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City Council Regular Meeting Minutes July 28, 2026 Page 9 1 Councilmember Jenson reported that he attended three meetings with Northeast Youth and 2 Family Services in the last two weeks, including a finance committee meeting, a governance 3 meeting, and a board of directors meeting. 4 5 Mayor Webster reported that she attended the Marketplace Grand Reopening on July 18 and 6 toured the cannabis store. She reminded residents that the cannabis store is not open yet. She 7 stated that on July 23, she met with a high school student who is starting their own nonprofit to 8 collect books. She encouraged St. Anthony residents to take advantage of the resources at the 9 environmental center. 10 11 Councilmember Randle left the meeting at 8:51 p.m. 12 13 XI. COMMUNITY FORUM. 14 15 Cody Holliday appeared on behalf of the St. Anthony Chamber of Commerce, of which he is the 16 current president. He read a letter from the St. Anthony Chamber of Commerce regarding 17 franchise fees on electric and gas utilities, which was received by the Council last week, into the 18 record. The letter discussed the Chamber's appreciation of the need to improve public safety 19 facilities, but the disdain for the decision to put much of the burden on local commercial 20 businesses. Mr. Holliday highlighted the struggles that many small businesses already face. He 21 commented that business owners whom the fees would impact were largely absent from the 22 discussion of implementing franchise fees. The Chamber requested that the Council pause 23 further discussion on implementing franchise fees until individual Councilmembers have had the 24 opportunity to engage with the local business community. He reminded the Council that 25 engaging with the Chamber of Commerce is not sufficient to obtain input on these fees from the 26 entirety of the St. Anthony business community. 27 28 Carl Neumann, a resident, yielded his time to Dr. Bibi Neumann. 29 30 Dr. Bibi Neumann, a resident, stated that she is speaking on behalf of the St. Anthony — New 31 Brighton Welcoming All Families Association, of which she is a founding member. She stated 32 that the association seeks to improve civic participation for families, particularly those whose 33 voices are often not heard. She stated that public engagement should reach all residents, 34 including those who are easy to miss, and that many of the items on the agenda are connected 35 through the theme of public engagement. She commented that the association appreciates 36 meaningful outreach, Staff being visible, community events, and efforts to connect residents with 37 services. She stated that engagement should not only be measured by activity. She reiterated the 38 engagement numbers provided in the Quarterly Update regarding police community engagement 39 contacts and social media views. She commented that these are only metrics, but do not measure 40 outcomes of the contact, including things like what concerns were identified, what follow-up 41 occurred, who was not reached, and more. She stated that the survey, which goes live on August 42 1, is a good first step, and reviewed where these surveys have been made available. Dr. Neumann 43 noted that despite this being a good option, it should not be the full strategy, as not all residents 44 receive utility bills directly, and not all residents attend VillageFest. Dr. Neumann stated that she 45 attended the event once and has not returned due to a racist encounter after the 5k. She requested 46 that the City track who is being reached and who is still missing from survey responses and