach to our legislative requests; <br />therefore, staff recommends formalizing the Legislative Committee for the remainder of <br />2026 and adding the committee assignment to the annual appointments list. <br /> Legislative Committee in Little Canada: <br />Types of items that could be reviewed by the Legislative Committee include: