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July 28th, 2026 St. Anthony Council Work Session - 4 <br />Councilmember Randle felt this program seemed to look down on people’s intelligence and <br />imply they do not know how to improve their own homes. He reminded the Council that many of <br />these improvements come down to personal choice. He asked how they distinguish between <br />who needs the help and who does not, and who wants the help and who does not. <br />Assistant City Manager Morello gave credit to Councilmember Randle’s point and reminded the <br />Council that this is why City Staff were aiming to have these funds directed at community <br />programming rather than individual-level incentives or assistance. She informed the Council that <br />the City recently received a grant from Met Council to replace outdated appliances, and that this <br />grant also provides funds for low-income residents to improve their own appliances. She stated <br />that she felt this provides a good example of how grants can be utilized to help the City and <br />lower-income individuals in the community. <br />Mayor Webster expressed her gratitude for how well St. Anthony Staff can acquire grants that <br />target specific community needs and uplift low-income residents, such as the INI Sewer Line <br />grant. She hoped to begin by using these funds for education and then explore initiatives that <br />assist lower-income residents or elderly residents. <br />Mayor Webster asked how the Council is feeling about providing 20,000 dollars for sustainability <br />initiatives. Councilmember Randle reaffirmed that he would not support this. Mayor Webster <br />asked if there is any number he would feel comfortable with. He stated he would be comfortable <br />with zero. <br />Councilmember Jenson stated that he is okay with 20,000, but expressed that he did not expect <br />20,000 dollars to make such a large impact on the levy. He noted that he does not want this to <br />be a given for every year, and would like to test the waters for one year to begin with. <br />Councilmember Jenson highlighted that he would only support this going towards education. <br />Councilmember Jenson proposed adding information on these programs to community <br />newsletters to ensure all citizens know about upcoming events. <br />Assistant City Manager Morello informed the Council that the Green Corps member would work <br />on community outreach for these programs as well. <br />Councilmember Doolan stated that she would vote for this option. <br />Mayor Webster stated that they will recommend keeping the figure at 20,000 dollars. <br />Finance Director Maloney stated that the third option for the levy would be a national community <br />survey. City Manager Yunker expanded that this survey had previously been completed five <br />years ago, and that the purpose of this survey is to gain an understanding of the mood of the <br />community and opinions on City services. He highlighted that this survey can be compared to <br />other cities around the nation. City Manager Yunker raised that there will already be expanded <br />community engagement due to the Comp Plan, so there may not be a need for this survey to be <br />completed next year. <br />Councilmember Jenson expressed that the facilitator that will be hired for the Comprehensive <br />Plan is being brought on to seek and interpret community feedback, so he feels this survey <br />could be a redundant use of tax dollars. <br />Mayor Webster stated that she also felt that due to expanded community engagement for the <br />Comp Plan in the next year, it would be beneficial to move the survey to 2028. Councilmember <br />6