The site of Weyerhauser lumber, which will be demolished and have housing and a park built in its place.
At the Westgate Green Line station, on the western border of Ward 4, Weyerhauser lumber has been purchased by Dominium who is planning senior and workforce housing development. I have been working over recent months with City staff, neighborhood stakeholders, and area property owners to carve out a park space that's called for in the planning documents for the Westgate station of the Green Line. This space will eventually serve existing and future residents and businesses.
I am happy to report that 2 acres have been acquired for a park in this area. The City is currently working with a consultant to develop a high-level framework for development, open space, and bike-ped connections in this area. Specific design concepts for the park space will be developed in the future.
Conceptual rendering of the work to occur in Dickerman this summer.
After many years of planning and attempts to raise the necessary funds, the western portion of Dickerman Park -- between Fairview and Wheeler -- will begin construction late spring/early summer. More information on the design process and committee membership here.
The City completed a community-wide greenhouse gas emissions inventory in December 2016. The results will be posted on the Compact of Mayors website, and you can view some of the actions the City has already taken here.
Community meetings to inform the climate action planning are underway. You can learn more about this planning work and watch presentations from the meetings on energy use in buildings and public health and community resiliency here. Another meeting on transportation, waste, and natural resources will be scheduled soon.
The rollout of the City's new recycling program, being handled via a contract with Eureka Recycling, was not smooth for everyone in the City. This was a major systems change involving over 84,000 households. My office and fellow Councilmembers' offices fielded and assisted in troubleshooting for constituents whose recycling was not picked up -- in some cases once, and in some cases repeatedly. In early February, the City Council heard a staff report (links to a document to download) on the rollout, and will be hearing from staff again in the coming weeks.
Highlights of the February staff report on the recycling program are that there was a 19% increase in materials collected city-wide over the same period in 2016. It's a 24% increase for the single-family and small apartment building program.
If there are still constituents not receiving service, please be in contact with me so that we can remedy the situation and fully realize the improved recycling program that the City envisions, which is a program informed by community feedback.
Last week, the City Council passed a resolution regarding coordinated trash collection and directing staff to move forward on two tracks -- continuing to negotiate with the existing haulers to try to come to an agreement on a coordinated trash-hauling system, and also forming what's called an "Organized Collection Options Committee" that is mandated by state legislation if the City were to issue an RFP for coordinated collection in the City. I will be chairing this committee, but am optimistic that staff and the haulers will continue to negotiate in good faith and that an RFP won't be necessary.
The City Council has been hearing from constituents on both sides of this issue in recent weeks, which adds to the list of constituents we've heard from over the past two years. As this moves forward, there will also be a public hearing at City Council -- date to be determined. For more information on the current process, how we got here, and the priorities of the City Council -- informed by the community -- you can visit the Coordinated Collection website.
The Saint Paul Grand Round, originally envisioned in the late 1800s, is in the process of getting a big boost. A segment of Wheelock was built last year, with another segment being constructed this year. Also this year, pending City Council approval -- with a public hearing later this spring -- a protected cycle track will be installed on the Pelham Bikeway.
Thanks to the Metropolitan Council's Regional Solicitation, the City will be receiving $10.5 million in federal funding to build out additional segments of the Grand Round on Como and Johnson in just a few years' time. Design details on those segments, including community conversations, still need to occur.
Yesterday, the City's first Pedestrian Safety Advocate started work in Public Works. Thanks to a conversation I had with McKnight Foundation program staff about pedestrian safety in Saint Paul and how it relates to public health and economic vitality, and a subsequent successful grant application, the position is mostly grant-funded for the first year.
Pedestrian Safety Advocate Fay Simer's primary charge in her first year is to work with a consultant to develop a Citywide Pedestrian Plan as a companion to the Bicycle Plan. The City gets many requests for traffic calming and pedestrian safety improvements, and the goal of the pedestrian plan will be to identify how to prioritize where limited resources get allocated -- and in a data-driven, equitable fashion. There will certainly be community engagement opportunities on this plan, which I will keep you apprised of.
We're coming upon road construction season again in the City. You can find a list of City projects here, which includes Ward 4 streets: Como Avenue and Raymond Avenue.
The City is in the process of revising its Comprehensive Plan to reflect a vision for what the City will look like in 2040. In 2016, staff talked with 1,600 representative residents to develop themes and priorities to guide comprehensive planning. You can learn more about the entire process, individual planning areas (transportation, land use, historic preservation, to name a few) and sign up for email updates to be notified as the process unfolds.
City staff are continuing to work to consider options for reforming the Capital Improvement Budget (CIB) process to be more equitable and inclusive, as well as more strategic and fiscally responsible. They have been and are continuing to do mapping of the old process -- what worked and didn't work -- with internal and external stakeholders. More background on the goals and process for CIB can be found here.
Last week, I attended a community meeting about police brutality. The High School for the Recording Arts on University Avenue just across the street from Ward 4 hosted the conversation, and I was joined by Councilmembers Rebecca Noecker and Dai Thao, as well as Mayor Coleman and Police Chief Todd Axtell. I have a commitment to ongoing dialogue on these important issues, and action that can ensue from substantive, intentional conversation.
Another opportunity for dialogue will occur on Thursday, April 20, from 6-8pm at the Progressive Baptist Church, 1505 Burns Avenue. The Saint Paul Black Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance, Saint Paul Branch of the NAACP and African American Leadership Council invites the community to an open, honest and direct conversation with the Mayor, Police Chief, and a majority of the City Council. The purpose of the community meeting is to discuss the tragic death of Brother Cordale Handy and other community concerns with our elected and appointed city officials.
My office has been working with Hamline Midway neighborhood organizations as well as youth organizations to develop more positive programming and employment options for youth in the neighborhood. There will be more details coming soon, including how you can participate.
I will also be working with new Western Police District Senior Commander Steve Anderson to organize a community meeting in May as a follow-up to the one hosted in November. The goal would be to hear the police's plans for this summer near Hamline Park and along the Snelling corridor, as well as for neighbors to express concerns and thoughts about policing and crime in the neighborhood.
The City of Saint Paul's Right Track youth employment program is off to a great start in 2017. 500 youth interviewed for 215 positions, and program staff are working hard to increase the number of jobs to meet demand in the future.
I was glad to have organized an effort between Councilmembers Brendmoen and Prince to use some of our modest office budgets to hire a Right Track intern to work in Public Works and with Police to support the Stop for Me pedestrian safety education and enforcement campaign over the summer.
For youth who did not apply for Right Track, or were not selected for positions, below are some other summer employment options:
City of Saint Paul
Genesys Works
Conservation Corps
YMCA Twin Cities
Wilderness Inquiry Outdoor Careers Academy
YouthCARE
Cerenity Senior Care
Como Zoo & Conservatory Seasonal Public Educators
I have heard from a number of constituents regarding their concerns for our diverse immigrant
community and President Trump's Executive Order dealing with so-called
"Sanctuary Cities." In St. Paul we have a
longstanding ordinance that clearly separates the responsibilities of
local law enforcement from those of federal immigration officials. As such, residents of St. Paul, regardless of their immigration status, can feel
safe calling the police when they need help or when they see something
suspicious without fear of being asked their immigration status. In this
way, our current policy is important to public safety and it has been supported
by every Police Chief in St. Paul for many years and by chiefs of police around
the country because of the public safety benefits.
At
this point, my understanding of the Executive Order is that it asks Federal
Departments to stop providing funding to cities and counties that actively
reject requests for cooperation from federal Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) officials. A request from ICE might be to detain
someone in the County jail who has already been arrested for another reason.
Whether or not to do this is under the jurisdiction of Ramsey County, so this topic is of interest to you, I encourage you to also consider contacting your County
Commissioner.
There
is a lot of compelling information out there, including this recent
article in the Washington Post,
that suggests that federal law is established in this area and that the
Executive Order may not be legal to enforce.
All
of that said, I feel that President's Trump's Executive Order is terrible
federal policy, and I have no intention of changing anything we currently do in
St. Paul, even if federal funding is at stake. We are a country and a
community of immigrants and the anti-immigrant strain that we are seeing from
this Administration is harmful to the country and harmful to the residents of
St. Paul and our values.
The City Council has also passed a resolution directing our City Attorney's Office and Human Rights and Equal Economic Opportunity departments to support residents of Saint Paul who may be caught up in the travel ban and assist them in reuniting with their families.
|