On April 10th the HRA approved a resolution accepting payment in the amount of $25,000 from the Hmong American Partnership to a loan made in 2003 to D&N,Inc doing business as Mai Village Restaurant, and adding D&N, Inc to the adverse lending list. I have received a lot of e-mails, letters, and phone calls about this mostly because the people writing believe that we "sold" the building for $25,000. This is not true. Please allow me to explain the buy-out of this distressed building.
In April of 2003, Western State Bank, the U.S. Small Business Administration, and the Saint Paul HRA provided financing to D&N, Inc to construct Mai Village Restaurant at 394 University Avenue West. Financing was as follows:
Western State Bank, $1.86 million, 52%, 1st position
Small Business Administration, $751,000, 21%, 2nd position
Saint Paul HRA, $400,000, 11%, 3rd position
D&N, Inc Equity, $595,000, 16%
The position for each of the lenders is important to this story and you will see why later.
D&N, Inc had difficulties from the beginning paying the loan off. Several amendments were made to the financing agreement with the HRA. The second amendment required D&N to lower operating costs. The third amendment increased amounts owed to the HRA to $512,000 and deferred payments. The Western State Bank and SBA loans were also not being paid by the time of the third amendment, and SBA's exposure had grown to $880,000. Western State Bank initiated foreclosure proceedings against D&N, Inc in September of 2012. Western State Bank is the first mortgage holder (first position). The HRA's loan is in third position and therefore subordinate to Western Bank's and SBA's mortgages. The debt owed on the first and second position mortgages exceeds the value of the real estate. Thus, the HRA is owed nothing in the building foreclosure because current foreclosure law requires Western State Bank to be paid off first, SBA to be paid off second, and the HRA to be paid off third when the property is sold. Since the property is not worth the combination of the three mortgages, the HRA would not be entitled to any payments by Western State Bank for its 3rd position. The Ramsey County tax assessor valued the property for taxes payable 2014 at $1.065 million.
The HRA and SBA also held a 50/50 interest (shared 1st position) in the furniture, fixtures, and equipment as collateral for their loans.
In order for Western State Bank, SBA, and the HRA to make any money on this foreclosure, someone would have to step forward to actually purchase the property. Hmong American Partnership (HAP) has stepped forward to purchase the property at 394 University. They offered to pay Western State Bank most of the remaining mortgage owed. HAP offered to pay SBA $100,000 and the HRA $25,000. The HRA asked SBA to share the $125,000 offered by HAP in proportion to the total debt. The HRA debt was 37% and SBA debt was 63% of the remaining debt. This would have increased HRA's recovery to $46,250 and lowered SBA's recovery. However, the SBA is in 2nd position (remember I told you this would be important), and they rejected this request. Since SBA holds 2nd position, they were completely within the bounds of their legal rights to reject the offer.
That brings us to the April 10th HRA meeting. The HRA Commissioners had two choices: accept the $25,000 offer or reject it. Had they decided to reject the offer, they would have to initiate a lawsuit to take possession of the furniture, fixtures, and equipment and then try to sell 10-year-old, used equipment to a second buyer assuming one could be found. The value of this sale would have to exceed $50,000 since we would have to share proceeds of the sale with SBA, and it would not make any sense to go thru all this work and legal expense to end up right back where we started with $25,000 in hand. The HRA voted to accept the $25,000 offer as the best of two bad alternatives.
The question most callers and letter writers ask is "Why didn't we just sell the building?" The short answer is that it was never ours to sell. It was Western State Bank's to sell. Councilmember Thune believes that the owners of Mai Village did the best they could to honor their debts, but the expected revenue never materialized. They are good people and serve wonderful food. They did start a renaissance on that corner that has led to one other new building, a major facelift to another large multi-tenant building, and a planned historic renovation on that corner. But investing in restaurants and bars is a risky business.
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Monday, April 8, 2013
Thune Amends Exercise-Only Facilities Ordinance
Councilmember Stark drafted an amendment to the City's ordinance regulating unstaffed exercise-only facilities. Councilmember Thune requested, and Stark accepted, a friendly amendment to require all exercise-only facilities within mixed-use (residential and commercial) buildings to install mats or other sound-deadening material if they offer weights as an exercise option.
Several residents of Upper Landing appeared at the City Council meeting to testify in favor of the Thune amendment. Monica Hartmann and Tim Griffin, both residents who live above an exercise-only facility in their building, spoke for the group, explaining why this change is important for their quality of life.
Both amendments were approved by the City Council 7-0.
Several residents of Upper Landing appeared at the City Council meeting to testify in favor of the Thune amendment. Monica Hartmann and Tim Griffin, both residents who live above an exercise-only facility in their building, spoke for the group, explaining why this change is important for their quality of life.
Both amendments were approved by the City Council 7-0.
Friday, March 22, 2013
January--February Update
....
Thune in Construction Today Magazine??
Thune was interviewed by Construction Today magazine out of Chicago about the Penfield and Schmidt Brewery construction projects. They don’t post their latest issue on their web site, so we can’t tell if it was in the March/April issue or not. Stayed tuned.
Gordon Parks Statue Downtown
Dave met with Robin Hickman, Seitu Jones, and Jack Becker from Forecast Public Art in January about work to date on the Gordon Parks statue in Landmark Park. Look for an event sometime in the Spring.
Schmidt Brewery Official Ground-Breaking
Dave Thune was overwhelmed with happiness and pride to participate in the Schmidt Brewery artist lofts official ground-breaking ceremony on January 29th. Dominium Developers did a wonderful job of organizing a great party for Saint Paul to celebrate with them this historic moment for West 7th Street.
Golden shovelers l-r: Mark Moorhouse hand, Owen Metz, Armand Brachman, Chris Coleman, Sen. Sandy Pappas, Dave Thune, Betty McCollum, Rafael Ortega, Katie Sieben (DEED), and Paul Sween.
Acme Scenic Arts Classes Up the Avenue
Dave and Pat attended the Acme Scenic Arts/Historic Saint Paul open house at Nance’s studio to celebrate the gorgeous renovations to the exterior of her building done with help from STAR. That same evening, they also attended the Printers’ Row condominium annual meeting to give them a report on all the exciting things happening downtown. The evening was topped off with the Little Bohemia block club party at the Brock’s home.
Tax Forfeited Properties and Community Building
Because the old way of doing business by selling tax forfeited properties to the lowest bidder can lead to a race to the bottom (“Who Owns Flint”, Governing Magazine, January 2008), Dave worked on seven (7) tax forfeited properties starting in January and continuing. Ward 2 contacted next door neighbors of four (4) properties to see if they had an interest in purchasing the tax forfeited land and all four did. In fact, three of the four had contacted the City Council years in advance of the properties going tax forfeit to ask information on the process to purchase them. One of the “neighbors” is actually a community development corporation that is renovating an historic home next door with a shallow lot. They want to purchase the tax forfeited narrow lot in order to construct a garage for the house they are renovating. It’s on an arterial street and has never had a garage. Thune met with two construction contractors who have an interest in building single family homes on two of the remaining lots. The last lot is located on a bluff and should be set aside as unbuildable and preserved as bluffland. Ward 2 is exploring options with the Minnesota Land Trust.
Year of the Dakota Resolution
Thune sponsored a “Year of the Dakota: Remembering, Honoring, and Truth-Telling” resolution that passed the City Council unanimously on January 9th. The Year of the Dakota commemorates the sesquicentennial of the beginning of the Dakota-U.S. War of 1862 that led to the mass execution of 38 Dakota, the largest in the history of the United States, and the genocide of the Dakota people. The resolution specifically called on the City’s Parks and Recreation Department to “work with the Dakota Bdote Restoration Consortium to identify, name, and interpret sacred Native American sites at and nearby the sacred Bdote from the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers to Mounds Park; including listing, mapping, identifying Dakota site names in the Great River Passage Plan, and participating in on-going, collaborative research to further describe, dually name, publicize, and interpret significant Dakota sites in Great River Passage Implementation.” Thune also sponsored a ceremony in the Great Hall following passage at which Dave Thune, Rep. Keith Ellison, and several Year of the Dakota advocates spoke. See story on Year of the Dakota resolution elsewhere on this blog.
WSCO Annual Meeting
Dave attended the WSCO annual meeting at Harriet Island. That same evening, Pat attended the Mayor’s Council on Disabilities social at the invitation of Ward 2 intern Mark Hughes.
Wyoming Street Block Club
Dave, Pat, and Marcia Moermond, Legislative Hearing Officer, attended the Wyoming Street block club in January. Marcia explained the City’s nuisance property ordinances. Block club members have started a spread sheet to document violations in order to share them with the police. Dave encouraged them to call DSI with complaints about excessive trash in the back yard. Pat and Marcia, along with three Saint Paul police officers, attended the February meeting.
Pedro Park, Victoria Park, Douglas Park Funding
The City Council approved State of Minnesota DEED grants to Pedro Park and the Victoria Park Apartments for pollution clean-up. The Council also approved release of some capital maintenance contingency funds, including $35,000 for new lights in Douglas Park and $80,000 for the City’s fiber-optic network.
Parking Problems in Lowertown
The volume of concerns about the loss of parking in Lowertown – the result of a thousand small cuts, led Thune to call a Lowertown parking meeting on January 17th that was attended by almost 100 Lowertown residents and businesses. Most of them expressed real concern that parking is ALREADY a problem in Lowertown and the new Saints ballpark that will bring in a 7,000+ regional audience starting in 2015 will only make it worse. Residents of Market House condos are particularly concerned that the City is taking the parking lot they own by eminent domain in order to build the ballpark on top of it. Paul Mandell, who chairs a new parking committee set up by CapitolRiver Council, also attended and encouraged audience members to get involved with the work of the committee.
Pat attended the February Lowertown parking meeting chaired by Paul Mandell in February. They are working on developing a good assessment of every building in Lowertown, how many residents there are, how many cars those residents drive, how many retail or arts businesses there are, and how many customers they have driving to them on a daily or weekly basis. Contact Melissa Martinez-Sones at CapitolRiver Council to let her know the numbers for your apartment or condo.
Parking Enforcement Problems in Upper Landing
Pat attended a meeting with condo association presidents from two buildings and two senior officers of the police department to discuss parking enforcement at Upper Landing. Residents are frustrated because, on one hand, they don’t see enforcement of the 2 hour parking limit, and on the other hand, residents are getting tickets for parking within 20 feet of a crosswalk with no indication of where 20 feet is. Upper Landing residents want the curbs painted yellow or signs put up informing parkers where 20 feet from the crosswalk actually is. Pat agreed that would only be courteous and helpful. The police officials promised to take the suggestion to Public Works. Update:
Riverview Corridor Study Approved; Streetcars on West 7th, Bus Rapid Transit on Shepard Road
On January 23rd, the City Council approved the Ramsey County Regional Rail Authority’s petition to begin a Riverview Corridor transit study. Councilmember Thune agreed to the study after receiving assurances from Ramsey County Commissioners Rafael Ortega and Jim McDonough, Saint Paul City Council-members Russ Stark and Chris Tolbert, as well as Mayor’s liaison Nancy Homans that LRT or fixed-lane BRT would only be studied on Shepard Road, and only streetcars would be studied on West 7th Street. Dave is working with local businesses and the Saint Paul Chamber of Commerce on organizing a meeting with affected businesses on West 7th Street. Dave is also working on setting up a Fort Road citizen task force to oversee the streetcar study on West 7th Street.
Pat and Ward 2 intern Tom Brock attended a transit meeting with Ramsey County Regional Rail Authority Chair Jim McDonough and Hennepin County Regional Rail Authority Chair Peter McLaughlin put on by the Saint Paul Chamber of Commerce. It was a great place to meet all the people who are working on LRT, arterial Bus Rapid Transit, and Streetcar studies for the Met Council right now. Comm. McLaughlin also briefed us on legislative proposals to double the metro-wide sales tax to build these fixed rail or dedicated-route transit options. It was a great place to meet all the people involved in all these multi-faceted studies.
Jerabek's Bakery, West Side
Pat stopped in to talk to the owner of Jerabek’s Bakery on the West Side (if you haven’t had their chicken pot pie, then you are missing out – Tuesdays are chicken pot pie special days). He was having some trouble with a problem person with mental health issues who had illegally moved into an abandoned commercial building across the street and was generally causing problems for his staff and customers. Jerabek's was very grateful that the Saint Paul police had finally been able to remove the squatter from that building. If you were staying away from Jerabek’s because of the squatter’s antics, it is now safe to return. And if you have never tried Jerabek’s chicken pot pies, French meat pies, rhubarb bars, or Czech pastries, this would be a good time to give yourself a treat.
Neighborhood Honor Roll
Thune attended the Neighborhood Honor Roll ceremony at St. Thomas University. Ward 2 residents who received honors were: Pablo Basques from the West Side (District 3); Tom Richardson, Arlana Vaughn, and Tim Pramas from Summit Hill (District 26), and JoAnn Hawkins, Jim Ivey, and Jim Miller from Downtown (District 17). Congratulations to everyone, and thanks for all the many volunteer hours you give to our community.
Ramsey Hill Snow
One Ramsey Hill resident called to give Public Works an “atta boy” for keeping Ramsey Hill in ship-shape for all the winter storms after that first 14” snowfall (which didn’t go quite as well as all the later storms for cars trying to traverse Ramsey Hill).
Beer Dabbler
The Beer Dabbler moved from Mears Park to Prince Street this year, and the Ward 2 office fielded numerous complaints. The residents and businesses in those buildings were not notified in advance that the Beer Dabbler was going to close the street. Some people with monthly parking contracts had their cars towed from the parking lot. The Beer Dabbler gave out drinks in glasses, and residents were left to clean up broken glass from their lobbies and the street on Monday after the event was over. And the revelers were using the building lobbies as handy places to barf after several hours of fun. Thune held a meeting in his office with four residents who brought written testimony from eight (8) additional residents, with the Beer Dabbler promoter, and Joe Spencer from the Mayor’s office. It was agreed that the Beer Dabbler would not hold future events on Prince Street, and that promoters of other outdoor events would have to do a better job of communicating with surrounding residents and businesses. By the way, Saint Paul City Ordinances prohibit selling intoxicating beverages in glass containers outside licensed establishments, like on the street.
Highland Nursery Gets "Green Acres" Designation
Sue Hustings from Highland Nursery called to let us know that she had finally gotten Green Acres designation from the Minnesota State Tax Court, which will lower her property taxes. And to thank the Ward 2 office for all the help. Congratulations Sue. She is also interested in the Riverview Corridor streetcar study.
Lowertown Arts District
Pat met with Patrick McCutchan, a Lowertown artist who is interested in starting up a community conversation about identifying his neighborhood as the Lowertown Arts District, or maybe even the Lowertown Arts and Historic District. He wants banners or signs or public art identifying it as an arts district and wants to talk about ways to incorporate more public art into Lowertown. Very exciting. If you are interested, visit his Facebook page (Historic & Art District of Lowertown) and sign up.
Blue Ox Mini-Golf in Fort Road
Blue Ox mini-golf company applied for an ArtPlace America grant to construct a mini-golf course at the Schmidt Brewery that will incorporate local art. Did we hear that they had made one of several cuts? One of the principals in Blue Ox is a former director at the Walker Art Center.
Lafayette Bridge Construction Noise this Spring
Pat attended a February meeting with about six Lowertown neighbors, Lunda Construction, and MnDOT about Lunda’s six week noise variance for cutting the existing bridge deck off the Lafayette Bridge. The representatives from Lunda and MnDOT explained the work they will be doing. They need about 18 days of doing this noisy work and are expecting that it will take them about 6 weeks to fit in these 18 days due to weather and other scheduling problems. The residents (and several people who had e-mailed before the meeting) asked for 48-hour notice when Lunda will actually be exercising their noise variance. They agreed to that condition, which Thune placed on the noise variance when it came before the City Council on March 6th. MnDOT does have some white noise machines which they are willing to loan out fox six weeks while supplies last.
Thune in Construction Today Magazine??
Thune was interviewed by Construction Today magazine out of Chicago about the Penfield and Schmidt Brewery construction projects. They don’t post their latest issue on their web site, so we can’t tell if it was in the March/April issue or not. Stayed tuned.
Gordon Parks Statue Downtown
Dave met with Robin Hickman, Seitu Jones, and Jack Becker from Forecast Public Art in January about work to date on the Gordon Parks statue in Landmark Park. Look for an event sometime in the Spring.
Schmidt Brewery Official Ground-Breaking
Dave Thune was overwhelmed with happiness and pride to participate in the Schmidt Brewery artist lofts official ground-breaking ceremony on January 29th. Dominium Developers did a wonderful job of organizing a great party for Saint Paul to celebrate with them this historic moment for West 7th Street.
Golden shovelers l-r: Mark Moorhouse hand, Owen Metz, Armand Brachman, Chris Coleman, Sen. Sandy Pappas, Dave Thune, Betty McCollum, Rafael Ortega, Katie Sieben (DEED), and Paul Sween.
Acme Scenic Arts Classes Up the Avenue
Dave and Pat attended the Acme Scenic Arts/Historic Saint Paul open house at Nance’s studio to celebrate the gorgeous renovations to the exterior of her building done with help from STAR. That same evening, they also attended the Printers’ Row condominium annual meeting to give them a report on all the exciting things happening downtown. The evening was topped off with the Little Bohemia block club party at the Brock’s home.
Tax Forfeited Properties and Community Building
Because the old way of doing business by selling tax forfeited properties to the lowest bidder can lead to a race to the bottom (“Who Owns Flint”, Governing Magazine, January 2008), Dave worked on seven (7) tax forfeited properties starting in January and continuing. Ward 2 contacted next door neighbors of four (4) properties to see if they had an interest in purchasing the tax forfeited land and all four did. In fact, three of the four had contacted the City Council years in advance of the properties going tax forfeit to ask information on the process to purchase them. One of the “neighbors” is actually a community development corporation that is renovating an historic home next door with a shallow lot. They want to purchase the tax forfeited narrow lot in order to construct a garage for the house they are renovating. It’s on an arterial street and has never had a garage. Thune met with two construction contractors who have an interest in building single family homes on two of the remaining lots. The last lot is located on a bluff and should be set aside as unbuildable and preserved as bluffland. Ward 2 is exploring options with the Minnesota Land Trust.
Year of the Dakota Resolution
Thune sponsored a “Year of the Dakota: Remembering, Honoring, and Truth-Telling” resolution that passed the City Council unanimously on January 9th. The Year of the Dakota commemorates the sesquicentennial of the beginning of the Dakota-U.S. War of 1862 that led to the mass execution of 38 Dakota, the largest in the history of the United States, and the genocide of the Dakota people. The resolution specifically called on the City’s Parks and Recreation Department to “work with the Dakota Bdote Restoration Consortium to identify, name, and interpret sacred Native American sites at and nearby the sacred Bdote from the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers to Mounds Park; including listing, mapping, identifying Dakota site names in the Great River Passage Plan, and participating in on-going, collaborative research to further describe, dually name, publicize, and interpret significant Dakota sites in Great River Passage Implementation.” Thune also sponsored a ceremony in the Great Hall following passage at which Dave Thune, Rep. Keith Ellison, and several Year of the Dakota advocates spoke. See story on Year of the Dakota resolution elsewhere on this blog.
WSCO Annual Meeting
Dave attended the WSCO annual meeting at Harriet Island. That same evening, Pat attended the Mayor’s Council on Disabilities social at the invitation of Ward 2 intern Mark Hughes.
Wyoming Street Block Club
Dave, Pat, and Marcia Moermond, Legislative Hearing Officer, attended the Wyoming Street block club in January. Marcia explained the City’s nuisance property ordinances. Block club members have started a spread sheet to document violations in order to share them with the police. Dave encouraged them to call DSI with complaints about excessive trash in the back yard. Pat and Marcia, along with three Saint Paul police officers, attended the February meeting.
Pedro Park, Victoria Park, Douglas Park Funding
The City Council approved State of Minnesota DEED grants to Pedro Park and the Victoria Park Apartments for pollution clean-up. The Council also approved release of some capital maintenance contingency funds, including $35,000 for new lights in Douglas Park and $80,000 for the City’s fiber-optic network.
Parking Problems in Lowertown
The volume of concerns about the loss of parking in Lowertown – the result of a thousand small cuts, led Thune to call a Lowertown parking meeting on January 17th that was attended by almost 100 Lowertown residents and businesses. Most of them expressed real concern that parking is ALREADY a problem in Lowertown and the new Saints ballpark that will bring in a 7,000+ regional audience starting in 2015 will only make it worse. Residents of Market House condos are particularly concerned that the City is taking the parking lot they own by eminent domain in order to build the ballpark on top of it. Paul Mandell, who chairs a new parking committee set up by CapitolRiver Council, also attended and encouraged audience members to get involved with the work of the committee.
Pat attended the February Lowertown parking meeting chaired by Paul Mandell in February. They are working on developing a good assessment of every building in Lowertown, how many residents there are, how many cars those residents drive, how many retail or arts businesses there are, and how many customers they have driving to them on a daily or weekly basis. Contact Melissa Martinez-Sones at CapitolRiver Council to let her know the numbers for your apartment or condo.
Parking Enforcement Problems in Upper Landing
Pat attended a meeting with condo association presidents from two buildings and two senior officers of the police department to discuss parking enforcement at Upper Landing. Residents are frustrated because, on one hand, they don’t see enforcement of the 2 hour parking limit, and on the other hand, residents are getting tickets for parking within 20 feet of a crosswalk with no indication of where 20 feet is. Upper Landing residents want the curbs painted yellow or signs put up informing parkers where 20 feet from the crosswalk actually is. Pat agreed that would only be courteous and helpful. The police officials promised to take the suggestion to Public Works. Update:
Riverview Corridor Study Approved; Streetcars on West 7th, Bus Rapid Transit on Shepard Road
On January 23rd, the City Council approved the Ramsey County Regional Rail Authority’s petition to begin a Riverview Corridor transit study. Councilmember Thune agreed to the study after receiving assurances from Ramsey County Commissioners Rafael Ortega and Jim McDonough, Saint Paul City Council-members Russ Stark and Chris Tolbert, as well as Mayor’s liaison Nancy Homans that LRT or fixed-lane BRT would only be studied on Shepard Road, and only streetcars would be studied on West 7th Street. Dave is working with local businesses and the Saint Paul Chamber of Commerce on organizing a meeting with affected businesses on West 7th Street. Dave is also working on setting up a Fort Road citizen task force to oversee the streetcar study on West 7th Street.
Pat and Ward 2 intern Tom Brock attended a transit meeting with Ramsey County Regional Rail Authority Chair Jim McDonough and Hennepin County Regional Rail Authority Chair Peter McLaughlin put on by the Saint Paul Chamber of Commerce. It was a great place to meet all the people who are working on LRT, arterial Bus Rapid Transit, and Streetcar studies for the Met Council right now. Comm. McLaughlin also briefed us on legislative proposals to double the metro-wide sales tax to build these fixed rail or dedicated-route transit options. It was a great place to meet all the people involved in all these multi-faceted studies.
Jerabek's Bakery, West Side
Pat stopped in to talk to the owner of Jerabek’s Bakery on the West Side (if you haven’t had their chicken pot pie, then you are missing out – Tuesdays are chicken pot pie special days). He was having some trouble with a problem person with mental health issues who had illegally moved into an abandoned commercial building across the street and was generally causing problems for his staff and customers. Jerabek's was very grateful that the Saint Paul police had finally been able to remove the squatter from that building. If you were staying away from Jerabek’s because of the squatter’s antics, it is now safe to return. And if you have never tried Jerabek’s chicken pot pies, French meat pies, rhubarb bars, or Czech pastries, this would be a good time to give yourself a treat.
Neighborhood Honor Roll
Thune attended the Neighborhood Honor Roll ceremony at St. Thomas University. Ward 2 residents who received honors were: Pablo Basques from the West Side (District 3); Tom Richardson, Arlana Vaughn, and Tim Pramas from Summit Hill (District 26), and JoAnn Hawkins, Jim Ivey, and Jim Miller from Downtown (District 17). Congratulations to everyone, and thanks for all the many volunteer hours you give to our community.
Ramsey Hill Snow
One Ramsey Hill resident called to give Public Works an “atta boy” for keeping Ramsey Hill in ship-shape for all the winter storms after that first 14” snowfall (which didn’t go quite as well as all the later storms for cars trying to traverse Ramsey Hill).
Beer Dabbler
The Beer Dabbler moved from Mears Park to Prince Street this year, and the Ward 2 office fielded numerous complaints. The residents and businesses in those buildings were not notified in advance that the Beer Dabbler was going to close the street. Some people with monthly parking contracts had their cars towed from the parking lot. The Beer Dabbler gave out drinks in glasses, and residents were left to clean up broken glass from their lobbies and the street on Monday after the event was over. And the revelers were using the building lobbies as handy places to barf after several hours of fun. Thune held a meeting in his office with four residents who brought written testimony from eight (8) additional residents, with the Beer Dabbler promoter, and Joe Spencer from the Mayor’s office. It was agreed that the Beer Dabbler would not hold future events on Prince Street, and that promoters of other outdoor events would have to do a better job of communicating with surrounding residents and businesses. By the way, Saint Paul City Ordinances prohibit selling intoxicating beverages in glass containers outside licensed establishments, like on the street.
Highland Nursery Gets "Green Acres" Designation
Sue Hustings from Highland Nursery called to let us know that she had finally gotten Green Acres designation from the Minnesota State Tax Court, which will lower her property taxes. And to thank the Ward 2 office for all the help. Congratulations Sue. She is also interested in the Riverview Corridor streetcar study.
Lowertown Arts District
Pat met with Patrick McCutchan, a Lowertown artist who is interested in starting up a community conversation about identifying his neighborhood as the Lowertown Arts District, or maybe even the Lowertown Arts and Historic District. He wants banners or signs or public art identifying it as an arts district and wants to talk about ways to incorporate more public art into Lowertown. Very exciting. If you are interested, visit his Facebook page (Historic & Art District of Lowertown) and sign up.
Blue Ox Mini-Golf in Fort Road
Blue Ox mini-golf company applied for an ArtPlace America grant to construct a mini-golf course at the Schmidt Brewery that will incorporate local art. Did we hear that they had made one of several cuts? One of the principals in Blue Ox is a former director at the Walker Art Center.
Lafayette Bridge Construction Noise this Spring
Pat attended a February meeting with about six Lowertown neighbors, Lunda Construction, and MnDOT about Lunda’s six week noise variance for cutting the existing bridge deck off the Lafayette Bridge. The representatives from Lunda and MnDOT explained the work they will be doing. They need about 18 days of doing this noisy work and are expecting that it will take them about 6 weeks to fit in these 18 days due to weather and other scheduling problems. The residents (and several people who had e-mailed before the meeting) asked for 48-hour notice when Lunda will actually be exercising their noise variance. They agreed to that condition, which Thune placed on the noise variance when it came before the City Council on March 6th. MnDOT does have some white noise machines which they are willing to loan out fox six weeks while supplies last.
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Year of the Dakota Resolution
On January 9th, the City Council approved a resolution sponsored by Councilmember Dave Thune and signed by five of his colleagues: Chris Tolbert, Melvin Carter III, Kathy Lantry, Russ Stark, and Amy Brendmoen. The text of the full resolution is included under this photo from the ceremony following the City Council meeting down in the Great Hall.
WHEREAS, the year 2012 is the sesquicentennial of the beginning of the Dakota-U.S. War of 1862 that led to the mass execution of 38 Dakota, the largest in the history of the United States, and the genocide of the Dakota people; and
WHEREAS, much has yet to be learned about issues revolving around land, reparations and restitution, treaties, genocide, suppression of American Indian spirituality and ceremonies, supporess of indigenous languages, bounties, concentration camps, forced marches, mass executions, and forcible removals; and
WHEREAS, indigenous women, children, and elderly wer eheld in a concentration camp at the base of Fort Snelling, separated from the men, before being exiled to reservations in neighboring states and Canada, and later being stripped of their culture and traditions in boarding schools and subjected to white culture and religions; and
WHEREAS, the complete history of Minnesota must be taught from the perspective of all people that have lived it; Now Therefore
BE IT RESOLVED that every effort must be made to ensure that the Dakota perspective is presented during the year 2012, through discussions at forums, events, symposia, conferences, and workshops to include the complex issues listed above; and
FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED that the City of Saint Paul works to promote the well-being and growth of the American Indian community, including Dakota People, marking the beginning of future dialogues and efforts to rectify the wrongs that were perpetrated during, and since, the year 1862, a tragic and traumatic event for the Dakota People of Minnesota; and
FURTHER BE IN RESOLVED that the City of Saint Paul and its Parks and Recreation Department will work with the Dakota Bdote Restoration Consortium to identify, name, and interpret sacred Native American sites at and nearby the sacred Bdote from the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers to Mounds Park; including listing, mapping, identifying Dakota site names in the Great River Passage Plan, and participating in on-going collaborative research to further describe, dually name, publicize, and interpret significant Dakota sites in the Great River Passage Park Implementation; and
FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED that the year 2013 is hereby designated "The Year of the Dakota: Remembering, Honoring, and Truth-Telling," from the date of passage of this resolution to December 26, 2013.
WHEREAS, much has yet to be learned about issues revolving around land, reparations and restitution, treaties, genocide, suppression of American Indian spirituality and ceremonies, supporess of indigenous languages, bounties, concentration camps, forced marches, mass executions, and forcible removals; and
WHEREAS, indigenous women, children, and elderly wer eheld in a concentration camp at the base of Fort Snelling, separated from the men, before being exiled to reservations in neighboring states and Canada, and later being stripped of their culture and traditions in boarding schools and subjected to white culture and religions; and
WHEREAS, the complete history of Minnesota must be taught from the perspective of all people that have lived it; Now Therefore
BE IT RESOLVED that every effort must be made to ensure that the Dakota perspective is presented during the year 2012, through discussions at forums, events, symposia, conferences, and workshops to include the complex issues listed above; and
FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED that the City of Saint Paul works to promote the well-being and growth of the American Indian community, including Dakota People, marking the beginning of future dialogues and efforts to rectify the wrongs that were perpetrated during, and since, the year 1862, a tragic and traumatic event for the Dakota People of Minnesota; and
FURTHER BE IN RESOLVED that the City of Saint Paul and its Parks and Recreation Department will work with the Dakota Bdote Restoration Consortium to identify, name, and interpret sacred Native American sites at and nearby the sacred Bdote from the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers to Mounds Park; including listing, mapping, identifying Dakota site names in the Great River Passage Plan, and participating in on-going collaborative research to further describe, dually name, publicize, and interpret significant Dakota sites in the Great River Passage Park Implementation; and
FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED that the year 2013 is hereby designated "The Year of the Dakota: Remembering, Honoring, and Truth-Telling," from the date of passage of this resolution to December 26, 2013.
Friday, December 28, 2012
Plaza de Honor Dedication
This past July Dave Thune had the honor of participating in the dedication of the Plaza de Honor, a memorial to Saint Paul veterans located on Harriet Island. Dave has worked with AmVets Mexican American Post #5 for many years to realize the dream of building this memorial on the West Side. In fact, AmVets Post #5 has been working on the Plaza de Honor since May of 2004.
While the Harriet Island memorial honors all veterans, the people behind it had personal goals to promote awareness of the sacrifices made by Mexican Americans from the West Side flats who sent a disproportionately large share of its youth to fight in our U.S. wars, to memorialize those who did not make it back home, and to share with pride the achievements of those Mexican American troops who continue to answer their country's call in times of war and peace.
On a beautiful, clear late afternoon, the ceremony started with a troop of traditional Mexican Native American dancers. We were particularly intrigued by the 3-year-old drummer. At the end of the ceremony, flags of all five branches of the U.S. military were raised on the platform with a bugle playing in the background. It could not have been more perfect.
With a backdrop of veterans of all foreign wars from all branches of the military, Mike Medina led a group of political speakers, including Councilmember Thune and Commander Larry Shellito from the Minnesota National Guard, as well as Mexican-American veterans of all five branches of the U.S. military. They spoke eloquently of their love of their country, their pride in their military careers, and how much this memorial means to them.
This perfect day was all started with a $30,000 STAR grant from Councilmember Thune, which was more than matched by a successful fundraising campaign by Mexican-American AmVets Post #5, as well as an elegant memorial design by Saint Paul Parks and Recreation. So many people deserve a lot of credit for this wonderful memorial. Please drop us a line and let us know who you are.
While the Harriet Island memorial honors all veterans, the people behind it had personal goals to promote awareness of the sacrifices made by Mexican Americans from the West Side flats who sent a disproportionately large share of its youth to fight in our U.S. wars, to memorialize those who did not make it back home, and to share with pride the achievements of those Mexican American troops who continue to answer their country's call in times of war and peace.
On a beautiful, clear late afternoon, the ceremony started with a troop of traditional Mexican Native American dancers. We were particularly intrigued by the 3-year-old drummer. At the end of the ceremony, flags of all five branches of the U.S. military were raised on the platform with a bugle playing in the background. It could not have been more perfect.
Friday, December 7, 2012
September--October 2012 Update
..
St. Matt's Loaves and Fishes Water Heater Three West Side constituents called Dave about St. Matt’s broken hot water heater. St. Matthew’s church on the West Side is the location of a very large and active Loaves and Fishes meal program, and it would be shut down without hot water. Dave intervened with DSI (the license inspection department) and worked out a temporary solution to install a small hot water heater right in the kitchen to provide hot water just to the kitchen.
Pioneer and Endicott Buildings Rebirth Rich Pakonen gave Thune a private tour of the Pioneer and Endicott buildings currently under renovation. Rich is converting this designated historic building to 234 units of rental housing.
Schmidt Brewery Rathskeller Thune sponsored a successful request for $60,000 in STAR funding for the Schmidt Brewery Rathskeller. Those who have driven past will know that construction on the larger Dominium 260 units of artist lofts housing has already started.
Palace Recreation Center On September 12th, the City Council accepted Friends of Baseball’s $21,700 donation to the Palace Rec Center ball fields. Thanks much to Friends of Baseball!
Island Station Moratorium Also on September 12th the City Council approved a bridge moratorium on any building permits for the Island Station building on the Upper Levee. On October 10th, the City Council approved an ordinance making that moratorium run for one year. In the meantime, the ordinance called for an historic survey of the building by the Heritage Preservation Commission and for Parks and Recreation to study historic designation of that property in their Great River Passage comprehensive plan.
Children's Playspace Ribbon Cutting
Dave was thrilled to take part in the official ribbon cutting of the Children’s Playspace on 4th Street and Sibley downtown (also affectionately known as the Train Park). Dave and Pat are shown here with TPT’s Clifford the Big Red Dog. Dave has been rolling a rock uphill for at least 6 years trying to get this ground surface renovation funded. Many thanks to Kim Hyers and Jim Miller for all their work, and to JoAnn Hawkins for the great party!
New West Side Block Clubs Dave met with a new block club forming on Wyoming Street on the West Side in October and Pat met with them in November. The police department also graciously sent representatives to the meetings. They have formed around a problem property in their neighborhood, but they are turning into a real, old-fashioned neighborhood group where people watch out for each other and have fun with each other.
Dave attended a block club meeting on Pablo Basques’ block regarding a problem property in that portion of the West Side. Pablo has got a small army of government officials working with him on making the property safe, and Dave is happy to be one of his privates.
Parking Tickets Near Farmers Market The Ward 2 office received several phone calls from residents in other areas of the city (Wards 5 and 3 specifically) complaining about getting tickets for parking on Wall Street during Farmers Market. People have done that for years without getting tickets, even though it is posted for No Parking Any Time. That is mostly because the City established free parking during Farmers Market times at municipal parking meters and the City as a whole was trying to be more welcoming to people coming in to shop at the Farmers Market. Honestly, it is a little hard to understand why we have 4 traffic lanes on Wall Street. It isn’t that busy a street.
Police Crime Lab On September 19th, the City Council approved a contract with the State of Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to perform all crime lab analyses for the City of Saint Paul. In addition, Chief Tom Smith has assigned one of our best Commanders to study accreditation of our crime lab so that we can decide whether to rebuild a lab that will be worthy of our city or continue using the State’s services.
Art Crawl, Parking Tickets, Xcel Electric Grid Upgrade, Etc
Pat met with Rhea Pappas, President of the Saint Paul Art Collective that semi-annually sponsors the Art Crawl, with John Marshall from Xcel and a couple of Xcel construction managers at their planned construction site north of the Farmers Market on 5th Street. Xcel had construction scheduled for a time period that ran thru the October art crawl to upgrade their service to avoid blackouts like experienced last summer. The Xcel construction managers were wonderful! They showed Rhea exactly where the construction would be, exactly how much space they would take up in the street, and how much space would be left for traffic to get around them.
All in a Council Day's Work On October 3rd, the City Council approved the issuance of a $15 million conduit bond for Gerdau Steel’s expansion on the Mississippi River. Gerdau is an multi-national company that is one of the largest property tax payers in the City of Saint Paul. Gerdau will pay 100% of the bond with interest, and the city collects a fee for being the “banker.” Also on October 3rd, Thune helped a veteran who is also a benched trades union guy keep his house by forgiving several city fines.
Wabasha Partners Clean up the Street Dave Thune and Pat Lindgren attended the October meeting of the Wabasha Partners. What a fun group! They are businesses, nonprofits and arts organizations that have banded to improve the streetscape appearance and brand of Wabasha Street. They are interested in developing a STAR grant proposal for 2013 for improved benches, newspaper racks, street lights, etc. Wabasha Partners also had bus stop issues.
Art and Mini-Golf Thune met with Jennifer Pennington, who is interested in creating an art installation/ mini-golf range at the Schmidt Brewery. Art mini-golf ranges had their beginnings at the Walker Art Center and is catching on nationwide. Yes, Ward 2 is on the putting edge!
Summit Hill Community Gardens
Pat met with Kate Pearce, Jeff Roy, Daniel Halsey (garden designer), and Mark Granlund from Saint Paul Parks out at Linwood community garden site to discuss what they needed to do to appeal the Parks Commission ruling against their garden at Linwood. Mark was very helpful. Apparently the Commission misunderstood a phrase the Linwood garden proponents had used in their application. A few words changed in the application, plus assistance from SHA to turn on and bleed off the water line once a year, should get the Linwood community garden a construction permit in the Spring. Please consider supporting their work at Kickstarter. Excellent work, Kate!
Big, Bright Red, Flashing Light Pat attended a neighborly meeting at Airye Condos organized by Karen Brennan to discuss the giant, bright red, flashing light on the BNSF communications tower that was making everyone’s life miserable. We had a lovely time and agreed that the condo association needed to get someone from MAC and/or the FAA to attend a similar meeting. Pat contacted Pat Mosites at MAC, who proved to be both a font of knowledge about FAA regulations, and a great ally in getting the giant, bright red, flashing light “re-evaluated.” BNSF requested a “re-evaluation” and Julie Bauch, manager of the 180 East 5th Street Building, relayed the good news that the FAA had approved lowering the wattage and turning off the flashing feature. Good job Karen!
Barstools on Wheels in the Hood To protect the neighborhoods thru which these barstools on wheels pass, Thune passed an ordinance regulating pedal cars (of the pub variety) on October 10th. The ordinance had been taken up, amended, and laid over many times while Dave and the City’s licensing division worked with owners of the newly regulated vehicles. The ordinance requires them to follow all current noise ordinances; that is, if you can hear them inside your house after 10 pm, they are too loud.
Fully Adaptive Tot Lot
Thune met with John Marshall from Xcel Energy about the fully adaptable tot lot at High Bridge Park. Jon Kerr, with Greening the Avenue, is working on locating some photos and resources for adaptable playground equipment, designers, and equipment suppliers. John Marshall had offered to be helpful in speaking to a friend or two about locating some charitable funding for the tot lot. This is a high priority for Dave.
Parking in Lowertown The Ward 2 office and Dave’s coffee shop are bursting at the seams with all the people, building managers, and businesses in Lowertown who are concerned about their loss of parking, even more loss of parking planned in the future, and their economic survival. Dave is planning a joint meeting with the CapitolRiver Council about the parking issues in Lowertown.
Annual Meetings - Annual Dinners Pat and Marit Brock attended the Summit Hill Association annual meeting at Linwood. A lot of first-time Board members were elected, and some old friends re-elected. And the desserts were delicious. Congratulations!
Dave, Pat and Sue attended the West 7th Community Center spaghetti dinner.
Tom Brock New Intern at Ward 2
Tom Brock started interning in Dave’s office. Tom has worked with the Saint Paul Convention and Visitors Bureau in the past and has just recently completed a degree program at Concordia University. He will be working on transportation issues for Ward 2 over the next few months. Stop in and visit him on Thursdays.
West Side Flats Development Agreement The Housing and Revelopment Authority (HRA), which Dave Thune chairs, approved a developer agreement with George Sherman’s West Side Flats project on October 10th and October 24th. Construction has now begun.
Noise Within a Single Building After many months of trying to get an ordinance written that would expand the noise ordinance to cover noise within one single building, Thune was told by a city attorney that the existing noise ordinance DOES cover such noise complaints. Dave said, “I intend to take that at face value and begin asking the City to cite offenders.”
Former Wilder Site, 180 South Grotto The Ward 2 office worked with the concerned neighbors and the developer of the old Wilder site at 180 South Grotto with water, sewer, and stormwater run-off utilities. There were some practical issues that had to be resolved with Public Works. Everything seems to be humming along with getting those properties ready to sell to families who want to build their dream home on Fairmount or Osceola.
St. Matt's Loaves and Fishes Water Heater Three West Side constituents called Dave about St. Matt’s broken hot water heater. St. Matthew’s church on the West Side is the location of a very large and active Loaves and Fishes meal program, and it would be shut down without hot water. Dave intervened with DSI (the license inspection department) and worked out a temporary solution to install a small hot water heater right in the kitchen to provide hot water just to the kitchen.
Pioneer and Endicott Buildings Rebirth Rich Pakonen gave Thune a private tour of the Pioneer and Endicott buildings currently under renovation. Rich is converting this designated historic building to 234 units of rental housing.
Schmidt Brewery Rathskeller Thune sponsored a successful request for $60,000 in STAR funding for the Schmidt Brewery Rathskeller. Those who have driven past will know that construction on the larger Dominium 260 units of artist lofts housing has already started.
Palace Recreation Center On September 12th, the City Council accepted Friends of Baseball’s $21,700 donation to the Palace Rec Center ball fields. Thanks much to Friends of Baseball!
Island Station Moratorium Also on September 12th the City Council approved a bridge moratorium on any building permits for the Island Station building on the Upper Levee. On October 10th, the City Council approved an ordinance making that moratorium run for one year. In the meantime, the ordinance called for an historic survey of the building by the Heritage Preservation Commission and for Parks and Recreation to study historic designation of that property in their Great River Passage comprehensive plan.
Children's Playspace Ribbon Cutting
New West Side Block Clubs Dave met with a new block club forming on Wyoming Street on the West Side in October and Pat met with them in November. The police department also graciously sent representatives to the meetings. They have formed around a problem property in their neighborhood, but they are turning into a real, old-fashioned neighborhood group where people watch out for each other and have fun with each other.
Dave attended a block club meeting on Pablo Basques’ block regarding a problem property in that portion of the West Side. Pablo has got a small army of government officials working with him on making the property safe, and Dave is happy to be one of his privates.
Parking Tickets Near Farmers Market The Ward 2 office received several phone calls from residents in other areas of the city (Wards 5 and 3 specifically) complaining about getting tickets for parking on Wall Street during Farmers Market. People have done that for years without getting tickets, even though it is posted for No Parking Any Time. That is mostly because the City established free parking during Farmers Market times at municipal parking meters and the City as a whole was trying to be more welcoming to people coming in to shop at the Farmers Market. Honestly, it is a little hard to understand why we have 4 traffic lanes on Wall Street. It isn’t that busy a street.
Police Crime Lab On September 19th, the City Council approved a contract with the State of Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to perform all crime lab analyses for the City of Saint Paul. In addition, Chief Tom Smith has assigned one of our best Commanders to study accreditation of our crime lab so that we can decide whether to rebuild a lab that will be worthy of our city or continue using the State’s services.
Art Crawl, Parking Tickets, Xcel Electric Grid Upgrade, Etc
All in a Council Day's Work On October 3rd, the City Council approved the issuance of a $15 million conduit bond for Gerdau Steel’s expansion on the Mississippi River. Gerdau is an multi-national company that is one of the largest property tax payers in the City of Saint Paul. Gerdau will pay 100% of the bond with interest, and the city collects a fee for being the “banker.” Also on October 3rd, Thune helped a veteran who is also a benched trades union guy keep his house by forgiving several city fines.
Wabasha Partners Clean up the Street Dave Thune and Pat Lindgren attended the October meeting of the Wabasha Partners. What a fun group! They are businesses, nonprofits and arts organizations that have banded to improve the streetscape appearance and brand of Wabasha Street. They are interested in developing a STAR grant proposal for 2013 for improved benches, newspaper racks, street lights, etc. Wabasha Partners also had bus stop issues.
Art and Mini-Golf Thune met with Jennifer Pennington, who is interested in creating an art installation/ mini-golf range at the Schmidt Brewery. Art mini-golf ranges had their beginnings at the Walker Art Center and is catching on nationwide. Yes, Ward 2 is on the putting edge!
Summit Hill Community Gardens
Big, Bright Red, Flashing Light Pat attended a neighborly meeting at Airye Condos organized by Karen Brennan to discuss the giant, bright red, flashing light on the BNSF communications tower that was making everyone’s life miserable. We had a lovely time and agreed that the condo association needed to get someone from MAC and/or the FAA to attend a similar meeting. Pat contacted Pat Mosites at MAC, who proved to be both a font of knowledge about FAA regulations, and a great ally in getting the giant, bright red, flashing light “re-evaluated.” BNSF requested a “re-evaluation” and Julie Bauch, manager of the 180 East 5th Street Building, relayed the good news that the FAA had approved lowering the wattage and turning off the flashing feature. Good job Karen!
Barstools on Wheels in the Hood To protect the neighborhoods thru which these barstools on wheels pass, Thune passed an ordinance regulating pedal cars (of the pub variety) on October 10th. The ordinance had been taken up, amended, and laid over many times while Dave and the City’s licensing division worked with owners of the newly regulated vehicles. The ordinance requires them to follow all current noise ordinances; that is, if you can hear them inside your house after 10 pm, they are too loud.
Fully Adaptive Tot Lot
Parking in Lowertown The Ward 2 office and Dave’s coffee shop are bursting at the seams with all the people, building managers, and businesses in Lowertown who are concerned about their loss of parking, even more loss of parking planned in the future, and their economic survival. Dave is planning a joint meeting with the CapitolRiver Council about the parking issues in Lowertown.
Annual Meetings - Annual Dinners Pat and Marit Brock attended the Summit Hill Association annual meeting at Linwood. A lot of first-time Board members were elected, and some old friends re-elected. And the desserts were delicious. Congratulations!
Dave, Pat and Sue attended the West 7th Community Center spaghetti dinner.
Tom Brock New Intern at Ward 2
West Side Flats Development Agreement The Housing and Revelopment Authority (HRA), which Dave Thune chairs, approved a developer agreement with George Sherman’s West Side Flats project on October 10th and October 24th. Construction has now begun.
Noise Within a Single Building After many months of trying to get an ordinance written that would expand the noise ordinance to cover noise within one single building, Thune was told by a city attorney that the existing noise ordinance DOES cover such noise complaints. Dave said, “I intend to take that at face value and begin asking the City to cite offenders.”
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
November 7 Council Meeting
Busy day at the Saint Paul City Council today:
1). We authorized the Police Department to enter into a mutual aid and assistance agreement with the City of Minneapolis. This allows us to each call on extra officers from our twin city in an emergency situation. This is used very rarely, but is an enormous benefit when it's needed.
2). We authorized an easement to the Saint Paul Port Authority for the Port's barge terminal #2 property.
3). We granted temporary easements to MnDOT for the Lafayette Bridge on-going construction project.
4). We extended our contract with the State of Minnesota Department of Health to act as the locally designated agent for all environmental health licensing, inspection, reporting and enforcement within the City of Saint Paul. This would include restaurants, grills, pizzerias, coffee shops, and food trucks - among other things.
5). The Council amended and then held a public hearing on the Planning Commission's proposed changes to ordinances relating to nonconforming lots, uses, structures, and signs. We changed petition requirements from the proposed 60% of neighboring properties back to the original 67% signature requirement.
6). We accepted an additional $156,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for the Mississippi River Port surveillance camera project.
1). We authorized the Police Department to enter into a mutual aid and assistance agreement with the City of Minneapolis. This allows us to each call on extra officers from our twin city in an emergency situation. This is used very rarely, but is an enormous benefit when it's needed.
2). We authorized an easement to the Saint Paul Port Authority for the Port's barge terminal #2 property.
3). We granted temporary easements to MnDOT for the Lafayette Bridge on-going construction project.
4). We extended our contract with the State of Minnesota Department of Health to act as the locally designated agent for all environmental health licensing, inspection, reporting and enforcement within the City of Saint Paul. This would include restaurants, grills, pizzerias, coffee shops, and food trucks - among other things.
5). The Council amended and then held a public hearing on the Planning Commission's proposed changes to ordinances relating to nonconforming lots, uses, structures, and signs. We changed petition requirements from the proposed 60% of neighboring properties back to the original 67% signature requirement.
6). We accepted an additional $156,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for the Mississippi River Port surveillance camera project.
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