HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC MINUTES 092820211
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CITY OF ST. ANTHONY
CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MINUTES
SEPTEMBER 28, 2021
CALL TO ORDER.
Mayor Pro Tern Randle called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.
Pro Tern Mayor Randle invited the Council and audience to join him in the Pledge of Allegiance.
ROLL CALL.
Present: Councilmembers Jenson, Randle, Walker and Webster.
Absent: Mayor Stille
Also Present: City Manager Charlie Yunker, School Superintendent Dr. Renee Corneille, Mr. John
Schlingman, and Fire Lieutenant Mattie Jaros.
CONSIDERATION, DISCUSSION, AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON ALL OF THE FOLLOWING
ITEMS.
I. APPROVAL OF SEPTEMBER 28, 2021 CITY COUNCIL MEETING AGENDA.
Motion by Councilmember Webster, seconded by Councilmember Jenson, to approve the City
Council Meeting Agenda of September 28, 2021 as presented.
Motion carried 4-0.
H. PROCLAMATIONS AND RECOGNITION
A. SANB#282 Presentation
Dr. Renee Corneille shared information on the School District with the City Council. She
reviewed the beliefs and values for the St. Anthony — New Brighton School District. She
provided a power point presentation to the Council. The District Mission, District Vision, and
District Definition of Effective Instruction. The Strategic Directions are High Expectations, High
Support, Strong Relationships and Strong Communication.
Councilmember Walker referred to the District Vision and the word "Success". Dr. Corneille
stated they are working on a success matrix. Data has been collected the past three years.
Appropriate assessments are being developed. They want a more robust examination of how
success is identified.
Councilmember Jenson thanked Councilmember Walker for his question and Dr. Corneille's
response.
City Council Regular Meeting Minutes
September 28, 2021
Page 2
Councilmember Webster thanked Dr. Corneille for her presentation.
Councilmember Walker stated many people live in St. Anthony for the schools.
B. Spirit of St. Anthony Award
7 Officer John Schlingman, the 2020 Award Recipient, presented the 2021 Award to Mary Piper
8 who is an employee of the Liquor Store. He reviewed the criteria for the award and noted the
9 award is given by City co-workers. Mary stated she is honored to receive this award and to be
10 employed by the City of St. Anthony.
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12 C. Fire Prevention Presentation
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14 Fire Chief Sitarz acknowledged the Spirit of St. Anthony Award and noted Mattie Jaros won the
15 award a few years ago. He is very happy to have Mattie Jaros in the Fire Department. Chief
16 Sitarz introduced Lieutenant Mattie Jaros.
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18 Lieutenant Mattie Jaros provided a power point presentation for the Council titled "Learn the
19 Sounds of Fire Safety. The presentation included the history of Fire Prevention Week, the theme
20 for 2021 "Learn the Sounds of Fire Safety", information on smoke alarms and carbon monoxide
21 alarms (CO). The St. Anthony Fire Department Open House will be held Saturday, October 2,
22 2021 1:00 — 4:00 p.m. This is a free event and attendees will get to see the fire trucks and meet
23 the firefighters. There will be Fire Safety Activities for all ages!
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25 Councilmember Walker stated it was a great presentation and wanted a little more information
26 about the Open House agenda. Lieutenant Jaros stated the doors will be wide open and there will
27 be different booths. There will be a safe house, obstacle course, try on fire gear, safety trivia, and
28 trucks. Councilmember Walker asked about smoke alarms and ability to escape a fire within 2
29 years. Lieutenant Jams stated the synthetic material found in homes today burn very quickly.
30 Technology is a double-edged sword. The alarms allow you to sense it quicker.
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32 Councilmember Webster was thankful for the presentation and the Open House is an educational
33 opportunity.
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35 Councilmember Jensen stated he agrees with what the other Councilmembers have said and
36 thanked Lieutenant Jaros for the presentation.
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38 III. CONSENT AGENDA.
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40 A. Approve September 14, 2021, Council meeting minutes.
41 B. Licenses and permits.
42 C. Claims
43 D. Flexible Benefit Plan Amendment
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45 Motion by Councilmember Walker, seconded by Councilmember Jenson, to approve the Consent
46 Agenda items.
City Council Regular Meeting Minutes
September 28, 2021
Page 3
Motion carried 4-0.
4 IV. PUBLIC HEARING — NONE.
5
V. REPORTS FROM COMMISSION AND STAFF — NONE.
8 VI. GENERAL BUSINESS OF COUNCIL.
9
10 A. Resolution 21-068 — A Resolution Condemning the use of Discriminatory Covenants and
I 1 Approving Participation in the Just Deeds Project Participation.
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13 Mr. Yunker reviewed the Just Deeds project is a coalition of organizations whose mission is to
14 acknowledge, educate, and work to address systemic racism in housing in Minnesota. Coalition
15 members provide free assistance to homeowners to discharge discriminatory covenants from
16 property titles.
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18 Racial or discriminatory covenants were a common tool used from the early 1900s until the
19 1960s to prevent Black, Indigenous, People of Color, and non-Christians from buying property
20 and living in residential neighborhoods across the country. While deemed illegal in 1968, the
21 discriminatory practice had a far-reaching impact on the development of the Twin Cities and
22 communities of color, resulting in racially segregation and creating severe inequities still present
23 today.
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25 The Mapping Prejudice Project, a map of the racial covenants that exist in the region identifies
26 about 400 parcels in the City that contain some form of racial covenant on the property deed.
27 Joining the Just Deeds Project will offer residents assistance in renouncing these covenants on
28 their property.
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30 City Staff is asked to accept the applications from property owners and verify that the address
31 has a restrictive covenant. The process Staff will follow is:
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33 1. Application is received by St. Anthony Staff.
34 2. Staff checks the address on the application to the Mapping Prejudice map.
35 a. If the property is identified on the Mapping Prejudice map, the application is
36 passed along to Just Deeds staff to work with the property owner.
37 b. If the address is not identified on the map, the property owner will be advised to
38 contact a title company to check for restrictive covenants.
39 i. If the title company finds a covenant in the property's title history, staff
40 will pass along to Just Deeds staff to work with the property owner.
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42 If the resolution is adopted, Staff will notify Just Deeds Project staff that the City is officially
43 participating and coordinate with them as applications are received. Staff will make the
44 application available on the City website and include information on the resources available in
45 the City's subsequent newsletter, through social media channels and on the City website. Staff
46 has sent information to the City Attorney to check for racially or otherwise restrictive language
City Council Regular Meeting Minutes
September 28, 2021
Page 4
on any City -owned property and work to discharge any language if found. Staff is also aware of
some residents who would like to volunteer their time to assist with Just Deeds participation.
Staff will work to identify ways to utilize their willingness to assist.
Councilmember Jenson stated he is happy to approve this. He is a member of a Race and Equity
Subcommittee of the Minnesota League of Cities. They worked on this project and passed the
map of St. Anthony along to the Committee.
9 Councilmember Webster thanked City Manager Yunker in bringing this to the City Council for
10 approval.
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12 Councilmember Walker stated the City's participation is more than a symbolic gesture but is also
13 making a statement for justice.
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15 Mayor Pro Tern Randle stated he was not aware of the extent of the racial covenants in St.
16 Anthony until recently. He found it interesting they were all on the south end of St. Anthony. He
17 is glad the Council is approving this.
18
19 Motion by Councilmember Webster, seconded by Councilmember Jenson, to approve Resolution
20 21-068; A Resolution Condemning the use of Discriminatory Covenants and Approving
21 Participation in the Just Deeds Project Participation.
22
23 Motion carried 4-0.
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25 B. Resolution 21-069 — A Resolution Adopting the Wild Turkey Management Plan.
26
27 City Manager Yunker reviewed in the fall of 2020 Staff was contacted by residents that were
28 encountering difficulties in managing wild turkeys on and near their property. The turkeys were
29 causing a nuisance to the residents and the neighborhood, and deterrence techniques were not
30 effective in relocating the flock.
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32 Staff took some time to research options for removal of the turkeys and found that residents do
33 not have options for professional removal services for turkeys. The USDA is currently the only
34 organization able to perform removals, and they will only do so if a City has a formal
35 management plan in place. This plan allows for a City to request a removal permit for public
36 property, or on behalf of a resident/business owner of private property, to have the USDA
37 perform removal if determined to be necessary. To date, wild turkeys have not presented a
38 significant problem on any city -owned property.
39
40 Staff received guidance from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources on implementing a
41 Wild Turkey Management Plan and was provided with a template plan and a workflow
42 document that detailed the steps needed for adoption of a plan. A draft plan was presented to the
43 City Council at their May 11, 2021 Work Session, and direction was given to staff to proceed
44 with drafting a final plan to present for approval.
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City Council Regular Meeting Minutes
September 28, 2021
Page 5
Staff subsequently received feedback on the draft plan from Minnesota Department of Natural
Resources and incorporated those comments into the current draft.
The plan was also presented to the Parks & Environmental Commission at their meeting on
September 13, 2021. The Commission asked general questions regarding the extent of the issue
and removal process and supported the plan as drafted.
Staff is recommending the adoption of a Wild Turkey Management Plan in order to give private
property owners an option for wild turkey removal when all other avenues for deterrence have
been exhausted. There is a cost associated with removal, and staff is recommending that cost be
the responsibility of the property owner. Staff recommends not implementing a fee for the City
Permit, as the staff time to process is anticipated to be minimal. The permit fee and removal cost
can be re-evaluated at any time. This also gives the City an option for removal should wild
turkeys present an issue on publicly -owned property in the future. If this resolution is adopted,
information on wild turkey management and permit application will be added to the City
website, and information will be included in the next edition of the City Newsletter. The
proposed Wild Turkey Management Plan was provided for the Council's review.
Motion by Councilmember Jenson, seconded by Councilmember Walker, to approve Resolution
21-069; A Resolution Adopting the Wild Turkey Management Plan.
24 VII. REPORTS FROM CITY MANAGER AND COUNCIL MEMBERS.
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Motion carried 4-0.
City Manager Yunker reviewed the employee recognition was held last week where the Spirit of
St. Anthony award recipient was announced. Employee milestones were announced. Roseville IT
has spun off into Metro I -Net and Mr. Yunker was on the executive director search committee.
The new executive director is Holly LaRochelle. Jesse Wolfe has been hired by Public Works
Department for full time parks position. The new Superintendent is Zach Lundberg.
Councilmember Webster stated she attended the ribbon cutting for the stadium field.
Councilmember Walker stated he attended the ribbon cutting. Last week he attended the North
Suburban Communications Commission Quarterly Meeting.
Councilmember Jenson stated he attended the ribbon cutting process and was an enjoyable event.
Mayor Pro Tern Randle had no report.
VIII. COMMUNITY FORUM.
City Manager Yunker read an email from Janet Henquinet, 2580 Kenzie Terrace, who just
moved to the area last year, and was asking how she could support a new park at 2701 Kenzie
Terrace. She would like to see the Kenzie area updated.
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City Council Regular Meeting Minutes
September 28, 2021
Page 6
IX. INFORMATION AND ANNOUNCEMENTS.
Mayor Pro Tem Randle announced Coffee with the Council will be held Saturday, October 16
with Mayor Stille and Councilmember Jenson.
Mayor Pro Tem Randle indicated notes should have been received in the last couple of days.
X. ADJOURNMENT.
Mayor Pro Tem Randle adjourned the meeting at 7:50 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Debbie Wolfe
Timesaver O,fSite Secretarial, Inc.
ATTES
Clerk