[2:22] >> council will start in 30 seconds

[2:26] here.

[2:28] it says 5:30 on my clock.

[2:50] >> good evening, mr. Van tassle and

[2:58] company, will you be coming forward for

[3:00] the community as a whole.

[3:01] we'll get started when you're ready.

[3:04] remind me of your name, please.

[3:10] >> nephew, council kennedy and

[3:14] president nephew, my name is susan

[3:16] kelly and I'm the plan of the planned

[3:19] department and I'm here with director

[3:23] anne vantassle along with the community

[3:26] members, chair steve wick, annie

[3:30] schwartz and each one will give a brief

[3:33] presentation on these recommendations.

[3:35] first, we are very grateful to be here

[3:39] and also very grateful for all the work

[3:41] that this community has been doing.

[3:42] this community has been reviewing over

[3:44] 500 pages of applications and seeing

[3:47] what is best for community needs 2026.

[3:51] they have reviewed based on needs that

[3:56] were described on hearings and also

[3:58] were currently needed.

[4:00] last year with these funds, they were

[4:02] able to provide, the community home

[4:06] funds and these chief funds were able

[4:09] to provide over 200 units of affordable

[4:13] housing, job training for over 400

[4:15] people and provide 18,000 meals and 91

[4:20] families and shelter housing service to

[4:24] over 2000 people who are homeless or

[4:27] at-risk of becoming homeless.

[4:29] reviewing and scoring applications and

[4:31] to make sure we meet the best needs for

[4:33] 2026.

[4:35] and with that, I will introduce steve.

[4:45] >> thank you, susan, good evening

[4:47] counselors.

[4:48] so my name is steve wick and as chair

[4:52] of my community, I want to thank you

[4:54] for giving us this time tonight to

[4:56] present our work and our

[4:57] recommendations for funding.

[4:59] before we begin, I want to provide some

[5:01] process.

[5:04] hud requires public participation

[5:06] especially low income populations.

[5:11] we accomplished through through service

[5:14] and questionnaires among other

[5:15] opportunities.

[5:16] a faof-year consolidated plan was

[5:18] adopted last year during an input

[5:19] process.

[5:22] the previous consolidated plan, and the

[5:26] current consolidated plan covers 2025

[5:29] through 2029, a plan for those not

[5:31] familiar is a very prescriptive

[5:37] document.

[5:38] if you do get a copy of it t reading

[5:42] the summary is a good place to start.

[5:46] neighborhood housing, neighborhood

[5:48] reinvitation, increasing income,

[5:50] creating living wage jobs, homeless

[5:53] nels services, food access, childcare

[5:56] access and community development

[5:57] facilities.

[5:59] hud also requires that the five-year

[6:02] consolidated plan be reviewed annually

[6:09] to and was determined.

[6:10] thises called an action plan.

[6:14] tonight, we'll be presenting the action

[6:15] plan.

[6:21] the priorities are for this action plan.

[6:23] hud requires that they also have public

[6:26] input which are gathered again by

[6:28] community sessions and input from

[6:30] agencies that serve the community.

[6:32] this year, we also had some special

[6:35] emphasis on four areas, increasing

[6:38] childcare access and/or children's

[6:39] programming.

[6:40] preparing for a additional work for

[6:45] medicated snap benefits.

[6:47] providing additional innovation or

[6:49] enhancement downtown and colocation of

[6:50] services.

[6:52] so multiple of these additional goals

[6:54] are seen throughout the proposals that

[6:56] we have recommended for funding.

[6:58] as a note, this year the community

[7:01] received almost million dollars in

[7:03] application requests and we expect to

[7:05] receive just over 3 million dollars in

[7:07] funding from hud.

[7:08] should there be a variance in the

[7:11] expected award, we are asking for the

[7:13] adoption of contingency plan of each of

[7:17] the funding proposals tonight that you

[7:18] have.

[7:20] members of the committee have put in

[7:22] long hours as volunteers provide input

[7:25] for the application process.

[7:26] they've been looked over information,

[7:29] and reviewed the application submitted

[7:32] to organizations.

[7:33] recommendation that we are presenting

[7:35] tonight, came after months of efforts

[7:37] and long hours of discussion and

[7:39] understand that with limited funding

[7:43] not every need would be met.

[7:45] so to start off we're going to dig into

[7:47] the block grant recommendations.

[7:49] I'm going to review three of those.

[7:54] so to start with our housing,

[7:57] recommendation, this one is receiving

[7:58] the most funds at 623,000 dollars.

[8:03] you'll notice that the committee had

[8:06] made a precommitment of funds to the

[8:10] union mission, unfortunately, they were

[8:11] unable to secure the low income housing

[8:14] funds necessary to complete that

[8:16] project at this time.

[8:18] so the silver lining is that it freed

[8:20] up fund to go be moved around to other

[8:23] areas including our public facilities.

[8:25] actually, I should note within the

[8:27] housing there are 70 new units that the

[8:31] funds are being recommended tonight.

[8:32] so I'm going to go into public

[8:35] facilities.

[8:37] public facilities are structure that's

[8:40] available and address a need.

[8:41] those needs can vary as you can see

[8:44] from the recommended projects tonight.

[8:47] each project here addressed one of the

[8:50] consolidated goal plans I mention

[8:51] approximated earlier.

[8:53] there is 47 2000 being recommended to

[8:56] public facilities.

[8:58] the final piece is public services.

[9:01] total public service south side 35 2000

[9:04] which is 15 percent of the hud cap on

[9:08] community block.

[9:10] public services activities cover a wide

[9:13] range of various activities and

[9:15] sometimes we're able to get some of

[9:18] those activities covered under

[9:20] different chunks of community block

[9:23] grant funding.

[9:24] so we try to move things around to make

[9:27] sure the cap is not being too

[9:30] restrictive to what we can fund.

[9:33] let's see here.

[9:35] but because of that, we try to fit the

[9:40] programs where ever possible.

[9:42] and difficult decisions for funding

[9:45] recommendations, we often get public

[9:47] service recommendations.

[9:49] utilizing our scoring and community

[9:52] needs processes and programs in making

[9:54] those recommendations.

[9:56] with that, those are my three sections,

[9:58] if you have any questions about any of

[10:02] those, I can try to answer them

[10:05] otherwise, I can hand them over to

[10:07] another community member.

[10:08] >> queue.

[10:12] council randorf.

[10:14] >> do we have any documents, to follow

[10:17] along as you're presenting?

[10:18] >> you can see some of the information

[10:20] in the resolutions, yes, thank you.

[10:22] >> okay.

[10:23] >> so you'll just let us know what

[10:26] you're referring to, it's a little hard

[10:29] to digest.

[10:30] >> sure, sure the so the block grant is

[10:35] broken into four areas, housing and

[10:37] public facilities.

[10:38] and then had the fourth is economic

[10:41] development.

[10:42] >> if I may, are you specifically

[10:44] speaking torres losings 00451234

[10:50] >> potentially.

[10:51] >> okay.

[10:55] >> actually, I have not read the

[10:57] resolution.

[10:58] >> if you can help them and refer to

[11:00] maybe the resolution that they would be

[11:02] speaking on, that would be helpful.

[11:06] >> my apologies, I am so sorry about

[11:07] that.

[11:08] >> that's okay.

[11:26] >> this res lubesinger 26-0053, I

[11:30] believe.

[11:31] >> okay.

[11:36] >> if you just give us just a minute to

[11:41] get acclimated here.

[12:06] could you give me that number again,

[12:07] please.

[12:09] >> 0055.

[12:14] >> I believe it's 0053.

[12:16] >> thank you.

[12:18] >> counselors any other?

[12:21] >> we also have the opportunity to pull

[12:24] these items before, if we have more

[12:26] questions than is going to be a lawable

[12:29] during this community as a whole.

[12:31] are we able to move forward?

[12:36] any other questions.

[12:37] seeing none, please continue.

[12:39] >> thank you, so the fourth and final

[12:41] session is the economic development and

[12:44] I'm going to invite annie shwartz out

[12:50] to present that.

[12:51] >> again, if that's connected to our

[12:53] resolution, if you can refer to that,

[12:56] that would be helpful.

[12:57] it's the same one?

[12:58] >> yes, it's 0053.

[13:01] >> so it looks like we have a quite a

[13:04] few, three or four of them.

[13:06] so thank you.

[13:12] >> good evening, as I mentioned, I'll

[13:14] be talking to the economic.

[13:16] >> could you state your name, please.

[13:19] >> speaker: sorry, annie schwartz.

[13:21] >> thank you.

[13:24] >> economic development focuses on

[13:26] creating jobs.

[13:28] that's accomplished through three areas.

[13:29] the first was job training, that's

[13:33] funding to lifehouse which is focused

[13:36] on youth, goodwill, aka sore and family

[13:40] center.

[13:41] the second area was assisting small

[13:44] business through the entrepreneur fund

[13:47] and family rise together.

[13:49] as stated earlier, childcare has been a

[13:51] state of the priority by the community

[13:55] and that, we accomplished that through

[13:57] funding to train people working in the

[13:59] childcare industry.

[14:01] and the total funding for that area is

[14:05] 495,000.

[14:11] any questions on that section?

[14:16] okay, I'll introduce my colleague,

[14:19] shannon lee.

[14:20] >> thank you.

[14:30] >> thank you, an other and thank you

[14:33] counselor.

[14:36] the one to follow for mine mine is 0054.

[14:41] I'll be talking about home funding

[14:43] which is quick and to the point.

[14:45] we're looking at 450,000 and that will

[14:48] be divided between, the hra for some

[14:54] homeless rental assistance programming.

[15:02] in 5 new units for the one roof and

[15:07] center housing apartments 30 which is

[15:08] in process.

[15:15] and with that, I'm going to turn it

[15:18] over to will wilson.

[15:20] >> good evening, members.

[15:24] I am here to talk about resolution

[15:31] h550--which stand for emergency

[15:33] solutions grant.

[15:35] so this portion of funding.

[15:37] there are five activities that are a

[15:39] lawable during this portion of the

[15:41] funding, straight out rach, shelter,

[15:44] services homeless prevention, and

[15:45] housing and then the homeless

[15:48] management information system which is

[15:50] what the system uses to track people as

[15:54] they come through the programs.

[15:59] we received applications for about

[16:08] 232,00 from this funding source.

[16:09] and we were able to fund 27 2000.

[16:15] the lit of agencies is in the

[16:16] resolution.

[16:18] and they do cover all five of those

[16:20] areas within what is a lawable for the

[16:23] grant.

[16:24] the next portion of funding that I

[16:26] would like to talk about is embedded in

[16:29] the other resolutions as well but it

[16:30] has to do with administration.

[16:32] each of these funding sources that's a

[16:35] portion of funding that is set aside

[16:38] for administration and I want to take a

[16:41] moment to thank the staff that work on

[16:42] this.

[16:45] it's, it, the work that goes into it is

[16:50] not just, getting input from my

[16:52] community, it's explaining to us as a

[16:53] community members.

[16:56] it's literally translating what we want

[16:58] to have happen into something that hud

[17:00] will understand and it's doing that in

[17:02] an environment that is changing rapidly.

[17:04] I wanted to give a kudos to the staff,

[17:09] susan phyllis, hannah, sam, jen, others

[17:12] as well.

[17:14] it's, it's a major undertaking and I, I

[17:17] just want to speak on behalf of them

[17:19] and to justify the funding for

[17:22] administration that is going to this

[17:23] program.

[17:24] last thing that I will talk about is

[17:27] the contingency plan which as our chair

[17:30] mentioned is embedded in these other

[17:33] resolutions as well.

[17:35] if, the funding final amount is not

[17:38] known yet, for this we don't get that

[17:40] from hud until later on in the process.

[17:43] if that funding is more than 3 percent

[17:48] above or below what we're recommending,

[17:49] then, we will have a public meeting to

[17:52] talk about allocating that funding

[17:55] based on the actual amount that we

[17:57] received.

[17:58] if it's less than 3 percent variance up

[18:02] or down, staff is directed by us as at

[18:05] committee to distribute that funding

[18:07] within the proposals that are before

[18:09] you.

[18:10] with some of the guidance that we have

[18:13] given them through the process of

[18:14] coming up with these recommendations.

[18:17] so that is, the end of our

[18:19] presentation, are there any questions?

[18:37] >> my question s of the funding that

[18:40] we're receiving from fund, I understand

[18:42] the funds were restored so we're really

[18:45] expect to go get this.

[18:47] are these the numbers we were expect to

[18:50] go get last year or has that been

[18:53] changed or are you in like an unknown

[18:56] world?

[18:58] >> speaker: counselors, thank you for

[18:59] that questions.

[19:00] I think we're all in an unknown world.

[19:03] however, nobody can predict, the funds

[19:05] that you're talking about, may be more

[19:09] of the county funds, the continued

[19:13] funds focused on helping people

[19:18] experiencing homelessness.

[19:19] we have funds for housing, and then,

[19:25] home grant.

[19:27] I hear different things, part of those

[19:29] meetings.

[19:31] one thing about these programs is

[19:34] they're appreciated by all political

[19:36] parties.

[19:37] so we do feel confident that this will

[19:40] be the funding for next year.

[19:42] and I always hope for a little bit more.

[19:44] >> thank you.

[19:45] >> thank you.

[19:51] councilor durrwatcher.

[19:52] >> thank you, vice president kennedy.

[19:54] I have a question, mpr, released an

[20:06] article that begins stew minnesota

[20:09] cities released funds because they're

[20:12] unsure they can meet requirement and

[20:13] urban development.

[20:17] these new rules participate housing

[20:20] transgender people, according to their

[20:22] assigned gender at birth and a band on

[20:25] diversity, equity and inclusion

[20:27] initiatives.

[20:33] and my understanding, has had to dmrai

[20:37] some of the hud funds that they

[20:39] received.

[20:46] how much you've all scutsed this

[20:49] article that has come outed and how

[20:52] that impacts, these, the all the

[20:57] information that you have given us

[20:59] today how does that impact your work

[21:03] here in duluth?

[21:05] >> thank you, counselor, and thank you

[21:09] counselor--okay, we've got ten minutes.

[21:15] we are able to spend the funds.

[21:28] agencies are aware of these executive

[21:29] orders.

[21:30] at this time, we are, asking for what

[21:35] is the basic requirements?

[21:37] what is the person's raise and income

[21:40] level.

[21:41] that is it.

[21:42] for the immigration issue, there is a

[21:45] whole other system.

[21:46] but, we already have systems in place

[21:50] that meet that need that has been

[21:53] established established to the

[21:55] executive level.

[21:58] we check payments.

[21:59] so really not much is being changed.

[22:03] we really have processes in place and

[22:05] right now we're going into what is

[22:08] specifically allowed and that is the

[22:10] person's raises and income level.

[22:12] that's the only thing that we're

[22:13] working on.

[22:14] >> okay, thank you.

[22:27] >> these grants given that there may be

[22:29] some equity and diversion changes from

[22:33] past practices.

[22:34] do you have some emerging practices in

[22:36] place?

[22:38] for example, working with he rition,

[22:40] how do you try to implement these funds

[22:44] in a way that are consistent with our

[22:46] past practices and community values?

[22:48] >> thank you.

[22:50] another excellent question.

[22:53] we work very closely with the agencies

[22:56] to make sure that people who need the

[22:58] assistance will be getting the

[23:00] assistance.

[23:01] we do work with the human rights, we

[23:05] work with dr. Martin lou and we do a

[23:10] lot of out reach making sure that if

[23:13] people need assistance, they need

[23:14] assistance.

[23:15] and we do have strategies in place.

[23:27] >> counselors any other questions for

[23:29] the community as a whole?

[23:30] I'm not seeing any.

[23:33] so I want to thank you, director

[23:36] vantassle and community development

[23:38] committee for coming here today.

[23:39] thank you.

[23:40] thank you.

[23:41] we are adjourned.

[23:43] >> thank you very much.

[27:14] >> I would like to let folks know that

[27:17] there is overflow next door.

[27:19] you'll be able to watch the council

[27:22] meeting from there.

[27:23] thank you.

[32:03] >> I will call the duluth city council

[32:06] meeting will now call to order.

[32:08] will the clerk please call the roll.

[32:12] >> clerk: councilor clanaugh.

[32:14] >> here.

[32:18] >> counselor durrwatcher.

[32:19] >> here.

[32:22] >> counselor tomanek.

[32:25] president nephew.

[32:27] >> vice president kennedy.

[32:29] >> here.

[32:32] >> the pledge.

[32:35] >> I pledge allegiance to the fwlag of

[32:37] the united states of america and to the

[32:38] republic for which it stands, one

[32:40] nation, under god indivisible with

[32:43] liberty and justice for all.

[32:49] >> I want to remind people that there

[32:52] is overflow seating in the room next

[32:54] door and you'll still be able to come

[32:56] in and do public comment and

[32:57] participate in the meeting.

[32:58] we just want to make sure shah we're

[33:01] not exceeding capacity.

[33:02] the agenda for this evening meeting is

[33:05] posted in the bulletin board in the

[33:07] back and copies are available in the

[33:09] rear as well.

[33:10] I would like to welcome everyone to the

[33:13] regular meeting of the duluth council.

[33:16] today council will vote on several

[33:18] matters on the agenda.

[33:19] there will be an opportunity for public

[33:21] comment before we move on to the

[33:23] consent agenda.

[33:24] if you wish to speak, you need to sign

[33:27] up on the sheet next to the clerk.

[33:29] for those watching on public access

[33:31] television, the agenda on this meeting

[33:33] is available on the city of duluth

[33:37] website and live streaming can also be

[33:39] held on the city council meeting media.

[33:42] I do ask that you silence your phones

[33:44] while you're in the chamber.

[33:47] the duluth council meetings are

[33:49] conducted in accordance to the standard

[33:51] rules and robert rules of order to

[33:56] ensure our meetings, are fair,

[33:57] efficient and orderly and provide a

[33:59] clear process for decision-making.

[34:02] in accordance be respectful in public

[34:05] comment s and refrain from using

[34:11] profanity.

[34:13] and do not call out councilmembers by

[34:15] name.

[34:16] if you have a matter you wish to

[34:19] address, you may find the contact

[34:20] information on the city's official

[34:21] website.

[34:22] you'll be given three minutes to speak,

[34:24] when you're a speaker.

[34:26] there is a time on the lectern so you

[34:30] can track your three minutes.

[34:32] when your three minutes are up, I will

[34:36] interrupt you and call on the next

[34:37] person.

[34:38] before we move on to the, before we

[34:42] move on to any of our reports or

[34:44] anything tonight, I would like to take

[34:47] a moment of silence and then I'm going

[34:53] to ask councilor tomanek to say a few

[34:56] words.

[34:57] I know the community is hurting.

[35:01] it's important to keep names on top of

[35:02] mind.

[35:04] we'll take a moment of silence for

[35:07] renee good and alex pretti.

[36:01] thank you.

[36:03] councilor tomanek.

[36:05] >> thank you, president neff'.

[36:08] holly one you who we call in many ways,

[36:11] we pause tonight to gather here to

[36:13] honor the lives of renee good and alex

[36:18] preti two people who were doing nothing

[36:21] more than than exercise their right to

[36:24] express themselves and they were

[36:28] brutality killed.

[36:30] we're shaken at the core and outraged

[36:32] at the murder of two.

[36:36] we are angereded, saddened and confused

[36:39] watching our democracy be threatened.

[36:41] we ask for help in dealing with the

[36:43] trauma that our community, our state

[36:45] and the world are dealing with.

[36:48] we also ask for the grace that people

[36:50] grief in their own way.

[36:52] that people help in their own way.

[36:54] that people protest in their own way.

[36:56] we ask for blessings on all the helpers.

[36:59] give them the strength to continue

[37:01] their fight and may be supported by all

[37:04] in our country who are work to go stop

[37:08] the brutality and inhumane treatment of

[37:12] our immigrant neighbors and friends and

[37:15] distortion of democracy and harm

[37:18] brought to their families and neighbors.

[37:20] bring us together and work to help

[37:23] those who desperate knee need our help.

[37:25] our desire to do good and our request

[37:29] to restore community.

[37:30] may it be so, shalom.

[37:34] >> we'll move on to approval of minutes.

[37:36] do you have a motion to approve.

[37:38] >> moved.

[37:39] >> second.

[37:40] >> moved by clanaugh and seconded by

[37:46] tomanek.

[37:47] is there any discussion?

[37:48] I see none.

[37:49] all those in favor.

[37:51] >> aye.

[37:52] >> aye.

[37:54] >> opposed say sign.

[37:55] and that passes 9-0.

[37:57] move on to reports from the

[37:58] administration?

[37:59] >> thank you.

[38:04] thank you, nephew.

[38:05] members of the council, members of the

[38:10] duluth community.

[38:11] I want to give some voice to what is

[38:14] weighing leave --heavy on our hearts

[38:20] and that is unexplicable and senseless

[38:26] killing of alex pretti, a v.a.. Nurse

[38:31] dedicated to serving veterans, a cause

[38:34] near and dear to my heart.

[38:36] I heard the calls for justice at city

[38:39] hall last friday.

[38:41] and we're going to hear a lot of

[38:47] impassion testimony this evening.

[38:48] my heart is breaking right along with

[38:50] yours.

[39:00] emotionally I'm feeling the same

[39:02] feelings and understand where the

[39:04] demands are coming from.

[39:06] operational speaking, some of the

[39:07] demands are not possible.

[39:09] and for reasons that are complicated

[39:11] and diverse.

[39:15] we can however, address some of the

[39:18] public safety concerns ernestly here

[39:19] tonight.

[39:20] first and for most, I promise you this

[39:28] this, duluth employees, will never ever

[39:32] ever, never ever, do immigration

[39:34] enforcement.

[39:36] never ever.

[39:41] we need to understand each other better.

[39:43] we need to build trust between our

[39:46] police department, our public safety

[39:49] divisions, our citizens and our

[39:51] stakeholder groups.

[39:54] I propose, that we engage with our

[39:59] citizens review board, human rights

[40:02] commission, inner faith groups and

[40:03] other stakeholder groups to engage in a

[40:07] series of good faith collaborative

[40:09] discussion to see weigh a foundation,

[40:13] for community police engagement.

[40:17] before I came to the city of duluth

[40:19] about a year ago, I spent the last 29

[40:22] years in the city of saint cloud.

[40:27] the city of saint cloud began a similar

[40:31] collaborative effort of engagement in

[40:36] 2004, at a time when there was

[40:41] significant samoli immigration to the

[40:45] saint cloud community and racial

[40:49] composition was changing rapidly.

[40:52] the community discussions that

[40:54] culminated in a community policing

[40:56] agreement.

[41:00] there is inherent value in the

[41:06] agreement itself, but perhaps, the

[41:09] unanticipated value was the

[41:12] relationship that's resulted in the

[41:13] process.

[41:18] where a community leader and member of

[41:20] the clergy can get on the phone and put

[41:24] the police chief on the phone during a

[41:26] crisis or more value yet to avert a

[41:30] crisis.

[41:34] these relationships pay dividend in the

[41:40] aftermath of the george floyd murders.

[41:47] let's invest in some relationship

[41:49] building here.

[41:56] this community does its best work when

[41:59] it operates together.

[42:03] duluth is at its best when all the

[42:07] voices feel they're being heard.

[42:08] thank you.

[42:20] >> thank you, administrator staehling.

[42:29] we'll move on to public speakers.

[42:31] >> clerk: our first speaker is julia.

[42:44] >> speaker: is this lower?

[42:49] there is,

[42:50] >> if puck please state your name and

[42:51] address.

[42:53] >> speaker: julia covert, 1830denine nn

[42:57] avenue.

[42:59] council, thank you so much for the

[43:01] lovely words.

[43:03] however, there are 39 items on this

[43:05] agenda and not a single addresses the

[43:07] issue that will likely dominate public

[43:10] comment tonight.

[43:11] there are no resolutions to affirm non

[43:16] cooperation between dpd and ice and no

[43:21] ordinances propreventing ice from city

[43:22] funds just because the worse has not

[43:24] reached us yet, does not mean that you

[43:27] can stay silent and pray that it

[43:29] doesn't.

[43:31] many people tonight, will layout a full

[43:34] lit of demands all which deserve full

[43:36] support.

[43:39] they articulate these points, a lot

[43:40] better than I can.

[43:42] so I'll emphasize just one.

[43:46] if deputy truly does not assist or

[43:50] intend to assist, you should have no

[43:54] problem passing a resolution that

[43:58] codifies that resolution so we can hold

[44:03] the city accountable and I mean never

[44:05] ever ever work with ice.

[44:07] finally I want to mention what happened

[44:09] two weeks ago because it's weighing on

[44:11] my mind.

[44:12] it was parked with people, many people

[44:14] spoke, they shared stories, and built

[44:17] community and experienced and begged to

[44:19] you listen to us.

[44:20] I watched the chief of police stand

[44:24] there with his arms cross and tell my

[44:28] neighborhood say that what they

[44:30] watched, was not real.

[44:31] I saw a despicable agenda item on 14

[44:36] that made me ashamed for what I voted

[44:38] for.

[44:39] and I watched my neighbors walk out

[44:42] losing hope.

[44:44] I don't know how else to represent that

[44:47] but as a failure.

[44:48] I want to remind you if people are this

[44:53] upset, things need to change and you

[44:55] have the power to do so.

[44:56] thank you.

[44:57] >> thank you.

[44:58] next speaker.

[44:59] >> our next speaker is brandon parker.

[45:04] >> please state your name and a your

[45:06] address.

[45:07] >> speaker: good evening, council, I'm

[45:10] brandon parker, I live in district 4

[45:11] and I'm the membership secretary of

[45:14] socialist of america.

[45:16] rest in power, alex preti and rene good.

[45:25] that solidarity event that we organized

[45:26] and coordinated with the state wide

[45:28] strike was attended business over 500

[45:30] people coming and going.

[45:33] we organized together attendees and

[45:36] sang songs for liberation and

[45:37] revolution together.

[45:38] we made a safe place for all and

[45:41] invited a community to grief together

[45:43] and rally against state sponsorism

[45:47] destroying our community.

[45:49] any elected official that shows not to

[45:51] participate in this day of action or at

[45:53] least a statement at the very least,

[45:56] did so by political choice.

[46:00] not because there was not space for

[46:02] them, the deep problem with that line

[46:04] of thinking, that tlfts not space for

[46:08] you, is that this issue is is not

[46:10] polite cal at all.

[46:11] there is an issue rooted in humanity

[46:15] and fighting a fascist threat.

[46:18] I want to thank councilor durrwatcher,

[46:30] clanaugh, I see you.

[46:31] is hear you.

[46:33] for sharing space with us, for their

[46:37] well stated condemnation of fascism and

[46:40] for their promise to pursue our demands.

[46:43] but when it comes to the status quo

[46:45] majority of this council and the

[46:47] mayor's office, we only heard

[46:53] deflection, saw gaslighting and minimal

[46:55] acts.

[47:02] mayor ryanhart's statement maintained

[47:06] that the occupation with ice, that is

[47:08] complete and utter bull shit.

[47:12] he also claimed that we have a right to

[47:14] protest but we don't protest because it

[47:16] is our right, we protest because we

[47:19] have demands for action.

[47:21] and those demands are the following.

[47:24] pass an ordinance of city ordinance non

[47:29] collaboration with ice, cpb, hsi and

[47:33] building sharing with homeland security.

[47:38] pass an ordinance to observe ice

[47:44] without interference.

[47:45] to protect the public from ice and

[47:49] coordinating know-your-rights training

[47:51] for local businesses.

[47:53] pass an eviction moratorium.

[47:55] pass an ordinance passing ice from

[48:00] staging on public property, from

[48:02] entering city offices without a

[48:05] judicial warrant.

[48:06] reverse the city of duluth with flock

[48:09] safety.

[48:11] end the city's contract with nexus

[48:14] lexus.

[48:16] to prevent county jail for being

[48:21] utilize as a detention center.

[48:24] pass an ordinance requiring prosecution

[48:27] when they're clear fourth amendment

[48:28] violations.

[48:31] pass an ordinance of niz person by ice

[48:34] without a judicial ordinance.

[48:38] requiring dpd to protect individuals

[48:41] from kidnapping.

[48:43] and data and other means.

[48:47] hear us.

[48:48] thank you.

[48:50] >> our next speaker is eleanor doland.

[49:02] >> please state your name and address.

[49:04] >> speaker: hello I'm eleanor and I

[49:07] litch in the fourth district.

[49:08] I'm a member of the imports usa.

[49:14] last friday, almost 500 people showed

[49:17] up to get ice out of duluth and I have

[49:22] heard time and time again, that you

[49:25] only feel a small group of activist

[49:28] attend city council and that we don't

[49:30] represent the community as a whole.

[49:31] I have to ask you, how many more people

[49:34] do you want us to rally next time for

[49:38] to you finally take action or maybe

[49:41] it's another ballot measure which is

[49:44] know --

[49:45] ~>> I do ask that you address the body

[49:47] as a whole.

[49:48] >> speaker: I brought to you concerns

[49:50] as a member of the public about dbb

[49:54] interfering with my ability to entire

[49:56] ice agents.

[49:57] I brought you a store of ice agents

[50:01] going straight to my home as a way of

[50:05] intimidation.

[50:06] how can can I trust a stim that has let

[50:09] me down.

[50:10] all I know, only one showed up and

[50:13] pledged to answer our demands friday

[50:17] despite me emailing you an invitation.

[50:20] I wanted to build a relationship, you

[50:22] didn't show up.

[50:23] I ask that you rest of you pledge these

[50:26] demands.

[50:27] anything else is clearly undemocratic

[50:30] and you will have and will continue to

[50:32] hear those demands today.

[50:34] and as you'll continue to see, when the

[50:36] crowd agrees, they will stand.

[50:37] so here are the demands, pass an

[50:41] ordinance of city non collaboration

[50:45] with ice cpb and banning building

[50:48] sharing with homeland security.

[50:51] pass an ordinance codifying and observe

[50:53] isaac tiff its without interference.

[50:57] establish a city lead working group

[51:00] aimed at creating policy

[51:03] recommendation, protect the public from

[51:04] ice and know your rights training for

[51:06] the public and local businesses.

[51:09] pass an eviction moratorium because our

[51:13] most vulnerable neighbors fear going to

[51:15] work and getting their basic needs met

[51:16] right now.

[51:18] pass an ordinance banning ice cbb from

[51:21] staging on public property and ban ice

[51:24] from entering city offices and other

[51:26] non public spaces without a judicial

[51:28] warrant.

[51:29] I understand that there is policy but

[51:32] nothing is as solid as an ordinance

[51:34] would be.

[51:36] reverse the city contract with flock

[51:38] safety, cameras that supply on

[51:43] duluthians tracking our routine sxz

[51:44] habit and selling that data to ice.

[51:46] end the city's contract with nexus

[51:49] lexus despite the renewal that you just

[51:52] did, two weeks ago and look more into

[51:56] whether or not that no data sharing is

[52:00] at the top.

[52:01] it wasn't this time.

[52:03] which is extremely concerning.

[52:05] sign on to the petition to prevent

[52:09] douglas county jail to be utilized an

[52:12] ice detention center and pass a

[52:15] resolution condemning that federal

[52:17] agencies use of the facility.

[52:20] requiring prosecution with when their

[52:23] clear fourth amendment violations.

[52:25] pass an ordinance prohibiting any

[52:28] detainment of any person without a

[52:30] judicial warrant.

[52:32] and end any other collusion from ice,

[52:35] with ice from any other surveillance

[52:37] technology or any other means that we

[52:39] as the public are not currently aware

[52:41] of.

[52:46] >> our next speaker is erin rellis.

[52:59] please state your name.

[53:00] >> speaker: my name is aaron rose, I

[53:01] live in the fourth district.

[53:05] some proud, huh.

[53:07] >> keith port per, parity law.

[53:13] al behr sanchez do minguez.

[53:17] victor, louis, louis gustavo, heraldo,

[53:24] renee good.

[53:27] alex preti.

[53:28] these are all the lives thus far taken

[53:31] by the homeland security in 2026.

[53:34] you heard the last two and I'm sure you

[53:36] don't need me to say why.

[53:38] these discussions will continue under

[53:40] the department of homeland security.

[53:42] are we going to wait for them to mutter

[53:45] a de laougtian before we act?

[53:48] they're already operating outside of

[53:49] the law.

[53:50] what they're doing in the twin cities

[53:53] is a blueprint for the sort of violence

[53:56] that they want to bring to the other

[53:57] communities.

[53:59] thz a army of men that are not be

[54:02] holding to laws, they're be holding to

[54:03] violence.

[54:06] political power, grows out of the

[54:07] barrel of a gun.

[54:09] the duluth police department as well as

[54:12] sheriff's department have been

[54:13] witnessed with my own eyes

[54:19] collaborating, regardless of intent of

[54:22] this collaboration, this collaboration

[54:23] cannot be accepted.

[54:29] he wanted to help protect this

[54:31] community has why he did the work he

[54:32] did.

[54:33] I'm sure there are many fine folks in

[54:36] the duluth police department, I met

[54:38] several of them, they're human beings

[54:41] just like everyone else.

[54:43] but the institution itself cannot

[54:45] collaborate with a fascism organization.

[54:49] regardless of what the fascism

[54:51] organization is doing.

[54:56] sometimes protecting this community

[54:58] means protecting radical actions.

[55:00] sometimes the mezity to act out strips

[55:03] the laws.

[55:04] the law that homeland security claimsed

[55:07] to own force are rotten.

[55:11] dhs has fundamentally changed and we

[55:14] must opinion change but move in an

[55:17] proactive manner.

[55:18] do not let them bring the violence to

[55:21] duluth.

[55:22] this does not just exist without the

[55:27] innocence of a mountain and it can be

[55:30] dismantled by the people.

[55:32] that dismantlement may not begin at the

[55:33] top.

[55:34] cities across the united states can

[55:37] assist by electing the department of

[55:39] homeland security by their

[55:40] municipalities.

[55:43] questions over quality while they

[55:46] execute martyrs in the street, you'll

[55:48] have to excuse me if is could only

[55:51] shake my head.

[55:54] legality is out the window at this

[55:56] point.

[55:58] we have that power as a community and

[56:01] through you councilor, I hope and pray

[56:05] that there is resistance.

[56:07] there is a lot of fear and anger in

[56:09] this room tonight, righteous anger,

[56:12] because we know you have the power to

[56:14] act.

[56:15] we're demanding that you act, we're

[56:17] demand anding pleading for to you act

[56:20] and end all collaboration with this

[56:25] fasist organization to protect their

[56:28] community from this group and eject

[56:31] them from their city.

[56:32] I'm not going to repeat the demands, I

[56:35] have 8 seconds left.

[56:36] but you're going to hear it a lot and I

[56:40] hope the repetition sticks.

[56:41] thank you.

[56:42] >> our next speaker is ana.

[56:57] >> welcome, please state your name and

[56:58] address.

[56:59] >> I'm rebeccabergh, I live in the

[57:03] second district.

[57:04] I moved here to duluth by choose

[57:06] because I love it here.

[57:08] and in the past two weeks, ice agents

[57:12] have murdered two people within two

[57:14] miles from my childhood home.

[57:17] what the community is going through

[57:18] right now is heavy in my heart.

[57:20] I say this to you, because some of you

[57:24] seem to be operating that this will not

[57:26] affect you.

[57:28] like it's not close to home and there

[57:32] are already ice agents present here in

[57:34] duluth.

[57:36] the situation is not improving.

[57:38] the situation is illegal and horrendous.

[57:42] it's not enough to say that police

[57:45] department is is not working and that

[57:47] it's fine.

[57:49] thoughts and prayers don't do anything

[57:51] when you're in a position of power.

[57:55] this is my first time speaking before

[57:57] you all but I've been a tebding these

[58:00] meetings for months now.

[58:02] I have seen countless community members

[58:04] asking you for your vote to represent

[58:06] their voices and again and again, I

[58:08] watched the majority of this council

[58:11] vote against the desires of your

[58:13] constituents.

[58:14] the people have no faith that people

[58:16] will protect them from ice and so

[58:18] they're organizing to protect each

[58:20] other and will continue to do so.

[58:22] if you continue to sit back, you prove

[58:26] to them that you're more aligned with

[58:28] the racist than with the people of your

[58:30] own city.

[58:31] we need touz change course.

[58:35] let the current events be a wake up to

[58:38] respond to the public safety threats at

[58:39] hand.

[58:40] we need you to ban 287 agreements,

[58:45] require dpd to protect individuals from

[58:48] kidnapping from ice in the same manner

[58:52] that they would be protected of

[58:56] kidnapping from citizens.

[58:57] and prohibit them from staging on

[58:59] public property.

[59:01] ban ice from school grounds within the

[59:05] city.

[59:07] pass a resolution of non collaboration

[59:10] and not just non binding language that

[59:14] states that dpd does not assist in

[59:17] immigration enforcement.

[59:20] reverse the tracking data with federal

[59:23] agenciesle.

[59:26] codify to observe isaac tiff its

[59:29] without interference in a city

[59:30] ordinance.

[59:31] we need to you pass an eviction

[59:35] moratorium so that our people can stay

[59:39] home from work when it's not safe for

[59:41] them to leave.

[59:43] as the violence against citizens

[59:46] intensifies.

[59:51] >> our next speaker is jacob bell.

[1:00:02] >> speaker: hi I'm council, I'm jacob

[1:00:05] bell and I'm here not to speak about

[1:00:08] ice.

[1:00:09] with that said, I do stand with the

[1:00:12] neighbors, and I'll just say this

[1:00:14] h.when the kk, were doing atrocities,

[1:00:27] we need to call this what it is.

[1:00:29] but I'm here to talk about something

[1:00:30] else.

[1:00:31] a matter of importance to black and

[1:00:33] brown neighborhoods in the central

[1:00:35] hillside neighborhood and that's

[1:00:38] upcoming proposal from council will get

[1:00:41] for a sale of the washington center

[1:00:43] property of the city's portion of the

[1:00:46] property to ryan nelson and lake avenue

[1:00:51] lost for 25,000.

[1:00:52] I'm here on behalf of ffc, program that

[1:00:56] operates out of the first floor out of

[1:00:58] the washington center and I'm here to

[1:01:01] really speak to the native families

[1:01:04] that use the washington center as a

[1:01:06] home every single day.

[1:01:07] and I'm here with a simple request,

[1:01:11] take this decision seriously.

[1:01:13] very seriously.

[1:01:15] the decision that city council makes on

[1:01:18] this base will determine our families

[1:01:20] on hillside for years and years to come.

[1:01:22] this place is a home for black and

[1:01:27] brown families in this neighborhood.

[1:01:29] and now more than ever, black and brown

[1:01:32] people feel a place where they feel

[1:01:34] safe.

[1:01:36] now, ffc is actually a certified cdbo

[1:01:41] so we're committed to the economic

[1:01:45] development of our neighborhood.

[1:01:46] but the real question is development

[1:01:47] for who?

[1:01:49] our greatest fear right now is

[1:01:53] gentrification and the displacement of

[1:01:55] low income families and the central

[1:01:57] hillside neighborhood.

[1:01:59] wiz is why, we submitted a proposal to

[1:02:01] the city to purchase the space for a

[1:02:05] dollar, a few months back and I'm not

[1:02:09] sure if council ever got that proposal

[1:02:12] but we did it to protect the space and

[1:02:15] make sure this stays a permanent home

[1:02:19] with our families.

[1:02:20] we have been in contact with the city

[1:02:24] staff, as well as the company trying to

[1:02:27] purchase this space.

[1:02:28] and they've expressed a willing toness

[1:02:31] to --willingness to work with us to

[1:02:37] ensure that this building stays a home

[1:02:39] to black and brown families but also

[1:02:42] available to low income families that

[1:02:44] live there now.

[1:02:48] they've expressed they said that they

[1:02:50] will look into it but that's not enough.

[1:02:53] this isn't to cast blame on anyone.

[1:02:55] there is been a lot going on in the

[1:02:58] last couple of months.

[1:03:00] but we need to have these conversations

[1:03:03] now, and we're doing everything we can

[1:03:05] to ensure that this space remains a

[1:03:08] home to all of us.

[1:03:11] making sure that that the space, the

[1:03:14] space stays subsidized.

[1:03:17] I'm honestly here to let you know that

[1:03:20] these conversations are taking place.

[1:03:21] there is a solution and I would love to

[1:03:23] come back in a month or two and let you

[1:03:25] know, this is what our communities and

[1:03:27] our partnerships want and this is what

[1:03:29] we're going to do but we're not there

[1:03:31] yet.

[1:03:33] would I invite you all, come business,

[1:03:35] stop over at fcc, meet our families and

[1:03:38] hear about the things that are

[1:03:39] important to us.

[1:03:40] this is where those conversations are

[1:03:42] taking place and those conversations

[1:03:44] are for the future of the community as

[1:03:46] a whole.

[1:03:47] thank you.

[1:03:49] >> our next speaker is taylor cross

[1:04:01] bobing en.

[1:04:03] >> speaker: hi I have lived in duluth

[1:04:05] for ten years.

[1:04:08] thank you counciloring for all that you

[1:04:10] do and being able to listen to us,

[1:04:14] concerned citizens.

[1:04:16] thank you, councilmember tomanek.

[1:04:22] >> I do ask that you address the body

[1:04:24] as a whole.

[1:04:25] >> speaker: thanks for what you said at

[1:04:28] the beginning of the meet ing.

[1:04:30] I'm here to ask to you do what you can

[1:04:35] to separate yourself, ourselves the

[1:04:38] city of duluth from ice and do what you

[1:04:40] can to protect the citizens of duluth.

[1:04:43] others have shared more details about

[1:04:45] how to do this and I'm sure you've been

[1:04:47] given the list.

[1:04:48] but I want to use my time to tell you

[1:04:50] about what I experienced in minneapolis

[1:04:54] this weekend.

[1:04:55] I went down to protest on friday and it

[1:04:57] was amazing to see all the support,

[1:04:59] seeing tens of thousands brave the

[1:05:02] extreme cold was heart warming.

[1:05:04] there is a big protest in duluth as

[1:05:07] mentioned but the whiplash of alex

[1:05:11] preti saturday morning was insane.

[1:05:14] shortly after the mutter, I was

[1:05:17] peacefully protesting with hundreds of

[1:05:19] angry protesters.

[1:05:20] to be clear, this was not a riot, this

[1:05:22] was nothing like tha. There were

[1:05:24] community members, there were business

[1:05:27] owners, there were grandmas, there were

[1:05:30] people in the street that were hurt,

[1:05:32] they were angry, they were scared, they

[1:05:34] were fed up with ice in their city,

[1:05:37] they were fed up with the abductions,

[1:05:42] the killings of their killings.

[1:05:45] it sounds insane to say but it's

[1:05:48] literally what is happening.

[1:05:49] while all the protesters remained

[1:05:53] behind the line, ice agents decide

[1:05:55] today throw and send tear gas and

[1:06:02] concussion grenades and spray pepper.

[1:06:04] I was shot in the leg by a rubber

[1:06:07] bullet.

[1:06:10] I was extremely lucky, hit my cell

[1:06:13] phone destroying it and I had no injury.

[1:06:18] that bullet was rock hard, I cannot

[1:06:22] imagine if it would have happened in my

[1:06:24] face or something like that.

[1:06:26] I want to share this with you to give

[1:06:30] you a glimpse of who these people are.

[1:06:34] that means both people that are

[1:06:37] peacefully protesting o ordinary

[1:06:41] people going about their day that have

[1:06:44] brown skin.

[1:06:45] although we don't have a lot of

[1:06:49] brown-skin people in duluth as we do in

[1:06:52] minneapolis, our police department

[1:06:54] needs to be ready.

[1:06:55] police department is not working with

[1:06:58] ice, at all, and it was great to see

[1:07:01] that separation and the cooperate.

[1:07:04] it may not be there yet but silence

[1:07:08] will soon become complicity.

[1:07:12] please take action, real action.

[1:07:13] thank you for your time.

[1:07:20] >> our next speaker is darlene.

[1:07:22] >> we do have a request from the next

[1:07:27] room that you speak closerly--closely

[1:07:32] into the mic so they can hear.

[1:07:34] and if you can give us your name and

[1:07:37] address, that would be great.

[1:07:45] >> can you tulle the mike down.

[1:07:47] thank you.

[1:07:48] >> diane and I'm from town sil, but I

[1:07:52] was born and raised in duluth.

[1:07:55] this is another dark and shameful

[1:08:00] period in america's history.

[1:08:08] violent' deporting immigrants based on

[1:08:13] race, seeking asylum and a better life

[1:08:16] for their children is not what this

[1:08:18] country has stood for for over 70 years.

[1:08:21] the ufm states has welcomed immigrants

[1:08:24] from all over the world becoming a

[1:08:27] beacon of democracy.

[1:08:28] this policy of the trump administration

[1:08:31] is cruel and stands in blatant contrast

[1:08:38] to viftian values.

[1:08:41] ill trained ice agents that appear to

[1:08:45] revel in brutality so very shameful in

[1:08:48] so many ways.

[1:08:51] the resent killing of two u.s. Citizens

[1:08:55] in minneapolis by our own government is

[1:08:57] an atrocity and leave a lasting

[1:09:03] reprehensible scar.

[1:09:05] unfortunately, the duluth city council

[1:09:07] does not have the authority to abolish

[1:09:10] ice but it could make a statement by

[1:09:13] voting against ice raids being

[1:09:15] performed in our city and guard rails

[1:09:18] being put in place if they are.

[1:09:21] this can be done by passing the

[1:09:24] ordinance of demands prevented this

[1:09:26] evening.

[1:09:27] as leaders of our city, you have a duty

[1:09:30] and an obligation to protect the

[1:09:34] citizens of duluth and to try to

[1:09:39] prevept this evil from happening here.

[1:09:42] I implore you to be on the right side

[1:09:44] of history and vote for guidelines to

[1:09:46] be put in place to prevent another ice

[1:09:49] tragedy.

[1:09:51] future generations will be asking you,

[1:09:56] what did you do as city councilor

[1:10:00] during this tragic times for so many

[1:10:02] people.

[1:10:03] you will be asked.

[1:10:11] you ought to be proud of what you

[1:10:13] decided.

[1:10:15] >> our next speaker, is bruce.

[1:10:30] >> welcome, if you would like to

[1:10:34] address.

[1:10:35] >> speaker: good evening, I live at 417

[1:10:41] simerlay am in the western duluth.

[1:10:44] my heart goes out to all those affected

[1:10:47] by this circumstances that have been

[1:10:50] talked about and I have a lot of the

[1:10:52] same concerns that they're speaking

[1:10:53] about.

[1:10:54] but I'm here as a member of the

[1:11:03] advocacy of trails.

[1:11:04] I live in western duluth.

[1:11:07] and before this city council is a

[1:11:10] resolution authorizing the application

[1:11:12] for to the transportation authorization

[1:11:15] fund to go construct a cross section of

[1:11:19] the trail from free mont.

[1:11:21] on behalf of the members of friends of

[1:11:24] parks and trails and community members

[1:11:27] we represent, I want to express the

[1:11:29] support for this resolution and not

[1:11:31] action of this trail that potential

[1:11:35] funding will construct.

[1:11:36] it will give the many people who walk

[1:11:39] and bike in the western neighborhoods a

[1:11:42] safer path for recreation.

[1:11:44] when my knew bride and I moved into our

[1:11:47] home near the longer trail in 1992, we

[1:11:51] looked forward to riding our bikes to

[1:11:54] west duluth for shopping and recreation.

[1:11:56] we were disappointed to learn that

[1:11:58] there was not a safe path to get there.

[1:12:01] over the years, several of our

[1:12:03] neighbors, say that they would ride our

[1:12:05] bikes to work if only, there was a safe

[1:12:08] path to get there.

[1:12:09] a number of years ago, I spoke with the

[1:12:12] group of people on the monger trail who

[1:12:14] said they were part of a family reunion.

[1:12:18] the plan was for them to ride from

[1:12:22] carleton so shop, eat and walk the

[1:12:24] boardwalk.

[1:12:25] once they foupd that there was no safe

[1:12:28] route, they shortened their trip and

[1:12:31] turned around and can now park

[1:12:33] businesses lost these potential

[1:12:35] customers.

[1:12:37] several of our group have been working

[1:12:38] with the city of duluth for 15, 30 to

[1:12:43] get the gap closed between the trail

[1:12:46] head in canal park as envisionds 40

[1:12:49] years by the late jim ol'behr stein.

[1:12:55] the multi use transportation path to

[1:13:00] canal park will be realized.

[1:13:02] we thank the city council for

[1:13:04] continuing to support the parks and

[1:13:05] trails of our great city and we look

[1:13:08] forward to continuing to work with the

[1:13:10] city on this and other projects.

[1:13:13] thank you.

[1:13:14] >> thank you.

[1:13:17] our next speaker is jenny ward.

[1:13:28] >> welcome, if you can state your name

[1:13:30] and address.

[1:13:31] >> speaker: good evening, council, my

[1:13:33] name is jenny, I live at 301 west

[1:13:36] street.

[1:13:37] and I want to thank everyone who has

[1:13:41] spoken on ice.

[1:13:42] I would like to talk tonight about the

[1:13:45] last council meet ing.

[1:13:47] I was not here but I was watching from

[1:13:49] home.

[1:13:50] we can agree that it was a tense

[1:13:53] meeting and many of us walked away

[1:13:55] being frustrated.

[1:14:05] ints and we do wish for everyone to

[1:14:09] feel safe at home and in the workplace

[1:14:12] and in our city.

[1:14:15] if anyone has felt unsafe I am truly

[1:14:17] sorry.

[1:14:20] however, I believe it's important that

[1:14:22] we all feel hurt.

[1:14:23] when I witnessed two weeks ago, was

[1:14:25] many many people come out to spaik

[1:14:27] about an issue that they cared deeply

[1:14:30] about.

[1:14:32] many councilmembers had a different

[1:14:34] opinion, things escalated and there was

[1:14:37] a short recess and a vote was done.

[1:14:40] a vote that we knew was controversial.

[1:14:42] this is not how decalation works.

[1:14:47] many were loudly reacted and reacted

[1:14:51] when they were doing so.

[1:14:53] this would be like slapping somebody

[1:14:56] and then getting mad for saying ouch.

[1:15:01] I understand the importance of

[1:15:03] civilianity.

[1:15:04] I also want to live in a civil world.

[1:15:06] it just does not feel like a reality

[1:15:08] right now.

[1:15:09] the president of our nation says new

[1:15:17] vulgar nonsense every day.

[1:15:21] is any of that civil?

[1:15:23] we are scared, we are angry and we are

[1:15:25] very sad.

[1:15:26] we look to our local leaders for

[1:15:29] representation.

[1:15:30] so please listen to us.

[1:15:31] listen to the people who voted you on

[1:15:33] to council.

[1:15:34] we will not agree on everything all the

[1:15:37] time, but we need the people need to be

[1:15:39] heard and respected.

[1:15:40] we live here, work here and pay taxed.

[1:15:43] the future of this city is in our

[1:15:45] hands, we will make mistakes but we

[1:15:48] must meet each other with grace and

[1:15:49] dignity.

[1:15:51] and real quick, before I go, I want to

[1:15:53] mention that the live stream was muted

[1:15:57] when hare much words were being

[1:15:58] exchanged in the chamber.

[1:16:00] I understand the intention but I think

[1:16:02] it's our right to not be censored,

[1:16:05] those of us viewing at home or watching

[1:16:08] later, even if there is profanity, I

[1:16:10] don't think that tht live stream should

[1:16:12] be censor sd.

[1:16:14] we deserve to know what is going on.

[1:16:17] I had loved one here, and I was worried

[1:16:20] about their safety, I almost ran over

[1:16:24] here in my pajamas to make sure

[1:16:27] everything is okay.

[1:16:29] so please consider not censoring the

[1:16:33] audio in the future.

[1:16:34] thank you.

[1:16:35] >> our next speaker is chance wells.

[1:16:47] >> welcome please state your name and

[1:16:48] address.

[1:16:49] >> speaker: hello councilor, president

[1:16:52] nephew.

[1:16:53] my name is chance.

[1:16:57] danny the person who spoke before her,

[1:16:59] is my partner and I'm so proud of her.

[1:17:04] should I is calm when I am not and for

[1:17:07] giving when I cannot and wise when I'm

[1:17:09] lacking.

[1:17:11] my problem is I've attended too many of

[1:17:13] these meetings.

[1:17:14] I've watched as the council voted down

[1:17:18] the cease fire resolution and thus

[1:17:22] endorsed the countless murder of

[1:17:23] palestinian.

[1:17:26] but the council decided to anyway.

[1:17:29] I've tried to work with council in my

[1:17:32] capacity as a queer organizer and I was

[1:17:35] told to my face that what we proposed

[1:17:39] was divisive.

[1:17:42] since when does loving who you love is

[1:17:44] divisive?

[1:17:46] when is a recognizing a festival of joy

[1:17:49] divisive?

[1:17:51] and then I watched as the council vote

[1:17:54] today renew contract with nexus lexus.

[1:17:59] despite every speak egg vote to go

[1:18:00] reconsider.

[1:18:01] please tell me, how am I suppose to

[1:18:05] remain civil?

[1:18:07] you said my existence as a queer is

[1:18:11] divisive, you said yes to genocide and

[1:18:14] yes to police using ai and

[1:18:17] collaborating with ice.

[1:18:18] when I read the truth to you, doesn't

[1:18:21] that sound shameful?

[1:18:35] I hope those to make better choices

[1:18:38] next time.

[1:18:42] there is only so many times that I can

[1:18:44] come up here and hope you'll listen

[1:18:47] before I break.

[1:18:48] I am breaking.

[1:18:50] we are all breaking.

[1:18:51] a five-year-old was abducted his name

[1:18:57] was leanne conejo.

[1:18:59] alex preti was murdered protecting a

[1:19:01] women from ice.

[1:19:02] beaten and shot at least ten times.

[1:19:04] what are we doing here?

[1:19:08] ndpd cooperation with ice now, required

[1:19:13] dpd to protect individuals from

[1:19:15] kidnapped in ice in the same manner

[1:19:17] they would be protected kidnapping.

[1:19:19] I know the duluth say they are not

[1:19:22] working with ice but by using nexus

[1:19:25] lexus and giving them money, we are

[1:19:28] complicity in their evil regardless,

[1:19:32] despite public opinion, I hope you'll

[1:19:35] consider a bit of what I said today.

[1:19:41] >> thank you.

[1:19:43] >> please no cheers or jeers.

[1:19:50] >> our next speaker is matt sergeant.

[1:19:58] >> you can adjust the lectern on the

[1:20:03] right side.

[1:20:04] >> speaker: my name is matt sergeant

[1:20:08] I'm from you lincoln park.

[1:20:11] and I want to reflect on something

[1:20:13] before we started.

[1:20:14] you looked at the flag and you took an

[1:20:15] oath and the last thing you said, is,

[1:20:19] justice for all.

[1:20:22] you didn't say justice for, citizens,

[1:20:26] justice for white people, justice for

[1:20:28] all.

[1:20:30] that's what we're here about.

[1:20:32] we are living right now, in dangerous

[1:20:33] times.

[1:20:35] things have been dangerous for some of

[1:20:38] us for much longer than others and some

[1:20:41] of us now are seeing that and it's

[1:20:44] scary and things going to continue to

[1:20:47] get scary not just for us here, but for

[1:20:49] you too, it's time to not use words but

[1:20:51] actions.

[1:20:55] because words without actions are

[1:20:57] meaningful.

[1:20:58] so here's some actions for you.

[1:21:00] pass an ordinance of city council non

[1:21:04] collaboration with ice, cbp, hsi and

[1:21:10] building sharing with homeland security.

[1:21:17] isaac tiff its without interference.

[1:21:21] established a city lead working group

[1:21:25] aimed at protecting the public from ice

[1:21:28] and collaborating know your rights.

[1:21:31] pass an eviction moratorium, pass an

[1:21:34] ordinance, banning ice, cpi from

[1:21:37] staging on public properties and ban

[1:21:41] ice from entering city offices and

[1:21:43] other non public spaces without a

[1:21:45] judicial warrant.

[1:21:49] we verse the city of duluth for fuck

[1:21:57] sake and the city contract with nexus

[1:22:01] lexus.

[1:22:13] pass on nard ans virg problemsing when

[1:22:17] there are clear fourth amendment

[1:22:22] violations, within city limits without

[1:22:24] a judicial warrant.

[1:22:25] pass an ordinance requiring dpt to

[1:22:29] protect individuals from kidnapping

[1:22:31] from ice nat same manner they would be

[1:22:35] protected from protecting citizens and

[1:22:37] other means, I'm going to take the

[1:22:39] remaining almost minute here of silence

[1:22:43] for our brown brothers and sisters who

[1:22:44] didn't get a moment of silence earlier.

[1:23:46] >> thank you.

[1:23:49] our next speaker is david tricksted.

[1:24:04] >> welcome if you can please state your

[1:24:05] name and address.

[1:24:06] >> speaker: my name is david, glad

[1:24:09] sfoen street in duluth.

[1:24:10] I thank you for this opportunity to

[1:24:13] speak to all of and president nephew

[1:24:15] and the rest of you, thank you very

[1:24:17] much.

[1:24:18] my wife and I came to duluth 33 years

[1:24:22] ago and I came to serve first lutheran

[1:24:26] xhoifp as a pastor and for 22 years and

[1:24:30] a half I served both lutheran and

[1:24:35] concordia lutheran.

[1:24:37] we lived in morgan park for 13 years,

[1:24:38] loved it through.

[1:24:41] our grandson now has a house there with

[1:24:47] his daughter and his partner.

[1:24:50] we love lakeside, we love this

[1:24:53] community here very much and hope to

[1:24:56] spend the of our days there.

[1:24:59] I too wanted point out that we pledged

[1:25:04] allegiance to the flag and the r&b for

[1:25:09] which it stands.

[1:25:10] and the question is will it stand?

[1:25:14] if we can't affect what is going on in

[1:25:17] washington, we can affect what is going

[1:25:19] on in duluth.

[1:25:23] and and we come to you, the response

[1:25:24] has been amazing.

[1:25:26] they take my breath away and I cannot

[1:25:32] replicate for what has been saying.

[1:25:34] thank you for the silence at the

[1:25:35] beginning and thank you for the

[1:25:38] profound words and prayer.

[1:25:41] let's, actualize those words.

[1:25:43] let's make something happen from those

[1:25:44] words.

[1:25:49] I'm part of a weekly protest against

[1:25:52] ice on 60th avenue east and superior

[1:25:55] street.

[1:25:56] every wednesday at noon, since may, we

[1:25:59] started on thursday, but there is a

[1:26:03] veterinarian on that corner who does

[1:26:07] chemotherapy to the drags and the dogs

[1:26:11] were honking because the cars on

[1:26:13] agreement.

[1:26:14] the agreement is what we're doing over.

[1:26:31] due process for all.

[1:26:35] even non citizens, for all.

[1:26:37] there is no due process.

[1:26:47] and the entrance of homes, knocking

[1:26:50] down doors.

[1:26:51] now we learned that ice secret decide

[1:26:55] that they don't need that at all.

[1:26:58] en sitement of violence.

[1:27:01] I think the government is just waiting

[1:27:03] for an opportunity and excuse to

[1:27:08] declare marshal law.

[1:27:10] please from your point of view, please,

[1:27:12] put your words and feelings into action

[1:27:15] and move on these things that are being

[1:27:18] called for.

[1:27:19] your call to serve and to protect your

[1:27:21] constituents all of us.

[1:27:26] please help the duluth police

[1:27:30] department protect us.

[1:27:31] one of our citizens, two doors from us,

[1:27:34] is a police officer, wonderful,

[1:27:37] wonderful man p I pray for him

[1:27:38] regularly.

[1:27:40] but what he do in the face of ice

[1:27:42] showing up?

[1:27:43] what are they told to do?

[1:27:49] >> that is your time, thank you.

[1:27:50] >> thank you.

[1:27:57] >> our next speaker is laura termmin.

[1:28:15] >> welcome if you want to address your

[1:28:17] name and address, if you want to adjust

[1:28:23] the lectern, you can.

[1:28:24] >> speaker: I would like to say that

[1:28:26] now would be a pretty good time for all

[1:28:29] of our elected officials to listen to

[1:28:33] the people and with that, I would like

[1:28:36] to reaffirm what the demands that the

[1:28:38] people.

[1:28:39] to pass an ordinance of city non

[1:28:43] collaboration with ice, cbp, hsi and

[1:28:48] ban building sharing with homeland

[1:28:50] security.

[1:28:52] pass an ordinance, codifying a

[1:28:55] constitution and review isaac tiff its

[1:28:58] without interference.

[1:28:59] establish a working group aimed at

[1:29:02] establishing policy to protect the

[1:29:04] public from ice and incorporating know

[1:29:07] your rights for the public and local

[1:29:09] businesses.

[1:29:11] pass an eviction moratorium.

[1:29:13] pass an ordinance banning ice, cbp,

[1:29:17] hsi, from staging on public property

[1:29:19] and ban ice from entering city offices

[1:29:24] in other non public spaces without a

[1:29:27] judicial warrant.

[1:29:29] reverse contract with block safety and

[1:29:32] the city contract with nexus lexus,

[1:29:35] sign on to the petition to prevent

[1:29:39] wisconsin from being utilizes a hsi

[1:29:44] detention center and pass a resolution

[1:29:48] condemning federaltions use of the

[1:29:49] facility.

[1:29:51] pass an ordinance requiring prosecution

[1:29:53] when there are clear fourth amendment

[1:29:56] violations.

[1:30:00] pass an ordinance prohibiting

[1:30:03] detainment of ice without a judicial

[1:30:05] warrant.

[1:30:07] pass an ordinance requiring dpd to

[1:30:11] protect individuals from kidnapping

[1:30:14] ice, by kidnapping by ice in the same

[1:30:16] manner they would be protected from

[1:30:20] kidnapping by private citizens.

[1:30:22] and any other collusion from ice from

[1:30:26] surveillance technology and data or any

[1:30:28] other needs.

[1:30:29] thank you.

[1:30:30] >> thank you.

[1:30:32] >> our next speaker is andrew saint

[1:30:35] gray.

[1:30:50] >> might be a minute.

[1:30:52] my name is andrew st. Croix.

[1:30:54] thank you for having me here.

[1:30:56] mr. Mayor.

[1:30:57] oh.

[1:30:59] I am a resident of 8th district,

[1:31:04] indigenous land that carries the name

[1:31:06] of a setler, duluth.

[1:31:09] let's get one thing straight right off

[1:31:12] the bat.

[1:31:14] no one, no one, is illegal on stolen

[1:31:19] land!

[1:31:25] don't naen to attack you, I hope I'm

[1:31:27] being kind.

[1:31:29] let's be honest about that for a second.

[1:31:30] what is happening in this country?

[1:31:35] where, we as white people, have owned a

[1:31:41] system since time morium that landed on

[1:31:44] shores.

[1:31:46] time memorium in reality is indigenous

[1:31:50] where we stand, where we business,

[1:31:54] where we could not convenient right

[1:31:55] now, I'm going way off script but

[1:31:57] that's how 'em passioned we are right

[1:31:59] now.

[1:32:00] we need to lean into the indigenous

[1:32:06] wisdom, where we refocus the

[1:32:08] relationship with the land.

[1:32:09] we are not looking at the things with

[1:32:11] our property.

[1:32:12] at the end of last year, there was a

[1:32:15] discussion about the land, around

[1:32:18] lester park where the park is s.I went

[1:32:23] skiing there earlier, a few weeks ago,

[1:32:25] and I thought to myself, man, how good

[1:32:29] would some condos look right now.

[1:32:31] and we love and there is a lot of

[1:32:35] solidarity in this room right now.

[1:32:38] think of where we are.

[1:32:39] this is a moment in history, where do

[1:32:40] you want to be?

[1:33:01] that's why people live in duluth, not

[1:33:04] all.

[1:33:07] I want too talk in the last minute

[1:33:09] about my weekend.

[1:33:11] I helped organize the sit-in here on

[1:33:13] friday.

[1:33:20] and that morning I felt so good.

[1:33:22] I saw what was happening down in the

[1:33:25] twin cities.

[1:33:27] the endeavors, I saw it on the news

[1:33:30] sunday morning with flash and tear gas,

[1:33:33] that was fun.

[1:33:34] but, I felt so good saturday morning.

[1:33:37] my wife and I were having our coffee

[1:33:40] and a friend of mine who lives here who

[1:33:44] grew up in minneapolis, texted me,

[1:33:49] there was another shooting five minutes

[1:33:51] after it happened.

[1:33:52] I was so like many, anger, angry, sad,

[1:33:57] heartbroken confused but mostly

[1:34:00] empowered to protect my neighbors.

[1:34:03] alex preti was a helper.

[1:34:05] I'm going to poorly quote mlk, but look

[1:34:09] for the helpers.

[1:34:10] you either plan something now, because

[1:34:12] I consider myself a helper and you may

[1:34:14] have to come out a press release about

[1:34:18] my killing.

[1:34:19] thank you.

[1:34:24] >> our next speaker is grant stutter.

[1:34:32] >> welcome, please state your name and

[1:34:34] address.

[1:34:35] >> speaker: hello I'm grant studer,

[1:34:40] greetings, president nephew, staff, I

[1:34:43] appreciate you listening attentively

[1:34:45] this evening.

[1:34:46] I've had a variety of drafts and as I

[1:34:49] hear what my neighbors and friends and

[1:34:52] people are saying, I've what I feel

[1:34:59] feels important.

[1:35:01] I like to get started with it.

[1:35:03] but I live in district 3, zip code

[1:35:07] 55805 and, I want to consider maybe

[1:35:10] supporting just switching to zip codes

[1:35:13] and districts, because if I were to

[1:35:16] come up and read your address off into

[1:35:18] the microphone and on to the record,

[1:35:21] that may make you feel uncomfortable.

[1:35:34] that I may not feel great reading my

[1:35:37] name out.

[1:35:38] we're at a time of genuine fear, so as

[1:35:43] a small protocol, you have accepted

[1:35:46] that many have shared that info and

[1:35:49] there is no push back.

[1:35:55] as you consider the possibility of

[1:35:58] increasing things to confirm and

[1:36:03] reaffirm duluth pds, non compliance and

[1:36:06] non support of the violent folks who are

[1:36:12] such havoc in our city, I want you to

[1:36:15] consider what enforcement may look like.

[1:36:17] because over the past couple of years,

[1:36:21] anytime I meet.dpd officer, I have to

[1:36:23] ask is this tele live breed.

[1:36:27] is this the guy that fired six bullets

[1:36:31] through a door and then retired and

[1:36:36] worked until until he had credible

[1:36:43] accusations of sexual assaults.

[1:36:46] if we're going to say no, we don't do

[1:36:47] that.

[1:36:48] and if there are no consequences, what

[1:36:51] happens next?

[1:36:52] that is a way to build trust.

[1:36:54] to make sure that there is

[1:36:59] accountability and things are hard

[1:37:07] right now and I've heard some of your

[1:37:09] speechesed.

[1:37:10] --speeches.

[1:37:11] and you ran on city services and

[1:37:17] schools and safe neighborhoods.

[1:37:32] I don't want this to be interrupted.

[1:37:34] this is bigger than the job you signed

[1:37:36] up for.

[1:37:38] and I appreciate the stress at that.

[1:37:48] some sense of why, maybe would be a

[1:37:53] more advantageous thing for future run.

[1:37:55] what we're asking of you, is scare aoeg

[1:37:58] than deciding not to fund another

[1:38:00] community center for the park.

[1:38:01] so say that you're going to do things

[1:38:04] that may go against armed members of

[1:38:07] the government or that may anger those

[1:38:09] folks is big.

[1:38:10] and you cannot rise to the moment,

[1:38:14] consider whether you need to find a

[1:38:17] better way to contribute right now.

[1:38:19] >> that's your time.

[1:38:20] thank you.

[1:38:21] >> thank you very much.

[1:38:22] >> our next speaker is danny frank.

[1:38:38] >> welcome, please state your name and

[1:38:40] address and many people just give your

[1:38:44] zip code, that's acceptable.

[1:38:52] --

[1:38:53] ~>> we do ask that you address the body

[1:38:55] as a whole.

[1:38:56] >> speaker: I'm addressing, but thank

[1:39:00] you president nephew.

[1:39:01] two weeks ago, many of us stood here

[1:39:04] and asked to you cut ties with nexus

[1:39:07] lexus, the company that is mrieg

[1:39:10] information for ice for hsi operations.

[1:39:13] we asked that you and the duluth police

[1:39:17] department, ask non cooperation with

[1:39:20] ice and its various nefarious branches.

[1:39:23] we ask that you speak out against the

[1:39:31] authoritarian on slot.

[1:39:33] that same night many you stated that

[1:39:38] you would not--that you would minimize

[1:39:44] our impassioned speeches and that mayor

[1:39:48] reiner would remain silent which she

[1:39:50] did.

[1:39:52] that is until another was murdering

[1:39:54] while many of us were finishing our

[1:39:57] first cup of coffee.

[1:39:59] since then, we've heard the same

[1:40:01] shallow plat tude, from rogers from

[1:40:03] this council tonight.

[1:40:04] we hear the outrage, we hear the anger,

[1:40:08] the sadness, the prayers, the moments

[1:40:11] of silence, what we have not heard is

[1:40:13] what you're going to do to preemptively

[1:40:16] make our community safer for everyone.

[1:40:19] our neighbors here tonight have given

[1:40:21] you a laundry list of demands and

[1:40:24] opportunities and options, none of

[1:40:25] which are all that radical and

[1:40:27] attainable.

[1:40:28] you have plenty to choose from, pick

[1:40:32] one and start there.

[1:40:34] show us you're doing something.

[1:40:36] this probably isn't going away, we've

[1:40:38] got at least 77 more months until a new

[1:40:41] congress that may have the chance of

[1:40:43] putting the trump regime in check, that

[1:40:45] is if we even have election nz november.

[1:40:48] history will tell the story of those

[1:40:50] who step back and those who stood up.

[1:40:53] what will history say about this

[1:40:55] council and each one of you here

[1:40:57] tonight?

[1:40:58] thank you.

[1:41:00] >> our next speaker is star brainered.

[1:41:24] identificationer I'm stars brainered,

[1:41:25] I'm here for the same reason a lot of

[1:41:27] people are here.

[1:41:29] it's really really challenging feeling

[1:41:35] so powerless every day.

[1:41:40] it soupsed like you may too from the

[1:41:43] words but the cool thing is that you

[1:41:45] can actually do something.

[1:41:52] I try to go to protest whenever I can

[1:41:59] but I'm afraid what could happen.

[1:42:00] I was here for my first council meet

[1:42:04] ing last council meeting and I was

[1:42:08] stupidly, hopeful, because you said

[1:42:11] really nice passionate things and I was,

[1:42:19] silly op timistic item that there

[1:42:24] would be an agenda addressing what so

[1:42:26] many people are passionate about and so

[1:42:29] many here today.

[1:42:30] if you have to say, we can't do

[1:42:33] anything, I would ask that you try

[1:42:35] anything.

[1:42:38] make it look like, we're making an

[1:42:41] effort even if it's symbolic.

[1:42:43] I think there are anyone'sing that

[1:42:45] would not be symbolic but anything.

[1:42:47] if you say there are not that many ice

[1:42:51] officers here, let's do something

[1:42:52] before there are.

[1:42:53] let's not wait until there are more

[1:42:56] people dead somebody more has died

[1:43:00] people are literally dying, we're

[1:43:02] watching our democracy crumble.

[1:43:23] sets do an ordinance, and pro vibity

[1:43:28] ice and cbp and chi from staging in

[1:43:33] property.

[1:43:35] establish a city task poers aimed at

[1:43:39] creating policy recommendations to

[1:43:41] protect citizens from ice and

[1:43:43] coordinating from our know your rights

[1:43:45] training for citizens and local

[1:43:48] businesses and ban ice from school

[1:43:49] grounds within with the city.

[1:43:52] please, ban ice from school grounds in

[1:43:54] the city, kids deserve to go to school.

[1:43:59] thank you for the time.

[1:44:01] >> our next speaker is, robert carleton.

[1:44:28] >> speaker: hi, I'm robert carleton.

[1:44:33] I would like to commune --communicate

[1:44:40] some information on nexus lexus, I know

[1:44:44] you renewed but I believe it's

[1:44:47] important that in 2024, on christmas

[1:44:51] day, they suffered one of the worse

[1:44:53] breaches a data firm ever has.

[1:44:59] 364,000 people had their, had their

[1:45:02] data breached this data includes full

[1:45:06] names, email addresses and driver's

[1:45:08] license numbers and social security

[1:45:10] numbers among other things.

[1:45:15] this is devastating because looking

[1:45:18] over the, looking over the forms that

[1:45:21] the banks use, that's enough

[1:45:23] information to close somebody's account.

[1:45:26] I've, I personally worked in data

[1:45:27] security.

[1:45:33] I work in technology now.

[1:45:35] I like this council, council, I would

[1:45:42] like to consider rescinding any

[1:45:45] contract with nexus lexus as well as

[1:45:47] adding my voice to the list of demands

[1:45:50] that has been given tonight.

[1:45:51] thank you.

[1:45:59] >> thank you, our next speaker is

[1:46:02] maggie.

[1:46:27] should we just go on to the next

[1:46:28] speaker?

[1:46:30] okay, the next speaker is james hansen.

[1:46:51] >> speaker: I know you're not federal

[1:46:53] government so I apologize.

[1:46:58] but, over the weekend, what is

[1:47:03] happening and the federal abuse of the

[1:47:06] state of minnesota is terrifying to me.

[1:47:12] I am a teacher at lincoln park, I'm

[1:47:15] afraid for students and families.

[1:47:18] I'm afraid for my friends and my

[1:47:22] children's friends.

[1:47:23] and the question, I have sat with all

[1:47:27] weekend is, where is the state and city

[1:47:31] check on federal dollar?

[1:47:33] I feel like we keep, we've had several

[1:47:39] strong statements and we've had

[1:47:41] reassurances, lower the temperature,

[1:47:46] and cooperate and and suddenly this

[1:47:50] administration, and the department of

[1:47:56] homeland security lack.

[1:48:00] dhs immigration ep forcement has been a

[1:48:02] thing of over two decades.

[1:48:06] president obama deported more people

[1:48:12] than bush, but at least they followed

[1:48:13] laws.

[1:48:15] and in the wake of lawless federal

[1:48:20] agents, I'm begging the city council to

[1:48:23] please reach out to the state and

[1:48:25] communicate to us the citizens, how are

[1:48:28] we going to be protected from lawless

[1:48:30] agents.

[1:48:32] I was seeing the execution saturday

[1:48:33] morning, I was filled with fear and

[1:48:37] desperation.

[1:48:39] what would I do if my daughter watt a

[1:48:42] friend's house over the weekend.

[1:48:46] what would I do if I shoeld up at her

[1:48:50] friend's house, I'm not sure the

[1:48:52] immigration status of her friends.

[1:48:56] but, I don't.

[1:48:57] I don't want to die.

[1:48:59] and I am so sad to see the death that

[1:49:03] have happened to our citizens and I

[1:49:05] feel it will continue to happen if we

[1:49:08] do not take a stand against federal

[1:49:13] abuse and federal reach.

[1:49:14] I would like to have a clear statement

[1:49:17] from the city and government about how

[1:49:21] our information agencies, duluth pd,

[1:49:25] all how we will, how we will handle

[1:49:32] lawless federal agents.

[1:49:34] if federal agents show up at the school

[1:49:37] will dpd show supe or courthouse or

[1:49:42] hospital, will they come and escort ice

[1:49:44] agents away?

[1:49:48] we live in a society governed bylaws

[1:49:51] and the executive branch is is not

[1:49:53] following those laws.

[1:49:54] and we need our state and we need our

[1:49:58] city to stand together to push back

[1:50:01] against federal power.

[1:50:04] I'm feeling very desperate over the

[1:50:06] weekend and I'm looking for reassurance

[1:50:09] and solidarity.

[1:50:10] thank you.

[1:50:21] our next speaker.

[1:50:27] >> welcome if you can state your name

[1:50:29] and address.

[1:50:30] >> speaker: yes, I was in the other

[1:50:31] room.

[1:50:32] my name is maggie hilton, I live in zip

[1:50:39] code 5881.

[1:50:40] I just want to speak from the heart

[1:50:44] instead of what I had prepared.

[1:50:46] I had not been to one of these meetings

[1:50:49] until the last meeting.

[1:50:50] and I am ashamed that I have not come

[1:50:53] until now and I am ashamed that I have

[1:50:56] not spoken until now.

[1:50:58] I moved to duluth in 2024 and I got the

[1:51:01] privilege to meet my neighbors in

[1:51:03] duluth heights.

[1:51:04] and I want you to know that what I'm

[1:51:06] saying and what the others are saying,

[1:51:09] are reflective of the attitudes of

[1:51:13] majority of duluthians.

[1:51:14] this is what most want.

[1:51:16] I agree with all the demands that has

[1:51:18] been laid out.

[1:51:19] this is not some fringe opinion, I

[1:51:21] believe that you all have power to do

[1:51:24] something at least make them work for

[1:51:25] it.

[1:51:26] god damn, like we can do something.

[1:51:32] I am, not somebody who enjoys feeling

[1:51:35] powerless and I feel powerless in this

[1:51:37] moment and I'm looking at a group of

[1:51:40] people who have the power to do

[1:51:41] something.

[1:51:42] when we look at what was said at the

[1:51:44] last meeting, I was, dismayed by some

[1:51:48] of what I heard in terms of hsi, isn't

[1:51:52] ice and dpd isn't ice.

[1:51:54] let's proof it.

[1:51:56] what is stopping us from proving it.

[1:51:59] we heard that because, hsi officers

[1:52:01] have lived and worked in the community

[1:52:03] for a long time, that is suppose to

[1:52:05] make us feel better.

[1:52:06] and I'm not diminishing the important

[1:52:08] work that is being done by agents but

[1:52:10] look at the person who killed renee

[1:52:13] good.

[1:52:15] that is a person that lipped in the

[1:52:18] minneapolis community for ten years

[1:52:20] with his immigrant wife and he went on

[1:52:23] and did that.

[1:52:25] how are we suppose to trust anyone to

[1:52:28] have our best interest at heart and to

[1:52:30] work with dpd at any kind of capacity,

[1:52:34] at the very least let's put a pause at

[1:52:39] work with dpd with whatever crisis is

[1:52:41] happening right now.

[1:52:42] that seems to be the bear minimum.

[1:52:45] there has to be something that you can

[1:52:46] do.

[1:52:47] and I appreciate the words and

[1:52:49] solidarity and I want to be part of

[1:52:51] this community.

[1:52:52] I want to build trust with that

[1:52:54] relationship and this council and here

[1:52:57] and my neighbors but it's hard to build

[1:52:59] trust when there is that foundation of

[1:53:02] mistrust because of who that agency is

[1:53:05] and that work going complete hee off

[1:53:07] the book and the rest of the state.

[1:53:09] I don't know what else to say, I'll

[1:53:16] seize the rest of my time.

[1:53:17] thank you.

[1:53:18] >> our next speaker is kathy peterson.

[1:53:43] >> speaker: I'm speaking for general

[1:53:45] harris who could not be here this

[1:53:48] evening, she is with human rights

[1:53:49] commission.

[1:53:50] hope of the day, a state in position of

[1:53:55] an unyielding spirit collectively

[1:53:59] assembles and grows stronger with each

[1:54:01] voice after being subjected to repeated

[1:54:05] attempts.

[1:54:06] day 55 of the seige, in the state of

[1:54:12] minnesota, in which folks can quickly

[1:54:16] become targets.

[1:54:18] one bad turn, one decision being at the

[1:54:20] wrong place at the wrong time can get

[1:54:23] you face-to-face with the trigger

[1:54:27] angered agent untrained in deescalation

[1:54:31] or tactics or just a general bad actor,

[1:54:34] seizing the moment.

[1:54:37] however, strengthen numbers has been in

[1:54:40] the works since spring and summer of 25

[1:54:42] to form a parameter of protection.

[1:54:46] they come from all walks, excuse me,

[1:54:50] clergy, parents, on neighborhood patrol.

[1:54:54] financial advisors, city counselor, the

[1:55:00] elderly, musicians, basketball coaches

[1:55:02] service workers, legislators,

[1:55:08] attorneys, doctors, respond to go

[1:55:09] document abuse of power or suspicious

[1:55:13] activity as trained constitutional

[1:55:15] observers.

[1:55:18] we are a for giving people and connect

[1:55:21] be respective but the collective

[1:55:24] response change when defensive people

[1:55:26] skulls bounce off the ground from

[1:55:30] shoves akin to a bully on the

[1:55:31] playground.

[1:55:33] the collective response change when

[1:55:34] dignity has been stripped from humans.

[1:55:38] the collective response changed when it

[1:55:41] would seem that a constitution was

[1:55:44] stuffed in a paper shreder, somewhere

[1:55:48] out east.

[1:55:50] with you border patrol homeland, are

[1:55:52] you police?

[1:55:53] are you customs, enforcement?

[1:55:55] I cannot tell.

[1:55:56] why is this unmarked unmarked vehicle

[1:56:01] rapidly moving after grocery shopping?

[1:56:04] did I forget my id, did should I have

[1:56:10] brought my passport, do I look american

[1:56:12] enough?

[1:56:13] how many people are there in that

[1:56:15] vehicle?

[1:56:16] how many of them are trained enough to

[1:56:18] know when to walk away, will I see my

[1:56:22] home and family again?

[1:56:36] are we not seeing the grievance.

[1:56:41] and stand up in the face of the of the

[1:56:47] oppressor or no words fortitude.

[1:56:50] and you have not picked a side yet,

[1:56:53] close your eyes and dream about which

[1:56:56] america you wish to live in because we

[1:56:59] are heading into the america our

[1:57:04] ancestors did not want us to know.

[1:57:12] the thoughts of jen hearis.

[1:57:15] thank you for listening.

[1:57:18] >> I'm sorry, no cheers or jeers.

[1:57:24] >> our next speaker, is lucy billings.

[1:57:46] >> speaker: I'm an educator so my main

[1:57:49] thing is that kids have a place to go

[1:57:51] safe.

[1:57:52] my aunt and uncle in minneapolis kept

[1:57:56] watch at a park to try to keep children

[1:57:59] who were attending a community event

[1:58:02] from being abducted.

[1:58:03] we all want to keep our children safe

[1:58:07] from creating traumatic memories of

[1:58:09] this time period.

[1:58:11] and one thing that makes people feel a

[1:58:14] sense of safety is knowing that our

[1:58:16] government is trying to protect us from

[1:58:20] harm.

[1:58:21] you are the local government, you are

[1:58:23] the people that we elected in moments

[1:58:27] of crisis like this.

[1:58:29] doing nothing, no new ordinance south

[1:58:32] side nothing.

[1:58:35] if and when a larger number of agents

[1:58:38] decides to come up, it's clear that all

[1:58:41] the people of duluth, all of us, are in

[1:58:46] danger not just our immigrant neighbors

[1:58:49] of doors being beaten down without

[1:58:52] warrants or grounds, chemical weapons

[1:58:54] being used on peaceful protesters and

[1:58:56] anyone of us in the wrong place at the

[1:58:59] wrong time, being detained or beaten or

[1:59:02] shot and killed by federal agents.

[1:59:05] so I don't think there is a question of

[1:59:07] whether or not we need new ordinances.

[1:59:11] it's a question of what our city and

[1:59:13] policies do to protect us.

[1:59:15] so I brought today, a couple of

[1:59:19] examples from other cities that have

[1:59:22] already created new ordinances or

[1:59:25] amended theirs to take the actions that

[1:59:27] we're asking to you take today.

[1:59:30] I stand with all the dsa's demands and

[1:59:33] I wanted to offer some language, some

[1:59:36] examples of how to do that.

[1:59:38] so I'll read a couple from

[1:59:40] minneapolis's and then, if I could give

[1:59:43] these two guys later.

[1:59:45] there is more examples from other

[1:59:47] cities.

[1:59:48] minneapolis they have already amended

[1:59:50] their city ordinance to see say, other

[1:59:53] than when required by law, city

[1:59:56] employees representatives, contractors,

[1:59:58] shall not use city facilities property

[2:00:01] monies equipment data technology

[2:00:03] including license plate recognition and

[2:00:06] surveillance videos and computers for

[2:00:08] the purpose of enforcing federal

[2:00:11] immigration laws.

[2:00:14] they have, updated their access to see

[2:00:17] property no federal state or personnel

[2:00:19] is authorized to use any city owned or

[2:00:23] city controlled parking lot or vacant

[2:00:25] lot or garage as a staging area,

[2:00:29] processing location and operation base

[2:00:32] or any other similar use for

[2:00:35] immigration laws.

[2:00:37] they have said non city spaces are not

[2:00:39] open for the purposes of enforcement of

[2:00:44] federal immigration laws except with a

[2:00:46] judicial warrant.

[2:00:48] public safety officials shall not

[2:00:50] question or person or persons about

[2:00:52] their immigration status.

[2:00:55] public safety officials shall not

[2:00:59] question or arrest.

[2:01:01] including but not limited through

[2:01:04] traffic stops or creation or

[2:01:07] participation in checkpoints.

[2:01:09] I think, that if minneapolis can do all

[2:01:12] of that, that should be the basic

[2:01:14] starting point and the dsa's demands

[2:01:19] are great examples of what we can do as

[2:01:20] well.

[2:01:21] >> thank you.

[2:01:23] that's your time.

[2:01:24] >> our next speaker is marcus edget.

[2:01:31] >> speaker: hello, my name is mark

[2:01:33] edget, I live in 55804 and district 1.

[2:01:38] I would like to speak on a couple of

[2:01:41] separate issues as a human rights

[2:01:43] commissioner, it is my understanding

[2:01:45] that part of my duty is to advise and

[2:01:49] specifically the state human rights act

[2:01:52] whether it be through a lack of

[2:01:54] training, I and other human rights

[2:01:56] commissioners are unsure of the

[2:01:58] communication vehicle which which you

[2:01:59] would like us to do so.

[2:02:02] would that be a general or where we may

[2:02:08] discuss a particular concern.

[2:02:12] my representatives as durrwatcher.

[2:02:15] >> please address the council as a

[2:02:16] whole.

[2:02:17] thank you.

[2:02:18] >> speaker: perhaps the council, would

[2:02:20] like to send the commission

[2:02:23] clarification as to your desire as how

[2:02:25] you would like us to communicate.

[2:02:28] during my interview, the council made

[2:02:31] the reasonable statement that the

[2:02:33] council may not agree with the

[2:02:34] commission and I accept that.

[2:02:36] but current structure feels like

[2:02:39] communication are lacking on this area.

[2:02:43] an unrelated note, I like to discuss

[2:02:48] the minnesota knights.

[2:03:03] they are now attempting to export

[2:03:06] efforts to only attacks as those they

[2:03:10] view as political enemies.

[2:03:22] racial profiling, firing tear gas

[2:03:26] canisters at samaritans.

[2:03:32] with no phones or no photos as a crime.

[2:03:36] breaking the window of a car full of

[2:03:41] children and releasing tear gas is

[2:03:44] inhumane.

[2:03:45] as long as they're not actively

[2:03:49] impeding information.

[2:03:50] you cannot mace them as their pastor

[2:03:54] raise them to sew fear.

[2:03:56] that also means stopping and asking for

[2:03:59] papers as a violation of constitutional

[2:04:01] rights.

[2:04:03] law enforcement those they know and

[2:04:06] they don't care.

[2:04:07] as a commissioner, I would like to

[2:04:09] reiterate the commissioners reach out

[2:04:10] to the city and city council to see

[2:04:13] take a stance on ice operations we

[2:04:16] emailed last week.

[2:04:17] we want you to protect your family and

[2:04:20] your community even as a volunteer

[2:04:23] commission per, I swore an oath to the

[2:04:25] state of minnesota and its constitution.

[2:04:28] I know each of you did too and if I

[2:04:31] were to suggest and suggest a statement

[2:04:33] it would be the following.

[2:04:34] due to the violations of minnesota

[2:04:36] human rights act and the constitutional

[2:04:39] rights of minnesotaians, duluth police

[2:04:41] department cannot in good faith act in

[2:04:45] any future collaborations with ice.

[2:04:48] we stand with our community.

[2:04:49] >> thank you.

[2:05:07] >> welcome if you'll state your name

[2:05:08] and a drits.

[2:05:13] --address.

[2:05:14] >> speaker: I'm evan and I live on

[2:05:19] third street avenue east.

[2:05:20] I felt the need to speak today in order

[2:05:24] to represent those of us who are

[2:05:28] opposed, to any sort of, ice

[2:05:31] involvement in of course minneapolis

[2:05:34] but obviously in the city of duluth.

[2:05:40] I can just say as a concerned citizen

[2:05:44] that a lot of us, may be coming here

[2:05:50] for the first time in this year or, at

[2:05:55] all today, but, you know, we're all

[2:05:59] working people just like y'all and

[2:06:01] you're the closest reach we have to

[2:06:04] sharing our general thoughts and

[2:06:05] concerns.

[2:06:06] so thank you for being available and

[2:06:13] potentially to its not your sole job to

[2:06:18] educate us on what is and what isn't

[2:06:21] possible.

[2:06:22] but a lot of us are confused as to

[2:06:27] minnesotans who were killed by the

[2:06:30] federal government or arms of the

[2:06:31] federal government.

[2:06:38] so if any of our demands are not being

[2:06:40] met or if any of them are being

[2:06:43] unreasonable in your eyes, please, have

[2:06:46] a conversation with us somehow.

[2:06:51] whether it be a public statement as you

[2:06:54] made at the beginning of the meeting

[2:06:57] or, anything that isn't, silence is

[2:07:03] much appreciated as if, if, you're

[2:07:06] mentioning that it's very complicated

[2:07:08] to do these things and some of them are

[2:07:11] possible tell us, so we can have that

[2:07:13] conversation of and so we can, the

[2:07:17] people can warrant as well.

[2:07:20] and in general, I'll just say, if, if

[2:07:25] this were to be any other issue of,

[2:07:29] let's say house or road development or

[2:07:32] working with any third party or even

[2:07:39] another government agency, on

[2:07:41] principal, you wouldn't hire a housing

[2:07:44] developer that has had their.

[2:07:53] very high rate or you would not

[2:07:56] contract a third party to build a road

[2:08:00] that wouldn't be stable.

[2:08:06] so you as a city, the city of duluth

[2:08:10] should not collaborate with an agency

[2:08:12] who has killed two minnesotans, it's a

[2:08:15] mistake that is very unforgiving.

[2:08:27] and, thank you.

[2:08:37] the people we want to talk so, if

[2:08:41] something is not possible or if we're

[2:08:47] misunderstanding something, let's try

[2:08:49] to learn.

[2:08:50] >> thank you.

[2:08:51] >> our last speaker is max bowman.

[2:09:00] >> welcome, if you'll please state your

[2:09:02] name and address.

[2:09:05] >> max bulman, I live in--(inaudible)

[2:09:11] please listen to what those have said

[2:09:14] before in nexus lexus ice.

[2:09:16] this is related.

[2:09:17] it will be great to know that my

[2:09:21] councilmembers have any safety and

[2:09:23] security in mind.

[2:09:30] I'm talking about flock, it's a

[2:09:33] surveillance system integrated with ai,

[2:09:36] flock safety areas were installed in

[2:09:39] town without the consent of our

[2:09:42] citizens instead attached to something

[2:09:44] like a bail to approve police overtime.

[2:09:48] a youtuber, just some guy found over 60

[2:09:53] vulnerable in flock, one of being

[2:09:56] operating system that has not been used

[2:09:59] for 8 years.

[2:10:12] on google can access--yes so.

[2:10:24] so anything that a creep would want to

[2:10:28] view is on available on flock or from

[2:10:30] flock safety.

[2:10:37] sometimes they execute people just for

[2:10:38] living their lives.

[2:10:44] stockers and ice,/homeland security.

[2:10:45] two types of people I don't want

[2:10:47] everybody watching my moves or

[2:10:50] monitoring my routine and those of my

[2:10:52] neighbors.

[2:11:24] with police whom ever and also, there

[2:11:27] was, a ruling where ice is no longer

[2:11:30] allowed to use flock safety but police

[2:11:33] departments across the country are

[2:11:36] allowing them access regardless.

[2:11:43] and yeah, it's just awful and bad for

[2:11:45] us people.

[2:11:46] if you want surveillance and security,

[2:11:48] it should be done safely and with risk

[2:11:54] and ethicacy in mind.

[2:11:55] thank you.

[2:11:56] >> thank you.

[2:11:58] >> if there is no more speakers, we

[2:12:03] will take a five-minute, point of

[2:12:05] privilege.

[2:16:49] we will reconvene in 30 seconds.

[2:16:57] if you can please take your seats.

[2:17:32] >> okay, I will call the meeting of

[2:17:36] duluth back to order.

[2:17:38] do we have a motion to approve the

[2:17:41] consent agenda.

[2:17:43] do I have a second?

[2:17:47] let's get a second and if you would

[2:17:50] like to discuss, if you would like to

[2:17:52] pull that time.

[2:17:53] do I have a second to we can discuss?

[2:17:58] second by forsman and I see we have

[2:18:03] councilmember clanaugh on the cue.

[2:18:06] >> I move for the suspension of the

[2:18:08] rules so we can discuss what our fellow

[2:18:13] citizens have remitted in our moment of

[2:18:16] constitutional crisis and apparel

[2:18:17] public safety.

[2:18:24] >> can you please repeat that.

[2:18:27] >> I move for a suspension of the

[2:18:29] rules, so we can discuss and consider

[2:18:33] what our fellow citizens have presented

[2:18:38] as responses a potential of responses

[2:18:42] to our constitutional crisis and

[2:18:49] imperiled public safety.

[2:18:52] >> second by randorf?

[2:18:59] >> any discussion?

[2:19:00] >> we also have a resolution and a

[2:19:01] second.

[2:19:02] we need to do that first.

[2:19:04] >> we're going to go back to the

[2:19:06] consent agenda.

[2:19:07] so we had a motion and a second, is

[2:19:10] there any discussion on the consent

[2:19:11] agenda?

[2:19:16] councilor clanaugh.

[2:19:17] >> yes, I would like to pull item

[2:19:21] number 2 for separate consideration.

[2:19:22] >> is there a second to pull number 2?

[2:19:25] second by durrwatcher, any discussion

[2:19:27] on it?

[2:19:28] if there is no discussion, we will pull

[2:19:31] item 2 from the consent agenda.

[2:19:34] any other discussion on the consent

[2:19:36] agenda?

[2:19:37] if none, let's, I, all those in favor

[2:19:44] to approve consent agenda with pulling

[2:19:46] number 2 say aye.

[2:19:47] >> aye.

[2:19:48] >> oppose same sign.

[2:19:52] that passes 9-0.

[2:19:53] then we will go to item number 2 on the

[2:19:57] consent agenda.

[2:20:01] I'm sorry, item number 2 which would be

[2:20:08] councilor randorf.

[2:20:10] >> it's a administration to accept

[2:20:12] gifts on the behalf of the amount of

[2:20:16] 10,000 or less, and I'll move that.

[2:20:20] >> seconded by tomanek and we have

[2:20:27] councilor durrwatcher.

[2:20:28] >> I'm going to yield at the moment.

[2:20:32] >> councilor clanaugh.

[2:20:35] >> yes, as I read the prior resolution,

[2:20:41] this expired in 23.

[2:20:46] I'm curious why this was aloud

[2:20:52] --allowed to lapse for three years.

[2:20:54] I'm trying to understand this

[2:20:55] resolution and proposal.

[2:20:56] >> so the council questions for the

[2:20:59] agenda item should have been asked by

[2:21:01] staff at the agenda or prior to the

[2:21:04] meetings, so tonight is for comments on

[2:21:07] it.

[2:21:08] do you have comments on it?

[2:21:10] >> yes, I can add comments.

[2:21:12] I think it's a good thing for our city

[2:21:15] to receive gifts.

[2:21:16] however for them not to be disclosed

[2:21:19] and reviewed by council would be

[2:21:21] troubling.

[2:21:22] with the commitment to transparency and

[2:21:26] accountable, disclosure would

[2:21:28] disclosure would guard against

[2:21:30] potential influences peddling,

[2:21:31] especially given the 10,000 threshold

[2:21:34] which I find to be signature.

[2:21:37] so therefore I move to amend this

[2:21:39] proposal to require that the city

[2:21:42] council receive public notification and

[2:21:45] that this information is included in

[2:21:47] council minutes listing all gifts to

[2:21:49] the city that would occur under this

[2:21:50] resolution.

[2:21:57] >> so we have a motion to amend before

[2:21:59] us, is there a second?

[2:22:02] second by durrwatcher, any discussion

[2:22:04] on the motion to attend?

[2:22:07] --amend.

[2:22:10] we have councilor forsman.

[2:22:12] >> thank you, I can see where you're

[2:22:13] coming from.

[2:22:15] since it's not typical to amend from

[2:22:18] the floor, I'm wondering if attorney or

[2:22:22] clerk need clarification on the what

[2:22:24] the motion is?

[2:22:36] >> councilor forsman, president nephew,

[2:22:39] I think I understand, and I would work

[2:22:41] with the attorney's office to put it

[2:22:44] into the resolution if it's amended.

[2:22:45] >> thank you.

[2:22:49] >> councilor durrwatcher.

[2:22:50] >> thank you, president nephew and

[2:22:53] thank you, councilor clanaugh for

[2:22:57] suggesting that amendment.

[2:22:58] I would support that h I still have a

[2:23:00] lot of questions about this too after

[2:23:03] further discussion.

[2:23:07] I think the very least we can do is

[2:23:09] just become as transparent as possible.

[2:23:17] >> administrator?

[2:23:18] >> thank you, council president.

[2:23:32] council forsman.

[2:23:33] I would suggest quarterly reporting to

[2:23:35] the council.

[2:23:36] whatever you would like.

[2:23:38] I think frankly bringing this it to

[2:23:40] council as we receive these, would be a

[2:23:43] waste of staff time and frankly a waste

[2:23:46] of council time.

[2:23:47] so I would recommend something on more

[2:23:51] regular basis, I would like to consult

[2:23:55] with my staff to see what would make

[2:23:58] sense.

[2:23:59] I don't know how often we receive

[2:24:02] donations, I would like to check with

[2:24:04] them first.

[2:24:07] maybe, we could table this item.

[2:24:09] I don't think this is of any urgency,

[2:24:12] so we can bring this back for a couple

[2:24:18] of weeks with more questions.

[2:24:20] if this is causing the council

[2:24:29] consternation, we can bring this back.

[2:24:38] >> councilor kennedy.

[2:24:39] >> that is my discussion to table this.

[2:24:41] I would need more information to make a

[2:24:44] more informed vote, voting it up or

[2:24:46] down.

[2:24:47] so I would suggest to table it if we

[2:24:49] could.

[2:24:51] >> councilor durrwatcher.

[2:24:52] >> thank you, president nephew and

[2:25:04] administrator stear-ling.

[2:25:07] I asked a question and I didn't have

[2:25:09] time to follow-up with a more clear

[2:25:12] question.

[2:25:13] and I know david has councilor clanaugh

[2:25:18] has a list of questions that he would

[2:25:20] still like to ask as well.

[2:25:22] so I, I move to table it.

[2:25:27] >> do we have to quick vote on the

[2:25:30] amended version first or can we move to

[2:25:32] the table?

[2:25:40] >> I withdrawal my proposed amendment.

[2:25:42] >> okay, and councilor durrwatcher are

[2:25:45] you making a motion to table?

[2:25:47] >> yes.

[2:25:49] >> and seconded by kennedy.

[2:25:50] any discussion?

[2:25:51] all those in favor signal by saying aye.

[2:25:54] >> aye.

[2:25:56] >> opposed same sign.

[2:25:58] resolution 61 will be tabled.

[2:26:11] >> next, we will move on to councilor

[2:26:14] questions or comments.

[2:26:22] council cer clanaugh.

[2:26:23] >> point of motion on rules.

[2:26:27] it has a sec.

[2:26:28] >> so there is a motion to suspend the

[2:26:30] rules and a second.

[2:26:31] any discussion on that?

[2:26:38] councilor tomanek.

[2:26:39] >> can you clarify what we're

[2:26:43] suspending the rules for?

[2:26:44] >> sure, yeah.

[2:26:45] so that we can have some discussion and

[2:26:48] consideration.

[2:26:50] I mean our fellow citizens have brought

[2:26:56] extensive concerns to us.

[2:26:57] we're in a moment that is unprecedented

[2:27:00] during our lifetime.

[2:27:01] and there is a sense of urgency that

[2:27:04] we, that we figure out some way to

[2:27:07] begin acting, we may not be able to do

[2:27:10] a lot tonight.

[2:27:11] but I think for consideration for our

[2:27:15] fellow citizens, we should at least

[2:27:17] have some discussion among ourselves.

[2:27:21] and with, with informed information

[2:27:23] from staff to figure out a path forward.

[2:27:29] >> next we'll move on to councilor

[2:27:32] forsman.

[2:27:33] >> thank you, president nephew.

[2:27:35] I think at this point in time, we voted

[2:27:40] on the item we pulled it seemsed

[2:27:43] inappropriate that we could have that

[2:27:46] discussion to suspend the rules.

[2:27:50] I would encourage councilor to hit your

[2:27:52] button and say what is on your mind.

[2:27:57] >> councilmember johnson.

[2:27:58] >> I was going ask clarification

[2:28:01] between sharing comments or suspension

[2:28:05] and addressing what has been presented

[2:28:06] to tuesday.

[2:28:07] is would prefer to move and have

[2:28:09] conversation.

[2:28:10] >> attorney, can you address that?

[2:28:17] >> president nephew, I'm not really

[2:28:19] sure what is being asked.

[2:28:21] the business as you councilor, moving

[2:28:24] on to councilor questions and

[2:28:25] conversation so you can have that

[2:28:27] discussion now.

[2:28:29] I don't know what different format we

[2:28:32] would go to by suspending the rules.

[2:28:35] >> okay, thank you.

[2:28:39] >> next we have in the queue,

[2:28:45] councilor tomanek.

[2:28:47] is there anyone else?

[2:28:48] councilor johnson?

[2:28:54] >> I'm just, can I president nephew can

[2:28:57] you provide a point of where we are?

[2:28:59] >> well there is a motion to sus pend

[2:29:05] the rules but according to attorney,

[2:29:08] that is not something that we need to

[2:29:09] do because this is councilors comments

[2:29:12] and questions.

[2:29:13] soy guess, we can go to a vote for

[2:29:15] suspending the rules or do we just want

[2:29:17] to go to councilor questions and

[2:29:19] comments?

[2:29:22] councilor randorf you're next in the

[2:29:23] queue.

[2:29:24] >> thank you, I'll dig right in and I

[2:29:29] encourage councilor clanaugh to do so

[2:29:30] too.

[2:29:32] let's do this time to address.

[2:29:35] I want to thank everyone that came here.

[2:29:38] you're right, we are set hearing you

[2:29:42] loud and clear.

[2:29:43] I think you're going to hear from

[2:29:45] another councilor, some good news that

[2:29:47] you're going to be wanting to hear.

[2:29:50] our role is to ensure that city

[2:29:54] policies do not place in harm's way.

[2:29:56] when we watched this unfold this

[2:29:59] weekend, it was horrific and it was, it

[2:30:02] was a feeling of helplessness and

[2:30:06] immediately I began thinking what can

[2:30:08] we do as a council as a city to protect

[2:30:11] our citizens from having that happen.

[2:30:13] we need to help provide clear direction

[2:30:18] along with staling to protect the

[2:30:20] integrity of our public safety work,

[2:30:23] maintaining public trust that allows

[2:30:25] our city to function.

[2:30:26] right now when federal action create

[2:30:29] fear and undermine that trust which is

[2:30:32] what is happening, tt our

[2:30:34] responsibility to respond through

[2:30:35] policy.

[2:30:37] you're going to see the next couple of

[2:30:38] weeks us doing that.

[2:30:40] so I'll pause there.

[2:30:42] encouraged to hear anyone else and also

[2:30:45] to hear from council johnson.

[2:30:46] >> let's just go to councilor johnson?

[2:30:50] >> thank you.

[2:30:51] president nephew.

[2:30:53] and I want to thank everybody for

[2:30:56] speaking tonight and sharing your voice.

[2:30:59] I listen, I listened deeply to what is

[2:31:05] taking place within our country, within

[2:31:07] our state, and within our city and

[2:31:09] generally within our communities.

[2:31:12] and trust has been disrupted.

[2:31:16] and it's, a challenge to build trust

[2:31:19] but I believe in building relationships

[2:31:24] and being emersed in community and work

[2:31:28] ining partnership to protect and keep

[2:31:31] our people in our community safe.

[2:31:32] and I want to inform you that I having

[2:31:38] working in language for a city council

[2:31:41] action that upholds the people living

[2:31:43] in our city.

[2:31:44] and it's focused with our relationship

[2:31:47] with federal agencies with respect to

[2:31:50] federal immigration laws.

[2:31:53] our city agencies are not here for the

[2:31:56] purpose of federal immigration laws.

[2:31:59] our city employees play a critical role

[2:32:02] in public safety and protecting our

[2:32:03] community and I want to remind the

[2:32:06] people that we are port city.

[2:32:08] duluth is a port city.

[2:32:10] and as long as, we have a long history

[2:32:13] of people emigrating to our community

[2:32:17] and contributing to our economy.

[2:32:20] please know that I've taken account I

[2:32:22] have measures regarding language that

[2:32:25] comes before us with respect to federal

[2:32:28] immigration law and you will see that

[2:32:29] in the coming weeks.

[2:32:30] so thank you, president revenue.

[2:32:35] --nephew and again, thank you for

[2:32:36] coming here and speaking up.

[2:32:39] >> councilor, clanaugh.

[2:32:40] >> thank you, president nephew and

[2:32:43] councilor johnson and thank you members

[2:32:44] of the public for your deep concern.

[2:32:47] I hope that tonight, you felt more

[2:32:51] welcomed and this is been a more

[2:32:55] hospitalitiable en timer than it has

[2:32:56] been in the past.

[2:32:58] it's hard, as folks running for public

[2:33:02] office, our first qualification is grow

[2:33:10] some thick skin.

[2:33:12] even when it feels hard too do that.

[2:33:14] I mean what is going on in minneapolis

[2:33:16] is totally, you know, there is no

[2:33:18] excuse for it.

[2:33:19] and duluth is not immune.

[2:33:22] and the blurring of the boundaries, I

[2:33:24] mean, this is how these types of,

[2:33:29] efforts work blurred boundaries.

[2:33:34] coopt, infill straight and --infiltrate.

[2:33:38] and that is not a buy partisan.

[2:33:40] to find it as a partisan issue.

[2:33:42] this is an issue of survival of our

[2:33:45] system of constitutional laws and fair

[2:33:51] elections, peaceful transfers of power

[2:33:52] and we have seen so much evidence of

[2:33:56] what we're up against here is not about

[2:33:59] this stuff, right?

[2:34:00] we're trying to preserve politics among

[2:34:03] ourselves, right and authoritarianism

[2:34:08] is not about politics it's about

[2:34:12] conformity, working together.

[2:34:14] learning from one another as

[2:34:16] councilors, as fellow citizens.

[2:34:19] because when we do that, the product is

[2:34:22] actually better.

[2:34:23] I don't have all the answers.

[2:34:25] I need help, I need to learn, I need to

[2:34:28] listen.

[2:34:29] I think the editorial in yesterday's

[2:34:35] "new york times" sums up where we're at

[2:34:38] right now.

[2:34:39] the administration is urging americans

[2:34:41] to reject the evidence of their eyes

[2:34:44] and ears.

[2:34:48] they're lying in the obvious truth.

[2:34:51] they're lying in the manner of

[2:34:56] authoritarian regimes that require

[2:34:57] people to accept lies as a

[2:35:01] demonstration of their power.

[2:35:06] it's a disgrace how it's continued that

[2:35:08] the first public comment of mr. Trump

[2:35:11] in the wake of mr. Preti's death was to

[2:35:16] post a picture of the gunman's gun, I'm

[2:35:19] not a big fan of conceal and carry, but

[2:35:25] if I have a permit to carry and get

[2:35:28] that turned against me, that's not the

[2:35:30] spir sit of our laws in this state.

[2:35:34] steven miller, organizably mr. Trump's

[2:35:39] most influential advisor wrote on

[2:35:41] social media without offering evidence

[2:35:43] that mr. Preti was an assessin.

[2:35:47] these are bold face lies, trying to

[2:35:51] gaslight people.

[2:35:52] we got good caring people who are right

[2:35:55] now are under the spell of these stuff.

[2:35:57] we have to find ways of reaching one

[2:36:00] another here.

[2:36:01] and getting back to, we're trying to be

[2:36:04] as fellow citizens of this society.

[2:36:07] so, and you know, right now, the

[2:36:09] government has killed, it has an

[2:36:12] obligation that it acted in the public

[2:36:15] interest.

[2:36:17] again, the trump administration is

[2:36:20] engaged in a preversion.

[2:36:25] it's not that liberal.

[2:36:28] so, we got to work together here to

[2:36:31] mike sure we got clear and strong

[2:36:33] boundaries.

[2:36:34] and I really thank you councilor

[2:36:38] johnson for making initiative on this

[2:36:39] and how we communicate with one other.

[2:36:43] we want to observe open meet ing laws,

[2:36:46] we don't want to break quorum, but

[2:36:49] we've got to find way to see work

[2:36:50] together.

[2:36:51] right now, more than ever.

[2:36:54] right.

[2:36:55] now more than ever.

[2:36:56] and you know what, I am a person who

[2:37:01] works in public safety who has

[2:37:04] extensive histories of sexual violence.

[2:37:06] I have a deep appreciation of offender

[2:37:10] task force, they've done incredible

[2:37:14] work regarding human trafficking, drug,

[2:37:16] running and these types of things.

[2:37:19] but, my concern is that we potentially

[2:37:24] have a trojan horse situation in our

[2:37:29] midst.

[2:37:30] we're good people who have done good

[2:37:33] work.

[2:37:36] like the frog in a pod of water.

[2:37:42] and these authoritarian, regimes they

[2:37:44] offer a duel state.

[2:37:47] there is normative, every day business,

[2:37:49] we have contracts, and we prepare

[2:37:52] mortgages and we go to work.

[2:37:55] but it's prerogative state and we've

[2:37:58] got to figure out a way to stop this.

[2:38:00] we have to be proactive in our

[2:38:03] community and we have to pull together

[2:38:05] as a society.

[2:38:10] so, I could have never imagined

[2:38:12] starting my service, these last two

[2:38:16] weeks, right.

[2:38:18] but I'm endebted to you folks.

[2:38:19] thank you, thank you.

[2:38:21] and don't give up.

[2:38:22] and let's join hands here together.

[2:38:24] this is a golden opportunity council

[2:38:27] that struggled sometimes, right?

[2:38:29] to work well together.

[2:38:30] we have a golden opportunity to build a

[2:38:34] fine relationship among ourselves.

[2:38:35] thank you.

[2:38:36] [applause]ed

[2:38:38] --[applause]

[2:38:42] [gavel] no cheers or jeers.

[2:38:45] we're going to move on to councilor

[2:39:00] desotelle.

[2:39:04] >> thank you.

[2:39:06] I feel in jewish tradition, we need to

[2:39:09] repeat and repeat and go through this,

[2:39:12] to figure out a solution to what we do

[2:39:15] as a local government and woo we do as

[2:39:17] a state and society.

[2:39:19] I was at the rally also on friday.

[2:39:23] I did want to say that and I'm a

[2:39:27] staunch defender of the constitution

[2:39:30] and I believe in due process as we all

[2:39:32] do.

[2:39:33] and today we're witnessing the opposite

[2:39:35] of that of what america promises.

[2:39:40] our federal leaders are provoking fear

[2:39:42] and lifes of people who go to work and

[2:39:44] go to school here.

[2:39:46] we witnessed ice killings, killing and

[2:39:51] traumatizing law abiding citizens and

[2:39:53] immigrants in the metro area and we are

[2:39:56] fearful of them coming here and other

[2:39:57] communities.

[2:39:58] I know that chief has been working a

[2:40:01] lot with officers across other

[2:40:03] communities and cities trying to help

[2:40:06] us help you, figure out how best we can

[2:40:10] point things in language and how we can

[2:40:12] enforce those.

[2:40:14] so, it's very hard, you can write all

[2:40:17] the ordinances you want but we have to

[2:40:18] make sure that we have the ability to

[2:40:21] enforce them and we're trying to figure

[2:40:23] them out.

[2:40:24] there is been a lot of exceptions going

[2:40:27] over the last two weeks.

[2:40:29] I wish I can say we had all the magic

[2:40:32] words but two weeks and what is this a

[2:40:36] second meeting.

[2:40:37] we're still trying to get our arms

[2:40:39] around it.

[2:40:40] but we do stand by you and do support

[2:40:42] woo is going on and trying to figure

[2:40:44] out woo is the best actions for us to

[2:40:46] do on a local level.

[2:40:49] I'm committed to advance the health and

[2:40:51] safety of our residents by building and

[2:40:54] nurturing trust in each:00 I encourage

[2:40:56] you on saturday to go to citizens in

[2:40:59] action and also go to the saturday

[2:41:01] event at the depot where we'll have

[2:41:05] other groups in this community, there.

[2:41:08] grass roots, inter faith congregations,

[2:41:13] and many other, local elected officials

[2:41:16] on the county level speaking and doing

[2:41:19] things together and talking about

[2:41:20] training and action that we do together

[2:41:22] as a community as well.

[2:41:24] we need to continue to support our dpd

[2:41:28] because they support us and we have to

[2:41:29] figure out the right tools that will

[2:41:32] help them be able to protect us as we

[2:41:34] move forward.

[2:41:35] so we're working on this.

[2:41:36] we hear you, thanks again for coming

[2:41:39] out tonight.

[2:41:40] >> next in the queue is councilor

[2:41:43] durrwatcher.

[2:41:44] >> thank you, president nephew.

[2:41:47] we're in a different situation than

[2:41:52] we've ever been in before.

[2:41:57] we need a new approach.

[2:41:59] not just a few bad apples are creating

[2:42:04] these problems, it's tt entire

[2:42:06] situation in itself.

[2:42:10] it's kristi noem, steven miller and

[2:42:12] trump and they keep reframing it.

[2:42:15] we need to make sure that the city is

[2:42:17] not collaborating with operation metro

[2:42:21] and we need, we need to end any city

[2:42:26] collaboration with ice.

[2:42:29] we have relative peace in the city

[2:42:32] right now.

[2:42:33] but we need to be proactive.

[2:42:36] this is needed to preserve the peace.

[2:42:41] and for that reason, I vow to pursue

[2:42:44] all of these items.

[2:42:48] I vow--[applause]s

[2:42:58] I vow to consider everything in this

[2:43:01] pamphlet.

[2:43:03] I speak regularly with leash caloski

[2:43:09] and leash has wonderful things to add

[2:43:12] to your demands on this list because of

[2:43:14] all of their work that they're doing,

[2:43:18] meeting with state legislatures on this

[2:43:22] topic every day.

[2:43:23] meeting with people, that, that have

[2:43:31] been detained with ice in helping them

[2:43:34] personally gain legal counsel and

[2:43:39] exercise their legal rights.

[2:43:40] so I will work with them to add to your

[2:43:44] demands.

[2:43:51] and a constituent, a speaker earlier, I

[2:43:54] want to thank everyone for speaking.

[2:44:05] and, jen harris speech was a beautiful

[2:44:08] piece of poetry and I'm glad we all got

[2:44:12] to hear it tonight.

[2:44:13] and before I finish, I want to thank

[2:44:16] sacred heart for allowing a group to

[2:44:20] organize so quickly last-minute, a

[2:44:25] beautiful vigil for the deceased, and I

[2:44:28] also want to thank city administration

[2:44:32] for allowing this group to organize a

[2:44:36] really beautiful and peaceful rally on

[2:44:40] saturday, friday as well.

[2:44:44] and a speaker, really kind of said it

[2:44:48] all, no one is illegal on stolen land.

[2:44:51] and I just want to add to that further,

[2:44:55] no human being is an alien.

[2:44:58] we need to stop that really disruptive

[2:45:02] language.

[2:45:03] thank you.

[2:45:09] [applause]

[2:45:15] >> if there is no other councilor

[2:45:18] comments, I will just give my few

[2:45:20] things.

[2:45:21] thank you to the speakers tonight.

[2:45:22] I hope you hear from us that, in the

[2:45:26] wake of what is going on and

[2:45:29] minneapolis is with us as well.

[2:45:34] thank you, council member tomanek for

[2:45:44] that your words were equally powerful

[2:45:48] and I trust what you said is truth and

[2:45:50] how much you're speaking from the heart.

[2:45:52] councilor johnson, I know you've been

[2:45:54] working on that this weekend.

[2:45:56] thank you for taking the reigns we're

[2:46:02] happy to support you.

[2:46:04] I've been thinking about what we can do

[2:46:07] and voubl councilor johnson has taken

[2:46:10] the reigns on that.

[2:46:11] but the reality is, our federal

[2:46:13] government is not following the rules

[2:46:15] and one thing that I have been cracking

[2:46:20] down with pulling agenda names, let's

[2:46:22] follow our rules.

[2:46:24] we have standing rules.

[2:46:26] we have city charter, we can show how

[2:46:30] to follow the rules regularly.

[2:46:32] so I appreciate that this council

[2:46:36] chamber was respectful tonight and I

[2:46:37] hope that continues and I think we can

[2:46:40] lead by example with that along with

[2:46:41] taking care of the things that we can

[2:46:44] do through resolutions and showing our

[2:46:47] city should operate but we can show how

[2:46:51] government can work respectfully.

[2:46:52] thank you for that tonight.

[2:46:54] if there is nothing else, I'll ask for

[2:46:56] a motion to adjourn.

[2:46:57] >> so moved.

[2:46:59] >> moved by randorf.

[2:47:01] >> second by johnson.

[2:47:03] all those in favor.

[2:47:04] >> aye.

[2:47:05] >> have a nice evening.

[2:47:06] thank you.

City Council on 2026-01-26 6:00 PM

Agenda

Transcript